To my friends on Facebook, I apologize that their silly application just spammed you with a gazillion posts from my blog all at once. For my blog readers, allow me to explain.

I have been a “lurker” on several social network sites for years (starting with Xanga). The main reason for this was so I could keep tabs on the kids in our youth group. If you want to know what’s really going on in a kid’s life, you must follow them on the latest networking site.

I say I’m a lurker because, well, I am. I do very little posting on Facebook. I turn down 99% of the application invitations I get. I don’t have time to be kidnapped, or to exchange buttons, or send beverages, or poke, or hug, or slap, or anything else.

There’s an old meme going around again on Facebook and I thought I’d give it a shot. While trying to figure out how to post a note (Took me half an hour, dangit.) I found a place I could link my blog to Facebook via RSS. So, I did. And Facebook promptly posted my last ten blog posts as new notes like some kind of blog machine gun. Thanks for turning me into a spammer, Facebook!

Anyway. If you’re reading this on Facebook, the come check out my real blog: Surely You’re Not Serious.

Oh, and by the way. You know that whole giving up the internet for Lent thing? Yeah. Not doing too good.

Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down.
– Steven Wright

First, thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.

They did another “heart cath” to take a look around and decide what medicine would work best. While in there, they found a small blockage and put in a stint. Lucky find.

He’s on new meds and under observation until mid day Wednesday. Then he comes home. He’s limited on physical activity for a while until all the pokes and prods heal up. Then it’s back to life as usual. Well, sort of. He’ll be on heart meds permanently and he needs to walk around the ranch more rather than taking the golf cart everywhere.

We’re all glad to have this episode behind us.

In my case, it’s a Treo 700w.

[Update: See below.]

Last week, my dad had a procedure done to fix a heart rhythm problem. He was having rapid heart beat episodes about once a week. It was not a major issue, just a “minor irritation” (my mom’s words). Since the procedure, he has had one or two episodes a day.

This morning (Sunday the 22nd), my mom was taking my niece home (about an hour away) when he had another episode, and this one was much worse. As mom rushed home, an ambulance was sent out to the ranch to bring him to the hospital in La Grange. Once they looked things over there, it was decided that he needed more care than they could offer.

As I’m typing this, he’s on a helicopter to the heart center in Austin where they will put in a pace-maker. They also may do more “while they’re in there” to try and fix the problem.

If you are a regular reader, you’ve seen my dad’s comments. He’s a tough old guy, kind of a John Wayne character, always reliable and rarely sick. He’s the kind of guy who hates to be a bother and would rather just take some pills and tough it out than go to the doctor. So, for everyone in my family, this is pretty scary business.

Please be in prayer for my dad, for the doctors who will treat him, and for my mom.

Thanks.

*Update*

It’s Monday morning. I just got off the phone with Mom. They put in a permanent pace-maker because Dad’s heart was stopping and restarting itself along with the rapid heartbeat. This is just to handle the stoppage. It won’t fix the rapidness.

They’re going to start him on medication to treat the rapid heartbeat and they’re going to probably put him on a sleep machine for his sleep apnea (something he’s probably needed to do for years). They think the snoring could have contributed to his problems. If the medication and sleep machine don’t help, they’ll take more drastic measures later.

The doctor seemed pretty calm about the situation and I get the feeling Dad’s out of the woods for now, but that could just be good bedside manor.

We’re home from the Galveston mission. Awesome trip. I hope to post more details later. Meanwhile…

It might just be the fact that I’m totally exhausted, but I literally had tears on my cheeks I laughed so hard at this video. Be prepared to watch this over and over. Also, remove any liquids from your mouth or the vicinity of your keyboard before watching. You have been warned.

I managed to pull off a Work-From-Home-Friday video this morning. Bonus!!

Also, please check out this video by a couple of guys who graduated from our church youth group. Really nicely done. They make me look bad, but then again, I put my videos together in minutes not weeks. They’re in a contest and more hits help! You can click on the video to go to YouTube and give them a good rating.

Ok. I have to do this quick because it’s getting late and I need sleep in a big way.

My whole idea about doing my surfing in the morning or after I had accomplished something in the evenings just isn’t working out. Between last night and tonight, I’ve caught up on some, but mostly just emptied out (i.e. “mark as read”) dozens and dozens of articles in my RSS feed. I haven’t really posted to my blog since I started this fast. And I have gotten a few comments from people who’ve noticed.

That’s both flattering and humbling. (I know. They’re opposites. Deal with it.) It’s cool to know that people are interested in what I have to say. It’s sad that I have not been delivering on the expectations I’ve developed in others.

I’m actually doing pretty good at the web fast. I say “pretty good” and not “great” because I have had some weak moments when I surfed at work, but not so much that it affected my productivity… well, until this afternoon. But still. Pretty good.

As for things to post about, I’ve got plenty, though all from my personal life instead of my news and humor reading, but I just really don’t have time to share. Sorry, Mom. I know I should communicate better. (As an aside, for those of you who caught my comment about Tammy’s health, which I completely forgot about; She’s fine. She had some tests. They were negative. Nuf said.)

Lastly, for your information,Tammy and I are leaving Saturday morning (early… blech) for Galveston with 126 other members of Glenview Baptist Church, ranging in age from single digits to over 70. We are going to clean up, rip out, and rebuild a great Texas town. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be fun. I’m taking my video camera, but I can’t promise I’ll have time to edit anything worthy of your fine tastes in entertainment.

Pray for us. And hang in there. I haven’t forgotten about you.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

P.S. Follow me on Twitter if you want more personal updates. I’ll be tweeting from the coast next week.

I’m scheduled to get a couple of cavities filled this Friday. I went for ten years without seeing a dentist. When I finally did, I had two cavities. That was six months ago. Now, suddenly, I’ve got two more cavities! I think it’s a conspiracy.

If I only had one tooth, I think I would brush it a real long time.
– Steven Wright

I’m not Catholic. I’m not a fan of the Catholic Church. I’m not saying all Catholics are going to hell or anything. If you’re Catholic, good for you. I pray you figure out grace and faith based salvation. Many Catholics have.

That said, Catholics have a lot of traditions that are pretty good ideas. Lent is one of those. In the Bible, 40 seems to be a good number for fasting (giving something up). So Catholics, for Lent, give up something for the 40 days before Easter. This has also spawned a not-so-great tradition of “Fat Tuesday” (a.k.a. Marti Gras) which is basically a day to abuse all your vices as much as you can before you have to give them up for Lent. It’s kind of like eating a bathtub full of ice cream the night before you start your diet. Yeah. Whatever.

I think it’s a good idea to fast especially for something that you should probably give up anyway. And I’m a firm believer in the idea that if you can do something (or not do something) for a month, you can make a good habit (or break a bad habit) that will last. New Year’s resolutions are great, but they don’t have a short term goal like Lent does.

I’ve got to be more productive, both at home and at work. So for Lent (which started yesterday… Yeah, I’m late. Sue me.) I’m going to give up personal surfing at work and I’m going to get up a little bit earlier in the morning to do my blog surfing before work. That way I’m not cutting into my productivity time at home either.

I’m predicting the unfortunate side effect that my own blogging output will take a hit. Maybe not, but it seems likely.

That’s my committment. What are you giving up for Lent?