But that’s not all! (That sounds so spammy)

I’ve also honed in on my topic, Manhood and Masculinity for the Christian Man. Expect my regular daily posting schedule to resume, but in a more focused and useful way.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey, and thank you so much for reading and participating!

Basic tool kits are a beautiful thing. I know guys who probably have every tool known to man. In some cases you really do need an 800 piece tool set — but for the average guy like myself 11 tools will get the job done 95% of the time. Here’s my list of essential tools for the household handyman.

Adjustable wrench

In my experience a 6 inch adjustable wrench is too small. You need a 10 incher to get any real work done. You may be able to get by with a socket set if you’ve got one of these around, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Circular saw

Put down the handsaw. You’re better off with a circular saw. First off, nobody wants to work that hard. Second, it’s a rare occasion that you actually need a handsaw.

Drill and drill bits

Everyone will tell you to get a cordless. Don’t. The batteries will die and you won’t replace them. If you just get a drill with a cord you’ll be much happier and there will be less clutter filling your toolbox.

Hammer

Any old hammer will do here. Just don’t get one of those little pansy hammers with the rounded side. I don’t care for any of that plastic, fiberglass, super padded stuff. Just an old wood hammer for me.

Level

Don’t cheap out here but don’t go crazy either. You should be using this a lot so get something that looks good to you. I’m not sure if anyone actually uses the 45 degree angle so just stick to the horizontal and vertical level.

Pliers

Get yourself an adjustable plier and a needle nose plier. That’s it. Well, you could probably splurge and get some vice grips.

Screwdriver kits

Get a kit with four screwdrivers and that’s it. Better yet, get the Master Mechanic ones from True Value. They’ve got a lifetime warranty. If you nub those things up you can just take ‘em in and trade ‘em out. Also get a tiny little eyeglass screwdriver kit. I use these when I take the kid’s toys apart or when I’m trying to pry crap out of little spaces.

Tin Snips

These suckers will cut metal, wire, plastic, whatever. And they’ll last forever. Except sometimes that stupid little latch will break. But even then it’s still a perfectly usable tool.

Socket set

Standard measurement will probably do here unless you have an Asian car that you’re planning to work on. Then you’ll need metric. I don’t prefer the Ace brand sockets at all. Get the Master Mechanic stuff here too. They feel so much better.

Stud finder

A stud finder is indispensable. And you can always point it at yourself whenever your wife is around. I haven’t found any use for that whole “deep scan” stuff. You’re just looking for boards in a wall here.

Tape measure

This should be a no-brainer.

Utility knife

This tool is the sole reason for 55% of all male flesh-wounds in the United States. But so useful for so many things. I mean you can pick crap out of your teeth with these babies, cut your toenails, cut the carpet while you’re trying to cut through cardboard. Absolutely necessary.

So that’s it. Print this out and go to your nearest LOCALLY OWNED hardware store. Don’t go to Home Depot or Lowes or anything like that. Every tool purchased should be used to build your local economy as well as other cool stuff like shelves for your garage or a chicken coop.

Read up

• The 15 tools every homeowner should own
• Putting Together a Basic Household Tool Kit
• Essential Tools for Your Toolbox
• Levels: The Must Have Tool for Any Project

Photo by Saffanna

Mary and I built this chicken coop over the weekend. It took us about 6 hours from start to finish. I trimmed up the roof and put some hinges on it. I still have yet to put the sides on the nesting area. The chicks seem to really like their new little home.

I’m positive I’ve blogged about this before. I remember cropping the photo. I remember hitting the publish button. But for the life of me I can’t find the post. I hope I didn’t delete it. Sorry if I’ve already said this.

Today we’re going to look into buying some chickens. We’ve been considering it as a way to keep Kayla entertained live a more sustainable life. There are a number of reasons we’d want to raise chickens, here are a few:

Eggs-a-plenty

From what I’ve read a few hens will pump out more eggs than a family of four can handle. You can give the extras to your neighbors

Fun for the family

Kids love watching chicks grow up. Each little chicken has its own personality.

They eat bugs

We’ve got some spiders, roaches, and crickets that some chickens would probably love to munch on

Natural gardeners

Apparently these gals will take care of your weeds and produce some good fertilizer for your yard. Maybe they’ll mow it for me too…

They’re edible

I suppose if times got tough we could eat one of them. Of course we’d have to have a nameless chicken around so that the wife and kids wouldn’t get too attached

There are still some things to consider: HOA and zoning restrictions, building a coop and keeping it clean, whether our dog will try and eat them, etc. But we’ll deal with those as they come.

Check out Why Chickens? for more info.
Photo by Blueberry Pony

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:2

What Christians do about the environment

As Christians we’re called to be good stewards of the resources God gives us. God has provided us with money, homes, and food, but stewardship also applies to our natural resources. When we choose a political candidate we must keep that in mind.

One of the first natural resources that comes to mind when I think about stewardship is fuel. This is especially poignant now that gas is over $4 a gallon.

…it is wise policy to continue paring down our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, not only resulting from additional domestic refining capacity but also through the research and development of new sources of fuel and energy as well as clean and renewable energy sources.

Make Your Vote Count. Frontline Books, 2008.

Christians and environment voting — “envoting”

Christians are also stewards of our environment–land development, waste disposal and pollution. If we were to continue at our current rate of consumption how much longer can we survive on earth? Is our government making it more difficult or less difficult to be responsible stewards of our resources?

When it comes time to vote I’ll be looking for the candidate that has a plan to reduce consumption and promote sustainable living for this generation and those to come.

Biblical stewardship of energy and the environment

Here are some scriptures that talk about stewardship and can be applied to the energy and environmental issues in the upcoming election:

• Genesis 1:26-30
• Genesis 2:8-9,15-16
• Luke 12:42-44
• Revelation 11:18

Photo by db

I’ve made a lot of changes to dBlogIt over the past year and I’d love to hear how you feel it’s going. I set up this little survey in an effort to keep improving the blog and to make it more effective in helping to improve your life. Just click the Take the Survey button below, and then select the “How Can I Make dBlogIt More Useful for You?” option from the drop down box.

Take the Survey »

Thanks for your feedback and props to ProBlogger for the idea to do a survey (and some of the text).

Photo by Lee Creighton

We had quite the scare last night. Our dog, Kayla, went missing. She jumped out the window of our car to chase after a cat. We spent about an hour fighting about looking for her and a little more than an hour actually looking. Fortunately we found her about a mile north of where she escaped, deep into a sub division.

This whole incident reminded me of some really important things:

Pet ID

• Take detailed pictures of her that include any identifying marks
• Keep her license updated and make sure you have a copy of it on hand
• Get an ID tag for her with your current phone number and address. PetCo has tag kiosks that make this easy

If your pet goes missing

• Stay calm and don’t fight
• Look at a map so you can cover the surrounding area systematically
• If you can have someone else look with you, split up
• Look for more than an hour
• I don’t think this is a good time to “flyer”–I’d rather be out looking
• Cover an area of about a mile in each direction

Kayla went about a mile in a couple of hours. She’s a German Shepherd mix and she’s pretty fast. The good thing is free dogs are a little curious. I don’t think their intention is to run a marathon to the nearest highway. They’re just being curious. Hopefully they’ll dilly-dally. Of course this can vary depending on your pet.

If you still can’t find her

• Call Pets 911 to report your pet
• Call your county’s animal control hotline to see if she’s been reported
• Flyer: Maricopa county has a great Sample Lost Pet Poster
• Visit several shelters daily

When you find your pet let her lick your face. It’s a tough thing to lose a close friend — even if that friend is a dog.

Chick flicks make me want to vomit. I try to avoid them at all costs but I’ve never tried to express why. In the time that it took Mary to watch 27 Dresses I came up with a few reasons:

Predictable

First of all, every plot is pretty much the same. Here’s an example: Knight in Shining Armor (KISA) is engaged to be married. Somehow the “unexpected” Mousy Girl (MG) happens to catch his eye. She is abnormally beautiful when she takes off her glasses. They work together and begin to fall in love. He cancels the engagement. Some huge and entirely “unforeseeable” event occurs which causes KISA to go back to his ex-fiance. MG realizes that she is actually in love with KISA but by this time he is getting on a plane to fly to Hawaii where ALL weddings take place. MG gets to him in the nick of time. She then expresses her true love and they have sex, which, in movie terms is somehow equated with love. THE END. GAH!

Immoral

Nearly every chick flick contains divorce, marital infidelity, fornication, or excessive amounts crude sexual references. If possible there will always be one desperate woman who sleeps with every man possible and talks about it ad nauseum. You’ve also got teenage sex and pregnancy, summer vacation orgies, drunkenness, etc. Why do women watch this crap?

Hyper-dramatic

Let’s put it this way. If I believed that chick flicks were true to life I would never want to fall in love because I would either A) Die in some freak accident B) Be completely misunderstood and/or C) Be an absolute moron. On the other hand I would likely be rich, good looking, have a huge mansion and be super witty. Anything can be used as the springboard for a crisis.

Escape route

Let’s assume the following scenario. There are no good guy movies at the RedBox kiosk. Wife wants to get a chick flick. This is where you counter with an alternative, somewhat tolerable chick flick. You pick one of the following movies suggested by Ken’s World:

• The Princess Bride
• 50 First Dates
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• You’ve Got Mail
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• A Disney/Pixar film

She’ll be happy that you’re watching a chick flick and you get sex because of your sacrifice. Well played.

Photo by Hot Rod Homepage

Who hates sleep? Me. I’d rather spend the night awake blogging or coding. I have no desire to sleep at all. This obviously causes some problems with family and work so I set out to convince myself that I need sleep. What I came up with is the ABC’s of sleep deprivation:

Attention

When I don’t sleep I have the attention span of a 2 year old

Belligerence

I get cranky and take it out on my wife and kids

Congruence

It’s hard to get up for work after a late night and I usually end up late for the carpool

Disposition

Lack of sleep makes me feel insecure and melancholy

Energy

My body feels fatigued and no amount of caffeine can help me stay awake

Fellowship

I don’t want to talk to or hang out with anyone

Gumption

Initiative or motivation plummet

Health

Not sleeping is bad for me and I know it

Intellect

I’m dumber when I’m tired

It’s 12:35 AM and I’m too tired to finish this list.

Photo by Nightwatching