Lane Montgomery

Throw Back Jerseys

2008-11-20T08:31:00.001-05:00

I heard this morning that the Lions are going to play the TItans on
Thanksgiving. WTF? I thought part of the big appeal was that they wore the
throw back jerseys. How long have the F-ing Titans been around? What, are
their throw back jerseys going to be from 1997?

Last night McKennon got a hold of some baby powder. He emptied nearly the
whole thing over himself and the dining room floor (luckily a hard-wood
floor). I wasn't even mad, I was impressed.

This is apparently day 3 that I haven't taken out the trash. I NEED to
remember to do it tonight.

Today is Thanksgiving at work, so I'm rocking my Lions hat especially hard
today. I brought a chocolate key lime pie....mmm. Also antacids.

A message greeted me on the phone today, have to work right away, no warm
ups, no throw back jerseys either. :(

Today's Thoughts on Judaism

2008-11-19T16:20:00.001-05:00

No decision in life is ever only black and white. People who think so, are
not fully exercising their intellectual ability. They are relying on
written law without an understanding as to the intent of the written law. I
feel that we, as Jews, are charged to be both keepers of the written law,
and advancers of its understanding. That is why I chose Judaism, and Reform
Judaism, above all other philosophies or religions.

I think that Modern Reform (as opposed to Classic Reform) has taken back up
the mantle of the oral law. While necessary, it was a great compromise to
write down the oral law, placing it at a level just below the Torah. I
believe the oral law is meant to adapt to changing times, and as such
should not be codified in the same way Torah law is. Oral law should allow
evolving interpretations of what it means to be Jewish depending on the
contemporary environment. Keeping the oral law constructed from the
established philophies of Judaism will ensure it continues to reflect the
intention of the Torah and the culture it has lended definition to:
Judaism.

But there needs to be a counter-balancing effect that will keep Jews from
being completely assimilated into their surrounding communities.

In order for us to maintain our identity while being increasingly
integrated, Judaism needs to provide a benefit to its members. I'm not
talking about money, I'm talking about community.

The emphasis of community and tradition over other religious aspects of
Judaism will help transition us to a modern concept of G-d, rather than one
formed long ago with less scientific knowledge and understanding. By no
means should we abandon our foundational beliefs in order to achieve a
modern understanding of G-d, but we should build upon them using the
time-tested philosophies they have created.

Having children is such a great mitzvah in part because it implies the
continuation of the Jewish culture. The challenge we are facing is that
this is no longer the case in too many homes. By encouraging Jewish
education we can help provide a sense of community values to future
generations and take some of the burden of education from over-worked
parents.

I think it will be interesting to see how I think about all this once I
have grandchildren.

Family Sized Bucket of Chicken

2008-10-15T15:52:00.000-04:00

When you order a family sized bucket of chicken from KFC for yourself and
sit in the restaurant and eat the whole thing by yourself, THAT is how you
know you've got a problem.

Just a little piece of wisdom for the world.

Sarah Palin

2008-10-07T08:40:00.001-04:00

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped
her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I
think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly
knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It
sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living
rooms of America.

The republicans want to make the slogan of this election "Remember your
member, vote Palin the 4th of November."

For those of us who once considered voting for John McCain 8 years ago, but
have seen how he has changed; for those of us who relate to Obama's life
story as an American life story (I myself being raised in my adolesence by
my Grandparents and never knowing my father); for those of us who want a
future of opportunity for our children; for those of us who make less than
$250,000 a year (over 90% of Americans I am told) who will not see a penny
in tax increases and will see bigger tax breaks than McCain would give us;
for those of us who want to make America great for the 21st century; for
all of us, VOTE OBAMA.

Coffee

2008-09-26T09:02:00.001-04:00

The aroma of coffee is so intoxicating.

Penny brews it in her office, and the smell just drifts across the
cubicles. I can't drink it though, I'm not part of the group that pays for
that coffee, and they don't seem keen to have more people involved. So my
only other in-office option is the powder coffee that the vending machine
dispenses. It doesn't even really taste like real coffee. It tastes like
water with coffee flavor. That's not to say that it tastes weak, because
you can make a selection for "stronger" coffee. The problem is, it just
puts more coffee flavor in the water, it doesn't actually make stronger
coffee.

Getting up from my desk and walking to the break room, and then
unexpectedly being engulfed and distracted by the aroma is a nice break
from the reality on the ground.

Today's Curiousity

2008-09-25T09:26:00.001-04:00

In a place where only grown adults work, they sell pop tarts with
sprinkles.

It wouldn't have been such a shock to see if the item previously in that
slot in the vending machine wasn't the most boring and bland (at least to
look at) pop tart of all time: brown sugar.

In other news, I finally feel fully recovered from Dan's birthday party on
Tuesday night. To say that I did a lot of drinking, would only be taking
into account the drinks I bought for myself. Mark, always the gentleman,
was buying rounds for everybody as well, and I had at least 2 polar bears
and a sweet tart on his account.

I think I had a personal break-through in my struggle with laziness last
night. I wish it was a joke.

Note to Self

2008-09-22T14:45:00.001-04:00

No matter how sick you are, no matter if you're spending as much time out
of the bathroom as you would normally be spending in the bathroom on an
average day.....drag yourself out of bed and go to work.

It might not even be worth taking a vacation. I can't image what two more
days would have done.

At this moment I've just gotten through Friday's emails, still have
Thursday and then Wednesday to go.

Electoral Map

2008-09-19T09:21:00.001-04:00

Here's the current map as reflected in the polls with the toss-up states in yellow, and what I think the map will look like after the election.

Of course I have an incentive for Obama to win, but I honestly just moved the states into whatever column I thought they would fall in.

My note by state:

Nevada: This will eventually go democratic, but not this election. Look out in '12 or '16 though. This state does have the added consequence of a confusing and heated primary between Obama and Clinton.

Colorado: McCain being from down-river (the Colorado River that is), he has made statements saying that the compact negotiated between states in the region to allocate the water resources from the river should be renegotiated. In the region, that is code for "Colorado is getting too much of the water, McCain wants more for his home state". If you live up-river, voting for McCain would be a detriment to your own financial interests since the President would have a bully pulpit to try and force the issue in one direction or another. I would be interested to see if the President has any power to approve or deny any renegotiation, but I'm not a reporter and I don't have the time to look that up.

New Mexico: Same story as Nevada. Demographics are pushing this toward the democrats, eventually, but probably not this election.

Michigan: My home state. In this state, I think voter registration and economics will swing it blue.

Ohio: My neighbor, on the other hand, I think is being effected more by fear than their own pocket book. The republicans are making a big push here as well, since it was so instrumental to electing Bush in '04.

Virginia: With an increasingly moderating white population, and a large black population, this state is poised to turn blue. Of all my picks, this is the riskiest, but again, demographics and strong voter registration efforts are going to pull off an upset here.

New Hampshire: This is a notoriously libertarian state. The republican party has been able to spin that point of view into a vote for them. Having a libertarian streak myself, I wish it would turn blue, but there are just too many people who have been brand-washed with the idea that democrats are socialists. Perhaps if the Obama campaign starts hitting here with ads on what exactly more republicans will mean for our rights, then there is hope. In this state, hitting the economic note isn't going to be enough to do it.

But, and this is an important "but", if any of the states I designated as blue switch to red, then McCain wins.

Time to make more phone calls and knock on more doors!

I'm Sick

2008-09-18T16:40:00.001-04:00

REALLY sick!

So is Trevor. Unless something changes over-night, it's going to be day three of calling into work tomorrow.

I really hope I don't lose my job over this.

Star Wars Rocks!

2008-09-16T22:57:00.002-04:00

Not much else to say.

After all the hype and pacing in my cubicle all day, it really has lived up to my expectations so far.

Even better, I've got the "dual" mode where two players can fight each other.

Today, my inner geek is officially proud of having a Wii. Not only because of what is mentioned above, but also because the lightsaber is upgradable (which in my previous post, I wasn't sure that it was).

OK, so I am a tool

2008-09-16T14:54:00.001-04:00

I went ahead and bought the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game for my
iTouch on my lunch break. It isn't as bad as I thought. It is on rails, but
it is a little more complex than just simple shape drawing.

As far as iPhone apps go, it's pretty good.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

2008-09-16T11:51:00.001-04:00

6 hours now until I'm home and get to play the new Star Wars game on my
Wii. The anticipation is killing me.

Unfortunately before that happens, I'm going to get the text messages from
Brad letting me know how great it is because he's getting it as soon as he
wakes up. Which probably means he isn't going to sleep very long. I guess
there are ups and downs to working 3rd shift.

I'm not seeing much about this online, but from what I've heard about it so
far, it looks like the lightsaber on the Wii isn't going to be upgradable
and customizable like it is on the 360. My initial thoughts are that the
gratification I'll get from actually slashing at my enemies with the
Wii-mote will outweight my geeky upgrade-hungry streak, but that remains to
be seen.

I also heard that there would be an official lightsaber app for the
iPhone/Touch, but haven't seen that either. I saw the Force Unleashed game
on the app store last night (that's right, before the official launch of
the game) but it isn't anything to write home about. I'm not going to pay
$10 for a "on rails" gesture game. There isn't any action in it or tension
like in the Spore Origins game. This one just automatically walks you
through the levels using cut scenes and then you've got to draw some shapes
to kill the guys on the screen. I was looking forward to something more
representative of the full game, but maybe we'll get that as the "iPhone
platform matures" as many like to say.

To end on a positive note, I'm also looking forward to the battle mode that
I hadn't heard about until last night. Battling two (of twenty something)
Jedi's in nine completely destructable and force maleable environments?
EPIC!

Oh, and Kristen is at home with Trevor because he's sick today. So they get
to play the game before me. :(

I was in the newspaper Sunday

2008-09-15T18:43:00.002-04:00

I was in the CitPat on Sunday for converting to Judaism.

You can find the article here: http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-26/122138672089460.xml&coll=3

The part that I'm mentioned in starts here under the bold header, "Finding the Faith": http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-26/122138672089460.xml&coll=3&thispage=4

But why click through? Here's what the article says:

Finding the faith
Weaving in and out between two languages, Lane Montgomery prayed and listened during a service at Temple Beth Israel.
Wearing a head covering called the kippa and reciting the words of the ancient and lyrical Hebrew language, Montgomery seemed poised while delving into his faith.
Being Jewish is not something he takes for granted. He spent a lot of time learning the ins and outs of the religion that has a history that spans thousands of years.
After attending Temple Beth Israel for the past two years, he said he has felt like a Jew for a while. In June, he actually became Jewish.
Converting to Judaism is not something that happens often -- in fact, it's actually discouraged by the religious officials, according to Rabbi Jonathan Plaut.
``Judaism and the Jewish people are multifaceted,'' Plaut said. ``It's not just faith-based, it's also culture, history -- a 4,000- or 5,000-year-old history.''
Montgomery, 24 of Michigan Center, decided to explore other faiths once he was out of high school.
``I had been going (to church) so I continued to go and it just really didn't appeal to me,'' he said. ``Once you start making your own decisions, it's like `What does this mean to me? And do I really, I mean let's be honest, do I really appreciate going every week?'''
For Montgomery, the conversion process took two years -- however, this length of time can vary among people.
``Judaism is more of an earned conversion,'' Montgomery said.
Above all, it was the strong community that really drew Montgomery to Judaism, as well as the fact that the faith was very action-oriented.
``You keep living and you keep living it,'' he said.

Some (or most) of that stuff I never said. But in it's own way it is a good summary of the 30 minute or so interview I got, so I'm not complaining.

Oh, that's right...

2008-09-15T17:29:00.000-04:00

Just remembered that Rich believes that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4000 years ago, either that or G-d put the bones there to fool us. Either way, this has called into question his judgement on the tire issue.

Carpooling Home

2008-09-15T17:10:00.001-04:00

Rich thinks the tire on Pam's car is on crooked. If i don't make it home you'll know why.

Preggers?

2008-09-15T09:21:00.001-04:00

Well, this morning we got confirmation that Kristen isn't pregnant.

"What?" is what most of you would say. We didn't really want to leak it out
just in case of this situation, but it was a small possibility.

Some day we'll be having more kids, but for now we're back at the current
plan....which is still top secret.

Living Out Loud

2008-09-14T21:51:00.001-04:00

I've decided to start my own personal blog for all my fans to read.

I have no fans, so basically this will serve as a way for me to harass my family by asking them why they aren't reading my blog when they ask how come I never call or let them know what's going on in my life.

I'm deciding to live out loud. Put my thoughts and experiences out here as a way of helping me shape and define who I am.

I think that thoughts and feelings need to be turned into actions, otherwise they don't count for anything. I want to experiment with writing them down as the first step to integrating "action" into my lifestyle.

We'll see how the experiment goes.