I love technology, but not as much as you, you see

Our masters supervisor Joe Matthews asked us not to use laptops in class for two reasons:

1) They don’t help you with retention of the lesson material nearly as much as physically writing things down;

2) It places a physical and mental barrier between you and the others in the room.

Also, they’re expensive.

I am becoming overwhelmed with some aspects of technology. For example, emails. Good grief! I get about 10 a day on my home account, and anywhere from 10-20 a day on my work computer. The advertising/spam is a pest, and the forwards are often a waste of my time.

Not to mention the emails I get from people who could have called me. Come on, call me! Let’s talk. Let’s get back to real interaction. Let’s talk more with our mouths, less with our fingers. (However, I do love getting emails from people who live a long distance away.)

Now a blog on the other hand is a fine, fine use of technology. Here is an opportunity to say those things you want everyone to hear, without having to repeat yourself. Here is a chance for you to catch up on me, and for me to catch up on you, without having to email, and without having to use paper.

Back to emails. These things bug me in emails I frequently get:

(1) >>>>>>>>>>>>Forwards that have
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>about
>>>>>>>a gazillion of these moronic
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>arrows.

(2) Threats: “If you don’t forward this to at least 10 people something bad is going to happen, bla, bla, bla, BLA, BLA BLA!!!!!!!

or

“Now that you’ve read this, you need to forward it to someone you care about or you don’t really love God.”

(3) Petitions: “Add your name to the bottom of the list and forward it if you think abortion is bad bla bla bla.”

(4) Begging: “Billy in Ohio is suffering from leukemia. Send him some money at this address, bla bla bla.”

(5) Promises: “If you send this to 25 people Microsoft will send you a check for $10,000. My friend did this and it works! bla bla bla”

(6) Advice I didn’t look for: “50 household uses for Coca Cola” ot “How to survive a winter storm while camping”

(7) And finally, I’m fed up with acquaintances who forward me sexual or obscene or profane stuff one week and then the next some spiritual, Gospel-based story. It’s hypocritical.

Weights & Measurements in the Book of Mormon

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Click this.






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Warts and duct tape

My wart is going away. The duct tape is working. Yahoo! (I’m a believer.)

basketball

Basketball is spirit is life is energy is attitude is enthusiasm is rhythm is entertainment is flow is momentum is symbolic is fun is escape is feeling is mind is human nature is determination is flow is fluency is fundamentals is luck is earned is confidence is sharing is will is my anti-drug is believing is release is speed is setting it up is .... my favorite sport. Yowlsa!

Tidbits

Lots of little tidbits, things on my mind:

I got a nap today: beauteous. I feel so refreshed, regenerated. I wish I could wind down like this more often! (But it’s SO hard to relax when you’ve got so much on your plate, and people depending on you.)

New site I’ve found: Cumorah. It’s pro-LDS. Some worthwhile stuff there.

The Secret has got me thinking. But now that I know it, it won’t be a secret for long.

BH Roberts’ biography (by Truman Madsen). He went through so much, struggled, but kept striving for God. A human. A real man. Gives me hope that I can improve, despite struggles, frustrations, hardships, etc.

Recently I’ve viewed the word “temptation” in a similar light to “distraction.” They (temptations and distractions) pull you away from God. Like in the dream of Lehi, those who allow themselves to be distracted from God, whatever that distraction may be, fell away (1 Ne. 8:33-34). Memo to myself: stay focused on what’s truly important. Let them scorn.

And television is such a wasteland.


I’m at the midpoint of my life. It has gone so fast.


When two people disagree, it is often based on vocabulary. Sometimes they just understand the definitions of words differently. And if they could just understand each other’s vocabulary better they might see that there really is less conflict there than at first appeared.

Left vs. Right. I love the origins and meanings of words! Check this out, taken from Etymonline:
** Left: weak, foolish, lameness, paralysis, worthless, sinister
** Right: morally correct, just, good, fair, proper, fitting, straight

Ouch! This really makes those of us who are left-handed look REALLY BAD!

Fortunately I’m not completely either:
## Where I’m left-sided: writing, eating, brushing teeth
## Where I’m right-sided: basketball, baseball, football, using scissors, using a mouse, bowling

As you can see, I’m strung up all weird, like a tennis racquet whose strings are not in a perfect grid, but all over the place, some diagonal, some stopping in the middle, some going in a spiral, some zigzagging, some tied up in a knot, some skipping over, and some just plain dangling off.

Here’s another interesting word. You know the word prude? Prude comes from prudent: wisdom to see what is virtuous, what is suitable or profitable, foresight, sagacity, skilled, experienced. So, if someone calls you a prude, you should thank them! :)

We’ve had some wonderful, Spirit-guided experiences in our missionary work lately. It is renewing to speak with people who are hungry for Gospel truths, or who share your values. Missionary work is very rewarding. I love the Gospel truths.

I Hardly Watch Movies Any More

I hardly watch movies any more. Reasons:

1) I’m busy with my family and career.

2) I am more rewarded by blogging, coin collecting, exercising, etc. A Jazz game. A monumental bowl of ice cream. Whatevah.

3) I’m disillusioned and disappointed by their (movies’) vacuous lack of morals, hoepelessly predictable plots, reahashing of old songs for soundtracks, refilming old plots, cameras in the bedroom, absence of all God references (except in cursing), unimaginative locker-room humor, the negative yet imitable behavior and attitudes, and the trendiness of defying authority, laws, norms, and values.

Yeah, you can slam Barbie movies, or the classic Disney movies, claiming they’re cheesy and unrealistic, and I'm not denying that they're cheesy. I used to slam them too. But hey. I have no worries letting my kids watch those movies. All of the Barbie movies teach about respect, goodness, and appropriate relationships between men and women.

I am worried, however, by the recent (as in last 10 years or so of) animated movies. Many of them are blurring the line between innocent cartoons and adult flicks. I guess those movie makers want to appeal to both audiences. I’m getting more and more cautious, because some animated movies are in my opinion very inappropriate for children --- yet children want to see them. Some people may argue that it’s OK for kids to see them because they won’t understand the adult humor and innuendo anyway, but ... I just don’t see it making sense to expose kids to that sort of stuff in the first place. I also don’t want my kids to pick up on the sarcastic, ingrate, defiant attitude creeping into some supposedly “kid” movies.

Reminder to myself: when in doubt, check Screenit out....

Wise: Kawamura Speaks Out on Silence

I just like what this guy has to say.

From U.S. News:

Ditch the Tunes and Cherish a Moment of Silence

By Gary Kawamura
"Daily Evergreen" (Washington State U.)
02/22/2007

(U-WIRE) PULLMAN, Wash. - The increased use of iPods has been in the news a lot after Sen. Carl Krueger, D-N.Y., proposed a bill to ban the use of electronic devices while crossing many streets in New York. The notion that there would be limits on when you use your iPod may seem unbearable to some, but for me it touches on a much larger issue of why these devices have become so prominent.

People listen to their iPods to escape their mundane lives and to not have to walk in silence. The iPod phenomenon is a result of a fear of silence. It's not just silence - it's a fear of being alone. With our iPods, we can enter the worlds of N'Sync, Michael Jackson or Igor Stravinsky, and ignore the outside world. You probably think that this is a good thing - I disagree. I think the senator might be on to something. The fact that people have been killed by walking into traffic while listening to their iPods seems to illustrate the point that these devices are not only unnecessary, they can be harmful. The idea of uncomfortable silence best explains iPod use. We generally think of uncomfortable silence in terms of conversation, which has given rise to terms like "awkward pause." The logic seems to be that when two people are together they should be talking, and that there is something wrong with silence. When a conversation stops for a moment, the people involved look around uncomfortably. We frequently have a sense of anxiety about the need for conversation; this explains the frequent and meaningless banter about the weather. When parting, friends frequently use the phrase "talk to you later." This shows there is a certain amount of anxiety about the conversation ending, resulting in silence.

However, the outside world of loneliness and silence is not something to be afraid of. It should be embraced and enjoyed. This is humans' normal, natural state of being. Seeking to overcome loneliness and silence through music allows you to avoid the fact you are not comfortable with who you are. The walk to campus, or time spent waiting for class to begin, doesn't have to be boring and arduous. Instead, think about your day, what's happening around you and the color of the sky. Plugging in headphones and cranking up the music expresses a denial of the human experience, implying that it's not good enough, not exciting enough and isn't worth hearing and interacting with.

Of course, the most obvious reason for using an iPod is to listen to music. Another problem with the iPod is that it trivializes music, placing an emphasis on its power to distract and escape reality, rather than capture the beauty and emotion of it. It seems hard to imagine that there was a time when listening to music was a privilege and an event - something that was rare and exciting. I'm certainly not this strict with my listening habits, but the idea of listening to music wherever I go is excessive. I like to listen to music for pleasure and entertainment, not for background noise or distraction.

Just try it for a day. Leave your iPod at home and stay in the real world for a while. You will find that you never really needed it in the first place, and that it seems absurd to go through your day plugged in. When you get home, put on your favorite album. It will never have sounded better.

Copyright 2007 "Daily Evergreen" via CSTV U-Wire

Neil Diamond's 12 Songs --- again

Neil Diamond's awesome 12 Songs album has been rereleased in a new format. I'm sure it's awesome. I haven't bought it yet but I will. You should too.

Come on! Give the man a chance! Erase your preconceptions. The man's an artist!

Do you have a wart?

Over the past few months a wart has developed on my left middle finger. At first I thought it was some sort of clotted vein or something, so I dug at it with a straight pin in order to drain it. No worky. It only made it bleed. So I pulled a Google, and this is what I found:

From familydoctor.org:

Duct tape treatment-- Covering a wart with duct tape may also help because it irritates the wart and the skin around it, causing the body to attack it. Cover the wart with duct tape for up to a week. Then remove the tape, soak the wart in water and rub it gently with an emery board or a pumice stone. Leave the tape off overnight, then repeat treatment until the wart goes away. If this is not successful after 2 months, see your doctor to try another approach.

It has definitely helped. You might try it too.