Category: Random Babblings

Act well thy part

There used to be a building near Stirling Castle in Scotland, which had an inscription carved above the door “What-e’er thou art, act well thy part.” The building was eventually torn down, but the engraved stone was taken to Salt Lake City. I’ve seen it, and ever since have contemplated its meaning. The last couple of weeks I have especially been thinking about it.

As I think about it, another of my favorite philosophies comes to mind: “anything worth doing is worth doing incredibly well.”

I find it a healthy mental exercise on occasion (probably once per quarter or so) to divide my life into the “roles” that I fulfil. That is, to ask the question, “what am I?” Some of those might include being a husband, a businessman, a computer programmer, a musician, etc… When examining the individual roles, I can ask myself if I’m a “good one.” Am I a good husband? Am I a good businessman? Am I a good musician? Taking the time to figure out what it means to be “a good one,” and then planning how I can become better allows for great introspection, focus, and planning (and sometimes, I realize that I’ve taken on a role that I don’t really want or need, and having defined that, I can abandon the role).

So ask yourself, “What am I?” “Am I a good one?”

Are you a cyclist? Be a good one.

Are you a cook? Be a good one.

Are you a teacher? Be a good one.

Are you a mother or a father? Be a good one.

And so on….

Remember, anything worth doing is worth doing incredibly well. If it’s not worth doing well, than it may not be worth doing at all. We should never accept mediocrity from ourselves – we can be better.

“What-e’er thou art, act well thy part.”

A little more on Corned Beef and Cabbage

There was some concern here as to whether my assertion that Corned Beef and Cabbase is not traditional Irish fare, but rather and Irish-American dish. Here’s the story:

The Irish cuisine most closely related is bacon and cabbage – a traditional Irish easter meal in which a salted bacon joint would be boiled with cabbage and potatoes. In the 19th century, as Irish immigrants became numerous on the east coast of the United States, particularly in New England, they found that corned beef was a palatable alternative to bacon and was more readily available from the Jewish butchers that were common. Corned beef was (and still is) also quite a bit less expensive than bacon, which was important when food and funds were not as plentiful as one would like.

So corned beef and cabbage is not traditionally Irish, but is of decidedly Irish-American origin. There’s even more information about the dish on wikipedia and kitchenproject.

Whew!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a post on this blog.  Thankfully, Marcia’s picture quizzes have kept it alive while I’ve been “away.”

I haven’t really been physically absent, I’ve just been in crazy finish-the-product-and-get-it-out-the-door mode for the last 3 weeks, finishing up a new version of the software that I write.  I finally finished it last week, then had to deal with some other problems early this week, and yesterday, March 14, we finally “shipped” version 5 of our software, the best version we’ve done yet.

So, without that hovering over me and keeping me chained to my computer for 20 hours a day (yes, there were several days last week when I got about 4 hours of sleep), I finally have some time to do some other things I’ve been putting off, like reading a few new books, cleaning my desk, and blogging.

You will be hearing much more from me in the coming weeks.

Survey Says…

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:30
2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds, I have a real one
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Pirates of the Caribbean 2
4. What is your favorite TV show? Quantum Leap or Dr. Phil
5. What did you have for breakfast? Milk, clementine, banana, unfrosted strawberry poptart
6. What is your middle name? Anne
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian
8. What foods do you dislike? Swimming kinds
9. Your favorite Potato chip? Cool ranch doritos – these potatoes are made with corn
10. Favorite CD you’ve been listening to lately? Wedding mix – our mix
11. What kind of car do you drive? 1994 Ford – no rearview mirror
12. Favorite sandwich? PB & J
13. What characteristics do you despise? Liars
14. What are your favorite clothes? Bib-overalls and toe socks
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? The Vatican
16. Favorite brand of clothing? Hanes
17. Where would you want to retire? Where ever my husband is
18. Favorite time of day? Early morning
19. Where were you born? In a hospital (Mt Pleasant, Iowa)
20. What is your favorite sport to watch? bowling, at least I didn’t say golf
21. Pepsi or Coke? Caffeine-free Dr. Pepper
22. Beavers or Ducks? beavers – ducks don’t have teeth
23. Are you a morning person or night owl? Both, but I like mornings much more better
24. Pedicure or Manicure? Manicure, I don’t let people touch my feet
25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? I got married
26. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A ballerina or teacher
27. What is your best childhood memory? Summers playing with my cousins Laura & Kandi
28. Ever been toilet papering? Yes, very yes.
29. Been in a car accident? Yes, never while driving
30. Favorite restaurant? DuncanDonuts in Chile
31. Favorite flower? White Rose
33. Favorite ice cream? BlueBunny
34. Favorite fast food restaurant? Burger King
35. How many times did you fail your drivers test? A proud ZERO
36. From whom did you get your last e-mail? Jacob
37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? FarmKing
38. Last person you went to dinner with? Jacob, Dan, Steve, & Fulton
39. How many tattoos do you have? Two of Jack Sparrow, but the directions say they will wear off in 2-4 days
40. What time did you finish this survey? in about 4 minutes
41. Favorite magazine? Reader’s Digest
42. If you could meet any famous person, who would it be? Harrison Ford or Julia Roberts
43. If you could choose another first name, what would it be? Skylar
44. If you could change your profession right now, what would you be doing? Will my boss see this…I work with my husband

All about me!

While we usually delete emails that start with FW: without giving them a second thought, for some reason Marcia actually read one today that had a “a bunch of random questions about you” in it. We decided that we’d play along, but rather than annoy people who also dislike the letters F and W in their email subject lines, we’d post our responses here, on the blog.

Here’s mine:

1. What time did you get up this morning? About 11:00

2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Pirates of the Carribean 2

4. What is your favorite TV show? Good Eats

5. What did you have for breakfast? Cereal – Marshmallow Mateys

6. What is your middle name? Ryan

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Seafood

8. What foods do you dislike? I’m a very unpicky eater, but I’m not very fond of lima beans or caviar

9. Your favorite Potato chip? Sour cream & onion Baked Lays

10. Favorite CD you’ve been listening to lately? Mormon Tabernacle Choir – Consider the Lillies

11. What kind of car do you drive? Honda Accord

12. Favorite sandwich? Reuben

13. What characteristics do you despise? Closed mindedness and self-centeredness

14. What are your favorite clothes? Blue jeans and a simple but nice shirt

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Tuscany – for the food!

16. Favorite brand of clothing? Old Navy

17. Where would you want to retire? Anywhere where the church is strong that isn’t in Utah.

18. Favorite time of day? Very late at night

19. Where were you born? Provo, Utah

20. What is your favorite sport to watch? Marching band

21. Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi, though I don’t really care for either

22. Beavers or Ducks? Ducks

23. Are you a morning person or night owl? Night owl, definitely

24. Pedicure or Manicure? Pedicure, I suppose. I’m not that metrosexual, though.

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? I’m married!

26. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A pilot.

27. What is your best childhood memory? Being with my family

28. Ever been toilet papering? Yes, more than I should admit

29. Been in a car accident? Yes. Twice. Less than a month apart.

30. Favorite restaurant? T.G.I. Friday’s

31. Favorite flower? Roses. They’re pretty and smell good and taste good (really!)

33. Favorite ice cream? Homemade vanilla (not plain vanilla, I mean stuff that tastes really vanilla-ey)

34. Favorite fast food restaurant? In’n’out burger.

35. How many times did you fail your drivers test? None. Got it right the first time.

36. From whom did you get your last e-mail? My business credit card payment processor.

37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? The nearest
Steinway dealership

38. Last person you went to dinner with? Marcia, Fulton, Dan, and Steve

39. How many tattoos do you have? None.

40. What time did you finish this survey? I don’t know, I’m not done yet.

41. Favorite magazine? Bicycling

42. If you could meet any famous person, who would it be? I’d like to go biking
with Lance Armstrong, go to dinner with Emeril Lagasse, attend a lecture by Stephen Hawking, learn about public speaking from Steve Jobs, or do an acting workship with Johnny Depp.

43. If you could choose another first name, what would it be? Pedro. But only Marcia will know why.

44. If you could change your profession right now, what would you be doing? I’d have Curtis Stone‘s job.
There.

More than you ever wanted to know about me. I wonder what Marcia will say!

I Scream! You Scream! We All Scream for Ice Cream!

I love ice cream! My two current favorites are Bunny Tracks and Peanut Butter Brownie Sensation. Oh, then there is a seasonal Cinnamon. Birthday Cake flavored is yummy too, I prefer it without the sprinkles. Mint Chocolate-chip is good. While I am not a great fan of Rootbeer, it is good with Vanilla ice cream. Peaches and Cream is probably my favorite with real chunks of fruit. I love Strawberry ice cream, but not the kind that has the big clots of shredded fruit in it.

I hate doing dishes though, so one (this one) must eat from a cone to truely enjoy the experience.