July 4th Block Party

On July 4th we held our 2nd Annual Roadrunner Street Block Party Pancake Breakfast. We were a little better organized this year with a larger committee of neighbors and more help. We probably had about 25 families show up. Jane invited the missionaries who wisely kept it very low key and just got to know a few people a little bit. Maybe in a few years people will get so used to seeing them that they'll not be afraid to talk to them. Here are a few pictures.

Coming Home to Colorado

Ten days in California seemed like a long time, and we were ready to come home. We left CA about 6pm, and drove to Las Vegas where we had hoped to find an inexpensive buffet. Alas, it was not to be and we ended up at a Sonic at 11pm, and didn't arrive at Jane's parent's house in St. George, Utah until after 1am. We left around 10am the next day for the 10 hour drive to Denver. As we approached Glennwood Canyon, CO about an hour and half from the Utah border, I actually got a little lump in my throat because I was "home". Here are a couple pictures from the trip home. If you've never driven Highway 70 from Utah to Colorado, you are missing one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in the US.

This was taken at the "No Name" rest stop in Glennwood Canyon.


We stopped at the Las Vegas Hilton hoping to see the Star Trek museum and eat at the buffet, but both were closed when we got there. We did get into the Star Trek gift store. Here Molly's show off the very rare, and mostly illegal Romulan Ale.


We saw this van in Grand Junction, CO and then passed it leaving town. Look familiar?


Copper Mountain, where we ski/snowboard in the Winter taken by Molly from near the Vail Pass, about 90 minutes from home

More California Fun

These are some random pictures to round out our little trip to California. I was working most of the time, but took a little time to hang out with Seth and Molly and my family

Seth and Molly relax in the spa at the house we stayed at in Claremont.

Molly spent a lot of time at Darlene and Trents; much of which was spent in the pool

On Saturday we went to Huntington City Beach near lifeguard tower nine. We were all set for some awesome boogie boarding, but the waves were too big and scary: five to seven feet with about a ten-second interval. I caught one awesome wave, but it was a relatively small one.

After the beach we headed to a favorite restaurant; the Northwoods Inn. This pictures says it all; bowl of peanuts (shells thrown on the floor), cheesy bread (Seth ate four slices), the blue cheese and red cabbage salads, and then there are the meals.

Molly's seafood combo was to die for, and Seth and I enjoys a couple of super-tender steaks. Everything is loaded with cheese and butter.

California Adventure - Yacht Racing

Every June when I come to California to teach Japanese students at Cal Poly Pomona I e-mail my old sailing buddies and get myself invited to a yacht race. Spray is a 30ft racing sailboat. I used to crew on this boat for about four years, then had to bow out to finish my doctorate. So last night, Molly, Me and Seth went out on the Spray and spent the evening racing. Afterwards we had a BBQ at the Seal Beach Yacht club treated by the boat owners.

In this video we are on our way out of Alamitos Bay and are raising the sails. One person on the bow guides the sail. A second person (Molly) pumps the halyard, and a third person (Joe - bottom right) cranks the winch.


Seth's first duty was to familiar himself with the course chart and to read the flags at the starting line and tell us which way to sail.


Later in the race on the downwind leg, Seth had to keep the main sail fully extended so it would catch the maximum amount of wind


Molly and Seth relaxing during the race with Kathy, who worked the main sail. Notice everyone is wearing sailing gloves. Leather in the palms to prevent rope burns and to help with the grip on wet lines, and no ends on the fingers so you can pick up and handle the lines (ropes) easier.


In this video we are tacking, which requires that we change the jib (forward) sail from one side to the other as quickly as possible. Its is a brief, frantic process. I released the sail from the port (left) side winch and then helped Seth pull in the sail to the starboard side while Joe cranked on the winch to get the sail all the way over. When the sail is full of wind there is hundreds of pounds of tension on the sheet (another name for a rope that tied to a sail), so you need a winch to get it tight enough. The person pulling on the rope (Seth) is "tailing". If you don't pull on the tail of the rope, the winch won't grab it.

Hollywood Here I Come

One of the ways that I am trying to reach students is via the Internet. To that end I just published a video on Microsoft's student developer website called Channel8. Special thanks to James Thornbrue who ran the cameras during the interview. The video is of one of my student reps that got hired as an intern. Its a good resource for anyone on the job market. Enjoy!

Steady and Sure EFY 2008 - Steadfastly!

I just go back from EFY for the first time in my life and it was the most amazing experience ever. I absolutely LOVED IT! My group of boys I was with was a total blast and we had tons of fun together. We were at BYU Provo and it was absolutely great. We ate Breakfast in the Morris center, dinner at the Canon center. Our session director, Brother Anderson, was absolutely amazing and gave great talks. Sadly, I accidentally deleted all my pictures on Thursday afternoon, so these are all from Friday picture taking hour.



This is me and Chris' dorm in Heritage Halls. I believe we were in the Carol something building.

This is my group. Our counselor Ryan is the tall one. From left to right it goes: Paco/Christen, Desmond, Bryson, Chad, Nelson, Ryan, Ryan, Chris, Me, Charlie, and Garrett

This is our group doing our famous EFY dance, the Dez Step.
This is our whole EFY Company, Steadfastly. I done really think that Steadfastly is a word, but that was our company name. We didn't get to choose.
These are our wonderful counselors: Charly, Ryan, Beth, and David. Ryan just got off a mission in the Philippines about three months ago and speaks fluent Tagalog. (ta-gaw-lowg). David will soon hopefully be marrying his wonderful friend Carissa, who we had an hour and a half long story about their relationship. It was pretty cool.

Chris, Me, and Ryan, just before the Friday dance. Aren't we a fine looking group of young men?

Mia Culpa

About six weeks ago I was driving past about four police cars with lights flashing. I slowed way down to take a look, and was immediately pulled over myself for some mysterious reason (to me at least). It turns out that it is a law in Colorado that if there is a police car with flashing lights you have to get over at least one lane unless it is clearly unsafe. I was really taken aback and decided I was going to go to court on this one since I did slow way down.

So today (Thursday) was my court date. I had with me a copy of the law and an e-mail from the E470 Toll Road people showing that their electronic sign above the freeway saying that I had to pull over OR slow down for stopped emergency police cars.

When I arrived at the court I checked in. Then I met with one of the deputy District Attorneys who reviewed my rights and had me sign a paper saying that I acknowledged my rights. They then asked me if I had any questions. I mentioned that I noticed on the form that pleading guilty with an explanation was not an option. The DA asked me what my explanation was. I told her my story and showed her the e-mail. She then offered me a plea bargain. If I plead guilty, she will reduce the charge to a vehicle maintenance charge, which only has one point against my license instead of four. I would also have to agree to complete 8 hours of community service in the next 30 days, plus pay a $75 insurance fee (instead of the fine) in case I get injured while doing my community service. Since I absolutely didn't want the citation to go on my insurance, which would definitely raise my rate more than the $75, I agreed.

So then I had to go downstairs to sign up for community service. First of all, let me say that many of the folks you see at the Community Service department are not there because of traffic violations. The guy in line in front of my had a tracking bracelet on his leg. And most people are there to do a lot more than 8 hours of service.

So I first had to fill out a form, then they ran a list of the community agencies that might need my help. Now I have to call the ones I want and see if they have any openings for community service volunteers. If they do, I take some paperwork down there and have them sign them. Then I do my hours, and turn in a completed time sheet. Then I'm done.

Some of the agencies on the list include:

• Highlands Ranch Library
• Highlands Ranch Recreation Center
• Douglas County Parks and Trails
• Chatfield State Park
• YMCA
• The Goodwill

While mom thinks the library gig would be a breeze, I think having to work in a library for 8 hours would drive me nuts. I'm tending towards Chatfield State Park because I'll be able to get some kind of inside scoop and maybe a hookup for later. Besides, working outdoors means that half the time you are driving around in the back of a truck or taking a break.

So once I'm back from EFY, I'll be on the chain gang. Oh Brother Where Art Thou!