Saturday, February 28, 2009

A Moving Experience

Today we helped James & Sabrina move into their new house. It was a great day. David and Adam were there to help, along with a couple from their ward. There really wasn't much to do, just the big stuff. And unlike some moving jobs, that really was all there was. They had already moved just about all of the little stuff. I just stood around eating chocolate pop 'ems and Donann's chocolate chip cookies.

They have done a great job of fixing it up and painting the interior. The purple is all gone and it is clean, clean, clean. The grass is short in the front and the weeds are even shorter in the back. We made a good start on the weeds in the garden in the front, and even started in on the ants. Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera today so we don't have a visual record for you. But next time we're there we'll take some photos. I can't wait for James to finish painting the bamboo room; I think that is going to turn out great.

This last couple of weeks has really been a lot of fun. We have gotten to be with James & Sabrina lot, and that has been a pleasure. And I have had the pleasure of doing what I like best - using my "yard weapons" to implement destruction on grass and weeds alike. And we have had the best weather for doing this. Every time I have been down there working in their yard it has been cool and cloudy. And I sleep well at night. G'bye folks.

"Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn"

You may recognize this quote from one of our favorite movies. And most of my favorite parts of the movie center around the garden. We were talking about our love of gardening the other day and I decided that in reality the resident Angel loves to garden - I just love to dig in the dirt. And under the proper supervision I do fine.

So the last two nights we have feasted on great food, the centerpiece of which was corn on the cob! Yes, corn on the cob in February. Cool, huh. That's because my sweet wife froze some of our marvelous corn crop last year. It was pretty easy to do, and tasted just as good, and actually juicier, than last Summer when it was fresh.

So those of you who can, get out there and dig in the dirt! And those of your who need proper supervision, get an expert to help you (there is probably one close by). And you too can have corn corn corn corn corn. (as opposed to just having a corny relative)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

WOW! Everything You Ever Wanted To Know

So here's some cool stuff. All of the reports from the Congressional Research Service for the last 19 years. Since this office serves all Federal Legislators, regardless of party, it is considered as impartial as possible. That, of course, is no guarantee that truth or even common sense is the guiding principle here. But I'll bet there is something in here for everyone - happy reading!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

President Uchtdorf: Tough!

Today was stake conference for all of northern CA, from San Luis Obispo & Fresno north to the Oregon border. It was great, with Brother Merrill (SS Genl. Pres.), Elder Wickman, Elder Ballard, and President Uchtdorf. I love to listen to Elder Wickman, he is one of my favorites. Most of his talk was about establishing Zion in CA, and was an excellent confirmation of what we had heard about this subject the previous evening from our own stake president. Elder Ballard's talk was all about faith, choices and hope. That is, as we make our choices using faith in God, we recieve hope. A great concept. But President Uchtdorf's remarks stuck with me the most, and the one-liner that he used that really got my attention was:

"Tough times never last, but tough people do."

Actually, most of his talk was on testimony, and on likening the times in Kirtland to ourselves, how we can use our testimony (revelation really) to overcome tribulation so that we do not end up like those who apostatized, but like those who went into the wilderness to save the Church.

All in all a great conference, and a further witness that we are lead by inspired men and revelation.

Truth, Tolerance, & Eternal Education

I really like watching BYUTV on their Move Network. That's because I really like something less than half of their programming, and like to pick and choose what I watch and when I want to watch it. (I have always been picky.) But those things I choose to watch I really enjoy. One of my favorite programming items are the BYU Forums and Devotionals. I loved these when I was there and still do. So yesterday morning when my standard 6 hours was up around 4, I got up and in the process of looking for something to occupy me came across the rebroadcast of a Forum from three years ago, 28 Feb. 2006, by a chemistry professor, Juliana Boerio-Goates.

Don't miss this one, it was great! Go to Saturday, February 21st at 4:00 a.m. and listen to the Forum address. She talks mostly about chemistry stuff, which I really enjoy, even though my aptitude is not strong in the physical sciences. I really enjoyed her explanations about how the study of heat, like the study of light, can reveal much about the properties of the world we live in. And there are some great take-aways for those willing and able to find object lessons in some of her demonstrations (e.g., only when you turn up the heat high enough can you liberate molecular structures enabling something to become something else). And she does a number of pretty cool demonstrations, like showing how cranberry juice absorbs green and blue light but not red; freezing broccoli by sticking it in a boiling liquid, and levitating a magnet with liquid nitrogen.

But the best part of her remarks came at the end when she got philisophical about the false "science/religion" dichotomy. She indicated that a little humility on both sides of the debate would enhance the discussion tremendously. By the end of her remarks I was feeling a bit humbled by the realization that one of the most important reasons we must pursue eternal education is that it seems that only truly educated people are truly tolerant. Or as one of my favorite quotes from Man's Search for Happiness, "Only when we are unafraid of truth can we find it." I need to become both more educated and more tolerant. More quotes from the Forum:

"Light can neither enter into, nor eminate from, a closed mind."
John Meacham

"... faith tied to weak reason runs the grave risk of withering into myth or superstition, while reason deprived of the knowledge that comes from Revelation ultimately arrives at questions which it must acknowledge that it cannot answer."
Pope John Paul II

"Faith is the rock foundation of all religions, but there is no special virtue in blind faith ... Here is the firm foundation for our religion - a religion that describes the glory of God as intelligence and proclaims that man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge."
President Hugh B. Brown, Vision & Valor

"The fundamental principle that has guided my religious life is that I need believe only what is true. The gospel is the truth as learned or discovered by whatever means and tools I can lay my hand or mind upon."
Henry Eyring, Reflections of a Scientist

"In essentials, unity;
In doubtful matters, liberty;
In all things, charity."
Pope John XXIII
Ad Petri Cathedrum