bierkergaard

Got kind of jiggy and adventuresome the other week and bought a new (for me) scent of Old Spice High Endurance Deodorant called Smooth Blast. Click up the link for the line-up of the different scented varieties. I have developed more refined tastes these days--beers, cheeses, coffee. Time to keep the trend of being a discriminating consumer. I typically prefer the Pure Sport and the Fresh blends. Have to love the advertising slogan that comes up when you search on Google for Old Spice Deodorant: Feel the tingle of 1,000 glaciers of freshness under your armpits! Sounds kind of chilly. I gave up using anti-perspirant over a decade ago when I read that aluminum (used in anti-perspirant) has been implicated in Alzheimer's Disease. Anyway, rather than " Feeling the tingle of 1,000 glaciers of freshness under your armpits!", I felt like I had a 1,000 petunias under my armpits and it was making me nauseous. I could not stand the smell. I thought maybe it was a question of ha...

Yesterday, I had to do the Devotional equivalent of the two minute drill in football. It was the first day of the 2nd semester (we are on Block Scheduling with a Fall and Spring semester like college). The day is pretty much the first day of school redux. As such, I needed to get out the door early in order to be ready for the mass of humanity awaiting in Guidance, yearning for schedule changes--a good deal of them because of failed courses. Also, some kids pleading for easier courses, a few asking for harder classes. Think Deli counter with a very long snaking line. Teenagers tend to get unruly in large audiences so it is best for me to proceed quickly through the line. Since I could not do my typical 40 minute Devotional of reading and prayer and meditation, I pulled out My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. This devotional is as a concentrate. Powerful, hard-hitting, not exactly the pabulum served up these days. Chambers wrote something in yesterday's devotional that re...

Yesterday I met with my buddy Matt, a photographer, for coffee at Square One in Lancaster City. Last year we got together on a more semi-regular basis (it was never really regular in terms of consistency). This year, with me being back in school and off of sabbatical, I don't see Matt as much. I don't think Facebook counts... Special bonus yesterday, no parking meters needing to be filled due to the MLK holiday. Matt and I had a splendid time (boy, do I love the word splendid for some reason) catching up. Certain people add to the soul, others detract, in terms of inspiration. Matt is an adder. Check out his work. Matt and I met last year through another friend, Ken Mueller, of Inkling Media , when Ken and I were chatting at Chestnut Hill Cafe (another great coffee shop in Lancaster city). Ray Oldenburg, in his seminal work, The Great Good Place , writes of the third place--where social introduction, involvement, and interaction happen--outside of the home and workplace, eit...

Several days ago I bought two HP 92A Laser Printer Cartridges. I have learned to not buy the less quality generics or getting empty cartridges refilled. I pay full price so then I don't have substandard printing issues. I was happy to learn at STAPLES that since I bought two, I would get a $ 20 rebate. Best yet, I could do it on-line at www.stapleseasyrebates.com. This sounded so much easier than those rebates where I have to cut out the UPC code, attach a .pdf of my 5 foot receipt, send the letter off to some small town in Utah, and 4 years later get a refund. Despite STAPLES motto of "that was easy" and the website name promising the same, the process was decidedly not easy. The website would not submit my information and then it timed me out. Server issues no doubt. After trying for about 45 minutes to re-enter my account information and getting nowhere, I created a new account with a new email and then finally got in and submitted the information again. My old accoun...

This morning, I arose early around 4:00 but wanted to get back to sleep. In moments like these, I will often download a sermon and then listen to it; sometimes I remain up, other times I drift back to sleep. Either outcome is a good one. As it was, I struck a compromise and listened to a sermon, then fell asleep again until 7:00. I went searching in iTunes for Alistair Begg , the Scottish pastor whose church is somewhere around Cleveland. Begg is seriously one of the best preachers out there, a LeBron as it were in the theological world, but firmly committed and established in Cleveland, not looking to take his talents to South Beach. Cheer up Cleveland, you still have one of the best in something much more important than basketball. It is very fascinating to me that the self-esteem of cities is based on large part in how their professional sports teams do. Pretty sad commentary on what our society esteems. Rather than Begg's sermons appearing, the sermons for 2nd Presbyterian Ch...