Holy cow.  My journal is done.  I still can’t believe it.  Wowza. I started writing in my journal every day on January 1st, 1990.  About ten years later, I found that I had journals scattered all over the place, and with my technical background - I hated the disorganization of something that might be precious someday.&nb...

Okay, okay... I do understand that there is a ton of good that has been brought about by the scientific method, but seriously, people; is that the *only* way to prove something is true? Wow. In my opinion, we've really limited ourselves if we think that's the only way to "prove" the truth of something. I just (finally) finished D&C 76, an...

I'm not even sure if that's spelled right. Ohwell.. Two things: I love the smell of new leather. I went into my car to get my laptop to blog, and the smell of new Mustang GT leather came to greet me. I love it. I don't appreciate enough the fact that my wife is so emotionally stable. She really is. Serious. Whenever I see someone who...

This morning, Steve broke in to chat and said something to the effect of "Pride sucks." Ya know... I completely agree with him. Pride does suck. I wonder why... I've heard it said that "Pride is the only unforgivable sin." This is the doctrine according to me because I can't remember who said it, nor if it was an authority figure, so.... no ...

Since I purchased my 2007 Mustang GT in January of 2007, I've been putting 85 Octane gas in it. I didn't notice any pings, nor anything else to make me think I was putting the wrong gas in it. Well, my dad was in it two days ago and asked me what gas I was using. When I told him, he couldn't believe I would do such a thing. Well.... In my defe...

I almost didn't post anything tonight..... But... I've gotta. One thing which seems to irritate me quite a bit is this phenomenon among people of my faith which drives them to make some pseudo-philosophical yet some how not quite doctrinally correct quote and then follow it by "I'm sure it's in the scriptures. I just read it. I swear. " or, "I'...

Lately, I've been studying the D&C, and I came upon section 76, which isn't anything new to me, personally. I studied that section quite a bit during my mission. However, this time the coincidence of my reading this days after one of my co-workers came over and asked me"Are there any sins that Christ's atonement don't cover?" Worded that way...

To start things off, I’ve been doing a bit of research on Christianity due to a friend I have at my place of employment. In my research I came upon the wonderful debate on whether or not members of the LDS church are “Christians”. The arguments pointed out were surprisingly well-worded and easy to understand. One of the main on...

An interesting question came to me today, while talking to a good friend at work. The question is simple. It’s based on the premise of two distinct beliefs. 1. LDS faith teaches us that unless the proper ordinances have been performed by those who are in authority to perform such ordinances, one cannot enter into the kingdom of heav...

The majority of my coding life has been spent with two tools. PHP MySQL I don't claim to be a guru programmer, but the various professional problems which have been presented to me have always found their solution using these two tools. They're great tools. *sigh* Recently I've found out that Oracle owns both sleepy cat's db en...

A little less than a month ago, my best friend's wife called me and told me she was planning a birthday party for her hubby.  Well, Scott being my best friend and all, I thought this was a fantastic idea!  After that, I didn't think too terribly much about it. A couple of days after that, I remember Scott telling me that he really want...

Within the first 5 verses of this chapter, I'm reminded again of how a person works who is truly interested in God's commandments. Lehi was commanded of the Lord to have his sons return to Jerusalem to get the plates of brass from Laban. Telling Laman and Lemuel would most certainly have some consequences in that they would automatically assu...

As an adolescent I had a dream... I had a dream of becoming a drummer for a rock-band. I was told that this dream probably would not come true due to the large amount of people trying to do the same thing and that the odds were definitely against me. Well... Lately in my life I have had the opportunity to be a part of two rock bands. One o...

I just realized that it's been a month since I last wrote about the Book of Mormon.  Man, if I'm gonna finish this thing, I'm gonna have to pick up the pace! First thing I noticed with this chapter is that when Alma got the revelation concerning the spirit world, it seems that he was just asking a curious question, "What happens to the ...

 Well...  I'm not quite as frustrated tonight as I was when I tried to do with Ubuntu, that which I am now trying with Fedora 12. I installed Fedora 12 on my laptop from the install DVD, and I've gotta say, Fedora, neither in the installation, nor in running the OS, was as slick as Ubuntu.  Ubuntu was quite a bit more polished, I'...

To begin, quite honestly, let me say this: Without OpenOffice.org, using Linux in a professional environment (which I have been doing now for 4 straight years across 4 different companies) would have been, and would currently be, much more difficult at the very least. Those who have desk jobs, and more specifically programming jobs, know how...

Today during gospel doctrine, our teacher brought up a point I'm not entirely sure I knew or not. When Nephi states that he is keeping the record for a "wise purpose" in God, yet Nephi openly states he doesn't know what that purpose is, I've always assumed that purpose is the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. And I was right...&nb...

I almost didn't post anything tonight..... But... I've gotta. One thing which seems to irritate me quite a bit is this phenomenon among people of my faith which drives them to make some pseudo-philosophical yet some how not quite doctrinally correct quote and then follow it by "I'm sure it's in the scriptures. I just read it. I swear. " or, "I'...

What do you get when you mix a couple of black lights, a fog machine, a strobe light, a dark hallway, and a couple of demented minds with Halloween?  I'll tell ya what you get: A whole lot of scared teen-agers. WOOOO HOOO!!! With the debut happening just last year, there hasn't been a whole lot of time for refinement, but all things cons...

Yet another great strategy-based chapter.   I'm kind of tired right now, and this chapter wasn't really loaded with doctrinal insights, but I will say that if there's any question about whether or not obedience has its rewards, you'll have to read verses 21-27.  Definitely makes me want to both learn about and obey my Heavenly Father...

Holy cow, there's some weird crap on the Internet. I was just sifting through Youtube for some comic relief from the daily grind when I wondered where in the world Marilyn Manson had gone.  When I was younger, I was pretty much disgusted and amazed at the slim amount of MM media I was exposed to.  I haven't heard anything about him for y...

Hmm....  I'm wondering how I can write this entry without offending anyone, so... if you are offended by it, I'm sorry.  What is going to be said has to be said, and it will, hopefully, enlighten at least someone. Due to this wonderful blog, I've been feeling quite pensive lately and liking the change.  Midst this change, I asked on...

Wow....  Today has been crazy. I woke up around 2:30am this morning, put the suitcases in the van, woke the kids up (actually, Luci was already awake and excited to be going to "Shugee's House"), put them in the van, said a quick prayer for safety and health, and we were off! I'm tellin' ya...  If you have kids and a 10-hour...

Today's not over, but while the kids are taking naps, I thought I'd see what I could do to write about this day so far. First off - I *love* Monterey.  Last night, I don't think I got a whole lot of sleep, but notwithstanding that, I still woke up in an incredibly good mood due to the crisp salty air, the perfect temperature (around 60-68 deg...

"...and his hand is stretched out still." I love that phrase.  To me, it's just another way of saying, "I will be here for you, no matter what you do or where you go.  I will always be here for you." What a comfort that is, knowing there will always be someone there for you.  I know it is for me, and I've felt...

I just got back from a wonderful evening spent with my wife, Shaun, Tiffy, Shane, and Becca.  We went to Weber State to see the annual drum core competition. Let me just say....  Amazing.  Yup...  Amazing....  That's what it was. It also got me to thinking about a lot of things.  For some reason lots of normal things...

To tell you the truth, I didn't get much out of the scriptures tonight.  There was a verse from which I thought I could derive meaning. Verse 15. The ax depends on him that wields it for its strength.  Alone, it is nothing but wood and metal.  Used by a person, it can become a powerful tool.  Same thing with a saw. I took ...

I had forgotten that in this chapter, Nephi sees the Lord descend from heaven to the people who would be born from Nephi. I put myself in his situation, and quite honestly , I have no idea how I would react.  It would be so supremely surreal - seeing your kids' kids' kids' kids, and then seeing the Savior of the world show himself unto them....

Today was a good day.  I didn't get enough sleep, so after our work lunch party, which enabled us to eat large amounts of Korean food (seasoned beef 'n' stuff wrapped in lettuce was good, but I didn't like the "kimchi" which was nothing more than hot and spicy rotten cabbage), I felt a bit tired...  Too tired to work. So, I wen...

I'm not entirely sure about the east coast or any other coast, but the clam chowder from the west coast at the Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey California is ....  is....  well...  it's clam chowder the way it was meant to be. Today was a day full of driving in rush-hour-esque conditions, getting the hotel arranged at Monterey, CA. ...