Seattle

My flight was delayed, so a 5 hour flight turned into 6 hours on the plane. I slept just long enough that I'm wide awake. Guess that's one way to deal with Jet Lag. At least I was upgraded to first class on the way out here. One of my co-workers gets in at 5AM tomorrow morning from Hawaii after flying all night. At least I'm not him.

Ignorance

We had a board meeting last night for Project 311. It's a good board, made up of a diverse collection of guys from all sorts of backgrounds. We were talking before we got down to business and one of the board members, Tim, was sharing a couple of stories on the impact of prejudice from his childhood and how it impacts him today. Tim is black. He was telling a story about how someone had talked with his son, where this guy had referred to his son as 'boy'. I asked the question, 'Is that bad?' Tim explained to me that the word 'boy' carries a lot of baggage in the black community dating back to the way slave-owners would refer to their slaves. He told me that in the ranking of names, 'boy' is worse than calling someone a nigger. I had no clue. Another good reason why diversity in a team is a good thing. I saw a statistic recently that South Lyon is 96% white. I think that number is generous based on what I've seen.

Tags: Project 311

Does this make me a metrosexual?

I'm in the airport flying to Seattle and I hate checking my luggage. With the new rules in effect, I can't bring hair gel or toothpaste. Toothpaste isn't a big deal - I can get that at the front desk of my hotel when I check in. What I can't get is hair gel, which my hair needs to not look goofy. I took a tiny bottle of lotion, emptied it, filled it with hair gel and stuck it in my suitcase. If they nabbed it during security, no big deal. I made it through. I probably broke several laws, but since the tube isn't full of nitroglycerin, I don't feel too bad. The sad part of all of this is the extent I'll go through to sneak my hair gel on board and not have to check my luggage.

Bahama Bob's Party

Saturday, after helping Ed & Stacy move, we got ready for a big party at Bahama Bob's cabana. Our friends, Bob and Ann Rays had a big party in their back yard, complete with Cabana, Frozen Drinks and a Steel Drum Band. Over the past few years, Bob has been building and expanding on a cabana in his back yard by his pool. He's added a fireplace, multiple flat-screen TVs, couches, a bar, etc. When I told my kids he'd added a slurpee machine, their response was, "Dad, Bob much be the richest man we know. He must be a millionaire or a billionaire." Bob loves to have parties and he's great at it. This party was his best yet.

We all got happy feet throughout the evening.

The band was amazing. They interacted great with the crowd, having dance contests, hula-hoop contests and they even let Bob, Brad and I sing a little Bob Marley ("Don't worry, 'bout a ting....Everything little ting... Gonna be alright.") My looked beautiful, and I think we actually matched.

At one point, I got dragged into the middle for a hip-shaking dance contest. Not my strong-suite. I felt dumb, and the pictures confirm it. My face in one picture looks like I'm trying to poop, while the picture below looks like I'm doing the robot dance.

We had a great time. We had a lot of friends there (yes, I'm including you in that Rudy) and we laughed a lot and we all even made it to church the next morning (almost all).

The Moving Debacle

The Kurt family (My fam, Will & Dan)showed up today to help Cathie's brother Ed and wife Stacy move. They had most of the stuff in 'boxes', except for the stuff that wasn't. There was a mix-up with the moving truck, so we started moving stuff to the front of the house to be ahead of the game when it arrived. Dan and Will decided that it would be easier to lounge around and give each other rub-downs instead of pitching in. The truck never showed, so they felt justified in their slothfulness.

Ever seen one of those waterfall murals in the mall kiosks that are backlit and kind of look like they're moving? Dan's holding one of those. It happens to be cracked, but Ed didn't want to let go of it in the move, because he's holding out hope that he'll eventually get a new piece of glass for it. The rest of the lawn is covered in boxes. After we found out we weren't getting a truck today, we loaded the rest of the stuff in the garage so they could finish clearing out the house. If Dan and Will had their way, we would have just sat around and done nothing. It's sad that my father never raised them better.

Digital Camera

My Canon Digital 350XT Digital Rebel is dead again. About a month ago, it started getting an ERR 99 and wouldn't take pictures. I took it back to Best Buy as part of the service plan and received it about 3 weeks later. It took a few weeks to get it back and after using it a few times, I figured out today that it still has the SAME PROBLEM. I took it into Best Buy, explained the situation, and that I was getting ready to go on vacation and really wanted to have a camera. They told me I would have to take it in 4 times for repair before they will decide to replace it. I'm not happy. My sister-in-law is an attorney so i'm going to see if she has some magic she can work here.

Tags: Canon Digital 350XT Digital Rebel, ERR 99, Best Buy, Extended Service Plan

I made it home last night about 10:45PM, but the important thing is that I made it home after four days of travel.

I was thrilled to see Cathie and the kids - and my repaired iPod back from Best Buy. They fixed the click-wheel on the thing and put a nice shiny new face plate on it. It's my 2nd time sending it off for repair as part of it's service contract. After the third time in for repair, they will replace it - with a nice new color iPod. It's all about timing.

Air Travel

They've banned all liquids on flights, based on the recent terrorist activity. For me, this means that I had to leave behind my shampoo, shaving cream and hair gel. For my brother Dan, this will mean leaving behind many lotions, candles, oils and waxes that he travels with.

My flight is delayed by almost an hour so far due to storms. The Kansas City Airport I'm in is screwy. Once you go through security, you have no restrooms or restaurants without going back through security. At least I'm getting home tonight.

I just wanna go home

Remember the picture of four airline staff gathered around a terminal trying to figure out my ticket? I'm sure they meant well, but somehow they canceled my return flight back from Kansas City - a flight which is now sold out. When I didn't get any notification on my flight status, I figured I'd call just to be safe. I went online and it showed that my flight had been canceled. I called initially and the first customer service rep was one of the meanest I've ever talked to, and then she transitioned into talking to me like a 4 year old - and this was on their elite hot-line. I hung up, called back and found someone else to help me. I no longer have my first class seat, but at least I'm getting home tonight.

Congratulations, Deal Again?

While waiting to board my flight, I won a game of solitaire on my phone. This is probably the third time ever, and the first time in at least 10 years. My family must be so proud.

MC Plus+

Will turned me on to this Computer Science Rapper called MC Plus+ (named after the programming language C++). Your average geek won't even appreciate this stuff. You need a computer science degree to fully enjoy this, with songs like Computer Science for Life using terms like two-phase lock-in and "i'm in the lab and i'm coding all night, project won't compile it'll be alright, computer science for life, that's my direction, instead of being bold, my homies throw exceptions" (Warning: Some language not suitable for your Mom)

Maddie Lost Her Tooth

Maddie lost her first tooth today, with a little help from her big brother. Nate tied a string to her tooth, the other end to the door - and slammed it. The tooth went flying and was lost temporarily until Cathie found it in a shoe. I talked to Nate today and he explained to me that if this didn't work, he was going to tie the string to the fan and turn it on.

Oaklahoma City

It's 106 and flat here. I haven't gotten into my hotel before midnight and been up early every morning, on the go all day and night until I get to my hotel. I'm beat. I'm on the road next week Monday through Thursday in Seattle and then we're going on vacation Friday -Tuesday, out to Will's Mom's cottage.

Ministering With New Maturity

Good Washington Post article on Youth Ministry: Ministering With New Maturity:

"The philosophy dominating the business today is 'relational' ministry, which means not so much using teen lingo or dressing cool but spending quality time with young people and understanding the morally nuanced, complex world in which they live. "

GPS Found

My wife tells me that I'm the world's worst looker, but in this case, it doesn't apply. Really. I searched my rental car high and low for my GPS receiver. The thing is about half the size of a pack of cigarettes, so there aren't too many places to hide. I keep it either on the dashboard or in a cup holder, so where can this thing hide? I'd given up hope of finding it today and finally decided, what the heck, I'll pray for it. I felt stupid praying for something so insignificant, but I figured God cares about the small stuff in the same way that as a Dad, I care about the small stuff in my kids life and I help my kids when they lose stuff. So here was my prayer:
"God, I know this is dumb, and I'm probably wasting your time, but could you help me find my GPS receiver? I'm not holding my breath, but thanks for any help in advance."

Real prayer of faith, huh? I did one more search of my car before heading to the airport. I looked in every nook and cranny again. Nothing. As I'm driving in my car, I look down at the floor below me is the receiver. Right in the middle of the floor. I have no idea where it came from. It amazes me that even after that, I'm so ready to write it off as a coincidence. Anyways, I found it right after I'd ordered a replacement unit. Anyone want to buy a Bluetooth GPS receiver?

Wake Up

I've got 3 hours to kill before my flight. My iPod is on, my laptop is open and I'm dozing off. The woman next to me keeps waking me up, telling me she doesn't want me to miss my flight. I nicely explain that it's not for another three hours and I just want a nap. She explains that someone may steal my luggage, so I happily explain that they're welcome to it if they want it that badly. I tell her I could really use a nap and try and go back to sleep and she responds that I should go visit Starbucks to get some coffee to stay awake. I'm not sure she heard a word I said. I think she meant well.

People are Lonely

CNN.com - Lonely nation - Aug 6, 2006: Good article about how disconnected people are in America.

"In June, an authoritative study in the American Sociological Review found that the average American had only two close friends in whom they would confide on important matters, down from an average of three in 1985. The number of people who said they had no such confidant soared from 10 percent in 1985 to nearly 25 percent in 2004; an additional 19 percent said they had only one confidant -- often their spouse."

The Lazer

I heard a commercial on the radio in topeka, KS that made me laugh:
97.3, The Laser.. The Choice for cool moms everywhere.

Flight Problems

Storms in Texas delayed my flight to Oaklahoma via Houston so that I wouldn't of made my meeting tomorrow. It took an four very helpful Continental reps to figure out that I should fly out how to get me there on time via Southwest. I now leave 3 hours later, have a direct flight and get in an hour sooner, just not in first class. I can live with that.

Velocity 2006 Video

After all of our big youth group outings, we try and have a video that gives the rest of the church a taste of what went on. It also gives me a chance to get some music played that I want to hear in church. This year's video included the Foo Fighter's song No Way Back, which fit very well.

Lately, I've been
Livin' in my head
The rest of me is dead,
I've (I'm) dying for truth.

Make me, believe,
No more left and right,
Come on take my side,
I'm fightin' for you,
I'm fightin' for you.

I used my mac mini for this, which worked beautifully. I sold my current mac mini to a friend of mine so I can get the latest, greatest. The one I have only has 256 MB of memory and starts to choke when I get too many things going at once. The new intel based devices are faster and have more memory, which will be nice, plus they have a remote sensor on the front for multi-media stuff like iTunes and iDVD.