Sad for US, but not surprising

Do you agree?

Here's an interesting article.  I have some of these tendencies, but I also lean a bit to the Gen X generation.  I guess that's because I'm right on the border between Gen X and Gen Y.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html

Same Spot

September 3, 2012

August 10, 2013

Josiah Willard

Oh, and here's an interesting story that I found.  Ephraim Brigham Willard, my Great Great Grandmother Rose's Great Grandfather had an older brother named Josiah Willard.  This story is about him.

Tasty, eh?

Great Great Grandma Rose

In the spirit of my wonderful cousin Desi, I thought I would do a genealogy blog.  Not that I really did any of this work on my own (I just plugged the name into FamilySearch and it autopopulated), but I did find it interesting to know a little history about my family.  This picture shows my Great Great Grandma Rose's family.  You can see her as the youngest child of Lester and Catherine Shadduck.

Of the 30 ancestors of Lester, 28 of them were born in Massachusetts.  (The other two were born in Vermont and Rhode Island).  It appears that even though the Graham side of the family was kind of a tumbleweed in the wind, the Shadduck side had set deep roots.  This map shows the counties in Massachusetts in which these people were born.  As you can see it was kind of rooted in one county.  (Yea, I know.  It only adds up to 27.  That's because one of these people only listed the state they were born in, not the city or county.)

Something interesting happened to Lester, his parents, and his grandparents.  For some reason they all moved to an area just outside of Erie, Pennsylvania.  For some reason Joseph and his parents all died in a town called Greenfield and Betsy and her parents all died in a town called Harborcreek.  These two towns are just 8 miles apart.  See this map.

Before you conjure up too many soap opera scenarios, it is of note that Joseph and his parents all died before Betsy and her parents, so it is possible that Betsy and her parents moved after the other three had died.

Anyway, Lester was born in Greenfield in 1828 (only six years before his father's death).  The guy was still siring children at the ripe old age of 55.  Even more impressive (not sure that is the right word) is that he married Betsy in 1807 when he was 33 and she was 16 (yikes).  Talk about robbing the cradle.  It's late. Maybe I did my math wrong.

Lester went on to Marry Catherine Johnston in Scott, Wisconsin, which from the map below looks like it doesn't even exist.  But I looked it up and there was a population of 791 as of the 2000 census.  They married when Lester was 38 and Catherine was 21.  It also looks like Lester may have had a first wife named Tabitha.  I guess he wanted his second wife to be young.

  My great great grandma Rose was born in 1873 when Lester was 45.  Rose was the baby.

Brothers

I don't get it. Will someone explain?

State of the Utah Jazz

Here's a great article about the current state of the Utah Jazz: Click Here.

Go Android!

I'm a big android fan, so I like this.  Will 2013 be the year it catches Apple?

Hiking Ogden

Lincoln and I hiked to a peak above Ogden called Malan's Basin on Saturday.  I don't know why it is called a Basin, because it is a pretty good hike.  Whoever named things in Ogden was weird.  It is a 7 mile hike round trip and has an elevation gain of 3,500 feet (at least according to a trail guide I found online).  About 100 feet from the top there was a little grouping of trees with bows on them.  Some were smaller, but some were really big, like the one in this picture.  I wonder what those bows were for.  Does anyone know?

Wealth in America

Pockets

Tonight he learned that pockets can keep hands warm.

The President Is Raging Against a Budget Crisis He Created

I thought this was a great Op-Ed posted by John Boehner in the Wall Street Journal.  Click here to read it.

Call her Coach

My wife has been coaching a club volleyball team since the start of the year.  Her team is made up of all the girls who didn't quite make the primary club teams, so her players are fringe players.  During their first tournament, they lost almost every game.  Last Saturday, they made it to the championship game, against a team that is coached by a local volleyball celebrity, having played on the University of Utah teams that were ranked in the top 5 of the country.  My wife's team barely lost!  From my understanding, it was like the Bad News Bears nearly beating whatever the best team in the league in that movie was called.  She got home and I asked her how it went.  She said, "They have a long way to go".  That's a coach.

Top Ten Reasons I Enjoy Walking to Work

10. It saves me a few pennies in gas.
9. It saves my truck some wear and tear.
8. It is a good time to think.
7. Three Miles of brisk walking is good exercise after spending 10+ hours a day at my desk.
6. It is better for the environment.
5. It is easier to get out of my driveway on my feet on those snowy days.
4. It gives me a reason to wear my beanie.
3. It gives me time to transition from stressed out worker bee to happy go lucky husband.
2. It reminds me that there is a world out there with stars, blue skies, and sunsets.
1. It makes me just a little bit different than all the other rats in the race.

Washer Dryer

In my entire life, growing up in my parents house and after leaving as an adult, I don't ever remember having the washer or dryer break. It probably happened sometimes when I was a kid and my parents just took care of it, but even if it did, the point is that it has happened rarely. I own a couple of rental properties and the washer and dryer in those break routinely, at least once a year. How can tenants break washers and dryers so often? Are they washing their dishes in them? Are they just throwing in a bunch of gravel and pizza boxes just to stick it to me? Gah!

Video: Father

Earthly Father, Heavenly Father

Slip-N-Slide

We live in a very hilly neighborhood. Generally speaking I really enjoy the winding bobbing roads. Last night was different. We had an ice storm, which made the steep road in front of our house a big slipper slide. Some people inexplicably thought they could drive down the hill. I was scrapping the ice off our driveway when I saw one attempt. She slid all the way down and crashed into our bushes. (We have bushes lining the street. And thank goodness too, because if they weren't there I would have had several cars in my yard last night.) I spent some time digging her out before returning to our driveway. I then went in the house and soon another guy crashed into the bushes in a different spot, taking out our mailbox. I put on my boots again and dug him out as well. When I woke up this morning there was a flashing yellow light. I peeked out the window to see a snowplow high centered on the retaining wall between us and the neighbors. Those are boulders that he knocked onto my lawn. I'm not sure how I am going to lift those back on top of the wall. Winters are going to be interesting around here.

The National Debt Made Easy

Bed Covers

I like to have the bed covers loose, so that I can wrap them around my feet to keep them warm. My wife likes them tucked in tight, also so that her feet stay warm. Until now, I thought it was just a matter of preference. Now I realize that my way is indeed better, at least in one way.

Spending

What is the White House trying to divert our attention from by focusing on gun control?

That recessed lighting in my front room. I did that on Saturday! Now we don't have to live with that single lamp. It's so nice to have light.

Dang!

Leadership

Leadership: Making everyone stand around you in a semi circle as you wax eloquent in a halting diatribe. "Hey Joe, bring me my scepter and a mojito!"