Every afternoon, I empty my pockets of stuff like smartphones*, mints, security badge and scraps of paper. Obviously, I'm very cluttered with my junk when I travel. Here's my Sheraton Metairie New Orleans desktop...
This week, I'm using a HTC smartphone and an AT&T issued Blackjack II for company emails; reading a great book - The Back of the Napkin (solving problems and selling ideas with pictures).
I'm heading to New Orleans for a couple days of work - My peer promised to take me to the Ninth Ward for a tour. I haven't been to the Crescent City since 1996 since the Promise Keepers Men's Conference at the Superdome.
I'm not a big fan of the French Quarter or MardiGras; I'm more interested in talking to the residents how they have coped in the midst of challenges of piecing their lives back together. 
I'm wondering how the rebuilding process is moving along; the relief work I was part of during the Hurricane Rita damage while in Sulphur, LA for TN Baptist Disaster Relief trip Oct 11-15, 2005 was a life changer for me - especially how one person can make a difference versus sitting on a couch or a pew.
Photos of Chainsaw Relief Crew at Work
I was working in downtown Atlanta today and decided to visit IKEA. I've heard a lot about the place and the grassroots efforts to have a IKEA located in Nashville. I've put together some bookshelves before and even have a catalog that my son mailed from Seattle.
No doubt IKEA was a sprawling complex from the underground parking to the wide open showroom configurations of ready to buy kitchen, living room and bedroom bundles. It reminded me of a Target like, Rooms to Go, Sam's Club shopping experience hybrid.
Still, I was not moved to buy anything. Perhaps I was disappointed with the home office setups, or the one piece that would fit well into my existing hodgepodge of a Norwalk desk, cables, and homemade furniture along with a massive display table from a clothing store that measures 48 by 60.
I walked away feeling somewhat proud of not buying anything for the sake of spending money, but yet didn't see what what all the fuss was about.
It had to be my hurting feet...
This Sunday morning, I woke up to a site that has absolutely inspired me to revisit my kid's photos!
Back in my day, I remember maybe 6 photos of myself at best; with my kids, I've got shoeboxes full of photos. Gary and Megan, I'll see you in June for some fun photos.
Basically, you recreate imitating an old childhood photo. 
Check out colorwar2008 for all of the great submissions...
I'm down here in Atlanta working away and training in my new gig with a three letter telecommunications conglomerate... which I share about when I get back in Nashville.
Meanwhile, what do seven guys do for eats? Easy! Bar-B-Que Ribs:
1/2 rack of ribs, spicy sauce, Brunswick Stew and a pitcher of Sam Adam's to wash it down with...
Whenever I travel, I struggle with carrying far too many clothes. I have yet to crack the code for carry on luggage. I remember on one trip my roommate packed one jacket, a pair of pants and two shirts to last five days. There’s no way I could go for that – I need to have a change of outfits at a 1.5 ratio per day! On my last trip, my luggage was delayed for two days; by then my jeans were standing straight up. Now look at this picture; granted I am on the road for an extended work trip, but I have to get a better grip on the amount of gear I carry. Do I need help or do all road worthy gadget lovers carry this much stuff?
(see the comments over at GearDiary.com
One of the great thrills about music (and YouTube) is discovering a new artist. It's rare to find them on the radio... I forget how I found Sophie Zelmani, and her song "Hard to Know", but I like this clip:
Sophie Zelmani and Freddie Wadling "Once"
Here's the flip side of a gift from a friend who went home to the Lord two years ago. Carved from a bar of Dial soap while he was in prison, it is one of our most prized possessions.
Holy Week
Quotations to stir heart and mind.
Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman
IN THE CROSS IS SALVATION, in the Cross is life, in the Cross is protection from our enemies, in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the Cross is strength of mind, in the Cross is joy of spirit, in the Cross is the height of virtue, in the Cross is perfection of sanctity. There is no salvation of the soul, nor hope of everlasting life, but in the Cross.
Thomas Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
HE DIED, but he vanquished death; in himself, he put an end to what we feared; he took it upon himself, and he vanquished it; as a mighty hunter, he captured and slew the lion.
Where is death? Seek it in Christ, for it exists no longer; but it did exist, and now it is dead. O life, O death of death! Be of good heart; it will die in us also. What has taken place in our head will take place in his members; death will die in us also. But when? At the end of the world, at the resurrection of the dead in which we believe and concerning which we do not doubt.
Augustine, Sermon 233
THERE IS WONDERFUL POWER in the Cross of Christ. It has power to wake the dullest conscience and melt the hardest heart, to cleanse the unclean, to reconcile him who is afar off and restore him to fellowship with God, to redeem the prisoner from his bondage and lift the pauper from the dunghill, to break down the barriers which divide [people] from one another, to transform our wayward characters into the image of Christ and finally make us fit to stand in white robes before the throne of God.
John Stott, The Preacher's Portrait
EASTER is not the celebration of a past event. The alleluia is not for what was; Easter proclaims a beginning which has already decided the remotest future. The Resurrection means that the beginning of glory has already started.
Karl Rahner, Everyday Faith
Copyright 2006 Christianity Today
I'D ALWAYS KNOWN, in one place in my throat, how Jesus must have cried in the garden--crying not to die, because there was no fear of death, and not to leave his friends, because he walked alone, and not to suffer, because the blood and bruises and thorns were part of his perfection--but crying because he could not find his Father's face, because when he would suffer all that he could bear, the pain of every person, living and dead, in that dark moment, there was really nobody there.
Paul Shepherd, More Like Not Running Away: A Novel
Downtown Nashville - capturing the rich tapestry of the downtown landscape on canvas...
Not being Irish, I was taken aback by meeting / encountering a leprechaun ...
