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Recently, my father, my 6 year old daughter, The Princess, and I took a 9 mile backpacking adventure. For dad and I it wasn’t the longest or most difficult hike we’d attempted before. It was, however, an eye-opener. Neither one of us has hiked in a while. Dad’s going to try Mt. Whitney in October, and he said that he’s glad he did this, to wake up. As you can tell, I simply am carrying too much weight, in the front region.

We set out, the three of us from the top of Mt. Pinos, in northern Ventura County, CA. This hike took place in the Los Padres National Forest. Our destination was Lockwood Valley, nine miles away. The trail specifically ends at the Boy Scout Camp, 3 Falls.

The trail travels along the top of the mountain to the California Condor Conservation lookout for about a mile and a half.

The remainder of the hike is downhill.

Since The Princess had not been on a backpacking trip before, we didn’t want her to have to work too hard with a lot of uphill hiking or even too much level hiking.

This was also the same “first backpack” I took with my father when I was a boy. Now a tradition.

We hiked a few miles the first afternoon and made camp on the saddle between Sawmill Mountain and Mt. Pinos. The next day was our long day of hiking. The audio below is a little recording I did from camp, during breakfast the second day.

Listen Now:
[audio:mtpinos.mp3]

About halfway down the hill The Princess decided that the backpack was not comfortable, and I added it to my pack.

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I wanted to announce that I recently joined the staff of Podcast Herald. PH is an online publication that focuses on the podcast news you need to know.

This is an exciting opportunity for me. I have wanted to join the professional blog-o-sphere for quite some time. Now I get to grow my ability to write and be critiqued in a safe environment. If you want to check out my articles, click here.

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That’s not as bad as it sounds, nor as good. “D” has really enjoyed having her dad come up and visit for lunch at times. He’s retiring and relocating to West Linn, OR. That’s just south of Portland. Today they announced the purchase of the “ultimate” retirement home. Too many bedrooms, and a little land. Just what he wanted.

I can’t wait to visit. I love the Pacific Northwest. Hmm…

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Podcasting has really opened my eyes to a new kind of ministry that is fulfilling and exciting. I am using my skills and spiritual gifts and it is very satisfying to bring glory to God.

Recently I have had a vision unfold for a new kind of podcast ministry. I am just beginning to understand what I think may be a calling for me. The Scribe Music Show has been fun and I plan to continue the work on this podcast. However, I have increasingly felt like my current employment gets in the way of my desire to continue working hard on my new ministry. I have never had such a strong desire to work hard before. My work ethic has strengthened during this new era of my life. Early on I wanted to turn SMS into a daily show. That could still happen, but I’ve begun to see a larger potential for ministry with a podcast.

In no way do I feel like a podcast or even a group of podcasts can or should take the place of church. However, I do believe that a podcast can be a great asset to the local church in its ministry. I don’t see the format of a ministry-minded podcast to be like the current “para-church” radio broadcasts. I believe that the best place for the podcast ministry is in the church.

In the next few weeks, I hope to begin an aggressive brainstorming campaign. I expect to emerge with a clear vision for a new podcast ministry, Calvary Cast.

I have begun to sample a huge variety of podcasts for their format. I’m a man in search of a vision.

Feed Shark

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We’re taking the family up to Mammoth Lakes to celebrate Independence Day, (4th o’ July). This is the first time we’ve gone up there for this holiday, and I’m excited to celbrate in the mountains. D discovered that the norm is for all to drive down to Crowley Lake to watch fireworks, and I think that is going to be a blast.

I’ll post some photos when we get back.

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Well folks, I realized that I haven’t written anything in a while, so I thought I’d just vomit out some words.

I recently bought a new flashlight for work. Cool. I got a SureFire, C2 Centurion.

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Today, I got a spam comment on my Scribe Music Show website. It came to the “guestbook”, so I thought it was legitimate. It basically said, “Nice website. Good content.”

I’m an idiot for not catching the general and vague sounding comments.

So I went ahead and approved the comment, and then took a look at the commenter’s alleged website. It was gay porn. I was so angry.

So now I’m online trying to figure out how I can forward the domain and email address from the spammer to as many reporting agencies, and other spammers as possible. I’d love to just crash the spammer’s server. I’d love for his inbox to overflowing with nothing but Viagra adds for seven years. I’d love…oh I’m so mad.

Then within two hours, I have another spammer trying to dump some more crap in my comments. I caught this one though.

While looking for good tips on what to do to the spammer, I found a great tip. Place email addresses for FBI fraud investigators and my congressmen. This way they too can get all the spammed crap I get.

I probably won’t do that, but it sure is funny.

Ah, that feels better. I needed to get that off my chest.

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Update
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I installed this new feature that should help. All who comment will have to “verify” their email address by clicking on a link they get after commenting. This should cut down on all of the crappy Comment Spam I’ve been getting.

Oh, and by the way, I haven’t done anything to the spammers. Yet.

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Took the fam to Disney’s California Adventure yesterday. We had a blast.

It’s definately a place for the bigger kids. My 2 year old couldn’t experience all of it, and he spent a lot of time in the stroller. We’re gonna try it without him later this summer. The older two had a blast, and D and I decided that we’d like to return without any of them at least once.

We’re really starting to enjoy the fun of having season passes. Can’t wait until the holidays.

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Last night, D and I watched Conflict Resolution again. I bought it from the iTunes Music Store. Of course I’m talking about The Office.

It is absolutely the funniest episode of the season. We laughed until it hurt. I had to rewind a couple of times, because we missed lines from laughter. I can watch the part where Michael reads all of Dwight’s complaints about Jim over and over again. I also love when Jim blurts out that Dwight tried to kiss him, and he’s not sure how he feels about it. Hilarious!

I love that Pam knows about the Dwangela conspiracy, and keeps it to herself. It’s almost as if she’s holding on to it for some ammunition. I was also entertained by Jim’s harrassment of Dwight. But, as Jim was realizing that his days are empty, I really was sad for him. I think that John Krasinski really did a great job on during those scenes.
What was your favorite episode?

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Last year, Deanna and I went to the Big Apple for our anniversary. We had a great time. It was the first trip there for both of us. One thing that caught my attention while we were there was the NYPD motorcops on Piaggio scooters.They were basically fancy Vepsa’s. What a sweet ride. I’d love that detail.

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Tell me what you think. I’ve been podcasting several different shows for months now. I’ve learned quite a lot about podcasting, and would love to add another show. This time I’m talking with my wife about joining me as a co-host. We’d maybe even add one of her friends. We all love The Office, and could easily do a weekly podcast covering our reaction to each weeks’ hilarity and shenanigans.

I went ahead and purchased DunderCast. This could serve as our podcast’s home and name. This will only work if I can have some help each week with feedback.

We have so much fun laughing at each episode, and checking out the several great blogs dedicated to The Office. I’ve been a fan of several other TV show fan podcasts, and have learned the formats that work. I’ve even contributed to a couple LOST podcasts.

Add your comments and let me know what you think.

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My brother-in-law is a Dodger fan, like most in my family. The Dodger game is like a cultural experience for our family. It is a rite of passage.

I can remember going to Dodger games when I was much younger, and we’d call my Mamaw Rae (read great-grandmother) to tell her about the game. We are a family of Dodger fans. When Mamaw Rae went home to be with our Lord, we mourned our loss of her, and the Angels in heaven now have a rival, a Dodger fan.

I considered checking the Dodgers’ record before writing this post, but it doesn’t matter. Real fans:

• Cheer when their team is loosing.
• Paint themselves in their team’s colors.
• Bleed their team’s color.
• Often loose their voice at games.
• Have seen their team play in another team’s stadium.
• And most importantly…stay until the end.

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