When I started blogging on JU, I wrote an article early on about politics in which the conservative majority on this site absolutely crucified me. Granted, I wrote the article in a moment of passion, and didn't mean what I had said, but I was crucified just the same. It scared me away from this site for a bit. I didn't blog here for a few weeks after that. But when I finally did start blogging here with regularity, one of the first people I met and began to have a digital friendship w...

So . . . just a thought. I've been reading around on people's blogs a lot, especially the last couple of days. This is mostly in consequence of my lack of creative juices, in many aspects of my life. (Can't write a damn song, can't think of a story idea, can't blog worth crap.) But as I've read around, a lot of really, really pointless (read: nonsensical) comments have been left on a lot of the blogs around here. They are filled with words that have no meaning, no coherence, no point. ...

I was thinking I might have escaped the whole "5 most embarrasing moments" thing. But as I was reading Island Gurl's blog (I've been out of town, of course) I saw that she'd tagged me. So here goes. 1. The one and only time I went commando at school I was like in eighth grade. (For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it's going without any undies. For everyone who is, this is your formal "Mr. Obvious" apology.) I'd gone to the bathroom, and I came out and I'd FORGOTTEN TO ZIP MY...

Hey everyone! I'm back from a long trip out to NC to help BlueDev with the move to New Hampshire! And what an adventure it was. I'll post some of the photos I took as soon as I get around to it . . . (wow, that's really promising). But it was really fun, and a lot of work. Our half-day in DC was sure exciting, though. That's where all the pics are from, and mostly all in the Air and Space museum. (What can I say? We're geeks. We know where our interest lies.) But driving a twenty-fo...

Wow! It's been forever. Long story, but here I am, with a funny story to tell . . . For those of you who haven't read the exploits of my crazy psycho ex girlfriend, you'd probably better read this story first. So on Friday afternoon, I was working at the nursery, of course, and I was walking back to the annual flowers section and I hear from behind me, “Braeden Jones!” I thought to myself, That voice sounds eerily whiny and familiar . . . I spun on my heels, and was terrifie...

As requested, I finally figured out how to post pictures of the Lloyd's super boner. This is the back end of the top of the cab – the large black is the back window. What a mess. I felt so bad for the guy. It was really expensive truck – and while this is a simple process of replacing the panel, they're going to have to remove the bed, remove the back window, and THEN they'll be able to do it. By the way . . . I am feeling all better. The head has recovered nicely.

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted anything on here . . . I blame all the downtime. This is a true story, by the way. Just so that you know. It's the day before Mother's Day; it's the busiest day of the year for a nursery. I had been up front, getting people checked out and into their cars most of the morning, covering for Albert, who'd taken the day off to go to his granddaughter's wedding. Tim had been back on the tractor, scooping and dumping for all the people needing the...

So I've been bumming around Amazon a lot as of late (I've already posted my gripes about Amazon proper, but mostly I just buy stuff from others with the site as a go-between). It all started with me looking for books by Unamuno (another post!), and then it evolved into the search for Red Dwarf books. I've been reading the first one to arrive, "Better Than Life", and thoroughly enjoying myself. (Red Dwarf and I just have so much history . . . I've been watching the show late on Saturday nig...

Today I've decided to review two albums by Arjen Anthony Lucassen. As some of you may know, he is the genious behind the “Ayreon” albums – some of the greatest concept albums in the history of recorded music. This guy could put Homer to shame, the way he can tell a story in song . . . The second-to-last Ayreon project was a two CD set called “The Universal Migrator”. Lucassen used these two separate discs to explore the two different sides to his music – the first disc is atmospheric an...

I've been reading an awful lot by my favorite author, Miguel de Unamuno, lately. (Long story as to why – maybe I'll blog about it, but if anyone's interested in hearing about it before then drop me an e-mail.) But as I've been digesting his works, I've been coming to understand the man all the more. He was one of the first existentialists – but his heart and soul were, as for most Spaniards, catholic. So while he had trouble believing in God for his whole life, he always tried to reconcil...

There's a radio station here in Utah that every other Wednesday has a feature called "Things That Must Go". It's a list of things that their listeners send in to gripe about, and they read them on the air. This morning, as I was studying (read: trying in vain to study) for today's final, I listened to their list, and was inspired. So here goes, my list of THINGS THAT MUST GO!!!!! -College textbook buyback hassles. You spend weeks trying to find a copy of the book before the semester s...

There's a radio station here in Utah that every other Wednesday has a feature called "Things That Must Go". It's a list of things that their listeners send in to gripe about, and they read them on the air. This morning, as I was studying (read: trying in vain to study) for today's final, I listened to their list, and was inspired. So here goes, my list of THINGS THAT MUST GO!!!!! -College textbook buyback hassles. You spend weeks trying to find a copy of the book before the semester s...

for quite a while now, I've been trying to figure out why my score was two points off of the usual fives and tens. I'm always ###3 or ###8. For weeks, every time I looked at my score, I tried to understand how I somehow seemed to have lost two points along the way. Then, this evening, it finally hit me! Some time I must have made some comment that someone didn't like, and I must've pissed them off enough to earn the distinction of "trolling" (a term that, to be perfectly honest, I'm not...

Systems/Layers By: Rachel's Year: 2003 Click here for the artists site My experience with the group Rachel's has been an interesting one. I heard of them for the first time as I was sitting in my buddy's basement, looking through a copy of his university's newspaper. I read a review for this album, and my interest was piqued by what the author had said – that this album was a combination of such odd things that it somehow worked. So we logged on to amazon.com and looked...

(BlueDev, if a word of this gets to the parents, I don't care how much bigger or tougher you are, you'll go down . . . this is not for them) So last Friday I was at work, and Lloyd and I were putting some PVC pipe up on a high shelf. I stood there, trying to hold my end up, while Lloyd persisted in wiggling his. Because of all his movement, all the PVC that I could'nt reach to hold came tumbling down - and right into my waiting face. The bundle of pipe slammed into my glasses, which in ...