tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58936162009-01-31T09:57:47.950-06:00Theological, political and personal reflections of a young Lutheran pastor in southern Wisconsin.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.comBlogger715125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-74640007366609028942009-01-31T09:52:00.002-06:002009-01-31T09:57:48.126-06:00

I'm switching my blog (my entire web site, actually) over from Blogger to WordPress this weekend. If you're reading this via an RSS feed, this is the end of the line - PLEASE take a sec and resubscribe yourself to the new feed. And for my readers who do things the old-fashioned way, just hop on over to the main page at www.bobschaefer.com - that's where all the new stuff (including blog posts)

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-15927724683260714202009-01-30T12:35:00.002-06:002009-01-30T12:37:15.804-06:00

I'm doing some blog maintenance this weekend. The blog may behave strangely, go away temporarily, not be updated for a while, or other assorted weirdness. Sorry. Hopefully this will lead to some good changes down the road. Thanks for your patience!

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-64409123391536370592009-01-28T10:41:00.001-06:002009-01-28T10:41:40.514-06:00

Sorta big milestone for me today – I paid off my auto loan. That’ll mean an extra $300 in my pocket each month for as long as my Subaru keeps holding up. It’s nearing 150,000 miles, so I don’t expect it to last forever, but I’m looking forward to driving it “for free” for a while. Never done that before. :) On the death and disease front, I’m home sick yet again today. Cancelled confirmation

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-82990655064236892732009-01-26T22:26:00.001-06:002009-01-26T22:26:53.909-06:00

What a day. I’ve worn out the carpet between my bed and the bathroom today. I haven’t been this sick in I can’t remember how long. I wish I could keep down even just some liquids – I’ve lost all kinds of fluids and electrolytes today, and I’m sure I’m taking a stroll down Dehydration Road. I need to watch that real carefully tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I’ve already e-mailed the office to let

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-56104672595828958162009-01-26T08:54:00.001-06:002009-01-26T08:54:41.344-06:00

…which means that right now I’m sicker than she is. Without getting into the unpleasant details, I can say that I started feeling a little off last night before bed, but I just chalked it up to staying up too late and sleeping too little the night before. If only! I’m home sick today, wondering whether I’ve picked up the same nasty that closed down schools up in Manawa earlier this month. I

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-614561118287812422009-01-26T01:03:00.001-06:002009-01-26T01:10:17.891-06:00

St. John’s held our annual meeting this morning. No major news to report – it was all over in less than an hour. My major contribution was to talk about the ways the synod and churchwide use our offering dollars when we send them along. All in all, a piece of cake. Felt like I was wearing a sign saying, “Ask me about the unfortunate incident with the curling iron,” though… In other news, I got

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-90065247313907343782009-01-17T23:12:00.001-06:002009-01-17T23:12:40.626-06:00

I hope this works – if it does, it’s extremely easy to include pictures in my blog posts. The one at left is Gretchen’s favorite “engagement” picture. It was taken the weekend after we got engaged, while we were painting with friends at All Fired Up! in WL. Time to publish it and see what happens. Here goes…

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-27465737064318060652009-01-17T23:03:00.001-06:002009-01-17T23:03:32.105-06:00

I’m using a new tool to post to my blog, Microsoft’s Windows Live Writer. I like it really well so far, and the reaction in the blogosphere seems to be positive, too. My next post will be a test to see how uploading a picture goes.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-1764503177487428382009-01-17T20:40:00.001-06:002009-01-17T22:58:47.027-06:00

If you’re going to be a pastor, it helps to be something of a jack-of-all-trades. The more diverse your abilities, the better you’ll do in most parishes. Got some skill fixing pipes? There are probably some leaky ones that could use your attention. Know how to balance the books? The treasurer sure wouldn’t mind a hand. Have a good eye for design, interior or graphic? There are decorating or

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-72668321252007305582009-01-11T21:53:00.002-06:002009-01-11T21:55:47.885-06:00

There's a lot to learn when it comes to men's dress clothing. The library of articles at A Tailored Suit do a fine job of explaining the ins and outs... and also the WHYS of it all. Makes me want to go out and buy a couple of suits, a half dozen or so shirts, and a bunch of new ties! (Oh, to have a budget that would support my latent clotheshorse tendencies...)

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-86283929890166654202009-01-11T14:02:00.001-06:002009-01-11T14:12:29.652-06:00

There are some folks who like wood on their cars (I'm looking at you, Nelson), and then there are the rest of us. But what if the wood weren't an accoutrement, but the whole brunch? Then you'd have this hot wooden supercar. Possibly the most awesome thing I'll see all week. :)

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-55514143922489815892009-01-08T10:53:00.001-06:002009-01-08T11:01:22.295-06:00

Airing tomorrow night on ABC... should be interesting. Sounds as though the family isn't overly enthusiastic about their reality TV experience: Evansville family opens their home to "Super Nanny"

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-70878078070102023252009-01-02T15:35:00.000-06:002009-01-02T15:36:35.965-06:00

Alright, so I get a lot of grief from my family and friends about not having updated my blog or web site much in recent months. I can't promise much of anything with the web site itself - I don't have any ambitions to create something new there for the foreseeable future, other than maybe putting up a new generic splash page that directs guests to the blog.But as far as having fresh content on

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-43642903408521646842008-12-29T15:24:00.000-06:002009-01-26T01:07:57.241-06:00

One year ago right now I was in the church, making my promises to the love of my life. As we drive up to dinner at Niagara Falls, I can't help but think how blessed I am to have found someone as wonderful as Gretchen. I know she won't read this for some time (she's a little busy driving right now), but I want to say it now, anyway: I love you, Gretchen. Always will. Happy anniversary, love!

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-87372419366340195372008-10-27T14:04:00.000-05:002008-10-27T14:06:34.020-05:00

I'm finishing lunch at Hardee's in Janesville, just 20 miles from home. The first snow of the season is whipping through the air (although it's not expected to last.) Now it's starting to bounce... that means sleet.And my lunchtime reading has been a long article in the Times about the imminent death of J-ville's massive GM assembly plant, once the home of the company's flagship big trucks and

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-21388521579820930922008-10-01T22:55:00.004-05:002008-10-01T23:05:29.840-05:00

Four years ago, the folks at JibJab gleefully skewered the political class not once, but twice, in their own inimitable animated musical style. Now, just in time for the 2008 election, they offer up their latest masterpiece - and I must say, there are moments of true brilliance here! (I've already watched it a half a dozen times, and it's probably going to be played at least three or four more

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-25723118480965606712008-09-29T21:34:00.002-05:002008-09-29T21:37:30.270-05:00

How can you not love the Flying Toasters? I miss 'em...

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-84017576534306663062008-08-20T23:31:00.003-05:002008-08-20T23:45:09.359-05:00

Sometimes the most interesting thing about having a web site is reading the logs that tell you what people are searching for when they land on your pages. Tonight, as I was perusing the data, I came across the following foreboding search from a user in Wapakoneta, Ohio: how to oust a pastor biblically Looks as though one of my colleagues over in Ohio has his or her hands full! If it helps you

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-57777924927152112462008-08-14T11:44:00.002-05:002008-08-14T11:52:39.791-05:00

*sigh* I really didn't need that. A gentleman seeking assistance at St. John's just yelled at me and accused me personally and the church in general of being a cheat and a fraud. Reason? Our standard assistance form asks for a Social Security number, and the only reason the church would want that would be to swindle him, apparently. He didn't want help with his cell phone bill or gas for his

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-58087203184833274802008-08-12T20:56:00.001-05:002008-08-14T12:18:49.522-05:00

For those of you who don't know, that's the Blue Screen of Death - the dread herald of catastrophic failure known and feared by those of us working a Windows box. It appears that in the midst of Beijing's otherwise-spectacular opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Games, a lone computer melted down. Unfortunately, its existential crisis was fed into a massive projector, blowing the BSOD up to

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-308716657308881022008-07-04T23:57:00.003-05:002008-07-05T00:22:18.048-05:00

With a subject like that, I'm likely to end up on some terrorist watchlist. ;) I'm actually blogging, of course, about Evansville's Independence Day fireworks display. My beloved is visiting her family in Pittsburgh, where we enjoyed the annual July 4 spectacular together last summer. Since we couldn't share our fireworks this year, being 600 miles and one time zone apart, I decided to make my

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-22838624843751994092008-07-01T10:35:00.003-05:002008-07-01T10:39:24.757-05:00

From my beloved comes this video, an a cappella tour of my video-gaming childhood: Brilliant! 1-Up!

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-53655301849201624042008-06-29T23:16:00.000-05:002008-06-29T23:16:20.736-05:00

More and more, it seems, the people I love are becoming Macheads. My wife and way-back friend Shawn have been devoted to their Macs for as long as I've known them. My brother converted last year, and has been singing the praises of Steve ever since. He convinced our aunt to nab a Mac when the time came for her to get a new computer. (Which even I agree was probably a great choice for Nancy.) At

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-28261715312456893822008-06-23T14:26:00.001-05:002008-06-23T14:27:42.192-05:00

I'll admit it - I'm not ready to be a homeowner yet. I'm not ready financially. Gretchen and I have decades of higher education between us, and that comes with a cost. While she's still in school and we're living apart, buying a house would be crazy. Even once we move in together, it would be a tough sell, financially. I'm not ready for the responsibility. I don't know how to fix minor plumbing

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893616.post-66369352024180291002008-06-11T11:47:00.001-05:002008-06-11T11:49:17.267-05:00

Wow. In a scene right out of Twister, the Fargo Forum is reporting sightings of flying cows, sent airborne by exceptionally high storm winds this morning, just north of Valley City. That's maybe half an hour from where I used to live! (Registration may be required at the Forum's site in order to view the article - sorry.)

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401004872485756109noreply@blogger.com0