Top Five on Thursday

This week's Top Five on Friday from The Music Memoirs:

Top Five Sunshine Songs (Songs with "Sun" in the title)

Walking on the Sun by Smash Mouth
I love this group's sound, and this song is energetic, bouncy, and fun to listen to.

Sunshine on Leith by The Proclaimers
This is a beautiful song of love and gratitude.

Afraid of Sunlight by Marillion
Sometimes, some of us are more comfortable in the shadows.

Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves
I used this as the theme song for one of my Champions characters. Am I a geek, or what?

There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today
This hymn reminds me to keep a sunny disposition, even when the skies are cloudy.

Heresy

As you loyal readers have undoubtedly noticed, I recently ruffled the feathers of some of my know-it-all sci-fi fanboy friends by suggesting that 2001: A Space Odyssey was the worst movie I'd ever seen.^I I was assailed with insinuations of iconoclasm and calls to turn in my Sci-Fi Geek Card.^II All in all, it was rather an ugly scene.

And it's only going to get worse, because I'm about to publish another heresy.

At last week's meeting with the OGC, I borrowed season one of Babylon 5 from Curtis. Since last Thursday, I have watched the entire first season - all 22 episodes, plus director commentaries (2 episodes), the special features, and the two short documentaries. I am really digging this show.

I have always had a special place in my heart for this series. I first started watching B5 when it was originally in syndication. I enjoyed it, but it was on at such a time that I wasn't able to watch it regularly. Still, I could sense that there was something special going on with the show, even if I didn't know exactly what it was. Now that I've seen the full first season, I have a much better understanding and appreciation of the series.

And all of this leads me to today's heresy: Babylon 5 is better science fiction than either Star Wars or Star Trek.

Yes, yes, blasphemy, mea culpa and so forth. But don't banish me just yet. For your consideration, I present the following arguments in my defense.

A. The writing is better. This is where all the differences really begin. Star Trek had/has some interesting story arcs, but nothing to match the long-term, intricate, epic feel of B5. Not even the Dominion War - a pretty good story arc in its own right - really compares. And Star Wars? Don't even get me started on how bad the writing for that has been in recent years.^III

B. The character development is better. Admittedly, Star Wars is at a disadvantage here - you can't do a lot in the way of character development with two hours every three years. Still, it's hard for me to believe that a cardboard cutout like Anakin (and face it, that's what he's been in the first two Episodes) could be transformed into an awesome presence like Darth Vader.^IV Star Trek has traditionally had good character development - at least for most of the important characters. Even so, it took the writers there two to three seasons to uncover the kind of character depth I've seen in the first season of B5.

C. The science is better. Admittedly, science fiction requires the willing suspension of disbelief where science is concerned. That 300,000 km/sec rule can be a real pain when dealing with interstellar distances, after all. And yes, as the old sci-fi adage goes, any sufficiently advanced science or technology is indistinguishable from magic.^V But good science fiction has to have a sense of realism, too, and I feel that B5 excels here. Starfuries obey Newton's First Law where Runabouts and TIE Fighters don't. B5 simulates gravity the old-fashioned way, with rotational motion.^VI Energy blasts look like beams, not bullets. Not all creatures breathe oxygen. Ships behave differently in atmosphere than they do in a vacuum. And so forth. No, I'm not a science purist. I just think the B5 folks have done a better job with the details, and I like that fact.

D. The humor is better. Star Wars has some classic funny moments - most of them in the original trilogy, and many of them involving Han Solo. The 'prequel' episodes have suffered from much of the comedy being forced (read: Jar-Jar Binks). In Star Trek, it seems that a lot of the laughs come at the expense of the 'fish out of water' characters: Worf, Data, Spock, Odo, and so on. Still, both of these franchises are good for a lot of laughs from time to time. But as I watched the various B5 episodes, I found myself laughing a lot. Garibaldi's self-depreciation, Ivanova's bright and cheery fatalism, Londo's obnoxious, over-the-top, and often inebriated buffoonery, Na' Toth's caustic observations - these all come across so spontaneously and sincerely that they don't seem scripted. And humor is best when it's real.

E. The overall feel is better. The self-stated purpose of science fiction is to point toward the future, to offer a glimpse into what is to come for humanity. In this respect, I feel that Star Wars tends to look back, not forward. Yes, there are a lot of neat tech-toys and gadgets around, but the saga feels more like the past - the Old West, or feudal Asia - than the future. Star Trek offers a vision of the future that is hopeful and optimistic, but sometimes that vision can come across as sterile and antiseptic. Progress comes from adversity, and the Borg and Dominion notwithstanding, the human race doesn't have to face much adversity. All the big problems - crime, poverty, greed, war, etc. - have already been solved in the Star Trek universe. The human race is the master of its own fate and destiny. The Federation (read: humanity) is the bright and shining beacon of all that is good and right in the galaxy. As such, Star Trek tends to get overly moralistic and preachy sometimes. B5, on the other hand, shows a future in which the human race is striving to find its place in the universe. All of our current problems are still to be found there.^VII Furthermore, our place out there is very uncertain. There are powers older, bigger, and badder than us in the universe. Yes, we've learned a lot by the time we get to B5, but there is still much more for us as a people to see and learn and do. As it should be, I dare say.

I mean no disrespect to either the Star Wars or Star Trek franchises. I've seen all the movies and the vast majority of the TV episodes, most of them many times. I enjoy the time I spend in those universes. But Babylon 5 offers an experience unlike anything found in the other two shows. And I like that experience. I wish it were more accessible and more renowned.

Okay, that's my bit. Take your next vacation on Risa or Naboo, if you'd like. Me, I'll take a room in Red Sector and spend my days in the gardens or the marketplaces of the central corridor, topped off with dinner at the Zogalo. And if you'd like to join me, I'll save you a place.

--
^I In all honesty, I probably didn't answer the right question there. 2001 was simply the first bad movie that came to mind when I saw the question. But even if it's not the worst movie I've ever seen - and granted, it's probably not - I still think it's probably the most overrated. It's certainly the most soporific.

^II Fine, if that's what you really want, I'll turn in my card - but you'll all have to turn in your IDICs in return. Deal? Otherwise, get off me.

^III George Lucas seems to be the only person who doesn't recognize what a poor writer he has become. His plot lines are shallow, and his dialogue is downright painful. If not for the extended battle sequence at the end, SWE2:AotC could also have been my nominee for 'worst movie I've ever seen'.

^IV I really hope E3 will give me a reason to make some connection between the two characters/incarnations. Of course, I had hoped that E2 would give me a reason to feel sorry that Anakin had fallen, and it didn't. We'll see.

^V Or, if you're a gamer, that sentence ends with "...from plot device."

^VI Just like in 2001: A Space Odyssey. There, I said something nice about it. Satisfied?

^VII After all, can we really expect in 250 years to eradicate the problems we have failed to overcome in the last six millennia of recorded history?

Today's Useless Fact

Do cats have an internal compass? Take a look at this:

Taken away from their homes, [some cats] seem able to remember where they live. The key to this "homing ability" could be a built-in celestial navigation, similar to that used by birds, or the cats' navigational ability could be attributed to the cats' sensitivity to Earth's magnetic field. When magnets are attached to cats, their normal navigational skills are disrupted.^‡

You know what that means? It means that somebody somewhere probably received grant money to shave cats, tape magnets to their bodies, turn them loose in the wild, and record the results. I've got to find the original journal article and review the methodology.

Don't we have more serious scientific issues to explore...?

--
^‡ The Handy Science Answer Book; comp. Science and Technology Dept., Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; Visible Ink Press: Farmington Hills, MI, 1997; p. 306. (Emphasis added.)

Easter Morning

That Easter morn, a grave that burst
Proclaimed to man that "Last and First"
Had risen again
And conquered pain.

This morn renews for us that day
When Jesus cast the bonds away,
Took living breath
And conquered death.

Thus we in gratitude recall
And give our love, and pledge our all,
Shed grateful tear
And conquer fear.

(Hymn #198, LDS Hymnal [1985]. Words by Marion D. Hanks, music by Robert Cundick.)

Who's on Feast?

Friday's Feast, 25 March 2005 - Welcome back!

Appetizer What is the worst movie you've ever seen?
2001: A Space Odyssey. Yes, I'm a sci-fi fan, and yes, I appreciate cerebral (i.e., 'real') science fiction. And this was probably a pretty decent piece of 'real' science fiction - but I couldn't stay awake long enough to find out. Is everything Kubrick did this boring?

Soup Name something that reminds you of your childhood.
I saw a copy of Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go a while back. Talk about memories! I must have read that book a thousand times.

Salad If you had to live in a large city, which one would you want it to be?
Salt Lake City is far and away the largest city in which I've ever lived, and it's just about right.

Main Course What's a "big word" you like to use to impress people?
I've got a fairly substantial vocabulary, and I use "big words" all the time. But when I do, it's not^a because I'm trying to impress^b someone; it's because a smaller word does not adequately express what I'm trying to say.

Dessert Describe your hairstyle.
For the past year or so, my 'hairstyle' has consisted of having my head shaved with clippers set at 3½ every two to three weeks. I've recently become tired of that, however. So I'm in the rather frustrating process of trying to grow it out again. I'm almost to the point where it's long enough to part again.

--
^a ...usually...
^b ...or intimidate...

Retro Tuesday Music Thing

This week's questions from The Music Memoirs' "Take Me Back Tuesday":

1. What one artist would you like to travel back in time to see in their "hey day?", and why?
Beethoven. I've read about the premiere of his Ninth Symphony and the reaction he got from the crowd; I'd like to have seen it.

2. If you could go back in time to buy one musical related item that you wanted, but didn't purchase at the time, what would it be?
I should have bought Rocket Scientists' debut album, "Earthbound", while it was still in print.

3. If you could travel back in time and give any artist/band a piece of advice, who would it be and what would your advice be?
My advice goes out to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, Patsy Cline, Glenn Miller, and John Denver:
TAKE THE BUS!

FRAG!

I spent all day yesterday defragging my hard drive. No, really . . . it literally took all day to do it. Longer, actually.

During the break last week, I'd been making myself some CDs - song mixes, that sort of thing. And my CD burner was having problems with some of them. I probably made 6-8 coasters^§ last week. The last time I had this problem, Curtis (I think, or it may have been Allen) recommended that I defrag my hard drive. Sure enough, that solved it.

I've added a lot of music to my computer in recent weeks. I probably have 95+% of my popular music collection on my hard drive, plus all my comedy stuff, plus significant percentages of my classical and New Age collections. (The only glaring omission that I can see it in the realm of soundtracks. I hope to have that fixed by the end of April as well.) All told, I have about 36.6 gigabytes of stuff on the hard drive, and probably three quarters (¾) of it is music.

So I started the defrag on Saturday night at about 7:30. The last time I had done this, it took all night to run, so I turned the monitor off when I turned in and let the machine run. I was a little surprised when I woke up Sunday morning to see that the process was only 48% complete. So I let it continue to run. And by the time I turned in last night, it was all the way up to 81%. Woo-hoo!

It was finally finished when I woke up this morning. I haven't tried to burn any CDs yet, but I'll probably do so as soon as I get this post up successfully. Wish me luck!

--
^§What else are you supposed to do with a CDR that doesn't burn properly?

Just In Case

Heaven forbid that my loved ones should ever have to face such a dilemma. But if a time should ever come that a feeding tube or something similar is all that's keeping me alive, I want there to be no questions about what I want to have happen:

Turn it off.

That's my decision and my desire - no debates, no second-guessing. And no regrets. If I should ever reach such a point, then I've already left the building. Let me go.

I don't want to spend my final earthy hours/weeks/years as a headline. I don't want to be fodder for protracted legal battles. I don't want Congress deciding my fate.

It would be nice if those closest to me could take a few moments to say goodbye. Wherever I am, I'll hear you. Then send me to the transplant unit. If my mind is gone, maybe my body can still be useful.

I hope my family and friends will never find themselves in this situation. But if it should come to pass, you know what to do. Send me on my way. I've got better places to be.

And what did she mean, 'Slow of mind'?

I went to a local drive-through today for lunch. I ordered a couple of sandwiches and a beverage and pulled up to the second window. The girl inside handed me my drink, and I handed her the money. She gave me back my change, and I thanked her and drove off. It was about six blocks later that I realized that I had left without my sandwiches.

My mind is going, Dave.

So I drove back and pulled up to the window. The girl had my food waiting for me. She said she'd tried to yell, but obviously I didn't hear her over the roaring engine of the Dreadnought. I thanked her for keeping my food warm and drove back home, lunch firmly in hand, tail firmly between legs.

I take some comfort in knowing that I'm not the only one. One of my friends recently reported that (s)he had done the very same thing. So, my friend - you know who you are - you're not alone. I feel your pain.

Friday Music Thing

Since there is no Friday's Feast this week, I present this week's Top Five on Friday from The Music Memoirs:

Top 5 songs/albums you listen to when you are stressed

The Music of Cosmos
This is quite possibly my favorite CD ever. Through this album - yes, it was on vinyl when I first owned it - I was introduced to the music of Vangelis, Isao Tomita, and Alan Hovhaness, and to specific pieces by several other composers. Playing this CD lets me board the spaceship of my imagination and see the universe in all of its splendor. That always helps me to put my own problems into their proper perspective.

Classical Music For Home Improvements
This is a collection of classical pieces by composers ranging from Beethoven to Verdi to Wagner to Sousa, all of them upbeat and energetic. The collection starts off with Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and moves straight into Strauss' "Also Spracht Zarathustra". The experience ends just over an hour later with the boisterous finale from Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture". Just the thing for a quick recharge.

In Classical Mood, vol. 9: Bittersweet Memories
This is another classical collection filled with quieter, more contemplative music that evokes feelings of memory and longing. Highlights include Elgar's "Cello Concerto in E Minor", Sibelius' "The Swan of Tuonela", Bruch's "Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor", and of course, Barber's poignant "Adagio for Strings".

Watermark by Enya
I always find Enya's music to be soothing, and this one's my favorite. Plus, there are some fond memories I associate with the music on this CD. My favorites here are the title track, "Cursum Perficio", and "The Longships".

Surfing With the Alien by Joe Satriani
Sometimes when I'm stressed, I just need to listen to something fast and loud to get me out of it. In these situations, Satch is just the ticket. Favorite track: "Crushing Day".

Spring Break

Today marks the beginning of spring break at the University of Utah. So, I'm off to warmer climes, to spend the week in unfettered revelry. Well, okay, maybe not. I still have to go to work this week. Additionally, I have an exam in Thermodynamics next Wednesday, not to mention the senior comprehensives on the 25th and 26th. So for the most part, this week is going to be a lot like any other week - work and studying. But there are some subtle differences. Take today, for example.

I got home from church yesterday to discover that at some point over the weekend, some idiot(s) decided to redecorate the Dreadnought with raw eggs. &#$%!! vandals.¹ It's not that I'm worried about the car's finish - it's a 15-year-old Suburban with the original paint, after all. But it's a pain in the neck to clean up.² So I drove down to the car wash this morning and gave it a good power scrub. That took most of the egg off. When it gets a little warmer, I'll tackle the rest of it the old fashioned way: with elbow grease and exotic chemicals!

From there, I drove to the post office to pick up tax forms. I normally try to get this done as early in the tax season as possible, but I've delayed doing it this year because I figured I was going to owe money. You see, the HR department for my company is not great about withholding the appropriate amount when one's hours for a pay period drop below a certain threshold. So when I changed my withholding status (from married to single) last year, I chose zero exemptions. Then, on the line below that, I indicated that I wanted an additional $10 each paycheck to be withheld. The HR lady apparently got confused and interpreted all of that the mean that I was claiming ten exemptions. And I, like an idiot, never paid enough attention to my pay stubs to catch the mistake. Long story short, my company didn't withhold squat. It's not as bad as I'd feared, though. I owe the state of Utah $24, but with the federal EIC, I'm getting just over $90 back from the IRS. And that's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick any way you look at it.

Then came the studying in earnest. I'm taking two comprehensive departmental exams (the 'senior comps') at the end of next week: one involving organic chemistry, and the other having to do with analytical chemistry. To hep refresh my (fond?) memories of O-chem, I dug up a helpful little trade book called Organic Chemistry Made Ridiculously Simple. It lays out the basics of the discipline in sufficient detail to learn them, but not so much that it becomes confusing. It also organizes the different reactions in a way that I find very helpful. I found this book on the discount rack at the Book$tore. Quite possibly the best $8 I ever spent, academically speaking.

As for the analytical exam, I'm reviewing the textbook and notes from the lab class I just finished. And in case it ever comes up in conversation, analytical chemistry is probably my least favorite variety. It's annoyingly tedious and unnecessarily detailed. The first four letters of the term 'analytical chemistry' are not coincidental. It was just such a class at BYU that convinced me that I didn't want to be a chemical engineer.

And then there's the usual complement of classwork: biochem, calculus, and thermo. We just started multiple integrals in calculus, so that should prove challenging. Thermo is always challenging, which is why it's a senior level class, I suppose. And if you've been reading for a while, you already know how I feel about biochem.

So, that's my day, with more of the same the rest of the week. And I really ought to get some spring cleaning done along the way....

--
¹ No disrespect intended toward the Vandals, a group of butt-kicking barbarians who toured Europe centuries ago and are probably among my ancestors.

² I heard at church yesterday that three people in my neighborhood had their windows broken and stuff stolen from their cars, so I suppose I should be grateful. Of course, the perps may have decided there probably wasn't anything worth stealing from my car.

Dream — Temporary Madness

I think I've always been fascinated by dreams. I remember being very young and waking up excitedly from a nap, I think. We had been somewhere that day and seen a rainbow, and then I dreamed about that rainbow. My little mind was thrilled at the realization that I was dreaming about something I had seen.

As years passed, I learned more about scientific understanding of dreams. I learned about REM sleep and the mind's mechanism for processing information subconsciously. I was surprised to learn that not everyone dreams in full color or with sound, the way I did (and do). And I learned about dream analysis, and how hit-or-miss that could be.

Dreaming for me goes in cycles. There are some times when I'll awaken and remember dreams vividly. Then there are times when I'll go weeks or months without remembering any of my dreams. Sometimes I'll even have premonitional dreams. I won't remember anything about the dream when I wake up, but some time later, I'll find myself in a situation and I'll just know that I've seen it before - in a dream. On one occasion, I found myself remembering the conversation and realized what was happening. I knew that a certain question was coming, and I could remember how I had answered it. So when that question came up, I intentionally answered it differently. In the end, however, the conversation turned out exactly the same as I had remembered anyway. It kind of freaked me out.

I had two dreams last night that I can remember pretty clearly. In the first, I was a superhero. I was part of a team, and we were fighting against some powerful madman. He would systematically capture members of the team and try to bribe and/or bully them into working for him. The rest of us would then have to attack the villain's headquarters and break out our teammates. I remember going into a fight with only one other teammate with me - responding to a sneak attack, perhaps? Then I remember being in the villain's lair, waking up with a headache and feeling generally rotten. He handed me a cup full of something and told me to drink it. I did, and it tasted like Thera-Flu. I said, "Thank you." And that's where it ended.

The other dream was much shorter. I was a soldier, and I had been deployed with a lot of other soldiers. We were in the desert, it seems, and airplanes just kept coming in, dropping more soldiers and support vehicles with each pass. I was talking with someone about it, trying to explain things to someone who didn't understand what was going on. A reporter, maybe. That's about all I remember.

I don't know what it all means. Were Freud still alive, he would probably tell me it had something to do with repressed desires for my mother, or something similarly helpful.^¤ One dream was quite fantastic, while the other was much more realistic. There was the common element of conflict in both dreams. Does this mean that my brain is trying to work out some sort of inner struggle? I don't know. I don't feel particularly conflicted with anyone or anything at the moment. Or maybe underlying theme is a struggle rather than conflict. Maybe the dreams are trying to tell me to keep going, and not to quit fighting. That would seem to make more sense. On the other hand, maybe it's just something I ate last night. I just don't know.

It gives me something to think about, anyway. Now, however, the demands of the real world start to make themselves felt. I've got to leave for choir practice in just over ninety minutes, and I haven't eaten or showered yet. Time to wake up.

--
^¤That's the way it is with Freud: "If it isn't one thing, it's your mother." (quoted from Robin Williams)

Meditations Upon an Ironing Board

I still have a white dress shirt that I bought a few years ago. I don't wear it very often. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice shirt. But it's 100% cotton and of a very light fabric, which leave it susceptible to wrinkles. So every time I want to wear that shirt, I have to iron it first.

It's been a while since I've worn that shirt. I thought I'd like to wear it tomorrow to church. Since we have the early block at our building, and since the choir is meeting half an hour before church to practice for our song tomorrow, I decided I'd rather iron tonight than early tomorrow morning. So I got the ironing board set up, got the shirt in question (and one other) out of the closet, and started to work.

It was a little more difficult than I remember. I probably haven't ironed anything in 3-4 months, and I found that I had lost a little of my touch. I was ironing out creases that I had inadvertently put in, that sort of thing. And I was wondering, "Why is this so difficult?"

One of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson came to mind: "That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased."

In other words, I was having difficulty ironing because I was out of practice.

Back in high school, I was one of the "brainy kids". (And Derek will back me up on this, there weren't many at my high school.) My mind was like the proverbial sponge, soaking up any and all knowledge it was exposed to. My lifelong mastery of useless trivia started way back then. One useful side effect was that I hardly ever had to study. I could go to class, listen to the lecture, and have the material down. In fact, other than writing papers for Ms. Schulz's Research Class From Hades, I can't really remember doing homework much in high school.

That changed a little in college, where the material was a lot harder. Still, I managed to do minimal studying away from class, and in most cases, did well enough on the tests to make it through.

Well, the past year or so has been an entirely different story. I'm learning that my mind doesn't retain things the way it used to, and that the intuitive learning style I used to rely upon no longer works very well. For really the first time in my life, I have to study and do my homework if I'm going to be successful. Practice and persist, and eventually the hard stuff becomes easy. I hope.

Maybe I need to iron more often.

Feast Lightning

Friday's Feast, 11 March 2005

Appetizer Where do you go when you want to relax?
I like to go outside for a walk, usually with music on the CD player (sorry, no pod for me yet). Long walks always relax me and give me a chance to think things through - although I may have to walk a couple of miles or more if I'm really stressed out.

Soup Tell about something that made you laugh this week.
I spent last night with the OGC (Ogden gaming consortium). In addition to gaming, the evening was filled with bad jokes, puns, movie references, song references, smart-aleck parenthetical comments on what other players' characters were saying, and Jon (who's from New Jersey) pronouncing the name of my character (a interdimensional/time traveling Egyptian warrior) in a Jersey accent. Much laughter was enjoyed by all.

Salad What is your favorite texture?
Human skin. There is nothing so sublime, so pleasant as the caring touch of another person.

Main Course If you were to publish your autobiography, what would the first sentence be?
"The story you are about to read is true. There's no way even I could have made all of this up."

Dessert Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so, how?
I celebrate it by wearing green. I don't really know why, since I'm not Catholic, although I have nothing orange I might wear as an alternative. I don't drink beer (green or otherwise), I don't really care for corned beef or cabbage, and pinching people would probably just get me sued.

Red Menace

I saw this over at T-Shirt Humor. I just about fell out of my chair laughing:



Maybe I'm paranoid - living in a red state and all - but the idea of Howard Dean with a sword and face paint makes me just a bit nervous....

Random Morning Thoughts

From The Daily Humorscope:
"Nobody knows the trouble you've seen. Let's just hope you can somehow keep it that way!"

From my old friend, The Liz:
"I heard on the news today that Michael Jackson is going to fight the charges against him tooth and nail. Apparently those are the only original body parts he has left."

From a t-shirt at mental_floss:
"Gregor Mendel - Giving peas a chance since 1856"

Lyrics of the Day

As I was driving around today (see below), I heard these lyrics:

Out my window, winter is almost over
I can almost see the sun behind these clouds
Looking back on where I was one year ago today
Laughin' at the shape I'm in now
   -Todd Snider, "I Spoke as a Child"

I've said it before, and I'll undoubtedly say it again:

What a difference a year makes.

Zion's Paperboy

{or, A Look at My Day}

My calling is my current ward is Newsletter Coordinator. In other words, when the ward newsletter comes back from Kinko's (or wherever they have it printed), the copies are brought to me. I am armed with a list of ward members, divided up into delivery routes, and a big box of plastic bags used to hang the newsletters from ward members' doorknobs. The aforementioned list also has the names of the people who will actually be making the deliveries. My job is to divide up the newsletters - making sure that there are also adequate hang bags for each route - and get them to the delivery people in time for them to make deliveries on the afternoon of the Saturday before the first Sunday of the month.

(I will also be updating the list according to who moves in or out during the month, but that's not directly related to what I did today.)

The newsletters were waiting for me when I got home from training the newest bunch of recruits on Thursday night. What was not waiting for me was the delivery list. That list was given to me on a diskette, but I gave it back to the bishopric for updating after I finished up last month. So Friday after classes, I called the bishopric member that I report to on the matter, and he said he didn't have the disk. He recommended that I call the executive secretary. I did so, and he said he didn't have the disk either, but he would make me a new one. So I picked up the disk on my way home from work last night, and I was in business.

So I woke up this morning at around 6:30 and printed up the list. (No, I didn't set my alarm; that's just when I happened to wake up. Kind of a shame, really, since I don't have to work on Saturdays any more.) I started dividing up the newsletters and bags and organized them for delivery. Then I threw on a baseball cap, fired up the Dreadnought, and made the rounds. I was done by 8:05.

By the way, did I mention that when I got out the big box of hang bags, the diskette was in there? I'm a dork.

At that point, I had to drive to the call center to pick up my paycheck, because like a cornball (Quornball?) I left it at work last night. I chatted briefly with Theron, the other manager, about what we had done last night and what was left for him. Then I made my way back across town to the credit union to put my check in. I got there 15 minutes before the drive-up window was open, so I came home to take care of a couple of quick things.

I made my way back to the credit union a bit after 9:00 and put in my check. Then I drove down University Avenue/500 South/400 South (if you've been here, you know what I'm talking about) and stopped at Smith's to pick up a few groceries. I prefer to shop at a smaller, independent store a little closer to my house, but they don't carry what I was looking for. Besides, Smith's gives students a 5% discount at that location - which makes things cost only slightly more than they do at Dan's.

From there, I got on the freeway and headed to Flying J on 2100 South. Yes, it's out of the way, especially considering that I'd been within half of a mile of it when I stopped to pick up my check earlier. But gas there is significantly cheaper than it is where I live, and the Dreadnought's 25+ gallon tank makes it worth the drive. I spent $45 and got just under 25 gallons of gas in it. Yeah, I was pretty close to empty. But hey, I haven't put gas in it for almost a month.

Then I came home and started a load of laundry, without which I'd have been a little limited in what else I could do for the rest of the day. Once that was going, I slapped one of my Rush mix CDs into the kitchen stereo and started in on the dishes. It took about an hour. It seems like I'm forever doing dishes in this place. It makes me wonder sometimes if anyone else in the house even knows how.

In the midst of finishing the laundry, I started writing out checks for bills and balancing the checkbook. Once I found out how much I had to work with, I ventured down to Dan's and did my real shopping. For the curious, Saturday afternoon is not the best time to try to maneuver an '89 Suburban through a crowded supermarket parking lot.

And that pretty much brings me up to now. I found out that I'm going to be assisting with tomorrow's Sunday school lesson (again, I'll talk about that in a separate post), so I have some reading to do. I'm also going to be talking to Brian in a bit about gaming. He's running a campaign for the OGC (Ogden gaming consortium), of which I'm becoming a semi-full-fledged member next week, so I need to find out what will expected of my character. And I really ought to start studying for my calculus midterm next Wednesday.

And the road goes on.

Word Guru

The Commonly Confused Words Test

Advanced
You scored 100% Beginner, 93% Intermediate, 87% Advanced, and 72% Expert!

You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score.

Test statistics:
Compared to users who took the test and are and in your age group:
* 100% had lower Beginner scores.
* 100% had lower Intermediate scores.
* 100% had lower Advanced scores.
* 100% had lower Expert scores.

Not too shabby for a science guy, eh?

A Feast Full of Dollars

Friday's Feast, 4 March 2005

Appetizer Who is the one person you email more often than anyone else?
Probably Curtis, especially now that I'm going to be able to see him and the rest of the Ogden gaming consortium on a regular basis.

Soup So far, which year of your life has been the most enjoyable?
Most enjoyable...hrmmm. Tough call. My junior year in high school^‡ was pretty cool. My second year at BYU was quite enjoyable, even if it ultimately led to my not going back. 2002 was pretty good. 2005 is already orders of magnitude better than 2004 was.

Salad Name someone with whom you have lost touch but would like to reunite.
My ex-nephew, Cameron. He's a hoot!

Main Course What was the tastiest meal you had this past week?
This past week has been dreadfully busy. I have vague recollections of having eaten, but nothing specific comes to mind. Sad, isn't it?

Dessert Using the letters in your favorite color, write three words that describe your personality.
PLAyful, Intelligent, Dedicated.

--
^‡ Hint: Springstein, Madonna, way before Nirvana...

Showing Love

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:34 - 40

(See also Derek's post for today.)

Where'd I put that mirror...?

Thanks to Curtis for making me aware of this little quiz.

Which Fantasy / SciFi Character Are You?

Galadriel

Possessing a rare combination of wisdom and humility, while serenely dominating your environment you selflessly use your powers to care for others.

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.