Simple Randomness

Remembering 9/11 - The 7 Year Anniversary

Seven years ago, 9/11/01, is a day that I think few of us will ever forget.  It’s one of those days where everyone can remember where they were and what they were doing.

As for myself, I was actually living in South America at the time (Chile to be exact).  I was serving as a missionary for my church and we were headed to a meeting with some other missionaries.  On the bus a Chilean told us something about tornados and airplanes crashing into buildings, but we didn’t know what he was talking about.  I do remember at the bus stop seeing people watching a TV with a burning building on it, but I had no idea what it was.

So we get to our meeting and the janitor asks us what we are doing there, that we should be in our apartments.  We didn’t know why.  Then he hooked up a TV and showed us.  I remember all of us just watching with a blank stare, not sure what to think or do.  One of the guys with us was actually from New York City.  We found out later that some of his father’s friends were killed that day.

One of the really scary things about being in Chile during that time is that 9/11 is already a bad day there.  9/11 is the day that Pinochet took over.  If you know anything about Chilean history, he was dictator for a long time, and we helped to put him there.  So it’s not exactly a day when a lot of people are friendly to Americans.  So needless to say, we stayed in our apartments for about 2 days without leaving, wondering if we were going to have to flee the country.

It was a scary time to say the least.  But I also remember walking down the street a few days later and a man that I had never met walked up and asked us if we were all right, and offered his deepest sympathies for what was happening.

That day changed all of us I think.  For me, it gave me a renewed pride in our country for the way we pulled together to get through it.  It also opened my eyes to the fact that there really are people who don’t like us.  Whether out of actual hate or ignorance.

On this 7 year anniversary of 9/11, I think it’s important for all of us to remember that day.  It was tragic, and it changed us…for the best I hope!

Driving Without A/C?

This summer has been pretty hot.  Granted, where I’m at it’s been a little rainy lately, but I’m sure by tomorrow we’ll be back up into the 90’s.

This got me thinking: how would I make it through the summer if I didn’t have auto air conditioning? Simply put, I don’t think I would!

Thankfully I’ve never had that problem. But if you’re driving around in the heat without A/C in your car, I think you’re crazy!  Good thing there are companies out there like 1AirConditioning.com that have air compressors that you can use to get A/C in your car again.  Check them out if you’re one of those people!

Rainy Days…And I’m Liking It!

For the last 2 days or so we’ve had cloudy days with scattered rain.  Nothing major, just a little gloomy compared with the heat and sun that we’ve had for a long time now.

Normally I really don’t like rainy weather, but right now I think it’s great!  It’s just nice to have a break from all the heat for a little bit.  Who knows, maybe it’s signalling in the change to fall, but I think we’re still a little ways out for that.

Now, if you live out East or in the South East I’m sure stormy weather is the last thing you want to see with all the hurricanes and tropical storms and such.  Every time I talk to someone from there I am reminded of why I think I’ll try to stay out West.  But that being said, I hope you all stay safe!

Super Food Quinoa!

Ok, so as you probably know I’m trying to eat healthy and actually gain some weight right now.  In some of the material I’ve been reading I had heard about this ancient grain called quinoa.  These sources said it was really good for you, etc.

So over the weekend my wife’s aunt gave her some to try.  We cooked it up and it’s actually pretty good stuff!  Not a very strong flavor, but its just as good warm as it is cold.

And the thing that amazed me is that it’s packed with protein!  Here’s a quick comparison for you on what you get out of a cup of quinoa vs. a cup of brown rice:

Brown Rice:

• Calories - 215
• Fat - 1.7g
• Carbs - 44.4g
• Protein - 5g

Quinoa:

• Calories - 636
• Fat - 9.9g
• Carbs - 117.1g
• Protein - 22.3g

This stuff is packed!  It’s a little bit pricey, but being that I’m trying to increase calories to gain some good weight, this looks like a great food to incorporate into my diet!

Cool Zip Code Locator for Businesses

I love it when I can go to the website of some company and then use some kind of a store locator that helps me to find out where they are in my area or some other place that I might be visiting in the future. It makes it so much easier!

Well, if you are a business owner and don’t have this type of service on your website (and you have a physical location/storefront), the good news is that there are companies out there that can help you get one of these services! These programs help you set up a program that will find your stores based on their zip code.

One such company is the ZipCodeWorld Store Locator Live. And the best thing about it, its free!

Here are some interesting facts about their program:
a) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is supporting 1089 companies and total of 30692 unique stores and growing.
b) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is supporting 33 countries worldwide including United States and Canada.
c) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is free for business with less than 100 stores. The only thing we would like in return is to display a banner linking back to our Web site.
d) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is also available in .NET and PHP. Programmers can install it in their local servers.
e) The company also provides comprehensive ZIP code and postal codes resources for United States, Canada and Mexico.

So if you need this type of service on your site, check these guys out!

Hitting a Plateau

So I’ve written a few times in the past that I’m actually doing a workout program right now to gain some weight.  So for a while I actually put on some pounds, but lately I’ve stalled.  I guess I’ve hit a plateau!

Whenever this happens it just means that it’s time to look back and see what you have or haven’t been doing.  Then reasses and make some changes.

In my case, I know that I haven’t been eating enough.  So for the next couple of weeks my goal is to make sure I eat as much as I know I should be eating and stop skipping on meals.  I’ve had some major schedule changes in the last 2 weeks that threw me off, but now it’s time to get back on track.

Funny Moments that Happen on Vacations

Vacations can be really funny things.  It seems like on almost every vacation you go on there tends to be some sort of tragedy that you can look back on later and laugh about.

For example, when my wife was in high school she went with the high school choir to a competition in Las Vegas.  While they were there they decided to do some sight-seeing as well.  So while walking up and down the strip my wife (then girlfriend) somehow managed to cut her toe open when riding the escalators!  I to this day don’t know how she managed this, but she left a pretty good trail of blood all the way back to her hotel!  She would have been safer staying on the tour bus offered by various Las Vegas tours!

In high school I was in band, and I was part of a local group that got to go to Europe for about 2 weeks.  The biggest problem that I had there was that I’m too tall and kept hitting my head on different things!  I remember one day I was so proud that I had gone the whole day without hitting my head.  I was walking along the side of the bus telling someone this when ‘crack!’, I hit my head on the rear view mirror…

So needless to say, vacations can be a lot of fun when you look back at the painful and silly moments that happen.

One place my wife and I would like to go sometime is to New York City to see the sites there.  Maybe while we’re there we can check out the Top of the Rock Observation Deck at the Rockefeller Center. I hear it’s pretty cool!

If you’re looking to take a vacation any time soon, check out Trusted Tours and Attractions.  They offer discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in 23 cities across America, along with online travel guides. You can also sign up for their newsletter and enter for a chance to win a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate!

August Rush - Great Movie!

So last night my wife and I rented August Rush.  I had heard a lot of really good things about it, and it definitely didn’t disappoint.  This was a really good show!

Lately whenever I’ve seen Robin Williams in a movie I’ve found him kind of annoying, but in this movie I thought he actuallly did a really good job!  And the kid that plays the main role is always really good (you may remember him from the new Willy Wonka andFinding Neverland).  He’s growing well, so hopefully he won’t be one of these kids that once they get older can’t get a movie.

Anyway, great movie with a lot of really cool music.  Seriously, you could watch this movie just for the music and really like it.  Especially all the guitar slapping they do!