Mutton for All!

So, it seems like I keep running into men whose most distinctive physical traits are their sideburns--more aptly described as "mutton chops."  By "running into," I really mean "come across in my perusal of literature, history, and literature depicting history."  Example: Gibbs from Pirates of the Caribbean (still not sure how I feel about Stranger Tides).  I am developing an unfortunate attachment to them.  I am probably more exposed to them due to my recent choices in literature, which is also influencing my recent choices in historical matters, but it is all moving in concentric circles at this point.  I still have no idea where the term "mutton chops" comes from, unless someone somewhere has some really ugly livestock.  I have, however, found some awesome chops.

Prince Albert was, more or less, the King of England, though lacking the title.  Maybe you've heard about him.  That Prince Albert in a can joke?  Yeah, that's where it gets its name.  There's another kind of Prince Albert that we won't talk about, though, due to its...inappropriate nature.  Back to the man, though.  He was a great leader, a fantastic non-philandering husband (did you know that "philander" starts with a "ph"?), a loving father, and a thoroughly modern man.  And, furthermore, he has great chops.  Just look at them!  Netflix recently added Young Victoria to the streaming list, and now I can't get enough reading on Victoria.  And with Victoria, comes Albert, the love of her life.  And with Albert comes facial hair.

Through my googling for mutton chops, one man kept resurfacing to a place of prominence--and with good reason.  Elisha Marshall has chops to the moon and more.  Just look at 'em!  About the only thing Wikipedia has on him is that he was a general for the Union Army out west.  Honestly, if this man is remembered for anything in the years to come, it will be his awesome heights of facial hair.

The term "side burn" supposedly comes from THIS man--Ambrose Burnside.  He was a soldier and a Rhode Island politician, and famous for his facial hair.  His chops are pretty off the charts.

This startling gentleman is Caspar David Friedrich.  He was a painter of landscapes.  It begs the question of why he allowed himself to be captured on canvas with such an odd expression on his face.  It looks like his left eyebrow is about to leap off of his face.  He did ensure, though, that his magnificent chops be recorded.  Good man.

Computer Problems

So, one of the computers in the open office area was acting up this morning.  I was called in as a "computer expert" (I assure you that they overestimate my abilities around here), and left to work on it.  About ten minutes later I had this conversation with a coworker that I shall call Mandy.

Mandy:  You still haven't figured out what's wrong with that thing?
Me:  No, so I'm doing a system restore.  It takes a while to complete.
Mandy:  Is that going to remove the accounting software we installed last year?
Me:  No, I only restored it to last week.
Mandy:  Oh...are you sure?
Me:  Quite.

If the accounting software was removed, it would be easy-peasy to reinstall it.  The whole thing is web-based, slow as snot on a cold day in January, but very easy to restore.  If I lost the database containing the information for our materials testing...well, that would truly be upsetting as I have no idea how to get it back.

I finally figured out what the problem was, though, AFTER I did the system restore.  The antivirus was updating and scanning at the same as soon as the computer booted.  All I had to do was open the antivirus (which took a while), cancel the scan, let it update the virus database, and then let it scan.  It's been golden since.  That poor little computer just couldn't handle it doing both at once.  I tried to explain the problem to "Tiffany," who uses that computer the most.  The conversation went something like this.

Me: I figured out what's wrong.  It's the antivirus.
Tiffany:  Well how'd that get on there?
Me:  It's on every computer...
Tiffany:  Well, no one else's computer is having this problem?  Are you sure they all have it?
Me:  Yes, I am.  The one on this computer is just malfunctioning because of some scheduling problems.
Tiffany:  Can't we just take it off the computer?
Me:  No.  That would only make things worse in the long run.
Tiffany:  But aren't those antiviruses bad for computers?
Me:  No, viruses are bad.  Antiviruses are good...just frustrating and painful at times.

In order to make her understand the problem, I ended up comparing the antivirus to a mammogram: painful to deal with but necessary for health.

Opening the Bonnet Carre

They're opening the spillway St. Charles Parish, because the Mississippi river is so high.  It's really getting started tomorrow morning, but it's already spilling over.

Psalm 30:1-5

I drew this when I couldn't stop crying.  I'm not saying that these were the magic words to make it all better.  It was really comforting.

Psalm 8

Psalm 8 in its entirety.

Think about a rose bush.  Maybe your grandmother or your aunt had one.  Don't worry about whether or not it's big.  A little rose bush is fine.  How many blooms are on it?  Fifty?  Thirty?  Twelve?  Think about it.  Think about each flower on the bush, no matter how few.  Think about the intricacies of each one.  Think about the uniqueness of each.  No two from that bush are exactly the same.  No two have the same exact coloring.  No two have the same exact petal shapes.  No two have the same number of thorns.

Now think about a big bin of apples at the grocery store.  Your favorite kind.  Now, you're only going to buy four apples.  How would you pick those four apples?  You would pick a certain size and a certain color.  You would make sure that your apples have no spots, and they're closest to what you like most in an apple.  Yet, all four will be different.  In fact every apple of that type in every bin in every grocery store in every country will be different.  No two alike.

Now think about if it were your job to design every apple different.  If it was your job to create every rose different.  That's a tall order.  But someone out there does that: God.  He created EVERYTHING.  What's more, he created you.

In Psalm 8, David is marveling at God's creative powers, his importance in the universe.  And yet, even though he is so great and so mighty, he chooses to think of him--a single man.  And he cares for you, too.

Psalm 34:17-18

"The Righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from their troubles.  The Lord is close the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Broken Bones

We had a group come in from South Carolina come in, and a few of the male chaperones constructed our lovely new playset.  It has two levels, but it's still safer than our old one.  The children are ecstatic, the adults are tired, and I'm feeling like an old lady because I'm worried for their safety.  Maybe it's just our kids.  They tend to try dumb stuff at least once.