Tom Cruise on Home Teaching

After watching this video about 80 times with my wife (and laughing my head off each time), I've decided it's time to port it onto my own blog.

If you're not LDS, the lingo will be different, but I think you'll find it's a hilarious mash-up, regardless.



Thanks, F-Word for posting first!  (Well, before me, anyway.)

Today's Spiritual Message: Supporting Traditional Marriage in Lima, OH

Lima, OH?

Yeah, I don't think I'd ever heard of it before yesterday, either.

Nevertheless, my wife, our daughter, and I jumped into the car and made the 2:20 drive up to Lima to attend a National Organization for Marriage rally.  To be frank, we would have attended the larger, Columbus rally on Friday, but it was during work.

Lima's not exactly Manhattan (sorry folks), so there weren't millions in attendance, but we were happy to participate.

Here's one of the pictures taken of us at the rally:

Click here for the NOM website I pulled this from (also includes a snippet from us).

As the youngest couple, "with the most adorable baby in tow," I had a feeling we would be interviewed by one or both sides, and we were.

As I told Maggie Gallagher, I feel so blessed to live in a land where two sides can both show up to the same location and peaceably express their views (while in many countries this isn't possible).

Traditional marriage faces an onslaught of opposition:  unchastity before and during marriage, divorce, abuse, and same sex marriage, to name a few.  What I tried to communicate to both sides of the debate is that these are all issues we feel affect not only traditional marriage but also the family and society at large.

As I am paraphrased in Maggie's article, it is most certainly uncool, amongst our generation, to believe in chastity before marriage and full fidelity after, in a committed and loving union.  

Seattle, WA, December 2006

For my wife and myself, we know that if we are faithful in keeping sacred covenants we made in the temple of our God, our union will last not only for this life, but for all eternity.  

No fleeting one night stand or any other form of relationship can bring the same kind of happiness as an eternal marriage, performed by those with authority from our Heavenly Father.  I say this not to boast of ourselves, but to invite all to enjoy the same happiness and hope of an eternal union we cherish on a daily basis.

Speaking of the Savior, Jesus Christ, a Book of Mormon Prophet said,

 24 He doeth not ^aanything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he ^bloveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ^call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

  25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: ^aCome unto me all ye ^bends of the earth, ^cbuy milk and honey, without money and without price.

  26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should ^adepart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

  27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his ^asalvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath ^bgiven it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to ^crepentance.

  28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but ^aall men are privileged the one ^blike unto the other, and none are forbidden.  (2 Nephi 26: 24-28).

Part of this salvation is eternal marriage; this blessing is open to any and all who will accept the Savior's conditions.  Thus, we invite everyone to meet the Savior's conditions and enjoy the happiness which springs from an eternal family.

Click here for the full text version

Yesterday's Spiritual Message: Our True Identity

As President Uchtdorf testifies, I too know that each of us is a literal son or daughter of God.  What an amazing realization and heritage.

BYU Old Spice

First off all, thanks to STM for bringing this awesome video to my attention:





For the budget they have, I'd almost have to say this is better than the original (but Im not biased or anything).

Do they really have a snack zone now?

Did they get the idea on this from my sister-in-law's fíance?  http://kimberlyharrison.blogspot.com/2010/04/number-1.html

Finally, is the subtle message in this video that students should watch less YouTube and study more?

Finally, Another Chrome Update: Chromium OS, New Dev Stuff, and Web Apps(!)

Okay, I've been delinquent in Chrome blogging lately; my apologies, I know you've all been profusely shedding crocodile tears.

With that said, I'll get right down to the goods.

Chromium OS.  Some time back, I promised a review of Chromium OS.

The long and short is that it's pretty cool to be on the bleeding edge, but it's pretty slow and, frankly, outdated.  I assume a lot of slowness had to do with the fact that I ran the OS off a USB drive, but it was slow, I mean molasses, compared to Chrome on my HP machine.  Unless you're going to download the OS to a netbook, I definitely wouldn't recommend you try this any time soon (especially considering I also ran it off my old Acer to see if it would be any faster - it was, BUT - in a cumbersome process, I had to download some third party software so I could boot from USB . . . it definitely made me feel not as techie as I style myself).  However, if you, like I did, just want a taste of the future, give it a whirl and hit me up with any preguntas.

New Dev Updates.  Chrome continues to amaze me.  I'll get into just three recent features here:  1) It's not the biggest deal ever, but the dev channel (at least) now has a little orange/yellow ball that appears on the wrench icon whenever a new update's ready to be installed.  Yes, Chrome would probably just update on it's own anyway, but I'm pretty OCD about new updates (just ask my wife . . .).  2) Consolidated wrench/page icon menus.  This was something that always confused me:  why have two different menus, when their lists are practically indistinguishable?  Again, not a huge deal, but it does save some more space (which everyone loves) and helps avoid some confusion.  3) I think I've already talked about Chrome's newly built-in pdf viewer, but I can't tell you enough how much I love it.  Adobe's plugin always bothered me with how clunky it was and how it got in the way of browser shortcuts, etc.

Update:  Here's the orange update notifier I told you about.

Web Apps.  I found out about this little gem tonight (which, incidentally, inspired this post), on the unofficial, Google Operating System blog.  Not a ton to say here, but that the "web app" icons look a lot better and the toolbar is removed on the web app pages.  You'll need to be on the dev channel and read Alex Chitu's guide (in the previous link) on how to install them, but they've worked great for me so far, and I look forward to continued developments.  NOTE:  You can just barely see the new icons in my browser tabs 2, 3, and 7.

Happy Chroming!

Today's Spiritual Message and Congratulations: Marriage

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2: 24).

In a day and age when the prophesied disintegration of the family is rampant, it's fantastic to hear about a newly engaged couple.

Congratulations Kimberly and Jesse!  theworldandmoore.com

Yesterday's Spiritual Message: And This be Our Motto - Thoughts from the 4th of July

I love Independence Day.  Not because of the eponymous movie with Bill Pullman or even because of Ray Charles singing America the Beautiful in The Sandlot.

No, I love the Fourth of July because it gives me a chance to think and reflect upon the great blessing I enjoy to live in the greatest nation on this earth.

What other modern nation enjoyed freedom from monarchy and dictatorship any sooner than the United States?  Which country previously had such an inspired Constitution or balanced form of governance, in which the lead sovereign would agree to step down at the end of his term!  What other fledgling nation faced such great odds (the greatest army and navy in the world, at the time) and yet still prevailed?

It is my firm belief and witness that this greatest nation was founded by God, for our benefit.  At its inception, how many nations enjoyed freedom from religious persecution?  Where else could a layman profess a different set of beliefs than the state church and not expect severe oppression, if not death?

Yet, after so many years of open and avid thanks to God, I feel we have drifted far from our founding Rock and Pillar.  In church yesterday, as we closed our Sacrament Meeting (principally where we think of Christ and partake of "The Sacrament," which many refer to as Communion or The Lord's Supper), we sang The Star Spangled Banner, and this verse really stood out to me:

Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Is "In God We Trust" still our motto or have we long since abandoned it?

The Lord has said, "[T]he laws and constitution of the [United States] I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles . . . And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood" (Doctrine and Covenants 101: 77, 80).

I sincerely hope and pray that we will not forget the "Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation," I know that God was the founder of this greatest nation; we will ever be blessed as we honor and worship Him through good and righteous living.

Sign the Google Voice Desktop VoIP Petition (at right)

I'm using SipGate as a workaround for VoIP in Google Voice, but it's far from perfect.

Yes, I want a web app for this functionality, but word is that it may take a long time, and since I don't have Chrome OS yet, I wouldn't mind a desktop app.

Please join me in signing the petition at the right so hopefully Google won't scrap this development.

Cheers.

Grandma's Guide to Video Chat

Mother and anyone else who might need some help with Gmail video chat, this video (and it's attendant guides and links) is for you:



I hope you enjoyed it!

Super Mario Violin and AT-AT Puppy

Thanks to STMAD for these awesome videos.

Enjoy!

David and Bathsheba: To Look Upon (Avoiding Pornography)

I came across this article/video this morning and think it's very helpful. To view the 4:15 (duration) video, please click this link: https://beta.lds.org/church/to-look-upon?lang=eng

For the Church's dedicated website on "combating pornography," click this link: http://combatingpornography.org/cp/eng/

Read Elder Oaks’ complete talk from the April 2005 general conference.

Study Activities

As you search 2 Samuel 11:1-15, 26-27, ponder or discuss where you think David went wrong and what steps led him to commit sin. Watch the video and think about what David could have done to control his thoughts and actions. How did David’s adultery lead to the greater sin of murder? What can we learn from this tragic event? Make a list of things you can do to better control your thoughts and actions.

Prophets and Apostles’ Thoughts on…

Pornography

• Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Pornography,” Ensign, May 2005, 87
• President Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Tragic Evil Among Us,” Ensign, November 2004, 59–62
• Elder L. Whitney Clayon, “Blessed Are All the Pure in Heart,” Ensign,November 2007, 51–53

Agency

• Elder Robert D. Hales, “To Act for Ourselves: the Gift and Blessings of Agency,” Ensign, May 2006, 4–8
• President James E. Faust, “Choices,” Ensign, May 2004, 51

Repentance

• Elder Richard G. Scott, “Finding the Way Back,” Ensign, May 1990, 74
• President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign, May 2007, 99–101
• Elder Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement: All for All,” Ensign, May 2004, 97