Hard work

I've spent the last two days painting a house in Saratoga Springs. I'm pretty much a ninja with a sprayer now. After a hard day of work it's nice to take my son for a ride in the Corvette. I don't even have to drive fast. Just a leisurely drive, knowing I can light it up at any time. My car rules.

My quote

I thought of this quote today on the way to work:

If you make a habit of taking shortcuts you will eventually get cut short.

Corvette Summer

Last Wednesday I obtained a two-tone gray 1978 25th anniversary Corvette T-top. When I was about 17 I had a goal to get a Corvette by the time I was 35. Someone close to me insisted that I work it out since I am 35. With their help I did. I have to have the exhaust system overhauled, but it is so much fun to drive. I took the top off on Thursday and Friday. T-tops rule. This will be my Summer car since rearwheel drive Corvettes don't do well in the snow. Some people have motorcycles or snowmobiles. I now have a Corvette. My kids love to ride in it. They love it when I pick them up from school.

The Corvette actually goes along with my BID list, or Before I Die list. I started making a list of things I want to do before I die. I don't want to get to the end of my life, look back and regret not doing certain things. I don't want to see a life of working too much, enjoying life too little or not spending enough time with my family. I think that is the reason I'm looking forward to spring and summer so much this year. I want to do a lot of mountain bike riding, martial arts training, and spending time with my family and "core" friends. You know who you are.

Gooseberry Mesa. And God wins.

Friday night I drove down to St. George with Mike Both and Time Shaw. We met up with Bruce, Mike, Chad, Dom, and Matt of www.utahmountainbiking.com fame. We stayed at Bruce's condo that night, then tackled Gooseberry Mesa Saturday morning. The first part of the ride was fun, until Mike Both lost his back brakes and had to return to the car for repairs. That was the only mechanical problem, and it happened early on and we recovered. I went down a few times, but I had several more near-misses. My hip was out, and Secret Train really put a strain on me. I had to walk a large section at the end of the train because the pain was sapping my strength and ability to negotiate several sections. There were a lot of sandy spots and pedaling through that only put more strain on my hip and back. Overall, Secret Trail sucked. The first part was average, so it wasn't worth the pain I endured at the end of the section. I also got cramps in both legs at the same time for the first time in my life. That wasn't fun, but Power Gel and a little stretching made the cramps go away. We then moved to Hidden Canyon, and the terrain was different and took the strain off of me. I was able to start doing wheelie drops and riding up tough sections again. Mike, Tim and I split from the group and took the North Rim trail back to the car. That section was really cool too. I felt good at the end of the ride. Secret Trail was the definite low spot of the ride. Pain aside, it still wouldn't have been fun to me if I had been in perfect health. I was worried about my fitness level on the ride, but that wasn't a factor. I rode the valley at Unity Pass with Agent Peck last week, and I had no stamina. He kicked my butt up those trails. My hip and back pain held me back, but not my heart or lungs. It was nice to get away for a short trip. It was a new trail and a change of scenery. I'm so excited for mountain bike season to be here.

I think Man has made some amazing things. I really like looking at buildings to examine the architecture. I love arches and pillars. Lincoln Memorial, David, the US Capitol, Eiffel Tower, castles, the Salt Lake Temple, and many other buildings. Then I see the things God has made, and He wins. We came to a lookout on the Gooseberry Mesa trail that was unlike anything I have every scene. I didn't have a camera, and I can't describe it, but it was so beautiful. I've had similar experiences at Moab and other parts of southern Utah. I love moutain biking because it puts me in the heart of nature. I'm surrounded by the things God created for my enjoyment. There are times when moutain biking is a spiritual experience for me. He takes my breath away.

Failed Moab trip

Agent Peck, Jeff S. and I had great aspirations for going to Moab on Friday for a mountain bike road trip, but we were defeated by the weather. I was hoping to perform drops like this picture, soaking up the sun in one of my favorite places, but the snow held us back. Agent Peck and I drank Von Dutch and played Guitar Hero 2 on my PS2. I admit that I was skeptical. It sounded like a lame karaoke video game, and I hate karaoke. I would have to be severely drunk to do that, and that will only happen if I make it to Cabo Wabo and hang out with Sammy Hagar. But the game was pretty fun. I wish Moab had worked out, but there will be plenty of time for riding this summer.

Double fortnight

It's been just over a double fortnight since I last posted anything. This picture is Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I've been busy at work writing and delivering reviews. I took the family to Midway to the new Trendwest resort. That was a nice break. I discovered that I don't mind cold weather if I'm in a place that feels like it should be cold. Midway has a strong Swiss influence and it felt like a scene from the Jason Bourne trilogy. My sister had her baby two days ago. I'm hoping to see him today. I got up at 4am yesterday and today because our Charlotte office was hit with a bad storm. The drive in was nice. I started watching The Office regularly. It is hilarious. I hope the Colts win the Super Bowl. I want to see Peyton Manning get a championship. Our ward split last week so I was released as the Sunday School President. I can't wait for spring. I've got the mountain bike bug. I've done a few snow rides in the last two weeks. I took a pretty bad hit three weeks ago. My shoulder hurt the worst but healed the fastest. I had a sweet goose egg where the pedal hit my shin and I cut my knee. Worth it. We have a Moab road trip planned in a few weeks. Can't wait for that.

Ten days off

These are the things I did with my 10 days off:
Collected scrap wood 3x
Shot airsoft pistols w/ my son
Ran 1x
Played w/ my router table
Made a ruler organizer for mother-in-law
Made oven handle for Karen
Went to Cabela's 3x
Bought a jump rope and used it once
Got a new derailluer cable on my Gemini
Mountain bike snow ride 1x
Went to Big 5
Changed front brakes on the van
Visited with Lori & Briana
Helped teach Karate classes
Saddam Hussein was executed
Organized my garage shelves w/ my daughter
Shooting w/ Ben, Shawn, Brian & Brandon
Saw Rocky Balboa
Watched UFC 66- Chuck Liddell knocked out Tito Ortiz- again
Played Redsteel on the Wii
Party at Reed's house
Party at Shawn's house
Watched BSU beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl
Went to the chiropractor
Ate at Red Lobster
Took several naps
Exercised a lot
Wrestled w/ my kids
Watched Airwolf
Watched parts of several Bowl games
Watched parts of seven James Bond movies

Almost Christmas

It's been almost a month since my last blog and a lot has happened since then. We moved buildings at work. We went from half a floor to 3.5 floors next door. It's so nice to have a real office. Speaking of the office, I watched my first full episode of The Office two nights ago. It was the rerun of the Christmas office party and it was hilarious. I think it's time to jump aboard that train. Work has been crazy busy, so I am looking forward to having the next 10 days off. I need to get my head out of the vise.

I made oven handles for family and friends this year. Paul made those for the women in our family when I was a kid, so I can't take credit for the idea. I bought a long piece of fir and cut it to size. I then used my circular saw to notch the front and side. I took my Dremel and sanded the notches and and some character to each handle. I made about 25 and I have handed most of them out. I gave them to Mom, Amy, Cari, Ashley, Elisa and Cindy last night. I gave one to some neighbors and Melissa, Amy, Rita and Liz and work. It gave me an excuse to play with my tools in my garage.

I broke my derailleur cable on my Gemini about three weeks ago. I was riding on the concrete barrier around the playground when my back tire slipped off and the derailleur hit the barrier. That is the first time I've damaged a derailleur in almost 14 years of riding. I want to switch over to a SRAM derailleur anyway, so this might be the time to do it.

I posted this picture of Washington, DC, because that is how it looks here right now. We've had quite a bit of snow already. I really miss DC. I wish I could go back there. I had wanted to go there since I was a teenager, but I had no idea that it would have affected me like that. It just feels different from most places I've been. Italy was like that. I would wake up in the morning and I could feel that something was different. I miss that place too. Hopefully I will get back to both of those places soon.

Casino Royale

I went to see Casino Royale Wednesday night after a hard day at work. I think that movie is a great remedy for those days. That is the best Bond movie ever. I loved the raw nature of the Bond character. He didn't rely on the latest gadget that happened to get him out of a jam before he met his demise. He got beat up even though he came out ahead of his violent encounters. The movie reminded me of Bourne Supremacy with its dark and ruthless storyline. Which begs the question- who is the baddest between James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer? I refer you to Agent Peck's blog on February 1, 2006 at pickapeck.blogspot.com. He considered the same question when Bond was a gadget man, not a hardcore agent. Now it's a serious debate. Jack Bauer is willing to sacrifice everything he has, including people close to him, in order to stop the threat. That makes him dangerous. Jason Bourne relies on instinct to use the training he didn't know he had, which makes him dangerous. James Bond uses his training to become a "00" and seek revenge. He has no ties to family or friends that would make him hesitate, which makes him dangerous. As much as I hate to do it, I think I would have to give the edge to Bond or Bourne because they are rogue. Jack Bauer is awesome, but he is bound by the law or what the President will let him do, even though he finds ways around that most of the time. Bond is bound by the British government, but he often acts on his own with little consequence. Bourne is completely independent because the government trained him to be that way. Bottom line, all three are cool and either of them could kill Ethan Hunt in two seconds.

Agent Peck's super cool ramp

Agent Peck brought his super cool ramp to my house yesterday. Unfortunately, we didn't take a good picture of the ramp, but we got this cool picture of me. The ramp is about 15 feet long. I want to build another 50 feet of ramp. You can see how he built it. I was thoroughly impressed with Agent Peck's efforts. Inspired by the ramps in North Shore.

Fire quote

Build a man a fire, keep him warm for a day.
Light a man on fire, keep him warm for the rest of his life.
Glock forum

Election Day and other things

Today is Election Day, the day we actually believe the idiots that lie to us about all the great things they are going to do. They do nothing, and we don't hold them accountable. I have to blame myself, because I don't take the time to follow the politicians so I can hold them accountable. I am going to make a concerted effort to do better. I live in a country where I can vote and make a difference. If we don't believe that then we might as well move to Red China. I mean California. I mean hell. I mean.....

On to other things. Today is my third straight day of running. I have not run consistently since I was in high school, and I know why. We had pretty girls on the cross country team that wore spandex shorts. And I weighed 40 pounds less back then. It just isn't fun anymore, but I want to trim down. I don't have the physical or mental stamina to push it hard yet, but I'm determined to get passed that.

I just have to complain about the State of Utah and the Utah Department of Transportation, disaffectionately known as UDOT. Utah finally put in a carpool lane recently, but they decided that people were using the carpool lane as a pssing lane, so some genius came up with the idea to paint solid white lines between the two lanes some people can be fined for crossing the lines. Instead of ticketing the idiots that use the carpool lane to pass, they made it so people eligible for the carpool lane can now be ticketed if they try to get to the carpool lane at the wrong time. The idea of painting solid white lines, thereby creating an opportunity to ticket someone, is bad enough. The worst part is, whoever painted the lines put them in the wrong place. The solid white lines don't end to allow you to get out and use the exit. And if you are entering the freeway you can't enter the carpool lane for quite some time. It's like the dotted line was supposed to be the two solid lines, and the solid lines were supposed to be the dotted line. Leave it to idiot politicians to come up with a stupid idea, then fail to even implement the stupid idea correctly. Morons. Go ahead and waste more tax payer money you incompetent rejects.

1st Dan

It's been a few weeks since my last post and truckers still rule. I tested for my 1st degree black belt in Bushi Ban on Saturday. The test went really well. Black belt and 1st degree used to be the same thing in Bushi Ban until about 12-18 months ago. Now we have to keep attending class and teaching the lower belts to earn 1st degree, which is also known as 1st dan. Next year I will fly to Texas again to test for 2nd dan. Martial arts has made a big impact in my life. I plan on practicing for the rest of my life. I don't see any reason to ever give up. On 9/10/01 a brown belt elbowed me in a drill and split my eye open. I ended up with 18 stitches and a black eye. He claimed I walked in to a block, but he purposely threw the elbow. I don't know why he did it, but he got his black belt and quit. I now have my revenge. He was only in it to say he was a black belt, but he is a quiter. That means nothing five years later. I started with the intention of continuing throughout my life. I practice every day, and I know I could drop that punk like a bad habit.

10-4

Today is Trucker's Day. If I have to explain it to you then you aren't a trucker. I got my Class A license in 1996 when I was working for Mountainland Supply. I didn't get a nice Peterbilt, Kenworth or International like the picture above. I drove a GMC Brigadier like the picture below, but mine wasn't as nice. It felt older than Methuselah and didn't have AC and the engine case exuded heat. It had a cassette player, but I could barely hear it over the drone of the engine. I did several runs a day when I was on a local route, and I had to unload the pipe, cast-iron tubs and water heaters myself. When I got on the Brig I was carrying heavy pipe so it had to be offloaded by a forklift. I went to Price about twice a week, so I would be gone all day on one run. I wasn't sure that it would pass the safety test at the Point of Entry, so I often spent a lot of time talking to the UHP officers in hopes that they wouldn't inspect my truck. It worked most of the time. My dad's neighbor petitioned the city of Orem until they restricted engine brakes on University Parkway approaching I-15. He wanted to be able to sleep with his window open and not hear trucks. Engine brakes slow down the truck without frying the brakes, and they don't make that much noise. Everything that Nancy Boy had was transported on a truck, but he was upset he had to listen to an occasional Jake Brake. I guess that's what happens when you marry in to money and never hold a real job. Nancy Boy. I've kept my Class A license current in case I ever have to fall back on it. Truckers rule and we should make October 4th a national holiday.

New shift

I started my new shift this weekend. Monday-Wednesday & Saturday 11:30-10 pm. I'm not used to having the market open or the sun up when I'm at work. It doesn't feel right. Today was crazy. Lots of trades, lots of questions, lots of weird situations, and lots of energy. It was fun. The graveyard shift was awesome because the first half of the shift was busy and the last half was dead. I started the shift on Saturday, but it was a pretty slow day and the market was closed. Today was the first day of unstoppable action. We have been combined with the team that was already on this shift, so there are people that I've never worked with before. I don't think they know how to take the night shift. Everyone has been designated an Agent. It started when Shawn Peck called me Agent Smith, referring to The Matrix. I reciprocated with him, and it spread to the whole team. Agent Peck helped me set up Avant as my browser. It is so much better than Internet Explorer. I love the fact that I can customize everything, and it's so much easier to use. Overall, it was a good day at the office.

The end of the graveyard shift

Tonight marks the end of the graveyard shift. E*Trade is switching to VoIP, and our old phone system can't function at the same time. I've spent nearly five years on this shift, dating back to CSFBdirect. I spent about five weeks on the day shift before I was brought back to where I belong. There is some talk about bringing the shift back in January when the phone system is built. I will definitely look at coming back if the shift is as good as it is now. I love working 4X10. I would love to do 2X20 or 1X40. Then I would have the rest of the week to recover. As of right now I am going to a modified swing shift. I will be working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 11:30-10 pm. We marked the death of our shift with pancakes, a Chocodile and PS2. Agent Crawley worked us on the James Bond games. He is ruthless. I think he had secrect government training, but I haven't been able to confirm that yet. Most of us will be on the same shift together, but it won't be quite the same. It's been a good run.

Slay the dragon

I'm getting really sick of all the idiots in the world. There seems to be a lot of them around me and I don't like it. So I have come up with a new slogan- Slay the dragon. It means putting an end to the stupidity all around us. Stupid people need to be told they are stupid or they will continue to aggravate, annoy, and inconvenience the rest of us. Here are some examples: people who don't think a stop sign applies to them; people who enter the intersection when traffic is clearly stopped, thereby blocking the intersection when the light turns red; people who give the token short appearance when someone needs help; people who don't do what they say they will; people that expect everyone else to do the work for them; stupid people who think the rest of us want to hear what they have to say; people like Rosie O'Donnell who think the rest of us shouldn't have guns while she has armed body guards; people who chew gum like a cow; people who think they are the only ones on the planet; people that want to blame their problems on other people; people who won't take any responsibility for themselves; blood suckers- you know who you are. You are melodramatic. You are self-absorbed. You are self-indulgent. You sap the blood and energy from anyone that will listen to you. I don't have the time, energy, or patience to deal with you people anymore. If you approach my castle I will lop off your head with my sword.

Mohawk

I shaved a mohawk like Chuck Liddell last week. I had several days off and I needed a haircut anyway, so I made my wife shave it. I think mine was taller than Chuck's, but he is the Light Heavyweight champion of the UFC. My wife hated it, but my oldest daughter loved it.
I had an interview for a promotion at work, so I had to shave it after 24 hours. I don't think I got the job, so I should have worn the mohawk to the interview. I wore it to the dentist, the Honda dealership and Arctic Circle, so I was out there. It might have been the height, but I didn't like it enough to keep it anyway. Chuck just looks mean. I would never tell him to shave his mohawk, unless I was using someone else's cell phone.

Casio G-Shock

I bought this Casio G-Shock a few months ago and I love it. I bought my first G-Shock about 10 years ago when the battery on my bike computer died. I didn't know how to calibrate the computer so I wanted to get a tough watch that I could use to time my rides. The G-Shock is beyond tough. I have had a few different models since then, but this is my first G-Shock in a dress watch. I don't think I will ever be without a G-Shock. This watch is solar powered and receives a signal from Colorado every night to sync it on atomic time. It has five alarms and world time. The only thing that sucks is that it doesn't have an Italian city for world time, so I have to use Paris for that time zone. That is lame. Ma va la. I paid $75 for this watch and it is way better than a $1000 watch. Drop that out of a helicopter.

Cool products

Spyderco is my favorite knife company for folding knives. When I bought the Spyderco Native it only came with a silver clip. I contacted the company and they sent me a black clip at no charge. Their customer service and knife designs are great.

Cold Steel makes the best fixed blade knives in the world. They produced a video called Proof to demostrate how tough the knives are. They put the Recon Tanto and SRK through the hood of a car several times. I had my Recon Tanto with me when I came across an abandoned car near Rock Canyon in Provo. I put the knife through the car door 10 times without damaging the knife. It did wear off the powder coating at the tip, but that only makes the knife look cooler.

Surefire flashlights are the best light on the planet. They are tough as nails and I'm pretty sure you can shoot the beam to outer space. I carry the Defender everyday. I've blinded my comrades at work during the day. I look forward to the day that I get to blind and strike a perp in a dark parking lot.

Leatherman makes the best multi-tool on the market. I got the PST over 10 years ago and I love it. They have the best designs and the best tool options. Plus, Leatherman is a much cooler name than Gerber. A multi-tool can't be named after baby food. That's just stupid.