Rickety – Page 71 – Mostly about Utah

FrontRunner versus Legacy

September 22, 2008 by rickety 6 Comments

With the opening of Legacy Parkway and FrontRunner now in service for a few months it is instructive to compare some numbers. Note that my rickety figures are approximate, if there is interest I will spend some time to produce more accurate numbers. However, there is such a large difference between both sets that the conclusions would still be the same.

Each project cost approximately the same amount to build. FrontRunner carries 7,800 passengers a day and Legacy Parkway around 30,000 vehicles a day. In addition, over 1,000 FrontRunner passengers previously rode buses. I don’t have any numbers for how many Legacy Parkway riders are in carpools.

FrontRunner made a slight dent in congestion by removing a small percentage of the traffic from the 140,000 daily car trips along I-15. Legacy Parkway cleared I-15 congestion on its first weekday in operation.

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The Divine Institution of Marriage: A Summary

September 21, 2008 by rickety 2 Comments

Introduction

The original document The Divine Institution of Marriage runs to 3,884 words. This summary attempts to reduce the word count to 1,000 while still giving you the essential reasons why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in favor of Proposition 8.

The Church has accepted an invitation to participate in ProtectMarriage and has asked that Church members “do all [they] can to support the proposed constitutional amendment.” At the same time the Church does not condone any kind of hostility towards homosexual men and women.

Marriage is Between Husband and Wife

Jesus said:

Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. (Matthew 19: 4-6)

Only a man and a woman together have the natural biological capacity to conceive children. Marriage and family are vital instruments for rearing children and teaching them to become responsible adults. Married couples in almost every culture have been granted special benefits aimed primarily at sustaining their relationship and promoting the environment in which children are reared. Co-habitation under any guise or title is not a sufficient reason for defining new forms of marriage.

Extensive studies have shown that in general a husband and wife united in a loving, committed marriage provide the optimal environment for children to be protected, nurtured, and raised. This is not only because of the substantial personal resources that two parents can bring to bear on raising a child, but because of the differing strengths that a father and a mother, by virtue of their gender, bring to the task.

Constitutional Amendments

In recent years in the United States and other countries, a movement has emerged to promote same-sex marriage as an inherent or constitutional right. This is not a small step, but a radical change: instead of society tolerating or accepting private, consensual sexual behavior between adults, advocates of same-sex marriage seek its official endorsement and recognition.

Forty-four states have passed legislation making clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. More than half of those states, twenty-seven in all, have done so by constitutional amendments like the ones pending in California, Arizona, and Florida.

Six out of eight state supreme courts have upheld traditional marriage laws. Only two, Massachusetts and now California, have gone in the other direction, and then, only by the slimmest of margins — 4 to 3 in both cases.

Because this question strikes at the very heart of the family, because it is one of the great moral issues of our time, and because it has the potential for great impact upon the family, the Church is speaking out on this issue, and asking members to get involved.

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Antelope Island Balloon Stampede

September 20, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

Today my wife and I drove the 21 miles to Antelope Island to watch balloons. However, a rickety wind of 18 knots dictated that no hot air balloons would launch. We were told the wind had to be 8 knots or lower before there is lift off. When we arrived there was only one balloon that had not been packed away. So we traveled further south to the Garr Ranch and then back to look at the visitors center. After lunch with the Wards we left the island. Maybe next year.

There are also some photographs at the official Antelope Balloons website.

There are plenty of bison on the island, around 600. The Davis County Causeway is a 7.25 mile earthen dike and roadway leading from the mainland to Antelope Island. The original causeway, constructed in 1969 by the State of Utah, was washed out frequently by heavy wave action in the early 70’s but was raised slightly and reopened each time. By 1985 the causeway was completely under water due to the relentless rise of the lake.
As the lake began to recede in the late 80’s the causeway reemerged. It was in poor condition and needed extensive work. Davis County officials together with State Parks personnel lobbied the Utah State Legislature in 1990 for funding to rebuild the causeway so that Antelope Island State Park could again be opened to the public. Eventually the legislature agreed to give the causeway to Davis County along with $4 million for rebuilding and repairs. Another $500,000 was appropriated in 1992 and the County rebuild the causeway in 1993 for a total cost of $5 million. Davis County charges a $2 per vehicle toll (included in your entrance fee) on the causeway to help pay for ongoing maintenance costs and to set aside a fund to deal with possible future damage should the lake rise again. For more information see Things To Do.

The Davis County Causeway as seen from Antelope Island.

We ate our picnic lunch in an enclosure at the Antelope Island beach. And yes it has sand, I seem to recall it was trucked in. Left to right: Rick, Connie, Jill, Melissa, Susan, Shauna, Kent, and Byron. It was disappointing to have missed the balloons but the food soon cured that. Maybe next year I will take a ride in one and get some really interesting photographs. Speaking of interesting photographs, check out these pioneer solar panels at the Garr Ranch.

Protect Marriage Status

September 19, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

Poll Understates Support for Proposition 8

The California Field Poll published in newspapers yesterday significantly understates support for Proposition 8, according to ProtectMarriage.com Campaign Manager Frank Schubert. Schubert’s comments are based on a historic review of Field Poll data and a new study that compared polling to actual results in more than two dozen states, including California, where the marriage issue has appeared on the ballot.

ProtectMarriage.com’s study, released yesterday, shows that pollsters have under-estimated support for marriage measures by an average of seven percentage points in the 26 states studied. In some cases, polls have vastly under-stated support for traditional marriage by as much as 21 percentage points.

The state-by-state study looked at the same-sex marriage issue in 26 states where it has appeared on the ballot, dating back to the first campaign of its kind in Hawaii in 1998. Surveys published by news media outlets prior to an election under-estimated support for traditional marriage by an average of seven points. In only two states (Texas and South Carolina) did pre-election surveys accurately measure voter support for traditional marriage, and in both of those states support stood at 76%. Support for traditional marriage was under-estimated in 23 of the 26 states studied, ranging from a low of 3% in Kentucky and Oregon, to as high as 21% in North Dakota.

In 2000, the Field Poll itself underestimated support for Proposition 22 by at least eight percentage points. That initiative ended up winning with overwhelming voter support — capturing over 61% of the vote. Frank Schubert, who has twice been named the nation’s most valuable consultant by the American Association of Political Consultants, said:

Recent polls published by California media outlets claim that Proposition 8, restoring marriage in California as between a man and a woman, is trailing among voters. These polls, including the Field Poll released this week, suffer from the same historic problem that other polls on this subject around the country have had: they do not accurately reflect the true support for traditional marriage.
I can’t say for sure why polls almost always understate support for traditional marriage, but I believe it is because the media portrays same-sex marriage as being politically correct. Supporters of traditional marriage don’t want pollsters to consider them intolerant, so they mask their true feelings on the issue. The result is that support for traditional marriage rises considerably when voters cast their ballots in the privacy of the voter booth. It is my opinion that the same thing will happen in California when voters cast ballots on Proposition 8.

Earlier surveys from the L.A. Times poll and Survey USA poll have showed Proposition 8/ProtectMarriage.com with a slight lead, at 54% support.

Schubert said:

Our own internal surveys show that we are in a dead-heat on Proposition 8. The campaign manager for the No on 8 campaign has been quoted recently as saying the same thing. This race is very much up for grabs. It’s up to our campaign to convince voters of all the many reasons to restore marriage as between a man and a woman. I remain confident that we will do so.

Source: ProtectMarriage.com email.

The Rickety Doctrine

September 18, 2008 by rickety 7 Comments

Palin Doctrine

Recently when Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was asked a question about the Bush Doctrine, she seemed unsure about what it was. If she’d have had her own Palin Doctrine in place she could have said something like, “Forget about the Bush Doctrine, you should be studying the Palin Doctrine, which says…”

To help out Governor Palin, I have compiled the Rickety Doctrine to illustrate that it is not difficult to assemble your own statement of policy. But first we’ll take a look at previous Doctrines.

Monroe Doctrine

President James Monroe presented the doctrine during his seventh State of the Union Address to Congress in 1823. It stated that European powers could no longer colonize or interfere in the Americas. The United States would stay neutral in wars between European powers unless a war occurred in the Americas, which would then be viewed as hostile to the United States.

Truman Doctrine

This Doctrine stated that the United States would offer assistance to countries resisting Communism. The proclamation was made in an address to Congress on March 12, 1947.

Eisenhower Doctrine

In a message to Congress on January 5, 1957 the Doctrine stated that the Unites States would use armed forces upon request in response to imminent aggression to the Middle East.

Kennedy Doctrine

The Kennedy Doctrine refers to foreign policy initiatives towards Latin America. Support was voiced for the containment of Communism and the reversal of Communist progress in the Western Hemisphere. It was presented in President Kennedy’s inaugural address on January 20, 1961.

Johnson Doctrine

The Johnson Doctrine declared in 1965 that domestic revolution in the Western Hemisphere would no longer be a local matter when “the object is the establishment of a Communist dictatorship.”

Nixon Doctrine

The Doctrine was presented in a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969. It states that United States allies should take care of their own military defense. But if a nuclear power threatens the freedom of an allied nation a shield will be provided.

Carter Doctrine

The Carter Doctrine proclaimed in the January 23, 1980 State of the Union Address that the United States would use military force to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf region.

Reagan Doctrine

This Doctrine advocated the backing of anti-Communist guerrillas against Communist governments. It was first explained in Reagan’s 1985 State of the Union Address.

Clinton Doctrine

In a February 26, 1999 speech this Doctrine was outlined as intervening “where our values and our interests are at stake, and where we can make a difference.”

Rickety Doctrine

First presented to the world on September 18, 2008 the Rickety Doctrine advocates a massive but orderly reduction of the nation’s military presence overseas. A drive to greatly reduce oil consumption, with tax credits as incentives, will result in more hydro, solar, wind, coal, and nuclear generated electricity; electric cars; and telecommuting. Entangling alliances will be terminated and deficit spending ended. Government will seek temporary special powers if necessary to accomplish these goals. Congress remained unaware of the new Doctrine.

Conclusion

The Rickety Doctrine will never come to pass but the Palin Doctrine, whatever it will be, may very well be talked about in the next few years. If Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is asked in some future interview what the Rickety Doctrine is, don’t be too hard on her if she doesn’t know.

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