The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

I have to say I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before.

A few weeks ago I first heard about Pete Frates and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  I was watching ESPN and they did a profile on this former Boston College baseball player who was trying to raise awareness on ALS, the disease he contracted a while earlier.  If you haven't seen the original story, it's a must watch.

I was overwhelmed by the power of one man.  Still, it seemed like Pete's challenge would be like so many others.  A heart warming story that came and went with the news cycle.

But it didn't go away.

For whatever reason the challenge has truly gone viral.  Athletes, politicians, actors all jumped on board.

Then it spread.

Moms, Dads, teachers, and even kids all wanted to jump into the act.

Well, long story short.- even my family has gotten into the act.  Last night Kennedy did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  Take a look:

Dede may not fully understand the destructiveness of ALS, but I'm still proud of her for taking the challenge.  I know Tara and I will support the cause of fighting ALS, even if we don't dump buckets of water over our heads.  We both saw how this disease affects families with the death of Tara's Uncle Sterling last year.  Sterling was an amazing man and it was so hard to see him lose his battle with ALS.  The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a powerful movement and I'm glad we've become part of it.

Father's Day 2014

Today was a good day!

I was able to enjoy a nice breakfast.  The kids and Tara served a delicious assortment of my favorite morning treats.  Then it was time for presents - as you can see from the pic it was quite the haul.

Thanks for making my day so special!  It's great to be a dad!

TEDx

I present for a living.

Most of the time I present to groups of teachers in a classroom setting.  But I've presented on stage in front of several hundred people.  I won't say I don't get nervous, but I'm used to sharing my ideas with many people present.  So, when I was approached about a presentation for Canyons School District I didn't think much of it.  Then I learned it was a TEDx event.  That changes everything.

If you've never heard of TED - it is a large conference held in California every Spring.  It's a who's who of speakers - former presidents, CEO's, major celebrities.  The conference has gotten so large that they've franchised out their name for groups to create their own startup conferences - TEDx.  This is where I come in.  There's no way to get an invite for the real event, but TEDx is gaining steam in the education world.  Still, this was the first TEDx event for a school district in Utah.

I was as nervous as I've ever been presenting.  Even though I knew what I wanted to say the stakes are definitely raised when you think that TEDx events are recorded and shared as part of the TED YouTube channel.   In the end, I'm so glad I presented.  I don't know if my little talk will change the world, but it helped me feel like I was part of something that's bigger than I am.

Ever since I watched my first TED talk I knew I wanted to participate in someway, shape, or form.  Now I can say - I'm a TED speaker (sort of).

If you want to watch the presentation here it is:

Sidewalk Art and More

We needed to break out of the summer blues today. After a full morning of working in the yard, Tara and I decided it was time for a break. After a full morning of watching tv, Dylan needed a break as well. So, we grabbed Quinn and Coleton and headed downtown. Today was the Foster Care Foundation annual Chalk Art Festival. It was great. Cool artwork was everywhere. It was amazing to see the ground transformed into some incredible artwork - Toy Story, Oz, Minions, and more - oh my!

After seeing the artwork, we walked over to the plaza at the Gateway and the kids played in the splashpad til they dropped. A great break from a busy day!

On the Road

Over the past six months I've traveled to several different states to promote Going Google.  So far, I've presented in Idaho, Missouri, Tennessee, and now you can add Wyoming to the list.   I know it isn't that far from SLC to Rock Springs, but it was fun to present to a new group of teachers.  Even better this trip was part of my duties on the UCET board.   Robert, Kelly, and I packed up the van and headed east for a fun filled night in good ol' Wyo.

I am impressed with the talent they assembled for this two day conference.  They had several big name speakers (ok, so they're only big names in the ed tech world) including David Warlick, Kevin Honeycutt, and Alan November.  I've heard all three speak at different venues from around the country and it was kinda fun being on the same docket they were.

The conference was quick, just two days and then we were heading back to Utah.  I'm not sure if much will come of my presentations, but I'm glad I got to spend some time with good teachers and good friends at Wytecc 13'.

Tuff Shed or Man Cave?

For years I've wanted to own a Tuff Shed.

We have some storage inside our carport shed, but it always overflowing with the kids stuff.  Whether it is bikes, scooters, or other assorted kids' equipment there wasn't ever any room in the shed for my stuff. There certainly wasn't enough room to work on outdoor projects in or near the shed.

So, I've looked at the different sheds at Home Depot for the past couple of years.  Tara and I have discussed the idea of buying one, but it never seemed to fit into the budget.  Either there was a major home repair or an everyday emergency that required any extra money I was saving for the shed.

Finally the time was right.  Our tax return was available and there wasn't anything that "came up" at the last minute.  We bought a demo model from the Depot and, at long last, I had my shed.

Once the shed was installed I quickly started putting it together.  First came the mower, then the ladder, and finally all the garden tools.  After a a few days we finished the wiring and installed some outlets and a couple of lights.  Everything was starting to come together.

The final step was reworking the rock path in front of the new shed.  We've had a flagstone path on that side of the house for a few years, but it needed a major makeover.  We dug out all the rocks, worked the dirt, and added some gravel to fill out our path.  It turned out great.

Now that everything is done I've spent quite a bit of time outside.  So, I guess my real question is:  Did I finally get  a shed or have I created an outdoor man cave?

Let There be Light

One of the things I hate most about an older home is how dark they are.  I guess people in the 50's didn't really like overhead lighting.  Several of the rooms in my house are under lit and the living room is just plain dark.  For the past few years I've been planning to put in recessed lighting in our main room - it just never seemed to happen for whatever reason.  That all ended last weekend.

I borrowed some tools, chalked the ceiling, squeezed into the attic - and created one huge mess!  In spite of my outbursts, a little colorful language, and one major mistake.  The lights are in and they look good.  Shining a little light on the room has changed everything about it.  I think there should be a metaphor in there somewhere, but we'll settle for being able to see for now.

UCET 2013

At UCET last year I had the weight of the entire conference resting on my shoulders.  As president, I had spent months preparing for each little detail that may come up the two day event.  Then, my term  ended.

I could exhale.

I could stop and smell the roses.

I could get ready to do it all over again.

We just concluded this year's UCET conference and I had a total blast.  It was so much fun to see colleagues from around the state.  To learn new ideas and ways to integrate technology.  To teach and share some of my stuff with the teachers of Utah.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the conference.

One of the best parts of being involved  with the organization is the chance to work with good friends.  In fact, one of my best friends, Robert, was this year's UCET president.  A couple of years ago we made a pact.  I would serve as president one year and he would follow the year after.  It was great working together and I think we carried on the tradition of excellence at UCET.

As part of the conference Robert and I took on the roles of the Tool Man and his faithful assistant Al.  I bet you can guess pretty quickly which part I got.   Sometimes you get typecast for having a beard.  The spoof we were in was a classic.  Bad puns, terrible acting, and a great time.

So our busy season is over for a time.  I hope everyone else learned as much and had as good an experience at UCET 2013 as I did.  Let's do it again - say 12 months from now....

Check out UCET's Tool Time

Keep Austin Weird

As part of my trip to SXSWedu I'd been going out and seeing the sights of Austin with one of my coworkers.  We'd been to several restaurants, visited some historical sights, and people watched with the best of them.  We thought we were just about done with sight seeing.  Until I started checking out Yelp under Things you can't miss.  That led us to earlier tonight when Mindy and I exchanged the following texts:

So, do you want to get something to eat?

Not sure.  Not really hungry.

Ok - do we want to go out and see anything?

Museum of the Weird.

I'm in!

We headed back down to 6th Street and straight to the Museum of the Weird.  It certainly lived up to it's name.  A shop of curiosities - there were all kinds of shirts, banners, posters, games, and stuff that was just plain weird.  We quickly realized that the reason we were there was to take a tour of the truly weird museum at the back of the store.

We saw it all.  Shrunken heads, fossilized Big Foot prints, wax figures from famous horror movies. This place was just crazy.  As we ended our tour through the exhibits the final show was about to begin.

Richard, a local performer, asked if we wanted to see the rest of the show upstairs.  Normally, I'm not one to head upstairs with strange people, but curiosity got the better of me.  I'm glad I went.

In the loft of the museum were several additional movie props, including a huge figure of King Kong.  Very cool.  The real highlight was Richard himself.  He was a personable fellow who immediately engaged us in conversation.  Upon learning we were from Utah he proclaimed:

UTAH!  I love Utah!  You must be Mormons.  I love Mormons.  I want to move to Utah to become a Mormon.

It's not everyday you hear someone say those words.  Turns out Richard has performed at the Utah State Fair for several years and is completely taken with our clean city and style of living.  We encouraged him to come on out and become a Mormon in Utah.  After a little more small talk Richard took to the stage to perform.

He pulled out a large black case.

Opened it.

And removed a two foot sword.

A real one

And then...

You guessed it.

He swallowed the sword.

No gimmick.

Down the hatch.

It was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed live.  He did it twice and both times I couldn't close my eyes.  It was incredible.

The Museum of the Weird certainly lived up to its billing.  Although I think the weirdest thing was meeting a guy who wanted to move to Utah to become a Mormon.

38

I'm not sure if it's just me but 38 doesn't really inspire any emotions.

I do enjoy that I'm older than most of the professional athletes I watch on tv.

I like to think that I'm still younger than most of the power brokers that make the world go round.

I know that I'll never make the Top 30 Under 30 list and my time is dwindling on making a list for Under 40.

Still, I am really comfortable with where I'm at in life right now.  I like being 38 - it seems to fit.

It's even better when people give me presents.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

In October I felt a bit like a traveling salesman.  It seemed as though I was on the road the entire month attending conferences as a way to promote Going Google.  This month I traveled over 6400 miles as I went to Hailey, ID, St. Louis, MO, and Memphis, TN.

It was a fun experience to present to teachers from around the county, but I don't think that life on the road is for me.  I missed a lot of Halloween events with the kids and spent a lot of lonely nights in hotel rooms.

Here's a look at each stop on my trip:

Hailey, ID - Techotberfest. My first stop was up in Hailey for a district technology conference. They found out about me from my ISTE presentation and were looking to share some ideas for using Google with their teachers. Since the conference was close I packed up the XTerra and headed up to Idaho. Hailey is a small town located just south of Sun Valley. It was a little bit like Park City, only a lot smaller. I had trouble finding places to eat that weren't up scale dining. The conference had about 1000 teachers and I was able to teach a few hundred of them over the course of the two days.

Two big takeaways - It was cold! The temperature both days never got out of the low 50's and you felt it. I made the ultimate sacrifice for this trip. I gave up my tickets to the Utes/USC game. Rather than being in the friendly confines of Rice Eccles Stadium, I was curled up watching the game from the AmericInn in Hailey. I guess it didn't matter since the Utes lost, but I really wanted to attend that game. Such is life for the traveling salesman.

Memphis,TN - Corwin Common Core Institute. A couple weeks later I headed off to the South to attend a conference sponsored by my publisher. Corwin brought in authors from around the country to present at the two day event and somehow I was asked to be part of the conference. I have to say I felt like a small fish in a big pond in Memphis. Many of the authors were very acclaimed and I've heard several of them speak at conferences before. Even so, I was so impressed with how open everyone was to me. The other authors were very nice and involved me in the conversations. I think they were interested in a guy from Utah, since they assumed I was a Mormon and a Romney supporter (they were half right). I tried my best to be myself and I hope things went well.

Two big takeaways - Presenting in the South is way different than in the West. I've had people respond excitedly when I've shown a new teaching trick before, but this was the first time I've ever head people cheer. I could get used to that.

My highlight from the trip was visiting the Civil Rights museum. This was the old Lorraine motel in Memphis, otherwise known as the site of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. They've taken the motel and turned it into an impressive memorial to the slain leader. I got there too late to get inside the museum, but I was overwhelmed to be at the site and feel the history. MLK is a hero of mine and I'll always remember this part of my trip.

St. Louis, MO - NETA Conference. After a month of being on the road my last stop was in St. Louis. I've been to the NETA Conference several times as part of my work before and it's always enjoyable. The people are great and it's fun to be share some different sessions than the norm. With the audience being made up of public TV folks, my presentation was "Using Google Tools for Station Awesomeness". It was fun to present with a my friend Jamie from Orange County and I think our session went well.

Two big takeaways - Never agree to travel again over Halloween. I wasn't even part of the holiday with my kids this year. Sure, I got to see the photos and we talked on the phone, but I completely missed Halloween this year and there aren't that many chances to celebrate my kids being KIDS. I won't do it again.

St. Louis is a pretty cool town. I've been there before when I was a kid and I couldn't remember a thing. Going back as an adult was a fun experience. When we visited the Arch I couldn't believe what an amazing feat of engineering that is. I am always impressed when you see how large structures are created, especially with the equipment of the past. If you haven't seen the St. Louis Arch it's totally worth it.

So, my month as a traveling salesman ended. I don't know that it increased my net worth as books don't make you rich unless your name is Stephanie Meyer or J.K. Rowling. Still, I think this month was about building relationships and trying new things. I know I met some terrific people and saw some places that were new to me.

The Secret Word is KEYNOTE

When I finished writing Going Google I knew there was a possibility that the book might help open up some new doors for me professionally.  In the education world having a book to your credit is a nice sign of credibility.  It seems like the years of hard work are starting to pay off.

A couple of months ago the Utah Rural Schools Association (URSA) had a cancelation for one of their keynote presenters.  Now, I've presented at this conference for years, but never had the chance to share on the big stage.  It's amazing how things fell into place.  I was asked to give the Friday morning keynote in front of the entire audience of conference goers.

Normally, my presentations focus on technology tools and how they can be used in the classroom.  While the keynote still has a lot of that content, it is more important to inspire the crowd and help energize them as teachers.  Let's just say I was incredibly nervous that I could come up with a presentation that could accomplish that.  I spent days pouring over different stories, videos, and brainstorming with friends.

In the end, everything worked out pretty well.  I was able to share the presentation and I didn't get booed off the stage.  Not bad for a first effort.  Let's just hope I didn't close any future doors by my performance.

Bouncing Away

One of the many things I've learned while parenting is to be flexible.  I had a lot of ideas before we had kids about the types of activities that were acceptable and some that weren't.  Before having kids I never imagined buying a trampoline.  No way - too dangerous.  I didn't want to be the house where all the kids got hurt and we had to deal with angry parents.

Then we were offered on a free tramp.  Our neighbors had bought a new trampoline and were looking to unload their old one.  We decided to have a family vote, with the results  being 4-1 I knew it was time.  Little did I know how much the kids would love it.  They were outside all the time, away from TV, away from video games - being kids.

So when the tramp died a couple weeks ago (big tear down the side) we had a choice to make.  Would we buy a replacement trampoline?  It would go against my pre-children ideas of acceptable play.  I would be a flip-flopper who changes his opinions when it was expedient.  Could I become a tramp guy?

Big deal.

In the end, I loved the idea of a family activity that gets us outside and off the couch.  Any time you can be active and get a little exercise it's worth it.  Plus, I love watching the kids jump.  They have the best time.  I'm sure someone will get hurt eventually, but I always tell my kids to "get busy living" and now we're bouncing away the days.

The Streak is Over

I have been driving for over 20 years. There have been momentary lapses of judgement. I ran a stop sign once. Made a few illegal turns. Had a broken tail light. I have never been cited for a traffic violation. Never, that is, until today.

I was headed out to a workshop at Copper Hills High School and I was going too fast. I knew I was speeding, but I didn't know what the speed limit was. As I saw the flashing lights I knew I was in trouble.

I thought I might get a break since I was driving a state vehicle and haven't ever gotten a ticket before.  No such luck.  I was going 15 miles an hour over the limit (I learned that I was in a 35 mile an hour zone)

The streak ended as I was ticketed for driving 44 MPH in a 35 zone. The cop did give a break for a good record - super!  It's killing me. I am a total grandma driver and now I have a speeding ticket. ARGH!

Moderate Home Makeover

Not to be confused with the popular show on ABC, we had our own little home makeover recently.  Painting the house has been on my "Honey Do" list for the past three years or so, but I never really had the time to commit to such a project.  Once I finally finished working on the book I knew my excuses were coming to an end.  The problem is I still didn't really want to paint the house.

Still, I figure my time had come and I prepared to get started on the project.  Tara came and said we should bid out the job and see how much it would cost to turn things over to a professional.  As lazy as I am, I'm even cheaper and knew the bids would come in around $3000 or so.   I decided to let Tara do the leg work and find a few bids on the job.

First Bid - $3500
Second Bid - $2500
Third Bid - $2300

I could tell we were moving closer and closer to painting the house ourselves when I checked out KSL.com for a final bid.  It was a one man operation and we thought we'd try one last time.

Fourth Bid - $1150

What?!  I had already priced out the paint and supplies and they came to around $600.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  We decided to roll the dice and took the cheapest bid.  A week later and our home was transformed.....

 

One More Step

One of the lessons we try to teach our kids is to "Try Hard Things".  I know the world is full of people who don't live up to this mantra, and truthfully, there are plenty of times in my own life that I have avoided something because it sounded too hard.  When the opportunity arose yesterday to hike Mt. Olympus with the scouts I knew I had to go back and do it again.

I hiked Mt. Olympus 5 or 6 years ago for a similar purpose.  I was working with the Young Men and several of the Priests wanted to scale the peak.  It was a hard hike, I actually cramped several times on the way due to a lack of water and training.  But I made it.  Yesterday I wanted to prove to myself that I could make it again.

I know there are several of you out there for whom hiking Mt. Olympus is a breeze.  A fun little climb to see the valley.  I wish I was part of your world, but for me, Olympus is a beast.  The 4000 foot ascent to the top brought fire to my lungs and made me realize how out of shape I am.  The last 1000 feet to the saddle I was truly gutting it out.  I just kept saying - "One more step.  Just go to that tree." The climb isn't straight up, but it is pretty vertical.

Just when you get to the saddle and you think you've had enough - then it's time for the rock climb up to the summit.  I have to imagine they have been plenty of people who've stopped at the saddle, a feat in and of itself just to get that far.  The challenge is, once you've climbed to 8300 feet, don't you have to go the extra 1000 feet to meet the goal?  I know that's how I was yesterday.  To get that far and not summit,  wasn't an option.  So I cowboyed up and made it to the top.  It was awesome!  There is something special about challenging yourself and rising to meet the bar.

For most the journey to the top is probably the hardest part of any climb.  I don't think that is the case with Olympus.  Going down is just as hard!  Imagine dropping the same 4000 feet in 3 miles.  Your feet are crammed into the toes of your shoes and the decline puts tremendous pressure on your feet.  It didn't help our cause that our journey down was slowed by injury.  It took us a little longer than expected to get back to the parking lot, but it was a welcome sight!

My highlight of the day was having two of my scouts go on the hike.  Daniel and Anthony didn't really want to go yesterday.  They were tired from getting up at 4:30 am to do baptisms for the dead and the thought of spending the day hiking a mountain was pretty rough.  Still, they went.  Daniel actually summited the mountain and I think he learned a lot about himself.  If I thought the hike was hard, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him.  But he perserved, and he proved to himself that he can do hard things.  What a great lesson for a 12 year old!  BTW - Anthony was a big time stud as well, but I didn't hike with him as he went down with the first group so he could get down for a party.

I'm glad I went back to Olympus.  It tested my endurance and will.  It showed my that I can do hard things.  It was fun to go with several of my neighbors and awesome to challenge my scouts.  I know I'll certainly feel the hike tomorrow, but for now, I can only bask in the glow of accomplishment.  I'll take it!

Working Girl

For the past month or so Kennedy has had a request - to go with me to work.  I don't know what the appeal is to go up to my cubical and sit around for a few hours, but she was insistent.  With the kids home for Spring Break this week, the time was right and Miss Dede came to UEN.

It ended up being a pretty fun day.  Mindy also had her daughter at the office, so the girls passed notes back and forth for most of the morning.  Kennedy was quite elaborate in her note-making, using colored paper, post-its, and glue to create a model of the office.

After a few hours of work it was time to call it a day (there's no way you're getting in a full 8 hours with your kids at the office) and we headed downtown for lunch.  Dede has been begging to eat at Chick Fil A, so we went to the new City Creek Mall to eat at the food court.  That mall is amazing - and crowded!  It's been a while since I've been part of a crowd that large!  Still, it was unreal to see all the neat features of the mall.

Our day ended as Kennedy and I rode Trax home.  It was a fun day and great to have a cubie buddy come with me to the office.  Thanks for a day away from the ordinary Kennedy!

Casual Sunday

This is the best way to attend church!

Wrong Papa

A few days ago I posted the following image to Facebook:

It was a picture of my grandfather at the National Mineworkers Convention of 1932, held in Indiana. I recently got an email from my uncle where the image was found on a mining website. I didn't think much of posting it to FB, but it quickly got a few responses.

The only thing about it is - all the comments came from my Haycock cousins. Unfortunately, the picture is of my Grandpa Covili, not my Grandpa Haycock. Not sure I have the heart to break the truth to my Haycock cousins....

Going for the Gold

A couple years ago I ran for president of an organization that I'm involved with locally.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when you run for president - at some point you actually have to serve as president.  This was my year to fulfill my obligations, so it was time to "put up or shut up."

UCET has been growing every year I've been involved.  It really is a great conference and word of mouth keeps us on an upward trend.  I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't see a drop off on my watch.  We marketed to principals, school districts, even a few legislators to get new people to join with us.  Everything was moving forward, and it appeared like a record attendance was going to occur.

Then Mother Nature reared her ugly face.  It hasn't really snowed all winter and the night before our conference it snowed about 7 inches.  Can you believe it?!  It certainly slowed us down, but it didn't halt our progress.  In spite of the weather the crowds still came and we had a turnout of approximately 1250.

As president, I was in charge of the opening session and the two keynote speakers.  I wanted to shake things up a bit and have something more than a traditional presidential address.  A few months ago I enlisted Katie from the Canyons District to help us with a flash mob to kick off the conference.  I gave her two suggestions - let's do something like the intro to an awards show and it should follow the Go For the Gold theme.  I said I was willing to do anything she had in my mind - little did I know she would take me up on the offer.

Katie created a theme song to the conference and enlisted about 30 people to be part of the flash mob.  She scripted a movie where the members of the UCET board would engage in a "tech olympics" while singing the chorus of the song.  I was asked to sing along while wearing a track suit and headband.  At the end of the flash mob I would enter the auditorium while carrying an olympic torch (ipad with the lighter app).  Wow - this was something we'd never seen before and I know it will go down as my legacy for the organization.  Take a look...



The other major part of my duties was to arrange for keynote speakers - the first was a no-brainer.  Rushton Hurley may not be a household name to most of you, but I knew he was a perfect open to our conference.  Rushton is a teacher and technology-innovator from the Bay area.  I first heard him speak a couple years ago and I wanted him to come to UCET.  His presentation was perfect and put us on the right track for our day of technology classes.

Our closing keynote was a bit of a stretch.  I wanted Rulon Gardner as part of our conference.  I know many people out there can't forgive him for quitting The Biggest Loser.  Big deal!   I could care less about his being on a reality TV show.  Rulon Gardner is a two-time Olympic medalist and he had the biggest upset in recent memory in the gold medal match from 2000.  I knew he would be great and he didn't disappoint.  He encouraged teachers to reach out to their students and help them go for the gold.

Another great moment for me at the conference was getting my sister Alicia to be part of the event.  I know she isn't a technologist or a teacher, but her workshop on helping women with their self-image and wardrobe is something I wanted at the conference.  Alicia spoke to a full room of teachers, all women, and one proud brother.  It was fun to have her participate and we really enjoyed spending the afternoon together at the conference.

The two days of the conference were long and busy, but before I knew it, UCET was over.  All the hard work was done.  My term as president was complete.  I can't say how everyone felt about UCET 2012, but it was one I'll never forget.  The board went above and beyond in sharing their time and energy.  The presenters were incredible.  Everyone contributed to making the conference a huge success and it really did achieve the Gold.