tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334455542024-03-05T02:03:06.761-05:00My StoriesRelating some of my thoughts and experiences.trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-23479760793642878502013-05-31T19:41:00.002-04:002013-05-31T19:41:30.677-04:00A very interesting man by the name of ElonIt is very rare for you to all-of-the-sudden get a serious desire to go out and buy a $70,000 car just by watching a short, but very interesting video of that car's CEO. But it just happened. To me. Maybe it will happen to you as well. Here is the <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20130530/tesla-ceo-and-spacex-founder-elon-musk-the-full-d11-interview-video/">interview</a> of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at D11 talking cars, space and internet. Check it out. It might make you very inspired to think BIG. trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-19360561648398929332013-05-21T22:05:00.002-04:002013-05-21T22:05:14.782-04:00I own very few unique thoughts<div dir="ltr">
I started this blog over 6 years ago. Most of the allure of blogging back then was distilling interesting thoughts that I came up with on my own and sharing them with the world. I have since realized that if I thought something up, chances are someone out there has also thought it up as well. But I can always rely on sharing with my unique perspective. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Here is the latest phenomenon I've come to find out is true: the inevitability of bloatage and excess in the lifespan of an organization or product. Take a disruptive product or company and you'll find a very efficient, elegant and focused methodology. The founders of the product or organization also usually have remarkable abilities and drive to produce an extraordinary product or culture. But then comes the hard part: growth to target other desired audiences or additional employees to sustain future growth. Sometimes growth can include not necessarily getting bigger, but adapting to changing markets. The bottom line is that it is very hard to do. Instead of growing, organizations instead either get gobbled up by the next darling to come along or by buying out the would-be competitor. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
I have thought a out this principle a lot lately with regard to law firms. Sometimes I look at the way firms are structured and I think it can't be sustained. Clayton Christensen has researched this area of business extensively. I'll have to read up on his research sometime. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
I've also thought about this principle with regard to the united States. Here was an extraordinary nation built by extraordinary people and principles. It has done remarkably well for many years, but the past few years have really highlighted some fundamental problems. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have a huge public debt</b>. Ads and politicians have been stressing this point until blue in the face. So it kind of loses its punchline. But its importance cannot be overstated. We have a dangerously neglected infrastructure. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have a deterioration of morality</b>. Morality has sustained our nation as its lifeblood. A faith in a higher power is what made our nation work and what has sustained us for the past two and a half centuries. But this fabric is in serious decline. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have a greatly overextended system of criminal punishment.</b> With limited resources, we need to pick our battles in fighting crime and we seem to not be picking them wisely. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have a seeming inability to come to grips with serious environmental problems such as global warming.</b> And the results are everywhere. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have a very costly but inadequate educational system that fails to compete internationally despite multiple reforms.</b> </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have unsound immigration policies.</b> </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have an embarrassing obesity epidemic. </b>Sure America may be improving in this regard, but it is still embarrassing how bad the epidemic continues to be. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>We have an excessively costly health care system.</b> This is a problem that must involve both sides coming together. </div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>We have a possible rise in structural unemployment. </b>O</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ne of the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">most disturbing aspect of the high unemployment rate during the past 4 years may be t</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">he large number of the unemployed who have been out of work for at least 6 months</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">. These people need a break and it doesn't look good. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>We have a federal government that is borderline inept.</b> Maybe this is an exaggeration. Maybe it is an accurate statement. I know that there are many good people in Congress, but I really don't think that the federal government was designed to be this big. And it shows in endeavors in which the government needs to come together. They don't. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<br />trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-13903321079024326552012-11-12T16:19:00.001-05:002012-11-12T16:19:24.488-05:00Movie Review/RecommendationToday's movie recommendation goes back to 1993, to a touching movie called What's Eating Gilbert Grape. This movie tells the story of people-pleaser Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp before he was big at all) who takes on the role of caretaker of his family. He cares for his somewhat dysfunctional family, which includes the family's missing father, a mentally undeveloped 18-year-old brother Arnie (Leonardo Di Caprio before he was big too), an obese mother that hasn't left the house in 7 years, and a house that has some serious issues. While the acting in the film is nothing short of phenomenal, I think the true brilliance of the film is its ability to connect to viewers, especially me. Most viewers will enjoy the family drama, the romantic intrigue, scenes of compassion and selflessness, family pride and unity themes, daredevil defiance of heights, and a house going up in complete flames. I liked the film for these reasons and because I saw in my growing up years a part of Gilbert Grape. I give it 4.5 stars. Check it out on Netflix instaview.trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-17310131184978378312012-10-06T18:33:00.001-04:002012-10-06T18:33:55.792-04:00My new question that Google refuses to answer <div><p dir=ltr>I've recently tried researching a topic that's hard to pose as a question to Google: which jobs pay the most per hour of work? For instance, many high paying jobs require ludicrous hours. Also, most high paying jobs require expensive training, which if you consider the opportunity cost of not working, that's really deductions factored in to the hourly rate. But for some jobs, all that training really pays off, for instance a surgeon can do one procedure and earn enough for a down payment on a house. On the other hand, some jobs allow for one time work that gives residual income requiring little or no further work or even marketing, like app development. Plus, some jobs may at first require ridiculous hours, like starting your own business, but then you can sell it for a boatload. So now I pose this question to you blogosphere and twitter sphere: which jobs provide the most pay for each hour worked.<br>
</p>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-6997614445344967982012-09-03T18:16:00.001-04:002012-09-03T18:16:13.244-04:00HappinessI'm now a ward missionary. I go to the Gospel Essentials Sunday school class and participate in fundamental lessons about life. This is all very nice and all, but sometimes when you take part in basic lessons, where the instructor's goal is to distill truth into its simplest form, it leads to very dumbed-down answers to some of life's difficult questions. Take this past Sunday, for instance. Everything seemed to go back to how all God wants for us is to be happy. Maybe this is true, maybe this is not true. I know that He wants us to learn and grow and to love Him and to love others. A natural by-product of all of these desires is happiness, I suppose. I'm getting on my soapbox at this point, but I think that our society is a little too preoccupied with being happy. I can be doing interesting work, have good family relationships, good hobbies and good health, and still have down moments. There are sometimes no reason for me to be "unhappy" but it happens. We naturally go up and down. If you are always worried about the fact that you're not happy, I think that's kind of jacked up. You should expect to sometimes be happy and sometimes be sad. Embrace it all. Happiness is elusive and comes in the pursuit of it. It also comes when you don't worry about your own state and instead look to make other people happy.<br />
<br />
You may be wondering what inspired this post? Jamaica, O&B, Little Broken Heart, President Obama, Virginia humidity, and grease. trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-49294863848752070892012-09-01T23:42:00.000-04:002012-09-03T17:44:21.029-04:00My critique of Paul KrugmanMy blog used to contain a fair amount of political opinions and thoughts. Recently, not so much. But living in a swing state for what looks to be a very close presidential campaign has me at least <i>thinking </i>political thoughts very regularly. <br />
<br />
Every once in a while, I read this blog (<a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/">Conscience of a Liberal</a>) by NY Times columnist and renowned economist Paul Krugman. I like his witty and intelligent writing style. I read his blog to get another perspective to the classical economists that free market conservatives tend to gravitate towards. Paul Krugman very regularly posts scathing pieces on Romney, but it seems that ever since team Mitt tipped its hat to Paul Ryan, the Krug has been on a mission to rip the prospective VP and his fiscal hawkishness to pieces. That's great, right, because when Paul Ryan was declared the Veep, both sides agreed that now it was going to be a battle of two distinct ideologies. So let the debate begin.<br />
<br />
Here is some logic that I wanted to pick apart (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/opinion/krugman-an-unserious-man.html">read the entire article here</a>). One of Krugman's biggest argument is that Ryan's plan will cut federal spending but at the same time cut many more trillions of dollars of revenue in the form of tax breaks. This, he argues, translates into serious budget problems. $4.3T in tax cuts with only $1.7T in federal government spending cuts = -$2.6T. However, even assuming that these are true and not oversimplified facts of Ryan's plan, there is a very large assumption that is going on here. Do you see it? When you cut the federal government's capacity to raise revenue (freeing up people to spend it) and you also cut the size of the federal government's role in people's lives, that is not going to have an effect on growing the economy. This is a simplified example of a very complex tax system, but it's similar to saying that the taxpayer that goes from paying $100k to $80k because he has to pay less in taxes is going to stuff that extra $20k that isn't going to the government either in the mattress or shipping it to an overseas account. Even if he shipped it to the overseas account, in this increasingly interdependent world, it's hard to say that money would not have an effect on economic growth. Anyway, that is the assumption, and I don't know if it's a good assumption to make. trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-54018585263249224072012-06-22T20:14:00.001-04:002012-06-22T20:21:35.723-04:00The post traumatic event diagnosis<div><p>You've gotta learn to listen to your body. It tells you what's going on, you just don't believe it a lot of times. Maybe sometimes there are multiple variables and you may not want to jump to a certain conclusion, but listen to your body man.</p>
<p>That was just a rant from my body. I would tend to agree with my body. The problem is that a lot about understanding what your body is playing it out. If you end up predicting something correctly, it's easy to get cocky about your skills. Much like it's easy to play the quarterback role Monday morning. Its much more feasible to diagnose yourself after processing all the different variables. But that communication from your body was there the whole time. You just had to be listening to it. </p>
<p>Here is my current diagnosis, get yourself and your thoughts as far away from work as possible this weekend! </p>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-13703314800657576872012-04-20T22:43:00.001-04:002012-04-20T22:43:47.968-04:00Death<div><p>I found out today that a peer of mine passed away last year. We had the same major in college. He was a really cool guy, who was doing cool things with his life. And now he is survived by his wife and child. </p>
<p>I don't know why, but finding out about his death and reading others' tributes to him had a really powerful effect on me. It made me realize how delicate life is. One moment you can be breathing, and performing other bodily functions and the next moment not. </p>
<p>Here's to life. Here's to living life to the fullest everyday. The only regret you should have each day is that it wasn't long enough.</p>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-88726121433625134252012-04-12T09:21:00.001-04:002012-04-12T09:21:53.408-04:00Why I prefer a Mac over a PCWhen I bought my first MacBook in 2007, I drank the Apple Kool-Aid deeply. I was a big fan. But over the years, as the number of programs I installed increased, as the storage space decreased, and as the average complexity of software increased, I became somewhat less excited with Macs. Also, because I had the old 10.4 Tiger OS, there became a number of programs that I couldn't run or update. I thought about going back to a PC. Who knows, I thought, maybe the new Windows 7 made some significant strides in catching up with Macs. My chance came when I had to buy a PC for my job.<br />
<br />
I went to Best Buy and bought a brand new Acer Aspire with 2.13 Ghz duo-core Pentium processor with 4 GB of ram and a 500 GB hard-drive for $300. I then sold my 5-year old, that had a Pentium processor duo-core 2.16 Ghz, 1GB of ram MacBook for $300. Even though the free market said that the deal was equivalent, I thought I got a better deal by buying the Acer because it was brand new. I would soon find out that even though 5 years had passed, my MacBook was the better deal. Here are four ways that illustrate this.<br />
<br />
Superior DVD players - I don't really understand how DVD players work, and I don't know how much of the DVD experience is due to the software or the hardware, but this much I do know: MacBooks play DVDs a lot better than other products. I have some DVDs that I cannot play on my laptop or the standalone DVD player. But put that disc in a MacBook and there is no hesitation. My analysis may be biased because I have lower-end types of DVD players (i.e. Acer laptop, and a relatively cheap Sony DVD player), but the point is that Apple excels at video content.<br />
<br />
Processing power and memory (efficient and strong and powerful) - I expected that since I had quadrupled my ram in my new purchase, that I would be able to have all sorts of programs open at the same time with little to no lag. I was disappointed when the first day I was waiting abnormally long for a couple tabs to run at the same time (one of which was a video playing). The fluidity and seamlessness of running programs on a new MacBook cannot be overstated. It's a magical experience.<br />
<br />
Reboots - One thing that I have always hated about Windows is the number of reboots that are required. You ever have a problem and the first recommendation is to reboot. Install a new program? Reboot. System update? Reboot. I thought that some of this would change with Windows 7, but unfortunately that is not the case. Not only am I pestered with annoying popups on a regular basis that I need to restart my laptop for a security update, the longest I can delay the reminder is 4 hours. The other annoying thing is that if you are not attending to your computer when this notice appears, it will restart automatically closing the programs you were running. I hate this more than almost anything.<br />
<br />
Quick reboot (turn on) - I was spoiled over the years by my MacBook by getting accustomed to opening up my laptop, and being able to immediately get to work. The PC is not very instantaneous at all. Windows 7 has made improvements since XP, but nowhere near where Apple has been for a long time.<br />
<br />
There are other features that I like about Macs, but these are the main ones. In sum, Apple is way ahead of the curve. If you are debating about the two, and you want your computer to last a long time, go with your gut and choose an Apple product.trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-66244060327177844202012-03-30T15:13:00.002-04:002012-03-30T15:13:35.290-04:00Angry Birds Space reviewI have a secret love of playing video games. I don't get to indulge it that often anymore now that I'm all grown up, but over the past few months of my wife getting to use an iPad at work, I have beat all free Angry Birds levels for each variety, with relative ease. Along comes Angry Birds Space...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53f40dm1oPSHS-LXcNwxWX48ZPLmFo_uhyphenhyphenUHu8CAmPsDvsKVxc1duORJsDmsl8PbocOLTSN900gjodXt_kIKVVhIuJDlmJczt9Hs870kjDgfBFrPb-gDQO1_66Mj4TSBLAz0/s1600/angry_birds_space.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53f40dm1oPSHS-LXcNwxWX48ZPLmFo_uhyphenhyphenUHu8CAmPsDvsKVxc1duORJsDmsl8PbocOLTSN900gjodXt_kIKVVhIuJDlmJczt9Hs870kjDgfBFrPb-gDQO1_66Mj4TSBLAz0/s1600/angry_birds_space.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
This variety of Angry Birds is like no other variety. There are different structures, different birds, and different gravities. In sum, it has a lot of interesting new features.<br />
<br />
I found the dotted lines to project where your bird is going to fly a helpful, but perhaps unnecessary crutch. Maybe Roxio is aiming at a dumber audience.<br />
<br />
I found the multiple gravities really well-played. My one gripe is from a Physics perspective. If an object like a planet has gravity, it will attract birds if it is flying barely outside the planet's gravity. This game made it seem like gravity only works once a predetermined threshold of distance has been met. Maybe this threshold does exist for noticeable degrees of gravitational pull, but to me if a planet can pull in an atmosphere at the threshold's limit, then it can at least alter a bird's flying trajectory when it passes very close.<br />
<br />
I still beat the game quite quickly, but it was a lot more challenging than other Angry Birds varieties. In fact, there was a level that I literally could not beat for a while no matter what I did. I think with these levels sometimes you just have to get a lucky bounce.<br />
<br />
Anyway, if you haven't downloaded the newest Angry Birds, I highly recommend it.trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-30797658589892190712012-03-14T08:16:00.001-04:002012-03-14T08:16:22.633-04:00The feasibility of a plant-based diet<div><p>I have always been a fan of eating lots of fruits and vegetables. I can't even remember being a very picky eater, and growing up on tomato and corn fields certainly cemented the love of plants hard.</p>
<p>I've also been a hesitant meat eater the past few years. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have eaten a lot of meat but on the back of my mind it's been as if my conscience was calling out in resistance to my meat-eating. You see, my brother had a couple close calls with cancer and my dad embarked on a crusade to help him. Because the medical community doesn't have all the answers, he pursued knowledge in alternative medicine including nutrition. And like a good father, my dad has shared his knowledge with me over the course of the past 8 years.</p>
<p>Part of those findings is that your diet can greatly influence your health, even the big diseases that have strong genetic components such as cancer. After talking to medical professionals and "experts" in the nutritional field, I grew skeptical of my dad's claims that nutrition can do that much for cancer. According to my sources, there just wasn't enough data to support the claim. And because everyone is different, what works for one person may not work for another. </p>
<p>That being said, I have still kind of believed my dad's claim that nutrition can have a really big effect on a person's health and I've tried to watch what I eat. I just haven't taken it that seriously.</p>
<p>Last night, I watched the movie Forks over Knives. For those who haven't watched it, I highly recommend it. If you have Netflix, that's the easiest way to watch it. The movie is in documentary format and details two perspectives (clinical and research) to come to the same conclusion, that we humans get a lot more disease and suffering because of the animal products and processed foods we consume. Further, switching to a completely plant based diet stops the progression of many of these diseases and can even reverse them.</p>
<p>Because of my experiences, and because I am not a meat fanatic, the film resonated with me. A couple of the premises of the movie didn't sit too well with me. For instance, how our medical community wants us to stay sick so they can have good business. I've heard this argument with regards to cancer, that a cure to cancer is being withheld because then it's a big money-making industry for a lot of people. I can't believe that people in the medical field would consciously do this to people especially because they most likely have loved ones who are affected by it. I would hope that mankind has not devolved into something that bad. </p>
<p>I think more likely is that there has of yet been inconclusive data supporting alternative medicine and these researchers do not have an incentive to do the research. Yes, a cure to cancer would be an incentive, but to go outside the mainstream of thinking is difficult to do. There seems to be adequate incentives in place for researchers to do their thing. </p>
<p>The only thing stopping me from trying a plant based diet is cheese. I really don't think I could go without it. Assuming there's a decent substitute to cheese, it would be a challenge to come up with new food ideas. This takes time. It would also be more expensive. The pure unprocessed foods are traditionally more expensive in general. Plus, by eating a lot more fruits and vegetables instead of denser foods, I could see myself eating a lot more. I eat a ton of food. So maybe when I've got some more time and money, I'll give this thing a try.</p>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-11461964951579580232012-03-11T21:07:00.000-04:002012-03-11T21:07:15.586-04:00Cooperation is a necessary evil?It's great when you can learn about a particular topic, it's even more great when that same topic gets retaught in another medium. Yesterday included a couple big learning moments on cooperation. These moments included chimps, Jet Li, and the Tea Party. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First, a program on NPR called RadioLabs featured chimps. The program looked at the way that humans behave based on very instinctual and primal evolutionary thought processes. So naturally, they started looking at one of our closest relatives. My favorite part of the program was when a delicious berry reed was dropped into a pack of chimps, specifically to the adolescents of the group. One of them picked it up, then others started fighting for it, and then squabbling. You could hear the chaos by the shrieking. Then there was a very abrupt silence to all the fighting. Apparently the alpha male had made an appearance and everyone knew what they were supposed to do. The alpha male continued to eat some of the reed, then it got passed on to the next highest male and on. According to this evolutionary system, the food always goes from the highest on the ladder downward. While one animal wouldn't get all he wanted, every animal in the pack would at least get something. The commentator remarked that evolution had favored this type of order because cooperation was necessary for survival. And there my first learning moment was, cooperation is a good thing for survival. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Next, I watched the Jet Li movie Fearless while the Aimers did her school stuff. Here, a hotshot go-getter was out to show the world that he was a great fighter using the art of Wushu. Then a series of events fundamentally changed his perspective about his order. He realized what his father and many others had known all along: that his Wushu order was all about respecting others and cooperating. Without that, there was no purpose and only death. Thus, my second learning moment: cooperation is crucial for success. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Finally, I started thinking about the GOP party right now. While everyone will have to admit that the Tea Party has been a very influential factor in politics the last couple years, it has also been known as a very "loud" and uncompromising voice. Maybe they have been loud because they have needed to get their voices heard. Maybe they have felt like their views and opinions had been ignored for too long. Maybe they have come across as uncompromising because their views have been more correct than the alternative. Because they felt like they were right, why should they cooperate? I think that in a GOP primary where candidates are increasingly being called on to proceed more and more to the right, it is sad that cooperation is being viewed as a thing of the past. Changes occur often times gradually and without cooperation, we will not win as a society. We will instead be denigrated to squabbling chimps. Like Jet Li, we need to respect, honor and cooperate with those around us.<br /><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-53194146850943307872012-02-03T14:15:00.001-05:002012-02-03T14:15:36.541-05:00An update to the shifting y<div><p>I found that the shifted y is only in the newest version of the scriptures. Think new maps edition or thin pages if you are referring to the book of mormon as a standalone. Since my wife recently gifted me a new quad, that's why I hadn't noticed any text anomalies because they weren't there. I have highlighted another verse that illustrates my point a little bit more clearly. The verse is mosiah 2:36. As you can see, starting with the fourth line, there is a divide with the left side of the verse subscripted and the right side regular. Line 4 is the most obvious because the fault line occurs in the middle of the word "ye." The second line "go contrary to" is left of the fault. This continues until the 9th line where the line contains no shifts. </p>
<p>My theory? I think this shift pattern is a result of either capitalizations or footnotes (notice how these make the line taller than usual) coupled with letters that go below the line (like p's or y's). If one line is abnormally tall in height and the line preceding it contains some low hanging characters, a predetermined line buffer may not be sufficient to avoid crowding. It appears that the new publication attempts to compress lines in sections rather than uniformly make a predetermined buffer for each line to solve this problem. </p>
<p>This theory does not clarify why in my original observation of Mosiah 2:31 the y is shifted. If you look to the very next line, there's a capital G which makes that line abnormally tall. The line with the shifted y has no reason to shift the y down to get even closer to the next line. To maintain the same buffer of space, if the publishers wanted to do any shifting here, it should have been up. This means that I am open to ideas for what is going on. </p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslVs1QL9fh9NTo9oMX1yO1tRD-1f2EKPn8u_Tg2NcNIa6kYxfyL9K2OHzLOnuFaCrrx-nN3MNprr38J2uioXMitExJ9lerxz5I-XVN86gMPyEvGfoD0HY24MNwKGzV9MAr0w/' /></div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-35112429923027353322012-02-01T10:24:00.002-05:002012-02-01T10:24:23.066-05:00Mysteries of the KingdomI don't know how many times I've read the Book of Mormon (probably more than 30), but every time I read the book, I get new insights and perspectives. Last night as I was reading in the book of Mosiah, something caught my eye that I have never seen before, a mystery in my eyes. Mosiah 2 is King Benjamin addressing the people. Midway through verse 31, there is a my that has the "y" shifted down. I checked another Book of Mormon to make sure the shift was not just in my set and sure enough the same shifted "y" was there. I probably would never have noticed this, but for strange talents that you develop at law school. <br />
<br />
The question remains, what is the purpose of this shifted y? How did it happen? And will my brother's digital Book of Mormon ipad app maintain the integrity of the printed version of the Book of Mormon by making sure the shifted y is preserved. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-18819236233280364612012-01-31T20:45:00.002-05:002012-01-31T20:49:20.290-05:00Syria in the newsIf you're anything like me, you are fascinated by Middle East current events. I have had my eye on the so-called Arab Spring from day 1. It's interesting to see what the socially connected people are doing to throw off the shackles of repression.<br />
<br />
As country after country has fallen to the mass demonstrations, one regime has maintained power for surprisingly long given how long the demonstrations have gone on. Not too long ago, I got a unique perspective that shed some light on this situation.<br />
<br />
On our flight to California to see my dad get married, I sat next to an Iranian grad student. Unable to let this opportunity pass me by, I spoke with him about the Middle East.
His philosophy on the happenings was surprisingly simple: if a country has the resources, it can resist revolutions.<br />
<br />
I thought back to Iran in 2009. The Green revolution was close, but then it fizzled. Why? It turns out that Iran is in the top 25 highest GDP countries. They used their resources to effectively quash any meaningful opposition.
Poorer countries not so much. Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, etc. I always thought of Egypt as a reasonably wealthy for one reason or another. Maybe it stems back to them having the pyramids. However, this guy on the plane explained that Egypt's GDP is 1/6 of Iran's. It's no wonder they couldn't do much to stop the protestations.<br />
<br />
But Syria is not a very wealthy country. So how could they effectively stop the protests going on? Iran. I don't know what's going on in Syria, but it seems like it's one big mess. The latest estimates are that more than 6000 Syrians have been killed and the country seems to be edging closer to a civil war. But Al Assad has long maintained that he isn't to blame. He has contended that foreign militants are to blame. Everyone seemed to either think that the Syrian dictator was crazy or completely ignorant based on the happenings on the ground. But maybe it's true to the extent that the snipers taking out peaceful demonstrators come from Iran. Iran has the money, for one. They have the interest. Iran needs Syria. It needs the close influence to its neighbor to the West Israel. Iran needs Syria the way it is right now. It cannot afford for Syria to stage a revolution. So maybe the fighters inside Syria that have caused so much mayhem are paid foreigners trying to quash an uprising using whatever means possible. This is not unreasonable, considering there was evidence that when Iran's revolution was going on, Jordanian and other foreign fighters were found combating the protesters.<br />
<br />
It's one thing to get your news from mainstream America outlets. It's another to get your news from an Iranian who by the way speaks Russian. Yes, I got to combine my flight with a little bit of Russian too, it was very nice. But it's interesting to me how Russia also needs Syria. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/31/un-syria-resolution-opposed-russia?newsfeed=true">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/31/un-syria-resolution-opposed-russia?newsfeed=true</a> and they are not about to let the UN do anything to encourage Syria undergo its "inevitable" change of power. Russia will lose out on selling weapons to Syria and in this economy you fight for every bit of economic leverage you can.trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-53440663761169798162012-01-18T11:15:00.002-05:002012-01-18T11:15:56.552-05:00My Stance on SOPA/PIPA -- I opposeI am against the so-called Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act. I have long held views favoring a less regulated Internet (<a href="http://trentathon.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-take-on-net-neutrality.html">as noted here</a>) because I feel like the Internet is a very unique invention that has already transformed all of our lives and will continue to only do so in the future. To regulate this developing infrastructure with 20th century paradigms will be detrimental for our society in more ways than one.
Additionally, the Constitution provides for Congress with the authority to create a copyright law to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. However, if the copyright law is divorced from this basic premise, on the effect regulations have on promoting innovation, the law becomes unconstitutional. That is why in my opinion every copyright case should be looked at with a healthy dose of fair use. SOPA/PIPA seem to look at copyrighted content only from the perspective of the established, powerful content police, seeking to fix piracy with an overly broad measure that chills precisely what the Internet has done a marvelous job of promoting: fair use. There are less troubling means of stopping pirated content than by these proposed bills.
I have already made my thoughts known to my Congress representative and if you similarly think that SOPA/PIPA is not the best approach, I urge you to do the same. There is a really cool website that allows you to easily find out who and how you can contact: <a href="http://americancensorship.org/">http://americancensorship.org</a>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-90542340134043304542012-01-09T07:27:00.001-05:002012-01-09T10:53:39.404-05:00Help me with your extra sky miles!Almost 23 years ago, my mother passed away. Now after raising all of us kids, my dad is finally getting married again. I'm so happy for him and his fiance; they go so well together. The only problem is that I won't be able to go without a financial miracle. At first, I wrote this off as an expense I could not handle. Money is really tight right now. Now 11 days away, I realize that my dad needs me there and I would love to be there. My wife would also love to go! If you have any extra miles, I am happy to provide any sort of services in return that I can such as web development or patent support. If you want to donate to my cause, please click here at WePay: https://www.wepay.com/donations/my_dad_s_sacramento_weddingtrentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-991155325989266442011-12-20T08:13:00.001-05:002011-12-20T08:13:37.172-05:00Skipping the voicemail instructionsYou've all heard been here before. First, you wait ring after ring to get a hold of the person you are calling. Then, you hear the person's personalized voicemail telling you to leave a message. On a sidenote, as technology is, this voicemail message is pointless to me. You know the person unavailable--that's why they didn't pick up. So what is the point of the voicemail unless it is detailed enough to give you information that you didn't already have about the person. As Google is getting more and more integrated with cell phone features, I wouldn't be surprised if a feature for Google status updates allows for you to sync the updates to your voicemail. So you can say on your status update that you are in Beliz, and if someone tries to get ahold of you, that information can be communicated to the caller. Anyway, back to my voicemail rant. Finally, as if it wasn't enough waiting, you proceed to hear an automated woman's voice tell you instructions on how to leave the message.
A nice way to bypass all this hoopla is by simply pressing #. It sends you straight to voicemail. However, some phones (I don't know if this is a network issue or phone-specific) are not in tune with this nice feature. Instead, it prompts you to enter a passcode, not allowing you to enter a voicemail that call. This needs to stop Verizon (or particular phones). Get with the program.trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-46298321033189847962011-12-04T11:10:00.001-05:002011-12-04T11:29:37.708-05:00All set?<div><p>"Are you all set?" It was a question I started liking towards the beginning of this year. I liked how simple and direct the wording was and how the person asking the question doesn't have to provide any details of what he is asking because the context makes it relatively straightforward. However, like most cool things, I have seen this question's enchantment decline through overuse. Just the other day when standing in a bakery, A+ and I were looking at the menu. The employee looked at us after a while and ventured, "All set?" What did that question even mean? The most obvious interpretation was that she was wondering if we were ready, but since we were still glancing at the menu, the context did not make her intent obvious. A more effective question would have been, "Do you have any questions?" or "Are you ready to order?" That would have been nice.</p>
<p>Take home true principle: use cool phrases selectively and in moderation. <br>
</p>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0Melrose, Melrose42.458427 -71.06616tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-4161993499207778332011-11-22T10:05:00.001-05:002011-11-22T10:05:53.709-05:00Some popcorn guidance<div><p>As the holidays come upon us this year, thoughts inevitably turn to one way that we celebrate and spend time with loved ones: eating good food. It's also a time when lots of people are trying to make every dollar count. </p>
<p>This season make homemade popcorn. If you can splurge, make caramel popcorn. You will save money by making it yourself. The one thing I'd recommend is to not scrimp on the kernel quality. Unlike other goods that you can substitute an off-brand without noticeable difference, with popcorn you can tell. Get jolly time popcorn, the kernels get so big it's crazy. </p>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-79694404863898953032011-10-24T14:07:00.001-04:002011-10-25T07:24:13.135-04:00The almond experiment<div><p>Steve Jobs is now famous for saying that consumers don't know what they want until they are shown. This same principle is equally true for food.</p>
<p>I am spending a lot of time at home working. This means that whenever I have a craving during the day, I'm covered. This post is in no way meant to brag, but our home is filled with good snacks to choose from, including mucho candy. While you can usually find me munching on some pretzel m&ms, lately I've switched things up. Every time I want to grab some candy, I instead go for the plain almonds. It doesn't seem like that glamorous a snack, but every time I go almond, I find that I really did want to eat almonds. Not to mention, I feel healthier too. </p>
<p>So my take home is that your brain can deceive you in what you want to be eating.</p>
</div>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-45172171763325480532011-10-11T19:21:00.001-04:002011-10-11T19:21:47.170-04:00The Dude GuyWhen I was around 10 years old, my brothers and I found ourselves searching for things to do in the summer time. With the help of our dad, we eventually hatched a most brilliant plan to set up a candy stand. In my opinion, the candy stand launched each of our young work ethics. One day, business was good, and then all of a sudden a jeep shows up. Out jumps this guy in his 20s without a shirt and a long blond pony-tail. He ordered some candy from us and then paid with a $20. The only to this order was that we didn't have that kind of change. We scrambled to give him all the change we could, pouring $7 of coins into a cup for him. His cheerful response, "Dude!" started an instantaneous friendship between us. From then on, this guy would drive past and he always enthusiastically honked at us as he drove past and we'd all yell out "Dude!" This dude was far less worried about getting his money's worth for his purchase. He probably cared more about just taking from life what life would give him.
We fast forward a couple decades. The Aimers and I just had a little trip to Maine. Maine is a really great place, in case you are not familiar. As hectic and as crazy as Boston is, Maine is equally relaxed and laid back. I think our hike guide was the epitome of Maine. This guy Bryan graduated in Geology a few years back and rather than sell out to corporate America and "make rich people richer," he decided to keep doing what he loved, being a guide in West Forks, Maine. And this guy was good. He was smart, interesting, and very personable. In my opinion, this guy could be making a lot of money if he wanted. But we found out that the rafting business and tourism in general in Maine is not doing very well right now, so this guy was literally scraping by. It struck me that he didn't seem concerned about that at all. He instead seemed completely at ease about it. He constantly reassured us that we didn't need to rush on our hike, but that we should take our time. My favorite part of the hike was Bryan's comment at the end on how nice of a hike it was, especially at the summit where we could just "chill." The comment showed that he genuinely loved his job and was content with life.
I like a lot of types of personality, but I have an especially soft spot in my heart for people who are totally chill about life.trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-24448835644067675352011-09-15T18:23:00.000-04:002011-09-15T18:23:46.962-04:00A Thai restaurant you can't not tryThe first time I went to a Thai restaurant was surprisingly only about two years ago. My love for the food took off instantaneously. Maybe I have Thai in my blood somewhere in the lineage.
Two days ago, I went with a friend to Aiyara Thai Cuisine in American Fork. It was the best Thai food I've ever had. I ordered this super creamy coconut, lemon grass chicken soup. It was amazing. I also had this green curry chicken dish. I was in heaven. To top it all off, we had a mango sticky rice dish with ice cream on top. I didn't know anything could taste so good. And it couldn't be that bad for me, with dairy, fruit and grains included, right?
If you are in Utah, or frequent the state every once in a while, you need to try this restaurant out. It's kind of secluded, so you may not find it just browsing for restaurants. But here's the address. Find it and eat there. It's very affordable.
224 East Main Street
American Fork, UT 84003
(801) 756-4775
<a href="http://www.aiyarathai.net/">www.aiyarathai.net/</a>trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-6389058859663104172011-09-04T01:20:00.000-04:002011-09-04T14:56:38.808-04:00LimitlessTonight was movie night featuring Limitless. The film was interesting, action-packed, and had some really unique cinematography. It's got Russian, which always makes a movie just a little bit better. Plus, it's got Robert De Niro. What's not to like about Robert De Niro? I would really recommend the movie. It's at the RedBox and on iTunes. ;)<br />
<br />
If you haven't heard of the movie, the plot focuses on this kind of deadbeat guy who gets a hold of a drug NZT, which makes his brain function at full capacity. Can you imagine all your neuronal synapses connecting like a perfectly lubed machine? Or everything that you have learned (even subconsciously) at your disposal when you need it most? <br />
<br />
The reason why I loved this movie is the same reason why I love any movie. It allowed me to escape reality but connect truth from this imaginary film into my real life. It absolutely fascinates me to think about someone condensing the pain of learning into one productive learning session. I guess I like the concept of operating at maximum capacity. Haven't you ever had your brain on super-productive mode? Or been able to complete a giant list of tasks in a short amount of time? Have you ever felt like you were on top of the world? The life of the party? All your jokes were funny and all your conversation was interesting? Okay, these last items don't happen too often to me. But I do get little brief glimpses of them. <br />
<br />
Lately I've been trying to figure out why people have only glimpses of their brains operating at 100%. The majority of the time, your brain seems to be in "blah" mode. I've noticed for me one reason is that it allows me to be humble. I am a creature that needs to be forced into humility. It is then that I realize that I'm not better than other people. In fact, I'm more willing to interact and reach out to people when I am in a humble state, potentially building them up. I found it interesting that the movie only focused on the glamorous components of using your brain, like knowledge, power, money, without touching on the virtues that the brain can learn. Isn't it true that the brain can digest the benefits of living the precepts of wise leaders throughout the ages? Food for thought. <br />
<br />
My other reason for why we are so designed sounds like a good reason, but I don't know if it's true, so I'm interested in what you have to say. Maybe life is more rewarding when you experience what you can't have. You see that elusive destination, but at the same time you are so far from it that it ain't even funny. We as humans need to be ever-progressing. We can't just reach a level and be content. That's why the Matrix initially failed. That's why we play RPGs. Have kids. Coach. It's fun to see the progress in ourselves and in others, but if there's a point where we have "made it," that becomes boring. That's all I've got for now, my brain is now dead. trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33445554.post-53743297053923391192011-08-21T01:52:00.000-04:002011-08-21T01:52:39.510-04:00August is the month of storiesIn order to share a story, you have to be in the right mood. I think I've finally gotten into the right mood for this story. It all started yesterday...<br />
<br />
I have temporarily moved back home to Orem, Utah to work for Novarad while the Aimers is gearing up for the school year in Boston. Living at home has taken some major adjustment on my part. Life is better elsewhere, but this situation will pay some bills. <br />
<br />
Anyway, a couple days ago I drove my dad's Dodge Spirit to work. I am not too used to living in Happy Valley, so notwithstanding the fact that no one in their right mind would ever try and break into that car, out of habit I locked the car doors. But before I locked the last door, I made sure that the key I had could open up the door. After all, I wouldn't want to lock myself out of the car. Sure enough, the lock opened up the door and everything was fine. <br />
<br />
The next day (yesterday), I drove my brother's Cavalier to work. It is a nicer car, but not nice enough to attract criminal conduct. After pulling up to the parking lot, I rolled up the windows and locked all the doors. This time, however, I did not check to see if the key I had would unlock the door. That minor detail would prove to be significantly important.<br />
<br />
At lunch, I went out to the car to grab my peanut butter and honey sandwich. I put the key in the car and twist. Or, I should say, I tried to twist, but it wasn't twisting. I feared that I locked myself out of the car, but for good measure go to the passenger door and try. No twisting. I checked every door in hopes that I had forgotten to lock one. No such luck. I was locked out. <br />
<br />
My brother confirmed my fears. Apparently, Race has one of those crazy cars that has a different key for the engine than the doors and trunk. His door and trunk key was inside the car. After a couple phone calls, I found out I could get a replacement key for $25, provided I show the dealership documentation with the VIN and my name on it. The problem was that I didn't have said documentation, Race would forget to call the bank to fax the dealership said documentation, and even if said documentation was received, I needed to be Race Ostler to pick up the key. It was too bad that he was going boating right as I called too. <br />
<br />
So I decided to not worry about it during my lunch break. I went hungry and relied on a very kind fellow-employee that I got to know through my wife last year and very coincidentally started working with. He gave me a ride home and I was determined to get the key situation ironed out later. But my dad wanted to do it the next morning, so I waited. <br />
<br />
When I was in high school, my buddy Ray used to lock his keys in his car so often that he would have a system to breaking into his car. Hey would pry the door open a little bit, shove his wallet in the pried area towards the top of the door, and then get out a hanger that he kept under his frame. If the lock was right, you could put a hook in at the end, put the hook under the locking mechanism, pull up and it would unlock. <br />
<br />
I thought that I could do what he did and avoid paying fees and cutting bureaucratic red tape. Race had locks that appeared to be manipulatable by a hanger hook so the next day (today), my dad and I packed plenty of hangers and headed to where the locked up car was. <br />
<br />
The process was not as easy as I had remember it. I could only fit one fold of my wallet in between the door, which didn't give us much wiggle room with the hangers. Tried as we could, we could not get the wires to come through from the top of the door--we had to settle on pushing the wires from the right hand side of the door. This could not give us the right angle. We made hooks into the hangers to latch on to the locking mechanism, but we could hardly touch the locker. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPcq-zlYKjLKwrq1pRIHlXzxTvyAKf-XZT9cjlxRpeQQ8CSKvYxeeq1URcihz0Mgdga95b9CTbq_3m1tFwgTa9HwHr9chIDouokHf7Xa-F-0QvDz6hznz1sYe7HJyLCeryuo/s1600/cavalier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPcq-zlYKjLKwrq1pRIHlXzxTvyAKf-XZT9cjlxRpeQQ8CSKvYxeeq1URcihz0Mgdga95b9CTbq_3m1tFwgTa9HwHr9chIDouokHf7Xa-F-0QvDz6hznz1sYe7HJyLCeryuo/s400/cavalier.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We then made a hanger guider, which was a glorified hanger loop that we threaded the hook through so that we could guide it closer to the locker. This got it much closer. Two times, my dad latched on to the locker, pulled, and moved it a little bit, but not enough to unlock the door. We just could not get a good enough angle from the entire other end of the door. <br />
<br />
It was getting hot. I was very grateful that very few people were in the parking lot on a Saturday morning because we must have looked either very ridiculous or very shady. We had been so far unsuccessful at moving a wire to the other end of the door frame, so we decided to switch gears. What if we tied some string to the hook and navigated it over? It was worth a try. <br />
<br />
After a quick drive to the nearest Circle K, we were tying waxed mint dental floss to the hanger's end. When that was attached, we shoved it through the usual door part and this time I navigated it to the opposite end of the door, closer to the locker mechanism. From this vantage point, I was able to stabilize the hook. But we didn't have much luck getting the hook coming in at the right angle. We tried, tried, tried and failed, failed, failed. <br />
<br />
My dad then had the offball idea of putting a loop of dental floss to the end of the hanger and kind of lassoing the locker mechanism. I knew that idea wouldn't work. It was almost like a joke. So I said, "Okay, let's try it." Miraculously, the loop didn't get caught on anything getting in. I used my floss to guide the hook close and slowly the lasso got closer and closer to its target. Then the lasso closed in around the locker. <br />
<br />
At this critical point, I carefully moved my floss to the other end of the door so that both the hook and floss were opposing where the locker had to be pulled to be unlocked. We both pulled. All eyes were on the locker. <br />
<br />
The locker pulled back. The loop then fell off the locker. I reached for the door handle, as I couldn't believe that the door was unlocked. The door opened wide. My dad and I burst into laughter. WE COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT HAD HAPPENED! That was the luckiest, flukiest thing. But it did happen. And I was glad. <br />
<br />
We then made it home and Race was outside. He seemed happy to see his car back at home. He tried to show me where the key was that I had locked in the car, but it wasn't there. A little while later, he said, "Trent, here's the key to unlock the car doors. I had it all along." <br />
trentathonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09267116964500781614noreply@blogger.com0