Law School

I love how perspective means everything. I absolutely wanted to get into the University of Denver's Law School. I visited it two years ago and had a distinct impression that it is where I need to go. After many different phases of life I still thought it is. I still feel that way now. But I threw out a University of Colorado-Boulder application also just to see. I was rejected. I wasn't very sad actually. I knew I wanted to go to DU, but the instate tuition was tempting, and the instate tuition not being connected to GPA was very tempting. So I started to think that CU was for me.

Well, I was accepted to the University of Denver with a 15,000K/year scholarship conditional on a 3.0 GPA. When I started studying for the LSAT and was practicing at pretty bad scores I would have been ecstatic about this. But now my rejection at CU makes me kind of bummed. Not that I would have attended, it is mostly a pride thing--I just want to say I got in and chose a lower ranked school. I am an idiot, I know, but it was still my feeling.

Well, that really isn't a big deal. I wanted to go to DU and I got a great scholarship. Also, it should be known that I am a horrible student, and by some stroke of miracle I somehow did well on the LSAT and did well at BYU. I don't know how it happened, but it happened. So I just feel so grateful that things have turned out so well.

But then I went to the DU admitted student's open house last weekend. It was rather depressing. Mostly because I thought that the student loan package that they give you would be increased because I have a wife and children (you can only take out as much as they anticipate the cost of living for a single person to be). You are not allowed to work your first year of law school, which further complicates the situation. When I asked the lady if they increase the cost of living for married people she said that they don't--it was their choice to get married, so they can reap the consequences. The strange caveat that she put in though was that if we put the kids in daycare they would increase the loans by 795$ per child/per month. I thought this was ludicrous. If you want your wife to raise your children and not put them in daycare they give you nothing, if you want to put them in daycare even if your wife can watch them they will give us 1590$ per month. I think it is insane to force people to put their kids in daycare even though a spouse can watch them. I just don't get it. It is going to be hard to go from a very family friendly school like BYU to a rather family unfriendly school like DU.

So that has me nervous about paying for law school. It is almost impossible to find an apartment for 700$ a month in an area that is safe. And the law says we have to have two bedrooms, so we can't skimp there.

So the point of this blog was to say that even though I should be beyond excited that I will be able to pursue a law degree at a great school with a half tuition scholarship I am now kind of feeling downtrodden. It is all perspective. I just want to go to school there and pay my bills, is that too much to ask?

I need to talk to some people who have done this and see how they did it. I knew having kids so young would be tough, but this particular trouble is very taxing mentally on me. Suggestions are welcome.

Mission (and possibly wedding) Pictures into the Computer

Today I am going to scan all of my mission pictures onto the computer. This is a large undertaking; I have a lot of pictures. Also, I am going to help my father-in-law clean out their garage to get the house ready to be sold. Also, I plan on doing stuff for the teacher I TA for and do Spanish homework. Also, in honor of the warm weather I will definitely be barbecuing some hamburgers. If I have the time I am also going to go on a mountain bike ride and put in Kylee and mine's wedding pictures onto the computer also. And, of course, we are going to Boston Knowles' birthday party at four! Kylee got him a cool Cars toy and we think he will like it. It should be exciting all around.

I will also probably make a book of my mission pictures and we will probably also make one of our wedding. On my Apple computer we have a nice program called iPhoto and you can make sweet books pretty easily:

http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/printproducts.html

These books are amazing. Kylee and I made one for Ken and Cheryl's (Kylee's parents) wedding and it was amazing. We started with them as babies and went all the way until now, with pictures of Ken on the bottom and Cheryl on the top and them aging with each page. It was cool. When they opened it on Christmas they cried. It was awesome.

So a relaxing Saturday doesn't come around very often. Saturday's are usually the busiest day. Also, Saturday is my "watch the kids morning" so I am waiting until Kylee wakes up so I can go to work on the stuff I have to do. So I am just waiting.

The weather is becoming much better also. People are smiling more, which is always an indicator that spring is on its way. I love the warm weather!

An Amazing Song

Why I Choose Apple

 toI don't think the choice of Apple is a forgone conclusion, although some believe it is. I also happen to work for a company that sells exclusively Apple stuff, so I am even somewhat biased in my opinion. But, to be completely honest, I also have to confess that I got the job selling Apple Computers because I liked them so much. Anyway.

I think a Windows machine is better for three different kinds of people. I think for gamers, extremely low-end customers, and people who make their own computers Windows machines are a better choice. There are some exceptions in those categories, but as a general rule, those people are better off getting a PC. I think the vast majority of people do not fit into these categories however. And for them, I think Apple is a great choice.

I will list a few short exceptions. For the low-end customer I think the Mac Mini is a fine choice. But I would also have to acknowledge that a computer that starts at 599$ and doesn't come with a keyboard, mouse or screen is hardly low-end. This is hard to debate I think. Dell and others surely make computers that have these peripherals and are not as expensive. You get what you pay for, but for the person who only uses the internet and email, a 399$ Dell is probably just fine. Sadly so.

Also, for people who like to swap out parts and make their own machines there is the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro however isn't completely customizable and it is harshly expensive. When a computer starts at 2799$ it is hard to say that it is the right fit for many users. Many people who make their computers try to make them as cheap as possible, and they are usually the people who would never spend 2799$ on a computer. But for the professionals this computer, which can have parts swapped out, is a great choice, albeit an expensive one.

And now, getting to Apple Computers. For the vast majority of people I think Apple is the way to go. I will highlight some reasons. There are many.

1. The tight grip that Apple has on its products, company and following can be considered detrimental. While I acknowledge that it is in some cases I would also have to point out the absolute, biggest advantage of this: all the programs work together extremely well and they are all designed similarly. This can be bad also, but overall it is a huge advantage to Windows machines. It is incredibly convenient when using a program on a Mac to be able to just hit the media browser and have all of my videos, music and photos available to drag and drop. Also, as things are designed in a similar way it is quite easy to get to know a ton of programs quickly. I can't explain the frustration I would experience with my Dell when I would try to add photos to certain applications or do similar things and it wouldn't work. The tight grip that Apple has on us is clearly to our advantage when it comes to interoperability within programs on Macs. I love this feature of Macs.

2. The software. I have spoken about this in the previous reason in a way, when it comes to the interoperability of the software, but I mean this in an overall sense. A Mac has incredible software to begin with. When I first fired up my Mac I noticed how many programs there were and I was astounded. One of the very best things about these programs is how intuitive they are. They are extremely easy to use. Also, because the programs are so intuitive and easy to use you actually use them. I tried using Windows Movie Maker or whatever the program was on my Dell one time. I laughed hysterically after seeing it. It was a horrible little program. And because I didn't want to scour the internet or pay for a program I just didn't edit video. But because of how nice the Macs FREE software is I use iMovie quite regularly. I am very impressed with the Mac programs. The software bundle that comes with a Mac is worth hundreds of dollars to me in value. I believe that many people would actually spend hundreds of dollars on software if they bought a PC, but they would realize if they looked into a Mac that almost all the software they will ever need is preloaded on the Mac computers (except Office software, but this is standard for all companies). 

3. Visual reasons. The Macs just look better. And I am not even speaking about the outside of the computer, I am speaking of the actual interface. It is much better than a Windows machine. I have seen and played with Vista and even Vista is worlds away from the nice interface and graphics that the Mac has. I like how you don't view applications in full screen, I like how you don't have that nasty taskbar on the bottom. I just think overall the Mac platform is much more visually appealing. And from what I gather, it delivers this superior layout and interface at a fraction of the RAM needs of Vista. 

4. User Experience. Macs are much more fun to use than a PC. Expose is a brilliant program that I use quite often. I have seen that Windows machines have tried to imitate many aspects of the Expose application and failed. The hot spots in the corners of the screen also enhance this feature. I love how you can leave all your windows open without having to close them down or minimize them. The taskbar was horrible on a windows machine. Also, it is much more intuitive. Once you unlearn the stuff you learned from the PC you start to realize how smart the way Apple has set things up has been.

5. Digital Media. This one goes along with the interoperability a tad, but I love how much it makes you pay attention to digital media. People who never took pictures are now taking hundreds of pictures. People are becoming much more productive. It is only going to increase, as Apple rolls out new software to organize your life we will see more and more schools getting good players

And there are many others. I just am starting to get really tired so I am going to call it a night. Almost everything about what I said though comes from the value of the software. That is the clincher. With the unrivaled industrial team, the user experience that comes with a Mac and all its software it is hard to foresee Apple slowing down at all.

I may add more to this later.

Everyone is a Blogger

So I was speaking with Alma two days ago. She came over for dinner with Michel. Alma strikes me as a person that thinks a lot. I think she would have some interesting things to say. In fact, I often think, "I wonder what Alma is thinking right now." So I brought up blogs with Alma and asked if she would create one. She said, get this, that she "didn't have anything to say!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

So the title of the blog gave it away, but I think that everyone is a blogger. Everyone has things that they ponder about that would add to the lives of those that read it. There are many kinds of blogs. Mine, for instance, is posting about things that I deem as important. These important things that I post about are things that I usually haven't completely thought out yet, or I haven't come to a conclusion yet, so I post to hear what others think. I started the blog because I wanted to make a community of people posting about things I wanted to hear more insights into. It is working perfectly right now. Although, I must say I would like more comments and more readers, but who doesn't?

Blogs give us a chance to know more about a person than just what their favorite music is, who their friends are, and if they added the vampire vs. ninja application or not. Blogs give us a chance to get to know those around us much better. Now, I acknowledge that many people are more private than I am, and they do not share the very serious things that they think about. I am fine with that. It isn't for everyone to bear your soul on this world wide web. But you don't have to only post about serious stuff. You can also post on a movie that you saw and what you thought of it. You can post on how you wish people would walk on sidewalks like we drive on roads, with oncoming traffic coming on your left side because it makes it easier when people organize. Or you could post about how you wish wealth was more equitably divided amongst the people of the world, or how how you wish the inequitabl distribution of wealth could be skewed more in your favor. All of those are great blog topics, to me, and none of them are too personal to share. You get my point.

We need more bloggers. I want to know my friends better.

Everyone, has deep thoughts. They may not be insightful, but they are deep. Otherwise, how would we make any decisions. Every person has made important decisions. Every person has opinions on things that matter in an intense way. We will use Michel, a.k.a. Jon, as an example. We call him Jon to protect his real identity. He grew up in a small town in Maine. He made choices to live the life of a Latter-Day Saint amidst those who did not share his faith. He chose to attend a university across the country. He is going to serve a mission. All of these things are extremely important things. Wouldn't it be interesting to hear his reasoning behind these choices? Wouldn't it be nice to hear others reflect on their opinions and attitudes about the life that goes on around them. We don't have to be insightful, we just have to think and share, and when we do that we have a community that can help us reach insightful states. 

I wish more people had a blog!

Pictures of the Temple

Here are some pictures I took of the Salt Lake Temple a year ago. Some people saw them and requested them from me. I didn't think they were amazing, I actually took them for a science class project, but after all of the building me up I now think they are rather good. So here they are.

Secretly, I am also posting these so I learn how to post pictures in the body of the blog. I am a horrible person, I know. I shouldn't use my blog, and temple pictures no less, for selfish reasons like this. Forgive me, from the bottom of my heart.

Just Like Me

So Kylee and I were talking the other day about how we should live. I told her I live by the, "if everyone was just like me what kind of a world would it be?" mentality. I will elaborate.

This mentality governs a lot of my actions. For instance, when I think about throwing trash out the window the immediate thought that most people have is "well, it is just one piece." But my mentality is, "if everyone threw out a piece of trash, just one, the world would be horribly polluted." So I don't throw out trash out the window because of the implications if everyone did it.

This is another example. There is a road in northern Provo, right before the canyon, in which there is a hill with a road on it which merges onto the big road. I am usually traveling on the big road and people coming down this hill merge into my road. I hate when they are going slow and the make it so the big road has to merge when their road says merge. They are requiring two people to yield instead of one, slowing down the whole process. So for a while I wouldn't yield for them no matter how much they pushed it. I thought, "I need to show them that they are supposed to yield." I think that mentality is ridiculous now, for a couple of reasons. The first is that I shouldn't think it is my job in life to correct all wrongs, or at least what I conceive of as wrongs. Second, if everyone did what I was doing it would be a horrible world where nobody would be letting others into lanes. The roads would become horribly aggressive wrecks. Also, think about when they close a lane on the highway. I used to be the kind of person that flies up the lane that is ending and sneak in right at the front. I realized that if everyone did this it would be a pretty crazy place to drive, and the people that wait patiently in the back of the line get shafted. So I stopped driving up the side. It is also dangerous to be going such a drastically different speed as other people on a road.

So I try to live in a way that if I extended my actions to everyone the world would be better, not worse. I think this is a good mentality. In fact, I walked to church today because of this mindset (and the nice weather), I thought, if everyone in Utah, where they all live a half a mile from the church, walked to church, there would be far less pollution.

So I recommend trying the, "if everyone did this what kind of a world would it be" mentality. It has worked so far for me.

Acquiesce?

This is probably the thing I struggle with most of all.

You see, I am of the variety that thinks very little in this life is necessary and almost all of it is pomp and circumstance. I wouldn't call myself an anarchist by any means, but you could say that I have some of their blood in my veins, just a much more subdued version of it. Let me elaborate.

There are a few things that are great examples. First off, the tie. The tie is one of the greatest examples of things that I hate in this life. Now granted, I wear a tie every Sunday, at the very least, during a week. I am guessing that pretty soon I will start wearing one to work every day. But why! It serves absolutely no purpose. I suppose it covers up our buttons, but I don't think revealed buttons is a very big deal. It does not keep us warm, it just serves no purpose. It serves no purpose, except to fulfill a convention that has been established. 

The second thing is praying with a hat on. In the New Testament they prayed with their hats on. They said it was a shame to pray with their hat off, or have your head uncovered when you pray. Yet now it is the opposite. There wasn't another change like the Law of Moses or anything like that to change it. It was just people in those early days deciding that they wanted to do something different and take their hat off when they pray. And because they did that we now have the convention of praying with it off. But the rub is that for it to be the convention now to pray with our hat off, somebody had to go against the system then. Someone had to take their hat off and cause gasps around the room. So when Kylee asks me to take my hat off when I pray and I refuse she says I should take it off just to be polite. But that is the problem, it is polite now because someone wasn't polite then! What if I am the person who needs to do it now. 

That could be when the pride sneaks in. Why do I think I need to be the one who bucks all these trends and traditions. I also hate it when we are supposed to double space the introductory stuff on a paper, like name and date stuff. Kylee asked if I would get points taken off my paper and single space that part just to make a point, to which I responded in the affirmative. I absolutely would get points taken away. She said that is prideful. It may be. 

But there is a sacrificial part to this question also (I hope that word--sacrificial--isn't too loaded to use in common usage!). For me to be the person to buck the trends and traditions I will have to go without some things. For instance, if you go without a tie to an interview chances are you will not be landing the job. So do I have to be the sacrificial lamb for change? I don't know. My teacher says that some things are not important enough to try to change the way they are, like the tie. But I said that is my point exactly--if it isn't important why don't we just do without it? Should I be the one that starts it. Maybe I could be the beginning of getting rid of a useless article of clothing. 

This may seem like a small thing to you readers, but it is something that I struggle with almost daily. When do we go against norms and traditions to institute change? I hope someone has some profound insight into this problem I face, because I don't have a clue what to do about it. I have seen many teachers who seem to face the same dilemma.  

It is like today. Today I wanted to wear basketball shorts. I can honestly say that in cold weather my legs don't really get cold. So I decided I was going to wear shorts. I almost didn't wear them because it is dressing down too much and because people would give me the "you are not tough as you think you are" look or the "you are crazy" look. I decided that was stupid, what do I care what others think, and I wore them. It could possibly have been prideful to declare that I don't care what others think (we all do), but I did it anyway and wore my shorts. They were very comfortable. 

What do you guys think?

Instant Messenging

I wish more people would use instant messaging. I realized that I am around my computer for probably about 5 hours a day with school and work. It would be great to be able to speak with everyone. Instant messenging would be a great way to accomplish that. I think a part of the problem is that everyone uses different chat software. If only there was a way to stream line these things. 

Anyway, if anyone is interested, I think my chat name is mattlduff on AIM.

What Makes A Good Movie?

Kylee is laying next to me watching Proof. It has Gweneth Paltrow in it and Jake Gyllenhall. I am supposed to be writing a story for my creative writing class right now, and I am terminally behind in Spanish and I surely could be doing that also. But neither will get done in the next hour or so. Proof has me thinking--what makes a good movie?

I think a good movie does one of two things: it entertains or provokes thought. A few examples will illustrate.

Provoking Thought

M. Night Shyamalan movies are the best example of this. I think he is brilliant because his goal seems to be to have people ponder over life issues. The Village is a good example. I didn't think the point of the story was to scare people with the creatures in the forrest. I think it was to answer the final question that the leader of the village asked, "well, we have the boy falling into the hole, we could use that to further the village, do we want to do that?" I left the theater with that question buzzing through my mind for the rest of the day, would I want to continue the village? I don't know the answer still, I still think about it. Therefore, it is a great movie. 

Entertainment

These are the I Am Legend (I think this movie could straddle both lines) kind of movies. Or the James Bond movies, and the many other movies like this that are purely for entertaining purposes. Even Dumb and Dumber gets a nod for being a great movie in this category, because although Dumb and Dumber doesn't offer much intellectually it does entertain in a serious way. There are many of these movies. Actually, these movies are probably about half of all movies there are. 

So those are the two good kinds of movies to me. There are great ones in each category. But the ones that make me think are, by far, my favorites. I love to have my ideas questioned, my foundations removed, and my viewpoints confronted. These movies are great. 

I am grateful for the really good movies in life. They are true art. 

I Wish I Had Insomnia

That would be great, because then I could blame staying up all night on something. But as it stands now I end up just staying up late at night with nothing good to blame it on. I remember in high school I couldn't sleep, I think I did have some sort of insomnia at that point. Not sleeping during high school was very nice because even though I went to bed far too late I still got by fine during the day. I wouldn't be tired at all from staying up late. But that is not the case now, I get pretty tired sometime. 

There is just always something to do! I feel like I am going to miss something if I go to bed. 

But as much as this is true, there are very few feelings that can parallel falling to sleep. It is divine!