Glass Blowing: Making an Ornament 101

Me making a glass ornament at Thames Glass on February 20, 2009. Thanks Kristen for taking the photos. A 2500 degree furnace was a welcome feeling in sub freezing cold.

Picking the colors gold, red and green

Melting the colors together

Blowing the molten glass through the pipePinching

Refining the top of the ball

The finished glass ball tapped from the blow pipe

Adding the top hook to the ball - red hot ironThe finished product - ready to be cooled

Perspectives on Marriage

Here was the conversation between Harrison, Elizabeth, Bonnie and I during lunch today:

Elizabeth: I want to get married like mommy

Harrison: I want to be a fireman and marry Ellie.

Josh: You can't marry your sister.

Harrison: Why not?

Elizabeth: I want to be like mommy and marry Harrison.

Bonnie: I wouldn't marry your daddy. We don't marry our brothers and sisters.

Harrison: Why not? I am going to marry Ellie.

Josh: Harrison, you can't marry your sister. It is against the law and just not appropriate.

Harrison: Why is that dad?

I think going into the genetic ramifications would have been a little too much. But, what do you say to a 2 and 4 year old? The question "why?" is a tough one to answer.

Journal Launch Finally

I am the editor-in-chief of a new journal entitled Ophthalmology and Eye Diseases (OED). The journal was made public last week and new articles will be published in the near future. I am excited to see this go forward after months in the making. I am grateful to the excellent group of editors who have joined me in this new venture. The introductory editorial should be available soon. Feel free to read my interview with the managing editor, Tom Hill. I have also added a link to the OED on here and a RSS feeder for new article releases. You can see that I am not very busy as there are no new articles. I should probably mention I am doing this as a service, so no, I have not come into my millions.......yet.

Only fancy cakes will do

I have two great kids with fanciful birthday wishes. Thank goodness for a wife who can make them come true.

Exhibit A (Hello Kitty)

Exhibit B (Curious George)

They tasted just as good as they looked.

Come fly the friendly skies.....or perhaps the one piloted by an apostle

President Uchtdorf, 2nd Councilor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and former commercial pilot and executive, taught, received instruction , then took to the skies.


Reported here and here