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61
Ask the Author / Re: Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:27:41 PM »
Chapter One - Seven Tips dad


Husbands, love your wives, even as Messiah also loved the church, and gave Himself for her. (Ephesians 5:25)


When the going gets tough, it has been said, then the tough get going. But I had not been such a great success under even easy conditions. What would I do now? 

The doorbell was insistent. The young man looked frantic ... Your daughter's been in an accident down at the corner of Highway 7 and Village Parkway. Your wife sent me up with her car to tell you. I am to stay with your son and you are to drive back in her car right now.

Six day's later … Tammy's heart gave out. 

Three weeks later ... I found myself out too.

I had always thought that I had loved my wife and children. I often thought of how rich I was to have a beautiful wife, a tall handsome son, two beautiful daughters, and now Matthew, our promise and hope for our future. But I was about to be made to see that it had been mostly a selfish sort of love. I never could have even begun to imagine what was ahead for me in the next many years. And just as well, because it would have been impossible for me to contemplate.

Oh, we had had some problems, but none more than the average I had thought, that is until I was almost killed 7 years earlier, in 1979, in a airplane crash; (17 had died, I was one of only 7 that survived).  But I thought that the worst was behind us, and we were working things out together. Even earlier that day, the day that Tammy was struck down, Bonnie and I had taken Matthew to Lake Simcoe together. Our conversation that day included retirement plans for Bonnie's parents. We looked at some lake side houses, even talking of going back into debt together, to buy a retirement home for Bonnie's dad and mom. My health was finally improved to the point that I was back to work. The bills were all paid now. There was money in the bank. We had annuity income as well even.

But something BIG was amiss which I WAS BLIND TO SEEing THEN ...

Let me give an analogy that may aid in showing this:

You are about to build a house. Your house is to have most of the modern conveniences: water and sewage, showers, gas, heat, electricity, air-conditioning, telephone, fax, cable, internet, ...

Now everything above the ground looks pretty good but the foundation of that house was skimped on, maybe even cheated on, and now there are some cracks opening up, even some big ones.

If you can SEE this, and if you know that earthquakes, even little ones, regularly come, then wouldn’t you prudently begin to sink down piles to properly shore up and undergird your house sufficiently through every historically known quake?  Otherwise, what good would all the wires and pipes and gas and sewage and water do when your house caves in, even at the next little quake, because of a faulty foundation?

The foundation of every FAMILY is the relationship between dad and mom. Not only has this to be founded properly, but also to be well maintained. The waiting for each other before marriage will produce excellent fruit of waiting for each other after you are married too.

REAL love waits a long time, and is kind, one thoughtful and inspired writer penned ... it is NOT pushy ...  is NOT demanding its own way … is gentle.

Tirzah and Darren, do you remember these words found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 that were read so eloquently at your gorgeous, even ethereal wedding?  I see now that it is not just the talking about of this true text that establishes a rock solid foundation ... but the doing of it.

Please continue on in Chapter Two - Seven Tips dad



So ... FIRST FOUNDATION STONE FOR YOUR CHILD

I have chosen your mom, and your mom only to be my wife as long as I live and so I have set my love upon you and 'mom' to faithfully live for you and to be only good, kind, tender hearted and forgiving to you just as God, in Messiah, has set His love upon me. I will love you just as Messiah has loved me and will give myself in providing for you just as Messiah did give Himself for me.

FIRST QUICK KEY:  LOVE YOUR WIFE
62
Ask the Author / Re: Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:25:16 PM »
7 TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD FATHER


Introduction

The storybook wedding was past. Darren and Tirzah were now living with the day to day stuff ... when it happened!  Surprise! Tirzah was expecting a baby. I would be a grandpa next summer. But I was still struggling with being a dad.

Aren't you glad for friends who give you books just when needed? A few months earlier, I had received a book with Examples of Top Dads from Bud O'Connor. As I waded into it I remember thinking, Too bad I hadn't studied this much earlier. Now, to get these insights to my son in-law BEFORE THIS BABY IS BORN ...

About 3 years later, another happy surprise. Michael and Jana were expecting. Where is that book Darren? Well, somehow, in the moving from house to house perhaps, that book disappeared. And after several searches ... why I had even promised that book to other young families … it occurred to me that there might be a place for another book, one not from a great successful dad, but from a repentant dad, one who had faced abandoning his family, but returned to attempt to be a dad that his children might like to have around a little.

(Please continue on at Chapter One - Seven Tips ... dad)
63
Ask the Author / Re: Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:23:20 PM »
7 TIPS TO BECOMING

A GOOD FATHER


from

THE BEST DAD OF ALL - THE FATHER IN HEAVEN

searched out and compiled by a former flunky
 

To my 3 son's:

Darren, my son-in-law, who first made me a grandpa,

Michael, who gave me my first grand-son and second grand-daughter,

and

Matthew, who is the Benjamin in my life, and gave me my second grand-son and third grand-daughter.


7 QUICK KEYS:


LOVE YOUR WIFE
 
YOU ARE MINE

BE DEPENDABLY GOOD

BE AN EXAMPLE

BE ENJOYABLE

BE HUMBLE

BE LIKE THE BEST DAD OF ALL
64
Ask the Author / Re: Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:21:06 PM »
7 TIPS

TO BECOMING

A GOOD FATHER

(BE LIKE THE BEST DAD OF ALL)
65
Ask the Author / Re: Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:20:19 PM »
> Dad, good outline so far.
>
> I can tell the writing is of good quality.  That, I
> suspect is largely due to the fact that it came
> straight from Biblical text, which indeed is important.
> However, if you want the reader to be drawn in so that
> they can identify with you, the writing must be more
> personal.  I am NOT saying that you have to leave out
> any of your grounding ideas; I am saying that you will
> need to couple your firepower with personal, more
> associable images.  You can continue to develop your
> ideas on where you think you have struggled and where
> you have emerged through difficulty.  I think it would
> be great not only for getting the readers attention,
> but for the more personal (family) readers if you were
> to let these personal connections coincide with what
> you're trying to say.  This way, you wouldn't get
> people like Mike and Tirzah saying you left things out
> and you also wouldn't make people who are already in a
> bad position feel hopeless, (not to say that you are,
> or were ever hopeless!!!)
>
> But, generally speaking, ... people will be shocked.
> But consider this: They won't be shocked if they don't
> read it ...  They won't read it if it's all Biblical
> quotations.  They'll think ...  typical Dad.  So
> consider being very personal, but not, uncomfortable,
> this might be the only way to catch the interest of
> "all".      Ø m~

Thanks Matt,

You have an excellent gift of encouraging editorship, etc. ... If you have some time ... dig in and add, delete, re arrange, whatever ...

I recall some years ago when my friend Ian Taylor did some tough editing to some letters, one even to the Prime Minister, and I saw a big improvement in readability, and so ... possibly in reception then ... too.

Following, is a fresh update for you. Most scriptures are now in an appendix for easy reference.

I love you.  Here goes ...
66
Ask the Author / Re: Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:16:43 PM »
And below, please find a fresh inspiration for dads:

God made me to be a dad, a grampa, a poppa, a dad's dad, and an uncle too ...

In the beginning, the Father of all, made the heaven and the earth.
On day six, after all was prepared, God, from the red soil, to Adam gave birth.

Then Adam was the origin of Eve, and putting Adam into a deep sleep,
A most lovely lady was brought forth from next to Adam's heart, to help Adam this earth to keep.

Now all went very well until the day,
A serpent came to Eve to lie ... and to steal her joy away.
And though Eve, and Adam too, did then succumb,
A most glorious, already planned out mystery, from the Creator's mouth, these words were wrung:
“Though the serpent may still for a time, at your heels cause pain and distress,
  One born from woman, will, one day, give all this glorious creation, restoration and perfect rest.”

It was always in the Father's heart, that each husband love his own wife as Messiah loved us and gave Himself for us,
And to bring up his children with ever growing joy and never any big fuss.

But sin had already soiled the hearts of all us dads to be,
So, in our place, being lifted up on that horror filled day at Calvary,
Jesus redeemed us all captive to the serpent, and set us free,
And this is the focus of all His-Story!

Thus ... now we dads, and dad's dads too,
Have a most delightful job to do,
To every more tenderly speak and be,
Like the Father of us all, each time we are privileged to have our children's company!


Foot Notes:

1) Jesus, so lovingly shares with us ... If we are to call upon the Father in Heaven, we are to be like our Father in Heaven, who ... makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:24)

2) Darren and Tirzah made me to be a grampa, Jana and Michael made me to be a poppa, and Bonnie and Matthew made me to be a dad's dad.

3) Years ago, shortly after the death of my dad, and while I was then staying, for a time with my mom, I began to think about writing a brief booklet, titled: 7 TIPS TO BECOMING A GOOD FATHER ... this was after I had come face to face with the idea of abandoning, my then, 3 living children ... that temptation was after the death of our daughter, Tamara Jane ... and then, 2 weeks later, being cast out from our home.
67
Ask the Author / Re: Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:11:32 PM »
This following is an electronic text copy of Irena's original poem

God made me to be a mother

One of God's most precious gifts, given from above,
Is wrapped up in a blanket, and born out of love.

A very special task is given to a wife,
To help to shape and mold this tiny baby's life.

Nursing him through illness, wiping up his tears,
Telling bedtime stories, chasing away his fears.

Daily asking Jesus for the patience and the wisdom,
To bring out the best in this tiny creation.

Loving unconditionally as she watches him grow,
Training him up in the way that he should go.

Learning to cope with the changes from 'boy to man',
Knowing for this life, God has a purpose and a plan.

Loving him enough to break the ties to let him go,
Trusting that all she taught him, would continue to show.

This wife has grown so much, just from teaching another,
Her privilege has been great, God made her to be a mother.

Irena Dunleavey 1977
68
Ask the Author / Poems and writings to encourage ...
« Last post by David on March 05, 2018, 11:09:51 PM »
This poem comes to you, slightly edited from the original - the original was penned by Irena Dunleavey, who was born in Ireland.


It was titled:

God made me to be a mother

One of God's most precious gifts, given from above,
Is wrapped up in a blanket, and born out of love.

A very special task is given to a wife,
To help to shape and mold this tiny baby's life.

Nursing her through illness, wiping up her tears,
Telling bedtime stories, chasing away her fears.

Daily asking Jesus for the patience and the wisdom,
To bring out the best in this tiny creation.

Loving unconditionally as she watched her grow,
Training her up in the way she should go.

Learning to cope with the changes from 'boy to man',
Knowing that for this life, God has a purpose and a plan.

Loving her enough to break the ties to let her go,
Trusting that all she taught her, would continue to show.

This wife has grown so much, just from teaching another,
Her privilege has been great, God made her to be A MOTHER.

Irena Dunleavey
1977


I asked Irena if I could have a copy to give out and to put up on the web and if it was ok to edit it a bit ... like here I did changing 'him' to 'her', etc... to make it more personal to each ... Irena said yes ...  I asked Irena to date and sign, with her name, each poem that she said that the Lord gave her.


You may like to also see the below relevant text copied from Proverbs 31

10  Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13  She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14  She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15  She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16  She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17  She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18  She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19  She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20  She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21  She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22  She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23  Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24  She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25  Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26  She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27  She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28  Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29  Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
31  Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
69
Java / Re: Java 7 / Java 8 Large File Read and Run times Compared ...
« Last post by David on December 06, 2017, 05:41:26 AM »
And now a timed 'stream' file read method ...

Code: [Select]
/**
 * Reports the number of seconds the computer spent
 * reading 300,000 lines, via a Java 8 type Stream object,
 * and using its forEach method,
 * to then parsing out the 10 integers on each line,
 * adding each integer, as parsed out, to a growing List < Integer >
 *
 * @version 2017-12-06
 * @author dwz
 */
 

import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.nio.file.Files;
;
import java.io.IOException;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Stream;


public class TimedReadStream {
   
    static String FNAME = "MyRandomInts.txt";
    static List < Integer > nums = new ArrayList <> ();

    public static void main( String[] args ) {
       
        long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
        testItOut();
        long endTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
        System.out.println();
        System.out.println( "Run time in seconds was: " + (endTime - startTime) / 1000.0 );
        System.out.println( "There are " + nums.size() + " numbers in the List of nums." );
    }

    static void testItOut() {

        try( Stream< String > myLines = Files.lines( Paths.get( FNAME ) ) ) {
            myLines.forEach( line -> processLine( line) );
        } catch( IOException ex ) {
            System.out.println( ex );
        }
    }
   
    static void processLine( String line ) {

        String[] ary = line.split( " " );
        try {
            for( String val : ary )
                nums.add( Integer.parseInt(val) );
        } catch( Exception ex ) {
            System.out.println( ex );
        }
    }
}



Below , are some typical result times on my Windows 7 OS laptop , right after a computer 'reboot',
for 3 successive runs of reading with the new Java 8 Stream read methods,
followed by 3  sets of reading 'line by line' ...

then the computer was rebooted and the order of the sets was reversed with the read 'line by line' at the start ...

NOTE the MUCH longer read times for the first file read, in a set of repeats to read that file, when no part of the file is yet in cache memory right after the computer has been rebooted!



Computer was 're-booted' ... then these tests were done:

Run time in seconds was: 7.704
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.846
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.832
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Stream ...


Run time in seconds was: 2.035
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.808
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 2.075
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Line ...


Press any key to continue . . .



Run time in seconds was: 2.149
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 2.043
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 2.106
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Stream ...


Run time in seconds was: 1.878
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.918
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.96
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Line ...


Press any key to continue . . .



Computer was 're-booted' ... then these tests were done:

Run time in seconds was: 3.37
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 2.081
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.981
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Line ...


Run time in seconds was: 2.1
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.997
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 2.005
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Stream ...


Press any key to continue . . .




Run time in seconds was: 1.919
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 2.1
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.982
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Line ...


Run time in seconds was: 2.056
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 2.013
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.

Run time in seconds was: 1.981
There are 3000000 numbers in the List of nums.
Stream ...


Press any key to continue . . .
70
Java / Re: Java 7 / Java 8 Large File Read and Run times Compared ...
« Last post by David on December 06, 2017, 05:39:25 AM »
Now a timed  'readline' method ... reading this large file.

Code: [Select]
/**
 * Reports the number of seconds the computer spent
 * reading 300,000 lines, line by line,
 * and then parsing out the 10 integers on each line
 * adding each integer, as parsed out, to a growing List < Integer >
 *
 * @version 2017-12-06
 * @author dwz
 */
 

import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.charset.Charset;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;


public class TimedReadLine {
   
    static String FNAME = "MyRandomInts.txt";
    static List < Integer > nums = new ArrayList <> ();

    public static void main( String[] args ) {
       
        long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
        testItOut();
        long endTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
        System.out.println();
        System.out.println( "Run time in seconds was: " + (endTime - startTime) / 1000.0 );
        System.out.println( "There are " + nums.size() + " numbers in the List of nums." );
    }

    static void testItOut() {

        try( BufferedReader fin = Files.newBufferedReader( Paths.get( FNAME ),
                Charset.defaultCharset() ) ) {
            String line = null;
            while( ( line = fin.readLine() ) != null ) {
                processLine( line );
            }
        } catch( IOException ex ) {
            System.out.println( ex );
        }
    }
   
    static void processLine( String line ) {

        String[] ary = line.split( " " );
        try {
            for( String val : ary )
                nums.add( Integer.parseInt(val) );
        } catch( Exception ex ) {
            System.out.println( ex );
        }
    }
}
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