Book Review: Crucial Conversations

One of my goals at work this year was to read the book, "Crucial Conversations" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler. "Crucial Conversations" tackles the topic of how to maintain your cool and progress through meaningful dialogue when the stakes are high and emotions are running higher. This is definitely a talent I could use, and I understand why my boss gave me this goal.

I thought this was a good book, though it did take me more than a month to get through. As with any non-fun book, it read a lot slower than "Harry Potter" or "Percy Jackson." And...well...I didn't read it for 2-3 hours every night like I would those type of books. But, it was good reading. I learned a lot, and I think I picked up some good strategies that I can apply. In fact, I think that I will have to use some of these strategies to get through some difficult meetings when work resumes on January 4th. Yes, that's right, I'm off work until January 4th...woohoo. I've already successfully applied some of these strategies in conversations with my wife, and these conversations went significantly better than history would indicate they should have gone.

If you think you need to work on your conversation skills because you find you struggle to get your meaning on the table when emotions run high, or you tend to lose control when the stakes rise, I think "Crucial Conversations" would help you. I'm going to get made fun of by a lot of the people I work with who read this blog, but I'm really glad I got assigned this book as a goal.

Movie Review: Avalon High

I have a weak spot for many things in my life. Buffalo Wings, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and lightweight golf shirts...to name just three. Well, a couple of other weaknesses are Cheesy Feel Good Disney Movies and King Arthur stories. Add to that, the fact that I thought the Patriots/Packers game last night would be a blow out, I wanted to try out the Netflix streaming on my new TV now that I have 3 Mbps speed at home and the fact that I was feeling ultra lazy...well let's just say we had the perfect storm of circumstances to prompt me to watch Disney's "Avalon High."

Frankly, this was just an average Disney movie, so I won't spend much time on it. The story was a bit weak, though it did throw two plot twists at me, and I really only saw one of them coming. The lead actress was actually pretty good, but the rest of the cast was just average, which was surprising considering Molly Quinn, from "Castle" was part of that cast. I guess it just wasn't a great role for her. Overall, "Avalon High" is a 3 star movie...maybe trending towards 2.8.

The Netflix streaming, on the other hand, was terrific. I experienced near HD quality from my streaming video. Everything loaded up very quickly and it was extremely easy to use. This is going to be a great way to take better advantage of my Netflix subscription. Oh, and the Patriots/Packers game ended up being a nail biter. The Patriots won 31-27...guess maybe I should have watched that...or, you know, done something productive with my life.

TV Series Review: Castle, Season 2

My wife and I slowly made our way through the 5 discs of season 2 of "Castle". We finished last night. We kept each disc for about a week, which is why there haven't been any movie or TV reviews lately. Though, with my new TV and the Netflix app on the TV, I see more reviews in the future.

"Castle" is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows. In fact, I'm debating whether it is better than "Psych", but right now, I think it's a close second to "Psych". "Castle" stars Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a mystery writer who is following NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) around, because she is the muse for his new book series. With the success of the first book, Castle is back with Beckett for another season of solving murders and playful banter.

The cast of "Castle" is just terrific. Nathan Fillion is one of my favorite TV actors, ever since "Firefly." Stana Katic, who I'd only seen in a "Librarian" movie before this is really good as Detective Beckett. At home for Castle is his teenage daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn) and his sometimes live-in mother Martha (Susan Sullivan). They add a nice dimension to the show without overwhelming it.

Each episode is interesting, but usually either my wife or I has pegged the murderer by the end, so it can be somewhat predictable. What keeps the show good is the banter between Castle and Beckett and the side story that is usually going on in the Castle home. The semi-predictability of the plot doesn't ruin it is my point.

This is just a really good TV show...5 stars! I can't wait to watch season 3...and the best part is, I have 10 episodes of season 3 waiting on the DVR.

Banishment!

Our first Christmas as a married couple was an exciting one. We had been married almost 12 months, and we were expecting our first child in early December. Around Thanksgiving that year, my wife and I went to K-Mart in Brookings, SD to purchase a small Christmas tree, some lights and some basic ornaments. We were unable to go visit family because my wife was due in about 2 weeks. At K-Mart, we bought a Denver Broncos tree ornament, among other things, that I have proudly hung on our tree for the last 10 years.

This year, I banished that ornament. I find that I am so disappointed by the Denver Broncos organization that I couldn't bring myself to put it up. It's not just that they are losing, but it's the way the organization has conducted itself since the firing of Mike Shanahan. Bad decisions, bad examples on the field, and a cheating scandal off of it. I thought there was nothing that could ever taint my love for my team, but it's tainted this year. I still care, but I find that they are just disappointing me too much, so I have sort of shut down so as not to open myself up to further hurt, shame and disappointment.

I know, I know, some of you are saying, "Jake, you told me you were working on caring less about sports," which is totally true. I didn't cry or curl up in the fetal position or anything. I just made a rational decision to banish the ornament for this Christmas. I do sincerely hope that the Denver Broncos get their act together and earn my trust again. When they do that, the ornament will return to my tree. Until then, it will remain in a cardboard box in my cold garage.

The Art of Scrambled Eggs

Who knew I had been making scrambled eggs wrong my entire life? Today we had another family over after church for brunch. The husband/father of this family is one of my chief mentors in cooking. In fact, my father-in-law getting me hooked on Food Network, and this friend's cooking are probably the 2 biggest influences in me wanting to cook more.

So, for today's meal, my wife made a French Toast Casserole, which was awesome, by the way. I was in charge of eggs and bacon...pretty easy stuff. So, I was mixing the eggs for the scrambled eggs like I always do, and my friend said that I needed to me more aggressive. He then took the bowl and the whisk and demonstrated for me. The point of the more aggressive whisking is to get air into the eggs, making them more light and fluffy. He actually tilted the bowl and created an egg whisking vortex. It was magical! Who knew there was such an art to this stuff?

For the 2nd batch of eggs, I applied this method (not nearly as well), and they were the best scrambled eggs I had ever made. They were light and fluffy, and the most yellow scrambled eggs I had ever made...apparently I had never gotten them really well mixed before.

I know this friend reads my blog sometime, so thanks for the continued tips and techniques in cooking.

Life is Good

Why you may ask? Well, because today, my mother-in-law bought us a 42" LG LED-LCD TV. With 1080p capability and a 120 Hz refresh rate, this TV is everything I've ever wanted in a television. I finished hooking it up, and the picture is fantastic. I also picked up an LG BluRay DVD player...didn't buy any BluRay discs though. But, I put in a normal DVD and the picture was outstanding.

The only thing that I haven't been thrilled with so far is the Internet connectivity. I can't get the wireless Internet to connect to it, and I don't have a cable in my living room that I can run to it. I will be calling the Geek Squad about that, because the TV is Netflix capable, so once I get the Internet connected, we can watch Netflix movies on live streaming.

I went with LG because my younger brother has an LG TV that he said he loves, and a coworker recently got an LG TV that he swears by. Plus, it seemed to have the best picture of the 42" TVs on the Wall o' TVs at Best Buy. I'm very happy with this TV and looking forward to years of viewing in full 1080p.

Another Coach Fired

I know that most people who read this blog don't care about sports or the Denver Broncos, so, you can stop reading now if you don't care. Please return for my next post though.

Today my favorite NFL team, the Denver Broncos fired 2nd year head coach Josh McDaniels, with 4 games left this season. McDaniels was 11-17 in 2 years, but started 6-0 last season, so if you do the math, he has won only 5 of his last 22 games. That won't git 'r done.

On top of this, McDaniels has made several personnel blunders, and had an embarrassing video scandal, in which his lead video man was caught video taping the San Francisco 49ers practice. McDaniels claims he never watched the video, but he also didn't report the incident. All of this added up to Broncos owner Pat Bowlen firing McDaniels today, even though McDaniels is owed $7 million more, and Bowlen still owes previous coach Mike Shanahan some money too.

This is an expensive decision for the Broncos, but one that had to be made. As much as I hate to see a guy lose his job, McDaniels had to go. He wasn't winning football games, sure, but it wasn't just that. He is hated in Denver for his perceived arrogance and his personnel decisions. He traded away fan favorite Peyton Hillis, who is now having a Pro Bowl season with the Cleveland Browns. In fact, he's gotten rid of most of Mike Shanahan's players, in favor of "his type of guys." McDaniels has made wrong move after wrong move, and it caught up with him today.

Josh McDaniels is a young man at 34. He was in way over his head. I'm sure he'll get another job as a position coach or coordinator somewhere. With more maturity, he may even get another head coaching job. His fiery attitude would actually be perfect for the college game. Basically, the man will be ok.

The Broncos, on the other hand, are another story. The team lost a lot of good will with its fan base over the last 2 seasons. They are depleted in talent, to the point where I don't think they can be successful for 3 to 4 more seasons, which is an eternity in today's NFL. This season is a complete loss, and whoever the coach is next season has a daunting task. Luckily, it's just a game and life moves on.