Bryce Moore's Blog, page 331

Good News on Insurance

Thanks all for your help with the insurance questions from last week. I'm happy to say that things all worked out. Basically, my work added home/car insurance coverage at a group discount with a national insurance company. After many phone calls and discussions, I'm getting the same car coverage for 35% less. My home insurance premium will go down by $20, but I'm getting 1.75 times the appraised value of my house covered, with guaranteed replacement costs covered and no cap. Much better cover...

Church Talk

I had the chance to speak in church again yesterday. Since I'm still the Ward Mission leader and all, it was on missionary work again. For those of you interested, I'm providing the full text of my talk (entitled "Accountability" behind the cut. For those of you not interested . . . you'll get nothing today. And like it!


Good morning, Brothers and Sisters. It's me—your friendly Ward Mission Leader, and that must mean you're in for another talk on missionary work. Before you start rolling your ...

Why Mickey is False Advertisement

Walt Disney never lived in an old farmhouse in the autumn--that's all I can say. Or if he did, he was a little off in the head. Hearing scratchings and gnawings at 9 at night is no way to make anyone a happy camper. What's so lovable about a mouse? I don't care if you stick pants on it and give it a girlfriend and a dog, the mouse still deserves nothing more than some D-Con or a quick snap to the neck from a mousetrap.

Can you tell I have mice in my walls again?

I'm grumpy--you don't want to ta...

Wanted: Insurance Advice

Any of you cool cats out there know anything about proper insurance coverage for a house? Because I'm looking at switching my insurance, and the new company says I'm really under-insured. I don't want to be under-insured, but I'm not sure I want to be over-insured, either. Right now I'm insured for about 1.06 times the appraised value of the house. New company says I should be more like 1.73 times the appraised value. That's a big difference, no? FYI, it's an old farmhouse--part of it from 18...

Netflix on Hold

Dear Netflix,

I love you, but we need to take a break. It's not you--it's me. I have too much going on in my life, what with house repair, the new fall television shows (Fringe, Mythbusters and Amazing Race), and some good old fashioned World of Warcraft--not to mention familial duties, church stuff . . . I'm booked. So we'll get back together soon, but for now, I'm not paying for movies I have no time to watch.

No worries, Netflix--winter is coming.

Sincerely,

Bryce

Talking to Strangers

For those of you who might not be aware of the fact, I dislike talking to people I don't know. Which doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense, since I'm a chatty person by nature. (True story: on my mission in Germany, I talked on the phone to my family for over 9 hours. Or was it 7? It was a long time, regardless. We were only allowed two phone calls a year, and I got every ounce out of 'em. Plus, I had two phone calls to make, one to my Pennsylvania family, and one to my Utah family. But sti...

Sports and Bryce

Most times of the year, I don't really care that much for sports. I mean, I certainly don't play it at all, and I rarely watch it. Professional sports don't particularly intrigue me. Sure, I can take an NBA game now and then, and the Superbowl is nice, and I'll follow along to see how the Eagles are doing each week. But that's about it. Even baseball is usually a passing interest. But there are a few times when my watching habits border on obsessive. March Madness, for one thing. Any time the...

Variable Ratio Reinforcement

Today I had the chance to go to a psychology class I'm assisting as a librarian this semester. Basically, I was sitting in on the class so I had a complete idea of what their assignment was going to consist of, thus enabling me to help the students better with their research when the time came for them to start on their papers. Fascinating class. It was all about ways to encourage or discourage behavior based on rewards or punishment. Basic concept: if you want to get someone to do something ...

Allow Me to Vent

Nothing serious for today's vent. Just a minor annoyance. What is it? I hate those sharp pointy things that they use at the dentist's to scrape your teeth. I hate everything about them. I hate the sound they make, the feeling they give you as they grate against your bicuspids, the sharp jab they give your gums now and then. Surely, after all these advances in science and medicine, there must be something better to use to clean teeth with. Isn't this why we invented lasers? Come on, dentists! ...

Writing and Football Plays

I'm still neck deep in the planning stages of my next book. Each time I think I have it plotted enough, I try to start writing, only to discover that nope--it still needs more work. Today I came across a thought that I wanted to share. It seems to me that writing books is a lot like calling football plays. (This likely just shows what's on my mind a lot these days.) With football plays, there are a couple of approaches. On the one hand, you can come up with strikingly new plays--trick plays t...