Tyson/Sara Snow, Esq., LLP.

Review: The Confession

2011-12-06T00:18:00.001-07:00

The Confession by John Grisham

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

One of Grisham's worst books. It was more a tirade against the death penalty than an actual story. The book was entirely predictable and was clearly nothing more than an attempt by Grisham to publicize his own political views. I would not recommend this book to anyone (unless you have serious negative feelings about the death penalty -- if that is the case, you will feel better about your political leanings after reading this).

View all my reviews

BYU Fans: Bummed About the Big12?

2011-10-07T15:31:00.000-06:00

Don't be. Have some faith. It will be alright. In the meantime, enjoy these two new BYU videos:

Feel better?

Review: Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

2011-08-26T13:50:00.001-06:00

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! Seriously? I certainly didn't expect this from Richard Paul Evans of all people. Great book for any teenage fiction fan. I am actually eagerly anticipating the next book. (My review may be biased because, well, the book is written by Richard Paul Evans and so my expectations were fairly low--no doubt he can write but who knew he could write teenage fiction?)

View all my reviews

Review: Great American Short Stories

2011-05-22T11:24:00.001-06:00

Great American Short Stories by Paul Negri

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting compilation of some classic American authors. Short stories are always a little tough on me. I was ambivalent towards most of them. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" was by far the best. Hawthorne's take on Puritanism is always fun to read. On its own, probably worth five stars. Sherwood Anderson's "The Egg" was quite a surprise. My second favorite in the book (and given the line-up of authors, that is saying something). Four stars on that one. F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" was probably worth 3-4 stars. Everything else, somewhere between 2-3 stars. In any event, a good read for those who haven't been exposed to a lot of classic American novelists. Lots of different styles and a good sample spectrum for "classic" American literature.

View all my reviews

Review: The Lost Hero

2011-04-24T11:09:00.001-06:00

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A popular book on my friends "currently" or "to read" list... I've run out of other books for the moment. Not the biggest Riordan fan but I'll give it a shot.

Okay. Pleasantly surprised. Super-fast read (like most of Riordan's books). Good story. My only complaint is that it feels like a reset of the Percy Jackson series. But seeing as I'm not really a fan of the Red Pyramid series, I guess I should be okay with that. Four stars.

View all my reviews

Review: A World Without Heroes

2011-04-16T21:52:00.001-06:00

A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish I could give it 3.5 stars. I don't really like the way it ended. I get that it is a trilogy though. Typical Brandon Mull page-turner. I couldn't put it down. And as much as I complain about the ending, I can't wait for the next book to come out (to find out what happens), so maybe Mr. Mull is more clever with his endings than I give him credit for.

View all my reviews

Trip to Denver for the NCAA Tourney (Picture Journey)

2011-03-26T13:44:00.001-06:00

My wife and I had a great trip:

First we learned how to Jimmer

Then we hung out with all sorts of crazy fans:

We saw Brandon Davies right where he should be:

Then this:

Followed by this:

Helped lead to this:

Which caused all of this:

And now I guess it is time to fulfill this:

Great trip. Great memories. We saw old friends. Ran into older friends randomly. Sat on Row 2 for the first game. High-fived all the players and coaches coming in and out of the locker room. We got to see John Stockton. But most of all, we get to say that we were there.

ESPN Roadshow Fame

2011-03-17T15:31:00.000-06:00

Okay, it is only for about 1 or 2 seconds. And you have to pay really close attention. But at about 3:10 in the following video, if you look, you can see me and my crew at the MWC Tourney in Vegas. ESPN shot this video from the aisle right as Emery threw down an awesome dunk. We went crazy.

You can easy see Weston White, myself, David Castleberry, and Mark Mendoza going crazy in the background. Fifteen more minutes I guess.

We all think it is pretty funny. The cheering was supposed to be staged but there was nothing staged when Emery threw down that dunk. It was utter madness.

More TJ Fredette; Official Radio Release of Amazing, featuring Na Drua

2011-03-08T23:57:00.001-07:00

Someone of you might know that I have been lucky enough to get to know TJ over the last year, months, and, in particular, weeks. I've been in studio with him and the guys from a band known as Na Drua (I'll do a Na Drua post in a couple of days -- they deserve their own). I like to think that I have been able to help TJ get some of the wrinkles ironed out with respect to ownership of tracks and licensing / copyright issues but, in the end, I'm just a fan who happens to be a lawyer that is trying to help out a friend.

Long story short, the first of several new tracks was officially released tonight: Here is the mastered version. I love it. I recommend you go to YouTube, like it, and leave a comment:

Now, I was also at the performance where they premiered the song (before releasing it to the public. The sound quality isn't great because there were problems with Na Drua's mics and, let's face it, the Marriott Center wasn't built for acoustics and concerts. But Mr. Fredette, as always, put on quite the show and here is the "official" release (the first ever public performance) of the Official Radio Release of Amazing.

Same suggestions. Go like it and leave some comments.

Look for the tracks from TJ Fredette and Na Drua to hit iTunes in the near future. These are great guys and I can personally assure you that they would love to have your support, even if it is just a "like" on their YouTube videos.

Now for BYU to win the MWC Tourney, the NCAA Tourney / March Madness, and for Jimmer Fredette to be declared the greatest basketball player in the history of the world (thus completing my bucket list).

TJ Fredette - BYU / SDSU Pregame Performance

2011-01-28T10:14:00.001-07:00

Thanks to some serious strings pulled by my parents, we were able to sit courtside for TJ Fredette's pregame performance. It was awesome. We had my buddy's three little girls with us, and well, I'll let the video speak for itself. What can I say, being able to watch the performance, and then watch the game (we were in our normal seats for the game), was an experience of a lifetime. Here is a video of TJ's entire performance. Of all the video's on Youtube, I think this one has the best sound (because it isn't drowned out by all the students yelling).

Oh, as you're watch, at about the 5:55 mark in the video, you can see Sara and the tree girls in the background. They are standing right in front of the baseline scoreboard. The littlest girl is clapping along. It is pretty cool.

You can also watch the video in [HD] at this link: http://youtu.be/Onh9mNtzgCQ?hd=1

For those who don't know, I consider TJ to be one of my friends (although I'm not sure I make it onto his friends list). Anyway, go to Youtube, and "Like" the video. Share it too. TJ has an amazing story, is a great guy, and I know he would appreciate the support in promoting his music.

Mumford West & Snow

2010-12-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

MW&S is why you have not seen me or heard from me, on blogs, in email, or on Facebook, for a while. That is all.

BYU's 2011 Football Schedule - Finalized

2010-12-08T22:39:00.001-07:00

Looks pretty good to me. For all of those who believe that the best football in the country is played in the South (and in Texas since those in Texas don't believe they are part of the South -- Texas is its own region), how about trips to Ole Miss and La. Tech. Plus a trip to play the mighty Longhorns in Austin. Mix in a cross-country road trip by Central Florida to Provo and BYU has been able to schedule itself a lot of national exposure (all of it on ESPN).

For you Utah fans who think that the best football in the country is played in the Pac-10/11/12, well, we've got you and Oregon St.

Looks like Holmoe and Bronco got everything covered. Well done.

BYU 2011 Football Schedule

Sept. 3 -- at Ole Miss

Sept. 10 -- at Texas

Sept. 17 -- Utah

Sept. 23 - Central Florida

Sept. 30 -- Utah State

Oct. 8 -- San Jose State

Oct. 15 -- at Oregon State

Oct. 22 -- Idaho State

Oct. 29 -- Bye

Nov. 5 -- at Louisiana Tech

Nov. 12 -- Idaho

Nov. 19 -- New Mexico State

Nov. 26 -- Bye

Dec. 3 -- at Hawaii

BYU Hoops - Tagging Hoops in SLC

2010-11-05T10:38:00.001-06:00

You may have seen the BYU Hoops Promo video shot around my old neighborhood, starring my nephew Math. If not, check it out over at Mel's (my sister's) blog: Rise and Shout Princes

I told the guys who filmed it that we would tag some hoops up in Salt Lake / Sandy for them. Here is the result.

And a special shout out to TJ Fredette (Jimmer's older brother) who gave us permission to use "On Such a Winter's Day" for our soundtrack. Great song no? Check out all of his tracks over at:

http://www.tjfredette.com

People Are Awesome

2010-10-29T16:43:00.000-06:00

It's true. People are awesome. Proof:

That is all.

Halloween / Winter Flowers

2010-10-15T22:46:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday, before heading to the Homecoming Game with a bunch of law school friends (to watch BYU stomp SDSU), Sara and I spent some time getting our flower beds ready for winter. Yes, I said winter. We're big fans of planting pansies in the fall and then keeping them around all winter. It works out well. So, after weeding out the beds (thank you Sara) and moving some of our awesome irises (thank you Tyson), here is what we have mid-October:

The pansies are nice, but I'm particularly fond of the HALLOWEEN FLOWERS. The purple pansies go great with the gold marigolds. Bring on the trick-or-treaters:

What can I say, I love flowers.

Here...

2010-10-08T12:51:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted in a long time... So if you want to know what we did two weeks ago, go here:

[HERE]

Thank you Mel.

Twitter Accounts

2010-07-08T16:41:00.000-06:00

I've decided to separate the random drivel of my everyday life from the random drivel of my profession. Accordingly, I now have two Twitter accounts:

@tysonsnow - for my personal tweets...

@tyson_esq - for my legal and law related tweets...

Feel free to follow one or both. I am trying to get my approximately 1,500 followers at @tysonsnow to follow @tyson_esq too (we'll see how that goes lol). So spread the word!

Today we celebrate our Independence Day!

2010-07-04T22:45:00.002-06:00

"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. 'Mankind.'

That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist.

And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Jet's Wedding

2010-05-23T14:40:00.002-06:00

Here are some select pictures from Jet's Wedding at the L.A. Temple and her luncheon at Mariasol Cocina, a Mexican restaurant at the very end of the Santa Monica Pier. We had a great time. Sara and I took a ton of pictures (somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 -- apparently we love the Canon XSi). These are some of my favorites.

Me and Dad playing missionary.

Sara and I outside the L.A. Temple

The lone palm tree

Sara and her L.A.-movie-star-style sunglasses

Me and my parents (and my mom proudly holding the marriage certificate lol)

The best side of my cousin Jeff and his wife Stephanie

The whole crew, Susan, Mom, Dad, Sara, Keith, Jeff, Stephanie

Yo. Dad.

Mom and Keith

Me doing a Sprite Commercial

I guess I should include at least one picture of Jet and Pat

Artsy No?

Obligatory formal parents' shot

Best. Shot. Of. The. Day.

Yep

Sara and Jet. Notice how Sara coordinated her dress to match Jet's hair and vice-versa

The second cutest couple of the day

Santa Monica Pier - this is where we had the luncheon

We were at a Mexican restaurant - I wanted to throw beans and rice

Second. Best. Shot. Of. The. Day.

Best family shot. Jeff. Jet. Mom. Dad. Sara. Me. Keith. Susan. Quite the crew.

Two happy parents. One happy girl
Good times were had by all. I doubt I will ever attend a wedding luncheon at the end of the Santa Monica Pier again. If I do, I hope it will be as fun as the one yesterday.

Jazz / Lakers - C.J. Miles versus Derek Fisher

2010-05-11T10:30:00.002-06:00

So, the Lakers worked the Jazz. There were a couple of heart breaking losses and a couple of blowouts. It was an extremely painful series. The only good thing about the Lakers is that our mutual hatred (and by "our", I mean everybody in Utah) unites BYU and Utah fans when football and basketball seasons are over. As depressing as the series was, we can all smile about one play:

That block was ridiculous. I was at the game, about five rows from the top, almost directly behind that basket. Even from there, the block made me feel bad for Fish. Talk about getting owned. I could watch it all day. And given how things turned out, I will get to watch it all off-season. I take solace in the fact that the little things in life are responsible for bringing the most joy. Thank you C.J. Miles.

Understanding Federal Budget Cuts

2010-04-20T10:13:00.006-06:00

The creator of this video hit the nail directly on the head. The federal budget is out of control. I think we are all comfortable blaming both Democrats and Republicans for that. The numbers are so big that it is hard to actually comprehend. What is a billion here or a billion there when we are talking about trillions here and trillions there? I think this video gives a little perspective:

Well, the solution is obvious. We should probably raise taxes to make sure that we get that 1/4 penny back. We can't be throwing away 1/4 pennies after all. Regardless of your political bent, you should be able to appreciate the Obama Budget Cuts Visualization Video.

Brandon Mull / Fablehaven - Officially Arrived!

2010-03-27T21:15:00.010-06:00

If you haven't read the Fablehaven books yet, you really need to. Sara read the latest (and last) installment in a matter of days. I think that my oldest nephew (Josh) read it faster than Sara did and I'm guessing that Mel is right on pace too. We can offer up all sorts of anecdotal proof about the quality of Brandon Mull's writing and the Fablehaven series. But I'm here to give it to you objectively. Rock solid proof that Brandon Mull and his Fablehaven books have arrived and are legit contenders in the Teen Fiction genre. Here is a screen-grab from Amazon (just taken):

Holy freaking crap! Brandon Mull broke the stranglehold that Stephanie Meyer has had on the Top-5 for the last (what seems like) five years! That's right. He knocked another "version" of Breaking Dawn down into the sixth spot. Of course, Stephanie Meyer and the Twilight "Saga" still own ten spots in the top 15. But that is some pretty impressive company no? Way to go Brandon! You are awesome!

The fact that Stephanie Meyer still owns the all those top spots so many years after releasing her last book is kind of sad. And, as Sara just said, why do we give J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter so much credit for reinvigorating reading in our society? Stephanie Meyer, Bella, and Cedric Diggory have done much more to encourage reading (and somewhat frightening vampire romance fantasies). One of these days, someone will unseat Ms. Meyer. It will be a sad day. If vampires died, I'm sure they would be turning in their graves. Until that time.

Go Brandon Mull!

Who Says Twitter Is a Waste of Time

2010-03-01T14:17:00.002-07:00

From the Tennessee Bar Journal:

Twitter is a terrific source of information about the law, especially breaking news. But like any other type of research, you must look in the right place to be efficient. The best way to stay informed is to follow others — Twitter calls these your “friends” — who can scour the Internet for you. Twitterers such as Attorney Tyson Snow[3] comb the Internet for breaking news. Snow and others like him provide a wealth of information on the state of the law. For example, he regularly links to articles of considerable importance for employment lawyers. Another Twitter user, @LexMonitor,[4] provides a veritable smorgasbord of legal news. Whatever your palate prefers, chances are that someone is tweeting about it.

My thanks to @timothyperkins for writing the article and including me as an example of effective Twitter use. All the people who follow me may not agree but I'm glad that at least some of the information I send around is deemed relevant. Here are full versions of the article. You should check them out:

[HTML VERSION HERE]

[PDF VERSION HERE]

Jimmer \'jim 'ər\ (n.): the Ball Wizard.

2010-02-25T22:21:00.002-07:00

Jimmer \'jim 'ər\ (n.): the Ball Wizard.

The Feel-Good Story of the Year from the Utah Jazz...

2010-01-15T00:30:00.002-07:00

If you are a Utah Jazz fan, you have already heard of Sundiata Gaines. In fact, if you are a basketball fan, you should have heard of Sundiata Gaines. If you watch ESPN or any other sports station or highlight show, you most definitely have heard of or seen Sundiata Gaines. You've all seen the shot (and if you haven't, you'll get to, just hang with me for a second). But there is more to the story than a rookie dropping a three-point bomb on King James and his Cavs. Let me help you feel good about the world in which we live, at least for a little bit.

First, watch this:

Now, watch this (and feel free to jump up, scream, cheer, whatever):

Great story kid. Way to be. I'm sure your mom is proud of you. Heck, I'm proud of you and I don't even know you. I guess that is why we love sports. What can I say? Sign the kid to a contract. He is the most exciting thing that the Jazz have going this year. Go get 'em rookie!

Further Proof of BYU's Extreme Class

2010-01-13T12:30:00.003-07:00

BYU crushes the Air Force Academy nearly every time we face the Falcons in a major NCAA sport but, when we crush them, we do it with love and hearts full of resepct:

Thanks Air Force! We love and appreciate you guys. When it comes to sports, we want BYU to win. When it comes to real fights and battles, we want you to be victorious with little or no harm to yourselves and/or your families and loved ones.

For Classy BYU Fans...

2009-12-29T22:26:00.002-07:00

Who needs words when a picture will suffice:

Don't worry Max. We are classy, we will stay classy, and we will always be classy. It is who we are.

A Politically Correct Christmas...

2009-12-21T17:26:00.004-07:00

I would attribute this but I don't know who to attribute it to. I have found it on numerous websites and various message boards. As an employment attorney, I found the the union/organized labor references and the equal employment references particularly entertaining.

-------

Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves",
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.
And labor conditions at the North Pole,
were alleged by the union, to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished without much propriety,
released to the wilds, by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear,
that Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his beautiful sleigh,
because the ruts were deemed dangerous by the EPA,
And millions of people were calling the Cops,
when they heard sled noises upon their roof tops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe, had his workers quite frightened,
and his fur trimmed red suit was called "unenlightened".

To show you the strangeness of today's ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose.
He went to Geraldo, in front of the Nation,
demanding millions in over-due workers compensation.

So...half of the reindeer were gone, and his wife
who suddenly said she'd had enough of this life,
joined a self help group, packed and left in a whiz,
demanding from now on that her title was Ms.

And as for gifts...why, he'd never had the notion
that making a choice could cause such commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur...
Which meant nothing for him or nothing for her.
Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot,
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls and nothing for just boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific,
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacifistic.

No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish upon the truth.
And fairy tales...while not yet forbidden,
were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden,
for they raised the hackles of those psychological,
who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football...someone might get hurt,
besides - playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist and should be passe.
and Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled and perplexed,
he just couldn't figure out what to do next?
He tried to be merry he tried to be gay,
but you must have to be careful with that word today
His sack was quite empty, it was flat on the ground,
nothing fully acceptable was anywhere to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might,
give to us all, without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy - with no indecision,
each group of people in every religion.
Every race, every hue,
everyone, everywhere...even you!
So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...

"MAY YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES, ENJOY PEACE ON EARTH"

Cartoon Credit: Glenn Foden, CultureAndMediaInstitue.org. Archive available [HERE]

Max Weinberg's Mormon Song

2009-12-16T18:04:00.002-07:00

Conan O'Brien is awesome. It's true. I'll provide proof. You may have heard the Orrin Hatch recently released a Hanukkah song. Senator Hatch has released several full length albums and I think that that Hanukkah song was an excellent idea (the song itself is absolutely horrible -- but the idea of the song was a good idea).

Conan O'Brien, being the fine Irish Catholic that he is, got together with Max Weinberg, his Jewish bandleader, and they came up with a Mormon Christmas song to thank Senator Hatch for his Hanukkah song. And the catchy tune goes something like this:

Catchy no? I didn't know that Ziggy was Mormon. But I do have to say, well done. This clip will be watched millions of times in the State of Utah over the coming weeks.

Dear Max Hall - All Is Forgiven!

2009-11-30T22:39:00.002-07:00

It is so nice to be on the winning side of the Holy War. I love the stuff that is coming out. It seems like every other email I get has a great picture or video included. Here is another one for your viewing pleasure.

It's true. It is all true. Especially the part about Gordon Monson (in my opinion at least). I'll tell you what. I can get used to a year of this. Thank you Andrew George!

Let the Poster Contest Begin!

2009-11-30T14:41:00.003-07:00

As BYU fans, we've been starved for the last 365 days. Finally, we have the opportunity to let our creative sides come out in gentle mockery of our friends who happen to be Ute fans:

Feels good doesn't it? Here's to 363 days of more of the same.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2009-11-29T17:30:00.002-07:00

Quick installment tonight. We are in the process of setting up Christmas and it is fun. I love Christmas. I really love Christmas lights. We have several new additions to our light parade this year. I don't have an excellent video yet but I wanted to give everyone a quick taste, so here you go:

Notice the awesome snowman on the porch (a birthday present to me from Sara's parents). Then we've got the candy-cane sticks that actually glow red (it is hard to see them because it was still light outside when I took the video) and the cool snowflakes that have all sorts of different patterns and display settings. Of course, we have icicle lights all over the house as usual. We'll be sure to post more of our awesome Christmas decorations as we polish them off.

And So It Begins...

2009-11-21T19:36:00.001-07:00

BYU Fans For Utah...

2009-11-14T21:50:00.003-07:00

For the first time this year, our porch was graced with competing flags. Our neighbors across the street, the Wrights, have been stalwart BYU-flag fliers all year. Admittedly, I missed a couple of early weeks but, after several other neighbors asked me where the BYU flag went, I've been more diligent. I got my flag out bright and early today. Then, when I wasn't looking, Sara got her flag out too (it was classic because Kyle Wright, our neighbor across the street, got his flag out while Sara wasn't looking, which frustrated her because I think she was hoping that they might have forgotten):

Note that Sara's flag is much bigger than mine. Anyway, there are a lot of split families and friends when it comes to the BYU / Utah rivalry. Prior to getting geared up for the next two weeks of rival bashing, Doug Robinson, from the Deseret News, was trying to answer a preliminary question: Can BYU football fans root for (ick) Utah Utes?

The answer is, of course, yes. But not very often. But that is beside the point. Robinson's column is focused on whether it was okay to root for Utah over TCU (it is moot now since TCU rolled Utah just like TCU rolled BYU). I say yes; if Utah beat TCU then BYU would win the MWC championship (because, of course, BYU will beat Utah). In setting up this question, Robinson penned the following, which I found to be hilarious:

The question you face is this: For whom do you cheer — TCU or (ahem, ahem, gag, cough, spit) Utah?

Welcome to "Sophie's Choice Comes to Provo."

Who do you like this weekend — the Frogs or your dreaded, detested, sick-of-'em Utes?

For BYU Fan, this is a difficult weekend. It must be like choosing between Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid, Michael Moore or the swine flu, the firing squad or hanging, the BCS or the ACLU.

One of the three biggest lies in Utah County is about to be put to the test:

The first lie: I don't vote for the party, I vote for the person.

The second lie: I'm not going to get married until I finish school.

The third lie: I cheer for the Utes when they're not playing BYU.

Good stuff Mr. Robinson. Good stuff indeed. And just so you know: (1) I don't vote for the party, I vote against Curt Bramble; (2) I didn't get married until I finished school, twice; and (3) Ummmm... 5th Amendment please.

Winter Wonder Slam 2009

2009-11-13T14:45:00.005-07:00

If you've been around since June, you probably remember a post about me going to the Relient K concert with some of the neighborhood kids (and their parents of course). Sara will tell you that the best thing to come out of that experience was the discovery of Owl City; nobody had ever heard of Owl City at that point (side note: my mom really likes Owl City too).

But Relient K was awesome. And hanging out with the Whites and the Platts was also awesome. Fast forward about six months and we're gearing up to do it again. Aaron is making the arrangements and it sounds like Aaron, Weston, Jackson, and myself are headed to Vegas on December 18th for the Winter Wonder Slam featuring TobyMac and Relient K.

There is nothing quite like a good Christian Rock concert to get you in the mood for a Rockin' Christmas. Here is the official Winter Wonder Slam 2009 Tour Widget; you can use it to check out some of the music and learn about some of the bands:

If nothing else, you need to listen to Relient K's version of Sleigh Ride. Just click on "Music" and then pick the Relient K song. Turn up the music, wish for some snow, and get ready for winter!

BYU Basketball - Ronnie Ron & Roscoe

2009-11-10T21:06:00.002-07:00

I know that we're still right in the middle of college football madness but BYU Basketball deserves some exposure for some of the recent promos that they have put together.

First, the official spot, which you can find on Comcast, Dish, and various other cable networks:

I too am a Cougar. But, no one epitomizes being a Cougar better than the two biggest BYU basketball fans, Ronnie Ron and Roscoe. If you don't know about Ronnie Ron and Roscoe, I'll catch you up. "Ronnie Ron & Roscoe are going to be walking you through the 2009-2010 BYU Men's Basketball Season. Respect your elders and show up to the game." That according to the BYU Hoops / BYU Basketball channel on Vimeo. You should subscribe to the channel (like me). But, if you're unsure, here are the first three Ronnie Ron & Roscoe spots; you will be quickly convinced I'm sure:

I'll be looking for all of you at that place "where the magic happens." There is something special about being in the Marriott Center as winter weather rolls in. Kind of like snow on Christmas; it just feels right.

I (heart) BYU Women's Soccer

2009-11-06T16:05:00.004-07:00

Soccer. It isn't a gentleman's game. If you haven't heard about New Mexico's Elizabeth Lambert yet, shame on you. Ms. Lambert, a defender on the Lobo's women's soccer team, apparently doesn't like to get completely worked on the soccer field. You see, when Lambert (#15) continually got beat by BYU's Carlee Payne, a 5'4" freshmen (#7), she got a little frustrated. Well, a lot frustrated. I'll let the good folks at ESPN do some of the explaining:

I bet you never thought you would hear John Anderson doing BYU Women's Soccer highlights did you? So, after Payne scores the first goal of the game, Lambert-the-Enforcer decides that she has had enough soccer and it is time for some hockey. She then commits fouls that would have earned her a ten-minute major if she had been on ice. But soccer being soccer and officials being blind, Lambert-the-Thug ends up with nothing more than a yellow card. A yellow card!?! Yes, soccer can be physical. Yes, Payne was pushing and shoving too. But pushing and shoving is a part of soccer (as is taking dives and faking injuries). Pulling ponytails, kicking balls at peoples heads while they are on the ground, and punching people in the face are not part of the game of soccer (although, they are permitted in the stands, assuming you are in Europe).

Anyway, I was furious when I saw that. But then I saw this (and I felt much better -- much much better -- in fact, it made me extremely proud to be a BYU fan and even more proud that I could share these great clips with you and the rest of the world):

Watch it again. Notice on the wide shot where Lambert-the-Destroyer takes Carlee Payne down (again). Payne pops back up, shakes her head, has a huge smile on her face, and starts walking back down field. Lambert steps up to talk some more trash. And what does Payne do? The most devastating move in all of sports. It's true. No trash-talking, dance, taunting, screaming, yelling, fighting, complaining, can compare with the silent-but-deadly, non-chalant, point to the scoreboard.

That's right Lambert.

SCORE-freaking-BOARD.

All Hallows' Even Eve

2009-10-30T21:18:00.003-06:00

As I scanned the new Facebook "News Feed" and "Live Feed" (what's up with that by the way), I came across a bunch of pictures from current BYU Law students and their kids celebrating Halloween. One of the better traditions at the law school is to have all the law students' kids (and when you're talking about BYU Law, there are a lot of kids) come in and go trick-or-treating at the carrels. It is awesome.

I haven't been able to dig up any of the pictures from when I was in law school but I have something better. Thomas Rex Lee, or Professor Lee, has a resume that is the envy of nearly everyone. He is one of the country's foremost authorities on trademark law and trademark infringement. He was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the United States. And he does a pretty good imitation of Wayne from Wayne's World:

That picture is classic. We were 1Ls in Lee's Civil Procedure class. I knew he was going to be a good professor when he showed up dressed for Halloween. It seems like 2002 wasn't really that long ago. Of course, I look like I'm about 17 in that picture, so it might as well have been 1995 (and yes, I still have and regularly wear that BYU shirt). The last seven years have gone by quickly. I bet Professor Lee's foosball skills are lacking (he was quite adept at scoring in the goal he was supposed to be defending).

Awesome Halloween Costume - Transformer that Transforms

2009-10-21T16:37:00.004-06:00

My cousin Blake tipped me off to this video (via Facebook). I've seen lots of Transformer costumes for Halloween but I've never seen one that actually does transform. Awesome!

I think the best comment regarding this YouTube flick is: "I hope they make a costume that transforms into Megan Fox too." Funny. And I'm sure there are plenty of costumes out there that will transform you into a bad actress so do we really need another one?

I Too Love the Utah Jazz Bear

2009-10-20T17:21:00.003-06:00

The Utah Jazz Bear (or the Jazz Bear as everyone in Utah knows him) is often spotted driving around downtown Salt Lake on his Harley. He has perfected sledding down the steep stairs at EnergySolutions Arena and can always be found doing all sorts of sketchy stuff during breaks of Jazz home games.

Travis Pastrana, the boy wonder, has X-Games gold medals in motorcross, freestyle motorcross, and rally racing. Like me, Travis drives a Subaru WRX STI (although his might be a little more tricked out than mine). Travis also has an MTV show called "Nitro Circus" that features Travis and his friends traveling around the world performing reckless and adrenaline filled stunts. So what happens when Nitro Circus makes a stop in Utah? The Jazz Bear shows up:

Now that is good stuff. Yes Travis, we too love the Utah Jazz Bear. Now someone needs to get the Travis, the Jazz Bear, D. Will, and Kyle Korver together for a dodgeball match.

Women Tech Awards 2009

2009-10-13T20:56:00.002-06:00

You have probably heard (if you haven't, shame on you) that my Mom won a 2009 Women's Tech Council award for being a Technology Trailblazer. The awards ceremony was at the Grand America in Salt Lake City. Brant and Jordann joined me, Sara, my Dad, and, of course, my Mom. One of the side benefits was that one of my clients (one of my big clients) was a sponsor of the event and the awards; while my legal work may not be up to par, at least they are well aware of the fact that I come from "good stock."

Since I'm inherently biased, I'll quote liberally from the Women Technology Council Press Release:

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 24, 2009 — Sixteen women were recognized at the second annual Women Tech Awards Ceremony, presented by Women Tech Council and MountainWest Capital Network, which recognizes technology-focused women who are driving innovation, leading technology companies, and are key contributors to the community. The sold out event was emceed by Shauna Lake of KUTV 2 news Marguerite Hancock, Associate Director of Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, keynoted the event

Six Award Recipients were announced. Award presenters from EnergySolutions, Ernst & Young, Epic Ventures, Novell, USTAR, and Workman Nydegger recognized the following women:

Carine Clark, Symantec — Leadership Excellence
Cindy L. Snow, ContentWatch — Technology Trailblazer
Carolyn B. McClain, Novell — Technology Innovator
Angela Trego, Ph.D., P.E., ATK Space Systems — Rising Star
Nicole Toomey Davis, Governor's Office of Economic Development — Community Builder
Cynthia Furse, Ph.D., LiveWire Test Labs and University of Utah — Education Excellence

"Recognizing these women also gives us an opportunity to honor the great companies that foster their careers," said Cydni Tetro, Executive Director, Women Tech Council and CMO at FamilyLink. "We were overwhelmed by the support these companies made to their finalists."

Each Award Recipient received a hand-crafted statue entitled "Defying Gravity," specially designed for the event by award-winning artist Andrew Smith. A selection committee from private industry, venture, government and academic communities selected the Finalists and Award Recipients.

And here is a slideshow with some pictures from the event. The lighting in the Grand America isn't fantastic (at least when you are taking pictures with a point-and-shoot camera and a cell phone) but here you are anyway:

Congratulations Mom! Well deserved! We're all quite proud!

Google Wave - I'm Invited

2009-10-12T22:01:00.003-06:00

So I hear that getting a Google Wave invite is a big deal. Apparently, a really big deal. Apparently, the biggest deal since Gmail accounts were selling for ridiculous amounts on eBay. I would have sold my early Gmail invites on eBay (they were very early -- very very early) but that was against the Terms of Service. Of course, it is against Google Wave's Terms of Service to sell invitations (I assume) but that hasn't stopped the entrepreneurs among us: Current eBay Prices for Google Wave Invitations.

Seriously though. Are people really paying more than $50 a pop for a simple Wave invite? If you are really that hard up, get in touch with me and we'll see what we can work out ;-)

I am surprised by the land-grab on Google Wave. It doesn't make much sense to me. Your Google Wave account will be based on your Google Account (which is generally your Gmail username). Since you already have your username, why do you "need" to get into Wave before everyone else? It is not like someone is going to take a name that you are hoping for. So put the $50 back in your wallet (or send it to me) and have a little patience.

@tysonsnow

Boy's Wedding - Friends and Family Edition

2009-10-04T13:16:00.002-06:00

After seeing President Monson's jar of warm fuzzies earlier today, I figured that I should give my Mom and Dad some warm fuzzies of their own. As always, just click on the pictures / slideshow to go to a page where you can comment on the clowns (Boy, Cody, Jord, Rich, Tyson, and Zac) appearing in these pictures (John isn't a clown -- the Ph.D. gives him some semblance of credibility).

I have some more pictures that need posting. But smells of freshly baked banana bread or wafting up from the kitchen to the office. I guess you will all have to wait for the next round of pictures.

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

2009-10-02T12:57:00.001-06:00

[Editorial Note]: I'm bringing a story back. That's right. Straight from the archives. This story was originally published on this very blog in October 2008. The title is/was: Midnight Sun - Stephanie Meyer's Rewrite of Twilight - Manuscript Leaked and you can click [here] to read the original.

Why am I bringing it back? Because we keep getting comments from people who think we are Stephanie Meyers! It is awesome. There is nothing better than comments from teenage girls with vampire and werewolf fanaticism. Check them out! A new one was added in the last day or two! Don't get me wrong; at least 50% of those living in our house love Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. For at least one of us, the best part of Transformers 2 was the New Moon trailer before the movie even started. But with New Moon coming out in theatrical form and no word from Stephanie about the status of Midnight Sun, I figured it was time to invite additional comments.

(Note to Stephanie Meyer's publishers and their attorneys -- we too (two) are attorneys. Yes. Both of us. I've got three words for you: Fair Use / Parody. Save it for the judge).

---

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.

Boy's Wedding - Nephew's Edition

2009-09-28T22:05:00.004-06:00

So... You see... My brother ("Boy") is married. Shocker. I know. Congratulations Boy (and my apologies and best wishes to Jordann -- and her family lol). I'm kidding of course (mostly). Anyway, I think that Sara and I took as many pictures as the photographer. Of course, when I take pictures, I usually just run up to the "subject" and snap the pic while they aren't looking. It has some interesting results. We will be posting various editions of the photos we took. Let's start with the Nephew's Edition:

When I have this many pictures, I prefer the auto-play album that scrolls through the pictures. You can just click on the picture or the links to open the whole album (so you can give adequate attention to each picture). Notice all the shocked faces and surprised looks that resulted from me jumping in front of people with a camera flashing.

Here Come the Highlights #2

2009-09-08T21:15:00.002-06:00

This highlight video was actually up well before the one I linked to below. It is longer (a little less than nine minutes) but is in HD (if you follow the link -- the embedded version is not in HD) and has great audio from the game. Other bonuses:

Max Hall chanting "we're going to win, we're going to win" as the team heads into the locker room at half (3:27 in the video)
Pitta running one of the sickest routes you will ever see a TE run, on 3rd and 10 mind you (5:08 in the video)
Great coaching by Bronco Mendenhall having two plays already called so that the team could get the fourth-down play off and running quickly, which led to an easy conversion (5:48 in the video)
Sam Bradford, your Heisman Trophy winner (6:27 in the video)

BYU vs OU from Brandon Orton on Vimeo.

The only thing missing was the classic line from the announcers that Max Hall was saying "whatever it is they say in Provo." Good work on the video. I hope (and am sure) that many more are on their way.

Here Come the Highlights...

2009-09-08T16:47:00.003-06:00

When one of BYU's biggest football wins ever gets mixed with some Linkin Park and then put into slo-mo, well, it demands to be seen:

BYU vs OU from James B Ellison on Vimeo.

Great compilation. It isn't mine so no credit goes to me. I encourage you to forward the link onto friends and family. I feel a duty to spread the joy and love of BYU Football (along with the added side-benefit of giving props to an excellent Linkin Park song). So get to it already...

One Game; Two Numbers; Endless Possibilities...

2009-09-07T11:01:00.002-06:00

LOL... It sounds like I came up with the team slogan for this year. All I can say is that:

14-13

never looked so good. Congratulations to the Cougars. It was a great weekend for sports in our house. Utah trounced Utah State, which made Sara happy. Boise State stomped Oregon, which made everyone in the entire world happy (note to Oregon: your uniforms are still ugly). The U.S. Men's National Team beat El Salvador and essentially locked up a spot in the World Cup 2010. And then, of course, the improbable victory over what was supposed to be an excellent Oklahoma team. it almost makes all those bad sports weekends seem worth it.

And yes, we watched the game after we got home from the Jon Schmidt concert at Thanksgiving Point. I would have watched the U.S. Men's National game (played here in Sandy at Rio Tinto Stadium) but the DVR didn't record it right. Oh well, it was pretty late by the time we finished watching the BYU (and replaying all the important plays over and over).

I'm starting to think that I am jinxed. We were in Korea for the Miami game (which BYU won) and I was at a concert during the now infamous (but badly played) Oklahoma game. I didn't attend or watch either of them live. I guess the exception to the jinx rule would be the 1996 team (I was at the Texas A&M game and the Cotton Bowl when BYU beat 5th ranked Kansas St.)

Go Cougars...

2009-09-05T16:57:00.002-06:00

Ahhh... College football is upon us. Enjoy the ride everyone (and go U.S. Mens National Team in a World Cup Qualifier against El Salvador tonight at Rio Tinto Stadium here in Sandy, Utah).

You Are Working Too Hard When...

2009-09-01T16:14:00.004-06:00

We were quietly at church last Sunday. We were fasting so rather than engaging in my typical practice of "borrowing" and eating snacks and treats from the little kids that sit around us (and more particularly Seth and his parents, Chad and Melanie who are nice enough to let us sit with them), I was simply "borrowing" the snacks and putting them in my pocket to eat later. Suddenly, Seth got a glimpse of my right hand, which proudly presented three Band-aids to all onlookers. Seth's glance went from the Band-aids to me and back to the Band-aids. A slight grin came across his face and he started to chuckle as he loudly proclaimed, "Whoa, you have too many band-aids!!!"

Everyone laughed. Especially Sara. But I was proud. When a three-year-old who is as adventurous and crazy as Seth tells you that you have too many Band-aids, you pretty much know that you've had an excellent weekend. More Band-aids = More respect (or at least that is how it should be).

Sara is the Best and the Bestest Ever...

2009-07-23T22:21:00.004-06:00

The reasons are too numerous to list, so I'll give you 2000 words (plus a couple extra via captions):

Can't beat the Slurpee and the Subaru WRX STI. And there are several additional "features" we plan on adding over the future.

I apologize for the screen but I doubt Sara would have wanted be to take a picture of her mowing the lawn. Seriously though, she mows it all the. It is the best!

Greatest wife ever. I know there are some other good candidates, but no one really stacks up. Good try by everyone else though. Keep up the good work. Between road-tripping, to rocking out while racing Evo9s in our STI, and our mutual love for sweet-potato fries, the combination clearly was intended from the outset.

Harry Potter

2009-07-18T08:51:00.003-06:00

We went to the new Harry Potter movie with Tyson's family last night - (all of his siblings were there - Melissa, Brant, Jet, as well as Tyson's mom, Cindy, and two of his nephews - Josh and Hyrum, and Brant's fiance Jordann). Totally fun!

Fun times with old roommates ....

2009-07-18T08:36:00.005-06:00

The roommates aren't actually old (they aren't 80 years old or anything) - they are just my FoRmEr roommates. I just took a really fun (although short) roadtrip with Heidi and her little boy Pona, who is so darn cute that unless he is in a shirt that says "hey, I'm a boy" gets all sorts of "oh how pretty" comments thrown his way. Seriously, though, he is a little sumo wrestler and was a champ for all of the driving and hanging out.

We drove to Colorado to visit another old/former roommate - Alicia and her hubby Mike and baby Roman. Roman, a little older than Pona, is a little greek god with tons of teeth and had the one-up on baby Pona 'cause he could crawl (and was more adept at biting). I miss my roommates! Oh the fun times we had!

Here are more pics (did I mention that we spent a day at a lake - playing in the water, on the boat, and wave runner ... and eating lots of great food):

Salt Lake Bees Baseball

2009-06-16T10:43:00.004-06:00

Before I get started, no comments about the awesome Relient K videos? Seriously? People get comments when they simply complain about the weather outside (granted, for those of us in Utah, we've had plenty to complain about the last few weeks -- now I know what it feels like to live in Seattle). I guess my posts or so descriptive and thorough that no one else really has much to say.

Anyway, in what has become quite the tradition in our family (family, friends, neighbors, friends' kids, neighbors' kids, etc. all fall within that category), we went to the Bees game last night at Spring Mobile Park (formerly known as Franklin Covey Field). It was a grand old time. Literally. Brandon Wood blasted a grand slam. We were all pretty stoked about that. But the excitement didn't end there.

Later, with a man on third, the Bees went with the squeeze play. You don't see the squeeze play used that much in baseball these days so it was great to see the guy essentially steal home while the pitcher and catcher were scrambling for the ball. Of course, even more exciting was the fact that the squeeze play bunt turned into an in-the-park homerun (albeit scored a triple and an error). I don't think I've ever witnessed a bunted homerun (at least not since I played little league). It was fantastic. The weather was beautiful and we had a great night.

As you can tell, we were sitting on the berm in right field. Several members of our ward were with us, including the Moores, the Buxtons, the Joneses, and the Harrises. Great night for baseball.

Relient K and Owl City with the Whites and the Platts

2009-06-06T18:23:00.004-06:00

So, about a month or so ago, I got an email from Aaron White (a neighbor and friend). He noticed that my Facebook profile included a reference to Relient K as a favorite band. Unbeknownst to me, Relient K was coming in concert and Aaron wanted to know if I was interested in going with him and two of his boys, Weston and Jackson. It was a no-brainer. The concert was Thursday, June 4th, at the Murray Theater. It was fantastic. Lance Platt and his daughters came too. Lance, Aaron, and I may have been the three oldest guys there. But hey, good music is good music right? It's not like you get that many chances to see Relient K live after all. Check out the videos of the White boys rocking out.

I also have a video of me and Jax in the mosh pit but, as you can guess, it is a little shaky. Besides, I'm not sure that Laurie would appreciate knowing that I took her little boy into the mosh pit (it was it his request, I promise!). Good times were had by all.

Owl City, one of the opening bands, is really good. Sara has been listening to them all weekend. There is an excellent review / description of them in the Deseret News:

If your household appliances wrote love songs while you were away on vacation, their cheerful blips and bleeps would pour out the windows, sweep through the neighborhood like candy-coated tidal waves, and you would return home to find crowds of people standing on your lawn, clapping and singing along to the happiest pop melodies imaginable. Welcome to Owl City. Based in Owatonna, Minnesota, Owl City features the music of Adam Young.

You should definitely check them out at http://www.myspace.com/owlcity. To keep the concert theme going for the weekend, Sara and I took my cousin, Zac, to the Ryan Shupe concert at the Sandy Amphitheater last night (Friday). The weather looked a little sketchy but it all turned out well. I'll post pics and videos when I get a chance.

Memorial Day Weekend in St. George

2009-05-27T22:07:00.002-06:00

If you haven't heard of the infamous St. George Memorial Day weekend extravaganza yet, well, you must have not been there. Here is the deal. Back when we were in law school, the stars misaligned and this odd group of even odder characters ended up in the same study group. Now, being unable to forget those "glory years" of law school, we try to bring back those fantastic memories by crowding everybody into a single house (after we force Mark's parents to go stay in a neighbor's house so we can have complete run of the place).

Anyway, we had a great time. Golf, Wii, Shopping, Pizza, NBA Conference Finals, Swimming, more Golf, and lots of getting ganged up on by a bunch of kids (well, I think I was the only one lucky enough to experience that). Special thanks to Henry and Mary for being so hospitable and providing for our room and board. Here are some of the select pics:

You can make up your own captions for the pictures. There are too many inside jokes to even start. If you don't get 'em yet, you're never going to get them. For all our law school friends who like to keep tabs on me and my burgeoning legal career, yes, that is Chad (Hoopes), Mark (Mendoza), Layne (Smith), and Sara (my wife -- hands off). We were short a couple of people but hey, their loss (except for the Avaloner; Costa Rica is a close second to spending the weekend in St. George).

The Snows Love Sushi - I Mean Really Love Sushi

2009-05-03T20:27:00.002-06:00

Most of you who know us know how much we like sushi. Sara absolutely loves Vegas Rolls from Happy Sumo but we have found several sushi places around town that we really like, including Benihana's (all you can eat) and Mizumi, which is a local place here in Sandy that is fantastic.

But what happens on Sunday when we can't go out for sushi? Well, we found out today. We just made our own. It actually ended up tasting really really good (I like to think that living in Seoul, South Korea for three years and then in Japan helps me in my sushi making skills). The presentation left a lot lacking (and I'm sure the Iron Chef judges would have beat us up pretty heavily on the presentation issue) but, my biggest concern is taste! And with that, I was well pleased. We made four different, but similar rolls (and Sara even threw together a nice yummy asian salad). Enjoy the pictures of our lovely Sunday dinner:

From 090503 - Sushi

Like I said, when it comes to taste, it was fantastic. It was actually pretty fun to make too and didn't take too much time. Nor was it particularly hard to make. And when you're paying $15/roll at a restaurant, you certainly get more bang for your buck.

Tyson Loves Tulips

2009-04-22T21:17:00.002-06:00

Wow. Two post in one day. How about that. Anyway, when I pulled in from work today, while the sun was setting, I noticed how good our flowers looked. I grabbed Sara and Sara's camera and we snapped some quick pictures. Tulips are far and away my favorite flowers and, as of right now, I think we have the best tulips (and other flowers) on the street, if not in the entire neighborhood. Enjoy:

From 090422 - Front Yard Flowers

I guess I'm going to have to buy some more tulip bulbs this fall so that we can do even better next year! For the time being, spring has returned to Utah (75 degrees today). Who knows how long that will last. But, while it does, we will continue to enjoy our flowers. The irises should be coming out next.

Parents, Pruning, and Deck Remodeling

2009-04-22T21:07:00.003-06:00

Some of you may know that Sara and I (with the help of many others) are in the process of "renovating" our deck. We thought we were going to have to replace the whole thing but, as it turns out, we're going to re-frame a lot of the support structure and then just replace parts of the deck itself. Part of the project involved ripping out a bunch of hedge-like bushes (Sara had fun doing that) and some much needed pruning on a tree next to our house. As the following pictures establish, neither my Mom (Cindy) nor Sara's Dad (Andy) are afraid of trees, heights, or chainsaws:

From 090410 - Deck Remodel (1)

Thanks Mom! Thanks Andy! The deck is coming along but the tree is now in tip-top shape! (You can click on the pictures to get the "full size" pics).

#1 on Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Directory

2009-04-12T22:35:00.001-06:00

Okay, granted, I have not even achieved the highly sought after "AV", "BV", or "CV" rankings that Martindale-Hubbell likes to dish out to attorneys, but this is still pretty cool:

Number one in Utah; number 12 in the entire U.S.A. My ranking on Martindale Hubbell is based on the number of searches and the number of visitors to my Martindale-Hubbell link and page. By referring to my link on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and various other social media outlets, I have achieved a traffic level that ranks me extremely high. So, as I go to bed tonight, I can honestly say that I really am the "#1 attorney in Salt Lake / Utah" (at least based on a semi-independent measuring stick). Way to go me! Just another example of how social media can create name or brand recognition and help you to publicize yourself and your knowledge.

Now I'm gunning for #1 nationwide. You can help by visiting:

http://www.martindale.com/Tyson-B-Snow/4103830-lawyer.htm

Google AdSense and Trademark Infringement

2009-04-07T08:52:00.002-06:00

When you are married to a patent/IP attorney and you are as interested in technology as I am, you are bound to have some entertaining discussions. Add the fact that I'm a litigator and that I enjoy IP litigation, and the discussions get even more interesting. We were recently debating whether Google and Google.com should be liable for trademark infringement when they allow competitors to use another companies registered trademark in paid keyword advertising. It appears that Sara's position was the position most inline with current jurisprudence on the subject. Via law.com:

In 2006 a computer repair company called Rescuecom sued Google for trademark infringement, claiming that users would be confused by links to ads from competing companies that showed up on searches for Rescuecom's name. On Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agreed with Rescuecom. The court overturned a lower court ruling dismissing the case, finding that Rescuecom could proceed with a trademark infringement suit against Google. Google is represented in the litigation by Michael Page of Durie Tangri Page Lemley Roberts & Kent. Rescuecom relied on in-house lawyer Edmund Gegan.

The Second Circuit followed the majority of district courts that have addressed the issue and concluded that the purchasing of competitors' names or trademarks to trigger keyword ads raises, at the very least, a threshold question of trademark infringement. Will Google ever respond or adjust its AdSense program in light of the increasing number of infringement suits filed against it? We'll have to see.

Credit: The AmLaw Litigation Daily

International Day of Books - Holiday for Authors

2009-03-24T20:26:00.003-06:00

I have no idea whether this is a true holiday or not, but I do trust my friends over at the Legal Writing Prof Blog and, as they say:

Another date to save! April 23 is the Giornata Mondiale del Libro e del Diritto d'Autore -- the International Day of Books and the Rights of Authors. Celebrate with a good book . . . or at least a good author.

Thanks for the tip! I'm sure Sara will be extra keen on celebrating this holiday this year and into the future.

Three Rules for March Madness

2009-03-19T10:00:00.002-06:00

Well, the NCAA tournament is about to tip off. With that in mind, let me remind you of my three rules for March Madness. These rules are generally universally applicable but there are slight exceptions here and there. Oh, and thank you to CBS and the Internet for creating an environment where I no longer have to sneak headphones in to listen to games (like I used to have to do during school). Now, for your rules:

1. A 12 always beats a 5.
2. There will not be four 1 seeds in the final four.
3. Regardless of who you picked in your bracket, unless your team is playing, you should always cheer for the upset. Always. This rule has no exceptions.

Rule number three is the most important. I don't care if you picked North Carolina to win the whole thing. If Radford is close as time is running out, you better be cheering for Radford. I'm just saying...

Go Cougs.

--Tyson

Jet @ Eliza Magazine...

2009-03-16T09:22:00.002-06:00

I just got word from my little sister that she will now be blogging for Eliza Magazine. Fantastic! Eliza is a great magazine; as described by its owners/creators:

ELIZA Magazine is created for women who want to be stylish, sexy, and engaged in the world while retaining high standards in dress, entertainment, and lifestyle. In a media culture that frequently objectifies and commercializes women and their bodies, ELIZA strives to provide an alternative to the current mainstream media that emphasizes sex and skin in order to push products or sell magazines.

Jet will be great at this. She is extremely fashionable. She has degrees in Public Relations and Digital Media. She knows pretty much everyone. And she will be able to provide all sorts of quirky advice and insights. I hear that her roommates are pretty cool too. Speaking of which, how come I had to read about this on your blog Jet? Is this why you couldn't join us for dinner and banana cream pie last night? Straight from Jet's blog:

Many of you have seen me discuss Eliza Magazine on this blog (which by the way, you can now view old issues online). I love it for its modesty and its gorgeous pictures. Now I have another reason to love it - I'm blogging for them!

So if I start slacking here, you now know why.

ELIZA Magazine's Blog. So congratulations and good luck Jet. Let me know when you need some legal advice ;-).

Happy Pi Day!

2009-03-14T12:38:00.002-06:00

It is an extra special Pi Day this year. We get more than the standard 3.14 (3/14 or March 14th). This year, we get many more of the irrational numbers digits: 3.1409159 (3/14/09 @ 1:59 p.m.) Long live irrational numbers! And thanks to all the math nerds (myself included) for making Pi Day extra special!

Pi, Greek letter (), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535... Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.

http://www.piday.org/

First we have Pi Day and then we get Selection Sunday? Plus the sun is out and it is nice and warm in Utah! What a great weekend!

--Tyson

Dear Big Love...

2009-03-11T15:30:00.003-06:00

Your last-ditch attempt at achieving some sense of relevance or ratings is as hollow as your feigned apology for what you are still "choosing" to do. I'm not asking you to stop; I'm not even asking for a boycott. You have your agency just as I have mine. You'll suffer the consequences of how you use that agency just like the rest of us will. However, given your superficial statement about presenting "facts" that are "completely accurate and to show the . . . proper context and . . . respect," I would like to briefly comment on your disclaimers and attempts at depicting the beliefs of others with "reverence" and "dignity." We all, Mormons and non-Mormons, see right through your "justification" and recognize your desire to prevent the demise of your show. To the extent that your ploy gets attention (which, I admit, I am currently contributing to), it is undeserved. Let me know if the ratings and backlash were worth it.

In the words of Joseph Smith: "The Standard of Truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame. But the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah will say, 'The work is done.'"

The Church's official response is more than sufficient in describing my feelings about this nonsense. See The Publicity Dilemma @ LDS Newsroom.

I'll conclude with the words of Amulek (you should do a show about him; he is much more inspiring than actors pretending to be polygamists).

32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

Alma 34:32-34.

Best regards,

-Tyson

The Curious Life of Law School Students

2009-03-10T17:01:00.003-06:00

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be in law school? Have you heard horror stories about the Socratic Method and incessant sick-to-your-stomach feeling that surfaces every time you get called on in class? Thanks to the folks over that the NYU Law Revue (not Law Review -- people on Law Review would never stoop so low as to acknowledge that they weren't always paying attention in class), here is a little insight on law school in the days of WiFi and laptops. Enjoy. They pretty much nailed it:

Please Repeat the Question from Amanda Bakale on Vimeo.

So, go sign up for the LSAT and get those applications ready. Yeah, big firms are laying off associates left and right these days. But so what. You still have three years to spend surfing the web before you have to worry about any of that. Perfect!

Callaway v. Titleist and Titleist v. Callaway

2009-03-05T10:45:00.002-07:00

Sara will probably appreciate this more than I (being the patent person in the house), but who doesn't love a good old fight about whether Titleist (Achusnet) or Callaway (formerly Top-Flite) makes a better golf ball? As reported and posted by the Am Law Daily:

Teed Off Golf Ball Companies Swing at Each Other (Again)
Isn't golf supposed to be a gentlemanly game in which disputes are settled over a drink back at the clubhouse? Not, apparently, when it comes to golf ball design. The bitter IP rivalry between the two leading golf ball manufacturers intensified Tuesday, when both companies filed suit in Delaware federal district court, each accusing the other of infringing patents on the top-of-the-line golf balls used by tour professionals.

Good stuff. Much thanks to the folks at Am Law for the heads up.
[FULL ARTICLE]
If you are interested, here are the Complaints:

http://tr.im/h3dW
http://tr.im/h3dZ

Vanilla Ice / Hammer

2009-03-01T23:08:00.002-07:00

If you haven't heard about it yet, you should have. M.C. Hammer and Vanilla Ice had a reunion concert in, of all places, Orem, Utah, over the weekend (any irony in the fact that they were playing at the McKay Events Center). I know a lot of people that were there but work kept me away. So, for your entertainment, here is my little sister's summary.

http://adayinthelifeofjet.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-robert-van-winkle-time.html

Thanks Jet!

I hope everyone gets off to a good March and that yours is not as busy as mine.

Am I the Twitter Lawyer? Apparently, Yes.

2009-02-20T23:53:00.001-07:00

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tysonsnow - I am The Twitter Lawyer after all...

I'm wondering about starting a lawyer twitter blog and am welcoming suggestions as to possible names and domains (and even content). Please feel free to comment:

http://thetwitterlawyer.blogspot.com (http://thetwitterlawyer.com)

or

http://twitterlawyer.blogspot.com (http://twitterlawyer.com)

Happy Birthday to Heidi Too!

2009-02-20T23:41:00.002-07:00

Well, today (at least it is still technically today) is also Heidi Durtschi Sitake's birthday and we just got back from an excellent dinner at Tucanos in Provo. Thanks to Pona for inviting us. It is always great to see Pona and Heidi as well as Rob and Sara. It is funny how some of Sara's old roommates are now some of my more enjoyable friends. Thanks again guys and Happy Birthday Heidi (and thank you Facebook for providing me with enough reminders that I actually remembered to say Happy Birthday lol).

I hope you didn't eat so much that you can't sleep! I think I might have.

Happy 27th Birthday to Amy Hoopes...

2009-02-18T00:24:00.003-07:00

It is late and I still have a lot of work to do, but I wanted to make a (public) Happy Birthday announcement to Amy Hoopes. Sara and I watched their girls (Tori, Brook/Boo, Aubrey/A.J./Bubba, and Addison/Addi) so Chad and Amy could go out and celebrate. I'm fairly certain that Sara and I got more entertainment out of it than anyone else. So, Amy, here is your official Happy Birthday wish from the Snows:

Nothing beats a birthday cake after all (except for possibly free babysitting and house hunting).

The #1 Attorney / Lawyer in Salt Lake City

2009-02-13T00:23:00.004-07:00

Okay, granted, I have not even achieved the highly sought after "AV", "BV", or "CV" rankings that Martindale-Hubbell likes to dish out to attorneys, but this is till pretty cool:

Not even doctored! Thanks to all those who diligently visit my Martindale.com listing to see where I rank. Without you, I could have never achieved the pinnacle. And, as I go to bed tonight (or, given the time, this morning), I can honestly say that I really am the #1 attorney in Salt Lake (at least based on a semi-independent measuring stick). Way to go me! I wonder what it would take to be #1 nationwide. I'm definitely going to have to recruit more twitter and facebook visitors if that is going to happen. In the meantime, you can help keep me where I'm at by visiting:
http://tr.im/g1u5

Or, if you prefer the longer link:
http://www.martindale.com/Tyson-B-Snow/4103830-lawyer.htm

Motivational Poster: Blogging

2009-02-05T15:32:00.003-07:00

I saw this on my friend's blog (thanks Tamara) and couldn't resist adding it here. Too funny. And so relevant and applicable.

You love it. I know you do. Now go waste some more time on your own blog already.

So You Think You Know Us Do You?

2009-01-29T22:32:00.002-07:00

25 random things about Tyson (as described by Tyson):
[Click Here - Facebook]

25 random things about Sara (as described by Sara):
[Click Here - Facebook]

Enjoy! And be sure to tag both me and Sara when you fill out all of your random stuff.

Letter to Children: When I Was a Kid

2009-01-27T10:27:00.002-07:00

Dear Children,

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning ... uphill BOTH ways

Yadda, yadda, yadda ...

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no freaking way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a freaking Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the cursed library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!

There was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no on screen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little punks!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove or go build a freaking fire. Imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,
The over 30 Crowd

[Edited slightly for profanity]

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day

2009-01-26T10:38:00.004-07:00

Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. That is right. Bubble Wrap has its own appreciation day. Who knew? Here is the skinny:

By "pop"ular demand, Chase’s Calendar of Events has designated the last Monday of January as Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day. Since its invention in 1960, Bubble Wrap® brand cushioning material has been used by - and entertained - people of all ages.

[Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day @ SealedAir.com]

As part of the festivities, make sure you check out the 1001 uses for Bubble Wrap at http://www.bubblewrapfun.com. Good stuff. My favorite tip so far? "Paint a small sheet of Bubble Wrap with red rouge and dab on your face to simulate measles or chicken pox. It's a foolproof way to get out of work or school." Excellent.

Cool Inauguration Stuff from NPR:

2009-01-20T19:20:00.002-07:00

Check out this widget. NPR meets Twitter and live updates. It looks like NPR is simply feeding the #inaug09 tag. Note that neither Sara nor I are responsible for any of the comments of the twitterers featured in the following feed. And, obviously, we're good lawyers. Enjoy:

What Love Is (According to Kids)...

2009-01-13T11:34:00.002-07:00

Sara forwarded me the following. I have no idea whether any of the quotes are actually true but they certainly made me laugh (and smile). Here are some of my favorites; the answers are all in response to the question of "What is love?":

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
* Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
* Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
* Terri - age 4

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
* Bobby - age 7

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
* Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
* Tommy - age 6

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
* Lauren - age 4

The Year in Review -- 2008

2009-01-07T18:23:00.001-07:00

This is probably the best (and by best, I mean most entertaining) recap of 2008 that I have come across. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:

And once again, Happy New Year!

Speaking of bread...

2009-01-07T09:43:00.002-07:00

So I must confess that I am not very good friends with yeast. Any yeast-based recipe always seems to come out awful when I'm left unsupervised. I have seriously helped out on a number of good breads and even cinnamon rolls, but as soon as I try to make them myself, disaster strikes! In my defense, I'd like to say that I can do pretty well with sweet breads and any other non-yeast-based product, anything out of my bread maker, and the freezer rolls. Well, all was a disaster until my super nice visiting teacher / friend Kristine gave me an awesome recipe. Seriously, she gave me a loaf of super yummy bread a couple of times, and then gave me the recipe - never showed me what to do or anything. And magically, I can make it, and it includes yeast, and it is completely YUMMY. Tyson helps out a lot, and sometimes even makes it himself (I'll admit I think he has more of a knack than I do for making the recipe, but I'm just happy that at the end of the day, I end up with some yummy bread).

I've had a couple requests for the recipe so here it is:

Mix 3 c. flour, 6 T. sugar, 2 t. salt, 1/4 c. yeast.
Heat 2 c. milk, 1 c. water, 1 stick margarine in microwave. (I usually use a big measuring cup to add milk then water and plop the margarine in and nuke it)
Gradually add liquids to flour mixture and mix 2 min at medium speed. Add 1 c. flour and mix quickly for 2 min. Then add 3+ more cups flour. Knead for 5 min. and let rise in greased bowl 15 min. Shape into 2 loaves. Let rise 15 min. Bake at 375 for 20 min.

Super fast, super easy. We've also made rolls of various forms, mini-loaves, and bread bowls for use with soup. If Tyson is in charge, he usually pulls them out a tad early as he likes it a little doughy in the middle.

Enjoy! And never fear yeast again!

Amish Friendship Bread...

2009-01-06T22:30:00.003-07:00

So, have you heard of Amish Friendship Bread? It certainly isn't novel; Google lists about 76,300 sites that have references to "Amish", "Friendship", and "Bread". Even Wikipedia is up to speed on this "recent" phenomenon:

Amish Friendship Bread is a type of bread or cake made from a sourdough starter that is often shared in a manner similar to a chain letter. The starter is a substitute for baking yeast and can be used to make many kinds of yeast-based breads, shared with friends, or frozen for future use. The sweet, cake-like Amish Cinnamon Bread is a common bread that is made from this starter; it is a simple, stirred quickbread that includes a substantial amount of sugar and vegetable oil, with a mild cinnamon flavor. It has characteristics of both pound cake and coffee cake.

So what is the big deal you ask? Let me tell you. The big deal is that Amish Friendship Bread is WAY good. We've been making it for several weeks (we got our starter from Sara's brother Nick and his wife Jyllian) and we've also been sharing it with relatives and neighbors. Everyone seems to like it. And then, come to find out, there are all sorts of extra "options" that you can mix in. My Mom sent me a bunch of recipe "tweaks" earlier today and I've posted them as a Google Doc so everyone can access them: Amish Friendship Bread Variations.

Interested? Intrigued? Want in on the fun? Let me or Sara know and maybe you will be lucky enough to get a starter from us in one of the next batches. Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!

Six Word Stories...

2008-12-30T10:51:00.002-07:00

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

Classic Christmas Videos

2008-12-26T14:51:00.004-07:00

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!

Merry Christmas from Santa's Lawyers

2008-12-24T09:30:00.003-07:00

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.

Keep Tabs on Santa (via NORAD)

2008-12-23T15:48:00.002-07:00

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

2008-12-23T09:46:00.004-07:00

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.

Happy Day of the Ninja

2008-12-05T11:24:00.001-07:00

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!

My Birthday Present - STI Wingless Trunk

2008-12-02T16:29:00.002-07:00

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

Yummy Holiday Treats ...

2008-11-25T10:12:00.002-07:00

Twitter FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

2008-11-21T14:13:00.002-07:00

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.

You've Heard Them All Before...

2008-11-20T17:12:00.003-07:00

... 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?

2008-11-20T15:43:00.002-07:00

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

2008-11-20T09:30:00.001-07:00

Just a couple videos to enjoy this week...

Go Utes!

Gap's Merry Mix It Ads = Good Stuff

2008-11-18T17:31:00.004-07:00

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!

New Pepsi Logo and Bottles

2008-11-17T14:58:00.006-07:00

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!

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

2008-11-13T21:50:00.003-07:00

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' ..."

Birthday with the Family

2008-11-11T21:45:00.002-07:00

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

2008-11-11T21:38:00.002-07:00

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.

Go Utes!

2008-11-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

nuff said!