Perchance to Dream

Last weekend (July 23-25)^o was another busy weekend in Michael's world. July 24th is a state holiday here in Utah. Pioneer Day celebrates the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake valley on July 24th, 1847. That meant no classes for me on Monday. And since I don't work on Mondays anyway, it meant that I found myself with a three day weekend. Woo-hoo!

After a quick run to the bank to deposit my paycheck, Saturday morning started with trip to the Salt Lake temple with Nancy.ⁱ (No, not that kind of a trip.) I love spending time in the temple. It's quiet and peaceful and beautiful, fully conducive to pondering the things that really matter in life. It's also nice to have a close friend there to talk to about some of those things. The whole experience was uplifting and cleansing. I should make a point to do it more often.

From there we went to lunch, then back to the house for a little quiet time together. We got a call/text message from one of her friends about going to a sneak preview of Must Love Dogs. So we went and met two of her friends there. It was a fun show, even for a gender-specific film.ⁱⁱ The reviews I've seen are average to bad, but I enjoyed it. Ice cream at Baskin Robbins followed thereafter, with the four of us sitting on the tailgate of the Dreadnought in the parking lot and enjoying the music of Crenshaw on the stereo. And we began making plans for the following evening.

Sunday morning was rather uneventful, meaning that I went to church without having to worry about giving a lesson.ⁱⁱⁱ I've already written about the rather disturbing experience I had Sunday afternoon. And Sunday night was spent at Nancy's house getting ready for Monday's festivities.

I've lived in Utah for most of my adult life, but in that time I've never been to the Days of '47 Parade. So the same gang of four from the previous night's movie decided we'd go downtown and camp out so that we could get a really good spot. We had the built-in advantage that Nancy's brother-in-law's parents had already staked out a place. The four of us arrived just after 10:00 p.m. and started setting up blankets and such.

We all played games and talked well into the small hours, at which time we variously determined to try to get some sleep. It was not an easy thing to accomplish. The night was filled with annoyances such as drag-racing bullet bikes, drunken hecklers, and idiots on walkie-talkie phones. Seriously, what could possibly be so important that you have to talk about it on a walkie-talkie phone at two-thirty in the bloody morning? Okay, I'm done ranting now.

So those in the group finally got to sleep somewhere between two and four o'clock. It was a beautiful night—not too warm with a pleasant breeze, and once you got past all the noise, it wasn't too hard to get some rest.

Until the sprinklers came on at a quarter to five.

Everybody else panicked and tried to get everything off the grass. Me? I was so out of it that I just grabbed someone else's blanket and pulled it over me. No more irritating water on my face, problem solved. Well, maybe not so much.

The sprinklers stayed on for less than a minute ^iv, but that was enough to give everything (and everyone) a pretty good soaking. It also meant that we were all wide awake now. I managed to get a little more rest before sunup, but I never really got back to sleep.

Sometime around 6:00 they started blocking off the street. People had set up some chairs in front of the driveway to the parking lot. So I backed the Dreadnought into the driveway and dropped the tailgate. Víola! Instant seating for the parade.

Before the parade started, though, there were a couple of races. The first of the runners came by just after 6:00. (Or was it 6:30? I can't remember.) There weren't a lot of people lining the street at that time, and the ones that were there weren't making much noise. So we did. We clapped and shouted and cheered and got a lot of smiles from the runners. One of the ladies sitting near us had brought a spray bottle with her and spent most of the next 45 minutes running out into the street and misting the runners as they went by. She was exceptionally well received.

The parade started at 9:00 as advertised. The festivities started with a Blackhawk helicopter flyover, courtesy of the Utah Air National Guard. President Gordon B. Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was one of the dignitaries. Others included the governor and vice governor of Utah, both of the state's Senators, two of the three Representatives, the mayor of Salt Lake county, and most of the city council. In fact, about the only significant Utah political figure absent was Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. He has had some problems getting along with most of the above-mentioned persons and/or entities, so I wondered whose decision it had been not to include him: his, or theirs.

The parade also included motorcycle cops riding in formation, horsemen (horsepersons?), floats, and of course, marching bands. I have a soft spot in my heart for marching bands, having played tuba in both high school and college. I looked and listened for the tuba players specifically, I'll admit. Some of them did a pretty good job.

Once the parade ended, we came back to my place for a little rest. We each took a few minutes to get cleaned up, after which we had a little lunch and crashed in the front room on the couches. There were fireworks to be seen that night, but not by me. I was beat.

All in all it was a good weekend, if a little tiring. It only took me until Friday to recover, really. And now I have another weekend's experiences to write about. More on that later. For now, I must rest.

Can't...keep...eyes...open...
ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

--
^oYes, it's taken me a week to blog this. Finals are coming. Get off me.

ⁱNancy has previously been known here only as The Girl.

ⁱⁱ'Gender-specific film' is the politically-correct term for a 'chick flick', or so I'm led to believe.

ⁱⁱⁱOf course, I taught Sunday school this morning.

^ivWhich made me wonder why they had been turned on at all. When you've lived in Utah for a while, you learn not to question these sorts of things.

Friday's Feast: I'm Out of Clever Subtitles

Friday's Feast, 30 July 2005.

Appetizer Name 3 people whom you admire for their intelligence.
Derek: He wraps his brain around sociological principles and seemingly contradictory ideas in ways that makes my skull ache.
Curtis: It sometimes amazes me to find out how much he know, and how easily he picks up on abstract concepts that I struggle with. And I'll never know the HERO System as well as he does.
Dad: He is the most well-read person I expect I am ever likely to meet. He has this really annoying talent: he can read a book while the TV or radio is on and pick up both.

Soup What's the last food you tried that you really didn't care for?
I got the mahi mahi platter at a local sit-down / take-out restaurant. The fish was okay—if a little dry—but I could definitely have gone without the kim chee side dish.

Salad If you could rename the street that you live on, what would you want it to be called?
Calle del Nombre Tonto

Main Course When was the last time you were genuinely surprised?
July 4th, when I asked The Girl for her phone number. She said I even looked shocked.

Dessert Share a household tip.
A little bit of cleaning at a time spread over several days beats the heck out of a whole bunch of it all at once.

A Good Start

As I had hoped, one of the two people most responsible for the NHL lockout is gone.

Goodenow stepping down as head of NHL players' union

Good to hear, and not a moment too soon. What you've done to the game I love over the past year is inexcusable, Bob. Goodbye and good riddance.

One down, one to go. Are you listening, Commissioner Bettman?

Prankster? Me?

The Prankster (30% dark, 34% spontaneous, 27% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | LIGHT Your humor has an intellectual, even conceptual slant to it. You're not pretentious, but neither are you into what some would call 'low humor'. You'd laugh at a good dirty joke, but you definitely prefer something clever to something moist. You probably like well-thought-out pranks and/or spoofs and it's highly likely you've tried one of these things yourself. In a lot of ways, yours is the most entertaining type of humor. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Conan O'Brian - Ashton Kutcher

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 14% on dark You scored higher than 14% on spontaneous You scored higher than 42% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating

SML8: Turn Your Head and Cough

So, that unlikeliest of possibilities has finally come to pass. Lockhed Martin has, at least temporarily, stopped its free fall. Too bad Aetna has now taken up the role of Loser of the Week...

Aetna: -4.93 to 76.45
Barnes & Noble: +1.03 to 41.34
Motorola: +0.50 to 20.00
Safeway: -0.62 to 23.75
Lockheed Martin: +0.25 to 62.00

Aetna has lost 7.87 over the past two weeks, which represents a 9.33% drop from its high value and a drop of 4.14% since the beginning of the semester. Of course, even with this week's gain, Lockheed Martin is still the big loser, with an overall loss of 4.70% of the opening value. And for the first time in this game, my overall gains are behind those of the market.

Aetna: -3.30 (-4.14%)
Barnes & Noble: +3.15 (+8.25%)
Motorola: +2.26 (+12.74%)
Safeway: +1.23 (+5.46%)
Lockheed Martin: -3.05 (-4.70%)

Overall Value: $103,498.00 (+3.50%)
S&P 500 Index: 1233.68 (+5.53%)

I love market volatility. T-bills, anyone?

At The End Of The Day

I hadn't gone to the Singles Ward for about three weeks. With the way things have been working out with The Girl, I guess I haven't had a lot of motivation. I went today to try to meet with one of my friends, but he ended up not being there. But that wasn't too surprising. This is a holiday weekend in Utah, after all.

I was surprised by something I saw in the foyer, though. There was a picture of one of the ward members on a small stand. Scattered around the table were brightly colored sheets of scrapbooking paper. And then I saw the note next to the picture. It encouraged everyone to write down a memory of the girl to put into a scrapbook for her mother.

I finally got to talk to someone I knew about this. She told me that the girl had died a week or two ago from some sort of cardiovascular condition.

I was stupefied. I still am a little, I guess. I knew this girl, at least in passing, from the ward choir. She was not old; she was about my age, give or take a couple of years. There were no outward signs of illness that I ever saw or heard about. She seemed happy, energetic, and full of life.

And now she's gone.

I don't know why this is affecting me so much. I didn't really know her. But I suppose I see in her a bit of myself and those of you out there who are close to me.

I have a dear friend who recently lost her father to cancer at a relatively young age--not that much older than my parents are. She's had a hard time with it, as I know I would if my Mom or Dad died.

I've been lucky; I've never yet lost someone that close to me. But I know I'll have to deal with that one day. I don't know how I'll handle it. And I know that when I shuffle off this mortal coil, there will be some who grieve at my passing. It pains me to know that I won't be able to do anything for them.

There were a lot of notes on the table about this girl. I looked at a few of them just briefly. Those who took the time to remember her to her mother told stories of friendship and service and laughter and love. It looks like she left a lot of friends behind. She lived her life as fully as she could, and in so doing, she made a difference in the lives of a lot of other people.

Maybe that's what I'm supposed to learn from all this. Maybe it's not the grand plans and the big accomplishments we leave behind us that define us and prepare us for the great beyond. Maybe it's the friendships and the family relationships and the small impacts we have on those around us day by day that really define us.

Enough. I'll never know how much time I or anyone else may have to live. And I don't need to. All I need to do is go out each day and give it the best I've got, and try to live each day better than the one before.

It's time to go out and live.

There is no hand waiting that must be paid
We will leave our encores all unplayed
At the end of the day
-Spock's Beard

Friday Music Meme Thing

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

Top 5 songs that involve travel.

Icarus II by Kansas
This song is haunting story of a World War II bomber pilot and his crew. Possibly the group's best song since the classic "Point of Know Return" album.

Wolf Creek Pass by C.W. McCall
I've been over Wolf Creek Pass, and it's just about like this song describes. The only difference is that in real life, there is no feed store in downtown Pagosa Springs.

Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
I chose this song just because it's what Zefram Cochran played when his ship made the first human warp flight in "Star Trek: First Contact." And it was in "Sahara", too. Yeah, I'm a geek.

Red Barchetta by Rush
It's great to be able just to jump in the car and drive. And it would suck to live in a dystopian future where that sort of behavior was considered criminal.

The Mayflower by Jon & Vangelis
What a wonder it is to explore the unknown, to leave the security of everyday life in search of a new land.

Ten Days

Wednesday
On Wednesdays I usually drive to work fairly early in the morning so I can park there and take the train to school. That way, when my classes are over, I can take the train back to work, then drive home at the end of the night. It saves me from having to park on campus and from having to rely on public transportation to get home late at night.

As I usually do, I went in to the call center for a moment before heading to school and talked to Jason, the Field Director (i.e., my boss). He told me of an unusual situation that was developing. Jack, the QA manager, had called to say he had a family situation and would not be coming in that night. This normally would not be a big deal, but we'd been having a lot of temps, and Jack normally serves as Overlord.

So Jason asked if I'd mind if we cancelled that evening's scheduled training session so that I could oversee the temps. I agreed to it; my voice was not in the best shape that morning, so it was kind of a relief. Jason called everyone who was scheduled to let them know, and I spent the evening handling the reservists. It was kind of a nice feeling, being out on the floor and talking with people, knowing that someone else was ultimately in charge of things for the night. A pleasant change.

Thursday
Thursday was pinkeye day. I made my way down to the corner drugstore and bought some eye drops, some Kleenex pocket packs, and some waterless hand sanitizer. I spent the day using all of them in liberal amounts.

I took a break from studying long enough to have The Girl over for dinner and a movie. I barbecued some steaks, which she loved but I thought could have been more tender. Then I introduced her to , a really funny murder mystery spoof. It has a fantastic cast, including David Niven, Peter Falk, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, and Alec Guinness as the blind butler ("Don't let him park the car, Dickie."). Good times. And yes, I managed not to give her pinkeye.

Friday
Most of Friday morning was spent studying for a Calculus exam. My eye was feeling a little better, though the infection by this time had begun to spread to the other eye. Lovely.

We had only two projects at work Friday night that required us to call past 8:00 p.m. We finished one of them early in the evening, and the other was something we could call on nationwide the following day. So the shift mercifully ended at 8:00 instead of 10:00.

Saturday
I had a small training session on Saturday. Three fine young people came in and went through the orientation and proved they were capable of doing the job. My eyes were feeling pretty much normal by this time, which also helped the session to fly by. I got the newbies' paperwork done relatively quickly and was out the door in time to enjoy a Saturday afternoon nap.

Saturday evening, The Girl and I took solace from the triple-digit heat by driving up Little Cottonwood Canyon and having a picnic. I live so close to the mountains; I don't know why I don't spend more time there. When it had cooled down a bit, we came back to my place and watched Stargate. Well, the beginning of it, anyway. About half an hour into the movie, the phone rang.

This was just after ten o'clock, and nobody usually calls me that late. I checked the Caller ID and saw that it as my brother. He's even less a night owl than I am these days (what with starting work at 6:00 in the morning and all), so I was really surprised. I answered the phone with a little bit of apprehension, and was greeted with the following:

"Hello, uncle Mike."

It was my niece Mikayla. Apparently she and her dad had been talking and the subject of religion came up. So Aaron referred her to me ("I got nothin'."). I tried to answer her questions in a way that she could wrap her 11-year-old brain around. Then I talked to Aaron a little bit, and he thanked me for my help. Hey, what are godfathers for?

Sunday
I gave a lesson in the High Priests group on Sunday. I fill in as a substitute in Sunday school quite frequently, but this is the first time I'd ever played this particular venue. When the asked me a couple of weeks back if I'd take that lesson, I agreed and said it would be no problem. Then I actually read the lesson.

The subject of the lesson was "Preparing for an Eternal Marriage and Family". For me, there were two problems with this lesson. First, I'd be teaching it to a group of men who, for the most part, were A) substantially older than me and B) already married. It was kind of like getting a phone call from Warren Buffett saying, "Hey, I've got some friends here, why don't you come on over and give us a few tips on investing?" Second, despite my desires to the contrary, I found that this is still a bit of a sore subject for me.

So I went into the meeting feeling a little uncomfortable and more than a little inadequate. I normally try to include a lot of audience participation when I teach, and I leaned quite heavily on the group for this lesson. And it turned out all right. I didn't feel like I'd done a particularly great job, but several group members came up to me afterwards and told me how well I'd done. It's nice to have a little reinforcement now and then.

Monday
I got back the results for both exams on Monday. I got a solid B on my Business Finance exam, and a B- on my Calculus exam. I'm quite pleased with both of those results. I should be able to pull at least a B from both of these classes.

Monday night I went with The Girl and four of her friends and family to see Sahara at the local dollar theater. Then we all went for ice cream afterwards. I had a lot of fun. I found the movie quite entertaining (Allen's opinion to the contrary notwithstanding), and I got to spend time with some of her close friends.

Tuesday
Tuesday morning was spent doing laundry. The shift at work was over by 8:00, and we were only running three projects, one of which we finished halfway through the shift. Hardly worth writing about, really.

Wednesday
In Wednesday's business class we learned how to use a company's balance sheet and income statement to assess the financial health of that company. Specifically, we learned how to use certain information from those documents to calculate the company's Z-score. Using the Altman model, it's at least theoretically possible to determine how likely a company is to enter bankruptcy in the next two years. And since Lockheed Martin's stock has been tanking for the last month, I thought I'd use them for the assignment. I'd really like to do a Z-score for my employer, but I don't know how to do it for a company that's not publicly traded. I've been told that it's possible, just not how to do it.

I had eleven people scheduled for training on Wednesday night, the largest class I've had in a couple of weeks. Some of them were reschedules from last Wednesday. When I got to work, I discovered that one of them had called off, which left me with ten. Six of those showed up, which is pretty typical. And then a seventh showed up—but he was actually scheduled for next Wednesday's session. Whatever. It was a little hectic at first, but we all made it through. I got the paperwork done quickly afterwards and got out at a relatively decent hour.

Thursday
I spent Thursday afternoon with the Ogden Gaming Consortium. We uncovered evidence of an alien invasion, so that should make for some fun adventures over the next few weeks. We broke things off about 7:00, and I drove down to Sandy to spend a little time with The Girl. She'd had a bad day on Wednesday, so I wanted to see how she was doing. She was feeling a lot better, which made me happy. We talked and watched part of a movie her family had on and then talked some more. I'm amazed at the direction our conversations sometimes take. We feel completely open and trusting with one another, and we can talk about anything from the trivial to the sublime. That's a wonderful feeling.

Friday
And that brings us up to today. I have a quiz in Calculus today covering double integrals over non-rectangular regions and double integrals in polar coordinates. Then another fine evening at work, and maybe even a little extra sleep tonight. The Girl and I are going to the temple tomorrow, which will be a nice break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

So yes, life is a little hectic sometimes. But at the moment, I have no complaints.

Valley of Friday's Feast

Friday's Feast, 22 July 2005.

Appetizer What kind of car do you drive? If you could make an even trade for any other car, what would you want to drive?
Current: 1989 Suburban
Trade for: Something just a little smaller with better gas mileage and all-wheel / four wheel drive.

Soup Take your phone number and add each number together separately (example: 8+6+7+5+3+0+9=38) - what's the total?
0+1+1+2+3+4+5+6+8+8=38. Those are the digits; the order has been changed to protect my privacy.

Salad When were you last outside, and what were you doing?
I was outside last night talking to The Girl.

Main Course What is your favorite restaurant, and what do you usually order there?
Cafe Rio. I usually get the pulled pork salad.

Dessert Name 3 things in which you occasionally indulge.
1) Chocolate,
2) Blogging, and
3) Long telephone conversations with friends.

One Of Ours

There's a newspaper in Salt Lake called the City Weekly. It's an independent paper, which in this case means "A newspaper not afflilated with any major news syndicate and with political views somewhere to the Left of Howard Dean". It makes for an interesting read from time to time.

Anyway, this picture appears on this week's front cover:

The gentleman you see there is Billy, and he's one of our interviewers at work.

It makes me wonder what today's training class will bring....

SML7: Don't Panic!

As I was gathering data for this week's edition of the Stock Market Lotto, I was a little concerned by the movement I saw in some of the stocks. Specifically, I was concerned that three of my five stocks had dropped from last time. Observe:

Aetna: -2.94 to 81.38
Barnes & Noble: -0.14 to 40.31
Motorola: +0.96 to 19.50
Safeway: +1.06 to 24.37
Lockheed Martin: -0.75 to 61.75

Disastrous, right? Well, actually, not so much. As it turns out, the gains by Motorola and Safeway were enough to offset the losses by the other three stocks. The total value of my portfolio actually went up just under one percent for the week.

Aetna: +1.63 (+2.04%)
Barnes & Noble: +2.12 (+5.55%)
Motorola: +1.76 (+9.92%)
Safeway: +1.85 (+8.21%)
Lockheed Martin: -3.31 (-5.09%)

Overall Value: $104,095.10 (+4.10%)
S&P 500 Index: 1227.92 (+2.67%)

To me, the moral of this story is not to get too worked up over the numbers until you've analyzed them and know what they mean. Sort of a lesson in big-picture thinking, I suppose. I guess the other moral of the story is something they've been trying to teach us all semester long: Diversification is good.

...And Posting "Me Too" Like Some Brain-dead AOLer

Curtis suggested it, I started it, Curtis continued it, and now I guess it's up to me to finish it. Let me present Everything And More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Me:

WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING:
About 7:15. It was great to sleep in.

DIAMONDS OR PEARLS
Diamonds. (You can't play softball on a pearl.)

WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW IN A THEATER
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST
Microwaved steak and cheese tortilla wraps

WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME
Scott

FOODS YOU DISLIKE:
I have a comparatively low tolerance for spicy foods, especially compared to the rest of my family.

FAVORITE POTATO CHIP FLAVOR
I prefer Sun Chips, especially the French Onion variety.

FAVORITE CD AT THE MOMENT
"Pearl Snaps" by Jason Boland and the Stragglers

FAVORITE CD OF ALL TIME
"The Music of Cosmos"

WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE
1989 Chevrolet Suburban (The Dreadnought)

FAVORITE SANDWICH
Tomato and mayo on whole wheat ('mater sammiches)

WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU DESPISE:
Arrogance. Nobody really knows everything.

FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING
My Weber State hockey jersey.

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM
White with green and pink.

WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TOO
Someplace where it doesn't get to 103° F in the summer!

FAVORITE TIME
Sunset.

YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY
Freshman year in high school - we had a blizzard (in mid-May) and had no power for a week.

WHAT DETERGENT DO YOU USE
Whatever is on sale.

COKE OR PEPSI
Pepsi.

MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL
Morning person, perhaps regrettably.

ANY PETS?
Not at the moment.

--

LAST TIME:
You were embarrassed:
The other night, I said something stupid to The Girl.

You were mad:
Friday night. The virus scan software at work kicked on just as we were starting end-of-shift reports. Nuisance.

You were depressed:
It comes and goes.

You got in a fight:
Eighth grade. Got my butt handed to me and got sent to the Principal's office. Now I look for other methods of conflict resolution.

You yelled at someone:
At least a year ago; I remember the occasion but not the date.

You lied to someone:
Saturday.

You went to the drive-in:
Years ago to see "Chicken Run".

You broke something:
Wednesday at the library.

You told someone you loved them:
Saturday night - my niece.

Someone told you they loved you:
Saturday night - my niece.

You hugged someone:
Saturday night.

You kissed someone:
Saturday night.

--

HAVE YOU EVER (simple Yes/No):
Been stabbed in the back? Yes, figuratively.
Stabbed someone else in the back? Yes
Lied to a close friend? Yes
Cheated on someone? No
Been in a fist fight? Yes
Hit someone out of anger? Yes
Been spanked? Yes
Been knocked out? No
Been tied up? No
Tied someone else up? No
Been pantsed? Yes, when I was 6...
Pantsed someone else? Yes
Read someone else's mail on purpose? Yes
Smoked a cigarette? No
Done recreational drugs? No
Drank alcohol underaged? Yes
Been arrested? No
Ran from the cops? No
Done something illegal? Yes
Kissed on the first date? Yes
Ran away from home? No
Flashed someone on purpose? Yes

--

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS
Sharing half a duplex with three other guys.

FAVORITE CARD GAME?
Apples to Apples

FAVORITE SOUND?
Laughter

WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Knowing someone is suffering because of me.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
Does Ny-Quil count? Because that's pretty much it.

EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
Heavens yes.

WEIRDEST FILM YOU EVER SAW IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail"

WHAT CD OR TAPE IS IN YOUR CAR STEREO RIGHT NOW?
A mix CD I made a few years ago.

EARLIEST MEMORY?
Falling off the running board of a Volkswagen bug as we were driving around looking for wild asparagus.

--

NAME ONE THING...
...that makes you smile - Stupid jokes
...that makes you cry - The National Anthem. I tear up every time.
...that you love to do on the weekends - Take a nap
...that you do for only yourself - Keep a dead-tree journal.
...that you have in your underwear drawer that's NOT underwear - Nothing. I have other drawers for that kind of stuff.
...that you do before going to sleep - Let my mind wind down from the activities of the day.
...that you actually LIKE to clean - The Dreadnought.
...that you DETEST cleaning - The bathroom.
...that you would buy if I handed you a $100 bill - A nice dinner and a night out for myself and a friend.

--

LOOKS:
Hair color: Brown w/ encroaching grey
Hair Style: Short, parted on the right
Eye color: Brown
Favorite Top: T-shirt or polo shirts
Favorite Bottoms: Jeans
Are you happy with your weight?: I could be more happy with less of it, but I'm okay.
Anything you wish you had: Maybe a rock to wind a piece of string around? What's with this question?

--

CHOOSE ONE AND WHY?
Cats or Dogs: Dogs - they love unconditionally.
Blue or Red: Blue - softer, more sedate, less angry.
Drowning or Burning: Burning - it's not necessarily fatal.
Hot or Cold: Cold - I hate the heat.
Drinking Radioactive Waste or Kissing Your Worst Enemy: Isn't kissing always going to be better than drinking radioactive waste?
Lots of Jewelry or Little: Little - just a watch and a ring.
Lots of Friends Online or a few In real life: A few in real life - I choose my friends carefully.
Winning against your best friend or Losing against your worst enemy: Winning against your best friend - that way, you're a winner and you have your best friend with you.
Boots or Sandals: Boots - I have bad ankles.
Piercings or none: None - when did shrapnel become a fashion accessory?
Raining or Sunny: Raining - water is life.
Needing or Wanting: Wanting - that means the needs are met.
Online forever or Offline forever: Online, I guess. What does this question mean, anyway?
No feelings or Pain: Pain - when you stop feeling anything, you're dead. Life is pain. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.
Fat as a House or Thin as a pole: Fat
Brittany Spears or Avril Lavinge: I'll trade them both, plus Christina Aguilera and a second-round draft pick, for Norah Jones.
Cheddar or American: Cheddar - more flavorful.
Cows or Goats: Cows - better milk, better meat.
Onions or fresh tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes - they're so perky, I love that.
Ramen or Canned soup: Canned soup - I'm a grown-up now.
Black or White? White - the color of purity and peace.

--

Do you Roleplay?: Yes
Do you like dark chocolate?: Yes
Do you like White Chocolate? Yes
Do you read manga? No
Do you like to draw? Not much, not very good at it.
Do you like to write? Yes
Do you watch Adult Swim? No, it's on too late.
Do you stay up past 12:00 most nights? No
Do you eat meat? Yes, and vegetables, and the occasional fungus. Fully omnivorous.
Do you think Cartoon Characters can be hot/Sexually appealing? As Curtis said, it's hard to argue with Jessica Rabbit.
Will you ever fly in an aircraft? Yes, when I can afford it again.
Have you ever skinny-dipped? Yes
Do you own more than 20 manga? Not a one.
Do you own less than 10? 'Not a one' is certainly less than ten.
Will you get more mangas? No, I dislike the form.
Did you sleep past noon today? No, but a slept a little after noon today.
Do you like to dance? Under certain conditions, yes.
Have you ever used the word Sesquipedalian in a sentence? "What does 'sesquipedalian' mean?" There, I guess I just did.^*
Have you ever been abducted by aliens? No
Have you ever abducted anyone? No
Are you a laptop user? No
Have you ever used a wacom or other digital tablet? No
Did you own it? No
Did you ever wish you were in an anime/Cartoon/other world? Yes, which is part of the reason I love fantasy and science fiction literature.
Have You Ever broken anything? You mean like a bone? Not to my knowledge.
Sprained? Both ankles.
Have you ever wished you could disappear? Yes.

--

AND MORE QUESTIONS
Do you play an instrument? Not recently, but I think I still could.
Which ones? Tuba, trombone, electric bass. And I have an autoharp I need to get fixed and learn to play.
Have you ever watched a kids show? All the time. I love cartoons!
And Liked it? I love cartoons!
Which one? Teen Titans, Animaniacs, and Gargoyles, among others.
Which Card games have you played With Special Cards? You mean like collectible card games? None.
Still have the cards? Never did.
Do you collect anything? CDs, quotes, useless trivia.
Ever looked good in a Yearbook? Not that I recall.
Which Superpower do you want? Teleportation. (Stupid gas prices.)

--

Okay, that's enough. If you want to know anything else about me, you're just going to have to ask.

^*See Dictionary.com for the definition. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Friday Music Meme Thing

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

Top Five Songs With One Word Titles

Changes by Yes (90125)
I've always loved this song. I can really relate to the lyrics.

Possession by Sarah McLachlan (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy)
Have you ever loved/desired someone so much that it hurts? The acoustic version that appears as a ghost track is particularly compelling.

Broken by Cross Canadian Ragweed (Cross Canadian Ragweed)
A great song about trying to pick up the pieces and start over.

Earthshine by Rush (Vapor Trails)
The progressive power trio at their high-energy best. Complex rhythms and changing time signatures included at no extra charge.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious by Harry Connick, Jr. (Songs I Heard)
You really can't get much more out of a single word than this, can you?

The Bride of Friday's Feast

Friday's Feast, 1 July 2005.

Appetizer What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
My middle name is Scott, and I'm fine with all my names. If I could be called something different, it would be 'Mister', as in, "Mister Martin, can you help me with problem #3?"

Soup If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
Letting me design fashions would be a mistake on the same order of magnitude as letting Paris Hilton play with enriched plutonium. Fashion sense? What fashion sense?

Salad What is your least favorite chore, and why?
I hate cleaning the bathroom, always have. It's just a messy, ugly process, and it takes me forever before I'm satisfied with the results.

Main Course What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
My biggest fears are heights and needles, though I have no idea why. I don't recall any particularly traumatic experiences with either one. Maybe I have repressed something...?

Dessert Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
I'm sitting at my desk in my bedroom. From here I can see:
1) A picture of my nieces,
2) My atomic clock with built-in indoor and outdoor thermometer, and
3) A white board with a picture of The Hulk on it. Beneath the picture is the following: "Within me lies infinite power…Before me, endless possibilities…Decisions…Decisions…Decisions…"

If It Isn’t One Thing…

I seem to have contracted a case of viral conjunctivitis, more colorfully known as pinkeye. I first noticed something was wrong on Wednesday evening when my right eye started feeling a little ‘twitchy’. I didn’t think much of it at the time. About mid-morning yesterday, I noticed that it was starting to turn red and accumulate mucous. Yes, I know, that’s more information than you needed, sorry. Now the buildup has stopped, but both eyes are red and itchy and they feel like they’ve got sand in them all the time. Blech. I went to the store yesterday and got some eye drops and some of that waterless antibacterial hand gel. I’m trying hard not to spread this to anyone else. I’m considerate like that.

I had a math exam today. I think I did pretty well, but I know that I missed some points for things I should have known but couldn’t quite remember. Que sera, sera. I did what I could do.

As I had feared, there were some complications in the situation with Old Girl and New Girl. Old Girl found out, as I’d anticipated, and there was apparently some serious tension at first. But that blew over within a day or so, and things at the office are back to relatively normal. So things are going pretty well with New Girl, now known simply as The Girl.

Now it’s time for work. We have thirteen projects running tonight, of which we have already finished three with a fourth shortly to follow. We’re going to make the weekend managers so happy.

Finally!

At long last, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Union have reached a deal in principle to end the lockout. At long last, I can look forward to seeing professional ice hockey again.

With other fans, I wonder what the long-term repercussions of the lockout will be. I know the teams in hockey-friendly areas (i.e., Boston, New York, Detroit, Colorado, and all of Canada) will probably be fine. But teams in less established areas - the deep South, for example - will probably struggle to fill arenas. I would not be surprised if the league eliminates 4-6 teams in the next few years.

The quote of the day goes to Yahoo! Sports writer Dan Wetzel:

"I still think [NHL commissioner Gary] Bettman and union chief Bob Goodenow should both immediately resign. Neither should feel an ounce of good about salvaging the foundation of a house their collective incompetence set fire to."

Now that there's a new deal, maybe both sides could use a new perspective. Bob and Gary must go.

Send This Back!

A big welcome goes out to any and all new readers. I'm glad you could make it.

Every so often, I'll get one of these things in my e-mail. I usually enjoy filling it out and sending it along. I don't know how much the recipients enjoy it, but I always like getting one back from someone.

Still, the whole "e-mail this to all your friends" thing is so 20th-century. Blogging is the way to go now, so that's what I did. I filled in all the answers, posted it here, and sent an e-mail to everyone I know inviting them to come over and take a look. I can't claim this as an original thought, though. Curtis gave me the idea a few weeks ago. So maybe we'll see something like this on his blog in coming days.

Anyway, here's the thing:

--

Copy (don't forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send it to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO YOU. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little known facts about your friends.

WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES?
I live in a bachelor pad, so we've got all kinds. We do have some blue ones and some green ones that match, so I'll go with that.

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
Calculus, Eighth Edition by Varberg, Purcell, and Rigdon. Oh, you mean recreational reading? Ask me again in six months.

WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Plain green, no pic.

FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Trivial Pursuit

LEAST FAVORITE SMELL?
When some idiot burns popcorn in the microwave at work.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING?
Why can't I sleep past 6:30 a.m.?!?

FAVORITE COLOR?
Plaid Green. Forest green, to be precise.

LEAST FAVORITE COLOR?
Burnt umber—that's a sort of brown-orange, right? Where'd I put that box of crayons?

HOW MANY RINGS UNTIL YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?
Two. That's how many it takes for the Caller ID to come up.

FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
Samuel Aaron Martin

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
No, chocolate and vanilla.

DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
No.

DO YOU LIKE THUNDERSTORMS?
Oh yeah. I love to hear the thunder roll through the valley.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
1971 Jeep Wagoneer with the original green metallic paint. You could drive straight up a tree in that thing.

WHAT IS YOUR SIGN?
We Tauruses don't believe in astrology.

DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?
Doesn't everyone?

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
High school science teacher.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I'm fine with what I've got now, thanks.

IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?
Actually, it's all empty. I was thirsty. Sorry.

FAVORITE MOVIE?
The Princess Bride. Anything else would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable.

DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS?
For the first few seconds.

WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
Shoes, an autoharp, a Browning Pro 600 6T6L Custom bow with a Purple Smoke finish, a quiver with half a dozen arrows, dust bunnies.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER?
13. I'm antitriskaedekaphobic.

FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Ice hockey. If they ever get that lockout taken care of.

YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST PAIN?
Relationships, maybe?

PERSON MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND TO THIS?
No clue. Every time I do one of these, somebody disappoints me.

LEAST LIKELY?
Bill. I've got one e-mail from him in something like three years. (Sorry I haven't written back yet, by the way.)

KETCHUP OR MUSTARD?
Mustard, of the dijon variety.

HAMBURGER OR HOT DOG?
Hot dogs at a baseball game, otherwise hamburgers—preferably cooked outdoors over a fire.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Fall. I love the changing colors.

THE BEST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN?
The family did a three-week driving tour of Alberta and British Columbia when I was in high school. That was pretty amazing.

WHAT SCREEN SAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER?
My current screen saver causes the screen to appear to melt. Unfortunately, my background image is an Escher, so it's hard to tell any difference....

FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
The only one I get right now is the Ensign.

FAVORITE SMELL?
A home cooked meal.

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE?
Family and friends.

DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST?
I never drive faster than I can see, and besides ... it's all in the reflexes.^* Seriously, though, no, I don't usually drive fast.

STORMS-COOL OR SCARY?
Cool, see above.

IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE WHO WOULD IT BE?
I'm thinking someone like Leonardo Da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin.

FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
None for me, thanks.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Heights

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM CAR?
I'd love to turn The Dreadnought into a hybrid electric vehicle.

FAVORITE CD?
What, you mean right now? Hmm, let's go with Lana Lane's "Lady Macbeth".

FAVORITE TV SHOW?
"Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

FAVORITE SOFT DRINK?
A&W Cream Soda

BURGER KING OR McDONALDS?
Wendy's, actually

FAVORITE PET:
Manfred, the black lab I grew up with.


That's it for now. I'll be looking for all of your lists soon. Enjoy!

--
^*Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China

SML6: No Fear

This was a remarkable week in the world of virtual stock trading. Here are my results:

Aetna: +1.96 to 84.32
Barnes & Noble: +1.06 to 40.45
Motorola: +0.27 to 18.54
Safeway: +0.74to 23.22
Lockheed Martin: -2.05 to 62.50

Lockheed Martin is going to drive me nuts. How can a major defense contractor be losing ground at a time like this? Anyway, here's the overall performance report:

Aetna: +4.57 (+5.73%)
Barnes & Noble: +2.26 (+5.92%)
Motorola: +0.80 (+4.51%)
Safeway: +0.79 (+3.51%)
Lockheed Martin: -2.56 (-3.93%)

Overall Value: $103,124.05 (+3.13)
S&P 500 Index: 1211.86 (+1.32%)

I'm still doing better than the market, at least on paper, which is nice.

What I found most remarkable about this past week's numbers was that even with the despicable and inhuman events that took place in London last week, the market went up. There's no nose dive like there was after 9/11; the S&P 500 was up over 17 points from a week ago. And it's not just here. From what I've read, markets are strong all over the world.

I find this particularly gratifying. It's as if the world's investors have said to the terrorists, "You may think you can bomb our cities with impunity, but there's no way we're going to let you b@st@rds keep us from living our lives."

Good.

Here We Go Again

First New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Then Madrid. Now London. Were does it end?

Thanks to Derek for his comments on the atrocities in London. It's important to realize that the vast majority of followers of Islam have nothing to do with these attacks. It is also important to realize that many Moslems have spoken out against the attacks.

To the people of London and the United Kingdom, I would say this: We mourn with you. We are outraged, as you are. And we are here for you, as you have been there for us in our times of need. The people of America will help you get through this; anything we can do to help is yours for the asking. You're in our thoughts and our prayers.

Friday Music Meme Thing

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

Top 5 guitarists and your favorite song by each guitarist or his/her band.

Steve Howe (Yes; also Asia, GTR, Explorers Club, etc.)
Song: Mind Drive
Steve's technical skill and versatility are perhaps most evident in his work on acoustic guitar. This song shows off both his electrical and acoustic talents.

Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
Song: Brothers in Arms
'Guitar George' from the song Sultans of Swing may be 'strictly rhythm, he doesn't want to make it cry or sing', but Mark certainly can do so. His playing on this song is soulful and passionate, almost poignant.

Steve Lukather (Toto)
Song: Hold the Line
Steve is an accomplished and versatile studio musician whose credits include work with Asia, Wilson Phillips, Michael Jackson, Richard Marx, the Tubes, and Chicago, as well as a few solo recordings and, of course, Toto. I think he may be the most underrecognized guitar player in rock over the past two decades. This song has my favorite of his guitar solos with his own band.

Joe Satriani
Song: Crushing Day
No matter how you look at it, Satch is crazy good. This song demonstrates his ability to play melodically as well as cranking out ripping guitar solos.

Tom Scholz (Boston)
Song: Foreplay / Long Time
In this song, Tom demonstrates that he can do it all: high-flying hooks, unassuming fill-ins, power chords, and intricate solos. And he's got a degree from M.I.T. How can you not like that?


Honorable mentions for individual performances go to:
Kiss My Axe by Al Di Meola
Linus and Lucy by Gary Hoey
In The Hall of the Mountain King by Wolf Hoffman
Zap by Eric Johnson
Bohemian Rhapsody by Brian May (Queen; you're welcome.)
Schubert's Electric Ave Maria by Mark Pattison

SML5: Mixed Nuts

Okay, my portfolio is looking a little better than it did last week.

Aetna: +0.20 to 82.36
Barnes & Noble: +1.81 to 39.39
Motorola: -0.28 to 18.27
Safeway: -0.65 to 22.57
Lockheed Martin:+1.04 to 64.55

Three out of five gainers is a lot better than the four out of five losers I had in the last installment. Motorola finally suffered a drop in price, as I knew it eventually had to. But Safeway dropping for a second straight week? Unacceptable. Buy more groceries, people! You’re killing me!

Here’s the overall picture:

Aetna: +2.61 (+3.27%)
Barnes & Noble: +1.20 (+3.14%)
Motorola: +0.53 (+2.99%)
Safeway: +0.05 (+0.22%)
Lockheed Martin: -0.51 (-0.78%)
Overall Value: $101,760.15 (+1.76)
S&P 500 Index: 1194.44 (-0.13%)

I’m still ahead of the market, at least in absolute terms. Today in class we discussed how to calculate how you are doing versus the market when taking into account risk factors. Since I do not have access to the 90-day T-bill rates at the moment, we’ll skip that part. Maybe next week....

Tuesday Music Meme Thing

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

1. Which band, past or present, would you like to see reunite?
The original lineup of Asia:
John Whetton - Bass and vocals
Geoff Downes - Keyboards
Steve Howe - Guitars
Carl Palmer - Drums
This was, IMHO, the ultimate progressive supergroup. They were not only tremendously talented but also commercially successful. Alas, the quote from Blade Runner about "the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long" is almost a perfect description of this band. I wish they had managed to keep things together longer.

2. What are your three favourite songs by this band?
a. Time Again. Many prog albums from that era feature a song that you know the band recorded just to show off. This is it.
b. Only Time Will Tell. The opening keyboard hook gets me every time.
c. Sole Survivor. I liked this song so much, I used it as a theme song for one of my Champions characters.

3. Which album do you think was the band's best?
As you can probably tell from the songs mentioned above, I think their debut album was their best — and among the best albums of that decade.

Complications

"Here come the big ones — Relationships — We all got 'em, we all want 'em. What do we do with 'em?" -Jimmy Buffett, Fruitcakes

It was about halfway through Saturday's community breakfast when my roommate James arrived with a couple of friends. I was manning the hash browns post and got to talk to them only briefly. But we got a lull in the action shortly thereafter, so I handed my slotted spoon to someone else, got my own plate full of food, and joined them.

James introduced me to Shellie, originally from Canada, eh, and to Vicki and her seven-year-old son, Nathan. We had a pleasant chat, and the five of us retreated to our (James' and my) house when things started to wind down. We arrived to find Justin, another roommate who is leaving our company in favor of somebody better looking next month, in the front room. Our little group talked for something like 45 minutes, at which point we all went on to other things we had to do. I went with James to deliver breakfast (he had made up a plate for her before we left) to Colette, James' not-girlfriend.

On the way there, James asked me what I thought about Vicki and Shellie. We talked about that for a bit, and then he asked me if I'd like to go out with either of them. (Or both, but presumably not at the same time. That sort of thing is frowned upon, even in Utah.) We talked about that for a bit. Then he asked me if I'd like to go out with Colette. I had been feeling a little pensive about the conversation to that point, but that question raised the discomfort level to full-blown awkward.

I first met Colette last December when James invited me to go to Temple Square with them to see the lights. And I found her to be interesting and fun, and a part of me wondered about asking her out. Eventually. But I wasn't really sure about where James stood with her. So I asked them, in as tactful and diplomatic a fashion as I could manage. Their answers, which did not harmonize with each other as much I would have expected, told me that there were some unresolved feelings on the part of at least one of them. This convinced me that pursuing her at that time—or maybe ever—wasn't a good idea for me.

I mentioned this to James, and he told me, in so many words, not to let that get in the way of asking her out if I wanted to. He said they went back a long way, but they weren't dating, they were just friends. And that may very well be. But I've never dated anyone that I know has dated a roommate or close friend. There are just too many potential complications. Yes, I know that there are really no rules for dating. But relationships are hard enough for me as it is. I don't need extra emotional issues like that lurking in the background.

Still and all, I agreed to join all of them (J, C, S, V & N) for festivities on the Fourth. More on that later.

After church at the Singles Ward on Sunday, I talked to some people I had met at ward activities last week. I also got a chance to talk at length with Paul, who I met many years and many hundreds of miles ago as a missionary. We were as close to being companions as possible without actually being assigned together. He's the fellowship committee chair, so he knows pretty much everyone in the ward. He introduced me to a lot of people at an activity last weekend, including a girl named Suzy. She's a nice girl, tall, attractive, and she served a mission in the land of my ancestors, so yeah, there was a little interest on my part. But she was also clearly interested in Paul, to the point that she was asking me questions about him, so that was that.

Or, maybe not. In talking with Paul on Sunday, I asked about things between Suzy and him. He said they had been out a few times and were taking things slowly, of which approach I expressed my approval. He also asked me for my opinions on a few things. Imagine, someone asking me for relationship advice. (I was tempted to say, "Here's what I would do. Now if you'll just do exactly the opposite, you should be fine." But I resisted.) We talked for maybe 20 minutes. And, at one point, he mentioned that if things don't work out between them, he had thought about sending her my direction. Here we go again.

So the Fourth of July rolled around. James got back from his weekend in southern Utah and we loaded up the necessary picnic supplies and left to rendezvous with the others. Shellie wasn't able to make it, but Colette brought a friend with her. She and I hit it off pretty well, I think, and we spent a lot of the evening talking. And unlike the other women named in this narrative, I think I have an active interest in getting to know her better.

There's just one small problem. In the course of our conversation, I found out that she works with a girl I just stopped dating. And by 'works with', I don't mean that they simply have the same employer. The girl I used to date actually just trained her for this job. I remember having conversations with her about this girl. The two of them literally have desks within ten feet of one another. And as I type up this account, I realize that the new girl has probably already started a conversation with the old girl, something to the effect of, "I met one of your friends last night...."

Nothing is ever easy.

Friday Music Meme Thing

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

Top five songs with animals in the title.

"Birdhouse In Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants
I thought of this one mostly because of Curtis' recent post of gaming-oriented lyrics, HERO In Your Soul.

"Beer For My Horses" by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson
Law and order, Wild West style.

"By-Tor and the Snow Dog" by Rush
Coming from a Canadian band, it figures that the guardian against incursions of evil would be a snow dog.

"The Pink Panther" by Henry Mancini
This is a classic. Admit it, you're humming it right now.

"The Bug" by Dire Straits
Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. That's life.