New TV

Today we got a new Samsung 51” LCD TV. Not only do I STILL have a bigger TV than my brother Jared, but I also now have a bigger TV than my brother Alan. (.smug) To be fair though, we no longer have the ability to change the channel or volume ourselves as it is mounted out of reach on the wall and we don’t have a remote. (.sigh) So I guess my brothers still win.

Tuesdays with Morrie

So I spent some time this Tuesday with Morrie – or at least reading about him in the book by Mitch Albom – and decided I should break my online silence by sharing a few things from it. I believe it was the only book my brother Jared read before college, so it must have either been really good or an easy read. Well I think it was both. Professor Morris (Morrie) Schwartz was an amazing individual with a lot to teach us about living life, even as he was succumbing to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. I would recommend everyone read this book if you haven’t already. And even if you have, maybe you should read it again. I will share some of the things he said that I particularly liked and could relate to.

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We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives.

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This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there’s
someone who is watching out for them.

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….you closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too – even when you’re in the dark.. Even when you’re falling.

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Love wins. Love always wins.

Abandonment

Today my friend, Brett Whitehead was released, leaving me all alone here to suffer on my own. I suppose I could say some nice things about him, but that might just embarrass him. I guess the sun shines on a dog’s… well anyway, I’m happy ofr him and wish him well.

Happy Birthday Mason

Mason James Bagshaw was born today to my sister, Wendy. From what little I know everything went well, including an eleventh hour trip to the theatre to wee the final Harry Potter film after which the water did break forth, Good timing, Sis!

“Fresh Food”

A year ago here in Davis County Jail there were rumors for months of a new offering through commissary that there would be freshly prepared food to order. Nothing ever came of these rumors while I was here on my last visit, but to my delight these rumors have finally born fruit. As long as I pass inspection on Friday I am allowed to order one of six offerings for Saturday delivery. The options are; cheeseburger, pizza, burrito, buffalo wings, chili dogs, or nachos. The best values to me seem to be the cheeseburger and pizza. The cheese burger is made from real beef—something the rest of our meals here seem to lack—and comes with all the trimmings. It’s a pretty good burger. The pizza is pepperoni and about 8 inches across. Both are even better than what Safford has to offer. All options also come with a bag of chips and a chilled 20 oz. soda. I have usually been getting the pizza.

They call this food offering “Fresh Food”. Makes you wonder what the regular meals they feed us are. As I have written previously, the meals here leave much to be desired, and even more to be imagined.

Summer Vacation

I realize that addressing you in the plural might be a little over optimistic of me, but every bit of optimism helps. It has been a while since I’ve written, but I wanted to share how my summer vacation got started.

I found out about the opportunity to make a return trip to Utah back in April. I was not told anything about when that trip might be, but I was assured that my spot was already booked and that I would indeed be going.

Last Thursday I was suddenly given one hour to pack up all my property. This I did with the assumption that I would be leaving that day—an assumption that would prove to be wrong. I proceeded to pack up all my clothes and hygiene items. After delivering them to the office where all muy property would be stored until my return, I was instructed to return to my dorm. I then inquired if I would be leaving later in the day. I was answered that no, and that they didn’t know when it would be, but that it was usually within a few days of having packed everything up.

So I was stuck there without knowing when I would be leaving with only the clothes on by back. I was able to borrow a few things but still only had the pair of socks and underwear that I was wearing. I waited for the rest of that Thursday, all of Friday, and all of Saturday but still I had not gone anywhere or heard anything. On Sunday morning I finally borrowed some laundry detergent and went commando for an hour while I washed what I had. Fortunately, Monday was the day.

Having made a decision that it would likely be Monday when I was to leave—this decision being something between a calculated guess and hope born of desperation—I wisely decided to skip breakfast in order to minimize projected bowel needs while in an inconvenient circumstance. I was called to the office at about 10:00am where I was met by two officers who would be my chaperones for the trip. We drove from Safford to Tucson where we would be catching a flight to Salt Lake City. While in Tucson I had a cheese burger for lunch from Jack-in-the-Box. Initially I wasn’t going to eat lunch for the same reason I didn’t eat breakfast, but it was pointed out to me that we would be arriving at our destination after the dinner hour. That would mean I would have gone 36 hours without eating by breakfast the next morning, so I decided to opt in for lunch. It was really, really good. I suppose it’s all subject to my opinion anyway

We arrived at the airport in Tucson and were ushered through security the back way on account of our traveling situation and my chaperones being armed. We had to wait for two hours for the plane to arrive. Waiting isn’t so bad, except when you can’t move and have nothing to entertain yourself with. We were allowed to board the plane first and were seated at the very back. Then the older passengers boarded next. One older lady was a bit upset that we were allowed to board before her.

The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Salt Lake City safely. I was then delivered to Davis County and processed in. And so here I am once again. Most of the people that were here when I was last are gone. A lot of new faces. We’ll see how it turns out. My friend Brett Whitehead is still here, but he will be getting out in a few weeks. The food is still terrible—amazingly so—but the commissary has improved somewhat.

Summer vacation, here I am. Now can I be done yet?

A Train To Potevka

Today I read "A Train To Potevka" by Mike Ramsdell, the true story of an LDS American spy in Russia during the time the Soviet Union fell and the hardships and joys he endured while serving. My friend Kristynn sent it to me and I really enjoyed reading it. I remember meeting Mike Ramsdell when he came and spoke one night at a church get-together many years ago. These two passages come from the book.

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It is not the Lord's way to His plan to take away our hardships and difficulties. It is these challenges that give us the opportunity to grow in faith, character, and understanding. And if we won't give up, He will be at our side to help us see them through.

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One of the greatest gifts that God gives to each of us is the love we share with our family, friends, and fellow men. It is this divine gift of love that enriches us, gives meaning and purpose to life, and makes it all worth living. Everything else in life is secondary. Everything. And when our time here on Earth is over, our lives will not be measured by the riches we accumulate, the honors we receive, the degrees we acquire, or the professional success we achieve, but by our capacity to love and be loved.

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Empire

I just finished reading Empire by Orson Scott Card. It's a fiction thriller about the United States and a what if scenario that the government was overthrown based on very real possibilities. One of the characters points out that Rome wasn't great and was plagued by civil wars until Julius Caesar took control changing the republic of Rome into an empire. He says that the US can't reach its potential until after we move out of our current republic phase and become an empire. It's decently written although in some of the fast moving action sequences it feels like things start jumping ahead too fast, as if the words couldn't be printed fast enough to keep up with the story.

This is one of my favorite passages dealing with an Army Ranger Special Ops guy assaulting the rebels that have high tech body armor and weapons. I thought it was funny.

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"Cole reached up and detached the M-24 sniper rifle from his pack. It fired a heavier round than the pistol -- that's why he brought it. Testing had shown that at fairly close range, it penetrated the rebel's body armor at certain key points. Like the faceplate."

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Maybe you won't find it quite as amusing, but it made me laugh. :-)

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Why is it "a penny for your thoughts", but you have to "put your two cents in"? Somebody's making a penny.

-- Steven Wright

Sonic Boom

Today I had the privilege of experiencing the signature sound of a sonic boom as a fighter jet flew overhead. At least I assume it flew overhead. I never actually saw the jet. But I suppose that if it was moving faster than the speed of sound, I didn't have much chance of seeing it anyway.

Super Bowl XLV - Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Another Super Bowl has come and gone, and unfortunately I wasn't able to watch it. Instead, I spent my evening playing chess. I could go into an exciting play by play recount of how my games played out, but somehow I just don't think you're that interested, and besides, this is about the Super Bowl. I suppose for some of you, the Super Bowl is nothing more than a good excuse to get together and eat good food and maybe see some good commercials. Although I do enjoy watching football, I do not "follow" it, nor do I have myself a favorite team. If I am watching a game, I usually root for the offense, whichever team that happens to be at the moment. What I most enjoy about football is watching the successful execution of offensive plays. This year the Super Bowl saw my family divided as some (being Packers fans) were on one side of the line, and others (being Steelers fans) were on the other side of the line. The battle lines were clearly drawn. It's probably good that I wasn't home or I might have gotten caught in the middle. On the other hand, I missed a good opportunity to have played devil's advocate and harassed both sides.

The compound here put everyone in a prize pool this year for the game. My numbers were 7 for Green Bay and 4 for Pittsburgh. That means that at the end of each of the four quarters, if the last digit for both teams' score matched my numbers, I would win. Prize bags containing all manner of delectable comestibles were given to the winners. But of course I did not win, but what else is new.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

I have just read an incredibily informative and entertaining book by Bill Bryson titled "A Short History of Nearly Everything". It's a book that covers what we know (or think we know) about the science and history of outer space, our planet, and life. It's sufficiently superficial to allow the casually informed to be able to enjoy it while at the same time being sufficiently in depth to allow the more seriously informed to also enjoy it. And through it all is layered a good natured sense of humor that truly made this book a joy to read.

Here are just a few examples:

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The second half of the eighteenth century was a time when people of a scintific bent grew intensely interested in the physical properties of fundamental things -- gases and electricity in particular -- and began seeing what they could do with them, often with more enthusiasm than sense. In America, Benjamin Franklin famously risked his life by flying a kite in an electrical storm. In France, a chemist named Pilatre de Rozier tested the flammability of hydrogen by gulping a mouthful and blowing across an open flame, proving at a stroke that hydrogen is indeed explosively combustible and that eyebrows are not necessarily a permanent feature of one's face. Cavendish, for his part conducted experiments in which he subjected himself to graduated jolts of electrical current, diligently noting the increasing levels of agony until he could keep hold of his quill, and sometimes his consciousness, no longer.

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Although there was no reliable way of dating periods, there was no shortage of people willing to try. The most well known early attempt was in 1650 when Archbishop James Ussher of the Church of Ireland made a careful study of the Bible and other historical sources and concluded that the Earth had been created at midday on October 23, 4004 B.C., an assertion that has amused historians and textbook writers ever since.

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A hundred years after his death, a statue of Lavoisier was erected in the Paris and much admired until someone pointed out that it looked nothing like him. Under questioning the sculptor admitted that he had used the head of the mathematician and philosopher the Marquis de Condorcet -- apparently he had a spare -- in the hope that no one would notice or, having noticed, would care. In the second regard he was correct. The statue of Lavoisier-cum-Condorcet was allowed to remain in place for another half century until the Second World War when, one morning, it was taken away and melted down for scrap

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Chemistry students have long amused themselves by computing just how large a number the number of molecules found in 2.016 grams of hydrogen gas is (6.0221367 x 10^23). It is equivalent to the number of popcorn kernels needed to cover the United States to a depth of nine miles.

The Great Outdoors

No, I am not referring to the movie "The Great Outdoors" -- which by the way is a great movie -- but rather to me watching movies in the great outdoors. Yesterday morning, on the last day of the year, I braved 21 degree weather to sit outside and watch "The Other Guys". Today, on the morning of the first day of the year, I inconceivably did the same thing in order to watch "Shrek - Forever After". It's going to take more than a little cold weather to teach me a lesson. I guess I'm not a fast learner. The temperature was again a brisk 21 degrees, but today came with an added bonus of an 11 degree wind chill. Now I know you may have colder temperatures where you live, but you cannot claim to have sat outside in them watching a movie as I can. Therefore I hereby lay claim to having been instrumental in achieving the earliest dumbest thing done this year. So far.

Well here's to a new year. I hope yours will be better than mine, because if not, that would be sad indeed. Remember, you only have slightly less than two years left before the end of the world arrives -- rumored to be scheduled for December 21, 2012 -- so get your shopping done early.

Happy New Year!