(DIGITAL) LIFE SOUNDS

love the song.

love the house.

love the hair.

sometimes life is like that. unplug.

ELDER BEDNAR: THINGS AS THEY REALLY ARE

finish this sentence: only at byu do you... i'll give it a shot. only at byu do you get the chance to casually run into an Apostle of God. i was on break at lunch at the broadcasting building studying in my scriptures for a quiz when Elder Bednar walked into the room. we talked for a while and i told him that i had just finished my mission papers and am planning on submitting them in march. he then continued to testify to me that every single mission call is delivered by a member of the Twelve by revelation. i will always remember his words.

in class we were asked to read a talk given by Elder Bednar in which he shares his thoughts on "things as they really are". the following is a video of the talk he gave.

our world is one that we can touch and feel, manufacture and manipulate. it exists in reality and we experience it through our senses. but in the past half century, we as a human race have embarked on a crusade to create a digital copy or, a representation rather, that we have more control of and control over. this digital representation of the world we live in and the lives we lead is so accurate and convincing that some minds have been tricked to believe that they are an actual reality. as we improve and become more advanced in the replication process, more and more minds will fall victim to the idea of an alternate reality replacing the actual reality-- the higher the fidelity, the more convincing.

satan has been busy replicating reality since the beginning of the world. he isn't taking satellite images to create and stitch together a digital globe, no, he is instead imitating the purest forms of happiness. his technique and process have been revised and refined and the result is devastating. the greatest joys Heavenly Father intends for us to experience are romance, love, marriage, and parenthood. satan has created high fidelity imitations of these feelings and experiences that lead away men and women at an alarming rate.
i find this idea very interesting because i spend a lot of time studying how to create these experiences that mimic real life interactions. there is an increasing trend to create software that looks and behaves like their real world counterparts. take these two applications, Address Book and iCal on the Mac.

they have been designed to look and behave just like a real book or calendar would. there is a benefit in software to building user interfaces like this: users instantly know how to use your application because they can draw on the experiences they've already had with the objects. by doing this, the designers can help users overcome steep learning curves. these experiences are high fidelity, but does iCal actually provide you with an experience comparable to a real calendar? i argue that it will never will. you can flip through the months all you want, but you'll never actually use your body to physically interact and manipulate the pages. it might be similar and convincing enough to get the user to think it's real, but it will never be real. this is exactly how satan works. he creates experiences that imitate and mimic the real thing, but he will never be able to actually achieve the perfection and pure form of joy that Heavenly Father provides for us. he tricks people into believing that they are feeling the real thing.

by listening to the counsel of the leaders of our church we can avoid deception and live our lives and experience those joys. by seeing things as they really are we live our lives in a way that aligns us on the straight and narrow. follow this prophetic advice from Jacob 6 and you'll never be led astray.

12. o be wise; what can i say more?

A FAVORITE

"The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit,

the greater your capacity to create."

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

UNEXPECTED

okay stop. watch this.

i love great advertising! wasn't that just brilliant?
this goes down as one of the best in my book.

WORN OUT

just a random picture i took today.

i. am. exhausted!

these past two days have been so exciting and insightful! i have so much to share with you. i've been busy running around the resort taking over sixteen hundred photos and helping the event run smoothly. i've loaded and unloaded pallet after pallet putting my tetris skills to the test. i have met some amazing people who have given me invaluable advice looking forward in life. the people here have a drive and passion to change the world around them starting with their own communities. we have a lot in common!

i haven't had any time to offload the pictures i've taken, but as soon as i get home i'll be sure to share a few with you! but i promised that i would involve you more in this trip so i put together a little video- a tribute to the miracle of modern flight. i love analyzing and picking apart machines. my mind is wired to figure things out. but more and more i've been spending time picking apart systems and organizations trying to see what others view as an efficient workflow. i went nuts at the airport. do you realize what's happening there?! (i never do that (?!), so this is big deal.) airports are portals to our world! you walk into one on one side of the world, you do the 'airport thing', then you walk out of a different airport on the other side of the planet! isn't that exciting? it's a gathering place, or a hub, rather, where we dump all of our greatest technology into a package experience that to the passerby is nothing more than a collection of terminals and baggage claims. it's a computer! it shares, part for part, the same architecture as the micro-architecture on the processor that's running the computer/phone/tablet that you're reading this on. now that, my friends, is something else. i could go on for hours (paragraphs?) about the observations that i've made- and at some point i'm sure that i will- but for now, just watch the video.

three hundredth post!

FROM TERMINAL D10

hello, all! it's that time of the month again... haha no not that. time for another trip! i'll be spending the weekend in vegas shooting the crown council annual convention's award ceremony. they asked me to come document the conference and put together something nice to give to the dentists who attend. i love these guys! about two years ago i went with them to the dominican republic and got to see some pretty amazing stuff. i took thousands of pictures and they liked what i did to capture the trip so they've asked me to do it again. i'm so excited! i'm not sure how much time i'll have to blog about it, but i promise i'll be more diligent sharing this trip with you (unlike the trip last month, which, by they way, i still need to finish posting about. some cool stuff happened that i never told you about.) well, stay tuned! this weekend is sure to be a blast!

FINALLY FOUND IT

i've been looking for this song for over a year! i heard it at a milestone in my life and haven't heard it since. this morning i decided to listen to pandora instead of my own music. i knew it the second it started.

best decision of the day.

 and that music video makes the discovery even better.

i know i've been posting a lot of videos lately. i'm not copping out,

they all have a message that is in line with what i want to say.

IDEALS

it's what the mind can conceive. and believe. the body will achieve.

OUCH

i did it again.

STILL UP

if you're still up like me, take a break and enjoy these videos.

three of my favorite ads.

one amazing artist.

and a compilation of words.

CIRCUITRY OVERLOAD

this was my homework tonight.

my mind is melting right now.

but i love it. this stuff is so interesting.

it's nothing short of a modern miracle.

CLEVER COVER

you want to know something weird? sometimes i deliberately stay up really late to work on stuff because i've discovered something about myself:

every good, creative, witty, inventive idea has come to me past the midnight hours.

it's weird, really. i get my best ideas after a long stressful day. i tend to sit in my chair in the living room and review everything i've worked on in the past hours. for some reason unknown to me, unloading my thoughts seems to elevate my creativity. tonight as i was thinking about a paper i'm turning in tomorrow, i just couldn't get over how dull it was. the title was bland, the font was default, the cover said nothing about how we felt about the restaurant, and it looked like- well, a paper. that wasn't going to fly, especially not at two a.m., and especially not as i sat in my thinking chair. so i changed it. the font, the title, the presentation, the cover- pretty much all of it. this is what i got:

it's nothing particularly special. but that's what makes it great.

it's got character. it's visual. it's interactive. and i'm proud of it.

I'M BIG IN RUSSIA

alrighty, russia.

every single day i get about a hundred views from you.

i'm very interested in who my followers are from russia!

today was especially 'traffic-y' for you guys.

(even more so than in my own country!)

if you are reading this from russia: 

comment! i want to meet you!

Если вы читаете это из России:
комментарий! Я хочу с вами познакомиться! Каждый день я получаю около ста нагрузки от вас
Я очень заинтересован в том, кто мои последователи из России!
Сегодня был особенно "трафик-у 'для вас, ребята.
(даже больше, чем в моей стране!)

Если вы читаете это из России:
комментарий! Я хочу с вами познакомиться!

POOPED

i am so tired. today has been the longest day ever.

and i have hardly anything to show for it.

only one great thing happened.

so i came home and cooked up some alfredo with rotisserie chicken. and a clementine. and root beer.

but then when i was peeling the clementine it sprayed in my eyes.

now they sting and everything is blurry. oh wait, i'm just not wearing my glasses.

goodnight, everyone. this kid needs some good sleep. i'm pooped.

APPLE AND EDUCATION

it's one of those days again!

just under seven hours left.

watch the full event

STOP SOPA

i use a lot of videos and pictures on my blog that are copyrighted. i source them as needed, but even then, i wouldn't be safe from being shut down. in fact, if you have a blog, you would be shut down as well. the internet allows innovation like never before. anyone can build a company that helps millions of people from a dorm room. this isn't something that you can sit back and let others take care of. 

it takes your voice.

be heard.

SEND OFF

the tears come streaming down your face

when you lose something you can't replace

ELDER HARRIS

college is intangible until you're actually in it. growing up you always imagine what it will be like- all of the things you'll get to see and do. you imagine the things that you'll study, the sports you'll play, and the bed time that doesn't exist. but, by far the most important thing to imagine growing up is rooming with your best friend. you've played in the sandbox together. you've scraped your knees together. you've gone on adventures to mars together and saved each other multiple times from tall monsters in the amazon rain forest. you've sat next to each other at lunch and traded snacks when you got sick of chocolate pudding day after day. you've gone to football games, ate steak, lifted weights, and become men with each other. by definition, you are best friends. so naturally, when it's time to go off to college, you make plans to room with each other. because that's what best friends do.

Zach and i never had that. we are best friends, not by the previous definition, but by one absolutely, positively, totally, entirely, fully and wholly rock solid semester with each other. and that beats scraped knees and steak any day. we've known each other for a few years, but it wasn't until this last year that we became great friends. it all started on the basketball court. when my family moved to utah almost seven years ago my dad wanted me to get into a basketball league so i could make some new friends. Zach and i ended up on the same team.

i love that picture! what a chump. those are some of my favorite guys. moonbeam, hutch, dylan, vp, and the zachs. we were both still in elementary school at the time, so we didn't really know each other. and then we were in different jr. high schools and didn't know each other at all. it wasn't until high school that we met again. we both remembered each other, but it was like meeting an awkward third cousin that you haven't seen for most of your life. over the three years there and through other friends we started hanging out and tried to start a band once (ha!). we would've been so good... if we actually did band stuff. so when i was walking down the hallway one day in the last half of my senior year, i thought i was going nuts when i kept thinking that i needed to ask Zach if he wanted to room together. Nate and Danny were both going on their missions during the first semester so i didn't really have anyone to room with. that was one of the best decisions i've made. i can't tell you how glad i am to have him as a friend. you'll never meet someone who cares more about you than Zach. spend a day with him and you'll go crazy- the good kind of crazy, the kind that relieves you of any stress or worry. you could often hear us yelling at each other for fun. we'd make creamery runs daily on our scooters. we would sit around singing with his girlfriend chloe (his guitar) for hours. we would wastesomuchtime and facebook bomb people until three in the morning. he's the only other person that's ever written on this blog: exhibit a b c. in fact, he got his own little spot to speak his mind. (you'll be graced by his writing one last time tomorrow). slowly but surely, we became best friends. and best friends we will be for a very, very long time.

i'm going to miss you, Elder Harris. you'll do amazing work in rochester. new york won't know what hit them. i'm glad you're going to be speaking spanish, english can't contain you! it's been so hard not having you here at the phlat for the past few weeks. our room is too clean... ha! we've had some amazing times together and we still have loads more ahead. but right now, we have more important things to do. you're doing exactly what the Lord wants you to do. you are an example to me. now go get 'em! i'll see you in two and a half. you'd better not get married before i get back, i'm going to be your best man whether you like it or not.

you're my best friend. best of luck.

God be with you till we meet again.

OPPOSITES

GOODNIGHT

goodnight, my fine friends.

may your dreams let you travel

to distant far off places

or close to loved ones faces

CLEVER

now that is a good ad.

FITTING

FIST BUMP THE GROUND

get leveled by a car: check!

i guess this is like initiation for bikers. it had to happen sometime. you should've seen it. i got nailed! i probably would've died of laughter if i saw it happen. luckily all i got were bloody knuckles and sore knees. that's a lot better than what Jay got, i'll probably have to spend most of saturday fixing him up. poor bike. well! i've got a volleyball game to play in in fifteen minutes, gotta run! (this time i'll drive...)

i apologize for the language.

maybe i should stop posting these videos...

WHAT ROCKS

you know what rocks? doing normal things while listening to epic music. anything can be epic with the right soundtrack.

i've always imagined myself in certain situations

doing pretty mundane things-

things that you'd do every day,

and then re-imagining myself doing the same thing

but to epic music. so much better.

do that once a day. your life will be epic.

but you know what really rocks? doing normal things while listening to epic music. and suddenly whatever you're doing lines up perfectly with the most epic part in the song. today, as i was biking to work i was listening to tribute.

i think one of the reasons that i love biking so much is because an average guy on two wheels and some skinny metal pipes with a chain can beat a two-ton diesel-drinking truck in a race. for real. i don't have to wait in lines when i'm on my bike, i get to skip to the front. that means that if i memorize the traffic patterns during the different times i'm biking, i know how fast (or slow) i have to go in order to fly through intersections without coming to a stop. flying through intersections + not stopping in car lines = winner. so everyday i pick out a car being driven by a dude and i beat him. he might not know that we're racing, but we are.

and just as i passed this guy i'd been racing in a white ford f-350 at an intersection, i got to the most epic part of the song: 2:43

weird song, i know, but oh so epic.
i apologize for any damage done.

IN WORDS

some things cannot be put into words. or at least we think that way until they are. (but still, some cannot.) tonight, in my readings (diagnosing and treating the ophelia syndrome, plummer) i finally stumbled the best words (so far) to describe how i feel about school and schooling.

'like a child in a candy store where you can choose only or two pieces to take home.'

i love words.

I FEEL DIRTY

why oh why oh why did i have to install windows?

ELDER EYRING: A CHILD OF GOD

the leaders of our church are amazing men. i would be so bold to say that they are the most amazing men. they have led extraordinary lives and have gained great insights through the perspective of their callings. here at byu, we are so blessed to be able to hear from them on what seems like a weekly basis. when one of them speaks, we listen.

i just finished reading a talk that was given by elder eyring in october of ninety-seven. 

"you are under mandate to pursue- not just while you are here, but throughout your lives- educational excellence." -henry b. eyring

we are not only great students, but great people here at byu. but more importantly, we are children of God. elder eyring presses this plain, yet prominent point upon us as he outlines how we ought to pursue our formal education. he warns us, as does every great prophet, of pride and the negative role it can play in our education. humility is not achieved easily. in fact, one day as i was driving down state street i passed one of my favorite signs which always displays a blunt and often humorous religious statement. on this particular day the sign read 'humility: once you know you have it, you've probably lost it'. that has always stuck with me along with a statement from elder uchtdorf who stressed that 'humility is not thinking less of oneself, but thinking less about oneself'. don't you just love that? elder eyring continues, there is something we can choose to do in our daily life that will provide a constant protection against pride. it is simply to remember who God is and what it means to be his child. i believe that by knowing who we are, we jointly come to see what role we play in His plan. by remembering our potential, we are reminded of how far we have to go. throughout my entire life i've always seen myself as somewhat of an intellectual. i have always loved to learn and invent. i have a deep desire to know things. so it came to me as a shock when i was having a conversation with a dear friend that even i, a self-proclaimed inventor and tinkerer, was not taking on the load that she was. it made me want to learn more and work harder. humility is amazing in that way. it makes you want to be better by making you feel small in the presence of great people. by always remembering our Savior, we can receive that boost that humility provides. by avoiding pride in our education, we avoid the laziness and comfort that has claimed so many great thinkers before us. when we are humble we try to be better and work harder. and the greatest humility comes by remembering that we are children of God who sent his Son to atone for us. it says in d&c 130: 

18. whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. 

19. and if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

so keep on learning. be wise. remember the words of the prophets. and remember elder eyring's counsel to be humble. 

TO DO

i'm so productive.

okay, in my defense:

the bookstore was closed.

i'm on chapter seven.

windows was being... well, windows.

and i'm doing this post instead of the one i'm supposed to do for class.

but that was a pretty good nap if i may say so myself.

BRILLIANT

brilliant!

ESCAPE

go figure, blogging is a part of me. in fact, it's so much a part of my life now that's invaded my school life, too. in my writing and rhetoric class we are required to keep a blog. instead of making a brand new one and trying live on both, i'll be posting life posts as well as class posts. i don't think you'll be bothered too much, seeing as for the past few months i've been leaning more and more towards deeper topics. hopefully you and i will enjoy this. oh, and welcome to my blog, class. take a look around. i'm not as quite as i seem.

so, with this, i (must) officially end my break. i'll get around to the whopping two questions that you guys asked me soon. in the mean time, prepare yourself for some dang good educational posts.

FAREWELL

sometimes you just need to go bowling with your best friend.

tonight was one of those times.

farewell, my fine friends. 

i'm going to take a break for a while, if that's okay. i need to focus. this semester is going to be tough. i'm not saying that i'll be gone all semester, i just still haven't settled in yet- you really can't until the third week.

tonight i learned a valuable lesson.

you can always be better

you can always aim high

you can always be better

you can always try

with love,

clay

FY & DGU

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two great songs.

fix you & don't give up

OH FOUR FIVE

0/5

WHEN VACATIONS ATTACK

i'm on tv.

FYI

i'm not dead. i'm just really busy. i've had two things on my mind lately, everything else taken the backseat. one means the world to me that i want to tell everyone about (but i- gah! there's a reason why i sucked at this in high school...), the other is a project that i can't tell you about (in fact, it's because of this secretive mentality that i think i haven't posted in a while. i wrote the following two posts saturday morning but never published them, who knows why. beats me.) anyways, so much has happened. i have so much to tell you. but just not right now. hang tight- as soon as i get settled in, all will be told. in the mean time, ask me some questions! i've never really had an open dialog in my posts with my readers and what the heck, it's a new year so maybe it's time for some new things! don't make me look dumb, if you're reading this you now have a severe obligation to comment and ask me something. i'll try to answer any question you have (within certain limits, of course!)

first post of twenty-twelve! whoop whoop!