Dear Mom and Dad

The most recent issue of the Ensign has a cool article featuring letters people have written to their moms and dads, thanking them for the lessons taught and the examples given. I wanted to write my own letter to my mom and dad, so they know how much I appreciate them.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you so much for being such wonderful parents. As I look back at my life, I realize that so much of who I am today I owe to the example you set for me and the lessons you taught me. I have to thank you for never giving up on any of us kids. I know raising eight kids isn’t easy, but I’m so grateful for the way you’ve dedicated your lives to us. I’ve never doubted that family was the most important thing for the both of you.

Mom, thanks for being such a great example of loving everyone. No matter what I did, or what I was going through, or who my friends were, you were always there to love me. I’ve always admired the way you were so willing to serve anybody; I’ve tried to be that way myself.

Thank you for teaching me through your example the kind of woman I should look for as a wife. I know that part of the reason I ended up with someone so wonderful as Tasha is because you helped me to see what was important. Thanks for always encouraging me to be a good example and to help my friends. I love you so much!

Dad, thanks for teaching me the importance of hard work. I still hope someday that I can be as hard a worker as you. I enjoyed every opportunity I got to “help” you with a home improvement project. Because of those experiences, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, open things up, and figure out how to fix things.

Also, thank you for teaching me the value of humility, and for appreciating my strengths. I remember one time you came to ask me for some help with your computer. It’s not easy to admit you need help, but you still did it anyway. I love you!

Above all, thank you both for teaching me the gospel. Thanks for teaching it not only with words, but also by example. I remember coming up to your room at night to tell you I was home, and finding you both on your knees in prayer. That’s something that has always stuck with me.

Thanks for always holding FHE, even when sometimes we wanted to do something else. I don’t remember the lessons so well, but I do remember how much fun it was, and I remember the spirit that was there.

I love you mom and dad! My patriarchal blessing calls you “wonderful” and “of the salt of the earth,” and I know it’s true. Thank you so much for being such great parents!

Apple Bias

I admit, I’m biased against Apple. If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ve probably already noticed this.

I’ve also been fascinated by the idea of fanboyism and brand loyalty.

So here’s my question: Why do I dislike Apple so much?

I love my webOS phone, but if I had to give it up, I’d be willing to give WP7 a try, or maybe even an Android phone. Anything but the iPhone really. But when you think about it, Apple is the one out there with the best specs on their iPhone, and the most polished OS. So why do I avoid it like the plague?

I’ve been wondering about this lately. The brand loyalty articles say that faced with a choice between equally valued options, choosing one will decrease your opinion of the others, right? I still think webOS has awesome potential, and I’ll admit… I’m a little bit of a fanboy. But why do I dislike Apple so much more than the other options?

The only thing I can come up with is that I dislike Apple’s policies so much that I refuse to buy their products, even if they are better. The more ground Apple makes in the technology market, the more frustrated with them I become. Am I the only one that thinks Apple is becoming a bit of a bully? They remind me of Microsoft as they began to face their anti-trust lawsuits.

Am I being irrational here? What do you think?

(I missed a post yesterday, so I post-dated this one. I’m not trying to fool anyone.)

We live, in fact, in a world starved…

“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.”

– C. S. Lewis

Bear Lake 2011

Alrighty web folks… I know I posted about Bear Lake last week and told you all to go visit, but… I didn’t think you’d visit the same weekend! There were so many people up at Bear Lake! We barely managed to get a camp spot, and had to drive clear to the end of the beach to find a table. Yikes!

We still had a lot of fun though. Here’s some pictures to prove it:

Hanging out on the beautiful beach at Bear Lake

My nieces gave my mom and Tasha a facial

Tasha and Pierce got to be really good friends

I really wish I knew what was on Benson’s mind in this photo

Click here for more photos

P.S. Since I didn’t get to it, this post counts for Friday’s!

On Vacation

Well folks, I’m out for the week. I wanted to get some posts queued up for today and tomorrow, but I didn’t get the chance. I guess this will have to count for today’s. If I have a good connection, I’ll post some pictures tomorrow.

We are on our way up to Bear Lake, which is an awesome place up on the Utah-Idaho border. Its a big lake with a distinct blue color, but the most amazing thing about it is how shallow it is (sounds weird, but it’s true). On the north, south, and west sides, the beach (yes, it has an actual beach) slopes gently into the water, after which you can walk out for hundreds of feet before you can’t touch the bottom. Being six feet tall, I can go until my family looks like little ants. It’s an awesome experience!

The shallow water makes for all sorts of awesome games you can play. Sometimes we play Horseshoes with one of the stakes in the lake, or Bocci balls where we throw towards the little “tide pools” that form in the beach. Not to mention building sand castles and drawing in the sand, and hunting for shells (there are a few small ones out there). My favorite activities by far are ultimate frisbee in the water, and water soccer. Yup, imagine running in one foot of water while playing ultimate, its an awesome experience. Diving for the frisbee is tons of fun too!

We usually camp up a canyon on the Idaho side of the lake. Tasha and I are really excited because we get a chance to try out our new camping stuff! It’s a pretty cheap place, plus there’s some really cool caves up the canyon that are a lot like the Timpanogos caves. They’re called “Minnetonka Caves” if you’re interested.

If you get the chance, Bear Lake is just a few hours north of Salt Lake. It makes for a great vacation!

What would you change?

Last night I was watching the cosby show with my wife, where Claire (Cosby’s wife in the show) discovers a quiz for married couples to see how in love they are. The first question (and the only question she gets around to reading) is: if you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be? Cliff (Cosby) says “I wouldn’t change a thing,” mainly because he just wants to go to sleep. Of course, because it is a comedy, this gets him in trouble.

The comedy ensued, but at that moment I decided to ask my wife that question about me. Her response?

“I’d make your nose blow.”

Maybe that doesn’t sound all that sweet to you, but I think it’s a great answer. Of all the things about me that my wife could change (all my character flaws, my personality, I’m sure there’s plenty), she chooses something not only small, but a purely physical thing. And in reality, something that I wish I could change too (it’s odd, I know, but I can’t blow my nose).

Thanks for looking out for me honey!

Old Spice Battle

I have to admire Old Spice for it’s amazingly well played social marketing scheme. First they make awesomely clever and ingenious videos advertising their product. Then they create a loveable character out of the “Old Spice Guy,” who responds to questions from loving fans with hilarious personal videos. This alone was enough to win my heart.

But it wasn’t enough for Old Spice. Recently they’ve introduced Fabio, the “New Old Spice Guy”. While I don’t really like him, they’ve succeeded in re-awakening our interest in the Old Spice videos of old.

Finally, we have the return of the first Old Spice guy, accepting the challenge of Fabio.

Whether or not you buy Old Spice products, this is a brilliant marketing move, because it’s captured our attention. Much more than any other bath and body product. I watch these commercials and I think “I like these!” That impression gets kinda imprinted in my head, so that when I see the same products in the store, I think “I like these!” all over again. And to think, they don’t even really push the product that much. Mostly the brand name. Amazing.

It worked on me. I use Old Spice.

The thing about App Stores…

(Oh, pardon me. Only Apple can call their app store the App Store.)

I have a little bit of a beef with those out there running “application delivery mechanisms.” Don’t get me wrong, I really like the idea. I really like that Apple is bringing it to the Mac, and wish that Windows would develop a similar technology (Linux has had it for years… but that’s the nature of Linux). The issue I have is the ridiculous restrictions that the device managers put on them.

Take this article for example. Apple is making rules about how other companies can sell stuff through their apps. I think this is a little too much. Because I can see no other move for this than to get more money off other people’s work. This is a little bit like Microsoft charging developers $5 to write a program for Windows.

I guess that’s the price of being on the platform though.

Facebook Profile Attack

Facebook Profile Attack

This is exactly what I was describing with this post. Be careful what information you put online, even on Facebook! (or Google+, or Twitter, or…)

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch…

“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.”

– Carl Sagan