Jesus Saves

I was in East Lansing for meetings this morning and ended up having lunch with Bill, Will and Noel. Afterwards I went over to Noel's to get the tour of their new home. The place is beautiful and still new enough that they're now getting to decorating. They have a beautiful stone fireplace, and the one decoration is this bobble-head Jesus piggy bank labeled, 'Jesus Saves'.

Jon?

Apparently, a woman is running around posting comments in my brother Jon's name on Dana's blog.

Nigerian Scam

Everyone has gotten an e-mail from someone in Nigeria that claims to want to transfer millions of dollars into your account. I decided one time to mess with the guy and corresponded back and forth for a while. This guy has a site (not suitable for kids) devoted to his stories to messing with these guys, and getting them to confirm their authenticity by sending pictures of themselves, like the above. There's another very interesting article that describes how these scams are conducted and who is involved.

Johnny Cash - Help Me Video

Cool semi-new Johnny Cash video from the album, American V, A Hundred Highways:

Happy Birthday Ed

My brother-in-law Ed turned 33 (um, about two weeks ago). Due to my extensive travel and forgetfulness, I'm just now getting this on here. Here are ten things you probably don't know about Ed:

1. Ed loves nipple clamps. He's currently training to qualify for the olympic "Diving with nipple clamps" event in the 2008 games.
   
2. Ed's sister, Cathie, lovingly used to refer to him as "Stink Bomb Eddie", "Edwina the Ballernia" and "Sped".
   
3. One time Ed got so mad at Cathie for locking him out, he punched a hole through the back door's glass window- After that, nether one of them saw the outside of their rooms for a very long time.
   
4. When I was in college, Cathie and her parents were out of town and I stayed with Ed for a weekend. He and I made these liquid drano bombs out of 2 liter bottles. Ed later jokingly pretended to drink out of one of these and burned the skin off of his lips.
   
5. Ed set a record in high school cross-country. He later quit running because it got in the way of his smoking.
6. Ed has worked in the roofing industry almost half his life-with only a couple of trips to the ER.
   
7. Ed and Stacy got married in Vegas....and they're still married.
   
8. If Stacy and Justice (their black Lab) were both at risk of getting run over by a semi...there's question as to which one he'd save.
   
9. When Ed was in high school, he actually believed that he was a "gangsta" and knew the words to every rap song out there.
   
10. Ed patiently supported his wife while she went through law school-He's hoping to reap the benefits and retire soon.
    

Bahama Bob's Party

We had an amazing time last night. We went to the Ray's for their annual Bahama Bob's bash. It was done up in a huge way with awesome food, bartender and steel drum Caribbean band. We got there around 7:30 and cleared out around 1:30. The cops were called twice for noise and never gave a ticket.
It was so much fun. Words are tough to describe it.. Bob and Anne have a huge group of friends and family, and over the years we've gotten to know quite a few of them, which makes these parties even more fun. Bob also has a taste for top-shelf tequila - the best you've ever had., and Bob is always very generous with making sure everyone has their fill. Anne was running around taking some great pictures all night, so there's a great scrap book of the party on her page as well as a subset here.


We had a pretty lazy day today recuperating from yesterday's Bahama Bob's party. It started rough after getting to bed around 3 and getting up at 7:30 to meet up with Mark, Brad and Eli to do load-up and take-down at church. At least they were in equal pain.

Ginormous Dragon Fly

Cat Bird Seat

I have no idea where this little finch came from, but he seemed to have a great time teasing my cat.

Parachuting Bear

The girls and I got to talking about why jumping out the window would be a bad idea, when the obvious question we've all asked came up: "What if we jumped with a parachute?" Comon, we've all thought it. I started explaining, and decided it'd be better for us to give it a try. We built a parachute out of ribbon, an old hospital blanket and used a stuffed animal as our test pilot.

On our test-flight, I figured I chuck up it up far and high to give maximum time for the chute to open. I threw it a little too far apparently, and ended up sticking it about 30 feet up in this tree. Apparently, this was very obvious to my wife as she was watching, but I hadn't really taken into consideration.



We (ok, it was all me) devised an ingenious grappling hook out of one of Cathie's decorative candle holders and we proceeded to chuck it out the window and try and hook it on the bear, the tree or parachute. After a few throws, we got the bear back and we revised our trajectory.

If the bear had been real, it would have died many, many times as we tested our the chute. In the end, it worked pretty well. In the beginning it was fun for Emily to run down and retrieve it, but she soon (soon for a third child, that is - about 5 times) learned it was a lot of work. We then began to use our same grappling hook to pick it up off the ground, which became as much fun as throwing the bear out the window.

In the end, I'm not sure if they really learned that they shouldn't jump out the window, even with a parachute. When I was a kid, I tried to repel out my window using a harness I'd built out of belts and rope, tied to my dresser. In the end, I racked myself something fierce as my belt loops gave way and the dresser fell over. I ended up suspended about half way down the side of our house without a way to get up or down.

Maddie and I watching Man vs. Wild

Maddie and I have our favorite show together that we never miss: Man vs. Wild. We're constantly amazed and grossed out as Bear Grylls finds various sources of water, such as his own urine and damp elephant poo. Mostly, it's a chance for Maddie and I to cuddle and do something together.

Pre-Season

Nate and I went up yesterday to pick up all his of his gear. We decided to practice throwing and catching in pads to get him used to it. As he was getting his gear on, his little sister Em proclaimed, "Nate - you look cool."

My little guy is growing up. He's almost 5 foot tall now and every day I'm amazed by him in a new way. With this pre-season workout he's been doing, I've been so impressed to watch him push himself beyond where I thought he could go and beyond where he thought he could go. He can have such a single minded focus when he wants to really pursue something. I'm a proud Dad. I tell Nate all the time, "If God lined up every boy in the world to pick out a son, I'd pick you." and I mean it.

Freakin Northwest and OHare

For the third time in a month, Northwest cancelled my flight home. Six of us were on the same flight, three of us got on. Two other guys and I contemplated driving, but decided to hang out in the Northwest World Club and have a few drinks. The last time this happened in Chicago, I ended up driving back with two flight attendants for an 8 hour ride. We're on a 6:00 flight and based on Northwests record watch it be cancelled. Freakin Nortthwest.

10 Year Award

I'm in Chicago for a team get together for my line of business. It's a virtual organization, with people working all around the country, some of whom I only get to see once or twice a year. We had a team dinner after our meetings tonight, and in front of the whole group, my boss Andrea presented me with my ten year Xerox pin. After Andrea shared a few thoughts, one of my co-workers spontaneously shared a few kind words about my contribution to the organization, which turned the event into a kind of roast. When you travel and work with people in intense situations, deep bonds are formed. Some of these people I've worked with since i was fresh out of college at a previous company, and others have worked for me for four years or more. A number of people, including our line-of-business VB (who i was his first employee) followed on and shared there own thoughts about me and my contribution to the team. it was one of the first times in a while that I was without words. They asked for a speech and I had nothing at the end, and my eyes were pretty tear-filled. It was a great night. One of many reasons I work for Xerox.

Flight into Chicago

I've never been happy to have a flight delayed, but the hour our plane spent on the tarmac was enough to ALMOST finish the new Harry Potter book. Twenty more minutes and I'd of had it done. All I can say is Wow!

Greatest Mom in the world

With my increased travel, Cathie ends up carrying most of the load around the house to not only be be both a Mom and Dad, but also to be a chauffeur, handy-woman and troubleshooter. She's helps me pack my clothes (only one time packing two different shoes for me), makes sure I've got the right clothes cleaned and the right stuff in my travel kit. They might sound like little things, but they're huge to me. Being away is tough, but knowing she's at home taking care of everything makes all the difference in the world. I also get all sorts of nice little text messages and pictures via cell phone.

Cathie gets that i don't like being away, but my job requires it and I work hard to travel as little as possible. The travel I do is offset by the fact i get to work at home, work for a great company with great people and have huge flexibility in my schedule, generous holidays and vacation.

On the flip side, i learned a long time ago to try not to call home and rave about the beauty of the hotels I'm at or the amazing meal I just got done having - as Cathie is sitting at home having macaroni and cheese.

Cathie is my best friend in the whole world and one of the big reasons I've been able to be successful in my job.

Daddy Daughter Lunch Date

With my new job within Xerox I'm started traveling a lot more. In order to keep some balance in my life with my family, I've got to be a lot more intentional about my time at home. Maddie and I went to our favorite Chinese place in town for lunch, both getting our favorite, General Tso's Chicken.



I leave for Chicago this afternoon, back Friday.

Em

Rushing out the door to take Emily to animal camp this morning, Em announced to Cathie:

Mom, I put rubber bands on my feet. They felt good.

Cathie proceeded to take Emily's shoes and socks off to find two rubber bands tightly wrapped around each foot. Ahh, the third child.

Rick Warren, Bono and Bob Dylan

I met an interesting guy today who had some great stories. Phil is the
president of a company that does consulting and training work with
Xerox. During one of his presentations, he got on the subject of
authenticity and being other-centered. On this subject, he told a story
about having lunch with Rick Warren and what a great, authentic guy he
was. During a break, I asked him how he'd hooked up with Rick Warren,
and Phil shared with me that he heads up a National Prayer Breakfast for
Fortune 500 CEO's, and as a result of that, has gotten to meet some
pretty fascinating people, including Presidents, Bono and Bob Dylan, all
of whom were speakers at the breakfasts.

He shared with me the time he spent with Bono, and their conversation
about why Bono does what he does for the poor in Africa. It was
interesting hearing it in the context of a business discussion, that
Bono's goal is basically to re-brand the way people see Africa, and to
make it into something that's not just a problem too big to overcome,
but something that can be healed. He shared with me some great stories,
including going to Bono's house in Ireland and getting a tour of it. He
had about a half hour of time to hang out with Bob Dylan as well, and
after sharing what a tiny little fella Bob is, he told me some great
stories about hanging with Bob, listening to him talk in his famous
inflection and what a down-to-earth guy he is.

I think there's a part of me that's just fascinated by people like Bono
and Dylan because of their fame, but I also love hearing good stories,
and Phil related a number of great ones. Interesting guy. I could have
spent hours talking to him. He also looks just like B movie cult actor,
Bruce Cambell. Same chin and everything.

Emily's Animal Camp

Emily came home from animal camp today super excited, with a giant smile explaining:

I had so much fun today. Guess what I got to do? I got to clean the horses poop out of the barn. I got lamb slobber all over me, because all the lamb did was chew my shirt. I should probably change my shirt, because it's pretty yucky right now.

Em's Second Tooth

They just keep falling out.... Em called me last night, very excited, to tell me all about her second lost tooth. She starts her farm day camp today, where she gets to work on a farm, feeding and caring for animals.

6 People for Dinner

Thanks to Marko for this great question...

If you could invite 6 people (alive or dead) who i have no real chance of dinning with, who would they be?

A few rules, just to clarify:

• The person has to either be a) dead, or b) alive, but no way you’ll ever have a chance to have dinner with them.
• Real people only. no fictional characters.
• It’s not 6 individual dinners. it’s a dinner party with 6 people (plus you). think of the mix.
• Assume no language barriers. in other words, it doesn’t matter if they speak or spoke another language than you and your other guests. you have magic instant translation technology.
• Jesus doesn’t count. it’s a dinner party. therefore, 2 or more are gathered. therefore, jesus is already there.

I think mine would be:

• My Uncle Bill - he could talk to anyone and had enough bizarre facts to keep things lively.
  
• Warren Buffett - I'm fascinated by how he lives his life, how he makes decisions, how he runs his companies and how he spends and gives away his money. I've got somewhat of a man crush on him.
  
• King David - He's a hero of mine. He's passionate, a great leader, makes big mistakes and deals with them.
  
• Zach Braff - I dig the show Scrubs, and my hope would be that he'd be exactly like his character JD.
  
• Mother Teresa - She's the epitome in my opinion, of what it looks like to lose your life to find it. It'd be interesting to hear Warren Buffett talk to her about how he's giving his $50Billion to help the poor.
  
• Tiger Woods - His work ethic is amazing. He seems very humble and the best at what he does. It'd be interesting to pick his brain and see what makes him tick.
  

So, how about you?

Cottage Vacation

Here's a video summary of our family vacation on Lake Michigan. It was a great time. We went with our friends the Niemi's, who have three kids the same age and gender as our three - and they all play together great. Mark and Jen are two of Cathie and I's closest friends, so it works out nicely to have another family like that to vacation with, for the fourth year, I think. We rented Will's Mom's cottage, which was wonderful. It's located out in Shelby, Michigan, right off of the lake. We'd spend each day by the lake and then come back at night to swim again and watch the sunset. We'd have a nice fire and hang out and talk until midnight. The kids slept in each morning and then we'd start it all over again.

Viva Las Vegas

I got into Vegas about 11am this morning for meetings that start tomorrow. The weather is overcast with rain forcast. I was supposed to meet up with my friend Ted, but that fell through yesterday due to a mix up of the dates. Last time I was here was in April with Cathie, Eli and Dana. This visit is pretty of anticlimactic relative to how much fun we had then. This place isn't nearly as fun without others to hang out with, but that doesn't mean I can't hit the tables.



Our meetings are here at the Mirage, and this is my first time staying here. Very nice. I forgot my thong, so I probably won't be hitting Bare, their top optional 'euro-beach'. I fly back Tuesday afternoon and then out to Chicago on Wednesday.

Jodi and Cody in a Wreck

My cousin's Jodi and Cody, who we saw a couple of weeks ago in Iowa at the family reunion, along with others were in a motorcycle accident this week. Jodi was airlifted to the hospital and is recovering with a broken pelvis, a broken bone in her back, and broken bones in her hand. Cody has a broken leg and his girlfriend Stephanie a broken leg and arm.

I figure I can give it another few weeks until I make "woman drivers" jokes and jokes about Iowa motorcycle riders not wearing helmets.

You can read the newspaper article here.

Ripcord Ride

Here's the video of the Ripcord ride Nathan, Maddie and I rode at Michigan's Adventure. It was amazingly scary going up, but a blast flying down.

Emily's First Tooth

Emily lost her first tooth tonight. I had been loose for a couple of days and it was all she'd talked about. She'd agreed to let Nate do it (Nate pulled Maddie's first tooth out by tying a string to a door-knob and slamming the door), but in the end, Em pulled it out herself. She came running down to show us.

Ripcord

The weather was gray and nasty today so we decided to go to the Michigans Adventure amusement park today. Lucikly, the rain held out. Nate, Maddie and I went on the Ripcord, a 200 foot simulated parachute drop. It was freaky going up and an exhilarating drop.

The weather looks iffy the rest of week, so hopefully it clears up.

Emily's Record

As we were getting in the van, Emily grabbed the Guiness Book of World Records and explained to her friend Emma: 'I once tried to set a record for how many times Riley (our dog) could lick my face.'

Vacation

We left for vacation yesterday, heading out to Lake Michigan to stay at Will's Mom's cottage for the week. We had beautiful weather yesterday and an even better sunset, hanging at the beach all day and hanging by thw fire at night. The Niemis are with us, so all of the kids have someone their own age and gender to play with.

It started out drizzling this morning, so we hung out, played Yahtzee and made up dance routines (the girls at least) and went to see Evan Almighty. If the weather doesn't improve, Mark and I are going to come up with our own dance routine.

Pre-Season Workout

Nate starts Panthers Football at the end of July. Nate's played flag football for a few years, but this is now the real deal. Starting in July they begin with 2 1/2 hour practices each day, five days a week leading until after their first game. The practices are hot, long and in full pads. Nate's never done anything quite this intense, so Nate and I agreed that it'd be a good idea to make sure he's in good shape going into practice. He's about 70 pounds, so he needs every edge he can get. We started these workouts about 2 weeks ago and have ramped them up to about 30-40 minutes long. We started easy with jumping jacks, some push-ups, sit-ups and sprints for about 15 minutes. We've worked it up to a complete circuit tonight, similar to what I do with Kirk and the guys at Triad.

The first day of the workout was tough. Nate had a hard time getting the exercises and they were tough to do. We had a long talk about what it was going to take for him to play football at his best, and the next day, he rocked it out in his workout. I asked him why the difference, and he told me that he'd thought a lot about our conversation, and he'd decided that this was something he really wanted and was going to do his best at. He has not complained once about any of this, which is way more than I can say about my workouts with Kirk. If I ask Nate to do 30 push-ups, he finds a way to do 40. He does this in every exercise, pushing himself just a little farther each time. I'm amazed to see the spirit he's got in him. He's very proud of the fact that he's up to 100 push-ups and sit-ups now, where he could barely get 20 in the first time. It's a fun time with Nate watching him gain in confidence in what he's doing, as a Dad, just beaming as he does it so well.

Golf League

We golfed tonight and Chauncy and I didn't get the memo about wearing the same outfit. In addition to wearing matching shirts, Brad and Eli quit chewing last week, but Brad brought chew to the course and tempted Eli like Satan tempted Jesus in the desert. Brad's response: "That's just the way roll, baby."

New Blog Feed

As you probably know, Google just bought Feedburner. If you subscribe to my blog via an RSS reader like Google Reader or Bloglines, please click on this feed for now, as the one you're viewing this through will soon no longer work. If you're not using Google Reader to read blogs, start using it. It's easy and the way of the future.

How does a Google Search Work

Very interesting article on how a Google Search works, in laymen terms.

Family Reunion

Emily was wearing her family reunion shirt backwards, so that this picture was on the front. I asked her why and she explained,

"I like to look at the family picture. If they're on the back, i can't see them."

Can't argue with that logic.

Weird Al Concert

My Dad took myself and Dan and our kids to see Weird Al in concert tonight in Lansing. I came right from the airport and met up with Dan and the kids and we all drove down together. It was a beautiful night and a great time. It was a really diverse group of people, from young kids to old folks like my Dad, all singing along and having fun. The concert was like going to catholic church with a lot of standing and sitting as they'd play various Weird Al video clips (like this hilarious interview with eminem) in between songs as they'd change outfits. He did just about every song imaginable, including "Fat", complete with the big suit. His encore was the highlight of the show, the 12 minute song Albuquerque, which Nate and Maddie knew just about every word as the three of us sang together about our hatred of sauerkraut.

My Dad was kind enough to get their early and get us great seats close to the stage. I think he secretly enjoyed the loud music that was blaring out of the speakers that the DJ was playing before the concert. As we walked around the festival, I offered my nephew Matthew $5 to go up to two people of my choice and simply proclaim, "I AM the Cobra Commander", salute and walk away. He wouldn't. He'll never become the Cobra Commander if he keeps this attitude up.

Lansing people have odd concert etiqutte. First - EVERYONE had their Weird Al concert shirts on, which breaks about 12 of Shinn's concert rules and makes them "That Guy". Secondly - who brings an inflatable blow up doll as a beach ball for the audience at a family concert?

You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Mileage Runners

Interesting article on the culture of Airline Mileage Runners, typically a group of white collar workers who are obsessive about their airline mileage status and how to beat the system for airline status and perks.

Scenic Portland

Instead of just sitting around my hotel room, I met up with two guys I'd gotten to know in my class last month for a beer. One of the guys then proceeded to take me on a tour of some of the scenic stuff around Portland. Simply flying into Portland, you see Mount Hood and some hills, but nothing too impressive. Rich and his girlfriend, who are both avid mountain climbers, took me to see some amazing scenery in the Columbia gorge. It was some of the most beautiful scenery, unlike anything I'd ever seen anywhere in the US. They took me to the Multnomah Falls, which was just amazing. The whole gorge area around the Columbia river was awesome to look at as the sun set, coloring the rock walls and the water. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera gear with me as these phone pictures pale in comparison to the real thing, but then really, so would any pictures.

Rich and Katie then took me to a chain of brewpubs called the McMenamins, which have so-so beer, but are all in these restored buildings with a great ambiance. I was really taken aback by the great hospitality that was offered to me. Rich and his girlfriend Kate gave up their evening to show me the highlights of the area and I will never look at Portland the same.

The downside to seeing these things without Cathie is that it's just not complete. With my wife as my soulmate, I feel like I don't fully experience these things until I do them with her. I was up this morning at about 4:30am, it's late, and I've to get up at 4:30 again to fly out. Just hoping for good weather.

Nike

I had a meetings today with Nike on their Beaverton campus outside of OR. The campus is amazing. It's a huge collection of beautiful, sports themed buildings and decor, all named after various athletes - like Michael Jordan. I was given a pass to the employee store afterwards, which is amazing. Everything is 50%+ off the retail prices. I bought a "couple" of things and "saved" a lot of money.

Fun fact about Oregon

It is illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon. Seriously. If you're visiting, don't get out of your car to pump your gas. You'll look stupid. Or so I've heard.

Breakfast in Bed for Mom

Cathie was woken up by the Maddie and Em this morning bringing her breakfast in bed and a song. Maddie sung me the song today and it went something like this:

My mommy is the best, can't you see
I love my mommy and she loves me,
I love my mommy!

Breakfast consisted of a newspaper, juice and the following:

• Mini-Smore (Half of a marshmellow, a piece of choclate and ghrama cracker. Microwave)
• Waffle with butter and syrup
• A bagel with strawberry cream cheese

They were going to make her pancakes, but couldn't figure out the measurements on the box. Probably a good thing

Long Monday

My day started at 5am, going to Kirk's workout and after crossing three time-zones, I'm out in Portland, OR. On my way to the airport I was on a conference call, not paying attention and hit a Northville speed trap on the hill at Beck and 8 mile. The guy clocked me going 52 in a 35, but because I have a clean record, he let me off with a "Impeding Traffic" ticket, which carries a fine and no points and my insurance is none the wiser. I called Cathie today and told her about it as she explained that she got a ticket to day as well. He wrote her up for 5 over and claims there are not points for it, but I'm skeptical.

I fly back on Wednesday just in time to take Nate and Maddie to the Weird Al Yankovic concert at the Common Grounds festival in Lansing. I've been listening to Weird Al for 25 years and now all three of my kids think he's hilarious as well. My Dad is taking all of us to the concert, which should be a blast.

Last Request

One of my Mom's last requests was that we keep my Dad's wardrobe updated as he ages. He's a pretty good dresser for a guy his age for the most part, but I'm pretty sure she was afraid of my Dad turning into this guy that we saw at the air show. Note the argile socks pulled up to the knees, with sandals.

Willow Run Air Show

My brother Dan and his kids, my Dad, Nate and I went to the Willow Run Airshow today to see the Blue Angels. It was 106 out and there was no shade to be found anywhere. The show had all sorts of different kinds of planes you could look at and go inside of, along with other activities like the "Drive a Jeep on a ridiculous off-road course". While we were checking out the planes and other activities, there were all sorts of planes flying overhead doing different tricks, building up to the big finale with the Blue Angels.

The Blue Angels began by talking about how their gigantic crew and how they exemplify excellence, only to have one of their planes break down on the runway. Oops. They had a backup plane and got things going. the planes flew at an unbelievable speed, unbelievably close to us and to each other. Throughout the show, these guys were traveling 500mph at 18 inches apart from each other. The would do these head-on passes right next to each other. Dan tried to get the picture on the left with his digital camera and due to shutter-delay, he ended up with a nice picture that he calls "Where the planes used to be"

The show went on for a while, building into the final formations, shooting way low over us. The whole airshow was fun and darn hot. Before I die I want to fly in a jet-fighter plane beyond the sound barrier. They've got them in Russia right now for $10k, but I'm sure they're going to get cheaper over time.


You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Jeffery's Cottage

Yesterday afternoon we went over to Brad's cottage in nearby Pickney to hang out for the day. Brad had two great additions, the first being the Dave-size inner tube/beer-holder/chips and salsa holder. If this is what having a big 'ol belly is all about, then I'm growing one. I tried to serve Will some chip's and salsa with my innertube belly and end up dumping the whole bowl on his crotch. Good thing he wasn't wearing his speedo at the time.
The second piece of coolness is this anti-gravity water mat. It's about two inches thick and can hold a bazillion people without sinking. The kids played in this, jumping off, flipping off (not their finger, their bodies) and then the big boys decided to play a friendly game of king-of-the-hill.

If you look closely, you'll not the even Pastor Joe is in on the beat-down we delivered to Brad.

We capped the night off with grilling out, followed by fireworks. Brad and Joanne had this cool hot-air balloon thing that went off way, way up into the ether. We shot off all sorts of fireworks (many of them not the "kosher" kind for Michigan) and no one lost an eye. I should have taken pictures of them, because my sister Sooze loves nothing more than LOTS of fireworks pictures


You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Cathie's Grandparents

On Friday afternoon we headed over to Cathie's parents to see Cathie's Grandparents heading home to Texas. We always have a great time seeing them and the kids love to hang out with them too. Cathie's Mom was selected as part of a joint Lansing Community College/Michigan State University overseas teaching program in Otsu, Japan. Jeanne will be in Japan for three months teaching a couple of courses while working on becoming a ninja. We're going to set her up with a blog so she can keep us updated on what's going on, where she goes and any special ninja skills she learns.

Blood Diamonds

Cathie and I watched the movie Blood Diamond last night, about the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone and throughout Africa. It was one of the most disturbing movies I've seen in a long, long time. I'd read about the De Beers diamond cartel and heard about some of the wars caused by the diamond trade, but this movie made it painfully real. It showed the kids being used as soldiers and told the story from a Dad's perspective of one of the kids who'd been taken into one of the guerrilla armies. I couldn't stop thinking, "What if that was my son?" The guerrilla armies would come into the villages with their weapons and decimate the families, with the people helpless to stop it.

I feel safe in my community and my home and I couldn't imagine living like this, not knowing that I could protect my family. The movie was sad and depressing, but it made me want to do something to stop it. I just don't know what.

Eating the Bug

Video of Nate Eating the Mayfly.

The new and improved Mohawk

After a little clean-up by Michelle, Nate's good to go.