I just deleted 74 spammy comments from the blog. The same spammer I had a problem with before has found me again. Guess now is the time I implement those anti-spam measures I found for Movable Type - the reason I switched blog software.

B2 was nice, but it’s not being developed anymore, and that means you’re pretty helpless when being spammed.

Update: And the spammer is still at it. Adding new comments even as I’m deleting them. Well, not for long! For now I’ll enable a moderating queue for unregistered commenters (Typekey).

Second update: You know, this is almost interesting. I banned the IP number my main spammer used. And now when he came back, he was using a collection of IP numbers. Let’s see if the moderation queue keeps him at bay while I search for more solutions.

Third update: Comments don’t work right now. I installed a spam retardant, and it isn’t working yet, so posting comments isn’t possible right now. Will try to get it to work soon.

Doug was “complaining” that I hadn’t told him I play the guitar.

Guilty…

I just didn’t think about it. I’ve played the guitar for a very long time, but never had a guitar I really liked. Haven’t played for years now, except for maybe twice a year or so. It’s really amazing how much I remember. My fingers just naturally find the more advanced chords without even thinking about it. I guess it’s all in there, just waiting to be used again.

The thing about the guitar is that you need a guitar that suits you. Especially the width of the neck. It doesn’t hurt (in my opinion) that it’s easy to play either (as in the strings not being overly hard to press down). One guitar can cause buzzing of the frets, or buzzing from being too hard to press down. While another is just right for you.

So that’s what I went for, now that I was picking a guitar from a large selection. A dreadnought steel stringed guitar. The sound is so overpowering I generally tone it down when singing at home, if I don’t want to belt it out…

I’ve been in the market for a new guitar for a while.

During that time I’ve been trying out guitars a few places. For the most part I was disenchanted with guitars in the whole. Except super expensive ones and those with Buzz Feiten systems (heartily recommended!). My ears are sort of sensitive. I can generally hear that a perfectly tuned synthesizer is out of tune. Which irritates a lot of people. But that fact is - they are. Our tuning system is a compromise. Perfectly tuned instruments are not in use anymore, and would be deemed out of tune by most people. I just have the kind of ears that let me hear every little nuance. Which of course makes shopping for a guitar a frustrating experience. You see, guitars are generally out of tune, the further down the neck you get. To my ears, the Buzz Feiten guitars are way better, though I’ve heard people who’ve played guitars for years don’t always like them. But the ones I’ve tried are light years better than conventional guitars.

In the end I found a guitar a liked, actually, I found two. I did go home with one after a while, but during the process I had the chance to try out two guitars who were supposed to be virtually identical. Just a difference in finish. But they were very different. I had expected that. They’re made from different pieces of wood, so there will be individual differences.

But what I found out, was that the particular store I shopped at (one of the best in Norway), also had a guitar workshop. The main guy at the store told me that each guitar they took out of the packing materials were given a once over before it was hung on a hook in the store. If it didn’t pass the initial inspection, it would be adjusted. That could entail adjusting the neck, to bring the strings and the neck in the optimal position, and they sometimes also remove the strings and sand down the bridge a little. Not every guitar is adjusted in this fashion, but I suspect the one I bought had been tinkered with. It’s a very well adjusted guitar. Plays beautifully.

OK, so you’re wondering what my point is with this blog?

The point is that if you (as a newbie) are shopping for a guitar, it matters where you buy it. Get it from a place where they adjust the guitars. The same make and model can be very different, depending on where you buy it!

I swung by one of the biggest book stores in Norway today. It’s positioned on the main street of our capital Oslo.

I found a table with literature related to The Da Vinci Code, including the novel.

I noticed that most of the book were about rather …gnostic topics.

And after having looked at those that didn’t advertise that fact on the cover, I realized that ALL the books were buying into Dan Brown’s conspiracy theories. Not even ONE book telling the truth about his so called truths!

That’s a scandal in my view. A bookstore so blatantly selling lies!!!

I’m outraged!

I got a very interesting comment to an old entry in my blog. It’s a comment that belong to this entry entitled: The spear that pierced the body of Jesus.

Here’s the comment:

Very interesting!!!I was a Catholic for 30 years and in a convent for 5 years and I never heard this one. I do agree that the Catholic church is so mixed up with forms, methods and traditions that border on the occult. Their icons, relics etc. keep folks in bondage. All the types and symbols in the old testiment relate in some way or another to Jesus Christ and His Eternal meaning.They may have a relic, but I have Jesus Christ in my heart and as my life now and that is greater than any symbol. He alone is the power of God. The Hitler’s of this world try to possess all the power without the Lord, so they trick people into believing they have something. It is demonic and the devil will always try to get you to look at man and not Jesus Christ. Be careful!! Christ in you is your hope of glory, that’s what the word says. When Christ comes into your life you don’t need relics, signs and symbols. He is a person. He is enough. He is sufficient. He is Lord of all. And that means Lord of us. He is to be worshipped, not man or man made things. Let us keep seeking The Truth, Jesus who is the Truth of God. memma

Looks like DNS has propagated, so everybody should be seeing this version of the blog.

So, now it’s blogging time!

I’ve moved the site, and DNS is propagating as we speak. The new site is already visible here, but it might not be other places. If you can see this message, it’s OK to write comments.

I’m just testing the blog software, to see that it all works after some changes.

I’ve upgraded to Movable Type. The old software was B2, and wasn’t developed anymore. Since the spammers had discovered my humble little blog, I could no longer use unsupported software. Lots of Movable Type users have had the same problems, so I know I’ll have stuff to implement here. I’ll leave it open for a while, until my little move has been discovered, then start implementing roadblocks.

Tonight I’d decided I’d go to a prayer and worship service at the same church I wrote about a few weeks ago. It started at 11 PM, after another youth meeting earlier the same night.

When I got there, the big hall was empty, so I was really wondering. I was told to go into the alley. I couldn’t find it, and when two people who were also headed there came along, we found that the place we were supposed to be was locked up. But we got it opened, and a few others started trickling in. It was pretty good, but I just had this feeling some pieces were missing.

We took a break after an hour, and noticed some Blacks standing by another door. Looked kind of strange, and I wondered if maybe they were part of the same church. This is a very large church, with sub-churches in different languages (with their own pastors), along with a large youth outreach.

Turns out they were supposed to have a prayer weekend (starting midnight!) in the same meeting place we were in. So the leader (who also happens to be the youth leader) invited them in to pray with us. I talked to one of their group afterwards, and she said people were coming from cities far away to attend these prayer weekends.

Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t wear mascara (permanent dye is SO much more water proof ) .

One of the leaders of the other group started praying for a long time, and the Holy Spirit really descended on that place. The youth leader was wide eyed and happy, and I saw a divergence of behavior patterns from the prayer meeting behavior before the other group joined in. The program went out the window, and the Lord did something different.

We need some shaking up now and then.

I think that was a scheduling mishap made in heaven