Pickens Blog

When I joined the Pickens Plan, they gave me a blog. I posted for the first time today. Rather than paste the post here, I decided just to provide a link to it. Enjoy!

http://push.pickensplan.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2187034%3ABlogPost%3A511529

Triple Digit Heat

I just read a really horrible story in our local news today. A family in Denton went out Sunday for a day at the waterpark. On their way home they got some lunch. When they got home, they went inside to eat the food, and forgot to get their little 14 month old baby out of the minivan. He was only in the van for an hour, but he died.

It was 102 degrees yesterday and today it is 101. It is hard to imagine how hot the inside of a car must get in that kind of weather. It is difficult to think of his little cries, unheard and unanswered as he suffered. There is no one to blame. The parents made a mistake, that is all, and I'm sure no one is more sorry for it than they. At times like these, it is easy to blame God who surely knew the plight of this little one and could have saved him.

Little children have always been especially vulnerable in this precarious existence. Whether through accident, disease, or even sometimes abuse, the graveyards are full of little headstones with dates revealing tragically short lives. I remember cutting through the cemetery at Utah State University on the walk to my apartment. Sometimes I would glance at those headstones and cry as I saw families some with five or six infant children buried next to their parents. How their hearts must have broken to put those children under the ground!

I was reading in the Joseph Smith manual the other day and I came across chapter 14 entitled "Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death." Poor Joseph and his wife Emma had nine biological children and two adopted children. Of those eleven, only five lived to maturity. Many of them were still born, others died within a few years of birth. I'm sure the comforting words in this chapter were as much a balm to him as they are to us as we read about the guaranteed salvation accorded to little ones who die before the age of accountability and the blessing that righteous parents will have of holding their little ones once more after the ressurection.

We would not be human if we did not mourn the loss of a child, but as Joseph says, we do not mourn without hope. The God of heaven heard the cries of that little Denton boy, and he took him home to himself. I encourage all who read this post to keep the family of this child in your prayers.

Topsy Turvy

I am a news junky. I confess it. Checking the news online five and six times a day is not uncommon for me. Love and concern for my country is so strong that I find myself obsessed with knowing what is going on in it. Unfortunately, what I find is often troubling.

Today I had this strange sensation that the world is being turned upside down. The number one song in America right now is called, "I Kissed a Girl." It is apparently about a girl who kisses her friend to get her boyfriend's attention. Bi-sexual relationships, swinging, drugs, and partying seem to be not just tolerated or accepted, but hip. Responsibility, committed relationships, healthy and uplifting recreational activities, and family are just not cool right now.

In a video I watched on Fox News, the anchorwoman commented on Christian Bale (the star of the movie Dark Knight, for those who don't know) and his alleged assault of his mother and sister. She said, "Maybe they just got a little taste of the courageous caped crusader." Of course, a grown man attacking two women is very courageous. Upside down thinking? Absolutely.

In that same video, they turned to a story about Britney Spears being photographed in her bikini smoking a cigarette while her young son, Sean Preston, looks up at her while holding her lighter and pack of cigarettes. This picture has generated renewed disgust at this woman's blatant lack of concern for her children's wellbeing. The anchor said the real travesty was that "thanks to toxic tot Sean Preston, absolutely no one is talking about how freaking fabulous Britney's body looks." Toxic Tot? How dare he interfere with gossip about his mother's looks! Where are our priorities?

I had really hoped that the economic problems our country is facing right now would get us to take a serious look at our values and what our standards of decency have fallen to. Watching Fox News has me doubtful that this will happen. I hope I am wrong.

With all the confusion about values, where even Christian churches are caving in to the tidal wave of cultural smut, I want to testify to you that God never changes. What is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong. We can know that his true gospel is ever constant and unchanging. Regardless of what is fashionable and in style, there is only one path to happiness in this life, and the life to come, and that is through living a clean and virtuous life and engaging in loving, unselfish, committed relationships which are fostered through responsible, dedicated, and loving service. Those of us who believe this is true have to stick together regardless of our differences.

God bless America, and God help us change the course we are on.

Moonstone

This is the first Moonstone blossom that has really turned out nice. You can see the beautiful pink blush in the center petals. I love this flower!

Yesterday's Journal

I was writing in my journal yesterday about Devin and Layne. I thought I would post it, so you could hear the latest craziness:

Today I found Layne smearing blue Spiderman toothpaste all over the living room table
and in his hair, playing with knives on the kitchen counter several times, swinging the dining room chandelier while standing precariously on top of the table several times, squirting dish soap all over the kitchen counter, and coating his hair in sun block. He also dug all the chapstick out of my favorite tube, ate some of my toothpaste, and dragged my facial hair remover cream out of my drawer. He loves my perfumes and frequently drags all of them out and takes the lids off. I haven’t been able to find one, but he evidently sprayed it on himself because he smelled very strongly of perfume for a couple of days. Yesterday he took the butter off the table and smeared his legs with it.

Devin has been aiding and abetting Layne’s insanity in turns. The other morning, I took a shower while the boys were watching a movie. I stepped out to towel off and I heard Devin screaming. I went out to see what was going on and the front door was wide open, Layne was standing out on the curb waving at passing cars wearing nothing but his diaper, and I was completely naked. Apparently, Devin had decided to rescue his Thomas the Train DVD out of the mailbox. It was on its way back to Netflix. Although the door was shut and deadbolt locked, he managed to unlock it since the key was still in the lock, and open the door. When Layne tried to get out, Devin panicked and tried to close the door, but his foot was in the way. He has a bruise and a sore on his little foot now. So I dashed about putting on whatever clothes I could find laying around so that I could go rescue Layne. That was a relaxing shower!

So, I put Devin in timeout for opening the door. After I had calmed down, I went in and talked to him about why he should never go in the front yard without me there with him. I told him that Layne could have been hit by a car and died. I said a bad man could have taken him away from us. He really grabbed onto that idea. For the last two days I have heard little else but what clever ways Devin is going to “stop the bad man from taking our baby.” “I will trow a toy at the bad man!” he says furiously. He picks up his Mickey Mouse golf club, “I will hit the bad man!” He hefts his play grocery cart threateningly, “I will trow THIS at the bad man and he will run away!” I half wonder if he might venture into the front yard without me just to confront the bad man he likes the idea so much.

He is getting a more sophisticated idea of time. He is always saying, “not yet.” Daddy will be home, but not yet. Today, he took three cars and he assigned one to Layne, one to me, and one to himself. He said we were going to have a race. He lined the cars up on the table and announced, “We have a race, but not today. Not yet! We have a race tomorrow night.” Later he found another car and assigned it to Daddy. It joined the lineup to wait for tomorrow’s race.

What an adventure Motherhood is! Today, I bathed them both and washed all the toothpaste, dish soap, sunblock, and margerine out of their hair. They both looked and smelled so good, you would never have guessed what they looked like last night. Unfortunately, I only took one picture. I just get so focued on the mess and go directly into cleaning mode before I think to take any pictures. I really need to, because words just can't describe the disasters we endure here at our house.

Lily and Hibiscus

Our Presidential Red Hibiscus gave us quadruple blossoms this morning. I was amazed! This is the first time of the season that we have had four blossoms on one bush.

We only had two lilies sprout out of the six bulbs that I planted. Of those two, this one is the only one that has produced a blossom. Hopefully next year we will have more.

Crape Myrtle Tree

I had to take a picture of this tree in full bloom. It doesn't always look like this as the blooms seem to go in cycles, but it is amazing! These showy flowers really catch your eye coming down the road.

An Open Invitation to Grandma

Four Hibiscus Blooms

We had a set of twins on our High Voltage and a set of twins on our Presidential Red bloom today. The flowers are about the same size. The high voltage has a ruffled edge to its petals. Which do you like better?

Sample Letter regarding CNG Act

This is a letter I drafted today encouraging my legislators to support the Drive America on Natural Gas legislation. I thought I would post it in case anyone else needed a few ideas for their letters. Incidentally, I found out today that T. Boone Pickens answered questions on his natural gas plan for the Senate. I wish the news would let us know these things.

Senator John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510


Dear Senator Cornyn,

As the fuel crisis in our country continues with no immediate relief in sight, we are seeing the economy suffer, the dollar drop in value, and individual spending power plummet. Something must be done now.

I am a member of the Picken’s Plan, a movement organized by T. Boone Pickens to move the country to more sustainable energy sources like wind and natural gas. Natural gas is an inexpensive, clean burning, domestic fuel that is already used as a transportation fuel in many countries and even some government vehicles here in the U.S. Why has this fuel not entered the market to compete with oil here in the U.S.?

There are several hurdles that are keeping natural gas from being a viable competitor with oil, all of which are addressed in the Drive America on Natural Gas Act that Senator Inhofe introduced on July 17th. I encourage you to do all in your power to get this Act signed into law with all speed.

Please pay particular care to the section about the retro-fitting of existing vehicles. The EPA’s current certification and testing in this market are very laborious and expensive. The EPA needs to focus their testing on the emissions that come out of the pipe, and not waste taxpayer dollars getting involved in the process. Retro-fitting of existing vehicles is the only way most Americans will be able to afford a natural gas car in the short term and so it is vital that the EPA’s regulations are streamlined and simplified.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,




Bridgette Burbank
628 Dover Heights Trl
Mansfield, TX 76063

July Garden

Barren Rose Bush

At the end of April, I bought two roses bushes for half price on Home Depot's website. They arrived bare root with no leaves at all. I worried that they wouldn't be able to get sufficient roots before the hot weather arrived. One of them did quite well. It lost all of its leaf buds a few days after it was planted, but in a couple of weeks, it was sprouting new ones. The other bush never showed a sign of life. After about a month and a half, it started loosing canes. Slowly the canes were turning brown. I thought the bush was dead or at least close to it. I stopped fertilizing and taking care of it because I thought it was a lost cause. I had even started thinking about what color of rose I wanted to replace it with.

You can imagine my surprise when I was looking over my plants and saw a leaf bud sprouting leaves out of my barren rose bush. Middle of July, and it decided it would come out of dormancy and produce some foliage! I was elated. Of course, it has had a rough time. I have shade over it always to help it retain moisture and protect it from the brutal Texas sun, but it is doing well. It now has nearly ten leaf buds with new growth.

Presidential Red

We had two more blossoms open on our Presidential Red bush. Every time I look out the window I see these bright red flowers.

Vinca Garden

I know I have already posted many pictures of this little garden, but every time I photograph it, the plants are bigger and more stunning. I just have to share. They also show a glimpse of our new lawn. It is coming in really well. We had to add an acidifier because some patches were not coming in very well and the grass was a sickly green color. The lawn next to this little flower garden is very healthy and full.

Here is a picture of the garden just a few weeks after I planted it.

Red Hibiscus

Our Presidential Red hibiscus continues to amaze with its extreme heat tolerance, dark forest green foliage, huge brilliant colored blossoms, and overall plant health. Even our expensive high voltage hibiscus pales in comparison to this hearty shrub. It has several buds ready to open right now, so this flower is just the beginning!

Senator Inhofe Introduces Drive America on Natural Gas Act

This is super news for those of us on the CNG car front. This act addresses all of the major issues that stand in the way of CNG becoming a viable alternative transportation fuel. Hopefully this do-nothing Congress will push through this legislation pronto and we can begin the process of weaning the country off of oil.

Here is the scoop off of Senator Inhofe's site:

http://inhofe.senate.gov/public/

Have a windy day!

Hypermiling

For those of you, like me, who are itching for something to do right now to save money on gas, Ben and I found something that should be saving us about 85 dollars in gas every month from now on. It is called hypermiling. It really isn't anything new, but I just didn't realize how much difference it makes.

Hypermiling is basically a driving style that increases your miles per gallon. Our Fox News local station did a spotlight on it. Some of the drivers they talked to were getting 100 miles to the gallon in their hybrid cars using hypermiling. We usually get about 23-25 miles per gallon in our little Pontiac Grand Am. When Ben decided to start hypermiling to work, he filled up with gas and reset the tacometer. At the end of the week, he figured his gas mileage and he got 38 miles to the gallon.

This is something we can all do right now to decrease our use of expensive gasoline that is lining the pockets of foreign countries who hate us. To find out the details about hypermiling go to http://www.hypermiling.com/. Have a windy day! (That is the new tag line at the Picken's Plan networking site.)

The Picken's Plan Prevails!

We won our first battle for the Picken's Plan here in Texas. The Public Utility Commission of Texas has just passed a docket allowing remote wind farms to be attached to the power grid. I'm not exactly sure what that entails for the Picken's windfarms specifically, but it is a good sign that Texas is moving in the right direction. Hopefully other states will follow suit and we can have wind power become a much more prominent source of energy nationwide.

More CNG information

I emailed GM this morning requesting that they support the Picken's Plan and start increasing production and marketing of CNG cars in the United States. According to an interview that Pickens did on Fox News, he has been trying to get GM to manufacture and sell CNG cars for America for three decades. GM's response has been that there is no demand for them. Of course there wasn't a demand for them! There can't be demand if no one even knows they exist. I didn't even know cars could run on natural gas until I read about the Picken's Plan. Here is a link to GM's corporate feedback site:

http://www.gm.com/utilities/contact_us/contact.jsp?deep=contact

Here are Ford and Chrysler's contact information too:

http://www.ford.com/owner-services/customer-support/contact-ford
y&docType=factsheet&docIdhttp://cgcomm.daimlerchrysler.com/documents.do?method=displa=866

Anyway, I also emailed the EPA. I was very courteous and tried to frame my request as a way to get cleaner running cars on American roads. Still, I'm not expecting the letter to make much difference. If you would like to try your hand, here it is:

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/comments2.htm

I emailed and called Joe Barton, my Congressman here in Dallas. Senators Cornyn and Hutchinson also got an email from me. Fortunately, I noticed that Senator Cornyn has spoken on the Senate floor every day trying to get the Democrats to allow drilling off the coast and in ANWR. If the Republicans were in power we would be on our way to relief, at least for now.

I also read an interesting blog post by a man who does independent research into hydrogen fuels. He has been doing some looking at natural gas, and I thought his blog post included everything I had acquired and more. I recommend it to you if you want more information about CNG conversions.

http://push.pickensplan.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2187034%3ABlogPost%3A248592

CNG Used Cars

I am so glad that people are reading about this issue and getting excited about doing something about it. So am I and so are the people pushing the picken's plan. (Tongue twister!)

I talked to my dad last night and he mentioned that he knows a little about conversion of cars to alternative fuels. He said that the problem with converting traditional gas burning engines to ethanol and natural gas is that the compression ratio is not high enough. The pistons in the car compress the fuel to cause it to explode and release energy. It takes more compression to cause ethanol and natural gas to expode. The ratio of gas is about 1/9 and natural gas is 1/13. That means that a gas car is not going to run as effeciently on an alternative fuel causing mpg to drop like a rock.

He said that if you had an engine like the Chevy truck, you might get it to work with a good overhaul. He is actually thinking of getting his Chevy truck overhauled to work on natural gas. Bravo to him! For the rest of us, that is a snag. There is hope though.

I found a couple of websites that have used CNG cars for sale on them. One is an auction site. Did you know that government cars have been running on CNG for years? There are nine CNG refueling stations within thirty-five miles of my house. They wouldn't be there if no one was using them. Here is the government auction site:

http://www.autoauctions.gsa.gov/index.cfm

There is also a private dealership that sells CNG cars. It is in Arizona:

http://www.cngmotors.com/

If you buy a CNG car, make sure to tell all your friends about it and how much money you are saving. The more people can see this is a viable solution, the better. The car companies don't seem to be willing to produce alternative fuel cars until there appears to be demand for them. Let's show them the demand.

Picken's Plan revisited

In spite of many nay-sayers and critics, the Picken's Plan remains the only solvent long-term energy plan that has passed my eyes. I have been watching the market fall lower and lower by the day. We need to do something fast.

I spent most of my kid's naptime today on the web learning about CNG conversions. Apparently Iran is currently converting to CNG. They have lots of oil, but few refineries, so they are getting raped with the oil mess just like we are. So, good old Ahmadinejad put a plan in action for his country. They drop off their cars at the shop, come back two hours later, pay $50 and they are running on CNG. This is Iran!!! They are solving their fuel crisis and we are sitting on our behinds wringing our hands. For information about other nations like Brazil that have become gas independent, click here.

Why not CNG conversions? I heard from someone today that it would cost about $15,000 to convert your car to CNG with the EPA's draconian standards. That is ridiculous. The problem is, the EPA is an unconstitutional arbitrary federal disaster that answers to no one, like most other government programs.

This is what I have found so far. There are more people like us who are ready for real fuel choice and want CNG conversions to become commonplace. They are the Natural Gas Vehicles for America. I am currently researching what they are about and what we can do to stop the EPA from regulating America to death. I will keep you posted.

More Devin Says

Every day I remember things that Devin says that are funny. Bath time is a favorite time for Devin and because of that, he gets pretty wrinkly by the time he gets out. He used to look at his little fingers and say, "My fingers are pinched!" If I tried to take him out of the tub before he was ready, he would say, "My fingers are NOT pinched!" Anyway, it was really cute, but it didn't last. The last bath I gave him, he said, "My skin is all wrinkly." I said, "Are your fingers pinched?" He gave me a look like, Mom that is so babyish and said, "NO. My skin is NOT pinched. My skin is wrinkly."

He also used to call the fly swatter a hitter. He would spot a bug and say, "Momma! It's a bug. Quick, get the hitter." Now he calls it a fly swatter. He still calls the thorns on the rose bushes sharps. "Look out for the sharps Momma. They will give you owies!"

We have started limiting Devin's water intake before bed to cut down on bed wetting. Devin has generalized this to all food and drink. He tells Layne, "Don't eat any more cake. You will wet the bed Layne!" or at noon, "You get no more milk. You will wet the bed Layne!"

His little toddler accent makes for a few endearing words. He can't say the "th" sound like in mouth. He pronounces it "mouse." When I was putting sun block on his face the other day he was making vehement protestations of, "Don't get it in my mouse!"

The number five is his favorite number. When I am pushing him on the swing I will ask, "Do you want more pushes?" He replies, "I want FIVE more pushes." When Layne opened his presents, Devin was very jealous of his Harold the Helicopter. He said, "I get FIVE Harold the Helicopters for my birthday!" When he says "FIVE" he holds out his little hand with all five fingers spread. When he is nice to Layne or finishes his dinner he asks for five jelly beans. It is quite funny.

Fake Baby

I was reading on the news that the Australian police broke a car window to rescue what they thought was a baby, only to find what was actually a doll. The doll was so lifelike as to be impossible to differentiate from a real baby by just looking at it.

Fascinated, I decided to Google these dolls, or as I prefer to call them, fake babies. They are called Reborn Babies. I found this one on Ebay and was absolutely shocked! I had to keep reading the description to make certain that the pictures were not of a real newborn.

Newborn Lewis

I guess the moral of the story is, if you choose to buy a fake baby, take her into the store or leave her home. (If you don't want your window broken out that is.)

Incidentally, Baby Lewis was made by an obvious professional. I've never seen a doll like it. However, apparently reborn babies are all the rage in the doll making world. That would be a cool hobby!

Handsome Prince

Devin and Momma's Hair

Sometimes when one of the boys falls asleep or when it is just a quick errand, either Ben or I will go into the store while the other waits with the kids in the car. Devin hates sitting in the car when someone else gets to go into the store. The other day when Dad went into Walmart, we were waiting for him in the car and Devin said, "Momma, tip your seat back so I can play wiss your hair." Ever since that day, he is always asking me to tip my chair back so he can play with my hair. It is so cute!

Sometimes when he is talking to me he will take a section of my hair and just stroke it for a minute. It really warms my heart.

Yesterday we took family pictures and Ben was playing around with photography ideas. He took our fan and tried to position it so it would blow my hair. Today Devin picked up the fan and lugged it over to me while I was putting up train tracks. He said, "I want to blow your hair Momma."

Sleeping Beauty

Devin has been on a Sleeping Beauty kick the last week or so. We had a very funny conversation at lunch today.

Devin said, "I find sleeping beauty."

I asked, "Are you going to give her a kiss?"

"No. I will grow up big and find sleeping beauty."

"Will you give her a kiss when you grow up big?"

"No."

"Will you kill the dragon?"

"No. I have no sword. I don't have one at home."

"When you grow up big, you can get a sword. Will you kill the dragon then?"

Pause. Then he says, "No. I be too scared for that!" Pause. Then, "I wait FIVE years."

"So in five years you will kill the dragon?"

"Yes."

After this little conversation, I got the camera and took a video in hopes that he would repeat some of what he said. He did. I just posted the video.

Shaking up Stereotypes

First of all, let me express my regrets that Mr. Chad Hardy was excommunicated from the church yesterday. It is sad that such a small thing as a stupid little fifteen dollar calendar is going to prevent someone from enjoying the blessings of the restored gospel. He says he bears no ill will to the council of Elders that excommunicated him. That is to his credit. I hope he knows he is always welcome to come back.

On the other hand, I am vehemently opposed to his message. It is a dangerous one because of its widespread acceptance by the world right now, particularly by the youth of the world. The entire agenda behind the infamous calendar is admittedly to "shake up Mormon stereotypes." This agenda assumes that there is something wrong with Mormon stereotypes. His argument would suggest that because all members of the church don't fit the stereotype, or the traditional modest, nuclear family oriented, church going Mormon, that the church should embrace the differences among us and stop focusing on conformity.

On the surface it seems like a great idea. We want to baptize new members? Give out copies of the missionary calendar instead of the Book of Mormon! It will drum up all kind of interest. Besides, every calendar you buy is supporting charities. The calendar isn't offensive, it is merely unconventional. What is the problem with this scenario?

The problem arises in the diversity obsessed culture we live in. The truth is, and the church has been unwavering in this, that true happiness in this life can only be achieved through adhering to the gospel standards that tend to make us look alike collectively, hence creating a superficial stereotype. The values that Mormons collectively embrace, tend to make us similar in appearance. There is nothing wrong with that.

I don't want to be misunderstood, we accept everyone. I have seen all kinds of different people in our congregations including people who smell of cigarette smoke and are covered in tattoos. We embrace them and love them. Likewise, not all members are part of traditional nuclear families. Some member's parents are divorced. Some are divorced from their spouse. Some have never married. We embrace those members as well. However, collectively the membership of the church has a duty to the world to portray our values through our appearance. We do not embrace cigarettes, tattoos, and divorce. We value marriage, children, abstinence from addictive substances, church service, and obeying our ecclesiastical leaders. All the members of the church have a responsibility to do all in their power to portray those values in their own lives. This is part of bearing witness of Jesus Christ as one of his representatives. We make a solemn covenant to do this when we are baptised and we renew that covenant every week during the sacrament.

Therefore, we embrace members and investigators that do not fit the Mormon value system, but we do not embrace all they do. For example, the person who comes to church and takes a cigarette break between classes is not encouraged to continue doing it so that we can send a message to the world that we embrace diversity in our membership. They are welcome to come to our meetings, but would be encouraged to quit smoking before entering into binding covenants such as baptism or temple worship. After that person overcomes his or her tobacco addiction, he or she becomes that much closer to becoming a stereotypical Mormon, embracing those values that lead to true happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.

Conformity is a natural consequence of conversion. It does not arise in our church because we shun or excommunicate those who do not look like the rest, it arises in adherence to a common set of values which all of us try to exemplify. If someone does not embrace those values, they are not converted. If they refuse to embrace those values and instead insist on working against them, they must be excommunicated. If we did not excommunicate such members, the Mormon value system would cease to exist.

Let's return to Chad Hardy's calendar. By portraying missionaries as worldly, sexy, and hip, it implies that the values of the church are worldly, sexual, and fashion oriented. That is not true. The values of the church are entirely different from the values of the world. Our church offers an alternative and superior value system to that of the world. The function of missionary work is to proselyte that value system in opposition to the other. Mr. Hardy's calendar is an expression of a desire to diminish the Mormon value system by incorporating worldly values into it. If that were to happen, the restored gospel would be contaminated and apostasy would result.

I'm sure we have not heard the end of this mess both within and outside of the church. The encroaching of worldly values and influences is something true Christians of every denomination must fight against if we are to survive the onslaught of wickedness that is flooding the Earth.

Missionary Calendar

When the church appears in the national headlines, I think it is the responsibility of the members to clarify issues and speak their mind regarding those issues. There is a man in Las Vegas who has put together a calendar of returned missionaries without shirts. Thanks to the publicity this calendar has received in the news lately, I'm sure sales will be high, but is what he is doing ethical?

Aside from free speech issues and whether or not the calendar is in good taste, is what this man doing ethical? He is not even an active member, and yet he is using the Mormon brand, so to speak, to make a significant amount of money. I suppose that could be said of many people marketing anything from board games like Settlers of Zarahemla to church books, but where is the line drawn? What is next, Relief Society Presidents in bikinis?

In the marketing for this calendar, it is clear that this man is trying to make Mormon missionaries into sexy Gentleman's Quarterly poster boys instead of representatives of Jesus Christ. This is clearly contrary to what the church would have the world see these young men as. Associating missionaries with sex could have many nasty consequences as missionaries are supposed to be celibate and abstain completely from close association with the opposite sex.

I know that there are some in the church that would wish for us to have a more worldly image and, as this man says he wants to do, shake up typical Mormon stereotypes, but does that serve our purpose as standing as witnesses of Jesus Christ? We stand as a light to the world by being different from the world. The world doesn't need another calendar of half-naked men. What the world needs is to see a group of people, united with their leaders, and standing firm as witnesses of the Savior and his gospel.

Just one more comment on freedom of speech. Being somewhat of a Revolutionary War enthusiast, I know a little about why we have the Bill of Rights and what it means to have the freedom of speech. Throughout the history of the world, speaking out against authority was not something that was done. Terrible human rights abuses have occurred because of the inability of good people to join together and communicate about relevant and pressing issues. The freedom of speech is a person's ability to speak publicly, like I am right now, about issues and people and not have to fear retribution from the government. What it does not guarantee, is freedom from all consequence if you say or do something stupid.

For example, the Dixie Chicks decided to denounce George W. Bush in front of a foreign audience. I remember how shocked they were when country music fans all over the nation smashed their CDs and some even sent them death threats. The freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence my friends. If the Dixie Chicks had half a brain to share between them, they could have foreseen the vehement response of the country music fan base and avoided the entire controversy. It was an extremely stupid thing to do and their careers have suffered accordingly. Likewise, flag burning will not get you thrown in jail, but if you burn one in front of an Iraq War Vet and get the daylights beaten out of you, don't whine about freedom of speech to me!

In short, my message to Mr. Chad Hardy is, don't go around trying to destroy the pristine image of Mormon missionaries and then whine when the church leadership doesn't like it and tries to excommunicate you. You should have known when you started this project that you were unlikely to sell a copy to President Monson to hang on his wall at the Church Office Building. Whining freedom of speech is just an attempt to portray yourself as a victim, which you aren't.

CNG Aftermarket Conversion System

I have been doing a little research on natural gas and how it can become a more practical and immediate solution to our fuel woes. My findings have been interesting.

Apparently, there are kits on the market that you can buy to convert your car from a gas fuel car to a natural gas fuel car. These kits are called CNG (compressed natural gas) aftermarket conversion systems. The only problem with this is, from my reading I have deduced that you can't convert your car to CNG and then drive it on public roads because the EPA will not allow it. Apparently they are concerned about emissions.

After doing a Google search I found a CNG Outfitters at http://www.cngoutfitters.com/. It is a Utah based company that does conversions, but even they are not EPA approved. I don't think there is a company that is EPA certified to do CNG conversions in the country! According to my research, as of August of last year there were no companies EPA certified to make ethanol conversion of vehicles either. So my question is, what is the EPA so busy doing that they are not cranking out CNG and ethanol certifications for mechanic shops accross the nation? We should be seeing ads in our local papers every week for mechanic shops offering CNG and ethanol conversions of our vehicles! The fact that we are not seeing this is proof that the EPA is not doing its job. We need to hound our representatives on the state and national level to put the heat on the EPA to get those aftermarket conversion certifications out to every mechanic shop in the nation that wants one, and you know they all want one.

It is not the EPA's job to protect owls and wolves and Alaskan wilderness, it is their job to protect the American people and our rights to breathe clean air and drink clean water. The fact that they are prepared to issue $10,000 fines to every patriotic American who is ready to convert to a cleaner, cheaper, domestic fuel is criminal. Especially when they are not even issuing certifications to local mechanic shops.

If you are, like me, a bit perturbed about this situation, click below to contact the appropriate representatives.

House
Senate
State Representatives

Vinca and Verbena Garden

Vinca Boys

Fence Garden

The boys like to put the spent vinca flowers behind their ears. They look so cute!

They also like to balance on the wall and jump off.

Who knew that having a backyard could be so fun!

Picken's Plan

I know that all patriotic Americans are concerned for their country right now. I am one of them. Every day I read the news and watch the gas prices go up. When the price of gas goes up, the price of everything goes up. With more and more money going out in fuel costs, less is spent on other things, driving the country deeper into recession. When I was a teenager I remember the day gasoline broke $1.00 a gallon at our local Maverick store in Rexburg, Idaho. My parents were concerned then, and they should have been. Gasoline has been on a non-stop price climb with no end in sight. It is time for solutions, but there seem to be none.

There is ethanol, which might work, but the amount of ethanol it would require for us to actually replace petroleum as our primary fuel source would max out our farming resources. That would raise the cost of food and cause world-wide starvation. Besides, ethanol selling right now is only slightly less expensive than regular gasoline and it doesn't have the efficiency of regular gasoline so it takes more to go the same distance. People have been touting ethanol as a solution for years now and nothing has come of it. My guess at the reason for that is because there are too many problems with it.

There are problems with the Picken's Plan too, but I think we can overcome them. The Picken's plan is a plan concocted by a Texas oil guy to shuffle around our energy so that we are not using as much gas and we are using wind energy instead. This is the deal. According to Picken's website, 22% of the electricity we use is fueled by natural gas. Natural gas can also be used as a fuel for automobiles. If we can make wind power take the place of the 22% natural gas, then that would free up natural gas to be used in automobiles. That would take advantage of the infrastructure we already have available to produce natural gas rather than ethanol which would require new infrastructure, taking more time. The cost of natural gas is about $1 a gallon. I am not sure if a gallon of natural gas will go the same distance as a gallon of regular gasoline. That is something to inquire further about, but $1 is looking a lot better than $5 which is what we are approaching here in Dallas. Besides, according to Picken's website, natural gas is our country's second largest natural resource. We get 98% of our natural gas from North America. We import 70% of our oil from foreign nations. Our domestic national reserves of natural gas are twice that of petroleum.

One problem with this plan is that I don't believe I will be able to put natural gas into my old 1992 Buick. The fact that we have millions of gas cars on the road right now is a major drawback to a natural gas solution. I, along with a significant number of Americans, would have to buy a brand new Honda Civic GX which runs on natural gas. Now this is my idea. What if Honda stepped up production of these babies and made the payments affordable enough that they wouldn't be much more than the cost of gas we are paying anyway? Better yet, what if an American company like GM or Ford, that inventor of the Tin Lizzy, stepped up and came out with a super affordable car that runs on natural gas?

I think this plan might actually get us out of this mess and avoid a major recession that could result from this fuel crisis. This solution is the best one I have seen. I have joined the Picken's Plan myself and recommend it to you. If you want to find out more, the site is www.pickensplan.com.

Devin Says

Devin has become quite proficient in his use of language these days. I suppose it is a common fault for a mother to think her children will always stay babies, so it suprises me every time he says something that shows he is really growing up.

The other day I was trying to get the boys dressed and in the car to run some errands. I found everyone's shoes and started putting them on. I put on Layne's Bob the Builder sandals and then I was putting on Devin's Spider Man sandals. I didn't have my shoes on yet. Devin said, "Devin don't have Bob the Builder shoes. " I said, "No, you have Spider Man sandals." He said, "Momma have no shoes on. We get you some BIG Bob the Builder shoes Momma!" I'm sure he thought there was nothing I would like better. I had to laugh thinking of my big feet with Bob the Builder's cheesy face stuck to the side.

This morning I couldn't find Devin's favorite trains, Thomas and James. The boys had been playing with them the night before, but I couldn't find them. I told Devin not to worry, that I would ask Daddy if he knew where they were. Devin followed me into the computer room as I booted up the computer to instant message Ben. He looked at me earnestly and said, "Are you going to talk to Daddy on the phone or on the 'puter?"

At the camp out this last weekend, Devin and I trekked through the brush and got some poison ivy on our feet. I treated the rashes with some Calamine lotion in my first aid kit. Later, Layne had found the lotion. Layne loves little bottles and can't resist carrying them around to obscure locations. Devin was very upset seeing Layne with the bottle. He said in his best Mom impersonation, "Layne! That NOT a toy. It for sore foots!"

July 5th Jokes

Here is another batch of funnies from this week's paper. There were a lot of good ones this time.

Camp Out

Hello Family,

This is a picture of the boys relaxing at Lake Whitney on the Fourth of July. More pictures will be posted soon on the Burbank Family Blog.

More Jokes