Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Six Word Stories...

Jet just sent me an interesting article that originally appeared in Wired Magazine (and on Wired.com). Here is an excerpt (and a link so you can read all of the great six-word stories provided by notable authors):
We'll be brief: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and is said to have called it his best work. So we asked sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves.

Dozens of our favorite auteurs put their words to paper, and five master graphic designers took them to the drawing board. Sure, Arthur C. Clarke refused to trim his ("God said, 'Cancel Program GENESIS.' The universe ceased to exist."), but the rest are concise masterpieces.

[Wired's Very Short Stories]

My personal favorite:

"Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket."
--William Shatner

Friday, December 26, 2008

Classic Christmas Videos

Well, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning down at my parents house in Provo. All of my nephews (Josh, Hyrum, Math, and Seth) were in town. We had a great time and got to play with lots of presents. I used my new Blackberry Storm to capture a couple of videos. Here are the best two:

First, we have Seth doing his "Star Wars" or "Jones" (for Indiana Jones) dance. My little sister, Jet, would start the ringtones on her phone and then Seth would spin in circles, "singing" along, until he got so dizzy that he fell over. Good stuff:



Second, we have Math using Jet's mini stair stepper while practicing with his light sabers. Of course, he falls off too. Something about little kids falling over (particularly on Christmas morning) is awfully entertaining. Good work Math!



Thanks everyone for the fun Christmas! We had a great time up at Sara's parent's house in Pleasant View (with Nick, Jyllian, and Captain Jack). The drive back home was pretty sketchy. There was so much snow on I-15 that there ended up being one or two lanes of traffic. It took a couple of hours and when we got back to Sandy, I had about 5 inches of fresh powder (untracked) on 13th East. There may have been a slight diversion to empty parking lots to determine how well the STI does donuts -- I mean, how well it handles in the snow.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas from Santa's Lawyers

Courtesy our "friends" at the American Bar Association, here is your Christmas card from me, Sara, and the rest of Santa's lawyers:

[Happy Holidays from Tyson and Sara and Santa's Lawyers LLP]

Here is a preview of the disclaimer/footer (anyone who has ever received an email from a lawyer knows all about the ridiculous disclaimer footers that we like to include):

This happy holidays greeting should not be interpreted as a guarantee that your holidays will be happy. Santa assumes no liability for the side effects of happy holidays, which may include weight gain, gastric reflux, sudden drowsiness, family discord, or pine needles all over your living room floor.

By asking for presents from Santa, individuals consent to the use of their names and likenesses for promotional purposes. All wish lists submitted to Santa become the property of Claus Enterprises, Ltd. and will not be returned. Santa reserves the right to substitute items on your wish list for goods of an equal or greater value.

Santa's presents are manufactured in a facility that may process peanuts.

Inclusion in Santa's "Naughty" and "Nice" lists is entirely at the discretion of Claus Enterprises, Ltd. Any legal claim arising out of inclusion on Santa's lists shall be settled by binding arbitration governed by the laws of the North Pole. "Naughty" and "Nice" are registered trademarks of Claus Enterprises, Ltd., and may not be used without permission.

There is plenty more where that came from, so be sure to check out the link. Maybe I should at that to my signature block for the rest of 2008. Merry Christmas everyone.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Keep Tabs on Santa (via NORAD)

Kids, don't forget to remind your parents that they can keep track of Santa's progress at http://www.noradsanta.org (you know more about this Internet-thingy than they do after all).



And for a little more information about Santa, the experts over at NORAD have concluded that:
The fact that Santa Claus is more than 16 centuries old, yet does not appear to age, is our biggest clue that he does not work within time as we know it. His Christmas Eve trip may seem to take around 24 hours, but to Santa it may last days, weeks or even months in standard time. Santa would not want to rush the important job of distributing presents to children and spreading Christmas happiness everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa functions within a different time-space continuum than the rest of us do.

So, if you can't get outside tomorrow night, make sure you're seated firmly in front of a computer (playing Starcraft) so you can check to make sure Santa is on his way.

Christmas Trivia and Fun Facts

Every year, our current Gospel-Doctrine teacher (and former Bishop), Dave Holdsworth, puts together a Christmas Quiz. I missed this year's version because I was subbing in a Sunday School class. Sara, however, quizzed me on the way up to Ogden, where we continued her birthday celebration with her family. That got me thinking. And seeing as tomorrow is Christmas Eve (and I'm somewhat distracted at the moment), I went in search of some more Christmas trivia and interesting facts associated with the holiday. I haven't verified any of the following but I do find it interesting:

  • The word Christmas is Old English, a contraction of Christ's Mass.
  • The first president to decorate the white house Christmas tree in the United States was Franklin Pierce.
  • Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.
  • The first Christmas cards were vintage and invented in 1843, the Victorian Era.
  • "It's a Wonderful Life" appears on TV more often than any other holiday movie.
  • "Jingle Bells" was first written for Thanksgiving and then became one of the most popular Christmas songs.
  • If you received all of the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas", you would receive 364 presents.
  • The poinsettia plant was brought into the United States from Mexico by Joel Poinsett in the early 1800's.
  • In 1843, "A Christmas Carol" was written by Charles Dickens in just six weeks.
  • The first state to recognize the Christmas holiday officially was Alabama
  • Christmas became a national holiday in America on June, 26, 1870.
  • Coca Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa for a winter promotion.
  • Clearing up a common misconception, in Greek, X means Christ. That is where the word "X-Mas" comes from. Not because someone took the "Christ" out of Christmas.
  • Traditionally, Christmas trees are taken down after Epiphany.
  • More diamonds are sold around Christmas than any other time of the year.
  • In Mexico, wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve is said to bring new love in the upcoming year.
Interesting stuff eh? I'll see what else I can find. Be sure to revisit for more Christmas questions and answers.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Happy Day of the Ninja

I'd like to take a moment and wish all you non-pirates a happy "Day of the Ninja." In case you are part of the uninitiated, December 5th is the official international Day of the Ninja. So dress up in your ninja costume and go celebrate (without being noticed by anyone -- after all, you are a ninja).

Day of the Ninja (Wikipedia)

Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

My Birthday Present - STI Wingless Trunk

So, Sara and her family (Andy, Laraine, Nick, and Jyllian) totally surprised me for my birthday. Sara arranged to get a wingless trunk for our 2006 WRX STI and have it custom painted to match the car. I was completely stunned. Seriously. I just sat there with this blank look on my face while everyone (including the Red Lobster server) laughed at my surprise. We recently picked up the trunk and early today, with some help from Sara, I installed it (it wasn't too hard to install and way better than paying body shop labor rates). I'm pretty stoked about it. Here are some pictures. Now when you see a wingless, silver STI blaze past you, you'll know who it is!


From 081202 - STI - Wingless Trunk

From 081202 - STI - Wingless Trunk

From 081202 - STI - Wingless Trunk

From 081202 - STI - Wingless Trunk




Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Friday, November 21, 2008

Twitter FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

I've received several inquiries about Twitter; most ask what Twitter is or how you use it. Rather than take time (that could otherwise be spent billing hours) to explain it all, I'll let the Twitter folks do it for me:

Twitter FAQ:
What is it?
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

How do I use it?
Tell us what you're doing in 140 characters or less! Send your thoughts, observations, and goings-on in your day. Whether you're "eating an apple" or "looking foward to the weekend" or "Heading out of town" it's twitter-worthy. Join us here.

How can I send updates to Twitter?
Send updates to friends and family about what you're doing in the way that works best for you. Update in myriad ways:

* from your phone
* from your logged-in home page
* from m.twitter.com.
* from any of the third party applications on Twitter Fan Wiki

What does it mean to follow someone on Twitter?
Following someone simply means receiving their Twitter updates. How you receive the updates (on your phone, IM, or just on the web) is up to you. You can set your following preferences based on device, and then set notification preferences for each person you follow. Your followers are those who have elected to receive your twitters.

And there is much, much more at the link provided. Enjoy twittering.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

You've Heard Them All Before...

... But here you go again (thanks Bob, I would have hated to have had to compile all of these all myself) (and if you're tired of the same old, rehashed Utah jokes, maybe you should look into improving your school so that the following "jokes" are no longer true):

How do you get a Utah grad off your front porch?
Pay for the pizza.

I was just told that the University of Utah has an honor code; goes something like this:
No, your Honor.
Yes, your Honor.

Q: You are traveling in the desert, and you find six Utah fans buried up to their necks in sand. What is the first thing you need to do?
A: Find more sand.

Q: Why are Utah fans buried 10 feet down when they die, instead of the usual six?
A: Because, deep down, they are good people.

Q: What does a BYU grad say to a U. of U. grad?
A: Will the defendant please rise.

Q: What does a Utah grad say to a BYU grad?
A: Paper or plastic?

What does a Utah grad say on his first day at work?
Welcome to McDonalds, can I take your order?

What's the difference between a U. of U. student and an elephant?
About 20 pounds.
How do you make up the difference?
Force feed the elephant.

Two Utah football players are earning some money by working a construction job installing drywall. One player notices that the other guy is throwing away about half of his nails, and asks him what he’s doing?
"I’m throwing out all the nails that have the head on the wrong end."
"You idiot!" exclaims the first player, "Don't throw those away! Those are perfectly good nails. They will work fine on the opposite wall."

How many Utah football players does it take to eat a possum?
Two. One to eat it and one to watch for traffic.

What do you call a Ute grad with two brain cells?
Pregnant!

A young man hired by a supermarket reported for his first day of work. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, gave him a broom and said, "Your first job will be to sweep the store.
"But, I'm a Utah graduate," the young man replied indignantly, "I even played football there!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that," said the manager. "Here, give me the broom; I'll show you how."


Did you hear about the Ute who was flying to Alaska?
They had just taken off when the pilot came over the PA and told everyone that they had just lost their #4 engine and would be about and hour late to their destination.
Later, he announced that they had just lost their #2 engine and they would be about 2 hours late to their destination. Still later, he announced that they had lost their #1 engine and they would be about 3 hours late to their destination.
The Ute turned to the person sitting next to him and said, "Man, I hope we don't lose the #3 engine or we will be up here forever."

Coach Wittingham walked into the Utah locker room before a game, looked over to his star player and said, "I'm not supposed to let you play since you failed math, but we need you in there. So what I have to do is ask you a math question, and if you get it right, you can play."
The player agreed, and the coach looked into his eyes intently and asked, "Okay, now concentrate... What is two plus two?"
The player thought for a moment and then he answered, "Uhhhh... four?"
"Four?!" Coach Witt exclaimed, excited that he got it right.
At that, all the other players in unison began screaming, "C’mon Coach, give him just one more chance!"

A Ute was drafted and sent to boot camp. At the rifle range, he was given some instructions, a rifle and bullets. He fired several shots at the target. The report came from the target area that all attempts had completely missed the target.
The Ute looked at his rifle and then at the target again. He looked at the rifle again and then at the target again. He put his finger over the end of the rifle barrel and squeezed the trigger with his other hand. The end of his finger was blown off, whereupon he yelled toward the target area:
"It's leaving here just fine... the trouble must be at your end!"

Three college buddies go down to Mexico one night and get drunk and wake up in jail. They found out that they are to be executed for their crimes but none of them can remember what they have done.
The first one is strapped in the electric chair and is asked if he has any last words. He says, "I am from Notre Dame’s Religion Department and I believe in the almighty power of Deity to intervene on behalf of the innocent." They throw the switch and nothing happens, so they figure God must not want this guy to die, and release him.
The second one is strapped in and gives his last words. "I am from the Stanford University School of Law and I believe in the eternal power of justice to intervene on the part of the innocent." The switch is thrown and again nothing happens. They figure that the law is on this guy's side and let him go.
The last one is strapped in and says, "Well, I'm a University of Utah Electrical Engineer, and I'll tell you right now, you'll never electrocute anybody if you don't connect those two wires."

Q: What's the only sign of intelligent life in on the University of Utah campus?
A: The one that reads, "Provo: 45 miles."

Q: What does a typical U. of U. student get on the ACT test?
A: Drool

Q: Why is ice no longer available at University of Utah football games?
A: Because the senior who knew the recipe finally graduated.

Q: What are the three longest years of a Utah football player's life?
A: His freshman year

A guy in the buffet line at the Golden Coral whispers to the guy next to him in line and says, "Wanna hear a Utah joke?"
The guy replies, "Well, before you tell that joke, you should know something. I am 6' tall, 200 lbs. and I am a U. of U graduate The guy next to me is 6'2", 225 lbs. and he is a U. of U. graduate. The guy right next to him is 6'5", 250lbs. and he is a Utah football player. Now, you still wanna tell me that joke?"
The first guy says, "No, not if I'm going to have to explain it three times."

Two Utah football players were hootin' and hollerin' while partying on campus when a passing student asked them why they were celebrating. The smart one said that they had just finished a jigsaw puzzle and it only took two months.
"Two months?!" exclaimed the student.
The Utes proudly replied, "Yeah, and the box said 4 - 6 years!"

A little boy and his mother were walking through Salt Lake City cemetery when they came upon a headstone that read: "Here lies a U. of U. graduate and a good man."
The little boy asked his mother, "Mommy, why did they bury two people in there?"

Salt Lake City News Report: Football practice in Salt Lake City was delayed on Monday for nearly two hours. One of the offensive players, while on his way to the locker room, happened to look down and notice a suspicious looking, unknown, white powdery substance on the practice field. The head coach, Kyle Whittingham, immediately suspended practice while the FBI was called in to investigate. After a complete field analysis, the FBI determined that the white substance unknown to the players was the goal line. Practice was resumed when the FBI decided that the team would not be likely to encounter the substance again.

Two Utah football players are walking down the street. One notices a compact on the sidewalk and leans down to pick it up. He opens it, looks in the mirror and says, "Hmm, this person looks familiar."
The second Ute says, "Here, let me see!" He looks in the mirror and says, "You dummy, it's me!"

A Utah cheerleader suspects her boyfriend of cheating on her. She is so upset she buys a gun and goes to his apartment. When she opens the door, she finds him in the arms of a redhead. She takes the gun out of her purse, but as she does so, she is completely overcome with grief and puts it to her own head.
The boyfriend yells, "No, honey, don't do it"
The cheerleader replies, "Shut up, you're next!"

A Ute football player was bragging about his knowledge of state capitals. He proudly says, "Go ahead, ask me; I know all of them."
A friend asks, "OK, what's the capital of Wisconsin?"
The Ute replies, "Oh, that's easy: W."

What did the Utah cheerleader say to her doctor when he told her she was pregnant?
"Is it mine?"

Thank you and good night...

Do You Twitter?

Rather than acknowledge the existence of the "school up north" and the silly commercials posted (below) by the fan of the "school up north," I think I'll take a minute and try to figure out why no one is following me on Twitter. Do you know what Twitter is? If not, here you go:

Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the
simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends
doing—right now? With Twitter, you may answer this question over SMS or
the Web and the responses are shared between contacts.

So, go ahead and add me to your Twitter-follow-list:

http://www.twitter.com/tysonsnow

Thanks...

Rivalry Week

Just a couple videos to enjoy this week...





Go Utes!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Gap's Merry Mix It Ads = Good Stuff

Gap recently released a series of Christmas ads; they are all part of Gap's Merry Mix It campaign. There are several spots worth checking out. To save you some time, I'll embed the good ones.

First, the combined ad that includes all the stars such as Jon Heder (Napolean), Selma Blair, Rainn Wilson (Dwight), Jason Biggs, Freddy Rodriguez (Carla's Brother from Scrubs), Romany Malco, the Dixie Chicks, Flo Rida, and Trey Songz:

Now, for the individual ads. I'm just linking to them (because, otherwise, all the movies start playing on top of each other). Let's start with my personal favorite, Jon Heder and Janelle Monae doing Winter Wonderland:

[Click Here]

Next, you get Jason Biggs, Romany Malco, and Freddy Rodriguez "playing" We Three Kings (or We 3 Kingz for all you hip people out there) on a bunch of bells:

[Click Here]

Finally, everyone's favorite Office character, Dwight, also known as Rainn Wilson, teams up with Selma Blair for an awkward but funny version of Baby It's Cold Outside.

[Click Here]

Now that's what I call advertising... Did I mention that you can also mix your own Gap commercial with any of the celebrities? It is pretty fun (at least in theory -- I haven't actually tried it but I've seen some pretty good mixes done by other people). Anyway, enjoy you pre-Thanksgiving introduction to Christmas!

Monday, November 17, 2008

New Pepsi Logo and Bottles



My love for Pepsi is well known. That said, I'm not sure that I'm a big fan of the new logos and bottles. As my little sister, Jet, pointed out, the new logo sure looks a lot like Barack Obama's logo. Here are the new Pepsi bottles:




And here is Barack Obama's Pepsi bottle:





Just pick your Obama campaign slogan and insert it below the bottle: "Yes We Can", "Change You Can Believe In", "Change Can Happen", or "Together We Can". Or, the classic Pepsi slogan works well too: "Obama, The Choice of a New Generation". I'm seeing some serious cross-promotional opportunities. For example, if I get enough Pepsi Points, can I have dinner at the White House? Or even better, how about a spot on the Cabinet? Or the U.S. Supreme Court? Now we're talking.

But maybe you're not an Obama fan? Don't worry, Pepsi didn't forget you. The smart advertising and branding executives were quick to realize that everyone is either an Obama fan or a Star Trek fan. Accordingly, they made sure the new bottles looked like Worf:




So so clever... And long live the Klingons!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

White Powder Sent to LDS Temples in L.A. and Salt Lake City

By now, I'm guessing that most of you have at least heard about "white powder" being sent to the Salt Lake temple and the L.A. temple. I can put up with all the protests; this is America after all. We all have the right to assemble and protest so long as we do it peacefully and without infringing on others' rights. But seriously, sending white powder, whether it is anthrax or not, is just not cool. Here is a blurb from the L.A. Times:
The Mormon temple in Westwood was closed Thursday afternoon after an envelope filled with an unidentified white, powdery substance was delivered to temple employees, Los Angeles police said.

* * *

A similar letter was received at the Salt Lake City Mormon temple about 3:30 p.m. local time today, said Juan Becerra, a spokesman for the FBI's Salt Lake City office.
The best "comment" on this story that I've seen comes courtesy of the readers of KSL.com:
"My favorite comment so far... is the one about sending green Jell-O to THEIR places of 'worship' ..."

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Birthday with the Family

While it didn't quite stack up to the bowling bonanza, the family birthday party was still fun. Seriously. Who is going to complain about a ton of "Y" balloons? Not me.



We're all Snows in these pictures. Me, Sara, my little sister Jet (with the evil eye), my scruffy brother Boy (or Brant if you don't know any better), and, of course, my parents.

Big Birthday Weekend Bowling

Have you ever wondered the best way to celebrate your 31st birthday? Let me answer that question for you. Bowling. That's right. Bowling. Call up a couple of friends, a bunch of little kids, and head down to the bowling alley for some good old-fashioned white trash entertainment. The participants, as seen below, include:

The Snows: Tyson, Sara, and Jet (my little sister)
The Hoopes: Chad, Tori, Brooke (Boo), Aubrey (A.J.), and Addison (Peanut)
The Smiths: Layne, Bekah, Bekah's sister, Sabrina, and Trevor
The League Bowlers: Sammi and her sister, Amber

Enjoy the slideshow. Notice all the BYU gear? That's right. We always represent. As always, just click on it to see all of the pictures (at a much better resolution).



Now, go polish up that bowling ball and hit the lanes. Sara's birthday is coming up after all and you never know when you may get that call to head down to the alleys.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Go Utes!

nuff said!

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Obama Supporters Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Regardless of your political affiliation, John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and The Onion are always good for a laugh. Here is the latest from The Onion in the aftermath of Obama's presidential victory:


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Hilarious. Maybe all of those "lost" souls can start working on the Obama 2012 campaign (hint: the slogan should be "Yes We Still Can").

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The "Educated" American Voters...

Happy Election Day everyone! I know that today is an important day, but hey, even on important days, you should have a couple of laughs... Check out this link to a bit on Howard Stern's radio show. One of Stern's "reporters" went to Harlem and interviewed voters; all of them supported Obama even though the reporter was attributing McCain's views and policies to Obama. It is pretty funny (especially when the reporter asks the voters if they are comfortable with Sarah Palin being Obama's vice president and they all say yes). Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBJotJcKN8U

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Halloween Pictures - Corn Maze and Pumpkin Carving

Here are the most recent pictures I pulled off of Sara's camera. Last night (for FHE), we carved pumpkins with our friends/neighbors, the Hoskissons. Yes, that is a princess pumpkin that I carved; impressive, I know -- I've got serious pumpkin carving skills. Click the slideshow to check out all the pictures:


Last week (also for FHE), we went to Cornbelly's Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point with my parents and Brad, Christine, and Zack. It was fun. I don't expect to have too many more experiences where I'm lost in a corn maze but continuously being serenaded by David Archuleta. That was a little strange:


Happy Halloween Everyone!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Midnight Sun - Stephanie Meyer's Rewrite of Twilight - Manuscript Leaked

Sara stumbled across the linked manuscript of Midnight Sun (the rewrite of Twilight told from Edward's (the vampire) point of view). Evidently Meyer distributed copies of the unfinished and unedited manuscripts to some family members and friends who then posted it on the net. Meyer has since decided that she is not going to complete the book and she has posted a link to the unfinished manuscript on her site. Here is a link to the press release on her website and a quick summary of the posting:

http://stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html
As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.

I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.

...

I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.

--Stephenie
Links to the manuscript can be found on Meyer's website (the link above). Looks like Sara will have something to read for the next couple of days.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Boo to Last Night's Sports...

Seriously? First, I had to watch TCU beat every single ounce of life out of BYU? And then, as if the BYU at TCU game wasn't enough, I had to watch the Red Sox come back and win to extend the series (currently 3-2 in favor of Tampa Bay) after trailing 7-0 in the 7th inning? That was ridiculous. Thank you NBC and The Office for insuring that Thursday night wasn't a complete loss. Phew. It was still a rough night...

Saturday, October 11, 2008

With Winter Comes Autumn...

Well, it is about 37 degrees outside my house (trust me, my car told me so) and it snowed a little this morning. It's that time of year in Utah. We, being myself, my wife Sara, and my sister Jet, were able to make it up Little Cottonwood Canyon last Sunday (in between conference sessions) to check out some of the leaves. Here is a quick slideshow of some of the better pictures (click on the pictures for bigger versions):




Good job BYU on beating New Mexico. I hope everyone stays warm and both BYU and Utah can continue their winning streaks; I'm looking forward to a November battle-for-the-ages...

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Tyson = Official Science Fiction Fan

If the article published in Friday's edition of the Salt Lake Tribune has any truth to it, I should be reading the Eldest (right now) instead of antitrust regulations and rules of construction as they relate to assignment of claims. But reporters will be reporters (as I too was once):

Tyson Snow has waited for three years to find out the fate of his favorite dragon rider, Eragon.

The 30-year-old lawyer reads the fantasy series as a lighthearted escape from days spent reading contracts and regulations.

"Books such as this have brought reading science fiction and fantasy from the fringe into the mainstream," said Snow, who lives in Sandy. "That's a good thing because it provides creativity and the opportunity to sit back and enjoy a good story as a way of escaping the mundane and difficult things each of us faces every day."

Sci-fi fans eager for release of Paolini's latest, Brisingr [Credit: The Salt Lake Tribune]

Bring on Brisingr!

Monday, September 08, 2008

BYU 28, Washington 27 (Penalty? I Don't Remember Any Penalty!)

Let the pictures begin. For all of the "select" pictures (meaning pictures where I don't look completely stupid), you can link here (or you can watch the slideshow at the bottom of this post repeatedly): http://picasaweb.google.com/tysonsnow/08090307Seattle#

From 080903-07 Seattle
Me, Chad, and Amy at the Yankees v. Mariners game. Don't ask why Amy is so blurry. I don't have an answer.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Me, Sara, Nick (Sara's brother), and Jyllian (Nick's wife) at the same game.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Now that's a line up. I guess Ichiro is pretty good too.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Amy and Chad with their gangsta pose on top of the Space Needle.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Me with my imitation gangsta pose at Pike's Market.

From 080903-07 Seattle
The Hoopes enjoying some football.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Scoreboard.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Safeco. The second night.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Safeco. The second night again (but this time with Nick's "Can You Smell What the Rock is Cooking?" pose).

From 080903-07 Seattle
Everybody rollin' on the train.

From 080903-07 Seattle
Can you tell who the old guy is?

Okay, seriously, you need to just visit the link and check out all the pictures. We had such a fun time. So go check it out now:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tysonsnow/08090307Seattle#

Congrats to Tamara...

I saw the pictures earlier, but the official email just made its way to my work inbox:
My baby is here! Just wanted to send along some photos so you could see her! Her name is Elizabeth Rose Braun, born August 19 at 7 lbs, 13 oz and 20 3/4 inches long. We happen to think she's pretty cute and we couldn't be happier that she's here. We'd love to hear from you!
Welcome to motherhood.

For those of you who are waiting for an update about the trip to Washington and the ridiculously awesome and triumphant victory of BYU over the Huskies, don't worry, pictures and summaries will be posted as soon as I stop billing for the time I missed while actually on vacation...

Monday, September 01, 2008

Browser Wars: Google Enters the Fray

Leave it to Google to take all the excitement out of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2. With the slip of a mouse click, Google published a comic touting its new "Chrome" browser and the world (as well as the GOOG stock price) will never be the same. The browser comes out tomorrow; I'm interested, excited, and skeptical. I am, after all, a true browser snob. I've been from Netscape to IE6 to Firefox 2 to Maxthon 2.0 to IE7 back to Maxthon 2.0 to Firefox 3 (to IE8 Beta 2). I'll let you know my feelings on having my Internet experienced "chromed" out (pun intended). It's official:
Visit http://www.google.com/chrome to download and start exploring. (For the moment, it's available only for Windows users, but you can sign up on the download page to learn when the Mac and Linux versions are available.)

Friday, August 29, 2008

Golf / Work / BBQ

So, what happens when you mix 18 holes of golf (the BYU Law Alumni Golf Tournament) with a couple of hours of work followed by a bbq and hours of playing with little kids? I now know! I pulled out some additional work late last night and sat down in front of the TV with my little sister; Chef Duff is busy buzzing away in the background when, well, I don't really know. Here is the email and the pictures that Jet sent (she was nice enough not to laugh too much when I did eventually wake up and go to bed):
As Ace of Cakes blared in the background, Tyson slowly drifted to sleep while holding his head up. It was quit impressive, although I think it put a damper in his document reviews...


Even more funny, Sara told Jet that I fall asleep like that all the time; I guess I need to find some more exciting things to read.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Missing the Olympics, but getting more sleep at night...

For all of you out there wishing you could still sit up all hours of the night watching synchronized diving, high jump, and parallel bars, enjoy these clips ... (just don't be sitting there drinking milk or else you're likely to spray it out your nose).



and another one ...



and still more from Paulette ...

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Bronco Mendenhall for Vice President...

Forget Mitt Romney. McCain should definitely pick Bronco. McCain would be a lock. (And thanks to Castleberry for walking all the way down to my end of the office to offer up this sound suggestion).

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Cool Site for Non Math Nerds...

Mathway is a free website that solves your math problems and provides step-by-step work with explanations. Mathway is for students, parents, and teachers:

Mathway

Memories

My sister had this posted on her blog today and, since I'm bored, I figured I would pass it along. Frankly, I'm a little afraid of the comments that might appear. LOL.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses.

++If you post one on mine, I'll post one on yours++

Monday, August 11, 2008

Celebrating

August 11th is a great day of celebration for us (we've been married for 1 year now). It totally makes me feel like dancing ... as does this video ... ENJOY!!!

Monday, August 04, 2008

Mr. Rogers is the Best Neighbor...

I ran across this link on Facebook. Thanks to CNN (and the fine publishers of Mental Floss -- a fairly entertaining magazine/book series if you ever get a chance to pick one up):

15 Reasons Why Mr. Rogers is the Best Neighbor

Enjoy. And happy Monday (especially to all of you who work for the State of Utah and are now only working four days a week instead of five (I know, I know... You're working just as many hours, but seriously, every Friday off? That is pretty sweet...)).

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Brisingr Indeed...

Just when you thought that the "countdown timers" were no longer annoying... I too am excited for Brisingr to come out; much more excited for Brisingr than for the new Stephanie Meyer book. I think that Eldest was better than Eragon and I'm hoping that Brisingr is the best of the three. Now, speaking of those annoying countdown timers:



If you haven't read any of Christopher Paolini's books, you really should. Eragon is a little tough to get into, but I assure you (let me repeat, I assure you) that the book is a million (yes, a million!) times better than the ridiculous movie. Give it a try. But schedule yourself some time over the next two months. Once you start Eragon, you'll most certainly have to finish Eldest by the time Brisingr actually hits shelves. Trust me...

Brisingr!

For anyone interested, I think I'm more excited about Brisingr coming out September 20 (third book of the Eragon series).

If you absolutely must know, however, I am rooting for Edward (way cooler than the wolf) in the new Stephanie Meyers book ... and contrary to what my co-worker says, I'm pretty sure Edward doesn't die ... and if he does, I'll stomp on my co-worker's toes for ruining the book.

Now I just need to convince Tyson to read this series so he doesn't think I'm so strange when I ramble on for hours about the romantic lives of a girl, her vampire boyfriend and her werewolf BFF...

Breaking Dawn...

For all of you Stephanie Meyer fans, particularly Sara (who spent the morning finishing off the latest installment in the Artemis Fowl series so that she would be ready for the August 2nd release of the fourth book in the Twilight series):



Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Greatest Law Firm Ad Ever...

You thought "One Call, That's All" was catch (or, more correctly, incredibly annoying)? Well beat Quinn Emanuel's latest poster at the Bob Hope Airport:


That's right, the text on the right says: "Justice may be blind but she still sees it our way 92.3% of the time." Admittedly, this is probably a lot more funny to lawyers; but I'm still laughing after reading it... Several times... Good ol' Quinn Emanuel and their notorious marketing... Take that Keith Barton... All the Utah Quinns should be very very proud (and all of you who work for any of the Utah Quinns -- you know who you are) should be equally proud.

Hat Tip: AboveTheLaw.com (as usual)

Determine Gender Based on Browser History

This is just awesome (except for the fact that the browser history on my home computer estimates:

Likelihood of you being FEMALE is 36%
Likelihood of you being MALE is 64%


Looks like I need to spend more time on espn.com and askmen.com and such... I wonder what my work computer will yield; I'll let you know tomorrow (once I finish compiling several hundred invoices and bills for an economic damages report). Check out the write-up and your own gender trends:

Thanks to Paul Cook for the initial link to this fascinating little javascript script Social History. Thes cript analyzes the css color of various links to determine whether or not the user has been to that site. If the link has the “visited” style, then he marks the user as having been to that site. Now the Social History implementation of this is rather innocuous — it’s a clever way of only displaying only the sharing buttons of sites that the user is an active participant of. Of course there are far more interesting applications for advertising.

One of the things that I always wanted to do but never got around to was to analyze a user’s browsing history to estimate age and gender. Of course the idea is definitely not new, in fact Xerox (of all companies??) has a patent on the whole process and I’m certain plenty of networks already do something of the sort… but what the heck, let’s have some fun!

So what I did is I modified the SocialHistory JS so that it polled the browser to find out which of the Quantcast top 10k sites were visited. I then apply the ratio of male to female users for each site and with some basic math determine a guestimate of your gender. The math is really quite simple, I just take:
1 / (1 + r_1 * r_2 * … * r_n)

where p_i is the ratio of men-to-women for the specific site. For example, if you had been to two sites that had a 2-1 ratio of men to women, the probability of you being female would be:
1 / (1 + 2 * 2) = 1/5 = 20%

Here is the link: http://www.mikeonads.com/2008/07/13/using-your-browser-url-history-estimate-gender/

Be sure to post your results in the comments!

Friday, July 25, 2008

The Official Soundtrack of the Snows

As part of Sara's renewed interest in the blog (and her need to find distractions while at work), she has started compiling our "official soundtrack" (well, according to me it is our "official soundtrack"; I'm not sure she feels the same way). Anyway, scroll down to the bottom of the page and see (and listen to) the playlist. If you wonder why certain songs are on it, feel free to ask (but Sara will probably provide better answers than I will).

After all, you can tell a lot about a person by the music they listen to... Or so I've heard. (Is it telling that I listen to "What's My Age Again" and "I'm Just a Kid" a lot?)...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

I've never seen this in all my time working here ...

So, this afternoon, I went with 3 co-workers to the Cheesecake Factory. I had a decent time there for lunch the first time or two I went, but I did have one time with poor service (food coming out in a haphazard manner, getting the wrong order, or food not coming out at all ... and to top it all off, a manager that was willing to apologize to those people in the party who made it the whole hour without seeing any of their order).

Well, this time was different, and I seriously will think hard before going there EVER again. Or ever eating salad. Or vegetables. Ever. Really. Or maybe never eating. Except I'm hungry because I didn't get lunch.

First off, we had a waiter who was really into the word "certainly" ... it was basically his only response unless he was trying to explain away a mistake. "Certainly," in case you aren't fluent with the Cheesecake Factory lingo, means "fat chance" or "maybe if I've got nothing better to do." Bread, for instance, required a personal request ... which only came 10-15 minutes after placing our orders ... and after trying to hunt the guy down for a while after that. Certainly.

So, I have (at least in the past) been a big fan of the pizza and salad lunch combo. Salad is huge. BBQ pizza is great. And so that's what I ordered, as did 2 of the other guys (with different pizzas). After a decent wait, the non-combo lunch came out as did the salad for the guys on the other side of the table. A few minutes later, and out came pizzas for me and the guy next to me. I had had 1/8 of my pizza, and out came the pizza for the guy across the table. Then, there was another wait. I was seriously having moments of imagining the Hell's Kitchen guy (from the all of 1.5 episodes I've seen) just flipping out, throwing food, and making all of the cooks cry for the poorly timed preparation and delivery of the food). I'm just guessing that 15-20 minutes after the last pizza was brought out, my salad arrived (as did the one for the guy next to me). I found it strange that the salad was significantly smaller than I am typically used to, but decided that I can't eat it all anyway, so no harm done.

I have now slowly consumed 1/4 of the pizza (seriously, I'm not SOOO hungry as to kid myself into thinking that I could eat the whole meal and salads are not as great after a day in a box in my work fridge as is the pizza - so I was "saving myself" so to speak). I take a couple bites and then the co-worker across the table gets a horrified look on his face and extends his hand to bat down the hand and fork of the co-worker next to me. Fortunately, this action caused him to lower the fork prior to taking a big bite from which a large (1" from antlers to tail, I'd guess) WASP drenched in ranch was crawling out from a piece of lettuce.

Well, I was sooooo grossed out, but managed to make a minimal scene by pushing away from the table, and the guys stuck another plate over the salad plate (encasing the fork and wasp). Still, whilst sitting clearly in the aisle, and all tables around us starting to look as grossed out as I was, and prodding their food for any live "extras," it took a good 5 minutes before anyone came over to see what was going on - and that's only because I flagged the waiter down.

We were then subjected to "well, gee, I've never seen that happen in all my time here." Heck! I should hope not! Did they think that I expected that at least 5 dishes per lunch came out with something crawling in it? Eeeewww eeewwww and eeewwww. The manager came over and mumbled, after of course mentioning again that he had never seen that before, that he would take care of it, and smartly offered to get my co-worker another replacement salad. My co-worker declined. We sat there for a long time again (not eating anything of course), discussing the live bug in the food, until we flagged down the waiter again so that my co-worker could order his wife some cheesecake to go (as the manager had mentioned to save room for dessert). After the waiter had time to make the cheesecake, he brought it out on a nice plate and we had to send him away to box it up.

The check came with the salad and cheesecake deducted. We were ready to pay just to get out of there and with the final notion of 'heck, we're never going to come here again.' When my co-worker asked why the whole check wasn't taken care of. Subsequently, the manager came over and my co-worker asked again. The manager grabbed the check in a bit of a huff, and came back with a reduced bill. It took me a minute to figure out that he had entered the employee discount. Seriously. The manager said "here, is this good enough?" to which my co-worker said that we'd all be happy to pay, but that he thought it was a poorly handled situation and he didn't understand why the whole table wasn't paid for (particularly in light of how little we all ate as a result of the live bug in the food). The manager then said fine, grabbed the check, crumpled it up, and stomped off.

So, I don't know if you are expecting large live insects capable of biting you back in your Cheesecake Factory food (assuming you are crazy enough to go there), at least it will minorly suprize the manager, or that's what they'll try to convince you.

Happy eating!

Monday, July 21, 2008

The Chronicles of Narnia

I just finished reading C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in a long time (but not the first time ever). As I was updating my review on GoodReads.com, I noticed that I can simply cut/paste some html to include my review on this site. So here's to trying:

The Chronicles of Narnia The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis


My review


rating: 4 of 5 stars
I've read them all before. Now I'm reading them all again...

In case you're wondering, Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the best (after the obligatory The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe). I think The Silver Chair is my least favorite. And The Magician's Nephew is far and away the most interesting (again, after The Lion...) from a religious or Christian apologist perspective. All of the Chronicles were entertaining to read again as an "adult" (and I use the quotation marks very loosely)...


View all my reviews.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Tagging Part II

I figure since I was tagged, it's only proper to respond...

A-Attached or Single? Attached...
B-Best Friend? Alicia .... no, Tyson ... no, Alicia ... no, Tyson ....no, Alicia .... no, Tyson ...
C-Cake or Pie? Pie or 3.14 .... either one is preferable to most cake
D-Day of choice? Friday
E-Essential item? sunglasses ... big ones to help shield my face should any of those crazy paparazzi decide to harass me ... oh, and wedding ring
F-Favorite color? Red ... no, purple .... no, red
G-Gummy Bears or Worms? Bears ... like to bite off their heads first ... does that say something about me???
H-Hometown? Pleasant View (I bet my hometown sounds lovelier than yours!!)
I-Favorite Indulgence? Dancing with the Stars (seriously, I don't know what's wrong with me there)
J-January or July? July ... sun, swimming, fireworks, baseball, painted toenails ... all in theory, of course, but I imagine all that is happening from my nifty chair in my cozy office .... oh to have sand between my toes (sand, not dirt or sock fuzzies or anything else that shouldn't be there)
K-Kids? I'm married to one
L-Life isn't complete without? my big, soft bed
M-Marriage date? August 11, 2007...
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother
O-Oranges or apples? probably oranges
P-Phobias and fears? heights
Q-Quote? "The rules of hair care are simple and finite. Any Cosmo girl would have known" ... and "Hi. My name is Marshall J. Flinkman, and I'm here to rescue you!" ... and "30 is the new black"
[Why is there no "R"?]
S-Season of choice? Fall
T-Tag 3 people - Next 3 readers (you know who you are)...
U-Unknown fact about me? I can probably still do the splits...
V-Vegetable? corn
W-Worst habit? biting nails ... procrastinating ....
X-X-ray or Ultrasound? donno
Y-Your favorite food? Smoothies ... does that count?
Z-Zodiac Sign? Sagittarius

Saggy Pants Suspects Beware:

Looks like there will be no saggy pants in Flint, Michigan. From the Detroit Free Press:



Hat tip: SupremeDicta.com

Tagged ABC Style...

My little sister, Jet, tagged me; I guess I should respond:

A-Attached or Single? Attached...
B-Best Friend? My Lucky Kitty... J/K... Sara of course...
C-Cake or Pie? Cake (especially when Jet gives me her frosting)...
D-Day of choice? Thursday or Saturday...
E-Essential item? My Smartphone (Treo 750)...
F-Favorite color? Purple...
G-Gummy Bears or Worms? Chocolate Covered Gummy Bears...
H-Hometown? Provo...
I-Favorite Indulgence? Pizza Buffet...
J-January or July? January...
K-Kids? I am one...
L-Life isn't complete without? Pepsi...
M-Marriage date? August 11, 2007...
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters, 1 brother...
O-Oranges or apples? Apples (but only if covered in caramel)...
P-Phobias and fears? Failure...
Q-Quote? "I'm just a kid and my life is a nightmare..."
[Why is there no "R"?]
S-Season of choice? Winter...
T-Tag 3 people - Sara and any two others who actually read this...
U-Unknown fact about me? I'm actually cool...
V-Vegetable? Asparagus...
W-Worst habit? I plead the 5th on this for sure...
X-X-ray or Ultrasound? I generally get MRIs...
Y-Your favorite food? Alaskan King Crab...
Z-Zodiac Sign? Scorpio...

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Search Engine Wars - Money for the Masses?

I stumbled upon a new search engine recently. It is called Scour.com and it claims that it pays back to the user some of the "billions" of dollars made by search engines annually. I uses combined results from Google, MSN, and Yahoo, as well as user votes and rankings. Since I use Google for almost everything, I figured I'd give it a whirl. The best feature, in my mind, is that, at a glance, you can see where in the results the site ranks on Google, Yahoo, and MSN; it is pretty handy for figuring out which sites you want to visit. Anyway, here is their official mumbo-jumbo:
The top search engines make billions of dollars a year in advertising revenue, wouldn't it be cool if the users got a piece of that too? Enter Scour Points! Every member is awarded one point for every search, two for a vote and three for a comment with a maximum of 4 points a search. Once you aggregate at least 6,500 points you can cash them out for a $25 Visa gift card... it's more than you currently make from searching, right? On top of that, we offer referral points for the friends you introduce to Scour where you can earn 25% of the points they make. So if you invited 25 friends that used scour regularly in addition to yourself, that's an easy $125 in your pocket for a year of what you already do! Check out how much you could earn with the Scour Points Calculator. This isn't a pyramid scheme and we're not trying to get you rich quick, we just think it's a good idea to share our success with those who help make it possible.
Great eh? Well, if you're interested, check it out here: http://scour.com/invite/tysonsnow

Friday, July 11, 2008

Random Musings for a Friday

Hey everyone, just a couple of random thoughts to keep me distracted from the gigantic stack of papers on my desk (and the four bankers boxes stacked in the corner that are full of documents for me to review).

First, I love Firefox 3. I've never been a big fan of the Firefox browsers. I used Maxthon for a long time. But I've been using Firefox 3 for several weeks now and I think it is going to replace Maxthon permanently as my browser of choice. The add-ons are fantastic. I suggest FaviconizeTab and ColorfulTabs. Make sure you get those two.

Second, while I was riding TRAX into work today (as of today, I can drive again, but Sara and I are going to a Bees game tonight so I took TRAX), I noticed a huge line of people outside of the at&t wireless store. I think the new iPhone 3G gets released today and I'm guessing that all the people were lined up so they could be the first people to have the latest and greatest toy from Apple. But seriously, it was 7:45 in the morning. If you don't have to be to work early, do you really want to spend that extra time waiting in line to get a phone (so that work can get ahold of you at anytime and anyplace?). Surely they could have waited until tomorrow. As for me, I'll stick with my Treo 750 for a while longer (my contract is up in August and then I'll see what kind of deal I can swing on a new plan).

And finally, Lagoon is awesome. You should go. And while you're there, be sure to eat a big, chewy pretzel in honor of me.

Have a great Friday everyone. Peace.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Why I Love Soccer...

The following story concerns a match played between Barbados and Grenada in cup competition:
Barbados needed to win the game by two clear goals in order to progress to the next round. Now the trouble was caused by a daft rule in the competition which stated that in the event of a game going to penalty kicks, the winner of the penalty kicks would be awarded a 2-0 victory.

With 5 minutes to go, Barbados were leading 2-1, and going out of the tournament (because they needed to win by 2 clear goals). Then, when they realized they were probably not going to score against Grenada's massed defense, they turned round, and deliberately scored on their own goal to level the scores and take the game into penalties. Grenada, themselves not being stupid, realized what was going on, and then attempted to score an own goal themselves. However, the Barbados players started defending their opponents goal to prevent this.

In the last five minutes, spectators were treated to the incredible sight of both team's defending their opponents goal against attackers desperately trying to score an own goal and goalkeepers trying to throw the ball into their own net. The game went to penalties, which Barbados won and so were awarded a 2-0 victory and progressed to the next round.
Awesome! Who doesn't love a sport that sometimes requires you to "lose" in order to "win"?

Source: Snopes.com

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Awesome Internet Easter Eggs

I stumbled across the following article on Webware.com and it has kept me entertained for nearly 30 minutes now. Good stuff I tell you, good stuff indeed:

10 Awesome Internet Easter Eggs

Monday, June 23, 2008

Jet's FIDM Graduation

Sara and I met up with my parents, and Jet of course, in L.A. over the weekend for Jet's graduation from FIDM. It was fun; we went to the fashion district in downtown L.A., to the FIDM campus, to Santa Monica Beach and Pier, to the Staples Center (the graduation ceremony was in the Staples Center) and to the Outback in Buena Park to meet up with the Walkers. Here are a few pictures for y'all:



Monday, May 26, 2008

Four Popped-Collars Cool

If you were a "yes" on any of the quetions on the post immediately following this one, you are probably cool, but you'll never be four popped-collars cool:

Friday, May 23, 2008

Growing Up in the 80's...

For the most part, I like to consider myself a 90's-kid, but way too many of the following apply for that designation to be appropriate. Time to peg my jeans, grab my lunch box and garbage pail kids cards, and rock out to Bon Jovi (thanks to Sara for forwarding me the list and helping me to confirm how "cool" I was back then lol):

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton
3. You know that 'WOAH' comes from Joey on Blossom
4. If you ever watched 'Fraggle Rock'
5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
9. You played the game 'MASH'(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
11. You know the profound meaning of ' WAX ON ,WAX OFF'
12. You wanted to be a Goonie.
13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)
14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted. (and he was still black)
15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
17. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
18. You still get the urge to say 'NOT' after every sentence.
19. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying 'I know you are, but what am I?'
23. You remember 'I've fallen and I can't get up'
24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
25. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
29. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as 'NKOTB'
31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on 'Saved By The Bell,' The ORIGINAL class.
32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
33. You just now sang those words to yourself.
34. You still sing 'We are the World'
35. You tight rolled your jeans.
36. You owned a bannana clip.
37. You remember 'Where's the Beef?'
38. You used to (and probably still do) say 'What you talkin' 'bout Willis?'
39. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Snow Family Retreat (May 2008) @ Johnson Mill in Midway, Utah

Sara, being the fantastic wife that she is, planned us a weekend getaway for May 17th and 18th to a bed and breakfast in Midway. I was supposed to be in trial two weeks ago and last week was blocked out for me to catch up with all my other work; the weekend away was definitely timed well.


We had a great time and highly recommend Johnson Mill for anyone looking for a place with a pond, a paddle boat, and a bunch of signed pictures of old hollywood types (as the owner was/is apparently a hair-dresser for numerous movies--the best pictures is the one signed by the entire cast of Newsies). I love the Midway gas-station (the old one). I used to stop there when I was getting scuba-certified at the Homestead and it was fun to stop there (multiple times) over the weekend. Here are the pics (click the pictures if you would like to see them individually):

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Happy Engagement Anniversary To Us

May 13th is the day we got engaged. We stole the thunder from Mother's Day in 2007 and I proposed at the Sego Lily Water Gardens here in Sandy. Our celebration was low key given that Mother's Day was on Sunday (we visited both families) and that Sara's brother and sister-in-law (Nick and Jyllian) had their two you anniversary on Sunday (and recently bought their first house!). We went to the Olive Garden (where else) and celebrated it home. As a follow-up to the lovely evening spent together remembering all the great things from the past year, we're off to the dentist this morning. You know what they say about all good things after all...

Friday, May 02, 2008

Being the Older Brother...

I'm blatantly stealing this from my cousin's blog, http://www.smoothharold.com, but as an older brother, I couldn't resist. Have you ever wondered why it rocks being the older brother? Wonder no more (take that Boy):


Monday, April 28, 2008

The 24-Hour EEG

So, my MRI, Contrast MRI, and MRA all came back as normal. These results have been surprising to everyone and I seriously question whether the imaging machines were working properly. I mean, there might not be anything wrong, but it is fairly well established (and certainly documented) that I'm far from normal. The long and short of it is that I get to walk around with the following setup for the next 24 hours:



Cool huh?

Friday, April 25, 2008

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too!

Okay, I am going to blatantly copy this from my parents' blog, but I've seen several iterations of the following "trick" and I've always thought it was cool. Here you go:

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I wasrdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mind! Aoccdrnig to arscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdrthe ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht thefrsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be ataotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs isbcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, butthe wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhotslpeling was ipmorantt!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

MRI & MRA

Well, we were back into Western Neurological today for some additional follow-up testing and imaging. I had a contrast MRI done on my brain (which requires an injection of Gadolinium or a similar metallic compound -- cool stuff) and an MRA, also on my brain. For the uninitiated, here is the lowdown on MRAs:

Magnetic Resonance Angiography is the imaging of flowing blood in vessels using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) is used to generate images of the arteries in order to evaluate them for stenosis (abnormal narrowing), occlusion or aneurysms (vessel wall dilatations, at risk of rupture). MRA is often used to evaluate the arteries of the neck and brain, the thoracic and abdominal aorta, the renal arteries, and the legs (called a "run-off").

Thank you Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_Resonance_Angiography

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Diagnosed...

The neurologist calls it Idiopathic Seizure Disorder (which is a more politically-correct way of saying "epilepsy" or "idiopathic epilepsy")... The prognosis is good: the condition is very treatable and there do not appear to be any tumors, strokes, aneurysms, physical deformaties, scars, or other injuries to my brain (which are all potential causes of an epileptic disorder). It is "idiopathic," which means that they don't know exactly what is causing it. I have a bunch more tests lined up and we'll see if the doctors can't add any clarity. The real bummer is that I can't drive for a while. Oh well. Could be much worse. Hooray for TRAX.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Yes, We're Still Alive

So, it has been a while since we posted. I've had some medical issues recently, so lots and lots of tests for me. Sara has been a champ and has been driving me all over the place for the random tests. She has also done a tremendous job taking care of me. But no worries. I am back at work and am smack dab in the middle of trial preparation (which means long hours and even longer days -- and sometimes reading depositions in bed at night). It is a fine life. I've been doing quite a bit of "soft IP" or IP litigation (Intellectual Property Litigation). For you laymen, that involves litgating copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, and other forms of unfair trade practices, such as antitrust and monoplies. I really like it. Sara refers me work since she spends the majority of her time each day prosecuting patents.

My Dad's birthday is tomorrow, so Happy Birthday Dad! I hope life is treating everyone well at the moment and that you are all having as much fun as Sara and I. Bye for now (and "for now" may be a while considering the trial prep -- we'll just have to wait and see).

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

How Aware Are You?

Got this in an email from a friend. Amazing.

Monday, March 17, 2008

FHE w/ the Princes

FHE is usually a quiet, somewhat formal affair in our house. Sara and I, an Ensign, and a lesson. Not tonight. The boys were loose, the sugar levels were high, and everyone was fueled up on chicken nuggets and tater tots. Now that is how you do FHE. The pictures prove it:



Click the slideshow and you can go through the lovely and attractive pictures one by one (and even comment on my wife's good looks -- but don't get any ideas).

Earlier Easter Egg Hunt

My sister (Melissa) and brother-in-law (John) and all the nephews came piling into town for a wedding this week. We decided to do Easter a little early since they are going to be gone by Sunday. Fun, obviously, was had all around. I didn't get nearly as many eggs as anyone else, but I had more fun chasing everyone around with the camera. Enjoy a taste of Easter-egg-hunting, Snow family style (as always, click the slideshow to actually go see the pictures):


Thursday, March 13, 2008

Long Time - No Update

Jet recently told me that she could tell I am busy because the site hasn't been updated in so long. She was right. I am busy. Long days extending into long nights. Billing 12+ hours means working 15+ hours. Fortunately, I have the greatest and most supportive wife (who has her own long days to deal with) and the experience is great. If I ever dig myself out, we will all have a huge bowling party.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Happy Birthday Leaplings!


Ahhh... Leap Day... Wikipedia has taught me much. For example:
February 29 is a date that occurs only every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1988, 1996, 2008 or 2016 (with the exception of century years not divisible by 400, such as 1900) for the Gregorian calendar, which is most widely used in the world today. These are called leap years, and February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of that year. February 29 is also known as bissextile day or Leap Day.

Also:

There is a tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only in leap years, further restricted in some cases to only February 29. There is a tradition that in 1288 the Scottish parliament under Queen Margaret legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year; few parliament records of that time exist, and none concern February 29. Another component of this tradition was that if the man rejects the proposal, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency, and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). There were similar notions in France and Switzerland.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_day

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Roommate Stabbing

Apparently, there was a roommate stabbing incident just down the street from where we live. According to the Deseret Morning News Article (click to access), the stabbing took place at 10287 South Locksley Road. Check out how close this actually is to our house!



Craziness! I thought Sandy was supposed to be one of the safest cities in the country! The house in question is actually further south than it appears on the map. It is right at the intersection of Locksley and Sego Lily. Still; that is pretty dang close.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Got Busy?

Yesterday was a 14+ billable hour day (and no travel time!). I'm busy. Are you?

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Highly Anticipated Pictures Round 2 - New Decorations

Once again, I am delivering on my promises. I finished reading cases for the night and still need to shower, but here are some pictures of our recent decorating endeavors (click on the slideshow and it will take you to a site where you can view the full size pictures):

Highly Anticipated Pictures Round 1 - Valentine's Festivus

Here is the first installment; the Valentine's Festivus. As described below, Sara made me a wonderful King Crab dinner with all sorts of yummy treats to go along with it. She is pretty much the bestest wife ever (and yes, bestest is much better than best) (click on the slideshow and it will take you to a site where you can view the full size pictures):

Weekend Decorating

Sara and I spent Saturday decorating our entry/living room. We hung lots of cool decorations (in between reading depositions and drafting patent applications). I promise to post some pictures. Jet will definitely likely them. Anyway, just thought you would want to know. Other than that, I'm completely buried in pre-trial and trial work. Billing my life away in 6 minute or 15 minute intervals (depending on the client)... Check back for pictures!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day

Per our friends at Wikipedia:
Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome. Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14. It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or two or more saints of the same name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine

And a special Happy Valentine's Day wish to my lovely wife Sara (who has promised me one heck of a Valentine's Day feast). I'm sure we'll have pictures of the festivities. Love ya.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

NewsNet Reunion

So, we had a KBYU NewsNet reunion of sorts yesterday at lunch (at Settebello in Salt Lake -- It was really good). For all you Facebookers out there, you may have seen the picture (or messages) already. But for those of you aren't cool enough to be "our" friends on Facebook, here you go:

From left to right:

Mary Richards (and Max): KSL News Radio
Katie Christensen: The Sutherland Institute
Tyson Snow: Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar
Andrew Adams: KSL News Radio

Now that is what I call an accomplished group. Quick quiz: can you tell which one of the four is the proverbial sellout? I certainly can. No further comment. Thanks to all for a fun time!