Standing Ovations

I have been thinking about what I can do to remedy something that gets me cranky: standing ovations. I haven't been to a performance for a long time that did not receive a standing ovation. So I ask myself, what's the point.

What does a standing ovation mean anyway? Should they be given to whomever for whatever? Are there any standards? Is it like multiple exclamation points at the end of a sentence? Is "Fun!" any less fun than "Fun!!!" I had a writing teacher once suggest that you should only use five exclamation points throughout your lifetime. She informed the class that she had already used two, and that in retrospect she thought one of those times was frivolous. Consequently, I don't write with many exclamation points, and I don't give many standing ovations.

My English teacher's comment got me thinking - what if people were only allowed to give 5 standing ovations in their life. Then if someone were to give a standing ovation it would really mean something. After some thinking about this issue, I came up with the following business idea.

Everyone will be issued 5 STOV cards. If you stand as part of an ovation, you must remit one of your cards to the performer. The performer will endorse the card and receive $20 for each card submitted. Naturally performers will be interested in gathering the cards, and it will inspire them to give great performances. Endorsed cards will be double checked for validity and then cataloged.

I am aware that some people will need more than 5 STOV cards, so extra cards can be purchased from me for $100 each. This will force each audience member to better scrutinize each performance. “I liked the performance, but did I like it $100 worth?”

For those people who have surplus STOV cards, they can be returned to me for a 20% restocking fee, or they can be traded on the open market. Returned STOV cards can be purchased for $90.

I'm going to call this new venture, "Clap and Trade."

Any thoughts or improvements?

Methods and Aims

I taught Sunday School Gospel Doctrine class today. The topic was numbers 11-13, 21. Numbers is about the whiny, ungreatful children of Israel and how they are always complaining to Moses. My lesson was about how the Israelites frequently lost sight of their miraculous suroundings and confused methods with aims.

"Methods" and "aims" are words I have picked up from scouting. An aim of scouting is to become trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, etc. and to do your duty to God, your country, among other things. One method to achieve those aims is advancement. A problem comes when a scout treats rank advancements, particularly becoming an Eagle, as an aim and not a method -- or as a destination not a way to get there.

The latter half of Exodus and the book of Numbers are really case studies on how to lose sight of your goal - the Lord is trying to take them to the promised land and along the way provides mana, water, quail, healings, and lots of other miracles to protect, guide, and sustain them. They complain that they only have mana to eat. They complain that Moses is just on a power trip. They complain that they don't have anything to drink. They complain about the environment. They complain that even the promised land is uninhabitable. They complain that life was better when they were slaves. Each of those trials becomes the focus and they lose sight of the goal.

Here are some interesting things I thought of as I was studying for this lesson -

• Where is the promised land? For Moses and the Israelites it was the land of Canaan. But for Nephi, they left Jerusalem in the land of Canaan to go somewhere else. I think the promised land is not really a place but rather Eternal Life. That is where the Lord wants to take us.
• I compared the story of the Israelites with the stories of Limhi's and Alma's escape from the city of Nephi-Lehi. Limhi's people were more like the Israelites how they were slow to follow the Lord, and tried to fight their way out. Alma's people, on the other hand, were submissive and depended on the Lord from the start. Their fears were calmed, their backs were strengthened, and they were eventually delivered. How frequently I find myself fighting my challenges when I should be relying on the lord.
• I also liked the comparison of the Israelites to Lehi's dream of the iron rod and the tree of life.
  
• Numbers 21 talks about the "fiery serpents" that came among the Israelites. There is an interesting comparison to 1 Ne 17:41. Nephi calls them "fiery flying serpents." There is an interesting side note that one of the Gods of the ancient indians in Mexico was the feathered serpent.
  
• I have a lot more respect for Bishops, Primary Presidents, Young Women Presidents, and Relief Society Presidents. Of everyone in a ward, I think these 4 people are they ones that hear and deal with the most complaining and have to do the most problem solving. Everyone else has people to turn to, but these make all of the hard decisions, and deal with all of the hard issues. I am very grateful and hope not to add any burdens to their shoulders.
  
• Finally, I find the types of Christ so obvious in these chapters. He is the bread of life. He is the sacrificial lamb. He is the one raised up that if we will look upon him, we will live. "For God so loved the world that whoso believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)"
  

Eternal life is the destination. Christ is the way, the method. We grow from our challenges and trials to become more like the savior.

Ironically, perhaps, after church I went to an Eagle Court of Honor where three young men were presented with their Eagles. I helped all three of them with their paperwork. One presented me with a mentor pin. Very nice. I hope they remember they are not "done" with scouting. Rank advancements and scouting too, and just methods to help us on our forward progression to Eternal Life.

Milksicles

So the other day, I'm not even sure how it came up, Nancy and I were telling our kids our experiences with milksicles. As a kid, did you ever try to make ice cream by putting a cup of milk in the freezer? I remember that we had just made some homemade popsicles by putting punch in an ice cube tray, covering it with plastic wrap and poking toothpicks into each cube.

I liked them so much poured myself a cup of milk, put a spoon in it, and put the cup in the freezer. The next day I worked the frozen milk out of the cup and stood there for a minute salivating at the wonderful ice cream concoction I had created. I took a big lick across the milksicle as I would have licked a large ice cream cone...

And gagged. It was the WORST thing I had ever tasted. And because I was in the basement, there wasn't a sink close by where I could get a drink. I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth. How could something so good as milk (especially with chocolate in it) taste so bad frozen? It took seemingly hours for the taste to go away.

So Nancy and I were sharing our experiences with our kids, telling them they can trust us - milksicles taste gross. They don't have to try it for themselves, we have already done that. If they would take our word for it they will be saved a distasteful learning experience.

Since sharing the experience, it's amazing how many times we have called something else a milksicle. A few girls steal some makeup, "They just had to try the milksicle." Almost every news article is about someone who didn't believe milksicles taste gross. The scriptures, prophets, teachers, and parents are all trying to point out the milksicles and identify the real ice cream.

I hope our kids take our word for a lot of things. Milksicles are gross.

Thank you, Grandpa

I spent most of the day today moving dirt with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. After a day of lifting, tossing, turning, dumping and smoothing I am sore from my neck to my toes.

I suppose some people turn off their brain when they do physical labor, but my mind races. I contemplate everything from the composition of the soil, to the family life of the bugs I am dislodging, and getting after myself for putting the labor off so long. Frequently I contemplate the lessons Jesus taught about farming and soil. At times I think about my father - how he stayed fit by working in the dirt and how he loved the lessons dirt teaches.

But today as I dug in the dirt, and hurt, I was greatful for grandpa. He was born and raised just outside of Preston, Idaho. He was a farmer and dairyman by profession. For much of his life he didn't have many "things." He was not a wealthy man. He homesteaded a farm on the top of a sand hill overlooking the bear river (I think that is the name). The land was sandy and hilly and unfit for farming. But it was what grandpa had, and he make it work. The story is told about how we would take his small tractor out with just a blade and spend hour after hour scraping the hills trying to flatten out the land enough to farm. He made do with what he had. He maximized what he had to try to improve his situation. He was successful, acre by acre. He created a beautiful farm with fertile fields.

Grandpa's fields are still farmed today. Here is what the farm looks like today. Notice all of the fields to the north.


View Larger Map

That was a good lesson for me, as I was just trying to level out a small garden spot, and build up some flower beds. Thank you, Grandpa, for making due with what you had, and making the most of it.

Letter to Congressman Matheson

I received a letter from Congressman Matheson about health care that really upset me. This was my response. I know the response is too long to be effective, but it felt good to vent and put some ideas down on paper.

Congressman Matheson,

I wanted to respond to some points of your letter about health care.

Statement #1: "Skyrocketing health care costs are straining family budgets, threatening the survival of small businesses and exploding our national deficit."

I hear a lot about skyrocketing health care costs. Few politicians, however, seem to attribute this increase to its true sources. Greg Poulsen of Intermountain Healthcare points to utilization and technology as the greatest increases to costs. No longer is a two view x-ray sufficient for a sprained ankle - which cost about $60. Now a $2000 MRI is required - required either by the patient who is aware of the technology, by the lawyer who might sue for malpractice if the doctor doesn't give the most complete care possible, or by the physician who may own a fraction of the MRI facility.

All the government can do to stem those costs would be to limit the amount of money a facility can charge for an MRI. What would the effects of price limitations be? It would mean that people would no longer want to build MRI facilities because they wouldn't be worth the cost. Availability would go down, quality would go down, and pretty soon going to get an MRI would be like standing in line at the DMV.

Also, I am fine with paying for my family. I have some choice as a consumer how those dollars are spent, and if I want to spend it at all. I get more upset over the amount I spend for Medicare and Medicaid, of which I have no control.

Statement #2: "Health care costs are the number one driver of our long-term deficits."

I would like you to explain this one a little more. Are you saying that Medicare and Medicaid are expensive and we can't pay for them?

Frankly, medicare is the cause of many of the problems with the health system today. Insurers know that if they can hold off on a particular procedure until the patient is 65 (or whatever the age is), the government will pick up the tab instead of the insurer. So it pays them to ease the patient along instead of fixing the problem until the government will pick up the tab.

Statement #3: "A third of the $2 trillion spent on health care in this country goes towards administrative costs, not to patient care. We need a more efficient, less bureaucratic system."

This statement makes me laugh. The federal government is the cause for this overhead. So why would an additional system make the process less bureaucratic?

I work on a team for Intermrountain Healthcare that is responsible to submit CMS' "core measures" to the federal government. The report requirements, when printed, are 5 inches tall. AND THEY CHANGE QUARTERLY, sometimes even more frequently. Nearly a quarter of our staff worked on the project to keep our submissions updated. Eventually it became too complicated and we had to outsource the process. The government is the cause of the overhead. So how can you use this as the impetus of reform? Just change what you already created. Creating additional bureaucracy will not eliminate bureaucracy.

Statement #4: "Insurers should not be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions."

Insurers are in the insurance business to make money. Unlike the federal government they cannot print money when they run out (which practice I wish the government would stop doing). By forcing insurance companies to pay for everything for everyone, you know you are forcing them out of business. In the end, then, there will only be a single payer left standing - not because they are the best, offer the best service, or have the best outcomes, but because make money by printing it.

Summary
At the fundamental core of this debate should be this question - Do I have a fundamental right to force you to pay for my health care?

My answer is no. And you don't have the right to force me to pay for your health care.

We are Americans. We ask how we can help our country, not what government programs we are entitled to.

We are Americans. We the people sustain the government, the government doesn't sustain us.

We are Americans. We believe that we were all created equal, not that we are going to die equal. We don't buy into socialism.

We are Americans. We created a limited federal authority and reserved power for states and local governments. We didn't and don't want a king. Give us back the 10th amendment.

Please reform health care by removing some of the federal influence, not by imposing more.

Brian Rawlings

PVC Rocket Launcher

So my friend Russ came over today and we made PVC rocket launchers. This was a project I wanted to do when we worked together in scouts but it never happened. Next weekend our ward is having a campout so I thought it would be a good excuse to put one together.

Russ bought his materials first and it cost him about $55. I didn't buy materials until after the first one was together and we learned a bit - so I only spent $30 on my materials. Russ', I think, is slightly better because he used a larger valve and it might be easier to turn. I think kids are going to have a hard time turning the valve on mine. But it works and it was fun to put together.

We used plans from this site: http://stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000143

I think this weekend is going to go well.

Praying muscles

Last night I got home after a weekend trip to Nebraska – about 600 miles one way. I like long drives because it provides an opportunity to talk and ponder.

One of the subjects explored was prayer. The LDS bible dictionary explains that prayer is a form of work. I pondered that often times it is the only thing we can do to change a situation. And just like manual labor, or any other type of work, we can get better at it, as if developing muscles. Then strong muscles would help with any task. At least, that is how my pondering went.

So when I got home from the trip I was tired and ready for sleep. But, finding a quiet moment I knelt and tried to exercise my muscles, and share a few concerns with Heavenly Father that I really don’t have any control over. It wasn’t a long conversation but I felt edified.

Also before going to sleep I wanted to do one more task. If I would have been at work I would have spent all day running a data load. I knew that people would be expecting it today so I wanted to get it started before going to sleep. Just as I was about to start the script I felt an unusual desire to check the date the script was last modified. I did, and after some further checking realized that the script was corrupt – that I had accidentally modified the master script last month when trying to fix another problem. Had I executed the script, I most certainly would have been up all night cleaning the data. But because of that feeling, and because I listened to it, I was able to restore a correct version of the script, start it, and get to bed with little delay. The script finished early this morning with no errors.

Some people might call that coincidental. I take it as a head nod from God. God is very gracious.

“As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7: 7-11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/p/54)