I've taken a million pics of Bella in the past couple weeks. I just haven't had time to post them :P Here are some that I tried to take with the computer. Not many came out cute. lol I kept getting butthole in every shot ;D More to come later. Anyway, enjoy!
P.S. After a lot of hard work and many accidents we are finally starting to see some results with the potty training. ;D
So, we've been tagged by Ryan and Mandy. I don't know what this means, other than that the person that tags you thinks by virtue of the fact that they can type "I tag So and So" on their blog, they can compel them to answer random and trivial questions on their own blog. The unmitigated gall...
Well...
In the mashed-up words of an impersonated Sean Connery, "I'll play your game, you rogue..." but "...I'll not pay this fine, you curd, it's unjust!"
1. Name three types of people who should qualify for forced labor camps.
David: 1) Communists/Marxists/Stalinists/Maoists. You live your dream, let me live mine. 2) Fashion designers. One of the most despicable lies perpetrated on our society is the one that gets people to choose a $500 pair of pants over a $10 pair. 3) BCS apologists. The BCS is ruining a sport that, if it had a playoff, would be pure, perfect, and sacred, and you are in favor of this? It's the gulag for you!
Ashley: I don't care
(Ashley had a much funnier answer that was inappropriate to post)
Bella: 1) The inventor of the kennel, 2) The vet, 3) The blanket David keeps trapping me in
2. What was the last thing you ate?
David: 6 vanilla cream cookies
Ashley: Ice
Bella: A doggy treat
3. What’s a goal you have?
David: Create an economic simulator that simulates a large number of short-sighted agents acting on microeconomic rules, which demonstrates emergent macroeconomic behavior for the whole that is similar to what leading macroeconomic theory would predict.
Ashley: Graduate nursing school.
Bella: Go a whole day without peeing in my kennel.
4. What do you think of entertainment awards shows?
David: <vomit>
Ashley: Cute to watch people's outfits, but I don't care about the awards.
Bella: As long as I can snuggle, I like to watch them.
5. How do you want to die?
David: After Ashley, so she doesn't get mad that I left her. ;)
Ashley: In bed, peacefully, holding David's hand.
Bella: With a treat in my mouth.
6. What is your favorite vacation/get-away spot? Where will you be traveling next?
David: Vacation/get-away: Thanksgiving Day turkey bowls. Next: Commuting home.
Ashley: Vacation/get-away: New Zealand. Next: To school to pay a parking ticket.
Bella: Vacation/get-away: The guest bedroom. Next: The back yard.
7. How do you pronounce “gyro?”
David: Euro. Very tasty when done right. :)
Ashley: Jai-ro? Guy-ro? I guess guy-ro? How are you supposed to pronounce it?
Bella: Ruff!
8. What have you found entertaining lately?
David: This.
Ashley: Bella and Everyone Loves Raymond. Or Happy Aquarium? Can I put all three?
Bella: Licking Ashley's face.
9. Do you follow any blogs of nondescript people who you don't know? Why do you follow those blogs?
David: No. I barely have time to follow my own.
Ashley: Yes. Diabetes Sweeties. I have a 2-year-old cousin that's diabetic, and I want to see if there is any helpful information.
Bella: Sorry, I don't have opposable thumbs.
10. What would you use a time machine for?
David: Arbitrary time travel is impossible. Assuming, however, that it is possible and avoids all of the obvious problems inherent in time travel, I'd go back in time I tell myself that dating during my time at BYU would be a completely pointless and unrewarding experience and to just skip it and get the most out of my education. That, or I'd kill my younger self so I could see what a temporal paradox looks like.
Ashley: To go back and be nicer to David.
Bella: To get Ashley and David home from work faster.
11. What are your favorite restaurants?
David: Tucanos, Olive Garden, Arby's.
Ashley: Taco Cabana, Wok-aholic, Gatti's Pizza, Pancho's.
Bella: Ashley's Pantry Buffet.
12. What actors should be barred from acting?
David: Hayden Christensen and everyone that had any role in Big Trouble in Little China Town. Oh, and Drew Barrymore, definitely.
Ashley: Miley Cyrus, and Barack Obama, because all he does is act.
Bella: Taco Bell Chihuahua - he's got nothing on me!
13. What’s the last book you read?
David: Glenn Beck's Arguing with Idiots.
Ashley: The Book of Mormon.
Bella: War and Peace.
14. What’s the last movie you enjoyed?
David: Enjoyed? Meaning what, saw? Over the Hedge. Thought was worth the money? Up. Thought was freaking awesome? The Dark Knight. Laughed myself silly at? Spider-man 3. (The Boy and I saw that one together, and with our long history of emo-bashing, it was just perfect comedy for us. Wow.) You have to specify.
Ashley: Twitches.
Bella: Also Twitches.
15. Reveal something that really bothers you.
David: People who feel entitled to a share of my time and/or money. Right now, the homeowner's association comes to mind. I pay you $35 a month to tell me how to cut my grass and what I can do with my property? Wow, what a privilege. This is the United freaking States of America. Step off. I'm also in freaking Texas, so... Step off or I'll blow you away.
Ashley: When I have to give report IN THE PATIENT'S ROOM!
Bella: Being locked in the kennel.
16. What will it say on your gravestone?
David: Get off my lawn.
Ashley: If the grave is a rockin', don't come a knockin'!
Bella: Best Dog Ever.
17. Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first three songs that come up, then explain yourself.
David: I don't have an iPod, but if I did... 1. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, Weezer. 2. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, Weezer. 3. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, Weezer. No explanation needed.
Ashley: I don't have an iPod either, but I can tell you what's stuck in my head. 1. Party in the USA, Miley Cyrus. 2. Hide and Seek, Imogen Heap. 3. Replay, IYAZ feat. Sean Kingston. They're catchy.
Bella: Which one's the shuffle button?
18. What is the biggest mistake you have ever made?
David: I don't make mistakes. But if I did... ;) It would be dating at BYU. Complete waste of time and effort. I had midterm exams FAR more enjoyable than that.
Ashley: I cannot disclose that information.
Bella: Farting in Ashley's ear a couple of minutes ago.
19. What kind of toppings do you generally request for your pizza?
David: Double pineapple.
Ashley: Pepperoni and extra cheese.
Bella: Kibble?
20. Who/what would you love to have complete control over?
David: The passage of time.
Ashley: The way the healthcare system is run.
Bella: My bladder.
21. What does your ideal Saturday consist of?
David: Nothing but college football; BYU victory required.
Ashley: No alarm clock, sleeping in, the house being perfectly clean, cuddling, and watching movies.
Bella: Chasing my tug toy round and round and round, and sleeping.
22. What is one skill you lack completely but wish you could master with the snap of your fingers?
David: Hmmm... Either car repair or guitar shredding. Depends if I'm feeling practical or not.
Ashley: Cooking. (Not going to the bathroom every 20 minutes was a close second.)
Bella: Again, the bladder control thing... I'm working on it!
23. What's something you live in constant fear of?
David: Nothing. Fear lives in constant fear of me.
Ashley: Ghosts.
Bella: Loud noises.
24. What was the first album you listened to non-stop, over and over again?
David: Nine Days, The Madding Crowd.
Ashley: Britney Spears, Baby One More Time.
Bella: I'm 3 months old, I haven't had a chance for that yet!
25. Have you ever seen a live, wild rat? How about a dead one?
David: Yes and yes. I lived in Uruguay for two years, I've seen a lot of things live and wild and dead. And rotting.
Ashley: Yes. Yes.
Bella: No. No.
26. What thing have you most aggressively promoted?
David: Common sense and the 9/12 Project.
Ashley: I don't really promote anything (except continence in my patients).
Bella: PETA. ;)
27. Is there a band or musical trend you would love to see erased completely?
David: EFY music.
Ashley: Devil Rock music.
Bella: Those ultrasonic whistles? Not funny, people. Not funny.
28. If you had to describe yourself using 3 words, what would they be?
David: Smartest. Man. Ever. ;) Just kidding. I feel no need to describe myself. Either you know me and need no description, or don't and no description will suffice. The greatest of men simply do their best and leave the descriptions to history, and I find that kind of humility inspiring.
Ashley: Loving, honest, fun.
Bella: Brown, small, chihuahua.
29. Where is the last place that you'd see yourself living?
David: America's cesspool, Washington, D.C.
Ashley: With Northerners.
Bella: Upstairs (they never let me up there).
30. What was the last video you enjoyed on the internet?
David: See question 8 above.
Ashley: Same as David.
Bella: Same as Ashley.
31. What is your favorite smoothie combination?
David: Jamba Juice's Coldbuster. Nothing like 3100% RDA of Vitamin C to ward off a cold, or give you a boost of energy. That was my coffee in college. :)
Ashley: Columbian jugo de fresa.
Bella: Sometimes I mix my food with my water... Mmmm!
32. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to your car?
David: Failed master cylinder for the clutch right before a test in a blizzard. I'm not sure how I got that car to campus and back, because shifting gears was nearly impossible and involved pumping the clutch pedal repeatedly, but I did. Cost over $900 to fix.
Ashley: There are two. First, I lost my brakes completely while I was lost downtown and had to run stop signs. Second, I had a short in my horn, so it would randomly honk and people would look at me funny.
Bella: I can't even get a license...
33. What album have you been listening to most?
David: Weezer, self-titled Red Album.
Ashley: I just listen to the radio on the way to work, 96.7 FM.
Bella: Whatever Ashley listens to.
34. What clues you into a person's idiocy?
David: Texans for Obama bumper stickers. If you have the good sense and luck to actually live in Texas, you shouldn't blow it all to heck by supporting Obama.
Ashley: When they talk slowly. Or when they drive slowly. Basically, just doing things slowly.
Bella: When people talk to me like I can understand them. I just look at them in a way that says, "I'm a dog. I don't get your funny human language."
35. What is your favorite store to wander through?
David: newegg.com. All the toys I want, and I don't have to actually wander through the freaking store. If you want a brick and mortar store, it's Fry's Electronics.
Ashley: Kohl's, Target, or Hannah D's.
Bella: Petco.
Ashley tags her mom and her friend Mindy.
David tags nobody.
Bella tags the dog next door that always barks when she tries to take a dump.
White House Urges Other Networks to Disregard Fox News - Political News - FOXNews.com
Posted using ShareThis
Dear friends and family,
I know this is a family blog, and I probably put too much politically oriented stuff on here as it is. When I do, I try to present the facts as I know them and believe them to be true, and maybe provide you with tools to act accordingly if you so choose. I don't try to push an opinion on you, compel you to action, or anything of the sort. After all, this is a blog - what power do I really have?
Well, today it's different. I'm wishing I had more power than this simple blog gives me, because something evil is happening as I write, and I need your help. It's probably been going on for a long time, but where it used to be moving along at the pace of a fat guy on a tricycle, it's now accelerated to that of a fat guy on a tricycle with a rocket strapped to his back. It's fast, it's wild, it's uncontrollable, it's unpredictable, and it's wrong on so many levels. (Will somebody PLEASE think of the poor fat guy?!?) Hopefully it's not unstoppable, because we need to stop it immediately.
Here's the problem, which you can read about in the article I posted above. Over the weekend, the White House began singling out FOX News, claiming they are an organ of the Republican party. They then began encouraging other news outlets (who, in my humble opinion and in that of the Pew Research Center, could be accused of the same thing for the Democrats) to isolate and alienate FOX News. Sounds like no big deal, right?
Well, it's not. It is a huge deal. The freedom of the press to report what it wants, however it wants to, is fundamental to the maintenance of our freedoms and our republic. It is preserved as the First Amendment to the Constitution. Without a free press that does its job, the citizenry has no mechanism to find out what their representatives are doing and hold them accountable for it. Past administrations and legislatures have been annoyed with the scrutiny they receive from the press, but have never stooped to this level. President George W. Bush had some of the worst press coverage I have ever seen or read about, and rarely even attempted to defend himself from their allegations, let alone go on the offensive. That's because George W. Bush respected the office of the Presidency and the dignity that comes with it, as well as the importance of the free press and the role they play in a free society. Say what you will about Bush, but the man was dedicated to freedom, both here and abroad.
In contrast, the Obama administration seems to be attacking a news organization on the sole basis that he doesn't like what their editorial staff is producing, and is not only trying to claim they are not a news organization, but is also trying to get their peers to turn on them. (This will no doubt please Keith Olbermann, who claims that he has the highest rated cable news show - as long as you exclude every single program on FOX News.) It would be funny, if it weren't so frightening and downright dangerous, and this is why - when the government can give orders to the press, and the press follows them, your freedom is already dead.
Let me repeat that.
When the government can give orders to the press, and the press follows them, your freedom is already dead.
I understand this is just the very beginning (well, I hope it is, anyway, though I fear it isn't), and none of the news outlets have indicated a willingness to participate yet, and I hold out hope that they don't. But the consequences of something like this being allowed by the American people are extremely grave. I recommend George Orwell's 1984 as an excellent illustration of the extremes that a government that owns the media can go to, and pretty much without opposition. However, we don't even have to go into the realm of fiction to see the results of state-run media. The Soviet Union and their party-run newspaper, Pravda, worked in tandem. Indeed, Pravda was central in Stalin's creation of a cult of personality, which, among other things, enabled him to execute millions of people without a challenge to his power. China's state-run media and internet censorship perform a similar role for the communist party there. Iran also enjoys the benefits of state-controlled media. How else do you get an entire population to hate the United States - the most charitable nation on the face of the planet - besides propaganda? Hitler's rise to power was achieved using his speeches and the media to gin up anti-Semitic fervor, and utilized his Brown Shirts to intimidate and repress political parties, dissenting views, and "inferior" races. Hugo Chavez has used his power to destroy media outlets that he doesn't like, in his own pursuit of a socialist utopia. Totalitarian regimes are never established without either the complete support of the military or the press, and usually require both.
That's the very danger we are in right now if we don't do something. "Are you saying that Obama wants to set himself up as a dictator?! That's crazy!" You know what? I hope it is crazy. I hope it's the most ridiculous claim in the history of the world, because I love this country and the freedom it grants to its citizens and the force for good it is throughout the entire world. I want there to be another explanation for this series of moves, but I can't think of one, and that's what's scary. Here's some more pieces of the puzzle, incase you think I'm being an alarmist on this one:
1) Why does Obama need a civilian defense force, as well funded as the military? What are they going to protect us from? FOX News?
2) Mark Lloyd, Obama's appointee to the FCC, which regulates the airwaves, approves of Chavez' repression of the media in Venezuela. Why? And why did the Senate confirm him? If he believes these things, why is he in charge of the FCC?
3) If FOX News' reporting is not accurate, why does the White House need help from other news organizations to silence them? Why can they not simply refute whatever untruths are being spread via their website, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, or The Washington Post? Especially when Anita Dunn, part of the White House, claims that they control the media?
Now, here's what I ask. Please read the article, and watch the two videos. You can mute Glenn Beck's analysis on the second one if you don't like him, just read the words Mark Lloyd says in the beginning. Now, if you enjoy freedom, I'm guessing that, with those things combined, you're either scared or angry - or possibly both. I know I am. I have been for a while, but for me, this was just the icing on the cake. I love my country and my freedom, and I have to do what little I can do to help preserve them both, and I hope you will, too. Once you know the information, and are aware of the imminent danger, please:
1) Come back here and prove me wrong if you can. I want to be wrong. I really do.
2) Pass this on to everyone you know. You don't need to use my words or link to my blog or give me credit in any way. But get this information on your blog, your Facebook, your Twitter, and your Myspace. Email it to everyone you know. Text it to everyone you know. Knock doors in your neighborhood. Everyone needs to know what's going on.
3) Act! The time has come for us all to be a lot more involved in politics. I know you don't want to be - I sure don't. It's nasty stuff. But our government has assumed powers it was never meant to have, and as we can see that has become dangerous. It nearly brought down our economy, and it could yet bring down our economy, our individual freedom, and even our national sovereignty. (You didn't hear about that? Seems like something a state-run press would be reluctant to tell you...) We need to elect people at all levels of government who will be willing to nothing other than trim this beast back to the limits the Constitution set forth. And to do that, you need to be involved at the primary election and caucus level. By the time it gets to the general election, and you have to choose between two equally bad candidates, it's too late.
4) Organize! This needs to be a united effort, and there are several organizations out there that are starting to come together to help make our voices known. Get involved with your local tea party group. Join a group like the 9/12 Project or Resistnet.com, and be involved locally.
5) Stay informed! This is hard with a state-controlled media, but there are ways. I encourage everyone to listen to, watch, or read Glenn Beck. He is leading the charge, and I believe him to be the most honest source of information out there. He never asks you to trust him, and provides sources for everything - if he can't, he won't report it. He admits when he is wrong. He is trustworthy, and it shows in his ratings, because I know America is sick of being lied to.
Thanks for your help and understanding,
David
P.S. Stay tuned for your regularly scheduled program, complete with cute puppy pictures and funny stories.
P.P.S. If this blog disappears, or you don't hear from me for awhile, then we have all the more reason to worry. Google, which runs Blogger, is a very left-leaning organization, and if my worst fears are true, will be doing as much as they can to further a left-leaning agenda as they can without being noticed.
Here is the newest member of the Merriman family! :) Her name is Bella. She will be 8 weeks old on Sunday. She is a sweety. She loves to cuddle and chase David around the house. Here are a couple pics of the car ride home...
David and Bella falling asleep during conference.
Her new bedroom...
Attacking her new bed... ;P Cute!!!
David put her right to sleep...
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