Twin Falls Hike (Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry)

First stop on Twin Falls hike ... usually missed by other hikers (off the main trail)
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Stop number #2 on Twin Falls hike.
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Stop #3 on the twin falls hike ....
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Same stop (#3) from the top...
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Stop #5 (no pictures of stop #4 ... There were nudists there) .... Were going to swim here, but the kids changed there minds. Caleb slipped in though ...
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Stop #5 "upsteam"
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Stop #6 ... The upper falls ....
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Last Stop ... (back to the first stop) ... to finally swim.
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Literal Video Version

Ever notice how some music videos don't quite seem to match the words of a song?

I recently found a website that strives to make more sense of the confusion. They have taken to re-write the song to have it make more sense for the video that was created.

For example ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge: Literal Video Version - watch more funny videos

Head Over Heels: Literal Video Version - watch more funny videos

How Beautiful Are the Feet ....

I remember, a long time ago, a message given by Pat Hamman at Northwest Community Church.  Actually, I don't remember the message, per se, as that I remember an illustration he used in the message.  He quoted Romans 10:15, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Which, of course, is a quote (paraphrase) of Isaiah 52:7).  I don't remember why he specifically used that illustration, but I do remember that he went on to describe his feet as the ugliest, nastiest feet ... but because "he brought good news", they were beautiful.

I have ugly feet.  I remember thinking (I was probably in my early 20's or late teens), "his feet are probably not as ugly as mine."  Granted I don't have leprosy or any severe foot fungus, but my toes are crooked, my toes are also webbed and I get weird foot sores sometimes.

They are so ugly ...

I have always been self-conscious of my feet.  Growing up in the Northwest, there was rare occasion to have my feet "on display".  Wearing shoes and socks most of the time, they were hidden away.  But then there were times when it couldn't be avoided.  Inevitably, at some gathering of some sort, mostly because of my "webbed" toes, someone (usually family) who had seen them would declare, "You have to see Paul's feet!" 

Am I a novelty!?  To be displayed between the "Bearded Lady" and an "Albino Crocodile"?

I remember one particularly scarring incident.  I was in junior high, and our family went to "Wild Waves" (a water slide park).  My dad and I were going down the big slide over and over.  He was perfecting his method to go faster and relaying to me his trial and errors.  "Get up on your heels and shoulder blades," he proclaimed, "But not too fast, I ran into the person in front of me last time."  I remember standing in line, excited to go faster, probably envisioning an outside pass inside the water tube.  Then all of a sudden, my excitement was deflated.  A couple of girls in the line next to us were snickering and whispering to eachother, "Look at his feet!"  and, "Oh my gosh they are so ugly!"

Combined with my already heightened self-consciousness of being in Junior High, wearing no shirt* and my peculiar feet, I was devastated.  I don't remember much of the rest of our time there, I was depressed and enjoyed none of it.

Fast forward 20 plus years.  We now live in Hawaii, where bare feet and flip flops are everyday things.  There are "Beautiful Feet" everywhere!

Apparently crooked and webbed toes are hereditary.

____________________
*Maybe someday I'll write about why "no shirt" is a self conscious thing ... even to this day.

Kaleidoscope Fun!

Remember when you were a kid and you had (or your friend had) a kaleidoscope?

Word Origin & History - "kaleidoscope" :1817, lit. "observer of beautiful forms," coined by its inventor, Sir David Brewster (1781-1868), from Gk. kalos "beautiful" + eidos "shape" (see -oid) + -scope, on model of telescope, etc. Figurative meaning "constantly changing pattern" is first attested 1819 in Lord Byron, whose publisher had sent him one. Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Here's a cool Flash program where now you can make your own!

Ebay to the Rescue

I am no stranger to eBay.  My first feedback from a seller came on 2/12/04 and my first feedback as a seller (from the buyer) was on 3/7/04.  I have purchased over 100 items and sold almost 400.  And at one point, I even had an eBay store.

What, you may ask, am I selling?  Star Trek cards.  Sure, there were a few other items here and there that I have sold.  But by far, of those nearly 400 items I have sold, they are cards from the Star Trek: Customizable Card Gaming series.

As a Star Trek fan ...

... who is the better Captain?

I started collecting these cards a long time ago (1994) along with a good friend of mine.  We would buy packs, trade cards and play against each other.  After I met Mandy (who has her own blog) it faded to the background to be forgotten.  However, I rediscovered them in a box somewhere a few years after we were married.  I remembered enjoying the cards, and though my friend wasn't nearby anymore, I decided to start collecting them again.  Much to the chagrin of my wife and ridicule of my friends and family.

Over the course of time, I bought "lots" of Star Trek cards from eBay or would buy cases of unopened packs to glean what I needed and then resold what I didn't.  That would then fund the next purchase of needed cards. In late 2008 I had collected every single card (over 3500) and all foil versions of any cards that had them.  I even acquired the 25 tournament foil cards (given as prizes to winners of tournaments) even though I never won a tournament, let alone played in one.

Who's the Star Trek geek now?

Now, nearly 2 years after collecting all of those cards I came to a realization:  As a collector, it was the acquiring I enjoyed.  Now that I have them? meh.  They are cool to look at and read how they could be used in strategic game play, but I could never "play" with them all.

Coincidentally, Mandy and I have been looking for things we can sell to provide a financial buffer for those tighter months (every month).  I told Mandy I would start selling off my Star Trek collection to those other collectors that were looking for some of those ellusive cards or sets.

So in June, I started selling on eBay again.  To the right is a summary of how things are selling.  Every week I list a few items, usually a couple of sets and some individual cards.  I should have most of my collection sold by the end of summer.  You can click on the picture to see what is a currently available for sale.  Or, if you are interested in something specific, leave your email in the comments with what you are looking for.  I am ready to wheel and deal.

What's Cool on the Internet?

Every once in awhile I find something cool on the Internet. As I have been pondering why I blog, I thought to my self, "Self, you should share some of those cool things." At the very least it would give me something to write about and share, and at the most enlighten you on things you may or may not have found on your own.

So I am continuing, what has become a regular feature on my blog:

(::disclaimer:: Obviously, this feature is subjective)

So what, you may ask, is worthy enough to be featured in this, er, feature?

Shaun the Sheep

Shaun the Sheep looks like a fairly popular animated series in the UK.  The website has about 60 animated shorts of the escapades of Shaun and his gang.  More than that, though, there are a series of Flash and Shockwave games you can play. 

It was actually the game below I discovered and how I found out about Shaun, Shirley and Timmy.  How many levels can you get through (and how many hints did you have to follow)?

Check out the website, watch a few clips and play a couple games.  Shaun the Sheep ... it's what's cool on the internet.

My Eldest Son - Caleb

I love my first born.  Of course, I love all of my kiddos.  Contrary to what many parents may try to tell you, you love each of your kids differently.  You have different connections with them.  They have different "languages" in which the share their love with you.  There are certainly similarities, but since no child is the same, it is impossible to love them the same.

"Hey Caleb, let me get a picture of you."

"How about a better picture?"

"Nevermind, I'll just use one from awhile ago."

I am the father of four and the first is my son Caleb.  Caleb is named for Caleb in the Bible.  He was one of the twelve spies Moses sent to Canaan to check out the promised land.  Caleb, along with Joshua, were the only two of the twelve that came back with positive, faithful reports of the land.  The other ten bemoaned the people of Canaan being giants and impossible to conquer.

Caleb is the reason all of our kids have Biblical names.  If Caleb had been born a girl, her name would have been Emily.

Caleb is from the Hebrew word Kalebh, literally meaning "dog-like".  My wife (who has her own blog) will try to tell you Caleb means "courageous", but I am not sure where she got that definition from.  The closest, alternate, meaning of Caleb's name I have found is "whole hearted".

With Caleb, we also started our effort to honor our parents.  Each of our kids shares the middle name of one of our parents.  Caleb's is name for my dad:  Caleb Miles Halverson. (Miles, btw, means "soldier".)

I am proud of my son.  He has an honest heart an accepting mind and a empathetic soul.  He has a very sensitive spirit and I pray that I teach and train him well.

Our recent conversations have been about integrity.

I love that Caleb loves things I love.  I understand it is because I am his dad, but it is still cool.  There are many things I can't wait to share with him (like the Matrix) and other things we already enjoy together (like Star Wars and Star Trek).

C ourageous
A ccepting
L oving
E mpathetic
B old

Here is a quick video of him.  Was I ever that goofy?  I love his laugh.

Celebrating the 4th of July

Celebrating the 4th of July isn't as big of a deal here in Hawaii.  There are certainly some fireworks, but nothing compared to how we celebrate New Year's Eve.

For those of you who don't know, the kingdom of Hawaii was taken over my a military coup, largely sponsored by the US government.  An excerpt from Wikipedia (which largely has this one right).

Until the 1890s the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was an independent sovereign state, recognized by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Germany. Though there were threats to Hawaii's sovereignty throughout the Kingdom's history, it was not until the signing, under duress, of the Bayonet Constitution in 1887, that this threat began to be realized. On January 17, 1893, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, Queen Lili'uokalani, was deposed in a coup d'état led largely by American citizens who were opposed to Lili'uokalani's attempt to establish a new Constitution. The success of the coup efforts was supported by the landing of U.S. Marines, who came ashore at the request of the conspirators. The coup left the queen imprisoned at Iolani Palace under house arrest. The sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii was lost to a Provisional Government led by the conspirators, later briefly becoming the Republic of Hawaii, before eventual annexation to the United States in 1898. One hundred years later, the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 103-150, otherwise known as the Apology Resolution,[4] signed by President Bill Clinton on November 23, 1993. The resolution apologized for the U.S. Government's role in supporting the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Shortly after we moved here, Hawaii celebrated it's 50th year of statehood.  For me, though, it was a reminder of how Hawaii became part of the United States.  I've had some enlightening conversations with Hawaiians and how they feel about being a part of the US.  And as we come upon another 4th of July (our second here since moving), it is easy to understand the lack luster celebration.

However, I find myself, once again, thankful to those who set out to create a different kind of nation.

Happy 4th of July!