Step Away From The Phone!

We have a problem in America and much of the western world: we are obsessed with our smartphones and technology. 


Firstly this is not an attack of technology. Technology can do amazing things in seconds and help us find places when we are lost, find a restaurant, find a friend, on and on.


But I see more and more that people sit down to dinner in a restaurant and couples or groups aren't talking to each other.  They are mesmerized by their phones.  Today it reminded me of the scene pictured above from the movie Batman Forever.


In the 1995 film Batman Forever, The Riddler played by Jim Carrey, sets up his own company and sells Nygmatech gadgets that beam TV images directly into the brain.  Sort of virtual reality without the glasses.


It all sounds like fun and games until Batman discovers that Riddler is sucking the brains of Gotham dry to increase his own intelligence.  In my opinion our smartphones and technology are sucking us dry.


How much time do you check your phone during the day?  Once every hour, every ten minutes, every few seconds?  What was that? Was that this sound of a text coming through?  Oh no!  I've got to stop and read it right now!


Why have we allowed technology to become our master?  Because we have allowed it to happen. 


"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24


In this verse God is speaking to money and its ease to make you slaves to it.  But you can become a slave to anything.  Are you allowing technology to rule you?  Is your technology stopping you from spending quality time with your children, parents, friends or even taking some much needed downtime?


I have made a conscious effort to limit my time checking my phone.  It will be there when I come back to it.  Yours will too.


That's all for now... until next time.

Pulse Of The Nation

This past weekend a tragedy happened when a man full of hatred opened fire on people at a gay bar named Pulse in Orlando, FL  

What is disturbing besides the obvious loss of life is the hatred of many people that claim to be Christians. Yes emphatically the Bible condemns homosexuality, but it also condemns hatred.

"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." 1 John 4:20

Of course he's talking about loving your fellow Christian, but I think the principle still applies.  If you say you follow God and are a Christian, why are you running around spewing hatred?

I'm in no way saying that you should condone a lifestyle you don't agree with, but acting like those people are beneath you and that God hates them is a lie and a shame.

If God hated sinners, why did Jesus hang around with tax collectors and prostitutes?  God loves everyone. He wants to draw everyone into relationship with himself. 

The Bible clearly says "God is love".  God showed the ultimate expression of love when in the form of his only son Jesus he suffered and died on a cross two-thousand years ago so that he could save some.  He knew he wouldn't save us all, we all have a free will.  But he still died for some of us.

Don't you think we should show love to those outside of our faith and beliefs and maybe that would draw them closer to God?  Spewing hatred and theology may sound lofty, but it's doing absolutely nothing to help.

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean."

I pray for peace, I pray for God's love to flood our land.  We don't deserve his grace, but I ask for it humbly and thank him for the almost 240 years that he has allowed this country to exist and stand.  We certainly don't deserve his love or grace but he still freely offers it.

Why All The Hate?

I seriously want to know why the media and many people bash The Final Countdown by Europe and We Built This City by Starship.  I really, really want to know. What's with all the hatred for these two songs?   

For some time there seems to be many haters of the two singles, but yet back in their day they were both huge hits in the 80s.  I can name many, many more songs that I'd rather disappear from the annals of time: Achy Breaky Heart being one of them.  But when the so-called experts made a list not too long ago of the worst songs ever, the top of the list was We Built This City.

I can understand if people that didn't grow up in the 80s would dislike either song.  They are pretty typical for the era, but that doesn't make them bad songs.

Our media-driven and social media-driven society seems to have only room for one opinion and if its not the popular one, then you obviously must be wrong.

Our society screams for diversity, but when diversity rears its head, people call for conformity.  Make up your mind society!

Is it just like the Guns N Roses album Chinese Democracy that looked like it would never be released, so it became a byword and running joke?  So is it just a running joke that these two songs are terrible, and people don't even know what they sound like enough to make their own opinion?  I have to wonder.

For me, I like both songs and would never say they are hated by me.  For you, you are free to hate both songs, that's your opinion.  But is your opinion based solely on popular opinion, or your own opinion?  Something to think about.

North Carolina - Why I'm Leaving For Good

Forty something years ago I came into being on this planet and was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and I've lived there all my life.  But soon that will be a thing of the past.


For several reasons I'm leaving: one being the terrible traffic on my thirty mile commute each day, another being taxes and another being the awful way our governor and government in Raleigh treats its citizens.


North Carolina has the highest gas tax in the whole southeast.  Currently gas in North Carolina runs around $2.00 while South Carolina is around $1.75-$1.80 per gallon.  Yet the roads in Charlotte continue to fall apart or only get repaired when they have to be.  There are exceptions, but the condition of some of the roads in this state is appalling.


Mecklenburg County's property tax rate runs around .85% now and South Carolina's averages $.57% and they have cheaper taxes on their gas too!


My biggest reason for leaving is that I'm able to sell and move much closer to work and avoid even getting on I-485 each day.


Raleigh is ignoring Charlotte's traffic problems as always and I'm doing the only thing I can do, leaving.


Not that I expect my vacating this state to make a bit of difference to the politicians, but it will certainly make a difference in my wallet and my peace of mind.


While Pat and his officers continue to stick their noses in the sand and up their rear ends, many people are leaving this state, many businesses are leaving too.


Good luck North Carolina, it's been real.

The Struggle Is Real

If you've followed my journey you know there have been ups and downs with my quest to lose weight and 2015 will go down as one of the most challenging years yet.


In April I fell and thus started a year of frustration with back pain.  I tried all sorts of options to fix the problem and none have really worked.


So I'm to the point where I've had to just stop all working out and focus on strengthening my lower back and hopefully get it stronger and stop the pain soon.


As a result of all the problems, I've gained back a lot of the weight I lost the previous year.  It's very depressing and frustrating to say the least.


Many of my F3 brothers and friends though keep me going.  I got a nice message from a F3 brother I've never even met in person, but we know each other well through Facebook and he said what I needed to hear: do what you can, don't worry about the rest.


On a positive note, I have quite the motivation to stay with the diet as I'm getting very close to being able to ride my 300th coaster.


If I'm able to ride two "new" coasters at Myrtle Beach this month, then I pick up a few new ones in Tennessee later in the year, then I'll be able to make Dollywood's new coaster Lightning Rod my 300th coaster. 


I've managed to be able to keep all my big milestones in the south:  Cannon Ball (Lake Winnie) was my hundredth, Verbolten (Busch Gardens Virginia),my two hundredth and now hopefully Lightning Rod my three hundredth different coaster ridden.


Pressing on and doing my best.  Until next time...

3.6.2009

March 6, 2009 my world got turned upside down.  After seventeen years of service at Bank of America, my services were no longer required and I was laid off amidst the shakeup of the industry and a merger with Fleet.  It’s easy to wonder what would life had been like if this event had never taken place. 

I still struggle with my weight, still unmarried, but I guess one huge positive I’ve learned in the past seven years is that God is faithful.  I had never really been forced to completely lean on God and my faith until I had nothing left but God.  When you have no money left, no credit left, nothing, you have only one way to look at that’s up.

My team at Bank of America was great.  I had a wonderful boss who I’m still friends with on Facebook, and many lifelong friends that I worked with over the years.

Many people hate Bank of America, but there are good people there. It’s sad the state the place is these days though and I really don’t miss the banking industry at all.

There were many dark days for me in the past few years.  Days when I dreaded going to the mail box because I feared another nasty message from creditors or banks.

To my amazement I now have paid off and closed all of those accounts and hope to be moving to Ft Mill or Rock Hill, SC and be free and clear of a mortgage very soon.

I get frustrated like anyone.  I get depressed about my weight and other issues, but I’m still here and God must have something he still wants to use me for.  Not sure what that is, but I’m just trusting God.

I have been blessed beyond anything I certainly deserve.  Currently I’ve ridden 292 different roller coasters around the United States and Canada and with new coasters being built every year, and new countries to explore someday too, that number will continue to grow as the Lord will’s it.

Don’t quit.  That’s all I can say as advice.  Don’t quit.  The media will tell you the world is a lost cause, but it’s only a lost cause when we give up on it.  God hasn’t quit, and he never will.  Don’t you quit.

That’s all for now.  Until next time…

2015 It's All Downhill From Here

I finally sat down to tally up the numbers for 2015 and it’s staggering what the Lord blessed me in 2015!  2010 was the last time I was able to take a big trip, and that trip included three parks.

In 2015 I visited TWENTY ONE amusement parks! Wow that’s insane even for me!

These parks I visited for the first time:  Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Waldameer, Canada’s Wonderland (1^st international park), MarineLane (2^nd international park), Conneaut Lake Park, Six Flags New England, Knoebels, Lakemont, Quassy, Rye Playland, Go Karts Plus (Williasmburg) and Idlewild.

These parks I made a return visit to: Carowinds, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Kennywood, Six Flags America and Six Flags Great Adventure.

And for the big drum roll please…

I started the season at Carowinds and Fury 325 was my 204^th credit (unique coaster ridden) and I finished 2015 with 276! 

I can’t imagine ever picking up 73 credits in one year ever again. I’m very thankful for the blessings I’ve received this year that allowed me to travel so much, meet Antoine and Chris for the first time, travel to Canada with Shawn (first time in Canada) and just have an incredible year to look back on.

Things haven’t been easy since mom passed last year, but God more than made up for the hurt of 2014 with the blessings of 2015.  My physical challenges are what they are, but wow God has blessed my socks off this year!


I also completed my goal of riding El Toro and got the Bizarro credit to boot!

I look forward to a big trip to Orlando next month and then a trip up to Dollywood for their amazing new wooden coaster later in spring.

By end of 2016 I should be getting very close to 300 coaster credits.

Until next time.