Automobiles: Inconvenient conveniences?

Owning an automobile is a frustrating thing! If you are not trying to fix them yourself you are paying someone way to much money to fix them. The whole time you are wondering if you got ripped off or if you got a deal. In our case we have two cars one that is newer but still used (car 1) and the other has a lot of miles on it and is over ten years old (car 2). There is a constant debate going on in my head and it goes something like how long will car 2 last and at what point should we trade car 1 in? Both cars are fairly reliable but still have their problems from time to time. We just replaced the spark plugs in both of the cars in the last month. Car 2 cost me $25 to do myself with my dad and it barely took us an hour. Car 1 cost us close to $300 to do the same job. I had to bring it in and they had to remove half the engine to get to three of the plugs. Needless to say it is interesting to think about and frustrating if you dwell on it (which I have been guilty of doing) “Why the discrepancy?” I guess it boils down to the cars year, make/model and labor cost, but still why is there such a difference in price? Maybe cars are one of the things that God has put in our lives to build patience and character. I can’t say I have always acted in a godly manor when one of our cars decides not to run. I guess cars are one of those inconvenient conveniences... Cars will always be a part of our lives as long as we live in America. So I guess I better get used to them...

The Grizzly Man

Recently I purchased The Grizzly Man because I heard that it was an excellent Documentary, I found that be true for myself even though I disagreed with a lot of the things Timothy Treadwell did. For those of you that don't know what Treadwell is all about he founded grizzly people which is an organization that has the sole purpose of protecting grizzly bears. Timothy Treadwell decided that he would study the bears by living with them for part of the year... he had been doing this for more then a decade before the worst happened he and his girlfriend were killed by one. The attack was not filmed however only the sounds were captured by his video camera which had the lens cap on it. They did not play this in the documentary because of the nature of tape was to much to bear. (no pun intended) Everyone seems to have their own thoughts about the whole situation so I thought I would add what I think about Mr. Treadwell. First I think he had only good intentions to try to help the bear, the grizzly bear is on the endangered list (some work to get them delisted) however I don't know what he did to try to help the bear? I've watched the documentary several times and I cannot find where he actually helped the bear. I believe that Tim Treadwell was an excellent film maker... he captured so much in his films. There are some amazing shots of grizzly bears, foxes and the great outdoors of Alaska. Although I care about the conservation of the bear I love the outdoors and how Treadwell captured the bears in their natural habitat and in their rawness. Where I disagree with Treadwell is how he treated the bears, as if they were stuffed animals... these bears are not to be fooled around with! The parks require that you stay at least 100 yards away from them, and of course Treadwell did not do that. Treadwell did not agree with the park services on just about every issue... I believe the park services have done a great job in preserving our land and the animals that live in that land. In some ways I believe the bear has one thing in mind how can I survive... and it will do whatever it takes to survive, including take human life... Treadwell was there to late in the season and by that time most bears had gone into hibernation... the only bears left behind were bears trying to get more food before another long harsh winter.