I mentioned earlier that I have 2 music degrees, neither of which I use. I didn't care about that for a couple of years but now I'm kind of getting a hankering to play again. The Messiah was fun to do and reminded me what it was like to play great music. Last year I played with the Denton municipal band for a few rehearsals & a concert. The band really wasn't that good and I wasn't playing(practicing) between rehearsals and I didn't sound very good. What I would like to do is play in one of the community orchestra around here. The horn player who sat next to me during Messiah said that she and her husband played for the Flower Mound symphony. For some reason, that sounded really good. There are two obstacles: 1. I am still rather out of shape. and 2. My blasted work schedule. The 3rd or 4th week in Feb I(and the rest of the shift) go back to the Thur-Fri-Sat & every other Wednesday 7am-7pm. #1 could be largely cured by a month of steady playing. #2 seems to be just the way it is. At any rate, the work schedule is really handicapping me getting back into performing.

Incidentaly, my work benefits are changing for the New Year. There were/are $10 copay for drs visits & inpatient hospital visits and $100 copay for er visits. 100% of everything after that was covered. On the 1st my insurance will be $250 deductible(or $500 per family) and 80%-20%(meaning that I will be responsible for 20% of all medical expenses after the deductible is met. So the philosophy that needs to be employed here is 'don't get sick.' And if you do get sick you had better not need to be admitted to the hospital. Here is the way that the company explained it to us in an email:

'Each year, we carefully analyze our benefit plan design and cost to balance our ability to hire and retain top quality associates with our ability to competitively price our services. This balance is critical to Perot Systems’ continued success—as an employer and service provider. Based on this evaluation, you will see changes in the structure of the 2006 health benefits plan design. Our competitive research revealed that the market trend is moving away from plans utilizing co-pays, and replacing them with deductible and co-insurance plans. Our revised plans will reflect alignment with this market trend by providing a choice of plans with varying levels of deductibles and co-insurance.'

I shall do you a favor and translate this:

'We looked around and saw that other companies were getting away with phasing out copays so it looked like a great time for us to do it as well. After all, it saves you, uh...I mean us, a LOT of money.'

One of the few good things about working here was the great benefits. Not anymore.


On the sunny side of life the, BYU men's basketball team is 7-3 after clobbering Eastern Washington at home 97-66. I'm not reading too much into the good start by BYU as most of their wins haven't come against good competition. We'll all know more after the game against Air Force next Thursday. BYU plays Tulsa(4-6) at home on Friday but they don't look too strong as of yet.

I got bored the other day and started up looking up old roommates on the web and found this. We were roommates for 2 years in a basement that an older couple was renting out to us and 3 other intrepid souls. I'm glad that things worked out the way that he wanted them to. He looks very intellectual in that picture, huh?

We performed Handel's Messiah at the Stake Center Sunday night. It went pretty well from what I could hear and from what I've been told. A friend did tell me that the choir was miked wayyyy too much. Said that it was hard to hear the orchestra, if you can believe that. My wife said that she had a hard time hearing me and she only sat 7 rows back or so(and I play the trombone). It sounded pretty good at the dress rehearsal. The only thing that I can think of is that someone thought that the extra bodies in the audience would deaden the sound somewhat so they jacked up the sound a couple of notches. I wish that I could give a better first hand account but I was playing in the thing and not in the audience.

Still several audience members said that they enjoyed the performance very much. Also, it was great to play again. It felt good and it wasn't as hard as I thought to get back into decent(not necessarily 100%) playing shape again. The horn sitting next to me and her husband both perform with the Flower Mound Symphony Orchestra and it sounded like they have a blast doing it. I sure wish that I had the time to do something like that but my job schedule(nights) kills that idea right away. No fun at all.

Some background on my earlier post:

I graduated from BYU in 1995 in music education. That may sound ok to most but the problem was that student teaching pretty much convinced me that high school students are manipulative bastards and killed whatever desire I had to teach. I felt that I leaned more towards performance(trombone).

So I went to graduate school at the University of North Texas. It started out poorly and never got better. My auditions didn't go so well right off and I didn't get placed in the ensemble that I would have liked. Things got better in those regards but I never got into the ensemble that I want. In retrospect, it looked to me like you made a good impression right off or you were screwed. Its a HUGE college of music(biggest in the country last I checked) and once you were pigeonholed, that was it. I take responsibility for some poor decisions that I made while there at school but there was definitely that aspect. My (trombone)teacher & I got along pretty well for the most part and I actually worked for him for a while doing music copying work(I learned Finale while I was at BYU. That really helped me with cash to get through school. He was great in those regards. We had a bit of a falling out towards the end of my time there due to some deception on his part. I graduated with a MM in 1998. But just barely. I was sick of playing the trombone by that time and I was just tired of the whole thing. Surely some of you can relate to that.

Anyhow I decided I wanted to take a break from music and do music copying and some web page construction. Neither of those worked out very well; the copying was inconsistant and I wasn't all that good at the web page thing.

I was basically unemployed for about a year.

Then I met someone who was in my stake(a group of LDS congregations is organized into a stake) that worked for Perot Systems. He was really sold on the company and I was enthusiastic about getting into a technology based corporation. If you think of what the economy was like in 1999 then you might understand. Anywho, I talked myself into a job via a recriuter and they agreed to place me in the mainframe tape library, night shift. At the time all one needed to do , seemingly, was get a foot in the door and work hard and opportunities would present themselves.I did just that and got moved from tape ops to the command center after 7 months. I was moved to various platforms(Data General, Mainframe Operations) before I was moved to my current position: mainframe cycle management. Everything was going well & I seemed to be moving along and then two things happened. The stock market crash in October of 2000 & Ross Perot stopped actively managing the company. Ross Jr was in charge and I don't think that he was much interested in it. Anyhow, the end result was very low annual raises(usually 2% across the board) and limited upward mobility. Everything just froze.

About a year ago I got some hope of moving into the project management field within the company. It was a hot occupation(and probably still is) and the company offered internal classes. Then I went to see him on the morning of January 4, 2005 to ask if I could work on some on some of what whatever projects might be going on to get some experience. He seemed to think that that was a good idea and said he was glad that I told him that I was interested in that field. He would be glad to help. So I left that meeting hopeful, happy, & upbeat. I went back to my regular job and waited. And waited. After several weeks I emailed him a couple of time following up on this and got no response. Then I asked my shift manager(the guy on the same shift as me who also reported to the 'boss' in question. He said that he hadn't heard anything. After a couple more weeks I emailed my boss asking if I could apply for begginer type PM/Coordinator type positions within the company. No response.I asked my shift manager to follow up with him. The message that the boss gave him was 'He can apply but tell him if he does then he's going to be out of a job.' Great. I went to HR to make sure that my job was safe and then I sat down with my shift manager and my boss. Basically nothing got changed except that he said that I could apply for jobs without getting canned in the process. Gee, thanks. Problem is, I have no experience. Hmmmm....seems like we talked about that earlier. I should add that he hasn't let anyone in my shift take another job in the company for at least three years.

So I sit here having worked nights for 6 years, in a job that is killing off my brain cells, with no possibility for advancement, sitting next to a guy for 12 hours at a time who is both immature and has no repect for me(but that's another topic), and I commute 40 minutes a day(each way) to do it all.


But I have 2 music degrees.

This just in: MY JOB SUCKS!!!

7pm-7am mainframe cycle management.


Please let me know if you know of any openings for a person with 2 music degrees who has experience in mainframe ops & cm. There may be a chili's gc in it for you.

BYU 34, Utah 41

This was a tale of two halves. BYU came out lethargic and unable to execute their way out of a paper bag. Utah recoved a fumble(that was ripped away from Tahi) and returned it inside of the BYU 5 and punched it in from there. Also, Bronco took a pass on an easy field goal attempt and elected to go for it. The 4th down play failed. Score at halftime? 24-3, yewtah.

BYU came out on fire in the third quarter, scoring 3 tds in the period. They followed it up with 10 in the fourth, but it just wasn't quite enough. It went to OT but the yewts took advantage of BYU's porous pass defense and BYU couldn't score when it counted. You can read about it here.

Oh yeah, the yewts players & fans flooded onto the field and their band kept playing during the postgame ceremony honoring the BYU seniors. Isn't that nice?

BYU 35, Wyoming 21

I got to see this one with my Dad while visiting my parents in Arkansas, about a 4 hour drive from where we live in Texas. It was a good visit with the folks topped off by watching a nice win by BYU.

BYU clearly outplayed Wyoming in the first half, scoring 14 points in each of the first two quarters. Wyoming put together some nice drives but turnovers really killed them. It was BYU 28, WYO 14 at the half. The third quarter was pivotal as Wyoming scored a td to bring themselves to within seven. After they forced a BYU punt, they drove all the way down to the BYU 9 yard line and were on the verge of tying the game....before fumbling the ball. BYU recovered. BYU then drove 93 yards to reestablish the 14 point lead.

The story of this game was 5 Wyoming turnovers(0 BYU turnovers). Wyoming moved the ball very well but the turnovers just killed them.

The most astounding individual performance of the night belonged to Justin Luettgerodt. Luettgerodt recovered 3 Wyoming fumbles and had an interception as well. I'm not sure how someone would do this even if they tried. Three fumble recoveries in one game? That's just incredible. This almost makes up for that biffed xp snap in the TCU game.

It was somewhat disconcerting to me that BYU didn't score in the 4th quarter and only scored 7 points in the second half. BYU needs to assert itself and be better at putting teams away. I fear that the BYU offense may have lost some momentum. I sure hope not. On the other hand, the defense deserves some credit for holding Wyoming to 7 second half points.

Now on to Utah.

BYU hasn't beaten Utah since 2001.

Utah is without its starting quarterback(Brian Johnson - knee) & its leading receiver(Madsen - ankle). Both got hurt Saturday in the utes home loss to New Mexico. I felt sorry for BJ - knee injuries just suck. I'm sorry that they got hurt but I'm not sad that we don't have to face them Saturday, either. Johnson is an excellent qb. Due to these key injuries most BYU fans are wildly (over)confident. I am not. Utah always prepares very, very well for BYU - even in the years that they aren't doing well. I am quite sure that the Utah players are preparing for this game with a focus and effort fueled by the white-hot hatred that they feel for BYU. You can read more on my feelings about it here.

So Utah is without a couple of key players but I have every reason to believe that they will be well prepared for the game saturday. It should be tough, especially if BYU is overconfident(which they very well might be). I hope that they practice with a sense of urgency this week.

Yeehaw!

BYU 55, UNLV 14

I don't get to see many BYU games(being in Texas and no ESPN gameplan availble through my cable provider) but someone I met through CougarBoard graciously invited me over to watch it. He had a nice setup - a projection tv(a projector hooked up to his satellite signal) which used a blank spot on the far wall as a screen. The projector was directly overhead from where we were sitting. It was very nice. I brought the chips & soda.

The team started slow but UNLV turned it over a couple of times(via interception) deep in their own territory and BYU seemed to have no trouble scoring inside of the redzone. It was 27-7 at halftime after BYU scored 20 2nd quarter points. You can guess the rest.

It was pretty cool watching the game in such a nice setting but I sure was bushed by the time it was over. My work schedule has screwed up my sleep schedule to the point where I often get really tired in the evening. The game didn't get over until after 6pm Saturday evening and I was lucky to get home in one piece. Its a solid hour drive from Rockwall(where I watched the game) to Denton. Still, it was great to be able to see the whole game and to see the Cougars do so well. 2 more games to go - @Wyoming and at home against Utah.

Winning either one would clinch BYU's first winning season since 2001. Winning both would be better, of course. 7-4 would be an attractive record to shop around to the bowls. I, unlike some on CougarBoard, am not going to assume or predict victories in either of these games. BYU lost too many games in the first half of the season for me to be too confident about victories from one week to the next. Every week, I just kind of hold my breath and hope for the best. Call it 'The Crowton Effect.' Anyhow...

I think BYU has a good chance at Wyoming but Laramie is a difficult place to play in so I'm afraid that the Cougars may stumble here. I sure hope not.

I'm not even going to try to call the Utah game. They have really had BYU's number the last few years. They have a good passing qb and BYU's pass defense has been really porous. Good news: Utah's running D has been equally porous and BYU has a HUGE(think 310 and go north from there) offensive line and a couple of pretty good running backs. Utah really hates BYU, though. Really. Quite a bit more, it seems to me, than the other way around. This often translates to BYU preparing like its just another game and Utah preparing like they are on fire. BYU shows up a step slow and hands made out of clay and then Utah goes crazy; long pass plays and long punt returns and the like. And home field advantage doesn't seem to matter that much to BYU in this game because the schools are less than an hour apart and Utah always travels well to BYU. If BYU can control the clock by moving the ball with the running game it will improve their chances of winning quite a bit.

Here's hoping that we win out!!!!!

GO COUGARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a big Star Wars Fan.

and.......






ROTS is out TODAY!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to see all the extras, how they filmed the scenes, how the made the special effects, interviews, etc. Should be cool.

Review: A Thanksgiving of American Folk Hymns

Disclaimer: I performed in this. But rest assured BYU pays me absolutely NO royalties. They didn't even put the names of any of the performers(except for the conductors, of course) in the liner notes. They sure aren't going to pay me anything.

This was recorded in 2 days in April 1994 as a PBS special that was shown that fall & winter during the holidays. They also showed it in subsequent years but I haven't heard of it being shown in a while. Its also available on VHS & DVD.

This is a review of selected tracks.

Saints Bound for Heaven(BYU Combined Choirs & Orchestra) - A rousing introduction to this cd. It starts out with, frankly, a shaky fanfare by the trumpets but once the choir comes in, the accompanying brass ensemble(including the trumpets) settle down and the piece moves rather well. A good selection to start this cd.

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need(BYU Concert Choir, flute, oboe, harp) - Written in 3/4, this Wilberg arrangement is a delightful psalm that is performed well and is soothing to listen to. The flute, oboe, & harp add substantially to the presentation and leaves the listener with an almost idyllic sense of being. Very Nice.

The Morning Trumpet(BYU Men's Chorus) - An a capella performance arrangement, this piece has a religous/miltary anthem 'feel' to it. Well performed, this piece drives the listener and seems to have the purpose of motivating the listener to action, especially with individual 'action' words which being emphasized. Well performed.

Cindy(Men's Chorus, fiddles, percussion, piano) - A enjoyable, raucous arrangement of a popular folk tune. The tone of this piece is a country-hoedown - just kind of a good time. Complete with fiddles and footstomping this is a song that you will be singing to yourself after listening.

The Promised Land(BYU Singers) - This a capella arrangement has a real old world feel to it. Kind of Puritan-Colonial America.

Redeemer of Israel(BYU Combined Choirs & Brass Ensemble) - A sensational arrangement of a popular LDS hymn. The opening brass fanfare is well conceived and leads into the main section with force. This piece, another piece of Wilberg magic, brings excitement to this popular hymn by adding brass and creating enough variation in the melody to keep the the musical line new and interesting. A very powerful setting of a great hymn.

Battle Hymn of The Republic(BYU Men's Chorus & Philharmonic Orchestra) - If this one sounds familiar its because its a close copy of the arrangement that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir won a Grammy with some years ago. Well executed, this arrangement for Men's Choir is performed solidly from top to bottom.

Come Thou Fount(BYU Combined Choirs & Philharmonic Orchestra) - Mack Wilberg really has a talent for taking a very simple melodic line and blowing it up into a huge masterwork. This piece is no exception. This adaption of the 17th century colonial hymn starts out with a small group of female voices gently setting forth the basic melody creating an ethereal quality in the process. This is followed by an orchestral interlude and then the entrance of the male portion of the choir...this time stronger. The basic premise of the piece is to start soft & finish strong while alternating the male & female voices and joing them together at the end. Not exactly a new form but Wilberg does all of this wonderfully and it all fits together seemlessly. The performance is well done and there is are strong emotions that really comes across on the recording. This is a terrific performance.


Overall, a very good cd. Pick this one up if you like choral or inspirational music.

Testimony Meeting ideas


Some ideas for efficient Testimony meetings. If you are Mormon then you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you aren't then just try to think of the last time you listened to several speakers in a row who rambled on with no real point:


The Appeals Court Method: Have three small lights mounted on top of the podium; one red, one yellow, one green. The green one means that they have 2 minutes, the yellow 30 seconds, and when the red comes on their time is up and the microphone is switched off


The Monty Burns Method: This one is rather simple. There is a trap door that the speaker is standing on. After the speaker has gone over time or after the Bishop has determined that he/she has become tiresome then he hits a special button that opens the trap door and the person takes a trip down a giant slide into a room to which all of the screaming kids have been taken to from the chapel. This one can be easily incorporated into the 'Appeals Court' method.


The Motel 6 Method: This is mainly to keep 8 people from hopping up 2 minutes before the meeting is supposed to end. It consists simply of a 'vacancy-no vacancy' sign on the front of the podium. The 'vacancy' part is lit until the Bishop determines that enough people are on the stand to finish out the meeting, at which point the 'no vacancy' portion is lit. Perhaps a couple of those toll both barriers that raise and lower when you pay a toll can be used to help regulate this.

The Gong Show Method: I trust that this doesn't really need much explanation. DO NOT LET THE YOUNG MEN PARTICIPATE IN THIS!!!!



Interesting what you can come up with when you sit through enough of these things.

Well, there you have it. Several ideas for an efficient and semi-reverant testimony meeting. I am sure that at least one of these methods can help your ward.

A very nice 1978 article about The Gospel & The Arts:


http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Liahona/1978.htm/tambuli%20february%201978%20.htm/first%20presidency%20message%20the%20gospel%20vision%20of%20the%20arts.htm

'The HFAC Crew' Pictures

Every fall a group of us who went through the music program at BYU in the early to mid 90's, get together in Provo for a weekend to remisice and just enjoy each other's company. Usually we have a dinner party on Friday and on Saturday go to Brick Oven(a local pizza place) as well as attend a BYU football home game. I came in from Texas, another came from LA, and another drove in from Colorado. The rest live in the Provo/SLC area. It turned out really well this year(the weekend of Oct 15th) as people came this time that I hadn't seen in quite a while. It was nice visiting with everybody.

This is the fifth consecutive year that we've done this.

Here are some pictures:


Friday's Dinner



























Brick Oven




















The Game
BYU v CSU

The BYU Marching Band







Curtis Brown hits the hole











Curtis Brown off right tackle...Touchdown BYU!






Well, there you have it. It was a lot of fun and great seeing everyone again.

BTW, BYU defeated CSU(Colorado State) 24-14.