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Paul — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:34:52 +0000

Place of my birth

Paul — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:38:57 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA is an “interesting” place to say the least. Lately, its name has come up on national news. Sharon was at the dentist’s office on “Earth Day” and saw a report on TV about some endangered falcons that were hatched at the top of some government building in Santa Cruz. Last night I heard a news bulletin on my local talk radio station about the Grateful Dead archiving their memorabilia on the University California Santa Cruz campus. And what are the odds? My folks are in CA right now visiting friends!

Since my thoughts have recently gone back to the place of my birth (and first 18 years of my life), I checked out the local headlines at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. What I found reminded me why I don’t miss the place too often:

Judge halts light brown apple moth spraying in Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ - The state will not be allowed to spray pesticide over Santa Cruz County in June after a ruling in Santa Cruz County Superior Court today ordered California leaders to finish an environmental review first.

Slugs and Roses: Grateful Dead to donate memorabilia to UC Santa Cruz archives
SANTA CRUZ — With their counterculture traditions and commitment to social justice, UC Santa Cruz and the Grateful Dead are a match made in heaven.

Santa Cruz County high schoolers honored with Queer Youth Leadership Awards
WATSONVILLE — As a young lesbian, Watsonville High School senior Danielle Elizaide has been a leader in creating a culture of tolerance and respect at her campus and others.

Card Game

Paul — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:36:58 +0000

Recently I was given these business cards to make yearbook ads out of. (BRCA sells ads to help pay for its yearbook)

Here’s what PhotoShop can do to a boring business card:

I didn’t have to retype anything (except the address on the CO-OP ad). Only the content on the original cards (and refrigerator magnate) was used. It was fun.

Name that logo

Paul — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:19:06 +0000

Here’s a cool presentation I found.

All these logos were developed by one design firm.

Each logo is captioned, but the YouTube logo covers them up.

I agree with the observation made on Creative Review blog. “The work stands out for its enduring modernity, its simplicity and confidence - clean, strong lines and not a swooshy line or a 3D shiny blob in sight.”

Classic Episodes of AIO now playing

Paul — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:27:37 +0000

I have always been a fan of Adventures in Odyssey. It started all the way back when Focus on the Family aired their “Family Portraits.” I remember listening to those early shows on the radio as well as one tapes of recordings we made. My family listened faithfully every Saturday morning at eight (right after “Kids of God’s Kingdom” and “Your Story Hour”). And when the “re-runs” starting playing weekday evenings we listened to most of them as well.

By the time I has in highschool, I started to hit and miss the new weekly shows. New characters were introduced and new story lines were developed. Ever since then I have had a hard time getting back into it.

Adventures in Odyssey is now celebrating 20 years, and that makes me feel really old. Since my favorite episodes are the old “classics” I am excited that they are starting to play them on the daily show. This past week they played “Whit’s Flop,” “The life of the party,” “Connie comes to town,” and “Promises promises,” episodes 1, 2, 4, & 7. In the coming days the schedule includes “The Tangled Web,” and later this month “Family Vacation 1 & 2.”

Since I am stingy and don’t care to purchase these shows (and since I have a long history of recording them off the radio) I have found a way of capturing the streaming audio and creating my own MP3s. I use a little toolbar application called Freecorder. Needless to say, I am recording as many of these old favorites as I can so I can share them with my kids; I hope they like them too.

Chili on the Grill

Paul — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:53:38 +0000

Here’s my latest grilling adventure.

This Friday at church, we’re having our annual ‘Chili Cook-off.’ I have wanted to do this recipe for a while, and this year I finally got the chance. We happened to have a couple pork chops in the freezer as well as a piece of beef that claimed to be some sort of sirloin.

Due to a ‘tropical storm’ that came though yesterday, the temperature was unseasonable warm. I took the opportunity to do the grilling portion of this recipe.

Weber Recipes

Chili on the Grill

From: Weber’s Big Book of Grilling

For incredible chili, use pure chile powder – not the “chili powder” (a blend of ground chiles, garlic, oregano, and other spices) that you find in most spice racks. The pure stuff is simply ground ancho chiles (dried poblanos).

3		pounds plum tomatoes, cores removed

3		stalks celery
2		medium yellow onions, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
		Extra-virgin olive oil
1		medium jalapeño pepper, stem removed

2		tablespoons pure chile powder, divided
2		teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2		teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1		pound top sirloin steak, about 3/4 inch thick
3		boneless pork loin chops, about 5 ounces each and 3/4 inch thick

2		teaspoons ground cumin
2		teaspoons dried oregano
2		teaspoons minced garlic
1/4		teaspoon cayenne
1		bottle (12 ounces) ale
1		cup beef broth
1		can (14 ounces) pinto beans

1		cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1		cup sour cream

Grill the tomatoes over Direct Medium heat until the skins are lightly charred on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes, turning as needed. Transfer the tomatoes to a food processor and purée (in batches, if necessary), then pour into a large saucepan.
Brush or spray the celery and onion slices with the olive oil. Grill the celery, onions, and jalapeño over Direct Medium heat until well marked, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Transfer the vegetables to a cutting board. Chop the celery and onions into 1/4-inch pieces. Mince the jalapeño. Add the vegetables to the tomato purée.

In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the chile powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Season both sides of the steak and the chops with the spices. Brush or spray the meat with the oil and grill over Direct Medium heat for about 8 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Remove from the grill and cut into 3/4-inch cubes, then add to the tomato mixture.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon chile powder, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, oregano, garlic, cayenne, ale, and broth to the meat mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat cubes are very tender, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Add the pinto beans and simmer for 15 minutes more.

Serve warm in individual bowls and top with the cheese and sour cream.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Cool Idea

Paul — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:31:48 +0000

$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera - Lose The Tripod - video powered by Metacafe

New York Trip 2008

Paul — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:17:56 +0000

Sharon and I recently returned from the Ranch’s annual evangelistic outreach to New York City. We were part of an 18 member team. We set up “Prayer Stations,” invited people to let us pray with them about various needs in their lives, handed out literature with a Gospel message on in, and shared the Good News of Salvation to people in the Subway. Sharon had the opportunity to lead two women though the plan of salvation and saw them saved! I also, along with another team member, we were able to show a man, from the Bible, that he could know for sure he was headed to heaven. This man had much head knowledge. In fact, he recited several scripture verses to me as I led him though a Gospel tract. He knew how to be saved, but he had never trusted in Christ for himself. It was a blessing to see the joy this man had once he realized that “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
Sharon and I also enjoyed seeing the sites of New York City. The first night there we saw Times Square, Grand Central Station, and the Empire State Building along with many other things along the way. Much of the site seeing was at night because we were in the Subway during the day, but the last day we had a few hours in the afternoon to explore on our own. We visited Ground Zero, walked down part of Wall Street, road the ferry to Statton Island and back, traversed the Subway system without the guidance of our seasoned team members, got lost in the Rockefeller Center, and shared a slice of genuine New York cheese cake!

We would love to go again some day.

Political Holiday Wish

Paul — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:57:22 +0000

Someone emailed this to me:

To all my Democrat friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To all my Republican friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Card 2007

Paul — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:45:02 +0000

(click image for larger view)

Here is our Christmas Card. The family photo was taken in KY by Sharon’s dad over the Thanksgiving holiday. At the time, we didn’t know we would use it on our Christmas Card. The design was Sharon’s idea, but I (of course) did all the Photoshop work.

The background image and ball ornament are from our Christmas tree. I used a tripod and my D40 to take the shot. After playing with different flash settings and positions, I settled on this shot using only available light. In Photoshop I combined the tree background with the family photo. Our sweaters were a mix of colors that did not look too festive, in fact, they clashed with the red and green Christmas colors. I decided to neutralize all the colors and give our photo unity by applying a sepia effect. Masking layers and blending settings finished the composition. The text was entered directly in Photoshop, and a dark glow and subtle gradient was applied.

We then uploaded the file to Wal-Mart’s online photo center, and they were ready in an hour!