Ever since we got Guitar Hero 3 (GH3) for Christmas and found out a friend of mine (Kevin) has it, Ryan has been constantly bugging me to call Kevin. We've tried a few times and the stars have never aligned, however today they finally did.
Ryan (and I) have finally graduated from the "Easy" mode to "Medium". In this video, Ryan choose Easy and Kevin choose "Expert" (which I think is completely impossible). As Ryan saw Kevin choose Expert, Ryan said "Sucker" and then proceeded to the hardest song "Through the Fire and Flames".
Ryan won the match, but only because he was on easy and Kevin on Expert. Here's a video of his celebration. Ryan's on the left, Kevin on the right.
We called Kevin and Kevin said "Are you trying to kill me, my hands cramping up."
This made Ryan's day. Thanks Kevin.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Scraping the bottom of the barrel
I got a call from Ryan's basketball coach this morning. I know him fairly well (we both work at Novell). Here is how the conversation went.
Coach: Hi Brett, how are you?
Brett: Good.
Coach: Hey I was wondering if you could do me a favor?
Brett: Sure, what's up.
Coach: Well normally we have 2 coaches, plus Dad's of boys, but neither of the coaches can come and I've called all the other Dad's and they won't be there. Do you mind being the coach of Ryan's team today?
Brett: Uh, you know I know nothing about Basketball, right?
Coach: Well, the other team will have a coach there, so all you have to do is see who hit the ball out of bounds and sub boys in, if you have more than 5.
Brett: Uh - sure, I guess I can do that.
Six boys showed up to play. At half-time, one of the kids on Ryan's team said to me, their fouling me and no one is calling it, but as soon as I foul them, the other coach calls it. Oops, that's my fault.
Here's a picture of me talking to Ryan during the game.
Coach: Hi Brett, how are you?
Brett: Good.
Coach: Hey I was wondering if you could do me a favor?
Brett: Sure, what's up.
Coach: Well normally we have 2 coaches, plus Dad's of boys, but neither of the coaches can come and I've called all the other Dad's and they won't be there. Do you mind being the coach of Ryan's team today?
Brett: Uh, you know I know nothing about Basketball, right?
Coach: Well, the other team will have a coach there, so all you have to do is see who hit the ball out of bounds and sub boys in, if you have more than 5.
Brett: Uh - sure, I guess I can do that.
Six boys showed up to play. At half-time, one of the kids on Ryan's team said to me, their fouling me and no one is calling it, but as soon as I foul them, the other coach calls it. Oops, that's my fault.
Here's a picture of me talking to Ryan during the game.
Friday, January 30, 2009
By the Power of Grayskull
Last night we went to the Temple and my parents watched the kids. When we went to pick them up, Ryan asked me to look for my "Castle Grayskull" from my childhood. I had already brought home my He-man figures (which he and his friends enjoyed playing with) but he wanted the Castle to go with it. After a little bit of looking in my parents basement, we found it and brought it home.
The kids got my old He-man figures and started playing.
This picture looks like Sydney is singing the theme song, but she isn't, just pretending to be Skeletor.
I can't remember at what age I liked He-man, but I would say it was about 25 years ago. It's crazy that my kids are playing with my childhood toys.
For those of you that have forgotten about He-Man and the Master of the Universe. Here's a quick recap.
The kids got my old He-man figures and started playing.
This picture looks like Sydney is singing the theme song, but she isn't, just pretending to be Skeletor.
I can't remember at what age I liked He-man, but I would say it was about 25 years ago. It's crazy that my kids are playing with my childhood toys.
For those of you that have forgotten about He-Man and the Master of the Universe. Here's a quick recap.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Day of Rest?
Today was an extremely busy day.
9:00am - 12:00pm Church
12:00pm - 1:00 Break
1:00pm - 1:30pm Ward Aaronic Priesthood meeting
1:30pm - 2:30pm Bishops Youth Council
2:30pm - 2:45pm Break
2:45pm - 3:45pm Key Scouter Meeting
3:45pm - 4:45pm Break
4:45pm - 5:05pm Our Hometeacher
5:05pm - 5:20pm Doing my Hometeaching
5:30pm - 6:50pm Young Men Presidency Meeting
7:00pm - 8:15pm Stake Priesthood Meeting
8:15pm - 9:00pm Emailing/finishing up Assignments
Day of Rest? Hmmm no. Luckily, not all Sunday's are like this.
9:00am - 12:00pm Church
12:00pm - 1:00 Break
1:00pm - 1:30pm Ward Aaronic Priesthood meeting
1:30pm - 2:30pm Bishops Youth Council
2:30pm - 2:45pm Break
2:45pm - 3:45pm Key Scouter Meeting
3:45pm - 4:45pm Break
4:45pm - 5:05pm Our Hometeacher
5:05pm - 5:20pm Doing my Hometeaching
5:30pm - 6:50pm Young Men Presidency Meeting
7:00pm - 8:15pm Stake Priesthood Meeting
8:15pm - 9:00pm Emailing/finishing up Assignments
Day of Rest? Hmmm no. Luckily, not all Sunday's are like this.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Basketball and Bikes
We had a surprise this morning at Ryan's basketball game. Grandma and Grandpa Berger showed up. It was an 8am game on Saturday morning! Thanks to Grandpa Berger we got some great action shots.
Here's Ryan reaching in and taking the ball away from the other team.
Ryan was a great defender. This poor kid seemed to give up after a while. Ryan stuck on him like glue.
Ryan had a few fast breaks, but he always passes it to a teammate for the shot.
Finally, Ryan running after the kid he was assigned to defend.
They don't keep score, but Ryan's team played well. I'm sure if you ask Ryan if they "won" he'd tell you that they did.
After the game, Grandma and Grandpa Berger came by the house briefly to see Ryan's "new" bike. Ryan got a bike for Christmas, but after seeing him on it, we felt it was a little too small, so we took it back and got him a bigger version (24 inch). The new one is a Gary Fisher too, and has gears. He's much more excited about this "new" bike, than the one that he got for Christmas. It's a great bike and we hope one that will last him for years.
Here's Ryan reaching in and taking the ball away from the other team.
Ryan was a great defender. This poor kid seemed to give up after a while. Ryan stuck on him like glue.
Ryan had a few fast breaks, but he always passes it to a teammate for the shot.
Finally, Ryan running after the kid he was assigned to defend.
They don't keep score, but Ryan's team played well. I'm sure if you ask Ryan if they "won" he'd tell you that they did.
After the game, Grandma and Grandpa Berger came by the house briefly to see Ryan's "new" bike. Ryan got a bike for Christmas, but after seeing him on it, we felt it was a little too small, so we took it back and got him a bigger version (24 inch). The new one is a Gary Fisher too, and has gears. He's much more excited about this "new" bike, than the one that he got for Christmas. It's a great bike and we hope one that will last him for years.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A Brand New Year
Tonight I went to a Youth Activity put on by our Stake. It started at 5pm and ended at 9:30pm.
Among other things, there was a DVD presentation from Salt Lake City where Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the general presidents of the Church’s Young Women and Young Men organizations (Elaine S. Dalton and Charles W. Dahlquist) spoke.
Elder Holland spoke of the importance of standing for what is right despite the influences of others and gave the example of the teenage Joan of Arc as an illustration of one individual willing to make choices based on personal beliefs. He recounted her story and how as she was about to be burned at the stake, she was given an opportunity to save her life by denouncing everything she believe in. She stood for what she believed in and was burned at the stake for doing so. He talked about how even though this story was 600 years old, it still applied to us in our day. Just as Alma's council of "Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness."
There were 3 commitments that the youth were asked to do.
1. Pray morning and night
2. Read the Book of Mormon at least 5 minutes a day
3. Smile more often
Seems pretty simple thing to do, but it's often the simple things that we overlook.
Among other things, there was a DVD presentation from Salt Lake City where Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the general presidents of the Church’s Young Women and Young Men organizations (Elaine S. Dalton and Charles W. Dahlquist) spoke.
Elder Holland spoke of the importance of standing for what is right despite the influences of others and gave the example of the teenage Joan of Arc as an illustration of one individual willing to make choices based on personal beliefs. He recounted her story and how as she was about to be burned at the stake, she was given an opportunity to save her life by denouncing everything she believe in. She stood for what she believed in and was burned at the stake for doing so. He talked about how even though this story was 600 years old, it still applied to us in our day. Just as Alma's council of "Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness."
There were 3 commitments that the youth were asked to do.
1. Pray morning and night
2. Read the Book of Mormon at least 5 minutes a day
3. Smile more often
Seems pretty simple thing to do, but it's often the simple things that we overlook.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Good News, Bad News
I got a Voice mail from my Doctor.
The good news is my shoulder MRI is "essentially normal as far as the structures are concerned", however the Dr said "it's a little capacious"
For those of you not knowing what capacious means
ca⋅pa⋅cious - [kuh-pey-shuhs]
–adjective
capable of holding much; spacious or roomy:
He continued and said "the capsule is a little large, you may have a minor instability problem, but nothing torn. Nothing urgent but you probably have a shoulder that is slipping and moving a little bit, if it is something if you can live with it, great. Else, we could scope it and tighten it up a little."
The bad news is my shoulder still hurts.
I've never broken anything or ever had any surgery ever, so I'm hesitant to go in and get something done if the Dr thinks my shoulder is "essentially normal". I think I'm going to wait this one out and see if the pain goes away.
The good news is my shoulder MRI is "essentially normal as far as the structures are concerned", however the Dr said "it's a little capacious"
For those of you not knowing what capacious means
ca⋅pa⋅cious - [kuh-pey-shuhs]
–adjective
capable of holding much; spacious or roomy:
He continued and said "the capsule is a little large, you may have a minor instability problem, but nothing torn. Nothing urgent but you probably have a shoulder that is slipping and moving a little bit, if it is something if you can live with it, great. Else, we could scope it and tighten it up a little."
The bad news is my shoulder still hurts.
I've never broken anything or ever had any surgery ever, so I'm hesitant to go in and get something done if the Dr thinks my shoulder is "essentially normal". I think I'm going to wait this one out and see if the pain goes away.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Day Two
So far, I'm doing great on my New Year's Resolution.
It's the second day of the new year and it's my second day fishing. Just 363 days to go.
In my auger troubles yesterday, I forgot to mention that dad had gotten an underwater fishing camera for Christmas. After losing the bottom part of the auger, we used Dad's fish finder to find out the depth (which was 15 feet) and then used the underwater fish camera to locate the auger piece. We attempted to mark the hole as we had potentially planned to come back for it today. Just in case we didn't make it out today, I looked around and was confident I could come back after the snow had melted and find the same spot (with my canoe.)
After some discussion, Dad decided he was going back after it, so I tagged along to keep him out of trouble.
Dad picked me up around 6:45am at my house and we headed back to Scofield. My niece, Shawnee, and nephew, Landon came along too.
We took my hand auger, as well as a tool Dad created to help us attempt to retrieve the missing auger piece. The tool was in 2 pieces. It was made out of a metal pole, each piece about 10 feet long. They attached together to form a 18 foot pole, each end having a hook on it.
Once we got back to our spot, I started drilling a hole by hand right next to the hole where I dropped the auger piece. About 5 minutes later, we made it through the foot of ice. Dad then used a shovel to break the ice between these two holes, to form one large ob-longed hole. We dropped the camera in the hole and immediately saw the auger. Next Dad put the pole down in and hooked the auger on his first try. He pulled it up slowly, I immediately threw off my gloves and jacket and pushed my selves up as far as they would go. I waited until I could see the auger and then reached down about 18 inches or so into the water and gabbed hold of the auger. The water was cold (34 degrees to be exact). I pulled the auger up to the bottom of the ice and start to bring it out through the same hole that it had been dropped through but it got stuck. So I'm kneeling by the hole, both hands in the cold water. Dad, Landon and Shawnee were looking for something to tie onto it, so I could get my hands out of the water and then I gave it a yank and up it came. I took off my wet shirt and got my jacket back on and stuck my hands down inside my snow pants in an attempt to get them warm. It only took about 5 minutes and my hands were warm again.
I didn't get a single bite today, however it was worth it to go back for the auger piece. Another highlight of the day was we set up Dad's underwater camera so we could see our fish hook about 12 feet down, but we never saw a fish. If the fish had been biting, it would have been extremely fun to watch them bite the hook.
I came home to an empty house.
When they got home, Ryan and I rocked out on Guitar Hero. We still play on easy, but we're getting better and have beat most of the songs on Easy mode. Ryan's much more confident than I am. He even decided to show his guitaring stills by putting the guitar behind his back and played the whole song with it behind him. He's a funny kid.
When I called Ryan up for dinner, he came to the table and said " Dad, I think I'm getting dehydrated from playing Guitar Hero." We had a little laugh, then ate dinner.
It's the second day of the new year and it's my second day fishing. Just 363 days to go.
In my auger troubles yesterday, I forgot to mention that dad had gotten an underwater fishing camera for Christmas. After losing the bottom part of the auger, we used Dad's fish finder to find out the depth (which was 15 feet) and then used the underwater fish camera to locate the auger piece. We attempted to mark the hole as we had potentially planned to come back for it today. Just in case we didn't make it out today, I looked around and was confident I could come back after the snow had melted and find the same spot (with my canoe.)
After some discussion, Dad decided he was going back after it, so I tagged along to keep him out of trouble.
Dad picked me up around 6:45am at my house and we headed back to Scofield. My niece, Shawnee, and nephew, Landon came along too.
We took my hand auger, as well as a tool Dad created to help us attempt to retrieve the missing auger piece. The tool was in 2 pieces. It was made out of a metal pole, each piece about 10 feet long. They attached together to form a 18 foot pole, each end having a hook on it.
Once we got back to our spot, I started drilling a hole by hand right next to the hole where I dropped the auger piece. About 5 minutes later, we made it through the foot of ice. Dad then used a shovel to break the ice between these two holes, to form one large ob-longed hole. We dropped the camera in the hole and immediately saw the auger. Next Dad put the pole down in and hooked the auger on his first try. He pulled it up slowly, I immediately threw off my gloves and jacket and pushed my selves up as far as they would go. I waited until I could see the auger and then reached down about 18 inches or so into the water and gabbed hold of the auger. The water was cold (34 degrees to be exact). I pulled the auger up to the bottom of the ice and start to bring it out through the same hole that it had been dropped through but it got stuck. So I'm kneeling by the hole, both hands in the cold water. Dad, Landon and Shawnee were looking for something to tie onto it, so I could get my hands out of the water and then I gave it a yank and up it came. I took off my wet shirt and got my jacket back on and stuck my hands down inside my snow pants in an attempt to get them warm. It only took about 5 minutes and my hands were warm again.
I didn't get a single bite today, however it was worth it to go back for the auger piece. Another highlight of the day was we set up Dad's underwater camera so we could see our fish hook about 12 feet down, but we never saw a fish. If the fish had been biting, it would have been extremely fun to watch them bite the hook.
I came home to an empty house.
When they got home, Ryan and I rocked out on Guitar Hero. We still play on easy, but we're getting better and have beat most of the songs on Easy mode. Ryan's much more confident than I am. He even decided to show his guitaring stills by putting the guitar behind his back and played the whole song with it behind him. He's a funny kid.
When I called Ryan up for dinner, he came to the table and said " Dad, I think I'm getting dehydrated from playing Guitar Hero." We had a little laugh, then ate dinner.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
half an auger, fifth a fish
I decided to make a few New Year's Resolutions.
1. Go Fishing more.
(that's as far as I got, what else do you need to do)
In keeping with my New's Years resolution, we (the whole family) went ice fishing today. Dad and my nephews Landon and Dawson came too. We slept at my parents last night and left from their home at about 6:15am. We headed up Hwy 6 to Scofield and got there about 7:15am. We had only one snowmobile, so Dad and I left everyone at the parking spot and we started out to find a spot and drop the gear. We unloaded everything and I started drilling holes with Dad's Power Auger. I got 5 holes drilled and on the 6th hole (my final hole) the screw that held the bottom of the auger broke. The bottom part of the auger is the drill bit part that actually cuts through the ice. Dad hadn't gone back yet to pick up the others and found another screw and screwed it in for me. I went back to what I thought was the 6th partially drilled hole, and started the auger and gave it the gas. I was actually in the 5th drilled hole and unfortunately the screw didn't hold. So as soon as I gave it the gas, the bottom part of the auger came loose and as I stood there holding the top (or engine) in my hand, I watched the bottom part fall through the ice hole and sink off into the dark abyss. It felt like it was in slow motion, although I couldn't move fast enough to catch it. I felt dumb. If I would have been in the right hole, I wouldn't have lost it, as the hole was only 5 inches deep and I had another 7 or 8 inches to go to finish it.
5 holes and 6 fishers. Not good numbers. I stopped bringing my hand auger many, many ice fishing trips ago. No need to hand drill a hole when you can use a power auger and be fishing within 45 seconds (instead of 5 - 10 minutes later.) Luckily someone had been fishing in the same place the day before and I was able to kick a frozen over hole in. 6 holes 6 fishers.
After a few trips back and forth, we had shuttled everyone over to the fishing spot.
Deni and Syd
This fishing spot and time was chosen after consulting a few web pages on the best time to fish given the location and type of moon. I also calculated the best time to fish today (according to the Sun and Moon rise) 7:07am - 8:37am for sunrise and 9:55am to 11:25am for moonrise, it but didn't help me one bit today.
My Dad caught one fish and my nephew Landon also landed one. I say landed one, as he used the "tribe method" of fishing.
So I caught 1/5 of a fish and lost 1/2 of an auger. Not a great way to start out the year.
Sydney and I after a quick ride on the lake.
Since we weren't catching anything, I gave the kids a ride around on the snowmobile.
1. Go Fishing more.
(that's as far as I got, what else do you need to do)
In keeping with my New's Years resolution, we (the whole family) went ice fishing today. Dad and my nephews Landon and Dawson came too. We slept at my parents last night and left from their home at about 6:15am. We headed up Hwy 6 to Scofield and got there about 7:15am. We had only one snowmobile, so Dad and I left everyone at the parking spot and we started out to find a spot and drop the gear. We unloaded everything and I started drilling holes with Dad's Power Auger. I got 5 holes drilled and on the 6th hole (my final hole) the screw that held the bottom of the auger broke. The bottom part of the auger is the drill bit part that actually cuts through the ice. Dad hadn't gone back yet to pick up the others and found another screw and screwed it in for me. I went back to what I thought was the 6th partially drilled hole, and started the auger and gave it the gas. I was actually in the 5th drilled hole and unfortunately the screw didn't hold. So as soon as I gave it the gas, the bottom part of the auger came loose and as I stood there holding the top (or engine) in my hand, I watched the bottom part fall through the ice hole and sink off into the dark abyss. It felt like it was in slow motion, although I couldn't move fast enough to catch it. I felt dumb. If I would have been in the right hole, I wouldn't have lost it, as the hole was only 5 inches deep and I had another 7 or 8 inches to go to finish it.
5 holes and 6 fishers. Not good numbers. I stopped bringing my hand auger many, many ice fishing trips ago. No need to hand drill a hole when you can use a power auger and be fishing within 45 seconds (instead of 5 - 10 minutes later.) Luckily someone had been fishing in the same place the day before and I was able to kick a frozen over hole in. 6 holes 6 fishers.
After a few trips back and forth, we had shuttled everyone over to the fishing spot.
Deni and Syd
This fishing spot and time was chosen after consulting a few web pages on the best time to fish given the location and type of moon. I also calculated the best time to fish today (according to the Sun and Moon rise) 7:07am - 8:37am for sunrise and 9:55am to 11:25am for moonrise, it but didn't help me one bit today.
My Dad caught one fish and my nephew Landon also landed one. I say landed one, as he used the "tribe method" of fishing.
- Dad provided all the gear (and the transportation)
- I drilled the hole - Hole #4
- Dawson, his younger brother, choose the hole and put his fishing pole by the hole
- Deni baited Dawson's pole and put the fishing line in the hole at the perfect spot for the fish to swim by
- Finally Landon saw Dawon's pole get a hit and happened to be the one to reel in the fish
So I caught 1/5 of a fish and lost 1/2 of an auger. Not a great way to start out the year.
Sydney and I after a quick ride on the lake.
Since we weren't catching anything, I gave the kids a ride around on the snowmobile.
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