Blog – Page 11

100 Years Ago: Insurrection, Death, North Pole

March 6, 2011 by rickety 1 Comment

Robert Peary and Captain Bob Bartlett standing on a ship, Battle Harbor, Labrador, circa 1909

The following was adapted from the Improvement Era magazine of March 1911.

Insurrection In Mexico (Again)

The insurrection in Mexico, in the interest of Francisco de Madero, the defeated candidate for the presidency, which broke out on November 17 last, is still in progress in northern Mexico. Considerable trouble has been experienced by roving bands of robbers in Chihuahua, where they have attacked settlements which they considered were unable to defend themselves.

Several conflicts with government troops have taken place, and things are in an uncertain condition in that state. So far the settlements of the Latter-day Saints have not been disturbed, though much anxiety has been felt, and the situation is serious.

[Not much has changed in 100 years. Today’s Mexican Drug War, an armed conflict among rival drug cartels and between the drug cartels and the Mexican government, killed 12 mayors and a candidate for governor in 2010. Among the states that suffer most is Chihuahua, mentioned in the 1911 story.]

Falling Mule Death (Amended)

[This is a continuation of last month’s story]
Elder John Edward Kirkman, who came to his death in Hawaii, on January 10, it appears did not fall from a precipitous cliff into the sea. He came to his death in trying to cross a mountain stream which was unusually swollen. He got into the center of the stream, when his mule lost its footing, and he was washed with the animal over a high waterfall, some twenty feet below the crossing, which neither he nor his companion, who wisely did not venture to cross the stream, knew existed.

After strenous effort, the body was found in a cave below the fall; it was veiled by the falling waters and washed continually with the rainbow spray, so that his body was preserved as though in sleep. It is expected the body will be brought to Utah for burial.

North Pole (Almost)

Peary reached the north pole within a mile and three-fifths, according to the government report made by an expert who examined his observations. It thus appears that the exact spot was not reached, but it is evident that it was near enough for all practical purposes, and no one else is likely to attempt the feat in the near future.

Adapted from: “Passing Events”, Improvement Era, Vol. XIV. March, 1911. No. 5.
Photograph: Library of Congress, Peary & Bartlett, Battle Harbor

Model Railroad Festival

March 5, 2011 by rickety 2 Comments

One of the several rooms with layouts at the Ogden Union Station

Today we visited the Ogden Union Station to attend The Hostlers Model Railroad 2011 Festival. There were HO, N, G, O and S scale layouts in several rooms. During the three day show over 8,000 people will visit (it seemed like all of them were there right at the time we arrived).

The Hostlers Model Railroad Club was founded in February 1988 in Ogden and has now grown to over 180 members.

We headed straight for the model railroad layouts. There was a lot of them to see.

Watching the trains: Bryson, Sarah, Adelaide, Cassandra, Jill, and Aurora

There was even a large Lego Layout

Watching Trains

Climbing on Trains

At the Union Station are locomotives that were designed to pull large trains over steep Western terrain. The 833 steam engine (at left in the photo below) is a Union Pacific Northern. This 4-8-4 saw both freight and passenger service between Utah and Wyoming. Also featured is a restored Red Cross Hospital Car, Railroad Post Office Car and the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Cauldron Car.

The Ogden railyard has trains that you can climb on

Here is what it looks like on board a steam engine

They'll let anybody drive a train

Riding a Train

It is fun watching the model trains and climbing on some old full-size trains. But there is nothing like a ride in a train.

All aboard the train

Riding in the train even if it is just around in circles

The Long Train Movie

If you don’t have a movie for the evening then perhaps you could try this video. It doesn’t have much of a plot but there is one exciting part where one of the guard posts is knocked over. You can then watch it being put back in place. This video can also be used in place of a sleeping pill — no prescription needed. They way it works is to count the rail cars instead of sheep.

Paul Tackles Old Age

February 28, 2011 by rickety 1 Comment

Paul seems to think my eyes aren’t able to see quite as well as when I was his age. So for his latest project he programmed a jumbo universal remote that Megan bought from Deseret Industries. It cost $1.50 because the battery cover was missing. But there is nothing that Paul can’t fix with a little duct tape.

At the moment the remote will control the television and the VCR. It also controls the family room and stair lights because Paul thinks my legs aren’t getting any younger either.

Paul figured if he gave me the remote directly I would be offended and wouldn’t use it so he left it laying on the couch. Right on cue I picked it up and started trying the buttons. Tonight I looked on the remote hoping to find a jumbo “PP” button — the one that will turn off Paul’s Projects, at least for a little while.

Sledding Near Miss

February 26, 2011 by rickety 2 Comments

Sarah, Bryson, and Aurora ready to sled

There was snow on the ground so Adelaide, Sarah, the grandchildren, Jill, and I went sledding. We picked a very small hill for the grandchildren and took our cameras. Click on the images to enlarge. The videos are usually not visible in a feed reader. In the screencap below I have circled a girl in pink at the bottom of the hill. Keep your eye on her when you play the accompanying video of Bryson and I sledding.

Sledding near miss

Adelaide took the photograph below as we narrowly missed the little girl in pink. You can see how close we came. I still had the camera rolling.

The near miss, taken from a different angle

Aurora in the snow

Bryson with a snowball

Cassandra

Adelaide, Aurora, and Cassandra sledding

Sarah and Bryson sledding

Presidents on Arms

February 25, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

The right of the People to keep and bear arms

The Second Amendment, adopted on December 15, 1791, is the part of the Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Recently the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia. The Court also ruled that limits placed on the federal government also apply to State and local governments.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The version above was passed by Congress. The version ratified by the States does not capitalize militia or arms but does capitalize People.

Collected herein is a quote from each president about arms. Do you have a favorite?

George Washington
(1789–1797)

“A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well digested plan is requisite: And their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories, as tend to render them independent on others, for essential, particularly for military supplies.”

John Adams
(1797–1801)

“Opposition, nay, open, avowed resistance by arms, against usurpation and lawless violence, is not rebellion by the law of God or the land.”

Thomas Jefferson
(1801–1809)

“No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”

James Madison
(1809–1817)

“[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

James Monroe
(1817–1825)

“The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals.”

John Quincy Adams
(1825–1829)

“…it is by the militia that we are constituted an armed nation, standing in perpetual panoply of defense in the presence of all the other nations of the earth.”

Andrew Jackson
(1829–1837)

“Partial injuries and occasional mortifications we may be subjected to, but a million of armed freemen, possessed of the means of war, can never be conquered by a foreign foe.”

Martin Van Buren
(1837–1841)

“[Great Britain] taunted us with our weakness, railed at our fir-built frigates, lightly estimated our prowess and our resources and despised our reiterated declarations of a necessity and a determination to resort to arms for a redress of wrongs.”

William Henry Harrison
(1841)

“Can the citizens of a free country, who have taken arms to defend its rights, think of submitting to an army composed of mercenary soldiers, reluctant Canadians goaded to the field by the bayonet, and of wretched, naked savages?”

John Tyler
(1841–1845)

“A principle much more controlling was found in the love of order and obedience to the laws, which, with mere individual exceptions, everywhere possesses the American mind, and controls with an influence far more powerful than hosts of armed men.”

James Polk
(1845–1849)

“Our reliance for protection and defense on the land must be mainly on our citizen soldiers, who will be ever ready, as they ever have been ready in times past, to rush with alacrity, at the call of their country, to her defense.”

Zachary Taylor
(1849–1850)

“It is to be hoped that no international question can now arise which a government confident in its own strength and resolved to protect its own just rights may not settle by wise negotiation; and it eminently becomes a government like our own, founded on the morality and intelligence of its citizens and upheld by their affections, to exhaust every resort of honorable diplomacy before appealing to arms.”

Millard Fillmore
(1850–1853)

“To maintain this Union by force of arms, merely, would require a standing army that would exhaust all the resources of the nation, and necessarily convert our Government into a military despotism. This is a result that no patriot can contemplate without horror.”

Franklin Pierce
(1853–1857)

“…never to shrink from war when the rights and the honor of the country call us to arms, but to cultivate in preference the arts of peace, seek enlargement of the rights of neutrality, and elevate and liberalize the intercourse of nations…”

James Buchanan
(1857–1861)

“[Brigham Young] has therefore for several years, in order to maintain his independence, been industriously employed in collecting and fabricating arms and munitions of war and in disciplining the Mormons for military service.”

Abraham Lincoln
(1861–1865)

“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.”

Andrew Johnson
(1865–1869)

“…the other [act of Congress] is contrary to the express declaration of the Constitution that ‘a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'”

Ulysses Grant
(1869–1877)

“When people are oppressed by their government, it is a natural right they enjoy to relieve themselves of oppression, if they are strong enough, whether by withdrawal from it, or by overthrowing it and substituting a government more acceptable.”

Rutherford Hayes
(1877–1881)

“We cared nothing for foreign nations: they were too far, too distant; and anyway, with the North and South united, as I believe they now are, in feeling, we can meet the world in arms against us.”

James Garfield
(1881)

“Our country cannot be independent unless its people, with their abundant natural resources, possess the requisite skill at any time to clothe, arm and equip themselves for war, and in time of peace produce all the necessary implements of labor.”

Chester Arthur
(1881–1885)

“But if we heed the teachings of history we shall not forget that in the life of every nation emergencies may arise when a resort to arms can alone save it from dishonor.”

Grover Cleveland
(1885–1889 & 1893–1897)

“With the nations of the Western Hemisphere we should cultivate closer relations; and for our common prosperity and advancement we should invite them all to join with us in an agreement that for the future all international troubles in North or South America shall be adjusted by impartial arbitration, and not by arms.”

Benjamin Harrison
(1889–1893)

“If there is too much exuberance in the thought that we can whip the world, it is a safe saying that we can defend our land and coasts against any part of the world that will ever be in arms against us.”

William McKinley
(1897–1901)

“It is asserted that the western provinces are already well-nigh reclaimed, that the planting of cane and tobacco therein has been resumed, and that by force of arms and new and ample reforms very early and complete pacification is hoped for.”

Theodore Roosevelt
(1901–1909)

“We desire the peace which comes as of right to the just man armed; not the peace granted on terms of ignominy to the craven and the weakling.”

William Howard Taft
(1909–1913)

“We shall enter into any war with a full conscious-
ness of the awful consequences that it always entails, whether successful or not, and we, of course, shall make every effort consistent with national honor and the highest national interest to avoid a resort to arms.”

Woodrow Wilson
(1913–1921)

“We must depend in every time of national peril, in the future as in the past, not upon a standing army, nor yet upon a reserve army, but upon a citizenry trained and accustomed to arms.”

Warren Harding
(1921–1923)

“Amid it all we have riveted the gaze of all civilization to the unselfishness and the righteousness of representative democracy, where our freedom never has made offensive warfare, never has sought territorial aggrandizement through force, never has turned to the arbitrament of arms until reason has been exhausted.”

Calvin Coolidge
(1923–1929)

“We do not know of any nation which has ever been able to provide arms enough so as always to be at peace.”

Herbert Hoover
(1929–1933)

“The smaller the armed forces of the world, the less will be the number of men withdrawn from the creative and productive labors.”

Franklin Roosevelt
(1933–1945)

“But even a nation well armed and well organized from a strictly military standpoint may, after a period of time, meet defeat if it is unnerved by self-distrust, endangered by class prejudice, by dissension between capital and labor, by false economy and by other unsolved social problems at home.”

Harry Truman
(1945–1953)

“We must preserve our national strength. Strength is not simply a matter of arms and force. It is a matter of economic growth, and social health, and vigorous institutions, public and private.”

Dwight Eisenhower
(1953–1961)

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”

John Kennedy
(1961–1963)

“By calling attention to ‘a well regulated militia,’ ‘the security of the nation,’ and the right of each citizen ‘to keep and bear arms,’ our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy…”

Lyndon Johnson
(1963–1969)

“Yet as we protect freedom by courage in arms, we shall every day continue the search for an honorable peace. It is tragic that young lives must be sacrificed, that great sums must be spent for the instruments of war, when the work of peace awaits man’s accomplishment in every land.”

Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)

“[President Eisenhower’s] life reminds us that there is a moral force in this world more powerful than the might of arms or the wealth of nations.”

Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)

“America must remain first in keeping peace in the world. We can remain first in peace only if we are never second in defense.”

Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)

“Our stand for peace is suspect if we are also the principal arms merchant of the world.”

Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)

“You won’t get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. There’s only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up and if you don’t actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time…”

George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)

“A world once divided into two armed camps now recognizes one sole and preeminent power, the United States of America.”

Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)

“In the end, all the world’s wealth and a thousand armies are no match for the strength and decency of the human spirit.”

George W. Bush
(2001–2009)

“I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun.”

Barack Obama
(2009–)

“As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can’t constrain the exercise of that right, in the same way that we have a right to private property but local governments can establish zoning ordinances that determine how you can use it.”

Sources

The Presidents Series

Chrome’s Dead, Jim!

February 25, 2011 by rickety 4 Comments

The page I was viewing in Chrome died today, as you can see from the message. This doesn’t happen very often and when it does, just the one page dies and not the whole browser. I like amusing error messages, it soothes the pain of a crash.

For the one or two people on the Internet who don’t know who Jim is or who said, “He’s Dead, Jim!” watch the video or click on the error message.

6 Money Tips for Married Couples

February 24, 2011 by Edward Leave a Comment

Edward Stern is a writer on earning your bachelors degree online.

Marriage is a union between two people who are in love and want to share the rest of their lives together, but boy does money enter into the equation in a big way. Money issues are the #1 reason for divorce in the United States, mostly because people don’t have enough of it. Money is a big deal for a married couple, especially ones with children and other family members to support.

Especially in today’s tough economy, it’s more important than ever to be thrifty and do what you can to save money. Saving money doesn’t mean drastic life changes or eating 10-cent ramen noodles with every meal; instead, just making a few easy cuts here and there can help you save big over the course of a year. Here are six money tips for married couples to help make some easy choices when it comes to money that will help you save, both on bills and on headaches.

Buy store brand as much as possible: Whether it’s at Costco, Target, or Safeway, buy store brand over name brand as much as possible. It’ll save you a good chunk of change and you’ll be getting the same thing as the name brand, really. Big name brands bid on getting the rights to store brands so they can capture different parts of the market. They sell store brands for less and name brands for more to help off-set costs. For basic things like toilet paper, pasta, and bottled water, go with the discount name brand to spend less without sacrificing quality.
Be creative when it comes to childcare: One of the largest expenditures for working parents annually is childcare costs. Putting a child through daycare and after-school care is expensive enough, but when you throw multiple children into the mix, it becomes a financial drain. Figure out creative ways to save on childcare. Ask relatives if they’d be willing to watch children, and compensate by taking them out to dinner every once in a while or treating them to a night out. Swap playdates with other parents, or if you work part time, find another mom with a different schedule from yours to swap shifts. Enroll older children in after-school sports at school.
Cut the crap: In all likelihood, you are paying for things you don’t need or rarely lose. Get rid of them. Magazine subscriptions are a drain on finances, as are newspaper subscriptions; plus, you can view the same content online for free or for a cheaper rate. If you’re not using a gym membership, cancel it, or just go running and create a home gym. Do you really need premium cable? How many of those thousand channels do you watch?
Explore the great outdoors: Family days at an amusement park or at the movies are certainly fun and a good way to spend time together, but they are costly. Instead, have fun at a public park tossing a football or go swimming at a public beach. Go on a day hike, or if it’s snowing have a big snowball fight and build snowmen all day, maybe splurging on a hot chocolate break at the nearest bakery. See what community events are being put on in your neighborhood and city. Family fun days don’t have to be expensive — there’s plenty to do for free.
Get a programmable thermostat: Heating bills are a big cost, and rather than making your family bundle up while keeping the house freezing, install a programmable thermostat. Most people save up to 20 percent on their heating bills by doing so because you can program it to turn off when you’re out and about and to change temperatures in the morning and when you go to bed.
Only buy what you can: After creating a budget stick to it, and only buy what you can afford now — that means no credit cards. You’ll just get yourself into debt and rack up costly interest, having to pay more than you would have before. Spend responsibly and within your means, avoiding credit cards to encourage those habits.

Bryson Visits Brigham City Temple Construction Site

February 23, 2011 by rickety 3 Comments

Jill was in Brigham City today at the temple site. Construction continues on the north-east corner of the temple. Since Jill viewed the construction two weeks ago, the corner has risen to the same height as the other corners of the temple.

Bryson, taking some refreshment, posed in front of the construction at the viewing area.

Reduce, Reform, and Restrict National Government

February 22, 2011 by rickety 1 Comment

Shays' Rebellion, a clash between farmers and merchants, threatened to plunge the states into civil war

The Revolutionary War left many of the colonies deep in debt because of borrowing for troops and weapons. States tried to pay back these debts in Continentals, printed by the Confederation Congress, but people wanted gold and silver that had real value. Each state was printing its own money, causing disputes over what each currency was really worth.

The Confederation Congress could not raise taxes nor use a court system to force states to trade with each other. Some farmers refused to pay taxes and took up arms causing the federal militia to be called out to stop the rebellion. Obviously a stronger national government was needed. From this need evolved our current Federal Government.

A number of people recently have expressed delight that the Federal Government may have to close down. They feel that we would all be better off with no national government at all. Clearly, if history is understood, we cannot return to the days before the Constitution and all the problems a weak national government entailed.

Rather, we need to insist on the government the Constitution gave us. The set of fundamental principles and established precedents detailed in the Constitution outline how we are to be governed. If the Founders thought that no national government was necessary, they would never have met in Philadelphia and given us the Constitution.

The real problem is not that we have a national government but that Washington has overreached its power, overspent its budget, and overrun state sovereignty. A reduced, reformed national government, restricted to its enumerated powers, should be our goal.

100 Years Ago: War, Death, and Western Pacific

February 20, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

The following was adapted from the Improvement Era magazine of February 1911.

No More War?

For the abolition of international war, Mr. Andrew Carnegie has transferred to a board of trustees, twenty-seven in number, Senator Root of New York as president, ten million dollars, in five per cent first mortgage bonds.

Andrew Carnegie in 1913

The proceeds, five hundred thousand dollars annually, is to be freely used by the board to establish a lasting, world-wide peace.

When war is abolished, the fund is still to be used for the banishment of the next most degrading evil.

[100 years later, we have wars or conflicts in Afghanistan, Balochistan, Cambodia, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ingushetia, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, North Caucasus, North West Pakistan, Sahara, Somalia, South Thailand, South Yemen, Sudan, and Yemeni.

Founded in 1910, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is still in operation.]

Falling Mule Death

Elder John Edward Kirkman, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Kirkman, of Salt Lake City, and who was laboring as a missionary in the Hawaiian Islands, came to his death by drowning in the sea, on January 10.

He was riding a mule along the edge of a precipitous cliff on the island of Maui, when the mule missed its footing and fell with its rider into the sea, and both were carried away with the tide.

Elder Kirkman’s body was found on January 15, and was buried in Kipehulu.

[This is not the end of the Falling Mule story]

Passenger Interchange

The Western Pacific Railway has arranged with the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Santa Fe for the interchange of passengers. This now gives Salt Lake City three trans-continental lines.

The Western Pacific promises to become a strong factor in the material development of the territory traversed by it in Utah, Nevada and California.

[Western Pacific was acquired in 1983 by Union Pacific. In 1988, Rio Grande Industries purchased the Southern Pacific Railroad, the combined company taking the Southern Pacific name. In 1995, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway. In 1996 Southern Pacific was purchased by Union Pacific.]

Adapted from: “Passing Events”, Improvement Era, Vol. XIV. February, 1911. No. 4.

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