Tuesdays with Muerte

3 Days to Eternity (by ideo685) I see a lot of single adults moping around, stressed out and feeling picked on because of their current marital status. Listen folks, you’re status is not “a problem.” No one is judging you or accusing you of anything. Nothing has been commanded of you other than to revisit your priorities and make sure that they are in line with Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness for families. The prophetic invitations we received this weekend were not to pressure us, but to prepare us to receive (what I believe to be) the greatest blessing that we can receive in this life. You may feel like you are already doing all you can do. Watch this video featuring my friends living at Montecello (BYU) and ask yourself that question again.

[This guy's name is allegedly Dan Smith , visiting from Melbourne, Australia.] I can only imagine what went through Dan's head when he decided to commandeer the last four seconds of General Conference: [Pre-show] "oh my gosh.  we are sitting right in front of this huge camera.  If i stood up right now, I would totally be filmed!" [After Conference started airing, but 30-seconds before it actually began] "oh! How inconvenient that someone is walking past me to find their seat.  It would be impolite to not stand up and incidentally take up half of the screen for 14 million LDS viewers...SHOULD I TURN AROUND?  No.  Not the right time. [All throughout the session] "Must find an excuse to stand up as up again when possible."  [As he repeated this mantra to himself, he never stopped to think why? or should he?] [Just before the end] "After the closing prayer, I'll be casually standing.  When the red light goes on I'll have my...

I took the opportunity to rub shoulders with three general authorities for lunch today. Elder Pino, Rafael E . - First Quorum of the Seventy When I looked for a place to sit for lunch, I found a table with two Latin American, single adults, Jessica Pino from Venezuela and her boyfriend Courtney Jurado from Chihuahua, Mexico.  I couldn't figure out how they got into the lunchroom since they weren't working for Conference, but then Elder and Sister Pino joined us at the table.  We all visited in Spanish for a while, which was fun for me.  Elder Pino went on to offer the opening prayer for the Priesthood Session of the conference. Russell T. Osguthorpe - General Sunday School President As we were finishing up, Brother Osguthorpe approached our table.  Everyone stood.  I didn't recognize him at first, but then I remembered him for an academic paper I read.  Osguthorpe has multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. from Brigham Young University (BYU), ...

http://beta.josephsmithpapers.org/home This group is gathering pretty much all papers that Joseph Smith put his hand to and is making them available for free on this website.  Want to know what Joseph wrote his wife when he was locked away in Liberty Jail for 6 months?  Find out here!

Cliff's Notes: Empathy is the invisible hand.  Empathy drives action. To civilize is to empathize. Throughout the history of our world, we have invented fictional identities based on our  associations and ability to communicate.  We often call these time periods eras. Blood-Tie Era In the forager/hunter civilizations, empathy and communication only extended to the local tribe and shouting distance.  Our only loyalties are to immediate family/blood ties.  Anyone beyond the mountain was alien. Religious-Tie Era During the Hydrolic Agricultural civilization, the advent of script annihilated more time and space, extending the central nervous system of a civilization. At that point, theological consciousness emerged causing further detribalization and creating associations with religious ties. Nation-State Era (National Identification) The Industrial revolution of the 19th Century extended markets even further based on complex energy communicati...

I'm  halitophobic . I'm not so much afraid of me having bad breath.  I am afraid of other people having bad breath. Way to check for bad breath (halitosis) Scrape a spoon along your tongue, from back to front. Let the spoon dry. Smell the spoon. If it smells bad, your tongue bacteria are out of control. Problem 90% of bad breath is caused by a dirty tongue. -- The School of Dental Medicine It's not easy to kill tongue bacteria.  Tongues are like sponges that soak up bacteria. Non-Solutions Some people brush their tongues.  Silly.  Brushes are designed to clean the flat surfaces of your teeth. Tongue scrapers?  Remember the sponge analogy?  Scrapers only take off the top layer of grime. Mouthwash?  It's like trying to clean your carpet with a hose--it's only watering down the problem. Solution

Today's Gratitude List (chronological) I got to sleep in until 8am because I worked late the previous day! I had time to exercise for the first time in 3 weeks. Sunny weather.  I can't remember the last time it was over 60º. Despite heavy traffic, I miraculously drove the speed limit the entire way to work. I was 3x faster in accomplishing my work today than normal. A colleague took me out to lunch at a German Deli that I've been wanting to go to. A friend confided in me.  I received satisfaction in being trusted to listen. I found out about a hip-hop presentation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet playing this week by a local, award winning dance studio. I spoke out in a business meeting stating my intentions and plans to define my job.  I want to be less of a "gun for hire" [pooled-resource developer] and more of a "Sheriff" or "Mayor" [ID consultant] to extend the analogy. I watched an incredible video about and was inspir...