I’m not planning to write on that topic today, but Jonah Goldberg did, and it’s worth reading his column.

Written in response to the hubbub over the recent coming-to-light of Sen. Larry Craig’s actions in an airport bathroom, Goldberg notes that the Left’s condemnation isn’t typically over the (im)moral act, but rather over the hypocrisy that is demonstrated. Goldberg notes, however, that the Right hasn’t cornered the market on hypocrisy. He sums it up this way:

The point is simply this: Hypocrisy is bad, sure. But it’s a human failing that should fall upon the individual in question. What the left wants to do is use hypocrisy as a cudgel to declare that conservative ideals are categorically illegitimate because some conservatives fail to live up to them. But we all fail to live up to our ideals sometimes (just ask John Edwards, who wants get rid of everyone’s SUV, save the one in his driveway). That’s sort of why we call them “ideals.” Most of us don’t fall as far as Larry Craig seems to have fallen, but that’s not necessarily an indictment of his arguments, it’s an indictment of the man.

It’s worth reading the whole article.

Becky and the girls stopped by my workplace for a few minutes this morning to drop off some lunch for me. As I sat in the van with them chatting for a few minutes, this conversation with Laura (3 years old) ensued:

Me: Yeah, Laura, I’ve got to go back to work for a few hours…. but then I’ll come home.

Laura: And you’ll go wee, wee, wee…. all the way back to my house?

[Becky chokes strangling laughter at this point.]

Me: Yep, then I’ll come back to your house. Wee, wee, wee, like the little piggies? Are you saying that Daddy is a little piggie?

Laura, with comic scorn: No.  [Pause for perfect comedic timing.] You’re a BIG piggie!

Well, I asked.

Well at least half of you who read this blog are already listening to this album, but I should still note that Caedmon’s Call released their 15th album yesterday, entitled Overdressed. It marks the return of Derek Webb as a contributor to Caedmon’s, though whether he’s actually considered a “member” of the band is fuzzy to me at the moment… the word “contributor” has been used more, I think.

Christianity Today gave this album 5 out of 5 stars yesterday, and it deserves them. Good solid music and songwriting all the way around. My man Andy Osenga had a lot of influence on this album, and it’s better off for it.

If you’re interested in Overdressed, you can check out the info over on the cc.net Song Vault. Also, Bryan Allain has been doing some amazing liveblogging from the past few days and there are multiple videos, pictures, and inside info on songs available on CaedmonsCall.net. Go check it out. You can buy the album from their online store, too. I don’t think it’s available on iTunes yet, but it should be shortly.

How can it have been a week since I last posted? Well, it has been busy. So in the spirit of “short updates are better than none”, here we go.

• Airline travel can be a pain in the backside. After two canceled flights on Monday, flew to Seattle early Tuesday morning. Got to my committee meeting a couple of hours late.
• Kudos to the hotel (the Hilton Garden Inn in Renton) for being nicely setup for wi-fi access; seamless transitions between the meeting room, lobby, and bedroom.
• Got to see my college roommate Matt and his wife Abbie one evening. Had a good time catching up.
• Got to meet my partner-in-crime TK for some breakfast and Starbucks on Thursday morning. Also took a couple of cheesy pictures and some even cheesier video.
• Managed to leave a library book in my hotel room in Seattle. They said they didn’t find anything, but I’m sure I left it there. I’ll call again today and see if it turned up.
• Finished the Harry Potter series while on the trip. The ending to Book 7 was almost perfect. The most I’ve enjoyed a series of books in a long, long time.
• Got home and had to mow the grass since it had been raining all week. It took twice a long as usual to mow. Ugh.
• Preached on Sunday morning. Audio available if you’re curious.
• Talked to my brother Ryan last night for a little while. He’s really having a tough time at the moment, wrestling with some tough decisions. Pray for him.
• Caedmon’s Call did their first show to release their new album, Overdressed, last night. There has been some seriously great liveblogging going on. (Go, Bryan!) What I wouldn’t give to have been there. At least it sounds like we’ll get a bootleg from the concert sometime soon.

I’m now back in the office for six weeks before my next trip. It will be nice to settle into some sort of schedule.

Instead of sitting here writing this blog post, I should be on a Boeing 757 just taking off from Minneapolis en route to Seattle.  But you’re reading this, which means I’m writing it, which means yeah, I’m not on the plane.  I don’t know if it’s weather or just general incompetence, but Northwest Airlines decided to cancel my 12:45 flight from Cedar Rapids to MSP.   I found this out around 10 AM, contacted travel, and got a rebooked flight on Alaska Airlines, leaving Cedar Rapids at 1:30.

As soon as I saw the booking info, I checked online to see the departure status.  What? Canceled?!?  Yes, American Eagle (codesharing with Alaska Air) canceled the 1:30 flight from Cedar Rapids to Chicago.  Back on the phone with corporate travel.  Everything was booked on all the remaining flights out of Cedar Rapids today.  Unbelievable.   Finally I am set up on a 5:10 AM flight tomorrow morning from CR.  If everything goes on time (a big if IMHO), I will get into Seattle around 9 AM Seattle time, and make it to my conference only an hour or so late.

Not fun.

We visited the library this morning, I needed to pick up a few books for my trip next week.  I had Harry Potter book 6 on hold for me, so I picked it up.  As of this morning I was number 101 on the holds list for HP book 7.  But as I was browsing the “quick pick” section, a librarian walked by and plunked a book down on the shelf…  HP, book 7, one of the non-reservable copies.  I snatched it right back up; it must have been on the shelf less than 10 seconds.

So now I’ll be able to finish the HP series in short order; can’t wait to read through and find out what all happens.  Of course, I do need to set them down long enough this week to prepare the sermon for next Sunday.  Gotta keep the priorities straight.  Still, I’ll have a lot of time in airplanes and a hotel room… 

I got my most recent pair of glasses about 6 years ago.  Now, I don’t wear them all that often; my Focus Night and Day 30-day contact lenses have been my friends.  But still, there are times when I need or want to wear the glasses.  My existing pair is half-rim, and while they seemed at the time I bought them to be really small lenses, in reality they are still pretty big.  I’ve been thinking of getting a new pair for a while now, but the opportunity hadn’t presented itself.

This afternoon, though, I will be headed to visit my friend Roy who is an optician.  He says that the folks in his office can pick out the employees from my company just by the glasses they choose; engineers and nerds, all.  He has promised that the pair of glasses I end up with won’t make me look like an engineer.  I’m looking forward to the change.

• Fauxliage player
  New music from Leigh Nash.
  (tags: music)

My brother Ryan turns 28 today.  Scary.  He has gone through some big changes recently - moving to Washington, DC, to attend Georgetown University’s grad school this fall.  Best wishes, bro, on your birthday, and good luck going back to school!

It’s 8 AM in Seattle and this hotel restaurant is a pretty comfortable place to sit and write.  The in-room web access doesn’t seem to be working, but the wi-fi in the lobby works just fine, so I can sit here and catch up on news and email whilst eating from the voluminous breakfast buffet.    It’s fairly cloudy and cool this morning, but there’s the threat of sunshine this afternoon, which would be nice.

I’m in town to support a meeting with a customer, but it still leaves me with most of the morning (the meeting doesn’t start until 11) and a good portion of the afternoon (the meeting is over by 2 or so) free.  Couldn’t manage to get a flight back home tonight on short notice, so I”ll be leaving on the early (5:45) flight in the morning.  Such fun.

This is my third trip to Seattle, and I really do enjoy the area.  So beautiful with the mountainous terrain, all the water, and I just adore the cool weather.  After the meetings today I’m planning on heading downtown to the Pike Place Market; for sure a tourist location, but it’s been recommended by a couple friends so I guess I’ll give it a go.  I’ll be sure to post pics tomorrow when I get home.

Well, I’ve pretty much finished up here at the restaurant so I think I’ll move to the lobby, find a plug-in for this laptop, and start working on some work stuff.  Should be at least moderately productive today.