Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Scary Poll
Kind of makes you wonder if we've focused on the minor issues: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/31/061031235233.s0l4o4wy.html.
It's all about the treats
I sit here remembering my Halloweens past. I was king of the "trick-or-treat" routine. My parents didn't keep us from canvassing the neighborhood for candy. I recall being miffed at the popcorn in the plastic baggie that we got from the "cheap" neighbor. "You mean you can't afford PAL bubblegum? C'mon!" Now, I'm on the other end of the whole handing out candy thing. Lori sent me to the store to get candy and I did my job. Too well. I came back with 2 jumbo bags of candy. Our gruesome guests have yet to make a dent in the stash. I'm going to start giving it out by the fistful. We decided to let Trey and Kassady go out this year. Trey is dressed as a fighter pilot, while Kassady is prissing around as a princess. Lori, Talisha, and Emme have accompanied Trey and Kassady. Lori and Talisha are disguised as semi-stressed mothers who peek around the corner to make sure that the kids aren't slipped drugs by unsavory characters. Since they're only visiting family and friends from church I think they'll be OK.
I remember my first mask. Well, it was kind of a mask. I dressed up as a Mexican vaquero with panty-hose pulled over my head mashing my face into a grotesque pattern, where my cheeks unnaturally puffed above my eyes. The moustache that my dad drew on with a permanent marker kept slipping around until it finally rested on the side of my face. I really couldn't see that well and breathing was difficult. But I endured it all for the promise of candy. I remember running from one house to the other, thinking "candy, candy, must have candy". Due to my impaired eyesight I totally missed seeing a guide wire from the telephone pole. I hit that thing at full speed. I remember flipping gracefully through the air and landing on my back. The air left my lungs with a whoosh and I lay there dazed and in extreme pain. However, there were many females around, and so to impress them I got to my feet and tried to walk it off. Oh, it hurt so bad! I acted cool, like nothing had happened (even though everyone was convulsing in laughter; you know, falling on the ground with mirthful gyrations) but I hurt so bad. It ended up leaving a massive welt across my thigh which lasted for several weeks. I did take off the pantyhose mask.
Halloween isn't for the weak of heart. So, I'm just going to eat candy tonight. I do have a mask that I might put on to startle the kids.
I remember my first mask. Well, it was kind of a mask. I dressed up as a Mexican vaquero with panty-hose pulled over my head mashing my face into a grotesque pattern, where my cheeks unnaturally puffed above my eyes. The moustache that my dad drew on with a permanent marker kept slipping around until it finally rested on the side of my face. I really couldn't see that well and breathing was difficult. But I endured it all for the promise of candy. I remember running from one house to the other, thinking "candy, candy, must have candy". Due to my impaired eyesight I totally missed seeing a guide wire from the telephone pole. I hit that thing at full speed. I remember flipping gracefully through the air and landing on my back. The air left my lungs with a whoosh and I lay there dazed and in extreme pain. However, there were many females around, and so to impress them I got to my feet and tried to walk it off. Oh, it hurt so bad! I acted cool, like nothing had happened (even though everyone was convulsing in laughter; you know, falling on the ground with mirthful gyrations) but I hurt so bad. It ended up leaving a massive welt across my thigh which lasted for several weeks. I did take off the pantyhose mask.
Halloween isn't for the weak of heart. So, I'm just going to eat candy tonight. I do have a mask that I might put on to startle the kids.
A tribute to Napolean (I apologize to all dial-up users)
I think I'm going to quit posting and just link to all the funny stuff that Carlton posts.
Home Is Where the Heart Is (really!)
Finally, I'm back home. I've spent way too much time traveling the last few weeks. It was a fantastic trip, though! I'll be updating you on everything that went on in the next couple of days. Of course, I took my camera and, of course, I forgot to dig it out of my luggage, so check out Jon Plank's blog, http://jonplank.com/secure/index.shtml, for some pics of the week. He took them with his cell phone, so they aren't the highest quality. However, you can still get a sense of what's going on.
It is so nice to be back with my family again. Last night Doran and Diane had a party for all the kids in the church, so Lori and I dropped off our little gremlins and went out to eat. As we were sitting in Outback it hit us that we hadn't had a date by ourselves since June. Pathetic! It was nice getting caught up on everything in Nampa and filling her in on my trip.
I'm off to the studio this morning. I have to fix a few lines on the new Liberty CD, "There's a Testimony", and then record some background vocals for Doran's piano CD. I hope you have a Happy Halloween, a Happy Harvest, or whatever you call today.
It is so nice to be back with my family again. Last night Doran and Diane had a party for all the kids in the church, so Lori and I dropped off our little gremlins and went out to eat. As we were sitting in Outback it hit us that we hadn't had a date by ourselves since June. Pathetic! It was nice getting caught up on everything in Nampa and filling her in on my trip.
I'm off to the studio this morning. I have to fix a few lines on the new Liberty CD, "There's a Testimony", and then record some background vocals for Doran's piano CD. I hope you have a Happy Halloween, a Happy Harvest, or whatever you call today.
Monday, October 16, 2006
A slight pause in the action
Just for the record, I will not be able to post for the next 2 weeks. I am finishing up all of those last-minute details for Youth Challenge 2006. Hopefully, all of you guys that live in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio will stop by. I'll be leading worship for the convention (Oct. 26-28), directing the choir, as well as speaking in one of the sessions on Saturday. It's always a blast to get back with all of you guys I went to school with (or youth camp, or church, or whatever). For more info, check out www.youthchallenge.net.
In 2 weeks I will be resuming my posting. Take the time that you usually spend reading my blog and eat ice cream or something. I promise you'll enjoy it...unless you're lactose intolerant.
In 2 weeks I will be resuming my posting. Take the time that you usually spend reading my blog and eat ice cream or something. I promise you'll enjoy it...unless you're lactose intolerant.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Where Are They Now?: Catching up with yesterday's celebrities
Former music star Jon Plank was spotted wandering around shopping centers in urban Pennsylvania wild-eyed and muttering, "we could have been big...if only.." in Russian. He was also pushing around a Casio keyboard in a shopping cart (not pictured).
Samaritan Handyman
It's tough being the Good Samaritan, you know. Really, it is. Last week, I saw Royce laying in the ditch and attempted to come to the rescue. You see, Royce is a very talented man and his talent comes to light in many, many areas. There are many reasons why he is the leader of Liberty. One area that he hasn't quite mastered yet, is that of the technological realm. Now, I have fair-to-middling talents when it comes to technology. I'm no genius, that's for sure (stop laughing, guys) but I can usually figure out the typical problems that might stump the average Joe.
So, when Royce told me that he was having computer issues I told him that I would take a look. When I came over to look at his home PC, I knew immediately that we had issues. It was 6 or 7 years old and was still running a venerable edition of Windows 98. It's memory was overworked and it's storage was maxed. His printer was old, creaky, and unresponsive. So, I suggested that he start pricing new computers. To make a long story short, I met Royce at Best Buy and we found a great deal on a new computer and printer. I had a few errands to run, so I told Royce that I would meet him over at his house later in the evening. So, last Tuesday I got to the Mitchell mansion at about 8:00. I had told Lori that this shouldn't take very long. I expected to be home in a couple of hours. HA!
I set up the computer for Royce, connecting all of the various components. Royce has a wireless Linksys network for his home and since his desktop didn't have a wireless card we ran over to Target to purchase a wireless adaptor. Since his router was a Linksys, I went with a Linksys wireless adaptor. This is where everything went bad. It was now about 9:00 or so, and I still had quite a bit of software to install. But, before I could load much of the software I had to have an internet connection. So, I set up this new wireless adaptor. What I didn't know was the Linksys program that must be loaded for the adaptor to work has a bug that interferes with the Windows XP Welcome screen. It screws everything up. Now, I didn't know this at first, so I continued to load all the software. Anyone that has loaded Norton Anti-virus 2007 knows that it takes an hour just to load. So, finally, at about 10:30, I finished everything and restarted the computer. The weird image and log-in box that filled the screen told me that we had a problem. So, I got on Google and researched the issue. On a messageboard, several users who had experienced the same problem posted their solutions to the issue. I found out that there was 1 specific file that was causing all of the problems.
Now, when people ask for help when they're experiencing PC issues, I always advise them to refrain from just deleting files. There are specific steps that have to be completed in order to take care of the issue. Oh, that I would have listened to my own advice. I read that you could simply remove the file and it would fix the problem. Like an idiot, that's what I did. I restarted the computer, and a blue screen appeared, informing me that do to a missing file Windows couldn't load. Talk about instant diarrhea! Royce is looking over my shoulder the whole time, while I attempted to convey an attitude of "Yeah, I know what we need to do here". Finally, he figured out that I had screwed up. He was very, very nervous. He was sure that the computer was toast. I didn't tell him that I was thinking the same thing. Talk about feeling guilty. There was quite a bit of tension in the area.
Well, I had to start from scratch. I had to load everything again, including Windows XP, all of the software that had been pre-loaded. When I left at 1:00 AM, I still wasn't done. I ended up spending about 12 hours on everything. The thing that ticked me off was that it was all due to my rookie error. I HATE, absolutely HATE, being at fault.
I can say that everything is working great these days. In fact, it's as good as new. Also, Royce is now able to sleep.
I still get red-faced when I think of my errors, out loud saying a loud, Napoleanesque, IDIOT.
So, when Royce told me that he was having computer issues I told him that I would take a look. When I came over to look at his home PC, I knew immediately that we had issues. It was 6 or 7 years old and was still running a venerable edition of Windows 98. It's memory was overworked and it's storage was maxed. His printer was old, creaky, and unresponsive. So, I suggested that he start pricing new computers. To make a long story short, I met Royce at Best Buy and we found a great deal on a new computer and printer. I had a few errands to run, so I told Royce that I would meet him over at his house later in the evening. So, last Tuesday I got to the Mitchell mansion at about 8:00. I had told Lori that this shouldn't take very long. I expected to be home in a couple of hours. HA!
I set up the computer for Royce, connecting all of the various components. Royce has a wireless Linksys network for his home and since his desktop didn't have a wireless card we ran over to Target to purchase a wireless adaptor. Since his router was a Linksys, I went with a Linksys wireless adaptor. This is where everything went bad. It was now about 9:00 or so, and I still had quite a bit of software to install. But, before I could load much of the software I had to have an internet connection. So, I set up this new wireless adaptor. What I didn't know was the Linksys program that must be loaded for the adaptor to work has a bug that interferes with the Windows XP Welcome screen. It screws everything up. Now, I didn't know this at first, so I continued to load all the software. Anyone that has loaded Norton Anti-virus 2007 knows that it takes an hour just to load. So, finally, at about 10:30, I finished everything and restarted the computer. The weird image and log-in box that filled the screen told me that we had a problem. So, I got on Google and researched the issue. On a messageboard, several users who had experienced the same problem posted their solutions to the issue. I found out that there was 1 specific file that was causing all of the problems.
Now, when people ask for help when they're experiencing PC issues, I always advise them to refrain from just deleting files. There are specific steps that have to be completed in order to take care of the issue. Oh, that I would have listened to my own advice. I read that you could simply remove the file and it would fix the problem. Like an idiot, that's what I did. I restarted the computer, and a blue screen appeared, informing me that do to a missing file Windows couldn't load. Talk about instant diarrhea! Royce is looking over my shoulder the whole time, while I attempted to convey an attitude of "Yeah, I know what we need to do here". Finally, he figured out that I had screwed up. He was very, very nervous. He was sure that the computer was toast. I didn't tell him that I was thinking the same thing. Talk about feeling guilty. There was quite a bit of tension in the area.
Well, I had to start from scratch. I had to load everything again, including Windows XP, all of the software that had been pre-loaded. When I left at 1:00 AM, I still wasn't done. I ended up spending about 12 hours on everything. The thing that ticked me off was that it was all due to my rookie error. I HATE, absolutely HATE, being at fault.
I can say that everything is working great these days. In fact, it's as good as new. Also, Royce is now able to sleep.
I still get red-faced when I think of my errors, out loud saying a loud, Napoleanesque, IDIOT.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
News Release
(AP) Sources reveal that there is no known familial connection between John Daker and Keith Waggoner, contributor to the wildly popular blog "keithinside". The men's lack of hair as well as similar facial twitches have led many to speculate that there was more to the post http://keithinside.blogspot.com/2006/10/my-name-is-john-daker-for-one-of-our.html than Waggoner let on. The sources go on to say that while the two have never met, there may be a connection between Daker's voice teacher and accompanist, Reva Cooper Insicker, and Philip Bishop, a former piano player for Assurance, a quartet from God's Bible School and College. Bishop and Waggoner traveled together for 3 years and sources say that Bishop's "Singing Paige's" style of accompanying was taken straight from Insicker's piano video series. Bishop declined a request to be interviewed for this article, but did offer to "Keep Smilin'".
Garen Wolf, Waggoner's vocal instructor for 3 years, stated that Daker's performance did remind him of a rendition of "Schubert's "Die Schöne Müllerin" performed by Keith at a junior recital in which "Waggoner attempted to make up German-sounding words to cover up the fact that he had forgotten the lyrics. It fooled no one, including the non-music majors who were there only to support their significant others. Sad, really."
Developing...
Garen Wolf, Waggoner's vocal instructor for 3 years, stated that Daker's performance did remind him of a rendition of "Schubert's "Die Schöne Müllerin" performed by Keith at a junior recital in which "Waggoner attempted to make up German-sounding words to cover up the fact that he had forgotten the lyrics. It fooled no one, including the non-music majors who were there only to support their significant others. Sad, really."
Developing...
Castleta-a-ales, Castleta-a-ales...(for those of you without young children, stolen from the Veggietales theme song)
I just discovered the blog of Troy and Martha Castle (thanks to her post!). As usual, I like to feature the blogs of my friends. Check out Tales from a Castle: http://castlejourney.blogspot.com/. Troy is starting work on his master's degree in music at Bob Jones University in SC. They're a great couple, with cute kids!
Sleep
Brooke, a private detective verified your claim (see comment to 10.9 post "Just for the record...").
Also, please note the progress of my workout program. My biceps are really swelling up.
E.R., Season 3, episode 22
Well, this morning started as so many before with a trip to our local hospital. OK, it's only happened a handful of times, but the X-ray technicians now recognize me. Seriously. For those morbid readers with a macabre sense of humor (especially those wishing that I would experience more sprains, fractures, and other gruesome physical problems) I must disappoint you; this wasn't for me. No, this time it was Trey. Actually, Trey has been the most healthy of us all. This is only the second time he has been to the hospital since birth (the first being the time I accidentally pulled his arm out of joint; that was back in the Cincinnati days).
To get my children so hyper they can barely fall asleep, I have a nightly routine involving running pell-mell through the house to their bedrooms. The winner of the race must make it up on top of the bed before the other contestants. This is a very competitive time and so Trey and Kassady get pretty pumped up before we take off. I even announce the race, making up statistics and nicknames for each of us. I know, I don't get out much. Anyway, last night after brushing his teeth, Trey was running to the starting line, which is in the hall beside our bedroom. His feet slipped out from under him and while his momentum carried him forward, he crashed into the corner of the wall. He hit his back rather hard and crumpled in a heap, screaming. It left quite a welt on his lower back, but eventually he was up and ready to run. In fact, he won the race last night (mainly because he employed drafting, a NASCAR-like technique whereby he grabs the back of my pants and while slowing me down, rockets around me).
Well, he tried to get up this morning and couldn't. I heard him crying and ran into the room, where he was laying on his stomach holding the back of his head. He told me that he couldn't stand up or even sit up. He said when he tried the back of his head began hurting really bad. I tested him, by saying that he wasn't going to be able to go to school unless he was able to walk. That got him up, but he immediately screamed, clutched the back of his head, and fell down. I tried to help get him dressed, but he couldn't even sit up without his head hurting. To be honest with you, it scared me. Lori was working at the church so I had her come home so I could take Trey in to the emergency room. On the way over to the hospital, Trey asked if he was going to get a shot. He said, "That's my most not favorite part about going to the hospital". Fortunately, he didn't have to get a shot. They just took some X-rays, which thankfully turned out negative. The doctor's diagnosis is that he sprained his back and neck, which was causing him to spasm. He said Trey should be up and around in no time.
As of this posting, Trey is doing much better. He is pretty bummed out that he missed a day of school.
Monday, October 09, 2006
The Saga of the Great Pumpkin
As you prepare for the busy Halloween season, try to get this scary image out of your head.
Thanks, Royce, for the excellent photography.
Just Being Candid
I have spent most of the day in Boise at Kiddie Kandids, a photography studio for children. Lori received a gift certificate to the mall and decided she wanted new pictures of Trey and Kassady. So, I found myself shouting out phrases intended to inspire an attitude of restraint in my children as they cavorted around the waiting area with the other rug rats:
"Don't touch that!"
"Kassady, don't hit that nice boy!"
"No! Get out from behind the counter!"
"Trey! Stop! You're going to hurt him!"
"Stop running...aw, man! I knew that was going to happen."
"Kassady! You're not supposed to climb up there."
"Kassady! I said don't hit that boy!"
"That's not made for eating...put it back on the floor."
"Awwww, Kass...what are you doing? What has got into you?"
"Stop hitting that boy!"
...and so forth.
I don't know what it is about waiting for pictures that brings out the worst in children. I like to believe that my kids are well-behaved. They're not angels, I admit, but they aren't raging maniacs; you know the kind of kids who scream, whine, and blatantly disobey. They are usually well-mannered and proper. But, for some reason, every time we enter a photography studio their energy level quadruples and they start climbing the walls. This is when I am so thrilled to be married to calm, cool, collected Lori. My blood pressure is rising, my temples throbbing, minutes away from a meltdown, when Lori gently reminds me that I shouldn't be so upset, since obviously the children have inherited their energetic (read: bad) traits from their Daddy. That really calms me down...yep, works everytime. Actually, Lori has a knack for defusing those tense situations and she put it to use. By the time we got back to the studio, the kids were ready to cheese and pose. As you can see, we ended up with some good shots:
"Don't touch that!"
"Kassady, don't hit that nice boy!"
"No! Get out from behind the counter!"
"Trey! Stop! You're going to hurt him!"
"Stop running...aw, man! I knew that was going to happen."
"Kassady! You're not supposed to climb up there."
"Kassady! I said don't hit that boy!"
"That's not made for eating...put it back on the floor."
"Awwww, Kass...what are you doing? What has got into you?"
"Stop hitting that boy!"
...and so forth.
I don't know what it is about waiting for pictures that brings out the worst in children. I like to believe that my kids are well-behaved. They're not angels, I admit, but they aren't raging maniacs; you know the kind of kids who scream, whine, and blatantly disobey. They are usually well-mannered and proper. But, for some reason, every time we enter a photography studio their energy level quadruples and they start climbing the walls. This is when I am so thrilled to be married to calm, cool, collected Lori. My blood pressure is rising, my temples throbbing, minutes away from a meltdown, when Lori gently reminds me that I shouldn't be so upset, since obviously the children have inherited their energetic (read: bad) traits from their Daddy. That really calms me down...yep, works everytime. Actually, Lori has a knack for defusing those tense situations and she put it to use. By the time we got back to the studio, the kids were ready to cheese and pose. As you can see, we ended up with some good shots:
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
John W. Peterson
John W. Peterson passed away at the age of 84. While many of you might be saying, John who?, Peterson profoundly impacted Gospel music during his lifetime. Look through the hymnal and see how many songs were either written by Peterson or published with his company "John W. Peterson Music". He was a great man and his songs will continue his legacy. You can read his obit at: http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/base/news-38/1159546145256700.xml&storylist=mibusiness
Concert Review
I'm sitting here, softly crunching popcorn, enjoying the buttery smell of the microwave delicacy. I don't know how else to describe the sound of popcorn between the teeth. It's not like eating chunks of glass candy (especially the kind sold during the Frankfort Covenant Academy missions fund raiser), but neither is it like eating bread. So, softly crunching.
I had a worshipful evening. I was privileged to buy tickets to a Phillips, Craig, and Dean concert. Now, everyone knows that I love my SG, but there is no one that comes close to PCD when it comes to leading in worship. It was a beautiful presentation. Most of their way-too-short set featured songs from their last 4 praise and worship albums, including a couple brand new songs from "Top of My Lungs", their latest release. However, they still managed to fit in some of their older classics such as "Mercy Came Running" (what a song!) and "I Want to Be Just Like You". Weaving energetic audience singing with smooth vocal performances, PCD held the crowd in their hands for an hour. Phillips, Craig, and Dean have the unique gift of creating a family room atmosphere in their concerts. You feel like you know the guys and each audience member finds it easy to become engaged in the give and take feel of the evening.
This was my first PCD concert since before Lori and I were married. In fact, the last concert that we went to also featured Aaron Jeffrey (a poor coupling to be sure). We took in the concert with Robert and Carrie Carter (my great friend, cousin, and loyal poster). Fortunately, this evening didn't involve Arbys. That's another story altogether.
I have every PCD album released and will be sure to purchase the new one. The guys are looking older (more mature...yeah, that's it) and are even losing a little hair (thanks), but their sound is better than ever. In spite of a poor sound mix, the guys sounded incredible. By the way, Shawn is marrying a local girl from Boise, Becky Trueblood, in November. Becky used to sing with "The Heritage Singers" a fantastic group in the vein of "Truth".
Just a word of advice to the concert promoters: find an emcee that doesn't ramble on and on for over 20 minutes. That isn't an exaggeration people! The gentleman was the general manager for a local radio station and had to be the worst emcee ever. Included in his bloviating were references to every member of his family, his weight loss, an introduction of his weight trainer, remarks about employees past and present, introduction of all of their family members, and a few feeble attempts at humor. While, I realize that the station was promoting the event and they are celebrating their 16th birthday, they could have cut it short by 18 minutes. Way too much talking!
Anyway, a good evening.
If I get time tomorrow, I have to tell you about the Mitchell computer fiasco, starring Keith. Royce should get an Emmy nod with his supporting performance.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
I'm busy, that's why
No, really, I haven't died or dropped off the face of the earth. I've just been incredibly busy. I promise I'll get around to updating the site. Right now, I'm on hold. I hate being on hold. It's a lousy way to spend an afternoon.
New group to watch out for: The Ball Brothers. For those of you in the know, I admit it's taken me a while to find out who they are. They have been opening for Signature Sound during the last few months and have been getting rave reviews. I just purchased their debut CD and it is awesome. It is the best debut since Mercy's Mark. Check them out at: www.theballbrothers.com.
I just returned from an incredible weekend with Liberty. Awesome! I'm also in the middle of finishing up plans for Youth Challenge. We're going to have a great time. I'm speaking on the topic of "Surviving Media". I'll also be leading worship for the weekend. For more info, check out www.youthchallenge.net.
New group to watch out for: The Ball Brothers. For those of you in the know, I admit it's taken me a while to find out who they are. They have been opening for Signature Sound during the last few months and have been getting rave reviews. I just purchased their debut CD and it is awesome. It is the best debut since Mercy's Mark. Check them out at: www.theballbrothers.com.
I just returned from an incredible weekend with Liberty. Awesome! I'm also in the middle of finishing up plans for Youth Challenge. We're going to have a great time. I'm speaking on the topic of "Surviving Media". I'll also be leading worship for the weekend. For more info, check out www.youthchallenge.net.
Monday, September 25, 2006
And the winner is...(Text version)
By the way, Alyssa Keister, you are the winner of the Liberty CD (just in case you weren't able to access the video. If you will e-mail me your mailing information, I'll get that out to you ASAP.
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
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