Planet Cleverly

The CFO Now: Quotable Quotes

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:06:00 MDT

Don't stay in bed,

unless you can make money in bed.

~~George Burns~~

Dorothy's Diary 1958: Sunday, July 6, 1958

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:00:00 MDT

Mr. Wilson brought me another case of dew berries & I bottled them this morning. 14 qts.

Gail came & got Jerry at 4: A.M & they left for Utah. Ivard came home from work & went to bed. Gene did chores & I made mush & Kids ate & Kay drove Gene Ray, Dean & Dale to priesthood, sunday school & fast meeting, Kay took Jerry's sunday S. rools & min. for him. I dressed Jackie & cleaned up & worked on my contest after fruit. Gene & Ray didn't come home after church, went to Nyssa for their Physicals at Dr. Morgans, to go to Scout camp. I cooked dinner & we ate & Ivard & Kids laid out on lawn & I worked on contest. At 4:30 Ivard & Kids & I went over to Drapees & got Gene & Ray & Ray did dishes & Gene did chores & they got packed to go to scout camp in the morning. We watched T.V. awhile & went to bed.

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Mere Christianity

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:00:00 MDT

On the forty-second page of “Mere Christianity” author C. S. Lewis wrote (emphasis added):

kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behild all these boys' philosophies—these over-simple answers. The problem is not simple and the answer is not going to be simple either.

What is the problem? A universe that contains much that is obviously bad and apparently meaningless, but containing creatures like ourselves who know that it is bad and meaningless. There are only two views that face all the facts. One is the Christian view that this is a good world that has gone wrong, but still retains the memory of what it ought to have been. The other is the view called Dualism. Dualism means the belief that there are two equal and independent powers at the back of everything, one of them good and the other bad, and that this universe is the battlefield in which they fight out an endless war. I personally think that next to Christianity Dualism is the manliest and most sensible creed on the market. But it has a catch in it.

The two powers, or spirits, or gods—the good one and the bad one—are supposed to be quite independent. They both existed from all eternity. Neither of them made the other, neither of them has any more right than the other to call itself God. Each presumably thinks it is good and thinks the other bad. One of them likes hatred and cruelty, the other likes love and mercy, and each backs its own view. Now what do we mean when we call one of them the Good Power and the other the Bad Power? Either we are merely saying that we happen to prefer the one to the other—like preferring beer to cider—or

More information about “Mere Christianity” (and the book itself) is available from:

Ramblings of all Sorts: All The Worlds A Stage

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:45:00 MDT

At The Shakespeare Festival

The Theater

The Snack Shoppe

The Benches

The Green Show

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: The Tyranny of Good Intentions

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:00:00 MDT

On the forty-second page of “The Tyranny of Good Intentions: How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice” authors Paul Craig Roberts & Lawrence M. Stratton wrote (hyperlinks & some emphasis added):

of felicity—to assess everything, including mandatory chapel at Oxford.

Bentham defined torture as making a person suffer "any violent pain of body in order to compel him to do something or to desist from doing something which done or desisted from the penal application is immediately made to cease." Dispelling the "sentimental prejudice" against torture with the "dictates of reason and utility," Bentham concluded that "torture might be made use of with advantage." Just as "a Mother or Nurse seeing a child playing with a thing which he ought not to meddle with, and having forbidden him in vain pinches him till he lays it down," the government can promote security against crime by torturing suspects. Bentham dismissed dangers of sadistic impulses and false confessions to terminate unbearable pain. He believed judges could be as trusted to prescribe the proper degree of torture as they are to properly sentence the guilty. We hear much the same thing today from those who tell us we can trust prosecutors and police with wide latitude and discretion.

As much as Jeremy Bentham disliked William Blackstone, only with Blackstonian law taming government could Bentham credibly advocate torture. Commenting on Bentham's advocacy of torture, English legal historians W. L. Twining and P. E. Twining write that "apart from the enourmous practical difficulties of devising workable safeguards, there is the perennial question of the extent to which one is prepared to trust those in authority." Bentham benefited from the fact that government is trustworthy only when the Rights of Englishmen are in place. The Rights of Englishmen are most appreciated when they are absent.

Tyranny was such a distant memory for Bentham that he did not take protections against it very seriously. Undercutting the legal achievements proscribing torture would restore tyranny quickly. Torture would, by definition, establish a class of torturers who were prone to violence and who would endanger society. Torture treats individuals as means to an end, rather than ends unto themselves who are shielded by the Rights

More information about “The Tyranny of Good Intentions” (and the book itself) is available from:

The Taylors: Fourth of July Camping Trip

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:59:00 MDT

About a year and a half ago we got all sorts of fun camping gear from Chris' parents for Christmas. Up until this past week we had used it all only once--in our backyard! So we thought we'd take it all out for a real camping trip...finally.July 3rd we left for Cascade Park for a fun trip with some of our friends from the ward. The first night it was just us and two other families who each had little girls Sam's age. The rest of the group didn't show up until the next afternoon, and we all left the following morning. Total there were five kids more or less Sam's age, seven couples more or less our age, and three teenage siblings who are visiting. We had so much fun! We played games, played Frisbee and baseball, explored, jumped in the cold river (only the three boys after playing a weird combination game of frisbee/soccer/keep-away), played with the kids, etc. Chris took a little nap in the sun and got fried. Friday night we went to a lake to watch fireworks. It was one of the best shows I've seen, mostly because there were like 20 firework shows going at once all across the other side of the lake. We only stayed an hour, but they went for a really long time. Sam really liked them.Sam was mostly a good camper. The only struggle was the first night going to bed. He was up past midnight just screaming. He didn't even want to snuggle in our sleeping bags. That night he only got about six hours of sleep. He took a great nap the following day and went to bed without a fight the second night. When we got home Saturday, he took a five hour nap!

It was a fun trip and I'm glad we got away from work for a bit. I'm also glad we have nice friends to hang out with up here. We've never been in a ward with so many young families in the same stage of life as us.

Here's a short video of our trip.

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Route 66 A.D.

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:00:00 MDT

On the forty-second page of “Route 66 A.D.: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists” author Tony Perrottet wrote (some emphasis added):

So, in the pale morning light, I consulted my Latin volumes and exulted in ancient complaints about noise pollution.

"Insomnia is the main cause of death in Rome," wailed Juvenal in A.D. 100. "Show me the bedroom that lets you sleep!" The main culprit was traffic, even then. For the very reason that wheeled vehicles were banned during the day, Rome's cumbersome delivery carts were forced to do their rounds after dark. And since axle grease was rarely used in ancient times—olive oil and animal fat were prohibitively expensive—every lurch of the transports let out a piercing squeal that penetrated even the remotest apartment.

"The thunder of wagons in those narrow twisting streets," Juvenal groaned, "the oaths of the draymen caught in a jam, would shatter the sleep of a deaf man—or a lazy walrus."

Hangovers were apparently hell in Imperial Rome. Vehicles might have been forced off the streets an hour before dawn, but they were immediately replaced by a rising crescendo of bakers hawking their bread, blacksmiths pounding their anvils, priests shrieking their morning rituals, shepherds bringing milk from the countryside, and shrill children chanting their alphabets.

"All Rome is at my bed head!" moaned the poet Martial, writhing on his mattress one morning after a wine-soaked night on the town.

In modern Rome, technology had merely raised the pitch a few hundred decibels. For Les, being able to sleep through noise was the only pleasant side effect of pregnancy so far. She finally rolled over and looked at my sunken, bloodshoot eyes.

"This will get you in training for fatherhood," she chirped, and bounded out of bed.

A couple of cappuccinos later, we were happily immersed in the Queen of Cities, trying to imagine the world the first tourists left behind. Of course, ancient Rome was all around, in a manner of speaking. In front of the Colosseum, Italian actors were dressed in Roman centurion uniforms—antiques from the days when sword-and-sandal hits such as Spartacus, Cleopatra, and Caligula were shot in situ at the film studio Cinecittà. The new centurions posed for tourist photos, charged a small fortune, and casually groped the ladies whenever they had the chance. In the Forum Romanum, the summer sun ricocheted around the broken columns mercilessly, making you wonder how the ancients survived without sunglasses. Water was still pouring from first-century drinking fountains; little boys dashed amoung the statues waving plastic swords instead of toy guns. We staggered around the ruins like the wide-[eyed]

More information about “Route 66 A.D.: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists” (and the book itself) is available from:

Dorothy's Diary 1958: Saturday, July 5, 1958

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:04:00 MDT

some one woke me up at 3: A.M walking around, t was Jerry, home from Utah he came up with Gail to help him move to Utah, Centerville, he's working for Bountiful dairy.

Gene did chores & we ate & I worked on my contest all day. Gail & Lynda came awhile then took Jerry over to help pack Ivard & Kay watched ball game then at 3: Ivard Gene & Ray went over to Blanch's & got their truck & went up to Gails & got all their stuff loaded, & Jerry came home with them. I made potatoe salad & Gene did chores then Gail & Lynda & Debbie came about 8: & we ate supper outside had weinnie roast. We bought Gails new lawn mower for $50. & the $25. he owed us. They went over to Blanch's to bed early so they could leave early in morning. We washed 3 batches of clothes. Mr. Wilson brought me a case of black caps & 1 of dew berries & I fixed the black caps ready for jam & put in ice box the dew berries were all molday. I got 2 qts. got Jerrys stuff ready

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: The Enzyme Factor

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:00:00 MDT

On the forty-second page of “The Enzyme Factor” Dr. Hiromi Shinya wrote (emphasis added):

It is better because it requires you to chew well. Chewing stimulates the secretion of saliva. Digestive enzymes found in saliva, when mixed with food while chewing, improve digestion and absorption because the breakdown of food progresses smoothly. However, porridge is soft to begin with, so it gets swallowed without being chewed well. Porridge does not digest well because not enough enzymes have been mixed in, whereas normal food that is chewed well also digests well.

I have even served regular sushi for lunch to patients three days after they have had stomach surgery. But then, I instruct them to properly "chew each mouthful 70 times." Chewing well is very important, and just for sick people. In order to carry out the digestion and absorption process smoothly, I advise people, even thouse without any gastrointestinal problems, to consciously chew 30–50 times per mouthful at every meal.

The other mistake often seen with hospital food is milk. The main nutrients found in milk are protein, fat, glucose, calcium and vitamis. Milk is very popular because it contains a lot of calcium and is supposed to prevent osteoporosis.

But the truth is, there is no other food that is as difficult to digest as milk. Since milk is a smooth liquid substance, there are some people who drink it like water when they are thirsty, but that is a big mistake. Casein, which accounts for approximately 80% of the protein found in milk, immediately clumps together once it enters the stomach, making digestion very difficult. Furthermore, that component is homogenized in the milk sold in stores. Homogenization means equalizing the fact content in milk by stirring it. The reason homogenization is bad is that when milk is stirred, air gets mixed in, turning the milk's fat component into an oxidized fatty substance—fat in an advanced state of oxidation. In other words, homogenized milk produces free radicals and exerts a very negative influence on the body.

The milk containing oxidized fat then gets pasteurized at high temperatures over 212°F. Enzymes are sensitive to heat, and begin to be destroyed at temperatures 200°F. In other worlds, milk sold in stores not

(My Grandpa would probably love this book...)

More information about “The Enzyme Factor” (and the book itself) is available from:

Ramblings of all Sorts: The Next Best Thing . . .

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:15:00 MDT

MiniG was desperately hoping for her owl to come on her 11th birthday accepting her into Hogwarts. Unfortunately her parents are muggles and the chances were slim to begin with.

The owl didn't come.

So Grandma came to the rescue and secured a private tour of the nearest place she could find to Hogwarts.

Isn't it beautiful? They said it feels even more like Hogwarts when they put the long dining tables in.

They rent it out for $400 a night but you have to use their caterer which I hear is pretty pricey. I would love to be able to throw a party in here. Unfortunately it is four hours away from where I live and the people I would want to invite would have to travel quite the distance to get there.

But isn't it fabulous???

Thank you Southern Utah University for the lovely tour!

Ramblings of all Sorts: The Year Is . . .

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:03:00 MDT

1898!

Congratulations Deano! You got it correct! And thanks to everyone who played along, even if you didn't post your guess!

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:00:00 MDT

On the forty-second page of “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom” author Cory Doctorow wrote (emphasis added):

Dan moved to block the bedroom door. "Wait a second," he said. "You need rest."

I fixed him with a doleful glare. "I'll decide that," I said. He stepped aside.

"I'll tag along, then," he said. "Just in case."

I pinged my Whuffie. I was up a couple of percentiles—sympathy Whuffie—but it was falling: Dan and Lil were radiating disapproval. Screw 'em.

I got into my runabout and Dan scrambled for the passenger door as I put it in gear and sped out.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Dan said as I nearly rolled the runabout taking the corner at the end of our cul-de-sac.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I said. "I'm as good as new."

"Funny choice of words," he said. "Some would say that you were new."

I groaned. "Not this argument again," I said. "I feel like me and no one else is making that claim. Who cares if I've been restored from a backup?"

"All I'm saying is, there's a difference between you and an exact copy of you, isn't there?"

I knew what he was doing, distracting me with one of our old fights, but I couldn't resist the bait, and as I marshaled my arguments, it actually helped calm me down some. Dan was that kind of friend, a person who knew you better than you knew yourself. "So you're saying that if you were obliterated and then recreated, atom-for-atom, that you wouldn't be you anymore?"

"For the sake of argument, sure. Being destroyed

More information about “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom” (and the book itself) is available from:

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:00:00 MDT

This post marks the completion of the first months worth of thrice daily postings seeking to find answers on the forty-second page. For any readers who are unfimiliar with the special significance of the number 42, you can find out why 42 is significant from Wikipedia.

Therefore, it seems only appropriate that we look at the forty-second page of “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Novel,” where author Douglas Adams wrote (emphasis added):

He grinned again. Three billion and six people didn't know it, but today would be a bigger antic than anyone had bargained for.

The robot camera horned in for a close-up on the more popular of his two heads and he waved again. He was roughly humanoid in appearance except for the extra head and third arm. His fair tousled hair stuck out in random directions, his blue eyes glinted with something completely unidentifiable, and his chins were almost always unshaven.

A twenty-foot-high transparent globe floated next to his boat, rolling and bobbing, glistening in the brilliant sun. Inside it floated a wide semicircular sofa upholstered in glorious read leather: the more the globe bobbed and rolled, the more the sofa stayed perfectly still, steady as an upholstered rock. Again, all done for effect as much as anything.

Zaphod stepped through the wall of the globe and relaxed on the sofa. He spread his two arms along the back and with the third brushed some dust off his knee. His heads looked about, smiling; he put his feet up. At any moment, he thought, he might scream.

Water boiled up beneath the bubble, it seethed and spouted. The bubble surged into the air, bobbing and rolling on the water spout. Up, up it climbed, throwing stilts of light at the cliff. Up it surged on the jet, the water falling from beneath it, crashing back into the sea hundreds of feet below.

Zaphod smiled, picturing himself.

A thoroughly ridiculous form of transport, but a thoroughly beautiful one.

At the top of the cliff the globe wavered for a moment,

More information about “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” (and the book itself) is available from:

Dorothy's Diary 1958: Friday, July 4, 1958

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:16:00 MDT

Gene did the chores & Ivard watered. Kay picked a row of beans & Gene picked one & Ivard picked them over while he watched the ball game. Kay left at 10: to go to dam with Hammonds. Ray picked rasp berries & dew berries. & I worked on contest & washed 2 blankets while Ray cleaned up house then this afternoon I bottled 5 qts dew berries, 3 qts rasp berries & 12 qts string beans. Ivard & Kids went & got a bunch of rocks & made a bon fire pit & set up our old table out of shed & cleaned it & I made 2 cherry pies & 2 shells & we had our supper out side, weinne roast & pie & icecream. Ivard went to bed at 9:30 so he could go to work but he didn't go to work today. Me & Kids went about 10: Kay got home at 10:30.

this is m.e.: quotable friday:

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:00:00 MDT

{photo taken by me}

How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.

{Paul Sweeney}

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: 1776

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:00:00 MDT

In honor of the Fourth of July let's read together the forty-second page of “1776,” where author David McCullough wrote (emphasis & hyperlink added):

all hours. It was there that Washington conferred with his highest-ranking officers, convened his councils of war, and, with staff help, coped with numberless problems of organization, issued orders, and labored over correspondence—paperwork without end, letters to Congress, appeals to the governors of the New England states, and the legislature of Massachusetts. There, too, he received or entertained local dignitaries and politicians and their wives, always in elegant fashion, as was both his pleasure and part of the role he felt he must play. And as with everything connected with that role—his uniform, the house, his horses and equipage, the military dress and bearing of his staff—appearances were of great importance: a leader must look and act the part.

To judge by surviving household accounts, Virginia hospitality more than lived up to its reputation at Cambridge. Purchases included quantities of beef, lamb, roasting pig, wild ducks, geese, turtle, and a variety of fresh fish, of which Washington was especially fond; plums, peaches, barrels of cider, brandy and rum by the gallon, and limes by the hundreds, these to fend off scurvy. One entry accounts for payment to a man named Simon Lovett "for carting a load of liquor from Beverly."

The domestic staff included a steward, two cooks (one of whom was French), a kitchen maid, a washerwoman, eight others whose duties were not specified and included several slaves, plus a personal tailor for the commander, one Giles Alexander. Washington's body servant, a black slave name William ("Billy") Lee, was his steady companion. Riding with Washington on his rounds of defenses, Billy Lee became a familiar figure, a large spy glass in a leather case slung over one shoulder.

As apparent to all, His Excellency was in the prime of life. A strapping man of commanding presence, he stood six feet two inches tall and weighed perhaps 190 pounds. His hair was reddish brown, his eyes gray-blue, and the bridge of his prominent nose unusually wide. The face was largely unlined, but freckled and sun-beaten and slightly scarred by smallpox. A few "defective teeth" were apparent when he smiled.

He carried himself like a soldier and sat a horse like the perfect Virginia gentleman. It was the look and bearing of a man accustomed to respect and to being obeyed. He was not austere. There was no hint of arrogance. "Amiable" and "modest" were words frequently used to

More information about “1776” (and the book itself) is available from:

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Gettysburg

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:00:00 MDT

145 years ago tonight (July 3rd, 1863) the Battle of Gettysburg ended after three days of fierce fighting—the bloodiest of the entire American Civil War—with 45,000–50,000 casualties. On the forty-second page of an acclaimed history of that battle, “Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage,” historian Noah Andre Trudeau wrote (hyperlinks & most emphasis added):

Richard S. Ewell spent the first part of Sunday morning planning his attack on Winchester. The Yankee troops holding the town were concentrated in a series of strong points located on high ground northwest of the settled areas. Any force attempting an assault from the south would be first scrambled by having to move through the town streets and then chopped up on exposure to the enemy's fields of fire beyond. Ewell was so discouraged by his initial assessment that he sent a message to Lee concluding that Milroy's position was "too strong to be attacked." Lee did the best he could from a distance: his reply expressed confidence in Ewell's on-site judgment and offered the corps command the option of holding Milroy in place with one division while moving the other up to the Potomac. By the time this exchange was completed, however, Ewell had come up with a viable plan on his own.

A dominating hill that the enemy had not fortified, rising just west of the Federal positions, provided the key. Jubal Early, recognizing the opportunity it presented, suggested a movement that Ewell approved of. By 11:00 A.M., a strong column was in motion on a wide flanking swing to the west while everyone else held position south of Winchester. At about the same time, another of Ewell's division commanders, Major General Robert Rodes, having frightened a small Union garrison out of Berryville, was marching his men north toward Martinsburg, close to the Potomac River.

That there were any Union troops at all in Winchester was the result more of bad decisions than of any positive purpose. Robert Milroy, in charge of the Federal forces in the town, got his orders through Major General Robert C. Schenck, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The two shared the mistaken belief that Stuart's concentration near Culpeper portended a cavalry raid, an offensive tactic that would pose little danger to a fortified garrison. Confident in their misapprehension, they ignored clues that something far more serious was in fact in the offing. Thus on June 11, when the War Department ordered Schenck to evacuate Winchester, he conveyed the order to Milroy as an instruction to prepare for a withdrawal. It was June 13 before Schenck realized that much more than a mere calvary raid was under way. He sent an urgent message ordering Winchester's evacuation, but it never reached its destination because Ewell's men cut the telegraph wires as they closed in. Milroy was left with no option but to stand fast.

President Lincoln, monitoring the situation through the War Department, could not believe what was happening. At 1:14 P.M. on June 14, he

(Four months later President Lincoln would deliver his historic Gettysburg Address.)

More information about “Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage” (and the book itself) is available from:

I am a Writer: "A smile is a curve that sets everything straight"

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:39:00 MDT

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
--Henry David Thoreau

"A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home."
--Anonymous

"Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances."
--Benjamin Franklin

"Believe that you have it, and you have it."
--Latin Proverb

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
--Helen Keller

"The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can."
--Robert Cushing

pictures taken of my beautiful sister-in-law Ashley by my talented sister Mary!

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Eon

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:00:00 MDT

On the forty-second page of one of my favorite sci-fi novels, “Eon,” author Greg Bear wrote (emphasis added):

her sleeve, opened the door for them, then sat behind a desk made of more baffle metal to fill out forms. When they were done, she opened a locked box and pulled out a green badge with an outline of the Stone printed in one corner, surrounded by a silver circle.

"Our security is tight here, Miss Vasquez," she said. "Make sure you know the rules. A green badge is a great responsibility."

Patricia took the indelible pen and signed the badge, then pressed her fingers onto an ID scan plate for storage in the security system computers. The woman clipped the badge to her breast pocket. "Pleased to have you with us. I'm Doreen Cunningham, head of security for First Chamber Science Compound One. Any questions or problems, feel free to visit."

"Thank you," Patricia said. Lanier led the way out of the guardhouse and up the rampart steps.

"If you like to exercise, we have a running path around the inner perimeter of the compound, with an extension that takes you to the second compound. There's a gym pit not far from here. I recommend pretty strenuous exercise whenever possible. The low-g is a bit easy on us. I tend to get flabby if I don't maintain. And exercise will acclimate you more quickly to the air pressure."

"I think the low-g is pleasant," she said as they walked to the front of a wide plastic-sheet quonset hut. "Bouyant."

Inside the hut were two vehicles resembling large snowcats, mounted on six rubber-tired band-steel-spoke wheels instead of treads. Patricia bent down to look beneath, then straightened. "Very rugged," she said.

"Our trucks. Easy to drive—you'll learn soon. But today, you're just going along for the ride: Keep your eyes peeled."

He unlocked a door and helped her up the high step into the shotgun seat. He paused before closing the door. "I'm sorry I came down on you so hard. I'm sure you understand how important you could be here, and—"

More information about “Eon” (and the book itself) is available from:

this is m.e.: weekend wear:

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:20:00 MDT

um, i think i've just fallen in love again. this dress is TO. DIE. FOR.

it might be because i heart gray so much these days. and i'm a sucker for a sweet dress.

but the kicker? she's only $23 dollars at target! i wish she were mine...

this is m.e.: ketchup, vol. 2

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:05:00 MDT

on June 11, 2008 we went to Leatherby's in Taylorsville so that Gwen could go there one more time before her mission (it is one of gwenie's favorite places!). it was such a great time! we all told stories & memories we had about Gwenie. we all laughed a lot, and the food was absolutely delisch. loved it!

.....

on tuesday june 17th, 2008 gwen was set apart as a missionary, it was a really special night! it has been quite a while since i have been to one of those, and it was a great experience. we all got to share our testimonies with gwen, and then she was able to share hers with us. it was a very nice evening.

.....

on wednesday june 18th, 2008 we took sister gwen marie oveson to the MTC in provo. it was such a neat experience too! she was so excited, you could see her beaming! we all were doing okay, until they played that "called to serve" movie where they show all the missionaries across the world! and then, obviously, singing "called to serve" got us all too! gwen didn't look sad at all though, she was just ready to get going! she hugged us all, told us she loved us and said goodbye! she walked to the side were the missionaries go, turned back around to us and with a big smile on her face, gave us one final wave goodbye! and off she was!

to read about gwen's mission, you can check out her mission blog vince & i are doing for her... it is where you can read her letters + emails and stay up to date on her mission.

www.sisteroveson.blogspot.com

Dorothy's Diary 1958: Thursday, July 3, 1958

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:29:00 MDT

Ivard came home & went to bed. Gene did chores & we ate & Ivard got up & him & Kids went down & pulled the rest of weeds in the middle corn field.

I worked on contest & washed

At noon me & all the Kids went to Caldwell & took Pick-up tire to OK rubber to be fixed, needs a section put in, we had a milk Shake & went to the store & got groc. & to the dairy & got gal. icecream.

Ivard watched ball game while we were gone & pitted the cherries for pies tomorrow.

I got supper & they did chores. I worked on contest until midnight & Ivard & Kay watched T.V.

Ivard didn't work today.

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Pardon My French

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:00:00 MDT

Parlez-vous français? If not, you may be interested in “Pardon My French: Unleash Your Inner Gual,” where author Charles Timoney wrote on the forty-second page (hyperlinks & some emphasis added):

trains are much bigger than Métros, go faster, and often have two floors. In addition to suburban RER lines, there are also suburban railway lines leading to the main railway stations. These lines are run by the SNCF—Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer—which also runs the main long-distance trains. Unless you have a carte orange, you will need separate tickets for the RER and SNCF trains outside central Paris.

Geography

DOM-TOM: When France gave up its empire after the Second World War, the word colonie was officially banned. What remains of the French empire is now known as les DOMS-TOMS. The letters stand respectively for Départements d'Outre Mer, or overseas counties, and Territoires Outre Mer, or overseas territories. The French départaments or counties include four that are overseas, namely Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, and Réunion. These are considered to be ordinary French counties, even though they are rather a long way from all the others. They are generally shown on the handy little map that you get at the back of French diaries or planners. The TOM are more independent and even farther away and compromise New Caledonia, French Polynesia Wallis-et-Futuna, St. Pierre-et-Miquelon, and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.

More information about “Pardon My French: Unleash Your Inner Gual” (and the book itself) is available from:

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Exporting American Dreams

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 MDT

Today (July 2nd) marks the one hundredth birthday of Thurgood Marshall who made history in 1954 by succesfully arguing Brown v. Board of Education, and later by becoming the first African American solicitor general and supreme court justice.

Apropos to a timely post at Balkinization by legal historian Mary L. Dudziak we're pleased to turn to the forty-second page of her brand new book, “Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey,” which reads (emphasis added):

constitutional deliberations. But Marshall had something that an "underdeveloped" region like Kenya was thought to need: expertise in a "developed" legal system. Americans had long thought of the world as divided into developed and underdeveloped spaces. President Harry Truman argued in 1949 that promoting economic expansion was "the key to prosperity and peace" and that technical expertise would bring about development. Soon, American lawyers lent a hand in bringing law to bear to aid "underdeveloped" nations. By the 1960s, the idea of development was ubiquitous; as anthropologist Arturo Escobar put it, the world was "colonized by the development discourse," and "it seemed impossible to conceptualize social reality in other terms." According to this mind-set, Marshall's expertise in American law was all he really needed.¹¹

Marshall had done legal work overseas before. In the early 1950s, during the Korean War, he responded to the pleas of African American soldiers who had received harsh sentences for misconduct. Korea was the first major U.S. military engagement after President Truman issued an executive order to desegregate the military in 1948. The war finally desegregated the army if only because it proved impractical to send needed replacement troops according to race. But reports surfaced of disparities in punishment for misconduct based on race, resulting in horrific sentences for African American soldiers. Concerned about discrimination, Marshall traveled to Japan and then to Korea to investigate, interviewing soldiers near the front lines. He was successful in reducing the sentences of thirty soldiers.¹²

When he left for Africa, Marshall had no preconceived set of constitutional plans for the colony. Legal Defense Fund (LDF) attorney Jack Greenberg recalled that he did research on British Commonwealth constitutions and gave Marshall a book on the topic that he took on the trip. James Nabritt III, a young LDF lawyer, also provided Marshall with materials, including a copy

More information about “Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey” (and the book itself) is available from:

this is m.e.: special announcement:

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:43:00 MDT

Camry McKay Leialohaokalani Keyes
born on Wed. June 25, 2008 at 8:04 pm
She weighed in at 7 lbs even, and was 20 inches long

.....

my friend lisa (we've known each other since the 8th grade!)had her baby last week... isn't she beautiful? look at all that dark hair! LOVE it! lisa wasn't due until June 30th, but the dr. decided to induce her because sweet lil' camry was just getting too big for lisa. the labor was long (37 hours, to be exact), but both mother and daughter are doing great! i'm so excited for my cute friend to be a mom, i know she will be great! love you lisa! i cannot wait to meet little camry -- she's beautiful!

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Maui Tacos Cookbook

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:00:00 MDT

Had lunch yet today? Hungry? On the forty-second page of “Maui Tacos Cookbook” authors Mark Ellman & Santos Barbara share the secret to making the following tastey morsel (emphasis entirely in the original for a change):

Honolii Burrito

(The Ground Beef Burrito)

When grilling the meat for your burrito is not an option, this ground beef burrito is an excellent choice.

2 flour tortillas, 12-inch (any flavor)

1 cup ground beef

1 cup Maui Tacos rice (page 8)

1 cup black beans (page 5 or canned)

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

⅓ cup sour cream

1 cup shredded lettuce

salsa, to taste

Warm the tortillas. Cover with foil (to keep them warm) and work with them one at a time.

Cook the ground beef in a frying pan. Drain off excess fat (or use recipe on page 16).

Layer rice, beans and cooked beef in the center of each tortilla.

Top with cheese, sour cream, salsa and lettuce.

Roll the tortillas as shown on page 111. Wrap each burrito tightly in foil if desired.

Makes 2 burritos

More information about “Maui Tacos Cookbook” (and the book itself) is available from:

The CFO Now: Independece Solutions: The Energy Audit

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:00:00 MDT

The first thing I did was to get an energy audit. Check with your gas or electrical company to see if they offer anything like this.

They came out and looked at my windows, doors, appliances, water heater, pipes, faucets and insulation levels among other things. They asked about our habits like how many showers a day do we take, and how many loads of dishes or laundry do we do each week. Then they review the last 12 months of our usage and then make recommendations on what and how to improve in certain areas.

I now have a very specific list to start working with on my home. Plus a list of rebates and how to get them if I choose to implement certain items in my home.

This is a great place to start because they will give you specific solutions and ideas on how to improve your own space and not someone elses space who may have different factors to consider.

So if you're looking for your own solutions, definately start with a home energy audit.

Dorothy's Diary 1958: Wednesday, July 2, 1958

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:32:00 MDT

Gene did chore & I fed Dean & Dale & took them over to Prune Orchard to go to Primary at 8:50 & Kay went & got them at 11: I washed Jackies diapers & bottled 18 qts of cherries then Jackie, Kay & I went to town with Ivard in Pick up to take 2 bang suspect cows to sale at Carture junction. We went to Nampa & Pd. car & baler & left my watch for new crystal. had a hamberger at A&W & root beer & fries. Came to Caldwell & I got groc. while Ivard went to Bank & to put Kay & Genes money in Savings. Kids did weeds in corn

Came home & cooked supper & bottled other 9 qts of cherries then Mr. Wilson brought me 2 cases of dew berries & I did 26 qts of them. Gene was sick & went to bed & Ivard did chores & went to bed. He had to go to work at 10: for 11: Pete came & took Kay to Jelopy races, got home at 12:30. watched T.V. until it went off air & got books up. went to bed at 12:45.

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: East to the Dawn

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:00:00 MDT

On this day seventy-one years ago—July 2, 1937—famous aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart went missing while attempting to circumnavigate the globe. She was declared legally dead 18 months later.

On the forty-second page of Susan Butler's biography of Amelia Earhart, “East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart,” we read (most emphasis added):

the sleeping arrangements: Muriel slept with her mother in her mother's old bedroom. Muriel, recalling that sleeping arrangement, seventy years after the fact, still had a tinge of resentment in her voice as she continued. "Amelia had her own room." The special room—Maria's.

* * *

Summertime life in Kansas City was simpler, less structured than it was in Atchison. Because Amelia had no network of school friends and cousins as in Atchison, she was thrown back on the company of her family—her sister, he mother, and particularly her father, who rarely, if ever, visited Atchison. There was more freedom in the Earhart house: Edwin particulaarly believed in letting young girls do what they wanted, whether it was proper or not. Amelia seems to have adjusted and benefited from the change. In particular, it gave her a chance to be with her father, whom she adored. Amy read Amelia and Muriel to sleep at night with selections from Dickens and Sir Walter Scott, but it was Edwin's knowledge that impressed Amelia. "I thought that my father must have read everything and, of course, therefore, knew everything. He could define the hardest words as well as the dictionary, and we used to try to trip him and he to bewilder us. I still have a letter he wrote me beginning, 'Dear parallelepipedon,' which sent me scurrying for a definition," she wrote.

Both in Atchison and in Kansas City from the time they were tots, Amelia and Muriel were taught by example and by lesson that it was the obligation of the right to help out the poor. Well into the 1900s there were black shantytowns outside of Leavenworth, Atchison, and Kansas City. The blacks had come in huge numbers in the 1870s because the railroads, in an effort to encourage travel by rain, had distributed circulars promising good land and plenty of work in the state. It was a cruel joke, one that had left many impoverished blacks stranded. By the first decade of the 1900s the names of the white families whom they could turn to were being passed along among the desperately poor. Amy's name was on that list. "We watched, wide-eyed, the pathetic procession of decrepit Negroes, often crippled and scarred from their days of slavery, who stopped to beg.... Mother always gave them a few pennies or some bread and bacon, and this sent them on their way blessing her and perhaps a little strengthened in hope and faith."

On the outskirts of Atchison was the large red brick Soldiers' Orphans' Home that had been built after the Civil War for the indigent and orphaned offspring of Kansas veterans. The Home, by Amelia's day, was open to all dependent children in Kansas, including those who were physically disabled; it was one of the causes that civic-minded Atchison took

More information about “East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart” (and the book itself) is available from:

Ramblings of all Sorts: Now That School Is Out...

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:58:00 MDT

Exercise your brain a little!

See if you can remember all the Roman Numeral rules and see if you can figure out what this number is.

The answer when I come back from camping!

The Kenyan Within: summer evening run

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:17:00 MDT

tonight I had such a craving to run. it didn't matter that it was now nearly nine o'clock and still a little hot and that I had the dollar burgers from the post-work B&D extravaganza still sitting in my stomach. I had to run. I had to get out there.

I had been invited to go do a track workout with mal, jer and elizabeth but couldn't because I already had some obligations. it would've been fun. it's been so long since I've done speed work on a track with other people. I miss those days. but it also would have been pretty dang hot, which I'm not so sad to miss.

the run was the usual route. it was just starting to get a little dark. the temp was warm, but a slight breeze helped cool things down a bit. my body felt pretty good, but my throat was hurting a little. I couldn't tell if I was just dehydrated or it was the cold still lingering. oh, and I got a pretty good side cramp during the middle of the run, but just ran through it. eventually it went away. {I'm pretty sure it was the burgers}

3 miles; liberty perimeter loop/8th east

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Patent Failure

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:00:00 MDT

On the forty-second page of “Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk” authors James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer wrote (hyperlinks & emphasis added):

of wealth, landowners devised complicated schemes for distributing their land to their heirs. Besides dividing the land geographically, they often divided ownership rights over time and included contingencies linked to births and deaths of potential heirs. Primogeniture was a feudal rule that restricted inheritances on land to the oldest son. The rule was intended to preserve the feudal order but it also had the effect of preserving large estates. The common law of both England and the United States abandoned primogeniture but developed other, more subtle doctrines to regulate temporal fragmentation and weakn the grip of the "dead hand of the past" on transactions by the living. Property taxes and registration fees obviously discourage fragmentation when the fixed minimum taxes or fees are large relative to the value of the property. The registration fees imposed under the federal mining law forced the abandonment of stale mining claims prevalent on federal lands. Finally, minimum lot size and setback requirements prevent the land in residential neighborhoods from fragmenting too much.

Newly Acquired Property Rights

Devising efficient property rights is particularly difficult in the context of newly acquired rights—a constant challenge for patent law. New property rights should be clearly defined to provide adequate notice to strangers who might be affected by the rights and who might want to contract for permission to use newly created property. Also, the law should strive to minimize social losses that might accrue as parties compete to acquire new property rights.

To a great extent, property law addresses the notice problem by relying on possession to govern allocation of new rights. The law often adopts nonlegal intuitions about physical control over an asset as the key sign of ownership. Simple possession rules make it easier for third parties to recognize the existence and scope of a property right. In the classic case, Pierson v. Post, a court was called on to award ownership of a fox to one of two hunters. Post was in hot pursuit of the fox with a pack of hounds. Pierson stepped in, killed, and took possession of the fox knowing Post was in hot pursuit. The court favored Pierson, perhaps because his possession of the fox left no doubt about when the property right was established and who

More information about “Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk” (and the book itself) is available from:

Dorothy's Diary 1958: Tuesday, July 1, 1958

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:24:00 MDT

Gene did chores & him & Ivard checked water & Kay got breakfast & I worked on contest. At 10: Ivard & I, Kay, Gene, Dean & Dale went over to Steels & picked 73 lbs of cherries & Ray stayed home & washed bottles & tended Jackie.

I bottled 45 qts & Ivard made waffles for supper & I stoped to do milk & a storm came up & power went off at dark so we all went to bed. storm didn't last long, wind & rain.

Ivard & Gene, Ray, Dean & Dale went to Adrian after chores were done to let Gene play Junior legion ball but they got stormed out.

Stanley Mills came this afternoon & Kay went with him awhile. Pete came tonight & they sat out in car & talked for a hr. then he went home.

Ivard didn't work again today.

Wisdom from the 42nd Page: Stamp Collecting for Dummies

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:00:00 MDT

On this day Forty-five years ago Zone Improvement Plan—zip—codes were introduced by the United States Postal Service.

In honor of this historic occasion we paid our local library a visit last night looking for a suitable 42nd Page candidate to commemorate the occasion. The best we were able to find was “Stamp Collecting for Dummies.” On the forty-second page of which, author Richard L. Sine wrote (some emphasis added):

Figure 3-7: Stamp tongs.

After you become familiar with them, tongs allow you more dexterity than your fingers, without the danger of rough handling of a stamp or the opportunity for moisture or oil from your fingers to get on the stamp. Tongs are available in a variety of styles, with lengths ranging from at least 4½ to 6 inches. Tip designs include pointed, spade, and round. Which length and tip style is your choice? I tend to prefer the spade tip. I have had some bad experiences with pointed tips, having speared more than one stamp.

When attending a stamp show or bourse (similar to a stamp show, but without the exhibits), be sure to have a pair of tongs with you to use when inspecting stamps at a dealer's table. This is an easy way to make an instant good impression.

If a single tool exists that is universally important to all stamp collectors, stamp tongs can make that clain. Although you may use any of the other tools listed in this chapter based on your own collecting interests and style, tongs are critical to all collectors.

Perforation gauge

You need a method of measuring perforations (see Figure 3-8). Enter the perforation gauge. As with any specialized tools, perforation gauges are available in quite a few configurations ranging from stamp-dealer giveaways to highly sophisticated devices—you can even find software that can measure a stamp's perforations from a digital scan of the item.

More information about “Stamp Collecting for Dummies” (and the book itself) is available from:

bla bla bla blog: Presenting their royal majesties

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:40:00 MDT

Heavily Photoshopped, obviously, but I am proud to present to you Prince Uno and Principezza Dos!

I'm not sure how I feel about the blurring around Uno (particularly her feet), so I may do a reshoot for her (if she'll let me). Which is fine, because I actually envisioned her photo more in the superhero vein than as royalty.... I'd shoot from a low vantage point so she looks taller and more imposing, and if we can't get a decent breeze I'll haul out our box fan and an extension cord...! Yeah. That sounds good. :-)

I'm not very good about printing out and displaying all these crazy photos I take, but if I can get the result I want my plan is to put them together with Tres's ballerina in a fantasy collage to hang in the play room.

~RCH~

this is m.e.: thoughts flowing freely.

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:30:00 MDT

does anyone else just feel so overwhelmed with life sometimes? i just feel like i could accomplish so much more if time just stood still for a bit, or if i had just a few extra hours each day. or if i didn't have to work, lol. i think i am just in a slump from our vacation last week (more on the vaca in a later post) and can't get out of the funk. plus, vince has been studying for a calculus test pretty much since we got home on friday... and i miss him. that's what i get for being with him so much last week (try 24/7 for 5 days straight... loved it!). and now, being without him is hard. although, i know that we won't always get to be together so much, and so i should be thankful. and i am. but it's hard to be away from him, when i normally get to be with him so much. i know, i'm a baby + a sap... what can i say.

sometimes, i just wish certain things would happen, so that certain other things could happen. haha, yeah... i'm sure that made a whole lot of sense. what i mean is, sometimes i just wish our debt was all paid off, and we were in a house of our own, and vince was into his major and working at his uncle's accounting firm, and i was a stay at home mom. i know that all those things will happen in due-time... but sometimes i wish due-time was right-now-time. it's just hard when we know so many people who have houses that they get to decorate cute, and other friends have babies or are expecting. and others who are out of college and into the real world. i really shouldn't dwell on these things, but i do. i am today.

i had my first week in primary on sunday. let me tell you guys, when i was called as our ward's primary chorister, i pretty much was freaking out. i love children and i love music... but something about the calling pretty much scared me silly. i got all the stuff from the previous chorister on saturday (since i had been gone all week) and only sort of prepared what i was going to do... i was just trying to avoid the inevitable, i guess. sunday morning i woke up bright and early to really prepare. i was still nervous, just not knowing what to expect. but then i went and did it, and it was so not as bad as i thought it was going to be! the kids were great, the songs went great, it all just went much better than i had anticipated. and now, i'm actually excited about this calling. it should be good.

i feel like i worry much more now these days, more than i ever used to. as i have gotten older, i feel like i get more anxiety. so not cool, mary. i hate that i get all stressed and worried and anxious about things. it's no fun at all. and so now, i just need to learn to manage it. maybe just try to relax more, and worry less. easier said than done. i'm sure my new-found anxiety is due in part to being an adult. it stresses me out, all these dang bills and life-issues! what the heck, adult-hood? cut me some slack, won't ya?

i'm starting a new thing today... some friends & family members are doing it too, and i'm so excited! we are doing our own version of the biggest loser! i am just ready to get rid of this extra weight and begin to feel good about myself again! plus, i have so many pairs of jeans that i have been holding onto hoping i will fit into them again someday! and shirts, too! i have an entire wardrobe just waiting for those pounds to come off, so that i can wear the clothes again! i feel motivated this time, so... we'll see how it goes.

it's really cold here at my work today. *sigh*

in other, more cheerful news: vince's birthday is next week. he will be the big 24! what an old man! i've got some fun things up my sleeves for it. i'm excited! stay tuned to hear all about it next week after the big day!

Ramblings of all Sorts: Welcome To My Home

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:26:00 MDT

Every first Tuesday is The Home Tour at Talk About Tuesday. I wanted to start with the front of my house and each month work our way around the house. But I just got home from vacation and we're leaving tomorrow for another one so . . .

This is what you get!

A picture of my nice cozy bed~~a bit messy, but there's nothing like coming home to your own bed!

Ramblings of all Sorts: Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:53:00 MDT

The CFO Now: Independece Solutions

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:25:00 MDT

When I first started thinking about this stuff, it was because I was concerned with the rising cost of heating fuel in my area. And I wanted something concrete to help with that for myself and for others like the elderly, or people like my dad with a condition that its imperative he keeps warm or he may lose some limbs due to frostbite like symptoms that can occur even in the warm summertime.

A lot of the solutions I was coming up with required a lot of cash outlay to get the new systems put in place. But maybe there are other things you should be doing first before going that route. Things that would help you get through a crisis without any heat or electricity if you haven't been able to afford or had time to install some of the other ideas that I will be talking about {at a later time this month} yet.

If you are in debt, don't think about trying to add big expensive systems yet. Work on getting out of debt--this will be important but at the same time try to implement some low cost items that will help see you through.

* Begin to prepare by collecting warm blankets and bedding at yard sale and thrift stores. Try to keep an eye out for down comforters that will help keep you warm, but stock up on others too.

* Begin to stock up and collect warm wool or cashmere socks, long johns, sweaters, coats and mittens/gloves. Summer is a good time to look at yard sales for these types of things, but keep an eye out in the thrift stores too. Some of them you might have to wait to catch sales or clearances later on in the year when those items come back into the stores.

* Shore up your insulation and air leaks to help keep your warm air in and cold air out {more on this to come}.

* Add thermal insulating liners to your drapes and windows~~about $5/yd at the fabric store, if you have full panel draperies, you will need approximately 5 yards per window which can add up. Maybe work on one window a month or something so it isn't a huge hit to your pocketbook all at once.

* Make or buy a solar oven so you will have a way to cook without having to worry about fuel to light up a grill etc.

* What will you use for light? Buy a few solar powered lights, or battery powered lanterns w/ solar powered recharger. Those are much cheaper than outfitting your house with a whole solar lighting system, so go with these first, plus they're great to take camping with you! Also stock up on candles, I always see them at my local thrift store, and they can make a room look and smell lovely.

A lot of these are ideas that can be used even if you rent instead of own your home. And they are more inexpensive than some of the other ideas I've been looking at. Since it is summer, definately make use of the yard sales all around, keep your eyes open at thrift stores, or even start asking for some items on places like Freecycle and you can easily {and inexpensively} begin to prepare the things you will need.

2	flour tortillas, 12-inch (any flavor)
1 cup	ground beef
1 cup	Maui Tacos rice (page 8)
1 cup	black beans (page 5 or canned)
½ cup	shredded cheddar cheese
⅓ cup	sour cream
1 cup	shredded lettuce
	salsa, to taste