Beside the point

What is a Mom's work Worth?

2011-05-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

An infographic I designed at work for Mother's Day. Thanks for all you do Moms!

[click to view full size]

Via: DegreeSearch.org

The octopus was full of judgement

2010-02-01T07:23:00.001-08:00

Unhappy Hipsters, a site mocking overly serious Dwell photo shoots.

The TRUTH about Cats

2009-09-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

From averagecats.com:

Pictures of cats on the internet are not very new or exciting things. In fact, seeing cats on the internet is an incredibly average occurrence. They practically live here.

As you may have noticed, nearly all cat pictures include captions. And these captions usually personify the cat in some way or another.

What the internet fails to realize is that most cats do not think like people. They think like cats. AverageCats seeks to remedy this misinformation by providing a helpful, pictorial primer on cats.

AverageCats uses the accepted lolcat style to explain simple truths about cats. Any humor that arises from these pictures is coincidental.

Examples:

If you enjoyed this, you may also enjoy MyLifeIsAverage.

MyLifeIsAverage is a place to share your everyday mediocrity. It is a place to post the mundane things in your life, and read about what makes life normal for other people.

Examples:

Today in English class, I opened a Letter to Myself that I wrote in sixth grade. After reading it, I noticed that I had left myself $10. sixth grade me told myself, "To get something nice for your girlfriend. And if you don't have one, you're a loser." I was a cool kid. MLIA

Today, I was eating cheese fries from Checkers. I noticed the box said "CAUTION: Contents may be extremely awesome". My cheese fry experience was heightened simply by those words. MLIA

Today, I was washing my hands in a gas station restroom and when I went to dry my hands I noticed the hand dryer directions say do not operate with wet hands. I'm still not sure what to do. MLIA.

I love the internet.

"I love it!"

2009-09-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

The words uttered by our very excited 2-year-old daughter upon seeing her new cars bed for our camping trip this weekend.

Who am I? You decide.

2009-08-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

WILL THE REAL MIKE METCALF PLEASE STAND UP?
Jim Metcalf, a hotel business tycoon in Hawai'i recently sold me my domain, mikemetcalf.com for a few hundred bucks (he was holding it onto for his son, Mike, but he didn't want it). I'm REALLY excited to finally own the domain, as I've had my eye on it for awhile. But now that I have, I'm not exactly sure what to do with it.

THE VALUE OF A GOOD PORTFOLIO
For web designers, a strong portfolio is far more important than a college degree or an awesome resume. Fortunately, I have a great job right now, but with child #2 on the way, it's become even more important for me to make sure I have something to fall back on. So my new website will basically be a place where I can strut my stuff, and hopefully serve as a means of bringing in extra work for Code Greene too!

I AM MY OWN WORST CLIENT
So I got the domain, I've got the skills, now I just need to put it together right? This should be a cinch right? I opened up Illustrator a few nights ago with hopes of coming up with a good logo for my new me, and ended up just staring into the void. I read an article about redesigning for yourself, and found some revealing advice. Before I can redesign, I need to rebrand. So who am I? What are my roots? How am I unique from the thousands and thousands of other designers in the market?

THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN
I spent a morning writing down adjectives I thought described myself. It was a helpful exercise, but my own perception is not always parallel with how others might perceive me. And so I turn to you, dear friends... I need your help!

If you would be so kind, please write down 3 adjectives that you think describe who I am. Please be completely honest in your responses (it's ok to use words like "grotesque", "dastardly", or "obnoxious"). You might also use words such as "charming" or "definitely hotter than Taylor Lautner".

Once you write down your adjectives, please post them as a reply to this post along with how long you have known me, and your relationship to me.

EXAMPLE:
Name: Santa Claus
Adjectives: nice, skinny, ungrateful
Relationship: jolly friend
Time known: forever

RULES:
You are forbidden to read others' responses before posting your own. So write it down on paper before you scroll any further!

Did you write it down yet?

Ok, you can open up Notepad or Textedit too. You don't actually have to use a pen (I can tell you were worried).

Alright, got it? Sweet, post away.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Idea courtesy of Lea Alcantara. Thanks Lea!

Google alphabet

2009-07-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

I read a blog post today from someone who started searching for something beginning with 'wh' in their google searchbar. Before they could finish typing, "what is twitter" was offered up as a suggested search in their dropdown. He was curious what the suggested search would be for each letter of the alphabet. This is what came up:

amazon
best buy
craigslist
dictionary
ebay
facebook
gmail
hotmail
irs
jcpenny
kohls
lowes
myspace
netflix
orbitz
photobucket
quotes
realtor.com
southwest airlines
target
usps
verizon wireless
walmart
xm radio
youtube
zillow

He wasn't logged in when he tried this, and it made me curious (and a little bit scared) as to what would come up in my own google toolbar based on my previous searches. So without further ado, here is MY unfiltered google alphabet:

abattoir
background images web design
cabalist
d o o economics
eagles salt lake city
facebook microsoft
game over
H rock highland
i miss you spanish (for when i'm speaking with my latin mistress)
(runner up for i: "i seem to have inhaled some dust")
j & j layton
kaizen
law of diminishing returns
mac mov to swf
nambu
obadiah parker piano heya
p22 cezanne
questionnaires
race for the cure
safari
t-mobile
ubiquitous
val kilmer (uhhh... don't remember why i was searching for this one)
w-4 form child or dependent care expenses
x-men origins trailer
you feel like a candle in a hurricane
zanthranon

You'll notice that each of these is sorted alphabetically, not by frequency. Meaning, these aren't the most frequent searches, they're just searches I have done before, and at the top of my alphabetical previous search list.

These are unfiltered by the way. I could have chosen other searches from my dropdown, but these were the very first ones that came up first, and I thought it would be the most fun to just let the chips fall.

So, my challenge for YOU: If you dare, post your google alphabet as a comment in this post.

Happy googling!

Digital cosmetic dentistry: part II

2009-05-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, Joseph, left this comment on my last post:

Very cool photoshop work. It would be REALLY funny/interesting to see what she looks like with way fake plastic teeth photoshopped in to cover her jagged teeth.

Coincidentally, he had sent me a mockup of this very same concept only weeks earlier!

Well done Joe, this is definitely going into the final version of the website.

Digital cosmetic dentistry with Photoshop

2009-03-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

I was working on a website recently and had the need to find a good shot of a model for a header. So after hours of scouring iStockphoto.com, I finally narrowed it down to about 10 models. The 10 become 5, the 5 became 3, the 3 became 2, and the 2 became 1. Finally! I had found the perfect model! So I buy the photo, open it up in Photoshop, and take a look at her in full-res, only to find that she has some seriously jaggedy teeth. The problem? The website is for a dentist. Well, I don't really want to go back to istock at this point, so it was time to whip out the Photoshop artillery. Some clone brushing, overlay blending, level adjustments, and good old fashioned brushing (thank you MS Paint skills!) finally led to the result I was looking for. Hooray Photoshop! Where would I be with you?

A visual guide to the financial crisis

2009-01-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

Oh, now I get it! ... kinda.

An excellent sample of information design presented by Mint:
(click image to see full size)

Salt Lake City Courtroom Drama

2008-12-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

A friend forwarded this to me. I thought it was worth sharing:

Salt Lake City, UT 12/10/08 (AP) - A seven-year-old boy was at the center of a Salt Lake City courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Cougars football team of BrighamYoung University, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

What does 200 calories look like?

2008-12-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

This was a little more revealing than desired after pounding 3 chocolate chip cookies, a 20 oz root beer, a half pound Cafe Rio burrito, and a mountain dew all before 3PM...

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm

Be sure to check out the link above to see calories per gram for each of the foods listed below as well as several others:

To my credit, I had a banana, yogurt, granola bar, and 16oz water for breakfast. That's gotta count for something. Right?

Definitely making me think twice about sweets this season.

Using Internet Explorer? Time to switch!

2008-12-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

As you know, I am a web designer. One of the most frustrating parts of my job is testing to make sure the code I write sits well across a variety of web browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc... and also in different versions. Most of my code is pretty bullet proof until it gets to Internet Explorer, particularly version 6. All versions of IE are fundamentally flawed in that they do not render the web as it should be rendered. If it shows up correctly, it means that some poor designer had to painstakingly write hacks and workarounds to yield to its wrath. Unfortunately, 26% of people are using IE7, and 20% are still using IE6 (source).

But, I'm used to Internet Explorer, why should I switch?

1) If you're using IE, you're poisoning the productivity of web developers everywhere! Too manipulative? How about this? If you're using IE, you don't love me.

2) IE is NOT SECURE. On Tuesday, December 16, 2008 (that's today), BBC News published an article wherein web experts urged people to switch to a secure browser. Hackers have discovered exploits which let them steal your passwords. Currently, this happens very rarely, but...

"It won't be long before someone reverse engineers this exploit for more fraudulent purposes. Trend Mico's advice [of switching to an alternative web browser] is very sensible," he said.

3) Other browsers are awesome! My favorite one is Firefox. You can add in some really cool plugins that make your browser experience more enjoyable. Plus, Firefox will load your web pages much faster, and especially improve web-based applications like Gmail and other mail clients.

You can download all of these browsers for free and import all of your bookmarks from IE with a few simple clicks (they'll hold your hand after you install). It will take you less than five minutes. I promise you won't regret it. Here's the list:

Apple's Safari
Mozilla's Firefox
Google's Chrome

All excellent choices. Go now, and sin no more.

Woot!

2008-12-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

For those of you not yet familiar with Woot! yet, it's high time you learn. They advertise one deal a day. That's it. You can go and buy something, but just one something, because tomorrow, that something will be something new. They have some really cool stuff, and even a sister site for shirts (shirt.woot.com). Every month or so they send out a newsletter, and the copy writing—like their business model and website—is brilliant. I was loling at this month's issue, so I thought I'd share...

Attention, mikemetcalf:

Welcome to Woot's first official recession-era newsletter! For the next 12 to 24 months, all citizens are expected to fret over, worry about, or even directly experience the nadir of a consumerist society - OMG! What will we do when we stop buying stuff? Economists now agree that we're headed through a prolonged period of decreased consumer spending (you really need an advanced degree to come up with insights like that). Beyond that, it's anybody guess. Will the only growth sectors in the economy be shoe repair, pipe salvage, and roadside apple sales? Or will we bring on a quick recovery by doing patriotic things like buying stuff we can't afford and spending more money than we make?

As a retailer, it'd make sense for us to fall in with the BUY STUFF, AMERICA conga line. But by now, you know that we at Woot never do things the "normal", "sensible", "rational", "intelligent" way. We're not about to follow the herd over a cliff. When we go over a cliff, it's because of our own poor judgment, not someone else's. That's been our credo since about five minutes ago, when we first thought of it. And we've stayed true to it ever since.

That's why we're encouraging you and your fellow wooters to save this holiday season. Save your money! Save until you pull a saving muscle. Horde your money until you are literally choking on it. Save until maybe, like, mid-February or so, when the market will be a-glut with great deals for the taking every day. You'll avoid the crowds, take advantage of desperate retailers, and not have to hear "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time" even once.

Sure, maybe you'll disappoint some of your loved ones. But if they really love you, they can wait a couple of months, especially if your finances are at stake. Besides, if your so-called loved ones wanted you to set yourself on fire, would you? Of course you wouldn't. And that's the kind of independent thinking that will one day break the mindless conformity of our consumerist holiday ways.

But be warned: you'll want to stay far away from Woot.com this week. The breadth and scope of bargains we'll be offering - especially starting Tuesday morning at midnight - will be powerfully tempting. They could even lead you back down the spend-spend-spend path with the rest of the sheep. And that would make us sad enough to cry while we're taking your money.

See you in February!

Woot.com

Pepperidge Farm announces the newest flavor in its pastry line

2008-11-26T10:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry Max, but I couldn't help but laugh at this (even if I was crying inside).

Man tries paying bill with spider drawing

2008-11-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

This made my day. Click the drawing of the spider below to read the full story.

What do you think? Worth $233.95?

Love and Pain — Why it Hurts to Care

2008-11-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

My friend Steve Dowdle wrote this June of last year. His son, Peter, was born with a congenital heart defect. I appreciated Steve's insight and perspective, and thought it was worth sharing. Thanks Steve.

Love and Pain
Why It Hurts to Care

A deeper look at the way the two strongest emotions felt by humankind relate, and how it illuminates Christ’s role as Savior.

Nested in a bundle of wires, leads, and syringes, a baby—scarcely three weeks old—breaths labored, deep breaths. Within his tiny body, lengths of tubes and catheters reside, each designed to manipulate his vital functions enough to ensure another hour, at least, of life. His problem: A congenital heart defect known as tricuspid atresia, a malady in which the right ventricle of his heart didn’t form correctly. An emergency procedure has temporarily saved his life, inserting a necessary shunt into a pulmonary valve. Now he rests, his worried and fatigued parents standing by his plastic walled crib, watching powerlessly as machines assist his breathing and methodically drop medicines into his tiny veins.

Where is the greater drama? What is it that draws the eye to this particular scene? Is it the pathetic form enfolded in the plastic arms of an Intensive Care Unit? Or does it lie in the unseen weight that bares down on the distressed parents? What is it that transmits this image so forcefully?

The emotion most sought after—and, perhaps, most rarely reciprocated—is that of love. Such a powerful and enigmatic sentiment has been a permanent fixture in humanity throughout the millennia. Every form of expression—from modern “emo” songs to the surpassing poetry of Shakespeare—has attempted to contain what is felt for love, to somehow encapsulate and apprehend what is, essentially, an almost incomprehensible emotion.

Mothers most especially are cognizant of this capacity for loving. They put their own lives on hold—sometimes even approaching the valley of death in an attempt to bring another being to life—as they altruistically sacrifice self-interest and -comfort for the benefit of their progeny. The love of a mother is without peer.

It is this commiseration between sufferer and observer that lies at the heart of this hospital drama. Couched within the mother’s ability to love is an equal capacity to hurt and suffer—often vicariously—with her child. Indeed, it could be said that the depth of pain for one is a perfect reflection of the depth of love that is likewise felt for him or her.

What, then, of God, whose love for His children is fathomless? Indeed, it is known that we only “love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19), and that He “so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son” (John 3:16). What levels of love can He attain? And, conversely, what kind of commiseration and suffering does He feel when he looks upon us, His creations? Most pointedly: How did He feel when His Beloved Heir hung in agony upon the cross? Was this the cause for Christ’s heartrending question “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

The answer to this lies in the quiet ruminations of the heart, and should, if nothing else, deepen one’s conviction of the divinity of Christ and His expiatory, emancipating mission to the Earth. For truly He is the reason that humanity can love at all, and in spite of it all.

#1!

2008-10-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

My co-worker, Benjam, informed me today that I am the most inactive blogger on his blogroll. To celebrate my inactivity, I decided to compile a list of my top ten unmotivators. But I'm tired, so all you get is this:

Meh.

What manner of blog is this?

2008-09-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers (and non-readers),

I am pleased to announce that after months of intense treatment and rehabilitation, I am finally recovering from the blobber virus which so viciously attacked me this last July. The blobber bug, whose bite can have a lethal effect on writers' motivation to blog, was spread in epidemic proportions over the Summer. Although there are still some traces in my immune system (and the doctor warned me about frequent cases of remission) I decided I was ready to take my first few feeble steps back into the blogosphere.

So what's new?

Well, two weeks ago I started a

Sorry about that.

Two weeks ago I started a new job. It's been difficult to say goodbye to the friends I've made and the work I've accomplished at Lead Media Partners, but it's been an exciting change switching to Code Greene.

But wait, I thought you loved your job?!

It's the truth, I really did. I wasn't at all expecting to switch. I was even offered a decent web design job up in Ogden (which would have drastically reduced my commute time) that I ended up turning down without a second thought.

My friend Luke Larsen has been working at Code Greene now for a year now, and has really enjoyed it. He invited me to come and take a tour a few weeks back, and to my surprise, the tour turned into an informal job interview, which turned into a formal offer.

After a lot of prayer and deliberation, I decided to make the switch. The main reason was to introduce a little more variety into the type of work I do. At CG, we work on a client per client basis to build custom business solutions for our customers. Because it's client work, the range and diversity of the work is as wide and diverse as our client base.

There are some other nice perks that have resulted from the switch as well; like the commute. CG is nestled right at the heart of Salt Lake City, around 350 S. and State. I love the charm of working downtown, eating at new places, talking with strangers, running to catch my train, and all that. But back to the topic of this paragraph: the commute. I'm actually writing this post from the comfort of a cushy little seat on Frontrunner. It's been great to be able to do homework, read, sleep, and play while I travel to and from work. Much more relaxing that fighting the crowds on the freeway; plus, I ride free because I'm a student which is saving us a bundle on gas! W00t!

Commute aside, the atmosphere at Code Greene is lotsa fun. We have xbox, foosball, pool, ping pong, air hockey, and even a treadmill and shower. Not that I've ever used the treadmill, but it's nice to know that I could if I wanted.

Well, I'm pulling into Salt Lake, so I must end my epistle. But before I do, I'd just like to let any others who have been afflicted by the blobber virus know that there is hope. In fact, I'm starting a foundation right now. Just leave some money in an envelope down by the old oak tree, and I'll make sure something magical happens!!!

Early birthday idea!

2008-07-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

So, I have a birthday coming up this August the 12th (and all subsequent Augusts the 12th), but for this particular one, I have my eye on a limited edition print from one of my all time favorite designers, Cameron Moll. He did a beautiful letterpress typography based design of the Salt Lake Temple for the Church's first annual design review for their interaction design team. Anyway, it's beautiful, and they're going fast. He sold the first half of the batch (of only 50 printed) the day it was released, only two days ago. But if any of you are looking for a great birthday idea, and would possibly like to go in with a friend or sibling, I would love to have this print.

Available for purchase and additional images at the link below:
http://cameronmoll.bigcartel.com/product/signed-limited-edition-letterpress-poster-16x24

Free album before July 4th!

2008-07-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Rhapsody's new music store is giving away a completely free album to the first 100,000 people that sign up before July 4th! I just barely downloaded Weezer's new red album. Joy!

Go sign up!

http://offer.rhapsody.com/mp3/promo/album

So... what do you do again?

2008-06-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

I'm a web designer. I know that sounds like a generic label, so if you prefer, you may also call me a front-end web developer, an interaction designer, a CSS guru, a usability ninja, or creative overlord. But really, I'm just a web designer. A lot of people (many of you, my friends and family) have asked about what it is I do exactly. I shall tell you!

I work for a company called Lead Media Partners. They're based out of South Jordan, so the commute is kind of a pain, but well worth the drive (and really not too bad considering I usually work from home 1 or 2 days of the week). We specialize in lead generation. Primarily for private online universities like University of Phoenix, DeVry University, Eagle Gate College, etc. We help connect students with schools we think will best match their interest by providing a database of accredited online college degrees. Prospective students can browse by study area, degree level, or location and our website, DegreeSearch.org, will attempt to match them up. Depending on what we know about the user (where they came from to get to our site) will determine which of our pages we send them to. Here's a few screenshots of some of the pages I've designed for DegreeSearch...

Designing websites gives me lots of opportunities to work with some great tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash. It's fun to use both sides of brain at work. I'll do my mockups and design in the aformentioned programs, and then open up Dreamweaver to code some handcrafted xhtml and css. If you go to Deseret News or The Salt Lake Tribune online, some of the flash ads I've built are running on each of their pages. Right now, I think our health care ad is up. Looks like this:

I also did the flash on our company's website:
I really love my job. I work with some really great people. My bosses hired me on almost two years ago, and it's really been a blessing. They've been very accommodating with my crazy schedule trying to get through school and have given me periodic raises to help support my growing family. I get to work with another great designer, Joseph LeBaron, (we make up the "design team") who has taught me a lot about visual communication. He has also helped me perfect the art of seeding with David's Jalapeño Hot Salsa Sunflower Seeds, and is a seasoned Halo 3 player (comes in handy for the occasional lunchtime mayhem).

Besides work and school, I try to fit in a little bit of freelance design on the side. Here are a few screenshots of some of the recent work I've done:

Illuminate By Carly - Professional Skin Care & MakeUp Design in Utah

Studio 9 - Audio / Visual Studio in Roy.

Vehicle Zoom - Simple Dealership Management Software

Trust in Chariots, formerly Civil Difference. Website's not done yet, but we've got a sweet logo. Props to Matt Gibb for drawing the wings.

I also have a personal website with a portfolio and stuff, but I haven't updated it for a few years, so it definitely needs some work.

Cadence Design - Affordable Utah Web Design

Well, that's about it. I'm trying to slow the freelancing jobs down right now as my final semester of school is encroaching, but I'm excited to do some more side work in the future, and enjoying the work I can do at LMP right now.

Fin.

Persist.

2008-04-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, I read a post by one of my favorite authors and modern-day philosophers, Seth Godin. He points out that anything worth doing is met with resistance. If it wasn't, remarkable vision and genuine insight would lose its value.

“...whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it's over... The yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely it would be worth the journey. Persist.”

I've found this to be true in my own life. Whether it be running three strenuous miles while fighting off a cold, or putting video games and Scrubs aside to work on sharpening design skills, there are no shortcuts to success. Even failure is success if you tried... it's worth it in the end.

Zeus & Xena

2008-03-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

I think we have told most of you about Zeus' new home, but for those of you who don't know, we found a great home for our dear friend Zeus. Kristi and Patrick have a beautiful 2-year old female fawn boxer named Xena. They called on Zeus when we first listed him on KSL. We had a chance to bring Zeus over to their home, and he got along great with Xena (which seems only natural, given how well their names go together). They played great and even look really similar. The only reason we had any reservations about this home is that he would spend most of the day in his kennel. After the first home didn't work out though, they found out that he seemed to really enjoy his kennel. So we went and got him one from Petsmart, and Kristi and Patrick said they would love to give him a shot. Well, it worked out! Zeus does well in his kennel, and hasn't had a single accident (as far as I know). He plays wonderfully with his new girlfriend Xena, and we couldn't be happier for them! We love you Zeus! We're so grateful such a wonderful family was able to adopt you.

Thanks to Kristi for the picture! We thought it was so cute (that's right, I said cute) to see them cuddling together. Xena is the one on top, and Zeus is snuggling in below if you couldn't tell.

Kung Fu Election

2008-01-19T18:58:00.000-08:00

As the tension builds in the primaries, the verbal attacks have become more and more aggressive. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think it would be much more entertaining to just watch these guys duke it out MK style. The creators of the game Kung Fu Election over at Atom Films certainly think so.

This game is surprisingly difficult. Let me know if any of you can get passed the second opponent.

http://kungfuelection.com/

Tip: You can skip the intro if you want to get straight to the game.

Meet the World

2008-01-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

Icaro Doria, a 25-year-old Brazilian man, authored a flag campaign for a magazine he works for which he titled "Meet the World." Icaro has this to say about the campaign:

We started to research relevant, global, and current facts and, thus, came up with the idea to put new meanings to the colours of the flags. We used real data taken from the websites of Amnesty International and the UNO.

The campaign has been running in Portugal since January 2005. There are eight flags that portray very current topics like the division of opinions about the war in Iraq in the United States, the violence against women in Africa, the social inequality in Brazil, the drug trafficking in Columbia, Aids and malaria in Angola, etc.

Brilliant work. Take a look...
(click images to view full-size)

Burkina

China
BrazilUSA
See more here.

A Down's Syndrome Angel

2007-11-26T23:26:00.000-08:00

I came across this post from a blog I subscribe to. Thought it was worth sharing...

As Medgadget reports, "Several years ago, psychiatrist Andrew Levitas and geneticist Cheryl Reid made an interesting discovery:

[They] identified a 16th-century Flemish Nativity painting in which one angelic figure appears distinctly different from other individuals in the painting with an appearance of Down syndrome. . . . This may be one of the earliest European representations of Down syndrome.

The British Medical Journal elaborates:

The 1515 Flemish painting, by an unknown artist, . . . shows an angel (next to Mary) and possibly one other figure, the shepherd in the centre of the background with the syndrome.

"If our diagnosis is correct, this implies that Down’s syndrome is not a modern disease," say [Levitas and Reid] (American Journal of Medical Genetics 2003;116:399-405).

The diagnosis of Down’s syndrome in the angel was based on a number of features: a flattened mid-face, epicanthal folds, upslanted palpebral fissures, a small and upturned tip of the nose, and downward curving of the corners of the mouth. The hands, crossed over the breast, have short fingers, especially on the left.

Rated G?

2007-11-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

Despite my murderous description of what would happen to the next person to call me "bud", my blog still managed to land a G rating! I saw this feature on Vanessa's blog and thought it was fun. Beware when clicking the link to her blog though. Hers is rated pg13 because it uses extremely offensive words like p*nch, h*rt, de*th, and cr*ppy (I've edited them out here, because they're much too offensive for my pure*ss blog).

What's your blog rated?

Dear Cell Phone User...

2007-11-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

As a public service, the ingenious design & marketing company, Coudal, and the incomparable Aaron Draplin have teamed up to introduce the reasonably polite SHHH, the Society for HandHeld Hushing. This was too good not to share...

You can visit Coudal's website to print out your own cards and use them at will! Enjoy!

The Autumn of the Multitaskers

2007-11-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

To do two things at once is to do neither.
—Publilius Syrus, Roman slave, first century B.C.
Reaching for his cell phone with a newly delivered picture message, the author Walter Kirn swerved off a snowy two-lane highway and landed in a steep embankment. It was then that he began to rethink the usefulness of technology like the refrigerator-TV set and the camera-phone. In this November's Atlantic Monthly, Kirn writes about how multi-tasking is dumbing us down and driving us crazy.

I heard of this article when driving home from work a couple nights ago listening to an interview between Walter Kirn and Doug Fabrizio. I think he made some really valid points on how mindless we are becoming as we try to divide our brain power into performing several tasks at once. He vouches that the mind can really only do one thing at a time, and that by splitting our resources we are actually less efficient than we would be had we been focusing on the task at hand.

You can download an mp3 of the interview here, and read the article here.

So what's your opinion? Are we becoming multi-tasking zombies or are we just adapting to a fast paced lifestyle?

Don't call me bud!

2007-11-05T00:24:00.000-08:00

Alright, I know, I know, I look like I'm 17 years old. I've always had a baby face, but cut me some slack here people! I'm so tired of people calling me "bud"!

Let me give you one example (it's happened multiple times this week)... I went to the Home Depot on Saturday to prove my manliness. While renting a power tool, the employee called me bud not once, but twice. Don't call me bud! I'm not you're little friend that you take fishing and buy ice cream. I'm not tiger, or sport, or champ, or scout, or anything like unto those names! I'm a man! I can grow facial hair! I have a degree! I'm a responsible adult with a career and a family. So please, if you don't know what my name is, just call me dude, or man, or even sir, but I swear, if someone calls me buddy one more time I will hang them by their own intestines.

I blog, therefore I am.

2007-10-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

All is black. As the smoke settles, a shadowy figure emerges from a thick debris of excuses. A blinding light shown upon his face... all is quiet. Is it? It couldn't be... but it could, and it is.

MIKE LIVES!!!

"Where am I?" he asked. A host of family and friends came to his side, his bewilderment was anything but subtle. "There's a lot to explain," said a friend. "Much has changed since you left. Things are not as they seem."

"What do you mean?"

"Before your exodus, you left us with the legendary post 'Simponize Me!'. We have read it countless times, have studied it, and drank the sweet nectar of its contents for many days now."

"This pleases me. Why have you summoned me here today?"

"Oh Mike, as superb as your previous post was, there are those who have begun to speak of another post, yay, even a GREATER post, even so much as to surpass the greatness of your previous post!"

"SILENCE!" roared Mike. "There will be no more posts! 'Simpsonize Me' was the finest piece of literature this world has ever seen! How dare you suggest I produce another unique thought!"

"I have heard of one."

"Blasphemy!"

"Here me out Mike! You yourself subscribe to their RSS feed. You yourself have lavished in the genius of their creativity... I speak of the website of websites... the one website to rule them all!!"

"You don't mean??"

"YES!.... 'The SUPEREST!'"

"By the hammer of Thor! Why didn't you tell me? I must blog this at once. Thank you my friend."

"Good luck to you Mike, and welcome back."

-----------------------------------------

This site is seriously the best in the whole world. You may remember a few posts back I introduced a website called Bearskinrug? Well, Kevin Cornell, the comic mastermind of Bearskin has teamed up with his good cohort in Crime, Sutters, to create one of my new favorite websites called "The Superest".

What is the Superest?

The Superest is a continually running game of My Team, Your Team. Player 1 draws a character with a power. Player 2 then draws a character whose power cancels the power of that previous character. Repeat.

My buddy Steve Dowdle and I used to do something like this in high school with these cute little characters we called fuzzies. It has been thrilling to see a battle of such magnitude commence between two of my favorite illustrators.

Enjoy!

http://thesuperest.com/

Make sure you start with the first hero by clicking on the link "Start me at the first hero!" at the top right of the page.

P.S. Sorry about the blogging hiatus. I'm back on board now. It's going to be hard to top The Superest though!

SimpsonizeMe.com!

2007-08-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

My coworker recently introduced me to this sweet little site sponsored by Burger King promoting the new Simpsons movie. All you need to do is upload a face shot of yourself and KAZAAM! It will simpsonize you! After the site creates your initial character, you can customize it to look more like you. Lydia and I did one for each of us and then we pasted us all together. I had to use a little bit of Photoshop mojo to make Santa's Little Helper look like Zeus, but I think he turned out pretty good!

Give it a shot! I'm excited to see what other people look like.

Wendy's logo is bigotry!

2007-07-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

Lookout Wendy's, the Irish fight back!

For our latest mission, over 50 redheads rode the subway together and protested a Manhattan Wendy’s for their “racist logo.” Enjoy the videos first and then go behind the scenes with our mission report, photos, and more videos below.

http://www.improveverywhere.com/2007/07/24/redheads/

New blogs and flawed bank heists

2007-07-11T22:41:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have noticed, the last post on the blog was authored by none other than my wife (who cleverly veiled her identity as our daughter Kate...it was Lydia though, trust me... I tried teaching Kate how to blog for four hours straight last night and she couldn't quite get up to 50 words per minute, so I told her she probably wasn't ready and gave her the lecture about "for everything there is a season, bla bla bla, you get the idea).

Yes it's true, Lydia has taken the blogging world by storm. She's been talking about starting her own blog forever, and tonight, she finally did!

Now, before you all go rushing off to Lydia's fresh morsel of internet goodness, I just wanted to quickly draw your attention to all the shiny new links on the right! I've added all my favorite blogs and updated a dead link or two. So check them out!

Of the new blogs listed, I insist you check out Bearskinrug by Kevin Cornell. He's a British illustrator that I discovered through A List Apart. His illustrations are top notch! Make sure you read the notes that accompany his illustrations and the viewer comments. Hilarious, hours of entertainment! I could really spend all day on this site. Here's a sample...
Kevin's comments:

I never worked as a bank teller, but it always struck me as a classy job. In the hierarchy of jobs that require you to stand behind a counter, I opted for the lowest level, and joined the food service industry, a decision I kind of regret when I think of all the classiness I lost by not being a bank teller.

Of course, working at the mall Chik-fil-A, I was probably at less risk of being shot. So I essentially traded dignity for security. Like when you wear a helmet on a bike. Or when you cross a canyon by using a bridge, instead of trying to jump it on a motorcycle.

Genius! Anyway, hope you enjoy the new blogs.

While I'm posting, I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who's helped out in the last few weeks. Dinners, visits, ice cream, new baby clothes, flowers, fence building, laundry doing, dish washing, and so much more. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here's one more picture of our baby girl. :)

For precious sake

2007-06-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Kate Metcalf. My Mama calls me Babykins or Baby Kate most of the time and Daddy likes to call me Katie-Kate or Katiebug, but both of them have called me Zeus, once or twice. I try not to let it bother me.
I went to the doctor yesterday and he told Mommy and Daddy that I am a perfect, healthy baby. They seemed very pleased by that! I am in the 90th percentile (whatever that means) for height and head size, and well above average for weight, too! In fact, I weigh 8 lbs. 5 oz. now, and I've grown a whole inch since I was born!
Most of the time I like to sleep and drink milk. Oh, I also make messes in my diaper and sometimes it gets on my clothes or on my changing table, but Mommy & Daddy don't get mad, they just sigh and clean it up for me. Mommy sings songs to me while I'm eating and Daddy dances with me to classical music when I can't sleep at night. They sure do love me.

Here are a couple of pictures of me yesterday, when I was two weeks old. Mommy says, sorry the pictures are so blurry!

This next picture is way old! Mommy took it on my first day home for the hospital, so I was only 2 days old. She says this is and probably always will be one of her very most favorite pictures of me.
And this is a picture of my nursery where I spend all but 2 or 3 hours of every day...can't wait to get out and see the world, but I guess I just have to get a little bigger and not sleep so much. Yep, that baby burrito in the crib is me! Mommy says to make sure to thank Uncle Greg and Aunt Jenn for the crib and changing table, Aunt Mindy for the crib bedding, and the nice people where she used to work for all being so generous that she was able to buy all the cute accessories for my nursery. I really like to listen to and watch my ladybug mobile as I am falling asleep.
Mama also said I better tell you some of her favorite things about me. I guess when I am falling asleep after I've just eaten I make a cute half smile every time! She loves that. She loves the way I smell and how soft my skin is. She also likes to rub her chin in my soft hair when I am laying on her chest while she is rocking me (and I like to listen to her heartbeat). She loves my beautiful blue eyes, but wonders what color they will end up being...It's my secret! Most of all, she feels so blessed that I am so easy to love, and that I am so healthy, and that she gets to be home with me everyday forever because Daddy works so hard and is so good at his job.

Well, I'm getting kind of sleepy now, so I guess I will have to talk to you all again later.

Baby burrito

2007-06-27T21:49:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody! I just wanted to drop a quick line and let everyone know how grateful we've been for all the love and support we've had in the last couple days. All the nurses comment on how our room smells like a floral shop, and we have enough snacks to live on for weeks! Thanks for all the replies to my posts, the emails, and the visits. We feel so loved.

I've taken tons of pictures, but just wanted to post one tonight. She's an angel :) Thanks again.
P.S. If you're wondering about this post's title, it comes from the swaddling technique pictured above.

Meet Kate!

2007-06-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

Kathryn "Kate" Metcalf came into this world today, June 26th, at 3:50PM. She weighs 7lbs 10 ounces and is 20 and a half inches long. The delivery went great, and both Mom and baby are doing well! (And Dad is an emotional wreck!)

Without further ado, here's our precious baby girl:

Six!

2007-06-26T12:44:00.001-07:00

Lydia is dilated to a six! Should be anytime now. My mom and Grammy just got here and they were amazed at how easy my blog is to update. So I snapped a picture of them, and I'm just showing them just how easy it really is.

Some pictures while we wait

2007-06-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

We just got to talk to our doctor, and she's dilated to a four! He expects once she gets going, she'll really get going. We think sometime between 2 and 3 is going to be an accurate estimate.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few pictures of the last couple days, and today!

Our ever vigilant guard dog is at home making sure no one comes near without getting a piece of his mind. Get too close and he'll lick your face right off.Here's our hospital room! Isn't Lydia cute?Wired! Lyd's left arm is hooked up to a blood pressure cuff, her right arm has her epidural button, an IV, and Pitocin. And of course, who could forget the catheter? (not shown) My beautiful family! Look at that belly!

Well that's it for now, hopefully my next post includes some pictures of our little Katie-Kate!

The euphoria that is the epidural

2007-06-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

It's noon now, and we're progressing! Lydia is still dilated to a 3, but has thinned out to about an 80%. We had the anesthesiologist come in about half an hour ago and he administered the epidural. Her feet are numb, and the pain is much more subdued. Also, I ate a milky way. It was delicious.

Baby time!

2007-06-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

I write to you today from the labor and delivery department of the McKay Dee Hospital. And you know what that means! That's right, free access to Days of Our Lives and the Price is Right (long live Bob Barker)! But more significantly, it's time for Kate to make her debut. We checked in at 7:40 and got started on Pitocin at around 8:45. It's now 9:52, and we're starting to see some steady contractions on her monitor. Our doctor is in the hospital right now for a surgery he's doing this morning. He'll be coming into our room within the next hour to break Lydia's water. We anticipate we'll get to meet our little baby girl around 2 or 3 this afternoon.

Update: It's 10:06 and Lydia's water spontaneously ruptured! Hurray!

Stay tuned for more updates as things progress.

Don't look now but...

2007-06-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

...I updated my blog! I know. I know. It's been awhile. Better late than never though, that's what I say! Lydia and I are getting excited for our new addition and working hard to get everything ready. A big thank you to Gary for helping out so much with the fence and everyone else that has helped out. Couldn't have done it without you!

The nursery is getting closer, but not quite finished yet. I'll snap a picture when it's a little more presentable. But in the mean time, here's a few pictures of Metcalf life as we know it...

We graduated with our Associate's Degrees from Weber this last semester. Yay us! Just another ten years of going to school part-time and maybe I'll get my Bachelor's!
Look at the size of this puppy! Zeus had his nine month birthday on the 20th of May, and weighs in at a hefty 50 lbs! We've been happy to see how well he's getting along with children and he's excited to be a big puppy brother. Speaking of which...Let me out! At our last doctor's appointment Kate tipped the scales at 7lbs! She's officially full-term now, but will probably bake for a couple more weeks (the actual due date is June 26th, but we think she'll come earlier).

I know one person who is excited to get her ankles back. It's been a great pregnancy, but I think we're (Lydia) ready to move on to the next step!

Z is for Zombie

2007-04-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today when I was at work I was searching for some design samples for an ad idea I was working on. While doing so, I came across something completely unrelated called "The Politically Incorrect Alphabet." The designer of the alphabet is married to an elementary school teacher. He had been spending a fair amount of his time in the classroom sitting on undersized chairs and admiring the alphabet charts plastered on the walls when he had this thought:

"It occurred to me that 'I' for Indian, one I remember from my childhood, has been replaced as it is no longer politically correct to refer to native/first/indigenous Americans as Indians."

"Lacking any tact or decency, I therefore determined to create an alphabet using only subjects that, while they might have been unremarked a few decades ago, are now outside acceptable usage. But only just."

Being a fan/supporter of the undead, I posted my favorite of the collection.

Take a look if you're in the mood for a laugh. Warning: a few of these might be a little offensive (it's not called politically incorrect for nothing).

http://better-together.co.uk/index.html

Midnight musings...

2007-04-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

So here's my dilemma... Lydia went to bed at 10:00 and I stayed up for two reasons. One, I was playing a video game and having a pretty good time. Two, I was waiting for my friend/co-worker to post a design sample in our online project-based "campfire" chatroom so we could talk about it. Well, after he posted and we discussed it for awhile, I realized it was getting quite late. I thought to myself, self, you should really should go to bed... but then my thoughts turned to a promise I made to Lydia around 7:25PM. I told her I would be happy to do the dishes. Before she went to bed, she reminded me of the current state of the dishes (still very much not done). I assured her I would do them before I came to bed. But now, I find myself still not wanting to do the dishes, but not wanting to disappoint Lydia by not doing them. Thus, I am still awake and looking for ways to procrastinate the inevitable. Not sleeping, not doing dishes, not doing anything...

My advice to myself, self, stop blogging and go do the dishes so you can go to bed. Okay, great idea!

A dog named Zeus.

2007-04-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I've literally written 3 introductions to his blog entry, and can't decide which one to use. So I'm just going to post all of them and you'll have to decide which one you like best:

1) Lydia and I were talking about how attractive we think our puppy is. We thought about entering him into a dog show, but then suddenly out of nowhere the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crashed through our window! Leonardo looked at me and said, "....

2) I love my puppy! Would you just look into those eyes? Yes... that's it... look a little closer. Good. You are now under my control...

3) Forgive my bias, but I think Zeus might literally be the best dog in the world. In fact, just the other day as I was feeding him another (more inferior) dog for brunch, I asked him why...

Okay, actually only one of those introductions started as what i thought might be a somewhat normal entry, but i'm obviously not in a normal mood.

Anyway, I hope you all like the pictures! We just got some new batteries for the camera so you don't have to look at pictures of purple carrots or old artwork assignments anymore (not that there's anything wrong with that). Enjoy!

Quadruple Bypass Cholestrol Delight!

2007-03-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Some of my readers have threatened to harvest my organs while I'm asleep if I don't update my blog. So I found a picture of a semi-recent school project I hope you all will enjoy! We had to design our own cereal - this is what I came up with.

(click to image to enlarge)

Carrots are not orange!

2007-02-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

That's right, you heard me. Centuries ago, carrot breeders, in the name of aesthetics, selected the orange color for the carrot. But alas, the carrot's true color, is purple. Actually, carrots come in black, white, and maroon also. Anyway, Dr. Pike recently brought back the purple carrot and its original nutrients. It has the consistency of an apple, and is sweeter! We've all been deceived! Why would they do this to us?! Anyway, I really want a purple carrot. Read more about it, and see more pictures at the link below:

http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/maroon.html

Grown in Texas! Sean & Jenny, you need to hook me up. ;)

It's a girl!

2007-02-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Turns out she WAS being modest the first time. :) Lydia and I had another ultrasound on Saturday, and the results, are in, it's a girl! We've decided on the name Kathryn (Kate) Metcalf. With a possible middle name that is yet to be discussed. Anyway, thought I would share our excitement and a few pics. The last one had me especially excited, but Lydia assured me it wasn't what I hoped it might be. (I don't know though, you'll have to decide for yourself.)

Isn't she cute?

Early signs of rebellion

2007-02-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

Alright, so we went to the doctor today and got the ultrasound. I think someone must have slipped baby some info about name possibilities because he/she had his/her feet curled right up in his/her crotch. And on top of that, he/she stuck his/her tongue out at us!

Can you believe the nerve?

Okay, I'm sorry baby. Slagathor was a bad idea. It was just a joke... now spread em'! j/k :)

Actually, even though we didn't get to find out baby's gender today, it was a really cool experience. A friend I work with told me we could bring a VHS tape to our ultrasound and that they would record it. I remembered it at the last minute, and I'm so glad I did, because we have the whole thing on tape now!

The ultrasound was awesome! It was really amazing to see how much our child has grown! We saw a spine, a beating heart, moving limbs, and a beautiful little face. I couldn't wipe the grin off my own face, and Lydia got all teary-eyed. Like I said, awesome.

We're heading back for another ultrasound sometime this month. Hopefully by then baby will forgive me for suggesting Slagathor. (Even though it IS a SWEET name.)I actually really like Calvin or Miles for a boy. How's that kiddo? Now please, let mommy and daddy have a peek!

P.S. Everyone stay tuned for a picture of baby sticking his/her tongue out at us! I'll scan it in tomorrow.

BTW (by the way), thanks to everyone who comments on this thing! I really love hearing from you all!

Oh boy oh boy! (or is it, "oh girl, oh girl?")

2007-02-03T02:01:00.000-08:00

This coming Tuesday, at 11:00 AM, Lydia and I have our appointment with the doctor-ologist to find out what kind of monkey we made! We're kind of hoping for a girl, because we have a name picked out. ("Kathryn" named after my aunt, but we'd probably call her Kate). If it's a boy, we both had a few ideas, but I'm really starting to like one in particular. "Slagathor the destroyer!" Whaddya think?! I'm not sure if we can actually have an exclamation mark in his name on the record, but I'm pushing for one. I'd call him Slaggy for short.

If you think you have any better boy names (doubt it), let us know!

Blogging rampage!

2006-12-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, three blog entries for the price of one today! Did I mention I finished finals yesterday?

Anyway, I was just looking at my first blog entry of Zeus and saw the picture of him lying on the chair. So I turned around and snapped a picture of him in the very same spot (he's quite fond of his chair) today, eight weeks later. He's a beast!

2d Design Portfolio

2006-12-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

As promised in my previous blog entry (which I just posted about 45 minutes ago, so don't forget to scroll down and read it!) Here is some of my most recent work in web, design, and animation. Enjoy!

-------------------------

Update: Okay, so I got going on this and realized I'm going to run out of time before I can post everything that I wanted to. So the animation and Flash stuff will have to wait until my next post. I did, however, finish my 2D design portfolio. Click on any of the images to see a larger version and a description. Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!

You'll need a browser using Flash 8 to see this properly. Or you can go straight to my portfolio with this link here, no flash necessary:
www.cadencedesign.net/portfolio/pattern.html

Our child the lime

2006-12-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Sorry for the long delay in updates everybody. I just finished my finals this week and am greatly relieved to be done (at least for a couple weeks). I've had some requests to post some of my most recent work in animation and web design, but before I do that, I need to formally (as formal as blogging can get at least) announce that Lydia and I are pregnant! ESPECIALLY Lydia. :)

We found out just a couple months ago. It didn't come as much of a surprise because we had been trying for a couple weeks. The funny this is, it turns out little baby was actually conceived before we even started trying! Maybe Heavenly Father knew we were going to be trying so He just sped up the process for us or something. :)

So anyway, Lydia is now three months pregnant and the morning sickness phase is fading rapidly (which she's very grateful for). We had our first ultrasound about a month ago, and got to see our little child! He was then only the size of a kidney bean, but now he's a lime! That's my boy! Or is it my girl? We'll find that out in about five weeks. Which brings me to my next paragraph.

Any ideas for boy names? If it's a girl we will name her Kathryn and call her Kate. However, we haven't thought of too many boy names. I've always kind of liked Calvin and Miles. If we named him Miles though, his name would be Miles Michael Metcalf. Which would be awesome for entering your initials in at the arcade when you beat the high score! It's important to think ahead about these things.

So that's the big news! Enjoy this picture of our little lime (maybe we could name him "Lyman" after my dad :))

Look, you can see his/her heart beating (little white spot)!

umm... good cow?

2006-11-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I think Zeus thinks he's a cow. Don't get my wrong, nothing could make me prouder. He is afterall a Metcalf. So it would make sense that he would want to meet other calfs... but I wonder if he's gone a little far this time.

As some of you know, Lydia and I live next to a farmer. Great guy! Brings us fresh veggies and fruit, very friendly, has a couple cows. Yesterday, I took Zeus out on a walk and we stopped by his property. It just so happened that Ralph's cows were out, and they came right up to the fence where we were standing. At first Zeus was a little afraid of these animals, but after awhile he summoned up the courage to sniff their noses (this, I believe, is where the transformation begun). After he felt comfortable with them, he went inside the fence and kept sniffing and licking. But THEN, he started grazing. Maybe I haven't seen him eat grass before because our grass is dead, and kind of sharp, but he was standing their with the cows grazing!

After awhile, I took him back inside through the front door and sat down to go back to work. It wasn't long before I realized it was eerily quite in our house. I looked behind me and noticed the back door was open! So I sprung up out of my chair and ran outside to see where he had gone. Sure enough, he was back over with the cows. So I grabbed my camera this time and snapped a few shots. When it was time to say goodbye to our bovine friends, we walked back to our house, and on the way there heard Zeus' new friends start mooing in bereavement (or so I assume... I'm by no means a cow whisperer... not yet at least). Anyway, a little later on we went back outside and the first thing Zeus did was run over to see if the cows were out. They weren't, and I could tell he was a little disappointed. But did you really have to eat their poop, Zeus?! Ewww! Is your dog food really that bad? (Don't worry, I didn't take pictures of that. I just hopped over the fence, took him back to the house, and had him drink water. Lots and lots of water.)

Investigation.

Entering the cow's layer.

Grazing.

A new addition to our family!

2006-10-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

I woke up about 10 minutes ago to the sound of our first real addition to our family (no offense to Herbie, may he rest in peace). Ready for the big news? We got a dog! And not just a dog, the greatest dog ever! (No offense to Clifford, may he never devour anyone's children... yeah.)

Meet Zeus!

Zeus is a beautiful 2-month year old male pure-bred boxer puppy with a lot of spunk! Lydia and I haven't been able to get a dog before now because we've been renting an apartment. But with our recent move to our home in Roy, and some great luck, we were able to adopt this little puppy.

Here's the scoop. A few months back, Lydia's sister's family (Mindy & Steve Caldwell) adopted a 2-year-old boxer from the local pound (Drake). He was a great dog with a big heart, but unfortunately had some real health concerns. He was taken back to the pound and put to sleep. It was really hard on the family.

So a couple weeks ago (after much convincing from some very persuasive children) they decided to try again. They wanted to stick with boxers, but this time got a puppy - yep, Zeus! They've had a great time with Zeus and have really fallen in love with him. Unfortunately though, they had to make another hard decision recently to give him up. He hasn't been very compatible with their two younger children, especially their youngest daughter Emily.

Mindy wrote a blog entry about their decision. She said it was really heartbreaking, but it was the right thing to do. I was sad to hear about their experience. This dog had really meant so much (and still does!) to their family. As much as I was sad to hear about it, I got excited at the thought of maybe having a dog of our own! Mindy asked if anyone was interested in keeping him, and I couldn't resist. I talked to Lydia about it, and we decided to adopt him. We're so happy that Zeus is still part of the Caldwell family, and that the kids can still come and visit him whenever they want. And WE'RE really excited to finally be dog-owners! I was telling Lydia tonight we can scratch one more item off our list of life-goals. Own a house, get a dog, have a baby. 2 out of 3 ain't bad! Lydia reminded me that I also got a new computer recently, which is true.

Anyway, back to the story. We picked up Zeus tonight from the Caldwell's and brought him back to his new home. So far, he's adjusted really well! He had one little house training accident tonight, but nothing too serious. He's been so curious of his new environment and has been sniffing around every nook and cranny of our house. We gated off the kitchen and decided that until we can have a little more time with house training, he would be our kitchen puppy (hurray for tile!). He's keeping me company right now sleeping next to the chair by my desk. Idn't he cute?!

What are you doing Mike?

Sorry for disturbing your nap buddy. :) I've been a little-camera happy tonight. He's such an attractive animal though, I'm having a hard time not filling up my memory card with pictures of him.

We're so excited to have Zeus be a part of our little family! If you want to hear more about Zeus, take a minute and read through Mindy's blog.

Here's a few more pictures I took of him tonight in his new home:

Zeus getting a bedtime story from Mom about
appropriate places to defecate.

Me and Zeus (I know, I know, it's Zeus and I, but oh well)

Our first family photo!

Thanks again Mindy, Steve, Rachel, Julia, Cameron, & Emily for letting Zeus be a part of our family. Feel free to come and visit anytime! We love you!

Cameron, Rachel, Julia & Zeus
(courtesy Mindy's blog)

Asleep after a long day

Another great photo I stole
from Mindy's blog :)

One of Zeus' favorite spots to spend his time

Behold... the office!

2006-10-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance if any of you were led to believe that this would be a tribute the popular tv series "The Office." Although this would have been an excellent blog entry, this is simply not so.

Lydia and I have been chipping away at our house one week at a time. One of the first things on our list was to get all the rooms painted, particularly the office so I could move my furniture and computers up there and set up camp. But for whatever reason, that ended up being the last room to get painted. But we're finally done! We finished painting all of the doors for every room in our house as well as finishing off the office last week. Hurray!

Here's a shot of the finished product. Thanks to Shanna Taggart for the two-tone idea!

26 years young

2006-10-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Lydia!

Today my sweet wife turns 26! Which reminds me of a funny story. October for the Scothern family is a little bit crazy. Maybe it has something to do with Valentine's Day being in February, but there are a LOT of October birthdays (including Lydia's). Anyway, Seth was asking his dad how old someone was going to be this year and Ben told him that she would be turning _____. Seth thought about it for a second and then asked him, "Dad, who turns people old?" I thought that was pretty cute (let me know if I got that right Ben).

Anyway, for Lydia's birthday post, I thought I would share some other significant events that have occured on October 19th.

1512 - Martin Luther becomes a doctor of theology (Doctor in Biblia).
1781: The American War of Independence ends with the surrender of Lord Cornwallis to George Washington at Yorktown, USA
1789 - Chief Justice John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1925: A US-Franco expedition to Algeria finds ancient sea shells, proving the Sahara was once partially submerged
1926: Chuck Berry, Popular 'Rock and Roll' singer of the 50's was born
1980: Lydia is born!
1987: was declared "Black Monday" when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell dramatically, and on which similar enormous drops occurred across the world."
2003 - David Blaine finally ended his 44-day endurance stunt of being sealed inside a transparent case suspended 30 feet in the air over Potters Fields Park, located in London.
2005 - Busch Memorial Stadium is closed and destroyed.
2006 - Lydia turns 26 and goes to work at America West bank - she wears gray pants!

Happy Birthday honey! You're such a great wife. Thanks for your constant love and support. You mean the world to me. I love you!

Your life is about to change forever

2006-10-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

You won't regret this. This is maybe the best website ever created in the history of the universe. This will likely influence the way you live your life for as long as time exists. So if you're not ready for any life-changing events, steer clear of this link. Because once you've been, there' s no coming back.

http://zombo.com/

Breaking News!

2006-10-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Did I get your attention with that attractive title? I'm sorry, I don't really have any breaking news. It's just that I keep thinking to myself, self, you need to sit down and write in your blog. I keep thinking of all these great things I could write about, and now that the stars align and I actually have a few minutes to write in my blog (class got cancelled today!), I can't think of a single thing to say! Wait hold on, let me think. Something's happening... is that?... is that a?... a thought? ...

Nope.

Rats. Well, you can't say I didn't try.

How about an update? Oh, Lydia got a job! I know that's old news for everyone who will read this, but I'm just proud as a peach. Did I just say that? Yes, apparently I did. Anyway, she's a New Accounts Specialist, but has found out that her job specializes in much more than just opening new accounts. She's now specializing in answering phones, helping her boss choose his desktop wallpaper, and much more. She's really enjoying the change of pace from Happijac. And, she wears make-up everyday (I like that part)! She has to wear nylons if any leg is showing though, which she's not too fond of. Her Mom says that it will keep her legs warm though (and it probably will).

School is going good for me, but I'm starting to get tired of it. I'm now technically a Senior! Crazy huh? I think so. The sad thing is that I still have at LEAST three more semesters before I graduate. I know this is pretty normal, but I'm really feeling ready to graduate. It makes it especially difficult when my employer says they could really use me full-time, and I have to turn them down so I can go take Art 1010, one of the many pre-reqs I have to take to get into the upper-division classes which I may or may not ever use.

Here's the low-down with my major for those that don't know. I'm a BIS (Bachelor of Integrated Studies) major at Weber State. I can choose three areas of emphasis, and I've chosen Computer Science, Multimedia, and Visual Arts. I'm in the web design business and it's my hope that I can pick up some skills that will help me out in my career. The frustrating thing is that I have to wade through so many classes that have nothing to do with what I'm going into (3d design, Art 1010 - which I've taken at Utah State and twice in High school -, C++, Intro to Multimedia, just to name a few) to get to the classes I actually want to take (typography, Flash, programming for the web, etc). Problem is I'm not that patient, so I end up learning the things I want to learn on my own, and when I finally get to the classes I want to take, it's all old hat.

So what to do? There are still classes I'd like to take, and I want the degree (if nothing more than a formality), but sometimes it feels like the program I'm in at Weber doesn't offer enough to make it worth giving up time I could be working at my job (which I love!) making decent money.

So if any of you college grads out there wouldn't mind leaving me a comment and telling me its worth it, that would be great. It IS worth it right?

Wow, wasn't expecting to write anything about that today. I apologize if I come off as arrogant. It feels good to vent about things though. Truly, there are a lot of classes I'm excited to take, but it's just a long road and it's nice to stop and kick a squirrel along the way.

From Thailand to... Hooper?

2006-09-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hello readers!

I've been pleasantly surprised at the response I've received from this blog. I've had a lot of requests to see the rest of our pictures from Thailand. I took a lot of pictures, and didn't want to cram all of them on here, but here are some of my favorites. They're organized by area, so we'll start in Chiang Mai, go south to Krabi (pronounced Grah-bee), and then head back to Bangkok. Sound good? Good! Because it's not like you really have a choice.

Chiang Mai

I made mention of the painting elephants in the my last post... I think. Well anyway, here's one of them! Pretty amazing!

These are a few of the pictures they painted. Can you see the one the last elephant was painting?

This is a picture of Sister Imelda, her kids, and Sister Pawn. They were my first baptisms in Thailand and were still going strong! Imelda was kind enough to bake me a delicious chocolate cake. She mentioned it was also endorsed by Oprah... which was comforting.

Here we are at the beautiful Mae Saw waterfall. This is the same hike that we saw the spider.

Another picture from the monkey show.

The man on the left is President Prod. He was the first member I met in Thailand. He is one of my heroes. Prod has had polio since he was a child, and can't use his legs. But that never stopped him from hopping on his custom made motorcyle and going teaching with us. He's one of the most optimistic people I've ever met.

Bamboo rafting. Weeeeeee!

Rotis... mmmmmm. We ate these at almost every chance we got. They fry up this yummy dough and wrap it up with mangoes or bananas and top it with sweetened condensed milk and sugar... mmmm... rotis...

Here is a picture of my beautiful wife at a waterfall we visited on a trek to the Hmong villages.

Krabi

When we got to Krabi, we were a little disappointed by the water, because the beach at the bay we were staying at wasn't what we had seen in pictures... that is, until we took a boat ride. We visited several islands while in Krabi and were anything but disappointed by what we saw. Beautiful clear water and white beaches. They DO exist!

The water was so clear you could... um.. see that it wasn't not clear... yes.

While the beach we stayed at didn't have the clear water and white sand, it still made for some fine sunsets.

We took a canoeing trip to explore Thaleng bay in Krabi. And the first thing we saw on our trip was...

more monkeys! We got to get out our canoes and feed them. However, they weren't afraid at all to jump right on to our canoes and take our pineapple either. It was cool to see them in their natural environment climbing on the mountains and zipping down vines in the jungle.

We had a chance to do some snorkeling while we were there also. Look at all those fish! Lydia and our tour guide were throwing bread into the water so they would swarm and devour me.

Fortunately, I'm a pretty good swimmer and managed to evade their devious plans. I took refuge on another island and took this picture while I was there. Even in the face of death I was thinking about beautifying my blog. I risked my life for these pictures! I hope you can appreciate that.

Bangkok

After our time was up in Krabi, we took another flight back up to Bankgkok.

On Sunday, we went to church in Bangkhen and got to meet some of the people that Lydia taught and baptized. She was here for seven months and did some great work! We were happy that so many people she had taught were still active and progressing.

These same members took us out for some Korean bbq that week. We had eaten three or four meals already that day because we were meeting with members and investigators pretty much all day. We felt bad that we couldn't eat more... especially because it's so good. You grab meat and veggies and throw it on top of this frying pan/pot... contraption. Just make sure you cook it long enough or you'll pay for it later... believe me I know.

Speaking of paying for it later, did you know that coconut juice is nature's laxative? Sure does taste good though. This was on a ride around the famous floating market! It was cool to see all the people trading fruit and merchandise on the boats. It was also a huge tourist trap though. Most of the vendors didn't sell fruit, but souvenirs. We, of course, couldn't resist. I mean we're tourists after all.

Here's a woman selling some bananas. Keep it up old woman!

This is an amazing woman, Aunt Josephine and her husband, who we just called Uncle. They were some of my best investigators in Thailand, but never got baptized and probably never will. We used to sit down and talk about the gospel for hours with her. She's one of the most spiritual persons I've met in my life. Lydia and I had a great time visiting with her and even had a chance to read some scriptures and pray together. It was awesome!

Sister Mod (pronounced "mote") was another person that Lydia taught while on her mission. She's now a missionary in Bangkok! Mod has a special calling as she's only teaching Cambodians. Both of her companions are from Cambodia too. She's had to learn the language and will serve the entire rest of her mission in one area.

Sister Parinda and Sister Peerunrak. These are both sisters we served with in Thailand. Sister Parinda (left) was the one that set us up! She was so proud of herself for being such a good matchmaker (as she should be)!

Here is a picture of Ronald McDonald. He's "waiying" instead of waving. He's obviously been possessed by some sort of demon. I hate clowns.

Here is Bishop Khabuan (Kenny) and his family in front of the Srinakarin church. They have been meeting in a townhouse for years now and in two months will start meeting in this beautiful new chapel! He's been a member for decades now and even served a mission. He's more deserving than anyone I know of such a beautiful meeting place. I think sometimes we take that for granted.

Roy

Here is our house in Roy! Idn't it cute?! When we went to church last week we went to the wrong chapel and ended up in Hooper (pronounced "huh-per"). Luckily, we're still in Roy, but just barely.

We had some awesome help this week moving in and painting. Thank you so much to everyone who came and helped out - it would have taken us forever by ourselves!

A Birthday to Remember

2006-08-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

After a most excellent week in Chiang Mai, we've packed our bags again and headed South. I write to you today from the comfort of an undersized pleather recliner in an internet cafe in the heart of Bangkok! If I misspell anything, I apologize in advance. My vision is degrading at an exponential rate due to the blaring bright green paint which envelops every square inch of the room in which I sit.

Thanks to everyone for the happy birthday wishes! It was indeed a very happy one! Lydia and I decided to rent a motorcycle for the day *gasp!* much to our mothers' delight I'm sure. Although, I'm not sure you could actually pass it off as a motorcycle by American standards. Its 150cc's of power never got us going faster than 50mph. But boy was it fun! The first night we got it, it was a little scary due to some, shall we say, environmental factors. Not only had neither of us ever driven a motorcycle, we didn't have a Thai license, are still used to driving on the right side of the road, it was dark, raining, and Lydia (who was driving) had a helmet that would occasionally slip over her eyes because it was too big. But we made it home and the morning brought blue skies and a dry road. We got the hang of it without too much of a struggle and really enjoyed the independence it gave us! We rented it for a day for about $5 and only had to fill it up with two or three dollars of gas for many kilometers of driving (that's right, we use metric here... just like everywhere else in the world).

Anyway, enough about the motorcycle. My birthday was awesome! We drove about 15 kilos North of Chiang Mai to a little place called Mae Rim. We stopped first at the Orchid Farm and looked at some beautiful flowers, butterflies, scorpions, spiders, and a stray dog. Next, we hopped back on the bike and drove up to the snake farm! We got there a few minutes early and they had a little area we could walk around in, so we decided to peruse. We encountered all sorts of snakes including a king cobra, crocodile, Siamese cobra, spitting cobras, and some exotic birds. After we were done looking at the birds, a man we were talking to asked us if we had seen the big snake eating the other snake. Much to my delight, the king cobra we had seen just a few minutes earlier was devouring the other snake in his cage whole (I've got some good video to prove it)! It was a sight to see for certain. Afterwards they had a snake show where the "snake man" (he's actually just a regular man with none or very little snake powers) danced around cobras, pythons, and Asian water snakes. The best part was when they introduced the "jumping snake" that could supposively jump up to 6 to 9 feet. That got people nervous. The snake man was prodding around in a wooden box trying to get the jumping snake out when yep, you guessed it, it jumped out right into the audience. Turns out the jumping snake was actually only a little yellow rope, but I'm pretty sure a few people needed to visit the laundromat after almost being attacked by the notorious jumping snake rope.

After the snakes, we continued onward to the monkey training center. They train monkeys to help them with their coconut harvesting. They demonstrated how to climb up a tree, twist off a coconut, and drop it--you know, pretty basic monkey skills. My favorite part was actually before the show when we were playing with a monkey on a rope (not a snake rope, just the regular monkey rope) who decided to steal Lydia's bracelet and then continue to mock us by biting it, running around in his cage, and doing flips. He tried to break it, but we got it back before he got a chance. (I actually had to wage a full-scale war against the primates of middle-earth that put 'Planet of the Apes' to shame, but that's a story that will have to wait for another day.)

From monkey school we then visited the Elephant camp and had the chance to watch elephants bathe, play soccer, paint, play darts, and eat a LOT of bananas. They're really incredible animals. We were amazed at how great some of those paintings were. They weren't just splotches of paint, they were grape vines, planting pots, and bouquets of flowers. Very impressive!

Aside from being entertained by Thailand's animals, we also had the chance to experience one of the most beautiful areas of the North. We stopped by at Mae Sah waterfall and hiked up a fairly secluded trail and just enjoyed the beauty of Thailand's jungly limestone mountains. Everything was so lush and green on the hike up - very serene. The trail alternated from wooden steps to moss covered concrete, to dirt roads. Mae sah is not just one waterfall, but actually ten individual waterfalls that run parallel with the trail. The most impressive one was at the top of the trail where we found some locals enjoying the pool underneath the falls. We waded through the pool and cooled off, and walked down another trail on the opposite side of the water.

On the way down, I noticed a large spider web on our left. I'm glad I did, because if I didn't see the web, we wouldn't have noticed the incredibly large spider that inhabited it. In my whole life, I have NEVER seen a spider this big. It spanned out to about the size of my extended hand. I would say it was somewhere between 7-9 inches large. It was bright yellow and on its abdomen was, I kid you not, what appeared to be a black skull. HO HO HO!! Who could ask for a better birthday present than that?! We took a few pictures and on our way out wiggled its web a little bit to see if it was real. It sprung into attack stance and we shrieked and ran away like small little girls. Scary. (The picture I have posted was just one I found on the internet, but it looked pretty similar to this one).

This is not where the adventure ends. But if you'd like to get up and have snack that's fine. I'll wait.

Okay, moving on.

Following the waterfalls, we saddled back up on the motorcyle and made the long trek out to Chiang Mai night safari. Actually, sorry, I need to go use the bathroom. I should have gone during the break. It'll just take a second, hold on...

Okay I'm back. Sorry about that. Where was I? Oh yes, the night safari. In the world, there are only three "safaris" like this one. One in China (I think), one in Singapore, and this one in Thailand. It hasn't been open very long, but boy was it cool! It is split into three zones. The first zone it kind of like a zoo, but the animals have a larger living space, and not all of them are caged (which made me a little nervous... I heard that giant tortoises can actually become quite malicious if provoked). They had some really beautiful exotic animals including those weird oversized rodents that Shawn saw down in Uruguay. My favorite exhibit were the bengal tigers. Quick tangent, when we were out looking at animals it was starting to get dark, and we got hit by a huge monsoon. Not a problem for us, we just pulled out our panchos and continued on, but everyone else ran for cover. So we basically had the place all to ourselves! Anyway, we were at the bengal tiger exhibit, but couldn't see anything. We were standing on a bridge that overlooks a small pool and has a small beach and some rocks and what not. We were looking really carefully for the tigers and were kind of dissapointed that we couldn't see them... then all of the sudden both tigers came roaring out from right under us! They were playing with each other right underneath us in the pool. They had a beautiful coat of white fur and haunting blue eyes. One of them got interested in us and came over and looked at us. We were probably only 6 feet away from it looking at it straight in the eyes. Really cool. Unfortunately, we couldn't take a picture because of the monsoon, but it was awesome.

The other two zones are called Predator Prowl and Savannah... something. Anyway, they take you out on a two car open-wall bus when it gets dark and drive around in the animal's "natural habitat." It reminded me a lot of Jurassic park actually. The safari has nearly 400 acres of land for the animals. They are each given a chunk of that land to just be animals. When the safari bus gets in one of the animals' zones, they stop and pop on the spotlight and try and find them. They had animals from all over the world. We saw cheetahs, lions, tigers, bears (oh my), giraffes, elephants, gazelles, water buffaloes, vultures, deer, and many other exotic animals.

When the tour got done, we navigated our way back to our hotel and crashed (not literally Mom, don't worry).

I know at this point it's really offically the end of my birthday, but the next day was equally great. I won't include all of the details right now, because I think my wrists are starting to convulse, but here's the brief version:

We went to Lampang for chuch and I had the chance to see a lot of the great members I had the privelege to work with and teach when I was a greenie here. It made me so happy to see that the once investigators I had taught and baptized were not only coming to church, but were strong active members very much involved in the church. We had lunch at the old Branch President's (Prod) house and visited with him and his family. We also visited with the family of the current branch president (Suphat & Naphom), and gladly ate the brownies they gave us (haven't had good chocolate in a week). We went back up to Chiang Mai later that night and had the chance to visit Sister Imelda and Sister Pawn, the two members I was able to see baptized when I was in Lampang. Imelda baked me a chocolate cake that was endorsed by Oprah herself! She gave me few candles, sung happy birthday, and we had a great time catching up and talking about life and the Gospel. Imelda bore her testimony to us about how the gospel had changed her life and that had it not been when for the message that we brought to her family five years ago, he family wouldn't be together today. Today they love each other more than ever and even have a goal to go to the temple.

It won't be a birthday I forget anytime soon.

As far as the rest of the trip goes, we decided to change our plans a bit. We are going to go to the South today and will spend the week down in the city of Krapi, just east of Phuket. We're excited to hit the beaches and slow things down for a few days. I'll keep you all posted. Hopefully I can get some more pictures up again sometime soon.

Cheers!

Thailand Pictures

2006-08-10T02:26:00.001-07:00

I thought I would post a few pictures from our journey so far. So I did!

This first one was taken just today at a cooking class we took in Chiang Mai. We learned how to make some of our favorites including Pad Thai, Som Tam, Fried Bananas, Green Curry, and Pad Graphow Gai! Mmm... Thai food. We'll have to practice on friends and family when we come home, eh? The class was about $10 each and we got to eat everything we made!

This next one is from our trip to Laos. It was a lot like Thailand, but a little more underdeveloped. We went to the city of Wiang Jahn.

Thailand landscape shot on the truck ride to Ban Chiang. See the water buffalos?! There were herds and herds of them. It was fun to see them trudging through the mud and burrowing down in the water (and goring other animals mercilessly!)

This is Nid & Nim, a couple I was able to teach back when I was a missionary. They've been so nice to us and have taken us to see all the sights.

We had some free time in San Fran on our layover so we decided to have lunch downtown. Idn't she cute?! ('She' being my dear wife, Lydia)

Hey, if anyone reads this thing, leave me a comment! Thank ya!

Yindii Tonrab Thailand!

2006-08-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this blog from an internet cafe in Udorn Thani Thailand. Today marks day 4 of our trek! And what a trek it has been!

We arrived in Bangkok early early Sunday morning and wanted to do nothing more than go to sleep. We got off the plane, hopped in a taxi, and went to our room. The hotel was nothing special, but it was just what we needed after traveling for nearly 24 hours! After a three hour rest in our hotel, we got up and got ready for church. We hopped on the next plane to Udorn Thani (near the border of Laos) and arrived around 8:00 AM. Church started at 9:00 so we thought we'd go check in at our hotel first, and then head to church. So we got a ride over to the hotel, check in, and then got ready to go to church. I, the stalwart leader and local Udorn resident, feeling very confident got in a Song Tao and thought that I would remember the route to the church as if I had only left the area yesterday. After the driver asked me where to take him though, the reality of the situation set in as I realized I had no idea where the church was. I told him I thought it was by a technical school and if he knew of any. He said his route passed by a technical school. So we hopped in, but found ourselves even further away from our destination than we were when we started off. Worse still, I had no idea where I was at all now. So we found another driver and told him our situation and with some luck, he knew exactly where to go!

Church was amazing! It was a sincere joy to go back and see so many familiar faces, and even more so when they remembered me too! Perhaps the best experience I've had so far came after we sat down. I looked up a couple rows in front of me and there was a woman sitting on the bench that Elder Teran and I had found on our bikes almost four years ago. She turned around and recognized me right away. She came over and sat down next to us and asked if I was Elder Metcalf, and if I remembered her. I told her I did, and confirmed that she was Sister Nim. She was so thrilled that I remembered her! She went on to tell me about her life since we had last met. It turns out that now she, her daughter, and even her husband are active members of the church now. What was even more surprising was that the reluctant husband I had known years ago was now the branch president!

When church started, the 1st counselor (who was the mission leader when I was there) invited Lydia and I to share our testimonies. So we did and were both surprised at how much Thai we still remembered! Sister Nim got up later and bore her testimony too. She said it was a special opportunity for her to bare her testimony, and shared how thankful she was for the gospel in her life and how it has blessed her and her family. What an awesome experience!

The rest of this week has been exciting as well! Our hotel is beautiful and very reasonably priced. We've had lots of great food, and still have lots more to eat on our list. Unfortunately, mangoes aren't in season right now, so we won't have any mangoes and sticky rice any time soon. We've seen some pretty awesome things too. We went up to Ban Chiang and had the chance to see artifacts preserved from the bronze age! We also had the chance to see some of the local artists paint pottery and chisel woodcarvings.

Our third day in Udorn, President Nit and Sister Nim were kind enough to offer to take us across the border to Laos. We drove about an hour North and got a new stamp on our Visa. Laos is a lot like Thailand, but not nearly as developed. We went to a market in both countries yesterday and after going to the market in Laos, it made Thailand seem very clean and organized. We couldn't read Laotian (even though it's very similar to Thai) and had a hard time trying to talk to people in Laos in Thai. We know a little bit of Isan, which is very similar to Laotian (because that's what they speak in Udorn), but it was still difficult to understand what people were saying.

We saw a cool temple in Wiang Jahn (the capital of Laos), but probably the best part of our trip was running into the Martins. We were resting in the market having a drink of water when we saw an elderly American couple with black tags on. So we ran after them and asked them if they were from the church, and sure enough they were! They were thrilled to see us and told us all about they're experiences thus far in Laos. They gave us big bear hugs and cried as they told us about some of the miracles they had seen in the short time that they had been there.

Today we were hoping to book a flight to Chiang Mai, but haven't been so lucky. The only flight that would get us there today flies to Bangkok first and then back up North. So it looks like we'll have to bite the bullet and take a bus. It's a lot cheaper, but it just means we have another 12 hours of travel in front of us. Ugh. Maybe we'll go buy you that Ambien now Dad.

Well there's so much more to say, but we need to go check out of our hotel soon. The video camera has been great and we'll show you all the great footage when we get home! I'll keep you posted about our adventures in Chiang Mai!

Mike

Blogging in Style

2006-07-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

While setting up my blog, I was looking through the available templates and didn't find anything that really caught my fancy. So I decided to try my hand at designing a custom background. I used a photo I liked with a leaf (because leaves are... our friends) and blended it with some scratched texture, added a gradient, and KAZAM! ... a new background was born. My question, is it too distracting?

Journals

2006-07-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Lydia and I were talking a little bit about journal keeping lately. We were both very diligent journal keepers on our missions, but have since lingered. I have a hard time getting out my journal, finding a pen, and jotting down my thoughts (especially because it's usually very late when the thought of journal keeping occurs to me). I'm always on the computer though, so even though this isn't on paper, I thought it would be a good place to start... and Mr. T seems to agree.