Mezzamorphis

I finally gave up waiting for my host to get their stuff together and restore my old DB, so I’ve just reimported everything into my new one. It’s not like I haven’t been writing. I’ve brought over a couple of pieces written for Backseat Writer, where I’m a reviewer and scribe.

I’ve been writing on claywginn.com for quite some time now, but I think that I’m finally done. I’m starting up a new site, but I’m going to be using a pseudonym that I’m not going to publish on here. If anyone would like to know what the new site is, please send me an email and I’ll let you know.

Why am I doing this? I’m getting more concerned about privacy as my kids get older. I’ve never really cared much before about it, and nothing has happened to scare me into it, I just think it’s a prudent thing to do. Of course, Google has a long memory, so nothing will really disappear. I’m just not going to make it readily available.

I’m going to leave the site up and running for awhile, probably six months or so. All my email addresses still work, so communication isn’t changing. I’m just not going to post here anymore.

Thanks to those who have been reading, and God bless everyone!

(This is kind of geeky. Consider this fair warning.)

So, I get an email from my hosting provider (ReliableSite.net, which has been wonderful) saying that they are moving to a new server location and that I have to check a bunch of the settings and addresses on my sites to make sure they still function correctly with the new settings. So, I start doing that and everything looks fine, right up to the point where I need to change the IP address of where the database that runs this software is located.

For a bit of background, I moved to RS.net from another hosting provider back in August of last year. The old provider was, well, not providing very well. My sites would go down without reason, and their support would take forever to reply to support tickets. When I moved my sites to RS.net, I moved all the files that are actually stored on the server first, then pointed them back to the database on my old provider, just to make sure that everything was functioning correctly on the new host. My new database wasn’t ready yet, so I figured I would leave it pointing to the old one until it was ready in order to reduce downtime.

So, we’re back to the present day. I went to change the IP address of the database and realized I had never changed it from the old host. I was still using the database from my old host, who I might mention I haven’t been paying since I closed my account with them. I’ve had odd database things come up now and then, but never really looked into them like I probably should have. Now I know why they were happening.

The biggest problem was that I was actually writing posts against my old database, and I had to find something to sync the new one back up. I couldn’t really go to my old provider and say “hey, I’m not actually a customer anymore, but could you send me a backup of my database that I’ve been using?”

Anyway, it’s all fixed now. Everything should be running on the right server. Hate it when stuff like that happens.

Thought I would change around the look on here a bit. I’ll need to do some editing of the sidebar to get my widgets back in there, but I think this looks a little better.

Oh, and yes, I’m still around. I’ve been enjoying the time off from school, writing, and a couple of three day weeks at work too. I’m ready to get back into things though. Look for some new stuff this week.

It has been nearly a month and a half since I posted anything substantial. I can use the excuse that I have been busy, but who isn’t busy anymore? We make the time for what is important to us, and I’ve had things higher on the priority list than writing here.

However, the real reason that I’m not writing is that I’m struggling with what to write about. I have become tired of picking a target and opening up with both barrels. It serves no constructive purpose other than allowing me to puff my chest out a bit and marvel at the witty phrases and harsh words I’ve put on the screen. It’s a waste of time to write and an insult to whatever audience I have.

So, I hereby publicly declare that no longer will I post anything which is a direct attack on a person. I will still attempt to point out where I think we as a culture are failing in our commission, but I would also like to start on a new path.

Am I writing to people who already know Christ, or am I writing for those who don’t yet know Him? Am I defending ground that God already holds, or should I be leading a charge out into the nations as we are commanded in Matthew 28:19? It’s uncomfortable for me to think that way, but an important distinction should be made between writing for Christians and writing for the non-believer. How does this change my writing? I really don’t know, I only hope that whatever comes out of this new way of thinking goes towards the glory of God and not my own selfish desires.

Too much school, too much work, too many other things that need to be done. I’ve neglected this site and will probably do so for a bit longer.

I’m trying to refresh my outlook as well. I feel I’ve been too negative, too busy searching for targets to write effectively. So, no more of that. I’m going to steer clear of articles in which I’m attacking someone else and try to navigate into more edifying waters. I’m not going to avoid  controversy, nor will I keep from skewering a point of view if it needs it. We’ll see where we go from here. Here are some topics I’m working on that are coming up:

• Christian Hero Worship
• Science as Faith
• The Enduring Culture Problem

I’ve got another article that I’m really excited about, but it’s not ready to hatch quite yet. I’ll hopefully have it done in a week or so.

Thanks for reading!

With the new addition on the way, our house is going through a bit of a shuffle. First, a little history on our house. It’s not huge by any means, at least not by modern American standards. When we bought it, I wanted to make sure we had a four bedroom house so that each of the kids could have their own room and I could have an office. That was August 2004. Fast forward to three years later, and the baby needs a nursery. So, all my stuff is getting moved out of the office.

Where is it moving to? Glad you asked.

(Click on the pictures to embiggen)

Welcome to my new closet. The majority of my stuff is now in the bedroom closet, including the desk I’m typing this out on right now. Collette hung up a bunch of my stuff in there. You can see my laptop, my one eared Mickey lamp, one of my guitars, and my diploma on the back wall.

The back wall has my weather station console and the thermometer/barometer that I got from my grandparent’s house.

Right next to me is my book/amp/video shelf. I haven’t plugged the amp in yet, but I think it’s in a cool spot. The top of the drawers is where I chuck the stuff in my pockets when I get home.

Is it a little cramped? Kind of, but I think it’s wonderful. It was Collette’s idea to move me in here, and I didn’t think it would work, but she made it happen. (Which you shouldn’t have, due to your delicate condition!) It’s nice sitting in here and not on the other side of the house if I’m writing or working on something late at night. I can see my wife sleeping in bed and know if she needs anything.

Ashlee gets my office. She’s going to paint over my K-State purple walls with Tinkerbell green. She told me that she could only paint half the walls, but I told her it’s all hers now, so she can paint it whatever color she likes. And by saying “she can paint it” I mean “I will paint it”. Alex stays in his room and the nursery goes in next to our room.

There are still things to do, but we’ll get it done before the baby gets here. Hopefully. Life isn’t fun if it isn’t changing.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written on here. A quick update.

We’ve been on vacation in Colorado this week, and we’re on our way back now. I’ll have a couple things up this week, including a recap of the astounding pounding that K-State might take tonight.

OK, after the drama of the last couple weeks, I’m going to get back to actual writing. I’ll try to have a couple things up this week, along with my Worship Exodus series that was supposed to come last week.

Question for readers: Do you prefer the series posts or more general commentary? Or do you even care at all?

There won’t be an article published today. I’ve got a topic, but it’s just not coming together like