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HackMeisterJ
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Name: Justin
Country: United States
State: Florida
Metro: Tallahassee
Gender: Male
Interests: Jesus Christ, boost, carbon, the d string on my guitar, irish protestantism, whistling, the monkey that does kung fu, void ratios, the rest of my guitar strings, Mr. Rogers
Expertise: Watching Sealab, Fighting the Levithian (with divine intervention), real-life RPGs, soccer, deathball 3000, flameball 3000, minature John Wilkes Booth, Goats Mil
Occupation: Engineering
Industry: Construction
Message: message me
AIM:  hackmeisterJ
Member Since:
4/8/2006
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| The list from the best to the worst eaten raw:
Cashews
Almonds
Pistachios
Chestnuts
Walnuts
Pecans
Hazelnuts(Filberts)
Peanuts
Brazil Nuts
As you can see, I love cashews but despise brazil nuts.
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| Okay, what's really bothering me is that all of my statements are going paperless. This REALLY sucks. I don't care about the environment, I want my paper statements back. Pretty soon all correspondance is going to be paperless, and that will be a sad day.
Better go get a good antivirus quick!
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| What are we to do when tough times come along? When our plans don't come to fruition? What about the things in our lives that seemingly never go away?
Recently I've been thinking about the hurdles I need to overcome to grow closer to God. It's at these times of self-inspection that you realize there are many. For example, take out something you've written; a journal, prayer requests,etc. from a few years ago. Are you still dealing with the same issues as before, still wondering when the moment your relationship with God will really kick into high gear?
It's not the notion of wanting a closer relationship with God, but doing that seems to be my problem.
So what do I do? Well I thought about this today actually as I was following college basketball (specifically FSU). One of the players mentioned that great teams don't lose back to back games. So I thought about that for a while, and I think it can be applied to a "more than conquerers in Christ" mentality.
Sometimes it can be easy to say, well God used to do this in my life, I wish it were still like that, but the truth lies in the way we respond to our spiritual life. If we get discouraged, do we get further discouraged? Is discouragement a reason to "binge" and say, "Eh, I don't think I'm gonna read my bible right now", or "It would be nice to share God to this person, but maybe when I'm a little more prepared".
We should be more idealistic, and less defeatist! Let's say a family member is in trouble, or someone is a jerk to you, practical things that can happen during the day. What if a christian response to that is "Okay, that really got me mad, so lookout because I am determined to spread the gospel to my neighbors and determined to read God's word more."
This is what I am referring to in the down times. Don't let Satan get a foothold when you're vulnerable. Let it work as a strength. "Resist him, and he will flee from you". But don't just say no, make him run for the hills (or wherever it is Satan escapes).
This is how we can use our weaknesses to become our strengths, and draw nigh to Him. Actually, if this were my attitude, I would almost look forward to something unfortunate happening in my life, in an uncanny way. I could use it as fuel for my passion to be a warrior for God.
I'm tired of hearing about how bad things are getting. I am not going to be controlled by fear and doubt. This is the time to move and be heard, encourage and move forward.
Hopefully I'll start a spark for someone's fire!
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| Apprently the Catholic faith is advocating that the theory of evolution and creationism have no conflict with one another.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29484902/
This seems to be par for the course, with the pressure of acceptance and tolerance rampant in today's culture. I think that the church is increasingly trying to avoid taking a hardline on certain issues, and this is a prime example.
Now rather than continue the beating the evolution argument, the question becomes how does a person from the faith perspective interpret the bible. As you can see, where the pick and choose title comes into play.
Christians as a fundamental part of doctrine must believe in the conception of Jesus by the holy spirit. Now this act, obviously miraculous, has no part in reason or science. You cannot postulate or formulate how this act happened. And furthermore with so many of the miracles of the bible.
Will the church begin to now scientifically explain these events, and how?
If we trust God, and trust all the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible, and the miracles along the way, then what is the point of adding empirical evidence to prove creationism? Is it really that hard to believe that the earth was created in 6 days as described in genesis, to begin reasoning and conceding that maybe the "slime-goo" we all came from was God's plan.
The church may try and do this but it will fail, because athiests and evolutionists cannot bring God into the full scientific picture in their minds.
Anyway, my musing of the month. I leave it open to your thoughts!
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| Anyone ever hear that song? Oldie but goodie!
So my tax returns will be complicated this year. I have a few itemized deductions I am considering. One is for medical expenses.
You can deduct those if your co-pays or premiums surpass the 7.5% amount of your AGI (adjusted gross income). Which, surely, I have passed in 2008. It's pretty cool because I kept a meticulous record of every receipt and invoice I received since the beginning of last year. Don't forget to check this out if you dish out the dough for medical. Typically you wouldn't qualify for this deduction unless you pay that 7.5% amount.
Second is relocating and expenses for moving. The question is what I can "technically" claim for this category. Rachel is covered based on her job and those expenses. I don't know how it works out for me. I never technically changed jobs, so that's kind of a weird thing I've been wondering.
I also have to fill out state taxes, and consider the difference in income taxes in Georgia compared to Florida.
Last year we just turned in the EZ form and that was that, but this year it's looking like a chore 
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