Spam - Where Did It Come From?

Spam and those that create it are the bane of the "connected" age. That's one of the main reasons I use web based email platforms. Their spam filters are really quite good.

But where did Spam start?



Now you know...spam, spam, spam, spam.

ThisMustChange.org - Seventh Weigh-In

First, I must apologize for not posting last week. But, as you can see by the post just below this one, the last week or so of our lives has been quite chaotic. In addition to an unexpected death in Michelle's family, I was out of town last Sunday night through Wednesday evening for our annual User Group Meeting at work.

Well, with all of that, my meals were way off and exercise was non-existent. Taking customers out to eat at the restaurant of their choices leads to some good, but less than healthy food. On top of that, we were eating VERY late. When I got back in town, we spent a lot of time with family eating very late and spending time together.

Sadly, I must report that I gained 3 pounds in the last two weeks. Bringing my current weight back up to:

210

I intend to get back in the groove with my eating and exercise. I'm discouraged, but I cannot give up.

Through it all, please continue to pray for Randy, Angie and Paul Hoover. They lost their son and brother, Luke Hoover, this past Saturday. Also, please pray for all of us as we miss Luke.

Memorial - Luke Hoover

This has been a tough week for my wife's family. We received a call after 11 PM this past Saturday that her 17-year-old cousin Luke had been killed in a car accident. As you can imagine, the shock and pain has been immense for Luke's parents and brother, Randy, Angie and Paul. No one ever expects someone so young and full of life to be taken away so suddenly.

In all the grief, there is one shining light. Luke knew Jesus. As a family, we know where he is and that we will see him again one day. He would want us to celebrate his life and over the last week, that is exactly what has happened. Everyone has celebrated the life and love Luke brought to everyone...and I do mean everyone. After hearing all the stories and memories, I truly believe that Luke was truly demonstrating God's love in how he encountered others.

He will be missed...that is certain. But the impact he made on so many others will be felt for the rest of their lives.

Last night, Tiffany Watson Nativi - one of Luke's other cousins, shared a video with us that she produced in his memory. With their permission, I posted it to YouTube in memory of Luke.



  I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
   No, my strength comes from God,
      who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

  He won't let you stumble,
      your Guardian God won't fall asleep.
   Not on your life! Israel's
      Guardian will never doze or sleep.

  God's your Guardian,
      right at your side to protect you—
   Shielding you from sunstroke,
      sheltering you from moonstroke.

  God guards you from every evil,
      he guards your very life.
   He guards you when you leave and when you return,
      he guards you now, he guards you always. (Psalm 121, The Message)

Catalyst 2009 - Compassion International

As some of you may know, I was at the Catalyst Conference again this year. This is the first of several posts that I'm sure I will make about Catalyst 2009. If you haven't ever been, this is by far one of the most powerful conference experiences you will ever have. For me it has been life changing.

I wondered what I would post on first. Then, @Catalystleader (<-- that's a Twitter ID in case you didn't know) posted a link to this video this morning. We have all heard about Compassion International at one point or another. But many of us, including me- until now, didn't understand the impact that sponsoring a child can have. Watch this video - yes, it's a little long, but worth it - and then I'll have a little more.

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

In my two years attending Catalyst, this was one of THE most powerful moments. Others I have talked to that have attended more years than I said that it was one of the most powerful they have been a part of.

I believe there are two things we can learn from this.

1. We can make a difference. Regardless of our age, income bracket or location, each of us has the capability to impact someone's life. Jimmy's sponsor was a 20 something college student when he allowed God to use him to change Jimmy's life. Who's life can YOU change - if you allow God to use you?
2. Jesus is OUR sponsor. Jimmy's sponsor meant the difference between life and death for him. Jesus became our sponsor by paying the ultimate "sponsorship" for us. All we have to do is accept that gift. Maybe if we truly understood what that means for our lives, we would have the same reaction to our sponsor - Jesus.

If you've never taken the time to learn more about Compassion International, I urge you to learn more and consider the opportunity to become a sponsor.

If you attended Catalyst, I'd love to hear your comments about your experience.

UPDATED 2009-2010 Winter Forecast - Accuweather

AccuWeather's Chief Meteorologist and Expert Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi released his updated 2009-2010 Winter Forecast on 10-14-2009. Of particular note, Bastardi believes that the winter will be focused in areas that have missed out on winter weather for the last several years. For those of us living in the corridor along the East Coast between the Carolinas and Maryland/DC, this winter could be a cold and snowy one.

I've included selected highlights below:

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

The areas that will be hit hardest this winter by cold, snowy weather will be from southern New England through the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic, including the Carolinas. Areas from Washington D.C. to Charlotte have had very little snowfall the past two winters. This season these areas could end up with above-normal snowfall.

Northern areas, including Buffalo, Boston and Maine, have been hit hard the past couple of winters, but will see normal snowfall with temperatures slightly below normal this winter.

and

While some parts of the Appalachians did have harsh winter weather in the form of ice last year, this winter could be one of the snowiest since 2002-2003, when up to 80 inches fell in many places. Snowfall totals this year could reach between 50 and 100 inches in the Appalachians.

Last winter, the usage of salt was way up because of the number of ice storms. Salt supplies could be compromised again this year for state and local road crews that battle the winter weather. On the other hand, ski resorts could have a great year with plenty of powder for skiers.

And what I'M excited about:

The South

The track this year right along the Eastern Seaboard would put the major cities on the cold, wintry side of the storms. Areas form Atlanta to Charlotte could have several snowstorms this year, which is something that this region has not seen in a while.

The Interstate 20 corridor from Dallas to Atlanta will be a strike zone for ice and snow, given the storm track and proximity to cold air. By the end of the winter, people from Dallas to the Carolinas could say "Wow, we had snow this year!" said Bastardi.

Selected highlights for other parts of the country:

Midwest and Plains

The Midwest and central Plains could get a break this winter, given that past couple of winters have been cold and snowy. Places such as Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis and Kansas City may have below-normal snowfall and could even average a bit milder than past years.

However, Oklahoma into Texas will be where the cold will lead to ice and snow, and it is not out of the question that snow and ice are as far south as College Station and San Antonio, Texas.

West and Pacific Northwest

A warm and somewhat dry weather pattern is expected from the Pacific Northwest into the northern Plains. The typical barrage of winter storms that hit Seattle and Portland may not occur this winter, which would lead to below-normal precipitation.

The core of the wet weather will be south of San Francisco into southern California and the Southwest. While some people across Southern California fear the El Nino intense rains, mudslides and flooding as seen this fall.

Of course, only time will tell if the forecasts above hold true. As for me, I'm hoping that Joe is right and we have more snow here in the Carolinas. We haven't had a decent snow in several years and I would really like to be able to enjoy it with the kids.

ThisMustChange.org - Sixth Weigh-In

Six weeks in...wow, time has flown by. Having this challenge in the back of my mind has definitely made me very focused on what I eat, drink and the exercise I get. Knowing that others will benefit from my efforts has been a great motivator.

Last week, I was at Catalyst for the end part of the week. I will have several posts coming about this AWESOME event. Seeing old friends and making new ones while listening to some great speakers AND enjoying great worship was completely amazing. The tough part was the food. We ate well and I didn't get to walk like I intended, so I was worried.

I weighed in yesterday, and to my complete surprise I lost a pound. So, now I'm down to:

207

YEA! So, that brings my total lost to this point to 13 pounds. I'm feeling better and looking forward to breaking through the 200 pound mark. Please, if you haven't supported me yet, please consider doing so. I urge you to check out the challenge HERE.

Personally, I'm supporting Blood:Water Mission and will donate $1 per pound lost. Others have chosen to sponsor me as well. That is what the counter in the right column represents. If you choose to sponsor me and want your pledge to go to the BWM tally, please leave a comment and let me know.

I Don't Drink Beer

(HT: @shawnmichael) Had to post here b/c too many of my readers wouldn't see a Re-Tweet.

Enjoy the afternoon giggle! Thanks Tim Hawkins!

ThisMustChange.org - Fifth Weigh-In

Well, tonight was the fifth weigh-in for my part in the ThisMustChange.org challenge.

Before going any further, I wanted to take a quick moment to thank Jason Salamun with Project Church for being the driver and encourager behind this project. ThisMustChange.org is a wonderful project to encourage and motivate us to bring change in our own lives - losing weight to be in better health - and bring change in the lives of others. It's this simple, God gave us two simple commands:

• Love God
• Love People

This project allows me to demonstrate HIS love by loving others enough to care.

So, what are the results this week? Well, I'm still looking for a replacement digital camera (if you have suggestions, please let me know), but here are the results (drum roll please):

208

That's right! 208! That brings my total loss to 12 pounds with several weeks left to go. Please keep me in your prayers as I travel later this week and thus eating healthy and getting exercise will be more difficult.

Remember, we can't change everything, but we can change something!

Weak El Nino = Coldest Winter in a Decade for the Northeast

Since Joe Bastardi published his Winter Forecast in July predicting a higher probability for a harsh winter, people seem to be clamoring for more information on what to expect.

Bloomberg, the financial news publisher/broadcaster recently released an article and an accompanying interview about the potential for the "coldest winter in a decade". Now, I'm sure you have two questions.

• Why would a financial network be presenting information on winter weather?
• Who they turn to for that information?

The interview covers this very well, but there is a simple answer. The harshness of the winter will affect heating oil and natural gas prices. Obviously, home and business owners would be affected. But, this also presents an investment opportunity for investors. Therefore, commodity investors (commodities being things such as oil, natural gas, crops, etc) get information from companies that track one of the major factors to affect the pricing of commodities - weather.


Watch the video for more detail than the article provides.

Of particular note from the article:

The U.S. Northeast may have the coldest winter in a decade because of a weak El Nino, a warming current in the Pacific Ocean, according to Matt Rogers, a forecaster at Commodity Weather Group.

“Weak El Ninos are notorious for cold and snowy weather on the Eastern seaboard,” Rogers said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Washington. “About 70 percent to 75 percent of the time a weak El Nino will deliver the goods in terms of above-normal heating demand and cold weather. It’s pretty good odds.”

This forecast has caused the following reaction:

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-long positions, or bets prices will rise, in New York heating oil futures in the week ended Sep. 22, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data Sept. 25.

“It could be one of the coldest winters, or the coldest, winter of the decade,” Rogers said.

We really won't know if these forecasts are true until winter is in full swing