Pencil

I have to preface this post with a comment about my writing utensils. I usually find pens and pencils around the house, under the seats of the car, abandoned on desks at school, and places like that. So the quality of my writing utensil is always a little questionable.

A few weeks ago, I was taking Hydrogeology test. I was a little nervous, because that's the class that I seem to have left by the wayside this semester. But I was confident in the quality of my mechanical pencil which had served me without fail for at least a week. Since the quality of your writing utensil can spell the success or doom of your testing endeavors, I felt pretty good about things.

As I pulled my pencil out of my pocket my eyes widened because I noticed that the plastic tip had bent over to one side. I bent it back foolishly thinking it would right itself, but the entire tip broke off in my hand. D'oh! I quickly assured myself there was nothing to worry about, I would just write with the lead sticking out of the pencil, it still pumped and worked otherwise, no worries.

Well, I don't know if you've ever tried to write with a mechanical pencil with an inch and a half of the lead sticking out the end. It tends to break with the slightest bit of pressure. After four or five times of this, I almost panicked. The test had already started and all I could hear was the scratching of pencils on dry paper and labored breathing (probably mine). I didn't want to disturb anyone to borrow a pencil, and I knew I couldn't use a pen because of the math involved and I knew I'd make a mistake that I'd need to correct.

I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. With bitter resolve I told myself that no blasted writing utensil would get in the way of my success. So with my options severely limited, I bravely pinched a short piece of mechanical pencil lead between my index finger and thumb and rocked that test.

For good or for awesome,

Dan

Christmas Traditions

Lucky me! I get to chose between two blog topics. Family Christmas traditions or "What was the most random thing you were doing during class time instead of listening to [Kirsten's] lesson?" I think I'll hold off on that second one until after grades are submitted. :->

When I was a kid, we always woke up early to look at our presents and stuff. As a rule, we could rummage through our stockings and open our "Santa" present. The Santa present usually wasn't fully wrapped either. Maybe just a bow and tag or something simple. We always ate coffee cake (sans coffee of course) for breakfast and had to wait for the whole family to gather in order to open our presents. Boy was it an ordeal. There was no wild ravaging of wrapping paper or anything. We each waited and watched and commented as each person opened one present from oldest to youngest. We went round and round until there were no presents left. But I enjoyed and savored every minute of it.

One tradition that I'm sad I can't follow every year any more is going to the beach every Christmas day. I grew up in Puerto Rico and beaches were plentiful and beautiful even in December. That's probably the thing I miss the most about living there, beaches.

In our stockings, we would always get a new toothbrush and a LifeSavers storybook. In the days and weeks preceeding Christmas, my Mom would cook Party Press Cookies and Chex Party Mix. I'm sure she cooked other yummies, but I can't think of what they were just now. One treat I had as a missionary was that my Mom would send me some of this stuff. Boy was I in heaven.

We would also often go caroling, but caroling in Puerto Rico is a little different. It's called a parranda and it's more of a party. You go over someone's house, sing to them, invite yourself in, and eat all their Christmas type food. Then you take the people from that house, visit someone else and repeat the process. The carols aren't really what most people think of as carols either. They've generally got much more beat and rythym than traditional carols. We usually just sang and brought our own treats to share, making it a combination of the two caroloing breeds.

My Puerto Rican Grandmother would always cook a heavenly meal and we'd eat it in the late afternoon. She'd prepare arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), lechon or pernil (roast pork), pasteles (Puerto Rican version of tamales), and a garden salad. My mom would always furnish the flan. Man, I haven't had a better flan anywhere. Everytime I eat a flan (even a not so good one) I'm transported back to my Grandmother's kitchen (even though my Mom was the one who cooked it) because we always had it there on Christmas.

My wife and I are about to celebrate our second Christmas together (the first with any kids). So we're trying to figure out what our own traditions are going to be. We don't have much, but we've decided we're gonna open up one present each on Christmas Eve. I'm looking forward to that one. I don't know if this is gonna be permanent, but we each have our own wishlists on Amazon and we've secretly bought stuff for each other from our wishlists.

I'm excited that Christmas is coming so close. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Freedom has a scent like a newborn baby's head,

Dan

Least Favorite Non-Geology Class

The least favorite class I've taken at BYU is a topic of current debate. I didn't enjoy Physics 121 or Computer Science 142. Zoology 101 and 102 are vague memories because I've mostly blocked them out. Spanish 321 was a pain because of the teacher. PE 191 (Weight Training) was enjoyable, but the grading policy was entirely arbitrary and unfair. It was more like living as a peasant under the feudal system than attending a college PE class.

But all of those were pieces of cake when it comes to the BYU Math Department. Living as a peasant under the feudalism is like a vacation in Disneyland compared to math classes at BYU. I'm not the only one who feels this way either. Yes, there are people like my former roommate, Keith who like the Math Department, but they are the ones who got 5's on their AP Calculus BC exams and didn't have to take any 100 level class at BYU. The rest will chime in with me complaining about the ineffectiveness of having graduate students who have no training in actual teaching at the front of a class everyday and a book that was written without effective communication in mind by the head of the very same department.

I can't decide which is worse the first time I took Calculus 1, the second time I took Calculus 1, or the time I took Calculus 2. I don't think that I can accurately answer this question because I still have to take Calculus 2 again in an attempt to get better than a D+ to be able to graduate. So this next time might be the worse. I'll have to keep ya'll posted. (Sounds like an empty promise to me.) Sorry for the bitter tone of this post, it's a touchy subject with me and I've got a lot to do this week.

You can dress up like a sultan in your onion-head hat,

Dan

The trouble these days

When I was a kid, I can honestly say I can hardly remember actually getting in trouble. I do remember quite distincly being sent to my room when I was smaller, but that ended as I got older. I'm just gonna claim right now (and who's gonna dispute me?) that I didn't get into trouble. Mainly because I just covered up and hid anything I'd done. So nobody was the wiser. Sorry Mom and Pop for the years of deception. :->

This brings up a new point. One which I've either forgotten or never had in the first place. Sorry to everyone else for that little deception.

So you'll be an Austrian nobleman,

Dan

All I want for Christmas

I think for Christmas I would enjoy any of the vehicles featured in my previous post. Since that's probably not gonna happen, I'll drop my request to a new computer. Or maybe just a new mother board and DVD burner.

I also think I'd enjoy a Nintendo Wii. Or maybe I'd settle for a 2 Gig jump drive. Here's something I never thought I'd like for Christmas: clothes. Mine are getting a little ratty and worn out. I guess that's what happens when you work with rock dust and chemical fumes everywhere.

But all that other stuff is probably just a trip. Something I have a strong suspicion I'll be getting from a reliable source is Mario Kart for N64. Faith and I will have a lot of fun with that.

Birds fall from the window ledge above mine,

Dan

Vehicle

If money wasn't an obstacle, what vehicle would I have?

I don't know much about cars or anything, so I had to do several Google searches as research in order to be able to answer this blog question fully.

This little number is quite the eye-catcher.
But it probably isn't making good use of my unlimited funds. So I found this one.

Yes, it looks good, but look what it can do.

But let's be realistic, how often am I going to want to cross a body of water. How about something more useful.

Now, that's what I'm talking about.

I get the feeling it was different here before we came along,

Dan

What's that smell?

Smells are interesting things. My sense of smell isn't that great so I probably miss out on some pretty good ones. On the other hand, I miss some of the not so pretty good ones too, so I try not to complain.
Hypothetically speaking, there is a Great-Grandmother who is a great cook and she has her grand and great-grand kids over regularly to eat. The only problem is that the next day said offspring are plagued with quite pungent flatulence. Even those with the worse sense of smell are afflicted. I guess that's the price you have to pay for great food.
Hypothetically speaking, this same Great-Grandmother will never admit to having ever had a flatulent episode. She'll always blame it on the youngest person present, usually a baby. I know babies can be flatulent, but there's no way a baby can do what she claims.

I suggest that Colonel Mustard killed Mr. Boddy, with the revolver, in the Billiard Room,

Dan

Shoulda done

Like many others, I had big plans for the Thanksgiving weekend. I was gonna work a bunch of extra hours, I was gonna do all of my Hydro homework, and I was gonna be more productive than I've been all semester.

Yeah right.

I ended up getting and assembling bookshelves and organizing books with my wife. But I consider it time well spent.

They don't love you like I love you,

Dan

Thanksgiving

My favorite Thanksgiving food has to be pumpkin pie. I have to say, though, that not all pumpkin pies are created equal. The best type of pumpkin pie is homemade pumpkin pie. Mmmmm.
This Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law got a pumpkin pie from Marie Callender's. That was some good pumpkin pie. She also got a type of pie that I've never heard of before: cranberry apple pie. It was good too. But I just couldn't stop thinking of Brian Regan talking about cranberries getting into all the other juices. Now they're getting into all the other pies. I can see it now, cranberry shepherd's pie.
Anyway, I hope the tons of people who read this had a good Thanksgiving.

I love my arms that's where my hands live,

Dan

Vacación

My worst family vacation ever. I honestly can't think of what our worst family vacation was. I was a little kid for most of them and any emotions I'd attached to the vacations has long since been lost.

There is one that sticks in my mind though. It definitely wasn't the worst. In fact I really enjoyed it. When I was 13 or 14, I went with my Dad to Washington D.C. I hadn't been there since I was a little kid and I didn't remember much. We visited all the sites, walked a ton, and had a lot of fun. The most interesting part of the vacation was the fact that instead of staying in a regular hotel or motel, we stayed at the International Youth Hostel.

For those of you who don't know what a hostel is, it's like a hotel, except you don't get a room to yourself, it's more like a dorm. I'll just say right now that my Dad and I weren't the strangest people there.

Maybe my family can remember worse family vacations, if any of them are reading this, it might make a good e-mail conversation topic. Maybe I'll relay the best stories for the rest of the world to read here. That would be fun.

The preacher said, "richer or poorer",

Dan

Animál

If you were an animal what would you be?

I think I'd have to be a bear. I'm not mean or cantakerous (usually), but I am big and cuddly. This picture is a good representation of me in class.

Tomorrow can pay the rent.

Dan

Weird People

I'm supposed to write about the weirdest person in my family. I don't really like that topic and I don't want to offend anyone. So I'll just say I'm the weirdest (even though I know it's not true).

Here are some pictures of people who are weird. Or maybe they're just cool. You decide. I don't know who this guy is or why everybody in the background wants to be like him, but I'll have you know that if I had the chance, I'd be wearing, a tuxedo with saddle shoes, a red bow-tie, suspenders, and coke bottle glasses too.

This guy's name is Marco Salvetti. I only wish my upper lip had the power to produce such a mustache. Note the second appearance of a red tie.

Anyone crazy enough to use Sword Chucks should be avoided. But just imagine the damage that could be done to all in the nearby vicinity. Note there is no red tie.

I am an opera singer,

Dan

Toys!

When I was a kid, I didn't have many new toys. I'm the youngest of 7 kids and everything I played with was pretty much a hand-me-down. (At least that's what I remember.) As a result, I read a lot of books. I still like books and just wish I had more time to read. I've found out that books on tape are great especially when you have to commute.
Anyway, I digress. My favorite game when I was a kid was this marble game. I don't know what it was really called or who makes it. After search online for approximately 3.7 minutes, I was unsuccessful in finding the exact game I had, but there are similar things called "Marble Run" out there.
The premise behind this game was building a track upon which you put your marbles. Gravity would do the rest and your marbles would roll down your creation. I literally spent hours with this game. Just don't use marbles that are too big because they'll get stuck and that can be aggravating. Amazingly, my Mom kept it after all these years, and my nieces and nephews love to play with it when they visit my parent's house.

I will swim to you if you will swim to me,

Dan

Christmas Music

With Halloween over and Thanksgiving on our doorstep, I go to the store and am bombarded with Christmas decorations. I'm sure that while all the kids are out trick-or-treating, the hapless retail store employees are pressed into removing all the orange and black streamers and pumpkins while putting up red, white and green paraphernalia. I'm amazed at how quickly our society forgets the true roots and meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas while focusing on the greed oriented mentality of X-Mas. To top off the conspiracy, radio stations are already playing non-stop Christmas music. I for one, don't think it right to start listening to it until after the Thanksgiving leftovers are safely tucked away into tupperware in the fridge. Even then, we shouldn't listen to it exclusively. Anyway...

The flood that drowns the sailor is the the fisherman's delight,

Dan

Kellen

So there's this guy in my Geol 230 class named Kellen. Everybody thinks that he craves attention and goes to great lengths to get it. In my opinion, Kellen doesn't try to get attention any more than anyone else in the class like Jay, Miles, or myself. I just want to express my support for Kellen in all his endeavors and warn anyone who might be plotting his demise that there are many of his associates who are willing to give their lives in his defense.

Smile for the camera and raise your glass,

Dan

Worst Date Ever

I have to start this one of with a disclaimer. The reason that this was my worst date was not due to the person I was with. It was entirely my fault.

So a couple of years ago, I ate dinner at my sister's house. They had a big bowl of left over pasta stuff. It was very cheesy and very good. So I downed the whole thing and then left for my date with Faith. We went on a double date to see Saints and Soldiers at the dollar theater. I started feeling sick a few minutes after the movie started and by the time a half hour had passed, I knew I was going to have to take a bathroom break. I'm lactose intolerant and usually, I don't have violent reactions to milk products, but I guess the nervousness of the date really got to me. So anyway, I spent the duration of the movie in the bathroom, hurling my guts out. I didn't realize how long I'd been in there until the other guy on the double date came looking for me.

We went home and Faith said I didn't have to walk her to her door on the third story. I was very grateful for that. To make a long story very short, we got married!

Chocolate chip cookies for breakfast,

Dan

Little Questions from Viklas

What is your favorite band? Spin Doctors
What color are your socks right now? White w/ gray toes and heels
What was the last thing you ate? Dried apricots and tortilla chips
What is your favorite drink? Jugo de Parcha (Passion Fruit juice) it's good in a boba
What was your favorite childhood toy? The marble game
What is your biggest fear? Rabid platypuses ... platypi ...
What is the coolest, most interesting, boring, or aggravating job you've ever held? Building Dinosaurs
Do you lick rocks? Always.
Have you driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? I am a certified fork lift operator for BYU. This is not me in the photo, just in case you were wondering.

My 'a-ha' moment came when I realized that I cloned out a truck better than Kirsten did in class. Mua-ha-ha! This is most likely a very rare occurrence due to the fact that she's rushing and just doing examples in class, not real work.

I'm still confused about ... politics.

And the trumpet sings,

Dan

Practical Joke

I've never really been good at practical jokes, but I can remember a good one that was played on me in High School. I was spending the night at a friend's house and my Mom was coming to pick me up pretty early the next morning. We had stayed up late playing video games and I had fallen asleep on the love seat. I had put my glasses on the coffee table and while I was asleep, my friends put shaving cream on the lenses. Then woke me up saying "Dan, your Mom's here!" So all dazed, I wake up and put my glasses on and am all confused about why I can't see anything. Hurriedly, I clean the shaving cream off and run outside thinking my Mom is waiting. Then I stand out there for a minute trying to gain my bearings and start my brain. My Mom is nowhere in sight and it's way earlier than when my Mom was supposed to come.
It was a pretty good joke. I can't remember how I felt at the time, but I can laugh about it now.

My 'a-ha' moment hasn't come yet.

I really like Photoshop, but it just takes forever to do anything or figure anything out.

You know my boat has holes,

Dan

Costume

I'm pretty much a lameface when it comes to Halloween. I don't really enjoy dressing up. The only thing I really get excited about is eating candy. I'll probably go to the store tonight and get some discount candy because Halloween was yesterday.

I will say that my daughter was a cute little bear. I'm sure she doesn't realize much about it, but that's beside the point.

Dodging assassins,

Dan

Hair

I dunno if I've ever had a bad haircut. Well, yes I have. When I was twelve my Mom accidentally buzzed my head and I was devastated. Then on my mission, I had my zone leader buzz it again. I was excited about it because it was in the hot Florida summer, but it didn't look very good. I guess the worst haircut I had wasn't actually a haircut. It was when I didn't cut my hair for eight months my Senior year of high school. It was pretty bad most of the time. This photo is what it looked like when it was neat.

I've got a million plans but each one fails,

Dan

Joke

So there was this rabbi who went out as a missionary to teach a tribe of people called the Twids. The rabbi spent his time with them and was fully accepted and loved by them. Yet, the Twids were unresponsive to his message. He toiled with the Twids and taught the Twids, and they wouldn't convert from their Twid traditions.
The rabbi grew discouraged with his lack of success and decided to travel to the other side of the mountain where another tribe called the Frinests lived. The only trail that would take him over was up to the very top of the mountain and back down the other side. As he prepared for his journey over the mountain, the Twids told him of a wizened old man who lived at the top of the mountain. In order to pass him you must ask him a riddle. If he could answer the riddle, he would kick you off the mountain. You had to ask a riddle that he could not answer in order to pass him.
Feeling confident, the rabbi began his journey up the mountain. As he climbed, he thought of a riddle that the old man at the top of the mountain couldn't possibly answer. He picked up three small pebbles and put them in his pocket, the old man could never guess how many he had hidden in there. So he reached the top of the mountain and approached the old man who was cooking his hot dog on a little fire up there. The rabbi approached him and said "Old man, how many pebbles do I have in my pocket?" The old man replied without looking up, "Three." Astonished, the rabbi curled up into a little ball in an attempt to minimize any damage from being kicked off the mountain. And he braced himself for the big kick.
Nothing happened. The rabbi peeked out at the old man who was still cooking his hot dog. The rabbi asked "Aren't you going to kick me off the mountain? You answered my riddle correctly."
The old man replied, "You silly rabbi, kicks are for Twids."

Lenguas

I speak English. As you can see, I can also type it. Somedays, if I'm lucky I'll even be able to read it.

I also speak Spanish. I was actually born and raised in Puerto Rico. As a little kid, I supposedly spoke pretty good Spanish, but I didn't use it nearly as much as I should have in later years. I spoke English at home, church, and school. I finally had the opportunity to relearn it when I became a missionary and was called to speak Spanish and teach people in Florida.

I'm also proficient in Efe.

For good or for awesome,

Dan

Restaurante

I'm gonna have to say that my favorite restaurant is Fuentes B.B.Q. in Rio Piedras, PR. It's been so long since I've been there, but I can still taste the chuletas y arroz con habichuelas; not to mention the tostones. So if you're ever in the area, I strongly recommend this place.

My 'a-ha' moment was ... I honestly can't remember a thing from any of my classes yesterday except for Structure. My entire memory is overshadowed by the ridiculous monster test we had to take. That and Guitar Hero.

The more it rains the less I know,

Dan

First Love

I must say that my first love was my wife. I had crushes and stuff before, but my first real love was Faith. When we were first dating, I would ask myself if I loved her, or just like her. I wasn't sure, so I decided to conduct a scientific experiment. As we said goodnight to eachother, I would end with a "Love ya." I didn't find out until much later that this caused her coniption fits. On one date, we went to see the movie The Incredibles. During one of the scenes, I realized that I loved her for real, so I leaned over and told her. Maybe it was in the car afterwards, I can't remember. But the rest is history.

My 'a-ha' moment for today was when I finally realized how the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator works. It's a little tricky.

I'm confused at exactly how I'm going to make a graph for my paper. But it'll be done this Saturday, so I'm not worried.

What is the secret of your power?

Dan

Scary

"When is you the most scar-ed?" - Kirsten Thompson

The time I was the most scared was probably when I was a missionary in Immokalee, FL. My companion, Elder Smith, and I were riding our bikes home late one night, when we rounded the corner and passed a dumpster. Neither of us had lights of our bikes so the racoons feasting in the dumpster didn't hear or see us until it was too late. Elder Smith was infront of me and hit the last racoon with the front wheel of his bike. He flew over the front of his handlebars and smashed his face into the asphalt. I thought he was really messed up and was really worried. But we got him to the nearest hospital (an hour away) and he was fine. It was fun seeing everybody's looks of gaping horror when they saw him as they entered church the following day.

My 'a-ha' moment for today happened when I realized that I know nothing about making good figures. I can interpret most of the bad ones, after a few minutes of intense pondering so I don't see the problem. :-> I am excited to get to know how to use Adobe Illustrator, though.

I'm still confused about Adobe Acrobat Professional. I was late to class today and missed some important stuff. I really didn't understand using bookmarks, but I have to admit, I wasn't paying much attenion for that part.

Scar

I don't have any cool scars. I have a little one on my left index finger where I cut myself with an X-ACTO knife when I was cutting a tennis ball open.
Uh...I like the song Scar Tissue by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
But if you do a Google image search for scars, you can see some gross stuff and this guy. Anyway...

Geologic Sample

My favorite Geological sample that I've ever seen is the world! Well, I'll also say the mineral danburkite, I mean, danburite. Though I've never seen it myself, in gem quality it's quite beautiful. Geology is so cool, when I learn more, I get more and more excited when I go outside and see stuff in the real world.

My 'a-ha' moment for today was just learning a few tips and tricks in Excel.

I'm confused about some of the terms we're supposed to learn for the test, but I'll be okay.

Everybody to the limit,

Dan

Cartoon Show!

My favorite cartoon show right now is Homestar Runner. It's not on tv, but that's okay. When I was a kid, I really liked Animaniacs and Gargoyles. In high school, I discovered The Tick and The Simpsons.

I've spent large portions of my life watching these cartoons. I strongly recommend them.

My 'a-ha' moment for today was when I realized that I just barely learned on my own most of the cool stuff you can do in Excel.

I'm confused about the test and what kind of stuff is going to be on it.


The system is down,

Dan

Conference Weekend Plans

Every October and April the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints holds a church-wide General Conference. This year, the Conference is being held Sep. 30 - Oct. 1.
Unfortunately, I have to work during the Saturday sessions. Luckily, I can listen to the radio broadcast of conference at work. Fortunately, I get to help build a dinosaur. I work at a place called Paleoforms where we prepare, restore, mold, cast, and mount fossils. We've got a dinosaur that's almost ready to be finished and shipped out really soon.
Saturday night, there is a Preisthood Session and I plan on travelling an hour north to watch it with my brother-in-law. My wife and daughter will use the time to visit with my mother-in-law.
We plan on spending the night there and watching the Sunday sessions with them. Should be fun.

By hook or by crook,

Dan

1am Feeding

I guess I also should have mentioned my tendency to procrastinate when I talked about a bad habit that got me into trouble, but half of the Geol 230 class already talked about that. Anyway...
So last night, I started a lab for one of my classes. It's due today and we were supposed to start working on it two weeks ago. I procrastinated pretty badly. My daughter was pretty much cranky all day and my wife had had a hard day too. I'm not sure, but I think those two things are somehow related. Since I was going to be up late anyway, I took Grace. So Faith was able to get some much needed sleep. Eventually Grace fell asleep, which was nice because then I could seriously work on my lab. At about 1 am, Grace woke up ravenous. So I fed her and stuff. It was pretty nice to spend some time with her all alone and quiet like that despite the fact that she wasn't in a very good mood.
I finished my lab at around 3am and fell asleep. Today is gonna be a pretty hard day, but I know I brought it on myself. I fully accept responsibility for my actions and will still do everything today as planned (work and school). Let it be a lesson learned in the failings of procrastination.
I'm sure my fanatic readers all have more impressive stories of times when they were up for 4 days in a row studying for the test that would make or ruin the rest of their lives, but I don't really want to hear about it. Thanks in advance.

Dancing robots,

Dan

Favorite Cereal

My favorite cereal has for a long time been Peanut Butter Crunch.
Since I'm a poor college student, I'm resigned to buying the cheaper equivalents. Peanut Butter Crunch just doesn't exist in an off brand. So I've since discovered Blueberry Muffin Tops. Man, those are good!
My 'a-ha' moment for today was when I learned about special indentation. I like it.

I'm still a little confused, well...not really in this class anymore.


Someday all this will be a road,

Dan

Cassete Tapes

I recently found a shoe box filled with my old audiocassette tapes. Since I drive an older car, I've taken the opportunity to listen to them while driving to and from work and school.
I listened to a tape my older sister sent me as I was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She talked about how it's easy to fall into this "microscopic" view of life. We're only concerned with here and now. We tend to miss the big picture. Why are weI here? What is our purpose? Where are we going?
It really came at an opportune time because I've been worried and a little depressed about big changes that are coming in my near future and what I'm going to do about it. I'm glad I got that reminder to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
We all have a much greater eternal potential, we just have to be convinced of it, and be humble enough to accept the truth.
Thanks for the reminder Melissa.

The bigger I laugh, the harder I cry,

Dan

Musical Instrument

I don't really play a musical instrument. I've taken piano lessons a couple of times, but I'm not any good. When I was a kid, I began to learn to play the recorder and guitar in school, but that didn't last either. I've always had the dream of playing a jew's harp, but I've never gone after it. I do like to listen to music and it's kind of a hobby of mine to collect it and organize it and listen to it. Just ask my wife.

My 'a-ha' moment for today was learning about page breaks which are incredibly useful as well as learning about changing the dumb default settings that Microsoft Office Word sets.

I'm a little confused about getting out of columns permanently, but I'll worry about that when I need it.

Where my lasers at?,

Dan

Food Storage

The item that I couldn't live without having in my food storage would probably have to be diapers. My newborn daughter sure can go through a lot of those. But that's more practical. If I could chose anything that would make life happier, I'd have to include a large supply of Cheetos. Cheetos are by far the best chip-type snack.

My 'a-ha' moment today was ... I dunno ... ephiphanies aren't coming today. I am excited that it's Friday and the weekend is so close.

I'm confused because my life is so hectic. But I'm happy and life is good.

By the way, this is my baby. Her name is Grace. Isn't she cute?







There's a candy-coated iguana behind curtain number one,

Dan

Website

I've talked about my website in pretty much every post since I started.

I'm sure my incredibly wide readership would love to see said website. Well here's the link!

http://webpub.byu.net/bdan/

Geology

Originally my major was Archaeology, but I decided to change that when I realized that opportunities weren't very prolific in that field.

I took Geol 103 (Life of the Past) from Dr. Wade Miller (ret.) and got really excited. Then I found out that he would be teaching Geol 286 (Prehistoric Vertebrates) (no longer offered). Since I've liked dinosaurs ever since I was a little kid, I decided that it'd be fun to take it. I changed my major because I thought that being a Paleontologist would be like a dream.

I've since decided to not go into Paleontology because opportunites aren't prolific in that field either. My focus has sinced changed to Hydrogeology. I think Hydrogeology is incredibly interesting and there will always be a need for sources and storage of clean water.

My 'a-ha' moment came when I realized that I could save the colors I was using and not have to enter the RGB values every single time.

I'm confused because in Frontpage, my webpage looks exactly the way I want it, but when I look at it through Firefox, it looks funny.

I like to oot oot oot ooples and boonoonoos,

Dan

Superpower

If I could have any superpower, I would definitely chose the ability to stop time. I have to expound a little because there are some controls I would wish over it. I would be able to stop everything else, except for me and anyone I chose to join me in timelessness. Also, I wouldn't age when time was stopped, and anything I touched I could move, it wouldn't be stuck.

My 'a-ha' moment for today was realizing that I'm better prepared for this class than I realized.

I'm still a little confused by Frontpage, but then I didn't use it at all today, so I haven't learned anything about it.

Thinking of you,

Dan

Pizza

My favorite pizza is a Hawaiian Pizza with the ham (canadian bacon?) and pineapple. I could eat a whole large one by myself and still have room for salad and desert. Yum.

My 'a-ha' moment for today was when I realized I could organize my pictures into galleries. I'm excited for it.

I'm still confused about using Frontpage. I'm a little discouraged that I'm going to be able to get all of my assignments for this class and my others done on time. But I'll work hard and do my best. Plus, I have a broken link to an image and I can't figure it out.

Troublesome

The personality trait that gets me into the most trouble is ... I don't think I've ever been in trouble.

Just kidding. I think that I get in trouble mostly because I say things without thinking. I'll say something to my wife and immediately see a hint of annoyance and I'll know, that was the wrong thing to say. I'm getting better, but I'll probably hit that stumbling block till I'm old and gray, right Faith?

My 'a-ha' moment today was realizing that I'm terrible at chosing colors for my website. If you'd like to see it by the way click here. The pictuires of my daughter are great!

I'm still confused at how to chose a good color scheme. I'm terrible at it.

I would have made you brownies, but I don't have any eggs.

Worst Movie Ever.

The worst movie ever is Hercules in New York starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's his first movie. If you want to read about it, click here. Although I have to say, if you watch this late at night when you're tired, with a bunch of friends it can be pretty hilarious.

My 'a-ha' moment for today was when I found out you can actually see my website and that it exists on the "Internet Program" thingy. :->

I'm still a little confused about ... I dunno, I'm still trying to figure out Frontpage. I don't know enough yet to make my site look the way I want.

Vacation

My dream vacation spot would be to go to Puerto Rico. I grew up there and my wife has never been. So we would like to visit. A lot of cruise lines have Puerto Rico as their beginning and ending point so I think that would be cool to do.

My 'a-ha' moment for the day was beginning to learn to use Microsoft Frontpage. I'm excited because my wife wants to make a family website so we can post pictures of our newborn daughter, Grace, online for everyone to admire.

The thing I would like to know more about is mapping my U drive to the my Geology account. I think that would be useful.

Color?!

My favorite color is orange. In fact, I chose to wear my orange polo shirt to school today.
When I was a little kid and someone asked me what my favorite color was I'd say "orangeangreen". I've since dropped the 'angreen' part.