Tom Squared

I came across these two animations by alanbecker on deviantART .  First off, if you haven’t checked out deviantART, it’s definitely worth some time.  This is one of the first real art sharing sites, and anyone can share.  I love the humor involved in each one and I was thinking that this could almost be a great basic training video. Animator vs. Animation by * alanbecker on deviant ART Really, that is just amazing stuff done in 2006.  Then alanbecker did this one in 2007. Animator vs. Animation II by * alanbecker on deviant ART This one is even better.  I love the mix of the Windows desktop, animation of icons and overall show. Here’s what I really love.  This guy is 18 right now…  Yeah, do the math, the first one was done when he was 16.  What was I doing at 16?  Dating I think. What I also love is that this guy is a Christian, and a pretty faithful one to boot.  Just check out some of the other images and text that...

Tonight we had a fundraiser at Baja Fresh for our church mission trips.  Essentially lots of people came to Baja Fresh and 15% of the money spent went to St. Matthew’s .  I got there and had my dinner and chatted with a few people.  Then there was my daughter. Once a few people she knew from church showed up, you couldn’t keep her down.  She went to one friend, hugged her, talked, and came back for a bite before moving back to the conversation, or moving on to another friend.  There’s only one way I could describe it… She was working the room. She would go from one pre-schooler to another, talking, hugging, then moving back for a bite or two.  She had every kid under 5 talking to her, and she clearly was interested in each one of them for the people they were (and so she could get some attention, hey, she’s four). Man, she reminded me of myself.  I loved it! Peace, +Tom

I'm sitting here at home watching The Shadow , easily one of the best movies made based on one of the best old time radio shows.  I hadn't picked up on this earlier, but the weapon used to destroy the city is none other than the same power source used to power the NSEA Protector in Galaxy Quest . I never knew Beryllium was so cool.  Now I want a sphere of my own. Anyone know of other places Beryllium Spheres are mentioned? Peace, +Tom

I mentioned a while ago about the service we received at a visit to Cheeburger Cheeburger.  Within a day or two of posting the message John, the manager of the store, hunted down my e-mail (using my AIM name associated with this blog profile) and got in contact to make things right.  He sent an incredibly thoughtful and professional letter back, which I described a little in an earlier post.  It's great to say that our follow-up visit was excellent, and a lot of fun. While John certainly spent a lot of time to make sure everything was good, we also had what is possibly their best waiter, Ernesto.  He had no idea we were "special" in any way, and still spent a lot of time making sure everything was great.  Joking, checking, suggesting and all around making the visit lively and fun. Ernesto lightly corrected our 14 month-old Colin when he was putting his mouth on the table, telling him that if he eats the table there won't be any place for the food....

During bible study we've been talking a bit about not talking about me.  One of the most important things I learned from my high school English teach, Mrs. Toliver, was that you should never use "I" in a paper.  Don't say something like I think most experts agree that using proper English is unnecessary in the Internet age. Instead simply say Most experts agree that using proper English is unnecessary in the Internet age. As Mrs. Toliver would say, "I know it's what you think, you wrote it . Obviously it's what you think." I began thinking about this a bit more and how it applies to regular life as well.  The stupid, overused saying goes "There's no 'I' in team." But really we need to change our perspective entirely and think outside individual units.  These units could be individuals, teams, businesses, nations or any other defined body. Instead we need to look at the whole of everything, every human being ...

I just got this comment on my older post Million Dollar Ideas #4: Nails on the Run . Hi Tom, Funny you posted this idea, because my mom and I started a mobile nail salon that travels to businesses, parties, special events, etc. We are called a Nails on the Run and located in Corona, California. We started our business in November 2007, but has been in the planning for a year prior to this - and is so far a growing success! Our website should be out this week: www.nailsontherun.com . Regards, Amie Beard Nails on the Run (951)833-5799 I'm not sure which makes me happier, that someone else also had the idea, or that they even used the same name I came up with.  In any case, I sure wish I lived in California right now.  If you do happen to live there, go check it out. Heck, sounds like a great road trip destination! Peace, +Tom

While Rachel was playing Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue on our Wii (without a doubt the best game for our 4 year old) they talked about the Plover .  This is a bird whose claim to fame is that it will stand inside a crocodile's open mouth and clean off it's teeth. Seriously, how many plovers got to meet their maker before the crocodile realized that this little bird was helping him out? Heck, how desperate was the plover for food before he decided to walk into an open mouth for food? Or is this all because crocodiles are inherently lazy and don't care if chicken (er plover) nuggets hop right into their mouths? What ridiculous ideas are out there that seem to make absolutely no sense. . . until they become incredibly beneficial to all? Peace, +Tom