STI practice

My buddy Matt sent me this. This is one sweet STI. My corrola drools when it watches this video...
How would you like him to drive you to school?

I Voted, and this is my story

Sam and I went and voted a day early on the Monday before elections. We were in a huge line of people, most so enthusiastic about Obama that any republican would have to wear camouflage to get through it all.
As we were waiting in the line, a obvious Obama supporter was standing behind us. Being by herself, she decided that she needed to have a conversation with her friend via cellphone. Because nobody in the line had anything better to do, we were all entitled to hear her very loud conversation which displayed her unique IQ. This is her conversation:
Hi, what you doin?.... fun... me? oh, I had a job interview downtown, but I couldn't find it, so I decided to come vote... no I didn't go, do you know where it is?... oh well, I will find another job. Yeah, I'm voting... I just turned twenty so it is my first time... I know, I was going to like take pictures and stuff... but I'm not.
TIMEOUT: We now know this, she is a 20 year old African American, who is a first time voter. She obviously doesn't pay attention to details because she doesn't give a care that she just stood up her interviewer, and didn't call to let them know... I know, Sam and I are thinking the same thing...
TIME IN:(we are now up to the sample ballot, showing all the candidates) So, here is the ballot, this is so great! Ok, I want to read you the candidates... Obama... yeah! and Joe Bid-en (the Bi is pronounced like bid)... who is Joe Bid-en...? What? Where is Hillary... I thought Hillary was his vice president?... What, Bi-den?
TIMEOUT: Now I am the public display, I am laughing too hard not to be noticeable, but at this point, I don't think many of the people around us were short of a smile either. Sam is even smiling, but keeping it in...
TIME IN: (I don't know what happened after that, I was laughing too hard)

This has been our joke for the longest time... Bi-den, who's Joe Bi-den? While it is funny, it brought me to thinking... I am worried that too many people were looking at a person and their popularity and not the platform and what they stand for...

This is my opportunity to congratulate Obama on the presidency. My prayers are with him and our government that they will make good choices to represent our country.

What Matters this Election?

I have always taken interest in the presidential elections, but never like this year. I have been asked about my political views frequently and has therefore led to this post.

My motto for this years election is "It is not who you vote for this year, but who you vote against that really matters". Keep that in mind as you read on.

I am traditionally republican in values and principle, but quite often, I consider myself an independent. This year, my core values and beliefs will be the leading factor in who I vote and place my trust. So here is my take on the two candidates and their running mates.

Senator Obama and Joe Biden.

Has there ever been a duo that is so smooth and crafty with words? Obama is making history by just being in this election and is a smooth talker reaching into the hopeful hearts of a depressed nation. Biden has a pearly smile, with strong foreign policy. He is good at smoothing over mistakes by the democratic campaign, and was strong in his debate against Sarah Palin. However, I think that quite often, he speaks over the heads of many Americans. I believe that this parties intents are good and they are a great team, but I do not agree with their health care policies (a huge can of worms I don't want to open right now, just put it this way, the government doesn't need to run this also), pro choice rights for abortion, and same-sex marriage viewpoints. When it comes to the economy, I think that they are strong, but I don't think that either candidate has a strong answer for the trouble. Quite frankly, I don't know that anybody has a good answer yet. This will take bipartisan cooperation to put America back on its feet. The big plus with this campaign... Colin Powell endorsed Obama this weekend. This should turn the heads of many independent voters... quite frankly, he turned mine.

Senator McCain and Governor Palin

I don't believe that his health care policy is the way to go either. The only real part I agree with is that people should be allowed to cross state lines to purchase health care. When it comes to foreign policy, McCain knows his stuff. The party is pro-life, and protects the traditional views of marriage (though I must state that Biden in the vice presidential debate stated that we should not change the traditional definition of marriage... good job Joe). Palin, she seems to be a great person, works hard and I would be okay with her being in the white house, but would she be a good President? Maybe not yet... you would just hope that McCain would live long enough to give her some experience. Here is the major down side of this campaign... I am so tired of the negative attack adds on Obama. McCain, show us what is good about you, no what's bad about your opponent. It would be approriate to do this some of the time, but over and over and over... it gets old. This has been a major turnoff... Obama has ran his campaign better when it comes to advertising himself.

So what does it come down to? This: what matters most in life and eternity. Pro-Life and the protection of the family. The wars and economy are important topics, but not as important as the values I hold dear... pro life and marriage between a man and one woman.

You know you've gone to far when...

Endocrine class was very interesting today. For those who don't know what the endocrine system is, it is the release, regulation and actions of hormones that use blood as its transport system. A major source of hormone release and regulation is in the pituitary gland located almost directly behind the bridge of your nose, between your ears, and up just a tad. When this pituitary gland has tumor growth, then this gland can overproduce hormones, causing many issues throughout the body. The visiting doctor explained to us how these tumors are removed. The surgery which is called a transsphenoidal surgery takes place by going up THROUGH THE NOSE. This procedure is demonstrated in the following picture:

So for all those kids & adults out there who pick their nose, watch out, if you navigate far enough, you might poke your brain.

The Boy Wonder

Wow! 5 comments on the last post! Sweet! One of them was mine, but I still count as a person right?
As a bonus, I add this video of Erik 2 years ago at a BYU game doing something that is causing him to still pick his wedgie.

Here's to you Erik... Cheers

I've been what?

I have observed this whole "tag" thing from a distance... sure, it is cute, it is a good way to find out about others, I like to read them, but never have I participated... I just don't know how I feel myself writing them. I could just be out of my comfort zone, or more importantly, maybe it just isn't manly enough. I don't even know that I have ever even seen a man post a tag on his sweet blog. But, it was Camille who did it (my cousin (and by the way Camille, you commenting so much on my blog and mentioning my name earned you a spot on "The Thunder List" sweet huh!
)), so I will conform for just this once. At least it isn't a "bag tag" to show all items that are in your purse.
Here it goes... (happy face is now on)

Tell about 6 quirks of yours...then tag 6 other people.

1) I really like buses. Not riding in them, but actually driving them. I know that sounds wierd, but I drove them for 3 years. Most guys get excited when they see monster trucks, hot rods, or sweet semis on the freeway. I get excited when I see those too, but just add motorcoaches to the list. Nothing is sweeter than a decked out motorcoach going cross country. This is me, chillin' with my passengers while touring in Alaska last summer.


2) I appreciate good chinglish. You know, chinese that has been translated into english, except for it is just down right wrong translations. Here is an example.


If that isn't enough, here is another (on a scooter I saw in Taiwan).













3) I really don't like it when other people take bites of my food, or eat off my plate, before I get the first bite. It just steals my thunder.

4) Right now, I have extreme rhinorrhea from allergies. I would wear this thing all day if I were given the oppertunity.


5) I am still curious to know why lint gathers in a person's belly button. THey have not taught us that in med school yet.

6) I think feet are cool enough that I am going into podiatric medicine.

There it is... what a rush!

I tag... Sarah Palin (I am sure she has some quirkiness), John Stockton, Marie Osmond, Shawn Johnson, Matt Lauer, and my sibs if they want to.

Studying for class

The past couple of weeks I have been in my cardiology class learning everything about the heart. For study, I thought I would listen to Liberty's heart. I was super suprised to find that she loved it so much! She laughed and cooed the whole time. What a great combination, kids and school at the same time.

Opinion

Mom really likes big bows. This is how Libby and I feel about them.

Looks are decieving

This is the look Libby gave me before a bomb exploded her diaper during sacrament meeting today. Needless to say, she needed a change of clothes.

Beijing!

I have waited for these next few weeks for a long time. If I am not studying, I will be watching the olympics. The olympics are full of such great stories, sacrifice, hard work and dedication. I am excited to see not only all the atheletes compete, but to see how China handles the world. Asia is such an exciting place and the Chinese are amazing people.

We are cheering for Des Moines own Shawn Johnson in gymnastics, Micheal Phelps, and the USA basketball team to restore order. Can they all do it? I also look forward to table tennis. Hopefully they get some primetime here in the USA.

Who are your favorites?
What are your favorite events?

School

School has started. It is bitter sweet. Bitter in that I have to leave my family for the day, and joy that I am that much closer to getting a paycheck. The first day of school use to be so exciting. I got to wear my new school clothes and new shoes, see my old friends, talk, be older and more in charge of others students. I don't get that same joy now that I once did. On my first day I wore my favorite 15 year old little league Rangers shirt that was given to me by Brandon Thatcher years ago, and a pair of shorts I bought in high school that have a mud stain on the back from where I slipped playing softball last year. However, my class is no longer the youngest and most confused at school. I do take some comfort in this fact.
We are starting with Pharmacology. I believe this course was designed so I don't give any of my patients poison and get sued some day. So I have decided to listen and learn. I guess that is what we do in school. So here is goodbye to my great 2 month vacation (my last for the rest of my life) and on with burning the candle at both ends.

Daddy's Little Girl

My life has changed. I am a father. There is a wide variety of emotions. My outlook and purpose in life has seemed to change completely. Things that were once of high importance aren't. I love this little girl more than I ever thought I could love. A great bonus in all of this is that the love that I have for my wife has increased tremendously. Life is an exciting journey.

What can you learn from a Petsmart employee?

Once upon a time I bought a fish tank and filled it with Tiger Barb fish. They were playful and fun... so I went to Petsmart and bought 2 more, adding to the fun. Little did I know that 1 of them had a disease called ICH, and they all died. (Stick with me here, I am just giving some background, the point is coming) Luckily I got my money back on all the fish due to a 14 day return policy on the fish... haha. I was depressed and put the fish tank away, not wanting to kill more little things.
Well, I have done it, I pulled out the tank, dusted it off, and decided to try again. This time, I have done my homework, studied all the ins and outs of the aquarium world. I studied every aspect of keeping a healthy enviornment. I wanted to go to the pet store prepared with good questions and buy the right fish. This time, I knew I was going to buy hearty fish that are indestructable and won't die.
I got there with Sam, we looked at all the fish, and decided to buy 3 neon tetras and some Fancy Tail guppies. I found an employee and went through my laundry list of intelligent questions. I then got this idea of maybe buying a female guppy to go with some males....
Alright, you might see what is coming. The intelligent, MEDICAL STUDENT and not to mention father to be asked this profound question... "So if I buy a female guppy, and put it with the males, I guess I will get babies?" Right here, I am thinking... earth to idiot, did you just ask that? Are you not fathering a child? Are you not studying all this stuff at school? And you are asking a Petsmart employee about this kind of stuff?
Less than intelligent...yes... educational... yes... embaressing...yes...
Lessons learned at Petsmart. Give it a try.

Past Assumptions

Many times in the past 7 years I have thought about this certificate. I got this "award" in seminary my senior year with the seminary council. Why? I really couldn't tell you. But it might have to do with my relatives being bald. However, this "award" has haunted me since the time I recieved it. I have checked weekly for signs of a receding hairline. While I may have lost less than a cm, I have wondered when the magical day will come when it comes out in clumps. There have been a few times where hair has been lost from my head, but those time really only come when I have a stressful test and I am readily pulling it out in clumps.
Now, this certificate does say "MOST LIKELY" to go bald. That means I do need to know if the other members of the seminary council have gone bald or not... so I need everyones help. I need to know if Alan Marvin, Kurt Renlisbacker, Joshua Jones, or Preston Neilson have gone bald. If you know, or have seen them lately, please, leave a comment and tell me if they are shiny on top. If none of them have, well, I just might still be the most likely to go bald.

Skeet shooting

Iowa offered its best weather today and allowed Ben B. and myself some time to break out the "boom boom stick" and shoot some clay. Good thing we picked up some mosquito repellent, cause by the time we got set up, I got bit a good 5-6 times! Every shot with the shotgun could have dropped at least 30 of the bloodsuckers. They predict that because of the flooding, we are going to have 4-7X more mosquitoes that last year!
Anyways, we shot in rounds of 5. I got off to a slow start, trying to remember how to shoot my gun, but by the end, I was hitting 4/5.
Shooting is great therapy. Hopefully by November I will be ready for the annual Elder's quorum turkey shoot. I don't want to look like the fool I did last year. Plus,I need to do the Thun name proud.

10 lbs takes flight

So spring cleaning revealed some treasures under all the cobwebs. One of those would be mission pictures on CD that I didn't remember that I had. As I was looking at these pictures, I realized there is a great story behind each peculiar scene. I thought that I should share some of those pictures and stories.


This is the first. Bowling was a huge fad in Taiwan in the mid to late 90's, but dwindled off after a few years. Hence, numerous, spacious bowling alleys with nobody in them. This was a p-day favorite. There has been rumors that there was a picture out there of me doing this, but here it is for reals, in the flesh. Obviously, we weren't going for "highest score", but we were going for "longest hangtime". At first glance, one might wonder "where is the ball?" Don't look on, but rather above the alley. That yellow ball nearing half way... the ball hit the alley about 3/4 of the way down, and hit the pins with a flash of furry.
The owners of the alley thought that the way we were bowling was amaricanized methods, and laughed and laughed. We did too, wondering if I had put dents down there at the end.
As a side note: check out those pants...

Celtic Pride

Okay, here's the deal... I am a Jazz fan. I had a hard time for a couple of years after Stockton and Horney left the team. Malone... not my favorite person on the block (could be that when I met him and got his autograph, I asked him if I could shake his hand and he did, but I could tell he was annoyed and he went to the Lakers! what?!?). Being a Jazz fan is easier now that I don't live near Utah, but deep down, I will always be true. I think I collected 300 or so John Stockton basketball cards and would still love to add his rookie card to my collection. Okay, with that said, I am going to explain why I like the Celtics. I know what you are all thinking, "Josh jumped on that ban wagon with the rest of the nation Pshh!" Well, I will admit I was not a Celtic fan growing up, and it is much easier rooting for a team that wins.
I started rooting for the Celtics as soon as Ainge acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. That combination on almost any team will go far into the playoffs. If that wasn't a good enough reason to root for the Celtics, here some more; Danny Ainge... BYU alumni, lot's don't like him, but he was a tough player and has shown that he can do business too. My second reason, I like Doc Rivers. I had a few of his basketball cards when he played, and for the past 15 years, he has shown to be an alright guy, plus Sam thinks the name "Doc" is cool. Third reason, Ray Allen. Thee purest shot in the NBA. He has a good head on his shoulders and is fairly mature as he demonstrated in the celebrations last night after the win. Kevin Garnett... I have always really liked the way he played, and he is thinner and tall, like myself. I DO NOT however, like what comes out of his mouth when he gets into it... to many profanities. Paul Pierce... I originally did not like his attitude and temper, but he has changed since Ray and Kevin got traded to Boston. He played with great heart! And the other players; Rondo, Powe, House, Poesy, Brown, Davis... they are all pretty cool guys.
So congrats Boston! As long as you aren't playing the Jazz, I will start my second year rooting for the big green.
The only thing about the Celtics that bug be now... Sam Cassell and Cigars.

Could it be that I'm just bored?

I don't know if I can really answer that question. I have been debating this change for a long time. I would day dream about "my own blog" during class for the past few months of school. Now, with a couple hot hours a day with my day goals already accomplished, I predict I could use the time to "blog". I have questioned my motives asking myself if "blogging" is out of my league, or has some hidden stereotype that I am not aware of. So finally, I am making the jump into this blogger world hoping it turns out to be good. If you visit, feel free to comment, or tell me about your sweet, awesome blogs. Get stoked, the Thunder Dome has been created.