A Personal Bowling Best

Image by circulating via FlickrA few times a year our several on our team at work will go bowling at lunch. We have had some pretty remarkable competition between team members in the past. There have been some dramatic finishes, but today was memorable for another reason.

Today I bowled my personal best - 210. It's the first time I broke the 200 barrier and it felt good. All the practice on the Wii has paid off.

Today's average is 195. My Average from the last 6 games is 168.

Communication lesson from your Facebook stats

Image via CrunchBase I have found several status updates on Facebook curious, humorous, or confusing. The more I think about how people use the status feature the more intrigued I am. Here are some recent status updates I have seen from multiple people (I left names off to protect identities).

• "...is running late." (Yet, they found time to update their status.)
• "...is going to bed."
• "...is doing laundry."
  

These aren't things I tell most people. Yet, on Facebook we feel compelled to tell everyone. Often times, when you ask people what they are doing, you get a simple response, "nothing." Yet, you seldom see that as a status on Facebook.

I'm starting to believe the communication at the dinner table would be better if everyone sat behind their computers and chatted online. "Son, what did you learn at school today?" Instead of saying "nothing," he can say "Dad, didn't you check my Facebook status? I updated it like 5 times. Excuse me, while I tell everyone that I am 'eating meatloaf with ketchup (mmmm)'. "

I'm convinced that if you want better communication in your marriage, practice saying outloud what you would type on facebook. We did it in our office yesterday for the fun of it. Through out the day we heard, "[name] is going to the bathroom, reading an email, laughing, walking away, getting coffee, etc... It was awkard but I noticed two important things.

1. It saved time from logging in to Facebook to tell everyone who didn't care.
   
2. Everyone got a better response in person, than they would have gotten on Facebook and sometimes the communication was very helpful.
   

National Geographic Society Exploration Experience

As someone who enjoys looking at maps and making discoveries, this book really appealed to me. For Christmas, I was given the National Geographic Society Exploration Experience: The Heroic Exploits of the World's Greatest Explorers by Beau Riffenburgh.

The book contains backgrounds and descriptions on some of the most significant explorations in the last 500 years. Reproductions of maps, journals and letters are available in the book as inserts. There is even a CD-rom available.

This is one of those books I can pick up at any moment and spend time perusing. It's been fun looking through this. If you're a fan of maps, cartography, or exploration, you might find this worth buying.

It's amazing the passion and sacrifice of those who connected our world through exploration.

Inaugaration of Barack Obama

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeI'm just documenting my thoughts on this historical day - please don't feel obligated to read the following.

Today is historical because the United States is receiving its 44th president. Many people are making a big deal out of the fact that Obama is black (or 1/2 black at least - I don't know). I am proud that our country can elect someone who isn't white.

I've heard a lot of people say this is a big deal for future generations. "Our kids will grow up in a world where all races are accepted equal!". Hmm....I grew up with several black friends. They made fun of me. I made fun of them. They defended me and I defended them - It's what friends do. We went to movies together, played sports together, and talked to each other on the phone. We worshiped together, we worked together, and we experienced life together. Our race was only an issue when others made it one.

Apparently, not everyone had the same experience I had growing up. Whether it was due to choice or proximity, our generation positively contributed to the point of electing a different race. I grew up with black teachers, black principles and black deans. The fact that Obama is our new president isn't as big of a deal to me as it is to politics.

Still, I admire the fact that Obama didn't make race an issue in his campaign. To quote football coaches across the country, he's "acting like he's been there before."

Anyways, Congratulations Obama! May your hair keep from turning gray in 12 months and I sincerely hope you do well in office. Restore my perception of a trusting goverment and THAT will be the biggest deal.