arbitrary musings

Bounty Hunters

2009-09-17T16:16:00.002-06:00

Jaron's 3rd Birthday

2009-08-18T20:51:00.012-06:00

August 8th was Jaron's birthday and he was soooo excited. When we asked him what kind of party he wanted he replied, "A Mario Party!" Being the good parents that we are (-: we created the mushroom kingdom for his birthday. I designed and had printed and die-cut a couple of 38" Mario and Luigi's from foam core. Jessica took care of the cupcakes by making them look like toadstools and a Mario face. Overall the party was great fun and we appreciate the family and friends that traveled to St. George to celebrate with us. Jaron LOVED all of the trucks, animals, puzzles and other toys that he got. Below are a few select photos from the Birthday Bash!

Idiocracy Part 1

2009-08-14T20:52:00.002-06:00

I realize that growing up on a farm in a small town may have given me an advantage in the following story I'm about to share with you, but do people ever research any marketing claims? First of all, let me preface this by saying that whoever had the idea to market the "Pure Angus Beef" angle is brilliant. Now for my experience.

Matt and I decided we wanted to get some McDonalds in our bellies for lunch the other day. As we were pulling up I saw they had banners all over the restaurant advertising their new 1/3 lb Pure Angus Beef burgers. Now Matt already knows how I feel about the Angus Beef marketing that started a few years back. It's not that I dislike Angus beef (or any other beef for that matter). It's the fact that there is no fundamental difference between an all Angus beef patty from any other patty, yet the general public has been duped into thinking it is somehow superior in quality and flavor. I'm sure in a blind taste test they couldn't tell the difference, but dang if it doesn't sound a lot better!

I decided I was going to ask the clerk what the difference was between the Angus Beef and the beef they use in their other burgers. The answer I received was pretty funny and I had a hard time keeping a straight face. I can't remember what the clerks name was so we'll just call her Sally. This is how the conversation went:

Jake- "Hey, what is the difference between the Angus burgers and the other burgers?"
Sally- "Well, they are made from 100% pure Angus Beef."
Jake- "What are the other burgers made from then?"
Sally- "...Umm...quarter-pounder meat?"

There it is, All "Full of flavor" and stuff

I couldn't make this stuff up. Maybe it's always been this way, but society in general seems to be out of touch with reality much of the time. Are we really so susceptible to whatever the Television and Magazines tell us that we will believe it all? Will we continue to be the marionette puppets of effective advertising and viral marketing individuals? Are we truly headed for an idiocracy in a matter of a few generations. Probably not, but incidents like these keep me smiling. Einstein was quoted as saying (and I'm paraphrasing) that "even though we consider ourselves to be superior to primitive man in every way, there are some things we are not superior in. How many people have any knowledge about the nature and origin of the things they use everyday? Primitive man knew how to create a bow, how to hunt, how to make clothing, grow food and all of the basic items for survival."

Ramblings

2009-05-16T11:19:00.002-06:00

I wanted to do a post thanking my loyal readership of one, my wife Jessica. If my posts do nothing more than amuse her everyonce in a while it is still worth my while to post. Besides, I really just do this for myself. I really don't care if people read or what they think about my opinions. After all, that is why I love this country. You ARE entitled to your own opinion and it's OK if you disagree.

Writing is more like therapy for me. Some people exercise. Some people eat. Some people are assigned to go to anger management classes. Writing serves as my stress valve as well as an avenue for free thought and recapitulation. I would go as far as to say that if I were a good enough writer I would like to do it for a living. Unfortunately, I'm nowhere good enough to write for a living. Schooling would help I suppose. Reading others works is beneficial too... but in the mean time it will just be a hobby and a pipe dream.

Any medium that serves as a conduit for creativity will always interest me. I loved Legos as a child - I love Illustrator and Photoshop as an adult. This is one of the least focused blog posts I've done in a while. I'm really getting excited to see my brother Shay again. He will be returning home from his mission in Iowa this July. That's all for now.

White Chocolate: Uncovering the Myths

2009-05-07T21:12:00.002-06:00

I got into a little discussion the other day with my neighbors, the Burbidges, pertaining to whether or not White Chocolate is really a chocolate at all. Lyn contests it is not and I contested that it must be. After all, I saw it on the internet once so you KNOW it has to be true.

I know that most of you reading this entry have been dying to know. No fear, I'm on the task. I did my homework (I'm thorough like that) and this is what I came up with.

There is "real" white chocolate, which is sort-of real chocolate in that it comes from the same cacao beans as regular chocolate. It contains just the fat, the cocoa butter, which provides chocolate's unique mouth feel. There is no chocolate liquor, which ends up in the brown stuff we usually think of as chocolate. Most "white chocolate" has little or no real cocoa butter. It can contain any kind of fat. So can brown chocolate, but brown chocolate without cocoa butter can't be called "chocolate" in most of the world.

White Chocolate, the holy grail of unhealthy food... I salute you.

So there you have it folks. We were both right. For the record, I love white chocolate. White chocolate reeses are God's gift to the world. Dark chocolate can just go to H### for all I care. The single nastiest "treat" you can consume is a dark chocolate cherry cordial... oh snap I just threw up in my mouth a little!

Global Warming "The Fix Is In"

2009-04-19T21:44:00.003-06:00

Well, It's about that time again. Time to throw some gasoline on this proverbial fire that is the debate of Global Warming. I know, I've written about this in the past, but I just can't get enough of the idiocy that seems to flow from the mouths of supporters of this politically driven agenda.

Allow me to paint a picture for you. It's an early Sunday evening and I'm enjoying a doomsday show on the Discovery channel. It's basically a top ten countdown of the greatest threats to humanity. The usual suspects are showing up so far - nuclear weapons, giant asteroids, major volcano eruptions, viruses and plagues- you get the picture. We get to the number one threat and I'm thinking, "they've covered all of the ones I could think of, including a few surprises (killer machines anyone?), the number one threat must be pretty menacing. And then it's the big reveal, or should I say this is when the politics and agenda pushing started. Number one is... you guessed it, Global Warming! Yeah that's exactly what I... wha... wait a minute, really? Global Warming? And was that just Al Gore I saw a quick snippet of? Yep, there he is in all his glory. The self-appointed czar of the Global Warming... wait... what? Oh, excuse me, I was just informed that Global Warming is no longer the buzz word for this supposed man-created phenomenon. It's now being referred to as simply "Climate Change." Yep, that's the best they could come up with. I better be politically correct here, I don't want "Big Sister" (Janet Napoletano) to read this blog and accuse me of being a quote "Right Wing Extremist" and "Posing a potentially serious threat to our nation." Nope, I won't do that because I'm a patriotic American that obeys the laws of my country, misappropriated as I believe some of them are.

So here is the host of this show interviewing Al Gore as if he is the one who has personally studied climate change and used his own conjecture and theories to prove it. I guess if you can't be a puppet in the White House why not be a puppet for huge multi-billion dollar organizations like Green Peace or GE or any of the other bureaucratic, pencil pushing entities that would have us living in little grass huts if they had their way. Yes, it's that same GE that owns NBC and who knows what other companies. Funny how they push their agenda to sell "Green" appliances and products through the NBC news propaganda and "Green Week" on all of their major TV shows. And people really think they care about the environment? They don't give a rats ass about it as long as it gets people to buy their ridiculously priced green products. I guess Discovery Channel is sipping... wait guzzling down the coolaid as well. Too bad. I would've hoped that scientific integrity (if there is such a thing) would have prevailed and they would have at least presented both sides of the equation so that people could decide for themselves.

I guess in the end the weapon that brings the most success is fear. Previous and current presidential administrations have used it to push their agenda. from Clinton to Bush to Obama. We've seen it used over and over again by our government anytime they want us to do something or react in a certain way. This goes way beyond Climate Change. People, please do not eat all of the bull$#!! you're being fed by those who do not have your best interest in mind. Let you're voice be heard or nothing will ever change. To quote someones famous words (or lyrics) "Those who don't stand for something will fall for anything."

This message is sponsored by no one and is soley aimed at those who may find the idea that finite man is bringing the earth to it's knees, and consequently our own knees in the process, by emiting carbon gases into the air to be a declaration of stupidity. Thank you, that is all.

The Summer of Blockbusters

2009-03-26T20:49:00.002-06:00

Is it just me or does it seem like this coming summer's movies are going to blow last years crop out of the water (sans "The Dark Knight.") I mean, I'm having a geekgasm thinking of watching all of the movies that seem tailor made for me. Terminator Salvation, Transformers 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Harry Potter, Prince of Persia, The Hobbit... the list could go on, but those are just a few off the top of my head. I need to start making some serious cash soon so I can go to the theater to see a few of them. I haven't been to the theater in what seems like forever. It's kinda tough to go when you have two young children and no money though! (-: Oh well, I guess if all else fails I can always wait a few months and Redbox it. Which by the way, bravo to the person that started Redbox. Brilliant, just brilliant.

Flitch Update

2009-03-24T18:10:00.004-06:00

Just in case some of you don't make it over to the Flitch Creative Blog I thought I'd give a little update on one of the things we've been up to. I've got a longer post going up on Flitch's blog sometime this week but this should suffice for now.

We've been exploring different ways of advertising that would be cost effective and garner results for us. One thing we decided to do was sponsor the St. George Blitz semi-professional team. Big Matt decided he wanted to strap on the pads at least one more time so he went to tryouts and got put in as one of the starting O tackles. In the process we've become pretty good friends with the owners who are two brothers from Mesquite about our ages respectively. We've been able to secure a good bit of design work from them and some of their sponsors, including the media guide. We are excited to be a sponsor and the team is really looking great. I think they have a good shot at winning the league title this year. If any of you get a chance I recommend getting out to at least one home game. There will be a fun family atmosphere with things for the kids to do outside of just watching the football game. I've posted our ad that will be running in the media guide for the season.

GO BLITZ! GO FLITCH!

My nerd dreams

2009-03-20T18:39:00.002-06:00

We all spend time inside our heads in (literally) "My Space." I imagine the inside of our heads being like a space that is furnished with anywhere from the romantic to the hectic to the nerdy and so on. If you ever wanted to get inside my head and take a peek I'll give you a hint at what you'd likely see. It would look like a combination between an Apple ipod commercial, Metroid videogame, and SportsCenter's studio. Everything would have a nice shine and would show off a slight reflection of your image. It would be very organized, feature an open design and little to no clutter. A sterile color scheme of greens, whites and charcoal colors to saturate your visual palette.

Now let you tell you my ultimate dream, and I must issue a cautionary nerd alert before I proceed. If you don't like sci-fi, videogames or cool gadgets and technology this may not be appropriate for you. Did I lose anyone? Good. Let's continue. Ever since I played my first videogame I've always had a dream of creating my own game world filled with characters and creatures from my imagination. Developing a high end AAA title these days rivals that of a blockbuster Hollywood production in cost and manpower making this dream a distant one. Enter Wiiware and the iphone.

These two mediums have brought development back to the garage. They offer the tools to create a game on a shoestring budget. Sure it may not have the epicness of a new Halo or Metroid game but it can still be a heck of a lot of fun. It's brought the industry back to full circle if you will. Enter Flitch Games (my own small development studio.) Big Matt and I will sometimes discuss simple game ideas that we could bring to life. My idea now is to design a game where the entire purpose is simply to blow things up. You want to see what 1000 lbs of dynomite will do to a fire engine? try it out. You want to drop napalm on a football stadium? Go for it. Don't worry no people or animals would be featured in the game. Just inanimate objects. I would want a dynamic physics engine that could process user generated content to give accurate and satisfying explosions. I would create a forum where you could upload your chaos and have others rate it or download it themselves, then modify and execute their own experiments. Simple in design and limitless in possibilities. Obviously there are other details to be ironed out and feature sets to add. But who doesn't like to blow stuff up? who hasn't wanted to shoot a propane tank with a rifle to see it shoot like a missile? OK maybe that's just me (-:

In other news, my son Jaron now can officially make it around the track in Mario Kart Wii all by himself. No help from me. He runs into walls and falls off edges, but eventually he completes the lap. His dad is so proud of him.

Things I enjoy - Monday edition

2009-03-16T20:11:00.005-06:00

I know it sounds like I've been whining a lot in my last few posts but that isn't the case at all. I'd like to think of myself as something more like a watchdog (albeit a very small one) against anti-American semetism and policies. I'm very patriotic and like to be involved in my country. That being said, I want to mix it up a little today with something lighthearted and fun. The following are things (in no particular order) that I enjoy on any given Monday. I have much to be thankful for and it's time I let everyone know.

I enjoy my children's excitement when I walk through the door after work, their faces beaming and yelling daddy, daddy, daddy! Carmendee does this little dance where she flaps her arms rapidly and wiggles from side to side as she squeals with delight. Jaron yells at the top of his lungs, "Daddy is home!" and runs over to give me a big hug and kiss. If this sounds a little like Leave it to Beaver land, I promise you it's for real. I enjoy a warm embrace with my wife... then she usually asks me to pop her back, which I am happy to oblige with. I enjoy the excitement of my kids when I ask them if they want to go for a ride to the store with me. They love trips in the car, especially with dad AND mom. Jaron loves to push the cart and Carmendee is the perfect passenger while browsing up and down the isles of the grocery store. I think it's fun to watch them try to play Wii Fit as they bob back and forth trying to ski down the mountain or head some soccer balls.

We're a pretty rag-tag looking bunch in this photo

Mondays are also a great night for my favorite TV shows. After putting the kids to sleep we can enjoy some time together watching 24 or our perennial favorite, Chuck. I enjoy lying in bed with my wife relaxing and reflecting over the days events. After the kids have long been asleep we will sneak into their bedrooms just to gaze upon them one last time before we also call it a night. Carmendee is always laying on top of all of the blankets seemingly to make it impossible to tuck her in and Jaron has his entourage of stuffed animals all cuddled around his pillow.

As you can see it doesn't take a lot for me to be happy. If I can see my wife and kids happy and healthy and spend time with them that is really all I need. Simple delights. So no matter how messed up this world becomes I know my home can be a santuary from it all.

I'll end with this picture. This is a project Jaron did over at his daycare with Sheryl. They painted a rock and added hair and a face. When we asked him what it was he said it's name was Bridget! I have no idea where he'd ever heard of that name before. Needless to say, we thought it was pretty funny. What an imagination that kid.

Obama, the giver of good gifts?

2009-03-09T19:34:00.002-06:00

Wow, I almost forgot my username and password it's been so long. I may have to shake off some of the literary dust that may have accumulated during my hiatus. I was threatened to be taken off of some peoples blog lists if I didn't start blogging again (looking at you Lyn)... so I better get my butt in gear and do what comes natural to me -- that is rant.

I've gone on a tirade on Obama before but this latest blunder (which is probably a favorable word considering the deed) has got me hot again. Sure he's done some really stupid things in what seems like the longest 8 weeks or so in U.S. history but this one is downright offensive. On behalf of all of the Brits out there who may stumble upon this post, I offer my sincere apologies for our arrogant president. Below is an excerpt taken from Glenn Beck about the incident. You may want to read it so you can understand my indignation. If you already know the story you can skip below to my comments.

--But then he also gave a gift. He gave a gift of a bunch of videos. Well, okay. That's usually not what the president gives. Usually it is a gift to the head of state of something of significance, something of real importance, something that signifies how deep our friendship goes and also says something about our country and our resources and, you know, our heritage. To me it's appropriate that Barack Obama, when he looks to what could be a statement gift that I can give the leader of our greatest ally, what is something that says everything you need to know about America, he goes and gets a bunch of DVDs from movies that we've made. I mean, it's -- and he didn't even get the movies that they can watch over in England. It's not the same technology. So all of the movies that Gordon Brown was given as a gift from our president he can't even watch. And what did we receive as a gift? Barack Obama was given a pen made from the wood of the HMS Resolute. The Resolute was one of their big warships and it went -- these two ships went up and they were going up into I think it was the Arctic Circle, I'm not sure. They went up to the Arctic Circle. The Resolute gets stuck in the ice. So does the other one, but the Resolute never gets out, and the captain of the Resolute says, "Get out of the ship, get onto the other one; we're going home." When he gets home, he's court-martialed because he's left the HMS Resolute, a perfectly good ship, and he abandoned. And so he is court-martialed for it. Well, eventually the ice breaks and America goes up and we pull that thing out of the ice and we sail it over to England and we return her in, like, 1850 something or other as a gift. Well, the Resolute is in service for England and, you know, it signifies our gift to England and we say, please forgive us for everything that we've gone through in the past 50, 75 years. We are brothers. The Resolute is a big deal. So when the Resolute is decommissioned, Queen Elizabeth decides, I'm going to take the wood and I'm going to make two desks. I'm going to make one for me and one for the president. This is as significant as France giving us the Statue of Liberty. So she takes this and she makes it into two desks. It's the desk that -- remember little JFK, Jr., he opens up the trap door and he looks, you know, through it? That's the USS Resolute desk. There's only two of them: One with the queen, one with us. FDR put that door there. This is such a historic desk. He put that door there so it would hide his wheelchair so nobody could see his wheelchair. The door is the only place where the seal has the eagle looking down at the arrows instead of the olive branches, okay?
So what does Gordon Brown do? He comes to meet with the president and he gives him a set of pens made from the wood of the USS Resolute to match the desk that should be in a museum. He gives him a matching set of pens. Barack Obama hands him a basket -- I'm not kidding you, hands him a basket of DVDs that he can't play. Mrs. Brown has children's clothing from, like, the best designer in England, you know, all fit the kids. Michelle Obama goes downstairs, grabs a couple of boxes of Marine One helicopter models and gives them to Mrs. Brown: "Here, this is for you." As bad as this is -- because what this shows is either the disdain of the Obamas for England, and I don't know which one's worse, the disdain of England from the Obamas, and you should see -- Michelle Obama, what she has written about England, you know, they were just, they were the linchpin of the slave trade. She has real disdain for them, at least she did when she wrote her term paper. It may be just that, that she hates white England. I'm not sure. But let's give her the benefit of the doubt and let's say they don't hate England. It shows the arrogance. We have people in the State Department, this is all they do is come up with gifts. The arrogance of this administration. They are obviously not listening to the State Department on something this important as a gift. And the worst part of it is the bust of Winston Churchill, there are two of these. England's working in twos: The HMS Resolute desk and the bust of Winston Churchill. This is the most famous bust of Winston Churchill. England gave this bust to the president for the White House right after 9/11 as a sign of standing together: We will stand together united as one. They gave us this historic bust of Churchill. It has been sitting in the oval office since 9/11. Barack Obama says we're going to box this back up and you guys can take it home with you. Gordon Brown says, "No, no, no. Mr. President, that was a gift from the people of Englan d after 9/11. If you want to keep that in one of your museums, you may keep it in one of your museums but please, no, no, that was a gift. That wasn't to borrow. We didn't just lend that out to you. That's a gift from us." He said, "No, that's okay. We don't want it." And he's sending the bust of Winston Churchill back to England. The people of England are going crazy and they're going crazy because our press hasn't even reported on this. What is this guy doing? --

So here we are with a president who has lived a life of priviledge at others expense for his entire existance. He's a marxist socialist who would like nothing more than to have more control and power than any president in U.S. history. Frankly the guy scares me. There is nothing to suggest that he won't try to deliver on every single one of his socialist programs and we will all pay for in the years to come. Sorry, back to the point. Why would the world have wanted Obama as president for us? They all showed overwhelming support for him during the election. I bet they are feeling just as miffed as all those who voted for him on election day, especially now the people of Great Britain. Let the Obama anthem sooth your weary soul. Hope and Change, Hope and Change people!

Proposition 8

2008-11-12T21:26:00.002-07:00

You can't ignore it. It's all over the news and in many of our back yards. The Gay rights rallies have turned malignant and the "true colors" are coming out. I have quite a few problems with how gays are handling the democratic process that our country was founded on.

1. Their argument that they don't have as many rights as straight couples is absolutely false. They have all of the rights bestowed upon straight couples since the advent of civil unions. They want to argue over the word marriage which for many of us is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. They've come up with all kinds of words for their lifestyle, why not just come up with a word to replace marriage for them? The fact that they can't call it marriage is NOT unconstitutional and in no way violates any of their rights.

2. Obviously the people of California and elsewhere for that matter don't want to change the definition of marriage. It's been voted down on more than one occasion. That leads me to my next complaint. Why do 4 Supreme Court Judges have the right to overturn the votes of millions of votes by good Americans? Seems like the people have spoken... again and again. What more is there to settle?

3. If we don't support the Gay position why are we seen as bigots and haters? Would that then conversely make them bigots and haters for not supporting our views? By their logic that would seem to be the case. We don't want to have their agenda imposed on us and our children. Can they respect that? Where is their tolerance? If they want love and peace so bad why do they deface public property and yell obscenities at passers-by? Since when does the average American have to accept something that goes against their personal moral code and ethics?

Let me be very clear. There are those on both sides that are very hateful and spiteful. That needs to stop. That being said, when the democratic process fails to bring about the desired results we shouldn't begin to spread hate and anger over it. Our country was built on a solid foundation laid before us by our forefathers. One that allows the voice of the people to be heard, not for the Judicial system to allow persons to sit upon their thrones and act as Gods. It is clear to me that the voice of the people has indeed been heard and I'm proud of the fact that people will still stand up for their values in a day when it is rapidly becoming unpopular. Stay the course and let not your hearts be troubled. Proper judgment will be meted out in due time.

Welcome to the "Nanny State"

2008-11-04T21:17:00.003-07:00

I better blog right now while this is fresh on my mind and in my heart. To say I am disappointed at the citizens of the United States of America would be an understatement. Obama is our new president elect and there's nothing more I can do about it. Democrats rule the Senate and the House as well. The last time this happened briefly was during the first couple of years of Clinton and that didn't work out so well. Remember his health plan?

I'm trying my best to keep focused on something particular. I guess what disappoints me most about our nations choice is that apparently rhetoric and flowery speech are the order of the day. That questionable character and policies take a backseat to oratorial eloquence. I was always under the impression that my America consisted of more conservatives than liberals and I think this is still true. I believe Obama (with the help of the liberal elite media) was able to sway voters and put them in under an almost hypnotic spell– a hollow promise of "Change." We'll get change alright, but it's not going to be change in the right direction. Get ready for second rate health care and socialist redistributist economic policies that will run small to average sized businesses into the ground. I'll give his campaign managers credit, it was almost flawlessly run, much more so than the McCain campaign which seemed to lack real focus.

I can't get rid of the pit in my stomach that has been induced by the outcome of this race. For my sake and for the sake of my country I sure hope I am wrong about Obama. I hope he is able to make a hard decision for once. It will be easy for him to just go along with his party in passing legislation. I see nothing in his track record or his policies that would reassure me I'm wrong, but all the same I hope I am.

In the end I guess all any of us can do now is continue to live our lives the way we always have and pray that basic freedoms like speech, press and the right to bear arms still exist in their current form 4 long years from now. Pray that God will not smite this country for instituting same-sex marriage and legalized abortions without consequence. No great power has ever been defeated from without, but from within. This is still a great country and I will do anything I can to keep it so. Afterall it is still "We the People."

I'm going to JAIL!

2008-10-27T11:38:00.005-06:00

Help bail me out! I will be participating in MDA's lockup on October 29th. Please paste the following link into your browser window and help me raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Together we can make a difference. Thanks!

https://www.joinmda.org/2008stgeorge/jake

Minersville Adventures

2008-10-06T16:53:00.009-06:00

A couple of weekends ago we went up to Minersville to visit family. As usual we had a great time talking and watching the kids play. Put simply Jaron LOVES Minersville! Sometimes he begs us to go so he can "ride horses" or "rope cows". Seriously I don't know where he gets it!

Needless to say, he has to go to the farm at least once each time we go up. The kids also attended the Punkin Days festival on Saturday. They all had a fun time running around with the cousins. I captured some great photos. Here are a few of my favorites:

Are we supposed to eat these round orange things?

At what point does it stop being fun and become work?

At this point he couldn't be happier...

...except maybe right here!

Oh, I almost forgot one thing. We had a heck of a time getting to Minersville. Carmendee threw up in her carseat so we had to pull over and clean her up and then we smashed into what I believe was some sort of hawk (I'll let you judge from the picture).

Stupid bird, almost cracked my windshield! Pulling it off of my windshield wiper was gross enough to get Jessica to run away gagging!

I'm glad that my kids have a place to go where they can run around free and enjoy the small town atmosphere. There really isn't anything else like it. Thanks Mom and Dad and also my brothers and sisters-in-law for providing us with a place to stay and a good time to be had by all.

The Smells of Homesickness

2008-09-26T17:03:00.004-06:00

I had an interesting experience riding my motorcycle to work this morning. It was a crisp, cool, overcast morning. As I cruised down the road, the sweet smells of the damp hay fields filled my nostrils. Smells of morning dew and diesel exhaust from a nearby construction site adding to the blend. The thought of early summer mornings on the farm sprung into my head and for a moment I felt a little homesick for it all.

Few things smell better than a fresh hay cube!

I'm sure it seems funny to my family that I would have these thoughts. After all, as far as they are concerned I'm a converted city boy. Truth be told however, I'm probably not as sold on city living as they may suspect. Sure I like the convenience of it, but I still have solid roots in Minersville; that part will never change. Besides, a part of my heart will always be wherever my family is. That's just how it works.

Proud to be from Minersville

And so for a moment I was pleased to take a stroll down memory lane and remember just how good it felt to be a hardworking farm boy with little care of traffic and billboards.

Da Bears are Frustrating

2008-09-22T20:20:00.003-06:00

Anyone that knows me is well aware that I am a dyed in the wool hardcore Chicago Bears fan. It's been a pretty rough two decades since 1985 aside from the super bowl appearance of two years ago. This year after an impressive and unexpected victory over the Indianapolis Colts my hopes were soaring. The defense looked like vintage Bears D and they had a running game again! Orton didn't make mistakes and everything seemed to be chipper. That is until they take consecutive 2 score leads into the 4th quarter and blow it 2 games in a row! Are you flippin' kidding me!? Don't turn the ball over and you win! The formula was pretty simple really. I'm feeling pretty crushed right now. They can still make a run at the playoffs, I mean with any luck and a few different plays and they're 3-0 right now.

Instead I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth as I witness this great start to the season go up in smoke because of dumb mistakes, (I'm looking at you Olsen and Tillman). But at least Carmendee looks cute in Jaron's old bears shoes.

This was during the Bears vs. Colts game. Need to bring back the lucky booties!

Mission Almost Complete

2008-09-06T15:38:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone. You'll notice there are some changes to my blog. I'm not done yet but this is a good start I think. It's a little more personal. I wanted it to reflect who I really am. I'll have a more interesting blog post coming but for now let me know what you think of the new look! – OUT

Profile update coming soon

2008-08-28T18:23:00.004-06:00

I've decided it's time to update my profile. I've got a new look going on these days and it just isn't nice to be misleading by displaying an old image of how I looked over a year ago and not how I look now. Also, I'll try and think of something witty to say for it. My wits have nearly abandoned me as of late as my work load has escalated (great thing by the way).

I just want to comment briefly about my family. My kids really seem to be growing like weeds. Jaron is speaking better and better each day. I can actually make out what he's saying most of the time now! I can even carry on a conversation sometimes when I can get his attention for longer than a nanosecond. Carmendee has yet to stride out in what I would call a legitimate crawl but that doesn't mean she can't get around. It's kind of hard to explain, but she goes from one side of the room to the other in a matter of minutes. I'm sure it will be soon. I'm just glad that my kids are happy to see me when I get home.

Jess will likely be going back to work soon. I didn't want for this to happen but I guess sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do. Hopefully this will be a very temporary thing. I've got some exciting business propositions starting to take form that will take very good care of my family. All things in good time I suppose. I feel at peace about my decisions career-wise so I'm sure things will continue to get better. Flitch has done about as well as I could have expected up to this point and we've got some great things going on internally.

I had to give mention to one of the best movies to come out in years

Hope you enjoyed this little update. Oh, and I went to see "The Dark Knight" the other day – best movie of the year hands down. Probably of the last few years even. It's in theaters for a little longer and I would suggest you go see it as soon as possible. Movies like this don't come along very often. Don't miss it when you had the chance. – OUT

A Sigh of Relief

2008-08-14T18:11:00.003-06:00

For those of you who may not have received an email from Flitch Creative telling you that our new website has officially launched, allow me to tell you now. I realize that there are bugs and things but it still feels nice to have it up and running. We will be making tweaks in the meantime. It took a little longer to finish because frankly I would rather work on our customers jobs than our own in house projects. Several late night returns to the office later and it's now launched! Go to www.flitchcreative.com to check it out. Be sure to give us your feedback. We always appreciate that.

On an unrelated note, the slow migration of my muscles to my midriff in the form of flab has finally motivated me to do something about it. I've had a Bowflex for around 2 years now and have used it about 1 month of that time. Pretty pathetic I know. I also have Wii Fit which believe it or not can really help you tone up. I've neglected my body for some 5 years now and it's time to try and undo some of nature's handiwork. It starts tonight. I'm going to be honest, I'm not particularly excited to do work on the bowflex. After all it IS still work. I'll have to change my entire daily routine in order to not slip up. I'm not willing to give up tasty food and snacks so I will have to go the exercise route.

On second thought I could have a great set of moobs

Jessica was diligent in getting back to her healthy weight after having two kids in less than two years so she is my inspiration. I have no such excuse. In a few months I'll try to remember to post before and after pictures. I'll make sure and have slumping posture, nasty teeth, and a grumpy disposition for my before shot. For the after shot I plan on great posture, a months worth of Crest white strips, and a big cheesy grin. Maybe I'll be featured in a BowFlex commercial! Enough talking, now it's time to DO WORK! Later.

Busy Busy!

2008-07-23T20:43:00.002-06:00

So my life has seemingly been spinning out of control. Between trying to make money at work, a demanding church calling and family responsibilities my plate has been awfully full lately. I love being busy at work because that means I'm making money, but it seems like it's been more than usual. Maybe it's just all of the self-imposed deadlines I get from all of the last second clients that need an ad yesterday. Oh well, I just appreciate the business.

Scout camp is right around the corner and I'm stressing. I hope I have my kids prepared enough to go. I'm still trying to find adults to help out and stay at the camp for a day and night. I'm already stretching myself pretty thin by taking 3 days off next week. I've got a pile of work to do and yet I'm running to Cedar Mountain for camp! I really hope I can get some support, otherwise we may be staying home because we can't get 2 deep leadership. Scouting is starting to be more rewarding to me and hopefully the kids, but dang if it isn't a ton of work!

I've got more to talk about, but I don't have the time! Imagine that. Even though it seems like I complained a lot in this post, my life is still pretty good. I'm sure you can all relate to busy stress. I'm usually a pretty chill guy, but every once in a while when everything reaches critical mass at the same time it gets to me. Here's to better days and a relaxing trip to Minersville this weekend for the 24th. My wife has never been to horse races so it should be fun. And I'm out.

The Real Story

2008-07-10T20:01:00.002-06:00

I want to speak of something a little more serious tonight. It has occurred to me, or I'm just fed up of hearing and seeing it in the news, but there isn't a person alive that if given the chance wouldn't want to live in America.

I realize this is a pretty bold statement but it's true. Of course "everyone" may be a bit of an exaggeration but not as much as you might think. We are inundated every single day with quotes from foreigners claiming that they hate Americans and what we stand for. Tired of us policing the world. Truth be told, they would trade anyone of us just to have a crappy mortgage payment and a decade old vehicle or two. They would trade to be able to complain about inflated gas prices and being undervalued or underpaid at work. They would trade to complain about our health care system and government welfare. They would trade to live in our country full of racial violence and hate. Trade us to complain about only having a 32" television with crappy cable to watch.

The reality is that we live in the freest country in the known world. We have liberties granted us to live how we may without recourse. We have great wealth of both physical and mental capacities. The potential for wealth being almost limitless to those willing to take a shot at it. America is still the shining beacon to the world despite what those with an agenda would have you believe. The reason for all of the hate from peoples of other countries? Probably because the hate to hear us bitch and moan so much when we really have it so good. They've never experienced our way of life. They are only told what their countries officials want them to be told, much like our own. Free press? Not for most. Watch the news in North Korea or Iran ever day and see how you would feel about America.

In closing I want everyone to think of all of the complaints they have with our country at the moment. Is it welfare, gas prices, a slowed economy? Whatever it is just know that regardless of how bad off you feel that you are, you have it better than most of the world because you are American with American freedoms. Oh, and have a good day. (:

Back From the Dead I Come

2008-07-08T17:47:00.009-06:00

Hello family, friends, and strangers. I have left my blogging post vacant for far too long. I really don't want that to happen again. My life has been like a milk-chocolate carousel ride in Willy Wonka's factory while being stuffed to the brim with Ho-Hos. Work is busy, family is busy, and I'm trying my best to make time for the things that are important to me like videogam.... err I mean family. In all honesty I haven't even been able to play games for more than a couple hours a week. I hate growing up! ):

I got back from my trip to Logan over the 4th of July. I rode the hog up and back and for the most part it was a good ride. My wife is staying up there with her sister for a couple of weeks so I was riding alone. I definitely put my bike through its paces on this trip. From badly overheating it in stop and go freeway traffic through Ogden (not to mention 100+ degree temperatures), to choking it for oxygen at 10,000 feet en route to Bear Lake, and finally riding into the teeth of a monster named thunderstorm/hurricane on a lonely stretch of road between Delta and Milford, it was definitely interesting to see how it performed. Overall I'd give it 4 stars out of 5. I'm getting it looked at this week. Something is definitely a little out of whack with the calibration.

There were some great moments captured on my trip to Logan. I will dispense them now:

Jessica's Niece Brooklyn at the parade. Popsicles were definitely in style.

Me looking rather dapper - kinda

Dad's pride and joy - Jaron

What a fox! Oh that's right, I married that girl.

Dad's little princess... pulling a face - Carmendee. I miss them all so much.

Comic Update!

2008-06-09T21:55:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone. I'm back with a couple pieces of artwork fresh from the Illustrator drawing board. I like them so far and they are built to where I should be able to move them around with minimal effort. I did mine first and Jess's second. It took about an hour to come up with the design on mine but it took longer on Jessica's. I used mine as a template and modified it from there. Some of you are going to see your cartoon selves in my upcoming blog comics. Hopefully they will be good enough that you will be able to tell it's you!

Jessica made me go back and "fix her hair."

Wii Fit update: The game is totally legit. if you work out using the yoga, strength and aerobics portions it will really make you sweat. The little mini-games are a good diversion as well. I really like the ski slalom one (even though I'm not that great at it.) I had no idea yoga was so intense! I've only scratched the surface but I'm really liking it. It's a way for couch potatoes like myself to get in shape while having fun so I'm all in. Work is going well. We've added several new clients in the past few weeks so it's really exciting. We've been very grateful for all of the support from everybody.

Let me know what you think of my comic characters so far. Could you tell who they were without me letting you know? I look forward to posting more characters shortly when I have time. Guess this movie quote, "Carpe Diem... Seize the... Carp!"

Tacos in the belly = feeling good

2008-06-04T19:36:00.002-06:00

My wife made tacos tonight which I love. It's a mixture of classic Wendy Albrecht tacos (the meat and chili beans part) with our own little touch (Salsa con queso, white corn and sour cream are all different options to go with the meat, cheese and lettuce.) All of our friends love Jess's tacos and many of the wives (per request of the husbands) have started to prepare theirs this way. She also makes a killer pot roast, but that's a whole different topic for another time. I wanted to give Jess props on my blog for making sure I have a good dinner and the kids eat well. It's a full time job and she's great at it. In other news...

It seems that I am completely spent by the time I get home from work. My line of work isn't what you would call the most physically demanding job, but it is pretty mentally draining. The amount of focus and concentration it takes to do great work and be creative is actually pretty draining. I think Jess finally understands that sometimes when I get home and act like a zombie it's because of that reason. Couple that with trying to help out with the kids and cleaning the house and I've got a pretty full day. My brothers probably think I live an easy, nerf life but... well, actually they aren't far from the truth. The worst thing that could possibly happen to me on a day to day basis is I stub my toe on my computer desk! I'm not out rolling in horse crap all day like they are. God Bless You Guys! I couldn't do what you do without contemplating a self imposed early exit from this life.

Lastly I want to thank my brother Jed in advance for volunteering to help me get my yard ready for cement this weekend. I hope we can pour by the months end. I'll be sure to post some pics upon completion. Here's my movie plug for the day "This aint no etcha-sketch home skillet. This is one doodle you can't undid." or something along those lines. Anyone guess what the movie is? Post in the comments if you know.

Comic Idea

2008-05-31T21:43:00.002-06:00

I have had an idea for quite some time to publish a comic on my blog. I've got some great ideas that (I think) are funny. This begs me to ask all of you. If I were to create a comic would you read? I've got an art style in mind that I could do in Adobe Illustrator fairly easily. I don't want to put the time into them if no one will read though. Thoughts?

Scouting at the Peach Farm

2008-05-27T20:51:00.002-06:00

Hi Everybody. I'll get off of my soapbox for this post. Nothing but good clean family fun. That's because it's about service. Not just any service... but church farm service. I took the scouts out to do an orchard assignment for our ward. They need like 1000000 hrs of service for their Eagle awards so it was a great opportunity. We needed to thin the peaches out so that the remaining ones can get big and delicious. Of course if any of you have been around scouts or have been scouts know, they pretty much just had a peach fight. What was funnier was watching them throw the peaches at some girls that were picking beside us. Well, to be fair the girls opened fire first. Both sides were flirting and checking each other out, but when I asked Zach why he hadn't gone over to talk to them he replied "She's throwing peaches at me. Why would I want to do that." It's funny to see kids at that age. It took me back. I was just starting to discover girls and think they were kinda cute. The games we played back then are still the same today. Flirting must be a universal truth that is constant and unchanging. I never thought I'd be old enough to reminisce about "when I was young." So to Jed and Becca, and some of you others out there with older kids I say, good luck and I'll see you when I get there... In 10 years. Enjoy your kids while they are still kinda innocent because soon they will be little copies of you when you were in your teens! Oh, and go see Iron Man while it's still in theaters. You won't be disappointed.

If you don't like this movie please check your pulse

Organic Foods are killing our Environment

2008-05-21T18:01:00.004-06:00

OK, so some of you no doubt read my post about "going green" and how ridiculous I think people are getting about it. The next logical thing for me to rant about is organic foods.

I'll reiterate what I said to preface my last post on going green. I don't hate the environment and I actually encourage smart use of our natural resources... but people are kinda stupid when it comes to it. No offense, but especially big city dwellers.

This is how the media wants you to view non-organic foods

I'm hearing more and more on the TV and from people I meet and know that they are going to start shopping for and eating exclusively organic food products. I always thought the idea that one apple is organic and another is not sounds like complete idiocy. They both come from a seed, check. They both require nutrients and water, check. They are both the same species, check. So how is one organic and the other not? Well apparently someone decided that it would be cool to trick people into thinking that an apple grown naturally without the use of pesticides and other non-natural processes is better for them. Yeah, and Dr. Kevorkian was a saint that only wanted to help people. Think of your average apple as being like Roger Clemens (highly productive, bigger, juicier and overall better) whereas the other (organic) apple is more like you or I. We are stepping onto the mound to hurl a few 68 mph fastballs at opposing hitters. Meanwhile Clemens is reaching triple digits on the gun. Which one will be more effective? Which one stands a better chance of lasting longer than 1 inning? That's right, the steroid enhanced one... stay with me here.

People will claim that they are saving the environment by eating organic when I argue they are destroying it even further. They argue that the pesticides and herbicides harm the environment (a half-truth) and that growth horomones that genetically alter plants and animals to be more productive somehow harm humans (false indeed.) They argue that it will make them unhealthy if they drink milk from cows that use BST's or eat beef from beef that have had a steroid shot to get them bigger, faster. In fact, people have gone so far as to only eat cows that have grazed "naturally" in a pasture and not a feedlot. If this sounds stupid to you, then we are on the same page.

Here is my argument for them. Instead of saving the environment they are destroying it. Heres how. It takes much more land to range cows, pigs, chickens or any other kind of meat "naturally." This uses more water and land resources to produce the same product. For an orchard to produce as much fruit as one that uses pesticides and other additives it will take roughly twice the land and water resources and so on because a lot of the fruit will go to waste from bugs eating it. Couple this with the fact that it is not clinically proven that eating only organic foods is any healthier for a human and you have someone who is tricked into thinking they are saving the environment and themselves. See how I can flip the coin.

So for any of you out there that want to pay double the amount for less food I say go for it. But remember that the only one your really cheating is yourself. If it made you feel good about saving the environment, keep in mind that you are probably doing just the opposite. At the very least, your just like everybody else... except for the fact that you just gave your left pinkie finger to purchase those organic bananas at Albertsons. Cheers!

Think I'm full of it? Check this link out: Organic food

Coming Back With A Bang!

2008-05-19T21:26:00.005-06:00

OK so I've never done this so far on my blog... but I gotta give some shout outs. To Adam, George, Stacie, Melinda, and Vickie. You know who you are and I must admit that all of you are pretty freakin' awesome. Thanks for helping me become a better person.

Okay with that out of the way let me give you the summation of the past month for me seeing as I haven't updated since the last time bermuda shorts were popular. I guess I'll start with an update of the family from my point of view. You get Jessica's P.O.V. (because she posts on her blog like 3 times a day and she rocks.) Jaron is hilarious. The other day we went to Baskin Robbins because they had 50 cent ice cream (I know I'm a tight wad.) Without thinking I get him the double chocolate, Fudge, put 5 lbs on your behind just from looking at it scoop of ice cream. The wind was blowing friggin 100 mph outside and there was a thousand people outside and it wasn't very warm so when we finally found a place to sit down I was happy. Jaron is trying to dish it out to himself and the scoop just as well have been tar because of how sticky it was. If he tried to spoon a piece off of it, it all came. Here is the result.

The rare species known as the Chocosaurus Rex

Carmendee on the other hand is just a sweetie. It's no secret she's got me whooped (although all the crying in recent days has changed that a little.) She is the chubbiest, cutest little girl ever. At her doctors appointment today we learned that she is 16 lbs. and some odd ounces and 26 inches long. What this all means is that she's HUGE! No really, the doctor said so. She's rolling over like you witnessed in my wife's blog. She smiles and is very ticklish. I love to tease her and kiss her fat little cheeks. Here is my delicate little flower here.

How can you not love that!

This post is getting lengthy so I will finish the rest another day. Let's hope it doesn't take me a month to make a new post. Take care until next time.

Mario Kart Wii = Crack

2008-04-28T21:01:00.003-06:00

Hi Ya'll. I picked up Mario Kart Wii today from Costco ($43.99 for brand new games, you can't beat it!) As many of you know I have a little addiction to video games, but there are a few that can eat up my time like nothing else.

It's on like Donkey Kong!

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Mario Kart. It is the equivalent of crack cocaine for me! I get this feeling I'm going to get very addicted. So if you see me walking around all unkemp, smelly and a dozen pounds heavier you'll know why. I just thought I would give you a heads up. Oh, and for anyone out there that has the game that reads this, I issue a challenge to step up and compete. Send me your friend code and we'll battle online. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go smoke someone online!

Consistency is Key

2008-04-25T17:59:00.004-06:00

Hello all! I'm updating my blog twice in the same week, I don't know what's gotten into me. Anyway, enough with the chit chat. The title of my blog really has nothing to do with what I'm about to delve into. You may want to sit down. This is some serious stuff. I want to talk about getting old.

Now I am by no means old. I'm only 26 yrs of age and I'm sure many of you would kill to be that age again. I guess to more accurately describe what I'm talking about let's rephrase it to age progression. Yeah, that's better. Here's my story. I played basketball the other night for the first time in forever and I get home and I'm thinking, "yeah, that wasn't too bad. I'm not that sore and no one had to perform CPR on me." Then day 2 hit and I've realized that I pulled some muscle I never even knew I had. The location is a little embarrassing but what the heck. It feels like it's on the inside of my butt crack! Every time I take a step I kid you not it makes me walk like some dude in a rap video - all swaying side to side and dragging one leg a little.

I think this little story illustrates my point. The digression of my overall physical capacity from 19 years old to 26 years old has been quite dramatic. I used to be the guy running around, grabbing rebounds, harassing people on defense and having the energy to actually jump when I shoot the ball. Now I've been reduced to an out of shape guy who can't play good defense, can't shoot with any sort of consistency (hey there's that word), and overall has no energy to bring to the table. Basically I've become Greg Ostertag! My muscle tone - if you can even still call it that - has steadily made the migration from my arms, chest and shoulders, and set up camp (transforming on the way) on my waist and belly as fat. People try to blame it on marriage, kids, a career and lots of other things, but I blame it on getting older. Sure I could work out and get back into shape, but it would still take twice as long as when I was in my "prime."

Is this genius or what? No really, it does work. Google it.

So does this mean I just give up? Probably not. Sometime hopefully soon I'll get back on track so that I can at least run up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath. Maybe when Wii Fit comes out It will be able to get me on the right path to being active. I think Nintendo may be brilliant in disguising an actual workout with a fun interactive game that makes getting into shape not seem boring but entertaining instead. Feel free to share your pathetic stories with me or better yet, a story about your triumphant return to the elite class of FIT.

Going Green is Stupid

2008-04-22T18:34:00.002-06:00

Yeah, that's right I said it! Let me preface what I am about to say with this. I am all for being conservative in the way we consume natural products and I in no way support anything like strip mining or total deforestation. I think recycling is a good thing for those who want to do it. That is not the point of this post.

What I think IS stupid is when I turn on my TV and "Going Green" is crammed down my throat. CBS even dedicates a whole week to this where all of their shows have a "green" theme... cue the vomit now. I mean seriously, they (the media) make it seem like if we don't all start using 4 squares of toilet paper or less every time we use the crap pot our world is going to somehow roll over and die. Like if you take longer than a 3... sorry, if you'll excuse me a moment. A commercial just came on the TV promoting "Change the World" by HGTV telling us we throw away too much garbage each week (if you could see me right now I have a look of disgust on my face.) Maybe we do, but I don't need Carter to tell me in such a condescending way.

Oh and one more thing, Global Warming is a joke people. Think about what you're saying when you plead your case that it's a real concern. Scientists talk about what happened the last time our planet got warm. Yeah, then it got really cold. It's called the Ice Age, ever heard of it. Oh and guess what... it happened all by itself without our help. Is this sinking in? Am I making any sense here? I hope so, because this logic is simple and historically proven. Listen, our world may be getting warmer, that I acknowledge, but to freak out about it and think that we as humans can change that. I'm pretty sure that's like pissing into the wind and thinking you won't get wet. Mt. St. Helen's eruption a few decades back polluted our environment more in 15 minutes than the city of Seattle has probably done since. It's natures cycle.

Is that plastic I see on your uniform?

So if you want to give up paper, and live in biodegradable homes (which they all are eventually anyways), and take cold showers, and buy only organic food products (another topic for another time), and drive your Prius hybrid then that's fine. If you want to give Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize for his "outstanding work in global warming awareness and saving the environment on the weekend after he gets done inventing things like the internet and the letter J" then go ahead. I don't mind. But please, for the love of all that is good and holy, STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME FEEL GUILTY FOR NOT RECYCLING EVERYTHING I USE AND ENJOYING DRIVING MY GAS GUZZLING TRUCK. After all, nobody likes the government telling them whats best for them, No? Feel free to disagree in the comment box below. If you'll now excuse me, I need to go spray "harmful chemicals" on my back yard for weeds. Thank you that is all.

Television Woes

2008-03-26T21:55:00.003-06:00

Is it just me or has TV finally started to get good again. I'm not a huge American Idol fan so there was nothing really compelling to watch as far as I was concerned (barring sweet Discovery Channel Features. "The Human Body" anyone?) However, now all of my favorite shows are getting ready to kick off their new seasons. The likes of The Office, Chuck, Beauty and the Geek, and Scrubs will all be filling up my DVR just in time.

Best. Show. Ever. (well... maybe not ever, but it's pretty awesome)

I guess I can't complain too much. After all the NBA got interesting again this year. The Western Conference is insanely deep. Somebody is going to make history by becoming the first team in the history of the NBA to win 50 games and still miss the playoffs! Seriously people, this could happen!

But for all the drama the Jazz have provided I am still stoked that comedy will soon rein supreme once again. Did anybody else really suffer during the writers strike besides me?

I'm a Scout Master now. Please shoot me!

2008-03-20T19:57:00.004-06:00

Well, I guess it isn't quite as bad as the title suggests, but it's not far off. Let me give you a brief history of my experience with scouting.

I was an active scout (as far as camping trips were concerned) but didn't really care to advance or get my Eagle award. I always thought it was a fun diversion from sports, my friends, girls and everything else I was REALLY into. My family didn't place a whole lot of emphasis on the program. That's pretty much the attitude I've always had concerning it. Fast forward to the present. I get the calling extended to me by the Bishop and I swear on my life this is the only church calling I have ever received where I had serious doubts... so much so that it took me a week to accept it. Not so much that god was wrong for choosing me (sort of a scouting program scrooge), but that I would even be able to do a decent job and not screw it up too much.

Look at the dude in this picture. He's like "Captain ScoutMaster Dujour." I want to feel like him. Don't get me wrong, I love the kids that are in my troop. They are great kids. I also love the outdoors and camping. That's not it at all. If that's all scouting amounted to, I would be as happy as a 12 year old girl with front row tickets to a Hannah Montana concert. I'm just struggling to feel that what I am doing is truly important in these kids lives; that it's more important than other activities they are involved with. I'm sure there is a reason that the church keeps it's sponsorship with the BSA and that it is important, so I am trying everyday to have a greater appreciation for it. Maybe some of you can help. If you have good suggestions of how scouting is a great program, I ask of you please post them so that I can become converted.

I've always said this is one calling - on a very short list - that I never wanted to have. Now my bad dream has become reality. So I guess all I can do is continue to press forward on my quest to find the love within me for the scouting program (wish me luck.)

Good people all around us

2008-03-14T23:03:00.003-06:00

I know, I know, it's late and I shouldn't be up posting to my blog. This entry is a little wordy, but I think if you read it all, it may make you feel good inside.

I had an experience last night that I want to share with you all. It was my 4th year anniversary being married to my lovely wife (topic for another post.) We don't get to do a nice peaceful dinner very often these days with the kids and all, but for a night, we pampered ourselves just a little. We went to Samurai 21, which is a local Japanese Habachi (I guess that's how it's spelled?) steakhouse, where we were seated next to an older couple originally from Brooklyn, NY... I'd estimate them to be in their 80's.

Now to the point of my story. I figured it would be nice to at least have some small talk with them (after all we were eating like 2 feet away from them.) What followed was a pleasant conversation full of witty banter and genuine interest in one another. I don't know what religion they are-- it doesn't matter. After the meal we said our goodbyes and as the couple got up to leave, the sweet old lady gave my wife and I each a kiss on the cheek and wished us the best with our life... they consequently had been married for over 54 years. How amazing!

This experience has reinforced something that I have always felt... that there are far more "good" people around us everyday than what is portrayed in popular mainstream media or even the news. People who, while oblivious to it, make a substantial difference in the lives of others. How do you find and meet these people? Just open your mouth. You'll be amazed at what a few kind words, if spoken regularly, to a stranger can mean for not only their life but yours. I was touched by the aforementioned couple and my wife and I both left with a smile on our face and inside our hearts, knowing that we had met a couple who (in our minds) make up "the salt of the earth."

I Love My Job

2008-03-06T21:12:00.003-07:00

I have a confession to make. I know this may seem strange to some, but others will understand exactly what I'm talking about. OK, you ready, here it is... I love my job. That's right, I love what it is that I do for a living. Believe me when I say that this has seldom been the case.
Growing up on a farm didn't allow for as much free time as other kids during the summer. While they were swimming and enjoying movies, I was hard at work. Working essentially 6 1/2 days out of the week is just not my cup o' tea. I guess that's why I decided to go to college and pursue what I really love - Computers. I've always been a sort of a geek. I remember wanting to hog the old Apple Mark II computer in grade school just to play Oregon Trail. Yeah that game ruled, except my character never seemed to make the whole trip without dying. (Stupid Cholera!) But I digress.
As soon as I took a few classes at Dixie State College such as Illustrator and Photoshop I was hooked. I've always wanted to express myself in some way that was very visual. Now I get to do that nearly every day. As part owner of Flitch Creative I get to be excited to go into work every day and create something unique and memorable.
I have too many friends and family members that drag themselves to work as if they were compelled by minions of tiny invisible creatures with long whips. I was determined NOT to be one of them.

do you really want to end up like this

What's the secret to loving your job you ask? It's so simple it almost seems stupid. Here it is... DO WHATEVER YOUR PASSIONATE ABOUT AND DO IT WELL. I realize that some of your passions may be harder to make cold hard cash with than others, but if you work at it, I believe you can be successful in any capacity. Heck, some people play video games for a living, or sample fine cheeses. Find a way to market what it is YOU do.

So what do you think. Do you hate your job? Does it feel like you are a robot programmed to do the same thing day in and day out with no passion?

My Journey "Out West"

2008-03-03T17:51:00.005-07:00

I went to visit my family this weekend. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us take up space in your home! On Saturday, Jaron and I ran a load of cows out to Miller Meadows with my dad so that they can range for the rest of the year until fall. There is something very spiritual about this region to me... a sacred place if you will. I took some pictures that I thought were pretty cool. There was still a ton of snow and water which is awesome considering the prolonged drought we've been mired in. Without further ado here are a few of my favorites:

ladies and gentlemen... the mighty Colorado River!
Desert life-giver
evidence

Utah JAZZ are for real?

2008-02-29T18:36:00.003-07:00

I thought I would briefly give my take on the NBA's Western Conference race and in particular the Utah Jazz. I should preface this by saying that I've been a Jazz fan since I could remember. Watching Stockton and Malone pick-and-roll was just like second nature to I'm sure a lot of you just as it was me. This years Western Conference is the strongest that I've seen in my short 26 years of existence.

2 losses and we're out... yet so close to the top

x
Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams have emerged as true stars. Deron especially has become a leader both with his play as well as being more vocal with teammates.

In head to head games versus the top teams in the league the Jazz have a really good mark. For this reason I think they will close the gap on those teams in front of them and will have at least one home playoff series. Then again, in this wild west things change as fast as the weather.

will others step up to
help carry the load?

Have I Been Offended?...

2008-02-27T17:21:00.004-07:00

Generally speaking I would probably try to avoid posts like this. However, it is something I do feel very strongly about. Maybe I'm thick-skinned or overly confident, but one thing I've never been able to figure out is how some people are so easily offended.

I didn't mean to... I promise

Let me make no mistake about it, people say and do hurtful things, whether voluntary or involuntary. I would also follow that statement with this... 90% of the time it seems the offending party does not mean to be offensive. I truly believe this. There is just one little detail I've failed to mention though. It is absolutely our choice whether we are offended. This may sound odd to some of you out there, but it's true. We have the ability to decide how we want to react to any situation. Do we choose to be offended or do we choose to (privately) seek the true meaning of what someone said or did, or do we simply disregard an intentionally mean remark or act? As the Captain Hook song in Peter Pan says, "The choice is up to you, the choice is up to you!"

I sooo wanted to make a Peter Pan reference

Am I wrong here people?

I Love Sundays

2008-02-24T21:03:00.002-07:00

Seriously, does anything beat a Sunday afternoon. Here is a general rundown of my average Sunday:

Wake up around... well OK I still usually get up pretty early (Thanks Jaron and Carmendee).
But unlike other days, I grab the kids and bring them to the bed with us. Jaron wrestles around and makes rash demands like "I want Doodlebops!" or "Chocolate Milk!", while Carmendee usually chills and drinks her bottle or stares at the light and is just generally cute.

After getting up and going to church we all come home and take naps. Oh yeah... it doesn't get much smoother than that.

We usually eat a delicious dinner prepared by Jess and then watch TV, play videogames or read.
And by we I mean Jess and I. Jaron drags out anything and everything he can and makes a mess while Carmendee demands attention. It's a balancing act you know.

Sunday is better than Monday-Friday for obvious reasons, but why is it better than Saturday you ask? Because on Saturday I feel obligated to work.

Do work young man. DO WORK!

I have to do something productive or I feel like the day was a waste. On Sunday, it's good enough to spend time with the family, get a little church in me, relax and recharge to get ready for the coming week. Oh how I love you Sunday.

Dad's Little Boy

2008-02-22T17:34:00.004-07:00

As promised, here is a post dedicated to my son Jaron. As you can see from the pictures, he likes to emulate me any time he can.

he looks better than me in that shirt!

I wanna ride

Jaron is an extremely active kid. He loves to wrestle with me and rough house around. Although he is active he is not destructive... yes there is a big difference. Jaron loves books and often brings them to Jess and I demanding that we read them to him one, two or twelve times with the response "AGAIN!" Another redeeming quality that he got from me – besides his good looks :) – is a love for Nintendo.

Nintendo's expanded audience strategy is working beautifully!

He loves to run around and play Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii as well as Guitar Hero III. Even though he looks an awful lot like his mother (see, the good looks were never mine!) he acts just like his dad, which makes me a proud father. Thank you Jaron for making our lives interesting!

Introducing Carmendee!

2008-02-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Keeping with the theme of family, I am going to highlight each of my two kids today and tomorrow. After all, I HAVE to show them off to the 2 people that read my blog. This is the newest member of our growing family. Her Name is Carmendee Dawn Albrecht.

So... Serene

I like to think of her as "Daddy's Song." She is really a great baby. She sleeps through the night until 7:00 a.m. (most days). It's amazing that I haven't even been losing any sleep at all with her! As you can see, she is the cutest little baby (at least in her daddy's eyes). She loves to smile and giggle when I hold her and tease her. Is there anything more innocent and pure than a babies laughter. I'm sure you will see lots more pictures of her in coming posts.

Do any of you have children? What is your favorite memory with your newborn baby?

My Wife = My Life

2008-02-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

I need to give a shout out to my lovely wife of nearly 4 years. It's her birthday tomorrow and I'm excited to give her the gift that I picked out (all by myself no less). It will be nice to go to dinner with just her and no kids tomorrow (thanks Ryan and Lynn!) This is one of my favorite pictures of my wife. This is from our vacation in Hawaii last year. I used Photoshop to enhance the look of it.

my lovely wife

My question for all of you is this. Have you ever forgotten your wife's birthday. If so, please detail what I'm sure was total carnage!

Mac & Cheese

2008-02-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

I knew my blog would be random but.....

There is a product I'm sure you are all familiar with. It's called Easy Mac. The principle is simple right, you throw the contents in a bowl and nuke it for about 4 minutes. Well, I managed to screw up this beautiful yellow delicacy, proving that maybe I am not "smarter than a fifth grader". Allow me to explain. This is what a bowl of mac and cheese should ideally look like.

mmm... delicious

And here is what I had for lunch today...

Not quite as Cheestastic looking is it

Boys and girls, let this be a lesson to all of us. Two lessons actually. The first is that things may not always seem as the appear. The other - always follow directions. I simply added everything all at once before throwing it in the microwave for 4 minutes. I haven't made mac in the microwave in a while and didn't know you weren't supposed to add the powdered cheese sauce until after the noodles and water came out. It still tasted the same, but it all just seemed wrong as I shoveled the yellow goop into my mouth.

First Post!

2008-02-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

I finally did it... I started my own blog. I've long contemplated maintaining a blog of my own but never took the time to do it. I chalk it up to being overly busy rather than being too lazy. I guess if you want something bad enough, you will "rearrange" your priorities to make it happen. I haven't got anything profound to say in my pilot blog post, but stay tuned...