andrew and heather

High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images

2009-01-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

I am absolutely fascinated by HDR photos. If you haven't seen HDR photos, take a look at this website: Smashing Magazine.

I thought in this post I would not only show you my latest HDR photo, but let you in on the secret of what HDR is and how to do it.

The basic element of HDR photography is bracketing your shots. Which, for non-photographers, simply means you take several shots in which the exposure changes to over and under expose the same image. While camping over the weekend, I took a series photos of the small lake there. For the images below; the first shot is more or less the "correct" exposure, the second images is under exposed by 2 full stops and the third is over exposed by 2 full stops. You can easily tell that the sky looks more dramatic under exposed (2nd) but darkens the trees while the over exposure (3rd) details the trees but blows out the sky.HDR simply takes the three images merges them so that the "good" parts of each photo are used. In the final image, below, you can see that the water is from the 1st shot, the sky is from the 2nd and the trees are from the 3rd (more or less).

Ultimately, HDR photos show an exaggerated depiction of what my eye really saw that day. Hope you like.

Camping Trip

2009-01-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

Zach invited me to go camping with him, my dad and my nephews Bo and Abe over the long holiday weekend. Zach recently bought a new trailer, so we were commissioned for it's maiden voyage.

We made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Tyler state park. Zach chose that location so that we all could visit my dad's dad (my Pawpaw) on the way home.

Saturday night we went for a short hike and hung out around the campfire, ate dinner and of course, s'mores. Bo and Abe loved throwing pine needles and leaves into the fire.

On our way home we stopped by the fire station, Clay was on shift, and got a tour from our brother.

The Real Reason for Dylan

2009-01-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

The truth behind me wanting a Weimeranar has been revealed, I wanted a dog to sing the blues with/for me.

Plane vs. Geese?

2009-01-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

If would would have ask me that yesterday, I would have said plane.

I do pray all 170 passengers survive the crash and the cold of the Hudson. Story

The Proof is in the Pudding

2009-01-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

Though you might think UNT had a horrible season, let me share some encouraging news. UNT technically could have beat the National Champions this year. Don't believe me? Allow me to show proof...

North Texas beat W Kentucky 51 - 40
W Kentucky beat E Kentucky 37 - 13
E Kentucky beat E Illinois 20 - 7
E Illinois beat Illinois St 25 - 21
Illinois St beat Youngstown St 54 - 44
Youngstown St beat N Dakota St 32 - 24
N Dakota St beat S Illinois 35 - 27
S Illinois beat Northern Iowa 27 - 24
Northern Iowa beat New Hampshire 36 - 34
New Hampshire beat Army 28 - 10
Army beat Louisiana Tech 14 - 7
Louisiana Tech beat Mississippi St 22 - 14
Mississippi St beat Vanderbilt 17 - 14
Vanderbilt beat Mississippi 23 - 17
Mississippi beat Florida 31 - 30

So, in conclusion, the BCS system really screwed UNT this year!

You Knew I Would

2009-01-09T08:33:00.001-08:00

Before I say anything else, I must admit the OU played very well, much better than I expected. Gresham definitely has a bright career ahead of him, Stoops on the other hand is struggling.

However, in the end, the SEC are back to back to back National Champions. And the OU loss only furthers my case that the SEC is a better conference than the Big XII. Lets look at a couple of figures:

First, lets take a look at just this year, the 2008-09 season. Besides SEC beating the Big XII in both head to head meetings, the "beloved" Big XII South division went 1-3 this bowl season with the single win being Texas beating the runner-up in a pretty weak Big Ten conference with 16 seconds left and needing every inch on a 4th down in the 4th quarter to stay alive.

Secondly, lets look at the BCS era. Simply put, out of the 9 BCS Championship games played the SEC has won 5 (over half); the Big XII has won the second most with 2. The SEC and Big XII overall Championship game records are 5-0 and 2-3 respectively.

We will see if in the years to come the Big XII provides a case, but for now I am confidant the this argument shall be put to rest.

SEC Football

2009-01-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

If you know me, you know I love SEC football. From my days back at the real, and first, UT to now struggling to watch SEC games amidst the Big XII land I live... I love me some SEC football. I am extremely excited to watch the SEC win back to back to back National Championships.

In the video clip below David Bergman incredibly creates a stop motion film from 1,304 pictures taken from the SEC Championship game. I don't know about you, but it gets me pumped up for tomorrow's match-up.

1,304 Photos from the 2008 SEC Championship Game from David Bergman on Vimeo.

2009 Starts Out Busy

2009-01-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

I apologize to those who have been visiting the past couple of days with no new blogs to be found. 2009 has begun pretty quickly. Because of Texas state education laws changing, the adjustment at work has been hectic and call volume has increased as a result.

I have tried to be really productive to begin 2009 undertaking projects that were long over due. We had a garage door repair man fix our garage door, chimney sweep inspect our fireplace, bought and need to install living room speakers, receive Heather's living room chair, and the list goes on. And that is just this week. Perhaps I can show you the progress shortly.
I have several things on my mind to blog about in the upcoming days when I get time. So you can look forward to my blog about Benjamin Button, my frustration with ignorance (quite vague I know), my 60 year old home, and much more!

I also, at the request of Mr. Southward have opened my comments so that you don't have to log in. Jasen felt I would get more comments if people didn't have to log in. But I am warning you (specifically Jasen) one off-colored comment and poof! gone!

Lastly, for those who know the story about the house next door to me (the yellow one), Heather and I finally met the couple that moved in. She is a professor at UNT and her boyfriend just moved to Texas from Canada and his name is Locke. I hope that with a retired Canadian neighbor who loves to garden named Locke that I will enjoy their neighborship very much.

And no, I didn't ask, "Locke? Like from Lost?"

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Before Auld Lang Syne was penned in Ireland years ago, the Irish sang "The Parting Glass" for such an occasion as the New Year. I have been listening to this song at least 2 times a day for the past 3 weeks. I hope you can listen to the song and think about your year's past and what 2009 holds for you. Happy New Year.

Christmas Slideshow

2008-12-27T11:19:00.001-08:00

With 3 of the 4 Christmas's done, I decided to share the Joy we have had so far.

Christmas

2008-12-24T19:26:00.001-08:00

This Christmas season, for the first time in a long time, I have tried to dwell on why I celebrate. And I have concluded why I celebrate Christmas; I celebrate Christmas because giving and receiving gifts is easier for me than trying to fathom the birth of the Savior.

There is something truly overwhelming about God becoming Man, born to die so that I might not suffer eternal death. And as much as Easter is a symbol of Christ's gift to me, Christmas is the symbol of God's gift to all.

This is my prayer this season:

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:12-17

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. I hope all can spend time with family and those they love and share in the Joy.

Great American Pastime

2008-12-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

I faintly remember playing Atari when I was a little kid, but my first real memory of video games was our next door neighbor, the Barrett's, Super Nintendo (SNES) and our Sega Genesis. I distinctly remember debating whether Madden on SNES or Joe Montana Football on Sega was better.

I also remember my parents buying me and my brothers a Nintendo 64 (N64). One of my greatest memories of my brothers is playing GoldenEye, my first introduction to a First Person Shooting (FPS) game. However, I never really got into Playstation or Xbox because I loved and became so familiar with EA games and FPS games on my PC, most notably Call of Duty. To me, I found it easy to play with a mouse and keyboard than a controller. However, last fall, this all changed for me.

My oldest brother, Zach, convinced me to buy an Xbox 360 so we could play Halo 3 over the internet. He promised it was better than GoldenEye on N64. And I quickly began to realize he was right. Then several months later Call of Duty 4 was release on Xbox 360. This, in essence, mixed my great memory of console FPS games with my favorite game from the PC.

The hype lived up to the expectation. Since then, I have shared some great times with all my brothers playing Call of Duty 4 on Xbox Live.

Here is Zach getting is "COD on."

Rozell Christmas Tree

2008-12-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

Although extremely late compared to most, Heather and I finally got our Christmas tree up earlier this week. I like the way the tree looks from the street at night the best. I hope to post more pictures of the decorations later this week, like the stockings Heather made. I also took some pictures of Dylan being very curious about her first Christmas tree.

Climate Control

2008-12-17T12:56:00.001-08:00

I have never bought into the premise that humans have an affect on the global climate. Especially since the group of scientists preaching to live "green" is typically from the same camp of individuals who renounce the idea of creationism or intelligent design. I also have never hidden my skepticism of global warming or shied away from a friendly debate. Ask Jasen.

That being said, I felt compelled to post about the subject in light of recent news coming out of the UN global warming conference being held in Poland. For the sake of space and manners, if you would like to read the full text, please click "Full Post" below.

Edit: More Global Warming Proof
Worst Snow in Las Vegas in 30 Years
Malibu gets "freak" snow.
CNN Meteorologist: Manmade Global Warming Theory "Arrogant"

In 2007, 52 UN scientists authored the IPCC 2007 Summary of Policymakers which basically backed Al Gore's notion that global warming was imminent and citizens of planet Earth needed to change their ways in order to keep the polar ice caps from melting.

Although there was much protest from opponents, this document was published and has been held as the official position of the UN. In August of 2008 at the International Geological Congress meeting in Norway even more skeptics of global warming began to speak out. But it wasn't until this year's UN global warming conference in Poland that the skeptics' noise might have been louder than the 52 UN scientists.

A total of 650 international scientists gathered Poznan, Poland to dissent the claims of the other 52. There was an adamant and infatic theme to the official statements of these highly regarded, skeptic scientists.

And the scientists who oppose Gore and others are not settling with vocal protests at the annual meeting. They are beginning to release their own data, analysis and research to refute climate fears.

Here is what a few of the 650 are saying:

“Since I am no longer affiliated with any organization nor receiving any funding, I can speak quite frankly….As a scientist I remain skeptical.”

- Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Joanne Simpson, the first woman in the world to receive a PhD in meteorology and formerly of NASA who has authored more than 190 studies and has been called “among the most preeminent scientists of the last 100 years.”

"Warming fears are the 'worst scientific scandal in the history…' When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists.”

- UN IPCC Japanese Scientist Dr. Kiminori Itoh, an award-winning PhD environmental physical chemist.

“The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds… I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists,”

- Indian geologist Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the UN-supported International Year of the Planet.

“Many [scientists] are now searching for a way to back out quietly (from promoting warming fears), without having their professional careers ruined.”

- Atmospheric physicist James A. Peden, formerly of the Space Research and Coordination Center in Pittsburgh.

I personally think the following quote rings true as the most prominent myth we are told and the reason CFL light bulbs even have a market.

“Even doubling or tripling the amount of carbon dioxide will virtually have little impact, as water vapour and water condensed on particles as clouds dominate the worldwide scene and always will.”

– Geoffrey G. Duffy, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering of the University of Auckland, NZ.

I am waiting to read the offical report from the conference which is promised to include great detail about the analysis and research done by these scientists.

If you would like to read more quotes from the 650 or links to some of the research, please click here: epw.senate.gov

For the record, I still believe we are called to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with. I just don't agree with the "green" movement because I think it is done mostly on false assumptions that living "green" actually will reduce the rising temperatures on the globe.

Etymology of our "Duchess"

2008-12-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

Although you will rarely hear me say "Duchess" as I prefer to call her simply "Dutch" in public, her proper name is in fact Duchess.

And though most people close to me and Heather are very familiar with Duchess, few know how we came to name her such a girly, Hollywood-esque doggy name.

The summer prior to my proposal to Heather and the acquiring of Dutch my roommate and I had a little beagle mix come stay with us for a few days. We didn't know who the owner was or the name of the puppy, so we just called him Duke. Duke is a large part in the transformation of Heather into a dog lover. She would come over and fawn over Duke and talk about wanting one just like him. Well, when I found Dutch, a little beagle mix, Heather knew right away that Duchess was a perfect name as a counterpart to little Duke.

Here are some pictures of when Duke lived with me. Duke and Wheeler played like they were old friends.

Christmas Time is Here

2008-12-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Warm days like yesterday make it hard for me to be in the Christmas spirit. And even though yesterday was in the mid 70's, leave it to Texas to give me 40 degree weather today. If I had it my way, we would be getting snow flurries throughout the week leading to waking up Christmas morning to a winter wonderland of white. Alas, I cannot depend on Texas to provide weather equal to my expectations of "Christmas weather."

What I can depend on is every retailer in the world projecting Christmas music. I can also depend on Delilah serenading my car on 103.7 KVIL. However, even Christmas music or atleast the same songs played the same way each year can beat me down instead of warm me up. Needless to say, a refreshing Christmas song or variation to a classic is just what I need this year. Recently, on a blog I follow, I saw a plug for an artist I hadn't heard of. When I searched his music, I found his Christmas album to be pretty good. His style is unique and his banjo doesn't really match traditional Christmas. But really, neither does 70 degree weather, so...

Here is Sufjan Stevens:

edit: I know this is not a "carol," but its on his Christmas album.

My King

2008-12-10T07:43:00.000-08:00

In looking over the past handful of posts I have made, I see that I have made liberal use of videos. And though I still have an arsenal of videos to share with the world, I will refrain from videos this morning. Instead, you get my sometimes incoherent words.

Last night I turned on the TV to see who the guests were on the late night talk shows. Although Kate Beckinsale's English accent on Jay Leno is always pleasant, it was the guest after Kate who was, to me, more interesting... Enter Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Like all celebrities who chat with Leno, his goal was to promote himself. In this case, the occasion for the visit was the release of his Diddy's fragrance: "I am King." Now, putting my confusion about celebrity endorsed fragrances aside, I listened to Diddy's marketing piece for his cologne. It went something like this:

"Sure, men get the big piece of chicken in the bucket, the head seat at the dinner table and maybe their own chair in the living room, but they never get treated like the King they are. I think it's time for men to take pride in the good things we do for our wives, families, etc. and treat ourselves like Kings."

He went on about how in this world, men are Kings and should, in an appropriate scale, be treated as such, or at least treat themselves as such.

Now, given that my mind is more or less in the Christmas spirit, when I hear "king" I generally sing in my head, "... glory to the newborn King!" Which leads me to the issue on my mind.

Without getting too much into English grammar, I think there is a definite distinction between "a king" and "the king." One is general and one is singular, superior. "I am King" (the fragrance) seems to be the latter. I mean, Diddy's cologne isn't called "I am a King."

And while I don't necessarily fault Diddy for the name of the cologne, I do recognize that the idea that we deserve to be referred to and treated as "King" is a microcosm of the way in which the general public sees self-worth. Though I don't know how literally to take "I am King" and its subsequent connotations, I do believe one King is sufficient.

Cue Lecrae:
"Lets establish that He's Israel's King
So in Matthew 1 and 1 and on the 1:17,
We see His lineage and trace way back into time
That legally He was fine in the Davidic line
And genealogically He's still King of the Jews
Cause the Book of Luke exposes genetical clues
See a true King though He didn't do it in the physical,
He brought a new covenant to free 'em in the spiritual
And after sometime, Wise men from the east
came looking for the new born king in the streets
I know some of you dudes may cruise a 4Runner
But Christ had the dude He used as a forerunner
And no promoter gunna cut it like the John the Baptist
You need publicity stunts so you datin' an actress
A real King has somebody bringin' the news
That his kingdom's ahead and they ain't fit to lace up his shoes
So tell me who's the one anointing all these so called kings?
They all self proclaimed and man, that's a dangerous thing"
- Lecrae

Family

2008-12-08T20:07:00.001-08:00

I had the privilege to take photos of my oldest brother's family. I have some good looking nephews. Here is are two of the photos. As texture is the "in" thing to do to photography right now, I gave it a whirl.

Jones is just shy of one year, can you believe it?

Saturday Night Live

2008-12-08T13:06:00.001-08:00

I haven't watched SNL regularly in, well, ever. I never really thought it was that great. Sure Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon in "Weekend Update" was genius, but what else was there?

Well, last season when SNL debuted "SNL Digital Shorts" my view of the show began to change. I am sure you remember "Lazy Sunday" or "Blank in a Box" with Justin Timberlake. Since the Digital Shorts started, I have found myself watching more and more SNL and I have gotta say, they are doing a pretty good job. The majority of sketches are funny and the hosts are doing a surprisingly good job.

If you haven't seen what I am talking about, go to Hulu and watch any (or all) of the "Shorts" or any of the skits with, say, Peyton Manning. Hulu.com/SNL

This past week crazy John Malkovich hosted. Here is his pretty funny, and creepy, Christmas monologue to open the show:

I am sure Hugh Laurie, aka"Dr. House," will be pretty funny this week as host.

Food for Thought

2008-12-05T15:01:00.001-08:00

This is a pretty amazing presentation. Let this soak in over the weekend.

Rozell Boys

2008-12-05T07:34:00.001-08:00

My little brother decided last minute to fly in from Michigan for Thanksgiving which allowed this rare moment: a photograph of all the boys.

Why Dogs are better than Cats

2008-12-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

No words...

Kathleen Baskin-Ball

2008-12-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I heard the saddening news that my step-mother's sister passed away. She was a wonderful woman and she loved her congregation. She officiated the marriage between my father and Diane several years ago and shortly after began her fight with cancer.

I know that God needed her home and home she is. She has a beautiful 4 year old son, Skyler.

Here are some links to more information about Kathleen and the service this Saturday.
Beloved Allen Pastor, 50, Dies of Cancer
Beloved pastor who fought cancer minister to very end.
Wikipedia: Kathleen Baskin-Ball

My prayers are with Diane and Kathleen's family.

String Theory

2008-12-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

Although I hate classrooms, I love learning. I like to learn new things and I like to challenge my mind to grasp difficult thoughts. Besides history I am often most fascinated by space. Just last night I was absolutely mesmerized to see the moon, Venus and Jupiter align and become visible in the night sky. http://flickr.com/photos/vanessagx/3073693381/ To see that makes me feel so small and in an instance, insignificant.

I do not understand much of dimensions and/or string theory (the stuff of Stephen Hawking). That is, I understand 2D and 3D, but the 4th dimension on are lost on me... until now. Because of my love for learning, I really appreciate a good teacher and the ability to teach a difficult subject is a rare trait. In this video, by this man's brilliant teaching, it becomes easier to grasp the idea of higher dimensions. And although my mind doesn't understand it all (yet) I really enjoyed watching this video; it made me feel smarter.

Warning: Science Content

Thanksgiving Recap

2008-12-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

I hope all had a good, relaxing Thanksgiving. Although mine was uneventful I enjoyed hanging out with family. During the Thanksgiving break I found myself acutely aware of the things I have to be thankful for because of the tragedies happening in Mumbai. My continual thoughts and prayers are with those who were affected by the attacks. I am especially thankful for the security in which I have in America and the freedom provided to me.

On a lighter note, football was all positive over the break. Cowboys won, Tennessee won and North Texas didn't lose... that bad. Also, for those who watched the dog show I am glad the the Sporting Group got best in show. I get so tired of the non-sporting, toy and hound groups getting all the AKC acclaim. And although the Weim didn't win, the sporting group was represented by another pointer none-the-less.

I hope one day soon the Weimaraner will win it all. If "Uno" can do it... so can this girl.

North Carolina

2008-11-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was looking through old photos while simultaneously surfing the web and listening to my "Jack Johnson Radio" station on Pandora

I found some of my old photos from North Carolina and slapped them into a collage. This is what came of it.

Ah, the good ol' days

2008-11-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

For those who, like me, listened to every minute of the presidential debates, I think you might appreciate this short clip. I think it just reiterates the amount of tired-head three debates cause.

Also, I am pretty sure I had nightmares that looked and sounded just like this...

Dutch 101

2008-11-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Little Duchess, my personal Yoda, again exemplified a great life lesson today while I was eating lunch: "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

She couldn't choose between two skinned tennis balls...
She thought and pondered over the choice for several minutes. Then, all at once, pounced on a ball...
She fully committed to playing with that ball, she didn't even look at the other one again...
We played fetch for awhile, then hide and go seek until I had to go back to work. (It didn't take long for her to find the ball in the Tom Thumb bag.)Got me thinking about how much time I spend worrying about the decisions I make on a daily basis. Why worry? I should just make up my mind and make the best of it. Thanks Dutch!

Random Duchess

2008-11-11T05:32:00.001-08:00

Duchess, Dylan and I were out in the backyard playing fetch the other day. Well, let me rephrase, Duchess and I were playing fetch and Dylan was doing her best to get in the way. At any rate, eventually Dutch's ball inevitably became dirty, but she never seems to mind.

Father to Son

2008-11-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

Made me think: what story will the next photo tell, 27 years from now?

Weekend at mom's

2008-11-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

This weekend I took Dylan out to my mom's place both Saturday and Sunday to let her run free for a couple hours. She really enjoyed just being able to explore and use her great nose. Here she is on a relaxing walk through the back part of my mom's land.
Dylan also experienced for the first time stickers, in the field. We were just walking through the field and I looked back to see her in a complete hobble. I looked at her paws and they were covered in stickers. She looked so pathetic as she tried to find a position without pain and just stared at me. I ended up picking her up and carrying her the final 200 yards or so to good grass and cleaning up her paws.

Two Years

2008-11-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Heather knows that I am a flawed man and somehow she loves me, in spite of me. I can't remember a single day she hasn't shown me love and I can't express what that means to me. Here's to her on "Andrew and Heather Day."

123 Days Later

2008-11-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

Heather and I moved into our lovely home 123 days ago. Since then, every day of the past 123 days we have been bathing. Not just bathing in general, but actually sitting in a tub and taking a bath. We have had 2 occasions to take actually showers in the past two months, both at hotels. It has been a long wait, but this morning Heather and I had the privilege to both take showers in our own home today! And everyone rejoiced!

Typical Duchess

2008-11-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

Duchess absolutely loves sleeping in our bed. She has come to expect Heather and I to save room each night for her. She burrows to the very foot of the the comforter, about faces, and crawls back just so her snout peaks out the top of the comforter.

In the afternoon, she uses her teeth to pull the down comforter into a large gathering than crawls atop and methodically finds her spot. It is actually pretty amazing to watch first hand. I tried to catch her in the act, I think I just annoyed her.

Golfing at Oakmont

2008-10-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

For Will Barns's bachelor party, 12 guys went and played a round of golf out at Oakmont. Because I cannot go anywhere without my camera, I took some pictures. Clay, by the way, was significantly better than any of us thought he would be.

Gay or Not Gay

2008-10-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

Every Tuesday at 12:50PM Bob and Dan (BaD Radio) from 1310 The Ticket have a segment on their radio show called "Gay or Not Gay." I emailed them to see if my brothers, Clay and Zach, are gay. Please take note that this is the most listened to Radio station in the Dallas - Ft. Worth metroplex. Enjoy this radio gold!

Barack-O-Pop

2008-10-29T12:08:00.001-07:00

From the creator of this genius (link) comes a new video that I find quiet awesome. For those of you who know me, I am a sucker for Top 40 music. You know, KISS FM stuff. Believe me, its a habit I am currently trying to quit, please reserve judgement, especially since you probably know the song he is spoofing: Lil Wayne's Lollipop:
Enjoy....

Check out more of his stuff at www.benanderic.com.

Brett Dennen

2008-10-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Heather and I have been watching "House M.D." lately since we have finished up watching "The Closer". For some reason we solely use Netflix for TV shows. Anyways, back to "House." I heard a song that I liked on the most recent episode we watched and researched to find its name: "Ain't No Reason" by Brett Dennen. I listened to more of his stuff over the weekend and quite like it. He has his newest music video on his website: http://www.brettdennen.net/, but here is the song from "House." I hope you enjoy.

Jar Jar Binx

2008-10-24T11:49:00.001-07:00

If you recall Star Wars: Episode I, you might remember Jar Jar Binx, a lovable and goofy character from Naboo. Jar Jar Binx had incredibly long ears and when he ran they just flapped in the wind.

Because of this, I have started referring to Dylan as Jar Jar because when she runs around the yard, her ears just flap all over the place.

And although her energy is insatiable and often overwhelming, she continues to find ways to convince me she is here to stay. Last night, all she wanted was a little love from me. Here she is patiently waiting my love (and some treats).

Evolution of Logos

2008-10-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I have paid more attention to the logos and branding of companies. Some companies have a clear message in their logo/brand while others don't always make sense. I found this site recently that shows the evolution of several famous companies. Here is a sample of some. I think you will find it pretty interesting.

Appaloosa

2008-10-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

I, historically, am not a fan of western films. However, after seeing "3:10 to Yuma" my predisposition to dislike such films was erased. And although I hadn't seen or heard much of Appaloosa at all, on a whim I decided to persuade Heather to go see the show. The only place showing it was the Rave in Hickory Creek. It was in the smallest theater in the back. However, for those who don't know, the Rave is the best place to see a film because of the completely digital experience; the picture is clearer and the sound is purer (and it is a noticeable difference).

Anyways, though I do not care much for Renee Zellweger as an actress, she didn't ruin the film. On the contrary, Viggo Mortensen's surprise acting paired with the dependable Ed Harris and Jeremy Irons made this movie quite enjoyable. Hitch and Cole (Mortensen and Harris' characters, respectively) go down as one of the best western pairs I have ever seen; you can't match gunmen's loyalty and comradery.

Without further adieu, the trailer:

Japanese Addiction

2008-10-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Although I cannot speak or read Japanese, this website is highly addictive. The site simply takes any photograph and in one click transforms it to an antique. Thanks to the fabulous photographer Sharon Montrose for the link. Here are a few examples from pictures I had on my computer (only the first two taken were by me):

A smile and a wave

2008-10-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

I snapped this shot while Heather was giving Dylan a treat. Boy, is she hamming it up or what?

Abe's 3rd Birthday

2008-10-05T17:49:00.001-07:00

This weekend Heather and I celebrated our nephew, Abe's third birthday. The party was at WinKids, which is this very cool little gym for kids. Everyone there seemed to have a good time. Any why wouldn't they? A huge room full of trampolines, balls, foam pit and did I mention that the entire place is padded. That to me, is guaranteed fun!

Photoshop Fun

2008-10-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

After helping Heather clean house for a bit and before the VP debates came on, I had some time to kill. What better way then learning (goofing off) some more Photoshop? Here is my creation. It basically took a couple fonts, a few brushes, several layers and little spot light to make. Photoshop: the possibilities are endless.

A bit entertaining

2008-10-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

Ever want to see want websites looked like "way back when?" Perhaps what did ESPN look like in 2000 or Fidelity Investments in 1996? I mean the leader in sports broadcasting and the first financial services company with a website must be cutting edge, right?

See almost any website's history here: Wayback Machine

Random Picture

2008-09-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to post in a while, hopefully this weekend I will have another decent post. Until then, here is Dylan just chillin'.

More Evan

2008-09-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well you have seen Evan's head, but this is probably a little more telling. Here is happy little Evan.

Sissy

2008-09-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

I went to my mom's this afternon and took a few pictures of her little Westie, Sissy.

Evan Southward

2008-09-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of photographing Evan Southward tonight. The beautiful son of Jasen and Sarah is 14 days old. I should have more images done this weekend, but I am sure you will be able to find more pictures of young Evan on the Southward's blog this weekend too! Here is a teaser:

Atari 2600 Classics

2008-09-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

What if today's games were released for the Atari 2600? I'd buy!

DIY Project

2008-09-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

I convinced Heather to help me with a little DIY project this evening. The project: A softbox. The idea is to create a box to soften light for portraits. I think it turned out alright. We will see the future of this.

Materials used:

Five 30"x20" pieces of foam board.
Disassembled metal clip on light.
CFL ~100 watt light bulb
Synthetic fabric
Duct Tape (of course)
Total cost of project: < $40.00.

Above: Taken with available light. 1/10 at F1.8

Above: Shot with new softbox. 1/100 at F1.8

Above: This is the box with fabric pulled back to reveal the "guts."

Above: The side/back of box.

Quick Hits

2008-09-15T10:07:00.001-07:00

- The 2009 Farmer's Almanac is predicting significant global cooling over the next half century. Any human contribution to global warming is actually welcomed to mediate the effects of the global cooling. Source: USA Today

- Lindsey Lohan (and Sam?) has withheld her/their non-partisan talk long enough. They jointly believe that Palin is a "narrow minded, media obsessed homophobe". Lohan maturely quoted Pamela Anderson in representing her thoughts on Palin: "She can suck it!". Source: MySpace Blog

- McCain and Bush have been blamed for Wall Street's crash today. Obama believes the failed independent business practices of publically held business, specifically the way they (mis)handled the investments of sub-prime spectulations is a reflection or rather, effect of the Bush Adminstration. Source: Breitbart

Beautiful Day

2008-09-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

The aftermath of Ike left North Texas with some incredible weather. Dylan, like the rest of us, enjoyed the nice cool weather.

Above set is apparently "Dylan in the Round"

Above picture is Dylan being silly.

Side note: Dylan celebrated her 6 month birthday last week.

Smuncherkin

2008-09-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

Of all the names we call Duchess, somehow I have found myself labeling this blog as "Smuncherkin." Sigh. At any rate, here is little Dutch striking a pose on our front porch. Any guesses on what color our bedroom is?

Interesting Wordle

2008-09-11T06:36:00.001-07:00

Awhile ago I created a "wordle" or our blog, which takes the words from your site and creates a visual graphic showing the most used words. I thought it would be fun to take the transcripts of the two convention acceptance speeches from McCain and Obama and wordle their speeches, here is what was created:

Top is Obama's Wordle. Bottom is McCain's Wordle.

Irony

2008-09-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

A lot has been on my mind of things I would like to blog about: Olympics, Politics, Photography, etc. However, I couldn't help posting this.

This is a picture from the Republican National Convention, taken yesterday. Pictured are individuals involved in an anti-war protest. They came with signs, and what not, protesting against war and promoting peace. How ironic.

P.S. Who brings a hammer to a peace demonstration?

More of the same

2008-08-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Still recovering from the plague I sufferred yesterday, I had plenty of time to rifle through some old photos. Thought I would share.

Above: Four generations of Rozells: Jim (aka Sir James), Joe, Clay and Rev

Above: Heather's college dorm.

Above: Sunset upon Texas Women's University.

Above: Something of interest, perhaps?

From the Archives

2008-08-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

While looking through old photos, I found this one of Clay. This is from Christmas two years ago. He tried on Scott's (way-to-small-for-Clay) Hillsdale College t-shirt. What followed was Clay transforming into a posing machine. Much of his "poses" are NSFB (not suitable for blogging). Here is one that was. Please note, he isn't even holding a cell phone.

Wagerline is Back

2008-08-20T06:59:00.001-07:00

Wagerline is back. This fun filled NCAA football league is about to begin. I am sure that there will be much more that just the excitement of UNT upsetting K-State this season, so get on board. Here is the URL: http://www.wagerline.com/sportscontests/poolContest.aspx?ID=11901, email Andrew for the password.

The Gap

2008-08-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

My grandmother, "Gannie", has lived in Cranfills Gap, Texas for 36 years. "The Gap" as it is called by locals was established by Norwegian settlers and the residents (all 600) are very proud of their Norwegian heritage. Gannie's father (my great-grandfather), Otto Reesing, was 17 when he sailed alone from Norway to America to settle in Cranfills Gap in 1906. He came through Ellis Island and received his citizenship several years after the voyage. As a new citizen, he enlisted in the Army to fight in World War I.

Above: Gannie's House

Above: Downtown Cranfills Gap

edit: Reason for "The Gap" post is because Heather and I took a day off from work to make a visit. Heather had never been to this place of my childhood.

Steve Prefontaine

2008-08-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this quick film, filmed yesterday will help motivate the RozellBoys to get a couple more "in the can." Perhaps in Scott's final week home, we can get one more. Until then, this is a clip from a scene in the movie, Prefontaine. The great story of Oregon runner, Steve Prefontaine.

Thanks to Joe Rozell for filming.

Nothing New

2008-08-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

The only thing really new happening around the Rozell house is painting. I will post pictures once painting is complete. Until then, here is another popular RozellBoys film.

From the Archives

2008-08-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

All paintball guns need a thorough quality control test, right?

Leftover Panic

2008-08-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

For the sake of not wasting the size of our front porch, I bought a couple adirondack chairs at World Market yesterday. To make sure they were assembled soundly I followed the instructions perfectly. Now, this isn't a great feat since there were only 3 steps, however, in those 3 steps I was instructed to use 14 screws.

After completing the steps and admiring my brilliant work, I began to pack up the trash. While packing the trash I noticed there were some screws unused; 5 of them! I began to panic. Where do these 5 screws go? Is my chair safe to sit in? I reread the instructions 4 times. I looked at every inch of the chair. Any more screw holes? Where did I mess up?!

After much scrutiny, I determined that these must be (they have to be) extra and I needed to try the chair to see if it would hold weight. Still nervous, I slowly lowered myself into the chair, bracing myself for destruction. As soon as my full weight rested on the chair, the woods started making noises. "It's about the fall apart!" Thankfully, once the wood settled, the chair performed beautifully.

Even though the chair (seemingly) works, I am upset that World Market included extra screws. I would like to have the exact number given to me. This way, when there is no more screws I would feel confident I built the chair (or anything else) to the exact specifications. The panic I felt was unnecessary and quite frankly, wrong.

Words

2008-08-01T07:34:00.001-07:00

Through some blogsurfing I found this cool site, wordle.net.

This is derived using tidbits from our blog. What does your say?

Through the Viewfinder

2008-07-30T18:50:00.001-07:00

My dad gave me an original Yashica-D when I was in high school. I have never shot with it until now. Well, sorta. I used the Ttv technique (shot a picture through another camera's viewfinder). I don't know about you, but I love old cameras.

The old '57 Yashica-D

Picture taken through the viewfinder.

A Random Photo Shoot

2008-07-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

In photography, as well as most things, they say, "practice makes perfect." Actually, in sports they say, "perfect practice makes perfect." But that never made any sense to me. If you are practicing perfectly, why practice? Anyways, I digress.

Heather was kind enough to let me photograph her (I think it's because she likes to show off her new hat).

We've been flamingo'd

2008-07-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

As a fundraiser for one of the local high schools, you must pay to have the flagrant flamingos removed from your property. How do you get them on your property in the first place you ask? Well, you pay $15 and you can elect the next victim. Thanks Emily and Clay for the wonderful gift! Who shall be next?

New Look

2008-07-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Heather and I procrastinated house chores by taking a moment to revamp the look of the blog. A special thanks to Shawn D'lee Fine Art (Heather's mom) for the painting of Heather and I from our wedding. For more information about Shawn D'lee Fine Art, please visit her website at www.shawndlee.com.

Tapply Wedding

2008-07-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago we had the privilege of attending Kyle and Lori's wedding in Estes Park, Colorado. The wedding was simple and the weather was great. Thanks to Kyle and Lori for the invitation.

Momma's Birthday

2008-07-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, aside from "Scott Getting a Tattoo" day, was, more importantly, my mom's birthday. Everyone except Clay was in attendance. Here are a few photos of my nephews, Rev and Bo.

1 Corinthians 9.27

2008-07-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

I had been home one hour from Heather's and my weekend getaway to Colorado when Scott texted me that he was getting a new tattoo. Of course, I was there in minutes to watch... and document.

To save you the trouble --
1 Corinthians 9:27, "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." NIV

1 Corinthians 9:27, "But I beat my body [discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]. Amplified

Tattoo conceived by Scott; designed by Jen Windle.

New Home Photos

2008-07-06T19:09:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to take some photos of our new home after I mowed it for the first time today. These are a higher quality than the previous (and should please at least Jasen). Also, Heather and I bought an outdoor fan we hope to use plenty while sitting on the front porch! Side note: Home Depot gave Heather and I 10% off our purchase because my dad is a Marine, which is doubly awesome.

The Rozell Boys

2008-07-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Monday night my grandmother, Gannie (Zach couldn't pronounce the "r" in Grannie when he was a child), was in town. We had a family dinner at my mom's for the occasion. I took these photos after dinner while playing "Ladder Ball" and "Bocce Ball".

Abe

Bo

Homeowners

2008-06-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have hesitated making any formal announcements at the risk of jinxing the entire thing. But, it is done, after a month of rollercoaster events, Heather and I are now homeowners! We closed on our first house last Friday at 5PM and slept in our home for first time last night. I will post more about the house when I have more time. For now, here are 2 pics I took of the house from my phone, sorry for the poor quality.

1019 Egan St, Denton, Texas 76201

Dylan - 3 months

2008-06-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Dylan is now 12 weeks old. She is almost completely house-broken (3 days, no "accidents") and she knows sit, very well (as demonstrated here).

Another Lake Day

2008-06-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Harrison's recent high school graduation (congrats!) brought family in from out of town. While in town, we took a morning trip to Ray Roberts.

(Harrison carving; loading up for jump.)

(Andrew, Heather's cousin, trying a one hander.)

(Uncle Brett showing some sick moves!)

(Harrison gets in on the air contest.)

(Andrew with a front side grab.)
(Austin, Heather's cousin and Prince Harry's doppleganger, taking it easy.)
(Austin, spraying the water on a hard carve.)
(This was Sydney's, Heather's cousin, 4, first time on a boat. She seemed to really enjoy herself.)
(Brett getting some air.)(Sydney and her father enjoying a great morning on the lake.)

Optical Illusion

2008-06-06T15:00:00.001-07:00

Take a look at the picture below. The squares that the letter "A" and "B" are typed are the exact same shade of grey. If you don't believe me, print out the picture and cut out a square. This is buy far one of the coolest illusions I have seen.

The reason for this is that our mind sees the entire picture and wants to think square "B" is lighter than it is because of the alternating squares. (in case you are wondering, it could be a blue cube casting the shadow and the effect would be the same... a green cylinder is not mandatory. However the shadow itself is key.).

Birthday Weekend

2008-06-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Instead of celebrating on just one day, Heather and I celebrated my birthday all weekend. (Strangely enough, I took zero pictures all weekend long.)

It started by going to my first Ranger game of the season with our good friends Jasen and Sarah Southward Friday night. We had awesome seats (20 rows behind home plate) given to me by a family friend.

Heather and I woke of Saturday to go to Dogs Days of Denton (http://www.dogdaysdenton.com/). We took Duchess and little Dylan where they both had a great time meeting and playing with all types of dogs. Dylan often stole Duchess' thunder by being a tad more cute (what do you expect with a 10 week old puppy?) Nevertheless, Dylan got to meet a full grown Weimaraner and other big dogs. Later on Heather and I attended the wedding of Eric and Amber Benjiman followed by drinks with Sean Gorman (former roommate) at the Abbey Inn, a new Irish Pub on the Denton Square.

Sunday, my official birthday, was a low key day. Heather and I slept in and just hung out at the house all afternoon. She surprised me with "EA skate", an Xbox 360 game she swore she wouldn't buy me. Sunday night we got together again with the Southwards for dinner at Hard Eight (http://www.hardeightbbq.com/) followed by some golf action at TopGolf, one of the coolest place I have been in a long time (http://www.topgolf.com/).

Heather and I are now completely focused on closing on our house. We are set to move in June 28. I will post pictures of our new home soon.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of the day off with a trip to Lake Ray Roberts, just north of Denton. Me and my inlaws (2 brothers, sister, father, uncle and grandad -- Harrison, Hunter, Hannah, Craig, Brett and Melvin, respectively). These are some of the photos I was able to snap.

Harrson getting some air at about 7:30 AM.

Heather's uncle Brett showing what the Air-Chair is all about.

Hunter jumping the wake.

Brett again.

This photo should be on some marketing for Ray Roberts!

John Piper

2008-05-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

It is always a sticky subject when you tell of your convictions in any capacity, much less publicly. I feel that my convictions on life, politics and religion are just that, my own. They are not meant to put pressure on your believes. That being said, I am going to post something religious that gives me goosebumps to hear. If it means something to you, fantastic. If it is against your thought process, I don't think it has wasted too much of your life. Or maybe, you don't know if you agree or disagree and this is simply just a different perspective. Never the less, here is John Piper talking to a group of college kids in Birmingham, AL.

A little love

2008-05-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours sent this link to Heather all the way from Warsaw. Apparently, the NY Times is showing our fair berg of Denton some love. Read on:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/travel/11cultured.html?en=&ex=1368158400&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1210622687-NdBAPOCx9ethnepbpQm6BQ

The Ticket's Great Game

2008-05-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Heather and I attended the first annual 1310 AM "The Ticket" Great Game. It basically is a bunch of sports radio host trying to entertain us for charity. The game was quite entertaining and I am already looking forward to next year.

Mark "Freedo" Freidman about to pull a single to left.

Gruubs beating out the throw for an infield single.

Mike "Old Grey Wolf" Rhyner celebrates after he (surprisingly) scored a run.

Corby "The Snake" Davidson getting set for the opening pitch.

Heather and her little sister Hillarie

Dylan Rozell

2008-05-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Heather and I drove to Missouri on Saturday and picked up our newest member of the family. Meet Dylan. She is an 8 week old Weimaraner. She was in the car for 7 hours and didn't cry once and she slept through the first night with no mistakes. So far so good.

Though Duchess is completely unimpressed with Dylan, they are quickly becoming friends.

The Nin9s

2008-04-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

For those who listened to the way-too-long podcast. Thank you. We will have another shortly which will be short, I promise.

However, this post is more about a fantastic movie I saw this past weekend, "The Nines".

The Nines debuted at Sundance last year and made a whopping $63,000 at the box office. Nevermind the less than stellar performance in the theater, this movie is pretty dang awesome.

I will try and summarize the plot: Gary, Gavin, and Gabriel an actor, writer and video game designer respectively are portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in three short films. Each film independent of the next yet each seemingly happening simultaneously as the prior. We, the viewer, know that they relate to some extent but are restrained by the writer to the extent we so desperately want to know. The writer (John August, "Big Fish") cleverly answers some questions while leaving most of the film for us to ponder. (Think Keyzer Soze meets Neo type thinking.)

After I finished watching I immediately watched the DVD extras and started prying Heather, Zach and Leanne's mind as to the meaning.

Anyways, if you haven't seen it, rent it or rather Netflix it. Let me know what you think about it all (and please do not comment on Ryan Reynolds body... we all already know about it).

First Podcast from Elm St St Studio

2008-04-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

Zach and I are attempting podcast....

Click here for first podcast from the Elm St Studio. Please leave comments for feedback.

Image

2008-03-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken many pictures lately. I need to get out and about. Maybe sometime this week.

In lieu of the visual images, I will try to produce an equal product with mental images.

Location: Mom's House
Time: Early Afternoon, following Easter celebration on Saturday

Credit my mom for trying, but hiding empty plastic eggs did not fool my nephews very long. Instead random self entertainment evolved. For clarification, this self entertainment is not referencing my toddler nephews, I am talking about my adult brothers finding a need to entertain themselves. When trying to get an egg stuck in the tree tired, Zach and Scott quickly saw a challenge to see if Zach could swing Scott like Zach had been doing recently with Bo.

You know the swinging; where Zach would hold Scott's forearms and start spinning with the goal to lift Scott's legs off the ground. Well, it was very unsuccessful. In fact, so unsuccessful it demanded a retry so that the image of failure was not the lasting image we, spectators, saw.

Round Two. I help call Abe and Bo away from the location and once Bo and Abe were secured, Zach tried to spin Scott again. Rev (Clay's) son apparently wanted in on the action. As Zach's back was turned to the "audience" he began the spin. At that exact moment Rev began the run. In slow motion, we all yelled "S-T-O-P" but before we could get it out of our mouths Scott's heels and calfs made impact with little Rev's legs. Believe me, the spinning/flying-kick-into-a-2-year-old image was pretty frightening, but luckily Rev survived. He came and saw me at work today and he had no problem running to and yelling for [uncle] "dwew".

To help you visual, here is a picture of little Rev (with his daddy).

More Snow

2008-03-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are more pictures of the beautiful snow that fell all over North Texas. These pictures, particularly, were taken at mom's property the morning after the snow storm.

North Texas Snow

2008-03-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday North Texas got a legit snow storm. I have more pictures on the way, but these pictures were taken with my phone out the window of our office in a matter of about 3 hours. Though the quality is poor, I think you can grasp the volume of snow we received by these pictures below. It totaled just under 6 inches when it was all said and done.

Dallas Mavericks

2008-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

A once in a lifetime opportunity came to me yesterday: floor seats at the Dallas Mavericks home game. It was awesome! Heather and I ate some great food and watch a great game. (I tried to take some pictures, these are the better ones.)
After the game our good friend, Kyle Tapply, got us into the Ghost Bar. I didn't feel cool enough to be there. I was surrounded by people much cooler than I. This was all too apparent when T.O. Owens came through the door. Nevertheless, the night was awesome!

New member of the family

2008-02-26T16:41:00.001-08:00

Here she is, my new automobile (or "whip" if you prefer). A 06 Nissan Xterra 4x4. It hasn't rained here in a while and the mud flaps are highly effective, but I had fun on an off road trail yesterday with my brother-in-law. Though I have only had her one week, I am extremely impressed with the truck and look forward to thousands of miles on and off the road.

Goodbye

2008-02-18T12:40:00.000-08:00

Well I did the unthinkable and sold my Honda. She was a good car and treated me well (pictured here in North Carolina). I have decided to go back to my roots though and buy a SUV... details on her replacement to come...

Clay loves Wendy's

2008-02-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know who Wendy is; but Clay loves her.

Mardi Gras

2008-02-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

My work asked me to attend a conference in New Orleans earlier this week. Though I had been to New Orleans before, never over the holiday of Mardi Gras. Here are a few shots of the "festivities". Heather and I truly enjoyed the experience, but agree we need not return to such a god forsaken street - Bourbon.

Bourbon before...

... and during.

Fireworks on the river.

This is a chair, of sorts, attached to a ladder for kids to sit in and catch parade (krewe) beads.

What a fitting name.

Heather did not earn her beads in the traditional sense... but I did!

The crazy Christians codemning everyone to hell!

Bubble Gum

2008-01-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

I chewed a piece of Carefree gum today, but it didn't work. Sure, I felt pretty good while I was blowing and popping bubbles, but as soon as the flavor went away I immediately went back to contemplating my own mortality.

-- Heather thinks I should not take credit for such genius; this is from the mind of the late-great Mitch Hedberg

Breckenridge, CO

2008-01-29T06:42:00.000-08:00

My brothers and I flew to Colorado last weekend for a short ski trip in Breckenridge. The snow was new and the trails were empty. Here are some photos.

We took a nine passenger van from Denver to Breckenridge. I am pretty sure the other 5 people in the van hated us (or atleast hated Scott).

The "rozellboys" on top of Peak 9.

This was the view from our hotel room. We had a constant fire going and a nice balcony. It was the definition of a ski-in ski-out resort.

View from Peak 9. The building is a mountian top restaraunt.

Taken from the east side of Peak 8, you can see the town of Breckenridge.

Breckenridge as many "terrain parks". I took a break and watched skiiers and boarders test their mettle.

Left or right? I obviously went right!

Taken on Sunday afternoon at about 2PM. Can you believe that? 2PM and the trail was empty!?

I am a cons%&$@tive

2008-01-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

[edit]
I had a more passionate tyraid here, but I editted once I cooled. Here are the remnants:

Newt Gingrich: We need bold ideas now to be the conservative norm later.

Never quite just knew how to get it through
The utilitarian sloganeerian minds
And its time to stand up and redefine the lines
right now

Compartmentalizing, isn't realizing
Because it's not affecting change in the real world
So get on with your life and get over mine
There's only one world and there's many different tastes

So enjoy, don't employ your state
Common goals, communicate to contemplate
The way things are and why
Don't pawn the status quo problems off on the other guy

Your a celebrity in your own world
Catch phrases only catching cobb webs
Spiritualized capital gain and wealth
Isn't the means to the end, isn't the end itself

Manifest individually
Manifest a sense of reality
Because it's non exclusive
Don't be so elusively blind
Things are never what they seem
You don't know what you'll find
Right now!

-MXPX

Frames

2008-01-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

So, I got new glasses. More over, I got trendy glasses! I have always worn pretty traditional frames, but not this time. This time Heather encouraged me to branch out. And watch out, these bad boys are plastic. I am sure that I will ultimately get new lenses in my old frames for days I want to look really professional, but I kinda like the new frames. They are a much different look.

If I think about it too long, I start to picture myself as a wannabe deejay in a Tokyo night club mixing songs off my macbook pro. But if I don't think about it too long, I imagine myself as a pseudo-hip young adult who looks fashion forward. Anyways, I will still have to use my contacts to wear sunglasses or goggles, depending on which I chose; that is if I can get contacts to keep up with my ever ailing eyes.

Cowboys

2008-01-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Well, even though the Cowboys tragically lost, I still had a great time at a pretty exciting game. The entire stadium was dressed in white and it got crazy loud. A good friend of mine, Kyle Tapply, asked if I would help out with some promotions stuff during the game and I gladly agreed. Apparently, "promotions" means sideline field passes.

MB3 warming up -- Bob and Donny preshow

Rowdy, 4th qtr -- MB3 touchdown play

Final Score -- Maybe next year