Fortress of Solitude

Time Travelers Never Die (book)

2012-01-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

This blog was meant for my fiction blog at fictionfixation.blogspot.com. I posted it here on accident and decided to leave it up. :)

Yesterday I finished the book, Time Travelers Never Die, by Jack McDevitt. If you know me, you know I love stories about Time Travel. This novel, by an author I'd never read before, was extremely fun and enjoyable.

I'm not going to pretend that it was a masterpiece of literary genius, but it was a story I couldn't put down once it began. As always, no spoilers, so read on.

The book read, at times, like a travelogue that didn't advance the plot. Even so, I found those sequences interesting due to the nature of where (or when?) they were traveling.

The time travel theory was pretty solid and stayed consistent throughout the book--something difficult to find in fiction. The author found a creative, if not trivial, way around paradoxes that I had never thought of before. Perhaps it was a plot device, but it worked.

If I had to point out one main flaw in the book, I would say that it was extraordinarily predictable. Throughout about 60 percent of the book, I already knew what would happen next, or down the road. Some things were plainly (and painfully) obvious. The main characters didn't seem to be able to figure out how to solve problems they were encountered with until chapters (or even half the book) after I had already figured it out.

Don't get me wrong. It may sound like I'm being nothing but negative about this novel. In spite of the predictability I found it extremely enjoyable to read. It was, as I said, a very fun story. It was not overly nail-biting or suspenseful but it was an adventure that I didn't want to end.

The final few pages were a bit confusing, and there's one major point that was so confusing that I actually went back to re-read the chapter. It didn't help. Still, it wasn't enough to ruin the book for me. It left me wondering a bit, but did not affect the overall story.

One thing that struck me about the book after I had finished it was how clean it was. Hardly any bad language (if any), and no sexual content. Just an overall fun adventure through time with a few small mysteries mixed in. I enjoyed this book, and the author, enough that as soon as I put it down, I went to the computer and bought another book by the same author.

As it turns out, the author is 81 years old and has written many novels (and won many awards). His newest book (which sounded very interesting) turned out to be book 6 in a series. So I went and ordered book 1 of the series: A Talent for War (Time Travelers Never Die is a stand-alone novel and not related to this 6 book series). I'm excited to find a new author to read and hope this next book of his will be just as good.

My Rating: 4.2/5

My Recommendation: Read this book if you enjoy time travel stories. It was well thought-out and well executed. I didn't give it a 5 only because, while I loved this book, I can't say it's on my top list of best books ever. I just can't bring myself to categorize it with other great books that I've given a 5 to. This is likely due to some sections that seemed a bit slow in travelogue style. But don't let that sway you. It is fun and WORTH READING! :) Enjoy.

A Comparison of Duo Seraphim Treatments

2011-08-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

The text has been composed into late renaissance and early baroque pieces many times. Each composer treats it differently. This is a brief analysis if their differences.

Original Text	English Translation

Duo seraphim clamabant, alter ad alterum: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus. Tres sunt qui testimonium dant in coelo. Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus et hic tres unum sunt. Laus et perennis gloria Deo Patri cum Filio, sancto simul Paraclito in sempiterna secula.	The two Seraphim proclaimed, one to the other: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. There are three who give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. Praise and continuing glory be to God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now and forevermore

The text clearly explains that there are two angels proclaiming that God has all glory and the earth is full of His glory forever. Is it enough to simply set the words to music? Or is it preferable to compose the music in such a way that it reflects the text.

Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643) starts with a duet, representing the two seraph angels. When the text "Three bear witness in heaven," comes in, a third voice sings to represent the holy trinity. It remains a trio the rest of the piece.

Monteverdi Recording

Monteverdi Score

Hans Leo Hassler (1562 - 1612) starts out with a duet but goes to full double chorus by the words “Sanctus”

Hassler Score

Hassler Midi Recording

Jacobus (Jacob) Gallus/Handl (1550 - 1591) wrote a double chorus in the antiphonal style but did not start out with two voices.

Gallus Recording

Gallus Score

Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) writes a duet to start but brings in the rest of the chorus by “Sanctus” (as Hasller did). Interestingly enough, he maintains a tri-choral piece instead of a double chorus. This is reminiscent of Monteverdi’s trio, probably referencing the holy trinity, but not painting the text (the fact that there are only two angles singing). He brings the three choirs in on "Sanctus" rather than on "three bear witness" as Monteverdi did.

Guerrero Score

Guerrero Recording

Richard Dehring (1580 – 1630) writes a Duet throughout.

Dehring Score

Dehring Recording

Tomas Luis De Victoria (1548 - 1611) also starts out with a duet but, like Hassler, brings the full chorus in by “Sanctus.” He does, however, use only three parts (like Monteverdi and Scheidt) when describing that there are “three” that bear witness in heaven. Victoria also writes the score for SSAA or TTBB (however you choose to interpret his score). This makes sense as the song is about angels proclaiming about the greatness of God. It takes gender out of the equation and makes it easier to envision that these are angels singing, and not “men and women.”

Victoria Score

Victoria Recording

Samuel Scheidt (1587 - 1654) creates a lot of text painting, choosing to start the piece with two “angels” singing. Not until “the world is full” does the full double chorus come in. This makes lyrical sense. Even when the full chorus is in, he keeps the polychoral piece in the antiphonal style, not letting us forget that there are in fact only two angels crying out the name of the lord at this time.

Scheidt Score

Scheidt Midi Recording

Scheidt Japanese Recording

Back to College Life

2011-08-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

So much going on in life right now, I thought it'd be appropriate to blog about my adventures in Colorado. Whether or not anyone cares enough to actually read my upcoming blog posts matters not. If nothing else, this will serve as a good journal for me.

In the past two weeks:

I attended Harmony University for my first time
My Grandma died and I attended her funeral
My wife and daughters were in a bad car accident
I moved to Colorado from Nevada
I am starting back into school after seven years

Needless to say, I am busy.

Today was my first day on campus (University of Colorado, Boulder). School doesn't actually start until next week but I will be taking exams this week. Today I got my "BuffOne Card", met a few of the graduate students, etc. I also attended my first meeting, an informational meeting about a Graduate Teaching Program, and promptly fell asleep. ...and I was in the front row. Ugh. I need more sleep. Will someone please get that memo to my children?

Boulder is gorgeous! The campus is beautiful and the surrounding mountains are breathtaking. The weather here is wonderful as well (though that's not hard compared to Vegas). Ask me again in the winter and I'll let you know if I still hold this opinion.

Today I started my preliminary exams in Aural Theory, Written Theory, and Tonal Analysis. This afternoon I take Post-Tonal Analysis, and Counterpoint. Sound fun? Yeah, I'm pretty worried about some of these. I felt okay about this morning's exams but they are hard! I've spoken to some other graduate students and they have put my mind at ease a bit. They assure me it's not all that big a deal to fail the exams. Some of the material is hard because I was never taught the information in my undergraduate work. Other stuff is hard because I simply don't remember.

I can already feel that I will be extremely busy. My class schedule is a bit up in the air but from the looks of things, I'll be on campus from morning until night, working hard. I'm ready, though. Let's do this.

In other news, I'm extremely excited to be joining the Sound of the Rockies Chorus. They are a 3rd place international level chorus with the Barbershop Harmony Society. One of the biggest reasons I'm pursuing my advanced degrees is so that I have more education to bring to the society, so being a part of this chorus is a great thing on my barbershop journey. I am excited to see how I can contribute to this ensemble. Last Thursday (their rehearsal night) I was moving so I missed out on my weekly dose of harmony. I'm craving some locked chords right now.

So that's my introduction to my new life out here in Colorado. New house, new school, new scenery, and even soon to be a new car (because of the aforementioned totaling of our van -- everyone was okay by the way).

The Absurdity of the Win-loss Stat in Baseball

2011-05-07T23:02:00.001-07:00

Today’s headline on the sfgiants.com homepage said, “Bumgarner Seeks His First Win.” Sports announcers talk about his current 0-5 record as sad and disappointing. There is no doubt that it is disappointing that the Giants have not been able to win under his watch, but in no way does his 0-5 record prove that he is pitching poorly. I propose that the wins and losses stat in baseball is quite possibly the worst stat that is widely accepted by the baseball community.

There is far too much importance and noteworthiness given to this statistic. Pitchers are graded by this record more than any other redeeming (or non-redeeming) achievement they may have made. When a new pitcher comes onto the mound, this is the stat they flash at us. When a “struggling” Ubaldo Jimenez goes 0-2 in his first five starts, he is considered to be in a funk.

Personally, I believe that this statistic has almost nothing to do with how good a pitcher really is and baseball fans and sports announcers should stopy analyzing it as the end-all measurement of a pitchers effectiveness.

A nearly perfect pitcher can get slapped with a loss. Let’s analyze this scenario: Johnny “The Missle” Fastballer pitches 8 perfect innings. So far a no-hitter, a perfect game even. But the score remains 0-0 because his opponent (Jimmy “Knuckles” Speedster) has given up only 3 hits and no earned runs. Because of his perfect game, Johnny Fastballer’s manager leaves him in the game. It’s the bottom of the 9th and Fastballer throws a 96 mph fastball down the middle. Sammy Slammer knocks it out of the park. A walk-off homerun. The game ends. Fastballer takes the loss.

In this example, arguably an extreme case, Johnny Fastballer pitches one of the best games in baseball history but is credited with the loss. Ouch. This scenario, of course, could be played out in many different ways. It’s still early in the season as of this posting (mid-May) and already I’ve seen many amazing games pitched only to go sour in one or two at-bats.

I’ve seen pitchers go 5, 6, and 7 innings, pitching beautifully, only to give up a run or two before being pulled. And he gets the loss. The problem here is that nobody ever seems to recognize the fact that these pitchers pitched superbly! All they focus on is that pesky win-loss record.

In my example above, Johnny Fastballer pitched a nearly perfect game, and ended with an ERA of 1.0 and a WHIP of 0.11. And he probably also had about 12 K’s. ….and the loss!

A win credited to a pitcher is probably more of an accurate scoring mechanism than is a loss. If his team wins, it’s because the pitcher was able to hold off the opponent while his own team worked out their offense. Still, it’s not a perfect system.

Take for example a pitcher that gives up 6 runs in 6 innings. And ERA of 9.0. Terrible by any standard. It just so happens that his own team’s offense scores 7 runs during their at bats. This pitcher gets the win while boasting a 9.0 ERA. If he does this consistently, depending on his teamate’s bats, he goes 5-0 in the first 4 weeks of the season. Is he a good pitcher then? NO! His ERA is terrible, his WHIP is terrible, and his K:9 ratio is in the gutter.

Last night, the Giants and Rockies were tied at 3-3 in the 9th inning. Top of the 9th, Bochy puts Brian Wilson (the closer) on the mound. Three up three down. On to the bottom of the 9th. A walk-off base-hit wins the game for the G-men. Brian Wilson is credited with the win. Um, WhAt!?! Good for beard-man for his one inning pitched. But HE gets the win?? What did his three outs have to do with the Giant’s offense coming to life in the bottom of the 9th?

This is absurd. Multiply this by half a season and Wilson now has a closing record of 5 wins he doesn’t deserve and Fastballer goes 0-12 while pitching nearly perfect games in every outing.

If you want to see how good a pitcher really is, look at his innings pitched, his ERA, his WHIP, his strikeouts:innings pitched (K:9) ratio. These are the things we should be looking at. Everyone feels bad for Ubaldo Jimenez and Madison Bumgarner, but have you looked at their other stats (arguably they’re not great, but that’s beside the point)?

Tim Stauffer has pitched 41 innings to date and has zero wins, but he maintains an era of 2.61 and a WHIP of 1.16. In other words, the guy is dang good! But his win-loss record stands at 0-1. Josh Danks, same story: He’s 0-5 with 47 innings pitched and a 3.83 ERA. Sure the ERA could be lower. He doesn’t have 5 losses for nothing. But a 3.83 ERA for a regular starter isn’t terrible. Also, I can give you at least three pitchers that have 4 wins and a 4.20+ ERA. Case in point: the win-loss stat does not give us an accurate picture of the quality of a pitcher.

Play ball!

Why the Giants Deserve a World Series Title MORE Than the Rangers

2010-10-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of hype around the Rangers. They succeeded in out-scoring, out-pitching, and out-playing the hallowed Yankees. And to top it off, they had never won a post-season series before, not even at the division level.

What a story. I can see a movie being written right now. This is the Cinderella team of 2010. It's a feel-good story. From the depths of facing bankruptcy, to the outright win of the American League title, and on to the World Series. The country will be rooting for them, praying that they will put the final coat on their Cinderella story.

But they don't deserve it.

At least not as much as the San Francisco Giants do.

Here's why:

First of all, let's just be clear on the fact that The San Francisco Giants have also NEVER won a World Series either. It's not like they have tasted the limelight that the Rangers have been robbed of. It's a luxury neither team has experienced. They are on equal ground in that regard. Sure the Giants have won their share of post-season series, and have even made it to the World Series a number of times, but they've never won.

The "Giants" won their last World Series in 1954 against the Indians. Swept that series... but they were the NEW YORK Giants. That was not this team. Saying the New York Giants is the same team as the San Francisco Giants is like saying the Washington Nationals is the same team as the Montreal Expos.

But I'll indulge your snide disagreement. Let's just say that we have to count them as the same team and therefore concede that the "Giants" have won a World Series while the Rangers have not. Even if that were the case, the Rangers weren't in existence until 1961.

So let's do the math. The Rangers have been waiting and hoping for a World Series title for 49 years. But the [New York] Giants, having won their last title in 1954, have been striving for that coveted pinnacle of bragging rights for 56 years.

The Giants have been waiting longer for this than the Rangers have. No matter how you look at it, this is the case.

But, going back to reality, the San Francisco Giants have never won the title. This series will be played by two teams that have never had the honor. No matter who wins, it'll be their first time. What an awesome series to watch.

So don't go rooting for the Rangers simply because of the media hype. Look at the stats. Look at the real numbers. All things being equal, the Giants have waited longer than the Rangers. They're further ahead in the waiting line.

Don't you hate it when people cut in line? Step back, Rangers. This is the Giant's year!

How to Cure Baseball

2010-07-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't written a blog in a long time, favoring Facebook over Blogger. But this past weekend I got to return to my hometown in Gilroy California and I was consequently re-immersed into a culture that loves Baseball.

Growing up, I loved baseball more than any of my friends. I was fanatical. I remember being in 6th grade and running to find the newspaper in order to memorize all the most updated stats that had been achieved the previous day. And on Christmas morning, if 90% of my presents didn't have the San Francisco Giants logo on them, then Christmas wasn't successful.

I even stuck through the baseball strike of1994-1995. A year and a half with no baseball. MLB suffered and many baseball fans turned to other sports, never to cast their eyes back at the sport they used to love. I stayed with it, and when the players finally came back, I was their first fan.

Eventually I went off to college. Not only did I move to a state that had no professional baseball team and no televised or radio access to the Giants, but my studies and part-time job kept me on campus from 7am to 11:30pm (literally) every single day. Needless to say, I lost track of baseball. I still watched the playoffs and World Series for a few years, but eventually Baseball took a backseat to more important things.

...like college football. Growing up, I had never been a football fan. Never. I tried to like it for years, but I could never get into it. College changed all of that. Suddenly the game made sense, and it also helped that I now had an alma mater that I could cheer for.

I quickly learned that football was widely loved by most people, while baseball was loved only by a very select few. As a matter of fact, I was hard pressed to find a single person in my 3 years at BYU that even remotely enjoyed baseball.

For the past 7 or 8 years, college football has filled my thirst for sports. But in the past few months, I've been finding myself more and more interested (re-interested) in baseball. After all it was the sport that I devoted so much of my life to.

So I've been thinking: why is it that a majority of people don't care for baseball but adore football? Sure, if you live in the Bay Area, or in Boston or New York (for example), most people will live and breathe baseball. But, having lived in two states now that have no pro baseball teams, I can say with full confidence that most people love football, and not baseball.

The reason is this: every football game counts. Every football game is crucial to the team's standings and to their possibilities of getting to the playoffs or to the coveted bowl game. In baseball, each team plays approximately seven million games a year. The games aren't important for themselves. If you miss a game, no big deal; it will barely put a dent in their standings if they lose anyway.

Here's the solution: baseball needs to go the way of football. They should have about 20 games in a season. Period. One a week for 20 weeks. I don't care that the reason football has only one game a week is to let the players physically recover, and that baseball players don't need to recover (other than pitchers). Big deal.

Baseball should play one game a week, let's say Saturdays (great day for a ballgame). This way, each team would have one starting pitcher that would pitch every week. He would become the "quarterback" of the team. Commercial products would glamorize him and clothing would be created in his name. He would lead the team. You'd have your second and third stringers as well but they'd rarely play.

You could raise ticket prices a bit to make up for lost revenue, but consider this. Rarely does a baseball stadium sell out for a game (there are a select few that are always full, but as a whole, very few). Therefore, if you held only 20 games, one a week, people would flock to that one game as they do with football. Take the tickets sold for the previous 5 games of a normal season (as it is now) and cram them into the stadium on that one day. They wouldn't lose any money. Not to mention the rise in revenue from more effective product placement and glamorization of the sport.

Then come the playoffs. Single elimination, just like football. The World Series? You do one game. It would be as big as the Super Bowl.

There, I've solved baseball's issue. Do it my way and baseball would have 10 times the fans it does now. Sadly, this will never happen. And so, while I am becoming more interested in finding a way to follow baseball again in my MLB-less state of Nevada, I will stick to my college football and catch the occasional baseball scoreboard.

Brooklyn LeIsle Dougherty

2010-01-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn is HERE! She was born yesterday, Friday January 8th, 2010, at 8:13am. She weighed in at 10 pounds and 3 ounces! Whew! 22 inches long too!

Both baby and mom are doing great. I haven't posted on this blog for almost a year, but I know not everyone has Facebook (there's still time to repent), and so I thought I'd share some pictures here for all you non facebook-ians.

By the way, for those curious, LeIsle is Megan's middle name too. It's a family name. It's pronounced: Lee-Eye-Uhl (silent "s").

Blogging Obsolete?

2009-06-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm on Facebook all day every day it seems. It's like a miny blog. Anything I'm doing I post there instead of here. Anyone that normally reads my blogs are on Facebook anyway. I can post pics, videos, etc. I'm starting to not find a use for my blog...

If you're missing my blog updates (which I doubt), get 0n Facebook, add me as a friend, and check your FB every now and then. It'll all be there.

If you're not a FB person, REPENT!

2009-06-09T10:09:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm texting from the top of Half Dome! I MADE IT!!! It was SERIOUSLY hard and very scary at times, but I'm here! YEA! <-Jay>

2009-05-25T08:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Memorial Day. And a huge thank you to all those who serve or who have served in our armed forces!

Facebook and the Allusion of Grandeur

2009-05-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm a Facebookian now. A lot of people I know have been using Facebook for years. I've had an account but never even looked at it to see what it was. I was bored the other day so I checked it out.

The main feature on Facebook is "The Wall." This is bascially a place for you to post short messages about what you're up to at the time (such as: "I started reading Angels & Deamons today" or "I just found a really great Mexican restaurant in Vegas" or "I can't wait for the season finale of American Idol"). When you post something, it automatically shows up on your friends' walls as well. So when they log into Facebook, they can quickly, at-a-glance, see what's going on in your life.

So basically the whole system opperates on the assumption that people actually care about what you're doing at any given hour of the day. Saddly enough, it seems to be true.

I actually find it quite interesting to check my Facebook and see what my "friends" are up to. Some are talking about how excited they are for the Survivor Finale; I wouldn't have known they were fans of the show otherwise. Others are preparing to run a half-marathon and are posting about how they're preparing. My best friend, Rich, recently posted pictures of his kids and the crafts they made at school. These wall postings are all very interesting.

What's annoying (but rare it seems) is when someone takes up wall space with a comment like "I'm bored" or "I'm tired."

You can, of course, post comments on your friends' wall postings as well.

BUT HERE'S THE BEST PART! I've discovered the JEWEL to Facebook (it was no secret, but I'm new and just found it). You can set up your cell phone to be able to text a posting directly to your wall. What this means is that now I can be anywhere in the world and send a text to Facebook about what I'm doing (assuming, of course, that anyone actually cares... regardless of that answer, it's still fun).

I have a friend (another choir teacher) that is currently on his choir trip and he's been posting all weekend about the progress of his trip via text message from his cell phone. He's posting how his kids did at the competition, etc. I'd know nothing about his experience otherwise.

Another great thing I recently discovered, is that when I text in a post to my wall, and someone comments on my post, that comment is sent to me as a text, to which I can text a response to the comment. And all of this is logged on my Facebook Wall for all my other "friends" to see.

So I'm hooked. I'm totally into the facebook thing. Unfortunately, a LOT of you (that read my blog) are not. It's unfortuante because I'd be interested to read each day what you're thinking about, what you're up to, what is annoying you, what you're excited about, what fun thing happened today. And just look how easy it'd be??? You don't even have to ever GO to the Facebook homepage. After it's set up, you could send that info to all your "friends" via text to your Facebook wall.

So what are you waiting for? Go check out my Facebook page, add me as a friend if you don't have me already, and GET STARTED.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Jason Dougherty's Profile

2009-05-16T20:27:00.001-07:00

I just set up my phone so that i can post directly to my blog via text message. This is so awesome. Also i just started using Facebook a lot, go check me out!

Real Superhero: Shadowhare

2009-05-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

This is the best story I've ever heard. Apparently there is a guy in Cincinatti that has literally put on a cape and mask and has begun roaming the streets as a superhero. The guy doesn't actually have any powers so I guess he's not "super" but he claims to protect the citizens and help the homeless.

I watched a few videos about the guy and it looks like most of his time is spent whole-heartedly and genuienly helping the homeless. I commend him for that. His costume is silly and he walks around in broad daylight but after watching a few videos and reading a few articles, I actually find myself feeling a bit of hope--which is his self-proclaimed goal.

You need to do yourself a favor and read this article: http://www.wlwt.com/news/19305002/detail.html

In addition to the video posted here on this blog, I recommend the "web only" video about a day in the life of Shadowhare (or just click here: http://www.wlwt.com/video/19322147/index.html)

YouTube SUCKS!

2009-04-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

I hate Youtube now. I make great videos. I like to upload them to show my friends and family how we're doing. One of the things that makes my videos great is my choice of music as a background for what's showing.

Well all of a sudden YouTube has decided to ban videos that have "unauthorized" music in the soundtrack. Are you KIDDING ME??? What is with these people? It's just a stupid video. I'm not making any money on it. I'm not promoting or demoting any musician or "pirating" their material.

These copyright laws and piracy laws have gone WAY too far. YouTube even sent me an email saying that my video had been removed due to content that was "owned or licensed by WMG."

GIVE ME A FREAKIN' BREAK! I used to love YouTube. Well I'm here to tell you that they HAVE SOLD OUT! Google owns them now and I'm seriously disappointed. They used to have a motto at Google: Don't Be Evil. Well you screwed up this time. Now you've got one seriously unhappy customer and I'm blogging about it in hopes that I can convince at least a few other souls out there that Google is making a turn to the dark side.
And for the record, the video was a documentary of a camping trip my Dad and I took to the Anniversary Narrows. It was an amazing trip. But now, thanks to Google/YouTube, you'll never get to see it.

Digg this post! Forward it. GET THE WORD OUT! GOOGLE/YOUTUBE DESERVES TO SSSUUUUFFFFFFFEEEERRRRRR!!!!

*p.s. okay, I'm being overly dramatic... but I'm just messing around.... except for the part about everything above...

Pwned!

2009-03-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to "nigahiga" on Youtube. I love thier videos. Seriously funny stuff such as "How to be a Ninja" etc. But they posted a new video this week that got me laughing outloud. If you've seen the phrase "pwned!" online then you'll think it's funny. If you've never heard of it, then you'll be totally confused. Still, pretty funny:

Revenge of the Fallen

2009-02-21T19:44:00.001-08:00

I'm surprised I hadn't heard anything about this until I stubled accross it on Fandango..... Wow. Bring it on. Can't wait. Take a look for yourself:

Best. Rumor. EVER.

2009-02-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, aintitcool.com is the leading source for accurate and validated "rumors" on the internet. They mostly divulge rumors about movies and often conduct their own interviews with actors, directors, and producers, and then posts the results. It's a fairly legit site that doesn't post any old stupid fanboy rumor (*cough* imdb *cough*). Aintitcool.com takes "rumors"only from the primary source. ;)

And today I read the BEST rumor I could have read. See here:

"Bryan Singer has refused to undertake a re-boot of the Superman franchise and has left the Executives at WB with no choice but to take a fresh creative direction.

He stated the Wachowski Brothers had been approached to re-boot the franchise as a trilogy and they are currently reviewing their options as its like being asked to take the final play in a superbowl final. Says if they do agree, he will likely either succumb to providing second unit support on the movie or will champion the directorship of Plastic Man - He started to giggle as he stated its like a young child for the Brothers and they wont give that up easily.

Says, the very thought of the brothers making a superman movie is unbelievable as they have grown up in the world of comic books and they would be ideal for the project.

Stated that Bryan Singer is looking to move on to Logan's Run a movie to be produced by Joel Silver."

In my opinion, havign the Wachowski brothers (Matrix, Speed Racer) do Superman is only a winning combination. It would be AMAZING. I think I would have a seziure of glee.

To read the whole article, click here.

P.s. For the record, the top photo is just a joke. Of course it wouldn't be the matrix cast in the new movie. :P

Letter from the Govenor

2009-02-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

Some of you know that I, along with all Nevada state employees, are receiving a 6% pay cut due to a poor economy. I just got a letter from the Governor (below). Apparently he is going to give us some resources to help us cope with the pay cut. See his letter below:

Important Notice to All State Employees and Teachers!

All State employees will now be required to look happy while working, even after your pay and benefits have been reduced . State-approved supplies will be provided to each State employee at little or no cost to meet this new requirement.  

Each employee will be supplied 2 paper clips and rubber bands. (See Fig 1.)

Fig 1.

Assemble items as shown in Fig 2.

Fig 2.

Apply as shown in Fig 3.

Fig 3.

Enjoy your day. This new office equipment will help you to reach the end of a low pay productive work day with a smile on your face!

Cheers!

-The Governor

Madelyn as a Teenager

2009-01-30T20:40:00.001-08:00

This month we took a couple of pictures that came out SO cute of Maddy. And I couldn't help to think that they kind give us a glimpse of what she will look like as an older kid, teenager, or young adult; especially this first one:

Dark Side of the Moon

2009-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

I set up my tri-pod and set my camera to night shot just to see what I could do. This first photo is a bit blurry-ish, but still pretty cool. You can see the dark side of the moon. Not too bad for a little razor-thin pocket camera.

And this one may just look like a bunch of nothing, but click on the photo and see the larger size. This is actually a picture or the constellation Orion. Again, not too shabby for a little razor-thin pocket camera.

My Living Room

2009-01-23T21:24:00.000-08:00

I'm having a lot of fun using my AutoStitch program. I took 13 photos of my living room, and stitched them together (click to see bigger):

Here's the cool thing (if you think about it), you'd NEVER be able to get a picture of the full view of my living room without this stitch program. It's amazing how easy it is to use (not to mention fun).

Panoramic Bliss

2009-01-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

I just discovered an AMAZING program called AutoStitch. It is a free download that puts your panoramic photos together to make them look like one. You know, you start taking pictures from the left, and keep snapping photos as you turn toward the right. Then you put them in AutoStitch and it's like MAGIC. The program does everything for you. (for an awesome visual of how the program works its magic, click here) It's really quite amazing. See for yourself (click any photo to see a larger more detailed version):

This photo is made up of 4 images stitched together:

This one is made up of 5 images stitched together:

And this one is made up of 13 (yes, thirteen) images stitched together. It's actually a 360 degree view:
And finally, a vertical stitch. Two images:
*To view these photos even larger, click here

I will be taking a lot more panoramic photos now that I know this is possible!

David Cook

2009-01-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

If any of you are NOT fans of American Idol, you might roll your eyes when you read this name. But just hear me out a second.

Regardless of where someone is discovered, talent is talent. I've watched 2 seasons of American Idol now and I have CDs from at least 5 or 6 past winners and runners up.

David Cook takes things to a new level. He was last season's winner. Now, I actually kind of liked David Archuleta more than David Cook, but there is no comparison in the albums.

David Cook came out with a FANTASTIC album. Every song on the CD is amazing and I could listen to it again and again.

Sometimes "idols" are smirked at simply because they were discovered on "Idol." But forget that for a second, click on one of David Cook's tracks that I just put onto my playlist on the side bar and listen for yourself.

I think David Cook can go far. He cut a stellar album. It's on my top 5 list of favorites at this point. Give it a listen. ---> click on Bar-ba-sol or Light On by David Cook in my playlist here on this page. Enjoy.

3.7 Miles

2009-01-17T14:47:00.002-08:00

As most of you know by now, I'm getting very excited for my Yosemite trip. I'll post soon about a major change we're making for the trip.

But today, Saturday, I decided to do a bit of hiking to start/continue the "get in shape" process. For Christmas I got my hiking boots and today I strapped them on to break them in.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day here in Vegas. I walked 3.7 miles. It was no problem. It's still yet to be seen if I'll be sore tomorrow, but right now I don't feel like I will. I feel good. It was super fun. I want to do some sort of hiking each Saturday and then, when it gets close to the trip, I might start walking to work and back. It's 2 miles there, 2 back, total of 20 miles a week.

My Calves Hurt

2009-01-14T22:13:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to climb stairs lately to start my slow trek to getting at least somewhat in shape for my Yosemite trek in June. Yesterday I climed 8 stories of stairs at Sunset Station. It took me all of about a minute. My heart was pounding by the end. I went home.

Today I can't move. Ouch.

So after only 60 seconds (give or take) of climbing stairs, I'm beat and sore. I can't imagine at this point hiking Half Dome. I've got some serious work to do.

For more information on my Yosemite Trip, check out the website I've created for it: http://sites.google.com/site/yosemitetrip2009/

Funniest. Video. Ever.

2009-01-05T15:36:00.001-08:00

A student sent this to me and I about roll over laughing every time I watch it. Enjoy:

SO Unfair!

2009-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Okay so those of you who know me well, know that I'm a big BYU football fan, true blue through and through. Blue = good, Red = Evil.

However, Utah this year (like in their 04 season) got a bid to a BCS bowl. For those of you unfamiliar, that means: They be VERY good. They went to the Sugar Bowl as the ONLY undefeated team in college football. They played Alabama who, before this game, spent a large part of the season in first place. They were strong and looking to go to the national championship. They lost thier last game and dropped from first to 4th.

Now Utah was the only undefeated team but still in 6th place (it's a long story why, but it has a lot to do with strenth of schedule). AAAaaaaanyway....

Utah CRUSHED Alabama last night in the Sugar Bowl. It was AWESOME! Why am I rooting for the devil (Utah)? Because they are a Mountain West team, and it's GREAT for our conference if a team can break into the BCS.

Why unfair then? Because now Utah is the ONLY undefeated team in college football. But they're done. They don't get a shot at the national title. Who's to say they'd lose to who ever wins the naitonal championship next week? It's absurd. The BCS system sucks. WE NEED A PLAYOFF!

Our Day at Sea World

2009-01-02T17:21:00.001-08:00

Today we went to Sea World. The kids LOVED it. It was SO fun to spend the day watching Maddy and Kaelyn enjoy all the cute animals. Maddy especially loved the penguins.

Here are a couple of pics of the kids at Sea World, enjoying life. And don't miss the priceless video below of Maddy and Kaelyn enjoying the sea otter show!

TB Sauce Makes Mouth Happy

2009-01-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

Every time I go to Taco Bell, I knowingly ask for 3 times the ammount of hot sauce that I think I'll need. Then I save the extras. I've got a huge bag at home. Then, every time we make homemade tacos or homemade burritos, or taco salad, etc, I've got the TB sauce. And suddenly, homemade tastes like restaurant (Taco Bell) bought. YUM!

Reading is Bliss

2009-01-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

The first four years that Del Sol (the high school I work at) was opened, we had what we called D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read). It's what we used to know as SSR (Sustained Silent Reading). Basically for 20 minutes a day, everyone on campus would, well, drop everything and read.

I loved it. I read an average of 4 novels a school-year only during the 20-minute DEAR periods (let alone any time I spent reading at home).

But this year the school canceled the program (followed by much cheering on the students' part). Since then, I haven't read much. Come to find out that most of my reading over the past 4 years was done during DEAR.

Thankfully, Christmas has reinvigorated my reading itch. I got a couple of good books for Christmas and now I can't do anything but read. Quickly I finished the book I had been slowly working on for about 6 months (Empire, By Orson Scott Card), and straight away picked up my newest book (The Good Guy, by Dean Koontz). Granted, I'm not working right now (winter break) so I have a bit of extra time on my hands, but I've really enjoyed my reading time. I'm half way through this new book and I started it 2 days ago (that's fast for me).

One last thought: Every now and then someone will ask what your happiest memory was, your best vacation, or maybe a time when you were most relaxed. More often than not my answer to these questions (other than my wedding day, birth of children, etc, etc) is when I had a free day in Fiji. I lay down in a hammock on the shores of a beautiful Fiji beach and read a book. When I got tired, I slept, when I awoke, I returned to reading in the most beautiful of settings (the photo above is NOT of my vacation, it's just a random photo I found online, but it reminds me of that wonderful day). Many of my best vacation memories include reading.

Our New Camera

2008-12-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

As our Christmas present to ourselves, Megan and I got a new camera. It is a Casio Exilim, 10.1 megapixel. We love it. The other day we went to Balboa Park in San Diego and I took this photo of one of the historic buildings there:I really like the video quality and capability of this camera as well. I do wish that cameras this size could handle much higher quality video, but whatever, it does okay for what we need. :)

This video (below) was taken with my new camera a couple of days before Christmas. CUTE!

Ch-Visit

2008-12-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

I had an awesome visit with my best friend, Rich on Christmas Eve. I hadn't seen him in over a year so it was a welcomed reunion. When we get together it's like we were never apart.

And of course Rich wouldn't be Rich without a SUPER AWESOME TRUCK!Thanks for the visit, CH!

Kaelyn is SO cute

2008-12-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

I rest my case

We're a Two Car Family Again!

2008-12-31T12:56:00.000-08:00

It was finally time for us to get a van. Our family is just getting too big for our little car. Not to mention that we've been a one-car family for a year now.

We felt very good about our purchase. Megan and I are pretty good about taking control of a sales situation and telling them what deal they're going to give us rather than waiting for them to give us an offer. My Dad says that the next time he buys a car, he's going to have us do it for him.

We ended up getting this 2006 Kia Sedona for $3500 less than both Blue Book and Consumer Reports say it should go for.

The next day I asked Megan, "Aren't you supposed to have buyers remorse after making a big purchase? Because I don't."

And I don't. I love our van. :) YEA!

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-29T21:38:00.000-08:00

I've heard so many studies that claim that 80 to 92 percent of new year's resolutions fail (just google it, you'll find those numbers accurate and consistent). And 35 percent of new year's resolutions fail by the end of January.

So why do we make them? Why do we continue to promote the creating of goals for the new year? It's not even the start of a new season, but just some random day that we denote as starting a new cycle of the Earth around the Sun.

Knowing that statistic, I've often said: "I won't make my new year's resolutions until February. Then I don't fall into that statistic and I'll have more chance of success." But of course, by February I don't make any resolutions.

So this year I was thinking a lot about it and I think I've come up with a good answer. There is something about a new year that make us feel new. Something about finishing December and doing away with date that you've signed checks with for a year feels fresh. When we enter January 2009 it feels like "the future," it feels like we've entered a new era, a new chapter in our book of life. So we feel empowered to make a change. We feel like, hey, if there was ever a time to start doing something different, it's now.

This year, I think I'm going to try it. Not huge goals, but goals none the less. I'm going to enter the statistic race and treat January 1st like the start of all things new. This not only includes my own health, weight, etc (the most common new year's goal) but things in work, how I run my classes, what I expect from my students, what we are going to set out to achieve and how we're going to achieve it.

Who knows how successful I'll be, but it can't hurt to try.

Wish me luck.

Snow in Vegas!

2008-12-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

THIS IS INSANE! Not only did it snow today in Vegas, but it snowed A LOT! We're talking like 3 or 4 inches! This is the craziest thing ever. They say that it hasn't snowed like this since 1979, almost 30 years! Here are some pictures.

Best. Video. Ever.

2008-12-06T08:10:00.001-08:00

This is priceless. You MUST watch this video. Enjoy:

Black Friday

2008-11-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

So I started off today by asking my friends and family: "They say Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. But have you ever known ANYONE that goes shopping on Black Friday???" Every single person I asked (a mere 5 people) said "no." This was baffling to me. I mean, if it's SUCH a huge shopping day, and the crowds are unbearable, then statistically speaking, shouldn't you have met someone along the way that shops on Black Friday?

So anyway, my parents are out for the week and my Dad and I were going to work around the house a bit to fix some things up. One of our big projects was to buy and install a new garage door opener. So we went to Lowes. I had been there the week before to check out prices, but today the same garage door opener we wanted was $60 cheaper! Wow, I thought. This is GREAT! On the way out, there was a wet/dry shop vac on display, regularly $90, on sale only now through Monday for $29. Holy COW! What a deal. I really need a new shop vac. I can't pass this up!

So out I walk to my car, pleased with my savings of $120.

And then I realized. I just shopped on Black Friday. And I even took advantage of the Black Friday deals. So it does happen. People do shop on Black Friday. In this case, however, I'm glad I did. I saved a TON of money.

Great Videos

2008-11-26T21:34:00.001-08:00

So I was bored the other day and found a couple of great videos on YouTube that I thought you might like.

This one had me laughing so hard I almost peed my pants:

Ernie and Bert Go Brutal

This is a funny SpongeBob parody about life in China. Pretty good stuff:

This isn't a funny one, but I stumbled across it when Maddy was asking for "Dah-fin" videos. This is REALLY amazing stuff. These Dolphins create bubble rings and then play with them. You've got to see it:

Okay, if you're still bored, you can't go wrong with a good Veggie Tales video. I LOVE the silly songs! This one is FUNNY. Enjoy

Free Dr. Pepper for America!

2008-11-21T18:56:00.001-08:00

Best. News. Ever. Guns N Roses is releasing an album that took 14 years to record. To celebrate, Dr. Pepper is giving the ENTIRE COUNTRY FREE DR. PEPPER! You just have to go to thier website this Sunday to get the coupon.

Read the press release for yourself: Click Here

Dr. Pepper: I salute you.

Gmail Themes

2008-11-20T19:06:00.001-08:00

I just discovered this, and probably by this time tomorrow (or yesterday) this will be common knowledge so I thought I'd blog about it now. Gmail has new themes. Pretty cool. Here's what my inbox looks like now!

Our STUPID Electoral System

2008-11-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

I love our country, but I have only recently become interested in politics. Tonight, after watching an unexperienced socialist get elected into office, I realized something: our voting system sucks.

Apparantly we have so many electoral votes per state equal to the congressional representation of the state. "The electors generally cast their votes for the winner of the popular vote in their respective states, but are not required by law to do so." (wikipedia)

WHAT!?!? Are you kidding me? So basically, I go cast my vote, but it doesn't really matter because they electors just vote for whomever they want?

And another thing (and this is what really chaps my hyde): when a candidate wins 51% or more of a state's vote, they receive ALL the electoral votes for that state! This means that 49% of the votes didn't count! Think of it this way: Two neighboring states have 1 million people each and (say) 9 electoral votes. State one has 500,001 people vote blue and 499,999 people vote red. So all 9 electoral votes go to the blue candidate. State two has 700,000 vote blue and 300,000 vote red. So all 9 electoral votes go to the blue candidate for a grand total of 18 electoral votes (between the two states). But let's say the 499,999 voters from state one move to state two and vote the SAME way. Now every citizen of state one (500,001) vote blue, they get 9 electoral votes. But state two now has 700,000 that vote blue and 799,999 that vote red. Suddenly the red candidate has 9 more electoral votes but the same people voted the same way! So it doesn't really matter what your vote is, it matters where you live!!! This is perposterous! If this were a perfect system, then every vote would count for one vote. Forget states and districts. If I vote one way then my vote should count for that candidate. PERIOD.

I've always been so proud of my country. But I can't say I am tonight. In today's age of modern technology we need a better system of voting. If it's a true democracy then make every vote count.

Ready or Not

2008-10-18T08:49:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I traveled to Bakersfield with my quartet, Ready or Not, to compete at the district level barbershop competition. Bascially what this means is that 100 quartets competed at the division level, and only about 20 were invited to compete at district. We sang on the first night, and only 10 were invited (qualified) to sing the second night. In the end, we took 6th place (out of roughly 100) so we were very excited about that. If you'd like to see us in action, watch these videos of the contest. The first one is the 2nd night of the contest--I think we sounded a lot better the second night so I'm posting it first, just in case you only want to watch one of them.

For more info on our quartet, we have a website: www.ReadyOrNotQuartet.com

September Pics Are Up

2008-10-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

At the end of each month I post whatever pictures I took that month onto my flickr account. This way I can keep track of what I've uploaded and what I haven't. Mostly, as you know, all the pictures are of my kids. SO CUTE! I think I uploaded about 60 pictures so if you'd like to browse through them, see my photostream by clicking here.

Otherwise, enjoy some of my favorites here below:

Drive Through Yosemite.... From Home!

2008-10-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that Google Maps has the awesome "street view" option. This morning I had the idea of seeing if street views were available in Yosemite. Yea, they were! I enjoyed driving around with my mouse. Makes me feel like I'm there. You should try it too.

Here are a couple of screen shots I was able to capture from my drive:

That's Half Dome on the right:

Mission Photos

2008-09-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

I estimate that I took around 500 or so photos on my mission. This, of course, was back in the archaic days before the advent of digital photography. Saddly, my HUGE stack of mission photos is just sitting in a bin somewhere in the garage. One of these days I need to dig them out and spend 74 thousand hours scanning them in so as to preserve them.

I actually attempted that about 6 or 7 years ago. I scanned in merely about 50 photos. Apparantly, to my dismay, I only scanned them in at SUPER low quality. Nonetheless I found those scanned photos hidden in an obscure place on my hard drive. So after reliving the memories for a few moments I uploaded them to Flickr.

If you'd like to browse through the few I have, click here to view my mission photos Flickr set.

Otherwise I've posted a few of them here on the blog. Enjoy:

Heroes is Back, Among Others

2008-09-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

The best show to grace TV airwaves is back on the air. Heroes delivered a fantastic 2 hour premier last Monday and this coming Monday cannot come fast enough.

As with previous seasons, this is the one show that I simply cannot DVR and watch later. I must watch it live, or at least only 15 minutes behind (enough to fast forward through commercials).

So far the season has started off wonderfully.

In addition to Heroes, there are a few other geek-favorites of mine that are starting up. I DVR'd the first episode of the new Knight Rider but haven't watched it yet. The second season of Terminator has started and, in my opinion, it is a fantastic show--love it!

And don't count out Smallville. Going on thier 8th season, this one has started off strong. I LOVE that Lana is out of the picture but I hate that Lex is gone too. The show isn't what it used to be without him. Still, the new producers have churned out a few great season-starting episodes. While the dynamic has changed over the years, I still easily count this as one of my top favorite 3 shows.

I started watching Fringe. I've seen the first two eps so far. It's supposed to be the new JJ Abrams show. So far I'm not terribly impressed. I think I'll give it one more episode to hook me in but somehow that doesn't seem likely. It's kind of like an X-files but seems to drag for me.

I'm interested in seeing "My Own Worst Enemy", starting next month. Looks interesting.

And of course there's Lost. Hasn't started yet, but I'm still waiting like a boy on Christmas morning for it to get underway.

I also enjoy Criminal Minds. The season premier recorded, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Cold Case is good, hasn't started yet.

I don't typically think of myself as a huge TV watcher but looking at this list, you'd wonder how I have time to do anything else. I didn't even mention American Idol or College Football.

But in the end there is only one hierarchy of shows--the top three. I could probably give up the rest if forced to at gunpoint, but these three would have me questioning mortality if given the same option:

Heroes
Lost
Smallville

Enjoy the season.

Bike Not Good Enough!

2008-09-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

So apparantly biking isn't good enough to get my legs in shape for hiking. I rode four miles a day for two and a half weeks, and all the while I could feel my thighs burn. At the end of each week my legs were fatigued. I thought I was getting fit for my Half Dome hike.

Well this weekend I had my choir retreat. At the tail end of the retreat I went up with a bunch of my students to play laser tag. Basically it's a big indoor area, dark, lots of ramps and different levels to play on, and the object is to shoot and not get shot. It's a LOT OF FUN. I did it once with my brother before when he came out to visit and I had forgotten just how fun it was.

The game lasted 15 minutes. That's fifteen minutes of running in a crouched position. It's hard to explain how much of a workout it really is until you do it yourself. We were all drenched with sweat by the end of it. Half way through our time my heart was beating SO hard I thought I would die.

This morning, my thighs were SO SORE! After only 15 minutes of hard upper-leg work I am sore, and remember, that's after riding a bike 4 miles a day for 2.5 weeks.

So there you have it. I need to do some SERIOUS work to get

in shape. If fifteen mintues kills my legs then a few hours hiking Half Dome could put me out for the rest of the week. And we CAN'T let that happen (Bob, Aaron, Jon and Dad) becuase we have a LOT more hiking to do that week.

So my plea to my Yosemite friends is: don't just assume that you'll be fine. You will NEED to get in GOOD shape for what we're setting out to do. The last thing you want is to be left behind at camp because you're too sore to go on the next hike.

...now to take my own advice.

Rockapella

2008-09-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight Megan and I went to a concert. We saw Rockapella. You may remember them from the show: "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" (click the link to hear the song). It was a GREAT concert. They put on quite a show.

They have a bass, George Baldi III, that was fantastic. His voice was so smooth and easy to listen to. He was, to me, the highlight of the evening. Next in line was Jeff Thacher, the vocal percussionist. He was downirght awesome. Just as good as Blake Lewis, IMO.

The best song of the night was thier rendition of a familiar Mills Bros. tune: Paper Doll. It was fun and held a beat that you could relate to.

It's great to go on a date with my wife, and escape the screams of a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old for a few hours.

Here are a few pictures I took tonight:

Trophy Wife

2008-09-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

I rest my case

I'm Famous!

2008-09-12T14:47:00.001-07:00

So there's this website called Schmap.com. From the looks of it, they are an internet mapping program like Google Maps that professes to go above and beyond (meaning they provide descriptions and reviews of places, etc.). Well a few weeks ago I got an email from them saying that my photo (found on Flickr) was a finalist in thier selection for a photo of the Mariposa grove in Yosemite. They wanted to know if they could have my permission to publish it on thier site if it was selected as the final photo in ther pool of selections. I said sure, why not? I'm all for the free world of trading photos--among other things (*cough* *music*). But anyway I responded in the afirmative and thought nothing more of it.

I just got the email today. They've decided to use my photo! So now when you go to Schmap and look up Yosemite, you'll see my photo at the Mariposa Grove description.

See for yourself. My photo (shown here below) can now be seen at Schmap. Click here, and cursor over "Mariposa Grove." My photo will show up on the right hand side of the screen (and you'll see my name credited under it too).

So if you want my autograph, I'd be happy to give you one ($100 each)

I Have the Coolest Friends

2008-09-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

Check me out. Can you see what I'm drinking? POCARI SWEAT! If you didn't know, this is the best drink on the planet. It's sort of Gatorade-ish but more refreshing (in my opinion). I fell in love with the stuff when I was in Japan but knew that, sadly, I may never get to drink it again. I wrote a blog about the drink and it paid off.

I have a good friend that just spent a year in Macau China (singing at the Venetian). He read my blog while there. He just came back from China this week and he brought me a gift. Best. Gift. Ever.

Thanks, Skyler. You da man!

Metallica is Back

2008-09-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Since I was in high school, if you ask me what my favorite bad is, I would say Metallica. Why? Don't they play crazy mind numbing heavy metal? Not really. Don't get me wrong, they have thier share of heavy metal, but most people don't know that in spite of the heavy/goth sounding name, Metallica is actually a very musically tallented group of people.

A few years ago, they came out with a new album: St. Anger. It sucked. I was such a big fan that I tried to convince myself that I liked thier new sound. In the end I had to face reality: Metallica had hit a new low (well not a new low because they didn't have one to begin with).

But in 2 days Metallica will release a new album: Death Magnetic. IT. IS. AWESOME. They totally redeemed themselves with this new album. It harkens back to the good old days of Justice for All and Master of Puppets. I've listened to the whole thing a number of times now. HOW? It's not even released yet! Well the album leaked online a few weeks ago. You can hear the music in any number of places including YouTube.

Metallica never ceases to amaze me with their tallent. Killer vocals and fantastic melodic guitar riffs accompanied by perfect chord structure and a constantly advancing musical form.

Enough from me. Hear it from the masters themselves. Here are my two favorites from thier new album.

This is one of my favorites. AWESOME! (Cyanide)

This Song is instrumental only but awesome: (Suicide and Redemption)

My Kids Rule

2008-09-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well I've uploaded my August photos to flickr. It's a small upload this month (only 86 photos)--guess I didn't take that many pics. But I did take some REALLY GREAT ONES. So, you can browse my flickr account, or just look below at some of my favs:

This is my brother-in-law, Jason, on the wake board. I thought I took a great pic, so I wanted to share :P

CUTE Kaelyn!

SUPER Cute Kaelyn!

Cute Madelyn!

4 Miles a Day

2008-09-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

So I've done it. I just finished my first week of riding my [borrowed] bike to work and back. My school is 2 miles away; round trip is 4 miles.

The great thing about riding the bike is that I can say "I rode 4 miles today" but I don't have to take time out of my day to "work out" -- It's simply a means of transportation.

And how did it go? My legs hurt a lot. I never really felt sore per se, but my knees seemed to weaken over the course of the week. I couldn't wait for Saturday (today) so that I could take a break.

I haven't lost any weight but that's okay--I'm not really doing this to lose weight; I'm doing it to get in shape for my 26-mile Yosemite hike in June (though losing weight would be a nice side effect).

Riding to school is tough because is a gradual uphill almost the whole way. It's not terribly steep; as a matter of fact I never realized it was uphill until I started riding my bike. The ride home is much easier for the same reason.

Hopefully I can keep this up. I want my Yosemite trip to be perfect and it won't be if I'm tired and exhausted the whole time.

Star Trails

2008-09-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

Using my Google Reader I subscribe to the Yosemite photo pool at Flickr. Basically this means that anytime someone posts a new photo to the photo pool, I get to view it using my Google Reader. Usually that means between 3-10 photos per day. I love it.

One of the things I've discovered while viewing these posted photos is Star Trails. What this refers to are photos that are prolonged exposure shots, some as short as 10 minutes and others as long as 2 hours! (meaning the camera shutter is open for that long!) and in the process you can see where the stars have moved in that amount of time. See for yourself:This photo has an exposure time of 91 minutes! I think it's pretty incredible!

Another fun thing to do (apparently) with long exposures is something called "Light Painting." This is simply the concept that if you take a long exposure shot, you can shine a colored light on something, or even write something with a laser pen, and the exposure would pick it all up. Here's one example:
Here you can see the star trails, but you can also see the red tint on the tree. This is due to the photographer shining a red-bulb flashlight up and down the tree trunk during the long exposure shot. This particular exposure was for 46 minutes (the lights in the background are all the cars driving by in that amount of time).

So there you have it: photography really is art. Now I just have to go out and by a $3000 camera to take pictures like these!

I'm Skinny!!!

2008-08-30T14:03:00.001-07:00

...at heart (photo to the right is not me... sadly).

Some of you know that I'm planning a trip to Yosemite next June. I plan on hiking 26.2 miles in one week. Ironically, this is the exact millage of a marathon! This is no joke. Here are the hikes on my list for my Yosemite week:

Half Dome: 14.2 miles round trip
Upper Yosemite Falls: 7.6 miles round trip
Taft Point: 2.2 miles round trip
Sentinel Dome: 2.2 miles round trip
______________
Total: 26.2 miles.

Crazy. But anyway, I digress. The point is, this is a LOT of millage to hike in a week. While a marathon is run all in one day, half of my hiking will be UPHILL!

My dad, who is going with me to Yosemite, purchased a gym membership and some new work-out clothes and shoes in order to get in shape for this event. I too knew that I needed to take some measures to get in shape--I've known too many people that have climbed Half Dome (let alone all the other hikes I'm going to be doing) out of shape and just about died.

Two days ago I went on a walk--a good start for my seriously allergic-to-exercise lifestyle. I walked maybe a mile and felt great.

Today I got on a bike (borrowed from a friend) and rode 7.2 miles. It was wonderful! Needless to say I was exhausted after only about 300 yards, but I kept going. Anyone that says riding a bike isn't exercise should try getting on one again. My legs are spent, but it was an awesome ride. The wind was in my face, it wasn't too hot (94 degrees, hey that's not hot in Vegas), and I had my head phones on playing James Blunt.

I rode to Round Table Pizza where I had a lunch buffet and read my book, relaxing for about an hour (okay stop laughing at me and telling me that eating a pizza buffet negated my bike ride!)

I can't remember the last time I felt that good and relaxed. It was an overall enjoyable enough experience to do it again. I'm going to start riding my bike to work as well. Hopefully it'll be enough to get me ready for my marathon hike in 9 months.

Wish me luck!

Note: The guy in the picture above isn't me. Unless, of course, you really thought it was, in which case it is... of course.

And Then God Created Man

2008-08-28T15:30:00.001-07:00

I got this as a forward. I thought it was hilarious:

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'

The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'

So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'

The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'

And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's fa mily. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'

The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give y ou twenty years.'

But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.

Pocari Sweat and Back to the Future

2008-08-16T09:45:00.001-07:00

When I went to Japan this past June, I fell in love with a drink they have there: Pocari Sweat (see proof above). The title isn't that appetizing but the drink itself was to die for. I loved it and drank a few a day--it could be found in any corner vending machine.

The flavor is something like a flavor of Gatorade. It has sugar in it but it's light and extreamly refreshing. It was so humid in Japan (at least in comparison to dry Las Vegas) and water just didn't seem to replenish my system, but Pocari Sweat did.

I was doing some research today to see if there was anywhere in Las Vegas that I could buy Pocari Sweat. In the meantime I stumbled accross a wikipedia entry that mentioned that: "A sixpack of Pocari Sweat can be seen in the family kitchen in the movie Back to the Future Part II (set in the year 2015), humorously implying the drink has become a mainstream product in the United States."

WHAT??? You've got to be kidding me! That's AWESOME! I LOVED that movie as a kid... and... as an adult. So I popped in the DVD, and sure enough, there it was. I took a screen shot for you to see (it's the little blue box on the right side of the frame). AWESOME! (click photo to see bigger)If you ever get to go to Japan, get some. It's great! Otherwise, Wikipedia also mentions: "The 'Arctic Shatter' variety of Powerade-brand sports drink very closely resembles it, in both color and flavor." So I guess I'm going to have to try it out to see for myself.

P.s. For those interested in my movie/ficiton review blog, I've recently posted my reviews of: Next, The Andromeda Strain, TMNT, Accross the Universe, Fool's Gold, and others. Click here.

Speed Stacking

2008-08-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

So apparantly there is a sport called Speed Stacking. The object is to see who can stack cups and unstack them the fastest. It is seriously incredible. Just watch these videos here, and if you want to see more, go to YouTube and watch TONS more videos on Speed Stacking. WOW!

I. Can't. Move.

2008-08-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog should be spoken through gritted teeth and no moving lips.

I can't remember the last time I was this sore. I'm not saying I've never been this sore before, but I certainly can't ever remember being this sore. If you read the previous blog you'll see that I went water skiing yesterday. I was only in the water for about 15 minutes but that was all it took.

I hurt. Bad.

My back, my legs, my shoulders, my arms. Let me illustrate. While getting dressed this morning I was barely able to lift my pants on. First you have to bend down to grab the pants. Ouch. Then you have to pull up using minimal arm strength. Ouch.

On another (and slightly related) note, Megan and I have decided that for my 30th birthday next year, I'm going to go climb Half Dome in Yosemite National Park--my favorite place on Earth (yes, I took that photo). This is no easy climb. It is difficult and strenuous. And to top it off, I'm also going to climb Sentinel Dome, Taft Point, and Upper Yosemite Falls. In total, over the course of almost a week, I will be hiking about 27 miles.

So I figure if I'm sore to the point of not being able to move after 15 minutes of water skiing, I have a lot of work to do in order to get in shape for Yosemite. Luckily I'm not going until June. I've got about 10 months to make it happen.

Wish me luck!

Day at Lake Elsinore

2008-08-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

This morning we got up at 5:30am and drove to Lake Elsinore in Southern California (we're down here staying with Megan's mom). We did some early-morning water skiing in the warmest lake water I've ever felt (I'm not exaggerating).

Being out early on the lake was wonderful because we were the only people there on glassy water. By the time we left (around 9am) people were just arriving--it was great. I only have 4 pictures up (the 4 listed here) on my Flickr site but when I get home I'll put the rest up. Until then, enjoy these (my favorites):

July 4, 2008

2008-08-07T10:12:00.001-07:00

Here is a video I compiled of our 4th of July this year. I love making videos like this because it's a great way to preserve our home video memories. In my opinion, a home video is much more fun to watch when it is edited, has music and graphic, etc. Much better than watching hour after hour of, well you've seen people's home videos, NOTHING.

Enjoy our 4th of July

Feeding the Ducks

2008-08-06T17:57:00.001-07:00

Last week Megan and I took the kids to feed the ducks. Maddy loved it. I took some video and then did my thing (with editing and adding music, etc). I hope you like it:

200 New Photos!

2008-08-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I've posted over 200 new photos (mostly of my kids of course) on my Flickr site. To browse through them all, click here. I've included some of my favorites here, but you simply MUST go see the whole collection--there are SO MANY good ones:

Also, I've updated my Fiction Fixation blog with quite a few new reviews including Hancock, The Day the Earth Stood Still, etc. Check it out. Click here.

I Crush Your Head

2008-07-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

I was browsing Flickr this morning and stumbled across a really funny photo pool. It's a place where anyone and everyone can upload pictures of you pinching someone's head. You know what I mean, if you squint one eye you can place the head of your friend (visually) who is sitting across the room between you forefinger and thumb and squeeze away. Well anyway, the photo pool is really funny to browse through. So if you want a laugh, go check it out. I've posted some of my favorites here:

See the WHOLE collection here

*P.s. For those of you interested, I've posted two new reviews on my Fiction Fixation Blog: Iron Man and Hairspray.

I'm a 5

2008-07-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Okay so here's a fun one. First let me start off by saying that I am not an actual believer in numerology or astrology, but that doesn't mean I find sin in reading my horoscope.

I found this website that can tell you about yourself (whew! Cause I wouldn't have known about myself unless this website told me) by adding up the numbers of your birthday (numerology).

It's fun!

My birthday = 3/30/1979
Add together: 3 + 3 + 0 + 1 + 9 + 7 + 9 = 32
Add together: 3 + 2 = 5

So I'm a 5, and that tells me:

FIVES seek freedom, fun, adventure. If they do not live the adventure, their lives become way too dramatic. They are the natural detectives and celebrators of life (holidays are usually their specialty). 5s have a hard time settling down and have a fear of being trapped or smothered in a relationship.

Hmm, I actually felt that a 4 or an 8 described me better. Guess this stuff doesn't work after all. :P

Try it out. What number are you??? http://www.numberslady.com/num.cfm

My New Slave: Money

2008-07-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Most people would agree that we are slaves to money. It seems that it tells us how much needs to be spent. Creditors are telling us what our monthly minimum payments are and there always seems to be more month than money.

I just finished reading a life-changing book: The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey.

In it, I learned that, while I am the best budgeter I have ever met, I have been doing it all wrong. Now I've got the keys to success. I will have all my car payments and student loans paid off within the next 8 moths. I will have saved $10,000 in CASH within 2 years, AND, I will completely pay off my home mortgage in 10 years! WOW! Oh yeah, and did I mention that on top of that I'm going to retire at age 50 with MILLIONS in cash. This is NO get rich quick scheme. As a matter of fact, it's a get rich SLOW scheme. But really it's a get-out-of-debt thing. It's worth your time to get the book and check it out.

I am no longer slave to my money. On the contrary, money will now be MY slave because I will tell IT where to go.

I'm serious, it's all possible. No debt. It's really quite an amazing thing. If you're interested in any of this, I suggest you go read the review I posted on this book, over at my FictionFixation blog.

My Japan Videos

2008-07-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

I just can't tell you how amazing Japan was. I literally think about it every day and even several times a day. I so badly want to go back. The country was beautiful, the people are wonderful, the food was great, and the culture is just fantastic.

I've taken some time to post videos from my trip onto YouTube so you can get an idea of what it was like to be there (in addition to all my photos).

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy Japan (10 videos):

Also, I've posted a new review on my new Reviews blog.

My New Fiction Review Blog

2008-07-12T13:37:00.001-07:00

Hey peeps,
I started a new blog today and I'm pretty proud of it. Every time I finish reading a book or see a movie, I'm going to do a review and post it up on my new blog: Fiction Fixation.

To start out, I've posted reviews of a great movie (Ratatouille) and a terrible book (The Darkest Evening of the Year).

Be sure to subscribe to the blog as I won't be sending out notices when it's updated as I do for this one.

Fiction Fixation Blog: http://fictionfixation.blogspot.com/

How to Subscribe to a Blog

2008-07-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

So it has come to my attention that not everyone knows how to subscribe to a blog. There are LOTS of ways to do this but I wanted to share with you the one I think is the easiest.

First, if you haven't made Google your homepage yet, there is still time to repent.

Make Google your homepage (be sure you have a google or gmail account)
Make sure you have iGoogle selected (top right of page) rather than classic view
Click on "add stuff" on the right side of the screen, toward the top. (this allows you to add lots of cool stuff to your new Google homepage)
There, you'll see a search field that says "search for gadgets." Enter "Google Reader"
Your first result will be the Google Reader. Click "Add it Now"
Return to your google homepage and you'll now see your Reader in place.
Click the title of your new gadget "Google Reader"
This is where you manage all your blog subscriptions
On the left side of the screen you'll see: add subscription. Click that and a little text window will appear.
In that field, enter what ever URL (or web address) you think might have a blog (or RSS) feed on it. For example, you might enter: http://jmdougherty.blogspot.com and then hit enter.
Repeat this step with URL's from all your friends and family that have blogs.
Now, whenever you open a browser window, you'll see that Google Reader on your homepage. When someone updates thier blog your Reader will automatically know it and you can read the blog from right there on your homepage window, you don't even have to go TO the blog to read it.

GOOD LUCK!

Notes:

The Google reader will also work with YouTube channels. Put in the URL of your favorite YouTube channel and when they add a new video, your reader will let you know and you can watch the video right there on your homepage without actually going to YouTube.
There are many other ways to subscribe to blogs as well. I just like this one.

I Have a Job!

2008-07-08T15:48:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, so I got home from my wonderful long vacation in California and Japan and the very next day I get a phone call from a local high school saying they're in need of an English teacher for second term Summer School. Some of you know that in addition to music, I have a degree and am certified in English. So today I went. It was great, but it's crazy that I'm working all of a sudden! it's only for 3 weeks and I'll make some pretty good money for the amount of work entailed, so I'm pretty excited about that. Wish me luck!

Old Drawings

2008-07-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

When I was young(er), my best friend Rich Myers and I would spend a lot of class time drawing pictures. Mostly in Jr. High School, we would draw pictures of the war of the future, fought primarily by robots of course. :P

The other day I was cleaning out a box in my garage and I came across about 50 old drawings. I have uploaded them to my flickr account so I never lose them. They're actually quite funny and entertaining to browse. In many of the pictures there are a LOT of things going on. If you'd like to see them, click here!

Also, I found an old comic book that I drew around the 7th grade. It was a gift for my brother's birthday that year. He and I were avid comic collectors and I thought it would be a fun gift to make him an original! I also scanned those pages in and thought I'd post them to see if you're interested (remember, I was like 12 when I drew it so cut me a break). Click here to see the comic book!

Sad to be Home

2008-07-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

I spent a week in BEAUTIFUL Northern Japan, and another week in a quiet pleasant countryside in Northern California. All in all I was out of Las Vegas for almost 2 and a half weeks and tonight I got home. I'm sorry to say that I'm not happy to be home. Entering Las Vegas was VERY depressing. It's not a city to be desired, especially in comparison to where I've been the last two weeks. I have a GREAT job here and, to put it bluntly, the housing market has got us locked into our home... but I can't seem to think of any other reason why I'm staying.

Ah well, back to the daily routine, even if it is in the large ugly city of Las Vegas.

American Idol's 2008 Tour

2008-07-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember that last year Megan and I went to the American Idol's Live tour. Well, being the die-hard Idol lovers that we are, we bought tickets for this year the moment they went on sale. Last night was the concert (we went to see the show in Fresno, only the 3rd stop on thier Summer-long tour). Here is the breakdown, in three catagories:

Worse that expected:

Ramiel Mulabay - If it is at all possible, this girl was WORSE on stage than she was on the show. I'm sorry to say she has little to no talent and it is beyond me how she made it to the top 10.
Syesha Mercado - Now don't get me wrong, this isn't the "you suck" catagory. On the contrary, Syesha was very good in the show last night. But she was not as good as she was on the show. Toward the end of the season this year, Syesha came out of her shell and really started to perform. Last night she still carried that Broadway-like charisma but her vocals weren't as impressive as they were at the tail end of the season.

No Worse/No better than the show:

Chikezie: I love this guy. He is so fun to watch, so energetic, a great vocalist and I'm very surprised that he was number 10 this season. He was far better than many others in positions ahead of him. While he was very good and I think he could cut a pretty successful album, I don't think he was any better last night than he ever was on the show.
Carly Smithson: She performed very well. I never really liked her on the show but she did well. Not outstanding, not terrible.
Brooke White: I ALMOST put her in the better than expected catagory. She was VERY good at the concert. She has talent for sure. She sang her infamous Let it Be song and sang an awesome rendition of "Yellow." Props to her for being awesome... I just can't say it was all that much better than what we saw on TV.
Jason Castro: He was like the Sanjaya of season 7. The guy sucks, but people kept voting for him. It blows my mind how anyone could like him. The only thing I can think of is that people liked him because he was cute, because it certainly wasn't due to any vocal talent. Still, he wasn't TERRIBLE, just "not-good". He was just as boring last night as he was on the show.

Better than expected:

Michael Johns: I LOVED him on the show this season and litterally screamed at the TV when he was voted off. Still, he was BETTER at the live concert than he ever was on the show. The guy knows how to rock the house. He was phenominal and I felt that he as grossly underused in last night's show.
Kristy Lee Cook: I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but she actually did VERY well last night. I absolutely HATED her on the show, but last night she came through and performed like a real star. Her voice and song choice were perfect for her.
David Archuleta: I know what you're thinking... how could this guy get better? Believe me, it was one of the most amazing things ever to listen to this guy sing. WOW! That's all I can say: WOW!
David Cook: A true rock star. He has the look, the voice and the charisma of a rocker. He brought the house down with his guitar and smashing vocals. I truely felt that I was at a concert when he was performing. He will go far.

I took about 40 pictures while I was there and I have uploaded them to flickr. We were in the front row of the balcony level, which is basically like saying we were far away, so I had to zoom up completely with the camera, and while I got some good shots, they're not so great in quality (due to how far I had to zoom in). If you would like to see the photos of the concert, click here!

My Return Trip to Japan

2008-07-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that in 1995 I went to Japan. My high school choir teacher took choirs to Japan every 3 years for 20 years. Now, he is getting close to retiring and formed an alumni group to make the final trip.

Takko-Machi Japan is a small farming community in northern Japan. It is the Garlic Capitol of Japan and the sister-city of the town I grew up (and went to high school) in, Gilroy California.

Just a few days ago, I returned from the alumni trip. It was amazing. The people there are amazing. They are the nicest, kindest people you'll ever meet. And the country side of Takko is BEAUTIFUL. I already want to go back and I am sure that someday I will be able to.

I've uploaded over 600 pictures of my trip to my flickr account. Feel free to browse my pics. I've also started uploading a few videos I took while I was there. All can be seen here below:

All Jay's Japan Pics

This link will take you to my youtube account. The first (top) six videos there are of Japan. I'll be uploading more next week.

The Death of the Website

2008-06-07T18:55:00.001-07:00

Websites are dead. Okay, not really, but I've found lately that they're becoming obselete. With the advent of blogging and the blessing of Flickr, I have lately found no reason to update my own website.

Why I regularly updated my website in the past:

Post new pictures of the family
Post new videos that we made
Give information on what our family is up to

Now, I still post these things online, but it makes more sense to do it in a blog. Besides, now that Megan has started a blog, she pretty much covers #3. And #2 will be covered by her and I both in our blogs. Number 1 is covered by our flickr account. It seems pointless to post pictures on my website when they're already on flickr.

So you can see: Websites are dying, blogs are thriving. :)

I'll still keep MegJay.com up and running of course, but it's in the blogs and in flickr that I'll be posting anything interesting.

Happy Birthday Maddy

2008-06-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well Maddy turned 2 yesterday, and she had the most wonderful day. I'll tell you more about it in "(part 2)" of this blog post tonight or tomorrow.

Right now I wanted to tell you one of the things we got Maddy for her birthday because you get to participate in it! It's an idea I got from my cousin Jane on her blog.

Maddy now has her own email account! Why? Because now YOU can write to her, tell her about your life, you're interests and your feelings and wishes for her, and someday she'll be old enough to go back and read your words. It's almost like a journal for her. Don't you think it'd be cool if you had an archive of letters written to you when you were 2 years old?

So, please, if you feel inclined, and especially if you KNOW Maddy, drop her an email. Mention things you think she'd like to read when she's older. And her address is very easy to remember: madelyndougherty@gmail.com

Happy birthday, Maddy!

Flickr = Security

2008-06-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, you may know by now that I've been uploading all my pictures to this website called flickr. But there's more you should know. These days photos are stored digitally. How many people do you know that actually develop thier photos anymore? It's rare. So where are your photos then? On your computer? And what if your house burns down? Or, more common yet, what if your hard drive fries or gets a virus? You've suddenly lost years of precious memories.

Flickr is the answer for us. For $25 a year you can buy peace of mind. That price gets you a pro membership, and UNLIMITED upload space for your photos. I don't care if you have a 20 megapixel camera and 3000 photos stored on your computer, you can upload ALL of them. Not only do they have a nifty website that allows you to organize, share, edit and display your photos, but they're online... on a different server... NOT at your house... NOT on your computer... and therefore, they're safe. If your computer crashes, your memories are preserved.

To me it was a no-brainer. I used to burn my photos onto a DVD every few months and store the DVD in my fire-proof saftey box in my closet. That hassle is no longer necessary.

Take a look at my Flickr page (my photostream as they call it) and then decide for yourself. It really makes sense to sign up.

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

2008-05-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

For me, Yosemite National Park is the most beautiful place on Earth. I wouldn't be surprised to find out during the after-life that it was once home to the Garden of Eden.

Megan and I took a trip to Yosemite last August (2007). I've just finished uploading and organizing our photos from that trip. Take a look at the beauty, browse my Yosemite collection at Flickr.

Internet Bliss and Jumper

2008-05-23T14:00:00.001-07:00

We've done it. We now have internet. For the past two years, Megan and I have been able to get wireless internet from our neighbor (with his permission of course), but a few months ago he discontinued his service. We've been without internet ever since and it's amazing how hard life can be without it. I wonder how the pioneers survived without it. I mean, how did they cross the plains without mapquest or Google Earth? I'll never know.

So now I get to start blogging again. I seem to think of blogs to post once a week or so but I haven't had internet to do it, so here goes.

Jumper... the novel.

I saw the previews for this movie early in January. It looked awesome but I never got the chance to see the movie. Actually, I STILL haven't seen the movie.

My Dad picked up the novel, Jumper, by Steven Gould, from an airport bookstore and read it. he enjoyed it and then gave it to me to read. I decided that I might as well read it before seeing the movie, even though my Dad warned that the book was NOTHING like the movie.

The result: dare I say it?... one of the best books I've ever read. It was amazing. It was fast paced, easy to read, great characters that you actually cared about, setting, story, plot arch (heaven forbid!), this book had it all. Now don't get me wrong, by no means was it a literary masterpiece, but it was extremely enjoyable to read. I read it inside a week (for me that's REALLY fast).

Though I haven't seen the movie, I can tell just from the previews alone that the book really is different. When asked what was similar about the two, my dad hesitated and then said, "the main character teleports." So, my recommendation is, even if you've seen the movie, go pick up the book. It was written in 1992, so it's NOT a book based on a movie, contrary to what you might have thought.

As soon as I finished Jumper, I went to the book store to see about other novels by this author. To my utter joy, I found Reflex, the SEQUEL to Jumper, written in 2004. I'm now already half way through that book. Steven Gould has also written Jumper: Griffin's Story, which is the novelized version of the movie--a completely different story from his original Jumper.

So there you have it. If you're looking for a great new book to read. Go pick up the original Jumper.

And, as if anyone is ever interested, I always list what books I'm currently reading, and maintain a list of books I have read, at my library on my JayBooks.com website.

Demolition. Vegas Style.

2007-11-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

No one blows up a casino like Las Vegas. Yesterday the historic Frontier Hotel Casino went up in an explosion to make room for the bigger and better.

...but you've never seen a demolition like this. Watch the fireworks display on the outer walls during the countdown. WOO HOO! LOVE IT!

New Frontier Demolition! - video powered by Metacafe

Best. Guitar Solo. Ever.

2007-11-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Page has long been my favorite guitar player. In my eyes, he is far more tallented than any other guitar player I have ever heard. He has a way of making it sound like 3 or 4 people are playing at once, when in fact it's all him on one guitar. The guy is a genius.

In the following video, you'll see what I deem to be about the best guitar solo ever written. It is beyond phenominal and I can't fathom how he plays like that. The video quality is VERY low but I'm sure you'll be glad you watched it.

Also, be sure to watch the whole thing as he doesn't really get into the awesomeness of it until about 3:40 (three minutes 40 seconds into the video). ENJOY!

Mt. Charleston - The Bad and the Not So Ugly

2007-10-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

Today is Nevada Day. As far as I know that just means I get the day off work. Perhaps it's the day Nevada declared it's independance from the government, I'm not sure.

Anyway, my wife and I went up to Mt. Charleston today. We've lived here three years and had never made the drive. Everyone always said how wonderful and beautiful it was and google maps reported that it was only an hour drive. So we went.

We expected to find a nice mountain community with quaint shops and nice parks. Instead, we found about ten log cabins and one nice outdoor restaurant. I wouldn't dare call it a city... or even a township. The road up to Mt. Charleston literally came to a dead end about five minutes after the desert of Las Vegas turned into pine trees.

We had packed a lunch, thinking to have a nice family picnic, and so we went in search of a park, a campground, or anywhere with a table. We came up empty. There was nowhere to park for free. Every day-use recreational area was a minimum $7.00 fee to park. I was appalled. Mt. Charleston was supposed to be the amazing mountain getaway for Las Vegas residents but all we found was a dead end surrounded by somewhat pretty trees.

We spoke to a ranger and asked if there was anywhere on the mountain we could park for 30 minutes, have lunch, and leave. He said "no." And then he went on to suggest we drive down to the visitors where there was free parking... for 30 minutes. We went there but found no tables, no grass. We finally laid out our blanket on some rocks, weeds and twigs under a tree.

After spending a long 10 full minutes on Mt. Charleston we decided to drive back home.

In the end, it was nice to get out of the house and it was nice to see some trees for a change. Mt. Charleston also has a ski-resort which we stopped by on the way home. There were also a number of camp grounds that looked pretty fun to stay at. But truth be told, I don't see myself returning in the near future. It's small, and there's basically nothing to see; though they do seem quick and ready to take your money once you're there.

If you're in vegas and you want a nice free relaxing day, I suggest the library.

The Best Barbershop

2007-09-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

Many people are not familiar with barbershop music. You've heard of it, but you might have a pre-conceived notion about a couple of geezers sitting around singing slow, uneventful songs.

Guess again. The Westminster Chorus is this year's international champions. These guys meet only twice a month and have been a chorus for only about 4 years.

This video is PHENOMENAL. Do yourself a favor, see for yourself what barbershop music is all about!

American Idols Live Tour

2007-07-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

The other night Megan and I went to see a live concert put on by the top ten American Idols of this past season. It was a great concert. If you did not follow this past season of American Idol then this blog will probably mean nothing to you. Here is the skinny on what went down:

Summary:

Each Idol got to sing at least one solo in the same fashion you’d see on the show. But there were also a large number of duets, trios, and even quartets. As a whole, each performer sang as good as, if not better, than they did on the show. I’m not sure if that was merely because it was live of if they have really improved that much since the season finale.

Here are my awards to them.

Best Quartet/Quintet:

Rising out of the floor on a platform, Lakisha, Melinda, Gina and Haley sang a four-part 16 measure bit of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.” As a choir teacher and vocal coach, I can tell you that it was awesome. When they were done with that, Phil Stacey, dressed to the nines in his Navy getup, sang the most amazing rendition of America the Beautiful. Clear voice and heartfelt, it was one of many treats of the night.

Best Duet(s):

This award was a tie. Jordin Sparks sang a duet with Melinda Jones that was just amazing and then directly afterward she sang a duet with Chris Richardson that blew us away.

Most Entertaining:

Blake Lewis. This guy just knows how to take the stage. At one point he came out on stage and started beat-boxing. And it wasn’t just any old beat-boxing. It was phenomenal! After about a five minute introduction he set into a steady beat-boxing rhythm. Then with a foot pedal below him, he looped about 4 measures of his own beat so he could stop beat-boxing but you could still hear him on the loop. He then added another beat over his original beat and looped it. He then added a bass line of himself singing “doom doom doom” like a bass guitar. With all three looped it sounded awesome as it was. He was like a human mix-machine. Then he started singing the verses to U2s With or Without You. When he got to the chorus, he looped himself singing “with or without you, with or with out you.” He then added a harmony part and looped it. He then added ANOTHER harmony part and looped it. So now you have ONLY Blake on stage but you have two beat-boxers, a bass line singer, and three part harmonies going. Our jaws were already to the floor… and then he went into the chorus climax over the top of it all: “I can’t liiiiiiiive, with or with out you baby!” It was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

Most surprising:

Chris Richardson. I never liked him on the show. He never impressed me as being a very good singer or being very versatile at his craft. But at the live tour he blew us away. He sang great and he is very musically talented. He also gets the most stage time award. He was on stage singing in like every other song for the night. But I think it was with reason. He sang wonderfully, he was entertaining and he knew how to grab the crowd almost as well as Blake did. Aside from that, he sang a few songs while playing the guitar, but even more impressive is when he came out with a drum set and sang while playing that! He truly is a talented singer.

Worst Singer Award:

This goes to Haley. No surprise. She was as terrible (if not worse) than she was on the show.

Most Boring:

Chris Sligh. He seemed sluggish and uninterested as he slopped around the stage all night long.

Most fun:

The Boy Band. All five male Idols (Blake, Chris R, Chris S, Sanjaya and Phil) came out in a band fashion. Phil on keyboard, Blake on guitar, Chris Sligh on Bass guitar, Sanjaya on tambourine and Chris Richardson on drums, they played a couple of songs including the Beatles’ Hey Jude. They were VERY good. If they had debuted in that format and cut CDs as a band that way, I’d buy them.

Best Vocals:

This is a tough one so I’m going to break it up into three categories:

Best Versatile Vocals:

Jordin Sparks. This 17 year old girl did not win the show for no reason. She sang at least one song from every genre in the history of mankind except for Gregorian chant. And she did it WELL. She was incredible in spite of the fact that she was becoming vocally tired by the end of the night (not that I blame her).

Best Male Vocal:

Phil Stacey. Phil was INCREDIBLE! I always liked him on the show but I never felt that he should have won. After seeing him live… I’m starting to question. Phil has a clear and present voice.

He was entertaining and sang beautifully. I can see Phil making it big in the recording business after his tour is done. Just like Chris Daughtry, Phil didn’t win, but he could be big. He sang a number of solos that were just captivating. I would probably buy his CDs when they come out.

Best female and overall vocal of the entire night goes to… drum roll please…

Lakisha Jones! Can you believe it? We couldn’t either. But she came out singing her version of Whitney Houston's “And I have always loved you.” Let me just say that I do not hesitate to say that she sang it BETTER than Whitney. She was unbelievable! Clear voice, nailing the top notes like it was easy, and strutting around like a star. She blew everyone away with a stellar performance. She received a standing ovation that lasted easily longer than any other applause from any other song of the night.

My final thoughts:

Megan and I loved watching American Idol this season. Before this season we thought that American Idol watchers were silly uneducated teeny boppers. We made fun of those that liked Idol and rolled our eyes at people who talked about it. Well we saw the first episode of this past season (our first time ever watching it) and we were hooked. It really is a great show. We fell in love with the singers that we voted for each and every week. Seeing them perform live in concert was a treat and I’m glad we went.

Now we can’t wait for the next season to start!

More Than Meets the Eye

2007-07-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of seeing the premier showing of Transformers last night.

In Short:
It was probably one of the greatest--if not THE greatest--movies I've ever seen.

In Long:
Michael Bay was obviously the right guy for the job. His directing was superb. The lighting, the angles and the performance he was able to pull from the actors was just great.

The story line was intriguing, though not flawless. The special FX were FANTASTIC. I mean BEYOND fantastic. Eventually you forget that you're looking at CGI and you just watch the film for what it is.

I loved how the transformers (especially Starscream) would transform in mid flight and land. Just amazing stuff. The whole move was one HUGE battle after another. Rarely was there a dull spot in the movie. Constant action. Constant amazing cinematography.

The Cheese Factor:
There were a FEW cheesy moments in the movie. Some of the dialogue was a bit over the top and made me groan. And every time Optimus spoke there was this cheesy music that would swell up behind him as if to suggest that every word he spoke was so terribly noble and awe-inspiring.

I won't talk about the few things I didn't like because I don't want to spoil it for you. Just do yourself a favor and GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It truly is: more than meets the eye.

The Saddest Part of Teaching

2007-05-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

As a teacher I have seen some of the saddest things. I grew up in a home in which education was considered important and I had parents who actually cared about where I was and what I did. Saddly, this is not the case for MANY of today’s youth.

I teach a guitar class. Half of the students in the class are currently failing. Another third of the class had a D or C. Very few have B’s or A’s.

Now, keep in mind that this is an elective course. There is NO homework and 80% of the points come purely from coming to class and participating (trying on some level). Still, kids just don’t care, and it breaks my heart to see it.

Example 1: I ask “Stephen” to come up and play a 4 measure melody for me that we’ve been working on for 2 straight class periods (3 hours). 4 beats per measure equals about 16 notes the he had 3 hours to learn to play in order. He gets there, stares at the music and has no idea where to start. “I don’t know how to do this,” he says. “Okay, what is the name of this first note?” I ask. “Oh, that one… I can’t remember that one,” he responds. “That was the very first note we ever learned in this class at the beginning of the 1^st semester and we’ve played it unceasingly every day since then,” I explain. “I’ll just take a zero,” he decided.

Sad. Just sad.

Example 2: Every day my students have to do a journal. Basically I put a few questions on the board for them to answer. What is the name of this note? How many beats are in a 4/4 measure, etc. They write down whatever they think are the right answers and then we review them. At the end of the month we turn in all the journals. Note: the student gets FULL credit for turning in the journals at ALL. All the answers could be made up and have nothing to do with the question and they will still get full credit. I have told them this many times. I’ve pleaded with them to understand that right or wrong they get ALL the points for just turning it in.

…you guessed it: only about 1/3 of the class turns them in. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!?!? It’s a full 10% of their grade and they CHOOSE not to turn them in.

I have so many students like this (mostly in guitar, my choir students are pretty good). They don’t care about their grades and it stems from their home life. They obviously have parents who aren’t involved in their lives, and THAT’s what saddens me the most. These poor kids don’t have parents who check their grades or explain to them what responsibility is. I wonder if their parents even know they still live in the same house with them.

Now I understand that there are students whose parents do care and they still fail. But when I’m offering a FREE passing grade just for handing me a notebook regardless of what’s in it, and they choose not to do it… it goes to show that they don’t care, and obviously nobody else does either.

Take Responsibility - Stop Saying "you"

2007-04-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, today's post is a rant. Have you ever noticed that people constantly use the pronoun "you" when referring to events that they experienced themselves? Why don't people take responsibility for themselves?

Here are a few examples:

Example #1
When asked: "What was so good about that movie?" a person responds: Well you can really get into it. You sit there watching it and you feel the emotion of the score and then you get all teary eyed and you...

Do you see what I mean? I didn't "really get into it." I didn't sit there and I didn't feel the emotion... YOU did, so say it!

A better response would have been: Well I can really get into it. I sat there watching it and I felt the emotion of the score and then I got all teary eyed and I...

Example #2
When you're in a position like mine, you have to really try hard to do your best. If you don't, then the boss will catch you not doing your job and you'll be fired.

How about you take responsibility for yourself. Try this instead:

When in a position like mine, I have to really try hard to do my best. If I don't, then my boss will catch me not doing my job and I'll be fired.

Example #3
I like to play the guitar because you learn how to read music, and you can play songs from the bands you like and then you might be able to start your own band.

Try this instead:

I like to play the guitar because I learn how to read music, and I can play songs from the bands I like and then I might be able to start my own band.

So take my advice: take responsibility for yourself. Don't say "you," say "I."

Nintendo Wii = The Matrix

2007-03-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

So I had a thought the other day. The Nintendo Wii is really cool from what people tell me. As usual, Nintendo is trying to be the first gaming system to take the first step in virtual reality gaming. Now you can go bowling or hunting right from your living room. Who needs to go out when you've got great home theater systems and even tennis courts and fishing ponds right in your own house?

The gaming revolution will only get bigger and better. Soon, we'll have virtual reality glasses to put on and games will be in 3D. Then We'll be able to start smelling and feeling the worlds of our games. When you want to go bowling with friends in another state, you just hook up online in your virtual reality world.

Before you know it, the gaming world will overtake our own. You can live in a mansion in your virtual world. Why not? You can see it, feel it, smell it, design it, etc. And if that house is so much better than your own, why not live there, and add a feeding tube to your arm so you don't die from "playing" your game to long.

You see where this is going, don't you? Before long, we'll be living in the world of the Matrix--with all humans hooked up to virtual reality computers, living out our lives and forgetting about the real world behind us.

...and it's all because of the first pioneer steps of the Nintendo Wii.

Lincoln Vs. Kennedy

2007-02-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

Okay this is some of the most incredible stuff you'll ever read. It's seriously erie:

The following information was gathered from this website.

Look what happens when a President gets elected in a year with a "0" at the end.

1840: William Henry Harrison (died in office)
1860: Abraham Lincoln (assassinated)
1880: James A. Garfield (assassinated)
1900: William McKinley (assassinated)
1920: Warren G. Harding (died in office)
1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt (died in office)
1960: John F. Kennedy (assassinated)
1980: Ronald Reagan (survived assassination attempt)
2000: George W. Bush ????????????

And to think that we had two guys fighting it out in the courts to be the one elected in 2000.

You might also be interested in this.
Have a history teacher explain this if they can.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."
Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford."
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

Think that's crazy? This is the just tip of the iceberg! There are over 100 more similarities between the two that you can find by clicking here.
______

My best theory is that this is all a glitch in the Matrix.

Video Ideas Needed

2007-01-31T16:11:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that I love to make home videos. Well I've come accross a good website that will pay me for the videos I make. Based on how many views videos get, I get money. Some people have made over $25,000 on thier videos.

After a bit of research, I've come to realize that the videos that get the most views are short and they are interesting or cool rather than funny or silly.

Take a look at some of the videos that have recieved the most money so far and then give me some ideas. What kind of short cool/interesting videos can I make to make my millions?

This video alone has made more than $25,000 for having almost a perfect rating and over 5 million views!
This guy just shows you how to make a paper bird. He's made over $3000 on it.
Browse through this guys videos, every one of them is unique and has made $1000's of dollars. Apparantly he's figured out the trade that I want to learn.
One more. This guy has made a ton of money on cool little videos as well.

Okay, so you've seen them. Notice that none of them are silly or funny. They all show something interesting that people would enjoy watching but they're short. So what've you got for me? Any ideas?

Be sure to leave a comment with your suggestions!

I Had Lunch with a Terrorist

2007-01-27T23:12:00.000-08:00

There was a terrorist today at In-N-Out Burger. No he didn’t have bombs strapped to his chest and threaten to kill everyone in 10 blocks if his hamburger wasn’t delivered to Cuba in the next 10 hours, but he did incite terror in all the customers.

As I was waiting in line to order my food, a man came marching up to the front counter, cell-phone pressed to his ear and demanded to see a manager. “I need to see a manager NOW!” he yelled as the entire restaurant looked to see what was going on. “I want 911 called! This SOB just threatened me!” The girl taking my order just stared at him, dumbfounded and terrified. “This can’t wait! I was peacefully eating my meal and this SOB threatened me and harassed me to get out of my seat! I want 911 called!” And then to the man in question: “You’re going to JAIL you SOB!”

By this time the restaurant was in silent shock. This all took place right next to me. I was calmly trying to ignore the lunatic and order my meal. The girl taking the order was shaking as she tried unsuccessfully to press the right buttons. The ranting man continued to scream at the top of his lungs, use explicatives, and point fingers at the accused man who, by the way, never said a word or tried to defend himself. As a matter of fact, the accused man just stared at him the entire time with a look on his face that said “You’re loony!”

Finally, as I was filling my cup with soda, the onlookers started yelling back at the lunatic. “Take it outside!” “We don’t want to hear it!” “Leave the guy alone!” “Get out of here!” And so on.

As I started looking for a table to sit at, about six random men from different tables stood and approached the raving madman. They had decided to control the situation since no one else was doing it. They surrounded him and forced him outside. The raving man was suddenly scared when approached by these men. Suddenly he wasn’t the aggressor that he had made himself out to be. As all terrorists are, this man was truly a coward. As the mob took the man outside, the restaurant cheered.

In the end, the man accused had merely asked if the other man was finished eating and if he could take his table. The reports of the onlookers said that he was very polite and was never threatening.

Honestly, it was quite an amazing sight… but perhaps not for the reasons you’re thinking of. I thought it was amazing that when the time called for action, six random people stepped up to bat. These men were not in a group together. Some were there with their wives and children, some were there alone. But when they felt threatened, they answered the call to duty. These men were of the same caliber that saved and unknown number of lives by bringing down flight 93 on September 11, 2001.

Sadly, I was not among them. Upon reflection I realized that I stood there while other men took out the terrorist. Had I been on flight 93, would I have sat there in my seat while a group of men brought the plane down? I should have been among those six. They should have been seven.

What would you have done? What would you like to think you would have done? Are you a homeland protector a la flight 93? Or are you one who would look the other way and fill your soda cup?

Donner's Cut

2007-01-16T16:01:00.000-08:00

I finally had the opportunity to see Richard Donner's version of Superman II (it was just released last November). If you even remotely liked the old Christopher Reeve Superman movies. You'll want to see this cut. Read on, let me explain why:

The background
Superman The Movie and Superman II were mostly filmed as one movie. Richard Donner directed them. When they were 70% done with filming part two, they ran out of budget and they focused on releasing part I instead. After Superman the Movie faired so well, Richard Donner was fired (another story in and of itself). They hired Richard Lester in his place. Lester went on to change huge parts of the script and reshot MOST of donners scenes. The version of Superman II that we all know was Lester's version.

And What's Changed???
Warner Brothers has finally catered to what Superman fans have been screaming for for years. They took all of Donner's old footage (remember he originally filmed 70% of the film) and even shot a couple of new scenes, added some great special effects and worked the pacing of the film.

The End Result
A pheonominal movie! I was excited to see this cut but I had no idea it would be this good. I can whole-heartedly say that this version of Superman II is worlds better than the original. The pacing of the film is what struck me the most. Donner took the Zod story line and spliced it in with the Clark/Lois story line to make it look like it all happened at the same time. It made the movie move much faster and somehow it was more exciting than I was used to with the original. There was also a lot less camp. Lester tried to make funny and silly stuff happen throughout the movie. Donner's version removes all of that. The end result was a much more serious movie, a somewhat darker Lex Luthor and an overall more enjoyable movie.

Anything Surprising?
I was shocked at how much NEW footage there was! Donner really did film a LOT of this movie before the carpet was pulled out from under him. Many of the scenes are the ones that we're used to, but they're different angles, different takes, even different sets. But then there's completely differnet story lines as well. For example, in Donner's version Lois figures out Clark's secret in the first couple of minutes of the film. And there's a GREAT new scene with Lois trying to prove that she knows it's true!

Cons
There are a few plot holes, but they are minor things so I won't go into them. The only other con was that there were a few scenes that were added that were taken from screen tests and auditions. It's plainly obvious. There's even a scene in which Clark's glasses suddenly change size and shape.

The Last Word
Though it's overall the same stroy, it felt like watching an entirely new movie. It was great. You really should get this movie and watch it. In my mind, the Donner Cut is now the official Superman II. I doubt if I'll ever watch Lester's version again.

Trust me. Click here to buy it.

Predictions of the Future - Part 2

2007-01-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

My favorite element of the science-fiction world is time travel, so I am intrigued by things of the future. Here are a few more things that we'll either have soon, or SHOULD have soon.

Cars that drive themselves - I heard recently that this is already being done somewhere in Europe. Special cars driving on special freeways can navigate themselves. Because they are computerized, cars can travel at high speeds only feet apart, bumper to bumper. If the car in front suddenly needs to stop, the computer knows about it and all the other cars (even miles behind) will slow as well. Pretty neat stuff.
Robots - We've all seen movies or episodes of the Twilight Zone which depict robots as servants. I've seen History and Discovery channel documentaries about robotics and their development. The technology is getting there. Soon we'll all have our own Bicentennial Man in our living room!
Sun-blocking Windshields - Okay this is something I've been thinking about for 12 years now (ever since I started driving). I want to see a window that is "tinted" only where the sun is. This, of course, means that the spot would move depending on where you are in the car. Basically it's a movable tinted 3-inch dot on your windshield and somehow it follows your gaze. Even the person in the driver's seat would see this tinted spot in a different place than you as the driver would see it. Is this making any sense at all?
Matrix-like Information Download - Very cool concept. Just insert the data and you suddenly have the knowledge. Is this truly in our future? Is it even a plausible invention?
Thumb-Scan Money AND Registering - We've all seen people pay for things on futuristic movies by scanning their thumb print. Well when are we going to actually make that a reality? Gone would be the days of check cards. But I'd want more than than. See, I keep my check register to the penny. I'd want the thumb-scan payment method to be instantaneous. The money is literally transfered at that exact moment. That way I don't have to jot down every purchase I make.

Well, that's all for today, but we'll see what the future holds... there may be more in store!

As always, feel free to leave comments.

Books Vs. Movies

2007-01-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at what is known as a “blog response.” A bit long, but an interesting debate. My brother posted a blog about why movie versions of books are no good. Here are my responses to what he had to say: (Aaron’s words in normal print, my words in bold)

“I downloaded The Positronic Man, an audiobook by Isaac Asimov… Beware though, like with many books, don't bother with the movie. You may know the movie version of the book by the name of Bicentennial Man.

“OK, I know this is the part where someone -- most likely Jason -- is revolting. "But it's such a good movie!" And perhaps it is… I know that no movie can really do a book justice. After all, a book is too long to fit into movie format and all, but can't they at least try? It's one thing to cute a scene or two, or modify a little dialog to help brush over parts that weren't wholly conducive to the story, but to completely change the story, that's another matter."

This is where you’re wrong. As you’ve mentioned, by definition a feature length movie is the telling of a short story. There simply isn’t time in a movie to “do a book justice.” A TV mini series, on the other hand, is the novel format of a visual adaptation.

Recently I just created a new film. We took about an hour filming it and a couple more hours editing it. It ended up being 17 minutes long. That’s 1/8 of an entire feature film. Can you imagine how hard it would be to tell the story of an ENTIRE novel in only 2 hours or less? So can’t they at least try? No. They really can’t.

"Pulling the plug, or assisted suicide is a violation of the Fist Law of Robotics (as was pointed out in the beginning of the movie). No robot may allow a human to come to harm through an action of their own, or through inaction. That means, that a robot can not assist in suicide. In fact, a robot couldn't even stand by and allow a human assist in suicide."

But we’re talking about evolved robots here. In the movie version, these robots have become more human and less susceptible to the “laws.”

"This is why you have to stay true to the book. The book had it right. It's like lieing. Once you tell a lie, you have to tell another to cover up the first lie, then another and another. Once you deviate from the book, you have to deviate further and further to maintain cohesion, but then, you're no longer telling the story of the book. Now if they just admitted that this is not the book, they could go a lot further, but when they try to stay true to the book, but deviate as the same time (lie to the audience), then you create lies upon lies, and inconsistencies start to develop."

No, no, no. They never professed this to be the movie version of the book. If anything they said “BASED on a story by Isaac Asmov.” It was just a few of the ideas that some writer liked and then wrote his own version. How did the book have “it” right? What is “it”? YOUR conceptions of what the movie should have been?

You know, some movies just don’t translate well to film. Perhaps this was one of them and the writer knew it. He then added in his own elements to the story that he felt would gather a wider audience. Remember, in the end it’s about money and not so much about “staying true.”

I read the Da Vinci Code. Great book. I then saw the movie. Mediocre movie. But it had nothing to do with whether or not it stayed true to the book. In my opinion it was for that very reason that the movie wasn’t that great: the director tried too hard to stay true to the book… and that made it boring. It just wasn’t a story that was interesting enough for the big screen.

I’ve said this to people countless times: you CANNOT compare a movie to a book. They are different forms of entertainment. I LOVE to read and I LOVE movies but I never compare the two because, as Aaron was, I may just be disappointed. Why allow that? Why not just enjoy the movie for what it is and the book for what it is? Why do they have to be the same? I’d personally rather have more variety.

The Time Machine was a great book. The 2004 movie was a great movie. They basically had NOTHING in common but who cares? They were both good.

I agree with Aaron on one point: you WILL be disappointed if you compare a movie to its book version. So don’t do it. Do you LIKE being disappointed? Just enjoy both for what they are.

Please feel free to post a comment.

Predictions of the Future - Part 1

2007-01-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

We have so many technologies in our day that it’s easy to see what is to come. You’d think they’d have this stuff out there already.

Either way, I have compiled a list of things that I am looking forward to in the future!

Video phones – with cell-phones having video capabilities already, why can’t we just talk to each other via video rather than merely sound?
Cloaking technology – I just saw an article in Popular Mechanics about turning things invisible. Very cool stuff. It’s amazing that we’re that far already.
Larger virtual storage – Just 10 years ago or so it was unheard of to have 20 megabytes of storage space on your computer. “What are you going to do with all that space?” people would ask. Well, with the way things are going, I’m sure my cell-phone will soon hold 10 petabytes.
Brain Phones – Cell phones get smaller and thinner every year. Bluetooth allows you to wear your cell phone on your ear. Soon those will get smaller and smaller until all people have to wear is something the size of an earring. From there it will become an invisible (see number 2) ear implant. You’ll be able to dial and answer based on a series of voice commands. Then eventually it’ll just be controlled by thought. (Which brings up a good point: people always say that aliens are telepathic. On the contrary, I think they’ve merely mastered the cell-phone technology)
Brain Wave Alarm Clocks – There’s nothing worse than your alarm clock going off in the morning. You’re dead tired and you wish you could sleep longer. I want to see an alarm clock that taps into your specific brain waves and literally wakes you up. You suddenly arise at the specified hour, not because you heard some blaring noise, but because your body suddenly feels rested and awake. I’d pay some serious money for something like that.

For fear of writing too much, I’ll stop there… but there’s more where that came from. Be on the lookout for part two of this series!

As always, feel free to leave comments.

P.s. Wanna see some really cool futuristic gadgets that really DO exist? Check this out!

Upcoming Movies

2006-12-30T11:45:00.000-08:00

There are some really great movies coming out in '07. If you haven't seen these trailers, do yourself a favor and watch them. Some are pretty new! Enjoy:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (March 23rd)

Spiderman 3 (May 4th)

Shrek 3 (May 18th)

Pirates 3 (May 25th) No trailer available yet. :(

Ocean's 13 (June 8th)

Fantastic Four 2 (June 15th)

Transformers (July 4th)

The Simpsons (July 27th)

Is it Still a Merry Christmas?

2006-12-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

As the years go on, the Christmas Spirit seems to be phasing out. More and more gifts are purchased each year during the holidays and Christmas lights are still illuminating neighborhood homes by droves, but the expression of merry wishes for the Christmas season has suddenly become taboo and many even find it offensive.

While preparing an informational letter to send home with my students, I found myself wanting to write “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” What if I offend someone? Am I maintaining a separation of church and state if I write “Merry Christmas”? Is it offensive for a non-Christian to read the words “Merry Christmas”?

I overheard someone saying to another: “I left you a gift in your box. It's just a non-denominational celebration gift for all the work you do for us.” Then, upon leaving work for the Christmas season, another person sent an email to fellow co-workers saying: “Happy Politically Correct day of non-specific Celebration.” Now this, of course, I found amusing and was obviously intended to be a joke. Nevertheless, I found it a little disheartening to ponder the thought that our society has come to embrace the social norm that it is not okay to come right out and say: “Merry Christmas.”

Political Correctness has overstepped its bounds if it means that you can no longer openly wish someone happy thoughts and glad tidings during a festive holiday season that your specific belief system calls “Christmas.”

If we’re not allowed to say “Merry Christmas” for fear of offending someone that does not specifically believe in Christmas, then perhaps we should not say “Happy Holidays” either because not everyone celebrates holidays during this time of year.

Now, I’ve lost track—is it still okay to say “Happy New Year”? I only ask because the Chinese and the Mayans, and many other cultures around the world celebrate the “New Year” at a different time other than our current calendar expiration.

What about “Happy Birthday”? There are some religions that do not celebrate birthdays. Perhaps we should refrain from telling anyone “Happy Birthday” as well. I mean, we don’t want to offend anyone now do we?

I can understand people becoming upset if we were to say things like “Have a terrible New Year,” or “Hope your Christmas is worse than labor pains,” but instead we are wishing happy thoughts, merry thoughts. So maybe the solution to the problem, then, is to never wish good things for people at all—someone might get offended!

The point of all this, of course, is that society is starting to forget what the “Christmas Spirit” is all about. It’s about a time for forgiveness, a time for joy, a time for peace, a time for love, a time for giving, a time for happiness, a time to let your inner child roam free, a time to forget about the stresses and sorrows of life and embrace all that is good in the world. The words “Merry Christmas” are not meant to offend, but are meant to share love and respect with a fellow member of mankind. If that person gets offended because you wished them well, there is nothing you can do about it.

Likewise, I would not take offense to someone wishing me Happy Chanukah or Happy Kwanza. On the contrary, I would take it as a kind gesture and be thankful to the person that mentioned it because that person just wished me happy and prosperous times during a season in which their specific beloved holiday happened to fall.

So I say, this year, be not afraid to express the words that mean so much more than the four syllables that make it. Political Correctness has no place telling you not to share your love for a wonderful time of year with others.

Don’t let the magic of Christmas be lost to fear of offending. People will always find something to be offended by. Instead, let the Christmas Spirit ride with you this season—no matter what your religion. The next time you see someone, regardless of their religious beliefs, tell them what you feel in your heart. Tell them: Merry Christmas.

If you feel so inclined, pass this on to your friends and loved ones. Help them remember what it means to say “Merry Christmas.”

Take These Polls!

2006-11-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

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