Tuesdays with Muerte

Pictured: Kareena Steed, Jason Hills, Kevin Paulson, X, Scotty (couch) David King, Jamma, Matt My new dinner group is made up of 12 individuals; mostly all from our ward.  We get together every Mon-Thur for an hour of dinner.  There are 6 guys and 6 girls.  All but 1 of us is single. The group is an intellectual bunch.  We email each other articles that we are interested in and discuss them over our meals.  Kevin, the guy in the top left is a political activist and has a mission to convert us all to his way of thinking, so our conversations always turn to politics regardless of how they start out. The menus are excellent as well.  We try to purchase the best ingredients, if we can, and share some thing that will be unique and cultural.

Although I did enjoy living the Valentine's Day dream vicariously this year by delivering flowers for a local flower shop, I think I will go ahead and plan to have my own Valentine from now on. I went in to the flower shop at 8:00am this morning to pick up my load of flowers.  I spent the morning delivering 3 boxes full of flowers and chocolates to 11 women and 1 dude around the city of Murray.  Most were at their offices and places of employment.  Most seemed nervous and were quick to shew me out the door.  Maybe I made them feel awkward because I was dressed in my tuxedo with a red cumber-bun and bow tie. They probably thought I was going to start stripping if they didn't say goodbye soon enough.  Once my first load was complete, I took a nice, long lunch break.  Upon returning to the store there was an 1-2 hour wait for more boxes.  I decided to come back in an hour and see if the line had died down.  When I returned, the line was 2-3 hours l...

Movies I'm excited to see: Win Win -  Paul Giamatti is brilliant.  Excellent story! I can't wait. (Not in theater) Hanna - This trailer reminds me of Mission Impossible, mixed with my grandpa's favorite novel,  Louis Lamour's Last of the Breed. Cate Blanchett looks cold and incredible.   The Time that Remains - Life is Beautiful meets Waking Ned Divine. How can you not be excited to watch this film? (Not in theater) Cowboys and Aliens - If they do this film right, it will be the first of a new genre. Historic. (In theater) Cars 2 - I desperately hope this isn't going to just be "The Slapstick Mater Show." (In theater) The Illusionist - A Eastern European, animated film.  They bring their culture into its style. (On video) Today's Special - I love Indian food and films about food. This is my food film for the year. (Not in theater) Freakonomics - Research-based, psychological documentary. Love these films. (Not in theater)  Qu...

Do you think I should have auditioned? Andrew Garfield - Actor to play Parker in Spiderman 4 Donald Glover - There was a campaign on Twitter , "#donald4spiderman", for Glover to be allowed to audition for the role of Peter Parker in the upcoming Spider-Man film. Oh, Danny.  You so crazy.

Looks like Orem/I-15 on-ramp to me I was put in charge of our elders quorum's home teaching reporting system for the month of January. I want you to help me try to figure out why my survey only got a 5% response rate (FAIL). Click the link below to go to the survey. Click and be amazed! Now, there is a lot I'm not telling you about how and when this link was disseminated, but I can tell you that every elder in the quorum at least had the opportunity to click on this link via our ward Google group. The post title was, "Click on this if you are a man. Seriously.  Men only."  The only thing inside of the post was the full address of the hyperlink. If you have any recommendations for getting a better response rate, I'm very open to hear from you (guys or girls).

Three ways tires affect your car's Miles Per Gallon (MPG): Tire inflation Weight of your tires/rim Tire tread Let's review how to increase your MPG: Inflate your tires to the recommended pressure.  If your tires are at 25 ppi ² (which happens) instead of 35 ppi ², that's a 20% decrease in mpg, equating to over $9 each time you fill* your tank ! Lighter tires/rim are better. Every 50lbs. decrease mpg by 1% ∴ No heavy rims . Less friction with the ground requires less engine energy to move your car. Strive for minimal rolling resistance ∴  no low-profile, rain or mud tires . Engine uses 20% of its energy overcoming this rolling resistance. *My fill-up calculations were based on a single purchase of 15 gal. @ $3.01/gal. Additional references: Video source: How Do Tires Effect Gas Mileage  (sic) Click here to see more ways to squeeze a couple more mpg out of your car. Do you drive a stick-shift? Learn three techniques to in...

Image Source: EmergingWomen Over the last two weeks, I've become a huge Brené fan.  I can't stop analyzing the broad ramifications of her principles on worthiness. Vulnerability "What makes you vulnerable also makes you beautiful ," says Brene Brown, a professor at the University of Houston who touches on some key issues related to her work on vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame in a recent presentation at TEDxHouston . Where There is No Connection, There is No Meaning We are hardwired for connection, says Brown. Yet all too often, connection — in relationships, in classrooms, etc. — is missing. Why? Fear is a big reason why we fail at making connections. We fear many things, but mostly we fear that if we put our true self "out there" for all to see we will expose our self-doubt and our private worries about whether or not we are really "good enough" or worthy of the connection. What we may fear most of all is a...