First of all, IAMGAP equals I Am Gary Allen Presley. It could also be I Am God's, And Proud. It is **NOT** I Am gay and proud, so pound sand George. :) I came up with this domain name in the early ages of the modern Internet. It really started as a User ID. I used to go by gap, but as the Internet grew, it became harder to be the first person with that User ID. I didn't like adding numbers to the end of gap, so I figured iamgap would be unique enough. Unfortunately, with the proliferation of social networking, it is no longer unique enough. There is an English gentleman that has used iamgap for one of the Google related sites (yuotube), so I can never use that social networking environment. No biggy.
Back to IAMGAP.
I figured I better register a domain name, so I don't have to change email addresses everytime I get a new ISP. I lived in a small community in Missery (Missouri for those that are happy to live there, sorry to my family). Local ISPs were hard to come by, and were often bought out, so changes happened more often that I care for. Come to think of it, most ISPs have been bought out by a bigger one, or had their mail services merged with a conglomerate. My Mom recently had to change her email because her ISP made a deal to move all their email to gmail. So, even to this day, if you don't have your own domain name, you could be forced to change your email.
As you would expect, gap was already taken by the clothing outlet, even though they didn't have a functioning web site. Yes, I got my domain that long ago. SO I used iamgap, and here we are today. I am not much on design, so this will be a basic site. It is mainly just to be able to have control over my own email addresses, and not be forced to change at someone elses whim.
What I believe
Most importantly! If you want to get to heaven, you have to trust in Jesus Christ, and that he died to save you from your sins.
John 3:16-18 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
16 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, but anyone who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.
1 John 1:9 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you cannot forgive others, how do you expect God to forgive you?
Matthew 6:14-15 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
14 "For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.
Those are the biggies.
To add to that, I believe that all people are created equal. After that, people are influenced by their environment. Some people have the strength to overcome their environment, others don't. Those that have that strength follow a different path than their early influences. Those that don't have that strength usually end up doing what they were influenced to do. To add to that is laziness. Some people just don't want to put forth the effort to follow their influences, and feel that society will take care of them. These are the ones that become a burden on our society, and drain the economy. These also need our forgiveness, and we need to encourage them to use what talents they have to support themselves.
I also believe that some of those that have the strength to go above their enfluences sometimes get too uppety, and they also drain our economy by keeping it all to themselves. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against anyone who has become successful by hard work, wisdom, and planning. I do, however, have a problem with someone (or some company) that charges for services, but pays their employees that provide that service less than 50%. I know that company or person has some overhead, and has to make a living/profit, but keeping more than 50% to themselves is (in my opinion) theft. Keeping that money to themselves usually keeps it out of circulation, and hinders our economy.
Here's a story to emphasize.
A traveler comes into town. He is looking for a room. He puts $100 on the counter to reserve a room. He then wants to see all the available rooms, to see if one fits his needs. While he is touring the hotel, the grocer comes in to see if the hotel has the $100 they owe him. The cashier sees the $100, and pays him. He takes that $100 to the farmer that he owes for produce and milk (small community). The farmer then takes the $100 to pay his diesel fuel bill. The gas station owner then takes the $100 to the hotel, to pay for the room that was provided to a visiting guest. As the tour is ending, the cashier walks to the back office. The owner reluctently gives the tavelor his $100 back, as there wasn't a room that was worth his $100. The $100 doesn't stay in town, yet all debts are paid simply because someone was willing to spend what they had.
This story is similar to one someone emailed me, but I cannot find the email to make sure I remembered it correctly.
Who I am
Jack of all trades, master of none.
I am currently a "Data Analyst". What I currently do is help my customers get the best support possible from a major computer support contract. I coordinate the replacement of depreciated computers, assist with ordering of new computers and services, and help redistribute computers that were returned as unnecessary. In addition to that I have been blessed with the ability to remember how processes work, and often provide guidence on how to submit requests for services or support.
I am very mechanically inclined, and learn much of what I know by seeing how something works. If I can take it apart (without breaking it), I can put it back together. I love to see how things work, and how things are built. I have been a carpenter, a bus driver, an over-the-road truck driver, a maintenance mechanic, and then a computer guy. I have also had odd jobs here and there to earn enough money to pay for gas and living expenses. God has blessed me, and always supplied my needs. Fortunately, he hasn't always supplied my wants, otherwise I wouldn't be were I am now.
When I am not working, I help out at my
church as much as I can. I operate the projector for Sunday Services and Tuesday
TeenCBS. I usually spend a few hours on Saturdays setting up the program, using
SongShow Plus. The program can actually be setup in just minutes, but I take the time to edit/create images for the announcements slides and backgrounds for the songs. I am also a moderator for SongShow Plus'
online community forum. There is a lot of good advice and tech support in this forum, along with the occasional techy tidbit. When I am not doing that, I am visiting
ClanRAM or
VWVortex. ClanRAM (IMO) is the best site to get facts and opinions on the
St. Louis RAMS. I have really learned a LOT about my VW Rabbit, and some of the MODs and fixes I can do, from VWvortex. If you have a VW or Audi, you owe it to yourself to check out this site.
In my younger days, I was an avid roller skater. Not the inline type, but the real skates. The QUADs. My favorite rinks were the ones with the non-wood surface. These were LaJoya Skating rink (now a Royal Waterbeds store), and Coachlite Skaing rink (Brifgeton, Mo). While I was an over-the-road truck driver I would take my skates with me, and find a skating rink whenever I was laid-over for a day or two. I wish I had time to get back into it, but life is too full of other stuff right now.
Well, that's it for now. Gotta get to the day's activities.
gap