breaking the mold

It is time for some change in my life. I have been keeping this blog for 2 years now and that is a long time in computer years. Same computer, same site, same design, yadda, yadda...

I was going for consistent and it was working. but I am growing tired of consistent. I welcome change...I thrive off of change. When I was a kid I would move my furniture around in my room every now and then just for something different. It seems every time I would clean it some item would end up in a different corner or maybe the whole room would be rearranged. So I get bored easily. Is there any harm in that?

You may have noticed that I have not been as on top of my blog this year as in the previous year, and especially in the last few months. Perhaps some off that is because of boredom but much of it has been school. School has demanded a lot out of me in the last 3 or 4 months but that is drawing to a close. Yay!

To my readers: thank you for your interest in my ramblings. I appreciate you. There is change in the pipeline but I don't even know what it is. The world is changing. Circumstances are changing. I am changing. Whatever happens...keep reading; things can only get better. Some people fear change, but I say "bring it on." Change invites growth yet growth breeds change. It is a dynamic world that we live in and if we dont change to keep up what happens to us? There ARE a few things in life that should not change but as for the rest- welcome it, embrace it, cherish it.

The power comes in knowing what can change and what must remain constant.

carnival rides

I had a thought at a county fair that I went to a while ago. There is something about roller-coasters and ferris-wheels that are meant to be temporary and mobile that make me question their safety and the logic in choosing to ride on one.

I was riding a ferris-wheel a little while back at a festival I went to where I saw the bolt holding the pod above us on the wheel was held on at the bottom by a cotter pin. The pod was suspended from the top with a pole running down the center and a heavy metal pin passing through the bottom to keep the pod attached. It was through this pin that the cotter pin was clipped. It was safe enough I suppose, but there is just a since of insecurity attached with a cotter pin.

And as a separate note, I don't know how much confidence I am willing to place in those people that operate those rides.

the american taco

I was eating at subway this week and decided that Subway is just an American taco. I remember when subway would cut down and into each side of the bread, take the top off, build the sandwich, and put the top back on. Now all they do is cut down one side and fold it over. Why the change? Now you have to eat it on its side to keep the stuff on the insides from spilling out. You end up with that same tilt in your head when you eat a taco. So, what is the difference? Tacos have a meat, and lettuce, and tomatoes, olives, cheese, and, if you want them, jalapenos. So, what is the difference? The shell you put it in, that's it.

A Subway sandwich is an American taco. Terrific!

state of the union

I watched the State of the Union last night. After two minutes of listening the applause got old. Every other sentence had to be confirmed or agreed to with applause. I am confident that the whole address could have probably been given in a half an hour if it weren't interrupted every 20 seconds with an outburst of applause. And if they really like what President Obama had to say they would stand and applause. It seemed that they all did more standing and sitting then is done at a Catholic wedding.

So they agree with what he was saying, I understand that. And it is nice that they agree and what everyone to see it but there has to be a better way to do it that doesn't distract so much causing sentences to be interrupted and proposals hacked into fragments separated but restless applause.

Why don't they just let the man talk and at the end give a nice long standing ovation. I am all for showing your agreeance with what is said, and it is nice for the President to know that the people agree with what he is saying when he says it but I think it was just annoying during his address yesterday. It was a bit too much agreeing. Here is an idea, instead of clapping they can show their agreeance by raising their hand in the air and rubbing their thumb back and forth across their fingers. Much quieter and less interrupting yet people can still see they agree.

does birthday mean party?

Different people hold birthdays to different importance. Birthday is a tradition, and with all tradition it is viewed through the scope we are given it from. A birthday, when I was a kid, was another day; a day to be congratulated and honored, but in the end, just another day. So you are a year older, big deal, if not for the 364 (365) days preceding it, it is nothing. We had cake and ice cream at dinner the Sunday before or after in honor of and grandma would do something special with each grandkid. What is so special about getting older? I hear when you do get older everybody wishes he or she would stop having birthdays. Perhaps I just downplay the significance of this special day in my mind to avoid the glamour and attention of it. I am not one for spotlights.

A friend of mine gave me some perspective the other day on the subject. The kaleidoscope of tradition which was passed to her contrasted my own. She told me about how birthdays were the happy days she remembered from her childhood. Her mother had a way of making it a special day, not just a special day but the whole week was one to remember, to honor the birthday girl. It is your day, a day in honor of you. So why not celebrate? Anything less would be evasive and unpretentious.

Everybody deservers her own day. I remember saying once that the most important day of my life so far was the day I was born, and the second most important is tomorrow- the day that (God willing) keeps my life going. I try every day to celebrate my life, to be happy to be alive. I think we all should. Perhaps that is why I don’t set my birthday apart, because I celebrate my life every day. If you do it every day how is it different on that one day each year? It is an anniversary, and anniversaries are meant to be celebrated. So, is your birthday for you? or is it for those people in your life who care about you? Either way there should be a party, right?

If you were to tell a friend that your birthday was coming up I am confident he would say Happy Birthday and ask you if you were having a party. You might say a similar thing in the same situation. I was asked this question. In response I had to ask if I was the one responsible for make sure there was a party; “I don’t know, am I having a party?” Kind of rude in retrospect, but I know I can say anything to this friend. Who is supposed to throw a birthday party? Who does it serve? Is it tradition to have a birthday party? Is it a social norm?

I don’t pretend to know the answers but my view of birthdays has changed. One small chat with a friend and you never know what can happen. Birthdays are anniversaries. A special day to think about where you started, to ponder on the direction you are headed, and to celebrate your amazing life. So whether you choose to celebrate with a bunch of roudy friends at a party, or with your family around the table at dinner, or relaxing on a white beach in the brilliant sun, make sure you have a good one. I will!

swing life away

What do you think about as you lie on your back in an open field staring up in to the deep sky, or sit atop a western cliff and watch the sun fall beyond the Pacific, or as you leisurely sway back and forth on a park swing at one o-clock in the morning? I will tell you what I think about. I'll tell you what I think about, I think about me. I think about what I have done, what I need to do, where I can do more, why I have been so blessed in my young life. I ask questions of myself. Sometimes the posts you find here are a product of those thoughts.

There was more to be said here but this is a fragile thought and was interrupted in its recording by a man who asked my assistance. And I obliged. Perhaps the thought is lost forever, never to return. Perhaps you might unknowingly read about it later in a future post. But I dare not write on in efforts to conceal this fractured thought. With some thoughts it is doable, and has been accomplished in the past...but not this one, this one is fragile. I am not sure why, but I recognize that it is.

Thoughts are seen in perspective, and perspective changes. Even with only a slight change of view the understanding of that observed thought can be spoiled, irrevocably changed. The thought might still live on but your understanding of that thought in that moment is lost. All because someone in need asked my help. It is called sacrifice; and those that don't loose much more than thought.

santa claus; a good cause

Santa's on his way. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I lived in the Bible Belt for two years and I am once again living in that region of this beautiful country. There are some wonderful people there and many people of amazing faith. There are also a few odd ones in the bunch. I met the preacher of a church in Martin, TN who published a tract (pamphlet) called "Santa Claus and Satan's Cause." He says that Christians should not believe in, or teach their children to believe in, Santa because doing so robs Christ of his glory.

I believe Santa Claus does not "rob" or detract anything from my Savior but in fact typifies and glorifies him. Santa is a symbol that help us to remember Jesus Christ.

Christianity is all about symbolism and imagery. Why should Santa be any different? The image of Santa Claus reminds me of Christ. He is jolly. He loves children. He gives us gifts. He brings hope and cheer to those who believe. I do not worship the cherry-cheeked, white-bearded Santa; he is merely a spiritual catalyst to my sensual mind. The scriptures teach that "every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." The figure and idea of Father Christmas draws me closer to my Savior and helps me to remember the many gifts I have been given and the importance of loving and giving to others.

I know that the Son of God was not born on December 25th but that does not stop me from remembering, and being thankful for, and celebrating his birth. My mother was not born on the 3rd Sunday in May; nor did she become a mother on that day, but that does not prevent me from celebrating her motherhood and honoring her for it on that special day. Hear in the Northern hemisphere this is a time of hope as the sun reaches its lowest latitude and starts its accent into the brilliant sky. It is a time of hope and that to me is a good enough time to share the message of the Hope of Christ than any.

God be thanked for the marvelous gift of his Son, Jesus Christ and God be thanked for Christmas; a time to share His message of hope with others.

May you have a wonderful, Merry Christmas and may it bring you too closer to your Savior and mine.

black slacks

I think I may have a black pants fetish. I love black slacks. I hold that they are one of the best articles of clothing ever, definitely the best pants. A good friend of mine used to get bothered by the fact that I always wear black slacks. Almost every time she would see me I would be wearing black slacks. At that time I was working for a company that required black pants or shorts as uniform and when I saw her and her family it was usually before or after my shift at work or even during work. I am not an avid changer of clothes. If it is dirty yes I will change it but other than that, if I put it on in the morning you will find that same article being taken off in the evening when I go to bed; unless my activity changes drastically somewhere in the day requiring a different outfit. Many places I have worked require black pants as uniform. I wounder why that is?

Many people like Levi's or Denim, I don't own a single pair of Jeans. If you have to wear pants I would attest that a loose fitting pair of black slacks is the way to go. Interwoven in that first paragraph are many reasons why I love these pants so much but to further explain I have listed several key points below.

Versatility- Black slacks are extremely versatile and can be used for so many different activities comfortably. Some activities may be more comfortable in something else but that doesn't mean that it is not comfortable to do it in a pair of black slacks. I have worked out, rock climbed, hiked, worked on cars, landscaped, gone to church, repelled, cooked, played sports, proselytized, and so many more activities all in black slacks.

Cleanliness and Durability- Black slacks do not get dirty as easily as other pants, and they do not show dirt as vividly when they do get dirty. Have you ever seen a grass stain on a pair of black slacks? When they do get dusty (which is what shows most vividly on black all it takes is a pat down and a little bit of water to clean them off. I split some pipe glue on one of my pair of pants the other day and thought that I just lost another pair of perfect pants. But wait, they are perfect pants, and I have a Sharpie. Rub a little black Sharpie on the spot and everything is better in a flash. You can't even tell that I split the pipe glue on them; and after a run through the wash the Sharpie remains. This same pair of black slacks that I have had now for over six years. That is product satisfaction.

Protection- So why pants as opposed to shorts? I am a pants man. Much of it has to do with the other points mentioned but it boils down to protection. When hiking or camping or doing adventurous outdoors activities pants provide tremendous protection from scraps, cuts, bites, and the sun, and is wiser choice than shorts. They also do a good job at keeping your legs warm when it is cool out but are not uncomfortable when it is hot out. You can even get them a little wet on a hot day and will act in much the same way sweating does to keep you cool.

Appearance- I believe part of the reason many places require black pants as uniform is because of image and class. Black slacks are just classy.

tall people and kissing

I am tall. My whole family is on the taller side of the spectrum. Often times in a crowd I can easily pop my head up above the majority by standing on my tippy-toes to locate a brother and make my way to him. Frequently at social gatherings (parties, dances, or mixers,) I can remain within eyesight of any one of my brothers heads as we individually make are way around. This comes in quite useful. How do sort people do it? I can't imagine how long it would take to find a particular someone in a crowd in which everyone is taller than you. One might have to bust out her handy-dandy cell phone and throw down a text message as a kind of 21st century, cellular radar; bounce a radio signal off a couple of towers and a few bounces later it returns in a convenient textual form giving the precise location of the individual, relative to the surroundings . So anyway, being tall has its benefits after all.

You may be wondering by now where kissing plays into all this. Let me expound. My brother has a tall girlfriend. They are quite the couple and very cute (and tall) together. It hasn't been until recently that they have started showing there love for each other publicly. Most people know it as PDA. As they have however I have discovered something, EVERYBODY CAN SEE YOU kissing! It is like standing on a tower with a bull horn shouting "look at us, we love each other and we are going to show you." I don't know why I never noticed it before, as it is so right there in front of you, perhaps it is because my oldest brother is shorter than me and my other brother married a short girl, but this brother and his girlfriend are both taller than me (and I am not short). I gained a new perspective. I really don't care about PDA as long as it is not overly excessive, which I know this brother is not about to do. I just find it noteworthy.

proposition eight

I have been thinking lately about what I want to say here regarding this particular issue; there are so many sides to it and so many sub-arguments, where do I begin? I feel very passionately that marriage is between a man and a woman. I have just been unable to sort out my thoughts that would make sense to the reader. Politics are not really my thing. Fortunately, I read this blog the other day written by a friend of mine and he says it better than I ever could.

http://poachedfrog.com/blog/index.php?p=583

Take the time to READ these comments, then take time to SHARE them with others. As is said in the article, defining marriage is an issue for us all, not just those who live in CA.

I have also found several other sites regarding the Proposition 8 that may provide further understanding.

The Divine Institution of Marriage

ProtectMarriage.com

Family: A Proclamation to the World

Ballotpedia.org

NPR News Story

Interview with LDS Apostle Dallin H. Oaks

Two Reasons to Vote- PoachedFrog

relatively oblivious

So I have lived in a bubble all my life. There are a lot of things that I take for granted and many other things I am simply unaware of. Many things I don't understand on a national level, let alone an international level. There are rules and standards that apply globally and had to be decided by somebody somewhere. I was thinking about time lines today and wonder what global committee took it upon themselves to decide how and where the world would be divided into 24 different time segments? Did some guy just decide this is how it should be and then everyone else just said there is no point in arguing it? What about the International Date Line, who picked the Pacific Ocean? Was it voted upon or did was it just that that is how it was and it worked.

After doing a little research I found that there are actually 40 different time zones around the globe, and discovered several interesting things regarding global timekeeping. One such peculiarity is that the IDL is actually de facto, drawings on maps and charts are simply the construction of the cartographers who make them. There is actually a lot to time zones and international time keeping and can get rather confusing. For example, do to a jog in the IDL there are actually 3 different days being observed for 2 hours of each one revolution of the earth. So it turns out that there is (or was) an international committee that decided on a few necessary items- the International Meridian Conference of 1884. I wonder how many people made it to this conference in 1885 or how many different countries were invited/ represented. They were the ones that decided a ‘Universal Day’ would be midnight to midnight GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and thus the start and end of this Universal Day with the IDL falls opposite this median.

Once again one little intrigue has lead to a myriad of trivial information to be regurgitated over and over in my little brain. Knowing things makes you smarter!

point of view

Every story has two sides. That is the trouble with life. That is the one thing that causes the most problems. I think I said once that it was humanities forgetful nature but I think that the inability/ unwillingness to understand is greater. If each person could simply understand where the other person is ‘coming from’ and respect that then life would be much more passive. Today there was an event at my work that I was not a witness to but was given the details of by my coworkers who played a role in it and then, later this evening I was given the opposing sides story as related by the sister-in-law of the costumer involved. Both sides I am sure have truth to them but I also understand that I was told the one side by a direct contributor and the other by a third party, merely a relay of one sided information. Both sides are naturally bias so where is the truth and how is it uncovered? It is just a curious thing that the same thing, whatever it may be, can be seen so differently by different people just standing at different angles to the object. Point of view is what people are made of. We all come from different circumstances and thus perceive things differently. And it is amazing to me how different the views are sometimes.

what's in a name

“Family is the most important thing to protect.” I was watching an episode of the old TV show The Pretender recently and this quote popped up. Brigham Young once said that whatever is true is part of our religion. It is wonderful to me how you can find truth everywhere, even on TV. I think that family is one of the most important things to protect. I think that along with that is good name. One thing that a family gives you is a name and that, to me, is something worth protecting, honoring, living up to. I am proud to say that I am a Pinnegar, and hope that I will continue to be all my life. I think it is a name worth having but know that it takes a lot to be Pinnegar. Not everyone can pull it off, in fact not too many people at all can. Maybe that is the trouble in dating and relationships; it is a matter of finding some girl who can manage to pull it off. It is not something that someone just naturally comes by, very few people (percentage wise) are born with it. I got lucky. Back to the name though, I had the thought a while ago about the Pinnegar name. I thought “what does it mean to be a Pinnegar?” The thought was inspired by boss-man saying something on the lines of “that’s a Pinnegar for ya” or “that is such a Pinnegar thing to do.” I won't bore you with that list her but think about your own name and what it means to you. I am glad I am a Pinnegar and hope that I can live up to the name I have been given.

don't bother

So there is this billboard on highway 50 that i pass on a fairly frequent basis. It is for We're Organized Premium Garage Cabinets and shows the picture to the right with contact information and the business name. This Billboard has always seemed to me as a bad, or ineffective, advertisement. To me it is saying that only rich people with loads of money can afford the services of this company. It says "You can't afford us so don't even bother calling to get an estimate." How many people own Dodge Vipers in the Sacramento area anyway? Perhaps that is the image they want to display to keep from having to deal with cheap people but to me it has alway struck me as an ineffective ad. But maybe that is only because I don't have a Viper sitting in my garage; heck, I don't even have a garage.

thanksgiving

What a wonderful day, a day of Thanksgiving. Many may argue that we all need to be thankful everyday so why have Thanksgiving day? I would agree with them. It is important to give thanks always, both to God and to people in your life. However I do still think it important to have a day set aside for it. A special day to give thanks for all the many things to be thankful for. It is important to honor our fathers and our mothers yet we still have a special day each year to honor them. We are to worship the Lord our God always yet God has set apart a special day each week too worship him. I served a mission for my church in Tennessee and Kentucky and while there I met a man who would not celebrate holidays because he said that it was taking away from the fact that we are to do these things all the time, all year and not just once a year. I agreed with him that many people now days do not remember the other 364/365 days of the year to be thankful (for example), but that is no reason for you or I not to take advantage of this special day to be thankful for our blessings. It doesn't take away from any other day to have a specific day to devote to thanksgiving. Worshiping on the Sabbath does not take away from worship to be given on the other six days of the week, nor does it give one the excuse not to worship on those other six days. I attempted to explain this to the man I met but he was difficult to talk to and I didn't have my sabbath day example at that time so it was a challenge but I think that he began to see the point of holidays. Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to remember what we should be thankful for all year long.

the past is past

If you could go back to one point in your life what would it be, you can’t change anything but you can see whatever you wan to at that point. Thanksgiving 2003 was a rough one for me and my family. Thanksgiving itself was enjoyable but we came home from Oregon to discover that our house had been broken in to while we were away. I started writing this because of a thought of that and the resultant trouble that followed. What would it be like to be able to go back and see who it was? Then the thought has occured to me, how much does it really matter? What good would it do me (anyone) now? The trouble is still the same, the items taken still gone. It would place a face next to the frustrations but is that beneficial? I don’t think it would be. Hakuna matata I suppose. So, if you could go back to one point in your past what would it be?