Our First Donation!!!

Well we had our first donation through ChipIn recently, in response to the getCals program (which is hosted here getCals if you need it) So thanks to your donation (you know who you are!) you have paid for one of our passport photos.

Home Study and Ranting about the Child Shopping Network

I am not much of a ranter, but after this short update, I have to vent...

Well, we have made it through the bulk of the dreaded "home study". We have a little more online training to do as well as some infant CPR classes, but it is pretty much done. So now we prepare our final documentation to be notarized, translated, etc. and send off our next big payments to our adoption agency. We were very happy to work with Baptist Children's Home in Mt. Vernon, IL. They were a great organization to work with and were very friendly and helpful.

---BEGIN RANT---

We are hoping within the next few weeks to have our dossier completed and ready to go. Then we wait and save as much money as possible. Visiting El Salvador will not be cheap. We are probably somewhere in the range of $7k - $9k still in fees and travel costs before we can bring our daughter home. It will also take about 10 months for all the paperwork to be processed. It is a long way to go and it really makes me sick when I read about celebrities who jet over to some country pick out a kid and those countries grease the wheels for them like in this case of Angelina Jolie's Vietnam adoption which will only take 3 months. Friends of ours who are adopting from Vietnam who have all their paperwork submitted still plan to wait another full year before they can bring home their child.

These people (Madonna, Angelina, etc) make me sick. They throw their money around, have their lawyers get all their paperwork together, and go get their kid. Then try to look like some sort of humanitarian by bringing home a child that their nanny can take care of. Then there are many people that I know who spend 1-2 years of paperwork, tens of thousands of hard earned dollars, emotionally taxing ages of waiting to do the same process. Do I have sour grapes? Sure. Would I prefer to have millions of dollars to just slap down and bring our little Miley home? Absolutely. But I don't. I just wish more people would be able to see how difficult it is to adopt a child if you are not a 'super-star'. That you have to invest a lot of your time, money, effort, heart and life into bringing this child home. It is certainly not the child-shopping-network that the super-rich get to use when it strikes them that they want a baby without the hassle of that whole getting pregnant thing.

---END RANT---

So anyway, thanks for reading. If you want to make a contribution to our adoption you can of course use the chipin widget on my sidebar.

The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack

After the most recent Lost episode "Flashes before your eyes" I called into the Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack and they put my call on the show. Check it out Here and you can check out their website here.

Jay and Jack do 2 podcasts a week, one right after each new episode where they do a rundown of the episode and play listener calls and then a recap show on the following monday. They do give out some spoiler type information, but usually give a good warning to skip ahead when they do. Give them a listen if you like the show Lost on ABC.

johnnygizmo

getCals Getting Hosted

I recently got an email offering to host getCals since Google decided I broke their EULA somehow on googlepages. Once I have a new link available, I'll post it here. Also if you have used getCals in the past or get it in the future and want to show your appreciation, you can always use the chipIn box here to make a donation towards our family's adoption of a little girl from El Salvador.

---EDIT---

Well, here it is. Thanks Nick for hosting it for me!

getCals

Adoption Fund Raiser

We have all heard the Internet stories about people posting websites asking for money for this or that, or trading paperclips for mansions or whatever. Well I guess I thought that I would see if I can tap into some of that love to assist in our adoption story. Using a site called Chipin.com, I have set up a fund raiser for our adoption. I put in the most $ we will probably need and gave it a year. If you would like to donate to our cause, please feel free. We will find the funds one way or another to bring little Miley home. Perhaps you can help.

As an update on our process, we are getting done with our paperwork phase and are in the process of doing our 'home study'. Things are moving along. It is hard to think though that we will have to wait for so long after we get the paper and money sent in before we can bring her home.

Thanks for reading
Johnny

A Simple Juggling Video

I had a little time on my hands and so I grabbed the video camera and did a little juggling so I could see what I looked like. Here is some of that. Some simple diabolo, 4 ball and 5 ball juggling. No tricks to speak of, just basic stuff. So if you are easily bored, don't watch :) And hey I'm even wearing my WJF t-shirt. I'm sure Jason Garfield would be proud (or would hide his head in shame that I am in any way assosicated with the WJF)

WJF Website on Yahoo's The 9

http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AuFNGcYVff8G0beqF1XeiIAAZ88F/SIG=113o41ef3/**http%3a//9.yahoo.com/2006/10/26/

Check out #8. It is the website that I programmed and co-designed with WJF president Jason Garfield!

Start of Our Adoption Journey

Well, we got the news last week that we have been accepted by an Adoption agency to begin the process of adopting a child internationally. This is pretty exciting and hopefully in the next 12-18 months we will go to El Salvador and pick up our child. There is lots of paperwork and expenses to the dealt with between now and then and we are trying to get everything in order for it to happen. All told, it will probably end up costing somewhere between $15k-$20k dollars to complete the adoption process, but we are holding fund raisers and are being supported by our family to help cover the costs, but even still it is going to take a lot. If you or anyone you know wants to help by making a donation, send me an email johnny.matthews+adoption@gmail.com. If you can not help financially, that's fine, but we would appreciate your prayers as we follow this path.

Juggling with an Oddball

I've been working on 5 balls for a while now, I don't get as much practice as I would like, so I have been trying to make the most of the few minutes I get here and there. One issue I have with 5 balls is counting throws. I am trying to get certain throw counts solid before moving on.

I have been stuck at 7-8 throws for a while. So last week I picked up 4 balls of one color and 1 of another to act as a sort of "tracer". Now I place the odd ball in the 5th ball position. For me, this is in the palm of my left hand (I start on the left)




Now it is visually very easy to see throw #10 is the 2nd throw of the odd ball. It is also easy to figure other #'s of throws this way. If you wanted 13 throws, put it in the 3rd ball position and it will be the 3rd throw. You just need to know in what order you throw the balls.

Now I'm sure this is not rocket science to anyone, and certainly not a new idea, but I must say in a matter of a couple practices I have gotten to 16 throws after a couple months of only having had qualified a couple of times. Now I can qualify most of the time and am ready to make some upward progress.

I have also thought of a way to introduce an idea that I used to use whe practicing the guitar. I would set my metronome to a tempo where I could accomplish what I wanted to play. Then I gave myself a few tries at that tempo. If I played it to my satisfaction I would bump up a notch, otherwise after a few tries I would go down. So applying this to learning 5 balls. I start with a flash. When I do it well, do 6 throws. Now if I don't get 6 within 3 tries, I go back to 5. If I do get six, I go to seven throws. 3 tries at 7, if I get it I go to eight, otherwise back to six. You get the idea. So using this in conjuction with the oddball, once you learn where to place the oddball for 5-25 throws, it should be an easy game to play to help get the pattern solid without making yourself go insane counting to 8,9,8,9,10,11,10,11,12 etc.

What are your thoughts? How did you work through the initial hump? Let me know what you think.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Ok, so Me, my Wife and 4 kids piled into the minivan, drove 1000 miles and spent a week at Disney World. We had a great time. Let me give you the run down on what we did and my recommendations...

Dates

If you ever go to Disney on a non-peak week, you will never go at another time again. We went the week after labor day and never spent more than 15-20 minutes in any given line. Most waits were between 5 and 10 minutes. When you have small kids with you, this is tremendous!

Dining

Since September is a slow month for Disney, they were offering the Disney Dining Plan for free with certain packages. This plan gives each member of your group a Snack, a Counter Service Meal and a Table service meal every day of your visit. We tried our best to keep track and we totaled about $1000 worth of meals. So if you are going, check this out. It saved us a chunk of cash and allowed us to eat some meals that we probably would not have eaten. The $25 Prime Rib at Boatwrights was especially good. :) I also learned not to ask for Ketchup at the Wilderness Lodge resturant.

Magic Kingdom

I don't know how they do it, but the Magic Kingdom never ceases to amaze me. I really think it is Disney's attention to detail that really draws you into their parks. Every waiting queue for every attraction is in some way decorated so that you want to check it out.

Disney / MGM

3 things really stood out to me at MGM:

1: The Lights,Motors, Action Stunt show. This was a really cool car/motorcycle stunt show and was very impressive.

2: The Tower of Terror. I went on the ToT in 1997 and it was fun, but apparently there was an upgrade in 2004 that added random drops. That made it much better!

3: The Rockin' Roller Coaster. Ok, the lamest name ever, but the best thrill ride at Disney. A linear induction coaster goes from 0-70ish in 2.8 seconds, and sends you into 3 inversions including a really nice corkscrew, and all in the dark with some blacklight scenery and Aerosmith blasting in your ears the whole time. mmmm fun!

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom was a nice park. The safari ride was cool, some nice views of the animals. The River Rapids ride was good, but really short. The best ride there is definitely The Everest Expidition. So good drops and some good speed and some backwards coasting as well. I was a little surpised about the "kiddie ride" area it felt almost like a midway at a county fair. Some of the rides seemed like they were assembled that day. Strange for Disney.

Epcot

Epcot was fun as always. They have done a lot of updating. The Test Track ride was pretty good, especially when it goes outside for the banked curves. I took my 7 year old on the tame version of Mission: Space. I would like to go on the intense version next time.

We saw the afternoon main street parade, the Spectralmagic parade, the Illuminations show and the "Wishes" fireworks display. I think sitting in front of the castle watching Wishes was a real high point for everyone.

So all in all, it was a great vacation. I can't wait to go back.

New WJF Site

Well, after a lot of tweaking, the WJF is now running its new website design. You can check out the work I did at:

http://www.thewjf.com

Jason had a pretty good idea of what he wanted, so it has been a matter of assembling the site and making it work. It is pretty graphics intensive, so there are still some optimizations to take care of. But at least we got it launched in the timeframe that we had initially wanted.

The site is not completely done yet, there are still some sections to convert from the old site (like the videos) and some new stuff in the wings, but that is for after a well needed vacation.

So go check it out, and while you are there buy some quality juggling balls and learn to juggle :)

For me and my family, it is off to Disney World. We have been planning a vacation there for months and the time has come. We will drive down to FL and spend the week. Wwill have missed Hurricane Ernesto, so I think we just have to deal with the regular Florida weather.

Movie Review: Snakes on a Plane

I got a call last night at about 8:30pm from some old friends who were going to go see Snakes on a Plane. I hadn't seen them all in a while and thought it would be a fun night out. So we headed up to the Globe Theater in Greenville, IL. Where I shelled out $7 for my ticket and $4.50 for my drink and popcorn, which in my opinion is a bit steep for the size of the theater and non-stadium seating. But hey, it's the only theater within 20 miles.

After a lot of previews the fun began. Since leaving the movie last night, I have been trying to come up with the genre of this film. It is a campy-action-survival horror-horror comedy-thriller-cop movie with an improbable plot and over the top action, it was great. Besides, it's Samuel L Jackson! I do have to warn you that there is a fair amount of profanity, violence, gore and breif nudity. It really took me back to the pointless action movies of the late 80's combined with the tongue in cheek horror films of the same time. Where you can find yourself in one second laughing cause a poisonous snake just bit someone on the bum followed by going ugh when someone get bit right on the eye, or more tender areas. If you get easily squeemish with snakes, don't see this movie. If you get stressed from airplanes in peril, don't see this movie. If you want to go see a movie thats sole purpose is a fun action filled time with no regard for logical plot, this might be a good one for you. So... Check your movie critic attitude at the gate and get on board "Snakes on a Plane".

Juggling Tricks

So here is one of those 'nobody really cares' posts but I'll post it anyway cause it's my blog and you can't stop me!

I've recently been working on a few club moves and made a little progress. I was having trouble throwing more than 1 double throw in a row, but can now do a 3 club flash and continue juggling. Not exactly a killer move but it is at least progress. I also have been working on body throws with one club trying to get the throw correct. I can generally throw a reverse body throw (back to front) and last night actually caught a regular body throw (front to back) without the club smacking me in the head or flying away from me and crashing into something. I am also able to hit a 3 ball 3-up 180 pretty regularly now too. I've attempted a 3 up 360, but they are still not working. I need to spot my props better cause I still get a little dizzy after the spin. Oh well, small steps.

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager (episode 1)

I was winding down after a few hours of programming last night and I ran across this video at YouTube. Of course I have always loved Star Wars, so I love things like this and other fan videos like Troops. This one is great; Chad Vader, Darth Vader's less-talented, less-charismatic younger brother. Enjoy.

Vova, Olga, Jason and the WJF in Time Magazine

So I guess the title leaves little to explain, but in next week's Time magazine (July 24th,2006) there is an article about Vova and Olga Galchenko, with references to Jason Garfield and the WJF. Here is a link to the story online

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1214960,00.html

This is some great publicity for the Galchenkos and also for the WJF.

You can check out more about the Galchenkos at http://www.galchenko.com

and more about the WJF at http://www.thewjf.com

Google Local Ads?

I was skimming over some videos at youtube and saw a ad for a candidate for a judge. I thought that was kind of strange especially when I saw it was for St. Charles, MO. The video had nothing to do with judges or St. Louis. So I wonder now if google is taking IP address location as well as page content into consideration when serving up adsense ads. Since my IPs are out of Collinsville, IL which is pretty close to the St. Louis area. Very interesting. I wonder how far Google will be able to push this trend to serve local advertising content down to the end user. So those targerted ads just got a little more targeted.

The problem I see with this is for people like me who live out in the sticks. My IP addresses are served out of a city that is 30 minutes from here. So, my 'local' advertising will be just St. Louis based. I think until Google can pin me down to a closer radius, local advertising will only work for people who live close to where their IPs are registered.

Digg This Entry

3 Ball - 3-up 180

Well I took a break while programming tonight and had a short practice. In which I finally started hitting some 3 ball 3-up 180s. I had done it once before and was not able to replicate it, but tonight I did it 15-20 times. Something clicked. I think a major part goes to a tip Jason Garfield gave me on how not to get dizzy while doing 360s. He said that 'spotting' the balls was very important on giving you a focus point. So instead of throwing the 3 balls, turning and hoping they hit the right spot, I followed them through the turn, not only was I not dizzy, I could see where the balls were (imagine that). This may sound like common sense to some, but it made all the difference. Now that I can do the 180, its time to make that 360 work.

5 balls is still troubling me, I still need to put a bunch of work into it.

We Have a Winner!

Well, its official. I just checked the Barterbee.com website and my 3rd bee video "Bee Checks the Mailbox" has won the 2nd round of the Barterbee "Be the Bee" contest. So what do I get for this accomplishment? Well, I let my wife pick the prize, telling her if I won, she could have it. Well she chose the iPod Nano 2gb. I hope she likes it. Anyway, I guess I can call myself a prize winning animator now (or something like that).

You can watch the video here

I owe some thanks to Digg.com and Diggnation since it was the Diggnation podcast where I first heard about Barterbee. Thanks guys!

There is also some cool news coming up as I have begun working with the World Juggling Federation on some media projects. I'll write more about this later.

Another Barterbee Entry

Well, after thinking for a while, I came up with this entry for round 2 of the Barterbee.com be the bee contest.

Barterbee.Com: Lost Round 1

Well Barterbee's round 1's winner was headed up by a 2 year old in a bee costume bringing new games and movies to complaining kids.

I hope that all the rounds are not won by the cutest video since the rules specified the winner would be chosen for "humor and/or uniqueness", not cuteness. But I digress. But not to be defeated, I'm heading back to the drawingboard, since the 2 videos that I did are now not eligible, I will have to come up with something new for Mr Bee.