Random strange thought

You know how your recorded voice being played back to you sound so different than it does in your own head? Do you ever wonder what other people sound like to themselves? Do you think Gilbert Gottfried sounds that annoying to himself? How do impressionists know if they sound like someone? Does the person that they are impersonating think they got it right?

Sometimes I think about stuff like this...

Now you can, too.

Uganda Follow up

A little more info on the Uganda orphanage situation. We had diner last week with the couple that has founded the orphanage. They are having the first two housing structures and kitchen area built as we speak over there. They are also are having a well dug on the land. Obviously, the hope is that they will have freshwater, but it is entirely possible that they will have saltwater and need filtration systems installed.

They were looking to have us go to Uganda with them in late August/early September in anticipation of those first housing units being finished. We would then head over and help with getting things set up. They are looking for Rachel to help with organization (her mutant ability - little hyped for XMen opening this weekend?) and I would help with minor building (without electricity, my mutant ability of spending too much time online will go to waste).

There in lies the problem. In my mind, that is much too quickly for us to turn around and get everything together to get over there. Shots, planning, raising $4 to $5k. There is a lot to get figured out. What we have decided is that Rachel will help with planning and getting donations here and we will start looking at the idea of heading over sometime around the end of Q1 2007.

Once again, our plans may fall apart but we need to have something to shoot for...

Into Africa

There is a couple from our church that has started an orphanage in Rakai, Uganda to house young children who have lost both parents due to AIDS. They have ten acres of land on a hill and are currently working to build the orphanage and get infrastructure set up for themselves.

Rachel, who coordinates 1000 kids and teachers a week in Sunday School classes at our church, meet with a woman who is involved with the orphanage about how she can help mobilize our kids and their families to get involved an help out. We are always looking for a way to get the kids involved and to get them to think on a global scale. To try to reinforce the idea that they are extraordinarily blessed in America and they should do what they can to help others. This seemed like a perfect way to do that.

The evening after their meeting, Rachel had a voicemail from this woman. She said that she was very impressed with the organization and passion that Rachel has for kids and this kind of work and wanted to know if we would be interested in helping her lead a team of people over to Uganda to help get some work done over there.

We are meeting with her and her husband tonight to discuss the details and find out what they have in mind, but our minds are kind of spinning at the idea. It is both exciting and a bit frightening, but we are very interested in finding out more details and seeing if this is a way that we can compassionately help people in need in Africa. Obviously, this would be a short term (week or two) opportunity but this is not the kind of the thing that we could get involved in and then walk away from.

Interesting anyway and weighing on my mind. Thoughts?

Catching up

A quick rundown of things that mean nothing, but since nothing is what you have been reading on this blog, you should be used to it.

• Mission: Impossible III - See it.
  
• Alias - Good again...just in time to go off the air.
• Lost - If you aren't watching this, you suck.
• The Office - See Lost comment.
• Nintendo Wii - Dumb name. Awesome anyway.
• Planning trip to Europe - Overwhelming.
• Learning to speak basic Italian - Surprisingly fun.
• Paying $450 to fly to Fargo - Stupid.
• $20 of free cash deposited into my Party Poker account - Sweet.
• XBox Live Arcade (Pac Man, Galaga, STREET FIGHTER!) - Can't wait.
• Uno on Live Arcade - surprisingly entertaining.
• 4.25% interest on my savings account - money.
• Dog, The Bounty Hunter - rocks.

I'm sure I could sit here and think of a thousand other things to list here, but that is all for now.

How long will she live?

It is amazing to hear a woman like this speak and realize that she is the "crazy" one in the Middle East. To see that guy simply dismiss her as a heretic for not being religious. There is too much of that attitude across all religions, but unfortunately she is dealing with the one that instead of screaming her down, would rather crop off her head. I hope that she lives long enough to keep influencing the people that are watching Al Jazeera.

Windows Media Video Link

MG Update

My 1979 MGB
Originally uploaded by slightlydope.

It's amazing what a good, solid push and the pop of a clutch can do for a 70's era car.

On Thursday, I decided that it was time to get the MGB home. The battery was completely dead and even a half hour charging session did nothing to help that. I put about two gallons of gas in the tank (which may or may not actually be empty as the gauge doesn't read anything) and gave it a swift push across the parking lot. A smooth release of the clutch in third gear roared it life almost immediately.

Sounds great and it was. Getting a car for free leads to all sorts of bad thoughts about how bad the situation really is. Needless to say, when it actually started and drove around the parking lot, I was pretty stoked.

So it starts. Great. How does it run? Not so great. Seems to be only firing on two cylinders (hoping a simple set of new plugs and wires will fix that) and it has a nice blue tinted puff of smoke that accompanies each take off from a stop. That one is most likely a piston ring, I guess. Either way, it ran well enough to drive it home with the top down for the 12 miles or so it took me to get it in the garage.

So far I have pulled the air intake set up and the carb off of it and intend to give them a quick once over before I put them back on. I also pulled out the center console and under dash console which were pretty much trashed. Then I pulled the drivers side carpet which led to a nice rusty surprise.

So rusty in fact, I was able to stick a screwdriver right through the floor board and see the ground. I guess that needs to be replaced. The good news is that seems to be the only MAJOR rust damage and that can be easily fixed.

I can't wait to get this thing running well and out on the road!

My 1979 MGB

My 1979 MGB
Originally uploaded by slightlydope.

I have a new toy. Someone donated a 1979 MGB roadster to the church as a write off at the end of the year. They finally dropped it off last week and an e-mail was sent out to see if anyone was interested in it. I put myself on the list of interested parties.

After a week of people looking at it and no one making an offer on it, our paster of administration asked me if I was still interested. And I was, as long as I didn't have to pay over $500 for it. I ended up paying a lot less than that when he gave it to me as long as I was willing to take it off his hands.

The battery is dead and it is out of gas so I don't even know if it runs. The guy who donated it said that it did but obviously I can't validate that claim until I can charge the battery and get some fuel in it.

I figure worst case, I can put a grand into it and get it running well and have a super fun, Arizona cruising car.

I love it.

Superbowl letdown

Rachel and I spent the last two months planning and preparing for a Superbowl party that was hosted at our house yesterday. I have now come to realize that there is no better way to have a semi-lame party than to tie it to a overhyped football game.

Not that the party was that lame, but the football game really kind of sucked the life out of it. Sure, it could have been the fact that the game itself was one of the most boring I have ever seen. Or that I really couldn't have cared less which team won. Something about getting together for a game that everyone then kind of feels obligated to watch in itself isn't that fun. Four hours of John Madden yapping in my ear, isn't that fun.

So, when did the fun start? After the game when Guitar Hero was busted out and the laughs began.

So what did I learn from this.

1. Parties need to be much more free flow.

2. Scheduling a party around a bloated game that no one cares about but everyone feels they should be watching isn't the best idea in the world.

3. Guitar Hero rocks and might be able to bring peace to the world if we can just figure out how to get the Palestinians and the Israelis together for some blazing head-to-head guitar battles.

Electronic Dreams

I'm heading out on the road this morning driving from Phoenix to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. My friend and I are working on our home automation business and need so ideas for things like security systems, motorized blinds, video switchers, ect.

unfortunately his mother-in-law died this week of liver cancer so he had to bow out. Fortunately, Rachel is ready to go so we are making a weekend out of it and still will be able to get all the business at hand taken care of.

Look out, Las Vegas, here we come!

Cat in the super-sized, braniac Hat

Okay, I will admit to being one of those cat haters. I never want a cat. I find them a bit useless and the fact that they jump on kitchen counters makes me crazy. I am a dog guy. I will always be a dog guy.

...but cats just jumped up in a BIG way for me when I read this story.

Cat dials 911