Family History

Have you guys seen that new show on TV that's called "Who Do You Think You Are?" I watched one episode of it and I thought that it was pretty cool. If you haven't, it's a show that takes some major celebrities (Emmett Smith, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, etc)I'm and tracks their family history back in time. The reason they use celebrities I'm sure is to get viewers to watch, but to me the cool part wasn't that there were celebrities, but the fact that the celebrities were actually getting excited learning about their ancestors. It kind of reminded me that I should be doing the same.

Recently, my dad gave me a copy of his dad's personal history because I kept asking him for it. I have already read some of it, most of it actually, and I am enjoying re-reading it now. I find it really interesting to read about how his life was similar to mine and the many ways in which it was much different. My Grandma Hansen sent me a thick stack of papers that details many of my ancestors going back well into the 1800's. This was also very interesting, and it was enlightening to read about the trials, joys, and hardships that were experienced in a time without any of the nice luxuries that we have today. I'm glad to have all of these in my possession.

I find many stories in these histories to be very amusing and enlightening. One story that I read tonight in my Grandpa Selin's history was particularly interesting, though it wasn't about him. In the chapter he wrote about his brother, he mentions a time when his brother was on night guard in the Army. He took a grenade and pulled the pin. He then passed the live grenade off to the person who relieved him at his post. The grenade served to keep him and the next man awake and alert while on guard duty, owing to their great desire and attention to not set off the pin-less grenade. Then as grandpa often does, he relates the story to a gospel principle.

I'm grateful for all of my faithful ancestors and the things that I can learn from them.

Bowling for T-Shirts

I'm in a bowling class here at BYU. I've taken the class a few times because the cost for it is hidden in with my tuition so it feels like I get to go for free. So, I get to bowl for an hour twice a week. I've really been able get some basic techniques down and I can even get my ball to hook pretty accurately. Let alone it's not a big drastic hook like the pro's use, but it induces some pretty good pin action. (Usually)

The BYU Games Center, where the bowling alley is, has a policy that if you bowl a 200 or more, you get a free t-shirt. They also have a policy that if you get 4 strikes in a row then you get a free game coupon. If your score is over 200 and the highest score on the particular lane you're bowling on for the month then you get your name and score on the high score board.

The alley has 3 styles of shirt, and I had won two of them prior to the beginning of the semester. I've been trying to score over 200 again so that I could get the last shirt, and then I could start winning shirts for Shanna.

Until last week I had been bowling pretty well, but hadn't had any real high scoring games. Last Wednesday I told my buddy in my class that it was about time for a big score. Sure enough, that day I bowled a 219. I missed 2 pins over the entire game, and picked up a nice string of 4 strikes in a row. A girl from the Games Center ran over asking who had just bowled 4 strikes in a row and then gave me a free game coupon. On my way out I snagged the last shirt I needed for my collection. I wrote down my bowling name (Eban Sr.)for them to put on the wall and was on my way to my next class.

Then on Monday, I wasn't really expecting to do too well, but I put together a 203, and on a different lane than last Wednesday. I also managed 4 strikes in a row. So I walked up to the desk and asked for my shirt and free game. The girl said that I could have one or the other. I told her that last time (the previous Wednesday) they had given me both a shirt and a free game. Big Mistake. She notified me that you can only win one shirt per semester. So sorry Shanna, no shirts for you. She was nice though and hooked me up with two more free game coupons. Not to mention my name got put up on the board on a second lane.

Wednesday we were bowling for seeding in a tournament that we will be doing. Maybe it was the pressure of a looming tournament, but I bowled very poorly the first two games, barely breaking 100 both times. Then on the third game, I got back in the groove and put up a nice 210. Again I asked for a free game, which I got. Unfortunately, I bowled the 210 on the same lane I bowled the 219 so I didn't get my name up again. That's ok though.

So, for three straight classes I've gone for more that 200. Here's hoping that streak will continue through the tournament so that I can lead my team to victory over the rest of the class.(And get more free games) Scott and I did it when we took the class together. My team won my class tournament last semester too. We'll see if my luck continues...

School and Work Update

I know that a lot of you know what I do at work, but you probably don't know what I do. I'm posting a video of an application that I recently wrote. I wrote it for a class that I am in, but the class that I am in is sponsored by the company that I do research for. So basically, my class teaches how to do things that I do in research.

What I tell people that I do is CAD (Computer Aided Design) Tool Customization. What that means is I write computer programs that can do various things inside of the CAD programs. The program that we use most is Nx, which was formerly Unigraphics. So we find the CAD program's API, which is a set of programming functions that do the things that clicking the mouse on buttons usually does. (for example, your internet browser has a back button and a refresh button and a home button. Each button probably has at least one function associated with it that tells your computer what to do when it is pushed) Once we have all of the functions that we need, we can use them to do things automatically in our CAD program. This saves engineering companies time and money.

Anyways, this video shows a program that I wrote that builds an airfoil (airplane wing shape). It asks the user to input several values that will define the geometry and then when the user hits "OK" it builds it up automatically. The video shows me running the program twice with different inputs, some pretty normal ones and then some more extreme values. I rotate the part around manually after it builds so that you can see the built parts from different angles. This is probably boring all of you. But it's basically my life...Sad, huh? (but I like it)...(most of the time)...

Book Review - Where Men Win Glory

Probably not too many people have heard of this book, Where Men Win Glory. Many of you will probably however recognize the name in the subtitle: "The Odyssey of Pat Tillman". Some will know him from football. I know that I first heard of him when he was playing linebacker at ASU. Then I knew him as a safety for the Arizona Cardinals, the professional football team of Arizona. Most who don't follow football however will recognize him for being the football player who turned down millions of dollars playing football to enlist in the Army shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

Jon Krakauer, famous for his book "Into Thin Air" about the Mt. Everest disaster, takes on the story of Pat Tillman in this recent publication (2009). It tells of Pat's background and gives a fairly good picture of the kind of person that he was. The life experiences shared do a good job of explaining why he wanted to put away football, for a few seasons, and go fight for his country. I thought that it was funny that it described many of Pat's Mormon friends who got in a big fight due to their intoxication. Some of the Mormons described weren't drunk but were planning on getting drunk. Anyways, that fight was a turning point in Pat's life.

The book also taught me many many interesting aspects of Afghanistan's history and political troubles that I had never even heard of. Things like how the CIA had given millions of dollars in cash and training to Muslim insurgents while they were fighting off a Russian invasion. This is how many of the Taliban leaders became leaders. Now we all know how these extremists feel about the US. I know probably 30 times more than I previously knew about the state of life, politics, and terror plots in Afghanistan.

The main subject of the book, however, is the death of Tillman by friendly fire, and the Army's apparent attempt to mask the truth of his death, whether intentional or unintentional. It's really sad that in war, even with modern technology and extensive training, friendly fire deaths are still a real threat to the lives of a soldier. That people must die is a sad fact, but friendly fire just seems even more depressing.

I absolutely loved this book. I could hardly put it down just because it mixed sports and interesting politics and current events. (We all know that I'm a ..... "Sports Fan". Right, Dave?) But the things I didn't like were: 1. There is a bit of swearing, because Krakauer uses lots of quotes and he's quoting soldiers. 2. He talks a lot about the government deliberately misleading the public, presenting it as if it is the "norm". I like to think that the government normally acts honestly, with dishonesty being the exception. It definitely seems that in the case of Tillman though that some misleading information was given both to the family and the public, for the purpose of selling a "good image" to the American public.

Read the book and decide for yourself.

Book Review - We Might As Well Win

I went out and bought this book shortly after Christmas with some Christmas money. It is written by Johann Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong's cycling coach and coach of Alberto Contador another two time Tour de France champion. It was written after he had "retired" from coaching, kind of like Brett Favre retiring from football. At the time he had coached 8 Tour de France champions, Lance 7 times and Alberto once. Since then Alberto has won again and Lance has un-retired and recruited Bruyneel to coach his new team, Team Radioshack.

The book basically details several of Bruyneel's experiences through life and how they helped him to become a winner. He talks at length about what he has learned from winning and what he has learned from losing. These experiences combined to make him stronger for future victories. From a motivational standpoint, it's really kind of ho-hum, making points that I thought were pretty obvious to most people. But he does show how much winning is more a state of mind than a point in time or the luck of the draw.

What I really liked about the book is the countless stories that he uses to illustrate his points. (Ok, I could count them, but I'm not going to) In each chapter, he uses at least one example from either his racing days or his coaching days to illustrate the particular point that he's trying to make. The stories he tells are funny, interesting, and amazing. If you don't know really how pro cycling works or what the method to the madness is, you will by the end of this book because Bruyneel does a good job of explaining it in an interesting way.

So basically this book is a book full of cycling stories, and a very quick read. I normally rate books on a 3 point scale, so I would give this one a 2/3 because I enjoy the subject. For non-cycling fans, I think it may be interesting just because it explains how the sport works by the means of great story telling.

A Few Things I Know About Calvin

1. He loves his mommy.
2. He likes music. (This gives me an excuse to sing my favorite songs out loud to him)
3. He stops crying when you hold him up in the air.
4. He loves to look at the picture of the temple and our wedding on the wall.
5. He doesn't like taking his bath.
6. He's the best high rainbow arc over-the-head pee-er I've ever seen.
7. He doesn't like getting his diaper changed.
8. His hands get cold easily.
9. He's pretty tough. (Minimal crying at the doctor's office when he got his shot, and minor surgery)
10. His hair gets pretty greasy.(But I think that's also due to Shanna always touching his head)

Anyone Want To Go?

This past week, I've had the urge to go outside and do something. Maybe it's the winter blues or maybe it's due to the fact that I normally spend 8-12 hours a day holed up in a campus basement working on computers. I really wanted to go out and go somewhere or do something that would be memorable.

I remembered hearing about and seeing pictures of a rock formation in Arizona called "The Wave". Once you see it, you kind of understand how it got the name. Anyways, I decided that I really want to go hike out to The Wave sometime.


The only problem with going is that the Bureau of Land Management, in an effort to preserve the formation, only allow 20 people per day to go out to the formation. It's all controlled by permits. You can apply for a permit for a specific date, but to get one, you have to win the "lottery" for the permit. Turns out that there are usually about 100-150 people who apply for a permit on any given day. 10 permits are given away in advance and 10 are given away the day before in a lottery style giveaway. So chances for getting a permit online are about 10 percent and getting one the day before just depends on the day and how many people show up.

I'm hoping to get a permit sometime this year, late summer, early fall. Sometime before school starts I guess, so more likely late summer. Anyone want to go? The largest permit you can apply for is 6 people. It's about a 1-2 hour hike in to the wave, then there are places called "Hamburger Rock" and "The Wave 2" that are in the general area also. It's pretty much just a day hike, but it's right near the Utah-Arizona border, so it'll more likely than not take 2 days. (1 traveling and 1 hiking) Anyways, let me know if you want to come so that I can get in touch with you to get this thing planned. See ya later.

Mystery Rebecca

I hope I don't offend, but there is a certain "Rebecca" who comments on my and Shanna's blogs sometimes. We aren't sure which Rebecca that we know to attribute the comments to. Anyone out there in the cyberworld know who it is? Rebecca, if you're reading this, and you aren't a super hero then can you reveal your secret identity?

Socks

I've always loved wearing socks. When I was little, I would rather wear socks around the house than go barefoot. I also would rather wear socks outside than shoes. This probably bothered my mom because I wore them out so quickly. I like to think of myself as a connoisseur of fine socks. My whole mission, people gave me socks for presents. I think that's the standard gift in Korea, because I got a whole lot of them.

I like to always have nice thick socks that don't have holes in them. Once a sock even hints that it could become a transparent mesh of fine string (you know what I'm talking about, right?) I get rid of it or stuff it in the far reaches of the drawer so that there is no possibility of accidentally donning it in a rush. I like to think that if I keep my socks nice, my shoes won't be as stinky.

So, with this background in mind, as Bill Nye the Science Guy would put it, "Consider the Following":

When a new pair of socks is born, it is a clean slate, fresh, unpolluted, and each sock is fairly symmetric about its center line (the line that runs from heel to the gap between your 2nd and 3rd toe, counting from your big toe). However, after one or two times of wearing the sock, it begins to develop a personality of its own. Some socks get dirtier due to rain, mud, sand, etc. The main way in which they distinguish themselves though is by which side of the sock "relaxes" to accommodate the big toe. A difference between a right foot sock and a left foot sock can be evident after just one wearing. This, of course, is almost entirely dependent on which foot you wear the sock on for the first time. So, in order for me to thoroughly enjoy my socks every day, it is imperative that my right socks be grouped with a left sock when they are folded. I can't stand to wear a left foot sock on my right foot because there is tons of space by my littlest piggie while it should be snuggled in tight to the foot by the sock. It is easy to group rights and lefts on church socks and socks with designs on them, but my wife, Shanna, refuses to go through my plain socks and match them up for me when she does the laundry. She simply dumps them all into my drawer as individual socks, which forces me to fish through the drawer each morning until I can catch me a lefty and a righty.

Somebody out there has to have some sympathy for me, right? Or is this something that labels me "strange"?

Old Narocut

I've been reading through some family history information that my grandma gave me, and I had the idea to make blog posts that tell some of the stories I've come across. This one is one of my favorites. The story takes place in Grantsville, Utah. It is a story about my great-great-grandmother (I think) Genevieve Wrathall Orr, who is referred to as grandmother in the story.

"One particular warm Sunday afternoon, Grandmother had been left at home to care for Aunt Eva [her sister, I think] who was the baby at that time, the rest of the family being at church, when an old Indian named Narocut knocked at the door. Narocut was known to be very mean, and the children had alwas been told to give him what he wanted, so as not to arouse his anger. Grandma was horrified when she saw him standing there. He started asking for food, which she gave him. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it was almost time for church to be out, for which she was very grateful. The Indian asked for other things, and then he demanded that she give him the baby. Grandmother was terrified but she remembered the counsel her father had given them, and realizing that the Indian couldn't get far before church dismissed, she gave him the baby. He started going West and of course passed by the [church] meeting house. The man who was standing at the pulpit saw old Narocut hurrying down the street with the baby. He notified the people in church, and Grandfather with other men there, hurriedly overtook the Indian and the baby was soon resting safely at home again."

I like the story because it's so foreign to me to think that just an old Indian man would walk up to somebody's house while the parents weren't home and demand to be given a baby. A person who does that today goes to jail. I guess that's something that people just had to deal with in the last 19th century West.