Rickety – Page 47 – Mostly about Utah

Mongolian Moments #1

November 14, 2009 by rickety 1 Comment

This conversation actually took place before Daniel left for his mission in Mongolia. Daniel has a great sense of humor. He has been on his mission in Mongolia for over a year. He has worked hard and learned much but has kept his good humor throughout. Occasionally I will reflect his experiences in cartoon strip form. Perhaps you would like to create one yourself. I would be glad to post it.

Click on comic strip for larger image. Created using Strip Generator. See all the comics on the Comics Page.

Steven Celebrates Birthday At Lone Star

November 12, 2009 by rickety 1 Comment

In November Steven celebrated his birthday with a meal at the Layton Lone Star Steakhouse. Well big deal y’all may be thinking. But for us it was a chance to get together, take some photographs, and eat some great food. Steven loves steak so he came to the right place. For family and friends who weren’t there, here are a few photographs.

Jill and I were taking the photographs so we were out of the picture. Click on the images for greater resolution.

Steven with his Lone Star provided birthday cake.

Steven's wife Adelaide and daughter Aurora.

Aurora was happy to be there.

Steven's brother Paul waiting for his food.

Steven's brother Jake and Rachel.

Sarah, Steven’s sister, is in Texas where the real steak is. Steven’s brother Daniel is in Mongolia eating goat stomach.
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Brigham City Utah Temple Artist’s Conception

November 12, 2009 by rickety 3 Comments

Brigham City Utah Temple Artist's Conception

While eating dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse last night with family and friends we wondered what the new Brigham City temple will look like. One of the party suggested that we create our own artist’s conception and post it on the blog. I received in my email today the results you see above.

The term artist is applied loosely here — very loosely. It may be wise not to reveal the identity of this budding Greg Olsen. Not to be picky but the temple is facing the wrong way. Isn’t it supposed to face the Brigham City tabernacle? It appears that the temple will have a very small steeple but perhaps it is that way so as to fit in the photograph. I am glad that there will be an Angel Moroni but to be almost as tall as the steeple — that is a lot of gold leaf.

Perhaps to save on the cost the original parking lot from a prior development is to be left intact. But that won’t accommodate many patrons unless only sealings are performed. It is nice that there will be some trees planted but the electrical boxes will have to go. The temple looks like it will have an exterior of stucco. I don’t recall that material being used before. The many large windows indicate that more natural light than usual will be utilized. The box shape will help with energy efficiency. Or maybe it symbolizes Box Elder. Who knows what was on this artist’s mind?

We all appreciate (in varying degrees, mostly small) the efforts of our artist but if you have something better please send it in and I will post it.

Missionary Dan Email #2 from Choibalsan, Mongolia

November 9, 2009 by rickety 3 Comments

Daniel and Elder Armstrong (the driver) cruising in Choibalsan.

Well I am here in Choibalsan. It is wonderful and I love it already. We actually have cars here. I attached a picture of our car. It works very good, but we walk most of the time. The other picture is the sunrise when we went out for a little walk to see the river in the morning with my district.

The day after I got here we went walking around. It felt very peaceful and quiet. I knew that was probably because there are few cars and no buses, but it felt so very different. Completely different… I wondered why… Then I realized. There are no mountains here. It is completely flat. That was a great discovery! Afterward we continued walking around. While walking, I felt like some burden had been lifted off my back. I was so relaxed and felt so good. I thought about why I felt that way the entire day. I couldn’t accept that just because I came here some burden would be gone from my back. Then I realized… I wasn’t wearing my backpack. Ha ha. That was funny. My backpack came later with my luggage by truck. It really isn’t that heavy either.

Missionary Work

My companion is Elder Armstrong. He is from Hawaii and is 26 years old. This is his last half transfer. He goes home in December. He is a good companion and we get along really good. We have quite a few investigators that are progressing rapidly. It was fun to meet everyone. We had a wonderful experience when we taught an investigator that had met with my companion before, but had just returned from the country side. We taught her the first lesson and asked her how it made her feel. She said she felt feelings of peace and comfort. That made me feel very happy and thankful. Also when we asked her if she had any questions she asked one after another after another. She told us that she had been reading the Book of Mormon while she had been in the country side. That was one of the best things she could have said. After resolving the questions she set her baptismal date.

This whole week the church hasn’t been allowed to hold any sort of meeting at the church. The government isn’t allowing it because of the swine flu or what’s it called. So we have had lots more time to go out and meet people for about the next week or two. This Sunday there wasn’t any Sacrament Meeting at church, so all the elders in my district were given permission to take the sacrament to all members in our area. I think every elder in the mission did the same thing actually. It was a good experience. We gathered members that lived close to each other and administered the sacrament eight times to probably forty people. I felt really good to be able to give people the chance to renew their covenants, but at the same time I’m glad we don’t always go to everyone’s house to give them the sacrament. I felt the spirit strongly as we prepared and blessed the sacrament. I know that it is a very important ordinance and covenant that we make.

It was strange on Tuesday it was really warm. We didn’t even wear coats. Then Wednesday it got freezing. Well not that cold actually just around a mere -15 degrees F. That was only in the evening though. It hasn’t been that cold lately. When the wind blows it pierces your skin etc. If I am wearing enough clothes and my coat it doesn’t affect me much though. I am excited for when my eye lashes will start to have ice on them and all that good stuff. That comes in December and January when it is around -35 degrees F. My companion said you can’t tell the difference between -20 and -40. It is just plain cold. Anyway I need to get going. Thanks for the pictures Dad!

To Mom

Congratulations on losing all that weight. I still weigh what I did when I left. A while ago I was 175 pounds, but then I dropped right back down to 165. It is impossible to gain weight here. I am surprised I still weigh the same. My apartment is the same. It has rooms and walls. We have a cleaner that comes once a week. That was exciting to find out. She is a member that has been to the temple. So for the first time in my life since I was eight years old someone else is going to do my laundry. That’s cool. Ummm…. Things that I need. I need a new watch battery CR2016. That would be really cool to get. Nothing else that I can think of. Thanks Mom, I love you!

Thanks for the love and support.

Love Elder Willoughby.

Presented have been portions of an email from Elder Daniel Willoughby serving in the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. If anyone wishes to send Daniel a message, write it in the comments and I will make sure he receives it.

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Brigham City Utah Temple Lot

November 8, 2009 by rickety 2 Comments

Brigham City Utah Temple lot

The announcement of the Brigham City Utah Temple was made by LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson at the opening of the 179th Semiannual General Conference of the church in Salt Lake City on 3 October 2009.

We continue to build temples. We desire that as many members as possible have an opportunity to attend the temple without having to travel inordinate distances. Worldwide, 83 percent of our members live within 200 miles of a temple. That percentage will continue to increase as we construct new temples around the world.

The Brigham City temple will be the 14th in Utah. The announcement of a new temple underscores the expected population and business growth many expect Box Elder County to enjoy. There are new businesses in the county and many new homes are expected in the future.

On October 26, 2009, Church officials announced that the temple and tabernacle will be face-to-face across Main Street on a city block known as Central Square that once was home to Central Elementary School. The temple will be built on the property at 250 S. Main St., directly west of and across the street from the church’s Brigham City Tabernacle at 251 S. Main. The block is bordered in both directions along Main Street by retail businesses and to the west by private residences.

The Brigham City Utah Temple District will be formed from stakes currently belonging to the Ogden Utah Temple District and the Logan Utah Temple District. No completion date has been announced, nor have any plans about the design or size.

In the photograph you can see the Brigham City tabernacle through the trees. Main Street is between the tabernacle and the grassless vacant land where the new temple will be built. The grass and the paved area are also part of the temple lot.

I hope to post more photographs as work progresses.

Photo Credit: Susan Ward
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Arkansas Bank Charges 82,563% Overdraft Interest

November 8, 2009 by rickety Leave a Comment

Bad check The fuss lately over bank fees has left me mostly disinterested. After all, fees are what other people pay — those folks who don’t know how to manage their money. Wrong. When it happens to you then it isn’t carelessness any more. It’s just the law of averages — sooner or later the fee devil will get you.

Too Little Money

When I was raising a family occasionally the bank would call and tell my wife that our account was overdrawn but if she would make a deposit that day there would be no fee. Those were the days when you each had a checkbook and tried to keep the register balanced. When the bank statement arrived each month you would reconcile it and discover your true balance. It is much easier these days because you can check balances online. So no more overdrafts. It was never a case of too little money but just poor timing.

A few years ago I became debt free and began putting surplus funds into rewards checking accounts. This earned me an interest rate of between 4% and 6%. Once in a while I would change banks to earn a better rate but leave the old accounts open to move funds back again if rates improved at the old bank or worsened at the new bank.

Just Poor Timing

On the 5th. I moved a sum from an Arkansas bank, leaving just $1.00 in the account to keep it open. I have a company that automatically charges one of my credit cards $3.31 a month, billed on the 4th. Naturally I set up my Arkansas rewards checking account to pay this bill so that it would count as a transaction. On the 6th. the $3.31 was posted, leaving me $2.21 negative and triggering a $25 overdraft fee. On the 8th. I remember the automatic payment and transfer $30 back to the bank account which will probably not arrive until the 10th. or 11th. Not a case of too little money but just poor timing.

So far in summary:

4th Nov: $3.31 billed by company.
6th Nov: $3.31 posted in bank account.
6th Nov: -$27.21 new balance ($1.00 – $3.31 – $25.00).
8th Nov: $30 transferred to cover.
10th Nov: Overdraft cleared.

Back-of-the-envelope calculation:

6th to 10th = 5 days.
$25 / $2.31 = 11.31.
365 days / 5 days = 73.
11.31 x 73 = 825.63 = 82,563% APR.

There you have it. Even people who think they are reasonably competent money managers (me) can make a slip. It isn’t the bank’s fault, it was me who miscalculated. It wasn’t a case of too little money but just poor timing.

I think I want to own a bank.
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Missionary Dan Email #1 from Choibalsan, Mongolia

November 2, 2009 by rickety 2 Comments

Presented here are portions of an email from Elder Daniel Willoughby serving in the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. If anyone wishes to send Daniel a message, write it in the comments and I will make sure he receives it.

Munkh baatar and Daniel (right) wearing masks to church because of swine flu.

This week was one full of changes. I was with Elder Wright for one week. He recently got his appendix out so he did the best he could, but we didn’t get much work done. We taught a lot of English and things so that was fun. Elder Wright was my first district leader in Mongolia so that was a nice reunion. We made cookies to celebrate.

Transferred To Choibalsan

Elder Wright (left) and Daniel with celebratory cookies.

This Saturday was transfers. I am heading out to the countryside today to Choibalsan. [Editor’s note: check out the LDS chapel] I get to travel by plane because it is so far away. It is near China I think. So Saturday, Sunday and today I was with Elder Munkh Baatar. His area is my old area so I got to go around there for two days again. We took a picture together with the masks. They gave us masks at church to wear because of the swine flu or something like that. I don’t really think the mask does anything but whatever. It was cool to see my old area again.

The missionaries put on a little Halloween party at the church. We celebrated Elder Huder’s (my zone leader) birthday as well. The party was good and lots of people came. I almost had Otgan Bat’s little sister come, but at the last moment she couldn’t make it. She came to church the next day though.

Baptism

Daniel (right) with Elder Hansen receiving his cup.

Nyanaa was baptized by her son and to our surprise her husband came to support her. Od Bayar came too and we were really excited to have a baptism. It went very well and we were happy. At church she received the Holy Ghost. It was one of the busiest Sundays that I have had. My less active family came, Bat Munkh and erden Jargal. They haven’t been to church for such a long time. They came to say goodbye. It was very exciting. My new members said goodbye as well. I am going to miss all of them. I didn’t really want to leave, but at the same time I am very excited to go.

I got Elder Hensen a cup that he has been wanting forever from my investigator. I had her bring it to church yesterday. So that was exciting too. He leaves in December for home so today is probably the last time I’ll see him.

My old companion that left, came back Saturday. We talked for awhile and he is doing good. He is with another elder in my district. They are making some areas bigger because of the delayed missionaries from America. Last I heard they won’t be coming for awhile. We have around 160 missionaries now from 180 a while ago. So that is why transfers was a week earlier. Anyway nothing else is that new. Thanks for all the love and support.

To Mom

The missing elder is Elder Weaver. He had an emergency transfer to Choibalsan right before our year mark. So he wasn’t able to be there. Sunday here is just like Sunday in America. We go to church and do the normal things. I don’t bless the sacrament, but sometimes the missionaries help pass. Yeah they have a primary. It is big, lots of kids come to church. The mothers nursing their babies was really disturbing at first. They do it whenever they want with no warning. By whenever, I mean in the buses, during the sacrament, in a lesson when you’re talking to them, walking around on the sidewalk, just about everywhere. Yep… I accidentally sent that picture — by the way there was another one that was better. Oh well. Thanks Mom, love you!

Love from Elder Willoughby

Daniel's English class

List of Daniel’s missionary posts.
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Build an Arc Welder from Microwave Ovens: Part 4

October 31, 2009 by rickety 2 Comments

The Story So Far

Paul obtained his microwave ovens, wired the garage for 220 volts, extracted the first transformer, and rewinded the secondary. In this segment all he will be doing is to practice with a real arc-welder.

Paul practicing his arc-welding

Paul decided before he used his homebrew arc-welder (not yet built) he would practice with a factory built arc-welder. He borrowed his grandfather’s arc-welder and tried it out today. He needed a suitable piece of scrap metal which he found in the middle of the road while driving home.

At a suitable distance I took several photographs. My son Steven tells me later that the arc light could damage the sensor in my camera. The welder has the old style 220 volt plug so Paul wasn’t able to use his new outlet in the garage. Our oven uses the older style 220 volt socket so Paul ran the welder from the kitchen.

Paul will be finished with his studies this December so maybe he will have time to finish his own arc-welder. In the meantime check out this video:

External Articles

Build a Microwave Transformer Homemade Stick/Arc Welder Learn from the experts.
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Davis County Early Voting

October 30, 2009 by rickety 2 Comments

Jill early voting in the Kaysville City elections

This information is for 2009. Do not rely on the information here but use Vote Utah.

I am accustomed to voting early. I don’t feel as rushed because I can pick a day and time that better suits my schedule. Today my wife and I went to Kaysville City town hall to early vote at 2:30 pm. and found there was no waiting. If you wish to early vote then you are too late — today was the last day.

However, there is still the election on Tuesday and I can direct you to information that may be helpful.

Where To Vote

Find election dates, your candiates, registration and voting information

A lot of voting information is located at Leave Your Print. If all you need is to know where to go to vote, wander on over to the Voter Information Website. Enter you name, birth date, county, and house number and your polling place will be shown. The site will also tell you with which party (if any) you are affiliated. A sample ballot is available tailored to your city. Here is where I would go to vote on Tuesday if I hadn’t voted already:

A quick way to find your party affiliation, voting location, and sample ballot.

A quick way to find your party affiliation, voting location, and personalized ballot.

Who To Vote For

The personalized sample ballot is a great help in knowing who is on the ballot. I don’t like to be surprised when I get to the polling booth. My Kaysville City ballot looks like this.

Cities in Davis County will cast votes for mayors and city council members Tuesday 3rd November. Generally one mayor and two council members will be elected. Candidates currently on the ballots include:

Bountiful

Mayor

Joe L. Johnson (Incumbent)
Jeffrey L. Novak

City Council

Ernie Cox
Fred Moss (Incumbent)
Thomas B. Tolman (Incumbent)
Phill Wright

Centerville

Mayor

Ron Russell (Incumbent)

City Council

Justin Y. Allen (Incumbent)
Melissa Hogan
Sherri Lyn Lindstrom (Incumbent)
Brian M. Plummer

Clearfield

Mayor

Don Wood (Incumbent)

City Council

Glen Mills
Kathryn Murray (Incumbent)
Vern R. Phipps (Incumbent)
Bruce L. Young

Clinton

Mayor

L. Mitch Adams (Incumbent)
Carl Rumsey

City Council

Blair A. Bateman
Joanne Hansen
Barbara J. Patterson (Incumbent)
Michael Petersen

Farmington

Mayor

Scott C. Harbertson (Incumbent)

City Council

John S. Bilton
D. Kevin Poff
Jim Talbot
Anita Todd

Fruit Heights

Mayor

Todd Stevenson (Incumbent)

City Council

Don Caroll (Sagebrush)
Bette Hubrich (Sagebrush)
Nicole Miller (Pinecone)
Eileen Moss (Pinecone, Incumbent)

Kaysville

Mayor

Steve Hiatt
Neka F. Roundy (Incumbent)

City Council

Brian D. Cook
Richard Lenz
Gil A. Miller (Incumbent)
Jared R. Taylor

Layton

Mayor

Steve Curtis (Incumbent)
Bob J. Stevenson

Council

Mike Bouwhuis (Incumbent)
Barry T. Flitton
Adam S Gardiner
Sherri Lee Tatton

North Salt Lake

Mayor

Leonard K. Arave
Lisa Watts Baskin

City Council

Matt Hardy (Incumbent)
Stewart B. Harman
Matt Jensen
Hayward B. Oblad

South Weber

Mayor

Jeffery G. Monroe

City Council

Sara Lusk
Farrell Poll (Incumbent)

Sunset

Mayor

Chad W. Bangerter
Ryan Furniss

City Council

Brent L. Andrews
Ricky Carlson (Incumbent)
Bradford S. Weller

Syracuse

Mayor

Craig Jenkins
Jamie Nagle

City Council

Matt Kimmel
Theresa A. Sheffield
Larry D. Shingleton (Incumbent)
Robert Whiteley

West Bountiful

Mayor

James Behunin (Incumbent)
Ken Romney

City Council

George Biada
Kent Bond
Mark Preece
Teresa Thomas

West Point

Mayor

Erik R. Craythorne (Incumbent)
Terry Matthews

City Council

Andy Dawson (Incumbent)
R.Kent Henderson (Incumbent)
Shawn Watkins
Brogan L. Fullmer

Woods Cross

Mayor

Kent Parry (Incumbent)

City Council

Leo Beecher
Tamy Dayley (Incumbent)
Jon Hadlow (Incumbent)
Ryan Westergard

What Bond To Vote For

There is only one bond and if you guessed it was for education you would be right. Seems like there is always a bond for education. The controversy this time around is about whether your taxes will increase or not. The school district claims it is not a true tax increase because an equivalent amount of debt is being paid off. So let’s put it another way: your taxes will decrease if the bond is rejected.

This is the text of the Ballot Proposition:

Official Ballot Proposition for Davis School District, Utah
Special Bond Election
November 3, 2009
Bruce D. Williams
Business Administrator

PROPOSITION
Shall the Board of Eduction (the “Board”) of Davis School District, Utah (the “District”), be authorized to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed Two Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($250,000,000) (the “Bonds”) for the purpose of defraying all or a portion of the costs of new school construction, land acquisition, equipment acquisition, and renovation and improvement of existing school facilities, and for payment of expenses reasonably incurred in connection with the acquisition and construction of said improvements and the authorization and issuance of the Bonds; said Bonds to be due and payable in not to exceed twenty-one (21) years from the date of the Bonds?

NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE DUE TO BOND ISSUANCE

Passage of this Proposition means that the tax on a $252,000 residence within the District would increase by $156.93 per year.

The tax on a $252,000 business within the District would increase by $285.33 per year.

However, the Board expects to issue the bonds in such a manner that no increase in the current tax rate for debt service will occur. If the bonds are approved and sold, the current tax rate will continue for more years than if the bonds are not approved.

The foregoing information is only an estimate of tax increases and is not a limit on the amount of taxes that the Board may be required to levy in order to pay debt service on the Bonds. The Board will be obligated to levy taxes without limitation as to rate or amount in order to pay the Bonds, as provided by law. The amounts are based on various assumptions and estimates, including estimated debt service on the Bonds and taxable values of property in the District.

FOR THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS

AGAINST THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS

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Missionary Work

To Mom

Too Little Money

Just Poor Timing

Transferred To Choibalsan

Baptism

To Mom

Related Articles

The Story So Far

External Articles

Where To Vote

Who To Vote For

What Bond To Vote For