Well, I started this website! I didn't know how it was going to work out, but it seems pretty cool. I'd like to write in it everyday, but I might slack off. This will be a cool way to keep track of things. Already, I have a whole 12 years to tell, so let's get started!...

Life just can't get much better.  Well...  Let's not speak too soon, but man, life for the studio this past week has just been really, really awesome. One of our clients recently decided to help us out by designing a logo and refreshing the look and feel of our website.  His name is Jesse Crowley, and, well...  He's just awes...

So, we've been considering how to best improve the studio in recent weeks, and have decided that our complete lack of guitar amplification needs to be taken care of.  We looked at all sorts of amps and decided that one which could possibly provide the most diverse sounds would be a wise choice.  We've recorded pretty much everything here ...

Even before the speakers begin, I've gotta note that the music played and sung during this conference has moved me just as much as the speakers' messages have.  Simply superb.  Maybe this is because music is playing a much bigger role than it ever has in my life now...  The music and spirit it brings with it is simply sublime. &nbs...

I love the feeling of Elder Uchtdorf's talk.  We really have no basis upon which to judge each other.  We need to accept and love each other.  "Do unto others that which we would hope they would do unto us" Seems like we need to actually do the work we need to do.  Christ "did" the work, he didn't delegate ...

The hymn the choir sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" was absolutely gorgeous!  Well done, Orem Institute Choir!  What a great way to begin a general conference.  Had me in tears by the end of the hymn.  Thank you, Institute Choir! L Tom Perry's talk about teaching in the home brought back both thoughts of my upbringing,...

The opening talk by President Monson was inspiring.  I love how he talked about his wife, the stories of them meeting, and the fact that her parents were converted to the Gospel by his grandfather's brother.  (I'm amazed he knew that, by looking at his photo!)... Also..  When Pte. Monson said that the presidency loves all those of t...

We've done it.  We've hit the mother load.  The golden goose has landed. I had the opportunity yesterday to work with one of the most talented musicians I've ever met.  It's somebody I've highly respected the past few years, and have wanted to work with ever since I heard him play.  He's largely unknown, and has requested me om...

When I began reading this chapter, I was pretty anxious, internally - for unrelated reasons.  Now, having finished this chapter, I feel very calm and peaceful.  What a great story this chapter tells. While reading, I saw some curious verses, but all of those questions feel relatively meaningless right now.  The thing that matters t...

This entire week, so far, has been spent mixing, mastering, and nit-picking The Blue Aces' 4-song demo debut.  I'm not at liberty to give many details (yet), but let me just say that this group has some of the most rocking tunes I've ever heard come out of a group like this. More to come later!  The demo should be finished by this weeke...

Sitting here before I begin this entry, I have to sit and sigh...  A sigh of gratitude. Today has been a Sabbath of great spiritual confirmations of simple truths. While reading this entry, I suggest you click the "play" icon button  in the upper right-hand corner of this entry window.  Instead of playing the usual En...

When will I ever learn to trust my wife, my brother, and my instinct?  Probably never. You see, Ryan, my brother, noted how bald the tires are on my Mustang GT about a month ago.  My wife also noted the same thing, as well as a pretty big storm coming this weekend.  Anyway...  I'll get on with the story. Sarah and I celebra...

    I live beside a lady named Helen, her husband died two years ago. Manti goes over and helps her out a lot. Well one day he was off somewhere ( I don't know where) so I went up to help her, after I helped she asked me to go swiming with her in her pool. Of coruse I went ( what do you think I am... Stupid? ) While we swam we talk...

Ya know when you have one of those days where something is just off?  Well..  Today started out that way, but that all changed when I decided to crack open a couple of my energy drinks. Now, I'm no proponent to something addictive and potentially dangerous, but I'm a believer also that everything has its place.  I mean... Morphine ...

I'm not exactly sure what I want to write about today.  No...  I know what I need to write about, but I think it's too private, and I want to write something I can publish publicly. Ya know...  I really hate sin.  I really do. I am amazed at how much the world accepts what is wrong.  Pondering how much the world accepts s...

Someone of spiritual authority once told me that anyone who read the book of Enos, and marked his scriptures based on importance, would have the entire book of Enos highlighted. After reading it this morning, I can see why. The first thing that hit me was the phrase, and my father "taught me in his language".  If we read the fi...

  Poetry by Kelly Miller   THis is dedicated to my son Shawn VanWagen who left on his mission in 2005 and that next week I started writing poetry. It has been a big part of my life since and has kept me very busy.  Also, to President Hinckley and his challenge for the members to read the book of mormon. and to Bernice Hutchenson w...

Man...  It's been months since I wrote about the Book of Mormon.  I will finish it, though, and I will write about each and every chapter therein. So, about this chapter. Nothing really jumped out at me as being extraordinary, and I didn't expect it to be so short.  It seemed like this chapter was just a wrap-up chapter for the a...

Today has been ok I guess.. My Maw and I stayed in the house all day and cleaned, while the boys worked in the yard. I hate "womens work"!!!! I rather be out side, but of corse I can't. I'm tired!!! Tomorrow I'm suppost to skip out stake sports day and  go with my Maw to this womens class thingy, I'm hoping that some one I know fr...

When I went in to my 6 month review about 4 month ago, I didnt know what I was in for. I assumed things would go well because I had accomplished everything I set out to do and more, so I felt pretty good. The interview went very well.  They complimented me on my work, the sales reports, the new web site, the money I was saving the compan...

I just finished reading Alma 7 and, once again, am in a state of mind which makes it hard to actually get any spiritual nourishment from it.  I'm not entirely sure what's going on with me now-a-days, but I don't really like it all that much. Anyway...  Here goes with what I got from the chapter (it being among the best chapters in the ...

First thing which caught my attention this time around is verse 6. I relate that verse to the way the Lord works.  Basically, God lets everyone know about his plan, and those who believe Him will follow him. This makes me wonder if Nephi, through some sort of parable, told Laman and Lemuel what he was planning to do as well, but they didn'...

Update:  Due to the popularity of this post, some people are having a hard time viewing the video posted above.  If it won't play for you, simply wait until the gray progress bar has filled 1/4 to 1/2 of the way before you press play.  That should do the trick. Yesterday I took the day off work to go to my bother's sealing to his w...

I got down here to my studio tonight, after playing with the kids, putting Sam to bed, and taking care of a few other odds 'n' ends, and I got to feeling like I should write in my journal.  Not entirely sure about what, but it's been months, if not a few years since I have just sat down to write, with nothing in mind beforehand.  Some of ...

At Advanced Budget Studios, we certainly can take an idea and create a masterpiece from nothing, but what if you've already got a great recording, but you just need that certain something to make it really stand out?  In the case of the G and M Project, they already a great recording of their song, Heartbreaker, but it wasn't quite where they ...

 So, I used to use the -dumpaudio switch in mplayer to get audio extracted from random videos, but now that seems to do not much of anything.  I found this site which had a great explanation of how to get it done a different way, but was a bit out of date.  The newer version is found below: mplayer -vo null -ao pcm:file=audio_file_...

I read Alma 34 two days ago, and haven't written about it.  I hate it when I don't have time to write about the scriptures when I read them, because each time I read them, I feel something different about different portions of the scripture.  Ah, well..  I'll read it again and see what happens this time. Right out of the gate, Amul...

*sigh*.....  Where do I ever begin?  I mean....  I shudder when I say this, but, I've been a Microsoft user longer than I've been a Linux user.  What have you done, Microsoft? I'm referring to this "new and improved" piece of software they've recently released called Vista.  In all honesty, I hoped it would fai...

Since I've been job-hopping for the last bit, I've had the chance to install fresh gentoo builds on quite a few 64-bit computers in the last couple of months. I've also been looking at different IDEs for PHP development.  After using jEdit now for close to 5 years, I've gotta say the one which impresses me the most is Zend Studio for Eclips...

I cannot remember the last time it actually full-on snowed on Christmas day.  For the past 5 years or so, there have been seasons where it almost snowed and threatened to snow, but it's always been a disappointment. This year, however, I believe there's hope.  At least that's what the weather people are saying.  Let's cross our fi...