Cerebrate Good Times

I'm going to combine a couple different thoughts complaints here into one post about pet peeves. First is the less egregious complaint, which is that Samuel has been learning how to whistle lately. And it's really getting on my nerves. He's just getting to the point where he can start to hit a few different notes, and it's pretty constant every evening and all weekend long. Sometimes I'm about to lie down to sleep and I hear the whistles drifting up through the vent, and I cringe. I can't say exactly why it's so irritating, but it is. I don't want to discourage him, though, so I'm not going to say anything. Now on to the much more serious complaint. I don't think of myself as a "pet peeves" person, but I guess this is #1 on my list. It's simply this: saying you'll do something and not doing it.  There are so many examples of this. I depend on some people at work for a weekly task, and I have told them multiple times that...

I used to watch football a lot when I was in high school. (This is American football I'm talking about, of course.) I enjoyed the strategy and the brute force involved. I loved the Miami Dolphins and Dan Marino, who of course never won a Superbowl. (This was in line with my Utah Jazz fandom and the Stockton/Malone finals teams that could never get past Michael Jordan.) After my mission I never managed to get back into it. I went to BYU and occasionally watched their games, but it never became rabid fandom. These day I really dislike football. I hate what it does the the players' health, I hate the culture of violence and the enmity between rival teams, and I hate that we are so focused on it rather than dealing with more important things in our country (notwithstanding the protests during the national anthem, which I wholeheartedly support) . The whole idea of putting your team's flag in your yard or whatever is just weird to me. I mean, I like pasta, but I don't put ...

It's a strange time to be alive. On the one hand, we're seeing a lot of true villains exposed for the way they treat others, particularly women and minorities. On the other hand, there is a weirdly pervasive sensitivity that could make us hesitant to interact with a lot of people for fear of making a mistake. But that's a good thing. In the wake of the #metoo movement I have been closely examining my behavior toward women to ensure that nothing I do or say makes them uncomfortable. It can be eye-opening to realize that anything I have done might have seemed inappropriate to someone, regardless of my intentions. But it's a necessary process. Similarly, there has been a tremendous amount of news about African Americans having the police called on them for activities that are absolutely normal. Shopping, waiting for a friend, and even sleeping are somehow a threat to white people? Not to mention all the shootings of unarmed black men. Now, because I live in a very wh...

I don't normally get political on here, for three reasons. 1. It's boring. 2. I lack the patience to truly think through all the nuances of a well-reasoned debate. 3. I'm not sure anyone was ever convinced to change their views based on something presented by another person. (Prove me wrong!) But here we go. I'll try to keep it brief. My political background: I grew up in a white, Republican household in Utah. Not surprisingly, I inherited values considered conservative: traditional families, limiting governmental power, all that. My first job out of college was working with a company that lists strongly to the Tea Party side of things. When Obama was elected I genuinely thought it was a disaster. Then I left the company and started having more conversations with people. And I'm confused about these two ideas. 1. Conservatives in this country tend to identify themselves as  Christian. 2. They don't espouse the ideals that I think Jesus himself would a...

I'm amazed at how popular audio books are. Part of me is sad because I think people are physically reading less, and part of me is happy because we might be exposed to more great books this way. While thinking about this I came up with an important question. If you have listened to an audio book, have you "read" it? Most people I think would say yes. I would argue that it's not the same thing. For me, I get a sense of accomplishment when I read a book with my own eyes. I might go back and forth between pages or reread lines to get something I missed the first time. It feels to me like a fundamentally different activity, like watching a theater production of a play vs. reading the script (I'd use movies as an example, but obviously they are typically very different). Full disclosure: I have never listened to an audio book, with two exceptions. I did once listen to The Book of Mormon on audio over the course of a few weeks during my commute. I enjoyed it and g...

I've become much more keenly aware lately of the differences of opinion I have with other people. With the presidential election in particular, people whose opinions I value and respect have differed from mine, when I feel the reasons for my feelings are so obvious that anyone who thinks otherwise must be ignorant of the Truth. And I recognize that those feelings are wrong. Of course, things are complicated. Several months ago, after yet another mass shooting, I wrote the following and very nearly posted it on social media. Then, realizing it would not foster open discussion but simply incite rancor, I decided against it. Here it is. I'd like to share an opinion for once, bearing in mind that it may differ significantly from yours. And that's okay; we can disagree without animosity. Let me first say that I like guns, I enjoy shooting them, and although I don't own any I believe we have a constitutional right to own them. I would gladly give up that right if there...

The world has a lot of problems; I think we can all agree on that point. And each of us, as selfish individuals, contributes to that in our own small way. But we can solve, or at least mitigate, a good portion of those problems, by accepting two simple words: I’m wrong. Stay with me here as I explain. The odds are, each of us has at least one closely held belief that is completely wrong. It may be something as simple as believing that traffic lights always turn red just for us, or a belief that the trees are secretly controlling our every thought. In particular, the vast majority of our problems in individual relationships are caused by our dogged refusal to admit that WE ARE WRONG in a given situation. Politicians refuse to admit that they made a mistake until they are backed into a corner with photographic evidence. Spouses feel they have to constantly one-up each other. When you’re at the grocery store and something rings up “wrong,” maybe you just read the sign incorrectly. Is that...

I'd just like to start off by saying this: What is wrong with you people? And by "people," I mean, "everyone but you." Relax, I'm sure you're the exception to what I'm about to complain about. The problem can be summed up by this question commonly asked in December: "Are you all ready for Christmas?" Now, on the surface I know this is just supposed to be small talk, like "How are you?" But unlike that question, which usually prompts a quick "Fine" and then the conversation can progress, the Christmas question inevitably prompts an exasperated groan and a list of things to be done. Why do we put ourselves through this? You don't have to have a holiday party. You don't have to spend $10,000 on decorations. You don't have to attend 50 functions thrown by other people. All the stress is avoidable. Here's what my holiday preparations consist of: 1. Put up lights on the house (time required: 2 hours) 2. Put up ...

If we converted every golf course in the United States into something useful , say wheat farms, it would produce enough wheat to feed 34 million people for a year, based on average global wheat consumption per capita. Just something to think about, what with rampant world hunger and all.

Sometimes when I’m on a run I actually think about something beyond “How many more miles do I have to go?” Saturday was one such day, and for some reason I started thinking about the “seven deadly sins” and how differently we might view them today. So, let’s look at each of the sins, and what we find culturally acceptable today. Greed Then: The love of money is evil and leads to all kinds of unpleasant effects. We should moderate our desires for worldly wealth, and use money to help others. Now: Do whatever you can to make money. If you slip and fall, sue whoever own the property where you did it. Game the system to get whatever government assistance you can. Buy lottery tickets! Sloth Then: Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. Keep yourself busy. Be productive and help others, through the talents you have been given. Improve your time. Now: Get your work done as quickly as possible, so you can get more TV and video game time in. The more vulgar, crass, and mind-numbing the entertainme...