Review of Gratitude

The month of  November always brings with it falling leaves, football, turkey, family, and a feelings of gratitude, but this year added to the theme and essence of the autumn month was Facebook. Being au courant of all things hip in social media, and awesome in general, I decided to join the trend of using my social media updates to express my gratitude for something each day of the month. I'm not sure where the idea incubated before going viral, but my inside anonymous source-of-a-wife told me she was going to be doing it, so naturally I jumped on the bandwagon.

Ironically enough I am grateful I participated in the "thanksperiment." As I sat down with my Macbook each night to contemplate what I wanted to publicly and permanently publish to the world, I was forced to be engaged in a personal reflection of what I have in my life and the blessings I have been given. Always knowing that whatever I resolved on expressing would become communal, it was interesting how I sometimes took time to consider every word and phrase I used (the 140 character limit on Twitter had a bit of a influence on this), and other times I just typed the first thing that came to mind. I struggled some days on deciding what to publicly express gratitude for. Some days I posted things that were on my mind due to the events of that day on the calendar, such as Veterans day or my mother's birthday.

Here is a recap of my "Thirty days of Thanksgiving:"

Day 1: Grateful for good friends. 

Day 2: Grateful for a country that allows me to express my opinion, or keep quiet. 

Day 3: Grateful for the 80's. 

Day 4: Grateful for $0.49 Gatorade at Smith's.

Day 5: Grateful for Friday nights with his wife (and the Muppets).

Day 6: Grateful for a place to live and a car to drive, and a wife that loves to clean them with me.

Day 7: Thankful for April 2003-May 2005 and my California family. I miss you all.

Day 8: Thankful for a clear mind, eyes that see, ears that hear, lips that speak, shoulders that bear burdens, and legs that run and walk.

Day 9: Grateful for LDS Institutes of Religion and their willingness to take you back after a 5 year absence.

Day 10: Grateful for honest people and honest businesses that don't have to stoop to illegal action to get me to notice them. 

Day 11: Thankful for Ronald Laursen, Jason Laursen, Michael Wagstaff and the many other Veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. http://ow.ly/38Aky http://ow.ly/38AlD 

Day 12: Thankful for teachers. 

Day 13: Thankful for weekends. 

Day 14: Grateful for Sundays including Stake Conference, trying & liking new meal w/wife, Dolphins winning, and the Suns beating the Lakers. 

Day 15: Thankful for running water and a bed to sleep in.

Missed Day 16 (Grateful for a break from technology)   

Day 17: Thankful for memories and the ability to make more. 

Day 18: Thankful to be employed and to have great co-workers.
My older brother, Jason hacked his wife's Facebook account and added this to Day 18:"Day 18 thankfull that older brother dosnt give me the beating that his team will give mine later tonight."  

Day 19: Grateful for High School Athletics and always proud to be a Mustang. 

Day 20: Thankful for not having to live each day in fear and terror, but wish the rest of the world could as well. 

Day 21: Thankful for hard working parents and brothers to look up to. 

Day 22: Thankful for December 12th, October 14th, January 4th, December 22nd, March 4th, April 9th, and March 9th.

Day 23: Thankful for those that risk their lives to serve others. Armed forces, firefighters, police, bus/plow drivers, sanitation workers...kindergarten teachers...lunch ladies... 

Day 24: Grateful for second chances, forgiveness, and the ability to change. http://ow.ly/3fioZ 

Day 25:Thankful for a loving Father in Heaven and His Son who have blessed me with a beautiful life and eternal potential http://ow.ly/3fGb9. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 

Day 26: Thankful that I get to wake up and fall asleep to the most beautiful face in the world! Grateful for the perfect wife. http://ow.ly/i/5QYL 

Day 27: Thankful for good books, movies, TV shows, music and entertainment. 

Day 28: Grateful for agency, the opportunity to choose and act for myself, and for the responsibility to be accountable for those choices and actions. 

Day 29: Thankful for my mom. Happy Birthday! http://ow.ly/i/5VQN 

Day 30: Thankful for my wife Vicki. For her patience, beauty, intelligence, and love of sports. Thank you for gambling on me.

I have a lot to be thankful for.  

Email Hijacking and Viagra from Canada

Dear Friend,

I feel bad that you probably opened up your email this morning and found my name resting in your inbox, but when you opened up the email it was a link supporting a pharmacy in Canada. This has already happened to a lot of my friends on numerous email providers (yahoo, gmail, hotmail) and now it has happened to me. I first want to apologize for the email and the disappointment when it really wasn't from me. I secondly want to apologize for any emails selling you viagra and cialis that may continue to come in the future. I send this email out to warn you. I suggest any of your emails you use you setup the appropriate sign-in security procedures such as sign in seals and secret questions.

For more info about sign-in seals here is Yahoo!'s page, the other providers have similar procedures:
http://security.yahoo.com/article.html;_ylc=X3oDMTFiazFxb3JoBF9TAzU2NTAwMDAwMgRhaWQDMjAwNjEwMjUwNwRjbmFtZQNQYXNzd29yZHM-?aid=2006102507)

I have always tried to stay safe on the web, but it is getting tougher and tougher these days. If something like this has already happened to, I apologize and feel your pain, I also suggest you do everything you can to report the suspected culprits. This is really the only defense we have against them. Companies like Yahoo! and Gmail and Hotmail unfortunately will/can do very little about this. See these links for more help on reporting these evil, illegitimate, companies:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft//

http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/home-eng.html

http://security.yahoo.com/article.html;_ylc=X3oDMTFhZ2M0b2NyBF9TAzU2NTAwMDAwNwRhaWQDMjAwNjEwMjYwMwRjbmFtZQNmZWF0dXJlZA--?aid=2006102603

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100623090803AAs1lUn

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=560d53dee40be5e6&hl=en

I again apologize and hope this helps protect you.

My heart is torn when people are taken advantage of. One's identity is an intimate part of them, that when taken you can't help but feel angry and passionate about. This is why I want to get the word out. I am not the first to have their email hijacked and I won't be the last, but I feel we should inform each other about these things before they happen. These are the reasons I have always wanted to be in the communications and legal profession, and this instance has solidified my resolve to continue to pursue them.

My apologies again.

Big Weekend in Mormonism

Follow the Prophet.

Tonight at 6pm (8pm EST) is the Utah State University Aggies vs the Brigham Young University Cougars game.

This game is held every October because Utah State is the only team that will play BYU on a Friday night. The reason the game is held on Friday rather than Saturday is because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has their Semi-annual General Conference the first weekend in October.

So I encourage you to root for the right team (Aggies) tonight. The game can be seen on ESPN  and ESPN3.

Utah State hasn't beat BYU since 1993 when I was nine years old and in the USU Huddle Club. That was the first time I ever saw a crowd storm the field, let alone tear down a field goal post. USU can't help but feel like they have a chance at revenge this year. Adding to the rivalry is the two former Cache Valley Football stars that will be returning to Northern Utah. BYU freshmen JD Falslev plays Wide Receiver and returns kicks for the Cougars and grew up playing for the Sky View High School Bobcats a few miles north of Logan. BYU quarterback, and former Logan High School football star, Riley Nelson (who announced he was leaving USU and transferring to BYU via email in 2008) will not be on Merlin Olsen Field due to season ending shoulder surgery meaning the young inexperienced Jake Heaps, a true freshmen will be starting only his second game.

The Aggies also find themselves trying to overcome some injuries of their own, including their coach, who had a spill from being lightheaded and has been wearing a neck brace throughout the week. The Friday night inter-state rivalry is a blessing to Utah fans, specifically in Cache Valley as they get football a day early. The local high school intra-valley rivalry between Logan High and Mountain Crest High was played yesterday, with the home team winning by a point. Even if you don't have an interest in, the LDS General Conference, or the Beehive State rivalry, it should be an entertaining game, and heck, its college football on a Friday night.

I also encourage you to catch some of the LDS Conference if you are able. The messages are uplifting if not merely informative. They are broadcast online during, and after the conference on the church website. There are two sessions Saturday and two sessions Sunday.

You either love or hate BYU if you live in Utah and are a member of the LDS church. I am emphatically the latter. I know that many of the general authorities and leaders of the church have at some time in their life attended some school in Utah, so I have always wondered who the General Authorities and other leaders of the church root for in this annual skirmish.

I often picture them sitting at their desks in their study making final corrections to their talks while the game plays in the background on the television, internet, or radio. Interrupting their final preparations with the usual fist pumps, cheers of success, and jeers directed at the broadcast as the game rolls on. I thought I would look at who has legit ties (none of those honorary degrees in a pitiful attempt to recruit them) to USU and BYU.

Here is a quick rundown with my opinion of who they root for in the yearly USU v. BYU match-up. You can make your own assumptions, according to their biographies. If I am incorrect in my analysis I encourage comments below.

The First Presidency: 

• President Thomas S. Monson: Neutral
• Attended University of Utah for Undergrad, therefore can not be a die-hard BYU fan.
•  Got his MBA from BYU and some honorary degrees.

•  Elder Henry B. Eyring: BYU
• Undergrad at University of Utah, and therefore has a hard time rooting for the Cougars.
• Master's and Doctorate at Harvard.
• Taught at Stanford and was President of Ricks College (now BYU-I). With schools like Stanford, and Harvard on the list, and being a President of the BYU of the North, he most likely easily looks over his Ute origins and pumps a fist or two for the Cougars.
• Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Leans USU
•  Grew up and went to school in Germany. Got MBA in Switzerland (a neutral country).
• Was a fighter pilot in the West German Air Force but trained in Texas, therefore has to have a soft spot for football and the Air Force Academy, which just happens to currently be in the same conference as BYU, so he likely feels obligated to not root for the Cougars.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

• Elder Boyd K. Packer: USU
• Born in Brigham City, Utah which is just a short drive through the canyon to USU.
• Bachelor's and Master's Degree from Utah State University.
• Ed. D. from BYU.
• Also a pilot, that served in the Pacific during WWII.
• Sealed to his wife, Donna in Logan Utah Temple. 
• Despite the degree from BYU, he loves USU not only because of his attendance and proximity to Brigham City, but because of their great Education program.
•  Elder L. Tom Perry: USU
• Born in Logan, Utah.
• Perry, Utah (small town outside Brigham City) is named after his ancestor.
• B.S. in Finance from USU.
• Has been known to frequent the Coppermill Restaurant and other businesses in Logan.
• Sealed to his first wife, Virginia, in the Logan Utah Temple.
• Elder Russell M. Nelson: Neutral
• B.A. and M.D. from the University of Utah. Ph. D. from University of Minnesota
• No real leanings here, but two degrees from U of U count against BYU, which evens out his likely inclinations to root for "the Lord's team."
•  Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Leans BYU
• Born in Provo.
• Accounting degree from BYU before getting Juris Doctorate from University of Chicago Law School. He then taught Law at Chicago.
• President of BYU for nine years. Justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
• Though he is likely a Cougar fan we will give him some credit as he is likely a Chicago Bears fan and is a firm believer in the Constitution of the United States.
• Elder M. Russell Ballard: Neutral
• Attended University of Utah.
• Close relationship with the Hunstman family. 
• Know to have said he "Loves coming to Logan" in Stake Conferences in the area.
• Most likely a Ute fan who enjoys watching BYU lose no matter who it is.
• Elder Richard G. Scott: USU
• Mechanical Engineering degree from George Washington University.
• Nuclear Engineer. Father worked in US Department of Agriculture.
• Born in Pocatello, Idaho just north of Logan. Has to be a Aggie fan due to it close proximity to his hometown and its excellent engineering and agricultural programs.
• Elder Robert D. Hales: Leans USU
• Bachelors Degree from University of Utah. MBA from Harvard.
• Fighter Pilot in U.S. Air Force. (See Uchtdorf explanation).
• Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: BYU
• Was President of Brigham Young University from 1980-1989 and Dean of College of Religion at BYU.
• Bachelor's and Master's from BYU. Master's and Doctorate from Yale.
• This guy likely bleeds Blue (the wrong type).
• Elder David A. Bednar: BYU
• Bachelor's and Master's from BYU. Doctorate from Purdue. 
• Taught at Texas Tech University and University of Arkansas, therefore, has to be a football fan.
• President of Brigham Young University-Idaho 1997-2004.
• Elder Quentin L. Cook: USU
• Born in Logan Utah.
• Sealed to wife, Mary, in Logan Utah.
• Political Science degree from Utah State University. Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School.
• I've met him. He is an Aggie!
• Elder D. Todd Christofferson: BYU
•  Born in American Fork, but grew up in Lindon just north of BYU.
• Bachelor's degree from BYU. Juris Doctorate from Duke University.
• Elder Neil L. Anderson: Leans USU
• Born in Logan, raised in Pocatello, Idaho.
• Undergrad at BYU and MBA from Harvard.
• Served in Utah North Area Presidency.
• Granted he went to BYU, but my guess it was because he got a stellar scholarship or something like that. He cannot deny his Logan roots.

In case you are keeping score that is 7-5-3 for USU amongst the prophets, seers, and revelators.

A further analysis would call for a look into the the Area Seventies, Area Presidencies, Auxiliary Presidencies and Presiding Bishopric, but I will leave that up to your own curiosities.

Although this interpretation and examination is based on complete conjecture and speculation, not to mention lathered with bias, lets just say that tonight will be one of preparation and reflection for the leaders of the church, and the excitement of tonight's game will be the perfect kickoff for the 180 Semi-Annual General Conference.

Despite my general feelings in regards to the act of "storming the court/field," I do not see it as a complete impossibility for Aggie fans tonight to christen Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium with its first student body storming. I mean it has been 17 years, and a "winning team, losing team" chant hasn't yet been done in Romney with the conviction that a win tonight would bring.

Pedantic Fixation: Mormon Message and Some Running

Pedantic Fixation: Mormon Message and Some Running: "So everyone has seen at least one Mormon Messages Video right? The movies the church makes from some of the talks at General Conference and ..."

The Last shall be first, and the first shall be last...

In the parable of the laborers (Matthew 20), Jesus tells the story of a householder who goes out in the morning and hires laborers to work in his vineyard. The group and householder agree upon a price and then the laborers go to work. Later that day the householder finds some more laborers being idle and hires them on as well. A few hours later he does the same, finding and hiring others to work. He repeats this single-handed economic hiring boost several times until the work day is almost over, hiring the last group with only an hour left in the work day, promising them they will be paid "whatsoever is right." The work day ends and it is time to collect pay checks. The householder instructs his steward to pay those that came in the final hour first and follow in reverse order to those that worked the full twelve hours. All were paid an equal amount, despite the significant discrepancies in the amount of time worked. This obviously led to some discontent amongst the workers who were first hired and had "borne the heat of the day," but were still paid equal to those who had "wrought but one hour." This obviously seems to not "feel" right to the workers first hired, despite the fact that they had agreed for the one penny wage for their days work. The employer gives and affectionate clarification saying,

"Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee...So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen."

Despite, the urge I will not delve into any interpretations or lessons that can be learned from the Master Teacher on what it means to be chosen. Instead I selected this parable as a perfect fit for my first official post on SkippyN8tion because it seems appropriate and emblematic of the idea of me starting a blog. As there are endless spiritual parallels, life lessons, and symbolic auguries that can be drawn from this short allegory Jesus told, likewise, in number are the coincidences, questions and archetypical inferences this parable has to the birth of this blog.

Parables are hard to understand....my written thoughts are nearly impossible.

This blog is not for everyone (I'm not sure who it is for, its is only my first post, work with me here). "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Mark 4:9)." If you get something out of these posts, or they entertain you subscribe, read, comment, and come back for more. If my late night ranting inspires you, great. I'm supposing a lot of what I talk about may require some inside knowledge of me, or an observation or two. This blog is offered to all, but only those who have "ears to hear," and a lot of time to waste will likely make it far.

The last are first and the first are last.

I didn't invent blogging. This is likely not the first blog you have ever read, nor is it the first I have written. I just heard once that blogging was cool. I think someone told me on my brand new cell phone that looked like this.

Remember this? The Motorola TeleTac 200. I was one of the first kids at my high school to have a cell phone.

I didn't pick blogging up back in 1999 when Blogger made it all the rage, but you better believe I am jumping on the bandwagon now. It is the same thing I did with the New Kids On The Block. I hated those guys during the late 80's and early '90's, but in the 2000's, the cassette player in my Mustang always had "The Right Stuff" in it, and the volume was only turned down to make calls on the above pictured phone. The point is, I'm not the first blogger in the world and I am just now getting with a trend that some say died years ago, but in the blogosphere all blogs are equal. I may be late to the party, but I am still going to have a good time. Many of those early "web loggers" may be feeling much like the first group of workers in our parable that started at the beginning of the day (See "How blogging software reshapes the online community" by Rebecca Blood). Perhaps they are a bit frustrated with guys like me thinking I can just saunter onto the scene in 2010 when they were coding their own HTML pages of lists and links back in the day, in the snow, uphill, both ways, without any shoes. Despite everyone who came before me having their weblogs around for years/centuries, mine is now first on the list for at least a few seconds until the next blog gets made and abandoned. This post, now first, will ironically become last.

Why stand ye here all the day idle?

I work from home. As part of my work I sit in front of a computer for at least 8 hours a day. That's right, sometimes I don't even get dressed. Vicki is gone to school most the day, whilst I sit about the house answering phone calls and email. It therefore, follows that I am no longer the vibrant physical specimen, adventure seeker, and athlete I was while packing around my Motorola TeleTac 200. So in an effort to increase my physical excursions I felt there was no better way than keystroking my thoughts here as well as continuing to maintain my fantasy sports rosters. I mean, what kind of person lives that lifestyle and doesn't spend countless hours looking at and posting things all over this fad they call the Internet? Well, I will be idle no more! I am a tweeter (evidence to the bottom left of the page here), I have a FaceBook, and I'll even admit that I had a MySpace account once, but again, that was post-"MySpace-is-cool" era. I would credit my work environment, my insomnia, my path of undergraduate study at Utah State University, and my wife, Vicki and I's utter feelings of being pariahs amongst friends and family for the creation of this blog. I am not sure when it began happening, but I noticed Vicki discussing the blog content of several family members, friends from church and acquaintances of ours. This grew into the desire for us to begin a blog. We avoided this hankering to de-privatize our life for quite some time because we lacked a proper name to describe our online nakedness, but a rousing game of online Facebook Scrabble solved that dilemma real quick as evidenced by the creation of our family blog. So with the raping of our collective anonymity, I said to myself, "why not go all out?" Hence, the creation of the blog you are currently reading. I believe each of us has the desire, and love the excitement, of splashing the moments of our lives and our opinions and experiences all over the web to friends, family, strangers, and identity thieves. We, like the laborers in the parable are all equal in the eyes of Blog. Some may start early, and some may come in the eleventh hour, but we eventually all will give in. My rigorous efforts to find, follow, and subscribe to other's blogs yesterday proves that each of us needs to feel like we belong. I too needed confirmation I am not an outcast, or I fold under peer pressure and quickly sell out to avoid not fitting in. 

Many are called....

So I have answered the call that resides within each of us to join the blogosphere, and I will continue to do so that I may become one of the chosen that endures the heat of the day and doesn't forsake that call. It may come late, but when that TeleTac 200 within rings, we have to pick it up, eventually. 

http://www.thegreat80s.com/80s-Pop-Bands/New-Kids-On-The-Block.html