Zephyrus of the Anemoi

I bought a Christmas tree (spruce) starter kit from Target for $1. I planted it with the intention of taking a weekly picture of it to share its growth. Here’s a picture of it yesterday just after planting as a reference point.

And here’s a picture from today. From here on out, I’ll post a weekly picture of it to my Flickr as it grows until I either forget or get bored.

When I was a kid, I remember sitting in church and watching my dad sit in the pew with his bulletin flipped over and a pencil or pen in his hand. He was a football coach throughout my childhood, and he would often use the unused processor cycles of his brain to draw up football plays during the sermon. As a child, I didn’t exactly understand what he was doing for many years, but I remember being fascinated with the little circles, squares, and crosses drawn on the page, with lines running every which way. I thought my dad was a genius.

It was years later, when I finally understood what they symbols and lines represented and I concluded that my dad wasn’t really a genius. I mean, I could do what he did, no problem. My brother and I drew up hundreds of plays, some straightforward, some trick plays, and some so convoluted, that they would burn up an entire quarter of the game, just to execute them. These were clearly plays of genius, and we were destined to be the greatest offensive coordinators of all time. Our football teams would be so unstoppable, that they would have to cancel the sport as we know it and invent an all new football league consisting only of my brother’s and my team in a never-ending epic struggle for dominance. It would be the most amazing thing to happen to football, ever. Y’know, aside from Vince Lombardi, who would be revered just above us due to our extreme humility.

A few years later, we actually started to play football, and I realized that our glorious plays were impossible and that the plays my dad spent so much time drawing were likely not plays he was inventing himself, but rather refinements of existing plays he had used and seen for years, in an attempt to compete against teams that all used the same basic plays and defenses against each other.

And I realized, this didn’t make my dad any less a genius. In fact, it was these simple drawings as a child that really started my love of the sport. I didn’t understand what was happening at the games or on TV, and I preferred to delve into the dungeons of Hyrule or the castles of the Mushroom Kingdom than spend 4 hours watching people I didn’t know fight over a ball.

And yet I grew up to love football.

I thought about this at church today, and realized, my son will never have this memory. I will never be a football coach, and he will never see me draw plays that will inspire him to create a fake punt, quadruple-reverse with a flea-flicker pass to the quarterback who would play a game of keep away with every lineman as they drove down the field for a touchdown (every time, without fail). And yet, I believe my son will love the game anyway, as sons always come to love the passions of their fathers in one way or another. It gives me hope. Now if only I can ensure he’ll always be a Chiefs fan…

Earlier today, I made a ringtone for a friend of mine, and emailed it to him. This was his response:

“I love you. And not just in a bromance way. In a I wanna have your baby way.”

I love my friends.

I stepped outside this morning, at my parents’ house. The boys came up Friday to spend the night with Grandma & Grandpa, just the two of them. Autumn and I came up yesterday, amidst the first fall storm. The clouds parted as we approached Troy and the sun came out. It was warm, but a breeze brought a hint of the oncoming winter.

Last night, we made a fire and roasted marshmallows, as the cold front rolled in. Autumn and I curled up next to the coals for a bit before turning in.

This morning, I went outside to get Autumn’s makeup bag from the car. My mom snapped Liam into his car seat. Avery dashed ahead of me, after snagging his iPod from inside. He jumped into the car and immediately dropped into “travel mode”.

The air was cold. “51 degrees,” mom said. I took a deep breath, taking in the smells of fall, filling my lungs with the cool, crisp air. My mind turned to football and high school as it always does when the air turns and the sun starts its months-long trip into hibernation. I thought about all the great memories of fall I’ve built: tossing Avery into a pile of leaves, apple picking with the family, bundling up Liam as he experienced his first peek at cold weather.

I smiled, grabbed the makeup bag, and walked back inside, warmed despite the breeze.

So I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while (since June 28th, to be exact), but just have been so busy that I haven’t felt like forcing myself to write anything. But I wanted to take a moment to tell you all about my experience with purchasing and (thereafter) loving my new iPhone 4.

On Wednesday, June 23rd, my family and I headed down to the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri to have some happy hour dinner at McCormick & Schmick’s (I had the 1/2 pound hamburger and fries, which was delicious as always). We arrived around 5 pm and already saw a few people carrying chairs and coolers in the direction of the Apple Store. After dinner, we went down to the store and saw that there were about 40 people waiting in line already. A second line, specifically for those that had reserved a phone through the website or by calling the store during the initial reservation process, was completely empty. That was my line. I had arrived, more than 12 hours in advance, for a product that I could get by walking into the store at any time during business hours the following day.

But I wanted to be first.

I have owned 3 iPhone models in total, including the iPhone 4. I got the first one for free from my employer and loved it like a child. When the iPhone 3G came around, I purchased a white one and gave my original iPhone to my wife (who eventually traded it for a black 3G to someone that wanted to unlock it). Unfortunately, due to a discount from my employer, I was forced to purchase through AT&T and couldn’t wait in line at the Apple Store. It didn’t matter, though; my 3G went everywhere with me. Many times I was chided for pulling it out during inappropriate moments (TWSS), but I didn’t care. When the 3GS came out, I couldn’t upgrade without paying the full price, but I knew that the next revision of the iPhone would be worth waiting for. And it was.

I pulled my car around in front of the Apple Store and parked it very close to the start of my line. I got out my chairs, my cooler, and my bag of gadgets and sat down with my 7-year-old son to wait for the digital device of the year (I would have preferred to say decade, but it’s the first year–I doubt that Apple won’t top it by 2019). For several hours, we were the only ones waiting in line. Avery played with his iPod, I with my DS. I couldn’t play with my iPhone 3G as I had sold it two weeks prior and spent the first time in 2 years completely cut off from my preferred iDevice. Soon, others joined us and we made many friends. There was the guy whose friends were all waiting in the non-reserved line but asked us to hold his spot in the reserved line so he could hang out with them, the former police officer that loved his iPad for all of the amazing productivity apps that he used it for, the current Apple employees that were so excited about the device and the energy around waiting all night for it that they hung out with us (including one that showed us how to play Marble Mixer for iPad—now also available for iPhone), and the couple that were waiting for their new iPhones together.

The news crews came around several times before dark to interview the earliest line-waiter, a gentleman that had arrived around 3:30 to wait in the non-reserved line. He was a pretty nice guy who had waited in line for an iPhone launch before. He came prepared with a cooler, several reclining chairs, a TV, a Nintendo Wii, and a power source that was somehow tied to his large truck parked directly behind him.

As the night went on, even I found myself doing a few interviews with the news crews, as the reporters came around in the middle of the night. Eventually, I managed to get an hour nap from 5 to 6 am, woke up in time to chug some caffeine, and do a live interview with KCTV5. Most of the questions came down to why I was waiting in line (I’ve never been able to do that before due to how I had to get my last two iPhones), what I thought was so amazing about this iPhone (incredibly fast hardware, video calling, HD video camera), and what I had been doing while waiting in line all night (playing lots and lots of video games).

My wife showed up around 6:30, as well, and began handing out muffins she had baked (she apparently stayed up nearly all night, unable to sleep with Avery and I sitting out on the street all “alone”), which were a big hit. Latté Land brought coffee out to everyone waiting in line, and Apple employees that had been working all night changing over the visual displays in the store started stepping outside to gauge the level of anticipation of employees. One of the managers even walked down the line checking inventory levels of the iPhones that people in the non-reserved line were hoping to pick up to make sure that no one was waiting in line in vain (they weren’t).

Finally, at 7 am, I walked through the doors of the Apple Store, and in less than 2 minutes had an activated iPhone 4. I immediately made a FaceTime call to several people I had waited in line with, as well as my wife, and drove home to quickly get ready for work. It was a remarkable experience, and one that I would not trade for any amount of sleep I lost out on that night.

Never take Love for granted. When you realize what you’ve done, it’s usually too late to make up for it. Sometimes, when you’re very lucky, you’ll get another chance, but it’s rare.

And you will suffer greatly before you ever see the light again.

This past weekend, we took the boys to the park and took lots of photos for Liam’s 1-year birthday. While most of the pictures were of Liam, Avery was in several, as well. I decided that while we were taking pictures, I could get some video with my new iPhone 4 to show you all how gorgeous the video is. I’ve embedded it below. It should work on your computer or your iPhone, though you’ll definitely want to be on fast WiFi, as the file is pretty large.

Liam’s 1-Year Photo Shoot in HD

I wasn’t able to edit it in iMovie for iPhone because I couldn’t figure out how to trim a clip without dragging the end point to the desired location. On a 1-2 minute clip, this wouldn’t be a problem, but one of my clips was 10 minutes long and was quite a hassle. If I can figure out how to do more with iMovie for iPhone or just shoot smaller clips next time, I will definitely post something edited entirely on my iPhone.

As for my new iPhone 4, I’ve actually got a story to tell about the experience of getting it. I just haven’t found the time to sit down and write it yet. Perhaps this weekend, I’ll sneak away for a bit to get it written. It’s already been a week, so it’s past time to share with you.

I recently picked up “The Beatles: Rock Band” for Xbox 360 on the cheap at Old Navy. They had it listed at $40, on their 50% off shelf and my wife had a 30% off coupon with the use of an Old Navy card.

Suffice to say there’s been a great deal of Fab in the house this week.

In the spirit of LOVE, I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorites:

Favorite Beatle: George Harrison – While not the most common choice among Beatlemaniacs, George always had a quiet intensity that made him mesmerizing in The Beatles’ films. Plus, While My Guitar Gently Weeps is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.

Favorite Song: Revolution – I like to think of this song as the birthplace of punk rock. I’m sure most would consider that quite a stretch, but the remarkable guitar riffs, strained vocals, and strong political message makes this song one of the greatest of the Lennon/McCartney partnership. Hey Jude is a close second due to its inspiration for Steven Tyler’s trademark sound.

Favorite Movie: A Hard Day’s Night – Call me old-fashioned, but I’m a fan of the classics. Plus, this movie has some of the most entertaining Beatle-quotes I’ve ever witnessed (aside from the “Live at the BBC” album, which has several humorous instances of the boys being boys).

So, what about you? What are your Beatles favorites?

Last night, while I was taking a shower before bed, something my cousin mentioned on Twitter came to mind. He had been talking about Alan Thicke, and during the course of the day I attempted to find Alan Thicke on Twitter. I found an account (which is most likely not his) that referred to him as “America’s Favorite Dad”.

And so it happened that last night, while in the shower, I decided to create a list of The 5 Greatest Father Figures in Television History. The only problem, of course, that I haven’t seen every television show in history. As a result, I will accept contentions so long as valid reasoning is included.

So without further ado, my list:

1. Jason Seaver – played by Alan Thicke, “Growing Pains” – Any child of the 80s remembers Mr. Seaver. He’s the father we all wished we had—unless you liked your dad, as I did. He was cooler than most, he had a deep, imposing “dad” voice, and he had excellent hair. It’s safe to say he trumps all other father figures on television.
2. Rupert Giles – played by Anthony Stewart Head, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” – While not a father on the show, Giles was the closest thing that Buffy ever had to a father during the course of the show’s 7-year run (despite her own dad making an appearance a few times). Best of all, he was the kind of father that could kick serious demon ass, when necessary (though like Bruce Banner into Hulk, rage was a necessary factor).
3. Cliff Huxtable – played by Bill Cosby, “The Cosby Show” – I spent a great deal of time with Dr. Huxtable during the years, probably more than any other TV dad. My father loved “The Cosby Show”, which meant we all watched it and loved it as well. He helped me prepare for my time as a father immensely. He taught me that sometimes your children will say and do something that leaves you utterly speechless, and your best response is to simply laugh, inwardly if necessary.
4. Ward Cleaver – played by Hugh Beaumont, “Leave It to Beaver” – The first televised father figure for most of us, and a favored memory even if he isn’t. Stern, yet fair, Mr. Cleaver is a paragon of fatherhood in the ’50s and as strong an example of a patriarchal society you will ever find on television.
5. Andy Taylor – played by Andy Griffith, “The Andy Griffith Show” – Andy Griffith has been a part of television for many years and is the quintessential “small-town father”. While some strong similarities to Ward Cleaver, Mr. Taylor was a far more jovial fellow and a much more rounded character. Instead of being a stereotype, Griffith portrayed a well-rounded character seen in a great many situations (likely due to the fact that he was the titular character).

Yesterday was my 30th birthday, and while it’s a milestone that can bring some heavy baggage to bear, it passed without incident. I even received an amazing gift from my wife that was very unexpected: a t-shirt with some Super Mario power-ups sewn on.

She says she’s making me a second one, as well, so I’ll be sure to post that as soon as it’s complete.

As for the birthday itself, I had to work. It was a pretty busy day, thanks to its being the first day back from winter break. But it passed smoothly enough.

I spent the evening playing video games (Marvel Ultimate Alliance, to be exact — I received the sequel for Christmas and I’m trying to finish the first before I play it), and enjoyed a good meal and a wonderful cake (butter vanilla cake, cut in two with strawberries in-between, and topped with cream cheese frosting).

I was struck with a thought yesterday, though, while at work. I’m 30 years old. I have spent 30 years struggling to breathe, eat, and just live on this planet. I haven’t composed a masterwok of storytelling as I’d always expected. What I’ve done instead is raise a remarkable young man in Avery, and started down a successive path with Liam. I’ve married an amazing woman that puts up with my bullshit better than anyone else, and loves me through it all.

I’ve even managed to finally find a way to get back to what I love with the impending creation of Dead Wait, and while I’m in front of the camera, instead of behind it, acting is the very thing that got me interested in this business in the first place.

I don’t have any regrets about what I’ve done with my life and I’d make the same decisions again in a heartbeat. How many can say that about turning 30?