C-Span Calls Out Obama

Karl Rove on C-SPAN's request to Congress to televise health care meetings. Watch the interview.

President Obama promised to make the Health care debate open and transparent. Stop your secret health care shenanigans and let C-SPAN cover the meetings. No more secret sessions. No more sweetheart deals. The American people have a right to know. If you don't have anything to hide, you would welcome the light. Let the cameras in. Sign the petition for health care transparency.

Utah First State to Offer iPhone App

Utah is first state in nation to offer government service through Apple iPhone Application

Press release

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Francine A. Giani, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce announced today that Apple iPhone users can now search the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing's online database thanks to a free Apple application which can be downloaded from iTunes.

The Department of Commerce is the first state agency to offer an iPhone service and Utah is the first state nationwide to offer an Apple application for a government service. For instance, iPhone users will be able to look up a contractors license from a job site, patients can verify a doctors license from a waiting room and homeowners can search for a licensed electrician from their backyard.

"Utah is known for being on the cutting edge of technology and innovation and ensuring access to government services. With this new iPhone service leading the way for other state agencies, Utah can now say, 'Yeah, we have an app for that!' " said Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

"We are thrilled to be the first to bring the convenience of iPhone applications to a state agency database", said Francine A. Giani, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce, "Our Department looks forward to adding more Commerce services to iPhone users in the near future."

About the Utah Department of Commerce: The Department of Commerce contributes to the success of Utah businesses, professionals and consumers by creating a favorable economic environment. Our mission is to protect the public interest by ensuring fair commercial and professional practices. For more information about the Utah Department of Commerce log on to: www.commerce.utah.gov, or call (801) 530-6701.

About Utah.gov Utah.gov is the State of Utah's official Web portal (www.Utah.gov). It was ranked first in the 2008 Digital States Survey by the Center for Digital Government and also ranked first in the nation in the Center for Digital Government's 2007 Best of the Web competition. It is managed and operated without tax funds through a public-private partnership between the state and Utah Interactive, the Salt Lake City- based official eGovernment partner for the state of Utah. Utah Interactive is a subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV)

About NIC NIC is the nation's leading provider of official government portals, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens, and businesses across the country. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for 2,900 federal, state, and local agencies that serve more than 70 million people in the United States.

iTunes to offer HD movies and rentals

This week Apple announced it will offer high-definition movie sales and rentals via iTunes.

Recent box office titles, including "Quantum of Solace" and "Twilight," and be downloaded for $19.99 in HD; rentals are available 30 days after release for $4.99. The offering is Mac and PC compatible; widescreen and Apple TVs can also partake, but iPhone and iPod with video will continue to support only standard-definition versions.

Prior to this announcement, and after January 2008, Apple offered HD movie rentals exclusively via Apple TV. In September, support for HD TV shows was incorporated into iTunes.

To promote the new offering, a dedicated HD Movies page was added to the iTunes storefront.

Online video gross media spend is expected to grow 22.5% between 2008 and 2010. YouTube, which aspires to both monetize its offerings and compete with iTunes and Hulu in terms of providing premium content, continues to fuel audience traffic toward online video. In February it began testing a charge-to-download program that, if successful, may put it in iTunes' arena.

Google Email - "Undo" Feature!

As reported by MarketingVOX: Mere days after Google unveiled an email preview feature for YouTube videos, Yelp reviews and Flickr and Picasa photos, Gmail Labs is introducing yet another feature that enables marketers to preempt a botched email blast.

Undo Send enables users to effectively unsend emails that were prematurely sent — or that contain errors.

The window of opportunity is a small one, however. "This feature can't pull back an email that's already gone; it just holds your message for five seconds so you have a chance to hit the panic button," writes the Gmail Blog.

"And don't worry – if you close Gmail or your browser crashes in those few seconds, we'll still send your message."

To activate Undo Send, visit Gmail Labs > Settings and switch on "Undo Send." Thereafter, users will see an "Undo" link on every sent email confirmation; once "Undo" is hit, users are sent back to the compose window.

Discovery sues Amazon over Kindle

Media company Discovery Communications filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com on Tuesday, accusing the online retailer's Kindle of infringing its patent on electronic book technology, writes Reuters.

The lawsuit claims that both Amazon's Kindle versions have infringed one or more of the claims on a patent that Discovery founder John Hendricks received in November 2007.

The patent deals with encryption technology for the distribution of digital books. Discovery founder John S. Hendricks claims he invented a secure, encrypted system for the selection, transmission, and sale of electronic books.

Sincere Apologies to Great Britain

It is unbelievable that our country's leader could cause so much offense in such a short amount of time, and the American people are not even aware!

Apparently this past week, Great Britain's Prime Minister brought President Obama some priceless and historical gifts - amazingly thoughtful and valuable. A token of the esteem between our countries and a gift of good-will. In return, Obama gave 25 American DVDs. What a slam. No thought or esteem was put into that gift. I personally am appalled at the lack of decorum and thoughtlessness. On top of that - Obama returned the bust of Winston Churchill given to the American People after 911. Not only did he offer a crappy gift, but he also slapped our greatest allies in the face by not accepting their supportive previous offerings.

Great Britain is deeply offended. The British press is obviously bothered that the American media is not covering these offenses, and I join them in their outrage. How dare our so-called leader offer such rudeness in behalf of our country? Does he not value our relationship with Britain? Is he just ignorant or unprepared?

I for one, would like to offer my sincerest apologies to the people and country of Great Britain. Obama does NOT represent my feelings towards you and all you have done to help support us and the cause of freedom around the world. We offer our heartfelt gratitude for your willingness to stand up and fight for others! I am embarrassed and ashamed of the behaviors demonstrated to you by our president as well as our media.

Twitter and Facebook Integration

Tweetdeck, a desktop client reportedly used by about 13% of Twitter users, launched an update that features Facebook integration, reports AllFacebook.

Tweetdeck aggregates data streams from Twitter, Twitscoop, 12seconds, and Stocktwits. It allows users to split feeds, organize those they follow into groups (work, personal, etc.) and conduct searches across the twittersphere to monitor topics of choice.

The Facebook integration incorporates status updates from the social network into the mix. (The new version is still in beta, but available to the public (download).

To use the new feature, users sign into Facebook and give Tweetdeck authorization. Then, from within Tweetdeck, they click on the Facebook icon at the top, which will add a new column that shows their Facebook friends' most recent status updates, which can be tweeted or emailed out to anyone. The stream updates once a minute.

Tweetdeck also supports real-time chat with Facebook friends, Mashable points out. If the person's name is green (signaling that they are online), users can initiate a Facebook chat session from within Tweetdeck.

Agilix Wins Top Microsoft Award

Agilix Selected as One of Three Winners in Microsoft's Ingenuity Point Competition

GoCourse Learning System Takes Top Award in Education Category as Part of Round Two of the International Competition to Drive Innovation

OREM, Utah, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Agilix Labs, Inc. announced that its GoCourse Learning System solution has been selected as a winner in round two of Microsoft Corp.'s Ingenuity Point contest, a worldwide competition for independent software vendors (ISVs) that recognizes solutions built on Microsoft technology with the potential to drive positive change in the areas of education, healthcare and environmental sustainability. GoCourse Learning System, a personalized distributed learning platform for delivering online courses, is the winner in the education category.

"Educational institutions want to deliver personalized learning through rich, engaging content to their online students. We are pleased to work with Microsoft worldwide in providing a powerful new learning solution to schools and institutions that need the benefits of fully distributed learning," said Curt Allen, Agilix CEO.

"The Agilix GoCourse Learning System is the first hosted 'Software + Services' solution built on the Microsoft platform that can be easily customized and integrated with other components of a complete eLearning system through a suite of open XML APIs," said Allen.

GoCourse Learning System, which is now in its 2.0 released version, is a distributed online learning system designed to address the needs of distance and online education and training around the world.

GoCourse Learning System improves the lives of teachers and students. The solution provides the tools that allow any instructor or instructional designer to create and deliver rich and engaging courses with minimal effort. Instead of publishing course materials as a series of links and text in a browser, GoCourse delivers the entire course inline as a series of engaging learning experiences through an immersive course player environment. The combination of dynamic templates and simple drag-and-drop assembly methods supports the creation of course content, quizzes and assessments and learning activities that are accessed through either an Internet browser or an installed Windows application.

GoCourse's distributed learning model and personalized learning approach provide students with access to anywhere, anytime learning that expands the concept of the classroom to include anywhere the student has access to the course materials, even when Internet access may not be available.

"Ingenuity Point contest winners such as Agilix utilize Microsoft technology to build new, exciting applications that make a difference in the world and demonstrate the true power of software," said Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist at Microsoft. "We are pleased to recognize Agilix as an ISV leading the field of pioneering software solutions in the education category."

Agilix customers include schools and institutions, such as K-12 school districts, universities, professional associations, and corporate and military training organizations that use GoCourse to author, deliver, and track comprehensive online courses.

Once an online course is created, GoCourse Learning System delivers the course as a series of interactive and media-rich learning experiences, tracking both performance and time spent.

Agilix and the winners in the other two categories make up the final-round grand prize recipients of the yearlong Ingenuity Point competition and are joined by the three grand prize winners from round one. The six vertical winners selected in both award rounds are eligible to be chosen as the Platinum Ingenuity Point Award winner later this spring. Platinum Award winners will receive additional marketing support from Microsoft, as well as a coveted guest judge position at the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008 competition to be held in Paris.

More information about the contest and all winning ISVs is available at the Ingenuity Point Web site, http://www.theingenuitypoint.com.

About Agilix

Agilix Labs, Inc. enables educational institutions and organizations focused on distributed online learning to deliver rich and engaging online courses. Its flagship GoCourse(TM) Learning System is designed to radically transform instructional management and the learning experience and improve the lives of instructors and students. Agilix products enable delivery of rich interactive learning content through online and offline access. Through partnerships with some of the industry's most progressive technology leaders, including Microsoft, Intel, Higher Ed Holdings and FranklinCovey, Agilix delivers its software applications to hundreds of thousands of users in more than 110 countries worldwide. Founded in 2001, Agilix is based in Orem, Utah. For more information about Agilix, please visit http://www.agilix.com.

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Petition to Save Windows XP

InfoWorld is collecting signatures on a petition to save Windows XP. Click here to sign. I'm happy to add my signature. I'm in need of a new computer system, but hesitate to buy one because every machine comes with Vista -- and the time and money it will take to get all of the software I use upgraded, with patches, etc. -- just makes me not want to go there. I just don't have the time to deal with it. So I stick with my current system and hope it keeps working well. If I could get a new computer with Windows XP (that is not a DELL), I'd do it in a heartbeat. I hope Microsoft will listen to what their customers WANT and not keep trying to tell us what they want us to want -- and keep Windows XP around. (It won't be sold after June 30th).

Facebook to Launch IM Service

"Facebook is poised to launch its own instant messaging service as early as next week. The service will be built into Facebook profile pages.

Facebook's plans may be bad news for third parties like Social.IM and FriendVox, which built IM apps on Facebook.

The announcement comes a week after Bebo, the third biggest social network, was purchased by AOL. AOL says the merger's success hinges upon the successful integration of AIM into Bebo.

MySpace also offers a rather sporadic IM service, which debuted in 2004.

Early this month, Facebook announced a music partnership with iTunes, right on the heels of MySpace, which itself is developing a music service with the four major record companies."

http://www.marketingvox.com/facebook-to-launch-im-service-037361/?camp=newsletter&src=mv&type=textlink

Tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley

I'm going to miss President Hinckley tremendously - he passed away last night - but oh, what a wonderful reunion he must have had. We love you President Hinckley! I found this quote and it reminded me of him -- a straight arrow!

If you hold to high standards and try diligently to build your life on principles, you may well be labeled as a prude, a do-gooder, unsophisticated, square — a straight arrow . If they don't want you to be a straight arrow, then what would they have you be — lascivious, a do-badder, sinful, shapeless — a crooked arrow ? Can you imagine anything as useless as a crooked arrow? If you wanted to hit a target, reach a goal, predict a course of flight, which arrow would you pick? In working out his plans, do you imagine God picks crooked arrows?
-- Adrian Van Mondfrans, BYU Devotional, Becoming Men and Women of Principle,
June 1st, 1982

Happy New Year!

It's been way too long since I've had time to blog. Working too hard. But this year I have set some really great personal and business goals -- work hard, play hard, and relax. Life is too short to get stressed out.

My team at LDSAudio.com has been great -- working really hard to keep the company alive. It looks like we have been able to overcome the huge obstacles we were facing -- at least to the point that we are dedicated to keeping the company moving forward. If you love uplifting LDS music, audiobooks, and LDS MP3s -- check us out!

Julius Caesar in Provo

Anyone who loves Shakespeare and doesn't want to travel all the way to Cedar City for the Shakespearean Festival -- we have our own production of Julius Caesar in Provo, Utah. Beginning August 23rd - September 15, 2007 -- go to www.utahplays.org for more details.

Stadium of Fire 2007

I'm so excited for the Stadium of Fire this year. Glenn Beck is coming along with Brooks & Dunn, Corbin Bleu from High School Musical, and the best fireworks in the West. I'm going to sit on the front row, like last year, and I'm very happy about that. It's so fun being right in the middle of the action.

I think the show is almost sold out, so if you don't have your tickets yet, you can get them through Stadium of Fire.

Mitt Romney - Winner of Most Recent Debate

I just watched a clip from Fox News that showed public reaction to the latest Presidential Debate. It clearly shows Mitt Romney as the winner. Check it out.

2007 Stadium of Fire!

Well, the time is getting close for this year's Stadium of Fire -- for the 4th of July. I'm really excited for Brooks & Dunn to come -- and to see what other surprises the producers come up with. I always love the show and hope to get front row seats again -- that's the BEST! :-) I know tickets have been going pretty fast, so if you love Brooks & Dunn, or feeling patriotic, you better get your tickets soon.

Marie Osmond's Response to Al Sharpton

I heard that Marie Osmond was on both Larry King Live and The View and gave some of her responses to the negative comments by Al Sharpton about Mormons and Mitt Romney. I found and read the transcripts of each show. If you're interested, I'll include the links below.

Anyway, I hope that all of the press about the situation will help clear up the misunderstandings about the Mormon beliefs -- and that the term "Mormon" is just a nickname -- not the actual name of the Church -- which is actually The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Marie Osmond on Larry King Live
Marie Osmond on The View

Catholics and Evangelicals Leap to Defend Mitt Romney

I was very happy to hear about the support Catholics and Evangelicals have given to Mitt Romney and the Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

"Extraordinarily bigoted" was how Romney described Sharpton's comment made during a debate on religion held Monday in New York City, where Sharpton said, "as for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don't worry about that, that's a temporary situation."

In the Deseret News today we read:

The Catholic League called for Sharpton to "be held accountable for his bigoted outburst" and suggesting it "should finish his career," just as Don Imus' recent racist statements resulted in the cancellation of his radio show. Sharpton was among Imus' harshest critics.

Kiera McCaffrey, the New York City-based league's director of communications, said Mormons are experiencing what Catholics did when John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960.

The Rev. Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister who heads the National Clergy Council, issued a statement calling on Sharpton to "immediately apologize to Mr. Romney and the good people of the LDS Church and repent before God for such sinful hubris."

Schenck, who has met privately with Romney to talk about Mormonism, also said that "while many other Christian groups may have differences with LDS doctrine, to question someone else's sincerity of belief in God is the height of pharisaical arrogance."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement that while Sharpton "is eager to play the political correctness card when it suits his purposes, he apparently sees nothing wrong with an offensive attack against Gov. Mitt Romney using his religion."

Mitt Romney and Rev. Sharpton

On the news tonight there were some clips of Rev. Al Sharpton seemingly mentioning Mitt Romney as a Mormon and that all of those who were "real" Christians would basically get rid of his as a candidate. Mitt Romney responded very well in my opinion. He said it was a comment that was probably not intended to be offensive, but that it could be construed to be bigoted and was unfortunate that Rev Sharpton said it.

Rev. Sharpton has not issued an apology but has instead tried to deny making the statements.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am not offended by his comments, but I am a bit confused as to why some people think we are not Christians. The name of the Church is indicative of our beliefs. I read the Bible. I worship God and know Jesus Christ atoned for me -- to make it possible for me to return back to Him. Our beliefs teach us to follow the 10 commandments, to try and be more like Christ and to treat others as we would like to be treated.

So, for anyone who is confused as to what Mormons believe, please do not believe all of the misinformation in the media or what people say. If you want to know what Mormons believe, ask a Mormon. :-)

I do think this controversy will be very helpful in correcting some of that misinformation out there -- and letting people know what we really believe, not what has been presented in the media or through remarks made by those who may not have a correct understanding of our faith.

I do support Mitt Romney and have been very impressed by him. He is very well-spoken, business smart, intelligent and I think would take the country back into a good foundation. He's a problem-solver and I feel he has integrity.

I also think it's interesting that the media has not spotlighted the faith (or lack of faith) of any of the other candidates for President. I wonder why certain things are picked out and focused on for those in the news. Who chooses what to focus on?

Anyway, I hope that the Reverend Al Sharpton will take this opportunity to learn what members of the LDS Church really believe and will try to correct the things which were misspoken rather than perpetuating the misinformation.

New Social Network - FamilyLink

FamilyLink, the newest social genealogy networking Web site created to rapidly link people across the world, launched on Wednesday, April 18. With FamilyLink, geographic and language barriers are minimized to improve genealogy research.

Provo, UT, April 18, 2007 --(PR.com)-- FamilyLink, the newest social genealogy networking Web site created to rapidly link people across the world launched today.

"The recent surge in social networking sites demonstrates the need for people to connect around diverse types of interests" said Michael Tanne, Founder and CEO of Wink, a People Search Engine, FamilyLink provides a perfect venue for families, genealogists and family historians to share their common interests and heritage as they connect with one another and upload their photos, family tree, and family history."

FamilyLink has been created to facilitate genealogists in working together in ways that have never been attempted before in the genealogy world with a tool that is easy to use and understand.

"During the early years of Ancestry and MyFamily, I could hardly sleep. I was so excited about what we were building. I feel the same way about FamilyLink,” said Paul Allen, CEO, WorldVitalRecords.com.

Using FamilyLink, geographic and language barriers are minimized as individuals connect with their loved ones, research their family history, and preserve memories.

"For the first time ever, if I'm looking for an ancestor in a particular part of the world, I'll be a click away from the expert researchers who live there, and from others who have done research there," Allen said.

FamilyLink users can view the profiles of other individuals, communicate with individuals who have researched or are currently researching in their area of interest through the City Link feature, meet new individuals who also participate in the service, share photos, genealogical information, and post comments.

“One thing that is really interesting right now is that there really is nothing out there on the Web to help someone who lived in a certain city gather information from another city, unless they fly there. The need for this type of social networking definitely exists. FamilyLink allows people who are in different cities to connect with each other in an amazing way,” said Jason McGowan, Product Manager, FamilyLink.com.

Additional features include a news feed system, Ancestor Pages, announcements pages, email features, shared connections between WorldVitalRecords.com and FamilyLink.com, and will soon include a family tree. “Putting FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com together is a great way to preserve, share, and grow your family tree,” said Barbara Renick, professional genealogist, nationally known lecturer, and author.

In the past genealogists were able to make connections with other genealogists. However to do so required a lot of time, and effort, two scarce resources for genealogists. FamilyLink is a tool that connects people in such a way that it makes everyone and everything more efficient, and will become even better as people join the site.

"As with other social networks, the more people that use FamilyLink, the more useful it will become to everyone else. So we invite you to join and encourage others to join as well, so that we will soon have members in all of the cities of the world--all helping each other to find and preserve their heritage,” Allen said.

###

Media Contact
Whitney Ransom
Media Relations
FamilyLink.com
http://www.familylink.com
whitney@familylink.com

About FamilyLink.com
FamilyLink.com is a social networking site that provides an innovative platform for individuals to connect, research family history, and preserve memories. FamilyLink.com has been created in a response to help genealogists from all over the world gather the information they need in a vibrantly efficient, fun, and easy way. Founded by Paul Allen in 2007, FamilyLink.com is a worldwide effort to help individuals collaborate on a global scale.

Shooting in Virginia

I just wanted to tell all of the families of those who have been affected by the shooting at Virginia Tech that our thoughts and prayers are going out to you. What a terrible tragedy! I pray you will each feel a sense of comfort and the support of those around you.

vSpring Top 100 Entrepreneurs for 2007

Congratulations to two of my brothers - Curt Allen and Paul Allen for being included in the 2007 vSpring Top 100 Entrepreneurs. I think this is the 3rd year they have been on the list. Very Cool! Read the vSpring Press Release

Seth Godin in Utah?

Here's a post by Paul Allen about the possibility for Seth Godin to come to Utah.

Utah blogs are buzzing about the chance we have to get the legendary Seth Godin to visit Utah as part of his new book tour. We just need 500 people to each pay $50 (and get 5 copies of his new book) so that he will stop here on his tour.

I took a trip to NYC two years ago to hear Seth speak, so I paid a lot more than $50. He was the keynote speaker at an advertising conference, and he slammed traditional advertising and explained in a powerful way how the internet changes everything. To hear him speak in Utah would be incredible.

I still think his “Permission Marketing” is the best book ever written on appropriate email marketing. I refer people to it all the time.

So please check out this message from Phil Burns, and jump on the bandwagon. We’re running out of time:

He started one of the first internet companies, yoyodyne, which was acquired by Yahoo, he then became a VP at Yahoo. He more recently started a Web2.0 company, squidoo. He is always talking about internet marketing – he’s one of the experts on it, and he has one of the most popular blogs on the internet.

…. We have a HUGE opportunity to get Seth to come speak to us here in Utah! People have tried to get him to come speak here in the past but to no avail. Now, it will take the efforts of us all in order to bring him here on May 24th of this year!

To get him here, we need to get 500 people willing to pay $50.00 to hear him. Not only will you have an opportunity to hear him speak, you’ll get 5 copies of his new book, The Dip. We are gathering pledges to pay to hear him to see if we can get 500 people to pledge (instead of gathering money up front).

If you’re interested in hearing Seth speak, there are a few things you need to do.

· First, pledge to pay $50.00 at http://www.pledgebank.com/SethGodinUtah

· Next, blog about it! We’re trying to create a blog storm about this, even a quick simple post advertising this will help a lot

· Third, tell everyone at work or who you think will be interested about it!

· Finally, all the details and updates are being managed at a new site, http://www.wordmob.com keep an eye on the site for details

Here’s Seth’s blog post announcing this opportunity: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/the_dip/2007/03/the_dip_tour.html

There’s a big catch here, we have to have evidence of a large motivation to do this my Monday (like, in 3 days)! We have a tentative date from Seth that he’s been kind enough to hold for us, but we have to show we’re going to be able to make it so, please, if you’re interested, stop what you’re doing and go sign up here: http://www.pledgebank.com/SethGodinUtah RIGHT NOW! Then blog about it asap, encourage other to blog about it and talk about it all day!

This is a pure grass roots effort, it will only work if those who are interested (YOU?) take 5 minutes and actually do something about it – so please help out!

Thanks!

Phil Burns

CEO TagJungle.com

This is a brilliant way for an innovative author to start a new book tour. If he gets 5 cities to get 500 pledges at $50 each, he’ll sell 12,500 copies of his book, generate $125,000 in revenue, visit 5 cities with an energized audience, and generate a ton of publicity for once again, being so innovative.

Let’s hope that Utah will pull this off and make it on his list of cities to visit.

The Testaments - Fireside Available

The new LDS Church movie -- The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd is now available on DVD. There is a fireside that was done by Ane Marie and Tomas Kofod (the man who portrayed the Savior in the film). The fireside entitled "Of One Fold and One Shepherd" contains the powerful conversion stories and experiences that Tomas had behind the scenes of The Testaments. He shares how the Lord tutored him and prepared him to play the role.

A great gift for anyone -- it's available now as a download exclusively through LDS Audio. If you would like to pre-order a CD, you can purchase through Latter-day Light Books. If you have seen The Testaments -- you're going to want to hear this fireside!

Tomas and Ane Marie are very good friends of mine -- and each time I have listened to this fireside, I am touched by the way the Lord is in charge -- and how He has a role for each of us. Both Tomas and Ane Marie have powerful testimonies and you will feel the Spirit as you hear about their conversions to the LDS Church, their experiences and miracles the Lord performed during the making of The Testaments.

More Pet Food Recalled

Is anyone else worried that if it's so easy to have hundreds of brands of pet food have been so easily contaminated. Could this translate into our own food supplies? I know there are different procedures for human food preparations, but would it be possible for our food supplies to become poison? It's been seen in the e-coli contaminations of spinach last summer. What about other foods?

I feel bad for pet owners -- not knowing what is safe and what is not. I hope this will help us become more aware and keep it from happening again.

Google Opens up Mobile Search

Google is opening up their mobile search for use by anyone. The Google mobile homepage will allow widgets to be added so users can customize and personalize their content. Plus, you will be able to remember past search locations so that future search results will be more relevant.

What will be cool is that you can search for movie times from your mobile device, and then buy tickets from your cell phone/PDA or whatever you're using. Pretty cool. Can't wait to see it working smoothly.

Yahoo Launches Mobile Advertising Market

Yahoo is creating an advertising market geared toward cell phones. Marketers will be able to put ads on both Yahoo's mobile services as well as on the services of other publishers. The network only has 3 publishers currently: MobiTV, Opera, and Go2 but the network will be expanded quickly over the next few months.

Mitt Romney and Rocky Anderson -- Friends?

It seems that Mitt Romney is now limiting the extent of his friendship with Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson -- because of Anderson's ridiculous views about impeaching President Bush. Mitt worked closely and well with Rocky Anderson during the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake. Anyway, you can read more about it in the Deseret News.

Being Mormon Makes Mitt Romney a Great Candidate

I just read an article about Mitt Romney and the fact that being a Mormon (Latter-day Saint) would make him a good President. Just thought I'd share.

Rocky Anderson Agrees to Debate Sean Hannity

Well, it looks like the debate between the mayor of Salt Lake City -- Rocky Anderson -- and Sean Hannity will be on May 4th. I'm utterly embarrassed by Rocky Anderson and his complete lack of respect not only for the President, but for the people in his city. He is not representing the people -- he is using his office as a personal platform for his ridiculous ideas.

I saw a clip with Bill O'Reilly basically slamming Rocky Anderson -- and just wonder how in the world there is so much press for someone who is an embarrassment. I guess it's the "news" factor -- gets people up in arms or something.

I can't wait until his term is over and we can get someone in the mayor's office who will bring dignity and positive change to the city.

Mitt Romney on Larry King Live

I just came across some really grea video clips of Mitt Romney on Larry King Live -- as well as talking to Sean Hannity. I was really impressed with Mitt. I've liked him in the past and loved what he did with the Olympics -- but after watching the video clips I am even more impressed. He is well-spoken, knowledgable, has a great relationship with his wife and I think would make an incredible leader. Check out the videos for yourself. Mitt Romney Interviews

Pet Food Recall

What a horrible thing for pet owner's to think that the food they are feeding their pet may be dangerous. I remember when my dog died when I was in high school. I was devastated. I hope pet owners will pay attention to the recall. You can get more information through this link: Pet Food Recall Details

Missing Boy Scout Found ALIVE!

Wow! I was so happy this morning to learn that the missing boy scout in North Carolina was found alive and well. That is such great news in our world of tragedies. What a blessing to his family. Missing Boy Scout Found alive

Divine Strake Cancelled in Utah

Yeah! The Divine Strake Bomb Test has been canceled in Utah. If you're not aware, the government was going to test a 700 ton bomb in the Nevada desert, similar to the atomic bombs they exploded in the 1970s. Utah citizens reacted strongly and petitioned the government opposing the test. Downwinders (those who have suffered and died of cancer because of the testing done in the 1970s) -- have strongly opposed new testing because of the potential risks.

I live in Utah and I've very grateful they won't complete the testing with all of the associated dangers of radioactive fallout.

Big Oops with the New Apple iPhone

Well -- I love Apple, but they are not infallible. There was a big oops this past week. Millions of the new Apple iPhone had been shipped and had to be recalled. With all of the extra features on the phone -- something had been left off -- something important -- they left off the actual phone! Oops! The iPhone had not been delivered to customers yet, so it was good they caught it early -- but a few people had received the phone through contests and promotions. That's kind of embarrassing!

Google Loses Gmail

This past week an announcement was made that Google lost Gmail. What does that mean? Well, apparently Gmail is trademarked and owned by a German venture capitalist in 2001. Google has been trying since 2004 to negotiate and get access to the name but have not been successful.

But, it seems that in the U.S. we will still be able to use Gmail services -- the trademark was in Germany and Google will only be unable to use the Gmail name there. However, there are lawsuits pending in Switzerland, Norway and Monaco.