Names

I received a comment on one of my videos from a website that had bible names. I decided to track down my name to see what it meant and how awesome or dorky I really was (which I am almost certain is completely dependent on the name given to me at birth).

By traveling around the internet and making several loops around the globe using nothing but fiber optic cables, I was able to confirm my name's meaning.

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Clinton

http://www.behindthename.com/name/clinton

Drum roll please!!!! Ratatatattatararararatatatarraratatatat!

My name means: settlement on the summit
My name means: fenced settlement
My name means: Settlement on the river Glyme

So, with this in-depth research and not one step outside my door, it has been determined that my name is pretty close to meaning "A fenced settlement on the summit on a river". I'm not sure how you can be on a summit and be on a river at the same time but who's to argue with the name-meaning people.

Found New Fun/Cool Blog

I always risk sounding too feminine on my blog posts and today is no exception. I have found a new fun blog. (yes, you could hold your arms up on the sides and let your hands droop down and wave them back and forth to get the full feminine effect), however, in my case (to make me look more masculine) I am holding two huge Sloppy Joe's in my hands while flexing my biceps and reporting that I have found a new cool blog.

Ok, enough with the dramatics, give me the stupid (bad word in our house) website address to this "supposed" fun/cool website.

The website is called Going Postal, Stories from the Mailroom.

This little blog is about a student that works at the MTC. What makes it interesting is that she works in the Mail Room which delivers all of the mail to all of the Missionaries. Every once in a while she posts an interesting little event that happens while at work.

Dual Monitors

Maybe it is the computer geek in me but today's post will be about having dual monitors.



I first setup my computer with dual monitors when I was working for Glanbia. I really didn't feel like I was gaining much by having two monitors at the time, I just like the look and the feel of being able to have so much space on my desktop. I also kinda liked the look people gave me when they walked into my office and saw my monitors wrapped around my desk. "Wow, that's cool", was usually the comment made. I felt cool too. When I left Glanbia I also went back in time to the old days of a single monitor. It wasn't long before I started feeling the pangs of how restrictive one monitor can be. However, I lived with it for a time.

Now, I'm back into technology working for Trilogy Network Systems where I have a little latitude on what I can use on my computer and I'm back to 2 monitors baby! I found this article put out by Microsoft that talks about dual monitors and guess what, it really isn't that hard to get it setup. You will need a video card that matches up with your computer that can handle two monitors ports. Plug the video card into the motherboard on your computer, plug in the 2 monitors and Windows will handle the rest. Here is the article.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/organization/twomonitors.aspx.

The only down side is this (and I tell people this all of the time) once you go to two monitors, you'll never want to go back. Maybe because of the desktop space it gives you. Maybe because of the number of blogs you can pull up at once, or maybe you'll get it just so that someone will walk into your office or your home and say, "Wow, that's cool!"

Rifle Merit Badge

Andy went up to Scout Camp this year with the hopes of completing his Rifle Shooting Merit Badge. As many of you know, this isn't as easy as you would think. Sure, the bookwork is a piece of cake and sitting though the hours of safety instruction is a necessity but the hardest part is getting the bullets to land correctly on the target paper. To qualify, you need to be able to group your shots in groups of three, small enough so that a quarter will cover your bullet holes. You can not use a scope for this requirement and it must be at 50 feet away. At that distance, the bead at the end of the barrel is about as big as the circle on the target, so you have to be very steady and very consistent. Unfortunately, Andy was not able to complete this requirement up at camp so I called one of my good friends that is a gun expert and asked if he could take us to a shooting range and give Andy some more practice. He accepted the challenge and we went out to the range on Saturday. We had a wonderful time thanks to Andy's (my friend) generosity. Even the Dad's got in on the action to try and out-shoot the youngsters. Of course, we had to pull out all of our rusty cowboy talk and swagger the best we could to try and be authentic (just kidding). At the end, Andy was able to fulfill his requirements and walked home with some targets demonstrating his ability to shoot like Wyatt Earp. Here is a short video of all of us at the rifle range. Thanks again to Andy Hamblen for taking some time out of his busy schedule to take us to the rifle range to do some target shooting. We enjoyed every minute of our time out there in the dry Idaho wind at the shooting range.




Here is a link for my Facebook Friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjuHaVni4NY

hair style

I have had the same hair style since I was about 1 year old. My Dad taught me to part it on the right side and comb it over to the left. There was only one time when I drastically changed my style and that was on my mission. I actually had a flat top hair cut for a couple of weeks. As my hair grew out, it reverted back to the part and comb.

Well, I guess it is time for a change so I picked a picture that looked "modern" and told the hair cut lady to do her best to make me look cool. This is what it is supposed to look like.



Below is the result and my new hair style for the next 40 years. Ok, maybe for the next few months. I know, it isn't anything drastic or exciting, but, it is a change.



Here is a link to the video for my facebook friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjs1E8HrQHo

Bloopers

We have had a pretty good response to the Camp Bradley Video Andy and I made at Scout Camp. It is interesting to note that only a few people have noticed that at the end of the video, Andy rode off without a bike helmet. At Camp Bradley, that's a "no no". After creating this little video, I thought it might be fun to do a "bloopers" video as well so you could see how many times we had to go over everything before we got it right. So, here are the bloopers.



Here is the link for my Facebook Friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLDctUj4g5w. I don't know why but when my blog post makes it to Facebook, the embedded video is stripped out.

Scout Camp 2010

Yes, it is time again for Scout Camp. It seems like we were up there just a few weeks ago but if you look at the calendar very carefully, you will be able to see that 365 days have passed.

To help Andy get excited about Scout Camp, I promised him that we would make a movie while I was up there. Once I was up there, I kind of lost some of my enthusiasm because I was so tired after serving dinner to 120 scouts. I asked Andy if he still wanted to do it and he still was willing to try it. So, Andy grabbed one of his friends and came with me as I put together this little "commercial".

If you are not familiar with the "Old Spice" commercials on TV and on the Internet, you may not "get" the funniness of the video we made. BYU also made a hilarious commercial as a Spoof off of the Old Spice video that can be viewed at this link.

Enjoy


Here is the link for my Facebook Friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsMli_p6Jes

Special Olympics

The Special Olympics just became more special for our family this year. Zach Mayer, my nephew and our kids' cousin, qualified to travel to Lincoln Nebraska to compete in the 2010 Special Olympics USA National games. Grandma Wardle and a bunch of family members volunteered to help support Zach in this endeavor and invited Savanna and Katie to travel with her to this wonderful event.

Zach's events included several entries in the Power Lifting competition. While competing for one of his events, the dead lift, he noticed that he had reached the limit of which he was capable of lifting, however, this weight would put him in second place. He knew that 260 lbs was the most he had ever lifted in this particular event but, he found that if he could muster up some extra courage, and extra strength, he would win the gold metal. With his determination fixed, he made a small comment to himself that he was going to try his hardest for his Grandpa. He steadied his feet and fixed his grip. Giving all that he had, Zach somehow managed to lift all 265 pounds, a personal best, to win the gold metal. Many in the audience did not realize that almost a year earlier, his Grandpa Wardle had left this earth unexpectedly. It brings tears to my eyes that Zack still remembered his Grandpa Wardle and wanted him to continue to be a part of his life even though he was on the other side of the veil. I know Grandpa was proud of you Zack and I know he was giving everything he had to help you succeed. I know the veil is thin and I believe that on special occasions, loved ones are allowed to come and witness special events in our lives.



Below is a video clip of Zach taking second place in another event, however we will always remember his triumphal power lift (with the help of Grandpa Wardle) that placed him on the top podium at the Special Olympic Games.



For those of you that don't know Zach, he is on the 2nd place podium on the left of the stage.

Here is a link to the video for my Facebook Friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drm5WLUj6Wc

Video Production Studio

I thought I was going to be all cool and start producing some amazingly funny video clips (Like this guy) and post them on YouTube and have a thousand people start to follow my YouTube Channel and start earning a ton of money from advertisements and quit my job and move to Hawaii and live on the beach. So (big breath) I decided I needed a studio. I fiddled around the internet looking for "inexpensive" ways to create my own video studio. I gathered the pieces together and made my first video clip.



I must say, it is horrible, terrible, dumb, pathetic, too hot, the sound is too soft, video is too dorky and my face is too fat.

Enjoy!?!

Here is a link for my facebook friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc1Y9RLkBtc

GreenScreen

Just thought that I would let everyone know that I'm taking my video producing and editing skills to the next level. I decided to try out some GreenScreen effects and see what I could do. You probably already know what "Green Screen" is but all of you non-video-editing-producers-and-editors, it is a technique where you put a green color behind your subject, take a few video shots, then take a seperate video shot of something else and then blend the two shots. Everything in green is filled in with the second video shot.

Below is my first try at green screen techniques. I know that it isn't very creative but I didn't have a whole bunch of time to play with it. I just wanted to see if it would work.

Here it is, I've named it, Katie walking around the back yard. Ok, not a very creative name either.



Here is the link for all of my facebook friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy8QQFC6NZA

Honor Roll

Congratulations to Coby for making the Twin Falls High School Honor Roll again this last year. Here is his name in print.

http://www.magicvalley.com/news/local/community/article_3ccd7a61-c466-5b51-8dac-0baf6a02d91b.html

Kate playing softball

I swear that I just did a video of Katie playing softball last month so I went out to my blog to find it. To my amazement, the "Kate playing softball" post was a year ago. I couldn't really believe it so I looked at the posting date to double check. I'm sure that I just did that video last week. Sure enough, the posting date reflected the same date on the video, June 2009. I guess it is time for some more pictures of Katie playing softball.

Katie has really done well this year. This last game, yesterday, she hit the ball well and was able to advance to 3rd base off of two of her power hits. In one particular inning while playing 2nd base, she was able to get all three outs all by herself. She would get in her ready stance, put her glove down in the dirt and prepare for the worst. She would then inch forward in anticipation of a well hit grounder. When the ball was hit to her, she kept her knees bent and scooped up the ball looking for the nearest base to tag. In these three cases, she simply stood up and ran down the nearest player that was running from first to second rendering them "OUT!".

Here are a couple of photos from my cellphone.

Katie's Power Hit!

Katie running after she crushed the ball.

Katie's smiling face after her triple.

Coby Grylls

Coby has always been good at imitating Bear Grylls from the show "Man Vs. Wild" on the Discovery Channel. We've never really figured out a way to get him on video with his impersionation until now. Deanna forced Coby to do his Bear Grylls voice while climbing down off of Independence Rock. Turn up the volume so you can get the full accent and speech patterns.





Here is a link for my facebook friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90CdxJO0GWc

Martin's Cove Trip

Last week our family took a trip to Denver Colorado to attend the wedding of Blake Carter and Estee Blatter in the Denver Colorado Temple. Because we were traveling so far, we decided to make this our "family vacation" for the summer so we looked at our options and found that Martin's Cove was "kinda" on the way to Denver. We scheduled our time and made the trip. Below is my little Flip Video log of our trip. We were happy to have Grandma and Grandpa Carter, and the David and Analee Hirschi family as part of our handcart company. We had a great time. I know it is a really boring description but I'm just really tired from the return trip last night.




Link for Facebook Friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTIPnK0wWpY

Root Beer

Andy had a baseball game last week in Buhl. With all of the schedules we had to mesh together, it ended up that Deanna took Andy out to the game, and I brought him back. Andy's team did well and won 7 to 14. On the way back from Buhl, I had a hunkering for something but I wasn't sure what. On the way out of Buhl I didn't see anything that would satisfy my craving. We slowed down to travel through Filer so we wouldn't get pulled over by the local police in their speed trap but still, nothing caught my eye.

As we reached Twin, we passed several gas stations and several pawn shops. I resigned myself to just go home and scavenge something from the cupboards. Just then, I saw the A&W sign. Immediately I had a flash back to the days when I was a kid and we were driving back from one of the Stake softball games. If we won, my Dad would usually stop at the A&W and buy a gallon of Root Beer. So, I pulled over to the center lane and signaled to turn into the A&W/Gas Station. Andy looked at me with an inquisitorial look and wondered what was going on. We walked in and I order 1 gallon of Root Beer.



After arriving home, I pulled a cup out of the cupboard and poured myself a tall frosty mug of Root Beer. Now, I don't know how many root beer officionados there are out there reading my blog, but draft A&W Root Beer is in a class by itself. Not even the A&W Root Beer in the can or liter can measure up to the taste.

I am not quite sure what it is that makes it unique but it has a little bit of a bitter taste but a little bit of sweet. However, bitter sweet really doesn't describe it right. If you want the taste of a true old fashioned Root Beer, go to your local A&W store and order the draft. If you like it, order a gallon and take it home and enjoy it all week.

First Harvest

I thought I would post something today about my garden. It is still fairly early in the growing season but I have already been able to reap a harvest from my fledgling flora. At dinner, I went out to my patch of radishes and found 3 of the round red rooted plants big enough to pull and clean. Then, I took my sickle and lopped off a few delicate lettuce leaves. I combined them in a bowl, and a nice fresh tossed salad was my bounteous harvest. It will be a while before my tomatoes and cute cumbers will be ready to join my salad concoction. For now, I am satisfied.

Tradition

I would like to officially announce today that I have raised a son that is carrying on the Carter Family Tradition of running out of gas. Yes, I am sure there will be many skeptics out there that do not believe that the Carters could ever be risky enough to try and drive one more mile after the gas gage has dropped below the "E" on the display panel. But, it has happened. In fact, not only did Coby run out of gas, but he somehow managed to run out of gas on both tanks. Yes, the truck that we allow him to drive has 2 tanks.





So, for all of you non-running-out-of-gas people. What are the official steps to getting your car back on the road and to the nearest gas station? In the Carter Family, we use the following steps.
1. Try starting the car again.
2. Try using the other tank (if the one you are using is empty) Maybe there is enough gas in the other tank to get you going. "All we need in 1 gallon, and there has got to be at least one gallon in there."
3. Try starting the car again.
4. Siphon gas out of the nearest car with a garden hose.
5. Buy a $20.00 plastic gas can and fill it with 1 gallon of gas.
6. Poor gas directly into carburetor to prime the engine.
7. Hitch Hike to the nearest gas station and then follow number 5, then 1, then 6, then 3, then 2 (maybe you poured it into the wrong tank).

Auger Falls on bikes

Many of my blogger readers have requested a video of our second attempt at going to Auger Falls. As you may know, our first attempt was a complete and utter failure. You can read about our failed attempt here.

After the failed hike, we decided to try going to auger falls on bikes. Andy and Savanna braved the elements and the soar legs to ride our bikes. As the video starts out, we were amazed at how far we rode and how much ground we covered. We discovered that Auger Falls was still quite a ways from where we turned around. If fact, Savanna started to complain how far it was, even on a bike.

Here is my short video on our trip on bikes. Please watch all the way to the end. There is a "kicker".



Here is the link for my facebook friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNCsSe_fHQc

Varsity Letter

Coby has worked very hard this year to play on the tennis team. He practiced weekends, he practiced after school, he practiced after practice and after he practiced after practice, he practiced some more. He has really improved and become a valuable player on the Twin Falls High School Tennis Team. Tonight he was awarded a Varsity Letter for his efforts and for playing on the Varsity Tennis Team.



Go Coby!

Take me out the the Ball Game

My brother Blake will be getting married next month and I have been thinking about doing video's of weddings for some reason. I've watched a few on YouTube that were very well done. Not only did the videographer capture video of the newlyweds and the attendees at the wedding, but the video also captured some of the unseen ambiance and detail of the wedding. For expample, one of the videos shows the flower arrangements, or the shoes of the groom all shiny, or just a couple holding hands. It inspired me to try and capture some of that "other" feeling in my videos. So, with that in mind, I drew my flip video out of my holster and began to shoot. I didn't add any transitions but I tried to add some "color" to my video'ing. I really don't think it added much to a baseball video but I am sure it would have been better if I was filming a wedding.

Anyway, if you would like to watch the vid, here it is.




Here is the link for all of my FaceBook Friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7--eUmDwPOU