7 Moore

READ THIS - BLOG MOVING

2008-09-28T11:14:00.002-06:00

Lisa and I have finally agreed (you'd think there would be a term like prenuptial or something) that we should use the same blog. For this, we've moving to http://joshandlisamoore.blogspot.com. Hopefully we're agree on a non-frilly yet "cute" blog. This is my last post from here. Oh...and those following this blog, please move your following to the new blog, links from your blogs/sites, and references in Google Reader. If you go to http://draft.blogger.com, under basic settings, you can import and export blogs that made this really easy.

Thanks for reading and commenting - it makes me feel great!

Cardboard Forts

2008-09-28T09:48:00.003-06:00

We've been living the life of cardboard houses lately. Well, at least the kids. We saved the cardboard boxes from the playground equipment and have been forgetting about them downstairs in the basement. Here are a few fun shots.

Our Favorite Things

2008-09-19T10:41:00.003-06:00

There are always a few things that are standard for our family. One is our love of Wheeler Farm and feeding the ducks (and the kids running away from the geese).

Natalie enjoying showing off her legs are strong enough to stand.

Tanner's four pieces of bread (to give to the ducks) went straight in his mouth.

Evidence of Lisa's yummy cookies we took to the farm.

Tanner and his buddy Grandpa.

Happy customers.

Sydney's Photo Studio

2008-09-16T21:00:00.003-06:00

For Christmas last year we got Sydney a Fisher Price camera. For several months she enjoyed it, until Lisa made the full adjustment from our point and shoot to her digital SLR. Now, Sydney, photographer extraordinaire, is really enjoying making photography fun. From not covering the lens with your finger, getting the object in the viewer, centering it in the viewer, she has really become better at taking pictures. Here are a few from the last time we emptied the camera (of 400+ pictures). Here's some of my favorites if you're looking to use Sydney's Photo Studio:

Any good photographer enjoys self portraits.

Invididual Shots.

Family or group shots.

Landscapes.

Stake Conference

2008-09-14T13:57:00.003-06:00

Stake Conference was great! The general session Lisa and I have a harder time getting stuff out of as Sydney and the twins take up a lot of our attention. However, last night the Priesthood leadership and the adult session (thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids) was awesome! I really have a great love and respect for President Smith. He has a way of reproving with sharpness with love following thereafter. He makes you want to change and to be happy with the prospect of doing so, regardless of what difficulties it may require. Anyway, President Smith shared a story in today's general session about these spiders that can breath underwater by taking air with them down. The link points to National Geographic that calls these the equivalent of scuba tanks. The purpose of the story was to help us understand when we leave our home and enter in the world, we can take our environment with us.

The Divine Institution of Marriage

2008-09-11T11:56:00.002-06:00

If you haven't read it yet, it's a must. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints released a document called The Divine Institution of Marriage. Despite your beliefs or feelings on the subject of same-sex marriage, it serves you best (including members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) to read this.

I appreciate their love and kindness in treating this delicate issue and those involved with deep, personal feelings with such respect. The intent is not to deny privileges of housing, insurance, etc., but to respect the sacred nature of marriage between a man and a woman.

Google Reader

2008-09-10T14:31:00.002-06:00

For some reason, I feel I've already posted about this, as I love to tell everyone about this tool, as it saves so much time. Everyone checks several blogs, news sites, etc. as frequently as several times a day. Why check them if there is no new content? Or better yet, why not have a tool tell you when there's new content? For fear you think the tool is too hard to use, someone made a video trying to convince friends and family how easy it is to use, and how helpful it is. Since it's web-based, you can access it anywhere. Watch this movie, then thank me later. Once you're wise and knowledgable about Google Reader, add http://joshuatmoore.blogpost.com and http://backpackingutah.blogspot.com so as not to miss anymore enjoyment :)

Guru of all sorts

2008-09-08T11:10:00.002-06:00

So I was updating my hiking/backpacking blog yesterday when I realized I needed a cool logo at the top. I thought I could just whip up something in Photoshop. Then, after fifteen minutes or so, I asked Lisa if she could help. Sure enough, the guru of all sorts helps me with feather, font shadowing, etc. I don't know how you can know so much about so many different things. She can do much better than what I did, but I'm glad for the help learning.

Thanks, and love you Bean!

Funniest jokes in a long time

2008-09-07T20:04:00.002-06:00

So as much as I don't like forwarding anything to anyone, I just had to post these. My friend sent me these:

HANDY HOME REMEDIES

1. If you are choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. The blockage will instantly remove itself.

2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.

3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

7. You only need two tools in life - WD40 and Duct Tape.
If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

8. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Thought for the day:
SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. THEY'RE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN THE STAIRS.

Labor Day fun

2008-09-03T17:03:00.003-06:00

On Monday, we had mom and dad out for fun and dinner before they needed to head back to babysit for Matt and Ann. When the doorbell rang, Sydney yells "Grannnnnnndpa!" They're so great with the kids, they love them so much. Lisa made some really great hamburgers and Mom brought her world-class sweet rolls. We had such a great time. We love you so much! Here are some pictures.

Four Must See Pictures

2008-09-01T22:34:00.007-06:00

After going to a wedding reception downtown, we went for a walk around Temple Square and took pictures. The first picture is unedited, the individual shots are Lisa's work. With characters like this, how can you want to play with anyone else?

Currently Lisa's laptop wallpaper. Makes me laugh and smile every time. The faces say everything.

Sydney is awesome. She's obedient, loving, a cutie, such a little Lisa, a wonderful future mom. She has her moments, but when she starts the demo song on our digital piano that she always wants to dance with me to, I just melt. She knows when I'm sad and she knows what she can do to make me feel better. I don't know how to compliment her better.

Tanner...what a ham. He's hilarious, loving, knows how to make you laugh, and just a handsome devil. He pretends he can be on his own and take care of himself, but always needs a good hug or snuggle. He gets all the attention from the ladies and he's only 15 months. 15 months!

Natalie's a spitfire. She might look small, but has non-so-silent power. She has class-clown written all over her face. She knows she's cute and learns daily how to better acquire what she wants. Sometimes that's being hilarious, being in the way, or sometimes using her super power (not taking naps). However, you can see her loving nature by how she loves her puppy (stuffed animal). Since she doesn't walk yet, she squeezes her puppy in-between her legs to take her with him crawling.

Here's what happened...

2008-08-29T09:27:00.005-06:00

You've got to love it. The tv show Monk (on USA) is just plain hilarious. If you haven't seen it, you need to. If you have, check out this wiki on Monk. You'll find your favorite episodes recapped with great quotes. You'll even find that your vocabulary and phrases have changed to be like Monk. Just this morning over the phone, my father-in-law was saying "here's what happened...". Lisa and I have been catching up on the current season on demand. Laughter makes everything better.

Minions...I Mean Followers

2008-08-28T16:56:00.002-06:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wonders who reads their blog. Sure counters, maps, etc. are fun, but Blogger has come up with a really cool thing called Followers. For the blogs you follow you can add yourself using your blogger name/image, or choose to follow anonymously. The fun thing about this is you can see all the cool people that think your blog is cool, click on them to see their profile/blogs, etc. When you log into your dashboard you can see your current followers count.

Anyway...if you haven't got the hint, click the "Follow this blog" on my sidebar. It will add it to your Google Reader (VERY cool), etc. You can even follow blogs that aren't on blogspot/blogger.

Lack of experience

2008-08-27T22:40:00.003-06:00

There's nothing more harmful to Obama's presidential run than the comments members of his own party, his selection for vice president, and himself. To take Biden as v.p. for his foreign policy and long experience, they should have had him as president, as it's not something you learn on the job, or are able to sit down with a committee or have a meeting in critical times. Economic woes, I'm all for having the brightest minds coming up with solutions over time. Watch this video:

Meetinghouse locator

2008-08-27T09:54:00.002-06:00

So you've seen the church's meetinghouse locator. You put in your address and it tells you where the closest one is. They've now stepped it up a notch. If you put in your address (or if you're on vacation, a general vicinity of where you'll be staying, it will let you choose to use either Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth (2d/3d beta) to locate all meeting houses nearby (street, satellite, hybrid views), tell you what the ward names are, and what time they're meeting. I don't know about you, but walking into an unfamiliar ward on vacation or just after moving, it's nice to say "I'm trying to attend the _____ ward, that starts at ____.", it'd make me more comfortable.

Check it out.

Obama on Iraq

2008-08-23T14:13:00.003-06:00

Wow. I was reading about Obama choosing Biden as his VP, and came across this video. It's longer, but it's amazing how honesty doesn't mean much to him. Check this out:

What are your four?

2008-08-19T16:45:00.002-06:00

Responding to Okie's blog.

Instructions:
Copy the questions and then answer with your lists of "four"...either reply in comments to this post or on your own blog and link to it in comments.

A) Four Family members: Lisa, Sydney, Tanner, Natalie
B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Coworkers, Lisa, Facebook, Nick Galieti
C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Macaroni Grill, Chubby's, Rodizio Grill, Carl's Jr.
D) Four places I would rather be right now: Kauai, Paris, hiking with the family, gazing at the universe
E) Four people I think will respond: Lisa, Mo, Wende, Jenny
F) Four TV shows I watch over and over: Star Trek, Monk, Lost, did I mention Star Trek?

Another Sydney Moment

2008-08-17T17:34:00.002-06:00

So I had the tune to the cartoon movie Robin Hood stuck in my head this morning. Tanner always laughs when I whistle it, just like the start of the movie. This morning I was whistling it, and as soon as I was finished, Sydney said "Let's watch a movie!"

During dinner this evening, I still had the tune stuck in my head, so I told Lisa "Watch how easy it is to get Sydney to want a M-O-V-I-E" and proceeded to start whistling. As soon as I was done, Sydney said "whatever he's [me] trying to do, it isn't working."

The Office

2008-08-13T14:13:00.001-06:00

You've got to be excited for the next season of The Office. Hopefully they'll keep it clean this season.

Beijing 2008 - Link to 4x100M mens free relay video

2008-08-12T12:18:00.003-06:00

The Olympics have been really great this year. It's been fun following Michael Phelps, but just watching the high level of competition has been awesome. Swimming, beach volleyball, it's all been great. But you have to enjoy when the French say "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." for the 4x100m free relay. Down by a full second on the last leg against the most vocal of the French, beating the world record by almost four seconds...

Enjoy the awesome replay here.

Hiking Utah

2008-08-11T15:36:00.000-06:00

Lisa and I just started a new Hiking/Backpacking (if you count backpacking the kids) blog (found here) for all our recent adventures. We’re hoping you’ll want to go hiking soon and join us. We’re looking to be up in at Brighton and Cecret Lake (yes…it’s stupidly spelled with a ‘C’), in the next two weeks. Hopefully you’re up for some fresh air and great exercise.

Let us know.

Hiking galore

2008-07-26T21:36:00.004-06:00

We love hiking! On Thursday we went with Lisa's parents up to Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We got a second backpack off Ebay a few weeks ago, and now backpacking Tanner and Natalie up the canyon is the excitement we had with Sydney. We went hiking again today up the Lake Blanche trail in Big Cottonwood and had such a great time. Sydney is a great hiker and the twins are really enjoying it. Nothing like fresh air, great exercise, and great company. Here are a few pics of our trips (some fuzzy from something on our camera lens):

Tanner and I

Grandpa loves giving Nanny flowers. She loves to eat them.

My pretty princess.

What a cutie!

The great scenery

The fam.

Where's my baby?

2008-07-26T16:30:00.004-06:00

Sydney and I were hanging out today while Lisa and the twins were taking naps. She said "Daddy? I need some toys to play "My Baby" with. A few seconds must have passed while I searched my brain for what she was talking about. She put a stuffed cat and dog under her shirt, then pulled them out saying "My baby! My baby!". It clicked. Back when Lisa was pregnant with the twins, I'd hide Sydney's stuffed animals under my shirt and pretend to sleep. Then, *unsuspecting* Sydney would pull them out and say "My baby! My baby!" I'd run after her saying "Where's my baby!?!" It was such a fun time, as we'd play outside on the front lawn with a ball, and she'd grab it and run and I'd chase her down.

Later she took all the magnetic letters off the fridge, put them all in a line and would say "Dad? What does this spell?" Then we laugh at my inability to pronounce "zxymfrkqojtmdcalnw"

A Lesson in Taxes

2008-07-22T10:48:00.002-06:00

Just read the article and skip this fluff. Who's evil enough to think during this state of woes in the financial, construction, and real estate markets, that you raise your taxes on the businesses and "the rich" to help everyone else out? At some point soon they'll see all the businesses in their state have moved to states where they can afford to make a profit. Find other ways to make it work, besides making more businesses go bankrupt and cause more unemployment.

My favorite quote: "So in the face of one of the worst real-estate recessions in the state's history, the politicians want to raise taxes on businesses that are still making money."

Baby Hungry

2008-07-21T09:21:00.006-06:00

Don't worry...nothing to report :) Seeing baby Noah (see this or this) made me remember how fun little babies are. It made me go looking for my kids' baby pictures. Lisa and I are pretty sure 4 is the magic number but it won't be happening for awhile. Here's some nostalgia:

Sydney, Natalie and Tanner (from left to right)

A little of this...a little of that

2008-07-16T21:05:00.005-06:00

Cute smiles

My buddy

Not the best family picture, but hey...I doubt we'll get a nice one too often with these crazies.

The womenfolk (and yes. She's trying to eat a leaf.)

Lisa is over painting at her sister's house, so I had the kids tonight. We played pass and read books. No night would be a night with the kids without lots and lots of tickling. I think Tanner's third word was "tickle". But after the twins went to bed, and for a little bit with Sydney before she went off to bed, I watched Rudy on demand. It wouldn't be me if I didn't point out the language, but I've always liked this movie. There's nothing quite like a feel good movie that's cheesy without going over the top. It made me wonder about my dreams. Most have already come true, and if not for some really hard times, I wouldn't realize how great. All my dreams have to do with my family. The thing that really pumps me up is commentary from Sydney lately. On Monday night before Lisa got back from the American Idol concert, Sydney asked me "Daddy? What do you do if someone's not being nice to your friend?" I love how she wants my opinion and loves to tell me stories about baby dragon and girl baby dragon. I also love how she's concerned her friends and doing what's right. Last week, we were talking about her friends from preschool and primary, I asked her who her best friend was. She said me. It put a big smile on my face.

The twins have grown so quickly. Since they're not requiring as much attention lately and wanting to playing on their own (unless Nanny can see Lisa), it means more to me lately when they do want to play. Of course I need to learn to give them their space (I've unknowingly taught Sydney personal space is a myth...just ask Lisa), but Natalie is just a spitfire and Tanner is a snuggly bear. I'll have to record and blog asking Natalie if she likes tickles. She giggles to say 'yes'. She dances to Little Einstein. Her new thing to say is "Uhhhh...oh". Tanner has learned what things make me laugh (pretty much anything he does) and he does it over and over again so we can laugh together.

Teenage years can wait. Things just keep getting better.

Hazy moon pics

2008-07-08T23:07:00.005-06:00

First of all, these pictures don't do justice what the telescope can do. These are low res images from a pretty hazy evening. Okay...so after long await and many promises of pictures to come, here they are. The first few times I went out with the webcam, it wasn't the best seeing (sounds like bad English, but that's what the technical term is). Tonight was still quite hazy, which you'll see if you watch the movie. Some of the stills are afocal with our little Canon. The movie and other stills with the Neximage (web cam that will do movies and/or stack images, etc). Hopefully these are the rough drafts with more to come. I didn't zoom in very far as it was hazy enough to get these unclear images, but alas, you've probably stopped reading and moved onto the pictures. Enjoy!

Another Sydney Moment

2008-07-05T17:58:00.002-06:00

So we're in the car, Sydney and the kids watching Robin Hood on the dvd player. Remember the part where Little John puts Sir Hiss in the keg of ale and he comes out later all drunk? Sydney says "Daddy...they put the snake in the juice box!". Is that what they call it now...

Space

2008-06-29T23:16:00.003-06:00

Okay. It's warm enough, the kids are in bed, and it's the perfect time where Saturn is on it's way into the horizon and Jupiter is just on its way up. It's 10:30, Lisa's scrapbooking and I keep interrupting with "ooooo...hey Bean! Come look!" or "okay...last time...come check out Jupiter". Tonight was the first time in a few weeks I've been coherent after 10pm, and it was a great view tonight through the telescope. It wasn't collimated (the mirrors aligned perfectly), but it really got me excited to pull out the laser tomorrow for sharper images. 4 of Jupiters moons were visible and Jupiter itself was extremely gorgeous. This was the first time I've seen Saturn through a telescope, as it was only above the horizon during midday back in October and before there was snow :) Once I'm sure the telescope aka "water heater" (about the same size, thankfully lighter) is collimated, I'll bring the laptop and camera out to record Saturn and Jupiter and take some pics.

It'll also be fun when the moon is visible again during the 9 to midnight timeframe (dark enough yet coherent enough) to take some pics of it too. We're so blessed to have such a beautiful celestial object so close to us.

Wii Fat?

2008-06-28T22:34:00.003-06:00

Ok. I'm sure we'll get Wii Fit someday, but you've got to enjoy the winning combination of wit, sarcasm, and attempting to defeat the whole purpose of the thing.

Check this out

Lost Item - please help find

2008-06-24T14:14:00.003-06:00

President Hinckley

2008-06-20T10:13:00.002-06:00

I love hearing President Hinckley's voice again. There was nothing more comforting than hearing and feeling love from someone you trust, as well as someone human enough to share how he's feeling through humorous stories. Enjoy!

Movies 2008

2008-06-19T09:21:00.003-06:00

Okay. It seems I'm always the last to see movies as we rent them when they come out instead of taking out a heloc (home equity line of credit) to go see it in theaters. Here's my list for this year (click the name to watch the trailer). Let me know if I'm missing any good ones.

The Dark Knight

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Twilight (for Lisa)

X-Files: I Want to Believe

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

SkyMaps

2008-06-18T20:43:00.003-06:00

I've really appreciate this free service. Each month a new Skymap is created to describe what celestial objects are visible during the month with the naked eye, binoculars, or by telescope. The weather is perfect right now and it's not too late to take the kids out when it gets dark, lay out the blanket and pillows, and look up at the stars, galaxies, planets, and constellations.

Robot lie detector

2008-06-17T16:57:00.001-06:00

Tommy was a chronic lier. You could always count on him to lie when in trouble. So his dad showed up one afternoon with a robot. "What is that?" his wife asked. "That's the newest thing. It's a Truth Robot. It can detect the slightest indication that a person is lying."

When Tommy showed up two-hours late for dinner that afternoon, his dad asked, "Where have you been? "Oh, a-a-a. . ," said Tommy, "several of us went over to the library to work on a project for extra credit."

Suddenly the lights on the Robot started blinking and it walked around the table and bopped Tommy on the head. His father explained that this Robot can detect even the slightest untruth.

"Now," said his dad, "where have you been?"

"We went to Bobby's house and watched a movie."

"What did you watch?" asked his mother.

"A-a-a . .The Ten Commandments." answered Tommy.

The Robot lighted up and bopped him on the head, again. Tommy could see he couldn't keep this up so he readily admitted, "We really watched a movie called, 'The Nympho Queen.'"

"I'm ashamed of you," said his dad. "When I was your age, I never lied to my parents."

Suddenly, the Robot lighted up, moved over to where the dad was and bopped him on the head.

The mother commented, "Well, you can't blame him then. After all, he is your son!" To which the Robot lighted up, walked over to the mother and bopped her on the head.

Old posts

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

First. Let me apologize for the 100 posts of the past. I was helping my dad learn how to use blogger and google reader, when I realized his google reader had cached data from my old blog (glamiac.blogspot.com) that I deleted and have spent two months emailing back and forth with Google about trying to get back. Incidentally the blog was initially attached to a previous email address, which I've deleted, and they won't reinstate it. So, here's the sadness. At least I got 100 posts back (it was fun copying and pasting...let me tell you). I appreciate having these back, but wish I would have been smart enough not to delete my blogs (still missing my LDS Quotes blog), or that google would just save me time and LOTS of frustration (from my own stupidity).

You might notice I have 30+ entries on 5/23/07. It's just that I don't know the days those were posted as it's when my dad first used google reader (so all my previous entries shows downloaded on that day).

Divorce sucks

2008-06-07T09:44:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I found out a couple we used to hang out with quite a bit are getting divorced. It always stinks to find out stuff like this, but even worse when it's from cheating, etc. With two kids (3 and almost 1), at least the kids aren't comprehending the implications. Lisa and I have been extra kind to each other the past few weeks, being grateful for each other and making sure we are more careful with our marriage. For anyone who reads this, please treat your spouse extra nice today and deal with any issues you have so this doesn't turn out to be you.

Light Switches

2008-06-06T23:00:00.002-06:00

So the most wonderful thing happened about a week or two ago, and I forgot to blog about it. When we moved into this house, there were several pairs of light switches that turn on/off the same light. The thing that threw off the emperor's groove was that the lights would be off if one was up and one was down. Okay...yes...it bothered me...a lot. Evidently not enough to turn off the power and spend the five minutes necessary to turn the switches upside-down. But now...yes...what you've all been waiting for...the light switches are all down and the lights are all off!!!

Oh come on. How many of you walk in the dark down the hallway just to have both light switches down to have the light off instead of having them both up?

Sealing rooms

2008-06-06T19:39:00.003-06:00

Lisa and I made a trip to the temple yesterday (thanks mom and dad for watching the kids). How apropos, that I was listening to a talk today from President Hinckley given at BYU about the temple (back in 1965). How we assume others understand terms we use in the church. President Hinckley said after an open house for a soon-to-be-opened temple, several members of the press, etc. asked questions like "how long do you leave them in the sealing rooms?" and "how long do you wait after they die to baptize the dead?".

If that didn't make you laugh, he shared this story at the beginning of his talk:

"You've heard this story before, I think I told it here some years ago or some time ago - the young man who registered for a class and loafed along all quarter. And then came examination day. He came into the classroom and the teacher wrote the questions on the board and he picked up his pencil and looked at his paper and wrote at the top of the paper 'Lord of Hosts be with us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget.'

And then he scratched his head and tried to recall in vain the answers. And time was finally called and he scribbled at the bottom 'Lord of Hosts forsake us not. We have forgot, we have forgot'."

Life in my office

2008-06-06T19:27:00.004-06:00

Well...there's soon to be another life in my office. No. Not another Moore Engineering employee. My first office plant - a Calathea. I was thinking I'd first start with something I can keep alive. Just to transplant to a nice pot and I'm ready to sit and watch for hours. More blogs to come...in a few hours... (it's so beautiful...I can't help it....zzzzzt!)

The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks

2008-05-29T19:32:00.004-06:00

Okay...last link to another blog for awhile. This is hilarious. It was a blog of note, so you might have already seen it. People send in pictures from all over of signs with unnecessary quotation marks. Check it out...you'll get a good laugh.

http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

Stuff White People Like

2008-05-29T19:27:00.002-06:00

Okay...regardless of the title, it's a really funny, ironic read. Check out this really cool blog:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

My favorite is #101: White People Love to Be Offended. Below is the start of this entry:

"To be offended is usually a rather unpleasant experience, one that can expose a person to intolerance, cultural misunderstandings, and even evoke the scars of the past. This is such an unpleasant experience that many people develop a thick skin and try to only be offended in the most egregious and awful situations. In many circumstances, they can allow smaller offenses to slip by as fighting them is a waste of time and energy. But white people, blessed with both time and energy, are not these kind of people. In fact there are few things white people love more than being offended.

Naturally, white people do not get offended by statements directed at white people. In fact, they don’t even have a problem making offensive statements about other white people (ask a white person about “flyover states”). As a rule, white people strongly prefer to get offended on behalf of other people."

Sydney and Mario Kart Wii

2008-05-22T16:25:00.000-06:00

So for part of Mother's Day, I got Lisa Mario Kart Wii. We used to play Gauntlet on the Xbox together, and had a lot of fun, and we both miss those times. Anyway, so Sydney and I are playing while Lisa's at the grocery store and the babies are sleeping. I got hit by a red shell and Sydney exclaims "it's ok, partner!" She is hilarious. She keeps coming up with new phrases that just make me laugh. Or while she takes her kart into the water or lava she sings "IIIIII'm taking a baaaaaaath". Just random outbursts that really make my day.

Moore Engineering Corporation

2008-05-07T12:59:00.000-06:00

Well...the day has finally come. I've always been wary of starting my own company, just for the fact that most of my friends who've started a company, have had it go under in less than two years. Well, if someone you know needs software development, etc. give me a call.

My brain: a tangent in itself

2008-05-02T20:57:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of the tangents my brain took lately:

East Seas

Tangent 1: I was home teaching, with my companion talking about some really good Chinese food he had recently, when I suddenly had a strong memory of eating Vietnamese eggrolls at East Seas. I haven't been there for at least 5 years, but I could just taste the goodness.

Tangent 2: When we left, I realized probably the last few times I was at East Seas, I was working for Microsoft.

Tangent 3: I recently had lunch with some old friends that I worked with at Microsoft.

Tangent 4: I remember talking to Okie about a game we used to play (Rogue Spear/Urban Ops).

Tangent 5: I remember a game we used to support while in testing (Under a Killing Moon), that I loved, even before working there.

Tangent 6: I remember how much I loved the music from that game.

Result: I now have a Tex Murphy ringtone. Thanks East Seas.

Another Sydney moment

2008-04-17T20:57:00.000-06:00

Lisa was calling tree removal companies to get bids on removing the stump of our apple tree. The person on the other end of the line said "do you have dogs?", but Lisa couldn't hear well, so repeated it to make sure she heard right. Lisa said "oh no...you're safe to just walk into the backyard.". Sydney obliged with a rousing "but we have two cats!".

Caribbean

2008-04-14T20:56:00.000-06:00

Well...Lisa was finished blogging a few hours after our return, so if you go here you'll see more pictures and the day to day account of the trip. I met a few strange people (as you'll see below), but otherwise we really enjoyed the company at our table, and spending a lot of quality time with my favorite and best friend Lisa.

What's new with you?

2008-03-30T20:54:00.000-06:00

As sacrament meeting ended, Lisa took Sydney and Tanner while I got the diaper back all packed up with Natalie and got ready to head to Sunday school. I looked right, looked down for the diaper bag, then did a double take. It was another fun time where an old friend was visiting for his sister's baby to be blessed. It seems so innocent to ask how things are, be so excited for the great things they're doing, have done, and who they've become. Inevitably, the question is "what's new with you?".

Well. Don't count this as a midlife crisis. I find my best blog entries (and sadly most ramblings) happen after 10pm.

If you want the short version, here's what I'd say if we weren't close:

1. Remodeled the kitchen. Cabinets, cupboards, floor, bannister/railing.

2. Tanner's starting to really crawl. Natalie doesn't seem to care. Daddy is close enough to anything she needs anyway.

3. We're going on a cruise of the caribbean the second week of April from a free trip we won through our realtor.

For those who want what's really going on, here's the long version. For those who I don't talk like this to, here's your chance you know what's really new lately.

1. Improving. Becoming.

It's been a great new year so far. Our family has become great at having Family Home Evening. I decided we should do it, be consistent with it, and we really have. I'm sad to say the most troublesome thing going around and around my head is that I want to be more consistent once I've changed for the better. Lots of irony in that. :) I've been better about exercising (keyword: better), reading the scriptures and getting more out of them, as well as just feeling progress in who I am and liking it a whole lot more. I'm finally realizing the main consistency I want in my life is to be constantly changing for the better.

2. Goals being accomplished

At the first of the year, I set some crazy goals (as every year) and stuck to a lot of them. I'm not getting the 1:1 time with the kids I wanted, but I'm spending some quality time. I've been doing better with reading my scriptures, better on temple attendance (still work to do), but have been doing much more around the house. I'm a hilarious oddity for so many reasons, and am learning more and more of them each year. For example, how many people do you know that start their new year's resolutions in September so they have it right for the new year? If it was so important to get it right, wouldn't you think you'd want to change immediately instead of waiting for a specific time of year to make major changes? I'm learning (and trying to unlearn) the ways I work around doing the things I really want done, but fail the courage, brainpower, or energy to do it right the first time. It's amazing how doing the right thing the first time really is the easiest thing to do.

3. Your wife is always right, even when she's not right

In general, this is good advice. I seem to only listen to what I want to hear, but I seem to be listening and hearing more lately. Lisa had a great observation a few days ago. I seem to need to worry about things. If I'm not worrying about something, I'm looking for something to worry about. I think about what people will say at my funeral. "Man...he was weird, but he sure loved his family." One of the kindest things God has even done for me is let me change a step and a time and not show me the long road behind or the long road ahead. Sadly I've realized how much I've taken Lisa for granted lately. She is amazing to do all the housework, take care of the kids, cook, pretty much everything minus getting paid. She's kind, loving, gently honest, and the best thing that ever happened to me.

These are the things that are new with me.

On the Mend

2008-03-21T20:54:00.000-06:00

Well...after a rough day and a half of fever, flu, and pink eye, I'm on the mend. It's the first day I've taken a sick day for quite some time. We're wondering where we got it from (Lisa has pink eye too, but gratefully not the other two). Tanner had the same thing over a week ago, but we were told after a day of antibiotics it wasn't contageous, and that it wouldn't take a week for the symptoms to manifest themselves. The main thing is for everyone to be healthy in two weeks when we leave for the caribbean.

Scooby Doo: Where are you?

2008-03-17T20:53:00.000-06:00

Good question. Why haven't I been blogging much, you ask? We've been redoing the kitchen cabinets, flooring, bannister/railing, Natalie had a double ear infection and one ruptured (she wasn't pulling her ears or anything), Tanner had an ear infection, pink eye, a fever for a few days, etc. The kids are all healthy now, but I'll continue blogging once the kitchen's done and I have something else to blog about.

LDS Quotes

2008-03-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

Okay...okay...you've heard about my other blog. But here's the fun part: it's getting regular page views. At first this was all about a way to keep my favorite quotes in a good spot and a good reference for talks, lessons, etc. The reason for making it a blog is for others to enjoy the same, as well as get a good thought going through your head in the morning. Well...here's some great feedback for me. I've posted (the equivalent of) every day since April 6th, 2007. Well...I'll miss four or five days, then post date the entries for when I have time. I really try to get one each day, but work's getting busier, we're totally redoing the kitchen, etc. Check this out (Google Analytics of http://glamiacquotes.blogspot.com/:

A few stats since Nov. 11 (when I started tracking using Google Analytics):
Visitors: 1015
Visits: 1184
Page views: 2512
Pages per visit: 2.12
Bounce rate: 60.92%
Avg. time on site: 1:47
% new visits: 85.39%

How the visitors found the site:
Search Engines: 999
Referring sites: 101
Direct traffic: 84

I like to see the upward trend (that and my retirement plan)! I've been reading The Miracle of Forgiveness and that's what I've been blogging lately. It's been good and bad. An understanding of where you failed and encouragement to become better, not dwell in the past.

Mind games...literally

2008-02-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

A company called Emotiv has developed some games that use brain waves to control gameplay. Imagine how your wrists and thumbs won't be hurting as much in the future. Check out the video here. It's been published in the Wall Street Journal, from GDC (Game Developer Conference), and more. Pretty cool, eh?

Where's the camera?

2008-02-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

It's funny how often we take either too many pictures and not enjoy the moment or we're lacking a camera for a really great moment. Here's the transcript of the one I missed last night. Imagine this picture:

Last night the twins were on one side of the table, both in high chairs. Lisa on the opposite side and Sydney on the end. The babies were still hungry after eating through a ton of baby food, but don't like watching other people eat. Lisa breaks off a few pieces of bread and tosses them onto the high chair trays. Sydney starts joining in.

Lisa: "This is just like feeding the ducks."

Quote the Sydney: The Return

2008-02-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Sydney: Daddy? Baby has been playing with my make-up so she's in timeout.

Daddy: Oh......Ok.

(5 minutes later)

Sydney: Daddy? Baby isn't listening to me so she's in timeout again. Why won't she listen to me?

Daddy: How does it make you feel?

Sydney: Sad.(5 minutes later)

Sydney: Daddy? Baby won't listen to me. Daddy? You tell her she needs to listen to me.

Daddy: (trying to keep a straight face) Sure sweetie.

A New Day

2008-02-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

One of the great examples in my life passed away January 27, President Gordon B. Hinckley. It was an amazing funeral, with the spirit strong confirming his example, our beliefs, etc. It's neat to see the new First Presidency, and know the mantle has passed. It's also neat to see the men with the weight of the church on such noble and spiritual shoulders with smiles on their faces. Click on the image to go to the article.

Image

Date Night

2008-01-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Wow. Who is our favorite family? Ok...so you're not supposed to have favorites, but after five hours of child-free, dinner and a movie (free from a Christmas present from them), free babysitting, etc. how can they not be your favorite?

Friday night, we took the kids up to Rich and Wende's while we went to see the new National Treasure (4 stars!) and eat at Z-Tejas afterwards. It was really odd not having at least one with us, as I haven't been very good lately at taking Lisa on dates without the kids. We are so grateful for the night off. Sydney had a ball with Ethan, jumping on couches and throwing pillows everywhere. They played in the toy room and Sydney just had a great time. The twins were mostly good, but every time I'd call to check up (after movie, after dinner) she said they were just fine, to relax, and enjoy it.

We had fun afterwards hanging out chatting about this and that, finally realizing the very tired eyes of the twins, and headed home around 9. What a great day.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Big changes, small changes

2008-01-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

What makes a man? I've seen people I want to emulate, and I realize how strong my desires are to change to attain their attributes and also to be consistent. I think some of this is mostly 'change and stick to it', but I like to make small changes, as the need arises. Nothing tests this resolve like new year's resolutions. Lisa is always kind to help me try to reach my goals, yet honest. We had a good chat the other day about my heroic ideas of changing all that I want to at once, and trying to make it stick. She's a great example of consistency.

While I'm doing well on some, and struggling on others, I've found confidence and greater resolve in the act of frequent reevaluation. As I look at who I am and what I struggle with, a few constants seem to arise.

1. Anxiety

I think this is my biggest change over the past year or so. I feel so much freedom from anxiety. I felt better off having anxiety over being humble in order to keep from being my worst fear - prideful and haughty. Now I definitely have some pride issues, but that's another entry. Things that are really important to you will always get precedence whether you stress over them or not. The realization now is that with less stress I can spend that worry time enjoying making changes in my life and enjoying becoming who I want to be.

2. Procrastination

This has also been a good change at times, but I'm not consistent. I think this is my biggest struggle right now. I think it partly has to do with having so many things on my plate right now. I think the focus is to remove the unnecessary to make it easier to do what I need to. As with my new year's resolutions, if I put off reading my scriptures until after work, I find I won't get to it until I'm ready for bed. Hopefully removing this beast will lower my anxiety even more.

3. Self pity

And thus the devil's three step plan is complete. I have a memory for what I need to remember (names, phone numbers, etc). Sadly, this also includes a lot of (sometimes painful) memories of past stupidity that brings a quick hand to the forehead. I've noticed a lot less of this going on, and hopefully that's because I'm being smarter about my decisions as well as forgiving myself for past woes.

It's a blessing and a curse to see potential in yourself, but with improvement comes esteem. I've been looking at how to increase my short-term memory lately and have come the the conclusion my issue is confidence. When I'm confident, I remember almost everything I want to.

Family Home Evening

2008-01-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Short. Simple. Message. These are the three goals I'm starting to learn from Lisa to becoming a parent who can communicate with their children. Let me expound on that:

Josh's lesson a month ago:

I was explaining how our faith was like a seed (mustard seed, but since she probably didn't know what mustard was, I just went with 'seed'). I then told her how if we listen to Heavenly Father, our faith will grow.

Sydney's response: "...into a tree?"

Lisa's response: muffled giggles

Lisa's lesson last night:

Lisa explained how the Liahona helped Lehi and his family know where to go when they did what Heavenly Father told them to - it would tell them the right way to go. "Sydney. What does the Liahona do?"

Sydney's response: "point us in the way we should go."

Lisa's response: "and if we listen to Heavenly Father, he'll guide us too."

Josh's response: "Short. Simple. Message."

Early dividends

2008-01-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, Lisa received a digital slr. Obviously it's starting to pay off. I'm sure a room will shortly be turning into a studio, but hopefully that doesn't mean I booted out of my office.

Sunday fun

2008-01-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks we've been having a different family come over for dinner and/or games, and getting to know the ward better. It's really sad that it hasn't been family, as it's hard to ask family to drive 45 minutes south to enjoy meal and good company, packing up kids, missing bedtimes, etc. With the twins going to bed around 7/7:30 and Sydney at 8:15, we really can't get out, and feel bad asking others to trek to our place. It's really nice getting to know more families, making friends, and getting to know more people in the ward. We live in a really great ward, but feel amiss that we don't know very many people.

New Year's Resolutions 2008

2008-01-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

I always wonder what it's like meeting me for the first time, or people starting to realize the strange way in which my mind works (or doesn't). Such will happen as you read this entry.

In the past, I've always started my new year's resolutions a week or two in advance (sometimes longer), in an attempt to fix problems in my plans to get things right on January 1. I'm tired of hearing about people who make and break resolutions so easily, or their resolution is to not make resolutions (already breaking their own resolution NOT to make resolutions). So in this mindset (or insanity), here are my resolutions, how I've done the past two weeks, and what helped/hindered. I don't think we ever accomplish goals unless we prevent or test our theories (I'm an excellent software tester - see why?). P.S. Thanks to Kevin Carter for the idea to post this year's resolutions. My goals are all about consistency, feeling that order, patterns, and such will provide less anxiety and more self esteem through setting and keeping goals.

As learned from the gospel, fix what bothers you the most. I'm always trying to fix things that I don't like about myself, but note there are a lot of things to fix (like my self esteem). I really like new years resolutions though, as it's a good time to take a crack at what's still bothering you from last year or new changes that need to be made. I think it was my dad, when Bishop, who told someone struggling to read the scriptures every day to call him every day they missed. He said he only had one phone call before they never wanted it to happen again. So aptly starts my list:

1. Read the scriptures daily. I haven't been perfect or near perfect at reading the scriptures daily. I didn't want to set a time limit or requirement, nor how much should be read. This isn't to say I can read a verse and call it good. My hope is that as I become more consistent the way in which my reading expands my understanding also could change the way I read.

Last week: 5/7.
So far this year: 2/2.

2. Stop biting my fingernails. It's sad...yes...I bite my fingernails. For two brief weeks this year I didn't bite my fingernails and they looked great and I felt less stressed. I think it was the week after I graduated and before the twins were born. Correlation? Maybe. The hardest part about this is it's something to stop, not something to do. If I put my scriptures where I see them, set my alarm, and get up to read, it's easier to get to it. Biting my fingernails out of anxiety is very hard to stop. No, I won't paint my fingernails. No, it's hard to type at work while wearing gloves. I think I'll need some comments on how to make this work.
Last week: 0/7.
So far this year: 0/2.

3. Monthly temple attendance. With Lisa feeding the twins, it has been hard choosing to make time for the temple each month. Sure, I'd like to go more, but my goal is this and I want to be consistent. We're hoping to go Saturday, with my parents watching the kids that afternoon. No stats yet this year, minus I've made calls to try to setup babysitting.

4. House projects. Well...this one is a bit harder to make as a goal. I want to do better, and want to be able to complete goals, not just do better. I will set aside four hours for working on house projects on Saturday, cleaning the house, etc. (whatever needs to be done). If more time is needed, we'll look at taking time off, or something else to make things work. My "prevent defense" on this one is to get Lisa to commit to The List of Projects, in order of priority, so I can prepare to do the work assigned. If she can help get the supplies beforehand, it'll greatly help things move faster.

5. Quality time. I'm sure it won't work this way every day, but this is how my goal lays out:

A. An hour with the three kids (mostly with the twins, as normally one needs to be held, plug inserted (binky), etc)
B. An hour with Sydney once the twins go to bed (depends on when the twins go to bed, not to keep Sydney up too late)
C. An hour with Lisa. If she wants to scrapbook instead, so be it.

I was browsing the web a few weeks ago to see how much time the average father spends with his children. I looked over statistics from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), and found it unhelpful. It didn't specify fathers working full time, approximate age of children, etc. My goal is to spend quality time with my family. For Lisa to get a break, I can't just spend time with one of the kids except for with Sydney after the twins have gone to bed or when they're taking a nap on Saturday. For now, here's my plan. If I get up at 6:00, read scriptures, lift weights, shave, shower, and eat, I should be ready to work at 7:15. If I'm done with work by 4:15/4:30, I can help with the kids while Lisa makes dinner, and then get to spend time with the kids until they go to bed. Then hopefully some one on one with Sydney until she goes to bed. Then time with Lisa.

As always, I'd love your feedback, tips on how to do these things better, as well as other resolutions you wished I'd have made ;)

Couches have arrived!

2008-01-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

After quite the rough times (see earlier blog) RC Willey finally delivered our couches Monday. They need to be worked in a little, but they're great. The question is how long I'll have to wait before going back into that store and expecting "Customer Service".

The Yack Attack

2007-12-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well..this morning Lisa started throwing up. Then when I took the three kids to church, Tanner started joining the fun. Natalie had it a week ago - I guess Sydney and I are the lucky ones.

Quote the Sydney

2007-12-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Daddy: Sydney - if I were an animal, what would I be?

Sydney: a cow.

Daddy: Sydney - if Mommy were an animal, what would she be?

Sydney: a pretty cow.

RC Willey: part 2

2007-12-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday, December 27:

11:15AM: Corporate called back - said the couches have been found and delivery is scheduled for Monday morning. Secretly I wonder if they're just buying two more days to find them :)

If they don't come Monday, would you:
1. Cancel the order. Get your money back and never go back.
2. Wait another day. You've already waited two weeks.
3. Demand more than the piddling $50 off the couches and Get Gephart or report to the Better Business Bureau (thanks Dave for the suggestion).
4. Hide under a rock and die, knowing that your life will never be complete with these couches.

RC Willey - what are you doing?

2007-12-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Wow. I don't know what else to say? If you want the short version, we ordered custom couches, they setup a few delivery times after they came in, I missed half of a family party, and we still don't have couches, and they don't know where one of them are. Here's the sad long version:

Monday, December 17:

8PM: R.C. Willey leaves a message on our home phone that they received our custom couches from the manufacturer, and that we can come pick them up whenever we want.

Tuesday, December 18:

10AM We call R.C. Willey back to say we picked up the free dvd player but that the couches were to be delivered, as it said on their records. They realized they read their own ticket wrong, and setup delivery for Friday (21st).

Friday, December 21:

8AM: I called to see what time they were going to deliver, they said 7:30 - 10:30.

11AM: I asked why the driver hadn't called, they gave me his number and told me to call him (what's up with that?). I call the number they gave and left a message on the driver's phone. He never calls back (first promised callback that never happened)

2PM: I call R.C. Willey again, they think it's dumb the previous time I got the driver's number, say they'll look into and call me back within an hour. (second promised callback that never happened).

9PM: I call R.C. Willey again, they said the loaders didn't put the couches on the truck, as they read the ticket wrong (again), and that they'd scheduled delivery for tomorrow (Saturday the 22nd). She said they'd also have a manager call to apologize (third promised callback that never happened). I called back and left a message on the store manager's phone about my "unpleasantness".

Saturday, December 22:

8AM: I call to see what time they'll be delivered. They say delivery between 10-1. My family Christmas party is at 11:30, but I figure if the drivers call and say 10 or 10:30, we'll leave right after.

10AM: The drivers call and say they will deliver between 11 and 12.

12:45PM: I send Lisa and the kids, as I feel this might be a while.

12:45PM: I call R.C. Willey, asking what happened. They said they'll call the driver and call me back within 30 minutes (fourth promised callback that never happened).

1:45PM: I call R.C. Willey again, she said they were just looking for my phone number to call back, that the driver said they were in the middle of a delivery and would call them back but didn't for half an hour, then just finally did (note it's an hour later). R.C. Willey said that the driver didn't think he had my couches on the truck. I asked them where the couches were, they said they were in the process of looking, but think they're either on another truck, or still in the warehouse, and that they'd call me within two hours when they found them.

1:45PM: I call the store manager to leave another message, as I'm driving to make the last half of the family party.

4:00PM: Since we drove up separately, Lisa called me on my cell to say the store manager called to apologize, that they still couldn't find our couches and said we'd get a fair price on new couches if we came into the store to pick out new ones. Fair price?

Monday, December 24:

10:00AM: I called to see if they found my couches yet. Nope. They transferred me to the main warehouse to have them track them down. They said they didn't have them and they're transfer me to customer service, who could help me track them down. I interrupted that to say I just talked with them, but they said it'd be the warehouse customer service. I waited 25 minutes on hold to find out it was the same people. They said they'd call within two hours. (fifth promised callback that never happened).

Wednesday, December 26th:

10AM: I called to hope the warehouse had made progress. They said they found the love seat but couldn't find the other one. They said they'd have my original salesman drive the issue. They transferred me to him, I told him the story, he commiserated, and said he'd drive the issue, be the pointman, and call back within the hour to tell me what happened.

1PM: (three hours later) I called the salesman back, said he was just looking for my number (this seems to be a common line) and that he talked to the manager of the warehouse, not just the one over inventory, and they said they needed a day to look for it. I called back the manager of the Murray store and left another message.

Thursday, December 27th:

8:15-9:31AM: Called to check the status this morning. I was on hold for an hour and eighteen minutes. I talked to corporate customer service, who said they'd look into it and call me back in a few minutes.

I'll edit the post when new changes occur. Not that you want to read more...

Leisure time

2007-12-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

What do you do on your leisure time? According the the U.S. Department of Labor's American Time Use Survey (ATUS), if you're 15 and over, this is the national average of leisure time on an average day (note that this includes all days of the week):

Watching TV: 2.6 hours
Socializing and communicating: 46 minutes
Reading: 22 minutes
Participating in sports, exercise, recreation: 17 minutes
Relaxing and thinking: 19 minutes
Playing games; using computer for leisure: 19 minutes
Other leisure activities: 29 minutes
Total leisure and sports time per day: 5.1 hours

More findings:
Employed adults ages 25 to 54 who live in households without children (under age 18) engaged in leisure and sports activities for 4.3 hours, about 53 more minutes per day than employed adults living with a child under age 6.

Yet using the same survey, most fathers with children under 18 at home said they spent 3-4 hours a day with the children.

On average...do you have 5.1 hours of leisure time?

Full article

Use New Media

2007-12-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week at BYU-Hawaii, Elder M. Russell Ballard encouraged the students there to use "new media", more specifically blogs and responding to online news reports.

“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches".

Read the full article

Just a reminder about my LDS Quotes blog.

There's an RSS feed for the LDS Newsroom from the first link, including articles about how measles has dropped 91% from Africa, helped partially from funds donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Happy Anniversary!!!

2007-12-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well...as most of you know, when asked how old I am, I respond with how many years I've been married. This makes it easier than remind myself I'm starting to get old (27) and that it's fun to think about being 5.

Sure '5' isn't a big number, but it feels great. As many of you know from my past posts about acquiring telescopes and my astronomy blog, I'm really getting into astronomy. Well, this morning I unwrapped my anniversary present.

This is what the sky looked like in Salt Lake City the night we were married. It's really pretty. You can see the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Pleiades, etc. The fun thing is Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon are all aligned ;)

Thanks Bean - love you big time.

Sunday Fun

2007-12-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today was quite busy but a great day. Normally our Sundays are really laid back after church, but I scheduled four home teaching appointments today. I've had little luck getting my companions to go with me, so two of the Elders Quorum Presidency helped and went to two each. Each of the four families are really nice and we always have fun catching up and talking about the gospel. Church was 11-2, and I had appointments at 2:45, 3:30, 4:15, and 5:00. When I got home, Sydney gave me a big hug and said "Daddy - I need some daddy-daughter time." It was really cute. So Tanner is in bed, and Sydney, Natalie, and I just finished watching the old-school Rudolph movie...twice. A good hour of chocolate popcorn and snuggles.

10 sentences of background

2007-12-11T20:26:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday Lisa and I went to the Mandarin in Bountiful while Grandpa and Grandma Moore watched the kids. We are so grateful. It felt weird to have so much time where we weren't going anywhere, we didn't have the kids with us, and no electronic devices kept our attention. Something brought up the subject of one of my crazy, zany, or otherwise roll-your-eyes ideas. Don't get me wrong - it's not 1) good, 2) appealing, or definitely 3) intentionally funny. I don't know if it's tactlessness, short-term memory loss...hopefully in kind words you'll have an answer. It's hilarious to everyone but Lisa, except afterwards when she rolls her eyes and laughs because it's in the past and she can't do anything to prevent it again. One of them is that I always give ten sentences of background when no one really cares how we got there (like I've just done) and could have just skipped to the next paragraph. Let me give an example she likes to use:

So since I don't listen well or notice the needs or wants of my wife very well (there's a clue), when Christmas time, her birthday, our anniversary, etc. comes along, I ask her what she wants. She'll get that look like "here we go again", and then proceeds to remind me what is about to happen (or sometimes she plays along, like we haven't done this before). She reminds me that every time I ask, she gives me several good ideas, I decide it wasn't my idea and/or now it wouldn't be a surprise, and decide to get something else altogether (like is happening for Christmas).

I think Alzheimers is right around the corner...or was that last week? Anyway, we were talking about this over dinner, and I (mistakenly) asked her what other crazy things I do. She had so many available (not that she doesn't love me), but we left that restaurant laughing so hard we probably couldn't spell 'sober'. The sad thing is, this is the only one I remember.

What is the goal? Like I told Lisa to do over dinner - she needs to blog about the crazy things I do. I swear Lisa's mom has the best time listening on the other end of the phone as Lisa 'tells her a new one' or 'it happened again' (I just guessing...these aren't actual quotes). Send Lisa an email and request more. She's being kind not doing it, but if everyone gets a good laugh and it helps me remember not to be...ooo...I hope the word isn't "ditsy"..that we'll all have a good laugh.

The importance of examples

2007-12-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Yes. I know. Hero week has come and gone and we're at least 40+ weeks away. However...

Several things have led up to this blog entry. Lisa and I, on recommendation from a good friend, watched "The Ultimate Gift". I highly recommend it. Okay...maybe it doesn't directly apply (it's late...I'm already rambling).

Lately I've been learning a lot about telescopes, and more recently binoculars. I want a quick way for Sydney to enjoy the stars without having to wait 30 minutes for me to get all the scope stuff ready, eyepieces, etc. I go to a cool site called Cloudy Nights (www.cloudynights.com) to learn about all sorts of stuff. The realization comes later that the only time you're reading it is when there are cloudy nights, otherwise you'd be out under the telescope! Anyway there's a guy who knows all there is to know about binoculars, what there is to know, and why it's important. I learned a ton after doing a few posts on the message board and he was very helpful. At the bottom of each of his posts (the signature) it says "Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards."

One of my greatest rewards is being able to help my dad, on rare occasion. He has been through a lot with me, much less the "minor things" like installing sinks, calls about sprinklers, and such. It's such an honor to be able to help with computer problems, or anything I might know more about...yes...that does limit it to computers :)

There is something great to be said for those who always give. I'm sadly one who always looks for praise (like a dog, or a 3 year old) for doing something nice. Why I need verification it was good, or the pat-on-the-back, I hope I figure out soon so I stop. Anyway - here's my long entry for a short topic from EdZ: "Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards."

Doing telephone interviews about telephone interviews

2007-12-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

Whether you're following the 2008 Presidential campaigns closely or not, you've got to love this article. Not only does the article say most people hung up on automated phone calls about the election, they were only slightly nicer to actual people on the other line doing the same thing.

How did they get this data: doing telephone interviews about telephone interviews.

Now if you want something really funny - read a great article about how one reporter does his polling. Let me just point out a few key phrases you'll see: nuns, those wearing hats, punks on skateboards.

Family Home Evening

2007-12-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's on, it's off, it's postponed, it's missed. Family home evening is never what it was in my parent's home: consistent. We're working on it. Lisa is quite amazing. Scroll back to hero week and read the entry about her and we'll assume you think she better than sliced bread too and add to it with this entry. On Monday, Lisa brought home a gingerbread house kit, and we were all excited for FHE. Okay...so some of us (especially Tanner) couldn't keep our eyes off the treats, but as you can see - the candies made it on the house. But that's not the best part of Monday. It was Lisa's turn for the lesson. We sang songs like "when the family gets together" and "listen, listen", and had a wonderful lesson on baptism. Sydney's favorite cousin (on Lisa's side) is Mary. Mary is getting baptized on Saturday, and is anxious to see it. Sydney has seen a few, but I'm never sure how much of the explanation of why makes it through. Lisa used pictures from the Gospel Art Kit (the wonder pack of 600 photos (something like $15 at the distribution center), and we had a great time. This morning on the way to school Sydney said "Dad..when I turn eight, I'm going to be baptized." It was really cute. Okay...what you've been waiting for: pictures. Sorry - our camera stinks indoors. I turned on and off the flash, but they were all sorts of blurry.

Journaling

2007-11-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Since October 8th I've been writing in a personal journal. I have an Outlook reminder each morning to remind me (it's been two months and I still need it). I added it up, I'm 34/53 days, but considering before this, I wrote 8 days in my life, it's definitely an increase. I'm up to 14 pages. I was surprised how much I had forgotten things that happened just a week ago, much less a month and a half ago.

Here are a few highlights from the past two months (in order of occurance):

1. Sharing the Book of Mormon with a good friend.

2. My new telescope. (brrrrr...it's cold outside)

3. Hero week on this blog.

4. Getting donuts from Macey's with Sydney, who loves the car carts.

5. Thanksgiving Point with Mo, and standing in line for 45 minutes for a pretty weak train.

6. TV and cable modem go POOF.

7. Personal revelation.

8. Halloween excitement.

9. Friends lunches.

10. Microsoft interviews.

11. Star gazing with Sydney.

12. Macaroni Grill and Bourne Ultimatum with Lisa.

13. Rachel's pregnant!

14. My parents came home from their mission!

15. Jazz game with Matt.How many things can you remember from the past two months?

Crayon Physics

2007-11-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the download

Jazz Game

2007-11-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, I got a call from my brother-in-law Matt Fankhauser. He said they had an extra ticket to the Jazz game that night and wondered if I wanted to go. I haven't been to a Jazz game in ten years, but that's definitely not from the lack of wanting. I was thrilled and Lisa was kind enough to take the kids for the evening. She took the kids out to her parents' house and had pie. The game was awesome. We were on the 11th row ($130 tickets)! Despite being down by five most of the first half, the end of the first half gave them a lot of confidence and pulled within one. They opened the second half with a 16-1 run and ended up winning by thirty.

Since we only get the very basic cable package, we don't get FSN-Utah, Versus, or anything other than KJZZ to watch the games. It was a great time at the game, and fun to spend a little time with Matt - we rarely get together other than family activities.

Thanks again Matt!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving was great! We had a few times of the kids getting up throughout the night because their shots were hurting (vaccines yesterday), but they seem to be adapting well. We went up to Matt and Ann’s around 11:30, had some appetizers watched a little football, and spent some quality time catching up and having a lot of laughs. Mom and Dad were so great. They each would trade off with each of the grandchildren. When Sydney first saw Grandma Moore, she gave her a big hug and wrapped her feet around Grandma’s waist, and just snuggled for a few minutes. She had that “I’ve really missed you” look on her face – it was so sweet. It was so great seeing Sydney with Grandpa Moore, always his little shadow. Whenever she was more than five feet away, she would come up to me and whisper “I want Grandpa Moore”. Tanner was just cooing while being held by Grandma Moore. He only snuggles Lisa and grandmas that way. Our family has been so blessed by their mission, and it continues with their presence in our family. The meal was wonderful (we forgot to bring the veggie tray, just the other stuff), but we all enjoyed time together as a family. Dad and Mom, Rich’s family, Matt’s family, and our family were there for most of the day, with Nate’s family coming up for pie later (spent Thanksgiving with her family).

It's hard to say what was best, as the food was awesome! It was neat to see Ally getting in on the cooking, but Wende made stuffed mushrooms (Jenny's recipe) and man, those are delicious. Despite the attempts to continue stuffing ourselves, we couldn't help but pause to keep saying how great the food was. Hopefully Wende will post pictures of the stuffed mushrooms and our fun day.

Hope your Thanksgiving went as well.

They're home!!!

2007-11-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

After a long seventeen years (okay, a year and a half), my parents have arrived home safely from the Uganda Kampala Mission. Sydney has been so excited for their return, carrying their picture around the house with her. When my parents left, Sydney was in an extremely shy stage, so they weren't expecting Sydney to run up and give them big hugs. We had a fun night catching up with my family, and are excited to spend Thanksgiving with them. It was so hard to leave their home last night, despite it being an hour past the kids bedtime, but after my parents 8 hour flight from Kampala to Entebbe, then yesterday's flight from Entebbe to Salt Lake City (via Chicago), I can't believe they were still awake.

What a blessing to have them home safe. Hopefully they'll have a few days to adjust before we overwhelm them with stuff to do together.

Acmed the dead terrorist

2007-11-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance for a few expletives...and for your tears of laughter. Thanks to Kevin Carter

OPML

2007-11-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

No. It's not a drug. If you frequently read any blogs, hopefully you're using an RSS feed reader to notify you of new content. Your local list of RSS feeds are stored as a group in an OPML file (or at least can be imported or exported that way).

What does your OPML contain? Me? Here are my main groups:

Astronomy

Church

Comics (Dilbert!)

Family (Lisa, sister in laws)

Friends (Kevin Carter, Chris Okelberry, Trent Himes)

Politics (USA Today, Washington Post)

Sports (Jazz, Avalanche)

Sure, most of what I see I skim through quickly, but a few I always read straight through. How could you miss entries like this?

What does your OPML say about you?

Taking a hobby to an extreme?

2007-11-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

How cool would this be? Sure, the images are free from NASA and the hubble telescope, but $30 for the frame as well as printing costs. Still...it'd be pretty sweet assuming you chose a sweet image, etc.

Yard work

2007-11-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Is anyone excited by yard work (except when it's done)? :) A few weeks ago, we borrowed the neighbor's chainsaw and sawed down most of the crazy apple tree (odd, misshapen). This morning, it was nice weather so Sydney and I went out to go cleanup all the leftover apples, and (I) cut up the branches. It was a lot of fun singing the alphabet song, the theme song to "Super Why", counting to 15, counting backwards from 10, and just having a ball with Sydney. We're really been growing closer together and getting stuff done at the same time. I feel bad lately that to get work done on Saturday, Sydney and I spend time together while we do projects, and Lisa and the twins don't get as much time. However Saturday afternoons I've been spending with the twins, where the football game is on, but it's like it's just the radio, as we're playing, tickling, putting binkies back in, etc.

Astronomy excitement

2007-11-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

On Monday for family home evening we took two blankets, two pillows, and an astronomy guide called Night Watch out on the front lawn to get more acquainted with constellations. Sydney was so thrilled that the book showed on one page an image of the night sky and on the other, connect-the-dot-ish constellations. She was even more thrilled when she realized that they "matched" the actual night sky. It was a lot of fun to spend quality time with Sydney, and Lisa read a little bit with us once we came back inside.

So tonight after dinner, Sydney looked over at me on her way to the front door informing me she was going out front to look at the moon. She is such a cutie! She knows daddy too well. Sadly it's a new moon, so it wasn't visible. We went out to look at the stars again like Monday, then got out "huge telescope" and looked at some really sweet stuff (galaxies, star clusters, etc). To keep a log of what I view astronomically, and soon to add images, I created my third blog. It has been so much fun to share a common hobby with Sydney other than the love of tickling, reading books, and good flicks like "Cars", "Toy Story 2", and "Curious George".

Microsoft

2007-11-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago, I was browsing LinkedIn to check for any new contacts I knew. I noticed one of advertisements included a job opportunity at Microsoft for an SDET. It really peaked my interest, so I submitted my resume, traded a few emails with the hiring manager, and before I knew it, I had an email setting up my interviews at Microsoft. Being really comfortable with my current job, co-workers, pay, etc. I was comforted that if it wasn't what I was looking for or if they were looking for someone else, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Thursday, I flew up to Washington, catching up on some reading I've been slowing been doing. I frequently try to get time in to read my dev and testing books (Lisa calls them my 'geek books'), but normally other things come first. Anyway, the flight was nice to get some reading in, as well as after dinner.

Friday morning, I worked out, showered, and did a bit more reading before heading up for my interviews. I first met with the recruiter, who was kind and helpful in understanding the position, who I would interview with, etc. I was really excited to see what team and project I would be working on, but obviously won't be discussing it (NDA). She sent me to my first interview, and I sat waiting, getting more nervous as the seconds went by. My first interview went horrible, as my knees were knocking, the worst part being either I looked like an idiot and apologized for my nerves, or the fact that I thought I wouldn't be nervous and was mad at myself.

I felt the second interview went pretty well, as we ate some hot clam chowder that really calmed my nerves before getting into the actual interview. The test and dev scenarios I felt I demonstrated good answers for, and was passed to the third interviewer. He was very kind as we discussed my past positions, etc. During my meeting with the recruiter, she mentioned if I made it past my third interview, it was a really good sign. So after the third interview seemed to be iffy, I asked how I could improve by what he had seen and heard, and we discussed a few items (including my frequent apologies), after which he asked me to wait while he went to speak with his boss (my fourth interview).

That interview I felt went well. After that concluded, I went back to speak with the recruiter, and was on my way back to the hotel. The flight back was nice and calm, minus the fact by this point my voice was almost gone. We'll see if they want me and are willing to make it worth my while to relocate me to Washington. If I would have been less nervous and ready to go on the first interview, I'd feel it was more likely, but we'll see. There are other issues to deal with like selling the house, finding new residence, etc., but that's for thinking about after I hear back.

Oddities of life

2007-10-31T20:13:00.000-06:00

I've set myself up for this one. April 6, 2007 I started my LDS Quotes blog, with a few goals in mind:

1. Have a repository of my favorites quotes from LDS talks, general conference, etc.

2. When I ran out of posting my favorite quotes, it'd mean I'd have to keep reading conference talks, BYU speeches, etc., which means I'd be learning more, etc.

3. Hopefully other people found them useful for talks, lessons, personal use, etc.

The two months before conference, I averaged between 100-120 hits per week. After conference, I'm averaging 10-60 hits per week.

By now you should be asking why I care or why I'd spend my free time looking each week (or perhaps you didn't make it this far). I've been wondering whether to keep it as a blog or not. I guess it doesn't hurt, just takes time to add one daily, formatting, links, etc.

Shocking events

2007-10-22T20:12:00.000-06:00

Lisa and I were watching the new Transformers movie at home when at 11:30pm Saturday, a huge boom was heard and a blinding flash. The power tripped, the tv started to smell like smoke, and we are now out a big screen and a cable modem, both which were on surge suppressors :( State Farm is working on our claim right now, but the hardest part was not having the internet Sunday. I never realized how nice it is to check the forecast, email, blogs, and let Sydney play games on pbskids.org. The good news is we're all safe (the kids slept through it all), and after our deductible, a new tv should be coming in a week (once we figure out how much we're getting reimbursed).

Changes, changes, changes

2007-10-18T20:11:00.000-06:00

There were several great things that happened in the past little while that I thought of during hero week, but was spending my 'blogging time' on hero week. Anyway, here are a few highlights:

Twins sleeping through the night. I'm not sure when this changed - I'm still waiting for brain cells to return, but it seems like it's been two weeks. It's so great to put them to bed at 8:30/9 and get up around 6:30/7.

More work hours, no sleeping in. It's been a big change not to sleep from when the twins were getting up (6:30/7), to about 8:30, and then working later. Now, I'm starting work between 6:30 and 7, and being finished around 3. What about the extra time, you ask? Some days it's overtime, some days it watching the kids while Lisa goes to the gym, scrapbooking class, store, etc. The only issue was last night I was so exhausted I went to bed before two of the three kids :) It's the first time that's happened in quite some time. The next item might also explain why I'm up late and need to go to bed earlier on occasion, although the weather's been quite bad for viewing lately.

My new telescope. About two weeks ago, I bought a new Orion XT10 Intelliscope with the object locater. It's so sweet! Sydney, whenever she comes downstairs to tell me about dinner, etc. says "that a HUUUUUGE telescope, daddy!" It's such a sweet scope. The finder scope is more powerful than the binoculars I was going to get to help find objects, and the tube itself is 4 feet long! The scope is 55 lbs, but it's easy to take off the OTA and carry separately, then reattach (two screws) once you've reached your destination. It's amazing how much more light this gathers than my 5", but the 5" is still fun to do planetary viewing and have the motorized GOTO. I'm excited to get a very inexpensive camera and just take simple solar system photos. Here's the difference between the two (650mm vs. 1200mm):

Hero Week: Part VII: Lisa

2007-10-13T20:10:00.000-06:00

Lisa. Bean. Evil Bean. So many thing describe my hero it's hard to pick and choose. It's like asking you what your favorite movie, song, and thing to eat, and just describe it in a few paragraphs. Bean is my hero. She brings such stability to our family. She's the one who works the hardest and asks for the least. She takes hard things in stride, and tries to make the best of me. I was trying to find a picture of just Lisa in our archive of pictures, but almost all of them include me, Sydney, or the twins (or a mix). She's always taking care of someone or something.

When we were first married, I was struggling with self-esteem (I'm not sure why - I was married to Lisa!). She was patient and kind, but didn't just sit back and let me drift. I remember the day we sat on the edge of the bed discussing things I liked and things I could do that would make me happy for a longer period of time. We started working out at the gym together, going on walks, and slowly, but surely, she made me see the good in me. It still amazes me the transition of our marriage. She is so smart, funny, and really hot. It reminds me of the Monk episode where he's talking about why his late wife married him. Speaking to his wife (invisible, like a memory) "Thank you for marrying me. What were you thinking?" I'm still not sure what she was thinking :)

Bean is the ideal mom. She's patient with the kids, always encouraging them in the smallest things. She has removed herself and put her family in the forefront. It's always fun to see Tanner bouncing on Lisa's knees playing "pop goes the weasel", or find her and Sydney chatting away while they clean the bathrooms. Bean works miracles, like many moms, taking care of the kids, making excellent meals, cleaning the house, etc. When we were first married, I took pictures of all the dinners I liked. The problem was, I was taking pictures every night...so I stopped. She's so supportive of my goals and aspirations, and loves to spend quality time with the family. She's the best wife and mom. No one would be luckier than to have a mom that lived their life for their children like she does.

Thanks Bean - love you!

Hero Week: Part VI: My Parents

2007-10-12T20:09:00.000-06:00

Wayne and Eileen Moore. After becoming a father of three, I can't begin to imagine being parents of seven. It's been quite interesting to realize just what torture I must have been to my parents, as I learn daily the blessings and struggles of having children. The good news is that my children show the struggles within me, not that they're any real troublemakers. Sadly, I don't think that applied to me as a kid. My parents showed their true colors by working on graying hairs instead of pulling it out. Just like my earlier entry about Paul and Mo, they are examples of what we all wish we had the character, integrity, discipline, and drive to be like.

I can't imagine having six eagle scouts as sons. I can't imagine sending so many sons on missions, help with homework, teaching to fish, providing for, feeding, keeping reverent in church, etc. You'd think at one point they'd realize they had no time for themselves, and take a step back. But I am as impressed today as I ever have been, giving up times with grandchildren, comfort (that's an understatement serving a mission in Uganda), and many other luxuries most grandparents I'm sure take for granted. I'm so excited to have them return in just over a month from their third mission.

For their love for me, for the Lord, for the countless times they've made the best impression on me, for their diligence in what they must have wondered about me been a toss up whether I would turn out alright or not, and for their constant vigilance in doing what's right.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part V: Dan/Jeff/Pete

2007-10-12T20:08:00.000-06:00

Dan Aird. Jeff Eschler. Peter Tew. It's a funny feeling when you take people for granted for so long, and never realize what they have done for you. But I guess when you're as selfish as I was (and to a great extent still now), it was easy to overlook how much other people do for you. For me, these three great guys have always been my friends, from the day I met them.

I'm amazed sometimes how willing friends are to put up with a sulking, low self-esteem person who seems to focus on nothing but themselves. If nothing else, this should their highest praise. The three amigos (what they called themselves), were the best friends I could ever have asked for. All the rides to school, keeping me in the loop, and cheering me up in rough times. It doesn't just take a community to raise a child, it takes fierce friends who won't let go. We've had some really fun times since high school, getting together for great dinner and activities. I'm so grateful we still keep in touch.

Hopefully one day I'll be able to do as much in return.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part IV: Justin McMurray

2007-10-11T20:07:00.000-06:00

Justin McMurray. This guy is golden. After returning home from my mission and moving into an apartment, I was incredible blessed to find a funny, cool, yet crazy guy in the young adult ward. He was integral in keeping my workaholic nature under control, and to help me just get out and play. There were many rough mornings (after a long Saturday work day) where Justin would come over to make sure I was coherent enough to get ready for church. He was such a great example of what I wanted to be. Never forcing, always encouraging.

We spent countless hours talking "geek", playing "Chicken Invaders", and other stuff. Hiking to waterfall canyon in Ogden, hot chocolate and caroling, to single adult activities. I was never left to wonder his perspective on the gospel, friendship, or integrity. I wish I had started writing in a journal, or at least had my blog back then, as we had so many great times, that just writing this entry has sparked more memories. He has always been a great friend - a one man support structure.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part III: Henry B. Eyring

2007-10-09T20:05:00.000-06:00

Henry B. Eyring. Growing up in the same ward as President Eyring, I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary around him. He was kind and friendly, but I never really interacted with him. It all started when I was interested in my dad's audio tape collection of church talks. As a young boy of ten, I asked my father which talks he would recommend, and he let me take a few upstairs to listen to. I remember distinctly, sitting at my desk in the southwest corner of the upstairs. I had taken out paper to take notes, realizing I was making my Heavenly Father happy in learning about his gospel through his servants. When I picked up the pen after starting the audio tape, the pen went back on the table, and all I could do was listen in awe of hearing what I wanted to become.

That's when everything changed. When I heard other General Authorities speak, I felt the truthfulness of their words, but I never connected with anyone like President Eyring. It was a talk given at BYU called "Come Unto Christ". The talk starts out this way:

You have moments when you want to be better than you have ever been. Those feelings may be triggered by seeing a person or a family living in a way that lifts your heart with a yearning to live that way, too. The longing to be better may come from reading the words of a book or even from hearing a few bars of music. For me, it has come in all those ways, and more.

I had never listened to anyone who could convey the feelings of my heart. I had grown up in a family with parents I felt were perfect, and wanted to have the same drive, the same ability to sacrifice self and give more than I had. As the talk continued, I could feel the same desire he had, when his voice slightly cracked, from love and remembrance of how he felt when reading the same. From the tenth chapter of Moroni:

O, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. [Moroni 10:32-33]

That urge to rise above yourself is a recognition of your need for the Atonement to work in your life, and your need to be sure that it is working. After all you can do, after all your effort, you need confidence that the Atonement is working for you and on you.

I knew that day that I would ever be linked to this talk. Despite my failures and shortcomings, even to the obsession of perfectionism, I knew if I kept trying, the Lord would make changes in me. President Eyring then listed goals, not directly for us, but as a witness of how someone knew they were doing what was right.

This talk brought me to listen to more talks, whatever I could get my hands on, to listen how he obviously had accomplished the goals I was just starting. I learned to love the process of asking "how can I know" and "how will I feel". I thank him for always being willing to share how we can become like Christ, not just learn about Him.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part II: Paul and Mo

2007-10-07T20:03:00.000-06:00

Paul and Mo. I'll never met a couple like Paul and Mo. Things that are hard, things that are complicated, are made to look easy. I remember the first time I met Paul and Mo, Lisa's parents, over five years ago. Mo was kind and fun, with a very warm and welcoming personality. Paul, with his quick wit and fun humor, quickly became someone I respected for his abilities to make rough times seem easy, because "[enter your issue] is nothing compared to [something horrible], so we can handle it", followed by a chuckle. Paul and Mo make doing the right thing (and rightly so) fun and exciting. I saw so much of Lisa in both of her parents, that I knew it was going to be a great relationship.

From the wedding plans to Sunday dinners, the early years of being married to Lisa went very smooth, as Paul and Mo were always there, not just to be helpful, but to be involved in the fun and work involving our young family. I remember the days them helping us move through our year of apartment-hopping trying to get away from the smoke smell at Carrington to the cruise around Mexico. It's great to be around such examples of the hard working and service-oriented people they are, as it just exudes confidence in their capabilities and your own hopes to be like them. Paul's knowledge of the scriptures and humble attitude complimented by Mo's amazing capability to take on and handle gracefully much more than I could ever imagine. Paul has frequently come over to help teach me how to do electrical/lighting, help with software development, etc.

But hero week is not just about great people helping out. Sydney's favorite two people (outside Lisa and I, and even then, sometimes) are "gramma and papa". I can't count the number of times they've taken Sydney to the park or the pool, on a walk, to get ice cream, to treat her as such an integral part of their lives. Now, with the recent addition of the twins, they just love taking one of the kids and giving them one-on-one special time. They have taken us into their home (literally), from recent weeks of Lisa's ACL surgery, to helping with the twins, Sydney for sleepovers, the list just goes on. Every time I feel we've pushed too far, that we've asked too much (or they just call and ask if they can come take her for the day), they step up and ask what more they can do to help.

It's not as though Paul (in the Stake Presidency and owner of Ruben Engineering) and Mo (Young Women's president), aren't very busy people. The phone is frequently ringing of people they've offered to help, or those who know they'll do anything they can, from neighbors and ward members...just anyone. They've blessed our home and family immensely. What examples!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part I: Frank and Jenny

2007-10-06T20:01:00.000-06:00

I am notorious for thinking about how grateful am I for people and the things they do, a ways after they've been so helpful. You would imagine that after so many people have done so many things, I would become more grateful and more service-oriented myself. So today starts the beginning of Hero Week: the week where each day I'll pick people who have made a momentous change in my life and the lives of my family. My fear for having to leave people who have done a lot out is overwhelmed by my gratitude for the extent to which these individuals have gone further. Without further adu:

Frank and Jenny. Frank is my third oldest brother and self-proclaimed most handsome, strongest, etc. brother. There are several things I distinctly remember from my childhood, in between times I've lost a lot of my memories due to "rough times" and trying to forget, that I'm grateful to Frank for. Frank loves basketball, and loved to play more back when the knees weren't such a pain, literally. I remember several times when I was < 10, I would spend hours each day shooting hoops in front of our house. When Frank's friends would come over to play ball, or go over to the church and play, he frequently would invite me (not just let me) play. I thought it was because I was so good. The things you learn later in life.

When Frank came home from his mission to have work done on his knee(and return shortly thereafter), we stsyed in the same room for about a month. I remember it wasn't a painful thing for him (staying in the same room, not knee surgery). He'd have me push hard on his leg, and tease me about how hard I *wasn't* pushing, and spending time with me a lot.

When he was married and was living in Cedar City, and I was having self-esteem issues, Frank and Jenny invited me down for a week during summer break. I remember crying on their couch, with them patiently listening to what I was struggling with, and trying to help. I remember a few walks at night around Cedar City where we'd talk about anything on my mind, and how great I felt having such great friends.

When I lived with Frank and Jenny while mom and dad were on their mission, I remember many times of stuffed pork chops, watching Toy Story 2 so many times with James and Ben, going out to Jenny's parents for dinner on Sundays.

Since I've been married, Frank and Jenny have always brought meals when we needed help (baby births, Lisa's knee surgery, etc). I remember spending a night automating my sprinkling system, putting the big swing together, and many other times where Frank would bring the kids to help Jenny have a break and to teach the kids about service and helping others. After the twins were born, Jenny brought all four kids out to help us around the house, bring lunch, and play Wii, while Jenny and the boys took turns holding the kids.

This is a relationship I never want to lose. Calls to just chat, see how things are going, discuss the slow demise of the Atlanta Braves, just whatever.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

No RSS today

2007-10-04T20:01:00.000-06:00

Obviously I have no sense of time, as it's 12:42AM, and I just finished doing a collage I didn't need to. If you view this over RSS, open up my main page and you'll see it up top. 7 Moore has a new image!

Candidate match game

2007-10-01T20:00:00.000-06:00

In my RSS feeds, I include the politics/election content from USA Today and the Washington Post. Today, as part of the USA Today content, there is a "Candidate Match Game", where you answer 11 questions from Iraq to health care, and see who you match best with. Oddly enough, my top three are:

1. Mitt Romney (follow his blog - my choice)

2. Duncan Hunter (who?)

3. Mike Huckabee

Click here to play

Utah Jazz

2007-09-28T20:00:00.000-06:00

The new season is upon us. What better to bring a smile to the face is my favorite Utah Jazz moment: "John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA finals!". It begs the question: where were you when it happened?

7 Moore

2007-09-26T19:59:00.000-06:00

Wow...has our family grown. Despite your early disposition to say "they're looking to have seven more kids!?!", let me put your faint heart to rest and say, only one more. "7 Moore" is our current status, being 2 parents, 3 kids, 2 cats. My hope is this evening to get a 'latest' picture of each member and put the images as a collage in the title bar, obviously showing my curiosities are taking over useful things I could be doing. I'd claim lack of sleep, but the twins are doing much better recently (minus Natalie's cold). Normally I get so obsessed by whatever I'm doing, I finish quickly and spend time looking for other things to do. I think this has finally caught up to me, as I have a lot of time on the telescope yet needed before it gets really cold out. I haven't used my solar filter yet, and have had a hard time stepping away from work and the kids to view early morning or late afternoon. I'm in the middle of Zelda on the Wii, "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer (started reading during Lisa's ACL surgery and then never finished), etc.

130 SLT

2007-09-21T19:58:00.000-06:00

130 SLT
from Josh Moore by Josh
For my birthday, and after several years of calling it 'too expensive of a hobby' ($500 = telescope, solar filter, eye pieces, ac adapter)...I finally bought a telescope for my birthday. It's a NexStar 130 SLT. When it arrived, and the next day extra eye pieces, then the AC adapter - 2 extra long days of waiting for power - it was time to view. Obviously around lamp posts I'm normally grateful for around the house, and so many other lights around, many DSO's (deep space objects) aren't as bright, but I had fun anyway. I'm learning leaps and bounds about each eyepiece, how the GOTO works (automatically moves the scope to the selected target), and many other things. But after a few days of really cloudy weather, a nice birthday gift was a clear sky. The moon was just gorgeous tonight, as was Jupiter and the 3 visible moons (for my telescope anyway). So many more stars were visible by the naked eye, and the texture on the moon was just amazing.

I think my next purchases will be an attachment ($12) to allow your digital SLR take pictures. My telescope isn't meant for longer than 30 second exposure pictures (telescope is constantly moving to keep the object in focus), but I'm sure in the next few years, after I buy another small telescope that doesn't require power to move the gears (or have GOTO), and a small camera/attachments, I'll eventually get a bigger telescope. It's sad I just bought one and I'm talking about another, but the small one should be <>

They say going to a location of no (at least much less) light pollution, you can see many more DSO's, brighter, and more clear. I didn't want to buy an external power tank or waste batteries, but I think I'll get two sets of rechargables. Our family lives on AA batteries anyway, and it'd be fun to take the scope to the big park, or every once in a long time, to a place where there are large locations of low light pollution. No picture can describe what you see through a telescope.