Just what religion do you belong to, anyway?

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I'm well aware that my own religious beliefs are quite different than those of some other faiths. I served my mission in Toronto, Canada which according to the UN is the most multi-cultural city in the world. As such, it's only natural that it's quite a diverse place when it comes to religion as well. Over the course of my mission, I spoke to people from over 145 countries and MANY more religions. I attended services for several different churches (mostly Christian, although I did go to a Sikh Gurudwara once). I discovered that there were many (almost all Christian) different faiths that held at least a handful of beliefs similar to ours. However, since everyone is unique, everyone has a different "take" on the principles of his or her religion.

The other day at work, my boss mentioned the "Belief-O-Matic" quiz at Beliefnet.com as being very interesting. So I went to take a look and was quite amused with what I found. The quiz asks some questions about your beliefs, as well as the priority you place on each religious topic, then displays the religions you may "match" based on your answers. I posted my results here. So there you have it. Check it out, and see what other religions you agree or disagree with.

NOTE: This is NOT meant to be any kind of public statement of the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or any other religion.

Why do I do it?

Today marked my first off-road mountain-bike ride of the summer. I rode with a friend from the ward up to the mouth of Slate Canyon, then along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail north to Rock Canyon. I now understand why most people who ride that segment do so going south. We found some pretty darn steep hills, so steep in some places that even I, a certified crazy fool, would be a little scared going down hill. As Mr. Murphy is a close friend of mine, during one struggle up a ridiculously steep grade I hit a patch of trail covered in loose rocks, my front tire stuck and turned, and I started to tip over. No worries, I thought, I've done this thousands of times. But the problem was, I'm riding on new pedals this summer and the degree of ankle twist to unclip is a little more than it used to be. So down I went. It was a little bit comical, as all instances of inability to unclip in time are, and I picked up the following treasure (not nearly as much of an inconvenience as the one pictured above, so small it barely bled at all, even in the remaining 45 minutes of the ride). I had a good little laugh, brushed the dirt off, and we went on about our merry way. We climbed some more hills, bombed down a couple (not nearly as long as the uphill sides) and then finished our ride with a brisk trip through the eastern bench streets home.

Nicole (and possibly some of you) wonders why I enjoy and have always enjoyed, any hobby, sport, or recreational activity that can cause bloodshed. Partly, it's because I grew up that way and a little blood was never much more than a reason for some of my "favorite" sayings, such as "Scars are proof," or "If you ain't bleedin', you ain't tryin'," or maybe "Chicks dig scars." Since past action is only partially responsible for my enjoyment of activities that are likely to cost me some skin, and since I've been trying to figure out what draws me to things like mountain biking and rock climbing and other "extreme" or "action" sports, I think I finally figured it out (with the help of Nicole's blog post tonight). I sit at a desk and fix computers all day, except for the days (which I enjoy) when I get to crawl around in ceiling tiles and on ladders pulling new network cable. Now seriously don't get me wrong here, I LOVE my job. I am a computer geek and my job is a computer geek's dream. However, my job doesn't really allow for much of the adrenaline rush that I got regularly when I was growing up. So, despite (and partially because of) the fact that I fairly frequently leave bits and pieces of hide along the trail, I love riding off-road because it makes me feel alive. As much as I love computers and fixing/tinkering with them, there's no wind blowing past my ears at my desk. There's no up-and-down, think fast or crash, rattling along the trail as fast as I dare (or maybe almost as fast) when I'm working. Even on my training rides, which take place on "safe" paved surfaces, the wind doesn't feel as fresh, and the hills feel more like exercise than adventure.

So yes, I am admittedly, certifiably crazy. I can sit at a desk in front of a computing problem for 9 hours without getting tired of it. But, every now and then, I need more. I need fresh air blowing in my face, sweat soaking the liner of my helmet, my bike rattling beneath me, grind my slow way up the hills and fly down the other side, through the river and through the woods good times. I've lost plenty of blood and skin in my life, and a little bit more every now and then is nowhere near too high a price to really feel alive. So stay tuned this summer for some more mountain bike posts.

Cars Part Two: A new little friend.

Yes, I'm finally getting around to it. We have had a new member of our family for the last couple weeks, so here goes:

Things I love about Yeti:
1. Despite the fact that he has an automatic transmission (which technically should be in the "don't love" column) he has cool paddle shifters that control the automatic transmission and provide almost as much control over the transmission as I would like.
2. Despite the fact that he has an automatic transmission and a fairly small engine, he is surprisingly responsive and peppy. He's not going to beat much of anything off the line, but he gets going much more quickly than Merlin did.
3. He has a startlingly large amount of room inside for such a small car. I have a good 6 or 8 inches of head room, and more knee room than I did in Merlin. Nicole's dad, while skeptical at first, said "I could ride comfortably in the back seat of this car, even all the way to St. George." My boss got in the passenger seat, looked up, and said, "Whoah!"
4. He has really bright headlights and good bright fog-lights. This (the headlights) was a feature I loved about my Civic (I did really wish my Civic had fog-lights), and growled about with Merlin. This was one of the few things that Consumer Reports hadn't given stellar ratings on, but given that they bombed the headlights on the 2001 Civic and I liked them anyway, I thought I'd take a chance. I'm vindicated.
5. He gets very good mileage. Our worst tank (actually the only full tank we've bought so far) was lots of city driving and lots of high-ish revs (traffic is a little crazy in Orem these days due to insane construction). and was a grand total of $26, totalling between 30 and 31 mpg. Big smiles when we're used to spending $40 to fill up, and getting around 20 mpg in city driving.
6. He has a 200 watt stereo with an MP3-capable CD player. This means my 16+ hour classic rock playlist fits on 2 CD's. The volume control goes to 40, and even I can't handle much more than 20 unless we're on the freeway going fast with the windows down.
7. He has real cup-holders. While Merlin's cup-holders barely held the bottom of a pop-can by less than an inch, these things take care of business, dwarfing a pop can and having no problem at all with the bucket-like large drink from Subway. They are even lit from above so you don't knock over your drink when you go reaching down there in the dark.
8. He sounds great. Honda Fits are in a unique position that most of them are sold before they even get to the States. Therefore, most dealers mark them up $1,000 over MSRP as soon as they hit the lot. Ken Garff Downtown in Salt Lake was good enough to add actual features for this, including aftermarket black rims (we didn't keep those--to much $$$), all season rubber floormats (we like), a sport grill insert (cheap so we kept it) and a Honda Racing sport muffler which we kept because we liked the white car better than the black one they had and taking off the muffler would have taken a day or so. The result is that you get this nice low-frequency growl at the lower rpm range (from 1000 to about 2300 rpm) and a very pleasant (to me) hum in the upper rpm range. I like it.
9. He's quite a sporty looking car. The Sport model, which we bought for the cruise control and aluminum rims) also has an underbody kit which adds greatly to the visual effect of the car, making the Sport model not look like a little granny grocery getter.
10. He places Nicole and I a little closer to each other. In Merlin it was a bit of a reach to hold hands across the way, but Yeti makes it nice and close.
11. And last but not least, he leaves lots of room around him in a parking space. At school, where they only paint the lines about half as long as "real" parking spaces, he only sticks out about 2 feet, and he leaves plenty of room for getting out the doors, even when people are parked close to the line in adjoining spaces. He also parallel parks like a dream.



Things I don't like (as much) about Yeti:
1. I would really have preferred a manual transmission. Due to the small size of the engine, it would be nice to be able to launch at a higher rpm if you were in a hurry to get across an intersection or something. This turned into a real deal-breaker with Merlin due to the fact that he had no guts until the turbo started making boost.
2. Yeah, that's pretty much it. What can I say, he's a definite keeper.

It's Mother's Day...

So it's time for a little tribute to some of the mother's I've come to appreciate in my life.

1. First and foremost, my own little mother. Nobody could have been as much help in some of the down times in my younger life as someone who had been picked on perhaps even more ruthlessly than I was when we first moved home to Orderville. What did I learn from my mother? To cook, clean, sew (enough to get by), to read, to "rise above", "this too shall pass", that people who are mean to you have problems of their own, that someone who doesn't really like to drive in the bad weather can drive halfway across the state to watch her son play basketball, or wrestle, or run around a track; that mothers pray for and worry about their children because it's part of the job description, and so many more things that I could never write them all. Happy Mother's Day Mom, I could never thank you enough for all you've done for me.

2. My Grandma Esplin. A large chunk of my life has included regular trips to grandma Esplin's house, where we kids were always welcome. Grandma's house always smelled like cookies, or cake, or brownies, or bread. There was always raisins to eat, a room to play in if it was cold outside, and someone to worry about how we were going to get hurt. Grandma was always interested in what we were doing (even if she didn't approve of my choice in music) and always came running from the back of the house with a smile and a hug whenever we showed up. Not much has really changed over the years. There's still a happy hug when I stop by, and a good visit because I don't need a room to play in anymore. Happy Mother's Day Grandma, and we'll see you guys soon.

3. My Grandma Sorensen. Another large chunk of my life included stopping in a Grandma Sorensen's house for lunch when we'd been out squirrel hunting with Grandpa Doc all morning. There's nothing like a good hot bowl of macaroni soup, a few slices of cucumber, a tomato sandwich, and some cottage cheese, followed by helping Grandpa watch a movie with our eyes closed, when you've been out in the dust all morning (especially when you've been walking in the dust because Grandpa Doc got stuck and stranded again). I always appreciated that whenever I had a pair of pants that was beyond mom's time frame or ability to repair, I could take them to Grandma and get them fixed while I chopped some firewood, then eat some home-made pop-sickles on that rickety old rusty front porch swinging couch thing. I always appreciated how much Grandma enjoyed going to the Temple in St. George with mom, and how she was looking forward to going with me for the first time. I remember how sad I was that it was only a week before I went that she died. Happy Mother's Day Grandma, I miss you.

4. My mother-in-law, Hen. You hear so many mother-in-law stories that I feel truly blessed to have such a good one. Hen appreciates and encourages my geek-ness, even when Nicole is ready to whack me. Hen always has a plan, and unlike some other plan-oriented people I've known, doesn't freak out when the plan needs to be altered. Happy Mother's Day Hen, and thank you for making me feel so welcome in your family.

5. My sister, Miranda. Miranda has always been such a great sister, and I've looked up to her achievements. She's always known what she wanted and not been afraid to do it (except a ferret? Really?). She graduated from high school already with an Associates Degree (while I, at 27, have 2 more years left of undergrad), and is a very good mother to her children. Good enough to let me and Peter have our "alone" time together even though he was crying his little head off and was not at all happy with his Uncle Alex for trying to get him to sleep. Even though we don't talk or see each other as much as we'd like to, it's fun to see them when we can. Happy Mother's Day Miranda, you've always been a good sister, and now a great mother.

6. My sister-in-law, Natalie. I have a hard enough time just surviving each semester with passing grades, and I have no clue how she accomplishes everything she does with her two crazy, lovable kids. Even if much of her accomplishing involves Target and other such chick-stores, it's a considerable accomplishment. Happy Mother's Day Mari, and thanks for letting me be the Favorite Uncle for Jayden and Chelsea.

7. Last, but definitely not least, my dear wife, Nicole. Even though we don't have children of our own, she is already a mother. To Natalie's kids (until it's time to be the bad guy, which is my job), and to all of the "named entities" in our life, she already has it down. She tells me to be safe when I go biking, and greets me with a big smile when I get home (from a distance because I'm stinky and icky). Happy Pre-Mother's Day babe, I love you.

Cars Part 1: A fond, but sad farewell.

As Nicole mentioned the other day, we just bought a new car. I would have blogged about it that very night, but apparently Nicole didn't want to interrupt her "flow" and made me wait for her. So now that she's all done, here we go.

Things I miss about Merlin (our old Passat):
1. He was paid for.
2. We went on our honeymoon in Merlin, and despite what Nicole says, even I develop some sentimental attachment sometimes.
3. He was a tank. I could have done with a much lighter car when he rolled over a pipe on my foot a couple of years ago, but hey, how much less smashed could 500 or 1000 pounds lighter of a car have made my foot when that would still leave 2000 pounds on it?
4. He was paid for.
5. Nicole loved him. Lots.
6. On cool-ish (between 45 and 70 degrees) days the turbo made a nice little whistle. Turbo whistle is one of my favorite sounds in the whole world.
7. Dark-tinted windows made it hard for people to see inside... ;)

Things I won't miss about Merlin:
1. Although he was pretty fast once he got going, he was a _very_ sluggish starter. He didn't go much of anywhere anytime soon when you stepped on the gas until about 3000 RPM when the turbo started making boost.
2. Sweaty can leather seat syndrome.
3. Cost of parts and repairs. Being that he was the first Volkswagen that I've even touched in more than 20 years, I didn't dare tinker on/try to fix him. German engineering is spelled p-a-r-t-$
4. Flimsy cup-holders that wouldn't hold a bottle of Mountain Dew (a road trip essential).
5. Less-than-stellar gas mileage. You would have thought that a 4-cylinder engine with a turbo would have gotten decent mileage. Think again. 20 was a usual average around town, and sometimes we got almost 30 on the freeway.
6. Dim headlights.

All in all, Merlin was a great car except when paying for parts/repairs. We went on our honeymoon in him, went to Newport Beach and Disneyland in him, and numerous other road trips. He had a very comfortable ride, handled very well, and once he got going he was pretty darn fast for a 4 cylinder in that heavy of a car. Although I'm not much for tears (Nicole shed my share when we traded him in) I will honestly look back on our time with Merlin as a good time. I'm glad that he'll get fixed back up nice and shiny with some new parts. He deserves it.

Music

I haven't done one of Mari's little memes in a while, and this one seemed kind of fun, so here goes.

1. Song that reminds you of high school: That's kinda hard, there's a few: No Self Esteem by The Offspring was my favorite weight-lifting song and since I spent so much time in the weight room it definitely applies, I instantly loved Wind of Change by The Scorpions. Sweet Child o' Mine by Guns 'n' Roses and Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin were the first songs I learned on the guitar so we'll throw them in. November Rain by Guns 'n' Roses and Shine, December, and Gel (all by Collective Soul) would probably round out the list of songs that most frequently remind me the most of high school.

2. What's playing in your car currently: We have a 6-disc changer so we each get 2 selections, and then we have 2 compromise selections. Nicole's are Aida (sndtrk) and some mix of songs she likes, the compromise cd's are Barenaked Ladies and mix of the rowdy songs I like that she also likes that I made her when we were dating, and mine are Bo Bice and Classic Rock Gold disc 2.

3. Favorite love song: That's a toughie. Having had poor luck (understatement of the year) with girls before I met Nicole, I don't count many love songs on my favorites list. If I had to choose I'd say November Rain by Guns 'n' Roses or Every Time I Look At You by Kiss.

4. Song that reminds you of your spouse: Any song from any musical, specifically Moulin Rouge. Songs by the Corrs (sp?), one of the bands she likes that I also don't mind.

5. Favorite Lullaby: My mom used to "sing us to sleep" sometimes and my favorite was a Primary-esque song called Where is Heaven. My dad came in one night not too long before he left for Desert Storm and sang Down in the Valley. That was one of the last times I can remember crying. When my mom and us kids drove across the country to Georgia when he got home from Desert Storm she would sing I Was Born Under a Wandering Star.

6. Favorite Christmas Song: Silent Night.

7. Favorite Musical: Heh heh. Do Disney movies count? They have songs. If so I'd say Sleeping Beauty. If not, I would have to admit that I thing Singing in the Rain is pretty dang funny. Nicole will vouch for the fact that I'm not a fan of sad stories so that nixes most musicals (especially the ones she likes).

8. Favorite artist you've seen in concert: I've never been to a concert (of a popular artist). I really wanted to go to Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica when I was in high school but my mom vetoed that. I saw an AC-DC concert on TV and that was pretty dang awesome.

9. First 6 songs that come up on your iPod when you hit shuffle: Piano Man, by Billy Joel, Goodbye to Romance by Ozzy Osbourne, For You by Johnny Cash (from the We Were Soldiers sndtrk), D'yer Mak'er by Led Zeppelin, Fairies Wear Boots by Black Sabbath, and Who Made Who by AC-DC.

10. Some of your all-time favorite songs that aren't already listed above: My 2 all-time favorites (Sweet Child O' Mine and Stairway to Heaven) are already listed, but to decide which others to list is a little hard. Every Breath You Take by The Police is definitely an all-time favorite of mine, as is All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix. I could go on, but I won't.

My oldest friend...

When we were giving all of our pictures and stuff to the wedding video people, Nicole looked at our respective piles of pictures and said, "Sweetie, look how many more friends I have than you." After faking some pain, we both had a good laugh. Having moved around frequently when I was very young, and moving in to Orderville when I was 11 (after everyone in my class had been in the same class since kindergarten), I never had very many close friends. After a couple of years I reached a point where I got along really well with most everyone in my class and school, but most of those relationships effectively ended when I left for the Army and later for my mission. Even after my mission, close friendships have been few and far between, and 2 of my 3 best friends (Dave Yates and Kari Lorimer) I've had since my mission I have all but lost touch with (I'm married to the other one). So this blog post is about my oldest best friend.


We met when I was 17 or 18. We spent countless hours together on hills overlooking sage flats, watching hay fields over the hood of my truck, and in untold other places around south-western Utah. His name is Thumper. He is a Savage 112-BVSS with a Sightron 6-24x target/varmint scope and a Harris bipod. My dad actually bought him at the same time I bought a .220 Swift, but I traded/bought him from my dad a year or so later. He's a pretty impressive guy: He can make a heck of a dent in a half-inch steel silhouette from 500 yards; his 168 grain, hollow-point, boat-tail match bullets are steady enough to poke holes in a person-sized box 1400 yards away unless the wind is blowing fairly hard; he inspires spectacular aerobatics from varmints as far away as you can hit them; and he always does exactly what you expect him to do. These qualities make it much easier to get used to the extra weight in that big fat barrel, heavy target stock, and long scope. In fact, I never really minded the extra weight when considering the benefits.


We don't spend as much time together as we used to, but we're still very close. Every time I settle in behind the scope, it's just like it always has been. There's a comforting feeling to the thickness of the grip, the numerous nicks and scratches in the finish from our adventures, and the solid feel of the butt-stock against my shoulder. The image through the scope is always crystal clear, bringing things up close and personal. By up close and personal, I mean really close: my dad and I used to shoot the tacks out of our targets when we were finished shooting for the day. Up to 300 yards, we challenged each other to call our shots precisely. Even the box with a shirt on it that we set up 1400 yards away was identifiable with the magnification turned all the way up to 24x. The click adjustments on the target/varmint knobs on the scope always move the point of impact exactly where I expect them to. The trigger always breaks cleanly just where it always did, with just a touch of surprise, in that half-held breath when the cross-hairs are still.

I learned a lot from Thumper. Hours of sitting behind his scope waiting for woodchucks, squirrels, and other hay-eating varmints to come out of their holes taught me patience. Hundreds of rounds of a solid kick in the shoulder taught me to hold steady even when you know something is going to be uncomfortable or even painful. Those same hours helped me create a close bond with my dad as well. So, despite the fact that all of my other guns have been sold or traded, I can never part with Thumper. He may be joined by a handgun or two again in the future, and another fat-barrelled gun or two, but he is still, and hopefully always will be, my oldest friend.

What are Uncles for?

This last weekend, Nicole and I went to Orderville to celebrate my Sister's birthday. She and her husband and kids out for the week so we could bless her new baby boy with the whole family. This was the first time I had seen Liahna since she was Peter's age (3 months) so I had some catching up to do. Since this was our first time seeing Peter I thought I'd get off to as good a start as I could.

Uncles are for tickling... and laughing at their Nieces' little voices yelling, "Save me Gampa!"


Uncles are for being very excited... even when little Nephews aren't entirely sure they want to be.


Uncles are for playing in the dirt... and Nieces are for leaving little piles of it in "Gamma's" bathtub after.


Uncles are still for being excited to hang out with their Nephews...


Uncles are for helping feed and chase chickens... and keeping their Nieces out of "harms way"


Uncles are for catching Aunts and Nieces pulling faces at each other...


Uncles are for enjoying a good laugh with "Gampa" watching Nieces play in the dirt some more...


Uncles are for laughing their head off when their Nieces say, "Unca Ax I'm bouncing!"


And finally, Uncles are for chatting with their Nieces' and Nephews' mother about them (and other stuff, of course...)

Wordless Wednesday: Nicole likes to play with her camera; I like to play with my lightsaber...

Mari's March Q&A

Well, thanks to Mari's diligent Q&A posting I always have something to blog about when I have a spare second. Here's her March offering:

1. What's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you? Very likely something Nicole has said to me. Although, my bishop said a very nice thing about me once. I had just written a letter to my bishop from Basic Training with my brand new testimony in it and he read it in sacrament meeting and then said that it must be nice for my parents to know that I had become a good person.

2. What was your most embarrassing moment? One of two things: The farm boy conversation with Tophe and Nicole (if you want details you'll have to ask Nicole). Or the morning after I first kissed Nicole I ran into Tophe as I was going to do my laundry (Nicole was out of town) and Tophe got this big grin and said, "Good morning, sugar lips!" If you can't tell, Tophe has a gift...

3. What's your favorite place in the world? My family's private property overlooking Zion National Park in Southern Utah. No people, no buildings, no nothing. I've spent lots of hours up there. A very close second would be Hawaii.

4. Biggest waste of time? Worrying about something that you can't change for the worrying. I always got fed up at Basic Training and AIT when people would show up saying how the Drill Sergeants were going to 'smoke' us (lots of creative physical exercise). Everyone would be freaking out about it and stressing out and I wouldn't even care because if they were going to smoke us there was very likely nothing we could do about it, and if they weren't, why worry. The same applies to most situation where one could worry about something.

5. One or two piece swimsuit? Does it count as two piece if my board shorts have a liner? Otherwise I think I'm gonna have to go with one. Those dang t-shirts get all jacked up underwater...

6. If I knew then what I know now... Don't really have any of those. Every experience, even the really bad ones, has taught me something that makes me who I am and I don't think I'd be willing to trade any of those parts of me. It would have nice to have our wedding video on a DVD though...

7. The big decision I'm currently wrestling with is... If I can afford the time to start running and get in a little bit better shape for when I have a 3-mile bike ride to school after we move, or if I should just tough it out when it comes.

Taking a step back...

Once again, I find myself at the mercy of a pesky bug in a programming project. When you've stared at your code for a couple hours and gone through it line by line in the debugger, it's time to take a step back, put it in the sub-conscious problem solver, and return in a little while. In the mean time, Mari posted another Meme (what the heck is that anyway?) on her blog. This one is the whole alphabet, so get ready:

A- Accent: I've frequently been accused of being from the south, or being some kind of hick, both of which are more than a little true.

B- Best Friend: Sadly enough to say, I've more or less lost contact with most of the people who at one time or another would have fit this bill: Dave Yates, Kari Lorimer, Sherri Stephens, Phillip (I don't remember his last name, it was 4th grade). So now it's Nicole, my well-used mission scriptures, and my bike.

C- Chore I don't care for: I _HATE_ folding clothes.

D- Dog or cat: I've had some pretty funny friends from both categories here, so that's a tough one. Dog probably.

E- Essential electronics: My MacBook.

F- Favorite salad dressing: Probably balsamic vinaigrette (sp?)

G- Gold or silver: Meh. Silver on Nicole. Does stainless steel count as silver?

H- Handbag of choice: Heh heh. How about my North Face backpack.

I- Indulgence: I still like to play Dungeons & Dragons or computer games to relax. I know, I'm almost 27 blah blah blah

J- Job title: Computer geek.

K- Kids: None yet :-(

L- Latest personal purchase: A computer desk and chair so I can work at home without having fifteen things in my lap sitting in my old recliner or breaking my butt on a hard kitchen chair.

M- Most frequently craved snack: Hot, home-made bread... with honey or jam... or cinnamon and sugar...

N- Nail polish of choice: Heh heh. Chain lube from my mountain bike.

O- Overnight hospital stays: Miraculously none yet. I'm not quite sure how...

P- Phobias: Doesn't this require thinking about something you're scared of frequently? I'll have to get back to you on this one...

Q- Quote: "And I said unto the code guru, have mercy on me, for my code hath a grievous bug. And he had mercy on me, and wrought upon my code for many hours, and cast out the bug. And I said, how is this done? And he said this kind cometh not out, but by fasting and much prayer." -Quinn Taylor (a friend of mine).

R- Reason to smile: Give me a reason not to.

S- Siblings: Brother, Nathan and sister, Miranda (married to James) both younger.

T- Time I rise in the morning: 0610

U- Unknown fact about me: Despite having numerous broken parts (separated ribs, broken fingers, toes, nose etc...) I've never had a cast.

V- Vegetable I refuse to eat: None. Veggies are yummy.

W- Worst habit: Forgetting stuff.

X- X-Rays: Lots. Too many to remember well enough to count.

Y- Yummy food I make: Everything I cook.

Z- Zoo animal I most like: Tigers.

So it turns out that this Meme (still don't know what the heck that means) was kind of a chick thing, as some of the categories were only creatively applicable. So there you go Mari. And I'm now back to see if I can find that "grievous bug"...

Little Announcement...

Since I know some of you aren't as well-versed or interested in computing as I am, I have created a new blog for all of that stuff. I'll be moving my post about Mac System memory over completely soon. If any of you have made comments and want them transferred with it, I don't know how to do that within the blogger framework, but feel free to post the same comment over there and I'll publish it right away. In a few days I'll remove that post from this blog to avoid having double-link issues with some of the computer folks/sites that will be linking to it.

Laters.

The Book Game

Well, Mari and Nicole both asked for it...
The Book game:
1. Find the nearest book to you
2. Name the book and author
3. Turn to page 123
4. Go to the 5th sentence on the page
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog

The C Programming Language
Brian W. Kernighan & Dennis M. Ritchie

The heart of the dc1 program is a pair of functions, dc1 and dirdc1, that parse a declaration according to this grammar. Because the grammar is recursively defined, the functions call each other recursively as they recognize pieces of a declaration; the program is called a recursive-descent parser. (I removed code samples here) Since the programs are intended to be illustrative, not bullet-proof, there are significant restrictions on dc1.

There you have it, yet more irrefutable evidence that I am a geek. Yes, I keep programming books nearby anywhere I have occasion to sit, and yes I read them for fun.

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...