The Top Ten Awesome Things of 2009

Here be the Sommerville's first annual Christmas letter. Enjoy.
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Many of you have heard of this new-fangled thing out there called "the internet." On this internet, there are these wonderful storehouses of (mostly useless) information. Since I, Caleb, am a journalist, I peruse quite a few blogs here and there and have noticed the trend of Top Ten Lists. Henceforth, this Christmas letter from the Sommervilles shall be in said format.

The Top Ten Awesome Things of 2009
(in no particular order)

1. Amanda and Caleb got Married!
We tied the knot on July 4, 2009! (We know, we know. We did NOT have red, white, and blue as our colors, but we did have sparklers.) It was a great day, and it was fun to spend with our family and friends from all over the country. We had the ceremony in Lawrence, with an outdoor picnic-style reception, and it was wonderful. We’d like to give a special thanks to everyone that helped make our Wedding of Awesomeness awesome indeed.

2. Amanda and Caleb graduated
Finally. Caleb graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism, and is still looking for a job in which to apply it. He picked the wrong year to graduate. Amanda now has a degree in biochemistry, but isn’t done with school yet (see item four). We both miss KU, but still have friends and family attending there, so we visit often.

3. Caleb was an Intern
Caleb interned at the Kansas City Nursing News for two months this winter. It wasn’t paid, but it was great experience. He wrote stories, typed up short briefs from press releases, and took photos for the niche publication. If you want to check out some of his work, head to kcnursingnews.com and type his name into the search box.

4. Amanda started Medical School
She’s not done with school yet! She started attending the University Of Kansas School Of Medicine in July and got through her first semester wonderfully. She’s got one and a half year of classes, two years of clinicals, and then residency for an undefined amount of time. It all depends on what she wants to do. For now, Amanda is considering family practice, but she has a few years to choose.

5. Amanda's brother got married
The Taylors had a busy year! Amanda’s brother Nick married Taryn on June 6, 2009 in a toasty outdoor service. Western wear was the theme, and their son, Tristan, who was born on July 7, 2008, even rocked some overalls. It was a fun day.

6. Caleb's sister got engaged
Both our parents got rid of their kids in quick succession! Megan got engaged to Zach, a family friend from Minnesota. They’ve known each other for a few years and have been dating for a little longer than a year. The wedding is set for June 5, 2010 in Hutchinson, Minn.

7. Caleb and Amanda found a church
Caleb lived in Kansas City by himself from May until the wedding, and went to quite a few churches. After the wedding, he and Amanda found Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City. It’s a church plant that’s around a year and half old, and meets in a cool old Baptist church building in downtown Kansas City. The church has been a great place to plug in, and the teachings are one-hundred percent Gospel-centered. Caleb and Amanda are looking forward to getting more involved there.

8. Caleb and Amanda have friends in the city
Some of Caleb and Amanda’s friends from KU are now in Kansas City, and Amanda’s made more friends through the Med School. It’s a different atmosphere than college, but the friends we’ve made in Kansas City are good ones, and we have fun hanging out with them.

9. Caleb and Amanda found a great apartment
After searching for only one day, we found an apartment about 15 minutes away from the Med Center. It’s one bedroom, a giant kitchen, and a laundry room, and suits Caleb and Amanda just fine. We haven’t made many friends in the complex yet, but Amanda does know a few med students who live in the same area. We’re also a few minutes away from downtown Kansas City, which means good shopping and great barbecue!

10. Caleb and Amanda are having a great Christmas season!
We had our own Christmas a few days early, spent a few days in Phillipsburg, Kan. with Amanda’s family, and finished out the rounds with another Christmas in Minnesota with Caleb’s family.

But most importantly, we’re trying every day to remember the important things this Christmas season. It’s called CHRISTmas for a reason. This time of year, and year-round, we should actively remember that Jesus Christ came to this earth as a human being and as God, to die for us. We should always try to wrap our minds around that fact. As our new pastors say, “He died the death we should have died, and lived the life we should have lived.”
Remember what Christ has done for us, and remember how little we deserve it.
Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS. Not a Season's Greetings, not a Happy Holidays. A Merry CHRISTmas. Remember what Christ did for us, and remember how much we don't deserve it.

Holiday Mood-Setters Number 6

It's what Christmas is REALLY about.

Holiday Mood-Setters Number 5

This is a repost from my mom's blog, but it's well worth reposting.

Holiday Mood-Setters Number 4

It's a great Christmas song. One of my wife's favorites. And then there's this. (By the way, the guy in the video is just lip-syncing, the recording is from who-knows-where.)

Holiday Mood-Setters Number 3

This, ladies and gents, is horrific. But it'll get you in the mood for Christmas. Or Life-Day. Or THIRTY FULL MINUTES OF NO HUMAN SPEECH.

Holiday Mood-Setters Number 2

In a one-horse open sleigh, indeed, mighty bird.

Holiday Mood-Setters Number 1

Here it is, ladies and gents. Chewbacca singing.

http://christmaschebacca.ytmnd.com/

Merry Christmas.

(New link up every day until Christmas!)

Operation: Chokehold

I have an iPhone. Which unfortunately means that I'm stuck with AT&T until the end of my contract, at which point I'll be seriously considering a number of Android phones, most likely. AT&T has a horrible tendency to just ignore the fact that smartphones, especially in the vein of the iPhone, the Palm Pre, and the Droid (i.e., smartphones that use a LOT of data), are the new wave of the future.

AT&T even demonizes iPhone users, because they "hog all the bandwidth" and don't let poor other users use the network. They have hinted multiple times at capping data usage, charging iPhone users even more than the required $30 a month data plan, and "giving incentives" for heavy data users to cut back on their usage

AT&T is being ridiculous, ignorant, lazy, and arrogant.

The iPhone debuted on July 27, 2007. Apple had announced the magical game-changer the beginning of that year, and had even worked with Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) for many months developing the phone. When released, it defined smartphones. It was the smartphone.

What you should take away from that brief history is the fact that AT&T knew it was coming.

They knew what huge requirements would be placed on their network, first the EDGE and now the 3G.

They knew that iPhone users would always be online, surfing the tiny web, downloading songs and apps, getting push updates for their mail and calenders, everything. They knew iPhone users were going to push their network.

And they promptly sat on their hands.

Two and half years later, the third-gen iPhone is out, the app store has tens of thousands of apps, and AT&T is still surprised at how much data iPhone users...um...use. They threaten, demean, and overall refuse to do anything about improving their network.

And with the advent of Android, Google's mobile OS, smartphones will EXPLODE the market. AT&T will be caught off guard (yet again) if they don't buckle down and improve their network.

So, Fake Steve Jobs has instituted a digital flash mob. His suggestion?

Operation: Chokehold.

Have as many iPhone users as possible use data-intensive apps on Friday, December 18, at 3 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Central.

I'm so there. So iPhone users, turn off Wi-Fi, download some songs, and watch a buttload of YouTube videos.

I have a few recommendations to get you started. Suck it, AT&T.

iPod Nana

I should go work in Apple's design department.

Why Rivalry Can End Badly

Let me disclaimer this by saying I am not a sports fan in any way. I've also lived in both Lawrence and Columbia, the homes of both schools.

Every sports franchise has a rival. I'm sure that the Cleveland Curling Cactuses really really hate the Pittsburgh Curling Camels as much as KU and MU hate each other.

But at what point does it become silly and offensive? Quite quickly.

KU and MU just had their traditional "Border Showdown" on November 28 (which KU lost), and with it came a disturbing amount of facebook messages from my former classmates and alumni, declaring their "hatred" for "those stupid Mizzou fans." People threw things, talked trash, swore at, and ridiculed the other side, simply for being a part of the other school. Accusations of low intelligence, inbreeding, snootiness, and every other kind of inequities were traded with astonishingly low regard for decency.

All because of a football game.

Seriously. You need to knock it off.

I get it. I'm not a sports fan, but I know about rivals. A team that, for whatever reason, represents a weird sort of enemy. Most of the time it's a fun change of pace for the season, adding a time where you can have a little more school spirit and root a little harder for your team.

But really? Calling people from Missouri stupid and inbred hicks? Calling Kansans snooty farmers or whatever? At what point, dear sports fans, does it become okay to just categorically slander an entire state because you want your team to win? It makes absolutely no sense.

Sure, you can shake your head all you want (I have a few heads in mind that I know will be doing this), but it's childish and silly, really.

I've confronted a good friend about this before, and he assured me many times it was just for fun. Right after he said this, however, he went on to say, each time I brought this up, that Missouri was just a stupid state, and it didn't matter anyway. A few times I lost my cool and told him to knock it off, but he went back to ridiculing Missouri in the same breath. This attitude, which I've noticed more and more, makes me think that people are actually convincing themselves that people from the other state are dumber than them.

It's a weird sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. By convincing yourself the other side is way worse than you, you become a nasty, hasty-acting fan, which the other side (having convinced itself you are stupid), notices and points to as proof of their beliefs. They become nasty, giving you the proof you need.

And round and round it goes.

What, oh sports fans, does this gain you? Do you feel better about yourself in the same way a schoolyard bully who happens to have three more hairs on his arm than the smaller boy he's beating up?

Rivalry is not always bad. Heck, the athletic departments of both school love it. Their revenue goes through the roof, both in ticket sales and merchandise (it took me three seconds to find that picture above).

But when rivalry ends with you believing that the other side is inherently stupid, it's not okay.

It's childish, it's not "all in good fun," and leads to deeper problems. Knock it off.