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Epiphany!!! My daughter came to me last night talking about sometimes it seems like all her efforts are in vain. She has put tremendous energy into various projects for school, with her friend groups, etc. And she is so disappointed when she sees someone drop out. She usually picks up the slack, only to have someone else drop out... Sometimes it continues. Sometimes it is too much and she simply can't continue without certain resources from others in the group who have dropped out. As I was consoling her, I finally understood the words of Kipling which I isolated above. Why are triumph and disaster both "imposters"? Why would you risk everything you've gathered only to throw it all away on a game of chance? For many years, I had read this poem. And I understood the rest of it just fine. But these two parts (quoted above) always made me wonder (why is this good advice?). Only as I was comforting my daughter did I understand that I had not yet become a man. Triumph and disaster are both imposters because we seem to manufacture so many meaningless things to be the "prize" we want in life. But the reality is that the prize is something that we don't really "win." Those things we consider to be success or failure are so often just the result of a gamble that happened to work out or not. Sometimes, you can do everything right and still lose. But we take consolation in the fact that we did, indeed, do what was right. Real success or failure is a measure of what we did, not what we achieved -- if you get my meaning. Every loss is a learning experience. It is the fact that we keep growing whether we win or lose that makes the experience worthwhile. Imagine winning, and then thinking, "Ok, I don't need to grow anymore!" Continual growth is the only thing that we can truly assess as the prize.

Um, Satan? FWIW, though, the youth in the Church fare better than any others of the same age, by every measurement (if you can believe those who research these things). Further, in an interview, D. Todd Christofferson (I think) stated that we're seeing record enrollment in the Church colleges and universities, and more youth attending seminary and institute. He was very optimistic about the rising generation. During one RS meeting, the thought flitted through my head that many adults may end up like that first generation of the Exodus Israelites - allowed to die because we aren't ready for the Millennial era - while the young people are allowed to enter the "promised land" (of the Millennium) due to their faith... The thought came with the understanding that individual older folk who will prepare themselves could well live to enjoy the Millennium. Don't know whether that was an inspired thought, though it seemed so at the time.

If you want an expensive hobby, try getting into ham radio. That can drain your bank account very quickly.

We're just a couple weeks out. Has anyone heard interesting rumors? Any predictions? Special plans?

Mission accomplished.

I am correct. I know of what I speak in this regard. Digital recordings are objectively superior. Subjectively... well, that's subjective. Yes. Of course. There's also a difference between one live performance and another. And one recording and another.

I have heard that Elder Nelson, Elder Eyring and Elder Holland are all in bad health and are struggling. This may be their last conference. In my youth it was considered a great honor to attend a conference session at the Tabernacle. I have only attended twice at the new Conference Center. I used to think the greatest personal revelations for me came from the Saturday Evening Priesthood session. I sometimes think that things are currently toned down a bit for worldwide broadcasting. I think I have to listen more carefully now to get what I seemed to get out of conference in the past. I believe there will be some changes. I used to take notes – not on talks by my personal impressions (something a Stake President taught me on my mission). I think this will be a good time to renew that practice. I had an epiphany recently about changes during my lifetime – When I was born, it was into a time period and society that was as close to the era of the Civil War in our history as to what we have today. Many of the life skills I thought to be important are now mostly lost in time. I do not understand where the depressions (spiritual and mental) of today have come from and have become so profound in the rising generations. Sometimes I think that the Saints of my youth were better prepared to the second coming than where we are today – but back then, there were hardly a million Saints, and we were quite isolated. Now days, it seems I can travel the world and attend a Sabbath service with the Saints wherever we are. I think that this time, it may be about time. The Traveler

Family is the most expensive hobby I have encountered. The Traveler

There was a time when I desired a decent sound system in my home. Because I am an engineer – I did my research. There are two general types of speakers, acoustic suspension (sealed) speakers and ported (open or reflex) speakers. Generally speaking, ported speakers are better at making noise and acoustic speakers are best at reproducing specific sounds. I designed my home stereo sound system with an array of various acoustic speakers at the front for sound stability and accuracy with two matching ported rear speakers and a 16-inch subwoofer for maximum depth. I had to have a custom amplifier to distribute the proper frequencies to the proper speakers. I really loved my system. I could listen to a full choir and orchestra, close my eyes and pick out individual instruments and voices and where they were located. The good old days of accurate sound systems are long gone and shattered by digital sound systems that chop off a great deal of the overtones kept and maintained by analog systems. There is something else everyone should know about the music (sounds) they listen to, especially those that are digital. Very low sounds (around the 10 hertz) cannot be heard by humans but can cause significant damage to the human ear. This can cause many to increase the bass volume for their own enjoyment that is painful to others that maintain accurate hearing abilities. One may think that listening to their music their way is their right. This is hardly the case. Noise pollution has a way of reaching beyond the creator of it into the space of those not impressed by the waisted energy – to the point of even causing injury. I believe scripture says it best that the miserable like to pass their misery on to others – and I would add – weather the others desire it or not. The Traveler

On some other stuff: I have too many hobbies. It's ridonkulous. I get into stuff. Here's some of the stuff I've gotten into over the past: Motorcycles Digital photography/videography and camera gear Making (braiding) bullwhips Model Trains Playing plectrum banjo Leather carving (belts, bags, holsters) Bicycling Making hats and western wear Guns And that doesn't include the primary hobby I have, which is writing musicals. I know...you can't buy happiness. But you can buy pleasant distraction. And goodness me...why are most of the hobbies I get into SO expensive! It's interesting to me how some of these that I've gotten into I never expected to. Like...I got into braiding bullwhips because I (delusionally) thought I could make myself a high quality, what would be $1000+ Indiana Jones bullwhip for the cost of materials (a few hundred). 15 years later and I've spend WAY more than the $1000+ and still don't make them as well as the pros. (Though a lay person wouldn't know they're not as good. Here's a pic of 2 of them I've made:) Anyhow...because they're "leather" people would often ask me back 15 years ago or so when I was getting into it if I did other "leather" work. And I'd say no way. No interest. Not my thing. I just wanted a bullwhip. It wasn't about the leather. But.... then a few years back I get it into my head that I can make myself a high quality gun holster on the cheap too! (Same delusion as before.) And...voila...into leather work. Now I'm really into leather work. Silly me. And bicycling. I have a bro-in-law who's always been into it and I'd always be like, "Bah...." about it. But then a few years back, the wife and I decided to get in shape and decided to get bikes...and then I got into it...like obsessively. I even got myself some of those biker shorts I swear I'd never be caught dead in! And...western wear and country music? That's just weird. Anyhow...mostly I'm just a big nerd and when I finally started making "grown-up" money, I realized, bit by bit, that I could....sort of...afford stuff. And so a lot of it is just child-hood fantasies being realized. Except I'm always trying to not just spend like crazy...so instead of buying the nice bullwhip or holster or cowboy hat or whatever...I decide I can be frugal and make my own. And then I get into the hobby because I'm a bit obsessive (the proper term, I believe, is hypo-mania ), and I end up enjoying the researching and crafting and hobby of it more than I enjoy the thing itself. Owning and cracking a bullwhip has brought much less pleasure and fun to me than making bullwhips has. Same with quick-drawing a six shooter (I wanted to get into cowboy quickdraw...they have real competitions and shoot wax bullets at metal plates and stuff....). I've much more fun getting into carving leather. Anyhow.... currently I'm into the hat making (as per the other thread I started on that), but I decided to sell a bunch of stuff I've gotten over the years on Ebay. Stuff that didn't quite work out. One of the cameras I have. One of the very expensive model trains I had. Etc. One of the excuses I always make myself is that I can always sell things to get out from under it if I get into financial trouble. Which ends up being true with a lot of hobby stuff. Model trains...expensive ones...are limited runs often. And that means they hold value pretty well, especially buying popular ones. I got the VisionLine Big Boy back in 2014. Spend $2200 on it (on a sale). Should be able to sell it for $2000 on Ebay pretty easily over a decade later. The problem was (if anyone cares) is the thing is too big and I had delusions (a common theme here) of having a cool train layout. But, I don't have the space! It's too big. The minimum curve of the thing is 6 feet. And that's for a simple circle, which isn't all that fun. I just don't have room to build a layout. Here's a pic, btw. So selling it....which is good because it's ended up being nothing but a decorative item for ten years (I've literally only run it once), has gotten me into the idea of moving to HO scale (which is half the size of the larger 0 gauge that this one is). And HO is less expensive. The size is cool on the 0 gauge. I'm kind of a go-big-or-go-home thinker on these things. But, in practice, that doesn't work out a lot of times. So HO might be just the ticket. So now I'm back into researching model trains again! Dang it! Haha. Except not dang it. I love the research almost more than the thing. If only I could stick to just researching and not actually buying I could have all the research fun without the money spent. But...it's the fantasizing about buying and building and all that that's half the fun, and so if it was just research..... Well, you get my point I suppose. C'est la vie. I've rambled on here a bit too much. But, you know... I did say the thread wasn't really meant to be about just soundbars and subwoofers.

OK. Went to the theater as normal to see the movie of the week for review. "Snow White" is so radioactive that I'm not touching it. But the movie I was wanting to see was a bust as the projector in that theater was busted, and so my next alternative was The Alto Knights. In the film, DeNiro plays a dual role as infamous mobsters Frank Costello and Vito Corleone. It's told from Frank's perspective, and goes from his early days to his decision to entrap the leaders of syndicates from across the nation as a maneuver to ensure that he and his wife were truly "out" of the game. His plan is that he wants a big mafia shindig at a single, central site so that he can hand over leadership of his neck of the woods to Vito. Officially, he wants this to happen so that there's no way he can take back leadership or Vito can deny that Frank gave it up peacefully. In reality, Frank knows that the site - a large farm in New York state - is already under at least casual investigation by New York authorities for being a key juncture for smuggling between the United States & Canada. All Frank has to do is drop a few anonymous tips to law enforcement, make up some excuse to justify a late arrival, dawdle until the cops get it done, and reap the rewards. Well, in the lead-up to everyone arriving at the farm, there's a scene where Vito and his crew pass the welcome sign for Palmyra. Cue Vito's driver bringing up the church, leading to the kind of blundering conversation you'd expect. So yeah... a mob movie just gave us some advertising.