Square Peg in a Round World

The beat goes on

2009-10-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, I got involved with starting a company shortly after graduating. That was April 2007. The current name of our company is NVH Technologies. NVH stands for "Noise Vibration and Harshness" (you can check us out here) There have been lots of ups and downs along the way, but recently things have really started to take off and I wanted to share with you one of the cooler things that has happened. Forbes magazine contacted BYU to see if they had any exciting start up companies worth talking about. BYU provided them with a list of all their licensees and out of all of them, we were selected to be interviewed. Our CTO traveled to New York, and they interviewed him for a few hours and put together the following video:

http://video.forbes.com/fvn/breakout/sound-no-more

We're pretty excited that people are begining to take note of our work and the potential we have.

That's it. I just wanted to toot my horn a little bit and see if I can't get a little more publicity out of the video.

Fire Butt Soup!

2009-09-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

You read that right. Fire Butt Soup.

About two weeks ago, as I sat in the Dr's office pretending to be patient and failing miserably, I picked up a Rachel Ray Magazine thinking I'd find some interesting recipe ideas. Boy was I right. But one recipe out shone all the others, "Mexican Chicken Lime Soup." Here is the Recipe:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Onion finely chopped
6 Cloves garlic thinly sliced
5 Skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Canned Chipotle Chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce.
6 Cups Chicken broth
1/2 Cup chopped fresh Cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the Onion and the Garlic, lower heat to medium and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Increase the heat to high, push the veggies to the side of the pan, add the chicken and cook, stirring until golden, about 5 mins. Stir in the Chipotles and adobo sauce, then stir in the chicken broth. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes skimming any foam. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

2. Place 2 avacado slices in a bowl, pout in the soup and top with tortilla chips.

(if you aren't salivating at the idea of this recipe, you and I can't be friends.)

Because of my preferences and a few key mis-understandings I made some changes to the recipe. Here is what I did:

I replaced the chicken thighs with canned chicken (patted dry) so that as it cooked it burned / caramelized the edges to give it extra texture.

I didn't have 6 cups chicken broth (and didn't think to use builla base to make it) so I only used 4

I added a can of black beans (drained), and a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. (i figured the juice from the tomatoes would compensate...

All of these actions were intentional changes to the recipe

This was my accidental change and ironically enough the reason for the soups alias.

Instead of two canned chipotle chiles, I thought I read 2 cans of chipotle chiles... Turns out there are about 15 chiles in a can. Luckily I mis-read the recipe before shopping and only purchased one can of chiles.

(At this point the recipe is FUBAR)

Anyways, I also failed to chop the chiles and just threw them in whole.

By the time the soup was done simmering, the spicy-ness of it permeated the air. My mother-in-law was ready to have an apopeptic fit at the idea of me eating the soup,

I was commited!

My first bowl (served for lunch) was delicious and spicy. Probably the spiciest thing I've ever eaten. As proof of that, by the time I was done, my face was flushed, sweat glistened off my forehead, and I felt like I'd been through a rigorous workout at the gym...

Again, at this point pride rose up within me and I put the soup in the fridge to be finished at a later date. The rest of the day passed pleasantly and without incident.

The following evening (last night) I reached for the soup for dinner, having spurned the brocolli laden dish prepared for, and generally disliked by all. Apparently that 24 hour period gave the soup time to ferment...

Again I went through the process of cleaning every pore on my face by exuding copius amounts of sweat. Again my body felt slightly betrayed at my prideful behavior, and as I lay down to sleep I began to have second thoughts about storing the soup for future consumption.

Eight hours later I knew the course I must take... After my second trip to the bathroom I was left with a bitter reminder of my pride as my sphinctor burned with a fire I have never known before.

Nor do I wish to know it again.

Securities and Exchange Commission - Regulator or Enabelor?

2009-09-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

So today, I read an article about a federal judge overturning the SEC's settlement of the whole Merrill Lynch / Bank of America executive bonus scandal. (Article)The article also brings up a past SEC failing during the worldcom accounting fraud business. So that got me to thinking. What the hell is the SEC actually doing? Apparently not trying to protect the investors from unscrupulous businesses. They're definately not acting on any of the complaints over the last umpteen years of Bernie Maddoff and his now spectacular ponzie scheme. So what are they doing? I looked them up on Wikipedia and it appears as though they spend their time enforcing seven primary laws. Five of which were passed before the 1940's were finished. I say they spend their time enforcing the seven laws, but i would question their efficacy, and even their ambition in doing so. Part of me wonders how closely tied the SEC is to the major players, and whether or not they can be trusted. When President Obama promises to change things, I say go get 'em tiger. Institutions like the SEC, and others that are closely linked to big business must be shaken up periodically to ensure the honesty of those participating.

Babies, the Final Frontier.

2009-09-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

So here's the story: Two weeks ago, the Dr. had us go through another ultrasound to check on the amniotic fluid levels. We were at the very bottom end of safe, and the Dr. had amber commit to periodic bed rest throughout the day, and plenty of fluids. For two weeks, we tried this and had to go through ultrasounds twice a week. This last Tuesday we went in for another test and we were even lower on fluids. The Dr. said come back on Thursday and if things aren't better we'll talk about inducing you. Things were not better.

So at 12:00 PM Thursday September 10, Amber was admitted and began taking a drug called Cervadil. The purpose of the drug was to "ripen" Amber's Cervix in anticipation of the delivery. 12 hours later, they started us on Pitocen (the labor inducing drug). Amber and I slept through most of the night. Around 7:00 AM they checked her dilation, and she was only at a 2. So they bumped up the Pitocen a little bit, and we had to start the waiting game.

Around 11:00 AM the Dr. broke Amber's water, and she received her epidural shortly thereafter. Within the hour, Amber's contractions started getting really strong, and Baby Ru started reacting poorly to them. Her heart rate would plummet from 130 bpm, to 60 bpm during each contraction. That required some quick action on the part of the nurses but they got everything stabilized and we had to slow down the dilation so that it wouldn't stress Ruby out too much.

By 4:00 PM she was dilated to a 10, but the Dr. wanted her to "rest and descend." That's a fancy way of saying let nature take its course and get as far as possible without actively pushing. By 5:10, they wanted to start pushing. Amber was a real champ and never once cried or stopped pushing before they told her to. She pushed and pushed for all she was worth. The tip of Ruby's head was visible almost from the beginning of the pushing but we couldn't get her any farther, so after an hour and change the Dr. came in and proposed using forceps. I have to confess he didn't seem to be very gentle, and watching him pull her out was bizarre. After 4 contractions Ruby's head was out, and the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice! When he turned her over, her poor little face was so blue it looked purple. I freaked out at that. The Dr. slipped the cord off and started pumping and in less than 20 seconds she was breathing and crying. Shortly thereafter, the Dr. handed me a pair of scissors. (I had no idea what he was getting at until he explained it to me) So in the end I cut the umbilical cord, it felt like I was cutting through a mushy ruber hose. (not romantic but that was what I thought. Sue me) The pictures show you what happened after that.

As I write these words, Amber is cuddling and cooing baby Ru.

She's here to stay.

A beacon of Hope

2009-07-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Last night we watched Seabiscuit. This movie has particular importance to me as it is the first DVD i purchased and the story of heart overcoming breeding is particularly powerful. After having researched the matter a little more, i discovered that the breeding / heart argument plot line is not really that powerful, both War Admiral and Seabiscuit share the ancestry of Man o' War, who was apparently voted as the most prestigious race horse of the 20th century.

Regardless, the story of Seabiscuit also tells of something else. A hero (an icon) rising up from obscurity to give hope and optimism to a people that are otherwise depressed about life. I know it is not accurate to compare today's society with the great depression era, but at the same time things are tough right now for a lot of people.

In situations like this people need a beacon of hope. Part of me wonders if that is not why Obama gathered so much popular support. His whole campaign was focused on providing hope for America. Lets hope he can deliver.

This would never happen in Utah

2009-06-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

So last night, Amber decided I needed a pair of swim trunks for the family reunion even though my foot is not 100% healed. I agreed and off we went to marshals. It took us about 15 minutes to find and buy a pair of swim trunks, but her Mom and Dad were still browsing so Amber decided to continue browsing herself.

Needing to take a break and get the weight off my foot, I sat down near the door to wait.

There were three seats near the door. On the far right, sat a hispanic fellow who was obviously waiting for his wife. I sat on the far left in order to observe the inter-galactic law of "don't-get-too-close-to-any-other-dude-unless-you-absolutely-have-to." Five minutes later, a cute, old, asian lady came and sat down between us. She was joined by another elderly asian lady, with a black (maybe polynesian) baby girl in tow. The two ladies were waiting for the mother of the baby at the register, the mother was also asian, so I believe the baby to have been adopted. A white lady with a baby girl of the same age was at the next register over, and as the two mothers checked out, the two toddlers set up an impromptu play date by the door.

White and Black toddlers playing, while a Latino, a white guy, and two older asian ladies watched; all of us smiling.

California catches a lot of grief over a lot of issues, but you have to give credit where credit is due. The cultural mixing and acceptance that has been achieved here is not something that you would ever see in Utah or many other places in the US.

Kudos to you California.

P.S. The above photograph is of twin girls from Australia. The mother was black, and the father white, apparently the chances of twins with such different complexions is a million to one according to the Dr.'s

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article68181.ece

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-06-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it appears as though it's been over a month since I last posted. A lot has happened so I've decided to create a chronological picture update.

May 14 - We found out our little monkey, aka Boris, was really a Boris-a. It was decided by unanimous vote that Boris-a was no longer a feasible name, The switch was made to Ruby.

May 22ish

In

Enough said.

May 29ish

You can call me FrankinFoot - Surgery to repair ligaments in my right ankle. Surgery went well, but a week later I started to have an alergic reaction to something, and the ankle became infected. Problem solved with antibiotics and copious amounts of Bennydryl (SP?)

June 19 - Birthday. Amber surprised me with tickets to see the Blueman group. We sat in the poncho zone. The performance in Las Vegas was every bit as good as the traveling show. Different but still awesome! The group here was spectacular in their awkwardness. I snapped a picture of Amber and I after the show with one of the blue men, then failed to save the photo. (yes I'm a dummy). On the other hand, we purchased some artwork, made in-show, and they gave me a pair of used drumb sticks when they found out it was my birthday! Pictures to follow of the artwork.

Obama update and a Boris update:

2009-03-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been asked a number of times if I'm happy with Obama so far. I'd like to take the time and answer that question in what I already know will be a controversial manner. So "Principleoverparty" get ready to get mad.

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes.

While I don't necessarily agree with everything he has done, and plans to do here are the things that have pleased me in no particular order.

To begin with, Obama's apparent dedication to increased transparency has been refreshing. Along with the fact that he is now de-classifying much of Bush's "closed door" decisions.

I've been very impressed with the real urgency Obama's administration has put on improving foreign relations. It seems like not a day has gone by without me hearing about opening dialog with countries we've been trying to brow beat for the last decade.

I appreciate the fact that Obama is taking a long term view of our energy situation and making the hard decisions now. I realize this is causing a lot of heart ache for families and people of our nation but the reality is that our current energy policies we destined to self destruct because of the limited nature of oil and coal. Making the move now is like making a 90 degree turn at 35 miles an hour vs 60 miles an hour. The first won't be easy, but the latter is impossible. Do we deal with it or let our kids deal with it? I vote for us.

I appreciate he's publicly anounced his agenda for Iraq, and Afghanistan and integrated their costs into our budgeting process. Instead of sliding the cost under the table like bush did. In case you didn't know it, Iraq has cost us 1 Trillion dollars to date.

I appreciate that he is trying to re-assert the moral leadership of the United States by stopping water boarding, by being open with the public and strengthening international ties.

Frankly I love the fact that he is in fact leading. Like I said, I don't agree with everything he's done, but he takes responsibility for the white house, I get the feal he is making the decisions based on his analysis (I know you can argue the validity of that analysis, but at least it is his.) I always had the strong impression that Bush was just a puppet for Dick Cheney and the rest of his corporate goons.

As far as the stimulus package is concerned, I believe that the stimulus package was an inevitable result of our situation. The difference in my mind is in how it was crafted. Give the money to the rich man? Give the money to the poor man? Frankly, from what I've been hearing about the way corporate america is run, and the behavior of the boards and their CEO's, I'd rather give it to the poor man. The former hasn't really worked has it?

I guess your take on the stimulus is fundamentally based upon what theory of economics you ascribe to. (Notice I used the word theory, cause as far as I can determine they are both just theories) Personall, I'm really losing my faith in "Free market" economics, and to some extent Capitalism. I know that sounds strange coming from someone starting his own business but I've heard a lot lately that makes me think their might be a significant difference in the actual application of capitalism based on the size of the enterprise.

I could keep writing, but Amber wants me to go to the store with her. So I'll finish with a more personal update. Baby Boris is growing healthy and strong! The other day we went in for our 9 week check up and the Dr. played for us his heart beat. It was a literal audio ambush. We were marveling at the picture of him, when his little pitter patter heart beat hit us. Even though it only lasted for two seconds that is all it took for my heart to speed up and match his. I didn't expect it and was literally dumb struck by the power it had over me. I wanted to put the recording on my blog so you could hear it to, but the Dr. couldn't figure out how to make his recorder work. :( Sufice it to say, even though it took a while for Amber to get me on board with having a baby, I'm riding this train full speed now.

Dad, Father, Papa, Padre

2009-02-15T17:04:00.000-08:00

Last Friday marked the 7th week of our babies' development. I've taken to calling him Boris. I don't know if it will be a he and at this point I'm not sure if the parts are there to make a difference. The point is, I'm going to be a father.

That's pretty cool.

I've been giving it a lot of thought though, and this is it. This doodle can't be un-did. (if you know that line I congratulate you.) Not that I want it to be un-did, but my life is about the change a lot. I've already anticipated a lot of the changes, but there are some that I don't think I'll recognize until they rear up and kick me in the shins.

I've also been thinking about parenting, and being a parent, and being responsible for proper up-bringing of my child. Everyone has heard the quote, "Before I had children I had five theories on raising them, now I have five children and no theories." I'm definately at the stage of having five theories. In fact, I want to have more theories, because I have an overarching theory:

The more theories one has, the more likely it is that one of them will work.

So, this is a shout out to everyone that wants to have their opinion heard about parenting. What are some of the parenting tools you find useful, or have heard about and think would be useful.

I'll give you a couple examples of those I've heard:

My good friend Liz Rhodes, once told me that growing up, she was required by her parents to always be involved in a sport, a musical instrument, and one other extra-curricular activity. I think that's great! She is an amazingly well rounded individual and I've had awesome conversations with her on just about any subject you can imagine.

My first companion on the mission, Joe Sheppard, told me that in his house the children were considered little children until they proved themselves otherwise. The little kids had to go to bed at an earlier hour and were denied certain other privaleges. To be a "big kid" they had to read their scriptures every day and fulfill their chore obligations as well. According to their consistancy and performance, they were identified as either a big kid or a little kid and treated accordingly.

I think those are both great ideas.

What are yours?

Blessed beyond measure

2009-02-10T19:43:00.001-08:00

Recently things have been tough with NVHT (my company.) We've had some false starts with investors and have really been struggling since July 08. Today though was a breakthrough moment, and we finally found our investment money. Enough to last us 12 months assuming absolutely zero income from sales. We're really hoping it does not come to that. After walking out of our meeting with the investors at 5:30 PM I had a car ride home to contemplate the last two years and the ups and downs of that time period.

I realize that I'm not the only one in the company, but I've noticed something very strange:

Every time things get rough, it generally correllates to my laziness in paying tithing on time. As soon as I square up with the lord, things get resolved. I've literally seen it a dozen times. Over the last 8 months when things were tough and we didn't know how we were going to cover our bills, tithing made the difference.

Tithing.

There are a select few principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that I have absolute certainty in. Not faith. Certainty.

There is a God in Heaven, he knows me, and blesses me more than I deserve.

Tithing works. God doesn't need our tithing, WE need to pay tithing.

T.A.

Dunbars, Williams, and Andersons - What is Family?

2009-02-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

On the drive home today from drill, I listened to a radio program about the tragic story of three families. Those named in the title. The purpose of this post is to record my thoughts on the matter because I was very touched and moved to serious introspection.

In summary, Julia Anderson (a field hand in North Carolina) had an illegitimate child with Walter Williams (A traveling tinker) back around the turn of the century. Their boy was named Bruce. Julia could not care for the child because of her extreme poverty and so Walter took the child with him as he traveled around the country in his wagon tuning organs, pianos, and performing handyman labor.

Around the time Bruce was 4 years old, Walter encountered Percy and Lizzy Dunbar, a wealthy couple in Mississippi, who's oldest son (Bobby) had disappeared almost one year earlier. Lizzy and Percy claimed that Bruce was their son Bobby, and in spite of dozens of testimonys to the contrary convinced the courts to give them the child. Walter avoided going to jail through a fluke, Julia lost her child and was forced to start a new life.

Fast forward 90+ years, and Bobby (Bruce) Dunbar's granddaughter Margaret starts investigating the issue because of a scrap book her father (Bobby Jr.) gives her. After multiple years of investigation, she and her father decide to perform a DNA test. She discovers that Bobby Sr. is really Bruce Anderson.

This is where it gets dicey. Bruce Anderson had 4 children, all of them had multiple children. The entire time Margaret is investigating their history they oppose her and literally revile her. When she tells them she is going to perform a DNA test they literally tell her they will never speak to her again. She does it and is ostricized from the family.

On the flip side, Margaret gets to know the families of Julia Anderson and Walter Williams and is welcomed into their lives with open arms and hearts full of gratitude for her persistance in discovering the truth.

So here is the question: What makes the family?

Blood?

Choice?

I can't claim the right answer, and would love to hear your thoughts on the matter, but here is what I think.

Blood, places us on this earth. Each of us arrives with a unique history, background, and established order. These conditions can vary greatly, and can change in a heart beat without our input of permission.

Choice on the other hand is the only part of the equation that is uniquely ours. Member's of the family can chose to participate, and accept the participation of others, or not.

I guess I would have to say Choice is the deciding factor, because our willingness to value the blood ties is again our choice. It's messy, and seldom ideal.

In the end though, if a family is the greatest source of hapiness on this earth (and I believe that to be true), I pitty those that make poor choices.

CTR

Life Goes On

2009-02-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

I realize two posts on the same day is a little excessive, but I'm waiting for Amber to get home, and without her I'm lost. So this is a great way to fill the time. I thought since we didn't send out a christmas letter, I could use my blog for said purposes and if someone doesn't read this, well, I don't know what to do for them. If you know me, and know others that know me, let them know about this.

2008
Amber and I started 2008 by getting two puppies. Both Scottish Terriers of course. Persie (pronounced like the weesley brother from Harry Potter) is a black scotty, and she's all about being outside on an adventure. Lolly is white, and she's all about cuddle time. I don't think I would have believed dogs could have such differet personalities if it weren't for these two. Ironically enough, they are night and day.

The puppies were an appeasement of Ambers extreme desire to be pregnant. Not just pregnant, like already 8 months pregnant and ready to give birth. Amber isn't exactly the patient type. If you haven't seen us with them yet, you'll know we spoil our dogs tremendously, in fact, I've already spent more time bathing these two than I did bathing Tory (my cocker spaniel growing up) for her entire life.

Shortly thereafter we discovered two very good friends, Zack and Brenda VanValkenburg (SP?) They have a miniature schnauzer named Jazzy, and we spent considerable time with them going to the dog park in Parleys Canyon. Good times.

In June, for our anniversary, Amber and I bought a Wii. That has been a lot of fun, and the source of many an enjoyable game night with friends. I highly recommend it as a perfect family friendly system.

Sometime around May, Amber expressed the desire to live in Utah county to be near cousins. I wasn't exactly in love with SLC so I said OK. Amber started working for the Provo - Orem Chamber of Commerce and commuted back and forth for a month or so until our contract in SLC expired and we were able to move south. We ended up renting a home from my old boss, Priz, it's a lovely three bedroom home with a basement apartment. Life got a little dicey here, because Amber and I wanted to buy the house, but the appraisal came through at way less so in the end, we didn't. Michael Albright moved into one of the bedrooms and has been a room mate ever since August, and when the renters of the basement apartment moved out, Ryan and Becky Rust moved in. Having all of them close has been great. It's like a non stop party over here.

After a few months at the Chamber, Amber switched jobs because she was very unhappy with her boss, and started working for Spin Media Marketing as an office manager and event planner. She's been very happy there ever since and is doing a great job. Her boss gave her an Iphone as a bonus not to long ago (lucky!)

As for me, my company has gone through quite a few convolutions. The french company that was in the process of buying us defaulted in July and we've been limping along ever since trying to get funding. We've started doing business under a new banner, we're now NVH Technologies. NVH stands for noise vibration and harshness, its an industry term.

Around November I started working for Orange Soda, as an inside phone sales man. It's not a glamorous job, but it helps pay the bills while we're looking for funding and I've discovered that I'm pretty good at it. In January I was the second highest performer, and won a water bottle because of it. (I'm actually pretty excited about that, it has a google label on it.)

Thanksgiving was held with Amber's side of the family and was pretty fun. I was introduced to craps and really enjoyed it. A lot. Christmas was in Idaho. We froze. Froze bad.

New years was pretty low key. In fact, I don't think I made it all the way to midnight awake.

And that was 2008. I'll try to be better about keeping this up to date. I'm back in the game.

Reveal yourself! Please.

2009-02-06T15:46:00.001-08:00

Well, obviously I haven't had much to say for a while now. In a moment of boredom, I started looking over the blogs of my friends and that prompted me to come back here. I discovered something interesting. There is a mystery responder to my posts. See if you can find him (or her). At first I thought this mystery person was part of my immediate family, but I've asked everyone one about it and they all deny it. So there is either a strong urge to avoid confrontation on the part of this person, or I was wrong about this person being in my family.

I'm stumped.

I hate being stumped.

A LOT!

Those of you that know me well, would probably be willing to testify in a court of law that I'm headstrong, opinionated, and very willing to share my opinions. I don't think I would even try to deny that. One thing that comes along with that is the total dislike of mysteries.

So, principleoverparty, reveal yourself! You can do it in a private email to me. I'm not angry, it's just driving me nuts to not know who you are? Obviously you know me somehow since your profile was created roughly the same time I started posting and was advertising my posts... It's only fair. Then I'll know not to talk politics with you. :)

Laws or Theories...

2008-10-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

So I've been hearing about a lot about the evils of raising taxes on the rich and how that will only cause more problems for us. Then I hear that Warren Buffet supports Obama, and it caused me to pause for a moment. In the world of science, there is a very serious and distinct difference between theories and laws. A theory is a generally accepted idea that hasn't been proven "beyond a doubt" to be true. Such as: the Theory of Evolution, the Theory of Relativity and the law of gravity. So the question I have then is this: The republicans speak as though the idea of taxing the rich is a damning move, as though it is a foregone conclusion that their will be negative ramifications. Is this opinion based on any economic law? Or is it just such a heavily espoused theory that people have come to believe it a law?

If you know fill me in. I'd like to know.

The idea of "The Win"

2008-10-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about this for a while. One of the major debate points of the last two debates has been the topic of Iraq vs Afghanistan. Obama wants to pull out of Iraq and focus on Afghanistan. McCain wants to "focus" on both. One of McCain's primary arguments for not pulling out of Iraq is the concept of letting the troops stay there till they win.

Till they win.

What does that mean? To me it seems like the definition of the win, has been a moving target. I've heard arguments ranging from stopping the proliferation of WMD's to establishing democracy. So what exactly is our goal there? When do we know we've won? When there aren't any terrorist bombings? When the Iraqi security forces are "ready"? When Democracy is secure? Is anyone else confused by the vagueness? I can understand the troops desire to "win" If ever there was a greater collection of hyper-competitive individuals I can't think of it. But if we don't give them a clear definition of win, can they win?

If they can't "win" will they ever feel closure? I doubt it.

I have this theory about PTSD. Why did we never hear about PTSD before Vietnam? It might be because of the generation thing, but I think it's because the vets believed in what they were doing. Vietnam, and Iraq are both wars where the soldiers are there without clearly understanding why. In fact, I would be interested in seeing the numbers on PTSD cases coming out of Afghanistan, where I believe the soldiers really went in with a clear definition of "the win," and Iraq. I'd be willing to bet that there are far fewer coming out of Afghanistan.

That being said, and after a lot of internal debates and conflict I've decided I support the idea of pulling out of Iraq based on the lack of the clear definition of the win, as well as the fact that we are the aggressors in this war and it is clearly an "un-holy" war.

Half Truths

2008-10-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

Last night the Vice Presidential nominees had their first and only debate. I don't care to discuss the whole issue of win or lose but rather the tactics that I noticed being employed. (Warning: I will be using examples of the republicans, that's mostly because I know more about the Democrats and could catch the subtle nuanced barbs of the republicans, but I don't doubt the Democrats were doing the same)

The most disturbing tactic I noticed was that of telling a half truth in order to smear the other candidate. Example? How about both McCain and Palin trying to cast Obama in an anti-soldier light because he voted against a funding bill for the troops. That's what they say. He voted against a funding bill for the troops that had NO time line for withdrawal. So yes he did vote against a funding bill, but not because he doesn't support the troops. By their own logic then McCain is guilty of being anti-soldier because he voted against a funding bill for the troops that did contain a time line.

What is the point of this tactic? Do politicians think they can get away with making that accusation with their opponent right there to defend themselves? Is it even worth it if you're integrity is going to be challenged right there on the spot? I don't get it, it's a bad move at anytime because one has to compromise one's integrity to employee it. But it's just plain dumb to do it in a debate setting. If you're going to do it, do it in a stump speech where you're opponent can't react to it and take the heat out of the accusation.

Summary: Half truths frustrate me for the lack of simple honesty, and poorly used half truths frustrate me for the simple lack of thought behind them.

Things I Love and Hate

2008-09-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

Over the last week, I've spent more than my fair share in a car. A drive down to Las Vegas and two days later a drive to Boise. All of this time in a car has given me plenty of opportunity to contemplate on the traveling experience. I've come to the conclusion that I love cruise control and hate cars that don't have it. In fact, not having cruise control should be illegal. We rented a car to go down to Vegas and I made the mistake of renting a car without cruise control. I felt like a total spaz going up and down hills. Not being able to stick to my desired speed was frustrating to say the least and more than once I was afraid I was going to get nabbed by a cop on my way down a hill.

After watching the presidential debate and listening to Palin's interview with Katie Couric (I doubt i spelled her name right. I thought I'd include a few interesting clips. SNL did another great skit last night, and Katie included a clip on what Kissinger said about preconditions on talks with Iran. Take a look. It appears as though McCain and Palin are denying his comments even when they're documented on TV. I don't get it.

Accountability - Debt, Taxes, Bailouts and Abortion?

2008-09-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

I think this post belongs after my previous post of books that have changed my life. Why? Because I'm going to be talking about something that I feel very strongly about as a result of these books.

Accountability. (Thanks Michael for helping my focus my thoughts for this post)

Before I launch into my comments though, I'd like to address the idea of Big Government. This has been a buzz word since the founding of our nation. Recently it has become a source of crucification for the Democrats. No doubt because of their propensity for wanting to implement social programs. I can agree that not all social programs need to be government sponsored, but even at the height of their power, the Republicans have never abolished the programs that the Democrats have implemented, and in fact have added a few of their own. (No Child Left Behind etc.) The argument of big government is a political smoke screen, lets ignore that debate from here on out.

Now for a discussion on accountability:

Debt

A number jumped out at me as part of the recent flurry of coverage on the govt. bailout. Our debt limit has been raised to $11.3 some odd Trillion. In my mind, excessive debt, and I think we can qualify this as such, is a perfect example of avoiding accountability. Somewhere, somehow we have accrued almost $10 Trillion in debt as a nation already. That debt represents spending that was done without the money to pay for it with the idea that somewhere down the line, someone else will deal with it. They'll actually pay for whatever we thought was so important. Why couldn't we pay for it? If it was that important, could we not as a nation have figured out how to pay for it? I may be over simplifying here and if anyone knows of a thorough analysis of how we got here I'd love to know about it. But to me, it seems like a serious case of instant gratification, and the desire to make the problem someone else's.

Taxes

Which leads to my next comment. I've heard quite a few arguments against the democrats that their social programs will result in higher taxes for us all. You know what? If higher taxes means we're actually assuming responsibility for our spending habits I'm all for it. I would love to see a bill passed that made it illegal for the govt to spend anymore than it received in the form of taxes. Then our society might not look to the govt to provide so many services. Maybe we might start to see pressure on the government agencies to trim the dead wood. (One thing I've learned in my time in the military is that as it stands, government jobs tend to attract, and retain, the under achievers.) If everyone started to realize that pretty much everything has a cost, we might start to realize that maybe we can do without. Also, and I realize this is pie in the sky thinking, maybe the lesson might sink into peoples personal lives and we'd stop seeing a negative spending average in this country.

Bailouts

I don't have much to say about the issue of Bailouts only to say I hope our government takes this as an opportunity to review how things are done and hopefully introduce some checks and balances into the system. Also, if it can be proved that any individuals were knowingly defrauding people or otherwise encouraging this bubble for their own personal gain, I hope they are held accountable for their actions to the tune of removing from them every penny of income they received as a result of their actions.

Abortion

Since declaring my support for Obama, I have received numerous questions (some polite, some not) about my views on Obama's stance on Abortion. My stance is that of the LDS church, abortion is only considerable in the case of Rape, Incest, or where the mother's life is at risk. That being said, if abortion were to be made illegal across the board, women who fall into either of those three categories would not have it as an option. So what about a law that only allows it under those circumstances? I'd be all for it. Do I think it will happen? Not at all.

Why not? Because I believe abortion is not the primary issue. At the root of the problem is our societies propensity for avoiding accountability. Young girls and boys that can't seem to find it in themselves to keep their pants up around one another, or even use protection, are trying to avoid the consequences of their decision. Women who view the child as an inconvenience are avoiding the consequence of a decision they made. This argument might sound callous but I really have never heard of another reason for which a woman might want to have an abortion. The argument of not being in a good enough financial situation, or not being married to the man is after the fact. The reality is that there was a choice made to engage in sex. Sex is the path to reproduction. I think at some level everyone knows that. Sometimes protections fail it's true, but if a man and a woman have sex, they should understand that pregnancy is possible. They chose to make that gamble.

So what about Obama? I disagree with him. What about the democrats and abortion? I disagree with most democrats. I have hope though. While listening to the DNC coverage I heard a piece on a growing faction of democrats that are espousing the idea of Abortion Reductions. These people believe that fundamentally abortion is not a good thing, but there are cases when it should be considered. As part of their program they are encouraging better and more thorough education plans (I know, another social program) to make up for the obvious failings of parents in teaching their children about accountability. I'm ok with this latter group.

Books That Will Change Your Life

2008-09-20T10:15:00.001-07:00

The purpose of this post is to put in writing my strong affection for these books that have had such a significant impact on my life. I've titled it as Books That Will Change Your Life because they have changed my life, my outlook on life, and my fundamental way of thinking. I've put together a collage of images of each book cover and the rest of the post will treat each book individually, where I first encountered them, and how they affected me. I am writing this post as a means of sharing with you what I consider to be the most influential (non-scriptural) books in my life.

Alive In Christ by Robert Millet:
This book was given to me to read while on my mission by my mission president. In essence, Robert Millet discusses the process of becoming converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of his chapters are framed in the form of personal experiences and questions. He truly helped me consider my own personal conversion, as well as my commitment to the church.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand:
I picked this book up on a whim. For some reason I felt the need to expand my exposure to books that were acclaimed as "Classics." My first attempt at reading it ended after trudging through the first 70 pages. I was incredibly depressed by the dreary world painted by the author and didn't really want to continue reading it. A few months later, I had a conversation with a friend and he had nothing but positive things to say about it, which got me curious enough to pick it up again. Warning: This is not a light read, and you have to really commit to it.
After everything was said and done, this book really emphasized for me the importance of working for your own keep. It also really highlighted for me the conflict between charitable giving and a welfare society. There is also a very interesting dissertation on why money is not the root of all evil. If you're looking for a book to make you consider the socio-economic issues this is it.

The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute:
I read this book after having read Leadership and Self Deception, also written by the Arbinger Institute. I was introduced to this book on accident through a leadership lecture and it hit me like a brick to the head. This book focuses personal perceptions and interpersonal interactions. I can't do the subject matter justice my self, so all I can really say is that I firmly believe everyone in the world should read this book. If we could all live by the concepts therein, the world would be a better place.

The Peacegiver by James Ferrell:
This book was given to Amber and I as a wedding present. We put it on a book shelf and it sat there for 6 months before a friend of ours recommended the book. Turns out James Ferrell is the managing director of the Arbinger Institute. He's taken the lessons of The Anatomy of Peace and wrapped them in the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Again, read it.

The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews:
This book was recommended by Justus and Tara, and again this is another one of those "self help" books that helps focus your mind on simple concepts that are worth considering. The book is well written and very engaging.

Essays on Approaching Zion by Hugh Nibbley:
I was recently introduced to this book by my father, Larry. I have never actually picked the book up, (Audio book) but Hugh does a great job in questioning everyday activities and events and makes you think about your own relationship to God and others. It's similar in fashion to Alive in Christ, but where Millet uses every day events to illustrate his points, Nibbley couches everything he has to say in "academic-speak." Amber listened to part of it with me and she was put off by his over use of big words. Regardless, he makes some good points and makes you think about things that you might consider to be "conventional wisdom."

None of these books are what I would consider a one time read, in fact, I would recommend reading them numerous times as they all have multiple layers in them for digesting.

Yoga - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

2008-09-18T20:21:00.001-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with the term Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, don't worry about it. It will all become clear in the body of this text.

Tonight, Amber and I went to the gym to participate in an hour long Yoga class. Amber has been to Yoga classes before, and enjoyed them so I figured this was something we could do together. To be clear, I have never participated in a yoga class. The closest I've come was a stretching and flexibility class at BYU a few years back. Great class by the way, towards the end of the class I was able to place both palms on the floor with my legs totally straight. Tonights class had nothing in common with that class.

I expected a relaxing 60 minutes of stretching and relaxing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, I now hate the phrase "Down Dog Position," I suppose it was a surreptitious begining when we started in a position that made me want to puke, and prevented me from drawing more than half a breath... (Even worse the instructor started talking about these big relaxing breaths I was supposed to be able to take) Within 10 minutes I was breathing heavy. By 20 I was sweating. After 30 minutes sweat was pouring off my face and my shirt was completely soaked through. In short, it was nothing like I expected, and was in fact a real kick in the shorts.

As I sit down to write about this experience my muscles ache, I can't seem to drink enough water, and I just finished satiating an intense craving for a salad. How can stretching have had such an intense effect on my body?

On the flip side, after our Yoga class, Amber and I ran into Ryan Shuppe of Ryan Shuppe and the Rubber Band. Apparently he has a membership at the same gym and when I said hi to him and used his name he came over and talked to us for a while. Nice guy.

Go try it.

Transparency - Shransparency?

2008-09-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

For the last eight years, I would have to say that my biggest complaint about G.W., (besides the fact that he's a total dunce and listening to him speak publicly depresses me every time,) has to be that he and his underlings continually exhibit a total lack of transparency. I first became aware of this situation soon after I returned from my mission. I read an article on how some watchdog group was trying to get a hold of the records of a meeting held by Dick Cheney to determine the Bush's "energy policies" Dick invited individuals from all the major oil producers, and a few other industries, and outright denied anyone that had even environmental leanings entrance to the meeting. Three years later, those same environmentalists were trying to get access to the records of that meeting with very little success.

Since that time, new blurbs are constantly popping up regarding some new piece of information that someone is taking the Bush administration to court about. Trying to get what should otherwise be a matter of public record released from the dark confines of the white house. It seems to me that in order to find out what color tie G.W. wore last month you would need a court order.

That being said please refer to article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html#

After reading the Anne Kilkenny letter, I was disturbed. After reading this latest article, I'm terrified.

In fairness, I recognize that there are lots of scuzzy democrats that do the same thing, and I'm not trying to make this post about Republicans or Democrats. This is an issue of G.W. Bush being a shady character, and Gov. Palin apparently following right along in his footsteps.

I read somewhere, and don't ask for the source cause I can't remember and I'm paraphrasing anyways.

"Men treat others differently when they are not being watched by others. If they know their is no one to witness their actions often times they believe they can get away with that which they should not do."

I firmly believe that, and for anyone to get my vote, their has to be a commitment to absolute transparency in so far as it does not interfere with security and risk the lives of others. Environmental issues do not include security risks to my mind.

On a lighter note, i've also included a link to an SNL skit this last week with individuals portraying Hillary and Sarah. Very Funny.

Disturbing

2008-09-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today was governer's day. As such, I, as part of the Utah Air National Guard, had to participate in a Governors Day parade, in which the governor inspected us for readiness. This was the 5th and last such event I have to participate in as this is my last year in the Utah Air National Guard. I find no small amount of irony in such an event, cause honestly, what does a politician know about troop readiness? Quick answer: Nothing.

Regardless, I go, it's not exactly thrilling, but it's better than other drill days where I just have to sit there.

Upon returning home, I finished up the data entry project I've been assigned as part of the Utah County Democrats volunteer group. They've been performing lots of surveys to find out the minds of the utah county-ites, and as part of that survey they ask the participants to rate the issues according to priority. So far, I've entered in over 130 surveys, and a disturbing trend (the reason for this post) has begun to emerge.

Overwhelmingly, somewhere around 80% or more, participants have put the environment at the tail end of their priorities. It appears as though they just don't care. I don't get it. I'm not exactly what you would call a tree hugger. In fact when I hear about some of the outrageous bills being passed in tree-hugger states like California, Oregon and Washington, I marvel at the insanity.

On the other hand, the apparent total disregard for the environment here is also mind boggling. Maybe its the fact that most people believe the end of the world is eminent. Maybe they miss-understand the word steward to be a euphemism for rapacious plunderer. I don't know. Either way, here in Utah, no one appears to care about the environment.

Part Two, the Shocking Revelation

2008-09-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you that read yesterday's blog, I purposefully left it a cliff hanger. 90% because I was exhausted, 10% because I wanted to consider my words before launching them into the intermatron.

Picking up from yesterday:

As I walked back to my car, I was thinking about everything that was said and debating with myself about the motivations of Mr. Pickens. Honestly, I still don't know what to think about him. But my internal debate led me to stumble across a thought that I must admit was a skewering. Since May of 2003, I've been advocating moving away from fossil fuels. (I know because that is when I decided to go into Chemical Engineering and why) Yet in 5 years, in spite of having learned a lot more about the issue, I personally have not done anything about it in my life. I've had to buy three cars in the last year, and have I bought a fuel efficient vehicle? Not really. Have I been energy conscious and turned out all the lights when they aren't needed? Not really. Have I done anything to really advance a "green" cause since then? Not really.

Mr. Pickens, my hat is off to you. You might have made your billions from oil, but at least you're using that money now, for something worthwhile. Me, I'll be making changes in my life. In fact, as I drove home last night, I followed the advice of my sister Millie, and slowed down to 65 MPH. It's a silly thing to be proud of but my mileage was better, and interestingly enough, the driving experience was a lot less stressful.

So that's it. That was my revelation. For change to be effected, we don't necessarily need some great leader to move the nation all at once. I must act now, to the greatest extent possible and encourage others to do the same.

What can you do?

Pickens in a nut shell

2008-09-11T19:06:00.001-07:00

You're not a Hypocrite Mr T. Boone Pickens; I am

2008-09-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

This post is a product of the thoughts and impressions I had while attending a "Town Hall Meeting" for T. Boone Pickens in Salt Lake City Utah on September 11, 2008. (If you don't know who Mr. Pickens is, please watch the video I've posted on this blog, it pretty much covers the same information he went over) Before I launch into the meat of the subject matter I have to make two observations that are completely off topic.

I hate going out in public by myself! It makes me incredibly uncomfortable, I feel vulnerable, and all in all I don't like it.
Curse the man that designed the seats that link together to form an un-breakable chain of torture. I am not a large man, in fact if clothing store demographics are any indicator I'm pretty much average. Those things mistakenly identified as chairs are two small for the average male! I had half a cheek on another chair throughout the entire presentation, and was painfully aware of the obscene proximity of my neighbors.

To the matter at hand:

As I prepared myself to go to the Pickens Plan Party, a horrible thought occurred to me. Mr. Pickens is a billionaire. Literally. He didn't get super rich by being a chump, and generally guys that amass that kind of money just keep on rolling like its a bad habit or something. What if Mr. Pickens is only pretending to be altruistic, and using this "Grass roots movement" to further his latest investments and money making strategies....

That thought gave me pause as I walked to the convention center.

Upon arriving, my fears started to take on form. Individuals were prowling the corridors and sidewalks handing out fliers that implied Pickens was pushing his ideas because he's the owner of one of the major natural gas distributors in the nation and he's making a killing on it. He's actually trying to buy Questar gas as well, and if he does this handout predicts we'll see the price of natural gas quadruple over night.

"Great," I thought "I've fallen for another mans get richer schemes." And inspite of a moderately strong desire to leave then and there, I sat down to give it a fair listen. Things started to look up after that.

It began with a lovely elderly couple sitting down in front of me wearing matching pro-Obama t-shirts. That lead to an equally lovely conversation about whether or not Palin was going to be McCains white night and save the campaign. That died down, and the waiting began. The show was 15 minutes late in getting started, further retarded by Gov. Huntsmans pompous posturings. Mr Pickens got right to the meat of the situation, and the stats (I know what they say about statistics but bear with me here) are scary:

In the 1970's the US oil production peaked at roughly 10 Million barrels/day.
Currently we only produce 5 Million barrels/day of the 85 Million barrels/day worldwide.
The US accounts for 25% of world oil consumption, 4% of the population, and only 3% of the reserves.
67% of our oil is being imported right now, to the tune of $700 Billion being paid annually by Americans to foreigners.
5 years ago, OPEC countries earned roughly $250 Billion from oil sales. This year they're on track to earn $1 Trillion dollars from oil sales.

Those numbers are not pretty. And in the face of those frightening statistics, T. Boone pointed out that we (as a nation) made our bed and now we have to lie there. I thought that was a remarkable reminder of accountability. He also made the very appropriate comment that this is a problem we can not drill our way out of. I like that phrase.

Long story short, his goal is to use wind power to replace the energy from the natural gas power plants. Then take the natural gas and use it in automobiles to cut our foreign oil consumption by 38%.

After everything was said and done, I still wasn't sure about Mr. Pickens. He's either a shrewd business man thats using public sentiment and frenzy to his advantage, or he's such a firm believer in his own cause that he's sinking billions of dollars into making it happen. Either way, his ideas still have merit of their own, and while it's not perfect, it's a heck of a lot better than no plan at all.

So why am I a hypocrite? The answer will come in tomorrow's post. I'm exhausted and am going to bed.

Now for something provacative....

2008-09-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

A "locura" has grown in my mind over the last 2 - 3 months. It came to a head on August 28, 2008. Since then I've thrown caution to the wind and joined the Democrats. For those of you that didn't see it, August 28 was Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC. After listening to all the politic-ing proceeding the DNC, I was pretty sure I was going to vote for Mr. Obama. After listening to his acceptance speech, not only was I sure I was going to vote for him, I wanted to get involved in the process.

Background:
I've ALWAYS been registered as independent. I chaffed at the idea of having to "vote the party" and never really felt like either party represented my beliefs even 80% of the time. After having very lengthy conversations with my good friend Skiffington, (yah, his real name is Skiffington) I realized I don't always have to agree with a party to belong to the party. Also, I've come to the conclusion that as a part of the system, I can possibly have more of an effect than an outsider. Like it or not, we have a two party system.

So now I'm volunteering for the Utah County Democrats. Yah!

I don't know what roads my entrance to politics will lead me down, I don't know if I'll always stay a Democrat (i'm sure my father hopes so), but for now, I'm an Obama man all the way. Especially after McCain picked Sara Baracuda. (please reference Anne Kilkenny letter)

Reasons for Obama?

Get us the heck out of Iraq. I've gone back and forth on this one, but after talking with close friends that are serving in Iraq, I want them to come home. It was an unholy war to begin with.
Energy - Obama did not originally support off shore drilling to begin, and has only conceded to get past the R's. Exxon and Haliburton are crooks. I'm pretty sure Dick Cheney has formed a pact with the devil. (not really but that shows you how high my esteem is for the man.)
Obama thinks George Bush is a dunce. I'm glad someone is willing to call it like it is.
Obama doesn't use scare tactics like the R's are so famous for.

That's it. Again, these are my perceptions and opinions. Please don't turn my blog into your personal crusade to save my soul. I already have Skip to do that politically speaking.

Time Shares - Live and Learn

2008-09-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

This post is a result of a commercial I saw last Saturday, that piqued my interest.

Last August, my wife and I got stopped at a movie theater by an elderly lady with an offer. Spin the wheel, maybe win a prize. Sign up for 50 minute presentation and get a free 3 day cruise to Mexico. We spun, we lost. We signed up, for the presentation and got our 3 day cruise.

For those of you that haven't found themselves in such a scenario, it's a lead in to getting sold on a Timeshare. This particular company was Worldmark by Whynham. Turns out they sell a point based time share. Points that can be redeemed at any of 50 resorts. Long story short, we buckled. 3 hours after the 50 minute presentation was done we walked out of there with a new mortgage and a time share.

Here's the rub, we've used the time share. Spent a great week in Mexico. Gave a sister in law a two night stay at a resort as part of her honeymoon. I don't regret purchasing it. I do however regret the price I paid for it. Turns out there is a glut of private sellers trying to unload their timeshares online. I found a few different websites that serve as timeshare brokers for private sellers. The site i spent most time on was www.timesharesonly.com. Turns out if we had purchased a our timeshare from a private party, for the same price we could have bought 4x more points.

Moral of the story? Two fold:

Don't fall for the whole "buy now or you don't get the sweet deal" push.
If you're going to buy a time share, buy it from a private party and get more bang for your buck.

Why "Square Peg in a Round World"?

2008-09-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

I created this blog for the purposes of ranting, raving, pontificating, reflecting and commenting on my life, major events, and my reactions to them. As such, I've attempted to provide a title that cuts to the very heart of my life up to this point. I don't fit in very will. Not that I'm anti-social, or that I'm a social reject. Rather, I just have never seemed to meet all the requirements of any social group for total acceptance. I've been a fringe member of most cliques.

That being said, I'm OK with my role in life. Mark Twain has been credited with coining the phrase: "When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform." I feel like in some ways I've lived that way my whole life. Perhaps it is the Reynolds contrariness, but playing Devil's advocate has always been something that I enjoy greatly, and not just because I like causing trouble. (Although that plays a part) I just find that anytime I hear someone categorically pronounce something and act as though their edict were the final word on the matter, I get an itch.

So maybe I'm not necessarily a square peg in a round world, maybe I'm a dodecahedron that likes to think he's a square. Either way, I chose the name to imply that some of my postings will seem to come out of no-where or be down right bizarre. Some might contradict what I've already said; I reserve the right to change my mind as I go through life.

Hopefully this will be a long term project, in fact I'd like to think I can keep this going for the rest of my life and use it as a journal someday, so that my decedents can look back on my life and say: "Wow, what an incredibly odd man he was, so that's where I get it."