Anomaly?

I just finished reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. One thing struck me as odd. Mr. Krakauer called it an anomaly that Chris McCandless would lampoon Joe Biden and praise Regan. However, Chris was clearly someone who wanted to prove he could live on his own, he didn't want all of the safety nets our society provides. He wanted to prove he could live without Social Security, unemployment insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Public Schools, FEMA, and all other forms of welfare we entrap ourselves in. Few people can really say that they "made it on their own". And now that we are surrounded by government bailouts it is even less likely that they ever will. It seems we all have become paralyzed about what might happen if we have to step out side of our comfort blanket. Perhaps we could all learn something from the letter McCandless wrote to his friend Ron:

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism. All of which may appear to give one peace of mind but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventure spirit within a man than a secure feature. The very basic of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon. For each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose you're inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter sketer type of life. That will first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life, you will see it's full meaning and it's incredible beauty. And so, Ron, in short, get out of sulton city and hit the road.

So with 2009 approaching and all the looming talk of layoffs and depression maybe we can pause before crying for help and leaping into the nearest safety net, and take a page out of Chris's book to let our adventurous spirit escape...Just make sure you don't starve to death.

Gee vs. Shurtz

Yes I know, I am very late posting these. But as promised here they are. Photographic evidence of the Gee/Shurtz show down in SLC.

This photo was taken for Where's Waldo's 2009 Calendar

Haven, in just another attempt to get away with murder...or putting his finger in cake
A reception wouldn't be complete without BYU football updates.

Rebecca getting swept off her feet

Final Final

As many of you already know, just before thanksgiving break I decided that a doctorate degree in Mechanical Engineering would not help me attain any goal that seemed even remotely desirable (at least that is what I'm still trying to convince myself of). As such I have put an end to my days as a University of Texas graduate student. I quickly realized it would have been wise to come to that conclusion after taking my last final as my motivation to study approached zero faster than a fourier series heading to infinity at light speed. However I still had the desire to exit at the top of my game. So I put my final cramming abilities to test one more time. And I must say I surprised myself. I think this is how Micheal Jordon must have felt when he retired from the NBA the first time. Well at least now I know if things don't work out for me in minor league baseball then I can take another stab incompressible flow.

I'll get up at 4AM tomorrow

If the Big 3 had a nickle for every time I've said that they wouldn't need a bailout. But apparently I'm not the only one making promises to themselves that they can't keep. In my last post I mentioned an article saying 77% of consumers would spend less this Christmas. That same article said 20% would spend the same amount and 3% would spend more. Here is what is actually happening.I guess those $2 DVD's were just too good to pass up.

Thanksgiving Depression

I woke up thanksgiving morning to three stories in the paper describing the dire straights our economy is in. The Johnstons aren't going to grandpas for thanksgiving this year. Gas prices are just too high. 77% of consumers are going to spend less this Christmas. And the Patersons are eating at the soup kitchen for the first time. "Prices for everything are just too high. Gas, Food, everything is going through the roof."
Then we drove to Chuck A Rama, passing by several gas stations posting prices of $1.69 the lowest I have seen in over 4 years. Upon arrival I was immediately bombarded by mounds of every type of food I could think of. Once I was sufficiently satiated I rolled out to go home and read the rest of my paper. $29.99 for an mp3 player, $79.99 for a new GPS, $2 DVD's...Seriously $2 for spider man II, I don't even like spider man II and I suddenly I need to get to Walmart to buy 3.
Now I really did intend to get up at 4, and hit all of the stores before 6 as I had mapped out on my macbook, but since I stayed up all night watching Monk and other TV shows, that are available at any time of night, I wasn't able to wake up to my alarm. Of course it didn't help that I was fell asleep listening to my ipod.
Yes, these are going to be troubling economic times...Now I'll probably have to pay $5 for that copy of Spider Man II I didn't want. No wonder people keep comparing this to the great depression.