russt

Category: Life

  • A Big Bowl

    Super Bowl

    So, I figured that I had to write something soon. I was going to write something on Tuesday night, but I was disappointed with the outcome of the event where I was. So, I’m writing about the Superbowl as it’s going on so that I won’t be disappointed with its outcome and thus further delay writing.

    Anyway, I’m mostly happy that I finally convinced my Dad to help me move the woodburning stove out from underneath our projector screen so that we could extend the screen and allow the projector to use its full 100-inch screen.It’s a beautiful thing.

    Anyway, not so long ago I wasn’t at all interested in the Super Bowl. But lately (over the last several years) I’ve decided that it’s a jolly fun thing. I mean, I enjoy watching football, and the Superbowl is a big event. Plus, it’s a good excuse to sit down and watch some TV while chowing down on chips & salsa.

    My point is, I enjoy it. This year, I hope that the Cardinals win, if for no other reason than that they’re from Arizona and are the underdogs. But as of right now (7:31 left in the third quarter), that seems doubtful.

    Oh, yeah. One other thing: Superbowl commercials are almost always enjoyable. That’s another awesome reason to watch the Superbowl.

  • Dvorak Invasion!

    Dvorak KeyboardI have to say, Dvorak has to be my favorite composer. Well, okay… Truthfully, he’s my favorite composer because my favorite classical piece is one of his. So, yeah. That’s why he’s my favorite.

    But this post has absolutely nothing to do with that. I’ve officially decided that I’m going to learn how to type using the Dvorak keyboard layout, which is quite different from the QWERTY keyboard layout that we’re all so used to. I’ve just decided that I’m not very likely to increase my typing speed any with the QWERTY layout unless I actually set aside time specifically for practicing. But since I don’t want to do that, but I still want to type faster (if only for the purpose of typing faster in class), I’m going to be teaching myself how to type Dvorak style.

    If you don’t know the history, the QWERTY layout was designed specifically to slow down typists, because the typewriters of long ago couldn’t handle high-speed typing. But now, with computers, that’s not so much of a problem. We’ve just stuck with QWERTY because… Well, I suppose it’s just that we don’t like change.

    But I figure that it will be something like learning a new language. I hope that I’ll still be able to retain my QWERTY skills (even if they slightly diminish, I’ll still be happy) and still learn how to type Dvorak-ishly. Kind of how an English-speaker can learn Spanish and still retain his (or her) English-speaking skills.

    Anyway, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I’ll let you all know how it goes.

  • An Economy

    Dollar BillToday, in doing a part of the huge amount of reading that I have to do (for school, naturally), I’ve learned quite a few interesting things about the economy and how it works. I’m still pretty clueless when it comes to the recession that we’re facing today, but as far as how the economy itself works, I’ve learned quite a bit today.

    One of the most interesting things that I learned was how our economy today, being a ‘market economy,’ as my book defines it, is self-balancing. The cost of goods and their supply is largely regulated not by any person or organization, but by their mere existence. The fact that an item exists and is in demand results in a process of price changes until it eventually reaches a ‘price equilibrium,’ where the buyer and the seller are both equally willing to sell it for that price and to purchase it for that price.

    What’s more, with this type of economy, both the consumer and the retailer are benefited by the purchase of goods. It provides the ability to specialize work and therefore allow much more efficiency in the work and the yield produced by said work. With that said, I realized that I need to focus more on specializing what it is that I do. I tend to enjoy keeping my options open – being able to do many different things. I like a good many things, but it has become clear that having an effective career involving all of my interests is nearly impossible. It becomes more effective on both a personal and economic level to be more specialized, to be more specifically involved in one profession. Separation of labor is incredibly effective.

    That just makes it awfully difficult for me – because deciding on a profession where I will be content is a difficult thing. And though I’d like to experience all avenues, time is not always so kind. I guess that in the end I’ll have to realize that I don’t have to be personally involved in every aspect of what pertains to me.

    To conclude, I hope that made sense. If it didn’t, please disregard it.

  • My Level of Green

    My Greendex

    I thought that you’d all like to know, pretty randomly, that I scored 55 (above average for the United States) on National Geographic’s Greendex test. I’m pretty proud of it, because being ‘green’ is trendy nowadays. I mean, everybody wants to be green, right?

    Anyway, I thought that it was pretty interesting, and I wanted to show off my lovely score. The average for the US (the lowest in the world, not surprisingly) is a lovely 44.9, while the average in India and Brazil, the two countries tied for first place, is 60.

    Anyway, National Geographic has provided this test for everyone, so that you can find out where you fit in. Plus, it gives you an idea of some basic actions that you can take to be ‘green,’ should you feel so inclined.

  • Life – Through New Eyes

    Well, I suppose that cameras really don’t have eyes. But lenses and light sensors and whatnot are kind of close to eyes, right? In a technological sense?

    Anyway, last week I made a somewhat sudden (though also somewhat premeditated) decision to purchase a DSLR camera. I had been looking at them for the last little while, and based on Consumer Reports’ information on the subject, I decided to purchase a Canon Digital Rebel XSi. It’s a stunning camera that takes amazing photos, and I can’t complain about having access to 12 glorious megapixels and the ability to snap 3.5 pictures per second.

    More than anything else, however, it’s made me totally unafraid to snap tons and tons of pictures. It’s probably not healthy for my hard drive, but it makes me want to take the camera everywhere (even if that may just be a result of the cost…), just to snap pictures.

    Anyway, I have to say that thus far I most certainly have not been disappointed, at least by the camera. It takes awesome pictures and I’ve been able to practice quite a few new things that weren’t even an option before.

    I don’t think that my family members are the biggest fans of my being able to take tons of pictures in rapid succession, especially my little brother, but I’m sure that he’ll get over it eventually. He’s always been a bit camera-shy, and so far he hasn’t been the most enthusiastic about my being able to take so many more pictures, but hopefully he’ll get more used to it as time goes on.

  • Lymabean – The Glory

    So, a little while ago I joined this lovely site, called Lymabean. It’s “social networking that doesn’t suck.” Well, okay, that’s their theme. No, really, it is pretty dang cool. I mean, it’s kind of like Facebook on steroids. The only thing is that there aren’t that many people on! So, that’s really pretty depressing. I mean, it’s no fun if I don’t have tons of friends on there. But it’s got awesome ways for broadcasting events and everything, and it looks absolutely stunning.

    What I’m trying to say is that everybody that actually reads my blog should head over there and check it out. It’s really pretty cool.

    lymabean.com

  • Shhhh… I’m Hunting Wabbits!

    I had to write a bit about a lovely trip that I took last weekend with one of my good friends. We went down to his ranch in central Utah and used his collection of guns to shoot at stuff, including clay pidgeons, targets, and an occasional rabbit.

    Anyway, I thought that I’d say that it was quite a bit of fun. I haven’t been shooting in quite awhile, since I went as part of a youth activity, and it was good fun, though I kind of hurt my ears before I started using ear protection.

    As part of this, I got to shoot some interesting guns, especially the lovely handguns. They’re quite a bit of fun to shoot, if you didn’t already know.

    Another cool thing was that a dog ran over from another ranch just to follow us around all day. It seemed to enjoy running in whatever direction we shot, just so that we couldn’t keep shooting that way. It was probably going to find whatever we were shooting at, but it made it kind of hard when we were shooting at targets, as it’d kind of get in the way. But, still, it was still nice to have a canine companion with us.

    So, yeah. That’s the story. It was pretty fun, though certainly not cheap… Ammo costs quite a bundle.

  • All Warm and Fuzzy

    I figured that I’d take the time to write today about a lovely feeling that I had yesterday. I walked upstairs and found my Mom decorating the house all nicely for Christmas. It made me feel all nice and fuzzy.

    No, really. It did. Christmas is amazing. Plus, who doesn’t like having a glowing tree in their living room? I know I do. It’s one of my favorite things. Plus, along with the Christmas season comes Christmas music, about which no one can really complain.

    Anyway, I’m really super tired and in no shape to write anything intelligent, so if I’ve confused you or jumped around randomly, please forgive me. I think that I should go to bed now. Yup.

    Christmas is good. Enjoy it. I do.

  • A Paper

    I’ve been wondering this week how exactly it is that it takes me so ruddy much time to write a simple paper. You see, I keep on procrastinating (as I’m doing right this very moment…) writing a lovely paper. It has to contain quite a few pages, and I guess that the idea of taking the time to write such a paper is just a bit daunting. But why, exactly? I mean, I rather much enjoy writing on here.

    So why is it that writing a paper for class is such a painful, drawn-out process? If I were to just sit down and write, I suppose that it would be pretty dang easy.

    But I also know that every word – every single one – will be scrutinized. Perhaps not on this exact draft, but eventually. That, and I know that everything that I write has to be focused on one single purpose. And it has to do so effectively. On top of that, I have to be all formal-like. Oh,  and I have to do a ton of research. Dag.

    Oh, how I wish that I could just write. I don’t dislike writing… It’s just difficult given the circumstances given me in English class. But then again, I suppose that it’s something that’s rather important. We do all need to know how to write effectively, and many times it will be in more formal circumstances.

    So, that’s that. I’d better get back to my paper now. I have a limited amount of time left to finish another 5 pages. So, yeah. I’ll get on that.

  • Some Edification

    I’ve decided that this week I should write something edifying. I actually found it sometime last week when I was studying, but I’ve decided to post it this week since it’s pretty cool. I always like cool quotes of the religious type. So, here it is:

    “When we reject the counsel which comes from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influence. We choose another influence. We reject the protection of a perfectly loving, all-powerful, all-knowing Father in Heaven, whose whole purpose, as that of His Beloved Son, is to give us eternal life, to give us all that He has, and to bring us home again in families to the arms of His love. In rejecting His counsel, we choose the influence of another power, whose purpose is to make us miserable and whose motive is hatred. We have moral agency as a gift of God. Rather than the right to choose to be free of influence, it is the inalienable right to submit ourselves to whichever of those powers we choose.” – Elder Henry B. Eyring, Finding Safety in Counsel, Conference Report, April 1997

    I found it to be quite thought-provoking. It reminds me of the scripture in 2 Nephi 2:27, which reads, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh, and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

    So, we’ve got two options. We can choose to follow God’s commandments and receive liberty and eternal life, or we can choose not to follow His commandments, and receive captivity and death. There’s no in-between ground. Anything that’s not in line with God’s will is a thing that Satan wants us to do. We don’t have the “right to choose to be free of influence.”