I Am. When? - Comments

Thomas Debray: India

nospam@example.com (Thomas Debray) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:01:06 -0800

I just hope that terrorism will stop one time and that everyone can live in peace and freedom again.

Eric: You Design It - Flight

nospam@example.com (Eric) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:03:54 -0800

What happened to this project? Any updates?

Pam: Educations

nospam@example.com (Pam) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:13:06 -0700

Is there a place where I can ask you a question on the calendar?

Alvin: The Best Day of the Year

nospam@example.com (Alvin) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:26:07 -0700

Arrr Matey. Only three shopping days left until the annual celebration.

Okay--two and a half months is not next week. Sorry, Andrew.

> visit a Catholic church on any given Sunday and note the attendance. Now go
> back on Easter Sunday. Major difference.

Well, that's probably not limited to Catholics, although Catholics have a particular reason why they would go to mass at Easter even if they don't go the other 51 Sundays of the year. In fact as I've reflected on this over the years it strikes me as strange that most people who call themselves Christians give more time and effort to Christmas than they do to Easter.

But pointing out the hypocrisy of some people (and we can all be accused of hypocrisy to some extent) doesn't make holidays wrong, nor is celebrating or not celebrating a holiday a sign of hypocrisy. In philosophy there's a word for that kind of argument, but I'm not a good enough philosopher to tell you what kind.

And if you're celebrating Christmas all year except at Christmas when you're celebrating Easter, I'd call you an artist, and as such you should be proud that your actions shake up some of your friends up; that's what an artist is suppose to do.

Alvin: The Best Day of the Year

nospam@example.com (Alvin) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:57:39 -0700

I would love to comment now, Andrew, but I must run. I'll respond later next week.

Benjamin Beach: Out With The Old

nospam@example.com (Benjamin Beach) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:08:46 -0700

Hey, Andrew.
Thanks for responding to my frst comment about your Proverbs web Calendar. I found this link and was wondering if the box model issue pertains.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb250496.aspx

Thanks for any assistance. You can view the calendar under the Events link on my site.
Works great in IE 6, not in IE7.

Harold Bright: Out With The Old

nospam@example.com (Harold Bright) — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:43:47 -0700

Congratulations on the "A-"

I need to get one of the HD Tuners!! I didnt know that they were even available yet

Let me know how that device works out

Benjamin Beach: To Be Secure

nospam@example.com (Benjamin Beach) — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:37:04 -0700

Are you the developer of the Proverbs Web Calendar?
I have an issue with using it in IE 7 and am looking for someone who can assist me.

HDB: To Be Secure

nospam@example.com (HDB) — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:09:59 -0700

Amen.. If you have a link or copy of that Paper I have a certain IT manager here who needs to read it

Andrew Maxim: The Best Day of the Year

nospam@example.com (Andrew Maxim) — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:11:40 -0700

Thank you for the feedback Alvin. You are correct in some regards, but in my opinion off base in others. Because the intention of my entry was, in effect, a fond birthday wish for my daughter, I did not go into a ton of details on my dislike of most holidays, or rather the modern stance on holidays.

First let me say that you get bonus points for recognizing Talk Like a Pirate day. Given that in Pastafarianism Pirates are the chosen ones, it is a good day. Plus any day that Solarbotics provides discounts on robot parts just for placing your order over the phone while talking like a pirate is just a good day in my book.

In a nutshell, I see Holidays as a crutch. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t make it a good thing either. As an example I recently gave to a friend, visit a Catholic church on any given Sunday and note the attendance. Now go back on Easter Sunday. Major difference. Obviously to those people who only attend on Easter and other Catholic holidays, attending church holds some importance or they would not bother to attend at all. Yet, is it not important enough for them to attend every Sunday? I would think that for most of them it is, and their intentions would be to attend church more regularly, but life gets in the way.

The same is for other holidays. As you stated, celebrating a persons birthday is a way of showing your love for that person, and thanks for them being a part of your life; even if it is something you can not do everyday. But it is something that we all could do more often.

Yes, life gets in the way and we mean to call, or write, or visit, or pick up some flowers on the way home from work; but we don’t. I am just as guilty of this as many others, far too often for my own liking. And I feel guilty for it, and we all should. If we took an honest look at the time spent during our own day it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for each of us to not find a few free minutes that we could be doing something else, something like picking up the phone just to say “Hi Mom, I was thinking of you.”

Think on how many hours per year the average American spends watching television. It is a stress reliever, a way of unwinding in mindlessness, and something we have probably earned. But think of how good you feel when you reach out to a loved one to just say “I missed you.” A much better stress reliever if you ask me.

Instead we wait for the holidays, because we make up excuses and reasons for not doing those things. Of course, if it takes a holiday to make the time, then that is a good use of a holiday in my book. That is what Thanksgiving is for my family, the excuse to see one another. It is a crutch for us, just as most holidays are for everyone else. The “helping hand (foot)” needed to kick us in the rear and buy flowers for our sweetheart, or send us back into church to praise our deities, or send a card to mom.

That is the charade. If you saw a person walking down the street using crutches who you knew was not infirmed wouldn’t you say, at least to yourself, that it was a charade? “Hey, that guy can walk! There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s faking it!” Well, when it comes to all the things we wait for holidays to do or say, we are generally faking the need for the crutch. We can all find a little time in a week or a month to do some of those things, we don’t need to wait for Christmas or a birthday or, even, Talk Like a Pirate day. But one day a year is still better than none.

On a last note, my daughter has been well aware of my belief in regards to holidays for quite some time. Even if she were not, she is, after all, seventeen now and perfectly capable of reading my beliefs on the World Wide Web. That being said, I do those things with her, help her celebrate her holidays because of the enjoyment it brings me to help bring happiness to her. I can not see a thing I am denying to myself in that regard. And if doing something only for the sake of giving joy to another person sets a very poor example, I will have to try much harder to set even worse examples. Arrr Matey.