Update from Eden Valley Institute

We're doing well here in CO. Had a pretty good weekend. Today I went with Steven to Fort Collins and in the process found 3 geocaches. I also managed to drop off a Travel Bug that I had picked up in OK before I left. One of the caches was a pico tube that was hidden inside a BIG rubber cockroach. Creepy!

Within 10 yards of our house there is a den where a red fox lives. It also has 4 kits! It's amazing, they come out in the daytime and don't show any fear. I've seen cars drive right by them and they don't budge. They just watch it. We also have at least 4 squirrels living in the trees around our house, as well as numerous birds. Just saw my first humming bird of the season a few minutes ago!

There are also a number of dogs around here, including a pug by the name of Miss Kitty! LOL!

Well, that's all for now.

TTYL

Matthew

2 More Days!

Well, two more days until we move to Loveland, CO! Seems like the last couple of weeks have just flown by! I'm really looking forward to the move. This'll be the first time I travel a large distance driving by myself! I'll be driving our Impala while my parents take turns driving the Budget truck.

While I'm looking forward to moving, I'm definitely sad to be leaving OK, where I've spent 8 years of my life. I'm also sad to be leaving most of my friends here, too. But I just have to remind myself that I'd be leaving eventually to go to college in SD.

Well, I'd better get back to packing. TTYL

...

Well, it looks like we'll be moving to Colorado at the end of the month. Just a little west of Loveland, CO. I plan to spend the summer there with my parents, then in Sept. head off to South Dakota for college. I'm quite excited about the move.

Update.

So far I'm enjoying my "summer" vacation. Cooler weather right now, so it's a great time to go cachin'! Only we don't seem to have time to. :(

Heading to LCA to work for about 3 days. Guess they are short-staffed right now.

In Shift, I'm two levels away from completing the game. What fun! After I finish, I plan to work on Hot Pursuit II.

The Pathfinders are heading to the Nationals in mid-April. That's the final level in the Bible Bowl Challenge. Really hoping that they win, but I have my personal doubts. ;)

Well, that's all for now....

BREAKING NEWS!

I FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!

Now I just need to wait for my diploma to be "officially" done....

...

Took six photos this week. Nothing very exciting happened, so it won't take long to tell.

First, the official shot for the two cars I bought last week.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

And the SEAT Leon CUPRA, with the Works package

I did some more racing on the Hazyview Figure-8 track. Here are a couple of pictures taken when I was driving the Lamborghini Reventon.

I also took two pictures of my Vantage when I was racing on the 'Ring.

NFS Racing

Well, this week I really got into the Photo Mode. 8 photos altogether. Several pics, though, were taken in the same race, so it won't take as long to describe.

Ambush Canyon was the track that I used the most this week. First race was with the Audi R8. Here I out-braked the red R8 for 2nd place.

I must say that the R8 has grown on me. At first, I thought it somewhat bulky and not a nice handling car. It's definitely not as nice as the Zonda R, but it's good. I eventually went on to win the race.

Next, I took my Toyota Supera for a spin on a Dakota track. This is a view from the driver's seat. BTW, the Red Cross sign says: 'Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10.'

Next I took my newly painted Koenigsegg CCX for a couple of races. At the Glendale West track, the action got a little intense behind me. (Thankfully!)

I came in 3rd in that race. 

Next, I took the CCX on Ambush Canyon. Once again, the start proved, well, chaotic. Here's me giving the car in front an unneeded boost.

Damaged my car so bad that I DNF'd. So, I tried again. Did better...

...Until we came to a sharp corner. The car in front of me dove into the inside line, I took the outside. The inside car got too close to the fence and shied away, but too violently. As he came toward me, I thought I could clear him, but he struck my tail at an acute angle, sending me straight into the concrete-and-metal fence. Bummer!

Badly damaged, I DNF'd. Again.

So I parked the Koenigsegg and took the Zonda R our for a spin. On the Hazyview figure-8 track. With 15 other opponents. Two words to describe the ensuing race: Hectically chaotic.

I won. Barely.

For my final race I took the R8 on Ambush Canyon. Passed a good number of cars right off the start, then braked slightly as I approached the corner. And got hit in the back.

Around I went. Damage: minimal. Continued racing and placed first. A great way to finish.

Also bought two new cars, which I'll photograph next week.

TTYL

What Can Happen in One Hour of Racing

Well, this week I set a record for picture-taking in Shift. I took 6, count 'em 6, photos! Guess I was trying to make up for last week....

To begin with, I took two more "official" photos.

The Porsche Carrera GT

And the Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Now, on to the action photos.  I spent my racing time on the Dakota tracks and the Ambush Canyon track, with 2 other races on the Hazyview figure-eight track. 

The Dakota tracks, particularly the Dakota National track, is notorious for being, well, a good place to crash. It combines a high speed half-oval with a sudden drop into the twisty infield track. Brake too late and you could end up in the wall, the grass, or the gravel trap. 

On the first race the the Carrera GT, I gained a good momentum as I dropped into the infield, but braked barely in time.

As you can see at the left, another car wasn't so lucky and ended up in the gravel pit. I went on to place 2nd in that race.

After racing for a while on the Dakota tracks, I decided to try my luck on the figure-eight track called Hazyview. As you can imagine, it's a small track. So, I set the number of opponents to the maximum - 15! I figured that it would make for some interesting fun. 

I first went with my Mercedes-Benz.

As you can see, I barely missed being rammed. For such a small track, the speed was pretty good. I wasn't hit in this race, though I came close, but others were, causing a sort of a traffic jam. After winning, I wondered what it'd be like to take my Pagani Zonda R for a spin. THAT was an interesting race. I was broad-sided into a wall, bouncing of it and a couple of other cars. Unfortuantly, I had my hands full, so I was unable to get a picture.

After that excitement, I wanted to relax. So off to Ambush Canyon I went! Turned out not to be as relaxing as I anticipated....

Having upgraded my Porsche GT2, I wanted to test it. I'd forgotten that Ambush Canyon starts can get pretty wild. Cars jostling for position get pushed into the dirt, raising clouds of dust and causing general chaos. Accidents are frequent at the start. I got into one. Everyone was accelerating when someone raised a cloud of dust, causing cars to brake suddenly. I braked, but too late.

I'm the car, front and center, with a wrinkled nose. I was able to solider on, but lost the race.

After racing Porsche for a while, I decided to unleash my three Bulls on the track. With the Gallardo, I won. With the Murcielago, I won but not without a fight. Largely thanks to this.

I'm the blue Murcielago, which has the works package. At the start, I accelerated very quickly, so quickly that I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting another car. The Lambo with the wrinkled nose didn't hit the brakes - he slammed into me and sent me spinning in front of the other car. Luckily, I spun clear of him before he hit me and, with my upgraded brakes and throttle response, was able to stop quickly and then accelerate fast, losing only one position.

Well, that's all for this week.

TTYL

P.S. I took the Reventon out on Ambush Canyon and succeeded in losing. 

Need for Speed

This week I did quite a bit of racing and not a lot of picture-taking, so I only got one picture.

I was racing the Aston Martin DB9 on the Ambush Canyon track. I had 15 other opponents. The track is pretty forgiving, but it does have a couple of sharp turns. Set in the desert, it's an awesome place to race! In this picture, I was on the longest straight, with first in sight, not to close to another car and with the beautiful scenery up ahead.

I ended up winning the race, with my car still in decent shape. (keyword being "decent")

By the time I finished racing for the evening, I had acquired over $3,000,000. So I went on a shopping spree! Purchased two more Porsches: the Carrera GT and the 911 GT3. It added over 800 Porsche-bred ponies to my stable. Next week I plan to unleash them on the Dakota tracks (where the action can get petty intense). I'll also get their "official" photos taken.

Well, that's all for this week.

TTYL

Need for Speed: Shift photos

To start with, I took my brand new Lamborghini Murcielago out for a spin on the Glendale East and West tracks. Got into some mix-ups, but nothing big. I then took some other cars out on different tracks and had varying levels of success.

Then I decided to take my Reventon out on the Dakota East track. Was that a ride! It was a half-oval, with some road course thrown in. You get going really fast and then have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting either the wall or going into the grass. I managed to brake in time, but when I came to a sharp corner, a number of other Reventons were taking the corner slowly and I had too much speed. I braked hard, but only succeeded in spinning out and hitting another car. I whipped my car around and hit the gas to get going, so as to not lose more time. And I snapped this pic.

After finishing that race, I decided to take my Pagani Zonda R out for a spin on the same track. That was even more fun! More bumping and crashing. And I suffered one of the worst crashes I've ever done.

On the half oval, I was driving high up with several other cars under me, gaining speed. Suddenly a car just below and ahead of me hit a rough spot in the road. It wobbled, then spun around backward and came shooting up toward me. Instinctively, I jerked the wheel towards the wall in a useless attempt to avoid crashing. I snapped this pic just before he hit me.

He slammed into my tail, sending me smashing first into the upper wall, then into the side wall. Needless to say, my car was badly damaged and I was out of the race. 

This week I took two more "official" pictures.

First, the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 with the Works package...

And The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition.

Well, that's all for now.

TTYL

What a Week!

Well, since last Wednesday, we've had some interesting thing going on at our place!

First of all, in the early part of last week, the weatherman was predicting a sever ice storm. So we, like other people, scrambled to prepare. On Thursday the storm hit. We got about 2-3 inches of snow and a little ice. Not to biggest storm, and certainly not as big as I thought it would be. But, unfortunately, it seems we were lucky. Other places got hit HARD! Electricity was knocked out in a number of places for several days. We can count our blessings here, that's for sure!

On Saturday night, I went to a party for our Youth Class. That was fun, but when I got home, I learned that our heater had gone out. *GULP* Fortunately, we have two gas heaters, one in the living room and the other in the patio room. So we managed to stay warm enough, albeit not as warm as we would have liked. On Monday the repairman came out and got it working again! :)

Also this past week, both my parents have been sick. I think they caught what I had a couple of weeks ago. Dad seems better now, but Mom, who got the worst of it, is still recovering.

Well, that's all for now.

TTYL

A Poem

I ran across this in my English class and thought I'd share it.

Crossing the Bar

by Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,

And on clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For thought from out our bourne of

Time and Place

The flood my bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crossed the bar.

Not Much Happening...

Thankfully my cough is all gone. I feel like a normal person!

In other news, I joined Facebook. I know, I said I never would. But when both parents join and you watch them long enough, well....................

Weather here is pretty good. Sunny, cool, with a NW wind that makes it feel colder than it really is. Oh, well. I generally prefer cooler weather.

Gettin' Better!

Well, I've been sick of late. There's no getting around it. I've had an especially annoying cough for the past week or so. It's finally beginning to wane, though.

I've started to take pictures of my cars on NFS: Shift where I pose them. Here are a couple that I like.

This is the Renault Sport Megane R.S.

Next is the Lamborghini Gallardo

And next is the Maserati MC12 GT1. I don't own this car, but I just had to take a picture of it!

I've taken a number of other pictures, but I won't take the time right now to post all of them.

I'd better get going. We're headed to Paul's Valley (and hopefully on to Norman!).

TTYL

Down...

...But not out! I've been under the weather over the weekend. Not doing so well. I'm definitely better today, but I still have a lingering, productive cough. UGH! Guess I'll take it easy today.....

MOVIE REVIEW: Roux Review 2009

OK, maybe I shouldn't call it a movie. It's more a documentary. I'll leave the title be for now, though.

Well, last evening my parents and I sat down to watch Roux Review 2009, a documentary that my friend Zachary made and was kind enough to share with us. I had insider information that the opening musical piece was composed by Zachary himself, so I had a high expectation. I wasn't disappointed! The graphic were pretty good too!

The way the DVD was divided up was also quite nice. The menu was quite user friendly and I loved the background music and animation.

After watching the Introduction (which, by the way, was nice!) we entered the sub-menu and proceeded in order to watch each segment. The cameraman did an excellent job of his image capturing. No bouncing around and little wasted movement. Each family member had their own segment and I thought that that was a very nice touch, rather than mashing them all together.

The slideshow at the end was personally my favorite part! The picture quality was great and the variety of picture subjects was very good. I especially liked the pictures of the cat, but then, I am a cat lover! ;)

About the only thing that I could see to be improved was the slideshow's labeling. At some pictures, we wondered who the subject was or where the picture was taken. But other than that we, as a family, thought that the Roux Review 2009 was a really great movie documentary!

Thank you, Zachary, for sharing it with us!

MOVIE REVIEW: August Rush

Notice: The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the blogger.




Description:
AUGUST RUSH is part romance, part gentle fantasy, but this sweet drama is all heart. When young cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and rock musician Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) meet at a party in the mid 1990s, it's love at first sight, and they spend the night in each other's arms. But Lyla's father forces them apart, even though she later learns she's pregnant. Later, an accident lands Lyla in the hospital, and though her father tells her that her baby died, the child survives and is given up for adoption. AUGUST RUSH jumps to the present and begins to follow Evan (Freddie Highmore), an 11 year old who has grown up in a boys' home. As Evan embarks on a crusade to find his parents, he imagines he can communicate with them through his gift for music. His journey to New York City brings him into contact with Wizard (Robin Williams), a man eager to capitalize on the child prodigy's talent. Wizard gives Evan the name August Rush as he begins performing all over the city, but the boy's ultimate goal is to find the parents he has never met.




OK, so this movie has been out since '07 and I'm just now seeing it. So this review is a little late, but I wanted to try my had at a review, so here goes.

It was good.


Well, that was easy. Hmmm......

Maybe I should elaborate a little.

Overall, I would give this movie a 4 out of 5 stars. The plot was good, the casting was good. I did feel that the way the movie moved back and forth among the characters a little too fast. It could be confusing at times. I was also disappointed that the movie ended right when Even was reunited with his parents. I guess the director thought to leave their reunion to the viewer's imagination.

The music was pretty good. Even, of course, played the guitar and his mother the cello. I wish there had been some more scenes with just the instruments playing.

Would I see it again? Maybe. It was worth seeing it once, but I don't know about twice. Definitely a heart-warming movie, though.

Racing

Did some racing yesterday. I tinkered around with the game's settings, so I didn't do much competitive racing. Just test races. I did take one picture.

It's of the Lamborghini Reventon. I'm making a pass and when I saw what kind of angle I could get, I could't resist taking this pic.

On another note, I've been using the Groundspeak forums a lot, especially the Off Topic section. I've especially been focusing on the Bleachers. And, of course, as a Cheese Chum, I've been helping in the 99 Wheels of Cheese topic as well. :)

...

Well, I got news that my friends are on their way back from GYC. Initial reports are that it was AWESOME!

On Sabbath we had a small class. Michelle and Jimmy of course. Then there was Michelle and Matthew Mills, Austin, Tiana, and another visitor. Austin and Matthew were in our class because there was no one to teach their class when SS started.

I plan to race some more in NFS: Hot Pursuit II this after noon, as well as a little more in Shift.

First post of 2010

Title says it all!

Not much to say. We did get a little more snow on New Year's Eve, but it didn't stay for long. I got to drive to Wal*Mart in it. The roads weren't slick, thankfully! I did go slow, however!