I'm a bad father

When I'm babysitting Simon but still need to get work done I just put on one of his favorite Baby Einstein DVDs on in my office. He will just sit there and watch for about forever. Don't anyone tell Ami!

Another Fond Snow Memory

I always enjoyed building snow caves in the snow when I was younger. On Monday amidst all the snow shoveling I decided why not? So I did. The last picture shows both Holly the dog and I inside the cave. Since these pictures were taken the neighborhood kids have taken over my cave. There have also been two other snow caves built on the street. Sounds like I started something.


Jacob S Paulsen
www.jacobspaulsen.com

Merry Christmas Ami

Ami we have known each other for 10 years now. For Christmas I have produced this little slideshow video for you my love. Enjoy:

The First Snow Shoveling of the Winter

I have always taken great joy in shoveling snow. As children the Paulsen boys ran a snow shoveling business in our neighborhood. I'm not sure how it all started but the fact that we lived in an area full of old widows didn't hurt business.

I remember Jeff and Eric waking up early on snow days to go out and take care of the shoveling. I was young and jealous. Eventually Tim was also allowed along and by the time I got to go out Eric and Jeff were long gone. Tim and I would shovel between 8 and 10 walks and driveways for at least half of those homes.

These were great growing moments in my childhood. Not a lot of words were spoken but we would bundle up and shovel snow from 4am until it was done which did make me late for school on more than one occasion. Eventually Tim also grew out of the job and then I was alone. Granted this meant for double the money for me but also double the work. I never regretted it and as far as I can remember I never complained about it either. I took valuable lessons from the hard work, early mornings, and the service (even if paid) we did for very old people.

Eventually it seems as I began to get older and ready to graduate from High School the old ladies started to die off. As my ability to do the work dimished, so did my number of customers. I'm grateful to those wonderful people who paid us Paulsen boys money to learn priceless lessons on those early, cole, wyoming mornings. A shout out to the red house on the corner, Grandma McCrann in the pink house, Mr Copiak (spelling) next door, Mike & Joe, they yellow house, Grandma Constantino, and the lady with the astro turf steps that made us use the broom.

Now as an adult I look forward to getting out and shoveling my walks. Today was the first time of the season!

Jacob Paulsen
www.jacobspaulsen.com

PS Eric do you have anything to add?

Another Phase in Life

As you can see Simon is on the move again. This has caused me to reflect on everything going on in our lives right now. We are entering a new phase of life which is marked by the following:

1. Simon is almost 1 year old and walking.
2. Its been a little more than a year that I've been 100% self-employed.
3. A new James Bond movie is in theaters.
4. 2 years in this house
5. A new president
6. I've re-listened to all the Harry Potter books

Jacob Paulsen

Ami Likes Cough Drops

Two nights ago I was struggling with a sleepless night. We have been passing around the "cold" in our house the last week. Well I had it and was unable to sleep. After an hour or so I decided to get a cough drop. I opened my night stand where there is a bag of cough drops and began to try to pry open the ziplock type seal on the bag to get to the drops. It caused a little noise and out of nowhere Ami began hitting me in the side quite forcefully.

I wasn't that stunned since she often hits me during the night in order to get me to stop snoring or stop breathing into her face. However this time she was hitting much harder than normal and wasn't letting up. I said:

"I'm just getting a cough drop."

Ami said, "Oh, Can I have one?"

I said, "Sure."

I gave her one and she went back to sleep. She doesn't remember this at all but says that around 5am she woke up and couldn't remember why she had a cough drop in her mouth.

Urban Ninja


Ami thinks this is the stupidest video ever. I think its one of my favorites ever. Basically this kid dresses up as a ninja and runs around in public. If you like this one you should go find it's squeal on youtube.

Two Weeks Worth of Posts In One

I haven't posted a new blog in awhile. So now if you decide to read on you will get about two weeks worth of updates, thoughts, and ideas.

1. AgelWorld Convention. The first weekend of September the two largest events of both my largest businesses overlapped. The annual convention of Agel Enterprises was held at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake. I was hosting 3 or 4 Brazilians who flew in for the event. JES, my security company provided security for the event. This picture shows both! I'm on the stage being recognized with other Regional Directors and in front of the stage is one of my favorite security agents we call Wolf.














2. My apparel company, JP Tees launched our new website on the 13th in conjunction with our Sponsorship of a 5K race in Layton. My partner Josh Parker and I ran the race and then had a booth there to promote our new website and sell our own apparel line. Here is a picture of Ami and I wearing our new JP Tees shirts. Sorry I cut off my head.














3. Simon is getting cuter everyday. He knows his parents and his dog. He is all over the house and he screams when we take things away from him. The older he gets the more work he becomes but also the more fun he is. Check out this video:

Simon Enjoying Holly Time
Uploaded by paulsen007

4. I came to a blogging conclusion. I have been thinking about "Why we Blog." Each of us have different reasons for blogging and I now publically declare that these are my reasons for blogging:

1. A Journal. Its my not so private way of keeping a type of journal. I print off posts after comments come through and stick it in my journal
2. Updates. For those who care to have them this is a way to stay up to date with my life.

Yep thats it. Once I decided these were the reasons I blog I was able to overcome "comment envy." This is the desease I had before where I wanted people to comment on my blog all the time, but was basically unwilling to ever comment on anyone elses. (On a side note I do read everyone else's blogs I swear, but I'm not likely to comment).

5. Two fun outings this week. Ami and I went for a walk at Bridal Veil Falls with Simon and I hiked to the "Y" with the youth in the ward yesterday. Here are some pics.

Busy Week

This past week has been very eventful! My brother Tim was in town from Wyoming and we had a lot of fun together. I golfed for the first time in a great while and we ate a lot of good food. Our entire family was together for the first time in a very long time.
Simon had his first professional photographs taken. Most of them turned out great and I'm especially partial to the black and white ones. See Ami's blog for a glimpse.
I applied to be a merit badge councilor for 7 different badges. I would have applied for them all if they would allow it. Since I work with the young men in my church this will help facilitate their work toward the rank of Eagle Scout.
I taught two concealed carry classes. I think people are worried that Obama will take away a lot of gun rights and that is increasing the enrollments in my classes.
Ami made really good chocolate chip cookies!
My T-shirt, Promotional Apparel business made some big deals this week. We have super cool silicon wristbands that we are handing out. If you want one let me know!

First Time Boating

So yeah this isn't a great picture but yesterday was my first time ever in a boat that was in the water. I know this is a little embarrassing at age 25 but I had a great time. Ami and I live about 3 minutes from Utah lake so I suppose this was bound to happen. Lots of fun, but admittedly I'm super sore today from the experience.

Worthless Posts

So I've noticed that when I blog about something serious or thoughtful I don't get any comments. I'm not upset or anything, I'm just starting to notice the pattern. So today I'm going to write something less complex.

I was reading a book last week called "Good to Great" and it tells you to decide what you are an expert in. What could you be the very best in the world at? So it got me thinking... what am I really good at? Like a lot of people I'm ok at a lot of stuff but I can't think of anything that I could compete at. So here is my 5 best options of things I could be best at:

1. Finding justifiable ways to waste time online
2. Loading cool software onto Windows Mobile Devices
3. Listening to AudioBooks, I'm really good at that.
4. Giving talks, presentations, etc with little to no preparation (Wingin It)
5. Getting along with Dogs
   

What do you think you could compete at? What could you do better than anyone else?

Jacob Paulsen
www.ageljacob.com
business.jacobspaulsen.com

Become More to Receive More

Most of you are probably unaware but I have a second blog called the Paulsen Marketing & Personal Development Blog. Today I wrote the following post and normally I don't like to double dip my posting but I thought I would show everyone the type of thing I right in my other blog. To see other posts visit http://mblog.jacobspaulsen.com

Ultimately you must become more if you want to earn more. In the insurance industry there is a term called "Human Life Value." It seems almost wrong that anyone can assign an actual dollar value to our lives but this is necessary in when determining what kind of life insurance policies you can buy.

For purposes of this article when I refer to your "Human Life Value" I'm not talking about your insurance life value, but instead how much value you create for the world. As you work hard to become more, you in turn are able if you chose to contribute more to the world. As you actively create value for those around you, your true Human Life Value increases. Your human life value is tied directly to your wealth. As your Human life value increases your wealth must also increase. Understand that the term wealth doesn't always apply to money. Wealth can be a great number of things including strong & fulfilling relationships, inner peace & satisfaction, etc.

There are three distinct lessons we must take from this truth:

1. Our skills and knowledge alone do not create value for anyone. Only the application of skills and knowledge with correct direction can begin to create value for those around us. Therefore our Human Life Value only increases when we create value for others.

2. It is only in creating value for others that we can increase our own wealth. Since all our wealth is a direct reflection of what we receive from others and from society it is only in creating value for others that we can experience an increase.

3. Only through exchange can value be created. When you sell a good or service both parties become wealthier for having made the exchange even though the amount of goods or services exchanged remained the same. If you hug your 2 year old child both of you are wealthier for the exchange even though the hug was constant.

Understanding these principles, we can begin a discussion about how your Human Life Value affects you in Marketing. The first applied lesson to learn is that if you want to sell more goods or services you must become more. This is true both because your overall attractiveness affects your ability to sell and because your ability to create value in the life of your client is increased. Of course when speaking of attractiveness we aren't referring to your physical attraction, but the overall impression that you carry with you everywhere you go.

How do we become more? Allow us to separate your person into 4 common categories. Physical, Mental, Emotional, & Spiritual. To become more physically we must exercise and eat well. To become more mentally we must expose ourselves to new ideas and concepts. We must study and strive to learn more about more. To become more emotionally we must interact with people. We must understand people. To become more spiritually we connect with an inner purpose and divine potential ever striving to follow our creator.

All four of these categories are inseparably connected. As you grow in one you must grow in the other. This isn't to say that we are all balanced all the time but simply put they are connected and how you grow or don't grow in one area will have an impact on the other four.

Becoming more is the end purpose of everything we do. As you increase your ability to serve your fellow man, or put differently create more value for society you in turn increase your own wealth. Ironically it is the only way to do so!

Jacob Paulsen
www.ageljacob.com
business.jacobspaulsen.com
skype: jacob.paulsen

Dark Knight Inspired Thoughts

On Friday of last week Ami and I went to see the newest Batman movie, Dark Knight. To read my movie review please visit my Flixster profile. The point of this post however is not to talk about the movie but the thoughts it inspired in me.

When I was young I watched heroic movies and dreamed that one day I could be a hero like that.
When I got older I realized that heroic movies are entertainment and nothing more.
Now I'm beginning to think that heroic movies while entertaining do, and should inspire us to be heroes.

Each of us has a little hero in us. A desire to be a cause for good in society, and a means to ending evil and inspiring love and kindness. Little heroic inspirations are necessary to bring out the hero in each of us and movies do a great job of that.

You see I believe that each of us has a calling on this earth. A purpose, which in its own right is a form of fighting evil and inspiring good. Everyone from school teachers, artists, doctors, professionals, business owners, mothers, computer programs, salesman, and even lawyers in their own way have an opportunity to make a difference. It is in this pursuit of creating greater value in the lives of others that we ourselves can be blessed, and in a literal sense become more powerful. That is what makes a Hero. Many of us have heroes in our lives to which we look up to.

Just like Harry Potter taught us that ultimate power comes from strong, loyal, and sincere relationships, the hero in each of us strives to become an asset to those he/she cares about. Most unfortunately the villain in each of us fights this cause. The villain doesn't want to care about those around us and all his thoughts are self-centered and selfish. The villain in us inspires us to take from others and society creating value for ourselves only. The villain encourages us that our only purpose is to serve ourselves and those who rely on us. The villain feels no need to create strong relationships except out of a selfish need to leech off of others.

I am grateful for the heroes in cinema, literature, and real life all around us that inspire me to strenghten the hero inside of me by serving others, and becoming stronger myself only in turn to be a greater asset to all those for whom I care.

Feel free to share your favorite heroes and what you have learned from them.

Jacob S Paulsen
801-494-3672

Our Loyal Companion

July is always a difficult month for Holly. Both July 4th and 24th are holidays where people can shoot off fireworks. Fireworks along with other load noises scare Holly really bad and she shakes and has to be right next to us. She isn't actually allowed upstairs where the bedrooms are but about 12 or so nights in July she ends up sleeping in our bedroom. It doesn't matter if we yell at her or even pick her up and carry her downstairs because she will just sneak up again and try to wedge her body under the bed where she thinks she is safest.
We have also found that she has been much more obedient since I starting taking her running in the mornings. This is extra important since Simon is crawling so much now and has a tendancy to climb on Holly and pull on her ears.
I really love Holly and I finally realized what it is about dogs that I love so much. Loyalty. Dogs are uniquely loyal pets and I admire it! Do you have a dog? You should really get one.

Jacob Paulsen
www.jacobspaulsen.com

Pioneer Day 5K Classic

Yesterday Ami and I both ran in the Provo Pioneer Day 5K Classic. About a month 1/2 ago I had the idea to run a 5K for the first time in almost 8 years. I figured that I could use it for a business opportunity to share the Agel Gel Supplements that I market and also have a great time as a family all the while getting into shape again. It was an adventure. I've been running in the mornings fairly faithfully for about 4 weeks and it has been rough. Ami has also mixed running into her workout routine to prepare. My 59 year old Dad and a business partner named Andrew also joined in.
Ami and I were really excited to make this a part of our family culture. We want Simon to know that are an active family! We were nervous about race day but it all worked out ok. Everyone did better than they expected to and my Dad even won 1st place in his age division. We had a lot of fun and the business side of things also went really well! We are looking at dates later this summer to run another 5K. Anybody else want to join?

Park City Concerts are Sweet!

Recently my security company picked up a contract for 7 concerts in Park City at the Deer Valley Ski resort. This is one of the reasons I haven't blogged in awhile. We have had to hire about 30 new people in the last two weeks and purchase a lot of equipment etc. If anyone wants tickets to a concert in Park City for Lucinda Williams, Boz Scaggs, Gypsy Kings, or Dwight Yoakam please let me know and I can probably get you set up with a couple.

Daddy/Son Time

Each day Simon & I get 1 hour of special Daddy & Son time. It started out because Ami needed an hour in the mornings to work out each day and since I work from home I'm the obvious baby sitter. It isn't asking much since Ami watches Simon the rest of the day. I admit regrettfully that it was at first a burden to stop working for an hour each day, but it has grown into something very special for me. I work a lot in the evenings and so when most Dads would come home from work or school to help with household and baby duties I am still working. Simon and I usually spend our hour walking in the neighborhood, playing in the grass, and swinging on the swingset. I just love this kid!

Jacob Paulsen
www.jacobspaulsen.com
www.ageljacob.com

Hats off to George Washington and the Rest of the Boyz

I am feeling extra excited about this Independence Day. In the last year 1/2 I have read biographies of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, & Alexander Hamilton. I also enjoyed the recently released 1776 by David McCullough. Learning so much more about American history I am feeling deeply impressed by the sacrifice that was made by these amazing founders of our nation. It seems clear that "providence itself shineth on our country." From the bottom of my soul I declare a bold thank you to those men who have given everything that was dear to the birth, salvation, and preservation of this our divinely appointed nation. Learning about this period of American History has become a passion and today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The signature of which was an act of treason, punishable by death had we lost the revolutionary war. Thank you, Thank you, to those who continue to preserve our liberty by either risking their own lives in war or in politics:) And a special shout out to those 12 year old scouts who go around early in the morning 9 days a year and stick a flag in my yard. That is super patriotic!!!

Dusting off the Running Gear

Yesterday I made a big forward step in my physical goals. I registered to run in the Provo City Pioneer Day 5K race. It has been a long time since I did any consistent running. I used to joke that I had put in 7 good years of exercise during Jr High & high school and that earned me 7 years of good health without any exercise at all. Since I graduated in May of 2001 my 7 free years of health are over and it is now time I begin looking out for number one again so that I can in turn be a greater steward over my family, work, callings, etc.
This morning was my first run and it was really mean. I wasn't sure if I should take my dog with me or not concerned she might not be able to keep up but she really embarrassed me. I'm glad to know however that she will be able to go run with me since I like the company and she needs the exercise.
The picture is of a painting that my mom gave me several years ago.

O Comments People?

It has now been several days since my last post "Back to the Center Line" and I still don't have any comments at all. I don't know what to think. Here are the possible scenarios as far as I can figure:

1. Everybody hates me.
2. Nobody comes here to read something actually serious and thoughtful and were disgusted at this last post.
3. Everyone is sick and tired of me talking about golf.
4. Nobody has been on the internet in the last 4 days.
5. There is a conspiracy at work whose goal is to drive me mad.
6....... yeah thats about it for possibilities.

Back to the Center Line

This week I am working hard to bring myself back to the center line. I am talking about a recurring pattern/principle that exists in life. It seems that when we set out to do something it doesn't take long before we are falling off track of hitting our goal. This is always true no matter what the end objective/goal is. It becomes necessary on occasion to re-align ourselves with our goals. The greater our tendency to fall away from the line the more often we need to re-align with it. This week I realized that I have come away from the center line of many of my goals. I have put a large white board up in my office with a list of my goals and other things I'm working on. This will hopefully help me come back to where I want to be. I figure that even the auto-pilot system on planes is nothing more than a constant re-aligning mechanism. We all need similar systems in place to help us come back to full focus.

On a side note I had my best day of golf so far today. I had 57 strokes in 9 holes which is sadly my very best so far. I didn't keep track my first time out, and since I've golfed 69 and 61 so I think it's fair to say I'm improving. Today on the 9th hole I asked a friend to video my stroke for all of you to see. That would have been great but he decided to make a really loud noise right during my swing and it totally threw me off:(

Insane Dog

Today was Simon's first swimming experience if you want to call it that. Ami will be blogging about the swimming at: paulsenjournal.blogspot.com but I thought I would take this opportunity to show you how crazy my dog is. These videos show her playing with water. Yes, water. She might think the water is attacking her or something but whatever it is she is thinking it can be quite entertaining. It doesn't stop here. She also chases anything that is flying. That includes birds, bugs, cotton, bubbles, & smoke (BBQ). She gets most of her exersize each day running back and forth along the back fence looking for bugs to chase down. Of course last week you will remember she also chased a cat up a pole.








Jacob Paulsen
www.ageljacob.com

Garage Cabinets

So other than golfing almost everyday this week I have also spent a lot of time helping a friend in the neighborhood remodeling his home. We put in new carpet, re-finished hardwood floors, entire new bathroom down to the sub-floor, and a new kitchen. The bonus is that he offered me the old Kitchen cabinets and I spent tonight putting them up in our Garage. I'm super excited about it because we are in desperate need of more storage in this house.

Jacob Paulsen

www.ageljacob.com
mblog.jacobspaulsen.com

Best Fathers Day Gift Ever

Check it out! Ami paid to have this amazing portrait of Simon and I done for Father's Day. It looks awesome and I love it. I already put it up on the wall in my office! My Mom is the artist and it looks great. I am really excited to have this picture of Simon & I on the wall as I work.

Jacob Paulsen
www.ageljacob.com

Cat Up Pole

I'm not sure if this picture is going to turn out or not but I'm sitting at the base of a power pole waiting for the city power company to come get this cat down. Ami & I were walking with Simon & Holly today and Holly smoked out this cat out of a bush. A short chase ended up with the cat up this pole. Provo City power doesn't actually work on Fridays and so its going to take awhile for someone to get here with the truck. Fetching a cat out of a power pole could be a nerve wrecking activity on Friday the 13th. I honestly just thought this kind of thing happened in cartoons but it turns out cats really are that dumb.

Jacob Paulsen

www.ageljacob.com
wwweb.vereconference.com

Great Golf Experience

Today was the day. I went 9 holes at the Sleepy Ridge Golf Course. I think I did alright. I'm not putting any scores up here on the blog because that would just be embarrassing. I think I'm getting the hang of it and I'm going to stick with it. I'll go again this week for sure! This picture is from the 8th hole where I drove the ball about 250 yards. It was my money shot of the day.

Jacob Paulsen
www.ageljacob.com
wwweb.verconference.com

Happy Birthday to me

Today is my Birthday. Awhile ago Ami & I were in Coldstone and I took a look at the cake catalog. They have a reeses peanut butter cup ice cream cake and I told Ami that I wanted her to make me one for my birthday. She came through! Ami did a great job on this beast of a cake and it is as good as it looks. I'm very blessed to have a wife who knows how to cook really well. Ami also got me this awesome book about outdoor survival. I love that kind of stuff! We are enjoying this awesome holiday with some relaxation at home. I grilled up some pork chops and we went for a walk too. Speaking of BBQ grills I am fairly confident that only men should bbq. We usually don't cook because its a tradition but I think I would be insulted if my wife suggested she do the grilling. Anyone else?

Jacob Paulsen
www.jacobspaulsen.com
mblog.jacobspaulsen.com

Wyoming Trip

Ami and I enjoyed our week in Wyoming. Since I'm able to work from about anywhere with an internet connection we were able to stay an entire week with Ami's parents. It is so nice to have a couple more people to share the responsibility of taking care of the boy. Grandparents seem to enjoy it more than parents do and I suppose that is just natural. The picture above is of Kirt & I plus our boys. Yeah thats cool. Every time I go back there I am some how afraid of running into somebody I know. Does anybody else feel that way. I would love to run into a best friend that I haven't seen in years but all to often there are those awkward moments when you run into people that you knew but not super well. You exchange some pleasantries and then want to get out of there as fast as possible. Is it just me?

Golf, Sport or Hobby?

I'm thinking about taking up golf and that has spawned a series of doubts & thoughts about the game. 

• Is Golf a Sport or a Game? You don't usually sweat but you do keep score. Where do we draw the line if you include golf? Is chess or online gaming a sport?
• How often and for how long will I have to golf before I'm good enough to not be embarrassed when I'm out there?
• Does a certain physique of person have an advantage? Left handers, Tall people, Fat people, etc?
• Will this be an easy way to spend time with friends & family? IE: Do any of you golf and want to go out with me?

All of this golf talk is making me more and more serious about the idea. I watched the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance the other day with Ami and it kind of sold me. 

Here is a clip from the movie:

Simon Sleeps in our Bed

Simon is good at sleeping in his bed during the night but around 7am or so he wakes up to eat and then wants to go back to sleep. For whatever reason however he has a really hard time going back to sleep in his bed so we usually give in and let him sleep in our bed. He loves it! The obvious problem is that we know we are creating bad habits, so Ami is working hard to break him of it.

Jacob Paulsen
www.jacobspaulsen.com

Concealed Firearm Permits

So in case you can't read the graphic there has been a huge increase in people who are requesting the Utah Concealed Carry permit.
I think with big school shootings like Virginia Tech and the Trolley Square shooting a lot of people are begining to wonder about their
personal safety. In January of 2004 I got my concealed carry permit and I generally wouldn't advertise that I carry a gun around 24 hours per
day but since then in January 2007 I became a concealed carry instructor. In the last year plus I have taught over 120 people the class. The Utah concealed carry permit is very popular because it is the most widely accepted permit in the US being accepted in 33 states. I know that most people don't have any desire to carry a gun around on a regular basis but I strongly encourage the class and permit to anyone who owns a gun. Gun education is important and the legal ability to be able to do what you may have to do if you have to do it without breaking the law. So that is my little plug. My mini-blog commercial. Here is my site that deals more with the issue and has a schedule of when I'm teaching the class.

Jacob Paulsen
www.jacobspaulsen.com

My Favorite Animals.

I have the unfortunate situation of having never seen either of my favorite animals. They don't even have them in the zoo and there is a good reason for it. They are big, really big.
My first favorite animal happens to be the biggest reptile in the world. It’s not a dragon or snake. It’s the salt-water crocodile. They grow up to 23 feet long and as tall as 3 1/2 feet. That's so huge. It's basically the only surviving dinosaur. I really want an actual size stuffed one but I not only don't know where to buy one but I don't know where to keep one.

My second favorite animal has the largest eyeball in the world. Up until about 5 years ago the Giant Squid was a total fable. It was about as real as the loch ness monster. Scientists thought the Giant Squid might exist because of the damage they would find on whales. They weren’t aware of any other animals in the see that could cause such damage. About 5 years ago a Giant Squid washed up on shore. About a year ago some Japanese fisherman became the first people to ever see a live giant squid. That’s just cool, and even if it wasn’t cool enough the fact that their eyeballs are as big as basketballs is also pretty darn cool.

Prince Caspian Movie Review

Ami and I were able to go to see Prince Caspian on Saturday night while her parents were in town. This is the first time we have been to the theater since Simon was born and it was quite nice. Ami had labeled "The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe" her favorite movie ever so there was a lot of excitement to see Caspian. We made our first mistake by listening to the audiobook during the day during our drive to salt lake and back. This made us more sensitive to the differences between the movie and the book. There were a lot of differences and to be frank the Narnia books just weren't that well written. What I mean to say is that the books are delightful and I enjoy them because of the content but C.S. Lewis was not a great author, but a great philosopher and thats what made his books good. The movie was awesome in spite, or in fact because it was different from the book. We really enjoyed it except to say I'm wondering why they decided to have a latino Prince Caspian. As if his looks weren't enough to make all the girls freak out they have to give him a sexy accent to go with it. Not that I was personally attracted mind you, I'm straight but I could see it in the eyes of my wife and other female audience members. We aren't as blind to these things as you girls think. We know when you are checking out other dudes. Just to clarify I'm not upset at you Ami. It's natural and I expect you to notice good looking dudes. I just wish Disney wouldn't have made it so easy.

Jacob

Baby Einstein

We are very grateful to Racheal & Chris Pivik who hooked us up with a bunch of Baby Einstein DVDs. Simon has a longer attention span for Baby Einstein than for any thing else we have tried. I think it should be classified along with fishing shows, camp fires, really fat people and other thing that you can't help but stare at. 'm serious, even I find myself watching Baby Einstein when Simon isn't in the room. I don't always have much option since we now keep it on repeat play all day long.
On a side note I just finished listening to the complete audiobook "The Count of Monte Cristo." Sweet book. I love the movie but the book was even better. On another side note who stole my movie "The Count of Monte Cristo?" I have an empty DVD case. On another side not my Spiderman 1 DVD case is also empty... ok enough side notes.

Jacob

Top 10 frivolous things I want to buy just for me ☺

1. A fully trained Police Dog. Either a German Shepard or Bloodhound.
2. A car with GPS Navigation. Lexus and Infiniti are my favorites.
3. A beat up piece of crap truck that I wouldn’t hesitate to take anywhere.
4. 3 or 4 flat panel tvs. One for each spot in the house.
5. A beastly fast IMac with a insanely huge monitor
6. A Jacuzzi tub. (Which would in turn mean a new house or serious renovation)
7. A Sweet Shotgun and a good gun safe. (that would make my armory sort of complete)
8. A HUGE manly BBQ Grill. Stainless Steel.
9. A beach house in Cabedelo, PB Brazil
10. A jet with pilot to fly me to my beach house in Brazil

What would be some of the frivolous things are your list?

Ant infestation

So I don't ever remember having these kind of ant problems in Wyoming. Here in Provo these ants are everywhere. We already decided that there isn't much point in killing them once they are inside the house. The best remedy seems to be keeping the house clean enough so as to not create yummy temptations. Just the same I can't help but wonder if we are the only one's even around here that have to battle these things every summer? PS I totally just blogged this video from my cell phone. Dang that's cool.

Mac VS PC, Iphone VS Windows Mobile, Ipod VS ?

So 5 years ago I never would have believed that Apple could make such a come back. PCs had such a hold on the market place. Although Mac has been making huge innovations for sometime nobody cared or noticed until the Ipod was launched. Since the Ipod has or at least had no competition people were forced to look at Mac. Well about a month ago I converted to a Mac book laptop and now I feel the pressure to convert to the Iphone. Since I'm not the only one out there feeling torn in two directions I thought I would take this opportunity to share my two cents comparing these two platforms and their simple pros and cons.

Mac VS PC

• Easier: Once you are accustomed I think the mac is easier
• Safer: Anyone who knows anything would concur that the Mac is safer from viruses and crashes
• Customizable: Thought mac is very easy to customize I think the PC is still more customizable because there is a lot more freeware (free software) out there for PCs.
• Software: Once again the PC wins. Developers make their programs for PCs first and macs second. There is just more out there for PCs. On a sidenote you can get a windows terminal on your mac to run pc programs.

Iphone VS Windows Mobile - Thinking of getting a iphone or a smartphone?

• Easier: If you use a PC that a windows mobile smartphone will be easier. Works the same like with a start menu etc.
• Business Use: Windows Mobile wins again. Iphone can convert word & excell files but they are read only. Windows Mobile can edit and save word, excell, and powerpoint files. Also the Iphone has a haphazard sync possibility with outlook but its really not that good.
• Trendy: Here is where the Iphone shines. It just looks cool.
• Music/Video: Windows Mobile comes with windows media which plays music and video very well. But since anymore most of us use itunes and not windows media the Iphone is easier to use and comes with a lot more built in memory to hold more songs and movies.
• Keyboard/Input: Though all the Iphone users I know defend the touch screen keyboard to the death I just can't believe that its easier/quicker/more accurate than a full sized keyboard available on many windows mobile phones.
• Availability: Windows mobile is a common platform that every cell phone carrier will have. Iphones are only made for Cingular. Though you can unlock them for other GSM carriers (T-mobile) you could never use them on TDMA/PCS carriers (Verizon, Cricket, Sprint, Nextel, etc).
  
• Customizablitiy: Once again there is so much more software out there for windows mobile because it is a pc platform. Iphones come with more cool stuff stock, but the windows mobile can do so much more
• Summary: Show me something that an Iphone can do that my Windows Mobile can't and I'll switch :)

IPod VS ??? OK honestly though there are some knock-offs on the market I've never given any of them any consideration.

Yard Work

I herby vow to maintain our yard this summer. Ami and I are tired of having to mow through jungles. In the past we have let our grass get a little long before cutting it. The obvious benefit is not mowing as often. The problem is that when you do mow its three times the work, not to mention the neighbors regard you as white trash. Especially these one crazy neighbors on the corner who mow their lawn 3 times per week. They bought the house over a year ago and still haven't moved in. This doesn't however keep them from coming over three times per week to do 8 hours of yard work. So anyway our mower has been repaired and the grass is cut. Any elaborate garden plans have been postponed for next year but we are happy to have a clean and green yard:-)

Post Mothers Day Thoughts

Ami and I have almost been married for three years. Last night I was reflecting on what we have done and where we have been in those three years and it was very fun to think about. Here is a brief list:

In the last three years we have:

1. Lived in four different homes/apartments.
2. Been in contract to purchase 7 different homes in Utah.
3. Purchased 2 of those homes.
4. Had two pregnancies, one of which was successful.
5. Had 6 different jobs between us
6. Started 6 of our own businesses (many unsuccessfully.)
7. Owned 6 different computers (5 laptops) of which we still use 4 on a regular basis.
   
8. Owned 4 vehicles. (Worth noting that Ami has always had the same car and I've been through 3 on my own, the Honda, Infiniti, & Lexus)
9. Listened to over 65 Audiobooks.
10. Been through 2 fish, a guinea pig, and a dog (still have the dog)
11. Lost almost $400,000 in poor business sense.
12. Done door to door sales in 9 different states.
13. Used over 65,000 cell phone minutes (1083.3 hours) not counting mobile to mobile or nights and weekends.
14. Seen every episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, and Still Standing. (Currently working on Who's Line is it Anyway)
15. Held 7 church callings.
16. Almost finished reading the Book of Mormon once as a couple (I know its pathetic but we are in Moroni 9)
17. Found 3 geo-caches (Also Pathetic)
18. Been to Disneyland twice
19. Been through 6 different cell phones
20. Only mowed our own lawn like 4 or 5 times :)

Not to bad but interesting for sure!

Jacob

Coolest Internet Services

So when it comes to home based business owners like myself, we really tend to feed on the coolest of the internet services. Especially the free ones. Today I just wanted to highlight a few of those. (No surprise any of these are google services).

IGoogle: Customized Home pages aren't anything new but Google has made a huge innovation in personalized home pages. With bazillions of different "widgets" you can add to your site there is almost little need to even leave you home page anymore.

Google Reader: Now that I'm into blogging and more importantly keeping up on other people's blogs I love this program that alerts me every time anyone on my list posts a new blog entry. Because I have a Google reader "widget" on my Igoogle home page I know immediately when family and friends post. I love it.

Skype: Instant Messaging isn't really new either but Skype has changed the way we do this. They have integrated a full feature video VOIP phone. Fancy way of saying you can make phone calls for free via the internet to anyone anywhere in the world who also has the free software installed. Turning on the video is an option and we generally only use it for family who want to see the baby but still... Super Cool.

Plaxo: Plaxo does a lot of things but the coolest is its ability to synchronize your contacts and calendar between your Google, Yahoo, MSM, Hotmail, excite, email services in addition to MAC, Outlook, Express, etc. HOLY COW this is amazing. The premium services are cool too, but the free account does about everything I need it to do.

Ok. I'll stop for now. No doubt I will rave about more programs in the future.

Jacob Paulsen

Finalized List

I am now ready to list the Top 10 things One Must Like in order to be a true American. Here they are in no particular order

1. Hot Dogs
2. Capitalism
3. Smores
4. Baseball
5. Independence/Freedom
6. Rock & Roll
7. Pizza & Chocolate (Not together)
8. Diversity
9. Guns
10. SUVs & Trucks
    

Top 10 things you have to like in order to be American

I'm looking for suggestions of things that we should expect all true Americans to like in order to be true Patriots. I've already settled on Hot Dogs and Baseball. Later this week I'll post the top 10 suggestions!

Jacob

I'm testing google today. It claims that I can type up a text message on my cell phone and just send it to them and they will insert it into my blog.... I have to see it to believe it.

Defending Utah

Ok so I have to be honest; I have some beef with Utah. But I have even more beef with people who have beef with Utah that have never lived here. I also have beef with people who have beef with BYU. Having just known some people from BYU or having met some a lot of people from Utah doesn't qualify someone to pass judgment. Now as a disclaimer I have to say that I myself don't attend BYU and that I don't have any real intention of living in Utah forever. I also wouldn't put Utah in my top places to live but I have lived here several years now and so I feel somewhat justified in my decision.
I suppose that there are a lot of people out there that really hate a lot of different schools or states but I'm specifically addressing the mormons who hate Utah & BYU because there are a lot of mormons in Utah and BYU. Utah is a subject of greater conversation in my world because I do live here and I talk to a lot of other LDS people who don't. I guess I just don't get it. I suppose that most of you out there reading this who don't like Utah or BYU are thinking in this very moment that you do actually have realistic justification to hate an entire state or institution because of whatever small but "justified" experience that you have, but I think I would generally tend to disagree.
Utah really has a lot going for it and in case you haven't noticed so does BYU. I'm seriously not trying to defend either of these two though I'm really not. Just curious why so many people who don't have any legitimate first hand experience decide to hate the state and the school?

Anybody?

Trusted Resources

So maybe its just me but I was thinking about how much time it takes me to pay attention to the Presidential Election news. The more logical solution is to find someone whose opinion I can trust and just ask them who I should vote for. I would have to be careful for sure in choosing my reliable person. In fact I may even have to ask for applications from people just so that I can qualify their personal & family standards before the interview process. When it comes down to it maybe I should hold an election to pick out that right person, once again complicating this entire process. After due consideration I think I'll just ask my wife who to vote for turning what could have been hours and hours of research etc into a three minute question/answer before going to the polls.

Why stop there. If I could get a reliable source that could tell me what movies to watch, what music to buy on Itunes, what funny movies to watch on YouTube, and what restaurant to take Ami to then so much time could be saved. The tediousness of selecting any of the above would only have to be a one time process in choosing a reliable and trustworthy source. So if any of you would like to volunteer your opinions for something that you are passionate about I will consider you to be my go-to person for future decisions. Just let me know in the comments.

Then again maybe its just me.

Jacob

The Paulsen Column Continues in Blog Form

I am pleased to announce that the Paulsen Column will continue to live on in the form of a blog. For the few of you reading this who actually recall the original Paulsen Columns I hope this announcement brings some excitement to you. If you have no idea what Paulsen Columns are you can access the original archive on my personal site: www.jacobspaulsen.com . This column will bring you inspirational thoughts, dumb ideas, and random insights. If nothing else with any luck you might even be entertained!

Until Soon,

Jacob