A Bicycle for Your Fish

Where to Go for an RV or Boat

2011-12-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a nice family-run business in the Boise area where you may consider purchasing your next RV or boat. On the RV side, Dennis Dillon RV & Marine Center is the authorized Coachmen, Redwood (residential fifth wheels), Open Range (towables), Monaco (class A diesels), Fleetwood (class A and C motorized), and Outdoors RV (towables) dealer in Idaho and surrounding areas.

They also have five Master-Certified RV technicians on staff--the most in the state.

On boats, Dennis Dillon RV & Marine has the Centurion, Four Winns, Reinell and Supreme franchises in the area. They carry some pretty cool boats--many of which you can see from the freeway as you drive by on I-84 between Cole Rd and Orchard St in Boise.

They're a pretty nice little operation. Not in the mood for an RV or a boat? Try their main site HERE for a look at Kia, Mazda, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Suzuki or Nissan, too!

Moochie's

2009-05-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

I had a little tasty taste of SLC for dinner tonight. I ate at Moochie's here. This place was featured on the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on Food Network. My wife and I love the show, and they've featured all sorts of places we're familiar with and love. The show also provides us with an excuse to try new places--usually pretty inexpensively. This trip to Utah has now provided me with a great burger place in Roy (Burger Bar) and now the Philly cheesesteak and meatball and provolone sandwich at Moochie's.

I recommend Moochie's. Give it a tumble if you ever head out to SLC.

UPDATE! NEW! IMPROVED!

2009-05-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Some commenter known as "basquegirl" recently (this morning) posted a reply that wondered aloud if anyone updates this blog.

Well "basquegirl" yes, someone does update it. Just not often. Not nearly as often as the aforementioned blog owner updates his Facebook page.

That's right, Facebook:Blogspot::Video:Radio Star in my universe. Put all the blame on VCR. I am an avid Facebooker and my stellar blog full of insightful commentary and spot-on analysis has suffered because of it. The real losers in this battle for 'net supremacy are you, all three of you, who follow my blog just waiting for just a taste of the knowledge that drips from this site.

Some things I've been thinking about over the past little while:

1) Salt Lake City sure does love them some cycling, but not as much as Boise does.
2) Saw Angels and Demons last night. Didn't read the book. Will now. Ewan McGregor was a great Camerlengo, and I don't even know if I've spelled that right. Anyway, during the movie, I couldn't stop confusing in my head the "Camerlengo" with "Carlomagno" (who is an ancestor of mine, FYI)
3) If you enjoy mixed nuts, try shopping at the downtown SLC Smith's after 9:30. The aisles were full of filberts when I went
4) basquegirl is pretty awesome and so are her kids
5) My wife gave us a second chance at getting Mother's Day right. Not sure if we succeeded, but part deux was certainly better than part deuce--which was really part one.
6) No place on earth is short on oblivions. Thankfully, no place on earth seems to be short on nice people, too. This seems to be some sort of societal yin-yang symbiosis that God has created so we don't lose faith in humanity.
7) I think if people would read their particular books of scripture--and then behave as they've been instructed--this world would certainly be a much better place to live. If only 10% of would do that (me included!!!), it would be a stellar existence. Now that I think of it, it's probably about 10% who don't that are gumming it up for the rest who are trying (or who can't read). Wha
8) It would be cool if Spring would go a little longer and not jump from 60 degrees to 95 degrees in 24 hours. I don't need anymore Al Gore-induced headaches. It's the change of seasons, not the Apocalypse.
9) Walking to work is cool, especially when it's not just down the stairs
10) I'm pretty optimistic about what will happen and I hope you are too!

The Two-headed COBRA

2009-03-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

I spent three years in this industry, and have an above-average understanding of COBRA. I just found this little nugget, however, hiding in the "stimulus" bill: subsidized COBRA payments and a "2nd chance" clause for those who turned down COBRA eligibility.

Since businesses are required to offer this stimulated version of COBRA, downsizing to save money will end up causing them more trouble than laying off the huge bloc of employees may have...or at least send them scrambling for cash.

Good. Olbermann is an Idiot

2009-03-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

Behold Tuesday's Cable opinion show ratings:

CABLE NEWS RACE
TUES., MARCH 10, 2009

FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,212,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,376,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,331,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,274,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 2,044,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 1,965,000
CNN COOPER 1,214,000
CNN KING 1,185,000
MSNBC MADDOW 1,041,000
CNNHN GRACE 986,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 928,000

The funny thing is that Maddow, who's been on the air a lot shorter time than Keith Uberdork, is now eating his lunch in the ratings...wait...they're both employed by MSNBC, and Maddow comes on AFTER Uberdork--which means people WAIT until Keith is done before turning on Maddow.

HAAHAHAHAHAAHAAA

Your Tax Dollars at Work, Although You May Not be at Work UPDATED

2009-03-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

So if this is to be believed, the Kennedys are getting fatter off of your tax dollars, courtesy of the ridiculously socialist "stimulus" package that Pres. Obama signed. Now that it's already signed, we get to read the hundreds of pages of earmarks.

So much for the "Americans will have five days prior to any vote to review legislation online" pledge:

"Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."

Lie #1.

So much for the "no earmarks" pledge as documented here.

Lie #2.

So much for the "no lobbyists in my house" pledge.

"No political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration."

Exhibit A. HHS Secy Nominee Daschle. BOOM! Outta here.

Lie #3.

I don't care who you voted for in the '08 election. But if you voted for Obama based on his shallow "hope" and "change we can believe in" bumper sticker campaign, you were misled, either willfully or unwittingly. You were misled. Inside his first 50 days, Pres. Obama has already reneged on key pillars of his "change" foundation--destroying credibility and positioning himself to be an even bigger liar than Pres. "I am not a crook" Nixon. Not good company. Not a good start.

And I leave you with this nice little summary of Obama's ability to pick credible, worthy individuals to fill his posts.

Does anyone feel inspired or a sudden increase of confidence with Timothy "Timmy" Geithner opens his mouth on the economy? <crickets chirping>

How about master locutor Robert Gibbs? "We're working on it." "We're putting together some proposals." "I'll check on it." Huh?

Heaven help us.

UPDATED: Apparently I'm not the only one who is "underwhelmed" by Robert Gibbs.

The Idiot Who Got Me Off Facebook for a Night

2009-02-22T22:34:00.001-08:00

Sean Penn is a tool. I knew this would happen. I got my copy of Entertainment magazine a few weeks ago with the Oscars preview. The editors correctly predicted that Penn would probably get "a lot of sympathy in the wake of the Prop-8 vote" and win Best Actor.

The irony in that suggestion is incredible.

It would seem to me that to win "Best Actor in a Leading Role" you would have to be "the best actor in a leading role." Now, I'll come clean. I don't know that I've seen any of the films for which the men nominated in this category were nominated. This commentary isn't about that. If Mr. Spicoli truly was the "best," then he deserved to win. However, if Entertainment magazine's pre-Oscar summary of the situation has any merit, then Penn wasn't the "best" actor, but simply the "Best Role by Which to Make a Hollywood-esque Political Statement."

You be the judge.

I am inclined to believe that the uber-liberal secularists in Hollywood selected Penn in order to give him the pulpit from which to lob these gems:

"For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think it's a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect on their great shame and their shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that support...We've got to have equal rights for everyone."

Yeah, Jeff Spicoli. I saw the signs of hatred. Those signs of "acceptance" and "inclusion" and "tolerance" that were lifted high in San Jose as the home of a Prop 8 and their car were vandalized. I saw the "love" and "understanding" as the Los Angeles LDS Temple was picketed and elderly temple patrons were jeered, mocked and profaned. These "courageous warriors" for "civil rights" were conspicuously absent, however, from locales associated with other more sizable voting blocs who opposed Prop 8 in California. For example:

- African Americans
- Latinos
- Catholics (practicing...)
- Evangelicals
- Muslims

Especially that last one. Why not picket a mosque? Why pick on the LDS church? You and your (m)ilk, Mr. Penn, are cowards. When you have no ideological leg upon which to stand, you shout louder, instead of understanding the merits of an argument. Yours is the intolerant, undemocratic, anti-social, non-inclusive, ostracizing side. Your loudmouthing from the Oscar stage ("You commie, homo-loving sons of guns") simply belies your own shallowness.

Watch the career trajectory of Mr. Penn. The more he started spouting off against conservative values, the more Hollywood and Cannes love him. His secularized agnosticism is certainly indicative of an apple that has fallen quite from his Russian/Lithuanian Jewish and Irish/Italian Catholic tree.

But all that worship and reverence of God has no place in Hollywood.

So Penn got me off Facebook for a night--to post this. When an agent of intolerance points the finger at others and accuses them of his own crime, it's time to tune out. Penn's hollow argument may play well in the Kodak Theater, but preaching to the choir comes across as so cowardly.

When You Invite UConn to Play, Watch Your Meat

2009-01-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

I found this little tidbit as I checked the ESPN site this afternoon (as I do quite frequently). I know it's dangerous to have great basketball teams come to your place to play, but I had no idea that the Huskies were known for pilfering porterhouse.

I'm loving that headline.

Well, their politics are straight out of the Dark Ages...

2009-01-19T06:21:00.001-08:00

If this is true, and I really hope it is, the Bubonic Plague has struck an al-Qaeda training camp in Algeria. As my post suggests, this is the most fitting piece of karma I've seen in quite some time, as the politics of AQ are to return man to the Dark Ages, forcing women out of schools, and creating a patriarchal society where these same women have no say, no rights and no place save it be below the man.

I smell a rat. A plague-infested rat. Maybe this is all the workings of the CIA's latest bioweapons program: RC rats running around desert camps biting terrorists. Heh.

I can't take it anymore...

2009-01-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

I know it's been an eon since I've posted, but Facebook has taken control of my online life. If you really want to know what's up with me, go there. Now, for the reason I've posted.

I am going to officially boycott history Tuesday. I DO NOT CARE ABOUT OBAMA'S INAUGURATION. I'll tell you why.

The consistent cross-outlet fawning over PE Obama is disgusting. The ten official inaugural balls are opulence in a time where frugality is needed. $150M? Come on. Four years ago, the media decried Pres. Bush for having any sort of gala at all. "Too expensive." "Unnecessary." Where are they now? They are silent and complicit in this. It is, after all, their doom and glooming which in my opinion, contributed to the outcome of the election. The consistent character assassination of both Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, playing the old "Republicans are doofuses, dummies and dolts" card, was so transparent. The hero worship aboard Obama Force One by media reporters was about as far from objective journalism as you can get. Chris Matthews's tingle on his leg moment actually made me wretch a little in my mouth.

What did the losing side do in 2001? They cried "thief" when the election was won in the Electoral College by G.W. Bush. They then spent the next four years complaining about the illegitimate president who "stole" the White House. When he kicked Kerry's can in 2004, they complained again that "millions were disenfranchised." Complain. Complain. Complain. We just found out what the liberal loudmouth machine does when their guy wins: they spend millions of dollars--many of them my and your tax dollars--and throw a party...er...multiple parties.

What does $150M buy?

At $250K a pop, you could apply a personal housing bailout to 600 people.
At the new low price of oil of about $60 a barrel, you could add almost 4.2 million barrels of oil to the strategic reserve.
The military could purchase 18 additional Predator MQ-9Bs and drop some crap on idiots around the world who are causing such a ruckus--like Hamas kooks in Gaza or Taliban fools in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Give every teacher in my now-home state of Idaho an $11,000 raise. (That's the 13,328 non-administrative members of the IEA--the union leadership doesn't need a raise. They need to be fired, along with every other teacher union hack in America.)

I could think of a million other uses for Obama's millions, but The One has decided that the best use of these funds, and the taxpayer dollars used to secure law enforcement support, etc. is to have a Bruce Springsteen concert for Mom and Dad and the JoBros with Miley Cyrus for the kids.

Guess which mouse-themed network we will NOT be watching in our house come Tuesday?

WARNING! Adult Content!

2008-12-15T07:24:00.000-08:00

So we were playing the "ha ha" game yesterday. That's the one where everyone lays on the floor and rests their head on the stomach of someone else. Then the hilarity ensues. The first person goes "ha" (and the heads start bobbing). The next person goes "ha ha"...you get the idea. Usually the group just starts laughing and bobbing up and down at that point. That was about how far we got before we were all laughing ourselves silly.

Then Nate makes a stinker.

Of course, in normal families, this would stop the laughter. Not in ours. It amplified it. Then Mommy says "Nate has the buns of doom." And of course, the "jokes" continued. We use the word "chones" in our household to refer to undies, so I said "Nate: Attack of the Chones." Then Riley chimed in, "He's Count Doodoo." It finally degenerated into "Nate is Darth Skidius, Evil Sith Lord."

Nate of course couldn't get enough of it and tried in vain to come up with his own monikers, most of which were things like "Yeah! I'm Count Doodoo!"

Of course, trying to keep it high-brow, as we drove around looking at Christmas lights last night, I decided to "have a talk" to the family and discuss how it may be better and more appropriate if we start to talk "nice" and remove references to "body functions" from our dialogue.

All four kids were put to sleep by this. I heard snoring. I did.

What the crap? (Sorry about the title, Mom)

2008-12-05T17:30:00.001-08:00

Never mind that the earth has been cooling for the last three years, the idiot climate global warming kooks are trying to take over your kid's Christmas program. My buddy in Salt Lake sent me this link--his kids were indoctrinated into this just this past week as they performed the drivel to his shock and horror.

Join your local PTA before Principal Gore makes this a horrifying reality at your local elementary school.

FYI: We live in a place where the kids can still sing Silent Night and say "Christmas." Yep, you guessed it, we're no longer in California.

I've been a Reagan Republican for quite some time...

2008-11-21T08:16:00.001-08:00

My mother emailed me this little tidbit this morning. I wrote it when I was eleven years old for a creative write assignment in sixth grade. It's interesting to me in that I was so cutting-edge in my political priorities. Economy. Alternative fuels. Homeland security. I was Hopechange before Hopechange was Hopechange!

Behold:

If I Could Vote....

If I could vote I would probably vote for Ronald Reagan. One reason is because I am a loyal Republican (even if I'm only 11). When I'm 12 I'll be a TAIR. Teen Age Independent Republican. Another reason is I like his way of doing things. I know he has a good record in California as Governor of that state. That sounds like a tough job.

What I would want him to do if he were elected is to help make a more stable economy, help bring down inflation, start searching for more American oil so we rely less on OPEC and other countries. To put more money into military spending and find safe ways to make alcohol and coal fuels.

My Essay on Marriage

2008-11-16T17:47:00.000-08:00

Since November 4th, when Californians again (without my help this time) affirmed their majority belief that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, I've had some interesting discussions with people on both sides of the issue, and have witnessed questionable behavior as well. I'd like to dispatch with all of those actions, thoughts, observations and votes and state my case for marriage between a man and a woman. I warn you, that my opinions and beliefs on this issue are formed as a result of my faith, conviction and experience, and I neither seek to "understand" or "be tolerant" of others here. My purpose is to lay bare the reasons why I assert that marriage is to be confined to that between a man and a woman. Before I continue, let me state for the record that I do not deny that there are numerous pairs of loving men and loving women who would like nothing more than to pledge their love to someone of the same sex--and who may very well be better at executing their homosexual relationship than many heterosexual couples. As you'll see by reading my commentary, I am not grading the "love potential" for lack of a better phrase of couples--homosexual or heterosexual--but want my friends and family to know why I believe and act the way I do. I also acknowledge both my inability to clearly articulate all that I wish to say and my own imperfection before a God who I will reference in these comments. We are all sinners in this life, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. That is a commentary for another day.

First and foremost, I know that I am a spiritual son of my Father in Heaven. I know that I was spiritually begotten of him before coming to this earth. My earthly parents, married since 1957 in this life, gave me life almost forty years ago--and in so doing, were made participants in God's plan of happiness for each of us--His children--here on earth. I know that God extends to all who will accept these same opportunities to partake of the blessings of creation and raising children in this life. As we are all sons or daughters of our Father in Heaven, He has entrusted us to help one another--our brothers and sisters--to come to know Him in this life and to work together to return to live with Him again, given that we've successfully exercised our agency in this life. He does not restrict us in this life. He has blessed us with the gift of agency--basically the ability to choose our path--in this life. It is why we are here. Life is therefore like a big test. He has provided us with study guides, mentors, proctors for the test and the answer key. He will not, however, force us to use any of these tools as we take this examination. He will merely show us where the helps are and allow us to choose for ourselves.

That kind of lays out the foundation. Another fundamental belief I hold--which has been confirmed to me as truth by a loving Father in Heaven--is that just as we lived in the presence of Him prior to coming to this earth, we have the potential to return to His presence if we are faithful in making and keeping the covenants He has laid out for us. Of course we first must apprise ourselves as to what these covenants are, but once we know--we must do. In addition to this, I know that the rewards for this life are not a "thumbs up--thumbs down" heaven or hell scenario. We are promised a variety or degree of glory commensurate to our disposition and actions here--basically we merit what we're comfortable with. (Think of the common idiomatic expression "as comfortable as a whore in church." We won't be comfortable in the presence of God if we've lived so as to exclude him from our lives or at least not make him the center. He does not want us to be uncomfortable--nor does he reward us or give us something we haven't warranted or desired, hence the situation as I see it.)

Because our Father in Heaven desires that we inherit everything He has, he has designed this life to provide us with opportunities to grow, learn and through trial and error, come to know what He knows and act as He does. He has also provided us the great eraser for our mistakes--our elder brother Jesus Christ. Basically, it's a foolproof plan--except for one thing: our own disposition to err. If we can overcome that basic nature, we can overcome the weaknesses and sins of this world and be blessed with a full measure of God's inheritance--just as a loving earthly father would leave his "millions" to his posterity.

Earlier, I mentioned "covenants" which I define as a two-way contract between God and one of his children--son or daughter. In order to gain this inheritance, God has prescribed that we faithfully attain to knowledge of His plan in this life and make covenants with him. One of the key covenants we must make is that of marriage--what he refers to as "the new and everlasting covenant of marriage." In other words, a marriage that is not just a "til death do us part" promise, but an eternal covenant that has effect after this mortal life has ended for us. In His definition, Father states that this eternal covenant is to be made between a man and a woman. The mortal purpose of raising righteous posterity to him and raising them (as I already noted) is key to our joy in this life. Our desire to make this covenant is critical to our eternal happiness.

So if we are comfortable with the marriage covenant being between a man and a woman, God will bless us with the blessings associated with that desire. He has noted that the reward for faithfulness in this regard is exaltation--in other words, eternity with all that He has, and the potential for eternal increase--an eternal family. If our desire is something else, He promises us blessings commensurate to those desires. My feelings are that any blessing or reward for something other than the eternal marriage God has prescribed will end when mortality for that individual ends. They may be "happy" with their mortal choice, but will never know "joy"--the lasting effects of making choices that are pleasing to God, not just ourselves.

So there it is--poorly written, but from my heart. I am blessed with a beautiful wife here in this life, but even more so, I am blessed with an absolute knowledge that this angel who walks by my side as my mortal equal in theory (and mortal better in practice) and I will be together in the eternities because we have chosen this as a course of action--and we know that God approves. He has spoken it to our souls, we have felt it in our hearts. A loving Father would do nothing less than to confirm that what we're doing is right. A loving earthly father would do the same. "Good job, son. I know you're having a tough time, but you're on the right track."

My Father in Heaven has told me the same. THAT is why I know that marriage between a man and woman is an integral part of God's plan for our eternal joy. I do not apologize for this view. I advocate it. I know there are many who disagree with it. I know there are many who ridicule it. I know that there are many who do not understand it, may call it outdated or any number of other things. Nevertheless, I know it to be true, and for that knowledge, I thank my Father in Heaven daily. I trust that if you do not have this same conviction that you take it to him in prayer--even if it's the first time you've had a conversation with your "Dad." Ask Him. It could be the start of something eternally beautiful.

Catherine Vogt Gets a Lesson at School

2008-11-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

Here's a great story from the Chicago Tribune that shows just how unified America has become, and how the candidacy and election of Obama will most likely lead to more unifying unification, tolerant tolerance and understandification.

Hopechange

2008-11-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

Well, despite my one vote to the contrary, everyone else in America, including the collective staffs of CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, BBC, RAI-1 and RAI-2, TVE-1, Telemundo, Galavision and CNBC voted for Barack Obama. So the landslide was complete. Obama: 49 bazillion, McCain: 1.

So, where does that leave us as a nation? I'll tell you this: on election night, I went out and stocked up on two-inch plastic "supplies" for my little slice of the 2nd Amendment. Alarmist? Maybe, but I'm not getting caught flat-footed if this place goes wacky (news flash: stock market bombs on Nov. 5).

We've elected the most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate--who successfully hoodwinked the majority of the electorate into thinking he was a centrist. He is just the third sitting senator to be voted into the highest office in America, and no doubt, the least-experienced of the three. Oddly enough, despite Chris Matthew's shivers of ecstasy up his leg, others in the media, including none other than Tom Brokaw (on the Charlie Rose show), have quietly admitted that "we don't really know much about Obama or what he'll do." It's the most impressive job of marketing that I've witnessed since we purchased Moon Shoes for my daughter two Christmases ago, after she swore they would help her jump 20 feet into the air. Within two hours of opening the gift, she was telling us that "Moon Shoes are the worst toy ever!"

I wish Obama well. I'm sure it won't be as uphill a battle as the asserted in his acceptance speech. He already has a willing propaganda arm in the American media who will no doubt coddle him, write glowing reviews of his time in office and blame any missteps on the opposition in America. That's what the press is good for here--and that is why print media circulation continues to drpp faster than a lead balloon floating over an electromagnetic gorge. (There was a spike on Nov. 5, as people clamored to get a piece of "history" at the local 7-11.)

Here are a few of my observations: you normally can tell a man by the company he keeps. Unless his name is Barack Obama. Apparently decades of political and religious affiliations with Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers and Rashid Khalidi don't count as "questionable" or "dangerous liaisons." Instead, they qualify as "people I hardly know." Also, Barack Obama, according to his close friends in the media, "didn't really work for ACORN (the notorious voter fraud peddlers--sign up the Dallas Cowboys get a free t-shirt)" but had only heard of them or some other dumb excuse when he got his hand caught in the cookie jar. Redistribution is apparently okay as long as you are the recipient of whatever is redistibuted--and voting for the redistributor--not if you're the victim of this shake down. Agency and ability be damned--choice and accountability are out, replaced by arbitrary assessments by the elected elite as to who qualifies as "rich." (According to Bill Richardson [ironic name], Obama surrogate, "rich" is now $120K. This figure is the only number to fall faster than the stock market in October--as it started at $300K--losing more than half its value in a matter of days.)

So, again, the P.E. is in for a tough road. Because I'm an American and I respect the office of president, I will not refer to Mr. Obama as ObamaHitlerMcChimpy or any other iteration of the vitriolic names the left has been using against Pres. Bush for the better part of the past eight years now. Instead, I will respect him as much as he does me. He keeps his hands off my "stuff" and I'll play nice.

But I will not vote for him in 2012--regardless.

By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them?

2008-10-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

I picked up a free subscription to the Economist, a UK-based weekly magazine, using frequent flier miles. I started reading it casually while in business school, and usually liked what it had to say. If offers a different perspective--not another parroting of the American MSM.

The latest article that caught my eye was on p. 43 of the print edition. (URL here)

The article discusses the Mormon work ethic, and how the economy in Mormon-dominated Utah continues to grow--and unemployment remains low compared to regional neighbors. Two pieces of this article stuck out to me, and I quote them here:

The "cultural thing", as businessmen from out fo state delicately refer to Mormonsim, helps in other ways. Utah's almost universal conservatism makes for stable, consensual politics. It took the state legislature just two days last month to plug a $272M hole in the budget. By contrast, California's budget was 85 days late. Nevada's politicians are preparing for a nasty fiscal fight next year.

Mormons do not come to work nursing hangovers, and they are inclined to stay put in the promised land rather than pursue better-paying jobs elsewhere. Matthew Donthnier, who is hiring for a new Proctor & Gamble plant, has only one complaint about the local workforce: it can be a little difficult to persuade people to toil on Sundays.

"I teach people correct principles and let them govern themselves." -- Joseph Smith

Every Once in a While--You Pause...

2008-10-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

I never knew Stephen Fortunato, yet I am fortunate that he served me--and the rest of America--for all the right reasons. I want to thank him and the thousands of others like him for selflessly serving me and the rest of this great nation of America, and for giving his life in that struggle. It would seem by the included blog post which he wrote, that the sacrifice he made was done so willingly, with a clear head and with gratitude for the opportunity.

From Boston Globe:

If I may …

I'd like to say something....Just to get it out there so it is clear.
To all the pampered and protected Americans who feel it is their duty to inform me that I am not fighting for their freedom, and that i am a pawn in Bush's agenda of greed and oil acquisition: Noted, and [expletive deleted] You.

I am not a robot. i am not blind or ignorant to the state of the world or the implications of the "war on terrorism." i know that our leaders have made mistakes in the handling of a very sensitive situation, but do not for one second think that you can make me lose faith in what we, meaning America's sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers in uniform are doing.

I am doing my part in fighting a very real enemy of the United States, i.e. Taliban, Al Qaida, and various other radical sects of Islam that have declared war on our way of life. Unless you believe the events of 9/11 were the result of a government conspiracy, which by the way would make you a MORON, there is no reasonable argument you can make against there being a true and dangerous threat that needs to be dealt with. i don't care if there are corporations leaching off the war effort to make money, and i don't care if you don't think our freedom within America's borders is actually at stake. i just want to kill those who would harm my family and friends. it is that simple. Even if this is just a war for profit or to assert America's power, so what? Someone has to be on top and I want it to be us. There's nothing wrong with wishing prosperity for your side.

I am a proud American. i believe that my country allows me to live my life more or less however i want to, and believe me, i have seen what the alternative of that looks like. i also believe that our big scary government does way more than it has to to help complete [expletive deleted]-ups get back on their feet, a stark comparison to places where leaders just line their own pockets with gold while allowing the people who gave them their power and privilage to starve. I have chosen my corner. I back my country, and am proud to defend it against aggressors. Also, if you dare accuse us of being inhumane, or overly aggressive because we have rolled into someone else's country and blown some [expletive deleted] up and shot some people, let me remind you of just how inhumane we COULD be in defending ourselves. Let me remind you that we have a warhead that drops multiple bomblets from the stratosphere which upon impact, would turn all the sand in Iraq to glass, and reduce every living thing there to dust. Do we use it? No. Instead we use the most humane weapon ever devised: the American soldier. We send our bravest (and perhaps admitably craziest) men and women into enemy territory, into harms way, to root out those whom we are after and do our best to leave innocent lives unscathed.

...One last thing...a proposal. i know it has been stated time and time again but i just think it is worthy of reiteration. If you find yourself completely disgusted with the way America is being ran, and how we handle things on the global stage, you can leave. Isn't that amazing? No one will stop you! If you are an anarchist, there are places you can go where there is no government to tell you anything. That's right...you are left solely to your own devices and you can handle the men who show up at your door with AKs in any way that you see fit. Just don't try good old American debate tactics on them because you will most likely end up bound and blind-folded, to have your head chopped off on the internet so your parents can see it. However if you insist on staying here and taking advantage of privilages such as free speach and WIC, keep the counter-productive [expletive deleted] to a minimum while the grown ups figure out how to handle this god-awful mess in the middle east.

Thank you, Spec. Fortunato. Rest in peace.

I think I just wet my pants laughing.

2008-10-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

HA HAH HAHAAHAHAHAA!

HAHAAHHHAAAA!!!

HAHAHAAHAAAAA!!!!

Umm...Let's do the Math.

2008-10-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

At first glance, this story from Indystar.com looks terrific. Voter registrations in Indianapolis are up. People are taking a stake in the elections. I've always said that it's shameful to have anything less than a 90% turnout in elections (hey, you get sick, you travel, it happens--100% is a pipe dream).

Well, apparently, 100% was setting the bar too low for Indianapolis. According to some quick math figures by blogger Ogden on Politics, there are now officially 105% of the eligible voters in Indianapolis registered to vote. Uh. Um...er...what?

I notice that Say Anything has made the obvious connection. Yes. ACORN has an office in Indy.

Photoshop courtesy of Blind Mule.

First Rule of Nate Club: Don't Talk About Nate Club

2008-10-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

Nate loves his bike. Nate loves to ride. Nate's bike is about a half-inch too big for him. Nate goes down hills on the Boise Greenbelt. Nate goes downhill under bridges. Idiots stand under bridges in the bike lane. Nate hits idiots who stand under bridges in the bike lane. Nate's Dad wants to cold-cock the idiots who stand in bike lanes acting as targets for five year-olds who are riding down hills under bridges on Greenbelts.

Contrary to what this picture shows, Nate is not trying to become a cage fighter or even taking Rex Kwon-do classes. I just wish Nate were my size, because the idiot who was standing in the bike lane in the dusk under the bridge would've taken the worst of it.

Keep on riding, Nate. We'll get him next time!

Minnesota Vikings are Worthless

2008-09-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well, not only have my beloved Vikings started what was supposed to be a "Super Bowl" caliber season 0-2, but according to Forbes, the team is the most worthless in the NFL--even worth less than the crappy Raiders.

The silver lining, though, is that the owners, the Wilf Brothers, have actually made a $239 million USD return on their investment in the three years since they bought the franchise from Red McCombs. Of course, that silver lining only benefits the Wilf Brothers. I'm not a Wilf.

Darn it.

Children's Bookstore

2008-09-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

My neighbor is now online! May I suggest that you take a moment and link to ChildrensBookstore.com. It's a site dedicated to kids' books, helping kids learn to read, sharing tips and ideas and looks to be pretty easy to navigate. It's been a collaborative effort for a couple of my neighbors, actually. One is the creative genius behind the content, and the other has put together all the nerdy back-end applications stuff. If you like either and would like to get in touch with them for your project, drop me a note.

In the mean time, read to your kids!

Minnesota Awesomeness

2008-09-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, if you've never been to the Minnesota State Fair, too bad for you. It is greasy goodness, deep-fried and on a stick. Arteries cringe at the sound of the fair approaching. You pay $11 to get in the gate and have the pleasure of shedding years off your life in delicious fashion. Behold, the list of "on-a-stick" foods, courtesy of Fairbourne's Food Finder. Nummy.

We were able to sample the following foods:
-- Deep-fried cheese curds: a Fair staple for decades, these are ridiculously good;
-- Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies: ten cashiers wide and a line of 10-15 at each cashier purchasing a $14 bucket o' cookies means Sweet Martha is taking baths in twenties;
-- Key Lime pie on a stick: seen this in the past, this was the first year we went for it. Good, but would be better with non-dark chocolate dip;
-- Cheesecake on a stick: get. get. get. and get another one.
-- Zeppoles: Italian something-or-other dough bathed in powdered sugar: a winner
-- Dairy building "malt": nothing more than soft-server ice cream smothered in blackberries--it was good, but wasn't a malt;

In the past I've sampled the Lutheran sundae, which was a pile of mashed potatoes with a big meatloafy meatball and gravy on top, which is quite tasty, an egg roll on a stick and many other things.

Make plans to come next August. Totally worth the trip. And I'm totally biased about it, too. I own it.

While You're Sleeping...

2008-08-27T22:01:00.001-07:00

There's a great article in the WSJ regarding what's going on in Georgia, as the Russian Army allegedly is withdrawing. Too many feet on the street say that this is simply not happening. The media continues to ignore this in America, as they are overwhelmed by his Obamaness and the anointing ceremony of the supreme Marxist commandante in Denver.

About thirteen years ago, I met a higher-ranking government official from Georgia on a train in Spain. He had married a woman from Barcelona and was on his way to pick her up after she'd spent time with family there and then head back to Georgia. Georgia was a new democracy back then, in its infancy, but after having a wonderful chat with this man, I could tell something burned in his chest--the flame of desire for freedom. I've since read in other places that the Georgians "get it" when it comes to fighting for freedom. Soldiers I know who've deployed to Iraq and have fought alongside and trained the Georgians have told me that they "get it" more than anyone else--sometimes more than the Americans. Watch the reception that President Bush got in Tbilisi in 2005 and you'll see a nation of people that "gets it." This was the infamous "watch stealing" episode (that wasn't), but the Georgians welcomed this president, who talked the talk and walked the walk about defending nascent freedom, with arms wide open.

To have the Russians move in on Georgia, attempting to quash a people who "get it" and take from them the freedom they had won not even fifteen years prior, is evidence of a troubling dichotomy in the Russian sphere. In Russia, you have a nation who was once proud, immensely powerful, feared and had since become a shell of its former self. In Georgia (and the Ukraine, and other former "SSRs") you have a sovereign nation who, now that it has drank deep from the fountain of freedom, relishes its opportunity and even stands boldly against those who would attempt to deprive others of a chance at it. To ignore the Russian aggression against Georgia is to say the men and women dying in Iraq and Afghanistan promoting democracy is a waste--that it somehow is not worth it.

Let's take a lesson from the Georgians. Let's "get it" and stand up to a Russia driven by unfulfilled dreams of empire, attempting to forcefully control something that cannot be controlled: the Georgian desire--the human desire--for freedom.

MS Ride a Success (Day Two)

2008-08-26T17:11:00.001-07:00

Day two began with the prospect of being a bit shorter (50 instead of 60 miles) a bit flatter (less climbing to start the day, less elevation gain overall) and a different kind of scenic.

Everything went as planned except that I totally bonked about ten miles from the finish. About the half-way point, I hooked up with a group of riders from Mountain Orthopedic (some of whom I'd met at the start) and we got in a sweet paceline as we put about 15 miles on in about 45 minutes. I pulled and then let Henry (Enrique) and Alex (Sr.) do the pulling too. Both of these men are Basque (surprise that I gravitated to them) and they were both in their 60s making me look like I had a wooden leg and a plastic lung. They rode like machines. I really need to train harder. That's Henry in the front of the picture below and Alex right behind him. I'm taking the picture over my shoulder while pulling. The ladies in back are daughters and daughters-in-law.

I made it back into McCall solo--as I got dropped when I hit the wall. No worries, though, as I got to the massage table while there was no line. $10 for a thirty-minute post-race was $10 well spent. I think the spa (located in our home town) has a new client. I'll probably send Carrie first. She earned it.

Total stats on the ride:
Day one:
Distance: 59.32 miles
Time: 4:32:23
Avg. speed: 13.1 mph
Max speed: 35.8 mph
Calories burned: 5020
Avg. cadence: 68 rpm

Day two:
Distance: 49.20
Time: 3:19:09
Avg. speed: 15.2 mph
Max. speed: 37.6 mph
Calories burned: 3284
Avg. cadence: 69 rpm

I used my heart-rate monitor on the Garmin 305 Carrie bought for me for the first time on this ride. It says my average heart rate was 126 bpm and my max was 143 bpm. I have no idea what that means, but I assume that the first number is a bit high and the fact I didn't die may be a good thing. If anyone knows what that is, let me know--or I'll look it up myself. Everytime I go to the doctor, they tell me my blood pressure is normal and my heart rate is too. So I'm putting it out there for your closet MDs to tell me if I should be concerned.

Thanks to all my sponsors for their wonderful (and GENEROUS) support on this ride. I know I ask you folks every year to do what you can, and you continually amaze me and my family with your generosity and true devotion to this cause. I invite you to come ride/visit/watch next year. McCall is a beautiful location and would be a great place for a vacation.

Thanks again--and lots of love to each of you!

MS Ride a Success (Day One)

2008-08-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

I finished. The MS Ride up in McCall this year was terrific. It was tough. It was challenging. It was well-supported. I love the ride and I love the opportunity to participate in such a fantastic cause. I've got a few pictures from it--although only a pair of them with me, since I didn't really know anyone in the ride (that changed after I rode...I'm a talker), but enjoy!

On day one, I climbed the first thirty miles--seriously--it was an "out-and-back" ride of mostly climbing the first thirty miles--and left the lunch stop ready to head down the mountain. About a mile or two into it, I noticed something on my front tire that looked like tar or goo. I stopped and realized that I had a "herniated tire" and that unless I could find a tire (not a tube), my ride would be over, and I would miss the downhill I had earned. See the picture below for a look at what a herniated tire looks like (note the blisters):

So I hopped into the SAG wagon that would take me to the twenty-mile rest stop and waited. He was also the Sweep car, so we had to wait for the last riders to go--he couldn't use his radio because he wasn't "HAM-certified" or something. Yikes. On our way down the mountain, we came across two brothers (who I'd seen a few times already) who were having their fair share of mechanical problems. One of them had just gotten his third flat of the morning (that was about one per hour). His brother Jason had already flatted once and also broken a cleat on his shoe. Good times. I suggested the issue wasn't "tubular" but instead "rimular" or "spokular" and that he ought to check that out. To make a long story short, we swapped wheels, rims and all, so I could ride down the hill (he was done--plus the SAG wagon had beer and he was thirsty). Here's a nice picture of the "two wrongs make a bike" pair of wheels:

That night, I joined my family, was super grumpy and sore, and actually got a reasonable amount of sleep. Special thanks to my wonderful wife for putting up with me and allowing me to do this without too much "leaving the kids alone" guilt. I love this cause and I love this ride. Mostly because I love my Mom.

Where I'll Be Riding This Weekend

2008-08-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

Just in case you're wondering where the MS Road, Sweat and Gears ride is this weekend, here's a look:

DAY ONE RIDE

And the elevation:

Both the day one and day two rides are "out and back" rides, which means I'll be on either side of the road, depending on the time of day. I'm excited about the ride, but the elevation should prove to be quite a challenge. I find that the harder the hills, the more I think about my Mom...so Mom, your ears should be itching or burning--or whatever they do when people think about you--almost all weekend!

Uncommonly Common

2008-08-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

In the vein of "you can find anything on the internet" I got a bug to look up my surname and see how common it is. I don't see it as all that common--and the variations of it are even less common. Little did I know that my name is #574 in America and there are an estimated 52,495 Randalls in America--meaning that 19.46 people per 100,000 share my last name.

My wife's maiden name is #807. I guess the Randalls have been more "fertile."

Obumper Sticker

2008-07-31T14:01:00.001-07:00

I'm really kind of tired of the bumper sticker soundbites that keep dribbling out of the mouth of Barack Obama. Today he offered more "change" for America as he called for excessive taxing of American oil companies and "windfall" profit taxes "while we're paying $4 a gallon and they're making record profits."

Um. Hello? It's not Exxon's fault they're making major profits. They don't set gas prices. They make the gas. The price of oil per barrel is set by excessive speculation in the petroleum futures markets. Obama is entirely clueless on this issue--but since America by-and-large is also clueless as to how markets work, he can say this sort of crap and get away with it. I mean, hey, who wants to stick it to the consumer when it's "big oil's fault" or "greedy corporations" that are fleecing us, right? He'll "close the loopholes" in taxation. Of course, he'll drive small business out of business in the process--but he's not interested in that. His party wants you to become enslaved to big government (the state) and rely on the state for all your needs because you're incapable of taking care of yourself.

(Um...hey...that's Fascism, if you're wondering.)

Do yourself a solid and do NOT vote for this cardboard cutout of a candidate. Hopichangitude is nothing more than socialism...and if you appreciated the depth and length of the Great Depression, then you'll understand that's what we're staring at in an Obama White House.

We've already declared independence from foreign powers. I wouldn't have thought we'd have to fight for independence from government intervention in how we buy goods, work, do business, etc.

I Am Awesome!

2008-07-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so that title is a bit presumptuous, but I accomplished something yesterday that was totally unexpected. Background: I had read in Bicycling Magazine about a year ago that the best way to teach a kid to ride without training wheels (and also the fastest) was to take them to a grassy hill with a slight incline and basically send them down it. That's the first video you'll see below.

After breakfast-for-dinner last night, I took Nate out on the "hill" in our common area behind the house and got him on his bike for some "lessons." Nate took about four trips down the grassy hill and wanted to hit the pavement (not literally). That's the second video you'll see.

The time difference between the two videos is fifteen minutes (Carrie said it was actually fourteen). The article in Bicycling promised fifteen minutes. They delivered. Nathan rode his bike to TCBY last night (about two miles) and wanted more this morning. He's doing so well! Plus he learned to ride a bike two years before Riley did and three years before his old man. (I've made up for my late start!)

GREAT WORK, NATE! Ride on, my brother!

Awareness

2008-07-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

I just came across this awareness test that you might find enlightening. I know I did.

Maren Elise

2008-07-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that the thing we do the worst as parents is come up with names for our newborns in a timely fashion. This latest attempt was no different. Carrie and I wrestled with the names (Carrie knows illegal ninja moves from the government, though, so the wrestling was hard for me) for quite some time. She even acquired a baby name book from the hospital (Clotilde? Really?) for inspiration. In the end, we decided on Maren Elise for our little one. I chose Maren, and I think Carrie likes Elise. She did come up with it.

Here's why I came up with Maren. The name is in our family from the Danish side through my mother. I had originally suggested Maren Marie, as I believe that is on both mine and Carrie's sides, but Marie was shot down...which is certainly fine with me. Pretty common (Mary), too. Anyway, Maren Marie Henriksen (Denmark) was by great-great grandmother, and Elise Pedersen (Sweden) married my great-great-grandfather Jens Christian Sorensen, who was widowed with three children (my great-grandmother among them) in 1880 and raised them plus the six other children born to her with Jens.

Additionally, in December of 1995, I had dinner with Andrea and Maren Gibb in Montclair, CA. A pretty average dinner at Olive Garden--I had known the Gibbs as I volunteered for the Upland Stake Creche Festival, and they were involved in the execution of the event somehow. Anyway, they must've noticed something in me and over dinner mentioned that they had a friend who was also a teacher (true), also spoke Spanish (true), and was also very funny (very true), so therefore we "should get together and go out." So Maren and her mother are the reason why I have such an incredible wife and an awesome life.

I can't think of a better tribute than that. We mix family and friends with one name. I really do have a great life!

A Baby, A Baby, We Have Got a Baby...!

2008-07-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

The family count is now six. I'm good with that. Carrie says she's good too. We'll see who flinches first. Our latest little bundle o'joy arrived at 11:49 a.m. MDT today. She was six pounds, thirteen ounces at birth, and if I heard right, she's twenty-one inches long. I left to go get the siblings before they measured her. Carrie had a pretty quick delivery (according to her doctor it was a push and a half...beats twenty-four hours of hard labor!).

SHE'S TINY. A total peanut. Enjoy the pictures and video!

Latest on Landis

2008-06-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

In the latest--and last--option for Floyd Landis, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed the appeal that Floyd Landis had entered to keep his 2006 Tour de France title. He was stripped of that title for elevated testosterone. I for one have always maintained that Floyd was innocent. This decision does little to change that opinion. I don't have any personal insights or insider info that makes me think this, just a gut feeling and a few questions:

1) Doping before the biggest race of the year, I can see happening. Doping DURING that race, knowing that if you win (even a stage win), that you'll be tested? No way.
2) Doping by taking testosterone--which doesn't even kick in immediately--and is the easiest performance-enhancer to catch, since it's been around longest? No way.
3) I just trust Floyd. I'm not sure why. He's not even my favorite cyclist. I just trust that he's been honest. Until he comes out and says "I was lying all along" (which I don't think is coming), I will believe Floyd.

I really believe he was a victim of either faulty testing or some sort of conspiracy against American cyclists--who, with Lance--had dominated the TdF for eight years straight.

Floyd Landis--MY Tour de France 2006 Champion.

Current Temperature in Hell: 34 degrees Fahrenheit and falling?

2008-06-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

If you're familiar with the UK weekly "The Guardian" then you're aware that their M.O. is usually to bash the U.S., and over the last eight years, to ridicule, belittle and besmirch the Bush administration. That's what makes this column all the more unexpected.

It basically sums up--from a much larger pulpit--what I've felt all along: George W. Bush, although not perfect, has been right on the War on Terror in general and the pursuit of al-Qaeda elsewhere in the world. He understood clearly, post-9/11, the threat that islamists would pose to freedom and democracy worldwide, and took the fight to their yard. A few excerpts:

The theocratic barbarism responsible for the attack on the Twin Towers was driven not by what America and its allies had done, but by what we represented.

He continues:

The most fundamental decision in western security policy in the past seven years has not been the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. It has been the recognition that the most voluble adversaries of western society are not merely a criminal subculture, and still less an incipient liberation movement. Rather, they are a reactionary, millenarian and atavistic force with whom accommodation is impossible as well as intensely undesirable.

Read the entire article. It's not a pro-Bush honk, but a seemingly objective look at the overall Bush policy of pursuit in lieu of passivity.

I'm (not) Old

2008-06-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I officially had a terrific birthday yesterday. It all started with a thrashing at the hands of three friends in doubles tennis at 6:00 a.m. We played one set, which my partner and I dropped 7-5. Then we switched partners for set two--which my new partner and I dropped 6-2. I was officially a loser by 7:45 a.m. I headed home with my racket between my legs and Carrie took the kids down to DK, bringing me home some delicious jelly-filled doughnuts. With losing now a distant memory, I looked forward to lunch plans with a different group of amigos at the local Chicago Dog joint. Polish dog, french fries with celery salt (that's good, by the way) and good conversation made for a nice birthday midday. Got some work done in the p.m. and then about 6:15 we went out as a family for dinner. We ate so much--and then they brought out my birthday dessert (a foot-high mudpie piece with hot fudge all over it)--that we still have a completely uncut birthday cake in the kitchen--seriously. We blew out the candles on it (ha hah---only 6) and no one wanted any because we were bloated. The kids hooked me up with a t-shirt that has their hand prints on it and says "hands down our daddy is..." on the front, and "the best!" on the back. Got socks a belt, a couple of CO2 tire inflation guns for my bike and the day was complete.

I have the bestest family in the whole wide world!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

Just a short note about my awesome Father's Day. On our way home from California this weekend, my wife asked me what I wanted for dinner on Father's Day. Without hesitation, I requested one of her awesome paellas. So there I was today, surrounded by good friends and an incredible wife eating one of my favorite foods. Remember, Carrie doesn't even eat paella. The only reason she learned how to make it was because I love it so much. If you ask me, she makes the most delicious paella on the planet. Anyone who disagrees with me is free to take a taste. That ought to shut them up!

Thanks, honey!

Last Night I Partied Like it Was 1985

2008-06-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

As you can see by the stellar image quality from my Motorola Q, last night I stepped back into my high school days and did something that I've only done on a pair of occasions now since I told myself in 1993 that I wouldn't ever do again: I went to a rock concert.

Strike that. This was no ordinary rock concert. This was my second go-round (the only band I've ever spent concert ticket money on twice) for Rush. On the ride over, my three concert-mates (and neighbors) and I were trying to do the math as to the age of Geddy, Alex and Neil. Their first album was released in 1974. If they were 17-18, that puts them in AARP range now. Of course, they're Canadian, so maybe it's CAARP, but you get the picture. Let me just state this for the record: THEY STILL ROCK.

Watching these "old" men run around on stage, play their music (my buddy Jake says each has a doctorate in music), work the crowd, inject some emotion and basically blow the roof off the arena was pretty cool. This was also the first go-round for me seeing parents bringing their kids to a concert that wasn't sponsored by the Wiggles or Nickelodeon. Nate told me today that he wanted to go "to the concert next time." Well, if the energy Rush displayed last night was any indication, he may be taking his kids.

They started off the set with Limelight, and ended it with YYZ (I think...they threw in A Passage to Bangkok somewhere at the end). They played a bunch of stuff off Snakes and Arrows, their latest studio album, and then gave the mass of humanity what they wanted with Tom Sawyer, Spirit of Radio, a nice long Neil Peart drum exhibition (anyone who says he's not the best drummer on the planet is obviously smoking some sort of illegal substance and should be beaten about the cranium), the Trees, Subdivisions and many other darn good songs.

Biggest disappointment: NO songs off Power Windows. Only one off of Grace Under Pressure (although it was "Between the Wheels" which is excellent). Only one off of Hold Your Fire...and in my opinion, not the best one (but again, a good choice with "Mission".)

Some cool things: As they headed off for an intermission, Geddy says, "since we are no longer "sprrrrring chickens" we need to take a short break." Frankly, I couldn't stand for the nearly three-hour set anyway, and needed a "sprrrrring chicken" break, too. In between sets, they would run this little video story with the bandmembers as the actors. The opening sequence had Alex in bed dreaming of snakes, awakening in a sweat. He leans back and says "honey, I had a dream about snakes. Why am I dreaming about snakes? Honey?" Neil Peart emerges from the other side of the bed--they look at each other and scream. Then they run a bit about Tom Sawyer with the South Park cartoon. Cartman has long Geddy hair and sings, "Monday warrior, today's Tom Sawyer, he floated down a river with a black guy." Then he says "that's what the book says, I read it...and I'm Geddy Lee, I'll sing whatever lyrics I want." It's that kind of stuff that helps you realize that this trio gets it. They're not self-righteous egoists. They're musicians. I really liked Alex's acoustic/electric solo--and during Neil's extended drum work, the pictures in back paid homage to Buddy Rich.

You know what the coolest thing about them is? They play music. Sure they let their opinions come out in that music, but it's not in-your-face politics, just make-you-pause stuff. And they didn't cuss all night. In fact, I've never heard a cuss word in ANY of their songs. No sex. No swearing. Just good music played by three guys who know their way around their instruments. If I could pair them with Kepa Junkera on some sort of something, I'd be in music nirvana.

I'd go see them again. Tonight. If I could.

Ride of Silence

2008-05-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

This past week, we joined a couple of other cyclists to participate in Boise's version of the Ride of Silence. This is a worldwide gathering--dozens of rides--dozens of locations--to honor those who have lost their lives in automobile-bicycle accidents. Last year we had a woman killed here in our hometown by a woman who shouldn't have been driving, as she was on medication which carried the label "do not drive while taking this medication." Worse still was that the woman was driving a Hummer. A Smart car would kill a biker. A Hummer leaves no doubt. There was a ghost bike at that corner for months.

At any rate, I brought my two oldest kids to ride with me on the Ride of Silence here. My daughter rode alongside me, and my son in the Burley. Because of the timing and the local community advocacy groups being tied up in other pursuits, there were only five of us on the ride--after hundreds last year. I think it was a wake-up call for us. This sort of thing is only impactful if it is done in volume. I've posted a couple of pics below of the ride and its participants.

Next time you're out in the car, take a look around you. The life you save by being aware of cyclists may be mine. It's definitely someone important--to someone.

Extras

2008-05-22T07:50:00.001-07:00

I just found a cool website that lets me sync and manage everything on my Windows Mobile smartphone at www.dashwire.com. I like it! I also found some old pics I'd forgotten about on my phone due to the site. I'm putting them here. Some are from the trip Nate and I took to Provo to watch a BYU volleyball game and others are just random stuff. I know you want to see them. You really do.

Nate hangs out with the Colonel:

Nate drives a mini squad car in Rancho Cucamonga:

Nate and Riley in line at Soaring Over California:

Just for Joneel

2008-05-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Our good friend in California has posted her score from Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. I counter with this salvo. Of course, our annual passes expire at the end of this year--but since we're a bazillion miles away from Anaheim, they're just not as useful as Joneel's. She's definitely got us there.

Behold the reason why I feel safe at home at night:

I am completely safe from alien attack.

What exactly do you do?

2008-05-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

A lot of times people ask me, "exactly what is it that you do?" I actually had a friend ask me that on the way to lunch today. Well, I offer this YouTube clip to help show you the end process of what I'm working on now for Nokia. The project I'm working on is designed to create a program to connect Nokia, their channel partners and independent software vendors (ISVs or developers) in an effective go-to-market program. The Nokia partner here is Invisible IT based out of the Bay Area. The ISV here is Agito (a company I've had a pair of meetings with and who I can say have great leadership), and the handset is a Nokia eSeries device. This ain't your cell providers freebie Nokia handset. Nokia makes from pretty kickin' handsets--and this is one of them, as you'll see.

So, now do you have a better idea what I do? Didn't think so!

This is Interesting. America More Popular?

2008-05-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

I found this little story while tooling around this morning. It's interesting to get a voice that seems to run contrary to the mashed potatoes we are consistently being fed via the MSM. I would wager to say that this opinion piece hits closer to the truth than most, not because it echoes what I suspect--and therefore sounds good to me--but that it's supported with hard data.

The key point to me is that it highlights the respect that key Asian nations have for America so long as it keeps its commitments--and doesn't turn tail and run. Something like this should--and I emphasize should--influence the way we vote in November.

Sadly, it probably won't to most people.

Devastatin' Dave Backs Barack

2008-04-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

This just in: In a press conference this morning, "Devastatin' Dave the Turntable Slave" has officially backed Illinois Senator Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. Dave's comments this morning were limited to "Zip! Zap! Rap!" but Dave seemed really excited about the possibility of becoming relevant again after his 80s-style cotton candy rap fell out of favor with the 100 people who bought his LP back in the day.

Idaho's Democratic Primary a LAUGHER

2008-04-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

This story makes me want to go and register as a Democrat here in Idaho. If I do, I could vote for Keith Russell Judd, who is in prison in Texas until 2013. According to the story, all you need to get on the Dem ballot here is $1000 of discretionary cash.

I'm not sure which part of this story I like more: that a convicted felon is on the same ballot as an unconvicted felon and an America-hater; that a man who can't vote in an election is eligible to be on the ballot for an election; or that it only costs $1000 to get on the ballot. When we lived in California, I almost put myself on the recall election ballot that got Arnold Schwarzenegger elected, but I think it would've cost me $2500. I've got better things to do with my $$$ than beat Cruz Bustamante or Gray Davis.

Hey Dems in Idaho: HAAAAHAAAHAHAAAAAA.

If Al Gore Speaks In San Francisco, Does He Make Any Noise?

2008-04-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

I work in the IT industry and therefore subscribe to a lot of email and RSS feeds of industry rags. ChannelWeb, who publishes VARBusiness magazine and other things gave me this little nugget that you probably missed since media was not allowed into Al Gore's recent keynote speech at the annual RSA SecurWorld Conference.

I can definitely get behind the "be better stewards of the earth" philosophy that should underscore this debate. But it seems that it isn't a "debate" to anyone on Mr. Gore's speed-dial. It's over to him. We're all hot fire-breathers who expel carbon carbon and more carbon and are killing the planet. Never mind the real scientists who have proved these theories false time and time again. According to the Gospel of St. Albert, they are nothing more than kooks and fools who have bought into the neocon cover up of global warming.

FYI: It snowed in Boise last week. The day after it was 75 degrees. Whatever, Al. You go ahead and put mercury-laden bulbs in your sockets--your grandkids will clean up after you.

Oh the Places You'll Go!

2008-04-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

I found this little widget via Facebook. Kinda fun.

Madrid, Spain

Munich, Germany

Rome, Italy

Copenhagen, Denmark

Create your own travel map or travel blog

Visit TripAdvisor.com

But I know illegal ninja moves from the government...

2008-04-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

Just in case you missed it....

2008-04-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

You should log onto YouTube and subscribe to my channel.
There are new videos at least annually.
Enjoy.

Vertigo is so Much FUN!

2008-04-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Vomit. Projectile vomiting. Nausea. Upset stomach. Happiest place on earth.

You might be a redneck...

2008-03-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

I knew we weren't in the Bay Area. I also knew we weren't in Westwood. What I didn't know is that by stopping in Nevada for gas, we had entered the land of the coolest t-shirts ever made.

Behold, I share with you this awesome t-shirt that accomplishes two wonderful purposes:
1) It expounds the virtues of eating meat
2) It sticks a pair of fingers, a la Moe, in the Curly-esque ojos of PETA and all the other "animals are more important than people" folks.

Fire up the BBQ, folks. Summer's coming soon!

Girl Scout Cookies Should be 501(c)

2008-03-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

As my daughter's Girl Scout cookie sales wind down for 2008, I'm left to ponder whether or not the $320 we spent on lipid disks was worth it. If only Uncle Sam would make cookies tax-exempt under some number like 501. Funny thing is, we wouldn't be getting the largest deduction on her sales. That designation is reserved for her grandma in California who has now made two separate orders--and has yet to taste a cookie. They're sitting in our garage. My wife was on the phone with her Mother this morning taking a second order with the purpose, I believe, of pushing our daughter's sales total over 500 boxes. To her credit, she sold door-to-door and didn't pansy out like other kids by sending their cookie order sheet to work, plus she's worked all three store-front booth sales. That is one man-hour intensive little patch, baby. And she earned EVERY stitch of that little embroidered piece of fuzz!

Look lady, it's $7.42. Geeesh.

2008-03-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

I got a call yesterday from a woman who was returning my call from Saturday. My daughter and I were out delivering the Girl Scout cookies she'd sold in January* and we came across a house which now had a "sale pending" sign in the yard--and where after two visits, no one had come to the door. We had a name and number from our sale sheet, so I called and left a message asking where to deliver the cookies.

The call on Sunday went like this:

Lady: "Hello? I didn't order any Girl Scout cookies."
Me: "Um, I have your order right here, Mrs. Weddle."
Lady: "Yeah, but I didn't order any cookies. I think you have the wrong house."
Me: "Well, let me check. You're Mrs. Weddle at [address] and your phone number is [number], correct?"
Lady: "Yes. But I didn't order any cookies."
Me: "How do I have your name, address and phone number written in handwriting other than my own, then?"
Lady: "When did you come by?"
Me: "Most likely, it was late January."
Lady: "Well, my husband was here then. He must've bought them."
Me: "Most likely. Where can we deliver? It's $7.42."
Lady: "I'll be home all day Monday."

Seriously. It's $7 for Girl Scouts. My wife delivered today. I hope she enjoys them after all the denial she was floating. I especially enjoyed how she disdainfully referred to how her husband must've bought them.

*My daughter is a cookie sales MACHINE. She racked up 352 boxes in pre-sale, and while we were out delivering sold another bazillion. She's getting like 59 patches and a trip to see some really important person somewhere. Choke on that other girls in the troop! Ha HAH! Even though she backed off a bit (on purpose) from last year's total, she still smoked the rest of her troop like a cheap (candy) cigar. She was all mad-dogging other moms when they came to pick up their daughters' cookie orders of like 35 boxes and 72 boxes. She was all "Yeah, uh-huh. That's how I roll. Triple-digits, baby. Bring it. I'm a Samoa-selling, thin mint-hawking, Do-si-Doer, yo. You're weak. Now take your All-Abouts and get out of my garage."**

**These words may not have actually been spoken by my daughter. They may have, in fact, been only thoughts which entered the head of her overly-competitive father. Still trying to verify that.

How the EU Pays its Bloated Bills

2008-02-27T08:24:00.000-08:00

I'm a little upset at something that really doesn't affect me at all this morning. I read this story citing how the EU is fining Microsoft $1.5B USD for "violations of its antitrust ruling in 2004" and could only think, "this is how a bureaucracy supports itself." It's rather like socialism/communism/marxism. In order to maintain relevance and sustain its life, these ideologies confiscate, fine, tax and steal in order to feed the pig--the bloated, fat, hungry pig. Because innovation and socialism play together like lamb and a lion, socialism has to tax the innovation of others in order to keep up its existence. This is ridiculous. Sad. Expected.

So, what does 899M euros buy you these days, new office chairs for the Brussels bunker?

Gimme tripz to Vegas. Kthx.

2008-02-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

Go here to vote for my totally funny LOL cat and get me a trip to Vegas where I promise not to gamble. For I do not do those sorts of things. Kthx bai.

More on the online Poker Cats Contest

The Fabulous Mrs. Lee

2008-02-21T09:46:00.001-08:00

Take the next three minutes, thirty-one seconds of your life and get to know Debbie Lee. She's earned that much of your time. Trust me.

Whether You Know Him or Not

2008-02-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

I was talking with my wife earlier tonight and she had asked if I'd read about my sister's friend who was serving in Iraq. I said I hadn't, but feared the worst. Well, I read the email about Frederick Hinton, a friend of my sister who is serving the American and Iraqi people on his second tour there. Apparently, he had a mission which was to recover the bodies of five fallen brothers and return them to camp--a job that was "gruesome" to use my sister's vernacular. It seems Frederick can't sleep at night because when he closes his eyes, he sees the men he was sent to retrieve--and to add to the woe, one of his platoon members committed suicide shortly after they returned from that mission.

So the title of this post is this: Whether you know Frederick or not, pray for him, his platoon mates, the Marine Corps, the Army, all of our servicemen and women and their families. They are doing a terrific job in horrific conditions placing the freedom from tyranny and terror of the Iraqi people ahead of their own lives. Don't believe the garbage the media feeds you--the surge is working. These heroes will, when it's all said and done, have created a toehold for democracy in an area of the world that has never really known it. It's not just about supporting the troops--it's about supporting the cause of freedom, of being able to live, worship, do as you please, and the rule of law. Anyone who tells you different has an agenda--and it's an agenda upon which I choose not to be listed.

God bless the soldiers and civilians of all nations who have come together in Iraq and Afghanistan to pull these good men and women out of tyranny, poverty and fear. The process is not quick, rather steady. May they succeed. They must. They will.

Love Me Some Klondike

2008-02-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Lookie what I did this weekend! Enjoy the frozen commentary! This was just south of Cascade, ID--and we had PLENTY of snow to work with. Snowed the whole time we were there, too.

If you like chicken nuggets, kabobs and war...

2008-01-31T08:17:00.000-08:00

Then you'll appreciate this.

Gordon Bitner Hinckley Goes Home

2008-01-28T08:00:00.001-08:00

President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was called home last evening. My first thought was how blessed I was to have been a contemporary of his in some small way. I'm honored to have followed his counsel and to have witnessed his tenure as president of the LDS faith. As I've read more about his life in the last few hours, I'm humbled by his dedication to the Lord and His Gospel.

I was there as he dedicated the St. Paul Temple and sat just feet away as he walked the halls of that building in preparation of its dedication. I knew then as I know now that he was the Lord's anointed. I thrilled to be in Madrid in 1999 as he dedicated the temple there--in the nation in which I served a mission. I took up his challenge to read the Book of Mormon by the end of 2005 and was blessed.

President Hinckley will be missed by all who knew him--but I can't help but think that all those who knew him are so very grateful this day that the Lord has called him home to be with his beloved Marjorie, and to continue this great work from beyond the veil.

VISIT MY OTHER BLOG--DO IT NOW.

2008-01-24T11:45:00.001-08:00

...and leave a comment: http://carvemyrushmore.blogspot.com/

Critical Thinking

2008-01-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Just heard this old joke on the radio. Still a classique. Enjoy.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend.

"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

"I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes," replies Watson.

"And what do you deduce from that?"

Watson ponders for a minute. "Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. What does it tell you, Holmes?"

Holmes is silent for a moment. "Watson, you idiot!" he says. "Someone has stolen our tent!"

Team Comeback?

2008-01-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

I was reading in Bicycling magazine this morning that there's a new pro cycling team being formed in the US. If you look at the roster, you may notice that many of the riders are either retired or had been forced into retirement due to the Operacion Puerto doping allegations out of Spain.

The most curious involvement to me is that they're courting Floyd Landis to be involved. This is my favorite quote from the story, citing a Landis email in response to questions as to whether he's involved with this new team, Team Rock Racing:

Landis wrote, "No comment, but I wish them the best. They have hired a bunch of exceptional racers who deserve support. Support, I might add, that was taken away because of political pressure from out of control anti-doping agencies run by second place finishers."

Classic Floyd. And for the record, I still say he's innocent--and still the 2006 Tour de France Champion.

Look What My Wife Started...

2008-01-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

You Belong in 1952

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Fitting that I belong three years farther back than my wife. That's the difference in our ages.

Marketing to Four Year-Olds

2008-01-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

Nate just came in and informed me that I should get the "Power Rangers Motorcycle." I asked what that is, which he happily informed me was a motorcycle that helps you be a Power Ranger. He then provided me with the location of said motorcycle: "Dad, you can find it on the Power Ranger aisle at Target."

I told him I'd look into it.

Dad's Helper

2008-01-14T07:20:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks back I asked my son if he wanted to help take down the Christmas lights. He did. He "helped" me do the backyard, gathered up the mess of extension cords and we got all the lights down pretty quickly. Nate was impressed with the extension pole that I use in order to avoid using the ladder. I think he would've just enjoyed using that for a couple of hours. Here he is "helping" with the cords.

My sister says that in her post-graduate linguistics program, she worked with an Indian tribe in California who has an actual specific word for someone who helps you complete a task, but that although you complete the task, by having their "help" the task is actually harder to complete. I like the concept--but in this case, no matter how much "more" work is created, I'll always love working with my little guy to get something done.

The Proper Way to Ring in the New Year

2008-01-01T19:59:00.001-08:00

Another thing we have up here in the north is "Bogus Basin." Don't be jealous that your ski resorts have names like "Aspen" or "Crested Butte" or even "Sugarloaf." You wish you had "Bogus" in the name. Think of it. You could have "Bogus Park City" or "Bogus Deer Valley" or even "Bogus Sundance." You wish.

But the original Bogus Basin has a tubing hill for the kiddies--complete with tow ropes for full-laziness. Behold the two runs we caught on video today. I order you to enjoy.

Bogus Run 1

Bogus Run 2

Chuck E. Cheesy

2007-12-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Went to Chuck E. Cheese last Saturday with the two big ones. Of course I spent about 100 big ones while there...but as you can see from the picture, the kids love it. It only took me about a minute to not worry about whether the kids were "wasting" their tokens on games. The ROI on the tickets back doesn't get you anything anyway...at the end of the day, you get 300 tickets, a plastic bug ring, and smiles on the kids' faces. (Having a spray bottle of anti-bacterial/germicidal/anti-fungal/ay carumba is good, too.)

I'm Done Dreaming

2007-12-31T10:46:00.000-08:00

Since we moved up here, we at least get a shot at a White Christmas every year. This year we hit the jackpot. Enjoy the picture of our little slice of paradise...taken from a low-res Motorola cell phone.

A Little Perspective.

2007-12-14T10:39:00.001-08:00

From my Mom, I give you this link. No real lead-up, just click it and listen. I could only think "from the mouths of babes."

Now That Baseball is a Confirmed Cheat-Fest

2007-12-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

I give you another reason to watch hockey.

You can be sure that when baseball players fight, it's probably roid-rage or because someone told someone else they had a big fat (HGH-induced) head. In hockey, it's just adrenaline--and enhances the entertainment value.

Remember, the guy who watched this fight from section 212 paid $20 for his seat--and got this in addition to a whole hockey game. The same rube who saw similar results from Mike Tyson in his prime would've shelled out hundreds for a crummy seat. Who's the smarter fan?

Church Shooting in Colorado

2007-12-10T14:59:00.000-08:00

With the church shootings in Colorado dominating news coverage today, I am drawn to James E. Faust's address from April 2007's LDS General Conference.

It's difficult to say how I'd react in such an instance. I can only pray that God would grant me the clarity to take the Amish road in such a case.

Posts Without Pictures

2007-12-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Just another of the free services that I offer.

Well, after about three months of working at home--and not traveling a single mile for business--I reentered the world of the business traveler last week with a one-nighter to San Jose. My thoughts:

1. The Quality Inn & Suites - Silicon Valley/Sunnyvale is neither quality nor sweet. Picture this nice setting: out the front door, you have the 101 whizzing by; around the door to my "suite" is this non-religious aura caused, no doubt, by a door supplier who didn't "get with" the frame supplier to ensure that the doors were the same size. It was like having a doggy door that went all the way around the entry; breakfast consisted of 37 ways to serve bread: waffles, bagels, toast, muffins (English or otherwise), etc. and a juice machine that had the old stalwarts apple and orange--with some odd concoction called "Pass-o-Mango" sandwiched in-between. Tasty. Um...

2. I recall that Norman Mineta was a commerce secretary under Pres. Clinton and a transportation secretary under Pres. Bush--but found out he was mayor of San Jose. What else I was reminded of this week, is that the rental car area at the airport that bears his name in San Jose stinks. Um, hey, San Jose? Seeing as how it rains there fairly regularly, you may want to invest in a canopy or two. How I love running from my car drop-off to the bus drop-off under the protection of my "fits-in-your-bag" umbrella. Nice work, Norm. And to the shuttle driver that closed the door as I was walking up to the shuttle--just two steps away--I saw the placard with your name on it, "Vincent." I'll be back in January--and I have a long memory for missed buses.

3. I hate Hyundai Elantras. XM satellite radio make them bearable, however.

4. I usually make a wrong turn on a business trip. This was no different. What stinks about NoCal, however, is that you can get off the freeway at an exit--but usually you cannot hop right back on. Thanks, Caltrans. Te amo.

5. I love me some CRJ Horizon Air planes. Irene the flight attendant was a breath of fresh air, however. The only empty seat on the plane was next to me (created a nice "buffer" between me and the loo...yup--I got to sit in the delicious back seat. Irene shared with me all of the fun that goes with turbulence with story after story. I thanked the Good Lord that my wife wasn't in that empty seat. I'm sure I'd have had "squeeze marks" on my forearm, chest, neck and head.

Veterans, Thank You.

2007-11-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

I was driving around Boise today and as coincidence would have it, stopped at a light behind a late model sedan with this license plate:

My wife noted that of all the military/veteran plates out there, this is the one that really hits her hard. I was choked up, too. She said she'd get out and knock on the man's window if she didn't think she'd startle him and his wife.

As for our Veteran's Day observance, what can we do? We'll be going to our neighbor's home this evening. He was a sailor in WWII and lives with his son here.

I just want to say that when you see a veteran, thank them. Hug them. Shake hands with them. A while back I almost missed the opportunity at the local grocery store--but seized it when presented the second time--to acknowledge a WWII/Korean War veteran. If you could've seen the look of humility in this man's face, and the look of pride in that of his wife, you'd never miss another opportunity--and would seek to create them--to thank veterans for everything with which we've been blessed in this great country.

Thank you veterans. I'll be forever in your debt.

If you'd like to support a good cause, check out my friend Chip's blog. He's affiliated with the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund, and is doing something about it.

Are You Tired of This Guy?

2007-11-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

Juan Carlos is! My respect for the Spanish king has always been high ever since I saw what he did when Col. Tejero Molina tried a military coup in the Madrid cortes back in 1981. Now that he laid the hammer down on Hugo Chavez in this clip, JCI has reaffirmed himself as "el hombre." Enjoy.

FYI: "¿Por qué no te callas?" is "Why don't you zip it?" in English...clásico.

Update: In this link, Juan Carlos has had enough of another South American dignitary and gets up and leaves. This provides a little context as well, as apparently Chavez called former Spanish president Aznar a "fascist." In other news, the pot in attendance called the kettle sitting to Chavez's right "black." Incredible.

Once a Cougar...

2007-11-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

I had a great weekend driving back to watch my undergrad alma mater destroy yet another opponent on the gridiron. It was my first trip to LaVell Edwards Stadium--since they renamed it after I was last there in 1995. The Cougars did not disappoint and won the game handily. I had a great time there with my wife and four other couples from here in Idaho. Campus has changed somewhat since I left in 1994, but at the end of the day, BYU is BYU. It will always be THE University of Utah.

Inspirational.

2007-10-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

As I was riding along on the second day of the MS ride, a guy came up alongside me and said, "Craig, right?" I said, yes...thought for a second, and told him, "Hey, I remember you from last year--but I don't recall your name." He told me "Glen." Then I was reminded that Glen was the guy who read my letter last year about why I ride--the one that was sent out to all the people on the SoCal MS Chapter's mailing list--and the one that inspired him to ride. I snapped this picture at the final rest stop on day two, right after we realized they were cutting the ride short for safety's sake, on account of the high winds and fires in the area. I was happy to see Glen had gone for two straight years, and that he was planning to do it again next year.

Keep up the good work, Glen...and may you be someone else's inspiration next year!

Fantastic Finish

2007-10-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Watch this.

Then watch it again and count not the laterals, but the number of guys in dark jerseys standing around after lateral #4.

Then watch it again and keep an eye out for clowns, unicycles and seals honking horns.

Cal-Stanford eat your collective hearts out.

The Other "Bib"

2007-10-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

The MS Society has also taken to giving people the opportunity to tell other riders who their inspiration is--who they're riding for. In six rides, I've only done this twice. The last time, my hand cramped as I wrote the names of all those I've met and love who are battling MS. This year, I whittled the list down to one: Mom.

Mom represents all those people for me. She is the most visible reminder to me of what MS does. She is the most loving example of someone who tries hard not to make it about her--like when she told me Monday night how amazing I was for doing this ride. Me? Amazing? How about you, Mom? How about Dad for being the best Dad, husband, father ever? And Mom calls me amazing? I'm truly humbled. I had another MOM-ent on the phone there.

So to all those I love who are battling MS, I say "keep fighting" and I'll keep riding as long as my chubby belly and "second knee caps" will let me. You all rock!

My Big Little Girl

2007-10-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

I had a nice voicemail waiting for me when I finished the century ride on Saturday. My daughter left the following for "Daddy":

"Hi Dad. We love you a lot. We really miss you. Congratulations on your bike ride. We miss you lots. We wish you were here with us. We're watching Hannah Montana. We wish you were here to enjoy it. It's not the same without you. Bye from all of us. We miss you. Bye!"

I was thinking of you, too, sweetie.

Thanks: Ready-to-Wear

2007-10-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone who rides the MS ride gets a number known as a "bib". In this year's ride, I was assigned orange bib number "44". According to the results from last year's ride, my supporters pledged enough support to make me the #44 top fundraiser in the ride for 2006. Altogether, you--my friends and family--and I pledged exactly $1500 to help fight MS. For that, I want to thank you forty-four times.

This year, you came through again. As of today, we're over $1200. If you're interested in pledging more or pledging for the first time, click HERE.

...and THANK YOU again!!!

Three of my Favorite People

2007-10-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

For those of you who've heard me talk about how great the Rockin Jalapenos team is, here are some of the reasons right in this picture.

The guy on the left is Arvin, our team captain. I had a chance to talk to him this weekend and realized just how committed he is to this cause--and to making it easy for others to be committed as well. He's an inspiration to me, and truly lives the mantra that you hear when you call his voicemail: "Remember, do good things!"

In the middle, a bit back, is his wife Joannie. I always say that behind every good man is an even better woman. Well, she's behind Arvin in this shot, but not in commitment and just interior goodness. I love them both.

On the right, the woman with the irrepressible smile (seriously, it's always emblazoned across her face), is Jennica. I met Jennica last year on this ride. Her story is that of a thriver, not just a survivor. She's kicking MS's butt daily. She rode the century this year (and kicked my butt, too) and just inspires me to make something out of this. I have what I call "a MOM-ent" each year I ride, where I think about my Mom and what she goes through, along with the thousands of others who have MS. This year, my "MOM-ent" was punctuated by the knowledge that I simply don't know what those who have MS go through, and, God willing, will never know firsthand--but I respect them, love them, and am inspired by their fights every day of my life. Jennica is nothing short of a poster child for making lemonade (with super sweet sugar and a strawberry garnish!) with the lemons of life.

Life's pretty good anyway. Knowing these three people is just gravy.

Santa Barbara at about 8 a.m.

2007-10-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

I took this shot as we were getting geared up for day two of the MS ride last weekend in Santa Barbara. This is Leadbetter Beach at about 8:00 a.m. The setting is idyllic to say the least. This is day two, prior to the fires really taking over in Southern California, so what looked like it was going to be a wonderful day actually became a bit of a nightmare for many. What was to be 75 miles morphed into 30; and what was a slight ocean breeze became Santa Ana winds clocking in around 45 mph. They canceled the ride after 30 miles--and I started crying. I asked myself later why, and I think it had more to do with letting down my sponsors by not being able to ride the full distance than anything else. My Mom came through with the right comment at the right time on Monday night, though, as she said: "The fact that you're doing all of this is what matters" not the miles.

It's official, I'm 100...okay, I'm 97.69.

2007-10-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

In the first of hopefully a bunch of MS Ride-related posts, here goes:

I did the Century Ride last Saturday at the Santa Barbara MS Ride. The was spec-ed at 99 or something, and my bike computer's calibration coupled with that fact means that according to Sigma, the maker of my cheap computer, I went 97.69 miles in about 7 1/2 hours, including stops. Things I learned on my second century ride:

- I still didn't train hard enough
- The hills are bigger in California than in Idaho
- The temperature in CA in October is hotter than in May in Idaho (Rupert, to be exact--site of my other century ride earlier this year)
- The downhills are the main reason why I ride bikes as opposed to running: in running, you run uphill and run downhill--in riding, your ride uphill and coast downhill. Not as easy as a workout, but it feeds my desire to try to maintain some semblance of being in shape and be lazy too!
- I'll do another one

I Feel Like I'm 100 Again!

2007-10-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

I've decided to give the century ride another go this weekend as I participate in the Santa Barbara Start to Finish MS Bike Tour. So it's going down like this: I ride 100 miles on Saturday. Vomit. Ride 75 more miles on Sunday. Get heart transplant Sunday evening. Fly home Monday.

Wish me luck!

Don't forget to donate for MS at my site...and pass the link along!

Donate HERE

The Good Dream Room

2007-10-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Last night the two big kids informed me, after watching a pseudo-scary program on Disney Channel, that our room was the designated "good dream room" and that they would have to sleep on our floor.

Over breakfast, I asked my daughter if she had good dreams while sleeping in the "good dream room" last night. She said with a smile that she had. Then she recounted how she was "in the middle of a really good dream" when Mom woke her up for school. Before I could ask the content of this "good dream," she shared this with me:

"I was winning another prize from the cereal box."

My First YouTube Upload...

2007-10-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

I made this little video for my bike friends in California. They're doing a pre-MS 150 Ride get-together tonight in Los Angeles which I cannot physically attend. So I did this:

New Widget

2007-09-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

I've also added a new widget to my blog. My sister turned me onto Last.fm, so I made a playlist and have embedded it here because I've got mad tech skills. I also have bowstaff skills, break-dancing skills and Diet Dr. Pepper ingesting skills.

Friday Afternoon

2007-09-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

I just realized I haven't blogged in a while, and I'm sure my family and friends are going into withdrawal as they wait with baited breath for that which they yearn for daily: some nonsense from me.

Well, here you go.

My wife is making fried okra tonight. She informed me that she's doing it, even if it "doesn't match" dinner. Since okra is jokingly referred to around here as "the poor man's veggie" I suppose it "matches" just fine. We dropped $400 at the auto shop to fix a rear wheel bearing this week. So I'm poorer.

We've just gotten some rain here in Idaho. It's changed from warm (yesterday) to cool and wet. It's like God pushed the "refresh" button on the Idaho home page. I love the smell of recent rain. As for the mud the kids track in, the jury is still out on that.

Speaking of jury: I got a duty summons a week ago. Apparently, Idaho now knows I'm here. I neglected to ask for a postponement, though--and my obligation is the same weekend as the MS ride in Santa Barbara next month. Maybe I'll remember to call. I wouldn't want to be held in contempt of Idaho court. That would be an interesting first impression.

How do you spell B.S.?

2007-09-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

According to the Associated Press, an arbitration court has voted 2-1 to uphold tainted results of a tainted investigation by a tainted lab in tainted France.

I spell B.S. with four letters: W.A.D.A.

Why would Landis, an elite, oft-tested world-class cyclist take the easiest-to-test-for substance on the planet in the middle of the biggest race on the circuit?

(For that matter, why would Vinokourov do the same thing in 2007?)

This is a witch hunt. Unfortunately, they've convicted a phantom.

Here's the story of the ride that put Floyd into contention in the '06 Tour

Here's Floyd crossing the line in winning that stage

Lance Armstrong prophetic--unfortunately

Landis in yellow--where he belongs

Jimmah

2007-09-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

I know my wife says I should blog more about the family, but it's early in the morning and I'm upset...actually, I'm just angry. I don't like Jimmy Carter. I think he's done more to upset peace in the world than just about any other alleged proponent of democracy in the history of the U.S.

From his loudmouth soapbox, and as president of the U.S., Jimmy did these wonderful things:

- Deposed the Shah of Iran; while not a great leader, by deposing the Shah, Iran got Ayatollah Khomeini, the U.S. embassy was overrun and we got a hostage crisis for more than a year. Do I need to remind anyone who was in that group of "students" who took the American embassy and its employees hostage? He'll be coming to New York shortly, and he's currently the "president" of Iran.

- Has routinely hung out with Fidel Castro, referring to him in very positive terms

- Oversaw the fraudulent Venezuelan election that brought Hugo Chavez to power. Chaves recently introduced "legislation" that would make him "president for life." Democracy in action.

- Wrote a book comparing the wall in Israel, designed to keep suicide bombers and terrorists out of Israel to apartheid in South Africa.

- As of this morning says that "I think it would be almost inconceivable that Iran would commit suicide by launching one or two missiles of any kind against the nation of Israel."

Can we get a judge to put a gag order on Carter? He obviously learned nothing in his four years in office. He had little grasp on the world back then--and what he may have had is obviously gone now.

...and I love my kids.

Don't TASER me, Bro!

2007-09-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'm sure when you saw the title of this, you thought "oh, a dumb post on that Florida thing..." Well, I wasn't suckered by the moron in Florida. I smelled set-up right away and posted to that effect on a couple of blogs.

The purpose of this post is that I heard the origin and meaning of the acronym "TASER" this morning on the Dennis Miller radio program. Apparently, TASER derives from "Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle" from the Tom Swift books (circa early 1900s). Pretty keen.

Apparently the inventor was a fan of Tom Swift.

Fellow Cougar

2007-09-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been following this story for the past week-plus since Camille Cleverley is a fellow Cougar. My heart goes out to the Cleverley family as they bid temporary good-bye to their daughter. I thought her Dad's comment from the memorial vigil last Sunday was indicative of a family blessed with the perspective that faith offers:

"She's had some refining trials this past year, and she was prepared to meet her Savior."

I can't wait to hug my own daughter upon her return from school today.

Remember again.

2007-09-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

I regularly read Charles Johnson's blog Little Green Footballs. I'm newer to it, though, and was unaware of this story from 9/11 survivor Tilly. I suggest you read it.

Click here and when done reading, click on the "195" at the top. Then scroll down through a series of four additional posts to LGF.

It's riveting and I hope it kindles in you the feelings it should.

Remember.

2007-09-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

I probably couldn't have been more geographically distant from New York, the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania six years ago today. I was on my way to work in Orange County, California, having just finished teaching an early-morning seminary class to a group of high school-aged youth at my church. As was my custom, I listened to KFI640 on the way to work. I heard about the first plane on the radio news as I entered Carbon Canyon. As the news came in, I couldn't really believe what I was hearing. Were we under attack from an army? Who was doing this? Was it an accident? Multiple accidents? An aircraft controllers glitch? I remember actually turning the radio to 97.1 FM KLSX, because I knew they ran the Howard Stern show in the morning--and I knew he broadcast out of New York--that he was there.

I remember later that week, still not fully understanding who or what did this--as I drove up the hill towards the freeway with my wife and daughter in the car--telling my wife as tears welled up in my eyes, "if they need me, I'll go and fight. I'm ready to go." In retrospect I knew that the spirit was more than willing--but the flesh was old, out of shape and ill-prepared. In this war my physical abilities have not been called upon, but in the years since September 11, 2001, my confidence in this country and in its leadership has not waned. It is not the popular road, but I believe it to be the right one.

Now I have three kids, and we don't miss an opportunity to thank the men and women in uniform: armed forces, police, firefighters, for the service the render on our behalf. Last year we brought homemade cookies to the local police and firefighters with the kids; earlier this year, our daughter collected Girl Scout cookies and delivered them to the local National Guard troops--the day before they deployed to Iraq.

However you remember today, remember that real human beings lost their lives on 9/11--not reds or blues, conservatives or liberals, real human beings--our brothers and sisters. It was fratricide on that day. With that in mind, I wholly support the efforts of freedom-loving people everywhere who, when faced with the choice of us/freedom vs. them/radical enslavement, choose us.

God bless the memory of those who have died fighting in this war against evil. May God grant His grace to accompany those who died innocently six years ago this day--and those who had just enough information to die as heroes--thereby showing all of us that greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

On This Night, One Sleeps.

2007-09-06T12:26:00.001-07:00

We lose. Heaven wins.

My wife says classical music is "just trying to sound like a hymn." I think she'll make an exception in this case as the only musical instrument created by God without man's interference shows its true capacity to resonate and inspire the human soul.

Thank you Giacomo for writing this. Thank you Luciano for sharing it with us mere mortals. I'm sure Puccini has written some additional material for you while he was waiting.

Pope John Paul II's Cause of Death SCOOP!

2007-09-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

Most of the U.S. gets their news from the MSM: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, etc. When you want hard-hitting journalism on the issues that matter, however, and don't want some candy-coated "died of old age" story for a prominent Western religious figure, you turn to where all clear-thinking individuals turn: The Weather Channel.

How (c)old was the Pope?

B4YF Contest

2007-09-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

This is a first here at Bicycle for Your Fish: A contest.

If you can tell me what the heck this man is going on about, I will provide you with one quarter pound of smoked Alaskan salmon.

The Nater #1

2007-09-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Where I go to church, on the first Sunday of the month, congregation faithful are given the opportunity to take the podium and share their thoughts, feelings and convictions about their faith. It's known as "testimony meeting." It's really a neat concept, as we learn, grow and gain strength from each other on this special day.

Enter my son.

He's four, and informed us mid-meeting today that he would like to "bear his testimony" to the congregation. Mind you, this is the same guy who just this morning while tossing a sponge ball around the living room, hit Jesus's picture and remarked, "I wanted Jesus to play catch with us...he's good at catch." Mom and I talked briefly to him and surmised that he was sufficiently able (to not say something inappropriate) to share his feeling with the congregation.

He bounded up to the pulpit and walked with conviction to the microphone. He started off with "I'd like to bear my testimony..." and then took a half-step away from the mike and said (audibly for the congregation): "Actually Mom, I don't want to do this" as he broke into tears.

My wife, being the great mother that she is, met our son as he rushed off the stand and carried this cute, handsome, brave sobbing little boy out of the meeting for some one-on-one love. I couldn't have been more humbled by my son today. I think he's probably one of the bravest little four year-olds I know.