The Rich Life

POTUS

2011-11-06T01:05:00.000-07:00

When deciding who you want to be the next President of the United States, always remember that the MOST IMPORTANT THING is whether or not you agree with his/her supernatural explanation of how the universe works. You need to know where your candidate stands when it comes to Zeus, Poseidon, Fairies, Trolls, Unicorns, and Leprechauns.

P.S. Also ask them what their opinion is on assault riffles, acupuncture, and if they are at least 35 years old.

Secret Packet of Phenomena

2011-02-09T16:59:00.002-07:00

To have to face the fact of being oneself – one self, this self and none other, this secret packet of phenomena, this singular bubble of consciousness. Press up against each other as we may, and the bubbles remain essentially inviolate. Share the same body even, be joined like Siamese twins, and there still remain two quite separate consciousnesses.

Nicholas Humphrey

The Best of 2010

2010-12-30T17:30:00.008-07:00

A few of my favorites from 2010

New movies: Inception, Ghost Writer, 500 Days of Summer, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Re-watched movies: About a Boy, Groundhog Day

Books: The Omnivore's Dilemma; The Happiness Hypothesis; Eat, Pray, Love; The Hunger Games trilogy; Guns, Germs, & Steel

Album: The Pursuit

Artist: Feist

Most memorable food: Liberty Market's White Pizza

Once in a lifetime event: Grandpa Ray's funeral

Favorite person: Becky (for the 15th consecutive year)

Coolest event: Jason winning an Emmy

The Rogue Dude Award goes to: Joel Salatin

Best personal finance decisions: switching from Dish to Netflix, from Qwest to Ooma, buying rental property

Favorite stocks: Netflix, Apple, Amazon

Favorite device: iPhone

Favorite new services: Netflix, Amazon Prime

Most visited websites: Wikipedia, Yahoo Finance, Mint, Pandora, Facebook, Google Reader, Gmail, Amazon, Bing Weather

Best vacation: Caribbean cruise

Most interesting overheard words: solipsism, consanguinity, automagically, vituperative, pickwickean

Best work decisions:

Changing Outlook to open to my calendar instead of my inbox (starting my day with my agenda instead of other people's)
Using automatic Rules in Outlook and Gmail to reduce email burden
Signing out of MS Communicator (incoming interruptions outnumbered outgoing messages 10:1)
Bringing in a mini fridge

Most thought provoking ideas:

Fowler's Stages of Faith
Chapter 9 of The Happiness Hypothesis
Guns, Germs, & Steel: the troubling lack of large herbivorous domesticated mammals in pre-Columbian North and South America

Most memorable TED Talks:

Hans Rosling on Asia's rise (I changed my entire investment strategy based on this presentation)

Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity

Tim Ferris on swimming

Favorite new productivity tools:

Favorite article: The curious case of Hollywood's White Whale (...living life on your own terms)

Favorite Christmas gift: a thing of beauty

Currently Reading: Googled

2010-12-23T18:30:00.001-07:00

Currently Reading: Googled

Very interesting...

Americans' Top Political Priorities

2010-11-29T23:58:00.001-07:00

Play around with this fascinating infographic:

Click the "Democrats" and "Republicans" buttons in the bottom left corner. Which party do you tend to agree with more on the issues? I'm about 50/50...

Resume

2010-09-12T20:14:00.001-07:00

A very cool resume:

Currently Reading: The Hunger Games

2010-09-01T21:00:00.002-07:00

Vote for Austin

2010-08-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Can I ask a small favor? My internet famous brother-in-law Austin (>15,000,000 views on his Orabrush commercials) is in a competition for a job with Logitech and Google to introduce their new product, the "Logitech Revue with Google TV".

The competition ends tomorrow, so he needs your votes TODAY. Click here to vote for him.

Pulse of the Nation

2010-08-18T18:30:00.001-07:00

What the analysis of 300 million tweets over a 3 year period tells us about the mood of our nation. Click here to explore.

We're in the best mood early in the morning.
Our moods decline from morning until early afternoon, when it starts to pick up again.
We're significantly happier on the weekends than on the weekdays.
On weekdays, we're in the best mood on Fridays.
The West coast is consistently in a better mood than the East coast.

Currently Reading: What the Dog Saw

2010-08-12T22:31:00.001-07:00

I very much wish that Malcolm Gladwell wanted to be my new best friend. I love everything he has written.

Currently Reading: The Lost Symbol

2010-08-08T21:19:00.001-07:00

Continuing the rare departure from non-fiction:

Currently Reading: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

2010-08-08T21:17:00.001-07:00

Taking a rare break for some fiction. Becky, Maddie, and Savanna have already read it (in fact I think the girls have each read it twice). I figured I needed to keep up.

I finished this yesterday. Definitely adolescent lit. I need to see the movie now to see how it compares. The story seems very derivative of Harry Potter. Percy is an awkward, famous boy about the same age as Harry who is sent to a magical school/camp, the pervasive use of the term "halfblood", he is effectively an orphan (although not really), Percy+Grover+Annabeth = Harry+Ron+Hermione, etc.

I want to be more like Bill Murray...an enigma...impossible to get a hold of

2010-08-07T00:01:00.004-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I had an incident where I had 15 minutes to finalize a presentation before an important meeting, my office phone was ringing, my cell phone was ringing, I had email messages marked “urgent” piling up in my inbox, several instant message windows blinking at the bottom of my screen asking “Can you IM?”, and a person standing in my office doorway saying “Do you have a minute?”. The situation was completely ridiculous.

I want to be like Bill Murray: That same weekend I read this article while having my car’s oil changed. Spectacular. Read it. Seriously. It may infect your brain with possibilities like it has infected mine.

Rules for Email

2010-08-06T22:20:00.001-07:00

Seth Godin has a great list of email rules here. I especially like rules 4, 5, & 6.

Email checklist

Before you hit send on that next email, perhaps you should run down this list, just to be sure:

Is it going to just one person? (If yes, jump to #10)
Since it's going to a group, have I thought about who is on my list?
Are they blind copied?
Did every person on the list really and truly opt in? Not like sort of, but really ask for it?
So that means that if I didn't send it to them, they'd complain about not getting it?
See #5. If they wouldn't complain, take them off!
That means, for example, that sending bulk email to a list of bloggers just cause they have blogs is not okay.
Aside: the definition of permission marketing: Anticipated, personal and relevant messages delivered to people who actually want to get them. Nowhere does it say anything about you and your needs as a sender. Probably none of my business, but I'm just letting you know how I feel. (And how your prospects feel).
Is the email from a real person? If it is, will hitting reply get a note back to that person? (if not, change it please).
Have I corresponded with this person before?
Really? They've written back? (if no, reconsider email).
If it is a cold-call email, and I'm sure it's welcome, and I'm sure it's not spam, then don't apologize. If I need to apologize, then yes, it's spam, and I'll get the brand-hurt I deserve.
Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
Could I do this note better with a phone call?
Am I blind-ccing my boss? If so, what will happen if the recipient finds out?
Is there anything in this email I don't want the attorney general, the media or my boss seeing? (If so, hit delete).
Is any portion of the email in all caps? (If so, consider changing it.)
Is it in black type at a normal size?
Do I have my contact info at the bottom? (If not, consider adding it).
Have I included the line, "Please save the planet. Don't print this email"? (If so, please delete the line and consider a job as a forest ranger or flight attendant).
Could this email be shorter?
Is there anyone copied on this email who could be left off the list?
Have I attached any files that are very big? (If so, google something like 'send big files' and consider your options.)
Have I attached any files that would work better in PDF format?
Are there any :-) or other emoticons involved? (If so, reconsider).
Am I forwarding someone else's mail? (If so, will they be happy when they find out?)
Am I forwarding something about religion (mine or someone else's)? (If so, delete).
Am I forwarding something about a virus or worldwide charity effort or other potential hoax? (If so, visit snopes and check to see if it's 'actually true).
Did I hit 'reply all'? If so, am I glad I did? Does every person on the list need to see it?
Am I quoting back the original text in a helpful way? (Sending an email that says, in its entirety, "yes," is not helpful).
If this email is to someone like Seth, did I check to make sure I know the difference between its and it's? Just wondering.
If this is a press release, am I really sure that the recipient is going to be delighted to get it? Or am I taking advantage of the asymmetrical nature of email--free to send, expensive investment of time to read or delete?
Are there any little animated creatures in the footer of this email? Adorable kittens? Endangered species of any kind?
Bonus: Is there a long legal disclaimer at the bottom of my email? Why?
Bonus: Does the subject line make it easy to understand what's to come and likely it will get filed properly?
If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email, would I?

Reply All

2010-08-06T22:19:00.002-07:00

Reply All is a curse.

I’m told that Ram Charam did a productivity study for GE…and the result was that they disabled the Reply All functionality from all the computers.

Brilliant.

The Idea Man

2010-08-05T17:30:00.001-07:00

This guy looks funny. This guy is really smart.

Stumbling on Happiness

2010-08-01T19:20:00.004-07:00

Currently reading:

Here's the author, 6 years ago at TED:

The napping house

2010-08-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

How to nap:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

Portland: The Screen Door

2010-06-13T22:34:00.002-07:00

Portland: The Screen Door. Modern soul food. Famous for delicious local organic veggies.
Great dinner with Jason, Jill, Katie, & Ben.

Thanks all!

Long lost friends: Marissa

2010-06-13T22:28:00.002-07:00

I met my old MBA friend Marissa for lunch and a tour of Microsoft's Bellevue campus.

Super yummy Thai curry! Very cool office.

{Guess what: The grass really is greener on the other side.}

Thanks Marissa!

Long lost friends: Condie's

2010-06-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

Our old NJ friends, the Condie's, graciously hosted me for dinner on Wednesday night. Yummy homemade pizza! Great to catch up.

Bryant, thanks for the tour of Amazon!

Caught in the wild: 787

2010-06-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Went on the Boeing Everett plant tour on Friday. Ventured inside the largest buidling in the world (you could fit Disneyland inside; over 1,000,000 light bulbs). It is where all the 747's, 777's, and 787's are produced. Saw the very first 747-800 passenger version being assembled.

I don't think there is another factory in the world where you could see billions and billions of dollars worth of work-in-process inventory just by turning your head. Very cool.

Homeopathic medicine

2010-04-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

Information is Beautiful

2010-04-11T21:02:00.002-07:00

Information is beautiful

Click here --> Snake Oil

Click here --> The Hierarchy of Digital Distraction

Click here --> Left vs. Right Which side are you on?

In the drink...

2010-03-30T10:40:00.002-07:00

Question: There's a tiny fruit fly floating on the surface of the 32 oz. soda you just purchased. Do you scoop it out and keep drinking OR do you discard the whole thing?

Android

2010-03-29T11:25:00.001-07:00

Wow.

Crying

2010-03-22T17:00:00.002-07:00

I look forward with anxious anticipation for the time when an entire day lapses without anyone in my house crying.

Jack Johnson :-(

2010-03-22T16:41:00.002-07:00

How many times do I have to tell Pandora that I don't like Jack Johnson before it believes me?

Recycling

2009-12-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

Should I be proud that my family aggressively recycles or should I be ashamed at the tremendous volume of trash that we create?

You don't have to answer that question...

Do Good Anyway

2009-10-19T14:44:00.003-07:00

"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway."

Mother Teresa

How people use their time

2009-08-09T15:44:00.003-07:00

This is fascinating:

Play with the interactive version here. Change the settings to Men, Women, People with Kids, or Without, etc.

A few observations:

7:00 AM and 10:30 PM appear to be the most common "wake up"' and "go to sleep" times.
Lunch is the most concentrated meal of the day, generally at 12:00 noon. Dinner is much more spread out, but most commonly occurs right after 6:00 PM. Breakfast is much harder to figure out.
People are getting more sleep than you would think (everyone seems to claim they don't get enough sleep, but in total, we are averaging over 8 hours per night).
People watch a lot of TV and movies.
The amount of "computer" time doesn't seem high enough to me.

(thanks Dan!)

The 2010 National Budget

2009-07-26T19:34:00.003-07:00

Two observations:

Our national expenses FAR exceed our national income.
We spend way too much on military and national defense.

(See the full, high-resolution graph of the 2010 national budget -- with all its gory details -- here.)

Francoms

2009-07-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Had a blast at the Francom's lovely new home in Highland!

Very yummy food...

Lagoon

2009-07-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

Went to Lagoon last week. Hadn't been there in over 20 years. It was better than I remember it.

The Truth

2009-07-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

5 Guys in Provo = Yummy

2009-07-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sam 1-2-3

2009-07-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Only in Provo

2009-07-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

DIY Castle

2009-07-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

How to increase property values and make your neighbors love you: retrofit your ordinary dwelling into a castle.

We saw this in Payson when we went to the Patio of Fire concert. Lovely.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

2009-07-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

My friend Morgan used to say this is where he hoped to be called on a mission.

Signs of the recession

2009-07-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

...near Page Arizona.

Homemade Ice Cream

2009-07-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

Rhubarb pie

2009-07-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Becky decided to make rhubarb pie.

Consumer Reports LOVES the Prius

2009-03-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

South Mountain Hike: Fat Man's Pass

2009-02-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

The World's Most Famous Plane

2009-02-18T20:19:00.001-07:00

On my way to work I stopped to snap a picture of the world's most famous plane parked at Sky Harbor.

Obama is in town...

Long Lost Friends: Rebecca Shahan Snow

2009-02-18T20:08:00.004-07:00

Becky and I had a blast crashing Rebecca's older sister Laurie's 40th birthday party.

Once again, Rebecca proved herself to be one of the world's leading conversationalists.

(Rebecca has been a great friend since we first met at a Junior High party -- 20 years ago!!)

Long Lost Friends: W Hall Boys

2009-02-18T20:01:00.002-07:00

Unbelievably, freshman year was half our lives ago.

The W-Hall Boys: Bryce Arnett, Me, Chris Short, Jeff Arnett, Mason Lundell, & Rob MacDonald.

(Nate, we missed you)

Superbowl Commercials

2009-02-01T21:57:00.004-07:00

Hey...I know you're not doing anything right now, so why don't you throw me a bone and go vote for my brother's ad as your favorite Superbowl commercial? (Even if it's not...hey it's good for business):

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-SUPERBOWL09.html

His is the CareerBuilder "Tips" ad.

One thing he excels at is polarizing people. When I checked a few minutes ago it was winning in BOTH the best and the worst category! I think it's hilarious.

Charles Hardison Bagley

2009-01-28T08:36:00.004-07:00

At 10:35 PM last night, Charlie decided it was time to join the crew...

Palm Pre

2009-01-13T21:12:00.005-07:00

If you would have asked me one week ago, I would have said that Palm was a sad company on the brink of collapse that had somehow become irrelevant in a market that they once held 90% market share.

That was before I watched the CES product launch of the new Pre phone. Wow!

Here's my summary: They not only caught up to the other major smart phone offerings (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android), they surpassed them. The operating system is really, really cool. Don't believe me? Watch the launch.

The best features:

Synergy: Unified contact list and Calendar from all your disparate sources...without affecting the sources. This isn't a scaled down version of a desktop application; it's better than a desktop application.
True multitasking: You don't have to close or shut down what you are doing to do something else.
One search: It pulls up everything relevent to your search and when it runs out of "local" options, it turns to the internet.
The notification system is very cool.
Seamless switching between IM and SMS for a continuing conversation.
A real keyboard. Sorry, Apple the virtual keyboard has limitations.
Inductive charging (no cables required)

Palm is going to have to get this product out FAST because now that they've shown their hand (intentional pun based on their Cards feature) the other major players can copy and respond to their innovations. Obviously, their going to need a very strong third party application community to support this, but I'm optimistic that there are a lot of nerds out there with some nostalgic fondness for Palm.

Here's Engadget's rather glowing review.

2010 Toyota Prius & Honda Insight

2009-01-13T13:37:00.001-07:00

The Insight design looks more like a sibling to the Prius than a competitor. Maybe they’ll look less alike in real life.

Early figure are that the new Insight may be more fuel efficient than the new Prius. Good news: The Insight is slated to cost less than $18k.

Cool new innovation: the Prius will have optional solar panels on the roof that run fans and some portion of the a/c to keep the car cool(er) while it is parked out in the hot sun. Very cool for AZ.

Best of 2008

2009-01-09T16:15:00.004-07:00

Favorite Blogs: 1,001 Rules for My Unborn Son and The Jolly Porter {Christian & Stephanie’s b-i-l. A hilarious man.}

Favorite individual blog post of the year: A Secret Crush

Favorite musicians of the year: Band of Horses, Feist, Frou Frou, Death Cab for Cutie, Iron & Wine

Favorite Albums: “Once” the Swell Season, “Viva La Vida” Cold Play

Great Song: “The Geeks Were Right” The Faint

Favorite Books: Made to Stick, Super Crunchers, The Birth of Plenty, Words that Work, Wikinomics, The Long Tail, You: An Owner's Manual, Predictably Irrational, Why We Buy

Favorite movies watched in ’08: Once, Juno (both watched using ClearPlay)

Favorite Financial tool: Mint (their related app for iPhone or iPod Touch is fantastic)

Favorite Web Tool: Pandora

Favorite new gadget: iPod Touch

Favorite non-Person: Roomba

Favorite Person: Becky (she has held the #1 position for over 13 years)

Please tell me what your favorites are.

Here's my Best of 2007 list.

Comparing Loan Offers

2009-01-09T14:33:00.002-07:00

Like many people, with rates at or below 5%, I am evaluating refinancing my mortgage right now. When doing so it can sometimes be bewildering how the different offers compare to one another:

1. Interest rates differ

2. Points differ (prepaid interest)

3. Origination fees differ

4. Other fees differ

5. Monthly payments differ

I am sure there are many other similar tools available, but the comparison tool that I have been using extensively this week can be found here.

(1) Enter the two competing offers, (2) use the APR not the stated interest rate, (3) ignore the “Loan Adjustments” fields unless you are getting an ARM, (4) press “Calculate”.

I am sure there are more elegant ways to do it, but the tool also allows you to do scenario analysis by playing with adjusting the points and origination fees.

As far as generating competing offers to evaluate, I’ve been using the link on Yahoo Finance here (it uses BankRate.com data). Sort on the “APR” column not the “Rate” column.

If you want to throw yourself into some serious mortgage/refinance research, the Mortgage Professor appears to offer information skewed in the consumer’s rather than lender’s direction. (Warning: His website looks like it was designed in 1996, but the info is good and regularly updated.)

2008 Readings

2009-01-05T17:41:00.003-07:00

I set a crazy goal to read 100 books in 2008. This really was crazy for me since not very many years ago I set a goal to read 10 books…and I think I came up short that year.

So, how’d I do? Although I didn’t reach the century mark, I absolutely crushed any prior year in my life: I read over 70 books in 2008.

So, what’s that catch? There are a few caveats:

I probably was only looking at ink on paper for a few of these books. Translation: I am a HUGE audio book fan.
I listen to audio books at between 1.5 and 2.0 times normal speed. Yes, I speed read audio books. Here is my prior post on how I do it.
Some of these “books” are very, very short. Several of the ones on Project Management were in the 90 minute range.
Some of what I am counting as “books” aren’t books. Example: The Constitution of the United States. Regardless, I’m glad I read it.
Some of these are re-reads of prior year favorites.
As you can see, the vast majority of these are non-fiction.
I did not include any of the countless times I have read “Good Night Moon”, “The Runaway Bunny”, “Chickachickaboomboom”, “Where the Wild Things Are”, or “When Sophie Gets Angry”. P.S. Don’t tell Sophie that I frequently turn more than one page at a time.

With those caveats, below are most (I may be missing one or two) of the “books” I “read” during 2008 with brief comments for most (several aren't even worth commenting about):

Joseph Smith & His Relationship with God. Enjoyed it
The 8^th Habit. I’m a big Covey fan, but this seemed contrived. Stick with 7.
Made to Stick. Very good. Should be required reading for anyone in the business world.
Great Speeches of the 20^th Century. Educational
The Tipping Point. I LOVE all of Gladwell’s stuff. Third time reading this.
Principle Centered Leadership. Very good
Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon. Very interesting
The Wisdom of Crowds. One of my favorite books in recent years. This was my third or fourth time reading it.
Blink. Very good. Third time reading this.
Words that Work. You may disagree with the man behind this book, but his content is good
25 Things to Say to the Interviewer. Lame
Analyzing Financial Statements. A snoozer
Freakonomics. Interesting. I disagree with some of his findings. Second or third time reading it. Check out his research on infant car seats on TED.
Rich Dad’s Guide to Becoming Rich. Simple, powerful concepts that 99% of the people don’t heed
How to Make People Like you in 90 Seconds. Lame
Super Crunchers. A contender for my favorite book of the year. I’ll definitely re-read this one.
The Birth of Plenty. Similar tone as Collapse. I enjoyed it. The author is not LDS, but he identifies 1820 as the pivot point in western prosperity. Coincidence??? I’ll re-read this one.
The Woman in White. Fiction Alert! Becky read this in her book club, so I was curious.
The Blue Ocean Strategy. Started, expired before I could finish. I plan to finish in ‘09.
The Declaration of Independence. Words to live by
The Constitution of the United States of America. Read it
The Bill of Rights. Now I know
The No Ass Hole Rule. Summary: don’t be a jerk and avoid them at work
A Perfect Mess. A few valid points. It received so much buzz from messy people looking for validation.
Crashes, Booms, & Panics. Timely read
22 Immutable Laws of Branding. Educational. Second or Third time on this one.
Living the 7 Habits. Great. At least my third time through this one.
Getting to Yes. Good
Stumbling Upon Happiness. Interesting. I will probably re-read.
The Happiness Hypothesis. Started, expired before I could finish. Will finish in ’09.
The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner. Skip it
Wikinomics. Very good. Way too long. Find an abridged version. Their point was very convincingly made long before the book ended.
The Long Tail. A must read.
The Mormon Way of Doing Business. Good
Crucial Conversations. Decent. As I am writing this I can’t remember anything about this book.
Crucial Confrontations. Same as above. I can’t remember anything about it.
You: The Owner’s Manual. Very good. Read it.
Optimal Thinking. Stupid. I stopped after a couple of chapters.
Personal Efficiency Program. Good stuff
Freedomnomics. Some professor’s response to Freakonomics. It expired before I could finish it. I will probably not finish.
Men Are From Mars Women are From Venus. Summary: Men, the challenges you have with your wife are not unique to your wife; you would have similar challenges with any woman. So, love the one you’ve got. There’s probably some advice in there for woman as well.
Mars & Venus in the Bedroom. Read it
Blown to Bits. Good
101 Best Answers to Interview Questions. Unless, of course, you are in a behavioral interview…
250 Job Interview Questions. May help to get you thinking
Total Workday Control. Still working on this one…not available in audio format!
Gold, Hard Money, & Financial Gurus
Innovative Strategies in Risk Management
Project Management: So you think you are done?
Project Management: Taming wicked projects
Project Management: Ten questions your sponsor should ask
Predictably Irrational. A contender for my favorite book of the year
50 Killer Ideas for Delivering Successful Projects
In Defense of Food. I highly recommend
Talking Your Way to the Top. Summary: Chances to speak (in meetings, giving presentations) are your best chance to shine at work
Work Less, Make More. Forgettable
The Articulate Executive. Sadly for the authors, I don’t remember anything about this book
Twilight. Fiction Alert! Stephenie is my friend.
The World is Curved. Absurdly timely. The guy knows what he is talking about.
New Moon. Fiction Alert!
Eclipse. Fiction Alert!
The Host. Fiction Alert!
Discover Your Inner Economist. Good
The On-Time, On-Target Manager. Weak
The Secret. Forgettable: whatever the Secret is, I can’t remember it
How to Talk to Anyone. Why do I keep selecting books like this? Had one piece of advice I remember: Never give empty “Thank Yous”. Make it clear why you are thanking someone.
Monsters of Templeton. Fiction Alert! A very enjoyable read. Warning: Contains about 10 F-bombs and acknowledges the existence of sex.
Living Well in a Down Economy. Clearly a rush-to-publish job with innovative gems like “bring a lunch from home”
Buyology. Quite interesting. Anyone in Marketing should read.
Why We Buy. If you interact with the retail world in any way, you will enjoy reading this book. I liked it better than Buyology.
Breaking Dawn. Fiction! I was hoping for a little more action in climactic final “battle”
Midnight Sun. Fiction! I’m about halfway through actually reading this (eyes on the page…or computer screen in this case)

Here are my favorite new reads for '08 (I'm excluding some of the great books, like Blink, on the above list that were re-reads for me):

Made to Stick
Super Crunchers
The Birth of Plenty
Words that Work
Wikinomics
The Long Tail
You: An Owner's Manual
Predictabley Irrational
Why We Buy

Help Us Name Our Baby

2008-12-27T12:12:00.003-07:00

Our sixth child is officially due on January 29th. However, based on Sophie and Sam, we think January 19th is probably more realistic.

Please help us select his name. Here are our top choices for first and middle names:

Charles Call (Charlie)
Maxwell Call (Max)
Luke Hardison
William Murphy
Hardison Redd

Leave us a comment on which one(s) you like.

Becky...first impressions

2008-12-12T18:00:00.006-07:00

I found my old journal the other day. It covers – with very embarrassing handwriting and ridiculous attempts at spelling – the very tail end of my senior year of high school and my first semester of college. I re-read it looking for my first mention of Becky. It is classic! Check it out…

12/13/1992

“Jeff & I have become good friends with Karen Eagleston and Becky Craig (plus Maggie Woods & Heidi Christensen). Jeff likes Heidi now. Becky is one of the coolest girls ever! Becky is smart, good looking, righteous, and totally HAPPY! She is always happy. We have a lot in common. Maybe I’ll fall in love with her when I get home from my mission.”

I entered the MTC exactly one month after that entry was made. It was only after I left her daily presence that I realized how much I missed her. Unbeknownst to her, for the next two years I proceeded to tell people all over Japan that she was my girlfriend.

My prediction of falling in love with her came true…

(This photo was taken within days of the journal entry. We went with a group of friends to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square.)

Geriatric Muscle Man

2008-12-08T08:38:00.004-07:00

At my peak, I've never been as ripped as this 70 year old man!

The End of An Era

2008-12-02T08:08:00.003-07:00

After more than 35 years with the same phone number, my parents just canceled their landline and went all cellular.

Croutons

2008-11-26T21:30:00.001-07:00

I view common, hard-as-stone croutons as an annoyance in my salad.

I don't want anything in my salad that shatters when poked with a fork.

Homemade croutons...now that is an entirely different story.

Twilight Premiere

2008-11-20T00:01:00.002-07:00

About 3 weeks ago, I got a fairly standard piece of regular old fashion snail mail. When I opened it I quickly saw that it contained two tickets to an event -- and I instantly assumed that it was one of those lame Donald Trump real estate seminar invitations where they tell you the tickets are worth $150 a piece but really they just try to sell you crap when you go. I almost chucked the whole thing in the trash.

Luckily, I took a closer look.

To my surprise it contained two numbered tickets with Becky and my name on the back for the Arizona premiere of Twilight. We were told to keep the event confidential until after it had occurred...and that formal attire was recommended.

So, tonight Becky and I got all gussied up and went out for a delightful evening (see Becky's review here). We ran into a bunch of our old Glendale friends from back in the day when Stephenie and Poncho were both our friends and neighbors (same Ward. I served in the YM with Poncho).

It was really fun to see a couple hundred people in the theater all decked out in their finery. They even had a red carpet leading into the theater. At the door they gave us a bunch of gift cards to redeem at the concession stand (p.s., I learned that it is pretty easy to blow $30 bucks at a concession stand). Once inside, Stephanie was there to greet everyone and take pictures. She immediately ran up and gave Becky a really big hug as soon as she saw her.

As far as I know we were among the earliest audiences in the world to see this show (the Hollywood premiere and press screening, before us). It was only Pancho's second time, after the Hollywood premiere. It was their son Gabe's first time.

My review: I can't possible review this film objectively. I suppose my super abbreviated review is that it was better than I expected it would be AND that it was more faithful to the book than I thought it would be. But this is where it is hard to be objective: because it was pretty faithful to the book, I know that I was mentally filling in any blanks that the film mayhave left out. For example, when the waitress is serving Bella and Edward in the restaurant, I'm mentally filling in the dialogue that is going on in her head that Edward is hearing...but the film never shows this or tell us that it is happening. I just know it from the book.

So, if you liked the book, I think you will like the film. If you haven't read the book, I don't know how you will like it...that is the part I can't be objective about. I can't un-know what I know about the story.

We talked to Stephenie and Poncho after the showing, congratulated them and thanked them again for the invite. I also told Stephenie that whatever hand she had in the soundtrack, that I liked it a lot.

Look for Stephenie's brief cameo in one of the diner scenes. She's sitting a her laptop writing and orders a veggie burger. Our audience got a big kick out of that scene.

All in all, a very fun evening.

To any of our other current of future famous friends...please invite us to your premieres as well!

P.S. Last week I think we broke some kind of Stephenie Meyer reading record in my household. I was reading "The Host", Becky was reading "Breaking Dawn", Madison re-read "Twilight" and then read "Midnight Sun", and Savanna re-read "New Moon" and "Eclipse" and "Midnight Sun". Crazy!

Pharaoh's Dream

2008-11-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

SEVEN years ago (soon after the 9-11 attacks, and the same day that the U.S. started the war in Afghanistan) President Hinckley gave a talk entitled, “The Times in Which We Live” in which he referenced Pharaoh’s Dream. You remember, Donny Osmond sang about it…the one that talks about SEVEN years of plenty followed by SEVEN years of famine.

I noticed that Elder Packer also referenced Pharaoh’s Dream in the Arizona state-wide stake conferences a couple of weeks ago.

Scary.

The Mormon Work Ethic...UT...AZ is too hot...can't move

2008-11-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Read it.

Maybe I need to move. It is too hot here. Broke the freakin’ “hottest ever” record yesterday and today!

Of course, that would require me to sell my house in the worst sellers market…ever.

Stupid packaging...

2008-11-15T22:10:00.006-07:00

Although I'm glad to have found candelabra style CFL bulbs at Costco, the half-empty "Earth Friendly" box is ridiculous.

More Awesomer

2008-11-13T15:11:00.002-07:00

Jason's latest hilarity can be found here.

Truth

2008-11-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree...”

Albert Einstein

“All truth can be circumscribed into one great whole”

Joseph Smith

Thou craven milk-livered foot-licker!

2008-11-08T21:53:00.002-07:00

Next time you’re feeling mad at someone, but can’t think of anything sufficiently bad to call them, turn to the Shakespearean Insult Generator for help.

...attained to the Age of thirty-five Years

2008-11-07T14:30:00.002-07:00

Article II of the U.S. Constitution states:

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

So, I guess that means the balls in my court now.

Credit goes to Emily for reminding me of this forgotten bit of civics…if only I had remembered earlier! Perhaps I could have been the one announcing who my new White House chief of staff would be this week!

Buy Low. Sell High.

2008-11-06T18:26:00.001-07:00

I was feeling pretty smug on Tuesday, since I had thrown a fairly substantial pile of coinage into the market on Monday.

Wednesday and Thursday haven’t been as much fun.

My last foray into non-401k investing – March 2000, 100% internet stocks – was a complete disaster (the portfolio lost over 90% of its value). So, if I offer you any investing advice, like this, you can simply respond, “Thanks, but no thanks”.

2008 Election

2008-11-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

It was a very tough decision this year. Becky and I spent about 3 hours filling out our ballots.

I want you all to know that I made the right decision.

Desert Grande Duathlon / Triathlon

2008-11-03T21:54:00.006-07:00

As you can see, I have a lot of electronics on me when I run: a heart rate monitor on my left wrist & chest, stop watch on my right wrist, Body Bugg on my left arm, trusty pedometer on my waist, iPod on my waist (yes, I listen to podcasts rather than music while I run/race). I wish I had a pacing GPS watch!

One year ago, this same race marked my return to the sport. I improved my prior time by 18 minutes...but, truth be told, that has more to do with the fact that last year I took a wrong turn on the bike and rode 50% further than planned.

I have only done a few races in the past year (Desert Grande twice, Mesa Turkey Trot 10k, & Payson Sprint Triathlon), but this is the first one where I haven't felt like I was going to die before I made it to the finish line. The 2008 Turkey Trot is in a few weeks and then Ragnar in February.

I just wish I could go faster...

Sophie turns 2

2008-11-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

We moved into our house on Halloween day 2004. Two years later, on the same day, Sophie joined us.

I love this little girl.

Mindy Gledhill Concert

2008-11-03T21:44:00.001-07:00

Lil' sis Ashley joined us for the concert.

Mindy did a fantastic job! If you aren't familiar with her music, check it out. Feather in the Wind is a great song. Becky and I had the pleasure of hosting Mindy and her husband Ryan while they were in town. Great people. We had a really good time getting to know them better.

Claire & Jane were the highlight.

Fear this

2008-11-03T21:33:00.001-07:00

Yes, that is my one year old daughter petting a live, uncaged, unleashed alligator*.

And that is Jacob petting an 18 foot long python. The owner said they're deadly to humans at 9 feet and beyond. This thing was ridiculously large!

* Amazing that an otherwise deadly animal can be rendered harmless with $0.25 worth of black electrical tape.

11 years old

2008-11-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

4 lbs 11 onces at birth. 11 fun-filled years later...

It's a busy street

2008-11-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you Mindy & Ryan! We love the sign.

Caught in the act...

2008-11-03T21:18:00.001-07:00

Sophie...breakfast...caught red handed

Do Not Underestimate the Power of the Dark Side!

2008-11-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

My cup of molten lava runneth over

2008-10-31T11:05:00.003-07:00

Dear Mother Nature,

Maybe you’ve been distracted lately, but it’s November tomorrow. I realize you are the undisputed expert on the subject, so I hope you will pardon my impudence, but the four seasons are supposed to be divided into roughly equal parts. Summer had its turn. Fall and Winter want a chance to show their stuff. It is already snowing in many parts of the country. It is time to turn down the temp in the Grand Canyon state.

If we have to be unseasonable anything, can it be cool? Please.

Imploringly,

Richard

Multitasking Stinks

2008-10-24T16:57:00.003-07:00

At one point yesterday* I was watching a LiveMeeting training on my right monitor while listening to the corresponding audio on my office phone wireless headset in my right ear. On my left monitor I was responding to emails, analyzing a spreadsheet, and responding to instant message queries from a co-worker. During that already insane mix, my beloved called me on my cell phone…so that took care of my left ear.

I’m not entirely sure where my brain was during this whole episode.

*Ironically, my calendar showed unavailable, my phone was set on “Send all Calls” to voicemail, my email was set on “Out of Office”, and my instant messenger was set to “Do Not Disturb” during this block of time. Modern work life is ridiculous! The only way to be truly unreachable is to go scuba diving.

I'm working on it...

2008-10-24T16:56:00.001-07:00

After I teach my kids how to clean their rooms and do the dishes, I’m going to teach them how to do this…

iPod turns 7

2008-10-23T17:01:00.002-07:00

On this day in 2001 Apple introduced the world to the iPod.

Thank you Steve Jobs. It has been a pleasure doing business with you.

Confused about the 2008 ballot measures in AZ, here's some help

2008-10-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ballot measures are almost always confusing since the language used, like “Payday Loan Reform” might be the opposite of what the law would actually do. Here’s some things that might help clear the fog:

A general guide, with brief summaries for and against, plus lots of related links:

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Arizona_2008_ballot_measures

Some conservative political guys and how their voting:

http://adamsandjefferson.blogspot.com/2008/10/adams-and-jeffersons-take-on-arizona.html

Confused about judges, here’s some local GOP opinions:

http://azjudgesreview.blogspot.com/

******************************************************

Not specifically related to the ballot initiatives, but I like this guy’s blog because it is politically hyper-local:

http://mesaissues.blogspot.com/

Red lipstick, good pumps, and a great push-up bra

2008-10-22T17:04:00.001-07:00

I was cleaning out some very old emails (circa 2005) and I found this one from Katie to Andrew, about how Andrew & Reachel ended up together. I can’t remember what the original story about the bed is. I’ll have to track down and scan a picture of the infamous cross-dressing incident and post it here.

Andrew,

I loved your story about how you owe your relationship to Reachel's
bed. But I got to thinking, you would have never met Josie and
Lynnley had I not told you about the Enclave and introduced you to
Brian and Justin. And you and I would have never known each other had
Becky and Richard never married. And Becky and Richard owe their
relationship to the fact that Richard dressed up like a girl to
sneak into Becky's dorm room her freshman year. So I guess what I'm
trying to say is you and Reachel owe your wonderful relationship to
not only a fantastic bed, but to some red lipstick, good pumps, and
a great push-up bra! I mean who would have thought that so much
love could have come out of one casual incidence of cross-dressing.
Oh the heavens must have been beaming on that day!

Later

-Katie

Looking like a landslide

2008-10-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

<<ScreenShot_1 16-Oct-08.gif>>

Thanks Austin for telling me about Intrade…like IEM, fascinating.

The Debate: I tried to be very objective when I watched the debate last night. I’m a true swing voter. I want to like McCain much more than I actually do like him. I wish I was more excited about the Republican option. Romney would have been much more compelling.

I think McCain did TERRIBLE last night. He came across as angry and befuddled. His grimacing throughout the process looked strange. He kept focusing on trivialities. His attacks just bounced off Obama.

Social Conservatism: My brother Andrew made an interesting point a few days ago: many social conservatives make single issues, like abortion, a deciding factor in their voting decisions. Yet, despite 2 Reagan terms, 1 Bush senior term, and 2 Bush junior terms (20 of the last 28 years with pro-life Republicans at the helm)…Roe vs. Wade has remained unchanged.

I’m extremely pro-life, but maybe, just maybe, we need to consider the full spectrum of issues when making our voting decisions.

Constitutional Confusion: At what point in our history did Presidents start talking like they are the ones who make the laws? I find it mildly humorous that presidential candidates always talk about “when I’m president this is how it’s going to be….”. Last time I read the Constitution, the legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Remember: checks and balances.

All these grand plans that McCain and Obama quibble about – like universal health care and changing the tax code – only become realities if congress makes it so.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

2008-10-08T15:32:00.002-07:00

One year ago on October 9, 2007 the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its all time high of 14,164.53.

Today it closed at 8,579.19.

Trillions dollars, a few of them mine…gone.

Weekend in UT

2008-10-03T13:40:00.020-07:00

In case you need either a tow or new tires en route to UT:

Wii Sports does not counteract the effects of not playing real tennis in 16 years:

Jason playing tennis with us. Oh wait, maybe not...

Jean's B-day gift from her AZ s-i-l's

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Jarom's amazing stretch of getting 100 mpg

Barreling down the freeway at >70 mph about to crash into an on-coming semi!

The Wisdom of Crowds

2008-10-02T09:07:00.004-07:00

I learned about the Iowa Electronic Market (IEM) when I first read The Wisdom of Crowds. The IEM is a prediction market that works similar to the stock market, except what is being traded is election results. Historically, the IEM has been more accurate than polling data at predicting the eventual outcome.

When I looked this morning, Barack Obama is favored to win by ten points:

I’m fascinated by things like prediction markets…

The real solution to the financial crisis: Recession

2008-09-30T14:31:00.001-07:00

This doesn’t sound fun, but it rings true:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/ysmith;_ylt=Au.2hhNecXnidvDWTK9hctQDW7oF

Dancing with the President of the United States of America

2008-09-30T08:52:00.001-07:00

I am convinced that the people at my office care more about the outcome of reality TV shows than who wins the election in November.

Conservative or Liberal? Workspace Reveals All

2008-09-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

Your office or bedroom holds telltale signs of whether you are a conservative or a liberal, finds a new study. While political conservatives tend to keep a tidy, organized office, political liberals favor colorful, more stylish but cluttered spaces.

A person may hide their political ideology from others, including from pollsters, but the researchers were delighted to learn that a peek into subjects' living quarters or even workspaces could give that away.

Conservatives and liberals leave behind distinct "behavioral residue" that can be picked up by savvy scientists and possibly other observers, according to the study by New York University psychologist John Jost and his colleagues. The results are set for publication in a forthcoming issue of the journal Political Psychology.

Office snoops

The researchers took inventory of five office locations - a commercial real estate agency, an advertising agency, a business school, an architectural firm and a retail bank - all in a large U.S. city. They had observers check out the workspaces of 94 male and female employees. The subjects' average age was 37. The snoopers had no idea of the workers' political orientation.

Political orientation was measured with survey questions.

Liberals' offices were judged as significantly more distinctive, comfortable, stylish, modern, and colorful and as less conventional and ordinary, in comparison with conservatives' offices, Jost said.

The researchers also sent snoopers into the living spaces of 76 undergraduates at the University of California, Berkeley, arriving at similar results.

"Conservative rooms tended to be cleaner, more brightly lit, better organized, less cluttered, and also more conventional and ordinary in terms of decoration," Jost said during a panel discussion on "The Neuroscience of Elections and Human Decision-Making" at NYU, adding: "Conservatives' rooms were rated by independent raters as better organized and tidier in general."

Specifically, individuals who reported a more conservative ideology also had bedrooms that contained more organizational and cleaning supplies, including calendars, postage stamps, ironing boards and laundry baskets.

Liberals' rooms on the other hand were marked by more clutter, including more CDs, a greater variety of CDs, a greater variety of books and more color in the room in general.

Political personalities

The findings agreed with a link found by Jost's team between two personality traits and political ideology. In personality tests of thousands of college students, Jost found that liberals tended to score higher than conservatives on one key measure called openness to experiences, which includes holding wide interests, and being imaginative and insightful.

Conservatives showed higher scores for conscientiousness, which measures a person's need for order, discipline, achievement striving and rule following.

"I think it's a truly fascinating possibility that the left-right distinction, which emerged over 200 years ago in response to the French Revolution and continues to be the single best way of understanding ideological differences today, may be rooted in fundamental human needs for stability vs. change, order vs. complexity, familiarity vs. novelty, conformity vs. creativity, and loyalty vs. rebellion," Jost told LiveScience.

(The terms of left-right political leanings was originally based on the seating arrangement of those in the French parliament during the time of the French Revolution.)

He added, "It may be that conflicting tendencies in human nature play themselves out in the political sphere as the struggle between right and left."

But for a self-proclaimed conservative or liberal whose office conditions do not match these findings, say a conservative living in a cluttered room, Jost said, that's to be expected.

"What we have observed are just differences on average between liberals and conservatives, and the variability around these averages is considerable," he said, giving the example that while on average men are taller than women, plenty of tall women and short men are walking around.

He added, "But I do wonder whether conservatives with messy rooms feel worse about the mess than do liberals with messy rooms, again, on average. For conservatives, it may be more likely that they are failing to live up to their own norms with regard to conscientiousness."

Jeanna Bryner
Senior Writer
LiveScience.com Thu Sep 25, 8:46 AM ET

Scary

2008-09-02T15:19:00.003-07:00

A list of things you hope to not find when you pull your fridge away from the wall:

1. A scorpion

2. Two Tom & Jerry style mouse holes in the baseboard

3. Damp, rotting floorboards

4. Mold growing on the damp, rotting floorboards

5. Termites living in the moldy, damp, rotting floorboards

That is a pretty good start of thing you probably don’t want to find when you move your fridge.

You’ll never guess what I found when I moved my fridge yesterday…

A lucky penny

2008-08-22T16:30:00.003-07:00

I figure it takes one second to stoop down and pick up a penny on the ground. If you do the math, that is equivalent to earning $36.00 per hour ($0.01 x 60 secs x 60 mins = 3600).

Therefore, from a purely econimic benefit point of view, here is what it is worth on an hourly basis to pick up the following coins:

1 penny = $36.00 per hour

1 nickel = $180.00 per hour

1 dime = $360.00 per hour

1 quarter = $900.00 per hour

Think about that next time you see something silver on the ground.

Invention wish list

2008-08-22T16:22:00.003-07:00

·Autopilot for cars

·An efficiency mode for cruise control. Rather than maintaining a certain speed, you would enter minimum & maximum speeds and the car would figure out how to get you to your destination within those ranges – factoring in the terrain – most efficiently. This would be especially nice if coupled with autopilot.

·“Smart” keys integrated with your cell phone. Your phone is your car key.

·Credit card functionality built into a smart phone. Pay with your phone. I think they already do this in Japan.

·A “smart” credit card that combined all your accounts into one card: you pick at time of payment which card to charge

Summer Vacation: the cold, hard facts

2008-08-14T16:46:00.001-07:00

Summer vacation…by the numbers

1999 Honda Odyssey

July 11, 2008 – Aug 10, 2008

AZ - NV - UT - ID - MT - Canada - MT - ID - UT - ID - UT - AZ

Total Distance: 4,917

Total Fuel Cost: $819

Ave Fuel cost: $4.28

Fuel Cost/Mile: $0.165

Avg MPG: 25.69

Oasian

2008-07-29T14:28:00.001-07:00

My favorite local Asian restaurant, Oasian, has apparently gone out of business.

They made the best chicken curry in the world. I was in the neighborhood last night and decided to stop in for a bite…only to discover the “Available” real estate sign on the building.

:-(

All was not entirely lost for the evening, though. I hit Yoko Fast Food on the way home and picked up some yummy yakisoba.

You can turn off the oven, I'm done now.

2008-07-28T22:15:00.001-07:00

This summer marks the 34th consecutive year I have hated AZ summers.

Why do humans live here?

122 Degrees

2008-06-28T17:14:00.003-07:00

June 26, 1990

This week marked the 18th anniversary of the day I spent 10 hours working with my dad outside on the hottest day in AZ history.

We knew that it was obscenely hot (you couldn't touch metal objects without getting burned), but it wasn't until later that night that we heard the news about just how hot it was -- 122 degrees. Insanely hot. Uninhabitably hot. Satan's fireplace hot.

If my memory serves me correctly, as we were pulling in to our street at the end of the day, I saw Randy out for an afternoon run.

My car needs new tires

2008-06-27T12:00:00.002-07:00

I checked Sears, Discount Tire, Costco, and the Tire Rack. Walmart.com (with free shipping to the store of your choice) came out the clear winner.

Five minute intervals

2008-06-22T11:14:00.002-07:00

Brigham Young once said, "I do not recollect that I have seen five minutes since I was baptized that I have not been ready to preach a funeral sermon, lay hands on the sick, or to pray in private or public." And then he added, "I will tell you the secret of this. . . . If you commit an overt act, repent of that immediately, and call upon God to deliver you from evil and give you the light of His spirit" (JD 12:102–3)

I came across this quote several years ago and have thought of it often since that time. It came to mind again this morning when our scheduled EQ instructor called this morning with the news that he would be out sick today. You never know when you will be called, unexpectedly, to preach a sermon…