Thursday at the Bus Stop

Keller and I walked Miles down to the bus stop this morning. That will be very good for Miles, in many ways. Keller had a blast and was just soaking up all the attention from the girls on the bus too. I'm sure Miles told them all about Keller, his dog, on the way to school. I would put money on it!

The reports all around were of a good 1st day at school. Tricia is feeling a little better about the situation, Dylan is so excited to have a dog in his class everyday, part of the teacher's "tools" and Miles is now taking Strings in place of Chorus. He is going to play stand-up bass. We are all looking forward to how that turns out and think he will really enjoy it too.

It was a quiet day at work here yesterday. I can almost feel the fall around the corner; but, the humidity this morning was beating that feeling over the head this morning. It was thick on the trail this morning after the bus stop.

Speaking of thick fog...some of you know I have been on a combo of nerve pain meds since my surgery in 2006. I have finally crawled out of that fog, having taken the last of the meds the Sunday after we returned from Ohio. While I have felt a tinge or two since then, it's nothing like it was and nothing Tylenol or Alleve haven't been able to handle. I have about 10x the energy level and much more clarity of thought and drive at work. It got really tough for me this year and fighting the meds' "fog" was getting harder and my waistline was showing the effects too. I feel liberated and free. I started praying about God giving me the strength to let go of those meds this spring when Tricia and I went through the Financial Peace class. The meds were NOT cheap and I also had some weird withdrawal effects in the past. God delivers folks! My family doctor (who did not start me on the meds just continued what the neurologist started) and I came up with a good plan after I did some research on the internet and our plan seems to have worked. So far, so good. Thank you God!

On the Africa front, only 1 week until we take off. Thank you for continuing to lift us (Freedom Fellowship, Alice Drive, Old Naledi Fellowship) in your prayers. I have a long list to take care of this week; but, time to work now...

See ya!

First Day of School

It's the first day of school. Back to work for Tricia and a new class for Dylan. Miles is now a middle school kid. Hard to believe my little monkey man rugrat is now moving on to the next level. He is riding the bus home today. Keller and I took him to school today. Keller was very excited for Miles. Please whisper or shout a prayer of protection for Miles and Dylan and a prayer of encouragement and strength for Tricia. The beginning of the school year is always stressful for her and this year is no different.

Shadow and I now have a quiet house. Good thing, as work and the Africa trip planning have me busy.

Last night after the orientation for parents and students at the middle school, we celebrated in style at Cold Stone Creamery. Nothing like some ice cream to soothe the anxiety or fuel the excitement!

Only 8 more days until we depart for Africa. Please pray for me, Jason, Nancy and Joel from Freedom. We will be joined in Atlanta by Scott and Clay from Alice Drive. Pray for the children of Old Naledi and for the people of Botswana. Pray for words of truth and clarity to come from our mouths. Pray for strength and endurance for all. Follow our blog here: http://freedom2africa.blogspot.com/

See ya!

Weekend Review

Tricia and I had a great weekend. On Friday night, her friend from Sumter, Diana Lyles, came up to spend the day with us on Saturday. We had a great time at the Lake Robinson community day, which included Tricia and Diana going out in kayaks. Keller and I followed in a canoe. It was the first ever Lake Robinson community day and a great day for environmental awareness, local business booths and some food and bluegrass music. Keller and I even walked home because he went for a swim after the boat ride.

We then took Diana downtown for a tour to include the Mast General store and Falls Park. She had a great time and you can see some pictures in the link below. After Diana left on Saturday evening, Tricia and I went for a date at Copper River. Wow! That Apple Cobbler was huge and so good. Tricia looked amazing in a black dress and actually had to dress up :-) It was a fun date to celebrate the end of the summer and the beginning of a new school year. Tricia wants to be positive and we are thankful for her job and what it provides our family. She does a wonderful job too and we proud!

View all

Get your own

On Sunday morning, Tricia and I went to Capstone Church down in Anderson. Our good friend, David Barfield is now the senior pastor and we wanted to be there to help celebrate their first worship in their new building. They had a similar situation to Freedom Fellowship, in that an older church donated the land and building for Capstone. Capstone had been meeting in a movie theater! It was an amazing service and we were thrilled to also witness 6 baptisms, including Miss Anna Barfield, Dave and Caroline's 8 year daughter. Jesus Rocks! Dave was also the camp pastor at Camp McCall this year when Dylan and I were there in July. Miles and Jacob (their son) were also in the same cabin. Dave was the coaching pastor at Alice Drive in Sumter and is a fine Clemson graduate too! It was such an honor to be there yesterday and we look forward to visiting there again to see what God is doing. I also heard a super cool song that will work so good with our Africa mission trip and well, really, any time. Lyrics posted from "The Solution" below. This was the closing song at their service yesterday.

We then headed down to Irmo to pick up the boys at Susan's place. Miles and Dylan were at "Nanny Camp" all week with Mom and Pete. They had a ton of fun on the farm; but, we were happy to see them again. Tricia and I also took advantage of the "coupleness" and hit Fatz Cafe in Clinton for a great lunch! We thought about you Kathy on your birthday too!

Miles went to his very first church youth event last night. It was a swimming/shaving cream fight party and he almost won an Xbox in the "back busters" contest. He came in second and walked away with the 2nd place prize, a red back! He was proud of his war scars. I hope his Mom lets him go back to other functions (wink, wink).

Tricia is off to school and I need to get started. I am covering all week while one of the consultants is on a well-deserved vacation. Pray for us as we prepare for Africa next week (can't believe it's almost here!). Also, pray for my Dad's brother, David. He had a heart attack yesterday and is in the hospital in Columbia. More on that as I find out.

See ya!

The Solution

HillSong United

To stare not fight while broken nations dream
Open up our eyes, so blind
That we might find the mercy for the need

Hey now
Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey now
As we hold to our confession

It is not too far a cry
Too much to try to help the least of these
Politics will not decide if we should rise
And be your hands and feet

Singing...
Hey now
Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey now
As we hold to our confession

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet
Yeah Yeah

Higher than our circumstance
You promised and you loved for all to see
Higher than our protest lines and dollar signs
Your love is all we need

Hey now
Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey now
As we hold to our confession

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet
Whoa Yeah

Only you can mend the broken heart
And cause the blind to see
You erase complete, the sinner's past
And set the captives free

Only you can take the widow's cry
And cause the heart to see
Be the Father to the fatherless
Our Saviour and our King

We will be your hands
We will be your feet
We run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place we will be your light,
We will you light

We will be your hands
We will be your feet
We run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place we will be your light,
We will you light

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet

We will run
We will run

We will run with the solution

We will be your hands
We will be your feet
We run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place we will be your light,
We will you light we´ll sing

The End of an Era (no more MiniDisc)

Today marked the end of my minidisc era. I was trying to get some tunes ready for the long flight to Botswana on my minidisc (the battery life was always miles above most electronics, especially for listening only) when I found my only remaining device would no longer record. So, I guess I have to take my iPhone and/or iPod to Africa this year.

My first MD was a Sharp DR7, November 2003. This was my main recorder for many LIVE shows. All of my learning curves were straighten out on this device. I also had a Sony deck to transfer the recordings to my old Philips CDR deck. Talk about old school! It was optical out of the Sony MD deck to optical input on the CDR deck. I then took the CDR and transferred to my PC to split the tracks and make edits. This was not a fast process. I also recorded in dual channel mono back then to give me 160 minutes of recording without changing the disc, as it was limited to 80 minutes of stereo. Since most concerts are mono mixed, it wasn't a big deal most of the time.

In late 2004, I then upgraded to my first Sony Hi-MD, the NH900, replaced that with the RH10 then the RH1. These Hi-MD could hold up to 1 Gb of music with variable bitrates (compression) or no compression (PCM-WAV). While the NH900 had some serious battery life challenges and was seriously crippled by Sony software, it was a big step forward for the format. I made some good recordings with that device; but, by far, my greatest MD was the RH10. The display on that device was something to see in dark settings and made a big difference for my level checks when recording live. Plus, it was not mostly plastic and thin "metal" like the NH900. What was Sony thinking??? The RH1 in 2005 had great promise but the form factor was dying and being replaced by flash recorders by this point and Sony has stopped any further development on MD. The best thing about the RH1 was you could adjust the recording level on the fly. Believe it or not, Sony crippled their MDs with a menu setting that always defaulted to automatic recording level adjustments... you always had to stand on one foot with your left eye closed to get it just right (well, you get the picture). That didn't go so well with many first timers... I actually sold the RH1 not long after buying it (missed the RH10 display and hated the proprietary battery form) and bought another RH10 on eBay. I would actually record with 2 Hi-MDs with one in the ready once I got close to the 94 min and would hot-swap to the waiting deck.

The Hi-MDs also allowed you to upload to the PC via USB. See the above description of the chain I had to use before Hi-MD. Before Hi-MD, I did upgrade my deck to the Sony MXD-D400 which was an awesome mp3 CD player and MD player/recorder. I sold that to a Ohio radio station via eBay back in 2004. Hope it still serves them well. That was a great deck and Sony could have done so much if that had pushed MD and Hi-MD without the stupid DRM software that really crippled the format from the onset. I also had a cool Sony S1 that I got on clearance at Best Buy that was my main walking tunes device for several years. That is the device that just went in the trash with all my old MDs. Miles used it as his tunes device until he got his iPod nano. It was a rugged device made for sports and was water resistant and would run over 30 hrs on 1 AA battery. But, it has gone on to the other side of the electronics trash heap. Luckily, I was able to sell all of the others on eBay or to other tapers to keep the "upgrades" going. That's why you always, always, always keep the box and manual around ;-). I actually kept the 2nd RH10 around as a stealth recording device along with my new flash recorder. I just sold it this spring to a taper who was just getting started with taping...

While I enjoyed learning the methods of recording and digital transfers and edits on MD, my PCM-D50 device is MILES above the MDs in terms of memory (4Gb + expandable card slot), user interface, speed of transfers and it has internal mics just in case! So, I enjoyed the MD era and it served me well; but, I won't miss it! Glad I could help be a beta tester! MDs got me into concert recording and I can honestly say I truly enjoy this hobby and would not be where I am today for recording techniques if it had not been for MDs. The entry price point for these devices was reasonable compared to DAT recorders and made it easy and relatively cheap to get started. You had a lot to learn but you could make it happen. Glad I stuck it out.

So, if you see a minidisc out there one day, you can truly say "wow, dude. That's like OLD SCHOOL!!!" See ya!

14 years

I know I have been more than slack on posting lately; but, work and the trip to Ohio have had me out of time and place for the last few weeks.

Today, I took Miles and Dylan down to Irmo to meet my Mom at Susan's place. It was okay as I had no DSL at home and could only be on the phone for meetings and that worked out for the drive down. It gave Tricia the opportunity to stay at school all day working too. We lost power and phone service suddenly this morning around 9am. The power came back around 1030am but I didn't get DSL or phone until I was home from Irmo. It was a challenge for work.

Miles and Dylan are going to stay with Mom and Pete until Sunday and get their ya ya's out for the last week of summer. That worked out fine for us as Tricia has a lot to do at school. We went to a Youth orientation for parents tonight at Freedom. The Youth group is called LINC (Liberty in Christ) and the meeting was for the parents of upcoming 6th graders. Miles went to his tour of Blue Ridge middle school on Monday with Tricia and his buddy, Ryan. He is really excited about school, he can't believe he can order Chick-fila and Pizza in the cafeteria. He is also stoked about riding the bus. We learned it is one of the last routes and he needs to be there by 8am. We might make that a regularly scheduled event since he needs to ride it while I am in Africa. I will take him the first few days to get him oriented and on schedule. This is gonna be a brand new world.

We thought he was going to be in a single gender class this year; but, since he is in advanced reading and Challenge classes, he has to be in co-ed. That was a quick decision for us, we don't see much problem with the girls just yet for Miles and he would be too bored and not challenged otherwise!

Got tickets for the Third Day Family picnic at the Heritage Park Amphitheater today on the way to Irmo. $65 for a pack of 4 is a steal and it includes a free hot dog and drink for all of us. Now that is a recession buster!!!! It's on a Friday in early October and I am really looking forward to that show.

Today is the 14th anniversary of the first date Tricia and I ever had together. It's amazing how time has changed us and our world; but, how we are still in Love and still the same two that God brought together. We went to Staples and Chick-Fila to celebrate :-) Well, I didn't say we were getting younger ;-) God changed my life by bringing Tricia into it and I am forever thankful and amazed. I Love You Honey!

See ya!

Friday

It's Friday and we have one more day here in Ohio. The weather has been great, although the folks here call it "cold". Nice and cool with highs in the 70's and humidity nowhere to be found. Work on the other hand has been full speed and then some. I have had no less than 10 hr days all week. Development cycle push, disgruntled sites and upper level demands. So glad we don't use video cameras!

Last night we walked down to the East Coast Ice Cream shop with the boys, including nephews Henry and Charlie. Nice double serving of Apple Crum frozen custard hit the spot after a few Sloppy Joes for dinner. We have eaten well and Missy is cooking some good stuff these days! It's also been good to spend time all week with Grandma and she has contributed mightily to the meals too. No complaints there!

Wednesday we took a trip to the other side of Cleveland and had dinner with Tricia's brother, Frankie and his family. They have 3 kids: Jasmine, Aiden and Dominic (just turned 1 year). We had a lot of laughs catching up with them. See Jasmine's new Youtube video here: Jack-in-the-box. That's what she asked Aunt Tricia to bring for her birthday. She is a sweetheart.

Ok, sorry for the short posts this week. It's been a challenge not being at the home office; but, we made it and had a great time. On the road tomorrow bright and early heading South. Looks hot from here! See ya!

Happy Birthday Amy

We are in Ohio right now. We had a decent drive up on Sunday. Tricia drove more than she has ever on any trip! Maybe she can drive all the way home this Saturday ;-) . Miles and Dylan are having fun with Henry and Charlie. Dylan is a little sick, feeling puny and running a fever. No other symptoms right now, we are giving him water and Tylenol and watching.

Today is Sister Amy's birthday! Happy Birthday Aunt Amy!!! Tomorrow is also my Mom's 70th birthday! So, in honor of the 2 days of birthdays in my family, here's a little lyric I stole from Bob Dylan.

See ya!

Forever Young

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

Copyright ©1973 Ram's Horn Music

Testing my new way to post via text messages! On the way to WNCW in a few! See ya!

Summer Saturday

Last night we went out to celebrate Dylan's birthday. We hit the new McDonald's on Wade Hampton per Dylan's pick and then headed out to see G-Force in 3D. I will say that I won't be ordering any more Angus burgers from McDonald's. I was left flat by that choice last night.

G-Force was funny and the 3D pretty good. We had a lot of fun; but, ended up the night with Dylan having a little meltdown. I think camp really made him tired and it took some long conversations with him last night to get him calmed down after his meltdown. The emotionalism started with him sliding across the floor at the movie theatre after the show. He was doing some action hero movies, totally appropriate after watching that movie. He got a little embarrassed and I think that set him off. I hope he sleeps in today...

Today, I am going to Spindale to answer phones for WNCW. The NC legislature cut their budget and that left them 200K in the red and they are having an extra fundraiser week to offset the deficit. I always enjoy that "work".

I got the good news that I am going to see Bruce Springsteen in Greenville after I get back from Africa. My pastor (and brother from another Mother) Cliff bought me a ticket yesterday. We were trying to get free tickets from his buddy who knows someone who works for Bruce. Unfortunately, that was not working out as planned. I think it was "killing" Cliff that Bruce was coming to town and he might miss it! I'm glad it bothered him so much he bought me a ticket too! Glad to be of assistance!

Tomorrow, we are waking early and hitting the highway up to Ohio. We will be there with Tricia's family all week. That's the great thing about my job, I get to work while the family spends time with the folks in Ohio and I don't even have to use my vacation time. Thank you God.

Hope the private blog hasn't been a hassle for you. It was necessary after someone who works at Iatric told one of the consultants I work with about my 1 liner regarding not reading the book I was sent. In all fairness, I have yet to crack the pages and they were overworked and didn't have time to read it then. I have had a conversation with her about my comments and we are much better off now having had that conversation. and clearing the air. I guess I can't have everyone reading my thoughts and ramblings. Some folks just take it the wrong way. Oh well. Move forward. Have a great weekend!

See ya!