Fiesta Bowl Countdown

Six days and counting...

The Fiesta Bowl is almost here and the tickets from Boise State are gone. They sold out pretty quick.

Boise State sells out of bowl tickets

BOISE, Idaho

Boise State sold out of its allotment of more than 17-thousand Fiesta Bowl tickets yesterday, two days before fans who are not season-ticket holders, students, or staff got their run at them.
The school will announce early this week if it has acquired any additional tickets, which would go on sale Thursday.Boise State had 15-hundred tickets left at the start of yesterday, at the end of the two-week sale reserved for students and staff. The tickets were being sold for 150 dollars each.B-S-U expects approximately 20-thousand fans to attend the Fiesta Bowl. The 9th-ranked Broncos face 7th-ranked Oklahoma on January 1st in Glendale.Fans can still buy tickets through Oklahoma, and some local travel agencies that resell tickets. Oklahoma announced Saturday it still had 200 tickets left.Tailgate party tickets and parking passes are still available through Boise State.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


This week I will try to post the preparations that we are making for our Feista Bowl party. The first step is getting Christmas taken down. The kids made a haul. So our living room looks like Santa DID crash his sleigh at our house. Check the Peterson Family Web Page pictures.

Need a personal tank?

I had to share this. Not sure who'll see it, but I did not want to forget it. Who couldn't use a personal tank.

Letter to William W. 'Bill' Deal

I want to pass along a message that I received. I agree with it whole-heartedly.
"Idahoans should be reacting with disbelief and outrage to the action of the Idaho House Republican leadership. They have refused to recognize and accept the results of November's election.

With a gain of six House seats, there should now be three instead of two Democratic House members on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

But the Republican leadership team (Denney, Moyle, Bedke and Roberts) decided to give the Democrats only two, the same number as in the past two sessions.

With 72.8 per cent of the House membership, the Republicans are claiming 80 per cent of the House budget seats.

The budget committee is the most important committee in the legislature. Now the House Republicans are saying they should retain a 16-4 majority notwithstanding the results of the election.

This is not just a disagreement between Republicans and Democrats. It goes to the essence of our system of Democratic and representative government.

Idahoans, whether Republicans or Democrats, should recognize the significance of what is happening. Representative government is being hijacked.

At the very least I would hope that people in this group would express yourselves in letters to the editor and letters and messages to GOP legislators and legislative leaders."

27 is closer to 30 than it is to 20 and for the leadership to think otherwise shows their arrogance. Republicans lost in those districts for a reason, those constituents should not be denied.

I hope that you can exercise reasonable thought with your fellow legislators.

We'll see what he says. Looks like the new session is off to a combative start.

You are So Zune...Be there or be Zune!

Quit being a Zune, let's go party!
It has been a few weeks and Microsoft's Zune is...well less than spectacular. In fact I have yet to see a review where the reviewer didn't compare the Zune to an iPod and then knock the Zune for lack of features that people really want. John Gruber at Daring Fireball said it pretty well "If the Zune’s best week was its first week, it’s in trouble — and it looks to me like its sales are sinking, not rising". So I want to get ahead of the curve and start using Zune as an adjective meaning "uncool" like "square" was used in the 1950's. I think that this could definitely be the start of new slang.

Here is another great Bronco article.

This is from our friends to the Northwest. Here is the link.

Here’s a thought: Instead of a Fiesta, give Boise a Rose

JOHN MCGRATH; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Before I make the case why the Rose Bowl needs Boise State more than Boise State needs the Rose Bowl, let me point out that I’ve got no dog in this hunt.

I didn’t attend Boise State. None of my friends or relatives went to school there, either.

I once met a Boise State student – Coby Karl, son of former SuperSonics coach George Karl – but we didn’t discuss college, as Coby happened to be sitting on his dad’s lap at the time. The Sonics had just beaten Phoenix in a 1993 playoff game. After listening to his father answer questions from reporters for several minutes, Coby finally had heard enough.

“Dad,” he asked, “can we go home and play catch now?”

Thirteen years later, the kid is a star guard for Boise State’s basketball team.

Go Broncos.

It’s not that I’m a closet Boise State fan. I mean, if I’m rooting for a school that’s 12-0 – on its way to a New Year’s bowl – I’m telling it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere.

What I am is a fan of the Rose Bowl, or at least what the Rose Bowl once was: A showdown between the best football team on the West Coast against the best football team from the Midwest.

Had the traditional bowl system not been “repaired” by the Bowl Championship Series, the Rose Bowl would’ve been positioned to hold the national championship contest between No. 1 Ohio State and the presumptive challenger, Southern California.

But the Buckeyes are booked for a Jan. 8 date in Glendale, Ariz., and the Trojans need only beat UCLA to join them.

The good news for the Little Old Granddaddy from Pasadena is that it’s the Rose Bowl’s turn to choose the best of the rest. Projections are pointing to Big Ten Conference runner-up Michigan against Oklahoma (if the Sooners get past Nebraska in the Big 12 title game next weekend), or Michigan against Louisiana State.

Does Michigan-Oklahoma fire you up? Does Michigan-LSU?

These are big-time teams from big-time conferences, but nothing about either scenario screams “New Year’s Day in Pasadena!” Nothing about either scenario even whispers it.

So here’s an off-the-wall projection:

Michigan against Boise State.

Granted, Boise State’s undefeated season – it included a victory over Sacramento State – was achieved not so much against the ranks of college football’s “Who’s Who” than college football’s “Who’s That?” To call the Broncos schedule soft is like saying Paula Abdul was not born to be a homicide detective.

On the other hand, Boise State trounced Oregon State, the only opponent it faced from a league affiliated with the BCS. And it was the Beavers who were responsible for USC’s first regular-season defeat since grade-school desks were built with ink wells.

Boise State is bound for a BCS bowl, most likely the Fiesta Bowl, and giddy Broncos fans will show up in Arizona on planes detoured through a layover on Cloud Nine. But the Broncos belong in the Rose Bowl, an event steeped in the premise of a protagonist based in the West.

There are 39 players from California on Boise State’s roster, 20 from Idaho, five from Oregon, three from Washington. We can debate whether the Broncos deserve to be ranked among the top 10 teams in the country, but there’s no doubt they are the second-best in the West, behind USC. And barring an epic upset next weekend, USC looks like it’ll be preoccupied during the New Year’s Day prelude to the most consequential bowl.

Before champions from the Big Ten and what is now the Pacific-10 Conference became annual postseason foes in the wake of World War II, the Rose Bowl was built around a host from the West Coast. Once in a while, two teams represented the West. For instance, Mare Island, assembled from the Navy base in San Francisco, beat Camp Lewis (known these days as Fort Lewis) in the 1918 Rose Bowl.

Only twice has the Rose Bowl veered from the status quo: In 2002, the BCS arranged for Miami to take on Nebraska (the Hurricanes won 37-14). In 2005, Texas, behind the outrageously talented Vince Young, edged Michigan in a 38-37 thriller.

This just in: Vince Young doesn’t play quarterback for Oklahoma, and he doesn’t play quarterback for LSU. So why not arrange a West Coast foe for Michigan? Isn’t 90 years of tradition worth preserving?

The Rose Bowl committee, which ought to be more vigilant than any of us about sustaining tradition, won’t buy it. Ever haughty, Rose Bowl executives look at Boise State as a newcomer unfit to attend college football’s oldest postseason party.

A team representing the Western Athletic Conference? What next, a co-champion from a junior college circuit?

And there’s the Boise State heritage: Until the Broncos ran the table on a slate of inconsequential opponents, they were famous as the team that played its home games on a blue field – a concession to birds in the Boise area prone to mistake green football fields for landing pads.

Boise State doesn’t cut it, which means that Michigan probably will face either Oklahoma or LSU in the Rose Bowl.

I’ll watch Oklahoma-Michigan, as long as it doesn’t conflict with another game’s fantastic finish. And I might even tune into Michigan-LSU for a minute or two.

But I’d make it a point to camp in front of the TV for Michigan-Boise State, a classic match-up between the blue bloods from the Big Ten and the mid-major outcasts from the blue field – the big-timers used to hearing “The Victors” blared for 105,000 fawning spectators in Ann Arbor against the guys whose pulses race to, uh, whatever song the BSU band plays for them before kickoff.

All I know is that they’re from the West, they’re 12-0, and they’d give me the only reason I can think of to care about the Rose Bowl.

Go Broncos.

Bronco Update

I found a video of some Bronco fans at the Nevada game last week. Looks like it was fun. Go Orange! Go Big Blue! Fight, Fight, BSU!

BCS #8...Computers don't lie

Boise State BCS Bound! Boise State did it. They slaughtered Nevada and finished a 12-0 season ranked #8 in the BCS, #10 in the AP top 25, and #9 in the USA Today poll. They have performed superbly. We went to my dads to watch the game. We enjoyed turkey noodle soup that Tammy prepared from the Thanksgiving leftovers. It was yummy. Warmed us up quite well after working on Christmas lights all morning. Relaxing with a hot bowl of soup and watching a Bronco Victory, a great way to spend a Saturday in November. Now after winning, Boise State awaits the invitation to a BCS bowl game, probably the Fiesta Bowl. We should find out by this weekend. There have been great stories about Boise State and the BCS here is one example :

SPORTS COMMENTARY: DAVID WHITLEY

How about Boise State in BCS title game?

After all, Broncos and Buckeyes are the only unbeaten teams.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

There are only five shopping days left before the Bowl Championship Series bids are announced. Have you bought your earplugs yet?

Here are some hints which institute of higher football should face Ohio State in the BCS championship game.

The school colors are orange and blue. It had a puny non-conference schedule. Its entire running game doesn't consist of quarterback draws.

That eliminates the Florida Gators. We are left with America's most under-respected team. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the Boise State Broncos.

Go ahead. Laugh, roll your eyes, make potato jokes. But big things can come out of Idaho.

Philo Farnsworth came out of Rigby, Idaho, and he invented television. Without him we wouldn't even be having this debate because TV gives the BCS a zillion dollars not to have a playoff.

Notre Dame's badminton team gets on TV more than the Broncos, yet Boise State has built a dynasty. It's 39-1 since joining the Western Athletic Conference. More importantly, it has a couple of numbers none of the other contenders can match: 12-0.

As in undefeated. As in untied. As in try to undermine that, you snotty big-conference boys.

"Let them play six in a row against the SEC and see if they're still undefeated," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. Yo, coach, get back to us when your team stops blowing 28-14 leads to South Carolina.

The Broncos haven't done that. They thumped their archrival, the dreaded Nevada Wolf Pack.

They have the best running back in America, sophomore Ian Johnson. He leads the nation in touchdowns (24), has more yards (1,613) than anyone but Garrett Wolfe and Steve Slaton and is averaging 6.5 per pop.

Jared Zabransky will go down as the finest quarterback in NCAA history whose last name begins with a Z. And no school has as distinctive a field as the famed blue turf at Bronco Stadium.

These points are highly subjective, but so is everything else in the BCS verbal brawl. Was Michigan's win over Notre Dame more impressive than Southern Cal's? Gators scoff at a Michigan-Ohio State rematch, but they all were for a sequel when Florida beat FSU for the 1996 national championship.

USC fans think Boise is on Neptune, but the Trojans' lone loss was to Oregon State. And guess who demolished those Beavers 42-14? Boise State did.

"They were very good," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "I think anybody on any given day would have a hard time with Boise."

How sweet would it be if that day came on Jan. 8 against Ohio State? OK, so it's not going to happen unless USC and Florida lose on Saturday, LSU goes on probation and Michigan secedes from the Union.

But since we have to have the argument, the Broncos deserve to be in the conversation. Just listen to their fight song:

Go Orange

Go big Blue

Fight! Fight!

B-S-U

If those aren't the perfect initials for this entire debate, my name is Philo Farnsworth.

David Whitley writes for the Orlando Sentinel.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week is here. We are having two Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday we are having a dinner with Tammy's family at her parents home. Then on Friday we are going to eat at my Dad's. There should be plenty of leftovers for everyone. There are many things that I am thankful for this year. I am thankful for my family, especially my wife. She is such an inspiration to me, she does so much for our kids and she puts up with so much from me. This year with Gabe starting kindergarten Tammy got involved with the PTO (she is the vice-president) and has spear-headed many activities. The kids are great and I love everything they teach me, I learn something new everyday. Last night, I learned from Reece that my hat looks good when I wear it sideways. Gabe and Selah are growing so much. They come home from school each day and amaze me with their knowledge. I am also thankful for faith. Faith helps me as a father and husband face each day knowing that my family will be safe. I love them all so much (especially my sweetheart, Tammy).

Boise State Tailgating... Go Broncos!

Boise State #11! Well, #11 in the BCS and #12 everywhere else. We had a fun time at the game. Cort and I arrived about 7:00 am and there were already people in the location where we were last year. So we moved west a few hundred yards. After we set up we were enjoying the fire and we saw four deer come prancing through the park toward Broadway on the east side of the park. It was pretty peaceful early on, Cort had a funny experience though. I went to get some breakfast burritos from Carl's Jr. and while I was gone a man asked Cort about the parking in the park (they have 2 hour parking from Sept- May because of Boise State classes), Cort looked at the sign right by where we were set up and then told the guy that he would be alright since it is only May thru September. Then the guy looked at him like he was crazy. That man now knew what we have known for years. Everyone else showed up by about 9:30 am. In attendance were Gary and his three sons, Gary, O'Dell, Carley, Cort, Emily , Tammy , and Chris. It was a fun time. Check out the pictures below.

Boise State vs. Utah State

Boise State vs Utah State

Boise State Vs. Utah State Tomorrow is the big game. Well not that big, but it is a conference game, so it is not something that Boise State can ignore. We are having a little tailgate party in the morning in the park across the river from the stadium, it should be fun. We had get together last year at the same location and it was fun. Cort and I are going there at o'dark thirty to get the spot, (click to view the spot) then everyone is coming later. We are going to take a portable fire pit and set up a good spot. Last year there were a few people there when we arrived at 8:00 AM. This year we will get there earlier. Go Orange Go Big Blue Fight, Fight, BSU!

New City Ordinance

Another reason Idaho gets the reputation that it has.
"Idaho Town: Buy a Gun to Fight Off Refugees
The town of Greenleaf in Idaho has passed an ordinance asking all residents that do not have an objection to have a gun in their house to protect themselves from refugees fleeing disasters.
Approximately 80% of the 862 residents already own a firearm. Local citizens say that the town is supporting the Second Amendment and that the new ordinance will keep the menace of high crime at bay as the area grows.
The most violent thing reported in the town founded by Quakers in the last two years was a fistfight. The exemption for people with an objection, religious or otherwise, was added after opposition from a local church."
Source: Newsday

I live right down the road from Greenleaf and this is pretty accurate. The city council passed this resolution. I guess they think that having every farmer, migrant worker, and citizen should be armed to the kilt. I would hate to be the guy who stumbles to the wrong home after a night at Burke's Lounge, they would be in for a surprise.

Boise State/WAC/Nevada

Boise State and University of Nevada may be part of a conference that when it comes to college football is seen as less than stellar. But this week Boise State, Nevada, and the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) did something that not many collegiate athletic organizations would, they stood up to sports powerhouse, ESPN. On November 1st after the Fresno State game EPSN wanted Boise State to move it's game with San Jose State to a later time and then they would broadcast both the San Jose and Nevada games. ESPN wanted the Nevada game moved to Friday November 24th instead of on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Boise State, Nevada and the WAC thought this was a bad idea and they did not cave. It shows that even though Boise State and the WAC love the ESPN coverage, they are not going to let them dictate what they should do. When Boise State goes undefeated and get a BCS bowl bid ESPN will be begging to get all the coverage they can.
Read more here.

Election Day

Today is Election day. I will visit my polling place on my way home from work. I hope that I don't have to wait in any lines. Voting is important because it lets a person vote with their conscience for the person that will best represent them, so if you haven't yet... Go Vote!

Idaho Press Tribune

Just a quick note today, I was published in the local paper. I wrote letter to the editor that was put in as a "Guest Opinion", it was a re-work of an article that I posted here in June. I have included a link to the article. Click here

Peace on Earth....

In this time of war and turmoil in the world and polarizing election coverage, on drive home last night a song played that made me think about how I felt. It was Peace on Earth, by U2.

Heaven on Earth
We need it now
I'm sick of all of this
Hanging around
Sick of sorrow
Sick of pain
Sick of hearing again and again
That there's gonna be
Peace on Earth

Where I grew up
There weren't many trees
Where there was we'd tear them down
And use them on our enemies
They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you

The part that hit me was "They say that what you mock will surely overtake you and you become the monster so the monster will not break you". It happens all the time and so subtly that people try to prevent or work against something and then they are what they were trying to prevent. I guess I shouldn't look at others with animosity when they hold a differing opinion than mine and I shouldn't look for opportunities to belittle then either.

Politicians will say anything.

Politicians will say anything. I mean anything. This goes for politicians that run for public office or run for a position of a local board. I just read an article in the Idaho Statesman in reference to the large amount of money that Butch Otter has raised for his Gubernatorial campaign. Then I was referred to a blog by Betsy Russell from the Spokesman-Review with her Eye on Boise. It appears that Otter refused to participate in the traditional statewide debates sponsored by the League of Womens Voters, The Idaho Press Club and Idaho Public Television and claimed that it was because they were not inviting all candidates. This appears to be completely false. Betsy Russell is the President of the Idaho Press Club, was in the meetings when they were making decisions on the debates and they ha always intended for all candidates to be invited. So Otter was just blowing smoke to avoid debating the other candidates in a state-wide forum. You can read Betsy Russell's take on it here advantage. I know of instances where people who don't like the way that an elected body has made a decision go about . It is the entry "Debatable debating about debates". It seems that people always want to manipulate the situation underhandedly to try and change the outcome to match their desires. I guess some people never learned to play well with others.

Hodgepodge

A couple of brief topics. Traffic. Autumn.
Traffic.
Traffic is not fun. I do not live in Los Angeles or the Bay Area or Denver. I do not live in a place that to most people would be extremely populated. But here in the Treasure Valley; Nampa, Meridian, Boise, Idaho we have traffic. We do not have huge crashes that cause our traffic congestion not a large business where the majority of the commuters work. We have political leaders who are short-sighted and choose not to plan for the future fearing that it would effect their careers. How can I say this? In the 1990’s there was many projects that improved the interstate in the Boise area and lanes were added from Boise to Meridian. In the 1990’s you would not have needed to be a visionary to know that the population would continue to shift west from Boise to Meridian and to Canyon County. So now we have congestion each day. We are not the only metro area to experience this, but in Idaho politicians believe they need to re-invent the wheel and have chosen not to look to other cities and how they have dealt with congestion. And so they wait. The other reason for the congestion is the people who know not how to drive on the interstate. These are the people who drive slowly out of fear or because they will not allow themselves to go over 45 miles per hour in the morning. These are also the people who must slow down to be able to look out their window as they drive (I wonder how they walk and chew gum?). These are also the people who use the turn lanes to merge into traffic, not waiting to merge but actually driving in the turn lane until they get in. These are only two of the factors that account for congestion from Nampa to Boise everyday. I would like to say that I have hope for the future, but as a resident of this valley for over 25 years I can say that the status quo is what voters around here like. So the next time elections come around and people vote with only one issue as their deciding factor they are abdicating everything else and they should not complain, because they got what they earned.

Autumn.
Yesterday my son, who is in kindergarten said, “Dad, did you know autumn is another word for fall?” I said “Yes, I did. I learned that in school.” He has learned so much already in his class. He has also become more of a help around the house. I think this comes from working in a classroom setting and getting along with others. My daughter who is in pre-school is also very quick to share her new-found knowledge with me. The other night she was working on her letters and writing her name and was very anxious to show me. How is this related to autumn? Because in autumn families get into their routines and as I have been a member of a family for all of my life it is nice to get into schedule of things again.

That time of year....Again!

Just a quick post about the return of Autumn. How can it be you say, it is still August. Tonight is the season opener of Boise State football. Now, I won't be able to attend in person but we will be watching it at home. Boise State vs. Sacramento State, this is their first meeting. The Broncos should do well. To show how excited I am I wanted to show my desktop screen from work and give you something to listen to.
Desktop Screen
Listen Here


GO BRONCOS!

Vacation...

Vacation.
We just got back from taking a “real” family vacation. We loaded up the kids and drove to Denver, CO to see some friends. It was fun, we drove all night to get there so the kids would sleep and it worked pretty well. We stopped about 3:00 am to take a quick nap, and then we were on our way. We were there for about six days. It was a lot of fun. We took the kids to a water park and they had a blast. My brother-in-law was in Denver for work so we were able to see him for a little while also. I was able to visit one of the “Apple” stores in the area (twice actually). I took the kids to the Apple store and they were able to play on some of the eMacs and they loved it. On the way home we stopped in Pocatello for a family reunion.
So in the next few weeks I am going to try to collect my thoughts on the vacation and what not. Check it out and see.

Alias

Alias.
So I am sort of a sci-fi show person. I like some TV and movies of that genre, I am by no means an expert or addict. Except for a few things. Right now it is Alias. I know you’re thinking “Wasn’t that show cancelled since Ben Affleck’s wife had her baby?” The answer is YES. Alias had its series finale on May 22, 2006 after a five year run. I didn’t start watching Alias until near the end of season one, but after that my wife and I were hooked. We made sure that if we weren’t going to be home to watch then we had a way to record it. This past year TNT started running reruns of Alias, I made a point to set the DVR to record when it came on so I could enjoy my favorite episodes again. My wife went along the first time TNT went through all the episodes, but when they started again, she wasn’t too interested. So I watch them now when I have time, making sure that I don’t fill up the DVR.
At times, I wonder why I like it so much. I think that it has to do with the relationship dynamics as they are presented in the show. Sydney and her father Jack, his limited disclosures and deception all in the best interest of his daughter. Sydney, having to deceive her friends about her actual profession (they thought she worked at a bank, not for the CIA or SD-6). Irina Derevko (aka Laura Bristow) her initial deception to Jack and also her limited disclosure to Sydney and Jack years later. This family dynamic is very interesting. There is also the intrigue; I always liked that suspense that comes before the ultimate resolution (see The Hunt for Red October). As long as TNT or some station shows the reruns I will be on the lookout for Alias and while watching the episodes perusing the episode guide to see what will happen next.

Family Pictures...in the bush

We took some family pictures the other night and these are the results. It was for an upcoming family reunion later in the month. We went to a greenbelt/ walking path near our home. We had great-grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins.

























And here is Gabe after a haircut.

Which Pole are you from?

Polarization…“The process by which the public opinion divides and goes to the extremes” (Wikipedia). This is a huge problem in American Society. If you don’t believe that it is, think of how many times in the past few years that different states have been classified and either red or blue. This portrayal of ideals from the media and government that you are either “with us or against us” gives the perception that there is only extreme ways to think. I was watching the “Today Show” this morning and they had a person on promoting a book and the purpose of this book was to promote one way of thinking, while condemning the opposing view. Not trying to promote a line of thinking on its merits solely, but at the expense of the other. How does that help to bring a solution to any situation?

What happened to compromise? What happened to looking at the information and then together finding the appropriate solution, not attacking the other person until somebody gives in? That would be an awful way to have a marriage or any relationship; they would be over before they grew to anything worth value. Seeing in black and white values would make life very difficult. You could never accept less than perfect. Imagine if the father of the prodigal son was that way, the son could have never returned. I am sure glad that things are not really that way. People actually have the opportunity to change and make their lives better.

The person on the “Today Show” was promoting a book, so they were there for one reason; money. There are people that make their living polarizing people. There are people who get elected using fear to polarize people. This is both on the liberal and conservative and in-between sides. I don’t believe that people are only red OR blue; I think there are quite a few shades of purple out there.

Dixie Chicks...

Dixie Chicks:
So the Dixie Chicks have a new CD out “Taking the Long Way”. It is their first new material since the controversy of 2003. If you are not aware of that then search Google and you’ll find plenty on it. The new album is sparking controversy of it’s own. The Dixie Chicks are not ashamed of what they have done, and they should not be. The United States of America gives its citizens the right to speak whatever they want about whoever they want. I found a couple of quotes about this and wanted to share them.

Conservative Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly wrote an essay about the group in Time Magazine’s recent feature “Time 100: People Who Shape Our World.” In his piece, quoted in a story on CMT.com, he wrote that Maines’ “primary mistake” was criticizing Bush on foreign soil. He calls “Not Ready to Make Nice” “a pretty good song. There is no reason not to play it.” “Natalie Maines has paid the price for her remarks. Her life has been threatened, and she remains under siege. That is wrong as well. The woman has the right to believe what she wants to believe. You have a right to reject her beliefs and not to buy her stuff. But to punish her further is not in the spirit of America.”

Country legend Merle Haggard not only defended the Dixie Chicks, but has also sung and spoken critically about the president and the conflict himself. Haggard, who sang pro-America, Vietnam-era songs such as “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” 35 years ago, has a new tune called “America First” which includes the line, “Let’s get out of Iraq and back on track.”
(source: http://www.cushingdaily.com/opinion/cnhinsall_story_143111507.html?keyword=topstory)

How about them apples?

Neighbors...

Neighbors you can’t live with them and you can’t burn down their house. Why is that some people don’t want to act neighborly and talk to their neighbors and instead call a third party, be it the city or home owners association for intervention. Let me paint a scenario… Last summer we installed sprinklers and then in the fall we planted some grass. So it wasn’t until this year that the grass actually began to grow. So last night I extended the time of the sprinklers in the back to help the new grass grow. Apparently there is some fine-tuning that needs to happen for the sprinklers, pressure issues. So when the sprinklers were on last night they flowed into the yard of my neighbor to the south. His house is down hill from mine, so he should expect that water will drain into his yard. When it happened last night, instead of calling or coming over to our house to talk to us he called the city and complained. This is the first time that this has happened and the problem will be resolved, but it irks me that he would be such a jerk about it (do I sound frustrated, I AM). Usually I can handle neighbors and the issues that come along with them, but this guy is driving me crazy so to add fuel to the fire… There is a fence that separates our houses (the one the water crept under) anyway my son was playing in the yard the other day and was kicking a ball against the fence, not at midnight, this was before noon. This neighbor yelled out the backdoor of his house to my son to “stop hitting the fence”, first he was kicking a ball not hitting and second if you didn’t want to deal with neighbors you shouldn’t have built a house in a subdivision. I guess what I am trying to illustrate is that this guy has not been too neighborly. Not that I expect to get along with everyone, but some people just rub you the wrong way.

Macs ARE more secure than windows.(DUH!)

Macs ARE more secure than windows. Don’t believe the hype! Stan Beer writing for iTWire spoke with UNIX expert Con Zymaris regarding this issue. I am going to include some quotes plus a link to the story later on, but I wanted to mention the bullet points that have been true since Mac OS X was introduced in 1999 as Mac OS X server then a client version Mac OS X beta was released in September 2000. That was almost six years ago. For six years UNIX has been the backbone of the Mac OS and has kept the Mac virus free.

"All platforms are capable of getting viruses, including both Mac OSX and Linux. If you did your work, you could create a virus which would infect some Mac systems but not many systems, not by any stretch all Mac systems and you're not likely to do much damage," says Zymaris. According to Zymaris, at the most basic level, Windows machines get infected by malware through poor design, which is not the case with Macs. "Where do these things called viruses come from? In Windows there are a number of different vector approaches. One of them is that somebody sends you a word file and you open it up and get infected. In more recent generations they're blocking these things off by making Word not run macros automatically. So now it comes back and asks you: "Do you want to run this macro?" That's a big mistake. It should not ask you and it should not allow any macros to run at all ever without you specifying yes run this macro. This is neglect in design which is how many Microsoft viruses work.

"Other things that look at first glance to be a really cool idea can be a problem. For instance, we pop this CD-ROM in and Windows automatically recognises it and it runs the software that launches the program installer. That's really cool for Joe and Jane Average. Except when you get a disk with a virus on it and it goes ahead and runs it.

"If you allow the operating system to essentially launch code unbeknownst to the user then you're in deep dog doo-doo. This is essentially what Microsoft has done with Outlook. With Outlook you can send it an email with an attached script and it will go off and execute the script. What insanity is that? This is years after they had a spate of all the Word and Excel macro viruses."

So what happens in the Mac OSX world?
"Now with the Macintosh, let's say Apple did the same thing. Then essentially Macs would be infected via the same approach that Windows is with Outlook, Word and whatever else. However, Apple are clever and they don't provide that kind of facility, so that greatly reduces the chances of their devices getting a virus. "Second port of call is a system where if you put in a disk and run a program that the system will automatically be infected, including its core system components rather than just user data. On Windows, you can put
in a disk and get a virus just by running an .exe file off it. That can do substantial damage to your system because the system internal components aren't substantially protected. Whereas on the Unix based Mac, not the old Macs, and on Linux the system components are protected.

"If you're Joe User, you could never do anything that damages your core operating system. Yes, you could run a program that brings up a virus which runs something that deletes your files - and that is a problem. However, you couldn't do something that damages the system. That's because both Mac and Linux are underpinned by a Unix-based system that has a particular view on who has rights and privileges to access and modify different things in different areas. Windows never really had that which is the other big reason why they get the kinds of viruses that Mac OSX and Linux class just don't get."
So do Mac computers need firewalls and anti-virus protection?
"Essentially no is the answer. Why do we need firewalls? We need them if and only if you have services which offer connectivity from the outside world into your box. So if you're running a standard workstation and it does not have a mail server or an FTP server or a file sharing server or a web server or none of these other things that offer the outside world the ability to come and connect to your box, you don't need a firewall. On the Windows machines by default it goes off and creates all these services that sit there and create these gaping holes. Having said that, firewalls are by default available on OSX and Linux and there is no reason not
to run them if you're running a small office environment.

"As far as anti-virus software is concerned if you're running Mac OSX or Linux, you don't need it. How is a virus going to infect you? If you're a Mac or Linux someone has to send you a program and tell you to login as root and run this program as administrator - that's how you would get a virus. What are the odds of that happening? In the Windows environment, you don't have that kind of rights segmentation, so when you click on that fake greeting card that someone sent you by email, the program will happily infect your system because the system didn't have to ask you to login as administrator and give it permission to make changes to itself. Having said that, there are ways around the system but they take an immense amount of work and, to do real damage, other than deleting files, a virus writer would have to be lucky enough to deliver the payload to someone logged in as administrator."


Apple has recently started marketing the Mac again in TV ads touting the ease of use, security and interoperability of the Mac. This is something that I have know and been communicating to others since 1998. My wife was raised using Macs and when I met her I had not really used computers much and had no preference. After using Macs in college I was hooked. They were easy to use and they did what I was asking them to do without any cryptic messages. We bought our first Mac in 1999, a Blueberry iMac. We still have that computer and it is still used. There have been some RAM upgrades (up to 320MB) and OS upgrades (up to OS X 10.3), but it still has the factory hard drive and processor, a 266 MHz PowerPC G3. Four years ago we bought a second Mac an iBook. It came with OS X 10.1 and has been updated to 10.3 also. We use this as our main computer. How many windows pcs are still being used as a primary computer since 2002? I don’t think there are too many out there. Now the new Intel Macs allow you to install windows xp and have it run as well. You would never need to buy another computer, buy a Mac and if you needed windows instead of buying a pc just buy windows xp and run them both natively on your Mac. Think about all the money that organizations will save on hardware by just purchasing Apple hardware and installing both operating systems. By the end of this year we may be in the market for a new Mac, we’ll have to see what Steve and the gang have for us by then. It is a great time to be a Mac user.

Thank the Maker...(Makers?)

So I have three kids and a wife. My wife is an excellent cook. She loves to find new recipes then add her own flare to them. She gets ideas from online sources and from other places. And the kids and I love to try the new creations.

About four years ago we entered into the 20th century and dropped dial-up internet for high-speed internet, we opted for cable internet. In doing this we also subscribed for cable TV (as they were both discounted when bundled together). After that change there was no going back to dial-up.

What does that have to do with cooking, you’ll see. One of that channels that my wife likes to watch is Food Network, Food TV (she’s even convinced me into liking a couple shows-Good Eats/ $40 a Day). We don’t watch it all the time, but if one of the few shows we like is a re-run then we’ll check Food Network and see if Alton Brown or Rachael Ray are doing anything exciting. My kids have seen some food shows as they play while mom works around the house and has Food TV on in the background. Because of that my kids know who Rachael Ray is and they call her a “maker” because she makes food. When my wife cooks something that they like they will tell her that she is a “good maker”. There have been times when I have called and my wife is doing something around the house and my daughter answers the phone and when I ask her what they are doing, she replies, “watching a maker show”. My kids are still young they are 5, 3, and 9 months so they have not quite caught on to all the words to use in all situations, until then my wife and I will grin whenever we hear them talk about the maker show that is on Food TV.

What to wear? But not for me...

I sort of have an obsession…I love changing how things look. It started with changing desktop wallpaper on my various computers. I was always in the appearance control panel using the latest picture that I found (it drove my wife crazy). Then when I worked for EDS/ HP it was one of the only things that I could change on my computer, so I changed it all the time. When I got a cell phone that would let me make appearance changes I played with that too. I currently have a Sony Ericsson Z520a and I am always scouring various websites looking for new themes and ways to tweak the phone. I have uploaded MP3 and AAC audio files to use as ring tones and even helped my mother-in-law put “Peter and the Wolf” as her ring tone. I found a WAP simulator website that allows me to download themes without being charged on my phone plan. I went to the Sony Ericsson website and registered as a developer to get the Theme Creator application they had to create my own themes and I researched which phones used similar themes so that I could look for them to use with my phone. I have actually created one theme on my own, but I have converted quite a few themes that are for other Sony Ericsson phones that with a little tweak will work on mine. I created one based on images I found online for the new Superman Returns movie. I currently have 48 different theme files on my phone. It is what most of the memory on the phone is used for. (Right now I have a theme called “earphones” that shows a few pairs of earphones dangling on the screen, I got it from the Sony website but it was for another phone and I modified it for my phone.). It has been fun getting to know the ins and outs of my phone and I even headed off a potential error by updating the phone software from the Sony Ericsson site. Technology can be so much fun, from my phone to my iPod I love playing with gadgets. I can defiantly see a day where wireless communication will be the only way people communicate and cell phone/computer/ media content delivery will all be the same thing. So late adopters to cell phones will have a steep learning curve to catch up with the kids. If you have a Z20 or see any cool tricks for it let me know. Chrisrpeterson at gmail.com

Now let's fence!

So here we are almost a year after the sprinkler project was completed and the irrigation water will be turned on April 15. That will be the test to see if the lawn gets the water it needs. We have also started putting in our fence. We are building a six foot cedar fence in the backyard. Our neighbor in back has already built the back (we paid our part of the cost for that) so all we have to do are the sides and the wing fence near the house. Two weeks ago we put in the posts. We had post number 22 going in the ground at 3p.m. when the rain began. Since then we have had a lot of rain, not a flood but too much to go out and work on the fence. I want to get it done so that the kids can have a good place to go play and give us a little more privacy. The next project is to get the landscaping done around the house and under the windows. We are thinking about using some kind of rock, probably black. The contractor put in bark, but both my wife and I are not fond of bark and how it fades over time. We both think that rock ages better. We will see. We are also going to put in a couple fruit trees. We found some grafted apple trees that produce different types of apples that we are going to plant after the fence is in. It has been an experience doing the sprinklers and fence, but I think that next time we will get a house that already has those done.

Your hired!...Or Fired...Or did you quit?

Attrition is a funny thing. When I started my job within about two months almost 50% of the staff had turned over. After six months two more people had left. So we changed a lot and almost every time someone left we had a little lunch/party for them. Then we had a dry spell and after about a year we had another “lunch” today. Two of our esteemed colleagues are leaving to pursue their dreams elsewhere. They will be missed. But this made me think of all the people I have worked with over the years in all of the places where I was employed.

First was with my brother, we mowed lawns. We did that throughout high school and when I went to college my two younger brothers kept up with the business and did it as they went through high school. While I was in high school I worked at Wendy’s. It was a no-brainer job, but they worked well around my school schedule and gave me extra money for my free time. Then I worked for two years as a missionary for my church. During that time I learned how to get along with all kinds of people in all types of situations. I also learned that I AM responsible for how I react; no one can MAKE me feel/ do anything. I took that with me and apply it in many aspects of my life. When I returned home I went to college and worked at a gas station/video store (convenience store). Horkley’s was a local oil company that provided supplies to the agricultural industry. There where many farmers whose families would come in and get movies and such while they were getting fuel and charge it all to the business account. I was the only employee who was not from that area and as such I was treated just like everybody else. Then after finishing with that school I moved and attended another college and I wanted to build on what I had done so I went to work at another convenience store. This time it was in a pretty high-profile place right off the interstate. Being in a larger community there were definitely many different types of people that I worked with. Probably over 100 in almost four years and they left for a variety of reasons. My favorite was a guy who was hired and then never came back after the drug test…Duh! You don’t have to be a genius to know why he never came back. My next real job was with EDS as tech support for HP. I was there for three years then they laid us off and shipped our jobs to Canada. This was definitely another type of attrition. I was looking for a while why I finished grad school and tried to find something in the field I was educated in then I took whatever job I could get. I worked for two months as a collection agent for a credit card company and looked everyday for something else. I ended up working for PSI a contractor for the state doing customer service for child support. Like some of the others it was an interesting job. I learned about how child support works (I hope I never have to deal with it) and how people are the same no matter where the job is. People are either working for the better of the group or for themselves. The PSI job was good but with a wife and two kids to support I was always looking for something else. Finally I ended up at my present job. Maybe later I’ll write more about my employment history, but that is enough for now.

Attrition is a change for all parties involved. The two will be missed.

Big Brother is...listening

I consider myself a pretty moderate person (politically) I feel that people should have many personal freedoms and with that comes with personal responsibility. There are many freedoms that our nation allows us to have that other nations do not share with their citizens. I have friends and family members that are of all political ideologies so I hear many things. During the 90’s many times I would hear from conservative friends that the “socialist” policies of the liberal administration would put us under a communist state and “big brother” would be listening. Yet here we are in the mid 00’s and “big brother” is listening, but it is not a socialist, liberal administration eavesdropping illegally, it is the “compassionate conservatives”. So now numerous (“innocent until being proved guilty”) Americans are being listened to by the “big brother” government.

National security is important and the President should do all he can to protect us, but I come from a culture that has been persecuted by those in the government and even had their execution ordered. Where people were driven from their homes and land because elected officials disagreed with their beliefs and thought they were a threat. This happened numerous times until the people were driven from a land that they chose to a land that no one wanted. No group should be singled out because of rumors and conjecture regarding their activities no matter what people in power “think” they are doing. With God you can not be punished unless you commit a sin and you can not repent for what you have not done. So without committing and action against the United States or its laws how can a person be a criminal?

Macworld 2006~San Francisco

Macworld 2006- San Francisco… Wow! What a morning. New iMac and MacBook Pro. Apple and Intel seem like a good combination. So far what I can see is that there are major speed increases with the new processors. I can’t wait until I can go and test them out (I’ll have to do that at the local Mac store Mac Life). I have to admit that I am a little excited about this. Where I work we use software that is pc-centric so anyone using a Mac has to jump through the virtual pc hoop to get it to work. Using virtual pc can be a pain as Microsoft makes that software and intentionally disables some windows features. With an Intel chip it opens up the door for programs created for Intel processors to run natively, not emulated. Also we are almost in the market for a new Mac in our family. We currently have an iMac g3 266 (blueberry) and an iBook g3 600. The iBook is used more than the iMac so it is what we would replace. So we are probably going to wait until the iBook line is revamped and look into that. There were so many rumors about what would be announced, but the Intel transition is here. I wholeheartedly embrace it.