the OLD eWhelp

eWhelp has moved... go there.

2005-11-05T18:26:00.000-05:00

eWhelp has moved to a new location. The new address for it is http://jayson.whelpley.org, all of the entries have been moved there permanently and there won't be any more updates here. Blogspot served me well, but with my own server space I now have more control over everything and I like it.

Unfortunately there will probably no longer be audio posts.(Sorry Dave and Andy.)

Cheers!

Oh, and if you're looking for the post about the evil gummi bears:
http://jayson.whelpley.org/archives/122

Importing to WP

2005-10-30T21:50:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to import this damn thing to WordPress. Not going so well.

Confessions of a gum swallower...

2005-10-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

Don't Swallow Your Gum!!

Some quotes from the story...

Several weeks ago, I purchased a fairly large quantity of Dubble Bubble for my daughter's gum ball machine. The amount of gum I acquired was directly proportional to my own developed taste for the product, since it resembled crack cocaine in addictiveness. After originally buying the pre-filled gum ball machine, I'd proceeded to consume almost the entire contents in just a few short days...

Alas, I was destined for trouble. After consuming such a vast quantity of bubble gum, certain bodily processes started to become strange. My bowel movements rotated from frequent to nearly constipated for several days. For the life of me, I couldn't predict at what point the need to crap would attack. When I did plop down to plop, both the defecation process and the subsequent wiping would seem almost...

Sticky.

This went on for another day or two. It was only then that an event occurred that would change my philosophy on gum swallowing forever.

I can't use the hand razor I shave my face with, certainly; would I be able to shear my whiskers every morning while knowing where it had been? That microglobs of poo-gum were being ground into my cheeks and neck?

No, certainly not! I do, however, have a small beard trimmer that might do the job. It was only a few dollars at Wal-Mart, after all; I can burn it when I'm done. Alrighty then, pants off, left leg up on the sink, offending mass of bubble gum presented comfortably, mirror positioned on the floor to help me aim. Okay, razor on, let's do this thing!

DEAR SWEET ZOMBIE IT'S STUCK!

I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.

Technorati Tags: eating gum, potty humor, eWhelp, Exploitstation, funny story

A lot of stuff in me...

2005-10-27T22:08:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of stuff bouncing around in my head that I want to get out somewhere, but I don't have patience enough to "blog it" all out right now.

Blah...

Me on Halo 2.

Looooong Day

2005-10-27T02:15:00.000-04:00

15 hours of work today. 8:30AM thru 11:30PM.

I must love my job.

/why am i still up?

Technorati Tags: overtime, late nights, eWhelp

New Design

2005-10-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

Redesign...

I've decided to redesign the page; everything is redone, but still in my own personal style. The layout is based wholly on the Paaseiland design by Martijn ten Napel. I've moved some stuff around, tweaked some colors and added my own personal favorite piece of God's creation - the human skull.

Leave some feedback, let me know what you think.

Peace.

Technorati Tags: redesign, eWhelp, skulls, Martijn ten Napel

Hotel Rwanda / Amy Carmichael

2005-10-24T10:57:00.000-04:00

This weekend Carrie and I rented Hotel Rwanda with our free trial of NetFlix. It was a powerful and convicting movie - how comfortable and selfish we are in our American bubble, how for a million lives we weren't willing to send troops to protect them.

And then the quotes I get from people when they're told what the movie is about. It makes me sick, for real.

Oh, I'd rather watch a movie that will make me laugh.

Just because you're excited about missions, it doesn't mean everyone else has to be.

In the movie Don Cheadle's character Paul Rusesabagina says this to the people that he has given refuge to as they're about to call their friends overseas that might be able to rally support to save them:

There will be no rescue, no intervention for us. We can only save ourselves. Many of you know influential people abroad, you must call these people. You must tell them what will happen to us... say goodbye. But when you say goodbye, say it as if you are reaching through the phone and holding their hand. Let them know that if they let go of that hand, you will die. We must shame them into sending help.

It's sick how true that is!

The next day we had a missionary at church who shared this account from Amy Carmichael, a personal heroine of mine: (warning - long)

The tom-toms thumped straight on through the night, and the darkness shuddered round me like a living, feeling thing. I could not go to sleep, so I lay awake and looked and I saw as it seemed, this:

That I stood on a grassy sword and at my feet a precipice broke sheer down into infinite space. I looked but saw no bottom--only cloud shapes, black and furiously coiled; and great shadowed, shrouded hollows and unfathomable depths. Back I drew, dizzy at the depth.

Then I saw forms of people moving single file along the grass. They were making for the edge. There was woman with a baby in her arms and another little child holding onto her dress; she was on the very verge. Then I saw that she was blind. She lifted her foot for the next step; it trod air. She was over and the children over with her. Oh, the cry as they went over.

Then I saw more streams of people flowing from all quarters--all were blind, stone blind. All made straight for the precipice edge. There were shrieks, as they suddenly knew themselves falling and a tossing up of helpless arms catching, clutching at empty air. But some went over quietly and fell without a sound.

Then I wondered, with a wonder that was simply agony, why no one stopped them at the edge. I could not. I was glued to the ground. And I could not call; though I strained and tried only a whisper would come. Then I saw that along the edge there were sentries set at intervals, but the intervals were far too great. There were great wide unguarded gaps between and over these gaps the people fell in their blindness quite unwarned. And the green grass seemed blood red to me and the gulf yawned like the mouth of hell.

Then I saw, like a little picture of peace, a group of people under some trees with their backs turned towards the gulf. They were making daisy chains. Sometimes when a piercing shriek cut the quiet air and reached them, it disturbed them and they thought it a rather vulgar noise. And if one of their numbers started up and wanted to go do something to help, then all the others would pull that one down. 'Why should you get so excited about it? You must wait for a definite call to go. You haven't finished your daisy chains yet. It would be really selfish,' they said, 'to leave us to finish the work alone.'

There was another group. It was made up of people whose great desire was to get more sentries out. But they found that very few wanted to go, and sometimes there were no sentries set for miles and miles of the edge. Once a girl stood alone in her place waving the people back; but her mother and other relations called, reminded her that her furlough was due. She must not break the rules. And being tired and needing a change, she had to go and rest for a while. But no one was sent to guard her gap, and over and over the people fell like a waterfall of souls.

Once a child caught at a tuft of grass that grew at the very brink of the gulf. It clung convulsively and it called, but nobody seemed to hear. Then the roots of the grass gave way and with a cry the child went over, its two little hands still holding tight to the torn-off bunch of grass. And the girl who longed to be back at her gap thought she heard the little one cry. She sprang up and wanted to go, at which they reproved her reminding her that no one is necessary anywhere. The gap would be well taken care of they knew, and then they sang a hymn.

Then through the hymn came another sound like the pain of a million broken hearts rung out in one full drop, one sob. And a horror of great darkness was upon me for I knew what it was--the cry of the blood. Then thundered a voice, the voice of the Lord, and He said, 'What has thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground.'

The tom-toms still beat heavily. The darkness still shuddered and shivered about me. I heard the yells of the devil dancers and the weird, wild shriek of the devil-possessed just outside the gate. What does it matter after all? It has gone on for years. It will go on for years. I make such a fuss about it. God forgive us. God arouse us. Shame us out of our callousness, shame out of our sin.

We do need to be shamed out of our callousedness. The quotes in response to the movie were said in a church!

But, now what? What do we do?

I suggest checking out www.InternationalFundForRwanda.org. A million people died because they were taller, had longer noses or because they didn't think that those people deserved to die. Hotel Rwanda was not a piece of fiction, but should have been... shame on us.

Technorati Tags: Hotel Rwanda, Amy Carmichael, missions, compassion, eWhelp

A Response

2005-10-22T14:45:00.000-04:00

So I check my email this morning (okay, it was 1 in the afternoon) and I see this email, a reply to the last post:

George Nemeth said... Sorry you think Cleveland is so hellish. It's really a great town. If you come back ever, let me know. Come Back Sometime, Jayson

Of course, I was required by law to visit the entry he's referred to... on which I read:

Chris Miller thinks there’s gonna be a fight, but after a good night’s sleep I’m not as surly. Jayson Whepley refers to Cleveland as hell and Ohio as hellish. (Is that an allusion to Dante’s Inferno?) I’m sure a married campus minister who’s into rock climbing and disc golf from Western PA who came to town to see a standup comedian in Lakewood, and had nachos @ Alice Cooperstown might get that impression.
So here’s my proposal. If Jayson comes back to Cleveland anytime soon, I propose we take him some places that aren’t so hellish. Disc Golfing at the Park in Euclid? The handful of rock wall gyms around town? He’s a coffee lover - there’s any number of independent coffee shops in town.
Brewed Fresh Daily » Come back sometime, Jayson

I also checked out the link about someone fighting me and read:

Cleveland is Hell? HELL? Ohio is Hellish? Good grief, man. Them’s fightin’ words.
Unquiet Desperation » eWhelp: Cleveland is hell

Maybe I'm a little harsh on Ohio and Clevo... I was obliged to respond - here's the text of my response to George...

Okay, I don’t often admit it, but I dislike Cleveland less than I let on - though I have had some pretty bad things happen to me many times that I’ve been in the city (if you count Euclid). Carjacking, being 20 feet from someone puncturing a can of pepper spray, One Life Crew… those are the ones that top the list.

I am willing to admit that last night was a very enjoyable time - I mean, you really can’t beat Brian Regan live followed by a good beer. That combined with my wife’s last birthday (maybe two years ago) at the Clevo Art Museum may have evened out the scales.

I’m always willing to meet new people and be proven wrong even if dissing Clevo and Ohio in general has just been a part of my personal repitoir (I am certain that is spelled wrong) for a while now - though I have always said that individual people from Ohio or Clevo are exceptions. To clarify, there are some things that probably won’t be overcome - like the fact that
I’m a Steelers fan.

I’d love to take you up on your offer… next time I’m in the area.

Peace,
Jayson

Let's see how well this goes, I have no qualms of moving West Virginia into #1. And, yes, "them's fightin words!"

Technorati Tags: cleveland, hell, Unquiet Desperation, Brewed Fresh Daily, eWhelp

Brian Regan

2005-10-22T01:29:00.000-04:00

Just got back from Cleveland (aka 'hell') after seeing Brian Regan, which was totally worth the $40 or so per ticket. As expected, he was much better live than on CD or DVD and was worth the time in the hellish state of Ohio.

There are just so many new quotes to add to the list... so good. Thank you Lana and Tommy for opening my eyes to his genious.

Anyhow, I'm tired and have heartburn from the nachos and "Christmas Ale" at Alice Cooperstown restaurant. Thank you kindly.

Technorati Tags: brian regan, cleveland, hell, alice cooper, great lakes brewing company

Posting With Flock

2005-10-21T15:44:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I ran across a new browser today... it's still in Beta testing, but from what I can tell it's nice so far. I'm actually writing this post using something within the browser itself that allows you to click one button and write in your blog.

Check out "Flock" (a FireFox derivative) here - www.flock.com.

If you're at all computer/net savvy check it out and give them some feedback, it could be a VERY good thing.

2005-10-15T18:29:00.000-04:00

Perception

2005-10-11T23:28:00.000-04:00

perception

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color, pink. However, if you stare at the black “+” in the center, the moving dot turns to green. Now, concentrate on the black “+” in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating. It’s amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don’t disappear. This should be proof enough, we don’t always see what we think we see.

It works, and it's really odd. Head over to Dave's blog by following the link up top and try it... odd.

The Veritas Forum

2005-10-07T11:26:00.000-04:00

The Veritas Forum

I came across this in an email from Crusade's Director of communications.

The Veritas Forum program encourages university students to set up an ongoing forum on campus where topics that surround spirituality are discussed. Here is a list of some of the general subject matter that is discussed on the website.

Arts, Atheism, Authority of Scripture, Beauty, Big Bang, Business, C.S. Lewis, Career/Vocation, Catholicism, Christianity, Communication, Creation, Death, Depression, Dostoevsky, Drama/Theatre, Economics, Education, Engineering & Technology, Environmental Studies & Natural Resources, Ethics, Evangelicalism, Evil, Evolution, Existence of God, Faith, Feminism, Gender/Body, Government & Public Policy, Health Sciences, History, Hope, Humanities, Humanity, Hypocrisy, Identity, Islam, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jesus, Law, Lord of the Rings, Love/Relationships, Materialism, Media, Movies/Film, Music, Natural Sciences & Math, Naturalism, Origins, Pain/Suffering, Pluralism, Politics, Pop Culture, Pornography, Post Modernism, Poverty, Power, Relativism, Religion/Multi-Faith, Resurrection, Salvation, Science, Sin, Social Justice, Social Sciences, Theism, Theology & Religious Studies, Tolstoy, Truth, University/Scholarship, Violence, War, Worldview

As you can see, not all of the subjects are something you'd find in a church or "Bible study" setting. There are scores of MP3s to download and great resources for beginning one of your own.

Here are some MP3s:
Donald Miller - Rethinking Relationships
Dick Keyes - Where is Freedom in a Pluralistic Society
Susan Drake - Faith and Environmental Public Policy
Serrin Foster - The Feminist Case Against Abortion
Antonye Holyde - Truth in Art
Os Guinness - Can We Create a Community Safe for Diversity
Jim Wallis - Why The Right Gets It Wrong and The Left Doesn't Get It
Ben Patterson - Does Anyone Really Know What Time Is?

Check it out.

Very Accurate

2005-10-02T21:12:00.000-04:00

Advanced Global Personality Test Results

Extraversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	73%
Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Orderliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	40%
Accommodation	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Interdependence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Intellectual	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Mystical	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%
Artistic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Religious	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Hedonism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Materialism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Narcissism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Adventurousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	83%
Work ethic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Self absorbed	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Conflict seeking	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Need to dominate	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%

Romantic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%
Avoidant	\|\|\|\|	16%
Anti-authority	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Wealth	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Dependency	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Change averse	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Cautiousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Individuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Sexuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	83%
Peter pan complex	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	83%
Physical security	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Physical Fitness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	37%
Histrionic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Vanity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Hypersensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Female cliche	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%

trait snapshot:

messy,
disorganized, social, tough, outgoing, rarely worries, self revealing,
open, risk taker, likes the unknown, likes large parties, makes friends
easily, likes to stand out, likes to make fun of people, reckless,
optimistic, positive, strong, does not like to be alone, ambivalent
about chaos, abstract, impractical, not good at saving money, fearless,
trusting, thrill seeker, not rule conscious, enjoys leadership,
strange, loves food, abstract, rarely irritated, anti-authority,
attracted to the counter culture

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test

personality tests by similarminds.com

The Great Gummi Bear Project - a photoset on Flickr

2005-09-26T21:22:00.000-04:00

Melting Gummi bears into pure evil.

A Case of the Mondays

2005-09-26T21:06:00.000-04:00

Today was a "house" day... as in I've been here all day (with the exception of a half-hour prayer meeting this morning).

Had a good planning time, got the times for the Fall Retreat this weekend in order. We're showing something from the Damah Film Festival as well as something from a Transfer DVD. I think they'll fill time well, and be worth it.

I read 12 chapters of Proverbs and smoked a Chocolate Tatiana (not nearly as good as my personal #1 the Rum Tatiana). Had a Tofu Taco Salad (prepared very well by my beautiful bride). And did some support calling which added $50/month from 2 different partners.

It's been a good house day.

Oh, and I have Xbox live for free for the next two months - I think I might have to actually pay for it after that, use some Christmas money or something. Totally worth it. I suck at Halo 2 way worse than I thought though.

Saturday...

2005-09-24T12:31:00.000-04:00

...is not for sleeping in now.

It's for working and cleaning.

I just want to sleep.

Slippery Rock Cigars

2005-09-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

Slippery Rock Cigars

I love this place, sooo relaxing. Went today with Weimer and watched 12 Monkeys. So good.

Sooo relaxing.

Audio Post - I'm not dead.

2005-08-27T20:12:00.000-04:00

2005-08-23T01:11:00.000-04:00

This week or so has been a little nutsy... my computer should be done by Friday with a new 40Gig harddrive and a new keyboard as well as new OS programming - sweet.

Also, Carrie and I found out that we'll be on campus to work for at least September and then when we're done (9% or so left to go) we'll be on campus full time. Today at the first planing meeting campus assignments were given: I have all of the Erie County schools as well as Pitt Bradford and Titusville, and Cal U of PA.

Sweet.

Gah! Computer.

2005-08-08T10:53:00.000-04:00

Last night when I went to start my computer last night, it said that I was not able to find a hard drive of any kind. That stressed me out.

It started this morning, allowing me to archive some essential files. I'm still quite stressed about it, but I'm taking it to a repair shop right after I post this.

Pray for my computer's soul.

New House

2005-08-07T13:54:00.000-04:00

This weekend has been a hard-work-weekend. All three sets of parents were in Grove City to help us move to a new house. We moved all the big stuff, almost all of the rest of it as well and painted two more rooms - Ashley, Beth and Matt helped out a whole lot with moving and the one upstairs. Grandma Merry helped with cleaning; the woman is a cleaning machine.

Here's picture of the new digs with Matt on the porch, I took it in between paragraphs.

Beef and Cigars

2005-08-03T21:00:00.000-04:00

For dinner tonight we hung out with the Weimers for a bbq, Rebecca (who used to be on staff here in WPA, but is now in Northern Africa) was in town with her man-friend (also on staff in NA), Trish from the Weimers' church joined us as well.

Jason and I had some cigars while he cooked... the mexican segundo was okay. I still have my favorite, but I have no clue how to tell what brand they are or anything by the label.

Off to painting.

Painting

2005-08-02T02:22:00.000-04:00

Man, I am not looking forward to painting the inside of this house at all! The smallest room took us a good two hours just to prime it. We're going to have to have some sort of painting party with friends to finish it.

We are painting every room in the house with the possible exception of the bathrooms. Maybe our parents should come a different weekend, the weekend we're done painting and need to re-clean the entire house.

"I consciously choose the dog's path through life. I shall be poor; I shall be a painter..."

Confederacy and Nationalist Christians

2005-08-01T01:23:00.000-04:00

Carrie and I went to E&P tonight to read and chill a bit. I brought along a book that we received at the National Staff Conferece for free (not from the conference, someone just had a ton of them and were giving them away) called Mind Siege by Tim LaHaye (of Left Behind fame). The beginning part of the book talks about all of these things that pastors in the US should be warning their congregations about and inviting them to vote for or against. Most of them didn't bother me, even if I didn't agree with them. But, when he says that as Christians people should vote for "pro-American" politicians, something about that seems to run afoul of my understanding of being a follower of Jesus Christ.

It seems that when I've talked to other followers of Christ, specifically ones who lean right politically they tend to be anti-globalization; this baffles me. Christians, particularly those of us that fall into the orthodox Protestant camp, tend to aim to base beliefs directly on what the Bible says or implies. From my reading of Revelation 20:1-6 (in combination with Isaiah 11:4; Zechariah 14:9; Jeremiah 3:17) it seems like a one-world government is the ideal; granted, these examples have Christ as the King and ruler, but it is the ideal none the less. Carrie and I discussed this a while and by referring to a conversation with a friend, Tony, the best we could figure was that the fear of globalism probably stems from the fear of the power of the entire world being in too few hands.

This got me thinking toward more logical conclusions: if it is bad to have the power base of the world being controlled by a few, why is it okay for the power of the third largest nation in the world to be so concentrated? It seems that this would be just as bad. The powerbase of the US is simply a micricosm of the world.

Also, I have a hard time seeing how being a follower of Jesus Christ would lead to any sort of nationalism. (See Nationalism article on Wikipedia) As Carrie pointed out Judaism is the only major world religion that could possibly advocate nationalism, and that only to a single nation - Israel. Christianity, on the other hand rejects any sort of nationalism at is base, even going on to undermine the Jewish nationalism by putting relationship with the God of Israel on a base of faith alone and not on natural or national origins.

Christians are called to be as Christ Himself. Christian in its original form actually meant 'little Christ'. Jesus Christ had no political or national aspirations, he rejected the calls of the people to raise Himself up as King; they had expected the Messiah to do just that. The goal of the Gospel and the Great Commission is that every nation would be inhabited by followers of Jesus Christ, that every nationality would be represented in heaven. How, then, can we think that now, when every human institution is imperfect that our American system is closer to God's plan than a global system?

To alleviate the fears of too much power in the hands of too few, I advocate a confederate system of government. (See Confederacy and Confederation.) Break down every area of the world into nation-states determined in size by either landmass or population, or even by political affinity. Then, as a whole come to a consensus of a global constitution, however specific or vague - only by a particularly large margin may each peice of the constitution be agreed to (perhaps a 75%) by popular vote. Continuing, allow each nation-state to rule themselves, therefore putting the power of each small piece in the hands of a few, and the power of these combined few in the hands of many.

This plan breaks down where every plan of humankind breaks down, the problem that every human institution is plagued by - sin. There will always be greed and hegemonic ambitions... and the only cure for these is Christ Himself, and His personal and invited rule of each of our lives.