It's funny how things just work out.   You can anticipate what you think will happen, maybe justify why you want it to happen, and then it happens in an entirely different way.  You can tell yourself that certain things shouldn't have happened, but then you see that they actually happened for your good.  You can puzzle and puzz, till your puzzler is sore, only to one day realize that the pieces fit together like you never had imagined. All these "you cans" are pictures of my experiences, of course.  All too many times I've found myself wondering why something had to happen the way it did.  Why was I supposed to learn that the hard way?  Did I learn anything at all?   I'm beginning to change the questions I ask because I want an answer that is forward looking.  Those other questions dwelt too much on the past, too much on the why's.  I am beginning to acknowledge that things happened the way they did because...well, just because.  The fact that I know something more about myself now, because of what happened, is enough for me to move forward.  So what do I know? I know there's something to be said for ...

This will be a short post. I want to post a few links to some articles that touch on the 'me generation' and the the related problem that is the oversexualization of young girls. I thought the articles were good enough themselves but it was even more interesting to read the comment sections, especially on the generation diva article. There is a lot of argument going on out there as to what causes these problems, what we can do, and so on.  I don't think anyone will debate that there is a huge problem though.  It's so bad that some mothers  are dressing their daughters like prostitutes for the sake of pageantry, some kids think that teachers and professors exist to make life easy, and some Hollywood stars' plastic surgery has turned them into something akin to disfigured Marvel comic villains.     I'm not the kind to worry about how bad things are out there, but the articles do serve to show where our society is going with its standards.  I read them more as a case in what not to do and what to try to protect my future daughters from.   Ok, I'll admit that the plastic ...

I have been using my Zune for a few months now, and it has impressed me so much that I need to make a small commentary. The first and most important thing I have to say is that once you get used to the Zune version 3.0 software, you will never go back to itunes. Microsoft has created an interface that is so much clearer and easier to use than that mess of boxes that Apple sticks with. Here I refer mostly to the respective marketplaces, but the main music user interface on Zune 3.0 still seems much more user-friendly.  You can arrange your music how you like it - by genre, artist, playlist, and so on.  Then you can sort artists, songs, and anything else, to your liking.  And it's all so much easier than on itunes. When you get into the marketplace to buy songs, Zune really outshines itunes.  Especially if you take advantage of Zune Pass, which I decided to do a few weeks ago.  The itunes store is a jumbled mess of information, in my opinion.  Zune marketplace breaks down genres, popular artists, and new releases in a nice clean format.  When you go to buy, ...

It's sad to me to see all the nasty stuff that is going on down in ol' Mexico. Those who know me know why I have a soft spot for that country - I lived there for a couple years as a missionary for my church. Living in another country while engaged in a work of that nature gives you a different perspective on its people. Especially so since that country is Mexico and many people in the states seem to have an opinion on what they think that country is. That's an aside from my reason for writing this post,though.  I just read what Hillary Clinton said about the drug violence in Juarez and all along the border - that the U.S. shares the blame for what is happening because of our demand for drugs.  I agree with her.  I think her point is very logical, but when I read down through the comments, I could hardly believe some of the things I saw.   Let me say first that this article came from a website called "One News Now", a site that I have been receiving regular email updates from for a while now.  I gradually got ...

At the beginning of this school block, one of my professors assigned a group project about Ford Motor Company.  Our group was supposed to compose an executive summary for Ford, informing them of the many environmental factors that will affect their business in the coming years.  We were to look at everything from green technology to political factors.   We are now just about done with the whole thing, and during the process I stumbled upon something I thought was really cool.  I'm talking about the Honda FCX Clarity - Honda's hydrogen powered car offering.  I know that we have all heard about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but this one brings them a little closer to home than I previously understood.  My father-in-law has been attending conferences on this technology for quite some time now in California.  I learned from him that the hydrogen infrastructure is growing bigger every day in southern California.  The technology is exciting and all, but currently Utah has no such infrastructure.  This is why Honda released a handfull of FCX Claritys to southern Cal customers last summer.   The exciting part for me is that Honda may be close to releasing a hydrogen station that will allow anybody ...

One thing I know about Obama is that throughout the next four years, we will have no lack of rousing speeches in times of difficulty. His inaugural address was inspiring. The kind of speech that if all its declarations were carried out perfectly, would heal the nation in next to no time. It certainly drew a crowd and numberless raving Obama fans. I did not vote for Obama, but I really hope he does what he says he will do. His record does not assure me that he will succeed as president, but then again records only go so far. He may surprise me and I am hoping he does.   Something that I have struggled to understand though, is the fierce loyalty that many people have for this man.  None of them knows how his presidency will unfold, yet they act as if The Savior Himself has just assumed the country's highest office.  I suppose such loyalty is admirable, but he hasn't done anything yet.  He has given hope for sure, but as the next four years unfold, I will need more than that to shower him with the praise that so many others ...

I can't even say how long I've been waiting for this.  Finally, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is close enough that a preview has been released.  It looks amazing.  Gambit is there, satisfying my desire to see him play a prominent role in an X-movie (at least I hope I'll be satisfied), the pre-weapon X story is there, and Sabretooth is there looking pretty cool himself.  I'm also glad that they're giving cameos to some other mutants that we've wanted to see for a long time now.  Hopefully this is the beginning of something that could lead to sequels and possibly even a Gambit series.  Too bad they ruined the Gambit/Rogue story with that whole Iceman thing in the X-movies.  Oh well. I've embedded the preview here for your viewing pleasure.  Try not to get too excited.  It's still a few months away. Tags: X-Men Origins Wolverine, X-Men, Wolverine movie, X-Man Gambit, X-Man Sabretooth

Every so often I'll see this advertisement floating around on conservative news sites, showing a picture of Ben Stein and a movie called "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed". I stopped to read a little about it once, and the prospect of a movie about the intelligent design vs. Darwinism debate seemed very interesting to me. I saw the movie a few nights ago at Blockbuster and decided to rent it. This one goes right to my list of recommended movies.  Ben Stein (he's the teacher on Ferris Beuler's Day Off who calls Beuler over and over in his monotone voice) narrates this movie about how intelligent design has come under attack in the academic community.  He interviews a few academics who were either denied tenure or forced out of their schools for daring to even mention ID in their scholarly work.  He also interviews some atheists and proponents of Darwinism, asking questions about their beliefs.  Ben Steins question is why, if the theories of Darwinism are pushed so much in universities, can't ID receive the same chance to be analyzed in the classroom.  A legitimate question, I believe, since a university education should be about discussion, debate, and critical thinking. The ...