Louie Giglio

Have you ever heard of Louie Giglio?

He is an incredible Christian speaker.  I've watched several of his DVD messages and have enjoyed/been moved/motivated/convicted/inspired/etc. by every single one.

My favorites are Indescribable, How Great is Our God, Hope, and Fruitcake and Icecream - which just so happen to come in a 4 pack (look for them at Amazon.com).  I also really like his DVD titled Tatoo.

Check out his website http://www.268generation.com/ or look him up an Youtube. 

If you have watched a Louie Giglio message or two tell me which one is your favorite.

Bummer

Looks like we'll be taking Nick to the Dr. tomorrow.  He injured his ankle with about 20 seconds left in the game and had to be assisted off the court.

Such a bummer, he was having an excellent game up to that point.  He was playing awesome defense.  Oh well, only 5 games left.  Hopefully it isn't broken and he'll heal fast.  Update to come.

Childhood games

Thinking back to what TV show I watched as a kid got me thinking about the games I used to play with.  Battling Tops was a favorite.  I loved the sound they made when they first started - that high pitched whizzing/whining sound, but then I would usually jump when they first made contact with the other "enemy" top.

Dizzy Dan and Hurricane Hank were my favorites.

Who remembers this game?  I remember getting this game when I was quite young (5 or 6) and it made me so nervous to play it that it haunts me to this day.  The jist of the game was that you had this spring loaded mule and all sorts of "pack" items.  One by one you would take turns "loading" the mule.  Put on the shovel....frying pan.....canteen....pick axe....etc.  then all of a sudden when it was one item too many BLAMMOWHAMMOSPROING!!!!!!  It would buck and send everything flying.  Freaked me out man.

This was my Nintendo/XBox/Playstation.  I believe this might have been the ping pong mode.  For Tennis or hockey the paddles would change size slightly and the scoring would adjust, but other than that it was basically the same.  But this was AMAZING when it first came out.

Now this was exciting game action.  Line your guys up to "run a play", click on the power and.....watch them all vibrate until one of the oposing players "tackles" your guy with the ball.  This was high tech stuff man.

How many of you remember these games?  What games did you play as a kid?

Favorite TV show

My last blog was about whether or not I should expand our channel selection or cut it off completely.  That got me thinking.  What would I miss if I shut off the TV and what are some of my favorite shows?

I grew up as with the TV as a babysitter to some degree.  I don't recall my Mom using it as a crutch when we were really young, but after we went to school and she went to work full-time the TV became our after school babysitter.  I remember watching a lot of Gilligans Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Hogan's Heroes, and the Brady Bunch as they seemed to dominate the hours between school and when my parents got home.  As far as evening programming not to much stand out in my memory other than Gunsmoke, Manix and Hill Street Blues.   Oooh oh oh now the memory cells are firing.  Welcome Back Kotter.....Man from U.N.C.L.E.....Batman....Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.....Star Trek....Twilight Zone......The Night Stalker....Dark Shadows (freaked me out, that was a daytime soap my Mom watched when I was younger, it had vampires and for many years I went to sleep clutching covers to my neck - even when it was 90+ degrees at night!).  Wow, I guess I'm more of a TV junkie than I was thinking.  It was probably a good thing we moved out to the country when I was 9 or so - out there we only got ONE channel.  No flipping (no remote!)  Little House on the Prairie, Lawrence Welk and Disney dominate my memory of those years.

What are your memories of TV when you were growing up?

TV to exand or cut off....that is the question

In 2008 when I lost my job we cut our cable back to the very basic (roughly 20 channels) to save money.  It was a tad rough at first - as certain shows/channels were missed (ESPN for me, Food Channel for Nick and HGTV for Sharon), but as time went on we survived and even found time to do other things (like read books, play on the computer, go for walks, etc.).  Now that I've joined the fully employed again the thought has crossed my mind - should we expand out cable channels?  As I've been contemplating it I've taken more notice to what the family has been watching.  Sharon has been watching The Bachelor, Biggest Loser and Home Makeover.  Nick has been watching some cage fighting show, The Family Guy (until I holler at him to change the channel) and other misc. drivel.  I then thought about my viewing habits.  Other than NFL football I'm hard pressed to think of a show that I've watched in it's entirety recently.  The Mentalist, Criminal Minds and CSI are the only ones in recent weeks.  So, that makes me wonder, why expand - I should shut it off completely!  Thank goodness no one in my family watches American Idol - that would clinch cutting the cable!!

better things to do

I thought about a lengthy diatribe about Valentines Day, but decided instead of blogging I'll go spend some time with my lovely wife.

Have a great night.

Paradigm

Olympics (combat figure skating?)

I'm probably in the minority, but the opening ceremony of the Olympics does ZERO for me.  What is the big deal?  Granted, I don't care for parades or the circus either and the opening ceremony of the Olympics reminds me of a combination of the two.  I did not watch the ceremony last night as we were at a basketball game, but I honestly didn't miss it at all.  (What I enjoyed most about the opening ceremony was Scott Tabako Jr's comment on Facebook and our subsequent exchange of comments.)

I used to really look forward to the Olympics, but in recent years not so much.  I feel the Olympics has been cheapened by letting professional athletes compete.  I don't want to see the professional hockey or basketball players in the Olympics - we see them everyday during their seasons.  I want to see the next professional, the nobody who gets an opportunity to surprise everyone and make a name for themselves. 

I do enjoy watching the speed skating, downhill skiing, ski jumping, luge and bobsled events. These are events that you don't see everyday or every year.  I'm not a fan of the snowboarding or mogul events because you see them every year with the X-Games (actually, I don't, because I don't watch them either).   I'm not at all interested in the figure skating.....maybe if they put two or three competitors/teams on the ice at the same time - combat figure skating, then I'd start watching.

What do you like about the winter Olympics?

What do you not like about the winter Olympics?

no post - basketball night

Sorry, just got home from watching Nick play basketball.  Once again he made me proud with the effort he put forth.  Good job Nick!

Keys for loving your family

Another list from Tony Dungy's Book - Uncommon.

Pg. 73

Keys for loving your family:

1. Be a leader around your home, but lead for the benefit of your wife and children, not for your own benefit.

2. Give your wife breaks from her daily responsibilities.

3. Make memories.

4. Keep your vows sacred.  Sometimes better comes AFTER worse.

5. If you are not married, be careful in selecting a spouse.  It is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.

6. Be present with your family - emotionally and physically.

7. Be careful what you say and do.

8. Write notes to your children.

9. Honor those in authority over you.

10.  Be careful with the authority and influence that you've been entrusted with.

11.  If you can't come to grips with your parents and your past, find a professional to walk with you through it.