Leaving for the MTC

Hey Everybody,

I am leaving for the MTC now.

I love you all,

Tom Butler

Family is Medicine

I write tonight with a lot of things on my mind.

I drove down to the beautiful city of Saint George, Utah today in order to see my new baby Nephew, Jacob Edwin Western. I think family can be the best medicine, whether it is your current family or your soon to be family.

Spending quality time with my father during our four-hour car ride from Salt Lake City to Saint George was so much fun. Not only did we listen to some oldies music ( Fine Young Cannibals, The Guess Who, Mason Jennings, and The Doobie Brothers ), but we talked about current events and about different aspects of government. We laughed about the nostalgia felt while listening to certain music as well as talked about politics.

Seeing the baby when I walked to the window on my Brother's family house was the most amazing feeling. I first saw my brother, then saw my new baby nephew laying on a blanket on the floor: he was squirming restlessly, trying to get out.

Then on the way back from my brother's house, to the condo, we discussed the history of a Mr. Hamill who negotiated with the American Indians on behalf of the LDS Church. It was a very interesting story.

One interesting fact that I learned this evening was that the name "dixie" was a soft almost kind reference to the confederate South. It makes me want to song write.

Not only did family facilitate a kind and exciting Atmostphere in which I am comfortable, but they enjoyed the family just as much as I did. I love family and encourage all that are in disputes with family members to clear them up in a safe manner and to also pull up those old family Ties.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

The Sunday Picture

The Sunday Picture courtesy of Kodak.com

Photographer:		John Caruso
Country:		United States
Category:		Travel/Vacation

Cloud Seeding and The Jazz Game

I hope everyone had a wonderful evening. I am getting really excited about this blog. Here are some things I have been thinking about adding to the blog:

1. Picture of the Day
2. Daily easy tip on how to be "green"
3. Story of the day
4. Question of the week

Give me your feedback on these ideas.

On to business...


Cloud Seeding


A couple days ago, I was reading USA Today, only because U of U was out of the NY Times, and I came across an article that explained a process called Cloud Seeding. Cloud seeding first began in the late 1940s when Vincent Schaefer dropped six pounds of dry ice into a cloud which successfully snowed on Mt. Greylock. (Steinberg)


Here is the picture from USA Today that caught my eye:



Look at this article

The Utah Jazz



Although I have lived in Salt Lake City for four years this upcoming August, I still claim to be from Seattle. I love the Super Sonics, Mariners, and the Seahawks. The Utah Jazz, however, have caught my eye with their superior performace and playoff win tonight. I am excited about the rest of the series.







Sources:
Ted Steinberg. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Public Transportation

For the past nine months, I have taken full advantage of the free (courtesy of the University of Utah) Utah Transit Authority Education Bus Pass: I have taken the bus. In doing my part to reduce traffic in and around the University, I have also observed the many different passengers that throng together in their common bond to get from one place or another. In this paper, I will discuss specific public transportation experiences I have had over the last nine months that have caused me to become privy to some of life’s intricacies.

Recently, while riding the 213 home from work, an older Hispanic man sat near me. I continued listening to my iPod and reading from the New York Times, which I routinely did on my way home from work. He waved his hand for my attention and motioned me to remove my head phones. He said, “You from New York?”, referencing the paper I was holding. I replied in the negative and continued to tell him I was from Seattle. He pointed out the window and after short confusion over the direction of Seattle, he pursued more personal questions such as my name, my age, and where I went to school. My comfort level decreased. I began to ask him questions. After a vague answers to questions about where he was from and his current occupation, my comfort level dropped even further.

After moving to Salt Lake from the semi-ghetto of Tacoma, Washington, about an hour south of Seattle; I felt my personal safety skills were high. However, my confidence was dropping rapidly. After this man expressed that he was “coming with me”, communication on my part became forced and short. Suddenly, I realized we were the last two remaining on the bus. I hurriedly packed my backpack and walked to the front of the bus.

This event taught me a lot about myself. I enjoy learning about others as well as enjoy their company, but once boundaries were crossed I realized the importance of making those boundaries known. From this event I learned that the safety to show interest in another’s life does not exist everywhere. In some cases, optimism and friendliness can appear as vulnerability.

In a contrastively positive experience, while riding home on a Fast-Bus from Provo, I talked with a recently married BYU student. This student, product of another BYU success story, shared her plan for the future. Her excitement and optimism was like a peak from the sun through dark rain clouds. She shared my optimism for entrepreneurship as well as music. Her story and plan, however, were not as interesting as her invigorating excitement about the future and her firm belief of a successful outcome. This interaction, facilitated by our similar need for public transportation, allowed two individuals (her and I) to relate personal hopes and dreams.

Transportation does not always include, and most of the time rarely includes, interactions between individuals on a verbal level. Subtleties are found in watching others interact with the bus, the seating arrangement, personal belongings, children, the bus driver, and whatever passed outside the windows. I notice that although I am riding to my destination, that every other person is living and breathing while they continue to their destinations. At the end of a day, when most are tired and thought-filled, public transportation provides personal reflection time. Public Transportation is a cool down lap prior to returning to the stresses of reality that all return upon the first step off the bus.

Through my personal and external observations regarding public transportation, I have learned that everyone deserves a time in every day in which they can mentally slow down. Each individual deserves Me-time. My advice: Ride a bus.

A follow-up

Today was a day full of many really exciting events. First of all my girlfriend came home from college and I'm really happy to have her close again. Also, Ben Folds played tonight. Unlucky for me, I have a final in Sociology in the morning. I unfortunately had not studied prior to tonight.

I also looked up more information on that "texas-sized" trash mass in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I have not found a single definite picture yet, which leads me to think that this might all be an over exaggeration. Anyways, I found this link that will give you more information.

I, like many others, attend the University of Utah. I am heading into Finals. Like I mentioned above, I have my Sociology final tomorrow. Then I have a Math final on Monday as well as a Psychology final on Thursday of next week.

Also on that Thursday (May 1), I play a show down at Kilby Court. I am really excited about the show because we will be opening for Atherton!!! They are very good.

Current Events:

• Rupert Murdoch is attempting to own two New York Television Stations and Three New York Newspapers. More information.
  
• Another way to make money is found in the "Instructional Video" market. More information.
  
• The US has more people incarcerated per 100,000 than any other nation in the World. More Information.
  
• Obama and Clinton are still fighting it out for the Democratic Nomination (Just get it over with). More Information.
  

What I'd Like to hear from you:

• Did you attend the Ben Folds concert @ The Saltair tonight? If so, how was it?
  
• What finals are you taking? Are you prepared?
• How do you feel about current events right now? Where do you get most of your news from?What current events do you want to talk more about?

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Take Care,

Tom

Beginning

As I reach the end of my first year of College, I can't help but be thankful for all the wonderful experiences I have had. I really like all the new friends I have made throughout this past year and look forward to being with many of them this summer.
I am privileged to be dating a truly wonderful and beautiful young woman. I know so much more about myself and who I want to become because of her.
I also write and play music. I play in The Tom Butler Band (with Dave Hollerbach on Bass and Stuart Gardner on Drums). I am happy to say that over the past two years I have played over 96
shows. I truly believe that Salt Lake City has a wonderful music scene. My local favorites are:

• Good Morning Maxfield
• Mesa Drive
• The Band of Annuals

I have played shows with all three bands, but was a fan of each prior to doing the shows. But enough about music.

One thing I want to accomplish with this blog is discussing interesting topics I read or hear about. Here is a list of Topics I hope to discuss in the future with all of you:

• Texas-sized trash mass in the middle of the ocean
• Baby bottles linked to early puberty? (Specifically: Recycle type number 7)
• Global Warming and Going Green
  
• Tibet and China
• Business and Financial Strife in the United States
• Student Government on Campus

I look forward to the following blogs!

Tom