On my way east on I-80 last week, between Cheyenne and Laramie, I came across the Wyoming Abraham Lincoln Monument. It originally stood at Sherman Summit, 8,878 feet above sea level, the highest point along the old coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway. When I-80 was completed in 1969, the head was moved to its current location, about 195 feet lower but seen by many more travelers.

The monument was created in 1959 by Wyoming State Parks Commission and the sculptor Robert I. Russin, a University of Wyoming art professor, to honor the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. The bronze bust of Lincoln’s head is 13.5 feet tall. Russin required ten tons of clay and eleven months of work to create the head.

The original casting was done in Mexico City and the sculpture is comprised of thirty pieces that were bolted together. The bust, weighing two tons, sits on a thirty-five-foot tall granite pedestal. The base is hollow and when Russin died in 2007, his ashes were interred inside.

The Monument is a reminder of Lincoln’s Second Annual Message to the Senate and House of Representatives on December 1, 1862 wherein he detailed his plan for the remunerative emancipation of slaves:

It is not “Can any of us imagine better?” but “Can we all do better?” Object whatsoever is possible, still the question recurs, “Can we do better?” The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. (Abraham Lincoln, Second Annual Message, emphasis added.)

Related posts:

1. Cedar Breaks National Monument
2. San Jacinto Monument
3. Utah Shakespearean Festival: The 39 Steps

• Request a book in the comments.
• You must be local to Kaysville, Utah. I will not mail books.
• Currently requests are limited to those who know me and/or know where I live.

The books:

1. The Majesty of Books Sterling W. Sill
2. Mormon Fortune Builders Lee Nelson
3. Abraham Lincoln Carl Sandburg (softcover)
4. The Church Years J. Reuben Clark
5. Gospel Ideals David O. McKay (softcover)
6. Halo The Fall of Reach Eric Nylund (softcover)
7. Children of Dune Frank Herbert (softcover)
8. What To Expect — The Toddler Years Arlene Eisenberg etc. (softcover)
9. Doctrinal New Testament Commentary (3 volumes) Bruce R. McConkie
10. Letters From Rifka Karen Hesse (softcover)

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2. Past Pictures: A Double Blessing

What is your best weight loss tip?

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Tell the readers what helped you lose weight. It can just be a simple tip or you can further describe how you personally used your tip to lose weight.

No prizes but the tip judged to be the best will have its owner’s photograph emblazoned across a blog post. If you own a blog it can also be highlighted. Or you can remain anonymous.

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My journal consisted of an entry once every few months, but sometimes going years between writing. One day on my mission I read an old Ensign article about the anniversary of Wilford Woodruff’s birth. President Woodruff is known in part for his journal writing, so there were several quotes in the article about journals. One impacted me deeply, encouraging children to start keeping journals early in their lives. He said:

“If my young friends will begin to do this and continue it, it will be of far more worth than gold to them in a future day.” (Journals: “Of Far More Worth than Gold”, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 132)

Knowing gold to be of great value, I knew that to truly be rich in my life I must keep a journal.

Even though I felt then that I must keep a daily journal, it took almost a year to be able to get into the habit. Earlier attempts to write in my journal daily always failed — usually ending up with me becoming discouraged. The rule that enabled me to keep a journal is this: Keep it Simple. Every time I didn’t want to write in my journal it was usually because I would write too much, or I thought too deeply, or I thought nothing of importance had happened that day.

The Solution?

These four ideas will enable you to keep a daily journal:

1. Keep it short and simple.
   Two or three sentences is a good journal entry. Write more when you feel the need. Also, don’t feel daunted by playing catch up on your entire life between entires — just fill in the details when the background is needed.
2. Write what you did each day.
   Things that are common I usually mention in a single sentence: “School, work, watched a movie with my family.”
3. Write what you feel.
   I often also offer any feelings I might have about my life, the events that transpired that day, and especially gratitude for blessings received.
4. Make the choice.
   About I year ago I decided I would always write something — even if I got home late or thought I didn’t have anything to say. I often found I had more to say once I started writing.

Even with short entries, I have already noticed the value of my journal. Often at nights after writing I will flip back through the entries investigating how I came to feel as I did. I can easily recognize what I did before to resolve it. Especially, I have seen the strength I have received from following other gospel principles such as when I made an extra effort to go to the temple, or a day that I was especially grateful for other people in my life. Reading my journal revives the feelings felt that day, and offers me great wisdom in how to handle the events currently transcribing in my life.

Keeping a short journal makes it easy to start a daily habit of writing. Even with simple entries, insights into past events allows you to see progress and receive strength. In a year of writing, my journals are already “worth more than gold.”

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The Crystal Ball. J.W. Waterhouse.

Only one of my five predictions for 2009 succeeded. I predict in 2010 that I will do better.

1. The Dow will drop below 6,750

In October 2006 the Dow Jones industrial average crossed over the 12,000 mark briefly for the first time in its 112-year history. On 9 March 2009 the Dow Jones industrial average lost 80 points, or 1.2%, to end at 6,547.05, its lowest point since 15 April 1997.

2. Gas will go above $4 a gallon

The price of gas here in Kaysville, Utah is currently $2.47 a gallon. It is not unrealistic for gas to go over $4 a gallon next summer. I’m glad I run on CNG.

3. Republicans will gain 40 seats in the House

A more realistic prediction would be a gain of 20 to 30 seats but I am optimistic for a net gain of 40 or more seats.

4. Gold will drop below $750 an ounce

Since 1968 the price of gold on the open market has ranged widely, from a low of $252.90 an ounce on 21 June 1999, to a high of $1,023.50 an ounce on 17 March 2008. Indexed for inflation, the 1980 high of $850 an ounce would equate to a price of around $2,400 in 2007 US dollars. Gold passed $1,200 an ounce on 2 December 2009 but has dropped into the $1,100 range since. It is time for further declines.

5. Utah unemployment will drop to 5%

Currently the Utah unemployment rate is 6.3%. My prediction of 5% or less is optimistic but achievable considering the positive business climate, the need for services from a growing population, and a fiscally responsible state government.

More Predictions

My predictions are rather bold so I do not expect all of them to succeed. What do you think? Which ones are sure to fail or will any succeed? Do you have any predictions for 2010? If you have blogged about them consider putting a link to your post(s) in the comments.

Check out these predictions:

Our Political Predictions for 2010
8 Predictions for SEO in 2010
Oscars 2010 Predictions – Early Oscar Predictions 2010
2010 Consumer Predictions…
10 Apple Predictions for 2010
Earth2Tech Predictions: 5 Biggest Hurdles for 2010

Updates

Check back here during 2010.

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1. Five 2009 Predictions
2. Bountiful Cheap Gas
3. Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge 2010

Elm Street

On Monday I asked what significant event in history is marked with an X in the road. The X is located on Elm Street in Dallas and marks the location where President Kennedy was shot. Just before 12:30 p.m., Kennedy’s limousine entered Dealey Plaza and slowly approached the Texas School Book Depository. When the Presidential limousine turned and passed the Depository and continued down Elm Street, shots were fired at Kennedy.

Morbid?

As I was looking at the X a woman and her companion came up by me. The woman took a really good look at the X. As she turned away she remarked to her companion, “This is really morbid, all these people looking at where President Kennedy was killed.” To me it was history. I was excited to be at this famous spot. I made sure I had some photographs. Years ago when I visited Gettysburg, where 50,000 men were killed in three days, I didn’t think it was morbid. Lessons can be learned from Little Round Top and Pickett’s Charge. History is a great instructor if we will listen.

Assassination

As President Kennedy waved to the crowds on his right, a shot entered his upper back, penetrated his neck, and exited his throat. He raised his clenched fists up to his neck and leaned forward and to his left, as Mrs. Kennedy put her arms around him. The final shot took place when the Presidential limousine was passing in front of the John Neely Bryan north pergola concrete structure. As the shot was heard, a fist-size hole exploded out from the right side of President Kennedy’s head, covering the interior of the car and a nearby motorcycle officer with blood and brain tissue.

Kennedy parade route

GPS Coordinates

Within minutes of me asking the meaning of X, Jewel of Layton, Utah wrote in the comments that it is where JFK was assassinated and that the GPS coordinates are 32.77903, -96.80867. Jewel, alias Steven, my son, knew we were in the Dallas-Fort Worth area but so did everyone else.

The Window

Howard Brennan, who was sitting across the street from the Texas School Book Depository, notified police that as he watched the motorcade go by, he heard a shot come from above, and looked up to see a man with a rifle make another shot from a corner window on the sixth floor. In the photograph I took it is the second window from the top on the right. Brennan had seen the same man minutes earlier looking out the window.

The First X

The X where I stood on Monday was the second location where President Kennedy was shot. The first location is a few yards along Elm Street. Jill is standing on the spot in the road. The red building to her right is the Dallas County Annex. In Kennedy’s day it was the Texas School Book Depository where the shots were fired from.

Lee Harvey Oswald

Lee Harvey Oswald, reported missing to the Dallas police by his supervisor, Roy Truly, at the Depository, was arrested an hour and 20 minutes after the assassination for killing a Dallas police officer who had spotted Oswald walking along a sidewalk in the residential neighborhood of Oak Cliff. He was captured in a nearby movie theater. Oswald’s case never came to trial because two days later, while being escorted to an armored van for transfer from Dallas Police Headquarters to the Dallas County Jail, he was shot and killed by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby.

Jill standing on the first X on Elm Street

Further Reading

Wikipedia has a lot of details in the article John F. Kennedy assassination, which is where I went for information for my post. Perhaps readers of my blog can suggest other sources that they have found interesting. The first official investigation of the assassination resulted in the Warren Commission Report. A multitude of books and articles criticizing the Warren Commission’s findings have been written. We may never know the exact details of that day.

Related posts:

1. Christmas Letter 2009
2. The Vice Presidential Debate: Man in the Street Answers
3. Our Visit to the Dallas Texas Temple

X marks the location of…?

I have for you this evening a small puzzle. In the photograph I took today you see some feet and a large X in the road. The feet are mine and the X marks a significant event in history. The puzzle is to tell me what the event was.

I can tell you that the X is not the site of buried treasure. It is not part of a giant noughts and crosses game. And it isn’t where my cat was run over.

All will be revealed later this week in a post where I will include the best responses.

Update

17 Mar 2009 Here is The Answer.

We’ve raised pay for our staff. We’ve hired experts, not low-wage warm bodies. We’ve purchased additional computer equipment, furniture, and additional software licenses. We’re growing our business by making good business decisions. We’re doing what businesses are supposed to do to keep the market healthy and we’re crafting our own market results. That’s how the market is supposed to work.

Following their lead I have patterned my post title after their excellently phrased recession refusal. You may well ask, “So big deal, what have you done to show your non-participation?” Well, not much, but doesn’t the thought count? I’m not a business so I can’t give my non-existent employees a raise. How about that I received a 4% raise? I think that loading up my Roth IRA with stocks last month should either be viewed as complete folly or as someone at least pretending that there is no recession. And today I moved the last of my government treasuries into the market. Now I haven’t bought a house but I have been toying with acquiring another home and join my neighbors who have already purchased foreclosed properties. And thinking about loans, I am still increasing my portfolio at Lending Club. As for acquiring goods, though not much, maybe this qualifies as a recession rebuffer:

Rickety with his new computer — some assembly required

You are a hard person. So difficult to convince. What about my upcoming nine day trip to Texas. Not all the family can go but Jill, Paul, and myself will be driving to Keller. Ahhh, now you are smiling. What’s that? Only a fool would vacation with the economy in the dumps? Well, all I can say is, “I refuse to participate in this recession.”

Update

12 Mar 2009 I’ve been asked what operating system I am running, how big a hard drive did I buy, and how much did it all cost. I am running Ubuntu 8.10 on two 640 GB drives that are configured as a RAID to give me fast 1.3 TB storage. I used the Alt CD installer for the RAID. System cost, including monitors, was $1298.83 with $34.71 shipping, all from Newegg. The two Asus 24″ monitors were $279.99 each, with free shipping.

And all through the system, not a Microsoft was stirring, not even a mouse.

Related posts:

1. Paul and Jake Graduate in Computer Engineering

I am joining in the fun and releasing my predictions for 2009. See you back here at the end of 2009 to see how I fared. What do you predict for 2009?

1. The Dow will exceed 12,000 FAILED

In October 2006 the Dow Jones industrial average crossed over the 12,000 mark briefly for the first time in its 112-year history. The Dow crossed the threshold twice, before retreating slightly, closing just under 12,000. Yesterday the Dow ended the day at 8,668.

2. Gas will stay below $2 a gallon in Kaysville FAILED

The price of gas here in Kaysville, Utah is currently $1.29 a gallon.

3. Proposition 8 will be struck down FAILED

Sadly I am predicting the worst for Proposition 8. With the California judicial, executive, and legislative branches all bent on reversing the will of the people look for Proposition 8 to be no more in 2009.

4. Gold will pass $1,200 an ounce SUCCEEDED

Since 1968 the price of gold on the open market has ranged widely, from a low of $252.90 an ounce on 21 June 1999, to a high of $1,023.50 an ounce on 17 March 2008. Since April 2001 the gold price has more than tripled in value against the US dollar. Indexed for inflation, the 1980 high of $850 an ounce would equate to a price of around $2,400 in 2007 US dollars.

5. Unemployment will remain below 7.5% FAILED

The 2008 national unemployment rate was at 4.9% in January and by June had risen to 5.5%. November saw joblessness at 6.7%. I expect the rate to keep rising but then level off and remain below 7.5%.

Don’t Like My Predictions?

Hmm, you’re so predictable. Check out the predictions at J-Walk Blog, Bob Krumm, and The Correct Call.

Updates

6 Feb 2009 Prediction #5 gets the sack. See Jobless rate jumps to 7.6 percent.
21 Feb 2009 Thursday morning in Kaysville gas at the four main stations was $1.63, $1.65, $1.67, and $1.69 — getting closer to $2, yikes. However, gold was on its way to $1,200 by breaking above $1,000 on Friday. If gold is rising, I would expect the Dow to be falling, which it was — to 7,365 — a long way from 12,000.
3 Apr 2009 Today in Kaysville gas was $1.81, $1.85, or $1.89, depending on which station you chose. However, at Bountiful’s Costco I filled up for $1.65 a gallon. The DOW finished above 8,000 at 8,017 — less than 4,000 to go. Gold was at 893.80 an ounce.
18 Apr 2009 All four Kaysville gas stations were pricing gas at $2.03. My #2 prediction has finally ran out of gas.
28 May 2009 Yesterday Proposition 8 was upheld, therefore this prediction failed for which I am glad I was wrong. Proposition 8 could still be defeated in federal court, though I hope it isn’t. My prediction was meant to apply to the California Supreme Court so this prediction has run its course.
30 Sep 2009 The Dow finished at 9,712.28 today so has a ways to go before crossing 12,000. It has been as high as 9,829.87 this year. Gold has crossed the $1,000 mark again.
2 Dec 2009 Gold passed $1,200 an ounce today. Prediction number 4 succeeded.

Related posts:

1. Five 2010 Predictions
2. Utah Gas Tax Hike Possible
3. Rickety: Top Ten Blog Posts of 2009

Global warming?

What is the Global Warming Petition Project?

It is a petition signed by 31,072 American scientists, including 9,021 with PhDs. It can be found at the Petition Project website.

What is the purpose of the petition?

The purpose of the Petition Project is to demonstrate that the claim of “settled science” and an overwhelming “consensus” in favor of the hypothesis of human-caused global warming and consequent climatological damage is wrong. No such consensus or settled science exists. As indicated by the petition text and signatory list, a very large number of American scientists reject this hypothesis.

What does the petition say?

The entire petition is as follows:

We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997, and any other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind.

There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.

What are the qualifications of the signatories?

All of the listed signers have formal educations in fields of specialization that suitably qualify them to evaluate the research data related to the petition statement. Many of the signers currently work in climatological, meteorological, atmospheric, environmental, geophysical, astronomical, and biological fields directly involved in the climate change controversy.

Who finances the Petition Project?

The Petition Project is financed by non-tax deductible donations to the Petition Project from private individuals. The project has no financing whatever from industrial sources. Donations to the project are primarily used for printing and postage. Most of the labor for the project has been provided by scientist volunteers.

Are all the petition signatories scientists?

Opponents of the petition project sometimes submit forged signatures in efforts to discredit the project. Usually, these efforts are eliminated by our verification procedures. On one occasion, a forged signature appeared briefly on the signatory list. It was removed as soon as it was discovered.

Is there any evidence that global warming is not harmful?

A twelve page review article about the human-caused global warming hypothesis is circulated with the petition. The factual information cited in the article is referenced to the underlying research literature, in this case by 132 references listed at the end of the article. The article was submitted to many scientists for comments and suggestions before it was finalized and submitted for publication. It then underwent ordinary peer review by the publishing journal.

What does this review say?

The review is called Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and its abstract reads:

A review of the research literature concerning the environmental consequences of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to the conclusion that increases during the 20th and early 21st centuries have produced no deleterious effects upon Earth’s weather and climate. Increased carbon dioxide has, however, markedly increased plant growth. Predictions of harmful climatic effects due to future increases in hydrocarbon use and minor greenhouse gases like CO2 do not conform to current experimental knowledge. The environmental effects of rapid expansion of the nuclear and hydrocarbon energy industries are discussed.

What do you make of all this, Rickety?

With over 30,000 signatories the petition deserves a decent review. Even if only a quarter of the signatories are bona fide scientists that is still an impressive number. This to me confirms what I have thought for years, that is, the jury is still out on the effect of hydrocarbon use on the environment. In the review, mention is made of the effect of the sun on temperature which one cannot easily dismiss.

Many people seem to have made their minds up based upon the popular fads of the day. I think it better to keep an open mind and to continue scientific research. Keep the politics out of the debate and examine all scientific research. See also the report of another 650 dissenting scientists.

Photo Credit: wumai

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