Andy Denton

THIS SITE HAS MOVED.

2006-12-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

Resigned to...

2006-09-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

Editing and proofreading service.

2006-09-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Greg Rickabaugh, has launched a new online service, ReadMyPaper.com. It's an editorial and proofreading service. Greg and his team of seasoned editors and journalists will review your website, school papers, business papers, and resumes for very low fees. Some services are as low as $2/page. From the site...

In the rapid production of internet content and expanding globalization, most of today’s public and shared documents are poorly written. RMP will proofread your websites, edit your press releases, review your business correspondence, edit your school papers, and fine tune your resume. Allow our team of experienced news editors to manually review each line of your work. RMP will review your documents for grammatical mistakes, common misspelled words, run on sentences, sentence fragments, and misused phrases. At RMP, we want you to produce writings which make sense, are easy to understand, and clearly communicates your message. You write it. We right it.

If you're suspect of your own writing, give Greg and the professionals at ReadMyPaper.com a try.

Instant Jukebox - iPod styled web music player

2006-09-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

Want to hear a song you haven't heard in a while? Frustrated that you don't have all your favorite music with you at work? Or, just bored? Head on over to BlogMusik.net. BlogMusik says it provides "music on demand" and is a "web radio". I love it. I only hope that it doesn't get shut down, as there doesn't appear to be any language about licensing permissions. But, it's a great site for the time being, and one that should be allowed to stay open, IMHO. It appears that BlogMusik is just a big archive of music sitting on random servers. But, the iPod-esque flash player is really robust. You can instantly search thru its archives, songs play instantly. You can even send links to specific songs to friends via a unique URL. And if you do their simple registration, you can save songs to playlists. Just more cool stuff brought to you by our good friend - the internet! :)

How it should have ended

2006-09-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

You HAVE to check out "How It Should Have Ended". It's an engenious website. Absolutely histerical. Here is my favorite.

Move Along

2006-09-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

I know that this song has been out for a while. But, I like it. Plus, I think it has a good message to it. All American Rejects - Move Along.

I'm a good handshaker

2006-09-05T12:26:00.001-07:00

For those of you whoe like HIMYM (that's How I Met Your Mother for the un-hip), this line stuck with me.

here's the thing about mistakes. sometimes, even when you know something's a mistake. you gotta make it anyway. ...even really, really dumb mistakes

I never wanted any of it to change. -- But, that's not how life works.

If you had one shot, would you take it?

2006-09-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about these stories, but something jerks at me inside each time I see them. Jason McElwain's story is one of the most inspirational stories of our lifetime. It's a great story of fulfilling a dream. A modern day Rudy. And the story of Rick and Dick Hoyt is an amazing story of love, commitment. Both are undeniably inspiring. I feel that this world is full of traps and pain and it is so easy to wear emotional scars. But, in the fogginess of this world, these stories of Hope and Love stand out. It's something I believe in. It's something that I feel that Christ himself stands for. He tells us that He came so that we may have life, and have it the the full. That He came into this world as a light. That's His story - Hope. And this is our story - wading through the darkness. The chord that pulls within us when we see these stories is the sweet knowledge that someone out there has succeeded. These stories charactarize obstacles larger than those in the average person's life. And that's what makes them useful to us. Here is a dream fulfilled. As the narrator says: "What we all want in life, is a shot. But what we do with it - that's the story we all want to tell." And this is love. Where does your strength come from?

I'm trying to include my son in everything, so that he can live a life like everybody else.

The quote above was spoke by Dick Hoyt about his son Rick. And, to me this sounds very similar to the wishes that our heavenly father has for us. The below video shows Team Hoyt competing and completing the Ironman race. I dare you to watch as Dick and Rick sprint across the finish line and not be touched. Their story is nothing short of incredible. I hightly recommend buying their Ironman story on DVD. It's a great story of love, devotion, inspiration and determination.

Charlotte - Online Real Estate Empire

2006-08-31T08:26:00.000-07:00

I was driving around town today and saw this sign at the bottom of an exit of I-77 and Morehead. I thought this was interesting. Is House.com going to copy the RealEstate.com business model and start trying to convert some of their own leads into sales? A friend of mine, who's in the industry as well, tipped me off recently that House.com had moved their operations from NY to Charlotte. So, seeing the sign on the side of the road wasn't too surprising. But, it did make me wonder about House's business model, and about Charlotte in general. Charlotte is quietly becoming the mecca for online real estate. Now, there's no way that it can compete with the prowess of Emeryville, Seattle, or the Valley. But, just take a look at which companies call Charlotte home.

RealEstate.com
House.com
Realty.com
iHomes.com
LendingTree
Bank of America
Wachovia
Lowes

In addition to LendingTree and RealEstate.com, I also believe that IAC has parts of GetSmart.com, Domania, and iNest here. If not in total, some representation of these three can be found in Charlotte. I also was informed recently that the new CEO of NewHomes.com was pulled from Charlotte to their Florida home office.

I was curious about what House.com was up to. So, I shot an email out to Dan Parisi - no reply. (He rarely does). Then, I figured I would call the 800 # listed on the sign. After asking a few questions to the customer service rep I was informed that their plans for opening a brokerage are on hold, and they are focusing on obtaining more agent relationships for their lead network. That's cool. Sticking to your core biz strategy is never a wrong move.

But, with all of us in the same town, we should all get together for a drink and chat. It would make for a fun game of trying to find-more-about-your-competitor-than-they-can-find-out-about-you.

So, Dan, Eric, Gary, Michael, Doug... when's the first pow-wow?

Music for Wednesday...

2006-08-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

OK. I think I finally learned how to embed music within a post - rather than having to link out to a separate page. (Here's my first shot.) Those of you who were harrassed by me during our fantasy football draft, I apologize. But, I can't resist. Here's my new favorite sports song.

Gift season

2006-08-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

It's approaching Gift Season for the Denton household. Scratch that. The gift season never stops. (When will it end!?!?) My family seems to put emphasis on giving/receiving gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and such. I'm trying to ween off the gifts, because it can be so expensive come Christmas. For me, just the thought that you remembered me on my day is enough. But, this is a heavy time of year for gifts. September holds my birthday, my father's my neice, and my mother's is shortly behind on the first week of October. Noah's b-day is in December, then we have Christmas. Then after that, there's pretty much a holiday/event at least once a month. February - parents anniversary. May - Wesley's bday and mom's day. June - Father's day and Matt's bday. July - the 4th, Rays bday. August - Greg's bday. September - Andy, Dad, and Grace bday. And then over and over again. This doesn't include all the weddings and secondary family events. I'm approaching 32 now. After your 30th birthday, you tend not to want to have any big celebrations for future b-days. But, there's always that moment when you know your family is going to get you a gift. And, if they are going to get you something, you might as well have them get you something you want. So, selfishly here it is... I am ok with just a card. A hand written card. Not an e-card, not an email. A real Hallmark card that you have to use an ink pen with to write a personal note and possibly slip in a recent family photo. If you can't stop there, I'm always game for gift certificates. These are fast and easy. Amazon always works. I always could use something from Lowes. Those are both good options. I'm also a SteinMart fan. They actually have clothes there which fit me well. ;-) And that about does it. I eventually would like to have a nice tux or a classic black suit to have in my closet. But, that's something I'll probably visit my uncle Butch for.

More music

2006-08-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've been told that I need to start posting more tunes to my blog. Apparently that was a big hit with a friend of mine. So, here ya go. I've been listening to a lot of Keane lately. If you like it, stumble over to an online music store, or go out to a brick-and-mortar store and buy the CD. Try Again Crystal Ball

The great things are never easy...

2006-08-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Everybody wishes for life to be easier. Everyone is searching for the "good life". People think, "if I had more money, things would be easier because..." Or, "if I didn't have this weight problem, my life would be better because..." Or, "if we were just married, things would be easier..." Life always looks better through a different lense. If only we could change our circumstances, then things would be a lot different, and a lot better for ourselves. But, we know deep down life doesn't work this way. As the Notorious B.I.G. put it - "More money, more problems." The solution to your problems are in the now. The solution to your circumstance resides within you - not within someone else. If you want to change your circumstances, you have to change them. It has to be you to make the choice. If you want more wealth, then work for it. Plan for it, work the plan, and achieve your dreams. If you want to lose weight, work at it. Get off the couch, devise a plan and do it. If you want perfection in your relationships, don't rely on your partner to craft a solution on their own. You must take part. It is your choice to have a better life now. Life is what you make of it. It's easy to look at things on TV or in magazines and wish what life would be like if you were "like them" or "had that". But, life is not in the wishing. Life is in the doing. Everyone is searching for the quick fix. We need to reside ourselves that there is no quick fix. That joys in life are in the journey. Not in the destination. Life is not having the shiny car, big house, and big smile. Life is about how you got that big car, big house, and who you share it with, who fills up that house, and who you give the glory to for all that you have. This video is a great one. Given by John Kennedy, speaking of America's decision to go to the moon.

"Why do you want to climb it? Because it is there!... We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and do the other thing. Not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

You've heard the phrase, "that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well." The good things in life generally take work. If a great life is what we all want, we should welcome the challenge. We should say "to hell with the circumstances. To hell with the difficult challenges. I choose to have a richer life. I know that it might take work." To obtain joy in life, choose to be brave. Work hard. Work honest. And, relish in the victory.

Pinger.com - Party Line & Business Tool

2006-08-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Some of you have already been harassed by me and my new Pinger account. I think it's a pretty cool idea. It's basically a voice mail tool. But, think of it as text messaging for Vmail. Here is what Pinger does in a nutshell. 1. Pinger gives you a local number to store in your cell phone. 2. You dial, it picks up and says "who do you want to send a message to?" 3. You simply speak the name, and it uses voice recognition to search through all your contacts. You can speak as many names as you like. 4. You then here a beep, you speak your message. 5. You can either hang up, or keep sending messages to other people. 6. The person you are sending the message to receives an email that has you voice embedded in it. The recipient can either then reply back via email, or whatever. 7. If the recipient registers their cell phone too, they will recieve a voice-embedded text message. Keep in mind, you've only hit 1 button to do all of this. So imagine the scenarios... Say you hit the lottery and didn't want to take the time to call all your friends. But, you still wanted to get the good news out. With Pinger, you can create separate groups. So you call Pinger, tell it you want to send a message to your friends list, you speak your message, and VIOLA! You message has been sent to all of your buddies instantly. Want to arrange a quick pick-up game of volleyball? Use Pinger to send out invites. Then sit back and wait for interested parties to call you back. Or, do you want to send a message from the road, but don't necessarily want to actually speak to the person? Use Pinger. You'll get your message across without the hassle of a long conversation. The service is free for now. And it's currently in beta, so their are some querks. I haven't got it to upload all my Outlook contacts yet. But, I sent an email to their customer report and I received a reply that they are currently working on this issue. But, I'm told the Hotmail/Gmail imports work fine. It's rumored that Pinger, once out of Beta, will charge users who use the service more than 10 times per month. This is too bad. I say they should keep it free by selling ads on the thousands of emails they will generate. Keep it free Pinger, keep it free!!!

Scanr rocks!

2006-08-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

I posted about Scanr before, but honestly, I have never used the service - until now. Let me just say, Scanr rocks! I have no idea how they are monetizing their service, because it's all free. But, such a great idea, in a cool, James Bond kind of way. Basically, Scanr takes your pictures (via camera or camera phone) of whiteboards, documents, or business cards and converts them to a clear PDF file. Whiteboards become readable PDFs. Documents become searchable PDFs. And business cards are converted into Outlook friendly vCards. How cool! So, I needed to whipe my whiteboard clean today, but didn't want to lose the data. So, I grabbed my camera and tested Scanr out for myself. It went from this... To this... Stand and take a bow Scanr! Job well done.

Nikki's Wedding

2006-08-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

I went to my cousin Nikki's wedding this weekend. It was a blast. Nikki, Tim, and their friends and family are a great bunch of people to be around. So chill. So laid back. And very inviting, friendly, and just all around good people. I can't remember the last time I saw my other cousin, Trey (Nikki's brother). Trey is a cool guy, very personable. It was great to connect with them all. The wedding was on Lake Tahoe, which is located directly on the Nevada and California border - an absolutely perfect location for a wedding. The wedding was strictly "California" style. All the groomsmen wore Chuck Taylor sneakers with their tuxes - AWESOME! I wore my white Chuck's to Tahoe earlier that day, but didn't get the memo so I was stuck wearing my black dress shoes. :( Here's all the photos... I've got a ton of video from the wedding as well, including "the kiss", Trey's classic wedding speech, "the vow's", and more. I haven't uploaded them yet, but keep checking my YouTube account here. I should have the videos up shortly.

Dodge cars kill animals?

2006-08-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that around Christmas last year I purchased a barely used 2005 Dodge Magnum. I love this car. It's such a smooth ride, has tons of room inside, and looks very gangster. The only changes I want to do to the car are maybe add a bit more tint to the front windows and possibly change out to a better radio receiver. But, in the 8 months that I've owned the car, I've noticed one very important trait about my new vehicle. It is an animal killer! Literally. Not counting small insects, I am positive that I've mamed, wounded, and killed more animals driving this car moreso than anyone other car I've driven. I'm not sure why this is. Is it that this car is sneaky? Is the engine quieter than other cars? Does the engine hum in a frequency that attracts animals - kinda like a dog whistle? There has to be something to this. The numbers don't lie.

Any Given Sunday

2006-08-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

My brother, Matt, used to play this clip a lot. I think he just had the audio, not the video snippet below. But, still a great motivational speech from Pacino in Any Given Sunday. So, with football season approaching, and with all of our friends and family at war - without further adieu I give you the clip. (Please excuse some of the language used.)

"Either we heal, now, as a team. Or we will die as individuals."

Here's the original...

The dash

2006-08-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

My grandfather sent me this link. Get busy living.

What a trip!

2006-08-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

John Mayer has a song called 3X5's. It's a good song. The song sings of a person who travels and has left loved ones behind. As the traveler writes home, he slips photos into his letters of all the places he's seen. The traveler comes to a point where he realizes he's only sharing these memories with the lense of his camera, and not with the loved ones he cherishes. The chorus sings

"You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes it brought me back to life You'll be with me next time I go outside just no more 3x5's"

I always liked this song. But, this weekend, I decided to jump in the car and venture off to capture some memories of my own. Not a care in the world. No laptops. No cell phones. Just the car, a camera, and the road. I can't tell you how relaxing this getaway was. I originally had planned to stop thru Greenville, SC to check out some possible investment properties...which I did. But, as the weekend grew rainier and rainier, I decided to take the backroads up through the mountains, near Asheville then back home to Charlotte. I went to a gas station, bought a NC state map, located some small, lesser known landmarks, highlighted some backroads, and plotted out my adventure. While in Greenville, I stopped at Reedy Falls Park. It's smack in the middle of the newly revitilized downtown area. So beautiful. Tons of river rocks, a gentle rain, green grass, well maintained gardens, and kids playing in the river. What else can you ask for? After grabbing a hot dog for lunch (this area of the country must love hot dogs, because I passed over 10 hot dog joints in the Greenville area alone), I headed just north to Landrum, SC. Landrum (just outside of Tigerville) has the only covered bridge in South Carolina - Campbell's Bridge. It's a state landmark. Campbell's Bridge. Although I never saw the movie, this had to be like one of those bridges in Madison County. It was nestled over a quite little brooke. Nothing around for miles. Along side the bridge was the ruins of a grist mill. It was pretty cool. Kudzu had overgrown the entire ruins. But, you could still see the well, much of the foundation, and a small mill roof. After this, I heard of another bridge close by, Poinsett Bridge. Poinsette Bridge is the oldest standing bridge in South Carolina. This place was absolutely amazing. Purely covered with trees, the bridge looks as if it were untouched and unharmed since the day it was built. One of the prettiest babbling brooks and bridges you'll ever see. I just hope my photos do it justice. After these two great finds, I jumped in the car looking for more adventure. I was very close to the NC border, so I ventured on up to Hendersonville, NC to visit one of the regionally famous Mast General Stores. Apparently they are a must-stop for any backroads North Carolina trip. I stopped, and picked up a few goodies. Upon checkout I asked the guy behind the counter "what's there to do in Hendersonville?" He quickly replied with Jump Off Rock. Apparently, from downtown Hendersonville you just take 5th street west for 7 miles, and you arrive at a dead end which is the highest point in the area. It's a cool birds eye view of the entire town. Pretty cool stuff. I swear that from atop these peaks I heard eagles scream repetitively. By this time it was 6:00pm and the local band was just tuning their instruments in the visitor Center parking lot. After sitting there for a while, I realized I was dead tired. So, I was off to find a hotel for the evening. I eventually found one in Asheville. That night I contemplated what I wanted to do the next day. On the list was whitewater rafting, tubing, caveing, venturing off to Boone, or just staying there in Asheville. My body decided for me. For some reason, I was physically drained. So, I decided to just tool around downtown Asheville on Saturday. Asheville was cool. It was a very cool day (in the 60's all day). The cool weather, the cloudy skies, and the hilly terrain made me realize why people liken this town to San Francisco. Very cool. So, I was tired. I looked at my watch and realized I could make it home in time for the Carolina Panther preseason game. So, I jumped in the car and headed home (back roads of course). Through the mountains toward Lake Lure, through Chimney Rock (which looked ominous darting through the thick clouds), and then racing through the foothills toward Gastonia. Finally, on Saturday evening I made it home. Once I home I realized I took over 200 photos. Wow! And I didn't take many photos of Hendersonville, and none in Asheville and the drive home. Imagine the damage I could have done. I'll have to plan another trip soon. Who's up for canoeing on the Nantahala or French Broad? Here's my favorite photo of all the photos I took on the trip. Click any of the photos on this post to see the rest of the photos I took. (All 200+ of them!)

This is the "Why Guy".

2006-08-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

The TED Conference is an amazing conference attended by some of the brightest minds in the world. It's invitation only. Only the best are extended an invitation. And only the very best entreprenuers/minds/business men/scientist/designers/philosophers in the world are invited to speak at these conferences. TED stands for Technology, Engineering, and Design. Chris Anderson, who is the brains behind this conference, once said of TED (and I'm paraphrasing), that if Heaven is being in the presence of the all-knowledgeable, all-knowing God. Then TED, with all the world's brightest all in one room learning and sharing with one another, is Heavan on Earth. Speakers (who are unfortunately, very liberal) are given 20 minutes to speak. That's it. Here's an interesting clip of Tony Robbins cramming 50 hours of content into 20 minutes. Pretty cool. The good news is that Rick Warren was invited to speak this year. I guess the conference organizers figured they needed at least one right winged speaker. God love Rick for going it alone! Here's Rick's TED presentation.

Connecting The Dots

2006-08-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while. I found this video while looking for inspirational videos on YouTube. This is a great video of Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple, founder of Pixar, creator of the iPod and iTunes) giving a commencement speech to Stanford graduates in 2005. It's a great, short lecture - full of tidbits on living a productive life. Unfortunately, Steve specifically misses out on the benefits of living a life of faith (a point where he and I certainly disagree). His views on "dogma" is one not shared by this blogger. But, nonetheless, still a great talk which should give us all some perspective. Enjoy. 1. Connecting the Dots a) You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. b) You have to trust that the dots will connect in the future. c) You have to trust in something. b) Believing that that dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference. 2. Love and Loss a) The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again...It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. b) Sometimes life is going to hit you in the face with a brick. Don't lose faith. c) You've got to find what you love. d) Your work is going to fill a great part of your life. And the only way to be satisfied is to do great work. e) The only way to do great work is to love what you do. 3. Death a) If you live each day like it was your last, most certainly eventually someday you will be right. b) Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool i've ever encountered to help me make the most important choices in life. c) Remembering that you are going to die is the best way i know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. 4. Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Motivation, Inspiration, Determination, and the Key to Life

2006-07-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

Be patient, and listen to this guy. A great message for the American public of why we fight for and defend freedom. This is an amazing video from a well spoken Marine. I'd have this guy in my corner any day. Here's the text of his prose... Will Smith tells the kids at a Nickelodian Kid Awards show what the key to life is. He says it's Running and Reading. I think he may be right. Give a listen.

technorati tags:marines, war, iraq, freedom, Will Smith, Key To Life, Motivation, Inspiration

Isreal - Lebanon Protest

2006-07-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am attending the Inman Connect conference this week. After a long day I got hungry. So I walked outside the Palace Hotel in San Francisco yesterday in search of some authentic SanFranciscan food. Out to the streets I went, and this is what I ran into right on the corner of New Montgomery and Market Streets. Local citizens had arranged a protest at rush hour yesterday afternoon to state their opposition to the Iraeli offensive in Lebanon. Personally, I feel Israel is justified. (I appreciate Andy Monfried's take on the situation). Here are the rest of my photos... On a lighter note. I had dinner with the crew from RealtyTracker.com last night. Thanks to Sean, Tom, and Colette for a good dinner and great time connecting. The Clift was a great place to hang. And at the end of the night as I was walking out the door, in walked...HULK HOGAN. So surreal. What the heck was he doing in San Francisco??

technorati tags:ConnectSF, protest, war, Israel Lebanon, San Francisco, RealtyTracker

Long time, no see

2006-07-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

What a great night. Last night I had dinner with an aunt I haven't seen in 10 years, and a cousin and her fiance whom I haven't seen in probably 15-20 years. Crazy! It was funny... We agreed to meet each other in the bar at the hotel I was staying. I knew that we hadn't seen each other in a million years, but I never doubted that we would recognize each other on first sight. My aunt Suzanne and Nikki always had piercing baby blue eyes. An undeniable trait. And what I discovered, is that they recognized me by my body hair. UGH! What's up with that!?! I guess the Denton family is famous for their extreme amounts of body hair. I have no idea how this happened, because apparently our family has English roots. Who knew?! But, I can't tell you how incredible it was for me to reconnect with Nikki and Suzanne. They, along with Tim, are a riot. We had a great time. They made me feel so welcome. And I honestly can't wait to find an excuse to come back to San Francisco to hang out with them again. Here are the photos... (what's up with my hair in these photos? Better question: What's up with my hair all the time?!?) We met at the famous Palace Hotel. Took a cheaufered car to the North Shore district. And ate a great meal at an Italian restaurant, called Calzone's (i think).

Free food

2006-07-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

So I'm back from my business trip to San Diego. And boy, I gotta do another one of these trips soon, if not just for the free food. Of the 4 days I was on the road I think I paid for only 2 of my meals. Thanks to Michael, Craig, Mark, and especially Dawn & Ian for their great hospitality. Great times, great food, and great company. Here's a photo of Dawn, her new husband Ian, and myself. Now, it's all of your turn to come visit me! ;)

Love is a marathon

2006-07-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a tough ride home from San Diego. The flight from San Diego to Atlanta was fine. But, by the time I made it to Atlanta I was wiped out and just ready to get home. Then, they announced the flight was delayed for 45 minutes. UGH! Then we finally boarded to find that I was sitting against the window with a young mother and her 2 year old son sitting next to me. That little guy was all over the place, whining, crawling, screaming. Then 2 minutes later another kid the same age sat directly behind me on their parent's lap. That kid was constantly kicking my seat. So, as a defense mechanism I strapped on my headphones and blasted my MP3 player. A little POD, Switchfoot, Keane, and Staind was the perfect remedy. I quickly fell asleep in my attempt to tune out the world around me. I woke up to the rugrat next to me crawling between my legs. It was an hour and fifteen minutes later and we still had not left the gate. HUH?!? Needless to say, when I was supposed to be home by 8:30, I didn't get in until 11:00. But, when I awoke for the last 15 minutes of the flight this song was blaring in my headphones. The height of the volume allowed me to clearly hear the words for the first time. And I don't know why, but these words made me think of my buddy, Jared. He's been in a dating cycle for the last 5 years which he thinks he can't get out of. Maybe it was the unbelievable bad luck of flight delays and screaming and kicking babies... because this is EXACTLY the type of stuff that happens to Yerg. And specifically the crap he tends to write about on his blog. Whatever the reason, it's clear that this song is for him. So Kasey Kasem, would you please play Teddy Geiger's "Love is a Marathon" for Jared. And let him know that bad luck doesn't just happen to him. We're all in the same boat, and it's all going to be ok. Jared, this song is for you... Love Monkey style!

The Lord's Prayer

2006-07-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

You aren't going to believe this. This has to be the cutest thing I've seen in a long while. I visited my old friend Craig Rickabaugh and his family last night. This is video of Craig's little girl, Reese. She recites the Lord's Prayer on queue! I said hi to Craig, his wife Carlee, Reese, and their 10-month-old Chey. Then Craig, Mark Thompson and I went out to dinner. Here are the photos. Good times!

Padres game

2006-07-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

I woke up on Monday morning at 3:30AM to catch 6AM flight to San Diego. Boy is that early! After a connection in Cincinnatti, I was off to San Diego in a nice comfy seat on a Delta flight. (Props to Delta for finally having comfortable seating in coach class!) Of all the random people in the world who I could have sat next to, it turns out I sat next to the youth pastor of my brother Wesley's chuch. He and 13 kids from their church were on their way to a week long mission trip in Mexico. Small world. So, I arrived in San Diego, went to the car rental place to pick up my economy class vehicle. When I got there, they were all out of economy cars, so they had to upgrade me for free to a Dodge Magnum - nearly idenitical to the car that I own. Crazy! Sweet! So, then I was off to meet Micheal. Michael's a domain name guru. He and I are brainstorming on ways to monetize Realty.com and our other assets. The meeting was great. Lunch was good. But, taking in the Padres game at the end of the night was the best. Thanks for a great time Michael! Cheers! Here's the photos.

Lunch with the guys

2006-07-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

I met up with the old JA Jones crew for lunch on Friday. We ate lunch at Mac's. But, by the editing of this photo you would never be able to tell. Let's just say there was something in the photo which seemed to fill the frame more. Lunch was fun. Will was on the phone with the wife for half of the time. Yerg filled us all in on the latest of his dating escapades. And we all just sat there trying to think of some good ways to work IT into the conversation for Seth. Then, when the bill came we spotted that Will owns a Old Navy credit card. How cute! Thanks for the good time guys! We should do lunch more often. Here's the rest of the photos.

4th of July

2006-07-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

I went and visited my brother, Matt, over the July 4th weekend. It was really great. Matt lives in a posh neighborhood of Birmingham, AL. Very nice place, nice restaurants, nice hang outs, cool pools, and great weather. For the 4th, we went to a Birmingham Barons baseball game. The Barons are the AA team for the Chicago WhiteSox. (Michael Jordan played here when he was trying to play baseball). The team had a fireworks display after the game, all set to patriotic music. It was well worth the $6 entry fee. Here are the photos. It was probably the most all-American 4th of July I ever had. We ate at Johnny Rockets for lunch. I had apple pie ala mode. We went to a baseball game. I ate a hot dog and a coke. And we watched fireworks to cap off the night. Good times. Thanks for a great time, Matt! This is the video I took of the fireworks grand finale! Pretty well done for a minor league baseball team. (They played "Sweet Home Alabama" as the closing song. Awesome!)

I don't understand the difficulty, people!

2006-07-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

...Love your brother, treat 'em as an equal! (Greg, this one is for you!)

technorati tags:self destruction, krs-one, d-nice, kook mo dee, heavy-d, public enemy, doug e fresh, q-tip, mc lyte, just-ice

Too Short - on knowledge?

2006-06-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Too Short! The Ghetto. Gotta love this song. Classic hip-hop, straight from the streets. ;-)

Why you gotta act like someone else? All you gotta do is be yourself... Never be ashamed of what you are... Even tho some people give you no respect Be intelligent when you put 'em in check. Cause when you're ignorant you get treated that way. And when they throw you in jail you got nothin' to say. So if you don't listen, it's not my fault I'll be getting paid, and you'll be paying the cost...

I don't know if it's blasphemous to quote Too Short and the Bible in the same post - or even the same blog - but, here goes... (Lord, please forgive). Too Short says something that rings true. Proverbs 15:6-15 tells us that..

The lips of the wise spread knowledge, not so the heart of fools... The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

I believe the Lord wants us to be wise with knowledge. He wants us to have faith in Him, for He says...

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

But, he also wants this faith and commitment in Him to be wise with knowledge. A great example of this is in Romans 10, where Paul wrote the following:

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

It is my belief, and my understanding of the word of God, that Christ came to Earth for a simple purpose. And He himself explains this in Mark 10:45.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus was hear on Earth to serve. To lay down his life. To be the ransom, the price required to free mankind from sin. He walked the streets, He ate and drank with thousands, He preached his gospel, and performed miracles in plain sight of others. He was here as a witness to His divinity, and to that of our God in Heaven. I feel this is an important call by our Lord. He asks us to believe in Him, have faith in Him, follow Him, and to love Him with all of our heart, our soul and our strength. While at the same time, to ensure our faith is guided and that we are following His gospel, we are directed to ensure that our faith is one of knowledge. What is it that you believe?

technorati tags:too short, ghetto, knowledge, truth, faith, Jesus, Jesus Christ

Ah L'Amour

2006-06-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ah, Love. Ain't it funny!?! Ain't it grand?!? Ain't it tough to figure out? Here's how most guys see it. Too funny for words

technorati tags:love, sucks, hurts, stings, rich

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Musical Trivia

2006-06-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Pop Quiz... Who wrote the theme songs to the following TV shows?

1. Diff'rent Strokes 2. Facts of Life 3. Wheel of Fortune

Any guess? Here's a clue... They are all written (or co-written) by the same person. Give up? It's TV's favorite dad, Alan Thicke! Don't believe me? Here's the proof from Wikipedia.

Thicke composed the original theme song to Wheel of Fortune (1975)... Outside of daytime TV, Thicke also composed (with then-wife Gloria Loring) the themes to the NBC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and its spinoff The Facts of Life

Alan Thicke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The reason I tell you all this is to introduce you to his son, Robin Thicke. You'll be hearing much from him soon. He is only 29 years old, but a musical veteran already. His second solo album, which is on Pharell's (of the Neptunes) music label, is being released in July. This guy has chops. Great singer, songwriter, musician, all with a soulful vibe. He's worked with the likes of Usher, Michael Jackson, Will Smith, Christina Aguliera, and several others.

Here's a few links to hear his music...

Against the World (song) AOL Sessions (several videos and story. check out the video for Angel)

technorati tags:robin, thicke, soul, music, alan

Songs that calm me

2006-06-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

These songs seem to always calm me down, put me in a place of reflection, and be thankful for the gifts that Christ has blessed me with in my life. Hope Carry Invitation

Is it all in my head?

2006-06-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here's what Tim and Nelly say about it.

My time with Grace

2006-06-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

Just getting back from my weekend with the family. My sister-in-law, Kari, celebrated her 30th birthday. And the very next day we dedicated Grace at church. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, lots of time in an airplane seat, but well worth it. Here are all of the photos. My favorite time was while waiting for our food at Macoroni Grill, Grace sat on my father's lap, and Grace and I played with straws. It must have been a real fun time for her, because after about 10 minutes she fell asleep almost instantly. I was lucky to have her cradled in my arms, while she still was clutching the straw! She slept there for a good 20 minutes, swaddled in a restaurant napkin, as I attempted to eat my meal. Sweet memories!

Success is my only option - failure's not!

2006-06-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

I found this video of the Panthers' Super Bowl appearance against the Patriots. I can't tell you how excited this makes me for this upcoming football season. Every team has gotten better. The Panthers have added a bunch of new players who should make a great impact. But, we do have tough schedule to overcome. But, this video has me so psyched! I can't wait for the season to get here. SPOT THE BALL!!

Can't wait to see the baby!

2006-06-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

I leave very early Saturday morning to see my favorite neice! It's been since Christmas since I have seen her last. I can't believe it's been so long. Grace will be almost 9 months old! Her age nearly tripled since I have seen her. This weekend Grace is going to be dedicated at church. A bunch of family is flying in, and we all can't wait to see our angel. As the Richard Marx lyrics say.

Know I'm forever near The one you can always call Right all you know to fear Are the shadows on your wall I'm here close enough To kiss the tears you cry And I will sing my Angel's Lullaby

The prayer

2006-05-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

I can remember the exact moment and place I was when I saw this video. Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion performed this at the 1999 Oscars. It's a beautiful song of hope. It brings me such warmth each time I hear it. Let this be our prayer As we go our way Lead us to a place Guide us with your grace To a place where we'll be safe I pray we'll find your light And hold it in our hearts

Motivation and hope...

2006-05-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

Get busy living, or get busy dyin... I'm livin! Full lyrics here... Audio: This is your life

Everytime you go

2006-05-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

80's flashback... Remember this song? If we can solve any problem Then why do we lose so many tears?

Staind performed live, for free!

2006-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

So, it's race week here in Charlotte. 2 straight weeks of NASCAR hosted by the city. It's actually Charlotte's crowning event of every year. And each year to add to the events, the city hosts a festival held uptown. The streets of uptown are closed off, and the city brings in tons of musical artists to perform live. And the best part is, it's all free! This year, although the total number of legitimate bands was down from years past, the fun was still the same. There are 3 stages spread througout the uptown area, and a different genre of music is played on each. Thursday night I saw MC Hammer perform. He was a riot. The show wasn't that good, the audio was horrible, I'm pretty sure he lip synched the first 3 songs, and he actually had a "wardrobe malfunction". But, he sang "Pray" and closed with "Can't Touch This", so I can't really complain. Friday night was very cool. Staind performed, while Twisted Sister was playing on a nearby stage. Poor Twisted Sister. They probably only had a handful of people watch them, because anybody who was in there area was crowded around the Staind stage. They put on an awesome show. There must have been 15,000+ people there. It was a cool experience, and one so glad I had the chance to enjoy. Staind did a cover of Peal Jam's "Black". Very well done. The whole crowd was singing along, as it seemed nearly everyone knew the words. Here's the video... I know someday you'll have a beautiful life I know you'll be the sun in somebody else's sky But why, why, why can't it be Mine? The rest of the lyrics are here...

Hallelujah

2006-05-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, so apparently in addition to American Idol, there's a Pop Idol show in the UK, and this video proves that there is indeed a Canadian Idol show. Is there one of these shows in every country? Wonder what North Korean Idol sounds like?? Anyway, I was searching around for cool versions of Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah. The song is awesome. I found this clip of some kid singing it on Canadian Idol. I think he did a good job with it. Here's the real thing...

I love you the most

2006-05-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

This isn't goodbye, even as I watch you leave, this isn't goodbye I swear I won't cry, even as tears fill my eyes, I swear I won't cry Any other girl, I'd let you walk away Any other girl, I'm sure I'd be ok Tell me what makes a man Wanna give you all his heart Smile when you're around And cry when you're apart

Pearl Jam translated

2006-05-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Thought everyone would get a kick out of finally understanding the words to Yellow Ledbetter.

The soundtracks of our lives...

2006-05-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Because this is a happy place - happy thoughts. Everyday I see that I am not as good as you - and everyone else. But, that doesn't mean I give up. It's not always rainbows and butterflies... Just one chance, just one breath, in case there's one left.

A promise to her...

2006-05-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

It's a promise.

Coolest Workspace

2006-05-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Lifehacker had a user photo contest for the coolest workspace. I meant to submit my photo, but the deadline came and went. But, who can really compete with this view? Sitting in my bay window, looking out onto the lush hardwood trees. This view really looks cool in the fall and in the winter after a snow/ice event. But, for now, this is my little slice of heaven.

Treat Your Mother Right

2006-05-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

I pity the fool who don't treat their momma right. This one goes out to all those kids who need to be reminded of how to treat their mother. Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Love you lots.

How it Hurts

2006-05-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

What Hurts Most How Do You Love Ruined Puzzle "Does He Ever Get The Girl?"

Drugs for Mormons

2006-05-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

I read Om Malik's blog pretty frequently. For those of you who don't who Om is, he is a writer for Business 2.0 magazine (and I think Wired too). But, he's a good technology junkie and so am I, so I like reading his blog. The other day, he mentioned he was out in SLC and visited the team from Dooce.com. So, I checked it out, and found this funny. Apparently Dooce.com is a highly popular blog kept by a new mother and wife. She left the hussle of California, moved back to Utah to be close to family, and the end result is her blog. I checked out her writings, and this one if funny. The results of a stressful day. How to self medicate with legal substances. Thought my Mormon acquaintences would appreciate. **WARNING** The writer tends to use flowerly languange. (which lends to my mormon-release theory)

The Reason

2006-05-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

Growing up in a Christian church, and attending Bible study classes, we were taught to memorize scripture. The idea being that if you can recall these simple reminders of God's promises, that in your time of need you can recall them to help you in the middle of strife. One of the most famous of all verses of the Bible (if verses can be famous), is John 3:16. To this day I am amazed at how few really know what this verse says. I have friends who have attended church all their life, but don't know what John 3:16 says. We see it held up in football stadiums all across America, thanks to Rollen Stewart. But, people think it's an encoded message. Maybe this can help us all remember the verse, the message, the reason. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Viral Videos...

2006-05-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

These videos are pretty funny. You gotta take a look. Do you remember playing Super Mario Bros. on the Super Nintendo for the first time? Well, this should bring back some memories. This group performed the first level of Super Mario Bros. Live! And this one is so great. It's the magic of David Copperfield, revealed!! For more video like these, check out the Top 100 videos at Google Video.

Walmart: Lowering prices, and standards of marriage

2006-04-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

I made a trip to Walmart today to pick up some necessities and some office supplies. As I was strolling through the aisles searching for office supplies, this booklet caught my eye. Right there with the day planners, graph paper, and accounting forms was a packet called "Get a Divorce - Do It Yourself". Wow! How far have we fallen? Apparently, for anonymoty, you can also order this online from their website. This blows my mind. (sorry for the blurry photos. i apparently wasn't holding my camera phone still)

Best commercial of 2006

2006-04-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

I found this on the Right Hand of God blog. This is very cool. RHOG put it very nicely by saying...

We need more commercials like this in the U.S. Sadly, we're stuck with Jared from Subway. (Curse him!)

Hope for a new beginning

2006-04-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Good flick. Good song. And the lead character's name in this movie is Andy. Thought it was fitting. Switchfoot - Learning to breathe Hello, good morning, how ya do? What makes your rising sun so new? I could use a fresh beginning too All of my regrets are nothing new So this is the way that I say that I need You This is the way This is the way That I'm learning to breathe I'm learning to crawl I'm finding that You and You alone can break my fall I'm living again, awake and alive I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies Hello, good morning, how ya been? Yesterday left my head kicked in I never thought I could fall like that Never knew that I could hurt this bad I'm learning to breathe I'm learning to crawl I'm finding that You and You alone can break my fall I'm living again, awake and alive I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies So this is the way that I say that I need You This is the way That I say I love You This is the way That I say I'm Yours This is the way This is the way

She said it...

2006-04-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is what former American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler, had to say about her runaway mother...

"One thing that's so important in life is we learn to forgive others. I ask the Lord every day to forgive me for my sins and for things that I've done wrong. And who am I to not forgive someone for what they've done?"

Amazing insight from the unlikeliest person. May we all take this to heart. Kudos, Kellie. Kudos.

My biggest fear

2006-04-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

I caught a few minutes of this show the other day. You can really see that this guy is honestly hurting, wounded, and trying to heal. The clip below is 7.5 minutes long. But, in the last 45 seconds he talks about his biggest fear. This is exactly how I feel right now. And, if you think about it, it's probably a fear shared by nearly everyone. He also half heartedly jokes, "I certainly hope I'm not going to be the jerk, uncle, bachelor the rest of my life..." That was funny. Funny, sad, but true.

Keepin' it sweet

2006-04-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

This song is as sweet as yellow cake with chocolate icing.

My debt to the country

2006-04-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGG!!!!!! I owe the feds $19,000. I have no idea on how to pay this. I can't sell my house. Thank you IRS. This song is appropriate...

Part Time Help

2006-04-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

I agreed to go back to work for JA Jones part time. I'm told it's only for a 3 week stint, just to help some of the guys get uncovered. Why did I agree to this???

Cheap Tunes

2006-04-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Allofmp3.com is officially my favorite (not so) new web service. Music legally downloaded for pennies on the US dollar. AllofMp3 is based out of Russia and utilizes a Russian Multimedia license to offer music to the masses. Don't ask me, or the millions of others who are already using the service, but this service is totally legal under the current agreements and license. From the site:

All materials in the LLS Internet Audit projects are available for distribution via Internet according to license #LS-3M-P3M-06-13 of the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society. Under the license agreement, LLS Internet Audit pays license fees for all the materials subject to the Law of the Russian Federation "On Copyright and Related Rights". All the materials are available solely for personal use. Any further distribution, resale or broadcasting is prohibited.

I tested the service out over the weekend. For just under $20, I've downloaded almost 12 full albums. The average album costs just under $1.50, with individual song prices ranging between $0.11 and $0.15 each. You can choose from several file versions to download. But, the most common is the 192kb MP3 file. They offer full version CD quality, but at higher prices. (192kb MP3 is what all of my music files are stored as.) The crew at AllofMP3.com has been keeping busy. They've recently launched AllTunes.com. It's a piece of software that you download that gives you full access to their catalog, and easier downloads from their AllofMP3 service. Same company, same music, just packaged to mimmick the iTunes software. Give it a shot.

Happy Easter

2006-04-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's Easter weekend. The most attended day of church of the year. These are great online booklets that cut right to the heart of the matter. Probably some of the most often asked questions. They are put out by RBC Ministries. The same people who have a great Sunday morning program called "Day of Discovery". These are great reads. See here for the complete list of booklets. They have one for just about every need.

Just a bluff...

2006-04-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

What a crazy week. But, things started moving in the right direction last night. Greg and I have been playing the free poker tournaments pretty regularly for the last 2 months or so. We try to play once a week. We've both played good and we've both had our bad nights. Well, last night we attended a game which has a lot of great players. I would say there was about 50 or 60 players there. To make a long story short, I came in second place - which is awesome!! It's so hard to make it to the last 10 players because everyone is pretty good in their own right. But, last night just was a good night for me. I played strong and smart. I personally think I had a good chance of winning the entire thing. But, my opponent caught me on a small bluff. I pushed all in with just a pair of 6's. He had a pair of J's. It was a good night. A lot of fun!

Teach me how to speak, Teach me how to share

2006-04-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is, but rock groups always sound amazing when accompanied by a string orchestra. This one is very cool. Give me a word, Give me a sign Show me where to look, Tell what will I find Lay me on the ground, Fly me in the sky Show me where to look, Tell me what will I find Oh, heaven let your light shine down (x4) Love is in the water, Love is in the air Show me where to go, Tell me will love be there Teach me how to speak, Teach me how to share Teach me where to go, Tell me will love be there Oh, heaven let your light shine down (x4) I’m going to let it shine Heavens little light gonna shine on me Yea yea heavens little light gonna shine on me Its gonna shine, shine on me Its gonna shine, come on in shine

Cool Amazon comparison tool

2006-04-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

If you are an avid Amazon.com user, as I appear to be, then you'll like this little tool - PriceHeat. It's really cool. It's not a piece of software, and it requires no downloads. All you do is you go to their website, right click on a link and save it to your Favorites. (I put mine in the "Links" folder so that I can use the quick link buttons in IE). So, after you have this bookmarked, when you are shopping on Amazon.com and want to see if the Amazon price is competitive, you simply click the button on your browser. It quickly shows you a list of competing pricing from various stores and outlets. Pretty cool. It definitely earns a space in my bookmark portfolio. Check it out.

Amazing forgiveness

2006-04-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

So, my weekend started out boring. Friday, I didn't do anything. Barely got off the couch. Fell asleep there around 9:30. At least I was able to wake up early on Saturday. For Saturday, I had 2 options. One was to go to Carowinds with Greg and Sherron - but thunderstorms were threatening all day so I decided not to go on the possibility of paying $45+ to ride a few rides and getting stuck in the rain without a poncho. The other option (which I was planning for) was to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. But, when I pulled up the website for directions, they posted that they weren't taking individual volunteers this week. So... I sat on the couch the rest of the day. Later that evening, I joined Jared for a charity bowling event. His friend Jerome put on a charity event for Big Brothers Big Sisters at the AMF bowling center, and it was a blast. Good times, good people, fun event. My only critique of the event was that there wasn't any "little bros" or "little sis's" there to partake. That would have given the event a little bit more purpose. Without the kids, it was pretty much an event to drive donations toward the organization - which is still admirable in itself. After the bowling, I joined Jared and his friends at Thomas Street Tavern to hang out afterwards. And to make a long story short, I was a party pooper and I headed home before anyone else. Jared decided to crash on his buddy's couch, so I called a cab to take me home sweet home. Sunday morning, I awoke at my usual time of 7:00. Got up, made some breakfast, and laid on the couch for a while. My arm was sore from bowling for the first time in a few years. My throat was sore from screeming over the loud music all night to chat. My body was dragging from staying up later than I usually do, and probably from having 2 more drinks than I'm used to. [2's my usual limit. ;) ] So there I was sitting on the couch again - watching Sports Center. The Masters was on, the first week of baseball season had started, and the NBA playoffs were nearing. I was just content to take an easy morning to recover from a late night. But, something inside me said... Get UP! Get up. It was Palm Sunday. The Sunday before Easter. And I knew I belonged in church that morning. So, I got up, got ready, and was sitting in the pew well before the start of the service. It had been a tough week for me. A lot of emotional issues all seemed to come to a head. Worry for my loved ones was gripping me. Pains from the past was still hurting me. And, the outlook for my future seemed uncertain. Something made me get up that morning and go to church. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I'd like to think it was the result of someone else's prayer. Or, the belief that in church I would be able to put all this baggage away and hear of something better. Our chuch service starts the same every week. There is a welcome, followed by praise and worship (singing), prayer and offering, then the sermon. I must admit, up until the sermon, I was dragging. I was sitting there thinking "why didn't I just stay in bed?" I could have watched a sermon on TV. And this was tough for me, because the songs in this church are usually my favorite part. But, then the pastor began his sermon. As he began, he broke from his script and said this... "Let me start by saying, that there is someone here today that didn't want to be here. You were sitting on the couch this morning thinking you could just stay home today. But, something brought you here this morning and you don't know why. The Lord wants you here today. The Lord has something in store for you today, and I want you to listen to my message because it is for you." I was shocked. It was me. I really felt God speak to me just then. My heart rate soared. Now, I've been to several sermons where the preacher would say something similar to this. They would say that someone was there who had a drinking problem, or someone was there who needed to be relieved from sin and debt, or something of the sort. But, there was no mistaking this for me. Regardless if it was a vague description for anyone dragging their butt to church that morning or not - what the pastor said was exactly what I was doing and thinking just 40 minutes prior to that moment. The sermon was about God's amazing forgiveness. It was about not letting your past cripple your life. It was about not allowing Satan the opportunity to mess with your mind. There is no way that I can recap this sermon to describe how perfect this message was for me right now. My only wish was that my loved ones could have been there with me, listening to the same sermon, taking that message to heart as I did, and that I can express my joy fully to explain how deeply I was touched. My church posts video of each sermon on the internet. They have 2 services each Sunday morning, one at 8:00 and the other at 10:30. I attend the 10:30. They tape and post the 8:00 service to the internet. I feel this is a little bit backward, because in all honesty I can tell that the pastor holds back a little in the 8:00 service so that he can have enough emotion reserved for the 10:30 crowd. As an attendee of the 10:30 service, I can truly say that he lays it all on the line and never disappoints. That being said, the links below will have the same message, but not necessarily the exact service that I attended. Part 1 - He talks about the story of "Saving Private Ryan". He paints the picture of a spiritual war. And reminds you that no matter how bad it gets, you don't need to worry. Because, as Hebrews 12 reads..."In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." How bad can it be? Jesus stood in front of your sin, and took the bullet. He paid your debt. He's the one who bled. Not you. Part 2 - He talks about a friend of his who he visited in a mental hospital. How your strength can wear down. Part 3 - Talks of Satan's methods of planting seeds of doubt and worry. But, begins with God's promise - spoken clearly in Psalm 103:10-18. Part 4 - Where God is when you fall. Part 5 - Prayer and closing. A friend recently confided in me that they don't know how to pray anymore. They feel so far away from God right now that they don't even know how to approach a conversation with Him. Unfortunately, I think many people can relate with this type of feeling. But, the amazing thing about God is that His forgiveness is free. His forgiveness does not come with a price tag. In Psalm 103, it says that "He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities...the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children." Sure, we've all sinned. We all have acted in ways that are shameful to recall. But, the cool thing is that God's love for you will always be. Forgiveness is free. It may sound too easy, and almost too good of a deal. I don't know about you, but I'll take it. I'll take the forgiveness and choose to live in the present. I will let the Lord carry me through each day, and be thankful for the mercy he's granted me for my past. I thank the Lord for those who are praying for me. I am so glad that I got off the couch and went to church. And I sincerely hope that someday my prayers for you will return the same joy and hope as your prayers have done for me.

Peas and Carrots

2006-04-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Just like Forrest Gump and Jenny. This friendship will never grow old. ...like peas and carrots. Updated: slide...

Attention Deficit Disorder - a common trait?

2006-04-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I got a Blackberry. Some call Blackberries "crack-berries" because they are so addictive. I must admit, I loved my blackberry (I recently switched to a RAZR phone). I miss my blackberry. It was so convenient to be able to check your email without being tied to a desk. You could SMS any phone easily. And when you normally reach for a magazine or newspaper headed to the men's room, you could forget all that because you could surf news via the internet on your blackberry. It was great. But, I noticed something was happening to me when I had this great little tool. I developed a nervous tic. If ever there was a pause in a conversation, or a time waiting in line, I would constantly reach back to check the status of my email. Constantly. I couldn't stop it. Then, about 9 months ago, I purchased a laptop. No need to go into my upstairs home office to do work, I can bring this great laptop into whatever room I'm in. In the evenings, and on the weekends, it's a common occurrence that I will have both the TV and the laptop on trying to multi-task. This is a problem for me, and I can't stop. Now, i have the TV on, that has 900+ channels on it. On demand movies, DVR capabilities, 24 hour headline news, 24 hours sports stations, dramas, comedy, weather, infomercials, whatever. And in addition to that I have the laptop monitoring my emails, I have my RSS reader monitoring all my favorite blogs and websites, and I often like to leisurly browse the internet, and in the event I get an idea in my head I can just pull the laptop close and do a little research. This is a problem. I'm finding it harder and harder for me to hold my attention to any one subject. I find myself flipping channels at record speed. I flip-flop between websites so fast you'd be amazed. It's a problem. This article calls it Attention Deficit Trait. Check it out. I think he's right...

Oprah doesn't need this, but you might...

2006-04-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

I made it home early today. I turned on the TV as I checked emails on my laptop. Oprah's show today is featuring a plan called "The Debt Diet". It's certainly a message that needs to get out there more. It's a pretty simple plan, there's nothing in it that is too hard to implement, and it should be done by everyone. Go here for more details, but below are her basic steps. 1. calculate your debt 2. track your daily spending and make plan to lower this 3. lower interest rates and fees by calling your credit card company 4. get credit score and verify all old debt has been taken care of 5. stop spending It's worth a read...

Sam Brooker - musical genius

2006-04-04T05:52:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy I found this guy's music. Click the play button below to see a live perfomance. I've also included a sample of his music below the video. If you like his tunes, I highly suggest you visit his website, www.sambrooker.com, and pay for unlimited access to all his music. Just $14.95 and you can download all of his music and tons of his videos. Sam and Ruby - The Here and Now Ain't Love Something

More insight from Andy Monfried

2006-03-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been reading Andy Monfried's blog titled "You ain't gonna learn what you don't want to know" you are missing out. He uncovers some pretty interesting stories... See here. Linked to this story. Here. Linked to this story. And here. Linked to this story.

Love - MP3 of the day

2006-03-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

Click here to play...

You aren't going to believe who has a blog!!

2006-02-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

You aren't going to belive this. If this guy has a blog, there's no reason why you shouldn't have a blog. He has links to video on YouTube. He's uploaded his videos on Google Video. He has audio blog entries. I'm impressed. I'm sure he has someone helping him with it, but nonetheless, I'm excited about the new MC Hammer blog. :)

Who are YOU?

2006-02-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

Who exactly are you? Are you really that nice? Are you really that cruel? Do people think of you as a loser? Do people think you are two faced? Do people honestly like you? Those are big questions. Most people don't really like to think about that. Several years ago when I was in college my father gave me a book called The Man in the Mirror. I didn't read the entire thing. (I used to hate to read. At the time, if I had a choice of reading a novel and getting poked in the eye, I probably would have taken the poke in the eye.) But, I did read a good part of it. One thing from this book that has kept with me all these years since was the notion that the most mature thing any man can do is to self-evaluate one's life - to look inside your life and say "how can I become a better human being?" Going through life just trying live right is not enough. You've got to take the time to analyze your life. To evaluate your standards of living. That's the mark of a real man. That's the mark of maturity. The Bible says is clearly here. "...When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." This line of thought got me thinking recently. I started thinking about my current status in life. I'm a good guy (I think). I don't do outrageously crazy things - at least intentionally. I don't like to go drinking just for the sake of drinking. I've never smoked. Never took drugs. But, here I am, 31 years old and single. I've got good friends. But, certainly wish my friendships were closer than they are. My family relationships are good. But, they could be better. My friends and family know that I love them and care about them (I think). But, why aren't things better now? Who am I? Better yet, who do others think that I am? What type of man do others perceive me as? So with these questions I realize that good intentions can only get you so far. You've got to assess your place in life and ask if you can do better. Have you been a good friend to others? Have you helped out others expecting nothing in return? Have you been a good brother or sister? A good son or daughter? These are questions of maturity. On the opposite side, I feel immaturity can be characterized by excuses. It would be immature to point blame for your failures in life because of some circumstance, because it was someone else's fault, if your parents only understood you better, or if I just had a little more money. Pretty soon, it is these excuses which characterize your life. Before you start thinking that you've had it rough because of these excuses, it's probably time to ask yourself if you are in that rough spot because of your actions. Is it really someone else's fault, or was it because of your ultimate overall behavior? My brother Wesley says that today's society has a problem with Perpetual Adolescense. That is, people don't want to grow up. Today's youth and young adults are having a difficult time maturing. They are getting married later in life. They are having kids at a much older age. (My parents had 5 kids by the time they were 30!). Some of them still live at home with their parents. Beside going to school and gaining an education to improve their lives, they'd rather play video games and party with their friends until the wee hours of the morning. I'm not saying you shouldn't have fun, and enjoy life. But, there comes a time when a man should act like a man and take ownership of his life. You can't let outside influences affect it. You can't let your desire to have fun keep you from progressing your life in a healthy manner. Relying on excuses affects your character, how people view you. Then, pretty soon, this character change affects your core values. I'll never forget what my old civil engineering instructor, Serji Amerikhanian, told us on our final day of class as seniors. He was put up slides and gave hand outs for his tips on life. I'll never forget two of these tips. He observed... 1) You can always repair a broken reputaions, but rest assured that people will always be looking where the crack once was. 2) Words are like leaves. Seldom fruit is found where they most abound. These are great tips. The first one reminds me to be careful of how others view me. And the second reminds me not to over speak, try to impress, try to offer something I don't know, and not to offer excuses. So, I ask again... Who are YOU?

Didn't you get that memo?

2006-02-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

My grandfather sent me this... One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the rascally behavior that was going on. So he called one of His angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time. When he returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not." God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion." So God called another angel and sent him to Earth for a time too. When the angel returned he went to God and said, "Yes, it's true. The Earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good." God was not pleased. So He decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because He wanted to encourage them. Give them a little something to help them keep going. Do you know what the e-mail said? Okay, just wondering; I didn't get one either...

You ain't gonna learn what you don't want to know

2006-02-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

I came across this blog today. It's a good read. If you like to read passionate views by articulate people, then you'll like this. You ain't gonna learn what you don't want to know It's written by a fellow named, Andy Monfried. I don't know him, but he's linked from a web page that I read regularly. His post on Feb 14th cut me to my core. I can't tell you how disturbed I am. His post today also is another one that disturbed me. But, like the title of his blog says... You can't learn what you don't want to know. I'm definitely one of the guys who doesn't want to know. But, after seeing how horrible life can be in the middle of war, maybe I need to become man enough to want to know. God bless all of those who are on the forefront on this physical and political battle. May God bring you wisdom and strength to do the right thing to bring peace and resolution. May God give you harbor and bring you home safely.

New video from Matt

2006-02-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

You gotta check out this new video from Matt. Good compilation of family photos and video throughout the year, strung together with music. And you thought he was just an email pro! :) Just click the Play button to watch.

How YOU doin'?

2006-02-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

You know that feeling when you are leaning back in a chair on 2 legs, and then you lean back too far, but just at the last minute you catch yourself...? Well, I feel like that all the time.

Forgiveness

2006-02-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

This post doesn't really have a point. Bare with me as I jot some thoughts and try to piece them together. It's got a Christian theme to it, so I hope me gathering my thoughts doesn't misdirect Christ's message. Your comments are welcome. --------------------------------------- I love the new show My Name is Earl. I think it has a good message. The writers keep the show PC by explaining the moral of their stories to karma. But, I think there's more to it than that. You see, the title character was a really bad guy at one point. He stole, he cheated, he lied, he robbed, he did whatever he needed to do without thinking of the circumstances or how it affected the lives of others. His was married to woman who didn't love him. His parents didn't want anything to do with him. He was in a real bad place. After a serious accident, he was lying in the hospital thinking that there had to be a better way to live life. The show describes his enlightenment as "Do good things, and good things will happen to you. Do bad things, and they'll come back to haunt you." I think that's great, but the show goes deeper. Earl acknowledges his past wrongs (in fact, he made a list of everything bad he ever did), and he intends to make up for all his past transgressions. He knows he needs a better life, and he seeks out each person of who he's wronged in the past to make up for it. This primetime TV comedy won't say it, but I see this as a man seeking forgiveness. The show is funny. Each episode depicts Earl having to confront the person he's wronged (stole their wallet, picked on in high school, burned their house down, ruined their dreams and aspirations). It's always the same. When the victim sees Earl, they immediately show the hate they have for him until he expresses his regret and desire to make things right. It's crazy what guilt does to a man. It keeps you up at night. It puts a pit in your stomach. It makes you feel the whole world is looking at you. It makes you feel that you will never recover. It makes you do crazy things to try to right your wrongs (if you could only go back and do the right thing or fix what you did, then things wouldn't be so bad). That guilt that keeps you up at night makes men seek for answers. Some call it karma, some call it guilty conscience, but Christians call it Jesus. You see, as a Christian, I believe that Christ died for our sins. He paid the price for all your transgressions so that you won't have to. He literally saved us from having to live a life of hell, a life without meaning, a life without purpose. I think this journey that Earl is on is a great one. He is seeking out forgiveness. He's not only looking for forgiveness, but validation from each of his 'victims' that he's on the right path. He's proving to not only the victims that he's a better person, but he's also proving to himself that he's a better person. And it is this journey that gives Earl's life purpose. Instead of selfishly taking advantage of others around him, he realizes the fulfillment he gets from enriching the lives of those around him. There lies some Biblical truth to this. John 8:1-12 tells us of the story when Christ was preaching in the temple courts. In the middle of his teaching, a group of what the Bible calls "scribes" or "teachers of the law" (I'll call them prosecutors and judges) and Pharisees (who are basically described in the Bible as a sect of Jews who lacked real religion and conviction) drag a woman who was 'caught in adultery' into the temple courts. There they told Christ that this woman was caught in the act of adultery, the laws of Moses command that this woman be stoned. They asked Christ, "Now what do you say?". At this, it is clear that Christ is disappointed with the actions of the scribes and Pharisees. He kneels down, starts drawing in the sand, and doesn't look up. The Word says that Jesus only spoke because the group 'kept questioning him'. At this relentless pursuit of the Pharisees to have this woman who was clearly caught in sin be reprimanded, Jesus responded "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw the first stone..." Christ never looked up. He just kept down near the ground. After a while, he looks up to find that everyone except the woman had left. These men were shamed. Here they were feverishly wanting to condemn this blatant depiction of sin. The words of Christ exposed their own weakness, their own sin. You see, we all have sinned. We all have wronged our maker. Just because one person's sin is more public, doesn't make the sin of yours less hurtful to God. It's so easy to look over at the one person who has hurt you and condemn them for rest of your life. It's so easy to ignore the younger generation who we feel are up to no good. It's so easy to feel that we live a better life because we have removed the splint from our eye, and now we can point out the speck in the eyes of others. Let us be reminded - we all have sinned! Every one of us. 1 Cor 6:9-11 says this... 9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (Watch the next line...) 11And such were some of you but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Let us not foget what Christ has done for us. Let us not forget that he has saved us. Yes, we must denounce sin. But, we shouldn't judge and put off the sinner. Christ offers forgiveness unconditionally. Should anyone acknowledge their wrongs, come to the Lord with a humble heart, God will take that sin and cast it into the sea. He will fill the void in your life, and fill your heart with Him. Just as Christ did with the Pharisees, He will shine his light on you and expose your sin. The light of the world will humble you. And with this humbleness, obey what He said last to the sinful woman in the temple courts - "...neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." So, getting back to Earl... I love how he finds his purpose - of righting the wrongs in his life. But, I wonder how he would have felt if he acknowledged Christ's presence in his life. That with Christ he was forgiven the moment his heart was humbled. I wonder how he would have felt...? --------------------------------------------------------- I know none of this comes full circle and makes a distinct point. But, the Earl story of doing the right thing is only a half of the story. One should do the right thing not for just the sake of karma, but because Christ has worked a miracle in your life. You should do it to please him. May your works not only be good, but be pleasing in His sight. We shouldn't think for one moment that we are above our brothers and sisters. That we are more righteous than the other. Christ (the light of the world) shines his light so we may see our own sin. We must always remember from where Christ has brought us, and let others know that they can too find peace. It's a constant battle. But, if we are humbled by Christ, submit to his will, and allow him to be the light upon our path, the monster inside us all doesn't have a chance.

The Stanford Tree

2006-01-30T07:04:00.000-08:00

One of the craziest mascots in all of sports is the Stanford Tree. Well, last night I got to see it in person. Only an hour after arriving in San Francisco I drove down to Palo Alto (home of Stanford University). It is a georgeous area. Pristine yards, streets, great weather. I didn't realize how close I actually was to Stanford, and once I did I had to drive through. Driving through the campus I began to notice tons of people walking to a building. It meant only one thing - a basketball game! I had time to spare, and I figured "carpe diem". $37 later, I had a ticket in the upper level (real small arena, so the seats weren't too bad) for the Stanford vs. #9 Washington Huskies game. I stayed only through the first half, but it turns out that Stanford won! For me, the $37 ticket was much worth it just to see the tree. How funny is it to have a tree dancing around the floor trying to pump up the crowd. "Who were the ad geniuses to come up with that one?"

Tools for Music Lovers

2006-01-23T06:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I hadn't found this service earlier. But, at least I found it. What a great service! Pandora is a music discovery tool. As their website puts it - Our mission is to help YOU connect with the music YOU like.

Pandora is a great tool that matches music based on artists or songs that you like. Apparently they have spent over 6 years of research manually listening to all of the songs in their catalogue and tagging them appropriately. Here's a station I created based off of Jack Johnson type music. Sign up is easy, and once you do you can create up to 100 stations, save your favorite songs to a list, share your stations with friends, and can purchase songs or CD's directly from iTunes and Amazon respectively. A really cool feature about Pandora's Music Genome project is that it learns your tastes, and updates each station accordingly. You can tell the tool if you don't like a song, or not to play a certain type of song, and it will learn your taste song by song. Pretty cool.

Although I haven't tried this service yet, but I hear that Last.fm is a similar product. Several reviews that I have read say that people actually like Last.fm better than Pandora. Apparently it has a bigger catalogue of music, and a different interface that people like. When I breifly looked at the www.Last.fm I noticed that you had to download their software and create an account for it to work. If that's the case, my vote will be for Pandora. Pandora requires no download, and you can listen for free regardless if you create an account or not.

Choose a commercial, any commercial

2006-01-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

I am in love with SpotRunner.

What a great service. You have to check it out for yourself. Ever want your own TV commercial? Did you think it was too hard to produce something nice? Did you think it was too expensive? Well, SpotRunner makes it incredibly easy for you to present your message to the masses, and in a very professional manner.

I can't wait to try it out for myself. If anyone has used the service already, I would love to hear about your experience.

A grizzly bear approaches you...

2006-01-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

ESPN's Bill Simmons made me fall off the couch laughing tonight. He wins the award for best column of the year, so far.

For those who were hunkered down in their fallout shelters the last 4 days and didn't hear about Steve Smith's full out assault on the Chicago Bears entire defensive backfield during the Panthers 29-21 win Sunday night, here's Bill's award for "Worst Move Before a Playoff Game"

The Bad Idea Jeans Award for Worst Move Before a Playoff Game

To the Bears D-backs who trash-talked Steve Smith in the pregame warmups before the Carolina game. Why wasn't this in the scouting report? If you were Lovie Smith, wouldn't this have been your only ironclad instructions all week? Don't talk to him, don't look at him, don't even make eye contact with him. If he approaches you in the warm ups, act the same way you would if you were hiking in the wilderness and a grizzly bear approached you -- don't move, don't react, don't do anything until it walks away.

Wow! Great music finds us again! -- mp3 of the day

2006-01-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

Wow. I just finished watching CBS's new show, Love Monkey. Very cool! I really loved Tom Cavanagh in his old series, Ed. As a matter of fact, there was a time that Ed was really the only show I watched. It was sad to see it go. But, Tom makes a great comeback with Love Monkey. It certainly gets added to my DVR series recordings. The show is packed full of talent. Larenz Tate, Jason Priestley, and 17 year old Teddy Geiger are great additions. Click here to see a trailer of the show. I've got to say, this kid Teddy is going to be big. I only heard him sing shortly on this show and a shortly on the web via these links, but already I feel he joins the group of John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Coldplay, Gavin Degraw, and Edwin McCain of the great singer/songwriters of today. If you haven't heard this kid sing yet, you will! Click here to listen to 2 of his recent songs. (The songs should play directly within the browser.)

Top 10 Hindsights of Life

2006-01-13T06:03:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things that happened to me this past year was having the pleasure to listen to a speech given by Guy Kawasaki. If you don't know who Guy is, he's probably the most famous venture capitalists in the world. Sure, other VC's may have better successes, may have bigger portfolios, but no one can match Guy's character, his wittiness, and his ability to make his impact felt. In addition to bank rolling some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley, Guy has a gift when it comes to public speaking. He's entertaining, real, and captivating. One of the things that impressed me most about him, is the ability for his message to stick with you long after you first hear it. Today, Guy posted the text to one of his famous speeches. The speech is titled Hindsights. I highly suggest you read it beginning to end. I would argue that we all would be better off if we had this list stiched to the cuff of every shirt we own. Read it now.

mp3 of the day

2006-01-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

I found this song on the internet over the Christmas holidays. I immediately went to the local big-box stores (wally world & targe't) and neither store carried this CD. I was amazed. So, today I ordered it off the internet. Hope you like the song. It's called "How Do You Love" by Collective Soul. Amazing song. I'm sure many of you will find meaning in it for you. If you're curious, email me and I'll tell you what meaning it has for me. For some good interviews about Collective Soul's new album and new DVD, here's a few good stories: Beliefnet Interview VH1 Story

Progression is not necessarily better...

2006-01-10T06:18:00.000-08:00

How appropriate is this cartoon? It's so easy to get caught up with emails, blogs, and short messages, that we often fail to genuinely connect. I've certainly been guilty of not reaching out directly as much as I should. But, I'm trying to get better. There's nothing like going to a game with a friend, sitting across from someone else at a table and chatting, opening up a personalized card that you received in the mail (US mail), or talking on the phone late at night. As much as I am enjoying writing this blog, I am going to try to save the personal details for personal conversations. I love my family and friends. And, I intend to try to let each one of them know how much they mean to me (directly) this year. I hope to hear from you too. If you have moved lately, or don't think I know where you are these days (from years of no-communication), please send me an email with your current contact information (phone number, mailing address, etc.) Here's mine... Andy Denton andy@andydenton.com 704.807.2259

Delayed Gratification

2006-01-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

This post came to me in church today. I hope I don't plagerize my pastor too much. I feel it is a very important post, and because of that I probably won't be posting much more this week. I want this one to sink in, and to remain at the top of my blog for a few days. No matter how you read it, I pray that you can take something good away from it. Here goes... A few years ago, my brother Wesley and I were speaking. (can't recall what it was exactly) But, he made the statement that some people just don't know the value of delayed gratification. That idea stuck with me. I thought about it. I prayed about it. And I never forgot it. In today's society we are so dependent on the quick fix. Hungry? Run over to the drive through, and you can probably get a full meal in about 2 minutes or less. Want to know the meaning of word, or research a subject? No more traveling over to the local library. All you gotta do now is go to your computer and do a quick search, or read the public's take on it. By using the internet for about 5 minutes, you saved yourself a half-day's activity. The point is, people want quick fixes. If life throws them a problem, they want a fix that day. Not knowing the value of delayed gratification - or rather, the need for a us as humans to remove the pains of today is what leads addicts searching for their next fix, alcoholics going for their next drink, and often keeps people who seem to be down on their luck in a downward spiral. Rather than going through the hard times and attacking the problems head on, people just want their troubles to end and the pains to stop. The fact is that life is hard. It takes work. We as humans are fallible, we have weaknesses, and no matter how hard we try we always fall short of perfection. There is no quick fix. The sooner you get your mind to grasp that concept, the better off you will be. Although he was illustrating a different point, my pastor gave this funny list today that hit home for me. The list is the top 10 things you can learn from Noah. 1. Don't miss the boat. 2. Remember that we're all in the same boat. 3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the boat. 4. Stay fit! When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. 5. Don't listen to the critics - just get on with the job that needs to be done. 6. Build your future on high ground. 7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs. 8. When you're stressed, float a while. 9. Amatuers built the Arc. Professionals built the Titanic. 10. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. Number 10 is my point here. A few years ago I wrote to a good friend of mine. He was going through some hard times, and was looking for some good news. I worried about this friend because he didn't seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, sometimes you won't. That is why we must live by faith. I wrote to my friend an analogy. I told him that you cannot allow life to toss you side to side, and let you be affected by the winds. You can't let the waves - the highs and lows of life - affect you greatly. You've got to be that ship that cuts through the waves. You simply thank God for the high points in life, you appreciate the sunsets, and you thank Him that you made it through the lows. So if you are that sailboat, and you simply want to get upstream, what do you do when the wind is blowing strongly to your face? Do you give up? Is there no hope? How can you sail directly into the wind? Sometimes you feel your plans of making it to your destination is impossible. This is where delayed gratification comes in. Just because life becomes hard for you, it doesn't mean you are alone, or that your life has become an impossibility. If the wind comes at you head on, you don't turn around and let it take you out to sea - you tack! You may not be able to travel in a straight line. The journey may become longer. But, you can make it! So, no. There isn't a drive through window to pick up a better life, or a solution to your problems. You can't ask God to take you from Point A to Z. God doesn't lay it all out there for you. He gives you directions, one step at a time. That's why we call it the "word of the Lord", not the "plan of the Lord", and not the "will of the Lord". You've first got to listen. It all comes down to this... Don't worry. And, let God lead you to your rainbow.

Panthers win!!

2006-01-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

Amazing domination. What a game. Congrats to the entire Panther Nation! If you didn't see it, the Carolina Panthers shut out the NY Giants 27-0. It's almost unheard of for a playoff team to go scoreless in a game. Surely a testament to the Panther defense.

Pulling out the virtual photo album...

2006-01-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

Here is one of my favorite pictures of my parents. Oh the days of innocence... For more photos like this check out my parent's website (a gift from Matthew) at www.CassyandDanny.com.

The Bee's Knees!

2006-01-06T08:33:00.000-08:00

If you didn't know, I'm very fond of my new neice - Grace Ann. She's such a doll. My only complaint is that I don't get to see her as often. Wesley, Kari, and Grace live up in DC. Maybe one day we'll all live closer. But, for now I have to share these video's with you guys. They absolutely kill me. The first one is in Beaufort over Christmas. Grace rolled over for the very first time. Wes, like a good father, was right there with the video camera rolling. The other is short, but cute. Grace holds her own bottle for the first time. Her little hands just clasping on like vise grips. Very Cute. Wes and Kari - when do I get to babysit?

The Magnum

2006-01-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

Noah, here's a pic of my new car. I love it so far. The engine purrs, the seats are comfy, the satellite radio keeps me entertained (especially the old-school rap station), I can finally fit more than one other person in my car, and I can tell all the brotha's are jealous of my 20" blacked out rims. Hope to see you soon.

Realty.com & iHomes.com previews

2006-01-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

Lots of you have been asking what's been going on the last few weeks. Here's a preview of what we are working on here at Realty.com. Realty.com is currently going through a face lift. A much needed face lift. I couldn't be more excited with these designs. Our designer, Josie Nicoletta is an all-star! Should anyone have any comments - post away! Realty Preveiw 1 Realty Preview 2 Also, we are also in development of iHomes.com. iHomes will initially be in beta testing on a local scale - first city to test is Charlotte. If things go well, we'll roll out the iHomes services to other select cities, then nationally. iHomes Preview 1 iHomes Preview 2 Look forward to your feedback.

mp3 of the day

2006-01-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

For all of you who need a reminder. Here is a good tune. Download it, put it in your mp3 player, and press play. Randy Newman never disappoints. An angel sent this my way today at a time I really needed to relax. This song did the trick. Thought I'd share it with the rest of you.

3X5's

2006-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

John Mayer put it eloquently... I'm writing you to catch you up on places I've been You held this letter probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it didn't have a camera by my side this time hoping I would see the world through both my eyes maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words... ...You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes it brought me back to life You'll be with me next time I go outside NO more 3x5's I really liked this song. It says a lot. Many people rush through life wanting to experience every little thing. Always traveling, on the road, off with friends, going to movies, going to dinner, visiting family, or what have you. In this world of always-on-entertainment, the world of emails, blogs (this one too), websites, mp3 players, home movies, etc. Does anyone ever stop to really smell the roses? Really? I heard someone say that the alway-on-entertainment and streaming-high speed-internet-access has all but demolished day dreaming. It's hard to make a case against this statement. It's funny how you evolve through life. As you age, and as life tosses you from side to side, your priorities change. As a kid, when Christmas rolled around, all you ever wanted was the year's coolest toy or game. A few years later, you stopped wanting toys and started wanting clothes. A few years after that you don't need anymore clothes, so you want toys again. This year for me, I didn't want anything. I had all the clothes I needed. I had all the gadgets I wanted. Didn't need any socks or ties. Art would have been nice, but not everyone knows the type of art that I like. This year, I found myself wanting pictures of all things. I realized that I didn't have any framed photos of my family. So, withouth even asking, I got what I wanted. I still love that John Mayer song. It's got great meaning to it. But, it never hurts to snap just a few photos when you are with the ones you love. Here's one of my favorite gifts from this Christmas. Thanks, Matt!

Rules of business

2006-01-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

Interesting note for those of you who want to start you own business. Many people often rush into starting their own business without a plan in mind. If you have those types of dreams, here's a good rule of thumb... Rent should take up no more than 25 percent of your revenue, another 25 percent should go toward payroll, and 35 percent should go toward the product. The remaining 15 percent is what you take home. There’s an even more elegant version of that rule: Make your rent in four days to be profitable, a week to break even. If you haven’t hit the latter mark in a month, close. And for those of you who think you have the next big idea, and have dreams of getting venture capital - here is some of the best detailed advice I've read lately. It comes from none other than the eloquent Guy Kawasaki. (Thanks Guy for continuing to put your vision and standards out there in the open. The world needs more people like yourself.) Think: DICEE

Deep. A great product is deep. It doesn’t run out of features and functionality after a few weeks of use. Its creators have anticipated what you’ll need once you come up to speed. As your demands get more sophisticated, you discover that you don’t need a different product.
Indulgent. A great product is a luxury. It makes you feel special when you buy it. It’s not the least common denominator, cheapest solution in sight. It’s not necessarily flashy in a Ferrari kind of way, but deep down inside you know you’ve rewarded yourself when you buy a great product.
Complete. A great product is more than a physical thing. Documentation counts. Customer service counts. Tech support counts. Consultants, OEMS, third-party developers, and VARS count. Blogs about it counts. A great product has a great total user experience—sometimes despite the company that produces it.
Elegant. A great product has an elegant user interface. Things work the way you’d think they would. A great product doesn’t fight you—it enhances you. (For all of Microsoft’s great success this is why it’s hard to name a Microsoft product that you’d call “great.”) I could make the point that if you want to see if a company’s products are elegant, you need only look at its chairman’s presentations.
Emotive. A great product incites you to action. It is so deep, indulgent, complete, and elegant that it compels you to tell other people about it. You’re not necessarily an employee or shareholder of the company that produces it. You’re bringing the good news to help others, not yourself.

Christmas gifts that never happened

2006-01-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone probably knows by now (at least my brothers do) that for the past 5 or so Christmases I try to give one quirky gift to the majority of my male family members and friends. This year the quirky gift that made the cut was given to Matt, Wesley, Dad, Greg, Creet, and myself. I think it went over well - the Swiss Tech Utili-Key. (Greg's gift yet to be delivered.) It was funny watching everyone open this thing. Nobody knew what to think, but once they understood it I think they liked it. I certainly do! I recently heard a man say on TV, "I never saw a tool I didn't like." I would have to agree to a point. I thought this gift was cool because everyone probably has a Swiss Army knife somewhere around their house. But, do you ever carry it with you? Everyday? I tried to carry one with me everday once, and it lasted all of about 5 days. This Utili-Key servers every function of the basic Swiss Army knife, but brings portability. Anyway, without further adieu, here is the list of the gifts that almost but didn't make the cut. the Jimi Wallet Cube Figures Beer Key CD Jukebox (sorry Mom) Drill Seargant Alarm Clock (watch out Wes and Kari) Egg and Muffin Toaster Khaki Briefcase Cell Phone Handset Scrolling Belt Buckle (could show up for Yerg's big 3-0) Airzooka Air Gun Megazooka Air Gun Uber Orbs (Matt and I actually received these) Fog Blaster Maybe next year...