Steve Gall

What I'm Reading

2009-11-11T20:55:00.000-05:00

I am currently reading The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr. Shortly before starting The Big Switch I was reading a book on Google Books called The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It by Jonathan Zittrain. These books have quite a bit in common. They both discuss the history of the Internet and predict its future by looking at the history of other technological innovations. I like the topic and have found both of these books interesting. They are enough alike though, that I think I will mostly skim through the rest of The Big Switch. That way I can get to the book I really want to read.

Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street

2009-11-10T21:48:00.005-05:00

Sesame Street has been with me my whole life. It was one of my favorite shows in the early days of living in my old house on Hartman Knoll.

Back then: Only Big Bird saw Snuffleupagus (everyone else thought Big Bird was imagining the creature - oh how I rooted for someone, anyone to get a glimpse of Snuffy just to prove Big Bird right.) I figured there must be some connection to the show and the number and letter of the day - but could never find one. There was no Elmo. I was always surprised at the number the Count stopped on. I thought maybe, or at least wished that Sesame Street was a real place.

Probably the single clip that stands out to me the most from those days is the 12 Song.

Miles Biked in 2009: The Winner Is . . .

2009-11-09T17:48:00.005-05:00

Each bike in our family is equipped with a bike computer that keeps track of total number of miles biked. The bike computers are highly accurate, as I have tested them against each other and against a GPS device. I think we are pretty much done riding bike for this year, so here are the results for how many miles each member of the Gall family biked in 2009.

5th Place: Kristi - 154.3 miles. Kristi took up running this year and biked about 300 miles less than in 2008. She has run over 250 miles this year, which burns way more calories than biking 300 miles.

3rd Place: Kylee and Makenna - 172.6 miles. They tied with the exact same number of miles in 2008. This year they were running pretty close through July, then Makenna's bike computer stopped working. So, I'm going to assume she was very similar to Kylee's 172.6 miles (which is less than half of the miles each of the girls biked in 2008.)

2nd Place: Landen - 250.4 miles. Landed has probably turned the crank on his pedals to get his 12" tires moving more times than anyone else in the family. That's a lot of miles for a three year old who just learned to ride without training wheels five months ago.

1st Place: Steve - 355.5 miles. Had I not gotten a stress fracture from running and started riding my bike for exercise instead Landen probably would have ended up with more miles than me. (I rode 150 miles for cardio exercise, most of which I would not have had without the running injury.) I rode 557.1 in 2008.

Last year, without Landen riding, we rode 1,726.4 miles as a family. This year, with Landen's 250 miles we only rode 1,105.4 miles.

Where the Red Fern Grows

2009-11-08T21:49:00.003-05:00

I have a signed copy of Where the Red Fern Grows. I bought it on eBay for $50.

I'm reading my signed copy of Where the Red Fern Grows to Kylee and Makenna right now. I've been looking forward to reading it to the girls since the day they were born. I've read Red Fern to 13 classes of second graders. It's always the overwhelming favorite chapter book of the year. Just last week I asked an 8th grader who is a former student if she remembered any books I read to the class. The one she named? Where the Red Fern Grows.

I've read over 20 chapter books to Kylee and Makenna, but Red Fern had to wait for the girls to be in second grade. When we decided to let the girls be in T-1, the thought crossed my mind that it would mean having to wait an extra year to read it to them.

So, the time has finally arrived. The girls are enjoying the book and I am relishing the read aloud. And since I don't have a second grade class this year, it just sort of works out for me to read it to Kylee and Makenna this year.

I just might need to find a second grader I can read it to next year.

And if you have a second grader, you won't find a better chapter book read aloud for them than Where the Red Fern Grows.

Photoshop Elements

2009-11-07T23:24:00.002-05:00

We are working on scanning all of our old negatives. Photoshop Elements is a great program for removing scratches and correcting brightness and color. Here are a few examples.

Before

After

Before

After

Landen's Bedroom Makeover - More Progress

2009-11-06T23:21:00.000-05:00

These Aren't That Fun To Put Together. . .

2009-11-05T23:47:00.002-05:00

but if I burn as many calories exercising on it as I did putting it together it should be a worthwhile investment.

My 80s Journal - Shawn Kemp

2009-11-04T22:12:00.003-05:00

This is what I wrote on August 30, 1985. I was 14 years old. I was in 8th grade.

I went to the N.W. - Concord game. I took Mike. We won. I saw Shawn Kemp at the game. He plays basketball for Concord. He is super good. He is only a Sophmore. He will be famous someday. I gave Tara my I.D. bracelet at the game.

Oddly, for me, I don't remember too much about this day.
Sometime in the past 24 years I learned how to spell sophomore.
I miss Mike. I haven't seen him or talked to him for about nine years.
I'm still friends with Tara and talk to her pretty often.
I was blessed to have friends like Mike and Tara growing up.

Landen's Bedroom Makeover Progress

2009-11-03T16:13:00.003-05:00

Our first ceiling that is not white. It turned out great and really adds warmth to the room. The color is slightly lighter than the camel color that is on the walls.

Pre-carpet, the blind is still covered and the frog tape is still on, but it's coming along.

No bed yet, well a bigger mattress on the floor. But the carpet is in and the tape is off the wall. Landen's listening to a book by They Might Be Giants on CD here. Good thing it's a CD, I don't think a tape would have played very well.

The Leaves Are Falling Early

2009-11-02T22:22:00.004-05:00

Earlier than 2005 anyway.

Four years ago today.

Today.

It's the same view, sans pumpkin and leaves.

Another Free Supper

2009-11-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

This time it was 4 free Black Jack tacos at Taco Bell for the three kids and me. They were good too!

Movie Review - Michael Jackson: This Is It

2009-10-31T09:14:00.004-04:00

Kristi and I went to This Is It last night. The movie has been receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. I thought I would like This Is It, but it was even better than I anticipated. The movie works.

This Is It is a documentary about Michael's rehearsals for his 50 date concert series that had been scheduled to begin shortly after the date of Michael's death. The movie gives attendees a glimpse of what the concert would have been like as well as a glimpse of Michael as a professional, planning for this elaborate concert. Going into the the theater I had no idea that the concert would have been elaborate, but elaborate is likely an understatement. The concert would have been spectacular.

The focus of the movie is on the music. Many of Michael's songs from over the years are in the show. The sound quality is fantastic - and that's what really makes the movie. Anyone who enjoys Michael's music at all just should not miss seeing (and hearing) this movie in the theater!

There are really no spoilers to this movie, but the items below are some conclusions I drew. If you are going to go see it, you might want to wait to read my ideas until after you've had a chance to draw your own conclusions.

Some things that struck me:
Some of the dance auditions were shown in the movie. An elite corp of young physically fit dancers were on stage with Michael. It was stunning how well Michael kept up with his younger counterparts.

That concert would have been one of the most spectacular shows ever produced.

Michael seemed like a pretty regular guy; scarcely a hint of eccentricity - mostly just focused on the task at hand, giving fans an amazing experience.

The crew - working so closely with Michael to prepare for the concert, many of whom were living life-long dreams, must have been crushed when the news of Michael's death arrived.

My 500th Post is About Searches

2009-10-30T23:46:00.002-04:00

This is my 500th post to this blog. That's not what this post is about though, but since it's my 500th, I thought it was worth mentioning.

Searches that brought people to this blog in October:

nappanee indiana resting metabolism
tyler hansbrough headphones
mcdonalds carnival kit muscular dystrophy
television series 1980s russians invade (I'm not sure about a TV show, but that sounds like it would make a good movie.)
vanna pick me a letter weird al
should you set the thermostat for a geothermal system (Yep, set it and leave it.)
what are the psychological reasons behind we didn t start the fire
human fuzeball

and my favorite:
does logan s roadhouse have caller id? (Yes they do, but they don't have time to check it because they are too busy trying to catch their refrigerator that is running.)

Trick or Treat

2009-10-29T21:07:00.002-04:00

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-28T20:25:00.003-04:00

Six Years Ago

2009-10-27T23:45:00.001-04:00

Kylee

Makenna

Dear Time,

You can slow down now.

Sincerely,

Steve

Free Chicken . . .

2009-10-26T21:01:00.002-04:00

for five.A pretty good, but light supper for our family. It's hard to beat free though.

Funny Video

2009-10-25T19:57:00.001-04:00

I saw this posted on Facebook. It's Pretty funny.

Bible Quiz Team

2009-10-24T21:01:00.003-04:00

This is the 4th year that Kylee and Makenna's have been members of our church's Bible quiz team. This year the quizzers are studying Luke 1 - 11. It's a fun way for them to learn God's word through competition and academic challenge.

Individual quizzer stats are posted from the first quiz meet of the season on quizcoach.com, stats for the younger league that the girls are in appear on pages 3 and 4 of this pdf.

iPod Vs. Radio

2009-10-23T23:19:00.005-04:00

I love my iPod. But there's something about a song just coming on the radio that is a lot more fun than listening to the same song on an iPod. I have suspected this phenomenon for some time, but Thursday it was confirmed. Jack and Diane came on the radio. It rocked my minivan. I had the song in my pocket on my iPod. I thought, I could have just plugged it into my tape adapter and played the same song. But I knew that just wouldn't have been as much fun.

What I'm Watching on TV

2009-10-22T21:04:00.005-04:00

Flash Forward - It's been OK. I've started losing interest a little bit though. We still have last week's episode to finish and there was a new one on tonight.

Survivor Samoa - This season of Survivor is the worst one I have ever watched. It seems more fake. And the constant focus and Russel, the bad guy is annoying.

Popular Science's Future Of - I like this show quite a bit. It focusses on various aspects of life and what they will be like in 30 years. Technology that is being developed now is demonstrated - technology that is expected to be ubiquitous in three decades. Some of it is really cool. Some of it is a little terrifying. Some of it, I just shake my head and think, "Why would anyone want that?"

Jay Leno Show - I don't watch it that often. But it's on every night, so it's easy to catch once in a while. I record it, so I think I'll make a habit of watching the end of Monday night's telecast when Jay does headlines.

Rob mentioned that Friday Night Lights is starting on DirecTV soon. (They will probably be on NBC this winter.) I can't wait for Lights, and will watch it for sure.

Also, NBC Nightly News, SportsCenter, sports - those are the usuals.

Which is the Stronger Law of Nature?

2009-10-21T20:27:00.005-04:00

I threw caution to the wind on Sunday and put two laws of nature in conflict with each other. So, which law of nature is the strongest? Is it:

Players that are on Steve's fantasy football team do cruddy.

or

If Steve makes a prediction on his blog, it will be proven publicly wrong.

Let's find out.

Here are the players I had on my team this past weekend, followed by the player's average fantasy points per game on the season.
QB - Matt Schaub - 350
QB - Aaron Rodgers - 389
RB - Maurice Jones-Drew - 248
RB - Chris Johnson - 275
RB - Cedric Benson - 260
WR - Mario Manningham - 181
WR - Steve Smith (NY) - 255
WR - Vincent Jackson - 227
TE - Brent Celek - 195
D - Philadelphia Eagles - 238
K - David Akers - 108

And here is how my players did this week:
QB - Matt Schaub - 561 points - 211 points above average
QB - Aaron Rodgers - 390 points - 1 point above average
RB - Maurice Jones-Drew - 501 points - 253 points above average
RB - Chris Johnson - 256 points - 19 points below average
RB - Cedric Benson - 154 points - 106 points below average
WR - Mario Manningham - 168 points - 13 points below average
WR - Steve Smith (NY) - 96 points - 159 points below average
WR - Vincent Jackson - 160 points - 67 points below average
TE - Brent Celek - 158 points - 37 points below average
D - Philadelphia Eagles - 200 points - 38 below average
K - David Akers - 180 points - 72 above average

So, overall my players totaled a collective 98 points above their season averages. However, seven of the eleven scored below their season average. This makes my prediction sort of right and sort of wrong, which makes my prediction that I would be proven wrong sort of right and sort of wrong too. Figures.

Oh, and while I gathered a respectable 2,824 points this week. They guy in first place in my league tallied 3,606 points for the week. Nice.

iPod Shufflin'

2009-10-20T21:34:00.003-04:00

Here are the first ten things to play:

Forever - Absolute Modern Worship for Kids
Luke Chapter 6 - NIV Listener's Bible read by Max McLean
Take My Breath Away by Berlin
Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp
I'm Gonna Be by The Proclaimers
You Got It All by The Jets
Ain't No Rock - Shout To The Lord Kids 2
Manic Monday by The Bangles
Going Back To Indiana by The Jackson 5
Worthy Is The Lamb - Hillsong

More interesting might be the Play Count for each of the items listed in my iTunes.

Forever - 1 play
Luke Chapter 6 - 12 plays
Take My Breath Away - 5 plays
Give Me Jesus - 3 plays
I'm Gonna Be - 6 plays (This one would probably be higher, but I never seem to be able to remember the name of this song. - It's Skip Count IS zero though.)
You Got It All - 4 plays
Ain't No Rock - 2 plays
Manic Monday - 3 plays
Going Back To Indiana - 2 plays
Worthy Is The Lamb - 0 plays

Top Ten Favorite iPod Touch Apps

2009-10-19T21:31:00.005-04:00

These are my top ten favorite apps for the iPod touch.

#10 Word Warp - It's a fun word game in which you find words using letters from a longer word.

#9 Speed Fiend - It's the same game I used to play with my friends in high school.

#8 Awaken - It's an alarm clock that wakes me up to my music.

#7 Dictionary - This app is from dictionary.com. It's great for trolling words during an intense game of UpWords. Our family rule is to allowing this word hunting to occur. It's easier than looking up all sorts of words after someone plays them.

#6 DirecTV - I can program our Tivos anywhere my iPod can connect to the Internet.

#5 OliveTree NIV Bible Reader - It's easy to navigate, has lots of settings and is easy to carry to church in my pocket. For my morning Bible reading I almost always still grab my leather bound Quest NIV Bible.

#4 Pandora - I love the QuickMixes. Pandora is really good at figuring out songs I might like, based on a few songs it knows I do like. It's sort of like how Tivo is supposed to be able to record shows you might like based on shows you give a Thumbs Up. Pandora's algorithm works. Tivo's, not so much.

#3 AOL Radio - It has all sorts of music mixes, streamed right to my iPod. Any app that streams "the best of 1988" music is top notch!

#2 Scramble 2 - It's like Boggle, one of my favorite board games. It's fun to play online to see how well you can do against the other 100 or so people playing online.

#1 USA Today - Downloads the most recent news stories in six categories in a flash. You can then read them anytime later online or offline.

Salary Cap Fantasy Football

2009-10-18T08:37:00.002-04:00

I've been playing a salary cap fantasy football league for about 5 years. I usually do pretty well, generally finishing in the top 4 of the 20 team league. Just imagine, though, if my players would gather points as well as they should.

My strategy for success is pretty simple; find players that I can afford that average the best amount of points per game, then gravitate towards players that are playing teams that give up gratuitous amounts of points to players in specified position. It's simple.

Why then, do my players who are going against week opponents continuously seem to average well below their seasonal averages? I think I have the answer to this question narrowed down to one simple law. . . players that are on Steve's team do cruddy.

So, here's this week's list of players who will most certainly under perform. (Or am I just writing this post in hopes that these players will have amazing games, because of that other law, the one that states - if Steve makes a prediction on his blog, it will be proven publicly wrong?)

QB - Matt Schaub

QB - Aaron Rodgers

RB - Maurice Jones-Drew

RB - Chris Johnson

RB - Cedric Benson

WR - Mario Manningham

WR - Steve Smith (Giants)

WR - Vincent Jackson

TE - Brent Celek

D - Philadelphia Eagles

K - David Akers