Etching

Ever thought to yourself how fun it would be to etch your own circuit board? Me too.

Ok, so this really places me as a nerd, but I found some PCB etching instructions. I think after I move I should try this out. I've always wanted to get into designing and building hardware and I think this would be a fun way to get started.

Shaun

Hopping On The Cheney Bandwagon

Ok, so I'm not much for just joining in on every little thing that comes through the news, but this was really funny. It's an article on the Onion about Bush having prior knowledge that Cheney was a threat to people ages 70-80.

Funny stuff

Shaun

Talking about blogs

Last night was kind of funny. I was talking to bob after ward prayer as I usually do. I told him that I had been reading somewhere about how some people want to give congress oversight over wiretaps. Bob told me that I probably read it on his blog. I thought it was really funny. I usually don't make a point to the person who originated it, but it's kind of hard when there are so many things I read from so many sources. Perhaps I just need to carry a bibliography of everything I read so I can cite it better in conversation.

Shaun

Blogger spellcheck word of the day: blogs
That's right, blogger didn't have "blogs" in its spellcheck database. That's ok, it also doesn't have "Google" either.

Haiku

Last night up too late
had something good to blog on
yet is it long gone.

Oh to remember
such is a draft to be used
is now done, too bad.

Life is full of fun
more things to write and to read
later more will come.

Excitement...

Yesterday I went sledding at Creekside Park. I finally got to use that 2 man raft I bought a few months ago. There is a lot of fun to be had. I remember catching air off of a friend of mine a few years ago up in the hills behind deer valley near the Guardsman's Pass area. I marked it using my GPS so you can take a look for yourselves. It's at 40.604638N 111.494166W.

We entered the area from the north. I have never gotten to the bottom of the hill on the east side (It's just too steep). While the hill on the west side is where I recorded a speed of 36Mph on a $7 toboggan (but that's another story).

I was going down the eastern hill when I came upon my brother and our friend picking themselves up from a failed attempt at a tandem run on a saucer. My brother saw me coming and managed to jump out of the way, but our friend Greg wasn't so lucky. In an attempt to reduce his impact profile he laid down. While this avoided an impressive impact he also made a very good jump. Jumps are fun, but they get really exciting when they are your friends. You may well imagine that I lost control at that moment... Because I did. Then again, how many people can really say they've gone off of a man made jump?

Shaun

Moratorium then a veto...

Last weekend I lifted my moratorium on dating. All prospects that I thought I had promptly vanished. I guess that's the way that goes.

I am now starting this paragraph for the third time. As it turns out the veto part is bugging me more than I thought. The trick is to deal with it without seeming bitter. I guess this is where I tell the story. Once I write it I will be done with it.

The power of veto...

Back in November Kentos and I met two girls. I will use their operation names (a method of naming that Bob and I use to inquire about something without giving anything away). Their names are Operation: SD and Operation: Christmas Party. Both of them walked into the store Kentos was working at and by course of inquiry on the topic of D&D they became acquainted with Kentos and then myself by close association to Kentos.

Kentos spent time with Operation: SD (OP:SD) and I was spending time with Operation: Christmas Party (OP:CP). Operation: Christmas Party became more interested than I was hoping for and I soon found myself in sort of a bind. It was fun to hang out with OP:CP and OP:SD together, but I didn't want to date OP:CP and that was quickly becoming the only option.
I was at a Christmas party when I informed OP:CP that I was not interested in dating (hence the name). This was met with much dismay and I declared that I would be back in contact when I was good and ready. That happened last week.

I was still not interested in dating OP:CP, but had hoped that the 2 months of no contact had been sufficient to put down any hopes she had in dating me. That was the mistake. She still liked me. I spent a couple of evenings with them last weekend and thought that I would like to ask out OP:SD. I did not originally contact OP:CP to get to OP:SD. However, I did after spending time with both of them determine that I would like take OP:SD on a date. This is before it was confirmed to me that OP:CP still liked me.

Herein lies more trouble... Yesterday, OP:CP called me and I did not feel like I could lie to her and hide my interest in OP:SD so I told her what I have written above. Apparently, honesty is not the best thing. I still maintain that it's better to disclose all rather than have all this come out later and really cause some trouble.

The only thing I wonder is if OP:SD really isn't interested, or if OP:CP was just saying that in hopes of getting my attentions returned to her. That I have not intention of seeking the answer to. If she is not interested it's moot. If she would be interested and OP:CP just said she isn't then that raises new questions that don't need raising.

Operation: SD was vetoed.

It's too bad to, she really seemed nice. I guess it's back to the ward list...

Shaun

My other blog

Last week I posted my current thoughts on my dating situation. Last night I was talking to a friend of mine. I was trying to express to her what I am thinking and doing in my current lack of dating life. After a few minutes of expressing myself poorly I took her to last week's post. It was really nice to effectively say, "I've thought about this already... I even published my results for peer review".

I find that writing is a very good way for me to clean up my thoughts. Most of the times the ideas that flow in and out of my mind make full sense to me, but are still only partially formed. They haven't been checked for accuracy or for legitimacy. As I write I have to organize them. What's more, I have to give them some form of flow that leads from one topic to another.

Writing is an exercise for the mind. Writing software is a practice in correctness and with imagination. Writing like this is an exercise in expression of meaning. That is one area I know I need to improve in.

My hope is that my writing will improve as I do more blogging. I only hope that my way of expressing myself generally improves as a side effect.

Shaun

Big Red Button

Ever have one of those times when you are faced with a decision? To press or not to press...

I'll let you decide...




Shaun

Why are we at war?

Sometimes I find the oddest things. I keep finding interesting stories on reddit.com about Iran and how they want to start exchanging oil for the euro. Most recently I found a story that goes along with this. I find all of these stories plausible.

A little over a year ago I realized that our currency is on a foundation that cannot stand forever. For those who aren't familiar with the federal reserve system I'll give hit some main points and move on...

The Federal Reserve loans money into circulation at what is known as the prime rate, though if you read what wikipedia has to say about it you'll find it's not quite that simple.

The problem however, is that when the fed loans money into circulation it does so bearing interest. This is all fine and good until we realize that money only comes into circulation by being borrowed from the fed. We then must ask ourselves if there is any money in circulation that does not have interest accruing against it. To date, I know of none, but would welcome being corrected on the matter.

What does this mean? Simply that all money in circulation is principle and if it were all given back there wouldn't be enough money in existence to pay off the loan. All existing money would have gone to paying the principle only.

Given this sandy foundation why would anyone want to use the US dollar? As good as I can guess, it's because they have to. If what I have been reading is true then we'll go to war as long as it takes to force the world to use our money.

After all, Saddam did start offering to sell oil for the euro shortly before we invaded just a few short years ago.

Something is up. There is writing on the wall, but what does it all mean?

Shaun