Jinxed Universe

When I got home from my mission, the lady assigned to get people to sign up for the blood drive asked me 2-3 time to donate and I would just reply that I had been to the Philippines and she would leave me alone and finally gave up. Now, as far as I know there are no restrictions for me on donating blood, even though I have been to the Philippines.


But, as time has gone on, I seem to have softened up, but just by a little. I once entertained the thought when both my brother Jared and I didn't know our blood type and we thought about donating blood just so we could find out. But just as quick as the thought came into our minds and we discussed it, we were able to dismiss it and never bring it up again.


Knowing my luck someone would probably video this and end up putting it on YouTube.


So, if you ever see someone doing laps around a blood donation center, don't be surprised if it is me and I am working my way up to working with some vampires to have my body sucked dry of it's life blood all for a scout or a family member.

Well, it has come again. For about a week or two, I get this itch that sticks with me for a while and then it will fade and won't come back for a month or two. Being so outnumbered in my little family here, it seems to inflame this itch and annoy my wife. I can't help it and the only thing that is going to stop it is for our family to finally break down and get a dog.

Now, it isn't anything to do with my wife as she is warming up to the idea, it is just a matter of getting the planets to align.

The biggest planet we are waiting for is Jupiter. Or in other words, not adding two new family members to the family at the same time. As my wife is due in Jan. it looks like it will be a while before we get used to the extra child and can think of a dog.

Then next planet is Saturn, or the breed of dog. Having had a German Shepherd, it is not hard to add it in as an option. The only problem we seem to run into is the size of the German Shepherd. My wife would like to start with a smaller breed and then get a larger dog, meaning some other breed first and a German Shepherd later. Can I blame her as she has never had a dog before? Because this is most likely a decade long commitment, I don't want to rush into a breed and find out that it is going to be a nuisance rather than an addition to our family. Since, I've only ever had a German Shepherd, I can only think that the dog we get have similar attributes.

Mars is the next planet we are working with. This planet is a little more close to home than the others, but not as big. But, the dog that I will consider to be my dog has to fit the name Thor. It has to be a Man's dog, you can't be naming toy poodles Thor. It has to be protective of our family, I need this as when I'm not there to protect my girls, I know it is there and don't have to worry.

The final planet will bring us a little more down to Earth. Well, actually it is Earth. This is to emphasize the compatibility of this dog to my family. It needs to be a family pet. It needs to be able to get along with my kids and wife. Especially with my wife! Because she will be a first time dog owner, I need a dog that is intelligent and make having a dog a pleasant experience. It needs to be easily trained as she isn't the disciplinarian in the family, it will need to quickly learn some basic ground rules that it can follow without fail.

As I have written this, I can't help but think how a German Shepherd would fit this, other than the size requirements. But, I am biased having only ever had a German Shepherd. If you want to make a breed suggestion, please leave a comment and explain yourselves on why that breed.

Does anyone realize the difference between helping someone and doing something for someone? I think the lines between these two get muddied way too often.

When someone is having difficult time doing their Math homework, and ask for help. We don't DO the homework for them, but we walk them through the steps, we try and explain the concept in different manner. But, in the end we don't physically DO their homework.

I have a load of Scouts/Deacons that I work with on at least a weekly basis. I have grown very close to them. But, one thing that I will not do is to do something for them, that they need to do. I currently am the Camping merit badge councilor. Now, they all know me and they all could easily get this merit badge if they would meet with me, but as of yet, I haven't had any takers. Now, could I just say that for Scouts one evening we are going to work on the Camping merit badge and start passing them off? Yes! Yes I could. But, the reason I don't is because they need to get use to calling councilors themselves and working with them. Since I know them very well, they all shouldn't have a problem in doing this with me. So, once they see that calling me up and working on the merit badge isn't a big deal, then they will be able to stretch a little more and advance to calling up a stranger and working with him on a different badge.

You see there is an experience that I would be robbing them, by doing this myself. This is part of growing up, this is part of scouting.

One day, I sat besides someone that I know very little of. But, as our class went on, I began to notice that she was writing a ton. As I began to observe what it was she was writing, I noticed she was doing her child's homework. On the front page was stapled a note saying the the attached worksheets needed to be done in order for her child to pass Math class. Then I began to watch this mother proceed to do the homework.

I was blown away!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. This mother was actually doing her child's homework. Now, some may say, "Oh well you don't know the situation, maybe her child isn't that smart at Math." Others may say, "Maybe they were in a jam and ran out of time so the mother was 'helping'." With school being how it is, I know that this child was fully capable of being in that class. Otherwise they would have put it in a lower level class. We can tell from the note that this child also wasn't doing very well at doing their homework, otherwise they wouldn't be under the gun like this.

No, this was a simple excuse case. "My teacher doesn't like me," or "Math is too hard," or even "I don't understand this and I need your HELP!" Anyway you cut this, it all comes down to the mother DOING her child's homework, rather than sitting down and HELPING her do her homework.

Now, remember teachers give us homework to practice concepts in preparation for a test or quiz. Then once we have mastered it, we can use these concepts in our lives and even use them to make money for ourselves. But, if our mothers, fathers, government, or anyone is there to DO things for us, rather then HELP us, we are being robbed of some experience, many times valuable ones that we shouldn't be without.

Now, because this child hadn't practiced these math principles, and when it comes down to brass tacks and she is tested on it. I guarantee that she failed. Why? Because it is the mother that is learning the concepts, not the child.

The only poem that I have ever heard that doesn't induce vomiting was written by Douglas Malloch and goes like this:

Good Timber

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

There is so much truth to these principles. We are all put here on this Earth with talents and short comings. But, it is what we do with these both that makes us who we are.

While at Scout Camp this summer we were told of a boy that had some physical limitation. But, he was bound and determined to get his Swimming merit badge. One of the requirements was for him to pass the BSA swim check. He practiced and tried all week long. Twice his leaders thought he had done it, and twice he came up saying he touched the ground and needed to start over. Finally at the end of the week, as they were preparing to close the waterfront, he tried one last time. It was this time he was able to pull through. He had finally completed his swim check.

Now this boy should be proud of what he has done. It took him a while to be able to accomplish this, but he pushed along and kept to it and it has made him a better person because of it. He showed he has more grit than most boys.

My favorite stanza is this:

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

This physically challenged boy could have confined himself to a wheelchair and moped around the camp all week long. He probably could have gotten away with pulling the handicap card and got the merit badge without all the work. But, he didn't.

I don't DO anything for my scouts. I am always there ready to HELP my scouts with anything, but I refuse to DO anything for them. I want everyone of them to become manly men, cause heaven knows there is a great shortage of them in this world. I was taught in a Scout training this quote, "Don't do for a Scout, what he can do for himself." I have stood by that saying because there is a purpose in having these boys become self reliant.

I have seen men that act like boys and boys that act like men. It isn't a physical change that defines a man from a boy, but an inner change that comes over the male sex at some time in their life. It is through growing, overcoming obstacles, and becoming self reliant and responsible for themselves and others that a boy becomes a man.

So, many times I have been accused of being a Socialist when it comes to food. Most of these accusations have come from my brothers, MY BROTHERS, of all people.

I admit, I have a minimum bar of standards when it comes to food, and this is where I guess I get into trouble. Since I am so willing to tell them what I think about various food items.

For example, since my mission I have very particular tastes when it comes to rice. If the kind of rice that I'm offered doesn't meet my expectations, I am okay with turning it down. Some of those expectations include the clumping factor, smell, and taste.

Okay, that may be a little extreme, but this is a free market society and I am allowed to be that way.

As you can see, Socialism is even seeping into my family!!!

According to socialist ideas everyone gets treated as equals. There are no options, otherwise someone is getting treated unfairly. So, everyone has to have the same things to make sure everything is fair.

I try to explain to them that they are the Food Commies, in this situation since they are so willing to harass me and try and limit my options using peer pressure.

I admit, I can be "picky" at times, especially when it comes to foods that they tolerate or even like, but that is my choice. I'm the one suffering, not them.

I imagine my wife loves this as one of my biggest things is I prefer homemade food to boxed or canned food, like pancakes, spaghetti sauce, and the like. Now, she loves this as she knows that I am willing to make all kinds of food from scratch.

So, I am willing to do more to uphold this standard. Which if you ever have seen all the Communist fiascoes that have happened with the USSR, you know that they have no minimum standards to anything.

When I am asked what my favorite movies are. A gruesome list of revenge, torture and justice is administered to those who are asking. As I have recognized this strange trait I have found that all these shows have one common aspect, JUSTICE.

I have found that I enjoy knowing that someone "gets" what they deserve. That may sound cruel to many of my readers. But, it is because of you that I am driven to such thoughts. How many times in our society today does someone escape the grasps of Justice to the arms of Mercy?

To clearly understand this topic of Justice and Mercy we need to understand how they work. For the basis of this topic I will reference President Packer's parable. In this parable a debtor argues with a creditor for mercy in his debt and in this argument we can see the definition of these two forces.

“[T]he day came, and the contract fell due. The debt had not been fully paid. His creditor appeared and demanded payment in full.

“Only then did he realize that his creditor not only had the power to repossess all that he owned, but the power to cast him into prison as well.

“ ‘I cannot pay you, for I have not the power to do so,’ he confessed.

“ ‘Then,’ said the creditor, ‘we will exercise the contract, take your possessions, and you shall go to prison. You agreed to that. It was your choice. You signed the contract, and now it must be enforced.’

“ ‘Can you not extend the time or forgive the debt?’ the debtor begged. ‘Arrange some way for me to keep what I have and not go to prison. Surely you believe in mercy? Will you not show mercy?’

“The creditor replied, ‘Mercy is always so one-sided. It would serve only you. If I show mercy to you, it will leave me unpaid. It is justice I demand. Do you believe in justice?’

“ ‘I believed in justice when I signed the contract,’ the debtor said. ‘It was on my side then, for I thought it would protect me. I did not need mercy then, nor think I should need it ever. Justice, I thought, would serve both of us equally as well.’

“ ‘It is justice that demands that you pay the contract or suffer the penalty,’ the creditor replied. ‘That is the law. You have agreed to it and that is the way it must be. Mercy cannot rob justice.’

As the final statement says, "Mercy cannot rob Justice." So, when there is a law, there is a consequence to the violation of that law. If those consequences are not met, Justice is not served and the demands of Justice will still be in place. When those in authority try to provide mercy to the masses, we are short changing Justice and its demands are yet unfulfilled.

As the TV screens have been filled with the drama of Lindsay Lohan and her run in with the law. She was sentenced for 90 day to jail. But, she only served 14 of those 90 day and was released because of her good behavior and prison overcrowding. Were the demands of Justice served? No, Justice demanded 90 days in jail. But, Mercy was shown because of her good behavior. So, in effect, Mercy just robbed Justice.

The only true way that both the demands of Justice and Mercy can be fulfilled is through a Mediator. Sound familiar? Once a Mediator steps in, then both demands can be fulfilled.

Once a Mediator stepped in on the parable, “Both laws stood fulfilled. Because there was a mediator, justice had claimed its full share, and mercy was fully satisfied.”

All too often we forget about Justice. Especially in today's society. How many times do we see parents, governments, teachers, etc. making excuses for others and robbing Justice? Part of Justice is that we see our faults and that we have done wrong. If we never feel the demands of Justice, how do we ever grow to with stand the troubles of life?

For many of you who are wondering what these movies I love to watch are, here is a brief list.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Taken
Shooter
Dirty Harry
Death Wish

I have been involved in scouting as a leader my whole married life. The funny thing is I don't have any sons!! So, ever since I've been in this calling I've tried my darnedest to be a good influence and hopefully inspire at least a couple of these boys into pushing themselves. Being that they are twelve to thirteen years of age, they aren't the most inspiring group you have seen. Especially when you have fifteen of them under your care. But, no matter what has gone on, I've tried to do what is best for them, even though they probably haven't seen it as such.

The whole way, I've been keeping an eye on these guys hoping that I would start to see a change, or see an impact I've made on them. I've been in my last ward for almost two years now and I've poured my heart and soul into these boys. It has been a roller coaster for me, but this last weekend I feel like I've started to hit pay dirt.

Saturday we had our fifty mile bike ride. In order to get your cycling merit badge you need seven bike rides 2 ten mile rides, 2 fifteen mile rides, 2 twenty-five mile rides and a fifty mile ride. We had rode all the rides except the fifty and I had done all these bike rides with them. It was threatening rain the whole morning, but it just remained cool and nice riding weather. Some asked the day before and asked if we were going to push it off. But, I was too determined to see this through.

We averaged 15 mph on the first leg, which was 5 mph faster than we had ever done. Then on the way back home on the second leg, I began to cramp up. I was so mad!! I last saw the boys as we got on the Legacy Trail in Woods Cross and didn't see them again. I had to stop and stretch my legs as they were on fire now. I was beginning to think I wasn't going to make it home as the pain in my knees and thighs were so much. But, as I sat there and pedaled along, I kept thinking that I needed to do this for the boys. I needed to do this for myself.

These boys had rode the whole way and I didn't hear as much as a single whine or complaint the whole way. They were doing this. They were doing a FIFTY MILE BIKE RIDE!! How many people can say they have done a fifty mile ride on a bike?!? Let alone a twelve or thirteen year old. This kept me going. I wanted to finish, I had to finish. I still had 20 miles left to go, but I took it one step at a time. When my legs got bad enough, I stopped and stretched and hopped back on. By the time I was rolling into the church, everyone had gone home and I came in, I think, about 30-45 min after everyone else did. I was beaten, and bruised, but I did it.

Then on Sunday, as I was hobbling around at Church, I heard many of the parents tell how their boys think it is so great that I would do this with them. That my scouts enjoy what we do. That right there made the last two years of being scoutmaster worth it. Those were the words I needed to hear so badly. That made my sore backside, knees and thighs all worth it. Even though, I wasn't the one pushing them to finish, but they were the ones pushing me to finish.

It is these type of activities that make these boys into men!! Physically all boys become men, but mentally not all boys become men. It is through these tough experiences that we put these boys through does the man in them begin to show through. Yes, they may be walking around with sore backsides for a day or so, but that is a badge of honor!! These things will give them the coping skills in life to push through more demanding hardships.

As many of these boys are going to be moving on and leaving my troop, I hope to continue to see the man in each one of these boys continue to surface as they get older and become men physically and mentally. I wait for the day when I can see the men they have become and be proud to call them my boys, because they will always be my scouts!!

So, on Sat. I attended the State Republican Convention. I showed up bright and early and made my rounds and was able to complete my collection of Convention T-Shirts, I began listening to the various Senatorial Candidates and complete my views, and solidify my vote for the seat. Only five of the seven candidates had booths at Convention. I swung by each on and listened in on what they had to say. Those who had booths were Bob Bennett, Cherilyn Eager, Tim Bridgewater, Leonard Fabiano, and Mike Lee.

Of the five that were there I quickly was able to narrow my decision down to two candidates. Tim Bridgewater and Mike Lee.

Bob was on the defensive, he was taking the stand of a career politician that, we needed his experience to do anything in Washington. I think he is part of the problem we have today anyways. So, he was easy to eliminate.

Leonard Fabiano didn't really have a platform. He just went on and on and on about setting up a coalition to get teachers to teach our kids about the Constitution, which I don't think is a bad thing, but that alone isn't going to get you into the Senate.

Then finally Cherilyn Eager, a couple of things kind of turned me off on her. One, she didn't really get her name out there. Of the total time that I was getting campaign information, I got two things from her. Second, she sounded like Bob Bennett. She kept talking about how she had 30 yrs. of government experience. Wow, 30 yrs? That is more government time than I think anyone should be in government. That includes Orrin Hatch!!

When this campaign first started I was leaning Tim Bridgewater because of his business experience. I wasn't a fan of Mike Lee because of his status as a lawyer. But, in my continued research of the various candidates I was given a DVD with interviews from each candidate and after watching that I was moved to Mike Lee. He was very well spoken. Tim, on the otherhand was brief and didn't go into much depth like Mike did.

So, a few days went on like this and I ended up going to a "Meet the Candidate" event in Bountiful with Tim. When Tim spoke, he spoke his mind. There was no pussy footing around any of the issues. He told us where he stood on any issue asked of him. When someone asked where he stood on an issue that was really out of his "jurisdiction", he was blunt and said, "I don't know. But, I can do some research and find out where I stand." So, he didn't do the whole Washington magic trick by getting you to focus on the other hand. When asked why we should vote for him rather than Mike, he said that he, Tim, is a businessman and Mike is a lawyer. That he could guarantee that Mike could run circles around him on Constitutional Law. But, it is the lawyers in Washington that came up with this 27,000 page bill. That in an effort to plug every tiny hole they came up with this bill that only a lawyer would be able to read. So they were just perpetuating their own job security. He then said that because he is a businessman that he likes things clear and concise. That last statement pushed me back into Tim's arena. He said he is for vouchers, tax credits, anything to upset the current public education system. He wants to push for a return of States Rights, that our Federal Government has gone way to far. He wants to cap the spending of our government to a percentage of our GDP. Everything he was saying was music to my ears and in words anyone could understand.

Then at Convention as I listened to Mike, I wasn't impressed by what he said. He kept using big words and he talked fast. I felt like he was trying to either get too many questions answered in the 3 hours before the Convention started or was trying to lose us and confuse us. He did give good answers to the questions, but I think Tim was just more on the same level and in touch with the people. Mike just seems like a politician and was talking down to us peons.

When Convention started, and each candidate was speaking. Mike again was talking way too fast. I could tell he was trying to be inspiring in his speech, but I just wasn't feeling anything. Tim just had a genuineness to him that I think really appealed to me and most. But, as I cast my last ballot, I knew that there was going to be a Primary Election between Tim and Mike and I was right.

I would encourage all those reading this to do their own homework. To get out and see who you like better. But, if you want my opinion on who to vote for I will say Tim Bridgewater. He is my candidate of choice. I believe that he is the kind of candidate that can correctly represent Utah in Washington. He is for small government, states rights, individual rights and for Utah.

So, I listen to Glenn Beck. I know, I know some of you aren't thrilled with him. But, I just can't change the station. The mixture of his sarcasm and knowledge keeps me listening. If only I had cable I would watch him also.

Having listened to him for about 3 yrs. now, I have generated a desire to learn and understand more about how our government works and how the Founding Fathers established our country. This is kind of like where you rely on your parents' testimonies while you are young, but at some point in time you have to fly solo and get your own testimony. I've got to do the same thing. I can regurgitate what Glenn Beck says and not really have an understanding, or I can learn and study and make my own conclusions on my own. I'm choosing the latter.

Since starting this new quest for political knowledge, I have already read, "The Real George Washington," half of "The Real Thomas Jefferson," there is a 2 month waiting list to get it again, "Freedomnomics," "1776" and half of a book on Thomas Payne. I'm currently reading, "Basic Economics" which is a really good read if you want to understand how economics works without getting a degree in it.

These all have been fantastic books. But, this is just scratching the surface. I still have quite a few book on my list that I want to read: "The Real Benjamin Franklin," "The Real Thomas Jefferson," the second half', "The 5000 Year Leap," "The Federalist Papers," a book on Samuel Adams, a book on Grover Cleavland, a Facebook quiz told me that he was my best match as a President, I want to know more of why, and "The Forgotten War, the War of 1812."

This is just a few of the books I want to read. Unfortunately I don't have a ton of time to read all these book as I have a job, a family, and a major calling, otherwise I would have my nose in one of these books at all times.

When I was 10 our TV broke, and I became a voracious reader. It was then I was addicted and always had a book I was reading until college. In 9th grade I read something like 20,000 pages in one school year. I read anything I could get my hands on, I was a nerd! I even read in the lunch line. I look back at that and wished I hadn't taken it that far. But, I did and there is nothing I can do about it. I even worked a teacher over and was able to read "The Three Musketeers," which I wasn't supposed to because it had been made into a movie.

I'm trying to make time for reading, to better understand our nation and the foundation it was built upon. I have found it is through our ignorance that we have gotten ourselves into this mess. So, the way we are going to get ourselves out is through our own education. We have to keep those who represent us in check.

My message to you is pick up a book and educate yourselves on this nation and see why the Founding Fathers did what they did.

A few years ago while I was still attending Weber State, I had to write a paper on a controversial topic for a politics class, yeah I took a politics class, it was way fun.

Anyways, he wouldn't let us do the standard topics of guns, abortion, or the like, so I chose talking about what is called Legislating from the Bench. What this means is when our Judicial System begins creating rules, which is beyond the scope of their branch of government.

One of the prime examples I used to enforce my case was a law Congress passed, it was called the Communications Decency Act. This was passed in 1996 and was overruled in 1997 by the Supreme Court.

This law basically made it a crime for anyone to "knowingly (A)use an interactive computer service to send to a specific person or persons under 18 years of age, or (B) uses any interactive computer service to display in a manner available to a person under 18 years of age, any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs." In other words, I can't push my porn on you, but you have to seek it out.

The Supreme Court overturned this ruling stating that it stepped on others' right to Freedom of Speech. Basically the porno industry has a right to search out people and send them porn even if they don't want it.

Let me give you some first hand experience. I'm a computer guy, my business is to keep computers working. I'm always cleaning up "messes" of pornography and such deceptive programs they use to get one addicted. There are also malicious programs out there that will install themselves on unknowing people's computers that will pop-up with pornographic pictures. But, of course according to the Supreme Court, these makers have a right to infect and distribute their programs/images.

It doesn't take much to realize that pornography is very addictive. We have been counciled time and time again that pornography is destructive and will ruin us. But, with the Porn Industry free to use deception and lies to expose themselves to us, how do you keep it out of your homes?

Well, the Supreme Court has made it our responsibility to keep their garbage out of our homes. Now, this applies to all who have the internet coming into their homes.

Get a firewall!! This doesn't include the router that came from Qwest and Comcast, they are not firewalls. Even those cheap Netgear firewalls won't do the trick. You must make an investment!! Get a professional firewall.

Now, I personally love Sonicwall firewalls. I am biased, I work with them all day long, but it is a fantastic product. It will allow you to block sites according to categories that the manufacturer places on all internet sites, or even create a list of approved, or disapproved sites. The newest ones allow you to use only a "Safe Search" on search engines, meaning the results of a search are safe from garbage and not hidden porn. In addition to keeping the unwanted internet sites out, it also cleans up any viruses, malware, and other intrusive programs and hackers from getting into your home network.

Now, let me make one thing clear, just because you are married, or you are a bishop, or whoever. You aren't immune to this porn and can go without. I've have had stories shared to me about Bishops, Stake Presidents and everyone else that have fallen victim to pornography.

It is not a question, now days, if someone has seen porn, but when they have seen it. By implementing a firewall into your home/business, will reduce the exposure we will experience in our lifetime and eliminate the chances from our homes. Just like any addictive substance, the less we are exposed to it, the less likely we will get addicted to it.

For many it comes down to money. I agree a firewall isn't cheap, I won't lie to you. But, you have to realize that buy putting down $100 a year to keep your home clean, you will have less computer problems and less spiritual problems. Can you really put a price on your children's salvation? We can repair computer problems, and it will cost you more than the cost of the firewall's yearly subscription, but the damage made on an individual by pornography will forever be etched upon their minds and that we cannot totally repair!!!

Well, if you have been around me much, you will know that I don't talk much. Yes, for all of those who do read this blog and haven't really talked to me much, I'm on the shy side when in public. I am trying to work on that though, but that is a subject for another day.

Because I don't say much, I spend a lot of my public time listening and watching people. You would be amazed at what you observe about people. The way people dress, drive, eat, everything speaks of your personality.

So, on to what I really want to talk about, the stupid things people do at General Priesthood Mtg.

Now, I enjoy this meeting, but occasionally someone gets up and tries to put me to sleep, but to keep myself awake, I start my people watching.

One year we had someone sitting in front of us with their laptop. First, if you are going to bring a laptop to a dark room, have the courtesy to sit in the very back of the building, as your screen brightness, no matter what you set it to, is going to bother everyone behind you for at least 2 rows back.

Second, why are you bringing a laptop to this meeting? So you can play solitaire when you get bored, well maybe, but most likely not, but this instance in particular, he was taking notes of the meeting. Now, again just a little logic, but doesn't the talks in full get put on lds.org just a few days after the meeting? I mean this is to say that some major disaster was to happen in his life where he was thankfully able to reference the talk he had taken notes on, because the talk wasn't on the site yet, then he would be in the right.

Here is another observation that I don't get.

Why would you drag the couch and chairs from the hallways and bring them into the gym? Don't you have any respect for the building that you are in? This isn't your home and you can rearrange the furniture as you please. Anyways, if you are going to do it, please don't let my family see you.

We had someone do this about a year ago and having my Dad in the Stake Presidency, made it all the better. The guy brought the chair into the gym and sat in it next to his buddies and then starting talking to them and thought he was the smartest guy in the whole place, my brothers and I all watching. One of us points this guy out to our Dad. You see this glimmer of fury in his eyes as he gets up. We all start bracing for the crash. He doesn't beeline for this guy, but boldly walks right up to him and asks him what he is doing. The guy told him he needed a chair, and one of his buddies had the wonderful excuse of he has a bad back. Yeah, this guy has a bad back as he just hoisted this chair into the gym from outside, right!?! Anyways, my Dad told him put it back, in the best manner when he is mad, and the guy hauled it back with his tail between his legs.

We just now wait for a repeat of this every six months, but it hasn't happened yet.

I have saved the biggest annoyance for last. Every Priesthood Meeting, as everyone arrives, they position themselves so they can leave as fast as possible. What this means is, even though there is plenty of parking spots at the church, they have to park on the street, they have to back into their parking spot, and most of all...

THEY GET UP AFTER THE PROPHET SPEAKS AND LEAVE BEFORE THE MEETING HAS OFFICIALLY ENDED.

Now, I can understand backing into a parking stall, I prefer just parking in the back of the parking lot so as I don't have to wait for someone to let me into line and back out, but that is me. But, to park on the street? That is looking pretty petty!! But as I said before, you have to have some audacity to leave Priesthood Mtg. early just to get ice cream, go eat, or whatever your lame excuse may be!!

If the song/prayer wasn't important for us to participate in, don't you think they would have just ended the broadcast once the Prophet sat down, or are you done gracing us with your presence in the meeting and we can just get finish the formalities of the meeting without you?

These people are a disturbance, you can just sit and watch as they trickle out of the building not making eye contact as they feel ashamed in what they are doing, but not enough to keep them in their seats. I hope that ice cream/dinner, tastes good enough that you have disturb a spiritual feast for everyone for a little physical gluttony!!

Anyways, before you do something out of the ordinary in Priesthood Mtg. make sure that my family isn't there or you will be the topic of our conversation.

Many years ago, my family would anticipate the KJZZ Channel 14 Friday night movie. What was great was they showed many rated "R" movies, but since it was on TV, we were able to watch them. As much as I can justify watching a rated "R" movie now that the "For the Strength of the Youth" pamphlet doesn't specifically mention rated "R" movies, I just can't do it. But, that is a topic for another day.

They had some great movies on, like Predator, Alien, Braveheart, and such. They had Scott Christopher, he was in The Best Two Years, RM, Singles Ward and such, directing the showing and he would sell you on the movie before it would start and then later during the movie he would poke fun at some of the scenes and just made watching an average movie even better.

As time went on, the movies that were being shown, started to slide downhill, like an avalanche!! If Gigli had been out at the time, they would have shown it here. But, the only reasons I stayed and finished these shows was that it was like a train wreck. Scott started to be very critical of the movies that were being shown and I think at one point he told viewers to change the channel, the movie was so bad. He was harsh and I couldn't believe they let him say some of the things he said, but everything was true. I was hoping KJZZ got the idea and improved the movies they had on.

It wasn't long before he had been replaced with a couple of retards, that were just plain horrible and complimented these feature films really well. When Scott went missing, we all knew why. We wanted to send KJZZ a letter telling them how idiotic they were in what they did, but as many ambitions in life, it got thrown by the wayside.

It wasn't long before the KJZZ Friday Movie went the way of the dodo and I can understand. It wasn't months later that they were off the air.

Now days, whenever I watch some of the LDS films that have him in it, I am always reminded of the great times we as a family had watching him talk about the movies we were watching. Too bad.......

I don't own a business, but I have always had the desire in my heart to do so. Every so often I will "test" the waters to see if the time is right, and as you can see it hasn't been, yet!!

This last year I did a lot of thinking on this subject and here is why I believe that small businesses are struggling and Obama is taking the wrong view on this.

I love guns, I love the acrid smell of burned gun powder, the large holes punched in my bowling pins by passing ammo. My dream is to open a gun store. We are in great need of one here in Bountiful, especially one with an indoor range. But, I have been hesitant to make the plunge for a few reasons and I will outline them below:

1. Gun dealers require a permit to buy and sell firearms. I put in a request for an application in January of last year, mind you this is a request for an application only. It took the BATF until May to fill my request for just the application. Once I got the application here is what they wanted to get the permit.
a. What the name of the business? You cannot just have a personal permit, you must have a business in order to buy and sell guns.
b. What hours are you open? You must provide them with your working hours, no problem except they get to do random searches on your business because they don't like your business.
c. Two sets of fingerprints, one copy will go to your local police chief, who gets a full copy of your application also. The other set goes to the BATF with the second copy of your application.
d. My initials stating that I will sell gun locks at my business.
e. That I will fill out a firearms form and do a background check on anyone who doesn't have a dealer permit and purchases a gun.

Now I will jump through all these hoops if it means that I can have my own guns store, that is how bad I want it.

2. They don't want a home-office business. I was thinking of doing this to start, but with the whole provision in #1.b, I don't want to allow the BATF into my home and scaring my kids and wife.

2. I don't have the money. I am working on saving money for a business. But, with all of the taxes you have to pay as a business owner, taxes on the business itself, all of the various government regulations on a business, then on top of that because of #2, to start my business I would need to buy/rent a building to run my business. To have an indoor range will cost more to meet the standards for safety, but even if I waited on the range I still don't have the money for a space.

3. Who knows what the future will bring. With all the crazy garbage our democrat run government is doing, I have no confidence in them or their abilities. Who isn't to say that tomorrow they won't jack my taxes through the roof and put my business into bankruptcy. So, why would I stick my neck out and take a chance with the odds are it will get cut off.

Sometimes I feel I am too cautious on this subject, but with #3 being so big, I just can't do it. Here is where Obama is out of touch. He has never had a real job, his experience is in politics only. With the policies he and his friends are pushing through, we are going to be in for a long haul. There is nothing in his policies that is friendly to the small business.

In my current job I would like to get some additional help, because I'm so busy. But, will our government put into effect Healthcare, Cap and Trade, or some other law that will whittle away at those funds that could have provided a job for someone who needed it?

The answer is who knows, as for now me and my dreams will play it safe and wait and watch.

So, with my two daughters growing up, I have been forced to spend my money on new car seats. Now, I admit my daughters are young enough that what I'm writing about hasn't made an impact yet on my wallet. But, I do see and plan for it on the horizon.

It wasn't but just a few years ago that our local state government passed a law requiring that all children are required to be in a booster seat or a car seat until they are for 8 yrs of age or taller than 57 inches. This is good news for the car seat industry because in Utah our state is overflowing with children and many are now of need of a car seat. This is bad news for anyone transporting many children, especially anyone that is strapped for cash. What makes this even worse is many of the car seats made at this time take more room than a single seat. So, if you have more than 2-3 children under 8 yrs, it is difficult to seat all of these children in a single car. Which then compounds the problem of what car these people can drive and can fit all of their children.

So, as you can see the financial burden that is placed upon the citizenry is a little much, and why would I dare say would our state pass such a law? Well, its "for the children!" they say. I say anyone that uses that phrase has an alternative motive and is trying to generate a feeling of emotion in the other party.

By passing such a law the government deems to save us from ourselves. For the government to tell me what I can or cannot do only restricts me from my successes and my failures. By forcing me to purchase specific cars and car seats the government is confining my success to a set of car seats which must be replaced because car seats have an expiration date. Think of that, car seats expire just like a piece of cheese or a quart of milk. Or forcing my payment on a car that may not really suits my needs, besides transporting my children.

Now what could anyone do with that extra money? Well, many things;
Start a business, invest in stocks/bonds/mutual funds, save for retirement, any amount of things. But, for the government to force my hand in a specific direction may have some benefits, but what are the costs?

In my estimations, once I have four children, I must trade in my current car for a new one. But, what kind of car can I get, well what I can figure I have only a couple of options.

One, would be to go with a suburban. Now this car is the most appealing to be because it comes with four wheel drive and is very roomy. But, being four wheel drive it gets less than ideal gas mileage and the insurance costs are more expensive. Most importantly this vehicle is manufactured by the all-so-famous GMC, aka Government Motors Company. I refuse on principle to be raped again by the government in supporting them in this company.

The second option is to go with a van of some sort. These can range in looks and styles and I despise these in all their variety. Some of these vans cannot seat 5 car seats, so only a few of these are an option.

So, as you can see I'm hurting in this situation. I am not currently in this position, but I do see this problem surfacing and all thanks to government intervention on behalf of my children's welfare.

So, because I know many of you are finding my blog so tedious, I wanted to talk about a topic that I haven't really understood and hopefully will help some people.

As far as I can remember my family has grown a garden. Our expertise lied in growing weeds, we had an uncanny knack for growing even some of the most strange looking weeds. When we moved to my parents new house, my father layed out a garden that probably can be see from space. It was from this point on that we got "serious" and gave up our talent for weeds. We even bought a book to help us know what we were doing. We were blessed to have had a dairy on the land we had, so their had been a lot of natural fertilizer on it, which had changed the type of soil we had.

We have been able to grow anything that our land and climate would allow. Every Fall I'm amazed with how many piles of dead plants I see in garbage cans being thrown out. We have always tilled under all the leftovers/plants that were in the garden. This is where I don't understand some people. Soil only has a limited amount of nutrients, so putting those nutrients back in is important. If these people have so much money to buy fertilizer for their garden, they need to start giving me their extra cash.

A year ago we moved out of our apartment and into our house. Our new place didn't have a garden, so we made a place for one. We marked out a place and I began to put all of our grass clippings and yard debris into this area. By the next spring most of this stuff had broken down and we tilled it under. Our soil here was horrible, it is hard clay, but where we had gone and put all of these clippings it had become soft and the tiller just sunk in it was so soft.

When we grew our garden we had no problem growing anything. We actually ended up with loads more than we had planned and couldn't eat it fast enough. We even got a few compliments and questions on how we have been able to grow such a great garden.

This Fall we put the whole years worth of clipping AND garden material on the garden area. We have about 1-2' worth of yard debris on our garden. So, I'm hoping for a great year next year. I've put all the grass clippings, fallen leaves, and anything else I could get my hands on. The only thing I wanted that I didn't do was to see if I could get my hands on some chicken/turkey, or some kind of manure, would have been ideal.