Clear Conscience

"There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience."

-- Thomas S. Monson

Amazing Staircase

Slip Carefully

Making a Life

"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."

Winston Churchill

Evian Roller Babies International Version

Progress

We put man on the moon long before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage.

Driving RVs

Isn't it weird that you have to have special endorsements to drive a motorcycle or a truck but any idiot can drive down the road in an RV as long as a house?

Family Communication

“To be effective, family communication must be an exchange of feelings and information. Doors of communication will swing open in the home if members will realize time and participation on the part of all are necessary ingredients. In family discussions, differences should not be ignored, but should be weighed and evaluated calmly. One’s point or opinion usually is not as important as a healthy, continuing relationship. Courtesy and respect in listening and responding during discussions are basic in proper dialogue. As we learn to participate together in meaningful associations, we are able to convey our thoughts of love, dependence, and interest.”

--Marvin J. Ashton, “Family Communications,” New Era, Oct. 1978, 7

When Taking a Bath

Jerks

Everybody is somebody's jerk.

Amazon Sells More E-books than Hardcover Books

Amazon.com says it's selling 80% more downloaded books than hardcovers. "The Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format," says Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive.

• Amazon sells 143 e-books for every 100 hardcover books.
• A drastic cut in the price of the Kindle portable reader is probably a major factor. Last month, Amazon lowered the price from $259 to $189--mere hours after Barnes & Noble introduced a $150 version of the Nook.
• Paperback books, which far outsell hardbacks, were not included in the figures.
• Although revenue from retail sales of printed books has been stagnant for several years, electronic books are forecast to surge to $1.6 billion in sales in 2010 from $1 billion last year.

Read the whole story in the LA Times.

Make Them Think

You can lead your children to college, but you can’t make them think.

Our Real Intent

"People typically judge us—and we judge them—based on observable behavior. Thus, we need to do all we can to ensure that our behavior accurately reflects our true motives and agendas. Also, we need to be careful how we judge others.... [Don't] interpret the intent of others by projecting your own intent onto their behavior....

We tend to judge others based on their behavior, and ourselves based on our intent. In almost all situations, we would do well to recognize the possibility—even probability—of good intent in others...sometimes despite their observable behavior.

—Steven Covey, The Speed of Trust, page 84

Personal Responsibility

"Commit to taking total responsibility for everything that happens to you. This one change in thinking has the power to launch you to the world-class level faster than any other single idea." -- Steve Siebold

New Spice Video: Study Like a Scholar

Do you want to be a scholar? Then study at the Harold B. Lee Library. Do your research here, study here, and be a scholar!

Watch this great video created by the BYU Harold B. Lee Library Multimedia Production Unit. See a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of this video.

New Mormon.org Launched Today

The new Mormon.org launched today. See profiles of 2,000 who explain why they are Mormons. 13,000 more in process. We need 100,000.

One of the key features of the new Mormon.org site is the personal participation and stories of thousands of Mormons who have completed profiles about themselves in their own words.

2,000 members have completed profiles that explain why they live their faith and why they are a Mormon. 13,000 more are in process, and that number is expected to eventually jump to 100,000 as the Church continues to ask its members to share their faith online. Learn how to create your own profile on Mormon.org to participate in this historic event.

Learn more about this new Mormon.org.

Rools of the Pool

Stand for Principles

"A man must not only stand for the right principles, but he must also fight for them. Those who fight for principle can be proud of the friends they've gained and the enemies they've earned."

--Ezra Taft Benson

America No Longer 1st in Manufacturing

According to the Financial Times, China will end America's 110-year run as the No. 1 manufacturing country in the world in 2011.

"That gives me a great idea - we should start making the one thing we know the world will always need: 'Made in China' labels." - Jimmy Fallon

Comedy Puppet Routine

Marionette and Guitarist

Below is a video of a marionette and a guitarist that are synchronized very well. Very funny.

Running Red Lights

Just in case you know somebody who thinks it's okay to text (or drink) and drive--here's what happens when you concentrate on something else and lose precious reaction time...

YOU ARE ALWAYS ONLY ONE CHOICE AWAY FROM CHANGING YOUR LIFE!

Watch to the end. Watching this video compilation showing the results of people running "red" lights may make you think twice about how you approach any intersection. Just because the light is "green" in your direction doesn't mean it's totally safe to go through the intersection expecting that all traffic is stopped at the red light. Some of these show that people are totally asleep at the wheel. Probably texting. This should be required viewing for all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

Click on the video below, or watch a larger version here.

Speak English

Exploring Job Opportunities

This week, the Publications and Media Project Office at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was transferred to another department, so I was released as its director. Management is formulating a new job for me, but I'm also interested in exploring other possibilities.

See my online profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/larryrichman

Salt Lake City's Sacred Space

Read this great article in Forbes Magazine about the LDS Church's efforts to build a vibrant development around Temple Square to protect that sacred center of the city.

How Big is a Gig?

The computer industry uses terms such as megabyte and gigabyte and corresponding abbreviations MB and GB as a measure of information, memory/storage capacity, or computer speed. Here is a list of the names and their numerical equivalents:

KB = Kilobyte (1000¹, a thousand bytes)
MB = Megabyte (1000², a million bytes)
GB = Gigabyte (1000³, a billion bytes)
TB = Terabyte (1000⁴, a trillion bytes)
PB = Petabyte (1000⁵, a quadrillion bytes)
EB = Exabyte (1000⁶, a quintillion bytes)
ZB = Zettabyte (1000⁷, a sextillion bytes)
YB = Yottabyte (1000⁸, a septillion bytes)

Hence, a "500 gigabyte" hard drive holds 500,000,000,000 (500 billion) bytes.

Note: The precise binary equivalent of all the above numbers is actually 1,024 rather than 1,000. Therefore, a Megabyte is actually 1024², or 1,048,576 bytes.

LDS Church Facebook Page: 300,000 Fans

The LDS Church's Facebook page just passed 300,000 fans! Please share facebook.com/lds with friends and family.

Names of Large Numbers

10⁶ = Million
10⁹ = Billion
10¹² = Trillion
10¹⁵ = Quadrillion
10¹⁸ = Quintillion
10²¹ = Sextillion
10²⁴ = Septillion
10²⁷ = Octillion
10³⁰ = Nonillion
10³³ = Decillion
10³⁶ = Undecillion
10³⁹ = Duodecillion
10⁴² = Tredecillion
10⁴⁵ = Quattuordecillion
10⁴⁸ = Quindecillion
10⁵¹ = Sexdecillion
10⁵⁴ = Septendecillion
10⁵⁷ = Octodecillion
10⁶⁰ = Novemdecillion
10⁶³ = Vigintillion
10⁶⁶ = Unvigintillion
10⁶⁹ = Duovigintillion
10⁷² = Tresvigintillion
10⁷⁵ = Quattuorvigintillion
10⁷⁸ = Quinquavigintillion
10⁸¹ = Sesvigintillion
10⁸⁴ = Septemvigintillion
10⁸⁷ = Octovigintillion
10⁹⁰ = Novemvigintillion
10⁹³ = Trigintillion
10⁹⁶ = Untrigintillion
10⁹⁹ = Duotrigintillion
10¹⁰⁰ = Googol
10^googol = Googolplex

Source: Wikipedia