My Name Is Not Jonas

The Stars Were Out

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:07:00 +0000

I watched the MLB All-Star game Tuesday night, and... the madness continues. Maybe I shouldn't say I watched it. I had the game on, but I was busy doing other things. Other online journalists (you know, the ones who actually get paid for speaking their mind) have ranted over the current MLB All-Star format, and I have to agree with a few sentiments. But my take on it might be a little different. I'm neither a baseball purist nor some Bill Veeck (bonus points if you know who he is without looking him up). But the current all-star format leaves a lot to be desired.

First, what is the MLB All-Star Game? It's just like the home run derby. It's an exhibition between players of various teams, whose sole purpose is to generate more buzz and revenue for the league. It doesn't figure into any league statistics for the year (like when Eric Gagne blew the all-star game save, but it didn't affect his record-breaking save streak).

My biggest complaint has to be Bud Selig's silly notion that the all-star game should determine home field-advantage in the playoffs as an incentive for players to play hard in this exhibition game. Lets look at the other US pro team sports with a championship series, the NBA and NHL. Both of these leagues award home-field advantage in their best-of-seven finals to the team with the better record (or points in the NHL). Now, it is true that in the last six years, there has not been a game seven in the World Series. But why wait until after a World Series goes to a full seventh game and it does make a difference?

In the all-star game this year, the NL had Justin Upton, a right fielder, playing left field. Curtis Granderson hit a one-out drive to left, and Upton's route to the ball allowed Granderson to get to third base. After a walk, Granderson scored on a sacrifice fly to right field. Should home field advantage in the World Series be determined by a guy playing out of his normal position in an exhibition game?

I won't mention both rosters featuring (count 'em) four first basemen. Rather than expanded rosters of 33 players each (how did they even come up with that number?), why not pick the best 25 in each league, play them more than one at-bat, two innings in the field, or one inning as a pitcher, and try to win a ballgame? We should strive for quality, not quantity.

How about this: who cares if there is a tie? It's an exhibition anyway. Fans are watching to see their favorite players, the stars of the game compete. If the game goes to 14 innings, call it a tie and award a tie MVP for one player in each league. I bet after 14 innings, most of the fans will have gone home or tuned off anyway. Why? Because deep down no one really cares who wins!

It didn't always used to be like this, especially back in the 70's when Pete Rose ran over Ray Fosse. People had pride in their league, and the game meant something. But with the introduction of interleague play, the novelty of the twice-a-year AL vs. NL (all-star game and World Series) has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I do like interleague play. But it comes at the expense of things like the all-star game.

I'm not a fan of the designated hitter in regular games. But for goodness sakes, get the DH in the all-star game every year. I don't want to see Roy Halladay bat in an exhibition game.

Netbooks

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:14:00 +0000

I've been asked quite a bit about netbooks lately, so I'd like to give my thoughts. What exactly is a netbook? I haven't come across a good definition (although I'm sure one exists), so let me try to define it in layman's terms. A netbook is a mini-laptop (9"-12" screen) designed for light computing usage (web browsing, email, word processing).

The upside for a netbook is the portability. A netbook is perfect in an airplane seat (I always found with a full-size laptop that I would have to bend the screen down or recline my seat back). Netbooks are also very light, making them very ideal for traveling. The Dell Inspiron mini 9 even fits inside the top pouch of my Tamrac camera bag.

Price is another upside to the netbook. Most netbooks are in the ballpark of $300. Earlier generations can drop as low as $150-ish, and adding extra RAM and/or storage space will run you closer to $500 on the upper models.

Netbooks are even being subsidized by various cell phone providers. You can purchase a netbook through Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint (and maybe even T-mobile). Deals range from a small discount ($200 on Verizon or AT&T) to as low as a buck (Sprint). All of the discounts require a 2-year commitment to a data plan, which can range from $45/mo to $60/mo completely separate from your cell phone plan. If you are planning on forking over the money for the data plan, it might be worth it. All have 802.11g Wifi, and all of them either come with Bluetooth standard or as an option, so you have plenty of connectivity options rather can a cell phone wireless network.

The downside of the netbook is... well it's size, specifically the screen size. Most early netbooks have a 9" screen, and others are getting a 10" screen, with models topping out at 12". You can't see very much on the 9" screen and a max resolution of 1024x600. Most desktop LCDs and monitors will display atleast 1024x768, 1280x1024, or widescreen resolutions up to 1920x1080.

Another possible downside is performance. Most netbooks use the Intel Atom processor, a CPU designed for low power operation and longer battery life. Do not expect the netbook to be your road warrior for professional digital photography or video editing.

Another possible downside is that netbooks do not come with DVD drives. You can get an external DVD drive and plug into the USB port, but they do not have them built in. Personally, I consider this a plus. Why lug around a DVD drive when I barely use it? When I need one, I just plug it in. You can convert DVDs to a viewable movie file (and the netbook will work well for that), but you won't be able to pop a DVD into the netbook.

Along the same lines of small size and portability, the keyboard is smaller, and that is something you have to get used to. On the Dell Inspiron mini 9, for example, the quote/double quote key is not on the home row (see this picture). It is a tradeoff to have larger key sizes, but lose some keys, verses having all the keys where you expect them, but smaller. It drove me up the wall, every time I would hit the quote key, I would hit enter key instead. Netbooks are on display at retailers (Target, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, etc) and at cell phone stores (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc). Go and check the keyboard out before you buy. Make sure you are comfortable with both the size and placement.

Specs-wise, most netbooks can be upgraded to 2 GB of RAM for a decent price. Storage on the netbook I've used is only 4 GB. That's not a lot of space at all! Some netbooks use solid state hard drives, super quick drives that don't store as much information. Get one that has atleast 32 GB, although you might consider 64 GB, or 128 GB (based on cost). Other netbooks use rotating spindle hard drives, the ones we've been used to in desktops and laptops for years. They might come in 160 GB, 250 GB or 500 GB models.

Several manufacturers make netbooks, including Dell, HP/Compaq, Acer, ASUS, MSI, and countless others. All have a pretty big following in online communities, so do plenty of reading and searching on reviews and forums. It will help cut down on any surprises afterwards.

Netbooks are interesting. They have a niche between a smartphone and a full-blown laptop, and the costs are somewhere inbetween that range too. It really depends on what you want to do. If you want something cheap and portable to check email and type out a few documents on the road, the netbook is for you. If you want to check out those RAW photos you just shot, the netbook probably isn't for you.

Did you hear about the guy in a flood on his roof?

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Wed, 27 May 2009 04:13:00 +0000

It had been raining for days and nights, a flood gushing over the levy. The river raised so high that one gentleman was finally forced to get on the roof of his house. As the waters rose, an older man in a rowboat appeared and asked him if he'd like some help.

"No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in God. He will save me!" So the older man dipped his oars in the water and rowed away. The man on the roof prayed even harder for the Lord to save him. The waters rose even higher, and suddenly the sound of a speedboat filled the air.

"Get in!" shouted a couple from the boat.

"No thanks," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord and He will save me." So the man in the speedboat zoomed off leaving only a wake. The man on the roof prayed even more earnestly for God to save him. The waters rose steadily. Later, a helicopter appeared, dangling a person held by a rope. The person shouted at the man, "Grab a hold of me, we'll pull you to safety."

"No thanks," the homeowner said. "I have faith in God and He will save me." The rescuer pleaded with the man, but to no avail. Finally the pilot rescinded the rescuer back into the helicopter before flying off.

The man on the roof prayed again for God to save him.

The waters rose still yet higher, and eventually so high that the water covered the roof. The man tread water for several hours before finally succoming to the deep.

In heaven, the man marched straight up to God. "Father..." he said, "I had faith in you, I prayed to you to save me, I believed that You could, and would, and yet You did nothing. Why not?"

God expressed a confused look and replied "What? I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What more were you looking for?"

Passover and Communion

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:26:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to participate in a Passover Seder last week. It was a very eye-opening experience. It is one thing to grow up understanding the bread represents Jesus body, and the wine/grape juice/"fruit of the vine" His blood. The Bible says that Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples, then they sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives.

But there's so much more to it than that! To explain, we have to get a little Jewish.

Passover or the feast of unleavened bread was a yearly celebration to remind the Hebrews of their slavery and their redemption by God. The Seder has probably changed a little bit since Jesus' day, but my understanding was it went something like this:

The Seder requires the participant to (throughout the meal) have four cups of wine. The four cups are based upon Exodus 6:6-7 ("bring out", "deliver", "redeem", "praise"). Between the first and second cup, Jews eat some ceremonial items, such as bitter herbs, parsley dipped in salt water (to remind them of the tears that were shed), a sweet mixture reminding them of the mortar for bricks, a roasted egg dipped in salt water.

Traditionally, Jews have three large pieces of matzo (unleavened) bread. By definition, unleavened matzo dough is pierced before cooked at a high temperature. The three matzos are separated and placed in a cloth, with each of the matzo in a separate compartment. At one point in the Seder, the middle matzo is removed from the cloth, and broken in two. One half of the matzo is returned to the cloth, and the other half, called the afikoman is hidden by the father for the kids to find and eat after the dinner meal, almost as a dessert (remember this for later!).

The youngest asks the ritual questions about what the night is about, etc. They also retell the story of coming out of slavery. Then, after the second cup of wine, the actual Passover meal is served. During the time of the temple, a lamb would be eaten. Since there is no temple (and thus no sacrifice), matzo soup or brisket (mmmmm) is served.

At this point, the children hunt for that afikoman. When it is found, each person breaks off a piece about the size of an olive (a large Mediterranean olive) and eats it. The third cup of wine is poured, and a blessing is recited over the cup of redemption.

Songs are sung, and a last cup of wine is poured and drunk for Hallel, or praise (you know Hallel, one transliteration from Hebrew is Hallelujah, or "praise the Lord").

Okay, so what does all that mean? I'd like to piece what the Bible tells us along with Jewish tradition to gain a better understanding of what happened.

Jesus celebrated the last Passover meal (and his last meal) with his disciples on that Thursday night. The gospels tell us that at supper, Jesus took the bread and blessed it, and said, "Take, eat, this is My body."

Allow me to digress for just a moment. If you remember, the afikoman was broken from the middle or 2nd matzo in the cloth. What do the three matzos represent? Some say the patriarchs, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. So why take the middle/second one and break it, why not the first or third? I don't think anyone knows exactly what the matzos represent. But let me take a stab at it. What if the matzos represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the trinity? The middle matzo is broken and hidden from view, but is then shared with all.

Wouldn't it be fitting if the bread Jesus broke was the afikoman? Jesus passes it to his disciples and says, "This is my body, broken for you." Have you ever noticed that matzo is pierced? Pierced just like Jesus' body. In fact, you can shine a light through matzo. Jesus could tell his disciples that the bread they were eating represented him, the Bread of Life.

After the blessing and pouring the third cup of wine (which represented the Israelites redemption from slavery), Jesus said that the wine represented his blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Jesus is redemption from our slavery of sin, which is the new covenant.

The next time you remember Jesus' death through the bread and wine, think of the shared afikoman, and the cup of redemption which through his shed blood frees us from our slavery!

Happy Easter!

Certified

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:09:00 +0000

I am now officially a certified severe storm spotter! Or atleast I think I am. See, I went to a class on storm spotting about 2 years ago, and then again last week. Well, after this last class, I signed up for an account on the National Weather Service's e-spotter site, and it was granted. So.... that makes me... uh... something! I think. I can sign in and make weather-related event reports such as rainfall rates, hail sizes, approx. wind speeds, tornadoes and the like. This combined with radar and other reports help the NWS get a more accurate view of what really went on during a storm.

I'm preparing my camera bag with severe weather necessities for the next big storm:

Ham radios (Yaesu FT-11R 2-meter hand-held, and Icon 2SRA 2-meter hand-held with wideband receiver)
Camera (Nikon D40x 10.2 MP DSLR with 24-50mm and 50-200mm AF lenses)
Extra batteries for both, memory cards for the camera
Blackberry (So I can insert witty wall retorts and nearly-funny status comments on the go)
Computer (Dell mini Inspiron 9 and possibly Nokia n800 Internet Tablet)
Beef jerky and David Sunflower Seeds (ok maybe not enough room, but they're definitely necessities)
(After re-reading over this list, I can leave my Official Geek Card at home, all the other junk will sufficiently identify me as such.)

I've signed up to go to the Douglas Co Annual Storm Spotter Symposium (say that three times fast) in Lawrence next month. It looks like they have 4 severe weather speakers, and several KC TV meteorologists, including Karli Ritter. :D I bet most of the meteorologisticalfragisisticallydoscious stuff will be over my head, but I find it very fascinating both from a scientific standpoint and a photographic standpoint. I think it helps to know what you're shooting!

I read about the tornadoes in Oklahoma earlier this morning. There was one in northwest Edmond and thankfully, there were no reported injuries. I hope there were no injuries that were unreported. Several people lost their lives closer to the Texas border, and storms hit other parts of the state as well.

How are you preparing for severe weather season? Do you have a plan, bathtub, lower-level closet, or even the Official Katie Horner Severe Storm Preparedness Helmet?

Hooray Google

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:50:00 +0000

Google maps is pretty neat. They now have a pedestrian walking feature. For fun, I wondered how long Google thinks it'd take me to walk from Olathe to V-town.

View Larger Map

Walking directions to Vallejo, CA: 1,786 mi – about 24 days 9 hours. I'd better bring some extra shoes.

Best part: "Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths."

They might as well told me to watch out for bears and killer bees.

25 Random Things About Me

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:06:00 +0000

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. Sometimes I lack motivation.
2. Certain things I am Type A. Most things I am Type B.
3. I like to think of myself as Type AB positive.
4. I don't know my real blood type.
5. I am a Christian, although I consider myself to need a lot of work.
6. I've decided I am an extroverted introvert.
7. I love VH1's pop-up video.
8. That's what she said.
9. I had a cat growing up, I named her K.C., "just like Kansas City." Foreshadowed?
10. K.C. died after 20-plus years, after I moved to Kansas City.
11. My Guitar Hero band is named The Saucy Nuggets.
12. My geeky Linux server is named orangepeel.
13. Alton Brown is my other hero.
14. I don't watch much TV, besides the morning weather, The Office, Family Guy, the San Francisco Giants, San Jose Sharks, San Francisco 49ers, and any other sport on TV.
15. I laugh at my own jokes. Unless they're really bad. Then I chortle. For days.
16. When I graduated 8th grade, my teacher gave me a certificate that said I was allowed to tell my jokes.... after June 10th, 1994. (graduation day). I still have it.
17. I like humor because it's a sweet escape.
18. I like plain white t's. The band is cool too.
19. I like the name Delilah.
20. I think it'd be funny to see "Delilah's Salon."
22. I wouldn't get my hair cut there.
23. I love to sing. It's fire in my bones.
24. I am bad at math.
21. Just kidding.
25. I love photography.

This post was originally posted (can I do that?!) at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com

Jeans, bowling, pizza, and Coke

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Costco routinely carries Lucky jeans for $37. I'm not one of them stylish clothing people (just ask anyone I know!). At Christmas last year (when I landed a day before my bags did), I had to pick up some clothes so I could atleast like shower (yeah, I know, gross right, thanks Southwest!). Mom had to stop by Costco to pick up something, and my sis noticed the Lucky jeans. I ended up with a pair and the rest as they say is history. There really isn't anything special about them, they're just comfortable. Real comfortable. In the past I've worn Wranglers, Levis, whatever, I just really like the feel of them. I've heard they cost much more other places, so I guess I am.... Lucky.... to get such a great deal! (*groan*)

Not to mention, I got a slice of Costco combo pizza for lunch. :)

Lets see what am I up to? League bowling last night, and the Pin Wheels team all had a great night. Personally, I rolled a 155 and 172, both well above my average going into the evening of 139. I think it was the shoes!

I made a trip to the Whole Foods market. Veeerrry different. No, I'm not one of those organicky people, I'm just on the hunt for mexican Coke. Yes... mexican Coke. In places where you can find it, it's more expensive than regular US Coke, but worth it. It's a different taste than the Coke you're used to. I can't explain it. It's different. Why? Well it's made with pure cane sugar. Yes, the good stuff. I can't describe the difference in taste, I wouldn't call it sweeter, but maybe it is.

Anyway, I went to Whole Foods market, I heard a rumor that there was some there. They did have an off-brand cola that was made with sugar. I did get it, it tasted closer, but not quite the same. But I couldn't find the real stuff. I kept looking, and looking and looking, and no dice. Maybe they had it and were just out when I was there. I did find it online from some soda shop in SoCal. Get this, it's $30 for a case of 24 12-oz bottles (like the one on the left). Oh yeah, that and ground shipping brings it to $75. I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to pay over $3 for 12-oz of soda! Until I find it, the thirst continues....

Skip

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:18:00 +0000

He walked slightly hunched, and slowly. He carried a cane most of the time. Once, we left Safeway and when we got back to his house, the cane was still on top of his red 1986 Ford Thunderbird.

My great-grandpa Lonzo Alfred "Skip" McDowell was born today, 96 years ago. For those into cool numbers, his birthdate was 12/21/12. How neat is that! I knew him as grandpa McDowell, but everyone else called him Skip.

He loved to bowl, especially taking Stacie and I on Saturday mornings after we'd spent Friday night with him. Well never together, we'd kill each other. Kentwig Lanes was close. You remember the one. They had dollar games, cheap shoe rental.

He loved to come watch my baseball games. In fact I remember he passed right at the beginning of my 12-year-old season of Little League, in April of 1993.

He whistled. A lot. I could never tell what, it sounded almost Korean or something. I think he could carry a tune in a bucket, just not all that far. I used to sit by him in church and he'd sing. I remember a specific time when we sang "Holy, Holy, Holy" and I was next to him singing along.

My best friend growing up, Bryan, had an elementary school named after his grandpa. I thought it was neat, but Bryan never really got to know him very well. I felt sad for him. I counted my blessings that I got to spend so much time with my great-grandparents and grandparents. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family this coming week!

Hello again

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:46:00 +0000

I haven't blogged in a while. I guess I really haven't had much to say. Things I think are good.

Let's see, bowling league is a blast. I'm improving, and one of these days I hope I can get back to respectability. Until then, I'm having fun and that's all that counts. I've been eyeing bowling ball bags, bowling balls, and shoes. I've seen shoes for $35-40, which I don't think is a bad price. Balls run anywhere from $40 to however much you want to pay. I've seen what look like decent (performance-wise) and good-looking balls for $60-70. New single-ball bags start at $20, and one I really liked was about $33. Sure, I guess I could spend $200 on new bowling stuff, but I really haven't done it much lately outside the league. We bowl 6 more times (12 games total) after the new year, if I went more and saved money (having my own shoes for example) maybe it'd be worth looking more into.

I'm in the market for a new phone. My phone works fine except for the battery. I basically have to charge it every night and hope it gets me to the next night. Instead of a $40-50 battery (which I'd really have to search online for), I could put that towards a new phone. Unfortunately, that would come with a shiny new 2-year renewal. And an extra $30/mo ($22/mo after my discount) in charges. I haven't decided there, I'll figure out what I'm doing after the holidays.

My car needs work too. It's well overdue for a good 100,000 checkup. And timing belt. And water pump. And transmission flush and fill. And... well who knows what else! A new phone will have to wait until I get my car done.

I've done little more with photography. I took my camera tonight to my friend Rachel's christmas program. She's an elementary school music teacher. She asked our singing group to provide some background vocals for a song, and I happened to take my camera along. I'm getting more comfortable shooting in sorta-manual mode. Oh wait, I think the S stands for shutter, not sorta.

Computer-wise, I've been playing with Windows 2008 Server Standard Edition. I've read reports of people who like it as a workstation OS. They're completely right. The Vista drivers work great with it, and you can enable themes that make it look more like Vista. Except it doesn't suck. It's speedy, responsive. I'm very impressed. If only I didn't have to reinstall everything every so often.

I'm looking forward to going home. I'll be out there for several days. I'm really hoping to get to go skiing. I haven't been in a few years, maybe winter of 06-07?

I need to get going on my Christmas shopping. I've got a list. Well in my head. Close enough?

Name that show

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:24:00 +0000

Yikes! It's been another month.

Woot! often has some funny posts. This one today was entitled 17 Fabulous Prequels To Broadway Musicals. Can you name all 17? I got 16, with a little cheating I'll get them all...

Kate, We Haven’t Been Introduced
Bar Mitzvah of La Mancha
Sand And Primer Your Wagon
A Chorus Dot
Fiddler Borrows A Ladder
Little Business Plan of Horrors
A Star's Mom Allows A Handsome Stranger To Buy Her A Drink
Indian Territory!
The Guy Who Is A Little Intense But Keeps To Himself And Isn’t Really Bothering Anyone Of The Opera
Annie There’s A Waiting Period
Kittens
Brand New Acquaintance Joey
Handshake Of The Spider Woman
Jesus Christ Waiter
Starlight Right-of-Way Allocation And Environmental Impact Study
Vocal Warm-ups On A Cloudy Day
West Side Backstory

Can you name them all?

Extra Hour

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:10:00 +0000

I'm spending that extra hour from daylight saving time by balancing my checkbook. Quicken, the humorous little thing that it is, believes that I have an upcoming payment to Starbucks.

Hmm.... Maybe it is right.

Lets see, to recap. I bought a digital piano. It sounds absolutely gorgeous. No, I don't mean my playing. But if someone who actually could play the piano well would play on it, it would be gorgeous. I pound out chords and have fun, so I guess that's all that matters. The sucker is heav-y! Solid wood top, weighted, pressure-sensitive keys, wooden slide-out key cover. I love it. And it's a great place to plop junk mail on. I'm debating buying a USB-to-MIDI adapter to plug into it. Then I'd have my own computer-controlled player-piano. How sweet is that!

While in the process of buying said digital piano, I dropped my phone, cracking the LCD. It still worked, but I could no longer read anything on the screen. So I had to use the slide-out keyboard to make calls. If I had your phone number memorized. Things got bad one night after church when I was trying to check my voicemail and curb jumped out at me.

To my rescue, my dad had the same exact model (which he stopped using, gave to my bro-in-law, and he stopped using) and so they mailed it off to me. I got it yesterday, and got it all set up. Very nice! Until I can afford a Blackberry Storm or HTC Touch Diamond (drool). But not after buying a digital piano (it's an *or* thing, not an *and* thing). But using my dad's old phone will tide me over several months until I can save up.

I haven't taken pictures in a while, I think I've missed the fall changing of the leaves. They were pretty cool lookin' this year tho.

Okay, back to balancing my checkbook. More to come!

Say Goodbye to Warm Weather

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:00:00 +0000

This might be our last 80 degree weekend for the year here in Kansas City, it makes me wish I was back there.

View my Disney Panama Canal Cruise picture gallery from last May.

New Singing Group

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:30:00 +0000

I was asked to join a new singing group several weeks ago, and I've really been dying to do some singing. It's left a pretty big void in my life for a long while.

We have Rachel and Brittany on soprano, Amy, Rebekah, and Tawnya as altos, Justin and I on tenor, and Barry as the lone bass. It would be good if we could add a baritone and a bass, maybe someone to do vocal perc too. We'd also like to do some female-only and male-only pieces. The ladies can do that with five rich voices (emphasis on the rich, they are all very talented!). On the other hand, we three males wouldn't exactly fill out a good chord. We're not one of them Mongolian chanters who can sing two pitches at once.

I thought it sounded very good for the few weeks we've been rehearsing together as a group. It's also very refreshing to work with people who pick up music so quickly. Granted, most of the songs we've done so far haven't been all that complicated or difficult, but we've picked them up pretty quickly.

I'd love to post an MP3 of a song we did a week ago called "Go Ye Now In Peace" but I'm unsure of the copyright implications of mass distributing a performance. But hey, if you'd like to hear it, shoot me an email, and I'm sure I can figure out something. ;-)

So Colorful

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ZOE's conference is held at the Woodmont Hills church in south Nashville. One of the neat things about the Woodmont Hills church is how colorful it is! The auditorium is really a glorified multipurpose room, but it has some outstanding color. The west side of the building (which sits on a slight slope) has some awesome color:

The rainbow wall was interesting. Light enters through a clear window, hitting a brick wall painted with a particular color. The light bounces off and onto the side wall of the building, creating the cool effect. As the theme was "Fearless", an orangey/yellow color was dominating. It shows strength, passion, and propensity not to give in or up.

On our way out Saturday night, we poked our head inside the children's ministry classroom, where they have "kids' church", or "childrens' bible hour" whatever you want to call it. Talk about a splash of color!

The flowers and petals are actually painted on the purple carpet. What a bright, warm, inviting place for kids to worship!

What do your favorite colors say about you? How do you use color in different areas of your life? Post a reply back at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com.

New RSS Feed

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:47:00 +0000

For those of you who read via Bloglines, Google Reader, or any other RSS reader, my RSS feed URLs have changed!

My new RSS URL is http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyNameIsNotJonasrss

(or just click below)

Subscribe in a reader

2008 ZOE Workshop: Fearless

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:19:00 +0000

I was able to attend the 2008 ZOE Workshop Conference. The theme this year was "Fearless." The idea was that we should fear the Lord, and through fearing him, we have nothing else to fear.

Here are among the pictures I took: (or go to http://jeremymturner.com/2008zoe)

Friday night, ZOE Worship led us in several new songs as well as several old ones. It was incredible to hear so many voices raised in praise.

Saturday we had a class session, worship with ZOE Worship along with Mike Cope and Randy Harris, and lunch at an authentic Mex restaurant. After lunch we had another session of worship with Scott McKnight, and the final two sessions. Justin and I attended the music arranging track with DJ Bulls from Arlington, TX. I got a lot out of it!

And now.... I'd like to buy a keyboard and start playing again.

Day 14-17: En Route to Los Angeles, An Extra Day at Disneyland, and The Flight Home

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:47:00 +0000

After the evening deck party, things started to set in that we were on our way home. Well, not our home. But they were going to make us get off the boat. I think we were ready. I mean, it's great to be served dinner, to have your silverware replaced at each course, your napkin placed in your lap, to have your bed made in the morning, turned down in the evening with a piece of chocolate on your pillow, to get to lay around on deck 4 listening to the waves crash against the hull, walking around on deck 10 with the wind howling through your hair... Where was I... oh yes. But after 15 days, you long for your own bed, or maybe just high-speed Internet.

We attended a presentation on the debarkation process. Basically, you pack your bags the night before, and leave them in the hallway, keeping with you anything you'd need for the final morning. That morning, we reported to the dining room we were at the following evening, which happened to be Lumiere's. Each dining room had approximately 20-30 min to disembark. According to the rotation, our dining room was last for the first seating group. We asked for an early debarkation time because we were being transported to Disneyland for the day, but we were denied. Only those with flights before 1:00pm were granted early debarkation times.

We finally made it off the boat. The line for US citizens moved much faster than for non-US citizens going through customs in the port of San Pedro/Los Angeles/Long Beach. We then went down the escalators, around the corner, and retrieved our luggage bags. With the three of us (my parents and I), we got a porter who moved our bags for us. It was an easy process getting to the bus which would carry us to the Disney Grand Californian Hotel. I saw my grandparents one last time as they came out of customs (they got in a different line), and I hugged them goodbye.

The bus ride from San Pedro to the Grand Californian was only about 45 minutes, and everyone was excited. On the bus with us was a lady who also was from Olathe! Several people spent a day at Disney World before the cruise, and a day after at Disneyland, thus completing a "Castle-to-Castle" or "Kingdom-to-Kingdom" cruise. The "Cabo crud" started to catch up with me. I felt sick, and very tired.

We got checked into the beautiful Grand Californian Hotel. It's expensive, but such a beautiful hotel. It looks like a rustic cabin in the woods, covered in pine trees, dark wood, and deep green colors. It looks so beautiful. It has it's own special entrance into Disney's California Adventure theme park, which is located right next to Disneyland. Not all that long ago, California Adventure was actually the Disneyland parking lot. Today, the entrances of Grand California and Disneyland are opposite each other, and by walking just a few feet through Downtown Disney (an outdoor mall of sorts), you reach the Disneyland Hotel. At this point in the trip, I was too tired and not feeling well to take pictures. I'll try to add some pictures up here later this week. Take my word for it, it is beautiful.

My parents also splurged on buying tickets for Fantasmic. Fantasmic is a show featuring part live-action, part rear projection animation on water, part water, part water parade, part music, and part fireworks. It's free, and takes place along the water in Orleans Square/Frontierland, and the area. The stage itself is on the Rivers of America and Davey Crockett Island. Isn't that what it's called, I can't remember. So anyways, it's free, however, you kinda have to fight for a seat. You can pay for a reserved seat. Not only that, they serve you this wonderful chocolate, cheese and cracker tray, plus your choice of beverage. I was so stuffed from dinner. That could have been my dinner. If you get the chance to splurge, do this. It's very good!

I barely made it back to the room after Fantasmic. I just felt sick, tired. It was the end of a very long (and very fun) vacation. I just didn't have any gas left.

It was fun to walk around Disneyland and see others from the cruise. I saw several others who I recognized. I purposefully wore my Panama Canal shirt to see if anyone would notice. I think 4-5 cast members asked about it, but no other park-goers.

I flew home the next afternoon, it was an easy drive over to LAX, and then flying Midwest to Kansas City. I was met by my good friends, and we proceeded to our favorite restruant for dinner. It was good, even though I was very tired.

I finally made it back home to my bed. I had clothes set out for the first day back to work. Back to work. It was actually good to be productive again and have something to do.

Well thanks for reading! I don't have any other big huge long trips planned for a long while. I'll add comments from time to time on here, hopefully often. If you're reading on facebook, check me out on http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com. Bye for now!

Old!

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 02:51:00 +0000

It's been a month! My bad, my bad.

I feel old today. I helped my good friends pack a 28 ft truck with all of their goods, and it completely wore me out. I'm running on fumes tonight, trying to get my living room (well my entire apartment, really) in a decent condition for hosting some friends over tomorrow night. We're going to watch The Office season premier that all of us missed because we were singing on Thursday night. I might pickup a Costco cheesecake! But I am beat.

I feel old today. I missed my high school 10-year class reunion tonight. I didn't make it back to the bay area, I don't really have the vacation days. I could have gone for a long weekend, but it's quite a bit of money, hassle, and I'm going to be gone next weekend as well. Plus my parents were going out of town this weekend, so I'd miss them too. So eh.. just not worth it.

I feel old today. Tomorrow I hit 28 years young. 28. 2-8. It's made me reflect back briefly on my life, what it has been, what it hasn't been, where I am now, and where I go from here. Not just in one aspect of my life, but in everything; my relationship with God, my career, my dreams, my finances, my hobbies, and my goals. Just plenty for my mind to chew on.

What have I been up to lately. I got a PS3 a while back, and I've been playing with on-demand playing of video and music over it. It is pretty slick, but it's time-consuming. a 30-minute program takes about 130 minutes to encode. I'm writing a script to automatically do this.

I got my satellite dish remounted with the help of my good friend Alan. It's in a more... shall we say inconspicuous place. I didn't think I was getting all the channels I should, but not it appears it is working correctly. Whew! The Sharks open on Oct 9th. :o)

Enough for tonight. I'll try to keep a more regular schedule. .

125 years ago today

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:23:00 +0000

125 years ago, the entire world shook. Almost literally.

On Aug 26-27, 1883, the volcano Krakatau/Krakatoa blew it's lid. It had simmered for several months, spitting out ash and smoke, but nothing like today. Krakatoa is a volcano island sitting between Java and Sumatra in the southeast Asian Indonesia.

Why is some volcano eruption 125 years ago important? Listen to the effects around the world:

The volcano eruption had the force of 200 megatons of TNT, roughly equivent to 13,000 times the force of the "Little Boy" used in Hiroshima, Japan in WWII
The sound of the explosions (actually at 10:20am on Aug 27 1883) were so loud, they were measured at 183 dB 100 miles away. Let me put this into perspective: A jet engine at 100 meters produces about 110-140 dB. This was 100 miles. 134 dB is supposedly the threshold of pain. Anyone within 100 mile radius of the explosion would have not only heard the explosion, but would have lost their hearing (at least maybe temporarily)
The blast was audible in Perth, Australia, 2200 miles away, and also the island of Rodrigues, nearly 3000 miles away (and 4 hours after the event). The Guinness Book of World Records reports that the blast was heard on over 1/13 of the surface of the earth.
The pressure shockwave from the final blast was measured on barometers all over the world. In fact, the wave was measured to circle the globe atleast 7 times, days after the event.
According to an official Dutch count (Indonesia being a Dutch colony at the time), the eruption and resulting tsunamis killed 36,417, however unofficial counts place the death toll somewhere around 120,000. These tidal waves were reported anywhere from 100-130 feet high.
In 1884, the year following the eruption, average temperatures around the globle dropped 2.16 degrees F due to ash in the upper atmosphere. The blast shot ash up to 50 miles high
The ash in the upper atmosphere would have caused spectacular blood red sunsets all around the globe for years. The yellow light of the sun cutting through the earth at an angle at sunrise/sunset usually causes the reddish color, however it would have been amplified by the ash. It's thought that Edvard Munich's painting "The Scream" was directly influenced by the eruption, despite the fact that he was in Norway.

The power and effects of an eruption like this leave me in awe.

More info: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/08/dayintech_0826

Day 13: Cabo San Lucas

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:37:00 +0000

For those of you just joining us (or if you've forgotten since I've taken forever), I'm doing a recap of my 15-day Disney Magic repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal. DCL repositioned the Magic from Port Canaveral to San Pedro for the summer, and actually just yesterday set sail back. Onto the magical day in Cabo.

I woke up the morning of Cabo early (we had to adjust our clocks another hour back), and woke up with a bit of a sore throat. Some other cruisers called it "the Cabo crud." It was fitting. Regardless, I woke up around 6am-ish, looked out our stateroom window, and saw this:

Wow... Ok so just take me back right now! The blue ocean, the marine layer, the light off the rocks... Yep, this was my fav place. We took...ok everybody say it with me... a city tour.

Our first stop was a hotel, overlooking the small bay of Cabo. Cabo San Lucas literally means the cape of Saint Luke. If not, I just made that up. Don't blame me, I took 2 years of "thank-you-very-much" at St. Pats, and don't even remember any French. Except... oh nevermind. Where was I.... Ah yes, Cabo. And city tours. Turns out our tour guide (a lovely woman who gave us her email address and I've forgotten, but it had something to do with smile 2000 and yahoo) anyway, she teaches Spanish up in Chester, CA which is just across Lake Almanor from where I went to Sierra Bible Camp. Back in the day. My parents wanted to take a picture of me, so I finally posed next to some sort of agave plant. Maybe I should have taken off my backpack, I look like a photogeek wanna-be.

Back to our city tour, we next went to San Juan de Cabo, I guess John was Luke's brother. And they both had capes. Like superheroes. Here's the town square in San Juan de Cabo, and the family.

The third stop was to Cactimundo, a cactus farm! They created this cactus arangement just for us. You can see more cactus photos on my photo gallery.

Our final stop was at a glass blowing place. The glass was beautiful!

The tour ended and they gave us the option of being dropped off in the city, rather than being taken back to the dock to reboard the ship. We stopped in town, did some sightseeing and shopping before heading back. We stopped by the famous Cabo Wabo. Dad and I were going to get Hawaiian shirts, but they were like $75 so we said no thanks. :)

Before heading back to the ship, I went around to the far side and got one last shot of the beautiful Disney Magic:

At night, we had our last evening in Animator's Palate. It was "Pirates in the Carribbean" night, although we had been in the Pacific for several days. Just don't teach the kids. Grandpa looks like a menacing pirate, if only he could see through his bandana. Patricio, our assistant dining server found a butter knife, and you know pirates of the Pacific with butter knives are always up to no good!

I was really not hungry this evening for dessert, so when it came time for me to order, I simply said I'd pass. Maybe they took that a little too literally!

One last look at the beautiful Cabo San Lucas at sunset:

We went up on deck 10 for the Pirates in the Carribbean party! It was chilly, in fact I got a nifty sweatshirt that I plan on wearing this winter. The captain turned the boat, and we had a nice fireworks show to cap off the evening. It looked like there were plenty of people wanting to get pictures of the fireworks show! I have more fireworks and pictures in the gallery.

Check back again soon for the last two days at sea, embarkation in San Pedro, one exhausting day at Disneyland, and the end of the trip at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com!

Day 12: Puerto Vallarta

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:30:00 +0000

Puerto Vallarta was a cute little city! It was definitely smaller than Acapulco. We went on... yes, you guessed it, another city tour! The zip line excursion was all booked, and golf was way too expensive.

The first thing you notice is Wal-Mart is directly across the street from the ship. How about that! Yes, we went... I found an awesome gray silky button-up shirt with iguanas on it.

We had another cruise ship come into port just after us. I didn't think there'd be enough room for the both of us to fit!

Puerto Vallarta is a city of iguanas. We saw several on our short walk through part of the city. It was neat to get to walk around the city with our group. We passed shops, eateries, street painters, even went in an old Catholic church.

What really caught my eye was the flora. I got several shots of some flowers that just really caught the sun beautifully:

We didn't really do much that afternoon. We rested. That evening I didn't even take pictures of the dinner menus! The next morning we'd be pulling into Cabo San Lucas for our last port of call. And it was my favorite. Tune in next time (I promise it won't be a month!) at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com

Evening Music

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:01:00 +0000

My my... how time flies. It's been a while since I posted! I am working on finishing my cruise pics and trip report, I promise.

I recently (like 3 min ago) went through my MP3 collection (well most of it) and pulled out a list of evening music, nite time music, going to bed music, or even falling asleep music. Music that isn't hard, doesn't have a driving beat, and doesn't get the heart racing.

It features some jazz, some acoustic, some classical, some rock, some christian bands, some old school, some new school.

There might be a few suprises. BoyzIIMen is definitely old school. I remember playing this CD in 7th grade for the 8th grade graduation with Brooke. Donna Lewis "I Love You, Always Forever": yeah, I know it's really pop-ish, but I like it. I bought this single CD the day I got my drivers' license, Monday Sept 30, 1996. Hillary Duff... what can I say, I think it's a good song! ;) I bought the Hootie album in Japan with Katie and Dave. Jars of Clay fits my mellow mood quite a bit, so they are well represented. Jim Brickman, I think this song was in my wedding. "Bittersweet" indeed! Journey's "Lights" makes me think of the bay bridge, covered in fog, with the city (*the* city) in the background. Makes me homesick every time. Shawn Mullins' "Lullaby" reminds me of freshman year of college. Snow Patrol is one of my new favorites. Starship's "Sara" reminds me of my first crush... in kindergarden! That was back when I had velcro shoes. You know the ones, and you had 'em too. Admit it!!

Do you listen to music before/when you go to bed or use music to start to relax and help fall asleep? If so, what are your favorites? Leave me a comment on http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com!

Here's my complete list:
Alfred Brendel - Mozart Piano Sonata in A, KV 331: 1. Tema con variazioni
Alfred Brendel - Mozart Piano Sonata in A, KV 331: 2. Menuetto
Alfred Brendel - Mozart Piano Sonata in A, KV 331: 3. Alle turca: Allegretto
Benny Weinbeck - Love Lights
Benny Weinbeck - Sweetheart
Bleach - Waving Goodbye
Boyz II Men - It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
Caedmon's Call - There's A Stirring
Cake - Sad Songs And Waltzes
Chris Rice - Deep Enough To Dream
Chris Rice - Nothin'
Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
Donna Lewis - I Love You Always Forever (Sylk Edit)
Eagles - Desperado
Enya - Orinoco Flow
Eric Clapton - Blue Eyes Blue
Eric Clapton - Layla
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
Extreme - More Than Words
Hallmark - Clair de Lune
Hallmark - Largo from Xerxes
Hallmark - Meditation from Thais
Hilary Duff - Someone's Watching Over Me
Hootie & the Blowfish - Goodbye
Hootie & the Blowfish - Not Even The Trees
James Taylor - You've Got A Friend
Jars Of Clay - Dig
Jars Of Clay - Frail
Jars Of Clay - Hand
Jars Of Clay - Lonely People
Jars Of Clay - Much Afraid
Jars Of Clay - My Heavenly
Jars Of Clay - Needful Hands
Jars Of Clay - No One Loves Me Like You
Jars Of Clay - Overjoyed
Jars Of Clay - River Constantine
Jars Of Clay - This Road
Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
Jim Brickman - Bittersweet
John Lennon - Imagine
Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up
Josh Groban & Charlotte Church - The Prayer
Journey - Lights
Les Miserables - A Little Fall Of Rain
Les Miserables - Empty Chairs At Empty Tables
Les Miserables - Stars
Lisa Loeb - Stay (Acoustic)
Phantom of the Opera - The Music Of The Night
Miles Davis - It Never Entered My Mind
Newsboys - The Tide
Norah Jones - Don't Miss You At All
Norah Jones - Little Room
Norah Jones - Painter Song
Norah Jones - The Long Day Is Over
Norah Jones - The Nearness Of You
Norah Jones - Turn Me On
Nouveaux - I'll Cry Too
Petra - He's Been in My Shoes
PFR - Garden
R.E.M - Everybody Hurts
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
Restless Heart - I'll Still Be Loving You
Restless Heart - The Bluest Eyes In Texas
Richard Marx - Now And Forever
Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting For You
Richard Marx - Silent Scream
Richard Marx & Donna Lewis - At The Beginning
Seal - Kiss From a Rose
Semisonic - Closing Time
Shawn Colvin - Never Saw Blue Like That
Shawn Mullins - Lullaby
Sierra - I Know You Know
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Starship - Sara
The Doors - People Are Strange
The Eagles - Peaceful Easy Feeling
The Katinas - Draw Me Closer
Vertical Horizon - He's Everything you Want

Tuesday Quickie

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:57:00 +0000

I'm working on the last few entries of my trip, here's a quick funny of math conversions:

Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi
2000 pounds of Chinese soup = Won ton
1 millionth of a mouthwash = 1 microscope
Time between slipping on a peel & hitting the ground = 1 bananosecond
Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram
Time it takes to sail 220 yds at 1 nautical mile/hr = Knotfurlong
16.5' in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod
Half a large intestine = 1 semicolon
1,000,000 aches = 1 megahurt
Basic unit of laryngitis = 1 hoarsepower
Shortest distance between two jokes = A straight line
453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake
1 million-million microphones = 1 megaphone
2 million bicycles = 2 megacycles
365.25 days = 1 unicycle
2000 mockingbirds = 2 kilomockingbirds
52 cards = 1 decacards
1 kilogram of falling figs = 1 FigNewton
1000 milliliters of wet socks = 1 literhosen
1 millionth of a fish = 1 microfiche
1 trillion pins = 1 terrapin
10 rations = 1 decoration
100 rations = 1 C-ration
2 monograms = 1 diagram
4 nickels = 2 paradigms
4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at = 1 IV League
100 Senators = NULL

Have a great Tuesday!

Day 11: En route to Puerto Vallarta

noreply@blogger.com (jeremy) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:26:00 +0000

We had one sea day in between Acapulco and our next port of Puerto Vallarta. Here's the Indiana Jones-esque map:

I didn't take many pictures on the sea day, you've seen lots of pictures of the boat. I didn't even take a picture of the menus! I bet they were good tho. Steak, chicken, seafood, something memorable I'm sure.

Our special guests for this evening were Joey Fatone from N'SYNC and Alfonso Ribeiro who played Carlton on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." They were the evening entertainment!

Joey sang "Under the Sea" and needed some help with the words. ;o)

They actually did a pretty good job, I thought Alfonso had a very good voice!

That's it for today folks! The next post will cover Puerto Vallarta, the city of iguanas, the Mexican navy, and Wal-Mart. Stay tuned at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com!