Reinventing the Wheel

Check this out. Make sure you see the photo gallery.

Michelin is setting a course for the modern tire. I can't wait to see these in the market place.

No side walls to puncture, modern look, and probably helps keep the brakes cool. As I've said before I love "outside the box" thinking. These guys are outside the wheel on this one.

Love it.

Funny Face

Have you ever seen your face during a sneeze?

Don't!

It really isn't pretty. The contortions the face is capable of all come in to play during the sneezing process. I know you can't keep your eyes open during a sneeze, I've tried. But the whole process before, the pre-sneeze, is still an unattractive site.

I bring this up because of an experience I had in the car the other day. I was on my way home from work driving the curvy road that I take when the weather is good. It is a scenic road that goes through some of Oregon's beautiful and lush farm lands. As is my tradition during the nicer days in Oregon I was chewing on some sunflower seeds. David's, the brand of choice.

Because it is now the height of allergy season, sneezing is a common occurrence for me. I had just put a fresh handful of seeds into my mouth just before a sneeze alert came on. You know the sneeze alert don't you? It is when you take that little breath, purse your lips just slightly, and flare your nostrils. Well, the little breath in, combined with the fresh salt powder from the sunflower seeds, didn't mix so well. The pre-sneeze became a gag and a cough as seeds began to flow to the back of my throat. This is not good. The sneeze didn't care, it was proceeding without being impeded by a gag or a cough. The sneeze held its position as short quick breaths continued to prepare for the pending expulsion.

Remember that I am driving. Not normal driving, curvy road driving. This takes concentration and skill. Both of these were disappearing like Scotch in Mr. Scott's engine room. Instead of him yelling "Capt'n we need more power" he would have been yelling "Watch the road you damn fool". In the split second this all happened I had decided to check my mirrors for any one else on the road I may have put into danger with this coming sneeze. As I did so I saw my face in the mirror. Yikes!!! It looked like Steve Buscemi's face during a Brazilian wax job. If you don't know what a Brazilian wax job is... good for you. If you don't know who Steve Buscemi is... click here. I was lucky to maintain control of the vehicle this time. Who knows I could have been on my second Life Flight in a years time.

Then it started. The sneeze came, blowing sunflower seeds all over my hand and my car. And because I am a Bonham, I didn't sneeze just once... nope... three times in rapid succession. Between each sneeze I quickly checked my course, avoiding glances in the mirror that may repeat the afore mentioned experience. After the third sneeze I waited a moment to be sure it was the last. It was.

I grabbed my water to rid my throat of the powder that was still causing fits in the back of my throat. I looked in the mirror to make sure that face did not stick; as my parents were found of threatening when I made faces at my siblings as a child. It didn't. Phew.

I have recently vowed to turn away and cover my face from others when I sneeze. I don't want to cause any unnecessary scarring or fright. I'll leave that to the professionals.

Spot the Phoenix

Can you spot the Phoenix on Mt. Hood?

Beautiful Day for a Hike!

I just returned from a great hike on one of the most beautiful days of the year so far. Along with Matt, Jade, Russ, Ciara, and Ann we hike in the Mt Hood National Forest to Mirror lake and on up to Tom, Dick, & Harry Peak.

Here are the photo's:

Welcome Summer

Tomorrow is the first day of Summer. Good-bye Spring!

This is the time in Oregon many of us really look forward to. The rainy days lessen... they don't go away... there are just fewer of them. The bar-b-ques are stoked for cooking some yummy meat. Beers are shared. Bikes return to the roads. Kids laugh. Time to clean out the tent and camping gear. All the good stuff.

When we lived in SoCal this was the norm. 75 and sunny. I don't know why they pay weathermen down there. It seems silly when they can say it'll be 75 and sunny and be right 80% of the time. Those are better odds than the weathermen up here have. Unless they say it might rain today, then they'd be close to 80%.

I welcome the sun. But I'll miss the rain. I am one of the weird ones that likes the rain in Oregon. After all without it we'd be brown and boring. The rain keeps us in the green. The beautiful wonderful green you picture when you think of Oregon.

God bless Summer and it's wonderful uniqueness.

To Spring: Thank you for preparing us for Summer. For keeping the grass green. For easing us into the heat. For reminding us about new life. For easing us out of Winter. For being consistanly there year after year.

My kids wanted to thank Aunt Kath & Uncle Mike for the cool gift and to share with the public a photo of the gift. Below is Buster the Butterfly. He was set free on Sunday in our front yard.

If you have some kids in your life that you want to give a great gift to, check out Insect Lore.

Place an order online and in the mail you get a small jar with five butterfly larvae and a butterfly cage. Over the next few weeks you get to watch God's creation in action. The once small caterpillars turn to big fat ones and so on. It is very cool to see. In the end you have five beautiful butterfly's to set free.

Thanks Jeffs family! 

A Curious Visitor

For the past three weeks our neighborhood has had a visitor. It is an American Goldfinch (click for a photo). This curious little bird seems to be attempting to befreind or offend our cars, depending on how you look at it.

We first noticed him three weeks ago hopping back and forth from our tree in the front yard to our next door neighbors brand new Honda Element. At first we thought it was the Element that was attracting him. But then he moved on to my wife's minivan. His focus is on the windows and mirrors.

Over the weeks he has been moving from car to car leaving his mark on one then moving to another. It acts like a dog marking it's territory. I don't envy the bird that tries to land on my car now that my car seems to be the center of it's attention.


As seen in the picture he poops a lot. Thus the name my kids have given him "The Poop Machine".

Most of the birds in the neighborhood hang out in the woods behind our house and feed off the feeders we provide. A little bird sanctuary in the middle of the city is how I like to see it. Much to the frustration of the cats in the neighborhood the feeders are too high and the birds too quick for a feline meal. This little bird however it unique and seems to have made the street his home. Loving on the cars as opposed to living in the woods.

Here's to you little Poop Machine. We love you and invite you to stay and entertain us. We just ask one thing... poop somewhere else!

Church Shopping

We are church shopping!

Wrong as it sounds (and I do hate that phrase) it is what my family is starting to do this coming Sunday.

After eight years at the same church we have decided it was time to move on. For many reasons we have decided that it is time to explore our faith with another group of believers. It has not been a decision made lightly or with out much prayer and study. Sad to say but it has been almost a two year struggle for me and about a year and a half for my wife. It has felt like a relationship where two people have started growing apart and one decides to move on. We are the ones moving on.

In recent years I have been doing a lot of study and reading that has made me decide that there is more to my faith and relationship with Jesus than just Sunday mornings. The church we have been attending just didn't challenge us to move beyond attending on Sunday morning. We have been involved with various small groups, the youth group, and the children's ministry which has kept us busy but has not challenged us to grow. The church is easy to go to Sunday morning and forget about the rest of the week. Is it partially my fault? Probably. However, the atmosphere and the teaching at the church does not lend to a growth that a mature Christian needs.

The phrase that kept coming up over the past couple years is "seeker friendly". Frankly I hate this phrase. It is one of simplicity and lacks growth potential. If Jesus was seeker friendly he would not have challenged the authority of the day, nor eaten with sinners, or gone against the tide of the day. Where would this have left us.

One of the first major challenges came after reading the book Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. If you haven't read this book you should. He made me look inside myself and some of the preconceived notions about what I thought Christianity is. Some of the notions I've built up over the years surrounding my faith started to look ominous and overwhelming and plain wrong. I began to see a more Orthodox view of Christianity. I had to start separating my political views from my "faith" views. This was hard to do and I am still working on it.

So what does this mean for us? I know I haven't given too much detail and I don't intend to knowing that this topic will arise again. What this means is that my family and I are on a new journey. This journey involves finding a community of Jesus followers that we can commune with, grow with, experience Jesus with, love, and be loved by. We ask for God's guidance.

This entry is very simplistic and short. The thoughts in my head on this subject could fill a book. But my mind is still wrestling with them. I plan to continue these thoughts as we "shop".

Nice Weekend

This post is a little late...

This past weekend Alex and I went north to visit my sister and her family before their move east. We had a great time (with the exception of a major allergy attack on Saturday).

I have to share a quick story. The weekend started off with a two hour car ride in which Alex asked the first of many awkward questions: "Daddy, sometimes mommy puts this white thing in her under pants... what is it?" Oh boy! Her we go. With the DVD player in his lap with the Power Rangers prepared for action I could have easily distracted him away from that thought process, but no, I answered. I have to say I think I did pretty good with a rated "G" answer that bought me a couple years until the "PG" answer will be required.

"That is a good question, buddy" Stall, stall... "Sometimes ladies bodies have to clean them selves out...etc. (insert a little more "G" rated elaboration here)" Him, Ha "and that is just to make sure that it keeps mommy clean." Wait for the follow up question... and... none. Phew.

Time for the Power Rangers to do their thing. Of which, I got the play by play for the next hour while the Rangers kicked some Dino-booty. You know that they don't actually hit the bad guys. My son assures me that their punches are so hard that they only have to get close.

The rest of the weekend was filled with fun with the family. We hit a little shopping in Seattle, a visit to a couple Harley dealerships, some beers and cigars, and some shooting at the indoor range to try out my bro-in-laws new H&K P2000. Nice. Real nice.

Guys, thanks for the fun weekend. We'll miss having you close. We wish you the best in the flatlands.

Saturday In Seattle

I am up in the state of Washington with Alex this weekend. We are visiting my sisters family before they move to Illinois. That is life in the military! A couple years here a couple years there. We have enjoyed having them close for a short time. More later...