The Alan Zone

by Alan on September 23, 2019 at 3:11 am

What a beautiful fall day! Which means it was a great time to bring the RC car, with a GoPro on top, to the Strasburg Community Park. Key times for crashes: 1:55 (basketball court) 7:49 (baseball field #1) 9:06 (baseball field #2) P.S. The slow-motion isn’t near as smooth as I wish. I thought I

by Mathematician on September 22, 2019 at 4:06 pm

One of the problems I have doing math homework is wanting to take shortcuts (get ‘er done). I suspect, however, that it doesn’t save time in the end. Then, of course there are cases that prove that being meticulous is essential: “Spain builds submarine 70 tons too heavy after putting a decimal in the wrong

by Alan on September 21, 2019 at 11:05 pm

So, admit it, you’ve always wondered what a car feels like in a car wash. 🙂 Well, here is your chance to find out!  Last night, around sundown, I put my GoPro HERO6 Black in a waterproof case, hooked it to the front of The Orangutan (what we call our VW Tiguan), and gave The

by Mathematician on September 21, 2019 at 10:29 pm

I started up college about 4 weeks ago, and in one discussion, a fellow student posited a 90° leftward phase shift to convert a cosine function to a sine one.  It made sense, but I told him that without proving it, our professor might come up with an exception. Well, yesterday on the way to

by Alan on September 21, 2019 at 3:56 am

It was a teacher workshop day, so we quickly snuck over to the zoo for a quick visit. Augie got a bunch ‘o Pokemon in Pokemon Go along with hanging out with a friend.  It was a beautiful day, and although the GoPro isn’t zoomed in, you’ll still see some neat views (close and distant).

by Alan on September 1, 2019 at 4:00 pm

Punishing the Class I’m going to assume two things of everyone here. First, that during school you were (or are) perfect angels. Never the troublemakers. Always the innocent, well-behaved bystanders. Second, that you’ll relate to this experience… You are just there, doing what the teacher wants, as white as snow…but the other kids in class

by Alan on August 24, 2019 at 7:53 pm

No bicycle video today, but how about seeing how the awesome sub I eat whenever I ride to the Byers Country Store is made?!: Actually, what you see there is two subs being made (kind of three actually). This time my wife and son met me at the store and we had lunch together. So,

by Alan on August 19, 2019 at 6:56 pm

My oldest son is in down for a few days, so he an I beat the heat today by heading for a bicycle ride before the temperatures got into the 90s. Yes, he made dad feel old. (I used to “pull” him along on bicycle rides back in New Hampshire. No longer.) Either way, here’s

by Alan on August 11, 2019 at 8:45 pm

I just returned from another bicycle ride (and a yummy Byers General Store meatball sub midway). As I was cleaning up the remains of my lunch, I received a storm warning for Strasburg. Now, the adult thing to do would have been to wait it out. Instead I unpacked the GoPro, climbed on my bicycle,

by Alan on August 11, 2019 at 1:30 am

Although it’s a little deep into the celebrations to begin a running Strasburg Hometown Days post…better late than never, right?! Updates will be added on top (right under this introductory paragraph). Fifth Update Alas, it’s a wet, stormy end to the weekend. This is a picture of what, at that the time of my riding

by Alan on August 4, 2019 at 6:17 pm

From yesterday, here is a quick bicycle Time Warp video from our home in Strasburg to the Byers General Store: Byers General Store has awesome food! 🙂 (And great people too…) This is the second trip where I enjoyed a meatball sub as my halfway reward. Hot day. Hovering around 90 degrees the whole time.

by Alan on August 4, 2019 at 1:55 am

We previously had the Inaugural Chewie Bicycle Cam, but this is the Inaugural Chewie Cam (no “Bicycle”) thanks to a GoPro dog harness we purchased from…of all places…Circuit City (on eBay). Yes, that Circuit City. 🙂 Here is your chance to see life from a dog’s perspective. This is a short neighborhood work in Coyote

by Alan on August 2, 2019 at 2:02 pm

Sure…I get up way early to provide everyone with a sunrise video of Strasburg, and… 🙂 Instead, you get to see a fog bank roll in and it thinning and thickening over about an hour (which is still pretty neat): Using a GoPro HERO7 Black’s Time Lapse Video feature, 1 frame taken per second (so,

by Alan on July 29, 2019 at 2:16 am

A week+ ago, my body was tortured into better shape by camping six days with Bennett Boy Scout Troop 30, so I am trying to keep my exercise up so as not to lose it. On Monday I rode back-and-forth from the General Store in Byers…and today it was McDonald’s in Bennett. This is a

by Alan on July 27, 2019 at 2:33 am

I love riding my bicycle…and I love our four dogs. Speaking of love, our largest dog Chewie (65 pounds) loves going out and about whether for a walk or a ride in the car. Thanks to Amazon, Discount Ramps, and Lucky Dog (who actually makes the trailer), Chewie now loves joining dad on his rides. 🙂

by Alan on July 26, 2019 at 3:51 pm

Yesterday, our Lucky Dog bicycle pet bicycle trailer arrived, and although it was late by the time I got home and had dinner, I had to try it out. You are rewarded, however, by being able to watch the Inaugural Chewie Bicycle Cam!: Please zoom to 6 minutes in, because initially Chewie tried to climb

by Alan on July 24, 2019 at 4:41 am

As I continue to try out the features of my GoPro HERO7 Black, here is an example of a Time Lapse Video (.5 seconds between images and 30 FPS). It was a very calm night…with stationary clouds. If you are able to watch it at full resolution, it’ll be 4K: It’s worth viewing full screen

by Alan on July 23, 2019 at 2:54 am

I’m a bit tuckered tonight…but I wanted to sneak this out before my day wraps up. 10x GoPro Time Warp bicycle ride from Byers to Strasburg, Colorado. Happy Monday everybody!

by Alan on July 14, 2019 at 2:10 am

I’ll be away for a week at Boy Scout camp with Augie, so here are the last few bicycle rides before we leave tomorrow. Today (when it was greater than 95º when I left): Beautiful day…and the ride wasn’t bad. Low humidity rules! 🙂 This was Tuesday’s ride in two parts (out to the Strasburg

by Alan on July 7, 2019 at 10:14 pm

Be Like Daniel Daniel Duda We didn’t have church last weekend, because I was in Redlands, California visiting a non-profit I volunteer for. It was a recording weekend for them, and the speaker/facilitator was Daniel Duda. Now, even though this sermon is titled “Be Like Daniel” and I think Daniel Duda would generally be a good

by Alan on July 7, 2019 at 12:24 am

Independence Day brought you a GoPro Time Warp scooter video. Today rewards you with a bicycle ride! 🙂 Again at 5x speed…see a ton of downtown in less than 10 minutes. It’s like zooming through streets at 50 MPH, but without the carnage. 🙂 Music from Bensound.

by Alan on July 4, 2019 at 8:58 pm

Ever wondered what it would be like to scooter from the Strasburg Convenience Store to a home in Coyote Ridge? Of course you have! 🙂 Well, here you go: If you are curious as to why the video rocks up and down…well, we are riding Rockboard scooters, which are propelled by rocking. (Sadly, the company

by Alan on June 2, 2019 at 3:44 pm

Power of Three I’ve mentioned before that if you are doing a presentation, there is a power of three. For instance, on a page supporting a given idea, only have three bullets. Not two, not five, but three. This sermon is titled “Short and Sweet.” you might say three concise bullets are exactly that, “short

by Alan on May 26, 2019 at 10:18 pm

I’m generally a 70s rock-and-roll kind ‘a guy, but I can appreciate music from pretty much any genre, as long I can make out a melody and someone isn’t screaming at me the whole time. 🙂 One genre I didn’t like as a kid, but grew to enjoy, was a country…especially traditional country. If there is

by Alan on May 26, 2019 at 4:12 pm

Megachurches Has anyone else here attended a megachurch? Wikipedia says… A megachurch is defined by the Hartford Institute as any Protestant Christian church having 2,000 or more people in average weekend attendance.[1][2][3][4] The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term, first documented in 1984, as a church with an unusually large membership, especially one preaching a

by Alan on April 28, 2019 at 11:02 pm

by Alan on April 14, 2019 at 7:33 pm

Don’t Judge Mephibosheth Too Quickly Pronouncing Names Am I the only person, when they run into a hard name in the Bible, basically reads past it? And there are a lot of names like that in Scripture, eh? 🙂 However, before we try to pronounce the name of the main biblical character in today’s message,

by Alan on March 31, 2019 at 5:42 pm

If there is one thing I should hate my wife for, it’s training my youngest to like food channels. For instance, when you are in a hotel (like we are right now), who would put on the Food Network (or whatever other horrible one this one is)?! Either way, there is a program on that

by Alan on March 17, 2019 at 7:00 pm

My Samsung Galaxy Watch Okay, I’ll admit it. I like to have the latest and greatest toys when it comes to technology. Latest smartphone. Latest tablet. Latest watch. And, sure enough, I am wearing the Galaxy Watch…Samsung’s latest wearable offering if you don’t count the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active. (But, I am not sure Active

by Alan on February 24, 2019 at 8:41 pm

Bad Spies This is going to be a short sermon with one basic point…so let’s jump right into Scripture, specifically Numbers 13:1-3: 13 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send

by Alan on February 10, 2019 at 9:14 pm

Old Testament or New Testament Let’s pretend that right now I said, “Instead of a sermon, we are going to read the Bible for an hour.” Would you want to spend that hour reading the Old Testament or the New Testament? [Wait for answers. ] Why? [Wait for answers.] I think in a crowd of

by Alan on February 3, 2019 at 9:14 pm

In Search of Connor MacLeod Who is Connor MacLeod? No…he’s not a real person…but a movie character. Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. Who is he? He’s the fictional hero in the sci-fi film, “The Highlander.” Beyond having one of the most awesome movie soundtracks of all time thanks to Queen, it has an interesting

by Alan on January 20, 2019 at 9:14 pm

Carl’s Jr in Bennett, Colorado During our weekly Saturday morning breakfast excursion, a song came on overhead at the Carl’s Junior in Bennett. It was catchy, and I thought it was a new release by Aloe Blacc…but when I looked it up on my Samsung Galaxy Note9, it was actually by a guy called Rag’n’Bone Man…a

by Alan on January 13, 2019 at 8:50 pm

Kevin Hart Anyone familiar with Kevin Hart and the Oscars? Short version is that the comedian, Kevin Hart, was chosen to host the Oscars this year. Some folks looked through his Twitter history and found some old jokes that could be taken negatively against homosexuals. Tweets from back from 2009 to 2011. He apologized. Do you

by Alan on December 30, 2018 at 10:00 pm

Being Held Accountable Let’s hop directly into Scripture today, turning Ezekiel 18:19-20: 19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall

by Alan on December 27, 2018 at 7:18 pm

I’ve been blessed by a brother in Christ who recently moved to Strasburg (he and his wife being potential attendees of the church I am minister for). When I meet with a possible new member who especially cares about theology, I figure it is best to be up front about anything he or she might

by Alan on December 23, 2018 at 8:57 pm

Your All Time Favorite Christmas Gift Christmas is how many days away kids? Part of today, all of tomorrow…so just two days! Everyone…what is your favorite Christmas gift ever? One that causes you to smile whenever you think back about it? Growing up, there was a period where everything I wanted was G.I. Joe related…but

by Alan on December 10, 2018 at 1:26 am

We here at Countdown2.Christmas Radio could not be more thankful for two people right now: Gayla Peevey (of “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” fame) and Joe Bonall (of…well…The Oak Ridge Boys fame :-)). We reached out to Gayla because, each week during our live program (6PM Mountain every Sunday, more here), we always have a

by Alan on December 2, 2018 at 8:55 pm

Knowing How You Are Going to Die Let’s all pretend that we are alone and God asks us a question… “Alan, do you want to know when and how you are going to die?” How would you answer? Yes? No? Let’s just assume you answer yes…and God tells you something like… When a blood-red moon

by Alan on November 26, 2018 at 12:17 am

Now, I caution Christians not to jump on the bandwagon whenever a scientist, archeologist, or other scholar says something that confirms a Christian belief, but it was kind of neat to read the title of an article that said, “All humans are descended from just TWO people…” The article said (in part): Scientists surveyed the genetic

by Alan on November 25, 2018 at 8:00 pm

Facebook Recently, I stirred up a bit of controversy on Facebook with this post: I am a live and let live kind of guy (so I will support your freedom of religion), but the Bible does not have kind words for witchcraft, and for those practicing it, it’s at best a Monkey’s Paw (with eternal

by Alan on November 11, 2018 at 8:45 pm

Mac Davis Anyone familiar with Mac Davis? Mac Davis is a songwriter, singer, and actor who was most popular in the 70s. Although his biggest hit, based on how high it charted, was “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me,” perhaps his most fun song is “Hard to Be Humble”…whose chorus goes like this: Oh Lord

by Alan on October 21, 2018 at 8:19 pm

20 There are over 7 billion people on our planet. What percentage, when they wake up, do you believe think to themselves, “Today is the day I am going to die”? If you aren’t a soldier heading into a hopeless battle, on death row and today is your execution, or are at the end of

by Alan on October 15, 2018 at 11:32 pm

Okay. Please set aside your political leanings. Pretend you have no clue about what these folks are potesting: If you are a Christian, should you have been part of this protest? Why or why not? Now, let’s just stipulate that it is for a genuinely good cause. To support the downtrodden. To right a major

by Alan on October 7, 2018 at 7:55 pm

18 Years 10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed

by Alan on September 23, 2018 at 7:00 pm

Late Night Thoughts Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night…have an inspiration…go back to sleep… And when you wake up, only really recall you had an inspiration…and no matter how much you torture yourself to remember…you cannot clear your foggy memory? Well, this sermon is based on one of those situations…where

by Alan on September 9, 2018 at 7:30 pm

Hate If you are on social media and you see the acronym, TDS, what does it mean? Trump Derangement Syndrome. Now…don’t worry…this is not going to be a political sermon. However, Trump Derangement Syndrome came to mind after I recently read the story of Lazarus. However, before we review a portion of that… What is

by Alan on April 29, 2018 at 7:53 pm

Introduction Has anyone here ever been friends with someone very long…close friends… And then, one day, they ask a question or make a statement that makes you scratch your head, turn to them, and ask… “You’ve known me this long, and you say that?” They should know better than that! If you’ve ever been in

by Alan on April 22, 2018 at 8:25 pm

PowerPoint Presentations As part of my work, I often have to put together PowerPoint presentations. One rule for effective slides is to show some data…for instance, a graph…and then make three points or conclusion. Not two points. Not four points. Definitely not ten points. But three. It’s like a golden number. And it is effective.

by Alan on April 8, 2018 at 8:05 pm

Karen Carpenter Is there anybody else who, when they hear a song from a certain group or artist…no matter how much they enjoy it…cannot help but feel some sadness because of what happened to someone involved with the tune? For me, this is true when I hear a Carpenters hit. Are you familiar with that

by Alan on March 26, 2018 at 4:16 am

Today, I unhooked from the Matrix. It is disorienting, but I needed to take the red pill.

by Alan on March 25, 2018 at 9:54 pm

In the Beginning “In the beginning…” Are there any more famous words than “in the beginning”? Let’s turn back to “in the beginning” and look God’s handiwork: 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the

by Alan on March 11, 2018 at 6:00 pm

“These Boots Were Made for Walkin'” Ideas for sermons come from all kinds of things…although I’ll admit I especially like it when folks ask for me to preach on a topic. However, music is often what puts a topic into my head, although sometimes it is tangental to the subject of the song itself. This

by Alan on March 4, 2018 at 7:25 pm

AC/DC Who remembers the album that caused the Australian group, AC/DC, to finally explode in America? That’s right…”Back in Black.” I remember it because I was a normal rock-and-roll loving, 16 year-old teenager when it came out. Nothing like it ever was released before and, I would argue, nothing equal has come out since…even from

by Alan on February 25, 2018 at 8:19 pm

Faith, Hope, and Love This is sermon three of three based on a wonderful verse in the Bible. Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 13:13: 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Although it is the third in the series, it is second in that list. We

by Alan on January 28, 2018 at 8:49 pm

The Beatles I can’t say I was ever much of a Beatles fan. They broke up before I started really enjoying music…and, other than a few of their tunes like “Hey Jude,” “Yesterday,” and “Come Together,” none were my favorites. However, they did one song that is fitting for this sermon: Love, love, love Love,

by Alan on January 14, 2018 at 7:32 pm

He Allegedly Did It Again I want everyone to know that I actually decided on the subject of this sermon before President Donald Trump allegedly decided to use an obscene word to describe some countries. I find it interesting that so many in society that warranted this talk are now acting so aghast at his

by Alan on January 2, 2018 at 8:37 pm

Beware of overconcern for money, or position, or glory. Someday you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are. The new year is here. Neil deGrass Tyson may be right and it “is a cosmically arbitrary event, carrying no Astronomical significance at all,” but

by Mathematician on January 2, 2018 at 4:40 am

Who says math isn’t fun?! Well, actually, lots of people do. 🙂 However, that just means they haven’t had a chance to play Mind Your Numbers by Kitki. I was lucky enough to learn about the game during its Indiegogo campaign, and grabbed two copies. Good news is it is now available through Amazon, so

by Mathematician on January 1, 2018 at 9:21 pm

Happy New Year! Well, 2018 has officially arrived…and so has Winifred, our new, beautiful Bearded Dragon. We here at Math.Promo not only love mathematics…we are also pretty fond of a bunch of critters we have running around the house. Winifred joined our small zoo today and is already bringing joy to the clan…although Chewie isn’t