The heart of a champion.

A large crowd gathers outside of my office. A fierce battle brews between a box of Christmas peeps, and a 6 foot 5 inch multimedia developer named Tim. There's a three dollar entry to see this show, and if Tim can do it, the money's all his.

See, one of the designers brought in a ton of miscellaneous candies the other day, and among the mixed nuts, peanut butter fudge, and sugar babies was a box of Snow-peeps. For those who don't know, peeps are sugar-crusted bits of shaped marshmallow - most often found around Easter in the form of baby chicks, but apparently becoming popular in their snowman guise as well.

The pot is up to 30 bucks. The countdown begins.

"Five, four, three, two, one...."

Tim grabs the first peep, stuffs it in his mouth, and grins wildly as the onlookers cheer.

"Come on, you can do it...you're going to have to speed up!"

"I don't know if this is going to happen today," says Tim through the marshmallow and sugar foam quickly overtaking his mouth.

At peep number six, with only 30 seconds left, it was becoming painfully obvious that the peeps may just win this one today. Tim's weary gaze turns glossy as he eyes the last 3 peeps in the box, mouth visibly full of marshmallow goo.

"10 seconds," the timekeeper announces.

The crowd jeers.

Tim stands and takes the 3 stacked snow-peeps to his mouth in a last ditch effort to finish. Only half go in.

The time runs out. The crowd falls silent - completely stunned from what they had just witnessed. They all get their money back, and go back to work.

As I walk away I hear Tim say "Shawn, do you have any more of those peeps? Double or nothin' tomorrow."

"Heck no, you're an eating hustler," he says. "A peep-shark."

Munchkins

There's lil Kasey. Isn't she getting big? Before we know it, she'll be saying stuff like "Oh, whatever! You didn't invent the question mark," and rolling her eyes at her stupid uncle Tommy.

A lot of people keep asking my why I've not posted anything for such a long time. Well, I don't quite know. I've got a lot of things going on right now. For example, starting on Monday of this week I'm going to classes to earn my amateur radio license with my dad and brother-in-law. Hopefully I pass the exam, which is on Saturday, but so far I've been practicing and I just don't know if I'll make it this time! I'm keeping hope alive, though!

I'm getting said license so I can communicate via a 2 meter radio while hiking the Appalachian trail. There are repeaters (stations that amplify handheld and other radio waves) set up all over the area, and if we get into trouble on the trail I'll be able to communicate with someone to get help if cell phones don't work...and they sometimes don't.

So, I've been spending a lot of time reading a book for this exam and class. Also, I'm trying to work through my photography course, and I'm in the process of shooting for the second project. I'm way too anal about my photos, so after a couple of months I still am not happy with anything I've taken to submit. So...I keep shooting. I'm setting a deadline for the first week in February. If I have nothing at the end of this week, I'm going to go and shoot whatever meets the project requirements and submit it. That's the only way I'm ever going to submit anything! I've been holding out for the "artistic" shots, and this time of year and the time I have to work on photography (at night, basically), the artistic shots are hard to get...

I've also had an uncontrollable urge to get outside A LOT lately. I think it's cabin fever. I don't know...but my winter time blues are a lot better this year because I've made myself get outside doing activities like geocaching, photography, and general hiking. I sit at work and think about what I'm going to do at lunch - maybe go out for a walk, or go photograph something, or maybe head over to a nearby park and sit outside. As I said, all the fresh air has really helped me get through this winter. The unseasonably high temps. this winter have also not hurt!

I've also been watching a lot of "the military channel" lately. My wife is afraid I'm obsessed with the war and that I'll be telling her I want to join the Army. First off...I'd not want to go off to war right now to fight. I support our troops, but I think our good ol' pres has us in a war for oil. Sure, Saddam was a horrible person. He's probably right in line for worst human being to ever rule a country - next to Hitler. He's killed innocent people, tested chemical warfare on folks, and all while his country's people starved and he lived in huge palaces. I won't get into the things I'd like to see done to this man as payment for what he did to innocent people.

So anyway, back to my point. I don't want to join the Army, Marines, Air Force, or Navy. I'm not obsessed with war. I watch the military channel because it has a LOT of information about our country and how we train our soldiers. It also gives me a lot of insight about the kinds of kids are out there protecting our land and the lives of people everywhere. I say kids, because if you tune in and see what the average 18 year old soldier looks like, you'll feel like you're a million years old. The training and discipline these men and women go through to be part of an army is amazing to me. I have the utmost respect for them. I sit at a desk every day and make pretty websites and things that move and make noise. They walk through the desert in the heat carrying 70 pounds on their back and an M16 strapped to their chest dodging bullets fired by people who hate them for being Americans. What right do I have to ever complain?

If I'm obsessed with anything it would be the journalism involved in the war. Wartime correspondents have always been intriguing to me. Here's a guy with a satellite phone and a digital camera, getting in a tank with a bunch of highly skilled warriors for what? For me to be able to see what's going on over there. That to me is awesome. I have to say, if I was to go back and do it all over again, go back to school that is, I think I'd double major in photography and journalism.

So I watch these shows, and I wonder about what's going on in the sand over there. What those brave men and women go though. What the guys who shoot photos instead of bullets are doing, and how cool it must be to come home after all of that, open the paper or Time magazine, and see your words and images in print for the whole world to read.

For the love of cache.

What is this "Geocaching" I'm always referring to in blog entry's? I know some of you know what it is, but I also know a lot of people who don't - and even after I explain it they sort of give me a glazed over stare and nod an incoherent "uh huh", as if to say "I don't have the foggiest idea of what you just said, but whatever man."

So, for all of you, geo-savvy and not, I've taken it upon myself to write an illustrated recount of a geocache I did today. It was a fairly typical cache, actually a pretty difficult one, so I think by reading this you'll get a pretty good idea of what this silly sport is all about.

First things first, you have to go to the official geocaching website on the world wide web. The cool thing about this site is that it's the hub for all geocachers. Whether you be in Indiana or Sydney, AU, this is your main source of info about caches and cache-related events around the world.

Once on the site and logged in, you next decide where you want to cache. You can search caches by zip code, waypoint (a GPS term for a set of coordinates) or keyword. Usually I just have a sunny Saturday or Sunday afternoon to go out and get some fresh air, so I'll just search my zip code and see what's within 10 miles or so, and work through them. So far I've found 15. I tend to only do the one's that require a good hike in the woods. There are plenty that you can drive within 30 feet of, but what's the fun in that? By the way, you don't have to sign up to search for caches, so for fun why don't you put in your zip code and see what's out there around you. You'll be surprised.

Ok, once you've figured out which caches or cache you want to go after this fine afternoon, print out the page and enter the coordinates in your GPS. It's just standard lat. and long. measurements that you learned about in your 4th grade geography class. Nothing too covert about this step, if you understand how to work your GPS and enter coordinates, you'll be ready to roll in 5 minutes flat.

Next, jump in your trusty cache-mobile and follow your GPS's directions. Sometimes people will give you optimum parking place coordinates, so you put those in and navigate to that area, then navigate to the actual cache coordinates. If you don't get parking coordinates, go ahead and follow the actual cache coordinates until you see a spot that looks like people have parked before. Usually these caches have been active for a while, and you'll see where people park. One unspoken rule about hiding a cache is to never put other cachers at risk - so there will be a safe place to park SOMEWHERE, part of the hunt may be finding it.

Now, once you've parked, it's time to hike. I usually take a backpack or bag with supplies. The supplies are typically based on the season. In summer I'll take lots of water and a snack, a camera (of course), a knife, and a small survival kit. SURVIVAL KIT? Yup...mother nature isn't always nice folks. It's all fresh air and butterflies until you trip down a hill 3 miles from nowhere and bust something that is critical to you being mobile. Then what? That tie-dye t-shirt and granola bar will keep you alive for about 3 days. After that, nature will take over and bad things will happen. So yes, while it may seem a bit like doomsday-type thinking on my part, I always go into the woods capable of surviving a week or more. Remember the rule of 3's. A person can live about 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, but possibly only 3 hours without proper shelter from elements. Check out some survival kit sites and make one for yourself before you go out alone. It's not heavy and doesn't take up much room, so why not?

Ok, back on track, we're hiking. I keep my GPS out and follow it's guidance. It tells me to what direction the cache is, and how far away it is.



Usually there is a trail nearby the parking area that will get you fairly close to the cache, but the caches are always off the trail somewhere. Sometimes they are a mile or more away from the main trail, sometimes 20 feet. It just depends on the area and the mood of the person who created the cache.

On this particular day, the cache was pretty difficult to find. I walked around it, and even stepped over it a couple times before I actually found it. I walked along the main trail until my GPS pointed directly to the left and read 30 feet. The hint on the geocaching sheet was "Look for the old rail road ties". So I did. Of course, in true geocaching form, the ground was littered with pile after pile of railroad ties. At this point, you laugh and decide where to start, and form a search pattern. I usually will go on past where the cache is supposed to be, about 50 feet, and start a weaving pattern about 50 feet to each side. You search logs, rocks, or tree stumps, but it can literally be anywhere. The hard ones are usually down low, and covered very well. You'd never see one with a 3 star rating in plain sight unless the last person to find it didn't cover it well.

This one was a 3.5 star in the difficulty area, so I knew it would be a tough one. I searched the area to find nothing. When this happens I debate to myself on what to do. Either give up or keep searching. Today, I just decided that of the two I wanted to do, this one was going to be it, and I would devote as much time as I need to until it was found. So, I walked away for about 100 feet, turned around, and tried it again. This usually helps. If your GPS points you in the same direction again, keep walking past and walk back again. If it points to the same area yet again, it has to be there somewhere, so go back and look harder.

Upon returning to the cache, I walked up to a set of railroad ties where my GPS was reading 6 feet, straight ahead. Here's what they looked like:



The old log stuffed between them looked suspicious, so I decided to move it. Low and behold, there it was. The cache, and a small figure someone had placed beside it because it wouldn't fit (according to their log of the find).



Now, once you've hiked in, searched basically on your hands and knees for a half hour or more, just actually uncovering the cache is really exciting. It must be the feeling archaeologists feel each time they discover a new artifact, or the feeling explorers felt when they came upon the old civilizations, now long gone, but once thriving. It's always amazing to me to find these little containers that have been found probably dozens, maybe hundreds of times before you, but yet they are still hidden, and still giving people like me a feeling of joy when found.

The next step is to open that puppy up. Inside you'll find various things. Usually they are just little "trading items" - toys, figures, cards, or other trinkets that people bring in and swap out with different caches. I don't take anything usually. It's not required that you swap items, it's just for fun.



Sometimes people have what is called a "travel bug" that they will put in a cache. The object of the travel bug is to transport it as far away as possible from the original cache. The idea is for it to go all around a state, or all around a country, or even all around the world before returning to it's owner. They usually have a serial number on them so that you can track it's progress. The geocaching site also has more information on this if you're so inclined to learn more.

Ok, back to the cache at hand. Here's what was inside:



There will always also be a "log book" to sign inside the cache. This can be a small memo pad, or a homemade stack of paper stapled together for people to sign. This is your proof of finding the cache. I always leave a little description of the hike and the find, along with "TNLN" - shorthand for "took nothing, left nothing", and thank the owner for placing the cache and the experience I had. Here's a photo of the log book for today's cache:



Ok, now you've found the cache, you're all pumped up, you've traded items if you are going to and you've signed the log book. What's next? Now it's time to re-hide the cache just as you found it (or better if it was way too easy) and high-tail it out of there before someone sees you and get curious. One of the unspoken rules of geocaching is that you should try to remain discrete at all times. This is so that people who don't know about geocaching (often called muggles) don't accidentally find the cache and destroy it or move it, or otherwise tamper with it. So, while out there, if you're close to a trail keep an eye out for people and make an effort to not be pulling the cache out of it's hiding spot while people are around.

However, if someone asks you what you're doing, be sure to tell them the truth. Nothing's more fishy than a guy in the woods with a backpack and some electronic gizmo rummaging in the backwoods for hidden treasure. Tell them about the sport, and maybe we'll get a few more people involved!

That's my caching story for today. I hope now some of you have a better idea about what it is I do when I go "caching" or "treasure hunting" as my wife insists. And again, I extend the invitation to anyone who would like to learn more to come along with me on a cache adventure one weekend. If you like the outdoors and a little bit of "CSI" type of work, this is the sport for you!

Brokeback Wha?

So I'll be the first to admit that I wrongly thought that Brokeback Mountain was a good old western cowboy movie.

After further review of the trailer, I can deduct that I was wrong. Completely.

Super Sale.

Be sure to check out Lauren's blog today to see what kind so fun we had last night at the local "hardware" store. Shocking.

Growing

Bloggies!

Hey,

I don't beg for much. Heck, I don't even ask much of you who visit this site. But, the 2006 Bloggies voting has started, and I though it might be neat to get nominated. Won't you nominate me? It's easy!

- Tom

Flickr

I've started a account, a fancy photo sharing thing. I'll be posting pictures there on a regular basis...so feel free to check it out. Of course, I'll put a notice up here when there are new ones...

Here's the link.

-peace out

Cats!

I was messing around last night with my cameras, and got some pretty fun pictures of our furry roommates.

Quote

The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes.
-Saul Steinberg

Last Child in the Woods

Today on NPR there was an interview with Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods. Richard explores what he is calling "nature deficit disorder", a growing issue among American children in this technical day and age. It makes me sick to read about this and listen to him speak on the radio because it's something I noticed, but never really knew what to call it.

How may kids do you know who clearly have Attention Deficit Disorder? I actually have trouble thinking of a child that I know who doesn't have it. Richard's thought is that most of these children suffer from this because of several issues. Overmedication - giving kids medicine to "control" their ADHD, overexpose to technology, and underexposure to the world that is right outside their back door. It's not all the child's fault, though. They don't naturally gravitate towards video games and television. It's the fault of the parents.

I hate parents who shelter their children to the point that the child thinks everything is dirty, has germs on it, and everyone is out to get them. That's complete CRAP! I grew up with kids who were afraid to go into the woods because the ticks would give them lime disease and the would die. Or there were snakes in the woods that would hunt them down and kill them. It's worse now, with every parent afraid of their kids getting the freakin' bird flew or strangers coming and getting them. Kids are afraid of nature.

When I go backpacking in the woods, I'll go 2, 3, or more days without showering - without even properly washing my hands. More than once I've eaten dinner off the ground because I'm clumsy and I just dropped a full plate of chicken and rice on the ground - and there's no way I'm going to go hungry for fear of a little sand in my belly. It hasn't hurt me yet. The only thing that scares me is the water. I go to extremes to purify my water because a lot of our water sources have been polluted by industry and urban sprawl. Even 15 miles outside of Bloomington, IN, the water isn't naturally potable.

Do me a favor. Tune into a children's broadcast on TV sometime. Look at the cartoons kids are watching. It's no wonder they are psycho. Sponge Bob has more personalities and annoying traits than anything I've ever seen!

Even I am guilty of being a bit nature deprived. I grew up in the woods, but during college and for the last few years I've been limited in my exposure to the outdoors. Photography, backpacking, geocaching, and now HAM radio have nudged me back outdoors and wow, what a difference! I really truly missed nature. Now I make it a habit to try to get out for an extended amount of time at least once a week. When spring arrives and the days get longer, I'll be able to get out more.

So, in conclusion, my hope is that American parents will pick up this book and give it a read. Maybe the nature-phobic parents will realize that it's important to their child's health to get them outside, rip that f***ing gameboy or playstation control out of their hands and get them in the fresh air and sunshine. We're raising a society of hermits who get all of their information from the TV and internet, instead of going out and learning about it themselves, and frankly that's scary.

Also, Mr. Louv's book aims to dispel the problem of frequent ADHD diagnosis and overmedication, and points to nature and activity for an answer to the epidemic. He admits that he would probably be put on drugs today if he were a child. I often feel the same. If I, at the age of 12 (13 years ago) were put in a room with the 12 year olds of today, I'd probably be considered malfunctioning for wanting to go outside, and for my complete ignorance of video games and ultra popular tv shows. I tend to be behind on just about everything except the few things that interest me. I'm a website designer/developer, so to keep my job I have to stay abreast to all the new technology around this. I know...how can I sit here in my office and criticize kids for not going outside when every single day I sit inside myself? The difference is I get paid for this. When I'm not working, I am usually outside, trying to get outside, or researching something on the internet at home for when I can get outside. The hobbies that I've been interested in for the last 10 years or so have also had a good effect on getting me outside whenever possible. Children of today's hobbies are playing video games, getting online, or watching TV - because no one is nudging them outside.

Ok...enough. I think you get my stance on this. Hopefully I'm not alone in thinking this way, or my kids (when I have some) will be the oddball kids who like to get outside, and thought of as weird by all the machine and drug controlled kids of the future.

Try the hot-pockets. They're breathtaking.

So Austin Powers was on the other night, and Lauren was in the bedroom reading with the TV on, but muted. So, of course, I went in and started watching Austin Powers in subtitles. It was kind of fun, in a weird kind of way, to see how closed captioning is done in movies. Like when someone off screen says something, it puts:

(Dr. Evil): Scott, give daddy a hug.

Fascinating!

Yeah I know. You're thinking what in the name of Judas is this guy talking about? Basically I'm at work again today and I have stuff to work on...but nothing like last weeks onslaught of torture, late nights, and fickel producers and clients. Nope. Today it's just the usual stuff...nice, easy, and mostly brainless. Again, more than half of the office is not in because they thought today was a holiday. No one really said otherwise. The only reason I knew we didn't get today off was because I asked one of the owners, and then several of the front office people, took their answers, and the average was "yes, we are working on Monday."

So I better get to it! Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2006.