Race Day!

When my son Jackson (Jackie) came home and told us that the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby was coming up, we kicked it into high gear! Since our Cub Scout Pack is very small, the Cub Master invited our younger boys (Carson & Andan) and their cousins (Brendan & Apollo) to participate too!

The first priority was to call my Dad (aka Grandpa) and schedule some wood working time in his workshop. To my surprise, my brother Brian and his son Apollo beat us to it! They were already cutting and sanding when we showed up! Doh! Looks like this is getting pretty serious!


Grandma made a wonderful dinner and Grandpa and I (mostly Grandpa) helped the boys design, cut out, and sand & shape their cars.



Excitement filled the air as those blocks of wood began to take shape.


When I was a kid, my Dad handed me the block of wood and a piece of sand paper and said "there's a car in there...just sand away everything that's not a car." Ugh! Needless to say, I decided to go with a "boxy" body design that year.

Now that Dad has all these great woodworking tools and with his expertise, making these cars was MUCH more fun!



When the first coat of paint was applied, the boys were thrilled!



Visions of our cars speeding across the finish line in first place began to fill our minds. "Your going DOWN!" I said to my brother...and the thus the trash talk began!



Even my Herbie car started to take shape!



Waiting for the cars to dry seemed to take forever!



Adding the windshields, mufflers, stickers, and wheels was like adding icing to the cake. The cars just looked better and better! I called my brother and told him that the cars were looking good and $78 at Ace Hardware said they were going to be fast too! A healthy supply of graphite, a wheel mandrel kit, and a special axel kit would ensure first place for one of us for sure!

The trash talk between my brother and I just grew and grew. Talk of his "Redemption" car grew and grew. It sounded pretty legendary. My brother-in-law got into it too. Before long, the stories of his Optimus Prime truck started to grow. This was looking like it was going to be a battle for the ages!



The day of the race finally came! Kathy made a huge dinner for the whole family. My brother Brian brought dessert...Humble Pie. He said that his "Redemption" car was going to be serving up plenty of that for everyone! Then he unveiled his car (whoops! I mean, his boy, Apollo's car!)...



I must say, I was very curious to see it!



The fog poured out of the case when he opened it and the headlights of his car cut through the fog like a laser! It was definitely intimidating! We all let out a collective gasp. I must admit, it was an impressive showing. Kathy grabbed the knife and said "I'm not ashamed...I'm going to eat some Humble Pie right now. Anybody want some dessert?"



My sister Kim and her family came for dinner. Their Optimus Prime truck was pretty amazing too!



Brendan was excited to race his cool Transformers truck! Wow! Amazing car! The hollowing out of the inside of that truck to get it under the weight limit was very impressive.



Yeah...I stayed up till 1:30am finishing off my Herbie car but I started to feel bad thinking about how the others would feel when my Herbie car flew past all the rest and took first place...especially after all the hard work everyone put into their cars! Maybe I shouldn't have lifted one of the four tires to reduce friction to make it go so fast. But then I saw Grandpa's car!



His Fat Boy rocket car was unlike anything I had ever seen before! Dinner was great...but who could eat with the big race coming up!



The boys were so excited!



Jackie looked great in his Scout uniform!



Carson couldn't wait to see his baby go down the track!



Andan was proud of his car too! It came out just like he drew it up!



We took one last photo just before we raced... All those hours of work! All the trash talking! Who (besides Kathy) was going to eat the Humble Pie? The moment of truth finally came! Was Redemption going to live up to its name? Stay tuned to see what happens!! :)

Pinewood Derby Mayhem

The Pinewood Derby race that my Cub Scout boys participated in recently was a HOOT! I think you'll really get a kick out of this when you hear what happened. But, before I tell you about it, you need a little context to really capture the spirit of the event.

Earlier this year, my brother, Brian, really got into the Cubscout Pinewood Derby that his boy participated in. He called me several times to ask me questions about how to wire up his car. I said "wire it up?" He said "yeah...I want to install headlights! Wouldn't that be COOL!!" I said "Yeah, but Brian...who is building this car? You or your son, Apollo?" We got a good laugh.

However, over the course of the next two or three days, I got frequent updates from him on his progress. He wasn't going to work or doing anything else but building this car! We couldn't believe how much time he was dedicating to it.

And, it appeared as if he really was building the car instead of his son. After awhile, Apollo lamented to a fellow cub scout who replied and said "I can't wait till I'm a Dad so I can build a pinewood derby car." Ha! Not really, but we teased him a lot about it.

When he finished the car, he sent an e-mail with the following poster attached to it:



We couldn't believe he took the time to not just make the car but to create a poster too! Wow!! Finally, the day of the race came. The events as described by Brian were pretty entertaining:




Let me see if I can put into words what a humbling experience last night turned out to be. Something about a bunch of 9-10 year olds beating the pants off of you and your son that just doesn't sit well.

We pulled into the gym parking lot at 5:55 pm, dad ignited the car, all systems were go. We stepped into the line to weigh our cars and Apollo's weighed in at 5.1 oz. That's .1 ounce past the limit and they said "That's OK!" The Pinewood Derby God's were shining down on us tonight! I looked over at what was to be our crowning moment when we passed through the finish line with thoughts of confetti shooting from the crowd as our brilliant car dominated not only looks, but took 1st place in speed each time. Suddenly I had a Finding Nemo moment when the beautiful light turned into an Angler fish about to kill me! Good Feeling Gone! I noticed the track had a very wide looking spacer running down the middle of each track to keep the cars in their lanes and it seemed to be mocking me. Being the unshaken father I am, I asked Apollo to bring his car over so daddy could take a look at it. I placed it on the track and to my horror I see that Apollo and I counter sunk the wheels too far and the car wouldn't fit on the track! SON OF A... I quickly darted out to the truck to grab my tool box to see what kind of magic I could perform in about 3 minutes.

I wiped the rain from my brow and surveyed each tool that was at my disposal. All at once they seemed to cry out "Don't look at me man. You're the idiot who put us in this situation!" Ahhhh... I had to carefully rip the axels out of place and grab some nails to replace them. To my surprise, the axels had made the holes in the wood so big, the nails couldn't grip and the car was suddenly dead in the water! The only tool I could possibly think to use with the time constraints was Duct Tape. Nice. I always associated duct tape with speed and fluidity. I crammed, jammed and worked duct tape into the holes hoping to create enough grip to hold on to the wheels. With a little prayer and a lot of hope we re-entered the gym to begin the race. (meanwhile, my beautiful wife Cora was filming the entire ordeal so we could show our future posterity how quickly daddy could work under pressure and make something fantastic at a moment's notice. She was so proud of the husband she had married, the father who would raise their son to new heights, blah, blah, blah...)

The first race came and Apollo was eager to position the car everyone was watching onto the track. He had such a smile on his little face. The older kids ran to the end of the track to see how their car faired but Apollo wanted to run with his car cheering and encouraging it all the way down the track hoping for a new course record! The countdown started... 3... 2.. 1! The cars took off like a shot! Each one moving forward, then back, then forward again... A quick glance over to dad showed him praying like he's never prayed before. Was he praying to win? To dominate the other kids maybe? No. Dad was painfully praying that the duct taped wheels would not fall off. But he didn't show it. Stone cold was the look on his face.

The finish line was broken, the crowd cheered and a dad sat silently thanking his Father in Heaven that the car held together long enough to pass the finish line even if it was in last place. Apollo didn't quite see it the same way however. He was stunned that all of his work, blood, sweat and tears were suddenly being washed away with the emotions of failure. "It couldn't be", he thought. He grabbed his car and ran back to the starting box and placed his car in the next track. Naturally, he assumed his car was stuck in the slow track last time. 3... 2.. 1! and the cars tore off again! This time, similarly to the first, Apollo's car was slower than the rest... so much so, that it didn't even pass the finish line. Like Happy Gilmore, dad almost found himself lying on the floor yelling at his car to finish the stupid race when suddenly a small boy tapped it through the digital checkered flag. Laughter ensued. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH... THE GLOVES ARE COMING OFF!

I snatched up the car and politely asked the officials for a 5 minute pit stop. They continued racing the other cars while daddy pulled out his drill motor, tore off the wheels and began to dismantle the awe inspiring vehicle. With adrenaline now replacing blood I drilled 4 new holes. My heart was beating and aching so badly I could hardly see straight. I could hear the roars and cheers from others as their cars performed admirably. Normally, you need to tap your tires on with a hammer, but the adrenaline was flowing so steadily that my thumb was all I needed. I ran a quick test across the table only to notice that at any given time only 2-3 tires would touch. "Perfect!" This means less friction! I hoped. Fools! They thought they'd be able to keep Apollo and I out with their ticky tacky track when suddenly we created the greatest racer of all!

The crowd was on the edge of their seats to see what Apollo's dad was able to do to salvage their racer in time of need. Apollo gently placed his car in the starting blocks and waited for the countdown. It was so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop! The boy, now turned man through the trials he faced this evening briskly walked to the finish line hoping for what he envisioned as the greatest comeback in the history of Pinewood Derby racing. 3... 2.. 1 announced the officials. The crowd fell silent as the little yellow car that couldn't pass the finish line raced down the track...again and again and again. With each failed attempt, Apollo appeared more and more devestated. Yet, he dutifully ran his car back to the beginning each time with enthusiasm and a hopeful look as if, somehow...magically, the result would be different the next time.

The icing on the cake of this whole disaster was when the mother of a fellow scout called me the next day to express consolation. In an effort to cheer me up, she told me how grateful she was for Apollo's participation; because of Apollo's car, her son's car was not the slowest on the track. Are you kidding me!!??

After spending hours and hours making the car look cool, we discovered that the most important factor when building a Pinewood Derby car is speed. If your car is fast, it doesn't matter much what it looks like!

Only 364 days left until we unveil our new car which we will so eloquently refer to as "Redemption".

Sincerely,

Brian Oaks

Stay tuned because the saga continues...wait until you hear what happened to "Redemption!"

Outliers: The Story of Success

Surprisingly, I didn't receive a reply to the e-mail that I included in my last blog post. But, several days later, I did receive an e-mail that was sent to all the coaches. The message included instructions on how to be a great coach. An emphasis was made on the playing time policy of the league. I was pleased to see that they took action to make this a better experience for the children.



Our whole family (all 7 of us) and some extended family and friends went to Carson's next game to cheer him on. Normally, just Kathy or I go to his game. Carson was so excited that such a large crowd came to see him play. We all cheered him on like crazy and he played great!



His sister Brennah (right) and his cousin Marissa (left) surprised (and embarrassed) him with a sudden kiss when Kathy took this picture. He was so cute. We were so pleased to see him play and have fun and do so well!

Amazingly, I read something fascinating about this very topic just recently. We have a reading program at DVO that is designed to help each employee grow and develop and to help our company provide a better product and service to our customers. Each employee who does the weekly reading assignment gets to go to lunch with me. At lunch, we discuss what we read (and usually have a really good time too!). Since I'm paying for lunch, I get to choose the book.

This month, I chose Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers: The Story of Success." After what happened at soccer with Carson, I was fascinated by what I read. In the beginning of the book, Malcolm makes a shocking observation regarding the birth month of successful hockey players in Canada. About 80% of the boys on Canadian hockey teams are born in the first three months of the year. He says:

"The explanation for this is quite simple. It has nothing to do with astrology, nor is there anything magical about the first three months of the year. It’s simply that in Canada the eligibility cutoff for age-class hockey is January 1. A boy who turns ten on January 2, then, could be playing alongside someone who doesn’t turn ten until the end of the year—and at that age, in preadolescence, a twelve-month gap in age represents an enormous difference in physical maturity.

This being Canada, the most hockey-crazed country on earth, coaches start to select players for the traveling “rep” squad—the all-star teams—at the age of nine or ten, and of course they are more likely to view as talented the bigger and more coordinated players, who have had the benefit of critical extra months of maturity. And what happens when a player gets chosen for a rep squad? He gets better coaching, and his teammates are better, and he plays fifty or seventy-five games a season instead of twenty games a season like those left behind in the “house” league, and he practices twice as much as, or even three times more than, he would have otherwise.

In the beginning, his advantage isn’t so much that he is inherently better but only that he is a little older. But by the age of thirteen or fourteen, with the benefit of better coaching and all that extra practice under his belt, he really is better, so he’s the one more likely to make it to the Major Junior A league, and from there into the big leagues.

Barnsley argues that these kinds of skewed age distributions exist whenever three things happen: selection, streaming, and differentiated experience. If you make a decision about who is good and who is not good at an early age; if you separate the “talented” from the “untalented”; and if you provide the “talented” with a superior experience, then you’re going to end up giving a huge advantage to that small group."

He continues...

"Do you see the consequences of the way we have chosen to think about success? Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung. We make rules that frustrate achievement. We prematurely write off people as failures. We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail. And, most of all, we become much too passive."

I am so fascinated by this book! And, after my last blog post and the letter that I wrote to the President of the local soccer league, I worried that I had over-reacted. However, when I read this part of Malcolm Gladwell's book, I was encouraged and I felt validated (and a little relieved too). I'm glad I stood up for my boy Carson and all the other younger and "less talented" boys in the league who have been getting less playing time and an inferior experience.

We haven't finished this Outliers book yet but we're really enjoying it and looking for more good books to read. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Sports for Life...Dan's Rant

I love sports and spent a lot of time in my youth playing hockey, baseball, football, basketball, and just about anything else my friends and I could think up. I believe there are many life lessons that can be learned from sports, playing sports is a good way to get good exercise, and doggone it...it's just downright fun.

People can get pretty fired about sports. For example, my BYU Cougars lost to their in-state rival (I can't even say their name! Pu! ;) ) on Saturday. Well, with a score of 54-10, it was more than a loss...it was an old fashion butt-whoopin! The other team played well but the 7 turnovers by BYU had a lot to do with it. The sign on the Arby's restaurant in Provo right next to the BYU campus said it all:



I thought it was a pretty clever and humorous marketing ploy but some people didn't appreciate it. In fact, some people were downright mad! When the local radio station interviewed the store manager, the manager said that she gives out either a free fry, a free soft drink, or a free turnover after every BYU game and this was just a unlucky coincidence. She said she didn't even watch the game, didn't know the score, and didn't know anything about all of the turnovers.

I think it's silly to get so upset over something like this. On the other hand, I did get my feathers ruffled this past week and ended up writing the letter below to the President of the local soccer league. At the end of his Sophomore year last year, my son Danny was the 4th leading scorer on the Varsity soccer team and, as a Freshman, my daughter Brennah is currently a starter on the Varsity soccer team. I'm pleased that they're doing so well and having so much fun but it hasn't always been this way.

Perhaps because they grow up to be so big and tall (I'm 6'5" tall and 240 pounds), my kids seem to be late bloomers. It seems to take a while before their coordination catches up with their bodies. As a result, they're typically not as fast or quick as the other kids their age when they're young.

As a result, they tend to spend a lot of time on the sidelines at an early age. For 14 years now, Kathy and I have observed this tendancy and I guess you could say that it all came to a head this last Saturday. I was so upset by what had happened that I wrote the following letter to the President of the league. Rather than just complaining, I tried to suggest a course of action that might eliminate the problem I've observed.

I'm publishing it here and sharing it with my Cook'n Family because I'm curious to know what you think about it and if you've had a similar experience. Who knows...perhaps you will conclude that I really am one of those parents who has taken the issue too far...and you might be right about that. But, maybe not. I look forward to reading your comments!


Dear President,

I am writing to notify you of a serious problem in the NUCS (North Utah County Soccer) organization that has the effect of lowering self-esteem in children, infuriating parents, and discouraging kids from playing soccer. I am hoping that after you read this message you will take action to correct this problem.

With 5 kids and 14 years of experience in NUCS, my wife and I have observed that almost every coach desires to do a good job, to make the season fun for the boys, and to please the parents. However, helping the coaches determine what it really means to "be a good coach" and to "do a good job" is a responsibility the league has abdicated. As a result, the coaches are left to figure that out on their own. And, most of them conclude that the boys will have most fun if they win and the coaches measure their own performance, to some degree or another, on the win/loss record of the team.

As a result, each season and on every team, the more athletic players end up getting more playing time than the less athletic players. They play key positions and get more touches on the ball. The less athletic players get less playing time and when they get in, they wilt in a defensive or less significant position and get fewer touches.

Because of the increased playing time and more frequent touches, the good players get better and better over time! They get more experience and improve at a faster rate thus increasing the performance gap! And, they have more fun too because they’re the ones in position to score goals. The more fun they have the more likely they are to practice at home. As time goes by, the contrast between the good players and the bad players becomes more and more apparent. The good players get even better and the bad players seem to get worse.

Since soccer is a team sport and the team is only as good as the weakest link, the teams suffer because of the bad players. This obvious disparity between the good players and the bad creates anxiety among the parents, frustrates the good players, and hurts the self-esteem of the less experienced boys. It also puts even more pressure on the coach to skew the playing time so the team will do well. In the end, many of the good players go into a competitive league and the bad players eventually quit because they're not having fun and they're tired of sitting on the sidelines.

For example, two years ago, my boy Jackson was getting very little playing time and when he did finally get into the game, he was placed in a defensive position and seemed to get very few touches on the ball. I volunteered to coach last season and I made a couple key changes. I simply asked a parent to keep time and notify me every time 4 minutes elapsed so I would know when to do substitutions. And, I also rotated the kids in all the positions instead of defining a player as strictly offense or strictly defense and boxing a boy in some lonely defensive position.

After coaching this team for two years, the results for Jackson have been amazing! He's having a great time and he has become one of the best players on the team now! And, the experience for all the boys on the team has improved dramatically. The more athletic boys have improved because playing a variety of different positions gives them a new perspective and a real advantage. Coincidentally, my daughter, a Freshman who plays a starting defensive position on the Varsity team in High School, just mentioned last week that she can always tell when an opponent in the Forward position has experience playing Defense. I give the boys on my team the opportunity to play a variety of positions regularly. For example, in last Saturday's game, I encouraged my forwards to drive the ball deep into the corner and then minus it to a mid-fielder or defenseman. Then, I put my star player in a defensive position and told him that I’ve never seen a defender score but I believed he had a strong enough leg to do it. I’ve never seen more amazing and aggressive play from a defender before! It opened the eyes of the other defenders on our team to new possibilities that they’ve never considered before!

If you are skeptical about what I'm saying, I encourage you to contact some of the parents of the boys on my team. Many have said that playing on my team has been the best experience they've had in soccer. After last season, several boys moved to a competitive league but those who remained asked me to coach again this season and all of them signed up on my team. And, I’m pleased to say that it's going better than ever right now.

Over the last 14 years, my wife, Kathy, and I have observed the playing time and position discrepancy with coaches time and time again. That’s one of the reasons we volunteered to coach! The only problem is that we have three boys in the program and there are only two of us. Unfortunately, my son, Carson, age 7 years old, who belongs to the team that we are not coaching is not having a very good experience due to the league problem I mentioned in the beginning.

Because of game schedules related to my volunteer coaching commitment, the game Carson played in Saturday was the first one I was able to attend. I was anxious to see Carson play and he was excited to get onto the field. Sadly, he sat on the side of the field for most of the first half. When he finally got into the game, he was pulled after only a couple minutes! The second half was different only in that he sat on the sidelines the entire second half and played just the last 3 minutes of the game.

Well, I guess I was wrong about that. I said that he "sat" on the sidelines but the truth is, he didn't sit on the sidelines, this 7 year old hopped up and down and bounced around on the sideline anxiously waiting for his chance to get into the game while several other boys on his team played the entire game. My wife and I anxiously awaited his turn to get in and play too. We were so surprised when the coach pulled him after only a couple minutes in the first half. And, the three minutes of playing time that he got in the 2nd half seemed to go by so quickly! Carson only touched the ball three times the whole game long! It was so very disappointing.

I spoke with the coach after the game but to say that it didn't go well would be an understatement. He handled it poorly and, in the end, he threatened to throw Carson off the team if I ever "attacked him after the game like this again." Knowing the competitive nature of this coach, I was concerned that things might go poorly like this from the beginning so I recorded the conversation. In fact, knowing that I was recording the conversation, I was especially cautious about how I approached this, what I said, and how I said it. In summary, it went like this:

• I waited until everything had calmed down and everybody else had left.
• I introduced myself to the coach, complimented him on a good game, chatted a bit, and then expressed my concern.
• I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed that it was just an oversight or that perhaps he simply didn’t know that in this league at this age the kids are supposed to play a minimum of half the game.
• Since we can't change the past, I suggested that perhaps he try to make it up to Carson in the next game.
• Coach indicated that it was simply an oversight.
• Then, he wanted me to understand and accept the reality of the situation which is that some boys on this team of 7 year olds are going to play more than others because they’re better.
• He frankly apologized but he didn't seem to feel bad that poor little Carson sat out most of the game. He didn't seem to have any empathy for him. He feigned regret that Carson didn’t get much playing time but pointed out the importance of winning.
• He asked me to see it from his perspective which is that if he plays all the boys equally and the team loses that other parents will approach him after the game to complain.
• I told him that the win/loss record is important in a competitive league but not in this one and the directive this league has given is that all the boys should get playing time. I told him that if parents complain to him when the team loses he should direct those parents to the league.
• He apologized again for what happened to Carson saying that he didn’t have an assistant coach to help with substitutions
• I told him it was no problem...I just wanted to make sure he understood the guidelines of the league when it comes to playing time.
• When I said “No problem, I just want to make sure we have an understanding” he seemed to get very defensive and said he "didn’t appreciate being attacked after the game and that if this ever happened again he was going to throw Carson off the team!" I couldn't believe it!

The coach was walking away when he threatened to throw Carson off the team and, under ordinary circumstances, my only recourse would have been an appeal to the league. However, at that point, it would become a "he said/she said" matter and, most likely, you would probably conclude that this was just another example of an overzealous parent who wanted his kid to get more playing time. After all, there are some parents who will never be satisfied and I'm sure you run into this sort of thing all the time. I'm guessing that it was an experience like this that lead you to require the parents to sign a Parents Code of Conduct agreement when registering their child for soccer.

The difference, in this case, is that the coach was wrong. He was wrong to play Carson so few minutes. The boy is only 7 years old. He was wrong to ask me to accept the reality that some players are just going to get more playing time than others. He was insincere when he said that this was simply an oversight and he was wrong to try to blame it on the lack of an assistant coach when it was obvious that winning the game was his top priority and playing the better players more is his philosophy. He was wrong to characterize the way that I approached him as an attack on him. And, he was wrong to threaten to throw Carson off the team.

The "game changer," to use a coaching vernacular, is that I recorded this conversation and when he threatened me I told him I was recording it. He seemed to change his tune real quick. He called me 20 minutes later and left an apologetic message on my voice mail and two days later, he sent an e-mail to all the parents on the team apologizing for the playing time discrepancies letting them know that, from now on, he is going to "get all of the boys more equal playing time."

Although I'm still upset by what happened, I decided not to attach the recording nor mention the coach's name because he's not a bad person. He's just competitive and he wants to do a good job and he thinks that winning games is how he does that. I share this experience as an example only. The problem is not with this particular coach. This sort of thing happens time and time again among many coaches every season. This is a league leadership problem. We've observed this for 14 years now and the league does nothing about it. In fact, I had to scour the http://www.nucsonline.com/ website for a long time before I could finally find a statement regarding play time and finally found this statement in the deep recesses of the site: "Rules that apply to all groups: -Each player plays a minimum of half the game."

When my wife and I volunteered to coach, we were invited to attend an optional orientation meeting but we were never given a directive or anything in the way of a handout that emphasized this key league rule regarding playing time. It seems to me that the league should communicate this rule to the coaches. E-mail a survey to the parents and coaches and get feedback. If you're going to run the program, do it well! It only takes 30 minutes to set up an online survey and send a broadcast e-mail to all the parents encouraging them to participate. Getting invaluable feedback like this could help you shape the program and really make it great! And improving it will help the good players get better by playing a variety of positions, help the teams to play better because of closer parity in abilities, increase self-esteem in children, make parents happier, and, ultimately, encourage kids to play soccer and grow your program.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dodge Ball. I say hit'em and hit'em hard and if you don't learn to dodge the ball than learn to catch the ball or prepare to get hit! And, I'm all for keeping score. The reality in life is that sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. It's not always fair and we don't always get equal playing time. Sometimes we need to make opportunities for ourselves! Soccer and other sports can be a great vehicle to teach us important life lessons. We need to learn how to be gracious winners and good losers. We need to learn to do our best and give it our all. That's life and we can help the kids learn this through soccer.

But, at 7 years old, the discrepancy in athletic ability and player performance is not so great that one boy deserves to play the entire game and another deserves to sit all but 6 minutes of the game. That is just wrong. It happens time and time again and it needs to be addressed by the league. I hope you will take steps to correct this problem.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Dan Oaks

High-Level Software Engineer

In the Status section of the "See What's New in Version 9.1.79!" page, I mentioned that we were trying to hire a new software engineer and asked you to "Say a prayer for us...and then send an e-mail to Mark and tell him why you think he should join the DVO team! Maybe if he feels the love he will take the leap!"

I am very excited to tell you that our prayers were answered and your e-mails were well received! Mark gave notice at his other job yesterday and will join the DVO team in two weeks.

Mark Williams and I have been friends for four or five years now. In fact, Mark was instrumental in helping me choose the platform, database structure, and the foundation for Cook'n Version 9. We hit it off right from the beginning; you might say that we're kindred spirits. We're the same age and we both started computing on a TRS-80 when we were about 12 years old. We developed a passion for programming at an early age and have loved it ever since.

The difference is that after starting DVO Enterprises, I have spent less and less time programming each year and more and more time in other business management activities; internet marketing, selling, finance, and managing people. Whereas Mark has just been getting better and better at computer programming. Mark is the type of guy who spends all day programming and then goes home at night and reads RSS feeds and other news about new technologies and other programming related subjects! To say that Mark will make a huge impact here at DVO is an understatement!

Mark is an amazing architect and held a highly esteemed position at GE. He and his team were instrumental in fundamentally changing some of the systems and processes at GE that improved the efficiency of all the other programming teams. And Mark's team was responsible for the key foundational pieces of the massive software project there.

After earning such a great reputation at GE and after working with people who regarded him so highly, he said that he was a bit choked up when he resigned. But Mark's boss said that he would take the opportunity at DVO too if it were him. And, he said that he thought he understood his motivation but expressed a willingness to make a better offer if he could keep him. Finally, he wished him well and told him that he knew Mark would be successful and that this sounded like a great opportunity for him.

It took real courage for Mark to take the leap from a company as solid and secure as GE to join such a company as small as DVO. Taking these steps to make this transition is a real act of faith. Mark seems to believe in the DVO vision and is willing to join the team to help us achieve our goals.

Although he was making a real impact at GE, I believe that he will be able to touch even more people and affect even more lives at DVO. In fact, his contribution at DVO will directly affect you very soon. I can promise you that! And, if we are successful at achieving our goals, our recipe software tools will revolutionize the industry simplifying meal preparation, bringing families together at dinner time, helping people to eat healthier, and saving people time and money at the grocery store. I felt good about our chances of creating something revolutionary before but, with the Mark miracle, I am certain that it is now just a matter of time.

Mark says that his first order of business...is to get me to allocate some time each week to programming Cook'n. I would really like to do that and I hope I can...but I'm so busy now that I think it will take a miracle; but it wouldn't be the first. :)

What's Cook'n?

If you're wondering What's Cook'n?...the answer is: A Heck of a Lot! It feels like we've been in a whirlwind for the last year and a half.

The gusts slowed down around February when we finally resolved most of the major issues with the newest version of Cook'n. Then, things picked up again shortly after that when we got into the thick of the Cook'n for Mac development. I am so happy that we were able to finish it and release it a couple weeks ago!

Things are still crazy busy though with development of the mobile apps but we're getting close to the finish line now. A sneak preview e-mailer just went out. I'm so anxious to get feedback to hear you think. I sure hope you like it!

At first, I was going to go real lean on the features to keep our costs low and to test the waters in the mobile app space. If the first version went well then I was planning on adding more features and making the second version more robust. However, I changed my mind and decided to just go for it.

If you saw my "Coming This Spring!" notice earlier this year, you have probably realized that development of the mobile apps has taken twice as long as we all thought it would. But, the apps are very feature rich. I really think they will be a great compliment to Cook'n. I hope you like them!

In addition to the Mac and mobile app development and continued development of the Desktop app, we're also working on a cool new Plugin that has everyone around here buzzing. So, if you're wondering What's Cook'n? The answer is, LOT'S! :) If you think we're heading in the wrong direction, please let us know. Otherwise, feel free to share words of encouragement too if you think we're doing something right. Our success depends on feedback from you and...we're listening! :)

$500 Recipe Card Box

I am sorry that I allowed so much time to elapse since my last post; especially considering the serious nature of the last post. Thank you to all of you who wrote such kind e-mails and posts in the Forum wishing Danny well. I am so grateful for your love and support!

I am pleased to say that Danny is doing well. We went to the doctor last week for a checkup. Kathy and I were worried when we saw the x-rays because the three vertebrae that are fractured are squished and bulging. The doctor said that they will never regain the original shape but he should make a full recovery...but then he gave him another 6 weeks of confinement.

Danny's going a little stir crazy. He seems pretty depressed too. Today was the first day of school. We're hoping that he will snap out of it when he sees his friends. Thank you again for your prayers and support! We feel very fortunate and very blessed.

I received a really fun e-mail from Rob recently that I just had to share:

"Hey Dan,
Just a quick note to let you know how Cook'n is doing great things. I have a man here in Myrtle Beach that does great woodwork. I have him make 4x6 recipe boxes that look like the old pirate treasure chest with a mahogany finish. I fill them with 600 of my best recipes from my Roberts Family Cookbook on the Dutch oven recipe cards. Let me tell you, I am not bragging, but it looks AWESOME!!!! I have made several of these for my family and friends. I made this one for a church auction to be auctioned off to send our youth on a ski trip this winter. When it was auctioned off it went for $500.00, that is enough to send 2 kids on the trip for the ones that can't afford it. I just want to thank you again for making such a GREAT product, not only has it helped me a great deal, but also helping others. I had two more church members tell me if I would make two for them, they would pay for 4 more kids to go. Is that a blessing or what? Cooking has always been a great hobby of mine and with your great software and recipe cards and my recipes, boy did that make us a winner again. Thanks again buddy. Have a great evening. Rob"

I asked him to send a photo of his recipe card box. I am anxiously waiting for the photos of the finished box. Way to go Rob!! :)

Dan

A Miracle

Kathy got a surprise phone call this afternoon from Danny's Scout Master. He said "Danny got hurt. He fell off the ski lift and was being rushed to the hospital. But, it seemed like he was going to be alright because he had feeling in his fingers and his toes." He may have said more but if he did Kathy didn't hear it. She was rushing out the door.

Danny (16) is our oldest boy. He went on a High Adventure with the Boy Scouts this week. One of the activities was at the Sundance Ski Resort. In the summer, they haul people and their bikes to the top of the mountain on the ski lift so they can ride down.

I was in an important meeting when my cell phone rang. When I saw that it was Kathy, I silenced my phone and ignored the call. A moment later, it rang again so I silenced it once more. Just after that, it rang a third time. At that point, I interrupted my guest and told him that I better take the call because it could be an emergency.

Kathy was so upset that she could hardly speak. When she managed to say that Danny was hurt, I apologized to my guest and excused myself from the meeting. Kathy dropped off the other kids at the office with my employees and picked me up.

For the next 30 minutes, we called and called as we drove but couldn't reach anyone to find out more information. It was the longest 30 minutes of our lives! We could only imagine the worst. We prayed and asked God to bless our son. We finally got ahold of the Scout Master. He told us that Danny fell about 30 feet and landed on his butt. They weren't sure how extensive his injuries were but they suspected he may have broken his pelvis and/or back.

When we finally arrived at the hospital, the nurse told us that Danny was in getting a CAT Scan and that it would be 15 or 20 minutes before we could see him. We asked to see the x-rays. The nurse said she would get them but she never did. While we waited for Danny and for any kind of test result, my sister and her son showed up. Then, my parents showed up. A few minutes later, my other sister showed up and then her husband and one of their sons arrived. My employee came to the hospital too. The room filled up pretty fast.


We were so happy when they finally wheeled Danny into the room. Kathy put on a brave face to show support and encouragement. The morphine that they had given him had eased the pain quite a bit. As we waited for the test results, he explained what happened.

Apparently, half-way up the slope, the lift comes to a point where skiers can get off. The first time up the slope, Danny noticed a hat on the ground that someone had dropped. So, the second time up, he got the great idea of jumping off the lift, running and grabbing the hat, and then jumping back on again.

He jumped on, threw his leg over the seat, and told the boy with him to grab the hat. But, those ski lift benches rock and swing so much that it tilted and dumped him out. He had trouble pulling himself up again because every time he lifted himself, the seat would tilt forward and at 6'1" and 240 pounds, Danny's a big boy. The smaller boy with him pulled and pulled and Danny tried to pull himself up but he just couldn't get into the seat. He finally decided to just hang on until the lift reached the top.

However, after 10 or 15 minutes, his hands were so sweaty and slippery and he was so tired that he just couldn't hold on any more. He hollered to his buddy and said "I can't hang on any longer!" They started to panic. Just at that moment, the ski lift stopped with a jolt. We think the lift operator must have seen what was going on and hit the brakes. The jolt was the last straw. Danny lost his grip and fell about 30 feet.

The highest platform at the pool at Lava Hot Springs where we went camping last summer is about 30 feet. I get weak in the knees when I get to the top and can barely muster the courage to jump into the water. I can't imagine falling that same distance onto a rocky mountain side.

Fortunately, he landed on a relatively flat rock and hit the ground feet first. His knees buckled instantly and then he hit his butt. He bounced back up in the air and landed about 5 feet forward. He said everything went numb. After reaching the top, the scouts jumped on their bikes and raced down the hill to where he was. And, emergency personnel from the ski resort rushed up from the lodge. They strapped him to a board to prevent spinal injury and then mounted him on a sled. They tied a rope to the sled and lowered him down the hillside. He said it was a very bumpy ride.

The paramedics told the scout leaders they were going to take him to the nearest hospital. But, after they left, they radioed back and told the scout leaders at the lodge that Danny went into shock and his injuries seemed serious enough to drive a little farther to a different hospital that was better equipped for situations like this.

As Priesthood holders in our church, my Dad and I laid our hands on his head and gave him a blessing. The emotions were so intense that I could hardly speak. I almost broke down crying but then, a feeling of peace came over me. In the blessing, I felt inspired to say a number of things. Among other things, I reminded Danny that everything happens for a reason and that God has a plan for us. Sometimes we need to taste the bitter to know the sweet. I told him that although it didn't seem like it, ultimately, this experience would be beneficial for him. I told him that if he endured this trial with patience and faith that he would be better for it and that he would have a greater capacity to show empathy and love to those who are suffering. I pointed out that a great miracle had happened already because he could have been hurt far worse by a fall from that distance. I exhorted him to be diligent about following the doctor's advice. And, finally, I promised him that his injuries would be minimal and that he would make a full recovery in a short time.

The doctor came in just after that with the test results. He told us that his back was broken. He pulled up the CAT Scan images on the computer and showed us the three vertebrae that were fractured. Fortunately, they were compression fractures that blew out the back part of the vertebrae pretty good but didn't seem to damage the spinal column. As far as vertebrae fractures go, this kind was about the best you could hope for. He said they didn't need to do surgery and that they were going to put him in a brace. He said that he will have pain and discomfort for about three or four weeks and then he should start feeling much better. He said that he needs to take it easy for the next three months but that he should make a full recovery. He said that after the three months, he can play football and soccer and anything that he wants to.

Feeling so relieved at the news, I asked the doctor how soon until Danny could milk the goat again. Danny answered for him and said "I'm pretty sure it will take the full three months before I can do that Dad." I said "Oh boy...you're going to milk this for all it's worth, aren't you?" We chuckled at the pun.

The only trick now was to manage the pain. We put the brace on, helped him to the bathroom, and then, shortly after that, loaded him up in the car very carefully and came home. Apparently, the boy who was with him on the ski lift was pretty upset. He was crying over the whole incident. Danny called him from the car and told him he was going to be fine. He apologized for doing such a stupid thing and he told him not to feel bad. He said "I weigh three times what you do...there's no way you could have pulled me up!" Then he added "do you still have my hat?" I'm glad he still has his sense of humor!

In retrospect, we are amazed by what has happened. Obviously, things could have been so much worse. It was truly a miracle that he landed feet first and that he didn't break a leg or an ankle or two. Dad said that he fell on his guardian angel. I said that that guardian angel got his wings for doing such a miraculous thing and it was a good thing too because after having Danny land on him, he wasn't going to be walking again soon.

I told my employee and nephew, Andy, that the strange thing is that I was woken up last night by a dream I had in which I fell or jumped from the 5th floor of a hotel room. I survived it because I landed in the swimming pool below but I suffered serious injuries because the water was only 5 feet deep. I don't know what it all means or if it means anything at all...just that it seemed like a strange coincidence. He said that he was also woken up last night because he had a dream that he was attacked by a bear. I don't know what that means either but it worried me because my daughter is at girl's camp this week too and they're camping up in the mountains...in bear country! I was just about to drive up there to go get my baby! :)

Hopefully, after reading this post, you'll hug your kids a little tighter or call them on the phone and tell them how much you love them because sometimes you never know when tragedy will strike. And, perhaps, after reading this, you will realize that whatever problems, challenges, or difficulties you are facing now, things could be worse. I hope each of us will kneel down tonight and thank our Heavenly Father for the miracles and blessings in our lives. I know I will! God Bless!

Isla De La Mujeres (Island of the Women)

Today we drove down to the dock, got on a ferry, and rode to Isla De La Mujeres (Island of the Women).


Carson and Andan got a couple cool hats before we got on the boat.


We enjoyed Mexican music and dancing on the boat ride to the island.


We got off the boat not really knowing what Isla De La Mujeres was all about...but we were excited to find out!


What was I thinking? ISLAND of the WOMEN. I should have known it would be all about shopping, shopping, and shopping some more! Kathy and Brennah loved it!


The highlight for boys and me was the food.


Sometimes the most unsuspecting hole in the wall restaurants have some of the best food! Believe it or not, Kathy said that this was the best burrito she had ever eaten! It had corn ...ask Kathy... It doesn't look like much but it was really yummy. It was served piping hot. It seemed as if it had been cooked on a frying pan for a few minutes to melt everything real good inside. It had corn and rice inside which was a surprise. But the flavor was the kicker. Besides garlic, I don't know what else it was seasoned with but it was the perfect combination.


The shrimp that I ordered was friend in butter and garlic. It was really yummy too.


The streets in Isla Del La Mujeres are almost all one-way streets. And, they're just big enough for a golf cart. So, we rented one and the boys and I tooled around town while Kathy and Brennah shopped the sales. We rode down to the beach and swam in the ocean. It was great fun.


We loaded all 7 of us up on the golf cart and drove to the other end of this 6 mile island to see the turtle hatchery.


The boys got to hold one of the turtles. They were pretty stoked about it.




We stopped at a road side stand and drank some refreshing coconut milk on the way back.

Ek' Balam

We loaded up on the bus this morning and drove for 3 hours to the ruins at Ek' Balam.


These ruins were dated much older than the ones we saw yesterday.


At the top of this one...


...we found what looked like a baptismal font. There was a drain at the bottom so they could let the water out.


The view from the top was really cool.


This one was the 2nd tallest of them all. Danny climbed to the top...


...and gave me a "Fire Power" pose.


The kids felt cool air blowing out of this hole in the wall. They were curious so they stuck their camera (with a flash) into this dark hole, took a picture, and then looked to see what was inside.


There was a staircase!


So, we looked around to make sure the school administrators were not looking. Then, we got the skinniest and most daring boy in the group and encouraged him to climb in!


He climbed in and used the flashlight on my iPhone to explore it. He climbed to the top of the stairs and took a few more pictures. He noticed sunlight in the distance and wanted to continue exploring but a Mexican curator noticed the commotion and started to come towards us so we told him to hurry and get out. He grabbed a golden head and then this giant bolder tumbled down after him. As he was running away from it, he managed to grab his hat before a big stone door closed. Then an old friend showed up with a bunch of natives and took it before he could get out. OK. My son Danny may have embellished the story a little. What really happened is his sandal fell off as he was scrambling out. The worker guy seemed to notice he was missing a shoe and suspected the kids were up to something. We distracted him and when he turned his back, the boy dove in and got his sandal and then walked away. When he saw the boy walking away with both sandals on, he gave him a frowny look. The boy said it was the most exciting part of the whole trip for him! I'm just glad the thing didn't cave in on him or something!


This looks like a baby in the womb of this statue. The statue looks like it has wings. I wonder if this is the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus? It's very fascinating.


The school administrator who has seen a lot of ruins said that he has never seen paintings like this before. He says that the color usually fades over the years. This looks like a white guy sitting and teaching other dark skinned people. I wonder what it means!


It's tough to see in this picture but the tallest structure of them all was the one covered in trees pictured here. Apparently, that's what these ruins look like before the archaelogists get to them. They're just huge mounds of boulders with trees and brush growing on them! The Mexican government doesn't have the money to restore them so they just sit there like this. It was pretty amazing to see. I can see how restoring that would be a major undertaking.


We made some new friends on the trip. Brian and Amy Kunz and their four kids go to the same school. They have three boys that are the same age as our three youngest boys (sitting at the table behind us). The 6 of them had a great time playing on this trip and Kathy and I enjoyed getting to know Brian and Amy. Brian is the founder and president of Northridge Publishing; a very successful business that is similar in many ways to mine. We're kindred spirits!


In addition to making new friends, we really enjoyed this Crem de la Crem de la Kathy (Creme Brulee). It was a nice, light Italian dessert. It was the perfect finishing touch to the Italian dinner that we enjoyed this evening.


The teenage kids talked us into going out on the town later this evening. We went to Mextreme and had a great time!


We enjoyed coconut ice cream served in a frozen coconut...


...and pineapple ice cream served in a frozen pineapple.


The kids all danced and had a great time.


Then a Mexican witch doctor-type guy came out and cast a magic spell on the boys from the school. He sat all four of them down on these chairs...


...and then had each one lay back and rest their heads on the knees of the person behind them.


He cast a magic spell on each one as he did it.


When they were all laying down...


...he began removing the chairs one by one!


When all the chairs had been removed, it seemed as if the boys were floating in mid-air!


Finally, he backed up to get a running start. Then, he ran up and jumped on them and knocked them all to the ground! It was pretty hilarious. We all loved it. It was so fun!