No band tonight though. I have a dying lawn, sick kids, pregnant wife, and a body that wants to sit on it's butt so I'm going home to take care of things, not necessarily in that order though. Tonight we're having some Cheesy Tostadas for dinner and I'm excited for them. I'm going to go home figure out what I need to fix my sprinklers go pick it up and then fix my sprinklers so they are done. Then I will have dinner and goof off with the kids a little. It should be a good evening. In one week I'll be blogging from San Francisco, I'm excited for that trip. Well my ride should be here any minute now so I am going to start getting ready to head out. Before I go, let me do the Song of the Day.
So last week, maybe even the last Song of the Day came from the same album by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince entitled He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. Today's song is just a funny one and it's one of my favorite ones on the album. It's called Human Video Game. It's about Ready C who is a human beatbox. He is dang good at what he does. It's always been a favorite of mine so now it can become a favorite of yours....Laters.
Monday, May 08, 2006
This is a TEST
I know Mondays are not days to have tests, but this e-mail really got me going today. Why? Well, I'll tell you later.... Here's how this works, read the below story, THEN it gives an assumption and suggestion at the end. It relates a story about eggs to gasoline. AFTER you have read this, please post to say whether this will work or not and why you think that. (I'll give you a hint: This is a trick question.) Anyway, here is the story:
A man eats two eggs each morning for breakfast. When he goes to the grocery store he pays 60 cents a dozen. Since a dozen eggs won't last a week he normally buys two dozen at a time. One day while buying eggs he notices that the price has risen to 72 cents. The next time he buys groceries, eggs are .76 cents a dozen. When asked to explain the price of eggs the store owner says, "the price has gone up and I have to raise my price accordingly". This store buys 100 dozen eggs a day. He checked around for a better price and found that all the distributors have raised their prices. The distributors have begun to buy from the huge egg farms. The small egg farms have been driven out of business.
He checked out the huge egg farms and found they were selling 100,000 dozen eggs to the distributors daily. Nothing had changed but the price of eggs.
This pattern continues until the price of eggs is 2.00 a dozen. The man says,"there must be something we can do about the price of eggs".
He starts talking to all the people in his town and they decide to stop buying eggs. This didn't work because everyone needed eggs. Finally, the man suggested only buying what you need.
He ate 2 eggs a day. On the way home from work he would stop at the grocery and buy two eggs. Everyone in town started buying 2 or 3 eggs a day.
The grocery store owner began complaining that he had too many eggs in his cooler. He told the distributor that he didn't need any eggs. Maybe wouldn't need any all week.
The distributor had eggs piling up at his warehouse. He told the huge egg farms that he didn't have any room for eggs would not need any for at least two weeks.
At the huge egg farms, the chickens just kept on laying eggs.
The distributor told the grocery store owner that he would lower the price of the eggs if the store would start buying again. The grocery store owner said, "I don't have room for more eggs. The customers are only buy 2 or 3 eggs at a time". "Now if you were to drop the price of eggs back down to the original price, the customers would start buying by the dozen again".
Finally, the huge egg farmers lowered the price of their eggs. But only a few cents. The customers still bought 2 or 3 eggs at a time. They said, "when the price of eggs gets down to where it was before, we will start buying by the dozen."
Slowly the price of eggs started dropping. The distributors had to slash their prices to make room for the eggs coming from the egg farmers. The huge egg farmers cut their prices because the distributors wouldn't buy at a higher price than they were selling eggs for.
Anyway, they had full warehouses and wouldn't need eggs for quite a while. And them chickens kept on laying.
Eventually, the huge egg farmers cut their prices because they were throwing away eggs they couldn't sell.. The distributors started buying again because the eggs were priced to where the stores could afford to sell them at the lower price.
And the customers starting buying by the dozen again.
Now, transpose this analogy to the gasoline industry.
What if everyone only bought $10.00 worth of gas each time they pulled to the pump. The dealers tanks would stay semi full all the time. The dealers wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the huge tank farms. The tank farms wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the refining plants. And the refining plants wouldn't have room for the oil being off loaded from the huge tankers coming from the Middle East.
Just $10.00 each time you buy gas. Don't fill it up. You may have to stop for gas twice a week but, the price should come down.
Think about it.
As an added note..When I buy $10.00 worth of gas,that leaves my tank a little under half full. The way prices are jumping around, you can buy gas for $2.95 a gallon and then the next morning it can be $2.75. If you have your tank full of $2.95 gas you don't have room for the $2.75 gas. You might not understand the economics of only buying two eggs at a time but, you can't buy cheaper gas if your tank is full of the high priced stuff.
Also, don't buy anything else at the gas station, no cigarettes, no bread, milk or chewing gum, don't give them any more of your hard earned money than what you spend on gas, until the prices come down.. Oh, some folks may not see this message. Can you afford to print 10 at a time and pass them out where you buy gas? If you can afford more, you may think of putting them on windshields at the mall.
I'll post later to tell you the answer and why spreading these types of things is a bad idea.
A man eats two eggs each morning for breakfast. When he goes to the grocery store he pays 60 cents a dozen. Since a dozen eggs won't last a week he normally buys two dozen at a time. One day while buying eggs he notices that the price has risen to 72 cents. The next time he buys groceries, eggs are .76 cents a dozen. When asked to explain the price of eggs the store owner says, "the price has gone up and I have to raise my price accordingly". This store buys 100 dozen eggs a day. He checked around for a better price and found that all the distributors have raised their prices. The distributors have begun to buy from the huge egg farms. The small egg farms have been driven out of business.
He checked out the huge egg farms and found they were selling 100,000 dozen eggs to the distributors daily. Nothing had changed but the price of eggs.
This pattern continues until the price of eggs is 2.00 a dozen. The man says,"there must be something we can do about the price of eggs".
He starts talking to all the people in his town and they decide to stop buying eggs. This didn't work because everyone needed eggs. Finally, the man suggested only buying what you need.
He ate 2 eggs a day. On the way home from work he would stop at the grocery and buy two eggs. Everyone in town started buying 2 or 3 eggs a day.
The grocery store owner began complaining that he had too many eggs in his cooler. He told the distributor that he didn't need any eggs. Maybe wouldn't need any all week.
The distributor had eggs piling up at his warehouse. He told the huge egg farms that he didn't have any room for eggs would not need any for at least two weeks.
At the huge egg farms, the chickens just kept on laying eggs.
The distributor told the grocery store owner that he would lower the price of the eggs if the store would start buying again. The grocery store owner said, "I don't have room for more eggs. The customers are only buy 2 or 3 eggs at a time". "Now if you were to drop the price of eggs back down to the original price, the customers would start buying by the dozen again".
Finally, the huge egg farmers lowered the price of their eggs. But only a few cents. The customers still bought 2 or 3 eggs at a time. They said, "when the price of eggs gets down to where it was before, we will start buying by the dozen."
Slowly the price of eggs started dropping. The distributors had to slash their prices to make room for the eggs coming from the egg farmers. The huge egg farmers cut their prices because the distributors wouldn't buy at a higher price than they were selling eggs for.
Anyway, they had full warehouses and wouldn't need eggs for quite a while. And them chickens kept on laying.
Eventually, the huge egg farmers cut their prices because they were throwing away eggs they couldn't sell.. The distributors started buying again because the eggs were priced to where the stores could afford to sell them at the lower price.
And the customers starting buying by the dozen again.
Now, transpose this analogy to the gasoline industry.
What if everyone only bought $10.00 worth of gas each time they pulled to the pump. The dealers tanks would stay semi full all the time. The dealers wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the huge tank farms. The tank farms wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the refining plants. And the refining plants wouldn't have room for the oil being off loaded from the huge tankers coming from the Middle East.
Just $10.00 each time you buy gas. Don't fill it up. You may have to stop for gas twice a week but, the price should come down.
Think about it.
As an added note..When I buy $10.00 worth of gas,that leaves my tank a little under half full. The way prices are jumping around, you can buy gas for $2.95 a gallon and then the next morning it can be $2.75. If you have your tank full of $2.95 gas you don't have room for the $2.75 gas. You might not understand the economics of only buying two eggs at a time but, you can't buy cheaper gas if your tank is full of the high priced stuff.
Also, don't buy anything else at the gas station, no cigarettes, no bread, milk or chewing gum, don't give them any more of your hard earned money than what you spend on gas, until the prices come down.. Oh, some folks may not see this message. Can you afford to print 10 at a time and pass them out where you buy gas? If you can afford more, you may think of putting them on windshields at the mall.
I'll post later to tell you the answer and why spreading these types of things is a bad idea.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Song of the Day and other Ramblings
I'm going to start with the Song of the Day because I'm listening to it right now. Today's song of the day is from Veggie Tales. If you haven't seen Veggie Tales, I highly recommend it. They have some good messages and they have these things called Silly Songs. Today's song is one of those Silly Songs. It's by Larry, yeah, he's a cucumber. The song is called Endangered Love. Basically Larry is in love with a "soap opera" type character on tv. Her name is Barbara Manitee. He even has a stuffed animal of her that he dances with during the video. Anyway, Veggie Tales ROCK! They are so funny.
The All New Get Off Your A$$ Program
I believe it was on a previous blog where I commented on the lack of sports knowledge of a lot of the general circulation kids these days. There are those that still play sports and are part of the "jock" clique, but not generally your run-of-the-mill boy that plays sports. I've seen this quite too often and has happened more in the last few years more than at any other time in the history of our country.
Now, this isn't a knowledge of how the game works, but is a knowledge of actually how to play. They may tell you when you ask the about baseball for example, that someone throws the ball, another person tries to hit it over the fense. If they hit it at all, they are to try to run the bases while the other team tries to get the ball and touch them with it. General synopsis and most people are familiar with this concept. HOWEVER, how many have experience hitting the ball, throwing the ball or running the bases? Now, take that number and minus out the people who have only done those things on video games and how many are left? Then, take out those that are general "jock" types who are not in it for the big dollar$. Not many. A lot less than when I was a kid.
Football, baseball, basketball, and any other ball sport you could think of when you were younger (if you are at least 25+ years old) were popular when we were kids. Saturday and Sunday afternoons during spring/summer we specially designed specifically for this purpose. Riding bikes, playing at the school, flying kites, and how many other things did we used to do when we were kids. We used to run around and play army if the mood struck us right. Now, they have a video game for just about all of that. I haven't seen one for kite flying but just about everything else has been covered in one respect or another so that you can do all that stuff in front of the television. AND it makes it look easier than it really is!!!!!
So, now with the long explanation, I've instituted the "Get Off Your A$$ America" Program. This program is designed to do just as it suggests, get off your lazy, tv watchin', potato chip munchin', video game playin' butts and move something other than your eyes and remote fingers! Play baseball, football, catch, tennis.... Go bike riding, hiking, walking, running, etc. Go learn new sports! If those listed above don't suit your fancy, I've seen people playing lacrosse (which sounds French but can be quite a cool game, even if it is French.) Work in the yard, go to the park, fly a kite, walk the dog (if you don't have one, you can borrow one of mine for a while, lease and all.)
There are a lot of trails through out the Salt Lake Valley that are really neat and fun to go on. It doesn't cost much other than gas to get there in the first place but can be a good family outing. The Jordan Trail has quite a long strech that you can walk as much of as you want. You can almost walk from Rose Park to Riverton along the Jordan. Not sure how far south it goes but could be an adventure to find out.
If gun-play is your sort of thing, take up skeet shooting or rabbit hunting. OR even paper hunting (shooting targets if you haven't figured that out.) Don't have a gun? I'm sure you know someone that does. Not sure where to go? Those with guns usually do. SO.... This is a wake-up call!!!!! GET OFF YOUR A$$ AMERICA!!!!!!!
Thanks for listening.
Next program... "Are you REALLY sure you want to eat that? Healthy eating vs. Junk Food." Until next time....
Now, this isn't a knowledge of how the game works, but is a knowledge of actually how to play. They may tell you when you ask the about baseball for example, that someone throws the ball, another person tries to hit it over the fense. If they hit it at all, they are to try to run the bases while the other team tries to get the ball and touch them with it. General synopsis and most people are familiar with this concept. HOWEVER, how many have experience hitting the ball, throwing the ball or running the bases? Now, take that number and minus out the people who have only done those things on video games and how many are left? Then, take out those that are general "jock" types who are not in it for the big dollar$. Not many. A lot less than when I was a kid.
Football, baseball, basketball, and any other ball sport you could think of when you were younger (if you are at least 25+ years old) were popular when we were kids. Saturday and Sunday afternoons during spring/summer we specially designed specifically for this purpose. Riding bikes, playing at the school, flying kites, and how many other things did we used to do when we were kids. We used to run around and play army if the mood struck us right. Now, they have a video game for just about all of that. I haven't seen one for kite flying but just about everything else has been covered in one respect or another so that you can do all that stuff in front of the television. AND it makes it look easier than it really is!!!!!
So, now with the long explanation, I've instituted the "Get Off Your A$$ America" Program. This program is designed to do just as it suggests, get off your lazy, tv watchin', potato chip munchin', video game playin' butts and move something other than your eyes and remote fingers! Play baseball, football, catch, tennis.... Go bike riding, hiking, walking, running, etc. Go learn new sports! If those listed above don't suit your fancy, I've seen people playing lacrosse (which sounds French but can be quite a cool game, even if it is French.) Work in the yard, go to the park, fly a kite, walk the dog (if you don't have one, you can borrow one of mine for a while, lease and all.)
There are a lot of trails through out the Salt Lake Valley that are really neat and fun to go on. It doesn't cost much other than gas to get there in the first place but can be a good family outing. The Jordan Trail has quite a long strech that you can walk as much of as you want. You can almost walk from Rose Park to Riverton along the Jordan. Not sure how far south it goes but could be an adventure to find out.
If gun-play is your sort of thing, take up skeet shooting or rabbit hunting. OR even paper hunting (shooting targets if you haven't figured that out.) Don't have a gun? I'm sure you know someone that does. Not sure where to go? Those with guns usually do. SO.... This is a wake-up call!!!!! GET OFF YOUR A$$ AMERICA!!!!!!!
Thanks for listening.
Next program... "Are you REALLY sure you want to eat that? Healthy eating vs. Junk Food." Until next time....
The All New Get Off Your A$$ Program
I believe it was on a previous blog where I commented on the lack of sports knowledge of a lot of the general circulation kids these days. There are those that still play sports and are part of the "jock" clique, but not generally your run-of-the-mill boy that plays sports. I've seen this quite too often and has happened more in the last few years more than at any other time in the history of our country.
Now, this isn't a knowledge of how the game works, but is a knowledge of actually how to play. They may tell you when you ask the about baseball for example, that someone throws the ball, another person tries to hit it over the fense. If they hit it at all, they are to try to run the bases while the other team tries to get the ball and touch them with it. General synopsis and most people are familiar with this concept. HOWEVER, how many have experience hitting the ball, throwing the ball or running the bases? Now, take that number and minus out the people who have only done those things on video games and how many are left? Then, take out those that are general "jock" types who are not in it for the big dollar$. Not many. A lot less than when I was a kid.
Football, baseball, basketball, and any other ball sport you could think of when you were younger (if you are at least 25+ years old) were popular when we were kids. Saturday and Sunday afternoons during spring/summer we specially designed specifically for this purpose. Riding bikes, playing at the school, flying kites, and how many other things did we used to do when we were kids. We used to run around and play army if the mood struck us right. Now, they have a video game for just about all of that. I haven't seen one for kite flying but just about everything else has been covered in one respect or another so that you can do all that stuff in front of the television. AND it makes it look easier than it really is!!!!!
So, now with the long explanation, I've instituted the "Get Off Your A$$ America" Program. This program is designed to do just as it suggests, get off your lazy, tv watchin', potato chip munchin', video game playin' butts and move something other than your eyes and remote fingers! Play baseball, football, catch, tennis.... Go bike riding, hiking, walking, running, etc. Go learn new sports! If those listed above don't suit your fancy, I've seen people playing lacrosse (which sounds French but can be quite a cool game, even if it is French.) Work in the yard, go to the park, fly a kite, walk the dog (if you don't have one, you can borrow one of mine for a while, lease and all.)
There are a lot of trails through out the Salt Lake Valley that are really neat and fun to go on. It doesn't cost much other than gas to get there in the first place but can be a good family outing. The Jordan Trail has quite a long strech that you can walk as much of as you want. You can almost walk from Rose Park to Riverton along the Jordan. Not sure how far south it goes but could be an adventure to find out.
If gun-play is your sort of thing, take up skeet shooting or rabbit hunting. OR even paper hunting (shooting targets if you haven't figured that out.) Don't have a gun? I'm sure you know someone that does. Not sure where to go? Those with guns usually do. SO.... This is a wake-up call!!!!! GET OFF YOUR A$$ AMERICA!!!!!!!
Thanks for listening.
Now, this isn't a knowledge of how the game works, but is a knowledge of actually how to play. They may tell you when you ask the about baseball for example, that someone throws the ball, another person tries to hit it over the fense. If they hit it at all, they are to try to run the bases while the other team tries to get the ball and touch them with it. General synopsis and most people are familiar with this concept. HOWEVER, how many have experience hitting the ball, throwing the ball or running the bases? Now, take that number and minus out the people who have only done those things on video games and how many are left? Then, take out those that are general "jock" types who are not in it for the big dollar$. Not many. A lot less than when I was a kid.
Football, baseball, basketball, and any other ball sport you could think of when you were younger (if you are at least 25+ years old) were popular when we were kids. Saturday and Sunday afternoons during spring/summer we specially designed specifically for this purpose. Riding bikes, playing at the school, flying kites, and how many other things did we used to do when we were kids. We used to run around and play army if the mood struck us right. Now, they have a video game for just about all of that. I haven't seen one for kite flying but just about everything else has been covered in one respect or another so that you can do all that stuff in front of the television. AND it makes it look easier than it really is!!!!!
So, now with the long explanation, I've instituted the "Get Off Your A$$ America" Program. This program is designed to do just as it suggests, get off your lazy, tv watchin', potato chip munchin', video game playin' butts and move something other than your eyes and remote fingers! Play baseball, football, catch, tennis.... Go bike riding, hiking, walking, running, etc. Go learn new sports! If those listed above don't suit your fancy, I've seen people playing lacrosse (which sounds French but can be quite a cool game, even if it is French.) Work in the yard, go to the park, fly a kite, walk the dog (if you don't have one, you can borrow one of mine for a while, lease and all.)
There are a lot of trails through out the Salt Lake Valley that are really neat and fun to go on. It doesn't cost much other than gas to get there in the first place but can be a good family outing. The Jordan Trail has quite a long strech that you can walk as much of as you want. You can almost walk from Rose Park to Riverton along the Jordan. Not sure how far south it goes but could be an adventure to find out.
If gun-play is your sort of thing, take up skeet shooting or rabbit hunting. OR even paper hunting (shooting targets if you haven't figured that out.) Don't have a gun? I'm sure you know someone that does. Not sure where to go? Those with guns usually do. SO.... This is a wake-up call!!!!! GET OFF YOUR A$$ AMERICA!!!!!!!
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Simply Amused
Today I was walking to another building across the street for a meeting. As I got closer the garbage truck came to collect the garbage. As I walked I watched as the garbage truck picked up the big dumpster and dump it into the top of it. The dumpster was put back on the ground and the garbage truck headed to it's next destination. While I was watching I thought how cool it is, even as an adult, to watch something as simple as the garbage truck dump the garbage by lifting it with a mechanical arm and dump away. I then thought of the times I've been home on Friday, our local garbage day, when the garbage truck is headed down my street. My kids eyes seem to light up and they run to the window because it is cool to watch. It's the same type of thing as seeing a Fire Truck or a "digging machine", as Jarik calls it. Kids love it and I myself think it is pretty cool to watch that kind of stuff. It's funny what simple things can do to amuse ones self.
Ok, so after I posted yesterday, before my wife had a chance to read it, she said the same thing about missing the song of the day. I'm glad that it is something that a couple of people enjoy. Today I've only listened to 3 songs or maybe 4, but I think I know what song I'm going to use for the Song of the Day. If you know me, you know that I'm a pretty big fan of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and Will Smith(a.k.a. Fresh Prince). So today's song comes from the He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper album, which has what I'd call classics, such as Nightmare on My Street and Parents Just Don't Understand. The song is called Here We Go Again. I like this song because it has a nice beat behind it and it just says we have a good thing going, let's keep it going. It has a nice trumpet diddy in there, probably synthizied, that is pertty cool. Have a Nice Day!
Ok, so after I posted yesterday, before my wife had a chance to read it, she said the same thing about missing the song of the day. I'm glad that it is something that a couple of people enjoy. Today I've only listened to 3 songs or maybe 4, but I think I know what song I'm going to use for the Song of the Day. If you know me, you know that I'm a pretty big fan of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and Will Smith(a.k.a. Fresh Prince). So today's song comes from the He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper album, which has what I'd call classics, such as Nightmare on My Street and Parents Just Don't Understand. The song is called Here We Go Again. I like this song because it has a nice beat behind it and it just says we have a good thing going, let's keep it going. It has a nice trumpet diddy in there, probably synthizied, that is pertty cool. Have a Nice Day!
Life Goes On
Life keeps getting busier and now that summer is upon us, it is even busier. I'm not much of a winter person and will frequently be found huddled inside under a blanket in front of the tv shivering at the thought of the cold just beyond the walls of my home. I'm not entirely sure, but I just don't like winter.
Come spring and summer, life takes on new form. That is when it is truely fun to be outside. As time goes on and the family ages and grows, we start to do more activities. Hiking trips, bike rides, Lagoon, Hogle Zoo, all of thes activities are becoming more frequent in our lives. The newest addition is geocaching and, while not everyone in the family enjoys it, those that do go out and hike around looking for something as big as a bread box or something as small as a vile with a piece of paper.
To accomodate the busier schedule, I have started using gmail more and google calendar, which goes hand-in-hand with the gmail account. This has been a lot of fun to use and has so many capabilities to share, schedule, and notify when necessary.
Anyway, as time has progressed, we have progressed with it. Time seems to be speeding up and we fill it with as much as possible to get the full extent of life and what it has to offer. We create memories that will hopefully last us for the rest of our lives. For the failing memories, we take photos and video to look back on and remember the times when we were young and the kids were small.
I don't look forward to aging, but I do look forward to the gathering of experiences and, even if my memory fails me in this life, I hope that it is being recorded for memory after this lifetime. It would be an interesting thing to see the things that happen over one's life, good or bad and reflect on them. How they made us who we eventually became. How the good and the bad directed us to our dealings with others and with ourselves.
So, enough reflection time.. It is time to get back to work. I hope you all have a wonderful day and think about what you are accomplishing today. Remember, don't take life too seriously, you can't get out alive.
Come spring and summer, life takes on new form. That is when it is truely fun to be outside. As time goes on and the family ages and grows, we start to do more activities. Hiking trips, bike rides, Lagoon, Hogle Zoo, all of thes activities are becoming more frequent in our lives. The newest addition is geocaching and, while not everyone in the family enjoys it, those that do go out and hike around looking for something as big as a bread box or something as small as a vile with a piece of paper.
To accomodate the busier schedule, I have started using gmail more and google calendar, which goes hand-in-hand with the gmail account. This has been a lot of fun to use and has so many capabilities to share, schedule, and notify when necessary.
Anyway, as time has progressed, we have progressed with it. Time seems to be speeding up and we fill it with as much as possible to get the full extent of life and what it has to offer. We create memories that will hopefully last us for the rest of our lives. For the failing memories, we take photos and video to look back on and remember the times when we were young and the kids were small.
I don't look forward to aging, but I do look forward to the gathering of experiences and, even if my memory fails me in this life, I hope that it is being recorded for memory after this lifetime. It would be an interesting thing to see the things that happen over one's life, good or bad and reflect on them. How they made us who we eventually became. How the good and the bad directed us to our dealings with others and with ourselves.
So, enough reflection time.. It is time to get back to work. I hope you all have a wonderful day and think about what you are accomplishing today. Remember, don't take life too seriously, you can't get out alive.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Packed Weekend
So I found that you can have too much fun on weekends. It really wears you out to try but here was the schedule.
Friday night I had to work. This isn't fun but sets up the fact that lack of sleep will add to the general mood of the time after. I got up early, drove to the dump and emptied the trailer of all the crap that has been building up for the past 6 months. On our way back, we stopped to do some geocaching. A friend of mine was in town and I thought I would let him get his first three caches.
After that, we headed home to gather up the rest of the group to head off to the wonderful Lagoon Amusement Park. (Believe it or not, it is mentioned in a Beach Boys song.) There we spent the day riding rides, walking, more riding, getting wet, etc. All the wonderful stuff that you can do there. We went up. We went down. We went left and we went right. We were upside down, right side up, and everything else you could think of and sometimes, a combination of any of the above at the same time. Its amazing what we put our bodies through to have a good time.
After that, was dinner at Golden Corral and then home for some much needed rest.... mostly. We ended up staying up way too late to get up way too early.
Sunday started off with breakfast at Beto's. If you have never been to Beto's and had their breakfast burritos, I would highly recommend it. You may need Pepto or Milk of Magnesia after, but it is worth it.
Then it was off to Lagoon, or at least the general area. Unbeknownst to us until our little adventure, there is a Lagoon Trail that starts around the campground and continues north up to the Farmington Pond. It is about 2 miles in length and is quite interesting. We did some caches along the way but really enjoyed the walk through the trail. The beginning stages of a bike ride up in that area are in the works and should come to fruition in the next few weeks but that'll be another adventure.
After a few caches, one involving braving the rapids to the north (ok, not quite rapids but we did get pretty wet trying to cross to the other shore of the pond), we ended up at Lagoon again, without kids. It was a lot of fun and we ran around like little kids. We played until 5ish and then took pizza home to the kids. After watching a movie, it was definately time for bed. So, we crashed earlier than normal to prepare for the new weeks activities.
Anyway, busy weekend. Not very restful but fun.
Friday night I had to work. This isn't fun but sets up the fact that lack of sleep will add to the general mood of the time after. I got up early, drove to the dump and emptied the trailer of all the crap that has been building up for the past 6 months. On our way back, we stopped to do some geocaching. A friend of mine was in town and I thought I would let him get his first three caches.
After that, we headed home to gather up the rest of the group to head off to the wonderful Lagoon Amusement Park. (Believe it or not, it is mentioned in a Beach Boys song.) There we spent the day riding rides, walking, more riding, getting wet, etc. All the wonderful stuff that you can do there. We went up. We went down. We went left and we went right. We were upside down, right side up, and everything else you could think of and sometimes, a combination of any of the above at the same time. Its amazing what we put our bodies through to have a good time.
After that, was dinner at Golden Corral and then home for some much needed rest.... mostly. We ended up staying up way too late to get up way too early.
Sunday started off with breakfast at Beto's. If you have never been to Beto's and had their breakfast burritos, I would highly recommend it. You may need Pepto or Milk of Magnesia after, but it is worth it.
Then it was off to Lagoon, or at least the general area. Unbeknownst to us until our little adventure, there is a Lagoon Trail that starts around the campground and continues north up to the Farmington Pond. It is about 2 miles in length and is quite interesting. We did some caches along the way but really enjoyed the walk through the trail. The beginning stages of a bike ride up in that area are in the works and should come to fruition in the next few weeks but that'll be another adventure.
After a few caches, one involving braving the rapids to the north (ok, not quite rapids but we did get pretty wet trying to cross to the other shore of the pond), we ended up at Lagoon again, without kids. It was a lot of fun and we ran around like little kids. We played until 5ish and then took pizza home to the kids. After watching a movie, it was definately time for bed. So, we crashed earlier than normal to prepare for the new weeks activities.
Anyway, busy weekend. Not very restful but fun.
Almost Junk Food Free
Me, no, my cube, yes. I know I had you going didn't I. You totally thought that I had given up most junk food. Nope, never, junk food is way to good to give up. But it is time to head to Sam's and restock the shelves of my cube. We've finished off a huge bag of peanuts, and easter candy, and all sorts of other stuff. I don't think my cube has been void of junk food since shortly after I started working here at the U. I'll have to remedy that situation as soon as possible.
I know what you are saying right now, who cares about your junk food crisis! What happened to the Song of the Day? The best way to answer this question is for you to close your eyes, get a good picture of me in your mind giving you the blankest stare you've ever seen. Worse so than a deer in the headlights. I have no answer for that but don't worry, the Song of the Day is returning today. Yes it is...as a matter of fact we'll do it right now. Today's song is an upbeat song by Michael Jackson. It is one of my favorite songs and when it comes on in the car we turn it up a little and we all dance in our seats. The song is They Don't Care About Us. Good song.
Now that the song of the day has been something that I've been doing for the past few weeks, I really don't remember how long, I have a question for all my readers, both of you. Do you ever listen to the song of the day after reading about it? Just a question. I'm still going to do it because I like it, but I'm interested if you try and listen to the song. Ok...Laters
I know what you are saying right now, who cares about your junk food crisis! What happened to the Song of the Day? The best way to answer this question is for you to close your eyes, get a good picture of me in your mind giving you the blankest stare you've ever seen. Worse so than a deer in the headlights. I have no answer for that but don't worry, the Song of the Day is returning today. Yes it is...as a matter of fact we'll do it right now. Today's song is an upbeat song by Michael Jackson. It is one of my favorite songs and when it comes on in the car we turn it up a little and we all dance in our seats. The song is They Don't Care About Us. Good song.
Now that the song of the day has been something that I've been doing for the past few weeks, I really don't remember how long, I have a question for all my readers, both of you. Do you ever listen to the song of the day after reading about it? Just a question. I'm still going to do it because I like it, but I'm interested if you try and listen to the song. Ok...Laters
Monday, May 01, 2006
Immigration Reform
Not sure that many who read this know my stance on immigration unless you have read my blog on Thoughts from the Clan. As many of you might know, there was a boycott today called the Great American Boycott where all illegal immigrants were to not go to work, not buy anything, and, in some areas, march together in legislation against immigration reform. Some of the reform would make it a felony to be an immigrant or to support and help illegal immigrants.
What is not really talked about or highlighted as much is that it would give the current illegal immigrants an opportunity to become full fledged US citizens through a work program where they work, pay their bills, pay taxes, etc. and they will earn the right to be citizens. Easy enough, right? Well, focus is placed on the punishment portion but not the opportunity portion which is why there are problems.
So, today's boycott is highlighted in the article from Reuters. I agree that this only hurts their cause. It is like an ultimatum that states "We are here illegally on welfare, getting healthcare at a cost to the American people that pay their bills but we demand free rights... Anyone else feel the slap in the face?
Here is my take. If you want to come to this country to make a better living for you and your family and you are willing to bust your butt to do it, come one over. If you are here to live off the American citizen because you feel that they "stole" your land, get the heck out and don't let the door hit you on the way out. (Language edited strong language). No offense, but at last count, you lost that war. That's like saying, "Hey, we lost the football game but we are taking the trophy because we are certain it belongs to us." We do not owe you ANYTHING!!! This country doesn't belong to you because you LOST!!!! Next time, fight harder. Otherwise, that's life.
History is full of violence. Lands/people/things being plundered/stolen/taken/destroyed from others. This concept is called the "spoils of war." Get used to the concept. I read in the article that someone said that the only natives to this land are the indians? Come again? The immigrated from somewhere. JUST because they didn't keep track of it doesn't mean that they have been here forever. I'm pretty sure of that. No matter what you believe whether it be biblical or evolutionary, the origins of humans is from the Middle East/Africa area. So, at some point, "Native Americans" or "indians" were once immigrants as well.
So, the next question, that I brought up in Thoughts from the Clan was this.... How long (how many generations) have to pass before you are a "native" I don't think I've been to any other country and as far as I know, I've ALWAYS lived in the US. With the exception of about 1-1/2 years (not consecutive) I have lived in Utah. Therefore, I'm pretty sure that if you told me to go "home", it would be Utah. My ancestors may have come from Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Europe, where ever, but I'm from Utah. Not any of those other places.
Now that I've ranted for quite a while, I feel better. In support of Immigration Reform, go out and buy something. Even if its doing your grocery shopping earlier than usual. Not that you have to spend anymore than you would anyway, just make it today in opposition to those that would take your hard tax dollars because they can't work hard and afford food, shelter, and healthcare.
What is not really talked about or highlighted as much is that it would give the current illegal immigrants an opportunity to become full fledged US citizens through a work program where they work, pay their bills, pay taxes, etc. and they will earn the right to be citizens. Easy enough, right? Well, focus is placed on the punishment portion but not the opportunity portion which is why there are problems.
So, today's boycott is highlighted in the article from Reuters. I agree that this only hurts their cause. It is like an ultimatum that states "We are here illegally on welfare, getting healthcare at a cost to the American people that pay their bills but we demand free rights... Anyone else feel the slap in the face?
Here is my take. If you want to come to this country to make a better living for you and your family and you are willing to bust your butt to do it, come one over. If you are here to live off the American citizen because you feel that they "stole" your land, get the heck out and don't let the door hit you on the way out. (Language edited strong language). No offense, but at last count, you lost that war. That's like saying, "Hey, we lost the football game but we are taking the trophy because we are certain it belongs to us." We do not owe you ANYTHING!!! This country doesn't belong to you because you LOST!!!! Next time, fight harder. Otherwise, that's life.
History is full of violence. Lands/people/things being plundered/stolen/taken/destroyed from others. This concept is called the "spoils of war." Get used to the concept. I read in the article that someone said that the only natives to this land are the indians? Come again? The immigrated from somewhere. JUST because they didn't keep track of it doesn't mean that they have been here forever. I'm pretty sure of that. No matter what you believe whether it be biblical or evolutionary, the origins of humans is from the Middle East/Africa area. So, at some point, "Native Americans" or "indians" were once immigrants as well.
So, the next question, that I brought up in Thoughts from the Clan was this.... How long (how many generations) have to pass before you are a "native" I don't think I've been to any other country and as far as I know, I've ALWAYS lived in the US. With the exception of about 1-1/2 years (not consecutive) I have lived in Utah. Therefore, I'm pretty sure that if you told me to go "home", it would be Utah. My ancestors may have come from Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Europe, where ever, but I'm from Utah. Not any of those other places.
Now that I've ranted for quite a while, I feel better. In support of Immigration Reform, go out and buy something. Even if its doing your grocery shopping earlier than usual. Not that you have to spend anymore than you would anyway, just make it today in opposition to those that would take your hard tax dollars because they can't work hard and afford food, shelter, and healthcare.
I Found This Interesting
So every once in a while I look through the headlines at MSNBC through their RSS channel (or whatever you want to call it). Today's headline that caught my eye was "Americas Best High Schools" and there is a list of the top 1000 schools in there. So curosity got the best of me and I wanted to see how West High faired on their list. I started at the beginning and just started looking for any schools in Utah. Got through the first hundred and there wasn't one school in Utah on that list. Second hundred, here I come. At #163, first Utah school listed is none other than West High. Shortly there after at #166 was Park City. Other Utah schools on the list: #406 Lone Peak in Highland; #425 Highland in Salt Lake; #449 Skyline in Salt Lake; #458 Davis in Kaysville; #518 Hillcrest in Midvale; #694 Viewmont in Bountiful; #794 Alta in Sandy; #896 Bountiful in the list says Doug Lake, but I think it's in Bountiful; #929 Olympus in Salt Lake; #984 American Fork in American Fork; #997 Brighton in Salt Lake; Here is a link to the story. I wonder how West ranked 12 years ago when I graduated.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Drum Corp International Concert
Last night at the Cinemark theatres at Jordan Landing, there was a concert for Drum Corp International. It was a really neat show in which they did the countdown to the best over the past few decades voted on by fans at the DCI website. They showed drum corp from the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's and a couple from the 2000's.
The movie can be purchased for $39 from the website click here. It was a lot of fun and we have thought about going to an actual DCI event. There is one in Denver, CO featuring some really good corps on Saturday, July 15th. There is also one in Boise, ID on the 12th but that is in the middle of the week. Anyway, it is a possible road trip that we are concidering.
Plans are in the works to buy the video but as budgets are limited, can't guarantee that it'll happen.
The movie can be purchased for $39 from the website click here. It was a lot of fun and we have thought about going to an actual DCI event. There is one in Denver, CO featuring some really good corps on Saturday, July 15th. There is also one in Boise, ID on the 12th but that is in the middle of the week. Anyway, it is a possible road trip that we are concidering.
Plans are in the works to buy the video but as budgets are limited, can't guarantee that it'll happen.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Fake Teeth are No Fun
So I went and got my second cap done today. Well actually the cap won't be done for two weeks, but the long process of the whole process is done. For those of you that are lucky enough to not have any caps I'll give you a short run down as to the process that takes place. You sit in the chair and the dentist puts a numbing agent on your gums because he's going to stick a needle in there and numb at least 25% of your face. Once the numbing has taken effect, hopefully anyway, he starts to just drill, sand, whatever to get rid of what tooth is there so that the cap can go on nicely. Once he's done your tooth feels like a little stub. It's actually pretty cool feeling on your tounge, if the novacaine didn't numb your tounge that is. Then they take all sorts of molds of your teeth and what not so that they can get the fake tooth ordered and a temporary one in place. Once that is done, you are free to go and wait for the effects of the novacaine wear off over the course of the next couple of hours. During which time if you eat anything, you'll chew a hole in your face and not feel a thing. When the feeling finally starts to come back you wish that it would go a little quicker because it feels as if there is a pins and needles stabbing you in the face slowly moving closer to the gums where you got stuck. The rubber face isn't that fun. Now it's almost four hours later and the lip is finally starting to tingle with the feeling of feeling. Shouts of joy are raised. It's nice to finally have your face back to normal.
Now I'm going to do a Song of the Day! Will Smith is one of my favorite actors/singers. I think I've mentioned that before. Anyway, on his latest album he did a song with Snoop Dogg called Pump Ya Brakes. It's a good song that basically says don't jump to conclusions or there could be a big mess.
Now I'm going to do a Song of the Day! Will Smith is one of my favorite actors/singers. I think I've mentioned that before. Anyway, on his latest album he did a song with Snoop Dogg called Pump Ya Brakes. It's a good song that basically says don't jump to conclusions or there could be a big mess.
Over the past few days, I have gotten more involved with online functions using google. I've used Google Earth before and have had g-mail almost from its inception, but have not really used it. I am so excited about some of the other functions.
For example, with g-mail, I can use it to sort my emails which really helps with my geocaching downloads. It also makes it so I can download direct from my GSAK (Geocashing Swiss Army Knife) program instead of downloading to my computer and then loading into GSAK.
The newest program is Calendar. It's not really new, but is new to me. It is so versitile and has so many different capabilities that we are able to share information, dates, times, and events. You can look specifically at your own calendar or everyone that you share calendars. This way, I can look at mine, my wife's, brother's, and sister's to see if we can plan a family function or to see what other events we can work on.
Working with Google, the Firefox internet browser has add-ons that can help you to monitor your g-mail account and will actually log you on automatically by the press of a button.
Another thing that I will start using that will incorporate all of these plus news, weather, and other items is the Google homepage where I can set it up the way I want, having my g-mail and calendar incorporated within. How cool is that? Its like one-stop shopping, without actually spending money.
Anyway, of all the things to blog, I think this seems more like a commercial which is ok because the more people that I know that switch to Firefox and Google, the better. I do have invites available to friends who would like one so if you don't have g-mail and would like to sign up, send me an e-mail and I will get you an invite.
For example, with g-mail, I can use it to sort my emails which really helps with my geocaching downloads. It also makes it so I can download direct from my GSAK (Geocashing Swiss Army Knife) program instead of downloading to my computer and then loading into GSAK.
The newest program is Calendar. It's not really new, but is new to me. It is so versitile and has so many different capabilities that we are able to share information, dates, times, and events. You can look specifically at your own calendar or everyone that you share calendars. This way, I can look at mine, my wife's, brother's, and sister's to see if we can plan a family function or to see what other events we can work on.
Working with Google, the Firefox internet browser has add-ons that can help you to monitor your g-mail account and will actually log you on automatically by the press of a button.
Another thing that I will start using that will incorporate all of these plus news, weather, and other items is the Google homepage where I can set it up the way I want, having my g-mail and calendar incorporated within. How cool is that? Its like one-stop shopping, without actually spending money.
Anyway, of all the things to blog, I think this seems more like a commercial which is ok because the more people that I know that switch to Firefox and Google, the better. I do have invites available to friends who would like one so if you don't have g-mail and would like to sign up, send me an e-mail and I will get you an invite.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Time to Blog......
So I haven't had anything to say the last couple of days. For one that has kissed the Blarney Stone I haven't been feeling the gift of gab. I attribute it to the fact that I haven't felt very good the last couple days. I wanted to blog and tell the world that I played racquetball yesterday. And because of the lucky circumstance of Jer coming in mid-game, I beat Hess by default, I think the score was like 8 to 3 or something around there. It was his turn to serve and he was on the warpath to come back and kick my backside into the wall, so great timing Jer, thanks!!! I did get hit near the groin area and in the throat, it hurt for a minute, but luckily it didn't kill me. I think I took it like a man and didn't even cry.
I know those of you still reading are saying get to the Song of the Day. We die when you miss a Song of the Day and it was missed yesterday, I know and I apologize. So todays Song of the Day is by Chicago. I picked it because my wife and I were chatting when it came on and it just happens to be our song. The song is You're the Inspiration. It is a great song and one of Chicago's best. They probably should have broken up once Peter Cetera left. Anyway, thanks for reading.
I know those of you still reading are saying get to the Song of the Day. We die when you miss a Song of the Day and it was missed yesterday, I know and I apologize. So todays Song of the Day is by Chicago. I picked it because my wife and I were chatting when it came on and it just happens to be our song. The song is You're the Inspiration. It is a great song and one of Chicago's best. They probably should have broken up once Peter Cetera left. Anyway, thanks for reading.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Weekend
This weekend was pretty fun. I think it was a bit full, but none the less, fun.
It started Friday night after working at Albertson's. I got home around 10:30 and Aurora and her friend were there waiting to watch scary movies. So, we sat up and watched a scary movie then I went to bed.... around 2am.
THEN, I got up around 6ish to go get some beds my mother-in-law purchased. It was way to early to do that kind of stuff, but we went anyway.
Next we made our way to a West Jordan park to meet up with fellow Geocachers (we meaning Mason, Nicole, Harold, Vicki and myself) to clean up a stretch of road from litter.
After that it was on to Utah County to do some geocaching. We went to find some puzzle caches and found 4 of the puzzles but ran out of time to find the last puzzle. Oh well, new trip down to Utah County.
Dinner at Duffy's followed our adventures where we stayed up late playing games and watching a watermelon-eating contest between Harold and Aurora. Harold one by a landslide, in case you were wondering.
Sunday, was a day to rest in which we didn't really rest. Got up and made breakfast, went and got a few things at the store and then the late-afternoon was spent at Lagoon with the wife and kids. We had a lot of fun and since it wasn't crowded, we didn't have many problems.
Went to dinner and then home. It was a pretty full weekend but a lot of fun.
It started Friday night after working at Albertson's. I got home around 10:30 and Aurora and her friend were there waiting to watch scary movies. So, we sat up and watched a scary movie then I went to bed.... around 2am.
THEN, I got up around 6ish to go get some beds my mother-in-law purchased. It was way to early to do that kind of stuff, but we went anyway.
Next we made our way to a West Jordan park to meet up with fellow Geocachers (we meaning Mason, Nicole, Harold, Vicki and myself) to clean up a stretch of road from litter.
After that it was on to Utah County to do some geocaching. We went to find some puzzle caches and found 4 of the puzzles but ran out of time to find the last puzzle. Oh well, new trip down to Utah County.
Dinner at Duffy's followed our adventures where we stayed up late playing games and watching a watermelon-eating contest between Harold and Aurora. Harold one by a landslide, in case you were wondering.
Sunday, was a day to rest in which we didn't really rest. Got up and made breakfast, went and got a few things at the store and then the late-afternoon was spent at Lagoon with the wife and kids. We had a lot of fun and since it wasn't crowded, we didn't have many problems.
Went to dinner and then home. It was a pretty full weekend but a lot of fun.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Quick Survey
So many of you know that I just bought a car and I'm going to get it registered sooner or later so I can actually drive it. I'm thinking of a license plate to put on it, customized of course. It can only be 7 charactes so it could be "HEY NRD" or "HEYNERD". Those of you that understand this cool, if not, then remind me to tell you the story one of these days. So the polls are now open.
A Quick Post
So it's close to the end of the day and I'm leaving soon. I just wanted to do a quick blog to say hello. Hello...that's it. Just kidding. So a few posts back I talked about a cool Extension for Firefox, or Lightninghippopotamus as it's called for me today, that was called InfoRSS. Yeah, it's not really that cool, it is pretty annoying. It doesn't remember what you've read and what you haven't so it keeps pulling posts from the different RSS feeds that I had set up. I'd get all of Neal's blogs since he switched over to WordPress. It got really annoying. Anyway, it's no longer on my machine.
Song of the Day time... Today I'm choosing Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex on the ESPN Presents: Jock Jams, Vol. 3. This song is done basically for cheerleaders to dance to, but it is a good pick me up song and has a catchy beat to it. Pretty cool. If you close your eyes you can even see the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders dancing to it, hahaha.
Song of the Day time... Today I'm choosing Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex on the ESPN Presents: Jock Jams, Vol. 3. This song is done basically for cheerleaders to dance to, but it is a good pick me up song and has a catchy beat to it. Pretty cool. If you close your eyes you can even see the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders dancing to it, hahaha.
Blood
For those of you that know me know I'm pretty big on blood donation. While I don't talk about it a lot, I do talk more about it when I become re-eligible to do so. I have been eligible for a couple of weeks and finally went in today to give my pint.
For those of you that are ineligible, it is unfortunate for you. For those of you that CAN donate blood, I would plead with you to do so. It is very important and could possibly save a life. The American Red Cross has a blood donation center close by and they usually have drives around the city. Anyway, had to get a good plug for this organization.
If you are unsure of your blood type, the first time you go in, they will type it at the lab and send you a note and a donation card in the mail. Then, from then on you will know. I, myself am O negative. This, for those that don't know about blood type, is the Universal Donor. In otherwise, anyone can accept my blood.
For those of you with different blood types, you can call and ask about donating whole blood vs. platelets (people with AB blood are really in demand for platelets that help with burn victims.)
I enjoy giving blood and minus begin stuck by a needle, I don't mind so much. So, if you can give blood, please do.
For those of you that are ineligible, it is unfortunate for you. For those of you that CAN donate blood, I would plead with you to do so. It is very important and could possibly save a life. The American Red Cross has a blood donation center close by and they usually have drives around the city. Anyway, had to get a good plug for this organization.
If you are unsure of your blood type, the first time you go in, they will type it at the lab and send you a note and a donation card in the mail. Then, from then on you will know. I, myself am O negative. This, for those that don't know about blood type, is the Universal Donor. In otherwise, anyone can accept my blood.
For those of you with different blood types, you can call and ask about donating whole blood vs. platelets (people with AB blood are really in demand for platelets that help with burn victims.)
I enjoy giving blood and minus begin stuck by a needle, I don't mind so much. So, if you can give blood, please do.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Song of the Day
So today's Song of the Day was one that I picked last night while we were driving to dinner. This song comes from the Disney movie Pete's Dragon. It's called Boo Bop Bopbop Bop (I Love You Too). If you seen the movie you know that Pete and Elliot, Pete's dragon, are singing this song together after Pete has successfully run away and hidden from the Gogans with help from Elliot. Charlie Callas did the voice of Elliot and he does a lot of bops and other noises, but it's not clear what he is saying. Last night it came on the iPod and I was trying to sing with Elliot and Bree was in the back just laughing. She even said "daddy, your silly" or something like that. So I decided that it needed to be the Song of the Day today. So there you have it.
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