National Make A Misteak Day

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I last wrote. Today I made an error that made me pause an think about that every popular topic, “Making mistakes and learning from them.” Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made lots of mistakes since my last blog posting.

Today’s error in judgment was actually made last Friday although I didn’t realize the consequences of the mistake until this morning. To make a long story short, I was in charge of posting some information to the U’s homepage to update some outdated info. My boss asked me to fact check the info but I was unable to get in touch with the appropriate parties because of the holiday; the info seemed straightforward enough that I posted it anyway. You can see where this is going, it turned out to be inaccurate and we received a phone call from someone on campus today. The woman was quite pleasant and understanding, but I shouldn’t have made the error – after all, I’ve learned this lesson before: hastiness is foolishness.

Although the error was stupid and simple, I quickly acknowledged the error to everyone involved and apologized. Everyone involved seemed to be okay with it, except for myself.

For those who know me, I can be quite hard on myself. The whole experience has caused me to relive similar and even unrelated errors I’ve made in the past. But rather than get depressed this time around, I resolved to look at the mistake (and all of my mistakes really) constructively, as opportunities to learn and grow.

Whenever I make a mistake, I think of a story my brother-in-law told me when he was a boy. He had borrowed the family car to run an errand and got in an accident while he was out. Upon returning home, with the car completely smashed up and the front bumper dragging on the ground, his dad saw him pull up in the damaged car. Rather than yell, blame, and interrogate, his dad simply said, “Well, did you learn something?”

So, today, I’m resolving to learn from my mistakes by declaring March 25, “National make a misteak day.” (misspelling intentional) Today, I’m resolving to graciously accept my mistakes and look at my errors through new glasses, to determine what went wrong, what I could and could not control, and what decisions I would make if presented with a similar problem. In the meantime, I ask for your patience and promise you’ll have my patience in return.

I found this great article online about mistakes which I think you might find very interesting. http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/44-how-to-learn-from-your-mistakes/.

On the Road Again

I greatly look forward to spring: the sunlight, the yard work, going to the park with the kids, and riding my bike to work. This week was unusually warm so last night I pulled my bike off its storage rack last night and checked to make sure I did an adequate tune-up last fall. The kids were thrilled at the prospect and insisted I get their bikes out too. Ben doesn’t really have a bike of his own (or a helmet) so he improvised and used daddy’s (see accompanying photo). He’s still trying to figure out how to put it on. I hope to get him a tricked out tricycle for his birthday (and a helmet that he can put on correctly). Jane quickly hopped on her green specialized hotrock that we bought for he last year. I was so excited to get her a bike back then but she wasn’t interested in riding it. She seemed to do quite well this year though.

This morning I rode my bike into work and my lungs could feel that it had been several months since I had any rigorous physical activity. Fifty minutes later (the slowest time I can ever remember posting) I arrived at the U ready to puke my guts out. If I recall correctly, it took several weeks to acclimate and shed some pounds last year so I’ll just need to be patient with myself. Anyway, were supposed to have a really nice weekend so I want to encourage all of you to dust your bike off and go for a leisurely ride. Happy spring.

The Wireless Spectrum Auction needs your help

Any of you techies out there are anxiously awaiting the announcement of the winners of the wireless spectrum auction. This auction is for the radio spectrum that is currently
being used by analog television (slated to be made available to the winner of the auction in February 2009). Verizon and Google are the two fierce competitors for this spectrum. Verizon initially was pushing for closed standards while Google petitioned the FCC to make the use of the spectrum open so consumers could use any devices (cell phones) on any networks and any applications on those network/spectrums. If you're like me (a Google fan), wouldn't you love to see more consumer choice and greater development in the wireless industry? This is what Google is pushing for. Here's the deal though, Google and Verizon are fierce bidding competitors with a similar amount of assets. However, they earn their primary revenue in two very different ways (Google through paid search and online advertising, and Verizon through subscriptions - and tons of worthless pay-for-service extras on your phone). You may or may not know this, but Verizon is one of the internet's largest advertisers (they are in the top five companies that purchase online advertising). Now wouldn't it be great to siphon some money out of their pockets and into Google's hands? Here's how you can do your part. Next time you're surfing the net (and we know you're doing a lot of it - the average American spends 35 hrs on the internet each week), just be sure to click on any Verizon ad you see. Most of these ads are paid for by the advertiser every time a user clicks on the ad - and when that happens, money goes into the pockets of Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Valueclick. So what do you say? Do you want more choices when it comes to mobile phones, applications, and cell phone providers? Wouldn't you love to see Verizon reinvent itself so it's more consumer friendly? Wouldn't you love to see the innovation of Google in the wireless phone industry? Help make it happen - click on Verizon ads everytime you see them.

The dawing of the second ice age

You know those stories you used to hear about your parents walking to school, up hill, both ways, with the wind at their face and whirling snow freeze-drying their hair? Well, that was me this morning, and I want to have a record of it for my children in case they question the truthfulness of my gray-haired tales. Since my employment is also a school (The University), I think I can make the same claims as my forefathers.

I departed work at 6:55 this morning and arrived promptly at 8:35. I thought I would type this blog entry as it would help restore sensation to my finders; if I could type with my toes, I would.

We were met with a blizzard last night as temperatures plummeted and cars slid to and fro. I really enjoy taking the bus, but it is positively the worst method of travel on stormy days. Not only do you have to leave your house at dawn to trudge through the un-shoveled walks (I’m not innocent), but you also putter along in the bus in the right lane, inching around cars that are stuck in the snow banks. When you arrive downtown for your connection (as in my case), you desperately want to run to catch your next bus, but the elderly lady attempting to navigate the icy sidewalks has a look on her face that says, “I wish I had a young man nearby so I could hold his arm.” So you help the poor woman, and end up waiting 30 minutes downtown for the next bus to arrive.

As I stood on the sidewalk freezing – in sheer amazement that none of the four possible busses I could take were on time – I could only wonder if this would be my final hour. The storm was so intense I think others outside were also wondered if this was the dawning of the second ice age. I had visions of future generations extracting my preserved body from the snow and ice as I clutched a copy of the bus schedule in my hands. They would ask questions, like “What was this man doing out in conditions like this?” Little would my discoverers know that I had saved their great, great, great, grandmother from a similar fate.


Before my demise, however, the saving bus finally came and dropped me off at the base of Presidents Circle. What would normally only be a walk a few hundred yards to my building up a moderate incline felt like summitting Mount Aconcagua (without oxygen support, of course), I arrived safely, albeit really late.

Googling

I've been a huge Google fan since its humble starts as the world's simplest (looking) search engine. My appreciation has continued to grow as they've developed, or acquired, new products and services. Meanwhile, my enthusiasm for apple has faltered. I wanted to take this moment to do a shout out to the google products I love the most. Google Calendar - a must use for any family, ward, or small organization. Google Reader, the best and newest way to keep up with all of your online reading. Google analytics - a sweet freebie to track web stats. Google ads - one of the few cost-per-click advertising options out there. Google Info - a free 411 type service from your phone. Gmail - the best web mail program out there that also offers free i-map connection. And of course, google's blogger. Thanks google.

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Don't give me no rebate shrebate

I've really be struggling with the tax rebates lately. The way I see it, our country is in debt 9 Trillion dollars (250 billion during 2007 alone). As an American citizen, my family already carries a portion of that burden. So...why am I borrowing more money in the form of a rebate (and paying interest to China, India, etc.) when I'm probably already thousands of dollars in debt? And why do they want me to go out and spend this borrowed money on foreign manufactured goods when so little of it is going to help the US GDP? This whole plan is ridiculous and just goes to show how pampered Americans are. We have a rapidly deflating dollar, an enormous debt load, inflated housing markets, and credit problems. I think a 12-month recession and some reasonable taxes is just what this country needs to get back on track. I guess I better invest my refund check in a secure CD because my children are going to be paying back the debt I helped rack up for them.

If our leaders are bent on rebates, here's an alternative plan that might actually work. If you want to infuse money into the US economy, why not have the states host a sales tax free day (or week) on US manufactured goods. State's are already set up to accommodate tax free transactions. Marketers will love this and will likely bonus or match the tax free deals. The federal government can refund the states the lost tax revenue. The US will sell more goods, businesses will be helped, manufacturing and services will increase, and we'll see the unemployment rate shrink. At least this way, you know that all of the money will be plowed back into the US economy instead of paying off debts, being secured in savings, or worse—being sent out to China and India.

Vivid Dreams

I am a vivid dreamer. Just ask My wife, she's awaken me from full sprints in my bed, yelling, sweating, and tears. But despite it's many inconveniences, I've grateful I can experience things in my dreams that in the moment seem like reality. The gift (or curse) has allowed me to experience the emotions of circumstances in life that I probably will never experience. It's allowed me to visit far off places, lose one's that I've loved, and experience the emotions that may come as consequences of sin (sin I hope I never commit). Just in case you've ever wondered what it is like to get struck by lightening, I did last night in my dreams - twice. I woke up electrified, and sure enough, my hair was matted and standing up in places. During the dream, and after the shock, I remember feeling as though I would die. At that moment I remember pleading that I could stay alive - I couldn't imagine my
children growing up without a father. So see, one of the blessings of vivid dreams - recognizing your blessings.

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Stake Conference with Elder Ballard

This past weekend was stake conference for our ward. The apostle, Elder Ballard, came with Elder Fluman from the seventy to reorganize our stake presidency-only in Utah. Aparently I've been told that it is a rare and special experience for members outside of the state to see an apostle. It's true, outside of the state, the man is a rock star. I should be grateful that during stake priesthood leadership training he was only a few arm lengths away.

The incident reminded me of an experience I had a couple of years ago. Our ward had a random drop-in visit from Elder Oaks. As if that wasn't odd enough having him on the stand in sacrament meeting, he dropped in on myclass afterwards while I was teaching the priests. Oh how I wished I had been better prepared that Sunday. He was polite and kind, but all I could think about was that I had an apostle of God in my class. WOW! I'm grateful to live in place where I can have these experiences.

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Live after the manner of happiness

I was reading in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon today. I had finished chapter 4 (one of my all-time favorite chapters) and cruised into chapter 5. One verse caught my attention, verse 27:

"And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness."

What a profound statement. Is the state of happiness really that simple? Is it a lifestyle you can choose to live? To get at the heart of it, I guess you need to try to understand what Nephi meant. I don't claim to perfectly understand the scriptures, but this is what I think.

Alma, one of the Book of Mormon prophets that received Nephi's records, referred to the Nephites happy state when describing his own people "And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times...behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi..."

I know that the happiest times in my life have been when I have been keeping the commandments. I've been delivered in times of despair because of my faith in Jesus Christ and the promises made to those who live his gospel. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone on earth could choose to live after the manner of happiness.

Hugs & Kisses

I feel like I've been quite blessed to have children that, for the most part, freely express their affection. There is no better pay day for a parent than an unprompted hug or a sincere I love you. Yaks is perhaps the most affectionate of our two children - Boo has started to grow up and is more selective on letting her guard down. For example, last night I came home from bishopric meeting and the kids were still awake. Normally they would be overjoyed and kiss me before I jiggled their tummies in bed and tucked them in under a mountain of blankets. Except for last night, Boo snubbed me and told me to leave her alone because she was trying to sleep (she must have learned this from her mom) Lately, with Jane, hugs and kisses are only exchanged for hamburgers or french fries. I was pleased this morning though as Boo seemed to have forgotten the previous night and sent me away with a kiss (she always tries to kiss me on the lips) and an "I love you too."

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Commentary on the 2008 Elections

I wanted to make some brief commentary on election 2008. As a Utahn and a Mormon, I find myself in an interesting predicament with Mitt Romney in the presidential race. I'm troubled, not because i feel an obligation to vote for him, but an obligation to vote against him. I'll explain. I worry that if Mitt were the party nominee Utah would probably overwhelmingly vote for him. When compared to the national results I would be concerned that this would reinforce that perception that Mormons vote with their religion. People who are familiar with the 138th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, know this isn't true. So, I feel a bit of an obligation to support the opposing candidate, as long as it's not Hillary. Truthfully, I recently joined the Obama camp. While he's not the perfect candidate I tend to like his views (and theme song 'Better Way' by Ben Harper). I don't side with all of his
social positions. So who are you going to vote for? Need help? I recommend Glassbooth.org.

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Commercial paper or toilet paper?

It's been all about finances this week: assessing the damage from Christmas, resolving to keep a better budget throughout 2008, and reading marketwatch as the economy seems to be tanking. It's been particularly discouraging to watch my retirement balances melt away as if someone was cyphening funds daily. This is a sore spot for me as I met with my retirment advisor back in September with the intent of significantly shuffling my portfolio because I felt the next few months were going to be poor performers. After 30 minutes of her trying to convince me that market timing doesn't work, I acquessed (sp) and made about half of the adjustments that I had initially intended. I should know better that financial advisors are a little off base. I've seen evidence of this every day for weeks as wallstreeters applaud at the end of a trading day that signified 250 points lost and 4.8 billion in
market value flushed down the toilet. And so, i write this entry from where? The mens bathroom.

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The big news today? Boo got her hair cut. I'ts been nearly a year since she cut it herself, and it's grown in just enough that we could give her a cute little bob. We took her to Cookie Cutters to have it done. Cookie Cutters is a place that specializes in cutting kids hair. They sit in cars, play video games, and watch movies while the stylist works furiously. I found out today that they do Daddy cuts while kids are having their hair done. I can't wait to play video games instead of the typical forced stylist conversation.

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I have a dear aunt that has always been exceptionally kind to me. She expresses undaunting faith in my potential and views me with the greatest compasion and lack of judgement. I just got off of the phone with her. She was calling me to tell me that she had been given an apple t-shirt and was mailing it to me as she new I was an apple fan. It would seem like such a small gesture, but along with the shirt, she told me exactly what l needed to hear tonight. Recently I've been contemplating my goals and my direction in life (primarily professionally) and I've felt I've come up a little short. Without even knowing how I was feeling she expressed empathy for the stage I was in at this time in my life, trying to balance a young family and a career. I'm not sure why I'm writing this, I guess I'm just grateful to be blessed with good people in my life- undercover angels if you will, that
without even knowing it provide you with hope. I hope I am able to be that for other people at times.

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Back to work

If there is one thing I love about the holiday break, it is spending time with my kids. When the time finally rolls around for me to come back to work, I know it’s an adjustment for me, mom (whose become accustomed to the extra help) and the munches who are used to eating out at least one meal each day courtesy of dad. I have a host of memories from the past week and wish to share just a couple of incidents that made me smile.

Poor Yaks has been infirmed the entire Christmas break. This has provided for some challenging nights. Although Yaks is approaching two, he is still addicted to a bottle. And if he wakes up in the middle of the night his conditioned response is to ask for a refill. Sometimes he’ll be completely asleep but holding the bottle in his hand. As was the case this week, he’s figured out that if he takes the bottle and clanks it along the slats of his crib he doesn’t even need to cry out—mom and dad will come running. The clanking on the bars reminds me of those scenes from the movies when a prisoner is clanking his metal mug across the bars.

Boo received the Beauty and the Beast DVD for Christmas. Incidentally, the DVD was purchased online and upon arrival we discovered it was an illegitimate copy. It still plays, but the quality is less than a typical DVD. We’ve felt quite comfortable letting Jane watch this show without mom and dad in the room. It wasn’t until we were in the car a couple of days ago and heard Boo exclaim, “Stupid” that we realized she had picked this up from the DVD (the part where the beast gets a less-than-stellar haircut before the big date with Belle) I guess it shows you can never be too careful. There is one exceptional set of parents in our ward that has taken extraordinary measures to ensure their children aren’t influenced by Disney pop culture. They noticed that many of the Disney Princesses wear immodest dresses so they color in sleeves in coloring books and sew new clothes for their dolls. I don’t think we’ll go that far.

Finally, I decided about a year ago that I would attempt to have a monthly date night with each of the children. Boo incidentally has the first Tuesday of the month and Yaks has the second Tuesday. I’ve had to be flexible with these dates since I was called into the bishopric, but I think I’ve done a fair job of making sure each child has a little one-on-one time each month. Yesterday Boo and I spent the morning sledding (cell phone picture below) and then got hot chocolate and Bagels at Einsteins. Boo was so proud of herself that she could go down the hill all by herself. I was proud of myself that I could continue to pull her back up the hill for nearly an hour.

It’s been a great holiday break, but I’m so glad I’m back at work. I know I’ll miss the kids even more during these next few days, but I relish the good times we shared during this break.