Today they are giving test drives of scion cars, with $15 SPoT coffee gift certificates.
I am happy to get $15 of free stuff (and a t-shirt to boot), but the whole experience made me less likely to buy a scion (and I liked the brand before today!). The reasons I am disappointed are that the new models are bigger, and that they are trying SO hard to be cool. I really would rather buy a car than an "image," especially when the image that they seem to be selling is "poser."
But go and drive the car by the blockbuster on Elmwood and get the free stuff anyway.
Drew's Journal
My Podcast Link
09/05/2007 18:00 #40952
First Smart, now ScionCategory: free
09/05/2007 12:43 #40945
10 things that I like about Pandora.comCategory: 10 things
1. It exposes me to new music that I like, something I desperately need.
2. It's free, the best cost ever.
3. I love to give a quick "thumbs up," when really good music plays, like Derek Webb.
4. I get to feel a sense of indignation when it plays something lousy, and I give it a thumbs down.
5. The thumbs down kills the song playing, and it moves on to something else.
6. It showed me "Omar and the Howlers," who I had never heard before, but sound pretty good.
7. It sounds good on my new speakers, complete with a subwoofer, all of which came to me in a yard sale.
8. Thanks to those amazing tubes of the internets, its available at home and work and wherever else.
9. It gives me the satisfaction of being a part of a musical genome project, or something like that.
10. I think I can listen to what my friends like, too--but I haven't checked that out yet.
2. It's free, the best cost ever.
3. I love to give a quick "thumbs up," when really good music plays, like Derek Webb.
4. I get to feel a sense of indignation when it plays something lousy, and I give it a thumbs down.
5. The thumbs down kills the song playing, and it moves on to something else.
6. It showed me "Omar and the Howlers," who I had never heard before, but sound pretty good.
7. It sounds good on my new speakers, complete with a subwoofer, all of which came to me in a yard sale.
8. Thanks to those amazing tubes of the internets, its available at home and work and wherever else.
9. It gives me the satisfaction of being a part of a musical genome project, or something like that.
10. I think I can listen to what my friends like, too--but I haven't checked that out yet.
09/04/2007 11:36 #40927
The elevator effect.Category: sermons
Haven't posted a sermon in a while, but I really do write one just about every week. Keep in mind, they come out of my mouth significantly different than what you see here, because there is give and take with the congregation, and I sometimes stray from my notes.
Jeremiah 2:13
13for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
luke 14:1, 7-8
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. . .
7When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 12He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Did you ever notice that you can't feel an elevator moving?
Sure, you can feel when it starts up, and when it slows down, but when speed is constant, you don't notice it.
Which is just one way of pointing out that we are all relativists. At least about some things.
It's hard to judge "fast" and "slow" without a point of reference. But we can always tell "faster" and "slower."
Here's a tricky question: How much money does a person have to have to be considered rich?
So much depends on circumstance, on who is around you, or where you have been.
Now some things aren't relative, right? The speed limit is 65, regardless of who you are, what you think, or what you drive.
But even then, other variables come into play. When I drove a Buick LeSabre, I got speeding tickets all of the time. Why? Because I would speed accidentally. Everything was so smooth. Since that car, I've always purchased little cars.
Have you ever gone 65 in a Geo metro? It feels a lot faster than 65 in a Buick! Same speed, different feeling.
This week was move-in week for so many college students. When I was a freshman, moving into a dorm was the greatest thing I could imagine! How many of you would be excited to move into a dorm now?
This goes to show us that we are feeling people. We like to think that we are rational, but we aren't. We always compare. I want my lawn greener, my car newer, my phone smarter, and my computer faster! We don't know what we have until we compare.
That's what's happening in today's Gospel lesson. Jesus saw the pharisees scrambling for the best seats--establishing their hierarchy. If this story took place on the first day of summer camp, the pharisees would be comparing their flashlights. For some reason, every kid, on the first day of camp, wants to have the biggest and best and fanciest flashlight, and they've all got to compare.
Every kid at camp needs a great flashlight, And every church needs a tall tower and an organ with lots of pipes. Or a bigger projection screen, or prettier stained glass. Or a preacher that can really preach, or a really long list of members, but guess what?
Jesus says, in this story, says "don't reach for status." Not in what seat you have, not what stuff you have, and not even in what your church can do.
Take low status.
And in doing so, you will find joy.
Why? It's the elevator effect. We can feel the change of speed, not the speed itself.
And when we start out humble, God who loves us and wants the best for us will bless us. When we choose to lower ourselves, we can feel God lifting us up.
I'm going to ask a silly question today.
How much does God love you?
Can you quantify that?
On a scale of 1-10, does God love you at about 8.5?
This is what Jesus said: "Greater love has no one than this; that he lay down his life for his friends."
In Jesus, we see that God loves you, and me, and us, enough to die for us.
And he always has.
And always will.
The writer of Hebrew says it this way, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
Do you see the problem?
It's the elevator effect.
We are loved eternally, and infinitely. But because we are loved eternally, we can stop noticing how we are loved infinitely.
And when we stop noticing, we don't stop searching for that love. So we try to find meaning in other things. This is what God was talking about inJeremiah when he said "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water."
We trade the fountain for a cracked cistern. A spring for a tub. We take the ever-flowing loving kindness of God, meaning and purpose and worth, and we put that aside to focus on getting somebody that we don't even like to like us. or we focus on doing well in our career. Or making sure people notice us. Or making sure we feel good.
No matter what we use to make ourselves feel worthwhile, be it sex, drugs, money, power, popularity or comfort, ITS NOT NECESSARY. God has already deemed you worthwhile.
Which frees us to take the "lower seat," which I believe means, "you can put that other thing that you think makes you worthwhile aside."
And in stripping away all the lesser stuff, we discover the greater stuff.
That's why this table is so simple. We've got bread, we've got juice. When we gather around it, our new family is with us, and God is with us.
And we have all need.
Friends, this is, at the same time, a simple meal and a great banquet. We humble ourselves as we approach, because we are not worthy to eat at the King's table, but he is inviting us to a higher place.
Jeremiah 2:13
13for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
luke 14:1, 7-8
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. . .
7When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 12He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Did you ever notice that you can't feel an elevator moving?
Sure, you can feel when it starts up, and when it slows down, but when speed is constant, you don't notice it.
Which is just one way of pointing out that we are all relativists. At least about some things.
It's hard to judge "fast" and "slow" without a point of reference. But we can always tell "faster" and "slower."
Here's a tricky question: How much money does a person have to have to be considered rich?
So much depends on circumstance, on who is around you, or where you have been.
Now some things aren't relative, right? The speed limit is 65, regardless of who you are, what you think, or what you drive.
But even then, other variables come into play. When I drove a Buick LeSabre, I got speeding tickets all of the time. Why? Because I would speed accidentally. Everything was so smooth. Since that car, I've always purchased little cars.
Have you ever gone 65 in a Geo metro? It feels a lot faster than 65 in a Buick! Same speed, different feeling.
This week was move-in week for so many college students. When I was a freshman, moving into a dorm was the greatest thing I could imagine! How many of you would be excited to move into a dorm now?
This goes to show us that we are feeling people. We like to think that we are rational, but we aren't. We always compare. I want my lawn greener, my car newer, my phone smarter, and my computer faster! We don't know what we have until we compare.
That's what's happening in today's Gospel lesson. Jesus saw the pharisees scrambling for the best seats--establishing their hierarchy. If this story took place on the first day of summer camp, the pharisees would be comparing their flashlights. For some reason, every kid, on the first day of camp, wants to have the biggest and best and fanciest flashlight, and they've all got to compare.
Every kid at camp needs a great flashlight, And every church needs a tall tower and an organ with lots of pipes. Or a bigger projection screen, or prettier stained glass. Or a preacher that can really preach, or a really long list of members, but guess what?
Jesus says, in this story, says "don't reach for status." Not in what seat you have, not what stuff you have, and not even in what your church can do.
Take low status.
And in doing so, you will find joy.
Why? It's the elevator effect. We can feel the change of speed, not the speed itself.
And when we start out humble, God who loves us and wants the best for us will bless us. When we choose to lower ourselves, we can feel God lifting us up.
I'm going to ask a silly question today.
How much does God love you?
Can you quantify that?
On a scale of 1-10, does God love you at about 8.5?
This is what Jesus said: "Greater love has no one than this; that he lay down his life for his friends."
In Jesus, we see that God loves you, and me, and us, enough to die for us.
And he always has.
And always will.
The writer of Hebrew says it this way, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
Do you see the problem?
It's the elevator effect.
We are loved eternally, and infinitely. But because we are loved eternally, we can stop noticing how we are loved infinitely.
And when we stop noticing, we don't stop searching for that love. So we try to find meaning in other things. This is what God was talking about inJeremiah when he said "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water."
We trade the fountain for a cracked cistern. A spring for a tub. We take the ever-flowing loving kindness of God, meaning and purpose and worth, and we put that aside to focus on getting somebody that we don't even like to like us. or we focus on doing well in our career. Or making sure people notice us. Or making sure we feel good.
No matter what we use to make ourselves feel worthwhile, be it sex, drugs, money, power, popularity or comfort, ITS NOT NECESSARY. God has already deemed you worthwhile.
Which frees us to take the "lower seat," which I believe means, "you can put that other thing that you think makes you worthwhile aside."
And in stripping away all the lesser stuff, we discover the greater stuff.
That's why this table is so simple. We've got bread, we've got juice. When we gather around it, our new family is with us, and God is with us.
And we have all need.
Friends, this is, at the same time, a simple meal and a great banquet. We humble ourselves as we approach, because we are not worthy to eat at the King's table, but he is inviting us to a higher place.
lauren - 09/04/07 13:52
It's funny, I was thinking just last night about reality and how in one place, for example you spend almost twice as much for a comparable house than you would in say, Buffalo and how really, this price is based not on worth, or re-ality (for clarification purposes) at all, but on what people are willing to pay and that is based only on what other people are willing to pay, and so on and so on. And of course, those with the most "worth" aka $$ almost always "win" and yet they are stuck in the neverending battle of proving their worth to others of equal or higher "value". Meh, I need to work on being concise :) Thanks for sharing Drew!
It's funny, I was thinking just last night about reality and how in one place, for example you spend almost twice as much for a comparable house than you would in say, Buffalo and how really, this price is based not on worth, or re-ality (for clarification purposes) at all, but on what people are willing to pay and that is based only on what other people are willing to pay, and so on and so on. And of course, those with the most "worth" aka $$ almost always "win" and yet they are stuck in the neverending battle of proving their worth to others of equal or higher "value". Meh, I need to work on being concise :) Thanks for sharing Drew!
09/03/2007 10:57 #40905
10 things I like about Labor Day weekendCategory: 10 things
1. Sleeping in.
2. Seeing anti-labor folks take a day off to celebrate labor.
3. Football season is approaching!
4. Getting projects done (this is a new one for me, but I think I will like it)
5. 4 day weeks are SO much faster than 5 day ones.
6. Cooking out.
7. Beer, be it on Sunday Night or Monday afternoon.
8. The annual outdoor brunch that (e:Janelle) and I host.
9. estrip birthday parties (our first--sorry that we had to leave early!)
10. I'm only going to come up with 9 today--I don't have to do ANY work!
2. Seeing anti-labor folks take a day off to celebrate labor.
3. Football season is approaching!
4. Getting projects done (this is a new one for me, but I think I will like it)
5. 4 day weeks are SO much faster than 5 day ones.
6. Cooking out.
7. Beer, be it on Sunday Night or Monday afternoon.
8. The annual outdoor brunch that (e:Janelle) and I host.
9. estrip birthday parties (our first--sorry that we had to leave early!)
10. I'm only going to come up with 9 today--I don't have to do ANY work!
jason - 09/03/07 20:39
Phew! I was gonna be disappointed if Beer didn't make the list!
Phew! I was gonna be disappointed if Beer didn't make the list!
fellyconnelly - 09/03/07 11:43
you are sneaky sneaky - slippin in that #10...
you are sneaky sneaky - slippin in that #10...
09/01/2007 09:19 #40873
10 things I like that clean the planetCategory: 10 things
1. Hybrid cars.
2. Electric cars (even better!)
3. Bikes (even more better!)
4. Fluorescent light bulbs (gotta get some of them)
5. Mass transit (when its done right)
6. Picking up litter (learned this one from my arch-conservative Dad)
7. Carpooling (it's more fun, too!)
8. Shopping at thrift stores (another candidate for a 10 things list of it's own)
9. Geo-geothermic heating/cooling systems (So cool!)
10. The windmills on lake Erie: may they be fruitful and multiply.
My brother has the Scion xA. It has a very good fuel efficiency and handles pretty well. I am not sure what they are doing to their new cars but their models from last year are pretty good.
two of my friends back in NP have these. when you ride in the back seat you kinda feel like you are on a little school bus.
I will admit when I first saw those cars I kinda thought who would want that thing that looks like a box. But then I saw a couple ads but didn't do the research that what makes them neat is they are the burger king of cars that you can have them your way and customising them in terms of what them come with and how they look is part of the package. There is an amazing looking one that I have seen around Brynt with really cool vertical white lightning.