Omnibus at Firstnephi

Something Disgusting in the Air

2007-07-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

CBS News picked up on a AP-wire story, datelined Atlanta:

Mom And Talkative Tot Kicked Off Plane

The mother of a 19-month-old boy says she and her son were kicked off a plane after she refused a stewardess' request to medicate her son to keep him from talking.

Kate Penland, who lives in suburban Atlanta, said she and her son, Garren, had boarded the Continental Express plane last month after an 11-hour delay in Houston on a flight from Atlanta to Oklahoma City.

Garren kept saying, "Bye bye, plane," Penland recalled. And she said the stewardess objected.

"At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, 'It's not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up,"' Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta.

When Penland asked the woman if she was kidding, she said the stewardess replied, "You know, it's called baby Benadryl."

The report went on to say that when the passenger refused to comply with the demand, both were taken off the plane. The airline said in a released statement that they were investigating the complaint.

But as outrageous as the airline's alleged conduct was, I am even more amazed at some of the public comments that were posted to CBS News' online forum. Here's a sampling of just a couple, but there's more where that came from:

CDFOXTROT writes, "Our society is far too indulgent towards children and the flight attendant ought to be congratulated for trying to get this annoying brat to shut up on this flight. Isn't it enough that most homeowners each pay thousands each year in property taxes to pay for the education of other people's children? [...]

Why we all are expected to suffer the annoyances of other people's children is beyond me. What's the expression? Children are best seen and not heard?"

RILLIFANE, concurring: "Children certainly do have rights but they have no MORE right to annoy other passengers than any other person.

If a child will not behave then they should not be placed in situations where they cannot act as civilized beings.

I am sick of people acting as if I OWE them some special consideration because they have children in tow. When they disturb my space then they have stolen something from me and are thieves as bad as any gun wielding hoodlum. Worse in fact because in their smug, self assured, arrogance they beleive they have the RIGHT to impose on me. [...] It is the person who is causing the problem who needs to STAY HOME not the innocent victim of incompetent, lazy, self indulgent parents who demand that others accommodate the problems caused by their undisciplined squalling brats."

Assuming this report is confirmed, have people utterly lost their common sense? We are talking about an infant, and a young infant at that. I can somewhat understand the reaction where a child throws a tantrum to the extent he or she knows right from wrong, but an infant cannot be expected to uphold such behavioral standards. On top of that, it appears the child wasn't even crying, only babbling an initial set of words, albeit repeatedly (which would, frankly, be expected from a child of that age).

The only other conclusion I can draw from this are a lot of people go around with such a great deal of anger that they are willing to direct it at innocent children (and at that age, you CANNOT accuse them of being anything other than innocent). This sort of display is beyond objectionable, it is disgusting. Frankly, we all need to grow up.

Including, apparently, certain employees of Continental Airlines.

Memorandum on the Diversity of Faiths

2007-04-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Recently it has come to my attention that a purportedly Christian organization released a video seeking to discredit Latter-day Saints. Nothing new about that: It's happened before, and undoubtedly it will happen again.

I need not give the effort more prominence than necessary. I will say one thing, and one thing only, as a general proposition: If we change our religious affiliation or our personal beliefs solely on the basis of what someone states or claims, or solely because of logic or persuasion, we cannot be assured of reaching the truth, because many if not most faiths, denominations, and sects generally claim theirs to be correct, and all others in error. It is, quite frankly, impossible to be correct in the eyes of everyone. Not counting Latter-day Saints, some Christians will even accuse other Christians of error.

The critical point is this: God is able to speak for Himself, He is able to do so directly to us, and blessed be those who are able to follow His promptings, whether through scripture, personal revelation, or both. --SJR

Deseret News: LDS and Single

2007-03-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

Link to article--
http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,660207500,00.html

My response:

To The Editor(s):

I read with interest your report of 31 March regarding LDS single adults.... The article accurately touched on a number of reasons why marriage may be delayed for some, as well as the concerns shared by some Church leaders. Nevertheless, I desire to share further observations. Three challenges in particular come to mind.

1. Single adult converts. President Hinckley observed during the Priesthood session of the last conference that of the entire Church membership, about one out of four are converts who were baptized during his presidency. Here, two things must be observed. First, converts are in the process of learning things about the Gospel that others have known most of their lives. Second, many join the Church at a time when it is too late for them to serve missions. In contrast, many potential companions specifically look for returned missionaries with a lifetime of spiritual experience.

2. Geography. Many saints live in areas where there are relatively few members, fewer who are active, and even fewer who hold a recommend. Since the objective is finding an eternal companion, and not simply to get married, the bar has to be set very high. But the result is that it becomes extremely difficult to find someone who shares the same values and standards as yourself.

3. Personality. No quarrel is taken with the idea that traditional dating activities are preferred. But it must be understood that not everyone is prepared for events such as dances, socials, or singles conferences. For example, if a person is shy, a dance activity may prove to be very painful. Stated differently, there should not be a one-size-fits-all approach to programs intended to promote dating, and that the unique characteristics of each member should be taken into account.

For these reasons, the increased use of online dating services should not come as a surprise. Even with the weaknesses they may have, I would submit that its biggest strength is its ability to quickly bring people together across geographic boundaries, especially in places where there are relatively few active saints.

Allow me to mention one thing in closing. While I was a single adult, I visited nearly a dozen states and travelled as far north as Canada, using both traditional and non-traditional activities, before I was able into enter into temple marriage. In the end, success came not because I used a specific method of dating, but because the two of us were prayerful, and we each had received independent personal revelation. That, to me, is the critical link, no matter what else might be done. --SJR

Another Voice Against Registerfly.com

2007-01-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a moment and pass along this warning against an allegedly ICANN-accredited registrar called Registerfly.com. Sad to say that although they seemed to operate well in the past and their services were at a reasonable price, that is no longer the case. In fact, participants at a forum called registerflies.com (caution: adult language) allege unethical business practices, poor performance, contractual terms that border upon the unconscionable, and even outright fraud and theft of domain names. As for myself, I can only allege spectacular incompetance and non-existant customer service. Here is my experience in a nutshell, as I posted it on another blog--

1) I was a customer of Registerfly since 2000 or 2001. Back in those days, they were not a registrar in their own right, but only a reseller of eNom.com's registry services. No serious problems...

2) ...until last October (2006). At that point, one of my domains was set to expire on 10/18. But there was a descrepancy between my control panel and my whois information, one of which showed 10/1 (rather than 10/18). In consequence, it appeared that my domain prematurely expired on 10/1.

3) I discover the issue when I was unable to transfer my domain because it had prematurely expired. (At this point, the transfer attempt was only periperally related to Registerfly--I liked GoDaddy.com better and was consolidating all my domains there). I don't recall if it took multiple calls to do this, but when I contacted Registerfly, it took several days to fix the error. But, just then, the domain was set to expire for real, so I was forced to renew the domain with Registerfly first. BUT: To renew the domain, it had to be transferred away from eNom (this was back when registerfly was a reseller). After numerous failed transfer attempts and phone calls, the domain renewed and transferred successfully. Of course, I paid them twice based on some bad guidance I received at one point, but I made sure the domain renewed for two years, which they seemed to have done. If we ended the story right here, I would conclude that they're mediocre at best.

4) But then something bizarre happens: a) Ever since November 2, I started receiving nightly "transfer failed" notices in my email, even though I *know* that the domain transferred successfully (and I've verified this against several independent whois and dns lookups). b) The sum of $8.99 (that's the renewal fee) gets "refunded" into my so-called "Quick Pay" account, even though I didn't pay Registerfly.com any more money. (Registerfly's policy is never to refund for failed services...they instead merely establish a credit balance in your favor, called "Quick Pay," but that balance can only be used against future Registerfly orders.)

5) As if things couldn't possibly get more bizarre, they do. You know what I did? I'm trying to be honest--even with people who aren't very nice-- so I open up a trouble ticket to point out the technical glitch that was working *against* them. You know what they do in response? THEY IGNORED THE TICKET! In fact, except for two instances where they debited nominal sums against the Quick Pay account, they've taken no action...in fact, they will even close out or delete the complaint! On one ticket alone, Registerfly tried to close it out no less than four times without resolving the issue. I finally advised them that I was not going to babysit their billing department any longer.

6) Oh, and did I mention that at one point, I sat in their hold queue for over 30-40 minutes prior to being dumped into voice mail? At long distance rates, no less!!

I'm not going to do anything with the Quick Pay account, as tempting as that might seem. I'm just going to take the high road as to that. But I'll be curious to see how far the balance rises before they finally quit playing games (if at all). Meanwhile, I only have two domains left with r'fly. I will let one expire outright (because it's no longer needed), and the other will be transferred out as quickly as I am able to do so. Thankfully, I safely transferred out two domains already.

In all this, I can't say I've been ripped off as yet (knock on wood). But it is clear that r'fly treats their customers as adversaries. You almost wonder if they actually go out of their way to make people upset.

To those who have reported good experiences all along, all I can say is, be thankful. But I would submit to you that you haven't had any reason to call customer service or open a trouble ticket, either. When you do--and sooner or later, you will--you will rue the day you even considered use of this company.

***

Just as a postscript to the above: Registerfly finally stopped posting credits to my account as of yesterday (January 3). How did this happen? I finally was able to reinitiate the transfer of the domain over to GoDaddy.com. Once the transfer began in earnest, and the domain was updated to a "Transfer Pending" status, that seemed to kick me out of Registerfly's broken transfer process.

Wireless Networking: Problem Solved

2006-06-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

For a long time, my company-issued laptop (running Windows XP Professional SP1 and later SP2) would lose its wireless connectivity every 3-5 minutes. Another computer in our house, running Windows 2000 SP3, could keep a rock-solid connection for hours. Since the latter computer was working so reliably, it couldn't be an issue with interference from neighbors having their own wireless networks.

I still don't quite know why, but all I needed to do was to--

1) Go to "My Network Places," and right-click Properties
2) Select "Wireless Network Connection," and right-click Properties
3) Click on the "Wireless Networks" tab (whereupon my preferred networks are listed)
4) Click on my own home network, then click Properties
5) Click on the Authentication tab
6) "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" was originally set to on. It needed to be turned OFF.
7) Apply change.

Now my laptop seems to be as stable as my desktop. My thanks to an obscure usenet post by Barb Bowman for this solution. --SJR

In re: Eternity

2006-06-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

The following scriptures came to my mind today, while discussing eternal life and related matters over email--

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. --Isa. 55:8-9 [OT]

For now we see through a glass darkly...now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.  --1 Cor. 13:12

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  --1 Cor. 13:11

The original question that was put forth during the discussion was whether we could handle the blessings and responsibilities associated with the eternal worlds to come. Here are the conclusions I draw from the above scriptures and from others that I can't cite at the moment:

1. The way we view Heaven and Eternity is unavoidably and severely distorted.  Few of us have a terribly accurate view...even living prophets are only able to see a small portion of what God is able to see.

2. There are two ways to look at the phrase "...we are children of our Heavenly Father."  The first is the one people usually think of, that is, we're literally His offspring.  But we are also children in the sense that we are spiritually immature.  We were less mature in the pre-existance than we are now...we hope in the post-mortal world we will be more mature.  This is but one way that our view of Eternity is distorted.

3. Our perceptions are distorted in at least two other, critical ways. a) We live upon a fallen earth--one that has not yet been taken to a higher sphere.  Likewise our own bodies, though in God's image, isn't in a higher sphere yet, either.  b) Our own experiences will also to some extent shape our perceptions.

4. It follows that we cannot base our attitudes or decisions about Eternity based on what we perceive is going to happen.  I sometimes hear protestants refer to the eternal world as a place where we sit around and play harps all day...a type of celesial waiting room where seemingly not a great deal happens, except we provide the music-on-hold for the rest of the Universe. That thought doesn't seem very palatable.  But that's precisely what the adversary wants us to think.

5. For Satan uses the separation we have from God--which separation we know is for testing purposes and for our progression--to try to tell us either--  a) That Eternity after the highest manner is simply a load of nonsense (to put it mildly); b) Eternity is just like our present life's experiences, multiplied by the number of digits in Pi; c) We cannot handle the blessings or responsibilities of Eternity--not in this life, nor after the Resurrection, nor EVER; or d) We are not worthy to progress to such a level.  At that point, we may think less about the Temple or about eternal families.  Then we don't repent as we should, and so on.

6. Do I have a clue as to everything that will happen after this life ends?  Not really, apart from what I know from the scriptures, and apart from reassurances I receive through the Spirit.  In this, I am not alone...in fact, I am certain I share this lot with the bulk of the human race.  But this much I can say.  At the very least, I will know more about the transactions of this Earth than I do now.  I will probably learn about all of the good and all of the evil that has ever happened at any point in history (without somehow becoming corrupted in spirit by the latter).  I will learn that my thoughts on earth--including the ones I have this instant--were but those of a child in a very real and profound way.  And most fundamentally, provided I remain true to the covenants I have made, I will be given tools there that I don't have now, and once I have those tools, a lot of the things that I don't understand now will make sense.  And perhaps the most important of these tools would be a direct and unobstructed access to the Godhead, along with a corresponding transformation of our bodies.

Somehow, in that day, I am satisfied that we will know how to experience the blessings and responsibilities that we will encounter, even if it doesn't happen in an instant. We will be able to receive all of it as soon as we are able.  The Lord will not bring his children to the threshold of Eternity, and bid us to drink of the fountain of everlasting waters, only to take aim at us with a fire hose.   --SJR