For you civil war history buffs, this year is interesting because the days of the week and the dates match up with 1865. So the 9th was Palm Sunday, the day the Army of Virginia surrendered to General Grant. And today is Good Friday, the 14th, which was the date Lincoln was assassinated (also on Good Friday in 1865).

If you’re interested in Civil War history, the book April 1865 is a great overview of this important month in American history. The History Channel is also re-running the documentary of the same name this month.

srg

Mom went to the Urgent Care facility last night. Had some back and chest pains that turned out to pneumonia related. Don’t know the details exactly, but she is doing fine today after some painkillers and antibiotics.

I went to church last night, and neither Mom nor Dad were there at 6:45, for a 7:15 service. Remember that Dad is the minister, so it is important that he be at the services. Mike told me that Mom went the doctor, then Dad showed up at 7:05 and said she was okay, but hadn’t seen the doctor yet. He had left to come to the service.

We started the church service, and in the middle of the first hymn I realize that Mom’s probably down there by herself and may not have a car to drive (and may want someone to be with her). So I left church and went to the back to talk to Mike and asked him if he could go down there. He had to finish cleaning up after the dinner, so we agreed that it was better if I went.

I drove to the nearest Urgent Care facility, and they had never heard of my mother. Okay, quick call to Mike to see if there is another facility close. He says there is one a bit further south. I head down there to try to find it. (Dad is preaching at this point, so it would have been bad form to ask him where she actually was). On my way down, Mike calls me back and says he is with Mom and she’s okay and headed home. Turns out she wasn’t anywhere near where I was headed, but she had her own car and was checked out by the doctor and headed home.

So I turned around and headed home myself. I’m glad she’s doing okay.

srg

In Christianity, Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. It is the day/night of the Last Supper, where Jesus gave the first communion and then was betrayed, and healed the Roman dude’s ear after someone cut it off. We’ve always had a church service on this evening with communion etc.

Last night was Maundy Thursday and I went to church, but didn’t make it to communion (more on that later). I’ve always liked going to the Maundy Thursday service, which is strange because it’s a pretty depressing service. In the story, Jesus does a lot “one of you is going to betray me. You know it and I know it, so let’s cut the crap and drink some wine, then I’ll forgive you.” He may not have said it exactly like that, but that’s the gist of it.

I’ve always said that for a Christain to truly understand Easter, you have to experience Maundy Thursday, and go through the communion and the betrayal. Then the ressurection stuff means a lot more. I was thinking about it some more yesterday and this is partly true. To REALLY understand Easter, you have to do the whole thing, from Palm Sunday, through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday (because Good Friday is really the low point of the whole story, with the crucifixion and all). Then the joy of Easter means that much more.

It’s always bothered me a bit that some churches have communion on Easter. I’ve had this discussion with Dad, and I think he kind of agrees with me, but tradition holds. Communion is for Maundy Thursday. If it were up to me (and it never is) communion would ONLY be served on Maundy Thursday, and maybe World Communion Sunday. Dad’s church (our church) does communion 4 times a year (I think). Maybe this is the “official” Presbyterian communion times, because Parkview seems to do communion more than four times a year. Of course, I’m there less than four times a year, so maybe I don’t know anything.

It’s Good Friday today. Not much good was going on 2000 years ago on this Friday.

srg

Happy Easter to everyone!

We have lots of family in town this weekend, and I’m leaving soon to spend this evening with them (dinner at my parent’s place). Mike and I are working tomorrow, helping set up some computers for the Columbus AIDS Task Force. Their Art for Life auction/fundraiser is tomorrow night. We’re setting up 10 laptops to use for auction checkout. http://www.catf.net/

Sunday, of course, is Easter for all of you Christian types out there. Me and Holly will be heading to church in the morning, then dinner with the parents. Should be around 25 people for dinner, including Holly’s parents and D’Arcy and Heather.

Family in town:
Grandma Gray
Aunt Ruth
Uncle Russ and Aunt Kathy
Elise
Alex
Eric

Others for dinner:
Mike
Robyn
Alyssa
Robyn’s Parents (Neysa and David)
Holly’s Parents (Ken and Lynda)
Robyn’s sister Heather and husband Brian (and two kids, Camryn and Lucy)
D’Arcy and Heather

That’s 22 with me and Holly, so there must be a couple I don’t know about. Sorry if you’re coming and I forgot you. I’ll see you Sunday.

If I get pictures I’ll put them up.

From youtube:

I pretty much spend my whole life on the Internet these days, and use it to store photos, talk to people, and all sorts of other funky stuff.

So where can you find me?

E-Mail
I have 6 or 7 e-mail addresses at this point, but there are really only two that I use.
sgray@surgetechservices.com - business stuff
scott@scottgray.net - personal stuff

Instant Messaging
I have an “identity” on most of the instant messaging services. If you are a member of one of these, look me up.
AIM - srgdog99
Yahoo - srgdog
MSN - srgdog@hotmail.com
Google Talk - srgdog@gmail.com
Jabber - surgescott@transactim.net

Skype
Skype is a cool internet telephony program, where you can call people up right on the Internet. On skype, I’m srgdog also.

(Yes, I use the same handle on most of my services. It’s easier for me to remember who I am that way.)

Flickr
If you want to see my photos on Flickr, you can either click on the Flickr link on the right side of this page, or you can go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/srgdog

del.icio.us
This is a social bookmarking site where you can see anything that I’ve bookmarked. Check it out.
http://del.icio.us/srgdog

These are all part of the “social web” that’s coming around. There are a bunch of other things that I can’t remember right now, but I’ll post them here when I do.

If you’re part of any of these services or want to share some other stuff you are a part of, post it in the comments!

Scott

So, I’ve been trying to come up with a way to keep in touch with family and friends, and this is it! If you are reading this, then you have made it to the Scott Gray BLOG!!!!

So, I’m sure you have lots of questions, so let’s cut to the chase . . .

1. What the heebie-jeebie is a blog?
Technically speaking, it is a “web log” (see how those words come together?). But it is just a way for me to write stuff about what is happening in our lives, and for you to read about what is happening in our lives.

2. Why should I read your blog?
Uh, why wouldn’t you?

3. Do I have to come to this web site every day to see what you’ve written?
No, and that is the beautiful part about this. With the magic of internet technology, I can write something, and you can “subscribe” to it, so it automatically shows up somewhere where you can read it. This blog sends out information in something called “RSS”, which stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. You can use My Yahoo, or My MSN, or My AOL to subscribe to this feed. You can also use a specialized feed reader to read the feed. On the right hand side of this page, there is a link to “Subscribe”. Click this link, then follow the instructions on the next page. You can also just come to this page every now and then to see what has been added (http://www.scottgray.net). If you would like more info about RSS or subscribing to this feed, send me an e-mail at scott@scottgray.net.

4. What else is on this thing?
There are some photos on the right hand side also. These are the most recent uploads to my Flickr photo sharing site. You can click on the link to view more pictures. And there are some buttons that tell you whether I’m online or not. That’s about it.

5. May I tell you what I think of you?
Yes! You can make comments to any posts on this site. Go ahead! It’s fun!

Enjoy the postings. Add comments if you would like. Check out other RSS enabled web sites (there are thousands) to get your info delivered to you. Let me know if you have any suggestions for the site/blog.

Scott