Monday, November 24, 2008

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
- David Bowie, Changes


I've started this post a number of times but I've never quite put together what the focus should be. I seem to be surrounded (in blog land) by others who have no end of interesting, humorous, insightful, and silly things to post on their blogs. A number of you have subtly, and not so subtly, nagged encouraged me to update my blog. So here goes...

I'm a grandiose dreamer. I'm a complex thinker. I'm an introspective writer. I'm an amateur theologian/philosopher. I'm a musician, a thespian, a comedian, and an engineer. I am also my own worst critic. Some would call me a pessimist. A teacher once called me a cynic. I've often called myself a realist. I like to think of myself as a guarded optimist. Can you see a pattern here?

I started acting at age six. My first gig was a serendipitous speaking/singing role in a community production of Babes in Toyland. A speaking part in a professional theater production of Hans Christian Andersen followed shortly thereafter. I had a string of comedic roles in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade school plays and musicals and gave my last performance in the 10th grade production of Bye, Bye, Birdie. I 'retired' from acting at the ripe old age of 15. I've played piano, saxophone, guitar and bass; I even played the bassoon for about six months. I've sung in a Barbershop Quartet, a large amateur choir, a small professional choir and even been a part of several commercial recordings. I'm not trying to brag or construct a curriculum vitae. I'm trying to illustrate a life-long tendency to shift focus to other interesting things; a poor-man's Attention Deficit Disorder, if you will. A spiritual leader once told me to not be narrow in my educational pursuits because I would have the opportunity to pursue many different paths in life. Whether from inspired insight or personal experience his counsel has proved to be prophetic.

If you're still with me here, you may ask yourself, "What's with this introspective blog post?" I kindly refer you to the third sentence in paragraph two. October was a pretty good month. I took a WoodBadge course to augment my training as a Scout leader. My wife, Jennifer's two-year volunteer stint as campaign manager for Jason Chaffetz was nearing Election Day. The company I was working at, S5 Wireless, had some meetings with some "big name" companies that might be interested in investing. Sure there were news stories about economic downturn, credit freezes, and bailouts, but that all seemed to be happening elsewhere. Then, some butterfly flapped its wings...

  • Halloween, October 31 - We were given notice that my company would "hibernate" and that I was out of a job. The economic problems had created too much insecurity in the venture capital market and we couldn't raise the money we needed.
  • Election Day, November 4th - Jason Chaffetz won the election. Talks started with Jennifer about a possible position on his staff. Looks like she now has an opportunity to get paid for her talents and skills.
  • Sunday, November 9th - My dad is admitted to the hospital with signs of possible stroke and/or blood clots. Turns out it was a medication imbalance and fortunately he avoided any serious complications. However, he can no longer care for my mom and the kids are stepping in to cover things for a while.

A trifecta of changes all in the same week. Halloween of 2008 will be one of those inflection points on my path through history; My life will never be the same. However, this time, it doesn't feel like a catastrophe. I'm not in a panic. I don't even feel much stress. I don't know what the future holds but it doesn't bother me. I've been through changes before.

I am a provider. I am a caregiver. I am a husband. I am a father. I am a son.

I am a guarded optimist.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Proud to be an American.


Something really cool happened at work today. The entire office was talking about it. Our co-worker Tony and his wife took the Oath of Allegiance, joining with over seven-hundred others in becoming citizens of the United States of America.

Tony came to America from Brazil when he was 16. His journey to citizenship has taken 20 years. He spent thirteen years in the morass of visa applications before finally getting his 'green card' and another seven years waiting for citizenship. He now has the right to vote in the upcoming election and plans to do so; which alone makes him a better citizen than many other Americans.

He was so excited and happy that he could now say he is an American. His neighbors placed hundreds of American flags on their lawn this morning to help them celebrate this great event. It was a wonderful day for his family and a good day for America because America benefits from citizens like Tony and his wife. Tony's wife helps organize a local Brazilian Festival and we all know where community organizing can take you. (OK, she doesn't qualify for that office but there are others)

I'm currently linked into Jason Chaffetz's campaign in Utah's 3rd Congressional District because my wife, Jennifer, is his campaign manager. Immigration has become a hot-button issue in that campaign, so I was interested in Tony's experience. Basically, legal immigration is a long and difficult process. It sometimes requires paying a lawyer to help fill out forms, and even then it can get messed up. Tony's experience was long, but went fairly smooth. He says he can understand why some people who just want to come here to work choose to do so illegally; it's less hassle.

Now that just doesn't sound right, but then, think about what the government makes us do to get on an airplane: no scissors, only 3 oz. of liquid in a container, no nail files; none of which actually makes us safer in the planes. How many of us wouldn't jump at the chance to walk around that screening mess at the airport. Before we do anything about the millions of people here illegally, we need to fix the system. Voluntary compliance with laws and regulations will happen more when it doesn't take lawyers to get anything done. Imagine if you needed a lawyer to register your car. How about if you needed a lawyer, as well as an accountant, to file your taxes? Would you be less inclined to file? Americans would be screaming to fix the system and electing leaders who would do something about it.

Well, fortunately for Americans, they don't have to deal with the immigration system in this country; those who do don't have a vote. Jason Chaffetz has identified the current legal immigration system as a contributor to the illegal immigration problem we have in this country. The number-one item, the first step, on his plan for solving the illegal immigration issue is to FIX the legal system. That's why he will get my vote in November and possibly the votes of many who just went through the system as well.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

We've got your back!

As some of you might know from reading earlier posts, I'm the Scoutmaster for Troop 1521 in West Jordan. Our main patrol is the Pedro Patrol (as in Pedro from Napolean Dynamite) and our patrol yell is "Pedro Patrol! We've got your back!" At the end of July we went to a week-long summer camp at Bear Lake Aquatics Base (BLAB) in north-eastern Utah. I've only now pulled the pictures off of the memory card, and so will share some key moments from camp here on the blog. For a full set of pictures you can view the web album.

Here is our wonderful camp site, named Daytona Beach. We were right on the waterfront, so the boys got to do a lot of swimming in their free time. You can see our kitchen/eating area on the right, our troop trailer in the center and our screened-fly gathering spot on the left. The leader's tent is also in this area behind the gathering area. Notice the boy's tents are not near this area. They are actually located behind the photographer several more yards. Note for Scoutmasters: Sound falls off proportionally to the square of the distance traveled. This is a technical way of saying, the farther away the boys are the less of them you'll hear.

Here we see Mitchell helping to cook breakfast: sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns. You would be amazed at how much a group of 12-year old boys can eat. Mitchell is helped in his breakfast preparations by two of the fathers that accompanied us on this trip; one of them his own.

The first class the boys took was for the Small Boat Sailing merit badge. This merit badge is the main reason we chose BLAB this year as it is one of the few camps in Utah that offers sailing. The boys had to learn how to handle a sailboat, how to tack and jibe, how to get into and out of irons, how to right a capsized boat, and a multitude of other information about the boats and sailing in general. Every boy took this class and they enjoyed sailing very much. However, Spencer (3rd standing from the left) did not enjoy it when the sailboat he was righting in the water came down squarely on top of his head.

The second class of the week was canoeing. Some had already earned their canoeing merit badge and so weren't present at this class. This class also represents the last pictures I was able to take at camp, but I'll explain more on that later. The boys had to learn how to paddle a canoe alone and with a partner, how to drain a swamped canoe in both shallow and deep water, the parts of the canoe and paddle, and how to take care of the canoe and paddle. The boys had to kiss their paddle if they ever set the blade/tip down in the sand because that hurts the paddle. They quickly learned not to do that. In the photo you can see C.C. (standing in red trunks) who taught the class but who also was our camp friend. He helped keep us informed about the goings on at camp. Mostly. There were some omissions, that led to some minor issues. (yeah, C.C. you heard me, issues.) But again the boys loved the canoeing class.

For me, canoeing was less fun because as you can see from the photos in the web album, I was out on the water with my camera to get good pictures of the boys swamping their canoes and practicing their strokes. I got some good pictures, but soon felt I was tempting fate by remaining on the water. As I was heading back to shore, I reached out to help with another canoe, and my canoe decided I wanted to go swimming. With my camera. And my cell phone. And the merit badge cards in my pocket. Yeah, canoes can be like that. Needless to say, that's where the photos end, but that wasn't the end of the week. No. This was only the second day of camp.

The boys took various classes the rest of the week and they earned nearly every badge for the classes they took including rifle shooting (.22 caliber long rifles), shotgun shooting, environmental science, photography, lifesaving, indian lore, and woodcarving. Those that didn't complete their badges only had a few requirements left and should still finish their badges quickly. In all, they had a fun week. For one boy, this was the first time he had been away from his parents for more than one night. Not one of them got homesick, and I think they all learned some valuable lessons at scout camp.
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Monday, August 18, 2008

Declaration of Independence

I had the opportunity and privilege of seeing one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence over the weekend. "One of the original copies?", you say, "Isn't there only one copy? The one that has a treasure map on the back?" Well, says I, this copy is actually older than the one we have all come to know and love; the one with John Hancock's signature writ large. This copy is known as a Dunlap broadside. Immediately after congress voted for independence on July 2,1776, they turned their attention to the declaration. They accepted the final version of the declaration on July 4, 1776 and sent the approved text to John Dunlap, a printer in Philadelphia. He produced 150-200 copies of the declaration to be distributed throughout the colonies. The title on this printing gives us a little understanding of the time line. You might make out that it says, "In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 A DECLARATION by the REPRESENTATIVES of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in GENERAL CONGRESS assembled."

"Hang on a minute!" says you, "I know my Declaration of Independence and I know that it says 'The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America' at the top. You've been looking at a fake!" Well, as of July 4, 1776 the New York delegation had not yet voted for independence. The Declaration of Independence at this point was simply majority opinion.

"But," you continue, "I don't see any signatures at the bottom of this document and everyone knows the real Declaration of Independence has signatures at the bottom." That version of the Declaration of Independence was created in August of 1776 after the New York delegation had voted in favor of independence. The title was changed as indicated above, the text was hand written, and the current representatives signed at the bottom. That copy is the fancy show-piece document. The Dunlap broadsides were the work-horse copies. They traveled around the colonies. They were read in town squares. One was read by General Washington to his troops. Copies were sent to England. This is what the buzz was all about during July of 1776.

There are only 25 known Dunlap broadsides in existence today. This particular copy eventually made its way into the backing of a painting; kept there to preserve this precious document. The painting wound up at a yard sale, where it was purchased for $4; the purchaser liked the frame. As he removed the painting from the frame, he discovered the copy of the Declaration of Independence inside. It was eventually purchased by Norman Lear and made into a permanent traveling display. Watch for it to come through your city in the future.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Dr. Horrible (Act III) Finale

So the third Act of Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog came out on July 19th and then the entire show left the internet on July 20th. It has taken me this long to post a response, partly because I was just blown away by the ending, and partly because I didn't want to post any spoilers here for anyone who hasn't watched it yet. Now Dr. Horrible is back on the net, with limited commercial interruption (one commercial between each act) on hulu.com. I've embedded it here for your convenience. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it before reading further.



I loved Dr. Horrible, namely because I didn't expect the life altering tragedy at the end. After watching DHSAB numerous times (my kids know almost all the songs) I love the complexity of the subject matter. I love how Dr. Horrible sings about how we don't have a choice in life at the end, when in actuality he had so many choices he could have made; He could have talked to Penny instead of stealing the Wonderflonium, he could have gone to meet Penny instead of planning the demise of his nemesis. He says he "know[s] the course" but once everything is set in motion none of the outcomes are expected, or the result of his own action. He gets "everything he ever..." almost, and Billy loses everything.

Someone else on the net said that Joss and Co. could give lessons to the likes of George Lucas on the making of a villain, and I agree. Dr. Horrible is more tragic and dark than Anikin Skywalker ever was. I put Dr. Horrible in the class of great tragedies, like "Oedipus Rex", "Romeo and Juliet", and "Hamlet". "Be careful what you wish for" is always good advice even if you don't have a Monkey's Paw.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Jamming a spork into your leg

Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog Act II went live tonight. I've now watched it a few times. I love the creativity in the music and the dialog is great. This act had one line that lacked the subtlety I tend to look for in good innuendo and double-entendre. If you watched it I'm sure you know to what line I refer. There used to be a time (and it really wasn't that long ago) that the humor was even funnier if there was a possibility that someone might not have gotten the joke. I know the intent here was to show Captain Hammer is a tad slow in the thought department. I got the humor; I just didn't find it as funny as I might have had he, say, tried to explain what he meant without actually coming out and saying it.

There is so much subtle humor happening in Dr. Horrible's sing-along blog, (watch the server in the soup kitchen for an example) that one line seemed almost out of place. I'm not what anyone would call a prude. My mind is usually the first to identify the "alternate meaning" of many conversational phrases; it's required years of training to keep them from being blurted out. When I do say something, I try to make it subtle so that the person who said the phrase has to think about why I would say such a thing in response. Usually something above the ever popular "That's what she said." I guess that's probably the reason why that one line just stood out to me; it was like using a pile-driver when an ordinary hammer would do.

Edit note: The videos of Act I, II, and III are no longer available to watch for free on-line. That was a temporary convenience for fans. You can download it from iTunes or wait for the DVD to come out.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog

Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog is such a hit that it took down their servers this morning. I consider myself fortunate that I was able to watch it last night right after it went up. Apparently iTunes sales of Dr. Horrible have rocketed it to the top of their list. Hopefully, they will have the bugs worked out soon and this won't happen again for Acts II and III. I highly encourage you to watch this wonderful musical.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Whatever... Balls!

I just got done watching Act I of Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog and I am laughing. Strangely I connect with Dr. Horrible. I know what it's like to not be the cool guy, to be tongue-tied around beautiful women, and to have your evil-plots thwarted by some upstart dogooder. Hmmm, perhaps I have said too much.

I like the songs, and the characters are developed quickly. This is good for something that will be over and done in a sum total of 30 minutes. I'm looking forward to acts II and III. If you haven't watched it yet, go watch it now.

Edit note: The videos of Act I, II, and III are no longer available to watch for free on-line. That was a temporary convenience for fans. You can download it from iTunes or wait for the DVD to come out.

Countdown

In only a few minutes I will be able to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog Act I. I've been very excited about it. I re-watched all the episodes of "The Guild" tonight. I can't wait for season two of Felicia Day's wonderful creation. Tonight, I will see her play Penny in DHSAB and I will post my reaction here for all the world my few friends who read this to see.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Shledzguohn?

Oh, I am excited!
This is a bigger excitement than the prospect of Jason Chaffetz winning in Utah's 3rd Congressional District race.
More exciting than the prospect of attending week-long scout camp at the end of this month.
I am indulging in pure Whedonism.
I have read The Master Plan and I am well pleased.
I have enlisted in the army and will do my part to spread the news:

It's coming...

In less than 8 days...

To an internet near you...

Watch it...

If you dare!

Here is the trailer to whet your appetite...

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Act 1 - July 15th
Act 2 - July 17th
Act 3 - July 19th
Gone - Midnight July 20th

"I'm so excited I could just plot"
- Hawkeye Pierce concerning The Rooster Crowed at Midnight, M*A*S*H

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Sweet Victory!

It's 12:41 a.m. on June 25th. I've just returned home from a celebration party for Jason Chaffetz who is now the official Republican candidate for Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives Utah 3rd district. Jason just beat Chris Cannon in a primary contest winning with nearly 60% of the vote!

I am running on fumes. I've been up since 5:00 a.m. on the 24th. I spent most of the day fulfilling my responsibilities as an election judge, where I couldn't talk politics at all, mind you, and then drove 40 minutes to Springville for the "Results Party." This has been a wonderful night. I am thrilled that Jason won.

Now, to sleep, per chance to dream...

Monday, June 23, 2008

Primary Election

June 24th is primary election day in Utah. I will be serving as an election judge so this is my last chance to do some e-campaigning.

GO VOTE!

If you live in Utah's 3rd congressional district,

GO VOTE FOR JASON CHAFFETZ!

If history is any indicator, I expect about 6-8% total voter turnout. It is just amazing the reasons I hear from my friends and others as to why they don't vote. My typical response, when I hear them complain about Government is to tell them to "Shut Up!" because they didn't vote. Don't make me tell you to "Shut up!"

GO VOTE!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Jason Chaffetz (A response to Chris Cannon)

And here we come to the second reason I haven't written more on my blog. My wife, Jennifer, is currently the campaign manager of the Jason Chaffetz for Congress campaign. She has been working as a volunteer with Jason for nearly two years. It was her idea to be a volunteer (read: not get paid) because she wanted her voice to remain her own. My role in this has mainly been to be a supportive husband (read: keep the home life as normal as possible) while she actively campaigns. My participation in the campaign has been somewhat limited: I was a State Delegate to the convention, I've attended some campaign rallys, I've talked with neighbors about Jason, and I've written a few on-line responses to some news articles. (I've even been blamed for some comments I didn't write.) Between the job, the scouts (see previous post) and home I've just been too busy to do much. However, tonight I have a little free time and Chris Cannon has posted a fluffy attack piece that just begs for a response. I posted a comment on his blog earlier today but as of this writing it hasn't been approved by the moderator yet. This blog entry will be more in-depth anyway. So here goes...

1. A Democrat
Chris Cannon opens up with a shot across the bow that Jason used to be a very vocal Democrat while he worked on the Dukakis campaign. As the Salt Lake Tribune pointed out today, Jason's father's first wife married Michael Dukakis. They asked him to head up the Utah wing of the Dukakis campaign and he obliged. Personally, I was out of the country for most of that Presidential campaign so I don't even know what Dukakis' positions were other than he was a Democrat. At that time I was an "Independent" voter who leaned Republican in the way I voted. So I'll cede to Cannon on point one, Jason used to be a Democrat, said he supported Dukakis's politics, and now says he disagreed on many of the issues. If this matters to you, I'd suggest calling Jason for an explanation; the "campaign number" is Jason's personal cell phone. For me, I know my positions have changed some since college. I only registered with the Republican party 8-10 years ago. (Ok, I'm staring 40 in the face, but I'm STILL 39)

2. Earmarks
Cannon claims that Jason is inconsistent in wanting to make sure that the Air Traffic controllers in Utah get the equipment they need to do the job, (among other things) and pledging not to ask for an earmark until there is serious reform of the process. Cannon's whole argument here hinges on his own assertion that the only way to accomplish the first goal is through earmarks. I believe that is a false assertion. Earmarks are congress' way of bypassing the executive bureaucracy and forcing money to be spent on specific projects. The people of California have essentially hamstrung their state government because they have used the initiative process to "earmark" portions of the state budget to special projects. Other members of Congress have taken the "No Earmark Pledge" including Rep. Jim Flake and Sen. Jim DeMint. The pledge states:
“Earmarking,” the practice by which members of Congress divert taxpayer funding to special projects outside of the normal competitive and merit-based review process, has grown out of control and is open to waste and abuse. THEREFORE, I, __________________________, in my capacity as ________________________ (congressman/senator/president), do hereby pledge that I will personally support spending reform in Congress by refusing to seek, support, or enact earmarks during the appropriations process for fiscal year 2009.
Notice that earmarks are defined as funds outside the normal competitive and merit-based review process. Local cities are budgeting money to pay for lobbyists to bring home the "earmark-bacon". I'm glad to be from West Jordan, the city without a plan to spend my tax dollars to try to get more of my tax dollars. Too bad Chris Cannon feels you can't get things done without earmarks.


3. Immigration
Cannon contrasts Jason's statement that he "rejects amnesty" with his proposal for a "temporary work visa" and calls them inconsistent. Cannon here equates "visa" with "amnesty." And I think his confusion comes from not understanding why people opposed his position on last year's immigration bill. The biggest issue with that bill was not that the fine imposed for illegal entry was less than our kids pay for a semester of college, but it was that the Z-visa was indefinitely renewable allowing someone here illegally to stay permanently. That was the amnesty to which everyone I talked with on the issue referred. Jason has said from the start that the only place for people to get in line for U.S. Citizenship is in their own country. The illegal immigration problem did not happen overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. It will take time. If the incentives to stay are removed, and legal immigration is improved (early steps in the process for Jason's plan) then the incentive will be to return home and apply legally. I would urge you to read through Jason's plan. It is not easily summed up in sound-bites, but it reflects what many people feel is the best solution to the problem.

4. Energy
Read Cannon's contrast carefully here, if you can figure out how the "Then vs. Now" points are even related, let alone show some shift in position on Jason's part, please leave your insight in a comment below. The first claim is essentially true, Jason doesn't mention "Oil shale, ANWR, or coal-gasification" by name on his website, but he does refer to "extracting the resources which are in our own back yard." Silly me, I took that to mean "Oil shale, coal, ANWR, coastal-drilling, natural gas, etc." But Chris is right, Jason doesn't mention those by name. Jason also says that Congress shouldn't be picking the winners and losers in the energy game. Just look what happened when they anointed ethanol as the energy-messiah. The second statement, which was made a year ago, was arguing about how big a difference drilling in ANWR would make in the price at the pump. Given the fluctuations in the price of oil and the demand on the market (can you say China?), I'm not sure even MSNBC got that one right. But I still fail to see how that contradicts Jason's other statement about "extracting the resources in our own back yard."

5. On George Bush
I'll just repeat what Cannon says in his "Note:"
Jason uses the same line of argument against Chris Cannon that he used against President George H.W. Bush. In addition, Jason accepts PAC money from Utah Banks who continue to oppose Congressman Cannon’s efforts to force competition into the Credit Card and Banking markets.
Just because Jason had his picture taken with President (G.H.W.) Bush doesn't mean he supports him like a lap dog. Granted Jason's comments about Bush being beholden to the PACs that contributed to his campaign were made when he was a democrat, but I think that question should always be asked about any elected official, period. All one has to do is look at the recent FEC disclosure forms for both Chaffetz and Cannon to realize who is beholden to whom. Lastly, Cannon has the audacity to attack Jason for the size of his house when Cannon lives here? Talk about cajones.

6. On campaign debt
Jason has said in the past that it is OK for a candidate to "invest in his own campaign." The quote is from four years ago so I can't get the direct source, without paying the Trib., to verify Cannon's implication that this was in reference to campaign debt as well as personal campaign contributions. Jason has taken the stand that campaign debt is "unnecessary" and "How you operate your campaign is indicative of how you will operate in Washington." I really don't see how this is contradictory. The LDS church urges their members to "refrain from debt." They describe debt as an "ever present taskmaster" and other unflattering descriptions. Yet they acknowledge that there are some things that often require debt: Such as a mortgage or education. Those who can manage schooling or buying a house without incurring debt, or paying off those obligations early should be applauded. Dave Ramsey encourages people to plan to "pay cash" for a house. In other words, incurring debt is neither wrong nor immoral, but showing that it can be done without incurring debt is the example we should uphold for everyone to see.

7. On Governor Huntsman
Chris Cannon repeats the Salt Lake Tribune's line that Jason "slammed" the Governor in his convention speech. The Governor called it a "cheap shot." Here is the actual quote from Jason's convention speech:
"And by the way, Jon Huntsman, as much as I like you, you're wrong about Global Warming; it's a farce."
I've heard some pretty vitriolic statements in politics but I'm not sure this would make the "top 100 slams on politicians" list (no site to link to, some one should make one). Then Cannon seems to think it's two-faced to question the Governor's policy and still use the public quotes the Governor made about Jason's service while campaign manager and chief of staff. The Governor's spokesperson can say whatever she'd like about the intention of those statements, but they were made publicly, by the Governor, in reference to Jason's service when the press were looking for reasons behind Jason's departure and before there was political motive to remain neutral.


If you've read this far, Thanks!
If you have a different take on why these things are more contradictory than they seem, I'd love to hear it; Leave a comment.

Monday, June 09, 2008

Reasons for Posting Slowly

Alright, I'm improving on the one-post-per-year average I have going on here. I thought it would be fun to share some of the reasons I don't have a lot of posts happening here.

First, I'm a Scoutmaster and the Troop takes a fair chunk of time to keep running. We recently went to LoneRock in the west desert of Utah. Here are a few pictures from my phone.





First is looking down on our camp from mid-Lone Rock. Notice the leader's tent is far away from the rest of the troop tents. This is so the leaders can get a modicum of sleep. Future Scoutmasters take note.

Second is looking up at the South East corner of Lone Rock while some of the boys and leaders explore. Some of the routes to the top are hard and some are easy. They look like they are on a much sharper slope than it really is.

Third is looking up at the top of Lone Rock where one of the leaders and some boys are taking in the sights. The next day, everyone had a chance to rappel down the north-west face of this rock which is 100 feet above the ground.