rickety – Page 68

Windows to Ubuntu Transition

September 16, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

Windows to Ubuntu

When my sons and I were assembling personal computers for our own use, and networking them, we needed additional copies of Windows 95. This was always a challenge to come up with additional licenses. When the move came to Windows 98 I bought five copies of the operating system at $100 each, which at the time was an onerous amount to pay. In the next few years my children began to use Linux on their own computers. I was using Windows 2000 Professional my son Steven had given to me that had been given to him by Microsoft in a programming competition.

When XP was released it was time to move to Linux. Not that XP was a rickety operating system, I was just growing tired of having to keep buying my operating system over and over. I didn’t want to have to upgrade the many Windows software applications I had bought over the years.

So I began, first with a dual boot machine, and over time converted 15 years of data for use with Ubuntu. I moved Word Perfect and Office files to Open Office; moved from Turbo Tax to online tax preparation; exported Personal Ancestral File GEDCOMs to PhpGedView; and so forth. I’m a big fan of Google Docs and use it a lot.

Once in the open source world, life gets easier. I have learned about high quality open source software and to use on-line applications through Firefox. Ubuntu has a new release every six months and it just gets easier to use after each iteration.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Revisited

September 16, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

In May I visited the Oquirrh Mountain Temple construction site. Last week I visited again and took photographs. As you can see the angel Moroni is now atop the temple. The 60,000 square foot temple sits on 11 acres and its exterior will be finished in a light beige granite from China. It was announced 1st October 2005 and the groundbreaking and site dedication was 16th December 2006 by Gordon B. Hinckley. Originally named the South Jordan Utah Temple the name was changed 16th December 2006 to avoid confusion with the Jordan River Utah Temple also in South Jordan.

The temple has 63-foot high walls and a single spire reaching 193 feet, topped by the angel Moroni. South Jordan is the only city in the world with two LDS temples (the other being the Jordan River Utah Temple, located approximately 3½ miles to the northeast). The temple will serve 83,000 Latter-day Saints living in the western Salt Lake Valley. The temple is the thirteenth temple built in Utah and the fourth built in the Salt Lake Valley. The temple site property was donated to the church by Kennecott Land.

Legacy Highway First Drive

September 15, 2008 by rickety 6 Comments

First Drive

The day after the Legacy Highway opened we took our first drive along the 14 mile route. It was very impressive with a smooth ride and freeway style on ramps. Parallel to the road was a bicycle trail for the whole route. There were places especially to park your car if you wanted to walk, run, or ride your rickety bicycle. The two main entry points at the north and south were ample for even the largest traffic flow. Even the bridges had an artistic flavor.

It is really too bad that environmentalists held up construction for nine years. All that time during the commute I-15 traffic was slowed to a crawl, causing each vehicle to churn out much more pollution than at cruising speed. One wonders what the real agenda is of these selfish people. Well I guess that’s traffic under the bridge now.

Impressions

On Sunday afternoon, the day we drove, there were a lot of cyclists using the trail. There were a few countryside aromas wafting around that I didn’t recognize. Even the smell from the sewer plant added to the sense of the outdoors and didn’t detract from our pastoral driving experience. That is, only if you’ve been inside much too long so that nothing could spoil your outdoor trip. One thing you will notice immediately is the absence of big rigs. This works well on a two lane road so that you are not blocked by one truck slowly overtaking another. The bridges didn’t look like they were designed to allow a third lane which is unfortunate because it won’t be too long before it will be needed. The drive works very well for Kaysville and Farmington residents that work at or near the airport. At the south end the highway spills out onto I-215 not far from L-3 Communications, a large local employer.

Legacy Parkway Details

With the fifth-fastest growing population in the country, Legacy Parkway will help address commuting needs by reducing congestion on I-15 by an estimated 30% during rush hour.

The Legacy Parkway Project was designed as a 14-mile stretch of four-lane highway to provide an alternate roadway for northern Utah commuters between Salt Lake City and Kaysville.

Legacy Parkway is the first of its kind in the United States and includes many unique elements:

Gateways to introduce motorists to the Parkway and surrounding communities
Meandering roadway instead of a traditional fixed, straight freeway design
Unique landscaping
Unusual structural design features including bridge monuments and barriers
Independent multi-use and equestrian trails alongside the Parkway
Blurs the boundary between the Parkway and community
Provides a pastoral driving experience

On Sept. 21, 2005, Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the Utah Department of Transportation, the Sierra Club and Utahns for Better Transportation announced an agreement in principle to settle the Legacy Parkway case outside of court. The Agreement was approved by the Utah State Legislature on Nov. 9, 2005, and signed by the Governor on Nov. 14, 2005. Some provisions of the agreement include:

125 acres of additional nature preserve near 500 South for future mitigation
55 mph speed limit
Trucks with five or more axles or more than 80,000 lbs. cannot drive on Legacy except during emergencies on I-15
Parkway features to enhance the driving experience, the trail system and neighborhoods located adjacent to the Parkway
Quiet pavement to reduce traffic noise
Up to $2.5 million to study the possibility of Bus Rapid Transit / Light Rail Transit (BRT / LRT) in southern Davis County

The total budget approved by the legislature is $685 million.

The Legacy Parkway Northern Interchange was named the Wasatch Weave. Farmington residents Dawn Flynn and Kesley Clampitt won the naming competition.

The Legacy Nature Preserve is a 2,225-acre wildlife preserve on the southeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. Established as environmental mitigation for the Legacy Parkway Project, the Preserve helps prevent encroachment of future development into this portion of the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem by restoring a mosaic of different wetland and upland habitats that are important for a myriad of wildlife species. This is especially critical when lake levels rise in the future.

Monday Update

My wife drove to work from Kaysville to I-215 on Legacy and found no slowdowns as is usually the situation on I-15. Driving home she took I-15 to run an errand. As she drove by the entrance to Legacy there was a road sign that had the approximate drive times to Farmington via Legacy and also I-15. Driving on I-15 at 5pm. she said there was no slowdown. Now that is a major improvement in drive times.

Birthday Celebration: Adelaide

September 14, 2008 by rickety 3 Comments

Jake, Sarah, Daniel, Derek, and Steven get their food

Reed Sprague graciously invited us to join in celebrating Adelaide’s 24th birthday with their extended family. We congregated at the Barnes Park Bowery on Saturday afternoon. Before we ate, the younger elements played an obscure rickety ball game that they seemed to enjoy. They worked up an appetite for the great potluck meal.

Daniel and Kelsey are all wet

The children kinda posing for a picture

After we had eaten, six couples played water balloon volleyball. Watch out, the spectators were in the line of fire! Lots of water-filled balloons were tossed back and forth with some taking extra effort to break. Of course, the object of the game was to catch the balloons with the towel and then be coordinated enough to throw it back.

A new baby was there for everyone to enjoy. Birthday cake for dessert and pleasant afternoon weather. Happy birthday Adelaide!

Back at our home Adelaide opens gifts

Teaching Children Financial Principles

September 13, 2008 by rickety 8 Comments

Four questions showed up recently in a comment about a post on debt.

1. What advice would you give for teaching young children and teenagers these principles?

First we need to identify the principles mentioned in the post. They are:

Debt is worse than the plague.
Never pay credit card interest.
Borrow only for home, health, and education.
Pay tithes and offerings.
Be charitable.
Never co-sign for a loan.
A bargain is not a bargain if you don’t need it.

Obviously some of these principles would be lost on young children. The easiest principles to teach them would be tithes and offerings. When offerings such as for the Fast are made this is being charitable to the poor or those in temporary need. Number seven on our list can be taught by allowing safe but unwise purchases so that children can learn by their own experience what is and isn’t a bargain.

In our home we kept a small box that contained change in a small can and dollars in an envelope. It also contained tithing slips and envelopes. When the children received their allowance my wife and I would help them figure their tithing and write out the slip. We had change on hand (in the small can) so that they could submit the correct amount. By the time they were teenagers they took care of their tithes and offerings by themselves.

When the children reached twelve or thirteen I would open a credit union account for them complete with checks and a Visa debit card. Around eighteen I would make sure they got a credit card. That way they could start building a credit rating without me having to co-sign for a car. The credit card had a $200 limit which was raised over time.

Was it successful? The children know how to handle credit cards without incurring debt. They automatically pay tithes and offerings. They are very good savers.

[Read more…]

Protect Marriage Update

September 12, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

Know the Facts

Voicing your support for Proposition 8 can sometimes be a bit intimidating, particularly when you don’t know all the facts. We’re sure you will be surprised to learn that many of your friends and neighbors share your support! Proposition 8 is about preserving marriage; it’s not an attack on the gay lifestyle. Proposition 8 doesn’t take away any rights or benefits from gays or lesbians in domestic partnerships. Under California law, “domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections and benefits” as married spouses. (Family Code §297.5.) There are no exceptions. Proposition 8 will not change this.

Townhall Meetings

The Proposition 8 Campaign has been busy hosting a series of townhall meetings throughout the state, providing a local forum for communities to discuss the importance of preserving traditional marriage as between one man and one woman. To date, there have been four townhall meetings in Fresno, Sonoma, San Joaquin and Napa Counties. Each event has been tremendously successful, energizing the community and arming attendees with information on how to get more involved to ensure Proposition 8 passes.

Drawing from between 200-600 attendees, the Protect Marriage Townhall Meetings have created an opportunity for voters to learn about Proposition 8 from leaders in their own community. In each host county, the Campaign has identified representatives from each of the major faith denominations, who then speak about why voting YES on Proposition 8 is such a crucial issue, from their faith’s perspective.

Upcoming townhall meetings include Los Angeles, Orange County and San Bernardino. For more information on a townhall meeting in your area, please contact info@protectmarriage.com.

Volunteers Needed

With November just around the corner and a likely close vote on Proposition 8 expected, volunteers can make the difference in this election. Proposition 8 is our last chance to protect the institution of marriage, to keep it from being radically redefined for all of society. You can help us tip the scales by volunteering on behalf of the Campaign.

This effort takes committed individuals working hard at the grassroots level. There are many different ways that you can help. Here’s just a sample:

Walk precincts
Phone voters
Distribute literature to your friends and neighbors
Donate
Show your support through a yard sign or bumper sticker
Recruit 10 new volunteers
Write a letter to the editor

ACLU Donation

We know that everyday our opponents are busy raising millions of dollars that will be used to mislead our voters. Just recently, we heard of the ACLU’s $1.2 million donation to defeat Proposition 8 — the largest single donation to our opponents in this campaign.

Source: ProtectMarriage.com email.

Uncle Keith

September 11, 2008 by rickety 2 Comments

Uncle Keith died of cancer last Thursday. He was 75. I remember him as a gracious host and a man who was always happy. I recall that when my own father died I was asked to dedicate the grave. I didn’t know how to do it but Uncle Keith helped me through it. I want to make a post here for those who were not able to attend the funeral and also something to remember Keith by.

Keith

Samuel Keith Utley was born in the tiny town of Flowell, Utah, on December 24, 1932, to Von Samuel and Zola Brower Utley. His fondest memory of being a boy was playing on the Millard High School sophomore basketball team with his pals Alton, Paul, Sam, and Andy. Keith fought in the Korea War with the now famous Miracle Battalion, the 213th (now the 222nd) of Southern Utah boys that all came back from Kap Yong. Keith began his career with Mountain Fuel, which would later become Questar. He began on the street crew digging ditches, but worked his way up, over the course of 38 years, to Superintendent of Customer Service.

Glenna

Keith and Glenna’s passion for the game of golf took them to Southern Utah, their second home and playground among the red rocks and warm air. He loved Utah and its beauty. They traveled the world in their retirement and were very happy together.

Services

We attended the viewing, services, and burial yesterday at Valley View Funeral Home in West Valley City. I took a few photographs at the grave site. I never know what is appropriate at funerals in the way of photography so I tried to be discrete. The chapel was packed with people. I didn’t think that everyone would get in but they did. I jotted down a few notes during the services of what his children said.

Sharilee

Sharilee was one of the speakers and she said that her father worked hard and always had a second job. For a while it was cleaning a bank with which the children helped. On the day he died he arranged for a dozen long stemmed roses to be delivered with a card that said, “All My Love.” It was Glenna’s birthday.

Suzanne

Suzanne told of her father getting up early every day to do his exercises which he did all his life. He enjoyed a good movie or show. He could fix anything. Suzanne said that she worked on cars with her Dad because the boys didn’t want to. She said that one time when her father was under the car she tried the horn to see if it still worked without the key in the ignition. Her father let her know it still worked with a few curses. He loved football and played basketball with his friends at Questar. Even though he worked two jobs he had time for a garden and would make sure it was weeded.

Glen

Glen spoke about how Dad loved the cabin and liked to cook breakfast. He was great at omelettes and everyone had their own special order. He liked to cook steak over a fire pit. Glen was the last child at home. When he told his father he was marrying Susan, Keith began moving his furniture out of his bedroom before he even had an apartment.

Grave Site

After the grave was dedicated there were three rifle volleys fired over the grave. This custom can be traced to the European dynastic wars, when fighting was halted to remove the dead and wounded. Once an area was cleared of casualties, three volleys were sent into the air as a signal to resume fighting. Glenna was given the folded flag and the pallbearers laid their flowers on the casket. Keith’s biography, along with photographs of his life can be found at Everlasting Memorial.

My grandmother’s and great grandmother’s graves were about a hundred feet away so we went over to see them.

How to Get a Life

September 9, 2008 by rickety 3 Comments

It was suggested by one of my children that I write a post that outlines my advice to the groom who is about to be married. Here is my counsel encapsulated into one sentence:

Provide physically and spiritually for your family.

I realize that most of you want a little more detail so I have prepared the following.

Get a Job

If you already have a job that’s great. A woman needs the security of a revenue stream. In college and elsewhere you may have heard people say “Work at a job you are interested in,” or “Be employed in an area that you have a passion for.” I have often thought this is like saying, “Never get sick,” or “Always be happy.” The reality is that your job will be hard, stressful, and dull. Walk around the office and see how many married men have a photograph of their family pinned up in front of them. That’s what keeps you going when all you really want to do is to pick up the computer monitor and chuck it through the window. That is, if you are lucky enough to have a window close to you.

Get Religion

There is an undeniable spiritual dimension to life. You need to be exposed to the great teachings in the scriptures and to regularly attend church. There you will be reminded to be kind and generous, to work hard and to give service, to treasure your wife and to love your children. Of course the religion I recommend is my own. You will need to know what to teach your children about their Heavenly Father. You will be able to tune in to your spiritual nature to help you find answers for yourself and your family. Your wife will appreciate your sensitivity borne of your closeness to the spirit.

Get a Home

As soon as you are able you need to purchase a home. If you are still in college you should finish your studies first. Every crop of young home buyers envy the low home prices and interest rates available to the previous generation. Once you own a home with a fixed rate mortgage the ever present inflation now begins to work for you. Each year the fixed mortgage payment becomes relatively cheaper compared to your income. Surprisingly, you even get a tax deduction which seems a little ridiculous in my opinion.

You may not want to take on such a large financial responsibility but it is a necessary step in the evolution of your family. Your wife needs a home that is her own to beautify and to welcome relatives and neighbors to. It adds to her sense of stability.

Get out of Debt

With a home you have the mother of all debts that can take a lifetime to pay off. For a modest home it is considered a justifiable debt. As would be health care expenses and education. Keep away from all other debt and if you ever refinance your mortgage do not add any new money to it for home improvement. Also consider reading this post on debt.

Get Children

At an early point in your marriage introduce children into your family. You may think that you cannot possibly support children at this time. I thought the same too, as do almost all fathers. But it all works out and years from now as your hair is graying you will be eternally grateful that you were unselfish enough to allow children to share your life.

This verse sums up my attitude towards my children:

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. (Psalms 127:4-5)

This is the most advice I have given in years and most of it I learned from listening to wise old men over the pulpit. And I have proven its validity over a lifetime of experience.

Rickety Review #1

September 8, 2008 by rickety 1 Comment

Periodically I publish the Rickety Review to summarize what I’ve learned running my blog.

Post Frequency

My first Rickety post was about my Zion Vacation and was published May 16th, 2008. It was followed by another post the same day, then one the next day and one on the 22nd. More posts followed on 26th, 29th (two), 30th, and 31st. It was near the end of May I decided to post once a day, which I have have done since. At first I wanted to see if I could actually post once a day for a month. When June was through and I had met my goal I was surprised that it was easier than I had thought but still hard. I find with a goal it needs to be either daily, weekly, or monthly. Every other day doesn’t work well because the days fall differently each week and it is hard to remember. Anyway, after a successful June I decided to keep up the daily posts. If I have two things to blog about on the same day I write the extra post but wait until the next day to publish it. If I go on vacation I write the posts ahead of time and use the WordPress auto-publisher to make them public.

Theme Changes

I replaced my original theme with one designed by Andreas Viklund. The WP-Andreas09 theme is a full width, 3 column theme with a fluid central column and comes in 14 different colors. I redesigned the theme to use one predominant color, blue, and replaced the plain color banner with 36 banner photographs that randomly change on a full refresh. Although a fluid central column makes it difficult to place photographs in the text of a post I still like the design.

Widgets

I am using five widgets on my left sidebar. The first three are the usual Search, Subscribe, and Recent Comments. A text widget allows me to add the image and link to jesuschrist.lds.org. The WP-Stat widget by Lester Chan displays my WordPress blog statistics including general total statistics.

On the right sidebar I am using seven widgets. The first two are text widgets to display my dofollow logo and a photograph of yours truly. Then the usual Blogroll, Categories, and Archives. I finish up with two more test widgets that hold the latest of my starred Google articles and various rankings.

I have played with other widgets. Some didn’t meet the XHTML 1.0 Strict standards so I eliminated them. For example, I had a poll in the sidebar for awhile but I wasn’t able to fix the code so that it would pass validation.

Plugins

I use four plugins:

Dofollow. This disables the rel=nofollow attribute in comments.
Google XML Sitemaps. Generates a sitemap which is supported Google.
WP-EMail. Allows people to recommend/send my blog’s post/page to a friend.
WP-SpamFree. An anti-spam plugin.

I have experimented with several plugins but they either were not what I expected or they didn’t meet standards. I like to keep the number of plugins to a minimum.

Pages

The DoFollow page is intended to grow a directory of DoFollow blogs. Feedback and FAQ are standard fare that need no explanation. LDS is where I am compiling statistics about the LDS faith in a compact format. This is nifty because the pages drop down to a second level. And lastly the usual About.

Summary

There is nothing new here but it does keep a record of the evolution of my blog. This is not all the changes I have made, for example, I installed Zen Photo to manage my photographs. However, I will discuss this in another Rickety Review. It appears I have stabilized for now and I am using the same processes from day to day. This greatly speeds up my writing now that I have less technical work to do. Just today I got my website approved to try Woopra Beta. It will be interesting to compare Woopra with Google Analytics in an upcoming Rickety Review. I will keep experimenting and responding to feedback to improve the blog and make it less rickety. Or is that more Rickety?