My church upbringing was pretty thorough.  As a baptist, I was involved in things like Bible Drill, Vacation Bible School, church choir etc.  As a result, I knew, and still know, the attributes of the Bible very well.  Things like the books of the Bible, who wrote what and when, "important" verses, general themes, etc. were second nature to me.

I say this not to brag, but to compare.  The kids in my Sunday School class, even the ones that have gone to church all their lives, haven't been exposed to the same kinds of things.  Whether that's a sign of the times, or due to geographical or church differences is irrelevant.  My point is that when we turn to a specific passage, almost everyone looks at the table of contents, or those handy little page markers, or asks someone where it is.  Maybe this was the case when I was younger too.  i just don't remember.

In any case, I've offered "prizes" for students who will learn the books of the Bible in my class this year, and I need some ideas that won't break the bank.  My plan for the first few students is to give them copies of DCB's new cd, but buying CD's for the whole class is probably not an option.  Anyone got some ideas that would both motivate AND be not expensive?

Well, I got to hang out with Peter and Jamie yesterday and today.  We had dinner at P.F. Chang's, which is probably my favorite restaurant, although I don't go there very often as it is a tad pricey.  We tag-teamed with B-Dub since we had overlapping commitments that evening.  The tag went off without a hitch, and we had alot of fun.  Ben was there as well to provide some stability to the evening.

We met at Magnolia Cafe this morning at 7:45 (which was insane since I'm on vacation today.) for breakfast, where Peter had a root beer float...for breakfast.  We made B-Dub late for work, so he's probably fired.

My only regret is that we didn't get to hang out with Jan, and since we only get together when the Coulter's are in town, we won't see her again for a while.  Just kidding, that's not true.  Seriously though, let's have dinner sometime.

I've just upgraded my blog from "BlogX" to "dasBlog", which is BlogX on steriods.  For those who are interested, BlogX was created by Chris Anderson of Microsoft.  It became wildly popular due to its simple but elegant design.  It wasn't without it's problems though, so it seems the code was refactored a bit and became dasBlog (which I can only assume is a reference to the film Das Boot).  Anyway, the new version has TONS of great enhancements, most notably the entry creation form is fan-freaking-tastic. Now you too can upload images, create links and change the appearance of your blog.  (That is, if Peter will set it up for you (and if Peter set yours up in the first place. (I really like nested parenthetical phrases))).

Anyway, this is just one of several changes I'm making in an attempt to revitalize my blogging habits. Another is my mindset.  When I started, my purpose was to keep everyone up-to-date on everything that happens.  This led to a mountain of updates that just discouraged me from trying.  I also worried about my target audience.  Alot of the stuff that really excites me probably seems nerdy and boring --mostly nerdy-- to most of the people that usually read this, which discouraged me from sharing some things.  But after reading Jenkies's entries, I've found that I really get to know alot more about a person by what they write, even if it's not the kind of stuff I normally read about.  It's interesting because I'm really learning about a friend, so I don't have to have an emotional attachment to the content.

So, from now on, this blog will be about me whether anyone likes it or not.  I'll try to give people a warning when I'm going to delve into things technical.  I'm thinking about employing some kind of color scheme to categorize content visually (nerd alert).

Speaking of color, I'm also going to tweak with my "theme".  This blue is a bit ordinary.

Also, I'm going to try not to blabber on and on about...oops.

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since my last addition. There are so many things to talk about, but not enough time. Recently on Webdell's site, the discussion of cellphones and what is good etc was brought up. Several people I'm sure are waiting to get my take on it since I work for one of the larger cell phone manufacturers. To make myself clear to those who don't know, I don't make cell phones. Even though I don't work for the division that makes them (I'm in semiconductors), I do have some opinions that I think people can benefit from.

In my opinion, customer service and network coverage is a much more important factor than the actual phone. If you've managed to find a provider you're satisfied with, great. I use Nextel service. Nextel was originally conceived to be a service for businesses, providing very reliable service at a slightly higher price along with a slew of nifty features such as 2-two radio that works across the country. They now provide some very reasonably priced phones (as well as some ridiculously priced phones), and their rate plans are considerably cheaper than before since they are catering more to the consumer market now.

Regarding flip-phones, I don't think I'd worry about them breaking, but I am aware of feeling like you can't hold it up to your ear very hard. That usually means the volume is too low. Most of the new flip phones can be used without openning them up. You just get more features and options if you do.

As far as built-in digital cameras, I would seriously question the real need for this. Most of the ones on the market take extremely low quality images. You could buy a comparable digital camera in the impulse buy section of H.E.B. for about $15. If you have alot of situations where you see something that no one will believe, then maybe you've got a use for it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't really think of a good use.

If you really want a phone with a cool feature will last a while in the usefulness department, get one with built-in Bluetooth. Both Motorola and Nokia make these. It allows you to connect wirelessly to things like:

• Your PC -- to synchronize calendar, address book, download games, etc.
• A headset -- Jabra makes a really cool one that wraps behind your ear. Freak out everyone in the grocery store by making it look like you're talking to yourself!
• A keyboard -- to type emails, etc.
• A printer -- to print...stuff

Integrated GPS is another cool feature I've seen. Well, it's late and I don't think I've resolved anything. Unfortunately, with all the transport techologies (iDen, CDMA, TDMA, GSM) and all the different providers, we've created very restrictive environment for the cell phone market. Many new phones are supporting more technologies, but providers are still the gatekeepers to creating a truly flexible environment. I guess we've got the same problems in most of the markets today. Computer hardware is becoming more cross-functional with standards like USB and Firewire, but the CPU market is still relatively closed. We got OS wars and Cola wars. Car manufacturers are pretty proprietary. It's a wonder that tires can fit multiple vehicles.

I think I've raised more questions that answers. Feel free to comment.

I picked up Becky from DFW last night at about 11:30. She's got 332 pictures of Germany for us to sift through. I'll try to get some of those up her so you can see them. Right now...I'm tired. I'll get everyone caught up with my anniversary suprise antics (which were very well received) as well.

As Jenkies's internship comes to a close, I also am reaching the end of a similar episode. Becky returns from Germany on Monday night. I share some of Jason's feelings with regard to the end of the duration. It's been a tough, lonely time during which it felt like I was in a new place where I didn't quite fit in. For me it feels like a part of me has been missing. In many ways, it's been an enlightening experience after which I feel like I know myself better. Of course, I didn't meet anyone with bullet holes, and I don't have to preach on Sunday. It's not even my turn to teach Sunday School this week.

It really makes me appreciate Becky that much more to see what my life would be like without her. For one thing, I can just barely make it out of bed on my own. The many years of training that Peter and I went through to sleep late and through anything have honed my sleeping skills to the point that it just about takes a freight train to wake me up enough to actually get up. I've been late several times in the last few weeks because of it. It's a million little different things that you don't notice until they're gone. I'm glad she's coming back soon.

She's taken lots of pictures, so maybe I'll post a few of the better ones. We got a 256MB memory stick for the camera before she left. Combined with the 64MB stick we already had, she's got enough room for well over 300 pictures of Germany. And if you come visit, we'll make you watch every single one...Just kidding.

That reminds me...You guys have an open invitation to visit us in Austin. Well, not just anyone off the street. You know who you are. (not you, B-Dub. You can stay in your own dang house)

Say, that reminds me, B-Dub. It's you and Jan's turn to come up North for dinner when Becky gets back.

Well, I got ambitious and decided to replace a few of the more non-functioning of my sprinkler heads the other day. I identified a few, and began to dig the first one up. The western side of my house doesn't drain very well, and as a result the dirt stays rather moist after a rain. Over the years, the roots have permeated (Jeff, usage?) the ground and made it almost like peat (not Pete). This made it very difficult to dig through. So, I pulled out the ole pick-axe. My system is about 20 years old, and is constructed rather bizarrely. They use what I would call a "curly-que" of elbow joints to couple the head to the pipe, presumably to reduce the torque on the main PVC pipe delivering the water. This particular head had a much more elaborate structure coupling it to the pipe in such a way that the "curly-que" reached much higher toward the surface. Not realizing this, I hacked it with the pick-axe, and now have a neat little fountain.

So, today I went to the brand new Lowe's down the street (across 35 from the soon to be opened Ultimate Electronics, Toys 'R Us, Ross, Chili's, Johnny Carino's, etc...Take that B-Dub!) and picked up some PVC weld. This stuff is pretty cool. You fill the crack, than "activate" it with heat. You're supposed to use a blow torch, but I don't have one, so I used a lighter...It took a while.

While I was heating it, the ground caught on fire (remember the peat-like roots). This was really a bizarre sight. It finally went out when it got to the place where the roots went under the dirt, because most dirt isn't flammable...thank goodness. Anyway, I let it cure for a while and then fired up the sprinkler. I hadn't sealed it all.

So now I have to wait until it dries out before I can do anything else.

Well, that one's somewhat anti-climactic, but I'll submit it anyway...for the sake of community!

I thought this would be an interesting venue for logging my video ideas and getting feedback on them from some of the people whose feedback I need the most...insensitive jerks. Just kidding. Here's one I thought of this morning. Kind of an excuse for a very action/stunt oriented short, so I can get sued by the parents of some of the youth who'd be my actors.

It's a spoof of the Matrix called "The Metrics" (or something like that). The world is not as it seems. Even though we use English system units, everything underneath is run on the metric system. Anyway, you get the idea. Agents, super-powers for some reason, etc. Maybe it's only funny to me. I'm prepared to accept that. I deal with alot of metric system vs. english system crap.

I've got some more of these. Expect to see more in the next few days.

You may be wondering why I'm being particularly quiet. I my readers will recall, Becky is out of town...still. Our anniversary was last Thursday, so I've been getting a few surprises ready for her return. I'm very excited about them, but, on the off chance that she should stumble onto my web log while in Germany, I will not mention them. I'll relay her reactions to you when she gets back.

Andrew and Sara came up yesterday evening. We played some ping pong and went to Red Lobster. For those of you wondering...yes, he can still beat me in ping pong. I usually lead until we tie up at 12, then he leads until about 21-19. I rationalize it by saying that I win the first half of the game.

I successfully fixed my broken sprinkler head. Today, I went through a full diagnostic of the system and targeted a few more heads to replace, as weel as an entire zone in the back that doesn't turn on. Not having a map of the pipe and valve locations will make that one a little difficult to fix. I'd say the whole thing's in pretty good shape for being 20 years old.

Yesterday was the "Grand Openning" of the Super Target openning in North Austin. My friend Jen (Dave's wife) works there and knew they were having fireworks to celebrate the openning. She and Dave invited me to come watch them. Many of you know I cannot pass up such a mixture of technology, fire, loud noises, and bright colors. Jen picked us a spot that was VERY close to where they were being shot from. I had assumed it would be a few rockets and mortar shells and it would be over....I was wrong. It turned out to be a show rivalling many of the 4th of July shows I have seen over the years. And being so close made it even better. It lasted for a long time, and the finale was absolutely deafening. We were so close that the fireworks filled practically the whole sky and made you feel as if you had ascended into the sky and were right there with them. It was really cool.