Mike King

What?????????????

I wish this were a joke.  Sigh.........

Sixth Sense

Pattie Maes from MIT recently presented Sixth Sense which is a wearable technology that may move us to a whole new way of interacting with the world around us.  Scary or Exciting?  Check it out at TED.

Susan Boyle

I think the whole world has probably seen this by now but if you haven't and don't mind risking a cry watch this.

How many times?

How many times will I watch this video before I can make it all the way through without crying like a newborn baby?

Homeless Guy Sees Role Model

I'm sitting here watching Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys spanking the Seahawks and I'm reminded of the story I heard a couple of days ago.  Tony Romo was entering a Movie Complex with some of his buddies when he encountered a homeless man named Doc.  Tony offered to buy him a movie ticket.  Doc not only saw the movie Role Models but sat next to Tony Romo during the movie.  At one point Doc apologized to Romo for the fact that he hadn't taken a shower in a while and probably didn't smell so good.  Romo replied, "That's allright, I'm used to the smell of sweaty guys in a locker room." 

This story knocks a little off of the life-long disdain I've felt for the Dallas Cowboys.

I ran into the Governator

I was running in the park across from the hotel and adjacent to the State Capital Building. As I finished my run I noticed a small crowd of people gathered. There was a lot of Security Personnel so I thought there had to be someone important around. It was Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Here's what the press report said, "Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today highlighted California's creation of the Gold Star Family License Plate. The Governor signed SB 1455 by Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto), which enables family members who have lost an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces in current and prior wars to obtain a Gold Star Family License Plate honoring the sacrifices their families have endured."

I stood, sweating profusely, just fifteen feet from the Terminator right behind the girl who took this picture. I must say he was quite impressive.

Another example of why health care costs are stupidly out of control

These two little filters (made out of very cheap materials for a CPAP machine I use) cost $45.98.  This is stupid beyond stupid.

Savage Tan

This is advice for some of my children and all others out there whom I love who mistakenly think visiting tanning beds are a good preparation for a beach vacation...

"A tan represents nothing more than damage to the skin. It is the body trying to defend itself against an environmental hazard — too much UV light. In other words, indoor tanning gets you ready for the beach in the same way that getting scalded in a hot tub gets you ready to be boiled alive."
Dr. William James, Professor of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania.

Bill Self

On a flight today to Atlanta I was upgraded to Business Class and ended up next to Bill Self, Coach of the National Champion KU Jayhawks.  What a nice guy, friendly to everyone.  We struck up a conversation.  I am on my way to Italy for a conference and meetings.  He heard me say something on the phone before we took off about meeting someone at the Palazzo Hotel and thought I was talking about Las Vegas where he stayed last week.  I said, "really, you were in Assisi last week?"  After we got that straightened out we talked a little National Championship, him staying in Kansas as coach and youth ministry.  I gave him a copy of Presence Centered Youth Ministry for a youth worker.  He seemed aware of YouthFront.  He read through my book for several minutes and then asked me a bunch of questions about writing and publishing a book which he is beginning the process of doing.  It was a blast talking to him because he was so down to earth and friendly.  I usually don't get worked up about seeing celebrities but I did enjoy this relaxed encounter.

Break-in and a fire: An adventure in the Ozarks.

Vicki and I, along with my parents went to the Ozarks to spend the night with a YouthFront donor who asked if I would visit him.  The 30 hour trip turned into quite an adventure.  We arrived at his house uneventfully and after a tour of his home we jumped in the SUV to get something to eat.  On the way to eat we decided to swing by the regional airport to see his new airplane that he had just purchased last month.  We pulled up to a hangar and he tried unsuccessfully to unlock the door.  He was getting frustrated about not being able to get the door unlocked.  I walked around the hangar and found a place where the sheet metal was separated a bit.  I could not fit through it but Vicki was able to.  She opened the door from the inside and we walked in.  I flipped on the lights.  Our host seem more perplexed than we were when the hangar contained no airplane.  There was a huge boat and a couple of SUVs but no airplane.  He sheepishly announced that we were in the wrong hangar.  We quickly left before we were shot.  Soon we found the right hangar and inspected his plane.

After dinner we returned to his home and talked awhile before we settled in for the night in his guest rooms.  His house is situated high on a bluff overlooking the lake nestled among cedar trees and other homes.  Around 4:00 AM Vicki woke me up with the proclamation "fire."  We looked out the window and the house next door was aflame and embers were falling around us like snow.  Immediately I began shouting orders.  "Wake my parents."  "Throw my computer in the car."  (I can't lose my computer.)  "Call 911."  "Get everyone out of the house and get a hose ready to put the embers out as they hit the yard and house."  I ran outside to the front of the burning house as the first responder.  One half of the home was engulfed in flames along with a vehicle in front of the house.  The heat prevented me from approaching the front door.  I was also worried about the vehicle exploding.  In case someone was still in the non-burning end of the home I threw a couple of large rocks through the windows.  My adrenaline was pumping when I hurled a rock through a huge plate glass window.  I noticed that embers were falling everywhere and the adjacent homes were in danger of igniting.  I pounded on three homes until freaked out homeowners appeared.  Thank God, for the second time in eight hours I wasn't shot.  I ordered, and I mean ordered, everyone to get out of their homes and get their hoses out to battle the igniting embers.  There was one more home on the other side of the burning house that I needed to get to but this meant I had to pass near the burning vehicle.  I crawled along a ravine and was exactly adjacent to the vehicle within 50 feet when it exploded.  What a rush.  I felt like I was back in Jr. High youth ministry. 

It was a full half hour before the Fire Trucks were pumping water full stream.  After briefing the emergency personnel on what had transpired I turned my attention to taking pictures.  Thank God the fire was contained to the one house.  At this time it appears that no one was home.  Here are some more of the pictures...