Oh, yes...

One other thing. I put up a link to the website hosted by my mission. I encourage everyone to look up their respective missions as they apply. The URL starts as http://www.mission.net/ . Click on it and find your mission. It's always nice to let people know what you are up to, unless you don't want them to know. So, go ahead and be a social recluse if you wanna be...I don't mind. Really. :)

Wow, how pointless...

I have nothing to say about myself or anybody else today, so I'll go away...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! It's been a great day! Val and my mother-in-law got me a new wallet for Christmas. It was a complete surprise, and I had a 'kid' reaction to it. Totally excited and thrilled. That was the best present. I also got the Episode 3 DVD, a pen/ FM radio and a ton of candy. We also got a few church DVD's. All in all, a happy day! I hope everyone's Christmas is as great as mine has been.

And remember, it's Jesus' birthday, at least as far as all the rest of Christianity is concerned. So, remember to take time for Him this special day.

Merry Christmas to my family and friends, especially to my friend Ben! :)

I just gotta have it...

It's been an interesting day. Lots of emotions, problems, etc.

A co-worker of mine was ashamed to admit today that, after 2 months of being free, had started smoking again. To my shame, I sat for 2 seconds, and then pointed to him and said "WEAK!" What followed, about 30 seconds later, was a realization of what I had said. I apologized to him, saying that if I had divulged an addiction to him, I would want him to be understanding to me about my plight. So much for the Golden Rule...

His situation made me start thinking about the nature of addictions. I think that everyone has at least one, and that it is part of our personal challenge to overcome the world and better ourselves. The other thing I have figured out, is that addictions seem to come in many guises. Pornography and sexual addiction, anger, smoking, drugs, alcohol, apathy...

I find that I have real troubles with getting angry. I used to think that I was pretty mellow, and that I didn't get angry. Now, it seems that I get very upset about things or people that hurt me. I talk angrily, I write angrily, and I'm so sure that I'm right that I defend my position to the utmost. I seem to be forgetting the 100 year rule: In 100 years, is this thing you are angry about, is it going to matter? Usually it isn't important enough to even matter, but still I fall into the trap.

I try to remember that I shouldn't get upset, but I always seem to forget that when my emotions get going. I feel so powerless sometimes, because I always promise that I'll do better, and the next time isn't better. I have a friend who helps me evaluate myself and my emotions/thoughts, and I'd like to thank him for helping me realize that I may think that what I am doing is right, but that long term, it isn't Christ-like or charitable. Thank you, Mr. Raty.

I think that that is enough profundity for a Wednesday. Stay happy...

Give in to your anger...

Well, I have had it confirmed to me, once again, that ignorant, angry people are stupid. Someone called here at work and was irate about a notice that we had sent out for the Christmas holiday. We will be closed on Monday, and won't send any orders out on Sunday. Any orders sent after the usual cutoff time on Thursday will be delivered Monday.He didn't read the whole notice, and was upset about his interpretation of it. He thought that he wouldn't get an order on Friday like he usually would, which is untrue. So, rather than call up and ask a reasonable question in a reasonable tone, he calls and leaves a voice mail reaming a friend of mine for her incompetency and saying that someone should be shot for being closed for 4 days. What makes people think that it's all right to talk to someone that way? Does every single person fly irrationally off the handle at every little provocation? It seems insane.

Monday Stuff...

Well, it's Monday once again, and almost Christmas time.

My holiday humbuggies were deepened on Saturday when I recieved word from Ben about a former friend. Ben and I were friends with this person 12 or 13 years ago, he and his wife. I found out that they are divorcing after 17 years, and to add to it, that our friend was\is abusive to her. Along with other assorted sins, I was saddened to learn of the depths that this "friend" has descended to. It just goes to show that you may think you know a person quite well, but that you really don't. What a sucky situation...

I don't really have anything else to add today, so I'll bail out...

Still, old friend...

Ah, nothing like a quote from Star Trek 2 to liven things up, and for a post title it does admirably well.

I am still alive, and I'll try to get something up on Monday.

I'm out...

The worst part of getting sick...is getting better.

Good day, persons. It's been a busy day here at work, but time is crawling along. How unhelpful!

I now sound lots worse than I feel. I'm still trying to clear out my lungs, and to stay warm. The warm part is a bit harder, since the other seems to be a bit involuntary.

I have nothing else to say today, so I will bid all of you adieu, and hope your weekends are productive, relaxing and safe. Hasta!

Endurance of Champions...Or Something Like That.

Well, bloggers, I'm back @ work, and able to post coherently. I came to work yesterday, but was in no shape to try anything other than work and breathing, both of which were difficult. I was sick all this past weekend, and I'm only now getting better.

I don't feel like getting into anything strenuous right now, mentally, so I'll close and bid you all good day...

I'm sick...

Well, it's official. As of 10.30 AM this morning, I am sick and stuck at work. Fridays are the worst days to get sick at work here. One of us is here at 3 AM, the other shows up at 7 AM, and I get here at 9 AM. Usually the person who is here at 3 is gone by 7.30. So, there is no one to cover for me, without it being unfair.

You know you are sick when you don't even have the energy to keep yourself upright in your seat. That's pretty bad, isn't it? And when coughs seem to come from the soles of your feet, that just makes it worse.

I'm not looking for a pity party, just trying to tell you how I feel. I hope no one else out there is feeling like this, because then I'll throw a pity party for you instead.

Have a good weekend! I'm out......Really, really out.

This mosaic image, one of the largest ever taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the Crab Nebula, is a six-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star's supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers witnessed this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054, as did, almost certainly, Native Americans.The orange filaments are the tattered remains of the star and consist mostly of hydrogen. The rapidly spinning neutron star embedded in the center of the nebula is the dynamo powering the nebula's eerie interior bluish glow. The blue light comes from electrons whirling at nearly the speed of light around magnetic field lines from the neutron star. The neutron star, the crushed ultra-dense core of the exploded star, like a lighthouse, ejects twin beams of radiation that appear to pulse 30 times a second due to the neutron star's rotation. The colors in the image indicate the different elements that were expelled during the explosion. Blue in the filaments in the outer part of the nebula represents neutral oxygen, green is singly-ionized sulfur, and red indicates doubly-ionized oxygen. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester (Arizona State University)
Here is the link to this picture.

My day...

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my wife Valerie for the comments that she has left here today. I love it when people leave comments, but my day was going bad today, until she left all of these comments on my site today. Thank you, my goo. You've brightened my day!

Busy busy busy...

I have nothing to say today. Sorry... Until tomorrow...

'twas the week after Thanksgiving...

It's Monday, bloggers, and for most of us, that means it's time to go back to work. Some of you lucky ones don't have to work, and some others do nothing but stay at work.

Well, I don't have much to say right now except to report on my Thanksgiving antics. I am pleased to report that I didn't stuff myself to the point of near-regurgitation, as I have done on previous occasions. I am also pleased to report that my wife is getting better by the day. Val and her brother, Josh, have a Star Wars card game somewhat akin to the game Magic:The Gathering. It's kinda old, from 1996, but Val and I started playing the starter pack the week before Thanksgiving, and aside from having a few procedural questions, it's really fun. I've become hooked on it. I know that again proclaims that I am a nerd/geek, but it's fun, I like it, and by golly I'm gonna play it!

I have nothing else to blog about right now, but if I think of something later, rest assured that I will let you know about it. I'm out...

Dia de Gracias...

For all of you who are interested, Val and I will be staying home and sharing Thanksgiving with most of my -in-laws. We'll also be being sick together, she and I. Sounds like fun, don't it?

Happy *gobble* Day, everyone! Be safe!

28 Hours?

I thought that this was an interesting article. I can't imagine sitting around for more than an hour for anything. Not that I'm really impatient, but I can think of better things to do with my time than sit outside in the winter and be cold. I guess I'm not as much of a gamer as I thought. That, and $400 for a game console seems asinine. However, I remember paying about $300 for my PS2 not 4 years ago. So, maybe I'm a bit smarter now to wait for the price to drop.

On other digital topics, a virus warning has been released, again warning people to be aware of what they are opening on their e-mails. Here's what I got about it this morning: We have become aware of a number of viruses that are being spread via email attachments. The return address on the emails changes; however, the subject lines tend to be consistent and include the following:

Paris Hilton & Nicol
You visit illegal we....
Your IP was logged
Mail delivery failed
Hi i've a new mail address

There may be others. If you receive these or similar emails, please do not open the attachment -- delete the email immediately.

So, make sure you know who it is that you are getting e-mail from. If you don't know the person sending you mail, go ahead and delete it. Better safe than sorry...

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished...

What is "Goo" ?

I've gotten a few emails from you guys asking what "goo" means.

"Well, I'll tell you..."

"He's going to tell, he's going to tell..."

"No! Stop that! No singing!"

Those of you who know me know I am a bit........overweight. Not obscenely so, but more than I want. But, my wife loves me anyway. So, about a year ago, I was voicing my opinion about how I looked. I believe it was a statement to the effect that "I'm fat, and I don't like how I look." Valerie promptly said that I have "goo fat" and that I was/am cute, and she loves me the way I am. So, "goo" became our pet name for each other. We think it's unique, and we like to say it to each other.

So, that's how "goo" came to be...

This has been a public service announcement brought to you in part by viewers like you. (I took that "public service" thing from Ben. I hope he will forgive my theft.

What a weekend...

Hello, fellow-citizens. I hope all of your separate/collective weekends were fun/productive/relaxing/ etc. Mine was kind of sucky.

Val has been feeling unwell since Friday. Saturday we did all the stuff that we needed to by 2 pm, which included exercising, food shopping, going to see her dad, going to the library to get books and movies, and going to the bank to deposit $. Not too bad for a Saturday. After exercising though, Val started to feel worse. We went to a pre-Thanksgiving party at her dad's that night, and we got back at about midnight. By the time church time rolled around at 10 am Sunday morning, she wasn't good at all. She decided to come to Sacrament, but skip nursery, so that the kids didn't get what she has. She was really upset about not coming to nursery, but I think she made the right decision. She didn't sleep well at all last night, and is probably feeling miserable right now. I feel bad for her, but I feel worse in that I can't do anything to help her feel better.

My point in stating all of this is that I think I am now becoming sick from her. That's never fun, is it? I love her dearly, and I don't mind taking care of her when she needs me, but it hurts to see her so frustrated, sad and exhausted. I also think that I'll be at her point of sickness come Thursday. So, Happy Thanksgiving to me. Oh well, I suppose I should be grateful that I have a body that can get sick, and that I am a relatively healthy individual. Such are the challenges of mortality.

Fast and Furious Friday

Good day, fellow-citizens! Today at work I am by myself. So, accordingly, I am taking this lull in the storm to post a little something for your viewing/reading pleasure.

It has been a very busy week. Between coming home from work, exercising (~30 minutes), dinner (~1 hour, at least), scripture reading(~30 minutes), and any meetings for church callings, there hasn't been time enough for much of anything else, except sleep.

There is an individual who has been trying to get a hold of me this week, and I have been unable to adequately respond to him. I did leave a voice mail on his cell phone explaining why I didn't answer the phone (reading scriptures), but I wanted to apologize to him. I hope he doesn't think I'm trying to avoid him. I'm sorry, Ben.

That's all I have for right now. If I get a chance later, I'll post something else. Have a great weekend, gente del mundo (people of the world).

Thursday blahs...

Well, I don't think there is anything worthwhile happening right now, at least not blog-worthy.

I'm really tired today, and for the first time, I feel like I am sleepwalking at work. It's a really strange feeling. Hopefully I will wake up sometime soon.

If anything happens that's worthwhile, I'll post later. I'm out.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Doggies!

This is Haldir Anduril "Flame of the West" Fauver. He's my mother's doggy.

Tito Sharif Fumatumaafalah Fauver is the black Cocker Spaniel on top. He's my dad's.

Cute dogs, interesting names. But, if you know my parents, you already understand why the names are what they are.

......Right?

Right is right, and wrong is wrong......

Are there"gray areas" of right and wrong? Is it OK to do something for the good of the customer/person/group, even though, technically, I'm not supposed to do it, but I know how to? Is morality subservient to expediency?

The reason I ask these questions is because things have happened at work where expediency has trumped complete, unvarnished honesty. And I feel a bit guilty, because I'm really trying to be honest with others, but I don't want them upset because I know how to do something, and don't want to inconvenience them to get them to do it for me. Kind of convoluted, but there it is.

I'm becoming aware of just how much deception there is in everyday life. No one wants to be told how fat they are, how lazy, incompetent, worthless etc. they are. They only want to be left alone to pursue their own urges/agendas. So, we rarely tell anyone the complete truth anymore. We politely say nothing of the thoughts that run through our mind when someone enters the room wearing enough cologne for 5 other people. Rather than saying "Dude, we can smell you 10 minutes after you leave the room. You wear too much cologne." , we say nothing. Isn't that a sin of omission? I am realizing that there is a fine line between being completely honest, and letting the small annoyances/pesonality quirks go.

Because, let's face it, work and home are lots easier when we don't tell the clogne dude that he stinks, that someone is too fat, or that the way a person laughs grates on your nerves, and can be heard within a 400 foot radius.

So, again, is honesty subservient to expediency and/or avoiding an uncomfortable situation? I'd appreciate your thoughts on this...

If only ......

I love Pink Floyd, and wish they would get together one more time and tour. They did Live8, but the chances of the original Floyd getting together is miniscule at best.

But these guys have no problems with playing Floyd songs. They've even played for David Gilmour at his birthday celebration. They played in SLC this past Friday, but I had no dinero to get tickets, which was a bummer. Hopefully, next time I can go with my brother-in-law Aaron and Val.

I Hope This Isn't Condescending...

For my friend Ben, and for all of you out there who wonder where I get these images, go here, or click the NASA Images link off to the right. Here is the link for this picture.

NASA Hubble Space Telescope's most detailed visible-light image ever taken of a narrow, dusty ring around the nearby star Fomalhaut offers the strongest evidence yet that an unruly and unseen planet may be gravitationally tugging on the ring. Hubble unequivocally shows that the center of the ring is a whopping 1.4 billion miles away from the star. The most plausible explanation is that an unseen planet moving in an elliptical orbit is reshaping the ring with its gravitational pull. The observations offer insights into our solar system's formative years, when the planets played a game of demolition derby with the debris left over from the formation of our planets, gravitationally scattering many objects across space. Some icy material may have collided with the inner solar system planets, irrigating them with water formed in the colder outer solar system. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, P. Kalas and J. Graham (University of California, Berkeley) and M. Clampin (NASA/GSFC)

Cool Picture!

This view of one of the most dynamic and intricately detailed star-forming regions in space, located 210,000 light-years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way, was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. At the center of the region is a brilliant star cluster called NGC 346. A dramatic structure of arched, ragged filaments with a distinct ridge surrounds the cluster.A torrent of radiation from the cluster's hot stars eats into denser areas creating a fantasy sculpture of dust and gas. The dark, intricately beaded edge of the ridge, seen in silhouette by Hubble, is particularly dramatic. It contains several small dust globules that point back towards the central cluster, like windsocks caught in a gale.Energetic outflows and radiation from hot young stars are eroding the dense outer portions of the star-forming region, formally known as N66, exposing new stellar nurseries. The diffuse fringes of the nebula prevent the energetic outflows from streaming directly away from the cluster, leaving instead a trail of filaments marking the swirling path of the outflows.The NGC 346 cluster at the center of this Hubble image contains dozens of hot, blue, high-mass stars, more than half of the known high-mass stars in the entire SMC galaxy. A myriad of smaller, compact clusters is also visible throughout the region.

Check this out for the link to this picture.

Monday Morning.....News?

Sorry for not posting on Friday. I was really busy here at work, and I didn't remember to post anything until I was half-way home.

I hope everyone's weekend was fun. Mine was busy. Ever since Val accepted a calling to be in the Cub Scouts, Sundays have become lots more busy. With double choir practice for the ward and the stake, Cub planning meetings and various birthday celebrations and such, weekends don't have much time for sitting around and relaxing. Oh well, such are the sacrifices for helping others. :)

Well, for anyone who is interested in my video game progression, I finally beat Castlevania: Lament of Innocence for the PS2 on hard mode this morning. What fun! I'm gonna try beating it with the other playable character, a vampire, next. Then, I don't know what I'll do, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

Sometime this week, I'll post as to why I like fall/winter more than any other season of the year. Wow, riveting stuff, isn't it?

Situational Ethics...

The purpose of this life is to be tested, to see if we will do the things which our Heavenly Father has asked us to do. Obviously, He knows what we will do and say in any given situation. But the test needs to be given, so that we may stand or fall by our decisions, and be judged accordingly.

An acquaintance of mine is faced with a situation wherein they could profit considerably from their position. However, this person has assured me that they have no intention of following this temptation and thereby selling their soul. I applaud that commitment. Because, I have heard other personal accounts of people who, although they are church members, have whored their souls and have cashed in, thereby hurting their business partners and their families. I commend this person I know for their integrity to themselves and to their faith.

It's a sad commentary on our society where men and women will prostitute their convictions and faith for the proverbial "30 pieces of silver". But, that stuff has been happening for a very long time.

Money can't buy happiness, and eternity is a very long time, isn't it?

Where is Hell?

Lying is bad. I've known it all of my life. I've been taught that lying is one of the worst things a person can do. It destroys relationships and hurts people. I found out last night, and have since come to realize, that there is no such thing as a small, white lie.

As those who know me know, I have spent a lot of my life, approximately one-half, lying about myself, my actions, and trying to shunt responsibility for my actions to someone else by lying to others and to myself. Last year at this same time of the year, I had hoped that my lying was done, and that my facility for lying had been expunged from myself.

Last night, Valerie was mad at me for something I had done by trying to help her. In other words, I hindered more than I helped, and she was frustrated about it. So, she went in to the couch, while I tried to rectify the situation. I thought that it would be all right if I told her that I actually had done the thing she had asked me to do, even though I hadn't. I didn't want her to be mad at me anymore.

However, I failed to consider the consequences of my "white" lie. With trying to help myself, I feel like I have damaged a year's worth of trust and goodwill, by telling my lie. It wasn't that I had made her frustrated, but that I had tried to tell her something that wasn't true, in order to try and help myself. She knows that I have lied to her in the past about myself, and that I have been trying to do better. However, all the progress is wiped away when one is caught, either by my own admission, or she finds out.

"Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell." Well, that's where I am right now. How can she trust me when I say things to her? How can she trust me when I try to tell her the truth? I'm screwed, basically. Hell on earth...

The other part of this situation disturbs me greatly. I didn't even consider the ramifications of my lie. I felt no stirrings of conscience, no Spirit whispering what I should do. I didn't think about anything. The only thought I had was that it was a good idea to try and get her to be happy again, by any means. STUPID! So much for trying to do better.

And even though it's hard for my goo to believe me, I am so sorry for what I did. Never again will I give you an opportunity to doubt me or my trustworthiness. Complete honesty from now on, whether or not you are upset with me. I'm so sorry. I hope that someday you can forgive me, and trust me. I love you. I'm sorry.

The Changing Face of Physics...

And I thought stuff like this was impossible... Shows what I know.

2 Wonderful Years...

Good day, blogging citizens! First and most important things first. Today, 7 Nov 2005, marks the 2nd anniversary of my marriage to the angelic voiced beauty that is Valerie. I still find myself wondering what it is that she sees in me that is worth sticking with. I suppose that I must have some redeeming qualities that she sees. I am grateful to her. I can't imagine life with anyone else. She is so much a part of me now that to try and separate the parts of me from the parts of her is almost impossible. And even though I'm not perfect, (as anyone who knows me will say), she is still right there with me. It's kind of wierd. We have spent so little time apart in the 2.5 years that we have known each other. I think that we have spent something like 2 weeks apart in all that time. She is always there when I need her. I find it interesting that when she goes somewhere without me, be it to a family thing or something else, people invariably ask her where I am. I think that's a good thing. It means that my wife loves me enough to want to spend lots of time with me, and that other people notice. Isn't that great?

Only Valerie would help trim my goatee, help give me manicures, and basically help me be more refined in my appearance and grooming. Shes SO cute!

I love her so much. I hope that we are able to spend lots more time together. She is my goo, my angelic voiced one, my beauty. I love you, my sweetheart. I need you. <3

I know, I know...

I don't have anything to talk about yet, and I don't think I'll have much of anything to report today. Sorry. Keep happy.

Why Not?

Years in the Making These images were taken by the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic Legacy project, which encapsulates one of the primary objectives of the Spitzer mission: to connect the evolution of galaxies from the distant, or early, universe to the nearby, or present day, universe. The Tadpole galaxy (top left) is the result of a recent galactic interaction in the local universe. Although these galactic mergers are rare in the universe's recent history, astronomers believe that they were much more common in the early universe. Thus, the project's team members will use this detailed image to help understand the nature of the "faint red-orange specks" of the early universe. The top right image depicts one-sixteenth of the survey field called ELAIS-N1. The bright blue sources are hot stars in our own Milky Way, which range from 3 to 60 times the mass of our Sun. The fainter green spots are cooler stars and galaxies beyond the Milky Way whose light is dominated by older stellar populations. The red dots are dusty galaxies that are undergoing intense star formation. The faintest specks of red-orange are galaxies billions of light-years away in the distant universe. The bottom left figure features an unusual ring-like galaxy, called CGCG 275-022. The red spiral arms indicate that this galaxy is very dusty and perhaps undergoing intense star formation, which could have been initiated by a near head-on collision with another galaxy. The most distant galaxies that SWIRE is able to detect are revealed in a zoom of deep space (bottom right). The colors in this feature represent the same objects as those in the larger field image of ELAIS-N1. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech


Ok, enough of the explanation of the above picture and who it is credited to. I post this picture with the intent of revealing a horrible, dark, nasty secret about myself..... I am a Star Trek fan. Not fanatic, like the proto-typical Trekkie that you hear about. But, I do have some episodes of DS9 and such on my computer. I don't like the original series, but Next Generation and Voyager were OK. DS9 was my favorite. I also have a few Star Trek games on the computer. I also have a certain fascination with space/astronomy/stellar physics/high energy physics. I really wanted to be an astronomer or high energy physicist, but I lack the ambition or drive to become such. When I saw the picture on this post, I thought of how many people there have to be in those other galaxies. Humans can't be the only sentient beings that exist in the entirety of space. That's one of the reasons I like Star Trek, because it allows the possiblity of there being others kind of like us.

Now, I don't presume to say that the others who surely must exist in our galaxy and other galaxies must look something like us, but just that they are there is a happy thought.

What I still fail to understand is how people can say that God doesn't exist, and that all the infinite wonder that exists in space came to be because of a fortuitous chance. I throw the BS flag, 15 yard penalty, to quote my supervisor.

I just look at that picture, and I wonder what the others are doing in their lives. I wonder if they have some of the same experiences that we do. Just a mid-day musing...

*whew*

Well, I just got done reading an e-mail from my friend Ben, stating that he is not going to quit his blog, just that he is frustrated by the lack of control he has over his own site. That is understandable. It is rather frustrating to not be able to see who it is that is posting comments anonymously on your blog. I suppose that that is one of the drawbacks to having your own spot on the 'net, but that doesn't mean he has to be happy about it.

For better or worse, I'm glad he isn't going away from us. He doesn't know how much we need his unique outlook and logic.

NEVER!

My friend Ben is deciding to stop posting on his site. No! It can't be true! Say it isn't so!

Besides being shocked, dismayed, saddened and bewildered, I'm also worried. I don't want him to go. His site is one of the few/elect sites that I check multiple times each day to see what is going on with him. I've always found him and the things he says/thinks to be entertaining, informative, and occasionally, educational. To put it simply, if he closes his site down, I feel like I will be losing access to the mind, opinions and knowledge of someone I am friends with, who I trust, and who is a sounding board for my own opinions. It will be a travesty and tragedy if he stops, almost akin to the Earth stopping its rotation.

I urge everyone who reads this post to go to Ben's site, click on the comments entry for his post of 31 Oct 2005 titled "Results of the naming contest, and other news related to the site" and leave honest feedback as to what you think of his site.

I hope he reconsiders, and re-evaluates his impact on our lives. Because to me, he is important.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

My eyes feel like they should still be sleeping. I was in this exact same place less than 10 hours ago, and it doesn't feel any better than it did last night. Oh well.

Another Halloween has passed, and I missed it. I usually don't find 'ween very exciting or entertaining. I suppose that I am turning into a grumpy old man. However, this year I was looking forward to seeing the little ones from nursery in their costumes. I suppose, like most sports teams, I can always say "There's always next year".

Not much else happening right now. But, as always, if something happening happens, I'll fire up the blog and post. I'm out...

Fauver Spooktacular!

OK, maybe this isn't too "spooktacular". I'm working the night shift tonight, which is a bummer. I wanted to be at home, to be able to see the Nursery kids in their costumes. Oh well. I'm really busy, so I'll post more tomorrow during my regular schedule.

Be safe tonight for your Happy Halloween! Rock, rock on !

None shall pass!

Well, it sounds like my friend Ben had a bad day yesterday, for which I feel bad for him. It seems like my "bad " days aren't as catastrophic as his. "Bad" for me is just stressful, so I won't feel bad for myself anymore.

It's been raining here since last night, and being a bit slow (mentally), I wore my leather jacket to work. Upon distancing myself about 15 miles from home, I realized that water and leather rarely, if ever, mix well. So, I left my coat in the car and walked in to work. Sometimes, my intelligence level astounds me. Duh!

A pre-lunch epiphany: It's real easy to eat unhealthily in the US. Greasy burgers, fries, tacos, onion rings, burritos, pizza, etc. These things harden the arteries, clog the heart, make us fat, and generally don't help us at all. But the really depressing part about these things...I can't afford to go get any of it! It's a bit depressing to know that all of that unhealthy food is out there, and I can't get my hands on any of it.

Don't get me wrong. Eating heathier is great. Val has found quite a few very good recipies for heart-healthy eating, all of which we have tried I have liked. However, I still like the taste of a nice juicy burger, some excellent fries, and fry sauce occasionally. Being poor isn't conducive to eating out, is it?

Well, enough depth for me today. I'm out for the rest of the day, unless something interesting happens. Have a great weekend, citizens!

*yawn*

It's been a slow day today, and I haven't seen anything worth mentioning , yet. So, sorry bloggers, today's Fauver's fix is going to have to pass unfulfilled. I'm out...

Wednesday stuff...

I have been reading the "Prelude to Glory" series by Ron Carter. It's set during the American Revolution, and is a series of historically accurate fiction. However, it has given me a deeper understanding of the problems that faced the Americans during the War, and the 10 years afterwards, and has made me admire such greats as George Washington, James Madison, Ben Franklin and others, more. The vision and the courage that they all had in setting up our government is frankly astounding. They created a form of government that was unknown at the time, and had never been thought about except by a few individuals. Our current form of government was the brainchild of James Madison, with input from George Washington and a select few others. This series of books has reaffirmed to me that Heavenly Father created this nation for a purpose, which was the Restoration of His church, and that he was watching and helping our leaders make good decisions, and helping others to make very poor decisions, which benifitted us.

I could do a whole other post on my astonishment at the ineptitude of some of the American generals during the Revolution, but I won't do that right now. Suffice to say, God made sure that things happened His way, in spite of the agency and stupidity of others. Simply amazing.

I started reading biographies before I got hooked on my current series, but I am going to read a biography on J. Robert Oppenheimer after I'm done. The bio on Einstein was quite informative, as was the one on FDR. Good info. I'll post later on today if something interesting happens. I'm out...

Giving new meaning to the phrase "Go away"

I thought that this was interesting...

Busy, busy, busy...

Well, this is the first time today that I have had enough time to sit and actually look at things on the computer here at work. One thing keeps happening after another here today.

Not much to say today, except that the son of my old bishop Mark Paulsen, Brandon Paulsen, died yesterday here in SLC of cancer. Apparently, he left a wife with 4 young children. He was pretty young himself, only a few years older than I am, and I'll be 28 in March. Our prayers are with his wife and family, and his parents.

Not much else today. I'm out...

On the Road Again...

Good day, fellow citizens! I'm back at work. I'm still a bit ambivalent about being back, but I'm trying to have a good attitude about it.

The picture on this post is the city of Seoul, South Korea. I got it from here. The reason I put it up there is because Thursday 20 Oct was Valerie's birthday. She wanted to go to one of the parks up towards the mountains to look at the changing leaves, have a campfire, roast marshmallows/hot dogs, etc. and have a good time. We got up there and the park was closed. We were puzzled as to why it was closed, since it was open last year at this time. We decided, on the drive home, that we would make a fire at home and cook hot dogs and such, since we couldn't make a fire where we had first wanted to. My mother-in-law has one of those playground type toys off to the side of her house, along with a sandbox. So, I made a small fire in the sandpit, and we got the smoke-in-clothes smell. We had a lot of fun, and Val was happy with how things turned out. And that's what really matters!

Now, the picture of Seoul. I saw that picture today, and I wondered if that's a little bit of how we looked Thursday night. All the lights off, and the only light around was a small fire.

I don't have any profound thoughts for right now, and I hope that everyone's Monday has been good. I'm out...

26 minutes and counting...

Well, in about 30 minutes I'll be leaving for the week. I'd really like to thank my friend Ben for his help with this site. That cool XML button down on the bottom right side is because of his expertise and knowledge. I'm grateful to him. I don't think I have much of anything else to talk about today, but I'll try to post something a couple of times this week. Have fun, and please keep in touch. Rock, rock on! (Shopping for Danger)

Monday morning....

Good day, blogging citizens! First thing, I'll be gone from work the rest of this week, due to vacation constraints. I'll probably be spending my time trying to recover my vocal capabilities that the sickness has robbed me of.
Val and I were reading in Alma last night about Korihor. Every time I read that chapter, I am reminded of what Alma says to Korihor in Alma 30:44 : The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.
I couldn't help but be reminded of what Ben posted on Oct 15, 2005 about his discussion/mutilation with his co-workers on the nature of ethics and morality, and the bases thereof. (Mutilation of their arguments. I've been on the recieving end of those kind of "discussions" with Mr. Raty before. :D ) Atheists will deny the existence of God, even though, like Alma told Korihor, all things prove that there is a God. The non-believers have no proof, just their word and opinion.

I also thought that this picture was really cool.

I also was feeling a bit melancholy last night, discussing high school with my wife. Probably like most people, I wish I could go back and do things differently. I wonder how my life would be different now if i had asked people out who I had crushes on, or if I had attended choir like I had wanted to, or if I had played basketball while I was in junior high and continued in high school. I wanted to do all those things, but I was too chicken to do them. I never realized, at that time, that by asking out those people, and if they had said "no", then it wasn't that they didn't want to be my friend or associate with me, just that they didn't want to pursue any sort of romantic relationship. I'm kinda haunted by what might have been. I want to make clear that I love my wife, and I am happy with my life with her. I just wonder how my life would be different if I had chosen otherwise.
Kinda deep for a Monday morning. Sorry, I'll let you get on with your day... Rock, rock on!

Finally Friday!

I don't have too many thoughts of what to post this afternoon. It's been a busy day here at work. I got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep last night because of the congestion I have, but I don't feel too bad right now. I'm ready to go home, but I still have 2 hours to go before I can go home. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Inferiority Complex....

Although I feel like I don't have as many intelligent things to talk about/discuss like my friend Ben does, I wanted to put my musings up for people to see about this: Investigations are underway concerning a "boat trip" that about 20 members of the Minnesota Vikings football team took last Thursday. Employees of the company that chartered the boat say that minutes after leaving the dock, women that the players had brought with them started taking their clothes off, heavy drinking ensued, along with public sex acts. The players harrassed the female employees of the charter company, offering them money to take their clothes off also and join them. Check this out for more info. I'll disregard the fact that alcohol makes idiots, morons and buttwipes out of most people, but what posseses men to think that public sex is all right, and that asking other women to join in on your debauchery is civil at all? I don't care how much alcohol you've had to drink. I have a feeling that these "men" would have acted this way stone-cold sober. What do their wives have to say about this? Why are these losers looked at as role models? I understand that these guys make lots more money than I do, and like my friend Ben, are lots bigger and tougher than I am. But no amount of money, prestige or power entitles people to act in this way. I guess my question then becomes: Why should these men be looked up to? Are athletes really good examples for us to pattern our lives after? What do you think has happened to their senses of decency/decorum. Let me know what you think. I'm out for today.

Something new and exciting!

Last night I helped Valerie set up a new blog here on blogspot. Her url is right here , or you can click the "Valerie's Site" link off on the right. Right now I'm really busy at work right now, so I'll post something more, later.

Oh, yes...

i almost forgot that it's my sister Leah's birthday. i think she's 22 or somewhere close. it's too bad that she lives so far away, i miss her. she's almost as cute as my wife! happy birthday, lemur! <3 jordan

*blah*

well, i'm not feeling much better. my head hurts right behind my right ear, my nose is runny and my throat hurts. but, i'm still at work!!
val and i went to "meet the candidates" night last night for centerville. 2 mayoral candidates and 4 for city council. it was kinda frustrating because they all seem like nice people and would do their best to represent the people's interests. i'm leaning toward the young mayoral candidate, who is about val's age. the city council people are a bit harder to quantify, but i think the lady has some good ideas. i don't know which of the other 3 men to vote for, but i still have a month to decide. isn't democracy great!?!?!
i don't have much more to say right now, but prolly something will happen later on.
HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY!

NINJA !!!!!!

i heard about this list on the radio this afternoon, and it seems pretty funny. #17 is my favorite. check this out... :) see you tomorrow.

Not Much to Say 2

sorry. the last post i did was in black, so it doesn't show up with the BLACK background. well, i don't have much to say this morning. i think i'm getting sick from a co-worker, 'cause my throat is hurting and the nose is runny. happy happy, joy joy. being sick sucks. at least i have a job that lets me sit for the most part. if i had to walk around for 6-8 hrs per day, i'd have called in sick, or something. i'm a bit upset this morning, because i reinstalled MW3 last night, got past 1 mission, and it crashed again. i don't understand what is making it crap out like this. i patched it and set it to run in windows95 mode, and it still dies. gaaaaaaah! oh well, i might have to google something tonight to see if i can get it to work. *sigh*

2.20 pm musings

well, here goes the 2nd try. i hope everybody doesn't mind that i don't capitalize when i type. i do when i write, but not typing.
i like playing games. console games, computer games, card games, etc. i don't like word searches, but i like crossword puzzles. one idea of a good evening for me is getting together with my bros.-in-law, hooking up the LAN( !gasp! capitalized) and playing mechwarrior4 or the new counterstrike. currently, i'm getting back into mechwarrior 3, which i haven't played for 2.5 years. but, i begin to wonder.... is it unhealthy to want to play these games, which so often i play by myself, rather than spend that time doing something more constructive? now, i really enjoy playing games, and some people would say that sitting by myself, playing a 1 player game, isn't constructive, but i think it is. i find it's a good way to relax, but i think i might be crossing a line some times, because i sometimes get irritated when i don't get to play. but i do things to help my wife, help with dinner, exercise, etc. before i play. maybe the mantra "all things in moderation" or"a time and place for all things" are applicable here.

First Post Ever!

well, i've never done this before, so here goes! my name is jordan, and i live in centerville, utah. that's in the salt lake valley. i'm not quite sure what to blog on, but i'm sure i'll think of something later!