Thursday, March 28, 2013
An Easy Word Problem
I have always loved words but I have hated "word problems" since early high school math class. But here's an easy one--that even I can solve!
If you spend $1.10 on a baseball glove and ball, and the glove cost $1 more than the ball, how much did the ball cost?
See? I told you it was easy!
What? The ball didn't cost ten cents?
Two things I've learned from this:
1. I still hate word problems.
2. The obvious answer is not always the correct answer.
Monday, March 25, 2013
What Did You Mean When You Said That?
A couple of weeks ago my buddies Mark Waldrep and Warren Head pulled off our first Wild Game Dinner at Crossroads Church. It was a blast! A national champion Turkey caller, Doug Benefield, who lives in Sharpsburg did a demonstration, a guy named Billy shared his story that inspires hunters to be safety conscious and Gary Miller shared the gospel.
The week prior to going my son, Harrisen, was all geeked up about going--couldn't wait. I didn't know why but I thought that it was cool that he was interested.
While we were standing in line to get our wild game--elk, rabbit, and duck he whispers to his mom: "Hey, when are we going to play those wild games?"
Now I know why he was so excited!
Adventure Lesson of the day:
Communication is crucial! You cannot assume that you are speaking the same language.
Comprende compadre?
The week prior to going my son, Harrisen, was all geeked up about going--couldn't wait. I didn't know why but I thought that it was cool that he was interested.
While we were standing in line to get our wild game--elk, rabbit, and duck he whispers to his mom: "Hey, when are we going to play those wild games?"
Now I know why he was so excited!
Adventure Lesson of the day:
Communication is crucial! You cannot assume that you are speaking the same language.
Comprende compadre?
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Storm Report
What did you think about that storm the other evening?
All of the sudden the wind gusted, the rain flew sideways, lightening and thunder were seen and heard simultaneously. It really was wild for a few minutes!
It hit our house at about the same time that I needed to leave to pick up my son from a birthday party. Tracie, my wife, said she'd go, but I manned up and said, "No, I'll go. You don't need to be out there in this weather!" (Can you hear the sound track to a super hero movie playing in the background now?)
So, I get in the vehicle and before I can get out of my driveway I notice that the huge dead Red Oak that I'd been waiting to see fall because I didn't want to cut it up, fell. Fortunately, it didn't fall across the driveway and I was still able to maneuver around it with minimal effort. But when I turned to go down the next section of our driveway my path was blocked by a pine tree that I could not move, could not go around, and could not drive over. So I ran back to the house, changed clothes and grabbed my chainsaw.
Now, I grabbed my small chain saw because it is lighter and I had a pretty good sense that it would start when I pulled the rope. Though I would be a few minutes late, I could still make it.
When I get back to the downed pine tree the rain is still falling, but not nearly as bad and my neighbor who is trying to come home is on the other side of the tree trying to figure out what he's going to do. I pull up and step out of the Pathfinder with my chainsaw like a cowboy in a dismounting his horse with his shotgun at the ready. (Now there's cowboy music on the soundtrack playing behind the action). We make short work of the pine tree and we're both on our way.
I get a mile down the road only to have my way blocked by a bigger pine tree, and there's no one around. I have a choice to make: do I backtrack and take a longer way to my destination or do I cut my way through. There's no one around, but I figure I've got a new chain and plenty of gas/oil mix, I'll just get to work. (Now there's some classic music--maybe some Chopin--playing in the background, because this is art in motion.)
As I begin to cut open one lane of the road some other guys stop and begin to help by dragging the pieces I've cut. But now I'm a little embarrassed about the size of my chain saw. I feel like I need to explain to these guys who are out there that this isn't my "real" chainsaw that I have a Stihl Farm Boss that is my heavy-duty, man-saw. But my little green Poulan does the job. We open a lane and we're all on our way. (The soundtrack is straight from the end of the movie Tombstone that shows Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp walking down the street with a steely look in their eyes.) I'm pretty sure I'm walking in slow motion.
It was an adventure and here's what I noticed:
1. On the way there are going to be obstacles. Some you can go around, but others you have to cut your way through to the other side, and your cutting through helps others get through too.
2. If you're on a mission, like the one to pick up your son, nothing is going to stop you.
3. The Poulan with a sharp chain is better than a Farm Boss with a dull chain. And it certainly better than having no saw at all. I was ready.
All of the sudden the wind gusted, the rain flew sideways, lightening and thunder were seen and heard simultaneously. It really was wild for a few minutes!
It hit our house at about the same time that I needed to leave to pick up my son from a birthday party. Tracie, my wife, said she'd go, but I manned up and said, "No, I'll go. You don't need to be out there in this weather!" (Can you hear the sound track to a super hero movie playing in the background now?)
So, I get in the vehicle and before I can get out of my driveway I notice that the huge dead Red Oak that I'd been waiting to see fall because I didn't want to cut it up, fell. Fortunately, it didn't fall across the driveway and I was still able to maneuver around it with minimal effort. But when I turned to go down the next section of our driveway my path was blocked by a pine tree that I could not move, could not go around, and could not drive over. So I ran back to the house, changed clothes and grabbed my chainsaw.
Now, I grabbed my small chain saw because it is lighter and I had a pretty good sense that it would start when I pulled the rope. Though I would be a few minutes late, I could still make it.
When I get back to the downed pine tree the rain is still falling, but not nearly as bad and my neighbor who is trying to come home is on the other side of the tree trying to figure out what he's going to do. I pull up and step out of the Pathfinder with my chainsaw like a cowboy in a dismounting his horse with his shotgun at the ready. (Now there's cowboy music on the soundtrack playing behind the action). We make short work of the pine tree and we're both on our way.
I get a mile down the road only to have my way blocked by a bigger pine tree, and there's no one around. I have a choice to make: do I backtrack and take a longer way to my destination or do I cut my way through. There's no one around, but I figure I've got a new chain and plenty of gas/oil mix, I'll just get to work. (Now there's some classic music--maybe some Chopin--playing in the background, because this is art in motion.)
As I begin to cut open one lane of the road some other guys stop and begin to help by dragging the pieces I've cut. But now I'm a little embarrassed about the size of my chain saw. I feel like I need to explain to these guys who are out there that this isn't my "real" chainsaw that I have a Stihl Farm Boss that is my heavy-duty, man-saw. But my little green Poulan does the job. We open a lane and we're all on our way. (The soundtrack is straight from the end of the movie Tombstone that shows Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp walking down the street with a steely look in their eyes.) I'm pretty sure I'm walking in slow motion.
It was an adventure and here's what I noticed:
1. On the way there are going to be obstacles. Some you can go around, but others you have to cut your way through to the other side, and your cutting through helps others get through too.
2. If you're on a mission, like the one to pick up your son, nothing is going to stop you.
3. The Poulan with a sharp chain is better than a Farm Boss with a dull chain. And it certainly better than having no saw at all. I was ready.
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