Terry Pruitt's Blog

As you can see I have posted new photographs on webshots. If you look at my photo album link, just click on the part that says C and O Canal Cycling...

My daughter, aka ebofgod just got a laptop for graduation. I'm thinking of putting Open Office on it for her. As always, follow the link to get the full story. NewsForge | Detroit high school opens its desktops : "In 2003, John Hansknecht, the director of technology at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, had a tough decision to make. The school had about a hundred older computers running Microsoft Office 97 and Windows NT, and some kind of upgrade was clearly required. It would have been an easy decision to simply upgrade to Microsoft Office 2000, but that would have required replacing all the computers with more powerful systems -- a large expenditure which could be better spent on other technology needs. Hansknecht had a better idea: OpenOffice.org. The previous year Hansknecht had begun evaluating OpenOffice.org with the assistance of Peter Guenther, the computer applications teacher, and Vondra Abbott, the school librarian. Hansknecht tho...

I've made the switch. I think the Linux version is slightly faster than the older 1.0 version.

Agent Tim has some comments on the Terrorist Handbook. It shows that terrorists are trained to exploit the institutions of our society, such as our media and courts system.

American Profile: 5/6/2001 - 5/12/2001: Ellen Gray Massey : "Mention moonshine or shiftless hillbillies, and Ellen Gray Massey’s smile turns ice cold. “I want to get rid of Ozark stereotypes,” says the Lebanon, Mo., teacher and writer. “I want to show the hardworking, intelligent people, and beautiful region I know.” For more than a half century, Massey’s praise of the Ozarks has filled high school, university, and Eldershostel classes, 13 books, 55 magazine articles, 125 dramatic readings, 239 speeches, two television documentaries, and a two-act musical. "

Book Concerns: Ellen Gray Massey - THE BITTERSWEET OZARKS AT A GLANCE : "Ellen Gray Massey - THE BITTERSWEET OZARKS AT A GLANCE From Writers Talk, with permission from the author. Compiling the photos and writing the captions and introductions to tie everything together for The Bittersweet Ozarks at a Glance, was a joy. I wanted to capture in this book the land and lore of the Ozarks. I think I did that satisfactorily, but I also recaptured the ten years from 1973 to 1983 when I was the teacher/advisor to a total of 120 high school students who researched, illustrated, wrote, and published the quarterly, Bittersweet. I began the Bittersweet after repeated urging from my brother, Ralph Gray, who was editor of The National Geographic World. As board member of the student publication, Foxfire, in the northern Georgia Appalachians, he thought I should create the same for the Ozark area. "

I did okay in Ms. Massey's class, but I found a love for languages and linguistics. Her lectures on the History of English still stick with me. 1066 was the year that English changed. What are the characteristics of a language for it to become a linguia franca ? Ease of learning, political success of the speakers, and economic success of the speakers. And more.... Ellen Gray Massey

The below quote of a quote....yeah, yeah I know a little much isn't it,....is talking about the need to not only mention the truth but understand what is wrong with unorthodox doctrine. Follow the link to a good article. LeadershipJournal.net - The Inadequacy of "Yes" Theology : "Without declaring the no, we become the church that Machen observed in his day: 'conservative in an ignorant, non-polemic, sweetness-and-light kind of way, which is just meat for the wolves.' "

On my trip I stopped in Paw Paw, WV. I had heard of Paw Paw because of the Frisbee golf course there. I ended up finding a restaurant "Grandma's Country Kitchen". Great country cooking. I ate with a older fellow who seemed eager to talk. I enjoyed his company. People riding the C and O Canal should know this is a must stop and eat there kind of a place. I had the fried hadock. The coffee and lemon pie finished off the meal for me. As I got back on the trail I soon found myself entering the Paw Paw tunnel. I was surprized how dark the middle of the tunnel was.I had to get off the bicycle and walk because I just could not see to ride. Then it was almost too dark to walk too. I was walking not sure my next step would be a safe one. I could not see the side rail. Had it rotted and fallen into the canal? Was there someone waiting to do evil? I literally had to step out in faith or go no where. Next time, I'm taking a flash light.

I wrote a long post Sunday on my adventures and somehow it did not post. So I have decided to break the post into sections. So the wild life I saw was: lots of deer, chimpmonks, fox, copperhead snake, black snake, owl, water turtles, woodland turtle, racoon, spider, rabbits, squirrels, ground hog, and a pair of turkeys. I almost ran over the copperhead. He kept me spooked for a while. Every stick on the ground turned to a snake in the fears of my mind.

Check out this site on the Da Vinci Code. Davinci Decoded : "Here are some frequently asked questions about the issues raised by The Da Vinci Code:"

I have been reading about the Crusades long before this recent movie made it popular. It has seemed to me that what I usually hear about the Crusades is over simplified and one dimensional. For an article that really short, this is a fantastic summary of the Crusades. It is well worth your time to pick up a few historical facts about a time period you probably skipped over in high school history class. The Real History of the Crusades - Christianity Today Magazine : "With the possible exception of Umberto Eco, medieval scholars are not used to getting much media attention. We tend to be a quiet lot (except during the annual bacchanalia we call the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan, of all places), poring over musty chronicles and writing dull yet meticulous studies that few will read. Imagine, then, my surprise when within days of the September 11 attacks, the Middle Ages suddenly became relevant. As a Crusade historian, I found the t...

I have to get wet weather clothing. I’m wanting to get something that is a little more high tech, not the low end product. My hope is that it will help me to cycle more on the commute work and at other times. I also need to thing about getting a water system, like a Camel-back. Then there is extra tires I need as spare parts. See more progress on: Bicycle The C and O Canal

“and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation,” Romans 15:20 I have desired to do pioneering mission work. As I am well into my 40's, I am wondering what that would look like. When I look at pioneer mission work it often is defined by those who attempt to carry it out. I see basically four different approaches that mission agencies attempt to do pioneer mission work. These are broad descriptions that are often combined or changed by those have variation in theme. Church Planting - Church planting is defined by some when you have a self-supporting congregation in the target culture, nation or people group. The U.S. Center for World Missions takes this approach, as does New Tribes Missions. Bible Translation – A Bible being translated into every language is the strategy. For years I prayed that the Southern Pocomam people would receive the Word of God. This approach assumes po...

Flying Snake Video Clips : "The following video segments are provided to illustrate different aspects of Chrysopelea's gliding behavior, primarily involving the takeoff and aerial phase of the trajectory. Landing footage will be posted later. Some of this has been published, mainly in abstracts, and the bulk of this material will be described in my dissertation. If you'd like to use any of these clips for a purpose other than teaching, please contact me. "

For those of you who are test nuts, I think this Myers-Briggs Personality Type is an excellent one. It has questions which are less analytic and more about you. Hat Tip: Liquid Paper Terry's #1 Match: INTP The Thinker You are analytical and logical - and on a quest to learn everything you can. Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge. Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat. A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it. You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor. Terry's #2 Match: ENTP The Visionary You are charming, outgoing, friendly. You make a good first impression. You possess good negotiating skills and can convince anyone of anything. Happy to be the center of attention, you love to tell stories and show off. You're very clever, but not disciplined enough to do well in structured environments. You would make a great entrpreneur, marketing executi...

Surfing around the blogdom I saw a challenge from View From The Pew . By the way, my game was off today. That is in case the Jollyblogger is reading this. Pruitt Communications is a Giant Ant that dissolves in Water, has Bulletproof Skin, and Tunnels Underground. Strength: 6 Agility: 5 Intelligence: 8 To see if your Giant Battle Monster can defeat Pruitt Communications, enter your name and choose an attack: fights Pruitt Communications using Strength Agility Intelligence

Again a good article on the flat world. In some ways I think this is better than the previous two. Check it out...... More Flat Thoughts | Linux Journal : " Information, we observed, is derived from the verb *inform,* which is related to the verb *form*. To *inform* is not to 'deliver information', but rather to *form* the other party. If you tell me something I didn't know before, I am changed by that. If I believe you, and value what you say, I have granted you authority. Meaning, I have given you the right to *author* what I know. Therefore, *we are all authors of each other*. This is a profoundly human condition in any case, but it is an especially important aspect of the open source value system. By forming each other, as we also form useful software, we are making the world. Not merely changing it. "