Deer Hunting

I don't know what it is about deer hunting that I love the most; being outside for long periods of time, spending time with my gun, or actual hunt, but I love it! This year I'm hunting with friends: Duane Lester and Jamie Allen. We haven't seen anything yet, and we haven't talked much but it's good to do something I love with people I enjoy being around.

Hopefully we will see something soon, or better yet shoot something! But if we don't I will have had a good time.

What a week

After being gone from home for a full week at scout camp, participating in a Professional Developement workshop for two days and sleeping about four hours per night, I'm ready to go home.

I only had two ticks this week, pretty good for for out in the woods 24/7.

It's sure going to be good to see my wife and children and to sleep in my own bed. One more night.

A new perspective

Today I visited the LDS Employment Center in Independence MO and attended the Professional Developement workshop.

I started the day confident in my self and my skills and ended the day with a new appreciation for how much I can improve both.

I need to work on a new 30 second me statement, achievement statements and answering a number of interview questions.

It's going to take time and effort but I will with a little help make a better m, ready to face the world with confidence and purpose.

Scout Camp: Day One

Scout camp is a great time, for the boys and for the leaders. For the boys because they can try new and interesting things, meet new friends, and grow. And for the leaders because they can take time to think, plan, and catch up on the things the always seem to pile up during the normal course of life.

Today I'm doing an introspective activity trying to define what makes up me, to get down to the core of who I am, and in the process identify what is truly important to me, what I'm good at and where my life is headed. I was impressed by a talk in our stake conference last week about "Trusting in the Lord" it really emphasized for me how little control I have over my life but also how much I can know with perfect confidence that if I'm keeping the commandments the Lord will take care of me and my family.

The weather is beautiful and the bugs are sparse so the setting is very nice. I'm hoping to understand some more about myself and where the Lord wants me to go this week. I guess I'll be growing along with the boys.

Fascinating, informative, talk about world population: "Hans Rosling: Religions and babies" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/sM7z6

The Making and Breaking of Education Policy | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/weLUg

Baby steps to energy independence: 'Low-cost nanosheet catalyst discovered to split hydrogen from water" http://ping.fm/ZPipk

An excellent piece from Dan Mitchell: "Paul Krugman and the European Austerity Myth" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/P4pbc

I have a Downs brother, my sixth brother, I can't imagine not having him..."Jon Will, 40 years and going with Down syndrome" - The Washington Post http://ping.fm/H0Fp3

The last line is particularly telling: "One After Another, European Leaders Get The Boot" : NPR http://ping.fm/x11CB

Awaking to our awful situation, apathy is the status quo, will we act or be acted upon? http://ping.fm/x5SbY

REALLY?!!! "U.S. Offers to Defend Afghanistan Indefinitely, Afghanistan Accepts" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/Bw0r1

Caine's Arcade on Vimeo: Dream, Build, Work, Believe! http://ping.fm/SpZER

Frustrating to say the least: "The Real Reason Gas Costs $4 A Gallon" : Planet Money : NPR http://ping.fm/u9w5Q

Green idea, you have look farther to really understand: "Flushing toilets could heat future buildings" | SmartPlanet http://ping.fm/SPens

Great model for rural sustainability: "Wise Towns Will Spur Young Entrepreneurs" | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural http://ping.fm/X2ze0

Good news everyone: "Does A Chocolate Habit Help Keep You Lean?" : The Salt : NPR http://ping.fm/HorUS

How do we think of ourselves? ‘Most Religious’ & ‘Least Religious’ States | TheBlaze.com http://ping.fm/zP9dN

Super cool, super real! "T. Boone Pickens: Let's transform energy -- with natural gas" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/MMTPq

I couldn't agree more: "Stop Ignoring Higher Ed Reality" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/n5hd1

In depth and fair: The Trayvon Martin Killing, Explained | Mother Jones http://ping.fm/cdYgq

What do you think about the Obama Presidency? "The Road We've Traveled" - YouTube http://ping.fm/5juYG

Obama abuse of power: "Obama's Executive Order Authorizes Peacetime Martial Law" http://ping.fm/9kDyE

Nifty construction idea: "Warehouse Converted Into Office By Raising The Roof" http://ping.fm/q47LI

Sign of the times: "The basics, some extras, savings: You need $150,000 a year" – USATODAY.com http://ping.fm/2nPf0

Fun discussion of the question: "How many universes are there?" - YouTube http://ping.fm/aeI8u

Just one more reason GM is a bad idea "Insect Experts Issue 'Urgent' Warning On Using GM Seeds" : The Salt : NPR http://ping.fm/F6bKw

A positive vision for the the future: "Peter Diamandis: Abundance is our future" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/dwhgm

Religious Freedom Series, Part 4: Why Religious Freedom Matters to Mormons - LDS Newsroom http://ping.fm/HXaTF

in a world where most higher ed institutions are struggling Southern New Hampshire University is thriving: The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2012 | Fast Company http://ping.fm/NbFV6

Amazing, eloquent speech about domestic military land use: 'Aren't We Americans?' | Daily Yonder http://ping.fm/Wzc6O

Since this is always a real possibility: "Get to work (when you get fired)" « yougothired.com http://ping.fm/HI0uh

mind expanding in a matrixy kind of way "Nancy Duarte: The secret structure of great talks" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/4TCsD

Simples solutions, follow that model that works! "#Unemployment Insurance Fraud: Chile Has Solution" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/mhO4d

Read and send information to your State Representatives! "Cardless National ID and the E-Verify Rebellion" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/CxPkn

Fantastic resource for showing Defensive Gun Use - Map http://ping.fm/mgvI6

Solid article from NPR on: "Obamacare vs. the Catholics" In my opinion this is a first amendment 'no-brainer' ObamaCare is going down. http://ping.fm/kISoe

Right to work in Missouri: "Right to Work is the Right to Prosper" - 24thState http://ping.fm/F8A1f

Delightfully cogent "Two Thoughts on Susan G. Komen & Planned Parenthood" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/Kzwa1

We all know them here's how to be one: "Forget Networking. How to Be a Connector" | Entrepreneur.com http://ping.fm/6M3Cr

Informative article to: "Be Better at Twitter: The Definitive, Data-Driven Guide"- Megan Garber - The Atlantic http://ping.fm/LWe1j

I rather have Paul/Romney but I'd be pretty tickled by Romney/Paul for real. "For Paul and Romney, a strategic alliance between outsider and establishment" - The Washington Post http://ping.fm/SxUow

Peter van Uhm: Why I chose a gun | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/dQG5T

If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA - Forbes http://ping.fm/JpzeM

Excellent! Here's why union membership keeps falling | The Examiner | Op Eds | Washington Examiner http://ping.fm/ESZPK

Big first step in the '#right to work' direction: Missouri Senate panel endorses union legislation - Columbia Missourian http://ping.fm/ilXpV

Truly Astonishing! Watch the video clip as well "Japan's Population Decline: Estimate Shows One-Third Shrink By 2060" http://ping.fm/NDvjy

Is there a real you?

Julian Baggini: Is there a real you? | Video on TED.com

This video intrigued me because it seems on the surface to make sense, but the premise is incomplete because of the single minded (and closed minded) approach to the subject. Yes our identity is in part created by the sum of our experiences, and yes we can determine who we are and will be, but that is not all of who we are; we are so MUCH more! Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit priest and a philosopher, said: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."(The Phenomenon of Man) Fundamental to our real identity is the fact that we lived before we came to this earth and that we will live beyond this earth life.

Of the kinship between God and man, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves" (TPJS, p. 343). "It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another" (TPJS, p. 345). (2) Adam, Enoch, Noah and all the ancient patriarchs experienced this reality, but the most complete and informative experience was recorded by Moses in the Book of Moses chapter 1, where Moses expresses both his understanding that man is nothing compared to the greatness of God and his realization that as a son of God in the 'similitude of His only Begotten Son' Moses is free to act and chose between good and evil. Moses' knowledge of his true identity 'the real him' empowers him to confront evil, even with an understanding of his mortality and weakness, through the power of Jesus Christ.

It is especially telling in this presentation to watch as the speaker compares human beings to inanimate objects effected by outside forces, and then mentions as an after thought the human power of self determination but in a moral vacuum because we are nothing more than the sum of our earthly experiences.

There is more to me than that; there is more to every human being ever born on this earth than that.
From Ode: Intimations of Immortality by William Wordsworth:
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home..."

I say with perfect confidence: YES! There is a real you!

For all you political junkies: Sunlight Before Signing, Year Three | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/S6lAy

What Religious Freedom Means - LDS Newsroom http://ping.fm/ALWgA

With not real upturn in sight this is very sobering: "State Dependency on the Federal Government" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/r9Qx5

Interesting piece: "Keli Goff: Are You Smart Enough to Be a Religious Bigot in the Voting Booth?" http://ping.fm/ACMx2

There is no such thing as a too big, too important, too smart, too anything to fail! Great video. | LinkedIn http://ping.fm/ArRXS

Useful article: "Calculator: Is Your Food Spending Normal?" | Mother Jones http://ping.fm/yCZqi

Time for an education revolution: ‘School Spending Predicted to Climb 50%’* | Cato @ Liberty http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/school-spending-predicted-to-climb-50/#utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Cato-at-liberty+%28Cato+at+Liberty%29

Don't let the title put you off, there is something here worth listening to: "Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0" http://ping.fm/XJYOZ

Belief in evolution boils down to a gut feeling - TODAY Tech - TODAY.com This is interesting, not because it depends on science, but because it basically says the evolution is a metter of faith in the sense that faith is believing in what we feel rather than see. Fortunately both science and my feelings lead me to a much more reasonable conclusion than to say it happened by chance. http://ping.fm/YKqbw

Unbelievable! "Dems propose 'Reasonable Profits Board' to regulate oil company profits" - The Hill's Floor Action http://ping.fm/M9kV7

For education this is very big! "Apple Introduces IBooks 2, IBooks Author, ITunes U App In Push To Transform Textbooks, Education" http://ping.fm/vQApk

Excellent read, esp. paragraphs 2-4: "An Introduction to Religious Freedom" - LDS Newsroom http://ping.fm/3V3Rt

More Gov. Scariness: "Department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Center Monitors Journalists" | TheBlaze.com http://ping.fm/69L1e

Brilliant! "Is Income Inequality Increasing? Only If You Don’t Count Health Benefits" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/cJ6oa

Read it and weep: "Ethanol Subsidies: Not Gone, Just Hidden a Little Better" | Mother Jones http://ping.fm/G1mA4

This should entire transform education: "Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool" : NPR http://ping.fm/ViLU4

Thought provoking "5 Predictions for Higher Ed Technology in 2012" | Inside Higher Ed http://ping.fm/LJAxG

Take 19 min to be inspired "Alberto Cairo: There are no scraps of men" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/ogOvr

Visionsary! "Paddy Ashdown: The global power shift" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/j7h63

Show down: 'Citizens United' Backlash: Montana Supreme Court Upholds State's Corporate Campaign Spending Ban http://ping.fm/zN3EH

Bad Obama History: "Playing Politics with the Constitution and the Law" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/zmVqz

For Iwoans avoting today blog post worth reading "Rick Santorum v. Limited Government | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/GOQDW

Thought provoking "Dan Ehrlich: Disintegrating Iraqi Democracy Demarks Another US Nation Building Failure" http://ping.fm/rjpU3

Super COOL! "Utah family rescued from icy river by bystanders" - CSMonitor.com http://ping.fm/WJqUX