tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36482862011-04-22T00:52:32.491-04:00Christ. Family. Politics. Scouting. Technology.Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.comBlogger441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1147483335243904552006-05-12T21:21:00.000-04:002006-05-12T21:22:15.246-04:00

Well, I got real nervous earlier this week when I checked the price of tickets to Hungary. I supposed because of the price of gasoline/petrol, the ticket price went up by almost $500. We'll need to add a couple of hours to the flight time, but we'll still be within the original price I was looking at. Now comes the last minute shopping to make sure we have all the stuff we need for the trip

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1147483288100965002006-05-12T21:20:00.000-04:002006-05-12T21:21:28.110-04:00

Well, I'm sort of excited about this. We've (CCS) been invited to visit two missionary families that we sponsor this summer. The first part of the trip will put us in Cakovec, Croatia for a week with Dmir and his family. The second week will take us to Eger, Hungary to participate in an "English Camp" with another family that transplated themselves to Hungary. I could bore you with more detail

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1137901902098954992006-01-21T22:28:00.000-05:002006-01-21T22:51:42.110-05:00

I've always considered myself rather disciplined regarding task management. I'm not boasting that I'm some productivity machine, but nonetheless I'd like to think I've made the attempt over the course of my professional career. I started with miscellaneous calendards in college and then ventured into the world of Franklin Covey when working at (then) Mutual of New York. If you weren't carrying a

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1121397354312970122005-07-14T23:01:00.000-04:002005-07-14T23:16:26.750-04:00

This has been a rather busy week. Originally, I thought I was schleping out to Rochester all five days. But found out just today via my handy dandy Blackberry (yeah boy!) that the meeting was cancelled. The admin was nice enough to call but its always nice to have the real-time sync of the calendar.This week is consumed with Vacation Bible School (VBS) over at Calvary Chapel Syracuse. Originally

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1112754962299987832005-04-05T22:32:00.000-04:002005-04-05T22:37:23.016-04:00

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1112063088234009142005-03-28T21:21:00.000-05:002005-04-05T22:52:12.543-04:00

PK shared this the other day when I was absent from church and he was kind enough to pass it along. Its taken from “The Historical Jesus, Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ”, G.R. Habermas, College Press, Joplin, 1996.Jesus was buried. Jesus’ death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope believing that his life had ended. Although not widely accepted, many scholars believe that the

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1110040209588732202005-03-05T11:22:00.000-05:002005-03-05T11:30:51.613-05:00

I had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Katrina Engle during her visit to Syracuse. Katrina and her husband run an orphanage or sorts in Puerto Limpira (PL), Honduras. She is a ball of energy who has a deep and profound love for Christ and for the kids in PL. You can read more about the Engles at their blog.During lunch (Vietnamese restaurant of my brother-in-law's choice) she was describing the

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1107059820032615492005-01-29T23:26:00.000-05:002005-01-29T23:37:00.033-05:00

I stumbled across this article about one of those happy happy preachers we see on TV from time to time. I tend to agree with the Monk on his latest rant. We have an obligation as Christians to fulfill the great commission as stated in Matthew 28:18-19 and stick to the basics. Sola Fide

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1105228656724165622005-01-08T18:57:00.000-05:002005-01-08T18:57:36.723-05:00

I received this from Roger Engle, one of the missionaries working with my friend Ed Eagan in Honduras. You may have heard in the news that a couple of Post Offices in Texas have been forced to take down small posters that say "IN GOD WE TRUST," The law, they say, is being violated. Anyway, I heard proposed on a radio station show, that we all write "IN GOD WE 'TRUST " on the back of all our

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1104476162425991992004-12-31T01:50:00.000-05:002005-01-04T21:56:24.596-05:00

Today is the last day of 2004. Ok, you knew that. This year, at least towards the end, has been a defining year for me and my family. Its been a difficult year for some of my (new and old) friends as well. It wouldn't be appropriate to discuss the details of what they've been through this year. I know that we've been there for each other especially in these last few months of the year and I'm

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1104475678819004592004-12-31T01:45:00.000-05:002004-12-31T01:50:24.620-05:00

I read Messy's blog from time to time. When I first heard of the tsunami I quickly emailed to make sure she was ok as she lives in that part of the world. To my relief, she was ok and she setup a virtual prayer room regarding this horrific disaster in Asia. My jaw continues to hit the desk each time I refresh Foxnews for an update on the situation.

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1104475453567315802004-12-31T01:29:00.000-05:002004-12-31T01:44:13.566-05:00

Well, here I am again unable to sleep but able to scribble in the blog. I received a phone call from Ed tonight about some logistics stuff for his last days in the U.S. before returning to Honduras. He mentioned he thought I was really slugging through alot of "stuff" as a result of me leaving my former church. It is a credit to my Lord [and certainly NOT me!] that I really didn't think much of

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1103353854792873152004-12-18T02:05:00.000-05:002004-12-18T02:33:55.916-05:00

Ok, its 0206 on the east coast of the US while I write this. I went to bed a bit early tonight after getting the kids settled. My wife was doing some light shopping and then stopped at a friends house to chat for a while. When she got home at 0030 or something like that I woke up and we chatted for a bit. Not her fault. I've finished two of the books that I mention in previous posts. Purpose

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1097453820915228622004-10-10T20:09:00.000-04:002004-10-10T20:41:57.023-04:00

Well, I got my twins tucked in for the last time solo for a while anyway. My wife, Lord willing, is on her flight now from Orlando so she should be home around 2230 or so. Both my older kids are home and my son was a huge help this weekend with the twins. He worked extremely hard on his math facts this weekend; we did four sessions just today and he is so close to mastering. My oldest daughter

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1097194274416216462004-10-07T19:59:00.000-04:002004-10-10T20:09:40.580-04:00

I've been home with all four of my children this week while my wife is attending a scrapbooking conference (and I though only us IT people had conferences!) in Florida. So far things are going well. The kids are done with school for the week so that relieves a bit of pressure in the morning to get everyone ready. One of the twins was sick when my wife left but now is better. As you may guess, the

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1096985132505227162004-10-05T09:59:00.000-04:002004-10-05T10:05:32.506-04:00

Mean Time to Twin Toddler Destruction (MTTTTD) is a variation of the metric Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) often used to describe mechanical or computer-based reliability. MTTTTD is defined as the elapsed time (T delta) between time T in which one picks up all toys used by a pair of human children and time T' in which the same twin toddlers are released to play with said toys.

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1096855027942468022004-10-03T21:44:00.000-04:002004-10-04T16:23:34.026-04:00

Its been quite a while since I've entered anything into my blog. Perhaps because I've been busy or perhaps because I've spent so much time journaling into my analog blog that I've neglected my poor blog. The kids are now back in school, the twins are two, and Scouts is in full swing. I've spent a fair amount of free time providing "geek" support to some missionaries in Honduras. To say working

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1095302062797212832004-09-15T22:32:00.000-04:002004-10-03T22:00:23.446-04:00

I think Steven Curtis Chapman sums it up very nicely: I didn’t come lookin’ for trouble And I don’t want to fight needlessly But I’m not gonna hide in a bubble If trouble comes for me I can feel my heart beating faster I can tell something’s coming down But if it’s gonna make me grow stronger then… Bring it on Let the lightning flash, let the thunder roll, let the storm winds blow Bring it

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1091822500353346882004-08-06T16:01:00.000-04:002004-08-06T18:12:49.646-04:00

My boss sent this around today. Definitely an LOL moment. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1091590668977581822004-08-03T23:34:00.000-04:002004-08-03T23:44:49.420-04:00

When we moved last year, we were blessed with an above ground pool in our backyard. Its a bit of work but its nice to be able to tell the kids "go outside and get wet" when they are getting cooped up in the house. I swear that the folks at the pool store must view above-grounders as second-class pool citizens. Ok, so I didn't put a $10K hole in my backyard, but I still need the stupid thing

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1091583814973639132004-08-03T21:23:00.000-04:002004-08-16T21:16:05.093-04:00

Ok, I'm weird. My wife likes to remind me from time to time, however, she married me so what does that say about her? :-) Anyhoo, as early as my b-school days, I was considered a geek compared to most folks. However, compared to the dudes in the CS and Engineering schools, I was rather tame. As a software architect, my thing is technology. I have a nice laptop with the latest Java goodies on it

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1091137596392550052004-07-29T17:44:00.000-04:002004-07-29T17:55:15.140-04:00

Introduction In the first installment in the EJB 101 series, I provided a brief overview of Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) technology followed by an introduction of one of the EJB types � the Session Bean. In this installment, I will discuss another type of EJB, the Entity Bean. Specifically, I provide an overview of the different types and then describe their relevance within Excellus.

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973459859921262004-07-27T20:10:00.001-04:002004-07-27T20:10:59.860-04:00

One of the issues that I addressed with the boys prior to leaving was the seriousness of the bear situation at Sabattis. Having been to Sabattis as a Boy Scout in the seventies and talking to my brother (a 46er), I knew that it was a serious situation. No one could have food or anything with scent in their tent, ever. Food spills needed to be cleaned up immediately. Camp rules indicated that all

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973418993061712004-07-27T20:10:00.000-04:002004-07-27T20:10:32.723-04:00

Mark, our Scoutmaster, is a former Air Force and National Guard soldier who worked as part of the ground crew for fighter pilots. Pilots use "call-signs" or nicknames not only for security reasons but because acquiring a nickname symbolizes acceptance into the fraternity of aviators. Today, we went through a similar process. By this point, us leaders are really doing much less leading which

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973395835642422004-07-27T20:09:00.000-04:002004-07-27T20:09:55.836-04:00

Yesterday was a lazy day for the leaders. I personally didn't sleep that well on the island last night although Joe did quite well with his 6"+ air matress. I fulfilled part of the Scoutmaster merit badge requirement by taking both a morning and afternoon nap. There was a water carnival which consisted of water baseball; hitters would 'run' to the bases on the docks and then into the water.

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973341042224822004-07-27T20:08:00.001-04:002004-07-27T20:09:01.043-04:00

Morning started with a very loud bird on Goosneck island around 0530. We left for the island around 1730 the night before with a leisurely 1.75 mile paddle. The weather held for the duration of the trip. Tom, a HS senior, guided our trek to the island with all the boys. Joe joined us after returning from a business trip to FL. Since he was not certified at the waterfront yet, he rode out on the

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973309824241412004-07-27T20:08:00.000-04:002004-07-27T20:08:29.823-04:00

I see leaders emerging from our cadre of boys. Or are they just men that can't drive yet? Anyhoo, one of the boys sits quietly during some free time to build a coup stick or perhaps his own walking stick. He is embracing the scouting experience - its his own now, not just something he does at his parent's or Scoutmasters' nagging. This is one of the goals that we as leaders trive towards with

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973274306295742004-07-27T20:07:00.000-04:002004-07-27T20:07:54.306-04:00

Morning broke with the sounds of Drew watering a fern outside the tent and the hustle of Basko and Bender trying to catch yet another bass from the post. At this time Drew also spotted another bear behind Weller?s truck. Since we arrived a day early, Sunday's activities consisted of a 2.5 mile hike up and down Lookout Point which is one of the features trek activities at Sabattis. We started

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973187215552182004-07-27T20:06:00.000-04:002004-07-27T20:06:27.216-04:00

We set camp at the Tanglebush campsite at the Sabattis Scout Reservation just outside Long Lake NY approximately at 1700. As the boys selected their cira-WWII style platform tents I quietly grabbed one with a treed view of Three Pound Pond (see Sabattis Scout Reservation). Mine and Drew?s tent (at least for the first night) was within ten feet of the mess fly that our two patrols would share for

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973154693502052004-07-27T20:05:00.000-04:002004-07-27T20:05:54.693-04:00

My son and I had the privilege to attend Sabattis Scout Reservation the week of 11 July 2004. The blog entries that follow are from my moisture-soaked paper notebook and what I can recall. Enjoy!

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973520876036382004-06-08T20:11:00.000-04:002004-07-27T20:12:00.876-04:00

Despite the long nights with sick kids and the antics they play on your emotions, once in a while you get a sense of pride and joy because of what they provide. Today was one of those days. Today my son turns 10.5 which is the minimum age for a boy (in the U.S. Scouting program) to attain his Arrow of Light (AOL) award which is the highest award given to a Cub Scout. Upon receiving his AOL,

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1091136504973930202004-05-01T17:27:00.000-04:002004-07-29T17:51:12.113-04:00

Introduction With Java development gaining traction at Excellus, many may be left with more questions than answers at times. The Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) computing platform is a necessarily complex one because of its intent to address software computing needs on a grand scale. However, the J2EE platform, like any good software application, has been modularized to aide those who endeavor

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090973617913755002004-02-28T20:13:00.000-05:002004-07-27T20:13:37.913-04:00

Well, I'm proud to say that my son won his Pack's Pinewood Derby today! Fastest overall in his den and fastest overall in the Pack! Our Pack used a new track, timer, and software connected to my laptop to capture the times. It was a very nice setup and made the heats run very quickly and eliminated any tense moments around who won/lost a heat. Ok, do you want to know why I think he won? It?s

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1090974849841788122004-02-27T20:33:00.000-05:002004-07-27T20:35:08.983-04:00

References Exodus 20:16: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Ecclesiastes 7:1 "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth." Webster's Dictionary: "worthy of confidence." As Christians, are we worthy of confidence? Can others trust us with simple or complex matters? Can friends or an employer trust us with confidential

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1075140525641032042004-01-26T13:08:00.000-05:002004-01-26T13:12:09.700-05:00

In the tick of the second hand01-26-2004Ecclesiastes 9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. The word of God clearly tells us that we do not know our time of visitation; we know not when He will require our soul. Can we

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1063419074461841712003-09-12T22:11:00.000-04:002003-09-12T22:11:40.703-04:00

Ok, today two notable figures in the world of entertainment died. Johnny Cash (a.k.a. The Man in Black) and John Ritter. From what I remember (which could be incorrect) from my childhood, Cash was a Christian but not before really going through some hard times with drugs and prison. And Ritter is just yet-another-hollywood figure who had a nifty show about raising teenage daughters (perhaps I

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1063418557438386392003-09-12T22:02:00.000-04:002003-09-12T22:02:37.340-04:00

Its amazing how two little humans (Emma and Gwenyth) can really suck the life out of you. They are just a bundle of joy, but when Emma is sick, yikes. And poor Gweny is just out of it. Some sort of cold. My wife is, well, frazzled and simple stated, "I'm going to church Friday". Being the wise Christan husband I am I put my foot down and said.... nothing.

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1063418272463998172003-09-12T21:57:00.000-04:002003-09-12T21:59:39.410-04:00

Ok, I spend alot of time on the NYS Thruway for my job. I work for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield which is a culmination of BCBS of Rochester, CNY, and Utica/Watertown plus Univera Healthcare and some stuff headquartered in Rochester. I drive a '93 Olds with 130K miles on it [gone are the days of the Passat with the heated leather seats] with no CD player so I've relied on scanning the radio dial

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1062689275809437282003-09-04T11:27:00.000-04:002003-09-12T21:48:42.983-04:00

My family and I enjoyed 4 days at a B&B in Lancaster County, PA. Not one of those fluffy over-priced B&Bs. This is a working (albeit scaled back) farm with cows, chickens, goats, sheep, and one lonely horse to entertain the kids. Oh, and lots of corn, soybean, and tobacco crops to surround the roads. If you don't know where you are going, don't depend on landmarks because ITS ALL CORN :-). John

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1062688597813268182003-09-04T11:16:00.000-04:002003-09-04T11:16:37.800-04:00

It is simply criminal that I haven't written here in quite a while. The babies were born with some minor difficulties post-partem around breathing; they liked to stop. Nonetheless, the Lord has blessed them both with much health and vigor and us with much joy despite the huge amount of work. Emma and Gwenyth are nearly a year old now. Here is the scary part - they are both starting to walk and

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-792665832002-07-22T14:55:00.000-04:002002-07-22T14:55:39.776-04:00

Rational Software. Great guys. Cool tools, if you like to model like crazy :->

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-792665592002-07-22T14:54:00.000-04:002002-07-22T14:54:50.853-04:00

Well, the "lung shots" (the correct name escapes me) have all been administered. Much prayer goes into the coming days as these two new lives are very fragile. Bella and Drew are off to camp for swim lessons this week so there should be some reduced chaos in the house.

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-791517822002-07-19T11:18:00.000-04:002002-07-19T11:48:34.000-04:00

Well, the wife is on bedrest and we patiently await the completion of some drug therapy for the twins lungs. She needs one more shot to round out the four that she has received to enhance Emma and Gwenyth's lung capacity. She is also on other meds that cause her heart to race. When I speak to her on the phone, she sounds like she's been "sweatin' to the oldies". I'll breathe a sigh of relief when

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648286.post-1091888939685056542001-08-07T10:28:00.000-04:002004-08-07T10:30:04.266-04:00

This content of this blog is the sole responsibility of Eric Stephens and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of my church, employer(s), civic organizations that I am affiliated with, or anyone else for that matter. My views are precisely that, mine. I don't blame my parents for anything stupid I say. I reserve the right to change my mind on issues without notice. My brain is a

Eric Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920978191937746954noreply@blogger.com0