Plastic Island

In honor of earth day Oprah spent some time talking about the "plastic island" that exists in the Pacific ocean. Apparently in some parts of this island that is made up of discarded plastic items such as diapers, etc. it is 90 feet deep! Here is the link to the quick highlight video.

Recycled paper

Seventh Generation claims that if every household in the United States replaced one 12 pack of 352 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissue with 100% recycled ones we could save 1.3 billion gallons of water a year... That's a lot of water. Here is the Greenpeace guide for Recycled paper and Toilet paper guide.

The inside poop

Our baby Sheehan is 6 weeks old today! For at least the past 6 weeks Tara and I have been trying to find out which diapers work best for us and the environment. We like the idea of cloth diapers, however, it really has not been feasible to use them on a new born as he poops A LOT! Therefore, we did some research and found some "environmentally friendly" disposable diapers. I thought Seventh Generation diapers would be a good option, however, although they work well they are not made out of completely compostable material and are made at least partly of petrolium products. We have been using a diaper from Nature Babycare that is both effective and compostable. Plus if you buy them from diapers.com you get a $10 discount on your first purchase by using our refferal code of HXNE5101. Here is a link about the pros and cons of both cloth and disposable diapers

New Church in Columbia!

A pic of my Bro in law and nephew at church in Columbia!

long distance

Last night Mizzou made an amazing shot at the 1/2 time buzzer. Click here to check it out!

Entering the Phog!

The moment I first took a step into Phog Allen Field House I new it was a special place. In this article from ESPN.com it provides a good account of the significance of an amazing venue for basketball. As Doug Ward writes, "If Allen Fieldhouse were a ballpark, it would be Wrigley Field. If it were a museum, it would be the Smithsonian. As it stands, it feels like a little of both, and it just might be the best college basketball experience anywhere."

Chocolate chip pumpkin bread

Thank goodness for MLK. I am thankful for his work in terms of uniting people and for the day off in honor of him. ;)

On my day off my wife requested that I bake something for a co-worker who lost her son to cancer this past weekend.

Therefore, I decided to try out baking some Chocolate Chip pumpkin bread that came from a cooking light recipe.

Click here for the recipe.

El Presidente honors the Jayhawks

Message in a Bottle

You never know what your going to find in your own back yard! At my childhood home in Kansas a time capsule was found. When I was a child I often would try to dig all the way to China or find a hidden treasure with my brother in our back yard. However, a family friend beat us to a timeless treasure. 
The family that lived there before us had three children and one of them buried a time capsule. Our friend Bud found the buried treasure a couple weeks ago. Click here to read the REST OF THE STORY! It made it to the front page of the local newspaper.

Henrik's Rock Chalk

Here is a story about my friend Henrik as found in the Morning Sun. He is a die hard Jayhawk fan and all around great guy.

Rock Chalk!

The things dreams are made of!

KU works overtime to take the 2008 Championship!!!

Rock Chalk!!! What an amazing feeling to finally get a championship!!!

Turning back time

Finally a way to turn back time.

Check this link out to find out how to turn back the clock with Gmail. ;)

Eco-cycle

In the car listening to NPR I heard the CEO of Eco-cycle talking about the importance of making things completely out of recyclable material. The mission of the company is to create zero waste communities.

Patent troll

In the world of patent law my brother in law is well known. He is the chief editor of Patently-O and was recently included in an internet radio show. In this radio show he talks about an interesting issue regarding someone who is known as a patent troll.

"In the end, everything was a form of prayer"

From the first time I heard about Dorothy Day, I have been captivated by her life. I now realize that she shared the passion of words that my father had. They both used words as their tools. For my father these words were most often expressed in his poetry and sermons. Dorothy Day wrote many books including her autobiography The Long Loneliness and was the chief editor of the Catholic Worker papers.
She described the mission of the paper in an editorial:
For those who are sitting on park benches in the warm spring sunlight.
For those who are huddling in shelters trying to escape the rain.
For those who are walking the streets in the all but futile search for work.
For those who think that there is no hope for the future, no recognition of their plight- this little paper is addressed.
It is printed to call their attention to the fact that the Catholic Church has a social program - to let them know that there are men of God who are working not only for their spiritual but for their material welfare.

The Commonweal (a Catholic magazine) features an article by Robert Ellsberg who had the opportunity to spend some time with Dorothy Day. He shares what he learned from her, especially about the importance of writing. He states that, "Her diaries provide a unique window on (her) life, and on the witness of a woman for whom, in the end, everything was a form of prayer."

I am fascinated by the idea that "in end, everything was a form of prayer." I think this touches upon what Paul writes about in 1 Thessalonians. "Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Brainy Border Collies

I was able to witness first hand how smart a border collie can be. The past 2 years I watched a border collie grow from a puppy to an adult. He was able to understand almost everything we said. However, he would often choose not to listen.
Above is a picture of "Betsy" a border collie from Vienna, Austria as featured on the front page of this months National Geographic. In this National Geographic article you can read about how extraordinarily smart animals can be. For example Betsy was shown a photograph and given a name to associate with the picture and was able "to make a cognitive leap that the thing in the photograph is what you are trying to find." She will be able to find the object in another room among many other objects. Once she associates the name of the object she locks it away, similar to the way a toddler learns .
Here is a picture of Rain the border collie I was able to take care of the past couple years.

Crawford Country Restorative Justice

I find it fascinating that my hometown has a restorative justice program in practice. Last time I was in Pittsburg I saw a sign for the Crawford County Restorative justice authority. I find this interesting as this is the topic I wrote my thesis on at Regent College and one in which I hope to implement within my vocation.

To read more about this organization click here.

Total lunar eclipse

Here is a picture from a photographer in Montana capturing the total lunar eclipse. A friend of a friend of ours took it.


This is a photo/image made by Chad Trettin, a professional photographer in Bozeman. This was his original message:

'This is last night's total lunar eclipse as seen from 8 miles west
of Bozeman. It was 3.5 hours from start to finish. Hope all of you
got to see it in person. For those of you on the other side of the
planet or who missed it, there will be another one in about 3 years.

Movies filmed in Vancouver, BC

The past three years in Vancouver, I would often spot film sets and famous actors. For example Juno was shot in Vancouver. Here is a list of some of the movies filmed in Vancouver.