Something to Reed

Moving Day

2011-07-17T14:34:00.001-07:00

About a month ago we moved. With our little family set to expand in the fall, we decided we needed a slightly larger place to live. We were fortunate to find a two-bedroom apartment only a short distance away from our former one-bedroom dwellings. Even better, it is on the ground floor.

It has been quite a few years since I have moved anywhere. Although I thought I had the perfect moving plan worked out in my mind and although we hired professional movers, I was not prepared for how fatiguing the whole process turned out to be. But I have learned a few things which I plan to incorporate into our next moving plan—whenever that will be—preferably a few years off.

1) Tell everyone you know beforehand that you are moving and when. Also tell them that during the two weeks surrounding the move it will be difficult to answer emails or return phone calls. I only told those closest to me that I was moving and I never bothered to tell them when. The weeks surrounding our move happened to be very busy ones for me at church. But I knew I had to focus on the move and continually felt guilty that I was not answering questions posed in emails or left in voice messages. If I had told everyone in advance that I would be essentially unreachable for two weeks and advised them to contact someone else in my virtual absence I could have saved myself some stress. Those waiting for my answers probably would have felt less stressed also.

2) Pack a suitcase as though you are going on a weekend trip. This is something I learned from Colter. He packed one small suitcase of clothes and toiletries that he knew he would need the weekend of our move. He moved that suitcase himself in his car; so he knew exactly where it was when we got to the new residence. As a result, he had a supply of clean clothes ready to go for several days as well as all of his shaving and shower necessities. I, on the other hand, assumed we would be able to unpack everything much faster than what was truly possible. When Sunday morning came, I spent a frantic time tearing open boxes in vain to find a pair of shoes to wear to church. I finally settled for a pair of shoes with 3 inch heels that had been unpacked already. At six months pregnant, wearing 3 inch heels for three hours, two of them on my feet most of the time, was uncomfortable. (The next day we unpacked the pair of 1 ½ inch heels I had been searching for the day previous.)

3) Know that you will lose things during the move. Even though the two apartments were around the corner from each other; even though we went back and forth between the two apartments several times after the initial move to do a final sweep of the old apartment, we still managed to lose one fluted glass, our lemonade stirring stick, and a bottle of Resolve carpet cleaner. How they managed to disappear is a mystery; but they are definitely gone. I can only imagine that in a bigger move, more items will mysteriously disappear en route to their new destination.

Our new apartment is still slowly taking shape. We are having to be creative with how we store items. We still have to buy and assemble baby furniture. But in all we are grateful that we were able to find this place and look forward to welcoming our little baby home here come autumn.

Recessional

2011-04-06T21:19:00.001-07:00

Written by Rudyard Kipling for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Quoted by Ezra Taft Benson in “Beware of Pride”.

God of our fathers, known of old—
Lord of our far-flung battle line—
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies—
The Captains and the Kings depart—
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Amen.

Welcome to 2011

2011-01-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone has had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Christmas came and went too soon, but chaperoning the multi-stake youth dance let New Year’s Eve linger on and on. It was fun, and we were thankful we weren’t on the cleanup crew.

If you haven’t already, be sure to take some time soon to think about the person you want to be this time next year. It’s wonderful the way self-development comes to the front of our minds this time each year, though it’s worthy of more of our attention than we usually give it.

Don’t worry about the holiday cookies, candies, chocolates, baking, meals, and snacking. They’ll be gone before you know it, as will the pounds they probably brought.

The 1000th Note: Completely Not Interesting

2010-12-12T15:46:00.001-08:00

I was hoping that the 1000th note I clipped in Evernote would be something interesting I could share, and… yeah. It isn’t. Our washer has decided hot means cold and cold means hot (seems like there’s a Katy Perry joke around here somewhere). Maintenance came by on Tuesday to check it out, and yes, the switch the controls which pipe it takes water from needs replaced. They left a note tucked inside our door to let us know they’d been here, and rather than keep track of the piece of paper, I dropped it in the ScanSnap, stashed it in Evernote for safekeeping, and yep… that was number 1,000.

But I don’t want to leave you with nothing interesting to read. How about the current Manvotional over at Art of Manliness: “Habit” by Charles Carroll Everett, written in 1861.

Worth Every Penny

2010-10-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I committed myself to donating $100 to a cancer-related charity. As of yesterday, I still hadn’t gotten around to it. (I mean, there’s still almost three months left to do it…)

We stopped at Safeway on our way home last night to grab a few items. The predominant color in our store right now is pink. Pink ribbons. Pink balloons. Pink signs. Pink shirts on the checkers. They’re in the middle of one of their periodic fundraising partnerships, this time with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. We quickly collected our $20.78 in groceries and checked out. Our checker, Tammy, asked us if we’d “like to donate a dollar for breast cancer research”. She sounded very enthused. I have no idea how many times she had asked that question over the last two weeks, or how many people had said, “Sure.”

I said, “Actually, I’d like to donate a hundred dollars.” I looked at the little keypad that was asking me the same question. It had buttons for $1, $3, and $5. I tapped “Other…”. I punched in a one followed by four carefully-counted zeros and pressed enter. A few seconds later, Tammy snapped back to reality. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “You were serious! I thought you were joking…” Her voice trailed off for a second as she punched a few buttons on her console.

She picked up the phone and activated the PA system. I had forgotten this part. I ducked my head, slightly embarrassed, as she announced to the store, “Thank you for the $100 donation to breast cancer research on checkstand three.” The girl on five looked up from her work and shouted over to her, “What? Are you serious?” Tammy barely had time to get a quick “Totally!” over her shoulder before her phone started ringing. “That would be the store manager.” The side of the conversation that we heard was, “Yeah… uh-huh… in your face!” I’d love to know what the other end of the conversation was.

I don’t expect there to be any problem with taking the charitable deduction for it. It was at Safeway, sure, but it was for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I’ve got the receipt, and it’s clearly marked. But even if I can’t, I made a couple people’s night. It was worth it. After all, I saved $3.31 by using my Safeway Club Card.

Chivalry in the MTC

2010-08-22T15:26:00.001-07:00

I went through the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Preston, England. There were 48 missionaries in our entire class – 42 Elders and 6 Sisters. Most would be serving their missions in England, but a couple were European missionaries who were serving in Europe and needed no foreign-language training.

At the MTC, I served as the district leader of the Aaron District. (The other three districts were Ammon, Omni, and Himner.) The president of the MTC told us that as district leaders, we could give rules and regulations to our districts in addition to the MTC’s rules. I don’t know what the other district leaders did, but I only asked one thing more of the Elders in my district: I didn’t want any of the Sisters to have to wait in line at the cafeteria because of us.

There were a couple questions about what this meant, but they quickly agreed to this. For example, we couldn’t require any of the other districts to let the Sisters go ahead of them (we lined up for lunch and dinner by district), but we could let our Sisters line up at the front of our district. We could offer to let the Sisters from other districts go ahead of us. Maybe they’d take us up on the offer, maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe Elders in the other districts would follow our example, maybe they wouldn’t. All we could do was set the example.

During the second week, they made me proud. There were eight of us in line, idly chatting while we were waiting for our food. The Elder at the front of the line interrupted his conversation to say, “Elders, Sisters”. Without further prodding or complaint, eight Elders picked up their trays and took two steps back. The two Sisters who had just walked into the cafeteria smiled and thanked us (they were finally starting to accept our deference) and went past. This happened as the first counselor in the MTC presidency was walking by. He stopped short and did a double-take. Convinced he really had seen what he thought, he said, “Elders, I am impressed. I’m very impressed!” I’ll always remember that.

When you know what’s right, stand for it. Someone else may just agree and stand with you.

Trust In Others

2010-05-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I was invited at the last minute to attend a Warriors game. I’d be taking off right after work and carpooling up to Oakland with a couple coworkers. I got dropped off back at work just after 11pm so I could grab my stuff and go home.

When I got inside, I saw the red voicemail light was lit on my office phone. Curiosity got the better of me – my work line is rarely used at all, let alone somebody leaving me a message. It was a message from one of the cafeteria staff letting me know that I’d left my debit card there and they had it; I could stop by and pick it up before they closed at 7, or I could pick it up on Monday.

Walking out to the car, I wondered what poor soul they had meant to leave the message for. I hadn’t been to the cafeteria that day, and when I do go, I never pay with a debit card. Besides, my debit card is right here in my–

Oh.

No, it’s not.

…

Hrmm. Well.

Apparently, when I stopped at the ATM (which is right next to the cafeteria) to get cash before heading up to the game, I managed to walk away from the loudly-beeping ATM and leave my ATM/debit card in it. Someone must have found it and turned it over to the cafeteria staff to hold until I could pick it up.

Oops.

Walking across the parking lot, I considered just calling the bank and reporting the card as lost. They’d send me a new one, and I wouldn’t have to go face the cafeteria staff and admit that I had ignored the loud beeping noise. (How did McCoy put it? “If I jumped every time a machine beeped at me…”) It would limit the downside to the damage that could be caused by whoever had my card in their possession. It’s what you’re supposed to do when you leave your card someplace. It’s right there in the cardholder agreement…

That weekend was General Conference, so I managed to forget about the missing card until I got back to work on Monday. I claimed my card, checked the account online just to make sure no one had used the card over the weekend, and all was well in the world. I just didn’t realize how well until later.

When we got home that night, there was a letter on the door. In our excited anticipation of Conference, we had apparently forgotten to pay the rent. We now had three days to pay them with a cashier’s check (not a personal check) or they’d start the eviction process.

Big oops.

The main problem this presented was how to get the amount of rent from our primary checking account to the local checking account. Our primary bank doesn’t have a local branch, and the accounts at our local bank didn’t have enough for rent. (I’ve since remedied the latter problem.) I made a large cash withdrawal from the primary checking account (they have a generous daily ATM limit), deposited it at our local bank, and had them issue a cashier’s check. (The nearest branch is open until 7pm – handy.) I walked into the rental office first thing Tuesday morning and fulfilled my obligations to them. (They don’t put a black mark on your file until you’re a week late with the rent, they just don’t accept a personal check once you’re three days late.) All was well in the world.

Driving in to work, I realized how blessed I was. First we had the money readily available to cover rent – that was never the problem. We had simply neglected the physical task of writing out the check and dropping it off on the first of the month. My heart goes out to those who struggle to make ends meet each month. But second, and more important, the only reason we were able to drop off the cashier’s check in time was because I hadn’t reported the ATM card as being lost. The replacement wouldn’t have arrived in time. Had I been cynical about the safety of my lost card, I would have put myself in quite a bind. But because I listened when a still, small voice said everything would be okay, the Lord was able to bless us – and everything was okay.

The 500th Note: The Little Red Hen

2010-05-17T06:14:00.000-07:00

I’ve started using Evernote as a digital notebook to collect scraps of paper, quotes, comics, etc. Anything that I would have cut out or printed off and put in a binder to save for later. I’ve got recipes, quotes, business cards, take-out menus, letters, owners manuals, and notes from lessons I’ve taught. I’ve just been using the free version so far. They’re serious about making your notes available to you wherever you are – they have clients for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, and probably more.

Anyway, I just added my 500th note: The Little Red Hen, as told by Ronald Reagan on his radio program in 1976. There’s another rendition of The Little Red Hen as told by Sterling W. Sill over on my Spoken Writ blog, if you’re interested, but here’s Ronaldus Magnus:

Once upon a time there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered some grains of wheat. She called her neighbors and said ”If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?”
“Not I,” said the cow.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Not I,” said the pig.
“Not I,” said the goose.
“Then I will,” said the little red hen. And she did.
The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. “Who will help me reap my wheat?” asked the little red hen.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Out of my classification,” said the pig.
“I’d lose my seniority,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my unemployment compensation,” said the goose.
“Then I will,” said the little red hen, and she did.
At last the time came to bake the bread. “Who will help me bake bread?” asked the little red hen.
“That would be overtime for me,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my welfare benefits,” said the duck.
“I’m a dropout and never learned how,” said the pig.
“If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination,” said the goose.
“Then I will,” said the little red hen.
She baked five loaves and held them up for the neighbors to see.
They all wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, “No, I can eat the five loaves myself.”
“Excess profits,” cried the cow.
“Capitalist leech,” screamed the duck.
“I demand equal rights,” yelled the goose.
And the pig just grunted.
And they painted “unfair” picket signs and marched round and around the little red hen shouting obscenities.
When the government agent came, he said to the little red hen, “You must not be greedy.”
“But I earned the bread,” said the little red hen.
“Exactly,” said the agent. “That’s the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations productive workers must divide their products with the idle.”
And they lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, “I am grateful, I am grateful.” But her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.

Aesop? Never heard of him.

2010-05-16T14:43:00.001-07:00

I was teaching Gospel Essentials once, and the lesson was on provident living – preparing now for what is to come. I thought I’d introduce the lesson with The Ant and the Grasshopper. Nobody’d heard of it. I was surprised. I figured everybody knew it, though I couldn’t tell you if I know it because we read it in school or because I saw the 1934 animated short from Disney. (I always did like the happier renditions, where the ants have plenty laid up in store and can help the repentant grasshopper, who is now willing to somehow work for his food.)

So I started telling a quick version of it. “There’s an ant and a grasshopper. The ant is very industrious and hard-working, and all summer long, he works to store food for the winter. But the grasshopper is carefree and lazy, and he spends the summer just hopping around and playing his fiddle.”

The light comes on over one of the women in the class. “Oh! Like in A Bug’s Life!”

I have to admit, I hadn’t thought of that before. Ants… grasshoppers… food… yep, like A Bug’s Life.

Well, not exactly. But close enough to work.

72-hour Kits

2010-03-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

Insurance, seat belts, and 72-hour kits. You hope you never need it, but when you need it, you’re glad you have it.

Don’t worry – nothing happened. Nicole just audited her 72-hour kit tonight, which she’s been meaning to do for a while. I was proud of her for not only having one, but for proactively making sure it’s up-to-date. I wondered how long it’s been since I checked mine. Well, it’s been long enough that I wouldn’t even claim to have one. I think I do. Someplace. When I was 14. I think it’s in my parents’ basement. But they’ve moved since then, never mind the fact that I’ve moved a thousand miles away. I think I’ll just start from scratch.

A 72-hour kit shouldn’t be that daunting of an endeavor. It’s not that different from packing for a weekend getaway. First, prepare like you’re staying at the Marriott. Then make it a weekend camping.

We’re going to try to set it up so that perishables – food and toiletries – are rotated through as easily as possible. A four-year-old deodorant stick isn’t in very good shape, though it would probably fulfill the measure of it’s creation if it needed to. Clothing needs checked to make sure it still fits, and – ideally – rotated seasonally. Food will probably be the interesting component here. My parents have (or had) MREs in their 72-hour kit that are (or were) older than I am. I tried one a couple years ago. Other than being kind of salty, it was pretty good. Chicken a la King in a bag. (When was the last time you ate food older than you are?) We picked up some backpacking meals at REI last year; some weekend here, we need to try them out and see how they are. Whatever we end up deciding to go with, we’ll throw something in there while we’re making up our mind.

Equipment will be fun to go shopping for. My camp shovel claimed to have an axe on the side. It doesn’t. I tried. It didn’t work. I’d love to use this as an opportunity to get a Leatherman, but do I really need a torx screwdriver? I mean, when I’m camping? A Buck knife would probably work just fine. Possibly better. Maybe I need both.

We do have a nice little first-aid kit now. We had some extra funds in our flex-spending account at the end of last year. You lose any unspent FSA funds at the end of the year, and first aid kits are a qualified medical expense, so we picked up what we hope is a nice little first-aid kit from REI. Again, it’s something we hope we never need to use, but we’ve got it.

If…

2009-10-23T12:23:00.001-07:00

Wonderfully motivational, and I first heard it on The Simpsons. I think.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
’Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling, Rewards and Fairies, 1910

Strangely Motivational Photos

2009-10-19T19:02:00.001-07:00

I've come across these in the last couple weeks. On some level, I find them strangely motivational and inspirational.

Weekend in Monterey

2009-10-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

We delayed celebrating our wedding anniversary a little and took a three-day weekend vacation in Monterey. We headed there on Friday evening. The drive was smooth and uneventful. We checked in to the hotel at about 7 o’clock and then went for a walk on Fisherman’s Wharf. We were amazed at the large number of jellyfish floating near the surface of the water—large, red jellyfish. On the way back to the hotel, we bought some pastries to snack on before bedtime.

The next morning, we woke up early so Colter could go skydiving. After such an exhilarating beginning, we lunched at a little place called Wild Thyme Café. Their soup and sandwiches were delicious.

The skydiving process took much of the day; so it was late afternoon before we headed down to the rocky coast of Monterey toward Carmel. We clamored about the rocks for a while, then drove along the 17-mile drive to get to Carmel. We arrived there after the shops had closed; so we did a little window shopping, and searched about for a place to find dinner. Since we had eaten a late lunch, we didn’t feel hungry enough for anything the restaurants had to offer. However, we did run into our friends, the Chiens, who had also escaped to the coast for the weekend.

On our way back to Monterey, we arrived at the coast just in time to see the sun set.

In Monterey, we decided to wander the downtown area. In all my years of visiting Monterey and Carmel, this is one area I had not explored. We found it to be a delightful little downtown. For dinner, we stepped into a café and enjoyed some gyros and Greek salad. Colter said it was one of the best gyros he has had in the United States. We topped everything off with dessert from a crêperie.

On Sunday, we slept in late, with the intension of going to church at the local young single adult ward, which met at noon. However, when we arrived, there was no ward to be found. We had forgotten that on that particular Sunday, all the Bay Area wards were meeting in Oakland for a special conference. There was another ward meeting at 2. So we went over and wandered along the beach for a while, then went to the Barnyard shops until it was time to go back to church. The ward was very friendly and we stayed the full three hours. Afterward we went back to Carmel and had dinner at a lovely French café at the Carmel Plaza. There I got to try my first escargot. They were quite tasty, very buttery and garlicky. Our meals were delicious. And for dessert, we wandered down to a sweet shop and each got a giant dark chocolate peanut butter cup.

Monday, we headed back to Carmel for breakfast. There was a certain restaurant I had wanted to go to because I remembered they had delicious buckwheat pancakes. I thought the name was Kathy’s Place. When I looked online, I had found a restaurant named Katy’s Place. It was in a different spot from the restaurant I had remembered, but I thought perhaps it had just changed locations. Well, we found Katy’s Place and had breakfast there. They had buckwheat pancakes that were delicious. But they were the biggest pancakes I’d ever seen. Each one was the size of a dinner plate. Colter got an Eggs Benedict that was the most scrumptious either of us had tasted. He asked the waitress for hot sauce and she brought out a sauce that was so yummy, we bought a bottle of it as we left.

But Katy’s Place was not the restaurant I had remembered. So we hiked through Carmel looking for the restaurant. We finally found it—still in business—on the other side of the town. The name is Katy’s Cottage. Perhaps next time we’ll have to go there, although now that we know where to find such a good Eggs Benedict breakfast, it may be hard to go anywhere else. My curiosity (and sanity) now satisfied, we went back to some of the shops that had been closed on Saturday. Colter bought a smart golfers cap at one hat shop. It was a fun place, run by a husband and wife team. We also enjoyed wandering through Thinker Toys, a local toy shop with a focus on toys that help children’s minds develop.

Before starting the long drive home, we went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and picked up some fudge to take to my dad as a special birthday treat. When we got home and were putting everything away, Colter said, “You know, I don’t feel like I need a vacation to recover from the vacation.” I felt the same way. It had been an escape from the pressures of everyday life. But it had been low-key enough that we felt fully renewed upon our return.

Untitled Post on Waste

2009-08-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

I saw a TV show tonight, where a woman refused to throw out severely-expired food because she didn't want to waste it. The thing is, it was already wasted. She just hadn't let it go out of her life yet.

It's an interesting thought.

Growth of Temples Worldwide

2009-04-26T15:33:00.001-07:00

Today's Sunday School lesson was on the gathering of members in the early days of the Church, first to Ohio, then to Missouri. (I also talked about Nauvoo and Utah for continuity's sake.) Included in the lesson was this quote from Joseph Smith:

“What was the object of gathering … the people of God in any age of the world? … The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation. … It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings.”

Keep that in mind, and consider Bruce R. McConkie, 1972:

“[The] revealed words speak of … there being congregations of the covenant people of the Lord in every nation, speaking every tongue, and among every people when the Lord comes again. …

“The place of gathering for the Mexican Saints is in Mexico; the place of gathering for the Guatemalan Saints is in Guatemala; the place of gathering for the Brazilian Saints is in Brazil; and so it goes throughout the length and breadth of the whole earth. Japan is for the Japanese; Korea is for the Koreans; Australia is for the Australians; every nation is the gathering place for its own people.”

There must, then, be a clear correlation between the spread of temples around the world, and the spreading of the Church around the world. I grabbed the list of temples and plotted when they opened:

The graph starts with the 5th temple, Laiee, Hawaii, in 1919; Excel doesn't like dates before 1900, and the rest of the graph illustrates the point. The Bern Switzerland temple (#9, 1955) was the first temple built outside of North America. (The first outside the US was #6 – Cardston Alberta, 1923.) It was shortly followed by Hamilton New Zealand (#11, 1958) and London England (#12, 1958).

In the early 80s, the number of temples doubled. This makes sense, given that in 1978, the Church suddenly found itself with a lot more members who could go to the temple.

The number of temples doubled again in the late 90s. (This is where the line goes straight up.) President Hinckley announced the new, smaller temple format and that they'd be doubling the number of temples in operation by the end of the millennium. It took just over three years.

There are currently 129 temples in operation, and another 16 have been announced or are under construction.

To the Tune of “Rodeo”

2009-03-15T16:59:00.001-07:00

Created while Elder Huckstep and I were roaming the streets of Worcester.

His palms are cold and sweaty
And he can barely speak.
He's camped out by the mailbox
For two and a half weeks.

Now it's "So long, girls! I'll see you!
I got my mission call.
We can date throughout the summer,
but I'm leaving in the fall!"

It's the doors you tract. It's street contacts.
It's Lamb of God videos.
It's two long years, will she still be there,
Waiting when you get home?

Well, it's tags and suits. It's faith in the fruits.
It's planting a goodly seed.
It's the love and the care, the testimony you share,
When they call you a mission'ry.

I thought there was a second verse, but I can't remember it.

Benjamin Franklin's Daily Routine

2009-02-28T08:12:00.001-08:00

Not bad. To bed by 10, up at 5. Daily planning and daily reflection.

Daily Routines: Benjamin Franklin

California Sunshine

2009-02-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

I walked four miles today—walking from my car to my office and back more than once.
It all began last August, when Stanford raised the prices on their parking permits to almost $300 per year (for a C permit. An A permit costs almost $700.) Furthermore, massive construction projects on campus wiped out 800 parking spaces around the campus. I got myself a train pass to use the local commuter train when I can; but with my busy life, the train is simply not always the most efficient option. So I found a way to drive to work without having to pay for a parking permit. One of the streets on the edge of campus, Stanford Avenue, allows for free parallel parking. The only trick is the street is a mile away from the Hoover buildings, where I work. It’s a good thing I enjoy walking.

This morning I drove to work. I was very preoccupied with a project facing me when I got into the office, so I parked quickly and hiked to the office as fast as my legs could carry me. It was only when I neared Hoover that the question crossed my mind, “Did I lock the car?” I thought about the time it would take to walk back to the car to check and the urgency of the situation awaiting me at the office. I decided to finish my trek to the office, start the ball rolling on my project, then go check on the car as soon as I got a chance.

Half an hour later I was on my way out the door again, heading back to the car to check on it. I walked just as quickly as before because I didn’t want to waste any more time than I had to. It was warm enough that I left my jacket inside, yet a cool wind was blowing. Clouds drifted across the sky, clean, white and fluffy. The sun shone brightly in a vibrant blue sky and songbirds were trilling everywhere. I couldn’t help but enjoy myself as I made the hike back to the car.

Of course, the car was already locked when I got to it. The fact that I had remembered to lock it relieved me, but it made my mile-long walk pointless—but not useless. I walked back to work, drinking in the beauty around me. Work has been so busy lately that I rarely have had time to leave the office. I relished this unexpected treat.

At the end of work I walked back to the car and, once again, enjoyed the journey in the crisp air of sunset. My extra walk mid-morning really hadn’t been a waste of time. I got plenty of exercise for the day; I got a brief break from work. Most importantly I got to spend time in the sunshine of a beautiful California spring day. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better treat.

Everything I Really Need to Know in Life I Learned From Playing Blue

2009-01-16T13:23:00.001-08:00

This was co-authored by Mike Manzer, and we posted it to mtg-strategy-l June 1, 1996. I didn't know I still had a copy of it; I'm glad I do.

A lot of it doesn't make sense unless you're familiar with Magic: The Gathering. There's still a lot of timeless wisdom here, even if you're not.

If you appear innocent, people will, at first, assume you're not dangerous.

People will only make that mistake once.

Never give up the element of surprise.

When faced with a problem, make it disappear.

If you can't make it disappear, take control of it.

If you can't take control of it, incapacitate it.

If you can't incapacitate it, keep it busy.

Keep your resources open.

Recycle (even if it's not yours).

Always have a backup plan.

If you mess with people enough, they get mad.

When people get mad, they make stupid mistakes.

Some people really are named Tim.

A little dash of water can do wonders to clear a cluttered battlefield...

Big flying things scare people.

Know your enemies.

Always look like you are in control.

Glasses are no fun.

If you poke people, they get annoyed.

If you poke people enough, they will die.

People usually get annoyed before they die.

Appearances are important.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

First impressions aren't everything.

Things never seem quite as cool as they used to be.

Appear strong where you are weak and appear weak when you are strong.

Mountains suck. So do Forests. Taigas are just evil.

Brute force is not all its cracked up to be.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Things are tougher to stop once they've gotten started.

Play people against each other.

ALWAYS look like you know what you are doing.

Even when you try to make things fair, they won't be.

Never tap out.

Personal Study Plan

2009-01-11T21:37:00.001-08:00

I made a personal study plan this year. I started thinking about this sometime last year, and decided that the start of a new year would be a good time to write down some of my goals and formulate a plan.

After some prayerful pondering, I came up with the following goals:

Read the Sunday School lesson every week.

Read the Priesthood lesson every week.

Review a talk from General Conference each week. (If you do this, you can just about review an entire Conference by the time the next one comes around.)

Read the Ensign each month.

Read the Limbaugh Letter each month.

Write a talk each month.

In addition, I want to read A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, The 8th Habit, and some others. I didn't set concrete goals for when to finish those. Maybe I should. This is a first pass at this — next time, I'll keep what works and fix what doesn't.

There are two months per planner-size page (this is just the top):

The objective is to check off one box per day, wherever the box is.

Last year, it took me about three days to do justice to the reading for Gospel Doctrine. We'll see if that number gets adjusted as we get further into the Doctrine and Covenants. (The "L" is for weeks where I need to prepare a lesson.) One day for the reading for Elders' Quorum, one day reviewing a conference talk of my choosing, and one day where I'm free to choose whatever I want to study.

In addition to the weekly reading, there's monthly reading: two days in the Ensign (one specifically on the home teaching message for the month), one day to read the Limbaugh Letter, and four days to read longer books. The month is rounded out with two days to prepare a talk and one day spent studying civics — national history, fiat economics, biographies… It's kind of a wild card.

After putting two months on the page, I still had room for one more line. I decided to give myself some flexibility. Six times over a two-month period, my daily personal study can be listening to a podcast. Maybe I'll get lost wandering down the streets of Lake Wobegone. Maybe I'll test my awareness of current events. Or stick my head under the hood with Click and Clack. (If I'm feeling especially bold, I may even Meet the Press.) I figure I can make more time for them if they're a legitimate part of my study.

The part that I'm really pleased with is the last part:

I'm giving myself six days of legitimately missing a day. I figure it's going to happen — some days, I just won't have the time, energy, or inclination to study. I thought this was an intriguing idea, and I'm kind of excited about it. I'm building a little bit of leniency (mercy? clemency?) into the goal. This is a motivational too as much as anything, and I can miss six days (over two months) and still check off a box.

Apparently, I Chose to Dance

2009-01-10T16:13:00.001-08:00

Another almost-four-year-old post.

The day will come that we look back on what we do today, and we will either smile at what we did, or we will regret what we didn't do. It's not whether I win or lose, it's that I'm getting back up. And I am going to have fun until the final buzzer sounds.

Successfully Vague

2009-01-10T16:05:00.001-08:00

A blog post I wrote over four years ago, "Intentionally Vague":

I did a good thing tonight. The sort of thing you always think of doing, but never do. The sort of thing that you always assume someone else will do.

We're all "someone else" to someone else.

It was good. Doubt and uncertainty were replaced by a general giggly feeling. It's hard to describe.

I have no idea what I was talking about.

Christmas Photos May Be Delayed

2009-01-06T20:41:00.001-08:00

I was going to pull the photos from the Christmas trip off the camera sometime this week. They may be delayed, or not. I'm going to wait until iPhoto '09 is available, so I have an excuse to play with it with a purpose.

(Why does Apple have to make such good stuff?)

In the meantime, you can help me decide whether to post the photos on Flickr or MobileMe…

Fawlty Towers

2008-12-11T19:22:00.001-08:00

Fawlty Towers cover art, courtesy of the iTunes Store

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I noticed that the iTunes Store has Fawlty Towers (iTunes, IMDB, Wikipedia) available for purchase. Each season was $9.99 at the time, they're now just $1.99/episode (ie, no discount for buying the season at once).

Only twelve episodes were made, for better or for worse. It's some of British comedy's best, and even at $12 a season, it's a good deal. (The cheapest I could find the DVDs is $20 a season.)

Messiah Sing-along

2008-12-11T19:01:00.001-08:00

November 30, the Sunnyvale Ward ushered in the Christmas season with the second annual Messiah Sing-along. Four soloists (SATB) performed the main parts, and the audience performed as the chorus. (They had the music at the door.)

It was really fun. Out of seventy people in attendance, I was one of maybe five people singing Bass, including the soloist. I spent a lot of time off-key, and definitely got lost when Handel would go off on sixteenth notes for thirty measures, but it was quite enjoyable. If you ever get the chance, I'd highly recommend attending. Even if you can't sing, it's The Messiah as you've probably never heard it before.

Happy Birthday, Bry

2008-11-24T20:55:00.001-08:00

Birthday Cake Cupcake, courtesy of
Clever Cupcakes (via Flickr).

Happy Birthday, Bry! We're glad that you're enjoying Illinois, and we certainly enjoy everything you do to keep us up-to-date with what's going on with you, Ben, and the girls. Keep having adventures, and we'll keep cheering for you.

Random thought: You remember how Mom always made us two separate birthday cakes? I really enjoyed that she did that. (Thanks, Mom!)

Vote Hour

2008-10-28T08:43:00.001-07:00

Be part of the process.

An issue of grave importance

2008-10-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

Since beginning this blog, neither Colter nor I have written intensely political blog entries…or long ones. However, this year there is on the California ballot an issue in which I believe so strongly that I feel I simply must blog about it. The issue is Proposition 8, which, if it passes, will amend the California constitution to recognize as legal only marriages between a man and a woman. I am in favor of Proposition 8. I believe that if it is defeated in the election it will terribly erode the liberty we enjoy in this country and it will set the state of California on a path to destruction of its society.

You may wonder why I believe that a yes vote on Proposition 8 will preserve our freedom. After all, it restricts homosexual couples from marrying. Isn’t that restricting their freedom? The answer is yes, it is a restriction; but it is the same kind of restriction a childproofing cover provides—restricting the freedom of a small child from sticking its fingers into an electric socket. You see, I believe that only a man and a woman are meant to live together in a marriage relationship. Physically, emotionally, mentally, they complement each other and are meant to be teammates through the bonds of marriage. I believe this is a natural law—as real as gravity. One cannot deny natural laws without suffering unhappy consequences. Similarly one cannot deny natural moral laws without having people and society suffer in the long run.

By the same token, one cannot create natural laws—or rights. The only way one can create a right for one person is to take it from another. That is what will happen if Proposition 8 is defeated and homosexual marriage is legalized in California. For example, adoption agencies run by groups who do not believe in gay marriage will be forced to either let homosexual couples adopt or shut down their services entirely. This has already happened in Massachusetts, the only other state in the United States which has legalized gay marriage. Such a move takes away not only the right of such groups to operate according to their beliefs, it takes away the rights of the children to be raised by a father and a mother.

The right of children to be raised by both a mother and a father is an important point. Only children raised in such an environment can truly learn about gender identity. Only by understanding how gender identity shapes each individual can each boy and girl come to understand his or her own unique identity.

Voting in favor of Proposition 8 also preserves our freedom in that it sets the decision regarding legalization of gay marriage back in the hands of the people of California. In 2000, California voters chose to pass Proposition 22. Proposition 22 did not amend the California constitution; but it stated in California law that only marriage between a man and a woman would be legal in California. The measure passed by a margin of 61% to 38%. This past April four judges in the 9th Circuit Court ruled Proposition 22 unconstitutional, using the power of the judiciary to legalize gay marriage in opposition to the will of the people. In this country, the people are to make the laws, either through a ballot vote, as they did with Proposition 22 or through their legislative representatives in state or national Congress. If the people of California had voted to legalize gay marriage, or if they do so in the future, I would be saddened, but at least I would know the law had been made through the proper channels. To have the judges making the laws in the land goes against the principles on which this country is founded: the right of the people to govern themselves.

I know that same-sex attraction is real. Each of us in this world struggles with some trait. For some, it is the temptation to fly into a temper at the slightest provocation. For others, it is a tendency toward alcoholism or drugs. And some find themselves experiencing romantic feelings towards members of the same sex. I believe each man and woman is ultimately happier when they master their weaknesses than when they give in to them.

For all the reasons I have mentioned above, I urge all Californians to vote Yes on Proposition 8 this November 4.

Dagwood on Task Management

2008-09-27T15:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's Blondie:

There are so many opportunities open to us. We can pretty much do whatever we want to, and with much of it — family, work, church, community — other people ask a lot of us, too. If we're not careful, we can easily spend our time doing things that just plain aren't important.

Peter Lynch once paid a consultant to help him become more effective at work. The recommendation was to start the day by listing everything that he could do that day, then rank the list by order of importance. Start working on the most important task and don't stop until it's done. Move on to the second task. At the end of they day, you'll know that however much got done, you did the things that were most important for you to do today.

Some things aren't going to get done. Face it. Accept it. As long as you're doing things that are more important, it doesn't matter. Focus on the most important things you can do — what will make you the happiest, make the biggest difference, and have the longest impact — and let the rest go. It's just distracting you.

The Sam's Club Moment

2008-09-14T19:29:00.001-07:00

Photo: Josh Lewis

When I first moved to Colorado Springs, I stayed with a friend from college until I was able to get my own apartment. He wouldn't let me pay rent, so to thank him, I bought him something I knew he'd been thinking about buying himself for a while: a membership at Sam's Club.

We stopped by to do the paperwork, and he asked me if I was going to get myself one. I wasn't; this was the first I'd ever been in Sam's Club. I wasn't familiar with them, and I didn't know that I'd ever use it. He convinced me to walk around the warehouse with him before I made up my mind.

We started out, and I wasn't that impressed. I kept focusing on the cost. NutriGrain Bars for $5.99. (Sure it's more, but I can get them for $2.00 a box at Albertson's.) Cheerios for $7.99. (Half that at Albertson's.)

Halfway through, he got me to see the light, and I'm thankful to this day that he did. I was looking at it from the wrong angle. I needed to look at the value, not the cost. Yes, I could get a $4 box of Cheerios at Albertson's, but I'm going to spend $8 on Cheerios anyway as soon as I buy two boxes. Once I've spent $8, do I want to own 26 oz of Cheerios, or 37 oz? It's about making your money do more for you.

I started getting really excited, and ended up getting myself a membership as well. I also picked up as much of the grocery shopping as I could instead of stopping at Albertson's on the way home. (I wasn't ready to buy milk there. Yet.) Two memberships, groceries, and $20 cash back came to about $120.

On the way home, we stopped by Albertson's so I could get milk. I wanted to see how long it would take for the Sam's Club membership to pay for itself. What I had just bought at Sam's Club — just the groceries — came to over $160. I was astounded. I had no idea the membership would pay for itself and more on the first trip.

I've been sold ever since. Sure, there have been times I've gone overboard and bought things I shouldn't have. (It takes a long time for two people to go through 5 lbs of shredded cheese.) But it's either been worth it, or it makes for a good story. Now, my wife and I are working on gaining and understanding of just how fast we go through things, which will let us know how much we need to keep on hand. More on that later.

Gruntspeak

2008-09-14T17:20:00.001-07:00

I came across this cartoon on Friday, illustrating the grammatical gymnastics involved in carrying on an entire conversation with one word. Go ahead and check it out. I'll wait for you.

(BTW, it just took me five tries and the help of the spell checker to find a form of "grammar" that A) fits my usage and B) is already a word.)

It reminds me of a conversation I had with my best friend when we were teenagers. I don't remember who grunted what, but here's the gist of it:

"I'm full."

"Me, too. That was a good meal."

"Totally. The pork chops were very tender and savory. Slightly smokey, and just a hint of lime."

"I agree. And the mashed potatoes were well-seasond and had just the right amount of lumps."

"They were very good. Excellent meal, Mom."

"Yes, Mom. Thank you."

"So what shall we do now?"

"Well, we could play some more hackey sack."

"Nah, I'm too full for that level of physical activity. As much as I enjoyed dinner, I'd prefer to only enjoy it once."

"Good call. We could play video games."

"We spent most of the afternoon playing video games. My thumbs are still sore. Go to the mall?"

"We could... I don't have any money, though. I couldn't buy anything."

"Oh! There was that movie you wanted to see. The one with ... whatsherface."

"That's right! I'd forgotten about that. And I'd just been talking about it while we were playing video games. Let's do that."

"Who's driving?"

"We're here. I'll drive. Do you have a card?"

"...Not on me."

"Not a problem. We can grab my mom's. Watch it at your place or mine?"

"Yours. My sister's probably still watching TV."

"Alright! Let's go."

At which point, we pushed back our chairs and got up to leave. My mother, who had been looking back and forth at us during the whole exchange, burst out laughing. "What was that?"

"We were figuring out what to do now. We're going to go rent a movie and watch it here. I'm driving, we'll need to borrow your Blockbuster card, and excellent job on the marinade. Very tasty."

Tim Allen would be proud.

Monday Night Football Redux

2008-09-09T00:58:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note that we're back, safe and sound, from the Broncos-Raiders season opener on Monday Night Football. It was Denver's first win on the road on MNF since 1998 (I love some of these strung-up statistics), and Oakland barely avoided their third consecutive shutout on Monday Night.

The seats were great (thanks, Dave!) and it was interesting to see the differences in what the game was like. The Black Hole and Mile High each have their own flavor.

I can't wait to watch the highlights on AppleTV tomorrow so I can see just what happened with some of those plays.

Monterey and Carmel

2008-08-31T20:34:00.001-07:00

Growing up, Monterey was one of Nicole's favorite places to go. I'd never been, until last week. I like it. It's a fun place, and beautiful.

We started off in Carmel on Saturday. Browsing around the shops, we found a gorgeous leather jacket that looks really good on me, but not $900-good. I got a kick out of the fact that a lot of the shops have a little pail of dog treats on the counter, or a water dish outside the door. Carmel is a very dog-friendly place. The bottom tier of one of the fountains was a water dish.

The highlight of the cuisine was probably Isabella's Wharfside. It's on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. I had the Salmon Basil Pasta (they make their own noodles in-house) – fresh steamed salmon with a cream sauce on linguine. Nicole had spinach ravioli stuffed with crab meat and topped with the sweetest marinara sauce we've ever had. The dipping oil had fresh minced garlic in it – very good. We split a creme brule for dessert.

The lowlight of the cuisine was lunch in Carmel. I won't call them out by name, but their "English-style" fish and chips were anything but. For one thing, the British don't bread their fish – they batter them. Second, the "California style" malt vinegar has no taste to it. The fish is soggy by the time you can taste it. On the plus side, the fries were nicely crispy, the coleslaw was interesting (it had pineapple in it), and the waitstaff were friendly.

Another culinary find was The Cheese Shop, tucked away in a shopping plaza in Carmel. We met a very friendly guy there who enjoyed handing out samples and explaining the history of the cheeses as much as we enjoyed tasting and listening. We stopped back by on our way home on Sunday to pick up a Welsh horseradish cheddar and Memoire – a gouda with truffles. With some French bread, fresh blueberries, and cranberry-grape juice, this was our lunch this afternoon.

I find I prefer Carmel's white beaches to Santa Cruz's brown ones, and I prefer the rocky coast to the beach. (Although this might change if I had a dog to play with.)

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was fun, getting to see all the underwater life. Otters are cute beyond words. They have some tide pools where you can pet the little critters; Nicole did, I didn't. The anchovies were kind of surreal to watch. Kids would definitely love the place.

Did I mention that Otters are cute?

We went to church with the Monterey Ward. Just sacrament meeting. We got there with time to walk around the grounds before it started. The chapel is on a wooded hillside, and it was foggy. Beautiful. We got to see a four-point buck laying in a thicket just off the parking lot.

Flickr photo set

Around Alcatraz

2008-08-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today we went up to take a look at Alcatraz. We met up with some friends, and took a tour boat out around San Francisco Bay. We thought we were going to get to spend half an hour on the Rock itself, but the tour company's definition of "at" only means "circling around". But we still got a good tour of the bay (Flickr).

We stopped by the Boudin Bistro for lunch. They claim that their bakery there on Fisherman's Wharf is where sourdough bread bowls got started. Nicole and I both love clam chowder, so this seemed like a good place to have lunch. We learned an important lesson, too: If you go upstairs, where they have nice tables with linens and a view of the bay, they charge you twice as much for the exact same bowl of chowder as if you walk up to the counter downstairs. Something to remember for next time. The bread bowls were very good, though, as was the chowder.

We also stopped by Ghirardelli Square, which is just down the street. We decided not to tour the factory (long line) but we got a delicious cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes. Try them if you get the chance.

I also enjoyed walking through a bit of the financial district, with the skyscrapers and glass mixing in with century-old Greek architecture. Ah, capitalism.

Beach Trip

2008-07-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

I love the beaches here in Northern California. However, Colter and I have not been able to spend time at the beach in the two years that we have been together, until Saturday. One of the couples in our ward, Guy and Kat Schauerhamer, had invited us and several other young couples down to a beach house belonging to some friends of theirs. Saturday afternoon we packed a duffle bag, made a salad and headed down beyond Santa Cruz. When we arrived, we all began helping to put together the main course—a dutch oven Tex-Mex chicken dish. Colter sliced cheese. I crushed corn flakes. One of the husbands pounded the chicken flat and handed it to Kat, who spread it with taco seasonings, and rolled it up with slices of cheese. Next the chicken got dipped in melted butter, rolled in the corn flakes, and placed in the dutch oven.

Chicken prepared, we tromped down to the beach: through a eucalyptus grove, down a redwood-bark strewn path, then down, down, down a flight of stairs that scaled a cliff, down…to a beautiful, nearly empty beach. When we had arrived at the beach house, it was overcast and cold. Once we got down to the beach, however, the clouds cleared away revealing a beautiful sunset.

Guy set up the dutch oven, then joined the rest of us frolicking in the waves. The water were cold, but not frigid. Colter went body surfing with the rest of the boys. I didn’t want to get my head underwater; so I stayed where the water came up to my waist, watching.
The wind started to chill us all; so when we were finally numb with cold, we dried off and added the rest of the ingredients to the chicken dish: chili peppers, diced tomatoes, black beans, canned corn, and the rest of the corn flakes and cheese. At this point, some decided to find a hot tub, while others of us played Bocce ball and ultimate Frisbee. Colter helped score the winning point in the Frisbee game. I was happy to have caught a pass successfully. It was difficult to run because our ankles were so stiff from the cold.

Finally, the food was ready. As we hiked back up the cliff to the beach house, we could see bonfires springing up all along the beach. Back at the house we had a prayer and dug in. The “Mexican Hash,” as we dubbed it, was delicious. In addition, one of the wives had brought homemade whole wheat bread. Our salad was a hit as well.

Most of the couples spent the night at the beach house. We came home so as to sleep in a bed—and so we could get up for early morning choir practice the next day.

I don’t think either of us moved a muscle until the alarm chirped.

Random Odds and Ends

2008-07-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

I gave blood this morning. Only complication this time was that the vein rolled on the first attempt. Apparently, blood donations are regulated by the FDA; I realize that it's probably under purview of the ‘D’, but the ‘F’ makes it funny.

We watched The Great Escape last night. It was the 99¢ movie of the week on the iTunes Store this week. I hadn't seen it before, Nicole had. It's very good. 5 stars. Steve McQueen bouncing the ball off the wall, a memorable theme song, and Charles Bronson. Check it out if you haven't seen it.

The app store has launched for the new iPhone software. There's some good stuff, and a lot of it free. I got a 99¢ app that tracks your fuel economy (I used to track it with Excel on the Palm). I've switched from webapps to native apps for Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook. The Remote app is awesome! Full, fluid control of your iTunes library or Apple TV. :)

I broke down and finally bought a fan this week. An Ultra Slimline Tower Fan by Seville Classics. It's super-quiet, and super-stylish.

We saw Hancock last week. It's good, but the language was stronger in the first half than we would have liked. It's a good premise, though, and a very good ending.

Wall•E

2008-06-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

It's 10 am on a Friday. A bunch of us have been invited to come see
the first showing of Wall•E.

Happy Anniversary to the Wildes

2008-06-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary, Ben and Bry!

All the best!

Golden Gate

2008-06-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

Whee!

Edit: And by "Whee!" I mean "Heading into the waves is fun!"

These Guys, I've Heard Of

2008-06-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

Barenaked Ladies | WWDC Beer Bash
Originally uploaded by Graham Ballantyne

WWDC was this week. It's our annual developer's conference, held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. One of the highlights of the week is the Thursday night bash across the street in the Yerba Beuna Gardens. Largely, this is 6,000+ developers and Apple engineers standing around eating finger foods and enjoying refreshing beverages.

Each year, we bring in an artist to perform. Last year, it was Ozomatli. (I hadn't heard of them before.) This year, they didn't tell us who it was until they walked out on stage: Barenaked Ladies. I was at the far end of the gardens and didn't hear who it was until they opened with "One Week."

They were thrilled to be playing an Apple gig. They're huge Mac fans, and it showed in the interstitial banter. I really like these guys. Their stuff is pretty clean, they have some clever lyrics, and they can drop lines pretty fast and keep it intelligible.

One new song that I remember is off of their new album, Snack Time ("for children of all ages, but mainly…8"): "7 8 9".

Live Your Dreams

2008-05-27T21:40:00.001-07:00

In Colorado Springs, we would start FHE with an icebreaker question. One week, the question was: "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you want to live?" People gave answers like "Tibet" or "an island in the South Pacific." Stuff like that.

I said, "Somewhere on the Colorado front range, between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs." After a pause, someone behind me clarified (giving me a hard time), "Where do you want to live, not where do you live?" I turned around and smiled at him. "Some people spend their lives chasing the dream. I choose to live it."

Are you happy with where you are, and what you're doing? Would you rather be doing something different? You have a choice. Find what you're passionate about – what gets you out of bed when you have an open day before you. Form a clear picture in your mind of what your dream will be like. Crystal clear. Then pursue your dream. Work towards it. Do not let anything deter you from reaching your dream. Keep going until you are living your dream.

Finished Reading: MBA Basics

2008-05-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Some of you already know (and the rest now know) that I'm seriously considering starting an MBA program soon. I already know I'll enjoy certain aspects of it, like finance and leadership. But what about the other nuts and bolts of a business education, like Marketing and Sales? I had an Economics class while earning my BS. I don't remember if it was Macro or Micro, but I remember it was a painful class. Is it really that painful of a subject, or was the teacher just not that good?

With an eye to shedding some light into those areas of dark unknowns, I picked up a copy of Tom Gorman's MBA Basics. It's a pretty good read. Gorman gives an overview of the issues involved in managing people, resources, finances, and marketing, as well as steering and growing a business.

Whatever business you're in (and that includes nonprofits, education, and the like), you'll get a good view of the bigger picture that you (or management) deals with day-to-day and quarter-to-quarter. The different topics are well-presented, so you should be able to get a feel for how appealing to you any particular area is. If you find something you like, follow it up. Learn more about it. Educating yourself is one of the most rewarding activities you can do.

It's the Weekend

2008-05-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

This was a long week for some reason. But it's over now. We're at
T.G.I. Friday's, getting a bite before going to see Prince Caspian.

Here's my Wild Berry Lemonade, and if you look closely, you can make
out the fountains in the median.

Spinning Ball Spare

2008-05-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing this feat back on America's Funniest Home Videos, before its abbreviation, and while the guy from Full House was still hosting it.

My greatest bowling moment was picking up a 7-10 split in college. I spent a good minute carefully lining up the shot, then decided to sacrifice the one pin I figured I'd actually pick up and go for the humorous shot instead. I picked up a second ball from the return and bowled them together. Their paths crossed halfway down, the right-hand ball picking up the 7 and the left-hand ball picking up the 10.

Realigning Actions and Values

2008-05-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in class tonight, and it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't paid for the venti Caramel Apple Spice sitting on the desk in front of me. I could remember the gal taking my order (she had to ask the spelling of my name), and I remembered playing with the phone while I waited for the drink to come up. (I was trying to remember what my AT&T username and password were to access the in-store WiFi.) But I didn't remember breaking a $20 to pay for the drink.

As soon as I realized this, I had a hard time focusing on what the professor was saying. Ironically or coincidentally, we were discussing values. It's amazing the peace that comes when your actions are in line with your values, and when they aren't, it's equally powerful. I didn't feel bad about it, since I knew full well that it was an honest negligence, but I did want to get back and make it right as quickly as possible.

I returned to Starbucks during the break in class. The same three baristas were behind the counter. They remembered me. They were a little surprised that I'd come back, but thanked me for doing so. We chuckled about the store's chaos earlier, and I dashed back to campus.

And I had to check the AT&T info when I got home.

Meat Loaf and Tiffany for GoPhone

2008-05-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

The lyrics are a little forced in a couple places, but this is great.

Winchester Mystery House

2008-04-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to the Winchester Mystery House with some friends from work. If you're not familiar with WMH, it's the former home of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune; Mrs. Winchester had construction on the house continue 24/7 for 38 years to confuse and keep at bay the ghosts of everyone who had died from a Winchester rifle. More details at the Wikipedia article.

We were able to get tickets for the Guided Tour at half-off. We'll probably go back some evening and take the (free) self-guided Garden Tour to check out the grounds. My favorite part was the stained glass in the front part of the house. The rooms inside were dark, so the windows were quite stunning in the morning light. Nicole's favorite part was the simple fact that after visiting a few rooms, you were completely turned around, couldn't tell which way was north, and wouldn't have been able to find your own way out.

Photos from the visit.

The Spoken Word Meets Written Word

2008-04-25T21:07:00.001-07:00

I heard about Jott a couple months ago, in the Wall Street Journal, I think. It sounded interesting, but I didn't look closely into it – I wasn't looking for a voicemail solution. Then I saw this article on tying Jott and Sandy together over at My Money Blog earlier this week. (I'd heard of Sandy, too, from a colleague.) Jott transcribes your voice to an text, then Sandy parses the text and sends you reminders.

Each service is interesting in its own right. What I love is the way you can tie them together. (Synergy – the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.) I signed up with both services last night, and I've been playing with them today. It may be the newness, but it's surprisingly fun. For example, when I left work today, I called Jott from the car (using the bluetooth headset, of course), asked Sandy to remind me of two things I had to do this evening, updated my Twitter status, and posted the preceding entry. All without lifting a finger.

You can spot a few mistakes in the transcription:

I love it when a plan comes together. The information you need, when you need it, wherever you are. It's beautiful.

I'm heading home. It's the weekend.

(Sandy also reminded me to finish my "statics" (status) report.)

There are a few mistakes, but it's close enough to get the intent. As a developer, I'm thinking about ways that this could be extended. (I'll let you know if I think of any.)

I love it when a plan...

2008-04-25T17:46:00.001-07:00

I love it when a plan comes together. The information you need, when you need it wherever you are is beautiful. listen

Powered by Jott

Go Afton!

2008-04-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

Apparently a group in Afton, WY, (of all places) has followed Improv Everywhere's lead and froze the local supermarket.

Nicely done.

Ad-Resistance

2008-04-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

I came across this post on the Get Rich Slowly blog: How to Inoculate Your Kids Against Advertising

Somehow, I managed to learn this. I don't know if it was my parents, but I'm adding it to the list of things I want to teach my kids.

Danny Boy

2008-04-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is too cool. Beaker, Animal, and the Swedish Chef singing "Danny Boy."

Hush, Little Baby

2008-03-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

The March 22 show of A Prairie Home Companion had a wonderful rendition of "Hush Little Baby" by Inga Swearingen (iTunes link). You'll need RealPlayer to listen. (You browser should walk you through the setup if you don't already have RealPlayer; be sure you just get the free player, and not the free trial of the pro player — Real is bad about coercing the upsell.)

I love the sound of it. Light, and just enough variation that the repetition stays interesting without losing the repetitive structure. It's hard to make an a cappella solo sound good, but she's done it.

Kitchen Laboratory

2008-03-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

After the disappointing end to my attempt at cooking corned beef, I was left with a head of cabbage on my hands and no idea how to use it. Fortunately the next day one of my co-workers brought a corned beef and cabbage salad to work. It is actually a prize-winning recipe for the annual Napa Valley mustard festival. I thought it delicious, so she gave me the recipe. On Wednesday I got to try it out. It turned out beautifully! It calls for corned beef, raw cabbage, cooked green beans, boiled potatoes and a mustard vinaigrette. I used ham instead of corned beef and it tasted wonderful. There was one nebulous item in the vinaigrette ingredients: a certain type of chili. The woman who gave me the recipe said she's never found it in any grocery store. So it must some elite product. The only problem is neither of us knew if it was chili powder, chili sauce, or just bottled chiles. I used chili powder when making the vinaigrette. Then I remembered some packets of chili sauce left over from a trip to Panda Express. I opened one and poured it all over the salad I had on my plate. It tasted wonderful and boy, did it add some kick! After about five minutes I began trying everything I could think of to quench the burning in my mouth. It was my own version of Mythbusters. To my sadness I found that, while bread is excellent for absorbing the heat from Chinese mustard and horseradish--the heat that sears your sinuses--it has no effect on chiles, which tends to burn the mouth and throat. Milk was the only thing that brought relief; but even that was only temporary. The heat in my mouth and throat continued for some fifteen minutes after I finished dinner. I guess I'll remember next time to go easy on the chili sauce.

That's it? I'm so disappointed…

2008-03-27T19:49:00.001-07:00

I gave blood last weekend. After a little bit of confusion over the scheduling, I gave my usual double red. If you're not familiar with the process, they hook you up to a machine that takes out a total of two pints of blood, extracts the red blood cells, and returns the rest of your blood (and some extra saline) into your body. The procedure takes place in three cycles, ten to fifteen minutes each.

On the third return, I started noticing some discomfort in my arm, around the needle. I couldn't see my arm, since the nurse had applied a heating pad to improve my circulation. (Apparently, I was bleeding slowly.) My reaction was to apply pressure to it. The nurse noticed, and came over to see what I was doing. She checked under the heating pad, then shut the machine off and started to very quickly unhook me. The needle had worked free from the vessel, and the returning blood was just going under the skin. She used a term to describe what was happening, but I couldn't catch it for her accent. (Ben?)

I had to wait an extra fifteen minutes afterwards (thirty instead of the normal fifteen) so they could apply another heating pad to my arm. They told me it was nothing to worry about, but that I could expect a giant bruise to develop.

So what did I get? Not much. There were two areas, about the size of a golf ball total, that went straight to that faded yellow color. No giant purple-red splotch. Nothing to show off. Hardly anything at all.

The coolest part, though, is that a gal from the blood bank just called to follow up. How my arm? How am I feeling, since I didn't get a considerable portion of my blood back? She also wanted me to know that they were able to get at least one usable unit of red blood cells out of me, so it wasn't all for naught.

Jason Elam's Going to Atlanta

2008-03-24T09:28:00.001-07:00

Sigh.

Spring

2008-03-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying such a beautiful spring here this year. For the past two or three years we haven't even had a springtime. We have gone straight from winter to summer, with temperatures jumping from 40s or 50s one week to 90s the next. It is wonderful to have the temperatures staying around the 60s. The trees and bushes appreciate it too, and are blossoming and leaving out joyfully. I love to stand on our balcony in the mornings and evenings to smell the fragrant air. I'm so grateful we were blessed with a real spring this year.

I Thought We had Hoarfrost

2008-03-14T09:31:00.001-07:00

I glanced down Stevens Creek Boulevard on my way to work this morning, and all the trees were puffy and white. Aparently the trees decided it was time to blossom. They're fresh blossoms, too, because it had been raining (fairly heavily, by the look of the pavement), and the blossoms were still on the trees.

And if any of you are wondering why I was on Stevens Creek on my way to work, I wasn't lost. I was stopping by Marie Callenders. Happy Pi Day.

Now I Just Need a White Carnation…

2008-03-01T21:52:00.001-08:00

We stopped into Nordstrom Rack today. They had a hot pink sport coat. The picture doesn't do it justice – it was hot pink, not salmon. I grabbed the shirt and tie and Nicole snapped a photo.

My apologies and thanks to Marty Robbins.

Monday Night Football

2008-02-29T23:01:00.001-08:00

I posted some photos from our trip to see the Broncos in my .Mac web gallery.

The Smoke House Burger had 2" of shoestring onion fries to smash down before you even have a chance of fitting it in your mouth. It was delicious. I wish we'd gotten a shot of their Wall o' Screens off to my right. A giant screen in the center that reaches top to bottom, and twelve smaller screens to the sides. They had a row of six black leather recliners with little armrest tables. It was so beautiful. (They have pictures on their web site, including a picture of the burger.)

The seats were on the front row of the upper tier. There was our row of seats, room to walk, and then the rest of the crowd was up behind is. We had a totally unobstructed view of the field. It was a great game, and we won. We couldn't have asked for better weather – 55° and clear.

Preseason starts in August, right?

A Better-Looking Dock

2008-02-28T22:02:00.001-08:00

I just finished transforming this:

into this:

TUAW this morning had a blurb about a new version of Dock Library, a handy little app that takes user-submitted resources from various sites and takes care of the swapping about for you. It offers a preview of what the Dock will look like (using your own desktop background, no less) and lets you switch between skins rather easily. A fine piece of freeware, if you ask me.

"So what about the stacks?" That's a very clever hack that I found this morning. Each "box" is a small file (with the appropriate icon) that stays at the front of the stack. The perspective of the box gives it a wonderful 3-D effect.

I skinned my work computer this morning, and my iMac just now. I haven't had this much fun playing with Stacks since they first appeared in Leopard.

"Is any of this useful, or just eye candy?" The darker Dock is just eye candy, but the Stack boxes are practical. This way, I have a quickly discernible label to help me identify which Stack is which. At work, I regularly use six Stacks, and this little trick helps me to identify the one I'm looking for without having to hover the cursor over the stack for the tooltip to appear. And it just plain looks cool, and good aesthetics never hurts a workflow.

The Cure for Global Warming: Scoot Back

2008-02-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

From "Scientists Predict When World Will End" (via Fox News):

The University of California, Santa Cruz…proposes taming an asteroid to swing by the Earth every few thousand years, slowly nudging the Earth into higher solar orbit.

Wow.

Clam Chowder and Mission Impossible on a Rainy Day

2008-02-19T12:12:00.001-08:00

Life is good.

Finished Reading: What Matters Most

2008-02-18T22:00:00.001-08:00

I finished reading What Matters Most over the weekend. I think this was the first time I've read it, but I'm not sure. Smith does a fantastic job of going over the high-level planning process – discovering your core values, writing your personal mission statement, and setting long- and short-range goals. Great for vision and strategic planning.

If you'd like something that deals with the art of executing, I'd recommend First Things First by Stephen R. Covey and Roger and Rebecca Merrill. First Things First briefly covers goals and the importance of vision, and then guides you through the process of translating that vision into action. Combined, they're the best books on successful time and life management that I've read.

A word on David Allen's Getting Things Done: Yes, I've read it. I even got a few good pointers out of it, like the importance of capturing ideas immediately and identifying the next action you can take towards a project/goal. Overall, however, I consider the GTD system to be incomplete. It takes a shotgun approach to your time – how can you be sure to do as many things as you possibly can? The problem is that GTD makes no allowance for making sure that you're doing the right things, just that you're getting lots of things done. Doing more things faster isn't a substitute for making sure you're doing the right things. GTD is better than no system at all; just realize that you'll need to keep prioritization in mind when working with it. I prefer the fourth-generation process described by Covey et al, and What Matters Most dovetails quite nicely with it.

The Blossoms Are Arriving

2008-02-17T23:09:00.000-08:00

This is the courtyard inside our chapel. Last week, they were bare.
This week, they're in full blossom. Spring is creeping up on us.

Stopping Time at Grand Central Station

2008-02-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

This would be so fun, either to witness or to be a part of. Kudos and props. I love the applause at the end.

They're a group called Improv Everywhere if you want to learn more about them.

Is a Dollar Always a Dollar?

2008-02-13T20:20:00.001-08:00

Mental Accounting: Is A Dollar Always A Dollar? » My Money Blog

I thought this was a pretty good post. (I don't know the author, if you're wondering.)

It kind of reminds me of a concept I first heard about from Brian Tracy: Zero-Basing. The problem is that we often feel tied to a situation because of what we've already put into it. Zero-basing involves asking yourself two questions. First:

Is there anything in your life/business/portfolio/house which, if you had known then what you know now, you never would have gotten involved with?

If the answer to that question is yes, then you ask yourself a second question:

How fast can you get out?

Free Copy of Women and Money

2008-02-13T17:17:00.001-08:00

If you'd like a free copy of Women and Money by Suze Orman, you can go to Oprah's web site by 8 pm EST tomorrow (Feb 14) and download a free copy of it from this page. It's part of a tie-in with Suze's appearance on Oprah's show today.

And by “easy”, I mean…

2008-02-09T23:29:00.000-08:00

Well, my reading list is in the sidebar now. We'll see how easy it is to maintain…

This has me thinking: Do I want to include audiobooks?

Finished Reading: The Divine Center

2008-02-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

I started reading The Divine Center back in England. I borrowed a copy from a member there. I think I got about 8 chapters into it. Then I borrowed my dad's copy and got another chapter or two into it. Last summer, I found where someone was selling a hardback copy on Amazon for $5, so I snatched it up, and was able to finish reading it in my very own personal copy. It's a good book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested. I did think the first half was a bit dry; all I remember is paragraphs and paragraphs that could be summed up neatly by the provided figures. The second half is excellent, though, and perhaps the first half lays the foundation for that.

So what book will I start next? Hopefully nothing. Hopefully I'll finish another book or two before adding a new one to the list. At a glance around the house, I'm currently reading:

Women and Money by Suze Orman.

The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management by Hyrum W. Smith.

Papa Married a Mormon by John D. Fitzgerald. (I'm reading this with Nicole.)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to MBA Basics by Tom Gorman.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith by, well, Joseph Smith.

A Mormon in the White House? by Hugh Hewitt.

What Matters Most by Hyrum W. Smith.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey. (I've read this before, and I'm going through it now again with Nicole.)

Thomas S. Monson once said that if performance is measured, performance improves, and if performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement increases. Now to see if there's an easy way I can update this list, and have it appear in the side bar…

I'll be a Sunbeam [Leader] for Him

2008-02-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

That's right. After three months of being a cub scout den mother, I am now a Sunbeam teacher. I have six little three-year-olds to teach. It should be fun. I went into the class this past Sunday to observe. Most of them are very active. I think I'm going to spend my whole time telling them to sit down..."on their seaters, not their knees." But they are so cute. And I love that I get to sing primary songs again!

The funniest part about this is, when I was called the counselor said that several people in the ward kept talking about how good I am with kids. That's kind of them...but nobody in this ward has seen me work with kids. I wonder how come they thought I would be good at this? Oh well, again, it's kind of them to say so.

Favorite Ads from SuperBowl XLII

2008-02-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

This was an off year for SuperBowl ads. A lot of the ads had already aired, and many of the new ones just lacked oompf. There were some good ones, though. My favorites:

Pepsi Max. The cameo with Chris Kattan is the best.

Wall•E. He's cute.

Budweiser. I've seen this one labelled both "Clydesdale Training" and "Rocky". Anheuser-Bush has done some of my favorite ads over the years, including 2002's tribute and last year's "Rock Paper Scissors".

Also be sure to check out the Prince Caspian trailer.

Thankful Friday

2008-02-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

After reading Bryony's Thankful Thursday posts, I've been thinking about all the things I'm thankful for. So although it's not Thursday, here are a few examples:

Colter: I too am married to my favorite person in the whole world. I am so grateful for Colter's constant love and support and example, especially at this time as I prepare for the dance show. I love how he makes me laugh and smile and that he knows when to be serious too.

Dance: When I graduated from high school, I had printed under my photo in the yearbook "To swim is to live, to live is to dance." The swimming has had to be set aside a little. But I am so glad that I can still dance. It renews me physically and emotionally. And I am especially grateful to still be at Marie Stinnett's studio. It's truly my second home, and the staff there is part of my extended family.

Work: work is a blessing--whether it's office work or work around the house. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering that when things blow up in my face or one email sends my whole day upside-down. But I am grateful for a job and for a home to take care of.

My family: Not much explanation needed here. And we all get to stay together for eternity!

Food, clothes, a bed and an apartment, a car... the necessities of life.

Education: Aside from the fact that I have a good job because of my education, I thoroughly enjoyed being a student. I know that it is a privilege to be able to go to school and I'm grateful for wonderful teachers and professors who instructed me.

The United States of America: The two blessings I just mentioned are in large part a result of living here. This truly is the land of promise and opportunity. I enjoy traveling to some other countries. But there is only one place I want to live and I'm so glad I was born here.

The California Bay Area: I've been to some beautiful places in other parts of the country and world. But I've never seen any place more beautiful than Carmel beach and Monterey Bay. Also, there are the dear hills by my parents' home. They look so beautiful when the clouds come rolling over--and the smell of the breeze coming off those hills in the evenings is intoxicating.

Music: Good music speaks to my soul. It would be an empty life without it.

Introducing Colter's Stack of Stuff

2008-01-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

Google Reader has a feature that lets you share articles you come across, sort of like clipping articles from the paper. It's like a mini-blog on the side of our main blog. It can be funny, sad, touching, thoughtful, or completely random. Whatever strikes my fancy.

And if you use a feed reader, the Stack of Stuff has its own feed. Enjoy!

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

2008-01-31T15:02:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, I collect a quote that I want to keep. Right now, they're sort of scattered all over the place, because I haven't come up with a good way to store them all. The most recent one is "Quando omni flunkus moritati," which, being interpreted, is "When all else fails, play dead."

Early to Bed or Early to Rise?

2008-01-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

For a while, last year, I was able to wake up, without an alarm, within 5 minutes of 8 hours after I went to bed. Three days in a row, the first time I saw on the clock was exactly 8 hours after the last time I saw. When I'm getting enough rest, I'm like 8 hour toast – I pop up, and I'm ready to go. (Can you cook toast in a crock pot?)

My ideal schedule maintains the missionary schedule of going to bed at 10:30 and getting up at 6:30. This keeps sliding back, however, because I'm not ready to go to bed at 10:30. Lately, it's been closer to midnight before I get to bed.

(To those with children or pets that prevent 8 hours of sleep: I'm living vicariously for you.)

When I have to get up after 7 hours, or 6, I'd love to have another hour or two to sleep in. If I'd just get to bed an hour or two earlier, guess what? The problem is especially pronounced on Saturdays, when Friday night has eaten away at sleep time, and I find it's closer to time for lunch by the time I get a shower and dressed.

I used to think the best way to correct my schedule was to get to bed earlier. That didn't work, because I wasn't tired at 10:30. I'd keep doing "one more thing" because if I'd just lay in bed awake for and hour, I'd rather get something done. But what I'd really rather is getting an hour of something done in the morning.

Now I think you have to work the problem from all three ends: what time you get up, what time you go to bed, and why you think you have to be out of bed for more than 16 hours before you go back. It can be a tough question to answer, and it assumes that you do value getting 8 hours of sleep. Or 7, or 7.5, or whatever. I've never heard someone complain that they were getting enough sleep.

How much sleep we schedule ourselves depends on how we prioritize sleep compared to the other things we have to do. I have found that I do more and better in 16 hours with 8 hours of sleep than in 18 hours with 6 hours of sleep, so I'm trying to be more careful about giving proper priority to the 8 hours.

I Found It: Why 1820

2008-01-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

It is a happy day.

On my mission, I had two favorite talks: "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane" by Bruce R. McConkie and "Why 1820?" by Hyrum W. Smith. Loved them. The former was pretty easy to track down – it's in the April 1985 Conference. The latter wasn't so easy.

For three years, I've been trying to find it, and I finally stumbled upon it via a random blog post. (I google for it every now and then, hoping to find it.) In one of the comments, someone identified the talk. It was given at a Ricks College devotional on September 27, 1988. The title is simply "Restoration of the Church".

I love the Internet.

Apple Skimmers and Edible Skivvies

2008-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

You really can't blame kids for getting words wrong. They do the best they can, and go with what they hear. As we get older, we experience more words, so we recognize more and more of what we hear (in theory), so language gets easier.

Apparently these things are called "Ebleskivers". They're Scandanavian. Somewhere between a pancake and a muffin. We received an ebleskiver pan for our wedding, and we finally got to use it this morning. They're pretty tasty, and these were just the plain ones. You can also cook them with stuff inside of them, once you get used to how the pan works – it's somewhere between a frying pan and a muffin tin.

Snow!

2008-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

About once a year we get snow on the surrounding hilltops here. This morning when I looked out the window I could see glorious white capping the hills. One of my co-workers, who lives in Santa Cruz, said she drove through a winter wonderland to get to work today.

Apple Cider Vinegar: Towards the Red End of the Scale

2008-01-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

There are things that I like, and things that I don't like. It's true for all of us. It's natural. The problem is when we don't actually try things, and just assume we're not going to like something. Or assuming we will, although I think it's more common that we assume we won't. It's like the kid that continues to scream in dread anticipation of the needle because he didn't even feel the shot.

I knew I would like Toad in the Hole before I tried it. I looked at it, decided it was just like pigs in a blanket, and sure enough – I loved it. Experience guided me. I knew I would like shrimp monterey – wrap any meat in bacon and smother it with cheese is going to be good.

While I was in England, one missionary team was invited over to an African family's home for dinner to celebrate their baptism that day. Dinner was a deep-fried pig head. I understand it's quite the delicacy, and I gave them due props for eating it.

A few years ago, I adopted a policy of not nocking things I don't understand. Consider it: how can you speak on something you don't understand? Like any guiding principle, there are times I exercise it better than others. One of the applications of this principle is trying something someone is eating before criticizing it. If they're eating it and enjoying it (and there's nothing pathological involved), then it's probably just my own preconceived notions about what's edible and what's not.

Maybe I have Charlie Love to thank for this. He's why I've tried crickets, mealworms, and other stuff I'm probably repressing. It's how I discovered SuperFood. Asparagus, brussels sprouts, egg plant, quiche, dried mangos, and a whole slew of curried foods I can't pronounce, let alone get close enough for the spell checker to correct, have all had their audition on my palette. I don't even think about it any more. It adds a little bit of adventure to life. I highly recommend it.

This weekend, I heard of a new fad sweeping the nation. Drinking apple cider vinegar. Diluted, of course. Straight up, it's strong enough to burn your esophagus. But a tablespoon or two in a glass of water is supposed to eliminate any desire you have for sweet drinks. It probably does. All I remember is throwing out the last half of the glass (after forcing the first half down while reading the evening news) and popping a couple of Tums afterwards.

It's great stuff for cooking with. I add it to chili all the time. But it's an ingredient, not a beverage. I'm sticking to the SuperFood.

Stuck in my head today

2008-01-21T22:37:00.000-08:00

Red - the blood of angry men!
Black - the dark of ages past!
Red - a world about to dawn!
Black - the night that ends at last!

Do you hear the people sing?

Google Reader

2008-01-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

I've been trying out Google Reader this week. Instead of checking a dozen different sites, when I remember to check them, if I remember to check them, and constantly wondering what I've missed, it does the work for me. It keeps tabs on sites that publish an RSS feed (blogs do this inherently), and brings everything together for me, so I just have one site to read. It even keeps track of which articles/entries I've already seen. They even have a version of Reader that works wonderfully on an iPhone, so I can check the news from anywhere.

Now I just need to see if I can get all my comics on Reader...

Weekend Getaway

2008-01-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

We have just returned from a short visit to our friends, Ray and Maureen Summers, in Folsom, California. Colter and the Summers served together in the Church mission office in Birmingham, England. When Colter and I became engaged to be married last year, the Summers invited us up to their home to visit. It took us until now to find the time to make it up there!

The drive to Folsom was long and tedious. Our plan was to leave right after work on Friday in the hopes of beating some of the Friday traffic and arriving at the Summers around 8:30pm. No such luck. It ended up taking two hours simply to get out of the bay area, crawling along crowded freeways at 15 miles per hour. We finally pulled into the Summers' driveway at 9:30pm. But we quickly forgot the frustrations of the road trip as we talked and looked at mission photos, drinking hot chocolate and sharing mission memories. The Summers' little dachshund, Missy, tried to join in the conversation, going from person to person, begging for some pats and tummy rubs.

Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then got ready to go to the Sacramento temple. This is where Colter and I were married, so it was a special experience to be able to return and serve there again. The temple really is the happiest place in the world.

After we returned from the temple, we sat and talked and watched the latest updates on the presidential primaries. From there, we went to dinner at a Thai restaurant in El Dorado Hills. The food was delicious, and we had a lovely view of a small river from the restaurant window.

Back at the Summers' again, we watched a movie on the Hallmark channel while we waited for an apple pie to bake. It was from one of the local farms and was absolutely delicious. We ended the evening talking again around the dining room table. Our original plan was to drive home Saturday night. But we decided it would be safer and more enjoyable to spend one more night with the Summers and drive home in the daylight of Sunday.

We took our time getting ready Sunday morning. While I did my hair, Colter played keep-a-way with Missy all through the house. In doing so, he became her friend for life. We enjoyed another leisurely breakfast with the Summers. Then we packed up the car and headed home. Traffic was much better coming back and we arrived home in the early afternoon, with plenty of time to unpack, unwind...and warm up our apartment! Brrr! After a full day and night without heat, it was chilly in here!

All in all, a delightful, renewing weekend. It was wonderful to get away for a couple of days and even better to to spend it with such warm, wonderful friends.

It's a MacWorld After All

2008-01-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

Every January, the publishers of MacWorld magazine put on a consumer expo at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Steve Jobs usually gives the keynote address, and it's one of the highlights of the Mac year. Rumors fly, and certain groups within Apple scramble to make ready the new products which will see their first light of day before an adoring crowd. This year was no exception, with the MacBook Air floating out on stage and iTunes movie rentals making their welcome debut. I'm curious to try the new version of Front Row rolling out to AppleTVs everywhere in two weeks; the self-updating content is good (I can't wait for iPhones to support updating podcasts by themselves), but the interface looks more cluttered than the graceful lines of Front Row 2, standard on every copy of Mac OS X Leopard.

I went up on Thursday to check things out. This was my first trip up to MacWorld; I've been to the Moscone Center twice now for WWDC. (I think it was also my first trip to any consumer expo.) It was neat to get to put some faces to companies, and a delightful change to get to talk to people who actually represent the company that makes a product instead of a third-party retailer. They know their product! (Except maybe for the Google gal who was demoing Google Maps on the iPhone, but doesn't actually own an iPhone herself.)

I had to chuckle at the contrast between some of the smaller booths, crammed with product, and Apple's gigantic theater in the center, crammed with people waiting to see the MacBook Air, AppleTV Take 2, and various iPods.

On the way back to the CalTrain station, I walked a little out of my way to see a bit more of AT&T Park (the old Candlestick Park). From the outside, it looks a lot like Coors Field, but I don't remember Coors Field having free WiFi access. I may have to see about going to a Giants game this season...

Looks Like Jamie

2008-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Posted Tuesday over at ICanHasCheezburger.com. As I was scrolling down (ie, before I saw the text at the bottom of the image), I was thinking "Wow...that cat looks like Jamie."

Something to Reed

2008-01-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

My sister just started a blog for her family. Nicole and I started a blog for our wedding, but it hasn't been updated since. Let's give this another shot. We'll see how it goes.