Dan's Blog: For What it's worth.

Back when our first child was born a colleague gave me the most precious little shirt and #1 wore it and now #2 has had the privilege of wearing it.

For what it's worth.

So I go to transfer our girls cloths from the washer to the dryer the other day when what did I find, but a super hero clinging to the inside...

I came running out of the laundry room, grab the camera and rushing back in telling my wife she needed to follow me. What a precious shot and some good laughs. Oh, Spider Man was a sticker that was on one of the girls shirts before it went into the wash... now he is a super clean super hero.

For what it's worth.

So yesterday I borrowed the neighbors two stage snow blower to clear the 12 inches of snow from our driveway and sidewalk. Even with the snow blower it was a lot of work. We have made the decision in our household to do it, we are going to just purchase our own. Sorry that I did not take before and after pictures of this snow fall, you can see photos of a large snow fall a few years back... that is when I shoveled it all by hand.

For what it's worth.

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Still have not kicked back into blog land, now I missed the SXDE post (still coming). Working on a c++ issue in Open MPI and now going to dig out from a big storm pounding Michigan.

No I have not fallen off the planet just the blog train. The keyboard sucks me in and I can't make it over to the browser to hack out a blog post. I recall that when I first started to blog I forced myself to do it five days a week for the first month... in which time I rambled a bit about everything. I have an upcoming entry on SXDE.

For what it's worth.

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So with the new year here, my wife and I are starting out together to get more into shape. This is really more for me since I am the one that needs to trim down, she is looking great. We are starting with some stretching and toning through yoga an pilates. A few days of the yoga and I can all ready stretch more than before... So I know just those two will not get me where I need to be so the next steps are eating modification (diet) and more cardio. The goal would be at least 30 lbs off me... so we shall see.

For what it's worth.

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Friends, Family, Readers & Everyone else,

Today brings me to my last day of work for this year. It will soon be the day of celebration as we gather with friend and family celebrate Our Saviors birth. I do wish all a very Merry Christmas. I know I will be spending this Christmas just hanging out, relaxing, playing with my girls and maybe getting some more done on the basement.

Merry Christmas

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Before you think Dan has fallen off the deep end let me give you some background. I have been going through the Deadly Viper Character Assassins book with some friends, so this post come with that as a background. The character assassin of Zi Qi Qi Ren basically translates to “self deception while deceiving others”. So where did this attack come from you ask? Well I am glad you did ask because that is what I am here to tell you.

As you may know my family was just blessed with receiving a new baby into this world and what a blessing from God she is. We are also blessed to live here in Michigan where we receive from time to time snow. The two days after our girl was born it snowed, so the day we came home from the hospital our driveway and sidewalks were covered in snow, heavy wet slushy snow. I being a new daddy did not have any of the energy needed to head out, grab the shovel and clean of the drive and walks. So instead I hunkered down in the house with my wife and two daughters for family time and some sleep when we could get it. One could say I was hiding in the shadows and thinking, oh my kind hearted neighbors with snow blowers will take care of the walks at least and maybe even the drive. Wrong! There are several of my neighbors that have snow blowers and knew that we had our new baby, what’s wrong with them… come on people. Well there is where the amped emotions kicked in, I was grumbling to myself and my wife about how I can’t believe that no one has come over to clear off the walks or drive. Then it snowed again… and yesterday a lot more. So I rise up early before leaving for church and pull the four wheel drive vehicle out into the street and get the minivan started to warm up. You guessed it, we got the van stuck in our own driveway… grumble grumble… we can take care of this our selves…. Right, so after church I had to stick around, so I sent my wife, two daughters and mother-in-law home in the van with instructions to square up to the drive and they should be able to make it. Smack! Nope, when I arrived home a couple hours later I found the van stuck at the end of the drive and the trail leading up to the garage. I headed in to find out what went wrong and get the keys to give it a try myself. As I entered the house the phone rang and it was a neighbor offering to help me get the van unstuck as well as wondering why we did not ask for help, he would have gladly come over to snow blow off the drive and walk. Well of course… why think everyone is going to help, no just hide in the shadows and grumble right? The Lord again used this to teach me humility and a lesson that I knew and even spoke only a couple weeks back with the staff. Also, turns out that a lady at our church has a snow blower that she loaned me for the day so I did get the drive and walks cleared off.

So how deep are you going to get the snow get? How much grumbling are you going to do with your eyes squinting out the window at your neighbors? How long are you going to hide in the house and deceive yourself? Here is the answer, don’t get yourself stuck in your own driveway twice, be humble and ask for help. Let the Lord speak through the hands of those around you.

For what it's worth.

The Lacher family is proud to introduce Norah Katherine to the world. She was born yesterday (2007.11.29) weighing in at 8 lbs 5 oz. Mother and child are doing very well. Big sister Emily has been up to meet her little sister. So that makes the Lacher household 4 to 1 (girls to guys, the dog is a girl as well), that is getting into Thin Guy ratios.

God Bless from the Lacher Family.

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I am currently reading Deadly Viper Character Assassins. This was recommended by a friend who is always out there helping me in leadership development. I headed out and ordered a copy for myself and a team that I work with so that we could all work through the leadership development. Just a few pages in and I was totally convicted by the words that were flowing off the page and to the heart. The book talks about the assassins in the world that come to destroy ones character and integrity. There is a battle going on every day for each of us, some of us recognize it and battle daily against it and the rest are in denial.

Early in the discussion of the first assassin it dives into being brutally blunt (honest) with folks and how we have a few people in our lives that we can do that with. I reflects on the fact that the more senior of a leadership position one holds the less honest criticism one will receive from those around them... boils down to someone not wanting to make a career limiting move in the workplace.

I have sent off a few emails in my time here that I wondered if I should have sent... so far they have not limited my but only time will tell. It is also nice to have senior leadership that strive for transparency and honesty from top down so hopefully conversations we have through out the chain would not be considered career limiting if they are honest and truthful.

Are you in denial or on the offensive?

For what it's worth.

Update: Zi Qi Qi Ren & Amped Emotions Attack

The above video was created after the first medical mission trip to Halos.

Halos is a new Medical Mission that has started in Haiti with the mission and goal to:

• Our mission is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to serve God by providing free medical care to the people of Haiti.
• Our goal is to save Haitian children from disease and death and give them hope for the future.

I have a very personal connection to Halos do what I can to help it succeed. Halos will be officially dedicated on their next trip down. Our local paper just had a nice article on the work and history of Halos. If you are interested in helping out or heading down to help on the ground, please contact them directly or myself. There is powerful work happening and lives are being changed.

For what it's worth.

I just want to say Happy Birthday to the love of my life, beautiful wife, mother to our children and an all around great woman. Happy Birthday Sweeti.

With my ever growing forehead and ever receding hairline it was time for one step closer to Mr. Clean. I am down to a #2 for the sides and a #4 for the top. After the short hair cut my wife mentioned that I was going to have to be more diligent about shaving so that the length of my facial hair did not exceed that of what remains on top of my head. We joked that with the goatee and the short hair on top I might start looking like a creation on a Wolly Willy

For what it's worth.

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WILT: Waterproof Mattress Pad

When washing a waterproof mattress pad (our toddlers bed) ensure that you take it out of the washing machine slowly to let the pooled water drain out into the washer instead of all over you and the floor.

What I Learned Today

It is always interesting the sounds that will make a dog come running. The latest one, I have know this for a while, is the sound of opening a single packet string cheese... make Nuba sit no matter where she is in the house or the backyard and come running. Very Pavlovian.

For what it's worth.

I just about flipped my laptop of the table and I did mess up my power adapter. I was talking from the dinning room into the kitchen to get a drink when crash goes the power adapter flying from the wall and the laptop sliding across the table. I totally could have used a MagSafe connection that this point... but alas I have an older model. So now what to do with the messed up connector? The plug end basically had two portions of the plastic separate so I whipped out the Golrilla Glue and we shall see if that does the trick.

For what it's worth.

Update: the connector is dead. I have killed two of the little buggers over the last five years so now I am down to the connector with the cord on it instead of the direct plug.

I just wanted to share one of the picture that we snapped while visiting the zoo a couple weekends back. That is my little girl (soon to be a big sister) watching a polar bear from under the water.

For what it's worth.

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Maybe the wrong family or just the wrong time of the year.  This last week our family had the pleasure of becoming a Nielsen Family. For the last seven days we were asked to track and record of TV viewing habits.  Like I started with, we might be the wrong family or just at the wrong time of the year.  During the summer, mainly the non TV season, we watch very little to no TV.  I was informed that every family is important to Nielsen they need data from those that "live in front of the tv" and those that watch it occasionally.  Well we fall someplace in there I guess.  If they would have snagged us during the season there might have been a little bit more data... only a couple hours extra but never the less not a whole lot.  We had a fun time filling out the data for them and we hope that it helps.

While we are on the subject of TV watching, I was having a conversation just yesterday that was very counter cultural.  I was having a conversation about TV watching and mainly about the watching (or not) habits of our little girl (2).  A few of the folks I was speaking with were shocked that she does not watch TV.  Now true, at this point in her life she does not have a lot of control over this but we as parents do and opt to not sit her down in front of the TV for hours at a time.  She does not what the TV is and has watched some, maybe about 30 minutes a week if that.  That is right, not hours a day and not even 30 minutes a day.  The times that she does watch TV it is something like Sesame Street or Vegi Tales, and during that time we are sitting there with her and interacting with what is going on or with each other.  There are better things to be doing when we are gathered as a family... I totally know how to play with Mrs. Potato Head and feed and change baby dolls now, I have the best little teacher there is on that subject... and there is a specific way to do things :) It was not long ago that families did no how to interact without a TV being on an blaring in the background (or foreground) and kids did not how to play be themselves, together or with their parents.  If that makes us counter culture, then count us in.

For what it's worth.

Staying with tradition, we take our dog to Petco on her birthday and let her pick out a new toy, which a little bit of guidance. This year the selection was the Fire Hose Squeak N Fetch Large Dog Toy. As I have claimed in the past, I think the dog toy manufactures should hire Nuba as a test pet for toys. I was being hopeful that this one would last for a while. Well wrong I was, we woke this morning to find the ends now frayed... that is less than 12 hours. I will state though the tire biter from last year is still in working order. Although the tire has survived I would recommend it as an outside toy or someplace that you don't care about scuff marks, it leave black scuff marks on the walls or anything else it "bumps" into when being tossed about. So the "hose" will hang around a bit longer as a toy for fetch but can not be left out for general chewing any longer.

For what it's worth.

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