Claro is the cell provider in Nicaragua and, surprisingly, has excellent coverage all across the country (at lest the 60 or so KM I traveled). This was the second foreign country I took my iPhone to, and the first that greeted me upon arrival. What a cool thing. It made me very happy to be in Nicaragua. Then a few moments later I received this text:

Thanks, AT&T, for proving you’re an evil conglomerate corporation that cares nothing more than making a dollar. I had turned all the data features on my phone off prior to traveling because I knew that the bill could rise in a hurry, but $19.97 a megabyte? Really? I was floored.

And in case you had any questions, AT&T did not welcome me back to the States with a friendly text message. I bet Claro wouldn’t have any problems with iPhone tethering…

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When my youth group decided to go to Nicaragua and the organization we ended up working with told me they do work in La Chureca, I knew God was pointing us where we all needed to be. Right to the dump. Amongst the trash. With the people who live there.

We went in with World Missions Outreach and washed kids feet and then gave them new shoes, probably for the first time. Some four or five groups of sixteen kids at a time. Picture seeing a kid’s face getting brand new shoes that light up for the first time. It’s difficult to explain just what this meant and the experience there, but just know that it was amazing.

Next door to the school in La Chureca is a church that is completely run by the children who live there. They give the messages, lead the prayers, everything. In a dump. Children run a church. It’s amazing.

These measly words on this screen and the few pictures I’m going to attach throughout won’t do life in La Chureca or our experience any justice but just know it was incredible and, despite the circumstances, God is really working there.

(Pictures are very large.)

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I am a youth minister and have been lucky enough to attend a number of conferences in exotic locations over the years. I’ve been to the National Youth Workers Convention in Nashville and Charlotte, drove in the snow at Shift in Chicago, met cool people at the Perkins School of Youth Ministry in Dallas and, as you read this, am checking out the National Youth Ministry Convention in Columbus.

This is the first time I’ve been to the National Youth Ministry Convention, so I don’t really know what I’m getting myself into. Though based on the other conventions and conferences, I know there will be interesting sessions, cool speakers, nice worship, free stuff and most likely good food.

I’ve been very blessed to be working at a church that can afford to send me to these various cool places and I always come back with a since of renewal and a boat load of ideas. Since I’m writing this prior to actually arriving in Columbus, it’s hard to give any first hand reports, but should the convention have wi-fi, maybe I’ll post a few pictures or thoughts.

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The Rules of the Interview
1. Leave me a comment saying you want to be interviewed.
2. I’ll email you five questions, of my determination not yours!
3. You update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

A few days back Gretchen sent me five questions. It’s taken me a little bit of thinking to properly answer them, but hopefully it’ll be worth it. Without further adieu, here’s what Gretchen wanted to know:

1. If you were limited to seeing one genre of movie for the rest of your life, which genre would you choose?

Can I say indie? It’s listed as a genre at Netflix so it can’t be cheating, right? I’ve always said the Independent Spirit Awards are the coolest thing Hollywood does and that independent films are the only true creativity left out west. The stories are more interesting, the characters are more real, and they’re just much more enjoyable movies to watch. If I were restricted to just watching indie filmes for the rest of time, I’d be alright with that.

2. Do you have any secret talents that none of us know about yet?

I don’t think I’ve talked much about it here or on Twitter, but I really enjoy cooking. Inspiration typically comes from the Food Network, usually through Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives or from something created by Alton Brown or Giada De Laurentiis. I’m not a great cook, but I know my way around a kitchen and do enjoy it and not many people know that, so there you go.

3. Which of the 48 continental states would you visit if you had a free month and unlimited funds?

I would love to tour California. Driving the PCH seems like a lot of fun and it’d be very cool to be able to go from the large cities in the south to the vast wilderness in the north. Not to mention seeing the redwoods and Hollywood. That’d be a very cool month. It’d have to be one of the months that has 31 days though; 30 or 28 just wouldn’t be enough.

4. What’s your favorite part about being a youth minister?

Good question. I really enjoy my job and there are many things that could potentially be my favorite: working with the kids (surprised?), planning and executing retreats and mission trips all over the country, and being able to give back to a system that helped me when I was younger. Though what I consider my favorite part would be our worship experience on Sunday nights. Over the last year it has greatly transformed into what it is now — a very energized youth praise band and messages built around month long themes. It’s been a very cool process to be a part of and it has presented some very cool worship experiences.

5. (I’m gonna steal one from my interview because I think it’s so good.) What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?

I don’t know if I’ve ever really thought about that. I write things mostly for myself — there are a few things I write that I know think other people would be interested in. It would be awesome to be the next John Gruber and live off my blog, but I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. The site landed me a few featured spots in the local paper over the years, but that’s not really what I write for. When it comes down to it, I write as a personal outlet and if people find it interesting, than that’s pretty cool too.

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I’m cleaning out files on my MacBook the other day. Basically I’m bored and going through old files to see what I find. I opened up the DropBox inside the Public folder and found a txt file titled DearJustinCoxFromAStranger. Imagine my surprise when I realized I didn’t actually create this file. So, I did what anyone would do, I opened it. This is what it said:

Dear Justin Cox

Hello stranger, how are you? I am connected to your computer right now– Don’t worry! I can’t see your personal files or write anything onto your hard disk. I just wanted to write a friendly note, and say I hope your flight out of Seattle goes well tonight. Maybe we’re taking the same flight? We could be friends! If you happen to read this before you board your plane tonight, you should stand up and whistle or something, that way I know who you are. If not, then I hope your travels are pleasant and there are no delays. Have a great night!

*m

If you’re not familiar with Mac security, the Public folder and the DropBox are left open to easily share files between computers. Apparently while I was waiting for my midnight flight out of Seattle, leaving the wonderful world of PAX behind, someone was snooping computers on the network and found Justin Cox’s MacBook — gotta love the simplicity of the default computer naming scheme in OS X. Trying to be friendly they left me a little note. They just didn’t count on me not finding the note for five months. Joke’s on them I guess.

Finding this file reminded me of browsing the dorm network in college. I used to find all kinds of interesting stuff on people’s computers who didn’t realize they were sharing their files with the world. Printing on random people’s printers is also fun but not really profitable. Public safety reminder: in the event you find yourself connected to a dorm network, lock down your computer.

Oh yeah, and if you’re a traveling fool and use your laptop in airports, be sure to check your DropBox before boarding the plane. You might make a friend… or meet a stalker. You never know.

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Warning: The content that follows will contain significant name dropping, product linking, and plenty of nerds. You have been warned.

Keynote

This year’s keynote speaker was Ken Levine, the guy who created and wrote BioShock. I was throughly looking forward to this because, having played BioShock, I thought it’d be pretty cool to hear about how this incredible game came be. Perhaps even how some of his high-philosophy story-line came about. When it came to it, Levine actually never mentioned BioShock by name and talked about his life to this point. He talked about finding his first group of real friends thanks to Dungeons and Dragons, a brief career in Hollywood, and finally coming to the realization that someone actually creates the video games he plays. The speech was sort of a rally cry for nerds everywhere. It was a good way to start the show.

Mike and Jerry

Mike Holkins and Jerry Krahulik are the brains behind Penny Arcade. Their alter-egos, Jonathan Gabriel and Tycho Brahe, are the main subject matter for the webcomic. They are, if you will, big time. At least until they start talking. They held two question and answer sessions where they answered everything honestly and hilariously. What I really liked about the two of them, other then the fact that they are as funny as their personas are in the comic, is that they are just as awe struck by everything as we are. They love video games and the comic is a result of that. Their “fame” is secondary and to them, fleeting. It could end at any moment as far as they’re concerned. Jerry said it’s a lot like running from lions, trying to hold off the end of the run as long as possible. They really seem down to earth, genuinely humble people. They set up an impromptu autograph session on the second to last day of the expo that Mike and I stumbled into. Instead of ending at 5pm, like the handwritten sign said, they waited until everyone in line got a chance to approach the table, something they clearly did not have to do. Through seeing them on stage, it’s clear to see they enjoy what they do and are grateful (and a little surprised) at the result.

Me and Felicia Day

The Guild

It’s no coincidence that I’m now segueing into talking about The Guild. Prior to attending PAX I was really looking forward to the screening of The Guild on the first night of the show. So excited that Mike and I entered the line almost two hours early to be sure we got a seat, which we did, in the second row. The Guild, which I’ve talked about before, is a web tv show about a guild of WoW players who decide to meet. The show was created by and stars Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh, who were both at the expo. I got to meet both of them at The Guild booth and, like Mike and Jerry, are very approachable and humble. Felicia Day, who also stared in the very funny and hugely popular Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog, even embarrassed herself in the question and answer after the screening due to a slight slip of the tongue. It was pretty funny.

Wil Wheton

Admittedly I’m not geeky enough to know much about Wil Wheaton. I mean, I know that he was on StarTrek: TNG as a kid and he’s pretty funny on Twitter, but other than that I got nothing for you. He was the keynote speaker at PAX last year. This year, he was given his own panel. When asked how one man, even Wil Wheton, could have a “panel” he laughed and then said it’s because he’s awesome. Wil falls into the same category as all the rest I’ve talked about so far: humble, funny, and very happy with where they are in life. After Rickrolling us in dramatic fashion, Wil read some things he’s written and personally enjoys. He’s funny and pointed at the same time which is not an easy thing. I might have upped by nerd-cred by being there, but I am glad I sat in for the Wil Wheton Panel.

Line Up Room - Thousands of Geeks in One Place

People

It seemed that the kindness that seemingly emanated from Mike, Jerry, Felicia, Sandeep, and Wil was not limited to them. In fact, just about everyone was extremely friendly. A good deal of time at PAX is spent waiting in line surrounded by hundreds of other people (thousands in the Line Up Room). Despite being crammed in with other people, there is always someone willing to converse, play a game, or joke around. It definitely made waiting in all those lines much more pleasant.

Games

So PAX is a gaming conference, it’s fitting that I talk about games at some point. So I guess now will do. I’m a casual gammer. I play a few games a year. I read Destructoid and follow upcoming stuff, but I usually don’t go overboard with it. That said, there were a few titles that really excited me at PAX.

The first was Afro Samurai. This game, based on an anime on Adult Swim, features Samuel L Jackson as the Afro Samurai. It’s a cell-shadded game that looks really cool and plays like a typical button-mashing action game. Yes, I played this one. It was pretty fun. It’s clearly going to get a mature rating because, well, Samuel L Jackson is in it.

I attended the Ubisoft Demo that featured play throughs of both FarCry 2 and Prince of Persia. Both of these games look great. Prince of Persia has an art style that’s very unique and hard to describe. The game looks like a lot of fun, although I’ve not liked Prince of Persia games in the past, but we’ll see. FarCry 2 has a graphics and AI engine that is unrivaled. Fire spreads naturally, water ripples, you can see the heat of exhaust. It’s incredible. The game also looks hellishly difficult. The game developer, playing a production build of the game, kept dying. That game is going to be hard. What makes FarCry 2 stand out from other beautiful FPS games is it’s map editor. Usually a trivial feature, Ubisoft has raised the bar here. It’s really hard to describe. You just have to see it.

The final game I’m looking forward to is Fallout 3, which should be out sometime next month. This game is a mix FPS and third-person (and top-view if you want) that follows a survivor in the post-apocalyptic United States. It’s quest based and open ended. Weapons can be created from virtually anything found in the environment, which will have some very interesting results. This game looks to share a lot of similarities with FarCry 2 and BioShock. That’s a good thing.

Closing

It’s hard to summarize my PAX experience. It seems to trite to say it was great, or a lot of fun, even though it was both of those things. PAX is something that is hard to describe to someone who doesn’t play games but at the same time very easily relatable — as discovered by the people who shared our airport shuttle bus. PAX is the following:

If the Penny Arcade Expo has a star, it’s not Gabe or Tycho. It’s not special guests like MC Frontalot or Wil Wheaton. It’s not even veritable champions of nerdery like PAX ‘08 Omegathon winner Joey Gecko. No, it’s geeky culture itself. And when we gather to celebrate our own, wackiness invariably ensues.

That was GeekDadZ via Wil Wheaton’s recent post attempting to summarize PAX. PAX is about geeks. It’s for geeks. It is geeks. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to summarize. One thing is for sure, Mike and I will be back.

While I wrap up this marathon post, I’m going to add a gallery of pictures that we took at PAX featuring some of the crazy cosplayers. Check it out.

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The strangest thing, and the hardest to get over, is the fact that it’s three hours behind the East Coast. It feels like living in the past actually. When I turned on ESPN last night, at 630p, college football games were half over. I felt like I had missed something. It might have been the jet lag, but it just felt odd. Today I decided not to turn on the TV.

Another thing that I found rather strange are the drivers over here. Evidently no one that lives in Seattle can drive. Even stranger, there are stop lights that tell you when you can leave the on ramp and enter the highway. Odd yes, but their erratic pattern is even odder. I’ll add the YouTube video of this strange light system later on, when I’m not waiting in a 3000 person line to enter PAX.

Other then these two things, Seattle is your typical “big city.” The downtown area is pretty cool, especially the Pike Street Market — the place with the famous fish throwers and all the flower vendors. One thing that is pretty unique, especially after being in Florida for so long, is that the second language used (in the airport mainly) is not Spanish but rather Japanese. That’s pretty cool.

I’m sure my weekend here will result in many more observations, especially as it relates to geeks and nerd culture, but for now that’s all I got. Look for those fun realizations sometime next week.

Here’s the YouTube video of the retarded traffic light. Behold the stupidity that is Seattle’s highway system:

I mean, Seattle isn’t all bad. I guess. At least PAX is pretty much awesome.

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PAX is a three day conference created by the one and only Penny Arcade, an awesome web comic. It’s going to feature bands, video games, speakers, video games, movies, video games, geeks, and video games. I’m excited.

It's Penny Arcade Expo or Bust!

The official schedule is available on the PAX website and it’s almost mind numbing to try and decipher it all. One session I’ve been looking forward to for awhile, however, is the screening of The Guld with creator and star Felicia Day. That should be pretty cool. Other things that caught my eye were sessions on the history of Harmonix, a screening of the movie The Wizard, and the keynote with the creator of BioShock. One thing’s for sure, the deal will be a lot of fun.

While I’m there I hope to explore a bit of Seattle as well. Considering I’ve never been west of Texas this should be an adventure. I’ll be making PAX updates on Twitter, so follow me if you haven’t already. There probably won’t be a PAX specific post here until sometime next week. We’ll see.

Are you going to PAX? Have you been to Seattle? Leave some “must see and do” things in the comments below.

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One such link, recently served up by @Overshee (evidently originally offered by @DrHorrible), is so cool that I had to share it here. It’s so cool, in fact, that my feeble writing skills won’t do it justice. Check this out this excerpt from Where the Hell is Matt:

A few months into his [post-qutting globe trotting vacation], a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said “Hey, why don’t you stand over there and do that dance. I’ll record it.” He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It’s actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.

As is the case with the internet these days the video ended up making Matt somewhat internet famous. Then, in a very bizarre turn, Stride Gum found Matt and offered to send him around the world so he could film his little dance at the far corners of the earth. Why Stride Gum? Who knows but Matt isn’t stupid and took them up on the offer. Crazy? It’s not even done yet. Again, from Matt’s own website:

In 2006, Matt took a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. In that time, he danced a great deal.

The second video made Matt even more quasi-famous. In fact, for a brief period in July, he was semi-famous.

Things settled down again, and then in 2007 Matt went back to Stride with another idea. He realized his bad dancing wasn’t actually all that interesting, and that other people were much better at being bad at it. He showed them his inbox, which, as a result of his semi-famousness, was overflowing with emails from all over the planet. He told them he wanted to travel around the world one more time and invite the people who’d written him to come out and dance too.

The Stride people thought that sounded like yet another very good idea, so they let him do it. And he did. And now it’s done. And he hopes you like it.

That’s right, he looked a gift horse in the mouth and asked to do it again, bigger and better than the first time. Evidently Stride Gum has the money to send a happily unemployed 31 year old resident of Seattle around the world twice. The result is pretty impressive. I present to you Matt, dancing, with the people of the world.

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After a few minutes in Central City I realized that the devastation of the Lower Ninth made popular on CNN isn’t the whole story. Sure, thousands of houses were destroyed and now created a modern American ghost town, but there is devastation much bigger that the news media didn’t cover. The area we were working didn’t see the famous water damage, in fact, there was little damage on the whole in the Upper Ninth. The devastation that Katrina left in this area is with the people who live there.

We spent two days at a woman’s house who had worked hard her whole life to provide for her and her family. She worked two jobs to put her kids through private school and college and had even attained 90 college credit hours herself. She had worked her way up from a temp to $40,000 a year salary job. Then Katrina came rolling through. Her company relocated her to Arkansas where she knew no one, had no transportation, and wasn’t at home. Because of this she lost her job and went back to her home in New Orleans where she tried to start over. She hired three different contractors to fix the little damage she had (FEMA deemed she didn’t have enough damage to merit any aid and her insurance company determined she had $3,800 worth of damage and cut her a check for that amount) and all three contractors essentially screwed her. All in all she spent nearly $25,000 on repairs with jobs that weren’t done right or not even at all. What all this did to her, as she put it, sapped her of all her energy. She was back to working part time, depending on her sister to help support them both. She owns a nice piece of property (a duplex with an apartment above where she lives) but no longer has the means or desire to fix it up so that she can rent them out. Her story is the same one you will hear talking to everyone in Central City, a devastation the media will never cover.

Our group did an essentially simple project for this woman: we tore out a broken concrete path from the from of her house to the rear and replaced it with circular pavers and red “lava rocks.” The project cost roughly $100 and a days work for two adults and five teenagers. The result, however was priceless. The homeowner gained back a bit of her energy, her “pep” as she called it. She wanted to continue the project (we miss-estimated and didn’t buy enough rocks to fill in around the pavers) and seemed to be truly thankful for the difference we helped make in her life.

There are a lot of incredible things happening in New Orleans. The media likes to talk about the various celebrities building houses in the Lower Ninth Ward and about the constant work being done to strengthen the levees so something like Katrina can never happen again. All of this is important and needed, but there are other incredible things happening that the general public will never know about. Things like restoring hope by laying a few pavers and mowing a few lawns. It’s going to take years to fully restore New Orleans, to fully restore the people there but after spending a week there I am encouraged to know that someday it will happen.

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