Snow Day

From Annaka and Jack 2009

From Annaka and Jack 2009

From Annaka and Jack 2009

From Annaka and Jack 2009

Clemson Tailgating

We have the perfect tailgating spot for football weekends. Nice open grass , big oak trees, and lots of food.

Singing Roxanne and Still Digging Indy

Yesterday I was struck with a bit of 1980's nostalgia.

Somehow, the unbelievable happened yesterday. I was able to score two tickets for Kristen and I to see The Police in Atlanta in November. We have not been to a rock concert since our graduate school days over 11 years ago. While I have seen Sting a number of times, I have never seen The Police. The Police last performed together in 1984 just as I discovered their music. Needless to say, after many Roxanne falsetto singing lapses yesterday, Kristen has banned me from singing Roxanne today.

The other 1980s flashback occurred when I saw this picture floating around the net on Friday. It is a picture taken by Steven Spielberg on the set of the next Indiana Jones movie. The movie has just started shooting and it is due to be released in May of next year.

For a young boy, this movie captured my imagination. Dad and I went to see Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981 in Greenville in a packed theater. I also remember seeing the last sequel my senior year of High School. I could not believe that my dad let me skip studying for my last exam so we could go see the movie.

Great Memories.

Painting with Maggots

Congratulations to Uncle Brian for getting on the Rocketboom videoblog. Check out the Blog.

A Dad's Self-Portrait

Ok, enough pictures of kids. Here is a nice picture of me. Enjoy.

Note: These pictures were created using Uncle Brian's fancy macbook. For all you PC users, you don't know what you are missing. Just look at some of our other picture examples.

What’s Wrong With Cinderella?

One mother’s struggle with her 3-year-old daughter’s love affair with princess culture. A very applicable article. Read NYTimes article.

From Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas!

Dreaming together. . .

Right before I put Annaka to bed every night, she asks me "What are you going to dream about tonight?" I usually respond with something good that has happened that day. She then says that she is going to dream about that too. Tonight I said I was going to dream about the two of us making Christmas lollipops and she thought that sounded good to her too. The night before it was painting fingernails together, and the night before that it was wrapping a present for Jesus' birthday. We've been doing this for months now and we usually decide to think about the simplest of things. But then, it really isn't about what we are dreaming about–but that we are doing it together, leading each other through the darkness of the night.

Unbelievable Bird

The Lyrebird apparently can mimic human sounds such as car alarms, chainsaws, and cameras. Read about it!

PowerPoint without Bulletpoints

I watched Al Gore's movie "Inconvenient Truth" this weekend. While I was impressed with the movie itself. I was really impressed with Gore's presentation. It was one of the best uses of slides I have ever seen.

One of the disadvantages with PowerPoint is that all presentations start looking the same just like driving through Any Town USA these days. One must drive past a Wal-Mart, a McDonald's, and a Home Depot. No matter who does a PowerPoint they all conform to the same general guidelines. Gore's presentation broke this mold. There were no bullet points, no words looking for some empty space to breath, and no tacky animations.

There were three reasons his presentation really worked:
(1) A good/important topic,
(2) an engaging delivery, and
(3) visuals that enhance the message.

Watch it.

Byzantine Empire and a little ipod

My little ipod is a lifesaver when it comes to my 50 minute commute everyday. While I have been enjoying an influx of new music thanks to my russian music site, I also listen to many different podcasts. Lately, I have found some interesting lectures.

Mr. Brownworth teaches History at The Stony Brook School on Long Island, New York and provides a great overview of Byzantine history as seen through 12 of it's greatest rulers. While it is hard to imagine that this could be an exciting audio adventure, surprisingly it is. Enjoy the ride and visit his site or visit his podcast on itunes

Thanksgiving Drop

You can't beat WKRP...here is one for the Thanksgiving Holidays.