Movie Review: The Avengers

I've never read a comic book and I didn't see all of the prequels. Truth be told, I'm getting a little tired of the super hero themed movies so my expectations for this one weren't too high. With all that in mind, I didn't figure I'd be writing a review on this one so my journalism cap wasn't on. By the time I realized how awesome this movie was going to be, it was too late for objectivity. Consider this more of a: "Things Tim Thought Were Cool" vs. an actual review.

The Essential Toolbox List

One year when I was growing up, my dad had the great idea to help us start building a tool collection. That Christmas, all four of us little tykes (my sisters included) got a hefty, Craftsman tool box. Every year since, we get a little something to add to our box and by the time I moved out on my own I had tool boxes with enough tools to tackle most household chores. So if you find yourself using a butter knife to screw in hooks for a picture frame it might be time for a trip to one of men's favorite shopping grounds.

Spring Cleaning Part II: The Grill

Imagine digging into your fridge and grabbing some foul smelling ground beef then going to town to make some patties, or pulling out some hot dogs that are marinading in a dark brown sludge that smells like roadkill. Not exactly the ingredients you want to serve up to your friends or family... but generally we don't think about those things once they go on the grill. It's hot- so it has to be clean, right? To keep your food tasting as good as possible and your grill working to it's best it requires some maintenance. For this project we'll look at tackling the best part of our backyard- the grill and getting it ready for this year's cooking season.

The Bible in a Year

Recently, our Sunday School class read through David Platt's book, Radical:Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. The book ends with a one-year challenge: to pray for the world, to give sacrificially, to read through the Bible, to spend time developing community, and to spend 2% of your year (1 week) in a "missions" type setting. I'll devote more time this year to articles about some of the other parts of the challenge, but I thought I'd pass along this neat tool that I'm using to read through the Scriptures this year.