Friday, April 25, 2008
Jazz-Rockets game 3
As mentioned, I went to the Jazz game last night. Here are my reactions.
1. This was only the second game the Jazz have lost when I was personally in attendance. Coincidentally, the other game they lost was also against Houston (home opener, this season). :-(
2. Kudos to Houston. They took it to the Jazz from the opening whistle and showed a lot more heart than I expected.
3. Free throws. A small ache in my insides just thinking about them. Enough said.
4. Houston's defense was extremely good. They didn't let the Jazz get squat inside.
5. DWill (Deron Williams) single-handedly kept the Jazz in the game in the first half. Other than him, the Jazz couldn't buy a bucket--and Houston's defense was not the only reason why.
6. DWill didn't get the ball to Boozer a lot of times when he was being double-covered in the second half.
7. The reffing was pretty dang bad. However, it was bad for/against both teams, so I can't complain. If anything, it was probably biased in the Jazz's favor. Still, it detracted substantially from the quality of the game.
8. I was convinced the Jazz were going to win when they got the ball back with 15 seconds to play, down by one. That still hurts.
9. The half time show magician act was pretty cool.
10. All in all, the Jazz played a seriously sub-par game, yet only lost by 2 points. There's still reason to be optimistic.
1. This was only the second game the Jazz have lost when I was personally in attendance. Coincidentally, the other game they lost was also against Houston (home opener, this season). :-(
2. Kudos to Houston. They took it to the Jazz from the opening whistle and showed a lot more heart than I expected.
3. Free throws. A small ache in my insides just thinking about them. Enough said.
4. Houston's defense was extremely good. They didn't let the Jazz get squat inside.
5. DWill (Deron Williams) single-handedly kept the Jazz in the game in the first half. Other than him, the Jazz couldn't buy a bucket--and Houston's defense was not the only reason why.
6. DWill didn't get the ball to Boozer a lot of times when he was being double-covered in the second half.
7. The reffing was pretty dang bad. However, it was bad for/against both teams, so I can't complain. If anything, it was probably biased in the Jazz's favor. Still, it detracted substantially from the quality of the game.
8. I was convinced the Jazz were going to win when they got the ball back with 15 seconds to play, down by one. That still hurts.
9. The half time show magician act was pretty cool.
10. All in all, the Jazz played a seriously sub-par game, yet only lost by 2 points. There's still reason to be optimistic.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Snowing
I just looked out my window and it's snowing outside. On Apr 24.
In other news, the semester got over and I've been doing experiments in the lab all week.
In still other news, my dad gave me his tickets for the Utah Jazz playoff game tonight. (Thanks, Dad!) I'm going with a neighbor.
In other news, the semester got over and I've been doing experiments in the lab all week.
In still other news, my dad gave me his tickets for the Utah Jazz playoff game tonight. (Thanks, Dad!) I'm going with a neighbor.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Hillbilly Ten Commandments
I got this emailed to me from a friend. Made me smile, so I decided to post it here. Can't guarantee it's actually posted at the Tennessee church.
___
The Hillbilly's Ten Commandments (posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro, TN.)
(1) Just one God
(2) Put nothin' before God
(3) Git yourself to Sunday meetin'
(4) Watch yer mouth
(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa
(6) No killin'
(7) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal
(8) No tellin' tales or gossipin'
(9) Don't take what ain't yers
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff
___
The Hillbilly's Ten Commandments (posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro, TN.)
(1) Just one God
(2) Put nothin' before God
(3) Git yourself to Sunday meetin'
(4) Watch yer mouth
(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa
(6) No killin'
(7) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal
(8) No tellin' tales or gossipin'
(9) Don't take what ain't yers
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff
Creative English
This made me smile:
"The [particular laser system] has been epitomized to operate with [this other pump laser]."
I'm wondering how you epitomize something! :-)
That's from a laser data sheet, here:
http://www.coherent.com/downloads/MBR01_DS_3.pdf
"The [particular laser system] has been epitomized to operate with [this other pump laser]."
I'm wondering how you epitomize something! :-)
That's from a laser data sheet, here:
http://www.coherent.com/downloads/MBR01_DS_3.pdf
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
My "acappella life story"
As mentioned here,
http://johncolton.blogspot.com/2008/03/latest-reviewer-for-rarb.html
I'm now reviewing albums for RARB.org. I've written a few reviews now, but they haven't showed up yet (still waiting on the other people who are reviewing the same albums).
But I've been posting a bit on the RARB forum, and one guy (a BYU alum who is now president of CASA) recently asked me how I got interested in contemporary acappella music. I figure I put enough effort into the reply that I should post it here. This is what I told him:
___
Short answers to your questions: a couple of acappella groups at Cal are mostly to blame for my interest in contemporary acappella. I've been in two high quality groups, but they were more classical/choral than what you'd probably call "contemporary acappella" (even though both groups perform contemporary choral-style acappella pieces). As far as my activity in the acappella world, unfortunately my "contemporary acappella" activity is pretty much restricted to attending Vocal Point/Noteworthy/other concerts, and now writing reviews for RARB.
But, since you asked, here's my longer "acappella life story"--probably many more details than you want to know!! (...but you *did* ask...)
While at Cal (1994-2000) I fell in love with the California Golden Overtones and with the UC Men's Octet. I had sung in church choirs all my life, and in the University Chorale at BYU, but never more that that. I've always been very musical, but didn't have (or didn't think I have) much of a singing voice. Anyway, one of my regrets leaving Cal was that I never auditioned for the Men's Octet. The closest I came was one semester I noticed they were a seven man "Octet", so I asked one of them if they were looking for an eighth. He said, "No, we're pretty happy with seven." That was one of the years they won the ICCA competition, so I guess he was right! But as a grad student (and a returned missionary, and married) I think I would have felt a bit out of place with the undergrads that were in the Octet, so I never did audition for them. Probably wouldn't have made it, because my voice really wasn't that great then.
After I graduated from Cal I spent two years in Maryland/Virginia, and thought about joining a singing group. I was impressed with the Alexandria Harmonizers, a large barbershop group, but they were just too far away. And nothing else was closer, so I didn't do any singing beyond church choir.
Then I moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 2003, to be a physics prof at U.W. La Crosse. We were in a branch, and it didn't even have a choir, so I decided I needed to get serious and find a place to sing. Cutting out some details, I ended up auditioning for the La Crosse Chamber Chorale. They are a 30-35 person community group, much more along the lines of the BYU Singers (though not quite as good) than Vocal Point. I think I got in mainly due to my ability to sight-read, my very good tonal memory in a few tests the director gave me, and the fact I let slip that my mom had been a professional music conductor. After I got in, I learned a lot of the mechanics of good singing that I had never been taught, and actually got to be a pretty reasonable singer by the time I left Wisconsin (last year).
Along the way I stayed very interested in collegiate acappella. While I was in Wisconsin I discovered BOCA, and got myself the complete box set for Christmas one year. I already had several acappella albums from professional groups like the Nylons, the Kings Singers, Take 6, etc, and of course all of the UC Men's Octet and Overtones albums--but I thought the BOCA CDs were (with rare exceptions) amazing.
When I got the job offer from BYU and decided to move to Utah last year, I was very excited to find out that not only did BYU have several acappella groups, but that Vocal Point and Noteworthy had actually just won the ICCA competitions the last two years! Being a little interested in broadening my acappella horizons, when I first got here I searched around for any sort of Vocal Point-like group that a faculty member could join (either through BYU, or in the community). My search mainly came up blank, although I did audition for one about-to-be-formed professional group (didn't get in; don't know if they ever materialized or not). I did find the "Utah Baroque Ensemble", which is very similar in size and style to the La Crosse Chamber Choral I was in before. I auditioned for that group in Jan, got in, and have been singing with them for the past several months.
After I realized that there really were no contemporary acappella groups I could join, I decided that I should find out what else I could do to be part of the contemporary acappella community. I talked to Deke Sharon about helping with BOCA, but he said there wasn't really anything I could do. He referred me to the CARA awards (Julia somebody), but she said they had just finished the award decisions for this year. (I might be helping out next year, I guess, if I remember to talk to her earlier in the judging season.) I hadn't known about the CARA awards previously, so I did some web searching to see what else I might not know about, and ran across RARB. After deciding that RARB is a Good Thing, I sent my "acappella resume" to Ben Stevens at RARB, and he decided that my acappella singing experience (albeit mainly classical-type stuff) combined with my love for contemporary acappella potentially qualified me to be a reviewer. He had me write a sample review for demonstration purposes. I chose Noteworthy's "On the Horizon" album--you should be happy, I gave them a 5!, and I guess he and others liked what I wrote because I got a reviewer position. I've written a couple of reviews already, but none have appeared yet.
So that's my story!
http://johncolton.blogspot.com/2008/03/latest-reviewer-for-rarb.html
I'm now reviewing albums for RARB.org. I've written a few reviews now, but they haven't showed up yet (still waiting on the other people who are reviewing the same albums).
But I've been posting a bit on the RARB forum, and one guy (a BYU alum who is now president of CASA) recently asked me how I got interested in contemporary acappella music. I figure I put enough effort into the reply that I should post it here. This is what I told him:
___
Short answers to your questions: a couple of acappella groups at Cal are mostly to blame for my interest in contemporary acappella. I've been in two high quality groups, but they were more classical/choral than what you'd probably call "contemporary acappella" (even though both groups perform contemporary choral-style acappella pieces). As far as my activity in the acappella world, unfortunately my "contemporary acappella" activity is pretty much restricted to attending Vocal Point/Noteworthy/other concerts, and now writing reviews for RARB.
But, since you asked, here's my longer "acappella life story"--probably many more details than you want to know!! (...but you *did* ask...)
While at Cal (1994-2000) I fell in love with the California Golden Overtones and with the UC Men's Octet. I had sung in church choirs all my life, and in the University Chorale at BYU, but never more that that. I've always been very musical, but didn't have (or didn't think I have) much of a singing voice. Anyway, one of my regrets leaving Cal was that I never auditioned for the Men's Octet. The closest I came was one semester I noticed they were a seven man "Octet", so I asked one of them if they were looking for an eighth. He said, "No, we're pretty happy with seven." That was one of the years they won the ICCA competition, so I guess he was right! But as a grad student (and a returned missionary, and married) I think I would have felt a bit out of place with the undergrads that were in the Octet, so I never did audition for them. Probably wouldn't have made it, because my voice really wasn't that great then.
After I graduated from Cal I spent two years in Maryland/Virginia, and thought about joining a singing group. I was impressed with the Alexandria Harmonizers, a large barbershop group, but they were just too far away. And nothing else was closer, so I didn't do any singing beyond church choir.
Then I moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 2003, to be a physics prof at U.W. La Crosse. We were in a branch, and it didn't even have a choir, so I decided I needed to get serious and find a place to sing. Cutting out some details, I ended up auditioning for the La Crosse Chamber Chorale. They are a 30-35 person community group, much more along the lines of the BYU Singers (though not quite as good) than Vocal Point. I think I got in mainly due to my ability to sight-read, my very good tonal memory in a few tests the director gave me, and the fact I let slip that my mom had been a professional music conductor. After I got in, I learned a lot of the mechanics of good singing that I had never been taught, and actually got to be a pretty reasonable singer by the time I left Wisconsin (last year).
Along the way I stayed very interested in collegiate acappella. While I was in Wisconsin I discovered BOCA, and got myself the complete box set for Christmas one year. I already had several acappella albums from professional groups like the Nylons, the Kings Singers, Take 6, etc, and of course all of the UC Men's Octet and Overtones albums--but I thought the BOCA CDs were (with rare exceptions) amazing.
When I got the job offer from BYU and decided to move to Utah last year, I was very excited to find out that not only did BYU have several acappella groups, but that Vocal Point and Noteworthy had actually just won the ICCA competitions the last two years! Being a little interested in broadening my acappella horizons, when I first got here I searched around for any sort of Vocal Point-like group that a faculty member could join (either through BYU, or in the community). My search mainly came up blank, although I did audition for one about-to-be-formed professional group (didn't get in; don't know if they ever materialized or not). I did find the "Utah Baroque Ensemble", which is very similar in size and style to the La Crosse Chamber Choral I was in before. I auditioned for that group in Jan, got in, and have been singing with them for the past several months.
After I realized that there really were no contemporary acappella groups I could join, I decided that I should find out what else I could do to be part of the contemporary acappella community. I talked to Deke Sharon about helping with BOCA, but he said there wasn't really anything I could do. He referred me to the CARA awards (Julia somebody), but she said they had just finished the award decisions for this year. (I might be helping out next year, I guess, if I remember to talk to her earlier in the judging season.) I hadn't known about the CARA awards previously, so I did some web searching to see what else I might not know about, and ran across RARB. After deciding that RARB is a Good Thing, I sent my "acappella resume" to Ben Stevens at RARB, and he decided that my acappella singing experience (albeit mainly classical-type stuff) combined with my love for contemporary acappella potentially qualified me to be a reviewer. He had me write a sample review for demonstration purposes. I chose Noteworthy's "On the Horizon" album--you should be happy, I gave them a 5!, and I guess he and others liked what I wrote because I got a reviewer position. I've written a couple of reviews already, but none have appeared yet.
So that's my story!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Nesquik incident
While Pauline was out of town, Leslie had a bit of an accident with Nesquik. She decided to shake the container for some unknown reason, the top wasn't on all the way, and guess what happened?
It was all over the kitchen floor, about four times more than what you see in this picture. Plus one of the chairs got completely covered by the stuff as well.
Leslie hiding in shame from the camera.
We know it was her that did it, because some of the powder miraculously fell into this pattern:
We vaccumed it up and no harm done. But when Pauline got back and used the vacuum, she said it made the whole house smell chocolatey!
It was all over the kitchen floor, about four times more than what you see in this picture. Plus one of the chairs got completely covered by the stuff as well.
Leslie hiding in shame from the camera.
We know it was her that did it, because some of the powder miraculously fell into this pattern:
We vaccumed it up and no harm done. But when Pauline got back and used the vacuum, she said it made the whole house smell chocolatey!
Random pictures
Pauline was out of town last week, and while she was gone the girls (mainly Emily) discovered the joy of taking pictures. They took about 70 pictures in a day and a half; here are just a few.
Leslie peforming a common activity
Emily feeding the fish
Close-up on the fish
On our way to the library
Inside the library
Leslie peforming a common activity
Emily feeding the fish
Close-up on the fish
On our way to the library
Inside the library
Emily's baptism
Emily was baptized on Mar 29. In attendance were us, grandparents Colton, Emily's Uncle Justin & family, and Aunt Christina & family. I got to perform the baptism. A friend from church, Rachel Linford, was also baptized at the same time.
Here are a couple of pictures.
Emily with her mom, Grandma, and Great-grandma.
Here are a couple of pictures.
Emily with her mom, Grandma, and Great-grandma.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Emily's teacher's April Fool's joke.
Emily's teacher played a prank on her 2nd grade class on Apr 1: she told them that they had to take a test to advance to 3rd grade... then she proceeded to give them a test for *5th* graders. Emily said it was "really hard!".
Proud father bragging: it turns out Emily got 9 out of 15 on the 5th grade exam. 60% is passing, in my book! So now I get to tease her about starting 5th grade next year. ;-)
In other Emily news, she got in to the 3rd grade "ALL" program (gifted/talented; "ALL" stands for Advanced Learning Lab). So she'll be going to a different elementary school next year. The new school is only about a mile away, though.
Proud father bragging: it turns out Emily got 9 out of 15 on the 5th grade exam. 60% is passing, in my book! So now I get to tease her about starting 5th grade next year. ;-)
In other Emily news, she got in to the 3rd grade "ALL" program (gifted/talented; "ALL" stands for Advanced Learning Lab). So she'll be going to a different elementary school next year. The new school is only about a mile away, though.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Robots
Nice editorial discussion: "Are We Giving The Robots That Run Our Society Too Much Power?"
In The Know: Are We Giving The Robots That Run Our Society Too Much Power?
;-)
In The Know: Are We Giving The Robots That Run Our Society Too Much Power?
;-)
