Jan 21 - Comic Book Store

I may have posted a picture of our local comic book store already.  For some reason I enjoy going in to this store and looking around.  Mariah and I went in to this store on Saturday to look around.  

I guess I enjoy the idea of Super Heros fighting against evil.  Something that all of us are doing everyday.

And by the way, this will be the theme of the Bates Family reunion in the summer, so get ready for some comic book fun!

Up, Up and Away

Superman

Jan 20 - Tipi - Part 2

Today Micah handed in her final tipi project.  Looks good, don't you think?

I wonder what grade Wendy and Micah will get?  And again, those poles are key to the whole project.

Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.

Bill Watterson - Calvin and Hobbs 8 Nov 1989

Jan 19 - Back to School ...... for Dad!

Tonight I went back to college.

I am taking a three week course on Photoshop and the class started tonight.  It is only once a week for three hours, but I am looking forward to it.  On Sunday we saw the class in the paper, so on Tuesday I signed up for the class.

It is given at our local community college.  Rod and I took a class there a few years ago on home wiring and I enjoyed that, so I thought I would give this class a try.  Hopefully it will be a fun class.

We don't need no education.
We don't need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom.
Hey teacher, leave those kids alone.
Roger Waters - Another Brick in the Wall (song)

Jan 18 - Micah's Project - Part 1

Micah has a school project she is working on.  She is building a Tipi.  It is due in a couple of days, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Notice the great workmanship of the poles.  Those had to be cut just right for the whole thing to work.  I would say it is the most important part of the project!

Go ahead, make my day.
Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact (Dirty Hairy movie)

Jan 17 - I see GRASS!

I know this may not be a big deal for many of you, but today I saw grass for the first time in months.  We had warm weather (at least above 32 degrees) so the snow melted enough to see our grass.

Come on Spring!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 

Psalms 23:2

Jan 16 - Photoshop Software

Yesterday night we got some more software for the Mac.  We got our Office products (Word, Excel, etc.) and we got Photoshop!  I am really excited about the Photoshop program.  It is something that I have always wanted to learn.  Who knows, it may even make my pictures look a little better.  Tyler is holding the software in the below pictures.

One pictures is worth ten thousands words.

Modern Proverbs

Wash. Post 26, July 1925

Jan 15 - 200th Post!

Today is the 200th post of the blog. It is hard to believe that I started this thing 200 days ago.

I am glad that others have jumped on the band wagon and started their own blog. I think it is a great way to keep up on what is happening in everyone lives.

Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Al Michaels - U.S. Sportscaster television broadcast of Olympic hockey game, 24 Feb 1980

Jan 14 - Quote Book

Many of the quotes that I am adding at the end of my posts are from a book I got a couple of years ago titled "The Yale Book of Quotations". It prides itself on tracking famous quotations back to their true source. It has almost 1100 pages in the book with very fine print in 4 column layout.

I have learned over the past year that several quotes that are attributed to famous people never were actual said by the person. I have also found this is true with word origins (e.g handicap did not come from "cap in hand"). This lesson was also stressed when we got a letter from Church headquarters a couple of years ago cautioning us (church leaders) to make sure any quotation we used could be tracked back to their source (especially with regards to quoting General Authorities).

If you have a question about a quote's source, or a word origin, I would suggest that you Goggle it and see what you find out. I feel it is important to be as accurate as possible when we quote someone.

For example there is a famous quote attributed to Nelson Mandela that he supposedly gave in his inaugural speech in Jan 1984. It is a fantastic quote, but something that he did not say. It goes as follows:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson - A Return to Love

Jan 13 - Finals Week!

This week is finals week at school, needless to say, some of the kids are a little stressed. Mariah has been studying hard, I am not sure Tyler is even aware it is finals week, and Micah doesn't understand what finals are yet (oh to be young again).

The kids are doing well in school, so final grades should be just fine. Mariah is at the time in her life where the GPA matters (as she wants to get into some college). I will be glad when this week is over!

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education

Mark Twain - Reader's Digest Oct 1946

Jan 12 - Sick and Tired

There is some sickness going around the house. On Jan 11, Micah stayed home so I had to come home for couple of hours so Wendy could take of some things at work. I took this picture of her while I was home. I don't think she has taken off this coat since she got it on Christmas.

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Sean O'Malley, played by Lional Barrymore in "Right Cross" - Screenplay by Charles Schnee. This expression later became associated with the civil rights organizer Fannie Lou Hamer.

Jan 11 - Laundry Pile

I don't know about your home, but there is always laundry to be done.

I am always grateful every time I open the sock drawer and find clean socks. Thanks Wendy for doing our laundry!

Join the union, girls, and together say, "Equal Pay for Equal Work"!

Susan B. Anthony - The Revolution, 8 Oct 1869

Jan 10 - Flickr Test - Mendanhall Glacier

Mendanhall Glacier, originally uploaded by S.W.Welch.

I posted this picture from Flickr. If you don't know what Flickr is, think of it as YouTube for pictures.

Flickr allows me to post blogs and link them to this blog, so if everything works right, this will appear in my blog (which it must have worked because you are reading this).

You should be able to click on the picture (or link) to see my Flickr account. I have 6 pictures in there from our Alaska and Oregon trips.

Please give it a try to see if this works (and let me know).

Thanks

Jan 9 - Exciting Day At Church

Today we had a Brother in our ward slip on the ice and break his shoulder. We had a priest come and tell us (just as we were starting church) so the Bishop sent me out to see what was going on.

When I got out there, there where about 3 other brethren who were giving first aid. It was strangely calm during the whole experience. There was no bleeding (external anyway) and he did hit his head and shoulder when he fell. We had to call the ambulance to transport him to the hospital. He was joking and had lots of support from ward members. We had two nurses watching out for him (members in the ward). He had about 15 pounds of blankets on him (and under his head and feet). He got a blessing and only was down on the ground for about 10 minutes.

Needless to say, I did not get a picture of this, but I thought is was worth posting. As we are surround by angles who are watching over us.

Oh I believe there are angels among us
Sent down to us from somewhere up above
They come to you and me in our darkest hours
To show us how to live
To teach us how to give
To guide us with a light of love

Becky Hobbs & Don Goodman, Songwriters, Made famous by the group Alabama

Jan 8 - Elise Baptism

Today was Elise's baptism. Hard to believe she is 8.

Micah and I wish we could have been there, but Micah was not feeling well. Wendy took several pictures (many of which are posted on other blogs), but I liked this one. Elise's family is all looking in different directions. I guess they had too many cameras pointed at them.

I was able to spend most of the day getting my pictures in the Mac. They are all in now.

You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 5:499

Jan 7 - Still working on Computer ....

Ok, so a new computer is work. My pictures are not transferring over as planned. I am getting them transferred, but it is something that I have to babysit (can't start the transfer and go to bed and have it all be done). I think this is going to take some time, as I have 6000+ photos to transfer.

Tonight I was playing with the camera in the computer. Took this picture of me for fun. Call it a self portrait.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

The Wizard, played by Frank Morgan, in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Jan 6 - Computer out of the Box

Tonight we got the rest of the computer set up. So far things are going ok (not great, but ok). I am working on transferring all the music and pictures to the new machine. I was able to get our music transferred over into iTunes, but our playlist, ratings, etc. did not get transferred.

Should be fun to learn new things!

He [Don Quixote] thought that every windmill was a giant .... If we never looked at things and wondered what they might be, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes.

Justin Playfair, played by George C. Scott in They Might Be Giants (1971)

Jan 5 - New Computer - In a Box!

We got our new Mac tonight. It came in around 8:00 pm so we did not get a chance to play with it much. We decided to go with a Mac and we hope it is the right decision. There are pros and cons to a Mac, and in our house the Pros won.

We are excited about this new adventure. We still have the PC up and running, so I guess we have the best of both worlds.

We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi - Quoted in LA Times, 30 July 1989

Jan 4 - More Awards for Tyler

Tonight Tyler got another award for his Patriot essay that he wrote early this year. The big news is that he did get $75. Not a bad night for someone who just thought he was going out for ice cream.

These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink for the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

Thomas Paine - The American Crisis

Jan 3 - Ready for New Computer

Tonight we spent part of the evening getting ready for our new computer, which should arrive on Wednesday. The kids are excited about our new machine. As always, a new computer requires a lot of time to get it up and running and to get files transferred to it. It should be an adventure.

Do. Or do not. There is not try

Yoda - The Empire Strikes Back

Jan 2 - Christmas List Review ....

Today, I feel that it is important to review my Christmas list that I posted in November. I figured everyone would want to start thinking about my birthday that is coming up in a few months. Maybe with a little more warning, you will be able to save up for the things on my list.

Did not get the following:

60 inch plasma TV screen Ford F150 Fully loaded (of course), any color will do

14 x16 foot shed (for my workshop)

New woodworking tool to go in shop

Entertainment center (for the 60 inch plasma)

Gift certificate for our kitchen expansion (around $30,000)

5 Cruise tickets to Hawaii and Alaska (the Fire and Ice Tour)

New Side-by-side 4 wheeler with trailer (which will be pulled by the new pickup truck)

We are getting (with some money that was provided from family):

New computer, however we still need the professional photo printer

Don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can do.
John Wooden

Jan 1 - Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. I hope that 2011 is a productive one for you.

Below are some pictures we took at midnight. We are not much of the party animal type, so we just watched it on TV.

I also have rethought my plans for this blog. I think for the month of January I will include various quotes from famous people. Today's quote is from Michael Jackson and fits with the theme of setting goals (or resolutions).

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change
Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror