Gary Evans Jr's Blog

Food and Work

2009-04-04T15:33:00.006-05:00

My boss and I just got back from a Thursday/Friday trip to Dallas. We installed 4 new Citrix XenServers (very cool virtualization stuff) and performed various maintenance on our servers in Dallas. We stayed up 'til about 4:30 AM working. Yeah, that's a little tough, but we balanced it out by eating a the best Churrascaria (Brazilian Steakhouse) I've ever been to. It's called Fogo de Chão and we new it was going to be expensive, but wow, it was A LOT! The food was amazing (all you can eat Picanha, Rib eye, lamb, top and bottom sirloin, salmon, mushrooms!) and the service was the best I've ever seen. However, considering the cost, you probably won't see us at a Fogo de Chão again. Boy it's good, though.

Then, as tradition must have it, on our way out of town, we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory. Is there anything better than the Herb Crusted Salmon w/ asparagus and mashed potatoes and Chocolate Peanut-butter Cookie dough cheesecake? I don't think so! Unbelievable every single time.

Launch of Family blog

2009-03-19T00:09:00.002-05:00

Well, tonight we "launched" our family blog garyandmelody.blogspot.com. I went through about 850 contacts (not all of them real people) and sent a mass e-mail with the new URL. I'll continue to post here when I have something to say, but now we have a family blog that Melody keeps up-to-date.

No, I'm not going to make my blog all about Katy too, but...

2009-02-15T14:54:00.003-06:00

Top: I just had to post this picture of Katy in a tree, just like her Daddy. I used to climb this tree (located in my Grandmother's backyard) all the time when I was little. Don't worry, we were standing close enough to leap foward if she had decided to bail.

Middle: Mommy is giving her a bath and toying with the idea of a new hair style. Katy is happy, as usual.

Bottom: This is a good representation of how unbelieveably cute and sweet our Katy is!!!! I love this picture!

My wonderful family!

2009-02-15T14:46:00.001-06:00

It has been so long since I've posted, at the very least I wanted to publish a picture of my beautify family. This is at Katy's 1st birthday party at our house. Katy is really enjoying her first cupcake, made by my wife, Melody. Katy is with her 2 favorite things, food and a balloon... followed by Mommy then Me...hehe. God has certainly blessed us!

Another Gixxer Pic

2006-03-20T20:43:00.000-06:00

Josh had 21 stickers on the Gixxer when I bought it. Not that I didn't like them, they were cool, but they just weren't me. So I took all but about 5 of them off. Here's a pic of me on the Gixxer.

I have arrived...GSX-R1000!

2006-03-19T14:05:00.000-06:00

Okay, you all know I’m crazy for Gixxers (Suzuki GSX-R sport bikes). I had decided a while back to get a GSX-R750, because it was still stupid fast and a good bit cheaper than a 1000. I had been looking on eBay for awhile and wasn’t finding any good deals that were close to Nashville and especially none that were close to Lubbock. Oh by the way, did I mention that I’m not in Acappella anymore and I live in Lubbock, TX again. I think everyone reading this knows. Anyway, I jumped off of eBay and on to the Thrifty Nickel Ads search and saw that there was 1 Suzuki GSXR listed…and it was a 1000 and it was a decent price. I e-mailed the guy, Josh, and he sent me some pics and told me a little bit about it. I was very interested. Hold that thought. Remember, I have a 2003 Kawasaki Ninja 250 (the yellow bike) that is the perfect bike to start with and even keep, if you don’t want to wheelie and accelerate stupid fast (but legally, of course). I had been taking my wife, Melody, riding on the Ninja and she loved it so much that she wanted her own Ninja 250. It was only logical that she get mine and I speed up my search for the perfect Gixxer. Okay, back to Josh and the Gixxer 1000. I thought, “you know, the 1000 is the THE best of the best, and really, how could I not go ahead and get the 1000…bump the cheaper 750, I’m gettin’ a 1000.” I went to Josh’s brother’s house, where the bike was, and test rode it. It brought back memories of when I rode Curtis’ Gixxer 1000 in West Memphis, and how I could not comprehend the power it had. We negotiated a little on the price, he came down even more. By the way, he was the only owner of this bike and he lives in Commander’s Palace (where I live), and said he’d help me work on it or anything else I needed. So I got a GREAT deal on a well-taken-care of 2002 Suzuki GSX-R1000 sport bike. It’s beautiful! Here are some of the upgrades he had put on it:

Two Brothers Racing exhaust
Power Commander
K&N Air Filter
TRE (Timing Retarder Eliminaor)
RK chain and Geared 1down in front
Fender Eliminator
Clear lens tail light
Tape Works Graphics (neon green graphics to replace the stock white ones)
Blue Chrome Wind Screen
Pirelli Diablo tires
CARBON FIBER:
front fender
triple tree
tank protector
frame covers
case cover

The bike is so sweet! I took Mel for a ride the day I got it and she held on for dear life and said, “I don’t think I want to do that anymore.” It’s SO fast, she wants to make sure I’m comfortable with it before she puts her life in to my hands. Comfortable? How can you be comfortable accelerating to speeds of XXX mph in mere seconds? We’re going to take a motorcycle safety course together. I finally got a Gixxer, now I’ve just got to stay alive!

Dave Ramsey

2006-03-19T14:04:00.000-06:00

So we did the Queen concert on Tuesday, then we drove back to Nashville on Wednesday. Thursday, we had the privilege to sit in on Dave Ramsey's talk show www.daveramsey.com. About a year or so ago, Acappella sang for a weekly devo he does for all his employeess, which was a lot of fun. Dave seemed to really enjoy it, and he was so grateful. Then about a month ago they guys were invitied to do another devo for him. A long time ago, Jordan had the opportunity to sit in on one of his shows (through one of many of Jordan's connections...Hey JHouse, how is Will Smith doing these days?). We thought that would be cool to do and Dave said we could certainly come sit in on his show. On commercial breaks he would talk to us and we'd ask him questions. He's a really nice, down-to-earth guy and so is his staff! Thanks Dave!

The Queen Concert

2006-03-19T14:03:00.000-06:00

The Queen concert was out of this world! I flew in to Nashville on Tuesday, March 7th and the guys picked me up from the airport. Shortly thereafter, we were on our way to Atlanta to experience Queen. It was Jordan House, Zach Wilson, Robin Brannon, and me. The concert was at the Gwinett Center in Deluth, GA and it wasn't quite sold out, but there were thousands of people there (maybe 10,000). We had great seats that were perfect for seeing over people's heads. Besides Queen's music, the most impressive thing to me were the lights. There were so many lights and the configuration was mind-boggling. They sang a ton of favorites, like Tie Your Mother Down, Hammer To Fall, Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, and We Are the Champions. I thought Paul Rodgers was good, but I'll have to be honest, I missed Freddie's voice A LOT! Paul did a good job of making the songs his own. The problem was, they weren't his own, they were Freddie's. But he sounded pretty good anyway. I missed John Deacon, the bass player too. In fact, personally, my 2 favorite things about Queen are Freddie's vocals and John's bass playing, neither of which were present. Don't let me fool you though, I had the time of my life and it was one of, if not the best concert, I have ever been to.

MySpace

2006-01-14T16:44:00.000-06:00

I broke down and got a space at myspace.com. My address is http://www.myspace.com/garyeevans.

Africa / Queen

2006-01-14T14:45:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry I've been such a poor blogger lately. My family and I went to Africa over Christmas to visit my sister. She's teaching missionary kids over there. I've wanted post some pictures and write about them, but my mom and dad have the pictures in TX and I'm in TN. I only took a few with my camera. I'll be back in Lubbock, TX on Jan 18th and will try and put some cools pics of our trip on the blog.

Last night, me, Jordan, Zach W, Robin, and Allen Brantley watched the Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium DVD. Wow, what a work of art! One thing is for sure, Freddie knows how to work the crowd of 73,000 people and he can SANG! It took me awhile to get past his front teeth sticking out like bugs bunny. John Deacon on bass, Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums... the best rock band ever. The audio quality of the DVD was stellar, and remember it was done in 1986. Oh, did I mention we got tickets to the Queen + Paul Rogers concert in Atlanta, GA? Oh yeah baby!

Christmas Gift

2005-12-14T12:18:00.000-06:00

Keith and Sharon Lancaster surprised us the other day with caps that have our nicknames embroidered on them. We love ‘em! Thanks Keith and Sharon! By the way, that picture was taken in the new studio in Nashville.

Acappella in Philadelphia

2005-12-14T00:25:00.000-06:00

We made a quick “fly date” trip up to Newtown, PA to perform at a Christmas banquet and worship with them Sunday morning. It went well and we had a blast doing it. On arrival, the first question we all had was, “Is Phili really known for its cheese steak sandwiches?” In fact it is, which meant we had to try one of Phili’s best. They took us downtown to the famous Pat’s. I think all 5 of us would agree that it was the best cheese steak sandwich we’d ever had. They had to teach us how to order. Every sandwich is steak and hoagie bread, so there is no need in telling them that part. Your choices are with or without cheese (who in their right mind gets it without cheese?) and with or without onions. For cheese with onions, which is by far the default, you simply walk up and say, “cheese with”, you pay, and then you have your sandwich. The whole ordering-paying-getting-your-food process took about 20 seconds per person…if that. After stuffing our faces with the best cheese steak sandwich in the world, we made a quick stop at the Liberty Bell. I had never actually seen it in real life before. It’s now in a fancy glass structure because of the nutso goofball who hit it with a hammer one year. It’s under very tight security. “Yay” for nice people who take us places and “yay” for Philadelphia!

Easy as 1…2…3…

2005-12-14T00:24:00.000-06:00

Shaving Zee Dub’s hair off was a creative adventure. One night he just decided it was time to get rid of the extra height (after all he’s already 6’5”) and the extra mess of having long hair. With the moral support of Robin B and Zac G, I grabbed my handy clippers and started chopping. We wanted to leave it like the middle picture, but Zee Dub wouldn’t have it… I don’t think Keith Lancaster would have appreciated it either. I’m already used to him being “bald”. It looks good Zee Dub.

Paul McCartney!

2005-12-06T11:48:00.000-06:00

Well, as my first post in almost 1 month, it's fitting that the subject is, in fact, a good one. Paul McCartney! My dad had always wanted to see the Beatles in concert, but since that's impossible now, Paul McCartney was the next best thing. After seeing P.M. LIVE, I think he was the best thing. Ticketmaster sold out of tickets immediately, so Dad had to use some other service to get tickets. The seats were fantastic. We were close to the stage and could see McCartney and the rest of the 4 piece band very well. The concert started out with a video on the life of McCartney, which was very cool. I'd say 80% of the audience was my Mom and Dad's age (give or take 10 years), and it was fun to see them get into the music. McCartney played all of his hit songs that you would have wanted him to play. Live and Let Die might have been my favorite with the fireworks inside of the American Airlines Center, the colored fire flaring up all over the stage, the dynamic / thumping music, and Paul McCartney! He changed guitars after just about every song. After one song, before he gave his guitar to the Guitar Tech, he said, "Oh, this was the very guitar I played on the Ed Sullivan show." It was great! Hey Jude, Yesterday, songs from his latest album, which were just as good. Everything about the concert was amazing. We also had to pick up a tour t-shirt. Then we filled out some cards for a chance to win a MusicLives Paul McCartney t-shirt. I won one, then we figured the odds and signed up until we won 2 more shirts....hehe. If you ever have a chance to go see Paul McCartney in concert, DO IT! He's 63 years old and still performes as good or better than he did in the late 60's and early 70's (I should know, I'm 25 years old). It's so evident that he still LOVES the audience and loves making music on stage.

Next Acappella Album and JHouse's dream

2005-11-15T00:03:00.000-06:00

Keith is pumping out new songs left and right. We've learned parts of 3 or 4 new songs (all written by Keith) and laid down the basic vocals - in the Nashville studio - for 2 of the songs. Melissa Lancaster is doing a wonderful job engineering the project. I think we'd like to have this album out by Tulsa... we'll see. My guess is that this album will be less R&B than Heaven & Earth, just because the guys in this group aren't as plugged in to R&B as Nic and Sean were. That's not a good or a bad thing, just a style thing. It's gonna be a good album... as usual.

JHouse wants to do a concert in Antarctica someday. Does anyone know of someone who might be taking a ship there during tourist season? Also, does anyone know how we could round up all 0 indigenous residents? Okay, so there are no people from Antarctica, but there are 4000 researchers there in the summer and 1000 there in the winter (remember, Antarctica is 1.5 times the size of the United States). JHouse..."I like dreamin'..."

Acappella in Guyana, South America

2005-11-14T02:23:00.000-06:00

We have become quite the international travelers lately. Nearly every time we do an international date, it’s a new exciting adventure. And by “exciting”, I mean two things, 1) an AWESOME visit, a lot of fun, and God working in ways we wouldn’t have ever imagined, and 2) it’s so hard to get ourselves, our bags, and our equipment there that I’ve decided it would be easier to walk/swim with the equipment strapped to our backs. Robin did not fly with us from Nashville to Miami to Georgetown, Guyana. Why? We’re not exactly sure, but we know that the American Airlines’ lady simply could not get him checked in. We arrived 1 hour and 30 min. before our flight took off and she still couldn’t get Robin checked in for some strange reason. After spending all of Thursday in an airport, Robin was routed to New York to spend the night. He finally arrived in Guyana on Friday about 2 hours before the concert. God provided a way, like He always does. For more details, you can read Rhonda’s side of the adventure at http://rhondacoleson.blogspot.com.

We were picked up from the airport by some wonderful Guyanese people from the church. We got to know them quickly when we crammed all 13 of us in a 13 passenger mini-van with the sound equipment taking up 3 seats… that’s 13 people in 10 seats; we had a good time. The top half of the picture is the back of the van, the bottom half is the front of the van. After we arrived in Georgetown, overwhelmed with tiredness, we immediately checked-in to the beautiful Le Meridien Pegasus hotel and called it a day. The next morning we arose and shone about 6:30 AM for a TV appearance and radio interview. After the interviews, we got to visit Roy Geddes’ Steel Pan Museum, which was incredible.

The picture to the right is us with Mr. Geddes. He makes the steel drums, tunes them, plays them, and teaches others how to play them. He was phenomenal on those things! Oh by the way, Zac George’s bag was checked under Robin Brannon and it didn’t make it to Guyana. So Zac had no clean clothes or toiletries for the entire trip. Chris, the Guyanese promoter, bought him some concert clothes for that night. His bag is still lost…argh! We sang in the National Cultural Centre, a nice, big auditorium in Georgetown. The Guyanese people were so grateful we were able to come. They really enjoyed the music, and I know they were blessed by God’s message that night. I think we took a picture with all 700 people – one at a time - who attended the concert. (I don’t actually have any idea how many people were there). Thanks guys! We had a superb time!

Acappella TV air dates

2005-11-09T12:23:00.000-06:00

Some of you have asked when the TV appearance Acappella recently finished will air. Here’s what the Inspiration Network told us. “The airdates for the Inspiration Today Christmas Shows are as follows:

Dec 12-16 (Acappella on the 13th and 16th) and it will re-air again on
Dec 19-23 (Acappella on the 21st and 23rd)

This airs at 8:30 am and 9 pm EST. Please note it is EST.

A different artist will air each day, as you will see I have indicated the day they will be on. However, on Friday 16th and Friday 21st the compellation show will air-which will be one song from each group. So they will be on Dec 13th and 16th and then those same shows will re-air Dec. 21st and 23rd.”

2005-11-07T22:26:00.000-06:00

This is us in front of the beautiful rainbow (before we claimed our pot 'o gold). JHouse, what's your hand doing?

2005-11-07T22:25:00.000-06:00

It might not look like it but this is the dangerous spot where some huge waves came up and almost swept us in to the raging sea. There are huge crags all out in that water. We're just "having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have."

2005-11-07T22:23:00.000-06:00

The concert in Jamaica was incredible!

Acappella in Jamaica, 2005

2005-11-07T22:11:00.000-06:00

Well, another successful trip to Jamaica, mon! God brought over 3000 wild, screaming Acappella fans to the concert at NCU (a university) in Mandivlle, Jamaica. It totally rocked! Dwayne and Lewin and the entire CAE (Christian Arts & Entertainment) entourage did a fantastic job promoting the concert and making sure everything ran smoothly. As usual, they treated us like we were Bob Marley himself…okay maybe like kings anyway. Marshae – who was with us the whole time - kept us in line and made sure no one took advantage of us (especially not the security guard at Devon House). Thanks Marshae! A lot of crazy things happened this trip, which is normal for Jamaica, but also for Acappella trips in general. It took us the usual 2 hours or more to get through Customs with our sound equipment, and ourselves. We rode around in a van driven by Mr. Murray (call me Wayne, he said). Sometimes he evaded pot holes by driving the van like it was a Yamaha R1 sport bike (no, not everything in my world is about sport bikes…almost everything). After the airport, we went to a press conference at The Jamaican Observer (a huge Jamaica newspaper) and convened around what seemed like the worlds largest boardroom table. Okay, who has ever heard of this: they gave each of us our own cell phone, with our own number to use while in Jamaica! We had too much fun with those. Thanks MiPhone! That night we showed up for a radio interview and recorded a few jingles for the station. The next day, we were able to visit a children’s home with kids who are physically and mentally handicap (the same one we visited on our last Jamaican trip). It was filled with children that you might only see in a Medical book of human diseases. Singing for them was a joy! Later, we took a picture of a complete rainbow (actually there were 2 complete rainbows), where the end of it was a couple hundred yards from us. I had never seen the end of the rainbow before…yes there was a pot of gold and yes we are all rich now ;-). That night we had Chinese food and had the concert. The concert was so much fun to say the least, and God worked in His ways, as He always does. Nice sound D-Money (Darren, our cool soundman) Jordan had to fly back to the US after the concert, so he’s not in some of the pictures. The next day, we went to the beach and swam for hours. We went on an “adventure”, which means we hiked out over hundreds of yards of crag coral that would cut your feet, almost got swept into the raging sea, both of Zac G’s sandals broke, and he had to tackle the razor sharp coral barefooted… but we managed it all without too many injuries, and we had a BLAST in the process. That night we had to get I-scream (ice-cream) from the Devon House, which was the bomb! I climbed a flag pole, fell, and ripped my shorts and my leg (that’s all normal too). The next day, before our flight departed, we took a trip to buy “crafts” (souvenirs). We all got some good authentic Jamaican stuff. Then we went to visit Port Royal, where pirates used to live. Then we headed to the airport, flew through Customs with no problem, and missed our flight. Yes, we missed our flight. So as I type this we are still in Jamaica. It’s rough being stuck on a Caribbean Island in a nice hotel with good food and good people. We’ll return to the US tomorrow. Thank you Dwayne, Lewin, Marshae, Wayne Murray, and all of CAE! Let’s do it again!

2005-11-05T11:38:00.000-06:00

Acappella with Grammy award-winning artists, Mary Mary. They rocked! (Jordan was dead to the world, out in the trailer).

Inspiration Netowork taping

2005-11-05T11:31:00.000-06:00

"Dave and Barb", the stars of the Inspiration Network in Charlotte, NC. We had such a wonderful time recording the Christmas special with them and the other artists there.

Free Software - why would you pay?

2005-10-15T22:44:00.000-05:00

I've always been a fan of free software. Since the inception of the internet, downloading shareware, and better yet, freeware has been hugely popular. However, replacing Microsoft Office with one of it's free rivals did not seem practical... until now. The latest release candidate of OpenOffice rocks! I quickly tested out all of the programs, and except for the database (Base), the other programs are just as good or better than their Microsoft counterparts. Impress (Powerpoint), Writer (Word), and Calc (Excel) meet all of my needs so far. I have have imported MS files into them with no problems at all (and done the opposite). By the way, Writer can save documents as Adobe PDF files, something Word doesn't do. So here are your options: buy Microsoft Office 2003 for $500 or download OpenOffice for FREE. Hmm. http://www.openoffice.org.

On the subject of free software. How about a free Adobe Photoshop ($600)? The GIMP is a high learning curve program that can almost replace Photoshop. In fact, there is a hacker who has hacked the GIMP interface to very closely resemble Adobe Photoshop. It's called GIMPshop. The windows version is not quite ready yet, but get ready, because it's gonna rock, and oh yeah, it's FREE. http://www.plasticbugs.com/

We Love Japan!

2005-10-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

We had a fantastic time in Japan, and now we're back in the good ole US of A. Let me try and name the people in the picture from left to right. Hiro (Hiroshi - Hosanna Music), ZeeDub (Zach Wilson), Robeen (Robin Brannon), Sharon Lancaster, Keef RanderCaster (Keith Lancaster), JHouse (Jordan House), Naoya ("Now" - Hosanna Music Big Kahuna), Carlos (Kyoshi - Hosanna Music), Lobetsan (Robert Orr), Me, ZG (Zac George). Hosanna music was great to work with, and they fed us some of the best food Japan had to offer. They treated us like kings! Quick story about how the trip went. At one concert, a lady came who was a Buddhist – not uncommon. She had been studying with Christians for 5 years, but still had some reservations. She said the concert touched her so much that she had decided it was time to become a Christian. That one thing alone made the trip to Japan worth it.Praise God! There are 125 million people in Japan, and less than 1% of them claim to be Christians. It is estimated that less than 0.3% attend worship services. Wow! We hope things will begin to change there, and we know God used Acappella to share the gospel in Japan. Thank you Nao, Carlos, Hiro, Miwa, Paster Naito, and Ai. We love you guys!

2005-10-08T03:05:00.000-05:00

And for dinner we had Sushi. Jordan says, "It was more tingly than hot." You're looking at what I ate. The other guys had similar meals, except for the few who wimped out and ate pork.

2005-10-08T03:01:00.000-05:00

Last nights concert, in Chigasaki was great. As usual, the lights and lighting people were awesome! We had dry ice on the opening song and Well On My Way (shown in the picture). And as usual, Sharon was very encouraging from the front row. We love you Sharon

2005-10-08T02:57:00.000-05:00

We saw this deadly Japanese Ninja killer spider on the way to sing for some Jr. High kids. It's huge, but we don't really think it was poisonous.

2005-10-06T10:26:00.000-05:00

For dinner, we ate Shakey�s Pizza (yes, I think it�s the same one in Abilene, TX) with a HUGE dessert. This picture is actually us at lunch just doing what we do best!

2005-10-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

Thursday, Oct 5th - Sightseeing day 2. We got on the subway / train system for the first time this year and headed for Akihabara (Electric Town). Naoya (pronounced Now) and Miwa accompanied us. We oohed and aahed at the cool Japanese cameras and phones and computers. Then we went to the 100 Yin store (about $1 US). They had some neat things, especially for suveniers� and it was all only $1!

2005-10-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

We topped off the night with an expensive Japanese BBQ meal (thank you Pastor Naito)! It�s really, really good steak that you cook yourself on a small round grill built in to the table. It�s the best! Notice the Green Fanta Melon Soda in the pic (no, it's not alcoholic!).

2005-10-06T10:20:00.000-05:00

Then that evening we went up in the TV station, which is a mega expensive, futuristic looking building. It was nice.

2005-10-06T10:19:00.000-05:00

We also went to the Japanese temple. In the temple, we sang �There Is No Other Name�. It was great!

2005-10-06T10:18:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, Oct 4th - Sightseeing day 1. Pastor Naito and Carlos (Kioshi) took us to see where the Sumo Wrestling Championship is held.

2005-10-06T10:16:00.000-05:00

Of course, Keith is teaching us new songs and showing us fun vocal exercises.

2005-10-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

Japan knows about some lighting, by the way!

2005-10-06T09:44:00.000-05:00

Saturday - Tuesday, Oct 1-3rd.
Concert days consist of eating, setting up, �concerting�, eating, and sleeping. These guys are coming along FAST. The concert looks and sounds great! It doesn�t hurt to have some Keith Lancaster singing lead on He Gave Her Water and Well On My Way!! The Japanese seem to love the concerts. God is Good!

2005-10-06T09:42:00.000-05:00

Friday, Sept. 30th
After a lovely 12 hour airplane ride to Japan, we made it. All of us were in an exceptionally good mood, even though Zee Dub (Zach Wilson) stared at the seat in front of him and listened to his iPod all 12 hours�ouch, sorry ZW. Keith and Sharon sat a few rows in front of us, and I think Keith slept almost the entire trip (with the little eye cover thing over his eyes). A few rows back was Robin, and I don�t know why he was back there (maybe a racist airlines�;-), but he just finished a monster-thick book! Zac G. laughed a lot, talked a lot, slept a lot, and watched movies a lot. You can do a lot of things in 12 hours. JHouse�what can you say, but �JHouse�. He entertains himself - and us - with hilarious comments and facial expressions. Me? I slept and read and laughed.

*Robert Orr was not on our flight. He met us in Japan, but he came in on the Northwest airlines plane that has TV�s in the back of every seat with PVRs. Which means you can watch anything at anytime on your own TV screen. Hello!

2005-10-03T11:10:00.000-05:00

Friday, Sep. 30th we made it in to the country of Japan! This was after an exhausting 12 hour flight to Tokyo.

2005-09-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

Found this on the web. It's a T-Rex, made in Quebec, that uses the engine and transmission from a Kawasaki ZZR-1200. It's 50-state street legal and it's registered as a motorcycle. Top speed is 140mph, 0-60 in 4 seconds. I'd still rather have a Gixxer, CBR1000, or ZX-10. Oh, and the T-Rex is $45,000 and a Gixxer is $9000. Check it out at http://www.go-t-rex.com.

2005-09-12T23:46:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday night, during boot camp, Keith Lancaster suprised us with a huge treat! We headed to Fire Of Brazil, a Brazilian steak house in Green Hills. WOW!!! Unlimited Steak...15 different kinds of meat... they carve it off of huge swords. It's a beautiful thing! "Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'" - Acts 10:13

2005-09-03T15:04:00.000-05:00

After out concert in West Memphis, I met an awesome guy named Curtis who had THE bike I love, a Suzuki GSX-R1000 (Gixxer). He was more than willing to let me ride it...THERE IS NOTHING I CAN SAY THAT DESCRIBES THE POWER THIS BIKE HAS. Remember, I came from riding a Ninja 250. This is the fastest thing I have ever ridden in my life. It accelerated faster than anything I've ever been on. We took it to a straight road out by the airport, away from traffic, and he told me to open it up (he was riding my Ninja 250). How fast did I go? Should I say? I better not. Oh, and gunning it in first gets you a wheelie, period. The ON/OFF/ON with the throttle gets you a wheelie in 2nd and 3rd. This bike is insane. Careless people will die on this bike. I want one! Thanks Curits!

E-mail post

2005-08-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

I simply sent an e-mail to an address that I had specified, and the post appeared on my blog... literally stunning. That means you can quickly post something to your blog from anywhere that you can get e-mail access. Nice!

"They" were right...

2005-08-25T19:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, fine. I have to admit it. Everyone told me you'll love the Ninja 250 for about a month or so, then you'll want a bigger bike. I just laughed them off. It's been 4 weeks, I've put 1000 miles on the Ninja, and I'm dying for a Suzuki GSX-R1000. I'm not good enough to ride one of those yet, and with a price tag of $7500 (used), I'll be on the Ninja a long time.

NEVER perform these tricks on the road. They are illegal, and the cops will not tolerate them.

2005-08-25T19:25:00.000-05:00

Did I mention Jimmy was good? Imagine going down the highway and having him pass you like this, and at 70 mph.

2005-08-25T19:23:00.000-05:00

There are pictures of wheelies all over the internet. But Jimmy, he's probably the best I've seen so far. This wheelie is crazy!

2005-08-25T19:22:00.000-05:00

The classic skate-next-to-your-bike trick... on the highway.

2005-08-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

Now this trick scares me. Jumping? Yikes.

2005-08-25T19:20:00.000-05:00

And a wonderful vertical balance trick. This guy is moving too.

2005-08-25T19:19:00.000-05:00

Remind you of someone else who balances like that? A great horizontal balance trick.

2005-08-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

Standing on the bike is a popular trick. I'm sure it makes the other drivers nervous. This is my favorite standing picture.

NEVER perform these tricks on the road. They are illegal, and the cops will not tolerate them.

2005-08-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

We had a good worship service tonight at Sulphur Well. We studied Ephesians 5:21 through then end of the book. We talked about husbands giving their lives for their wives and putting on the armor of God to stand strong. Afterwards, everyone hung around and they dimmed the lights and a couple got married. It was super simple and short, but it did them just fine. Don Hudson is going to talk to his people with money and see if he can get my duplex sold! Praise God!

2003 Kawasaki Ninja 250

2005-08-24T17:08:00.000-05:00

This is me in "speed demon" position on my new Ninja 250. I love this thing!

First Post

2005-08-24T16:50:00.000-05:00

This is my first post to ever be on a real live blog. I'll add some Ninja 250 stuff later. Time to go lift.