Doug Mancosky

Shoebox Challenge

2011-10-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

So here's my challenge this Christmas season to all my family and friends, pack a Samaritan's Purse Shoebox for every pair of shoes you purchased this year.

If you're not familiar with Samaritan's purse one of the great things it does is Operation Christmas Child. It takes shoeboxes filled with donated items like toys, toothpaste, art supplies, books, etc. and distributes them to the less fortunate around the world for Christmas. They also add a Bible stroybook to each box. You specify the age and sex best suited for the box. Look here for more info: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/

So that's the challenge, pack those now empty boxes with gifts for a less fortunate child, for me that means 6 boxes. I figure if we're wealthy enough to buy so many shoes we can give a child Christmas and the message of Jesus each time we do. There are drop-off locations almost anywhere and National collection week is November 14th -21st http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Drop_Off_Locations/.

So will you take the challenge with me?

Renewable Fuel?

2011-10-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Was reading and article about making fuel from waste food like sausage http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/8610666/Companies-turn-to-sewage-taramasalata-and-sausage-rolls-for-power.html. Read one time that in the US about 40% of the food we produce is thrown away, so at least this way scraps go for something. My company (www.hydrodynamics.com) actually has a biodiesel arm (www.advancedbiofuel.net) so this topic is actualy near and dear to me. The throwing away of so much food also just bugs me with so much starvation in places like Africa. I always feel awful when I let leftover or fresh produce spoil. I remember I used to own a diesel car and I sometimes drove it on biodiesel made from chicken fat and my tailpipe smelled like KFC. Now in the article the also talk about making fuel from sewage, that for sure is a waste product, but based on my experience I'm not sure I'd want to be stuck in traffic behind one.

Thanks Mom and Dad

2011-10-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

So at church I've been given the honor of interviewing kids for baptism. It's really been an amazing experience, I love it. As faith building as it has been to see these kids so excited about God, I've also seen some things that are hard. When I was being trained for this the thought was maybe 1 in 30 would be difficult, I've done 6 (5 solo and 1 training) and 3 of them have been a little rough for one reason or another. Now I put on my best Doug charm with jokes and fun to lighten the mood, but some were just hard. Two of the three that were rough can at least be partially traced back to parents going through a divorce and the kid being shaken by that. I've also seen the impact it has on kids in my regular UpStreet groups. It just makes me so appreciate my parents. Never once as a child did I ever fear mom and dad not being together. Now I'm sure they had their rough times, but to us they were always a unified loving front. I took it so for granted and now realize how lucky I was. I wish every kid could have that.

Any Restaurant?

2011-01-16T11:18:00.001-08:00

Went to a great brunch today with the family of one of my UpStreet kids. Great food and company, really enjoyed it. During brunch a funny travel story came up. A couple of years ago I did a crazy day trip to LA for work. I was only supposed to be there for 3 hours for a lunch meeting. I think I left at 6am and got home at midnight. I told the people I was meeting that lunch was my treat and we could go anywhere. I figured we'd go to a restaurant with some LA character, maybe Pink's hotdogs or something. Instead they asked for the Sizzler down the street. At first I thought they were kidding, but we really did go to Sizzler. Oh well, from a business perspective the meeting was so-so, but the Sizzler part makes for a good story now.

My new book chapter!

2011-01-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

I wrote a chapter in the recently published book, “Ultrasound Technologies for Food and Bioprocessing”, part of the Food Engineering Series published by Springer Media. The my company, Hydro Dynamics, Inc. (www.hydrodynamics.com) is featured in Chapter 8 entitled, “Controlled Cavitation for Scale-Free Heating, Gum Hydration and Emulsification in Food and Consumer Products.” Not what I'd term pleasure reading for my friends, but a nice personal accomplishment. More detail about the book can be found at http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-1-4419-7471-6/.

E15 in NASCAR

2010-12-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

So I saw a great article about NASCAR running on E15 next year that made me smile for two reasons:

http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/business/10/16/nascar-ethanol-fuel-in-2011/index.html

First, it brought back memories of me going around the track as a passenger in a NASCAR at the Atlanta Motor Speedway at 180 mph in a ride-along after the race. I'm not the biggest NASCAR fan in the world, the tickets and ride-along were actually a gift for my sister who is a NASCAR freak, but I have to admit it was a rush of a lifetime.

The second reason is because my company, Hydro Dynamics, Inc., has a huge initiative going right now to increase ethanol yield from corn using cavitation. I know there's some debate on the merits of corn ethanol (and I have some opinions on that), but this is a real win-win in that we allow higher ethanol production from the same amount of corn for already existing plants. Well if you're curious you can read more at http://hydrodynamics.com/markets/alternative-energy/ It's funny how things sometimes come full circle, years ago NASCAR started as a sport among guys who used to run moonshine, but next year they'll be running it in their engines. Ironic. Maybe some NASCAR fuel will be processed on a ShockWave Power Reactor in 2011!

My 15 Minutes of Fame

2010-09-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

So I was featured on the Buckhead Church Blog:

http://blog.buckheadchurch.org/2010/09/13/the-1st-ever-%E2%80%9Cbring-your-boss-to

-church%E2%80%9D-sunday/

Never imagined it would be for this, but still pretty cool!

I Will Not Let You Down

2010-09-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Was blown away by Bill Curry's speech to his team before Georgia State's first ever football game. He let ESPN tape it and it was played on Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio that I listen to almost every morning.

Coach Curry asks his players what they’re going to say to their teammates in the fourth quarter when they’re tired and feel like quitting. The young men respond in unison “I will not let you down!” He asks what they’re going to say when their teammates wanna give up, “I will not let you down!” and are hurt, “I will not let you down!” can’t carry their own weight, “I will not let you down!” etc. ... “I will not let you down!”

It was so moving in general and also brought me back to my days playing high school football. I also love him because he played for the Packers under Lombardi and coached Georgia Tech, so lots of connections there. It also made me wonder what the world would look like off the field if we looked at each other more often and said, “I will not let you down!”

Well not sure what speech he'll give before playing #1 Alabama later this year, but I'll be cheering for him!

IMAX Hubble 3D

2010-09-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Saw this last week and it was amazing! A shuttle launch in 3D on an IMAX screen with a surround sound system was awesome. Great story of one of the best science projects ever! This has a special place for me as I've always loved space, it was even my little boy dream to be an astronaut. If you want to see it you can go to the official site and see where it's playing near you.

http://www.imax.com/hubble/

Rock Bottom Plunge!

2010-07-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

So I have to admit I was a little frightened before riding this ride, but eventually did and it was a lot of fun. A little girl assured me in line it wasn't as intense as it looked. The picture is of the first hill. You climb straight up, slowly crest the 67 foot hill and drop straight down! A couple of loops and a few turns at 40 mph after that and it's all over. Well if you're at Mall of America ride the SpongeBob Rock Bottom Plunge!

Dead Sea Scrolls

2010-07-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

So I had a chance to view the actual Dead Sea Scrolls at the Science Museum of Minnesota. It was very cool, especially at a place of science. It was a mixed bag of emotions. It was hard to believe I was looking at items from the region and time of Jesus, in some ways Jesus became more real. I also didn't realize that there were more than books of the Bible in the clay pots, but other popular religious writings of the time. I guess it would be the equivalent of putting a copy of 'The Purpose Driven Life" or the latest Andy Stanley message in a time capsule along with a Bible. I also learned the Scrolls weren't immediately accepted or seen as valuable and were even smuggled to america and offered for sale to Duke University for $1 million, but they declined. They were later sold for $250,000 in an add in the paper and returned to their home in Israel.

A final thing I learned again both strengthened my faith, but also gave me more questions. In the scrolls there was a copy of all but one book from our version of the old testament and they're nearly identical to the versions we have today. This rocks! What doesn't rock is the small discrepancies like the fact that their book of Psalms has 7 extra chapters and references hundreds of more in other volumes. It also has a few extra books, anybody up for a reading from the Book of Noah? I guess I can just take the view that our Bible is the pure word of God, but perhaps other parts were lost over time? Maybe the scrolls were from a sect that had a few parts wrong and it was part of God's plan to have those books and parts of books lost? Well my head hurts from thinking of such things. Overall it was a faith strengthening experience and if you ever have a chance to catch such an exhibit I highly recommend it!

Near Perfection

2010-06-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

So I was watching the near perfect game last night and it made me think of how we are often close to history, but miss by inches or seconds. I remember being at the Final Four and seeing the near Butler buzzer beater that would have

been shown on CBS for decades had it gone in. I remember a high school teacher telling me one time about "pragmatic immortality" which is essentially the belief that you're only really gone when you're forgotten, so do everything to be memorable. I guess we all search for that, even if it's to say, "I was there when...." Heck, I still brag about the fact that my grandfather was at the Ice Bowl and we showed pics o

f it at his funeral (he was a sports reporter). We all want to be significant, even if it's only in association, but in some ways Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce gained more significance for their lack of perfection. Life is funny like that sometimes. It's great that some of the things being talked about today are the smile below with no argument after the blown call, that when a heartbroken Jim Joyce apologized privately (sincere props to him too) he not only forgave him, but consoled and hugged him and the general grace everyone involved has shown. Hopefully those reactions will have more pragmatic immortality than anything else, that's history to be proud of.

This article from MLB about the next game today is even better!

Jim Joyce Gets Lineup Card From Armando Galarraga, Works Home Plate

The pregame meeting at home plate is a mostly symbolic occasion in baseball. But it had special meaning Thursday at Comerica Park in Detroit.

In a classy gesture meant to show the world the Tigers had moved on from the night before, manager Jim Leyland had pitcher Armando Galarraga -- instead of Leyland or a coach -- bring the lineup card to the home-plate umpire.

That umpire was Jim Joyce, whose clearly blown call at first base the night before, with two outs in the ninth inning, cost Galarraga a perfect game. Overnight, it became the hottest topic in American sports, and maybe the country at large.

Leyland said he wanted to prevent any negative fan reaction to Joyce.

"This guy is an outstanding umpire. I just really think it's a day for Tigers fans to really show what we are all about in a positive way. I really believe that, and I hope that they do. I don't know that they will, but I hope they do. I'm going to try and push for it as much as I can.

"The guy had every bit of integrity. He faced the music. He stood there and took it. What else can he do? I just don't believe in beating people up like that. If he would have been there and been defiant, and said 'No, I got it right,' and all this and that, and looked at it afterward and said, 'Well, yeah, I missed it,' well that's one thing. But this guy was a mess, I mean a freaking mess. I'm talking about sincere. There was nothing phony about it. This guy was a mess. My heart goes out to him."

And as angry as fans, especially Tigers fans, were at the call, it was clear no one was more shaken than Joyce. Even as he stepped on the field -- he apparently turned down Major LeagueBaseball's offer to take the day off -- Joyce had tears in his eyes.

A few minutes earlier, to recognize Galarraga's accomplishment, the Tigers presented him with a 2010 Corvette.

Joyce was still emotional as Galarraga came to the plate, and after a brief exchange of lineup cards, Joyce patted Galarraga on the shoulder, as if to say, "Thanks, buddy."

Galarraga and Leyland have forgiven Joyce. It's quite an example to set.

NCAA Final Four

2010-05-13T09:55:00.001-07:00

So I'm thinking back to my awesome experience a month ago going to the Final Four in Indy. If you ever get the chance you should go. The tension and environment was amazing. Was a little strange being there over Easter and the holiday didn't feel quite the same, but thanks NorthPoint Online for bringing an amazing church service to my hotel room.

Not sure how much of the "buzz" in the air was a "Butler" effect, guess I'd have to go again to find out. Top it off with getting to meet Dick Vitale and ride in a van around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and you have one awesome weekend!

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again

2010-04-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

An e-mail I got from my mom

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how
things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make
it and wanted to give up She was tired of fighting and struggling.
It seemed as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she
placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she
placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a
word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and
placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her
daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the
daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she
observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does
it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently... The carrot went in
strong, hard, and unrelenting... However, after being subjected to the
boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile.
Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after
sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The
ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with
pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a
financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and
stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and
tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water,
the very circumstance that brings the pain.. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things
are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you
elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The
brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go
forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone
around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE

Bucket List

2009-12-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

So I've sort of had a "Bucket List" kind of year. For the few who might not be familar with the movie, see the clip. Today I added another thing, drinking Kopi Luwak coffee which was made famous by the bucket list movie. If you want to know more about it watch this video. I always try to fill each year with a few unique items that have memories that will last a lifetime. This year's items have included:

Riding in a NASCAR
Eating Turducken
Drinking Kopi Luwak Coffee
Seeing Favre's return to Lambeau

Next year I have NCAA Final Four tickets as one item with I'm sure more to be added. So here's my question....

What's on your bucket list?

Passion 2010 Coming Soon!

2009-10-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

Passion 2010 Promo Video Andy Stanley and HillSong United this year along with everybody else!

US 10K

2009-09-04T07:29:00.000-07:00

So I'm running the US 10K this Monday morning, checkout the topography map I created, can you say uphill?

UFL - UpStreet Football League

2009-07-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

It's coming, the UFL! If you're involved in UpStreet in any way please contact me or Jill Roberts to join our fantasy football league. Look forward to a great year of fun!

North Point Online

2009-07-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well it starts tonight! Tested that I'm able to watch www.northpointonline.tv on my cell phone tonight using Skyfire browser since I won't be home!

Transformers on Upstreet

2009-07-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well as many of you know I volunteer with a group of First Graders every Sunday at Buckhead Church in an environment we call UpStreet. Our theme for the summer is summer camp. Our first activity was a Mad Libs letter home. Our final blank, the person the letter was from, was Optimus Prime. We then got into a lengthy discussion about if Transformers could come to church or not. Some said that he was too big, I countered that he could stand outside and look through the windows. Some said robots couldn't come to church even if they were small. The kids really got into this discussion, like the whole room! I then turned to Alex to settle the deal, I asked in front of the kids, "Alex, if Optimus Prime showed up at that door, would you let him into UpStreet?" Alex responded, "If his parents were with him and I could hand them a tag, I would!" I then contacted UpStreet Director, Jill Roberts, to make sure this was the official line with Transformers on UpStreet, you never know when this type of thing might come up again. She responded, "As long as Optimus Prime is indeed a Kindergarten through 5th grader, we do not discriminate by size." Gotta love working with kids, they get all excited by the most simple things, kind of like me sometimes.

Oh, and I saw the new Transformers movie, pretty good stuff. It's a fun 2.5 hour thrill ride, in the end really nothing surprising or redeeming as it has a highly predicable plot, but great to look at, funny and fun! Seen a ton of movies this summer which is cool, brings back memories of when I worked at a theater in college and saw almost everything for a couple of summers.

Kickball!

2009-07-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

So I started playing adult kickball on Tuesday nights and it is way fun. I have a great group of teammates, basically none of whom I knew before. Been a good thing for me in that I generally don't have the opportunity to interact with large groups of strangers outside Buckhead Church stuff too often. It was way different being in a church and secular environment.

So I've discovered a few things:

I'm actually pretty good at this game! Is there a pro league? Maybe I missed my calling.
It's fun
It's harder to kick than you'd think. An ump calls balls and strikes, but some people pitch fast and with spin.
Many folks enjoy an adult beverage before, during and after the game, but somehow quality of play seems to increase as the game goes on, I don't get this.

Well more on this later, but if you're looking for an athletic and social outlet, this rocks! They also offer Dodgeball, anyone game?

LegoLand!

2009-06-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well after a very successful business week I've returned to a hotel next to the airport in the town of Billund to catch my 6:30am flight home tomorrow. That means I'm up at 4am or 10pm Friday in Atlanta, yikes. What softens the blow is that I'm right across the street from LegoLand! To top that off I walked over and they let me in for free since it was only open for 2 more hours and I essentially got to see the whole park. Essentially think Disney made of Legos from animatronics to castles, something like 45 million legos that live and breath and move. I've included some pictures to give you a flavor with 2 at the end of the town of Silkeborg.

Been a great trip. Learned a lot about Danish culture, tried some wild food from snails to lamb to eel and business was great. Tomorrow is a long day, but it will be good to get home

I am a Doctor, but I did get kicked out of the Radisson tonight

2009-06-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Because I'm the wrong type of doctor. So when I arrived they had me there until Thursday and I said, no, Friday and the lady was like, "not a problem." I've learned in Europe that, "not a problem" usually means problem. I got a call on Thursday saying they were packing my things because they needed my room, I guess there was a doctor's convention there, but they made me a reservation across town. What a riot. My new hotel was very nice though and had a nice view of a lagoon. It also had a Cadillac Eldorado parked out front, a rare sight in Europe. It had a sign on it in Danish that said, "This car is like another man's wife, you can look, but not touch!" Had a great dinner too, my first experience with snails, not too bad, I believe in trying almost anything once. The health reports here are hilarious too, you can tell the rating by how big the smile is.

Differences and a Chinese Tradition

2009-06-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

So I think today I might have finally understood "left behind" as I walked to dinner. It was 6pm and the streets were totally empty, almost creepy deserted, as I guess it's a government mandate that all stores close at 5:30pm to protect the family life of workers. It's just one of many subtle differences you see over here.

Some others?

Coke is almost universally sold in recyclable glass bottles.
The people are very friendly, but private. Small talk everywhere, but personal details at work aren't considered proper. Desks are plain, no decorations or even pics of family. People generally talk about work at lunch.
Cars are taxed 180% at time of purchase, so a small car for $20,000 really costs you $60,000
They pay ad valorem tax on their cars too, but it's based on fuel economy, not value or age
No tipping at restaurants or cabs, the price is the price
ToGo boxes are non-existent and so is asking for it "your way" on the menu
See the previous entry for some more philosophical differences

So I continued a tradition and went out for Chinese in my 5th country (USA, Portugal, Germany, Uganda and now Denmark). Chinese actually differs quite a bit across the world and from what I hear it really doesn't have much to do with local tastes. Rather, it has to do with emigration patterns of different regions of China to different countries. It would be like the Southwest USA and their food emigrating to France and the Southeast USA emigrating to Brazil. It was very good and maybe one local touch was that it was all forks, not a chopstick in sight.

Was a slower paced day today, but did get to meet the CEO of a $2 billion company (which I can't name for confidentiality), can't say I do that everyday. Well looking forward to a low key night in my hotel room. Oh, and the first Nordic cardiac convention is having a conference here tomorrow, I'm surrounded by doctors, feel pretty safe.

Eel and Socialism

2009-06-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

So my host took me out for fried eel tonight, a traditional Danish dish. He said I'm only the 2nd guest in 7 years to go for eel with him, the other was Japanese. The restaurant kind of felt like a German brew house. The eel was actually pretty good after you got past the look and psychology of it. It was served with potato pieces in a cream sauce and pickle slices on the side. My host insisted that I get a glass of schnapps to go with it. They poured a tiny glass and I was expecting something light and fruity like in the USA, but I think schnapps is Danish for firewater. Had a great ice cream dessert with tiny pieces of fruit candy in it, overall an excellent meal. For dessert they also had a "Greenland Coffee" which "created a warming sensation." I asked what it was and was told it was coffee with 7 shots of booze. They asked if I wanted one and I was like, um, no.

Host took me on a nice driving tour. Showed me the house of the 3rd richest guy in Denmark, actually seemed kind of small and humble compared to what I've seen on Peachtree Battle. I guess they said wages are set here so that the gap between rich and poor is much smaller than most places.

I've heard from more than one person here that Denmark is essentially a socialist country. There is a national belief that the rich should take care of the poor. Something about that seems very Christian, but I guess there's a difference between a choice and a mandate. They also discourage pride and people saying they are the "best", rather the national motto is we're all equal. They say many people quietly favor the "you can rise to the top" USA spirit don't really like the 60% income tax most upper middle class people pay now (graduated on income), but wouldn't say it's a strong conviction. While they believe it discourages advancement in some ways, they like the government benefits/safety net and equality where "garbage men and doctor's kids play on the same playground naturally." Houses here are crazy expensive too ($700,00 for the one pictured and that's in an average town, maybe you can do $200,000 in the middle of nowhere). I know it would probably go for that in downtown Atlanta and I'm in a beautiful area, but it's a town of 42,000.

They look at us as somewhat irresponsible and kind of barbaric at times. Healthcare, college (you even get $1,000/month living expenses), nursing home and retirement are all taken care of. They just find it hard to believe that a civilized country would let money determine if and what type of medical care or schooling someone receives. They just see it as a human right that everyone has the best and they claim it's very good, but not sure what their point of reference is. Looking around at shapes and sizes they do seem to be a healthier people though. They also can't believe our big cars for 1 person. They drive small cars because they're cheaper, but also because they just see it as environmentally responsible. The government also "protects" people they even mandate hours certain stores can be open.

I like the community feel here, but yikes, 60% tax plus a 25% national sales tax doesn't leave a lot and that's a lot of government in your life. They however are very proud of their country and nationalistic. I guess that's the great thing about a diverse world, they like it and they're very happy people, so points for them!

Going Out for American

2009-06-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

So last night I went to Bone's for dinner. This is essentially the same Bone's as in the USA, but it's a family restaurant. How is this possible you might ask? Well some of the prices are a bit lower, but here it's a "theme" restaurant where people go for the "American" experience and it's decorated like a Fudruckers. I had the "Tour of the USA" platter and it was actually pretty good mix of ribs, chicken and steak. They import Heinz ketchup and only give you a tiny bottle and charge you like a $1 for more. They also have Heinz mustard which they claim is great with beef (steaks), anybody ever hear of that? They also offer "imported" american wines, stuff that sells for like $10 in the states in $40 to $60 here. Overall it was a fun experience.

I'm finally getting used to quickly converting price between a Danish Kroner and Dollar, about 5.2 to 1, but wow is the dollar weak as this is a small town and stuff feels pretty expensive. Oh, and if you come over this way be sure you know your pin number for your credit card, a lot of places require it instead of a signature.

Well the people here are sure friendly and you can tell you're in Scandinavia, lots of tall blonde hair and blue eyed people. Not universal, but a much higher percentage than you're used to seeing in the states and I'm guessing all those aren't natural either. The people here love to tell about their culture in a very modest way. This is a farming and water country and they even have a King and Queen that are symbolic. In fact a prince just married an Australian girl so now the countries have excellent relations which has led to a large import of Australian food, items and culture. They have a strong sense of community and a strong sense of stewardship, especially to the environment. One funny example, they raise more pigs here than just about any part of the world, but the Danes used to be very picky eaters, only eating the best cuts of meat and sending everything else to China in the 50's. This was seen as wasteful. The government started a program promoting recipes with the other part and conservation awareness and now that campaign has actually made those cuts the most popular.

Speaking of food, it's all been spectacular. I had one of the best pork chops ever yesterday at lunch in the work cafeteria here and breakfast is amazing too. The other thing you notice is that the coffee is excellent everywhere. In the US you can get a good cup of coffee, but you also find some lousy ones too. The coffee here just seems more consistent and good.

Well after some beautiful weather there's a mist here today. Have an interesting dinner coming tonight, more on that later!

Eels, Handball and English

2009-06-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's fun to do international travel for business. I find that you actually learn more about common culture than you do as a tourist as you get to have prolonged conversations with locals about some of the more mundane aspects of life and still get to sample the food and see the architecture. An example of this is their view of the English language. On TV and in the theaters everything is in English so I can sit back and watch some MTV or Discovery channel and just have some Danish subtitles obscuring parts of my screen. I at first though it was the fact that there are only 5 million people who speak Danish (that's right, this whole country is about the size of Atlanta) and it just wouldn't be worth the effort for Hollywood and I'm sure that's a part of it. But my colleagues here said they have a strong belief in artistic integrity and if it was meant to be seen in English they watch it in English with the original actors speaking the words rather than dubbing. They also said Danish has a small vocabulary compared to English so many Danes think in English and use English to convey thoughts where words don't exist in Danish. For example, Danish has words for hate and love but nothing in the middle to convey when you're just not keen on something. Well click on the link above to try to learn the basics.

So another topic of discussion of local foods. They want to treat me to dinner a few nights this week and asked me what I wanted. I told them I can have steak and chicken anywhere, take me for something local and I'll eat anything all the way to sushi. Now I had steak last night (with a local flare) and probably will tonight too, but if I go out with locals I figure it's a better time to find hidden gems. So what is this area known for? Fried eel. I guess the lakes here have large populations of eel that they catch fresh. They told me about the Sargasso Sea where I guess all eels migrate to give birth, really interesting and still a lot of mystery too. Just click on the above link to learn more. Well that's dinner tomorrow, so look forward to that update :)

On the way back to the hotel my host pointed out a "world famous" handball player getting out of his car at my complex. For starters, are there famous handball players? I guess the Silkeborg team just paid top $ for him and he was headed to the health club here for a massage. Fame is a funny thing when someone can be famous to millions and a total stranger to me.

Oh, and from a business perspective, the reason why I'm here, the day was excellent too. Looking forward to a really good week, the people here are great.

Well I'm headed to Bone's restaurant in this complex with my hotel. It has a similar logo to the fancy Bone's steakhouse in Atlanta, but I guess here it's a family restaurant, so I guess we'll see and amend this later.

Arrived in Denmark

2009-06-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

The first white here that I just added is the airport hall in Copenhagen, pretty cool! Also added a pic of the fountains in the lake across from my hotel.

Well I'm in Silkeborg, Denmark for a week overseas. I flew first from Atlanta to Copenhagen and was thinking nothing like 10 hours of movies and food on the way over, but then uhg, no personal video screens, and thought it might be time to knock myself out with ambien for 10 hours, but never ended up sleeping much, as after dinner there was only like 3 hours to sleep until breakfast anyway. Landed in Demark. Is it a hard landing when luggage bins open and O2 masks come down? Noticed I forgot my belt at security after going through passport control, not as big of a deal as I thought. Copenhagen is a nice airport. I g0t to fly a prop plane from Copenhagen to Billund on an airline I've never heard of, yes! So small no assigned seats, just gets better. It was an ATR, the one they banned in the US because of safety issues! Ended up landing safely and was a pretty flight, you really get an appreciation of how much of a farm and island/water nation this is. Got a cab and ended up walking around a Danish flea market in the plaza outside my hotel waiting 60 min until I could check in. Same junk as in the US, food, obsolete electronics, VHS tapes, records and garage sale stuff. The hotel is in kind of a neat area, kind of like Atlantic Station area, except it's an old paper mill that's been converted. There's my hotel, condos, a movie theater (movies in English with Danish subtitles), arts center and a bunch of restaurants. Had great mexican steak dinner, so weird to not have the HUGE US portions, kind of felt cheated at first, like is that all there is?, but was perfect. Now I'm sitting in my room, actually streaming the Braves game, feels like home. Still basically light outside at 10:15, gotta love being this far north, a little cold though, 65F during the day and 45F at night. Off to bed in a bit for a 8:30am start tomorrow, but should be a pretty easy day. European hotels, especially this one, have good breakfasts too. Good night, drop me a note with any Questions about Denmark!

Plastic Explosives and Cheese

2009-05-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

Went to a wedding last night and knew 3 people (the bride Kristi and 2 of the bridesmaids, Christin and Kim), but like 20 people knew of me from a story I told one of them, Kim. The story was one I told over an UpStreet lunch on a weekend where Kim was visiting Kristi (this was also the weekend Kristi lost in b-ball after much smack talking). We got on the topic of airport security and I told them about Wisconsin issues of cheese being mistaken for plastic explosives on x-ray because the density is similar. Here's an article about it. Kim decided to test this and actually put a block of cheddar in her carry-on last time she flew and was disappointed to not be pulled aside by security. Now I don't know what your idea of a good time is, but quality time with TSA isn't it. So I guess she told everyone the story and I was the "cheese" guy. She vows to try again and I wish her the best of luck in being added to the terror watch list as she exercises her constitutional freedom to carry cheese. I'm guessing if she or Kristi caused trouble I know who the instigator was. So it was a weird feeling to have everyone know you, but not really know anyone. Ever have that?

Let Me Sing.....With Todd Fields

2009-05-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

Went to an awesome CD release party tonight for the new Todd Fields CD with my friend Jeremy (who I think I and the people we sat next to converted to Twitter tonight). Was a very small intimate setting in the attic of North Point Community Church. Great music set and got a free copy of his new CD! Had Chinese food for dinner and then great music, makes for a pretty awesome night.

Road to the Ramen

2009-05-14T13:30:00.001-07:00

Made good on NCAA pool "Road to Ramen" prize. 65 packs of Ramen sent to brother-in-law Ed in Germany. That's 15 pounds and cost nearly $30 to ship.

The Kentucky Derby

2009-05-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

I love Derby day. Brings back memories of when I went 5 years ago. It's really a spectacle and great fun. I sat on the infield and had a blast. What you don't realize watching it on TV is that it's really a whole day of racing that starts at noon and it ends with the Derby and lots of great food and fun between. You go through a tunnel under the track, drop $20 in a bucket and you're in. Warning, be careful what turn you sit in if you ever go, they have very different intentional environments. Turn #1 is for people watching, #2 is like a family picnic area, #3 is like Mardi Gras and #4 is the serious betting crowd. The year I went it rained like crazy early in the day. There was so much water that people were up to above their knees and were jumping off of things into the lakes that were forming in the infield. The rain lasted an hour or so and then it was a sunny day for the Derby and then it rained when it was over. God held the rain back for the perfect window to run the race. That year Smarty Jones won and I actually made enough with my bet on the race to pay for going and still have a bit left over. The hats really are crazy and it rocks for people watching and meeting new folks. Something I think everyone in this part of the world should try once with it only being 6 hours away.

Technology

2009-04-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

"The biggest impact of technology has been to allow us to do more unproductive things at a far more impressive rate" - Scott Adams of Dilbert

Hillsong United Coming to Atlanta on 5/27!

2009-04-03T11:47:00.001-07:00

Hillsong United - Salvation Is Here
Uploaded by rgbsoftware

Chemistry at Bars!

2009-03-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Cool coasters for $0.40 that test for GHB (date rape drug) http://www.drinksafetech.com/products.htm I love when chemistry helps the public!

OK, now I'm Lost

2009-03-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else contemplating the implications of Lost last night like me? I joined the show after it had already been on 2 years and went and watched the old stuff on DVD. Lost has had parts where it dragged, but now it's fast and furious with many mysteries revealed, but some new ones created. This whole time travel thing is wild, some amazingly creative writers.

Strange Bathrooms

2009-03-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

I find it really interesting that someone would go through so much trouble to make a public bathroom interesting. Would you be scared to use any of these?

THIS IS A CEILING MURAL IN A SMOKER'S LOUNGE.

BATHROOM PAINTED FLOOR!!!

IMAGINE YOU ARE AT A PARTY ...

On the tenth floor of a hi-rise building ...

AND ...

THEN YOU HAVE TO VISIT THE BATHROOM ...

You open the door ...
NOW, REMEMBER THE FLOOR IS JUST A PAINTED FLOOR !

KINDA TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY ... DOESN'T IT?

Would this mess up your mind? Would you be able to walk in to this bathroom? Or do anything else?

This is a picture of a public toilet in Houston:

Now that you've seen the outside view, take a look at the inside view ...

It's made entirely of one-way glass!

No one can see you from the outside, but when you are inside it's like sitting in a clear glass box!

Now would you ... COULD YOU ...? Probably NOT!!

Here’s one From Taurus in Atlanta: now closed :(

At Taurus, which otherwise boasts one of the most welcoming bathrooms in town, while you are washing your hands you might notice that the mirror is framed by a semitransparent portion of glass that allows you to peek into the men's room – and vice versa. That's not always the kind of insight into how the other half lives that customers will appreciate.

From Mix in Atlanta:

Scary see-through doors that "fog" when locked to opaque.

Or you can Pee at the Berlin Wall at the Main Street Station in Las Vegas:

Revenge of the Nerds!

2009-03-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Reading an article in C&E News referencing Evolution of Human Behavior 2009 saying that women prefer men with pumped brains to pumped bodies, thought to be better gene contributer & child provider.

Atlanta NASCAR race = me in a car at 170 mph!

2009-03-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

So my sister came into town and she's a huge NASCAR fan. I told her if she flew in I'd get tickets to the race. I'm not a huge NASCAR fan, but I watch it once and a while and I've been to one race before, 2 years ago with my sister. So anyway, in the process of finding tickets they had a Richard Petty Experience where for $50 (normally $110) you could ride in a car at race speeds after the race in a real NASCAR! I figured why not? and decided to give my sister a special treat. So it's a different experience watching the race realizing you'll be doing the same thing in a couple hours, huge anticipation. After the race you go through the tunnel, sign your life away on a waiver and get a helmet and race suit. You go in the actual pit area still warm from the race and climb through the window of a car that is vibrating and screaming and meet a driver who will have his fate in your hands for the next 4 laps. They actually put a thumb drive in the car that records you and what the car sees so you can have a DVD of your experience later. You ride in a pack of six cars so it's race like conditions. The acceleration is amazing and you're up to speed in no time. The banking feels wild and your vision and awareness of where you are on the track is very good. The noise is nuts and it was cool to race around knowing my little sister was ahead of me. NASCAR driver Mark Martin said this about the Atlanta Motor Speedway where he qualified for the pole at over 187 mph in this ESPN article, "I'm still shaking," he said. "I thought I ran out of talent in turn four. There was no possible way to hold my foot on the floor and not hit the wall, back end first, in turn four. But that was really fun. I live to scare myself like that." I agree and fefore I knew it, it was over, check another thing off of life's experience list, so much fun! My driver was like, "If you think it's fun riding, come back and drive one sometime!" Think I might just have to do that.

PS I don't think anyone can make those racesuits and helmets look good!

Global Warming

2009-03-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

Reading article in, Hydrocarbon Processing, an oil tech journal entitled, "What are the opportunities to construct liquefaction facilities at the Arctic Circle? Building and operating natural gas plants in the high latitudes pose numerous challenges" by D. A. Wood and S. Mokhatabthat. It says a positive of global warming is increased access to more oil/gas in the arctic, um yeah...

Chick-fil-A

2009-03-16T09:13:00.001-07:00

Layoffs on Sesame Street

2009-03-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Based upon the actual story of 20% layoffs on Sesame Street.

Sesame Street Layoffs - watch more funny videos

Less Americans Say They're Christian

2009-03-12T18:47:00.001-07:00

Interesting read about changes in religious identity in a new survey.

The needle moved from 86% in 1990 to about 75% today.

KidStuf Musical at Buckhead Church Was on Fire!

2009-03-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

"Shadrach, Meshack and Abendigo the Musical" was awesome! I still can't get, "Fire, Fire, Fire!" out of my head and the "We Belong" rendition was awesome too! One of the best Kidstufs in years.

Strange Worship

2009-03-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

Monks who have taken a vow of silence singing, just hang in there until 1:30:

10 Commandments Update

2009-02-26T10:24:00.000-08:00

A bit crude, but funny!

I love Science

2009-02-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

Every year they give away the IG Nobel Prizes for achievements in science that make people laugh. This years winners include a study into electronically modifying the sound a potato chip makes to have it appear crisper and fresher to looking at the effects that ovulation had on the tips that lap dancers received. So none of these are exactly curing cancer, but they are good for a laugh. Read all about them here.

A Good Question

2009-02-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

I was so proud to hear this question at a recent Obama press conference and the answer wasn't perfect, but not awful. Good to hear "Balanced" economic principles being used:

Q Thank you, Mr. President. In your opening remarks, you talked about that if your plan works the way you want it to work, it's going to increase consumer spending. But isn't consumer spending or overspending how we got into this mess? And if people get money back into their pockets, do you not want them saving it or paying down debt first before they start spending money into the economy?

OBAMA: Well, first of all, I don't think it's accurate to say that consumer spending got us into this mess. What got us into this mess initially were banks taking exorbitant, wild risks with other people's monies based on shaky assets. And because of the enormous leverage where they had $1 worth of assets and they were betting $30 on that $1, what we had was a crisis in the financial system. That led to a contraction of credit, which in turn meant businesses couldn't make payroll or make inventories, which meant that everybody became uncertain about the future of the economy, so people started making decisions accordingly -- reducing investment, initiated layoffs -- which in turn made things worse.

Now, you are making a legitimate point, Chuck, about the fact that our savings rate has declined and this economy has been driven by consumer spending for a very long time -- and that's not going to be sustainable. You know, if all we're doing is spending and we're not making things, then over time other countries are going to get tired of lending us money and eventually the party is going to be over. Well, in fact, the party now is over.

And so the sequence of how we're approaching this is as follows: Our immediate job is to stop the downward spiral, and that means putting money into consumers' pockets, it means loosening up credit, it means putting forward investments that not only employ people immediately but also lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth. And that, by the way, is important even if you're a fiscal conservative, because the biggest problem we're going to have with our federal budget is if we continue a situation in which there are no tax revenues because economic growth is plummeting at the same time as we've got more demands for unemployment insurance, we've got more demands for people who've lost their health care, more demand for food stamps. That will put enormous strains on the federal budget as well as the state budget.

So the most important thing we can do for our budget crisis right now is to make sure that the economy doesn't continue to tank. And that's why passing the economic recovery plan is the right thing to do, even though I recognize that it's expensive. Look, I would love not to have to spend money right now. This notion that somehow I came in here just ginned up to spend $800 billion, that wasn't -- that wasn't how I envisioned my presidency beginning. But we have to adapt to existing circumstances.

Now, what we are going to also have to do is to make sure that as soon as the economy stabilizes, investment begins again; we're no longer contracting but we're growing; that our mid-term and long-term budget is dealt with. And I think the same is true for individual consumers. Right now they're just trying to figure out, how do I make sure that if I lose my job, I'm still going to be able to make my mortgage payments. Or they're worried about how am I going to pay next month's bills. So they're not engaging in a lot of long-term financial planning.

Once the economy stabilizes and people are less fearful, then I do think that we're going to have to start thinking about how do we operate more prudently, because there's no such thing as a free lunch. So if you want to get -- if you want to buy a house, then putting zero down and buying a house that is probably not affordable for you in case something goes wrong, that's something that has to be reconsidered.

So we're going to have to change our bad habits. But right now, the key is making sure that we pull ourselves out of the economic slump that we're in.

Go Georgia Tech!

2009-02-16T12:24:00.000-08:00

Saw this in an article on CNNSI.com and it made me proud to be a jacket!

No.1 - Biggest College Football Loss: Cumberland College Bulldogs

Prior to the 1916 college football season, Cumberland folded its football team, but due to a scheduling obligation, they needed to suit up once more to play its game against Georgia Tech or risk a $3,000 fine. Cumberland’s baseball team had run up the score 22-0 on GT earlier that year, so Tech head coach John Heisman (of Heisman Trophy fame) wanted to teach Cumberland a lesson. Tech led 126-0 at halftime, but Heisman didn’t take his foot off the gas. The GT quarterback passed for nearly 1,000 yards, and Cumberland was thoroughly embarrassed 222-0 in the most lopsided college game in history.

The Real Super Bowl

2009-02-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

From CTmagazine Twitter. This is an amazing football video about loving your neighbor, get your kleenex ready. http://tinyurl.com/bj55eu

The Extra Degree

2009-02-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

Awesome video called 212. Talks about how one extra degree really matters! Very inspirational about doing the little things that really matter.

"Chemical" Apple Pie

2009-02-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

Dan's wife Jennifer made a recipe for us today that I found in one of my science journals. It used to be on the back of Kraft butter crackers and uses a chemical reaction (with common household food ingredients) to turn them into something that tastes like apples!

Here's the article!

She also made a regular apple pie. Jennifer is a great cook so we know it was done right and believe it or not the taste and texture were a dead ringer. Who would have figured?

Now that's Fast Internet - Buckhead Church Live Video

2009-02-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

Curious about the new "live" video at Buckhead Church?

The live feed does go over a dedicated fiber circuit to work. It doesn’t actually ever hit the internet - it goes over a portion of AT&T’s fiber network that they have dedicated to us for this service. The actual circuit is a TV1 circuit, and is 270Mbps, and we can send/receive video/audio from any campus. We also have backup video running over the circuit that connects all our campus computer networks together - just incase.

I'm a tech junkie and love this stuff!

Made in the USA

2009-01-29T12:39:00.001-08:00

Read an article today that said if every american shifted $20/month in spending from import to "made in the USA" it would mean 5 million new jobs, makes you think.

Funny Super Bowl Ad

2009-01-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

The Moment

2009-01-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Very cool Microsoft Photosynth software that created "The Moment" where you can zoom and rotate in 3D all over the moment of the oath. Just click on the link to go to CNN. It's a compilation of thousands of snapshots. Pretty fun! You can actually do this yourself on your vacation by combining a bunch of images of the same area.

Another cool thing was a satellite image from a company called GeoEye to the right. They do the images for Google Earth and I also happen to be an investor. This particular one shows DC a couple of hours before. Click on it to see the high resolution version and be able to zoom and pan.

Great Job Andy!

2009-01-21T07:37:00.001-08:00

Andy did a great job at the National Prayer Service! It was strange to see him in a suit. Happy to see that places like Fox and CNN carried it. Here's a couple of screen captures, just click on the picture to see the larger version. You can also watch it on YouTube by clicking here. So one question, did Andy have a chance to slip him the "Letters to the Next President" from our series several months ago?

Christianity Today had a nice article about Andy being the only one to mention Jesus.

Here's the text of Andy's prayer:

Gracious God, whose glory is in all the world: We commend this nation to your merciful care that, being guided by your Providence, we may dwell secure in your peace. Grant to Barack Obama, President of the United States,and to all in authority, your grace and good will. Bless them with your heavenly gifts. Give them wisdom and strength to know and do your will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness,and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve the people of this land in honor of you;through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We Have to Go Back...Lost Returns!

2009-01-21T06:39:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm a huge lost fan. Can't wait for tonight! Such great stories within a story that really reward you for watching the smallest of details.

Late Show = Accidental President Biden?

2009-01-21T06:12:00.000-08:00

Heard Biden might have "officially" been President for a few minutes because the swearing in was late and Bush was off at noon. Interesting. Actually I guess Obama was the President at noon anyway without even taking the oath due to a change made as part of the 20th amendment that also moved inauguration from March to January.

Guess he could have sat on his couch and he still would have become president.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T06:21:00.001-08:00

OK, so I'm a political junkie, so I'm loving the last couple of days. I'll be at work, thought about staying home, but will be streaming it the whole day in the background. I was in DC just this past June on my way to Uganda and I spend about 6 hours there on a layover. I was by myself and I walked the WHOLE mall rolling my bag behind me. Really fun to watch now as I feel I have an idea of the setting. I remember seeing President Clinton speak live near my college on a beautiful Wisconsin Labor day weekend. It was the official kickoff to his reelection bid. I really didn't have any particular view back then, but it was just an amazing event to be part of.

So my pastor, Andy Stanley, is actually there, from a Twitter blog from his assistant I guess he's got tickets for being pretty close, she posted a picture. Here's the announcement. He'll be offering a prayer tomorrow at 9:30am as part of the national prayer service. Here is a link to the National Cathedral website who will be webcasting it live as well as CNN.com.

This is an amazing moment in history of political optimism, church attendance is way up all over the country and there seems to be a sense of unity. Here's one vote hoping it isn't a window in time that's squandered.

Cartersville has a Science Museum

2009-01-17T19:17:00.000-08:00

My little Cartersville is getting so big, we have a Starbucks, Moe's, Kohl's and now a 1st class science museum, the Tellus Science Museum. It has a hands-on area, cool minerals, fossils, a telescope, a planetarium, gem mining and an area dedicated to transportation. The dinosaur area has some really unique stuff and the transport has an EV1 electric car and spacecraft.

The whole place just has a really nice feel to it. They're looking for volunteers for a few hours a month and I would love to spend Saturday mornings there. I love teaching kids about science.

Cartersville is really becoming museum central. We have the Indian Mounds and a beautiful new Western Art Museum. The art museum has this one exhibit of all the presidents with facts about them and a handwritten item from each of them.

Oh, and for my brother-in-law Ed, right across the street from the Science Museum is a giant Harley store!

The Terminal Part 2!

2009-01-14T06:59:00.001-08:00

I love Air France.....not.

So my return from Germany was a bit eventful and took a while. The plan was to fly from Nurnberg on Monday morning, connect in Paris and land in Atlanta late Monday afternoon, but it didn't quite go down that way.

There was quite a bit of snow in Germany on Sunday and Monday, but we got off on time, which was great because we had an extremely tight connection in Paris. We knew we'd be running from terminal 2G, which is in the middle of nowhere to 2E. Our next plane was a run, 15 min bus ride, run, stop through emigration, train ride, security line and run away and we only had a little over an hour to do it. Thankfully, or at least we thought at the time, our flight to Atlanta was delayed by an hour. Believe it or not though, we would have still made it in time! Our flight was scheduled for 1:30pm

So anyway we boarded the plane and sat for 4 hours waiting for our slot to takeoff. They served us a beverage and I even watched the movie Hancock (good flick). They told us the airport had slowed way down because of the snow to 10 takeoffs an hour, but we could still see planes coming and going so we figured we were just waiting our turn. I guess Paris doesn't get much snow and they're really not all that prepared. The crew really gave almost no info about what was going on. Me being a Wisconsin boy thought the 1-2" dusting looked like nothing. Then came the news, our flight had been canceled and we had to get off the plane after over 4 hours! I guess our crew had "burned out" and didn't have enough hours left to legally fly. Total bummer, I was supposed to be at work the next day.

They told us to stand in line and they'd get us new flights and hotels. They had 4 people at the gate trying to help 270 people and we literally didn't move for 3 hours, customer service was closed. We were about 2/3 of the way in the back as we sat in the back of the plane. We heard rumors that there were no hotels and no flights home until Thursday as everything was full. Then they had a moment of customer service "brilliance" and decided to close those 4 windows and ask everyone to go to a customer service window halfway across the terminal which they opened. In reality what happened was the back of the line now became the front as it was just a wild scramble. Customer service had one person. Oh, and we were also supposed to claim our luggage and we had bought 4 bottles of duty free French wine that we didn't know if we could get home now or have to maybe try drink because we'd have to leave security and they only allow 3oz back in!

I overheard an Air France lady telling another customer, "No flights today or tomorrow, maybe Wednesday or Thursday, oh, no hotels left either. We recommend you leave and try your best to find a place on your own and we'll reimburse you, If you can't find a hotel you can sleep here. Call tomorrow." I ended up calling work back home from my cell (can't wait to get the bill on that one) and they found a place nearby after about 15 minutes of looking, why the airline couldn't was beyond me. Work also stayed on-hold with Air France in the US for over 2 hours and no one ever answered, more on that later. By some miracle our luggage was still there at baggage claim some 6 hours later along with about 2,000 other bags still going around the belt (we found out later it was a good thing we claimed our luggage, the people who slept in the airport were told the luggage would be put back if they didn't claim it, but we got an e-mail from one girl saying hers is still missing one week later). Got to the hotel right near the airport at about 11pm, keep in mind our flight was supposed to leave at 1:30pm. Had a nice dinner with fish and salsify (very interesting veggie). Tried to call and go online to Air France, but the front desk said the airline had shutdown the website and the phone, people just stayed on-hold forever. Went to bed slept like 2 hours. Found out later they had just closed customer service later and the people in front of us (who became good friends) never made it to the window. They told everyone that they had decided, finally, at 2:30am to reschedule our flight for the next day rather than try to get us on other flights. Why the wait is beyond me. They basically said, "Closed, we go home now. We get you tickets tomorrow and grab your stuff and sleep in another terminal because this one is closing." Felt bad for our new friends the next day, we gave them my cell and said they could sleep in chairs or anywhere they could find room in our hotel, but they decided to stay at the airport and try to get flights.

Woke-up at 4am and left for the airport shortly after. Wanted to be in the front of the lines as we learned how slow they moved the day before. The airport was nuts. Customers were sleeping everywhere on cardboard, on luggage belts in kiosks, it was nuts. Heard rumors of near riots. A fellow passenger later remarked, "We're all just 24 hours away from becoming hobos....how true." There were already large lines and the windows weren't set to open for about an hour. We didn't realize the flight had been rescheduled yet, but heard a rumor.

Finally went to an elite counter (my reward for flying too much for work) and found someone to take mercy on me and helped me even though it was a baggage check counter and not really open yet. I asked him about the rumored 388a, the rescheduled flight, and he said we were on it and it left at 11:30am. Praise God! After some more gymnastics and about a long process of checking luggage (since at first they could find no record nay part of our reservation at first) we were reunited with our new friends at the gate. To tell all the highs and lows would take forever, believe it or not this is the abbreviated version!

Well we ended up boarding 2 hours late. The airline communicated almost nothing, as usual. After we boarded we sat for about 5 hours on the plane. We all lived in fear of our crew timing out again, but they assured us we'd leave. We pushed back, then I heard an engine cutoff and then out my window I saw two guys on a ladder taking apart the engine. My heart sank, you have to be kidding me! It ended up (and thanks to the pilot for finally being a member of Air France that knew something about communicating) that they were doing a deicing verification. After some deicing of the wings and taking the taxiway to China, to much relief we took-off to the cheers of a happy (well maybe more relived plane). Some of us weren't relieved until we were halfway over the Atlantic and couldn't return to Paris! At 10pm we landed in Atlanta, what a long day. Some of our new friends had missed connections and were now looking forward to spending a night in Atlanta, felt for them. I got home at 1am, almost exactly 48 hours from leaving my sister's in Germany with only a few hours of sleep in between. Had to be into work at 8am the next day, yikes, but by the grace of God I really survived it with very little trouble somehow.

What a journey.

Bottom lines.

Being stuck in Paris, not nearly as great as it seems. We had a one day stopover on the way to Germany to tour, so at least we had seen the city recently.
Based upon the customer service I saw in Paris, I'm not holding my breath about being reimbursed for my $350 hotel (and that was a cheap hotel)
I understand the movie, "The Terminal" based on a true story from the Paris airport.
We got home safe and sound, the most important thing, and this didn't tarnish an amazing trip to Europe. At the time it was rough, now it makes a good story.
Met some cool people and it's amazing how fast people can bond and become like family in certain situations

Dialog in the Dark

2008-11-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

Had an awesome experience Saturday at Atlantic Station. At Dialog in the Dark you get to be blind for an hour. You're actually lead by blind guides in total darkness and carry a cane while you walk through everyday environments. The first couple of minutes are kind of frightening, but it's amazing how fast your body adapts and how your other senses come alive. I highly recommend it!

Your vote is worth more than you think!

2008-11-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Besides doing your patriotic duty on Tuesday, voting can get you some discounts and freebies.

Sporting your "I'm a Georgia Voter" sticker will get you a free star-shaped patriotic doughnut with red, white and blue sprinkles from Krispy Kreme.

Need some coffee to go with that doughnut? Take your sticker over toStarbucks for a free 12oz. cup of Joe (and we don't mean Joe the Plumber).

If you've got room for dessert head over to Ben & Jerry's. They are giving away a free scoop of ice-cream to voters between 5:00 p.m and 8:00 p.m. on election night.

If filling up on caffeine and sugar isn't your thing, take the family out for a day at the zoo. Zoo Atlanta is offering half-off admission for voters and their families onelection day.

The Atlanta Business Chronical reports that Atlanta-based barbecue joint Shane's Rib Shack will give you a free meal for voting. Show your sticker after 11:00 a.m. Tuesday for a free "Vote America Meal." The Vote America meal includes three hand-breaded chicken tenders, fries and a 20-ounce drink.

Go out and vote!

Halloween is going to suck this year...

2008-10-08T11:54:00.001-07:00

Buckhead Music Project

2008-08-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/buckheadmusicproject

Danish (I mean Vienna Bread) in Denmark

2008-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I was in Denmark for work and I had a Danish. Funny story, they don't call them a "danish" in Denmark, but rather "Vienna Bread." They were invented hundreds of years ago in a time when people didn't travel much and the inventor just thought "Vienna Bread" sounded more exotic!

Election Guide Video

2008-07-17T07:45:00.001-07:00

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

My Friends at Work Having Fun with Me

2008-07-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

Ugandan authorities release American jailed for espionage

BBC News Updated every minute of every day
News Front Page
Africa

Page last updated at 15:17 GMT, Monday, 26 May 2008

By Jeff H. Merlot (Rome, GA field reporter and food critic)

A US citizen from Cartersville, Georgia was released last night by government authorities in Uganda. Doug Mancosky’s harrowing experience began shortly after his arrival at the Kampala airport. During a routine luggage search, drawings and plans for a “Shock Wave Power” reactor were discovered. Lord's Resistance Army rebel leaders, claimed that the SPR was a weapon of mass destruction and hauled Mancosky before the Ugandan High Court. Media reports in Uganda say Justice Akiiki Kiiza, assisted by Eldad Mwangusya and Lady Justice Ibanda Nahamya, who served at Sierra Leone's UN-backed war crimes court asked but one question. “Could the SPR be used as a weapon of mass destruction?” Mr. Mancosky reportedly replied; “That depends….” And was immediately beaten and jailed.

In an unprecedented action, The High Court sentenced Mr. Mancosky to death by cavitation. While awaiting his appointment with destiny, the resourceful American, with his hands bound behind his back, managed to free his left thumb and used his Blackjack phone to file a provisional patent for the use of the SPR as a means of execution and torture of research scientists. Mancosky then fashioned a prison key from a bar of Laffy Taffy, used it to release over a dozen prisoners and had just finished training them as Lightnin reps, when government officials arrived. Furious rebel leader Joseph Kony, despite his reputation for anarchy, lawlessness and ruthless atrocities, knew better than to violate a provisional patent and released the McGuiver-like Mancosky.

Kony had a further setback later that afternoon when upon returning to the Presidential palace, found it occupied by Mr. Kelly Hudson. Hudson, flush with cash from the recent sale of his company Hydro Dynamics to M&M Mars, decided to use the proceeds to buy the nation itself.

“When I was growing up as a boy in rural North Georgia, many of my friends longed to play centerfield in the big leagues or become an astronaut, but it has always been my dream to own an impoverished, corruption ridden, third world African nation on the verge of civil war” said Mr. Hudson. When asked if he was prepared for the bloodshed, back-stabbing, and political intrigue inherent with the position, Hudson’s response was “Yes, it reminds me of the carpet industry.”

In a related note, the Wall Street Journal reported that a long lost Hydro Partner was given the war-torn Darfur region of the Sudan, as a finder’s fee.

Well if they can write it in the paper it's got to be correct right?

2008-06-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

So the newspapers over there have some funny stories. One headline talked about people making counterfeit 500 shilling coins. With the exchange rate that's about $0.30. Don't you think you could get a little more adventurous than counterfeiting a quarter? In another article it talked about how who I believe is the surgeon general of Uganda saying that men should not be in the delivery room during birth. I guess "evidence" shows that it makes labor longer, harder and more painful. It also, supposedly, makes that man less attracted to his wife (due to what he sees) and thus more likely to avoid his wife and spend more time in the pub. The papers also had some pictures of Chris Tomlin which I'm sure they contacted Passion to get the proper permission to use. Well if they can write it in the paper it's got to be correct right?

More Pictures

2008-06-12T20:35:00.001-07:00

To see the rest of my pictures, click below!

passionkampala.snapfish.com/snapfish

(Note: You may have to create an account if you don't have one to view)

First Day Back and More Stories

2008-06-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

OK, so I borrowed a few of these pics from the official Passion blog, but they used a few of my pictures so I figured turnabout was fair play.

Well today was my first day back at work and it actually went really smoothly, no real effects of jet lag, go figure. My feet and body feel pretty good. I guess that's just as the song goes, "Amazing Grace." Today I sort of feel like Jack from the show LOST in last year's season finale, "We have to go back!" Note, I am a huge LOST fan, I didn't watch it the first 2 years, but am hooked now and am watching season 1 and 2 on DVD now. If I could watch 1 hour of TV a week, that would be it. I just can't wait to be involved in another Passion event either on another stop on the world tour or in the next US event.

It's amazing how a trip to Africa changes your perspective. I rode MARTA from the airport to downtown through south Atlanta and remember thinking, "Wow, this is a pretty nice neighborhood." I don't think I ever thought I'd feel that way about that section of track and, although I know Atlanta is building, I don't think it changed as much as I did. I'm sure over time some details and memories will fade, but some changes will be forever. We had such an great group of volunteers that worked so hard and gave so much, but I know we all received back more than we gave.

Passion Kampala still seems almost surreal. Some fun stories. So it's the last night and I'm sitting in volunteer central on a chair and there are maybe 4 other people off in the distance. This huge Ugandan man comes up to me and totally straight-faced says, "Get Up!" I was like, "I'm sorry?" and he said again, "Get Up!" I was a slight bit worried and got up slowly and he proceeded to wrap me in a bear hug and thank me for coming to Kampala, an amazing moment.

Final story for the day, driving. Speed limits, lanes...mere suggestions. The ride to the airport is a 2 lane road and there are some slow cars in Uganda and tight turns, making passing interesting. We were riding in a bus back to the airport and we were 4 hours early for our flight and our driver was passing like crazy, sometimes too close for comfort. Matt was screaming, "Patrick (our driver) I want to see my mom again!" or "We're 4 hours early!" We put our hands up like on a roller coaster for one picture. Sometimes we'd be in the straddling the middle line with a car on each side going in opposite directions. I expected a NASCAR announcer or someone from the movie Cars to be screaming, "Three Wide! Three Wide!"

Well more stories to come and I'll also be uploading all my pics soon.

Welcome Home..Customs Just 1 Mile That Way

2008-06-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm back home in Atlanta and my flights were all actually early! Went through customs in Detroit and had to walk forever from the plane. Well more tomorrow when I get a chance to recover a bit!

Going Home

2008-06-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

Well I leave for the airport in about 2.5 hours, so it will be so long Africa at that point and the beginning of the 24 hour journey home. We have the "Passion" flight, some 50 people associated with the event flying out. If you want to see some really cool crowd shots from last night, check out the official blog:

http://www.268blog.blogspot.com/

This trip has been amazing and I leave having experienced and seen things that leave me changed. As I get home I have no doubt I'll post more funny stories from our food backstage being delivered by a taxi onto the field with other people in the back sharing the cab waiting for another destination (the fit like 16 people into a taxi van) to half of us getting loopy at night from the malarone side effects (for malaria).

I leave Africa feeling satisfied and happy, yet eager to get home. So far no strange bugs or sickness for anyone on our team, except for one who had some ice and had one bad evening. The people here took such good care of us all around. Also I guess the kids last night gave a ton of money to Paris, that's amazing!

See you all at home!

LED!

2008-05-31T23:46:00.000-07:00

Oh, for the last session which had tons of pitcures from space in it the other LED finally worked right!

Day Two Passion Kampala

2008-05-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well this will be short because it is 1 am local time. So here is my list of moments for the day:

Chris Tomlin and the children's group singing "There is Love" which is an African beat song. So wonderful.

Each Passion event the students always give to support the next event. I got to hold a bucket and it was amazing to see kids in Africa give to make Passion Paris happen. Talk about a moving experience.

The sunset over the field
The Ugandan, heart, these people are so warm and loving.

My great volunteers who worked so hard!

How smoothly everything went, God is Good!

The fact that I hurt everywhere, but still have such joy about what happens

That more than 20,000 students got to experience Passion

The amazing friends I've made with fellow volunteers

That I'm in my hotel and we don't have to meet until 10:45 tomorrow!

Well I intend to write more tomorrow, but for now it's off to bed.

LED? Who Cares? Passion Kampala!

2008-05-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

Day one is in the books and was amazing! There were some early worries with running out of volunteer credentials and t-shirts and even a rumor that a place in town was printing fake ones, but in the end everything went so smoothly! OK, so the second LED didn't work, but it didn't even seem to matter and after the session it looked like they might have finally got it working! I'm sorry about the poor night shot, it was really hard to get a pic to do the atmosphere justice, but it was electric.

OK, back to the beginning. I was blessed with an awesome group of volunteers, so willing to help and so energetic. They all belong to one of two churches and are pretty close friends. When I had my first meeting with them this morning I had to step away to take a cell call (speaking of which, the Ugandan cell system is cool, you can get reception anywhere and I mean anywhere and it's pretty cheap, even to the states). So anyway I step to the side and within about a minute my whole group sprung into song singing, "I am a friend of God." They all were awesome for me today.

The event start was surreal. The music started and the words started flashing on the screen and it all kind of hit me that Passion Kampala had happened. The Ugandans really get into things too. my best estimate of crowd tonight, maybe 20,000 with more expected tomorrow. It was awesome to here the crowd singing "God of this City." The crowd moved so easy it was amazing.

Well I might be a little tired, a little red and have some blisters on my feet, but I know I'm not the only one in that group and I believe in grace. Tomorrow is a long day, but I have no doubt that it will be a great day for Kampala. Good night.

20,000 and SPF 30

2008-05-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like a venue! It has a perimeter fence, tents and the second LED wall is almost back in place and things are looking promising for it to work. It was a beautiful day, no rain. This sun is brutal though, I had SPF 30 on and I reapplied 4 times and still got lit up and a little burned. Sound checks looked awesome, something amazing is going to happen in Kampala. It just melts your heart to see Chris Tomlin on stage playing "How Great is Our God" with an African children's group singing behind him. I think when they started the whole field froze for a couple of minutes and just stopped to take it all in.

So here's the really exciting news, we already have 20,000 students registered! There is just a buzz everywhere and tomorrow I think the place is going to go nuts. The voluteers are awesome, so eager to serve. We have so many who want to help, hopefully we can find roles for all of them.

So are there still worries and prayers? Sure. Good weather would make things so much easier. Loading the students on and off the field will be a challenge, but our folks have a great plan. Also, hopefully we won't be in a situation where we have to turn anyone away.

So it's late and I'm tired, but I'll share a quick story from the people at registration. So there was this little African boy, maybe 7, that was trying to get in. Finally he shows up at the gate and must have heard some of the volunteers talking because he said, "I'm Chris Tomlin and I'm here to play my guitar at 4:00!"

Good night and the next time you here from me I should have pictures of Passion Kampala!

The Sights and Smells of Africa

2008-05-28T13:09:00.002-07:00

A note about the look and feel of Africa. I will never complain about the air quality in Atlanta again. It's like you picked-up a 2 pack a day habit coming here. Most trash is burned and I don't think most cars are passing Georgia emissions. Africa sort of looks how you think it would, but two things strike you. The first is the unique smell which sort of smells like a mixture of mud and fire. The second is the joy of the people. I was struck at the orphanage that even in a place like that with no parents in Africa, the kids made pictures that said, "God is Good."

Boats, War Eagle, Rain and Things Get a Little Insane

2008-05-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

What a day. So we started off with our morning meeting. Then a large part of us went off to an orphange in a town called Bethany, however, getting there was a little different than I expected. So we were to take a bus to the shore of Lake Victoria and then take a boat the rest of the way. Most of us were thinking a ferry style boat and someone even asked if we were going to drive the bus on the boat....um no. This boat kind of reminded me of a large wooden canoe with a small motor and it launched from a dock that really felt like Africa. We asked if people swam in the water and the comment back was, "Only in and emergency." When we got there we also saw ant hills as high as people, probably something best to stay away from.

The orphange was great. The kids were wonderful. There was a group there from Auburn University too. Pam, for your sake I made a video of them doing the "War Eagle" cheer and I guess they taught it to some of the kids too. It was a pretty powerful trip. It was a place of joy and happiness and the kids have a singing troop that performed for us too.

IWe had a huge 30 minute rain shower and it caused some major chaos at the field. Rivers and lakes were formed in the field. We had a 2 ton LED video wall come crashing down into the spectator area on the field and some general flooding. No one was injured. We really need for it not to rain on Friday or Saturday. I so trust the people on this trip and have no doubt by Friday things will be right. They think there's a chance it can still work and there are fences being put in place to protect from it happening again.

More Kodak Moments

2008-05-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

We've Upgraded! (From Goats to Cows)

2008-05-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

So it was a little warm out there today. We spent about 4 hours on the field and were getting roasted, I can't imagine what 12 hours on Saturday will be like. Clouds without rain will be a wonderful thing.

We have part of a fence and the rest appears to be going well! We also had cows grazing and the goats were still around too. Someone had the bright idea that maybe we could put sandwich boards on them and use them for advertising.

So it's Tuesday and I guess we have 10,000 people registered already. The rumor is that we might have 30,000 college kids inside the perimeter and up to another extremely large group of non-college folks around the outside. You have to show a college ID to get in and we're thinking me might have a crowd control issue. I guess Ugandans don't handle queues too well and sometimes just form a human spear at the point of entry and shove. They also tend to not want to show-up until right when the event starts. We're thinking a crossing guard type with white gloves a red stop sign isn't going to cut it, so we're going to need to work some major crowd control magic.

Lunch was interesting, pizza served in chicken boxes. They were labled veggie, chicken, beef and meat. We didn't really know what "meat" was. Food here is interesting and it's really about psychology. If you order something "american" and expect it to taste like back home, you'll probably be disappointed. If you go with the local stuff with little to no expectations, it'll probably be good.

Went to the local market and, like a Monty Python movie, You Have to Haggle! Got some pretty cool stuff, but since some of you reading this blog will be getting some of it I'll just keep that to myself for now.

Things to Pray for....."TIA"

2008-05-27T00:58:00.000-07:00

OK, so here's the list of current worries for you all to pray for:

We don't really have a good rain plan, so sunshine would be nice.

That the fence would be built the way we hope to help us have some level of security.

That no one gets Malaria. (I guess even with bug spray and medication it can still happen)

That we find a good way to queue the students to load the field and get the students on and off with minimal issues. Right now we only have two doors, but hope to come up with something so we don't have to open 5 hours early and take 5 hours to empty the place plus have an evacuation risk with the expected 30,000 (and people think we'll hit the number).

That catering, security and other services come through. I guess the local Coke distributor backed out lat week from providing water because they were out. Hopefully we don't have too many similar issues.

I heard a pupular saying here is "TIA" which stands for "This Is Africa" and it basically means don't count on things being the way you expect. Everything takes longer, doesn't happen, isn't what you anticipated or is more expensive than you think. We have some great Ugandans working with us, but there are a lot of moving parts that need to fall just right.

Here's a pic of the stage coming together.

Well, it's off to morning meeting and the field!

Caterpillars!

2008-05-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Don't touch! See post from a week ago.

OK, Now I Feel Like I'm in Africa

2008-05-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, this place is as advertised. The streets remind me of a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. Street markets, scooters darting everywhere, it's like a beehive. The food has been tough already, it's all very good, but steering clear of bad water is tough. It's hard to think of avoiding anything that could have been washed with water. So they handle restaurant customer service a little different. It's simultaneously spectacular and interesting. They are so attentive and professional, but some things make you wonder. Someone ordered a burger, it was someones else's at a different table and he had already taken the cheese off of it and put it to the side of the plate. The server actually took the plate back, gave him the right one and took the plate, melted cheese on the side and all and gave it to the table next to us!

Another strange thing, be on the lookout for "fake" water. I guess they drain the sealed bottles out the bottom for the "good" water and then refill it with "bad" stuff. I guess you check the bottom for an injection hole and really avoid buying from someone you don't know. Theft is a big issue, but the locals tell us that people will take unprotected stuff, but crimes against people are pretty low.

So we headed to the "field" for the first time today. It's always a good sign when goats are grazing where you hope to hold a concert in 4 days. The stage is going up and the big project is getting a fence around the perimeter right now for security. We hope and pray that it will be done in time. This equator sun is INTENSE too. You just feel like you're cooking even though it isn't all that hot out. I guess you can get burned in only 15 minutes unprotected. The weather in the shade is very pleasant though, just the right temp. All the Ugandan people we have met have been so warm and friendly

The pic to the left is the empty field, other than the goats. The start of the stage is just starting on the right side of the picture. We've spent part of the day planning, part making hospitality baskets and part at the venue. Had some downtime as well so we got in a few games of spades too and had an amazing back to back "blind low" comeback from almost 400 down!

No Ambien Required

2008-05-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Slept like a rock last night, about to start my first day! We have breakfast and then a meeting at 9am. Think we'll probably make it to the field where the event is shortly after that. From what I understand that area is surrounded by some pretty rough neighborhoods. Probably get my first Ugandan cell phone today, talk about an event. First little thing that it's tough to remember, to wash off your toothbrush with bottled water instead of stuff from the tap.

I'm Here!

2008-05-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

I have arrived and am at the hotel and internet appears to be working! This will be short because I'm pretty dead tired. The first thing I noticed here is how dark everything is at night. Most building are lit by a single bulb and most parking areas and streets are unlit. It was Sunday night at 10:30pm and auto shops were still open and stores were too, activity everywhere. Our hotel is very nice, the President of Uganda actually had a meeting here tonight! We were hoping he was here to greet us, but no such luck. Well more tomorrow and here are a couple of quick pics of the dark at the airport and an African sunset from the plane.

In DC next Stop Paris

2008-05-24T12:47:00.001-07:00

Had a great walking tour of DC on my layover, now about ready to board for Paris! This is a picture of the White House that I actually took! I'm really proud of it. I have a bunch more of the Vietnam Memorial, Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Capital. Gotta love a $3.10 city bus and an 8 hour layover. Had a real American lunch, McDonald's chicken nuggets on the national mall. Note, download speeds are OK here, but upload is lousy, so will probably limit pics to 2-3 key ones per day.

Packed and Ready!

2008-05-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

Well I am writing this to you from the lobby of the B concourse at the Atlanta airport! I am packed and ready. Checked my bag all the way to Uganda and waved goodbye and hoped to see it again. I have a really long 8 hour layover in DC and then a short one in Amsterdam so I'm hoping all the timing works out. Who knows, maybe I'll leave the airport in DC for a bit and be a tourist. Then it's off to Paris. Well here's to on-time and comfortable flights! More later!

...But I Did Stay at the Serena Hotel Last Night

2008-05-24T02:26:00.000-07:00

Well here's the hotel in Uganda, the Serena, that I'll be staying at. Looks like a pretty nice place to call home for a couple of days. It appears pretty Western and I hope the Wi-Fi works!

To DEET or Not to DEET.

2008-05-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

OK, so I will have to credit Pam with the above title. I guess they grow so pretty big mosquitos in Africa so bug spray is a must. The travel clinic was too funny. They said something to the effect of, "Use lots of bug spray with DEET. DEET is a poison and not very good for you, but effective...Use something with lots of DEET." So I took this to mean that bugs are a pretty big issue over there, especially with things like yellow fever. Well let's just hope mosquitos don't find me too attractive. OK, so I'm a chemist, so I thought I'd throw the chemical structure of DEET up here too.

Singing in the Rain in Kampala

2008-05-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

So I guess it does rain in Africa. Got an e-mail today telling us to bring gear and flashlights to work in the rain.

This could be just like "One Day" in the rain (an outdoor Passion event several years ago where it rained) except in Uganda.....see forcast below with 65% and 70% chance of rain:

FridayMay 30
Afternoon: Showers / Clear
Hi: 76° Lo: 64°
Evening: Drizzle. High 76F and low 64F.
Rain 65%

SaturdayMay 31
Afternoon: Showers
Hi: 74° Lo: 62°
Evening: Drizzle. High 74F and low 62F.
Rain 70%

This could make life more interesting........Well God is in control so if he wants rain then let it rain.

Go! Pack! Go!...But Crisp $100 Bills Only Please

2008-05-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for those of you from Wisconsin, you probably recognize the first part of the title above as a stadium chant for the Green Bay Packers, but I think that's going to be my life for the next couple of days. I have to go and do things like get my prescriptions filled for Malarone, Cipro and Ambien, get some other supplies like breakfast bars and pack like crazy. I also need to go to the bank to get some major cash as I guess you get nearly double the exchange rate when you use crisp and unfolded $100 bills from the year 2001 and beyond. Talk about picky. I'm really hoping to not procrastinate and get most of my packing done by sat Thursday, but you know what they say about good intentions.

I guess according to our leaders, we're all set and the only thing left to do is show-up in Uganda. Still doesn't seem quite real yet, but I'm sure it will Saturday morning!

Don’t Touch the Caterpillars

2008-05-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

So these were some fun words from a recent e-mail about Uganda, "Don’t touch the caterpillars on the event field! Redness and swelling sure to follow." The first site below is all about caterpillars in Uganda and the second is a YouTube video of a huge caterpillar that's really kind of freaky:

http://travel.mongabay.com/uganda/topics/caterpillars.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xLOtd5EcAg

I'm both excited and nervous about the new world I'm about to enter. I love experiencing different cultures and especially love trying new foods, but I might have to reel that in a bit over there for the sake of my health. I guess theft is also a pretty big issue over there, but I can't think of anything that I'm bringing over that would even be close to resisting letting anyone take. My biggest worries right now are things like a stomach bug or sunburn or sore feet or something else that would stop me from being able to help in all the ways I want to. I'm also hoping that Pam and my mom don't worry too much while I'm gone, I'm sure they'll do great though and I've so much appreciated all their support. Other than that, as long as I don't get my passport stolen, or I get it replaced if I do so that I can get home, I'll be happy. I so much trust the team I'm with and have faith know we'll be watched over and given the grace to push through even the stuff that seems tough and confusing at the time.

Running Through Schiphol

2008-05-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

So here are all my flight plans. The one thing you'll notice below is that I have only 50 minutes to get off my flight from Paris and on my flight to Uganda. This is the part where we all hope and pray I don't have any delays and that the gates are somewhat close and not on opposite ends of the world. I may have to wear my running shoes and plan on packing all the critical stuff in carry-on luggage as I'm not really counting on my luggage making it. Oh well, hopefully it all works out! Oh, in case you didn't know, Schiphol is the name of the airport in Amsterdam. So if you want to know how fast I have to run that day, you can check it out with a flight tracker website like the one below and my flights are also listed:

http://www.flytecomm.com/cgi-bin/trackflight

Sat 24 MAY DELTA 1044 LV ATLANTA 705A AR WAS-DULLES 846A

Sat 24 MAY AIR FRANCE 39 LV WAS-DULLES 445P AR PARIS-DEGAUL 615A

Sun 25 MAY KLM ROYAL DUTCH 1228 LV PARIS-DEGAUL 900A AMSTERDAM 1020A

Sun 25 MAY KLM ROYAL DUTCH 561 LV AMSTERDAM 1110A AR ENTEBBE UG 815P

Sun 01J UN KLM ROYAL DUTCH 562 LV ENTEBBE UG 1020P AR AMSTERDAM 550A

Mon 02 JUN NORTHWEST 39 OK W LV AMSTERDAM 800A AR DETROIT METRO 1035A

Mon 02 JUN DELTA 1819 OK N LV DETROIT METRO 1150A AR ATLANTA 146P COACH

Visa, It's Everywhere You Want to Be

2008-05-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

So I got my Uganda visa in the mail today and I guess that was my last hurdle. It's a little boring looking, basically a tan sticker that says Uganda and has my name on it, but if it gets me in and out of the country, that's all I care about. It's always a little disconcerting to mail your passport into the great unknown and hope you get it back, so when I saw it in the mail today it was a big exhale. 11 days to go and so much I'd like to get done before I leave and work is very busy too. Here's hoping to close out the next two weeks well, but still leave time for reflection and all the important relationships in my life so I show up at the airport in the right place spiritually and mentally.

A Shot in the Arm......or Two or Three or Four

2008-05-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago I went and got my immunizations for my trip. I admit to being a little worried about it as I really don't like shots. The nurse at the Peachtree Travel Clinic was great though. She told me that 98% of people don't like shots and the 2% that do kind of scare them. They also said that 100% of the people in their office fell in the 98%. I had to get 4 shots (Hep A, Tetanus, Polio and Yellow Fever), two in each arm and 2 oral vaccines (Typhoid and Malarone). They said they have a philosophy that shots shouldn't have to hurt (especially with so many) and they really didn't! I remember walking in and praying, "God please help this not suck." and they this was an answered prayer. It was so cool, they had me ice down my arms to numb them and then gave me a kids pinwheel to blow out on while they gave the shot. They said they used to just tell people to exhale, but people would hold their breath and that didn't work, so they went to the pinwheel....the whole process was brilliant. I guess the record for shots in a day was 8 or 9, I feel bad for that poor person.

The oral typhoid was a riot. It's a pill that you take every other day over a week and have to keep in the fridge to keep alive (they promised me you couldn't actually get typhoid from it). I went on a business trip to Macon right after so I had to tote around a cooler to keep my typhoid alive.....things I never thought I'd say. The other guys on the trip from the partner company gave me a little grief like, "Shouldn't that have a biohazard sticker on it?", but were really supportive and shared some stories of their immunizations (they were both former military and got a ton of shots in not as kind of ways as I got them). The typhoid also got to travel to Panama City, Florida last week, talk about a well traveled virus. Took my last one today.

Well hopefully all these things, and a good antibiotic, keep me happy and healthy in Africa!

13 Days to Uganda

2008-05-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

Well only 13 days until I depart for Uganda to serve as part of the Passion world tour. May 24th is getting closer and still almost doesn't seem real. I have my plane ticket (through frequent flyer miles), got my shots and I should get my visa through the mail early this week. For those of you who aren't as familiar with Passion, check this out:

http://www.268generation.com

Here's a map of where it is in Africa. I hope to update everyone as the date approaches and then I should have internet in my hotel once I get there to be able to blog, post pictures and even video! Hopefully technology will cooperate and allow all of you to join me in this amazing journey.

If you'd like to donate (tax deductible), just send a check to the address below and write my name and Kampala in the memo line:

Passion Conferences

PO Box 5

Roswell , GA 30077

I also believe you can donate online by putting the same information in the comment section of the online form and selecting world tour:

https://web.memberclicks.com/mc/quickForm/viewForm.do?orgId=268gen2&formId=28478

Thanks for all your prayers, love and support!

My First Blog

2008-05-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well this is my first "blog" entry ever. Kind of strange for a guy who is usually on the cutting edge of technology. The main reason I'm creating this blog is to let all the important people in my life keep up with my upcoming trip to Uganda, but I suppose I can put some other fun stuff here too. Thanks for looking!