I must be crazy...

I can't believe I'm actually considering this, I think my sanity may be in question here. I know some of you think I'm nuts already, so this could just be the conclusive evidence you were waiting for. .

I've been making fun of joggers/runners for a long time now. I've had a hard time grasping the motivation behind the desire to get out and just run for the sake of running. Not to run to or from anything, but just to run. I think most of us can safely say that society has evolved to the point where our lives no longer depend on our ability to outrun whatever wild animal is chasing us. Even then, let's face it... when we measure our top speeds in terms of a 4-minute mile, it's not going to make a difference against a predator that can do upwards of 30 mph.

Don't get me wrong, I've always admired those who are good (or even consistent) at running. Becka ran 20KM before coming out to branding last week. I don't know if I've run 20KM combined in my lifetime. Krista says she's been running. Our friends Barb & Jesse are both getting into it, which may end up being my final push over the edge. They're even talking about a marathon in Idaho next year. They recommended the book "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer" by David Whitsett, so I'll have to get a copy and check it out. Let's face it, I'm a non-runner. No one has ever stopped me on the street to ask if I go jogging, or "didn't I see you running the other day?".

It's just one of those things that has always been quietly nagging me and thus far has been rather easy to ignore. I know there are many benefits to running, and I really need to have more activity in my lifestyle. I don't know if I'd ever tackle a marathon, but I do need to get out and do something more often. On the other hand, how cool would it be to actually finish a marathon... or a half-marathon... or to go from the couch to the fridge without getting winded.

For Your Shopping Convenience

This was at Walmart today, so I thought I'd take a picture of it. At first glance, everything seems normal. It's a great idea, making baskets available for people like me who don't realize they're going to need one until they're already in the food section and instead of just getting green onions and evaporated milk like their wives told them to pick up on their way home, they realize they are out of other essentials (Orange pop for making floats, white cranberry & peach juice...).


You know what would be really convenient? Handles on the freakin' baskets! There were three of these little racks at the ends of the aisles, and they all had one handle-less basket. So I had to walk to the front door, past the greeter (while I'm carrying all my grocery items), grab a good basket and walk back. The oh-so-helpful greeter looked at me somewhat puzzled and said "Welcome to Walmart." I'm sure she was wondering why I was coming in with groceries... It's times like that when I wish I could say what I'm really thinking, because I had a lot just waiting to come out.

Krista's Survey

Krista didn't tag me, but I'm going to be a rebel and do it anyway. I'm a little crazy that way... No one reads my other stuff anyway, so I thought I'd play with this (seriously, 58 seconds read-time when I do new posts).

1. Do you like blue cheese?
Sure, let's leave some mozarella out on the counter for a few days. Same thing, right? Who in their right mind would want all that mold on their cheese?!?

2. Have you ever smoked?
Only when I'm on fire...

3. Do you own a gun?
Proud owner of a Nerf Recon CS-6

4. What flavor Kool Aid is your favorite?
Blue raspberry lemonaide, grape, invisibles...

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointment?
Last time I had a dr's appointment was to fill in my mission papers

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
I'm partial to the Costco hot dogs :)

7. Favorite Christmas movie?
It's a Wonderful Life, Muppets Christmas Carol

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Slimfast & ice cream, orange ice cream float (hmm... there seems to be a recurring theme here)

9. Can you do push ups?
8 Rhys push-ups, followed by 8 Allie push-ups. If my helpers aren't around, then I can do 18 (with my feet on the couch)

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
Whatever brings out my eyes. Actually, I only have my wedding ring and NZ chain, both of which I wear at all times. Should probably replace the CTR ring I grew out of...

11. Favorite hobby?
Star Wars Lego, computers, Star Wars Battlefront II, drawing, beating on my children...

12. Do you have A.D.D.?
What was the question again?

13. What's your weight?
On Earth? 215lb. On Jupiter: 508. Neptune: 241. Mars: 81.

14. Middle name?
Wade

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
A. Terina isn't scratching my back like she's supposed to be doing
B. Hmmm... ice cream float
C. Ironman is showing at 12:30...

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Milk (the good stuff, none of this white water junk), Rootbeer (hmmmm... sweet nectar), Kool aid

17. Current worry?
Did they fix the hyperdrive? Where does the white go when the snow melts?

18. Current hate right now?
I have no love for the Empire

19. Favorite place to be?
The toy aisle, Mountain View (for the ice cream), the Lego store @ Disneyworld

20. How did you bring in the New Year?
Asleep by 11:30, same as always

21. Where would you like to go?
Who is paying? How long do I have? Who is coming with me?

22. Name three people who will complete this?
I'm not going to name anyone, because then people who aren't named won't be offended...

23. Do you own slippers?
Dang straight... my green dinosaur feet slippers

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now?
White

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
I'd rather sleep in pajamas

26. Can you whistle?
Yup

27. Favorite color?
Plaid

28. Would you be a pirate?
Under what circumstances?

29. What songs do you sing in the shower?
Not a shower singer, sorry

30. Favorite Girl's Name?
Name of my favorite girl? Or my favorite name for a girl? Let's try to be more specific here.

31. Favorite boy's name?
Again, would it hurt to be a little more specific?

32. What's in your pocket right now?
Still in my pj's (it's not noon yet, what do you expect??)

33. Last thing that made you laugh?
"Get outta the line!" (John Pinette) If you know what I'm talking about, then you're laughing too...

34. Best bed sheets as a child?
Who thinks of these questions?? I don't remember any of my childhood bedsheets.

35. Worst injury you've ever had?
Fell out of a tree (in January), landed on my head

36. Do you love where you live?
What's not to absolutely adore about having snow in freakin' May? Who wouldn't give their first born to live here? 8 months of winter tires, parkas you never really feel confident enough to put in storage for the 3 weeks of warm weather each year...

37. How many TVs do you have in your house?
Actually plugged in? 2

38. Who is your loudest friend?
Real or imaginary?

39. How many dogs do you have?
None. Have to fence our yard first. Then hoping for a husky

40. Does someone have a crush on you?
Who wouldn't? I mean, really... I'm not one to brag, but you did ask.

41. What is your favorite book?
Hmm... whatever I find time to read. My Abnormal Psych book is a pretty good read, Harry Potter, Star Wars, anything by Neal A. Maxwell, David A. Bednar, Bruce R. McConkie...

42. What is your favorite candy?
Mint Oreo blizzards, Kit Kat, Reese's Pieces, Peanut Butter Cups

43. Favorite Sports Team?
Who ever decides to go on strike will have my unending loyalty. If I don't have to watch you on TV (or anywhere else, for that matter) or have any of my shows pre-empted because of your stupid sports activity, then I'm all for it. Why stop at just one team? Get the whole league to go on strike... you guys don't make enough money, you should hold out for more... Get a real job and see how it works out for you.

44. What song do you want played at your funeral?
Darth Vader's theme song as my casket is wheeled in/out. I'd also like to have "He's dead, Jim..." on my gravestone.

“The Reason for the Season”

It’s strangely interesting to watch Christmas evolve into something nearly unrecognizable. Each year, we as a society seem to take one more step away from the true meaning towards the politically correct atheistic/ agnostic “holiday season”. It has grown to the point where people feel self-conscious about saying “Merry Christmas” to others for fear of offending them. How long will it be until our calendars say “Festive Holiday” on December 25? Many people already refer to it as ‘Xmas’ (which drives me nuts).

Christmas is first and foremost the celebration and remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ. That’s where it starts and ends.

Personally, I really don’t care that December 25th was once a Roman holiday celebrating the winter solstice and the Festival of Saturnalia. It could’ve been the Buldavian festival of the Holy Hippopotamus for all I care. What is important to me is what it is now, not what it was nearly 1700 years ago (it became Christmas sometime before 336 AD). We get to take one day to stop and think about Christ and what He did for us.

Whether or not you believe in Christ as the Son of God, a prophet, or just a wise teacher is up to you. I don’t believe that celebrating Christmas, or even calling it Christmas, detracts from anyone else’s experience or imposes a set of beliefs on anyone. I don’t feel threatened or that that I am being pressured into changing my beliefs when someone celebrates Hanukka. I’m secure enough in my own faith that I can respect and admire the beliefs and traditions of others.

In remembering the birth of Christ, we also remember His life, teachings, and example. But most of all we remember the sacrifice He made on our behalf in Gethsemane and on the cross. We remember how death is no longer the end, the resurrection of Christ means that we too will live again.

“Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.” (2 Nephi 2:8)

Do you remember when Christmas used to bring a feeling of goodwill to others? When people would give service to others just because it was Christmas? People wonder why “goodwill to men” is on the decline as the focus of the season moves further away from Christ. . .

Rampant Stupidity

As you probably picked up from my previous posts, I have a "thing" against email hoaxes that get mindlessly forwarded and thrust upon everyone in cyberspace. Now these hoaxes are encroaching into Facebook territory in the form of FunWall posts that can be just as easily forwarded. Great.

Lately, I have taken it upon myself to see what I can do about combating these pesky hoaxes. I started by posting the debunk information on the walls of friends & family who had been hit by the hoaxes (since I can't post to people not on my friends list), hoping the truth would get circulated as far and fast as the hoax. Then I started thinking that I'm just cluttering up the wall of an innocent victim, and it could seem that I was taking it out on them rather than the proliferater of the hoax (there is a point to all of this, try to keep up).

Then I realized that I could send a message to the original poster of the hoax. Sure, they can see my limited profile for a month, but it's a small price to pay. So I started sending information on the hoaxes to whoever had the audacity to put the hoax on my friends'/ family's walls.

I got one reply that reaffirmed my belief in the stupidity of the general public. And I quote:

"Thanks for the heads-up, however, I did figure it was not true. To me it was the thought that counted."

Seriously!?! You pass on a bogus message about some super-articulate 7-year-old with a brain tumor from supposed regular beatings who will get $0.07 from the Make-a-Wish foundation every time someone forwards the message, and it's the thought that counts?!?

Which thought would that be, exactly? The one that involves perpetuating useless and completely fabricated information? Or the thought that creates additional work for people who could otherwise be doing real good? From the Make-a-Wish foundation website:

"The time and expense required to respond to these inquiries distracts the Foundation from its efforts on behalf of children with life-threatening medical conditions, and more importantly, can divulge information that is potentially harmful to a child and his or her family."

I sometimes hold back, trying to give these people the benefit of the doubt. They can't all be maliciously trying to spread junk. I figure many people are well-intentioned and under-informed. But good grief!! You know a story is false but you pass it on anyway, trying to justify your actions with well-meaning intentions?? It's a good thing many of the vital processes in the human body such as breathing and circulation are autonomic (that means your body does them and you don't have to think about it), because some of these people would be wondering why they are turning blue and getting dizzy.

Missing Child Hoax emails

Dawn received an email today asking for help in locating a missing child by the name of Ashley Flores. The email says she has been missing for 2 weeks from Philedalphia, PA and is feared she may be in South America, Canada, or even overseas and asks that the email be forwarded to everyone in your address book. "If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get."

Who could say no to a heart-wrenching plea like that?

I, for one.

A lengthy and exhaustive search on Google returns about 17,600 pages on this hoax. Try it for yourself, go to http://www.google.com/, enter "Ashley Flores" (with the quotes), hit enter, and voila! After 0.23 seconds of processing time, your top results are:

www.snopes.com

urbanlegends.about.com

www.hoax-slayer.com

www.breakthechain.org

There are now variations that say Ashley (same photo) is missing from Mandurah in Australia. The original version was first reported in May 2006 and is almost word-for-word identical to the Penny Brown hoax that has been in circulation since 2001. Other variations based on the same "template" include searches for children named Michael Hunt and Evan Trembley.

While there is an Ashley Flores, she is not missing. Her friend(s) thought it would be funny to put her name and picture into the Penny Brown email. We're all laughing buddy...

The problem with hoaxes like this is that when a legitimate email comes along (like for Matthew Leveson), we dismiss it as a hoax. My world would be a much happier place if people would learn to take a few seconds to research before forwarding on the email.

Internet pranksters learned long ago that hoax emails are often more effective than viruses at filling up inboxes and being annoying. I'm often reminded of the "Amish Virus" when I see these emails that ask you to pass it on to everyone you know:

"As we haveth no technology nor programming experience, this virus worketh on the honour system. Please delete all the files from thy hard drive and manually forward this virus to all on thy mailing list.

"We thank thee for thy cooperation,

"— The Amish Computer Engineering Dept"

Tagged from Krista...

Apparently, I'm supposed to fill this out now. You know I'm not going to take this seriously, right? I assume that's a given by this point.

A- Attached or single: Are we talking conjoined twins sort of attached? Then no, I am not.

B- Best Friend: Yes, I do...

C- Cake or Pie: Yes. Why do people insist on making these into either/or questions? It is not a binary decision, both can exist at the same time.

D- Day of choice: as in day of the week? holiday?

E- Essential Item: my head

F- Favorite Color: Red

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears. Worms don't really wrestle very well.

H- Hometown: Raymond, Alberta

I- Indulgence(s): Ice cream.

J- January or July: Where? If I was in NZ, I'd say January...

K- Kids: Trevor (8), Terina (6), Rhys (4), Alaina (3)

L- Life is Incomplete Without: Oxygen. Water would probably be a close second.

M- Marriage Date: 20 January 1996

N- Number of Siblings: 1 of each

O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges

P- Phobias or Fears: I don't particularly want either of them, thank you.

Q- Quote(s): "Give a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

R- Reason To Smile: They say that gas makes babies smile, but I don't believe them. I've had gas before and it never made me smile, but I can't discount it as a reason for other people...

S- Season: Again, where? I could winter in Florida or NZ and enjoy it just fine.

T- Tag Three: No. You can't make me.

U- Unknown Fact About Me: If I tell you, then it's not unknown anymore, is it.

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: There's room for all of God's creatures... right next to the mashed potatoes! If we weren't supposed to eat animals, they wouldn't taste so good.

W- Worst Habit: Probably sarcasm

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: I'll leave that to the doctor's discretion. After all, he's the one who went to school for that sort of thing.

Y- Your Favorite Food: Umm... just one? I can't think of my single favorite food... mashed potatoes & gravy, steak, really good hamburgers, Dawn's BBQ ribs, shrimp-fest @ Red Lobster, good Chinese food (not spicy), fried chicken, pizza, desserts too numerous to mention...

Z- Zodiac: Leo