Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

the way things were (since last time)

Thursday, August 17th, 2006

It’s been more than a little while since I last posted. I’ve been busy — here’s the short version:

  • 7/21 – 7/23: Nashville
  • 7/28 – 7/29: Navarre
  • 8/4 – 8/5: Conquerors
  • 8/7 – 8/15: Leslie visited P’cola

Now for the long version… settle in. A few weeks back I took a trip up to Nashville to see my good friend Melanie “is there a Doctor in the house? why, yes there is!” Harkabus. I was considering being lazy and not going, but she kept telling me I was coming, and eventually I believed her. It was good times, I must say. Nashville is a really cool town, if you ever get the chance to go. Me and Harkabus assembled a computer desk in *well* under the 90 min suggested serving time. I also rid her computer of spyware and junk. I love fixing computers.

I also got to stay with Mr. Pimptastic himself, Nick Howell. He has been kind enough to open his couch, shower, and fridge every time I’ve come to Nashvegas. Saturday night we went to Dave & Buster’s. If you’ve never been, it’s basically like a grown-up version of Showbiz Pizza. (If you’re old school you’ll know that is now Chuck E. Cheese’s.) Anyway, it was a whole lot of fun. I got to see some friends I haven’t seen in a very long time. Hope Huckeba from HUG was there, Toasty from King’s Men, Jaime (Wanda) Boone from OLC, and my very good friend Nivia Snowden (well now she’s not Snowden anymore, she’s married to a really cool guy named Marlan who I finally got to meet.) It was really good to see Niv again. We used to be like peas and carrots, as Forrest would say, but it’s been awhile. It was great to reestablish that friendship.

One other cool thing that happened that night was playing a game called “In the Groove” (basically a Dance Dance Revolution knockoff). I will admit, i beat both Harkabus and Nivia, though the fact that they were wearing some sort of heels probably had a lot to do with it. Anyway, I liked the game so much that I went home and ordered my own pad off the internet for my computer. This is what it looks like:

homepad

I play it on an open source (source code is available and legally free) program called stepmania. (This program works on Linux and Mac, too. W007!10101) One of the cool things about it is that you can import your own songs in mp3 or ogg format and make your own steps. I have almost completed a step routine for Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”. (yes, i bought the album) A video of me doing this nonsense is going to be appearing here very soon. Those who don’t think they can take the gayness should probably not watch.

Back to the story, on Sunday I went to church at a large congregation (I don’t remember the name) in Nashville. During one of the songs (they have powerpoint lyrics), a message popped up for the parents of child # 168 to please come to the classroom area, as they were needed. Either that congregation is so large that they have begun to number their students, or some poor mother has birthed more than 167 children and is now numbering them rather than naming them. Either way, I’ve decided I will also number my children, using either Fibonacci sequence or prime numbers.

The last weekend in July, I am sad to say my friend Sarah Todd left Gulf Breeze for greener pastures. Actually she is moving to be closer to her grandparents and to start nursing school. Head over to the images section to see some photo goodness. Also that weekend, Jarrett at Church helped me and some other guys at Church trim trees for one of our members who can no longer be climbing around to do it. (p.s. I can climb trees in sandals, no problem.) I was really thankful to have Jarrett’s help and also to spend some one-on-one time with him. He managed to down one of those quadruple burgers at Burger King in a pretty short amount of time. It was a sight to behold.

The weekend before last was Conquerors. It’s a youth rally here in Pensacola that Scenic Hills Church of Christ holds annually. If you read my post about Focus, you’ll remember the name Wiley Lowe. Well, he spoke at this and did a great job. I was so suprised and happy to hear that he was speaking. He mostly talked about getting rid of the old man, because the old dead earthly body is not something we want around us. Once again, see the images link above for pics.

Last week, my brother came to town for a visit. It was really great spending time with him. He is a very spiritually mature guy, and I’m proud of him for all he’s doing, and very excited that he’s getting married. To my surpise and delight, he actually tried the DDR thing with the dance pad. We both did a lot of that over the course of the week, as it’s super addictive. He left on Tuesday, but I’m going up with the family to see him this weekend and to meet his fiancé’s parents. That should be lots of fun. Oh yes, the pad is coming with me.

In other news, today is was my birthday. I am officially a quarter of a century old. 30 looms like an ugly beast on the horizon. I’m going to walk backwards til I get there so I don’t have to look at it. Other than having to work, it was a fun day. My parents took me and my family to Zea’s tonight. It was fun, and it is great to spend time with family. I wish my brother had been here though. I’ve saved up some money, and combined with the birthday loot I’m planning on buying a really sweet guitar when I go up to Nashville in a couple of weeks for a concert (Dave Barnes is playing, going with Hope and some other folks… it should be a blast). There will be photos and probably some video of that guitar once I get it.

Finally, it’s been a long time coming, but as promised, here are a few videos from Focus 2006. You can grab all my videos (including high definition 720×480 videos) here. You will need the Divx web player to play these. This is also available for Linux and Mac. Alternately, you can use VLC and VLC mozilla plugin to play it (you can use VLC with Linux, Mac, and almost everything else).

[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060625thrillersmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]
Colton dancing to Thriller… priceless.

[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060627flavorsaversmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]
Macaroni & Cheese Pizza.

[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060627beepssmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]
Musical Genius.

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Enjoy, and keep an eye out. it won’t be long before I update again.

focused

Tuesday, July 4th, 2006

Sunday afternoon I got back from Focus, and it was really great. For those of you who don’t know, the best way to describe focus is probably Church camp, but it’s much different in many ways. About 200 – 300 teens (middle to high school) come to Faulkner University for a week. Every day, you do a service project, a few worship times, devotionals, or classes, some sports, and some activities just for fun.

This year, one of the main projects was the rolling closet, the backyard Bible school, and general cleanup and help with the Montgomery Inner City Ministry. I ended up being the chaperon who went to that every day, and it was a huge blessing. I got to spend some time every day with Jonathan Moseby, who was an evangelist working with that ministry. I also met some really great teenagers who worked very hard to help out, including my guys, but I already knew they were awesome.

Some of the other projects included visiting with the elderly at a retirement home close to Faulkner’s campus, writing cards to soldiers stationed overseas in Iraq and other combat areas, and cleaning and repairing houses for Montgomery residents.

The keynote speaker this year was a gentleman named Wiley Lowe, who is the youth minister for a congregation in Daytona Beach, FL called Holly Hill Church of Christ. (apparently they used to have a website, but not anymore.) In any case, God has blessed that man with a gift for preaching the good news. The theme this year was “super powers,” and all the speakers touched on that subject. Wiley talked a lot about Satan, and his desire to tear us away from God. Specifically he stressed our ability to choose to stay away from his traps, because God warns us how Satan will attack. In any case, my guys were impressed with his lessons, and so was I. Honestly, he reminds me of Dr. Fortner from Harding University in many ways. I have an immense respect for Fortner, though he may be a bit over the edge at times. If you ever get the chance to hear Wiley speak, I recommend taking it.

Focus also has a lot of fun activities, some of which are not that exciting, but some are great. This year we went to a baseball game, the Montgomery Biscuits vs the Mobile Bay Bears. That’s right folks, they’re called the biscuits. Don’t ask me. There was also a karaoke night, and one night we had the mall to ourselves playing broom hockey (arguably more dangerous than regular hockey… it does not involve skates or pads, but does involve large sticks with plastic on the ends… usually there are minor injuries) and video games. By the way, my new favorite game (i intend to get a pad for home) is Dance Dance Revolution. There was a guy there named Adam who was insanely good. I wanted to tape him, but we ran out of time. In any case, it is mad fun, and I need one to get in shape.

I have some video (and maybe pics, not sure) from Focus. Once I get it captured and edited, I’ll throw it up so you can see some Focus goodness.

God totally took care of me (He always does) with my car this week, too. Three minutes from the Church on the way back (so thankful it wasn’t back in Montgomery), my speedometer stopped working, and then my car stopped shifting out of second. Of course, I was convinced my transmission was shot. But, thanks to God, it was only my “speed sensors”. Short story is, it was an $80 repair vs an $800 repair. Sweet.

Personally, Focus helped me tons this year. It reminded me that I need to be back doing ministry. It also gave me a spiritual boost that I’ve been needing for awhile. And, I got to spend time with the guys in the youth group, and that’s always a great (albeit strange/disturbing) time.

Comment it up, kids.

focus ’06

Sunday, June 25th, 2006

[transmission]

Ok, it is getting pretty late, tomorrow (well, today, actually) I am headed off to Montgomery with most of the guys in the youth group for Focus. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m very excited. I’m not sure the guys are actually planning to sleep at all, so I guess that will have to wait til I get back.

Also, I finally caved in. I finally got a myspace. It is here if you want to see it. However, faithful readers of this site, all my blogging will continue here. I just got it so I could leave comments for the rest of the population who has myspace. And I will say, I am happy to have found some people I might not have ever found again, were it not for this craze.

However, it is a little disappointing to see some of the pages. It seems a lot of the folks I spent time with as a teenager (and some people I still spend time with) have changed their values. Or maybe I just didn’t know them that well before. Of course, I’m not claiming to be perfect by any stretch; but it’s so frustrating that people in the faith do not live as though they know Christ. I do not expect non-Christians to share Christian values, but when Christians consistently choose to ignore self control in favor of what feels good, it’s not really Christianity at all. I’m not talking about mistakes, either. That happens, and that is the whole reason why we need Jesus in the first place. The hard thing to see is when it’s an unapologetic, un-Christian lifestyle with no intent to change.

In the end, we all have to choose how to use our time. Like any tool, it can be used for great good, or for harm. Anyway, this whole line of thought has lead me to really consider how I live my life. I know there are times when I choose my will above God’s, and I need to be more aware of how that affects God and how it affects those around me. Maybe your example or mine will discourage someone who needed encouragement. Or, maybe it will strengthen someone who was on the verge of giving up. It is our choice, and may God bless us with the will to make the right one. Praise be to God that no matter where we’ve been, and no matter what we’ve done, he still extends His awesome love and welcomes us back if we’ll just return to Him. If it were not so I would be without hope.

I’m so looking forward to getting a good spiritual re-charge this week, it’s been a rough month. And, of course, there will be pictures and videos to be seen when I get back, so stay tuned.

[/transmission]

back in the saddle

Friday, June 23rd, 2006

Well, last night I got to speak at Church again for the first time in a long time. I even made a nice presentation for the class using Open Office Impress, which exported nicely to powerpoint. If you desire to see it, get the impress version, or the powerpoint version, if you must.

Unfortunately, my voice is really monotone most of the time, even when I’m excited about something, so I think it might have been a little dull. Anyway, the important thing is that I’m back teaching, and I need the practice. I think it will be easier with time. The teen class is still more fun, though.

Also, some great news: Futurama is coming Back!!! Yes, the show that has helped me maintain so much of my sanity is coming back for more episodes, and I am thrilled. And, though that news is music to my ears, some even greater news: my own little brother is engaged!! His fiancé is a wonderful lady. Props to him for actually talking to her, and props to her for not running away when he did. Just kidding ; ) Really though, I’m very excited for them, and I will update whenever they decide a date.

What else? I have been growing a beard. I really think I should have done this long ago. And I would have… had I been able to. But now I can. So behold, the MIGHTY BEARDED Lloyd:

beard2

Yes, I know, it is quite awesome. I’m fairly certain that this beard is going to be a critical tool in my conquest of the world. For instance, did you know that since I started this stubble of power, I have obtained (1) free movie from blockbuster and (2) half – priced subs at subway? No coupons, just the beard, thank you. Coincidence? I think not.

new toy

Saturday, May 20th, 2006

My video camera came in on Thursday. So far, I’m having fun. Many things that have no real need of being taped have been recorded. Par example:

Lloyd driving (I removed the embedded player, it’s been there long enough, but you can still use the link.)

You’re going to need the divx codec to play this video, or you can use vlc as it provides a codec which will read divx, and just about anything else. (Both of these can be used in linux, by the way. I just finished watching the video using Firefox and Ubuntu with the VLC web plugin. Apparently, the divx for linux solution also works.)

Do you like it?

peaceout.