Working in a Winter Wonderland

I woke up this morning and checked the UC Denver Weather Alert Page, only to find out that they were indeed going to be open for business. I was surprised. The snow had stopped, but it was very icy and snow was everywhere. My alarm went off this morning to the local news channel talking about how dangerous the commute was today because of black ice and listing all of the accidents around town. I thought for sure that we'd be closed again. But, nope.

I went through my morning routine, suited up, and left my family with requests from my wife to drive safely and be safe (she's so cute!). The drive wasn't too bad. At one point my tires spun out as I tried to accelerate from a stop light. But, I didn't lose control and made it safely to the train station. I did almost have a nasty fall as my work shoes failed to grip the ice as I walked up to the train platform. I did a little James Brown-esque dance, but managed to stay upright. The Auraria Campus staff did a great job of shoveling and plowing the walkways around the campus. So, it was a safe walk to my office. My 73.2 degree office is nice and toasty warm. Later on, I took a quick walk to take a picture of the building where my office resides in the snow. It's posted above. I don't know if you can tell, but that walkway is carved out of about 1.5 to 2 feet of snow. Nice, huh?

It's supposed to be warming up starting today. It might get into the mid-50's by this weekend. So, that means the TV reception should come back and we'll have lots of slush, mud, and swollen rivers/streams. It looks like the forecasters were correct. It's going to be an early and heavy winter.

Snow Day(s) in October

I'm not sure if this is normal or not for October, but we were hit (and hit hard) with a huge snow storm. It started on Tuesday night at 8pm with a light snow. It caused my Dish Network signal to go weird by 8:30pm ruining our Lakers Season Opener. Then, it continued to snow. I went to work on Wednesday and struggled through traffic in several inches of snow, only to be told to go home early by the University at 1pm because the whole campus was closing due to "inclement weather". Still it snowed and snowed hard at times. This morning, I woke up and checked the University's Weather Alert page and found out that they were still closed and were questionable for Friday. Woohoo! Snow-Day!! So, I suited up in snow gear with my boys and decided to try a few snow activities with my sons. We tried sledding on a nearby hill. There was so much snow (up to my knees) and it was so soft and light that we simply sunk into it. We couldn't sled. It was just too dry and light. Imagine billions and billions of dandelion fluff all piled up. You could blow it away with your breath. So, we tried building a snow man. After packing and packing the snow with our hands...we were able to build a suitable base. But, again the snow was too dry and light to make into a ball. So, we couldn't build a snowman. Instead, we decided to build a snow cave like Les Stroud on Survivorman. The boys and I shoveled and hand-packed the snow until we made a suitable cave that all three boys could get into. It started to get chilly and we are all recovering from a cold. So, we came inside and took off our warm layers (which were now soaked and icy). Joi made us hot chocolate and hot cider. The boys took a warm bath. It was a very nice day.

It's hard to believe that it's only two days before Halloween and it looks like Christmas outside. The snow is still falling as I write this. It hasn't really stopped since Tuesday night. We haven't had television reception since we lost the Laker game on Tuesday, as our dish is covered in snow and now has ice-sickles hanging from it. I don't think I've ever seen this much snow. If I had to make a conservative guess, I'd say that we've had about two feet of snow. And still it comes down. It's supposed to stop tomorrow, but I wonder if the University will still be closed as everyone scrambles to plow and shovel this crazy storm. Have I mentioned that I love Colorado? Periodically, I look out the window as the snow gently falls. Snow is romantic to me. It's so peaceful and calming. It makes everything so beautiful. It's nice to be inside with a warm cup of apple cider, in my warm slippers and comfortable sweatpants. Ahhhh....this is the life.

Lakers Ritual Hampered by Storm

Every year when the basketball season starts and the Lakers have their season opener, the Copeland Clan has a ritual. When we were in California, we would pick up Vince's Spaghetti and watch the opener with a spaghetti dinner. We've been doing this for years. Well, Colorado has no Vince's Spaghetti (much to my utter and sincere disappointment). So, instead Joi makes spaghetti (and her spaghetti is awesome). So, we enjoyed our spaghetti last night and even decided to let the kids stay up past their bedtime to watch a little of the game, since it didn't start until 8:30pm Mountain Time. We watched the trophy and Championship ring presentation ceremony. We watched the unveiling of the new Championship banner. We watched about 3/4 of the first quarter and then something evil started to happen. The heavy winter storm made our television signal go fuzzy. Wet snow was accumulating on our satellite dish and was blocking the signal. To make matters worse, the dish is on the very top of our roof, so it's not accessible for me to brush it off. Within a couple minutes, the game was lost and we were without television for the rest of the night, while the Dish Network components tried, in vain, to search for a signal. So, no Laker game for us. I had to wait until this morning to find out that they beat the Clippers 99-92. Oh well, at least we're undefeated. I would have liked to have seen it, though.

On another note, the winter storm did arrive. There was probably about 4-6 inches this morning when we woke up. The radio says they still expect 12-16 inches in the Denver Metro area. I was able to make it to the light rail safely due to the fact that I just happened to get on Highway 285 right behind four snow plows that were making the way safe for commuters like me. It's still snowing, though. So, we'll see what the commute tonight looks like. The walk from the light rail station to my office was a little on the miserable side as the snow was coming down sideways due to the heavy wind and coating me with a nice jacket of snow/ice. But, I'm here and I'm warming up inside my 73.5 degree office (I have a clock with the temperature on it in my office).

Winter Storm Warning

I have been home sick from work the last couple of days. I finally succumbed to the bad and very contagious cold that has been going around. I plan to return to work tomorrow. While checking my work email from home, I noticed that there was an alert from the Auraria Campus (three colleges share a huge campus called Auraria where the University of Colorado Denver, the Community College of Denver, and the Metropolitan State College of Denver are all housed). The alert was a Winter Storm Warning that the campus may have to close tomorrow due to a storm that should start tonight. Between tonight and Wednesday night, this storm is expected to drop between 12-16 inches of snow in the Denver Metro area. Wow! Our first big storm and we are only in October. We've already had some small snow falls that had little to no accumulation. This one sounds like a doozy. I'm excited. I love snow. Bring it on!

My Appropriate Boys

My boys used to watch a show on the Disney Channel called "The Suite Life on Deck" and "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody". They loved this show. They watched it everyday and even named their pet corn snakes after characters on the show. Then one day, they decided not to watch it anymore. When we asked them why, they said because there were inappropriate things on the show. When we asked them to explain, they said that they didn't like how Zach was always chasing after girls and lying. Also, they said that was were a few shows where some of the girls wore outfits that were inappropriate. In one show, Zach was looking through a peep hole to watch girls changing. They were very disappointed. So, one their own, with no prompting from us, they decided to stop watching the show.

We have been teaching our boys that there are some things that they need to guard their eyes and mind from. We teach them to look away when we pass a billboard with scantily clad women. We teach them that they need to respect women and keep their minds pure by not filling their mind with things that are inappropriate. We teach them the importance of telling the truth, working hard, and making decisions based on what they know is right. It made me smile to know that these lessons are sinking in and that they are making the right decisions. They even said that they wanted to rename their snakes because they weren't watching the show anymore and didn't want to be reminded of it. So, they renamed Mattie, Candace (from Phineas and Ferb). They renamed London, Ferb. And Spitfire remained the same. I am very proud of my boys!!!

Just Another Part of Me

I was waxing philosophical again recently. Riding public transportation allows me more time to do that. I began thinking about who I am and how I consider myself a well rounded person. Part of that is my desire to try new things and experience new things. The other part is just who I am. I have many diverse interests. I like many different things. Things that range the full spectrum of human interest. These things are who I am. They are a part of me. They make me tick. Here's a little more explanation. I am a... 

I am a Family Man. I waited my entire life to be married. I love being a husband. I love my boys. I love spending time with my family. My home is my refuge. I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be than with my loving and beautiful wife and my kiddos. When my boys run from across the room and throw their arms around me when I come home from work, my eyes tear up. I love my family. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for them. 

I am a Christian. To me, this is more than a belief system. It's who I am. My belief in Jesus and the bible shapes how I interact with the world. Sure, I stumble and do stupid and un-Christian things. But, I would be a far worse person without the guiding force of Jesus on my life. I am still growing. I am still making mistakes. But, being a Christian is who I am. I follow Christ. 

I am an artist. A part of me is struck by art. Moved by music. I see things as beautiful. I notice things that other people don't always notice. I see art in everything. I like to write, compose music, paint, sculpt, design. I write poems and lyrics. I write stories. I write songs. If I didn't do these things, I wouldn't be me. Music is a kind of therapy for me. I use music to exorcise demons within me, to deal with pain, to express happiness, to make observations, to empathize with others, and to make it through life. I consider myself an artist. It's in my genes. My Mom and Dad are both artists. 

I am a Naturist. I like to be outside. I love to camp, hike, and generally spend time in nature. I love the trees, water, plants, and the smell of flowers. I love the sound of water rushing in a river or creek. I love to watch wild animals in their natural habitat. The other day, in the early morning, I watched a coyote saunter across the green belt and disappear into some trees. I was enthralled. God made a beautiful world. I like to enjoy it. 

I am a Romantic. There is a reason why I am so enamored with stories like "The Phantom of the Opera". I love love. Wild, passionate, romantic love. I love being in love. I love loving. I love my wife. I enjoy writing little notes and leaving them around the house for her. I love anticipating her kiss when I get home from work. I enjoy holding her at night, as we drift off to sleep. I love the little notes she leaves me in my lunch every day. I love seeing the face of my wife as I bring flowers to her. I love watching shows like "Pushing Daises" that portray a quirky, yet romantic love affair. Romance, it makes life worth living. 

I am a Geek. Not in the nerdy version of the word (at least I don't think so...you tell me) but in the technological definition of the word. I love technology. I enjoy gadgets (much to my wife's chagrin). I carry a 16GB USB thumb drive with me at all times. I have a Palm T/X. I must have a cell phone with a full qwerty keyboard. I have a laptop. I love digital cameras. I love social networking. I love blogging. I enjoy using my car GPS. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my 130GB iPod (which is more full than I'd like to admit). I love MP3 technology. I love Pandora. The internet, while being a scary and dangerous place for those trying to keep their mind pure (you have to be careful), is full of wonderful knowledge just waiting at our fingertips. Yep, I'm a geek.  w00t! 

I am Nostalgic. There is still a part of me that loves things from my past. I love the smell of Play-Doh. I love watching reruns of Mork and Mindy. I love watching Marx Brothers movies (thanks, Mom!). I enjoy re-experiencing Disney movies again with my boys. I love hearing songs I learned when I was a young boys (like "Fame" by David Bowie). I still enjoy Pillsbury Orange Rolls (not too often, they're not that good for you) because I liked them as a boy or Chocolate Pudding with Cool Whip with a Graham Cracker on the bottom (thanks, Grandma). Hearing folk songs like "Home on the Range" and "King of the Road" makes me smile (thanks a lot, Dad). The smell of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland still reminds me of the many trips I took there as a boy. I love looking back, remembering, and relishing the old times. 

I am a Foodie. I love to eat. The more obscure, the better. I love ethnic and bizarre foods. I've tried Elk, Venison, Boar, Rattlesnake, Crickets, Ants, Bison, raw fish, Eel, fish roe, and lots of other strange and interesting things. I love to cook. I enjoy putting together a meal and having people rave over the taste. I love that my wife and family loves my Chicken and Homemade Noodles (thanks, Aunt Rosie), and my Beef Stroganoff. I loved that Joi's Grandparents loved my "Tuna Casserole" and asked me for the recipe. I love trying to make ethnic foods like Thai Beef with Peanut Sauce. I enjoy going out to Sushi, Greek, Indian, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Japanese...you name it. 

I am a People Person (Extrovert). I enjoy being around people. I get energy from people. I love to observe them, talk with them, interact with them. I love to be in the limelight (hence why I enjoyed acting, being a lead singer, and why...when I was a little boy I went missing at a wedding and was later found in the middle of a crowd of people telling jokes for spare change). I like people. 

I am a Traveler. This is going to sound oxymoronic, but I consider myself a traveler...despite the fact that I've never really left the continental United States. I love to travel. To see new things. I am looking forward to the day when I can go overseas. See Europe. Africa. Japan. So far, I have enjoyed the parts of the U.S. and Mexico that I have been able to experience. I have a travelers heart. It's just that so far, I don't have the budget to back up my heart. But, that will change in time. 

I am a Life-Long Learner. The way I see it, when I stop learning, I'll stop living. There will always be something new to learn. I have lots of future plans as far as learning is concerned. I have a violin that I plan to learn how to play. I plan to learn a second, third, fourth language. I plan to learn how to cook more difficult and exotic dishes. I plan to master computer languages. I plan to understand my car and how it works better. If it wasn't for school loans and expenses (and because it takes so much time away from family), I'd probably want to be back at school earning another degree. I LOVE learning. I want to do it for the rest of my life. 

I am a Teacher. My Myers-Briggs personality type is ENFJ (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging). This type is explained in the book "Please Understand Me II" as The Teacher. This makes sense. I have always enjoyed teaching. I have taught everything from preschool to high school to graduate school. I love learning and imparting the knowledge I gained to others. I love teaching my boys things like how to use a pocket knife or how to treat women. I love being in front of a classroom. Maybe it's the part of me that likes the limelight, but it's so much fun to interact with your class and to see light bulbs go on. I love the appreciation from students who got something useful from your class. Teaching is just part of who I am. 

I am a Sports Fan. I remember being a little lad and throwing pitches into a pitch-back net behind my fathers t-shirt shop. I had a little fantasy about being the next Fernando Valenzuela (minus the Mexican heritage, of course). I loved the Dodgers, partly by default because my Grandma was such a huge fan. Plus, my Dad liked to take us to home games (especially Fan Appreciation Day). In junior high, I became a Lakers Fan. I am still a Laker fan to this day. My beautiful wife converted to being a Laker fan early in our dating. She knows more about the players than I do now. I like to play sports. I enjoyed playing football. I like playing church league basketball. I am a pro at Wii baseball, boxing, and Bowling (does that count?). I have a competitive side. Sports is my way of feeding that part of me. 

I am a Business Man. By nature, the world is set up so that I can't just be a foodie and an artist without earning some sort of living. So, I am a business man. I earned a BS in Business Management and an MA in Organizational Management. I know how to manage. I do pretty well organizing chaos. I am an administrator and a coach. I manage data. I manage records. It's what I do. I am a document manager. I manage the digitization of paper documents. I use technology to make paper go away. In a way, I'm part of the green revolution. I've done it at two University's now. I've got lots of experience doing this. It's my way of contributing to the business world. 

I am a Pirate. In the geek world, there was a whole debate about Pirates versus Ninjas. I decided I was a pirate. My birthday (9/19) just happens to be "Talk Like a Pirate Day" every year. I went so far as to decide that I would be a pirate every year for Halloween. Every year I buy new elements to add to my costume. I like being a pirate. They have fun. They "suck the marrow out of life". They even had a code of conduct (well...maybe they were just guidelines). 

I am More. I am more than even what I listed above. I could go on and on. I think it's good to evaluate who you are from time to time. It helps you to keep the good and throw out the bad. It helps you to see where you are spending most of your time and whether there is value in it. It helps you to examine your priorities. Self reflection. This blog is more for my benefit than for my readers (unless you wanted to get to know me better). I think it's a good practice to look at yourself from time to time. Try it.

Diagonal Crosswalks and Yummy Biscuits

There are a couple interesting things about working near downtown Denver. One of them, I have never seen before. Diagonal crosswalks! At several intersections in Downtown Denver, there are crosswalks that go across the street in the normal way and then also have a diagonal path across the middle of the intersection. It's interesting. I have to admit that it freaked me out the first time my coworkers walked diagonally across the intersection when we were walking to lunch one day. I didn't notice the tiny lines painted on the streets that indicated that this was lawful and normal. Now I am a diagonal crosswalk professional. I walk diagonally across the crosswalks whenever I can. Even when I don't need to. I do it because it's different and fun.

On another note, my wife made the most exceptional biscuits yesterday for dinner. She decided to make biscuits from scratch using flour and yeast. Oh my goodness, they were so good. I ate more of the biscuits than I did of the dinner. They were good with honey and good with Mrs. Knott's Boysenberry Jam (which by the way you can't find in Colorado...thanks to Mom and Sarah for feeding my addiction). She said she might make them again tonight. I can hardly wait. Mmmmmm......

Phantom Vibration

Now that I have been a steady cell phone user for approximately ten years, I am noticing a disturbing physical trend. I usually keep my phone on vibrate due to being at work and not wanting to bother anyone with loud ring-tones. Or worse yet, have it go off during an important meeting. Besides, my ring-tones tend to be a bit bizarre. Anyway, a few years back when I wore my cell phone on my belt with a clip, I noticed that even when I didn't have the phone on, I would feel this slight vibration on my side in the spot where I kept the phone. I would go to grab for my phone and, of course, it was never there to begin with. Weird. Lately, I keep my phone in my pocket and now I am noticing that I am experiencing this phenomenon on my upper thigh. Sometimes my phone is in my pocket, I feel the vibration and I grab for it...and nothing. No call, no missed call....nothing. Other times I feel the vibration at night in bed (where, of course, I am NOT wearing my cell phone). Or I feel it at work when my phone is on my desk. My thigh is having Phantom Cellular Vibration Phenomenon (PCVP for short - I coined it here). Weird. Does anyone else experience this? Does anyone know what causes it?

Upon further research, I even found this article from USA Today explaining the same phenomenon. Well, at least I'm not the only one.

Tea Time for the Copeland Clan

Yesterday evening, the temperatures dropped. During the weekend, I wore shorts and enjoyed the sunny weather which hovered around the mid 70's. Yesterday, the temperatures dipped into the low 30's and snow was in the forecast. Joi decided that it would be a great evening to have a traditional English Tea for dinner. She put out individual tea cups and plates, filled three tea pots with Apple Cinnamon Tea, Hot Apple Cider, and Hot Chocolate, and made tea sandwiches (Chicken Salad and Cucumber/Cream Cheese). She even put out cut apples and made home-made sugar cookies (every tea has to have a sweet at the end). Together, we enjoyed the scrumptious meal and the hot drinks. It was very nice.

Joi has always been about tea since we met. She collects tea cups and has some beautiful ones from all over the world. Earlier in our marriage, she hosted a yearly Christmas Tea for all her girlfriends. In fact, I even asked her to marry me by painting a tea cup with the words "Will You Marry Me?" on the saucer. My Dad made her a homemade tea cart one year, as well (from scratch). I love that about my wife. It was very nice to see her exercise one of her unique traits and see her in her element. She worked very hard to make sure that it was all done and set up before I got home. I really enjoyed the Copeland Family Tea. I hope that we can do this again from time to time...especially now that it's snow season.

Even Colorado's Gang Members Have a Softer Side

I don't mean to generalize or stereotype. Please forgive me now if that occurs. Today when I was riding the Light-Rail to work, I started people watching, as I often do. I noticed a young man siting near me whose attire fit the stereotypical gang-member garb that is fairly common in California. Low riding jeans, bandana hung slightly above the eyes, hoodie, etc. What made me chuckle softly to myself was the fact that this guy, who gave the impression that you'd never want to meet him in a dark alley, was wearing a cookie monster t-shirt. Yes, that's right! Cookie Monster...from Sesame Street. I almost shook his hand and told him he rocked. Instead, I pulled out my cell phone and snapped a covert picture of the guy. I blurred the faces to protect the identity of the people in the picture. You gotta love this guy!

Colorado Sunrise

This morning as I left my home to take the bus to work I walked out to a spectacular sunrise that I thought would share with all of you. My cell phone camera just does not do it justice. It was a spectacular sight. I was definitely in awe, as I waited at the bus stop (which you can actually see across the street in the picture). Just one more advantage of getting up early and taking the bus to work.

Gavin's Birthday Festivities

Yesterday was Gavin's 5th birthday. I can't believe my youngest is already five. Time goes by so fast! To celebrate, as is our tradition, we let Gavin pick the meals and activities of the day. Here's what he wanted to do.

The night before, Gaving wanted his cousins, Josiah and Dylan, to spend the night. We enjoyed some pizza for dinner. I had been reading them the Chronicles of Narnia books at night and we just finished "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" so we finally let them watch the movie by the same name. The boys enjoyed watching the movie. Garrison said that the characters were not as he imagined them. I think he is beginning to realize that books are almost always better than their movie counterparts. Anyway, the next morning we woke up and Joi made pancakes, as per Gavin's request. We let him open his presents. He wanted to do them all at once, so he opened the presents he had from us and the presents he had some Grandma Jan. Afterward, the boys and their cousins played inside and outside. For lunch, we had chicken nuggets (and left over pizza). After lunch, Gavin wanted to try bowling for the first time. He loves bowling on our Wii and he is already Pro status. He's amazing. I don't know how he does it (especially if you can see his jumping, spasmodic bowling approach). So, we went to the local "Brunswick Zone" and got a couple lanes (one with bumpers and one without). Here, Steffanne and Russell joined us. So, we bowled for a couple hours and the boys quickly realized that it's not as easy to do as it is on the Wii. But, they still had fun trying something new. When we were all tuckered out from bowling, Gaving requested that we do into downtown Denver and enjoy the Ethiopian place that we went to on my birthday. He loved Ethiopian so much that he wanted it again for his birthday. So, we traveled to Axum Ethiopian Food and Bar. Again, we were the only one's in the restaurant. Apparently, we are the only non-Ethiopian people who eat there and Ethiopian's are used to eating much, much later. So, the typical dinner crowd had not arrived yet. We enjoyed the food and the experience of eating everything with our hands and the Injera (see the slide show for pictures of the food and the Injera). The food was glorious, as usual. After dinner, "Z" the proprietor of the restaurant gave us a free birthday cake for Gavin and turned on some birthday music on the P.A. system. So, the boys danced around on the dance floor and had a ball. "Z" and the Axum staff make birthday's so special for us. It was very nice. After dinner, we went back to our place for more cake (yellow cake with chocolate frosting, per Gavin's request). The Ferris family left shortly afterwards and Joi and the boys looked through Gavin's special photo album that Joi made. All in all, it was an action packed and fun filled day.

It's amazing to think that Gavin is already five. He brings such joy and humor into our family. He is a character and is always doing something to make us laugh. Also, he has this smile....a smile that caused Sissy to nickname him "Trouble". He is a great little man and we love him dearly. Happy Birthday, Gavin-man!

Hulu - Pirates of Penzance

I have been a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" since my Mom first introduced it to me when I was a kid. When I was acting in community theater at The Gallery Theater in Ontario, the adult actors did this operetta and this was the first time I saw it. I was immediately enthralled with it's humor, musicality, and action.It's a giant comedy of errors set to music. It's like watching "Three's Company" with a brilliant musical score. Gilbert and Sullivan were collaborators on 14 comic operas during the Victorian Era and were, in my mind, geniuses.

Anyway, in 1983, Hollywood made a movie version of this film using many veterans from the stage version. Among the actors in this film are Kevin Kline (as the Pirate King), Linda Ronstadt (as Mabel), Angela Lansbury (as Ruth), George Rose (as Major General Stanley), and Tony Azito (as the Sergeant). It's a wonderfully capable cast and they do a superb job. Kevin Kline is by far the best Pirate King I have ever seen. Also, nobody can do "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General" like George Rose (especially the fast bit at the end). Another thing to watch for is Tony Azito's humorous dancing during "A Policeman's Lot is Not a Happy One." What I love about this movie is that they filmed it as if you are watching the play on stage. It even starts with a closed curtain and an overture.

Needless to say, this movie is awesome. It's not on DVD yet and is very hard to find. I've got a copy on VHS and I keep waiting for the day when they will release it on DVD. I recommend this movie to many friends and family, but it's so difficult to find...so no one is able to watch it. But, the mighty internet gods have looked down from above and shown mercy on us all. Hulu, a place to watch free movies, TV shows, and other online media, has posted an online version of this movie. So, now, we are able to watch it online for free. This makes me very happy. I am glad someone had the sense to post this movie and keep it alive for posterity.

Do yourselves a favor and set aside some time to watch this movie - Pirates of Penzance. If you want more info or a plot synopsis, you can go to the Pirates of Penzance IMDB site.

Opening Pandora's Box

In classical Greek mythology, Zeus gave Pandora a box with strict instructions not to open it. Pandora's curiosity soon got the better of her and she gave in...opening the box. Her act of opening the box unleashed all kinds of evils and miseries, which began to inflict mankind.

Flash-forward a few thousand years. At the Hershey Conference, I met with some former colleagues of mine from Azusa Pacific University. One of them, a music fan...like me, told me about Pandora. Pandora is a result of the Music Genome Project, where a group of musicians and music loving technologists set out to create the most complete analysis of music ever. They set out to capture the essence of music at it's most fundamental level. They analyzed tens of thousands of songs from artists both popular and obscure. They documented the musical identity of each song, analyzing melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, singing, and vocal harmony. They began to classify songs based on these elements. It didn't matter what genre that song was supposed to belong to or what the band looked like. The songs were classified by their fundamental elements. This work continues today.

Now Pandora is a result of all of that work and analysis. Pandora is an internet radio channel that allows you to create your own music channel by putting in your favorite artist or song and letting the analysis suggest and play songs based on the elements that you already like. So, for instance, I choose "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap as a channel. Pandora began to play songs that sounded similar. Or I choose Enya as a channel and Pandora begin to play artists or songs that had similar elements. I'm loving this. Already I have found several artists that I had never heard of before like...Jem or Yael Naim...that I LOVE. Or artists that I had heard of before but never knew I liked their music, like Emmy Rossum. I love discovering new artists. Pandora makes it easy.

As a caveat, Pandora is free for 40 hours a month. Once you reach your limit, you have to be done listening until the next month. Or for an upgrade you can pay $36 a year, and you will be able to listen to unlimited, ad free music. Pandora is truly my kind of internet application. I love music and I love discovering new artists.  Already I have added several new mp3 albums to my Amazom Wish List just based on what I have discovered on Pandora. So, instead of unleashing evil and misery like the Greek myth, Pandora has unleashed enjoyment and awesomeness. Check it out. If you love music as much as I do, you'll LOVE this.

Potpourri Post

This entry will be called Potpourri Post because I have several things on my mind and there was no good title to fit them all.

First off, I'm home from the San Diego Conference. It was quite a shock on the system to emerge from the airport into 29 degree temperatures. All the cars coming in to pick up arrivals had small amounts of snow and ice-cycles hanging from their vehicles. The next morning, we awoke to about 1/2 an inch of snow blanketing the ground (and trees, fences, cars, etc). It was nice to be home in my winter wonderland. Mostly, it was nice to be back in the company of my beautiful wife and my boys.

Okay, on to the next topic. While I was gone President Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize. Can anyone honestly tell me what he won it for? In looking online, the Nobel Prize was given to Obama because he was responsible for the fact that the image of America is decidedly better in the world than it was ten months ago. Okay, fine. No disagreements here. But, does that deserve the Nobel Prize? Okay, so he's a LOT more socially savvy than George W. Bush. But, deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize because of it? I'm not seeing a logical connection. Anyway....

Joi found another Corn Maze that she wanted to try. This one was at Chatfield Park in Littleton, CO. This was much, much better. First, my wife and I were able to accomplish this maze alone on a date...so immediately we were off to a good start. It's always fun to have alone time with my beautiful wife. Second, the paths were better and there were several security guards there to help you if you got lost. Also, there were multiple emergency exits, if needed. We had a LOT more fun this time. Also, we finished it. It was a chilly 32 degrees...but we had a blast anyway. The cold was nothing that a warm wife and a Starbucks Mocha couldn't solve.

The Denver Broncos. Okay, so the people of Colorado are crazy serious about their sports teams. There is a HUGE fervor over the broncos right now. If you haven't heard, they are 5-0. Undefeated. I don't think anyone expected that they would be off to such a good start. I'm not really a football fan, but it's hard not to be sucked in to the hype. It's all I hear about on the news while I drive to work. It's all I hear about at work. It's all I see on the local newspapers and TV news channels. I actually watched the recap of yesterday's game on TV. Joi leaned over and said "I'm not becoming a Bronco's fan." I thought to myself, "Neither am I...but did you see that ending! It was awesome!"

Weight Watchers. Okay, so it's no secret that Joi and I have been doing this. We were doing great. I lost 44 pounds and Joi lost even more than that (I don't remember the exact numbers here and I'd want to be precise to post it). But, the transitions of life...a new job, a new home (twice), and everything involved in those two huge life changes made us slip a little bit. But, we're back! We decided that we'd start again full force starting yesterday. Get ready for more updates on this as the pounds start coming off.

Lastly, since I got rid of my Facebook account...I'm looking for a good way to post multiple photos on Blogger. Blogger does okay with one or two photos, but it's not meant to post lots of photos. It just doesn't seem to handle it. So, does anyone have any suggestions. I have Grandparents who want photos of our kiddos...and I'd like to post them on Blogger. Does anyone know how I can handle this feat? I'm not opposed to posting them elsewhere and providing a link. Or creating a slideshow and posting the html code in my blog. Whatever works. Anyone have any good suggestions?

San Diego Conference

I am currently in San Diego, CA for a Hershey Systems Conference at the Bahia Resort Hotel. I am really impressed with the hotel. It's gorgeous and the location is great. I expected that since this is a conference that I'd get the standard room with no particularly great view. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I have a deluxe room with a full kitchen, king size bed, and a ocean view. It's really nice. Tonight, I get to go on a dinner cruise (sponsored by Hershey Systems) in an authentic paddle-wheel boat. I get to eat Filet Mignon while the boat cruises around the bay. Very nice! The only problem with this scenario is that my wife and kids couldn't join me...and I'm stuck in conference sessions most of the day. I get to look out the window at the beautiful ocean and the boats sailing by. But, I haven't been able to get outside to enjoy it. I could even rent a bike or a boat via the hotel and cruise around...but it doesn't look like I'll get the opportunity. Stinkin' conference sessions! If it wasn't the fact that I have to work while I am here, it would be a great conference. I'm joking. Actually, the conference has been informative and well organized. So, as far as conferences go, it's pretty nice. It's just that it's torture to see how beautiful it is outside and be confined to a conference room dressed in business clothes. I'd rather be in shorts and lying in the sun. Especially since Joi texted me this morning and told me that we are having our first snow of the season back in Colorado while I write this. It's 33 degrees at my home in Lakewood, according to TWC. When I fly back tomorrow night, there is expected to be more snow. It's what I like to call Wautumn (Winter + Autumn) in Colorado. It's 70 and sunny in San Diego. I'll need to enjoy the moderate weather while I can. But, I am excited to get back to Colorado tomorrow night. I miss my family and I enjoy the cold weather and the snow. So, it will be good to get home again.

Sarah's Visit and Then Off to San Diego

My sister, Sarah, came into town to visit us this weekend. Joi and the kids picked her up from Denver International Airport on Friday. Then they picked me up and we grabbed some Papa Murphy's Pizza on the way home. On Saturday, we met Dye and Forest at the Great Pumpkin Harvest Festival at Historic Four Mile Park. We had some Kettle Corn and Fry Bread with honey. Went on a Hay Ride...and even made our own scare crow. We named him Bob. The rest of the weekend, Bob kept freaking us out as we weren't used to having a smiley scarecrow hanging out in our house. On Saturday night, Sarah and I went to downtown Denver for some brother/sister time. We went to Sushi Han and enjoyed some wonderful sushi. I even got Sarah to try some Baked Green Muscels. She liked them. As did I...Yummy. Afterward, we walked around the 16th Street mall and I got to show her where I work. On Sunday, we thought we'd check out the Cider Festival nearby our house, but it turned out to be too much money to enter. So, we left and went to Red Rocks instead to show Sarah the famous amphitheater. Then we went to Broomfield to go to a Corn Maze at Rock Creek Farm. We'd never done a corn maze before. Joi had written about one in her book and she was very excited to try it out. Unfortunately, since the boys were still on the tail end of their flu...they were a little crabby and whiny. So, we only spent about 45 minutes in the actual maze. I have to say, it was very difficult to get around and find our way out of that maze. It took us about 20 minutes just to find a way out. After that, we took some pictures, pet some farm animals, and let the boys get their face painted. Then we had dinner at Applebee's in Arvada so that we could visit Steffanne while she worked. On Monday, it was raining and chilly. We went to Dino-Ridge in Morrison to show Sarah our famous dinosaur tracks. This is a very inexpensive outing and it's very near our house...so it's a fun thing to do with people who come from out of town. Then we went to a couple local thrift stores. Unfortunately, Sarah kept finding awesome and cheap furniture that she wanted...but we couldn't figure a way to get it back to California. Oh well...she'll just have to move here if she wants awesome, cheap furniture. Later that evening, I took her back to DIA and she flew back home. All in all, it was an action packed and fun filled weekend. I'll post photos next week...as I am leaving for a conference in San Diego tomorrow for the rest of the week.

Which brings me on to my next subject. UC Denver is sending me to a Hershey Systems Conference. I'll be staying at the Bahia Resort Hotel on Mission Bay. It's a bummer being so close to so many family and friends and not having an opportunity to visit with anyone. Unfortunately, they are keeping us very busy on this conference. I fly in on Wednesday afternoon, check in to the hotel, then off to check-in and registration and a welcome reception. On Thursday, I have sessions all day from 8am-5pm and then I will be going on a dinner cruise/meet and greet on a Sternwheelers authentic paddle-wheel boat around Mission Bay. On Friday, I have sessions from 8am-4pm. Then I will be packing, checking out, and flying back home on Friday evening (arriving around 11:30pm). Busy, busy, busy. It will be good to see some of my old colleagues from Azusa Pacific University. I'm hoping at some point to be able to look around and see more of Mission Bay and the Resort Hotel, but who knows. The real bummer is that I'll be missing my wife and kids. I wish they could have come with me, but it sounds like I wouldn't have had much time with them anyway. Also, it doesn't look like I'll get to eat at the Old Town Mexican Cafe, either. Bummer. I love their freshly made tortillas.

Chances are good that I won't post any blogs while I am gone (unless they're short), since I'll be pretty busy. I'm already looking forward to returning home to beautiful Colorado and my wonderful wife and boys.

Bus Flashbacks

I've talked previously about taking the Light Rail to work and how much I've enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately, taking the light rail requires that I either drive to the station (about 10 minutes away) and leave the car there all day or that I have my wife and kids take me to the station so that they can have the car. Now, another transportation option I have in an express bus that has a stop right outside my home (literally across the street). The RTD 87X is an express bus that goes from Kipling to the Civic Center in downtown Denver. From the Civic Center (which is very near to the 16th Street Mall), I am able to take the mall shuttle north a few blocks, jump off at Lawrence and walk about 4 blocks to my office. Not too shabby. The entire trip takes about 45 minutes (mostly due to the stopping and picking up passengers) and then about 15 minutes on the mall shuttle and walking. Not too bad for curbside service from my home.

Now, I had a few qualms about taking the bus. When I was in high school and attending Damien High School during my freshman year, I took the RTD bus from the Montclair Plaza to Damien High School. Aside from a small selection of Damien students, the other passengers were...let's say....interesting. Some of the passengers were mentally or physically disabled people who (God bless them) didn't understand personal boundaries or social interaction. I was drooled on, spit on, fondled, sat on, and cursed at. I felt sorry for most of these people, knowing that they couldn't help the situation they were in. For the most part, I left them alone and they left me alone. There were the occasional negative interactions, but I tried my best to forgive and forget. Now, there were other passengers who were downright shady. People who reeked of urine and booze. People who hadn't washed or used deodorant in months, nay years. Some were high on drugs...and had flashbacks or spoke to themselves (or cursed/yelled at imaginary people). Yep...Scary and unpleasant. I feared for my own safety when someone like that would sit down next to me. My active imagination had them pulling a sawed off shotgun from their trench-coat and blowing us all away. Needless to say, taking the bus was not my favorite activity in high school. I guess part of me carried those same experiences with me all these years later. When I was confronted with the opportunity to take the bus from my house into downtown, I balked. Partly because the bus left my stop at 7:05am, which meant that I'd have to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual to make the bus on time (I know...poor me! Wah..wah...wah!). But, there was a hidden part of me that expected to be riding the bus with a sexual deviant, a smelly alcoholic bum, or a poor mentally disabled person who wanted to sit on my lap and hold me.


Now, imagine my surprise when the bus was filled with adult professionals dressed in suits, ties, and business dresses. Everyone politely entered the bus, found their seat (and not on my lap) and quietly pulled out a book, iPod, or laptop. The bus was clean. The smell of dirt, body odor, and urine were pleasantly replaced with cologne, perfume, and Starbucks coffee. The driver, too, looked like an upright, respectable person. I didn't even have to fear that she'd try to commit suicide with 40 passengers on highway 6 by driving into oncoming traffic. It was a nice experience. I could relax, sit back and enjoy the tunes on my iPod.

I feel much better about the bus now. Much, much better. I could do this again. In fact, I probably will due to the fact that we have one car and I know my wife and kids need to get out of the house once in a while. Thanks Colorado RTD...for restoring my faith in public transportation.

Phineas and Ferb: The Soundtrack

I can't even begin to tell you how long my family has waited for this soundtrack to be released. Phineas and Ferb is a cartoon on the Disney Channel that we absolutely adore. It's an awesome premise. Two brothers are off on summer vacation and every day they think of something cool to do, like make a portal to mars, win the world record for the largest pinball machine, or make giant tree-house robots. Their sister, Candace, is a teenager and tries to "bust 'em" by telling Mom what they are up to, but the projects always mysteriously disappear before Mom gets home. Also, there is an evil scientist and a pet secret spy Platypus involved. You'll have to watch the show to understand. Anyway...the best part of this show is the songs. The songs featured in this cartoon are absolutely genius and hilariously funny. I'll place an example below.

So, to make a long story short, Disney has finally released the soundtrack to this cartoon. It's got 27 songs. Some of my favorites are "Gitchee Gitchee Goo", "S.I.M.P (Squirrels in my Pants)," and "Backyard Beach." If you watch the cartoon, go buy this CD. If you don't watch the cartoon, watch it. It's totally worth your time, especially if you have kiddos.

Enjoy the clip from the show...S.I.M.P (Squirrels in my Pants).