Brain Heave

ATI Radeon in Linux

2011-08-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

Back again.... As promised, I will tell my wonderful adventures with my Celeron 2.7 Ghz. Originally I was running Linux Mint 11. I liked it because tethering my phone was super easy and the layout was pretty similar to that of Windows. The only issues that I seemed to run into were video drivers. There were no drivers for my integrated video. I ran to a small computer store on 23rd street and picked up an ATI Radeon of some sort. It had VGA, S-video, and DVI outputs (which is what i was looking for). When I plugged it into my computer, I could not boot up. I tried a fresh install of Mint 11 and that didn't work either. I kept getting a slot conflict error of some sort, no matter what slot I put it in. After a few tries, I switched to Mint 10. I successfully installed and loaded Mint 10, but for the life of me could not find a control panel, and I could not find a clue in the forums. After spending quite a bit of time searching, I decided to revert back to Ubuntu. I downloaded the latest version, and successfully installed it after moving my video card to a couple of different slots.
Finally, my video card was working and my TV was connected as well. The 3D and Open GL was horrific, though. I read up and figured out that I needed to set up the "Catalyst" driver. I spent quite a bit of time looking through AMD/ATI's driver support and downloading the driver. The instructions weren't that clear and a bit hard to follow...actually, I never figured them out. After a while, I came to the conclusion that Ubuntu probably already had these drivers some where. I looked in the software downloading section and found the catalyst driver there. After installing it, I still had issues with Open GL and 3D. It wasn't until after I uninstalled all of the other ATI drivers that I was able to get everything to work right.

Occasional Post (Plans for More)

2011-07-24T23:29:00.000-05:00

Just knocked out a bunch of important paperwork and other looming responsibilities with impending deadlines. Recently I picked up an older desktop. Specs: HP Pavilion with a Celeron 2.6 GHz 512 MB Ram (planning on upping to 1 Gig) and just through in an ATI Radeon 9200 (?). 200 gig hard drive. Rather than paying the wazoo for windows, I put Ubuntu on it (for some reason, Mint gave fits with my ATI). I picked up the video card so I could hook up my TV by way of DVI. Will post a little bit later about my journey through getting drivers for the ATI. Anyhow, my PC is now hooked up to my 5.1 surround sound and I have watched one movie using my computer thus far. Eh, lots more about that, but it will take some time on a different post. No pics for now. Chau Chau

Ordination

2010-09-01T13:08:00.003-05:00

Well, as soon as we got back from the honeymoon, I needed to work on getting us settled into the house. We got a few things done quickly, like our bed.

We bought the bed at Mathis Brothers in the as is section, which by looking at the picture you simply cannot tell.

After getting a few necessities like the bed and a washer and dryer, I had to turn my attention to ordination. I studied hard and was ordained this past Sunday along with Caleb Bruner.

Cozumel

2010-08-05T21:33:00.003-05:00

Still on my honeymoon in the most awesome resort in Cozumel, Mexico. The food is OK, but the staff is super friendly and I can eat anytime I want. Of course, I am sharing it with the most wonderful girl in the world and the view from our hotel room is spectacular. Here's a couple fotos with a few to follow later.

New Wedding Pictures

2010-08-04T22:55:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Right now I am on my honeymoon at an awesome beach resort in Cozumel. I have one picture to upload as of right now, but there will be more later. We haven't gotten our professional ones back yet. Enjoy!

Wedding Pictures

2010-05-25T11:34:00.001-05:00

Here some of the pictures as promised.

Cute wife huh?

Massive Summary

2010-05-13T00:37:00.002-05:00

It sure has been awhile since I have posted. A lot has happened since the last time. Well, maybe not a lot, but what has happened has been BIG.
First off, I got married. Yeah, in case you are one of my 3.5 readers (no I didn't forget to put million), and I don't ever talk to you, I got married on April 17th, 2010. Kelly and I are still going to have a ceremony in Lima, Peru, on July 30th, but since we both know that in reality we are married (before God and man) we are both more excited about the next time we will see each other than the wedding. Hence, the countdown says what it says, in case you were scrutinizing it enough to notice.
Secondly, I graduated. No summer school, no fees or school bills, I am completely graduated. Oh, that was May 6th. If you didn't get an invitation, don't feel bad, no one did. I got married a couple weeks before finals, then worked on getting my house (which I will be closing on the 15th of June) lined up.
I hope to get the video of our wedding posted in just a couple of days, but don't hold your breath. There is a lot more, I am sure, but it will have to wait until later. Hasta pronto.

2010-03-06T19:50:00.000-06:00

When love disappoints you.

2009-09-27T00:26:00.002-05:00

Have you ever loved someone? I'm not talking about a romantic type of love specifically, however, that could apply to. Just an honest to goodness love for someone. How do you treat them? You pour everything you have into that person, your time, your talents, possessions, emotions, etc. You also spend time in prayer for them. What happens then, when you find out that your love means nothing to them, or in the least, their love in return does not match what you give them?

I think that it is safe to say that most anyone that has spent some time in the Ministry has experienced this. Even outside of the ministry, young people experience this in "crushes" or even steady relationships that end up sour. When it happens to you, you know how you feel, it hurts. That is a very real pain, you wonder why in the world someone can mean so much to you and they never even seem to respond to it. What do you do? Obviously, you don't want to live with that pain all your life, but for this moment, it seems like it's never going to go away. Let's take some time to notice some things:

1. You started like God started. 1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Just like God, you started to love someone, even when there was no return or maybe even a realization that you loved that person.

2. The same thing has happened to God. Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

And not only has it happened to God, but is happening to Him about 7 billion times right now. No matter how hard you try, you cannot love God as much as He loves you. Don't you think sometimes God craves for that sweet and strong relationship?

3. True love continues through the hurt. Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

When Jesus died for us, we had already rejected Him. We need to learn to continue in our love, even when we are hurt.

4. There is One that will never dissapoint you. He will always love you more than you love Him. 1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Don't get bitter when that one you love fails to return that love, instead, continue to show that love and trust the One that will always love you more. What a gross understatement to say, "God loves you." Yet, it is so true.

We love to see you smile!

2009-09-19T23:48:00.005-05:00

Mercedes has been riding Bus #9 for quite a while now. When she first started riding, she annoyed me because she would never smile and she would never talk to me. After awhile, I learned to appreciate her more because she would actually sit still and behave on the bus and she would encourage her siblings to do the same.

Until last week, I never took the time to notice something that was pretty much staring me in the face. Her brother was an absolute terror last week. The whole way home on the bus he screamed because he didn't get a piece of candy. He is probably about 8 or 9 years old. It was pretty pitiful. The rest of the bus was relatively quiet because they were shocked I think. While he was being very unruly, Mercedes was getting her other sisters and brother away from him and was making sure that he was leaving them alone.

After we got back to the church that afternoon, Caleb and myself were discussing what we might do about a situation like that in the future when past events finally registered in my mind. Every Sunday when I would go to their door, Mercedes was making sure her brothers and sisters had their nice clothes on, their hair was brushed, could find their shoes, were keeping the dogs inside, and who knows what else. Things were starting to register....she more than likely takes care of herself and her siblings throughout the week. Why doesn't she mess around on the bus? She's really frown up for her age. Why does she not smile that much? She is living with a lot more pressure than any one little girl should have to.

My heart was touched like it hasn't been in awhile. I instantly called up Linda (one of the new workers on our bus) and told her I wanted to talk to her later about a bus kid. Later, we discussed this and she agreed to take her visiting with her on Saturday. I thought that she deserves a chance to get away from that house for a little bit.

When Saturday rolled around, we planned to meet at McDonald's for lunch. I now take a sack lunch to save money, but this week I decided to buy lunch for myself and for Mercedes. When we got there, I asked her what she wanted and she told me. Of course, I did what every kid dreams about and asked her if she wanted to get a milkshake instead of a drink. Her eyes lit up and a huge smile crossed her face. After we got her food and ate, I asked her if there was anything else she wanted (I was thinking ice cream). She wanted more actual food, so I got her another sandwich and ice cream for myself. I think that was the most I have ever seen her smile.

Why was she happy? Maybe it was because she didn't have the pressure of taking care of her siblings right then. Maybe it was because she got to eat at McDonald's and she got a milkshake. Maybe it was because she got to horse around with Bro. Jorge. All these things could have made her smile, but I think the biggest reason was because she was surrounded by people that she knew cared about her, and she knew that someone had taken time to show her how much they loved her.

What about sports?

2009-09-19T00:24:00.002-05:00

Tonight I was talking to an aquaintance of mine about his football game. He was benched the whole game, so I was able to sympathize with him a bit, but I purposly moved the conversation to basketball. He was pretty adament about not playing, but I was going to do my best to convince him otherwise. After I talked to him, I started thinking about what effect playing sports had on me. This is just a short list that I will probably make up as I go, so it won't be in any special order:

1. Sports can drastically improve your coordination. Before I got invovled in any kind of organized sports I probably looked to everyone else like an ostrich trying to play ping-pong. Although I don't have the greatest coordination now, I know that it has improved greatly.

2. Sports can build your self confidence, even if you are no good at the sports you play. There is something about getting on a field or court with a group of guys or friends that makes you accepted. I don't want to sound like an overly psycological nut case, but throwing yourself out there, proves to yourself and others that embarrasment isn't going to stop you from doing your best and improving on what your best is.

3. Sports can be very enjoyable. There isn't anything quite like getting a good workout while you are enjoying every second of it. It's like being entertained and when you are done, you don't feel bad about having wasting your time, because you spent that time keeping your body in shape. You can't do that in front of a computer or TV. Wii's don't count. :D

My battery is about to die, so I might continue the list later and I might not. I just thought of one more thing that I had to mention. I never set foot on a basketball court until I was at least 16 years old, maybe even 17. If you saw me play basketball today, you probably wouldn't think that. Not because I am good at it, but because I am comfortable doing my best, and I strive to learn more and do better every time. All in all, if I had it to do over again, I would have started my sports a lot sooner than 17 years of age.

J. Frank Norris

2009-09-14T01:15:00.002-05:00

I'm currently reading a book on J.Frank Norris entitled "God's Rascal." It is obvious as you read the book that the author is a Southern Baptist, or in the least, definitely not a Fundamentalist. It is rather humorous reading how J. Frank Norris believed in premillenialism even with all of its problems and contradictions. Although J. Frank Norris is heralded by the Baptist's to be a great leader of Fundamentalism, many of his stands and actions were completely off the wall. In some cases, one might think he was crazy. Just one example for now will be good. I am sure there will be plenty more later.

One day while Norris was attending Baylor, some students brought a dog into chapel. The dog kept howling while the President of Baylor was speaking. The president became so angry that he threw the dog out the window. He later apologized, but Norris didn't let it die there. He led a student uprising, contacted to local animal welfare bureau and consulted the trustees of the University. He wreaked such havoc on the President that the president resigned. So.....Do we need more people like J. Frank Norris in OBC? Lol....you decide.

More Pictures

2009-08-25T11:15:00.003-05:00

Well, my great Girlfriend has been gone for a little more than a week now, even though it seems like it has been forever. I have heard that your blog should be something that someone else wants to read, but I prefer it to be things that I like to blog about. Hopefully you can enjoy these pictures a fraction of what I do.

This picture was taken in Ohio next to some corn stalks, which of course were at least 2 feet taller than either one of us.

This picture was taken our last Sunday night together after church.

This picture was taken at the Myriad Gardens. While I am not sure we were actually supposed to climb on these rocks, nobody said anything.

This picture, one of my favorites, was taken in Lake Michigan. The water was surprisingly warm, and it was pretty much like a beach at that particular point. Too bad we didn't catch the sunset though....

Good Times

2009-08-19T12:06:00.003-05:00

Well, my girlfriend headed back to Peru yesterday. We did get quite a bit of time together, for which I am very thankful. We took a lot of pictures. I just grabbed this one because it was readily available when I started blogging. Hopefully, if plane prices drop enough, I will be able to see her again on Dec. 19th. If not, I may have to wait and fly on the following Tuesday. As it looks right now plane tickets are around $1,100, although, I have seen them as low as $600 at one time. I will post more pictures later.

Lake Overholser Part 2

2009-07-23T09:24:00.002-05:00

I had taken more pictures of Lake Overholser, but didn't want to post them before my girlfriend got to see them. I must add that most of the pictures that I upload will be taken from my new (used) cell phone. I am hoping to go back out to the lake this weekend.

Lake Overholser

2009-07-20T11:38:00.004-05:00

I have lived in Oklahoma City for almost six years now, and I didn't know until this month that I was less than 5 miles from a lake. I knew that Lake Hefner, which is very nice, was a quite a distance north of where I lived. When I found out that Lake Overholser was close by my house, I started visiting the lake a little more frequently. The past few weekends I have gone there in the evening to relax and enjoy the scenery.

Isaac Eaton

2009-07-08T09:30:00.002-05:00

In Great Preachers class, we finally got somewhere today. We have been looking for one of the earliest Baptist colleges in the history of America (you can't say the U.S. because they predated the U.S.) The earliest we have found is Hopewell Academy, founded primarily by Isaac Eaton. The only problem is finding information on Isaac Eaton is rather tedious work. Pulling up the same information over and over again is rather annoying, however, today we did manage to find some different information about him.

First of all, his family was from South Wales. His father actually immigrated to America and Isaac was born in Pennsylvania. With help, he started the Hopewell Academy. This in turn produced James Manning and other great preachers. James Manning was primarily responsible for starting the historic Brown College in Rhode Island.

Just an interesting thought: Isaac Eaton changed the course of history and the world, yet most people have never heard his name. Michael Jackson did jack squat, and everyone knows his name. Just do something, whether someone notices or not. The things you do, no matter how small could change the world.

Oh yeah, I also wanted to see if my teacher would stumble upon this and read it all the way through. :P

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T20:06:00.002-05:00

While many people talk about how great America is, others talk about how great it was. I am not capable of doing either. Let it suffice to say that I personally believe that my home country of America is and was the greatest nation ever. I don't have the eloquency necessary to talk about America's greatness. However, I will share a great American tradition at my house and how it has developed.

GRILLING!

I remember when Mom would say to Dad, "Honey, can you start the grill, supper will be ready in about 45 min. to an hour." Dad would go out, put some newspaper in the grill and stack some charcoal in a triangle above it. After going out about three times it would finally burn consistently. Then we had the BIG grill, we could cook all our hamburgers at once and Dad would only have to start the grill about 30 min. earlier because we also had the "Chimney." A metal contraption that you put newspaper in the bottom and stacked charcoal in the top. It normally caught fire the first time.

Now, we have gotten fancy. Mom asked me to cook on the grill about 15 min. before the food was ready. I went out to the grill, turned the gas valve on, pushed the electronic lighter and VOOM, I had the grill started. I waited for about two minutes for the iron to heat up and cooked the hamburgers. About ten minutes later, it started raining. I wonder what the grill will be like next year.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Thank you to the soldiers who have fought for me to enjoy my freedoms.

2009-07-03T17:36:00.002-05:00

I lost my phone...again. This time, I wasn't completely disappointed. My phone was starting to fall apart just from use. My sister, and mom have both on their third phone each because of accidents or things happening to them. On the cover for the speaker, the glue was wearing out. Also, the screen was starting to get some kind of smear on the underside. I think that was probably glue also. I have had the same phone since I have been on my families plan.

Rather than renewing my contract I looked on EBay for a phone. I bought a Krazer. Hopefully it works, but I definitely think it is worth the risk. I still hope I can find my other phone because it has some pictures on it that can simply not be replaced.

Aunt and Nephews

2009-07-03T00:37:00.001-05:00

As the time of my brother's wedding approaches, being 29 days aways, family is starting to come in. Actually, some family is coming in to help out. My Aunt Sue (in case you don't know me, it is Aunt as in Ant not Ont) is going to be here Sunday afternoon to help Sandra get her bridesmaid dresses made. Supposedly, tomorrow my nephews will be here. The picture is of me and my nephew.

Larcomar and Lima

2009-07-01T09:50:00.006-05:00

Reminiscing:

This is Larcomar, which of course is in Lima.

Another picture of Larcomar, only a picture of it at night would do it justice, and only a picture from the inside overlooking the ocean.

Finally, this picture is off of the coast. Although this probably isn't the same place that I was, it looks very much like it. I would have to say that is probably one of the most beautiful things in all the world. When you have someone as wonderful and beautiful as Kelly Valles with you, it is the most beautiful place in the world.

Great Preachers Class

2009-07-01T08:47:00.003-05:00

Today was a most interesting day in Great Preachers class. First, I poked my head in the classroom and asked Johnny, "Is he here yet?"

"No."

Such was the case for fifteen minutes, at which time we both agreed that it would be like the day before when he did not show up at all. I must make an important note that it is was the substitute teacher that didn't show up, not the real teacher who is traveling with the college tour group this week. Aside from the fact that I missed out on three more hours of sleep (for the second day in a row), and that I payed for the class (can I get a refund?) I didn't mind too much.

Johnny and I decided to get some breakfast, since our normal teacher told us that we would go out for breakfast one day anyways. We drove to the local Burger King and the Drive-Thru was backed up so we changed directions and went to Ferria Latina to pick up a couple of pastries and some coffee. I hadn't had coffee from there before, but I highly recommend it. It is very strong. The pastries are excellent as well. I selected one that looked like a French Cream Horn, and was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the cream had a carmel flavor to it.

All in all, Great Preachers class was great, aside from the fact that the pastries were a little messy.

Oh yeah, yesterday I spent the whole hour working on research, but I am kind of at a standstill until I can figure out exactly how the regular teacher wants the research done. I haven't totally wasted my time.

Blogging Bursts

2009-06-30T23:40:00.002-05:00

This will probably be the quickest I have ever made a post since I am doing this on my break at work.

I have noticed that my brother is actually doing a better job at blogging than I am. Jorge has picked up his blogging quite well, too. I have thought about convincing Rachel to start a blog, although I think she would probably let it die pretty soon. I thought it was kind of interesting that Sasha, the one who introduced me to blogging is pretty much letting his blog rest. He did a good job stating it though rather than just leaving it set. Oh, Sasha if you ever read this and you could help me out by telling me why none of our blogs will show up in a general Google search that would be great. Till something else interesting happens or crosses my mind....

New Blog (New Widget)

2009-06-29T15:05:00.002-05:00

Another member of the blog family. Nathaniel asked me to help him get his blog set up so I kind of helped him this morning. I will be helping him get his background set up. He doesn't have any posts up yet, but if you want to check it out and maybe bookmark it, here it is. I also found this nifty little widget to the right. Oh yeah, I am excited about that, too. Don't expect any blog updates while she is here either.

My Mom's Birthday

2009-06-26T20:00:00.005-05:00

Before I start telling what I originally planned to, I must say that I am noticing more and more that when writing I use the same words to start off a sentence quite regularly. Some of the words include: Well, However, Next, Anyways,...etc. It annoys me, and I have to know if anybody has ever noticed.

My mom's birthday was Tuesday. I was planning on driving up the the NW Expressway and meeting her for lunch. This is something I do occasionally just to do. This Tuesday was no different because I had forgotten that it was her birthday....oops. Thankfully, her boss saw me first and asked if I was taking her out for her birthday. I quickly recovered and said, "Of course." He looked at me and said, "We all already had lunch." Uh-oh.

"Hi, Mom! I was planning on taking you out for lunch, but Hung said you already had it. Want to go out to lunch tomorrow?"

So the plans were set. We ate at Fazoli's the next day, pigged out on their endless bread, and brought our leftovers home for me to take to work.

We are finishing up the celebration tonight. Rachel got a cookie cake, and I cooked supper (again). Chicken Alfredo. Oh, it takes about an hour and a half to make, but if you do it right, it is really good. We are waiting to eat the cookie cake and ice cream till later.

Mom said, "I'm surprised you remembered my birthday." :)

2009-06-20T00:21:00.003-05:00

JustusMeans (1).mp3

2009-06-20T00:21:00.001-05:00

JustusMeans.mp3

LCD

2009-06-16T08:55:00.002-05:00

That's Lowest Common Denominator in this particular post. In Great Preacher's class a few moments ago, we were talking about how Spurgeon was not only evangelistic, but also evangelical. I won't go into the fact that he was a Calvinist, but that really didn't change the fact that he was still evangelistic. Anyways, staying on topic, what exactly does that mean, evangelical? Well, in this case, it was referring to the fact that he would bring, Methodists and other close denominations at that time, together for meetings and such. The problem with that today is that you have to dip or sometimes completely drop your standards and doctrines to do that. You have to find, the Lowest Common Denominator, and decide what will be your Lowest Common Denomination. Application? Who you surround yourself with is who you will associate your standards of living with. If you personally don't listen to Southern Gospel, but you surround yourself with people that do, you just dropped your standard of music to meet theirs, making it the lowest common denominator. Just an example...it applies to other areas of life as well. So, vast number of readers, what do you think? (Apologies to those who translate and the play on words doesn't make sense.) Let me steal a verse off of another friend's website. Amos 3:3 "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" or how about James 1:8 "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

Dangerous Eggs

2009-06-11T23:38:00.002-05:00

After I got out of school today something rather interesting happened. I was preparing lunch for myself by placing two raw eggs in a bowl, and cooking it in the microwave for a minute and a half. Then I would take the egg and place it on an English muffin with cheese. Very quick and easy, and not at all greasy (oh my, I think I just rhymed.) The only problem with doing this is that the egg will pop or "blow up" in the microwave. All I had to do was simply place a paper towel over the bowl while I cooked it...problem solved. After it had exploded about 3 times, I let it set on the counter for about ten seconds, then I took my spoon to loosen the edges to dump it onto my English muffin. BOOM! Believe it or not, it was loud! The egg had blown up again, this time in my face. It was still hot, and about a quarter of the egg disappeared. Most of all, it scared the dickens out of me. Uh, I will try to notify everyone of the brand so that everyone can cook safely. All two people that read my blog that is.

2009-06-07T21:03:00.003-05:00

Today was a great day on bus route. Although we did not have too many people riding the bus, we did have some other good points. Evan was baptized today as well as Breanna. Evan had made a profession of faith once before, but he was having doubts about it and a Sunday School teacher dealt with him a few weeks ago. He was pretty young and he did not remember what had happened. He got baptized today (without diving into the baptistry like last time). Breanna has been saved for quite a little while and we talked to her parents about getting baptized last week. They wanted to be there for it, so they decided to wait until this week and drove in to watch. There were six adults that came to watch. Her parents, a cousin and a few others came.

Welcome!

2009-06-05T18:30:00.003-05:00

Hopefully you stumbled upon my blog because you were looking at my old one. Anyways, this is why I chose to use blogger.

1. I wanted to be able to add a widget for translating. You cannot do that in Wordpress because they don't let you make any changes by adding widgets. Blogger had a good deal of choices. I wanted to do this for some of the people in Peru and Ecuador that might be following my blog.

2. I wanted to be able to edit my own HTML even though I don't know how to do it. Brilliant, huh? Well, I already started by changing my background pictures and I didn't have to pay for it. Gotta go cook supper.