Archive for the ‘Fun’ Category

Articles

>Maslow’s Inventory applied to Life

In Fun,running,Sports on May 29, 2008 by mstevensrev

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I just read on the Complete Running Network and analysis of motivation applied to running based on Maslow’s Inventory. Interesting. I seem very needy.

Here are my results:

Maslow Inventory Results
Physiological Needs (27%) you appear to have everything you need to survive physically.
Safety Needs (37%) you appear to have a very secure environment.
Love Needs (44%) you appear to be semi-content with the quality of your social connections.
Esteem Needs (74%) you appear to have a low level of skill competence.
Self-Actualization (36%) you appear to have a low level of individual development.

Take Free Maslow Inventory Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Articles

>Yes, it is about time!

In Fun on May 26, 2008 by mstevensrev

>It helps clean up pee!

Articles

>The Full move into Geekdom

In Fun,work on May 2, 2008 by mstevensrev

>It’s bad when I still get excited out on the Microsoft Campus or at Amazon.com, but yesterday it went to an entirely new level. Yesterday I am working in the Bay Area. As I drove around Silicon Valley I had the normal excitement of all that is going on there. I realized I had moved to an entirely different level, when I turned in Palo Alto, and without seeing a sign recognized then proceeded to act like a teenage girl in the audience of American Idol when I saw…Xerox. Yes the main building for Xerox corporation. When I sold copiers I hated them, simply because they were the best. After reading about them recently and finding out that basically everything that has been invented (at least for computers) started there! Anyway even with my appointments yesterday and seeing old friends the thing I wake up this morning thinking about is the feeling I had when I saw that building…Geek.

Articles

>Maps meet language

In Fun,Localization on January 11, 2008 by mstevensrev

>Very cool post by a blog that is moving up on my favorite list…btw that list is not posted anywhere except in my head.

http://www.nakedtranslations.com/en/2008/01/000940.php

Enjoy.

Articles

>Aidyn’s First PhotoWalk…Guess the theme

In family,Fun,Photowalk on December 30, 2007 by mstevensrev

>Photo walking is a new hobby Aidyn and I have started since she got her Hello Kitty Digital Camera for Christmas. To kick this off please enjoy the show and let us know if you can guess the theme. For those who have a hard time Aidyn wrote this poem for you…

Leaves, bare or brown
isn’t that a wonderful sound?
blowing, swaying in the wind
falling to the ground,
but most are standing all around.

Watch and let us know if you have a guess.

Articles

>never eat alone

In Books,business,Friends,Fun,Reading,Theology on December 29, 2007 by mstevensrev

>Great title for a book by Keith Ferrazzi is excellent. Not really into writing summaries of books because I don’t do them justice. My approach is more day by day, taking in something new or being inspired to action, here are two points that hit me today:

“Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter so the world will at least be a little bit different for our having passed through it.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner

Keith on his career and the lack of balance: “For me, the best thing about a relationship-driven career is that it isn’t a career at all. It’s a way of living. Several years ago, I started to realize that connecting was actually a way of seeing the world. When I thought and behaved in that way, dividing my life between professional and personal spheres no longer made sense. I realized that what made you successful in both worlds were other people and the way you related to them. Whether those people were family people, work people, or friend people, real connecting insists that you bring the same values to every relationship. As a result, I no longer needed to make a distinction between my career happiness and my life happiness-they were both piece of me. My life.”

A few years ago I read a book called “Season of Life: a football star, a boy, a journey to manhood” by Jeffery Marx. It changed my life, by stating many of the parts of my worldview but had never expressed. This book “never eat alone” did the same for me. So much for not summarizing huh? God is glorified when we love his creation, and we (people) are a significant part of that creation. The more I understand about myself and my story I see that I have been gifted in this pursuit. Keith Ferrazzi nails it for me and applies this worldview to work practice whereas “Season of Life” applies it to coaching

Articles

>Beginning my Reflections on 2007

In End of Year,Fun on December 21, 2007 by mstevensrev

>This was a really strange year, in our world and in our life. Today I had my end of year review at work, which went great, but it got me thinking about this year and what is ahead. To start here are just a few of the things that happened this year for me.

1. Spent New Year’s with two of my oldest friends (which we are repeating again this year)
2. Landed a job within two week of first touch at Sinometrics.
3. Made over 10,000 Cold Calls with my job.
4. Wife went Cat Skiing leaving me home alone with daughter for week.
5. Set up our financial plan which we neglected for years as intern pastor.
6. Became building managers.
7. Refinished chairs we got from Goodwill for $35, and a free table for our dining room.
8. Turned an closet into a closet/office, to free up bedroom for baby.
9. Had Aidyn’s Birthday at a local park.
10. Started Aidyn in a new school.
11. Went to first school choir concert and saw my oldest daughter shine.
12. Enjoyed just attending Church.
13. Started a weekly community group at our house.
14. Ate Thanksgiving with my boss and his family.
15. Nicknamed coworker/friend “little hottie”
16. Mixed a song about “Little Hottie”
17. Wrote on the Psalms
18. Had another daughter…surprisingly at the hospital.
19. Started setting goals for the future.
20. Made a repair on our car without putting it on the credit card.
21. Listened to my wife, much better.
22. Had two great performance reviews at work.
23. Spoke with executives and cool decision makers at some really interesting companies.
24. Ran marathon #3
25. ran marathon #4
26. ran marathon #5
27. Lots of training for marathons.
28. Learned a new joke. “A dyslexic man walks into a bra.”
29. Fallen in love with reading blogs.
30. Realized I need a mentor.
31. Read through the Bible.
32. Read about 20 books.
33. Commute on the bus.
34. Joined Flexcar.
35. Realized Mexican food is my favorite for breakfast lunch or dinner.
36. Took my parents to Montana.
37. Missed seeing a black bear while everyone else in the car saw it.
38. Went fly fishing.
39. Fell in love with the Mariners (baseball team, not group of sailors)
40. Took Aidyn to her first Mariners game.
41. Preached a few times.
42. Taught a group of kids I love about communion, and watched them partake for the first time.
43. Ate a fun breakfast with my old boss and his wife.

Honestly that was really good for me and I don’t feel like I really tried. What a really amazing year, who knows what I will think of over the next few days left in the year.

Articles

>Best Holiday Greeting Ever!

In Fun,holidays on December 18, 2007 by mstevensrev

>I got this email out of office reply from a client today…

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In the meantime, please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all…and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 200x, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make this country great (not to imply that this country is necessarily greater than any other country), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual orientation of the wishee.

This wish is limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. “Holiday” is not intended to, nor shall it be considered, limited to the usual Judeo-Christian celebrations or servances, or to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community, group, individual or belief (or lack thereof).

Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all. This greeting is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. This greeting implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for the wishee her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or non-implementation of same. This greeting is void where prohibited by law.

Best regards,
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So funny

Articles

>My History of Violence

In family,Fun on December 18, 2007 by mstevensrev

>I found great humor and was disturbed by that when I read Tim Ferriss article today, Why I started punching jerks again. Now I grew up with lots of violence in my neighborhood of Baltimore, MD. If anyone has watch the HBO show The Wire, I grew up one mile from that neighborhood. I was in my first fight, of significance, in the third grade. It was with an eighth grader. I got in one amazing shot right across his jaw..had to jump to land it…and that was about all I remember other than my head being bashed against a brink wall at some point. When I returned home, beaten badly, my brother showed no sympathy on my, but decided it was the best time to teach me to fight. After that I never lost a fight, I won’t say I won all of them a few may have been draws.

In my pea brain somewhere I do believe violence solves things. It gets results. Now with all of that said at 31 years old and a dad of two I have not been in a fight in ages, thankfully. Yet I still like a good action flick. When I step back I am able to see that there is satisfaction in engaging the world for change, even through violence. The question then becomes is violence the best means? From a Christian perspective the loud answer is, “Of course not!” Jesus would have never gone to the cross if that were the case. Now we live in a fallen world, and I know growing up there were times when the only thing a bully in my life understood was a hard blow to the head. I look back on that and it makes me sad. I still hate bullies, but these were kids who were doing awful things, and they learned it somewhere. I find it sad that as a kid the only solutions I knew was violence in order to get me out of circumstances of being bullied, and I feel really sad for the kids who were not strong/big/brave/goofy enough to stand up the way I did.

Anyway I guess that I do not support punching someone in the face not matter how much they might deserve it. Yet, that doesn’t mean I won’t pray that they do get it eventually. Call it Karma, or you reap what you sow, but they will get it and sometimes I even pray that I’ll get to witness it, not really.

Articles

>The morning after the company Christmas Party

In Fun on December 10, 2007 by mstevensrev

>The picture you have proabaly isn’t correct. We had a blast with just some good wholesome conversation and amazing food. Anyway our baby had us up most of the night, so here it is Monday morning, and I’m trying to get my engine started. Here is a link I found from blog I really like:

I’m a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You’re not subtle, but you don’t want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you’re a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.