Christmas 2012

We had the usual fun Christmas/New Year vacation/fun time this year. I was out of work from 21 Dec to 2 Jan. I like that.

Our ARB work party was Friday evening 21 Dec. We ate dinner at the Maverik Center in the “Golden Corridor.” we had some festivities and awards and such and then watched the Grizzlies and the Las Vegas Wranglers in a Hockey game. The kids had their Kung Fu Christmas party scheduled at the same time. We thought we might leave early so they could catch the end of it. But we were enjoying ourselves and no one wanted to leave so we stayed to the bitter end at the Maverik Center. The Grizzlies lost to the Wranglers on the last shot of a shoot-out.

One day, I think it was maybe the Saturday before Christmas, we went to see The Hobbit at the theater. I can't recommend it. Stretching out too much story to make even one film, let alone three.

I cooked a Turkey the Sunday before Christmas and it turned out very good, 23 lbs. Then for Christmas Lenore made Turkey Wild Rice soup and it was VERY good. I also cooked an Italian Crostata and it turned out very good as well. Here are some pictures from Christmas day. The kids have been all wrapped up lately in watching Doctor Who. So Jensen painted the wrapping paper on Laney's gift to look like a TARDIS.

The day after Christmas we went to visit my parents in Saint George for a couple of days. I didn't take my bike or plan to ride because the weather didn't look too great. We watched a lot of NCIS, ate some good food, went shooting one day, and ate at the Bear Paw cafe which didn't live up to its hype. We must be kharmically challenged when it comes to eating out in Saint George with my parents. Often things don't go right.

Lenore and I saw the Life of Pi one day. We were both a little disappointed. We wanted/expected a life affirming story. Instead it struck us as a man who underwent a very unfortunate experience and made up a fanciful story to deal with it.

I did some work on Jensen's car to clean up the battery and its connections and that seemed to help. Unfortunately, now that we have taken it to Tunex to have them do the emissions test, it appears we may not be holding on to this car too much longer.

I put together an old book that Lenore wrote/drew years ago and kept saying she was going to do something with it. The badge/link to it on Blurb is up on the left of the page. It turned out pretty well. I had to scan in her drawings and run them through Photo Shop to darken them. Her sketches were soooo light.

I fixed Lenore's bathroom faucet which has been extremely hard to operate. We cleaned the shower in the master bath and I cleaned and fixed some guns.

Lenore's sister Natalie came to visit for a week or so and stayed with the Smiths. So we did a lot of visiting over there after we returned from Saint George.

Aliens

Jensen has been interning with the Aquabats! Super Show this semester. They are shooting some of their latest season here in Salt Lake. Shanna and Christian were very nice to give her the opportunity. She has really enjoyed herself. We went to the studio recently to see some of the filming and Christian gave us a tour, we think there was some drama going on amongst the production team and he wanted no part of it. We took some fun pictures including this one with Ailsa in a heating duct.

Thanksgiving 2012

We had another very nice time this past Thanksgiving down at the Hoke's river house. We are ever indebted to Kim and Ed and their generosity.

I will attempt to break with tradition and tackle this out topically.

Bike: So we could drive the Avalon (and spend less on gas, and probably be more comfortable) I bought a trunk lid bike rack from some guy on KSL Classifieds for $20. Pretty good deal. I rode twice, on Thanksgiving day with Stuart and Landon and Clayton (I think that was all) and then on Friday with Stuart. I did okay. I was left behind a couple of times because of climbing. But, it was all good. I had been having trouble with my knee (IT band) since the Tour de Saint George). But, after a couple of weeks of stretching and rolling, it was much better. Friday's ride with Stuart was just more work. I didn't feel great, possibly because my body isn't used to replenishing its glycogen stores on a 24 hour cycle.

Shooting: We went shooting two times. The first time with a pretty big group. We convinced almost everyone to try the Mosin. Even Brenna did. It was fun. Jeremy made some pretty impressive shots with it. I had a little bit of a time keeping track of everything and helping everyone. But, it worked out. The second time we had a smaller group and it was a little more relaxed. Lenore was having some trouble with the Buckmark (we have some after-market magazines that are a little difficult to get in all the way. I fixed it and then turned, took aim and squeezed off a round, hitting a soda can about 35 yards away. She said, “hey that's what I was shooting at!” Ooops.

Weather: Was just beautiful. About 80 and clear with no wind. The water temp in the river was QUITE cold though. Thanksgiving afternoon Lenore and I spent about an hour sitting on the dock occasionally dipping our feet in the water. From time to time grand nieces or nephews (some of them quite young) came to visit us. I had to tell them to be careful and not fall into the river. I wouldn't want Lenore to have to go in to rescue them in the freezing water. It really was a very transcendent hour, very nice. We are so blessed.

Thanksgiving dinner: Everything was good. Even the deep-fried turkey. Not always my favorite, was very good. Kristin made Mississppi Mud pie, ham was good. We all ate too much. But, kept going back for more.

The drive: mostly uneventful. We stayed in Saint George both coming and going and spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning with Grandma and Grandpa. Always grateful for their hospitality.

For a while I've been wanting one of these low-cost Russian surplus rifles, the mosin nagant 91/30 that shoots a 7.63x54r round. I finally broke down and bought one. Our specimen was made in 1938. It is in pretty good shape I think. The kids are excited. Jensen especially thinks the bayonet is cool.

Shivwits! What did you say?

 

Stuart was looking for someone to do the Fall Tour de Saint George again this year. I wasn't really excited to do it. But, mainly only because it's the third trip down to Saint George in four weeks. I decided to do it anyway. Stuart says he probably would have bagged it if I hadn't gone.

We drove down Friday evening and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa again. It turned out to be a very nice day. Weather was supposed to be a little warmer. As it was I had to wear a vest and arm warmers and was still borderline too cold at the start. But, all that stuff came off by the end of the ride.

The climbing is worse than my glossed over memory told me. I did okay though. Got a flat right at the summit before dropping into Veyo. It took me 11 minutes to change the tube. So, at the feed station in Veyo I didn't stop and the one near the Shivwits Indian Resevation I decided to stop only very briefly to pick up a couple of snacks.

Right at the start I saw a couple of guys on a carbon Calfee tandem. They made a joke to everyone in general about their being dropped now. But, we would be fighting for their wheel later on. I didn't see them again until the steep downhill at the 18 mile mark just outside of Veyo. They went screaming past me. I made a goal to catch them.

About 17 miles later, just after the second feed station I finally got on their wheel. I stayed with them until the feed station at mile 52. Riding behind them helped a lot I think. I left them behind after the feed station because they were taking the 100 mile route and our paths were splitting soon. As it was they didn't catch up to me before the routes split.

They had the metric distance riders move onto the river bike path for about 5 miles which was interesting. My knee started to hurt me and ached for about the last 10 miles or so. Stuart says it's the IT band. It's probably because I haven't been stretching.

I finished in a decent time considering my flat. Came in 2nd out of 18 in my age group and 13th out of 100 overall with no one older coming in ahead of me. I averaged 12.4 MPH for the first 1:10 (the climbing), then 22.24 MPH for the rest of the ride.

Stuart got off course again. I'm not sure he will be doing this ride next year.

Reunion Weekend

I haven't been to a High School reunion since 1996. It was fun enough. Our 30 year reunion really didn't materialize until late and then was scheduled in the fall. So, they probably didn't have that many out of staters like me.

This last weekend Friday night was Homecoming weekend at BYU. A couple of years ago the social club CDU (of which I was a charter member) had a get-together and even though I don't live very far, I didn't go. So, I decided this time around to go and take the whole family.

It was fun enough. They had a band and the young kids were dancing and it was loud. The band (the Spazmatics) was very entertaining to watch. But, in my opinion the whole idea of a reunion is to visit with one another. It might have been better served to start the band later in the evening.

It was fun to see some people. I visited with Orell Anderson, his wife and a friend and briefly with Doug Futtrell and Steve Kovalenko, Matt Balkman (Steve wasn't there,) Mark Van Bloem and a couple of other people I just met there. Also ran into Karen Marriot from way back in my WADC days. There were a couple others who were there that I would have liked to chat with but missed them somehow. Laney ate herself sick on the soft serve ice cream and topping goodies.

Overall it was fun-ish and maybe good for the family to attend. Might wait awhile before doing another one of these. But, I realize now that I really am fairly shy and introverted. My family is very much the same way. Ailsa and Jensen felt no inclination at all to try to join in the dancing with the young kids. I've either ruined them or given them a great gift. Time will tell.

Then Saturday I got a bike ride in kinda early and then Lenore and I drove down to Saint George so that all the kids and their spouses (sans Aron and Cheryl who couldn't make it) could surprise Mom for her 80th birthday. It should no longer be a revelation how much Lenore and I can enjoy one another's company when the kids aren't around sucking up the bandwidth. We had a very enjoyable chat on the drive to SG. Made the drive go by faster. We averaged 80 MPH and scored just under 30 MPG. That's kinda nice.

We wanted to surprise mom so we staged at the Fairfield Inn. Then we learned that Sean and Jenny hadn't accounted for the time zone difference and were going to delay us some. So, we went over to see mom and dad. Mom was surprised and that was fun. Kim had compiled a really nice scrapbook with pictures and remembrances for mom. We chatted until our dinner date at Buca. Meanwhile Sean and Jenny and Clayton did arrive.

Buca was very nice. I didn't feel anxious for the situation at all. Dad seemed to be able to hear well enough and all seemed to have a very nice time. We had some dishes that I haven't had before, Pollo Glorioso, Pollo Carbonara (completely different than my dish, but very tasty just the same,) and Penne San Remo were the ones I enjoyed. I sat next to Ed and he showed me pictures from their trip to Italy in August.

We all went to mom and dad's ward for Sacrament meeting in the morning and then took some pictures to document the occasion.

Dancey Dance

Laney got to be in a Yo Gabba Gabba/DJ Lance-Dancey Dance/Vans tennis shoes commercial. It was filmed last Monday. She had a fun time and we can't wait to see it. She has the best camera smile. And she got a pair of shoes out of it.

Thanks to Christian and Shanna for thinking of us and including her.

Sons of Bishops

Back in Early July I emailed Stuart and suggested we seek out another organized ride/race to do together this year. He in turn suggested we do the Salt Lake City to Saint George relay on 21-22 September with an 8 man team. I was feeling pretty good about my cycling this year so in a moment of weakness I agreed to do this.

I was a little anxious to know exactly what I would be doing. After looking at the leg breakdown, I knew there were some legs I didn't want to do. It seemed like I could do most if I had to. But, I really prefer to do just flat or SLIGHTLY downhill.

I bought myself a really good light for riding in the dark and a safety vest and continued my good training. We met the Sunday before to plan out who would ride when and iron out some other details. After this meeting I kinda decided to probably ride a total of 6 legs instead of the bare minimum three.

The team was: my brother in law Stuart Porter; his brother Jason; his son Cody; his sons in law Landon Ball and Clayton Starnes; Clayton's father Ric; and his brother in law Justin Pitcher. The title of my post comes from the fact that two of us (Ric and me) are former Bishops and Justin is currently serving.

I didn't have to start until about 2:30 in the afternoon in the Highland area. We had Ric Starnes starting and Stuart doing the climby leg over Suncrest. Stuart passed me the baton and continued riding with me for the third leg as well. I think that was a good idea. And we should have tried harder to continue the practice. During our leg we really pushed each other and put in a good time. We put our team (Sons and Brothers) 20 minutes ahead of our closest competitors.

I stayed with Ric and Clayton Starnes for the fourth leg. But, we didn't really work together much. I was kinda tuckered and lagged behind a little. Stuart says we still would have done better working together. I believe him. We still put another minute into our lead over those other two teams.

We were doing well and still ahead of those closest competitors (On Your Left and Richfied Riders) until the sixth leg. Landon Ball was riding and had some pesky trouble with flats. Precious time was lost and we never re-gained our place. Later on right before my last leg, Stuart's light battery died and there was a protracted delay in getting another rider on the road.

I rode from Highland to Elberta and then from Salina to Richfield and then from Kanab to 7 miles outside Fredonia, AZ. My light worked great. On my last two legs I stayed even with OYL and RR and then put one more minute into them on the last. The most difficult thing about this race isn't the miles it's the hours and the logistics. I couldn't really rest during the night partly because I was anxious and partly because there was a lot to do to make sure everything went smoothly.

After my second ride into Richfield (right at 10:30pm) my stomach started giving me problems. This sort of thing happened once before after a ride where I consumed some EFS gel (I now think the granola bars might be the culprit.) I got all crampy and could have used a bathroom, especially later in the ride. If not for these problems I think I would have also ridden into transition 11. Justin took the leg into T11 and then Stuart into T12. On both of the those legs we put 10 minute into our rivals. So, all in all we gained at least 40 minutes against them and then lost it all.

It was fun cheering each other on. When we got near the end we were once again closing on OYL and RR and Stuart was really pouring it on. He closed the gap. But, was unable to catch.

The picture above appeared on the SaintGeorge.com website :

I remember seeing the photographer. I turned my head away so that my light wouldn't shine into his lens in case he wanted to take a picture.

Everything went well. The course (on highway 89) was pretty good. But, not the safest, especially at night. We had a guy in Gunnison express his “concern.” He was moreover frustrated with cyclists and threatened to have the cops “gather us all up.” Yeah that wouldn't be a logistical nightmare.

We came in 9th place at about 23 hours for the 462 mile course. I rode slightly less than 80 miles at a slightly faster than 21 mph pace.

When we got into Saint George we took a little break at Grandma and Grandpa's house to shower. Then we had lunch at Olive Garden (while fighting our fatigue.) And then we left for home. Stuart got into Cedar City and couldn't stay awake. I hadn't really slept because I was afraid of Stuart's condition. I got some No-Doz type stuff and then drove the rest of the way home. Stuart and I kept each other awake having a nice chat.

A River Runs Through it Part Deux

Last Friday the Stake had a nice get together evening for the Stake Leadership and their spouses. It was a lot like the handful of Bishop's retreats I attended, only just the one evening.

A dinner buffet was provided at President Daw's house in the ample backyard. There was prime rib and baked potatoes and chicken for those so disposed and other treats. A desert bar followed. We had a very enjoyable time visiting with others. We sat with Mary Williams and a friend, the Maynes, Ernie Smith and wife and Laurie and Randy Carlson.

After the meal we had tickets to go to the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge concert commemorating the 225 anniversary of the signing of the Constitution held at the Tabernacle. I wouldn't just volunteer to go to something like this. But, I'm very glad I went.

We parked at the new City Creek mall. It was my first exposure. I found it to be as nice as I had been told. A river runs through it, well City Creek. But, I don't expect to spend much time there.

The first two numbers on the program didn't do too much for me, partly because it seemed the choir was not singing at full voice. One of my criticisms of the choir lately has been aimed at this sort of thing. The choir has really developed a very warm mellifluous homogeneous sound. But, I often feel like they are only using the talent of the choir and not the power as well. It's a little like having an 800 horsepower car that you only drive at 60 mph.

After the first two numbers though they did sing out a lot more and I would say it was thrilling and I don't think they were holding back at all. The rest of the program was phenomenal. I typically don't really like Sunrise Sunset or God Bless America. But, it was all thrilling. The Orchestra was phenomenal as well. It was really a treat to hear the Battle Hymn live. They still use their tried and true arrangement, with some slight and welcomed tweaks to set it apart from the favored recording from the 50's or 60's. For the last line of the final chorus Brother Wilberg turned around and invited the audience to sing. It was all quite moving. And now I can say I have sung with the Tab Choir.

Ulcer 2012

Ameer has been after me to do an organized ride. For a day or two I thought we might be able to work him into the Salt to Saint relay with our team. That wasn't going to work. I have never done the ULCER century in Utah County. We are usually in San Clemente when it is held. But, this year we went to the beach a week later than usual and that opened up the possibility.

I have heard that it can be a little gruelling if the weather is really hot and the wind kicks up. As the weekend approached it looked like the weather was going to be great and it was.

We decided only to do the metric distance (about 61 miles.) Ameer has done almost a 47 mile ride with me in the past. But, I didn't want to make the jump to 100. I'm not sure I want to do full centuries anymore.

The morning was great. We got off to an early start, partly so we could make sure we finished before any weather changed. We started out at a good pace and fell in with a fast group for about 10-15 miles or so. But, the course at that point had a lot of turning at intersections and after having to slow down some for each turn and then try to catch up again afterward, I was sapping my energy pretty quick. On a less turney course I might have been able to hang with them longer. I didn't want to just barrel through all of the turns with the big unwieldy tandem and with Ameer on the back.

At one point we came up on a girl who I took notice of. She fell in behind us and stayed for a little while. Then I didn't see her until we were on our way back. Somehow she fell way behind us.

We saw one accident with casualties off the side of the road and ambulances arriving. I was kinda glad then that we didn't try to stick with the fast group. It was probably connected.

At one point on the way back an "older" couple passed us as we neared a light where we needed to make a left turn. Ameer didn't like being passed by these weaker, less virile riders. So, he got a little bit of a bee in his bonnet and we regained the lead and then left them in the dust. I think it was a little hard for Ameer to maintain a high output. More for concentration than for fatigue.

Our goal was a 20 MPH average. At one point we were up around/above 20.5. But, ended up coming in right at 20 mph. It is a very flat course and there was negligible wind.

We stuck around for the food and goodies afterward just long enough to eat a little. Most of the riders were still out (doing the full 100 miles.) So, there were actually very few people there. We had some Fazoli's Alfredo and some Coke on tap (the Coke was very yummy, I think someone boosted the sugar) and listened to Beck on the loudspeakers. All in all a good ride.

Labor Day Weekend 2012

I've checked with others (family members) on this. So, I'm not completely up in the night. It has seemed to me that the mood of the country (now granted my polling methods are a little suspect) has not been very “up” for a couple of years. I can't trace it all to the election of Barack Obama. But, it seems to coincide somewhat closely.

However, we did see a marked bounce in our mood after the RNC. Especially, we all noticed what a nice Labor Day weekend we all had.

We went out with the Youngs on Friday night. We ate at Costa Vida (yummy tres leches) and then went to our theater to see Saints and Soldiers, Airborne Creed. Not as good as the first one. Had lots of story items that were unnecessary or went unused. The French girl didn't look very French and while her spoken French sounded good to me, she did not attempt to affect a French accent while speaking English. Most of the American actors (probably largely LDS) all had the same look, except Corbin Allred, a very good actor. The director relied on the wearing of a beret to indicate that the player was French. The main players traipse out in the middle of an open field, etc. Like I said not as good as the first. But, still.... WAY better than Twilight.

Saturday, I got a lot of things done around the house, catching up from our vacation. We had the annual High Priest steak fry that evening. The weather threatened to be unfriendly all day and when our thing started it was quite windy. But, it calmed down and we were fine. We had some people come out that we have never seen before. So, for that reason alone it was a success. But, the food was also VERY good. The steaks Kyle bought for us at the Main Street Meat Market looked suspect in the packaging (it was just the color.) But, they were very tender and very tasty. The crowd was lots of fun and amiable. A good time was had by all.

Monday we all went to Leslie's for the end of the Summer family get together. All seemed to be in a great mood and getting along well and again the food was very good. A fitting end to a very nice Summer.

San Clemente 2012

Another San Clemente vacation has come and gone.

This was a very nice two weeks. For the most part everyone got along well and worked together to make it nice.

Since Ailsa and Jensen were on their way home from the UK, it was just Lenore and Laney and me in the car on the way down. We had an uneventful and pleasant drive with no problems or even traffic until we got onto the 5 freeway in Irvine. Traffic was backed up because of a truck crash somewhere down the line. We limped into Capistrano and finally got off to find the Costco and do some shopping. We ran into Jeff and Kim Bean and spent a little time chatting with them.

Laney and I REALLY wanted to get down to the beach. But, right after unloading at the apartment, we had to get cleaned up and dressed to go back to Tustin Hills Racket club for Melissa's wedding. While getting dressed, I realized that 1) I had brought a mismatched pants/suit coat set; and 2) I grabbed the wrong shirt and did not have any cuff links. The wedding and dinner were very nice.

To honor Morteza's family the food was Persian and it was quite good, especially the Walnut paste/sauce. We had fun visiting with our family and also with Kris Hendryx and with Doug and Dan Rozsa and their families.

We stopped at the John Wayne Airport on the way home to pick up our weary world traveling kids. It was sure fun to see them again and hear their fun stories. Their bags were extremely heavy. I don't know how they lugged them around the UK for two months. After we got back to the apartment they gave us all some gifts they bought us over there,... and mine was a set of beautiful cuff links. How fortunate. It must have been fate that I forgot to bring some. The set they gave me displays St. Piran's flag, a white cross on a black field, the flag of Cornwall. How fitting. I like them a lot.

The ward we went to on Sunday ends up to be a different ward now, no longer that of Debbie Stapley. It is the ward of Brent Jesse, Larry Wares, and Mark Goings. It was fun to see them and catch up.

True to form we arrived just at the tail end of a bit of a swell. The surf was still nice probably through the first Thursday or so. I had lots of fun bodysurfing. But, I find I have to be real careful about trying to do more than I can. I had a little bit of a cold the first week and so I didn't have the breathing ability that I would normally have. I had to be careful not to get too winded. When I was out in the water Laney was usually right there with me or trying to be. She's gotten quite fearless. One day I went with all of the girls closer to T street and didn't bring my fins. But, I was still able to catch some waves and have a lot of fun.

I was being a little careless and some of the waves were breaking in fairly shallow water. I had already hit my face once on the sand and then on the second Tuesday I did it again. I had taken a smaller wave and was only able to go straight in. I tried to kick out with a flip turn and smashed my face right into the sand. The water was a lot shallower that I had thought. My head stung but I thought I was probably fine since the first time I hit my face earlier the week before there was hardly any sign. But, this time when I got out of the water I had blood streaming down my face. It looked like someone had attacked my forehead with a belt sander. It only took about a week for it to heal over though.

Lenore and I cooked Hamburgers one night and Carbonara another. It was pretty good. We thought we might need to cook another night. But, it worked out that we didn't.

I was supposed to do about 360 miles cycling while in SC. I fell about 10 miles short of that. We did quite a bit on the tandem. Ameer and I got up to 41.1 mph on the one spot where we like to sprint at San Mateo creek. But, we all got the cold at some point or another and we weren't able to average very fast times. I had brought quite a few spare parts and equipment for my bike, just in case. But, my rear shifter broke and needed rebuilding while I was there. The bike shops in town said they wouldn't be able to do the work. So, I rigged the dérailleur to stay on the 17 tooth cog and just rode the last 65 miles with a high and low version of that speed.

For most of the two weeks the water was VERY comfortable and near the end it was in the 70's with a couple of 75 days and one 74. Even Lenore went in the water. It was very enjoyable. Maybe we should plan on going a week later every year. The only problem meteorologic-ally speaking was the last two days were overcast, so it was slightly anticlimactic.

Daniel Taylor brought a friend's soft top 7' surf board and during the second week he had me help him out and show him and Ameer and Laney what to do. I tried the board myself. But, it was quite small and squirrelly for me. I really need a bigger board. First I took some time pushing them into waves and having them try to stand up, first from their bellies. If that was too hard (and it usually is) I had them kneel on the board and do it that way. Most everyone is able stand up from their knees. This gives them some security and confidence and makes it more fun for them.

Then I showed them how to push off from the bottom onto their knees or belly and then stand up. This way they don't have to do a ton of paddling. Because, let's face it those paddling muscles haven't been used for anything else and won't be in shape. They all did this quite well too. After a while they were trying new things on their own. All three did really good. But, I was especially proud of how fearless Laney was. She wasn't afraid to try to paddle out quite aways, almost to the normal lineup and give it a go. She said she really enjoyed it. I know what I will be doing for the next couple of years there.

I spent some time feeding the birds. I know they don't like you to do it. But, hey it's fun. The pigeons are the most fearless. Several times I would have them scrambling over some poor unsuspecting sleeping relative (usually Leslie) in pursuit of the crumbs I was throwing.

For years we have talked about walking from the pier to the Western White House (President Nixon's old residence, it is the last house on the beach before you cross into San Diego County.) I was pretty sure I knew where it was and how far a walk it was. Last year we went about 2/3rds of the way. This year on the second Wednesday we took some time and did it with the whole family and Sarah. It is a long ways about three and a half hours for us to make the round trip. I tried to stay on harder sand. But, the tide was high and we ended up walking a lot in softer stuff and on a fairly steep slope.

There were some guys surfing at Cottons. One of them had a chocolate lab who was just frolicking in the surf. He would get completely engulfed in a shorebreak and then shake it off and go back for more. It was fun to watch him. This is where we found the hut that Laney crawled into for the picture. It has been years since I have been down to this area I forgot about the rocks. I don't know if it does this at low tide. But, with the high tide some of the (football sized) rocks at the tideline get pushed around and then roll back out with the waves over other rocks. It makes a really neat clacking sound when they hit each other. It would be a pleasant rhythmic sound to fall to sleep to. We saw lots of gulls and pipers and some cormorants.

There is an older man whom I have seen running at San Clemente I'm sure every year for the last 20 years or so. Last year our eyes met and I think he recognized me and gave me a knowing nod. I saw him again this year. I wonder how many more years I will continue to see/notice him there.

Diggy and Flowers by Jensen

Racing Head to Head

One of my cycling friends introduced me to a website for tracking rides and performance (strava.com.) I already use bikejournal.com for this. But, this new site lets you upload your GPS info and has some other neat features. Since most people don't do the exact same rides as others (or at the same time), it's hard to compare performance as you could in a head to head race. Strava lets you divide your route into segments that other people cross on their rides. Then you can compare the same parts of your rides with others.

Lenore was laughing at me the other day. There is a segment on my usual ride that I started paying attention to. To begin with my performance on this bit was about in the middle of a 250ish person pack. One of my pals was in second place. So, I decided to see what I could do to come up in the standings. I did pretty good one day (put me up to maybe 14th or something.) Then I noticed there was a “girl” ahead of me in the standings. I decided I needed to fix that.

Well, Yesterday I pushed hard. My speed was 27.4 mph for a third of a mile with a rise of 30 feet and I tied for sixth place with the “girl.” Lenore chided me for my jubilation. I did a little checking on my female nemesis. It appears she does do a lot of racing and stuff. But, I also found that she is 59 years old. That was quite amusing for Lenore and she said that 59 years old is hardly a girl. I said if she is doing better than or just as good as me, she's a girl, not an old woman. Note: I have since beaten "the girl." I pushed my time on this segment to 39 seconds, average speed 30.7.

Google Street View of our Apartment in San Clemente

That's our car in the garage.

Laney Really is our AAAAAAAsian Student

Yes, Miss Ailsa.

DooWop

That's Laney there in the middle with the red belt.

McMillan has kinda had a theme this year with its activities. They had a sock hop just a month or so ago.

When Laney told me she wanted to audition for a play at school, I thought that it would be fun and she might even get one of the more demanding roles. She ended up in the chorus with plenty to do and in reality after watching the play, the kids in the lead roles were quite talented.

It was called Doo Wop Wed Widing Hood. You can find videos on YouTube of other groups putting it on. It was quite cute, sorta like Compleat Works of Shakespeare for the fairy tale genre.

The boy who played the wolf had a very nice voice and was not afraid to sing out. One of the Rosen girls played little red riding hood, and she really was fantastic in my opinion. She wasn't perfect, but she was so earnest and painfully cute. It was a fun thing for the kids to do.

L.A. Trip

I don't really like traveling for work. I have a handful of times. Most notably was when I flew up to Thompson Falls, Montana to sign a single heir who was getting about $400k.

A couple of weeks ago Tom asked if I would be willing to visit Chris in Los Angeles for a couple of days. Chris is fairly isolated from all of us and enjoys a visit now and then. I went the Thursday and Friday after President's holiday weekend. It would have been good to put a little more advance planning into the trip. On such short notice, I didn't get a great deal on the Flight (it was about $500.) Also, I was left to myself to make lodging arrangements.

ARB has an office real close to the courthouse that I could have stayed at. But, Tom said it wasn't the best accomodations. But, I didn't realize that the office is right next to a hotel that probably would have been fine for me to stay at. All I did was google hotels close to the courthouse and tried to pick the closest one that didn't look crappy. I don't remember the Omni coming up in that search. It looks like I could have saved ARB$40 on the room and myself having to walk 4 blocks further.

Anyway, I stayed at the Biltmore which looks and sounds really nice. The lobby and main public rooms are gorgeous. But, the room itself actually wasn't as nice as the Salt Lake City Marriott. I thought about staying with Kim or someone. But, then I would have deal with traffic and how to get downtown. I also considered briefly trying to make it to the beach Thursday evening and surf or paddle or something. Then I realized the sun would be down about the time I got to the beach.

Tom suggested I not rent a car and just take a taxi to and from the airport, $55 each way. I get a little anxious about airports and flying and all. But, the flight out was just fine. Really very little hassle at security and all. This was only the third time I have flown since 911 and I haven't really relished the thought.

Right after the cabbie dropped me off at the Museum Tower (where the ARB office is) he backed into the car right behind him. I didn't stick around. But, since I was in the lobby for a little bit I did notice that he and the driver of the other car didn't spend a lot of time talking. I don't think there was any visible damage to the car. But, I bet he gave the other driver some cash to forget about it.

I met Chris and we went to lunch at the Omni for their buffet. It was pretty good. Chris showed me around the courthouse. There was a reportable case right when we got there. He introduced me to the guys who report for the competition. We did a lot of sitting around waiting to see if anything was filed. This is right outside the family law office at the Courthouse. So, mostly the people there are divorcing or filing for child support or something like that. Interesting crowd.

There was a lot of downtime. But, we also did enough walking that my feet were quite tired. The taxi ride back to the airport at the end of the day on Friday was interesting. I noticed the car slow down at times and the tachometer race and the driver put the transmission into neutral with a concerned look on his face. We got to the airport fine. But, when I asked him, he said the transmission was acting up and he was taking the car to the shop right away.

The aircraft back to Salt Lake was even smaller than the first. It was only one seat on the left side and two on the right. The flight was arriving about 8:30pm so it was dark when we were coming into Salt Lake. As we were descending I could see the lights of Riverton/Herriman beyond the silhouette of the mountain tops just north of the Eagle Mountain area. Since you can only see out at an angle rather than straight ahead (where the pass would be) it was hard to fight some anxiety as it appeared we were quite close in altitude to the tops of the mountains. A little bit of an illusion. After we cleared the pass I was able to look right down into Kennecott Copper mine all lit up in the dark. It was pretty cool

Ego Sum

I still hear far too many apparently Fox News/Conservative establishment types stating that Mitt Romney is failing to make the case for Republicans. Let's keep in mind that by this time during the 2008 cycle it was essentially a two or three man race. Right now we have a one man, three ego race.

Sorry, more numbers to throw at you:

Mitt Romney has been nothing if he hasn't been consistent in his primary performance. To date he has garnered 55% of the delegates awarded. He only has to win 45% of the remaining to win the nomination. He is the only one of the candidates who doesn't have to improve markedly his performance in order to outright win the nomination. Mr. Santorum would need a turnaround from 27% to 69% and it only gets worse or really bad for Messrs Gingrich and Paul.

In fact, by 24 April, it will most likely become statistically impossible for Ron Paul to win 1144 delegates. His weak performance curve will crash abruptly into his steep need-to-perform-better curve and he will run out of room. His graphs just aren't bending that way and neither are those of anyone else.

Sometime on 8 May, at the current rate, Gingrich meets his unfortunate confluence of graphs.

If we assume (even though, it is very unlikely) that Mr. Paul were to drop out after 24 April and Mr Gingrich after 8 May; And, that all of their vote share were then to go to Mr. Santorum, Mitt Romney still wins the nomination sometime on 5 June (sorry Utah, all your relevance are belong to us.)

Let's look specifically at some of the big-ticket races yet to take place:
Wisconsin - Winner take all - Romney holding a big lead in the polls
Texas - Proportional - Santorum holding a slim lead in the polls with Romney closing
New York - Combination of proportional and winner take all with Romney holding a comfortable lead
California - Winner take all with Romney holding a comfortable lead

I don't know how to spell it out more clearly.

Of course, Mr. Romney could do the selfless thing and drop out for the good of the party and the country as he did last time when he was in second place. As ridiculous as that sounds, he appears to be the only one in the race whose ego isn't forcing him to continue against all better judgment.

ObamaCare on the Loose

I now pay about $800/month in Health Insurance premiums. That's just for Lenore and the kids. ARB pays for me. This is ridiculous. Health Insurance should be a la carte. I'd like it to just cover major medical expenses, major emergencies and catastrophes.

Apples and Oranges

It really is difficult and nonetheless interesting to compare the 2008 GOP Primary election to the 2012 campaign. We haven't yet reached a point similar to 2008 after “super Tuesday.”

We have however, finally reached the point this year where there have been as many states contested as in 2008 after "super Tuesday", a full 6 weeks later in the season this time around. We are still behind schedule as far as available delegates and total popular vote. So, I am trying to compare apples and oranges a little bit here. Like I said before, this year's contest seems designed to be drawn out. In 2008 there were several big state contests conducted on “super Tuesday” 5 February. So, the contest literally was over by then.

With that caveat, here's what I have to say today: As a percentage, Romney has won more of the popular vote (40%) to date in 2012 than McCain had by 6 February 2008 (39%). Santorum has a lot lower percentage (26%) of the popular vote than Romney had when he dropped out in 2008 (32%).

Super Tuesday

The tone in this year's GOP primary season has consistently been one of “Romney's not quite making the case.” I realize that the news people have to find some angle to dish. But, I don't think it is correct and it's becoming tiresome. (If he is the “establishment” choice that is being forced upon the voters, I would think the establishment would quell all the talk of the difficulty he has convincing the voters.)

Disclosure: I do have a dog in this fight. I think Romney is the best man for the job and have made contributions to his campaign. I am LDS (but, I didn't support Huntsman.)

Now, the race may be far from over. But, I've taken a look at some of the numbers and am prepared to make a case: Romney actually had a great night on Super Tuesday 2012; and he is arguably in a better position now than McCain was last time at a similar juncture.

Three of the states Romney won last night, Ohio, Virginia, and Vermont, he made HUGE gains in over his performance in the 2008 primary. Last time around he only had 3%, 4%, and 5% of the vote respectively and placed very low. Granted Santorum and Gingrich weren't on the ballot in Virginia last night. But, that isn't Mitt's fault nor that of his staff.

Mitt may have only eeked out a win in Ohio (and earlier in Michigan.) But, he won in the conservative parts of Ohio as well as in the liberal parts of Ohio. He is way ahead of the game in the overall delegate count, and is way  ahead in the overall popular vote count (3,196,326 to 1,957,727 for Santorum.) I did an analysis of each of the primaries as if the candidates were competing in the Olympics. I awarded them Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals for their finishes. I also then calculated a medal count score awarding them 3 points for a first place finish, 2 for a second, and 1 for a third. Romney is ahead by 29% using this metric. An interesting point: Ron Paul scored ahead of Newt Gingrich in this medal count scoring.

Mitt has improved his performance in most states over the 2008 campaign. In those states where he hasn't done as well, it appears to be Ron Paul and not Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich who is most often  taking voters away from Mitt. The argument could be made that, if someone should drop out of the race, it should be Newt Gingrich. But, I like to remind people that Ron Paul really shouldn't be running as a Republican. He is as Libertarian as they come.  He just wouldn't have a forum for debates and such if he ran as a Libertarian.

This year's race is formatted to be drawn out longer than it was in 2008. Last time “Super Tuesday” was on 5 February and they had completed 31 races by then compared to 23 this time (even one month later.) Mitt dropped out last time on 7 February. If you look at 2008 totals, it looks like Huckabee was the second place finisher. But, when Mitt dropped out he was second in the delegate count. Huckabee gained 59 more delegates after Mitt dropped out. And, after 5 February it was essentially a two-man race, with hanger on Ron Paul in the mix until the very end.

By Super Tuesday in 2008, John McCain had completed 31 primaries and his “medal count” score stood at 61. (BTW Romney was dead even in “medal count score” with McCain when he dropped out in 2008.) This time around after only 23 races Romney's score is 58. John McCain was in better shape in 2008 only because he won California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey, all with large delegate numbers, a total of 338. Those races have yet be contested in 2012.

I might be cutting more slack for Romney than for the others, I admit. But, I trust him...because I have a good idea what kind of a person he is (his service in the Church is testament to that) and he has shown many skills that this country badly needs. Many people are too young to remember Reagan before he became President. We can look back and see that he came off as conservative in the Presidency. And he was. But, much of that came as he matured. And he didn't govern from the far right. I see some of the same qualities in Romney. I have a very conservative outlook, and Mitt appears best to suit my conservative principles. I expect he will appear more conservative after he is elected and allowed to operate.

Mitt and his staff know that there is more room in the middle for votes than at either end. I can draw an analogy from my kids' sparring in Kung Fu. Often their Sifu will have them take on two people. The first principle you use when fighting against two people is you position yourself and move around such that one of your opponents has to fight through the other opponent to get to you. The Santorum and  Gingrich campaigns are trying to appeal to the most conservative factions. But, when they go looking for more voters to support them, the only place they can look to is in the middle. And, that is where Mitt has staked his ground.

It's a little comical when Santorum, Gingrich, or Paul point out that Romney has access to more funds than they do. In 2008 Mitt spent a lot of his own money to campaign. That may be one reason he pulled out earlyish when he was in second place. The bulk of his funds this time have come from donors. That's another metric that looks a lot like the votes that the others aren't getting.

He is a great analyst, decision maker, business leader. An administrator, not a politician, the man we need to bring us back from the brink.

Romneycare is arguably Romney's biggest problem. But, there is more difference between the Massachusetts program and Obama's program than even Mitt has noted. Once, he becomes the nominee, this goes away because Obama is not going to attack him on it. That is the president's biggest piece of political baggage. Once again Obama would have to fight through Mitt to get to the voters he was trying to pick up, and upset his leftmost base in the process.

The issue that will be the at the forefront between Obama and Romney will be the 1% versus the 99%. This is the issue that leftists want to campaign on. They think they can hurt Romney here. Don't buy into the establishment candidate argument. The left will try to tell the country that it was establishment Wall Street who gave us Romney. I don't think it will work.

-Todd Lillywhite

O Divine Redeemer

Singers will understand. But, I'll try to help the rest of you.

Our neighbor Geri Suzuki left at the beginning of the year to serve as a missionary for our Church in New Jersey. She has considerable nursing, administrative, musical skills et al. Early in December she asked me to sing at her "farewell" Church service. I was happy to oblige. She eventually requested that I sing O Divine Redeemer by Gounod.

When I was a kid this was one of those songs that would make me cringe. I have since grown to be very fond of it. I remember dropping into the Stake Center for some reason or another once on a Sunday years ago and hearing a young woman sing it very well. It's nice to be able to sing the upper notes without having to belt them. She was able to.

I quickly decided to sing the version for the medium voice (goes to G). The low was easy enough. But, doesn't really showcase my better range. The high version is probably just too high. And I'm a scaredy cat, I've never sung this before. And, while it may not be the most difficult piece. I think most people who have sung it would agree that it is within about 99% of the most difficult pieces.

With my "aging" voice, if I'm not singing everyday or close to it, it's a grab bag what my strength and range will be when I try to sing. I have to practice consistently for about three weeks at least to get back up to some semblance of condition.

Anyway, I got together with Christy Anderson, who is a GEM, and practiced, and recorded the accompaniment so I could practice without her. I worked on it and fretted over it and when the time came I was in pretty good voice. It went off just fine. Actually maybe even better than I wanted. I don't have the typical Tenor voice. I have never been able to really develop my full voice above E or F. I DO have a VERY strong falsetto that, when I am in shape, can go at least to B or B#. Sometimes though while my falsetto might be doing fine, I might still have a bit of a hole in my break. I just try to negotiate it as best as possible.

A note: I have been using beta blockers when I perform solos for at least 15 years or so. While in the past there was always at least a small amount of anxiety during the first phrase or so, this time there was practically nothing. That medication is really a godsend for performers.

Sick Week

Last week Laney was out sick Mon-Thurs and I was sick on Wed and Thurs. So we had a little fun togetherness:) On the Wednesday our refrigerator was going on the fritz. We were not liking the prospect of buying a new one. This one is only 13 years old. Lenore remembered that Lane's friend Mattie's dad repairs appliances. So, I called him. He came out pretty quick and repaired the thing in about an hour. Total charge: $100. It is now working great. Funny thing. Almost since day one this fridge made some odd noises, sounded like sparks or water dripping on something hot. Well, it no longer makes that noise. He replaced a blower that he thinks shorted out. Probably has been hanging on for a long time.

Thursday evening was the time of finding lost things. It had snowed recently and Lenore remarked to me that she didn't have a snow brush in her car. I was pretty sure she really did. So, I went out in the garage to investigate. I found it under the rear seat of her Explorer. But, it was wedged under the seat really tight. So, I had to unlatch the seat and fold it down and then lift up the part on the back that covers the gap between the floor and the folded down seat. I got her brush out and then lo and behold I also found Laney's IPOD shuffle which has been missing for about 2 years and had since been replaced. Now, I know I had gotten into that space more than once to clean or get the spare tire crank thingy. We surmise that it must have just recently fallen all the way down into that area from somewhere.

Alisa had gone down to Provo for a class on their upcoming Wales Study Abroad that Jensen and she are doing. The class went somewhat late and they went to get some food afterward and had gone some other places. We got a frantic call from them saying that Ailsa couldn't find her wallet. She had it at one place and put it in her back pocket and then later it was nowhere to be found. She wanted me to see if I could see any activity on the her debit card online. Didn't see anything. They were beside themselves and couldn't logically think what to do. We told them to pray and retrace their steps. Well, they searched around their various stops for about and hour and found it back in the parking lot of the place they last used her card. They couldn't remember where they had parked so they were looking all over. Jensen saw a rectangular shape under a slight covering of snow and there it was. She's pretty blessed/lucky. Would hate to have to go through the hassle of cancelling things and re-obtaining id's.

Last time I lost my wallet was at Doheny when I was 18/19. I was glad to get it back later (a couple of weeks, I had already gotten a duplicate driver's license.) Martin Becker and I drove down to San Clemente to pick it up from the police. Of course we took the opportunity to go surfing. We hoped that what little cash I had had would still be in the wallet. No dice. We were hungry so we scrounged all through his Peugot looking for spare change and came up with something a little over a dollar and bought some donuts in San Clemente. Mmmmm.

Sock Hop Fun

Laney was very excited about this school activity. She's here in the picture with Mayor Snarr, his moustache, and his motorcycle, and some of her pals.

Kitty Poodle

This cat is the tiniest thing, thin and lean. She begs for food all the time and will aggressively compete with the three bigger household cats for anything, and come out on top. I think the Alpha-male really isn't and Bella rules from the bottom of the totem pole.

Yes our kitchen table needs to be re-finished.

Laney ready for the sixth-grade sock hop. She was really excited.

Probably Our Worst Snow of Winter 2011-2012

They wanted to try to make a snowman. Didn't get very far.

Getting Ready for Orthodontia

Yikes!

Christmas Vacation 2011

With the rate at which my nieces and nephews get married in California, we should have bought stock in SkyBlue Airlines years ago. Lauren finally chased a boy until he caught her and we had her wedding celebrations the week in between Christmas and New Years. Kim graciously offered to let us stay with them. We were planning on staying in a motel. But, were happy for her hospitality. The last time we went to Disneyland was in April of 2007. So, Lenore has been saving some money and the kids have been anticipating for a while. This time the weather was beautiful, which makes for a nice time except that everyone else in the world is there. We had reservations at the Blue Bayou and when we finished at the restaurant all of the Fastpass tickets were doled out for the day. So, we did a lot of waiting in line. I would be better at this if I ever did much walking or standing. We got to do a lot. But, would have liked to do more. Indiana Jones was broken when we were in line (again.) We saw David Boreanaz and I was going to take a picture and then I felt sorry for him. The most fun we had was on Tom Sawyer Island. I think it is now called Pirate Island. I had forgotten about the fun caves and stuff, and yes I am too tall for the caves. I am always amazed at the mass of people you see wearing silly hats and dressed in who knows what at Disneyland.

We got a chance to drop by the Aquabats! studios and see their latest project. Shanna and Christian were nice enough to give us an informal tour. It was quite interesting. This is probably the closest I will come to greatness, I was in the same room as a BAFTA award! The Yo Gabba Gabba award from 2008.

The kids inside the BattleTram!

Mom at the controls of the laboratory.

In between the temple sealing ceremony and the reception we dashed down to San Clemente to have some Cassano's pizza and walk around. We were still in our nice clothes so people were staring at us like we were David Boreanaz.

-Todd Lillywhite