So we made it back in one piece, sort of. Moab was a ton of fun; we did a couple of trail runs, some hiking, and a jet-boat tour. Only downside(s) my hand is all messed up, and my jeep decided to die on me (though at least it waited until we were done with the trail rides. I also got to change the transmission fluid in the Durango since it overheated towing the jeep down. On the bright side, the food was good, the games were fun, the sights (and weather) were beautiful, and we all got an intense workout on our “race” up to Delicate Arch. We have hiked Delicate probably 7 times now; Ike went the whole way on his feet this time. I would really like to do another hike but we keep going down with new people and they want to see the famous arch. It was pretty intense since I figured the hike should take about 3 hours, at a slow pace for the kids, and we all got to the top within 40 minutes. It made us super early for the Jet-boat tour but it was a nice work out.
We did Fins-N-Things in Slickrock state park and Gemini Bridges. My mom rented a jeep (which Mike drove most of the day), so it was nice to have a second vehicle. I am just hoping to have got Mike infected with the 4 wheelin bug.
In light of the car troubles I am once again thinking about looking to make a change. Though this time it would be fairly dramatic since I am actually considering getting rid of the jeep. Of course I will get it all fixed up and saleable in the next week or two but it would be nice to get one of those 4 door wranglers, and the Rubicon models have come down about 10k since I last looked. I know I just got a “new” car but… I suppose it only makes sense to me. It’s a Walsburg thing
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Politics
That’s right I am feeling overzealous this week so I am going to put up a whole bunch of posts that way when I forget about my blog for a month or so the average is still good.
This post is regarding political turmoil. I am really, really, really disenchanted by the current presidential options. As some of you may know in the beginning of the primaries I was a big fan of Mitt, I still am. I have also been very interested in another former republican nominee Ron Paul, granted some of his views are a little extreme for my liking but the thing I have come to really appreciate about him is how he has, and does stick to his guns. He has been very, very consistent in his voting record, so I like that he is predictable. I also like most of his stances especially those regarding taxes, illegal immigration, and fiscal policy. I do vary from him somewhat on foreign policy but I think that part would work out anyway.
This all comes at a time when it doesn’t really matter anymore though because we are a two party system, a vote for anyone else is just throwing it away. I really don’t like this because then we are literally stuck with the choice of voting for the lesser evil, not the best man/woman for the job. The whole system kind of sucks because the delegate system is a necessary evil, since it gives smaller states a voice, however it is inherently flawed in that it has thwarted the voice of the majority.
My current take is this:
I am not real happy with the current options for president this year, seems like pretty tired politics with none of them willing to make a real difference. I also can't say I am really happy with our current state of affairs either. I think it is unfortunate we can't get someone in as a president that is not afraid to get rid of the excessive government spending, and the lobbyist's who are padding politician's pockets. I liked Ron Paul because he has a really consistent and long record that has emphatically shown how he acts in political arena, was willing and adamant about securing our borders. I also thought that throughout the GOP debates he had much better responses and questions than any of the other candidates. He also takes issue with the IRS on some issues that I have, as far as personal income tax being taxation without representation, and the Federal Reserve, which is the governments outsourcing of our currency production. I feel strongly that the Federal Reserve is actually it's own conflict of interest, however thanks to the crash of the housing market it is finally being punished, hopefully to the point where the government will take the control of this back, we don't really have a US dollar, it is actually a Federal Reserve Dollar. McCain always struck me as just being a name dropper, like every time he got a question he would just respond with well I know so and so and they like me, not really very intelligent responses in my mind, plus his voting record while long is sporadic at best, one day he is a "staunch republican" the next day (when he is trying to appeal to the independent vote) he is a moderate or liberal republican, he has never been strong on border control, and he has admitted to being weak on economics (that is just frightening considering the current status of our economic system). On the other side of the spectrum I haven't seen any major differences between Obama and HRC, other than Obama tends to have a bit more class. They both have one major strike against them in my book and that is simply the fact that they have both exhibited a significant propensity to work for "special interest groups" which in my mind are not where any democracy should be spending significant time, it is a democracy because it works for the majority, the minority will have to fight for rights just like the majority did when they were the minority. Don't get me wrong I believe fully in diversity and protection of our rights to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. I just don't think that special interest groups should get more attention, or time, than concerns of the majority. I think Obama has a charisma that is very appealing in public. However his voting record provides very little information about him, and how he would act as president. HRC is just running a campaign on her husband's reputation, I am not really sure what drives this woman so again I don't know what her position would be as president, other than universal (read: socialized) healthcare, which is an obvious flaw in my mind. So I think this year I will just vote for a gang of wild monkeys or maybe a pair of old shoes, really what’s the difference?
This post is regarding political turmoil. I am really, really, really disenchanted by the current presidential options. As some of you may know in the beginning of the primaries I was a big fan of Mitt, I still am. I have also been very interested in another former republican nominee Ron Paul, granted some of his views are a little extreme for my liking but the thing I have come to really appreciate about him is how he has, and does stick to his guns. He has been very, very consistent in his voting record, so I like that he is predictable. I also like most of his stances especially those regarding taxes, illegal immigration, and fiscal policy. I do vary from him somewhat on foreign policy but I think that part would work out anyway.
This all comes at a time when it doesn’t really matter anymore though because we are a two party system, a vote for anyone else is just throwing it away. I really don’t like this because then we are literally stuck with the choice of voting for the lesser evil, not the best man/woman for the job. The whole system kind of sucks because the delegate system is a necessary evil, since it gives smaller states a voice, however it is inherently flawed in that it has thwarted the voice of the majority.
My current take is this:
I am not real happy with the current options for president this year, seems like pretty tired politics with none of them willing to make a real difference. I also can't say I am really happy with our current state of affairs either. I think it is unfortunate we can't get someone in as a president that is not afraid to get rid of the excessive government spending, and the lobbyist's who are padding politician's pockets. I liked Ron Paul because he has a really consistent and long record that has emphatically shown how he acts in political arena, was willing and adamant about securing our borders. I also thought that throughout the GOP debates he had much better responses and questions than any of the other candidates. He also takes issue with the IRS on some issues that I have, as far as personal income tax being taxation without representation, and the Federal Reserve, which is the governments outsourcing of our currency production. I feel strongly that the Federal Reserve is actually it's own conflict of interest, however thanks to the crash of the housing market it is finally being punished, hopefully to the point where the government will take the control of this back, we don't really have a US dollar, it is actually a Federal Reserve Dollar. McCain always struck me as just being a name dropper, like every time he got a question he would just respond with well I know so and so and they like me, not really very intelligent responses in my mind, plus his voting record while long is sporadic at best, one day he is a "staunch republican" the next day (when he is trying to appeal to the independent vote) he is a moderate or liberal republican, he has never been strong on border control, and he has admitted to being weak on economics (that is just frightening considering the current status of our economic system). On the other side of the spectrum I haven't seen any major differences between Obama and HRC, other than Obama tends to have a bit more class. They both have one major strike against them in my book and that is simply the fact that they have both exhibited a significant propensity to work for "special interest groups" which in my mind are not where any democracy should be spending significant time, it is a democracy because it works for the majority, the minority will have to fight for rights just like the majority did when they were the minority. Don't get me wrong I believe fully in diversity and protection of our rights to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. I just don't think that special interest groups should get more attention, or time, than concerns of the majority. I think Obama has a charisma that is very appealing in public. However his voting record provides very little information about him, and how he would act as president. HRC is just running a campaign on her husband's reputation, I am not really sure what drives this woman so again I don't know what her position would be as president, other than universal (read: socialized) healthcare, which is an obvious flaw in my mind. So I think this year I will just vote for a gang of wild monkeys or maybe a pair of old shoes, really what’s the difference?
Ethics
So as some of you may know I am taking a class right now on Business Ethics. Currently we are discussing theories of philosophy. The two that we have reviewed thus far are Egoism and Utilitarianism. Here are my quick and summarized descriptions of the two theories.
Egoism – every person should/does serve their own self interests. Self-interest can be defined as anything a person “wants” to do.
Utilitarianism – every person should/does submit to the cause that will generate the greatest volume of happiness, with respect to every person that is affected by the cause.
I am not afraid to say I am much more an Egoist than a Utilitarian. My fundamental critique of Utilitarianism is that it doesn’t respect any unalienable rights. There is no rule that is greater than the “popular vote”. I believe Egoism is only flawed by fallibility, in other words people only make what we would commonly refer to as selfish decisions because they are missing information. I also believe that all people are born/created with certain rights that are not in anyway dependent on what will bring the “greatest net happiness”. I think there are some laws that are greater than the popular values. I would also say that Egoism is very complementary to capitalism. At its root capitalism suggests that the market or individual demands of the people will provide or lead to the greatest good. Of course this means that both the people creating the products/services and the people buying the products/services are serving only their own self-interest. My critique of Egoism is that it is too circular, since it is easy to say that people are serving their own self-interests by virtue of saying that anything they do is serving their own self-interest just by virtue of them doing it. This implies that the only people who are not Egoists are those that don’t do, or it could even be taken to the level that those that it includes all who exists and even those that don’t exist, since just by existing we are doing. Therefore I am more of an Ethical Egoist than a Psychological Egoist, the difference being that I believe people should serve their own self-interests but that the definition of self-interest is more defined and constrained than encompassing all that we do.
One very interesting subject that was brought up in class was the war in Iraq, I know hot topic but I thought it was very interesting. One person posed the question of how we evaluate or determine levels of happiness. Since most Americans, according to polls, want us out of Iraq we can conclude that it would increase happiness in America if we were to pull our troops out. However a true utilitarian has to consider the effect on the people in Iraq, how would their happiness be affected, and does it “count” for more or less than the American’s? The teacher suggested that the Iraqis happiness would be impacted much more than the average American therefore it would have to receive more weight, this led to another interesting problem and that is the quantification of future generations. How do we evaluate their happiness? It must be accounted for since they are affected, but does it hold the same value, and to what extent? This is a very common critique of Utilitarianism so it easier for me to rely on others to make this point, it also isn’t as personal to me.
So my question is; would you consider yourself an Egoist or Utilitarian? Why?
Egoism – every person should/does serve their own self interests. Self-interest can be defined as anything a person “wants” to do.
Utilitarianism – every person should/does submit to the cause that will generate the greatest volume of happiness, with respect to every person that is affected by the cause.
I am not afraid to say I am much more an Egoist than a Utilitarian. My fundamental critique of Utilitarianism is that it doesn’t respect any unalienable rights. There is no rule that is greater than the “popular vote”. I believe Egoism is only flawed by fallibility, in other words people only make what we would commonly refer to as selfish decisions because they are missing information. I also believe that all people are born/created with certain rights that are not in anyway dependent on what will bring the “greatest net happiness”. I think there are some laws that are greater than the popular values. I would also say that Egoism is very complementary to capitalism. At its root capitalism suggests that the market or individual demands of the people will provide or lead to the greatest good. Of course this means that both the people creating the products/services and the people buying the products/services are serving only their own self-interest. My critique of Egoism is that it is too circular, since it is easy to say that people are serving their own self-interests by virtue of saying that anything they do is serving their own self-interest just by virtue of them doing it. This implies that the only people who are not Egoists are those that don’t do, or it could even be taken to the level that those that it includes all who exists and even those that don’t exist, since just by existing we are doing. Therefore I am more of an Ethical Egoist than a Psychological Egoist, the difference being that I believe people should serve their own self-interests but that the definition of self-interest is more defined and constrained than encompassing all that we do.
One very interesting subject that was brought up in class was the war in Iraq, I know hot topic but I thought it was very interesting. One person posed the question of how we evaluate or determine levels of happiness. Since most Americans, according to polls, want us out of Iraq we can conclude that it would increase happiness in America if we were to pull our troops out. However a true utilitarian has to consider the effect on the people in Iraq, how would their happiness be affected, and does it “count” for more or less than the American’s? The teacher suggested that the Iraqis happiness would be impacted much more than the average American therefore it would have to receive more weight, this led to another interesting problem and that is the quantification of future generations. How do we evaluate their happiness? It must be accounted for since they are affected, but does it hold the same value, and to what extent? This is a very common critique of Utilitarianism so it easier for me to rely on others to make this point, it also isn’t as personal to me.
So my question is; would you consider yourself an Egoist or Utilitarian? Why?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Where am I?
So apparently my name doesn't actually exist in the US, at least it is "statistically unlikely"
Monday, May 19, 2008
1 out of 7 ain't too bad
Well I made it through my first week of classes, only 6 more to go (for this semester). The last week or two is going to be crazy because that is when Candi is starting classes, and she is taking some intense/insane class that gets over in like 2 weeks but drains every last drop of life right out of you. So far I have enjoyed my classes I have one really off the wall teacher (though he refers to himself as an interlocutor) and another relatively tame yet intriguing teacher. I am taking “The Ethical Leader” (a business ethics course) from the Socratic teacher and “The Language of Strategy” (a strategic management course) from the more traditional teacher. So far I gather that both require extreme amounts of reading so I pretty much will be spending my evenings and weekends reading a lot.
This weekend was pretty fun, we had Natalie, Josh & Cannon down for a visit, it was Natalie’s birthday so Candi made cake and I hung some streamers. Candi and Natalie went to some book signing thing for some weirdo author. So I got left with the two monsters to go get groceries and clean up the house. I didn’t get anything done on any of my projects since I can’t really do much on any of them with the two rug rats. But we did clean house and while we were out getting groceries I saw a model rocket that I just couldn’t resist. Isaac was really excited to shoot it into space; little did we know how much we should have cherished that first shot, since it was also the last. It was fun though and Ike had a good time trying to find it. I think it may have landed on our roof or in one of the trees, I am going to check on the roof tonight but I am not really optimistic. We tried to find a park for like 30 min that we could shoot it off at but there were like 5 billion baseball games going on so they were all occupied. We ended up shooting it off from the empty lot next door to our house, probably not the best idea but… it was fun anyway.
Other random news: my pinewood derby car came in 3rd place, I got a pink tie, Candi and I learned a new game called “Yoink”, The Office season finale had a lot of unexpected surprises, I got a new album from Rosie Thomas that I like, I re-installed all the A/C’s so our house is nice and cool again, Isaac got a new “Tar Shirt” (it has a picture of a guitar on it), the “wind factor” is exponentially greater at about 200 ft, and spray painting is not a good idea for an activity with a 3 year old.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Archieves
By the way my old blog is still on the web, I just won't be updating it anymore, if you are interested in the archives they can be viewed at http://360.yahoo.com/spencerjcriddle
just thought I would throw that one out there.
just thought I would throw that one out there.
Welcome aboard
Welcome to my new blog:
Ground rules:
- No weirdo comments, I don’t want the spam comments or the comments from people, I don’t know, that have absolutely nothing to do with their lives except leaving comments on random blogs.
- If you are going to read this blog then you must understand that I am a very sarcastic person and writing with sarcasm is very difficult, so just assume that most of the time I am being sarcastic.
- Finally keep your expectations low. There is nothing quite as nice as being impressed and the lower you set your expectations of this blog the more likely you are to be impressed.
So now that we have taken care of the official business lets move on to the important stuff.
Recently I haven’t been very good at updating, I wanted to get to a point where I could update weekly but it just hasn’t happened quite like I was hoping. My life is very busy starting today, since I start the first class of my MBA program tonight. Then tomorrow I have my second class then this weekend I have a bunch of Elder’s Quorum assignments, then I have to finish carpeting the basement, then I have a bazillion meetings on Sunday (starting at 7am). I think going back to school will be nice, I am really looking forward to my classes but somewhat dreading the accompanying homework and studying that I know will be necessary. Last night Candi and I went to the
Candi just completed her first semester of grad school at the U and she got straight A’s. We are so proud of mommy and her hard work. She is substitute teaching a couple of days a week for the time being. She is a favorite sub, she has been called back to the same classrooms several times and Lincoln Elementary really likes her. They even offered her a part time job next school year, teaching music lessons in the early morning. I think it would be awesome for her to be able to use her talents to teach kids, plus it would only be like 4-5 hours a week, so that would be a pretty easy schedule to work around.
Isaac is just as active as ever, he loves riding his “motorcycle” (actually a tricycle) up and down the drive way, and playing outside. He really likes to help when we have our family projects, like the front yard reconstruction or as he likes to call it “digging the dirt”. He and I have been working on a couple of special projects, our Elder’s Quorum is doing a pinewood derby race and he wanted his own car so I started carving his “Shark Car”.
Kaitlyn is just as cute as ever and always finding ways to get into trouble. She really wants to talk, and she does, just not in a language that I am familiar with. She shares Isaac’s passion for the outdoors, she loves going outside and just exploring, she like to play in the dirt and get pulled around in the wagon.
My work life is undergoing a bit of a change right now. I just accepted a position that will change a lot of what I do. I am going to be working with specifically one of the three departments that Americom has. I am going to work with the Outside Plant division, which basically means they do all the work that our company does outside of buildings. They do the directional drilling and trenching, lying pipelines, fiber optics, etc. I am going to be working with the project managers over there to help with scheduling, job costing and stuff like that. I think it will be a lot of fun, and a welcome change of pace. It is going to be a couple month transition so it will be some time before I am completely moved over but I am not really unhappy right now so I’m not in a huge rush.
Only other news that really comes to mind is; there is a Jazz game on tonight that I am probably going to miss all of. I hope they can get a win against the Lakers in LA but I am not really confident, just yet. Otherwise things are pretty much same old, same old.
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