How to Name a Dog

Top 10 things I would rather be doing...

2007-05-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this post is basically an excuse to bump that creepy picture of a bald John Dillinger off the top of my blog so that Robocarp will stop bugging me about it.

Really.

I am getting to the time of year when, quite honestly, things are more hectic than normal. I mean, here is a great example: Memorial day weekend is coming up and there are some plans to go camping with some friends Sunday night. I talked about this with the guys, mentioned it briefly to my son and father in law, so you would think that I told my wife of these plans as well, right?

Wrong. She heard about OUR plans (that is, OUR meaning MINE) from dear old dad before she heard them from me (boy am I in trouble...)

Anyways, that's what I'm talkin' about.

So here it is, my lame excuse as to why I haven't been blogging lately, the Top Ten Things I Would Rather Be Doing Besides Blogging.

10. Mowing the yard.
I can't really call it a lawn as there is more quack grass and creeping charlie than actual grass. Me wife has been mowing the front and leaving me the back, which is just fine, but I have been informed that our yard is sporting a mullet - short in front, long in back. Got to take care of that.

9. Fix the lawn mower.
Rachel said it wouldn't start after she finished the front yard... Got to take care of that.

8. Eight?...
I forget what eight was for...

7. Get over this cold.
Spring colds are the worst. You feel all crappy and it always seems like you get sick on the nicest day of the season, but you're too puke-ee, achy, barf-y, wheezy to enjoy it.

6. Get a new job.
Technically, this one is already finished. Besides the time that it took to prepare an application and do the interview, once you get that new position, there is the time that it takes to...

5. Move all your stuff out of your old job.
Where do I even begin? I am really not looking forward to this. One big part o moving is organizing, so that when you get to your next place, you are able to set up within a year of your hire date. Still, despite the amount of work that goes into this, there is something oddly satisfying about organizing... it's the Rain Man in me trying to get out.

4. Clean the garage.
This is the manly way I like to indulge my inner Rain Man. Seriously, a man's home is his castle, but the garage is his sanctuary. That poor old neglected garage... Oh, and the Man Room (see previous post), oh yes, I remember it fondly...

3. Finish prepping the boat for her maiden voyage of the year.
It's almost there, just need to replace a gasket or two on the gas can and then she should be ready to go.

2. Fish.
No explanation needed.

1. Study.
If you were at the School of Ministry retreat this spring, you know EXACTLY what I mean.

Separated at Birth?

2007-04-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

You get a prize if you figure out who I'm poking fun of with this photo...

Here's a hint.

Blood, Sweat and Beards

2007-04-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you out there may be wondering why, on April 10th, is it snowing here in the great upper mid-west...

...but it is no secret to me.

This is the season for Blood, Sweat and Beards. That's right, it's time for the Stanley Cup Playoff's.

I have been a hockey fan since my dad took me to watch my first prep hockey game in Madison, WI, my home town. He was an art teacher for the district and used to work as a crowd control supervisor for some extra spending cash, and I would get in free to the arena to watch the action both on and off the ice with him. The guys in the score box were his teacher friends who we hunted and fished with, and once in a while, I would get to push the horn button at the end of the period. Too cool!

There really is nothing that I dislike about this sport. The checking, ice flying off skates, a fast game, the blasting goal horn and jumping up and down so much at the score that you squeeze the ketchup and mustard from your 50 cent hot dog through the fingers in your fist... good times.

As part of the pursuit of Lord Stanley's Cup, playoff hockey players keep the tradition of growing their "playoff beards". This year, one of the Minnesota Wild's players, Brent Burns, is keeping a blog to document the development of his scrub growth. Brent Burns' Beard Blog is complete with pictures and should be a good light read for anyone who appreciates facial hair.

Speaking of facial hair, check out that Red Fury...

Happy Easter!

2007-04-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

After I became a Christian and started to actually care about how many distractions have found their way into and compete with the meaning of Easter and Christmas, I thought this picture would, as they say, speak 1000 words.

Enjoy, and have a blessed Easter!

...Git That Bunny!...That's a gooood gurrrl!

Here comes the snow again...BRING IT ON!

2007-04-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

The date: April 3rd.
Th recent weather forcast: 2 to 4 inches of snow.
My response: Let it come....

I was commenting on another blogger who is feeling guilty for jinx-ing our 81 degree spring weather. He felt that by rolling out the Harley and working on the boat, he doomed us to an inevitable turn for the worse.

On the contrary! Stud Taerrapin's actions were not folly or misguided. No! They were the actions we must all take to stand against Old Man Winter in order to usher in the dawning of a new season. Below are my words of encouragement and edification, that I now share with you as well:

Take heart and be of good courage! There comes a time each spring in the life of every good Upper - Mid - Westerner (Wisconsinite in my case) where we must stand tall in our flip flops, wearing our camo cargo shorts and "Spring Break - 1987!" t shirt and say in defiance, "I will not go quietly into the night!"

We must put away our winter parka's, sorel boots and leather chopper mits and continue forward with expectant hope that Short's Weather has begun! Indeed, the first day of spring is not March 21st, but rather December 21st, the day of equinox, when daylight again begins to prevail over darkness.

Roll out your Harley's, flip your boats and fire up the outboard! Dust off your fishing poles and change the oil in your lawnmower while drinking a beer with the garage door open!
SPRING IS HERE!

...glad I was too lazy to store away the snowblower just yet, though.

File all complaints HERE...

2007-04-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to celebrate the return of one of my favorite bloggers...

Could it be? Yes, it's another vision of what Heaven will be like...

2007-03-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

Actually, this is not heaven, it's just Spring Break in the North Woods!

(Thanks to the DirtKing for foorwarding this on to me!)

Really, it is my spring break this week, and so I am going to wisk my dear wife away for a few days. We are heading north to Hayward and Duluth to use some gift certificates for hotel rooms that we have saved for just such an ocassion. I am really looking forward to it! There will be lots to do, but the best part is to just be able to be spending time alone with my wife!

The weather report says that it will sure feel like spring with the mercury rising into the 50's by Tuesday. Who knows, maybe we will see some guys out fishing like the above photo...

Oh, and remember, if you are in Heaven and see a couple guys out ice fishing shirtless, rest assured, the one that looks like Robert Redford will be me!

In the Sweet By and By...

2007-02-19T12:39:00.000-08:00

How Cool is this photo? As soon as I saw it, the first idea that jumped into my head was " I can't wait 'till I get to Heaven to be able to do that!" I dunno... I must be warped or something, but let me tell you - when you see a guy in Heaven sitting in this hot-tub deer stand and shooting a 30 pointer with an open brew by his side, you can rest assured, that guy will be me.

Actually, it also brings to mind the subject of the discipleship class lately that I have been privileged to teach, which is God's plan for Spiritual Warfare. The whole thing boils down to the idea that God's objective is to restore everything back into order under Jesus. We have been using terms like "utopia", and "revolutionary", and yet it is hard to describe just how incredibly mind shattering Heaven will be.

I don't think the human mind is able to comprehend the enormity of what it will be like to enter that "sweet by and by", but pictures like this certainly get mine running...

She hit it on the nose!

2007-02-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

Congratualtions to "a", for her specific answer to the latest puzzler. Read on to experience how she used her cunning, finely-honed street smarts and wisdom to try and decipher the hidden code and crack the puzzler, only to stumble across the answer in a feat of dumb luck...

"Thankfully I have a laptop and upon turning it upside down it appears it could be a rather odd view of the tip of the nose shining up at the unibrow er, eyebrows. The nostrils are just "above" this picture and may indeed have fingers stuck in them."

What I want to know is this - do you normally turn your laptop upside down?

Irregardless, my friend Jaques is here to present you with your award, to be treasured and enjoyed for time and memorial...

Also, you will receive, absolutley free, a link to your blog on my blog under the heading "blogs I check out often" (when I get around to it). In the mean time, here is one to tide you over:

a's blog

Stay tuned for another exciting puzzler! It will amaze you, and make you exclaim "that's AMA-ZA-ZING"...

Wha-izit?

2007-02-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

OK, folks, step right up and check out the newest puzzler. This one is sure to stump your senses, confuse your consciousness and generally make you scratch your head in disbelief. Kudos and my hat off to anyone able to twist your brain enough to figure this one out.

This one should be familiar to all, as it is a part of the human anatomy we all own.

So, Wha-izit?

Thanks to Twaits, the champ of my last puzzler, for providing the photo.
ps - the post is your only hint.

And the award goes to...

2007-01-31T10:43:00.000-08:00

...your friend and mine, Twaits!
and here is your trophy...

He correctly identified the item in my blog puzzler as the DRIVE COUPLER to my washing machine. I just replaced it for the second time in my span of ownership of this appliance.

I found an invaluable site that initially helped me identify the problem, name the part I needed and showed me an exploded diagram of how to access the dang thing at RepairClinic.com. This site has easily saved me many hours and possibly hundreds of dollars by helping me figure out how to fix these appliances myself.

As you can see in this screenshot, you can find the exact make and model of your appliance or whatever, float your mouse over the part and it displays a pop up window with the part info! That's pretty handy, folks.

So, for all of you who complained about this puzzler being too much of a "boy post", I will try to appease you in the future with something a little more your speed, but no less challenging (I hope).

Look at me now....

2007-01-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

In honor of the St. Paul Winter Carnival and its' annual Medalion Hunt, I thought I would join the fun and start a puzzler of my own. If you guys are too stumped, I will post more hints and pictures in the near future.

Can you guess what this item is? I'll give you some hints...

It can fit in the palm of your hand.
This item can be found in most homes.
If you know what your doing, it is not hard to find and replace this item.
I purchased this item at a hardware store.

OK, now it your chance to earn instant fame by correctly identifying this item. Are you up to the challenge?

Oh, and I should say this, too - for those of you who know her, it is considered cheating to ask my wife for help!

SNOW! Arrggghhh....

2007-01-15T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well, it has finally snowed this winter, and like any native Wisconsinite, with the flurries of a measureable snowfall on the wind, my mind turns to one thing...

I get to use my snowblower. Yes!

The snow was the light and blowy kind and easily thrown aside, especially with 5.5 horses of Tecumseh Snow King power! As my little orange beast roared to life, my heart was fondly warmed by the smell of freshly fallen snow being mixed with 4 stroke exhaust.

Remember, it is winter and every guy worth his salt should be out there practicing his "space management"... even if you have to use a (ugghh)... shovel.

Where, oh where, has the winter ice gone...

2007-01-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

Normally by this time of the season, I have been out on the ice at least a couple times, drilled a few holes, iced a few fish, chilled my toes and had my cheeks chapped by the brisk nort’ wind. However, with the help of El Ninio ( AKA – “The Ninio”), I have not felt like risking my life on any of the local ponds.

One of my other winter interests is watching hockey, a pastime from my youth of growing up in Madison and trailing my dad to high school hockey games that he worked at as crowd control while teaching at LaFollette High School. I also followed the Badger hockey team, and even went to a few games at the old Coliseum in Mad-town.

So, wanting to at least get near some ice, I found myself with a Saturday evening to kill and there just happened to be a UWRF Falcons home game scheduled. I was all by my lonesome on a Saturay night, a rather unusual circumstance, but it has happened from time to time now that my wife has started working again. On the spur of the moment, I shelled out 6 clams for a ticket and bought my dinner of a hot dog, popcorn and a coke at the concessions stand. I found a seat at mid rink on the home side of Hunt Arena and, with a copy of the game program, settled in to what I anticipated to be an exciting game. The Falcons were playing the Royals of Bethel University in an NCAA match and there was a good crowd that turned out, including students and visitors. It was looking to be the start of a good evening.

That was until the Royals made two quick goals in the first period and another in the second to jump to a 3 – 1 lead after two periods of play. One UWRF goal in the second period didn’t seem to do much to swing the tide of momentum… but little did I know that the game was just getting started.

The Falcons ralled at the beginning of the last period, scoring two back to back goals right away to make it a tied game at 3 points a piece. Bethel scored their last goal to jump back to a one point lead, but the Falcons weren’t done yet. They went on to put the biscuit in the basket four more times, winning the game 7 - 4 ! Wow! The crowd was out of their seats, and so was I, with every Falcon goal…(I bet Tom got that one).

Anyways, it was a great game, in a great arena, and I hope to do it again in a few weeks with a few friends. I can hardly wait. Looking at the weather forcast for the rest of the month, this might be the only ice action I get this winter.

Which way is south again?

2006-11-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

Well, another deer season has come and gone, and with some help from a friend, I have venison hanging again this year. God is good to me!

Here is a cool picture of a rag-tag group of roughians and scoundrels I bumped into up in da nort woods, ya know. Before we tramped off into the woods for about a mile hike, we all assumed a stoic pose, raised our weapons and prepared to intimidate the deer into submission, while the Dirt King snapped a photo.

Lots of planning went into this drive, let me tell you. "Here we are, here is where we are going. Just head South" we were told. Tom and I said we would keep an eye on young Kelsey by letting her walk between us so as to keep her from getting turned around and walking half way to Hayward. We dropped her off into the woods, pointed her in a line heading south and promptly lost her behind a ridge as we ended up wandering around like lost sheep. Neither of us had a compass, and only Tom had a radio, thank God. Almost three hours later, we were retrieved from the woods and met up with the group who had already finished eating lunch and were getting bored waiting for us! Young Kels' ended up right where she was supposed to! Go Figure...

It was a beautiful day to tramp around aimlessly in the woods, and despite hardly even seeing a single deer all day long, we had a great time! There are already plans to do it again next year - and I think I might come prepared with a handheld GPS unit...

Ta Daa!

2006-11-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not an "extreme makeover" like A and L's master bedroom, but it was a large project for me, and that is completing the installation of a woodburning stove in my shop (or as it is sometimes referred to as, THE MAN ROOM). It turned into a bigger job than I expected. Before I could really go ahead with the chimney installation, I had to bring the room up to fire code, which meant hanging 5/8's sheetrock to cover the ceiling. Now, I had never hung rock before, much less from the ceiling, but I saw it being done on "Ask This Old House", so I was confident I could handle the job. It was easily the toughest part of the project, as 5x8's sheet rock is not light. My cordless drill got pounded hard as it fell from the top of my stepladder twice, but it was nothing that some industrial strength duct tape couldn't repair. Other than that, there were no major casualties, although I was feeling it the next day - I must be getting old.

The inspector came by yesterday and gave me the OK that I was looking for, so when I got home from the end of the work week, I went in and stoked up a nice fire. It brought the shop up to a comfy 72 F degrees, and so I snapped a picture and thought I would post it for all to see. The photo was taken with my phone, so the quality is not all that good, but you get the idea.

To top it all off, we got our first real snowstorm of the season, and there is 4 inches of the white stuff at our house. I have such fond memories of walking home from school in the winter to sit around the woodstove and thaw out. Tonight, the boy and I are going to go out there to play some cribbage and listen to the Prairie Home Companion.

Good luck to all you hunters out there gearing up for opening day, which is only a week away - God Bless, be sure of your target and shoot a bug-'un!

whoops...

2006-10-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile since my last meaningful post...busy, busy, busy. seems that there is something going on every night of the week, and that is good, but some things have to get shuffled to the bottom of the deck, and now we all know where blogging ranks in my life...

So let me explain...not enough time, let me sum up:
Life is full, but life is good.

Today was a battle with the flesh day, and so I found myself excercising the gift of "Shut Up In The Spirit" a lot. One thought that I have had lately is how often the term "Spiritual Warfare" is used, when in reality, what is being described is really just a battle with our old nature. I know it is spiritually realted, but I wonder sometimes if this "spiritual warfare", or just the act of dying to self. Certainly Eph. 6 would seem to imply more when it mentions that our battle is not with people " but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places"... Just an idea...

I am hungry to study lately - just can't seem to get enough, and it is always too short when I do get a chance to really dig in.

On another note, trying to get ready for winter by installing a wood burning stove out in the shop. Should be a great addition to "The Man Room", and I have longed for the time when I can come in from a snoy day and sit by a cracklin' fire again...

Well, it is past my bed time.

Afganistan's Funniest Home Video's

2006-09-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Check out this funny parody of The Dirtbag. I never watch the show "Family Guy", but thanks to Android for turning me on to this clip...

The Prince of Darkness is in my fridge...

2006-09-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

I opened the fridge this morning to get some milk and there he was - Seitan (pronounced "Satan") himself, perched and waiting for me.

I am not making this up.

Now some of you might be asking, "hey, where's the pitchfork and pointy tail?" Oh, don't be decieved, my simple friend...the Antichrist has appeared on the shelf above my gallon of skim milk as a cunning master of disguise.

Here, in my fridge, Beelzebub appears to us in the form of a foodstuff made from the gluten of wheat. The Father of Lies manifests himself here by washing dough made from wheat flour in water until the starch is rinsed away, leaving only the gluten, at which time the Dark Lord can then be cooked and processed in various ways.

Oh, but his insidious plan against the elect of God does not stop there. Seitan, the Enemy, although not as well known, is an alternative to soy-based meat substitutes such as tofu; some types of his evil magic may taste even more like meat than tofu due to their chewy and/or stringy texture. The Master of Deception is often used in place of meat in Asian, vegetarian, Buddhist, and macrobiotic cuisines.

Beware!

Webster - 9/1/06

2006-09-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

So long, old man...

rwarww, dammit, rwarww, rwarww.

Technology = Magic

2006-08-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so since I have been geeking out latley, I thought I better put a link to a web video so that we can all learn a little more about the tech that we use every day. Just to make it fun, I thought I would let Strongbad explain it for me...

And NO, I am NOT listening to Duran Duran...

...although I am a bit hungry.

This is MY chair...

2006-08-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

Check out my cat, the Web-inator. This post, and pic was all done from my phone as well...just goofing off, now...

Today, the cell phone, Tomorrow, THE WORLD!

2006-08-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

I just posted this picture and post from my phone... Whoopie, you might say, but I happen to think this is pretty sweet (according to the 5 levels of awesomeness, of course).

I'm feeling tech - o - riffic!

2006-08-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hey, for anyone who is familiar with Mac's and the Dashboard feature of the OS, I am posting this from a dashboard widget called, what else, "Google Blogger". If that makes no sense to you, let me explain...not enough time, let me sum up - I have created and published this post without logging onto blogger or even opening up a web browser (I use Safari and also Firefox)...

*basking in techie delight*

Yummmeeee

2006-08-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well this is what I had for dinner last night. If you look close, you might be able to identify the remains of this chili dog's brother smeared across my plate.

I have to admit, I think I have eaten hot dogs more this summer than many previous seasons. The boy's little league games are over for the summer, but I enjoyed the nice concession stand at the ball field serving coarse-ground, natural casing hot dogs from the local meat locker. Man, they were good, I'm gonna hafta make a trip down there to pick up a few pounds of wieners...

We made a few visits to cheer against the Red Wing Aces baseball team, as they have what is probably the nicest ball feild and grandstand in the area for minor league ball. The games were fun to watch, and their hot dogs and brats were great! The boy prefers his dog plain in a bun (not even ketchup!...where did I go wrong?), Pops thinks that the best thing to go with his 'dog is another one, and I prefer a brat with everything they have available for coverings - 'kraut, ketchup, mustard, horseraddish, onions, relish and maybe even a jalepeno slice or two. Wash it all down with your beverage of choice, sit back and listen to the crack of the bat on a warm summer night and you start feeling red, white and blue again.

We have had a few campfires this summer in the backyard "Hot Dog Pit", and I think this is me favorite way to prepare tube steaks. To quote Homer Simpson, "fire makes it taste good". A good - gooey S'more make a fun chaser to a couple fire-licked hot dogs, and helps prime the imagination for telling ghost stories that will keep the boy up all night.

The church campout is coming up, and while I am looking forward to the Hog-roast, you better believe that I am going to be grilling out some 'dogs and sausages. Oh, and Rachels is promising to make a batch of the ever favorite 'Stuffed Jalepeno's', stuffed with seasoned cream cheese and wrapped in bacon....

...mmmmm, bacon.....

Be on the look out...

2006-08-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Have you SEEEEEN me,

Haveyouseen meeeeeeeee....?

If you have to ask, don't.

Just in a weird mood today.

Chill mah Bay-bees!

2006-08-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

The blog-o-sphere has been pretty fun lately...

I have been thoroughly enjoying my summer so far, the only downer is that it moves along so fast! I have been able to get out and do some fishing this past week wit da boy and Mamma, my Pop and even a student from school...much fun, much fun.

There are some more projects on the horizon, including a mural for the Pierce County Jail with some of the inmates, a burgeoning new couples ministry around church that I like to call "Street-couples" (for all those married couples in streetlevel), downsizing my office and tossing out a lot of old crap that I don't use, cleaning out the garage in preparation for when the snow flies...busy, busy.

I am looking forward to the church campout, Shoo-poo, oh yeah, and the start of the school year.

The boy is getting ready to join the public school masses, and he is even making some little friends that will be in his class this fall! Mamma landed a job at a local elderly house and so that will be a change for us (her working a job outside the house) since we first got married. Lots of changes, and lots of blessing, too.

Remember,

CHILL MAH BAY-BAYS!

Don't I wish...

2006-08-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

Check out this GIANT Northern Pike I caught the other day...it was so big that when I got it in the boat, I started freakin' out! I mean, just check out the look on my face, I was, like, "OH MY GOD!"
Now that's a big'un.

3 is The Magic Number cuz it has Ninja Power

2006-07-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have always belived that 3 is the magic number. Now, here is some real, honest to goodness proof of what I have always held as true...don't believe me? Well just ask Charles what he thinks of THR33...

WARNING: This link had been sabotaged to redirect to a different site - the problem has been fixed as of 7/25 at 10am and the link is working correctly. If any more problems arise, please let me know ASAP.

Thanks, T.A.V.

The "Humor Your Kid" method of dog naming

2006-07-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since I have introduced any new Dog-Naming methods, so here is one that we used in naming our dog, Vern…

One Saturday morning as my wife and I lay in bed talking, she related a funny story about our son. One day earlier that week, our son asked if he could change his name to Vern, and my wife asked him why.

“I really like that name” he replied.

“But everyone knows you by your real name – it would be kind of hard to change that now” my wife said, hiding a small chuckle.

Now you may be asking, where did he get the name Vern from…well, if you are familiar with the old Ernest character from “Ernest goes to camp”, “Ernest saves Christmas” and “Ernest gets a liver transplant” movies, the name came from him. Before Ernest was a movie star, he was a local TV icon on commercials selling all sorts of odd stuff. His character would always talk to the camera and address a person named Vern, and quickly rattle off phrases like “YouknowwhatImean, Vern?”, to which the invisible character Vern would slam a door in Ernest’s face or close a window on his fingers, and the audience would laugh riotously as Ernest writhed in pain. He even had a Saturday morning kids show for a while, but it wasn’t as good as the commercials.

Anyways, there was a time when my wife and I would say things to each other in Ernest-esque language, and so the name Vern became a common name around our place…

…and now you know the REST of the story…

Anyways, our son thought about it for a while and stated to my wife “Well, if you and dad ever have another kid and it is a boy, don’t name him Vern, cause I’d be jealous.”

After I stopped laughing in bed, it came to me – let’s name the dog Vern! And so a year later when we picked up our cute little puppy, there was no question as to what it’s name would be…

…even though Vern is a girl.

Let's do the time warp again...

2006-07-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

We're back! We made it through another year at the gathering, and I am still processing through the trip. The gatghering itself is always surreal, but then add in people who we dearly love and serve with closely on this missions endeavor and only see them once or twice a year, and the whole trip is like some cosmic milestone for two and a half weeks that has been repeated now for the last nine years...
For the sake of space, I will not blog too much about it right now -I will, however, make the first annual Top Ten list of quotes and other things to do with the Rainbow Gathering - Colorado (not to be taken entirely seriously):
#10 - "Calm down - We are not going to do anything illegal."
#9 - "OK, The Forest Rangers are gone - let's go for it."
#8 - 3 words: "dry, weary land"
#7 - Wives are definitely a good thing at the gathering
#6 - Camping at 9000 feet above see level, its a different air up here...Rocky Mountain Air. Is the Oxygen up here that thin, or do I just forget to breathe every now and again?
#5 - In nine years of attending the gathering, how do you like your rice? One spoonful at a time...(it has been seven years since I last ate the rice on purpose...)
#4 - Note to self for next year - Decoy Shitter.
#3 - "That was kind of like a lame version of Braveheart..." (- uttered in response to watching a large group of Rainbows chase 3 Forest Rangers across a meadow in front of our Kitchen)
#2 - "Ahh, the Serenity."
#1 - Worship / Communion Service each night in the Kitchen - my favorite times of Worship all year long.

Feel free to ask about what these mean as a meaningful way to start a conversation about the trip with me...
Seeyabye.

...and you thought YOU tasted good...

2006-06-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

You Are The Fruit Of The Spirit

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You are full of love, joy, peace and longsuffering.
You tend to be gentle, good and faithful as well.
Meek and temperate, there is no law against you.

You are most compatible with unleavened bread.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

...shut up already...

2006-05-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

...concerning my last post, yeah...well, nevermind. I realize how foolish I sound by complaining about things that, in reality, are blessings.

Anyways, God is doing some very cool stuff in my life right now, and I am just doing my best to keep up with Him. I was thinking and sharing with a brutha last night about how I have this little kid feeling of excitiment and utter terror, like when we would play "ding dong-ditch" on a neighbor after sneaking around in the dark and scouting out each house to see who was home, eventually hatching a scheme to sneak in, hit the doorbell and take off without getting caught...which reminds me of a good story...

On one of our sneak attacks, we were blindsided by our neighbor, a young lawyer who lived three doors down the street from my house. He gained some valuable intel on our mission (he must have overheard from his kitchen window as we scurried around his backyard) and, as we slinked along in the shadows under his picture window to the front porch, he sat in his easy chair in front of the TV, seemingly unaware of the impending doorbell doom that we were about to unleash upon his dwelling. Little did we know that we were creeping right into his trap...

As my friend Randy, the designated ding-er for this mission, silently crawled across the front porch to the lighted button, we held our breath in anticipation of hearing that wondeful simulated - chime fill the night air. While still hidden in the low shadow of the aluminum screen door, he was just raising his hand from the darkness toward the detonator when our young neighbor sprung from his chair and dashed to the front door in a desperate attempt to ambush us. With a slight yelp of warning, we broke ranks and scattered, every man for himself as the enemy pursued us through the yards of the neighborhood for the next 45 minutes. At one point, the attorney had me pinned down inside my hiding spot in a hollow we had carved out of the center branches of a large Spruce tree. He stood just outside the boughs and peered into the darkness of the tree, looking right through my skin as I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep him from hearing me pant for breath. Eventually, each of us successfully retreated to the safety of his own HQ, and I slipped in the back door to the sun porch and quietly found my way to my bunk...

Anyways, the point of this was to mention that I am feeling like that right now in my life as a Christian, plotting and getting ready to take the next step in the battle, like Joshua and Caleb attacking another walled city - excited at the prospect of victory and scarred wittless by where this mission is taking me...

I must fish

2006-05-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been fishing yet. I haven't even unleashed my boat from its winter confinement, yet. It just sits there in the backyard and whines to me...

Actually, in order to get my boat out, I have been meaning to clear a space out in the garage - now don't get me wrong, my garage is pretty clean, but I just need to move out the cabinets that my dad scored for me from an old hospital that he is helping to tear down. Some of those I will hang in the garage for extra storage and some will go into the Junk Closet (I need to organize that one of these days). A few of the file drawer units will become the base for my new desk, but I need to make footings for them first, and then when those are ready, I can reorganize my office. I could do that tonight, but I should really mow the lawn before it gets too long or too hot. I could do that tomorrow, but I go into the jail and then I mentor afterwards...Wednesday is out (church and a meeting that I am going to squeeze in before the other meeting)...Thursday is busy too (home Bible study)...

I am SO ready for summer.

You are the One, Neo..

2006-05-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

…there once was a man born inside the Matrix. He was called “the One” and he could change the code to run any program that he wanted. He possessed the power to change the Matrix at will, boot up into any platform he chose. When he left, the Oracle made a prophecy that one day He would return and put an end to this war…
and now I believe that this prophecy has come to pass…
I believe that our struggle is nearly over, and that this war will come to and end…
I believe YOU are “the One”, Neo…

That might be stating things a bit far fetched, but not too far. The debut of the Dual-core processor Intel based Macintosh computers a few moths ago didn’t seem like a big deal to me at the time, except that, unfortunately, now Mac’s might be susceptible to virus’s as well as PC’s (any true Mac-user was heard saying “Anti-virus software? What’s that?”). However, with the advent of dual-boot technology now, and even new code wizardry that promises to run any Windows program on a new Intel-based Macintosh, well, "let’s see how far down the rabbit hole goes…”.

Seriously, I think this has the potential to really rock the computer world as we know it. And the fact that non-Mac machines won’t be allowed to run OS X should foil the “Agent-Smith-infecting-everyone-in-the-Matrix-to-become-a-clone-of-himself” type plan to bring an end to the Mac. Smart move on the part of Apple.

If I were Dell, Sony or HP, I would have a reason to worry about deletion from the Matrix.

Here is the article from the May 10th edition of the Pioneer Press.

I ain't no jive turkey

2006-05-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

So this is my weekend to go turkey hunting, and I am getting excited to go. Last night I had a dream about being out there hunting turkey, except the wierd thing about my dream was that all the birds I saw were inflatable...hmmm...

Another thing about my dream, my gun wouldn't fire! For some reason I was shooting this crappy single shot 12 guage, even though I was carrying my Mossberg 500 pump in the dream as well, I didn't use it. Strange.

In my dream, a big gobbler would strut into view and then I would look down the barrel of this old shotgun, aim, squeeze the trigger and "click". Nothing. For those that have ever been out hunting and had this happen before, you know how your heart skips a beat or two at that sound.

So I would relaod and find another big Tom turkey, size him up in my sights and "click" again. I was getting more and more frantic with each misfire, and the more I missed the more these big trophy turkeys would come strutting in to me, until in my dream I was surrounded by them...

Anyways, a friend from church is letting me hunt with him down by Arkansaw, and there are a lot of birds in that area. I took him out Muskie fishing last fall in October on Bone Lake and, even though we didn't land a muskie, he had a big fish follow his lure up to the boat for a look-see. Hopefully I will at least get to see a big Tom turkey on Saturday. That would be cool.

I'm plugging my ears now...

2006-04-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few words and phrases that have been popping up a lot lately and are starting to chap my hide...

1. eclectic
2. tough love
3. "christian fellowship"
4. OS X not supported

ain't it the truth

2006-04-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

a picture is worth a thousand words, or at lest $3 a gallon...

...take it off any sweet jumps?

2006-04-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

My son learned how to ride a bike for the fist time this week, and it was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced, watching him toddle on down the street under his own power for the first time, mostly because bike riding had been such an obstacle for him up to now.

We tried the training wheels for a bit, but he never found his balance or got over his fear of biffing it, and so after a few frustrating attempts, we put the bike off in the corner of the garage to collect dust. Bikes should be fun, not punishment, and no matter how encouraging I tried to be, he just didn’t want to do it. The training wheels, bent and useless from being leaned on too much, went in the trash.

So another year passed, and he had some sort of project on motion for school and mom thought it would be fun to dig out the bike as an example. I pumped up the tires and showed him how to scoot his bike around with one foot like he does with his scooter. In a short time, he was coasting, and with a bit more coaching and encouragement, he was ready to pick his other foot up and start pedaling…and then he did it! I was standing over my bike in the middle of the street, watching him wobble away from me on his own, and I started to cry…and then I sucked it up (cause I’m a guy) and rode up to him with a smile, a happy congratulations and slapped him 5. He was beaming back at me.

Bike riding is no big thing for a lot of kids, but it was like a rite of passage for my son, a huge milestone.

And not only that, but now there are a whole realm of conversational similes available to him – “oh it’s just like riding a bike, you never forget.”

Pick it on up

2006-04-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

I bungled up my knee last weekend helping my father in law out with a project at his place. The thing is still sore and serves as a great reminder that I am getting old.

“Pops” got the idea to erect a life size cross on his land near the highway by using some pine trees. Finished size, it stands about 12 feet high with a 7 foot cross beam. The base is sunk 4 feet into the ground and has 300 pounds of sack-crete for a footing along with three 5 foot sections of 2 inch well pipe bolted to the trunk and sunk into the ground as a secondary base support. One of his neighbors who own a machine shop fabricated a “T” plate out of four inch strap iron and we used 6 and 8 inch lag screws to connect the plate to the post and crossbeam. All that said, we both agreed that this cross was over – engineered and should be standing well beyond the rapture or until the next century, whichever comes first.

The weather on the Saturday we set up the cross was beautiful, into the middle 60’s and sunny. For the top piece, we put up a sign that reads “John 3:17” (For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.) in blaze orange letters. They stand out nicely against the bright blue sky.
Most of the project was pretty simple – measuring, cutting, drilling, digging… It got interesting when we had to take the 13 foot long, 11 inch diameter tree trunk and stand it upright in the hole. We accomplished the task by hoisting the post onto the grill guard of Pops’ Bronco. While I stood on the hood and held the tree, he slowly drove forward, and we slid the thing vertical using the top post of the grill guard.

The whole project only took a matter of hours, but it was a bigger effort than either of us had initially thought. As I stood there afterwards looking at it (it looks like an “old rugged cross”), I was taken back to be reminded that I put Him there, and the effort to get this thing upright, it was a lot of work. There is no standing before the cross and claiming innocence.

Roast your own

2006-04-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

I found a cool Flickr site with a nice photoset on how to roast your own coffee at home using, get this, an air popper. Like most people who survived the 80's and are willing to tell about it, the trusty old air popper eventually got sold in a garage sale or given to Goodwill after being retired to life as a dust collector soon after the advent of grunge rock.

I am going to keep my eye out for one of these little hummers on the garage sale scene this summer and hopefully give it a try. This is a good article, well documented with photos, captions and comments - a must read for the T.D.I.Y.J.J. (Thrifty Do It Yourself Java Junkie), and a good source of coffee info for anyone else.

Good Thursday?

2006-04-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

In our home Bible study last night (Thursday), I spent a few minutes at the end of the study to talk about the Passover, Jesus’ crucifixion and what, historically speaking, would have been happening to him right now. I made reference that He and his disciples were probably having the last supper and that in a short time, he would be arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, taken to trial…

We talked about how Jesus was being questioned and tested by the Pharisees while at the same time, the Passover lambs were being inspected, and how He was murdered on the same day that the sacrifice was slaughtered and offered as a covering for sin. Pretty amazing stuff when you sit down to think about it.

Then I was taken to task. Lori asked me “Hey, didn’t you teach a few years ago that Jesus was crucified on Thursday? I remember you saying that…I even have it written in my bible somewhere…” Nate, who was sitting in the area overheard this and chimed in as well, “Yeah, I remember that you said Good Friday was a sham.”

Okay, now, I remember talking about the Thursday thing, but I don’t remember using the word sham…

So here I am, called out on the carpet, and I can’t remember what I said three years ago. A good excuse to crack open the Word and get it straight…again.

Jesus would have been crucified on Thursday the 14th of Nisan, as this would have been the Preparation day (Luke 23:53-54; John 19:42; Mark 15:42-43) before the High Sabbath, which was Friday and also the last day of the Passover Feast, the day before the weekly Sabbath, being Saturday. Check out a cool (but long) essay from the Berean Call on the issue about Thursday.

I always get messed up on my days because the tomorrow in the Jewish week begins at sunset, not 12am like we count it. So, Lori and Nate were right. It's a good thing for me to be taken to task every now and again. It was a blessing to get into the Word and study about this subject at this time, as all too often, the whole Easter week gets blurred by days off of work, ham for dinner and hard boiled eggs (place MR. YUK sticker here).

Please don’t misinterpret me – I am not calling for Christians to do away with Good Friday (Colossians 2:16). Let’s just be thankful for the accuracy of Christmas Day…

…oh, wait a sec.

The C.N.N.T.I. method

2006-04-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

A few friends reminded me of another fun way to name your dog, or as they point out, any pet for that matter, which will be dubbed the C.N.N.T.I.(Cool Name - No Thought Involved) method. Some very famous people used this method to name their dogs, including wisconsin native Aldo Leopold, who was considered to be the father of modern environmental ethics and also authored A Sand County Almanac. According to legend, Aldo showed some partiality to the name "Flick", and always named his dogs this. Hey when you find a good thing, stick with it.

My aunt's husband Bob uses this method, too, (I don't think he's as famous, though)and the name he uses is "Fred". In fact, Bob calls every dog Fred, regardless if the dog already has a name or not. We used to go to my aunts' farm for Christmas and bring our dog Gunner along, and Bob would always call him Fred, along with his dog whose real name WAS Fred. He would say things like "Where's Fred?", and we would reply "In the basement", and then he would growl "No, I mean FRED." It was like that.

As far as the N.T.I. part, I like to think that Aldo was a pretty smart and busy guy, using most of his mental capacity for Biology, Ecology and other -ology's, so one name for his dogs was a matter of economy - less to have to remember. As for Bob, well, it may be more like a crossed wire somewhere.

My friends Jones and patrickjnielsen conspired together on the name "Bruce Lee". Another good name, but I would hate to see what would happen when they would encounter my dog "Chuck Norris".

Naming your dog - The marriage method

2006-04-08T18:34:00.001-07:00

...speaking of how to name a dog, here is an interesting way to go about the task that I learned from watching the movie "How To Lose A Guy In 10 days." Okay, so my wife picked it, but as it turns out, the story line is pretty good for a chic flick. She works for a typically shallow Glamour-type magazine and decides to write a story on what not to do in the dating world - He works for an ad agency and convinces his boss that he can make any woman fall in love with him and bets his next ad job on this "fact"

Anyways, to understand this method of dog naming, you'll have to watch the movie. All I will say is the dog's name - "Krull the warrior king".

The movie is PG13, language, predictable, and like all hollywood movies, the two wind up "knowing each other in the biblical sense" while dating - no big surprises, but some fun laughs.

And on that 'biblical' note, remember, God made sex and wants you to have sex all the time - when your married.

A good name is worth more than...

2006-04-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm just goofing off, really. I'm not really a blogger.

...but I do like thinking up nifty dog names. The latest dog name - du jour is 'Uber'. As in 'California-uber-alles', or more precisely, the German word for Over. I tend to like big dogs, and Uber would be a cool big dog name.

Earlier this week I caught up with the 21st century and got DSL at home, so naturally I went out to take advantage of my wireless iBook G4 by getting a wireless router. So I picked up a LinkSYS WRT54g, at the recommendation of my friend Steve, a dedicated Mac user and techie. I know it should work, I've seen it at work at church and elswhere, but does it work right out of the box....no.

This is so frustrating - I insert the set up disk and, as I feared, not a shred of Mac compatibilty. I know there is a way, there is always a way, I just have to figure it out. Luckily, I enjoy puzzles.

I did get some good leads from the LinkSYS website, chatting to a service rep. over their web site, which was pretty cool. I got the IP address to my router from them and was able to access the web based utility to configure the unit. Seems to me like LinkSYS could at least throw Mac users a bone and give some of this info in the box the router comes in...

Got some other good info from Macaddict Forums > networking. It was nice to know that I was not alone on this issue either.

So after three days of staying up past my bedtime, my wireless network is up and running and seems as solid as I know it should be. It feeds both my laptop and my G3 mini tower, and the next free time I get, I will monkey with it some more.