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Archive for the ‘Asides’ Category

Corporate Walmart Thinks it’s September 10, 2001

David Langford, O.D. on February 10th, 2011 under Asides, Optoblog •  2 Comments

A shoplifter pulls a gun on four Walmart employees in a small room. The four employees heroically bring him to the ground. Walmart fires all four a week later because as the full story at KSL.com explains:

AP09 is Walmart’s policy on dealing with shoplifters. A copy obtained by KSL shows employees are allowed to use “reasonable force” to limit movements of struggling suspects. If a weapon comes out, however, associates must “disengage” and “withdraw,” the policy states.

Imagine you have a Walmart employee who cares more about rules than their own life. In that exact moment, they hesitate because rule AP09 springs into their head. Their hesitation could cost them their life. I applaud these three men and one women. They acted reasonably and rationally. We should throw a parade in their honor.

The pansy lawyers in corporate who wrote AP09 should revise their documentation to say, “However, in a post 9/11 world, if you believe your life is in danger, you should fight like Joshua on the 7th day at Jericho so that your inaction won’t cost you your life and potentially others lives also.”

Agreed, no one thinks a pair of socks or a computer is worth anyone’s life trying to defend it. Criminals don’t care about your life. They kill kids to steal their Nike Air Jordan shoes! They kill to try to stay out of jail. You won’t know if they actually shoot or not until after the fact, but guess what! The very fact they pulled out a deadly weapon means that they are willing to use it! This isn’t about socks or computers anymore. We have to assume that if they pull a gun they are going to shoot! They are willing to…kill…you!

Walmart shouldn’t expect people to play dice with their own life. Those Fabulous Four didn’t allow chance or the crazed mind of a felon to determine whether they went home to their family that day.

Before September 11, 2001 popular belief was that if you give into the demands of evil people, then you would be okay. Apparently corporate Walmart never got the memo that the rest of us received on 9/12.

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I Wish I Had a Personal Document Database

David Langford, O.D. on November 8th, 2010 under Asides, Optoblog •  Comments Off on I Wish I Had a Personal Document Database

In Sunday School we talked about family history, and I was thinking about how my posterity could get to know me. It should be easy enough because I have written tons of essays for school, blog posts, comments on blogs, church talks, journal entries, etc.

However, all those writings are scattered in paper, word processing files, and the internet cloud. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a single application/program that could capture everything I write? It could be a combination of WordPress and LastPass. If I write a blog post, tweet, or FaceBook status update, it could tap the glass and say, “Hey, do you want to save this for posterity in your personal document database, and if so, under what category?”

Then it would also allow me to import word processing documents or scan from paper.  I could make an instant memoir by publishing to pdf.  I want the database file to be encrypted so I can keep my diary on there too, and I would prefer it to be a file I keep on my local machine.

Anyone know of an app like this? If not, someone should make one.

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I Know What Glenn Beck is Doing and Why He’s Doing It

David Langford, O.D. on October 29th, 2010 under Asides, Optoblog •  Comments Off on I Know What Glenn Beck is Doing and Why He’s Doing It

Glenn Beck and Faith, Hope, and Charity

Glenn Beck and Faith, Hope, and Charity

When Glenn Beck threw his big event on 8-28-2010 most on the theophobic Left and in Big Media were perplexed and mystified. It’s possible that most of the 500K+ crowd didn’t fully understand the why. His radio show itself should have been a big clue for anyone paying attention. He has been concentrating on Faith, Hope, and Charity for over a year. But why?

It stems from his reading of the scriptures, the bible and especially the Book of Mormon.

Regardless of whether you choose to believe the Book of Mormon, to understand what Glenn is up to, you must hear some of the back story. Book of Mormon events took place here in America. Repeatedly throughout the Book of Mormon, the Lord tells the people via the prophets that if they will keep the commandments, they will prosper in the land. If they don’t, they will be destroyed.

Two different civilizations discussed in the Book of Mormon went through several cycles of prosperity and destruction because of their faith in keeping the commandments or their wickedness in disobeying God.

Similar to what Moses and Jethro instituted, he Nephite form of government at the time was a hierarchy of judges and major law changes were by voice of the people. In setting up this government, the last king, Mosiah, warned

Mosiah 29:26-27
26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right;…

27 And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

At one low point, a prophet named Nephi, who also happened to be Chief Judge, forsook his high level government office to preach full time the gospel of Jesus Christ:

Helaman 5:1-4
1 And it came to pass that in this same year, behold, Nephi delivered up the judgment-seat to a man whose name was Cezoram.
2 For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.
3 Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction.
4 And it came to pass that Nephi had become weary because of their iniquity; and he yielded up the judgment-seat, and took it upon him to preach the word of God all the remainder of his days…

Why wouldn’t Nephi use his government office to invoke change among the people? The answer is from an earlier prophet, Alma the Younger, who saw the iniquity of the separatist, apostate Zoramites. Mormon writes in Alma 31:5

And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just- yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them- therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.

And many listened, mostly the humbled poor, and returned to the fold and lived in Jershon with the Ammonites. Those Zoramites who remained hardhearted began a war with the Nephites because of that conversion, recruiting and eventually leading the Lamanites in this war.

The Book of Mormon teaches us that we, as a nation, must come unto God in order to have peace and prosperity. That is why Glenn Beck is taking the tack of Faith, Hope, and Charity.

Mormon was the chief captain of the entire Nephite army and prophet of the church, whose members were few since the wickedness of the Nephites had caused them to come to the point of extinction at the hand of the Lamanites. What message would you give in a speech at a synagogue during such a desperate time? His son, the prophet Moroni, in closing the book his father started, quoted his father’s speech which was dedicated to the concepts of Faith, Hope, and Charity (see Moroni ch. 7).

Also Moroni recorded in Ether ch. 12 the words the Savior had spoken to him:

28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.
29 And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith;

So if you had a national radio and t.v. show, believed the Book of Mormon is sacred scripture just like the Bible, and loved your county, and you knew that the best way to get a country to prosper is for the people to come unto God, then you would be doing the exact same thing Glenn Beck is trying to do: Inviting everyone to have Faith, Hope, and Charity.

Thank you, Glenn Beck. I’ll love you forever for what you have done and are continuing to do. We must all have faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; repent; be baptized; and continue in faith, hope, and charity until the end of our days. Our own eternal salvation depends on it and so does the prosperity of our nation.

Please take Glenn Beck’s 40 Day and 40 Night Challenge.

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The Roadmap Planner with the Daily Dats System™

David Langford, O.D. on October 11th, 2010 under Asides, Optoblog, Reviews •  Comments Off on The Roadmap Planner with the Daily Dats System™

I have a little side project at roadmapplanner.com. It’s especially suitable for students (college or high school), but as a professional I use it too. It’s really helped me since this summer to stop being a slacker spiritually and get on task. My family is happier for my becoming a better person by performing the tasks and achieving the goals I set for myself. Please consider it for a Christmas gift for you or someone you love.

The Roadmap Planner with the Daily Dats System™ is a set of 53 small, portable weekly planners with goal tracking integration and 3 week future calendar and white space for taking down notes.

An 8 1/2″ by 11″ sheet of white, uncoated, card stock paper is scored for a trifold on the y axis, and the user also trifolds it along the X axis. This double trifold design (like a road map 😉 ) compacts the page to a 2 7/8″ by 3 11/16″ footprint that fits in your pocket. Because it’s card stock, it’s rugged enough to last traveling in and out of your pocket the entire week. Fifty-three sheets come in the package, one for each week of the year.

Features:

  • The Daily Dats System™ for making, tracking, and achieving your goals.
  • To do list at top of each day.
  • Plan A and B for each time slot of the day.
  • Half hour time slots starting at 6:00 AM and ending at 11:30 PM.
  • Current week planner on front and 3 week future calendar on back.
  • White space for recording new contacts and other notes.
  • Different motivational quote for every week.
  • The day and date is pre-printed so you don’t have to write it out.
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-21

David Langford, O.D. on February 21st, 2010 under Asides, Tweets •  2 Comments

  • @leolaporte try Acuvue Oasys and use Clear Care soln. If multifocal MF try Air Optix MF in reply to leolaporte #
  • Had cub scouts 2nite. Wolf elective 21 was about computers. #
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-14

David Langford, O.D. on February 14th, 2010 under Asides, Tweets •  Comments Off on Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-14

  • Can anyone tell me why no Rock Stars are going on tour in 2010? #
  • Danced Latin-style with my wife at my church's Valentine's Day dinner/dance. #
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-07

David Langford, O.D. on February 7th, 2010 under Asides, Tweets •  Comments Off on Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-07

  • Went roller skating with the family tonight. Fun times. #
  • Watched Glenn Beck's "Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free or Die." Communism killed 100 million people in 100 years. Don't wear Che. #
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-24

David Langford, O.D. on January 24th, 2010 under Asides, Tweets •  Comments Off on Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-24

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-17

David Langford, O.D. on January 17th, 2010 under Asides, Tweets •  Comments Off on Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-17

  • Went to Texas Roadhouse and waited 1:40 to be seated. Food is only worth about a 0:20 wait. #
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-20

David Langford, O.D. on December 20th, 2009 under Asides, Tweets •  Comments Off on Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-20

  • Writing our Christmas letter. #
  • This is just gross. Eventually, some eye doctor is going to ask, "So how did you scratch your eye? http://bit.ly/6KYg6a #
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