rickety – Page 7

5K Run Walk Bike Rollerblades Skateboards Strollers and Little Red Wagons

June 14, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

Last Saturday was the annual Kaysville Utah South Stake 5K Run. Run in this instance includes walking and transportation such as strollers and little red wagons. I ran in 2008 but in 2010 I merely took photographs, as I did this year. The runners to watch this time are Jill and Mike, pictured below. Not for their turn of speed but to see if they can best their 2008 times.

2008 Results

Rick 36 minutes 28 seconds, 106th, 8th in class.
Mike 39 minutes 23 seconds, 114th, 9th in class.
Jill 45 minutes 19 seconds, 150th, 4th in class.

I believe Mike’s goal was to beat my time as well as his own.

Jill and Mike are attempting to break their 2008 5K records

The leader at around the half way point

Kaysville Utah South Stake 5K runner with dog

The master appears to be in better shape than his dog

My neighbor was up with the leaders at this stage of the run

Mike is looking very fit - for his age

Kaysville Utah South Stake 5K runner finishing

The finish line!

Kaysville Utah South Stake 5K neighbor finishing

Another neighbor finishing

Jill at the finish

2011 Unofficial Results

Rick (did not run).
Mike 27 minutes 59 seconds.
Jill 43 minutes 15 seconds.

Brigham City Utah Temple Spire

June 10, 2011 by rickety 4 Comments

Brigham City temple on Memorial Day

Two weeks ago the Brigham City temple walls were being installed. Yesterday the base of the temple spire was the focus. Today the spire itself will be attached. I took a photograph from the webcam at noon (see below) after the spire was erected. It is looking more like a temple every day.

One of the sides of the base of the spire is cleaned. The spire is laying horizontally behind it

Construction workers ready to install the base walls of the spire

A wall of the spire base is installed

Another wall being maneuvered in place

Video

Brigham City temple spire base finishing touches

Another part of the base is aloft

Brigham City History

Polygamy

From 1852 until 1890, leaders of the LDS Church encouraged male church members, especially those in leadership positions, to marry more than one wife. Following the Old Testament precedent of plural wives, church members had the option, but not the requirement, of plural marriages. They believed they were protected in this practice by the freedom of religion clause in the Bill of Rights. Because of widespread negative reaction, however, Congress enacted legislation in 1882 which made polygamy a felony punishable by five years in prison and a $500 fine.

Although many were imprisoned, Mormon men continued in polygamy until the practice was officially abolished in 1890 by Church President Wilford Woodruff. By 1904, any man marrying more than one wife was excommunicated from the Church. Since Mormon polygamy was practiced for a relatively short time and no known official records of plural marriages were kept, it is impossible to determine precisely what percentage of Mormon men were polygamous. Among the men living in Brigham City between 1850 and 1880, however, at least 17% were polygamists. The more prominent and prosperous men of the community tended to have larger numbers of wives. (From: Brighamcity.utah.gov)

Webcam photograph of the temple spire installed. Taken at noon today

Photo and Video Credit: Susan Ward

100 Years Ago: Congressman, Stories, and Savings

June 5, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

Postal Savings Depository window

The following was adapted from the Improvement Era magazine of June 1911.

Another Congressman

On the morning of April 27 the House of Representatives passed a bill providing for the enlargement of the National House of Representatives from 391 to 433 members. The apportionment to the several states will be made on the basis of the population shown by the recent federal census. This bill is known as the Houston bill, and leaves the legislatures of the different states to re-arrange the congressional districts in their respective states on the basis of the new population, one member for each 211,877 inhabitants. Utah will gain one member.

[The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the size of the House at 435 where it remains today, though Congress has the authority to change that number. Utah increased its Representatives to two in 1913 and then to three in 1983. As a result of the 2010 census, in 2013 a fourth Utah Representative will be seated in Washington.]

Mother Stories

Mother Stories From the Book of Mormon is the title of a nicely printed story book by William A. Morton, author of The Gospel Primer, Primary Helper, and the Children’s Life of Our Savior, etc. The volume consists of twenty Book of Mormon stories, suitably adapted and attractively told, and dealing with interesting incidents in the life of Nephi, Lehi, Zeniff, Sons of Mosiah, the Three Nephites, Samuel the Lamanite, two memorable battles, and Christ’s visit to the Nephites. Every mother in the land should find the contents of this book of great interest to her children as bed-time stories.

[President Hinckley said of this book: “As I thumbed through the pages, there came into my mind pictures of cold winter nights when we sat about the stove in our home, our mother reading to us about the great characters of the Nephite record. This was my first introduction to the Book of Mormon.” The book can be read at Google Books or Open Library.]

Postal Savings Banks

Postal savings banks in Utah are found in Provo and Bingham Canyon, and a new order makes Logan the third city in the state designated for a bank of this kind. The post office department at Washington has decided to have a bank in each second class city of the country, the postal bank idea having passed beyond the experimental stage, and been pronounced a success wherever tried.

[The United States Postal Savings System was established in 1911 and was discontinued in 1966. It offered account holders the post office’s convenient location and hours and the security of depositing funds in a federal institution.]

Adapted from: “Passing Events”, Improvement Era, Vol. XIV. June, 1911. No. 8.
Photo credit: Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

Postal Savings Certificate of Deposit 1941

2010 Defense Spending by Country

June 4, 2011 by rickety 24 Comments

The eighteen countries with the largest military budgets. See table below for actual dollar amounts.

Military Expenditures

The eighteen nations with the largest military budgets in 2010 are shown in the chart above (click to enlarge). The United States, with a budget of $698 billion, spends more on defense than the next seventeen nations combined. The United States military spending is almost six times that of the next biggest spender, China ($119 billion) and more than eleven times that of Russia ($59 billion).

The Department of Defense budget in fiscal year 2010 accounted for 19% of the United States federal budget and 28% of estimated tax revenues. The U.S. accounts for 40% of the world’s yearly defense outlays.

Defense Spending by GDP – Top Ten Countries

Patrol near Combat Outpost Castle, Helmand province, Afghanistan

U.S. Marine patrol, Combat Outpost Castle, Afghanistan

Eritrea 20.9%
Saudi Arabia 11.2%
Oman 9.7%
United Arab Emirates 7.3%
Timor Leste 6.8%
Israel 6.3%
Chad 6.2%
Jordan 6.1%
Georgia 5.6%
Iraq 5.4 %

When spending is considered by percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the United States is not even in the top ten. At 4.7% of GDP the U.S. falls to eleventh place.

Six of the ten countries listed are in the Middle East where there are sharp regional tensions. The fear of conventional military attack is very real which helps justify high defense spending.

Internal instability is a growing factor and is a threat to the existing power structure within states, as demonstrated by recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and other Middle East countries.

GDP percentages are for 2009, except for Eritrea (2003). The list contains seven countries that do not appear in the table below because their total military spending is lower than the top thirty nations.

Table Of Defense Spending – Top 30 Countries in 2010

Click ONCE on column headers to sort.

Country	$billion¹	$ Rank	%GDP²	%GDP Rank³	$ Per Capita
United States^{4 & 8}	698.3	1	4.7	11	2,260
China⁹	119.4	2	2.2	55	88
United Kingdom	59.6	3	2.7	45	963
France	59.3	4	2.5	47	915
Russia	58.7	5	4.3	14	419
Japan⁷	54.5	6	1.0	129	429
Saudi Arabia⁵	45.2	7	11.2	2	1,727
Germany	45.2	8	1.4	99	550
India	41.3	9	2.8	42	34
Italy¹¹	37.0	10	1.8	77	615
Brazil	33.5	11	1.6	88	172
South Korea¹⁰	27.6	12	2.9	39	569
Australia	24.0	13	1.9	70	1,115
Canada	22.8	14	1.5	91	672
Turkey	17.5	15	2.7	44	231
United Arab Emirates¹²	16.1	16	7.3	4	3,410
Spain	15.4	17	1.1	122	339
Israel⁶	14.0	18	6.3	6	1,929
Netherlands	11.2	19	1.5	93	671
Colombia	10.7	20	3.7	25	232
Greece	9.4	21	3.2	34	835
Taiwan	9.1	22	2.4	49	395
Poland	8.9	23	1.8	78	234
Singapore	8.4	24	4.3	13	1,736
Indonesia	7.2	25	0.9	136	31
Chile⁵	6.9	26	3.5	28	404
Norway	6.7	27	1.6	87	1,385
Algeria	5.7	28	3.8	21	160
Pakistan	5.6	29	2.8	43	31
Sweden	5.6	30	1.2	118	607

Notes

Figures are in US $billions at 2010 prices and exchange rates.
Percent GDP is for 2009.
Percent GDP ranking is included because high expenditure countries are not necessarily spending at high percent of GDP.
$159.3 billion of the U.S. budget is for “Overseas Contingency Operations,” to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Figures for Chile and Saudi Arabia are for the adopted budget, rather than actual expenditure.
Figures for Israel do not include spending on paramilitary forces.
Figures for Japan do not include military pensions.
Figures for the USA are for financial year (1 October to 30 September of stated year).
Figures for China are estimates, including estimates for items not in the official defense budget.
Figures for South Korea do not include spending on relocations and welfare of $974 million dollars.
Figures for Italy include spending on civil defence, which typically amounts to 4.5% of the total.
Figures for United Arab Emirates are uncertain and lacking in transparency. The only available source of data is from the IMF.

Sources

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database 2011, http://milexdata.sipri.org.
Dollars per capita were calculated using 2010 populations via Wolfram Alpha.
U.S. military budget percentages from Wikipedia, accessed 4 June 2011.
DoD photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class Clinton W. Runyon, U.S. Marine Corps.

Dinosaurs at Hogle Zoo

June 2, 2011 by rickety 9 Comments

Yesterday’s visit to Hogle Zoo with Jill, Adelaide, and my grandchildren found us encountering dinosaurs. Their heads and necks moved and they made noises so as to appear more life-like. The Dilophosaurus even spit water out of its mouth which scared my granddaughter Aurora and quite surprised me just as I was about to take its photograph.

The dinosaurs are presented in alphabetical order. If you click on the photographs, they will either show a larger version of the same photograph or a different shot of the same dinosaur.

Allosaurus

Allosaurus (different lizard) is the state fossil of Utah. The powerful skull of Allosaurus was a perfect meat-eating machine. The jaws were large and massive, with serrated teeth for cutting meat. The skull was composed of separated pieces that could be disjointed allowing him to swallow enormous chunks of meat whole. Allosaurus constantly grew, shed and replaced it teeth, some of which averaged three or four inches in length.

Allosaurus

Dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus (double-crested lizard) had colorful crests that could have been used to attract mates. In the movie Jurassic Park, Dilophosaurus paralyzed its prey by spitting blinding venom in the eyes. There is no evidence of this but it does make for a good story.

Dilophosaurus with baby. They spit blinding venom in our eyes that felt a little like water.

Kentrosaurus

Kentrosaurus (sharp-point lizard) had plates along the low back tail that most likely served a defensive function. The tail had two pairs of sharp, two-foot spikes that were probably used for lashing out against predators. The plates may have had blood flowing through them to help heat and cool the dinosaur’s body.

Kentrosaurus

Megalosaurus

Megalosaurus (great lizard) had curved teeth with a serrated edge and strong claws on each toe and finger. The curved claws were designed for seizing and holding prey, while the jaws were the main killing tool. Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur to be discovered, in England in 1676.

Megalosaurus

Parasaurolophus

Parasaurolophus (crested lizard) had a hollow head-crest that allowed it to make a sound like a trombone. The noise may have been used to “talk” to the rest of the herd, warning them about approaching predators.

Parasaurolophus

Rhinosaurus

Rhinosaurus (horned nose) is characterized by its large size, an herbivorous diet, large horns, and a thick protective skin. The Rhinosaurus can exceed 7,700 pounds in weight and have a head and body length of 15 feet. They are extremely nearsighted; making the Rhinosaurus dangerous and unpredictable, and likely to charge unfamiliar sounds and smells.

Rhinosaurus. This one looked the most life-like

Styracosaurus

Styracosaurus (spiked lizard) used its horns for defense and could charge like a rhino to protect itself. But because its frill was not solid bone and was easily punctured, some researchers theorize that it may have been able to flush the frill with blood creating eyespots to scare predators away.

Styracosaurus and baby

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Tyrannosaurus Rex (tyrant lizard king) was one of the largest animal predators. With a 5-foot-long head, 8-inch long teeth and a bite three times stronger than a lion’s, it could eat 200 pounds of meat in one bite. The little arms were extremely strong for holding on to struggling prey. It had a keen sense of smell, bone-crushing bites, and super speed.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Notes and News

Not shown here but on display at Hogle Zoo: Coelophysis, Suchmimus, and Brachiosaurus.
Dinosaur details are from onsite information displays.
At 1 pm we were fortunate to experience first-hand feeding time at the zoo.
An extensive multi-animal habitat, called Rocky Shores, featuring polar bears, sea lions, seals and brown bears will open in the Spring of 2012.

Brigham City Temple Walls

May 27, 2011 by rickety 8 Comments

Brigham City Temple installing an upper panel on the south side

Installing an upper panel on the south side of the temple

On Wednesday we saw a continuation from a week ago of the installation of the exterior panels of the temple. As a tribute to Brigham City and the pioneers, living peach trees will be planted in the grounds. The precast concrete panels have a peach blossom motif that will also be continued for the interior design, etched into the windows, stained glass, and other artwork. You can see the peach blossom motif on the walls in the photographs (click to enlarge).

Brigham City Temple from front of tabernacle

View of the temple construction from the doors of the tabernacle

Brigham City Temple one upper panel from afar

The first upper panel to be installed

The installation of an upper panel on the south side of the temple

The second upper panel being installed

Three upper panels installed

Brigham City History

The Co-op (continued)

Not all Co-op enterprises were in Brigham City. For example, the dairy was established in Collinston, about 20 miles north of Brigham City. Christian Hansen managed the dairy. His wife Elizabeth, who had made cheese in her native Denmark, supervised the dairy’s cheese production. They asked farmers to give the dairy use of their cows in the summertime in return for cheese and butter. Between 300 and 700 cows were left there each summer.

Brigham City’s Pioneer Days celebration in 1875 featured displays from 29 cooperative departments. The Brigham City Co-op became a model for other Mormon settlements to follow.

The Co-op maintained a high level of success until the late 1870s when a series of disasters occurred. Some of the problems were crop failures due to drought and grasshoppers, destruction of the woolen mill by fire and loss of the saw mill to the federal government. In 1878 a federal tax was levied on local currency used for trade, and $10,200 had to be borrowed to pay the assessment.

The combined losses were so great that after 1878 only the mercantile business remained in operation. In 1884 the federal government returned some of the tax money, and the new Brigham City Merchantile and Manufacturing store was built and opened in 1891. It continued to operate until the Co-op closed down in 1895. (From: Brighamcity.utah.gov)

The north side of the temple

Brigham City Temple construction worker on the roof

I wouldn't want to be the construction worker on the roof of the temple

Brigham City Temple parking construction

The parking garage under construction

Brigham City Temple from side of tabernacle

View of the temple construction from the south side of the tabernacle

Photo Credit: Jill Willoughby

Brigham City Utah Temple Walls

May 18, 2011 by rickety 2 Comments

It is exciting to see the walls go up. One can be forgiven for missing the shiny new roof

It has been almost two weeks since we last had photographs of the Brigham City Temple. The news last time was the beginnings of the west spire. But just today the walls of the temple were being attached to the frame. Jill tells me that yesterday they were not in place.

I didn’t know that the walls were prefabricated offsite. Anyway, enjoy the photographs. I expect that the next visit will show an even more startling transformation.

This closeup of the side of the temple shows a prefabricated wall in the foreground

Heavy rain fell all day

The west spire now has as much completed as the east spire

Brigham City History

The Co-op

In 1865, Lorenzo Snow asked all the Brigham City merchants to unite their businesses for the common interest of the community. The purpose was to provide jobs for everyone and to make the people self-sustaining. Most supported the request, and on December 7, 1865, the cooperative enterprise was formed.

Lorenzo Snow, Samuel Smith, William Thomas and Alvin Nichols were the first stockholders. Stock was sold at $5 a share, and produce and labor as well as cash, were accepted. The first business was a mercantile store. When the store had made enough money, the association established its first industry, a tannery.

To comply with the Territorial Incorporation Act of 1870, the cooperative was incorporated December 15, 1870 and became the Brigham City Merchantile and Manufacturing Association, commonly known as the Brigham City Co-op. Almost every resident of the community was involved in some way.

The cooperative grew quickly during the 1870s adding such departments as a woolen factory, planing mill, boot and shoe shop, farms, harness shop, carpentry department, butchery, saw mill, adobe and brick yards, and a dairy. (From: Brighamcity.utah.gov)

I am not sure what the construction in the foreground is all about

Grandson Bryson on the grounds of the Box Elder Tabernacle

Photo Credit: Jill Willoughby

Spiral Jetty

May 15, 2011 by rickety 11 Comments

Spiral Jetty seen from the shore

Last November Paul and I visited Spiral Jetty at Rozel Point. Then the Jetty was several hundred feet away from the waters of the Great Salt Lake. Yesterday Paul revisited Spiral Jetty, accompanied by Megan, with Julie and Dan. They found the Jetty almost submerged. Compare the photographs of the Jetty from November of last year with the ones that are published here.

Daniel standing on the outer spiral of the Jetty

The graph below shows a year of daily readings up until Paul’s visit yesterday. The water level has risen over a foot from the same day last year and nearly three feet from our last visit in November. NGVD 29 is the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 and is a hybrid model closely representing the mean sea level. Note that the equipment malfunctioned near the low readings and appears to have taken at least two weeks to repair.

Readings from 14 May 2010 to 14 May 2011

The historical average level of Great Salt Lake is 4,200 feet. Spiral Jetty is only visible when the level of Great Salt Lake drops below 4,197.8 feet. The maximum elevation of the lake was 4,211.6 feet, seen in 1986 and 1987. The minimum elevation was in 1963 at 4,191.35 feet.

Megan stands at the center of Spiral Jetty

Great Salt Lake is the largest U.S. lake west of the Mississippi River and the 4th largest terminal lake (no outlet) in the world. It is about 75 miles long and 28 miles wide, and covers 1,700 square miles with a maximum depth of about 35 feet. A remnant of Lake Bonneville, a prehistoric freshwater lake that was 10 times larger than Great Salt Lake. It is typically three to five times saltier than the ocean.

Spiral Jetty is almost submerged

Paul reports that the rough trail to Spiral Jetty has been graded and resurfaced and is now a smooth drive. A parking lot has been built near the Jetty. I suspect that those who do not visit the Spiral Jetty soon will have nothing to see for perhaps another three decades.

This may be the last you will see of Spiral Jetty for a time

Credits

Photographs: Courtesy Megan Street and her iPhone
Graph: U.S. Geological Survey
Hat tip to Paul for the idea of a follow up Spiral Jetty post

North Fork Park

May 14, 2011 by rickety 4 Comments

North Fork Park campsite

I believe this is the first time that Jill and I have been camping with all our grown children at the same time. Plus their spouses were with us as well as all three of our grandchildren. We did not go far, just to North Fork Park.

Bryson and Aurora enjoy giant marshmallows

Cassandra

Our children’s spouses are fun to be around. Jill and I are glad that they are a part of our family.

Derek

Rachel

Adelaide

The sunglasses that Adelaide is wearing remind me of the ones Jill wore back in the early 1980s.

For cooking, we had Derek’s smoker, which provided us with some great chicken. Sarah cooked our evening meal using dutch ovens. The campfire was used to roast marshmallows and a homemade cooker, made from a 12 ounce can, carboard, and candle wax, was utilized to cook our bacon and eggs for breakfast.

North Fork Park Derek and smoked chicken

Derek attending to his smoked chicken. Mmm...tasty

Dinner, clockwise from left: Paul, Megan, Jake, Rachel, Dan, Steven, Aurora, Adelaide, Cassandra, Rick

Dan: Marshmallow, anyone?

For entertainment we visited around the campfire, played with grandchildren, and identified the stars using Google Sky. There was also…

moose watching...

music...

Jake making faces at Cassandra...

and smoke avoidance

The moose were just hanging around the campground.

Sleeping was uneventful except for Jake eating too much dinner and bursting his sleeping mat. And lastly, the mandatory group photograph, click for a 4000×3000 version.

We heard a loud bang late last night. It was just Jake and his exploding mat.

Rear: Jake, Paul, Dan, Steve, Derek, Rick. Front: Jill, Aurora, Rachel, Megan, Bryson, Cassandra, Ada, Sarah

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Video

Brigham City History

Polygamy

Another Congressman

Mother Stories

﻿﻿Postal Savings Banks

Military Expenditures

Defense Spending by GDP – Top Ten Countries

Table Of Defense Spending – Top 30 Countries in 2010

Notes

Sources

Allosaurus

Dilophosaurus

Kentrosaurus

Megalosaurus

Parasaurolophus

Rhinosaurus

Styracosaurus

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Notes and News

Brigham City History

The Co-op (continued)

Brigham City History

The Co-op

Credits

Postal Savings Banks