MKL's Muse

Ego Over Matter: Weeks 11 & 12: Removing the Monkey

2011-03-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

You may notice that I have not posted an update the past couple of weeks. There's a reason for that. No I haven't quit, but I have been less focused on the diet front for the past two weeks. This is two-fold. First, it's because I want to spend some time to let my head and body rest a little before I pour on another ten weeks of focus. The second is because I had to get a monkey off my back.

One of the things that, like clockwork, tends to happen whenever I decide that I need to lose weight, is that my caffeine consumption starts to rise, first slowly, then precipitously. I noticed at the end of week 10 that I was averaging 4-6 Diet coke drinks every day. That's a lot. Too much, in fact. that's almost 200 mg of caffeine per day, which would be equivalent to two cups of coffee each day. Being a Latter-day Saint, I don't like that comparison (and yes, I am perfectly aware that Diet Coke is not part of the Word of Wisdom, I've rationalized that argument hundreds of times over my lifetime). Caffeine is a wonderful little appetite suppressant, but it only works for so long, and then you need elevated doses to get the same effect. I've decided this time around that I want to get to my weight without the little helper taking part of the credit. So I've spent the past two weeks dealing with a cold turkey withdrawal of caffeine from diet soda.

How does it feel? So far, it hasn't been too bad. I haven't had the headaches or irritability I've had in the past, but I definitely notice the appetite suppressant quality being gone. I feel hungry a lot more often, and I find myself snacking often in spite of myself. I'm trying to supplement this by drinking protein shakes during the day. I'm not ashamed to say, it's a darn lousy substitute (LOL!).

So my next cycle officially begins today, and this time, I decided not to weigh myself. Have I relapsed a little? Yeah, I'm sure I have, but part of me is OK with that. this time around, I'm going to do it without my "old friend", because i want to prove to myself I can do it. Frankly, I think I'll feel better about the result. Here's to "round two" :).

Ego Over Matter: Week 10: Steady the Hovercraft

2011-03-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

So at the end of Week 10, I tipped the scale at 240 pounds, which is down two pounds from my last weigh-in, a total of 10 pounds dropped total, 42 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds, and effectively a two week flat-line when taken together. I'm hovering, and I don't like it.

One of the challenges is that I'm in class right now. I'm working on the Bug Advocacy class for the Association for Software Testing. Don't worry if that doesn't mean anything to you, the key is that it's messing with my schedule and my hours, and it's causing me to spend less time walking about and more time curled up with a laptop and typing. Not a great formula for weight loss success, so after this next week, when the class is officially finished, I meed to up my game.

How to do that? I'm working it out, but I have free weights, I have a Swiss Ball, I have a mountain bike, and really, I have zero excuses. What I don't have is a lot of time, but actually, that is also not true. I have the same1,440 minutes every single day, so somewhere in there, I should be able to fit 30 to 60 minutes of doing something active and physical. You know the old line "if you are too busy to do [fillInTheBlank] then you are too busy!" It's not a matter of time, it's a matter of choice and what matters to me. I claim to want to drop the weight, but until I actually get out and run a few laps or pedal a bike for awhile or take the skateboard out for a ride or start pumping some iron, I'm all hot air!

So yeah, I need to make a priority on dong more movement, because the food option is kinda' reaching its limit, and I want to see the progress bar start going down again. Overcoming inertia is always the hard part, so that's my plan, overcome inertia, as soon as class is over ;).

The ABC's of Me

2011-03-05T07:23:00.000-08:00

Clarese did this, and hey, I'm going to borrow it from her as well. Think of it as a diversion from my current obsession with losing weight :).

A. Age: 43
B. Bed size: California King
C. Chore you dislike: Mowing the lawn
D. Dogs: Rikku (Corgie)
E. Essential start to your day: check on the fish upstairs, make sure everyone is OK and all the food is gone.
F. Favorite color: Hunter Green
G. Gold or silver: silver
H. Height: 6'2"
I. Instruments you play(ed): Primarily a singer, but I an play a little guitar, bass and drums, plus plunk out some chords on a piano.
J. Job title: Software tester, instructor, podcast producer, writer
K. Kids: 3 of them :)
L. Live: San Bruno, CA
M. Mom's name: Dorothy
N. Nicknames: went by Kelly as a stage name
O. Overnight hospital stays: so far, my birth is it
P. Pet peeves: Overly padded writing, which is ironic because I am certainly guilty of it.
Q. Quote from a movie: "Self-realization. I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"" Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), Real Genius
R. Righty or lefty: mixed (write with right hand but do a lot of other stuff left handed)
S. Siblings: Oldest of 4 (one brother, then two younger sisters).
T. Time you wake up: 4:30-5:00am, typically
U. Underwear: standard issue ;).
V. Vegetables you don't like: haven't really met one yet that fits that bill :).
W. What makes you run late: train schedules
X. X-rays: teeth, shoulder, ankle, lower back
Y. Yummy food you make: I have an awesome cayenne pepper salmon dish, speaking of which, I'd really like to make that again, thanks for the reminder :).
Z. Zoo animal favorites: Lions and Tigers are all the rage!

Ego Over Matter: Week 9: Vacations Rarely Lead To Weight Loss

2011-03-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

So at the end of Week 9, I tipped the scale at 242 pounds, which is up two pounds from my last weigh-in, a total of 10 pounds dropped total, and 42 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

This past weekend we went down to Fresno to visit with our friends. Usually, as you can imagine, these trips tend to involve a lot of dining out, socializing, and frankly, not a lot of rigorous control on the diet front. Thus, I fully expected a bit of a rebound this week, and yep, I got it! Of course, going to John's Pizza, an Asian buffet, bagels and Dairy Queen didn't help matters *AT ALL* (LOL!), but hey, I'm not going to play the miserable little dieter while I'm out with my family on a visit, so I was prepared to take the hit.

On our road trips, whenever possible, we like to find fun and unusual sodas that we’d never tried before. This trip, we explored the options that Fentiman’s offered, including their Curiosity Cola, which I discovered is one of the oldest small brew colas still made, Burdock soda, which tastes a bit like bubble gum and licorice, and Shandy, which is a beer soft drink… yes, you read that right! It’s basically a malt and barley soda pop with sugar and lemon.

Interestingly enough, with the hit, I'm actually back on the even keel I'm supposed to be with a 1 pound a week loss, and I'm actually still a pound ahead. Remember I stalled for a week, then dropped four pounds the following week, then dropped another pound, then back-tracked two. All told that puts me at losing 11 pounds in ten weeks, which is ahead of where I intended to be in the first place, so no harm no foul :).

It can be frustrating, though, to spend a lot of energy hoping to see a drop and not seeing it happen, but then, I also realize that the prepared foods often have higher sodium content (hey, it's part of what makes them taste good ;) ), and that higher sodium content directly translates to higher water retention, meaning this could all slip away in a couple of days of getting "back to normal". This is why I don't freak out too much about the day to day weight fluctuations, and rely on my weekly "weigh-in" to balance out the story. My weigh in just happened to come after my weekend away. Justifying much? Absolutely (LOL!). Ah well, it's a new week and a new chance to get back on the horse, so here we go again...

Ego Over Matter: Week 8: It's The Little Things

2011-02-23T11:44:00.000-08:00

So at the end of eight weeks, I weighed in at 240 pounds. This is down 1 pound and puts me 42 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

I feared I might back-slide due tothe big drop of last week, but I definitely smiled when i saw a 1 pound drop. Of course, the drops are sort of a ratchet effect. Within a day or two I'm up over the weight again, often by a couple of pounds, and then I do a taper towards the end of the week to help me "make weight". this was a technique I learned when I was on the wrestling team in high school (honestly, i sucked at wresting, and I was totally built wrong for the sport; too tall and too heavy to be effective against my competition who was usually much shorter and much more powerfully built). Still, the "ratchet taper" is a technique that helps you to ease off the pedal for a couple of days, and then go into a slow dive that helps you make your target. this ios a much more healthy way to "make weight than other methods I've tried over the years (diuretics, etc.). To this end, I tend to remind myself that a couple of pounds up each day or down each day should be weighed into the final weigh in Monday morning, and that's the figure that matters (otherwise it's just way too frustrating and demoralizing to see the fluctuation of down two one day, up four another, etc.).

One of the little treats in the office that it a guilty pleasure of mine are the stacks of Otter Pops in the freezer. I'm convinced I'm the only one that eats these, and I have to remind myself to go easy on them (I try to limit myself to just one a day, but some days are worse than others (LOL!). Still, it's a small little thing, and it greatly improves my mood on certain days, so I don't fight it too much :).

Ego Over Matter: Week 7: The Thrill of the Ride

2011-02-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

So at the end of seven weeks, I currently sit at 241 pounds. This is down 4(!!!) pound and is 43 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

Wow! 4 Pounds?! How in the heck did that happen? And will I be bummed if I back-slide from that level? I really don't think I did anything that extreme, but I did go snowboarding this weekend with my family, and I will admit the anticipation and all the running around to get everything ready would certainly have been an influence, but wow, four pounds in a week is both huge and scary (I always worry in the early stages of a weight loss that a radical drop is usually more associated with a clean-out of the gastro-intestinal tract than it is any big weight loss; my clothes don't fit much differently, so it's not like I'm dropping a waist size. still, a drop is a drop is a drop, so I'll take it :).

Ego Over Matter: Week 6: Creative Tricks for Quick Wins

2011-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

So at the end of five weeks, I currently sit at 245 pounds. This is down 1 pound and is 47 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

It was nice to see the scale move again. Back feels much better, but it’s reminded me that the extra weight is hugely responsible for the pain. Needless to say, I’m more motivated now to get rid of the remainder.

I started thinking about the little tricks that I tend to play on myself in the early going any time I diet or try to lose weight. I do them for a variety of reasons, but generally they are to get me some quick wins, so that I feel motivated to keep going over the long haul. One is a minor habit tweak, one of them is a regular thing I’ve been doing for years generally speaking, and one of them is a new development and is, well, somewhat bizarre.

1. I work with a small company on the 4th floor of an old brownstone. As it’s an old building, it has older infrastructure, the most obvious being the fact that it only has one bathroom. Put 25 people onto a floor with only a single bathroom, and needless to say, the line can be long. At the street level, there is a meeting annex to one of the nearby high-rises that has a Men's & Women’s restroom. When you make it a point to go down and up four flights of stairs every time you use the bathroom, that can have a cumulative effect (especially since I make it a point to drink 64 oz of water each day ;) ).

2. In my faith (for those who don’t read this from my obvious sources or can’t figure out from my blog feed, I’m L.D.S. ;) ), every month at the start of the month we have what is referred to as a “Fast Sunday”, where we go without food for a 24 hour period (or more precisely from end of dinner Saturday until start of dinner on Sunday). Mileage varies on how this is done or how strictly you do it, and for what purpose it is normally done (I do it in association with a goal that I wish to pray for or a question I want to pray about. Well, back in 2007, when I shed 52 pounds in 6 months, I decided to have a Fast Sunday every week. I don’t recommend this for everyone, but it has generally worked well for me and has actually had other benefits outside of the purely weight loss related. It also helps that it tends to give me a good push towards weigh in day (which is always first thing Monday morning).

3. You all jumped ahead to see what the bizarre thing was, didn’t you (LOL!)? Well, here it is. One of the things I discovered back in my last big shed-down is that having an overpowering taste can really be effective as a weight loss and appetite suppressant aid. In 2007, my spice-meter went through the roof, to the point where I was literally filling a shot glass with either Tapatio or Sriracha hot sauce. I don’t know if it really had much of an effect by itself, but it certainly helped blunt my hunger. Problem is, it doesn’t work anymore; I’ve become too used to it. This time around, I wanted to try to find “calorically empty” foods. Not those bereft of nutritional value, but I mean literally those with an almost zero caloric input. Perfect candidate? Pickles! So some of you are asking “what’s so bizarre about that?” well, nothing yet, but as I was trying to dig into the jar, I decided that I needed to do something with the vinegar that I had to dunk into. Instead of pour it down the drain, I drank about a quarter cup of it. Wonder of wonders, it had this really strong sour taste (not altogether unpleasant, but not something I’m normally go out of my way to drink straight). The really cool thing was that, within about 15 seconds, I had a total blunting of any appetite! Just by drinking about ¼ cup of pickle juice (which is effectively garlic infused vinegar). So now each time I reach for a pickle or two, I drain off just enough of the vinegar to get a “fortifying shot”. It probably won’t work forever, but right now it’s strangely effective.

So how about you? What are *your* psychological tricks to help you score your quick wins :)?

Ego Over Matter: Week 5: Back Trouble and Standing Still

2011-01-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

So at the end of five weeks, I currently sit at 246 pounds. This is down 0 pound and is 48 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

So yeah, you all caught that, right? No movement. that's because I had limited movement this week. I don't know what I did exactly, or what triggered it, but when I reached for something this past Monday evening, I felt that tell-tale "bass string Pop" sensation above my left hip. Each time this happens, I know what I'm in store for... limited movement, large doses of Ibuprofen, and me totally frustrated. With less movement comes more boredom and, often, a desire to eat more food, so I found myself snacking mindlessly at times when I didn't even really feel hungry or want to eat. It provided a distraction for my ache, but it's not the distraction I really wanted.

Fortunately, the ache is subsiding now (these episodes usually last about a week), so I am finding it easier to get out of the snacking mode (that, and an increased consumption of water).

So I have figured out the rhythm of the breakfast delivery at work. As I mentioned, yes, the entire office gets breakfast. Monday's are breakfast sandwiches from various places (they rotate where they come from, but basically they are usually egg, ham or bacon, or vegetarian, on either English muffins or toast. Tuesday's are bagels w/ various schmears and a plate of cut fruit. Wednesday's are breads and baguettes with really heavy Greek style plain yogurt and various flavorings (my preferred method is Turkish style with a tablespoon of honey). Thursday is breakfast burritos of various kinds (usually ham, bacon and veggie). Friday is steel cut oatmeal and mixed fruit. Seriously, my company buys enough for everyone each morning. Pretty cool, huh :)? Of course, with so much food about, it's easy to make frequent trips to the break room and see what's there, so it's up to me to decide when to steer clear.

Well, here's hoping this coming week will see a return to greater mobility and also to reduced pounds.

Ego Over Matter: Week 4: New Temptations

2011-01-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

So at the end of four weeks, I currently sit at 246 pounds. This is down 2 pound and is 48 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

This in a way surprises me because I started my new job this past week... at a place that has even more food in the office than the place I just left (LOL!). What's more, they feed the staff breakfast every morning. Yes, you read that correctly (start-up culture, it's a beautiful thing in many ways; this just happens to be the tradition of this place). What's neat to see is that they get actual hearty breakfast foods, like egg sandwiches, granola, yogurt, fruit plates, breakfast burritos, etc. and they get enough for everyone! What's more, they foster a sense of community when they eat lunch and take their breaks to eat. They all hang out together. All of this makes the meal time breaks more anticipated, but more to the point, it makes snacking practically stop.

The third story stairs deal also seems to be helping a little bit. I was leaving the building to go out and in at least three times a day the first couple of days, but that has mostly stopped (LOL!). Seriously, though, I think just a break from routine made enough of a switch-up that I was able to drop two pounds without making much of an effort. The healthier breakfast food options, and later in the day, are probably helping, though (I love my friend Curt's response when I told him my company feeds us breakfast. He said "Breakfast?! What are you, Hobbits?!")

So there it is week one of a new job down, and a plan to see if this change up is just a temporary blip or actually has a longer term effect. We'll see next week :).

Ego Over Matter: Week 3: New Beginnings, New Habits

2011-01-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

So at the end of three weeks, I currently sit at 248 pounds. This is down 1 pound and is 50 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

Interesting to see what the future will hold. I officially ended a six year run with Tracker Corp. on Friday and will start my new job today as a Senior Tester at SideReel. There are some differences that will definitely make a change to my routine. First, the new building is an old building, an early 20th century (maybe earlier) brownstone with three floors. We're on the top floor and the stairs is the only real way in and out (there's an elevator, but it's for freight only, and it's an old elevator anyway, so best to use the stairs. With that being the only way in and out, my exercise quotient has risen a bit right there.

Many of the old snack habits from the old company are now officially gone. I can't access the varieties of free food and candy that were often stocked in the office, and I have a feeling this new company is a lot leaner on those types of things (they are a start-up after all :) ). So that will also shift my habits considerably. More water and home brought stuff for me, which is fine :).

It'll be interesting to see what the new job and the way the office is set up and structured will do to me longer term. I for one am interested in seeing just what happens. Stay tuned for more :).

Madd Money: Made in the USA?! Actually, Yes!!!

2011-01-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

One of the oft heard quips from many is that "the US doesn't make anything anymore". Well, that may or may not be true, but here's a question... how many of you (and I'm pointing at myself when I use that "Royal You" as well) actually make it a point to look at where your items are made? Do we really care?!

One one side, I'm as patriotic as the next guy and I want to see our country prosper and grow. On the other hand, if I need new shoes and the US pair is $90 and the Chinese pair is $40, well...

...

...and I know I'm not the only one that does that! Truth be told, though, I'm willing to bet that 90% of the time, we don't even give a second thought as to where something is made, just the price and "can I take that home now?!" If we have to do much thinking beyond that or much detective work, then it's likely we'll do nothing, or move onto what is easier for us.

Just for grins, I thought I'd check my labels. My shoes? Made in China. My swank Gap 1969 jeans? Festooned with references to San Francisco in various places and prominent on many of the labels... but made in Macau. My flannel, actually made by a company called American Living... and manufactured in India. See? I'm in a glass house myself, so I ain't throwing any stones here. Also, there are certain items that I greatly enjoy and I know full well they come from overseas, and I'm cool with that and willing to spend the money for the real deal item. My Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses are hand made in Italy, and I do not mind spending the money for a pair of them because the style and the brand are excellent and high quality (and hey, looking like a bald Roy Orbison is kinda' cool ;) ).

So what's a patriotic person supposed to do? What if we want to buy products that are Made in the USA? How do we even know what's out there? Well, there's a site actually dedicated to that at Made in USA Forever. Now, granted, I can't vouch for anything here yet, as I haven't ordered anything from them, nor am I in the immediate market for anything on this list, but should I find myself in the need or wanting anything, I do plan to give this list a look and see how things rate. If the items in question are of solid quality, I'm willing to pay for them and support local business and economies. If you want to play along as well, please feel free to. At least this way, when we make our comparisons, and if we know there's a viable alternative, we can put our money where our mouth is. If enough of us do it, there just might be a desire for a resurgence in American made goods and, frankly, I would like to see more of that!

Ego Over Matter: Week 2: Back In Touch With Reality

2011-01-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

So at the end of two weeks, I currently sit at 249 pounds. This is down 1 pound and is 51 pounds away from my goal of 198 pounds.

Bleh! that about sums it up. Not elation, not frustration, just, bleh! Having done this a number of times, I think I'm becoming both more philosophical and more cynical about it, but also more concrete in I know what I have to do, and I just have to do it. Some things that this week helped put into perspective. There are several maxims I've used over the years, and those maxims still hold.

1. Eat it whole, eat it raw, eat it unprocessed is still good advice. When in doubt, go with fresh, go with whole foods, and eat them as is. Two whole oranges are a lot less calorically dense compared to a glass of orange juice, and they are also a lot more filling :).

2. Steering clear of sodas of any stripe is best, but if one must, go with Diet flavors (even if they are genuinely awful tasting). Other than that, drink at least 64 oz of water every day potentially closer to 1 gallon a day. Your trips to the bathroom increase, but it also helps flush out the other gunk, too (and your skin will thank you, seriously, it will :) ).

3. Getting back into the understanding of what a portion is can be amazing. If in doubt, carry around some measuring cups and see/calculate what you actually eat. You may well be astounded by how much you put away without even thinking about it. Also, read carefully the serving labels. My morning oatmeal baggie is actually two servings (ha ha ha! in who's world?!). Each serving has 100 calories, so each bag actually has 200 calories. I often would put two bags together to make a substantial enough meal. That's 400 calories or 20% of the days calories for a 2,000 calorie day (which if you are on a losing kick is a good goal at 6'2" and 250). That's sobering!

4. If you have to choose between eating less and exercising more, it's great if you can do the latter, but the necessary output to burn 500 calories more a day is a lot more effort than shaving 500 calories a day. Do both and you will be a rock star (as well as create a 1,000 kCal/day deficit, but you may find it makes you really grumpy, too. Still, that's all you really have control over is the amount, and diet control is simpler than expending more energy exercising (provided you're already doing some as it is. If not, get up and go take a walk :) ).

5. Dieting sucks! Yes, I said it. It's not fun, it's kind of a pain, and it's frustrating when you are invited to dinner or are out and about. You can mitigate that fact a little bit, though, by being more prepared, packing your own food wherever possible, and packing the items that are nutrient dense and take up a lot of room w/o adding a lot calorically (back to the whole whole/raw/unprocessed spiel in #1).

So there it is. I met the target for the week and feel utterly underwhelmed. It's still early, though, so let's see if this tortoise approach will actually work better long term.

EGO OVER MATTER: Week 1: Getting Our Bearings

2011-01-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

To those who know me, as usual, this is not a New Year's Resolution. I do not make those; I believe a goal is good enough to start any day and every day, so I actually started this on December 27th, 2010.

Week 1: The Truth Shall Set You Free

So here is some truth. I weigh 250 pounds at 6'2" of height. Now, some might say, oh that's not so bad for a guy in his mid 40's. True, but in 2007 I went from 242 to 190. I dropped 52 pounds in 26 weeks, averaging two pounds a week without ceasing (and often doing 3 or 4 pounds a week at a clip). The net result was that I looked great for about a year, got totally burned out on dieting, joined a gym so I could build some muscle again, ate like a horse to build up, then stopped going to the gym in the Summer of 2009. Still kept eating as I was accustomed to. Have a fairly nice amount of muscle still, but it's marred considerably by the extra fat weight I'm carrying. Grrr!!!!

After dropping to 190#, I had lost the chronic back pain that had plagued me for several years. Sadly, it's back (no pun intended) and it irritates me considerably. I'd like to see it go away again.

When I dropped to 190#, I stopped snoring. Seriously. With the weight coming back, so has the snoring, and frequently my getting up to go sleep somewhere else so Christina can have a good nights sleep. That's a drag, since I happen to like my bed and I hate the fact that I'm depriving someone else of good sleep. Plus, I had vanquished it, so I know I can do it again.

Here's another truth. I lost 52 pounds in 26 weeks in 2007. I know it is possible, I know I can do it, and I know I can do it without tearing myself to shreds in the process. This time around, I'm not going to be impatient, and I'm going to allow my body to acclimate more naturally so that I can make it a lifestyle change I can live with. The change in 2007 was dramatic, it was amazing, but in many ways, I set myself up to fail after I met my goal. What then? So my goals will have to be a little more concrete this time, and emphasize some good long term reasons to lose the weight:

1. I hate the back pain. I want it to go away.
2. I hate that my snoring is keeping my wife up at night, and that it may be pointing to sleep apnea that may shorten my life if I don't do something about it.
3. 38" waistline. Need I say more?!
4. My mom was recently diagnosed with Diabetes. Granted, she's 70, and later in life stuff like this happens. But I also know that this can be genetic, so if my mom's got it now, I could develop it later, unless I change tactics.
5. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, or put more succinctly... I'VE HAD IT!!! (In my best Les Brown / Dave Ramsey imitation :) ).

Since I believe wholeheartedly in public flagellation to accomplish goals, that's exactly why these pages exist. Check in with me each Monday and see how we roll. Good or bad, it will be posted here for all to see.

Shedding of Innocent Stuff: The New Year's day Garage Purge

2011-01-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is a day of extremes. New Year's day is always spend doing the same thing. It's the day I put away all of the Christmas decorations, and I spent the bulk of the day in the garage de-junking and making the commitment to toss more stuff (it almost always requires a special trash pickup call, and today is no exception).

This day is purifying, especially since I make it a point to be especially ruthless! If there are items that I have not touched once in the course of the year, they're pretty much goners (there are of course some exceptions, items that don't get used often, but are there for a purpose, such as paint, spare lightbulbs, etc, but in general, if it's in the same place I left it last year, its not likely to be there again at the end of today :).

Time to de-junk.

Updated: Decided on a different approach to some stuff. I went out and bought six medium to large sized laundry baskets. These now reside underneath the row of cabinets in the garage, and they all have the various often used items. This way, each seasonal or often used item has a simple totle to carry it wherever, get used, then get put back. What.s more important is that, as seasons change the contents can, too. My logic is to see what makes their way into the totes, and then I will know what is actuall ygetting used throughout the year, and it will help me be a better hatchet-man during the rest of the year as well. Now, if I could only find a permanent place for my big mixing board console and the lawnmower outside of the garage, I would have finally achieved one of my long term goals; the complete and total removal of the 2nd perimeter of stuff! I'm *SO* close :)! Even more exciting, I have access to my garage's work bench again. YEE HAW!!!

New Year, New Presence, Lots More Posts

2011-01-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

When I said I was going to take a break and focus on my professional blog, I didn't think it would mean I'd have *no* interaction with it. Yikes! that changes starting today (no this is not a new years resolution, but it's a good place to start up an old habit again :) ).

My professional blog is all about testing. This blog is all about everything else, and frankly, there's a lot of things that "everything else" entails. For starters, I decided last week to start up my Ego Over Matter posts again (note, I started on December 26th, not a New Years Resolution :) ). Still on Monday I will be putting in my first week of reality and how it has affected me.

I'm also focusing on Madd Money again, since there's a few aspects of personal finance I've missed writing about and want to cover more of in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Finally, I owe this newfound drive for my personal blog to Gerald Weinberg. His book "Weinberg on Writing, the Fieldstone Method" is opening my eyes to a way to write that I hope will be more effective and more insightful. We shall see :).

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Troop 250 scouts placing flags on the graves of veterans at Golden Gate National Cemetery

My great thanks to all of the veterans past and present that have given their all to make the United States the country that it is today. It's not perfect by any means, and it most certainly has challenging days ahead, but the fact that we have the ability to live the lives that we do today and the fact that we are all able to continue in our quest of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is owed to those brave men and women who gave their all on various battlefields to safeguard those rights for us.

Thank you to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice and to those people who are family and descendants of those men and women. I am grateful to you!

Introducing TESTHEAD: My New "Professional" Blog

2010-03-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well, this is something I've done some serious pondering over, ever since reading "Linchpin" by Seth Godin. I made a challenge to myself to give something back to my professional community as a gift, and that gift is a new blog I started last week. I've made a decision to go live with it and go for broke trying to create the content and make it interesting (well, as interesting as Software Development and testing can possibly be; I think it's interesting, but your mileage may vary).

If you would like to follow my new blog, I welcome you to please come and visit TESTHEAD. The subtitle of the blog is "The Mis-Education and Re-Education of a Software Tester".

I will still post updates here, but they will be less frequent. For the foreseeable future, TESTHEAD is going to be getting the bulk of my attention.

Here's to future days, and for those who have stuck with me to read this blog over the past several years, I'm not going to abandon it, but I hope that my posts that will be made here and there will be worthwhile and fun for you all to read.

Peace!!!

Shaking Up The System: Two Books Recommendations

2010-02-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

In the coming days, I am going to post a few entries based on these two books, but I wanted to start talking about them here, and give those who would be interested a head start on getting the books a chance to do so.

“Linchpin: Are You Indispensible?” By Seth Godin

Seth makes the point that the “take care of you” bargain, that of going to school, following the rules, showing up to work, and being reliable will result in a high paying, low risk job that they will have for decades, and that company will take care of you, is gone. It’s a new world of competition that literally spans the entire world. If you are average, you are a commodity, another replaceable cog that likely will be replaced. What’s a person to do? Seth argues that we need to stop being cogs, and become “linchpins”, those people that every organization needs to survive. Are you a linchpin? If not, how do you become one? Seth lays out the case that we need to break away from the cookie cutter mentality of the past, where we take on a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing how we work, and a new way of interacting with our peers, colleagues, and customers. The key idea is that we need to stop thinking of ourselves as average, and consider ourselves unique and valuable contributors to the marketplace. If we feel we aren’t anything special, there’s plenty in this book to show you what to do, and a lot of consideration as to how to do it (note: there is no exact template or “how-to” steps in this book; this is a book to help you discover the internal traits that you need to enhance or overcome to make the big decisions to move from “cog” to linchpin”, how you choose to do that is as unique as every reader would be.

“Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar” by James Marcus Bach

The sub-line of this book gives a good idea of what you are getting here; “How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success”. James Bch and I share a number of things. First is our choice of career; James and I have decided to make software testing the cornerstone of our careers. James and I also share another trait; neither of us were big fans of school when we were younger, nor did we do very well when we were there. James actually dropped out of school in the middle of high school, and never went back. He states that his 8th grade diploma is the highest “certification” he has. Yet James is known today as one of the foremost experts in the world of software testing, and author or co-author of several books on the topic of software testing. How does one go from being a high school dropout to one of the best known experts on software testing? James shows his method in this book. Some will be put off by the authors disdain for the way that schools are structured today, and may find his message dangerous. James makes no bones about the fact that he felt that traditional school was a waste of his time, and if those who find that stance distasteful and would dismiss the book for that stance, will miss a lot of great ideas and great methods for honing a desire to be a lifelong learner. James makes a key distinction with this book; he’s not saying chuck school because education is not important, nor is he saying you can become brilliant without any effort. In fact, he makes the opposite assertion; you may work way harder to educate yourself than you ever will in school. What he does show is that, like the buccaneers of yore, there’s a way that we can learn what we want to, in the ways that are most effective for us, and set aside the methods that are not. I’m going to definitely go into this book in more detail in future posts, but suffice it to say that I have found many valuable ideas in this book to read, ponder and consider.

If you decide to get these books, please feel free to comment on them and offer suggestions for other titles to consider for review and discussion.

Gurus are Nice, But They Won’t Do Your Work!

2010-02-18T15:36:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. That's going to change (LOL!).

It is common in our world of always on media, easy to attain reading, and 24/7 coverage of the most minute of things, to give ourselves over to “gurus”. While we pride ourselves on being free to think and believe what we want to, we seldom do. Religious or agnostic, politically active or apathetic, more times than not, our thoughts are not shaped by us, but often are shaped for us. We believe in someTHING, often because we believe in someONE.

Guru’s affect us for many reasons. We all have them, whether or not we want to use that exact word to describe them. In some ways, the term “guru” gives people strange feelings. When we think of a guru, we think of it in the terms of the culture that the term comes from. It comes from India, and is closely associated with Hindu spiritualism, and often conjures up the vision of a person who makes pronouncements, and people follow whatever they say, because the guru said it. Uncomfortable as that may be, if we look at many people and the way that they think and interact with others, this is *exactly* what the word means, and why I’m using it. I’ll admit it,

I have gurus I look to for certain things (or if you want, use the term mentor, coach, advisor, whatever makes you comfortable, but know that the term “guru” is still what I mean :) ). My favorite gurus are the ones that keep me entertained or well informed. If someone can do both without setting off my BS meter, there’s a good change I’ll listen to what they have to say. Below are a few of my current favorites that rise to the level of “guru” for me.

Thomas S. Monson: As a practicing Latter-day Saint, it should probably come as no surprise that the President of my church, a man whom I sustain as a prophet, seer and revelator, would perchance top my list of “gurus” that I consult. I also include within this list the men that preceded him, all the way back to Joseph Smith. Their advice is inspired, and oftentimes becomes the rock of doctrine and practice for the 12 million Latter-day Saints worldwide. Having said that, Thomas S. Monson is not in this position merely because he is the president of my church; he is here because I’ve had the benefit of listening to him for many years, applying his advice and suggestions, and feeling the surety that the vast majority of them have been to my benefit, most often spiritually, but quite a few times temporally. Does that mean I check my brain at the door and pledge to do what he says unquestioningly? No, it does not. However, over the many years I have listened to him, when I have taken him up on his advice to “experiment on the word” (not a phrase that originated with him) and give him the benefit of the doubt, I have more times than not felt the surety of his words and what they mean, and how their application has been a boon for me. Your mileage, of course, may vary, but so far, so good .

Dave Ramsey: When it comes to money, Dave’s my man. Long time readers of this blog should find absolutely no surprise in that. What are the reasons for this? First, I became hooked on his radio show after someone suggested I check it out. His style was engaging, and his humor and focus appealed to me. Ultimately, though, it was his message that meant something to me. He was as anti-debt as I was, and his advice and “Baby Steps” fit into my overall philosophy of how I wanted to manage my money. Because of this, I will confess to being a fan and one who listens to Dave Ramsey, but at the end of the day, listening to him does nothing if I don’t actually implement the suggestions he makes. In effect, I chose to “experiment on the word” again with Dave, and for the most part, his advice has been very good and very helpful. Do I agree 100% with *everything* he says? No, but I’ll give him about an 85% agreement rate. I think there is a proper use of credit, provided it is paid off in full every single month without fail, whereas he advocates fully eschewing debt, but that’s a minor nit. Overall, his message resonates with me, and I try my best to apply what I’ve learned from him.

Dan Carlin: It is safe to say that Dan has had the most profound effect on my political outlook of anyone in the past 20 years. Why is that? Well, it started with my listening to his Hardcore History podcast. As a fan of history, I love the segments that he creates, a “theatre of the mind” approach where the arcane bits of history come to life. It was through listening to these podcasts that I discovered that he had another podcast called “Common Sense”. Over the past few years, I have come to identify with his political philosophy of “neo-prudentism”, a philosophy where many of the great ideas do not belong to any one political party, and that we should not be so tied to ideas that any one political party presents, but should focus on what will work, and forsake that which does not. Why does this message resonate with me? It resonates because Dan is a master at understanding history, and how history rears its head in so many places. Because of this understanding, ideology gives way to pragmatism, and that pragmatism is really and truly the only valuable option. Don’t tell me the philosophy of the party; show me what will actually work. If it’s a good idea, I will support it on its own merits.

Larry Winget: Yeah, I have a thing for bald guys who wear loud shirts (LOL!), but that’s not the reason I love Larry so much. The real reason is that his approach to life and personal responsibility really appeals to me. He doesn’t sugar coat anything. He has a take no prisoners, kick butt approach to just about everything, and frankly, the dude is entertaining as all get out! Reading his books is a lot of fun, but even more fun is to actually listen to him. Few people could get away with telling people to “Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life!”, but you look forward to hearing Larry say it :). More to the point, you look forward to putting into practice what he says.

Randy Rice: Up to this point, many of you probably knew who I was talking about because you’ve heard of them through the media or other places, but who is Randy Rice? Randy is a consultant that works out of Oklahoma City, and he is a teacher, a trainer, but most importantly, he is a tester. Yep, Randy shares my career and my avocation; he is fascinated with testing and the ways that testing is done. He’s someone who has invested a lot of time and effort into developing courseware, articles, and audio podcasts related to testing and the issues that surround it. Randy prides himself on the fact that he tries to take what can often be a rigorous and tedious job, and makes the ideas accessible. About half of my iRiver (my MP3 player of choice) is filled with Randy’s podcasts made over the past five years, and I look forward to opportunities to hear and learn from him. Still, Randy’s advice, ideas, and recorded podcasts mean little if I don’t take the ideas he presents and put them into practice.

So what’s my point with all of this? The voices we hear, the people that we look up to, the ones whose advice we seek, are there because of various reasons. The fact is, we all have them. The other fact is that, much of the time, our gurus do *nothing* for us except to maybe entertain us or get us to nod our heads in agreement (or occasional disagreement; I’d argue that a guru isn’t of much value if you agree with them 100% of the time). The true benefit of a guru is to consider their ideas, question them, look at them critically, and if they pass the criteria that critical thinking skills require, then it is our responsibility to actually “experiment on their words”. If we do that, regularly and consistently, then our gurus will actually be a benefit to us. Also, it gives us a chance to develop enough experience to the point that, like it or not, may make us the guru to others :).

The Larsen's 2009: A Year in Review

2009-12-27T06:58:00.000-08:00

Some may remember last year that I said that I wasn't a really big fan of the "brag letters" that now tend to be a standard part of Christmas Cards. Part of me finds them a little obnoxious and self serving, yet as I look back at the year that is 2009, it strikes me that, well, we had one of those years that makes me want to crow a little bit (LOL!). We certainly had our ups and downs; it was a challenging year on a lot of fronts, but it was also a year where a great deal of noteworthy things happened to me and my family.

For me, 2009 would be a year of "rewinding". Of the many memorable things to have happened this year, none strikes a more surreal chord more directly than a company asking to release material my old band recorded between 17-20 years ago. Demon Doll Records signed us to a distribution deal where they now can release and sell CD's of High Wire's material. To add to that, all of us got together August 22nd and performed together for the first time in 17 years. It was a fantastic night and one I will honestly not soon forget!

I had the chance to serve as Staff on an LDS friendly Wood Badge Course. It took a lot of time and effort to put together, but I was happy to have had the experience, and I greatly enjoyed working with my group of Bobwhites, all of whom should be well on their way to earning their Wood badge beads (but I'm going to have to start checking up on them pretty soon :) ).

My son Nicholas earned his Eagle Scout award this year. To say that's an amazing accomplishment is an understatement. It's a big deal, and I'm really proud of him. I'm also really proud of the fact that he has put effort into learning how to play the Viola. It's fun to come home and hear him playing music for school, or holiday songs, or even more entertaining, the theme music to video games like Mario Brothers (LOL!). He's enjoying his lat year of intermediate school for the most part, but looking forward to attending High School next year (yikes, do I really have a kid who's about to go into high school?!)

Karina is growing into a beautiful young lady (see my previous post this month :) ), and her art skills are simply phenomenal, for lack of a better word. I always enjoy seeing what she has drawn, and what she wants to put together next. She's been working on an illustrated book about a girl and her dog for months... I'd love to say more about it, but she won't show it to me until its finished (LOL!). Karina is in 5th grade, and short of the usual drama that accompanies girls and friendships at that age, I think she's doing really well.

Amber is my joyous little imp, and it's so fun to watch her interact with everyone and see her grow up. She's a 3rd grader this year, and it's been fun to see her show her classmates her love of "Indian Dancing", drawing, and her love for the outdoors. It's also been funny to watch her take hold of a Winnie the Pooh bear that she will bring everywhere with her, and I mean honestly anywhere. It's really cute :).

Christina was released this year a the Primary President, a role she has had in the Church now for four years, and she now serves with the Compassionate Service Committee, helping make sure that new moms get meals, or helping out in ways that people need when they need additional help. I've enjoyed watching Christina grow into this new role, and become reconnected with the Relief Society after so many years in Primary. We both grew a year older this year, and celebrated 17 years of marriage on December 5th, punctuated by a Sushi dinner and watching an old friend's band play down in Cupertino :).

So 2009 is almost gone, and it's been fun to reflect on the year that was, and to look forward to a new, year, a new decade, and the many challenges and adventures that this new year will bring.

My "Little" Girl (LOL!)

2009-12-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in our mad rush to do stuff, we don't stop to think about the time that has passed and the milestones that are reached. Karina turned 11 two weeks ago. She's a fifth grader right now, and she is suffering from the same genetic anomaly I suffered from, i.e. "stork syndrome". Karina is taller than just about anyone in her school, male or female, so sometimes people look to her and think she is much older than she really is. It's funny, I sometimes fall into that trap as well. That's why I love the times when she acts all silly and cute to remind me that she really is still a little girl in many ways :).

We took this picture yesterday after we came home from church, and she's reminding me that she's as tall a Mom now and can wear all of Mom's clothes (which in some ways is very cute, and in others somewhat alarming). While I can admit my daughter is growing up, I'm really in no hurry for her to move the process along at any great speed, either (LOL!).

Happy Birthday, Karina :)!!!

Shedding of Innocent Stuff: Tools for Habitat for Humanity

2009-11-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've done a Shedding of Innocent Stuff entry :).

When we first bought our house back in 1999, I was convinced that I was going to be doing many of the repairs and updates to the house, and so it seemed only logical that I should outfit the house with all of the tools necessary to build and maintain a house. Thus getting a table saw, a router and router table, plus other attachments for each seemed to make sense.

Fast forward ten years, and the majority of these tools, plus a number of items that I purchased to support the making of Pinewood derby cars for my son's Cub Scout pack over the last decade now no longer being used for that purpose because, well, he's not a Cub Scout anymore, and what we have is a number of expensive tools that take up a lot of garage space and that just sit and collect dust. As an experiment on January 1st, I decided to gather all of the items that did not get used, or that I figured i would not use, and I put them all on a shelving unit in a corner of the garage. If I found that, in the course of a hear, i had any need for these items or if I used them during the course of the year, I could justify keeping them. If I did not use them during the course of the year, then it made sense for them to go to a new home.

Last weekend, I decided the experiment had run its course, so I took a table saw and support legs, a router and router table, various blades and attachments for the table saw, one of a number of sanders, a band saw, a scroll saw and the shelving unit that did nothing during the year but hold these tools, and I brought them over to Habitat for Humanity in Oakland. For those who are not familiar with habitat for Humanity, their mission is to help people build housing who otherwise might no9t be able to afford to buy or maintain a house. it was this spirit in which I decided to donate these tools to them. as I went down to drop off the equipment, I passed by a familiar landmark. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore center was just a few buildings away from what used to be Paradigm studios, the place where High Wire used to rehearse and store our gear. I was also gratified to see the look of surprise and happiness on the faces of the volunteers who took in the donation. they said that they knew these items would be placed quickly and be in use in short order by a grateful team of people who were in the process of doing re-work on houses in the area.

So now I have a fairly large section of garage that is now open and free of stuff that was collecting dust. This experiment also let me see which tools and items I actually used and which ones were important to keep. What's more, I had the opportunity to get a tax write off for items that I know will be helpful and useful to people to help them achieve and have a part of that American Dream that is owning and maintaining their own home.

Is Samurai X OVA “Trust and Betrayal” Really The Best of The Best?!

2009-11-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's another anime post. What can I say, I'm on a roll :).

A few days ago, I commented on the fact that I came across what I felt was one of the best anime series I had not yet seen, Wolf’s Rain. I freely admit to being a dilettante when it comes to anime; I’m not a rabid fan, and I do not wait in line to read and scour the news of every new title, or even classic titles that I hear about. I like what I like, come across what I do often by chance encounters, and oftentimes, what I like doesn’t always follow public taste or even popular interest. I freely admit to being an outlier fan of things that many others either don’t like or they wonder why on earth I would be interested in [fill in the blank]. Case in point, my girlfriend in college was the one who turned me on to ElfQuest, and for many years I was a huge fan of that series. I can’t claim to be an original fan, or one who necessarily knew every nook and cranny about it (though I did know a lot about it :) ). I also realize that it was not a really “cool” title to dig if you were a late teen or early 20 guy in the 1980s, but I liked it because I liked it, and that was enough reason.

In my quest for Anime titles and other such things, I occasionally look to rating sites, or to forums, just to see what other people find interesting, and to see what strikes people’s fancy or makes them react a certain way. I also often see that titles I like a lot may not rank highly, and titles I’ve never heard of or know little of or haven’t sought out rate way up there. Every once in awhile, I want to find out if there’s something I’m missing, something that will astound me or make me really take notice. Thus, when I started looking at some ratings sites and looking at different weightings and ratings, one title stood out time and again with the most representative votes as being considered, possibly, the best of the best. That title was “Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal”.

Now, for those who are curious... Samurai X is a pseudonym for the character of Himura Kenshin, and he himself is the protagonist for the often goofy and cute anime and manga series “Rurouni Kenshin”. With RK’s somewhat cutesy style and simple, classic anime elements, it comes across as a sometimes light-hearted telling of a Ronin samurai’s life after his time and era have passed (RK takes place in the era just after the close of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the rise of the Meiji restoration, when, effectively, the class of samurai was made obsolete and allowed to die out in real world Japan). Again, having seen a few episodes of RK, it was a cute series, but really, I wasn’t quite sure where people were coming from when they would consider “Samurai X” so highly. Was I missing something?

The answer is “yes”, in a big way. If you take a look at the style of animation for “Rurouni Kenshin”, it’s the fully “Kawaii” cute style of so many television anime productions, the style made famous by shows like Ranma ½ and Azumanga Daioh. Samurai X, on the other hand, goes for a much more real look, striking in its difference from the televised anime. In addition, the character of Kenshin is never portrayed as cute or silly; here the story is grim and focused, and it is also gripping. Where Rurouni Kenshin may have played to teens and young adults, Samurai X is clearly developed to appeal to an older audience. It’s high drama, and with a story beautifully told. There are two OVA’s in the Samurai X series. The first, Trust and Betrayal, is the prequel to the events that take place in Rurouni Kenshin. The second, called Reflection, takes place after the events of Rurouni Kenshin. In Trust and Betrayal, we discover what led Kenshin to become the swordsman that he ultimately became, the politics and the machinations of the ending of the Tokugawa era, and the bittersweet story that foreshadows the events of Rurouni Kenshin, and answers the question “where did he get that X shaped scar on his face”?

Again, those expecting to see a light hearted romp akin to the anime series will definitely not find what they are looking for here. However, those interested in a rich and beautiful depicted story, albeit highly on the “graphically accurate” side, will find much to like here. For those who like their anime real, with deep character, honest storytelling, and a minimum of added gimmicks, and where the artwork is absolutely breathtaking, definitely see this. For those wondering what to get me for my birthday or Christmas, if anyone wants to surprise me with Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal, I’ll be overjoyed :). Does it rise to Best of the Best? Well, that’s a subjective thing anyway, but I can say this much… it’s definitely way up on the excellent meter. I can certainly see why so many people do consider it so highly. If you decide to watch it (or have already seen it), let me know what you think.

An Anime Classic: Wolf's Rain

2009-11-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Somehow I missed this one the first time it came around, but in my quest for searching for new titles to see and enjoy, I came across what has become one of my favorite shows in Anime, and felt like sharing it here and my reflections of it.

"Wolf's Rain" is the story of four wolves. In this world, Wolves have been hunted to the brink of extinction. To survive, the remaining wolves have found a way to take on human form, or at least to appear human to most of the people that see them. The goal of the series, and the story arc, takes these four wolves as they travel a war torn and life weary world as they search for "the Flower Maiden" and open the gate to Paradise, a place where the wolves can live free and renew their war torn world.

OK, first, this series is visually stark, frightening, and beautiful, all at the same time. It's a production by Studio Bones, who have done a number of other gorgeous Anime titles as well (RahXephon, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Eureka Seven some prime examples). The series is encapsulated in 26 regular episodes, plus four additional OVA episodes that extend the story arc. With the exception of four re-capitulation episodes (used as a recap method in the middle of the story, telling the preceding events from the perspective of the four main characters) the series moves along very well and each episode is enjoyable in its own way, and often for different reasons. We see both wolves and humans dealing with very real problems and very real emotions in ways that are both believable and redeeming. It's an Anime, so it takes some dark turns here and there, and the story can be pretty grim at times, but it is also hauntingly beautiful and satisfying if you stay for the entire ride.

For me, the music of an Anime is just as important as the story, as often much of the music used in Anime comes to be part of my regular listening. In the list of composers that have become part of my everyday musical repertoire, none hs had the impact or staying power that Yoko Kanno has had, and here she does not disappoint. The opening and closing themes are both beautiful, haunting and mesmerizing in their own ways. The opening theme song, "Stray" has a Seal vibe to it, and it's a song I enjoy listening to as a standalone title. The ending theme, "Gravity" is also strikingly beautiful. Once again, Kanno shows how varied and skillful her musical talent is, and how well she blends in with the titles she scores.

So with all that, concider this a huge two thumbs up for Wolf's Rain. It works on a lot of levels, and it ultimately a very redeeming and beautiful story told from a perspective of what is ultimately a Shinto and Buddhist world view put to images and music. Here's hoping you may enjoy it as much as I have.

Some Thoughts about Ordeal Weekend

2009-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

For those who know me, my involvement with Order of the Arrow is something that I enjoy, and I'm trying to teach that joy to others in my Troop and around my council. I've long said that I did my Church Callings in Scouting as my calling, My Cub Scout jobs in Scouting as support for my son (and now I can say the same for being Scoutmaster), but that I did O.A. for me, and that's still true. Not to say that I do not enjoy my callings or my service in Scouts as a leader 9I very much do and have) but that O.A. was the one thing that others felt I would be good at doing (i.e. they elected me to it) and my involvement in it is wholly on my back and owned by me.

This past weekend, we brought one youth and one adult up to participate in the Ordeal weekend as candidates, one youth who had been a member of O.A. for a year and was looking to become a Brotherhood member, and my son, his friend, said friend's Dad, and me. The purpose of Ordeal weekend is to induct young men and adults into the Order of the Arrow, perform some meaningful service, reflect a bit on life and what our purpose is, and also to have ceremonial elements from Native American traditions.

When we arrived up there, my son and his friend were asked if they could participate in the Ceremony team and dress the parts for the candidates. While they knew that they would not be able to 100% cover the lines, they had the scripts and some small LED flashlights to help them. With this they said they would do it, and so they did.

I did my part as Ceremony guide (I often split this role with another adult in the Lodge, he does it during the Spring Ordeals, and I typically do it during the Fall Ordeals). It gives me an excuse to break out the buckskin regalia I made a few years ago and wear the Headdress I purchased.

My son and his friends did a presentation of the Lodge Dance Team during Lunch, where they didn't say anything until the end of the performance, and that was "to learn more about the O. Dance Team, come visit us after dinner!"

Since we had two friends going through the Ordeal, Chris (the dad of my son's friend) and I did all we could to help get the ceremony grounds ready and looking good, including cutting wood, setting up a ti pi and marking the trail the candidates would take. Since we had all of the Lodge regalia there, we were able to outfit many of the participants in full regalia and have them line the trail, standing next to smudge pots (large reel film canisters filled with wood chips and paraffin and set afire for dramatic effect). Finally, the candidates came in, received their sashes, we had a great dinner and then we went home at 10:00 PM (and truthfully, I struggled a little with this, as it was later than when I usually left Ordeal, but we had two cars patrolling each other so that helped a lot :) ).

Yesterday, I will freely admit, I was useless. I was *so* tired yesterday that I pretty much spent the majority of the day napping or not doing too much. Is this a sign that I'm getting old? I used to bounce back from these things pretty quickly, but I was really feeling the effects yesterday. Still, it was a great weekend. two new Arrowmen, one new Brotherhood member, what I felt was a great ceremony considering two new members were recruited just prior to the ceremony, and my son and his friend, i felt, did a fantastic job under pressure, and yes, I'm very proud of both of them :).

So now it's back to the real world and everyday life, but I will admit, I do enjoy these weekends when they happen, and I enjoy being able to help this group induct new members. Here's hoping those new members get the same sense of joy and good feeling from O.A. as I do, and I hope to see them become active members, too.

Dread Pirate Roberts Consulting

2009-10-16T04:41:00.000-07:00

For those who are fans of the movie "The Princess Bride" you will know this character :). He was portrayed by Cary Elwes (the alter ego of "Wesley") and the foil for many of the characters to go up against. The parts of the movie I remember the best were his quips when he and Buttercup were walking through the Fire Swamp and he was describing how he became the Dread Pirate Roberts. I'll not spoil the whole setup for the perhaps two or three people out there who have not seen this movie, but there's a section where the "Dread Pirate Roberts" takes in Wesley by saying "well, I've never had a valet before, so let's see how this works, but be warned, I shall probably kill you in the morning" (paraphrased).

I've long thought on this quote and wondered "what would I do in my everyday life if I had that as a way to work and to live, the notion of work hard, work well, do what you can, I shall probably kill you in the morning"? How would you do things differently? How would you approach problems? How would you approach projects? Lately, I've felt overwhelmed by many things, as though I'm trying to get so many aspects of my life to line up correctly. For grins, I'm taking a page out of Dread Pirate Roberts play book, and approaching each day as if it were a standalone, with work, with play, with family, with scriptures, etc. and I'm asking myself "do I feel that this is the best use of my time considering the Dread Pirate Roberts will probably kill me in the morning?" If the answer is "yes", then that's truly been a good day. If the answer is "no", then it's really time to de-emphasize that piece, whatever it may be.

Here's wishing you all great days and great efforts, whatever they may be. May you not be killed in the morning. Oh, and do your best to avoid the R.O.U.S.'s, too ;).

White Otter Makes a Great Show at Conclave 2009

2009-09-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting event this year. A few of the Lodges who have been traditional mainstays in the Pow Wow competition at Conclave were not there this year because our Section areas were adjusted. Last year, we lost two Lodges, Talako and Ut-In-Seleca, to the old W3-B Section (now called W3-N). In exchange, we picked up two new lodges, Ta-Heech and Toloma (formerly of W3-B) and now part of our newly named section, W3-S (don't worry if that's confusing, just know that it means that we still have 8 Lodges, but we've changed the makeup and geography).

What this did mean was that the Pow Wow competition was missing a few of its long time supporters and standard bearers, and we all had to decide the best way to set up and do the Dance Team competition in what we called the "20 minute committee meeting". Through it, it was determined that the three lodges that sent full contingents to dance (Esselen, Achhewan Nimat and Ohlone) would take on the responsibility of running the Pow Wow, doing the judging, and announcing the event. With that, my friend Scott from Esselen lodge became the M.C., I became the Arena director and Head Judge, and Charles from Achewan Nimat became the lead singer for the Northern Drum (while Esselen and their dancers sang as the Southern Drum).

With that, it was time for us to get suited up and hold our Pow Wow event. I have to admit I missed seeing my friends from Talako at this event, as I've come to know several of them over the years and looked forward to seeing them each year, but we made some new friends in the Ta-Heech and Toloma lodges, which was fun. As many of you may remember, while our official name is the "Ohlone Lodge Dance Team", we have taken to referring to ourselves as the "White Otter Dancers" in honor of our mascot "Otto", the grayish white California Sea Otter that is our Lodge's symbol. This year, White Otter fielded five dancers. One of our boys who had never participated in a dance event suited up as a Southern Straight dancer, two boys dressed in Grass Dance regalia, my son Nicholas donned the Fancy Dance regalia, and I decided for a change of pace to dress in Northern Traditional garb (it having been the only one I had not specifically worn in a Conclave as of yet :) ). The weather was very hot at the beginning of the event, but thankfully as the sun moved across the sky the field ended up mostly in the shade of the coastal redwoods, which was much better :).

During the competition phase of the events, we were pleased to see that our Southern Straight Dancer took 2nd place in the beginners category, and one of our Grass Dancers took 1st place in the beginners category as well. Nick took 2nd place in the beginners Fancy Dance category, and I took 1st place in the adult category (not really a scored event for the competition, more of a camraderie thing for the advisers and others so that we can get out and compete a little, too :) ).

We had a number of boys go out and participate in the Open event, and Nick was doing great until an unfortunate incident occurred. The choker that was holding his neck bustle in place broke, and the bustle went flying. In Pow Wow competition, losing any part of your regalia is cause for disqualification. He was bummed but he took it in stride. At the end of two songs, one of our Grass Dancers (my son's friend Nick D.) had earned a 3rd place finish. It was a great showing for him, especially since he was hemming and hawing the whole day that he didn't feel he should be competing because "he didn't know what he was doing". Well, I think it's safe to say that talk like that was stopped right quick after that finish (LOL!).

As we tallied up the scores, Esselen finished in 1st Place, Ohlone/White Otter finished in 2nd place, and Achewan Nimat finished in 3rd. This was a big deal for us because, frankly, we had never been able to field enough dancers to even get on he team board in the past. Being on the team podium is a big deal to me, and I'm excited that we made it to this point. My thanks to all of the guys that danced and participated at this event (since this is an Arrowmen event, my girls did not participate this time. With the event being held at Moffet Field next year, it's my hope they will be able to come out and participate (it'll be a lot easier to just bring them out for the Pow Wow event rather than have them have to stick around all weekend). Here's looking forward to future events and future travels of the White Otter Dancers :).

Labor Day Weekend Pow Wow 2009

2009-09-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, over Labor Day weekend we have made a tradition to go to the CIHA Pow Wow held at Camp Pollock in Sacramento. This year, it was just me and my girls, and I will say that we had a great time :). The girls learn a bit more each year and fit in more comfortably each time they participate. they also really look the part now, thanks to the great outfits made by my friend Lauren (I can do the guy stuff just fine, but when it comes to women's outfits, I go with a pro :) ).

In addition to the dancing, they also held a number of workshops for the participants. this picture was taken inside of the main lodge during a class on peyote stitch (or gourd stich) beading. Yeah, I dig this picture, too :).

Amber got seriously intense with this workshop and she did a really good job, as did Karina (though Karina has to wrestle through my project and often deal with fixing things I messed up on (LOL!)).

This is a shot of Scott Sutton's wife Lynette and Amber. Scott, in addition to being the one who put on the workshop, is also the author of the book "Beadwork Techniques of the Native Americans" and it is a book that I very much would like to own (consider that a hint to any friends wondering what I would like for my birthday or Christmas this year (LOL!).

Labor Day weekend in Sacramento would just not be the same without 100 degree plus weather... well, this year, Mother nature gave us a break. It was about 85 while we were up there, and a bit cooler at night. Very doable and not at all withering like previous years, but the girls insisted on getting down to the river and playing around, so hey, I obliged :).

For those who say that girls are neater and more dainty compared to boys, please review Exhibit A and get back to me :).

Amber getting ready to splash me until I warned her that I was holding her camera (LOL!).

Karina frolicking in the American River.

Amber being her perpetual show-off self (what else is new :) ).

Karina venturing out as far as she was willing to go (the river was relatively calm, though).

I usually am the one who takes all of the pictures, so there's usually very few shots of me doing anything, but Karina decided to change that this year, so here's some shots of my outfit and some pictures of me dancing for a change :).

Amber just before heading out to the arena to dance.

Karina is all set and ready to go :)!!!

Here's a cute picture of Amber with several young Fancy Shawl dancers (Cheyenne Chisholm is in the middle of the picture and the only one of them I know by name at this immediate moment :) ).

Here's a great picture of Karina with her friend and mentor Lauren Wallace (CIHA Witiyapi Princess 2008). The last couple of years, Lauren had joked that Karina followed her around in the dance circle, prompting Lauren to say "hey, do I look like a Momma duck to you?". It was cute that this year Karina walked up to her after the dance and said "thanks for being my Momma Duck and letting me be your Baby Duck!" It was really sweet, but made slightly comical by the fact that Karina is now *taller* than Lauren is (LOL!).

All in all a terrific weekend. Looking forward to some of the quarterly events coming up, and I've already made plans to be at nexct years Pow Wow, too :).

You're Welcome, But You Aren't Invited

2009-09-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

This Labor Day Weekend, my daughters and I will be going to participate in what has become an annual event for us. This is the Labor Day Pow Wow that is held by CIHA (California Indian Hobbyists Association). It will be in the same place that it is most years, at Camp Pollock in Sacramento (just off the American River near the junctions of Interstate 80 and Interstate 5).

This is an interesting event, in that it's one of those things that happens, a number of people are aware of it, but very little promotion of it is ever done. I discovered my first year of attending that that is by design. The organizers of the event enjoy having new people come in and participate, but that's the key right there... they want to have people come in and "participate", not just hang out and see what is going on. When I came my first year, one of the organizers and long time participants said something that fascinated me, and I've thought about it ever since. He said "this is the type of event where you are welcome, but you are not invited". It took me a little while to absorb that statement, and after a few years, I think I'm understanding what he means.

Many things in life require us to be invited, or at least we feel it appropriate that we be introduced and some form of "personal contract" be made. We don't just show up at a job without filling out an application, and then being interviewed and subsequently hired. We tend to not just show up someplace and pick up a shovel and go to work on a project. For these examples, there's a social contract that says "we have to accept you as part of the community first, and then you can participate". My experience with CIHA was different. I came because I heard about it, and I asked if there was something I could do to assist, and they let me step right in and do whatever I could (which in this case consisted of helping clean up an area of grass for dancing and helping set up benches for the dancers to sit). After awhile, I was able to start talking to people, and getting to know a little bit about them and what they did and why they came each year. It was from that experience that I made some friendships, and committed to coming back and participating in whatever way I could.

How often do we hear the phrases "ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened"? So often, we wait for others to tell us it's OK to do something, or we wait until we are invited to participate. My example with CIHA was exactly the opposite. I had to make the decision to seek them out, and once I was there, I had to put myself into the fray and participate. If I waited to be asked to join them, I would have been kept outside. In this case, my just going up and offering to help gave me the in I needed. That has served as a metaphor for many of the things I do today. It may be seen as a strange re-rendering of the phrase "it is easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission", but it is somewhat similar. Many times in life, if we wait for an invitation, we'll wait forever. At times, it is not only acceptable and appropriate, but expected that you need to make the first move. Will it always work? No, and in some areas it's disrespectful to be so presumptuous, but many times in life, the most interesting experiences are not the ones that you are invited to participate in, but the ones you make a conscious effort to see out and do on your own.

This weekend, my girls and I will go up and renew that experience, and learn more about the friends that we have made over the years, and perhaps we will also meet some new people that have decided to just join the group and put in their effort. Either way, I'm looking forward to another memorable Labor Day Pow Wow weekend :).

Introducing "The Jello Belt"

2009-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a post about some new exercise fad, or some odd choice of clothing. This is about an online friend of mine (she goes by "Janey" in the forums I frequent, I'll let her out herself if she wants to be outed ;) ), and her unique experiment with writing an online novel, geared towards an LDS audience, while deliberately steering clear of the many pitfalls and foibles associated with "LDS Literature".

To that end, may I introduce you to The Jello Belt: A Mormon Blog Novel.

To read in Order, go back to the earliest post and start with Chapter 1, then follow on with each successive post after that. Don't be surprised if you spend a whole day getting caught up.

This is the "book" back blurb:

Tracy Nesbitt has been running away for years, hiding in low self-esteem and junk food. If she doesn't find the courage to face her past, she risks ruining her relationship with her daughter.
Carly Simmons is the perfect Mormon. She has to be or she can't be happy. And to prove her worth, all her children are perfect. Except her oldest daughter, Danna. Only Danna stands between Carly and perfection, and Carly isn't about to let anyone stand in her way.
Nicole Benton is living an ordinary Mormon life. She's got a loving husband, and two healthy boys, until one day one of them isn't.
Amanda Grayson walked away from Mormonism years ago, right into the arms of the best husband a woman could want. But Mormonism puts down deep roots, and when Amanda feels the pull to return, she faces a husband who doesn't want her to go back.
Maria Anderson glided through life, smoothing away the rough edges, until a priesthood blessing persuaded her to be honest. As honesty peels away years' worth of facade, Maria faces a truth that will blow her family apart.

Join the families of the Juniper Bend Ward as they grapple with the things no one talks about, and find their faith in the events that threaten to destroy them.

If you think this sounds like "Relief Society Desperate Housewives" or "The Real Housewives of Draper, UT", well, you're on to something there, but to say that that's what it is is to be correct and to miss the mark entirely. While the title may sound cutesy, what Janey covers here is anything but. This is a slice of "Mormondom" from the vantage point of an insider, and one who shows that "Molly Mormon's" and "Matthew Missionary's", while a common stereotype, are not really accurate. Latter-day Saints are a complex mix of people, even in what many may consider a very homogeneous Utah (and hey, that's where Janey happens to live, so it's going to be based on her areas of expertise and knowledge, plus she shows that Utah isn't quite as jhomogeneous as we all might want to think ;) ).

Still, the characters that she describes are real, their issues are real, and they are the issues that many of us have faced. While the stories revolve around the women, the men in their lives are just as real and as fleshed out. We know these people, they are familiar to us, we see them every week, and quite frankly, several of them are us (and one of the characters, Danna, is *me*, or at least, she is me when I was 15 years old, were I a teenage girl... where was I going with this (LOL!)?). Seriously, the characterization is rich, the people feel very real to us, and one of the things I like about Janey's portrayal is that she doesn't overdo the descriptions of the characters; she lets us fill in the blanks, and what happens is that we feel like we are reading about our friends, our ward members, and the challenges they face are our challenges, and in some ways, my challenges.

This is a great story, and it's a great return to the "days of Dumas"... if you ever wondered what it felt like to read a "book" in serial format,well, here's your chance. If you are a member, you'll find a lot to like in here. If you are not a member, some of the comments may feel like they are in code, but there is still a lot to like in here. More to the point, if you ever thought that "Mormons" were all alike, I think it's safe to say that this will help remove that feeling and you just may understand how unique and different we are when it comes to life and its experiences. We all have a common goal and a common focus, but how we get there and the challenges we face are as unique as each one of us is.

Come on, Janey, publish some more chapters now, please :).

Been a Tad Bit Busy!!!

2009-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

It’s taken me a few days to process all of this, and to put into perspective what I want to say. August has been a n insane month for me, one in which I’ve had the experience of living the absolute of two different worlds and having them both come together.

Earlier this month, I had the chance to drop everything and be a dedicated full time scout leader for a solid week at Scout Camp (August 1-8). While fun, it definitely has its challenges (talk about exhausting, and that was with 5 additional adults there). Shortly after coming back home, we had boards of review to conduct (August 11), and Courts of Honor to hold, two of them. The first was an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Jonathan Ott (August 15, who for those keeping track, gave his Kente to Sean Conley, which now means that, when Sean gets his Eagle Scout Award, he will be giving his Kente to a 5th Generation recipient (and I can probably guess who it will be :) )). Shortly thereafter, we followed on with the Troop Court of Honor (August 18), and a lot of awards being given out (actually, we think it may be a record number of awards, 76 merit badges and 8 rank advancements).

Once that was out of the way, the next step was to gear up and go absolutely ballistic with promotion of our reunion show (on August 22). The day of the show, we all went to San Rafael and rehearsed for four hours, as well as did a warm up show for the kids and family members that were not going to be at the night time show, and then we went down for sound check at Vinnie’s, headed back to the Concord Hilton to change, grab a light dinner, and then return for what was an absolutely amazing night of rock and roll, old friends, and reliving memories and making some brad new ones. It was phenomenal :). The next several days after that have been processing all of the pictures and video from the show and saying thank you to everyone that came, and cajoling those who didn’t as to what they missed (and believe me, those who missed it missed something genuinely amazing, and I’m not just saying that because it was my band, either :) ).

I’m writing all of this to give you an idea why you’ve heard so little of me this month. Suffice it to say, I’ve been a tab bit busy (LOL!).

Tomorrow Night is SHOWTIME!!!

2009-08-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Anxious? YES!!!

Understand, I haven't been on a stage as a singer since 1993, and its been seventeen years since I played with this particular band. I cannot begin to say how amazing it has been to see so many friends from so many walks of life want to come out and see this show. I feel great about it, but at the same time, I fel a different kind of pressure to perform well than I ever have before. Does that sound weird? Anyway, in 37 hours, the doors will be open and the games will commence. As we used to say... "anything can happen at a High Wire show... and frequently does" (LOL!).

For the full details about this event, here ya go :):

Start Time: Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 8:30pm
End Time: Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 12:00am
Location: Vinnie's Bar & Grill
Street: 2045 Mount Diablo St
City/Town: Concord, CA
Price: $12.00 advance purchase, $15.00 at the door (21 and older ONLY!!!)

TO PURCHASE TICKETS, go to http://www.chrismooredrummer.com/cmd/Upcoming_Shows.html

If you need a place to stay, go to http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/oakcp?groupCode=crycrya&app=resvlink&fromDate=8/21/09&toDate=8/23/09

High Wire Plays Again in 4 Days!!!!

2009-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

This has been a long time in the works, but we are finally coming down to the last few days. To say that this has been consuming my thoughts and actions these past few weeks would be an understatement (LOL!).

Here's a picture that I didn't get a chance to post here yet. You all are familiar with how we looked back in the day. Well, now you can see what we all look like now :)... and yes, that's *all* of us. We'll be performing with all members that ever made their way through the lineup. Expect pictures :).

Home From Scout Camp

2009-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

HEy there, it's been a few days, but I'm still getting adjusted back to life after having been at Wente Scout Reservation for the 7 days. It was a great week for all of us. Some milestones:

* 17 boys from our Troop went, which I think is a record (well, at least since I've been a member of Crystal Springs 1st Ward it's a record, can't speak to anything before 1999)

* six adults attended camp (seven actually, two adults shared the time up at camp during the week and traded off on Wednesday).That was also a record for this troop (again, at least since 1999).

* we also picked up two more boys from Oakland that were added to our Troop as provisional scouts (having led provisional s 2 years ago, I felt it important that we invite these boys in to join our Troop, and I like the fact that the camp thought to ask us first if we'd take them in :).

* I learned how to sail a Hobie Cat and a Laser small sailboat this week. So did my son. I'm still not all that particularly good at it, but it was a lot of fun to get out onto the water and let the wind take us where we wanted to go.

* the boys earned 71 merit badges this week, which is an average of 4 plus badges per attendee. In addition, we also racked up the potential for 13 rank advancements (actually 15 since two boys are eligible for double headers (Tenderfoot/2nd Class and 2nd Class/1st Class). We also have three Boy Scout World Conservation Awards, one earner of the Mile Swim Award, and 23 boys and adults that earned the Finney Valley Award.

* Nick^2 now both qualify to receive Bronze Eagle Palms (both boys racked up five merit badges each this past week).

* I got to take our oldest attendee out on a Whitewater kayak trip down the Russian River (and let me tell you, rapids you would scoff at in a raft become a whole nother matter in a kayak! Exciting, yes, but I have a few bumps and bruises from this particular trip (LOL!).

* I dealt with the typical things that a Scout leader has to deal with when it comes to camp, including trying my best to follow up on boys and make sure taht they are where they need to be at a given time, dealing with minor feuds between boys, dealing with homesickness with some of the newer guys, and otherwise just making sure all of our boys make it home in one piece (which they did) overall happy (which they did) and having accomplished all they set out to do (well, OK, some room for imrovement there, but overall verty well done on all counts :) ).

So now it's time for me to adjust to life back home. It may take awhile (LOL!).

The Needles and the Damage Done

2009-07-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

I was ever so hopeful that i would just be able to go into Kaiser and have them print out a nice little manifest to show that I had all of my immunizations and that they were up to date... but no such luck! turns out there are a number of immunization records that have not been recorded for me, and a few that I have not determined immunity for.

so today, what I had hoped would be a fifteen minute in and out for paperwork became a three hour circuit where I got tested, gave blood, and got screened to determine that I needed at least two shots and possibly more. I received my tetanus booster cocktail today (felt like getting gasoline pumped into my arm, ouch!) and I also received my first of three Hepatitis A and B vaccinations. I will need to do a TB test when I come back from scout camp, and *then* I should be all caught up.

Sheesh, the things I do to be a good example to my Scouts (LOL!).

Shedding of Innocent Stuff: Paper by the Pounds

2009-07-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most aggravating aspects of my reality; try as I might, paper always seems to find me. What's worse, it always seems to accumulate. Much of the time, the paper that accumulates is not of a high enough importance to actually keep it, but I get terrified when I try to decide if I should throw it away.

I woke up early this morning to try to get through what has amounted to reams and reams worth of paper related to certain areas of my life. There are household papers (receipts, warranties, manuals), there are mortgage papers (which we have paid off, but we need to keep a while longer just in case), there are financial papers (account statements, balances, accounts that no longer exist), tax papers (going back as long as Christina and I have been married, and I would really like to purge some of these years), and yes, the most egregious bulk of papers consuming my existence, Scouting papers. In fact, my Scouting paper is approximately 60% of the stuff I have accumulated, most of which is not relevant at this stage anyway (most of the papers are flyers related to events and activities with a moderate but not indefinite shelf life). I had hoped I would make a decent dent, but I was not completely successful. I did manage to vacate my office of all superfluous paper, but in the end, all I really did was bring it down to the garage and downsize it a little bit (There is so much more I still need to do).

Today, though, I have prepared myself for what shall be a merciless battle. Granted, all of the paper and items are in the garage, but that gives me one tremendous advantage... it's all in one place now! IN anticipation of this, I have hooked up the shredder, gotten out the multiple page protectors and clear cover binders, and tonight will be a massacre of unparalleled proportions. In short, I will not set foot into my house until the paper monster is drawn, quartered, beheaded, and the items in question given their due place:

1. Home papers in the filing cabinet in the appropriate slots.
2. Financial papers in their appropriate folders.
3. Tax papers in their associated binders (and likewise in the filing cabinet)
4. All Scout related paperwork put into binders and (gasp!) put into our Chartered Organizations Scout Closet!!!

Do I believe this will be a once and for all victory? Of course not, but I do believe, if I really approach this with the necessary effort, that it will go a long way towards resolving this issue. It will of course take diligent effort to stay on top of this, and make sure that it doesn't creep back up on me again.

Madd Money: Peninsula Library System and Safari Books Online

2009-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of the things that has made 2008 and 2009 memorable for me is the fact that I made a conscientious decision to not buy new books, and to use the public library as often as possible to read, learn and discover things. One area that I have found to be mildly frustrating has been the area of technical books for Computer Science. In many cases, the books that I am most interested in (or need to be most interested in) are the newer ones, and in many cases, the Public Library doesn't have many of those yet.

What's more, not every technical book is created equal. I freely admit to being a fan of the O' Reilly book line. O' Reilly is probably best known for the old style wood block prints of various animals on their covers, but even more key is the way in which their books are written. There is a specific formula, and this formula is especially appealing to me. They use every book and teach fundamentals (regardless the topic) for the first three or four chapters. Everyone who reads these books knows this, and because of that, tech geeks joke about the books that we never read past chapter 3 or 4, or the books that we all have that we start on chapter 4. So in general, when given a choice, I tend to gravitate towards O' Reilly books. There are some O' Reilly titles in the library, but many of them are the broader and more general topics.More specific titles are a little harder to come by.

Several years ago, O' Reilly launched Safari Books Online. This is a collection of technical books, cross references and code samples that allows for the user to read through literally thousands of books, many of them as specialized as your needs require. There is a subscription fee associated with the service. If you have a steady diet of technical books, say one or two a month (in previous jobs and at various times, I certainly have had that level of demand) the subscription made a lot of sense. However, in the last few years, I have not had the same level of need, and thus paying for the subscription was seen as a luxury. But I really did miss it at times, and often wondered if I should renew it for my own career development.

Well, the great news is that the San Mateo Peninsula Library System (i.e. the one that I am a part of) has answered it for me... it's a service offered by the PLS, and my library card gets me access to the Safari Books Online subscription! Lately, I have been exploring C#, a programming language my company is deciding to use for all future development. Going the traditional library route, I may have to wait several weeks for a title to come in, and in the event that it's not an O' Reilly book, i may work through several sections to decide that I'm not digging this particular book (unlike a business book or a novel, I need to actually feel connected to a computer or technical book. If I don't, I don't feel that I learn as well. Sometimes, even O' Reilly books have this problem, and then I may need to wait a few more weeks before another title is available that I can try. With Safari, I can go right to the titles that interest me, and withing ten or 15 minutes, I will know if this is a book that will work for what I want to do.

So for those of you out there who often cite the lack of certain titles as to why the library won't work for what you want to do, especially you computer geek types like me, ask your public library if they have a Safari Books Online Subscription, or if they use a comparable service. If they do, try it out for awhile and see if it works for what you want to do, and finally, if you find yourself being a dedicated user of the system, consider giving SFO some love and subscribing directly. If it's going to be a "Casual Affair", then by all means, use the library's system... you do pay for it, after all :).

Took A Few Days Off, and Did It Ever Feel Great :)

2009-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Starting Thursday afternoon, my family and I decided that we wanted to have some time together and go off and do some things together. This was a busy several days, but so very fun. We started out by camping in Big Basin Redwoods State Park down near Santa Cruz. Nick and I took responsibility for the cooking and setting up of the camping area, and the girls had fun helping set up the fire and just exploring the area around where we were camping (Blooms Creek, the first main camp area as you enter the park from the North side). Nick regaled everyone with his excellent Dutch Oven cooking skills, treating us to Coca-Cola Chicken and Philmont Ranger Peach Cobbler for dinner and Dutch Oven Train Wreck for breakfast. We then explored around the park and looked at truly massive Coastal Redwood trees and other stretches of forest that made us feel right at home, and far away from home, both at the same time.

After our time in the park, we drove through the various "mountain towns" that stretch along Hwy 9. between San Jose and Santa Cruz. These towns include Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond and Felton, among others, and we had some fun looking at various sites along the way. NNick spotted a house that was made to look like a castle. He asked if we could stop so he could get some pictures of it. By doing so he met the maintenance crew for the house, and they invited us in for a tour of the place; unexpected, but very cool :). As we continued driving down Hwy 9, we also made our way into Santa Cruz, and then turned up the Cabrillo Highway to explore some of the beaches and natural preserves that run along our coast. One of the neat stops was at Pigeon Point Light Station near Ano Nuevo Natural Preserve. It's a neat old Lighthouse that also has a youth hostel on its grounds. The Lighthouse is a rapidly disappearing method of navigation, but one that was used for centuries. Northern California has one of the foggiest coastlines in the world, and its fair share of shipwrecks. Thus, the various Lighthouses that can be seen along the California coast are great reminders of our recent past, and it was fun to stop and take a closer look.

We also celebrated our version of "Pioneer Day" this weekend with members of our Stake at Coyote Point in San Mateo. This was a big gathering of the six wards that make up our stake, and it was a lot of fun to see so many people that I only occasionally get to see. It was also fun to see Karina, Amber and Nick playing and hanging out with their friends. Recently, the Crystal Springs 1st Ward and the El Camino Ward merged their Primary, Young Men's and Young Women's groups together, so our Young Men's group has picked up several new boys. It was terrific to see both Young Men's groups spending time together and getting to know each other more :).

The final cap of the weekend was to get to spend time with the Delgado's. Carlos and Kelly are literally the longest tenured couple that Christina and I have known together. In fact, Carlos and Kelly were at the Stone in September of 1990 when I first met Christina (Carlos was and is the lead guitar player for High Wire). We had wanted to have an opportunity to get our families together to do something fun, and this weekend, that finally happened. We went to meet up with them at the California Academy of Sciences, and it was so fun to watch our kids interacting with each other. Amber and Gabriel were inseparable much of the time, which was really cute, and Karina loved doting on little Sara. Carlos and I had fun geeking out on all of the exhibits and explaining to our kids what they were (that is, when our kids weren't explaining them to us first (LOL!) ).

All in all, a fabulous whirlwind three day "vacationlet", if you will. Now it's back to work for one week, and then I'll be gone for eight days with Troop 250's scouts at Summer Camp.

Shedding of Innocent Stuff: A Life With No Habits?

2009-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's taken me awhile to come to grips with this, but over the past several weeks, I've been reading a lot of Winget (don't worry, this is not a Larry Winget exercise per se, but it fits today's topic somewhat), and he's really big on changing habits and replacing bad habits with better ones. As I was looking at my various habits (and I have a few of them to say the least) I was struck by the fact that, actually, what I really suffer from is a overall lack of habits.

Over my life, I've known many people that are honest and serious creatures of habit. My wife Christina is one of them. This is by no means a put down, but for much of her life, she would have the same meals for breakfast for months or even years on end, she has a very solid routine of things that she does every single day, and this is part of the structure of her life. By contrast, my life is markedly without ingrained habits; most of what I do is what I refer to as "opportunity activities"; I do what I have to do when I have to do them, but there's generally no rhyme or reason to why or how. Take food, for example. When Christina and I go out to eat at a restaurant, it's generally a given that Christina will, depending on the restaurant, order something familiar that she likes (nothing wrong with that at all, it beats ordering something she hates). By contrast, I actually make it a point any time I go to a restaurant to almost never order the same thing twice, I always choose something I have never tried, if indeed there is an option I haven't tried. In some ways, I think this sense of "must be different" is about the only truly consistent habit I have.

In many ways, this feeds into my online life where, OK, I do have habits, and some of them not really all that good. I read sites that I enjoy probably way more often than I should (not because they are bad, but because they can be major time sucks when I need to be doing other things). Seems logical that I should say "OK, I will limit my time to viewing site [fillInTheBlank] between (time A) and (time B)". I have every intention to follow through with it, but I almost never do. The reason why? It would require me to submit to a scheduled habit, and I'm discovering that's a really difficult thing for me to do, silly as that may sound.

The point I'm trying to make is that we talk about the clutter in our lives and shedding of it so that things will be more orderly and tidy in our lives, but rarely do we consider that not having habits about certain things can be seen as "life clutter"; it's like a messy room with no organization (or very little, in any event).

To this end, I'm trying an experiment for the next 21 days. Why 21 days? Because that's the amount of time many psychologists believe it takes for a fledgling habit to actually become one. Thus, for the next 21 days, I have decided to put together a list of things that I know that I need to do on a regular basis, and I commit here and now to set aside time to deliberately do them, and make every attempt to do them on a schedule. You may think this would be obvious to many people, but I assure you, to me it isn't. This way, I'm hoping to make it so that many of the things in my life I keep saying I mean to do I will actually do in a more timely manner, and I will also hope to corral those things that threaten to suck away my time into specific areas and spaces where they can be prioritized and allowed to run free for their respective times, but once the time is up, that's it until the next day.

This is going to be a real challenge for me, so don't be surprised if this topic comes up often in the next few weeks (LOL!).

Madd Money: Eat Out For the Adventure, Not the Habit

2009-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

In my world view, the whole point to going out to a restaurant is to try something I have never had before. Since I often look at the costs associated with anything that I do, I want to be sure that I'm going to both enjoy the place and also enjoy the food item that I have never tried before. Also, I tend to want to go out for food that I would otherwise not eat at home.

Going out to eat is an expensive endeavor in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't mean that you cannot enjoy the experience, or that you have to forgo it entirely. Christina and I used to be big time foodie geeks, and when we lived in San Francisco, we would go out a *lot*. Now that we have three kids and all that goes with that, we have trimmed back on the various "food expeditions" but we still like to go out perhaps once or twice a month, and when we do so, we want to find something unique, interesting and worth the time and money to scope it out.

With this in mind, I want to give some solid props to K-Tofu and Grill in San Bruno. For those who are fans of Korean cuisine, this is a great place to get a solid Korean food fix without breaking the bank. The dishes are reasonably priced and they have a wide variety of food options to try. Their Moeun Ohjinjoh Twigim (deep fried spicy calamari) and Dolsot Bibimbab (mixed beef, vegetables and rice served in a hot stoneware pot) are both notable and quite memorable dishes, and price wise, you get a substantial amount of food (Christina and I were quite happy with the two items listed above and more than fed both of us very happily :) ).

So if Korean is your thing, check out K-Tofu and Grill on San Mateo Avenue in San Bruno. If you never considered Korean food as being "your thing", well, this place may help you start :). Wherever you decide to go, if you want an adventure and want to try something truly unique, going out may be the best use of both your time and your dollars. Otherwise, do more meals at home and aim to make those nights out truly unique and special :).

The Aches and Pains of Getting Older

2009-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

I never imagined I'd be one of those people grumbling about "oh my aching this" or "oh, my aching that", but this past weekend has both made me aware of it, and how very capricious life is and what causes things to happen.

My weekend was summed up by some great high points. The Troop had a terrific "mostly minimalist" campout at Sam McDonald Park. I say mostly minimalist because we had to still pack up more gear than I would have liked to (but since we had some brand new scouts that had never been backpacking before, we decided to bend the rules a little bit :) ). I slept out under the stars with just my sleeping bag, my bed roll, a ground cover, and nothing else. I also brought nothing my pack couldn't carry, so I was totally self sufficient on my pack this weekend. We hiked the Forest Loop Trail with a fair amount of vertical ups and downs, and later went to Pescadero Beach and played among the rocks and the sand and the surf. Through all of this I felt fine, and had not troubles at all.

Waking up on Sunday morning was when everything went south. Somehow, while sleeping in my comfortable king sized bed, with all of the comforts and modern conveniences of home, I managed to pull a muscle in my upper back (feels like it's right over my right scapula). This has made moving around a rather eventful experience, to say the least. getting dressed, taking a shower, ducking in and out of a car, all of this has been made to be more eventful than I ever hoped it would be (and aggravating, just to be clear on that front as well).

Why is it that when I go out and do things that most people would think would trash you, I suffer no ill effects, but when I come home where it's comfortable and safe, all of the annoying things happen?! Yes, I realize that that's not really the case; I've had my share of scrapes and bruises and "owies" occur outside of home, too, and even on my outings and activities; I'd be full of it if I said that I didn't get hurt at times doing those things, but somehow, life conspires to wait until I get home to do damage to me much of the time, and I find it slightly ironic that my body's biggest enemy is my own bed (LOL!).

Sorry for grumbling today, but this is one of those days where I'm feeling rather irked. I know I'll be better soon enough, but it's the waiting for the soon enough that's going to drive me crazy!

On Dealing With Stress

2009-07-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

You all will have to forgive me if I’m on a bit of a “Winget” tear these past couple of weeks, but I’ve been reading through the four books of his I’ve picked up from the library, so a lot of his core philosophy is taking up a fair amount of my time lately. Still, there’s a lot that he says (bluntly and with no subtlety whatsoever (LOL!) ) that make a lot of sense, and I really liked the thoughts he has concerning stress (note, this is his concept and his chapter from "Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life" that I'm talking about here, and this is honestly verbatim the exercise he suggests that you do in the book, so here it is for your voyeuristic pleasure :) ).

Now, here’s a rhetorical question… if you could give up all your stress right now, would you do it? I think the answer for most people is a resounding “YES”, but that brings up back to the question of, “how am I getting stressed out to being with?!” There are people that will help you do “stress management” and figure out ways to help cope with stress, manage stress, and work with stress, but wouldn’t it be great if we could all just learn to eliminate stress entirely?!

In Larry Winget’s world view, and one I feel I am agreeing with more and more, (and this is a direct quote):

“Stress comes from knowing what is right and doing what is wrong.”

So what causes you stress? Here’s some of the things that I deal with and often cause me stress:

· getting ready for Scout Outings
· studying for school (when I went) or studying for work (which I do now)
· dealing with yelling and noisy kids
· arriving late to anything
· missing work deadlines
· annoyance at rapid transit for delays
· not being in the physical shape I want to be
· earning enough to cover the basics but wishing I had more for [fillInTheBlank]

That’s a fairly decent and representative list (LOL!).

So here’s the premise and the idea to follow on with. In each of those listed items, what is causing the stress? Is it the item in question, or is it my response to it? Actually, is it the fact that I am not responding to it correctly that’s really the cause? In each and every one of those areas, I know what I should be doing. The fact that they are a stress in my life is that I’m not doing what I should be doing.

So let’s take the list and let’s see what we can do about it:

· getting ready for Scout Outings (this one is actually really simple; just make sure that all of the gear is packed well in advance, that all parties know what they need to do, and then let the chips fall where they may. If the boys forget something, they forget it and they do without. If I forget something, the same applies. Freaking out over it doesn’t help anyway).

· studying for school (when I went) or studying for work (which I do now) (yes, it’s tedious at times, and yes it’s the last think I may *want* to do at any given moment, but it’s these things that reap positive benefits down the road. The answer is to not procrastinate, to do a little each day and focus on small steps instead of trying to accomplish big jumps. Plan the work, work the plan).

· dealing with yelling and noisy kids (is it the kids problem, or is it my problem? Why does this stress me out? Because I don’t want to hear it, or because I have not done the necessary things earlier on to prevent the escalation to this point? Ah, now there’s the rub! Instead of getting aggravated that the kids are yelling at each other, I should be earlier in the process [maybe days or weeks] helping them understand how to deal with and interact with each other).

· arriving late to anything (this is pretty simple, actually… leave earlier and prepare to do something if that action gets me there early. If something happens along the way that delays us beyond our control, well, realize that… it’s beyond my control, and stressing won’t change that fact).

· missing work deadlines (now really, this is just all about the man in the mirror. If it’s because I did all I could and couldn’t get it done on time, then I have to simply state I did all that I could and that the time just wasn’t enough… but often that’s just not the case. The real reason is procrastination or poor planning, or not reading through and understanding how long something will really take. While on a rare occasion there is an unrealistic deadline, ultimately I have to be the one to say “this can be done in X amount of time” and then I better darn well make sure that I allocate enough time and focus to accomplish the task in X amount of time, since that’s my word on the line there).

· annoyance at rapid transit for delays (if I can control it, and if I can make an alternate plan, I should do so. If I can’t, I need to contact those who may be waiting, explain the situation, and then let go of it. I’m not the train conductor; there’s nothing I can do to make them arrive on time. While I’m waiting, I might as well do some other things that require attention).

· not being in the physical shape I want to be (dude, this is entirely “man in the mirror” stuff; no one to blame but yourself. Eat less, exercise more, make the time to do it. Otherwise, just pipe down and deal (LOL!) ).

· earning enough to cover the basics but wishing I had more for [fillInTheBlank] (the real question is “what are you willing to do about it?” Is overtime an option? Can you freelance a little on the side? Would talking a second job be an option? Are you allocating your money correctly to the areas that are most important? Have you asked your manager for a raise? Have you done work of a quality that is commensurate with the asking? Each one of these questions is squarely in MY court. If I have stress here, it’s my own fault, and my own domain to do something about).

So what makes you stressed? And at the end of it all, is it the circumstances, or is it you and how you deal with them? I know my answer after doing this. How about you :)?

A Simple Night Out With My Older Daughter

2009-07-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last Night, Karina and I went out for a daddy-daughter date. Because of work and so many other things going on, I haven't had much of a chance to spend some 1:1 time with my older daughter, so we decided to change that last night.

First stop, Shaw's Ice Cream and Candy... this is Karina we are talking about here, so does this surprise anyone (LOL!)? We each had a single scoop cone and I asked her all about her current camp program she is attending this week (we have an in-town camp called Camp Kaleidoscope, where the kids get to be involved in a lot of games, activities and crafts. Each year we have opted to give each of our children a week or so opportunity to get out of the house and interact with other kids and do things they can't do at home. This was what Karina chose to do this year :).

Afterwards, we decided to go and check out the Millbrae public library, since it's nearby. Now, you may not think that a date to the library is much fun, but Karina really enjoyed it, especially since this isn't our regular library that we go to. It's interesting to see how the buildings are laid out,m what each one offers, and how they differ from our regular library in San Bruno (and since they are all linked together, we can check stuff out on the same account :) ). Millbrae has a large selection of DVDs, about 3 times what the San Bruno library has. I also noticed that there were a number of Korean television series DVDs in the foreign language section... wonder if my friend Tom had anything to do with that (LOL!)? We both decided to pick up a few DVDs to see over the next week or so. Karina picked up some instructional DVDs related to art and watercolor. I picked up "The Animatrix", just because I wanted to see it, and we both agreed on the 3rd season of The Muppet Show :).

It may not seem like much, but it was a great way for us to spend two hours together, have some time to talk without interruption, and the whole cost of the thing was a pair of ice cream cones (well, Karina picked up a bottle of Skittle Spray for herself... I don't even know how to begin to describe it except to say image Binaca breath spray, but it's made by Skittles. You're welcome :) ). I'm looking forward to seeing how she likes the Muppet Show (she knows many of the characters, but seeing the original show is a different experience (LOL!) ). Should be fun.

Scoutmaster Mike: SM is Getting a Home of Its Own

2009-07-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

After much consideration, thinking and the need to make something that is a big part of my life more specific, I've made the decision to start a new project. While I will still update MKL's Muse on as close to a daily basis as I can, one set of posts are going to go away, or more accurately, one set of posts will be getting a more specific grouping and a blog of their own.

I have created a new blog called "Scoutmaster Mike", and this will contain many of my musings commentary and other aspects about being a Scout leader and all that goes with it. This will be the first of my blogs that will be topic specific. In other words, my various musings about Scouting that are specifically scouting related (trips, activities, thoughts about Scouting), will now appear there, so those who are Scouting Geeks, I encourage you to jump on and follow along. That's not to say that I will not put the occasional Scouting post here, too, but I will tend to save those for the moments and thoughts that are more personal and reflective of me and for me (and of course, for those voyeuristic types that like to follow along with my musings (LOL!).

Today's Post is the Scoutmaster Minute that i shared last night, and I will from time to time make a mention of posts that I make there in my entries here. My thanks to those who have encouraged me to consider spinning this section off. There's no questions it's the one area of my life that I am actually something of an authority on and can speak at length about (well, outside of the dumb and silly things I do in my day to day life, I have the equivalent of a PhD in THAT :) ).

Getting Things Done, 15 Minutes at a Time

2009-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to jump start a number of things that I have wanted to get done, but many of these things have just been sitting around and waiting to get the inspiration, desire and nerve to jump in and do it. This may sound easy to do, but it's more elusive than it seems at times. I think the biggest reason for this is that so many things overwhelm us and we make them out to be larger than they really are.

I have decided that it's important to break these things down and make them accessible, so I'm practicing a new model so that I can get some of those "quick wins" in to motivate me to get going and do more. To do this, I've decided to focus on very specific items, give myself a very concrete time limit, and make a simple criteria for saying "It's Done" or "It's Not Done". Example; I'm currently in the process of learning C# and C# Script. The reason is that I want to be more conversant with the development team that I work with and get a better understanding of the products that we develop and what goes on "under the board", so to speak. A vague and nebulous plan like "learn C#" is a hard thing to wrap one's head around, but "read chapter 3 in C# book and work on the question s at the end of the chapter" is an easy goal to wrap your head around. It fits what I like to call a SMART approach to accomplishing tasks (those Wood badge geeks out there already know what the SMART acronym stands for; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Based.

I've discovered lately that the last element, "time based" can be my worst enemy or my best friend. When a project is nebulous, and it's needed in a short time, I tend to get hung up on the details and suffer from a, "analysis paralysis", or I get so anxious about it that I find reason after reason to put it off, only to convince myself "ah, what's the use, I can't do it anyway!" Personally, I *HATE* this aspect about myself, and I know that I do it way too often. there are many things that I love to do, and when I love to do them, I can totally dive in and spend hours and hours on them. It's the other tasks that I know I need to do, they will be important and reap dividends down the road, but they are tedious, onerous or just plain hard, and sometimes not in a fun way (I really wish I could say that programming is fun for me. It is, but not in the way that, say, backpacking or snowboarding is).

So how does one get over the hump and start getting some "wins"? For me, it's the 15 minute rule; I break down anything I need to do in 15 minute chunks, and I determine very specific things I need to do in those 15 minutes. Why 15 minutes? Because I can handle anything for 15 minutes! What happens is that, after you get some small victories under your belt (you read through something, you accomplish a small goal, you put into practice something you have learned, you can focus on the next fifteen minutes, and the next and the next). This way, instead of just saying "I tried to do something today, but it didn't work out" you can say, I accomplished eight steps towards my goal today, and those eight steps took me two hours to complete.

One other big benefit of the fifteen minute rule is that, if you see that you are not getting anywhere with something, you can make the decision to stop and do something else, and not feel like you have totally blown your plans or your momentum. I've discovered I'm a terrible multi-tasker. I need and relish the ability to focus on one task at a time, and also, I'm way too prone to give into distractions if I try to do too many things at once. The fifteen minute rule allows me a simple method of focusing on something. It also allows me the option to tell people "sorry, I'm right in the middle of something, but if you give me [component of 15 minutes left, then I can talk with you about [whatever]].

Don Aslett and Larry Winget are two guys whose no nonsense approach to work and getting things done greatly appeal to me, and both of them have the same philosophy when it comes to time management... they think it's a crock; you cannot manage time. You can only use time, and what you choose to do while you use that time is what makes the difference between success and failure. Don't manage time, manage accomplishments; if stringing together ten or twenty accomplishments gets you to the goal of doing what you set out to do, then by all means do that. At the end of the day, you will always feel better saying "I did 20 or 30 small things" or ""I made 20 or 30 steps towards accomplishing my goals" than you will if you said "I worked the whole day, was busy the whole time, but didn't feel like I accomplished much of anything". If you feel like the latter statement (and believe me, I have lots of days like that) try going the 15 minute approach and making lots of small steps. You may find that you get to the point where a given area gets so familiar and so well covered that, over time, you only need 15 minutes to get big things accomplished. Like many things in life, though, that only comes with experience, so start setting your timer (or stopwatch or whatever you want to use to keep you honest :) ) and start setting some 15 minute goals today!

Shedding of Innocent Stuff: Video Tapes and Media

2009-07-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Do you ever find yourself in this situation? You have a cabinet that id dedicated to media that you have purchased (DVDs, VCR tapes, CDs, video games, what have you) and you think to yourself "am I ever really going to watch any of these again?" I'm going through this experience right now. I realized that we had a skewed sense of what we had and why we kept it when I realized that we had moved a storage cabinet into the 1/2 bath upstairs, and that the storage cabinet housed video games and DVDs. I wish I was kidding about that.

It helps to move back a little in time to where our heads were at regarding this. We knew that when we bought our house in 1999, its 1800 sq. feet was going to be a limitation eventually... and that's not a bad thing; if anything it forces us to be realistic about the stuff we have gotten over the years, though not realistic enough to realize that we have been doing an endless shuffle of stuff because of it. Now, for the record, I'm not going to go the George Carlin route... buying a bigger house so I can keep "more stuff"... we are very happy with the home that we have and we are not going to move in any time frame less than decades, seriously... but that still brings us to the point of "what do we do with the stuff we have in the space we have without buying more stuff to hold the stuff we already have (sorry, Carlin does it so much better (LOL!) ).

Anyway, one area that I keep looking at is our videotapes and DVDs. Frankly, I have just a few things I really like to keep and will hold onto indefinitely, but many other items are just strangely hanging around for years and years. Yes, I'll admit it, I have my top five movies as DVDs, I have a few classics, and I have some of my favorite anime series on DVD. We also have a bunch of videocassettes that we have held onto for the kids, yet I seriously wondered if they have bothered to look at any of these lately, and if they would actually miss them.

If you decide to be the "big meanie" and try this, here's my suggestion... take all of the VCR tapes and DVDs that you think might genuinely not be missed, put them in a box and put them someplace not obvious (but not someplace you would totally forget). Put a date on the box, say three to six months. Then wait... if you get one of your kids coming up to you saying "Dad, I can't find [fillInTheBlank]", then you know you have come across one that somehow matters to the kids. Go and get it, say that you found it, but don't divulge the hiding place of the other tapes (I don't know about the rest of you out there, but with my kids, anything that is suddenly in eye sight becomes indispensable, never mind the fact that they haven't watched or thought about it for close to two years prior !!!).

Right now I've gathered a good sized box of kids VCR tapes, most of them likely to never be watched again. Frankly, if I'm going to strike on this, I need to strike now, while VCR tapes are still a viable media. Five years from now, there may be no interest among friends for VCR tapes; they be about as coveted as 8 tracks (and yes, I am old enough to have owned 8 tracks, don't rub it in (LOL!) ). I would much rather see these go to people that have young kids that would enjoy seeing them than keep them floating around my house not being used, not being watched, and taking up space that is coming at a greater premium each year as the kids get older.

Thus we have begun a new experiment. I'll check back in October to tell you all what ultimately happened :).

Game of the Month: Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor

2009-07-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Back in March, my company gave me a really cool 4 year anniversary gift; a $150 gift card for GameStop. My co-workers know me well, what can I say (LOL!)?

The last title that I purchased from this was Suikoden Tierkreis, and I posted about that last month. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a new installment in one of my favorite long running game franchises, the ATLUS juggernaut Shin Megami Tensei (hereafter referred to as MEGATEN).

I love MEGATEN story lines because they tend to do away with most of the stereotypical Medieval trappings of fantasy and role playing games; MEGATEN games typically revolve around occult and cyberpunk aspects, mixing a little bit of horror, and a little bit of fantasy, and a bit of modern, current Japanese culture (Anime and Manga standards abound in these games). MEGATEN games also blend myth, legend and faith elements from many different cultures (Graeco-Roman, Norse, Celtic, Judeo-Christian, Egyptian, Chinese, Hindu and Japanese lore all make their way into the storylines) with the prominent use of "Akuma" (English translation would be "Devil" or "Demon"; the Greek idea of a "Daemon" is perhaps more accurate) and in the games you either instill yourself with their power, or you recruit them to your cause. You as a character develop skills for yourself and the Akuma, or you fuse individual Akuma together to create stronger or more skilled Akuma. The games are often morally driven, where your choices and your attitudes determine how the story flows. Also, one of my favorite aspect of MEGATEN titles is that things are rarely what they seem.

This brings me to my current installment, MEGATEN Devil Survivor. The story is classic MEGATEN; you and a few of your friends have decided to go shopping in downtown Tokyo on an afternoon. While doing so, the Government of Japan imposes a lock down in the area. No one comes in, no one goes out. You and your friends are stuck in downtown Tokyo, with strange creatures appearing in various places (Akuma), with a hunger for humans. You have two choices, get killed or fight back. One of your friends has given you and your team a device... it looks a lot like a DS, but it has special capabilities... one of them being the ability to make contracts with Akuma. Now, instead of fighting Akuma alone, you can enlist them to fight with you. All the while you realize that things are developing rapidly, you have little time, and the Japanese Government knows that the people in the Tokyo loop are in great danger, but they are not going to do anything to help. If you want to survive, and if you want to save the countless people trapped inside of the Tokyo loop with you, you must take out the threat that's trapped within the Tokyo loop with you... and here's where I'll shut up and let those that want to play the game take it from there :).

This is the first MEGATEN game to be available in the DS format. It is not a dungeon crawler like so many of the other MEGATEN titles that have preceded it, where you search for relics or items, have encounters and cover a world map with actual movement. This title is menu driven, with many areas having similar components; look around the area and get a text blurb about what's happening. Listen in on conversations and get a fast overview of the situation. Talk to your team mates and to people directly identified as protagonists or antagonists. The information gathering elements of the game can be performed very quickly, so that you can focus on the important stuff, like recruiting Akuma, crafting their abilities and practicing those abilities in strategy based battles. Battles are designated as such, and usually are one-off situations, with various areas around Tokyo designated as "Free Battle" areas. Yes, this is an SRPG, and if you want any chance of surviving certain battles later in the game, you have to spend some time doing free battles and leveling up. The battle system uses a grid overlaid on scenery and feels a lot like many other SRPG's on various platforms. If you have ever played Suikoden Tactics or Final Fantasy Tactics, the battle system will feel very familiar. You have strengths and weaknesses, your Akuma have strengths and weaknesses, and opposing Akuma also have strengths and weaknesses. Exploit and outmaneuver your opponents and you win. If they exploit and outmaneuver you, well, you die!

Some interesting elements of the game include an email interface (you don't really get live editable email, but you can interact with it directly and send replies (canned) to other party members, and your replies can help shape the story to a degree). You receive messages telling you what potential things will happen. You can join the Devil Auction where you can make contracts with Akuma and get them to join your side. You can take two Akuma and fuse them together and make new and more powerful Akuma (or in some cases, less powerful Akuma... you have to pay attention to what you are doing).

In some ways, this is MEGATEN meets Yu-Gi-Oh!, as it feels like as lot of the encounters and aspects of them are very similar to that type of play, only instead of a one to one and single face off, you have chess style battles between 3-3 groupings, and a win/lose based on taking out the entire party or the leader of the party. There's a fair amount of "grind-up" to be done, and exactly how much you want to do is left up to you (encounters are almost all luck based if you are lower than the targets, somewhat challenging when you are on-par, and ridiculously easy if you get to be 3-4 levels over the targets... of course, these encounters give you a lot of practice trying out different Akuma and skill combinations, so they do not feel tedious. Well, at least most of the time they don’t :).
One interesting element about this game is that there is no active timer. Nowhere in the game does it tell you how long you have played, just that the story has progressed a certain point. Certain events move along the clock, but free battles do not, so you can spend *hours and hours* doing free battles. Thus, I have no way to tell how much of my life has been sucked into this game... good or bad, you decide (LOL!).

In short, this is a fun entry in the MEGAverse, and I love the fact that it’s for the DS, meaning I can take it and play it anywhere, instead of just when I have a few free moments at home (which, frankly, are getting to be rarer and rarer now that my kids are older and play console games, too). Still actively playing, late into day three of a seven day arc, so I'll post another entry when I finish... can't promise when that will be, but if past games are any indication, expect a follow up entry in about two months (LOL!).

Late Add-On: It's my Dad's birthday today. Please join me in wishing Spencer Larsen a happy 69th birthday (not sure if he'd have a problem with me outing his age like that, but knowing my dad, I doubt it highly :) ).

The Philosophy of "Drinking Straight from the Bottle" :)

2009-07-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

There’s been a phrase that I love, and I think I first saw it many years ago as a cartoon on one of my co-worker’s cubicle walls. The picture was a silly one of a guy lying down under his bed, with a cyclone of wreckage in the room. The caption was “Some people view their lives where the glass is half empty, some view their lives where the glass is half full. Steve drinks straight from the bottle.” The cartoon is meant to be silly and amusing, but in truth, that phrase has stuck with me for all these years, and I’ll tell you why.

I *HATE* the glass half empty/glass half full metaphor, because it always implies that you have to take the situation as it is. If it’s half empty, then you are a pessimist. If half full, then you are an optimist. My problem with the metaphor is that you have to accept the glass as something that doesn’t change. Like life, it’s to be dealt with and you have to choose how you want to look at it. Personally, I opt for a third option beyond pessimism and/or optimism. Call it “determinism”. My whole point is to say 'why do I have to “accept” a glass AT ALL?! Do I really want to take life based on what it gives me, doled out in a portion in a glass? NO! I’d prefer to take life head-on, thanks, and figure out my own way to deal with it'. While I believe in a Heavenly Father and a divinely resurrected son that is Jesus Christ, I do not believe that they gave me this life to plod on and just accept what comes my way. There’s not just one glass and one apportionment, there are countless glasses, or the way I want to consider it, there’s no glass at all. Life is a bottle, and the only thing that’s absolutely sure is that eventually that bottle will run out for me in this mortal life. At that time, I’ll set it down, and pick up another bottle on the far side of the veil, and life/existence/metaphysical energy/you name it will go on from there.

This, in my world view claiming to drink from the bottle isn’t a funny or silly punch line… it’s the whole point of why we are here :). The volume of the bottle varies, and the only time the bottle will be empty is when I draw my last breath on this Earth. Until then, ultimately every meaningful decision I will ever make, and thus the shape of my life, falls squarely into my sphere of influence. So grab your own bottle and join me. Optimism and pessimism are passé; they require that you accept the world as it is, and either be happy or sad about it. I’m going with determinism, thank you very much… now hand me that bottle (LOL!).

Follow-on: This is an article that is currently runing in the Mormon Times by Orson Scott Card called "Mormon Tribe Feels Like Home". I'll be writing more on this topic in the future, but I want to alert anyone who may find it interesting to read it now :).

Madd Money: The Value of "Doing a Little Every Day"

2009-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Having finished "You're Broke Because you Want to Be" by Larry Winget, I found an interesting comment towards the end of the book. Larry described growing up on a farm near Tulsa, Oklahoma as a kid, and some advice that his father gave to him. His father told him, at the time that a young calf was born, that if he would work with that calf, and if he would carry that calf from the mother's pen to the feeding and grooming area, and back, that he would be able to continue to do that almost indefinitely... but he'd have to do it every day for that to happen.

The story goes on to say that Larry did indeed continue this ritual for several months, and in that time, the calf grew considerably, but he was able to still carry it each day. Then because of rain, he missed a day, and when he came back to do it, he found it harder to do, even after missing just one day. Later, there was a series of storms that caused him to not be able to get out and do more than just the absolute basics of care for many days. When that week was up, he went to try to carry the calf again... and couldn't do it. That was the end of the road for that experiment.

This story has a parallel in the ancient world, in the fable told of Milo of Croton (sometimes attributed to "Milo of Crete") where Milo carried a baby calf shortly after it was born on his shoulders, and did so every day until he could carry the weight of a full grown bull on his shoulders. Now, in both of these cases, I don't know how realistic it is (a full grown bull is a mighty big thing, and we're talking somewhere around 800-1000 pounds; maybe a single lift, but carrying it around on a regular basis?! WOW!!!). Still, the stories both present a simple principle that can be used everywhere(in finance, work, hobbies, etc.) and that's the value of practice each and every day.

Back in January, I embarked on an experiment to learn Japanese, and to that end, I bought a video game called "My Japanese Coach". I played that game a little bit every day for three months, and in that three month stretch, I memorized the Kana alphabets and some basic phrases and started learning sentences and practicing longer phrases. Then a couple of games came out that I really wanted to play, and I took a break from the daily Japanese. When I got back to it, I saw that I had forgotten (already!) a lot of what I learned. I still remembered quite a bit, and I'm still learning, but it's going slower and I'm not progressing at the same clip as I did when I did a little bit every day.

When we make new habits, whatever it may be, it's the ongoing daily input that really makes the difference. If we want to get stronger with weights, yes, we will have to wait for the body to recover, so "daily" in this case may not be a perfect metaphor, but regular enough to remain effective has to be in place. Training once a week won't cut it in most cases; we have to be regular, consistent, and we have to apply a little more effort and take on "more weight" each time to keep moving forward. Scripture study, balancing our financial lives, learning a foreign language, developing software, all of them follow the same principle... and for me, so does blogging. the only way to really get markedly better at something is to "do it every day".

My son recently started playing the viola, and we've had chats about practicing and getting more proficient, I told him that there is a book called "Outliers", written by Malcolm Gladwell, where he describes what makes someone World Class at something. Throughout the book, Gladwell mentions the "10,000-Hour Rule", the idea being that the key to success in any field is practicing a specific task for a total of 10,000 hours. Roughly put, if Nick were to practice every single day, an hour a day, and never miss a day, he could become a world class viola player roughly by the age of 39 (10,000 hours, into 365 days a year at one hour each day, gives us roughly 27 years). If he practiced two hours a day, that time would be lessened to about 13 1/2 years, or by the time he was 25. 3 hours a day would be 9 1/4 years, or by age 21. Of course, whether or not that is practical is another story, but it illustrates the fact that those who become not just good, but great at what they do, tend to do it not because they are super gifted or extraordinarily talented (though theat certainly helps), but because they put in the work to achieve that greatness... and they do it every day.

My hope is that I may be able to take from this and also start "carrying my calf" and do so daily :).

Madd Money: The Case of the Disappearing Water

2009-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the old saying "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure"... and It's even more in real money (that's a joke for anyone who remembers the old Showtime comedy "Brothers"... if you don't, don't sweat it :) )? Well, I decided it was time for me to start taking a look at some areas around our house that might be causing us some troubles.

One of the things that has been driving me crazy is the water bill... it seems absurdly high based on what we do and it also looked like we were using quite a bit more. Why was this the case? I decided it was time to get to the bottom of it.

First, we know we have an older toilet in our master bathroom, and that older toilet has a large capacity tank. A simple fix is to fill a milk jug with water and sand and park it in the tank (instant 33% savings of water with each flush). However, it seemed that that didn't do the trick. As I took apart the toilet mechanism to see what might be happening, I noticed that the fill release for the fill tube seemed to run even after the toilet was full... translating to dropping into the bowl and then gravity carrying out the water through the bottom of the bowl. No idea how much was flowing through, but it was enough to have that dribble effect for extended periods. Replacing the flow tube and seal fixed that problem. But could there be another possible answer? After doing a little research online (yes, I researched leaky toilets, just because I'm strange like that :) ), I found that in many older toilets, the ball stopper and gasket age and cease to create a tight seal. A quick way to check this is to put some drops of food coloring in the bowl after it fills, and make a point to not use that toilet for two to three hours, then check the bowl. If you see tinted water, you have your answer. It's reported that the average toilet could lose up to five gallons of water a day if the ball stopper or closure mechanism doesn't seal correctly. It's my next fix to do.

Next, take a look at all of your sinks, and see if you have any leaks. A great way to check this is to pull down the stoppers on all sinks and go to bed, and then check them in the morning. If you have a puddle of water in the sink, bingo! The good news is that, while it will probably take some dismantling of your faucet hardware to replace some washers or seals, it's a relatively simple repair to do and doesn't require a plumber to come out and do it. For those who have not visited WikiHow, make it a site to stop at and peruse. If you actually have a leaky faucet, here's how to fix it :).

For those that have sprinkler systems, if you notice that you have heads that do not have even spray pressure (or one head seems to do well but others down the line are performing less optimally), it's possible you may have a leak on one of the sprinkler heads (best case and easiest to fix) or in the underground line (not so easy to fix, but still doable). Last night, as I was lying in bed, I hears the sprinklers go off, as I usually do, but this time, it sounded like a rushing rivulet instead of the steady drone of the sprinklers. Sure enough, when I went out to investigate, I noticed that the head closest to my side of the bed against the back wall of our house was gushing water... the sprinkler head had cracked. Bad news, it needs to be fixed. Good news, since it's the sprinkler head itself, it will be relatively easy to replace.

Long story short, if you have high bills and you can't quite put your finger on why, do some basic water hunting. It's too early to tell if these changes will make large scale savings, but even if they don't, you can feel good about the fact that you are limiting waste by checking and doing some simple maintenance in these areas. Happy hunting :).

Teach Your Children Well, and They Will Teach You

2009-07-06T05:33:00.001-07:00

It was an interesting day yesterday... Christina was released as the Primary president after nearly four years in the role (I think this is the longest I've ever known anyone to serve in that position, at least in any of the wards that I've attended). I remember back when Christina first joined the Church; she was given the opportunity to be a teacher in Primary early on, and thus, since 2001, she has been actively involved as a Primary teacher, counselor in Primary, or Primary President.

With her release on Sunday, she had the chance to join me in Gospel Doctrine class for the first time in at least 8 years. I remember her saying as we were gearing up for the release that she was worried that she would not fit in with Gospel Doctrine or Relief Society, since her entire point of reference to the church was through Primary. Well, it was amusing to hear her say, as she was sitting with me through Gospel Doctrine (we were discussing the ways that people often choose to leave the church through such things as being offended and through finding faults and rationalizing why we do certain things)... she leaned over to me and said "hey, this is just like what we covered in Primary". As I smiled and gave her a hug, I thought for a bit that, really, those lessons that we teach the kids in Primary *are* the Gospel, and that usually, the stuff we talk about in the "adult classes" are really just variations on the theme. Sure, we put more adult language around them, and we go into greater discussion, but really, the principles we learn in Primary *are* the whole of the Gospel, and to that end, Christina has spent the better part of eight years helping teach those lessons to the children of the ward, including our children.

Anyway, I just wanted to say how very proud I am of Christina and how much time and effort she put into her calling as Primary President. She was terrific in that role, and I'm so very happy that she got to have the experience. I'm also happy that, at least for a brief period of time, I will get to have her sitting with me in Gospel Doctrine class, something that we have not experienced together in close to 8 years (LOL!). We'll see how long that lasts, as I don't think that the Ward will let he sit still for very long :). Still for the time being, as a friend of our pointed out, "Christina has spiritually fed so many for so many years, now it's time for her to step back and allow others to spiritually feed her for awhile" :).

Madd Money: A Fly on Larry Winget’s Wall

2009-07-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I tend to do is I get to reading someone, either like or dislike what they have to say, and then if I personally like them, I ponder what they have to say, and if I dislike them, I tend to shrug off what they have to say. Dave Ramsey is a great example. Personally, I like Dave, and I like his take that combines the practical and the spiritual. Being a Latter-day Saint, I appreciate someone who has a biblical and spiritual outlook when it comes to money, and is not afraid to harmonize the two. By contrast, Robert Kiyosaki’s approach just grates on my nerves, so I have been less compelled to read his material. The fact is, both have good information and good approaches to dealing with money.

Larry Winget has been a guy that has intrigued me for awhile now. Maybe it’s the bald head and the loud voice, maybe is the absolute brashness of his demeanor and his “take no prisoners” approach, but I’ve decided that it was time to dig in and see what Larry had to say about money and where to place efforts and emphasis. To that end, I decided to start with “You’re Broke because You Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead”. Much of the time, people get books like this for two reasons. The first one is that they are genuinely struggling, and they want to figure out how to get out of a mess. The second is that they may not be in a mess, or maybe they are already moving along, but they are stuck in cruise control, and want to shift gears. Personally, I feel I am in the second category, so I tend to focus on things that fit that second area. The take home message from Larry in this book is as follows (this is literally verbatim from page 200 of the book, so do not credit me or think these are my maxims… these are Larry’s, and sum up his philosophy in this book very well):

1. Know where you are.

2. Take responsibility for the situation.

3. Feel bad about it. Experience remorse.

4. Make the decision for things to be different.

5. Know exactly what you want your life to look life.

6. Create an action plan to get there.

7. Know what you are willing to give up to get what you want.

8. Spend less than you earn.

9. Figure out ways to earn more.

10. Stop all unnecessary spending.

11. Pay off debts as quickly as possible and only go into debt for things with long-term value.

12. Build a cushion. Save!

That’s it. What I find very interesting is that the first 7 could just as easily have been from the scriptures or from Spencer W. Kimball’s “The Miracle of Forgiveness”. In short, we need to recognize that we are on the wrong path, or even if the path isn’t wrong, realize there may be a better way to travel it. As a hiker, I can appreciate that meandering on a path uses up a lot more energy than picking a line and walking with a straight purpose. This is the point that Larry is making, that we all need to make a commitment to focus on our goal, make a plan to get there, and work like maniacs to achieve that goal. In a nutshell, that’s Larry’s big thing; people don’t succeed by luck or smarts alone, they succeed because they are willing to work longer, harder, smarter, faster and better than their peers. Something we all think we understand, but rarely do we really put it into action.

I know that I fit this category, so while I may not be in a situation where I am wanting for anything (I’m not the guy meandering all over the path or off the path), but it’s very possible that I need to review the map and make sure I know the best and most efficient trail to take, and that I observe review and adjust my pack for the journey. Some things will need to be jettisoned to get to my goal, some things will need to be better utilized (tools that are not used or are not in a condition to be used are better than having nothing, but just barely; having a dull knife is better than not having a knife at all, but having a properly sharpened knife is *lots* better and much more helpful).

My next Larry book is “It’s Called Work for a Reason: Success is Your Own Damn Fault”… and I’m looking forward to reading it :).

Happy 233rd Birthday, U.S.A.

2009-07-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to me how much time has transpired since my first really memorable 4th of July. That one was 1976, and my family at the time made a trip to the East Coast, bought a car, and traveled down the Eastern Seaboard. I remember waking up in New Jersey the morning of the 4th, and us driving until we got to my parents friends house near McLean Virginia to celebrate the evening of the 4th with Fireworks seen from the Capitol and other parts of the Potomac. I was 9, and from that day on, the 4th was something special (celebrating the Bicentennial probably also made it a little more potent of an experience for many I'm sure.

Since then, 33 years have passed and I've lived long enough to see the ups and the downs of this country, but one thing is certain... it's people are resilient. They are proud, courageous, and they care about their land. That's not a platitude, it's an observation, one Ive seen over the past 33 years many times.

So today, while celebrating the BBQ, the fireworks, and other trappings that we all consider part of the 4th of July, let's also all take a moment to celebrate "Independence Day" and to also remember all of those people who, over the past 233 years, have given their all so that we can still celebrate today our independence. Let us also reflect a bit on those whose Independence we had a hand in taking away (can't have the good without the bad, as I said, and there were 500 nations here before we were here). Let's pledge once again on our country's birthday to make this country one that will be proud to call itself "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave".

In Praise of UP

2009-07-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

After reading about UP in Orson Scott Card’s review, I was even more excited to see it than I had been by its initial premise (I’m pretty much a Pixar fanatic, and I’ve seen just about all of the Pixar movies, so it was pretty much inevitable I’d see this one, too. Add the premise of a positive (albeit differently named) not to the Boy Scouts, and I was already interested. But to hear Card describe UP as “an American animated film that approaches Miyazaki’s best work”… wow, now *this* really had me interested.

My family saw UP last night, and yes, I agree with Card on two points. First, it definitely approaches the ambition of Miyazaki and I would classify it up there with many of Miyazaki’s best, but even m ore than that, it just plain works as a story that hits you on many levels. It’s fun, and it’s sweet, but it’s also poignant and touching. It never gets boring, and the visuals are just plain stunning, even in the quiet parts.

My hats off to Pixar for approaching an idea with courage and grace for an animated film; it showed the life of two people in love, and the realities that go with that love, the ups the down, the happiness, the sadness, and to also echo Card’s review (hey, he said it first, so I have no right to present it as though it were my idea)… I’m proud of them for actually showing what happens when a loved one reaches a decline in their life and actually dies. This happens early in the film, so don’t feel like I’m ruining the story by mentioning it. I loved how they set up the story for Carl and Ellie; from being little kids to marrying, to working together, to fixing up their home, all the way to the end of Ellie’s life and that adventure they just never got to take.

From there, we get to the story of the flying house, a lost land, a boy who wants to be a good scout (and as a Scoutmaster, I have had these boys in my Packs, Troops and Crews over the last 16 years, so this part of the story especially gave me a big smile), action, adventure, talking dogs, a really big bird, a dirigible and its captain, and all the things that make a Pixar movie, well, a Pixar movie :).

What I also enjoyed about this movie is the fact that its message was wonderful… it reminds us that many times, the greatest adventure that we will ever have will take place within the walls of our own home, and that’s the adventure of having a family you deeply care for and want to be with… there is a very sweet scene later in the movie where Ellie’s Adventure Book shows a page that says “Stuff I Plan To Do”, meaning the adventures she plans to have. We see this book merely with blank pages, and through the movie, it’s implied that that is all that is there. However, later in the film, as Carl looks at the pages, he sees that they are full… full of picture of his and Ellie’s life together. Pictures of a couple smiling, doing things around their beloved house, pictures of a day on a blanket in a field, and all the way up to their last picture together… the final message written saying “thank you for a wonderful adventure, Carl… now go make a new one! Love, Ellie”.

That just floored me, and it actually brought tears to my eyes. How often have each of us hoped for some unattainable excitement, some grand way of living, and ignored the greatest adventure that exists right in the walls of our own homes, with the very people we ought to really call our greatest adventure? If nothing else, I hope that I can keep that message as a reminder that my greatest adventure is in keeping the fire of a love alive with my beautiful wife and the never-ending adventure of raising three great kids (and I have a really cool dog, too, though she doesn’t talk :) ).

If you are one of the handfuls of people that have not seen this movie, by all means, go see it. Even if you want to wait until it comes out on DVD, you need to see this one. It’s a keeper!

Madd Money: What’s Your Excuse?!

2009-07-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile, I like to read things that shake up my paradigm. I believe it’s valuable to be challenged, to be pulled out of your comfort zone, and face things in a new, or at least different, manner. Through one of my favorite blogs (All Financial Matters) I came to hear about and grow interested in a guy by the name of Larry Winget. Some of you may already be familiar with him, but for those who aren’t, suffice it to say that “warm, fuzzy and cuddly” is not this guys style. He’s somewhat more akin to Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket than any motivational speaker you’d likely come across, and frankly, that’s what I like about him. He has trademarked the phrase “the World’s Only Irritational Speaker” (LOL!).

With titles like “Shut Up, Stop Whining, & Get A Life: A Kick-Butt Approach to a Better Life” (2004), “It's Called Work for a Reason!: Your Success Is Your Own Damn Fault” (2007), “You're Broke Because You Want To Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead” (2008), and “People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!: The Ten Ways You Are Sabotaging Your Life and How To Overcome Them” (2008), you can get a pretty clear picture as to what Larry’s all about. Larry’s advice can really be summed up very simply:

* figure out what your excuse for not being where you want to be is
* mercilessly kick the crap out of that excuse
* focus on the goal you want to achieve
* buckle down and work your butt of to get there
* don’t stop until you are there.

When you finish all that, pick another goal, and repeat the process.

Is it really that simple? I’m beginning to honestly believe that it is. So I decided to follow along and try my own thought experiment regarding this. Am I where I want to be right now? That’s a hard thing to say because it’s so general. I have a nice life, I don’t really want for anything, my family’s needs are met… yet I would gladly double or triple my income if I could… or would I?

See, here’s where I decided it was time to take Larry up on his approach and see if what he says rings true. Do I really want to do what it takes to double or triple that income? The answer is no… or perhaps I should say “my mind wants to say yes, but my actions clearly say ‘No’”.

Digest that for a minute… it’s our actions that determine what we do and why we do it. Another comment that sunk in with me is that “where your money goes, that’s what’s important to you”. Sounds obvious, right? Yet there’s more to it than that. Think about it this way. Put down on paper what you believe your goals are and what your direction is. Think about what your work goals are, what your life’s ambitions are, and where you think you are heading with them. After doing that, sit down with your check and credit card statements, and track your spending for the last year (or more, if you are up to it). See where you have placed your discretionary money (rent or mortgage, food, lights, and transportation are somewhat given, they are not really discretionary, but even those can be depending on how much is spent). Tally up the categories and see if anything jumps out at you.

I did this, and boy, was one thing abundantly clear. I claimed that I wanted to further my career, that I was focused on doing whatever it took to do well at work and get ahead. That’s what my mind has been telling me… but my actions and my track record tell a very different story. Over four years, I have spent maybe $700-$1000 towards work related training and personal development associated with my job. By contrast, I have spent close to $10,000 over that same period for Scouting. Note, this is personal expenditures to do things, attend trainings, learn techniques to teach to others, purchase gear and learn about it so I could demonstrate it… I’ve put in a community college semester towards my job. I’ve put in half way to a Master’s Degree into Scouting. Think that may be a significant comment? Yeah, I think it is.

The biblical proverb in Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” can also be rendered as “where you choose to put your treasure will show you where your heart actually is”.

So now that I have done this experiment, what exactly do I want to do with this information? Is my heart telling me that my true career is in Scouting, and that I should be putting all of my energies into that, since I’m obviously already doing exactly that? It’s an interesting thought, but I have certain reservations... First, I do Scouting because I enjoy it, but I have this strange aversion to making it my career. Since it is something that I enjoy doing and have a passion for, I would rather not get into the political or numbers side of Scouting; my passion is with the Scouting PROGRAM. If I can find a way to make a great living at being a champion of the Scouting PROGRAM, NOW I have something that truly interests me. The fundraising and hustling to make numbers, truly, I have no interest in at all, but that’s the reality of being a Scouting professional (well, most of the time). My true focus and passion is on the program, and how the boys learn from it and interact with it. I’ve always said “when I’m financially secure and I don’t have to work any more, I’d love to go to work for the Boy Scouts”, because I don’t want my livelihood to be dictated by Scouting, I want that passion to come from within me for its own sake, not for a paycheck… and again, I’m making excuses.

So here is where I stand today, and here’ is what I am wondering… what do I really want to do? Do I want to really triple my income, or do I really want to make Scouting a greater part and purpose of my life? My head says I want the money, my actions say Scouting. I know my excuses… now the real work begins… what am I going to do about it?! For the answer, I guess we will all just have to stay tuned :).

Madd Money: Feeding the Cars

2009-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I’m now 41 years old, and in that time, I have gone through my fair share of automobiles. Some have been great, some have been terrible, some have been placeholders until the next one came along (especially when I was younger). But in each case, I learned a little bit about myself and the process of buying and owning cars, and where it’s placed my head about them today. This has been an odd journey, so I think it’s only fair to start at the beginning:

The First Car: 1975 AMC Hornet (Dec. 1983 - Jul. 1984)
For the record, this was one of the ugliest cars I have ever seen, but it worked and it drove, so I didn’t complain too much. Also, it was given to me by my dad, so it was free. It came with its quirks, such as a manual transmission that locked up if you didn’t shift it in the right order (it was a 3 speed, so going from 1st gear up to 3rd gear or 3rd to first, or from 2nd to reverse) would lock it, and you would have to get out of the car, lie down on the ground, and flip two coupling levers to get the transmission unstuck. I still have burn marks in my left forearm from doing this and burning myself on the tailpipe. The clutch proved to be twice quick to deteriorate (partially from my lack of experience in driving it) and the car finally gave up the ghost after a concert I went to (to see Berlin at the Wharfield ...the aftermath of the Hornet breaking down having some more serious consequences for my at the time girlfriend and me, but that’s a whole 'nother story (LOL!) ).

The Second Car: 1971 Ford LTD Station Wagon (Oct. 1984 - Nov. 1986)
My grandmother Kathleen gave me this car when it became clear to her that her ability to drive was becoming greatly hindered by her advancing age, so she gave this car to me at that time. From December of 1984 to November of 1986, this car and I were inseparable. It was a boat on wheels, but it was a great way to pack people and stuff and go places. I even used it to deliver pizzas for almost a year, but man, talk about wear and tear on a vehicle. I think we replaced the brakes twice during this period (and when I say we, I mean my dad). I also didn’t realize it at the time, but my gasoline bill was a huge percentage of any take home pay I received. This car probably would have continued on for quite some time had I not gotten into an accident on Hwy 580 in November of 1986 that completely totaled the car.

The Third Car: 1973 Buick Station Wagon (Nov. 1986 - May 1987)
My dad bought this car in 1976 when we flew back east for the Bicentennial celebration. We bought it in Boston and drove it back across the country. Over the years my dad had it, it had its share of issues (alternator, radiator, etc.) but we kept patching it up and driving it as we could. During this time, I kept using this car for band practices and moving gear, delivering pizzas and going to school. My dad knew this car wasn’t long for this world, as it had issues with the transmission and burning oil, so he encouraged me to save up as much money as I could, and he’d match me dollar for dollar, so that we could buy a replacement car when this one died, which it did in the fall of 2007 (transmission finally went in a billow of smoke that totally fogged up Hwy 680. It was an epic death for that vehicle).

The Fourth Car: 1977 Ford Courier Pickup truck (May 1987 - Apr. 1988)
This car was basically all I was realistically able to afford. It cost $2,000 in 1987, and it was already 10 years old with 60000 miles on it. Today 60000 miles doesn’t sound like much. Back then, it was a geezer. However, it was lightweight and it allowed me to haul equipment for my band, so it worked out well for its intended purpose. There were, however, multiple oddities about the car that had to be addressed time and time again, such as the lack of a catalytic converter and the occasional “gutless wonderness” of the vehicle. It also suffered from the ignominy of my rear-ending a vehicle and crumpling up the hood and front fenders, along with the frame. We managed to straighten out the frame by ourselves using my dad’s car and a chain looped around the frame, but that accident did damage to the engine that ultimately caused its demise in April of 1988.

The Fifth Car: 1978 Saab 99 GLE (Apr. 1988 - Jan. 1990)
For the record, this was and still is my all time favorite car that I ever owned. I loved it when it ran properly. Sadly, when it ran properly grew to be less and less often. Added to that fact was that this car had a lot of exotic parts and repair bills were always stratospheric. But when it was running well, oh it was so much fun to drive. This car actually held out for close to 21 months, an almost record for vehicles at this time of my life (note, this was effectively my fifth car since turning 16). It lasted until January 1990.

The Sixth Car: 1990 Ford Escort Pony (Jan. 1990 - Jun. 1995)
This time, my Dad decided to help me do something we had never done before… he helped me to buy a new car. Mind you, this was not to be any type of luxury purchase, but it was indeed a new, off the lot vehicle. What we bought was bare bones to the extreme. No power windows, no power steering, no A/C. standard brakes, manual transmission… it didn’t even have a radio at first (we added one later). But it was inexpensive, relatively speaking; the car off the lot and all things paid for was just over $7,000. This vehicle was amazing. Unlike all of the other money pits I had driven over the years, this car required next to no maintenance other than the basic oil change and occasional parts that came with wear and tear. What was amazing was just how much wear and tear I was able to throw at this thing over the course of five years. By the time I gave it to my brother when he graduated from college in 1995, I had driven 140,000 miles and had required minimal upkeep. Rob drove it for another four years, and an additional 130,000 miles before it finally gave up the ghost. But wow, talk about dollar for value… nothing I have owned since has come close.

The Sixth.5 Car: 1982 Toyota Corolla (May 1990 - Feb. 1998)
This is the car that Chriustina owned and was driving when we met, dated, married and carried over into our married life. It was her car exclusively from about 1990 until I agreed to take it over as my commute car in 1995 (more on that later :) ).

The Seventh Car: 1994 Saturn SL-1 (Mar. 1994 - Aug. 2000)
This would prove to be the last car that I would buy with payments of any kind (as I don’t intend to ever pay for a car without having cash in hand ever again). We financed $10,000 and made a down payment of $5,000, and we felt like we were being really smart. Christina was the primary user of the vehicle at first, and the idea was that we would have her dive this one, I would drive my Escort, and we would hold onto her 1982 Toyota Corolla as a “spare vehicle”… needless to say, we did not quite realize how silly we must have looked living in San Francisco owning three cars. After awhile, we decided that we would spin off my Escort and we would make do with the Saturn and I would take over the Toyota Corolla, since I was the only one who knew how to drive Stick-Shift and Christina didn’t really want to learn (LOL!). I grew, however, to really regret driving and having the Corolla; it was just too short a car for me, and over time, my back started hurting just from driving it in a hunched over position.

The Eighth Car: 1998 Saturn SL-2 (Feb. 1998 - Oct. 2007)
By this time, working at Cisco has proven to be very advantageous. My stock options and Employee Stock Purchase Plan Shared had raised to what I felt were very high levels. I felt it was time to finally trade in Christina’s Corolla and replace it with a new Saturn that we paid for with cash. It was a Valentine’s Day present for Christina. From there, I took over the Saturn SL-1 and drove it as my main car. This car served us well for many years, and probably would have stayed Christina’s main car had it not been for two events. Both of them were female, and both were born two years apart (LOL!). It became my primary commute vehicle after we bought the minivan. Towards the end of 2007 we decided to downsize from three cars to two cars (it just felt like an incredible luxury to have three cars), so we found a buyer for the 1998 Saturn SL-2 and said goodbye to a car that served us very well for 9 years.

The Ninth Car: 2000 Toyota Sienna XLE (Aug. 2000 - PRESENT)
Frankly, this was spurred entirely by the fact that we were expecting a third child, and the thought of three car seats in a Saturn was just too painful to contemplate. Thus, we went and found ourselves a good quality minivan and joined the ranks of the moms and dads officially (nothing screams mom and dad louder than a minivan (LOL!). Again, this vehicle was paid with cash that was derived from selling stock shares that I had (and I can say this was also the last purchase I made when the stock's I had were riding high). We also traded in our Saturn SL-1 at this point to help with the purchase, but really, the trade in value was not much at all (we had well over 100,000 miles on the SL-1 at this point; I think we got $1,000 as a trade in. Probably could have sold it privately for more, but we weren't really focused on the money at that point in time, we just wanted to get the new vehicle and be done with it. We still have the minivan in active service today.

The Tenth Car: 2001 Ford Escape XLS (Mar. 2001 - PRESENT)
Looking back now, this purchase was entirely driven by my hobbies; I finally gave in and said ‘I need a 4x4, but I don’t want some big hulking gas guzzler, I want something that’s reasonable and can carry my stuff to go snowboarding and camping and do scouting stuff’. That turned out to be the Escape. For this I paid cash, and I had quite a lot of fun going in ans writing a $25,000 check and saying "this is what I'm willing to pay, it's already written, if you want it, just say so. If not, I'll gladly leave". Needless to say, I got the car for $25,000 (LOL!). It's as fully loaded a vehicle as I wanted at the time, which is ironic, considering that, with the exception of the cruise control, many of the other "fully loaded features" I really could care less about... well, OK, I care a LOT about the 4 wheel drive. That was, after all the whole point of buying it. We still have this vehicle in active service today.

From this experience, I have seen all ends of the spectrum when it comes to cars and what their actual worth and value is. On one hand, I have gone through the beater phase of cars, and the incredible costs associated with keeping some of them running (if a person does decide to operate a beater, the best advice I can give is to get a car with very little in the way of extras; the more standard mechanical parts a car has, the more likely it will operate for a long time with little need of maintenance). On the opposite end, I purchased five cars in the space of 11 years brand new, and looking back now, realized that I spent close to $100,000 to purchase those respective cars. While I will admit they were nicer, and they did run longer when I had them, all told, I would say that the net expenses and total cost of ownership turned out to be roughly even.

The most expensive car to own and maintain, hands down, was the Saab. The least expensive car to own and maintain was the Ford Escort. Everything else falls somewhere in between. So what’s my next car going to be? Hopefully something I won’t have to think about for another decade at least, if I can help it. I’m perfectly content to do basic and standard maintenance and then drive the things into the ground or until the wheels fall of, whichever comes first.

From there, however, my plan is to save where we can to put away as much as we need to replace the vehicles when the time comes. At that time, I will purchase a late model used vehicle, preferably between two and three years old and with anywhere from 16,000 to 24,000 miles on it. This way, the major depreciation hit will have already been taken by the original owner, and I will be purchasing vehicle with its utility cost first and foremost in mind. Which vehicle would I buy? Currently I’m looking at a 4x4 pickup with a crew cab, but that’s because of my current reality as a Scout leader. Should the time come that I need to replace my vehicle, then that will be my first choice. If I need to consider this later, then I will let the realities of my life, commute and purposes determine what I will need at that point in time. One thing’s for sure, I will not be purchasing a new car or trying to be in the latest and greatest. The up-front costs are just not worth it.

Christina Booked Us a Camping Trip... Has Hell Frozen Over (LOL!)?!!

2009-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

So imagine my surprise when, at work, I got the following message...

"Hey there, I wanted to let you know that I booked us for camping at Big Basin State Park on the 23rd. I'm looking forward to it... I think (LOL!)"

Now for everyone to really appreciate this, certain words just don't naturally flow together, and these are referred to as "oxymorons"... jumbo shrimp, military intelligence (to quote an oft incorrect but familiar one), and now, "Christina camping"... I don't know where I went wrong with this over the years, but for some reason, Christina just never got into camping. It may have just been her upbringing; it wasn't something her family did very often, whereas with my family, camping was the definition of the summer vacation getaway. I remember a few times staying in a hotel whenever we went anywhere, but I absolutely remember camping all over the country and up in Canada. My grandparents on my Mom's side were really hardcore campers, and they were exceptionally good at it. It used to crack me up to see pictures of my mom and her parents at various campsites... with chaise lounges and full dresses reading books and looking like they were poolside, yet there they were next to a tent under the redwood trees. In any event, my appreciation of camping came from that.

I remember early on when Christina and I were dating, we went to go up and hang out with my guitar player, his girlfriend, and her friend and husband up in Humboldt County near the Eel River. Now, at this given time, I didn't really own any gear, so we made do with what we had in our car, and used the car as a makeshift tent (a Ford Escort with the seats folded down makes for a surprisingly roomy place to sleep). Added to that, we also took some time and floated down the Eel river in inner tubes. It was later in the summer, so there wasn't as much water, but we still made it down, albeit with the various mosquitoes and such. To me, this was just a normal part of being outside, not perfect, but an adventure nonetheless, better than some I'd had, but not as great as others, but overall, sure, it was a fun weekend. Christina *hated* it, though, and I think that has soured her on the idea of camping ever since.

Fast forward 18 years, and the kids and I have embraced the ethos of camping, and look forward to going whenever we can (greatly enhanced by the fact that I'm a scout leader and, well, that just comes with the territory). Because of this, we have invested in camping gear and have access to a fair amount of items to make the experience comfortable, if not downright palatial. Still, Christina balks at coming with us much of the time... it's just not something that she like to do, and I can understand that. Her exact wording is "it's a lot of work for a little enjoyment".

Now, I'm not sure I can change her point of view on this, but her wording got me to thinking about a number of things that I do that are "labor intensive with a little bit of enjoyment"... and to an outsider, I can see how that might be perceived. In Christina's eyes, camping, snowboarding, native American dance, scouting, they are all a lot of work, with a lot of gear, generally speaking, and require an intimate knowledge of how to use it and deploy it to do anything. I think this assessment is correct, but I think it misses the mark in a few areas. For starters, yes, snowboarding requires gear, clothing, and a vehicle to get where you want to go. A Day trip can be an exhausting experience, absolutely, but once you get there, once you strap on a board, and once you start riding, all of the preparation fades into the background and you just enjoy the ride. The same goes with camping. Yes, you need to set up a tent, and you need to have some gear to cook food out in the wild, but with practice comes efficiency and speed, so while Christina looks at it all as a big chore, for me half the fun is getting out and getting things set up nicely. From there, whatever we want to do is wide open. No clocks, no phones, complete freedom to do whatever we want to and know we have a cover to get back to in the middle of one of the prettiest places we might want to be in at any given time. For me, *that's* the allure of camping, and getting out there and seeing how well I can test myself against nature... and in this case, I have a car I can keep extra comforts in. I'm not sure how Christina would handle a more bare bones backpacking camping trip (it does have the fact that very little needs to be carried going for it :) ).

So I am looking forward to our trip to Big Basin, Hey, any excuse to get out and camp is fun for me, but the fact that Christina recommended it makes it even more special. I'm totally curious to see how this will all pan out... I hope as a great experience she will smile about. We shall see :).

Scoutmater Mike: Aftermath of the “Silent Campout”

2009-06-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, seven boys and four adults gathered together for an interesting experiment. Though we as Scout leaders often talk about being just advisors and that it’s the boys that lead the program, in reality a lot of the program is led and directed by adults. Likewise, while boys want to believe that they are ultimately in charge, there are a lot of things that Scout Leaders do in the background that they are often not aware of. What happens when the adult leaders make good on a pledge to completely butt out of the leadership decisions and leave the whole experience, entirely, up to the boys?

The answer is... what happened this weekend (LOL!).

So here’s a recap… we arrived at Huddart Park right around 6:00 PM. The adults set up their camp area in the first camp site, the boys set up their camp just down the hill in the next camp area. Close enough so that we could observe and take notes, and intervene if safety required it, but far enough away that we wouldn’t be able to hear general conversations or interfere with any of their plans. While the adults had their camping area up and together in about 20 minutes, the boys… well let’s just say it took them quite a bit longer. We brought five tents for the boys to use… but they opted to go with two. One large one, one small 2-3 man one. The adults got together and quickly put together their dinner; Paul had premade the enchilada pie recipe that we had, so we just started the coals and waited for them to get ready. While we waited, we also put together a recipe called “Monkey Bread” which we had never tried before. By the time the coals were ready, we had both dishes on and cooking. Looking down at the younger guys camp sites… two guys were actively engaged in trying to cook, with little to no help from anyone else. After the adults had finished dinner, we all quickly got together and cleaned up our plates and washed out or pots… the boys were still trying to cook as the sun was going down.

While I said that we would not interfere, I did pop down a couple of times just to see how everything was going. Nick had planned on a dish called Coca-Cola Chicken, and it turned out terrific, but it took a long time to cook with what they had. As I promised not to interfere with their plans or their preparations, I withheld comments, but I could clearly see that they needed to have a better understanding of how to effectively cook with charcoal, something that only comes with experience. By the time they were ready to cook their cobbler, the coals had died down and they were having a difficult time getting enough heat to cook it. I suggested that they scoop out the cobbler and put it in a container and try again the next day, a decision my son decided was a good one :).

As the adults decided to turn in, we noticed that there was a fair amount of noise in the lower camping area. True to our word, we decided to let them keep their own time… if the SPL didn’t quiet them down, then they would be allowed to do whatever they chose to do… as long as it didn’t wake us up. Around 3:00 AM, when there was still some nattering going on, it was enough to wake up Chris, who then yelled out a “Boys, go to sleep!”… and all was quiet in Huddart Park after that (LOL!).

Morning came, and the adults awoke with the rising sun around 7:00 AM. We proceeded to get right to breakfast (a great concoction I discovered called Dutch Oven Train Wreck… looks awful, tastes fabulous (LOL!). Looking down, I could see that the boys were grousing as to what they should eat, and realizing that they did not grease the griddle they were cooking their eggs on… net results, some chunky eggs for some, and some boys that opted just not to eat. A review of the camp area was quite telling; there were pieces of equipment strewn everywhere, and it turns out that, since the boys only set up two tents, it was somewhat amusing to see that one small tent was housing five boys, while a big tent had two boys in it (not sure who decided that, but hey, there it is).

After we finished cleaning up everything and packed our stuff into the car, we announced that we would be leading the boys on a five mile hike from the entrance area to the Toyon campgrounds. Some boys were equipped with hiking books, their scout shorts and an activity T-shirt. Other boys opted to wear what they felt was “cool” and “fashionable” (read: tight skinny legged jeans and converse sneakers). I will admit I carried probably the hint of a wry smile as we all made our way to the Toyon campgrounds and back… there were some grumblings from some boys that their jeans were uncomfortable, and that their feet were starting to hurt (hey, ‘Be Prepared” is more than just a motto, it’s a way of life for scouts). By the time we came back to prepare for lunch, again, the boys had their fixings and we adults had ours. The boys found out, sadly, what happens when food is not put away properly. They had two loaves of bread to start, but one of them disappeared during the night (likely cause being a raccoon that decided white bread would be a nice night-time treat).

As we drove the boys home and we saw them alternate between smiles and grumblings, we think some valuable lessons were learned this weekend. First, many of the miscommunications could have been handled if the boys had put together a duty roster and explained who was responsible for what (something the adults did each campout, but which they decided they didn’t need… until it was too late (LOL! ). Also, they noticed that the adults took some time and prepared many of the food items in advance, which saved time. They also saw that teamwork was what got the adults to get everything done efficiently and cleanly, and that we were rarely at a loss for time or in need to scramble for anything. The boys also realized that the scout uniform is designed to do things in, more so than their everyday wear (Nick was walking a little “wide legged” yesterday.. , that ought to be all you need to know to explain his state of being). It sounds like I’m poking fun, and I‘m really not… but I will admit to smiling a little bit at these revelations the boys are having now. For the last two years, I have been trying to get them to follow this model, and encouraging them to do what they need to do to make it happen. This has been seen as meddling, and adults taking on too much of a leadership role with the Troop. After this weekend, I hope the boys now have a much clearer picture as to what truly leading a campout entails and I will be very interested in seeing how the next campout goes. Whether or not the next one is truly a “silent” campout again is anyone’s guess, but I really do look forward to the day when we have one of these silent campouts and all of the objectives get met at a high level. Then I’ll know I’m really doing my job right :).

Now I Know I’m A Grown Up :(

2009-06-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

This one is going to be going into some weird territory today, gang. As I’m sure everyone at this point is aware, two American celebrities died within hours of each other yesterday. The first that we heard about was Farrah Fawcett. The second was Michael Jackson. Both of them had some measure of influence on my life as a kid. Farrah was, in many ways, the first fantasy of an at the time 9 year old boy. Her poster was the most ubiquitous image in 1976 and 1977, and oh yes, I had a copy as well (I didn’t actually have the poster, but I had a smaller 8x10 that I kept; I wasn never talented enough to win it at the County Fair). Michael Jackson was with me throughout my entire life, it seems; I really don’t remember a time as a kid when I didn’t know who the energetic singer of the Jackson 5 and later of solo fame was. I well remember weekends at the Golden Skate when I’d “rexx” to the Jackson’s “Shake Your Body Down to the Ground” and I also distinctly remember dancing at Maverick’s in 1979 (our town had a “Kid’s Disco” that many of us who were between the ages of 10 and 15 went to… imagine trying to pull something like that off in today’s world and climate). Anyway, “Off the Wall” was released that year, and it was one of my most played albums and I danced to many of those songs that year and for many years that followed. Regardless of the unusual and depressing aspects of his life later, this youthful powerhouse is ther Michael that inspired me to perform, and it's the Michael that I am choosing to remember today.

Today, both of these “icons” of my youth are gone. It feels strange when I see people that were directly visible in my life and who were effectively in my consciousness getting sick, having health problems and dying. It reminds me of the fact that someday, I too will die, and it also reminds me that there are “markers” in my family history that I may well have to pay attention to, and one of those markers may well spell complications for me and potentially end my life. The men on my father’s side almost to a man developed prostate cancer in their later years, as did my father. Many of them died from complications surrounding it; my dad however found it early and took preventative measures. This has taught me that prostate cancer is a strong possibility for me once I hit my 50’s. My mother’s side of the family has had a history of heart disease; my grandfather was turned off like a light switch when he was 72, with massive heart problems… problems none of us knew anything about, because “Pop Pop” on the outside looked the absolute picture of robust physical health and was a man in incredible physical shape. Thus I also have a history of heart disease as a marker in my family. Is it likely that I will be stricken with either or both of these, or is it possible I’ll skip both of them? Hard to say, but if family history is any indicator, the odds of me getting off clean on both counts are very iffy.

Thus this brings me to today, strangely feeling a weird kind of void. I realize they were just people, and they were people I did not even know and never met, but they were part of my childhood and young adult life, and now they are gone. More people from the tapestry of my growing up that are disappearing as time marches on. That’s the way life is and how life works. Someday, most of the people that made up the tapestry of my life, both unknown celebrities and intimate friends, will be gone, and for many, I will be the one ultimately gone from their lives. This is just a reminder to live each day as though it were your last, because for many, their last days come when they least expect it.

Shedding of Innocent Stuff: A Gym Warriors Rig

2009-06-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

This would seem like the logical place for an “Ego Over Matter” post, but I’m not actually talking about working out this time, I’m talking about doing all of the stuff one needs to do to look like a presentable human being afterwards (LOL!).

As of late, I’ve upped the intensity on my workouts considerably. I used to just go in and lift weights for about half an hour or 45 minutes, then come back to work and call it a day. Cardio was, for the most part, nonexistent when it came to my working out. Since I am now in “T-minus 8 weeks until High Wire’s show on August 22nd” mode, my morning details have changed. For the last few weeks, my routine has me arriving at the gym early enough to allow for two hours of workout time and clean-up. I’m currently putting in at minimum one hour of cardio training, along with my regular daily workout. The net result is that I sweat a lot more when I train, and as such, showering is not just a nice thing to do, it’s totally mandatory.

A few months ago I posted about my home rig that I use for shaving. It’s fabulous for at home, but let’s face it, I’m not going to lug a scuttle, brush and Merkur 1904 with me everywhere I go. First, there’s not enough room for it, and second, I’d look like a total tool using up half the counter space at the gym. So in the mode of getting the best bang for the buck and minimal footprint (as well as minimal total time to use), I had to rethink my approach to those manly morning rituals when I’m out and about at the gym. Here’s what I came up with.

1. Shave in the shower. Now, for me, this is a really simple thing to do; I’m clean shaven both on the face and on the head, so really, I can do the whole thing blind. What I don’t want to do is use a DE in the shower; I’ve tried it and end up cutting myself more frequently than not (this may speak to my technique, and I may revisit this in the months ahead) but for now, I’ve backslid when I “road warrior” and I’ve resurrected the use of my Mach 3 and blades. There’s an interesting product that I use called King of Shaves, and it’s a low water gel that almost defies description… it almost feels like you are slathering on hair gel… but once you whip it up and rub it on your face and scalp, and then run the blade over it… wow, it’s close, quick and comfortable. Note, this is not what I would use for a luxurious at home shave, but for a quick five minute blast in the shower at the gym, it’s awesome :).

2. I keep a small bottle of Anti-plaque rinse, a tube of whatever toothpaste I have on hand (if given a choice, I like Tom’s of Maine, but I’m really not all that picky and I’ll get whatever is on sale more times than not) and my toothbrush in my toiletry bag (which has a neat little belt clip attachment that I can hang from the shower dividing rod). Rinse, brush, put away, all in a matter of minutes and all without leaving the shower (is this too much information for some of you (LOL!)?).

3. One of my best discoveries over the past year has been the ubiquitous and beneficial uses of Witch Hazel. It makes for the most effective after shave, skin cleanser, breakout protector, and it even helps with sore muscles at times. I keep a spray bottle in my bag full of witch hazel, and after the shower and shave, I spray it on and rub it in. Feels great, has a neutral scent, and it’s inexpensive enough in quantity to replace several other products, so it’s a money saver, too :).

4. The final item is a standard deodorant, but even this is close to being phased out as soon as I can find a good source of large alum block. Alum block serves two purposes. The first is that it’s an excellent hemostat for shaving nicks and cuts. What’s more, it’s also a terrific body deodorant (it’s not a true antiperspirant, but it hugely cuts down on the bacteria growth that causes odors).

All together, these items allow me to take care of business quickly and completely, and it takes very little room. As I get older and find my time compressed from many angles, I grow much more appreciative of ways that I can get more out of less in less time and with less effort. This constitutes what I consider to be a pretty good gym warriors rig. If you have other suggestions for doing more with less in similar circumstances, let me know :).

Shedding of Innocent Stuff: The Kitchen Cleanout

2009-06-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I found that I was at home and had some free time to ponder and consider a few things regarding our kitchen. There are certain things that we do and certain rituals that surround our cooking, and because of those rituals, we have accumulated a small army of wares that, many times, do not get used or have just sort of piled into our cabinets. I think it was when I was looking to get a griddle out of our corner cabinet and having to fight all of the stuff surrounding it (and skinning my knuckles in the process), that I decided enough was enough, and that we really should take a look at what we have in here and why.

To be fair, I asked Christina if it was OK to embark on this particular journey, since this is one of those times when my decisions were going to have a possible radical effect on her life and reality, too. We both spend time in the kitchen, but it can be argued that she easily spends three or four times the amount I do there. Thus, I couldn’t just arbitrarily impose my ideas of what would work or why, it had to be something we would both agree to and with.

To this end, we went through all of our cupboards and drawers and we pulled out everything. We put these items on the kitchen table and we looked to see what we had. In the process, we discovered that we had two large nonstick cooking pans that were absolutely identical… and this totally baffled me. Why did we have two of the exact pans? Would we really have a need for two large pans like this at the same time for the same meal? We both decided that the answer was no, and we let one of them go.

We had a number of pots and pans that were holdovers from many years back when we still had an electric range. These items had thin walls and are really not suited for use on a gas range (you have to watch them like a hawk or the contents get scorched and then cleaning is a nightmare!). We decided to let most of these items finally go, but we kept one of them as an experiment. We jokingly refer to this as the Mac and Cheese pot, so we will see how often it gets used and see how many times we have to go to great efforts to clean it. If the answer is more than twice, then we will downsize it in favor of one of our other pots.

We found that we had a bunch of mismatched lids… they didn’t go with anything. Time for them to go.

Somehow, we had accumulated a copious amount of low grade plastic storage containers. Having storage containers in and of itself is not a problem, we just had way more than we would ever practically or realistically use, even if we were to fill the fridge and freezer with various dinners. Many of these are being repurposed rather than thrown away; Since they are clear, they make for great storage options for small items in the garage and in my upstairs closet.

A nice surprise was that we really hadn’t accumulated too many “unitaskers” over the years; though we had a few odd items that we decided just didn’t make sense to keep around, such as a small plunger operated chopper, the electric can opener, a bevy of manually operated can-openers that had just lost effectiveness over the years, and a slant type cooking device that looks surprisingly similar to a George Foreman Grill. We also have a salad spinner that, while I questioned if it was actually worth hanging onto, Christina swears she uses it every time lettuce is used for anything, so it’s cool, it stays :).

What we ultimately kept is as follows:

1 2 quart reduction Sauce Pan w/ lid (Viking)
1 2 quart Dutch Oven (Lodge)
1 3 quart Sauce Pan w/ lid (Viking)
1 3 quart “Mac and Cheese” Sauce Pan w/ lid (Revere)
1 6 quart Sauce Pot w/ lid (Lodge)
1 8 1/2 quart Sauce Pot w/ lid (Viking)
1 3 quart Saute Pan w/ lid (Viking)
1 11” Fry Pan w/ lid
1 3 quart Casserole Pan w/ Lid (Viking)
3 Pyrex casserole dishes (various sizes)
3 Corning Ware casserole dishes (various sizes)
2 bread pans (small and medium)
2 cookie sheets
3 muffin tins (2 small, 1 large)
1 13" Flat Bottom Cast Iron Wok
4 Stackable storage and mixing bowls with lids
A bunch of various plastic ware containers for storing leftovers (enough for about 6 full family meals)
1 Waffle iron
1 Griddle for pancakes and cooking bacon and eggs (we’ve had this thing forever and anticipate having it for just as long :) ).
1 food processor
1 rice cooker/steamer
1 blender
1 standard 2 slot toaster
1 toaster oven (honestly, I could see the day when we just kept the toaster oven and dropped the standalone toaster, but Christina is not seeing it that way at the moment (LOL!))

The great thing about doing this was that we liberated a lot of cabinet space that was not being used efficiently before, and we consolidated all of our regular use items into a simple to access area, and all right near the range where they can be of the greatest use. As always, it’s the pieces that actually get used that make the most sense to keep handy, the occasional items can be stored elsewhere, and if it’s really just occasionally, perhaps a case can be made that it shouldn’t be there at all. We’ll see how this more minimalist approach works for us (and truth be told, it’s still not all that minimalist, but it’s a lot better and easier to access than what we had before (LOL!).

Madd Money: Are We Really Living in “The New Normal”?

2009-06-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

As we are watching people react to “The Great Recession”, there is a definite change in some people’s attitudes and approaches to things. I can truthfully say that I am one of them. Some time ago, I made a rather flip statement that I was not going to participate in this recession, and a few people asked me later what I meant by that? For the record, when I said I was not going to participate in this recession I meant attitudinally I was not going to give in to negativity and downer thinking, nor was I going to look to others to provide me a windfall or relief. It also meant that I was going to do what I had to so that I could thrive in a climate of negativity and pessimism, wherever possible. I’m not a really big or motivated spectator of “the Economy”, but I am a very motivated active participant in *MY* Economy, i.e. the one that effects my family and me every day.

A phrase that is being used a lot right now is “The New Normal”, and it’s often spoken about with pessimism. However, there are many that are taking the opportunity to say that “The New Normal” need not be a doom and gloom scenario. There is even a blog and site called The New Normal, written by Roger McNamee (and he has a book with the same title :) ), and I’ve had a good time reading the entries and thinking about the ideas in it. Note: The New Normal in this case is of a technology and development aim; makes sense because I work with software and technology, this would be the avenue I’d think of first for these things. Also, many of the areas he talked about were from four years ago; his last entry was written May 13, 2005. Still, the ideas he presented, and their impacts on our lives, deserve to be explored and considered.

According to McNamee, the hallmarks of “The New Normal” are:

1. Technology is changing just about everything.

2. Globalization is changing the nature of economic opportunity.

3. Every individual is on his or her own. We have more power than ever before, but no safety nets.

4. None of us has enough time to deal with life.

I think that these sentiments are accurate for many of us, and that they do reflect the reality of our day to day lives. There are many that are scared of this “New Normal”. We live in an age where governments, companies and institutions are losing steam at an amazing rate. The days of one or two countries calling the shots with regards to the economy are fading quickly. Globalization is real, it’s here, and it’s a permanent part of our landscape. Automation of work and processes, and the commoditization of that work and those processes, is reality. If I cannot distinguish myself from another person who can do the same job as I do, whether they be in San Francisco or Sierra Leone, I better not be surprised if my work or my job goes elsewhere.

The key is planning, and that planning will take time. We grew conditioned to the idea that success comes quickly in the 90’s and this past decade. It’s rarely the case, but that’s what we have been led to believe. For most of us, we need time and a plan to develop our skills. Information and accessibility do not translate to mastery (it’s taken me awhile to wrap my head around this one, but I think I’m finally getting it). We can read everything, follow everything, learn and see the latest and greatest trends, but the fact is that there is no replacement for the necessary wood shedding required to actually get good at something. If you want to become an excellent musician, you have to practice. If you want to become an excellent engineer, again, you must practice. If you want to become an excellent money manager (personal or otherwise), you have to practice living in a way that is long term sustainable And allows you hte ability to account accurately for where your money goes.

With the realities of “The New Normal” what can we as individuals do? I like McNamee’s list, and I like his approaches to them, with some tweaks of my own:

First, move on from the 90s. The conditions that made it such an explosive and profitable decade have matured and become part of our lives. It will take another paradigm shift to make something like it again. Feel free to work to see if you can make another one, but don’t passively wait for one to come along, you may be waiting a very long time.

Second, work at a company you believe in. Put your efforts into things that matter and with people that matter to you. Making money but being miserable is rarely a long term method of success, and the resulting things that end up cluttering your life may very well prove to not be worth it in the end.

Third, establish a balance between your professional and personal lives that you can sustain for five or ten years. I remember when I was younger I thought I’d love to be a clinical psychologist, since I love talking with people and analyzing things. I gave up that pursuit because the idea of a bachelors degree, then a Masters Degree, then various internships and externships, and the notion that I wouldn’t really be doing any work until I was 30 turned me off to the whole thing. What happened was that I fell victim to the idea of “get results quickly” instead of following through with my plan, which would have taken much more time. Today, I have come to see that large scale changes take time to bring to fruition, and they require patience and a lot of very small goals that can be chained together to large scale objectives. Theory is great, but you have to make time to put some doing in so that you can get good at the thing you ultimately want to do.

Fourth, remember the three Ps: priorities, planning, and participation. We can’t do it all, at least not all simultaneously and hope to be stellar in all areas. There just isn’t enough time. There is no shortage of important things that we all can and should be doing with out time and our resources, but we have to come to our own conclusions about what is most important to us. Many have asked me how I became successful at Scouting, and the answer is, I don’t really know if I am successful, but it doesn’t really matter; I do it because I love it! When you love something and you are willing to put your all into it, opportunities abound. It’s not because I had opportunities handed to me, but it was because I enjoyed doing scouting so much that I was willing to jump into new avenues and try new things, even if they scared the living daylights out of other people (LOL!). For me, my ability to give back to my community and the net generation is ultimately what drives me. I get my sense of joy out of watching kids learn, seeing them smile when they prove that they have mastered certain skills, and then can grow up to be productive, moral and ethical stewards of their worlds. In a nutshell, that is what I am passionate about, and that’s where I choose to put my emphasis. At the same time, I enjoy doing what I do for a living, and realize that, if I want to reach higher in that area, I need to apply the same level of focus and attitude as I do to those areas, too.

So for those out there who are hearing this “New Normal” for the first time, or you have anxiety about it, I encourage embracing it, and growing with it, and doing all you can to align with it rather than fight against it or wait for a return to “the good old days”... because there’s really no such thing as “The Good Old Days” coming back, just a never ending and moderately changing sequence of “New Normals” that we will all face as time goes on. I’m looking forward to embracing and working with those times when they get here, for better or worse. How about you :)?

Madd Money: Beware the Dangers of "Autopilot Actions"

2009-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm usually one who is pretty good about certain things when it comes to frugality and focusing on areas where I know I can shave a few bucks here and there. However, there are certain areas where, for some reason, I just go on autopilot. For the record, there are many times when autopilot is awesome, and it's a great thing to do when you are actively trying to save money (setting up automatic deposits into a 401(K) account or an IRA or 529 plan should be the normal course of action for most people; this way, there's never a guess as to whether or not you remembered to make a payment or deposit, it just happens). However, there are times when spending money that you can really make some boneheaded decisions, and it doesn't even dawn on you until after you finish with it.

Case in point, this weekend I finally got off my duff and went to get my oil changed in my car. Generally speaking, this is not a job I do on my own. Could I? Yes. Do I want to actually put in the time to do it? No. Hence, I will usually pay someone to do this for me. I follow my owner's manual's schedule of oil changes, which calls for every 5,000 miles. At the rate that I currently drive, it takes me close to a year to drive 5,000 miles. Most of my life revolves around driving to BART and back most days, plus we have the minivan for our generally extended family excursions; my car sees more mileage during the winter months and for scout camp, but other than that, it doesn't really get driven very far.

On Saturday Morning, I went int and decided, I just want to get a standard oil change, no extras, no frills, just the basics. However, while I was doing this, I was asked, "OK, do you want to go with what you have been using previously?" Well, of course, why wouldn't I? We ticked off the list for all of the things that were optional and I answered "no" to all of them. Finally we rang up the estimate, and the estimate was $65. Really?! Wow, that seemed high, but then again, it had been almost a year since I last changed it. We were already there, they had prepped the car, and I figured it might well be in line with what oil changes cost right now. Besides, I felt it was more of a hassle to close up everything and look elsewhere than to just get it done. Less than half an hour later, I was out the door, and for the moment, feeling glad I'd gotten it done.

When I got home, I put the receipt on the counter, as I usually do and started going about some morning details around the house... until I heard a sharp "Whoah! You spent *how much* to get an oil change?!" For those astute readers, that "whoa!" came courtesy of Christina. She was not at all happy about this, and she showed me a bunch of coupons she had for oil changes... none of which were for any areas near us (yeah, I'm justifying... more on that in a minute :) ), but as I was looking at these coupons, my heart sank. Did I really just pay a 100% premium over these other places? Could that honestly be right? And if so, what made that difference and why?

About a half an hour later, I got a call from Christina... she went down to ask the place where I'd gotten the work done why in the world an oil change would cost so much. What in the world did I buy?! This was where the revelation part came out, and where I whistled under my breath, got a little mad and testy, but deep down, knew that Christina was right... I violated a basic rule of personal finance, and did it just because I was in that spur of the moment and figuring, "sure, let's just go with what we've always done". In this case, what I had always done was get the top of the line synthetic oil for my car... oil that until yesterday, I had not realized carried close to a 200% premium over standard oil.

Now, granted, the whole reason that I got this oil was because of my frequent very short trips, and the idea I wouldn't be changing it again for another year of 5000 miles, whichever came first (and the last few years, it's been a toss up). Perhaps, if I had considered all that, I would have gone with my original choice, saying "well, since I drive a lot of very short hop trips, and since the car doesn't hit 5000 miles many years, is $70 too much to pay for what amounts to an annual oil change. Problem was, I didn't even do that level of due diligence, I just accepted that that was the way it was and (shrug!) OK, I guess we'll just do it. Looking to see that I could have had the same service done for anywhere from $30-45 less struck home, though. What's more, I probably could have saved at least $30 just by picking a different grade of oil.

Thus, I'm sharing this less for this weekend. There are moments that are emergencies, and in those times, paying for a particular service at a particular rate is just the way things go. At other times, though, it pays swell to do a little research and see who is offering what, and for how much and what that entails. While I saved a little time, I would gladly have given up an hour's extra time to have saved $45. Thus I now have to chalk this up to the "well, make sure to remember this this time... and as an added reminder, I will be printing out this blog post and putting it into my car's owners manual, right next to the next service milestone (65000 miles... not too bad for a 9 year old car ;) ), so that I do not just jump in and do what I've always done. Being alert, awake and active is a much better choice... and hey, it could save considerable money. Even if it doesn't, it helps to know why you are paying what you are paying and for what... at least that way, you can answer *why* you chose something and at least have a plausible explanation. In any event, even this old dog can learn some new tricks.

Sunday Thoughts: Orson Scott Card and Humor in Marriage

2009-06-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know, I'm a big fan of Orson Scott Card. I can't say I enjoy everything he writes, but more times than not, his books grab me and keep my attention and are memorable long after I have read them (one of my all time favorite books is Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus).

"Scott" also has other outlets for his writing (his column "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything" is considered required reading regularly by yours truly), and he also supports and hosts a gathering and community at nauvoo.com for Latter-day Saints (a place where I have met many cool friends and several of their blogs can be seen on my blogroll if you are interested :), and if you do decide to stop by and read, any posts by a guy named "boardmadd"... yeah, that's me (LOL!) ).

Back in September 2008, Scott started writing a weekly column for the site "Mormon Times" (published by Deseret News) and his column is called "Orson Scott Card: In The Village". His most recent article, "Marriage needs lots of humor" was published on Thursday, Jun. 18, 2009, and I feel compelled to share it with others :).

I greatly enjoyed reading this article and thought about the many ways that Christina and I have shared humor in our marriage over the years. At times, we can both be very serious and earnest, but we can also be a pair of Grade-A goofs when we feel like it. We both love to laugh, and we both love to do things that get both of us smiling and acting silly, and like Scott, we have out own phrases and demeanors that have carried on for *years* now, most of which are total mysteries to our friends.

One of the long running "gags" of ours is the phrase "Would you kill Billy Madison?!" and the languid, hateful answer of "Yes!", usually followed by laughs, and invariably followed by people staring at us, thinking we've lost our minds. It helps to understand where this comes from, and when we say it. Back in 1995, Adam sandler made a silly movie called "Billy Madison" and there were a number of commercials made for this movie. One of them was "Adam Sandler interviewing a Serial Killer". He asked a bunch of questions about the moviegoing experience, all of which were answered with a "yes" (would you buy popcorn? Would you sit in the balcony? would you buy a soda?, etc.)... a long list of "yes" questions. Finally, the punchline question was "Would you *kill* Billy Madison?", followed by a pause, and a psychotic "yes". the first time we heard this together, we just cracked up laughing.

Some time later, we both were having a conversation with friends, and someone was asking a bunch of questions where it seemed all the answers were "yes". At that point, I looked at Christina and said... "would you *kill* Billy Madison"... and she did the psycho "yes" answer... and we both started laughing hysterically. It's almost scary to think that this has been a running gag between us for close to 14 years, but to this day, any time we find we are in one of those discussions where ever questions seems to require a "yes" answer, it's a good bet that "will you kill Billy Madison" will get asked, usuallyto the complete bafflement of the other people in the conversation :).

There are times to be serious, and there are times to be silly, and I'm grateful for having opportunities to be both. What's more, I'm very grateful for the love of an eternal companion that just plain "gets me", occassional goofball silliness and all. Seriously, it makes life fun :).

Madd Money: Changing Cooking Perceptions and Attitudes

2009-06-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

For those who know me, you know that I am one who enjoys cooking. I’m not stellar at it, mind you, but I feel pretty good that I know my way around a kitchen. What’s more, I definitely know my way around a campfire kitchen even better.

Several years ago, during the years just after we bought our house, we made a decision to remodel our kitchen and during this process, I insisted on getting a Viking Range. I argued that I wanted a professional grade range and that I wanted to have professional quality gear to go with it. My logic was somewhat sound, in the sense that, if we invested in a stove that was high quality and had a lot of great features, we would be more apt to cook at home and also be more apt to take advantage of such a system for years and decades to come. It seemed like such a great idea, and we had the money in our budget, so why not shoot for the moon?

So here we are 10 years after buying our house and 8 years after doing the remodel… and I have to say, on two accounts, I’m rather disappointed with the Viking. Personally, I love the look, and I think it’s awesome when it works correctly, but there has been an ongoing issue that we have had to fix every few years, and that has been the ignition relay. We’ve replaced it twice now, and we have also had to replace the convection fan motor bearings, two things that should have little to no issues. While that has been a little bit of a frustration to deal with, it pales in comparison with what was a true conceit purchase… the Viking cookware that we bought.

Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the cookware; it’s very well made, and it’s very sturdy and has performed beautifully, but as I was looking back at the cost of getting additional items, I though “you have got to be KIDDING me!!!” A single stock pot costs $300?! Why in the world did we buy this? Honestly, I know the answer, and it was for the same reason that we bought the Viking range… I knew the name, and I knew that they were synonymous with “high quality: and “professional grade results”. Add to that, we allocated a set amount to our kitchen remodel and update. The cookware update went with that, and we figured, hey, why not?!

The irony of this is that I have been working with my scout troop the past few years with regards to cooking, especially with camp Dutch Ovens and kitchen Dutch ovens and other cast iron cooking tools. The prime maker of these items is a company called Lodge. They have been around now for 125 years or so, and I was impressed to see that many of their original pieces made when their foundry was first opened are still being used by families and cooking enthusiasts today. Could you imagine using a pot or a frying pan 125 years after it was made?! I thought that was incredible, so I decided to experiment with some meals and the way that I made them. I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed cooking with, and I feel I got better results, cooking with my black cast iron cookware than I did with all of the high tech Viking stuff. The Viking stuff is gorgeous, to be sure, and the Lodge cookware doesn’t look as spiffy (though I admit that I am a fan of the black cast iron look :) ), but when it comes down to performance, evenness of cooking, and the ability to retain the dishes warmth through an entire meal, Lodge wins hands down. What’s more, I would never think to take the Viking stuff camping, but I’d grap the Lodge pieces in a heartbeat. The real clincher? Many of the Lodge items are much less expensive!

This does not mean that I am going to go out and throw away my Viking cookware. No way, this is good quality stuff and it does a good job where I need it to, but I’ve decided that, going forward, I’m probably going to see more black cast iron in my future (LOL!).

Ego Over Matter: It’s ON!!!!

2009-06-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is the running joke at work. Everyone knows that, when the multiple bags of Kroger’s Mixed Vegetables in various arrays start taking up a fair chunk of the work freezer, that Michael is “Getting Serious” (LOL!).

For those who have missed my last two summer transforms, here’s the deal. I pride myself on being an active and focused Scoutmaster, so I make a goal to “make weight” for Scout Camp every year (pshaw, and you all thought this was about my upcoming show… well, OK, yeah, it is, but camp happens before then and that’s the time I’m aiming to “make weight” for :) ). The reasons for this are many fold; first, I want to have enough energy to chase my little camp rats around and let them know that they can’t outrun me. If they go over the line, I will hunt them down (LOL!). Second, there’s a lot of walking from place to place in camp. That walking is a lot more comfortable if you don’t have to lug around a bunch of extra pounds. Third (and one of the more compelling reasons, I’m discovering) is that, since Summer Camp is in August and it’s *HOT* where we go, less adipose tissue == less insulation == less overall feeling of being hot! Seriously, that goes a *long* way with me.

Thus, recently, I went and I picked up 9 bags of Kroger Mixed vegetables in various varieties (for those who are previous readers, I walk up and over Nob Hill to go to Bell Market on California and Hyde St for my little shopping trips). I particularly like this market because they often have their $0.99 per package sales. That’s the equivalent of getting 30 pounds of food for about 15 bucks, not bad at all :). I rotate through the mixes each day, usually dousing them mercilessly with Tapatio Hot Sauce (I always go into spice overload any time I aim to make weight; maybe it’s psychological (shrug!) ).

Anyway, it’s already starting at work, people are opening the freezer…

“What in the… who loaded up the freezer?!”
“What is all this? Does anyone actually eat this stuff?!”
“Wait a minute… is Michael in attack mode again?!! (LOL!)”

Yes, much as I hate to say it, my reputation precedes me :). In any event, I have approximately six weeks in which to “make weight” and to that effect, my exercise and eating have been “kicked up several notches”. Of course I want to look good for the show, but that’s pure vanity. Not being able to fully enjoy camp? Now *that’s* torture, and one I have no intention of going through if I can avoid it!

Rock Meets Red Road

2009-06-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I made comments about the fact that I wanted to make a stage outfit for our upcoming gig that had some unique qualities to it. I wanted to be more of a reflection of who I am today and where my head is at now rather than try to recreate who I was back in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Let’s face it, I’m not 21 anymore, and I’m not the same rail thin, long haired, pretty boy that I used to be (look, the “pretty” part is entirely subjective, but I heard it enough from enough people back then that I’m prone to believe it (LOL!). Add to the fact that Mother Nature has seen fit to not bestow much in the way of genetic gifts in the tonsorial department (that’s a long winded way of saying there’s a reason I shave my head today :) ). So how can I pay homage to their former glam rock past, while firmly acknowledging that I am now 41, above the 200 pound mark, and significantly less pretty than I was once upon a time? One adapts and plays up what they are about today, that’s how.

I’m not going to unveil anything too soon, but suffice it to say that I have decided I will be sort of an amalgamation of Johnny Cash, Los Lobos and R.Carlos Nakai (well, I won’t be playing a cedar flute or anything, but yes, there will certainly be “red road” influence to my look.

Those who have known me through the years have known that I have always had a strong affinity with Native American culture, music, dance and clothing. Therefore, it should be absolutely no surprise to anyone that I am planning to work that into what I wear on stage. I’ve closed out a few options by finding an awesome shirt and I have some extra items I will definitely wear, such as my long standing turquoise and silver necklace. The rest, I’m still looking into and trying to decide how I want to go about doing this. I’m currently on the lookout for a tight pair of black jeans (I’m too old to wear leather pants; that’s just trying way too hard at my age (LOL!) ), and I’d love to score a used pair of motorcycle style square toed boots. The big debate, and the one Christina is most curious to see what I’m going to do, centers around two questions:

1. Will I wear makeup again (leaning towards no at the moment, but I might change my mind on that)
2. Will I wear my earrings again for the show (this one I’m a little unsure about. Part of me says why wear them since I don’t wear them now, but another part of me says they were a big part of my “rock & roll” look back in the day, so I might as well bring them out for this show. I’ve had several people tell me I should, no one suggest I shouldn’t, and honestly, I’m not sure at this moment though if I go significantly Red Road, then yes, I will wear the earrings to bring out the rest of the look.

8 ½ weeks until showtime… I’m getting exited, anxious and nervous, all at the same time. Regardless of what I ultimately wear, what’s important is how well the show goes. IF we have a lousy show, no one’s going to remember or care what I wore, just that we didn’t deliver on our promise. If we hit the ball out of the part, well, then having a memorable outfit is definitely a plus ;).

Scoutmaster Mike: Planning for the "Silent Camp Out"

2009-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Our Troop is currently in the process of planning a unique little adventure. It’s called a “Silent Camp Out” and it is basically my son Nick’s idea.

A few weeks ago, we were driving up to Point Reyes and back, and Nick was looking through one of my books (Footsteps of the Founder, a book that is filled with quotes and comments from Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting in the United Kingdom. One of the quotes that Nick commented on was Baden-Powell’s idea of holding a silent camp out, and how we should do something like it.

The idea of the silent camp out is that the Troop goes somewhere that is not too difficult to get to or set up in, and there are two camp areas set, both in sight of each other and close proximity. One camping area is for the adult leaders, and the other camping area is for the scouts. Both camps must be wholly self sufficient; cooking utensils, food, tents, sleeping bags, fire rings, etc, all need to be maintained in their separate areas. What’s more, the adult leaders are officially not allowed to talk to or make comments about what the boys in the Patrol are doing. They can intervene when safety is at issue, or it is absolutely necessary to do so, but otherwise they are to take a “bee seen and not heard” role.

The purpose for this type of outing is to show the boys what their teamwork and skill level really is if they were totally left to their own devices; no adult help would be forthcoming unless it was absolutely necessary. If the kids didn’t pack something and it wasn’t dangerous, they would do with out it. That went for food, sleeping bags, tents, clothes, what have you. The adults are free to hang with themselves and talk amongst themselves, but they are not free to comment directly to the boys. If there is any feedback about the event, it is to be handled after the camp out and then only at the next Troop meeting.

My hope with this is that we will have the ability to see the boys step up and really lead each other. More so, it’s my hope that I will have the will power to actually keep my mouth shut for the entire campout (at least as pertains to the boys and what they are doing :) ). This could be an awesome experience, or it could be a nightmare. It just might be both (LOL!). Anyway, we are going to be embarking on this grand experiment on June 26, 2009. I’ll definitely let y’all know how it turns out ;).

Ego Over Matter: The Games We Play To Get Motivated

2009-06-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

As I’ve said in previous posts, the mind sometimes needs to have a break in its routine, or something to tweak or distract it, so that our long term goals can be met and managed. While the drastic may be effective in the short term, it’s rarely effective in the long run. Humans are creatures that like comfortable habits, and if we are too strict in certain areas for a targeted amount of time, it can be really difficult to stay motivated and hold the line.

Weight does not come on all at one, though I do think that, if you have been heavy before, and you lose weight, it’s much easier to drift back to that point again. This may be a weird analogy, but I look at the human body the same way I do a thick latex balloon. When the balloon is fresh, it can take effort to blow into the balloon and expand it. Let the air out and then attempt to fill it with air again, it takes a lot less pressure from your breath to fill the balloon again. This analogy is similar to how the human body reacts when a person slows down their activity or when a person increases caloric intake, even if just a little bit on either end (and of course more pronounced if both sides of the equations are modified in the same direction).

Identifying why and where these strange little tweaks of life take place can be very telling. One of the biggest where I work is the copious amounts of snack food that are available. As a Q.A> Engineer, I tend to deal with work that can be interesting and exciting at times (and really, I do enjoy what I do for a living and strive to improve my effectiveness at it), but sometimes I have to deal with the tedious and monotonous (hey, it happens). The periods where I need to deal with the tedious and monotonous are my body’s biggest enemy; the reason is that I get restless, and then I get up and page, and then I need to walk around, which brings me ever closer to the break room and the potpourri of chips, nuts, crackers, chocolate, candy and any number of other things. By the end of the day, I can easily have added 1,000 more calories than I needed for that day, and have no way of accounting for it (well, no actually, it’s easy to account for it… it went from the cupboard to a bowl to my hand to my mouth… tada!!!). What I mean is that those are mindless calories, often consumed with no purpose other than “it was there”.

SO how does one effectively blunt these feelings and deal around situations like this during the day? Well, it would be awesome if I could just dump all of the tedious and repetitive tasks I need to do and forget about them permanently, but that is not practical. What’s one to do while they are dealing with sysprep and making virtual machines, or walking through a programs logic paths over and over and over? My current strategy is based around copious amounts of herbal tea, water and sugarless gum… and I mean a *LOT* of sugarless gum (LOL!).Right now, each and every work morning I start with a simple, lower calorie breakfast, and then as soon as I get to work, I rotate and add the five or so chewing gum packs that I have sitting on my desk (for those who care, I’m a big fan of trident Twist flavors and as many packs of different flavored “5” gum that I can find. Add to that about a half gallon of water a day hat has been steeped with various herbal teas (Good Earth’s Spicy Sweet Tea is still my favorite… the lemongrass, ginger and cinnamon kick one’s butt along with the flavor of the roobios bush :) ). Repeat throughout the day, sticking to a low calorie meal around the middle of the day, and then coming home to dinner at 6:00 PM… and then no more after that, if feasible.

So how is this working for me? So far, pretty well. I must confess that I’m not dropping like 10 pounds a week, but then I do not expect to, nor do I really want to. Having learned from rapid weight losses in the past, the “natural man” likes his creature comforts, and when the goal is set, and the desire to train and diet give way, the “natural man” and his desire to be comfortable at all costs roars back into life. My change isn’t meant to be radical, merely to bring awareness to something I’m currently doing all the time… chewing gum until the flavor runs out and the stacking another flavor in. Same goes with the herbal tea; I’m rotating as many flavors during the day as I can. While it doesn’t stop me from eating (and frankly, I don’t want it to *stop* me from eating), it blunts the desire to get up and graze during those inevitable periods of “brain tired, must get munchies to keep going”. Now when I hit that point, I make it a point to take a walk *outside*, which has proven to be all sorts of awesome and helpful (LOL!).

Thus my point for this missive is that, occasionally, a gimmick can break you out of complacent habit, and it can give you a shot in the arm to try another approach. With our show coming up in ten weeks, this is *exactly* the shot in the arm I need right now (LOL!).

Kids Play, Clean Water Is Distributed: Wanna’ Know More?

2009-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

This month, the President of my company and his wife celebrated their birthdays and wedding anniversary in close proximity (not as close as Christina and I, but not too far away, either :) ). Many of the people in our office decided to make a contribution to a cause that they both care about and want to see grow. Since I also think it’s really cool, I’d like to share it with anyone who reads this blog, too.

PlayPumps provides clean water access to children and families in need in various parts of Africa. The PlayPump systems are innovative, sustainable, patented water pumps powered by children at play. The pumps are installed near schools and double as a water pumps and as merry-go-rounds for children.

The idea is that children, while they are playing in their schoolyard or playground, actively pump water to a receiving tank, where it is stored and then distributed to points where residents can get access to it. In many parts of sub Saharan Africa, water is truly one of the most precious resources around, and being able to drink and wash with clean water is a huge factor in contributing to a better quality of life for many people.

$300 is enough to give a classroom in Malawi playground equipment and clean water for drinking and hand washing.

For more info go to: http://www.playpumps.org.

Eleven Ways Christina Makes My Life Awesome :)

2009-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows I am a total goober when it comes to my wife, Christina. I make no bones about the fact that I am crazy about her and that she does so much to make my life fantastic. Is it always picture perfect? Of course not, but then, nothing in life ever is, and wouldn't life be horribly boring if it was? We are two dynamic people and we work together to build a life and a family (and I do emphasize “work”; these things don’t happen all by themselves, they require effort from both sides to make for a happy and healthy marriage).

This post is a total rip-off from Trent Hamm, the author of “the Simple Dollar”. He posted this first, and indeed, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Trent, consider yourself *WAY* flattered (LOL!)

Anyway, here are Eleven Ways that Christina helps us (and me) reach ever forward and upward…

She listens to me. Realize this in and of itself is no small feat, I tend to be a rather wordy fellow. Still, she listens to what my thoughts are, my crazy musings about some thing or another, and she is willing to and able to offer constructive feedback. Christina is in no way a rubber stamp on my opinions or thoughts, but she does help me look at other avenues I may have not considered.

She rarely holds onto anger. In the event that things do get heated, we both have the attitude that, no matter what the misgiving, or the issue, if the voices get raised or if argument ensues, she is able to stop it and get us back to dealing with the important issue. I greatly appreciate this, and I try to reciprocate as much as I can.

She takes care of things when I am not or cannot be around. Whether it be work, or Scouts or some other thing I’m involved in, Christina can be counted on to hold down the fort or help me in whatever is needed, so long as she can do anything about it.

She barters for time. This is the flip side of the last item… if she wants time away or wants to go spend time with friends, we make an equitable split so that we can go and do the things that we like to do or need to do. I like the fact that we do this instead of letting resentments build up over one person doing things while the other isn’t.

She’s a total goof, in the best possible ways. Christina likes to crack corny jokes, and she’ll crack up over the silliest things at times. Sometimes I roll my eyes, sometimes I play along, sometimes I’m the instigator of it all, but all of the time, I appreciate this fact about her :).

She’s the Co-CFO for our family. We share a lot in this department and we work together to make sure that we are living within our means and that we stay committed to a life with no debt. Christina’s a superstar at the day to day details; she commits to making sure that we come out a little bit ahead each month, which lately has taken some considerable precision and deft execution in the past few months. She’s able to be realistic about what we can and cannot do, and often seeks to find ways that we can get better in many areas. To that, I am given the long view, and my job is to make sure that retirement, education, missions, emergency funds and opportunity funds are being balanced appropriately and meet our overall objectives. Each month we share where we are at, if we have made progress, and look to see if everything is where we expect it to be, and if not, we work together to make a game plan for where we need to go next.

She is fiercely protective of our kids. It’s cute to see Christina’s reaction when one of the kids has had a bad day, or if someone is treating one of the kids in a mean or unfair manner. She’s like a wolf in that, and she’ll often leap to that child’s defense and Heaven help the person on the receiving end (many times this is rhetorical if it’s a child or a person outside our four walls, as it only gets discussed with me and the kids, but you don’t doubt for a second, if the situation warranted it, that she would not pull punches if she had to directly confront a person or an issue).

She encourages me to do the things that matter to me, but reels me in if I overextend. Christina knows that I am afflicted with “Helium Hand Syndrome”. Often when there is a nee for volunteers, or there are activities that need assistance or help, I’m the first to step (make that “dive”) in and get involved. She encourages me to do the things that matter to me, but at the same time, she’s also there with the reality expectations; reminding me that “there are only 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 30 odd days in a month and 12 months in a year”. Sometimes I have to pull back from the brink of commitments if they will overrun me. She knows when that potential exists, usually far more often than I do.

She likes to spend as much time with the kids as possible, and is genuinely their friend. I think I can safely say that all three of our kids have an awesome relationship with Christina, and that they view her as a confidant and friend as well as Mom. Christina knows the difference between being a friend and being a “pal”, and to that end she is definitely not the kid’s “pal”; she can be blunt and direct when she feels the kids need to hear the truth about something, and she makes sure that the kids know that, while she is their friend, she’s their Mother first, and she rarely loses sight of that.

She met and loved me when I was a pauper, and has been with me through all of the ups and downs. Christina hitched her wagon to the erratic rocket that has been my life, and never once has she backed away or held back. She’s enjoyed the flush and full times, and has weathered the lean and mean times. We met nearly 19 years ago, and she’s been a constant source of love, help and inspiration to me for the vast majority of that time (we took it slow in the beginning :) ).

She doesn’t need extravagance to be happy. Christina will be the first to admit it, but she has simple tastes, and she is generally easy to please and amuse. While she certainly delights in good food, good music, and enjoys traveling and doing fun things, those things are not required for her to be happy. A family walk around our neighborhood with our dog often gets the biggest smiles of a day, or sitting down with our kids to draw pictures, or cut out shaped to make things. She often says she doesn’t need much to smile, and many times when I may feel like we are not getting where we should be as fast as I want to be, she can often be heard saying (about our house, about or kids, and sometimes even about me (LOL!).. “You know what? I love my life!”

These are some of the reasons why I’m glad that a cute, big-haired, rocked-out girl at The Stone nearly 19 years ago stuck her leg out and blocked me from walking through the door, prompting me to have to introduce myself. I’m glad she did, and I’m glad I did, and to steal and modify a line from Butch Walker… “if the last nineteen years could be seen as a bore, the God, please grant me nineteen more”… and nineteen more after that, and… :).

The Clothes Make the Person, Whether We Like It Or Not

2009-06-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve come to realize that I have an alternating love/hate relationship with clothes. Not that I mean I don’t like to wear them, I do (it certainly beats the alternative where I live; were I in Tahiti year round we may be having another discussion), but honestly, I go through cycles where I either care a lot about what I wear or I don’t care at all about what I wear.

The reason this topic has been center stage for me over the past few months is two-fold. The first is that my kids are growing up and they are expressing their individuality in ways I’m honestly not that crazy about. Yes, I know this coming from the former glam performer who walked around in pseudo-drag for close to ten years… I get it, I’m a hypocrite (LOL!). Still, try as hard as I might, there is absolutely no denying that you look at people and you react to people based on what they choose to show the world through what they wear. The second is that, I’m actually having to give very focused attention as to what I’m going to wear for something for a change (more on that later ;) ).

This is not to say that I don’t understand the desire to be unique or be one that fits in, or at the very least doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb. Believe me, I lived through a bit of that when I was younger, and I grew to see things on lots of different sides. Case in point; my parents had kids later than many of their generation by comparison (not *lots* later, mind you, but in general, the average American family in the 1960’s had their eldest kid around age 23… my parents, because of just the nature of their chosen careers and how they met, didn’t get married until they were nearly 27 and I was born about two months before my mom’s 28th birthday. Thus, my parents were not part of the baby boom generation as so many of my friends parents were, and their mores and attitudes about style and dress reflected a slightly earlier time and ethos. That came into effect when we were growing up. Long hair was strictly discouraged on boys, and they weren’t too dialed into the whole “California” vibe or look, either (not surprising since my Dad was from Detroit, and my Mom’s reality was steeped in the Italian areas of San Francisco, so again, different reality). Thus, I tended to look odd or out of place when I was younger as compared to many of my friends. Not to say I lived in rags, not at all; my family was pretty well to do, all things considered, but they just had a different attitude about it all.

During my teenage years, when I could have a little more autonomy on how I looked, I definitely strove to find my own style and identity, much of it being cobbled together from different styles as preppy, slash-punk, new wave and some B-Boy thrown in for good measure (Chess King was the “great equalizer” in the 80’s  ). Later on in life, modeling, music, and snowboarding all contributed tremendously to variations in my look, and sometimes extreme variations. The point is, everyone dresses to validate themselves, until the day comes when clothes are no longer relevant to validation.

Somehow, I think I finally stepped into this category sometime around my 35th birthday. Maybe it was the enormity of going back to school, maybe it was just the nature of having three kids get old enough where the focus on them was more important than any focus on me, you name it, but roughly around that time, I came to the realization that I had little time or energy to impress anyone else, and frankly, most people really didn’t care anyway. I think this was also the time I realized that a lot of money went into “keeping up appearances” and that, with being a single wage earner in a family of five (our choice, mind you, not talking badly about that at all), I really needed to evaluate what mattered and what was appropriate for various things and events. Thus, my identity really no longer revolves around what I wear and where I wear it, so long as it’s clean, neat and appropriate attire for the situation.

I admit it, I’m struggling a bit watching my kids care so much about the clothes that they wear and what “image” they project. Maybe it’s just that we finally see things differently when we transcend something; we want others to transcend it, too. While I must admit that some of my son’s clothing choices annoy me a little, none of them fall outside of the standards of the church, and he even makes an effort to not let his hair be a distraction. I’m a bit less hardcore about hair; I figure you really only have your youth to enjoy it, since circumstances surrounding work or genetics will make the choices later in life. I have some very simple rules; no multi-color hair unless nature gives it to you (calico highlights from the sun, fine; colored streaks or fake color, not fine). Hair must be above the collar, and out of his eyes when he’s at church and doing anything church related. That was a request from his Young Men’s President and I make sure he honors it. I leave it up to him to determine how to honor it, otherwise, I don’t mind the bangs in his face look (heck, I had the same haircut in the early 80’s :) ).

My tougher challenge is with my older daughter, Karina. I find it both sad and frustrating that the only clothes she can wear are found in the women’s juniors departments (she’s *ten* for cryin’ out loud) and that the clothing that is offered is mostly borderline scandalous; am I the only dad that does not want to have his daughter looked at as though she’s a streetwalker?! At the same time, I have to be a realist, and work with her (as does her Mom) to fins things that are appropriate and modest enough to wear (this is compounded by the fact that Karina frequently gets confused for being a 16 year old by people, or at least in High School; they tend to do a big double-take when I tell them she’s ten and just completed the 4th grade!). Again, it’s a challenge, but it’s one I realize I have to keep working on, cause Heaven help me, there’s *lots* of people willing to help out in the opposite direction.

This whole post is somewhat ironic in the sense that, over the next several weeks, I will actually be in the process of very targeted clothes shopping… I’ll be appearing on stage for the first time in 17 years! And as such, do you think I’ve given a lot of thought as to what I’ll be wearing? You better believe it (LOL!). See, in this case, I get a pass. I’m not dressing for the everyday, I’m dressing to be an entertainer, and as such, I’m constructing a stage outfit that will be, let’s just say, a bit unique ;). For those who have already seen it… SHHHHHHH!!!!!

Madd Money: Would You Go The Thrift Store Route?

2009-06-12T06:00:00.001-07:00

I used to think I was super frugal with clothes; not really flashy, not spending a lot on stuff, looking to get good value at low price whenever possible, but I tended to turn up my nose at the notion of going to a Thrift store or consignment store to buy clothes.

I’m not entirely sure where this attitude came from, or why I developed it, but for some reason it just stuck with me. Shopping at thrift stores was for cheapskates and losers, or it was for seriously overachieving hipsters looking to cash in their street cred by buying the tackiest stuff. This was definitely standard fare when I was in High School in the early to mid 1980’s. The Thrift Store Chic look was huge with a certain circle of people (especially those who tended to worship at the altar of the Paisley Underground… which I did, of course; it was sort of required if you were a fan of the Three O’Clock, Dream Syndicate or The Rain Parade, etc. Still, I think that always colored my impression of what I’d find there).

Earlier in May, I made plans to go out to a club with my band mates and check to see what was going on, and to that end, I wanted to somewhat look the part. Now, I have not really kept up much of a rock and roll wardrobe since I stopped performing, but I figured I might want to get something that at least wouldn’t make me look too much like a Silicon Valley styled nerd (which, lets face it, that’s exactly what I am today (LOL!) ).

I quickly became frustrated when I realized I’d need to spend a fair amount to get an “interesting” enough outfit to my standards... and that’s when it hit me… just for fun, see if you could construct an outfit from stuff at Goodwill! What?! But I don’t shop there! Well, heck, what do I have to lose but perhaps a little time to peruse? So off I went to the Goodwill Store in South San Francisco on El Camino Real.

First, I noticed something... there is a surprising amount of upscale and darn near almost brand new clothing at Goodwill! As I pondered this, I remembered what I did when I lost 50 pounds in 2007… I gave most of my clothes away in celebration. These clothes were also very new and relatively unused, but they just didn’t fit me anymore. I realized that I’m probably not the only one who went through these processes (not to mention on both sides of the spectrum) and thus, there are quite a few items that are practically new. As I was perusing I came across the following finds:

A pair of Gap 1969 black jeans
A super nice collarless long sleeve black shirt by La Strada Pavo.
A pair of Steve Madden “Bosco” boots, barely used
A Wilson Black Leather overcoat, mid thigh length

Were I to go to a store and buy these items new, I could expect to spend over $400. Instead, I got everything for just over $60.00. For the math nerds, that’s like getting those items at 15% off the new, retail price.

Yeah, but dude, their used clothes, and I’m sure they look it… well, just for grins, I decided to put them on and show Christina. She dug the look, especially the jacket (she said it gave me a bald headed Criss Angel look (and yeah, my wife has a thing for Criss Angel... I can’t explain it either (LOL!))). I didn’t share with her where I got them, just to see what she would say. After a bit, she came to ask me “by the way, where did you get the money to pay for those things?” She thought I went retail and got everything new. When I said I got them all from Goodwill, she was a little incredulous at first… I don’t think she believed me (LOL!). That clinched it!

Now do of course be aware that this was a good trip, and it was one where I was looking for a particular effect. One thing I can say about Goodwill is that sizes and merchandise vary considerably. It’s not like a department store where there’s one item in many different sizes. If you find something you like but it doesn’t fit, you’re out of luck for the most part. On the bright side, there are often enough items like it that you can find a good substitute. Your savings can also vary considerably depending on what you get. Shirts and shoes may be anywhere from 50% to 70% less than what you might find in stores. In the case of my boots and jacket, the savings were closer to 90%.

So yeah, I consider this particular outing a success. I picked up durable clothing, some a lot nicer and from brands I don’t normally buy, but I feel confident that they will last a long time, and I still have money in my pocket. Not bad for a half an hour’s perusing ;).

Eagle Court of Honor

2009-06-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

I know this was ten days ago, but I wanted to record for posterity the fact that, On May 30, 2009, Nicholas Larsen received his Eagle scout award, officially (he was designated an Eagle Scout on April 29, 2009 by virtue of completing his Eagle Scout Board of Review).

This was an awesome day, and one I have been wating a long time for. I know that may sound silly, since he's only 12, but really, I've been waiting to pin an Eagle Scout pin on Nick since the day on August 14, 1996, when I heard the words "it's a boy"! Before you think this to be excessive, please remember that on that day, I was the Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 92 in San Francisco, so this line of thinking really isn't all that excessive (LOL!). Add to that the fact that I have been, in one way, shape or form, Nick's Boy Scout leader since the day that he officially became a Tiger Cub on June 1, 2002. So Nick has been a little "fast tracked" in this pursuit, partially by circumstance, and partially by design.

Nick pins the "Eagle Scout Mom" pin on Christina's shirt.

For some, the idea of becoming an Eagle Scout is a daunting experience. For Nick, it's been a daily expectation. He's been a scout now for about 60% of his life :). that's not to take away from the fact that this is still a big achievement for any young man, whether he earns it at 12, 14, 16 or just shy of 18.

A Dad and Son Moment (yeah, Dad's big time proud :) )

I am happy that Nick decided to take on the challenge when he was young, and I am also happy that he has decided to continue with Scouting and wants to go into Venturing and earn the Bronze, Gold, Ranger and Silver awards. I'm hoping to be there every step of the way with him.

For the Love of (Dan) Carlin

2009-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

OK, I confess, I’m a History Geek. I love history, I love reading about history, I have many different eras and areas that fascinate me. I’m a longtime geek of Ancient History as it relates to Egypt, Greece, Anatolia, Meso-America, India and Celtic Britain (in no particular order), and thus I’m a fan of books, publications and media that talk about those things. I can now add to that a podcast that, not only do I enjoy, but I’ve even committed to buying and owning the episodes, because I love listening to them again and again and again. That podcast is “Hardcore History” and it is produced and narrated by Dan Carlin.

For those of you who have followed my blog or other comments in other areas, you may already know that I’m a fan of Dan Carlin’s, especially when it comes to his political commentary (his other podcast called “Common Sense” is best described as “an independent’s non-partisan view by way of Mars”). Over the past several years, I’ve grown seriously weary of partisan bickering between Dems and GOP, so I enjoy Dan Carlin’s commentary because he doesn’t pretend to be on any one side. He calls a spade a spade and does so without any party affiliation. If he thinks Republicans are doing something praiseworthy, he says so. If he thinks Democrats are being idiots, he says so, and vice versa. His point is that he’s a fan of the political process and of the Constitution, and that is what drives his shows and his commentary. I don’t always agree with him, but he brings interesting stuff to the table.

It’s this same intensity and drive as a “fan of history” that makes his Hardcore History podcast so interesting and appealing to me. Dan makes no bones about the fact that he is not a historian, he is a fan of history. Because of that, he can go into places a historian likely wouldn’t go. He is willing and able to dissect history’s wild bits in a way that brings it to life, and in a way that is both deeply engaging and very entertaining (his delivery has been described as “William Shatner on crack” (LOL!) ). But the real power of his program is that he takes topics that could conceivably be dull and lifeless and fills them with so much life that you can’t wait for the next episode. Example: he did a three part series on the Punic Wars, each program averaging an hour in length. To some, I’m sure the thought of hearing a three hour monologue on the causes, effects, and aftermath of the Punic Wars would be a snooze-fest. Not in Dan Carlin’s hands! He made it so that I wanted to hear each episode without interruptions, and then I could not wait for the next one to be available. As of this writing, his latest topic is “Ghosts on the Ostfront, Part 1” and it deals with the ramifications and developments surrounding “Operation Barbarossa”, Hitler’s army attacking Russia during the Second World War, and all of the details that surround it. Check it out, it makes for fascinating listening.

Dan’s not content to just ramble; he also posts his references and encourages others to read and learn from them as well. I find this to be incredibly valuable, as it allows me to also see things that I may not have ever seen before, and learn from sources I hadn’t considered.

So for those who have a similar “geek streak” like mine, give some time to check out Dan Carlin’s “Hardcore History” and if you like it, give him some love by dropping $1.00 for each episode you listen to and enjoy… as his outro line says “A buck a show… it’s all we ask!” :).

When Gaming Gets Out of Hand (LOL!)

2009-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

So I’ve finished a grand quest, and it’s one that, upon reflection, probably took me way too much time or exposed way too many of my tendencies. What could this be? Was it some grand Scouting project? No, but I did complete two weekends of Wood Badge training which were a blast an I did host my son’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Was it some amazing home project? Well, I did do some weeding and restructuring of our backyard, and I did replant an apricot tree that I think is finally ready to survive in the big boxes in the back and thrive (knock on wood). No, the activity I’m referring to is one that, on the average, took two hours out of every day for 70 days. I completed “Suikoden: Tierkreis”.

Now, before people look at me and wonder “dude, you did what?!”, it helps to understand a little bit about how I am wired and what engages me. Many people love to joke that I’m the epitome of “short attention span theatre” but that’s not entirely true. In fact, I can point to many times in my life when I have been “bitten” by something and that bite has driven me to make huge investments of time and interest in something. I know this about myself, and my family knows this about me, too. When I become fascinated with something, it tends to become all encompassing and all-consuming. I’m not content to be a dilettante; I want to do everything, learn everything and know everything about a topic. When it comes to camping, I want to explore every scenario and try out every experience. When I discover a series of hikes, I want to do every one of them. When I was asked to advise the Order of the Arrow Dance Team, I went headlong into learning how to make the clothes and create the outfit, learn the songs, and help the kids present the material. I wish I could better control this particular aspect of my brain, as it would be incredibly helpful if I could actually apply it to other areas of my life, but alas, it’s highly selective… I don’t know I’ve been “bit” until it happens.

“Suikoden: Tierkreis” is the first game I have played in awhile that has had that effect, and I think I realize why. There’s something about the RPG experience that just gets me, especially when there’s an interesting story that surrounds a lot of characters. And in the Suikoden universe, you are guaranteed to meet a lot of interesting characters. For those who have never heard of Suikoden, it’s the RPG franchise of the company I used to work for, Konami. Many different game companies have long running RPG franchises, Square Enix has Final Fantasy (another of my favorites). Atlus has Shin Megami Tensei (again, another of my favorites). You can add many other companies and games to this list as well, and Konami’s flagship RPG series is Suikoden. Suikoden is a series of games that in format in structure are all similar to the Chinese classic Shui Hu Zhuan (水滸傳), a story that was written in China in the 13th or 14th century. The core of all of the stories is the banding together of “108 Stars of Destiny”. In other words, while much of the gameplay revolves around standard RPG fare of quests, battles, story development and area discovery, the biggest aspect of the game, and for someone like me, the most entertaining, is the actual recruiting of all 108 Stars of Destiny (in this version of the game, they are called “Starbearers”). The same idea though is in each game, that the 108 characters band together for the cause of a righteous goal or purpose.

The first time I played the game, I made it through to the final level, and realized that I only recruited 78 total members. I restarted the game after 70 hours of play and this time, I went with a GameFAQs guide to make sure that I was able to find all of them. I was very happy to have done this the second time, because while many of the characters are obvious, there’s a lot of them that are not, and can be missed if you don’t have the right combination of people in your party or other story elements in place. While it’s possible to complete a Suikoden game satisfactorily without recruiting all of the characters, for me, that’s kind of the whole point (LOL!). On Sunday, I completed the second play through with 100% completion, and all 108 Stars of Destiny recruited. Total game time the second go round, 70 hours, which meant I’d put in 140 hours of total play time in two months, or on average, two hours each day.

On one hand, I feel happy that I beat and completed the game. I definitely feel like I got my money’s worth out of the title (at $35 retail value, 140 hours of game play translates to $0.25 per hour… pretty cheap entertainment, if you ask me). Most of my play time was done on the train to and from work during this time, so it really averaged about an hour outside of my commute times. Still that’s a fairly large chunk of time, no matter how one looks at it. What could be done in 140 hours? By comparison that’s the equivalent of 3 ½ weeks work time using 8 hour days as the comparison. Did I figure I would spend this much time? Yes, but I figured it would be spread out over 3 or 4 months. Instead, my brain clicked in a way with it that made me want to complete it much faster (well, faster is a relative term, in my case it meant I was willing to spend more time with it). Thus some early mornings, late nights, and commute times all went into this “quest” of mine. What could I have done otherwise? It’s pretty obvious that I could have easily written 140 blog posts in that time (don’t get me wrong, I’m not sure anyone would want to be subjected to 140 blog posts by me in 10 weeks, but I’m just putting that out there ;) ). I could have been much farther along in my study of Japanese. There’s many other projects that I worked through that could have had more attention and more focus has I not spent so much time on this.

Understand, I’m not complaining, but I am highlighting a factor about me and how my head works. I understand it (somewhat) and I am not saying I felt like I wasted my time playing this game. It was fun, it was engrossing, and in many ways it gave my brain some great exercise in problem solving and vicarious adventure. Still, at the end of the day, it’s a game, nothing more and nothing less. While I’ve enjoyed playing it, and perhaps it may give me some additional insights into solving future puzzles in future games, it’s not going to ultimately give me a leg up on life… well, even there, that’s not entirely true, because if playing the game put me in a better and more focused mood after completion, then perhaps, yes, it did serve its purpose, even if that purpose is to remind myself that “playtime is over” and there’s a bunch of stuff I need to do… that is, until the next game comes along ;).

Scoutmaster Mike: The Kente and the Generations

2009-05-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I off-handedly spoke about a tradition that we have in Troop 250, wearing the Kente Neckerchief. Where did this tradition come from, and why does Troop 250 use it?

As far as the tradition, it was my development that I brought to Troop 250 when I became its Troop Committee Chairman back in 2001. At the time, there were few long standing Troop traditions, and I wanted to see if I could help make something that would both energize the boys and create a sense of tradition and continuity within the Troop, a way for the boys to more directly remember those who had gone before.

Back when I lived in San Francisco, and was Scoutmaster for another Troop (Troop 92), I was asked to lead the Explorer Post that met in Pacifica that consisted of all the Youth members over 14 from all of the Wards in our Stake. Since I didn’t want to duplicate what they were already doing, I went to the scout store to see if they had something unique. When I was there, I saw that they had a neat multi-patterned African style kerchief. When I asked what it was, they said it was called a “Kente”. I asked if it had any special significance, or if it was just a unique looking kerchief? Other than the fact that it was popular with many of the Troops that had a strong African-American membership, they said no, it was freely available for anyone to purchase and to wear, but that it was originally designed to not be a “troop kerchief” per se, but should be something special or reserved for special individuals, as befits the original Kente cloth that is made in Ghana.

When I got to the Crystal Springs 1st Ward, I thought I’d get the chance to work with Scouts immediately, but instead I was asked to serve as a Stake Missionary for two years. When I came back into active service with Scouts, I asked Tim (our then Scoutmaster and current Bishop) if we could do something unique. I remembered the Kente cloth and over the ensuing years, I kept coming back to it and wanted to see us do something with it. When I learned Kente cloth was given to and worn by men of status and bravery, I thought “A-ha! I know how we could use it!” I wanted to find a way to encourage boys to earn their Eagle award, and likewise find a way to encourage other boys to do the same, and also remember past Eagle Scouts, more so than how a plaque or desk statue would do. I wanted something they could internalize, something they could make their own, carry with them anywhere, and then give to others later on.

With this, the idea of the “Kente” and the “Generations” came into being. It started with one boy, the first boy that I approved and signed for to sit for an Eagle Board of Review. As this boy had actually already been away at college for a year, he was put on deferment until he came back. Since I was able to help get him a Board of Review date, and he had his uniform but no kerchief, I gave him the Kente Kerchief that I had held onto for all these years, and suggested he start this tradition of the Kente and wear it to his board of review. As he was easily accepted as an Eagle Scout, we were able to hold his Court of Honor shortly thereafter. Since there is a common tradition in the Eagle Court to offer “Scouting’s Flame” to another member of the Troop and have them join them in the "Eagle’s Nest", a way of promising help and guidance to that boy so that he can himself become an Eagle, I felt that giving the Kente to this boy would be a great way of developing this tradition. Thus, the boy who first had the Kente signed his name on it, then gave it to another boy, and he would wear it until he in turn became an Eagle, at which time he would sign his name on the Kente and give it to another, and so on, and so on, and so on. We also decided a consequence if a boy received the Kente and did not earn his Eagle. The Troop would allow that Kente to “stop its Generations”, meaning that it will not be passed on to another. The boys decided that the right to pass on a Kente would be reserved for those who finish the work.

In the nearly eight years that this tradition has been in place, only one youth has received the Kente and not completed the trail to Eagle. Every other youth who has received it has become and Eagle Scout or is still active in the process of becoming an Eagle Scout. Names are not listed to protect privacy, but I have used initials to denote who has received the Kente and the Generations represented:

SV (I) --> EB (II) --> JO (III) (who as of this writing is an Eagle Candidate waiting for his Board of Review)

SP (I)/BN (I)/AG (I) --> MK (II) (Life, decided not to get his Eagle) --> [X]
This is the one time that multiple boys chose to give their Kente to one person, and that one person decided to not get their Eagle. Thus three potential lines ended here… this was also when I suggested, and the Troop decided, that only "oneone" transitions would happen; no more groups :).

AP (I) --> JK (II) --> PS (III) (who is now a 1st Class Scout working towards Eagle)

WJK (I) --> SN (II) --> JW (III) (who is now a Life Scout working towards Eagle)

JD (I) --> ND (II) --> JD (III*) (who is a new Scout, brother to JD and ND)

AF (I) --> NL (II) --> HF (III*) (who is now a 2nd Class Scout)

* will be given on May 30th, 2009

In the course of a little under 8 years, 19 boys have worn (or are set to wear) the Kente, and of those 19, 14 have completed the journey, 5 are in process and 1 never finished. It will be interesting to see how many more boys will be “marked” by the Kente in the coming years, and I truly dream of a day when every boy in the Troop will have one or will have worn one at one time or another. It’s also my hope that this will be a tradition that will be practiced for decades in this Troop, until the kerchiefs can no longer hold any more names. While I know it’s not practical to think every boy will make Eagle (statistically only 2% of all scouts ever reach that rank), I am heartened by the success that the "Generations of Kente" has to show. I’m hoping to see us record many more years and many more Generations of honor to these young men.

Some Shots of Eagles

2009-05-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

With May 30th coming up *really* fast, Chris and I are in the process of trying to get invitations out to people and to make sure that we have everything arranged. To that end, we tried this weekend to get some neat pictures of the boys for their program and invitations. You'd think that going out to get good pictures near and around San Francisco wouldn't be a big deal... you'd be wrong in this case (LOL!).

It's May, and for some reason Mother Nature picked *this weekend* to give the Peninsula a healthy dose of fog and drizzle. Ocean Beach? Covered in fog, no visibility. Seal Rock and Sutro Baths? Not visible through the haze. Golden Gate Bridge? Fuhgeddabout it! As I was thinking what might look cool on the Eastern side of the City, as we descended into the Marina District and the drive to the East Side, the skies parted for a bit and showed the Palace of Fine Arts clear as a bell... and with that, we decided we'd found our backdrop. The procession of Wedding photographers and brides and grooms that were there at the same time confirmed for us that, yep, this would be a good place. we had to be patient and work around the wedding parties, but I think it worked out pretty well.

These are a couple of close-ups of Nick. The shift in hair part was necessitated by the wind, in case anyone is curious :).

I like this shot of the two of them together. There's an inside joke they were constantly going on about and it made getting pictures tricky after awhile because they kept cracking up laughing. Still, even though this is right on the edge of a giggle fit, I think it captures their personalities perfectly.

These two are so young, I decided we *had* to get a shot of them just being silly. This will very likely be in the back of the program :).

Moral of the day is "don't give up on an idea, even when it looks like everything is working against you. Your golden opportunity may be just around the corner". Glad we didn't just give up when all the other areas we thought of didn't pan out as expected.

Nicholas Larsen is officially an EAGLE SCOUT!!!

2009-05-01T06:20:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday evening, Nicholas Larsen and his friend Nick Duehring sat for their Eagle Scout Boards of Review. This is the last part of a multi-piece puzzle that challenges boys to set goals, accomplish some pretty tall tasks, and then meet with a Council led advancement committee to decide if they have earned the right to be Eagle Scouts. I am happy to say that, as of Wednesday, April 29, 2009, Both Nicholas Larsen and Nick Duehring are the newest Eagle Scouts in Troop 250!!!

This is a shot of Nick Duehring and Nicholas Larsen in front of the Pacific Skyline Council Service Center, where the Boards of Review were held. They certainly look the part, don't they :)? I'm also proud to see two "Second Generation Kente's" at this point in time... the neckerchief the boys are wearing is called a "Kente", and it is patterned from colorful cloth that royalty and special people in the African country of Ghana wear. It's a Troop 250 tradition. There are only two ways to receive a Kente in Troop 250; be a "First Generation" Eagle Candidate, or to have it passed down by a previous Eagle Scout who wore it, with the promise that you will achieve the rank of Eagle Scout yourself. Both Nick's are 2nd Generation Kente recipients. Nick Duehring received his from his older brother Joshua (himself a First Generation Kente) and Nick Larsen received his from Andrew Ferris (also a First Generation Kente). It's very likely that, when Nick Duehring receives his Eagle Kerchief, he will pass his Kente on to his younger brother Jacob. Nicholas Larsen has already told me who he plans to give his to, but he has sworn me to secrecy (LOL!).

A very proud dad and Scoutmaster stands with his soon to be Eagle Scout :).

Long time Disctrict Advancement Chair Frank Colthart, Leo McArdle, and a tag team between Chris Duehring and myself (we can't review our own boys, but we could review each other's boys :) ) allowed our guys to be reviewed and discuss the path that each has taken over the past two and a half years (Nick Duehring is a little older than Nick Larsen; he joined the Troop on his 11th birthday in October of 2006. Nick Larsen joined the troop at 10 1/2 after earning his Arrow of Light on March 19, 2007). Both boys laughed a bit and said afterwards that their LIFE Board of Review was way tougher... of course, their Life Boards of Review were held at Camp Oljato, and that Board of Review was conducted by the Camp Staff, not by any of us (tough crowd, (LOL!) ).

Each of the boys had the opportunity to reflect on the Eagle projects that they performed. Both boys took different approaches as to what they wanted to do. Nicholas Larsen conducted a Pet Needs drive for the Peninsula Humane Society. Nick Duehring did a construction project of planter boxes for Burlingame Intermediate School. Both projects required the boys to be the leaders, and to call the shots as to how they were performed and to make sure that all steps were accomplished in a timely manner and to completion. Both boys earned high marks for their efforts.

Nicholas Larsen standing between Chris Duehring, Frank Colthart, and Leo McArdle, the three men who gave the final approval to him being certified as an Eagle Scout. He's holding his Eagle Project plan.

Nicholas Duehring standing between me, Frank Colthart and Leo McArdle, the three men who gave the final approval to him being certified as an Eagle Scout. Likewise, he's holding up his Eagle project plan.

Thus, as of April 29, 2009, two new Eagle Scouts join the list of Troop 250's High Fliers. To say I'm proud of both of these boys would be an understatement. Not only do I have a lot of admiration for their achievements, I'm also proud of the fact that these two boys (often referred to as "Nick-squared" or "the two bodies that share the same brain") made a commitment to each other to work together to achieve these goals, and to help each other along the way. For the past two years, they have helped, competed, and occasionally cajoled and cat-called each other to step up and make the grade. Both said they couldn't see doing it without each other, and I hope that this is a bond that both will carry with them for the rest of their lives. It's great to see boys reach for the stars. It's even better to see two boys decide to reach for them together. Now we have a little matter of an Eagle Court of Honor to hold... it is in the works. The date will be May 30, 2009, exact location to be determined. One thing is for sure, though, it will be a memorable event, and we would love for family and friends to come and share the day with us. More info on where to be posted soon :).

No Room In Heaven -- Available NOW!!!

2009-04-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

OK, first things first... "HIGH WIRE -- No Room In Heaven" is now officially available through Demon Doll Records. Right now, the only way to get it is through the record company's site, so if you want to order it, please do (but read the rest of the blog first :) )...

It is such a weird sensation to be able to write this today... 14 songs that my band recorded between 1989 and 1992 can now be purchased as a single CD. This was the result of a very unexpected turn of events back in December of 2008. An old friend of ours from the San Francisco club scene, Robbi Black of the now retired band Alleycat Scratch, contacted us and told us about a record label that he was working with. This label was dedicated to the scene that we were part of, the glam/hard rock/heavy metal scene (what is ubiquitously referred to today as the "hair band scene"). Robbi asked us if we would like to have a track on the record label's compilation album... "Glamnation, Volume 5". I got in contact with my former band members, asked them if they would be game to include the track, and we all agreed to do it. We figured that would be the end of it. Turns out there was more karma to come :).

Shortly after signing the agreement to include the song "No Room in Heaven" on "Glamnation, Volume 5", the label's president contacted us and said he'd heard our songs on our myspace page (which, by the way, is here), and wanted to know if we would be interested in a deal to distribute our old material as a full length CD. Well, since this was one of the things we all wanted from way back in the beginning of the band, we thought about it, and then said "yeah, we'll do it!". What followed was a couple of months of gathering masters together that had been dispersed and getting them converted to digital media (remember, 1989 was around the advent od the CD as a regular distribution medium; most bands still pressed vinyl or released cassettes, CD's were crazy expensive to produce). The process of getting these old masters and getting them ready for release was, honestly, a reclaimation project; our masters disintegrated through the rendering process, and now the digital files are the only masters left (20 years is rarely kind to acetate tape).

What was interesting about this process was that we let Demon Doll design a cover, CD layout and track order that we left up to them. While we were very familiar with our material, we were not sure as to what or how we would sound to outside ears, or how other would choose to package our songs. To be honest, I was a little concerned... the glam scene was not really known for subtlety (LOL!). When I saw the album cover, it took me a bit to realize what they were going for, but I like the styling a lot. As the label explained to me, they wanted to go with an almost Victorian feel with the cover model, yet still have it be current and hip by today's standards. It definitely has a "Gothic Lolita vibe to it, no question there. The red apple coloring on the B/W photo is also a really cool touch. The song order is roughly chronological, but they made some changes to how we originally released them and moved a few tracks to make for a better flow, as though it were all recorded as one album. I like the order they decided on, and for the most part, I like all of the tracks they chose to use (some more than others, but as they reminded me, I'm my own worst critic, and things I think are great or weak will get different reactions from different people. Overall, though, it is a balanced disk and covers our "career" accurately.

A word of warning to my LDS friends... these songs were recorded in a time and an era when I was not active in the church, so you may expect that there are some words and some topics that are a little less than "For the Strength of Youth" sanctioned. To be fair, we sound like the Osmond's compared to may of the bands of the time, but salty metaphors are to be found in some songs, and I throw an outright F-bomb in "Throwaway People" (though, to be balanced, the context was within an actual quote, but ye have been duly warned).

So here it is, 17 years after our last performance as a band, High Wire can be heard again, and for some, heard for the very first time. I'm happy that this project has finally seen the light of day, and that it can now be purchased (and yes, if you can hang with the proviso above, I wholeheartedly encourage you to purchase it :) ). For those who choose to get it, please drop me a line and let me know what you think of it. As to the material presented, let me borrow an oft printed line from Seal... "It was the best we had at the time" :).

Been Awhile, Time To Get Back In the Game

2009-04-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long drought between posts for those who enjoy reading this blog, but I needed to focus on some other things, and generally clear my head and get back into the groove of things. Some interesting things have been happening in my reality, many of them I'll be able to talk about in the coming days, but let's start with these:

* Nicholas turned in his Eagle Scout application last week. He's completed all of the requirements for the award, now he needs to sit for a board of review with the Council Advancement Committee. If he passes the board of review, he will be an Eagle Scout :). Here's hoping we hear news of a review quickly.

* I just finished my first course weekend as a Staffer at Wood Badge (WE3-31-09), and I have to say, I have a great Patrol (the Bobwhites are my group, and I had a lot of fun helping get them settled and develop the items for them to get into the spirit of the course and have fun with it). We convene again in 4 weeks to complete the 2nd weekend of the course. It's also been a lot of fun to have my friend Andrew C. be on course (Andrew is a Webelos Den Leader in our church's Cub Scout Pack. He's not part of my Patrol, but he's an Owl, and he has an awesome Troop Guide :) ).

* HIGH WIRE now has officially published material available. Our first foray into having our music published appears on the compilation album "Glamnation, Volume 5". Our Track "No Room in Heaven" is song number 5 on the CD. A huge disclaimer with this... many of the songs on this are straight up raunchy (which shouldn't come as any surprise to fans of 80's and early 90's hair metal), so if you are sensitive to such things, you may wish to steer clear or rip and edit your play list dramatically.

* HIGH WIRE will have their full length CD "No Room In Heaven" available to be ordered from Demon Doll/272 Records on August 22, 2009 if all goes according to plan (at least that was the last update that I received a couple of weeks ago). Once it's officially shipped, I will post updates on how to get the CD.

So there's a little bit of my immediate reality, more details on these topics and others as the days move forward.

High Wire at Vinnie's in Concord, CA, on 8/22/09

2009-03-09T06:32:00.001-07:00

Well, it's official :)!!

High Wire - you know, that band that I spent just a little bit of time with back in the late 80's and early 90's... yeah, the one that 18 years later I still can't shut up about (LOL!) - will be playing once again! We will be performing with old friends CRY WOLF and Sona/Dead Poser's Society at Vinnie's in Concord, CA on the 22nd of August.

We would love to have you come and join us.

For those of you outside of the Bay Area, I can't think of a better way to spend some vacation time and increase your carbon footprint. It should be a lot of fun and I will make this promise to you now - there will be NO spandex involved! And for those who have asked... no, I will not be buying a wig for the show. You'll just have to deal with a bald man rockin' out like his young self again (and really, what could be more entertaining than *that* :)?).

Here are the particulars:

Who: Cry Wolf, High Wire, Sona/Dead Poser's Society
When: Saturday, August 22nd 2009, 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Where: Vinnie's Bar & Grill, 2045 Mount Diablo Street, Concord, CA 94520

We, and by "we" I mean Sona, are working on getting group room rates with the local Marriott. We also hope to have some other surprises by then but we'll announce those details when they are ready (and Sona already knows I have a terrible habit of speaking out of turn, so she's keeping information to a "need to know" basis for now... smart lady (LOL!).

Check the High Wire page on My Space (www.myspace.com/sfhighwire) for updates and feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions.

Special thanks to Sona for doing, well, everything (really, she deserves the credit for pretty much all of this. We're just happy to come out and play).

Hope to see you in August!

-- Mchael "Kelly" Larsen and the rest of HIGH WIRE gang (Carlos, Steve, Taz, Doug, Mark and Randy)

Madd Money: What You Accept, You Teach

2009-02-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

I know it seems a little silly to be broadcasting the fact that I want to put some new bumper stickers on my "coffin box" that sits atop my car, but in many cases, that's the cheapest piece of pretentiousness I own (LOL!). See, I'll never forget what one girl I used to date in college said to me... she was from Switzerland, and she found a number of things about the American ethos amusing. When I asked her for examples, her immediate response was the notion of the "bumper sticker"... in her mind, it was the absolute proof of the "pretentiousness" of the Average American... as if we thought that people actually cared enough of our own personal opinions that we would put them on the outsides of our cars for other people to read. I will admit that, for many years, I did not put bumper stickers on my car for this very reason. There is something sort of arrogant about putting things that you feel are important or that you want to say on your car like this... but then again, it's the only "personal commercial real estate" a lot of people, including myself, will ever have (LOL!).

Back a number of years ago, when I bought my Ford Escape, I bought a Packasport box to stash my snowboard, camping gear, or whatever I might need for wherever I might go. Because this thing was out in the sun all day, it was getting fairly ugly looking, so I decided to add some color to it, in the way of Vans logos, snowboard and skateboard stickers, and my preferred cause, that of "Snowboard Outreach Society". I also freely confess that I also post space for the Stanford Pow Wow each year, and I have a sticker that says "save San Bruno Mountain" because, well, I happen to dig the mountain that I can see just from the top of my hill where I live :). Still, they were just corny things I had on there, and I never really thought anyone paid any attention to them... until my friend Adam actually referenced one of them in a Sacrament Meeting talk. Being referenced in church is strange enough. Having a bumper sticker referenced was surreal (LOL!). But it was the one that he picked that got me thinking... I have a sticker where two elderly Native American men are sitting in front of a fire, and the words next to them read "What you accept, you teach!" He said that he wasn't sure what it meant to me, but that it actually helped him gel some of his own talk he wanted to deliver. The meaning behind the phrase is that "if you accept inequality, you teach that inequality is OK" or "if you accept immorality, you teach that immorality is OK". You can fill in the blanks of any number of things, but the take home message that I happen to like is that I can be tolerant of many things, I can be respectful of others, but I do not have to "accept" those things that I do not approve of or wish to influence me and those around me. By doing that, I teach others what I believe.

Which now, long windedly, I admit, brings me to the new additions I hope to add in the coming weeks (when they get here). Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows that I abhor debt. I despise it. I wish everyone was free from it. I wish we had a government that wasn't so dependent upon it. I want to show the world that I do NOT accept debt, and therefore, I want to teach other to do all they can to GET AWAY FROM IT!!! In my world view, playing with debt is like playing with snakes... eventually, you WILL GET BIT!!! Thus, these are two new pieces of the Dave Ramsey Show that will be going on my Packasport in prime locations... two stickers, one that reads "Debt is Normal, BE WEIRD!" and one that reads "Live Like No One Else!" fans of the Dave Ramsey Show or "The Total Money Makeover" are already intimately familiar with these phrases. We live in a society that has too long treated debt and indebtedness as a normal fact of life... and oh are we ever paying for it now (collectively). Personally, I love being 100% Debt Free in all ways (no credit card payments, no student loan payments, no mortgage payments, no debt AT ALL), and I want to keep it that way FOREVER if I can! I realize that makes me weird, and frankly, I *LIKE* being weird :). The second one is actually a shortened version of the theme for "the Total Money Makeover". The whole Phrase is "Live like no one else, so that later, you can live like no one else". truthfully, that is my ultimate goal. I want to be able to live in such a way that, should the time come, when my children are grown and my wife and I get the opportunity to go do something great, whether that be to go off and travel, or serve as couple missionaries somewhere else in the world, we'll be able to do it and do it without any constraints. My goal is to be able to be free when I am older. To do that, I refuse to tie myself down today, and that means I will not go into debt. Not now, not ever, if I have anything to say about it.

Thus, I am giving in to the pretentiousness of the stickers, and yes, I know it's arrogant to think that people care what I think or that I would put such a thing on my car. However, I think it's time to show what I accept... and perhaps, just maybe, I may teach someone after all :).

The "Married Meme"

2009-02-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know, it's a cheap blog post, but hey, for those that are actually interested in the daily dynamic of Christina's and my life, as well as some tidbits I may not have talked about elsewhere, well, here ya' go :).

This is kind of like the 25 things - except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your spouse, not just you.

* What is your anniversary date?
December 5

* What are your middle names?
Mine is Spencer, hers is Judith

* How long have you been together?
Together together? or married together? We started dating in September of 1990, so that would be 18+ years. We both had a non-exclusive dating clause for awhile, but got serious about six months after that. We've been married since 1992 (16 years)

* How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About a week.

* Who asked who out?
I did.

* How old are each of of you?
I’m three days shy of one year older than Christina.

* Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
Christina’s an only child, so I win this by default :).

* Do you have any children together?
All of them :) (seriously, three)

* What about pets
We’ve had a few over the years; two budgerigars, a cockatiel, an African grey parrot, and a rotating menagerie of fish. Most recent addition to the family is Rikku our beloved Pembroke Corgi :)

* Did you go to the same school?
Nope, I grew up in Danville, and she grew up in San Bruno.

* Are you from the same home town?
See above.

* Who is the smartest?
Depends on the topic. I can claim more “book smarts” in certain things, but I think Christina does better than me in a lot of “common sense” and “street smarts” areas.

* Who is the most sensitive?
Christina, hands down (LOL!).

* Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We have a rotating circuit of Sushi and Thai places we go to.

* Who has the worst temper?
I think we’re about the same in this category. Neither of us tends to get mad unless we’re both overly tired or frustrated with something.

* Who does the cooking?
Most of the time Christina, but I have some kitchen skills, too :)

* Who is more social?
When we first got together, I was (came from years of being a musician). These days, I think it’s a draw.

* Who is the neat-freak?
Christina, by a long shot (LOL!)

* Who is the more stubborn?
Neither of us are really stubborn. We kinda’ pride ourselves on being able to see the others view and being willing to take other ideas into account.

* Who hogs the bed?
Typically, me.

* Who wakes up earlier?
Me definitely, I’m out the door most days before 5:00 AM.

* Where was your first date?
Mandarin Chinese restaurant in Millbrae, CA, followed by a walk along “Hotel Row” in Burlingame right next to San Francisco Bay.

* Who has the bigger family?
Me. Christina’s an only child, I am the oldest of four.

* How do you spend the holidays?
Our families are both nearby, so we spend Christmas eve at our house with Christina’s parents, and then we spend Christmas day over at my parents place.

* Who is more jealous?
I don't think either of us are. (Christina actually calls me “oblivious” on that front a lot of the time (LOL!))

* How long did it take to get serious?
About 6 months, though I think we both saw definite rumblings in that direction after about 6 weeks. We both had some trust issues to work through (I was a singer for a rock band at the time, can’t say I blamed her for not wanting to rush anything there (LOL!) ).

* Who does/did the laundry?
She does.

* Who’s better with the computer?
I am, but then I should hope so seeing my livelihood revolves around them :).

* Who drives when you are together?
Any drive that’s more than two or three miles, me (LOL!).

Ego Over Matter: New Goal, New Purpose, All Vanity!!!

2009-02-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

I would love to claim that my reasons for getting in shape, for training, for trying to get stronger were all for altruistic reasons. You know the pep talk... "I want to get in shape to run a marathon for cancer research" or "I want to become strong enough to make a real difference in work projects that matter to my community". I'm sure there are people out there that have these sentiments. I just don't happen to be one of them. Truth be told, I rarely get myself in shape for any reasons that are not entirely self driven or self-motivated... well, OK, that's not entirely true; I did go into overdrive back in 2007 because my wife did pointedly tell me when I had an elevated ADL blood test "I don't want you to die!" I'll admit, that is motivating and in a selfless way :).

But still, left to my own devices, I'm happy to be left to my own devices. Something of either immense importance, or at least appealing to my baser vanity must come to the fore for me to *really* get serious, and that something has now happened, or at least the potential for it happening is very great... HIGH WIRE is actively in the discussion and searching phase for a venue to hold a reunion show. HIGH WIRE in its finished form came together in November of 1989, so 2009 is the 20th anniversary of that forming. We want to play live to celebrate that fact. Which means I'll have to get on stage and sing. Do you think I'll hop on stage fat, flabby and out of shape?!

NOT ON YOUR FREAKING LIFE (LOL!)!!!

Thus, Ego Over Matter gets re purposed again, and this time it's "training for the show". I remember full well the effort it took to sing for over an hour "back in tha' day", and that was when I was young, resilient and in practice. I am none of those things today, or to be more honest, I'm a lot less of those things today. Thus it stands that I must take the bull by the horns, make a commitment, and go for broke, here and now, and give it all I've got.

The last time I made a firm goal, I made it to get to a particular body weight. I'm not going to do that this time around. Nope, I want to get all nerdy and really go for a target, perhaps a crazy one; I want to reach 10% body fat by the day of the show. If that sounds like it's lean to you, that's because it is, especially for me. I routinely float around 25% body fat, which means I need to make nearly a 50% total reduction of fat stores by our performance date (currently looking to be around mid August). That's six months. It's ON!!!

Usually, attitude has to come first, then resolve, and then concrete actions. Attitude and resolve I now have, and the concrete actions are already starting to come into play, including my "triple play". Everyone who knows me knows there are three "concrete items" that appear, and when all of them are in place and in active use, they know that Michael is in "Serious Mode". Those concrete items are:

* the increased supply of bulk chewing gum (usually Trident) and packs just about everywhere.

* the increased consumption of strongly made Cinnamon and Lemongrass Sweet Tea (this is a rooibos/red tea and thus entirely herbal and thus entirely kosher within LDS standards and following the letter and spirit of the Word of Wisdom, and yes, I've checked repeatedly :) ).

* the consistent purchase of frozen mixed vegetables and the bulk purchase of Tapatio Hot Sauce

Everyone claims they have a "secret weapon" or a talisman they use regularly when they want to get to goal. These are my triple threat, and they are my most oft used tools. I will say here and now that, when I try to drop pounds and get in shape, my spice-o-meter goes to an absolute extreme, to the point where I am practically drinking shot glasses of Tapatio and other hot sauces (LOL!). I associate the capsaicin burn with progress, and thus I welcome it :).

No EOM entry is complete without the "statement of truth", so it has to start here and now, with a declaration: Today I weighed in at 232 pounds. It's ten pounds down from my all time high of 242, but it's 40 pounds up from my 30's and 40's all time best of 190. Again, this time, I'm going to try to steer clear of just looking at weight, and I'm going to pay a lot more attention to actual body fat percentages. And this time, I'm going to get even geekier... I'm going back in time and using some techniques that I learned from an old compatriot of a fitness newsgroup I used to participate with. Using those techniques, in 2000, I went from 235 to 200 in 12 weeks, and was the most ripped I'd ever been. It's time to see if I can make lightning strike twice, and oh yes, I will share it all here :).

Goal determined: check
Purpose defined: check
Goal sufficient to get ego invested: oh heck yes (LOL!)
Start Date: February 19th, 2009
Estimated Completion: Mid August, 2009
Proof of Success: pictures, videos and live recordings of the actual show

And away we go :)!!!

Dealing With Limitations

2009-02-17T05:24:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a week since I've written a blog entry. There are a few reasons for that, the first and foremost being my lower back is still an issue, and sitting down for extended periods is difficult. This has made my somewhat prodigious blog output dry up for a bit, and frankly, I think I needed the break.

As I was going through and reviewing my posts, there has been a marked "duplicate" sense in the posts I've been writing. I've realized that this is because, frankly, there's not enough happening in my everyday life to make unique enough blog posts to justify an every day entry.

What has been interesting in these past few weeks since this whole back issue came into my life (again), is that I've had to actually look at seeing which things I was doing were really important, and which thing I had to just say "sorry, I can't do that" or "this just hurts too much to deal with". While I have had to deal with some frustration at that fact, it's actually forced me to prioritize some things differently. It's also made it clear that convalescing is a long process and it really cuts into the rest of my life, so I think I really need to make not getting into these situations a priority (LOL!).

I will start writing blog posts again later this week, but it's going to be a slower pace going forward. It was interesting writing every day for awhile (almost three months), but I've decided that there are other things that need to be handled for the time being, so for those who like reading me daily, hopefully this will mean better writing, just less frequently.

I'm a Signed Musician :)

2009-02-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

HIGH WIRE, circa August 1990
To hear HIGH WIRE's music, go here.

Well, this will require a bit of 'splaining, but it's been an interesting turn of events, and I figured this is a good a place as any to spell out what has been happening the past few months, and what will continue to happen in the coming year (or years :)?).

Back in December, I received an email from an old friend who played in a band called Alleycat Scratch. We often played at similar venues and also shared the stage at times. This friend now works for an independent record label down in Southern California called Demon Doll Records. Demon Doll specializes in putting out material from our shared genre (i.e. an emphasis on glam hard rock from the late 80's and early 90's). This label has a compilation they put out called "Glamnation, volume (n)" and at the time of the email, they were prepping to release Volume 5. It was through this cycle of releases that we were contacted and asked if we would like to have our material appear on the compilation. I explained that I was not actually able to make that decision by myself, but I would get in touch with all of my former band mates and see if they were willing to do it.

The month of December saw me put on my detective's cap and hunt down my old band mates. Facebook proved to be invaluable in this process; lo and behold, all but one of my band mates has one. The last holdout I found through talking to some friends, and as we all bantered about and discussed this opportunity, we all realized that, yeah, we'd love to have the chance to have the material that we wrote be published. So we all said yes, we signed a contract to allow them to use the song and pay us a royalty for the use, and that was that... or so we all thought.

Earlier in January, we were contacted by the president of the label and asked if we would like to have an actual full length CD released of our material. We all thought it sounded interesting, so we said "let's see the terms". Basically, it's a standard two year deal in which they own our material and will release it on CD an other venues, and in return we get paid a percentage of sales and a mechanical royalty for any and all songs sold. After we all had some collective comments to the effect of "OK, what year is it?!" we agreed to sign and turn over our tracks to be released. The final paperwork for this was finalized last Friday, February 6, 2009.

It's been a surreal few weeks, one in which a lot of odd feelings have come to the surface, and a lot of great conversations have been held. These guys were like family to me at one time, and it's great to see that there is still a lot of that feeling still there. It's also going to be great to have an actual tangible CD that I can point to and say "See this? This is who we used to be, and this is what we did!" In a way, it finally legitimized the years I tried to break into this business. Am I under any illusions that this is going to be some big break or a shot at stardom? No, I have no illusions in that area. Mostly, I'm just excited that someone other than us took an interest in us and said "hey, you know what? There may be a group of people out there that would like to buy your material, and we'd like to put it out." What's more, it may also be a chance for all of us to get out there and play again (perhaps sometime in the August 2009 time frame.

I guess we'll have to see what transpires from here, but as I've been saying in many other places regarding this unique and interesting turn of events... here's to future days :).