09.18.08 Posted in Uncategorized by Dave
Wow. I knew I had a ton of music, but I lost track of a lot of it. With the addition of Genius to iTunes 8 and my iPod Touch, I have rediscovered a lot of music I used to have.
Genius is very similar to the Random button, except it’s way smarter. Random is great in a playlist of the same type of music. When you have a really extensive music selection, random can pull up anything from Frank Sinatra to Metallica to Phil Collins. While I enjoy the 3 of them, I don’t necessarily want to hear them all in a row. What Genius does, and very well I have found, is take one song you want to hear and then it generates a playlist of other things you probably would enjoy hearing along the same type of music/energy level.
This morning Turbo was on a conference call. I wasn’t really interested in listening in anymore, so I popped Our Lady Peace in my Genius playlist, and it proceeded to play some Fuel, Goo Goo Dolls, and Tonic. Looking down on my list, I have some Pumpkins and STP to look forward to.
Genius gets my vote. I’m definitely a fan. What are your thoughts? Have you tried it yet?
09.17.08 Posted in Uncategorized by Dave
I’m not sure how interested I am in participating in these Internet tag games. What I will do, this time around, is acknowledge that Todd did in fact tag me and did fulfill his obligation to the Internet tag meme.
While I’m not going to participate in Todd’s game, I will acknowledge it did push me over the edge to start blogging again. A few days ago I read an interview with Tony Morgan and one of the questions really got me thinking about getting back into blogging.
In that article, Tony mentions that one of the main reasons he blogs is for personal growth. It helps him organize, think through and refine his thoughts. I realize that I do the same thing sometimes and all I really needed to do was talk out my thoughts and I know the solutions without even asking someone a question. I have also found that there are a lot of articles that I have been reading and a lot of thinking that I have been doing that I want to share with everyone. This will be the forum (or if you are my friend on Google Reader) that you can see/hear those things.
My other reason for starting to blog again, is that my friend Dave Dummitt has started to blog again after I have relentlessly harassed him. I figured that I can’t harass him anymore until I actually keep up with my blog.
So, here you go. My attempt at returning to the blogging world.
09.27.07 Posted in Uncategorized by Dave
…is that I have been labeled “worst blogger ever”
So, are you saying that because i don’t post every day i’m a bad blogger?
hmmm…
08.19.07 Posted in Uncategorized by Dave
I found the clinic we stayed at in Sequin, Haiti…
Click here to see it.
08.19.07 Posted in Uncategorized by Dave
Today I had a golf outing for the CALM foundation which benefited the Make-A-Wish foundation. My company sponsored the four-some which I was very lucky to be a part of. So, I had a free round of golf, and I did alright — LOTS better than the round I had last night with my buddy Jamie (we stopped keeping score halfway through). Our four-some shot 1 under par which could have been better, but we had a good time. We even used some of my shots…
08.15.07 Posted in Uncategorized by Dave
I decided my first post outside of Haiti should be about something I read that really got me fired up. Check out this post by Steven Furtick from Elevation Church.
I totally agree! I’m just not sure it’s the church’s responsibility to spoon feed all the Christians. I have talked to lots of people who have left churches because they “weren’t being fed” and it ticks me off because I’m pretty sure it’s their own fault.
I think the real meat and potatoes comes when we are out there loving the people around us, spending time getting to know who Jesus is throughout the week, spending time together in small groups, and getting our butts out of the pews/chairs/whatever and serving in/at/around/through church and the community. It’s at this point — the point where we are getting off our butts — that we will begin reaping the benefits of a good hearty meal that we have eaten on our own.
Thanks Steven for that post!
UPDATE: Tim Stevens is attending the Willow Creek leadership conference right now. He just posted his notes from a session with Bill Hybels who was announcing a new book. Check out what Tim has to say here.
08.15.07 Posted in Haiti, Uncategorized by Dave
I have posted a good number of my pictures up on google and facebook. If you were in any of my pictures and we are friends on facebook, you have been tagged.
I was thinking about what I should do with this blog now that I am back home and am getting back into the swing of life. One of my conclusions is that as I’m getting back into the groove of life, I should keep posting here….so, i think that’s what i’m going to do.
08.14.07 Posted in Haiti, Uncategorized by Dave
I made it back safe and sound. I’ll fill you in on the trip back later. We got in late last night. I’ve jumped right back into the grind of things and I’m at work. Life never stops!
Some of my pictures have been uploaded, so go ahead and check them out! I will add another album as I start getting pictures from other people.
08.11.07 Posted in Haiti, Uncategorized by Dave
Tonight was “Glow Stick Madness” night. We took glow sticks up to the top of the medical clinic and launched them out down the hill and into the trees. After a few minutes the kids would realize it was tonight and you would see the glow sticks moving around. After about 10 minutes, the word got out and there were probably 15 kids out there all shouting “Please! I didn’t get one yet” This is after we had thrown out a bunch, and they had hidden the glow sticks they had already collected under their shirts. The kids are really funny!
I had a boy, Franci, come up to me today and say “Dave, please, i help you today you give me a treat?” How could I say no to that? I asked him back “Will you walk with us?” He said “Yes.” He then proceded to help me get water up to our “apartment” so we could flush our toilet. He then walked with our group all the way on both trips. It was really cool to see him step up to the challenge and help out. Now, I know it was just to get some free toys/candy, but it was a great learning experience for him (and the help never hurts!).
Today was a crazy nice day to start out with. It was probably 75-80 with a very light sun and a nice breeze. We had a really nice hour walk to our first destination. It was really really really sad when we got there though. There was a baby who had a really bad upper respitory infection of sorts (we have a nurse with us) — there is a good chance that baby will not live much longer (if she is even still alive now, 12 hours after i saw her). It was tough putting up the raincatcher, but we got going and were able to push through. By the end of the work, there was a a group of 5 or 6 girls that were standing around watching and smiling and giggling with each other. After we prayed with the family, I went up to them, pulled out some bracelets and butterfly hair clips. I took one of the clips and put it in a 2 years old’s (just guessing on age) hair, and she smiled real big after the bigger girls smiled at her. The girls loved the treats and were very appreciative…
The 2nd house we did today was an equally long walk — maybe even a bit further. I saw my first marijuana plant on the way back from that house. I was talking with Bob and asking him when we would see one, then Roro (the pastor here) pointed one out to me a few minutes later. I, apparently, didn’t know what to look for. I guess that’s a good thing? 
Ok…off to hang out with the boys. I trust this will find you all well. I really appreciate all the prayer. It is definitely felt!!
08.10.07 Posted in Haiti, Uncategorized by Dave
Today we went on 2 big hikes. We’re talking probably a total of 5 miles between the 3 raincatchers my team put up.
For a fat kid, that’s a lot of walking!
We had one lady today who was incredibly excited to receive a raincatcher. She came up to each one of us on my team raised her hands and was saying thank-you in creole with tears welling up in her cataract filled eyes. She gave each of us a HUGE hug and did a little dance. It looked like she had a big family around her.
SO, this morning it RAINED. Oh man, did it rain. Honestly, it was coming down at a 45 degree angle. The problem with the heavy rain is that we still have to work in it! We want to get as many raincatchers up as we can, so we put on our raincoats (thanks frank!) and trekked uphill around the mountain for what seemed like 15 miles (although the first one was probably 2.5). Soon as we got to the house (45min to an hour later) the rain stopped, which was awesome. We were able to build the raincatchers without the rain pelting us in the face.
I think that’s all I have for now…
