Another Q&A from Natalie

1. What's the quality you like least of yourself? I'm sometimes easily distracted when I should be focusing on other things

2. If you could trade places with anyone, living or dead, for a day, who would it be? There's far too many people in history I would have liked to be around, but the first person who comes to mind that I'd like to change places with would be the cold, hungry, all-but-forgotten farmer-turned-soldier who stumbled across George Washington kneeling in the snow and praying for the deliverance of his rag-tag army and the infant country he knew only God could save.

3. My life would be simpler if... School was easier...

4. What's your favorite possession? My gun, my bike, or my computer.

5. Guiltiest pleasure? I don't really feel guilt about any of the things I like. I find the idea of liking something "I know I shouldn't" is a little silly.

6. High road or low road? Not that I know anybody who would "want" to choose the low road, but I try to do what I feel is the "Right Thing".

7. Who was the naughtiest kid in your elementary school, and what did he do? Although I feel that the word "he" here is a little bit of a stereotyper I think that most of my teachers could have made a pretty good case for me being the naughtiest kid in my elementary school (and most of high school). I'll plead the fifth on the details, since I didn't get caught in most of my shenanigans, but a lot of them (in grade school) involved spit-wads (I graduated from spit-wads to things like fire and dry ice in high school). Incidentally, having the same 6th grade teacher as my dad was an enlightening experience when one of the times I got caught he said, "Damn it Tim!!"

8. The big decision I'm currently wrestling with is... Where to live when BYU housing kicks out the rest of the families from Wyview Park Student Family Housing (but I'm not mad about it...)That's not the gun I mentioned above, but what a good day...

Wordless Thursday?? The end of 40 hours of sleepless programming

Classic Rock? Not for a 14-year-old me.

When you have been writing code long enough that you start to see semi-colons, parentheses, i's, and //'s everywhere you look, it's time to take a break.

Today I got an email from BMG telling me that my Grand Funk Railroad featured selection was available and I was mildly amused by the fact that when my dad recommended them to me almost 15 years ago (I don't like the sound of that!) I blew them off because I didn't want to listen to my dad's music. So here's a list of the top bands I ignored my dad's recommendation about that you'll find on my playlist now:

1. Grand Funk Railroad. Spanning from American Band to Loco-motion, these guys make a lot of music for a trio. And they rock.

2. Cream. Sunshine of Your Love. 'Nuff said. Cream holds some of Clapton's earliest, rockin'-est stuff, with Sunshine being a great indication. I do have to admit that I started to come around to this song when I was 17 or 18 and learned it on guitar.

3. Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. Dad used to tout this as one of the top five best, rockin'-est rock songs ever. Coming from the man who introduced me to Black Sabbath, I thought it didn't quite fit the bill. But now that I'm older and a little less prideful about what is "hard rock" enough to listen to, I'll admit it. This song is classic, perfect hard rock.

4. The Moody Blues. Due to the previously mentioned teenage foolishness, I thought these guys sounded kinda goofy. Especially when I'm Just a Singer in a Rock 'n' Roll Band was on that top five list. But, no surprise here, it's a quality, kickin' rock song.

5. The Who. Again due to teenage brain damage I thought these guys were too old to be "hard rock". By now it will come as no surprise to hear me say that I was wrong. Who are you? and My Generation are 2 examples of their quality rock tracks. A sure sign of my teenage brain-damage is that if I had known that they were the first ones to get away with having the f-word on an album, I probably would have liked them. Kids those days...

Now. For the top bands/songs I'm glad I actually listened to my dad's recommendation about.

1. Led Zeppelin. One of my top 5 favorite bands, possibly in my top 2. Stairway to Heaven is probably one of a 3 way tie for my number 1 favorite song. Over the Hills and Far Away and D'yer Maker, are also in my top "five". And to top it all off, anybody with references to The Lord of the Rings in not one, but multiple songs--well, I'm sold.

2. Van Halen. They were a little outside the Metallica, Megadeath, Iron Maiden, and others of the like I listened to back then, but those guys can really take care of business. The Van Halen brothers (Alex and Eddie) are awesome. And I have to say I liked them best with Sammy Hagar.

3. Whitesnake. I got their 10 greatest hits as a Featured Selection that I forgot to tell them not to send, and I was getting ready to send it back when Dad told me to open it up and listen to it. After a couple of tracks I was sold. You'll still find Here I Go Again in almost every single one of my playlists.

4. Bad Company. These guys kind of made the cut because of the teenage brain damage. I came across the record when I was 14. The only thing that went through my mind was remembering my mom telling my dad that she didn't want us to listen to it because it would make us want to be "bad" when I was like 7. So obviously I started listening to it and really liked it. Shooting Star, Bad Company, and Can't Get Enough of Your Love are still among my favorites.

5. Last but definitely not least, Black Sabbath. (The Ozzy Osbourne era) I was listening to one of my then favorites, (Metallica, Megadeath, or Guns 'n' Roses) when Dad came in my room with a battered, scuffed old cassette tape. He told me that if I liked whoever it was that I was listening to, I should listen to this tape because I'd probably like it, and he used to listen to it when he was around my age. I believe my exact words were, "I don't wanna listen to any of your old hippie crap." So he pushed stop on my stereo, put it in and pushed play. It just happened (random chance Dad?) to be on Paranoid. There was nothing my teen-age hard-headedness could say. Done deal.

A new tinkerer is born?!?

I know, I know, 2 posts in one night. Don't I have school work? Well, the answer is yes, but something momentous has happened in our house tonight.

First, some brief background. For the past two years as I have tinkered with different distributions of linux, sometimes successfully and others learning the hard way how things work, Nicole has referred to my efforts as bumbling. As soon as she would hear me say, "I wonder if I can get ________ to work..." She would get a look of exasperation on her face, and tell me how much easier my life would be if I wasn't always "bumbling" and breaking my computer. She would talk about how she didn't have to "bumble" with her Windows system to get it to work, oblivious of the fact that Windows systems by themselves are the most helpless pieces of software I've seen. (A topic for an upcoming post). Any time I would try and figure something out for her (things I had never done and had to tinker with a little to figure out for her) she would tell me I was "bumbling."

Earlier today, I noticed that Nicole was fiddling around with iPhoto, seeing if she wanted to make a photo album for Apple to print. Then, to cement the fact that something strange is happening in my house, tonight as we were watching the news and I was washing the dishes, I started hearing strange little noises and sound effects. I looked over, and Nicole was fiddling around with iMovie HD on her new MacBook. Apparently, despite the fact that she has never touched iMovie in her life, she decided that she would "bumble" around and see if she could make a slide show out of some pictures she has taken.

Apple, OSX, iPhoto, and iMovie have done something that try as I might I have been unable to accomplish for the last two years. Despite having no prior knowledge of a software product, instead of asking me to figure it out for her, Nicole started up a program and started clicking buttons and looking around to see how it worked. I don't remember when was the last time I felt this kind of pride. As I write, she has selected some of her iTunes music for a soundtrack, and is importing pictures. I just asked her if it would be safe to say she was "bumbling" and the answer was an emphatic "NO!" She just asked me if I knew how to do something that I don't know, and told me, "I'll teach ya when I figure it out." We are still in the no-comment phase as to what exactly to call what she's doing, but we'll get there some day.

You know, they say that if you teach them, eventually they will learn. I never thought it would happen, but I'm so proud... so proud... You just can't teach this kind of thing...

Real Simple Q&A

Nicole said I should do this so here goes:


1. Bath or Shower? Eh. Whatever. Showers usually cuz they are faster and the purpose is to get clean.

2. What did you want to be when you were little? A soldier like my dad. Specifically I wanted to be an Army Ranger up until the time I got home from my mission.

3. What's the one thing you'll never understand? Why in the heck no one can make a pair of chick boots that is "cute" enough for my wife to approve of them, but useful enough to comfortably walk more than a block or two in. I know you were all expecting some kind of deep mysterious question, but if you can solve that one I'll be amazed.

4. What surprises you most about your adult life? Instead of an Army Ranger, or a construction worker, I'm a BYU student, studying Computer Science, looking at trying to get a Ph.D. and be a professor someday.

5. What's your idea of the perfect meal? It MUST HAVE meat. Potatoes help. Veggies are good. Add a peach-mango smoothie and you're there.

6. What is the craziest fashion trend or hairstyle you've worn? I don't recall ever wearing a fashion trend. My vacation beard over the semester break this year wasn't a big hit with Nicole, so I guess you could call that crazy.

7. What amount of money would make you feel like you were set for life? I'd settle for graduating, moving on to graduate school, and getting a more 'real' job.

8. If you could change careers now without any consequences or financial loss, what would you switch to? Uh... I would be a computer geek. And get paid for it. Oh wait, that's what I do. Ooh, ooh, I got it! I would be a graduated computer geek. Now that would be something.

9. What is the big decision you are currently wrestling with? Um. What to answer this question with. I really don't think I'm wrestling with any big decisions right now. Maybe what to focus on as I get into 400 level CS courses and start looking at grad school. Yeah, that would probably be it.

Thank you all, good night.

Happy Birthday Mari

Something that probably should have been said years ago...

I am currently serving as the Sunday School president in my ward here at BYU. Last night about midnight or so I realized that I had forgotten to call my 1st counselor back to find out if we had teachers for one of our two "Marriage and Family" Sunday School classes. Today sitting in Sacrament meeting I realized that there was no way we had teachers because I couldn't see the couple that teaches that class. So I ran to the clerk's office and grabbed a class member study guide from our cupboard and saw that today's lesson was: "The divine role of parents" (or something like that). I don't have kids yet so I looked in the obvious place, my own life growing up with my parents. As I taught the lesson and talked about some of the things my parents did while I was growing up I realized that I owe them a great deal and I'm not sure I've ever told them about some of the things I really appreciate about the way I was raised. So here goes:

1. I am incredibly grateful that my parents taught me how to work.

Some of these lessons were learned as a result of the fact that we burned wood for heat, grew our own garden for most of our vegetables, and killed/butchered most our our own meat. Up until I was about 14 I hated most of these activities (anyone who knows me well will know that me with virtually unlimited quantities of meat for a whole day is a happy me). But as I realized that these "activities" were helping our family subsist I grew to enjoy the time spent with my family working.

One of these lessons that began when I was 12 and continued until I left home was the result of being ambushed by my dad. One of the first days of summer vacation the year between 6th and 7th grade I was lazily sleeping in to avoid doing some of my chores when my dad came in and told me that one of the farmers in our valley had called to ask if I wanted to haul hay. For the young man I was then, his rhetoric was flawless: "That's where most of the bigger stronger guys around get so strong, and I think you're probably strong enough..." So I went. The combination of only weighing 30 or 40 pounds more than most of the hay bales and having pretty bad allergies made for what was at that time the most miserable day of my life. But the pay was much better than some of the other things I could do, so I kept at it. I quickly learned that because of the amount of hay dust in the barn, and because hay dust down my shirt quickly incapacitated me that I was the designated guy stacking hay on the truck and throwing it off into the barn. So for the next 6 years I got to lift every bale in the field twice 3 or 4 times per summer.

And sadly, some of these lessons were the result of me being stupid. After getting a 'whuppin' stopped being an effective bad behavior deterrent I would get grounded for making a 'bad choice'. It began with moving the entire woodpile so that one side would end up about 2 feet from where the opposite side began. Later after a couple of spectacularly bad choices, I hand-tilled with a shovel our lot all the way around our house one summer. The next summer I got to dig every clump of orchard grass out of our 3/4 acre orchard.

I had the opportunity when I was a little older to work alongside my dad. We worked together on family cars, doing work for farmers around the valley in exchange for a beef to fill the freezer with, and working together on maintenance and construction at a resort near Zion National Park for a couple of years. All of these experiences allowed me to have a close relationship with my dad, despite the fact that for a large portion of my high school years he had to drive truck and was gone a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we had as we worked side by side. Later when I was a Basic Training, or on my mission, I was grateful for the fact that I had learned to work and that it wasn't much harder than things I had done at home with my dad.

2. I am incredibly grateful that the gospel was important to my parents.

When I was growing up, it was never a question of whether or not we were going to have family prayer, but when. As a result of major difficulties establishing a time for family scripture study, my mom would read the Book of Mormon to us over dinner every night. My dad was a better Deacon's Quorum adviser than I could have ever asked for. When I had had a bad day at school my mom would bring me The New Era or The Ensign with a highlighted article or talk. Every so often when dad was gone on the truck, after we had family prayer I would remember I needed to tell or ask my mom something I would go back to her room only to find her on her knees praying. I would quietly sneak back to my room, and she would somehow always know it had been me.

3. I am incredibly grateful that my mom trekked all over the state to watch me wrestle and run at track meets.

Valley High school is not necessarily at any kind of hub. Our shortest trip to a wrestling tournament was 45 minutes, and the longest was more than 4 hours. Track meets were just as bad. Despite the early morning starting times, I could count on looking into the stands and seeing here there. Granted she sometimes looked a little tired, and she did arrive at one track meet my junior year approximately 45 seconds after one of the best races of my career to that point, but it meant the world to me that she was there almost every single time.

4. I am incredibly grateful for all the time I spent with my dad hand-loading bullets, calculating trajectories, and scanning the rocks above the hay fields for wood chucks.

We would spend hours talking about which caliber had better long-range trajectory, less wind drift, etc... We would spend even more time with our varmint rifles resting on sandbags on the hood of the jeep or truck or car, waiting for the little hay-mowing rats to show their beady eyes. Our talks about trajectories would drift on to physics, the army, cars, trucks, and you name it. While my class went on the Senior Trip, my dad and I went camping, hiking, and wood-chuck hunting on Cedar Mountain.

For these things, and so many more, I owe my parents more than I could ever pay back. Mom and dad, I love you guys and I appreciate all you've done for me.

One word at a time (or two or three...)

Nicole tagged me with this, and it's only supposed to be one word each. Since I'm not always overly concerned with rules I have not followed that convention.

Edit: I have now changed some of my entries after having been severely chastened by Nicole who is apparently much more interested in the 'letter of the law' than I was.

Yourself: Enthusiastic
Your Partner: Organized
Your Hair: Brown
Your Mother: Pipsqueak
Your Father: Steady
Your Favorite Item: MacBook
Your Dream Last Night: Code
Your Favorite Drink: Orderville Water (I drew the line here because water is not just water)
Your Dream Car: 1969 Dodge Charger Hemi
Your Dream Home: Self-Made
The Room You Are In: Clean
Your Ex: Tall
Your Fear: Incapacitation
Where You Want To Be In Ten Years: Professor
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Nicole
What You Are Not: Delicate
Muffins: Apple Cinnamon
One Of Your Wish List Items: 24" iMac
Time: Night
The Last Thing You Did: Eat
What You Are Wearing: Hat
Your Favorite Weather: Hot
Your Favorite Book: Tolkien
The Last Thing You Ate: Soup
Your Life: Peachy
Your Mood: Mellow
Your Best Friends: Geeks
What You Are Thinking About Right Now: Computers
Your Car: Passat
What You Are Doing At The Moment: Studying
Your Summer: Fun
Relationship Status: Eternal
What Is On Your TV: White Christmas
What Is The Weather Like: Cold
When Is The Last Time You Laughed: Today

Silent Night...

Since the reason for my favorite Christmas song/hymn was unanimously missed (multiple times by some) I've decided to set the record straight.

As an unofficial student of military history, I came across something when I was 16 that changed the way I would look at life forever. There are several accounts of this story published and I'm sure many more that sadly have passed from this world with those who experienced it. So I'll stick with two of them.

The first is the account told by British soldiers on the Western Front of World War I. On the evening of December 24, 1914 British troops at several places noticed small lights appearing above the German trenches. Those who could see through the mist soon passed on that the Germans were holding small Christmas trees adorned with candles. Through the cold night air came the words, "Stille nacht, Heilige nacht..." and soon the English version joined in. Soon, men who 12 hours before had no other object in mind than killing each other and staying alive were mingling and exchanging gifts in "no man's land." It has been reported that soccer matches were played on ground pockmarked with artillery craters. In one place a German officer provided beer not only for his troops, but for the British troops opposite them. Despite the disapproval of higher ranking officers, those soldiers on both sides of the line put down their weapons for a few hours to commemorate the birth of the Savior of the world.

The second is an account from the 101st Airborne Division, in Bastogne, Belgium December 24th, 1944. Those who have seen or read Band of Brothers will remember that the 101st (particularly Easy Co. in this case) defended Bastogne through the worst of the Battle of the Bulge and by Christmas, the tide was about to turn. That night, Christmas Eve, soldiers on the lines and in town heard German voices singing those very same words, "Stille nacht, Heilige nacht..." While there were no soccer games recounted, or (to my knowledge) any gift exchanges or other face to face exchanges, soldiers on both sides put down their weapons for a brief time to remember Christmas.

It was about that same time in my life that my friend Jenny introduced me to the Garth Brooks song, Belleau Wood. Not entirely historically accurate as far as I have been able to piece together, but worth a listen.

As a young man with a great-grandfather who may well have experienced a similar unofficial Christmas truce during his time in France in 1918, a grandfather who may have done in World War II, a father who spent a Christmas in Iraq in 1990, and whose only goal in life at the time was to be an Army Ranger these accounts affected me greatly. Silent Night has been my favorite hymn since that time, when I learned that through the miracle of Christmas even soldiers on opposite sides of the field of battler can recognize that each celebrates the very same thing, the birth of our Savior. Even though I am now a civilian and will not likely wear the uniform again, I wholeheartedly wish my fellow soldiers, "Merry Christmas" and hope that they too can find a quiet moment on that most holy night.

The Aftermath: Then and Now

As we all know, yesterday marked the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This was not a normal act of war, but a cowardly act planned and prepared while their diplomats covered the action by a false attempt to reach an agreement in Washington. There was virtually no warning. Their only (very feeble) excuse was that it was an attempt to neutralize the clearly superior US military presence in the Pacific. The only small consolation we can take from that event was that the vast majority of the casualties were soldiers, those who knew that a possible outcome of their service could very well be death.

On that terrible morning, 2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians lost their lives, as well as over 1,000 wounded.

Just over 5 years ago, something very similar happened when hijacked airliners crashed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. This also was a cowardly attack, but without even the poor excuse of trying to gain military superiority as was the case with Pearl Harbor. The terrorists who orchestrated those attacks did so with no military goal in mind, with no other design than to terrorize the American people and to destroy our way of life. This was not an attack on soldiers who, however unprepared they were, could fight back. This was an attack on innocent civilians, for many of whom the thought that their chosen profession could result in their death had never occurred.

On that terrible morning, 2,973 people lost their lives, including 343 NYFD firefighters, 23 NYPD officers, and 37 Port Authority Police officers. As with Pearl Harbor, there were also over 1,000 people wounded.

65 years ago, the response of the American people was swift and resolute. The United States immediately declared war on Japan, and almost immediately afterward on Germany and Italy. We entered a war that a large portion of the American public had previously been dead set against becoming involved in. Despite the large numbers of casualties, the public supported the war effort enthusiastically. Gasoline, iron, and even tires were rationed. The public opinion was that the war must be won at all costs. America's involvement in the war lasted from December 1941 to August 1945, with U.S. military occupation of of Germany and Japan continuing for years afterward. This was not achieved without great cost. Over 400,000 American soldiers and over 11,000 American civilians lost their lives. Nearly half a million Americans died as a result of that cowardly attack, and of the actions of Germany and Italy in Europe.

Public response to the attacks on the World Trade Center was every bit as swift and every bit as serious. The nation was united as it hadn't been in years. The war on terror was almost immediately launched to prevent similar attacks on the American people. The war in Iraq was initiated ostensibly to prevent Saddam Houssein from using WMD's, and also to curtail Iraqi support of Al Qaeda. In the war in Iraq, nearly (and maybe more by now) 2,500 American soldiers have died. In Operation Enduring Freedom (the war on terrorism) there have been less than 500 deaths. This is less than 1% of the American military casualties in World War 2. Yet somehow, despite the fact that terrorist attacks still happen somewhat frequently (obviously not major ones like the WTC or London Subway attacks) the American public has lost interest in the effort. Al Qaeda and Taliban forces still do virtually whatever they want in the Middle East. Extremist clerics call for the destruction of the United States and state that they and "their people" will fight us until we are utterly destroyed. Yet somehow, the American public and Congress have lost heart for this effort. War is terrible, certainly, but it is no more terrible now than it was 65 years ago.

My question is this: What has changed in the last 65 years? For that matter, what changed between 1941 and 1968? In both instances, as many people died in one day in the event that instigated the conflict than have died since the World Trade Center attacks. Why is it that in World War 2 the news being brought to the American public, while it contained casualty reports, was of the advancement of the front lines in Europe, which islands we had retaken in the Pacific, and how much damage we were doing to the enemy? Why is it that now all we hear in the news is the "terrible death toll" and how many problems are still cropping up?

So as we remember the tragic events of Pearl Harbor and the conflict that followed, let's not forget to have some perspective on the tragic events of 9/11/2001 and the conflict that has followed. Let's not place a thin veneer of "Support our troops" over the apathy and disinterest that seem to be appearing everywhere. Could the war have been won 60 years ago if we supported our troops then the way we do now? How many of us would be willing to give up the rubber-band thin tires on our shiny SUV's to support the efforts of our soldiers in the Middle East? How many of us would park our cars and walk to our destinations in the cold so the soldiers could have the fuel they need to carry on the fight? Let's remember the brave soldiers who fought in earlier conflicts, and the brave citizens who supported them. Let's not dishonor their memory by the thin facade of "support" that seems to prevalent.


[Disclaimer: In making this post I am not dismissing the fact that American soldiers are dying. If I hadn't met Nicole when I did and had her hearty encouragement not to re-enlist, I would almost definitely be over there with them. I am fully aware that there are people in this country who truly support our troops and their mission. I am merely stating that there is a large difference between the resolution of the American public and media as a whole in the aftermath of two very similar events.]

[Most of my information on casualties came from Wikipedia.org if you care. If I have inaccurate information feel free to correct me and I'll update this post accordingly.]

Christmas Interrogation...

I guess I have officially been "tagged". I don't know who started the whole "blog tag" idea, and I'm not sure I want to, but Nicole said she "tagged" me so here goes...

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate. With LOTS of whipped cream. And maybe a peppermint tossed in.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? At my folks' house they are usually unwrapped.

3. Colored lights or white lights? Any and all colors, except solid blue. What the heck does that have to do with Chrismas?

4. Do you hang mistletoe? That's a really good idea... :)

5. When do you put your decorations up? After Thanksgiving. I usually cave and let Nicole put them up the day before we leave for Thanksgiving so they will be up when we get back.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Meat. Any kind.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Nicole thinks I'm weird because I don't have very many specific, time-stamped memories from before I was 11 or 12, so I'll just say all of them.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? When I was five or six my dad dressed up as Santa for his company's Christmas party. How I picked my dad's tanker boots out of all the other soldiers was a mystery, but at the time, my dad was the only adult I knew with blue-grey eyes. We didn't openly admit as a family the truth about Santa until I was 12.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Usually.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? That'll probably be up to Nicole at some future point when we have a tree.

11. Snow: love it or dread it? I am definitely a summer person, but I don't mind the snow.

12. Can you ice skate? I can fall on my can and make a really good attempt at breaking my butt-bone...

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Although the trip to Hawaii this year from Nicole's parents was a doozy as far as presents go, the one I think I appreciated the most was when I was 14, I wanted to start bow-hunting but there was no money for a bow, then on Christmas morning a left-handed (important for me) bow I had seen in a pawn shop a few weeks earlier showed up on my chair. That gift resulted in some great memories with me and my dad.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? The birth of the Savior.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? My mom's cinnamon rolls. Or my mom's homemade saltwater taffy.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Every Christmas Eve back home I would go to the grave of my uncle Pete (he died shortly after birth) and tell him Merry Christmas and tell him how my year was. I haven't done that for a year or two, maybe next year when we're in Orderville again...

17. What tops your tree? My folks had a cardboard star wrapped carefully in tinfoil for a long time. Even though we don't have a tree, I'll always remember that tinfoil star.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Having the ability to give. For most of my life growing up, we made presents for people, and I never felt like I could make anything that anybody would want, other than my parents. It's nice now to be able to get presents that I know will be better than my feeble attempt to make something. It's equally as nice to have the know-how to make something useful and or nice.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Silent Night. The first person to guess the correct reason why gets a prize.

20. Candy canes: yuck or yum? Definitely tasty...


Oh, and I tag...No one.

Vindicated!!!

As some of you may know, I have taken heat over the years from various people (some of you may even be in that category) for slouching or reclining backwards as I sit. Nicole gets after me for leaning the driver's seat of our car back so far and for sitting sideways on the couch leaning back on the arm. My mother has gotten after me for years to "sit up straight..." Well, now I have been vindicated. This article states that some recent research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicates that a position reclined back 135 degrees with your feet still on the floor provides the best support for your back while sitting for long periods of time.

So, next time any of you roll your eyes when I say that you need to have the proper amount of "slouch", remember that for once I may just be right. (wouldn't that be something...)

You can take the boy out of the desert...

But you can't take the desert out of the boy. Also, I would argue with the fact that you can take the boy out of the desert for very long. But that doesn't sound nearly as (insert adjective for poetic or literary here).

Nicole and I went to Orderville for the Thanksgiving holiday last week. I must say that the combination of my mother's home-made noodles in turkey soup, home-made stuffing, home-made pies... well, you can imagine that I didn't do much other than lay around and suffer on Thursday afternoon.

Friday we went hiking and shooting (the two pretty much go together, but I thought I'd spell it out for those of you who hike on trails in populated areas :-p).

People often ask me why I haven't been to more places in Zion than I have been, considering it's 15 minutes away. This is why:

My dad has a Heckler & Koch (HK) USP Tactical .45 that I quite enjoy to commandeer when I go down, as well as his HK G3 (NOT the select fire military version, the semi-auto only civilian version). Both are extremely sweet-shooting pieces (although it's much easier to double-tap with an AR-15 than the G3) and I have to bust a few caps whenever we go down.

Maybe next time we go I'll take some pictures of my own rifle and do another post, but as for now, it's back to the old programming project...

Why do I love Hawai'i...?

Well, we've been home for a month now, so I should probably quit dragging my feet. We spent the last two weeks of August in Hawaii with Nicole's parents, and I'm finally posting my account of our trip.

Let me begin by saying that even though I'm a desert boy through and through, I love Hawaii. The first time I went 3 years ago I was completely spellbound, and I couldn't even completely or coherently say why. Nicole laughed at me because I would just stand there and watch the ocean come rolling in. After 3 years and another trip, I think I've figured it out. I'll start by describing the area I come from for those of you (most if not all) who haven't been there. Orderville, Utah is in a valley in between Cedar Mountain in southern Utah and the Arizona Strip. Despite being in a valley, it sits at around 6500 feet above sea level. It was the perfect place for someone like me to grow up. An hour in one direction I would be at close to 11,000 feet, and surrounded by thick forest and volcanic peaks. An hour in another direction and I would be in the middle of Zion National Park with its white and red sandstone mountains. The same distance in yet another direction would put me in the middle of the desert, with scruffy sage-brush, junipers and cactus. Despite the fact that most of Utah has been mostly "civilized" many of these places (with the exception of Zion) are quite untamed, and when I would spend time there it would be a rare occasion to see another person unless you were fairly close to the roads.

All of this leads me to Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the most geographically isolated population center on the planet, with more than 2,000 miles of ocean
surrounding it in all directions. Standing on the beach looking out at the ocean, you can be relatively certain that there is not another human being between you and the farthest point on the horizon that you can see. As untamed as my favorite places in the desert and mountains around my home are, the ocean is even more so. The wave splashing your feet may have traveled from the other side of the world, and seen sights that no person ever has. It also happens that Maui, where we spent our first week, has a "desert side" with volcanic rock formations and wide flat spaces that look like they could have been picked up out of southern Utah and dropped there, just so I could feel at home when I visit. Kauai's Waimea Canyon looks like any number of places around Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks would look if they got a few hundred more inches of rain per year. Despite the green, the red volcanic rock and dirt makes me feel like I could be in my old stomping grounds, with my old brown truck, my rifle, and our old dog Kane.

All of this still doesn't completely explain why I love Hawaii so much, and why I feel so at home and content there, but it's a start. So here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Those of you who know me well will know why each is included, and those of you who don't can feel free to guess.