truth, lies, and everything in between

The Product

2010-06-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I bought something. It is something that most people have, maybe not the same make or model, but it is typically something that most people can’t live without. I took a little time to investigate which model/manufacturer I wanted and spoke with various owners of various products. Some exclaimed there product to be the best while other acknowledged they were not as happy with theirs and may consider a replacement model. After a few months of researching, I decided on what I thought I wanted.

My next move was to speak to the salesmen. It was somewhat of an MLM approach, people signed up under others which in the end would benefit the seller and those up the management chain, etc. I didn’t realize that at the time, but I was told that I could still gain all the benefits of the product and be happy with it even if I didn’t choose to become a dealer. I made sure to ask the salesmen a lot of questions when I met with them, making sure that the product was what I truly wanted. They answered me honestly, showing me product materials and pamphlets explaining all of the benefits. There were yearly maintenance fees and a sizeable owners manual but I was assured that the product was the best on the market. It was a product that would never fail me and would be able to be handed down for generations. I was skeptical at the time as nothing ever seems to be so perfect. I pushed further and asked more questions based on some possible issues I already saw with the product. I was assured that if I ran into a problem, I could simply refer to the owners manual or many of the addendum manuals that have since been produced to address concerns. This product was the best of its kind on the market. Unlike others, it did not have unnecessary functions or an endless stream of modifications. It was based on simplicity and functionality, performing only the basic of functions to conduct its overall purpose. After thinking it over for a few weeks, I decided to go forward and make a purchase.

For years, the product had served me well. It did exactly what the salesmen said it would do. A couple of times I would hit a little snag with using it, but as soon as I did I simply referred to the owners manual or one of the many addenda (conveniently online) for clarification and the problems were solved. I gladly paid my annual maintenance fee, which insured me that I would have full product support from the corporation in the future. Everything seemed to be going great.

Then it happened. I found a problem with the product. It was something I was already aware of when I made my initial decision, but the salesmen assured me that it was nothing. It was something that came with the product that you never used but was never removed from its design. It was still incorporated into it, albeit dormant, capable of being used in the future if desired. I asked about what actually happened when the product was used in that manner in the past. When it was first introduced to the market it caused some problems and actually even hurt some people, but the inventors got its use under control and decided to render it useless later after it was determined it was not really performing any useful function. “Could it ever be used again”, I asked? Certainly they said, but they saw no reason for it. “Is there anyway to buy it without this problem”, I asked. “Not from our company”, they responded.

My product was still functioning with this flaw in it, but the question is would the flaw ever end up resulting harming me or my family. I asked other owners about their feelings on it. Most had only heard of the problems in passing, but never gave it much thought. Others knew of the problems but chose to do nothing. They simply stated that if it became a problem in the future, they would deal with it then. Others outright confronted the Corporation, who at times reluctantly admitted to the problem’s existence but downplayed its relevance. On this function, the owners manual contradicted itself. Some owners simply got rid of their product all together, sometimes buying a replacement and other times choosing to live without the convenience.

As time continues, more and more problems with my product seem to arise and I seem to use it less and less. It has come to the point where I sometimes regret owning it altogether. Some are minor issues that can be easily addressed, but others are serious flaws that could possibly harm me or my children. As I find new problems, I find the same pattern exists from the Corporation. In some cases, they have gone as far to hide the problems or just outright deny they exist. As my frustration elevates and uncovering of defects continues, I must make a decision, do I keep the product or get rid of it? It is something we can live without, but should we? What would you do?

Life of an Obese Man

2009-08-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, we celebrated my wife’s 28th birthday and for her gift, at her request, I purchased her the WiiFit accessory. While my wife wanted it to help her exercise more, the impact of this new device in my home has been life changing. Shortly after opening it and watching her fumble around on the stepboard for a few minutes, I was next to stand up and be....evaluated.

As I stepped onto the Wii board, the creepy electronic voice repeated itself. “Measuring, Measuring, Measuring, All Done”. My individualized mii appeared and the scale went skyward. As my BMI settled on obese, I could not longer deny who I really am.

The results of this test have inspired me to change my life. My new goal is 50 pounds by the end of the year. I am tired of living a healthy life and its time to live up to the full measure of who I really am, which is an obese man. I can slap on those pounds with my eyes shut....which they will be with every bite of cheesecake that I savor. So long cherry tomatoes--hello cherry flavored candies. So long wholesome fruits and veggies–hello whole boxes of donuts. In addition to changing my eating habits, it’s time for me to change my physical activities level as well. Instead of long walks–long naps. Instead of hiking the mountain, I’ll be devouring mountains of chips. Some day I will run a marathon too, a movie marathon that is. Here’s to Girth!!!!

By the way, I was only 24 for my wii fit age. Take that obesity.

(No photos were used in this post out of consideration for Ol'Beardy's Lunch)

Long Way Round 3

2009-07-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sometime last year, I posted about Long Way Round, the documentary where two actors traveled around the world on motorcycles. While I would love to take a similar trip, I have to settle for what I can get. A few weeks ago, the Patriarch and I set out on a 17 mile round trip on a scooter and a mountain bike with a 70 cc engine. We documented our trip and after much demand, I put it all together. The video is in two clips (thanks to youtube policy). Enjoy!

My Personal Terror Alert Level Has Been Elevated to Red

2009-05-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

Last night, my wife and I sat down to the five minute news recap at 10 and then I was off to get a shower. As I came out of our bedroom to head to the bathroom, Molly, our big outside dog, started to bark. Molly has discernible barks. I can normally tell when she wants something, like water, or when someone is at our door, or when a neighbor dog is running by, etc. This bark sounded like someone was outside and I walked to our living room window to see who. I expected to see some teenagers walking down the street. As I drew the curtain back to the living room window, I saw a person standing inside our fence on our patio near our living room window. He saw me, turned, and ran. I quickly moved to our front door and looked out. I expected to see the man jump our front fence or run out of our gate but instead he ran around to the other side of our house. I quickly moved to our bedroom, obtained a sidearm, and went out the back door. I rounded the corner of the house, didn't see anyone, and then went up to the higher level of our rear yard. With my gun drawn, I scanned the upper street to see where the man may have run. As I scanned, I looked down towards the rear of my home and saw a person laying on the ground behind my kids swimming pool. He was trying to hide between the pool and the wall of our house, or so he thought, but he wasn't aware I saw him. I yelled, telling him to stay where he was, identify himself, and explain his reason for being there. He didn't respond. I called out again and again, no response. I yelled to my wife to call the police immediately. The man started to get up, I yelled out that he needed to stay where he was and identify himself. He responded this time. I knew him. He goes to our church.

He wasn't there to steal something. He wasn't there to knock on our door and run away like kids do. He was there to try to look into our windows to see what he could see. Most likely, my wife. (I'm holding out hope he has a thing for me, just kidding) My neighbor returned home as I was questioning the man and like any good neighbor, he came over to assist (with his sidearm of course). My neighbor had a police radio and called down to the sheriff's to report a home invasion. They said they would be there in a whopping 30 minutes. We waited, kept an eye on our temporary prisoner, and didn't allow him to move. He came towards the both of us several times, trying to apologize and offer his hand, but we refused. In addition to trying to look into our home, he smelled of alcohol. He kept the excuses coming. After about 40 minutes, four sheriffs arrived expecting to get information on what had happened and then to track down the criminal. Then my neighbor informed them that I was holding the perpetrator in the back yard. They seemed surprised and pleased. I knew the man was on probation and knew he would be arrested and go to jail. They cuffed him and hauled him off.

From what I have learned, this isn't the first time the man has peeped but it is the first time he was caught and arrested for it. I was up all night, adrenaline running, but in the end, it was good to know that my dog has my back and that we have wonderful and supportive neighbors.(A second neighbor came over to watch the arrest) Justice is served.

The Garden

2009-05-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks, my family and I have been working tocomplete our garden fence and get things planted. I thought I would post a few pics of what we've done so far. Hopefully, the fence will keep the deer out and we can actually harvest a few goodies this year. As you can see in the one picture, the fence posts are quite high since my wife is 5'3". The area surrounded by blocks is the pumpkin patch. The tire with soil will hopefully produce some nice potatoes. The closeup shot are buttercrunch lettuce.

Hartman, Hartman, You Suck!

2009-05-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I took my two older kids to a Real Salt Lake game in Sandy. They played the Kansas City Wizards and unfortunately lost. I don't typically like professional sports but football has always been one sport I could watch on TV or live. It was nice to see my kids get excited and cheer for the home team too. They even participated in the goalie taunt, as noted in the title of this post. Now if I could only find a way to get them to stop the taunt.

I'm looking for you!

2009-05-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Winter has finally died and spring is here in her full glory. With this warm weather comes the droves of weekend vacationers heading to spots westward where they can enjoy nature for what it is. Not me though, I stay local. I rarely venture more than 15 miles from home, hiking in the canyons I know or would like to know. Earlier this year, when the final battle between winter and spring were taking place, I started hiking again. I love to hike and see the world with my kids, alone, with friends, etc. But, I am tired of seeing what nature has become. This year, I have decided to collect every beer and soda can I find while I am out hiking. So far, I have three full garbage bags in which all cans are smashed. I picked cans because they stand out more. They shine, rarely move, and seem to have accumulated throughout the years. Paper and plastic wrappers blow away and beer bottles get broken and ground into the dirt. At the end of the year, I will take these cans down to the metal recycling joint near work and see how much I get. Who knows, thanks to all the many jerks that decided nature is a trash can, I can retire early.

For an interesting read from other people that collect other things of value that people discard and walk over without thinking twice, click here.

Relaxation Eurekanite Style

2009-01-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my oldest child's birthday and it is hard to believe the my first child is now 8 years old. As part of his birthday, I offered to take him out in the afternoon for some dad time. I took him, and his 4 year old brother that begged to tag along, out to some hot springs about 45 minutes from town. There are some concrete tubs out there that were poured decades ago, but still serve their purpose. So there we were, out in the middle of nowhere, up to our necks in 100 degree water relaxing, drinking sodas, and munching down on swedish fish. Please note as my 4 year old found out, swedish fish do not swim.

The Wood Pile

2009-01-11T13:00:00.001-08:00

Following the well deserved death of the plastic piece of mechanical failures I called my chainsaw, I managed to have the money to afford a new Stihl MS310 chainsaw. For those of you who don't know what the name and model mean, Stihl means reliable and quality and MS310 means power and strength. Trees quake as I approach and meet a quick death, where before, they laughed as I worked for hours to slowly remove their limbs. Now that I have a new saw, I can get a truck load of wood in about 2 hours and that is cedar wood which is hard to cut. Here is a picture of my kids on our woodpile. Note the shed in the rear is also loaded with firewood. So far, we haven't touched the wood in the shed and there is plenty of my pile left. It's so nice to have a warm house without paying the gas company to run my furnace.

Muscle Museum

2008-12-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Just another song that I like. Merry Christmas everyone.

My own list

2008-11-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

At the very moment I am writing this, families all across America are giving thanks for the many things in their life that they feel they have been blessed with. I am grateful for more than I could ever list, but I have a short list of things I will never give thanks for. The following list is comprised of things that, if they were no longer a part of my life or didn't exist in the world at all, I wouldn't shed a tear. Here it goes:

1. Rachel Ray
2. Diabetes
3. LDS related Bathroom Graffiti (i.e. CTR scribbled on the stall wall)
4. The individual that used the seat of the toilet in the men's gym locker room at work as the toilet
5. 3 Musketeers bars
6. Reality TV shows
7. Monosodium Glutamate (gives me headaches)
8. Diet Mt. Dew
9. Couples that should have never procreated
10. Sizzler Steakhouses

Now that it's over

2008-11-05T19:13:00.001-08:00

Over the past few months, I have been the unlucky recipient of the annoying politically charged emails that have been circulating around the web. These emails always came from two people that I know, one coworker, one friend. I seriously wonder how many people took these emails seriously but here is what I learned:

Email 1: Barack Obama is a muslim terrorist in disguise. His past times include the following: killing babies, spreading socialism, hanging out with terrorists, practicing Islam, hating America, burning our flag, fulfilling the prophecies of the Book of Revelations by being the AntiChrist, meeting secretly with foreign leaders that hate America, as well as many other unwholesome and anti-American activities.

Email 2: Our right to bear arms is granted by the Constitution but some political persons (see email paragraph 1) want to take that away from us. It won't be long until we are all required to place our guns into a smelter at the center of every town, built with funds from a recent bailout of the smelting industry. We should have no gun laws whatsoever, according to these emails, and if anyone ever tries to take them away from me, I should fight back. Everyone should be able to own a gun. No one is exempt. And if that gun happens to double as a grenade launcher, you're more patriotic than your neighbor.

The most frustrating part of these emails would be that these individuals would then approach me and say, "Did you get the email I sent you?" If I say no, they send it and ask again. If I say yes, they respond with, "Can you believe that?" To which my response was often, "do you believe everything you get in an email?" Sadly, I think they do.

Another thing I won't miss is the uncomfortable nature of living in a republican state when my viewpoints don't agree with the majority of those I associate with. I almost daily am approached by those that assume, that do to the religious organization I belong to, I would adamantly fight against, democrats, liberal viewpoints, and Proposition 8 in California. By the way, my family and I were asked, by our Church, to phone several hundred people in California to encourage them to vote for the proposition. We declined the invitation.

Finally, not related to the time of the year, please don't talk on your cell phone while using the bathroom. I am tired of walking in on you and hearing your conversation from the stall.

русский

2008-10-02T14:14:00.001-07:00

So someday, in my wildest dreams, I would love to travel the world. I want to do so on a motorcycle with my wife sitting behind me. I doubt I will ever have enough money to see all of the world, but maybe some of it. One place I want to go is Russia and ride through Siberia and the Altay region. Recently, I have been trying to learn Russian so that I can speak to people once we make it there. At this point, we can depart in about 30 years. Enjoy a pic of the Altay region.

Next Year's Garden

2008-09-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

Next year, the wife and I have an ambitious garden planned. We are hoping to have up an 8-10 foot fence to keep the deer out and have a small chicken coop for some hens. We already built the compost bins, as evidenced above in the photography with the woman.

Political thoughts

2008-09-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

I don't want my blog to be a political one, but I want to share some of my thoughts on this upcoming election. As some of you may have read in my previous posts, I was planning to vote for Barack Obama. That hasn't changed, but, I haven't felt so upbeat about the future of the election as I once did. VP choices have left me wandering a little, so here are my thoughts.

I am not so certain about Joe Biden. If I allow geographic determinism to rule my thoughts, I am fine. Biden was born in Pennsylvania and lived in Delaware. I was born in Pennsylvania and love Delaware, so naturally, I would be attracted to him. Biden and Obama tend to vote very similarly on most issues, which may sound like a great thing, but I was hoping that Obama would chose someone that would balance out his ticket a little more. Instead, it is like I am voting for Baroe Obiden.

Then come Sarah Palin. Well, I was surprised to hear McCain picked her but I think that he may have made a wise choice. One thing McCain lacked for me on a personal level was a personality. Everything sounds so canned, so rehearsed. Palin is an excellent speaker in comparison to him and has the ability to captivate audiences in a way he could only dream of. She is also more conservative which seems to balance out his ticket. In the end though, the election will be the same as all other elections. Personal attacks, mudslinging, and empty promises.

That's why I have devised the perfect solution: The McCain/Obama Superticket. Here's how it works:

McCain and Obama would share the power as co-presidents. Palin and Biden would do the same as co-vice presidents. Ralph Nader would be honorary president and vice president for 1 day (probably a Sunday) just for his persistence. If an issue was brought before McCain and Obama, they would have 24 hours to come to a joint decision. If no decision could be made, the two of them would be forced onto the front lawn of the White House, each with a single shot dueling pistol. Neither one would want this since the losing party would watch from the other side as one man gained total power. McCain would be worried that Obama would be faster with a gun since he was younger and may have shot one he obtained from an unscrupulous gun dealer in inner city Chicago. Obama would be worried that McCain would use his military training to put a bullet between his eyes. They would naturally agree within 24 hours.

Same with Palin and Biden. If they can't agree, same duel. Palin's a hunter, Biden eats pit bulls. Can't wait until November.

Bounty Hunters, Firewood, and the Death of Summer

2008-09-05T15:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I decided to write a post just for the sake of posting. Not about anything in particular, just a brief update on what I have been doing.

First off, I would like to thank the Patriarch for his recent work in our little town. While his actions were not intentional, his keen insight and quick thinking undoubtedly led to the Bounty Hunter's capture and imprisonment. Long live the Knights of Minar!

So fall is just around the corner which became very apparent this labor day weekend. Here's a recap of my activities:

I had five days off so I spent the first day out cutting firewood (no plaid shirt) and ghost hunting with the Patriarch and two other guys from our town. We drove out to an old ghost town and visited the cemetery under complete darkness. I really think this was an excuse to get together, down some dewskies, and laugh about whatever rolled off our tongues. In the end, we may have caught something on our tape recorder, but I don't think it was legit.

Day two, Saturday, was spent in SLC with my family. The woman had to do some research at the Family History Library for a client of hers so I spent 5 hours downtown with four kids in 100 degree weather. We did go to the local Brazilian festival however and watched a lot of happy brazilians dancing to the music. We then went to the Dick's sporting goods which happens to have a 90' indoor climbing wall. My son, who is 7, decided he wanted to climb it. Well, he only made it 75 feet before saying he was done. He didn't fall of, he was just tired of climbing. My daughter went about 30 feet.

Day 3 is when the real fun began. We decided to go camping over labor day. We hitched up the campers to the Yellow Beast and started our trek into the mountains. We made it up to a nice clearing about 5 miles from home and stopped for the day. It was great. We hiked, played, ate steak for dinner. That night however was not a night to be camping. The rains fell all night and it took forever to get out in the morning thanks to muddy roads and a truck that didn't want to start. We made it back however and I still managed to get another huge load of wood on day 4 (plaid shirt).

Day 5 I canned more produce with the wife. That was the highlight of Day 5. In the end, I realize that snow could very well be falling here in the next few weeks. So, if I don't post for awhile, its because I am out cutting wood in all of my spare time. Here's to the death of summer(virtual toast).

Lunch at 9500'

2008-08-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the family and I headed up Mount Nebo for a picnic and some hiking. We have been unable to really enjoy our own home for the past few weeks since the EPA has been removing the soil around it as part of their remediation project in our town. Here are some pics of our trip. We had a picnic lunch, took a little hike to the Devil's kitchen area, and enjoyed Salt Creek while panning for gold. I'd do it again this weekend, but the mountain is on fire.

My first attempt

2008-08-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the Patriarch and I went to a an all you can eat sushi bar as somewhat of a last hoorah before we no longer worked together. I had sushi before, but wasn't a huge fan. All that was changed at this restaurant. I tried to remake some of what I had and this was my result. They don't look the best, but they were, as they say, "very tasty!". Thanks Patriarch for giving me yet another food to tinker with.

2008-07-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

This post is well overdue but I still feel the need to get my thoughts down in written form. On May 14, 2008, my father went home. His health had been declining for several months and he wasn't all with it near the end. The last I got to truly talk with him was on his birthday in April, but he was rarely alert or responsive in subsequent phone calls. We had been planning a trip back in June in hopes of seeing him before he passed but that didn't get to happen. Despite the fact that I lost my father, I'm happy for him and know he is happier where he is now.

So, here is a little about my dad. He was born in 1927 in his parents home in the Conewago Hills of York County, Pa. He grew up there, attended school in a small one-room schoolhouse down the road, and eventually dropped out of school due to a disagreement with a math teacher. My father first worked for several orchards near his home, later for York Corrugating, and eventually started his own auto shop in the mid 1950s. He also worked as a police officer for many years during this time period. After selling his auto shop, he got a job at an Insurance company as an adjuster. That is where he met my mom, who was the secretary in the office. Mom got pregnant with my older sister and they married. Several years later, my dad began working as an enforcement officer for several local townships and specialized in environmental law. That was his last job until retirement.

My fondest memories of my dad involve going with him to work, going hunting in the mountains, and helping him around the house. I learned a lot from my dad. I learned how I wanted to treat my kids when I became a dad myself. So, here is a list of things that will always remind me of him:

1. Strawberries-Dad loved to pick them, eat them, and even send them through the mail. Imagine getting a box with juice coming from it.

2. Guns-Dad owned dozens, possibly hundreds

3. The phrases, "Go to hell" or "Mind your own damn business"-Dad loved these two. He told me to use them all the time, especially when people questioned my actions.

4. Fishing-Even if the one on the line is only 2 inches long, fight it like it's a shark.

5. Anything from the 50s-Dad had his fondest memories of that decade

6. Ponhaus, Scrapple, sous-Dad ate the weirdest things

7. the organ-he rocked out his own way

8. Buffalo-Dad had an obsession with trying to see these on the plains and due to his poor eyesight, every cedar tree was part of a stampede

My Name in Print (again)

2008-04-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, I completed my Master’s thesis and received my Masters of Science degree. Shortly afterwards, I submitted a paper I wrote to an academic journal that is distributed worldwide. Today, much to my surprise, I received an acceptance email stating that my paper will be published in a special edition of the journal. What is nice about this all is that I am the author, not the co-author or contributing author, and I didn’t even need to modify it for them to take it. I will post a link to it once it is published. Now I can check that goal off of my list.

My long opinion on something

2008-04-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

A story in the news that I have been following lately is that of the FLDS compound (YFZ Ranch) in Texas and the raids that are taking place there in response to reports of child abuse. For some reason, I feel like giving my two cents on this topic and how I feel about all of this.

First off, I live in Utah and polygyny is still alive and well here. It is not that you see men walking down the street with three girls on each side of them, but there are thousands of people in this state that still practice polygyny. The majority of people that practice polygyny don’t belong to the mainstream LDS church but to other groups that somehow trace their origins to the LDS movement. Many of these people live in communities where other polygynist people live and rarely associate with the outside world except for when they are conducting business. These people live very secretive lives out of necessity because living openly in society would result in ridicule and persecution. By doing so, these underground societies result in social dysfunction and further isolation from the world.

As you may have noticed, I used the word polygyny rather than polygamy. For those of you that don’t know the difference, polygyny is the practice of men having more than one wife, polyandry is the practice of women having more than one husband, and polygamy is a combination of the two. The majority of relationships in Fundamentalist Mormon groups are where men have more than one wife and women have only one husband. The mainstream LDS church practiced polygamy historically but officially gave up the practice in 1904. This has nothing to do with my rant but I am tired of people not understanding the difference.

Personally, I have no problems with people living polygyny. I believe that a polygynist should be able to marry as many consenting adult women as he would like. The primary word there is consenting. It isn’t my obligation to determine what should be allowed or whether any doctrine of a religion should be suppressed. Call me a liberal, but these people have rights just like I do and I have no say in how they use theirs. It saddens me when I see LDS people rip on fundamentalist churches and call for their downfall. Perhaps these people have forgotten what their ancestors went through in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Many of these people would have easily fit in the mobs that killed Joseph Smith. They don’t understand the ideas of tolerance, freedom, or humility. If these people are living an evil practice, they will pay for it before their maker.

Now to the FLDS ordeal. To make this clear, I don’t agree with the practices of the FLDS church. I do not doubt that they are marrying child brides, having forcible sexual contact, and intentionally inhibiting educational pursuits to create a subservient following. My big issue is with the way this all was handled. According to reports, a phone call was made from a 16 year old girl that reported abuse. Police responded, apparently found more problems, and rounded up over 400 children. I am all for protecting children. They are innocent and do not deserve any kind of abuse. But is the raid on the ranch really about something else? Could public distrust and moral authority be a driving force behind it all? After all, didn’t anyone notice all of the Baptist Church busses escorting the children away? When a member of any church commits a crime, be it abuse or robbery, are all of the members of that church suddenly under investigation for the same crimes? Naturally, the communal lifestyle is partly to blame for the mass roundup, but when does a society have the right assert its moral authority under the banner of protecting kids? Is the imminent danger referred to by police the imminent danger of the children living a life the authorities don’t believe in? When does the majority opinion override constitutional rights? There have been numerous comments in the media about how these children will grow up learning about polygyny, live it, and will never know about the world around them. Is that a crime? Can we start rounding these people up for living the way they do? For not being part of the same social clubs as the rest of us? I would never want that type of isolation for my children but I don’t believe anyone could stop me if I did. What about the Amish, or the parents that shelter their children for other reasons, or the parents that teach their children about things like polygamy but don’t practice it? I hope that the raid gets results and those that those that are criminals within the FLDS community are charged, pay for their crimes, and that victims feel that justice was served. In the end, we all need to remember that others have the same freedoms that we do and we need to respect them. If we as a society continue to assume that one bad apple does spoil the whole bunch, then we are all screwed. Thanks for listening to me rant.

The Loss of a Good Friend

2008-03-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

A few months back, my wife and I were discussing the future of some of our possessions and I decided upon selling our old 1998 Ford Windstar minivan so that I could buy a used truck. It made sense since we bought a new minivan a few years back and the Windstar was being used more like a truck anyway. We used the Windstar for years as our primary mode of transportation, traveling across the country, into the hills to camp, to the grocery store, to the hardware store, etc. Despite all the memories, it was time to move on and get a more acceptable vehicle to be used a workhorse.

A few weeks ago, I finished the last repair on car, which was minor, and decided to clean the interior before listing it. Time passed quickly and I hadn't gotten around to it until today. I went out this morning to give it a jump start and then it happened. As I turned the key and the engine started, things just didn't sound right. The engine was making a loud metal on metal sound, and for those of you that don't know much about cars, that's not a good sound. The engine was running real rough and then I noticed oil dripping from the bottom of the engine. I called my friend the Patriarch at work and he confirmed my fears. Allen Hendrick stopped by my home a few hours later and confirmed that the engine was gone. So much for selling it to get a truck.

Now comes decision time. The cost for repair isn't worth it since the car isn't worth as much as the repairs cost. The patriarch said he may want it to fix for his family so I may have a sale there. If not, I called a junkyard that made me a reasonable offer for the car since it isn't in bad physical shape. Either way, I lost a trusty old friend today that served me well for years.

The End is Coming

2008-03-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

The end is coming. Well, we all knew that but it has always been a question of when. I am not one who focuses on doomsday, the signs of the apocalypse, or believes in a huge destruction that will someday befall the world. Lets face it, as human beings, we can bring about the end of life as we know through what seem at the time like small and insignificant mistakes. So why am I writing this post? Well, for me, I am concerned about the future of our country and world in general. I have a family that I love more than anything and hate the thought of having to face severely hard times with them. Just recently, my wife and I came to some conclusions about where we would like to be in the future in regards to finances, geography, spirituality, career, etc. Just as we made the conclusions, economic hard times appear to be on the horizon for our country, and while we have prepared for the future in many ways, nothing will allow any of us to exist in hard times and not feel any sense of personal impact. Future plans may need to be put on hold until a time when security is in our favor in any drastic change in life we may make. For myself, I have a bright outlook on the world and the resiliency of human beings to overcome and adapt to even the most unmerciful situations. Despite my outlook, the world can always take a different turn of events, much like was witnessed last week with the downfall of an extremely large and influential banking institution. If others start to fall, it could mean economic disaster. In the area where I work, I see new foreclosures on a weekly basis and many of these homes once sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The housing bubble has finally popped and all of the people that gambled on subprime mortgages have been seeing their future fortunes as present day failures. Am I ever glad that I have enough intelligence to not get myself into such risky financial deals. Enough of my rant.

On a brighter note, spring is here. I am glad to finally see real dirt around my house and the EPA is coming this year to give me a new yard which I am ever excited about. To those of you that check this blog, I am sorry that I haven’t posted for so long. I am impressed with the diligence of you folks that don’t give up on me. Sorry this post is somewhat lame though. I half promise they will get better.

Old People Declare "this is a winter like we usta have"

2008-02-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

It’s official!!! The quorum of the elderly gathered together late Sunday afternoon and officially declared this winter to be one “like we usta have”. After receiving storms on almost a daily basis and as the snow continued to pile high above their walkers, they realized that it was time to stop complaining about the recent lame winters and recognize a return of what once was. Comments about how warm our winters have been have been dashed and the elderly have been recognizing that this winter is bad, real bad. Granted, the town didn’t have to get together to help dig out a locomotive like they did back in ‘48, but the several feet of snow now on our ground has convinced them that this was the snow that they once had to walk five miles in just to get to school. As you can see from the pictures of my kitchen window (both of which were entirely covered), the snow piled up this past weekend. At my home, there was about 7 feet on the east side of my home at one point, until it shifted and leveled out. I am certain there will be further declarations this spring, as they realize that these are the floods like they once had.

Happy Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

It’s Super Tuesday, and so, I decided I would put my political views on here in hopes to sway a few (probably not) to my side of the line. Some of you may already think you know who I will vote for but you may find yourselves surprised. When I was younger, politics only minimally interested me but as of late, with a growing family and uncertain future of what type of world my kids will live in, I now pay close attention to the upcoming election. Sadly, the candidate I would like most has no chance of making it into the office. I want change more than anything and the candidate that I think would provide it has only one six delegates. Regardless, my first choice is for Ron Paul. He is an ultra-right libertarian but stands behind what he believes in and thinks that our country needs to change its ways.

Since Paul has no chance, I will go with my second choice. Today, my state is part of the Super Tuesday vote, and I will be casting my ballot for...................Barack Obama. That’s right, I’m voting for the non-Muslim democrat that I think will best lead our country. In October of 2004, I was driving through Illinois and saw thousands of signs for Obama. At first, I thought it said Osama and then I looked him up on the web when I got home and wished he was running in my state. I never knew he would run for president but am glad he is.

As for the two above, they have a snowballs chance in hell for getting my vote. Hillary, well, no comment. Mitt, thanks for successfully waffling on almost every issue, including your religion. I think it is sad your religion came into play, but, when asked questions about Mormon beliefs, you didn’t have to lie or tell only half truths. After all, a half-truth presented as the whole truth is a complete untruth.

Uncle Again

2008-01-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

This morning, my sister had a baby boy. While I am an uncle many times over through my wife's family, this is the first time I have had a niece or nephew through a blood relative. It is different for some reason. Either way, a warm welcome to Ian.

All Along the Watchtower

2008-01-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

During these chilling winter months, there is little to do in the freezing cold temperatures outside. Being stuck indoors, I have been left with few options of activities. I have been making plans for summer, playing ping pong with the wife (just started spin serving), and having fun with my kids. Once the kids are down for bed, my wife and I have been trying to enjoy what little television we have left. While I could care less about the writers strike since I rarely watch T.V., the lack of the few shows I do enjoy is really leaving a void in my life. I really only watch two shows religiously and they are the Office and Battlestar Galactica. While I enjoy the Office, I haven’t been left hanging like I have with Battlestar Galactica. This is about to turn into a geeky post and may contain spoilers for those that are still catching up on the series.

My wife and I recently began watching Battlestar Galactica again in hopes that we can be entirely refreshed and ready for Season 4 in March. For those avid watchers out there, Season 4 is going to answer a lot of questions that most viewers have. Ultimately, who is the fifth Cylon, what happened with Starbuck last season, and will they make it to Earth? As the show seems to become increasingly religious in many aspects, my wife and I have begun to watch older episodes to see if any clues about the future of the show are present. To say the least, we haven’t found anything telling but have enjoyed watching the series again. (3rd time) After browsing the net, I was able to find a season 4 preview. This leaves me with more questions than answers.

Some Updates

2008-01-11T18:48:00.001-08:00

It has been a little while since I last posted and thought it may be time for some updates. Not much has been going on in my life other than work and having fun with my family. I had an awesome holiday and spent some more time putting together some preserved food. The picture included with this post is my latest concoction. Much like my last post, the preserved food in this picture was gathered out in the mountains around my house. This particular food is Chokecherry jelly. Chokecherries grow abundantly in the local area but few are tasty since many don't have adequate water to develop a sweet taste. I found a tree that was loaded with berries and each was really sweet and juicy. After about an hour, I finally finished this jelly. It wasn't as easy as the elderberries and it took my kids and I a long time to collect them, but it was so worth it.

Another thing to mention is my basement. In a previous post, I was making headway at digging through and creating living space there. Well, I hit a self-induced snag the other week. I was taking out some dirt, after having to shovel a path to my basement, and just finally decided that the vehicle I am using to haul the dirt isn't going to work. I use my old Ford Windstar to pull my beat up wood hauling trailer. After loading the trailer with 25 buckets of dirt and driving out to dump them, I decided to fix up the old van and sell it. I hope to get a truck that I can dump bucket after bucket of dirt into the bed and then drive out to empty it. I think it will be far more efficient and less discouraging than the current system. I hope to sell the van in a month or two and have already started to clean up the inside and fix the few mechanical problems that exist with it. Wish me luck everyone.

My Holidays

2008-01-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

To anyone that actually reads this, I hope you all had a nice Christmas vacation as I did. I am depressed today to be going back to work and having to deal with life again. Being home was a lot of fun and I had a great time with the wife and kids. More importantly, I got to catch up on some things, work on a few projects, and figure some things out. During my time off, I made the executive decision to sell my old Ford Windstar minivan and get a 4x4 to haul firewood and my camper. I just finally realized that I didn’t like that van anymore and wanted to get something else that would better suit my needs. I also played a lot of ping pong on my new table. I also had a lot of fun playing games with the kids, going out into the freezing temperatures, and even working in my basement for a little bit..

On a side note, I finally got around to canning some jam. I know that sounds really domesticated of me, but I really enjoy saving food for the future, “just in case”. In an effort to be a little more self-sufficient, I started cataloging various edible plants around my home, their location, size, and potential yield. I did this mainly last summer when out hiking on dirt roads or riding on my scooter. I was able to gather a lot of information on what was readily available to me in the event food is hard to find. Well, during the early part of the fall, the Patriarch and I took to the hills and collected Chokecherries and Elderberries. While I haven’t touched the chokecherries yet, I made the frozen elderberries into jam this past weekend. It was only supposed to make three pints but made six. It is delicious, natural, and free.

Not a resolution but an effort will be made

2007-12-27T14:54:00.001-08:00

As the new year approaches, I have begun to think about the year that has passed. It has been a great year where mostly good things have happened to me and my family. We have watched our four little ones grow both in body and in mind, have obtained more things we will only use a few times before we die, have visited family members and have been visited, traveled, and the list goes on. During my reflection (most of which occurred while shoveling snow), I realized that I need to make a few changes in my life. For several years now, I have lost or put aside those things which I have adamantly enjoyed doing. While part of this has to do with life happening all around me and me finishing my education, I frequently waste time and often give up opportunities to do what I love and replace my spare time doing things that just get me by. More importantly, I need to do these things with my wife and children so that we can all enjoy them together. Here are the things I will make time for in my life:

1. Cheesemaking: Before anyone laughs, I enjoy making cheese. Overall, I enjoy cooking an awful lot but I began making cheese back in 2001 and really enjoyed it. It is far more of an art than a talent and takes time and patience. It was an enjoyable activity on Sunday afternoons to put some milk into a large pot, heat to a specific temperature, add rennet, add starter culture, cut curds, bag and drain curds, make whey ricotta with the leftovers, press and salt the cheese, and then let it sit for three months while it ages. Oh joy, doesn’t this sound like fun already. Well, it is. So I hope to make some cheese this year with the kids and watch them smile as they eat some homemade mozzarella.

2. Cave: I enjoy exploring and caves are the closest thing I can get to unexplored terrain. Caves are a world of their own and I used to go in them all of the time. Contrary to popular belief, caves do not randomly collapse just because nature likes to squish people. It’s ludicrous. Caving is fun and safe if done correctly and offers me with a challenge. I will however, not go into mine shafts anymore. They are not safe.

3. Play my Trumpet: I used to be good at this but haven’t really played for over ten years. I need to sit down and start again.

Research Update

2007-12-20T06:38:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, I talked briefly about how I enjoy researching Mormon history and current splinter groups in my spare time. In that post, I mentioned about a recently formed British group known as the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ. For those of you interested in this topic, you may want to check out their blog again. In a recent post, they put a link to their uploaded videos of their Church services. It is hard to glean much information from these clips, but they are somewhat interesting to watch. Additionally, I have now dubbed my wife the expert on this group. I emailed "Their Prophet" and requested some information on their power structure, doctrinal basis, etc. His father, who I believe is a member of his first presidency, emailed me back two documents that explain some of their beliefs. My wife was bored one day and read through all of the two documents and informed me of the history and structure of this group. I plan to email them on others to learn more about them. I also may order a copy of their book, "The Book of Jeraneck". I have a document file of it but it would be interesting to have a hard copy. While I don't believe its writings, it would still be an item to have in my Mormon library. If anyone wants to check out their videos, you can watch the one posted below or you could check out their blog here. A very interesting group indeed.

Riding Woes

2007-12-18T06:57:00.001-08:00

A few years back, I bought a 2002 Kymco People 150 scooter to give me a cheap commute from my home to school. In recent years, I haven’t used the bike much except for some rides around town and out in the dirt roads in the local mountains. I am at a crossroads where I am having a hard time deciding if I should keep the bike or sell it to buy another, more powerful one. I would appreciate the input of those that read this blog in helping me reach a decision. In the end, I just want a bike that I can take on long rides to enjoy the world around me. Be mindful that I can probably only get around $1500-1800 for this and a new bike is far more expensive. I would need to buy an older, used bike with that cash. The pros and cons are as follows:

Pros:
-it’s payed off
-it’s relatively new and runs well
-it has a good engine and will likely relatively forever
-it gets good gas mileage (80mpg)
-it works fairly well on dirt roads
-it’s easy to operate

Cons:
-it’s expensive to register ($100/yr)
-it has a top speed of 65 mph
-it has an automatic transmission
-your butt hurts after about 30 minutes of riding
-it’s a scooter

Metal Box of Death

2007-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Last night was the city employee's work party held at the local city library. The wife an I found a sitter and attended the party as we have done for the past two years. All in all, it was a lot of fun. We sat with others from my office and ate lots of food and even won a prize this year.

Since we parked our car in the underground parking garage as many others did, we headed towards the elevator and got in with a group of people. The elevator wasn't packed but did have 14 people. Between the second floor and the parking garage, the elevator bumped and promptly stopped. Just to clarify, this elevator was rated for 3500 pounds. Being that the average weight of the riders was not 250 pounds, we did not exceed the weight limit. For the next 45 minutes, all 14 of us were trapped in the elevator as the fire department worked to get us out. Eventually, after all fail safes failed, we had to climb a ladder out of the small escape hatch and then up another ladder to the second floor. All in all, the experience wasn't terrible but next time I would like to have the following items with me:

Tranquilizers: To put out all of the crabby people that kept complaining about the heat. Yes it was hot and being that I don't do well, your expulsion of hot air when talking wasn't helping.
A Hammer: First off, I could have used this to send a Morse code signal to the jerks on the second floor that kept pounding on the doors that the elevator wasn't coming back up to get them. Secondly, I could have used this item to smash the cell phone that the annoying lady next to me kept calling her friends with. Each person she called started like this: "You'll never believe where I am I'm stuck in an elevator with 14 people." So help me, if I had a harpoon with me, she would have died right there.
Lard: Being the commendable guy I am, I volunteered to help secure the escape ladder while my fellow entrapped car riders evacuated the elevator. First up was the lady that was almost 8 months pregnant. No problems. The next few women started going through, again, no problem. Then came chunky beluga with the annoying cell phone calls. The upper half went through o.k. but then a gasp came from the group. She got stuck. While the opening was small, my 200 pound large frame made it through without even having to turn sideways. We all waited while the firefighters above pulled but there was no way I was crawling under one of those hocks to push. The lard would have definitely lessened the trepidation we were all feeling, but I wouldn't have been the one to slather it on thunder thighs.

What an experience.

Where I won't go

2007-12-06T11:42:00.001-08:00

As a follow up to my last post, I thought I would comment on the places I would never want to live. While I am not a man filled with enmity towards many things, I cannot bare the thought of having to live in a place I don’t like. My dislike of a particular place typically comes from a bad experience or a stereotype. I could only come up with five though. And with that is the following list:

Chicago, Illinois: I haven’t been through all of Chicago, but its suburbs and downtown areas are both scary and crime riddled. I think part of my fear of this place comes from Sinclair’s “The Jungle”. Also, Oprah lives/works there. Need I say more???

St. Louis, Missouri: Being the Gateway to the West, I have come to realize that this was the departure point for many on their way to a new life west of the Mississippi. Unfortunately, many people took a crap there before they left and no one came back to clean it up. From my experience, this is a dirty old industrial city with a depressing facade created from its antiquated buildings. I just don’t like being there.

Phoenix, Arizona: I have come to call Phoenix the “Devil’s Outhouse”. It’s just too hot for me and I could care less that it’s a dry heat. Sorry to those Arizona lovers out there, I just have to go with my gut on this one.

Los Angeles, California: In the words of Maynard from Tool, I’m praying for tidal waves. I hate cities. I hate dirty cities. I hate cities with high crime. I hate L.A.

Twin Falls, Idaho: When I bought our last vehicle in Seattle, WA, I had to drive back to my home which took me through Twin Falls. I had never been there before and had an experience of a lifetime. I stopped off here at a gas station around 9:00 P.M. and went into the rest stop to get something to eat at the blimpie restaurant. A large greasy lady greeted me from behind the glass barrier and took my order. This corpulent individual then proceeded to take my bread, pick it up to the level of her eyes, and make it open and shut in talking fashion while saying, “what do you want to put in me?”. I don’t even want to visit Twin Falls in fear of running into this freak again.

Places I'd Go

2007-12-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

For fun, I thought I would construct a list of geographic locales that I would love to or would consider living in. Before anyone gets excited, I am not looking to move to any of these locations at any time in the near future. Perhaps they will only be places that I visit periodically, but in the end, I would be happy finding myself residing in any of them. And now the list:

Waterville, Pennsylvania-I vacationed a couple of times here during my teenage years and fell in love with this little place. Its nestled in the Pocono Mountains and just would be the perfect getaway location for me.
Ely, Nevada-This is just a cool old mining town. I loved the nearby mountains, mining history, old railroad, and garnet digs. Just a fun place to visit or place to retire.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin- I love the upper Midwest and Eau Claire is a beautiful place. We stayed here before and I just remember the pine trees and the wispy clouds. Magical!
Maine- Since I cannot pick a particular town, Maine just always looks beautiful to me. I would especially like to live within 20 or so miles from the coast so I could enjoy delicious lobster.
Alaska- While I have never been there, I had a friend convince me that I would love living there. Frankly, my draw towards the frozen state is the lack of people there. I have a sense of wanderlust about what is always over the next hill and the sense of being in a place where few people lives excites me.
Steamboat Springs, Colorado-A small ski resort town far out of the way of the well known destinations, this place has a climate and topography I love. I enjoy seeing the surrounding ranch lands, the treacherous mountain passes, and again, the few people that live there.
Ashland, Pennsylvania-Oh sweet mining towns, how I love you. I can’t help but love the old coal mine town architecture of the homes, the close proximity of the houses, and the nearby mountains riddled with decaying industrial monuments to a time long passed. Plus they have great potato pancakes there.
Rexford, Pennsylvania-So where in the hell is Rexford, PA? That is an appropriate bumper sticker. This is my kind of town. No one lives there. It’s really close to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and my uncle has a cabin near there. I love this rural setting and the wide open spaces that abound.
Minnesota-Eh! Similar to Wisconsin, it’s part of the upper Midwest and I love the lakes and the fishing. The mall of America could go however.
Southern Indiana-Southern Indiana has a creepy yet charming feel to it that I enjoyed when going through. Plus, this area has abundant cave systems that I could spend a lifetime exploring. Unfortunately, this area also reminds me of something out of deliverance.

Behold the Heir of the Apocalypse

2007-11-28T15:09:00.001-08:00

As a follow up to my post a few minutes ago, I feel I should post my greatest fear. If the powers of evil gather and Wayne and Sheri should meet and bare offspring, the earth will inherit the heir to the apocalypse. Behold Shwayne Dewton!!!

The Things I Fear

2007-11-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

As a small lad, I had the normal fears every kid does. I was afraid of the dark, the boogeyman, things that bump in the night, etc.

A few years later, when I was in second grade or so, my sister's tennis coach said he had seen a UFO. I studied up on them and thanks to my elementary school's library being so adequately stocked with UFO related literature, I developed a fear of alien abduction and any related "medical" procedures I would experience as an Alien's boy toy.

Well, as I have grown, I have let those fears aside. Unfortunately, I have since developed a fear or rather an aversion to the sight of certain people. Two such individuals will be highlighted in this post, as shown above.

1. Sheri Dew sends a shiver through my spine. Whenever I hear her chilled voice, it is like antifreeze in a dying dog's kidneys. This womans corporate spinster attitude and brutal stares are enough to leave me writhing on the ground in mentally inflicted pain. Also, her novel about Gordon B. Hinckley's life was literary sewage. I have never read such hero-worship laden tripe. That book was a disservice to the church. Two thumbs down. (three if you are from Utah and a product of inbreeding)

2. Wayne Newton scares me based on looks alone. He is like something out of a B-rated horror movie about pimps beings impaled by fairies in a Dallas Suburb. Seriously, just look at him. Plastic face looks less and less human after each surgery and if I have to hear Danke Shein one more time, I may start a political campaign to declare Mr. Newton as a threat to public health and safety.

Planning a City

2007-11-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

Before anyone wonders if they should read this post or not, this isn't a lame attempt to vent my job frustrations online. Every year for Christmas, my kids and I construct a city completely out of legos for under the Christmas Tree. This year, its a traditional city with homes, a train, an airport, cars, etc. We rarely ever finish it since sorting through several thousand legos is only exciting to children that can rarely follow all of the directions. In the end, everyone has fun doing it though and I will try to put some pictures of our creations online. But, before I go, I found a video on youtube that made me sick to my stomach. Just watch below. The fact that someone had the time to do this video and the hope that someone would actually want to see it leads me to question the mental capacity of its creator.

The Goal of Self-Sufficiency

2007-11-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have spent a lot of time pondering ways that my family and I can be more self-sufficient. While my family and I live well within our means, the fear of future hard times coupled with the fear of commercialized food production has brought me to the conclusion that my family and I should do all we can to provide naturally for our family. I have done some small things in the past few months towards this goal and have been examining others. Here are some ideas that I have had or have already implemented:

Wilderness food gathering: No matter where you live, there is most likely naturally growing foods (and animals) around you that can be harvested yearly to add to your family's pantry. I began doing this earlier this year with the Patriarch. He and I collected pounds of berries that grow locally that are all natural and full of vitamins and antioxidants. I hope to start hunting more since I have finally got my wife liking venison. Now, I need to find a way to sneak some rattlesnake meat into the diet.

Home Grown Vegetables and Fruits: Again, I did this earlier this year and had great success in harvesting tomatoes and lettuce. That was the extent of what I grew however and need to do better at fertilizing my soils. I hope to begin composting so that I can improve the poor soil we have. I also want to start farming indoors on my front porch. I am currently growing exotic fruit bearing plants on my porch but so far I haven't produced anything. I have a banana tree, orange tree, blueberry bush, two banana passion fruit vines, and a prickly pear cactus.

Home Grown Meat: Several years ago, I had chickens that I raised for eggs. I am thinking about getting more chickens early next year, hopefully both meat and egg chickens. I have found some cornish roasters that are quick growing and supposedly tasty. I have also researched fish farming.

Here is a youtube video about Urban Homesteading, a revolutionary approach to self-sufficiency that is inspirational.

Poor Man's Ping Pong

2007-11-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, my wife and I had a small disagreement about something and I chose to settle it the only way I knew possible. I challenged my wife to a combative game of table tennis. Since I don't have a real table, I put the net on our kitchen table and away we went. After being declared the victor of said game, we looked up ping pong on youtube just to see what was out there. This is what we found. It is absolutely amazing!

the race of men, who above all else desire power

2007-11-17T07:49:00.000-08:00

Back in the local 2005 election, my friend the Patriarch was running for a seat on the local city council. He and I had a conversation a few weeks prior to the election and from his words, I could interpret that he didn't want to be elected so when voting day came, I cast my ballot for his contender. Ironically, he and the other man had tallied the same number of votes so a tie breaking card draw was the deciding factor. The Patriarch lost, much to his satisfaction, and the other man took his seat in January of 2006.

A few months ago, his contender decided that he no longer wanted to be on the city council and resigned. Since the deadline had passed to have your name put on the upcoming ballot, the new councilman would need to be appointed by the existing council. According to the city recorder, only one person had put in for the position and he was an individual notorious for his disregard of local laws and unkempt property. So, I put in for the position.

On Tuesday night, I went to the city hall and waited for the council's vote. By the time of the vote, five names were now on the ballot and only three councilmen were present to vote. The votes were cast and passed to the mayor, who upon looking at them, hung his head. All three councilmen had voted for different people and the final vote came to the mayor. A few seconds later, I walked towards the table, was sworn in, and took my place as the city's newest councilman. Alas, the Patriarch's seat, never filled by him but by his contender, is filled by me. Power is now mine!

Interesting websites I have found

2007-11-16T19:28:00.000-08:00

While studying Mormon history and modern day fracture groups, I have come across quite a few interesting websites. I thought it may be of interest to some of my readers to look at these sites. Some are unreal while others seem quite normal. I have put a little introduction about what each site is for. Enjoy!

Strangite: The Strangite's were one of the first groups to splinter away from mainstream mormonism in the early days of the LDS church. James J. Strang claimed to be the appointed successor to Joseph Smith. Strang produced a letter from Smith written two days before the martyrdom along with the envelope, complete with Nauvoo postmark on June 25, 1844. Thousands followed Strang to Voree, Wisconsin and then to Beaver Island, Michigan, where Strang was crowned a king. (second annointing?) Strang claimed to have received a written record from the plates of Voree and translated them into what was named "The Book of the Law of the Lord". Strang claimed to be against polygamy but when his secretary that was dressed as a man turned out to be Strang's second wife, followers killed him on Beaver Island. There are about 100 Strangite's left, one of which runs this website.

Parowan Prophet: I don't know much about this guy, other than he seems crazy. When I first found this site a few years ago, he had a poem written about how Saddam Hussein and Gordon B. Hinckley were a lot alike. So his website is now a little dulled down, but still insane.

Bickertonites: Following the death of Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Smith's first counselor and vice-presidential running mate, tried to claim to be Smith's successor and be appointed "protector" of the church. When that didn't work, he returned to the Pittsburgh area and started his own church. One of his followers organized his own church in 1862 which is still around today and surprisingly active.

The Latter Day Church of Christ: A recent splinter group based in England, a young man named Matthew Gill claims to have received an ancient record along with a set of glasses to translate them with. (sounds so crazy huh?) Anyway, he claims that it is an ancient record of the inhabitants of the British Isles. I got a copy of the book to satisfy my curiosity and had no problem putting it down. Check out the Church's blog and apparently, they will soon have some youtube videos.

Question!

2007-11-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

***Disclaimer***
First off, I have been having a hard time determining whether or not to make this post. After hours of self-deliberation, I determined that I am not writing this blog to attract readers, but rather to express myself in a different form than I would normally. The purpose of this post is to let out my frustrations and put into words that which is on my mind. I don't want this post to be misconstrued as a cry for help or a request for input. I am simply questioning and searching and this post is for my own purposes (this blog is the closest thing I have to a diary). I welcome all to read it but keep in mind why it is here.

For those of you that know me, you probably know that I have a deep love of historical studies. I have and will always enjoy anything related to history no matter how it affects my life. Having received my educational training in the social sciences, I have relied heavily upon documentation in all studies that I have done and will always use evidence to support any claim or hypothesis that I conjure up. Also, I do not believe or even consider any claim without adequate documentation. I am a student of life and will never learn more about it unless I ask questions.

In the summer of 2000 while attending BYU, I was blessed and/or cursed to take a course from Dr. Hedges entitled: LDS History, 1805-1844. The course dealt a little with the overall history of Christianity but primarily with the history of the church from the birth of Joseph Smith Jr. until his martyrdom. Dr. Hedges was an exquisite teacher and was full of knowledge that he imparted to each of his students. On the first day of class, Dr. Hedges made a disclaimer of his own. Basically, he stated that he was a historian that studies LDS history and that he would be using documentation throughout his class and would not be "sugar coating" any of his lessons. As part of this disclaimer, Dr. Hedges explained that he has had students in the past that requested to drop the course due to their spirituality being in jeopardy due to the lesson material. He explained that anyone was welcome to drop at anytime if they felt they could not remain a member of the Church due to the lesson material.

Within a few weeks, I had learned a great deal about the history of the church, much of which I was never aware of. While the information was at times upsetting, I could not resist learning more. Overall, the class was not spiritually uplifting and I even recall one student bursting into tears and running out of the classroom. After the semester was over, I was full of questions. Having only joined the church a few years before, I wasn't aware of many of the details of the creation and early years of the church. More than anything, I felt a little duped and somewhat unsettled. While I still believed in the church, the desire to understand why things happened began to consume me.

Life continued as usual for two years or so when I took another course from Dr. Hedges entitled LDS History 1844-1901. The questions in my mind had not been answered and I hoped to get further knowledge about the church from this course. After another semester of Church history, I felt more and more like I needed to know why things happened the way they did.

As my spiritually reached crisis level in 2002, I began to question my next move. I wasn't certain how to proceed. I saw the following options before me:

a. Go on living life as usual, attending church, etc. and hopefully figure it all out in the end or feel at peace with myself.

b. Openly question things, see where the road may lead me and my family, and possibly find myself only half done with my BYU education and without an ecclesiastical endorsement.

Given my options, I chose option "a". After several years of following this option, I have never found the peace I have been looking for nor have I figured things out. While option B is a scary one, I feel that I need to be a little more active in my historical research and my spiritual quest to overcome my feelings of confusion over what happened historically in the church. While my questions are many, I still believe in the basics, which is important. I am merely searching for the answers regarding things beyond the basics so that I can grow. I am not certain how much I will post regarding what I have found since I do not wish to make others question what they are "ok" with not knowing. I have spoken to people about my problems and when I bring up what happened historically and why I can't understand it, they rarely know about it and never want to talk. To my wife, you have been so supportive in all of this. You have never lost faith in me and have promised to stay by me no matter what. To the Patriarch, thanks for always lending an ear and being involved in my discussions and out-loud thinking. This post has been long but of great help for me to get out my feelings. Thank you everyone for reading my ramblings.

Lazy Sunday

2007-11-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

After the fun weekend I had, I needed something to seal the deal. On Friday, I called the Patriarch to thank him for the new computer monitor he gave me. I offered him the opportunity to go out with me to dispose of my old one which was having real issues. He also had a computer tower to dispose of, so Sunday afternoon was decided on. My older son and I and the Patriarch and his family all headed out to our favorite mine shaft to say our goodbyes. The mine is about 900 feet deep from what I can tell. Watch the video below. The booming was much better in person. When the monitor goes, please remember the sound is at least 200 or more feet down in the mine.

The Greatest Six Hour Camping Trip EVER!

2007-11-04T17:34:00.001-08:00

On Saturday night, I hooked up the camper to the molemobile and headed out to Lonesome Pine for some camping with my two sons. Shortly after arriving, we were sitting around the campfire telling stories (sounds a little too ideal doesn't it) and my three year old, Bubs, turns to me and says he wants to go home. After some convincing, I got him to say he wanted to stay out in the dark wilderness as opposed to sleeping in our warm house. After a quick snack, the boys wanted to turn in so we all went to bed. Around 10:45, Bubs woke me up asking to go home. He was really determined this time and was kicking and screaming. Primarily, he missed his mom and couldn't get comfortable. I told him we would go home but that he had to close his eyes and relax for a little while first. Thinking I got him, he called my bluff and waited up for 45 minutes until I finally broke down, packed up, and drove home at 12:30 A.M. My older son was real upset but was a good sport. We had only been gone six hours but had a great time never the less. Next time, Momma is coming along.

Ma, put that dishrag down

2007-11-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's time to hook the camper up to the old Studebaker and go out for an enjoyable holiday in the countryside. Back in May of this year, I was finally able to convince a friend of mine to allow me to purchase a vintage camper of his. It technically belonged to his brother but he didn't think he would be able to pull it with his Jeep Cherokee. He overestimated the weight of the trailer and decided to sell. Too bad for him. The trailer is pulled by my 98 Windstar, which was also converted into a camper. Now, I can comfortably sleep 6 people between the two. For a 1956 camp trailer, it was in immaculate condition. All that was needed was some new flooring since the old linoleum was cracking so I went to the local IKEA and bought some pergo-style hardwood floor. Now, my camper is complete. The plans are to take out my two sons this weekend, get loaded on sodas, and relax our cares away. See the camper pictures below.

camper pics

2007-11-02T10:13:00.001-07:00

From The Top: An old advertisement for my camper, a view from the door looking in, a view of the closet with bed, a view of the table (note the old linoleum floor), a view of the new floor with Bubs by the fridge.

An inspirational show

2007-10-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

So a couple of months ago, I was watching some Battlestar Galactica episodes recorded on Skyone TV and noticed an advertisement at the end for a show called "Long Way Round". It showed Ewan McGregor and another guy (Charlie Boorman) riding motorcycles. Since riding motorcycles is a passion of mine, especially on long trips where some sense of adventures accompanies me, I hopped on the web and downloaded the show. Only seven episodes long, this show broke my spirit down to the point where I wanted to plan my next great adventure. Below is a video from youtube that highlights some of the trip, but the entire series is captivating. The two actors just finished another trip which is now showing on BBC Two, entitled "Long Way Down" in which they ride from England to South Africa. Enjoy.

Progress!!!

2007-10-27T17:43:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been an exhausting weekend thus far. Yesterday, I woke up, took the kids to school, and left for a 6 hour adventure into the desert to cut firewood. Despite my aching muscles impeding my desire to work today, I crawled into the basement and chipped away at the endless dirt pile around me. After working for two hours, the woman and I removed 75 5-gallon bucket loads of dirt. We made great progress, getting through a lot of rock. I know the pictures don't look like much, but we removed about a 3 foot by 2 foot square area of dirt, 5 feet deep. There still must be an easier way to do this. I hope it is all worth it in the end.

So Long McSneakers...

2007-10-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Oh how the great have fallen!!! Oh how great he wasn't. Yep, the demise of yet another co-worker. No, death didn't catch up with him, just his own stupidity in everything he did throughout our workplace. I find it sad that in having only worked at my current employment for just under three years, I have seen the firing of five people. While I pity him for having to inform his family about his lack of adequateness in the workplace, maybe the novel he decided to write while on the clock will make him the millions he thinks he is worth and put a smile on the face of his wife. So, here are some sentences dedicated to Cellphone McTennisShoes (Thanks for the nickname Darren):

"That's what I am talking about baby"

"Let's kick it over to the office"

"I know everything about this job already" followed by "I didn't know that" or "I don't want to learn this, I will just come to you for help"

"I'm writing a novel, it is almost the same as National Treasure, yet nothing like it"

Better run, Perfect Strangers re-runs are on!

My song pick for the week

2007-10-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no video, just music

If Hell Had Projects...

2007-10-21T12:45:00.001-07:00

My house was originally built in 1903. When constructed, it was considered large for the area and actually housed some prominent citizens of our town for several years during the wealthier era of our city. Well, it was added onto a few times, but it is still too small for my growing family of six. Well, a friend of mine decided to excavate under his home and make it livable space. Since it worked for him, I figured I may as well give it a try. As shown above, my house has a lot of dirt to be removed. While my outer foundation is concrete, only about 25% of the area under my home can be stood in, and that is due to the utility room that was made down there. So far, I have been digging down there only a few times and the work is slow. Well, beyond slow. After digging down two feet, I hit solid rock and have resulted to using mild explosives. I hope to continue updating the basement dig pictures as I keep working. Being that I have a 3 foot by 3 foot door to remove dirt through, all in five gallon buckets, I imagine this will take a lifetime to finish. But, given my options, this is a far cheaper way to add rooms to my home. Wish me luck!

It Begins!

2007-10-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally decided to set up a blog. For those of you that remember, I had a crappy website at Geocities for several years but since it says I only have two kids, chances are I haven't updated it lately. My goal for this blog is to post events in my life, personal opinions on various items, and updates on my projects. Frankly, I don't know how diligent I will be with such posts, but I hope to keep a running amount of them so that family and friends can be updated on what is going on with me. Also, many of you have realized or will realize that I do not use my real name or that of my family. I don't trust people and don't want the creeps of the world who can access this page to find me before I can have my gun loaded. And so, it begins!!!