Almost Finished

On Wednesday, I had a meeting with a project managers, Nick, to discuss the status of a project I've been working on.  The project in question is a catalog focusing on products designed for carbon dioxide or CO2 as the refrigerant.  This is a big deal because in 2020, the most popular refrigerant in the country, Freon or R-22, will have huge restrictions placed on it's usage in the US, leading to a lot of people looking for an alternative.  CO2 never really picked up in the US, but it's very popular in Europe, so Danfoss is getting ready for people looking for a change.

Anyway, Nick reviewed what I had submitted and realized that we're nearly finished with the document.  If my face is hard to read, Nick is mannequin.  He doesn't get excited, he doesn't get angry, he just looks contemplative.  However, with the news that we were nearly ready to submit the catalog to a designer for the final mock-up, he was nearly giddy.  I was half-expecting him to start giggling (sadly, he just grinned broadly).  I thanked him for the enthusiasm and he admitted that he'd been trying to get this catalog put together for the last three years, but it took getting a technical writer to make it happen.

The lesson I learned from this experience is that technical writers can make all your dreams come true.

You Don't Even Know Me

One of the recent times that my sister, Margot, visited, she commented that I needed to share my thoughts on a matter because my face was blank and she didn't know how I felt about it.  I was a little surprised, but I guess I have trained myself to have my "standard face" be one of no emotion.  That could allow some people project onto me emotions that I'm not actually experiencing.  Perhaps that's what happened yesterday.

Yesterday evening, I was driving home from mutual where I was helping to supervise a joint activity between the Young Men and Young Women of our ward and a neighboring ward (it involved plenty of water balloons) when I stopped by a nearby grocery store to pick up a quart of milk.  I had had an enjoyable evening and had gotten a chance to talk with some of the other adults with whom I am friends, so I was feeling pretty good.  However, when I walked up to the store's entrance, a woman who was waiting for her ride told me to "Cheer up: at least you don't live in Texas" (I assume she's referring to the floods that are currently affecting the people of the Lone Star state.)  I quickly went from "neutral" to "majorly annoyed" and I said what first came to mind: "You don't even know me."  I never stopped walking during our exchange, so I went inside and never heard her reply, if she gave one.

I recognize that she was trying to be nice, cheering up a guy who she assumed was not having the best day.  But my day had been fine.  She was making assumptions about how I should express myself when I'm alone.  In doing so, she replaced my "simply not smiling" with a scowl.

There's a bit of a parallel here with women who get told something like "You'd be prettier if you smiled" by random guys as they're walking somewhere.  No, I don't have it nearly as bad -- I'm a college-educated, tall, white, Christian man; I am a member of the least oppressed group in history, not withstanding the Church's early years.  But regardless of gender, why do people feel the need to give advice to random strangers on their mood?  For all that woman knew, I knew one of the victims that the floods claimed and her comment could have caused me to burst into tears.  I could have been from Texas and missed living there, in spite of the recent events.  I could be dealing the sea of emotions that comes with getting divorced.  And so on.

I should say that I calmed down pretty quickly after the interaction and by the time I had paid for the milk, I was back to "neutral."  Still, I find it very bizarre (and, yes, frustrating) that someone told me to cheer up when I recognize that I'm the happiest I've been in years.  A lack of tears doesn't mean someone isn't sad, just as a lack of a smile doesn't mean a lack of contentment.

Tuesdays with Media: Ignoring Mr. Fields' Sound Adivce

W. C. Fields has been attributed to having said "Never work with children or animals" as one of the secrets to success in filmmaking.  On Monday, Ian and I ignored this bit of wisdom and attempted to make a quick and silly video with Henry and Clara.

Part of the problem with working with kids is when they still don't know how to read.  I would read the line for Henry to repeat, but sometimes he'd forget the last word, so we'd have to start all over again.  Or he'd say the line right, but not be looking in the right direction.  Or he'd say the line right, but not with the right emphasis or emotion.  Or the cat would walk in front of him, distracting him.  My point is that being five, it was hard for him to understand why he had to keep saying the same thing over and over again and he started getting frustrated and wanted to stop when we nearly had all the shots we needed.  We were able to convince him to stick with it until the end, but it took a lot of cajoling.

Finally, we were ready to move on and shoot Clara's scenes when Ian realized that he never turned on the microphone.  We had to shoot everything again!  He told Henry, who just collapsed into a pile of frustration and disappointment.  After weighing the options, Ian decided to call it a day and break the set.  Henry was happy to get out of his costume, but Clara was so disappointed that she started bawling.  Even after she stopped crying, she just would not cheer up.  I even picked her up and swung her around, which usually gets a big squeal of laughter out of her, but this time I got nothing.  The only thing that got her out of her funk was teaching her how to do a basic clapping game.  The act of learning and playing a game together put a smile on her face and she was fine for the rest of the evening.

Was it a mistake to try to make a movie with the kids?  No, but it was a real test of patience for everyone involved.  I can imagine that if we weren't related to the kids, it would be easy to swear off working with children ever again.

Barking Dogs

Here's something to not try: run 7 ½ on a Saturday morning and then offer your help to a friend who has you mow his rather large lawn.  I know, I know: it seems like a fine plan, but if you try it out, you'll barely be able to stand by the end of the incredibly long day.

Thank goodness Sunday is the day of rest.

"People in California be like ..."

I found out recently that a family in my ward is being required to relocate due to work.  As it happens, they're moving to San Diego.  Knowing that I claim that area as the land of my nativity, the family patriarch asked me a few questions about what to expect.  I had lots of positive things to say about the culture, food, weather, environment, and so on.  However, I also warned him about the traffic.  I told him that "drivers are aggressive to the point that it'll probably feel like everyone is trying to murder you with their vehicles."

The thing about drivers out here is that thy don't pay attention.  I see multiple close calls everyday on the freeway, usually involving someone trying to change lanes without checking their blindspot or just drifting into an adjacent lane unintentionally.  As I told the brother, "People here don't pay attention to what's going on around them, whereas So Cal drivers are aware of you and hate you for existing."

Yes, I was being hyperbolic, but there's a reason the term "road rage" originated in California, so there was still plenty of truth in what I said.  Luckily, the brother has a good sense of humor and was happy to hear about all of the positive things I had to say.

Missing The

One fun thing about my job is that I get random proofreading assignments that were written by non-native English-speakers.  Yes, I am aware of how incredibly nerdy I am for describing "proofreading" as "fun."

I don't speak Danish, but I'm guessing that articles aren't used a lot, particularly definite articles.  If I'm proofing something written by a Dane (which is most of the time when it wasn't written by someone in my office), there are more dropped the's than ... I don't know where I was going with that comparison, but you get the idea -- the's get no love.

Also, Danish appears to have some syntax similarities to Spanish with overly complex (for English) sentences that have "of" in an awkward place.  Instead of saying "make sure the bolts are secure," they'll use something like "ensure the security of [the] bolts."  Not grammatically wrong, just awkward.

I don't get these sorts of assignments very often, but I enjoy the break from routine when they come.

Tuesdays with Media: Meet the Mormons

Considering that I just posted that I saw it, I guess it makes sense for me to review Meet the Mormons.

The film starts with a montage of clips from movies and TV making jokes about members.

They stuck to the mostly harmless stuff.

It was a pretty lighthearted way to begin, and it worked since that was the major tone of the whole thing.  This film was made with a clear thesis: Mormons are normal people.  There was no scene with members bearing testimony or explaining the tenants of their faith.  I suspect that the expectation is that the real missionary work will begin after the credits roll and audience members go to ask their LDS friends about the movie they saw.

To explore their thesis, the filmmakers follow six members and their families and how their membership affects their lives.  We meet a young, black bishop in Atlanta, the head coach of the Naval Academy football team in Annapolis, a young Costa Rican mother who is an amateur MMA fighter, a Nepalese businessman who is helping to develop villages in his country, a WWII veteran fighter pilot who still flies planes today, and a mother in Salt Lake City who is helping her oldest son prepare for his mission.  I'm a bit disappointed that the filmmakers only followed two people outside the US, but since this is intended for a US audience, maybe they felt they would alienate people if it wasn't made up of mostly Americans.

From a technical standpoint (which I have a better eye for these days), I was impressed with the various techniques used.  While there was a narrator, she was mostly used during transitions, allowing the stars of each segment to tell their own stories.  They also allowed each segment to stand on its own by employing different styles for each person: for the football coach, they made sure to capture plenty of shots of gameplay; for the segment in Nepal, they took a lot of footage of the beautiful mountains and valleys; and for the story of the WWII vet, they got to use the Ken Burns effect to its fullest potential with old photographs.  Not that the Church is new to film production, but this was still an expertly-made documentary.

In preparing for this post, I read a few snippets of the mostly negative reviews that the film has received, saying that its not a documentary but a propaganda film.  I disagree.  Does the Church make propaganda films?  Sure, and our missionaries give them away for free.  This wasn't a preachy movie.  In fact, during a few of the segments (especially about the veteran), I forgot I was watching a Church-made movie.  Every person talks about the positive effects of the gospel in their life, but this isn't a movie to learn about the basic beliefs of the Church.  Rather, its intent is to show a variety of members in their daily lives.

The film's second goal is to be non-confrontational and in that it also succeeds.  If you want a movie that shows how the Church can be a part of anyone's life, or if you just want a lighthearted look at some interesting people, Meet the Mormons is a fine choice.

Meet the Mormons is produced by Excel Entertainment.

"[They'll] Go Inside Someday..."

On Saturday, my ward hosted a viewing of the documentary Meet the Mormons at the Washington, DC Temple Visitor's Center.  I had already decided that I wasn't interested, but I suggested to Ian that we take his kids to see it since it would be good for them to be so close to the temple.  He agreed and we made plans to attend.

When we got there, we had some time before the movie started, so we walked around with the kids, showing them the various displays in the Visitor's Center, including a replica of the Christus and a detailed model of the temple that includes a "cut-away" section to show the interior.

Click to enlarge

Both kids were disappointed when we told them that they had to wait until they were 12 before they could go inside, but they also said how they looked forward to being old enough to enter someday.  Clara especially seemed captivated by the idea of temple attendance.

The movie itself was better than I thought it would be, though I must admit I wasn't expecting a lot.  Henry was too wiggly and Ian decided to take him out for the last ten minutes to walk around the temple grounds, but Clara wanted to stay and finish it.  The last segment was focused on a family preparing for their oldest boy to serve a mission, so I whispered to Clara about all of the people in her family that have served missions (I left out relatives or ancestors that she hasn't met) and by the time it was over, she was talking about how she wants to serve.  I realize that kids get excited about all sorts of stuff -- I wanted to be an astronomer for most of my childhood and I would probably have scoffed at the idea of being a writer -- but being introduced to the idea of missionary service at an early age is important for every kid.  When we rejoined Ian and Henry, we joined my ward for lunch (that they provided) and walked the temple grounds one last time with Clara.

Usually when I go to the temple, I go alone to receive revelation on a matter of person significance.  In fact, before Saturday, I had never before gone inside the Visitor's Center.  And even though I was motivated to expose my niece and nephew to information about the temple, I certainly received something person from the experience as well.

The Great Word Judge

Despite the fact that I was hired to as an expert in the written word, I keep getting surprised when people at my company come to me for my expert opinion.  For example, I received an email last week from a high-level manager in Denmark asking if the company should use the word "part" or "component" when referring to the products we make.  Being me, I couldn't just give her a quick answer, so explained the advantages and disadvantages in either choice, though I agreed that one word should be picked as the standard.  All in all, I wrote over 500 words on the topic.

I never shared my opinion, though I preferred "parts" for several reasons, one of which was that it's a more common word.  Perhaps my opinion came through, because earlier this week, a company-wide email was sent out telling everyone to use the word "parts" from now on.  My name was never cited as a reason for the decision, but I don't need credit to feel a swelling of pride.

I'm not sure why it feels a little weird to be seen as an expert in my field (maybe because the people at my last couple of jobs didn't really respect me?), but it mostly feels great and I hope it keeps happening.

Like Driving on a Flat

I ran fifteen miles last week, though I split it between two days.  I also bought some new running shoes in an attempt to better protect my tweaked left knee.  Despite the fact that I should know better, I wore my new shoes without first breaking them in.

Ew.

When I came in from my run on Saturday, I had four blisters and two almost-blisters on my feet.  I lanced, drained, and bandaged everything because I still got to walk and walking with squishy pustules isn't practical.  You might think this would have stopped me from running this week, but nope!  On Monday, I ran another 7.5 miles and came home to lance, drain, and bandage my feet again.

I've written before about why running is important to me, so despite the annoying interactions my feet are having with my new shoes, I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

Tuesdays with Media: The Public Life of Celebrities

Before I begin, watch this clip from an interview with Robert Downey, Jr.:

That's a shortened clip from the full interview that Downey did to promote Avengers: Age of Ultron.  The interviewer, having asked all the questions he had about the film, asked the actor if he would mind answering some personal questions.  Downey lookeds a little weary, probably because he'd been giving interviews for hours and just wanted to be done already, but he smiled and agreed to the more personal stuff.  The interviewer brought up Downey's dark past (he struggled with addiction) and you see Downey's whole countenance change: he starts breathing heavily and his eyes are filled with a mixture of pain and anger.  Despite the interviewer being a completely insensitive jerk, Downey simply got up and ends the interview, not once saying a mean word.

I bring this up because celebrities have troubles that the rest of us don't face.  Everyone has things in their past that they aren't proud of, but we don't have people bringing them up to us well after we've overcome those troubles.  I'm not proud of the fact that it took me eight years to get my four-year degree, that I've struggled with depression, that I'm getting divorced, or that I had a rough start to my career as a technical writer, but I don't have to talk about those things to complete strangers.

Now don't get me wrong, celebrities have a lot of perks that come from living in the public eye (lots of celebrities get paid more than I make in a year just to attend parties) and that often makes up for having to deal with the less desirable stuff.  But the fact that you can't completely move on must wear down on a person.

I recently gave a lesson in the Teacher's Quorum about repentance and the fact that we can move beyond our faults through the atonement is a fundamental principle of the gospel.  I am not suggesting that by being in the public eye, celebrities can't take advantage of the atonement, just that constantly (or even occasionally) being reminded of your past mistakes must be hard.

I don't know what kind of person Robert Downey, Jr. is, but he showed great personal strength by not cussing out the interviewer.  Sure, he may have only held back because there were cameras rolling, but his behavior was still commendable.  I think this particular event stood out to me because I could empathize with him.  Not the cameras and all of that, but feeling anxious while talking to someone and wanting to be anywhere else.  Most of us don't have the luxury of being able to walk away from someone that's offending us, but most of us aren't having our personal demons shoved in our faces either.  So while there are enviable aspects of being rich and famous, it comes with some pretty substantial negatives, too, and I wouldn't wish that lifestyle on anyone.

Sharing Food and Experience

Yesterday, I attended dinner at the home of the other counselor of the Teacher's Quorum, along with Samuel and a couple that I didn't know.  The food was lovely (homemade fish tacos), but the company was even better.

And that surprised me.  The other couple that I was introduced to were friendly enough, but the missus was a bit aggressive in her friendliness.  While I have gotten better about warming up to people, I still need some time before I feel comfortable around someone new.  This particular woman did not share that point of view and that made my discomfort levels rise.  Over the course of dinner, however, I relaxed and became more comfortable and even shared some personal things about myself.  After Samuel mentioned that he was separated from his family, the topic turned to me and my marital status.  When I shared my situation, the woman that had made me feel uncomfortable earlier told me that she and her husband had both been divorced before they married each other and that even though they had had their struggles, they were happy they had found each other.

It's interesting to find other people that can relate with what I'm going through and to receive encouragement from them.  I know I'll find the woman that I should be with when the time is right, but is still nice to be supported by people that have already walked the same path.

New Skills

Due to my sometimes-role as cinematographer at work, it's not an unusual sight to see me walking around the office with a camera.  One of the managers I occasionally work with, Nick, noticed and asked if I had any experience as a photographer.  As a matter of fact, I told him, I was in charge of taking product shots for the website of a company I worked for years ago.  I warned him I was out of practice, but with a little time, I could be back up to speed.  Nick agreed that it was worth the experiment, but he needed the images pretty soon.  Normally, we have any product shots we need taken by the company's image maestro, but he didn't have the right products on hand and is on another continent, so we either needed to provide the images ourselves or hire a professional photographer.  Like I said, Nick thought it was worth the experiment, so I gave it a try.

I should point out that I was able to use a professional-grade camera that Danfoss owns and Nick ordered a proper backdrop to use, but we didn't have professional lighting.  Instead, we used the sun.  Over the course of three days, I took nearly a hundred pictures because, as I learned from a photographer friend years ago, the first rule of photography is: film is cheap, take lots of pictures.  And it's funny because even with all of those pictures, we'll probably only use two or three of them.  But, we're actually going to use them!

Here's the picture I took (and I also digitally touched-up):

And here's what the final ad looks like:

How awesome is that?!  Now, the picture still has some problems that I would want to eliminate next time, but considering I'm an amateur, I think it's pretty impressive.  Nick thinks so too, and said that he's coming to me the next time he needs products shots for anything.

And the one above isn't even the best picture I took so far.  That would be this one:

The hardest part is finding a white void in which to take the pictures.

Who would have guessed that when I started this job five months back that I would be picking up so many new skills?

Freedom of Intolerance

On Sunday, two armed men were killed by police when they opened fire on an auditorium in Garland, Texas.  The quick action under fire by the officers on duty is commendable and impressive (besides the two felled antagonists, no on was killed), but what sparked the ire of the gunman was nothing short of an act of hatred: an art exhibit on cartoons and caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad.  The event was put on by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), an organization described by many as a "hate group" -- I heartily agree.

For those that don't know, Muslims believe no images of their founder, the Prophet Mohammad, should ever be made and any depictions of him are considered blasphemous.  With so many terrorists in the world inappropriately claiming Islam as their motivation, metaphorically spitting in their faces is just asking for trouble.

According to the AFDI, they put on the event in support of "free speech" and people who are challenging the "American way of life" (I assume that "American way of life" they're talking about is being mind-bogglingly stupid).  What the AFDI should really say is that they're a bunch of intolerant cowards that can't stand it when people do things differently than them, because that's the truth of the matter.  Yes, there are a bunch of radical Muslims in the world that are committing terrible acts, but they are the minority.  Judging an entire group of people based on the most extreme examples will only lead to trouble, as was seen on Sunday.

When I heard about what had happened, I felt a brotherhood with the peaceful Muslims in this country.  As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have seen my religion mocked (and that mockery being praised), I have read about "radicals" that claim the same core beliefs I do but practice things that are denounced by Church leaders, and I have had people tell me to my face that I am going to hell.  The major difference is, of course, that the Church is true, but no one should be mistreated because of their religion.

While I still believe that Americans have the right to be stupid, I really am disappointed with how some people choose to exercise that right.

Tuesdays with Media: In Defense of Clark Kent's Disguise

One argument I've encountered with regards to my favorite superhero is that his disguise is silly: he puts on a pair of glasses and now no one recognizes him, not even Lois Lane, someone that he interacts with on a daily basis in both personas.

Clearly just a regular guy ...

The reality is that this a great disguise.  First of all, if you were to see someone flying around in a flashy costume and they weren't wearing a mask, you wouldn't think that person even had a secret identity.  In both the comics and in the movies, the public knows that Superman is an alien, which is why he has amazing super powers.  Even with him looking human, most people would assume that he doesn't have an alter ego.

With that in mind, the average person would associate Superman only with situations that require Superman.  To put it another way, if someone wants to see Superman, they look "up in the sky" for someone flying, not down on the street for someone walking.

This relates to the concept of a "handle" or an identifying characteristic.  Think about when I posted the pictures yesterday of how I look now with a short haircut and a shaved face.  I look so different, that I had several people at Church comment that they thought I was a visitor until they heard me speak.  My face didn't change, but how it was framed by my hair and mustache did.

"That's different," you may say, "your mustache covered your face."  Alright, let's try a different example.

This is a picture of actress Zooey Deschanel:

Ms. Deschanel's face is not obscured in the above picture.  No facial hair, no glasses, not even a hat.  Now look at this:

That's also Ms. Deschanel, just with her bangs swept to the side.  When she wore her hair this way, a lot of people online made a big deal about how she was completely unrecognizable.  And even though I'm know that both pictures are of the same person, I only barely see the resemblance.

So when you take into account both that changing one or two things will make someone (even a famous someone) unrecognizable and that people wouldn't be looking for Superman among "normal" people, you can see that Clark Kent's disguise is actually the most believable part of the story.  Plus, there are other differences he makes between personas: Clark speaks in a tenor voice, while Superman is a baritone; Clark slouches, while Superman stands up straight; Clark wears slightly baggy clothes to hide his muscles, while Superman wears a skin-tight outfit; and so on.

Even though Superman doesn't wear a mask, he's got the best disguise of any superhero.

All of It

Something drastic happened Friday evening.

Before:

After:

It's so drastic that my friends and family barely recognize me.  Hopefully, I'll find a way to cope.

Rain, Rain, You Can Stay

After my knee problems on Monday, you'd think I'd hold off on running again this week, right?  No, sir or madam, I did not.  My knee made an audible "pop" sound Wednesday evening and nearly all of the pain I'd been feeling disappeared.  And since Thursday's weather looked so nice, I decided to go for another run, this time wearing the knee brace.

Just as I was starting my run, I noticed that the sky looked a little darker than I had first noticed.  I remembered that I had seen that there was a chance of showers that evening, but only 50%.  So I ran.  My knee felt fine and once again, it felt great being outside pounding pavement.  When I was a little past the halfway mark, it starting lightly sprinkling.  My fastest option home was just to finish, so I picked up the pace a little.  The rainfall increased to the point that by the time I made it home, the front of my shirt was damp all the way through, though I wasn't actually dripping.  I also wasn't in danger of hypothermia since the rain didn't really get heavy until right at the end.

I had barely stepped inside when I got a text message.  My friend, Lori, asked if I could come by to administer a priesthood blessing to her husband who was having an asthma attack.  I immediately turned around to head out the door, but first, I told Samuel to put on his shoes and come with me.  Even though Samuel hadn't been invited, I thought that bringing him would be appropriate and it would give him a chance to participate in a blessing for the first time (he only recently received the Melchizedek Priesthood).

We arrived, me in my wet running clothes, and were warmly welcomed.  After a quick explanation from Mark on what was ailing him, we administered the blessing, with Samuel anointing and me sealing.  Mark was clearly grateful and gave us each a big bear hug.  Not wanting to get in the way of his recovery, we soon left to go home, with Samuel talking excitedly about how he got to be involved.

These stories are connected in more than just their sequence.  My original plan had been to run two loops again, like last time, which would have taken me over an hour.  I did have my cell phone on me, but with my earbuds in and my legs constantly moving, the chances that I would have either heard or felt my phone (I have it set to both chime and vibrate) are low.  If the rain hadn't come, I probably would have lost the opportunity to exercise my priesthood and help a dear friend.  I was annoyed at the rain when it first started, but now I'm grateful it came.