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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
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| Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 |
treesofmytime
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8:44p |
Cheney wanted cuts in climate change testimony Hmmm! WASHINGTON (AP) -- Seeking to play down the effects of global warming, Vice President Dick Cheney's office pushed to delete from congressional testimony references about the consequences of climate change on public health, a former senior EPA official claimed Tuesday.
The official, Jason K. Burnett, said the White House was concerned that the proposed testimony last October by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might make it tougher to avoid regulating greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
"The Council on Environmental Quality and the office of the vice president were seeking deletions to the CDC testimony (concerning) ... any discussions of the human health consequences of climate change," Burnett wrote.
Burnett, 31, a lifelong Democrat, resigned his post last month as associate deputy EPA administrator because of disagreements over the agency's response to climate change.
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| Sunday, July 6th, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D3 Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8 AFS ISO 1400 F3.5, 1/60 second Orem, UT My bird feeder that no birds ever visit. (photo a day #1,400) |
| Monday, July 7th, 2008 |
wickenden
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8:16p |
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skipperja
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8:13p |
Buddy Gives Smokey a Back Massage
(It's Buddy now - Ann didn't like "Mister") So Buddy is not quite as wild as he was before. I can catch him most of the time and he seems to enjoy being held some. However, Smokey is getting pretty tired of all the chasing and wrestling. After we got back from our recent trip, Buddy discovered that he could get on the bed late ate night and attack us, since Smokey wasn't cooporating. I let him grab my arm and before I realized what he was doing he had gnawed it like a cob of corn! I probably have a hundred tiny tooth and claw marks.
I'm going to try to post a video of Buddy and Smokey through YouTube.
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| Sunday, July 6th, 2008 |
momandmore
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8:30p |
Happy Birthday! To my friend and the most amazing knitter EVER . . . ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tigrrgrr Look what is on its way to you . . .  Why, yes, yes that is Dashing Dachs Blue Seastar in fingering weight sock yarn. Happy Birthday! |
momandmore
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4:38p |
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| Saturday, July 5th, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D3 Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX HSM ISO 200 F8, 1/60 second Provo, UT Last day of the Balloon Launches in Provo. Not as many people there as there were yesterday. |
| Friday, July 4th, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D3 Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8 AFS ISO 200 F5.6, 1/800 second Provo, UT The 4th of July Balloon launch in Provo. Part of the Provo Freedom Festival. |
neverendingblue
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6:48p |
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neverendingblue
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11:06a |
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| Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 |
provophoto
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9:57p |
 Nikon D3 Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 AFS VR ISO 200 F8, 1/250 second Provo, UT They launched hot air balloons in Provo this morning. |
wickenden
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6:51a |
Quirk that Donned on me
I find automatic, not-conscious work performed interesting. I have two things I do rather frequently. One is to do the first layer of cleaning everywhere I go. Listen, I'm not saying I'm a clean freak, I'm not a compulsive finisher, but I am a compulsive starter. I do it as I'm doing other things. So I will often, as in this case I'm laughing about, empty glasses of liquid that are around me. These are high priority. They spill. The spill on things. The other, related subsconscious task is to protect my laptop from liquids. I learned that the hard way, 2 grand hit the bit bucket.
So, this morning, I take my laptop out on the deck together with a newly poured glass of cold water from the fridge. I sit down and turn my laptop on and log in and whatnot. Then I go to drink my water. It's not there -- but there it is, only it's empty. Did I drink it? Then I looked at the deck (outside cement deck). I emptied it off the side to keep it away from my laptop.
Conflicting tasks with no sentient override. |
| Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 |
provophoto
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9:50p |
 Nikon D3 Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 AFS ISO 200 F10, 5 Frame HDR Orem, UT Becca cleaned up the second bedroom and 'organized my cameras for me'. :-( |
| Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D3 Nikkor 90mm f/2.8 Di ISO 200 F32, 1/60 second Orem, UT |
| Monday, June 30th, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D3 Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di ISO 400 F16, 1/250 second Provo, UT A Sunflower |
| Sunday, June 29th, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D3 Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di ISO 800 F16, 1/60 second Orem, UT |
| Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 |
wickenden
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8:12a |
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| Monday, June 30th, 2008 |
make_some_noise
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10:02p |
I have no doubt... One day the sun will come out As a devout lover of music, with a love that has deepened with each passing year of my life, I have always kept a loose mental record of what songs would suit which scenes of my life. We all do this, right? A soundtrack for our lives, individually crafted from the various melodies we encounter. You need a track for the first day of school, kissing in the rain, crying yourself to sleep, fishing with your dad, or spending a late night at home with a carton of Ben & Jerry's. Just recently, I have chosen a "triumphant song"--music that will perfectly suit the day when I smile from ear-to-ear, run into the warm embrace of my true love across a crowded airport, and lift my arms in jubilant victory, knowing that I have conquered life's battles and walked away as champion over adversity and strife. The masterpiece? "Lovers in Japan" from Coldplay's newest album, Viva La Vida.
It was playing as I was driving home from the movie theatre the other day. I was alone in my car, and I skipped the turn that would take me back to my house for the day. I just needed to drive a little more and finish the track. I let my eyes wander across the verdant fields of a Michigan cornfield and looked up into a blue sky with the puffiest cotton clouds you could imagine. My heart soared because my triumphant song was playing and the world around me seemed to be celebrating. Before I knew it, the tears were streaming down my face. Whether I cried because I have little need for a triumph song in my life right now or because I feel it suits the occasion, I haven't decided.
Even without the lover or the airport, I've come to realize that my life has vast potential. There is nothing keeping me from achieving everything I've ever dreamed--nothing but myself, of course. As I've come to the realization that I am my own worst enemy, I have been able to jump a lot of emotional hurdles and say to myself, "Why not?" Why not try to read every book on my list this summer? Why not write an award-winning paper for the BYU Religion Symposium? Why not finish my old scrapbooks or compile my family history? Why not read a book in French or teach my little brother the foxtrot? Why not make a movie or grow out my hair or volunteer at the nursing home just to make a difference? This mentality, while seemingly obvious in nature, has really changed my life. I have every reason to celebrate the summer ahead of me and the opportunities that not only await, but are here. Right now. In my own living room! (That last part was just thrown in to complete the infomercial theme I seemed to be building up to that point.)
Maybe all of this is particularly relevant as I watch my father, who has lost most of his ability to do any of those things. He can't talk. He can't eat or breathe on his own--he has a feeding tube and a traich. The whole purpose of his day is to live through the pain by taking medicine after medicine through his feeding tube. He hardly ever leaves his bedroom because he's in so much pain. He can only communicate with us by way of writing on a little dry-erase board my mom bought for him. It's devastating to watch him suffer and to see him deteriorate... it's all I can do to keep from being depressed and crying all day. But, as often as possible, I try to remember what a fulfilling life he's lived and how he would love for me to seize my dreams and make something real out of my future while it's still within my grasp. Whatever outlook I have on life, it doesn't make the problems go away. It won't make my dad better. But it can make my whole life better and give me the capacity to make the best of my circumstances. And isn't that all we can ask for?
Trust me, I won't feel like this every day. But I am really milking it for all its worth while it's here. Current Mood:  contemplative |
| Sunday, June 29th, 2008 |
wickenden
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6:30p |
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| Saturday, June 28th, 2008 |
skipperja
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8:46p |
Thunder Storm
The sunset cruise on the lake was canceled because of rain. We went by to see the marina anyway. Then we drove across the dam in the rain and circled back below the dam. The rain was getting worse, but we decided to drive on to Arkadelphia anyway. That was right into the teeth of the storm. There was lots of lightning, wind, and even some hail. We pulled under a filling station cover and topped off the gas tank. There was an old station across the street so we stayed there until the worst of the rain stopped. We circled through the west side of Arkadelphia and back to I30 trying to dodge the big puddles and made it back to the lodge by 8:00. We leave for the reunion in the morning around 10:00. |
provophoto
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5:32p |
 Nikon D3 Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di ISO 1600 F8, 1/500 second Orem, UT A dropped glass. I'm not too happy with the results. I didn't use a flash because I held the shutter open at 8fps so I didn't have to time it. I think next time I'll try flashes to better stop the motion and to get better lighting. |
skipperja
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4:30p |
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| Friday, June 27th, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D200 Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di ISO 1000 F16, 1/60 second Pleasant Grove, UT |
| Thursday, June 26th, 2008 |
provophoto
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11:59p |
 Nikon D3 Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di ISO 500 F13, 1/60 second Orem, UT One of our glasses has a chip through it. So it became mine for a photo subject. |
| Saturday, June 28th, 2008 |
skipperja
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10:36a |
Pictures from My Hike ( Photos ) |
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