Overlord of Templand

Welcome to my job. I work for a public opinion research firm in Salt Lake City. Today we have 15 temps in house to help us finish up a couple of jobs where we ask people their opinions about organic food products. (The chemistry teacher in me wants to say that all food is organic by definition, but I'll forbear.)

Temps are a special challenge for us. Our normal training period for interviewers is 3-4 hours, with a quiz afterward to ensure that they're up to speed. Temps, on the other hand, normally have to be trained in about 30-45 minutes; if the training goes any longer than that, the trainer has to compete with the noise of a fully functioning call center to get the message across. It's a quick-and-dirty sort of introduction to the fascinating world of market research.

Whenever we have temps in house, I always get to deal with them (unless I have the day off, and sometimes even then). That's because I seem to have the most patience for dealing with people who need to be spoon-fed with regard to their jobs. The rest of the staff is fascinated with my ability to do this; I just tell them that it's not all that different than teaching high schoolers.

We usually set aside a part of the call center, like the back row or one of the side rooms, for our temps. This keeps them all in one place so that I can answer any of their questions and deal quickly with any performance and/or behavior issues. This designated area, wherever it is, becomes known as Templand, and I am its ruler, so to speak.

The other supervisors eventually started calling me "The Mayor of Templand". I told them I preferred "Overlord".

Things are going well so far today in my little province. One of the temps opted out about half an hour ago because she didn't like the job. I've got three more I'm probably going to have to send home soon if their numbers don't improve. The rest seem to be doing okay.

--

{later}
I only had to send one of them home, and she was a little cranky about it, saying things like, "Why do you keep giving me jobs I can't do?" and such like. I assured her that we would ask the agency not to send her here again.

I also had two of the temps tell me at 6:25 that they needed to leave by 6:30 to get to as doctor's appointment. What doctor sees patients at 6:30 at night? Nobody in my old HMO, I'll guarantee you that! I asked them in a rather direct sort of way why they hadn't bothered to give me a little notice and then told them to go. With any luck they won't show up again tomorrow. I need that kind of employee like I need a poke in the eye.

We're in the home stretch now, only about 10 minuites until I send them all home. I'll probably spend about 15 minutes helping them sign out for the day and cleaning up the mess they inevitably leave behind. Then I get to go through their time cards (which are kept by our computer) and fix any discrepancies that may exist. Then I'll fill out the form we fax to the agency and leave it on the field director's desk for him to sign and fax in the morning. I'm making a few notes now so that he knows what's gone on tonight.

Then I get to go home. After a long bus ride, probably shared with Thoreau, I'll check my e-mail and turn in early. Thus ends a not-so-typical evening in the life of the Overlord.

Well-Adjusted (but slipping...?)

Okay, so here are the results of the latest quiz.

Freudian Inventory Results

Genital (50%) you appear to be stuck between a progressive and regressive outlook on life. Latency (53%) you appear to have a good balance of knowledge seeking and practicality. Phallic (40%) you appear to have a good balance of sexual awareness and sexual composure. Anal (56%) you appear to have a good balance of self control and spontaneity. Oral (56%) you appear to have a good balance of independence and interdependence.

Take Free Freudian Inventory Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Of course, all my education profesors now tell me that Freud was full of crap (or maybe just hung up on his mother), but the results are still interesting. I assume that these results mean I'm fairly balanced and/or well-adjusted. Hrmm.

Or maybe this all just means I'm boring.

An Album a Year...

...for evey year of my natural life. This was the challenge thrown down by Curtis a few days ago. Standard rules apply, namely one album per artist. Here we go.

1968 - The Beatles [The White Album] by The Beatles
1969 - Chicago Transit Authority by Chicago
1970 - A Question of Balance by The Moody Blues
1971 - Poems, Prayers and Promises by John Denver
1972 - Hot August Night by Neil Diamond
1973 - Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
1974 - A-1-A by Jimmy Buffett
1975 - Dream by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
1976 - Hotel California by The Eagles
1977 - The Grand Illusion by Styx
1978 - Don't Look Back by Boston
1979 - Evolution by Journey
1980 - High Infidelity by REO Stationwagon
1981 - The Music of Cosmos, soundtrack to the PBS series hosted by Carl Sagan
1982 - Toto IV by Toto
1983 - Synchronicity by The Police
1984 - Heartbeat City by The Cars (the first album/tape I ever bought on my own)
1985 - Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits
1986 - So by Peter Gabriel
1987 - Surfing with the Alien by Joe Satriani
1988 - Vol. 1 by the Traveling Wilburys
1989 - 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults by P.D.Q. Bach
1990 - Damn Yankees by Damn Yankees
1991 - Heart in Motion by Amy Grant
1992 - 1492: Conquest of Paradise by Vangelis
1993 - Much Ado About Nothing soundtrack composed by Patrick Doyle
1994 - Harley Davidson Road Songs featuring Steppenwolf, Lynyrd Skynrd, Ted Nugent, Foghat, April Wine, and about two dozen others
1995 - One Clear Voice by Peter Cetera
1996 - Arena by Asia
1997 - Calling All Stations by Genesis (one of the most underrated CDs of recent years, IMHO)
1998 - Taken by Cherie Call
1999 - Tal Bachman by Tal Bachman
2000 - Somewhere to Elsewhere by Kansas
2001 - Magnification by Yes (released, coincidentally, on September 11^th)
2002 - Vapor Trails by Rush
2003 - Spirit of America by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
2004 - Feels Like Home by Norah Jones

As Curtis said, this one was a good deal harder than the others. AllMusic.com helped a lot. I must confess that I don't personally own every single one of these albums right now. But I do have at least some music from the ones I don't own.

I would like to nominate 1976 as the year with the best albums. In addition to Hotel California, 1976 also brought us Kansas' breakthrough album Leftoverture, the eponymous debut from Boston, and Rush's epic 2112. It also would have been nice to include Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or Days of Future Passed, but I'm not old enough (1967 for both).

I recommend that we let Derek call the next challenge. That way we'll be sure he can participate without it getting in the way of his disserting (or whatever it is that one does when wrapping up a PhD). What do you think?

Saturday's Leftovers

This is the week's list of topics on Friday's Feast. I didn't get around to it until today, though.

Appetizer What is a word that your family uses that would not be considered common?

S.W.M.B.O. ^*

Soup What theme of calendar do you have on your wall this year?

Harry Potter.

Salad Name 3 people you speak with on a daily basis.

Right now, my roommates. Later in the semester, probably professors, classmates, and/or TAs.

Main Course If you could put a new tattoo on someone you know - who would it be, what would the tattoo be of, and where would you put it on them?

After all the complaining about his lack of playing time for the US Olympic men's basketball team, I'd like to give Carmello Anthony a big "CRYBABY" tattoo right across his forehead. Grow up, kid. Not everything's about you.

Dessert What is the last beverage you drank out of a glass bottle?

Chocolate Fudge Soda from the Jones Soda Company. (They also make a pretty cool energy drink. It's the one on the far right.)

--

^*From the old PBS series Rumpole of the Bailey, it's how Rumpole would refer to his wife: She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Milestone and Music

So, I understand that this is my 50^th blog entry. Wow, fifty posts in just under four months, and I'm not bored with it yet. I don't know if the same can be said for my readers, though.

Anyway, as I was walking through the library on campus today, I saw several CDs in one of the display cases. It seems that the library received all these CDs and more from the recent music industry settlement, and they're selling the duplicates (or the ones 'not suitable for inclusion in the library collection') to raise money to buy other CDs. Good music at a low price for a good cause? How am I supposed to resist that? Here's what I got:

• The Mystery of Santo Domingo de Silos: Gregorian Chant from Spain
  
• Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific featuring Glenn Close, Harry Connick, Jr., and Rade Sherbedgia (from the 2001 ABC movie)
  
• Linda Ronstadt's A Merry Little Christmas
  
• Timeless: Honoring the Music of Hank Williams featuring Mark Knopfler, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Cash, Keb' Mo', Beck, Tom Petty, and others
  

Total cost: $9.59. How cool is that?

Albums A to Z

Okay, Curtis, here's my response to your challenge (or was it my challenge? I don't remember):

A) Any album by Asia (All their album names start with "A".)
B) Between Sunlight and Shadow by Singularity
C) Corporate America by Boston
D) Days of Future Passed by The Moody Blues
E) An Evening (Wasted) with Tom Lehrer by Tom Lehrer
F) Fallen by Evanescence
G) Games Rednecks Play by Jeff Foxworthy
H) Hotel California (or Hell Freezes Over) by The Eagles
I) Isolation by Toto
J) Joyride by Roxette
K) Kiss My Axe by Al DiMeola
L) Love Over Gold by Dire Straits
M) Mystery Girl by Roy Orbison (I know, the title's redundant.)
N) Neck and Neck by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler
O) Oblivion Days by Rocket Scientists
P) Point of Know Return by Kansas
Q) Quest of the Dream Warrior by David Arkenstone
R) Roll the Bones by Rush
S) Saxuality by Candy Dulfer
T) Taken by Cherie Call
U) Union by Yes
V) Viva Satellite by Todd Snider
W) What Does a Deaf Guy Hear? featuring the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (Yes, this is a real CD. I own it. It's cool.)
X) X by Chicago
Y) Yellow Submarine by The Beatles
Z) Zoom by Electric Light Orchestra

Now one for every year of my life? This is going to be a real challenge. I'm not sure there was any music I like recorded between 1997 and 2001....

Geek Quiz of the Day

I found this whilst browsing through the bologosphere.


Which OS are You?

Oddity: The final question of the quiz was, "Will the answers to these questions really help you determine my personality?" I found it interesting that one of the responses was, "If I end up Windows ME someone is going to be hurting."

Freebies No More

I found this article on MSN Money today called 29 things that used to be free. Here are a few the items on the list that I found interesting.

Butter. The article talks about how some east coast bagel shops are charging for butter. I personally prefer cream cheese, and I expect to pay a bit for it. But not butter - especially not when they normally give you margarine instead.

Soup and salad. Yes, it would be nice if mid-level restaurants like Sizzler included salad with your meal instead of frozen/defrosted/steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and crinkle-cut carrots.

Water. With the possible exception of the various varieties of aluminum oxide, this is the most plentiful chemical compound on the surface of this planet. If I have to pay for a glass of water, I'm leaving and somebody's not getting a tip.

Paper cups. Sadly, this one actually makes sense: the cups cost the restaurant more than the beverages they put in them.

Bags. Under no circumstances will I pay a grocery store for bags in which to take my groceries home. I'll take a bus across town to another store first.

Air for the tires. See "Water", above. Ridiculous.

Copies for college students. Yeah, copies run about 8¢ apiece at the U of U, but there are still a couple of places where you can print (albeit in small quantities) for free.

ATM use, Your balance, Talking to a teller, Free checking accounts. Banks that charge for these services don't get my business. I'll take a local credit union over a monolithic bank any day.

Thank heaven for the things that are still free. If this Blog service ever starts charging for its use (like Blue Mountain and Yahoo! did for e-greeting cards), I'll be gone like a wild goose in winter.

Friday's Feast

Okay, following Derek's lead (once again) I present my answers to this week's questions from Friday's Feast.

Appetizer: What does the color pink make you think of?
The Pink Panther - either the silent, animated feline or the old Peter Sellers movies ("Eet's a boom." "A what?" "A boom!")

Soup: Name something you have lost but later found.
My glasses, almost on a daily basis. After 15 years, you'd think I'd come up with a consistent place to put them.

Salad: In 3 words, describe this past week.
Rejuvenating. (For seeing Curtis again.)
Anticipation. (For getting ready for school again next week.)
Exhausting. (For dealing with/supervising temps at work.)

Main Course: What are you obsessed with?
I think obsession is unhealthy. I can't really say I'm focused enough on anything right now to call it an obsession.

Dessert: What kind of perfume or cologne do you like to wear?
I don't really wear cologne, never have. But I like the after shave lotions from Bath and Body Works.

Silly Joke of the Day

So this skeleton walks into a bar and tells the bartender, "Give me a beer and a mop."

Prep Time for Me, Too...

...except that instead of preparing to teach courses, like Derek is doing, I'm preparing to take courses. This is my schedule for fall semester.

Chem 3100 Inorganic Chemistry
Current theoretical models for correlation of inorganic systems; review of major chemical trends across periodic table; oxidation states of elements, oxidation-reduction equilibria, and introduction to acid-base equilibria. Introduction to inorganic stereochemistry including coordination compounds, organometallic compounds, and electron-deficient molecules.

Chem 3510 Biological Chemistry I
Structure and function of biomolecules, metabolism, and regulation.

Phycs 2219 Physics Laboratory for Scientists and Engineers I
Teaches laboratory skills needed by scientists and engineers. Measurement, data analysis, computer graphics display, experimental design and report writing, experimental procedures and results. Experiments in mechanics and waves.

Math 2210 Calculus III
Vectors in the plane and in 3-space, differential calculus in several variables, integration and its applications in several variables, vector fields and line, surface, and volume integrals. Green's and Stokes' theorems.

Bus 1010 Foundations of Business Thought
A liberal-education distribution course focusing on the nature of business and its historical, philosophical, and current role in today's world. Key issues include what a business is and how profit sustains that existence. Personal and organizational values and ethics are discussed in an environment of competing and complementary rights and monetary goals. Course addresses specific activities of a business (i.e., accounting, finance, marketing, production, and human resource management). Readings of a classical nature are presented to underscore the timeless nature of business and the relevancy of great works to today's business environment. Approach is pragmatic, with an emphasis on self discovery complimenting occasional lectures. Course is designed for students considering an undergraduate degree in business, for those pursuing the business minor, and for those who wish to use the course to satisfy a liberal-education distribution requirement.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

If not Bush or Kerry, vote Barbie!

While perusing some other blogs, I found this link to a story on CNN Money. It appears that Barbie is running for President in 2004.

And people think our current President is an airhead....?

Is this why people struggle with science?

This gem is from an excellent book I'm reading called There Are No Electrons.

"I don't find it confusing ... do you? The units and abbreviations all make perfect sense:

"I" stands for current, measured in amps;
"C" stands for capacitance, measured in farads;
"R" stands for resistance, measured in ohms;
"E" stands for voltage, measured (oddly enough) in volts; and
"L" stands for inductance, measured in henrys.

And they will tell you, with a straight face, that electronics requires a logical mind."

(Amdahl, K. There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings; Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc.: Broomfield, CO, 1991; p. 186.)

Thoughts from the Opening Ceremonies

Like many people, I watched the Opening Ceremonies of the XVIII Olympiad on TV Friday night. Here are a few of my thoughts from the evening.

• First, while I am always impressed by the beauty and grandeur of the opening ceremonies, the one in Athens wasn't quite as good as the one we had here in Salt Lake City a couple of years ago. (Of course, civic pride may hinder my impartiality here.)
  
• It was comforting and reassuring to hear loud cheering when the U.S. delegation entered the stadium. At least there's someone out there who doesn't hate us.
  
• While I found the music for the Parade of Nations mostly unremarkable (with the exception of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings), the music for the rest of the ceremony was gorgeous. I wonder how I can find out what it was and/or how to get a copy of it.
  
• No country but Brazil could pull off those bright green jackets.
  
• I thought the outfits worn by the American delegation were gaudy, but I suppose we have to stick with what we're good at.
  
• In my humble opinion, Bob Costas and Katie Couric could have improved their commentary during the 'floating statues' and 'historical floats' sections of the ceremony by doing about half as much of it. Okay, maybe the average American needs to be spoon-fed their history and culture, but we're not all idiots. Let us enjoy the sights and sounds on our own.
  
• Bob and Katie commented on Great Britain's rich track and field history, using the movie Chariots of Fire as an example. I think they missed an excellent cultural tie-in by not mentioning that the Oscar-winning soundtrack for that movie was written by a Greek national.
  
• It was wonderful to see so many people of different nations, races, and ideologies all with smiles on their faces and excitement in their eyes.
  

I know that we place too much emphasis on sports in this country, but I think the Olympic Games are different. There's a different feeling, an emphasis on things beyond athletic competition. I like the idea that despite wars, rivalries, and international distrust, we can still find a way to get together every couple of years to play games.

Can of Worms

Boy, yesterday's post sure opened a can of worms. In response to this quote:

  > "In America, anybody can be president.
  > That's one of the risks you take."
  > -Adlai Stevenson

Derek said: Risk is right--look at our current President. Yikes.

Then Curtis said: And in responce to Derek * ...and the last one. Double yikes. (* I do sort of agree with Derek, but if the choice is a Bush or a Clinton, I'll take a Bush every time.)

And then Derek said: Help us, Ralph Nader. You're our only hope.

Good observations, both of you, but I'll go you one better. It seems to me that we could say "Yikes!" about every U.S. President in our lifetimes.

Face it, to whom should we look for exemplary leadership? LBJ? Tricky Dick? Gerald 'Appointed, not Elected' Ford? True, Jimmy Carter was a good and decent human being, but not much of a President (maybe because he was a good and decent human being). Ronald Reagan was respected and well-liked at the time, but now that he's dead, even his staunchest former supporters have nasty things to say about his administration and his policies. And while George Bush v1.0 handled Operation Desert Storm okay - mostly by staying out of the way of those who knew what they were doing, unlike LBJ - he couldn't do much with the economy or domestic issues. And that brings us up to the two aforementioned individuals.

Maybe the lesson here is that the people of the United States find a way to keep the country going in spite of, not because of, who's in the White House....

Today's Quote from AWAD

I'm on the mailing list for "A Word A Day" from Wordsmith.org. In addition to getting an unusual word or phrase each day with definition and etymology, I also get a quote. This is today's:

In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take.
-Adlai Stevenson

More Music Stuff

Okay, in response to Curtis' challenge, I have come up with my nominees for a dream band. In truth, this is a little exercise I play with from time to time, but with a minor difference in criteria, namely, up to two band members (if necessary) per incarnation. But hey, we'll try it your way.

Vocals:
Justin Hayward (Moody Blues) - can also play guitar
Steve Perry (Journey)
Marija Rawlins (Plato's Halo)
Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty)

Guitars:
Steve Howe (Yes)
Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) - can also do vocals
Steve Lukather (Toto) - can also do vocals
Tom Scholz (Boston)

Keyboards:
Geoff Downes (Asia, the Buggles)
Howard Jones - can also do vocals
Eric Norlander (Lana Lane, Rocket Scientists)

Bass:
Peter Cetera (Chicago) - can also do vocals
Paul McCartney (Obvious, really...) - can also do vocals and songwriting

Drums:
Phil Collins (Genesis) - can also do vocals
Neil Peart (Rush) - can also handle songwriting

Various and Sundry:
Saxophone: Candy Dulfer
Violin: Robbie Steinhardt (Kansas)

Production:
Trevor Horn (Yes, Art of Noise, Pet Shop Boys, Seal)
Jeff Lynne (ELO, Traveling Wilburys, Beatles Anthologies)


This would be a great group for a rock opera, something like Ayreon's Into the Electric Castle or Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. What a collection!

(Of course, this is the way Asia's last two albums have been: Downes on keys, John Payne on bass and lead vocals, and multiple musicians on all other instruments.)

Today's Random Thought

"The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want."
-Ben Stein

Remembering

On Sunday morning, I caught part of the rebroadcast of Elder David B. Haight's funeral. Elder Haight was the oldest member ever of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His death at the age of 97 followed closely on the heels of the death of Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the same Quorum. I never met either man personally; what I know of them I know by listening to them speak and reading their words. I've thought quite a bit about both of these exemplary men in the past couple of weeks, and here are some of my thoughts.

Elder Haight always struck me as the kind of man I'd want as a grandfather. He always spoke plainly, with kindness and sincerity. His smile and the gleam in his eyes seemed to put people at ease and to tell those he spoke to that they were valued and appreciated. His sense of humor, which was often evident, was never sarcastic or mean-spirited. His Christlike love of those around him is humbling to me; he seemed immune to anger and frustration.

I am much more familiar with Elder Maxwell's works. He was one of the two or three speakers I really looked forward to hearing at each General Conference. A man of great intelligence and learning, he taught me that the search for salvation could be a matter of the mind as well as the heart. Spirituality and secular learning can coexist, and even reinforce one another. This idea flies in the face of the philosophies of most academics and many people of faith. But each of Elder Maxwell's talks, filled with meticulously researched examples, wide-ranging metaphors, and exquisitely constructed prose, proved that it was true. It came as a great relief to me to know that I could become knowledgeable in the Gospel without having to be ignorant in all the knowledge the world had to offer.

Both of these men have helped to strengthen my faith, albeit in different ways. Both have been examples of what I would like one day to become. For their examples I am eternally grateful. Perhaps one day, in the world beyond the veil, I will meet them and express my gratitude personally.

Of Kindness

I read this today in church.

"Every kind word spoken gives you greater ability to speak another. Every act of assistance rendered by you, through the knowledge that you possess, to aid one of your fellows, gives you greater ability to aid the next one. Good acts grow upon a person. I have sometimes thought that many men, judging from their utter lack of kindness and of a disposition to aid others, imagined that if they were to say or do a kind thing, it would destroy their capacity to perform a kind act or say a kind word in the future. If you have a granary full of grain, and you give away a sack or two, there remain that many less in your granary, but if you perform a kind act or add words of encouragement to one in distress, who is struggling along in the battle of life, the greater is your capacity to do this in the future. Don't go through life with your lips sealed against words of kindness and encouragement, nor your hearts sealed against performing labors for another."
-Heber J. Grant

Music A to Z

All right, Derek and Curtis have both done this now, so I suppose it's my turn.^* The challenge is to list one band or artist you enjoy for each letter of the alphabet.

A) Asia
B) Boston
C) Cash, Johnny
D) Dire Straits
E) Evanescence
F) Fleetwood Mac
G) GTR
H) Horton, Johnny
I) Isao Tomita
J) Jones, Norah
K) Kansas
L) Lana Lane
M) The Moody Blues
N) The Nylons
O) Orbison, Roy
P) Plato's Halo
Q) Queen
R) Rush
S) Squirrel Nut Zippers
T) Toto
U) U.K.
V) Vangelis
W) Wilson Phillips
X) XCR (Cross Canadian Ragweed)
Y) Yes
Z) ZZ Top

Okay, so Isao Tomita was a bit of a stretch (first name), and XCR was a real stretch (abbreviation that I'm not entirely certain the band actually uses). But I was having the hardest time coming up with anything for I or X, and C and T were already taken. So I'm willing to make that stretch.

That was fun, but now here's an extension to the challenge: create a list of songs you enjoy, one for each letter of the alphabet. And to keep it interesting, here's a catch: you cannot use more than one song from any artist.

Here's mine.

A) All I Need is a Miracle by Mike + the Mechanics
B) Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash
C) Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas
D) Drive by Singularity
E) Everlasting Love by Howard Jones
F) Forever Autumn by Justin Hayward
G) Generation Prelude/Generation by Peter Buffett
H) Hyperactive! by Thomas Dolby
I) Industrial Disease by Dire Straits
J) Just Kiss Me by Harry Connick Jr.
K) Keep on Lovin' You by REO Speedwagon
L) Leaden Legacy by After Forever
M) More than a Feeling by Boston
N) No Son of Mine by Genesis
O) One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head (from the musical Chess)
P) Place in this World by Michael W. Smith
Q) Questions 67 and 68 by Chicago
R) Riding the Dragon by Plato's Halo
S) Stranger in Town by Toto
T) Time Again by Asia
U) Uncle Pen by Ricky Skaggs
V) Voices by Vangelis (Double letter score!)
W) Walls by Yes
X) Xanadu by Rush (No, not the one by Olivia Newton John. Please.)
Y) Yesterday by The Beatles
Z) Zip Gun Bop by Royal Crown Revue

Okay, boys, what's next? Albums, perhaps? Only time will tell. ("You're leaving now, it's in your eyes....")

^* I can hear my mother asking, "If Curtis and Derek both jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?" I will say this: if Curtis and Derek both jumped off a bridge, I'd have to assume there was a pretty good reason....

New (Old) Music

I got a new CD today: Private Collection by Jon and Vangelis. For the unfamiliar, Jon Anderson is the long-time lead singer of Yes, and Vangelis is the composer for Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, and some of the Cosmos soundtrack.

I have actually owned this album (yes, it was originally released on vinyl) for several years on cassette. In one of my recent searches, I found it cheap on Amazon, so I indulged myself.

It's probably been years since I listened to this album, and rediscovering it has been quite pleasant. The instrumentation and vocals are, of course, superb. Jon's distinctive, ethereal voice fits smoothly into Vangelis' unique blend of organic and electronic sounds and textures. This album is softer and more subdued than the pair's The Friends of Mr. Cairo; even the relatively upbeat fifth track, "He is Sailing", has a soothing rhythm to it. It makes for a good, calming listen at the end of a busy day.

For the curious, Jon also did an album called Dream with legendary New Age artist Kitaro a few years ago. Jon only appears on four of the ten tracks, but it's still definitely worth a listen.

Welcome Rumblings and Rantings

This little message is to welcome my friend Curtis to the world of blogging. Check out his blog, titled "Rumblings and Rantings", if you have a minute.

Of course, my other friend Derek also has his long-running blog avilable for your perusal.

(Yes, I realize that the phrase "my other friend" implies that I've only got two. Not true. I've got at least five that I can think of. Maybe six.)

Altered Quote of the Day

For the last few weeks, I've been using the following quote as my e-mail signature line:

"To err is human, but when the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil, you're overdoing it." -Josh Jenkins

My friend Wendy Kay sent along this gem, which I suppose is equally valid:

"To err is human, but when the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil, you're doing calculus."

Beautiful.

Moving ($*@^&%!!)

Warning: This is a long and potentially very boring story. Proceed at your own risk.

Yes, I've finally completed the moving process. It was a complete clusterflop, a Murphian nightmare. But I'm in the new place now, and all the stuff is accounted for, so I guess it all turned out okay.

The trouble began last week when I tried to reserve a U-haul for the adventure. The web site was telling me that there were no trucks available in the state of Utah, so I called the rental center closest to downtown. They told me they had not trucks at all available for the weekend. Apparently July 31st and/or the last Saturday in July is the second busiest moving day of the year in Salt Lake. Who'da thunkit? So I called another location, and they did have a truck available, but smaller than the one I wanted. I took it, not feeling confident about finding anything better.

Next came the packing. I'd done a little of it before last week, but only a very little. So I spent most of Wednesday separating the stuff in the spare room, much of which was her stuff left over from when she left. I went to class Wednesday night, leaving a note for her to take what she wanted and box up the rest. She took next to nothing, not even looking at a lot of it, from what I could tell. This left me with a room full of stuff that I would have to take to Deseret Industries (a Utah thrift store chain, for those unfamiliar). And I don't have a car for any of this, by the way. But no problem, I thought. I'll just load all that stuff in the rental truck and take it from there.

Okay, more packing. I spent most of the next couple of days finishing up. I got everything packed, though I didn't get a lot of sleep on Friday night. So now it's time to pick up the truck. I went outside to catch the bus that would take me to the train that would take me to the U-haul dealer. The bus never showed up. I waited long enough for two of those buses to come, and saw no trace of either one. So I walked to another street and fortuitously caught a bus that got me where I needed to go before they canceled my reservation — which, given what I had been told about the availability and demand for trucks that weekend, was a real concern, I thought. But I got there.

After waiting for almost 15 minutes in a line of other eager renters, I made my way to the counter to pick up the truck. It was then that I learned that the reservation I was told would be good for 24 hours was only going to be good from 10:00 until 4:00. This might not have been a problem if I'd had any other way to get the donation stuff to DI before they closed. I explained to them that I had been promised a 24 hour reservation and that I could not get done what I needed to do by 4:00. The clerk made a semi-valiant attempt at being apologetic but said there was no way I could have the truck for 24 hours. Finally he told me I could have it until 7:00, which was better, but still not as long as I felt I was going to need it.

So 10:00 am rolls around on Saturday morning, and I'm ready for the help to arrive. Normally in Utah, if you tell your ward that you're moving, church members show up in droves to help. Unfortunately, due to inflation or some other circumstance, a "drove" apparently now consists of three people. That made a total of four of us: me, my home teacher who has a bad back, a neighbor, and his 12-year-old son. Actually, the neighbor had to leave an hour into the project to pick up the son in question from a baseball game; I felt fortunate that the were able to come back. So my home teacher and I made due without him/them for a while. Then, just as the four or us were finishing packing the truck (minus the donation items, which would not fit on the smaller truck I was forced to settle for), the home teacher, who is also the building manager at a local condo complex, had to leave to take care of a maintenance problem. So now we were back down to three.

Did I mention that all of this was taking place with temperatures in the mid-90's?

So we got the truck to the new place and got it unloaded. We finished about 3:00, at which point they had to go. I still had some stuff back at the old place that wouldn't fit on the first load, so I made my way back to get it. At this point my arthritic ankle was really starting to hurt. So I decided to lie down for a few minutes to rest it. Much to my surprise, I fell asleep right there on the hard carpet of what used to be my/our dining room. Twenty minutes later, I had an even bigger surprise: apparently I twitched my ankle in my sleep, and it hurt so bad that it woke me up.

So I started moving stuff down to the truck, and the stiffness in my ankle made it slow and painful. I realized at about 5:00 that I wasn't going to make it. There just wasn't time to get the stuff to DI and get my own stuff to my new place and refuel and return the truck by 7:00. So I got the last of my own stuff on the truck and set out, hoping I'd figure out some brilliant way to get the rest of the stuff taken care of. Naturally, she was nowhere to be found in any of this.

I did still have to go to DI, however, to pick up a bed frame. I had made it there the day before with the help of the aforementioned home teacher and picked out one that looked like it would work well with the futon mattress I have. I made the necessary arrangements to reserve it for pickup the next day. So now I show up Saturday afternoon and show the guy at the dock my reservation ticket, and he goes in to get it. He comes back out a couple of minutes later saying they no longer have it. So I limp in after him to go look for it. We finally found it — fortunately they had put it in the back, off the sales floor — and got it onto the truck. I made my way to the new apartment, stopping only long enough to put the requisite amount of fuel in the truck to avoid the $20 refueling charge I'd been threatened with. I managed to get everything off the truck and into the new place by 6:30, which gave me plenty of time to get the truck back to the dealer.

I had noticed some road construction on the way to the new place, so I decided to take a shortcut back to the dealer to avoid it. Some of you may have heard that a ‘shortcut' is defined as ‘the longest distance between two points', and it this case, it was true. But I got only slightly lost, and was able to find my way back to U-haul with almost 7 minutes to spare.

Before he and his son had departed, my neighbor told me he'd take me home from the U-haul dealer if necessary. He gave me his cell phone number and told me to call him if I needed a ride. It was only when I had finished checking in the truck that I realized I had left his number on the kitchen counter at the old apartment.

So I limped next door to KFC to get dinner — my first real meal of the day, which may have been part of the problem. Then I limped back to the train station, a journey of about 3 blocks that took me more than 15 minutes to make. I got back downtown and caught a bus to the vicinity of the new apartment. Another 20-minute limp brought me to my new home, where I cleared a couple of boxes off the futon, and without setting up the bed frame or even putting sheet on it, I collapsed.

Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. With a little help from the aforementioned neighbor's family and my High Priests group leader, I managed to get everything out and get the apartment cleaned by the required deadline of noon on Monday. So now I'm in the new place, and all I have to do now is unpack. That, and write a couple of papers and study for a physics final on Thursday morning. No rest for the weary indeed.

Next time it comes time to move, sign me up for a root canal instead.

Beans about Politics

Amidst the ubiquitous stories about the disappearance of Lori Hacking and terrorism alerts, I saw a story on KSL TV tonight about a New Hampshire company that's introducing two new varieties of beans: Boston Baked Beans (for Democrats) and Texas Chili Beans (for Republicans). Each has a grinning charicature of the party's mascot -- a donkey on the baked benas and an elephant on the chili beans -- as well as tongue-in-cheek commentary about the opposing candidate. In addition to being amusing, a protion of the proceeds from each will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Unfortunately, as the anchorwoman pointed out, the company neglected to provide green beans for fans of Ralph Nader.