Ted Danson with Wovles

A little premature (as confirmation is still pending), but I did accept a waiver under this team name, so I feel safe announcing that I will now begin training for my third annual Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. Woot. Woot.

Go team Ted Danson with Wolves.
I dare you to smoke that.

Like sands through the hour glass ...

so are the days of our lives.

Yes, I live 5 blocks from the beach.
No, I do not spend enough time there.

I love to feel the warmth of sand exfoliate the bottom of my feet. To sit back in a chair, or lay-out on a beach towel, and let my toes "scrunch" the sand.

Summer dreaming will have to wait, but in the interim, I can make fun sand art at this nifty website.

Click "c" to select your color, and let the cathartic mouse scrolling take you on an artful journey.

It's Friday. You deserve to LOL.

About 2 years ago, my friend posted about the humor to be found in the police beat section of the Palo Alto Daily News. As mentioned in her post, the most grievous crime was "A baby was allegedly found in a dumpster. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a burrito."

This reminded me of her post:

Brilliance is Back!

It's January 22.
Have you cleared your schedule to watch Burn Notice?
It returns tonight!!!
Woop. Woop.

I realize that most are not in the market for new/additional TV shows, but if your current queue is missing a few cool characters; cynical, dangerous when needs be, lacking some fundamental people skills that create LOL awkward moments, packaged in a fast-paced-resolved-by-the-hour-(usually)-type plot, don't say I didn't try to tell you.

On my DVR, this show is second only to Friday Night Lights.

Do we control our mortality?

There is a fascinating paper that analyzes the relationships between personal decisions and premature deaths in the United States. It concludes that over one million people prematurely die each year in the United States due
to causes that can be attributed to personal decisions.

Wow!

If you're looking for a good read (or motivation to change your life!/make better decisions, etc.), do check it out.

For those that are interested in some of the figures, I've posted some visuals below; I'm a visual person, so I found these interesting (figures are from 2000):














**note my favorite recommendation under "common sense life-saving decisions" is to not commit suicide; I guess some need to be told that!

Like Mother. Like Daughter.

My Mom sent me this card for my birthday, and I've had it on my door at work b/c it:
1) is so appropriate! and
2) totally makes me (and coworkers) smile.

Good Reminder

Great Refining Process

"There is an interesting story in the history of the Church. It concerns a man who was great and then fell because he became somewhat arrogant. Concerning him, President Wilford Woodruff said, 'I have seen Oliver Cowdery when it seemed as though the earth trembled under his feet. I never heard a man bear a stronger testimony than he did when under the influence of the Spirit. But the moment he left the kingdom of God, that moment his power fell like lightning from heaven. He was shorn of his strength like Samson in the lap of Delilah. He lost the power and the testimony which he had enjoyed, and he never recovered it again in its fulness while in the flesh, although he died in the Church.'

"As the years pass, each of us faces challenges within ourselves, generally in areas where we need development and refinement. Questions may arise in our minds concerning the Church, its history, its doctrine, its practices. I want to give you my testimony concerning this work. I have been heavily involved in it for more than a half a century. I have worked with the presidents of the Church from President Heber J. Grant onward. I have known in a very personal way President Grant, President George Albert Smith, President David O. McKay, President Joseph Fielding Smith, President Harold B. Lee, and President Spencer W. Kimball ... The Lord refined and polished each one, let him know discouragement and failure, let him experience illness and in some cases deep sorrow. All of this became part of a great refining process, and the effect of that process became beautifully evident in their lives."

Gordon B. Hinckley

"Bailouts Gone Wild! "

I read this in today's "Deal Book" (the bold part makes me "LOL"):

Porn Chiefs Seek $5 Billion
Even pornographers are lining up for a government bailout.

Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, and Joe Francis, the producer of the “Girls Gone Wild” videos, said Wednesday that they were asking Congress for $5 billion in federal assistance, asserting that the adult entertainment industry was among those hit by the recession, which “has acted like a national cold shower.”

“With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind,” Mr. Flynt said in a statement. “It’s time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly.” ...

So how bad is the pornography business? Does it really deserve a multibillion-dollar bailout like the banks and the automakers?

In their press release, Mr. Flynt and Mr. Francis admit, “The $13 billion industry is in no fear of collapse, but why take chances?”

Rather, we highly suspect that what they really want is publicity. After all, the bailout plea was made at the opening of the AVN Adult Expo in Las Vegas.

By Wednesday night, Google listed more than 6,400 items about the porno bailout. MSNBC’s “Countdown With Keith Olberman” devoted its final segment to it.

And now, after resisting this silliness all day, DealBook has an item on it.

Don't hold back

Next week the rest of the non-Direct TV world gets to experience season 3 of Friday Night Lights (of course after the season finale next Wednesday for those with Direct TV!). I'm excited for the masses to experience the greatness that is season 3.

I've decided that the main reason I like this show is because it is about defining moments in life. There are lots of them. People deal with them in different ways. We see choices and consequences play out. Some get resolved ... the way we want them to! and some are more frustrating. But as Tyra eloquently alludes to in her college essay, it is our choices, not our situations that define us.

My approach to life is more easily compared to Tami Taylor's response to Coach.

Coach Taylor: "I have no idea what's going to happen out there tomorrow".

Tami Taylor: "Well ... you're gonna win. Or lose. Either way the sun's still coming up the next morning".

I don't plan to do more posts about FNL, so I will share my favorite conversation of season 3, thus far, which takes place between Lyla and Tim in episode 9. It starts at 3:39 in the clip below (THIS IS NOT A SPOILER):