Jon Maginot

Baby Watch 09

2009-12-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

McKay Merlene Maginot was born Thursday December 17 at 10:15 PM. She was 20" long and weighed 8.6. Mom and daughter are doing great. The delivery went remarkably better than last time and for that we're thankful.

Right away one of the doctors noticed that she already had a dimple just a couple of minutes after she was born. The Maginot curse I guess.
Somehow, Mom looks better than Dad right after delivery.
The delivery squad. Way to go team!

I've retired

2009-09-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. It's been coming for awhile now. I'm not as young as I used to be. So I've officially retired...from being a sports fan. Technically Saturday was my last day. It's definitely hasn't been easy but these things happen.
To clarify, I still enjoy sports. I'll still play sports. I'll still watch sports. I'm just not following sports. Basically, I'm not going to spend time reading about sports or watching sports analysis shows or doing many of the things I had been doing. I figure I'll probably save up to ten hours a week by being retired. Best of all, a devestating loss by one of my favorite teams will no longer ruin my day, weekend, week, and life.
I still will have favorite teams. And I will still root for teams during games. Only now, if they lose, they lose.
So in conclusion, please don't ask me random facts about current sports or who is playing for who or what underlying currents are behind events in games, because I don't know.

Why I can't pay back my student loans, Part 3

2009-08-24T21:09:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I went to see "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra". I got to say it's no comparison to the original cartoon show.

Now, I'm biased going into this. As a kid G.I. Joe was my life. Every year until I was about 11 all I asked for for Christmas was G.I. Joes and baseball cards. Of course you really can't play with baseball cards like you can with G.I. Joes. So yes, this was probably the most excited I'd been for a movie in ages (I didn't go see it when it first came out for a number of reasons including, work, no one to go with, no real time to go). After all that, I'm not ready to call it the greatest movie ever made...yet. It's definitely top seven or so. You may disagree with me, but you're wrong.

One of the arguments against the movie is that some of the dialog is cheesy, but so was the cartoon. Many people would say there's too much action and not enough plot. Well that was the whole point of the show...action. Who cared about a plot.

So, not the greatest movie ever, but definitely one of the greatest. Maybe with time it could be the best (kind of like how Citizen Kane didn't even win the Best Picture Oscar but now everyone loves it). Three down, one to go.

2009-07-18T18:37:00.001-07:00

Girl

It's A...

2009-07-15T12:59:00.001-07:00

We went to the doctor's yesterday to get an ultrasound on the thing inside of Michelle. So, for the long awaited announcement. We are having...a baby. We do know what we are having, but I thought it might be fun to toy with everyone for a while. Plus, this might break our record for number of comments to one of our blog posts. Or, you all might just not comment just to spite us. Either way it should be fun. If you know what it is, please don't say (I'm looking at you Lindsay). Remember, this is a family blog so no naughty words. Boy this should be good.

Why I can't pay back my student loans, Part 2

2009-06-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on the summer movie series.

We went and saw Transformers over the weekend. Let me tell you, in case you don't remember, I loved the first one. Quite possibly the best movie ever made. So you can imagine the expectations were quite high. Well, the second half was great. The first half, not so much. Let's just say, it was a lot longer, louder, bigger, and more action packed. It definitely could have been shorter. If they had cut the first half by half it would have been phenomenal. With that said I still rate it 678 on a scale of 1 to 10 (of course the first one scored 8 million). I think the biggest failure of the second one was the glaring absence of Brian Prescott.

So, two down, two to go. Things are getting good.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.7is7.com/otto/countdown.html?year=2009&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;month=7&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;date=15&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;hrs=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ts=24&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;min=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;sec=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;tz=local&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lang=en&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;show=dhms&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;mode=t&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;cdir=down&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bgcolor=%23CCFFFF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;fgcolor=%23000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;title=Harry%20Potter%206"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Harry Potter 6&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.7is7.com/otto/countdown.html?year=2009&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;month=8&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;date=7&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;hrs=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ts=24&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;min=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;sec=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;tz=local&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lang=en&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;show=dhms&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;mode=t&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;cdir=down&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bgcolor=%23CCFFFF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;fgcolor=%23000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;title=GI%20Joe"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;GI Joe&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Why I can't pay back my student loans

2009-06-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well the summer movie season is upon us. This summer could quite possibly be the greatest summer of all time. Really there are four big ones that will just dominate everything else. Let's just look at how things are going so far.

Star Trek

Verdict: Awesome. Great. Outstanding. I went and saw this with my brother-in-law Mike. Fantastic. We liked it in case you didn't know.

The other three movies have yet to come out, so let's take a look at where we stand.

Transformers 2

Harry Potter 6

GI Joe
I can't wait. Of course I can't really afford to go see all of these but we'll see if we can't get around that.

The next big step

2009-04-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

It's time in my life for the next big step. After nearly two years in LA we are moving...to LA. Make sense? I've finished my last class for my master's degree and all that's left is to actually graduate. (Interesting side note. For my last class, Michelle was constantly berating (okay maybe not constantly and maybe not berating, more like occasionally commenting) me for not doing the class work according to how she felt I should. She would ask if I was going to get an "A" and tell me of the importance of getting a good grade even though it was probably my last class ever. I think she honestly thought that I was going to get a B or even a C.
This would have been the end of the world obviously. She was especially worried about my final massive term paper that she thought wasn't receiving the proper attention. Well, I got all my papers back from my professor and a grade sheet. Let's just say, I had enough A+'s to make the federal bond credit rating look bad (yes that's an economic joke and yes I'm a dork).
In her defense I probably wasn't putting forth the best effort towards the class and my term paper probably could have improved. Although, in my defense, she obviously forgot who she was dealing with here. I perfected the paper procrastination with a stellar grade in the fourth grade.)
To sum up we're moving from Los Angeles. We've honestly gotten tired of the constant 72 degree weather. (Okay, today was 98 and we have no A/C in our place, not good times.) Really, I have taken an internship with the city of Los Altos (hence the moving from LA to LA). For the uninformed, Los Altos in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay, just north of Sunnyvale where Michelle is from. The internship is with the city manager which is what I eventually want to do with my life. So nine years after I graduated high school, I am finally ready to enter the professional world, sort of. I guess an internship is still an internship and I will most likely be making less money than I am now despite working more, but I will have finally done something remotely related to what I want to do with my life.
So, as of Memorial Day weekend you will no longer have a free place to stay in Los Angeles (if we're the only people you know). You probably won't have a free place to stay in the Bay Area either as we'll probably be charging rent.

Jacob's first blog

2009-04-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

Yaa. [crunch, crunch] Da [crunch, crunch], tha, tha, tha, da, [crunch], a ga, da.

My nemesis

2009-04-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

I have found my arch-nemesis. In fact he is the arch-nemesis of every guy. He quite possibly could be the worst thing to ever happen to manhood.

His name is Edward and he is part of the Twilight books and movies. I don't know if you've ever read the books or seen the movie, but he's this guy who is overly romantic and any girl that reads the book or watches the movie falls instantly in love with him. Michelle has read the entire series once already and has started reading it for a second time (unprecedented in the history of Michelle reading). She has seen the movie now three or four times including twice in one week (again, unprecedented as she hates rewatching movies, even ones she likes).

Now, I have no problem with her reading the books over and over (if you like the book the first time, why wouldn't you like it the second time?). I have no problem with her watching the movie multiple times (I do this quite often. At least I know I'll like watching the movie.)

No, the problem arises in the unfair comparison between me and Edward. It generally comes in the form of "Oh, Edward touches Bella this way," or "Here's what Edward would have said in this situation," or "Edward knows how to make a girl feel wanted." In no way do I even come close to competing with Edward in terms of the lovey-dovey stuff. Nor will I ever. Here's the deal, he's not real. Plus, he was created by a woman! That's how he can be that romantic.

And it's not like any of us guys could do anything about it if he were real. Even if we wanted to do something about his crimes against manity since he's a vampire, he's super fast and super strong.

So yes. Thank you Edward. Or should I say, no thank you. Because after all is said and done, Edward has made things incredibly difficult for every man who's better half has experienced Twilight.

My first love

2009-03-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

With it being spring and all, I thought I would write about my first love. I was young and in high school. I guess I was 15 when I first met her and we had a great three years together. Sadly, she died when I was 18. I'm not sure I ever got over her completely. I do know that I've never met a girl like her again. I don't have a picture of her on my computer so I found a picture online that kind of looks like her. Here she is:

This is a pretty good picture except imagine her with a red spoiler. Oh she was great. V-6 engine, manual transmission, power steering. My parents helped me pay for her. We got her I think for about $1200. Our relationship wasn't without it's ups and downs. In the three years we were together she blew out her clutch twice. She decided to have her alternator not work at 12:30 in the morning after a party on the other side of the city, making me have to get my dad out of bed to come rescue me (that actually ended up being a great experience). I think she did that one to get back at me for trying to sell her. In my defense I tried to sell her for $1800. When I actually did get an offer (coincidentally for $1200) I realized I couldn't part with her.

She also turned out to be a good luck charm as a number of first kisses happened inside her. Suprisingly, none of these involved me. In fact, they all happened while I was driving and I only found out about them later.

Sadly, about a month before she and I were to go to Provo for my freshman year of college, she lost her clutch a second time and along with other problems went to the great Autobahn in the sky. We sold her for a couple hundred dollars to a kid who eventually took her apart to learn about cars and mechanics. I can only hope that her death led to the survival of other cars like her because of the scientific knowledge gleaned. Perhaps in the resurrection we'll be together again.

Where in the world is Jon? Part 4

2009-02-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

I know it's been awhile but it's time to return to Jon's worldly adventures. In case you don't remember, so far we've visited: Harper's Ferry, Topeka, and Washington, DC. For our fourth trip, we head to Pasadena, California and the Rose Bowl.

We traveled to the Rose Bowl shortly after our move to Los Angeles. The occasion was a football game (obviously) between BYU and UCLA.

This is our view from the south end zone. They stuck all of the BYU fans here. As you can see, at this point the BYU section is nearly full while the rest of the stadium is pretty much empty. This is probably because the UCLA fans were still outside getting drunk at the tailgate party.

Jacob's Nana and Grandpa came down to go to the game with us. That's the top of his head there. This was one of the most amazing phenomenons. Jacob slept through a lot of the game despite sitting directly in the middle of the BYU section, which during the second half of the game got very loud.

Jacob is now 19 months-old. We've taken roughly 8,000 pictures of him. His Grandma Maginot has taken roughly 80,000. This is still my favorite. It's not often that your offspring gets his picture taken with the most influential figure in modern football. I consider this Jacob's first recruiting contact from BYU.Before the game, like they've done for the past few years, the team did the Haka. I've always wondered why half the team is just standing around. You could argue that it's because they aren't Polynesians, but neither are half the guys doing the dance. I mean seriously, do they feel they can't dance? Are they the guys at church dances that stand around awkwardly during the fast songs and only dance during the slow songs? (I did that a lot). Is the dance just for starters and guys that play? This doesn't work because there are starters and non-starters in both groups. I just don't get it. Hopefully, since this was a couple of years ago, the wallflowers have emerged from their tribal warfare dance cocoons and have joined their teammates. Also, thanks to the guy with the pom-pom for utterly ruining what could have been a great photo.

Thank you Lindsay

2009-02-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

I have to thank my wonderful sister-in-law Lindsay for setting me straight. In my post on movies I can't wait to see this year I left one out.

That's right. Harry and the gang are back for yet another adventure in the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series (or as I like to call it "The greatest set of seven books about English teenage wizards written by a woman ever"). In my defense, this movie was supposed to come out last November. So technically, it should have been a 2008 movie, not a 2009. Although you have to hand it to Warner Brothers. It takes a pure, market genius to decide to move an opening of a movie from the beginning of one of the worst economic recession to a date part way through said economic recession. Way to go. Instead of people just kind of worrying about money and losing their jobs but still having money and a job, now Warner Brothers is opening their movie at a time when people will still be worried about money but will have already lost their jobs (don't get me started on the President's economic "stimulus" package, more like "reward all of the people that got me to where I am under the pretext of stimulating the economy"-ulus package). Let's hope they get the other two movies out before the braintrust behind the operations of Warner Brothers manages to bankrupt the whole organization.

Happy Birthday Michelle

2009-02-12T17:03:00.001-08:00

Wednesday was Michelle's birthday. If you don't know how old she is, she's old. For her birthday we went to Disneyland and had a great time. I even let her beat me on the Buzz Lightyear ride, though not on the Toy Story ride. Still I hope she enjoyed my birthday present to her: letting her ride Space Mountain, oh and one of those buttons they give to people's whose birthday it is. Here's hoping we get another hundred or so of Michelle's birthdays.

Movies I can't wait to see

2009-02-12T16:36:00.001-08:00

So there are two movies coming out this year that I can't wait to see. In fact, I may break my 3 year run of boycotting movie theaters (not really a boycott, I just can't afford $87 for a movie or whatever it is now). There's a very good chance I will watch both of these movies 94 times (a year).
The first is G. I. Joe. I've been waiting for this movie to come out since 1988. Seeing previews for this takes me back to when I was 6. I watched G. I. Joe everyday and every Christmas all I wanted was baseball cards and GI Joes. In fact, I'm on a 23 year streak of asking for GI Joes every Christmas. (I missed a year or two of asking for baseball cards). If anyone has any GI Joes or GI Joe gear, you know what to get me this year.

The second is Transformers 2. As you can see here, the first one was so good as to make my list of 10 most significant happenings in 2008. Sadly, Brian Prescott will not be returning for the second film, something about overshadowing Jon Voight. Alas, no one ever said Michael Bay was a genius.

So there you have it. The two movies destined to replace Citizen Kane and Casablanca on everyone's top movies list. All that's left to do is wait until they come out, that and the ratings. If either one of them is rated R, I may just cry for 6 days straight. And if both are rated R, I may never watch a movie ever again.

2008: A year of Jon, Part 2

2009-02-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

5. I developed a cheap, pseudo-grilled pizza version. This is based on the type of pizzas served at Geppetto's in Providence, RI. My type of pizza would be even better if Mark would ever send me the dough he promised. If you ever want to try my version (3 out of 3 people enjoyed it), let me know.

4. We lived in Los Angeles for the entire year. This is significant because of the best thing about living in LA: no matter where you are the weather is better here. I was in the car the other day and the weather came on. At 5:30 in the evening it was 75 degrees and clear.

3. We bought the DVD of the greatest movie ever this past year.

I will not argue about this. Greatest. Movie. Ever. In. The. World. (At least in the last couple of years). Plus one of my good friends plays an integral part in the movie and steals every scene he is in.

2. In February I went to Park City with the in-laws. With really only four or so days of skiing I started skiing blue level runs. I started skiing three years ago.

1. We bought annual passes to Disneyland. Definitely one of our better investments on the year(kind of wish we hadn't bought an IRA). You know how after someone wins the Super Bowl they say "I'm going to Disneyland", we can do that whenever we want to and I didn't have to spend twenty-seven years in training so that I could be an elite athlete and then have a 1 in sixteen chance of my team even making the Super Bowl. Of course if I had, I would be able to go to Disneyland whenever I wanted to and I could afford to eat there as well.

2008: A year of Jon

2009-01-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

It seems like a very popular thing around this time (and by “this time” I mean early three weeks ago) to do top ten lists reviewing the year and since it always takes me awhile to catch on to anything popular, now is the time for me to write one. So here, in no particular order, are the top 10 things most significant things to happen in 2008 (Ed. note: this list has no relevance whatsoever to anything significant). Also, I originally intended this to be one post, but it started getting too long so I’m breaking it up into at least two.

10. The city league softball team I played on won the league championship thanks in large part to my not screwing up too badly. You can read about some of my softball exploits here, here, and here. (Follow-up: we just won the league title again this season, but as it is 2009 back-to-back titles doesn't count for 08. No shirt yet though.)

Here I am wearing the shirt that I won for being a part of glory.

9. I joined two fantasy football leagues and absolutely dominated one and absolutely got dominated in the other. Okay so in reality I was in first place in one the entire season until the very end when I kind of stumbled and finished tied for first in the standings and seeded second in the playoffs. I made the championship game. Let’s just say that it didn’t go too well and my opponent scored something like 8 gajillion points and I finished second. In the other league, for most of the season I led in points scored, points given up and best trash-talking. All that got me was a losing record and generally embarrassing performances most weeks. I think I finished eighth out of ten. I did learn a valuable lesson in all my fantasy football playing; okay there really isn’t a valuable lesson to be learned, but it was fun to do.

9b. I joined a fantasy basketball league. I’ll be honest, I don’t know how this league works. I don’t know how they score or determine who wins. I don’t even know where I’m ranked right now. I don’t think I’ve looked at my team for about a month. Okay, I just looked and I’m in ninth place (out of 12) and 26.5 games out of first place. I really just don’t have time to worry over the league. Sorry Mark.

8. Jacob learned to walk. This is especially important because after being boring for almost a year, we can now really play. I know that makes me sound like a bad father but he’s just so much more fun now. So I was going to put up a video of him walking, but either the internet at our house is dumb or I am. Maybe I'll get it up later when I can figured the dang thing out.

7. Proposition 8 passed in California. No matter which side you were on, this was huge. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people and it’s still not over. You can read my thoughts about it.

6. I experienced my first earthquake. Believe it or not, this really wasn’t as exciting and fun as it is made out to be.

Catching up

2009-01-24T17:09:00.001-08:00

Well, I am back from my Sabbatical. I decided I needed to take a month off from the rigors of blogging. But now that I am back, prepare yourself for a wild ride of nonstop posts full of insights, comedy and general mayhemry. If you're not satisfied, I'll give you a full refund.
Since it has been a while I guess the first one will simply be a catch up on my doings. In early December, I started my 28th year. I also finished classes which means that I only have one class left until I'm done with my degree and everyone has to call me "Master" (if you want to throw a "Splinter" at the end I'm okay with that). I have been continuing my search for gainful employment which is starting to look like the 2008 BYU football season: full of promise at the beginning but after time just a kick to the stomach (yes, I'm still bitter).
I'm still working on campus, but still only at 25 hours a week. On the plus side, I did get an office. For those who are uninitiated, I used to work in our office's break room/supply closet/anteroom/conference room/copy room/hallway. I simply had a desk that was just kind of out in the middle of everything and if anyone wanted to do anything in our office they had to go around me. Well, someone left work for greener pastures and since USC has a hiring freeze, that meant no one would be hired and there was an office open. After deliberation and after the copy machine turned it down, I got an office. Of course, this also means that I now have more work to do for the same amount of pay, but hey, I have an office.
Christmas was great. We went to Sunnyvale this year. We got to see a lot of family over the break, including many aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents on Michelle's side and my brother and his family. You can read more of those adventures on the other blog. We got a complete haul in terms of presents (and by "we" I mean Michelle and Jacob). Jacob got toys obviously and Michelle got clothes. I got windshield wiper blades. We also got several games. But my best part was eating Grandma's tacos so I was set. Luckily, no one ruined Christmas this year.
I'm still playing softball. Unofficially we won the league championship this season. We still have a game on Monday, but as long as we show up we're far enough ahead in the standings that we've won it all.
Jacob's as crazy as ever. I swear if he ever learns to run we're in trouble. Right now he mostly fast walks everywhere. You can tell he wants to run but doesn't know how. He's still the cutest thing ever. In 15 years hide your daughters. Of course that may not work anyways.
Well, this has been a quick update on my life. Until next month.

'Twas the Night Before Xmas

2008-12-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

So I can't take credit for writing this, I wish I could but I can't. I think it fits well in today's world.

“’Twas the night before Christmas and Santa’s a wreck . . .
How to live in a world that’s politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to “elves.”
“Vertically Challenged” they were calling themselves.
And labor conditions at the north pole
Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.
And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur-trimmed red suit was called “unenlightened.”

And to show you the strangeness of life’s ebbs and flows,
Rudolph was suing over the unauthorized use of his nose
And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,
Demanding the millions in over-due compensation.

So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she’d enough of this life,
Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.

And as for the gifts, why, he’d ne’er had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.
Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.

Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that’s warlike or non-pacific.
No candy or sweets . . . they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish the truth.

And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football . . . someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you’ve got to be careful with that word today.
His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere . . . even you.
So here is that gift, it’s price beyond worth . . .
“May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth.”

Where in the World is Jon? Part C

2008-12-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

Today our adventures take us on a whirlwind adventure through our nation's capitol:

Washington, DC.

Here we are in front of the White House (obviously the Family wasn't home).

We found ourselves in DC two years ago (2006) for the Fall semester. I did an internship as part of my undergraduate work at the Senate Republican Conference. We had the chance to live and work in DC and here are some of our adventures:

Here we are at Great Falls (yes, they consider this to be a "great" fall).And here we are in front of where presidential inaugurations take place and where billions of our taxpayer dollars are given to businesses who make bad business decisions, (Hey Congress, could you take care of my credit card payments too?)Michelle and I in front of Thomas Jefferson (or as I like to call him "The author of the Declaration of Independence").I bet you didn't know the White House had a doorbell, did you?

Here's a great view of the National Mall from atop the Washington Monument. The fam got to climb to the top. I, on the other hand was stuck in class (seriously, who has class on Veteran's Day?)

The family (minus Linds) came out to visit in November and here they are in front of the Treasury Building.Yep, this is the Evans family.

Where in the world is Jon? Part II

2008-12-04T20:19:00.000-08:00

Continuing our 87 part series documenting the world travels of Jon, and in conjunction with the holiday season, our next stop is one of the most fascinating places in all the world:

The North Pole!!!!

Okay, it's not really the North Pole, it's somewhere much cooler than that (pun intended). It's none other than my parent's backyard on Christmas Day 2007. That's right, this picturesque, snowy landscape was found in Topeka, Kansas. Now, I could probably show about a million pictures of me in Topeka, after all I grew up there. However, for the sake of blog space, I decided to only post pictures from that wintery day last year.

What's that they said about the "skies are not cloudy all day?" I tell you, you can't get sunsets like you do in Kansas in some place with junk (i.e. mountains) blocking the way.

So there it is, a little slice of Topeka, Kansas, and if anyone wants I'm sure I can dig up more pictures somewhere. Til next time.

Comforting those in need of comfort

2008-11-25T17:33:00.001-08:00

I have been blessed in my life in that I've never really lost anything that I've wanted badly. I've never had to experience the death of someone close to me (my dad's parents have both died but I didn't really know them and I was fairly young when his mom died), I've been accepted to every university I've applied to, both for undergraduate and graduate school (only 6 in all), I only had to ask one person to marry me once (thank goodness), and I've never had an opportunity presented to me only to have it taken away again.
Well, recently I had something taken from me. It was an opportunity that would have changed my life for the better. Sadly, the opportunity was taken away shortly after it was presented. Those closest to us may know what I am talking about, those who don't, I'm sorry. Just know that it was something that we had hoped for for a long time.
Now I'm not one to question the Lord in His doings. I have full faith that He knows what is best for me and I will follow His path for me.
I guess the point in all this is that now I can understand what those who have suffered a great loss feel. I can sympathize with the parent who has lost a child (don't worry, Jacob is fine) or anyone who has lost someone dear to them or anyone who has lost something that they hold dear and which they may or may not get back.
I know that in the future a similar opportunity may present itself and hopefully I will be able to fully experience the joy of seeing that opportunity come to fruition, but in the meantime I recognize the greatness of our Heavenly Father and His love for me.
To anyone who may have lost something, perhaps they can take comfort in these simple words of mine.

Where in the world is Jon? Part 1

2008-11-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

So one of my favorite TV shows to watch growing up was Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?. I loved it and only later figured out that they were actually trying to teach me something. Despite all the educational junk, the show was great. So in the spirit of world travel I've decided to give you part 1 of an 87 part series chronicling my world travels (I use the term "world travels" loosely seeing as how I've never left the U.S. (one jaunt into Canada doesn't count)). So here goes. Our first destination:

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

For those who don't know, Harpers Ferry played an important role in the anti-slavery movement during the years prior to the Civil War. Here, radical abolitionists, led by Kansan John Brown (seen at the right), raided a federal armory with the intent of starting a slave uprising in the south. After capturing the armory and several other buildings, Brown and his men were captured by the local militia. John Brown was tried and convicted of treason and hung.

Well Harpers Ferry exists today almost as it was back then. While we lived in Washington, DC, we went to Harpers Ferry with the other BYU students.

Me overlooking the joining of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. It was near here that the ferry crossed.

On the train tracks out of town. I'm convinced this is the first ever billboard. It advertised, I think, gun powder.

As you can see, there really isn't much to see at Harpers Ferry. Looking back it probably would have been good to get a picture of the armory, but it was just a plain looking building and not that spectacular. Tune in next time, when we play "Where in the world is Jon?"

Say cheese!

2008-11-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

As long as I can remember, I've hated having my picture taken. I think it stretches back to when I was in grade school and they made me get my picture taken for the yearbook and it always ended horribly with a picture of me with some doopy grin and me hating the picture for the rest of the year (and no I will not post any pictures of myself, so don't ask (neither will Michelle, I won't let her)). I guess I just don't get how to pose for a picture. There really isn't anyway in which to not look cheesy. No matter how you pose, the picture often just looks forced. Whenever I try to do something funny for a picture, the missus gets mad and makes me do a "real" picture. Well, I think that Jacob has figured this whole thing out. Take a look for yourself and see what I mean:

This is his face when you point a camera at him and say "Smile for the camera Jacob."

Here it is again.

And again. (Although of important note, the paper on the fridge, you know the one on the lower left-hand side, that's the schedule for my softball team. You can follow how the season is going online. Just ask.) Now it is important to note that if you can catch him in the action of doing something you can get classics like this:

Really, this just looks like he's pretending to laugh at one of his dad's bad jokes. Not that I would ever tell one of those. Now, did you hear the one about...

Clarification

2008-09-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

I felt I needed to clarify something from my sports report. The title is the JM Sports Report. Report is pronounced "re-por". Kind of like Maginot the "t" is silent. That is all. Thank you.

JM Sports Report

2008-09-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

I figured I should start a weekly sports report on my blog, mostly because I can. I probably won't be very consistent (I'd give myself a 50-50 chance of doing three or four of these ever again). I also figure I won't delve into the world of professional or college or "real" sports. You can find out about those in other ways. No. I will be covering the important sports.

As my loyal readers know (maybe that shouldn't have been plural), I recently was part of what can only be considered the most dominant championship team ever. Well, Plaque Smackers are back and ready to defend our title (please don't make fun of me for the name of our team, I'm the only non-USC dental student on the team and definitely did not have a say in the name. I would have picked something cool like Delta Strike Force One or Team Discovery Channel). After having a much needed bye week the first week of the season, we had our first game this past Monday. We only had eight guys show up. Included in those missing was our entire infield. Undaunted by this we took a 5-0 lead only to find ourselves trailing 5-9 going into the last inning. Well the bats came alive (figuratively, it'd be kind of scary if they literally did) and we scored 4 runs to tie the game up. We then held up and won 11-10 in extra innings. Most importantly, I went 3 for 6, scored a run, and drove in the tying run in the seventh inning.

The NFL season is now two weeks old which means that my Fantasy Football teams are two weeks into their seasons. In one league I am absolutely dominating as I won both games in convincing fashion. In the other league I fell victim to scheduling and put up a very high point total the first week, but lost in a nail-biter. Angry at this, I responded by putting up what could very well be a record for most points in a week (probably not a record, but I've never heard of anyone scoring more) to even my record at 1-1. In both leagues I am leading everyone in the number of points scored and have pretty much been a genius at the whole ordeal. Most importantly, I lead both leagues in amount and quality of trash talking. No one else is even close.

Oprah boycott

2008-09-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

So you may have heard already, but a group of Republican women in Florida are calling for a boycott of Oprah.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/10/gop-womens-group-boycotts-oprah-for-refusing-to-book-palin/
I guess what has happened is that Oprah, queen of women's issues, refuses to have Sarah Palin on her show, even though Palin is one of the few women (and by few, I mean second) to actually be on a Presidential ticket and the first Republican. Now Oprah, doesn't want a woman who could be the first woman to have this much influence on Presidential actions (well, first elected woman). Oprah's reasoning is that she doesn't want to have any of the candidates on her show while they are campaigning. Fine. That's a good enough reason, plus it's her show, she can do whatever the heck she wants to. This also means that Barack Obama, whom Oprah supports (to quote Buddy the Elf "Shocking"), won't be appearing on the show until after the election (as the article says he appeared twice before he started actively campaigning). Whatever the reasoning for this policy the most obvious is the fact that if she has one of the candidates on, she must provide the other equal amount and coverage (that's the old Comms Law knowledge coming through). This means that she could (and probably wants to) have Sen. Obama on the show, but Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin would have to have an equal shot at appearing. This could potentially lead to one of the Republicans actually appearing like a good candidate and could possibly persuade people to vote for them. Again, it's her show. She can do what she wants to.
Which leads us to the above article. A Republican women's group in Florida has decided that, because of Oprah's refusing to have (arguably) the most influential woman in America right now on her show, they want to start a boycott of the show and her magazine. To which I ask, why? Do they really think that Oprah and her kajillions of dollars are going to notice that a few thousand women aren't watching the show? No. The show will probably go into reruns in the next week or so so that she can go campaign for Obama. Plus, if she does notice she can go home and comfort herself with the makajillion dollars she has (which is more than a kajillion, because she's made that much while you've been reading this).
Now, I don't have anything against a group speaking out for something they believe in (some of the methods I do), but it seems to me that boycotts don't really work, unless they're of buses in the south. I do think that they are more effective ways to get Oprah's attention. For example:
1. Hit her where she would actually notice, her studio audience. Pick a date between now and the election and scoop up all of the tickets for her show on that day. Then, not show up. She'd notice that if the studio was empty.
2. Or, get all the tickets to the show for one day, show up, and then walk out part of the way through. It'd be great. She'd be interviewing some celebrity and at a designated time, the entire audience would get up and leave. Then, when she asked where everyone was going, one person in the front row who would have been assigned beforehand will say, "Oh, Sarah Palin is speaking on TV right now and we want to see her more than you."
3. Or, get all the tickets to a show and everyone shows up dressed like Sarah Palin. Exactly. From the hair, to the glasses, to everything.
4. Get tickets for the front row center and have Palin herself show up.
5. Find out what Oprah is giving away to the audience that day and switch it with McCain/Palin paraphenelia. Something akin to this would be great:
http://www.nysun.com/national/ruse-for-the-record-books-at-harvard-yale-game/5576/
6. Buy up all of the ad time for her show right before the election and run strictly pro-McCain/Palin ads. They could even make an ad where it seems like Oprah supports McCain without actually saying her name or that she does. If done right that could work.
There are so many other ideas that they could do to help their boycott and let Oprah know of their displeasure right now. They just need some help in coming up with them. And if you see any of these things happen on Oprah, well it's just coincidence I'm sure.

This fantasy of mine

2008-08-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

So finally all of my fantasies can come true. You all know of my small love for sports. I'll be the first to admit that I am slightly into sports. Well there's one aspect of sports that I've never gotten into or understood. Fantasy sports. It always seemed strange to me that grown men would agonize over putting together fake teams of athletes who don't even play on the same team and compete against other grown men to see who could be the luckiest at having their players play well. Who in there right mind would spend hours poring over stats to try and win something that doesn't really mean much? Who would willingly cheer for a single guy in a team sport to do well against and possibly help defeat their favorite team?
Well, as the casual sports fan that I am, I've finally succumbed to the fantasy world of fantasy football. I can lay some of the blame on two of my friends who invited me to play (thanks Mark and Corban), but really it was probably just a matter of time before I dabbled in the fake world of fantasy sport. So this past weekend started my quest down the road of pseudo-sports management. Both of my leagues held drafts online. This in of itself is the first, incredible step of becoming a fantasy master. Each draft took nearly an hour and 45 minutes and in the end I had stockpiled two teams of guys I'll probably never meet and who make considerable amounts of money more than I ever will. I consider myself lucky that I "only" ended up with three or four guys between the two teams that I've never heard of and "only" a plethora of other guys that I've never seen play before but I've heard they're somewhat good. So now when you see me cheering for random guys to play well even though I don't like their teams, you'll know why.

All I got was this lousy...

2008-08-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

Pop quiz: What do you get when you combine a glorified accountant, a movie star, a lawyer, a grad student, a big-time movie exec., a dentist, a dad with a few day old newborn, a teacher, a Hollywood screenwriter, and a mom? 30 seconds.
Doh-doh-do-do-do-do-doh. Doh-do-do-doh-doot-doot-doot-doh. Doot-doot-doot-doot. Bum-bum. (Just sing the Jeopardy song in your head).
Time's up. The answer: What is the Westdale 1st ward softball team?
This past weekend, our team played in the Santa Monica/Los Angeles bi-stake softball tournament. (It consisted of two rounds). We played in the second of the two semi-final games. We played a defensive struggle and our defense came up big and won 8-7. Right after we played in the championship game (with only about 5 minutes for a break). We were the home team for what can only be described as a pitcher's duel.
After we decided before the game to spot the other team 10 runs, we had the formality of the top of the first inning. Facing a 10-0 deficit we fought back to eventually take the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Going into the 7th and final inning we found ourselves up 5 runs and only needing 3 outs to win the championship. Well we got those 3 outs. We just decided to give them 5 runs before we did so, making the score 22-22. We didn't score any runs in the bottom of the 7th so we headed to extra innings. Keep in mind we are going on 14 straight innings of softball. Well, in the top of the 8th inning two costly two-out errors by none other than yours truly led to the opposition scoring 4 runs to lead 26-22.
Wanting to find a hole somewhere and hide, I found myself at the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning. Of course there were 2 outs, bases-loaded and we were down four runs. Well, I doubled in two runs and then the guy after me (the teacher) singled to score the guy on third and myself. At the end of the inning, the score of course was 26-26.
Onto the ninth inning. You have to realize that at this time, every single one of us looked like we had been sitting on a couch not moving for the previous eight months and had lost all control of our motor skills. We had already played 15 consecutive innings and it was during the hottest part of the day in Southern California (we started at 1:15 and finished around 4:15). Well, they scored 7 runs when all was said and done. When it was our turn to bat, well, I think you know where I'm going with this. We didn't score a run. We are probably the first team in history to score 26 runs and lose.
Which leads me to the title of this post. I played 16 consecutive innings and 3 straight hours of softball and all I got was this lousy...heat exhaustion. Complete idiot that I was I ran around for those three hours and didn't drink enough water. After the dizzyness, headaches, tiredness, cramps, difficulty breathing, and other symptoms had worn off, I'm fine. A championship would have made it all worth it.

Shaky, Shaky

2008-07-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

After years and years, the wait is over. After an astonishing 3 years and 163 days of living in California, I have finally lived through an earthquake. I'll be the first to admit that I've spent a good portion of those 3 and a half years (and by good portion I mean maybe 3 or 4 times) complaining that I've never felt an earthquake. I've had times where people would ask if I'd "felt the earthquake." Too often those quakes were either too small to feel or I had been walking or in a car or asleep and so no, I didn't feel the quake. I felt this one.

Last October, Michelle and Jacob went up to Sunnyvale for a week or so. While they were there, a quake struck. Of course I was mad because we had been living in Sunnyvale for a while, moved, and then just a couple of months after we left a quake happens the one week that Michelle (who lived through the 1989 Loma Prieta quake (of "I'm going to cancel a World Series game" fame)) happened to be visiting.

Well, today was my day. The "big" one hit. Hey, it's the biggest one I've felt. And, I gotta tell you, not as fun as it looks. We see on TV and think "Gee that'd be exciting". Well, it's not. I think that's the one thing that I really took away from this whole trying experience: I don't like earthquakes.

We are the champions, my friend

2008-07-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hail the conquering hero!!! "Bah-nah-nu-nu-nuh-nu-nu-nuh-nah! Nah-nu-nu-nu-nah-nu!" You are now reading the blog of an official "Champion of Los Angeles". For the past little while I've played on a city-league softball team. The team is made up primarily of LDS Dental students at USC and one MPA student (that's me). I'm in the same ward as one of the dental students and he invited me to play mid-way through the season. Last night was the championship game and we DOMINATED. I think we ended up winning 14-3 or something like that. So next time you see me and there's something different about me you'll know what it is.

The natural way of life

2008-07-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

So Jacob just turned one year old. We had a party and this picture in particular got me thinking. What do we need forks and spoons for anyways? For thousands of years man existed without silverware. No where in the Bible does it mention Moses needing the help of a small tool to eat his meal. In this day and age we are all looking to do things faster. We want faster internet, faster wars, faster everything. So why do we slow down our eating by using forks and spoons? Think about the time it takes for you to pick up your fork, get the right amount of sustenance on to said fork and lift that fork with succulent food to your mouth. And just think what happens if you're trying to eat peas and they keep falling off of the fork. That's precious seconds wasted! We could save those seconds by simply using our hands. And it may not seem like a lot at first, but add those seconds up and over a lifetime we're talking years saved.

Now the counter-argument to this is that cleaning up afterwards would use all that time saved. Except, would it? After Jake finished his cake, we took him over to the house and cleaned him up. And you know what? He loved it! He got to play while cleaning up after dinner. So now you're talking about turning a chore which would happen anyways (we all should clean up after dinner) and turning it into an enjoyable activity.

So I guess what I'm saying is we should all give up our silverware (just think of all the natural resources we would save if we didn't use all those plastic forks and spoons and silverware) and go back to the way man was intended to dine. So to the lady who brought us the fork and spoon, thanks...for nothing.

My, how we have fallen

2008-06-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

In 1982, a song reached number one on all the big music charts. Now I know what's going through your mind "Jon you were still a newborn then, but I was very mature at a very young age, plus I like classic rock and this was around the peak of that age". This song was also in a hit movie and was nominated for best song (it lost to "Up where we belong"). It also earned the band a Grammy. The song was "Eye of the Tiger" and the band was Survivor. I guess you could say that they were on top of the world.
The reason I bring this up is because we went out to Beaumont, California
this past weekend to visit a family friend. For the uninitiated, Beaumont is a city of about 25,000 between San Bernardino and Palm Springs. We went out there this past weekend because they have an annual Cherry Festival. This is basically just a carnival with a slight cherry theme. The entrance fee was just $5. And guess who was the featured band on the day we went. None other than Survivor.
How would that make you feel? You go from playing some of the biggest shows and sold out arenas and being on top of the music world to playing a Cherry Festival in the middle of nowhere California in front of a couple hundred people, eight of which are up near the stage singing along, the rest of which (me included) don't really care what your playing and after each song are calling for "Eye of the Tiger" (which I did) or that song from Rocky. Each time between songs they would do some talking and I could tell that no one really cared what they said, we just wished that they would sing that Rocky song. It got to the point that once they started playing another bad song that we hadn't heard, we decided to leave. Well, you know what happened, they started to play the song. Luckily, we weren't very far and I recognized the song when it started and we went back. There, we were able to get this:

We also have a video with audio, but it's on Michelle's cell phone and we don't know how to get videos and pictures from there to the computer, so anyone who knows, tell us. So, you don't really care about this but, I do, so there.

Loss of innocence

2008-06-05T17:10:00.001-07:00

So I am playing on a summer softball team. The team is in our church league. We had a game last Saturday and I learned three things:
a) I'm not 16 anymore,
2) I'm really out of shape and probably never will be in shape again, and
iii) I'm not 16 anymore.
Now I know what you're saying. Jon, you're only 26. But this is a real problem. If I lived in Swaziland (31.83 years) I'd have retired by now. If this were Logan's Run I'd have to go to the Carousel in four years (three and a half now). So as you can see I'm clearly in the twilight of my life.
I guess there are a few things that helped remind me that I'd lost my sports glory years. First of all, I hit a ball really well and it went to the outfield fence. Normally, when I was younger, I could have probably gotten a home run pretty easily. This time I only got to third and felt like I was running around on top of Everest. Secondly, my legs were sore three days later. Thirdly, I'm secretly glad that our next game isn't until a week from this coming Saturday.
So there you have it. I am no longer the world class athlete I once was. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go catch my breath.

What's in a name?

2008-05-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

So I’ve gotten to thinking about names for kids (no Michelle’s not pregnant, but most likely will be some time in the future). I’ve always been an advocate for unusual names. Not absurdly bizarre names, but unusual names. I think that there should be a little variety in the names of people. It gets a little old when everyone has the same name. Now I know what you’re saying, that I named my firstborn Jacob and that’s not very original at all. Well, yes, that’s true. But in my defense, Jake, Jakey, or Jacob just fit him and that’s what he should be. Also, knowing that we are Mormons, you’ll appreciate 2 Nephi 2:1 (if you don’t know what it says, look it up: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/search?search=2+nephi+2%3A1, wilderness=California).

Getting back on subject, I don’t go for these really obscure, non-sensical names were they just take the dad’s and the mom’s names and mash them together and go with what comes out, nor am I into names that sound like they came from someone who was high a lot during the 60’s like Buttercup and Forest Rain. For me, if it sounds like a soap, it better be one. Nor do I like names that don’t sound like they’re spelled. Or names where someone just opened a book, pointed, and went with whatever was there (if there’s a chance that what you come up with is an article or pronoun, you might want to reconsider your methods. No child should be named “the” or “you”, (although that might actually be a fun one, then you could say “Hey You” or “What is You doing” and not sound rude or stupid. I take that one back, You is okay. Hear that Michelle)). I don’t mean to offend anyone who may have a name like that, may have named a child like that, or may know someone with a name such as one of those, but this is all personal preference and a lot of times my opinions are wrong and dumb.

Anyways, Michelle knows of my affinity for quasi-unusual names. We’ve discussed to some extent certain names. Some of the names that I’ve kicked around for her are: Axel (just because I like it and would want to call my kid Ax), Beckett, named after Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett (I got on this one after last October when he suddenly became to most dominating postseason pitcher in Major League Baseball and if you have no idea what I just said, he is a professional baseball player who is really good), Chalmers, named after the guy who hit the game tying three for Kansas with no time left in regulation in the national championship game against Memphis, pretty much the biggest three pointer I’ve ever been a part of (if you have no idea what that means, he’s a guy who did something that made me happy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsCrHKx-Lq4 (interesting side note to Chalmers as a name, I watched the national championship game, or as I like to call it “the greatest sporting event to ever happen, (at least since that football game my senior year where I scored a touchdown)” http://www.cjonline.com/stories/091899/spo_seaman.shtml, over at my friend’s house. He happens to be the biggest Kansas Jayhawk basketball fan I know, which is incredible since he only lived in Lawrence for a short while when he was younger. His wife was also 8 months pregnant at the time and even though she is from Ukraine, she is a big Jayhawk fan as well, (duh, her husband is one). They didn’t know what gender the baby was and so after Chalmers hit that shot my friend says to his wife “If we’re having a boy, we’re naming him Mario” (that’s Chalmers’ first name). I was so jealous. At that moment I wished that Michelle was pregnant. Well, they did have a boy. They “settled” with Harper Chalmers and I’m still jealous.)

Some of the other names that I’ve suggested include: Porter, after Michelle’s mom’s family (this one Michelle actually likes and we will probably name one of our boys this), and Lane, after my mom’s mom’s family (this is one of my middle names). Whenever I suggest one of these names, with the exception of Porter, Michelle says that we can use them as middle names which really means that there is no way were naming one of our children that and you should consider yourself lucky if it ends up being one of their second middle names.

I guess the main reason I’m writing this is because one of my good friends told me recently that his wife was pregnant. After expressing my excitement we got to talking. During the course of the conversation it came out that he suggested if it were a boy they name him Maginot and if it were a girl Maginet. His wife laughed. I, on the other hand, think it’s a great choice, although it should just be Maginot regardless of gender. So, apparently, does this group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15350314961.