Nap time

I read a newly released study today that found that a 30 minute nap three times a week reduces the chance of a heart attack by 37%.

I just want to go on public record as supporting nap time.It all comes back to circadian rhythm.

I'm good for nothing in the afternoon. I think 90% of my creativity and productivity happens before noon! Some afternoons I feel like a computer that opens more and more programs so the processor slows down and eventually all the programs say "not responding."A ten-minute nap is like restarting my computer. It reenergizes me physically and mentally. What I'm trying to say is this: I'm pro-naps.

Grammy's 2007

If you did not watch the Grammy Awards last night, this is what I saw...in chronological order...somewhat...

Police - Rock my world. Can't wait for the tour to hit Dallas. Amazing.

Tony Bennet. Best Duo - Grab Stevie’s hand dude!!! He’s blind!!!

DixieChicks - I don’t care if you’re ready to make nice or not. Because you were rockin’ the Tele. Rock ‘On.

Prince - One Word, Chest Hair. OK. Two words.

Beyonce - Two Words - Jennifer Hudson.

Prince - Bad idea to stand behind Mary J.

Justin - PIMP

Beyonce - Two Words. Mary J.

John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae - You need to thank the Lord for John Mayer, he saved you.

Shakira - I had to change the channel. No Christian man could watch that and… well…oh my.

Dixie Chicks - Song of the Year. Wow. Way to say screw you to America with one award.

Gnarles Barkley - I want those teeth.

Ludacris - Best Rap Album - Keep rockin’ the Dirty South. ATL. That fade is TIGHT!!! Woah!!! Thanking Oprah and Bill O’Riley?

Mary J. - That was the best performance of the night. Beyonce who?

Dixie Chicks - Country Album of the Year - I love it. From Outcasts to Grammy Sweepers.

Carrie Underwood - Carrie, from Idol Winner to Best New Artist at the Grammy's.

Rascall Flatts - who says a front man cant be a chunker? Own it G.

Lionel Ritchie - Hello? Yea baby.

Chris Brown - Dude. It’s been a while since a black guy actually danced better than Timberlake. Well done.

Christina - You did good. But Mary J still wins.

James Blunt - G C Em D. Work it. A good song can sit on it’s own.

Justin’s new girly singer - Rigged.

Chili Peppers - Same Old Junk. ZZZZzzzzz

Al Gore - SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dixie Chicks - 5 of 5. Count’Em

Back from the break

Took a much needed blogging break of 2 weeks. Sometimes it's good to cleanse the body now and then of techie-ness. But I'm back!!!

Blog on...

I get it

I know I haven't blogged in over a week. The past 7 days have been rough for me. I've been questioning God a lot over the last week (which is not a bad thing) trying to make heads or tails about a couple of events that happened.

Life is hard. God is good, but life is hard.

I don't think its always hard, but it seems that in the times we struggle, we reach back for what we knew as love and as comfort, from our mom's cooking to playing catch with our dad.
I think there is no doubt that God can use our struggles and our hard times to bring us back to some sort of simplicity. It's like I heard once that a pastor said when he would visit a family who had lost a loved one suffering through an illness he would say, "I'll make coffee."

There is something soothing in the simple and the mundane. The news that always comes on, the paper that always appears on your front step, the sound of your husband (or wife) snoring. The smell of coffee brewing or a tea pot whistling.

I thank God for those simple memories, because it often points us to love, which points us to the One who never forsakes us and never forgets about us, no matter how hard life is. Thank you, God, that you are always here...I get it. I get it.

I am MacGyver

If you are under 23, then this makes no sense to you.

Giving a shout out to my homie Colby...see you Sunday morning!!

Technology evolution

So a friends son asked me a question the other day: "Did you have iPods when you were a kid?"

I then proceeded to tell him about an ancient device called the walkman. Got me thinking about the evolution of technology.

There is an old Chinese Proverb: may you live in interesting times. Can't imagine a more interesting time to be alive can you?

I think the cell phone is a microcosm. Remember when cell phones that were just phones? I was reading an article about some of the latest evolutions in cell phones. Phones are becoming entertainment centers with full-length feature films available via mSpot. The iPhone doubles as a juke box. Phones function as remote controls. Give it a few years and phones will be garage door openers and thermostat adjusters. They will function as e-wallets and roaming alarm systems.

And you gotta love this: a new phone from Japan's NTT DoCoMo alerts women who are trying to get pregnant when they are ovulating. Are you kidding me?

For what it's worth, I'm a TMobile guy. But if someone got me an iPhone I would feel compelled to switch over :) It would be rude not to!

Cow Farts

You know I like random animal facts right? Don't know why, but I've always been fascinated by the fact that African elephants poop eighty pounds per day. Really makes you appreciate cage cleaners doesn't it?

What I'm about to reveal ranks right up! Here's the entire article if you want to check it out.

According to a United Nations Report, cow "emissions" are the greatest threat to the environment. The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, says that the world's 1.5 billion cattle are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. That is more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.Cow farts account for 9% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Their "wind" and manure account for more than 33% of methane. And their farts produce 100 other polluting gases including ammonia, one of the major causes of acid rain.

One more random cow fact: a cow drinks 990 litres of water to produce one litre of milk!

My triceps are in pain

Worked out muscles that I never even worked out before in my life, but my friend D (this person likes to remain anonymous...the goober!) swears that it is good for me.

So, back to the gym again tonight for more pain :)

24

Last night and tonight is the big season premiere event of 24!!!

OMG!!!!

Jack is a beast!! I was amazed when Jack went all Lost Boys on that guy!!

Dr. Bashir as the pseudo bad guy was a good move. I knew I recognized him from somewhere (for those of you who have no clue who Dr. Bashir is, he was the ship doc on Star Trek: Deep Space 9).

Wayne Palmer as President...off the chain!

Can't wait to see what happens tonight!

Oh, by the way...

1. The first CD I ever owned was by Duran Duran. I am still embarrased about that.
2. I never had Chinese food until I was 19.
3. I'd rather go west than east and north than south almost any day.
4. I paint very well. John and Tracie will testify.
5. I attended K-12 in the same town and got through early, thank you very much.
6. Trail mix is a common late night snack for me.
7. My affinity for gadgetry was underdeveloped until I was in my 30's.
8. I have more than my share of strange friends.
9. I've been blogging since some of you were in high school.
10. My favorite days, hands down, are spent with my family and best friends (u know who u are).
11. My dream gig would be to sing backup for The Police.
12. Sitting by a fire in Banff Canada, while listening to Train at midnight on a cold, clear January night was just about nirvanic for me.
13. My first name was picked by my Dad.
14. I can back up a boat trailer faster than would seem prudent.
15. I did not like algebra in high school and it hasn't gotten much better.
16. If it comes down to Trivial Pursuit...you want me on your team. If not...I will eat your lunch.
17. Every night, it takes five chargers to make my life work.
18. I once hot wired a 40ft rv because it needed to be done.
19. I am not a party person.
20. My iPod contains a 50/50 mix of music and spoken word.
21. I know how to use a satellite phone.
22. Driving coast to coast in four or five days really sounds like a good time to me.
23. If you find me at Chipotle, I'm eating the chicken burrito.
24. One of my best friends was just named the new head football coach at Louisville...seriously.
25. I can eat grapes like there is no tomorrow.
26. I nearly lost a van in the Mississippi river once.
27. I'm taller than my father (and all my brothers), who was taller than his father (and brothers).
28. I am not afraid to have the hard conversations.
29. I am going to bed now.

Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys underachieved. It's sad, but true. And you can't convince me otherwise. They have zero excuses.

Dallas had pristine health, a favorable schedule down the stretch, and a talented roster that collapsed in December. Not to mention the Cowboys play in a conference lacking a dominant team, so reaching the Super Bowl was a reality, not just a delusion of grandeur.

And don't forget, the Cowboys played their 2 biggest games of the season against New Orleans and Philly, at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys suffered blowout losses in each of those games. In the end, we shouldn't have been surprised the Cowboys found a creative way to lose Saturday in an NFC wild-card game. They've been doing it all season.

I needed one of these for Christmas

Seeing as I locked myself out of the house yesterday morning...

Worst album covers ever

These are pretty bad....

Does the phrase "bad to worse" mean anything to you?

Because it's not enough that the woman in the minivan in front of you is talking on the phone. Now she's surfing ebay at the same time.

Autonet Mobile, a start-up wireless technology company based in San Francisco, announced that it has reached an agreement with Avis Rent A Car System to provide a rolling wifi hotspot to Avis customers by March. For $10.95 a day, Avis will issue motorists a notebook-size portable device that plugs into a car’s power supply and delivers a high-speed Internet connection.

As if traffic on the tollway isn't bad enough already! Sheez!!

The ball has dropped!

- In sports, dropping the ball is a bad thing.

- At work, dropping the ball isn't good either.

- Yet somehow, millions tune in to watch a ball drop...and that is a good thing.
Maybe now that the ball has dropped, it means we won't drop the ball and we'll see all our dreams come true in 2007...

Happy New Year!

A special thanks

Well, just wanted to say thanks for reading my blog in ‘06. I’m heading toward my third blogging year—we’ll see what ‘07 brings. I'm spending New Years eve tonight with a lot of other people from church, so no posts till much later tomorrow afternoon when I wake up :)

Travel skivvies

Saw these this morning while out doing some pre-ski trip shopping at a local store. There is so much I could say about this, but I won't.

Ok, yes. I will...

First of all, if you can afford to travel to 17 countries in 6 weeks, you sure as heck better be able to afford some space to carry around a few skivvies. I don't care how "breathable" they are! You wear those for that long, Malaria and Japanese Encephalitis will be the LAST of your worries! No shots to help with THAT!

Gag.

I'm done.

On my soapbox

When was the last time you told someone you would do something, and then not done it? Or you did it so poorly that you would both have been better off if you had said "no" to begin with?

If you don't care what people think of you, then maybe there's no reason to worry about it. After awhile, those who know you will just assume that you're not reliable, and they'll just stop asking you for commitments. Those who don't know you well enough to avoid asking you will find out soon enough, and they'll stop asking you too. After a while, the only people you'll need to worry about are the ones who either don't yet know you, or haven't yet asked you for anything.

If you have a great personality, or lots of money, or a wonderful spouse, you may not even notice the lack of esteem others have for you. They will continue to invite you to do things -- they just won't count on you. Whether you show up or not, no one will be inconvenienced anymore, because they're not expecting anything from you.

Even if you either don't care, or don't care enough to do something about it, if you are a Christian you have another problem. The Bible tells us to let our "yes be yes and our no be no". (Matt. 5:37). When we say yes and are consistently unreliable, we do more than damage our own reputation -- we damage God's reputation in the eyes of those who see Him through us. Not only do we discourage other Christians, but to those who do not know God, we provide a witness that they will likely have to overcome to even want to consider becoming Christians.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about the person who just occasionally doesn't live up to their commitments. We have all experienced that from time to time. No, I'm talking about the person who acquires a reputation for not being reliable.

I have two friends each of whom is unreliable. One is unreliable because they think they want the freedom of not being organized. The other friend is unreliable because they think they're better organized than they really are.

Both of my friends have the same problem: they both say yes when they should say no and vice-versa. The Bible tells us that our yes should be yes and our no should be no. It also tells us in Luke 16:20 that whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Although the context has to do with money, the principle is universal. If we cannot be trusted to do what we say we'll do, neither God nor man will trust us to do greater things.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now...thanks for indulging me...

Happy Belated Festivus!

How did December 23rd pass us by without us wishing one another a Happy Festivus?

I suppose this would serve as part of the "Airing of the grievances"... So Happy Festivus for the rest of us!

If you have no idea what I am talking about...then go here.

Un-used cell phone minutes

I remember my first cell phone. It was roughly the size of a cinder block, but less pleasing in appearance and function. I think my first cell contract was $30 for 30 minutes. I'm not kidding. And a portion of a minute rounded up. In other words, you could make fifteen 65 second calls and you were over your limit and getting jacked for about a buck a minute (or portion thereof).

Not so today. I have a cell phone plan that would allow me to call Buffalo NY for Time & Temperature as often as I wanted. I have more minutes than George Bush has backers right now. Nationwide. Plus free weekends, free evenings and free whenever minutes to T-mobile phones. All that to say, I never have an excuse to not make a call any more. Never...

In spite of easy access, I regularly wonder "What happened to..." and "Why haven't they called?"

It hit me the other day that if I really wanted to stay connected with people, I'd come home with a drained phone battery every day and use all my cell minutes. Instead, it's easier to not call. It's easier to not connect, easier to wonder why we disconnected, even though I have their number in my phone and could, at no cost, call them and find out.

I have moved all over the country. I've developed close relationships with people only to pack up and move on. Every time I've watched them grow small in the rearview mirror and told myself "but I'll stay connected to THEM. They're like family....". I must have eight or ten people like that, yet quickly, the calls stop (both ways) and we're both left wondering.

To be fair, relationship is anchored in two directions - a common history and a common future. That's what you do with friends. You reminisce and you scheme. You look back and you look forward. When you move away, you disconnect with the common future that you thought you might have had at one point...and conversations become a stilted rehash of the last time you got together. The only thing that's worse than not connecting is reconnecting and finding out that you don't have anything to say.

I have no resolve to this, except to say that I wonder what happened to you. Or me. I think of you often... with a bit of sadness in my heart because of the widening gap between my life and yours...and cell minutes left on my account at the end of the month.

How moronic is that??