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Showing posts from January, 2009

Stiffneckedness

Several times in the past, including recently, I have had a sore, stiff neck. Usually this is caused by overexerting myself. Most recently I went down to Lake Jackson Texas to join the Mormon Helping Hands and clean up fallen trees all day after Huricane Ike. Whenever I get a stiff neck it makes me think of Laman and Lemual as well as other wicked men in the scriptures. I felt like I could understand what was meant in the scriptures by having a stiff neck, not after actually having a physically stiff neck, but after understanding that the head of the body is symbolic of God. God is the head of the body, the head of the church, and needs to be our head in life. The head gives instructions to the body and the body follows. When God asks us to obey we need to follow. It is obvious that whenever there is a reference to stiffneckedness in the scriptures it is in reference to someone who chooses not to obey. When you have a stiff neck it is difficult to turn your head. The full range of moti

Keeping the Proper Focus in Life

My senior year of high school I decided to try pole vaulting. There were not very many people on the team that did pole vaulting and we needed more people, so I decided to try it out. Shanna Mailloux on the team had a personal trainer and was very skilled at pole vaulting; we often went to her for advice. One day we asked her to watch us and give us suggestions on how to improve. When it was my turn, I ran down the track towards the bar. After reaching the bar and inevitably messing up, I went to her to see how I could improve. She quizzed me to see if I could tell her what I did wrong and I tried to think of what it was. She asked me where my eyes were while I was running. So I told her that I looked at the box, the bar, her and the other girls standing by. She was very pretty and so were most of the girls on the track team. Then, she proceeded to teach me a lesson that I will never forget. I have heard it many times before and since in various forms but mostly theoretically, here it

The Compost Cooking Process

The compost cooking process: 1) Air 2) Water 3) Heat 4) Organic Materials 5) Mixing 6) Structure 7) Rest 1 - A compost pile needs to breath. This allows for aerobic decomposition. If it does not breath the compost goes through an anaerobic fermentation; this causes foul odors, amongst other things. Aeration is necessary for rapid odor-free decomposition. There are two typical methods for aeration. Turning the materials is the most common or forced air systems usually for larger piles. Oxygen is needed for the soil organisms as well. 2 - All living things need water. A compost pile has a host of living things both being broken down and doing the breaking down. If the soil is too wet the air is removed causing anaerobic fermentation. If it is too dry there can be no chemical reactions to break down the materials. It needs to be moist like a sponge. The proper moisture level is about 55% to 65%. You can take a handful from the pile and squeeze it and it does not drip with wat