The Mitchell Family

Molly's new glasses

2012-01-22T12:48:00.001-05:00

p47.mov Watch on Posterous

R??

2012-01-09T16:31:00.001-05:00

A Mexican standoff

2012-01-09T15:10:00.001-05:00

The standoff: Bert and Punkin'

2011-12-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

Video of Molly's Christmas program

2011-12-08T18:31:00.001-05:00

p98.mov Watch on Posterous

Do they allow dogs at your work? Sophie!

2011-12-06T15:24:00.001-05:00

p92.mov Watch on Posterous

Q: Which Bible translation is best?

2011-12-04T09:36:00.001-05:00

A: The one you'll read.

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/bible-translations-guide

Ahh...America. 500 people in line to buy electronics at midnight on Thursday.

2011-11-25T00:06:00.001-05:00

p76.mov Watch on Posterous

Nice to see this in the hallway!

2011-10-25T19:11:00.001-04:00

The end of an era; The Mitchell Family Blog gets Borged

2011-10-16T00:27:00.000-04:00

You will notice soon, if you haven't already, that "kieronmitchell.com" now lands on a boring ol' page with a handful of simple links, one of which is this blog.

I decided that I needed to have a landing page that allowed people to jump to my professional profile, or my calendar, or pictures of our family, etc. more easily.

You can still get here directly, if you want, by going to http://kieron.blogspot.com/

129 point word on words free - schweet!!

2011-10-12T23:59:00.001-04:00

Please congratulate Molly on her election to STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT!

2011-09-21T17:56:00.001-04:00

The weirdest meeting I've ever scheduled

2011-09-16T18:28:00.001-04:00

Isn't illegal to shoot squirrels with your .410 in Ellettsville?

2011-09-11T17:12:00.001-04:00

http://www.kieronmitchell.com/2009/09/its-my-birthday-and-ill-cry-if-i-want.html

2011-09-10T13:01:00.001-04:00

I would like to publicly extend a heartfelt "thank you" to each and and every one of you who posted a happy birthday wish on my wall this year. In a commode to Steve Martin, to show my appreciation I have "liked" each of you posts. I sure you understand, that with over 50 of you (not counting emails and texts, a respectable 17.2% of my friends, up 70% from last year!!) dropping a hot happy birthday wish on my wall, I don't have the time to write more to each of you individually.

For the rest of you, (as my sister reminded me in a comment to my 2009 blog post - see link), who don't give a **** about my bday, I am hereby putting you on notice, that if you don't "like" THIS POST by next Saturday, I am defriending you. Please understand, its not that I'm mad at you, or even offended, its just simply that there are lies, damn lies, and, if I am to have any hope of achieving a 70% increase NEXT year, I've got to remove you from the denominator.

It's either that, or make some new friends who care, and my dance card is full. ;-)

Labor day laziness

2011-09-05T09:55:00.001-04:00

p204.mov Watch on Posterous

Figuring out who goes first in small world isn't easy!

2011-09-03T19:51:00.001-04:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Maybe I should buy Maddie this car?

2011-09-01T07:51:00.001-04:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Thanks a lot, family!

2011-08-27T12:09:00.001-04:00

How do I change my "most visited page" url links in google chrome?

2011-08-15T15:43:00.001-04:00

I had a bit of trouble finding out how to do this, so to be nice, here it is for the rest of the internet:

0. Close Chrome.

1. You'll need to open and edit the "Preferences" file with a text editor, like notepad. On my machine the file is located here (note that AppData is a hidden directory, so you'll need to get around that): Computer > Local Disk (C:) > Users > Kieron > AppData > Local > Google > Chrome > User Data > Default

2. Find the section "pinned_urls" (mine looks something like this):

"pinned_urls": {
"http://calendar.google.com/": 2,
"http://voice.google.com/": 5,
"http://www.rememberthemilk.com/": 1,
"https://mail.google.com/": 0 },

3. Change the link from whatever you see to whatever you want, and save the file!

Comment with any questions...

Don't mind being rained in when it's 77 deg. out!

2011-07-29T21:24:00.001-04:00

Don't think so.

2011-07-25T19:21:00.001-04:00

No amount of larvae-infested, brackish water can withstand 2 cups of acid, chlorine, and a gallon of bleach.

2011-07-23T13:44:00.001-04:00

Vacation turns me into a very happy dude.

2011-07-20T00:19:00.001-04:00

Maddie is off to the Harry Potter premier!

2011-07-14T19:29:00.001-04:00

Has Molly gone insane?

2011-07-11T22:59:00.001-04:00

p144.mov Watch on Posterous

Ouch - Molly taught me a lesson! Beat me by 10...

2011-07-02T15:15:00.001-04:00

I don't think Molly is getting the hang of "Probe"! ;-)

2011-07-02T14:56:00.001-04:00

And here is Molly's solo!!

2011-07-01T19:30:00.001-04:00

p131.mov Watch on Posterous

Are you listening?

2011-07-01T19:26:00.001-04:00

p126.mov Watch on Posterous

Maddie and her Germany Family! I hope she doesn't leave us forever for them.

2011-06-29T12:22:00.001-04:00

I wanna new drug...

2011-06-17T15:51:00.001-04:00

My doc-in-the-box wants me to add this to my daily regimen. If I hadn't argued, I'd also be taking two add'l pills 5x/day. REDICULOUS!

My foursquare archnemisis is losing ground

2011-06-16T20:20:00.001-04:00

Under intense pressure from foursquare management, as well as some minor pressure from his own conscience, He has given up trying to keep his mayorships. Having chosen a new, more interesting moniker for himself, he (for the moment) remains the mayor of Cathedral.

Alice

2011-06-11T17:28:00.001-04:00

This might as well say "don't use me 'cause you're too lazy".

2011-06-11T10:35:00.001-04:00

Foursquare benefit #17 - tracking my teenager

2011-06-04T15:09:00.001-04:00

My daughter is at concourse D of the Atlanta international airport, and during her trip to Germany I'll be able to track her, building by building, in real time.

SWEET!

P.S. My archnemisis has taken away all but one of my mayorships.

Maddie stole my sweatshirt for Germany

2011-06-04T12:05:00.001-04:00

But I coerced a promise out of her that each day she'd send me a text Of her wearing it. We'll see.

Day one. So far, so good.

Day #5-7 of Sahara Challenge

2011-06-03T11:34:00.001-04:00

Day 5: "Is the Injeel Corrupted"? <-- How to address a common objection to the new testament by Muslims, followed by a staff meeting with the California region.

Day 6: A round-table over lunch re: joining Crescent Project staff, followed by a staff meeting with our marketing department. 10pm - 11:30pm a late-night Q&A on finances.

Day 7: 7am breakfast with a 10-year Korean missionary to Uzbeckistan who is living now in Washington D.C., and would like to help Crescent Project as a staff member in D.C.. Packing my bags and the car for the trip back.

Ben Schreiber is going to RUE THE DAY he crossed me

2011-06-01T22:05:00.001-04:00

That's right, my foursquare-no-good-cheater-archnemisis Mr. Schreiber is going to be sorry he crossed paths with the likes of me.

I just reported him to the foursquare police:

re: https://foursquare.com/venue/6545730

This user: https://foursquare.com/user/2489450 has admitted in writing (on facebook) and in person (to me) that he is checking into venues and becoming their mayor (this is one of them) without ever being there.

This particular venue is the home of my parents, where he has never been.

He is doing this by turning off the GPS on this phone, and looking up venues and checking into them.

Please help me stop him.

Day #4 of Sahara Challenge

2011-06-01T10:15:00.001-04:00

We learned today about gender differences in Islamic vs. Western cultures (don't try to shake a Muslim woman's hand). We also talked about "Incarnational Ministry" and becoming an insider in the culture (via learning the history, who are the opinion makers, etc.).

Learning to live with ambiguity is key.

Communications efficiency tip #112: GOOD MORNING!

2011-06-01T10:08:00.001-04:00

Before saying "Good morning" to someone in a meeting, wait until two or three more people arrive and then say it in a very loud voice, directed to no one in particular.

You've just been ousted as the mayor of Mitchell Home!

2011-05-31T22:18:00.001-04:00

What I get for going to chicago for a few days. Oh well, I'll catch up when she leaves for Deutschland.

From: foursquare <noreply@foursquare.com>
Date: May 31, 2011 1:56:30 PM CDT
To: kieronbm@gmail.com
Subject: You've just been ousted as the mayor of Mitchell Home!

Sorry for the bad news, but Maddie has just ousted you as mayor of Mitchell Home!
https://foursquare.com/venue/5869022

Don't take it too hard - a few more check-ins and you could be back on top...
Good Luck!
- Your friends @ foursquare

© 2011 foursquare labs, 36 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003

Please remember you can always go to your User Settings page to adjust your account and contact info, privacy controls, email preferences and options linking to Twitter and Facebook.

Day #3 of Sahara Challenge

2011-05-31T00:09:00.001-04:00

Today we focused on learning about Christianity (as opposed to Islam). All of the sessions up to this point had been the whole group of 100 together, and it was nice to meet in a small group setting as well to get to know some of the participants better.

My boss and a coworker and I talked to one of the speakers, Elijah, for about an hour. He has recently written a verse-by-verse commentanry on the Qu'ran (The Qur'an Dilemma), which I bought and started reading. He is a MBB (muslim background believer) who lives now in Arizona.

Being, as it is, Memorial Day, some went to watch the fireworks "at the lighthouse". Apparently not too spectacular from this distance.

Day #2 of Sahara Challenge

2011-05-29T22:48:00.001-04:00

Mass at 8am at St. Ignatius, then a quick granola pancake (very tasty) followed by a session on the Islamic Belief system (basically, works-based salvation).

Lunch, then the afternoon session which included an intersting talk on "folk Islam" (the "evil eye", etc.).

Dinner, then we watched a quick (20 minute) BBC documentary on "Turning Msulim in Texas", followed by the testamony of Jessica and Taquir Sagri, two Crescent Project staff members who conversted from Islam to Christianity.

Ending at 9:30pm.

Sahara Challenge - Day #1

2011-05-28T23:17:00.006-04:00

As promised, here is the first installment of a daily summary of the SAHARA CHALLENGE!

I was wheels-up at 6:00am from Ohmer Ave, picked up the marketing director for Crescent Project (Sven) at his home in fishers at 6:30, and then swung by the videographer's apartment at about 7:00am.

Four short hours later we "checked-in" to the Living Water's Church in downtown Chicago to start our staff retreat (from 10am to 3pm), punctuated by a disturbingly spicy meal at a local Indian restaurant.

We then headed over to the dorm we are staying in (Regis Hall).

By "we" I mean me and my roomie, Mike. Mike is a missionary who (until two years ago) was living in Morocco for 23 years. He isn't allowed back in since he's on their "watch list" as a Christian!

After dinner at the cafeteria (reminding me of my days at IU), all 100 of us kicked off the conference proper from 7pm until 9pm.

Finally, after a late-night run to pick up Mike's bags from where he had left them earlier, we landed back in our room (the desks of which reminds me of my college years):

Tomorrow: Mass at 8am (not part of the conference), then back to kick off the day around 9am.

Now I see why kitchens are the most dangerous rooms in the house.

2011-05-22T16:14:00.001-04:00

Help name our squirrel! Please reply with a suggestion and I'll pick from among them.

2011-05-22T08:44:00.001-04:00

Obama's Dead?

2011-05-03T08:17:00.002-04:00

Fox News reported accidentally that Obama reported that he himself had been killed.

I don't know what these geese want from me!

2011-04-15T11:14:00.001-04:00

p28.mov Watch on Posterous

March Newsletter - Spring, Softball, and Sharia

2011-03-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

I write this on the first day of spring (March 20th, hence the "March/April" title). Walking Bert today, I see many of our neighbors for the first time since winter started; like sleepy bears coming out of a long hibernation (except these bears are throwing baseballs to each other and sweeping the street while muttering under their breath about how whomever planted the particular type of tree 100 years ago wasn't very thoughtful, given the overabundance of detritus it produces). It's a little shocking that last month had this photo:

This is from an article in "thaIndian.com"

But enough about the weather!

Goings on at Crescent Project

As you may recall, Oasis is our three-day conference, held this year in November in Washington D.C.. To get a feeling for it, I'd like to invite you to join me April 2nd (Saturday), from 10:00a - 11:30a at College Park Church. You can click here for more details.

In Chicago at the end of May, is our five-day intensive training, the Sahara Challenge.

Our women's advocacy group is hosting a talk on May 13th as part of the "Can you see me?" series to teach about social justice for women in the Muslim world. While I'd love to say, I'll see you there, I don't think I'm allowed to go.

As you may recall, I'm at Crescent Project two days a week. I'm working hard to learn the ropes; diving into the computer and financial systems while helping to hire an assistant for the president.

The Mitchells

Maddie is volunteering at Habitat for Humanity over spring break, and got a stellar report card this quarter. Molly just started softball (and track and field, for that matter), which meant a trip to Dick's at 9pm to buy cleats (since her feet are embarrassingly differently sized, we attempted to buy a mis-matched pair but the cashier insisted on giving us a second pair of shoes for free...I'm still not sure if she made a mistake or was just being nice. I find it best not to ask too many questions in these situations).

Please let me know if you have any specific prayer needs.

November 2010 Newsletter - Free Jesus DVD

2010-11-24T00:32:00.005-05:00

We have Thanksgiving, Muslims have Eid al-Adha

Well, not really - but they are pretty close together date-wise. November 16^th was Eid al-Adha, or "Festival of Sacrifice" This is a commemoration of when God provided an animal sacrifice to take the place of Abraham's son. According to the Muslim version of the story, God sent the angel Gabriel to deliver a ram so that Abraham wouldn't have to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

It is Crescent Project's mission to teach Christians about the Muslim faith, to decrease our fear and misunderstanding so that we can be better equipped to reach out in love to our Muslim neighbors. It's nice that we have Thanksgiving to remind us how much we have to be thankful for; I am thankful to be given this opportunity to be part of the Bridge between the Muslim and Christian faiths.

The Mitchells

My parents will be visiting my brother, Kerry in NYC over thanksgiving (I'll be flying out there the weekend of December 4th myself to talk to some new and old friends about the Crescent Project). It just struck me that he might not be too supportive of the "live animal sacrifice" part of Eid al-Adha, given his recent participation in Farm Sanctuary's NYC Walk for Farm Animals, in which (according to supervegan.com) activists "come together to celebrate our love and compassion for farm animals."

As for the rest of my family, we will killing as many turkeys as necessary at our Church's thanksgiving dinner for the poor (technically, it's for anyone, but the main idea is to provide a home-cooked, full turkey dinner with sides and dessert for less than it costs to get two booklets and a DVD shipped to your home ;-)). Then we'll be hanging out at the Mitchell compound (ie, Ohmer Ave.), where no fewer than four of the eleven houses on the block are in our (extended) family.

Now, as they would say on NPR's "Car Talk", on to the shameless commerce division...

Free Stuff (a $15 value)!

What you get:

Life of the Messiah DVD (Jesus Film in 16 languages).

Is the Injeel Corrupted? (Injeel is the Arabic name for the New Testament)

Adha in the Injeel (Adha is the Muslim commemoration of when God provided an animal sacrifice in lieu of Abraham's son).

Click here to get your free packet (the two booklets are written by the Crescent Project and would be a great way to see for yourself the kind of work we do). This also makes a great gift for your Muslim friend or neighbor who is interested in learning more about Christianity and its relationship to Islam. Oh, did I mention you do have to pay $2.98 for shipping and handling? Still, that's a good deal.

If you will be near Bloomington, Indiana on Wednesday, December 1st, please join me for lunch to hear more details on the vision of the Crescent Project from it's founder and president, Fouad Masri (he is a dynamic and knowledgeable speaker, and definitely worth your time). Click here to sign up.

October 2010 Newsletter - Oasis Conference

2010-10-26T21:20:00.002-04:00

Oasis Conference Report

I spent this past weekend in Nashville, Tennessee at the three-day Oasis Conference (next year it's in Washington, D.C.). While the workshops at the conference were high-quality, the highlight for me was the trip to the Mosque (it was the first time I'd been in a Mosque). I was the driver of one of three mini-vans full of us white-bread Christians, and (even though the Imam was expecting us), at the last minute I had second thoughts. My trepidation was not caused by the fact that the women in our group had to separate from us men, enter in the back door, and we wouldn't see them again until after the service. The reason my heart leapt into my throat was the "protesters" displaying a huge sign that said something like "Jesus is the only way to heaven." I suddenly thought that perhaps today wasn't the best day for us to be visiting.

The Imam mentioned the protesters in his sermon. He cautioned the packed room of men (and boys) numbering over 150 to respond with a smile and the word "peace" when one of them, the Qur'an, or Islam itself is mocked. "I know that you could do something. I'm saying that you should only say "peace", and walk on." He (the Imam - an immigrant from Egypt named Mohammad) was surprisingly moderate, suggesting (when we asked if he would support it) that those who attend his Mosque should read the Bible! I don't know how typical that is, but it was refreshing.

Over 300 people attended the conference, and was nice to see the passion for lowering the walls of misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims.

The Mitchell Family

Maddie (our fifteen-year old daughter) is rowing (as in with oars) - the pro from the spectator side being that you get to attend something called a "regatta", which sounds very cool. The con is that the use of binoculars is pretty much required, lest you inadvertently cheer for the opposing team. Molly (our twelve-year old daughter) is busy babysitting and is linking up with a newer set of friends this semester for some reason I have yet to figure out. Courtney (my wife of twenty years) is happy and healthy. Bert (our three-year old shih tzu, adopted as a stray) thinks Courtney is his chinese emperor-master and won't leave her side, or allow any one of our five cats near her. I am trying to play racquetball every once in awhile for exercise, but am having trouble finding people who can beat me ;-).

Cameo of me in "Dust Tactics" by Fantasy Flight Games

2010-08-10T22:36:00.000-04:00

I'm at 0:40

In Line at the Local Bakery

2010-07-16T09:15:00.003-04:00

I was waiting in line at Hart's bakery to use my $12 groupon that I bought for $6, and this woman in front of me was picking out over $20 worth of baked goods.

Now, let me tell you, you can get a LOT of baked goods for $20...and she wanted all different kinds. It was taking awhile.

I kept hearing exasperated sighs from another woman behind me, dressed in her uniform and obviously in a hurry.

So I ask her, "Do you just need one thing?"

With a furrowed brow and a bit of a roll of her eyes, she said, "Yes."

After the woman in front of me was done, I motion the uniformed lady to go in front of me. She nods curtly to me and says to the cashier, "One smiley-faced cookie, please."

Blocked by vegetation on the way home

2010-07-03T09:48:00.004-04:00

This was my view as I tried to go home for lunch last week. Sheesh.

How can you not have time to pray?

2010-05-27T09:27:00.001-04:00

When someone says to me, “I don’t have time to pray”, I sometimes think:

“How could I not have time for prayer? Because it should inform all my other actions, prayer is the most important activity there is!”

Without prayer, how would I know what I should be doing?

For Here or To Go? Ordering for the Homeless at McDonald's

2010-03-30T14:03:00.003-04:00

True story:

A guy stopped me outside my local McDonald's today after my lunch and said he was hungry.

So, I motion him inside and get in line to order him a burger ("for here").

The manager asks me, "did he approach you in the lot?"

"Yes", I say.

"He's not allowed in here. I just called the police."

I turn to the cashier, "I need to change that order to 'to go', please."

Military Rescue (warning: Surgery Video)

2010-03-28T12:18:00.002-04:00

Court's father-in-law (Lt. Col Ret., US Army, two tours in vietnam, tank commander) sent me this video accompanied by the text below a couple days ago. My response to him is below the text (he said he agreed with me on all counts, which is why I feel justified in posting this!).

This story is about PVT Channing Moss, who was impaled by a live RPG during a Taliban ambush while on patrol. Army protocol says that medevac choppers are never to carry anyone with a live round in him. Even though they feared it could explode, the flight crew said damn the protocol and flew him to the nearest aid station.

Again, protocol said that in such a case the patient is to be put in sandbagged area away from the surgical unit, given a shot of morphine and left to wait (and die) until others are treated. Again, the medical team ignored the protocol. Here's a seven-minute video put together by the Military Times, which includes actual footage of the surgery where Dr. John Oh, a Korean immigrant who became a naturalized citizen and went to West Point , removed the live round with the help of volunteers and a member of the EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) team.

=========== Kieron's Response: ===============

Haven't watched the vid (looking forward to it...it's loading), but my first reaction is that protocols are created for good reasons.

They risked their lives (and thus the lives of those charged to save THEM), and the chopper at a minimum. They also encouraged others to do the same in the future (as evidenced by this e-mail and video); that's the more dangerous thing, really.

Having watched the vid now, it's a great video and very powerful. Thanks for sending it.

After reading the full story from 2006, it turns out that the soldiers on the ground specifically withheld the RPG info from MEDEVAC HQ, fearing they would in fact follow protocol and not take him. Understandable, given their situation (taking fire with injuries)...but it apparently caused the ripple effect that the doc in the aid station didn't know about it either (thinking it was only "shrapnel injury"). One assumes he wasn't as prepared as he could have been.

I am struck by what seems to be driving these decisions: emotion. Having your friend die if they don't get choppered out causes you to "lie". Seeing and talking to a conscious patient causes you to do things differently than you are trained to do. I am taught that good decisions are based on logic and protocol: not on emotion.

I'm also glad I'm not the position these defenders of our freedom are, and do not fault them in the least for being truly human.

Tai-Chi Update: Stopping the Class

2010-03-14T11:45:00.003-04:00

Yes, you read right. I am no longer going to Tai-Chi class. *gasp*

Faithful readers may remember back in 2006, my teacher said, "It's useless for me to teach you anymore unless you get better balance and strength." At that point I had been attending for about two months. And now I'm stopping after having attended weekly classes for over *three years*?!

Here's the scoop: After the first year or so, I stopped practicing outside of class. It isn't that I didn't WANT to. I am just lazy. And now I've decided to put my teacher's lessons into practice: it is useless for him to teach me unless I start practicing outside of class! So, I'm not going anymore.

What I have committed to do, on the other hand, is PRACTICE TAI-CHI DAILY. And, since I stopped going to class a couple weeks ago, that's exactly what I've done. Practice daily. Maybe not for long, maybe not even in total more than the weekly hour that I had been going to. But that can change.

And of course, if I keep it up my daily practicing long enough, I'll reward myself with further instruction.

I think my teacher would be proud.

Love me Tender

2010-02-15T22:33:00.003-05:00

Maddie's Choir sent "singing valentines" last Friday...

	From: Cathedral Choir Room
	2/12/10 5:25 PM
Play message

Maddie to Speak at Hall of Fame Dinner

2010-02-11T11:02:00.003-05:00

Received today via e-mail:

Look who made it to the CHS parent e-mail. You got to love those OLL grads! pass this on to Courtney and Kerion and tell them how proud they must be of Maddie and pass on a congratulations to Maddie!

Molly's Volleyball Game Schedule

2010-01-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

Game #

Team 1

Team 2

Schedule Information

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1N

St. Roch
League:56 A
Division:1N

Venue:	OL Lourdes Gym
Date:	Sunday, 1/31/2010
Time:	2:45 PM
Status:	Scheduled

February 2010

Game #

Team 1

Team 2

Schedule Information

St. Susanna
League:56 A
Division:1N

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1N

Venue:	OL Lourdes Gym
Date:	Wednesday, 2/3/2010
Time:	7:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1N

St. Christopher
League:56 A
Division:1N

Venue:	St. Christopher Gym
Date:	Sunday, 2/7/2010
Time:	2:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

St. Michael Indy
League:56 A
Division:1N

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1N

Venue:	St. Michael Indy Gym
Date:	Tuesday, 2/9/2010
Time:	5:45 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1N

St. Mark--A
League:56 A
Division:1N

Venue:	St. Mark Gym
Date:	Monday, 2/15/2010
Time:	7:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

St. Lawrence
League:56 A
Division:1N

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1N

Venue:	OL Lourdes Gym
Date:	Sunday, 2/21/2010
Time:	12:30 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1N

OL Greenwood
League:56 A
Division:1N

Venue:	OL Greenwood
Date:	Wednesday, 2/24/2010
Time:	7:30 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Disaster do-gooders can actually hinder help

2010-01-21T16:27:00.003-05:00

We are extra busy at work with the earthquake in Haiti , and I field calls on "what can we send you". Best answer (that few want to hear): Cash.

Click on the image above for MSNBC's article with the headline "Disaster do-gooders can actually hinder help".

Playing a fun game (for me): Nomic

2010-01-11T23:02:00.005-05:00

I know it's odd, but I like it. And I'm running it (and I like to be in control).

It's a game called Nomic. Mostly, I'm learning how to format a wiki...

Here's the link: http://bggnomic.wikispaces.com/

Uber Cool Nerd? Don't think so.

2010-01-03T01:59:00.000-05:00

The Mitchells Play The Priest Game

2009-12-30T08:39:00.002-05:00

Molly and Kieron Play The Priest Game (Courtney played too). Molly won...OF COURSE!

My Tai-Chi school in Indianapolis

2009-12-16T21:11:00.003-05:00

Check out this link to my Tai-Chi school: http://aikiconcepts.org/programs-we-offer/t%E2%80%99ai-chi-ch%E2%80%99uan/.

That's me, on the right.

The archdiocese has applied to the Mayor’s Office in Indianapolis to create two charter schools

2009-12-16T20:20:00.002-05:00

Got this via e-mail a couple days ago:

By John Shaughnessy
The archdiocese has applied to the Mayor’s Office in Indianapolis to create two charter schools for the 2010-2011 school year.

If the applications are approved, the archdiocese will become the first Catholic diocese in the United States that has committed to overseeing a school involved in this educational approach.

In announcing the plan on Dec. 9, archdiocesan leaders noted that the effort involves changing the status of two of the six schools that form the Mother Theodore Catholic Academies—a consortium of schools dedicated to educating children in economically-challenged, urban areas of Indianapolis.

In the plan, St. Anthony Catholic School and St. Andrew & St. Rita Catholic Academy would become charter schools. If approved, the two schools would still be managed by the archdiocese, but they would have to change their names and they would no longer be able to promote the Catholic faith.

The other four schools that form the Mother Theodore Catholic Academies—Central Catholic School, Holy Angels Catholic School, Holy Cross Central School and St. Philip Neri School—will continue as Catholic schools.

The plan was announced on Dec. 9 in a message to pastors of the affected parishes and to the parents, faculty and the staff members at the two schools who are the focus of the proposed change.

“After many months of research, prayer and consultation, Archbishop Daniel Buechlein has given his approval to submit 2 charter school applications to the office of the Mayor of Indianapolis,” wrote Connie Zittnan, the director of the Mother Theodore Catholic Academies.

In her letter, Zittnan also stated, “It is important for you to know that we have also met with the parishioners, staffs and parents of these two schools. Overall, they were supportive in continuing our mission of serving our children in these neighborhoods in these ways.”

The archdiocese also plans to continue to offer instruction in the Catholic faith to students who attend these two schools.

“One of the major changes we will see is we will have to develop faith formation before or after school rather than during the school day,” Zittnan said. “Speaking with both parishes, the pastor and deacon of these parishes are both committed to taking on this portion of the child’s development.”

In seeking to start the two charter schools, the archdiocese is responding to two major challenges to educating children in urban neighborhoods, Zittnan says.

“Through the Mother Theodore Catholic Academies, we want to continue our mission of working with our children in the urban center,” Zittnan said. “We have two major concerns. As generous as our parishes, our archdiocese, corporate Indianapolis and major contributors are, we are having a difficult time funding all six schools as they are presently operated. We’re operating in a deficit every year. Secondly, in these tough economic times, our families at these schools are having a tough time coming up with the tuition.”

Faced with those realities, changing the two schools to charter schools allows the archdiocese to continue “educating our urban children in these two neighborhoods,” Zittnan explained.

The two charter schools would be self-supporting, according to Jeffrey Stumpf, the chief financial officer of the archdiocese.

“This will allow us to shift the fundraising dollars currently used at those two schools to the other four Mother Theodore Catholic Academies schools, stabilizing the finances of those Catholic schools,” Stumpf said. “We could get this financial improvement by simply closing the schools, but our strong desire is to continue serving the children in these two neighborhoods.”

Economic realities forced the archdiocese to consider the charter school approach, Stumpf said.

“Because of the demographics of the families that these schools serve, only about 12 percent of the cost of running the schools comes from the school families and the local parishes,” he noted. “The archdiocese takes on the responsibility of over 50 percent of the funding. The academies currently need about $3.8 million per year from sources outside of the school operations.

“We’re able to raise $1.1 million per year through the parishes of the archdiocese from the Christ Our Hope: Compassion in Community annual appeal, and about $1-1.5 million per year in corporate, foundation and alumni fundraising efforts—leaving a remaining deficit of about $1.2-1.7 million per year that we’ve been unable to fund.”

If the charter school plan is approved, the archdiocese will receive about $7,500 per student from the State of Indiana, Stumpf said.

Zittnan outlined the reasons why the proposed change will best serve the children at those schools—starting with the fact that tuition will be free.

“Full tuition is about $3,800,” Zittnan said. “Very few of our children in either of these schools pay very close to that, but our children will not have to pay tuition which will take the burden off their parents. We will also be able to have additional staff to work with children who, for whatever reason, need additional assistance in the classroom. And we will have a transportation plan for families that live more than a mile from the school.”

While archdiocesan leaders hope the changes can take place at the two schools, they also stress the need for continued support of the four Mother Theodore Catholic Academies that will remain as Catholic schools.

“It’s very important to understand that those four Catholic schools will need the continuous generosity of our major donors, the archdiocese and our parishes,” Zittnan said.

The change has been under consideration since March. Since then, Archbishop Buechlein and other archdiocesan leaders have sought the input and opinions of different people and groups, including priests, donors, business leaders, political leaders, the archdiocesan finance council, and parents and staff members at St. Anthony Catholic School and St Andrew & St. Rita Catholic Academy.

“Since he came here in 1992, the archbishop has been committed to educating children in our urban neighborhoods,” Zittnan said. “He again is looking for ways to meet the needs of these students.

“Other dioceses have looked at the challenge of continuing their mission in urban settings, and they’ve come up with two options—either close schools, or lease school buildings to secular companies to run charter schools. If our plan is approved, we will be the first in the United States where the archdiocese is committed to overseeing this form of education.”

The archdiocese has formed a separate corporation—ADI Schools, Inc.—to apply for the charter.

“This corporation will hire the Mother Theodore Catholic Academies to manage the operations of the schools,” Stumpf said. “So the MTCA will now be responsible for operating four Catholic schools and two public charter schools.”

Archdiocesan leaders believe this approach is the best available to continue its commitment and mission to children at the two schools.

“We believe we can still transfer the values we hold dear to us—discipline, hard work, honesty, leadership, giving to others and serving others,” Zittnan said. “It’s not about the buildings. It’s not about the schools. It’s about the children we do not want to leave behind.” †

The loss of silence in the culture of Facebook and Twitter

2009-12-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

Nietzsche said that God is dead. Well, I say that silence is dead. In this twitteredup, facebooked culture I can't even stop at a stop light without grabbing my cell for a quick status update.

Wasn't that supposed to be my quiet time?

And even if I can't immediately punch a tweet on my cell (like during the five daily minutes that cascading water prevents the use of electronics), I find my thoughts forcibly coalescing to 120 pithy characters or less.

With these new temptations, everyone has become a journalist with a following. Now that I have an audience, it would be criminal not to grace them with my musings. But there is a cost...

Maddie Walking down the Aisle

2009-11-24T23:28:00.001-05:00

Hay! I don't remember that Maddie was in the procession!

Tai chi master hoping his moving medication' cuts health-care costs -- chicagotribune.com

2009-10-27T15:21:00.002-04:00

Lee put this article on the bulletin board at my dojo, and I thought it was worth sharing!

Tai chi master hoping his moving medication' cuts health-care costs -- chicagotribune.com

Google Voice - I've got it!

2009-10-10T15:08:00.001-04:00

And of course, it's free. Here's my number: 317-376-8112.

Molly's Basketball Schedule

2009-09-29T22:55:00.002-04:00

From Glenda Wedding & Lisa Lori Lake

Click here to see Molly's Basketball Schedule (she is proud to be on the "A" team). Oh, and yes, this picture has nothing to do with basketball. Sue me. She's sitting with Sam.

It's my Birthday, and I'll Cry if I want to

2009-09-08T18:38:00.003-04:00

Identity sealers, here's your chance. Like you couldn't get it from a myriad of other sources.

Now, to my family and friends who REALLY CARE about my b-day, I hereby issue you a heartfelt thank you! Maddie made me a DELICIOUS pecan pie (my favorite), and we had a nice time last night with the Peruns (we played "Are you the Traitor", and "Cloud Nine").

On the "darker side", about 10% of my FB friends said happy B-Day on FB, and I got 3 autogenerated e-mails from web sites that know my B-day. I'm sorry, but I must discount these, for, as you know, FB reminds you of people's b-days, and let's you easily click on their wall, where you can plunk down a quick "Happy Birthday!" like a dog dropping a turd.

An update on the fan-damily

2009-08-22T09:26:00.003-04:00

Molly or John Adams? You decide.

Last update was November, and I got a couple highly craved "thank-yous" from that one, so...

Courtney: Loving her job. No longer President of the school board. Didn't *know* that she was leaving the scene of an accident when the police questioned her last night. Needs a hobby.

Maddie: Started *HIGH SCHOOL* last week and (get this, and I'm not joking) LOVES IT. I drive her to school every morning, and am looking forward to continuing to do that. What a great way to keep up with your daughter!

Molly: Started kickball as a 6th grader (school starts Monday). Continues to be quite physically active. Is the only person in the family who continues to be willing to play games with me (probably because she is the only person who can beat me).

Kieron: Finds it hard to give an update longer than 160 characters, since he finds himself cutting everything down into manageable "sound-bites" of that size. Is considering giving up the pursuit of perfection.

Molly's kickball schedule

2009-08-18T11:03:00.004-04:00

CYO 2009 Girls' Grade School Fall Kickball Leagues Season Schedule

League/Division: 56 A/2

Parish/Team: OL Lourdes/Our Lady of Lourdes

August 2009

Game #

Team 1

Team 2

Schedule Information

Nativity
League:56 A
Division:2

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	Nativity Kb (Back)
Date:	Friday, 8/21/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

Holy Name
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Tuesday, 8/25/2009
Time:	6:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Holy Spirit Indy
League:56 A
Division:2

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	Holy Spirit Kb
Date:	Friday, 8/28/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

Little Flower
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Monday, 8/31/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

September 2009

Game #

Team 1

Team 2

Schedule Information

St. Michael Greenfield
League:56 A
Division:2

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	St. Michael Grnfld Kb
Date:	Friday, 9/4/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

St. Simon
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Wednesday, 9/9/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

St. Lawrence
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	St. Lawrence Kb
Date:	Friday, 9/11/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Nativity
League:56 A
Division:2

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:2

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Tuesday, 9/15/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

* = intra-divisional game

HANDGUN AMMO IS FLYING OFF THE SHELVES

2009-08-11T21:50:00.003-04:00

So I'm at Dick's Sporting Goods store yesterday, buying my (today) 14-year old daughter Maddie her backpack for her freshman year (HAPPY B-DAY, MADDIE!), and I notice a sign at the counter saying that they are limiting the sales of ammo to two boxes per transaction.

After talking to the guy, it turns out that ever since Obama was elected, HANDGUN AMMO IS *FLYING* OFF THE SHELVES. He says he gets in a few boxes, and it's gone that day. Apparently, people are scared that the dems are going to enact some restrictive gun laws, so they are stocking up.

Tai-Chi Status Update

2009-08-09T14:15:00.004-04:00

As far as I can tell from reviewing this blog, I've been in Tai-Chi since October 2006. That means in two months I'll have been doing it for three years. But instead of a black-belt (which, of course, there is no such thing for Tai-Chi anyway), I'M STILL WORKING ON THE FIRST FORM. No joke, I don't know it yet. The last few moves, at least, and we are still going over the basics in class.

That's one of the big differences between internal and external martial arts. External martial arts show results quickly. Internal takes YEARS to show progress. Oh well, it's probably about the journey or something.

Papal Prayer for August: We be more aware of the problem of millions of refugees and that concrete solutions may be found.

2009-08-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Darron Cummings / AP

That public opinion may be more aware of the problem of millions of displaced persons and refugees and that concrete solutions may be found for their often tragic situation.

GEN Con Indy - Industry Insider Guests of Honor

2009-07-20T15:37:00.002-04:00

Got this in the mail today, and it looks interesting - hope it fits into my schedule (August 13th and 14th)! Richard Borg did Memoir '44, and of course Reiner Knizia has designed dozens of hits.

==================================

This year Gen Con is proud to present the following Industry Insider Guests. Individually or collectively they will be providing a diverse range of seminars and panels at this year's show including …

Different Philosophies of Game Design
The Do's & Don'ts of Rule Writing
Religion, Fantasy & RolePlaying
The Science of Humor
Top 5 Best Gaming Products EVER!
And more!!

Stop by Room 212 of the Indiana Convention Center to see, hear and join in the discussion! A full listing of topics and times can be obtained in the online Event Charts and onsite in the Program Book.

Industry Insider Guests are:

Richard Borg
Ben Clark
Matt Forbeck
Mike Gray
Reiner Knizia
Sheperd Paine
Stan!
Howard Tayler
Matt Wilson
James Wyatt

Slideshow of Kieron and Breon's Euro-Vacation

2009-07-11T17:01:00.004-04:00

Here are more, as a slideshow (click here for ALL of them).

Does God use Twitter?

2009-07-11T00:17:00.000-04:00

Eurotrotter: First half of week two: Berlin

2009-07-02T11:38:00.002-04:00

To catch you up on the past few days:

We took the train from Paris to Berlin:

We arrived and are staying at a mansion on a lake called the Wannsee. It's on the far southwest corner of Berlin (it's the last stop on the rail line for Berlin).

Above is the view from my Dad's room, and him at the desk in his room (15 foot high ceilings)

This is the view from my room.

Breon (tonight at 8pm) will be on a panel discussing the new translation of The Tin Drum for German national radio.

As you can tell from my posts, I've done nothing except:

Talk
Eat
Play chess
Read The Odyssey

A great vacation!

I'm moving 150 mph backwards as I type this: Globetrotter Day 5

2009-06-29T14:01:00.003-04:00

I'm on the train from Paris to Berlin, and have about twenty minutes to type up this entry before we change trains at our next stop (Frankfort). In the train, half the seats face "forward" and half face "backward". Right now, ours are facing backward.

=======================

6/28/09 Paris 1pm, Cafe "Grill 14" on the Boulevard Lefebre

The Holy Grail

Breon and I have spent hours scouring the streets of Paris, seeking the holy grail of sweet-smelling water for Lynda. The requirements make it next-to-impossible to find. It must be:

Eau de Toilette
Say "Paris" on the bottle
Look "pretty"
Smell "good"
Cost less than $20
Not be a name brand

Since Breon and I aren't sure what all the name brands are, we basically can't buy anything from a nice store (which might carry name brands).

#2 cuts out half the bottles
#3-4 are subjective, so we are convinced we will fail (especially #4)

The Gourmand

I've decided to order interesting food whenever possible. This is a picture of me two nights ago in Breon's favorite restaurant from the olden days with my lamb's feet and giblets stew. There being only three hooves in the pot, I complained to the waiter, "What kind of lamb are you serving me?"

He just frowned the french frown, and said, "Eat your tripe, American pig-dog."

Last night I learned that if you order the bone-marrow appetizer at the Hippopotamus, be prepared to scoop the surpirsing amount of fat contained therein onto the accompaning toast.

The Queues

Yesterday we had lunch with Bill Cagle, the director of the Lilly Library before Breon. They walked around, looking at dolls*, and ended up at Notre Dame cathedral. There were about 200 people waiting to get in, so we deicded to skip going in (if you look carefully at the photo, you might recognize Breon at the end of the line):

Ditto with St. Chapelle (only 100 people in line):

Now, we did successfully wait in line to get our train tickets to Berlin. There were a couple cute babies who met each other in front of us:

===============

This morning we went to mass at Notre Dame des Champs and then on to a flea market near the Port de Vanves Metro stop (see Holy Grail above). Receiving as much enjoyment from flea markets as I do from ambling stop-start down an alley under the oppressive sun, pretending to be interested in other people's trash, I seperated from Breon at my first opportunity to sit in this comfortable cafe and catch you up on our progress, such as it is.

*After reading this to Breon, he wanted me to clarify that they are not "dolls", but "marionettes" (which neither of us can even spell). And, here's a picture of some of his ill-booten-gotty:

Globetrotter Day 4

2009-06-25T13:46:00.004-04:00

Today I walked to a nearby church (Notre Dame1) and caught the last few minutes of the noon Mass before they kicked out everyone (about twenty-five people).

The park next to the church had nice benches and a whole slew of Parisians biding their time. As the African woman next to me napped, I read my magazine ("The New Oxford Review").

Some observations in the "people watching" category:

I see no laptops. And I don't mean fewer laptops. I mean I've seen none - nada - zero. Not in any parks, not in any cafes.
There is a similar lack of people thumbing away at their cell phones. Surprising to me, since I thought that the text-message craze came from Europe...well, England at least.
In the park, people are actually READING BOOKS. It's crazy.

I went back to the Hotel about 2pm to meet back up with Breon, who had been out looking at more books. After fighting with the fraud department of his credit card (who found it hard to believe that anyone could be simultaneously buying high-dollar items in Canada and Paris), he was off for yet another go at it while I lounged in the room.

Now (7:45pm) we are back from dinner and in for the night (unless, having napped for a couple hours, we get all restless and decide to paint the town red sometime after 10pm).

1By the way, since "Notre Dame" means "Our Lady", there are a BUNCH of "Notre Dame"s in Paris. This was NOT the famous one.

Globetrotter Days 2 and 3

2009-06-24T10:01:00.004-04:00

We arrived in Paris about 10am Tuesday, having flown about 8 hours from the Cincinnati airport (which is not only *not* in Cincinnati, it's not even in OHIO). As you can see from this photo at the Gate in cinci, it's easy to tell the difference between "native" Parisians and immigrant Parisians:

After checking into our hotel, we ate lunch at an (apparently famous) restaurant called "Le Dome"; just across the street from our Hotel. Dragging ourselves back to our room, we collapsed for an eight-hour nap.

Waking up about 10pm, we had a late dinner a few blocks away. We decided *not* to eat at the "Indiana".

Back to the hotel and back to bed for a good night's sleep.

Day three, and jet lag has been conquered! We go down to the hotel lobby for an all-you-can-eat breakfast; paid for as part of the price of the room.

Breon, having been told by a book dealer that morning that he "assumes you are in Paris for the book fair starting today"; decides we'd better go find it (at Place St. Sulpice, which is a group of permanent booths around a beautiful fountain in front of a huge church about four blocks from our hotel). We walk there and Breon systematically scours each booth for books while I sit in a nearby cafe catching up on my internet duties (facebook comments, mostly).

On the way there we see a Smartcar advertising the Sims3. I can't resist a picture (every time I take one, I feel like an offending tourist/rube...so I take much fewer than I otherwise would).

One thing I notice about Paris is that everyone is dressed just a bit nicer than I would expect a typical American to be dressed. It's very unusual to see someone in a T-Shirt and jeans (which is what I wore to Le Dome on the first night...imagine my charin when I looked around at everyone else in jackets and the waiters in black ties!). This guy was just doing some painting:

One cool thing is that you can somehow "share" bicycles. I was wondering what was going on when I saw a bunch of people riding what looked like very well-maintained bikes. I figure, after seeing the line-up of bikes pictured below, that it's one of those deals where you pay for the equivalent of *one* bike, and then you can always have one out. When you check one in, then you can take a different one later, or just leave it.

Globetrotter Day 1: Ellettsville, Indiana?!

2009-06-22T00:23:00.004-04:00

Welcome, dear reader, to the beginning of my travelogue for my trip to France and Germany with my Dad (Breon). Here is the gist of the next ten days:

He is going to do a reading/panel discussion for a book he is (re)translating (The Tin Drum) in Berlin on July 2nd for National Public German Radio (I'm sure I've got 50% of that wrong). That is the main reason for the trip.
Before that we'll spend a few days relaxing and recovering from jetlag in Paris. We'll have dinner at a fancy restaurant w/ some friends of his, he'll go to some book stores to pick up some books he bought for his job (they are expensive, so it's better if they are hand-carried, I imagine).
We'll take the train to Berlin and stay in a Villa on the Wannsee (apparently quite beautiful).
In addition to the panel and book store visits, there are flea markets, museums, and book auctions to spend time at!

Tonight, I'm sleeping in the bedroom I had as a child (from age 11 up). It no longer has the sports-themed wallpaper, and there is really no hint that I ever inhabited it for a short 6 years, about 20 years ago.

The picture at the top of this entry is an example of the current decor.

Papal Prayer for June: That international attention towards the poorer countries may give rise to more concrete help...

2009-06-17T20:52:00.003-04:00

That international attention towards the poorer countries may give rise to more concrete help, in particular to relieve them of the crushing burden of foreign debt.

Kittens and Viruses

2009-05-29T23:55:00.003-04:00

All kittens have been given away...as a matter of fact, we gave away SEVEN kittens. Now, you may recall that Alice only had a litter of five. So we had to come up with TWO extra to give away. We are officially kitten brokers now, I guess.

I just did the final cleaning of a virus from my PC that has been plaguing me for a month. It was particularly devious since is was not actually located on my PC, but had made subtle changes on my wireless router which were hampering me.

Here's my lesson (this should be an easy one, but lessons seem only able to be learned by experience): ALWAYS CHANGE THE DEFAULT PASSWORD. My router still had the username "admin" and the password "password". This allowed the virus to logon to the router, and change the DNS setting so that every time my computer (or any computer in the house, for that matter) logged onto the internet, it was routed to some shabby DNS server in Eastern Europe.

That server was not allowing me to connect to my anti-virus website, anti-spyware website, or to the windows update website!

One Kitten Left

2009-05-19T00:05:00.001-04:00

To a good family, I present you with the last available from a litter of five, currently called "Bear":

Critical Swine Flu prevention tip

2009-04-30T16:33:00.004-04:00

Critical Swine Flu prevention tip:

Don't DO this!

Picture of Maddie in California in February 2009

2009-04-26T20:41:00.001-04:00

From California 0209

How to spend my free time?

2009-04-26T12:19:00.006-04:00

Ok, here's my current dilemma (a recurring one, so I'll post it):

If I have, let's say, 30 minutes of "free time", what should I do? I mean, how should I spend that free time?

The decision that appeals to me most is to figure it out thoughtfully. Evaluate how I've been spending my time over the past few months, and compare that to how I'd like to be spending my time. That means that I have to have activities grouped by my goals: Self-improvment, Family, etc.

It means that I would need to track *how I spend my free time*. Of course, it means more than that (like actually setting the goals).

Without a thoughtful approach, I find myself at the whim of "chance". I read half an article on arguments against abortion, I read the news about Somali pirates, I do a blog post on how to spend my free time.

I actually do use "remember the milk" (RTM) for my task list, and if I used the "tags" (categories) for goal groups, and if I were more disciplined about using it for free time, I think that would help me feel less concerned.

The piece that I'm still missing is an easy way to evaluate the balance of how I am spending time on my goals. Maybe the "completed tasks" on RTM would help (I could download into Excel)?

Well, the last time I tried to decide what to do, I ended up taking a nap. This time, I've simply run out of time, and I'm off to Croix' first communion.

The First Kitten Opened Her? Eyes today

2009-04-25T21:35:00.003-04:00

We have 10 cats in our house now. CRAZY!

From 2009-04 Molly

My Dad and I are globetrotting (ok, maybe puddle-jumping) to Paris and Berlin this summer

2009-04-07T18:45:00.002-04:00

My Dad and I are globetrotting (ok, maybe puddle-jumping) to Paris and Berlin this summer.

Arriving in Paris on June 23rd at 10am, and then Eurorailing to Berlin, and flying from there (on July 4th 7am) back to happy-Paris!

Molly's Kickball Schedule

2009-04-06T17:59:00.003-04:00

CYO 2009 Girls Spring Kickball Season Season Schedule

League/Division: 56 A/1

Parish/Team: OL Lourdes/Our Lady of Lourdes

April 2009

Game #

Team 1

Team 2

Schedule Information

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

St. Luke
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	St. Luke Kb
Date:	Tuesday, 4/14/2009
Time:	6:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

St. Malachy
League:56 A
Division:1

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Friday, 4/17/2009
Time:	6:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

St. Christopher
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Tuesday, 4/21/2009
Time:	6:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

St. Jude
League:56 A
Division:1

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	St. Jude (front)
Date:	Friday, 4/24/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

OL of Greenwood
League:56 A
Division:1

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Monday, 4/27/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

Mount Carmel
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	OL Mount Carmel Kb
Date:	Thursday, 4/30/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

May 2009

Game #

Team 1

Team 2

Schedule Information

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

St. Susanna
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	St. Susanna Kickball
Date:	Wednesday, 5/6/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

Our Lady of Lourdes
League:56 A
Division:1

OL of Greenwood
League:56 A
Division:1

Venue:	OL Lourdes Kb
Date:	Thursday, 5/7/2009
Time:	5:00 PM
Status:	Scheduled

SOLD! Selling our 1999 Honda Odyssey Minivan - A Good Car for $4,900

2009-04-04T18:21:00.003-04:00

SOLD (5/6/09)!

Papal Prayer for April: That Christians may be signs of hope

2009-04-02T22:32:00.002-04:00

That Christians who work in areas where the conditions of the poor, weak, women, and children are most tragic, may be signs of hope, thanks to their courageous testimony to the Gospel of solidarity and love.

Cathedral High School 2009-2010 Calendar

2009-03-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

Maddie entered every date into her phone already.

Time to buy me some Camo-Pants!

2009-03-12T21:30:00.000-04:00

I've always joked about not being able to see someone in camo...now there is a reason for me to buy some!

Motivational Pictures

The Mitchell Family

Molly's new glasses

R??

A Mexican standoff

The standoff: Bert and Punkin'

Video of Molly's Christmas program

Do they allow dogs at your work? Sophie!

Q: Which Bible translation is best?

Ahh...America. 500 people in line to buy electronics at midnight on Thursday.

Nice to see this in the hallway!

The end of an era; The Mitchell Family Blog gets Borged

129 point word on words free - schweet!!

Please congratulate Molly on her election to STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT!

The weirdest meeting I've ever scheduled

Isn't illegal to shoot squirrels with your .410 in Ellettsville?

http://www.kieronmitchell.com/2009/09/its-my-birthday-and-ill-cry-if-i-want.html

Labor day laziness

Figuring out who goes first in small world isn't easy!

Maybe I should buy Maddie this car?

Thanks a lot, family!

How do I change my "most visited page" url links in google chrome?

Don't mind being rained in when it's 77 deg. out!

Don't think so.

No amount of larvae-infested, brackish water can withstand 2 cups of acid, chlorine, and a gallon of bleach.

Vacation turns me into a very happy dude.

Maddie is off to the Harry Potter premier!

Has Molly gone insane?

Ouch - Molly taught me a lesson! Beat me by 10...

I don't think Molly is getting the hang of "Probe"! ;-)

And here is Molly's solo!!

Are you listening?

Maddie and her Germany Family! I hope she doesn't leave us forever for them.

I wanna new drug...

My foursquare archnemisis is losing ground

Alice

This might as well say "don't use me 'cause you're too lazy".

Foursquare benefit #17 - tracking my teenager

Maddie stole my sweatshirt for Germany

Day #5-7 of Sahara Challenge

Ben Schreiber is going to RUE THE DAY he crossed me

Day #4 of Sahara Challenge

Communications efficiency tip #112: GOOD MORNING!

You've just been ousted as the mayor of Mitchell Home!

Day #3 of Sahara Challenge

Day #2 of Sahara Challenge

Sahara Challenge - Day #1

Now I see why kitchens are the most dangerous rooms in the house.

Help name our squirrel! Please reply with a suggestion and I'll pick from among them.

Obama's Dead?

I don't know what these geese want from me!

March Newsletter - Spring, Softball, and Sharia

This is from an article in "thaIndian.com"

Goings on at Crescent Project

The Mitchells

November 2010 Newsletter - Free Jesus DVD

Kieron Mitchell's Monthly Newsletter - November 2010

We have Thanksgiving, Muslims have Eid al-Adha

The Mitchells

Free Stuff (a $15 value)!

Connect with me:

October 2010 Newsletter - Oasis Conference

Cameo of me in "Dust Tactics" by Fantasy Flight Games

In Line at the Local Bakery

Blocked by vegetation on the way home

How can you not have time to pray?

For Here or To Go? Ordering for the Homeless at McDonald's

Military Rescue (warning: Surgery Video)

Tai-Chi Update: Stopping the Class

Love me Tender

Maddie to Speak at Hall of Fame Dinner

Molly's Volleyball Game Schedule

Disaster do-gooders can actually hinder help

Playing a fun game (for me): Nomic

Uber Cool Nerd? Don't think so.

The Mitchells Play The Priest Game

My Tai-Chi school in Indianapolis

The archdiocese has applied to the Mayor’s Office in Indianapolis to create two charter schools

The loss of silence in the culture of Facebook and Twitter

Maddie Walking down the Aisle

Tai chi master hoping his moving medication' cuts health-care costs -- chicagotribune.com

HANDGUN AMMO IS FLYING OFF THE SHELVES