Tuesdays with Muerte

Image Source I found this handy list of 10 things a person must do to secure happiness for themselves in this life written by a modern-day LDS prophet, David O. McKay:  Develop yourself by self-discipline. Do things that are hard to do Joy comes through creation—sorrow through destruction. Every living thing can grow—use your life wisely to grow. Entertain uplifting thoughts.  What you think about when you don't have to think shows what you really are. Do you best this hour and you will do better the next. Be true to those who trust you. Pray for wisdom, courage and a kind heart. give heed to God's message through inspiration  If self dependence, jealousy, avarice or worry have deadened your response, pray to the Lord to wipe out these impediments. True friends will enrich your life. If you would have friends, be one. Faith is the foundation of all things, including happiness. Have faith in your own life and future. THE MEASURE OF A MAN'S SUCCES...

Image Source Believe that he exists and that he loves his children—You. ( Mosiah 4:9 ) Study the scriptures ( 2 Tim 3:14-17 ) Pray to Him ( James 1:5 ) Obey all His commandments as best you can. ( John 14:21-23 )

"Goddess' Theme" Let's listen to this one first, shall we?  The "Ballad of the Goddess," is the main heroic theme from  Skyward Sword , and with good reason. Since viewing the game trailer for the first time, I was struck by how immediately iconic this theme felt, how it conjured feelings of adventure, purpose, and more than anything, of  motion . I totally geeked out when I saw  this  video , which reveals that the Goddess Ballad is actually just Zelda's Lullaby played in reverse. +1000 XP for AWESOMENESS! "To The Moon" Theme There's a place deep inside me that rarely gets touched, moved. Too much of life is filled with the ordinary and mundane, we are surrounded by it, we choke on it. The moment I heard these first few simple notes I was swept to that place. The music has the ability to make the world stop for that brief moment when you listen to it. "The soundtrack is all inclusive, all immersive and utterly ca...

Image Source I recently had an amazing sit-down visit with Johnny Day where he shared with me the pearls of wisdom he gathered over his years as executive secretary.  As secretary, Johnny has the responsibility of scheduling wedding-visit appointments with the Bishop for couples in the ward.   I see Johnny as somewhat of an authority on dating because b efore he'll schedule anything, he makes the couples tell him about their engagement and how they broke free from "the game."  After analyzing their stories, Johnny reports that he has discovered three common findings: They all used the term "decided" when they talked about the moment in their lives when they were ready (or open, or emotionally available, or whatever) to get married.  It seems that the default setting for YSAs in a relationship is to bank on it not working out.  This perspective makes sense, because most relationships don't work out.  But those that get married, have reprogrammed thems...

Image Source *2018 Edit: This info is OLD—like 2012—OLD! The steps have changed radically since then. If you're at Roots Tech and stumbled on this searching for a current walkthrough, I recommend searching, " LDS Family Search indexing ." If you want to get an idea for what it was like in 2012, read on… To get started with indexing, first download the indexing program, register, and sign in. This info was taken from the FamilySearch Indexing User Guide .  All users must now register and use a FamilySearch or LDS Account. With this new account, you use the same user name and password to sign in to several FamilySearch websites. For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the LDS Account provides access to not only FamilySearch Web sites but also other Church websites.  On the FamilySearch indexing website  http://indexing.familysearch.org , click  Get Started .  Click  Download Now . If you have questions about the ...

Based on your responses to my previous post , I've decided to entitle my presentation: eMissionar y Work: Utilizing LDS Technologi es to Lead Friends to Christ (Part A) We will be addressing missionary-minded questions such as: How do I share inspirational thoughts with my friends who are having a hard time? How can I host a CES fireside viewing from my own home? How do plan to attend a church service while vacationing with non-member friends in Spain? How do I share the Book of Mormon with an acquaintance if I don't have a copy with me? How can I get the telephone number for the missionaries assigned to our ward? What is the most effective thing I can do, technology-wise, to invite people to know Christ? (Part B) I will attempt to answer any LDS-Church-technology-related questions you have. Here are some sample questions I'd love to respond to during the Q/A portion: How do I mark up my set of online scriptures? Where do I go to find the home tea...

What should I present for my 30-minute, MITE Night presentation this Thursday?  The audience will primarily be LDS, young single adults (ages 23-35).  There will also be some non-members in attendance.  The first 15 minutes will be the presentation portion. The last 15 minutes is reserved for Q/A.  The content will essentially be the same. Who should my message target?  Which presentation title should I use? LDS Technologies: What the heck are those people doing on their phones and tablets all lesson?! VERY basic overview of common mobile resources. Greatest emphasis on initially setting up an LDS account. Less aggressive demonstration of tools. No, "this is how you perform this task."  More like, "this tool exists." LDS Tools Gospel Library Mormon Channel (including Radio) Bible Videos Others LDS Technologies: Efficiently leading friends to Christ. Speaking directly to member missionaries. (Favorite.) Mormon Channel, sharing Maps to ...

Image Source:  Wikipedia If you're an 18-year-old, LDS, male and you want to have a shot at serving a mission outside of Utah in the next 12 months, wait to put your papers in. I've been hearing from a number of sources that mission presidents in Utah are gearing up to take on 100 new companionships each.  The apparent goal is to have one set of missionaries for every stake. Elders originally from Logan will be sent down to St. George, and Elders from Cedar will be called to serve in Salt Lake South, etc.  This also means that members in Utah will actually be expected to help find and teach people along with missionaries in their stake. Get ready. Missionary work is about to get real!

Hoping to gain some insight into who I am compatible with, I decided to retake the free color code test . The past couple of times I've taken the test, I've been identified as a 40%-dominant blue, then white.  This time around, having work experience to influence my answers, I marked a 30%-dominant red, then yellow. Link to site results What is going on?!  Has my experience at work affected how I define the key words used in the text? Am I just being  more honest with myself now?  Has my personality dramatically changed? I know half of the questions are based on childhood reflection, so that shouldn't change much? Hartman Personality Profile

Bell Canyon, San Rafael Swell, UT The Great Gallery (Petroglyphs) San Rafael Swell, UT

Hiking Mount Olympus in Salt Lake Valley (approx. 39th South)

Once I find a girl with whom I can hold a conversation for more than 20 minutes, one of the next things I look for is if they are  flirtatious with me (or at least seem interested...or at least don't seem completely disgusted.) Alissa Goodwin Snell, Utah's iconic dating coach, offers these helps to ladies to answer whether or not they are showing their men the right, flirtatious signs .  She writes: To identify if you act like a pal instead of a gal , ask yourself the following: Do I occasionally tilt my head and smile at him from across the room, look away, and then look back again? Do I ever cross my legs and gently tap my foot in his direction or slowly play with my hair, jewelry, or a pen when he is near? Do I act feminine when I talk with him (i.e., soften and fluctuate my voice, talk with my hands, tilt my hips, cross my legs, or touch him briefly)? Do I let him open my door or accept his offers of help? Do I make him feel needed, trusted, and appreciated?...

Here is an excerpt from an online evaluation of a customer service call I made yesterday to inquire about the status of the internet outage at my house:  Based on this experience with CenturyLink's Customer Service, how likely is it that you would recommend CenturyLink to a family member, friend or colleague?  (required)   2 of 10 Please provide your reasons for your rating above.   My rep, RJ, was nice enough, but he was powerless to provide any real help.  The message communicated to me was, We're sorry. We're working on it.   (Which was probably true. Poor RJ probably didn't have any more information than that. However, if I wanted someone to comfort me, I would have called my mother.) At the time of the call, my apartment's internet service had been out for 72+ hours (that's over 3 days for those of you who are slow with arithmetic), which is ridiculous by any standard. The only information I could squeeze out the old RJ, my technical s...

Image Source Surprisingly, fatigue may boost creative powers. For most adults, problems that require open-ended thinking are often best tackled in the evening when they are tired, according to a 2011 study in the journal Thinking & Reasoning. When 428 students were asked to solve a series of two types of problems, requiring either analytical or novel thinking, their performance on the second type was best at non-peak times of day when they were tired, according to the study led by Mareike Wieth, an assistant professor of psychological sciences at Albion College in Michigan. (Their performance on analytical problems didn't change over the course of the day.) Fatigue, Dr. Wieth says, may allow the mind to wander more freely to explore alternative solutions. Article Source  

Photo source:  Flicker Which Cell Phone Provider Offered My Family The Best Plan? This is a follow up  post from  yesterday's   Winner: Verizon's Share Everything family plan .  Most important to me:  p rice  & c ontract flexibility. Less Important to me:  superior quality and coverage . I f you have the patience, i t's worth your time to follow these steps exactly:   the most comprehensive cell phone plan purchasing walkthrough .  If not, here's the 3-step summary: The best thing you can do first is identify your usage for those three (data, voice, text) up to this point. ( Get an estimate .) Then ask yourself, what is the lowest quantity, in each category, I'd be willing to buy.  As I mentioned, nothing worthwhile exists for less than $30 for me as an individual.  If you're interested in the lowest-end service, PCMagazine identifies  10 super-inexpensive (but crummy) cell service providers ....