Escape

I'm going here for the next week. Glacier National Park. "Pick a different vacation spot already," I hear you say. The answer is...no. I'm simply too nostalgic for my own good, and therefore must visit my old stomping grounds. Hopefully, I'll return with adventures to share. For now...adios.

Snape Kills Dumbledore

When you watch this video...you'll understand the title of this post.

I've lambasted the Snuggie before. But let me reiterate. It's a stupid product. But I realized yesterday I've never posted this Snuggie parody. It's been around for a while but it's good.

Company

This is my favorite photo of the past week...and there were a lot taken. It was a whirlwind 6 days. An old friend and my parents came to the City of Trees to see me...and it reminded me how exhausting it can be to have company. Don't get me wrong. I love it when friends and family come to visit. But it is exhausting. 

The seasonal life is, of course, nomadic. I think the wandering spirit of a seasonal worker (no matter how long they're in that world) stays with them forever. Part of that spirit is always being on the run...always taking the next step. It's a life of movement. Because of that, friend and family visits never seem to last long. I know that was the case for me when I was still in the seasonal world. I'd stop by and see people "on my way" to somewhere else. I usually stayed for no more than a day. It's the same story for those who've visited me since I started "real life." They stop in for a day or two...and continue on their way. That's why it was so nice to have Siri come stay with me for 4 days. I met Siri my second year in Glacier. Here I am, back in my Glacier glory days, holding a water gun to her head. 
She was on her way up to Glacier and stopped throw B-town to see me. We had a blast too. Explored Bruneau Sand Dunes. Hiked to Sawtooth Lake in Idaho's Sawtooth Wilderness. Drove to Silver City with my parents (more on their visit later). Ate at plenty of good restaurants. We got a little picture happy too. Have a look.

Good place to meditate...no?

A badger with his/her dinner

Siri has the look of a little kid here

Walking along the ridge of one of the dunes

Sawtooth Lake

The handstand of death

Mom & Dad also came to visit. They went to Silver City as well. We saw Harry Potter on Friday. Then I took them zip lining earlier today. I apologize for the lack of pictures on this front. I took a couple with my camera but I had some trouble getting them loaded to my computer. I'm waiting for dad to email me some of the ones he took. Suffice it to say...we had fun. (Dad...sorry for not having more faith in you as you came in for a landing on that one zip line. Although...I can't wait to see the pictures of you slamming into me and knocking me to the ground.) 

Merlin was glad to have all the company too. I'm sure he thinks I'm boring now. 

Anyone else want to come visit? 

Montañas!

I'm trying to balance on a rickety fence post. This is about as close as I got to actually standing up. 

Went camping for the weekend. It was awesome. Those are the Sawtooths behind me. I'm headed up again this week with Siri...an old friend from Glacier. This is her and I back in 2003. We were acting like bad asses outside Ptarmigan Tunnel. 

Not much else to report. My parental units are visiting at the end of the week. That's all I have to report. Sorry for the sporadic posting. It goes in waves. Sometimes I'm good about it...sometimes I'm not. 

Until we meet again. 

Googly, googly

I walked into Walgreen's last night to buy some milk. I passed by a large bin containing the above merchandise...basically a giant Koosh ball. When I saw what it was called, I laughed...out loud. It was advertised as a Massive Googly. I can't explain why I think it's so funny. I guess it's just the word "googly." Can you think of a word funnier than that? I am incredibly amused by it. 

In completely unrelated news...I've finally figured out how to get recorded footage from my DVR onto my computer for editing. (This is important in the process of making a resume tape as I begin the hunt for a new job). I've been trying to do this for months and I haven't been able to figure it out. As it turns out, the solution was pretty simple...a small, easy-to-use (although expensive) device I bought from the Mac store in Boise. It works wonders. I tested it out yesterday and decided to post my appearance on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. 

For anyone who doesn't know, I had a 1/3 of a second (literally) cameo on Conan the other night. Watch the clip below. Pay attention though....blink and you'll miss me. 

A Good Day

I can't say for sure...but this might just be the best Independence Day holiday I've ever had. There was nothing overly grandiose about it. I just had a very good day. I started early...about 6:45...by going to the gym. Then I headed off to Zip Idaho for half a day of zip line tour guiding. The morning was beautiful. Temperatures in the mid-70's, bright sunshine, cool guests, and the speed/adrenaline of Wild Turkey (the zip line...not the drink). I drove home...making sure to stop at Baskin Robbins for a Cappuccino Blast with extra whipped cream. Then it was off to a BBQ with good friends, good food, and good conversation. After that...a brisk 25 minute walk with more friends down to Ann Morrison Park for Boise's annual fireworks display...sponsored by the station I work for. It was quite a good show too. 

The importance and significance of today was not lost on me. I thought about America constantly today. Problems abound...but I'm happy I live here. 

Yesterday, July 3rd, was Idaho's birthday. I'm happy to be here for the moment as well. There's a lot for me to complain about but I developed quite the soft spot in my heart for Boise tonight. Community gatherings (like the thousands gathered for fireworks) do that to me. 

Oh...and did I mention the fireworks. I love fireworks. 

Happy Birthday America. I hope it was a good one for you. It was for me. And even though the following has nothing to do with Independence Day...I thought I'd post it anyway...because hey...I love things that explode in the sky. This is, hands down, the best fireworks show I've ever witnessed personally. It was at the closing ceremonies for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. This is coverage from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (btw...Happy Canada Day back on July 1st!) but it's the best clip I could find on YouTube. Mega-fireworks literally exploding up and down the Wasatch Front. I was in the stadium for this. What a damn, good, explosive show. 

What would you do?

I hope this never happens to me. Although if it did, I'm not sure I'd shove the guy's face on live TV. I love the anchors' reaction.

Oldie but a goodie

I've spent all day trying to pretend I know something about computers and file transfers and editing and digital video and blah, blah, blah. I'm irritated now. I'm simply trying to get old programs saved on my DVR transfered onto my computer so I can edit them. That is much, much easier said than done. 

Anywho, I needed a break so I went Youtube browsing. I came across this. Many of you might have seen it before but it's still worth another look. This is the "God Warrior" from Trading Spouses. This one crazy, crazy lady. It'll make you thankful for the mother you have. It gets real good about a minute in.

Yikes.

Peevish

On long Interstate drives...when the cars around you can't maintain a steady speed. Why do they have to pass me...then watch me pass them a few minutes later...then repeat the cycle. Cruise control people! I'm using it so I know you are not.

People who call attention to their own birthdays. One or two mentions are fine...but don't go overboard. It really ticks me off when they say, "What are you doing for my birthday?"

Overly sweet coffee or tea. Why do Starbucks baristas look at me strange when I ask for just ONE pump of syrup?

Waking up early...although my definition of early has changed since I started waking up at 3:00 am.

Slow hikers. I'm destination oriented. I'm sorry. Just accept it and let me book it. Please don't ask me to slow down or "wait up." If I'm hiking with you I know I've already warned you that I like to go fast.

People who don't accept alternative lifestyles...and by that I simply mean those who think you're abnormal because you're not married and raising a family.

Chronic tardiness. It isn't that difficult to be on time. I promise.

Reporters who say, "take a look behind me" or "just over my shoulder" in live shots.

People who don't like animals. How is that even possible?


I think that's it for now...but I reserve the right to add an addendum to this post.

Wow

I guess everyone's weighing in on Michael Jackson's death. I will too. Whoever first referred to him as Wacko Jacko couldn't have said it better. He was a bizarre human being. But it's obvious he had a HUGE impact on the entire world. I'm not exactly sad. Just shocked I guess. 

Like many people, "Thriller" is always the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Michael Jackson. I don't remember a childhood transfixion more confusing than that video. I was scared of it. I was drawn to it. I remember a little panic attack when it would come on the TV. Yet I'd never leave the room to avoid watching it. For some reason, I'd always focus on one specific female zombie in the group dance. (I'd have to watch it again to tell you which one it is. I think she was wearing white). My "favorite" (or the most terrifying) part was when the girlfriend barricades herself in the house and they start breaking in. What a video. 

People will remember him in many different ways. I think it would be awesome if everyone did their best to learn the "Thriller" dance and then let 'er rip in a big group performance. That idea brings a smile to my face. 

Preggers

Here's the deal. 

Back on June 1, I officially had 9 months left on my current contract. I made that realization and immediately thought, "that's the length of a pregnancy." I've taken that theme and run with it. 

It's an interesting time for the news biz. I have no idea what I'm going to do early next year. I suppose I'm torn between several different goals and aspirations. I won't go into them here. I just know that, like a pregnancy, I've got to be ready when the time comes. Much like a soon-to-be parent, I feel unprepared. 

So yeah....I'm pregnant. 

If I throw myself a baby shower will people bring me presents?

Why I Caved

I'm a tweeter. 

I've been one for about 4 hours now. I expected to feel more ashamed about it but...I really don't. Over the past few months I told many people that I wouldn't join Twitter. Honestly, I'm not quite sure I ever believed myself. I was hoping for the Twitter hype to die down and then feel comfortable with my refusal. Then, two things changed my mind: the Iran election drama and the social networking password controversy in Bozeman. 

We've known for a while how a site like Twitter can enable "citizen journalists" to spread information quickly. I, like many others, was able to see it as a dissemination tool. But I looked at it as a divider of sorts. It divided the "citizen journalists" from the "real ones." You could get little bits of information from people on the scene of a breaking story. But if you wanted the best "coverage" you should look to traditional media. In many ways, I still believe that. But with the two recent events I mentioned above...I saw the flaws in my argument. When Iran cracked down on media coverage, Twitter became vital pathway of information dissemination. The traditional media were looking to Twitter (among others) for the best coverage. As for the Bozeman drama (quick background: a reporter at KBZK uncovered the fact that the city was asking job applicants to disclose login information...including passwords...on applications. A worldwide brouhaha ensued...and the city dropped the policy days later in embarrassment) a BIG part of the story was how the Twitterverse was exploding with criticism. As someone very interested in the issue, I was shut out of a lot of the back and forth....simply because I wasn't on Twitter. 

As a personal social networking site, I'm still skeptical of Twitter. But as a journalist, I now realize it's a valuable tool to have at my disposal. I would hate to be involved in a major breaking story and not have Twitter in my coverage arsenal. 

So I joined. I feel good about it. I'm going to try to keep it more professional than personal. 

My Twitter handle is LincolnGraves. Check it out and become a follower. 

Miss Spud State

People are often surprised when I tell them I'm scared of public speaking. "But you're a news anchor," they say. Yes I am. Put me in a studio with a teleprompter and I'm fairly comfortable. I'm even fairly comfortable without the teleprompter. Even though people are watching on television, I'm able to feel safe and comfortable in the studio. But put me in front of a large group of people and I get nervous. 

It's gotten better over the last year and a half. Taking this job in Boise has given me some opportunities to overcome that fear. I took the biggest step last weekend as co-host of the 2009 Miss Idaho Pageant. I didn't know what to expect but I must say...I had a really good time. It helped that my co-host was someone I'm already comfortable with...my co-anchor Mellisa. Here we are all dressed up. 

It was a two night event and I got more comfortable the more I did it. I got a lot of good feedback after the show as well. I'm going to assume it was all sincere. It made me realize that I should look into hosting gigs when it's time to look for another job. Granted, host jobs are even tougher to come by than news jobs...but I was never interested in them before this event. 

Here's Mellisa and I on the first night with Miss Idaho 2008.

And here we are with Miss Idaho 2009. 
I know people are skeptical of pageants. They have a cheesy reputation that will probably never disappear. But by the time we got down to the end and were ready to announce the winner...I was genuinely excited and happy for the girls.

Mellisa tells me I may have gotten a date out of the whole thing too. She's with-holding information until she knows for sure...whatever that means. 

More than anything, I'm grateful for the experience. It made me much less nervous to accept a debate moderator gig I've got lined up for next month. 

Under Fire

I've been able to do a lot of cool things since I got into the news business. My latest adventure was Fire OPS 101...a firefighter training event put on by local fire departments in the Boise area. It was the inaugural event...designed to give local media and elected officials a taste of what it's like to be a firefighter. I've gotta say...it was awesome. We were in groups of four...each "amateur" shadowed by a real firefighter. We searched for victims in a smoke filled room. Attacked a blaze head-on with a fire hose. Sawed into the roof of a building with a chainsaw. Climbed a 100 foot tall ladder truck. Used the Jaws of Life to cut open a wrecked car. Watched a flashover demonstration. Here's a picture of that. 

I'm not sure most people really understand what a firefighter does each day. Until this event, I didn't. I was worried about going through all the exercises without wearing my glasses. (You can't wear a firefighter's mask with eyeglasses). It turns out vision wasn't the sense I needed most with some of these exercises. There's nothing like crawling around on your knees through a smoke-clogged room, breathing oxygen from a claustrophobic mask...to make you appreciate the sense of touch. And while I like to think I'm in reasonably good shape it's exhausting to drag a 150 lb. dummy from a "burning" building. I had also never operated a chainsaw before. It's not as easy as it looks. I'd have to say the coolest part was cutting apart a wrecked car. The "cutter" and the "spreader" are AWESOME....and very, very heavy. 

It was a really good day. I was drenched in sweat by the end of it...but I only felt the good kind of exhaustion. 

There were several local elected officials there. As for the media...a news anchor from each station in Boise came to play. It's not often we all get together at events like this...so I had to take a picture. 

Three morning anchors, Tammy, me, Doug (left to right) and one evening anchor, Natalie. Oh, and we got to keep those helmets too. They even put our names on them. 

Good times.

Tidbits

It's official. I lost the dancing competition at my station. Still, thanks to everyone who voted for me. If it wasn't for you...I wouldn't have received the 41% of votes I did get. A landslide loss? Yes. But it could have been worse. 

I haven't yet talked about the season finale of Lost. I won't say anything revealing in case some of you haven't watched it. I still love this show. But I have to admit this latest season confused me more than any other. I hope I'm not alone in this. But it did give me one of my favorite phrases. "When are we?" I love that. I've also got a crush on Juliet. 

Merlin, my well-behaved cat of seven months decided he had enough of me and tried to make a break for it a week ago. He's never showed much interest in going outside like some cats do. He's never bolted for the door. He never whines in front of the window. I usually open a window so he can sit on the window sill and get some fresh air through the screen. I was watching TV one morning when I looked over and saw him poke his little paw through a small hole at the bottom of the screen. It's like something clicked inside him. "This is it! Here's my chance!" He rammed his head through the hole, tore the screen from its edges, and lodged half his body outside before I ran over to pull him back in. Little bastard. He's still a cool cat though. 

Yeah, he drinks out of the toilet. He won't touch a water dish. And no, he's not fat in that first picture.  He's just very, very furry. That damn fur fills up my vacuum every time I use it. 

While not official by the calendar, summer is, nonetheless, here. That means I'm back on a zip line. I'm helping out at Zip Idaho this summer as a part-time, zip line tour guide. It's a nice escape from the real world and the extra money is good too. Here's my latest ride on Wild Turkey. 

Zip Idaho is in the mountains...meaning I've finally put my Jeep through some rugged paces. Soooooo nice. Bumpy, dirt roads are so smooth compared to how they felt in my Camry. It's nice to have a new car that can go pretty much anywhere. 

I really dislike it when someone makes a favorite treat of mine the wrong way. I'm somewhat addicted to Cappuccino Blasts from Baskin Robbins. I've gotten so many of them that I can immediately tell when the worker behind the counter starts to make them in a way I don't like. They let the blender run long. They let it run short. They don't add enough ice. They don't give me enough whipped cream. The possibilities are endless. It makes me want all the materials at home so I can make it myself. 

With me being a news anchor, I don't report on as many stories as I'd like to. But, this is one I did as part of my weekly environmental franchise. It's one of my favorites, so I'll share it with you. I'm having a hell of a time trying to embed videos from my station's website. For some reason, I can't get it to work for all videos. I'll just give you the link instead:

A Smoggy Day in Boise Town

I watched the finales of Dancing With the Stars and American Idol. Man, I need to cut down on my TV watching. I've become addicted. I'm happy Shawn Johnson won. I'm okay with Kris Allen winning...even though I wanted Adam Lambert. Whatever.

Finally...old school Nintendo is awesome. I brought the old NES and SNES game consoles home with me from my last trip to Salt Lake. Since then, I'm wasting hours in front of the TV playing Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Street Fighter, and others. Good times...but not good for my lazy tendencies. You just can't beat classic video games. 

Ouch

We play games in TV business. Sometimes we take digs at the competition. They do the same to us. It's a back and forth...and you just have to roll with it.

Unfortunately, I figure prominently in a promo from another station in town. More specifically, my bad dancing figures prominently. I have to give them credit...this one was pretty creative, and a pretty good dig. And despite my poor performance, I stand behind our dancing segment 100%. It was a cool, fun feature story that tied in with a hit show on our network. They've done similar things.

But yeah...this one stings a little.

Yep...it's bad

Okay...it's done. Just keep one thing in mind. Since I'm encouraging all the world to see this story...please go to our station's website and vote for ME...even though I'm not a good dancer. 

Don & Michelle Judge the Dances:

Be nice to me folks.

Oh geez...here we go

Here's the promo spot my station will start running tomorrow. I know some of you are giddy with glee to see me make a fool of myself. I'm considering faking my own death after the whole thing airs.

This is gonna be bad.

Mom's Surprise

I went to the gym pretty late Saturday night. While there, I thought to myself, "it'd be nice to surprise mom at breakfast tomorrow morning." So I did. I didn't leave Boise until 10:41 that night. I got into Salt Lake around 3 o'clock in the morning, slept for four hours and headed to the restaurant to meet my family. Only Dad and my sister knew I was coming. I surprised my aunt, grandma, and cousin when they got there first. When my mom walked in I was sitting at a table with a newspaper held up over my face. Mom went to sit down with my nephew moving in beside her. I got up quickly, walked over to the table, pushed my nephew out of the way and said, "I want to sit by my mom." 

The look on her face was priceless. It was a nice surprise if I do say so myself. Happy Mother's Day mom. 

It was a quick trip...but well worth it. After breakfast my mom, sister, her kids, and myself headed to Lagoon. I haven't been to Lagoon about 3 or 4  years. Every time I go back I get nostalgic for the good ole days. When I was kid I went to Lagoon EVERY SINGLE day during the summer. My aunt would take my sister and I along with our cousins. We rode the rides occasionally but the vast majority of our time was spent at Lagoon-A-Beach. Hours and hours spent at the waterpark. It was awesome. We'd rent tubes each day and get a two dollar refund when we returned them. My cousin Levi and I would use that two dollars to play Sidewinder. It was a game they had along the midway. It was only around for a couple years. I found a couple pictures online.

You start with a large ball (about the size of a skee-ball) near the top of the curvy track. Using the steering wheel, you guide it down the track and make it fall into a hole at the bottom. Near the bottom, the guardrails disappear. Plus, the steering wheel turns in opposite directions. Turn it right, the track goes left. It was confusing. Levi and I, however, got very, very good at it. We'd throw two bucks towards practicing every day and within weeks...we were always winning. This was a game with big prizes too. I'm not sure why we needed huge stuffed animals but we kept winning and winning and winning. They had a rule against winning more than once each day so we'd come back at different times when there was a different game attendant. Lagoon tried to make it a little harder the second year. They put a plastic ring inside the hole to make the opening smaller. It challenged us a little more but...we still kicked ass. 

It was nice to go back and re-live some of those memories. Lagoon is a fun place. If you try to compare it to a Six Flags amusement park...Lagoon will lose every time. But take it for what it is...and it's fun. 

My only problem is that I noticed my age once again. When I was young I could ride any ride as many times as I wanted and feel great. This time around I felt a little queasy getting off some of them. So sad. 

Whoa there buddy....

This is cute...until the cat decides to take it too far.

Mr. Chihuahua wants none of it. 

The moral of the story...you can't be friends with benefits unless your friend wants the benefits.