This one goes right to my list of recommended movies.  Ben Stein (he’s the teacher on Ferris Beuler’s Day Off who calls Beuler over and over in his monotone voice) narrates this movie about how intelligent design has come under attack in the academic community.  He interviews a few academics who were either denied tenure or forced out of their schools for daring to even mention ID in their scholarly work.  He also interviews some atheists and proponents of Darwinism, asking questions about their beliefs.  Ben Steins question is why, if the theories of Darwinism are pushed so much in universities, can’t ID receive the same chance to be analyzed in the classroom.  A legitimate question, I believe, since a university education should be about discussion, debate, and critical thinking.

The problem that exists now is that we are only allowed to think critically about Darwinism when inside the classroom.  The “well educated” apparently fear that the mentioning of the words intelligent design to a student would be the same as imposing a religious ideology on him or her.  Students are not given the credit that they can think for themselves and decide which theory makes the most sense.  Instead anything that even remotely insinuates God is kept as far from campus as legally possible.

What it comes down to for me is this: there are two sides to every argument.  In this case, the Darwinists may be right, or the proponents of ID might be right.  The important thing is that each side be given a voice, especially at a university.  Darwinists will say that there is no evidence of ID therefore they cannot teach it.  That’s nice until you ask any Darwinist to prove that ID didn’t happen.  They cannot do it.  That alone means that there is a base for discussion.

I am a religious person so I believe in God as the Creator.  No matter what I say to a Darwinist, they will not take scripture as proof.  That is fine with me.  But on the other hand, not one of them can show me that God did not create the heavens and the earth.  They must live with that.  Whether you believe God was the intelligent designer, or you don’t know who or what designed all things, the fact remains that it cannot be discounted and should not be excluded from scholarly discussion.

The prominent atheist in the movie said it best when first suggested that life began on the backs of crystals but then condeded it was possible that someody could have created those piggy-backing organisms.  Even this big bad atheist couldn’t look Ben Stein in the eye and tell him how life started.  Why?  Because he doesn’t know.

When you don’t know, you can’t attempt to silence the other side for proposing their ideas.

Tags: Ben Stein Expelled, Creationism, Darwinism, Expelled Movie, Intelligent Design

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A few months have passed since I was forced to get a new computer because of the laptop death.  I wondered then if it was the right decision to ditch the name brands and build my own system a la PC Laptops - without the ridiculous mark-up of course.  I also made the decision at that time to upgrade to Vista, a logical conclusion since it comes with most new systems anyway.

The last few months have been filled with price remorse-free bliss and a good share of satisfaction with the new operating system.  I bought all my parts at Newegg.com, a website whose experience is second to none.  I was able to do all my research for every single part on that site as a result of the huge number of experienced builders who contribute their recommendations and warnings to the comment section of each product.  Newegg had all my stuff here and in fine condition within a few days.

Vista, so far, has not disappointed me at all.  I have come across a few obstacles that took a little searching on the internet for answers, but I have always found what I needed.  I am used to the interface, and it’s much better than XP, in my opinion.  Maybe someday I’ll run across some big bad problem like Apple warns of, but that day has not come yet.  I’m a happy user.

So my conclusion is that building a desktop didn’t take a ton of research and time, so I’m glad I did it and came out with a high quality machine at a mid-quality price.  It truly is not that complicated if you put in a little research beforehand.  You’ll have the advantage of knowing exactly what is inside your case and being able to better troubleshoot any problems.  It’s also just nice to know things like this work.  Maybe that’s just a thing of mine, I don’t know.  Also, I don’t believe Vista is the monster it has been made out to be.  I think it just has a bad rap.

So you can count me as a satisfied Newegg customer and Vista user.  Next come the complexities of the laptop, but that may take a while longer.

Tags: Windows Vista, Newegg.com, PC Laptops, Computers

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I congratulate the people of California for speaking out against gay marriage.  Were I a California resident, I would have voted Yes on 8 like so many others did last week.  But I am not a California resident.  I live in Utah.

This morning I read in the newspaper that some guy from americablog.com wants to boycott Utah because the LDS church encouraged its members in California to give of their time and money to help pass the ban on gay marriage.

Wait a second.

How many people in California were forced to vote Yes on 8?  I probably couldn’t count the number precisely because the answer is: not one person.  Is the church giving money to a cause the same as that church casting a ballot?  No.  The church did not cast a ballot, but the residents of California did.  The church spent money in attempt to pursuade some people to vote a certain way.  That’s what churches are for when it comes to grave moral issues.  So now we’re to believe that because this church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, then the whole state of Utah, affiliated or not with the church, is to be boycotted?  Is this their attempt at revenge?

If americablog.com and its like need an organization to take the brunt of its post election anger, then I suppose that the LDS church and consequentially Utah, are easy targets.  But please, if you are going to start boycotting states, then start with California.  They cast the votes that passed the proposition, and they should be held accountable for thier honorable actions.  Thank goodness that the LDS church made its opinion known, but at the end of the day, they only had power to talk, not vote.

But really, if you want to destroy the Utah brand, then you are welcome to come here and try.  While you are here, you should get to know some of us “haters”.  We won’t spit on you, harass you, or demean you.  We won’t bring out the signs that say you are scum, that you are a moron, that you are a Chriso-fascist, or even that we think your sacred buildings should be burned to the ground.  In other words, we won’t do any of the things that have been done to us in past few weeks.

You’re welcome to come and ski our powder though.  I’m sure you’ll conclude that Colorado never really looked that good after all.

Tags: Proposition 8, gay marriage, Mormons, boycott Utah, protect marriage amendment

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Luckily enough, even though not on DVD, somebody has posted the whole show on YouTube in nine parts.  I’m reposting it here for everyones viewing pleasure.  Enjoy.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Tags: Disney, Halloween, Disney’s Halloween Treat

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So this year I’ve stumbled across some amazing pumpkin carvings that deserve to be recognized.  I thought it was hard enough last year to do one of those pumpkin designs with the skinny carvers that allow you to get more detail - that now seems like kid stuff.  Look at this site, and you’ll see some really amazing carvings.  Chances are you won’t be seeing any pumpkins that look like these as you take the kids our trick or treating.
Here is another site that offers some nice Halloween artwork.  It’s really too bad I didn’t find it a month earlier so I could have enjoyed it for longer than a day.  Smashing Magazine is one of my favorite sites for cool artwork, and this Halloween post doesn’t disappoint.

And of course I’ll have to watch Van Helsing some time.  No Halloween season would be complete without this classic according to Nathan.  If you haven’t seen this movie, you should watch it just for the good classic villains.  It’s no award winner, but I think it’s a lot of fun.

Happy Halloween!

Tags: Halloween, pumpkin carving, Van Helsing, Dracula, Frankenstein

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I couldn’t believe the news. The Hard Rock Cafe in Salt Lake City is closing on December 7th. We decided to eat there tonight since I have to get my fix of heavy metal sauce, but now my heavy metal fixes will be no more.

Our server told us that the place has been slow for a long time. I guess that combined with the renovation going on at Trolley Square has driven away all the customers.  Well, let’s not mention that Trolley Square should have renovated five or ten years ago to turn it into an actual destination hot spot.  Looks like their upgrade came a little too late for Hard Rock.

I sure hope they will eventually find a better location in Salt Lake and reestablish themselves.  It would be a shame if they left Salt Lake City for good.  If that happens, someone has got to tell me how they make that heavy metal sauce!

So if you ever liked Hard Rock, you best get yourself there before December 7th.

Tags: Hard Rock Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City restaurants, restaurants, Food

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I received a call last week informing me that my brother-in-law just won a free vacation and he wanted me to win one too. It was Worldmark by Wyndham calling, and they wanted me to come in and sit through one of their presentations on time shares. They are not actually time shares in the conventional sense of the word, but they are similar.

So I said ok, convinced April that we would get at least a free night stay and dinner, and booked the date to attend the presentation. Most of you have probably been to one of these things, so I’ll spare you all the details, but suffice it to say that it was a typical sales environment. There was loud music, happy employees greeting us, drinks, cookies - all aimed at softening us up for the upcoming sales pitch.

We spoke to our “representative” about our dream vacation and nice feel good type stuff, then proceeded into a large presentation room where we listened to a guy talk about how we needed to start going on planned vacations if we were ever going to be happy in our lives.  Typical expected sales stuff - no big deal.

We then went back to our representative and he explained why they differ from everyone else.  I admit that I think their idea is great and anybody should at least look at it to see if it’s for them.  I can see how a lot of people would be really interested in this program.  We were as interested as anybody else, but then he got to price.  We listened to him, talked it over privately, and decided that this vacation deal was not in our budget at this time.  We went over our reasons with him - both of us being full-time students, looking for a better job, debt payment plans not allowing superfluous vacationing expenses, and so on.  We felt ready to pick up our free vacation and leave.  But no.

Our representative, who was very courteous throughout the entire process, tried to overcome our objections to no avail.  He even brought over his superior, who was also very nice, but couldn’t sell us either.  They both gave up, then told us that they were going to have another guy come over who would verify that our representative was on his best behavior and did everything he could to please us.  So he came over, but they hadn’t told us the truth.  He was another salesman.  He was a bit more pushy than our representative but we told him no without going into all the details that we had just explained.  He then told us that they would like us to fill out a survey before we left.

Another half-truth.  The next guy was an other salesman, but this one really got under my skin.  He said he was from “corporate” and that he would be giving us a survey to fill out.  So he proceeded to pull out the survey, turned it over and gave us the “what do I have to do to get you out of here today with this car” speech.  Anything we told him went in one ear and out the other.  He was the type of salesman that tries to make you feel stupid by making the deal seem too good to be true.  He offered some no obligation trial plan that might have been nice had we decided to buy, but our minds were made up at this point.

What really got to me was when he said something to the effect of “Well most people like to spend quality time with with their loved ones.  I like to spend quality time with my loved ones.  I guess you guys just don’t like to spend quality time with each other.  I guess you guys just don’t think it’s that important.  Quality time is a good thing though.”  He said this whole thing with one of those smug faces that makes you want to reach across the table and lay him out flat.

Needless to say he ruined the pleasant experience I had been having up until that point.  He then carelessly led us over to some guy who gave us the free vacation.  He didn’t say anything else to us.  Not a thanks for coming in, not a hope to see you again soon.  We were dead to him.

So, three bits of advice for these guys:

1.  Tell people the truth.  Don’t speak in half-truths or flat out lies.  If you are going to throw three levels of sales at them, then tell them.

2.  Don’t insult their intelligence.  If they’re not buying, don’t treat them like idiots.  Chances are they really do like your product and they’ll either come back when the time is right or they’ll refer someone to you.  Don’t ruin it by being a smug jerk.

3.  Act like you still care about their business if they turn you down.  Most no’s mean “not right now”.  If you act like you never want to see them again, then guess what, you won’t.  They’ll take their business elsewhere and chances are they’ll tell their friends to stay away from you.

Can you guess my opinion of Worldmark by Wyndham?

Tags: Worldmark by Wyndham, sales, salesman, hotel, timeshare

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October’s issue came yesterday, and two articles got me thinking about how I can learn from the latest financial crisis.  One article was an interview with Chuck Schwab and the other was the cover article about Toll Brothers (the McMansion builders).  So what can I learn?

First, I think Toll was being nice when he said that the blame for the housing crisis is to be equally distributed among various groups, consumers being among them.  I think irresponsible consumers should be CHIEF among them.  I do not believe consumers can take all the blame, but my newly discovered inner locus of control attitudes force me to say that many consumers were just plain greedy and stupid.

I mean come on, does a homebuyer really need to be told what he or she can comfortably afford?  So you’ve been renting an apartment for $800 or $900 a month, you’ve been barely getting by, and now just because the bank told you you qualify for that $400,000 home you are going to buy it?  Did these people truly not know what they were getting into???  No, they knew.  They just got greedy.  They walked into the bank and initiated the conversation that ended in the zero down, no interest loan on that McMansion that they couldn’t afford.  Unscrupulous lenders they were, but they weren’t forcing people to buy the super-sized boxes.  There was greed first.

So Schwab pointed out how pathetic it is that American’s save next to nothing these days.  We’re maxed out, or worse yet, upside down in debt.  We know we will have to retire some day, but those granite counter-tops and home theater systems are just too appealing today.  He stressed the importance of saving and investing in a market like this, not spending.  We may be at or very close to the bottom of the market, so we should start looking for investments that will pay off as the market corrects.  He predicts that many people will become responsible savers by force, not by choice in the next five or ten years.  The market will correct as it has done in the past, and hopefully our saving habits will too.

I know that’s not really what I learned, rather an assessment of what I read.  I’m learning that the gratification now is just not worth it.  Prudent living would be a better goal, alongside smart money management.  That’s no matter how much money I’m making.  I can always save for something - children’s college, missions, retirement, family vacations, etc.  The general crisis doesn’t have to be a personal crisis, so long as smart living has been the rule and not the exception.

Tags: Charles Schwab, personal finance, money, Portfolio Magazine, Toll Brothers

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I never thought I would be writing a book recommendation post about a school book. Well, I take that back. I read some good books during my undergraduate degree, but they were more scholarly and not exactly good for reviewing.

If you want to read a book that’s just weird, ‘Orbiting the Giant Hairball‘ is it.  It’s not weird in the same way as, say, tiny crablike creatures inhabiting the earth, but it’s still out there.  You have to have experienced work in a corportate or semi-corporate setting to understand the weirdness in it.  That said, it is a business-like book, but don’t let the word business deter you - it’s not a real business book.

This author worked at Hallmark for years and now takes the reader on a journey through many of his experiences there.  He describes Hallmark as a Giant Hairball, sucking everything into it with it’s powerful gravitational pull.  It especially sucks in creativity and individuality, then squashes it in its giant, hairy mass.  The author, however, never got sucked in.  He “orbited” the hairball.  He was part of the organization, but never an organizational casualty.

The hairball is everything that you hate about your job.  Gray cubicles, white walls, stodgy suits, corporate backstabbing, politics, and so on.  People might hate the hairball at first, but then they get raises, promotions and pats on the back by superiors until they have become one with the hairball.  The book’s author never let that happen to him.  He stood out - way out.  He found a way to submit to superiors without really submitting.  The way in which he did this is the fun part of the book so I’ll leave it up to you to read it.

You’ll like it, I promise.  You might not think everyone can do what he did, but it’s a fun read anyway.

Tags: Orbiting the Giant Hairball, Gordon MacKenzie, Hallmark, corporate culture, books

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I never thought a miniature tree could be so interesting, but mine and April’s ficus bonsai tree has become just that. I bought it for her for Valentine’s Day just about a half year ago, and the change in just that short time has been captivating to watch. They told me it would grow well in good conditions and with good amounts of humidity, but I didn’t expect it to grow like it has. And no, that picture above is not our tree, but give me 150 years and maybe we’ll be there.

I bought it at Cactus and Tropicals, where there is a nice little variety of bonsai trees from the old and very pricey to the very young and inexpensive.  I decided to buy one about seven years old and grown in Florida so that I would get some nice aerial roots and a decent trunk size.  It also had the best root curvature of the bunch - something I thought would be important in the long run.

I can’t quite pinpoint what is so fun about caring for this mini tree.  Maybe it’s that large trees in nature are so overpowering and awe-inspiring that we can’t become involved with them on a personal level.  Yes, that sounds incredibly tree hugger-like, but I think it’s true even if you don’t verbalize it that way.  With the bonsai tree you are involved in the growth process, and if you are into wiring and shaping, you can create shapes that maybe only exist in your mind, if not in nature.  Then again, part of bonsai is mimicking natural tree forms, so I don’t think I would ever get too odd in wiring.

We’ve started with a ficus retusa, as they are very forgiving and fast growing.  We also just acquired my mom’s natal plum that was suffering from lack of sun at her house.  We’re going to try to revive it.  Someday I hope to move up the difficulty scale and buy a juniper or something cool like that.  Then maybe I’ll don my gi and do birdie kicks on a wooden stump at the beach while a wooden recorder is played in the distance.

Tags: bonsai, trees, hobbies, Cactus and Tropicals, ficus bonsai

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