cultural cannon fodder

the beginning of the end?

2007-08-25T00:15:00.001-06:00

a recent series of events has been plaguing our newswires and toystores, and it all comes from the quality of toy production in china.

in a few conversations i have had with a few close friends and colleagues, the notion of china as a economic superpower ringed true in our minds. its never been a thought of ours that china could lose their grasp on our economic production methods. their greatest natural resource, their workforce, has always been, always will be, a great source of power. the old phrase, "never start a land war in china" will always be a fact it seems.

through this natural resource a great commodity is on the verge of collapse. though endless products can be made, whatever, whenever, however, is no longer or should no longer be the issue. i remember a short chat i had with a rep from a manufacturing plant in china telling me that he could make me whatever, for so much cheaper than anywhere else. he didn't care what it was, he guaranteed me that he would produce a product i would be proud of. i was thinking of alarm systems, and he didn't blink an eye, simply said, "great, here's my card. lets talk!"

how scary it is for the plant representatives now that this mentality is on the cusp of disassemblement. i don't even know if that's a word, but it is now, and most appropriately. nathaniel, if your reading this, i think you know the proper word. help me. also, congrats on the new baby boy. hes adorable.

anyway, i digress.

the response of the american corporations has been rather well. a few companies who were not part of the original products have stepped forward and taken extra products off the lineup. toys-r-us is to be commended. i buy all of my nintendo wii stuff from them for a reason...

but the real question lies in how the american consumer will react long term. americans are generally short in the memory division when talking about their pocketbooks. they want things cheap and now, and this whole high lead content may be passed over quickly. will the american consumer step up and demand a higher quality product for a higher price, and will they remember the price of gas is higher and filling that SUV isn't getting less.

i guess the real question is if anyone is even reading this...hehe.

wonderful bishop higgins

2007-07-31T15:36:00.001-06:00

so i know i am not supposed to say this, but bishop higgins is da bomb. he cares deeply for his flock, and does the uptmost to make sure we, his flock are cared for.

many of you may not know, but he has a website that he uses for helping the ward out. unlike other bishops, bishop g hig (ok, i admit bishop, thats what we call you in certain circles, g-hig, we also call you bee gee, higgy, and sugar baby higgy buttoms) doesnt delegate this calling to the internet coordinator or a website specialist in the relief society, he does this out of the kindness of his own heart. what a guy.

this website address is:

http://bishophiggins.blogspot.com/

i welcome everyone to visit this website and participate in the ward activities coming up. its sure to be a good time.

also, make sure you keep coming back here too...

a year and a day

2007-07-29T18:46:00.000-06:00

yep, its been a while. a long while. i have been around, here and there and everywhere. my current location is in burbank california. i still work with the same alarm company running the technical aspect of things. its a good job, but the hours are long and some of the customers are crazy. one advantage of it all is the job is seasonal and i get time off to do things i enjoy, like camping, photography, and traveling to distant cities to watch a concert or two.

speaking of photography, i made the mistake of not bringing my camera with me in my truck. my usual habit is to pack my camera in the center console, and then have it out taking pics and experimenting with new methods of photography.

there are also opportunities to shoot such odd events that are so unbelievable that a picture is the only way to make something believable. my luck wasnt with me yesterday.

while in compton, one will notice churches on almost every block. its almost sickening to see this many churches and then wonder if there are so many churches then why is the area such a shithole of a place to live...

and there it was, the advertisment for this weeks sermon:

HAVE YOU BEEN SPIRITUALLY CIRCUMSIZED?

i didnt know my soul needed that. ouch. what would you use, a spiritual knife, or just one thats really sharp?

on a better note, i welcome everyone to come back to my site, spread the word that i still live, and that i didnt get lost.

hyrum

all of the sudden!!!!!!!!!

2006-07-28T10:43:00.000-06:00

ok, so i was hooked from the start.

yeah, the hook was deep and i wasnt gonna let go.

it was myspace.

i fought the fight for as long as i could. for months, i would fight the urge to join myspace invites from what i thought were friends. i even took things to the extreme and blocked any myspace email to my site (thank you so much google gmail beta, i love you). for a long period, i lived by the phrase, "friends dont let friends join myspace."

then it happened.

AND DAMN IT WAS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS SO GOOD I ASKED ALL OF MY FRIENDS TO JOIN MYSPACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i caught the spirit of myspace. and oh what a sweet spirit it was. it was the kinda sweet spirit and was good enough to get to heaven, but to heavy to get lifted off of the ground.

and in the space of one week, the nation got hot and power outages occured, forcing myspace to have some technical issues. all of the sudden, most of the internet world had nothing to do.

today my myspace account was said to be deleted. at first, i thought of the countless bands i had associated with, the high school buds i used to drink beer with, and oh man, the soft porn babes in scantily clad clothes wanting to be my friend, and then it hit me......

i was a myspace dork.

no more, well, at least til i can get my friend list back up to at least 85 again.

ps...the jesus pic is for les. thank you les for being the man you are.

yeah, its been a while longer...

2006-03-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

so much has happened since my last posting from abq.

i got lazer eye sugery, lost 15 pounds due to running, and applied to grad school again. so much more is in the horizons for me thats its hard to not ideal to keep this blog as updated as i should.

anyway, went to a mason jennings concert in l.a. a few weeks back and it was incredible.

the pic was from a previous show but i love it so much i had to post it for all to enjoy. thanks kelicia.

hyrum

yeah, its been awhile

2005-10-26T09:58:00.000-06:00

so i just got back from vacation from vacation. i was second tier vacationing, if thats possible. while camping up in maine, i visited many incredible spots. since this is the first post in quite a while, i dont want to do too much to burn myself out. but until my next post, i feel i must prove i was in maine for all the skeptics out there.

oh yeah, and i regret to post that one lobster did die due to my hunger. but just one, cause otherwise my wallet would have been starving.

the big ABQ

2005-09-07T11:20:00.000-06:00

for any of you who dont know this, i was recently transferred to albuquerque. it was a work related move.

one of the highlights of my day has been to watch gilmore girls. it sounds fruity, which is rather applicable to this post actually. so anyway, the mom is hot, so i dont think its as fruity as it sounds, maybe its just stalkerish and creepy, i dont know yet. that could be a future post, who knows.

so anyway, i was installing this alarm (cause my techs were all busy) in this rather beat down home. one of the kids that was in the living room there emotional while watching television. needless to say, it was the movie titanic. i was amazed. he was rather thick but groomed for his age. he did not belong there.

out of all the children that i saw (which was about 6 of them, its hard to count when they run that fast), he was the proper one. he showed me what to put alarm sensors on, and was also very cordial and served me, get this, water with a squeeze of lemon juice from a bottle. he said its his favorite, lemon water. yeah, it was refreshing.

as i was finishing my install, he was right behind me with a broom and dust pan to clean after me. after my install, i usually like to get out of the crazy houses, but this kid was crazy. he turned off his television (there were 3 in the front room), and escorted me out of the house to my truck. he gave me 5 bucks for a tip. he said it was from his mom, and thanked me for making his house safer. yeah, he had a certain lisp in his voice too.

ABQ (from what i surmassed, abq is the short version of albuquerque) is a great town so far from what i have seen. i have checked a great used book store, the rei is right down the street from me, the view is nice (the mountain side of course), and the food isnt too shabby. i am proud to say that i now know how to spell albuquerque.

gas and breathmints

2005-08-25T20:15:00.000-06:00

with the price of gasoline rising, the amount of locking gas caps has risen approximately 60%, according to ray pohlman, a spokesman for autozone.

another interesting fact. the number of breathmints purchased has risen as well according to wes straper, a spokesman for ferrero usa, the makers of tic tacs.

i think we can link this to one thing, and one thing only. siphoning of gas is on the rise. its unforunate that one would go so low as to steal gas, but hey, with the risk is the reward, a few days worth of free driving. the other risk is the chance of a mouthfull of gas as you siphon the fuel through the hose. what people dont know is this comes from a law of bernoulli. bernouli's principal is simple, it states: as the speed of a moving fluid increases, the pressure within the fluid decreases. let me explain this in redneck for all those wearing the red "100% red blooded american" shirts from wal mart.

example, jasper, redneck bastard number 1, drives his camaro around a neighboring trailer park looking for some trailer with no american flags/stickers/magnetic ribbon on a car. as sure as brett farve is number 7, jasper finds his vehicle. he puts it in park and gets out.

in one hand is an old hose that came off of his camaro when he rebuilt his camaro engine and has it left over for some reason. anyway, in this other hand is a borrowed tupperware pitcher from his moms cubbord that still has stains in it from koolaid the day before. mind you, sugar is still residued in the bottom. he starts by opening the gas lid, taking off the cap, and placing the hose in the fuel tank.

now bernoulli states that as the speed of the fluild increases, the pressure decreases. as jasper puts his toothless mouth on the filthy line, and sucks, the pressure is intense and he must suck harder than, well, anyway, he has to suck hard. once pressure is attained, the speed will increase. once the fuel starts, it continues on its own based on bernoullis principal.

what jasper tends to do is suck too long and get a mouthful of gas by accident. this is where the breathmints come in handy. jasper learned this from redneck bastard number 2. his name is rodney. what rodney did was the perfect crime, right up til the moment he forgot his mints. whats interesting about rod, er, what was interesting was when rod lit up a cig to compensate for the rush of stealing fuel. yeah, it happened, his mouth blew up. jasper learned from his buddy that mints are way better and you should never forget them.

for all those interested, there is a new type of siphon out there with doesnt require the sucking action that jasper and rod had to go through. b & a products came up with a siphon that will save countless redneck mouths. a picture of it is posted towards the top of this post.

remember, be safe when stealing fuel. also, this post/blog is in no was responsible for any attempts made to steal fuel. you, like rod and jasper, are on your own. good luck!

mcdonalds is awesome.

2005-08-24T15:14:00.000-06:00

while doing nothing the other day, i was sitting at a mcdonalds with one of my employees talking about how the summer went and other misc conversation.

we got on the topic of word play, and he mentioned something that made me laugh. mcd's has a certain advertisment stating, "i'm lovin it!" i dont know what they are loving or what "it" is, but to be certain, "i'm lovin it" remains quite a neutral and unbiased comment.

now lets bring in the topic of anagrams. an anagram (for anyone who has not read a dan brown book) is where you get a new meaning from changing up the letters, thus creating a completely different definition.

he come up with the funniest and most appropriate example of what the true meaning behind mcdonalds is. its the symbol of all the is sick and wrong in this world.

here is what he came up with. ailing vomit. i now know what "it" is, and i am lovin it!!!!

god bless the girl scouts!!!!!!!!

2005-07-23T20:14:00.000-06:00

the company that i work for depends a lot upon door to door sales. you see many houses that try to deter the sales and marketing of products in their home. what is interesting is that litterally 40% of the homes that we do have "no soliciting" on their front doors or in close proximity to the door in open view.

it warmed my heart to see this sign in front of the house almost mocking the customer. yes, one of my employees got passed the barrier and convinced them to become hipocrates of their own making.

usually, it doesnt even phase me now to see that sign and laugh at the irony. well, today phased me. i was touched to see the sign give an exception to wonderful cute, tasty, and cuddly girl scouts selling their treats to overweight americans. please america, if anything, lets not hinder the girl scouts from selling cookies to earn that one special patch or pin. they deserve it.

a whole new world...

2005-07-21T11:45:00.000-06:00

my eyes were opened to a whole new world, thanks to nathaniel from dijital kulchar. this new innovation kept nathaniel and myself up way too late last nite checking out government lands, looking for the missle silo doors and secret bunkers. the fbi is onto us now. if i end up missing here in a few days, blame nathaniel.

so here it is folks, go to earth.google.com. download it. now all areas are availible yet. the areas that have a brownish tint are most assured to be detailed. the greener areas are still not detailed. sorry metamora illinois (my hometown), you arent detailed yet. maybe google could get on that asap.

check out the interesting details they cover up in washington dc. if you can find area 51, please let me or nathaniel know. have fun.

also, if anyone can name the famous beach in the pic, you win. what do you win? the pride in knowing you know what it is.

where do you fall into?

2005-07-20T23:16:00.000-06:00

ok, so i am the last person to recommend questionaires (http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=23320), but when it intriques me to no end, i tend to advertise it. here is my results. it categorizes you based on ideals. the breakdown is as follows. please dont tell my LDS bishop this states i shy from organized religion. it would ruin my reputation at church.

Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

Cultural Creative
69%
Modernist
69%
Postmodernist
63%
Idealist
50%
Materialist
44%
Romanticist
44%
Existentialist
38%
Fundamentalist
19%

i would be interested to know where everybody else falls into. please feel free to post after taking the short quiz. for all those interested, the pic is of me participating in organized religion (playing dressup as a catholic priest). hope it doesnt offend anyone too much.

what will i do with all the room?

2005-07-19T00:40:00.000-06:00

i am without a huge burden.

well, at least without compact disks in my vehicle now.

i cannot tell you the relief i feel to no longer drag around cd's in my truck. thanks to technology, i now use my ipod through my cd receiver in leiu of the pioneer CD-IB100. wow. instead of searching though countless sleeves and folders for the right song or cd, i now have it all within my reach. i dont even have to scroll through the ipod, it is controlled in the stereo.

imagine, if you will, all the crap i can now stow in place of cd players. fruit, extra hats, whatever i want. the sky's the limit. now i just have to get eyun from popscoff to make those see through pockets, and then life will be perfect.

pinatas and smoothies...

2005-07-17T19:06:00.000-06:00

saturday evening on my way home from work, i witnessed an accident. i was directly behind the car and pedestrian involved. man was it sweet.

so this dude, arms full of thos fruit smoothies and burgers ran between cars at a red light. as he zig zagged through the three lanes, he crossed in front of a huge delivery truck, getting ready to cross the right hand turn lane.

anyway, he darted faster than a fat dude at an all-you-can-eat-buffet (seriously, those people can move when it comes to food). because we were turning right and traffic was busy, you generally dont see whats going on between the lanes. there is also a spot for pedestrians to cross, but he decided to cross about 20 feet before the blessed white lines.

as a driver, you generally dont expect someone to dart out in that particular spot. its expected to at least pause and or stop before the white lines just in case a pedestrian or cyclist is around. i will be honest, i care more for cyclists than pedestrians. there, i said it.

back to the story. so this dude, a salesrep for audi just ran across the street, crossing the right turning lane, and running right into the car in front of me. it was rather spectacular the scene i witnessed. burgers and smoothies went everywhere like a pinata exploding. the road, the dude, and the car. oh man, the car, inside and out. it was 107 that day, really hot and dry. the car in front was an older ford taurus (maybe they were headed to the audi dealership) with all the windows down.

the dude (he has been and always will be called the dude) broke the windshield and side view mirror of the ford, rolled across the hood, and then dropped to the ground on the other side of the vehicle. he screamed while holding his smoothie soaked arm, "why the F#@* did you hit me!"

now this is where i have an opinion. the dude hit the car. given, the car took a hit, but this dude was completely in the wrong, and still found it convenient to fault find. wow. the passenger got out, looking back at me, saying, "you saw it, right? he came out of nowhere!" i nodded in agreement, laughing.

the police came to the audi parking lot, took down our stories, and then told me i could go. i swear, that dude never once said he was at fault. his biggest complaint was that he saw the ford coming, but that they didnt slow down. i would never have hit him for the simple reason that i had just washed my truck.

by the way, the pic is of me in guaymas mexico making pinatas with my friend carlos. kaboom!

ok, ok, one more.

2005-07-14T14:46:00.000-06:00

we all know that truck drivers are going to hell, right? its common knowledge that ever sense ac/dc and the film maximum overdrive combined to create one hell of a duo, that truckers are on a highway to hell. sick, pure sick.

i am going to hell for sure...

2005-07-14T14:31:00.000-06:00

ok, a while back, i had the day from hell. guess i better get used to it since i am going there for this posting.

yep, you guessed it right, golf was involved. i guess i just didnt have jesus at my side to guide my hand (and my club). i wouldnt want to be there with the attitude i was frontin on the back nine either. that made me think, how sweet would it be to have jesus as your caddy?

ok, i went too far with that comment, and i apologize to everyone (especially Him) for my ignorance. but hey, you have to admit, it would be nice to have that extra power over all to help when that slice is headed for the water hazzard and you teed off with your nice nike black one ball (its the same one tiger uses). if your putt was a little off, the ground would rise and form a valley for the ball to roll though and then plunk, the ball drops into the hole for birdie. notice i didnt say hole in one, that would be asking too much, way too much.

land of the free, home of the $5.76 t-shirt!

2005-07-12T00:02:00.000-06:00

while shopping (or while i was a customer at wal-mart), i ran across this shirt on the rack in the mens section. the color, size, and price caught my eye faster than you can say shallow grave.

shallow grave.

for $5.76, you, a customer at wal-mart can purchase a shirt that says: 100% red blooded american. while the price is excellent, the size is even better. all they had was 3x.

imagine if you will, a man, size 3x, wearing this shirt. now, picture him with a beer in one hand, the remote control in the other, sitting on his sweat stained sofa (lets give him the credit that he is a non-smoker). now that is sexy.

now the next image is of the demographics that are seen most commonly in wal-mart stores. how many red blooded americans do you see? i seldom see very many native americans shopping in wal-marts across the nation. mostly, i see a diverse crowd of hispanics, african americans, asians, and caucasions that derive from european decent. nope, not too many red blooded americans here.

i made a comment to the nearest sales associate that i felt the shirt was offensive, and she then motioned to an english speaking manager to talkwith, as her english was less that effective to communicate. the manager said the shirt was a 4th of july promotion, celebrating our nations birthday, and if i had a problem, i should write the company.

its a hell of a deal though, $5.76 is a dang cheap price!

pod casting!

2005-07-05T18:56:00.000-06:00

ok, so i wasnt on the up and up when it came to blogging. actually, i think i was much towards the end result when it came to starting a blog. one thing that has blown my mind now is pod casting. for all those who are involved in the ipod culture, you might know what i am talking about. for those outsiders, listen up.

podcasting (headlined by adam curry) is a recorded show that is sent to ipods who are subscribed to their service. sometimes its free. i have yet to see one charge for the shows yet, but i feel it coming on soon.

you subscribe to a show and listen to them rant, rave, tell jokes (not all of them clean and tasteful), and pretty much do whatever they want. fcc has no boundaries here. most of the shows are rather dull and without much plot or planning, however, some of the shows are just copied data from the news stations. you can download old news...how convenient.

anyway, i have downloaded a few and find it for the most part entertaining. so for all those who are interested, go buy an ipod (easier said than done) and check it out.

completely useless

2005-06-30T23:49:00.000-06:00

ok, heres my problem. how many times have you heard the traffic report on the radio? how many times have you changed course due to the info relayed to you? traffic reports are the most useless commentary on the radio. why are people paid to tell you your day is screwed. the last thing i want to hear is someone telling me i will be late for work or any appointments coming up.

at the same time, my roomie is complaining about work. i think it would be convenient to also eradicate all of the complainers in this world.

back to the original topic...

traffic people have to be the most evil hearted citizens ever. they are always at work when the crappy traffic occurs, or else they are up above in some random helicopter talking about how bad the road looks from the sky. talk about an a-hole complex...that dude who does that job must have neighbors who hate his guts.

by the way, there is a tire in the middle of the road, delays are possible northbound on I-80. be advised.

late night conversations...

2005-06-29T18:26:00.000-06:00

i always get late nite calls. i love most of them, the other half (usually work related) tend to annoy. anyway, thats all i wanted to say for now. i get late nite calls. feel free to call me anytime as long as you are not a customer. drunk dialers welcome too!!!

oh, and les, you can call me anytime of the day or nite. i cant however, guarantee if i will pick up the phone or not.

dont worry nic, its under control

2005-06-10T12:10:00.000-06:00

for the first time in my life, i have the opportunity to be best man at my best friends wedding. its quite an honor that i have known about but seldom talked about til now. the chance excites me to be able to express my feelings and best wishes to a man that has been there for me many times.

i do have somewhat of a scattered speech in the works, but have some refining to add to it before the eventful day ahead. there will be humor, truth, honesty, and best wishes all meshed together into something that should resemble a true blessing and wish to the bride and groom. i know that every best man thinks that he is going to be presenting a long time remembered speech, a speech that will turn eyes moist with tears and hearts full of praise. mine however, may not be that proficient of a oratory.

in the upcoming weeks before the ceremony, i will be watching every wedding movie from 1982 to date to see what american cinema portrays as the "ideal" best man speech. if anyone has any recommendations, please dont hesitate to respond. dont worry nic (the groom and a follower of this blog, well, at least i hope he is a follower of this blog), i wont copy down and speech from a flick and recite it as my own...oh yeah, and my first movie to watch is going to be, "my best friends wedding" starring julia something. i hope i make it through this without ripping my eyes from their sockets.

hyrum

bay area identity

2005-06-09T12:17:00.000-06:00

i tend to not let myself get pulled toward one side verses the other, but recent political decisions have made me excited for things to come.

yes, it happened a couple days ago...no more medicinal pot for sale. i know there are some unfortunate circumstances that involve illness and pain discomfort, but law is law. i am glad for the banning of this herb due to the mistreatment and abuse that is synonymous with it.

what is most interesting is that as i moved out here, instead of the normal pseudo-humorous questions concerning gay life and interaction, the majority of the inquiry pertains to the general opinions of the pot bars. i never felt an opinion before because i didnt live here. it didnt involve me. now i feel a bond because of my demographics.

its incredible the rush i felt as i realized i was introduced to a whole new cultural identity. now my ipod brings me into a whole new light. i now have this perplexing drive to make my feelings and opinions vocally known, start a protest, attend berkley, start wearing bohemian clothes, and yes, start smoking pot. ok, i lied. no smoking pot. you know, maybe this wont work out. well, at least i have my ipod.

hyrum

finally...

2005-05-30T23:27:00.000-06:00

i just finished downloading the final episode of sopranos season 5. wow. there arent a lot of things that i tend to let myself get addicted to, but this series was one of them. i would recommend this to anyone. the screenplay, writing, directing, ect. was outstanding. only one more season to go.

also, it would appear that i have one more blog to go before i hit the 100 mark. whoever is the 100th person to appear on this site, please email me for a prize. your welcome

hyrum

sleep

2005-05-27T13:37:00.000-06:00

i slept for the first time last nite. in the past couple of weeks, sleep has taken a back sleep to stress. i finally feel caught up with work enough that i slept rather effectively. then again, if i had a better bed in california, then sleep should have been much better. i miss my bed in utah. a pillow top queen bed can only be beaten by a king or cali size pillow top bed with down comforter. am i right?

due to my sleep apnia (sp) which i think i have, its something that i really should get checked out. if anyone has any ideas on better or more restful sleep, please feel free to post.

better than his pumpkin bread, just barely...

2005-05-26T01:42:00.000-06:00

as long as i am in the mood, i also want to brag about another musician i listen to. his name is colby stead. never before have i met a more creative person in my entire life. not only is he creative in his music, but also in how he delivers his emotion and style. out of a simple name has come so much inspiration and love.

not only on a musical level have i a relationship with colby, but i consider him a very good friend. whereas most people seem to gain prestige, power, and notoriety with fame, colby has an incredible persona that does not reflect that of an successful performer.

his music is not for the faint of heart however. he plays tunes that will sink directly into the very soul of any person. the lyrics are not only real, they echo emotion that makes your heart race with feelings juxtaposed. after seeing a colby show, you leave the performance with more than just emotions that make you think, you might just leave the venue carrying something.

one of the most ironic senarios i have ever encountered has been in participating in a colby show. most people attend a concert feeling like they have to sit there and listen, and leave with little or no interaction with the artist. colby is unlike anyone. he stays afterward and talks with fans, he remembers their names (seriously, he remembers almost all of their names and important things about them), and he always makes sure you feel genuine.

one more thing. he not only gives a gift of music, he gives the gift of prizes. colby has a raffle and gives out prizes. its quite frankly a brilliant move. people are participants in the very show they expected not to participate it. its enthralling.

colby's also the most forgiving person. just ask me. actually, ask him, or at least have him tell you the story of his guitar and a trip to texas to visit me. hehe. please visit his website at:

http://www.colbystead.com/

oh yeah, be sure to try his homemade salsa and pumpkin chocolate chip bread. wow.

hyrum

mason jennings

2005-05-24T14:35:00.000-06:00

i don't know if many of you are familiar with mason jennings, but i would like to spend this post talking about how much i appreciate his musical style. its a sort of folkish rock, different from many forms of music, but with a hint of bob dylan in his voice. if there was anything that i do more in my free time than read, its spending time on his forum. you can find his forum at http://www.masonjennings.com/html/framesets/board.html.

with most of my friends listening to mason just as much as i do, i find there are good memories attributed to mason. there isn't a camping trip or a bike ride that doesn't go by without someone signing a familiar mason tune. it just brings goodness to the soul. he sings about good things, pleasant times (for the most part), and all of his music charges you through and through. check out his music, i am sure you will enjoy it just as much as i do.

http://www.masonjennings.com

there is also a link on the sidebar.

hyrum

hegemonic blog?

2005-05-21T20:56:00.000-06:00

in a recent conversation with a close friend, we talked about blog innovations and internet traffic. one of the topics that was talked about in depth was how to get people to your site. i know that i have sent this link to a few people (and from my stat counter i know they have checked it out) and cannot seem to get people to comment on anything that i have written.

this brings me to my point: hegemony. i think a lot of people (at least the ones who know what it means) underestimate the meaning of this word. of course there are meanings to it that include coercive or consensual behavior, but what really is the motive behind such a phrase. the underlying tone in my posting these comments is to get some reaction, but to what extent will i go to get more traffic to my site?

in some upcoming posts, i hope to bring insight into some theory behind social interaction, behavior, and reasoning. maybe if you read this, you might be compelled (in a consensual manner, hehe) to feel involved in this task i call a blog.

hyrum

update (ten minutes later):
after re-reading my post in depth, i sound like a little girl. i do not want this post to come across as being whiney or complaintant in the least sense of the term, just bear with it til i get some better stuff to talk about...

corporate spending responsibilities...

2005-05-20T21:58:00.000-06:00

as most of my friends know, i am an employee of a rather successful alarm company, which is in the top ten of dealers for adt in north america. in the midst of confusion and a mis-communication on both sides, there has been some shortages of equipment which make for their satellite offices being short on supplies. its like being caught in the jungle in no snake biters for your legs, you never know if you are going to get bit, but if you do, man, you are screwed.

anyway, an office was short on equipment and i was asked to send him more supplies so that he would not get behind on future jobs. i was told to send it next day. the cost of sending the boxes was more than it would cost me to drive from california cross country in my truck. what a waste of finances. now my real question remains, is there or should there be some responsibility in corporate spending? if there are mistakes like this, where is the slack taken in? most of the time, its done on the consumer end. prices raise to compensate, making the burden on the buyer.

now i am not implying that the security business is going to skyrocket in monthly monitor rates or anything of the sort (actually, it does that anyway...lol), i just want to understand where the line is drawn concerning responsibility. how much is enough before companies start pushing the burden of their misguiding upon the consumer.

hyrum

the html 4 bible

2005-05-19T18:09:00.000-06:00

the is a used bookstore no more than 3 blocks from my apartment which houses rare and exotic books. contained in their selection is a copy of "coming of age in samoa" by margaret mead. what is interesting is that the book is signed by her. what is not interesting about it is that they are asking 400 bucks for it. so i did what any middle class american would do...i purchased a used copy of the book "html 4 bible" for 10 dollars.

hyrum

escape from alcatraz

2005-05-18T17:55:00.000-06:00

this is my first post. i am sitting at home in my apartment waiting for equipment (for work) which will never be here. my work is either hectic or slow. such is the life for me. the movie "escape from alcatraz" starring clint eastwood is on amc. what a wonderful movie. i would like to escape from my own alcatraz one of these hours. i think he will make it out. he's got to, hes too important to just be in there for that long. do you know what we as a society would do it he didnt get out? no more dirty harry lines, no more directing boxing films about butch chicks, nothing. now do you see why he needs to get a break from that prison? it would be utter chaos i tell you...

hyrum