Good Feelings

Hello again.  I figured I've done a lot of complaining on this blog, so I should probably throw in some feel good blogging to balance things out a bit.  Below is a list of some of the things that make me happy and make me feel good.  Feel free to comment with anything additional that makes you feel good!

- My wife and kids
- The restored gospel of Jesus Christ
- Fresh Mountain Dew
- Baby animals
- Those fuzzy little black jumping spiders (they're cute and fun to hold)
- Egg nog
- Sword fighting
- Calvin and Hobbes comics
- Working on cars
- Lots of other things (too many to type!)

Anyway, I hope my little list will get you thinking about the good things in your life, little and big, that make you happy and make your life better; the things that make the crappy times in life a bit less painful.

Intrusive Technology

Sooo....sorry I haven't posted for awhile folks.  I've been thinking about something lately.  When we were all kids we watched cartoons and other shows that promised an exciting, fun-filled future full of technology that at the time, only existed in our dreams and shows.  Now we're living in a future that includes a great deal of the afore-referenced technology, and I for one, think that it's becoming a bit intrusive.  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of cool gadgets that are part of current technology, but there's still a downside. 

For one thing, kids are starting to struggle even more with grammar, spelling, etc., because they all think and type and even speak, in text; some examples are:  omg, lol, afk, wth, and a whole host of others.  Computers have so infiltrated our lives, that they're no longer teaching cursive writing in school.  Soon they won't be teaching kids how to write at all. 

Another aspect I take issue with, is how dependent our vehicles are on computers.  You practically need an IT degree to fix a car now.  It used to be that anyone who was mechanically inclined, or had been taught how, could fix a car.  Now you need all sorts of computer programs and devices to test and fix your car.  Oh, and now cars can park themselves, among other things.  If you really need the car to park itself for you, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DRIVING A CAR!!!

Further proof of how car computers and technology have intruded into our lives, is the fact that most anyone can track down and watch anyone else, via the cameras that are virtually everywhere, internet searches, maps on the internet that we can use to view someone's house and car and business via satellite.  Virtually everything in the world is networked or otherwise connected, and if government computers go down, then the whole world is screwed!

Anyway, just food for thought.  I'll end my rant for the time being.  After all, I am using technology to write this blog and make it available for the world to view....lol.  Later folks!

Mormons for Obama

I'm considering starting a group called 'Mormons for Obama', because I certainly won't be voting for Mitt Romney.  If I were to start this group, would anybody out there be interested in joining???

Uninformed Idiots

I don't know about you, but I just LOVE it when people start flapping their gums about things they know nothing about (please note the intense sarcasm).  Whether it's pundits prattling on about religions that they're completely uninformed/misinformed about, or hate mongers huffing and puffing about who's going to hell and why.  And why is it these idiots always seem to enjoy spreading all their rumors, lies, and misinformation in public forums???  PLEASE...for the love of all things holy, get the facts about something before you start telling the world all about it!!!

Idiotic Legislators

I live in Utah, and the Utah legislature, among other things, is considering banning DUI checkpoints.

What kind of stupid moron honestly thinks that's a good idea??? A number of Utah legislators apparently. What a bunch of freakin' idiots!!! These retards claim to be so terribly worried about alcohol in this state, that they restrict the alcohol percentage on beer, restrict the sale of liquor and "alcopops" to the state run liquor stores, and put up "Zion Curtains" in restaurants, but then they want to take away an effective tool for police to reduce the number of DUIs.

What a backasswards load of CRAP!!!

Walmart's Meat and Produce

Is it just me, or does Wally World usually have the crappiest meat and produce ever?

I think Walmart's great for a lot of things.  They have a lot of name brands, frequently for a lot cheaper than anyplace else.  But when it comes to meat and fresh produce, I personally have a hard time finding any that's just okay, let alone good or excellent.  Most of the time the beef seems to come from some sort of cows that were grey on the inside; maybe they were smokers.

In looking at what they rather generously refer to as "fresh produce", even when the employees are stocking this section, most of the items available to purchase are exceedingly substandard.  What Walmart calls russet potatoes, are barely the size of a tennis ball, and are usually full of gashes and missing chunks.  I've even seen rotten, oozing potatoes and other produce on multiple occasions. 

Bottom line?  Go to Walmart for inexpensive electronics, home cleaning and decor supplies, etc,  But DO NOT under any circumstances, purchase meat or produce from them!!!

Mormons for Mitt (Romney)

Okay, I'm about to do something I don't really like to do, but it's unfortunately necessary on an all to regular basis.  I'm going to mix religion with politics; this time "publicly".

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; aka Mormons.  We are subject to the same strengths and weaknesses as any other mortal.  We can have good health or bad, we can be strong of character or weak, we can be courageous or cowardly, outgoing or shy, tall or short, fat or thin, married or single.  We make mistakes; just like anyone else.  We even sometimes make mistakes that go against the teachings of our religion; which can make it appear that we're not devout or actively trying to live the precepts of our religion.  We are, like everyone else on this planet, human.  Oh, and despite the opinions of some folks, we ARE in fact, Christians.  That being said, my following rant is in no way meant to be judgmental of Mitt Romney, or to persuade anyone to vote for him or not vote for him; now or later.

I've noticed a tendency in a lot of people of faith (any faith), to vote for or against a politician solely because of that politician's religion.  Unfortunately, I see this a lot within members of my own faith; especially since, to my knowledge, it's primarily within the last couple of elections that the opportunity to vote for a Mormon for President of the USA has come up.  This is not the way to decide who should represent you and your interests with the government!!!  It doesn't matter what office the person is running for, one needs to carefully, thoughtfully, and even prayerfully, consider all of the information they have about a candidate for office. 

While Mitt Romney was Governor of Massachusetts, he signed into law a piece of legislation allowing gay marriage in that state.  Up until a short while ago during his run for the GOP nomination, his public stance on abortion was totally Pro-Choice.  He suddenly changed it recently to strictly Pro-Life.  Ostensibly, this was to avoid alienating his primary voter base; members of the LDS church.  Now Mitt's REAL reasons for his choices, are a matter between him and God, as no one else can TRULY know for sure.  I don't judge him as being an apostate, or anything similar; that's not my place.  However, as he's asking myself and others of our faith, as well as those not of our faith to vote for him, these choices and the reasons he gives for them are matters for consideration.  These are by no means the ONLY things one should consider when deciding whether or not to vote for Mitt Romney; they're definitely food for thought though, whatever your personal views on those two subjects may be.

I personally have not decided who I will vote for for POTUS (President Of The United States), if it comes down to Mitt Romney and President Obama.  Newt Gingrich and the others trying for the GOP nomination don't stand a chance of getting my vote, for reasons I won't go into at the moment.  My plea to all of you out there however, especially those of my faith as it seems to be a real problem among us, is PLEASE do not use a person's religion as the sole or even primary factor in determining whether or not to vote for them.  A person's religion is only a basic indicator of the kinds of decisions a person might make in life; let alone in office.

Groundhog Day

First of all, let me start out by saying that YES, I know that Groundhog Day was yesterday. Now on to business.

I want to know why we continue to trust a rotten burrowing rodent, to predict our seasonal change from Winter to Spring. I'm sure that if I looked it up, it would say that Groundhog Day is based on some ancient Pagan ritual; or something similar. But why do we still do this???

Supposedly, if this fat little rodent comes out of his hole and "sees his shadow", there's going to be 6 more weeks of Winter; if he doesn't, it means an early Spring. How on earth do you know if this diseased beast see his shadow? And what happens if it's paricularly overcast that day and he doesn't have the opportunity to see his shadow? Does that automatically mean an early Spring?

My point is that this is something of a lame, and even mildly annoying, faux holiday. I understand that it's a tradition, and that there are some people, particularly those who live in Punxatawney, Pennsylvania, who really get into it; I don't begrudge them that. However, I don't think a fat little rodent that burrows under the ground, and probably has some nasty diseases, poking his head out of the ground warrants a "holiday" and a ridiculous amount of media attention; let alone us trusting his "prediction" of what's going to happen with the seasons.

Maybe it's just that I'm anti-rodent; most rodents anyway.

School Schedules

Are any of you other parents, in Utah or elsewhere, annoyed by the multitude of addendums to your childrens' school schedules? I know I am.

Whether your kids go to private school or public school, standard seasonal schedule or year-round, there's always a basic schedule you get at the start of the school year. Let's say the basic schedule is 8am-3pm, Monday through Friday. In addition to weekends, in the U.S. you'll have the standard holidays like Christmas, New Year's, the 4th of July, etc., that your kids won't have school. It's after that where I start to get a little....annoyed...at the additional days off from school. For example, you'll see things on the school calendar like, Teacher Compensation Day, Teacher Work Day, Spring Break, and in Utah you'll have UEA. There will also be a number of days off for substantially less traditionally important holidays, which, incidentally, seem to multiply like rabbits from year to year (ie-all the holidays, holiweeks, and holimonths, that have various colored ribbons attached to them). And one that's new to me this year, is early out days for Parent Teacher Conferences. We had Parent Teacher Conferences when I was in school, but nobody got the day off or got out early for them. The conferences started about 20-30 minutes after school let out; at normal time.

Now, some of you may balk at my listing of Spring Break as an irritating and unnecessary 2 week break from school. Before anybody gets all worked up, I'm only against it for K-12 schools; college students deserve Spring Break. For parents of kids in elementary/primary school, this two week break makes it harder to get your usual errands done, and if you're a single parent, or both parents work, then you most likely have to find and pay for a sitter or day care of some sort. Elementary/Primary School, Junior High/Middle School, and High School, kids haven't earned a 2 week break in the middle of the school year anyway. Sorry youngsters, but it's true. I didn't deserve it when I was in school either. Besides, at least college students are old enough to actually do something other than sleep in and go to the mall on Spring Break.

Call me old fashioned, crazy, or any other inoffensive name, but I thought the whole point of going to school was for kids to learn. If kids aren't in school, how in Hades are they supposed to learn??? I know that kids in some other countries spend a lot more time in school, and guess what!!! They learn more and get a better education than most American students. They test better and do better in college too. Hmmm, could all these extra days off be part of the reason that kids in this country aren't nearly as knowledgable or well educated as their counterparts in other parts of the world? I'm gonna have to say yes.

Our Dedicated Public Servants

Thank you to all of our public/civil servants out there; across the country, and across the world!  You don't get the pay, respect, and other compensation, that you deserve.

I've long thought that our public/civil servants don't get what they truly deserve.  I'm talking about police officers, EMT's, firemen, teachers, military personnel, and any others that work for the public good despite low pay, dangerous working conditions, negative effects on personal and family life, receiving blatant disrespect, etc.

I obviously can't speak with authority about EVERYWHERE, but where I live and the other places I've researched, our public/civil servants don't receive even the tiniest speck of the respect and compensation they deserve.

Let me explain.  I'll start with teachers.  Teachers deal with a bunch of kids all day, which in and of itself is laudatory, but in addition, most of these kids are bratty, don't want to learn, don't want to be in school, have little to no respect for anyone or anything, and are frequently downright rude and nasty to their teachers and classmates.  On top of this, public school teachers get paid diddly squat.  I don't know what their health benefits are like, but I'm guessing they're getting screwed there too.  Now obviously, just like with anything else, there are exceptions.  Some kids genuinely want to be in school, learn, and exhibit good manners, respect, etc.  As in any "supervisory" or position of perceived power, there are those involved in that vocation who definitely need to find a different line of work.  But taken as a whole, teachers are deserving of respect, praise, better pay and benefits, etc.

The other group I'm going to expand on are police officers.  Like teachers, police officers work with people all day.  These people tend to be bratty, disrespectful, rude, nasty, violent, etc.  These people also generally don't want to take responsibility for their own actions, and resent being held accountable.  Whether it's a simple traffic violation, or something substantially more serious, most people react completely inappropriately when officers attempt to address the issue with them.  Police officers do this despite very little pay, extremely dangerous working conditions, the strain their job puts on their personal/family lives, and despite the nasty reactions they get for things like writing someone a ticket.  Like teachers, these men and women deserve much, much better than they get.

So to all of you public/civil servants or other folks truly working for the protection and betterment of society, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. 

To the general public, the next time you're in a classroom situation, shut your pie hole and pay attention to the teacher or whomever else might be speaking; you might actually learn something.  The next time you get pulled over, be polite and respectful to the officer doing their duty; maybe even thank them for it.  And if you have cause to have interaction with EMT's, firefighters, military personnel, or any other public/civil servants, be sure to thank them as well.  We all owe our lives and much more to these folks.

Unhappy Camper

I am one seriously unhappy camper!!!  I just found out my kid's been being severely mistreated by some of his school staff.  That makes me one extremely displeased papa, and I'm not exactly pleasant when people screw with the ones I love. 

I think I'm going to be having some very terse words with a variety of the people in charge in my son's school and his district; possibly some other authority figures as well.

Disingenuous Dillholes

I really can't stomach a huge portion of the population.  Some are worse than others of course; for example, most politicians, many celebrities, and even just a lot of regular folks.  Why do I have such a problem with so many people?  Let me explain a little.

Alright, we all have our problems and we all make mistakes.  One of the things that bothers me so much, is when people are intentionally and consistently, fake.  Phoneys are a major peeve of mine; people who pretend to be something or someone other than who and what they are. 

I take issue with people who put on one face for the public to see, but are entirely different behind closed doors.  Now, I'm not necessarily talking about kids or teenagers.  I think we all knew people in jr high or high school who were phoneys; maybe some of us were those people.  For some folks that's just part of the insecurity involved in being young, and in the groing up process.  I'm talking about people who are SUPPOSED to be adults; people who should, and almost certainly do, know better.  Maybe I should just cut everybody a break since we all mature in different areas at different rates and times. 

Unfortunately for me, one of the areas in which I'm substantially less tolerant, is dishonesty; which is what I consider being a phoney to be.  Again, I'm not talking about the fact that basically everyone, myself included, tells a fib sometimes.  You eventually tell the truth, apologize, and move on with your life.  I'm talking about things like when a politician tells you they have a firm stance on a particular issue, one way or the other, and then you find out that they flat out lied, or they decide to have a sudden "change of heart" about that particular issue.  Maybe the issue is abortion, or gay rights, or the economy, or capital punishment.  Maybe the issue is the environment, or animal rights, or Medicaid and Medicare.  Whatever the issue, the point is that now the man/woman you thought was a champion of your ideals, has become the opposition; the "enemy".  Or, to put it another way, they're the jerk who just stabbed you in the back!

As I mentioned before though, this isn't limited to politicians or others in the spotlight.  Perhaps you have a "friend" or family member like this.  Perhaps it's a parent who puts themselves out there to the rest of the world as fun, friendly, loving, a great parent.  But behind closed doors, this "great parent", is anything but.  Maybe they're a drunk, a drug addict, neglectful, or flat out abusive. 

We certainly can't truly know enough to judge another's soul, as that responsibility falls only to God.  However, it's definitely within the scope of our mortal rights and responsibilities to judge the actions of those around us, as well as of course our own, as being good or bad. 

The bottom line for me is, people, let's call a spade a spade.  If you have a tendency to be a blunt, opinionated, crab apple, as I do, then just cop to it.  Don't try to hide it and pretend you're something you're not.  If you're ashamed of aspects of your behavior or personality, especially ashamed enought to try to hide those aspects, then make the decision to change what you don't like.  Make the decision to do better.  Quit playing games and just be honest.

Unfortunately, I don't think we can expect that anytime soon from a good portion of our elected officials and many of our "celebrities".

That's just me being honest.

Even My Boogers Are Spicy!

I'm sitting here watching hours and hours of The Simpsons on dvd, and I can't help but marvel at Ralph Wiggum's ability to bust out with thoroughly amusing and entertaining one-liners; despite his low IQ.

Among my favorites:

"Even my boogers are spicy!"

"They taste like burning!"

"It feels all cold and hurty!"

"I'm happy AND angry!!!"

"You choo choo choose me?"

"The pointy kitty just ran away with our key!"

"He's gonna smell like hotdogs!"

"I just made Bart in my pants!"

"I saw Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel in the closet making babies, and I saw one of the babies, and the baby looked at me!!!"

"The leprechaun tells me to burn things!"

"That's my sandbox.  I'm not allowed in the deep end."

Mother Nature

One of the things that really drives me nuts about living in Utah, is that Mother Nature is incredibly indecisive here. Snow in July, Spring in January that suddenly turns back into Winter, blazing hot Summer days that sporadically become any or all of the other seasons, etc.

We've had a number of days of Spring-like weather with lots of rain and temps around 50. All of a sudden I look outside and see a massive snowstorm in progress with huge flakes, and snow coming down so hard I can barely see out to the street. SERIOUSLY??? I mean the snow was gorgeous and all, but make up my friggin mind! Do I wear a coat, a jacket, shorts, boots, bare feet, pants, long sleeves, short sleeves, a hat, no hat, WHAT???

Mother Nature needs to pick a friggin season and stick with it til it's time for the next one!!!

SOPA and PIPA

Apparently Senators Orrin Hatch, Roy Blunt, John Boozman, and Charles Grassley, as well as the others who sponsored the SOPA and PIPA bills, didn't really pay attention in school.  Why do I say this you ask?  Because the sponsors of the SOPA and PIPA bills, didn't do their homework; or that's what they want us to believe now.  They attempted to pass bills on which at least some of them now claim, there have been "unintended" consequences discovered. 

Hatch has officially dropped cosponsorship of the Senate's version of the bill.  Now either Hatch and the others really did intend for those consequences but now are lying about it, something they should have learned in elementary school not to do, or they truly didn't do their homework before submitting the bill(s) for approval; something else they should have learned in elementary school (homework, not drafting legislation).  

Talk about a waste of time and taxpayer money!!!  Either the Senators and Congressmen who drafted these bills were trying to impose Communist style censorship in the USA, along with trying to hold the wrong parties responsible for violations of the proposed bills, or they chose not to do their homework and willingly wasted time and taxpayer money. 

As a kid I was always taught to "do it right the first time".  I say, in addition to vehemently opposing these bills and requesting our legislators do the same, we not reelect any of the idiots who sponsored these bills.  These folks potentially share a list of incredibly negative traits, none of which anyone in their right mind would want their legislators to have; i.e.- dishonest, dumb, lazy, closet Communist, wish-washy, etc. 

In any case, if you can't tell, I am opposed to internet censorship and am opposed to SOPA and PIPA, and I will definitely NOT be voting to reelect Orrin Hatch (I live in Utah).

Dumb Drivers

<SIGH>

I have yet another gripe to air.  Why is it that there are so many people that live in Utah, who somehow forget how to drive in the snow from year to year?  Or even from snow storm to snow storm?  I was reading the news today, and there was a brief snowstorm along the Wasatch Front this morning, and there were 300+ car accidents!!!  Who are these morons who can't remember how to drive in the snow?  How hard is it to drive a little slower, leave a little more space between you and the car ahead of you, and TAP your brakes instead of stomp on them?  That's pretty much all there is to driving in the snow, other than to turn INTO the skid if you feel your car start to slide.  That's a whopping 4 rules!  What kind of total dweeb can't remember 4 little rules?  I have young little kids, and even they can remember 4 things for a whole year! 

Now in reality, I know that sometimes you can be driving exactly how you're supposed to, and Mother Nature decides to screw you and you slide off the road or into another car anyway.  However, 300+ accidents in a matter of a couple hours, are not all just "accidents"; it's people being absolutely STUPID!!! 

There needs to be an IQ test to get a driver's license; among other things.  I think we need a winter driving safety campaign with the slogan, "Get a brain or give up your license!!!"

Stupid Subtitles

Okay, I feel it's time for me to rant about subtitles.  I started turning the subtitles on when I watch TV and movies, shortly after I married my wife.  She and our kids have an easier time following a shows if the subtitles are on.  Once you get used to it, it's not a big deal; until you try to listen to the show AND read the subtitles.  Nearly always, the subtitles miss some critical dialogue, important points, and are running behind or ahead of the show.  What the heck???  If I was deaf, and I'm very grateful I'm not, I'd be really pissed off about this!!!  As it is, I'm not too thrilled with the situation (obviously). 


Now, a lot of what we watch at my house are TV shows and movies we've seen a hundred zillion times, so we're extra aware when the subtitles don't match up with the dialogue.  But if for example, I were watching an action movie I'd never seen before, and the subtitles were running ahead, and it tells me that a character gets killed or a building gets blown up and I have yet to see that happen on the screen, I'm gonna be super pissed that the subtitles spoiled the surprise!!!  If I'm watching a comedy and the subtitles don't match up exactly with the dialogue, the vast majority of the jokes probably aren't even going to make sense; and again, I'm gonna be super pissed!!!


I don't know much about the technology behind subtitles, but with all the amazing things we have done and can do with technology, how friggin hard can it be to make the subtitles work properly???  What a crappy system!!! 


Stupid subtitles are definitely not the primary reason I'm glad I'm not deaf, but they're certainly on the list.

Opening Diatribe

I'm starting this blog as a semi-public place to vent my thoughts, frustrations, random questions, etc.  I plan to be pretty blunt, but will try to phrase things in a way that attempts to be diplomatic and inoffensive.  Feel free to comment, whether you agree or disagree.  I'm always open to a good dialogue.


I think I'll start by saying that Mt Dew is the nectar of the gods.  It's the most spectacular drink ever created, and I'm thoroughly addicted.  I have been since I was a kid.  In high school I averaged literally a couple gallons of Mt Dew over the course of each day.  I credit Dew with curing and preventing a whole host of illnesses for me.  I've tried every variation they've come out with, but I'm a purist and my favorite is still the classic Dew; though the Dew with real sugar runs a pretty close second. 


In my opinion, almost every Coke product is fairly vile; Coke especially. Sprite is way better than 7-Up could ever hope to be.  Sprite is one of the very few decent Coke products.  I will say however, that Most Pepsi products are not spectacular, but definitely better than Coke products.  I can drink the occasional Pepsi, but Mt Dew will always be my drink of choice.


I guess that I'll end my rant for the evening, but in closing for tonight, I say MT DEW IS MY LIFEBLOOD AND I LOVE IT!!!