Reminiscing Future

Back In Oregon

2012-01-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

Yes we finally moved back to Oregon. Rachel and I decided to say 'screw it' and move back to Oregon despite... well everything really. Economy sucks, job market sucks, Seattle traffic sucks, my boss getting fired right in front of me sucked, so we just up'ed and moved. A lot of people thought we were crazy, still do really. I say they are more important things in life than worrying about jobs and money, and that's coming from someone who has a good chunk of school debt left to chomp on.

Like I said, lots of people think we are crazy, so not that many have been supportive. Aside from ignoring them as much as possible, I'm also slightly humored at how I've always felt people have been 'selfishly' praying for us. My Oregon friends would pray against me getting a career job up in Washington and my Washington friends would pray against me getting a job in Oregon to hinder me from moving away. That's probably all in my head, and I'm sorry to my WA friends for losing but it's just something that had to happen.

Despite not having jobs yet, living with my parents, and otherwise being rejected 12 times a week with no replies to job postings things are great here. I'm happier, Rachel is happier, and I think Clara is happier too. I don't regret it for a minute. God works in weird ways, he can even screw up my math; example: I thought I had X amount saved up to cover being unemployed for awhile. After paying more than I was expecting to get moved down here, I have about 2000 more in my savings than I was expecting. How cool is that? See? No regrets.

Well if anyone in the Salem area knows of any jobs please feel free to let us know. Rachel is a certified RN and I have ministry, manager and admin/office experience. Personally I'd like to get a job just to get out of the house more, it's been a good 'vacation' and all, but I just want to work. Thanks to all who did support us and to those who really were selfish and I wasn't making stuff up in my head I'm sorry, but it's just something we had to do.

ULTIMATE Marvel Vs Capcom 3

2011-07-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

Most people know by now that yesterday Capcom announced the ULTIMATE version of the popular gaming series Marvel Vs Capcom 3. Some of us saw it coming and some of us were optimistic in thinking that Capcom wouldn't dare pull this kind of crap twice in a row. For those who don't quite understand how upsetting this is to me and many gamers (though surprisingly not as many as I thought) let me back up a bit.

Street Fighter IV was originally an arcade game and came to consoles in February of 2009. Fans rejoiced. Yet only 14 months later Capcom released SUPER Street Fighter IV, an updated version that added 10 characters (some of which had no reason being missing in the first place as they had been in the series before), some new game modes, new ultra combos, and "tweaked" controls to make the game better. To dampen any fans yelling about not receiving the full game in the first place, they released SUPER Street Fighter IV for "only" $40 (Street Fighter IV was originally $60 as are most new games).

Personally I never played Street Fighter much so I didn't get into this fiasco. I wondered why my friends were literally happy to shell out another $40 for the "real" version of a game that had only come out one year before. I was surprised more Street Fighter fans were not upset about the extra cash that had to be shelled out, the immediate drop in value of the first game that they already owned, and the leering suspicion that Capcom had just played them to get an extra $40 bucks out of them. Not to mention the fact that Super Street Fighter IV ARCADE EDITION just came out for even more money, but I digress.

Anyway fast forward to yesterday. The ULTIMATE version of Marvel Vs Capcom 3 is announced for... dun dun dun, only $40! Now you have to realize that SUPER Street Fighter IV came out over a year after the first one. MvC3 came out just last March, as in 4 months ago March. Yeah, no game is made in 4 months people. Maybe Pacman was but this is 2011. Yes, ULTIMATE MvC3 doesn't come out till November, but that STILL isn't enough time. In less than a year, Capcom has the audacity to release MvC3, announce a new version and release that and charge us for it.

Personally I'm calling bull crap on this. Capcom may have screwed up with SFIV and tried to make right on it with SUPER SFIV. But to do it to MvC3 this fast, they've had it planned from the beginning. They knew how many people shelled out the $40 for SSFIV and figured why not try and pull that crap again with MvC3? Heck if it worked once and we made bank on it why not screw our loyal fans and customers again? There's a saying in the business world that only some businesses follow but they are the ones that are tried and true and people actually like: Customers are the bottom line. Now if Capcom believed that they would offer a trade in program where I can take my already worthless (yes, ebay has MvC3 going for next to nothing, if you want a copy now's the time to buy) version of MvC3 and GIVE me the ULTIMATE edition for absolutely free. Now I know this will NEVER happen because I believe Capcom knew what they were doing from the beginning.

You might wonder why I write all this for one lousy video game. Well I'm not rich so when I drop $60+ on a game I expect it to be well made, polished, FINISHED, and complete. I don't expect the game company to royally screw me by coming out with a newer version only 8 months later. I know some of you may be saying "well you don't have to buy the ULTIMATE edition if you don't want to" and you should know by now I won't, but I'm sick of video game company's taking advantage of their customers. DLC is having the same problem/argument but Capcom has taken it to a whole new level by coming out with a completely different game. Sure I wouldn't be "as" upset if they did an ULTIMATE DLC pack with all the new characters, but now I have to go buy a whole new game? This is the definition of a scam, Capcom's name should be the first thing that shows up when you look up scam in the dictionary.

Surprisingly I've scanned a few forums and I will admit the majority of people are NOT mad about this! Yes there are people like me but most people are excited about the new characters and don't seem to care they are getting ripped off. I don't understand how they can just sit back and pay up. I have a friend who is also upset at the obvious gain Capcom will get from this, but still admits he will cave and buy it because he just has to have it as a fighting game fanatic. I understand loving a series so much you want it all, but seriously if you can resist even a bit to give Capcom a clue that you won't be ripped off you better do it now. Because I can almost guarantee you that "SUPER MARVELOUS ULTIMATE AMAZING GLITTERY 'WE'RE SCREWING YOU IN THE BUTT AND YOU DON'T SEEM TO CARE'" version of Marvel Vs Capcom 3 will come out within the next year. And people will still freaking buy it.

Hate Vs. Love

2011-04-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

I watched Judge Jeanine Pirro yesterday (yes I watch court shows) and there are always some disturbing cases. One such case was a young homosexual man who was asking advice on hate crimes related to sexual orientation. He described an incident and was wondering if could be considered a hate crime and if so what should he do about it. Basically he was with his boyfriend at a bar and felt that everyone was watching them. When they got up to leave some people verbally harassed them but nothing else. When they got to their car there was an obscene word written in ketchup on their windshield.

Now I don't want to get into the whole homosexual debate, but what this Pirro episode made me think is: Who has the time and puts forth the energy to do something hateful like that? I mean seriously, when is it ok to hurt someone emotionally or physically with that kind of hatred? You can have your difference of opinion but actually putting it into action like that is just wrong and I don't know about everyone else but I have better things to be doing. I thought society was super busy and had no free time but apparently some do and waste it on menial tasks like this.

I also think about Jesus and how he hung out with these kind of people. If Jesus were walking the earth today, this is probably the kind of guy he would go talk to, maybe even hangout with. Jesus was always seen with the sinners, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the shunned ones of society. Jesus wasn't writing obscene words in the sand about these people, but showing them love and forgiving their misgivings. Christians know these are tough shoes to fill, impossible really, least I know I've been judgmental of people like that, always trying everyday to do better.

But Jesus used his free time to spread love to the love-lacking and we can see what kind of impact he left on the earth. I hope in your free time you'll choose love over hate, I know I'm trying to as well. I'm not saying we have to be tolerant of everything, the Bible does talk about speaking the truth in love, but I think we need to love people first before "attacking" them for their sins, as we so often come across as doing. I guess my point is: between hate and love, choose love; and don't waste your spare time. I think if we could all do that, the world might be a little better of a place.

Clear / Clearwire - worst ISP ever!

2011-03-08T11:52:00.001-08:00

I had the unpleasant experience of canceling my clear account the other day. I went with Clear because they were cheaper than Comcast and my wife and I decided that internet was a luxury, not a necessity so slower speeds were ok.

The first 6 months were fine, but all of February I had serious speed issues, and I mean serious. I would average 5-7Mbps on speedtest.net with Clear. What I've been getting is 0.6Mbps which is almost completely unusable. While Netflix constantly "retrieves" your movie, I even had some websites time-out on me. Clear had me go through the usual on-off crap with no luck, issued a "speed ticket" to look into the matter and would get back to me. They called me a few days later with an automated message saying press 1 to talk to a representative which didn't work, the second they called it put me on hold, said it had to do with congestion during peak hours and to just deal with it.

It continued to happen all month, I took several screenshots of speedtest.net reports at different times, sometimes even around noon. I eventually gave up on them and said I'll just pay too much for internet to Comcast. Once I had Comcast's cable internet again I called to cancel Clear. Now I'm a decent person, if you don't give me grief when canceling I won't go around badmouthing you (I've canceled with Comcast, very pleasant actually). Unfortunately, Clear needs to take lessons in not being complete jerks. I was on the phone for 1:24:24 according to my phone. Here is a breakdown of all the times I was put on hold:

9 min - 1st initial hold to get to a real human being.

4 min - On hold to "check something"

11 min - To try and waive fee

2 min - Setting me up to transfer to a tech. The rep said if I issued another speed ticket, I could cancel with no fee within 7 days after.

10 min - To actually get to the tech

14 min - To get back to a different rep who says that everything the first rep said was wrong, no way to waive fee. So I asked for a manager.

10 min - Rep talked to manager and said that manager said it was ok to waive fee.

2 min - Finalizing my cancellation.

That's 62 minutes of being on hold for an 84 minute phone call. Do the math, 22 minutes of talking is all I did. Why couldn't I get that first rep and her supervisor who immediately waived my fee? Oh, which is not $40 like they tell you. I specifically remember when I signed up asking how much a cancellation fee was and they said just $40. When I called to cancel, they said that since I own my modem I have to pay the remainder of my contract. First off, what does owning my modem have to do with anything? Second, don't even try it because your internet sucks.

They tried to explain to me that my account was being "managed" whatever that means. I didn't really understand the rep but what I think she meant was that they see who uses the internet alot, then slow that person down so it doesn't create a traffic jam on their tower... right, like that's legal. Why would I pay for internet, use it, then when I do use it you see I'm using it and put a cap on me to make mine really slow? I also liked how she said all ISP's are using the managing software now and I'll have the same problem no matter where I go. Had Comcast for several days now, solid 20Mbps with no problems.

They also continuously try and get you to change your mind before canceling, even after you say no thanks. I understand trying to sell me one last time but for pete's sakes just let me cancel! WORST INTERNET SERVICE COMPANY EVER! And worst customer service. To their credit, their tech's were always nice, but other than that they are terrible, don't listen to anything you say, and blatantly lie to you about just about everything.

I told them I would tell everyone I know to NEVER use Clear EVER, and I intend to. This blog is only the beginning, on to every review site I know and feel free to tell your friends. Oh, and if you think I'm just being a stick in the mud and they only one with a problem with them, go to their website and see what the most recent forum activity is. Most posts are about slow internet, horrendous customer service, and I've even seen a few posts about how their previous forum post that was a complaint has been deleted because they are trying to hide the ugly truth about how terrible a company they are. It's all there. Don't get caught up in their lies.

Pushing Daisies

2011-02-24T11:56:00.001-08:00

I've been watching the recently canceled TV show "Pushing Daisies" via Netflix instant (thank you Netflix). It's an interesting TV show about a man who has the ability to bring dead things back to life with one touch and if he touches them a second time they will die forever. The catch is if he brings someone back to life for longer than a minute, someone else in the vicinity has to die. Mostly he uses his "power" to solve murder cases and gain the reward because he can bring the victims back to life for a minute, ask them who did it, touch them again so they die and nobody gets hurt.

What I find most interesting is the correlation to Jesus and the little nuances they have made towards Jesus in a few episodes. The show is in no way connected to Christianity; but as a Christian I'm watching it from a Christian perspective. There is an episode where a nun dies and Ned is scared to bring someone back to life in a nunnery, to which his colleague replied that "He" did raise the dead once referencing Lazarus (John 11). Fortunately Jesus is God and therefore there were no rules as to how long Lazarus could stay alive and if someone else had to die in his place after a minute.

Honestly, though the show has little to do with the Christian perspective of death I still like the show. It is interesting what people do with only a minute to explain their death and the cinematography is very unique (actually reminds me of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") so all in all I'd recommend checking the show out, especially if you have Netflix.

What I like most about the show is how it reminds me that we as Christians have something to hope before beyond death. Whenever Ned wakes someone up from the dead they always ask if they are dead, as if they were asleep and didn't know it. We have a God who is faithful and just and is going to "wake" us again into eternal life, to be with Him forever. Therefore we have no reason to fear death and that is also the best news anyone could ever hear; perhaps you could even use this show as a springboard into a conversation about what death really means and share God with someone.

Final Fantasy Main Series

2011-01-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

1. Final Fantasy VI - SNES
By far my favorite of the series, this game has everything! Engaging plot line, characters with personality and backstory (yes, all 12 of them... and there are 2 more secret characters!), spot-on gameplay. I really never get sick of going back to this one. I love that the game's main character is technically Terra though it's arguable because the other characters you get early on are so involved as well and have such engaging personalities they can steal some spotlight. Kefka is a great crazy bad guy and literally saving the world from him is always satisfying. There is so much to explore and discover in this game it was amazing they could fit it on a 16-bit cartridge.

2. Final Fantasy IX - PlayStation
I'm sure I'll get criticism for putting this so high but once again, I love this one and can't get enough of it. Being the last FF on the Playstation, it tried going back to the more classic style of story, art, and gameplay. The game itself gives a nostalgic feel to someone like me who grew up on the original NES. Almost all the characters are awesome and the story is worth several playthroughs.

3. Final Fantasy XII - PlayStation 2
Again criticism, but I was a fan of this one; so much so, it's in my top 3. Again I felt this game deserved next-gen credit, but that just made it the best looking Ps2 game available. The gameplay was way different from really anything else I've ever played and that's where it receives most of it's criticism, but I rather enjoyed the gambit system and the lack of random battles. Characters were really good, first time I felt the main character really did "grow up" while playing, and even after playing through this game more than once, it still is a pretty long game.

4. Final Fantasy XIII - PlayStation 3
I'm a sucker for criticism, but this game is just too gorgeous on the Ps3 to be any lower on my list. While I didn't enjoy the paradigm gameplay system as much as some of my friends, I didn't hate it as much as some other people. While the gameplay wasn't my favorite, it did work well, the graphics are out of this world, and I really enjoyed all the characters in this one. Again, this game is really long and I'm glad they have figured out how to put more game time into a game without making it feel daunting.

5. Final Fantasy - NES
It's classic, it started it all. If you missed out on the original, I highly recommend going back to it. This game has so much to offer even today. I don't know about the ports on like the PSP for example, but on the NES this game is HARD! The challenge alone is worth the playthrough. While there is no real character development, or any "real" story for that matter (kill the bad guy, that's about it) it almost creates it's own story just by you having to figure everything out.

6. Final Fantasy VII - PlayStation
This is where my list gets a little muddy. I like the next few games all about equally so it's tough to rank them. However this one gets to be on top just because I've played it more than the others. I know it's low on the list for a lot of the fanboys but it doesn't hold my attention as much as the others. The gameplay was spot-on in terms of the battle system, but some of the characters I felt were lacking, especially Cloud who *SPOILER* isn't the awesome soldier you thought he was; you have to play Crisis Core to be the cool guy. Story was pretty good but just overall I wasn't feeling this game as others did.

7. Final Fantasy III - NES
For being on the NES this game is a huge leap in gaming. Even playing the port of it on the DS, this game has heart. Only 8-bit on the NES and they were still able to portray character development and story in a way that gets you very involved. Gameplay was new and interesting with a job system rather than just straight leveling. While not my favorite nor the best FF game, it had so much to offer while still being on the NES that it amazes me.

8. Final Fantasy IV - SNES
Another classic, this one was the first step into the 16-bit era of gaming. The game had everything to offer, good story, good gameplay, good characters; which makes it an overall good game. Not great, just good. I only really liked Kain, the rest I could take or leave, but something this one did different was you had more characters coming and going from your party than the others. Just because a character joined you, didn't mean you had them for the rest of the game, it was a fun change.

9. Final Fantasy X - PlayStation 2
Having enjoyed the previous installment so much, I was hoping to be blown away by the first FF game for the Ps2. Perhaps it was the girly-man of a main character, or perhaps the lack of a story that really makes any real sense, or you could blame my friend who let me borrow it and said "yeah, it's not the best." However you blame it, this game was rather disappointing. It didn't suck, it just was a grind to play the whole time and other than looking pretty on the Ps2, it didn't have much else to it. Characters are lacking, gameplay was alright but with a few new twists and the sphere-grid leveling system was HORRIBLE, and as I said before the story is a "what the crap is going on" type story. While it isn't the worst, it was a huge letdown.

10. Final Fantasy V - SNES
This is another one that just felt like a grind to get through. While the story was alright, none of the characters really felt like they had much of a personality. The gameplay was a great, intricate, job system that had a lot to offer. Other than that there wasn't much to the game other than to get through it. Again, not a bad game, just nothing to really be remembered for.

11. Final Fantasy II - NES
This is where the hate starts for me. This one was a huge step backwards after the first FF game being so awesome. The leveling system is what ruins this game. If you were to play the game as it was intended to play, it would take FOREVER to level anything or get anywhere, because the game itself is pretty tough. However, if you have the internet and have tried this game you know there is a way to "cheat" and level your characters in a matter of minutes. Story was so-so and the characters I could really care less about. Feel free to skip this one if you haven't already.

12. Final Fantasy VIII - PlayStation
This is where I have more hate for an FF game and where some hate towards me might begin for putting it at the bottom of the list. This FF game had everything wrong about it that could be wrong. Seifer is the only redeeming factor about this game and he's not in it nearly enough. Squall is a pansy with no personality or care for anything and only does what he's told. You have no reason to hate or go after the bad girl and the "love story" that everyone says is so great doesn't really exist; Squall randomly realizes he loves Rinoa as she is floating away in space to die... some love story, oh and then they are saved by a spaceship that's been missing for 20 years but hasn't been mentioned till that point, what luck! I could go on but this game is just everything that could be wrong in a video game, don't even bother with it.

Exactly Where God Wants Me

2010-12-07T14:11:00.001-08:00

Broken. That's where I am and that's exactly where God wants me. Don't get me wrong, I'm in the most upbeat mode I can be while still being broken by God. I'm married to the most amazing woman in the world, I'm going to be a Dad around the end of March, and I have a roof over my head, smiling the whole way. But for those of you who don't know, Rachel and I really wanted to move back down to Oregon to live closer to family as we started our own family. Toss it up to bad luck, the downward-spiraling economy, or anger towards God (I've done all 3) but it just wasn't in the cards.

I applied to plenty of church jobs, though churches are about the last places hiring right now. I applied to churches around Salem, heck I even finally applied to one that was IN Salem, but apparently God has other plans. While I refrain from blaming God for stopping me from getting that job, I wonder if He didn't try on my behalf because He has something better planned? I tried to start and open up, I applied to churches in my area because I thought maybe He wanted me to stay up here and enjoy a full-time job with benefits and the like to, you know, support a family. Still not right. California is nice but still nothing. So I opened up a little more and applied to a job in Montana near where Rachel grew up. No go there either... by the way, I'm not Pentecostal enough for some AG churches, but I'm too Pentecostal for some non-denominational churches, I find that disgustingly funny. I've now gone as far as to apply to some jobs (yes, more than one) in Colorado, still haven't heard back (Pastors are terrible at replying to email, no offense if you're a Pastor).

So here I sit, broken and wondering what is next? Rachel and I are both broken, we are ready to go wherever I can find a job that supports a family so that once the school loans are paid off (still waiting for that lotto ticket, haha) she can be a stay at home Mom. That might be here in the Seattle area and it might be somewhere else, quite frankly I don't really care where anymore. I'm glad God is finally getting His way now, hopefully He'll make His move soon. Now that I'm letting Him have complete control I'm antsy to get a move on it and start whatever new chapter He chooses!

When In Rome

2010-04-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Just had to write a note that I saw the movie "When In Rome" and while I'm not much of a chick flick guy (at all) I was pleasantly surprised. First off, to all chick flick makers, keep putting humor in your movies to help us guys make it bearable. The comedy in this movie was laugh out loud. Also, there were no sex scenes, which was wonderful! There was one scene in the guy's apartment where they are making out, but it doesn't go any farther so I was glad.

Lastly, I was even more surprised to find a movie coming out of Hollywood, available at all theaters, that got what love really is. I don't want to ruin the movie too much, and maybe you should go see it before reading on. In one scene Danny Devito's character explains that if they (being himself and all the guys under the fountain of love's spell) truly love Beth, they will put her needs above their own; he then offers to help her get where she needs to go and find Nick, the guy she loves. I was touched that a Christlike example of love made it into a movie. I can't help but believe the writers are Christians or have at least read the Bible. Because the fact they got exactly what love it supposed to be, putting someone else needs above their own, into a movie is such a shocker in our culture and time. Great movie!

Oh, and I've been to Rome myself, here's proof: http://picasaweb.google.com/SabinKenobi/EuropeTripRome#

Goonies 25th Anniversary

2010-04-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

There is going to be a huge party all the first weekend in June in Astoria Oregon for the 25th anniversary of the movie the Goonies!!! Honestly I would pass this off as just being a cool geek thing that's going on, but the Ataris are playing AT the event so naturally, if the Ataris are playing within a day's drive of where I live I'm definitely going.

Basically got 2 months before it happens, which is not a lot of time. I'll have to brush up on my Goonies knowledge and watch the film twice a day for the next 2 months. Ok that would be overkill but I will be watching it more than usual. So far they confirmed that the guy who played Mouth and the rich-jerk guy will be there and they are trying to get more of the cast to show up. Honestly, as cool as it would be to meet Sean Astin, they really need to get the guy who played Sloth, that would be awesome!!!

If anyone else is going let me know, we'll have to all hangout and have a good time! Maybe I should go buy that Goonies shirt I saw at Target the other day....

Youth Retreat

2010-01-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

A wise man once said you cannot deny who you are. Meaning, that what you are supposed to do, what you are good at, will happen whether you are deliberate or not; simply because it is who you are. I've pondered on this over the last few months. I work at a storage facility and have begun learning how to run a business. My brother, who is extremely intelligent and knows music like the back of his hand, works at a bank. I do not say this to belittle these jobs, I simply say they are not our passions.

Everyone around both of us tell us we should find jobs that ARE our passions, and who wouldn't agree with that? Yet, perhaps we are where we are for a reason; and they can't hinder our passions at all. My brother still sings in his spare time, almost as a part time job. And me? I've been playing on worship team at church almost every other week, but I haven't gotten involved in their youth program. Mostly I wanted to take a break but I also didn't know how I would do not being in charge, after being used to being in charge. Anyway, it wasn't enough, and now this coming weekend I get to go on a youth retreat with my old youth pastor and mentor.

This makes me excited beyond playing on a worship team. Not because I'm in charge, perhaps I was wrong about that and it's not a big deal and I should help out with the youth group at church, but no it's because it's youth ministry! Despite taking a forced break from youth ministry (God's force, I resigned) I am beginning to feel that hunger again. Perhaps I've been idle a bit too long, or I've just been down in the valley of darkness, or God's been trying to teach me a lot on his high mountain; I don't know where all I've been the last couple months but now I feel more than prepared.

Which brings another interesting point: now I have an interest in business. Not really in starting my own, but I've been here awhile and learned a lot and I look around and see/hear about bad managers and mistreatment of employees and it makes me want to DO something about it (I have an awesome manager btw). Perhaps this is a whole other blog I should save for later.

But this weekend I get to work within my passions: youth ministry and music. I'm excited to step back into that role, though it be for but a weekend, and hope to see kids lives transformed. I believe there is nothing more satisfying in this world than seeing a young person turn to Christ! If you haven't ever been part of that, get involved at whatever church you go to.

I'm excited and a little nervous for this weekend but I'm pretty sure it's going to be awesome! God is for us, so who could possibly be against us?

Video Games Copying Video Games

2009-11-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

So I was watching one of my favorite internet shows, the Totally Rad Show (http://www.totallyradshow.com) and they were talking about a game I have little to no interest in but I knew from the beginning would be getting great reviews: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. This game doesn't interest me for several reasons, but it seriously is just an opinion thing. Oh, and they mentioned how everyone just uses 'colorful' language on Xbox Live, you guys might consider switching to the PSN; it's free and I rarely run into the little high-pitched voiced kids who like to swear a lot. But as I listened to their review though I realized a few things about video games in general and I think I have figured out the secret to video games.

There is a philosophy, forgive me for not knowing the originator of the thought (if there is one?), that there is no original thought. Everything you think, has already been thought of before. Everything you say and do, has been done by something else. The fact that you can come up with a good idea is simply a combination of influences in your life and viewing someone else doing something that even that combination is unoriginal. That being said, video games are unoriginal correct? It's basically the same thing with a new skin to it. Problem is video games haven't been around for thousand of years so I believe something new can come around every once in awhile.

Like any good idea, it's likely to get stolen and branded as "new" by the thief. We all know this to be true. Musical lyrics and riffs are stolen and "used" or "slightly modified" is my favorite saying. Political ideas are traded between persons. Heck, even cookies have no-name brand ripoffs that are cheaper and usually taste better too. So why not video games? In the TRS review they made a comment about how they liked the XP system in the multiplayer of CoD:MW2. They liked how you could create streaks and gain extra XP through various events. In ignorance I'm sure they forgot that this was introduced earlier this year in the game Red Faction: Guerrilla. Even then, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if I was proven wrong, and that someone had this system before RFG.

I only write this because it frustrates me to not see credit given where credit is due. I believe the guys who worked on the newest installment of Red Faction created this system and now the Call of Duty series is just stealing it. If a gaming studio just admitted "hey yeah, we just took everything we liked out of all our favorite games!" and made a really good game, I don't think I would mind so much. But, this is the way the world turns; and I know I can't change it. Just thought I would put my dent into the internet that people should seek out creators and originators and try as you might to give credit where credit is due.

The Advantages to Marrying a Nerd

2009-11-13T20:10:00.001-08:00

Ok so it's been a long time coming, basically because I lost the speech shortly after the wedding. Fortunately, someone was video taping and I was able to transcribe what I said. I'd say it's pretty accurate to what I had written down in the first place, so enjoy!

I am Daniel Custer I am Stephen's younger brother, despite beating him to being married and being taller than him. But I know that growing up, Stephen and I have a lot of memories, I'm not going to lie, not all of them are good and brothers are brothers; I won't talk about the fights or anything bad. Because we have some really good memories together. I know we always talk about playing Legos together and we played micro machines together and playing Nintendo. I actually watch him play but now I play. Playing ninja turtles, and breaking my ninja turtles and then him replacing my ninja turtles. Building forts in our family room with couch pillows and blankets. And definitely climbing multiple trees outside with a rope swing and stuff like that. We had a lot of good times growing up.

But Stephen was always the nerdy type. Definitely the nerdy type. He was a book worm of sorts, he was a straight A student which is fun being the younger brother who went to the same high school. So there was some conflict in our household at times. But it's because Stephen and I are very different. Even though we had our rough patches, I wanted to assure you Kari that there are some advantages to marrying a nerd. So this is my speech: "The Advantages to Marrying a Nerd." Single people pay attention.

First advantage is that if you have a question, he has an answer because nerds are smart; and if he doesn't know the answer he'll find it for you because he just has to know.

Second is nerds don't usually get the girl, so he will do anything to keep you. Now please don't abuse that, but feel free to ask him to take out the trash.

Third is nerds know numbers. You don't have to worry about the budget, the checkbook, when a birthday is or your anniversary is because he will always remember. Because nerds remember all kinds of numbers.

Another thing, nerds are genuine. Ok this is a plus, it's not all funny. He's not going to speak in riddles, I know we've had talks about you wondered what he meant by things in the beginning ; he didn't mean anything. He doesn't speak in code and he won't lead you on.

And most importantly Kari is that you're marrying a guy who loves Jesus, and he knows forgiveness both giving and receiving; and he knows how to give himself for others. Despite all the arguments Stephen and I may have had, I've always known that my brother has my back; and that will be good in a marriage too. Marriage isn't always easy, as I'm sure everyone is telling you. You guys are going to have arguments and you're going to have fights. But you will never, NEVER, have to worry because no matter what, this guy has your back. He will stand with you to the very end. And I can assure you that you never have to worry about him ever being so mad at you that he wouldn't protect you because it will never happen. Stephen will always stand by your side, through thick and thin, and that is his greatest strength. And I'm sure it will carry your marriage for many years. So to Stephen and Kari!

Primary or Secondary Ministry?

2009-08-04T02:25:00.000-07:00

So my brother FINALLY got married, haha, this last weekend. And while that has it's own blog forthcoming, I wanted to make a quick post about something that's been going through my mind lately. I'm currently searching/hoping for a full-time ministry position at a church in or around Salem Oregon. I know some of you are laughing already because there is nothing there in terms of ministry jobs, but whatever.

I had a very intriguing conversation with one of my brother's friends who was a groomsmen this weekend about ministry and what it means to be a part of a church. He was talking about how he was the junior high minster to 6 kids. It was volunteer, with no intention of moving it to a paid position, let alone full-time, but he knew that was what he was supposed to be doing.

I told him about my situation: that I had done part-time ministry for 2 years and the problems that occur when you try to balance two jobs. The other job gets in the way of ministry, you can't get time off, and there are just some things the church must get done. It creates serious problems. However the way he described his church's setup intrigued me. The church was run pretty much all by volunteers. People who went to the church didn't really have a choice or not about getting involved in some way, shape, or form: they had to or the church didn't run. It made me wonder if full-time ministry is where I should be looking.

At first I felt like looking for another part-time ministry position would be below me; that I have a degree so I should only look for full-time. I know that might sound arrogant to some of you but if you have a college degree in something you probably know how I feel. Anyway, it made me also think of several friends, even my father-in-law, who work at a church on top of another job. Many of them make it work, why? It seems that they have a lot more flexibility than I had. I guess it really just depends on the church, I'm not real sure. I suppose if God can make it fit/work, then I would do it again. My brother's friend had a good point that working outside the church has it's benefits, even more so when you can talk about your "other" job at the church with agnostic co-workers at your supporting job.

I suppose the reason I'm typing all this at 2 in the morning is to see what others thing. Should ministry positions be full-time or is it better to have a ministry job and a non-ministry job? What, in your opinion, is better? I know there is no right answer, just say what you feel. Is it good to support a model of a church that is small and mostly volunteer based and honorable to use formal training at a Bible college, or a waste? Or should someone with more experience and expertise only look for full-time ministry positions? I'm only sounding harsh to show extremes. Feel free to converse.

Playstation 3 Trophies

2009-07-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

So the Playstation3 was a little slow in adding something comparable to the "other" system's achievement points. The Xbox360 uses achievements where, when you complete a certain task, you receive a predetermined amount of achievement points for doing that specific task. Some achievements were more difficult than others and therefore worth more points. Therefore people could fight over who had the highest achievement score; and I once worked with some who are considered "achievement hunters" who would buy/rent games just to get all the achievements. The Playstation3 has had trophies available for awhile now, and I'm wondering how much it adds to game-play.

Trophies are slightly different from achievements in that there are no points, only trophy tiers. There is bronze, silver, gold, and platinum level trophies. I find this simpler, but not as defined. Different tier trophies have different unnamed values that affect your trophy level. For example, I have a mix of just over 100 bronze, silver, and gold trophies and just achieved a trophy level of 5. This is to really measure who is more ahead when you argue with friends about who has more trophies. With achievement points you have a number, with trophies you can get into "Well I have more gold trophies than you" but still be behind in terms of trophy level.

The first annoyance is that not every game has trophies. Older games can come out with patches to add them, but games before January 1st 2009 was not required to have trophies. That said, games with trophies tend to be more popular. I do think it is now a selling point for people; that if a game doesn't have trophies they consider not buying it which is too bad. I have played a few games with them, but I mostly have trophies from Unreal Tournament III and Resistance 2. At first these games are just fun in playing and I would randomly see in the corner that I got a trophy for something I just accomplished. However, as time goes on, I start working specifically for certain trophies that stretches both me and the game beyond what I would normally do as a gamer. I think I like this, it makes the game last longer and gives the player more to do beyond just beating a game.

I also like it in the fact that you can banter with friends over who has more trophies. I do think it is silly when people play every game just to get as many trophies as possible and be a "trophy hunter" to have the most. I know there are tons of people who have way more trophies than me, I don't care and good for them. What I care about and what is fun is just having more than your friends, the people you know. I know there are people who are trophy level 10 and have over 1000 trophies; but all I'm fighting for is to get enough to be ahead of my friends. It's good for bantering and annoying others with, especially when you're neck-and-neck and it's a constant fight; but I also realize that ultimately it's pointless. Playstation3 trophies don't change the world. However, I think I'll keep playing just enough to beat Rick :P

Our Desires and God's Faithfulness

2009-05-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

I truly believe that you have a deep passion for something, a deep desire; something that you don't even remember where or when it originated, but just know it to be a fact for you, that God will honor that request. I bring up this point about deep desires because recently I had a real scare of my life. I'm warning you now that some of the content of this blog is a little revealing and I am being somewhat vulnerable; which I don't mind but just know this blog has some sensitive material. That said, I've always known I wanted to be a Dad. Don't get excited yet, Rachel and I are not having kids yet. But the "yet" is exactly my point.

When I was younger I had A.L.L. cancer, which was a kind of leukemia that I had to take certain drugs that, while they helped cure me, had sterilizing effects. I've known for a few years now that there was a possibility that I could be sterile; that would mean that I have no active sperm and therefore could not have kids. Both my cancer doctor and personal doctor told me that I was most likely fine, and if I ever wanted to get tested I could, but I didn't bother because I was single at the time. Now that I'm married, and Rachel was aware, it's a little more of an issue.

When I was sick last month, I went to a new doctor up here who noticed my cancer history and was fairly blunt in stating that I was probably sterile. I was extremely taken aback by it; my doctor's had said the opposite, and a cancer doctor has a better idea than this family physician, but it still got to me, a lot. It was finally hitting me that I might not get to have any kids that were my own, and I'll be honest, I was being greedy. I was being greedy in that I wanted my own kids, or at least just one; and didn't think I could, or really wanted to, adopt kids. Rachel assured me that no matter what, she was going to stay with me and loved me whether we had kids or not. I was truly devastated for a few weeks, so I finally decided that health insurance or no, I was going to do this sperm analysis test anyway to put my mind at ease one way or another.

I finally got the results of my test and I am happy to say that I am completely normal; normal being that none of the sterilizing drugs effected me in that manner. This was probably because I had them before puberty and, to be frank, there was nothing to sterilize. I'm overjoyed that God has honored our prayers and given us the gift of fertility, that we have the ability to have children. I know that there are people in this world who are not as fortunate. I applaud those who adopt kids and those who forge on despite bad news of infertility. For a few weeks, I really felt and believed I was among you; I know how it feels. I thank God that Rachel and I have the ability to have our own kids in the future!

My Top 15 Albums

2009-05-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

In light of my top 10 movies, I wanted to do a top 10 albums. I couldn't narrow it down to just 10, so I thought about doing favorite artists. While almost all of my favorite artists are amazing from start to current/finish, some have hiccups, albums that bombed or sucked, so I threw that idea out. So I thought, screw having a top 10, I'm going to do a top 15!

Basically the criteria is the same as for my movies. These are albums that I keep coming back to again and again. I love majority/all of the songs on them and I can only rarely get sick of listening to them. Feel free to leave comments, and also feel free to write your own blog about your top 10, 15 or 2000 albums as well!

1. Ataris - So Long, Astoria
Obviously the Ataris makes the top of my list. I love this album. There is not a single song on here I don't not like. "In This Diary" is by far the most awesome song ever, and "My Reply" is a great song about real life. "The Hero Dies In This One" is another great song that is sung with so much passion it makes you stop and contemplate your own life. Other favorites are "Looking Back on Today" and of course "So Long, Astoria" If I haven't already influenced you, go check this album out.

2. Steven Curtis Chapman - Speechless
Taking a step back in time, before I discovered the ear-throbbing that is punk rock, I was and still am a big Steven Curtis Chapman fan. Speechless wasn't my first album from him, but it was the one that really got me to love him. The songs "Dive" and "Whatever" are awesome. He also knows how to slow it down with songs like "The Invitation" and "Be Still and Know" I know the album is older, but it's a goodie.

3. Audio Adrenaline - Underdog
Looking up when some of these albums comes out makes me feel old. Regardless, this album swayed me in the ways of Audio Adrenaline, plus I got to meet them on their Underdog tour. This album starts off strong and delivers from start to finish. It pumps you up with "Mighty Good Leader" and "Underdog" but one of my favorites was "This Day" another contemplative song about following God throughout life. Most have probably heard of Audio Adrenaline but perhaps have not explored their older stuff, this is one worth finding.

4. Supertones - Chase The Sun
Yep, 1999 was a good year, and the Supertones delivered just like everyone else it seems. A little unknown fact about me is that I love ska. People think I love punk, and I do, but not nearly as much as a good ska group or even half ska/rock group. This Supertones album is my favorite of theirs, and I could only decide on it because everytime I decide to listen to them, I grab this one, nearly every time. Songs that rock are "One Voice" and "Chase the Sun" is great, also "Grounded" and "Hanani" are pumping. "Refuge" is my contemplative song for this album.

5. Jennifer Knapp - Kansas
Just to throw everyone off, I had a huge crush on Jennifer Knapp. She was attractive, she could sing, and she could play guitar (my wife blows Jennifer out of the water on two of those!). I never get sick of going back to listening to Jennifer Knapp. "Martyrs and Thieves" is by far my favorite song, but also "Whole Again" and "Undo Me" are great; basically the whole album is contemplative since that is what Jennifer is good at.

6. Five Iron Frenzy - Quantity is Job 1
If I could have one band back that has broken up, it would be FIF. I only got to see them live for their final tour, and it was awesome. Everytime I listen to FIF, I always wish they would get back together and do some kind of reunion tour. This is my favorite album for two simple reasons: it was the first FIF I heard, and it has the song "Dandelions" on it. Other good songs are "My Evil Plan to Save the World" as well as the whole "Pants Opera" at the end.

7. Hangnail - Self Titled
If you want straight punk-rock from start to finish, any Hangnail album will do. This is my favorite probably because it is my first, and unfortunately, I found out about Hangnail after they had already broken up. Songs "Friendly Advice" and "Decision Making" are good, also "Worthless" which is the first song I ever heard by them. It's hard to pick favorites because the album is so solid all the way through.

8. Amber Pacific - Truth In Sincerity
Amber Pacific was awesome because I knew the guitar player; and although Justin no longer plays with them, they are still awesome. Then they got a single, "Fall Back Into My Life" on the TMNT soundtrack, which made them even more awesome. Other rocking songs are "Temporary" and "Follow Your Dreams, Forget the Scene" that will get stuck in your head. You'll also hum along after you turn it off with "Summer" and "You're Only Young Once" but it's awesome the whole time.

9. Stellar Kart - We Can't Stand Sitting Down
Another solid punk rock album from start to finish. Stellar Kart's first album was good, but this second one blew it out of the water. With awesome songs like "Activate" and "Procrastinating" at the beginning; it's just an awesome album. I also really like that Stellar Kart is a popular Christian band that actually mentions Jesus, apparently that isn't as cool as it used to be.

10. Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
I realize it's the cool and probably popular thing to say I liked this album by yellowcard, but it's just a true fact. "Way Away" and "Breathing" kick it off and it doesn't slow down much with "Ocean Avenue" and my favorite "Only One" Any band that can be punk and throw a violinist into the mix, AND make it sound really cool, is good in my book.

11. Thousand Foot Krutch - Set If Off
Frontman Trevor McNevan is like a train that you either jump on with or get mowed down by. The guy is constantly writing awesome stuff for his two bands. TFK's first album rocks for me, some might not like it because it's more rap/rock than hard rock. Awesome songs are "Puppet" and "When In Doubt" which actually played on the radio back in the day. I also love "Lift It" and have played it multiple times in church.

12. FM Static - Dear Diary
Speaking of TFK, FM Static kind of started as Trevor's side-project, but is now a force to be reckoned with. I got their newest album for my birthday and I absolutely love it! FM Static delivers in catchy pop-punk tunes and great lyrics. It starts off hard with "Boy Moves to a New Town with Optimistic Outlook" and "The Unavoidable Battle of Feeling on the Outside" but later moves to more contemplative songs like "The Voyage of Beliefs" and "Take Me As I am" I can't decide which song is my favorite, there are that many that are that good.

13. Raze - Power
Raze is my techno be-happy music. When I first heard Raze I immediately liked them, and am pretty sure I was the only person who did. Fortunately I was wrong, lots of people like Raze (I married one :) yea). With songs like "All Around the World" and "Say the Word" you could start your own club. They also had some awesome singles with "Place In My Heart" and "Always and Forever" which are some of the worst music videos I've ever seen, youtube it if you dare, but I still love them.

14. Pax 217 - Self-titled
This album has a special place in my heart because after I got my license and had to learn stickshift by myself, this was the album I listened to; that, and it's awesome. I felt that Pax217 had a very unique sound, between rock and some rap, it's great stuff to get pumped to. "A.M." and "Gratitude" as well as "Sandbox Praise" and "Prizm" are all awesome songs. But I still love "Until The Sun" the most, even as the song fades out with the simple guitar riff, I never want it to end, like a good sunset.

15. Olivia the Band - Self-titled
Another great punk rock Christian band that isn't afraid to admit it and is highly underrated. I'm constantly afraid to get the news that Olivia the Band is gone because their record sales barely got by with this album, and I don't know how well their second is doing which is also really good. The album starts strong with "Stars and Stripes" and "Shut It Out" and ends strong with "Novocain" and "Kid Innocence" but is also a slow end with "Missing" which is a great song. I guess I like punk rock bands that get me pumped, but leave me contemplating at the end.

My Top 10 Movies

2009-04-13T00:05:00.000-07:00

I was sitting looking and thinking about movies, how many there are, and how many I have and have not seen. It's insane when you think about it. I try not to be the guy who owns every movie; I don't just go buy something because it's cool or because I saw it once and thought it was just 'alright'. I want my movie collection to say something about me, people have often looked at it and gone "yep, that's Dan" because it's mostly comedy.

Then I thought about movies do I just never get sick of no matter how many times I watch them? This is a good question to ask because it makes you realize which discs get burned out and which ones you could probably get rid of. Feel free to leave comments, but don't give me your top 10 in them; if you want, write a blog of your top 10 so others can read it and comment on it as well! So here is my top 10 list of movies that I love AND never get sick of watching.

1. Star Wars Trilogies
Who didn't see that coming? It's true, I am a Star Wars fanatic and love everything about it. What is in Star Wars that isn't fully awesome? Lightsabers, the force, Yoda, Jedi, Smugglers, Gangsters, Jawas (yeah, I said it), love, hate, conflict; the list goes on. Let's just say I can't narrow it down to one movie, and yes I do like the prequel trilogy too so this is just one big clump.

2. Back to the Future Trilogy
I promise this isn't a whole list of trilogies, there's only a few. Back to the Future definitely comes from my childhood. I play guitar because Marty McFly is awesome and Johnny B. Goode is so much fun to watch and play. The concept is awesome, the casting is perfect, and even Back to the Future 3 was cool.

3. Ninja Turtles Trilogy (plus TMNT even!)
Ok last one I promise. Again, the ninja turtles movies are from my childhood. The creators must have been smoking something to come up with the idea of teenage-sized, walking, talking, ninjitsu trained turtles; but it's awesome! If I had to pick one movie it would be a fight between I and II, but probably II; III was still good, and the new TMNT movie that was CGI was also full of awesome ninja turtle action!

4. Goonies
Who doesn't love the Goonies? You either love this movie, or you've never seen it. Goonies was a good old 80's movie about a bunch of kids who go on a treasure hunt. First off, how awesome is that? What kid didn't go on a 'treasure hunt'? Well these kids went on a real one, and it's a great adventure that never gets old.

5. The Mask
Jim Carrey is possibly my favorite comedic actor. The Mask was in his prime years (Dumb and Dumber was up there, also think of Ace Ventura) and is by far my favorite movie of his. It was the perfect combination of the average joe with superpowers that many could relate to. And he even got the girl at the end.

6. School of Rock
Jack Black is also up there in comedic roles. School of Rock is a pretty unique movie, where the kids are the musician stars. I also like this movie because Jack Black was taught how to play his guitar parts by the kid, Zack, as he would probably have to teach me too; that kid is amazing. Actually all the kids are amazing at what they do; that's what makes it a such good movie.

7. Stardust
Now this might surprise some, but this movie is awesome. I originally thought it was a chick flick, and while there is the theme of love, this is one of the best adventure movies I've ever seen. A boy becomes a man, and one of my favorite themes is that he learns that love is more than just looks and feelings, it's about living an adventure together.

8. Kung-Fu Panda
Now this one probably didn't surprise anyone. Why I like this movie: Jack Black, Pandas (favorite animal), kung-fu, awesomeness, great animation, great story, awesome point! The whole movie is about being yourself and not trying to be something you can't. You can't reach your full potential until you just be yourself. It's hilarious, it's a kid's movie, and adults can love it too.

9. The Little Mermaid
I'm not ashamed to admit that this is my favorite Disney movie; it always has been and it always will be. This movie came out when I was 4, I'm old, and I've loved it ever since. I can't really pinpoint why: the music, the story, the character-lovability factor; it's just all so good. Can't get sick of singing "Under the Sea" or "Part Of Your World" possibly the best soundtrack.

10. Without A Paddle
While I love comedy, if a movie can cause emotion within the viewer it's a winner. I'm fairly unemotional when it comes to movies; I mean it's people acting, it's not real. But when there is a really good point to a movie tied with an adventure (see Goonies and Stardust) it can get to me. While this movie is without a doubt a comedy, the sense of adventure and doing something totally stupid with your friends stirs in me. I love adventures, and I love adventure movies that can give me the sense that I'm along for the ride too.

The Force Unleashed... unfortunately

2009-03-24T23:35:00.001-07:00

Alright already, stop nagging! So I'm writing a blog! There, you happy? Unfortunately I bring bad news: The newest and highly anticipated game of Star Wars, "The Force Unleashed" sucked. I don't mean it sucked like other games, I mean it was really bad. Not just really bad, horrific. Ok that might be going a little too far, but hopefully you catch my drift.

I was smart enough to wait on this game. Through a free one month trial of gamefly (which is cool, but way to expensive) I got to play this game for free, though I still feel as though my time has been cheated. I would like to go on record as saying that I didn't ever think this game would be as great as they built it up to be. I still remember when the first trailer came out and my roommate Jon was all hyped about it and I said it would bomb. It sold like crazy so he got that part right, but I'm pretty sure I won that bet (if we even bet... dangit).

First off, you put the game in and loading screens are a pain. When are we going to be past the era of loading screens? Lots of them in this game, even when you pause to go to the force upgrade menu: loading screen. The graphics are of course stunning, props for that, but graphics don't make a game. Plus there are some glitched graphics so that's fun.

Where this game falls apart is the playability. Within the first three levels I had found enough bugs unintentionally (I no longer get paid to find them so why try?) that I would have recalled this game. It is so buggy it is ridiculous; I even found a spot where I fell off of a platform, and all the sudden was standing on thin air. I walked around for a bit, then jumped back up, unscathed.

The storyline is predictable and fairly bland. I will give props to the voice acting though, very well done, though not enough to save the plot. First off, I don't care who's apprentice you are, you cannot kill Shaak Ti, especially only 3 levels in. It just doesn't happen, she should have killed me instantly. Second, you can't beat Darth Vader or the Emperor, but that's a whole other story. While I realize they were going for the "over the top" force powers, it was just too crazy, even for the star wars universe. A Jedi cannot pull a star destroyer out of the sky, it's just insane.

The gameplay was very archaic. I realize it's a new thing to have good flow to a game, but this was going back to the NES. If an enemy was in the middle of a swing, he was not able to be attacked. Odd? Yes, but also you can use this to your advantage: enemies cannot hit you while you are mid-swing. This stayed true till the later levels. Along with that, I considered, from the trailers and even the demo, that this was to be an action/adventure game. However after playing it and having many frustrated moments this game could practically be classified as a platformer. You jump from place to place, redundant and boring for a game of this caliber. I was sorely disappointed.

Needless to say I was disappointed with this game. I greatly appreciated Game Informer's take on it, that they should make a sequel where Darth Vader wakes up and it was all just a bad dream. It's also sad that George Lucas approved the storyline as canon in the Star Wars universe. It makes too many blatant and stupid connections to the original trilogy, it's like saying "please, like me! I know I'm a sucky game but I'm trying to be cool!" Speaking of trying to be cool, later in the game your droid fights you and uses a Darth Maul module. Yeah, you fight Darth Maul, the coolest sith ever! This gave me mixed feelings; since I both love Darth Maul, and despise this game. I came to the conclusion through beating him though that it doesn't matter who you are, you can't beat Darth Maul (Obi-Wan got lucky, or we'd all be screwed). And while they put Darth Maul in to make more people like it, it was too little too late.

So that's my 2 cents on the game, take it or leave it. I think I've played enough Star Wars games to know. It seems like with Star Wars the games either totally rock or totally suck (Rebel Assault II anyone?). My recommendation, stay as far away from this one as possible. I think I'm done ranting now, I'll go to bed.

Our First Christmas

2008-12-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

Rachel and I put up our first Christmas tree last weekend. She 'forced' me up into the mountains, about an hour drive, where we paid the $10 for a permit, and then we went hiking for about 2 and a half hours to find the perfect Christmas tree. I say 'forced' because I did enjoy it, having never cut down our very own Christmas tree when I was a kid. It was a tradition for Rachel when she was growing up. Unfortunately I forgot my camera when we went into the middle of nowhere, but I took some pictures when we got home. It is an authentic, straight out of the forest, "Mountain Hemlock" tree.

From Christmas 2008!

After a free pizza (yes, completely free, go Papa John's coupons, look for them in the mail), we put on some Christmas music, Dean Martin is the man, and decorated it. We bought some stuff at the Home Depot (yea for wedding gift cards) as well as some hand-made decorations from our church's bazaar. It turned out pretty good I think.

From Christmas 2008!

After that, we kicked off the Christmas movie watching with Alvin and the Chipmunks. I'm sure we will watch many more Christmas movies before the season is over.

Check out more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/SabinKenobi/Christmas2008#

Rachel passed her NCLEX!!!

2008-11-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yep, Rachel finally got to take her NCLEX examination which allows her to practice as a Registered Nurse and she passed!!! She got cut off at 75 questions, which was the bare minimum, which was kind of worrisome because that usually means you either did really really well, or really really bad. I of course assumed she did really really well and I was right so ha!

We don't know when she will start her job at Overlake because we have to wait till the State sends her official results to them, but at least the worst is over and we can finally relax! Woohoo!!

What ever happened to that dog?!?

2008-11-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

So I am really bored at work and was "reminiscing" about what was so great in the 90's. Then I remembered those great commercials (some of you might hate them) with the Taco Bell dog. You know the ones, with the little chihuahua and the 99 cent tacos. As time went on he said more than just "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" but they were always funny. I thought, whatever happened to those commercials? They always left me satisfied and smiling.. Here's a clip to help you recall them from your memory; the quality sucks but that's youtube sometimes for you

You're laughing now, I know you're laughing, and if you're not laughing out loud, you're laughing on the inside. That was some funny stuff. Why don't they have funny commercials like that anymore? I know the original dog got run over (if you are humming that stupid Adam Sandler song, stop it!), but why not just get another one? Those commercials were freakin' hilarious! Anyway, just thought I'd share with the rest of the world, in case you forgot or missed out on some great commercials.

Post-Election Thoughts

2008-11-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

So first off, I never wanted to get into politics with people, but sometimes you're just so driven to do something because less people are doing what they should be doing (calling people out on stuff). Second, I will say that I was reluctant to vote for either candidate, but ended up voting for Obama. So now you can blame me just for where I'm coming from. Third, I realize this blog will probably get flamed for what I am saying and I don't care; I believe that not enough people are saying what I want to say and somebody has to say it.

While I did vote for Obama, I am still somewhat uncertain. As I said, I was not pro-Obama, I wasn't sure right up to voting who I was going to vote for. Whenever someone asked me who I was voting for I said "I don't know yet. But if I had to vote today, I'd probably write in Stephen Colbert" which was a half-joke. Coming around, I am glad Obama won over McCain. Jeff Cafferty hit the nail on the head with how I feel by saying that Sarah Palin would be one 72 year-old's heartbeat away from the presidency and "if that doesn't scare the hell out of you, it should." Again, you can have your opinions, but that is how I personally felt. All in all though, I'm not excited or ecstatic that Obama won, and I agree with some friends who say "I may not of voted for him, but I hope I"m wrong about what I thought and that he does a good job."

I believe that is really my point in writing this. While one friend made a good point that it is the "potential for bad things to happen" that people are freaking about Obama, I have to say that isn't justified because nothing has happened yet! To accuse someone of something (ie. America is going down the crapper because Obama got elected) is just plane wrong. Say it anyway you want, but even if you were going to take a cookie from the cookie jar, and your brother accused you of doing it so that you don't, doesn't mean you should get in trouble for taking a cookie. Wait to see what happens. If Obama does do something as President that is bad for the country, then you can blame him; but until that happens, just lay off.

Speaking of Obama doing things that affect the country, I think a lot of Christians have forgotten that the Bible has some things to say about our leaders. For one, we should respect and obey the laws of the land as long as they don't go against what the Bible says. While there are some different views of Obama, his views, and his religious upbringing, he does claim to be a Christian. Even that aside, he is the next leader of the USA and for that he deserves respect. If you don't like it, one of my former pastors put it quite well on his blog that you should pray about it and for Obama. Yeah, pray FOR him. Even if you think he's the devil or the Antichrist (which is extremely unbiblical to say something like that, read it again) you can still pray that he will make wise and God-honoring decisions for our country. He may not follow through (I can think some people are worried about what he might do with abortion) but that doesn't mean you can't pray for him. Even Tony Campolo, who was an adviser to President Clinton, still has respect for Bill because even though Bill did something wrong, Tony knew he was President but also a man, and all men are not perfect and therefore need prayer.

This is what really gets me riled up: the fact that some conservative "Christians" have the naivety to call Obama a lot of things that I think they personally would not want to be called themselves. First of all, look at history and you will see that we as a country go through this every time a new president is elected. It's just unfortunate that thanks to some ultra-conservative Christians with big followings, who I will not name so as to not upset any more people, have extremely large influences and make mountains out of mole-hills. For an example in most our lifetimes, Bill Clinton was president for 8 long years. You can argue about how good he was, but the end of the world did not come. Going back, George H. Bush had wars that also did not bring about the end of the world or second coming of Christ. Richard Nixon was a liar, JFK fought a cold war, Truman had the lowest presidential approval rating before the current President Bush and he had to pickup the pieces after WWII, FDR took the US into WWII, Herbert Hoover had to deal with the Great Depression, and I'm not going to go on. My point is, Presidents aren't always popular and they make choices where they are always branded with bring about the "end of the world" but it hasn't happened. Jesus said that there would always be wars and rumors of wars, that there would be false prophets and people posing as Him. But He also said to do not believe them and that all these things must come to pass. My point is this has been going on ever since He left, and every time we think it's all over and every time we are wrong. God please prove ME wrong on this! I would love to see Christ's second coming; but to think it's going to happen tomorrow just because someone got elected President is absurd.

I think one of the reasons a lot of Christians (who are white, I'm going to add now) are freaking out is because Obama is not the same skin color as they are (subconsciously or not). A couple days ago America made history for electing a man as President who is African-American, and has black (or dark, however you want to be politically correct about it) skin. I personally found it interesting that everyone at the McCain rally during his final speech (which was amazing btw, and those who are disagreeing with this blog should go back and listen to what he said, it was brilliant) was white and mostly old. Obama's rally on the other hand was mostly young and definitely interracial. There were blacks, whites, middle eastern, Asian; it was like the mixing pot was being stirred right there in Grant Park! After Obama had one, many African-Americans started freaking out, both in Grant Park and elsewhere, because a black man was about to become president. I don't believe they were crying because they thought he was a Messiah of any type, and I don't believe they were crying because they thought he was going to fix all their problems. They were crying because just 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was standing up for the rights of men and women simply based on their skin color. Just 50 years ago, blacks and whites didn't go to school together, didn't ride buses together (or at least the same area of the bus), and didn't even share the same drinking fountain. The fact that we have come so far as to elect a black president says something about this country. Those people were freaking out and crying because they probably had stories of their parents and grandparents being oppressed, and now we had really broken the barrier. No matter how you feel about Obama, just the breaking of the skin barrier should excite you!

I think those that blame Obama for being a false Messiah are wrong. Again, I can always be wrong in a few months or years, but as for right now I highly doubt he is. For one, even Obama has admitted that while he wants to bring change to America, he said himself he doubted he could do it in 4 years. Also, he said he would need our help. I recently read an article about how a lot of problems might not exist if we had helped Bush more instead of just blame him. While I don't like Bush much, the article had a point: the president can't just do everything himself, we the people need to stick with things through thick and thin. Obama himself has never claimed, to my knowledge, that HE is the answer, that HE is the change, or that HE is the hope. While you can read his cliche bumper stickers that way if you want, HE has also admitted that he can't do this alone. For those Americans who have put all their hope into him (and I believe there are many who have), that is not Obama's fault. Even John McCain said you can have the support of someone without supporting everything they stand for (YouTube search him talking about Jeremiah Wright, very interesting). Supporters who are putting their "faith" in Obama and that he will fix all their problems is their fault, and are sure to be disappointed simply because they misplaced their trust.

Now that this blog is entirely too long I want to close by talking straight at the conservative Christians (if you don't think you are one but hate Obama already I'd advise you to look again) who are just in an uproar claiming the world is coming to an end. Shut up. It didn't happen yet, just because Obama is president doesn't mean it's going to happen now. One of my old pastor's blogs put it nicely, but I'm too blunt. Just shut up, you're making yourself sound like a fool; and if you're wrong and calling a good man the Antichrist, you have someone to answer to when you die. You'll be forgiven for it, indeed you are forgiven, but don't do that to yourself when you don't know. Who knows, maybe in a few months everything will just go to crap and I'll be wrong and you can all laugh at me; but at least I'll know I did what I thought was right, and I believe God respects an attitude like that. I know I'm just wasting air and Internet storage space when I say all this, because as I pointed out, history repeats itself. And after Obama, when the next president is elected, we will go through this all over again with claims that that person is the Antichrist etc. But I just had to say it because it seems that all people do is argue and no one calls anyone on anything.

Married Life

2008-10-10T12:04:00.001-07:00

Write a new blog, write a blog. I know, I don't always keep up and write blogs all that often. Well this time I was somewhat BUSY! Married life isn't all free time ya know, probably because that would be boring. Rachel started working at Overlake Hospital which is cool and I'm still doing the Youth Director / Storage Facility thing. Woohoo is right! Sarcasm intended, I'm not that down about it because not many people love their jobs either, so I don't feel that out of it. The Church job has it's ups and downs and the storage job is bland, but at least I can do stuff online while I work (ie. watch Diggnation and TRS are always popular choices).

Aside from work which seems to take up everyone's time, including myself and my wife, I really do like married life. It's nice to come home to someone, or know someone is coming home to me. I guess I had that with roommates in college but I'm sure they would all agree that can't compete with Rachel in who I would rather come home to, haha. It's nice to have someone to do things with too; and I always have someone to talk to.

It's funny, my friends ask me how married life is going and what I think of it. Some of those questions are coming from those who are asking it in a rhetorical manner and others who genuinely don't know what to think about marriage in this day and age. To all who wonder, I highly recommend it. It's obvious with my background that as a Christian I believe in the sanctity of marriage. But even from a world viewpoint, I've seen too much hurt and pain to recommend otherwise. Marriage creates a commitment, a promise that should not be broken. It really is a lot like a relationship with God: it's not always easy, but it's good, right, better than any other options, and has by far the most blessings in it.

So if you're thinking about marriage, or perhaps you're thinking you don't need it; think again. Be sure you're with the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, and then go for it! Know that it won't make life perfect, but the blessings will far outweigh the hurts. And regardless, you'll make memories together, which is really more important and creates more love than anything else can.

Moved In

2008-07-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well, after 2 days of 6 truck loads (4 and 2, respectively) I am now moved into my new place where Rachel and I will be living together for at least the next year; probably longer because it's a nice place. It took me about 5 hours one day and 2 hours the next day to do this all, pretty much by myself. Tip of the hat to Rick for helping me move my tv. I didn't mind doing it myself, minus my bed, it made me feel like a man and I'll probably watch 300 again as soon as I have time.

The place is nice, good size and good location. It's in Juanita which is good, somewhat far from work but whatever, welcome to Seattle area and commuting. I like the area and it's low crime which I wanted. Rent isn't bad, especially for 1000 square feet; two bedroom (the second one is tiny though, perfect for an office but would be horrible to live in) and one bath. Pictures will be coming, but right now it's just messy with boxes everywhere, nobody wants to see that. Once I get stuff setup and unpacked and maybe get some couches I'll get some pics online.

Rachel has seen the place and already likes it, I'm excited to start our life together there. Only 17 more days!! That's less than 400 hours!!! Yeah, I'm excited, so sue me. It really kept me motivated because I'm not a big fan of moving; probably because I haven't done it much. My parents didn't move with us kids till we were out of the house anyway. I've only really moved (moving your little dorm room doesn't count) three times now. Still not a fan. Maybe the older I get I'll get used to it but I don't know why I'd want to.

Anyway, I'm just rambling, I always have work today and when I'm not working I'll be unpacking. If you want to come over and chill sometime twitter me up or just call/text me always works too. It's a total mess, but I'm sure I can always use the break.

Favorite Commercial

2008-06-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

This has got to be my favorite commercial ever:

In such a sexually promiscuous society, it's funny to see a secular commercial that rewards someone for being faithful to their wife with something as non-trival (in a secular society anyway) as looking at another woman. Of course Christians are appalled at the idea of looking at other woman (of course every guy has done it, I'll be the first to admit I'm a sinner, right here) but in society it's a norm. Still, this commercial recognizes it's a rude act, and rewards the man accordingly (with food, duh!).

For those who want to be more like Dave (the guy in the commercial), definitely check out "Every Man's Battle" by Stephen Arterburn. Great book and great author. The first thing he talks about in the book that you need to do to overcome sexual sin in such a sexually stimulated society is to train your eyes; just as the guy does in the commercial. It's a great read for anyone really struggling and even for those who think they aren't. I know it helped me, course it's a little easier for me because why would I want to look at any other woman than Rachel? She's so beautiful it's pretty hard to look away from her, especially to gaze at someone else. Anyway, I'm drifting into blabbering about Rachel so I'll spare you. Feel free to check the book out though, it is really good.

Just thought I'd share, I found the commercial hilarious with some truth tied into as well, what a delight.

Rachel got a job at Overlake!!

2008-06-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

w00t w00t! Yep, she applied to two jobs, had one big interview for both all at once, and they called her back and were like "you're so awesome (my ad-lib) and sweet and beautiful (obviously), which floor do you want to work on?" Ok so they didn't say it exactly like that, but both managers or whatever you call them wanted her so she got to choose, which is way cool! Plus what's even more awesome is they don't even want her to start until August anyway which is perfect since that's when we get back from our wedding and honeymoon (which is in Maui, in case you didn't know). And if you didn't know that you should, go to www.danlovesrachel.com (shameless plug).

So Rachel is set for a job, I'm still doing the Youth Director thing at a Presbyterian church which I just have to say, Presbyterians are way different from Lutherans, moreso than I initailly thought. Not that it's a bad thing but it's definetly not up my alley. I'm not ditching or anything, I really like the people there, but the millions of hoops they have to jump through to get anything done... geesh, it's ridicoulus sometimes! Thankfully the people rock and the kids are all awesome (even the ones that can drive me insane). All that aside, I still work part-time at the storage place too which is... fun. No, it's not, but I do realize I'm blessed that even though it's a job I have just to pay bills (aka, not something I would choose to do if given a better choice) I'm lucky enough to have a really cool boss. Thinking back, I haven't ever had one of those pain-in-the-neck bosses, so I'm pretty lucky considering all the horror stories I've heard.

Yep, I'm set, Rachel's set, so when the heck are we getting married!?! Well as of right now my counter shows 37 days; or more specifically 871 hours 31 minutes and10 seconds (9 seconds, 8 seconds... ah, it's going down, woohoo!) I'm not excited or anything, I'm ECSTATIC!!! I swear, you just have to look at the girl I'm with (and wonder, 'why is she with that guy?') and know I am one lucky dude. Still looking for a place for us to live (the one apartment we found fell through) but at least I got some prospects and will be checking a few of them out this weekend. So hopefully something will turn up! Until then, life is good because Rachel got a nursing job!!!

Rachel is back!!!

2008-03-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Rachel is finally back from India! I know, ok, she's been back for like a week and a half now; but I'm still excited and I've just been so busy between work, hanging out with her, and getting wedding stuff done I haven't had time to blog.

I don't really have much to say except it was the hardest month of my life and I thank God she's back. I don't know how I would put up with myself now if I had to live without her. God couldn't make a more perfect woman for me. Thankfully she feels the same way about me! Basically her trip was awesome, she brought me back a knife complete with chopsticks, and I'm glad she lives 3 minutes away so I can go see her everyday.

All in all, I couldn't be happier. As long as she is near, I'm in a pretty darn good, relaxed, mood. I hope I didn't piss anyone off in the month of February, if I did I'm sorry but now you know why; I'm in a much better mood because my lovely and beautiful fiancee is back! I love Rachel so much!!!

www.danlovesrachel.com

2008-02-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

So I forgot to blog about this here. Apparently I only put it on myspace, oh well. Rachel and I have a website about our wedding that's coming up this summer. Feel free to check it out, sign the guestbook, and see what's up.

http://www.danlovesrachel.com

It's a pretty cool website. I didn't design, it's a pre-made layout and everything was supplied by ewedding.com They are pretty cool, not too expensive, I'd recommend them so far. I mean, I didn't have to do any html coding (because we all know how much I love doing that), I didn't have to buy the domain name (they do it for you in 24 hours) and I don't have to bother finding a server to host it. And all of that is actually cheaper through them than I think I could have pulled off myself.

I love Rachel, hence the website name. Dan loves Rachel and Rachel loves Dan. Ahh... I'm so happy I'm marrying her. She's beautiful and awesome, I couldn't ask for more.

Ataris - Live at the Metro

2008-02-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

Finally, I have the one live Ataris cd that is rare, hard to find, and last time I saw it on ebay it went for $60. I paid $9.99 for it, because I'm cool like that. Actually my brother had the insane idea of looking online for it as an mp3 download (well he recommended itunes but most know what I think about Apple and their products). The whole album was on amazon for only 10 bucks! It's pretty cool too because it has a concert set, and then a few acoustic songs Kris and John did, with Kris telling some of the stories behind the songs. It's pretty sweet.

Of course I'd rather actually own the cd, but like I said it's a tough one to find. It's on ebay from time to time but it always go for quite a bit and amazon jipped me on it once (I had it ordered and then they said it was no longer available so they just gave me my money back... stupid amazon). The only good thing about amazon is their mp3 downloads. They are 256kps quality (just a drop down from cd, you can't hardly tell even if you're good) and they have no DRM. That means, I can copy for backup, move, transfer, and burn them as much as I want and they won't "lock" or delete themselves like a lot of other programs (napster and itunes to name a few). And amazon's library is growing so that's good, faster than itunes DRM-free library from what I'm told.

Anyway, woohoo for the Ataris, always gotta love rocking out them. Wish they would get back over here on the west coast though. They are doing an east coast tour and even extended it, blah. They either need to bring that tour over here or hurry up with their next album, they pushed it back for the tour. Oh well, least I can listen to their live cd now, it is pretty awesome.

Complimentary Job

2008-02-10T23:44:00.000-08:00

So I finally got another part-time job that fits really well with my current schedule as the youth director at the church. It's at Woodinville Heated Storage in, get this, Woodinville. So it's a bit of drive but it's all highway and I always go the opposite way of everyone else which is great. In the mornings I go north on 405 where everyone is stuck going south and when I go home, it's jampacked on north and I'm free on south; beautiful.

Basically I just watch people move their stuff around and take their money for rent. I sweep the floors of the storage place and show people units, but mostly it's simple bookwork. The computer program they use is so simple, the manager likes simple, it's a great easy job and no-stress. Good in comparison to the harder job of being a youth director which might I throw in my two-and-a-half cents that anyone who thinks being a youth leader is easy has never done it. I can think of a million easier, less-stressful jobs that I would rather have if I wanted the easy road. But God gave me the skills to bear this burden (which I in turn give back to Him so HA!) so I'm going to do it.

But the new job rocks, I like it a lot, and my manager is hilarious. One word description of her: hilarious! She is great to work with, good at explaining things, and we just have a great time together. She talks about her granddaughter a lot and showed me some pictures, she is adorable as well. It's quite amazing actually, most people hate their bosses and I was amazed enough when I met Pastor Charlie and thought I had the coolest boss. The manager, Deanna, at my new job is awesome too, how could I have two of the coolest bosses ever!?! How awesome is that, God is good. Deanna also gave me 3 days to work instead of 2 so now I will have a good honeymoon fund for Rachel and I in Maui. It's quite funny, she shows me pictures of her granddaughter, Grace, and I show her pictures of my fiancee Rachel.

I really miss Rachel, but at least I'll be able to support her now. Between my two jobs I make enough, that's all I ever asked is for enough. I even make enough to splurge on Rachel when she gets back from India (tear, she's gone till the end of the month) which I love spending money on her, no idea why ;) hehe. I love her so much I want to give her everything I possibly can (hence that huge rock on her finger). Thankfully this new job will help me in that endeavor.

Ataris / Guitar Hero Dream

2008-01-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

I don't always remember my dreams but when I do they are always weird. Not really ever "good" dreams, but definetely always weird.

So I woke up to my stupid alarm this morning which interepted the middle of this Ataris concert I was at. Actually it was just Kris Roe, the leader, doing a concert by himself. He does this from time to time, acoustics and such, but anyway. He had the band with him but it was all about him, but this time he was randomly letting others on stage to play his guitar. He really did this during the "So Long, Astoria" tour where he ended every concert with "San Dimas High School Football Rules" and letting a kid from the crowd play it on his guitar.

Anyway, in the dream he was letting people on stage for all sorts of songs. He was playing a lot of early stuff and b-sides that no one had heard before. He even pointed to me and wanted me to play a song from "Anywhere But Here" but I don't know how to play any of those so I had to refuse.

The weirdest part of all of this was that half the concert Kris kept switching between his Gibson and a Guitar Hero guitar. But it wasn't just any Guitar Hero guitar, no that would mean it was a normal dream, no his guitar hero guitar was modified. It was pretty sick, there were the normal colored buttons plus 1 or 2, but it also had the same colored buttons on the headstock as well as buttons at the bottom on the body around the strum bar. How exactly did he use all of them, I don't really remember, he was pressing the buttons on the headstock like a string was busted, but it made a sick hammer-on sound. The buttons on the body were uses for runs and shredding. When kids from the crowd played it they just hit nots like they were playing guitar hero.

When Kris came down and pointed to me if I wanted to play the next song (displayed on a screen on the back wall, listed with ataris songs but had the background of the guitar hero song select screen). I asked him what he was playing more, his regular Gibson guitar or his modded Guitar Hero guitar; he laughed and said his Guitar Hero guitar. There were only a few more songs before I woke up. I was kinda mad, it was a good concert. I guess that's what I get for staying up late playing Guitar Hero before crashing to bed.

BibleShared.com

2008-01-19T10:19:00.001-08:00

For those who don't know, www.BibleShared.com is a website created by my friend, Nick Hauenstein, that started as a school project and blew up into much more. It allows you to track your progress as you read the Bible, make margin notes, and share those notes with others to share ideas, insights, etc. I personally use the website with my youth group to help them keep on track with reading their Bible's everyday. Several of them prefer to use it and love it.

Just recently, a widget (a term stolen by mac, don't worry) has been added such as the one to the right of this blog. With a simple line of html script coding provided by BibleShared.com I was able to post my progress in my blog. Nick has informed me that such codes that work on myspace and the like will be available soon as well.

I really like BibleShared, hopefully people will come back to reading the Bible and sharing thoughts, insights, and questions together more as more people are signing up for it. It's awesome! If you haven't seen it, you should definetely check it out.

NES Power Glove... It's so Bad!

2008-01-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

So last night I made a trade that ended about a 5 year journey. I finally got an NES Power Glove. Most of you are going "what the heck is a power glove?!?" And as well you should be. It was an unlicensed product by Nintendo, only about 100,000 were made in the US that I know of. It's a NES (Nintendo Entertainment System, like the original) controller you wear on your hand. It also has the ability to detect your hand movements with a sensor bar you have that hangs on the side of your tv. NOW you're thinking "wow! It sounds like the Wii but from long ago." Wrong again, I wouldn't own something similiar to the Wii (that stupid lame system that's just two gamecubes duct-taped together...)

The Power Glove is a lot better than a Wii controller. First of all, it's got 12 different programs it can run on. For example, when you use program 1 and you move your hand right, your character moves right. When you use say program 9, you have to turn your hand like you're turning a wheel; it's used for racing games. It's got all these cool programs to do all this cool stuff. I've wanted one for quite some time since I am a semi-Nintendo collector, and now I finally have it, and it works! It's really tough to get used to it but I intend on mastering it. It's difficult, just like all the Nintendo games back in the day (video games today are too easy, it's like they don't want you to lose).

Also, for your humorous enjoyment, I found the video clip of when they first released the Power Glove. It was in a movie called "The Wizard" about a boy who had an amazing talent for video games. This clip is of one of his rivals using the Power Glove and making a famous quote attributed to the Glove, "I love the Power Glove. It's so bad!"

Alvin and the Chipmunks

2007-12-21T02:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, they came out with a new movie about the Chipmunks, and now they are in CGI. Now I didn't grow up on the Chipmunks, but I knew who they were. When I saw the trailer for this movie I laughed my head off. The chipmunks are actually chipmunk sized now (in the cartoon they were the size of small children) and the CGI was very well done. Some of the classics have been redone as well as the Chipmunks singing some new songs that are popular today; in fact the movie starts with them collecting nuts for the winter singing "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, hilarious.

I blog about this because first of all, it fits my blog. This is the future and yet seeing this movie not only took me back to the golden cartoon days but it melded them with the trends of today; and in a very good fashion. Yes, I am promoting this movie, go see it! If you even remotely liked the Chipmunks as a kid I highly recommend it. Very funny, very clean, and fun for all ages; you can't ask for much more than that in a movie.

I blog about it second because I do encourage those to go see it, just in time for the holidays. It really is a funny movie, I can't stop listening to the new version of "Witch Doctor" and besides that it's clean. There are some scantly clad backup dancers, but they are never the focus and it really isn't in your face at all. Other than a matter of seconds of that, the movie really is great. It's even got a pretty good moral to the story, what more could you ask for?

What I didn't know about the Chipmunks is they've been around since the 50's. Yeah, holy crap is right, these guys don't say die because they've been going pretty strong ever since their start. It's pretty amazing, especially since you listen or watch them too much and their high pitched voices get to you (don't overdo it). All in all, it's a great movie and I highly recommend anyone and everyone go see it. It took me back to my childhood without me getting stuck there and still keeping me in the here and now. Great movie

It's All About Her

2007-11-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

I realized that all of this blog is about Rachel, one way or another. And why shouldn't it be? I noticed that I headed this blog as "all the good things" that happen in my life. Obviously I've seperated the good from the bad, and you can read my SuckFactor11 blog if you really want, but it's just to blow steam. But it got me thinking, is Rachel the only good thing that's happened in my life?

I mean, besides God of course, and I can say I really like my job, I have a decent place to live and a car that runs. Yet I find myself coming back to thoughts of Rachel, over and over again. She has me thankful for life and for everything in life. I think back to life before even meeting her and wonder how I survived, my life was not the easiest nor the most difficult, but really how did I get by? I guess it's reassuring now to know the answer to the mystery now that has hung over every guys head for the first 20+ years of your life: who am I going to marry?

I thank God the answer is Rachel everyday, and yeah I can't live without her now. But how I got by before still alludes me. I think of all the shortcomings I had, all the other girls I dated, all the times I had just about given up on finding the one I would marry. Was it worth it? Heck yes it was; would I do it again? Not on your life! Everyone knows that if they could go back in time and change things they would. I would too, as long as I still got Rachel. Of course the idea of fate comes up, or if it was all those intricately placed events that led me to her.

Yet I go off on a tangent, and this blog is about futures not pasts. I can assure you I have put my past behind me. It's still there, it just doesn't bother me. It is what it is, I can't change it, so why should I let it affect me in a negative manner? I don't, I gave up on that a long time ago, and having an amazing woman like Rachel makes it really easy.

So I guess it really is all about Rachel. I mean I'm thankful for other things that I have in my life, but it all comes back to Rachel. I'm thankful for a place to live, because it's so close to Rachel. I'm thankful for a job I enjoy, so I can support Rachel. I'm thankful for a car that runs, so I can go see Rachel. I love God because He gave me Rachel. It really is all about her. I never would have guessed that kind of magnitude of marriage (and I'm not even quite married yet!) back a few years ago. It's amazing what time can do to you!

Guys: it really is all about her.

One Ring to Rule Them All...

2007-11-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

So, you guys lookin' at buyin' your girlfriend a pretty ring to get married eh? Please, read this blog and let me help you out. I got my fiancee Rachel an awesome ring for a decent price; yes I will plug where I got it but that doesn't mean you can't learn something about diamonds and then find a better deal elsewhere, I'm sure you can because you're so smart. I did a lot of research and went to several stores before I ended up buying the right ring. I'd like to save you the trouble by teaching you some quick things, and I always flaunted my knowledge at the stores because I didn't want to get ripped off, as well as I got several job offers. So please, hear me out.

First, a quick run down on diamonds (that is what you want to buy her right? By the way, if you don't know she'll tell you the answer is yes). There are four C's to diamonds: Color, Cut, Clarity, and Carat. Those are in no particular order but there is one more important than the others and that is Cut; I will get to the others later. A diamond is only as bright as how much light can get in and refract out of it, so if a diamond is poorly cut then no light can get in or out. Cuts are rated on a scale of 0-10. Zero cuts are as close to perfect dimensions as possible and 10 is extremely poor. For the most part you will see 1's and 2's which is just fine, 3's and 4's are still ok but getting worse; I wouldn't recommend anything worse than a 3 but that's just me in what I've seen. Just remember, Cut is most important and least talked about so ASK what the cut is before anything else. This is the only scientific part of the diamond, mathimatically they have figured out the dimensions that allow the most light. The other 3 C's are all subjective by whoever graded it.

The other 3 C's depend on what the girl wants. Personally I found clarity to be more important buy my fiancee was more a stickler on Color. If you don't mind her knowing you're looking, ask her about it. Through the jewlers I talked to I found that Color was probably the most important thing to most girls. So Color is on a scale of A-Z. A-C is absolute colorless and is not-existant to this point in time. D-F is colorless and very white and clear. G-J is near colorless and still looks very good. Anything past J I don't recommend, the stones begin to look more and more yellow. When looking at a store, ask to see a J next to an E or F and you'll see the difference.

Next I'll tell you about Clarity. Personally I like not being able to see an flaws in the diamond itself, both with the naked eye and with a loupe (a small handheld magnifying glass of up to 10x power). There are two kinds of flaws in a diamond: inclusions and blemishes. Inclusions are inside the diamond and blemishes are surface marks. Most nice jeweler's don't have diamonds with blemishes. But inclusions are just part of the diamond and there is no fixing them. They can appear as a black carbon spot or what looks like a scratch mark. If you see an actual crack, immediatly just forget it. They grade diamonds on a scale of letters. I1, I2, and I3 are all pretty flawed; you can most likely see the flaws with your eyes and no magnification. Next up is SI1 and SI2, these you can usually only see flaws with a loupe. Next is VS1 and VS2, these tend to have very few flaws you can even see through a loupe. After that is VVS1 and VVS2, these are basically perfect and have very few inclusions even under a big magnifying glass or scope. There is also IF and FI but those mean the diamond is flawless and while they do exist, you'd be paying an arm and a leg and basically everything you own for it so yeah, unless your rich just forget it.

Last is carat. Ever girl knows what this means, it's the weight (or more importantly to the females, the size) or the diamond. Obviously the more a diamond weighs the bigger it is. When I was looking I looked at what I wanted in color, cut, and clarity, and then whatever diamond fit those criteria and was a certain carat size that fit my budget, that was how big I was going to go. This might not be the best way to go but it worked for me, just a suggestion. At some stores it meant I could get a 3/4 carat diamond while others it meant only a 3/8 carat. It just depends on what other C's are important and how big your pocketbook is.

Also, many diamonds might come with some kind of certification. Like I mentioned before, the C's of color and clarity are subjective. Each grader could come up with a different grade, there's no right or wrong answers. One person might say a diamond is VS2 clarity and another say it's VS1. So you need to be careful when selecting a diamond. It's good to have a certification from a reputable coorporation. Personally I know little to nothing about all the coorperations that grade so you'll just have to do your homework on whichever one you run across and think about buying a diamond that they graded. Use the internet, it's your friend.

Hopefully that will help you get a start on your diamond searching. If you ever want more help feel free to contact me, I'll gladly help a brother out. As for where to go, there are plenty of reputable diamond stores out there. Personally I bought one from the Shane Company. While I don't listen to the radio, I've heard how annoying their commercials are, but these guys know their diamonds, are price very fair, and their salesmen aren't paid on commission so there's no pressure to buy. Plus they give you drinks and cookies while you look :) I looked at many stores and basically anything that's been around a long time, with a "name you can trust" kind of motto is usually ok. Personally I don't recommend a place like Fred Meyer's. I checked them out and while their jewelry is ok, they don't offer any kind of warranty. The guy kept pushing me to trust buying from him and could sell me a 3 year warranty for 50 bucks. Shane Company is going to take care of me for life with constant cleanings and adjustments, and if the diamond gets knocked loose and falls out they will replace it with an equal value or better; all for free. Ask about warranties, diamonds are small and you want that. Most places that have been around awhile (Helzberg, Zales, Harry Ritches) will usually have a good lifetime warranty.

Lastly, I must brag about my diamond I got for Rachel. Now that you're all educated and smart I can use diamond lingo you can appreciate. Rachel's diamond is a Zero cut, meaning a lot of light can get in and out, it sparkles like none other. It is an SI1 in clarity, although I could find no inclusions at all with the loupe of 10x magnification. And it is a G which is near colorless, but again I see no yellow in it. It is certified by the AGS (American Gem Society) who is pretty conservative. If I took in the diamond to get appraised by anyone else they would probably say it's a VS2 with an F color (each one step up). Anyway, it also has a carat weight of .56 carat's. Basically it's just over 1/2 carat, which is pretty big. No, I'm not going to tell you how much I spent on it, since that's not really that important (all that money and I can still somehow say that). Yes it was a good chunk of money but it was for the girl I love and I wanted to show it. You only propose and get married once (well, hopefully anyway) so I personally went all out. Money isn't everything, but shoveling out some dough for a nice shiny big rock can show some love with the right heart. All in all, I'm very proud of the diamond I bought Rachel and she loves it. That's all that matters and that's really all there is to it.

Engaged!!

2007-10-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true. I am engaged as of September 10th 2007, I am engaged to my lovely girlfriend Rachel Roberts. Actually she's not my girlfriend anymore, I no longer have a girlfriend, she's my fiancee! I love her so much.

We went to college together and started dating my senior year; the best year of my life. The summer was tough with me living up in Kirkland while she was home in Oregon. With my car totalled at the beginning of the summer and then the engine in my next car dying, I was sure I wouldn't have the money to buy a ring until way later. I told Rachel that I probably wouldn't be able to propose on our one year anniversary, as we had been talking about marriage during the summer.

At the time, I thought it was so, but, I worked hard over the summer and made a good amount of money. I had previously come home to Salem during the summer and talked to Rachel's Dad and asked her if I could marry her. He gave me permission and was somewhat excited, as were Rachel's Mom and Sister, Stephanie. When September came around, I went home to go to my Brother's birthday. Fortunately for me, he lives in Oregon which is tax free. So on the way home I stopped at the Shane Company and bought a ring. I will write a blog later about the ring itself and some pointers for you guys looking to buy one, I did my homework and would love to help you out as I got an awesome ring for a decent price.

So I had to hide the ring for a week (another thing I can help others with, as my Dad is a cop) and not tell many about it. My family saw it, as well as Rachel's parents, but other than that I told almost no one as to keep it a secret. Our one year anniversary came around and I showed up after work with two dozen red roses for Rachel. Then I took her to the state park on the south side of Lake Sammamish. I had scooped it out before, and I took her along the waterfront where there was a bench. We sat down, but Rachel took off her sandals and started playing in the water. I pulled her back out and was like "come here!" I was telling her how much I loved her and how I wanted to be with her forever. She told me that at the time she thought I was just being mushy because it was our one year anniversary. It wasn't until I got down on one knee that she realized what was going on. The words had barely left my lips "Rachel, will you marry me?" before she exclaimed "yes!!!" Then, just to make sure (haha), I asked "will you be my wife?" to which again she practically yelled "yes!!!" I put the rock on her finger, we hugged, we kissed (yes, we kiss), and took a few pictures. I've never been happier in my whole life, to be perfectly honest I almost cried but I was too happy to cry.

Afterwards, I had made dinner reservations at Black Angus. We went, Rachel had seafood which is her favorite, I had a nice big steak. It was a great meal, and I bragged to the waiter that we just got engaged. So we got a free desert out of it. What was even more humorous was that they wrote out "Happy Engagement!" around the edge of the plate in fudge. I have to give props to them, "Engagement" is a long word to spell out in fudge. All in all it was a great day, the best day! Ever.

The only one to beat it will be next year. We plan on getting married on July 26th of 2008. We will be getting married in Salem Oregon, where I grew up and where Rachel's parents now live. Also, most of our family are in the area. More information will come, we are both really excited and we both love each other very much. I appreciate Rachel more than anything in the world and can't imagine living without her.

Meeting my Hero

2007-08-01T14:04:00.001-07:00

As some of you might know, Wednesday night, March 21st, I went to an Ataris concert at El Corazon in Seattle. It was a rockin concert, only one bad band and two good bands opened for them. I even bought the good bands cds. Check out "On the Last Day" and "Blackpool Lights" both are fairly decent.

The Ataris finally took the stage and Kris had shaved his head, he had about half as much hair as I did, but it was still him. The concert itself, though El Corazon was not nearly full, was awesome. Kris was such an amazing performer and the new band is really coming together. I even got up front for the last few songs and he of course sang my absoulte favorite "In This Diary." If you've never heard it, you should, get a hold of me and we shall sit down and listen to it.

Once the concert was over, Kris came back out to pick up his gear and a few people were asking him if he would be hanging anywhere tonight (Kris tends to go to karaoke bars when he visits places). He said he wouldn't tonight but he would come chill outside soon. I couldn't believe I might actually get to talk to Kris Roe that night. He actually ended up just coming down to the floor and hanging out with us, signing autographs and taking pictures. Some girls even just asked for a hug from him because he'd been such a positive influence in their lives.

And I even got to meet Kris Roe, he's a really cool, mellow guy. I got a picture with him on my phone, but it's blurry and it sucks. He signed my copy of "So Long Astoria" which is my favorite cd of theirs, and we just chilled talking about whatever (apparently Kris doesn't like hamburgers, haha). It was awesome to meet this guy that, while not a Christian, has influenced countless people for the better. While the Ataris do swear at times there message is always positive, live to the fullest, follow your heart, hold onto your friends and don't just live for yourself are just some of the messages of their songs.

I left feeling satisifed but right when I got out on the street I ran back in. I had forgotten that I always wanted to ask Kris just one question. His song "My Reply" is about a girl dying of eating disorders, who wrote the band thanking them for getting her through her tough times, yet she was in the hospital and was about to pass away. Kris wrote her a letter and this song to say thank you, but she needed to not give up on life but to keep on living. I never knew what happened to her or if Kris ever got a letter back. I ran back into El Corazon and asked him if he ever heard from her again. Fortunately, he found her at a show and got to meet her. She recovered from the hospital and got over her eating disorder (which Kris said is a hard thing to deal with) and is doing really well.

The song is even more amazing to listen to now knowing that she is alive and well, and that perhaps, just maybe, that song saved her life. I know Kris isn't a Christian but he is such a positive role model to many and to me, I pray for him everytime I think of him that perhaps he could find God and I could see him in heaven. It was so awesome to meet him and I hope to possibly see him again sometime.