From the upstairs bathroom came the cries of failure and frustration. Melissa hurried
upstairs to find #2...
He has recently learned to tinkle standing up with varying levels of success. He gets up on a stool, drops the pants, and usually hits the target. Unfortunately, #3 has recently developed a little bit of strength and a sense of humor.
Some detective work yielded the following assumptions:
While #2 was taking care of business, #3 came in and either pushed him, or the stool he was standing on. He fell to the floor on his back, with the spout in full function! About 50% of you know the near impossibility of stopping mid-flow. Melissa arrived to find #3 laughing, as #2 was crying, lying on his back, shorts at his ankles, arms attempting to shielding his face, and the front of his shirt soaked and dripping onto the floor.
Donʼt drink from that fountain bud, donʼt drink from that fountain.
Maybe this will teach him to close the door.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Something Wicked This Way Comes
By the pricking of my thumb,
Something wicked this way comes;
From the debates,
Copious logical fallacies await.
Pandering presidential partisans,
Pushing philosophical sins;
Posing the problem of picking,
Particularly as picking apart the falsehoods and fabrications.
As we charted the first debate, we noticed three main things:
First, both candidates would have been shredded in any college debate class due to their constant appeal to logical fallacies. Nearly every argument incorporated a few.
Second, they demonstrated that candidates can be mildly respectful in a debate. Havenʼt seen that in a long time. This was the only positive I found in the debate. (This is for you mom - see? Iʼm looking for the positive, and the devil should start investing in North Face).
Third, pushing aside the froth, our walkaway from the first debate was that the primary difference between two corrupt politicians was their core belief about the purpose of government. McCain is using philosophies that have worked in the past, but the way that he is proposing to have them implemented removes some of the key factors that historically have made them function. He answered the questions in ways that are somewhat feasible but do not solve the core problems. With his fiscal package though, there is greater probability for short term success.
Obama believes that the lack of government intervention has failed, particularly in the economy. He is correct, but the more important question - why has it failed? Due to the intervention and removal of consequences for “wall street” and “main street” the system cannot work. The evil attitude of entitlement has moved to a philosophy within the government. We... are... screwed...
Both the greatest strength and weakness of the liberal argument is that it points out the weakness and failures of the current system. Why is this a failure? Because pointing out the problem and calling for change does not necessitate sound principles. The socialist - based tendencies backing Obamaʼs plan have given up short term success while failing in the long run in every system they in which they have been incorporated throughout the world. To quote Ras Al Goul: “You have given up sure footing in order to obtain a killing stroke.
Who won the first debate? I call it a push, but I can only support a political philosophy in line with what I view as the purposes of good government found in Doc. & Cov. 134. But thatʼs our view and does not represent any groups or organizations we are affiliated with.
Something wicked this way comes;
From the debates,
Copious logical fallacies await.
Pandering presidential partisans,
Pushing philosophical sins;
Posing the problem of picking,
Particularly as picking apart the falsehoods and fabrications.
As we charted the first debate, we noticed three main things:
First, both candidates would have been shredded in any college debate class due to their constant appeal to logical fallacies. Nearly every argument incorporated a few.
Second, they demonstrated that candidates can be mildly respectful in a debate. Havenʼt seen that in a long time. This was the only positive I found in the debate. (This is for you mom - see? Iʼm looking for the positive, and the devil should start investing in North Face).
Third, pushing aside the froth, our walkaway from the first debate was that the primary difference between two corrupt politicians was their core belief about the purpose of government. McCain is using philosophies that have worked in the past, but the way that he is proposing to have them implemented removes some of the key factors that historically have made them function. He answered the questions in ways that are somewhat feasible but do not solve the core problems. With his fiscal package though, there is greater probability for short term success.
Obama believes that the lack of government intervention has failed, particularly in the economy. He is correct, but the more important question - why has it failed? Due to the intervention and removal of consequences for “wall street” and “main street” the system cannot work. The evil attitude of entitlement has moved to a philosophy within the government. We... are... screwed...
Both the greatest strength and weakness of the liberal argument is that it points out the weakness and failures of the current system. Why is this a failure? Because pointing out the problem and calling for change does not necessitate sound principles. The socialist - based tendencies backing Obamaʼs plan have given up short term success while failing in the long run in every system they in which they have been incorporated throughout the world. To quote Ras Al Goul: “You have given up sure footing in order to obtain a killing stroke.
Who won the first debate? I call it a push, but I can only support a political philosophy in line with what I view as the purposes of good government found in Doc. & Cov. 134. But thatʼs our view and does not represent any groups or organizations we are affiliated with.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Harvest Bugs
David and his colleague decided to teach an object lesson at work about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. They had the students create a list of the activities they do throughout their week. They then would get the materials for Sundaes, and would make a great Sundae in front of the class with all the toppings, then ask the class if they liked butter, salt, pepper, hot sauce, ketchup, mustard, and other such toppings on other foods. When the students answered in the affirmative, they would put them on the sundae, ruining it. For extra drama, he would top the sundae with a large bug. The students freak out and ask why he ruined a perfectly good sundae, he responds by asking them why they would ruin a perfectly good Sunday with the activities they place on the rest of the week. (The bug represents activities they shouldnʼt be doing anyday...)
You guessed it, David asked if the “kids would enjoy catching bugs”! Translation? Heʼs not going to be available much this evening with some other meetings, and need me to catch and gas those beasts. At least the kids enjoyed it...
We also harvested more from the garden, sunflowers, zucchini, and more zucchini.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
This is Not a Good Sign
Last night, as I was putting the children to bed, I listened in as they said their personal prayers. #1, who had a lesson on telling the truth on Sunday in Church, prayed that she would always tell the truth. Upon hearing that, #2 immediately prayed, “And helped me to always tell lies.”
Anyone want to guess what stage heʼs at?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Lightening the Queen
“Whatʼs going on?”
“Guess what Dad, Iʼm Lightening The Queen, a race car.”
“You mean Lightening McQueen, the race car.”
“Nope. I can go really fast like my sister.”
“Thatʼs interesting... hey, uh, watch out for that wall!!!”
“Ooooouuuuccchhhh, I need a Towmater-oooooo.”
“Either that or a better airbag deployment system.”
“Will you be my airbag?”
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Evil in the Ranches… that will affect your pocketbook!
Just an emergency head’s up for all of our neighbors… The HOA is trying again to build a recreation center, BUT here is the bigger problem. The city is currently planning a recreation center also. When the city does build a rec center, we will have to be paying for both. We’ll take a little tax increase from the city to build theirs… but if we don’t stop the HOA we’ll have to pay 25 MORE DOLLARS PER MONTH to fund the additional HOA recreation center! These center would be about 2 miles from each other and in direct competition with each others. This is an unneeded, foolish, and ill-conceived plan. I recommend reading Paul Jerome's editorial in the crossroads journal. (He is the city's accountant!)
In a time when many of our neighbors are struggling with increasing costs this would be damaging to their fiscal health. Furthermore, it does not fall into the HOA’s responsibilities nor meet a need!
To assume that the HOA has our best interests in mind is naive and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the motivations of those governors of the HOA. They are a business! If this were pure motivation, then they would move the HOA to public ownership, lower costs and move to volunteer elected officials instead of keeping the organization private and continuing to feed salaries.
They already gave Nolan park to the city because of the “costs” for upkeep… since 30 bucks a month from hundreds of houses isn’t enough to get someone to mow the lawn… how long until this rec center is given up or falls into disrepair as they keep their fees and salaries high?
In order to fight this we must contact both the HOA directors AND our local representative in addition to letting all of your neighbors know and join the fight. Feel free to post links to this post if you so feel. Here is the contact information…
"Quality Management Services" (perhaps one of the most misleading names out there...) 789-5500
To email all of them post the following into your mail program:
celayajon@gmail.com; brian@thesagegrouputah.com; mikec@ext.usu.edu, ideal_fab_and_cut@yahoo.com; jonbarclay@gmail.com; ryan@sagecommunities.com;
trezspritzs@hotmail.com; jeff.topham@era.com; joshs@sisna.com; mckelley02@hotmail.com;
rob.healey@ucn.net; brittanylong426@gmail.com; jcoldsprings@yahoo.com; sparkyt9@hotmail.com; pitchfam@msn.com;
To find your individual HOA delegate please visit
http://www.rancheshoa.com/
Here is what I wrote to the HOA and City Council:
To those with the power to make the best decisions,
As a concerned home owner in the Ranches, I am very disturbed by the idea of a Home Owner's Organization taking on the responsibilities of a city. Building a large-scale recreation center for our area is not the purpose of function of the HOA in protecting our property value.
Furthermore, as you are probably well aware, the city is in the process of approving their own recreation center, eliminating any perceived need for such a building.
The increase the HOA is planning to fund this is not appropriate, particularly in a time of depression. This would be fiscally damaging to many families in our area. The area we live in is not Beverly Hills. We have a good family environment, but the HOA should avoid a slip into the philosophical flaw of entitlement; we are still a young city and not growing as fast as some projected.
Paul Jerome's (the city's accountant) editorial in the crossroads journal points out many of the flaws with this decision. Please read that editorial.
If the HOA is so confident in the importance and need of this building, then have those who use it pay for it. Have dues and memberships like the other not-government organizations to fund it. Do not force my family and our neighbors to pay for something we do not want and do not plan to use. That very frustration of having to pay for things without any personal benefit is a corporate version of "taxation without representation".
Additionally, please understand that many of us have work, business, and service organizations we belong to and cannot make it to your scheduled meetings, but that does not mean that we do not have an opinion. I hope that you, as the elected or decision-making officials will do all in your power to prevent the project from continuing.
Regards,
The Hoffman Family
In a time when many of our neighbors are struggling with increasing costs this would be damaging to their fiscal health. Furthermore, it does not fall into the HOA’s responsibilities nor meet a need!
To assume that the HOA has our best interests in mind is naive and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the motivations of those governors of the HOA. They are a business! If this were pure motivation, then they would move the HOA to public ownership, lower costs and move to volunteer elected officials instead of keeping the organization private and continuing to feed salaries.
They already gave Nolan park to the city because of the “costs” for upkeep… since 30 bucks a month from hundreds of houses isn’t enough to get someone to mow the lawn… how long until this rec center is given up or falls into disrepair as they keep their fees and salaries high?
In order to fight this we must contact both the HOA directors AND our local representative in addition to letting all of your neighbors know and join the fight. Feel free to post links to this post if you so feel. Here is the contact information…
"Quality Management Services" (perhaps one of the most misleading names out there...) 789-5500
To email all of them post the following into your mail program:
celayajon@gmail.com; brian@thesagegrouputah.com; mikec@ext.usu.edu, ideal_fab_and_cut@yahoo.com; jonbarclay@gmail.com; ryan@sagecommunities.com;
trezspritzs@hotmail.com; jeff.topham@era.com; joshs@sisna.com; mckelley02@hotmail.com;
rob.healey@ucn.net; brittanylong426@gmail.com; jcoldsprings@yahoo.com; sparkyt9@hotmail.com; pitchfam@msn.com;
To find your individual HOA delegate please visit
http://www.rancheshoa.com/
Here is what I wrote to the HOA and City Council:
To those with the power to make the best decisions,
As a concerned home owner in the Ranches, I am very disturbed by the idea of a Home Owner's Organization taking on the responsibilities of a city. Building a large-scale recreation center for our area is not the purpose of function of the HOA in protecting our property value.
Furthermore, as you are probably well aware, the city is in the process of approving their own recreation center, eliminating any perceived need for such a building.
The increase the HOA is planning to fund this is not appropriate, particularly in a time of depression. This would be fiscally damaging to many families in our area. The area we live in is not Beverly Hills. We have a good family environment, but the HOA should avoid a slip into the philosophical flaw of entitlement; we are still a young city and not growing as fast as some projected.
Paul Jerome's (the city's accountant) editorial in the crossroads journal points out many of the flaws with this decision. Please read that editorial.
If the HOA is so confident in the importance and need of this building, then have those who use it pay for it. Have dues and memberships like the other not-government organizations to fund it. Do not force my family and our neighbors to pay for something we do not want and do not plan to use. That very frustration of having to pay for things without any personal benefit is a corporate version of "taxation without representation".
Additionally, please understand that many of us have work, business, and service organizations we belong to and cannot make it to your scheduled meetings, but that does not mean that we do not have an opinion. I hope that you, as the elected or decision-making officials will do all in your power to prevent the project from continuing.
Regards,
The Hoffman Family
Friday, September 19, 2008
Bad Breeding
Our gorgeous, glorious, watermelon proved to be the immoral (what's that word for a child born out of wedlock?) spawn of cross-pollination. Such perversion! When we went to eat the juicy... white?!... melon, the taste was that of cucumber. Apparently our cucumber plant did the garden polka with the melon... without protection. To say it was an unpleasant surprise is an understatement.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Shield your eyes! and your ears...
One of the interesting perks of my profession is the opportunity to become aware of some shifts and trends due to regular discussions of sensitive and spiritual subjects with teenagers. Sometimes I am surprised to learn that a large number of people are not aware of such trends. For example, it amazes me how few people know about the changes the MPAA rating system has instigated over the last few months. Ratings that used to always be safe cannot always be trusted. We, as a society, have reached a point when the determination to watch or avoid some movies now must be based on content in addition to completely avoiding R-rated movies.
If you are not aware, here are some of the changing pg-13 "standards":
- They are now allowed to have waist-up frontal female nudity, and full side and rear nudity for both sexes.
- Extended "bedroom scenes"are now permissible.
- The taking of the name of God in vain is no longer considered swearing if it is used in the context of surprise or in a situation where a person would potentially be speaking with God (i.e. horror films?!?!). [Sadly, this is now true all the way down to g-ratings, where they can take God's name in vain without a rating change.]
- They are now allowed to contain graphic violence and scenes of torture.
- Sensitive subjects and extensive descriptive dialogue that should only occur between husband and wife are also now permitted.
The list goes on. The other ratings have likewise "lowered the bar".
I've found a way to be safe. There is a website I use, and highly recommend. It is a group of parents who preview movies and list all of the things that could be disconcerting to a parent from nudity to calling people names like "jerk". They are very accurate and I have never been "unfortunately surprised" by a movie since I learned of the site about a year and a half ago. It is the safe way to preview a movie's content without seeing or hearing things that would cause you guilt. Please check it out for yourself:
www.kids-in-mind.com
If you are not aware, here are some of the changing pg-13 "standards":
- They are now allowed to have waist-up frontal female nudity, and full side and rear nudity for both sexes.
- Extended "bedroom scenes"are now permissible.
- The taking of the name of God in vain is no longer considered swearing if it is used in the context of surprise or in a situation where a person would potentially be speaking with God (i.e. horror films?!?!). [Sadly, this is now true all the way down to g-ratings, where they can take God's name in vain without a rating change.]
- They are now allowed to contain graphic violence and scenes of torture.
- Sensitive subjects and extensive descriptive dialogue that should only occur between husband and wife are also now permitted.
The list goes on. The other ratings have likewise "lowered the bar".
I've found a way to be safe. There is a website I use, and highly recommend. It is a group of parents who preview movies and list all of the things that could be disconcerting to a parent from nudity to calling people names like "jerk". They are very accurate and I have never been "unfortunately surprised" by a movie since I learned of the site about a year and a half ago. It is the safe way to preview a movie's content without seeing or hearing things that would cause you guilt. Please check it out for yourself:
www.kids-in-mind.com