[the outhaus]

2012-01-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

OK, kids...Today's post is about making cookies. :)

Readers, meet ingredients. Ingredients, meet readers. (handshakes and/or hugs all around)

Left to right in no particular order:

Pan spray, egg, Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip cookie mix, Canola oil,.

All Purchased at wally world. 'Cause i'm cheap.

Next, remember to cut out the box top for education. give it to a local school.

Rainbow Sprinkles.
'Cause you just might need them...
depending on how fabulous you want your cookies to be.

After cutting the top off the pouch,
(so you donate the box top to a local school)
Pour the mix into a mixing bowl. (You know, so you can mix the ingredients together. )

Don't worry...they're not shy.
they will mingle fine.
(this is also where you would add the
Rainbow Sprinkles.
Your call on the amount...

Just how fabulous do you
want your cookies to be?)

...Add the egg. I know...this aint all its cracked up to be.

Add a half cup of oil. the package calls for a cube
of butter or margarinne, softened..
but to soften you need to either

1. leave the stuff out all day, or
2. melt it.

leaving it out all day..ick.

melting it leaves it warm/hot
which melts the chips as you mix.

Add oil.

Commence stirring. Pay no attention to the pink hand. Really. It's not that pink in person, trust me on that. Blame it on the light.

All Stirr-ed. This is the "lick the fork prior to washing it" point. Just to confirm that the dough tastes right. All in the name of quality control, of course.

Place the little darlings (or soon-to-be nutrition nuggets) on the pan by hand..in about...oh, say 3/4 - 1" blobs. They dont need to be perfectly uniform in size...unless that's your thing, of course. Then feel free to make them perfect. Then make an appointment with a therapist. (P.S. the cookie sheet should be already sprayed with the butter flavoured non-stick shown in the first picture, of course. Had I been really prepared, I would have included the commercial half-sheet pans in the first picture as well...alas...now about that perfection thing...)

Place thee little darlings (or nutrition nuggets) in the oven. - 375° for 6-8 minutes. (YMMV according to your oven) You did remember to preheat the oven, right? I should have mentioned that...along with the cookie pans in picture #1...

This is the 6 - 8 minute part, in case you hadn't guessed. And i figured there weren't enough pictures of the pink hand.

Don't they smell good? yep, they do. Cant ya just taste 'em? Feel free...but careful of the hot cookie sheet.

By the way...these are the "Fabulous" ones. In case it wasn't obvious. :)

Thanks for reading. :) feel free to share and comment.

From the "No #@$!, Sherlock!" Files...

2008-10-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

(note the reflection in the car on the right's bumper--thats the real color of the rims!)

Yep.

From the "You won't believe what you see @ church" dept.....

2008-09-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Simple Math...TSA+Microphone=Disaster

2008-07-05T16:49:00.001-07:00

Before

After

It was a Crown CM-311 Headset mic. (Value: $375.00) And this doesn't even take into account the damage to the guitar processor.

santa maria trip

2008-06-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

a nice overcast day on the coast

while getting gas in santa maria...

i thought they shouldnt be driving...

OK, This is different.

2008-05-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

i'm just getting ready to leave church tonight. someone comes up to me and asks if ive heard from homeland security yet.

Huh??

she mentioned that she saw something about me threatening a town. i reached back into my memory...(that was interesting...right there...) then i realized what happened.

i took pictures of a fire we had above my hometown. yes, i know i have no life. what else is new? anyway, a friend picked the the pictures up on her reviews/media/ministry blog. if you go to the photo gallery page, which has works from numerous people, you see my pics, among others. what was "different" was how the headline for one of my pictures read. (see below) it reads "A city Threatened By ____ _____"

i knew i was a threat...but not to the whole town. heh.

Proof positive that there IS a God...

2008-05-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

mc donalds sweet tea in southern california!

train stuff in arcadia.

2008-04-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

it was a nice overcast morning (the best kind for photography) a few days ago, so i stopped on my way to work to take some pics as i had my trusty Canon S3 with me:

a nice private varnish car located on a siding in arcadia.

another view

it's name

there's another car (unfortunately vandalized a bit--broken windows) right down the siding from it, along with a few boxcars that recently appeared.

pretty much sez it all

2008-01-12T23:35:00.000-08:00

when i have to work on my day off

mt wilson trip

2007-10-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

if you've ever been to L.A., and watched TV, if it was local broadcast TV, it eminated from here.

how i got here

across the lot from the last picture. (personal note: dad worked for a TV station that had its transmitter in the building at the base of the tallest tower.)

looking up

yes, indeed.

is this a hint about finding a career in live sound?

Crap.

2007-09-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

My bro's iPod touch.

something else to spend money on.

yep, i'm an apple fanboy.

Santa Barbara Trip...

2007-09-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

'Cause it's too #@!$ hot in L.A (note temperature)

at 10:29 in the morning!!

I didn't know any of these still ran...v. 2.0

The Santa Barbara Amtrak Station

Track...

The Coast Starlight pulls in...

Later The Surfliner (commuter)...

Flowers outside the Santa Barbara Amtrak station...

A seagull (I saw it, grabbed rthe camera & fired.)

Ummm...I just found that lost sock...

Why People move to Calif...

Now, That's a burger. M-M.

Shot from a moving car going down the 101...

No Picture...

2007-07-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

But i had a Starbucks® orange cream frap yesterday, with 2 extra pumps of orange. m-m. a-mazing. (even better was the fact that i had it here) with a complimentary card.

How does that burger stay together?

2007-07-20T23:29:00.001-07:00

Hmmm...is this a diet plan you'd try?

2007-07-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

i saw this on the way to work on a brush chipper. Yikes!

yep, it is.

2007-07-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

some tea, some sugar, pinch of baking soda, water......

now that its done...

sweet tea. just the way God intended.

Only in L.A....

2007-07-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

I went by a record store in silverlake today (it was closed, sadly), but in the parking lot was...

this.

it's a Mitsubishi...i think...

Here's the mirror...

Yup, they're computer keys.

Have a nice day.

I'm likin' it.

2007-07-09T00:29:00.000-07:00

fast, and has a switch, so i can hook up the laserjet 4000. and, being a mac, it recognizes the printer. fast, no install.

I'm now a C-3 Tech...

2007-07-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

At church we have a Hammond C-3 Organ and a leslie speaker. a genuine original. the real deal, with the spinnin' speakers, and vacuum tubes!

The C-3 and/or Leslie Speaker decided to make an ugly distorted sound during rehersal tonight. (it's been doing it intermittently this last week)

Get in there...start tapping around carefully, find that tapping a tube makes the Leslie Speaker start getting distorted and popping. Easy. Pop the back of the organ console where the box of spare tubes live. (Watch the worship leader look at you funny as you remove the back of the organ during rehersal at this point..)

(The old tube is lying next to the mic stand)

Grab a 6550, go to the back of the speaker, power down the organ, unplug the speaker, replace the tube, plug the speaker back in, power the organ back up...and off it goes. nice.

Yes, it's true.

2007-07-04T11:06:00.001-07:00

I was out for chinese dinner at Baccali

with some friends. One of them answered his phone with "Yo."

I realized i could not pull that off, even on my best day, hence the graffiti on the take home box.

The pantry. M-M.

2007-06-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

A couple of us went to the Original Pantry Cafe' today. its a cafe' in downtown L.A., that has served meat 'n taters for years. the rumor has it that it hasn't closed or been without a customer for years. there's no portion control. no weighing here. just a spatula load of potatoes. m-m. the sourdough toast? oh my word. the coffee? standard restaurant coffee. good, strong and smooth, served (endlessly) in heavy china mugs, just the way God intended.

the two of us ordered ham and cheese omlettes and potatoes. (with sourdough toast--which was incredible--and coffee) Here it is on the griddle. nuthin' healthy about that.

and then on the plate. food. gasm.

the plate about a half hour later:

i'm stuffed. no need for dinner.

Oh, and this is the power service to the building (hopefully it's been modified since then...)

Windscreen for a mic

2007-06-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

the "model number" is an industry joke referring to acoustic accessories (sound absorption devices)

Them's a Bunch O' Windmills.

2007-06-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Heh.

2007-06-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

From Here. Fun stuff.

Think.

2007-06-06T23:56:00.000-07:00

the sign they used to give people @ IBM. pertinent today, you "think"?

Tehachapi Train Trip (Episode 1)

2007-05-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

On the way...

A milestone...9,999 miles. One more tick to 10,000.

i had no idea any of these still ran.

the TL's navi said this was uncharted territory, so this wasnt much of a surprise. (said nothing about a desert isle, however.) no gilligan, skipper, millionaire, his wife, movie star, professor or mary ann sightings, unfortunately.

The aforementioned TL at the Tehachapi wind farm. Looks like a brochure picture, eh?

New art for the office...

2007-05-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's a (sorta) sad time. Another one of my haunts is going out of business. It's the local military/technological/miscellaneous...surplus store. Aisles and aisles of...stuff. You could spend hours...looking at...stuff. But it's closing. So, on a day off, i went to wander the aisles for one of the last times. Just to look for...something. I found a box with various screws, lockwashers, and electrical connectors. $4.00. Cool. I wandered down into the back room where the real fun stuff is. Old military electronic gear, power cables, knobs, switches, meters, nuts, bolts, equipment cases...and...stuff.

Then I saw...it. The perfect addition to my office wall. It's an old sign. It would go perfectly on the wall of my office. A perfect pice of random...stuff. I quickly found an employee, who added the sign to my bill. He quotes me $2.50, (and it would have been a bargain at twice the price)
points me towards a phillips screwdriver, and down it comes. I'll put it up this weekend, likely. i know just where. But until then,

Here it is:

A little more history...on the back.

What it says:

No, i didnt take it off. it's still on there, for the next owner to find.

New (to me) truck

2007-05-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

Another one bites the dust...

2007-05-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

another one of the remaining "76 globes" (in Sierra Madre CA) is replaced with a boring flat sign. you'd think the name recognition alone would be reason to retain them...

Why M$ doesn't get it...

2007-04-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

Let's see...Your TV=an escape...a form of entertainment.

Your Outlook ™calendar/PDA=work. hardly an escape. (except for microsofties, maybe.)

Kinda reminds me of Steve Ballmer dismissing the iPhone--"(laughing) Business won't use it--it doesn't have a keyboard."

No $!#@, Sherlock. It doesn't run windows mobile™, either. It runs an OS that...just...works.

I sh*t you not.....

2007-04-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

overflow seats in the restroom on easter sunday. (well, in the lounge adjoining it...)

no picture for obvious reasons.

...and comments about it being a real p*sser, faces real flushed, and the whole concept of overflow seating...have already been made.

pics from the retreat

2007-03-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

why people move to california.

I'm Tired.

2007-02-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

The old, dead one (P3, 1ghz.) Died 2 days prior to deployment of new servers. We had a full backup.

HP Proliant (3ghz dual core xeon w/ a socket for a 2nd) redundant power supplies, fans, hard drives. Now we're cookin' with gas.

Install complete @ 1:50...A.M. very minor workstation touchups to do.

I need coffee. Alot.

iWant.

2007-01-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

halfagasm

2006-12-19T19:24:00.000-08:00

RV, Van Nuys style.

2006-12-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

Registration status of the boat undetermined.

I heart my local thrift store.

2006-12-07T20:19:00.001-08:00

9 bux and change. (yep, it's a Vita-Mix®)

He wasn't driving.

2006-11-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

Pretty cool...literally.

2006-11-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

How do you keep a slot-loading iMac cool?

Mount 4 fans on it. Works like a charm.

Tunnel Vision

2006-10-29T10:20:00.000-08:00

One day near the Rose Bowl...

2006-10-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

A Blimp!

framed by a tree...

detail of the bottom

tail detail

More info on these wonderful quirky craft may be found...here.

Food. Gasm. Vol. 2

2006-10-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

Homemade Turkey Chili @ Beantown M-M.

the latest thrift store find.

2006-09-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

grundig OLD radio. with vacauum tubes. geek-o-rama.

yes, it works.

Strange happenings at Home Brew...

2006-09-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

...this afternoon. i was having a large iced tea. good stuff. after taking a picture of the barista, (long story, having something to do with pirates) posting the picture, then going to talk to said barista, when in walked an unshaven guy asking for work and/or food, stating he was from oregon, hadn't slept or had food in 3 days. the barista went to talk to her boss. the boss told her to tell the guy she would have work on friday. also, she gave the barista permission to make the guy a sandwich. ham and cheese was his request. with honey mustard. he then disappeared outside, only to return in a few minutes. he said "honey, you're hot" to the barista, then proceeded to pull $80.00 out of his pocket to pay for the sandwich. he then guessed the barista was 16. (she's not.) he also left a tip ($1), which she wasn't to share with the fellow barista. his other tip? "Jesus Christ is my personal savior. for the rest of my life...and a bit after that."

then he left to parts unknown. strange indeed.

The Barista.

An Appropriate Jar...

2006-09-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

For coffee candy.

office with the new camera. in 16x9, even.

2006-09-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

coffee mugs. lots of them.

2006-09-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

Do-It-Yourself Mac Mini.

2006-08-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

Monitor-$10.00 at a yard sale in Monrovia, CA.
Apple Mighty Mouse-$37.50 on craigslist ($75.00 for that and a power supply for my iBook)
Damaged—when the previous owner fell and landed on it—(damage limited to: dented top and bottom case, broken latch, line down screen) 12" 1.33ghz G4 powerbook w/ airport extreme and bluetooth-$0.00 (a throw-in with above purchase)
Extra 512 MB factory original Apple ram chip-$30.00 on craigslist
Mini-DVI to VGA adaptor to connect external screen-$21.60 from Melrose Mac
Genuine Apple power adapter from Patti's old powerbook. (repaced with a macbook pro through applecare)
$99.10 all told. Not bad.

Only in L.A....

2006-08-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Mac. Gasm.

2006-08-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

OK, you know you're predictable when.....

2006-08-04T20:38:00.001-07:00

you go to your favourite coffee place, and you get...

This.

An airpot of fresh black tea and a container of ice.

Does this mean my brother and I order black iced tea and get refills often?

Inquiring minds want to know.

the mug collection grows

2006-07-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

the top shelf is newly populated

$tarbuck$ corner

the more things change...

2006-07-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

the more they stay the same.

i was a 20+ year member of a once large church. you know the kind. the one that was the church in town back in the 70's. the one that had the lines around the block of prople signing up for sunday school (now i realize how rediculous a name that was. who would wanna go to school on sunday?) the church that was made up of a bunch of 50-80 year olds...who remember the "good old days". when the church was the 9th largest in the denomination in the country. not bad for a suburban church in a city of 46,000. but i digress.

after 20 years of membership and ministry, i caught the new "pastor" in a lie inadvertently. having done that, i had to go. 20 years of ministry...down the drain. no good by, no 'thank you for 20 years of faithful service'. just 'you need to pray about whether to be involved'. that took alot of prayer. be involved in a church where the new "pastor" (who is worshipped by people remembering the 'good old days') is an arrogant, lying ass? no prayer necessary. no thanks.

more fun! i was notified by someone (after a month's absence from that church) that according to minutes of an upcoming session meeting (governing body of the church) i was being 'put on the inactive roll due to the fact that i was working and attending church in another city'. of course, that was in direct violation of 'the book of order' (the constitution of that denomination.) you have to be gone for a year, and they have to contact you and meet with you before they do that. i guess an arrogant lying ass tries to do that, hoping you never find out. so much for that. i'll bet he was pissed i found out. that order was rescinded, i still am an "active member", although my birthday (which just passed) was strangely absent from the list of birthdays in the bulletin. (kinda obvious the denomination by a few details in the above paragraph)

of course, i got the obligatory fundraising calls...you know, the "free" dinner where they want you to make a "pledge"...or the invitation to an "ice cream social"(with the same goal)....an "ice cream social"...WTF is that? i guess you might know..if you're a few years older than i.

one of the best times was when i got a phone call from someone inviting me to one of those activities. HAHAHA. i let that person have it (OK, not that bad, but you shoulda heard the silence on the other end of the line when i told her i hadnt attended in months. she had no idea.) i stopped by there after lending them some equipment for a childrens daycamp this last week. there were a few familiar faces. people i'd known for 20 years ignored me. i guess the aarogant ass has made sure i have no reputation to speak of any longer. 'don't talk to him, he left'. (can you say booted?) oh well.

i got an email from someone high up in leadership at the church that talked about all the wonderful things that were going on there. how they were "doing what jesus wants" (note the small "J" signifying my question about which Jesus they're talking about) and how the new pastor was doing a wonderful job giving direction and guidance.

strange. the childrens daycamp has gone from 300 kids in attendance to 80 under the direction and guidance of the new "pastor".

the services aren't growing in number under the direction and guidance of the new "pastor".

faithful long term staff are leaving under the direction and guidance of the new "pastor".

the young families that the church claims it wants are nowhere to be seen under the direction and guidance of the new "pastor".

but they're "doing what jesus wants" (note the small "J", once again)

and the new "pastor" is doing a wonderful job giving direction and guidance.

and that church continues to die.

the more things change..............

Send a note....

2006-07-01T01:14:00.000-07:00

Of encouragement to Patti's son , Tim. who has some strange undiagnosed thing going on.

thanks.

at a church in walnut

2006-05-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

rehersal & service

2006-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

rehersal

service

afternoon at le casa de mummy-dearest

2006-05-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

stepdad's uke

who made it

the mando...

just quackin' up

stepdad's CD shelf

pretty fowl indeed.

no comment necessary.

first official use of the new projectors

2006-05-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

project barco's-be-gone

2006-05-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

the beginning...

ok, now we're having (some) fun

still more fun...

back together...

10,000 lumens is a wonderful thing. the room appears dark due to the camera flash.

and i'm tired.

more easter fun

2006-05-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

look closely.

iPod on the board

2006-04-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Food. Gasm.

2006-04-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Cappucino and Chocolate chip muffin from Beantown.

For RM.....

2006-04-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

From the side...

Looking toward the stage

Lyrics Position (a dual 800 mhz, G4 running Prologue Sunday Plus in OS 9.2.2)

in between easter services on stage

2006-04-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Easter.

2006-04-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

The new coffeemaker!

2006-04-04T00:18:00.000-07:00

I love Craigslist. $10.00!

I have no.......

2006-04-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

GEEK ALERT!

2006-03-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

The latest $2.00 yard sale find! A Motorola 6 transistor pocket AM radio. Model XP69 BM. Has everything! Owners manual, schematic, original box with serial number...and the guarantee card.

Just a picture of our server from remote access.

2006-03-06T00:25:00.000-08:00

the Wall O' mugs has a third shelf.

2006-03-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

The wall o' mugs is growing.

CD release weekend!

looks about right.

2006-02-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

Third service fun....

2006-02-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

UN-retouched photo.

most of the mug collection in the new office.....

2006-01-30T09:52:00.000-08:00

the move is almost complete

2006-01-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

2006-01-22T23:47:00.000-08:00

The office move continues........

2006-01-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

Found!

2006-01-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

on colorado blvd. after the rose parade

First post from my new office!

2006-01-08T01:11:00.000-08:00

Only in L.A..........

2005-12-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

tagged!

2005-12-27T01:19:00.000-08:00

What you want for Christmas if your friends were millionaires: Toyota truck. extra cab, 2 wd, w/ AC 4 cyl. is fine.

What you want for Christmas for real: Don't need anything.

What you want for Christmas in abstract: chocolate.

Year of the first Christmas you can remember: 60's sometime.

Ever in a holiday play? no, thankfully. or so said those in the audience.

An early Christmas memory: going up angeles crest and eating (CLEAN!!) snow, with maple syrup

Favorite holiday ornament: all of them.

Classic Christmas song you never get tired of: Silent Night

Classic Christmas song you loathe: o christmas tree. why the hell-o should we venerate something that alot of people are allergic to?

Modern Christmas song you never get tired of: unknown

Modern Christmas song you loathe: that one.

How many lanuages can you say Merry Christmas in? 1. english.

Naughty or nice? naughty would be the one. low on the spiritual list, high on the fun list.

Favorite Christmas Ghost: casper.

Favorite misfit toy: a real one, a light for my new office. it has scooter wheels. it's cool. i will have to post a picture...

Can you wrap presents well? sure.

What tops your tree? what tree?

If you were a Christmas elf, what would your name be? unprintable, definitely.

Who's it: RS (A.K.A. RPG) brother terry, church nerd, Derek, Katie, and Todd....

Christmas 2005

2005-12-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

really, i saw this. honest.

2005-12-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

View From The Driver's Seat

2005-12-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

2005-12-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

Noel.

a taco...and some....

2005-11-27T17:54:00.000-08:00

it was about 2 years ago. i was still working at the other church.

they had an afterschool program there, run by someone who apparently
(well not apparently, in actuality) had no desire to maintain any sort
of discipline. he had been the fat kid when he was younger and still
weighed 300+ pounds. he was afraid to be the adult—instead chose to
maintain no discipline, so as to not be thought of as "tough", or
"mean" with the kids he wanted to be popular with. he was still the fat
kid no one wanted to hang around with. we (the other leaders) even
overheard some kids saying, "don't worry, he never does what he says"
when he handed out a consequence. the kids knew he was a pushover!
(DUH!) the other volunteers and the oversight committee had to call a
meeting to deal with the lack of follow-through.

this came to head when i went to our pre-meeting one day, and left my keys on a
table prior to the youth group meeting. (this was after the afterschool program has
closed, and YG started)

the LARGE set of keys i carried were stolen off the table. (the kids
had taped a latch to a perimeter door open, so they could return later
and break into the computer center and go online (a regular occurrence).

i discovered the keys missing. about the same time., the "leader" heard
the kids trying the keys on the perimeter doors, trying to find the
master. (actually, a sub-master, i didn't have a grand master) they
found it, we were to discover later. the "leader"went out and
confronted them. they ran, he did nothing.

i called the po-lice. duh. the keys were to the entire church.

they came out, took a report, went to talk to the kids. i happened to
mention the name of the kid whose house they ran toward. one cop looked
at the other, and rattled off the address from memory. heh. surprise!
they were known in the neighborhood.

i mentioned to the cop that we could call it a night if the keys
"somehow" ended up in the mail slot of the church. they did a little
door-knock, and sure enough, within a half hour, they ended up in the
mail slot. cool!

not so fast...

a girl came by needing into the meeting room...i went to let her in,
and, sure enough, all the keys were there, except for one. the sub
master. i called the po-lice again, and asked them to send the same
cop out, which they did. we then told them the story.

they checked the area for the kids to no avail.

i was cleaning up the kitchen and two of them came by looking for a ride.

i gave the cops another call, letting them know that two of the kids had returned.

the same cop showed up, ad read them the riot act—"if anything happens
here, or is stolen from here, you guys will go up for commercial
burglary..that's a felony!" (the cop had an ace up his sleeve—he had
busted one of the kids for drugs..and he was on probation.

long story short, we got the key back. another kid had buried it on the church campus.

one of those kids was the same one the "leader" had butted heads with. he yelled
at the kid—alot. he also kicked him out of the afterschool program
several times.

he had always seemd a little different than the other kids. street
smart, yeah, but without the hardened side to his personality.

i never had any huge problem with him. i had to talk firmly with him a few times, but i didnt yell. there was no need.

he made a bunch of calls and got the key back. he took care of it. i made sure that i told the cops he took care of it.

as you can tell, i had kind of a soft spot for this kid. he had a kinda
tough life (immigrant—legal) very strict parents, and some problems of
his own making..drugs, and some theft stuff.

he got ahold of me online once and told me he was a new man, that God had changed his life! wow, was that great news!

the next thing i heard, he had fallen back into drugs, was kicked out
of his house, and was staying @ friend's houses as long as they would
have him.

made me a bit sad. life of a youth worker, i guess. even when you are
no longer in active ministry. you still are affected a bit by kids who
went astray.

fast-forward to two fridays ago. i'm with a friend from my current
church. we go into the local taco bell. someone calls my name. i look
at this kid behind the counter, he has a name tag on with a name i
don't recognize...but it's....him. (wearing another person's nametag).

turns out he was in placement..for a year or so. (a few
miles from where i work—like within 10 minutes!) wish i would have
known.

apparently another theft thing. alas. but this time he 'got' it. a year in a group home'll do that to ya. make ya wake up.

he's back at home, working at taco bell, up the street from his
house. we talked for a bit. (as much as you can talk to someone
working behind a register) my friend got the nachos bell grande' thing.

i got a taco. i also got a bit more.

a little hope.

2005-11-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

2005-11-21T22:02:00.000-08:00

Old School @ The Coffeehouse....

2005-11-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

Left: 400 mhz. Powerbook G3 "pismo", OSX 10.4.3, Right: 233Mhz Powerbook G3 "wallstreet", OS 9.2.2.

White Chocolate Mocha? C-. Try $tarbuck$®.

Saturday night #2

2005-11-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Saturday night Thanksgiving service

2005-11-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

More Mexico Pix, Rev. A

2005-11-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

More Mexico Pix

2005-11-10T00:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that's a house.

Mexico Pix

2005-11-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

Guess APU's been there. Nice of them to donate shirts!

AAUGH! A Spider!!!!

2005-10-31T18:25:00.000-08:00

2005-10-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee
(sung to Holy, Holy, Holy)

by Christopher Raible

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee,
Praise the strength of coffee.
Early in the morn we rise with thoughts of only thee.
Served fresh or reheated,
Dark by thee defeated,
Brewed black by perk or drip or instantly.
Though all else we scoff we
Come to church for coffee.
If we're late to congregate, we come in time for thee.
Coffee our one ritual,
Drinking it habitual,
Brewed black by perk or drip instantly.
Coffee the communion

...And it was Good. Very Good.

2005-10-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning @ 11:15....and all's well.

2005-10-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Nice.

Taken During The Service...

2005-10-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, during the "S"-word!

5 Idiosyncrasies

2005-10-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

Spidey tagged me (a while ago...but, hey, its been busy at work, cut me a bit o' slack..just a little.)

anyway, here goes....

1. i sleep way too little. and then fall "a-doze" (not quite asleep) when i shouldn't. (like during meetings!)

2. i like chocolate. alot. really. for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. or all three.
(did i mention i like chocolate?)

3. i believe decaf coffee is an oxymoron. didn't you know that?
coffee is the chosen beverage of God Himself.
And He don't drink decaf. ain't no way, ain't no how.

4. i am a mac user. that alone makes me idiosyncratic (along with + or - 5% of computer users)
my computer works for me, i don't work for it.

5. i occasionally (yeah, right...occasionally...) am online during church services.

How much is that doggy in the (2nd floor!) window...

2005-10-08T00:36:00.000-07:00

Yup. that's real. he was scared back into the house by the flash picture I took. (which wasn't successful)