Cole and Mason – BFF

August 24, 2008

All of the little Stucki cousins gathered in Vernal, UT these last few days. I didn’t get to make it, but my sister Jamie took some real good photos.

I’m sure she’ll share many of them, but there are a couple I wanted to post here because I think they are great.

Image

This is Cole and his buddy Mason.

Image
Here are all the Stucki Cousins together.
L to R: Maddie, Tyler, Lucy, Hailey, Mason, Cole, Emma

4 Comments on this post

Give A Little Wiggle

August 6, 2008

I’m not a big fan of posting Youtube videos on my blog because I think it just clutters things up a bit. But I was happy to see this video posted of a talk that President Monson gave during General Conference Of The Mormon Church. He spoke about following Examples of Righteousness and told a short story of when a young boy followed his example.

I’m so pleased to have a prophet who is personable and powerful. After telling this story, he reiterated advice given by Brigham Young so many years ago. I wrote down the counsel right there in the meeting and refer to it often. He stated, “”We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do. We should set them an example that we wish them to imitate.”

So now, I guess I have to teach Cole how to wiggle his ears.

1 Comment on this post

Don’t Let It Happen On Your Watch

July 29, 2008

The other day I was eating at my favorite place in Las Vegas, Sammy’s Dog House. It’s an outside stand where you order and then sit outside and chow your dog.

As I was sitting there, someone on the other side of the parking lot started honking their horn. And honking. And honking. And honking.

After one minute of honks, my thought was, “Man, I wish that annoying goober would pipe down.”

Then after 3 minutes of honking, I realized that the person might be in trouble. I pulled myself away from my Chicago Dog and Ranch fries (so good) and walked across the parking lot.

I wish I had something really awesome to report, but of course the honking stopped right as I neared the location. I looked at the different cars to see if someone was inside of one unresponsive, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I returned to my dog and fries.

When I got back, there were four old folks enjoying their food. I saw them watching me and reported, “You know, after a while you just have to go check. But I didn’t see anything.”

One of the older ladies said, “I was real impressed that you went and did that. We were just sitting here mad at the person for ruining our lunch not thinking that someone may need help.”

I told them that you always hear about those stories where a kid was kidnapped amidst a group of people because no one stepped up to ask what was going on and I didn’t want that happening on my watch.

She was impressed enough to offer to buy my lunch. When I told her I eat there free, she offered a nice grandma hug instead.

I bring this up only to remind everyone how good it feels to watch out for others. Though there wasn’t anything to be found, it’s a satisfactory feeling to even try. And, as the elderly folks showed, failure to watch out for others brings a tinge of guilt.

There is a phrase from a Elder Holland talk that has always stuck with me. It is in reference to when God asks Cain where his brother Abel can be found. Cain answers, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Maybe the answer to that question is….”No, Cain, you are not expected to be your brother’s keeper. But you are expected to be your brother’s brother.”

4 Comments on this post

My July Stockpile

July 9, 2008

Here are random things to post but that don’t deserve their own post:

  • One of the reasons I love dealing with Apple is because they treat customers good. Yesterday I went into the Apple Store to have them look at the battery on my iPhone. They did a quick test, saw that the charge capabilities were a bit low, and just handed me a new iPhone 5 minutes later. On top of that, my phone only had 2 days left on it’s warranty. Usually when you try to take an electronic back there are all kinds of hassles and hurdles to jump over. And with the great backup ability of iTunes, I plugged my iPhone in when I got home and everything was restored in a few minutes. Address Book, SMS messages, call history, everything.

    Now, just two more days until I get my next new iPhone.

  • I’m so excited for Scare Tactics to start again tonight. This year, Tracy Morgan hosts it which will be awesome. (If you haven’t seen the show, watch some highlights here and here)
  • Candace and I will be moving into our new house soon. Hopefully by the end of the week. It’ll be strange living only a mile or so from where I grew up.
  • Candace is just about thru the first trimester with Stucki Baby #2.
  • Cole likes water and likes being outside. So he REALLY likes helping grandma wash her car.
Image
Image
11 Comments on this post

One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Trash Too

July 1, 2008

Last Friday, it was garbage day in my neighborhood. Cole and I took the garbage can out to the street nice and early. Later that day, I went to my data center and came back to the garbage can off the street. I figured that Candace took it up to the house.

But when I pulled in, I didn’t see the can there on the side of the house. (We keep it on the side because Cole’s poop+105 degrees+closed garage=a very smelly car interior.)

Candace hadn’t pulled it up to the house and it was no where to be seen. We just assumed someone didn’t want to spend the $90 for their own garbage can so they took ours and drove off. Alright, the positive part is we won’t have to move it next week when we get into our new house.

But yesterday, I come home and see our garbage can in our neighbor’s garage. They are new neighbors since Paul moved away. It’s a group of younger guys so I assumed they made a mistake and thought it was their can.

So, I went up to the door and the conversation went as follows:

“Hey, I think my garbage can may have been pulled up to your house on accident last week. If you guys just want to put it out tomorrow (other garbage day) then I’ll bring it back to my house after it is emptied.”

“Which can?”, they replied.

“The one with the wheels.”, I clarified.

“No, that’s ours. We bought it when we moved in.”

Assuming the good, I walked out there with them to be sure we were talking about the same one. Indeed we were. The one with the wheels and the name “Stucki” on it.

“Yeah, that’s ours.”, he affirmed.

It was a very strange conversation. I felt like a freshman in PE again when Darryl took my deodorant and said, “Yeah, I brought this in. My mom bought it for me.”

So, I just plan to bring the can back to our house after it is emptied today and hope that civility wins out. But if that doesn’t work, I’m going to drill a hole in the bottom put a remote detonated paint bag in the bottom of the can. If it ends up in their garage again….BOOM…a newly painted floor.

8 Comments on this post

“The Kite Runner” Is Great

June 10, 2008
Image

Last night, Candace and I watched The Kite Runner. It was a best-selling book a few years ago, and the movie is equally as admirable. It is such a pure story of human tendencies, honor, and honesty. No big stars. No big explosions. Just a great story that made us cry and laugh.

Throw it in your Netflix queue or rent it on Apple TV. It’s incredibly moving.

10 Comments on this post

Getting Ready For The Monkey Luau

June 6, 2008

Cole is having his first birthday party tomorrow. (Though his birthday isn’t until the tenth.)

Candace, in her usual party planning style, has a fun day planned for our family. The theme is a “Monkey Luau.” I’m sure we’ll have plenty of pictures and videos afterward. But in the mean time, we have been polishing up his luau dance skills. Cole will dance for 45 minutes straight as long as I keep drumming. And I love how he cocks his right elbow back and then let’s his left arm just groove.

Here’s a short video (click the image below):

Image
5 Comments on this post

My Friend Next Door

May 23, 2008

When we first moved into our current house, we tried to meet our neighbors. Paul, the neighbor to our left, has turned out to be a good friend. He was once a highly intelligent physicist but a few years ago he got in an accident that made him severely handicapped, both mentally and physically. And now he lives a simple life at home. His wife runs their salon here in town.

Paul has become a friend. He shoots the pigeons on my roof with his BB gun. I take out and return his garbage cans each week because it is a physically difficult chore for him to do. We talk baseball, stock market and pigeon hunting.

A couple days ago, Paul knocked on my door. I could tell something was wrong. He told me that the night prior, his wife died just after 5:30. It was completely unexpected and you could tell his heart was broken. I joined him in his sadness.

I had two thoughts when he told me the news.

First, the Gospel is an incredible blessing to have in one’s life. Can you imagine how perfectly it could heal the situation? It promises Paul a return to a healthy body and a strong mind. It also offers the knowledge that he’ll see his wife again.

Yesterday, I asked Paul about his beliefs. In an effort to “lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees“, I told him what I know to be true. I invited him to learn more and I think he’ll accept that offer.

My second thought is how incredibly unpredictable life can be. I did not know Paul’s wife as well, but we were friendly. With Paul’s physical challenges, surely they assumed he would pass first and they had been planning that way.

Even with the Gospel and the promise to see loved ones again, losing a family member is incredibly difficult. It’s certainly more difficult when there is little or no notice on their departure.

Paul has reminded me to be clear with my heart and feelings with my loved ones and make time for the things most important.

8 Comments on this post

Three Suggestions For Award Shows

May 18, 2008

Tonight I was waiting for Candace and Cole to come home from California so I decided to watch the Academy Of Country Music Awards. I’m usually not much into these award shows. (Mostly because country music seems to be more corny than country for the last five years.) Though tonight I watched as Garth Brooks did a medley of his greatest hits. There’s no way I was missing that. I have so many good memories of my childhood involving his concerts.

Anyhow, can I make three suggestions to those who present and accept the rewards?

First, those microphones that are used for the presentations are put low so they are not blocking your face from the camera. They are made to pick up sound from a few feet away. You don’t need to bend all the way over to talk into the microphone when accepeting the awards.

Second, for the most part you are singers, actors and entertainers. I think some of that talent should be applied to preparation of an acceptance speech. They tend to be quite choppy and scattered.

Lastly, let’s start a tradition to break the seal of the envelope while the nominations are being announced. That way we can avoid the time of awkwardness as the flaps are fumbled.

3 Comments on this post

My May Stockpile

May 5, 2008

Well, I missed last month so I thought I better get right on it this month. Here are random things to post but that don’t deserve their own post.

1) A while back I posted about Martin Luther and how much I have enjoyed his writings and his history. I was happy to see a new article posted by FAIR titled, “Will The REal Martin Luther Please Stand Up.” It talks about some of the principles that Luther believed, and how the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is actually more in line with his beliefs than the current day Lutheran church or it’s offshoots. Interesting.

2) I’m on a mission to find a top notch pair of fingernail clippers. The best I’ve been able to find so far are the Seki Edge clippers. I want something that cuts thru nails like a hot knife thru butter. And preferably something that doesn’t have that unmistakable “click” that all clippers make. Let me know if you have any suggestions. As long as it’s under $100, then I’m interested.

3) My company, Macminicolo.net, released a new service a few days ago. So far, the reception and interest has been pretty good.

One of the best things about my company is that the clients are all over the world. Right now, we are in about 30 different countries. It’s great to have good friends in different cultures around the world. It’s especially interesting to see what clients in different countries expect from a service company.

4) I’ve had a couple family members ask for music that I’ve records so I’ve uploaded some songs to my server. They are mostly songs that I wrote, and all songs that I recorded. Some I like more than I did when I recorded, but others I don’t enjoy so much. Some are corny because I wrote them for a class, others are quite accurate of how I was feeling at the time. Regardless, if anyone is interested, they can be downloaded here.

5) Here is a picture of Cole that just makes me smile:

4 Comments on this post

« Previous Page — Next Page »