When I Watch American Idol, I Miss My Friend Dante

When I watch American Idol, I can't help but miss my friend Dante. We've never watched American Idol together or have we ever really talked about it. We really have no American Idol connection that I am aware of. So, why do I miss him when I watch the show? Because Randy Jackson and Dante Cordova are doppelgangers. Okay, granted, Randy is African American and Dante is Hispanic. But, holy cow, they look alike, they talk alike. Even some of their mannerisms are similar. They are both cool and you like them both immediately. Whenever I watch the show, I can't help but think of Dante whenever Randy gives a critique. Here....you be the judge.

Public Transportation: An Ode to Going Green

I'll be honest. I don't take public transportation because I live a green lifestyle. Yes, I care deeply about God's creation and I am in favor of going green whenever possible. But, my motivating factors are these. Gas is too expensive, we only have one car and sometimes the wife needs it, and parking is too expensive at my place of employment. This morning, I took the whole public transportation thing to new heights. Today, I worked from the Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC) in Aurora, CO. I took the express RTD bus that stops just across the street from my home and takes me to downtown Denver. I left at 7:04 AM. I arrived at the Civic Center in downtown at 7:45am. I walked a short distance and then took the RTD free mall ride down the 16th street mall several blocks and got off on Lawrence. I walked a couple more blocks until I got to the Lawrence Street Center, at UC Denver building near downtown. From there I jumped on a shuttle run by UC Denver that goes to AMC. It runs every hour. The shuttle didn't leave until 8:30am, so I had time to pull out my laptop and connect wirelessly so that I could check my email and do some work. At 8:30am, the shuttle left and took me to AMC. I arrived at 9:00am. This afternoon, I'll get to do the whole thing in reverse so that I can catch the 4:53pm bus ride back to my house. It wasn't bad and I made it to work just fine. In fact, it's nice not having to worry about traffic or stupid drivers. I just sit back, listen to my iPod, and look at the sights....which are nice going through downtown. I enjoy public transportation. It's nice to have that option and it's so convenient for me since I have a bus stop right across from my house. Sometimes I take the light rail to mix it up a little. The light rail is nice when there are no students. When the students are heading to class, it can be downright crowded on the train. The university I work at lives on a campus with two other colleges, so you can imagine the student population. It's huge. I like spring break, Christmas break, and summer because the train is not so crowded. But, during the school year there is standing room only and you usually have people so close they are touching you on all sides. You hope and pray that you get into a crowd with people who are well groomed. Otherwise, it's a miserable and smelly ride. I rarely sit down on the train anyway, so standing doesn't bother me. I like to leave the seats open for the elderly or women who would rather sit down. But, the crowdedness of the train can get annoying sometimes. But, it does allow me to sleep for an extra 30 minutes because I don't have to catch an early bus. So, a little extra sleep makes the train worth it. Anyway...all this to say, I like public transportation. And hey, I get to help the green cause in the process. Bonus!

Seagulls in Colorado

A little known fact about Colorado is that we have seagulls but no sea. It threw me off the first time I saw these birds flying around. I thought that they were either miserably lost, brain dead, or on vacation. Why would they be up here in the mountains? Why would they venture so far from the ocean? Upon further investigation, there really is no such thing as a "sea gull". There is just the species named "gull" from the Laridae family. They are not necessarily named because they only frequent the ocean. Actually, they are opportunistic feeders that will go anywhere there is something to eat. Apparently, there is something here in Colorado that they like to eat because we've got a large population of these gulls flying around. We do have lots of lakes and ponds, so perhaps they like to get their grub from our many water ways. Who knows.

Teaching My Children about God

There are people in the world that say that it is damaging to teach children about God, Christianity, Jesus, and living a life centered on God's standards laid out in the bible. I would never argue against their right to have their opinion. However, my wife and I hold a different view. We actively teach our children about God, about the bible, and what we know to be true about living life for Jesus. However, we are not brainwashing our children in any sense of the word. In fact, I want them to know what else is out there and why people have differing beliefs. I want them to know that they need to make their own choices and do their own research. By no stretch of the imagination am I expecting them to take everything I say without questioning or challenging those beliefs. I questioned. I would expect them to do the same. However, I teach them what I believe for the same reason that I teach them to look both ways before crossing a street. I've seen what can happen when children carelessly cross a street without looking for oncoming traffic. I want them to avoid the repercussions. I want them to have a better life than I did. I don't want them to want to be like me. I want them to want to be better than me.

I grew up Catholic and left the church shortly before my confirmation was scheduled. I searched lots of alternatives during those four years. I tried new age religions, I tried sex, I tried alcohol/drugs, I looked into other religions, I read books, I had in depth discussions with my friends, and I searched high and low. Through all of those searches, I continued to feel empty. There was something missing. I now recognize that "something missing" as a relationship with my creator. But, at the time, I just knew something wasn't right. I wasn't firing on all cylinders. 

In 1990, I was stunned by the conversion of my step-brother who was on the same search that I was. In a matter of a couple of weeks, he went from a college age person looking into the sex/drugs/rock and roll culture for answers, to a bible believing born-again Christian. His transformation was instant and unmistakeable. I was mesmerized. He invited me to church. I went. I got a bible and actually read it. I found that many of the answers I was looking for were addressed in its pages. I even found answers about some of the paths I had been searching that were not the right way. It was amazing how the bible spoke to my soul. It called to the missing piece in my heart. After a few months of grappling with this thing called Christianity, I gave my heart to Jesus and asked him to be my savior. It was the best decision I ever made. Not only did my cylinders all start firing, but I found a reason for why the cylinders existed in the first place.

Now, don't get me wrong, the world is a hard place to leave behind. Especially when you were steeped in it for so many years. I made lots of mistakes...even after becoming a Christian. I veered off the path from time to time. I did some stupid things. Things I am ashamed of. Things that I know God did not look favorably upon. But, thankfully, God always steered me back to what was right. He always re-ignited the flame that I tried so hard to douse with stupid decisions. I have been a Christian for 21 years now (as of February 18th, 2011). What I know to be true is that the more I follow the guidelines that God laid out for me in the bible and do things His way, the better life gets. My heart finds peace more easily. I am finally complete. I have direction. I know why I am here. I know what I am supposed to do. I have vision. I have a purpose filled life.

Bad things still happen. Our vacuum bites the dust and we need to get a new one. I get rear-ended while driving. Loved ones die and get sick. Life still hurts from time to time. But, I don't have to be stuck there. I know why life sometimes sucks. It's in the bible. I know why people die. I know why bad things sometimes happen to good people. I know why earthquakes and tsunamis occur. We live in a fallen world. But, this isn't the end of the story. This isn't where we will be left forever. Believing God means knowing that there is something better just around the corner. This world is not my home. I can handle life's challenges because I have hope for tomorrow. God doesn't change the circumstances of life, but know that God is there for me changes my reaction to life's circumstances. My wife, my kids, my job does not define me or complete me. God does. I can live through this life because I know the whole story. I don't see "through a glass darkly". I can see clearly now. The rain really is gone.

This is why I teach my boys about God. Because I know it to be right. I've done the research. I've been bruised and battered by the alternatives. I love my boys and I want them to know what is right. I wouldn't give them the keys to the car until after I had thoroughly gone over all of the rules, regulations, and consequences of driving. Why would teaching them about God be any different? At some point, they will leave me. They will make their own decisions. They may even question and challenge the beliefs that my wife and I hold. I'm okay with that. Questions and challenges make for a better and deeper understanding. What I hope they get from me and Joi is what life can look like when you are following God's standards.

Tonight, I am leading our weekly family devotion. I will talk to them about everything I stated above. I want them to know that despite what Joi and I say, it will ultimately be their decision to walk with God or walk away from God. I want them to know that they are allowed to question. They are allowed to search and challenge. But, I want them to know that there is a God who loves them dearly. I want them to know that the more they adhere to God's standards, the better life will be. I know....I've been there.

American Idol: Casey

My family enjoys watching American Idol. As a musician/singer, I like to make my own judgements after a singer performs. In fact, since we have DVR, we pause the show after a performance and make our own comments/judgements before we hear what the judges actually have to say. Usually at least one of the judges expresses our similar opinion. Last night, one of my favorite performers on this years show was in danger of going home. Casey Abrams is a very talented singer and musician. When we saw him show up to auditions with his melodica, I thought "Oh no...this guys not gonna be good." And then he opened his mouth and blew my entire family away. Amazing, unique singer! For some weird reason, America put him in the bottom three and saved some bland, cookie cutter singers like Thia and Halley. Don't get me wrong, they are good singers...but there is nothing memorable about them. Anyway, when they revealed that Casey was the one in danger of going home the collective scream of "Nooooooooooo!" echoed through our home. Luckily, the judges didn't even let him finish his swan-song and used their one "Save" of the season to keep him on the show. Thank goodness! My wife and I have never actually voted, but we might start voting next week to keep talented and unique people like Casey on the show. America...what were you thinking? Seriously? Why are less talented singers like Naima still on the show? Why are very talented musicians and singers who are unique and amazing, like Casey, almost eliminated? I seriously contemplated not watching the show at all if Casey did, in fact, get eliminated. It would prove to me that American has little interest in talent and uniqueness and are more interested in another cookie cutter singer who sounds like everyone else. Thankfully, Casey was saved and I will be watching the show for another week.

Songify This - Winning by Charlie Sheen

I don't have much to blog about today, but I wanted to share this song that has been stuck in my brain since I first heard it. I wish I could download the MP3 somewhere. I'd totally put it on my iPod. Charlie Sheen has lost it, but I enjoy this song based on his odd interviews. What's not to like with lyrics like "Come on, Bro, I've got tiger blood" and "I'm a total fricken Rasta from Mars." This is what auto-tune was made for. I was actually thinking of doing a cover of this for the Cry for Mercy reunion concert. I just need to talk Joe and Dan into it.

A Baseball Moment

Yesterday afternoon, my family was watching "The Sandlot". Probably one of the best baseball related family movies out there. Except for a couple of completely unnecessary curse words, it is a cute movie. After watching the movie, Gage went up stairs and grabbed his baseball mitt that we bought at a yard sale a couple of summers ago. He went outside to see if one of the neighborhood boys wanted to play catch. I went to help Joi make dinner and told Gage that I'd play catch with him after dinner. Joi told me that she'd take care of dinner and that I should go outside and play catch. So, I did. Gage's face lit up and he was so excited to be playing catch with his Daddy. Before long, Garrison wandered outside to watch. I told him to grab his glove and join us. He did. Unfortunately, the gloves that we bought for them at that yard sale are all made for right handers...so Garrison had to catch and throw opposite of his left-handedness. But, he did really well. Within a few more minutes, Gavin joined us outside with his glove. And then a neighborhood kid showed up with his spider-man glove and ball. Since they are all still fairly new at catching and throwing a baseball, I had them line up opposite of me and I took turns throwing it to them. The neighborhood kid that joined us beamed when he caught the ball with his mitt "for the first time". I saddened me that this boy got to experience that moment with me rather than his own Dad. But, I was proud to be the deliverer of that throw regardless. My boys did awesome for being new at the whole baseball thing. I think we will do this more often. Every boy should know how to catch and throw a baseball. My catching elbow is a little sore from over-extending it to catch some wild pitches, but over all it was a nice time. The look on my boys' faces when they caught a pitch in their glove or made a perfect throw back to me was priceless!

Colorado's Changing Face

It's been unseasonably warm here lately. In fact, on Wednesday and Thursday it's been a record high 76 degrees. So, when the weather called for a slight chance of snow on Thursday night, I didn't hold my breath. How in the world can it be 76 degrees in the day and snow by that same night? Well, Colorado seems to pull it off. This morning I woke up, looked out my bedroom window, and found this.

 Now...most of this snow didn't last very long because today it is a high of 52 degrees and is supposed to be mostly sunny all day. But, wow, what a beautiful morning. The snow was a wet, spring snow...so it coated the trees and bushes in white. The ground was still warm so it caused a low laying fog to drift just above the ground. The green belt across the street from our home looked amazing with glistening white trees and shrubs and drifting fog. It was amazingly beautiful. I love this place!

St. Patrick's Day Tribute Flash Mob

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to post a flash mob video that occurred in Australia today. I've always wanted to participate in a flash mob. I just don't think I could dance like that. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Where was this kid while we were sick?

My entire household has been sick with a bad cold/flu for about 2 weeks. On Monday, we went through 2 1/2 boxes of kleenex. Where in the world was this kid while we blew our noses over and over and over again? We could have used the entertainment. You can only watch television for so long.

Snake EGGventure and Sickness

First, the bad news. For the past couple of weeks, we've been pretty sick. It was a really bad flu with lots of coughing, fevers, snot, Kleenex, medicine, etc. All of us got it. I've been home from work since last Friday. Joi got it really bad. We took her to urgent care on Saturday because she couldn't breathe and was in a lot of pain. They gave her a breathing treatment and some meds for Bronchitis. Not fun. Today, we are finally on the up. Gage and Gavin are finally showing some energy and are playing and laughing again. Joi and I felt well enough to try to super-clean/sanitize everything...but Joi may have overdone it. She's pooped. Still lots of coughing and snot...but things are looking better. We're hoping to return to normal soon.

The other news. We have three pet corn snakes that we bought in Colorado Springs over a year ago. They were pretty small when we got them and the pet store assured us that they were all females...since we kept them in the same cage and did not want babies. Well, Gavin's snake "Spitfire" was, in fact, a male. We caught him romancing or "mating", as the boys call it, with the other two females many, many times. It was interesting to watch. It's not every day you get to see snakes mating. Anyway, about a month ago, the two females stopped eating. A sign of pregnancy. Then they shed. A sign that they were about to give birth. So, I put a birthing box in their cage and removed the male snake. The birthing box consisted of a Tupperware container with some wet sponges in it. Within a day or two of putting the birthing box in the cage, Gage's snake "Crystal" gave birth to a clutch of about 8 eggs. They were huge. Larger than I expected. After birthing, she was exhausted and stayed in the birthing box to rest for a couple of days. Garrison's snake "Ferb" crawled in their with her and proceeded to birth another clutch of about 7 eggs. And then she crashed, too. Within a couple of days, they emerged from the birthing box and I was able to dispose of the eggs. We just don't have the facilities to care for the eggs and they didn't look healthy to begin with. So, I did what my Grandpa Longtin would have done and "took them behind the barn"...so to speak. Then I took Gavin to the nearest pet store that deals with snakes and asked if we could trade our male for a female. They allowed us to do that, and gave us a discounted rate on the new snake. Our new female snake is called "Tigress". Hopefully, she really is a female. The pet-store guy said he was 99% sure. I guess we'll see. Hopefully, that was the last foray into snake birthing for us. Unfortunately, we were so sick, it didn't occur to me to take pictures of the eggs. Oh well...

Taking a Look at What's Important

In 2008, my family and I made the difficult decision to leave our lifelong home of California and move 1000 miles away to Colorado. We left family, friends, a good church, a stable job, and familiarity. But, we still feel like it was the best decision we ever made. We took a long hard look at what was really important to us and made a difficult decision based on those priorities. The facts were these: We couldn't afford California any longer. Southern California was not a great place to raise children. The pollution, graffiti, smut, stress, and violence that had come to define California was becoming too much to bear. What was really important to us? Getting out of debt and finding a place where we could live within our means without living on the street. Living in a place that had nature for my boys to frolic in, rather than a concrete jungle. Living in a place where we weren't afraid our children would possibly get hit by a stray gang war bullet. Living in a place with actual seasons where the trees turn colors in the fall, snow falls in the winter, everything is green and beautiful in the spring, and everything is bright and sunny in the summer. Living in a place where family values were more prominent and where stress and fast living slowed down to an easy peace. Where road rage was much less common. Where the air is breathable. Mostly, it came down to this. While we love and miss many of our friends and extended family, our highest priority was not to make them happy. Our highest priority and our greatest God-given responsibility was to raise our children in the best possible way we can. For us, that meant moving away and starting a new life in a better place. Things have worked out well for us so far. We found another great church and a wonderful church family who loves and supports us. I found a better job with more pay than I had ever received in California. We are chipping away at debt and living within our means. It's easier to do in a place where rent isn't so high and prices aren't so horrendous. We love the seasons and the snow! We love having so many open spaces dedicated to being nature sanctuaries. We love not having to chew our air. We weigh less. We are generally happier. Less stressed. Less rushed. Our marriage is better than ever before after recovering from a very rough patch before we left California. Our boys are thriving. We love it here. We do not regret our decision in the least. I am thankful to God for an opportunity to start over and reset our life. I'd do it again in an instant. God does allow do-overs. A recent Gallup poll rated Colorado as the 5th happiest state in the country behind Hawaii, Wyoming, North Dakota and Alaska. I can vouch for that.

Geocaching

A couple of weeks ago, I went geocaching. My brother-in-law decided to try it and his family and my family (along with Joi's Dad) went with us. We walked to a nearby park where there were several geocaches. We found the three we set out to find and it was a lot of fun. For those of you unfamiliar with geocaching, I'll explain a little first. According to the official geocaching website (www.geocaching.com) "Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment." You'll need a GPS. A car GPS works fine, but you won't be working with an address. You'll be using GPS coordinates. So, make sure you're GPS has pedestrian capabilities and takes coordinates.You look online on www.geocaching.com and find some caches near where you are or where you want to go, write down the coordinates and find any hints or clues that might help you and then you're off. Some geocaches are simply tiny containers with a log to sign indicating that you found it. Others are larger containers and have treasures in them that you can take (as long as you replace it with something similar or better). I had so much fun on my first outing, I decided to join the site (with a free basic account) and find some nearby my house. I found that there are 20 geocaches just across the street from my home in the Bear Creek Green Belt. So, my boys and I set out to find a couple of them on Saturday. We wrote down the coordinates and the hints and sallied forth. One geocache called "Stumped" really did stump us. We couldn't find it. But, another cache called "President Roosevelt" was much easier to find. We took a couple of the treasures and replaced them with some treasures my boys found at home. And, of course, we signed the log. Also, while searching for the cache, we found a large male owl perching in a tree, which was pretty cool. Apparently, he and his mate had babies recently and they make their home in a tree in the green belt. So, we have owls nearby. If you have never been geocaching, I highly recommend it. My boys always used to ask me if we could go looking for buried treasure. Now we can...and we'll actually find it. Good, outdoor fun!

Autotune...Autosucks!

Autotune. I'm sure you've heard of it. Wikipedia describes it this way: "Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform perfectly tuned vocal tracks without needing to sing in tune." I remember when it was first used in songs. I liked it because it gave the singer a robotic/futuristic sound to their voice. The first song I remember it being used was Cher's "Do you Believe in Life After Love". I already knew that Cher could sing, so it give her an interesting sound. While I don't really care for the song, I thought the voice effect was cool. Nowadays, autotune is used way, way too much in pop/hip hop/top 40 songs. They are using it to allow artists who can't sing, but have a cool image to get away with being in the charts. Autotune fixes the inaccuracies of their vocal performance and makes their awful singing into a perfectly tuned melody. It's becoming commonplace. Why do these artists have hit songs when they can't sing without technology making their voices in tune? There are far too many talented singers who don't need autotuning that should be on the charts. Why waste time with artists who are manufactured with a computer? It just doesn't make any sense to me. And it's not like the artist or the studio is being slick about it. It's pretty freaking obvious when autotune is being used. When I browse the radio stations and stop to listen to a pop channel, it seems like every other song is autotuned. It's ridiculous. It's like the entertainment business is getting lazy. It's like "Well, this person can dance or has a good look. Let's make him/her into a pop singer. We'll fix the vocals in the mix." Believe me...there are hundreds and thousands of struggling artists who can sing, dance, act, and have a good look...who never make it in the business. Why waste time with these under-talented artists who need autotune? I think autotune should be outlawed in the music business and only used to make funny viral videos like the Bed Intruder Song. Enjoy!

Technology and Innovation Rocks!

I love technology. It's probably the nerd in me, but I just get giddy over some new slick technology or gadget. Recently, I've been able to experience some cool technology that just makes me giggle like a school girl. I know this isn't new, but we recently joined Netflix. I set it up to play through our Wii system wirelessly. I was pleasantly surprised to see how clear the picture was. Also, it loads quickly and I've never experienced any lags or uploading hiccups. It's pretty slick. So, for $9.99 a month, we get unlimited DVD's mailed to our house (one at a time) and unlimited "watch instantly" on our Wii or any computer. It's been cool watching previous seasons of "Psych" (one of our new favorite shows). Plus, I can finally watch Season 2 of "Pushing Daisies" which I missed because we lived in a house with no TV for a year. The boys are enjoying watching movies and we don't even have to wait for the Redbox to get something good. We find it, we watch it. Instantly. It's seriously cool.

I'm not sure this counts as technology, but it fits nicely into innovation, which also makes me giddy. I've had some dental work done a couple of weeks ago and again today. I had some cracks in my old metal fillings that needed to be replaced. Our dentist only uses the new white fillings that match your teeth. It's freaking awesome. Now, when I open my mouth it doesn't look like I've been chewing on tin foil. The fillings are barely noticeable and didn't take very long to get. Plus, the process was fairly painless. It's not like it was a few years ago where it felt like they were drilling into my jawbone. Other than the sound of scraping and drilling, there really wasn't any pain. Afterward, there is some discomfort and some sensitivity, but that goes away within a couple of days. I like my new white fillings. Innovation is cool.

Also, I am enjoying exploring my new Windows 7 laptop and finding new bells and whistles. I love the cool gadgets that you can run and the new features of Windows 7 and Office 10. Pretty amazing. Every morning when I power up my laptop, it's like I get to explore a whole new world of awesomeness. Plus, it's blazing fast...which rocks!

I am definitely a man who loves me some electronic gadgets. New technology and innovation makes me go gaga. I can't get enough. Bring it on, future!

Sometimes I Sit At Work And Do This Very Thing

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