Hmmm....  It's hard to write about something so wonderful when I'm not in the mood...  But I've found that when I feel like "blah", and I write about something wonderful, I usually am feeling closer to wonderful when I'm done... So, here goes. First off, I'm at work, so I don't have any pictures, but I'll update it when I get...

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...

Verses 5 and 6 are cause for simple reinforcement that external events do not necessarily cause internal changes.  Yes, they had a horrific war which caused the death of so many husbands, fathers, sons, etc...  And yes, that caused a lot of people to become baptized.... but, that didn't seem to matter much.  The very next year, it se...

Seems that this chapter is all about "markings" and the prophecies about the curses put upon people (and which people put upon themselves). I can feel the doctrine behind this chapter, and I caught myself frequently asking myself why Mormon included this chapter.  No doubt there's some serious doctrine in here, but this time around...

I find it interesting the way they referred to Nehor in verse 1:  a man "after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law".  Why didn't they just say "Nehor"?  Especially seeing that writing in plates was so hard. In verse 10, Mormon notes the intent with which Aml...

Interesting that one of the first-mentioned doctrines that Nehor was said to have taught was the very doctrine that led to the beginning of wickedness for the Nephites time and time again.  Pride.  "Being popular"...  Seems to resound with the core of what the adversary teaches.  Verse 4 pretty much testifies to his pr...

The new lamp for my projector arrived today and much rejoicing was heard among the land. Since our lamp burned out 5-8 months ago, we've been using a TV to entertain our kids, providing them with movies and TV cartoons and all the other goodness with which MythTV blesses our lives. With the return of our lamp, I wanted a way to extend the life ...

Ya know...  I thought that with 4.5 hours of sleep last night, I'd feel a heckuva lot sleepier than I do.  I guess miracles do happen. Since our wonderful Samuel was born, my wife and I have been getting considerably less sleep than we otherwise would.  This is to be expected; it comes with the whole package of parenthood. I ha...

Awhile back, I found that many DVD titles released by Sony weren't able to be viewed with mplayer.  This annoyed me. So, I investigated a bit and found that VLC (another wonderful media player) could not only play them back, but also rip them with ease.  Up until a bit ago, this has been the case since the writing of that article. Whe...

Well, I thought I had more pictures of Sam, but I don't.  I will have to be better about taking more pictures of him.  There was a really cute one of him smiling, but it is on the other carmera.  Next post will have to be a smiling one of him.  Here is one new one of Sam with Luci and some other cute pictures of the kids. ...

Man...  11 straight hours of tracking can sure be....... FUN!  Yup...  Herod the Fink is still on schedule, and after yesterday's session, I can say the end product is gonna be something you've never heard in a Christmas album before, guaranteed. To give you an idea of what was recorded yesterday, the title of one of the songs we ...

After having killed one thousand and five of their own people, and having realized they didn't really want to be killing their own people, I imagine the anger of the Lamanites went to pretty extreme levels. I can't imagine the scene which must have taken place at the city of Ammonihah.  That has got to be one of my favorite "God's justi...

So, about 9 months ago I finshed my personal progress. It felt amazing to have done it! Sunday at our Fireside they called me up infront of everybody, keep in mind theres a few hundred people there. Once I got up there they handed me a letter and told me how proud they all were.... So I go back and sit with my friends and brother!  I got hom...

So, we received our new Oktava-Modded Apex 205 microphones, and the results have been very pleasing.  New songs by BTP, PoeticIntensity, and some voice-overs have used them, and we are definitely feeling the love.   Working as drum overheads, cab mics, and even acoustic guitar mics in stereo-pair.  All around, these are some rea...

Okay...  So, this isn't gonna be the rant that you thought it was by the title.  With the little time I have, I couldn't come up with a better one... So, the story is - I had just eaten a delicious burger at Coney's, when on my way home, I happened to turn on Rush Limbaugh.  He was talking about this new "cloud" technolog...

Hmm.... I enjoyed this talk, but I'm not entirely sure what to write about it. The three aspects of gaining a burning testimony of light and truth given are completely true: Learn True Doctrine Gain Pure Testimony Live Gospel Courageously I remember something my mission president said about the first one.  He said som...

I feel very connected with this talk.  He speaks of the importance of remembering those special experiences we have with the Spirit which enrich our testimonies.  Some of the quotes I love from this talk are as follows: Our personal journey through life provides us with many special experiences that become building blocks of faith and t...

One thing that comes to mind while reading the first verses of this chapter is, "If I were a queen, and my servants brought me my unconscious husband, I'd immediately want to know who did it." - and Ammon did it.  That doesn't make much sense to me.  Obviously the times of the Book of Mormon were , uh, different, so that could e...

    I have this dilemma that is kind of hard to deal with (obviously seeing as it's a dilemma).  Well, instead of explaining it right his minute (I have homework to do) I'll just ask you this:  How can I become a better writer???  I've prayed to Heavenly father about everything and I do believe that I am getting b...

I'm so glad that the vacations for the Jones family for 2007 are OVER! Holy cow, I'm quite done with driving in a car with two kids who love screaming.  Anyway... Yesterday, we woke up, got some quick breakfast, and then got in the car to head out to see 3 people take on the LOTOJA bike race (I assume LOTOJA means "LOgan TO JAckson&...

 If the fortifications that Moroni built in the beginning were enough to astonish the Lamanites to the point that they were afraid to fight, and then failed to kill even one Nephite, while they themselves were slain to the tune of over 1,000 - I can only imagine what the additional fortifications did...  Goes to show that a good Christian...

I haven't posted many videos lately, primarily because KdenLive (my video editor in Linux) wouldn't run for more than 5 seconds without completely crashing - making it impossible for me to do any video editing.  I haven't had any success with any other video editors out there (including Cinelerra), so, I've been video-less. Anyway, KdenLive re...

Yesterday, my wife spent some time setting up her "my space page", which I absolutely refuse to do for myself, and when she got it done, she was pretty happy with herself.  I helped her with some images and that was that. Later on in the evening, she mentioned that she had received an email from Annie (my sister-in-law who I love)...

So, Advanced Budget Studios took a bit of a break during the holidays, and with that came the usual curiosity as to how the new year would be. Well, I'd have to say that 2011 is looking great.  We started off the year recording a wonderful new artist named Taylor Miller.  He'll have a website up soon, and his music sounds fabulous! ...

 So, I'm pretty sure these words are being spoken to us, the Gentiles, and they are meant for people living now.  The last chapter was spoken to those who would be alive during the coming of the Book of Mormon, and it doesn't seem like this chapter deviates from that. Interesting that included in the list of "wicked ways" is t...

Oh, man...  I'm still reeling from the video I watched earlier tonight.  I've gotta read my scriptures, though, so.... Here we go. From verse 3 to verse 6 causes me to ponder various questions. If Jesus Christ is the Christ of only this world, then these verses tell us only of the wickedness of the particular nation which crucified ...

I've been watching "So You Think You Can Dance" now for about 3 years.  For me, I think it's better than American Idol.  These young people are .... amazing. Well, a couple of weeks ago, there was a dance done which had the theme of "addiction".  It was done by Mia Michaels and the two dancers who danced were fa...

After having killed one thousand and five of their own people, and having realized they didn't really want to be killing their own people, I imagine the anger of the Lamanites went to pretty extreme levels. I can't imagine the scene which must have taken place at the city of Ammonihah.  That has got to be one of my favorite "God's justi...

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...

Me and my good friend Scott chatted for far too long today about a very interesting subject.  The subject was brought about by this article, which, in essence is just a conversation between an aethiestic professor and two of his students. In a nutshell, the professor makes the claim of God creating Satan, and thus creating evil, and thereby ...