Okay..  I've never thought of this before, but, how convenient do you think it was for Samuel to climb up on a wall, built around a city most likely to keep people out?  Yeah, I don't think it could have been that easy.  How often do we find any reason at all to get out of doing what God wants us to do?  Well, God told Samuel he...

So two days ago, I found myself on the same stage with the same band I've been with for the past 5 (or so) years, playing pretty much the same songs. Except, this time, something was different.  As I walked around looking at all of the awesome vehicles on the grounds, there was just something wonderful.  I have no idea how to describe i...

Anyone who knows what Helaman 12 is all about is probably wondering how in the world I could label this chapter as "Happiness".  hehe... Yesterday, I was having a very interesting conversation about happiness with a dear friend of mine, and oddly enough, today's chapter was Helaman 12, which of course, talks all about the frailties...

Amazing...  It's almost unbelievable that in the space of less than 13 years, a whole nation can go from being wicked, to almost dying of hunger, to becoming incredibly righteous and prosperous, and then coming back to being so wicked that the combined armies of the Nephites and Lamanites can't defeat the wicked part of the people. I've bee...

So, a few weeks ago, the studio acquired a Jackson electric guitar and didn't really have any experience with it.  So a good friend and client of the studio came in and messed around a bit with it, and using a great dual-mic technique to get the most out of the amp, we managed to get a very, very nice guitar tone out of it. Soon, it will be ...

So, due to the success we've been having with the studio, we were able to upgrade our two in-studio guitars.  We bought a new black Crafter acoustic guitar, which sounds just awesome.  One of the new Herod The Fink tunes will feature the Crafter, and we're excited to get a final mix to see how it sits within the music. We also bought a ...

Amazing.  A couple of chapters ago, I was commenting on the sad state which Nephi found himself in, and the amazing faith he must have had to remain in a state of faithfulness to God, when everyone around him was wicked. I guess that's the way it goes.  God tries us to our breaking point, careful not to give us trials beyond our capabil...

Seems that the testimony of Nephi against the people of Zarahemlah was centered around their disbelief in Christ.  Interesting that, as soon a Satan has control over a people, Christ is the first doctrine which is attacked. Also the story of the finding of the murderer of Seezoram is interesting through the eyes of the foreknowledge of God.&...

Hey Guys, Okay so its been a really really long time since I last wrote anything.  I just recently remembered my password and that is a really big part of my reason for not writing.  I know this is suppose to be like a diary (right or wrong?), but I would perfer to think that its more of a letter to a best friend (hope that don't sound ...

So...  I remember Nephi coming back to his own people and seeing them in a state of wickedness, but I didn't remember that he had just been on a mission where everyone in the land northward rejected his word, too.  That would be an incredible test of faith in an of itself.  Only the most stalwart followers of God, in my view, could t...

This chapter is full of doctrinal nuggets. Some things I noticed this time around which I haven't noticed before are the following: Verses 6-8 are primarily about the importance of revelation.  We are told this importance is denounced by our time's people in 2nd Nephi 28:5-6.  I had never made that connection before. Interes...

 What a horrible end to this story.  Poor Coriantumr.  Saw his situation with vivid clarity after it was too late, and rather than give up his life, he watched (which what must have been a horror show) everything Ether had told him come to life:  The complete destruction of his people, leaving him alone.  I can't imagine th...

About a month ago, I came upon this video, which you simply must watch.  It's basically a re-make of videos previously posted about a pretty animated Steve Ballmer (Microsoft's CEO) put to music, and hacked up beautifully. At the time I watched it, I didn't think much of it.  It was funny, and it was Steve Ballmer.  Hooray. But...

I've been reading the scriptures a bit lately, and I came upon a verse which intrigued me. That verse quickly made me think of this one, and this one. Let's not forget this one - that's a good one, too - verse 33 being the focus. Here's another really good one warning of the dangers of the previous entries, and further proving the point that at l...

Wow...  Moroni doesn't mix words, does he...  Reading this through as much of an objective filter as possible, I'd say there's some serious judgements going on.  Moroni blatantly calls Ammoron a "child of hell", and tells him that his brother went to hell.  heh...  Pretty gutsy, if ya ask me.  Going off of wh...

I told you I love you, And yet you broke my heart. you had to run around, Behind my back! Now I'm sitting here, I can't think of anyonelse! But the one thing rings in my head, Why was I never good enough for you? How come I'm alone? I wanted to give you my heart, But you just can't be true, Can you? Now your running around, Trying to m...

I thought I had to substitute teach the 15-16 year old class today, so I prepared it this morning, only to find out I didn't. That's okay, because the gospel doctrine teacher we have is amazing, and I got to sit in his class! Omni.... One of the best lines of this chapter is in verse 2.  "I myself am a wicked man".  I'm...

 I am SO glad that Moroni kept writing.  Can you imagine the Book of mormon without the last 4 chapters of Moroni?  The depth of explanation of faith, hope, and charity?  The blessing of Babies?  The promise and invitation to read the Book of Mormon, used by all missionaries?  Yeah...  There are some gems here in ...

This chapter is great.  All I gotta say is, if you follow the counsel of the Lord, all will be well. Oh, yeah, also - Zemnarihah had to have had a brain about the size of a peanut.  Great way to get all of your people killed....

Ya know... I think these chapters are meant to teach us how frail the hearts of men are.  Okay... Here's a good question..  How long did it take the Nephites to go from "seeing the sign of the birth of Jesus Christ" (this is *Christ* we're talking about here.  *The Messiah*.  How long did it take them from seeing that ...

Last Saturday, I woke up much earlier than I should have in order to go down and help my good friend Scott wash his cars, in preparation for his selling them. After washing his other two cars, we decided to wash my car, and to be honest, I was a bit skeptical as to how this "great new car washing" system would work.  Well...  ...

A while ago, Advanced Budget Studios had the privilege of working with the author of a great book in a voice-over.  The author's name is Phillip Jones, and his book is called Worlds of the Crystal Moon. When I was contacted to help out with the voice-over, I had no idea what to expect, and I wasn't sure what Phillip was expecting, either.&n...

So a little more than a year ago, I took my mustang out for the first time on the Salt Flats.  I had a blast out there with my good friend Steve. On the way home, Steve had some problems with salt lining his rims, causing some tire imbalance, so we  got off the freeway, I showed him what the problem was, and as I was getting back on th...

I just got done making the video for this entry, so take a look if you've got a high speed Internet connection. Today was the 2nd day of the Ed Roth Memorial Reunion held in Manti, UT. There were finksters-a-plenty there on Friday, but even more on Saturday.  I lost count of how many Rat Finks I saw. So, because the days were packed, ...

Growing up, I'd have to say that I was a bit of a pious punk religiously, but I was so due, in large amount, to my being incredibly naive. To demonstrate my naive-ness, I really thought that being emotional was pretty much the same as being spiritual.  Yes...  Believe it.  I was naive. One other bit of heretical doctrine I beli...

The new lamp for my projector arrived today and much rejoicing was heard among the land. Since our lamp burned out 5-8 months ago, we've been using a TV to entertain our kids, providing them with movies and TV cartoons and all the other goodness with which MythTV blesses our lives. With the return of our lamp, I wanted a way to extend the life ...

Ya know...  I've told many people this, but I'm not sure I've told you.  If I have, suck it up and listen to it again. When I got married almost 6 years ago, I was preparing for the worst.  People told me that marriage was a jar to the system, the knock-out punch, the "learning" experience, and many other metaphors basica...

Since I began using Ardour to record music, (and more music), I've always managed to have the same problem crop up, year after year.  The symptoms of this problem are annoying to say the least. I'm running all my audio through an M-Audio 1010 digital interface and I use envy24control to monitor and adjust the channels via. software.  I ...

Just encountered this list:  Seems like a good list for those of you who are considering Linux as an alternative to Windows. Just a quick FYI....

Just in case you haven't heard the latest about Tiny Boats' debut album release, a good friend of the studio, Matt Mylroie, a music producer in Florida, had these good words to say about The Broken Vessels. A portion is quoted below, where the full review can be found here. "This album is hard to describe, but it is a fantastic blend of ...