I always enjoy looking back at how the experts said the market was going to do, and compare that to how the market actually did. Looking back shows me that when it comes to investing, my guess is as good as anyone else's.
We now know that the Dow Jones Industrial Average will close out the year at 10,717.50, ending the year down 0.6%. It is the first down year for the Dow since 2002.
Here were some of the guesses made by Fox News' "experts" on Dec. 30, 2004:
Rob Stein, Astor Asset Management, wins the My Mountain Best Guesser Award, for saying that the market will end, "Slightly lower than were it is here (at years end 2004)."
Jordan Netburn, Axiom Capital Management:
"14,000 area."
Tom Adkins, Commonconservative.com:
"I thought I was going to be the crazy man here saying 13 or 14, but I feel the same way." (The Dow at 13,000 or 14,000.)
Brenda Buttner, Fox News Business Reporter:
"With any significant tail winds, which we will get, the market is bound to go up at least 10% this year."
Why is Brenda Buttner, a reporter, giving advice on how the market will perform? Shouldn't she be reporting someone else's guesses? She is a reporter after all. It's proves out that some reporters don't know as much as they would have you believe.
And here is (or was) another pundit site, maintained by Business Week. Feel free to browse it yourself. It has proven to me once and for all that if 66 pundits make a guess, that maybe one of them will get it right.
And now the slate will be wiped clean as the market enters 2006. All guesses will be good again. Everyone has another shot at being next year's My Mountain "Best Guesser."
My own guess: the DJIA will close 2006 at 11,208. I predict that some unexpected good news will propel the market forward in the final quarter, after a tremendous amount of uncertainty and volitility during the middle of the year.
Enter your guess in the comment field and we'll compare results next year. Same bat time. Same bat channel.
I know that I'm dumping on the pundits here. While its true that their guesses on the direction of the market are as good as yours and mine, it is absolutely a good idea to use these people to educate yourself. But before you rush out and buy any more Suzy Orman tapes, consider that these people are giving advice to potentially millions of people, all at once, without considering each person as an individual. Suzy Orman is a good educator, but she's never sat in your house and asked you what's important to you, has she?
My service to you today is to remind you that you are an invididual. Do not be a lemming, ready to jump off a financial cliff just because you heard Crazy Cramer ranting on MSNBC. If you believe you need financial advice, then I suggest you take that need seriously. Before playing "Suzy Says" with your financial future, find someone locally who can help. Sure you'll pay a little for the service. Afterall, you pay your doctor to keep you healthy, so why not an advisor to keep you financially healthy? The process is simple: a) speak to your friends to get a short list of trusted financial advisors, and b) interview those advisors, and c) select the one that takes the time to "discover" what is truly important to you. Whether its leaving an inheritance, protecting your spouse, planning for retirement, buying a home, saving for college, leaving a donation for your church, protecting assets from Medicaid, starting a business, choosing between permanent or term insurance, buying long term care insurance or a drug coverage supplement, health insurance, simplifying finances, mitigating risk, long term investing, buying a car-- whatever the hell it is, if its important enough for you to worry about, then its important enough to seek some professional guidance.
Have a happy and prosperous New Year!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
The Non-Global Warming Hoax
Is global warming a hoax? That's what many people, including author Michael Crichton, would have you believe.
But sadly, when one looks objectively at the facts, the conclusion is overwhelmingly clear -- humans are having a tremendous impact on the weather, as further evidenced today by the formation of the record 27th named storm in the Atlantic, TS Zeta. Study the objective facts here (it won't take you long). Then if you see Michael Crichton, you can explain to him just how dangerous it is for him to be hoaxing about a hoax.
But sadly, when one looks objectively at the facts, the conclusion is overwhelmingly clear -- humans are having a tremendous impact on the weather, as further evidenced today by the formation of the record 27th named storm in the Atlantic, TS Zeta. Study the objective facts here (it won't take you long). Then if you see Michael Crichton, you can explain to him just how dangerous it is for him to be hoaxing about a hoax.
Friday, December 30, 2005
To be a fly on the wall
This interesting piece appeared recently. The Pentagon wants to be the fly on the wall, or at least a butterfly. They recently announced a nano-air vehicle (NAV) program to develop an unmanned plane no larger than 7.5 centimeters in any direction, a maximum weight at takeoff of 10 grams—about the heft of a ballpoint pen—and a top speed of up to 10 meters per second.
How long until such nano-craft will be equipped with little nano-bullets and nano-missles? Not long, I'd wager.
Yet, as history has shown, we can't possibly hope to overcome our enemies by simply developing more creative ways to kill. We can win battles, but not a lasting peace.
So whats the answer? The answer is simply to do good in the world. Naive? Perhaps, but read for yourself how Pakistani's now hold America in the highest regard than at any time since 9/11, simply because we were there to help following the devastating earthquake that racked the country in 2005. Don't miss the fact that this editorial is from Rush Limbaugh's beloved Heritage Foundation thinktank. And especially don't miss their conclusion that:
It is "plainly a mistake to overemphasize the use of U.S. 'hard power' when 'soft power' can also fight terrorism/radicalism, and support the development of political, economic and social freedom."
Evil is evil, whether committed by Bin Laden or Bush.
Evil is evil, wether committed invisibly or in front of TV cameras.
That America will reap what it sows in the world is wisdom long known throughout the ages. If as much ingenuity and resource was humbly funneled toward fighting disease and hunger as is being devoted to creative killing (like tiny little flying spy aircraft), imagine what our world could be like.
America is at its best when it is doing good in the world, rather than evil in secret. America would be wise to listen to the Pakistani people and adjust its behavior throughout the Muslim world accordingly.
How long until such nano-craft will be equipped with little nano-bullets and nano-missles? Not long, I'd wager.
Yet, as history has shown, we can't possibly hope to overcome our enemies by simply developing more creative ways to kill. We can win battles, but not a lasting peace.
So whats the answer? The answer is simply to do good in the world. Naive? Perhaps, but read for yourself how Pakistani's now hold America in the highest regard than at any time since 9/11, simply because we were there to help following the devastating earthquake that racked the country in 2005. Don't miss the fact that this editorial is from Rush Limbaugh's beloved Heritage Foundation thinktank. And especially don't miss their conclusion that:
It is "plainly a mistake to overemphasize the use of U.S. 'hard power' when 'soft power' can also fight terrorism/radicalism, and support the development of political, economic and social freedom."
Evil is evil, whether committed by Bin Laden or Bush.
Evil is evil, wether committed invisibly or in front of TV cameras.
That America will reap what it sows in the world is wisdom long known throughout the ages. If as much ingenuity and resource was humbly funneled toward fighting disease and hunger as is being devoted to creative killing (like tiny little flying spy aircraft), imagine what our world could be like.
America is at its best when it is doing good in the world, rather than evil in secret. America would be wise to listen to the Pakistani people and adjust its behavior throughout the Muslim world accordingly.
Punishing those who report crimes.
It is a very sad and troubling day for America when the highest officials in our land can break the law, then then turn around and punish those who would reveal their crime.
But that is exactly what is happening in George Bush's post-democratic American dictatorship.
In its initial report on President Bush's illegal spying program, The New York Times said nearly a dozen current and former officials had agreed to discuss the program on condition of anonymity, because of their concerns about the operation's legality and oversight.
Now, The U.S. Justice Department is investigating who disclosed that a secret and illegal domestic eavesdropping operation approved by Bush, in clear violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) .
Americans, don't let anyone scare you out of your freedoms. There are ways to deal with the world's problems without decending further into an Orwellian police state.
But that is exactly what is happening in George Bush's post-democratic American dictatorship.
In its initial report on President Bush's illegal spying program, The New York Times said nearly a dozen current and former officials had agreed to discuss the program on condition of anonymity, because of their concerns about the operation's legality and oversight.
Now, The U.S. Justice Department is investigating who disclosed that a secret and illegal domestic eavesdropping operation approved by Bush, in clear violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) .
Americans, don't let anyone scare you out of your freedoms. There are ways to deal with the world's problems without decending further into an Orwellian police state.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
"I've fallen, and I can't get up!," says U.S. Dollar.
Brace yourself.
"The long-awaited downside correction in the U.S. dollar is now underway, and appears likely to continue for the near-term due to extreme institutional and retail investor sentiment readings and unmet minimum measuring objectives based on the greenback's breakdown earlier this week," said John Kosar, president of Asbury Research.
Read more about the significant, potentially devastating problems that are now being rought on Americans by the mishandling of the U.S. economy, mounting national debt, unchecked deficit spending, and historic trade deficits.
Now might be a great time to dump your dollars for the Yen, or even Gold and Silver. Unless we as a nation get a handle on this spending spree, expect inflation to begin eating away at the value of your retirement funds.
Since I wrote about the U.S. debt topping the $8 Trillion mark on October 13, it has ballooned an incredible $188 BILLION dollars, and is accellerating, with no end in site. Why does Mr. Bush insist on bankrupting this country while wanting to pass huge tax gains on to rich people who don't want them!? The good and wealthy people at ResponsibleWealth.org understand, in ways that Mr. Bush doesn't, why it is necessary to set an equitable tax strategy.
Where are our priorities? How can we have the national will to bring freedom to Iraq, but not health insurance to our nations children? With the money that has simply been wasted in Iraq, we could have solved the problem of homelessness in America.
If you are an American will you do me a favor --- will you please vote in the next election? 40% of eligible U.S. voters did not cast a vote in the last election! My hope for America is that this lost 40% is where our national moral integrity is residing, and that they can be seduced away from their television sets long enough to tilt this country dramatically toward a caring society.
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
"The long-awaited downside correction in the U.S. dollar is now underway, and appears likely to continue for the near-term due to extreme institutional and retail investor sentiment readings and unmet minimum measuring objectives based on the greenback's breakdown earlier this week," said John Kosar, president of Asbury Research.
Read more about the significant, potentially devastating problems that are now being rought on Americans by the mishandling of the U.S. economy, mounting national debt, unchecked deficit spending, and historic trade deficits.
Now might be a great time to dump your dollars for the Yen, or even Gold and Silver. Unless we as a nation get a handle on this spending spree, expect inflation to begin eating away at the value of your retirement funds.
Since I wrote about the U.S. debt topping the $8 Trillion mark on October 13, it has ballooned an incredible $188 BILLION dollars, and is accellerating, with no end in site. Why does Mr. Bush insist on bankrupting this country while wanting to pass huge tax gains on to rich people who don't want them!? The good and wealthy people at ResponsibleWealth.org understand, in ways that Mr. Bush doesn't, why it is necessary to set an equitable tax strategy.
Where are our priorities? How can we have the national will to bring freedom to Iraq, but not health insurance to our nations children? With the money that has simply been wasted in Iraq, we could have solved the problem of homelessness in America.
If you are an American will you do me a favor --- will you please vote in the next election? 40% of eligible U.S. voters did not cast a vote in the last election! My hope for America is that this lost 40% is where our national moral integrity is residing, and that they can be seduced away from their television sets long enough to tilt this country dramatically toward a caring society.
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
More tears for New Orleans
I spent three years in New Orleans, and I am in love with the city. I am devastated that it will never be exactly as I remember it. But if New Orleans must change, lets change it for the better.
For all of its native creative greatness, this city has very serious and very deep cultural and racial problems. Corruption in government and law enforcement is sideshow entertainment in the minds of far too many citizens.
Here is the latest example. New Orleans police blow away a man yielding a knife, despite outnumbering him several to one. The situation was under control. The police were white, the man was black. Why not shoot him in the leg? Why not use a taser? Why? Well, I guess its just easier to blow him away.
For all of its native creative greatness, this city has very serious and very deep cultural and racial problems. Corruption in government and law enforcement is sideshow entertainment in the minds of far too many citizens.
Here is the latest example. New Orleans police blow away a man yielding a knife, despite outnumbering him several to one. The situation was under control. The police were white, the man was black. Why not shoot him in the leg? Why not use a taser? Why? Well, I guess its just easier to blow him away.
Being a Better Dad
I can't imagine a pain any worse than losing a child.
Just before Christmas, our friends lost their eldest adult daughter in a car accident in Minneapolis. Only days before the accident, our friends had driven down to have dinner with her. Our friends are good people, hard working, loving, caring -- the sort of people you would want as a friend or a parent. I went to their house to listen to the father (in these situations, I find that I almost never have any thing to "say" to the grieving parent, but that I'm a good listener). He told me that he could take solace in knowing that his daughter was happy right up to the end, and that he was blessed to be able to know her and protect her for her entire life. His strength and faith fill me with wonder and admiration.
Less close to home, I felt sadness and pain to learn of the suicide death of Coach Tony Dungy's son. Tony Dungy is another man that I admire and am inspired by for his consistently unselfish actions. On television, he expressed joy in knowning that his son had accepted Christ and was now safe in God's eternal embrace.
The experiences of these two families at such a joyous time of the year motivated me to try and become a better a father. I remembered that Tony Dungy was a spokesman for AllProDad.com. I visited their website and signed up for their free newsletter. AllProDad is a great site with wonderful free resources available for improving fathers, such as 10 ways to be a better dad.
If you're a father, I encourage you to check out AllProDad.com. It's a wonderful way to honor your own father, Tony Dungy, and ultimately your family will thank you for it.
Just before Christmas, our friends lost their eldest adult daughter in a car accident in Minneapolis. Only days before the accident, our friends had driven down to have dinner with her. Our friends are good people, hard working, loving, caring -- the sort of people you would want as a friend or a parent. I went to their house to listen to the father (in these situations, I find that I almost never have any thing to "say" to the grieving parent, but that I'm a good listener). He told me that he could take solace in knowing that his daughter was happy right up to the end, and that he was blessed to be able to know her and protect her for her entire life. His strength and faith fill me with wonder and admiration.
Less close to home, I felt sadness and pain to learn of the suicide death of Coach Tony Dungy's son. Tony Dungy is another man that I admire and am inspired by for his consistently unselfish actions. On television, he expressed joy in knowning that his son had accepted Christ and was now safe in God's eternal embrace.
The experiences of these two families at such a joyous time of the year motivated me to try and become a better a father. I remembered that Tony Dungy was a spokesman for AllProDad.com. I visited their website and signed up for their free newsletter. AllProDad is a great site with wonderful free resources available for improving fathers, such as 10 ways to be a better dad.
If you're a father, I encourage you to check out AllProDad.com. It's a wonderful way to honor your own father, Tony Dungy, and ultimately your family will thank you for it.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Bush Tries to Intimidate News Editors
President Bush has been summoning newspaper editors lately in an effort to prevent publication of stories he considers damaging to national security.
Read it for yourself in the Washington Post.
Did I miss a meeting? Who elected Bush King?
Read it for yourself in the Washington Post.
Did I miss a meeting? Who elected Bush King?
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Xmas, Christian revolutionaries!
In our house, we have 2 Christmases.
The first, which I call "Xmas", is secular. It's about getting lots of presents and recognizing each other's interests by slathering unnecessary gifts on each other.
The second is "Christmas," and Jane and I try hard to make it about Jesus. It's hard though, for Jesus to compete for the attention of a 4 year old girl who just opened her Polly Pockets. She'd rather stay at home and play than get dressed up for Church.
This morning the kids were up before 6 am (on a school day I can't get them up before 7 am even if the hosue is on fire). They couldn't wait to see what Santa brought them. They tore through the Santa gifts and the parental-gifts in about 5 minutes! A new family record!
I have mixed feelings about this present-thing.
It's hard to get away from it, I guess -- we feel that we have to do the secular Santa Claus Christmas, because you're overwhelmed by it. Society sets the expectation and the kids will feel cheated if I don't do it. There's no escape from the "Happy Holidays" in these United States. It's blatant economy-stoaking-"Made-in-China"-consumerism, which inevitably only buys a few minutes of happiness before the toys break, or a tiny piece gets lost rendering the entire toy useless, or the kids realize they didn't get everything they asked for. Pete (age 2) is still at the age where the cardboard box is more interesting than the Little People choo-choo that came inside it.
Note to self: Next Christmas, everyone gets a cardboard box and the money goes to the poor.
Christians should band together and decide to give their gifts on Epiphany. That's they day we celebrate the Magi bringing gifts to baby Jesus. Besides, we could all take advantage of the after-Christmas sales and probably save 25% on Christmas presents. Doing this would also allow us to focus on the meaning of Christs birth on Christmas day. Are there any fellow Christian revolutionaries out there who will join me?
New Years Resolution: to launch a Christian backlash against Xmas consumerism and move present opening to Epiphany. Should be a piece of cake, right? Please let everyone know.
Merry Christmas!
The first, which I call "Xmas", is secular. It's about getting lots of presents and recognizing each other's interests by slathering unnecessary gifts on each other.
The second is "Christmas," and Jane and I try hard to make it about Jesus. It's hard though, for Jesus to compete for the attention of a 4 year old girl who just opened her Polly Pockets. She'd rather stay at home and play than get dressed up for Church.
This morning the kids were up before 6 am (on a school day I can't get them up before 7 am even if the hosue is on fire). They couldn't wait to see what Santa brought them. They tore through the Santa gifts and the parental-gifts in about 5 minutes! A new family record!
I have mixed feelings about this present-thing.
It's hard to get away from it, I guess -- we feel that we have to do the secular Santa Claus Christmas, because you're overwhelmed by it. Society sets the expectation and the kids will feel cheated if I don't do it. There's no escape from the "Happy Holidays" in these United States. It's blatant economy-stoaking-"Made-in-China"-consumerism, which inevitably only buys a few minutes of happiness before the toys break, or a tiny piece gets lost rendering the entire toy useless, or the kids realize they didn't get everything they asked for. Pete (age 2) is still at the age where the cardboard box is more interesting than the Little People choo-choo that came inside it.
Note to self: Next Christmas, everyone gets a cardboard box and the money goes to the poor.
Christians should band together and decide to give their gifts on Epiphany. That's they day we celebrate the Magi bringing gifts to baby Jesus. Besides, we could all take advantage of the after-Christmas sales and probably save 25% on Christmas presents. Doing this would also allow us to focus on the meaning of Christs birth on Christmas day. Are there any fellow Christian revolutionaries out there who will join me?
New Years Resolution: to launch a Christian backlash against Xmas consumerism and move present opening to Epiphany. Should be a piece of cake, right? Please let everyone know.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 19, 2005
King George Holds Court
Last night King George decided to grace his subjects with royal presence. Bush held his first Oval Office address to the American people in nearly 3 years, during which time he did not even mention the furor created by his authorizing the NSA to spy on the American people.
With three more years to make bumbling mistakes, boners, King George has a real opportunity to go down in history as the worst president of modern times, a failure, the most miserable failure of a president, perhaps for all time. This is a distinction that previously held by Bill "Where's the Party" Clinton. But the difference here is that least Clinton upheld the constitution of the United States and at least feigned concern about the environment.
With three more years to make bumbling mistakes, boners, King George has a real opportunity to go down in history as the worst president of modern times, a failure, the most miserable failure of a president, perhaps for all time. This is a distinction that previously held by Bill "Where's the Party" Clinton. But the difference here is that least Clinton upheld the constitution of the United States and at least feigned concern about the environment.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Welcome to Amerika
Is the America are we building better or even the same as the one that was worth defending on September 11, 2001?
Before Sept. 11, people were presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Now we lock people up for years without any charges.
Before Sept. 11, a person's home was their castle. Domestic spying was unheard of.
Now the President of the United States, the leader most entrusted with preserving and protecting the constitution of the USA, authorizes intelligence agencies to spy on its citizens.
Before Sept. 11, there was not a "Patriot Act," its very name Orwellian Doublespeak, which allowed warrantless "sneak a peak" inspections of a person's library records.
Now we're told that we just need to get used to having less privacy.
Before Sept. 11, secret prison and exporting prisoners to be tortured, and Abu-Gharid style humiliation of human beings, was abhorrant. Now its virtually accepted modus operandi.
Before Sept. 11, America wasn't even close to being $8 trillion in debt. Now its becoming clear that our fiscal mismanagement will cost us very dearly, very soon.
Before Sept. 11, the right to privacy was a presumption that required no defense. Increasingly, we now hearing that we shouldn't worry about invasions of privacy if we have nothing to hide.
- You don't want me looking at your library record -- what are you trying to hide?
- You don't want me looking at your home videos? What you got to hide?
- You don't want me seeing who you've been calling on the telephone, mining your credit card purchasing habits, profiling your websurfing routines, looking at your tax form, reading your email, opening your postal mail? Then you must have something to hide!
America may be "more safe" today than it was on Sept. 12, but it is certainly "less American."
Each day I seem to be presented with more and more evidence that America has been hijacked by the right wing, who feel that they are justified in all that they do, so long as it is done in the name of security.
I am not willing to trade my freedoms away for security. Nor will I quietly allow the United States government to continue perpetrating attrocities in my name.
If America was worth preserving and defending, a value-less police state (Amerika) that can only be sustained through torture, secrecy and the systematic violation of the rights of its populace is certainly not worth preserving.
I long for the presumption of privacy and personal liberties that I enjoyed before 9/11. Where has my America gone?
The next election will perhaps be the most important EVER IN OUR NATION's HISTORY for retaining the presumption of our privacy rights.
Welcome to the new Amerika. It's just what the terrorists had in mind.
Before Sept. 11, people were presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Now we lock people up for years without any charges.
Before Sept. 11, a person's home was their castle. Domestic spying was unheard of.
Now the President of the United States, the leader most entrusted with preserving and protecting the constitution of the USA, authorizes intelligence agencies to spy on its citizens.
Before Sept. 11, there was not a "Patriot Act," its very name Orwellian Doublespeak, which allowed warrantless "sneak a peak" inspections of a person's library records.
Now we're told that we just need to get used to having less privacy.
Before Sept. 11, secret prison and exporting prisoners to be tortured, and Abu-Gharid style humiliation of human beings, was abhorrant. Now its virtually accepted modus operandi.
Before Sept. 11, America wasn't even close to being $8 trillion in debt. Now its becoming clear that our fiscal mismanagement will cost us very dearly, very soon.
Before Sept. 11, the right to privacy was a presumption that required no defense. Increasingly, we now hearing that we shouldn't worry about invasions of privacy if we have nothing to hide.
- You don't want me looking at your library record -- what are you trying to hide?
- You don't want me looking at your home videos? What you got to hide?
- You don't want me seeing who you've been calling on the telephone, mining your credit card purchasing habits, profiling your websurfing routines, looking at your tax form, reading your email, opening your postal mail? Then you must have something to hide!
America may be "more safe" today than it was on Sept. 12, but it is certainly "less American."
Each day I seem to be presented with more and more evidence that America has been hijacked by the right wing, who feel that they are justified in all that they do, so long as it is done in the name of security.
I am not willing to trade my freedoms away for security. Nor will I quietly allow the United States government to continue perpetrating attrocities in my name.
If America was worth preserving and defending, a value-less police state (Amerika) that can only be sustained through torture, secrecy and the systematic violation of the rights of its populace is certainly not worth preserving.
I long for the presumption of privacy and personal liberties that I enjoyed before 9/11. Where has my America gone?
The next election will perhaps be the most important EVER IN OUR NATION's HISTORY for retaining the presumption of our privacy rights.
Welcome to the new Amerika. It's just what the terrorists had in mind.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Winds of Change, part deux
I don't mind the paychecks. It's the job I can do without.
It seems pretty foolish actually, going into the Christmas season, to quit one's job. But then again, I'll be able to spend some great time with the kids during the holidays and save money on daycare.
I've been trying to get things ready for when the financial umbillical cord is cut Dec. 2? I won't go into details here, but I'm going to try my hand at self employment (again). This time I've decided to take a crack at developing an idea for software that I've had for awhile.
I've already hired two developers to work on separate project ideas: one guy is in Texas, the other in Russia. It's reinforcing an idea that I've held for awhile -- if big companies can outsource software development, why can't little guys? So far, things are on schedule and on budget. They should be -- its what I've been doing for a living.
I would be very pleased if I could make a living this way. Stay tuned.
It seems pretty foolish actually, going into the Christmas season, to quit one's job. But then again, I'll be able to spend some great time with the kids during the holidays and save money on daycare.
I've been trying to get things ready for when the financial umbillical cord is cut Dec. 2? I won't go into details here, but I'm going to try my hand at self employment (again). This time I've decided to take a crack at developing an idea for software that I've had for awhile.
I've already hired two developers to work on separate project ideas: one guy is in Texas, the other in Russia. It's reinforcing an idea that I've held for awhile -- if big companies can outsource software development, why can't little guys? So far, things are on schedule and on budget. They should be -- its what I've been doing for a living.
I would be very pleased if I could make a living this way. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Winds of Change
Last week I turned in my notice. On December 2nd, I am giving myself the opportunity to try something new. That gives me a couple of weeks to figure out what that might be. I'll spare you the details. I had been preparing for this move for months now, even refinancing the house to free up about a thousand dollars a month in cash flow, and purchasing an apartment building to provide extra cash flow. That won't come close to replacing the $80,000 a year impact that my job has on the family, but we'll manage. I may even try my hand at being a stay-at-home dad for awhile. The kids are 6, and nearly-5 and nearly 2 now.
So doing the rough math-- $1000 in improved cash flow from re-financing, $750 cash from the apartment building, $1000/mo savings from daycare... and we're at nearly 1/3 of my present net income. It'll be a stretch, but we'll manage until something comes along. Something always comes along.
Last night was tremendously windy. We had nearly 12 hours of winds gusting past 55 mphs. About 1:30 am, Jane and I were awaken by banging on the side of the house. The banging was constant and wouldn't allow any further sleep. So I got dressed, put on my warmest coat, and stepped out into the dark wind tunnel to remove a branch that had fallen on the house. After that, I couldn't get back to sleep. I just lay there, listinging to the roaring wind, reassuring myself that I'm doing the right thing for my mental health, that we'll be ok. Things always work out for us. I just need to have faith.
New doors are already starting to open. I hired some programmers in India to work on an idea that I have for a email encryption product. They seem like good people, very smart. If they can deliver on budget, and if I apply my Microsoft-honed marketing skills, I'm hopeful that I might be able to develop it into a new revenue stream.
I've been exploring the internet lately, and found videos.google.com, where anyone can post a video of virtually anything. Browsing the site randomly, I quickly came to the conclusion that we need to start issuing licenses to own a video camera. Google apparently wants to become the king of crap home video. But then I found this video someone made from inside Hurricane Wilma. It helped me put our high winds last night into some perspective.
Have a blessed day, and be sure to hug your spouse and kids tonight.
Diet update: up to 180 -- slipping a bit, up about 5 lbs. Need to keep a watch on the weight. I think the stress has been getting to me a bit.
So doing the rough math-- $1000 in improved cash flow from re-financing, $750 cash from the apartment building, $1000/mo savings from daycare... and we're at nearly 1/3 of my present net income. It'll be a stretch, but we'll manage until something comes along. Something always comes along.
Last night was tremendously windy. We had nearly 12 hours of winds gusting past 55 mphs. About 1:30 am, Jane and I were awaken by banging on the side of the house. The banging was constant and wouldn't allow any further sleep. So I got dressed, put on my warmest coat, and stepped out into the dark wind tunnel to remove a branch that had fallen on the house. After that, I couldn't get back to sleep. I just lay there, listinging to the roaring wind, reassuring myself that I'm doing the right thing for my mental health, that we'll be ok. Things always work out for us. I just need to have faith.
New doors are already starting to open. I hired some programmers in India to work on an idea that I have for a email encryption product. They seem like good people, very smart. If they can deliver on budget, and if I apply my Microsoft-honed marketing skills, I'm hopeful that I might be able to develop it into a new revenue stream.
I've been exploring the internet lately, and found videos.google.com, where anyone can post a video of virtually anything. Browsing the site randomly, I quickly came to the conclusion that we need to start issuing licenses to own a video camera. Google apparently wants to become the king of crap home video. But then I found this video someone made from inside Hurricane Wilma. It helped me put our high winds last night into some perspective.
Have a blessed day, and be sure to hug your spouse and kids tonight.
Diet update: up to 180 -- slipping a bit, up about 5 lbs. Need to keep a watch on the weight. I think the stress has been getting to me a bit.
Friday, October 28, 2005
My Friday Story
Eating the Cookie, by: guest columnist Rachel Naomi Remen
Another of my patients, a successful businessman, tells me that before his cancer he would become depressed unless things went a certain way. Happiness was "having the cookie." If you had the cookie, things were good. If you didn't have the cookie, life wasn't worth a damn. Unfortunately, the cookie kept changing. Some of the time it was money, sometimes power, sometimes sex. At other times, it was the new car, the biggest contract, and the most prestigious address. A year and a half after his diagnosis of prostate cancer he sits shaking his head ruefully. "It's like I stopped learning how to live after I was a kid. When I give my son a cookie, he is happy. If I take the cookie away or it breaks, he is unhappy.
But he is two and a half and I am forty-three. It's taken me this long to understand that the cookie will never make me happy for long. The minute you have the cookie it starts to crumble or you start to worry about it crumbling or about someone trying to take it away from you. You know, you have to give up a lot of things to take care of the cookie, to keep it from crumbling and be sure that no one takes it away from you. You may not even get a chance to eat it because you are so busy just trying not to lose it. Having the cookie is not what life is about."
My patient laughs and says cancer has changed him. For the first time he is happy. No matter if his business is doing well or not, no matter if he wins or loses at golf. "Two years ago, cancer asked me, 'Okay, what's important? What is really important?' Well, life is important. Life. Life any way you can have it. Life with the coo! kie. Life without the cookie. Happiness does not have anything to do with the cookie, it has to do with being alive. Before, who made the time?" He pauses thoughtfully. "Damn, I guess life is the cookie."This story courtesy of
http://www.homeholidaysfamilyandfun.com
Another of my patients, a successful businessman, tells me that before his cancer he would become depressed unless things went a certain way. Happiness was "having the cookie." If you had the cookie, things were good. If you didn't have the cookie, life wasn't worth a damn. Unfortunately, the cookie kept changing. Some of the time it was money, sometimes power, sometimes sex. At other times, it was the new car, the biggest contract, and the most prestigious address. A year and a half after his diagnosis of prostate cancer he sits shaking his head ruefully. "It's like I stopped learning how to live after I was a kid. When I give my son a cookie, he is happy. If I take the cookie away or it breaks, he is unhappy.
But he is two and a half and I am forty-three. It's taken me this long to understand that the cookie will never make me happy for long. The minute you have the cookie it starts to crumble or you start to worry about it crumbling or about someone trying to take it away from you. You know, you have to give up a lot of things to take care of the cookie, to keep it from crumbling and be sure that no one takes it away from you. You may not even get a chance to eat it because you are so busy just trying not to lose it. Having the cookie is not what life is about."
My patient laughs and says cancer has changed him. For the first time he is happy. No matter if his business is doing well or not, no matter if he wins or loses at golf. "Two years ago, cancer asked me, 'Okay, what's important? What is really important?' Well, life is important. Life. Life any way you can have it. Life with the coo! kie. Life without the cookie. Happiness does not have anything to do with the cookie, it has to do with being alive. Before, who made the time?" He pauses thoughtfully. "Damn, I guess life is the cookie."This story courtesy of
http://www.homeholidaysfamilyandfun.com
Saturday, October 22, 2005
A post card from St. Louis.
This is a post card for you from St. Louis.
I'm here for a tradeshow. Surprisingly, I found that I had the afternoon off. I walked alone down to the riverfront and couldn't resist the pull of the great Arch of St. Louis. Along with high school kids from around the country, I waited in long lines for my turn to go through security. Once inside, more long lines awaited me for a ride to the top of the Arch. Although I had hoped to go to the top, I decided today was not the day. Anyway, it would be more fun with my kids.
The journey to St. Louis was a difficult one. It started in Minneapolis, where I caught an ATA flight to Chicago Midway, and then had to wait about 3 hours for a connecting Southwest flight to St. Louis. I had never flown Southwest before. Their prices are low, but so is the cost of riding in a packed cattle car. They're probably no worse than any other airline these days. It's been ten months since I last traveled. I have to say, I am surprised that the experience has become even more inhumane, rude, cramped, smelly and invasive than the last time I flew. I guess if it's got to be that way, then you might as well fly Southwest. Why pay more to anyone else, when they'll treat you like a cow for so much less money?
I arrived in St. Louis late, around 11 pm. I was wired for adventure for some reason, and even though I could have taken a cab from the airport to downtown for about $35, I decided to try the Metrolink train for about $3.
The ride was mostly uneventful. The old driver of the train liked to talk on the loudspeaker, and gave excellent instructions. The train was about half full of working class people coming off the late shift at work. At one stop a man and two women boarded, yelling and screaming at each other, crying and laughing, comforting each other and then slapping; they seemed to fly from one emotion to the other. Since I could hardly understand their accent, I can't tell you what was up with them. They got off at the next station, thankfully. I studied the other characters on the train, wondering what they did for a living, who they were going home to.
It's good for me to get outside of my comfort zone. Hearing the sounds, voices and accents, smelling the smells, seeing what's similar to home, and what's different.
I'm not used to having time on my own, to explore. I accept today as a gift, a chance to indulge to my own free will for a period of time. I'm reminded of a parakeet I used to own. I'd let him out of his cage once in a while. He would fly frantically all over the house, stretching his wings before taking his usual perch atop the window drapes. There he would sit for a spell, watching the activity below him. Eventually, he'd fly back to his cage on his own and remain there, even with the door wide open. Maybe I'm a little like that bird; at this point in my life, a little bit of adventure is ok, but I don't don't crave it the way I used to. And after this trip is over, I'll be looking forward to getting back to my cage. My cage is comfortable, and full of love. Time on my own seems wasted in some respects -- I'd rather be spending it with the kids.
I'm here for a tradeshow. Surprisingly, I found that I had the afternoon off. I walked alone down to the riverfront and couldn't resist the pull of the great Arch of St. Louis. Along with high school kids from around the country, I waited in long lines for my turn to go through security. Once inside, more long lines awaited me for a ride to the top of the Arch. Although I had hoped to go to the top, I decided today was not the day. Anyway, it would be more fun with my kids.
The journey to St. Louis was a difficult one. It started in Minneapolis, where I caught an ATA flight to Chicago Midway, and then had to wait about 3 hours for a connecting Southwest flight to St. Louis. I had never flown Southwest before. Their prices are low, but so is the cost of riding in a packed cattle car. They're probably no worse than any other airline these days. It's been ten months since I last traveled. I have to say, I am surprised that the experience has become even more inhumane, rude, cramped, smelly and invasive than the last time I flew. I guess if it's got to be that way, then you might as well fly Southwest. Why pay more to anyone else, when they'll treat you like a cow for so much less money?
I arrived in St. Louis late, around 11 pm. I was wired for adventure for some reason, and even though I could have taken a cab from the airport to downtown for about $35, I decided to try the Metrolink train for about $3.
The ride was mostly uneventful. The old driver of the train liked to talk on the loudspeaker, and gave excellent instructions. The train was about half full of working class people coming off the late shift at work. At one stop a man and two women boarded, yelling and screaming at each other, crying and laughing, comforting each other and then slapping; they seemed to fly from one emotion to the other. Since I could hardly understand their accent, I can't tell you what was up with them. They got off at the next station, thankfully. I studied the other characters on the train, wondering what they did for a living, who they were going home to.
It's good for me to get outside of my comfort zone. Hearing the sounds, voices and accents, smelling the smells, seeing what's similar to home, and what's different.
I'm not used to having time on my own, to explore. I accept today as a gift, a chance to indulge to my own free will for a period of time. I'm reminded of a parakeet I used to own. I'd let him out of his cage once in a while. He would fly frantically all over the house, stretching his wings before taking his usual perch atop the window drapes. There he would sit for a spell, watching the activity below him. Eventually, he'd fly back to his cage on his own and remain there, even with the door wide open. Maybe I'm a little like that bird; at this point in my life, a little bit of adventure is ok, but I don't don't crave it the way I used to. And after this trip is over, I'll be looking forward to getting back to my cage. My cage is comfortable, and full of love. Time on my own seems wasted in some respects -- I'd rather be spending it with the kids.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
$8 Trillion and counting
I just wanted to let you know that the U.S. national debt is about to trip over the odometer to $8 trillion. As they say in England, that's "Eight thousand billion."
Click here to see if it's tripped yet: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
If you are a U.S. citizen, your share of this debt is nearly $28,000. This is your children's future being spent by your government to buy your vote today.
Click here to see if it's tripped yet: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
If you are a U.S. citizen, your share of this debt is nearly $28,000. This is your children's future being spent by your government to buy your vote today.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Talk among friends
I've been working for a Canadian company since May. I take a lot of friendly crap for being a American employee. Americans and Canadians get along well when we're out drinking beer. But if you read the Canadian newspapers and listen to the comments made on Canadian talk radio, you might conclude that we're enemies. Every Canadian I've talked to hates Bush, and they're still ticked off about that Afghanistan bombing thing. I've been up to Winnipeg about a dozen times since May. If ever I need to be jailed, please lock me up in Canada.
Here's an IM exchange from today with I guy I work with...
Jason says:
We still think you guys are the devil incarnate
Scott says:
didn't you read the memo? We're locking down the border because of fears we could be overrun by vicious Canadian hoards infected with mad-cow disease and waiving 2x4s of subsidized pine lumber, swooping down and overrunning our Super Targets and Kmarts, clogging the checkout lines and paying with strengthening Canadian currency, and diluting our money supply with your pennies and nickels!
Scott says:
So much to fear, so little time...
Jason says:
Who told you of our diabolical plot!
Jason says:
BTW, we were actually planning on riding our mad cows across the boarder sort of a "Braveheart" kinda thing
Scott says:
That would cool. I'd like to see that on CNN.
Jason says:
yeah, maximum terror inducement
Jason says:
the one down fall is its damn hard to saddle a mad cow
Scott says:
And damn hard for American's to spot a Canadian, unless they're speakin' french or riding a mad cow.
Here's an IM exchange from today with I guy I work with...
Jason says:
We still think you guys are the devil incarnate
Scott says:
didn't you read the memo? We're locking down the border because of fears we could be overrun by vicious Canadian hoards infected with mad-cow disease and waiving 2x4s of subsidized pine lumber, swooping down and overrunning our Super Targets and Kmarts, clogging the checkout lines and paying with strengthening Canadian currency, and diluting our money supply with your pennies and nickels!
Scott says:
So much to fear, so little time...
Jason says:
Who told you of our diabolical plot!
Jason says:
BTW, we were actually planning on riding our mad cows across the boarder sort of a "Braveheart" kinda thing
Scott says:
That would cool. I'd like to see that on CNN.
Jason says:
yeah, maximum terror inducement
Jason says:
the one down fall is its damn hard to saddle a mad cow
Scott says:
And damn hard for American's to spot a Canadian, unless they're speakin' french or riding a mad cow.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Why God sends us snow
Chalk it up to global warming if you want to, or maybe it's global cooling... I forget.
I'm writing this from a table a Carribou Coffee, looking out the window at at white flakes of snow being whipped through the air. October 6 is too early for this kind of weather, even for Minnesota.
On Sunday, the kids were running through the yard sprinkler, picking flowers and chasing butterflies. It was 88 degrees and sunny. By Tuesday snow was in the forecast and by Wednesday, it was here.
It's hard to say what life is going to bring our way from day to day. I've learned that it's important to find a way to smile no matter the weather.
My oldest boy (the first grader) is having a hard time grasping why he couldn't wear shorts to school today. It doesn't seem fair to me either, going from shorts and t-shirts to long pants and winter jacket in the course of a few days.
"Dad," he demanded, "why does God send us snow?"
I thought as fast as I could (the God questions always scare me -- they're a big responsibility), and the best answer I could muster was, "If wasn't for the cold snowy days, how ever would you be able to appreciate the beautiful days he sends us?"
That seemed to satisfy him.
You have a great day...
I'm writing this from a table a Carribou Coffee, looking out the window at at white flakes of snow being whipped through the air. October 6 is too early for this kind of weather, even for Minnesota.
On Sunday, the kids were running through the yard sprinkler, picking flowers and chasing butterflies. It was 88 degrees and sunny. By Tuesday snow was in the forecast and by Wednesday, it was here.
It's hard to say what life is going to bring our way from day to day. I've learned that it's important to find a way to smile no matter the weather.
My oldest boy (the first grader) is having a hard time grasping why he couldn't wear shorts to school today. It doesn't seem fair to me either, going from shorts and t-shirts to long pants and winter jacket in the course of a few days.
"Dad," he demanded, "why does God send us snow?"
I thought as fast as I could (the God questions always scare me -- they're a big responsibility), and the best answer I could muster was, "If wasn't for the cold snowy days, how ever would you be able to appreciate the beautiful days he sends us?"
That seemed to satisfy him.
You have a great day...
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Bob Dylan and thoughts on right-sizing
Dear Reader,
So how's it going? How've you been? I haven't heard from anyone in awhile, and part of that is my fault: I haven't been very prolific.
I've been distracted lately, trying to plan the next 20 years of my life. Everything is on the table (except my wife and family, of course). We're considering downsizing, or right sizing, or what ever you call it when you're trying to create a sustainable lifestyle that will allow us to be here for kids, and save a little bit of money. I've realized now, at age 41, I'm not ever going to be someone's "Executive Vice President." I've decided I'm not willing to pay the same price to climb the corporate ladder at age 41. When I was 27 the future was different, and responsibilities few and far between. At 41, I see my career for what it is -- a means to an end. My career does not define me, the way it defined my father. I am not what I do. I'd rather be a stay-at-home dad, than a stay-at-work dad. I had the latter, growing up. He's a rich man today, which is nice, but I'd much rather have had a dad around when I needed one.
I told you started a new job last May. Sorry to report it is not what I thought it would be. Much more responsibility, much less control, and much more travel than was originally thought. I don't think I will be in this job in two weeks (my choice). Just a hunch, but its sucking pretty hard right now. This needs to change.
The oldest son started first grade a few weeks ago, and is doing great. Jane went 3/4 time at work, and that means she's done by 2:30 pm, and can pick up Jorgen by 3 pm.
In anticipation of a pending financial earth quake, we've decided to re-finance our house from a 15 year to 30 year mortgage, and in the process roll up some automobile debt. That should take about $1,000 off of our monthly payments. We're not having any trouble meeting our bills, but again, just trying to get things "sustainable." No telling what the future holds (note to self: don't quit job before refinancing is complete). We will always have the option to pay down the 30 year mortgage at the 15 year rate in good times, but will have the flexibility to step down the payments as necessary.
I bought an apartment building in June, and have been working on it since. It's an 8 plex, and I now have all the units rented out. Hopefully I've chosen good tenants. It should provide a free and clear income between $500 and $750 per month. Lets hope this was a good long term financial move for the family.
So what does this post have to do with Bob Dylan? I watched the PBS documentary on him last night. I can't say I was inspired, but I was... amazed. I've always loved his music, but didn't understand the reluctant role he played in the 60's protest culture. The world needs interesting people to inspire it, challenge it, and infuriate it. People like Bobby D. who through either luck or good planning, are able to rise up above mediocrity. God bless Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie.
Thanks for listening,
Scott
Diet update: holding steady around 175.
So how's it going? How've you been? I haven't heard from anyone in awhile, and part of that is my fault: I haven't been very prolific.
I've been distracted lately, trying to plan the next 20 years of my life. Everything is on the table (except my wife and family, of course). We're considering downsizing, or right sizing, or what ever you call it when you're trying to create a sustainable lifestyle that will allow us to be here for kids, and save a little bit of money. I've realized now, at age 41, I'm not ever going to be someone's "Executive Vice President." I've decided I'm not willing to pay the same price to climb the corporate ladder at age 41. When I was 27 the future was different, and responsibilities few and far between. At 41, I see my career for what it is -- a means to an end. My career does not define me, the way it defined my father. I am not what I do. I'd rather be a stay-at-home dad, than a stay-at-work dad. I had the latter, growing up. He's a rich man today, which is nice, but I'd much rather have had a dad around when I needed one.
I told you started a new job last May. Sorry to report it is not what I thought it would be. Much more responsibility, much less control, and much more travel than was originally thought. I don't think I will be in this job in two weeks (my choice). Just a hunch, but its sucking pretty hard right now. This needs to change.
The oldest son started first grade a few weeks ago, and is doing great. Jane went 3/4 time at work, and that means she's done by 2:30 pm, and can pick up Jorgen by 3 pm.
In anticipation of a pending financial earth quake, we've decided to re-finance our house from a 15 year to 30 year mortgage, and in the process roll up some automobile debt. That should take about $1,000 off of our monthly payments. We're not having any trouble meeting our bills, but again, just trying to get things "sustainable." No telling what the future holds (note to self: don't quit job before refinancing is complete). We will always have the option to pay down the 30 year mortgage at the 15 year rate in good times, but will have the flexibility to step down the payments as necessary.
I bought an apartment building in June, and have been working on it since. It's an 8 plex, and I now have all the units rented out. Hopefully I've chosen good tenants. It should provide a free and clear income between $500 and $750 per month. Lets hope this was a good long term financial move for the family.
So what does this post have to do with Bob Dylan? I watched the PBS documentary on him last night. I can't say I was inspired, but I was... amazed. I've always loved his music, but didn't understand the reluctant role he played in the 60's protest culture. The world needs interesting people to inspire it, challenge it, and infuriate it. People like Bobby D. who through either luck or good planning, are able to rise up above mediocrity. God bless Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie.
Thanks for listening,
Scott
Diet update: holding steady around 175.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Why America is Going Broke
Is there a more ethereal discussion you and I can have? Most of us can't make the connection between the well-being of our families and the U.S. Government's deficit spending, fueling the national debt. The numbers are too big. The solution involves pain. There's too many cogs in the deficit machine for us to understand. We feel powerless to do anything.
For all its blessings, this is the curse of democracy: politicians buy votes by borrowing from your future. Osama Bin Laden knows this -- his grand scheme for destroying America isn't to kill lots of American's in burning buildings or in wars. His plan has to be to provoke America into deficit spending, overreacting, over reaching, over promising. He wants to reveal that the emporer has no clothes, and he will do this by provoking America into spending itself into its grave. One day, the deficit money machine will break, and our American dream lifestyle will come to an end. Some day, the foreign investors who are loaning us money to finance our spending spree will want to live the good life themselves -- when that money stops flowing into the U.S., the machine will break.
The best article I've read on this problem in a long time is posted here. It's written from a Canadian perspective, looking after their own national interests.
What the hell is George Bush doing? It seems that he will not rest until America is broke. He doesn't explain how America is going to pay for the two wars it is fighting and now embark on the biggest "reconstruction project that the world has ever seen." I love New Orleans, and I lived there for years -- but how can we invest in rebuilding a city that is still vulnerable to hurricanes, that sits on sinking ground, below sea level, in a marsh that is disappearing into the sea?
The New Orleans rebuilding effort will only accellerate our debt. How big is the debt? Click here to find out.
Here's some other bell ringers in the blogosphere:
http://libertyforsale.com/2005/09/16/the-public-debt-is-the-real-emergency/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/madkiwi/23780.html
http://www.bettershorter.com/2005_09_01_bettershorter_archive.php#112687356438032324
What are you thoughts?
For all its blessings, this is the curse of democracy: politicians buy votes by borrowing from your future. Osama Bin Laden knows this -- his grand scheme for destroying America isn't to kill lots of American's in burning buildings or in wars. His plan has to be to provoke America into deficit spending, overreacting, over reaching, over promising. He wants to reveal that the emporer has no clothes, and he will do this by provoking America into spending itself into its grave. One day, the deficit money machine will break, and our American dream lifestyle will come to an end. Some day, the foreign investors who are loaning us money to finance our spending spree will want to live the good life themselves -- when that money stops flowing into the U.S., the machine will break.
The best article I've read on this problem in a long time is posted here. It's written from a Canadian perspective, looking after their own national interests.
What the hell is George Bush doing? It seems that he will not rest until America is broke. He doesn't explain how America is going to pay for the two wars it is fighting and now embark on the biggest "reconstruction project that the world has ever seen." I love New Orleans, and I lived there for years -- but how can we invest in rebuilding a city that is still vulnerable to hurricanes, that sits on sinking ground, below sea level, in a marsh that is disappearing into the sea?
The New Orleans rebuilding effort will only accellerate our debt. How big is the debt? Click here to find out.
Here's some other bell ringers in the blogosphere:
http://libertyforsale.com/2005/09/16/the-public-debt-is-the-real-emergency/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/madkiwi/23780.html
http://www.bettershorter.com/2005_09_01_bettershorter_archive.php#112687356438032324
What are you thoughts?
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Waste Not, Want Not...
Is garbage interesting? If you doubt that it is, then check out this link for interesting facts on waste: http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html
Among the stunners:
Among the stunners:
- Inthe U.S., 4.39 pounds of trash per day and up to 56 tons of trash per year are created by the average person.
- Only about one-tenth of all solid garbage in the United States gets recycled.
Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would stretch from the earth, halfway to the moon. - Each day the United States throws away enough trash to fill 63,000 garbage trucks.
Almost 1/3 of the waste generated the U.S. is packaging. - Every 4 quarts of oil discarded during an average oil change can contaminate 1 million gallons of water
- Recycling an aluminum soda can saves 96% of the energy used to make a can from ore, and produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution.
- It takes the energy equivalent of half a soda can of gasoline to produce one soda can from bauxite ore.
Our family are not hard core environmentalists, but we try to do what we can. We've been able to incorporate recycling as a fun activity that our kids enjoy. You doubt that little kids would enjoy recycling? Just let them plop a glass jar into a glass recycling orbit: my kids can't get enough of the shattering sound.
Recycling isn't that difficult. It makes a difference, and is one of the things within an individual's control that really helps reduce America's energy appetite, keeps the environment clean, slows the expansion of landfills (i/e saves your tax dollars), etc. If not for the sake of my kids, then recycle for your own greedy self serving reasons, but just do it. It's in your best interests.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tears for New Orleans
My worst fears are being realized. The Mayor of New Orleans estimates the death toll in the hundreds, maybe even "thousands." Will the city ever be the same? This is a fundamental blow to the life-on-the-edge psyche of this city. Perhaps the party is finally over. I hope not, but how could a city like New Orleans not take life just a little more seriously after such a tragedy.
Today on CNN I saw a picture of the 17th Street Canal, which was breached and poured water from Lake Pontchatrain into New Orleans. This was my old neighborhood while I was in college. I lived on the west side of the canal, in Metarie, LA. Directly on the east side of the Canal is New Orleans. From the picture on TV, the breach occurred on the New Orleans side, and Metarie side appeared dry.
When will the finger pointing start? I can already hear it now on Larry King: "Who's fault was it?" "What could have been done to avoid this tragedy." "Why is it taking so long to help."
In America, there's always someone to blame when a natural disaster occurs. There's no such thing as an act of God. America always needs a fall guy, because in the process of crucifying the fall guy, we maintain the illusion of being in control of nature. Afterall, if it wasn't for the fall guy screwing up, no one would have died, right? So who is the fall guy going to be? Stay tuned.
Today on CNN I saw a picture of the 17th Street Canal, which was breached and poured water from Lake Pontchatrain into New Orleans. This was my old neighborhood while I was in college. I lived on the west side of the canal, in Metarie, LA. Directly on the east side of the Canal is New Orleans. From the picture on TV, the breach occurred on the New Orleans side, and Metarie side appeared dry.
When will the finger pointing start? I can already hear it now on Larry King: "Who's fault was it?" "What could have been done to avoid this tragedy." "Why is it taking so long to help."
In America, there's always someone to blame when a natural disaster occurs. There's no such thing as an act of God. America always needs a fall guy, because in the process of crucifying the fall guy, we maintain the illusion of being in control of nature. Afterall, if it wasn't for the fall guy screwing up, no one would have died, right? So who is the fall guy going to be? Stay tuned.
Monday, August 29, 2005
New Orleans
One of my favorite cities. I fell in love with my wife there, graduated from college there. Today I'm praying for the people down there as Katrina is smashing into the city. This is the sort of disaster that everyone down there accepted, joked about, named a drink after.
I was there in the late 80's. In 1988, I was there when hurricane Francis (a very small hurricane) glanced the city's east edge. It was the biggest storm I'd ever seen in my life. I learned to respect hurricane's in a big hurry, but of course, the locals just joked and shrugged it off. Hurricane's aint no big deal to the locals. That's why I'm very worried that this bon ton roule attitude is going to account for a huge death toll in New Orleans. Even after mandatory evacuation orders, how many people will have been smug enough to try and ride it out in their 150 year old home.
I've been watching the live coverage on WDSU.COM. This New Orleans TV station has done a masterful job. Right now, the hurricane has just passed, and news photographers are sending back pictures of collapsed buildings, a hole in the Superdome, looters running wild in the street, flooding.
Gods speed, New Orleans!
I was there in the late 80's. In 1988, I was there when hurricane Francis (a very small hurricane) glanced the city's east edge. It was the biggest storm I'd ever seen in my life. I learned to respect hurricane's in a big hurry, but of course, the locals just joked and shrugged it off. Hurricane's aint no big deal to the locals. That's why I'm very worried that this bon ton roule attitude is going to account for a huge death toll in New Orleans. Even after mandatory evacuation orders, how many people will have been smug enough to try and ride it out in their 150 year old home.
I've been watching the live coverage on WDSU.COM. This New Orleans TV station has done a masterful job. Right now, the hurricane has just passed, and news photographers are sending back pictures of collapsed buildings, a hole in the Superdome, looters running wild in the street, flooding.
Gods speed, New Orleans!
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Plans unfulfilled
Fall is coming and I can smell it in the air, and see it in the frenetics of nature.
It's only late August, but the first signs of fall are manifest: the loud late-summer bugs that creek through the night, the heavy red apples breaking the tree branches. Most of the song birds have departed after raising their young. An abundance of little white and yellow butterflies are flecks against the green landscape. The morning sun comes later, and departs earlier in the evening. The darker mornings make it harder to get out of bed. The days temperature is comfortable, but reaches ever lower in the early morning hours. The farmer's fields are harvested and plowed under.
The message is clear: if you had Summer plans that remain unfulfilled, you'd best get started. For Jane and I, Summer always begins with great expectations and big plans. We were going to do all these great things with the kids, spend more time at the lake, take a big family vacation, etc. Indeed, we managed to pull off some of it. But at the end of August, the realization that good plans will go unrealized begins to sink in.
Fall is a season of great change in our household. Its the time the kids "move up" the ranks: Jorgen to first grade, Chloe to pre-k, and little Pete to the big-kids room. If only progress were as easy to measure for us adults.
It's only late August, but the first signs of fall are manifest: the loud late-summer bugs that creek through the night, the heavy red apples breaking the tree branches. Most of the song birds have departed after raising their young. An abundance of little white and yellow butterflies are flecks against the green landscape. The morning sun comes later, and departs earlier in the evening. The darker mornings make it harder to get out of bed. The days temperature is comfortable, but reaches ever lower in the early morning hours. The farmer's fields are harvested and plowed under.
The message is clear: if you had Summer plans that remain unfulfilled, you'd best get started. For Jane and I, Summer always begins with great expectations and big plans. We were going to do all these great things with the kids, spend more time at the lake, take a big family vacation, etc. Indeed, we managed to pull off some of it. But at the end of August, the realization that good plans will go unrealized begins to sink in.
Fall is a season of great change in our household. Its the time the kids "move up" the ranks: Jorgen to first grade, Chloe to pre-k, and little Pete to the big-kids room. If only progress were as easy to measure for us adults.
Friday, July 22, 2005
IM from the edge
Working at home has been an interesting experience. I didn't care for it at first, but I've come to enjoy my 30 second morning commute: slip on some shorts and a T-shirt, walk to the desk and log in. I make a point of taking a break and driving down to the coffee shop, where everyone knows my name and they're always glad I came. A little mocha in the morning helps get me going, and the face-to-face human contact is about all I get till the kids come home.
I miss the transition time: the time that most people have from the point they leave the office till they arrive home. It allows one to decompress, put on the radio and tune out the day, think about the evening ahead. I have to switch instantly from stressed-out employee to loving father when the family gets home from daycare, and that not easy.
I've connected with one of the other employees on a personal basis. We do similar work and have become IM buddies. We'll be on a conference call, and be IM'ing our thoughts back and forth. Must be careful not to let the sarcasm go too far, especially on the high-stress days.
I've been doing lots of travel lately. The other weekend I was at the Microsoft worldwide partner conference. What a party those guys throw. We had Hootie and the Blowfish on Saturday and the B52's on Sunday. I left early to get home to the kids, so I missed the B52's (that was a real sacrifice, I'll have you know).
Next week is a 3 day weekend for my family. We'll go to the lake, do some boating and fishing, and let the kids run around. I feel bad that my kids aren't getting a traditional summer vacation like I did -- my mom was always home. They're in a great daycare, but you know what I mean.
Diet Update: Remember back in April when I boldly told you I was starting the Southbeach Diet? No? Well, I started at 203. The other morning I weighed myself in at 176. I've exceeded my goal of 180, and now weigh what I did back in high school 22 years ago. My wife says I look great, and I'm feeling better. My back trouble has gone away. I'm amazed its worked so well.
I miss the transition time: the time that most people have from the point they leave the office till they arrive home. It allows one to decompress, put on the radio and tune out the day, think about the evening ahead. I have to switch instantly from stressed-out employee to loving father when the family gets home from daycare, and that not easy.
I've connected with one of the other employees on a personal basis. We do similar work and have become IM buddies. We'll be on a conference call, and be IM'ing our thoughts back and forth. Must be careful not to let the sarcasm go too far, especially on the high-stress days.
I've been doing lots of travel lately. The other weekend I was at the Microsoft worldwide partner conference. What a party those guys throw. We had Hootie and the Blowfish on Saturday and the B52's on Sunday. I left early to get home to the kids, so I missed the B52's (that was a real sacrifice, I'll have you know).
Next week is a 3 day weekend for my family. We'll go to the lake, do some boating and fishing, and let the kids run around. I feel bad that my kids aren't getting a traditional summer vacation like I did -- my mom was always home. They're in a great daycare, but you know what I mean.
Diet Update: Remember back in April when I boldly told you I was starting the Southbeach Diet? No? Well, I started at 203. The other morning I weighed myself in at 176. I've exceeded my goal of 180, and now weigh what I did back in high school 22 years ago. My wife says I look great, and I'm feeling better. My back trouble has gone away. I'm amazed its worked so well.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Another passing
Today I went to a prayer service for my great-aunt Ellen, who had married for 59 years to my great-uncle. She was 88, he is 91 next week. She had been sick for awhile.
For a moment, at least, I realize how strange life is, each of us rushing hither and fro, absorbed in our own self importance. Afterall, we have appointments, places to be, people to meet! We don't have time to die. Death is not on our schedule, so it will just have to wait
When someone we know dies, the world just keeps on turning, but for that moment, we are left behind wondering why the world doesn't stop.
I talked to the kids about aunt Ellen passing away. They took it pretty well. Better than Grandpa dying a year ago, and much better than the cat.
My uncle seemed ok. He's had years to prepare. But how does one ever prepare to lose their spouse of 59 years? I give him six months before he dies of a broken heart.
Its very difficult to lose someone who you have known literally your entire life. Death has always been a weird concept for me. Despite Christian beliefs of an afterlife, its still weird being left behind, searching for meaning, asking questions, wondering why.
For a moment, at least, I realize how strange life is, each of us rushing hither and fro, absorbed in our own self importance. Afterall, we have appointments, places to be, people to meet! We don't have time to die. Death is not on our schedule, so it will just have to wait
When someone we know dies, the world just keeps on turning, but for that moment, we are left behind wondering why the world doesn't stop.
I talked to the kids about aunt Ellen passing away. They took it pretty well. Better than Grandpa dying a year ago, and much better than the cat.
My uncle seemed ok. He's had years to prepare. But how does one ever prepare to lose their spouse of 59 years? I give him six months before he dies of a broken heart.
Friday, June 17, 2005
My Purple Martin Story
In April, Jorgen and I were at one of my favorite stores, Tractor Supply Co. It's where farmers go to get their "stuff." I'm not a farmer, but being in TSC brings back the old memories of going to similar stores with my Grandpa's, both of whom were farmers. I have a riding lawn mower for grooming my two acres of lawn, but thats about it. So whenever I need something for my "tractor," we head to TSC.
There's all kinds of cool stuff at TSC: barbwire, fence posts, tractor parts, trailers, sharp things, and so on. On this trip, I told Jorgen he could pick something out as a reward for coming out with me. Usually he selects a chocolate candy bar, but this day he chose a Purple Martin house. He really wanted it, so I thought about it. $45 is a lot more than fifty-cent candy bar, but I thought it might be fun, and I had heard Purple Martins eat mosquitos.
When I got the bird house home, I realized that I'd need a 15 foot pole on which to mount it. The pole would need to telescope so that I could lower it and raise it up. I ordered one for about $70, delivered.
Out at PurpleMartin.org, I learned tips for how to place the PM-house. I learned that just putting up the house didn't guarantee that a Purple Martin family would settle there. The housing needs to be "managed" to keep out the riff-raff, non-native birds like sparrows and starlings.
I put up the house in early May, which is recommended in my area. Immediately, sparrows began nesting. I lowered the house and removed their nests. The next day, they had built new nests. This went on for weeks, pitting my human persistence against mother nature's. Finally, one day I saw a pair of young Martins exploring the house. After an hour of being harrassed by sparrows, they went away. Meanwhile, I keep pulling out sparrow nests, about four or five times per week. I tried to shoot the sparrows with a bb gun, but they were too smart for me.
Finally, its June. The sparrows have finally given up and have nested elsewhere. Two weeks go by with no interest in the housing. I'm even losing interest as the prospects for nesting Purple Martins this year grow more dim each day. I go back out to PurpleMartin.org, looking for tips that might salvage our project. They recommend playing a Purple Martin dawn-song recording, which they have online. I started playing the recording on Tuesday morning. By Wednesday evening, two pairs of young Martins are excitedly exploring the housing. By Thursday (today), both pairs are building nests. The kids were out last night, watching the Martins fly around and catch insects. Martins are not afraid of people, and seem to actually enjoy having people around.
The more I learn about Purple Martins, the interesting they become. They are completely dependent upon humans for their housing. When they leave us this Summer, they will migrate to South America over the winter, and then will migrate thousands of miles to to return to my backyard in Minnesota. I think we're going to enjoy sharing our yard with these birds.
When I started the Purple Martin project for my kids (and for me, too), I didn't realize just how much patience and involvement it would require to get a colony established. I was also a lesson in how tough it can be for native birds to compete with non-native species, like sparrows and starlings, who nest earlier than Martins and are more aggressive.
Hopefully with two young breeding pair taking up residence, we will be able to enjoy these beautiful birds for years to come.
It's too bad, though, that they really don't eat mosquitos.
UPDATE: 6-27-2005
House sparrows attacked the Purple Martin nest. This afternoon I found four eggs smashed on the ground, and a sparrow perched outside the entrance to the nest. I haven't seen the Martins since last night. My sparrow trap just arrived in mail, albeit too late to save this nesting season. At least trapping sparrows will make me feel better.
There's all kinds of cool stuff at TSC: barbwire, fence posts, tractor parts, trailers, sharp things, and so on. On this trip, I told Jorgen he could pick something out as a reward for coming out with me. Usually he selects a chocolate candy bar, but this day he chose a Purple Martin house. He really wanted it, so I thought about it. $45 is a lot more than fifty-cent candy bar, but I thought it might be fun, and I had heard Purple Martins eat mosquitos.
When I got the bird house home, I realized that I'd need a 15 foot pole on which to mount it. The pole would need to telescope so that I could lower it and raise it up. I ordered one for about $70, delivered.
Out at PurpleMartin.org, I learned tips for how to place the PM-house. I learned that just putting up the house didn't guarantee that a Purple Martin family would settle there. The housing needs to be "managed" to keep out the riff-raff, non-native birds like sparrows and starlings.
I put up the house in early May, which is recommended in my area. Immediately, sparrows began nesting. I lowered the house and removed their nests. The next day, they had built new nests. This went on for weeks, pitting my human persistence against mother nature's. Finally, one day I saw a pair of young Martins exploring the house. After an hour of being harrassed by sparrows, they went away. Meanwhile, I keep pulling out sparrow nests, about four or five times per week. I tried to shoot the sparrows with a bb gun, but they were too smart for me.
Finally, its June. The sparrows have finally given up and have nested elsewhere. Two weeks go by with no interest in the housing. I'm even losing interest as the prospects for nesting Purple Martins this year grow more dim each day. I go back out to PurpleMartin.org, looking for tips that might salvage our project. They recommend playing a Purple Martin dawn-song recording, which they have online. I started playing the recording on Tuesday morning. By Wednesday evening, two pairs of young Martins are excitedly exploring the housing. By Thursday (today), both pairs are building nests. The kids were out last night, watching the Martins fly around and catch insects. Martins are not afraid of people, and seem to actually enjoy having people around.
The more I learn about Purple Martins, the interesting they become. They are completely dependent upon humans for their housing. When they leave us this Summer, they will migrate to South America over the winter, and then will migrate thousands of miles to to return to my backyard in Minnesota. I think we're going to enjoy sharing our yard with these birds.
When I started the Purple Martin project for my kids (and for me, too), I didn't realize just how much patience and involvement it would require to get a colony established. I was also a lesson in how tough it can be for native birds to compete with non-native species, like sparrows and starlings, who nest earlier than Martins and are more aggressive.
Hopefully with two young breeding pair taking up residence, we will be able to enjoy these beautiful birds for years to come.
It's too bad, though, that they really don't eat mosquitos.
UPDATE: 6-27-2005
House sparrows attacked the Purple Martin nest. This afternoon I found four eggs smashed on the ground, and a sparrow perched outside the entrance to the nest. I haven't seen the Martins since last night. My sparrow trap just arrived in mail, albeit too late to save this nesting season. At least trapping sparrows will make me feel better.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Working from home
I always thought how great it would be to have a job where I work from home. Now that I have one, I find I miss the commaraderie and random interaction of the office. For those of you who are dreaming of being employed from home, here is what I have been experiencing.
My vision:
Working, while I play the radio as loud as I want! With no co-workers to tell me to turn it down.
Reality:
Either I'm on a conference call, or else there's so much noise within my head that the radio is a distraction.
My vision:
No commuting to work! Just walk over to the computer!
Reality:
Being so close to "the office" means I'm always checking on email. Its hard to let work go. It also means that certain co-workers feel that they can just call you at home whenever they want.
My vision:
Being able to goof off a little.
Reality:
I'm so buried with work, that goofing off is a luxury I can't afford.
My vision:
Instead of sitting around a meeting table, I'm at home participating on a conference call in my underwear.
Reality:
Yes, I am wearing my underwear (most of the time) but lousey teleconferencing equipment makes it difficult to hear what is being said, and I often miss the context.
My vision:
I'm home when my wife shows up with the kids at 5pm! No more late nights at work for me.
Reality:
The family gets home and I have to move to a private area in order to complete my work or my phone call. Work just doesn't stop at 5 pm, even at home. I never miss dinner anymore, though.
It's fun to be back with a software company. My first "work at home" situation is a good one, and I'm settling in to the new routine.
I enjoy the work.
Just wish I had an office to do it in.
Diet update: No longer losing weight quickly or easily. Have been stuck around 183-184 for weeks. Am adding back certain foods to the diet. Maybe losing 20 lbs is enough. Now lets see if I can stay here.
My vision:
Working, while I play the radio as loud as I want! With no co-workers to tell me to turn it down.
Reality:
Either I'm on a conference call, or else there's so much noise within my head that the radio is a distraction.
My vision:
No commuting to work! Just walk over to the computer!
Reality:
Being so close to "the office" means I'm always checking on email. Its hard to let work go. It also means that certain co-workers feel that they can just call you at home whenever they want.
My vision:
Being able to goof off a little.
Reality:
I'm so buried with work, that goofing off is a luxury I can't afford.
My vision:
Instead of sitting around a meeting table, I'm at home participating on a conference call in my underwear.
Reality:
Yes, I am wearing my underwear (most of the time) but lousey teleconferencing equipment makes it difficult to hear what is being said, and I often miss the context.
My vision:
I'm home when my wife shows up with the kids at 5pm! No more late nights at work for me.
Reality:
The family gets home and I have to move to a private area in order to complete my work or my phone call. Work just doesn't stop at 5 pm, even at home. I never miss dinner anymore, though.
It's fun to be back with a software company. My first "work at home" situation is a good one, and I'm settling in to the new routine.
I enjoy the work.
Just wish I had an office to do it in.
Diet update: No longer losing weight quickly or easily. Have been stuck around 183-184 for weeks. Am adding back certain foods to the diet. Maybe losing 20 lbs is enough. Now lets see if I can stay here.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Not dead yet
Just a short post to let you know that I am not dead yet, just overwhelmed and stressed in my job. I started a new job as a product manager, and am traveling out of town quite a bit. Lots to talk about when I find a few calm moments. Life can be like this, can't it?
For those of you rooting me on in my effort to lose weight with the Southbeach Diet (yes, I'm vain enough to think that the entire world cares about my weight!) here's the latest diet update: Miraculously, I'm still with it. Started at 203 in mid April, now down to 184. 19 pounds and counting my way down to 180. I hit a wall around 186 and stayed there for a couple weeks, but now seem to be on the way down again.
For those of you rooting me on in my effort to lose weight with the Southbeach Diet (yes, I'm vain enough to think that the entire world cares about my weight!) here's the latest diet update: Miraculously, I'm still with it. Started at 203 in mid April, now down to 184. 19 pounds and counting my way down to 180. I hit a wall around 186 and stayed there for a couple weeks, but now seem to be on the way down again.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Parade of Caravans, and thoughts about E85
Because my wife was out of town the past week, I got to drive her car: the Dodge Caravan. Most days I drop the five year old off at his school for kindergarten, and she picks him up. In the evening she gathers all three kids from daycare, so thats why she needs to drive the minivan.
Driving the Caravan is not altogether unpleasant, even though I had always dreaded getting a minivan. But after the third child arrived, resistance was futile: we needed the van the port around the kids and their stuff.
Pulling into the school parking lot is like being part of the Caravan parade. Every other vehicle is a Dodge Caravan, and every other Caravan is red (like ours). There is very little individuality in owning a Caravan, but plenty of practicality.
Yet my feelings of individuality took a mighty step forward a couple of weeks ago, when we realized that the Dodge Caravan is a flexible fuel vehicle, going back to at least 2000. This means that we can fuel the van with E85, a fuel that is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Minnesota is hot on E85, and a fueling station opened on the road to kindergarten.
Although there are 2 million flexible fuel vehicles on the road in the U.S., most people are not burning E85 fuel, because they simply don't know that the vehicle can use E85.Y ou may be already driving one and not even know it.
Jane and I have always been recyclers. We care about the environment and we've changed some of our routines to be a bit more green, but we're not hard core. The idea of owning energy efficient and alternative fuel cars has always been appealing, but we felt it would not be "practical."
Without even knowing it, we have been driving a car that could not only meet our families needs, but also help meet our need to feel as though we're making some small contribution to society by a) burning a fuel that is made in America by farmers, b) easier on the environment by emitting less pollutants, and c) helping to wean this country off of its dangerous dependence on middle east oil.
And here's the great news: E85 costs 50 cents a gallon less than regular unleaded, at least in our town. That saves us about $7 each time we fill up. This fuel makes loads of sense, folks!
I'm only on the third tankful of E85, but our Caravan doesn't seem to run any differently. There is a slightly degraded MPG, but this is more than offset by the lower price of E85 fuel.
So if you own a Caravan, or if you want to know if your car can burn E85 fuel, visit this site. Try a tankful and let me know what you think.
---
Diet Update: Still stuck at 189. Dang! Might actually have to resort to exercise.
Driving the Caravan is not altogether unpleasant, even though I had always dreaded getting a minivan. But after the third child arrived, resistance was futile: we needed the van the port around the kids and their stuff.
Pulling into the school parking lot is like being part of the Caravan parade. Every other vehicle is a Dodge Caravan, and every other Caravan is red (like ours). There is very little individuality in owning a Caravan, but plenty of practicality.
Yet my feelings of individuality took a mighty step forward a couple of weeks ago, when we realized that the Dodge Caravan is a flexible fuel vehicle, going back to at least 2000. This means that we can fuel the van with E85, a fuel that is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Minnesota is hot on E85, and a fueling station opened on the road to kindergarten.
Although there are 2 million flexible fuel vehicles on the road in the U.S., most people are not burning E85 fuel, because they simply don't know that the vehicle can use E85.Y ou may be already driving one and not even know it.
Jane and I have always been recyclers. We care about the environment and we've changed some of our routines to be a bit more green, but we're not hard core. The idea of owning energy efficient and alternative fuel cars has always been appealing, but we felt it would not be "practical."
Without even knowing it, we have been driving a car that could not only meet our families needs, but also help meet our need to feel as though we're making some small contribution to society by a) burning a fuel that is made in America by farmers, b) easier on the environment by emitting less pollutants, and c) helping to wean this country off of its dangerous dependence on middle east oil.
And here's the great news: E85 costs 50 cents a gallon less than regular unleaded, at least in our town. That saves us about $7 each time we fill up. This fuel makes loads of sense, folks!
I'm only on the third tankful of E85, but our Caravan doesn't seem to run any differently. There is a slightly degraded MPG, but this is more than offset by the lower price of E85 fuel.
So if you own a Caravan, or if you want to know if your car can burn E85 fuel, visit this site. Try a tankful and let me know what you think.
---
Diet Update: Still stuck at 189. Dang! Might actually have to resort to exercise.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Dear God...
Thanks for my kids. What a blessing they have been in my life. Thanks for the chance to mop up their vomit, wipe their butts, and dab the snot from their noses. I praise you every time they break something in the house, because it reminds me that earthly treasures are fleeting. Thanks for when they are sick and I have to explain to my boss why I couldn't be at that important meeting (again), because important meetings are overrated.
Thanks for the chance to pick up their toys, make their beds, and drive them all over your earth. I'm glad to throw away the perfectly good meal I labored to make for them because it looked or smelled "funny." Although I don't like to waste good food, I'll endure the frustration and insult because of the privilege it is to be their father.
In a world that places so many demands on my attention and time, please keep reminding me that these kids are the most important thing in our lives.
Forgive me for occasionally losing my patience, and for the times that I just flat out screw up. I'm only human, and being a father is a superhuman job. Therefore, I welcome your influence in my life to make me a better father. You know better than anyone that I need your help.
Please work in my kids lives.
Amen.
PS -- Thanks for their mom. I don't know how I could cope with being a father if I didn't have her encouragement, reassurance and help.
Thanks for the chance to pick up their toys, make their beds, and drive them all over your earth. I'm glad to throw away the perfectly good meal I labored to make for them because it looked or smelled "funny." Although I don't like to waste good food, I'll endure the frustration and insult because of the privilege it is to be their father.
In a world that places so many demands on my attention and time, please keep reminding me that these kids are the most important thing in our lives.
Forgive me for occasionally losing my patience, and for the times that I just flat out screw up. I'm only human, and being a father is a superhuman job. Therefore, I welcome your influence in my life to make me a better father. You know better than anyone that I need your help.
Please work in my kids lives.
Amen.
PS -- Thanks for their mom. I don't know how I could cope with being a father if I didn't have her encouragement, reassurance and help.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Moving On, part II
What a difference a week can make. I've officially accepted a position with a Canadian company, and I start this week. I'll be working out of my home for awhile. This new job ought to be good for the family from a financial perspective (I have some serious pent up consumer demand). If you consider all of the expenses I'm eliminating, I'll probably make 3x my 2004 salary, and about 15% more than I made during my last year at Microsoft (36% more if my bonus kicks in). Bully for me.
The downside will be that I will be traveling again, but the upside is that if this job works out Jane will be able to cut back on her hours and perhaps even leave her job (her wish, not mine). Having a parent at home has been a goal of ours. The plan was always to have her cut back, although for awhile this year it looked like I might be a stay-at-home dad.
Jane is in England this week, and I have all three of the kids. Wouldn't you know, the two oldest kids came down with a bad case of 5-day "late season influenza B", according to the pediatrician. So it has been a bit of a trial, complete with mopping vomit. Sometimes I really miss my wife.
Jane called this afternoon from England. She's enjoying her visit, and I can take heart that she feels so guilty for leaving me at home with two sick kids. She made the trip because her mom is moving into an assisted living facility, and she's there to help her with the move. Before we had such a large entourage, Jane and I would travel together to England. With the British pound so strong against the dollar, and airline tickets up around $700 for the round trip, we just couldn't afford it this year for the family. Maybe next year when I'm making better money...
Diet update: 189. The rapid weight loss seems to have plateaued.
The downside will be that I will be traveling again, but the upside is that if this job works out Jane will be able to cut back on her hours and perhaps even leave her job (her wish, not mine). Having a parent at home has been a goal of ours. The plan was always to have her cut back, although for awhile this year it looked like I might be a stay-at-home dad.
Jane is in England this week, and I have all three of the kids. Wouldn't you know, the two oldest kids came down with a bad case of 5-day "late season influenza B", according to the pediatrician. So it has been a bit of a trial, complete with mopping vomit. Sometimes I really miss my wife.
Jane called this afternoon from England. She's enjoying her visit, and I can take heart that she feels so guilty for leaving me at home with two sick kids. She made the trip because her mom is moving into an assisted living facility, and she's there to help her with the move. Before we had such a large entourage, Jane and I would travel together to England. With the British pound so strong against the dollar, and airline tickets up around $700 for the round trip, we just couldn't afford it this year for the family. Maybe next year when I'm making better money...
Diet update: 189. The rapid weight loss seems to have plateaued.
Friday, April 29, 2005
Moving On
Today is my last day in the financial advice and insurance sales world. I made it 15 months, which is about average for this industry. It's a tough business to be in, and I knew that. It's hard to "make it" in this business, and I knew that, too. I came into this business knowing that there was a high probability that I would not succeed in the manner that I wanted to succeed. But I decided to take a chance anyway, and for that I'm proud of myself.
I learned alot about financial matters that I think will serve me well, so no regrets. I had some great clients who I'll miss.
I think I've already found a job as a product manager for a medical software company. It's what I did at Microsoft before I left. I'm expecting an offer next week.
Jane will be in England next week visiting her mom, and I've decided to take the week off (a mini vacation of my own) and keep the kids at home. That will save on our huge day care bills, give me a chance to get to the know the kids a little better, and allow me a little down time prior to taking on this new job.
Today's lesson: When it's time to move on, move on.
---
diet update: Started at 203, presently at 190. Goal is 180.
I learned alot about financial matters that I think will serve me well, so no regrets. I had some great clients who I'll miss.
I think I've already found a job as a product manager for a medical software company. It's what I did at Microsoft before I left. I'm expecting an offer next week.
Jane will be in England next week visiting her mom, and I've decided to take the week off (a mini vacation of my own) and keep the kids at home. That will save on our huge day care bills, give me a chance to get to the know the kids a little better, and allow me a little down time prior to taking on this new job.
Today's lesson: When it's time to move on, move on.
---
diet update: Started at 203, presently at 190. Goal is 180.
Friday, April 22, 2005
TV Detox
It's now been one year since Jane and I arrived at our big decision to turn off satellite TV.
We decided instead to direct the $50/mo that we would have sent to DirecTV into a 529 college savings plan for the kids. This has allowed us to set aside an additional $600 for the kids college education. True, the amount we've saved is not nearly enough to send 3 kids to college, but its still better than setting aside an extra $0 for college.
The big decision to pull the plug on TV came after our control box failed, and DirecTV wanted to charge us big bucks for a new one.
Living sans satellite/cable TV has been good for our family. It has given us more control over what our kids see. Jane and I also watch less TV ourselves, and we have taken to recording those few shows on over-the-air TV that we are interested in. Because its a pain in the rear to program our VCR, we've had to become selective about what we watch. There's always a decent program on the tape that we can watch, should we need a TV fix and there be nothing good on.
Except for a couple of football games on ESPN, I do not feel that I've missed out on much. And kids at ages 5, 4 and 1, simply find something else to do.
If you've been considering TV detox, I would encourage you and tell you that, so far it has worked well for our family. At the very worst, we're $600 richer. Why pay upwards of $50 per month for a 150 channels of "nothing to watch," when you can pay nothing for about ten channels of "nothing to watch."
----
Diet update: Presently at 195. Lost nearly 8 lbs in less than 7 days. Eating as much as I want. Goal is 185.
We decided instead to direct the $50/mo that we would have sent to DirecTV into a 529 college savings plan for the kids. This has allowed us to set aside an additional $600 for the kids college education. True, the amount we've saved is not nearly enough to send 3 kids to college, but its still better than setting aside an extra $0 for college.
The big decision to pull the plug on TV came after our control box failed, and DirecTV wanted to charge us big bucks for a new one.
Living sans satellite/cable TV has been good for our family. It has given us more control over what our kids see. Jane and I also watch less TV ourselves, and we have taken to recording those few shows on over-the-air TV that we are interested in. Because its a pain in the rear to program our VCR, we've had to become selective about what we watch. There's always a decent program on the tape that we can watch, should we need a TV fix and there be nothing good on.
Except for a couple of football games on ESPN, I do not feel that I've missed out on much. And kids at ages 5, 4 and 1, simply find something else to do.
If you've been considering TV detox, I would encourage you and tell you that, so far it has worked well for our family. At the very worst, we're $600 richer. Why pay upwards of $50 per month for a 150 channels of "nothing to watch," when you can pay nothing for about ten channels of "nothing to watch."
----
Diet update: Presently at 195. Lost nearly 8 lbs in less than 7 days. Eating as much as I want. Goal is 185.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
The Miraculous Twins
Tim is a good friend of mine. I've known him for nearly 18 years, since college. He's very entrepreneurial, and has never had a regular job in his life. At his peak he earned about $500K per year, but now is down to about $200K, working out of his basement, taking care of very speciailized IT work for a couple of Fortune 500 clients. For as long as I've known him, he has been a very focused, hard working guy. He works hard and plays hard.
He was married about ten years ago, and things haven't gone very well. He and his wife Claire have a history of loud fights with one another. Tim explained it away as stress related to their inabilty to have children. He said both he and Claire desperately wanted kids. For years, they had undergone IVF treatments, but the process always ended in failure. After nearly $40,000, they decided to have one last try.
Claire and Tim are aethiests. I've been a Christian by birth, then by choice, and have always been willing to talk with anyone about what I believe. When he told me they were going to give IVF one last try, I offerred to put his need into some prayer chains. He said, "What the hell. We've tried everything else." So I did. I cut and pasted a prayer request into about a dozen chains that I found on the internet. The procedure occurred, and a week went by. Then another. Then another. Pretty soon Claire and Tim were becoming "cautiously optimistic." More weeks went by, and she was pronounced "safely pregnant." Healthy twins were born to them last December, and there was an outpouring of joy. There was no acknowledgement by Tim of the "prayer" contribution, as I expected. But I gave thanks for the outcome, just the same.
Now my story takes a turn for the worse. And let me just say for the record, I don't have all the facts -- just Tim's perspective delivered over the phone.
Four months later, Claire is completly stressed out. Tim hired a nanny to help, and a house cleaner. Claire gets every Friday off, and a couple hours a day to take care of family business. But her resentment to Tim's work habits have turned into vicious verbal attacks. Last February, Tim recorded one of the 30 minute outbursts while he was sitting at his PC trying to work. He sent it to me to ask my thoughts. I was really blown away by the vicousness of it, and the meanness her threats. She talked of running away with the kids, and he would never see them again because he was a terrible father.
Last week, the stress came to a head. Tim was working late and fell asleep in the basement. Claire had to feed the babies twice during the night, on her own. In the morning she ran downstairs screaming and yelling, telling him to get his ass up stairs and change the diapers. He did this, but put one of the diapers on backwards. She shoved him out of the way, hard. He shoved her back.
She called 911. He was arrested fifteen minutes later. Six squard cars responded. He cuffed and taken out in front of all the neighbors. Tim is charged with domestic abuse, and now has a restraining order against him and a court date. He's living in a hotel.
Somehow, he was able to convince the judge to let him keep working out of the basement, otherwise his income would have dried up. He is very angry and bitter and wants a divorce. I told him to take a little time to calm down.
Thankfully, Jane and I have never, ever fought like this. We've never screamed at each other. Our kids have been a complete blessing to us (so far).
I went home yesterday and gave my wife a big hug and a kiss, remembering what Tim told me after I was complaining to him about my personal income: "You've got a nice house, a wife who loves you, and great kids. You've got everything. Quit your bitching." That set me straight.
I would have like to have ended this story after the birth of the twins. What awonderful story it would have been, having the kids in a sort of "miraculous conception" and living happily everafter as a family.
So if there's any lesson to this story, it would probably be this: Having kids doesn't make domestic problems better. If your marriage isn't together, I won't be putting your name on a prayer chain to ask for kids (instead I'll ask people to pray for your marriage, which is what I'm doing today for Tim and Claire).
He was married about ten years ago, and things haven't gone very well. He and his wife Claire have a history of loud fights with one another. Tim explained it away as stress related to their inabilty to have children. He said both he and Claire desperately wanted kids. For years, they had undergone IVF treatments, but the process always ended in failure. After nearly $40,000, they decided to have one last try.
Claire and Tim are aethiests. I've been a Christian by birth, then by choice, and have always been willing to talk with anyone about what I believe. When he told me they were going to give IVF one last try, I offerred to put his need into some prayer chains. He said, "What the hell. We've tried everything else." So I did. I cut and pasted a prayer request into about a dozen chains that I found on the internet. The procedure occurred, and a week went by. Then another. Then another. Pretty soon Claire and Tim were becoming "cautiously optimistic." More weeks went by, and she was pronounced "safely pregnant." Healthy twins were born to them last December, and there was an outpouring of joy. There was no acknowledgement by Tim of the "prayer" contribution, as I expected. But I gave thanks for the outcome, just the same.
Now my story takes a turn for the worse. And let me just say for the record, I don't have all the facts -- just Tim's perspective delivered over the phone.
Four months later, Claire is completly stressed out. Tim hired a nanny to help, and a house cleaner. Claire gets every Friday off, and a couple hours a day to take care of family business. But her resentment to Tim's work habits have turned into vicious verbal attacks. Last February, Tim recorded one of the 30 minute outbursts while he was sitting at his PC trying to work. He sent it to me to ask my thoughts. I was really blown away by the vicousness of it, and the meanness her threats. She talked of running away with the kids, and he would never see them again because he was a terrible father.
Last week, the stress came to a head. Tim was working late and fell asleep in the basement. Claire had to feed the babies twice during the night, on her own. In the morning she ran downstairs screaming and yelling, telling him to get his ass up stairs and change the diapers. He did this, but put one of the diapers on backwards. She shoved him out of the way, hard. He shoved her back.
She called 911. He was arrested fifteen minutes later. Six squard cars responded. He cuffed and taken out in front of all the neighbors. Tim is charged with domestic abuse, and now has a restraining order against him and a court date. He's living in a hotel.
Somehow, he was able to convince the judge to let him keep working out of the basement, otherwise his income would have dried up. He is very angry and bitter and wants a divorce. I told him to take a little time to calm down.
Thankfully, Jane and I have never, ever fought like this. We've never screamed at each other. Our kids have been a complete blessing to us (so far).
I went home yesterday and gave my wife a big hug and a kiss, remembering what Tim told me after I was complaining to him about my personal income: "You've got a nice house, a wife who loves you, and great kids. You've got everything. Quit your bitching." That set me straight.
I would have like to have ended this story after the birth of the twins. What awonderful story it would have been, having the kids in a sort of "miraculous conception" and living happily everafter as a family.
So if there's any lesson to this story, it would probably be this: Having kids doesn't make domestic problems better. If your marriage isn't together, I won't be putting your name on a prayer chain to ask for kids (instead I'll ask people to pray for your marriage, which is what I'm doing today for Tim and Claire).
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Of Diets and Jobs
Today I'm starting the Southbeach Diet, weighing in at 203.
I simply woke up ready to try something new. I'll keep you posted.
As long as I'm changing things, why not toss a new career into the mix?
Today I met with a former colleague about a Product Manager job for a medical software company. I've enjoyed my year as a Financial Advisor, but can no longer afford to make the investment to stay in this business. I think I'm going to grab the new job, if the offer is remotely acceptable.
I simply woke up ready to try something new. I'll keep you posted.
As long as I'm changing things, why not toss a new career into the mix?
Today I met with a former colleague about a Product Manager job for a medical software company. I've enjoyed my year as a Financial Advisor, but can no longer afford to make the investment to stay in this business. I think I'm going to grab the new job, if the offer is remotely acceptable.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Cousin Elise and the email circuit
Elise is a younger cousin of mine, one of about 30 cousins that I grew up with on my mom's side of the family. We cousins would get together for just about all of the holidays, sometimes birthdays, and just-because.
Elise is a bit gullible, but a good communicator. I don't hear from many counsins these days, yet hardly a day goes by that I don't receive some kind of urgent email communication from Elise looking out for my best interests. Usually, its in the form of a email that begins with "SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!", "BILL GATES WILL GIVE YOU $10,000 FOR FORWARDING THIS EMAIL", 'HOW TO DELETE THIS VIRUS FROM YOUR COMPUTER," "HELP THIS CHILD LIVE!" "SEE PICTURES OF THE STRANGE DEEP SEA CREATURES FROM THE TSUNAMI." etc.
Thanks to Elise, I've become a big fan of a website called www.snopes.com. Snopes is a great place to debunk urban myths and hoaxes. By the time Elise forwards me the latest amazing pictures of UFO's, I go out to snopes and learn that this email has been making the rounds for the past four years.
Today, however, Elise forwarded an email that struck a cord with me. It speaks to middle aged folks, like me and Elise, who grew up as kids in the 70's. A bit of a stroll down memory lane, at a time when memory was measured in years rather than megabytes.
My appologies if this is the 20th time you've seen this....
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, and mercury laden tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup on a warm day was always a > special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of slivery wood scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms....instead, WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
When we had it coming, our parents would spank our butts, so we learned that not listening to our parents had consequences.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we we survived it all.
Elise is a bit gullible, but a good communicator. I don't hear from many counsins these days, yet hardly a day goes by that I don't receive some kind of urgent email communication from Elise looking out for my best interests. Usually, its in the form of a email that begins with "SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!", "BILL GATES WILL GIVE YOU $10,000 FOR FORWARDING THIS EMAIL", 'HOW TO DELETE THIS VIRUS FROM YOUR COMPUTER," "HELP THIS CHILD LIVE!" "SEE PICTURES OF THE STRANGE DEEP SEA CREATURES FROM THE TSUNAMI." etc.
Thanks to Elise, I've become a big fan of a website called www.snopes.com. Snopes is a great place to debunk urban myths and hoaxes. By the time Elise forwards me the latest amazing pictures of UFO's, I go out to snopes and learn that this email has been making the rounds for the past four years.
Today, however, Elise forwarded an email that struck a cord with me. It speaks to middle aged folks, like me and Elise, who grew up as kids in the 70's. A bit of a stroll down memory lane, at a time when memory was measured in years rather than megabytes.
My appologies if this is the 20th time you've seen this....
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, and mercury laden tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup on a warm day was always a > special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of slivery wood scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms....instead, WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
When we had it coming, our parents would spank our butts, so we learned that not listening to our parents had consequences.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we we survived it all.
Friday, April 01, 2005
The Privilege of a Job
It's been about 16 mos. since I left Microsoft and became an investment advisor. The first year is always the hardest, I'm told. It has certainly been hard.
I'm way off of my target goals and not feeling very good about the future. The main problem is seeing enough people: I've not been able to keep my calendar busy. 15 appointments a week is desirable, but I've been averaging about 8 to 9.
I'm currently spending down some assets for the privilege of being in this job. It's an interesting situation to be in, and obviously such a position is not sustainable for the long term.
I've decided to begin a subtle job search.
I'm way off of my target goals and not feeling very good about the future. The main problem is seeing enough people: I've not been able to keep my calendar busy. 15 appointments a week is desirable, but I've been averaging about 8 to 9.
I'm currently spending down some assets for the privilege of being in this job. It's an interesting situation to be in, and obviously such a position is not sustainable for the long term.
I've decided to begin a subtle job search.
Bees and Tears
Last night, the bees attacked Jorgen (age 5) again. He gets attacked by bees while lying under the covers of his bed at least several times month.
This has been a recurring dream for quite some time. He wakes in the night, screaming and waving his arms wildly trying to fend of imaginary bees. Soon the screaming woke up Pete (age 1) and Pete struggled for an hour to get back to sleep. I probably lost an hour and a half of sleep last night.
The dreams seemed to start last summer after Jorgen and I found a large wasps nest in the hedge. We stood quitely and watched the wasps fly in and out of their hive. He was fascinated and not the least bit scared. Later that summer he was strung by wasps twice in one week*. After that he had a healthy respect of the bugs. But shortly thereafter, the bee dreams started.
He was tired this morning, too. Very hard to get him out of bed, and I could tell it was going to be a crabby day. I offerred him a carrot for his cooperation in getting dressed this morning: I said we could go to the Village Inn restaurant before kindergarten. He likes the cinamon rolls they serve, and this place seems to help fill the void left by the recent closing of our favorite donut place.
When I picked him up from kindergarten today, his teacher pulled me aside and said he had gotten in trouble for not doing his letter writing assignment.
I'm looking forward to the weekend. Maybe we can all get a little extra sleep.
[*after Jorgen was stung, I got out he can of raid and single handedly wiped out thousands of these damn bugs. Within days, they were back occupying the hive. So I hit the hive with poison again. They came back AGAIN, so this time I sprayed it with Raid and doused it with lighter fluid and set it afire. Then I knocked the hive to the ground with a rake. The next day, there were STILL wasps crawling over the remaining bits of hive, trying to salvage wasp larvae, so I took the lawnmover and pulverized the remaining bits of hive, dead wasps, etc. They didn't come back after that.]
This has been a recurring dream for quite some time. He wakes in the night, screaming and waving his arms wildly trying to fend of imaginary bees. Soon the screaming woke up Pete (age 1) and Pete struggled for an hour to get back to sleep. I probably lost an hour and a half of sleep last night.
The dreams seemed to start last summer after Jorgen and I found a large wasps nest in the hedge. We stood quitely and watched the wasps fly in and out of their hive. He was fascinated and not the least bit scared. Later that summer he was strung by wasps twice in one week*. After that he had a healthy respect of the bugs. But shortly thereafter, the bee dreams started.
He was tired this morning, too. Very hard to get him out of bed, and I could tell it was going to be a crabby day. I offerred him a carrot for his cooperation in getting dressed this morning: I said we could go to the Village Inn restaurant before kindergarten. He likes the cinamon rolls they serve, and this place seems to help fill the void left by the recent closing of our favorite donut place.
When I picked him up from kindergarten today, his teacher pulled me aside and said he had gotten in trouble for not doing his letter writing assignment.
I'm looking forward to the weekend. Maybe we can all get a little extra sleep.
[*after Jorgen was stung, I got out he can of raid and single handedly wiped out thousands of these damn bugs. Within days, they were back occupying the hive. So I hit the hive with poison again. They came back AGAIN, so this time I sprayed it with Raid and doused it with lighter fluid and set it afire. Then I knocked the hive to the ground with a rake. The next day, there were STILL wasps crawling over the remaining bits of hive, trying to salvage wasp larvae, so I took the lawnmover and pulverized the remaining bits of hive, dead wasps, etc. They didn't come back after that.]
Monday, March 28, 2005
Ten days
It amazes me how quickly the wheels of congress and justice can move. When they want to, that is. Take the case of Terry Schiavo:
In just ten days, we saw legislation debated and passed by congress, then signed by the president. We saw court rulings appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, and a response handed down.
When we have the will, there is a way. Unfortunately for America, "the will" just isn't there when it comes to issues such as homelessness and universal health care for it's children.
American children will die this year because they lack access to adquate health care, just as surely as Terry will die this week. But there is no will to save these forgotten kids, because their plight is not shown each night on the evening news. Their deaths will be anonymous, accounted for in a bland statistic in some huge report.
From what I've seen this month, we should be able to fix this problem for America's children in ten days or less. Where is America's will to do right when it comes to its children?
In just ten days, we saw legislation debated and passed by congress, then signed by the president. We saw court rulings appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, and a response handed down.
When we have the will, there is a way. Unfortunately for America, "the will" just isn't there when it comes to issues such as homelessness and universal health care for it's children.
American children will die this year because they lack access to adquate health care, just as surely as Terry will die this week. But there is no will to save these forgotten kids, because their plight is not shown each night on the evening news. Their deaths will be anonymous, accounted for in a bland statistic in some huge report.
From what I've seen this month, we should be able to fix this problem for America's children in ten days or less. Where is America's will to do right when it comes to its children?
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Generation of Broken Hearts
There are somethings in this world I don't think I will ever understand. And then there are things that scare the hell out of me. Such a thing occurred again, this week, but this time it was nearby.
I don't know anyone from the Red Lake reservation. I have never been there, and I really have no reason to ever go there. I have no first hand knowledge of the place, but I know its reputation among local white people.
Deserved or not, Red Lake's reputation is that of a tough place, unfriendly and off limits to white people. A place where the state's police have no jurisdiction. There are stories I've heard over the years, true or not I do not know, about white people who have been imprisoned at Red Lake for driving through the reservation and having car problems, the state of Minnesota powerless to help because Red Lake is sovereign. There's a story of a man who flew his plane onto Red Lake to ice fish, and had it "stolen" by the tribe because white people are not allowed access to tribal waters. There are several stories I've heard from people who work at a local hospital who say that they've cared for Red Lake tribespeople who where brutally beaten by gangs on the reservation.
Maybe these stories are false. I can't say with certainty.
I'm sure there are wonderful people at Red Lake, just as I have met wonderful people all over the world. Surely none of them deserved the pain of what happened there this week.
"It (Red Lake) just resurfaces feelings that we had with Columbine," said Beth Nimmo, whose daughter, Rachel Scott, was among the 13 victims at the school in suburban Denver. "The truth is we've got a generation of broken hearts."
Now we know that brokens hearts occur across all races. Sick youth can be White. Black. Red. Yellow. Green. Something is sickening our childlren, creating a "generation of broken hearts," and its not a white thing, a red thing, a yellow thing, or a black thing. Its something that all of us together, as a nation and a world, need to take responsbility for. Even if it did happen at Red Lake.
I don't know anyone from the Red Lake reservation. I have never been there, and I really have no reason to ever go there. I have no first hand knowledge of the place, but I know its reputation among local white people.
Deserved or not, Red Lake's reputation is that of a tough place, unfriendly and off limits to white people. A place where the state's police have no jurisdiction. There are stories I've heard over the years, true or not I do not know, about white people who have been imprisoned at Red Lake for driving through the reservation and having car problems, the state of Minnesota powerless to help because Red Lake is sovereign. There's a story of a man who flew his plane onto Red Lake to ice fish, and had it "stolen" by the tribe because white people are not allowed access to tribal waters. There are several stories I've heard from people who work at a local hospital who say that they've cared for Red Lake tribespeople who where brutally beaten by gangs on the reservation.
Maybe these stories are false. I can't say with certainty.
I'm sure there are wonderful people at Red Lake, just as I have met wonderful people all over the world. Surely none of them deserved the pain of what happened there this week.
"It (Red Lake) just resurfaces feelings that we had with Columbine," said Beth Nimmo, whose daughter, Rachel Scott, was among the 13 victims at the school in suburban Denver. "The truth is we've got a generation of broken hearts."
Now we know that brokens hearts occur across all races. Sick youth can be White. Black. Red. Yellow. Green. Something is sickening our childlren, creating a "generation of broken hearts," and its not a white thing, a red thing, a yellow thing, or a black thing. Its something that all of us together, as a nation and a world, need to take responsbility for. Even if it did happen at Red Lake.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Death of a Bakery
Another monday morning. Its my job today, as usual, to take the five-year old son Jorgen to kindergarten. This is a task that I enjoy because its my opportunity to focus all of my attention on my "big boy."
Today Jorgen wanted to go out for a speacial treat. He was referring to our past ritual of stopping by Quality Bakery (mentioned earlier in this post and also here) for a donut on the way to kindergarten. Sadly, this came to end on February 14. After some thirty five years, the bakery closed.
We learned from the paper that the bakery would be closing, and Jorgen was very sad. He decided to draw a picture of himself opening the door to Quality Bakery with red hearts surrounding the door. In the picture, he was was crying. That morning we took the picture to the bakery and showed the ladies behind the counter, who had come to know us from our frequent visits. It brought tears to their eyes, and for the next two weeks that picture hung prominently on the wall over the cash register.
On Valentine's day of this year, the last day the store was open, my wife and I took the whole family to the bakery for a good-bye doughnut. The usual crowd was gathered: the well dressed church ladies having their the bible study, an elderly amputee wearing his usual overalls and "monsanto" farmer hat, and a middle aged daughter treating her mother to morning out: people we had come to recognize from our frequent visits, but whose names we had never tried to learn.
We sat at his favorite table near the window from which we could see any trains approaching from the east. Jorgen asked a lot of questions about why the bakery was closing, where the people who worked their would go.
Then he asked, "Dad, now where will we go in the mornings for our special treats?" At that moment it was clear to me that he enjoyed our time together in the mornings. It's not just about the donuts. I told him I didn't know where we would go, but that we would try lots of places until we found a new favorite place.
Since then, we've been to several coffee shops, but no place has yet replaced the old bakery in our hearts. There are no other donut shops in our town, and the closest one is in another town miles our of our way. We can buy Krispy Cremes at the BP gas station, but that's obviously not the experience we're after.
The search continues for our new early morning "special place." Tomorrow we'll get organized a little earlier and we'll try another coffee shop or restaurant. Maybe we'll find what we're searching for.
Today Jorgen wanted to go out for a speacial treat. He was referring to our past ritual of stopping by Quality Bakery (mentioned earlier in this post and also here) for a donut on the way to kindergarten. Sadly, this came to end on February 14. After some thirty five years, the bakery closed.
We learned from the paper that the bakery would be closing, and Jorgen was very sad. He decided to draw a picture of himself opening the door to Quality Bakery with red hearts surrounding the door. In the picture, he was was crying. That morning we took the picture to the bakery and showed the ladies behind the counter, who had come to know us from our frequent visits. It brought tears to their eyes, and for the next two weeks that picture hung prominently on the wall over the cash register.
On Valentine's day of this year, the last day the store was open, my wife and I took the whole family to the bakery for a good-bye doughnut. The usual crowd was gathered: the well dressed church ladies having their the bible study, an elderly amputee wearing his usual overalls and "monsanto" farmer hat, and a middle aged daughter treating her mother to morning out: people we had come to recognize from our frequent visits, but whose names we had never tried to learn.
We sat at his favorite table near the window from which we could see any trains approaching from the east. Jorgen asked a lot of questions about why the bakery was closing, where the people who worked their would go.
Then he asked, "Dad, now where will we go in the mornings for our special treats?" At that moment it was clear to me that he enjoyed our time together in the mornings. It's not just about the donuts. I told him I didn't know where we would go, but that we would try lots of places until we found a new favorite place.
Since then, we've been to several coffee shops, but no place has yet replaced the old bakery in our hearts. There are no other donut shops in our town, and the closest one is in another town miles our of our way. We can buy Krispy Cremes at the BP gas station, but that's obviously not the experience we're after.
The search continues for our new early morning "special place." Tomorrow we'll get organized a little earlier and we'll try another coffee shop or restaurant. Maybe we'll find what we're searching for.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Supporting what you believe in
Getting involved in your community is a value I am trying to pass on to my kids. One way is to periodically ask your kids to select a toy that can be donated to needy children. Just clean it up and take it to a homeless shelter so it can be used as a birthday gift for a child.
I like to be active in my community. There are several non-profit organizations that I support. Once you get on a non-profit local board and show any propensity to do work, its likely that other boards will try to recruit you. Hard working board members are difficult to find. I know this because I now sit on the board of a local historical society, am president of my church, and am the past president of a homeless shelter.
A group that I support through action and donations (and would gladly sit on their board if they ever asked) is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I have yet to oppose a position that this group has taken.
You dear reader, being a web-surfing blog-reader, probably understand better than most people just how important it is for new technologies to have a chance to grow up. Especially communications and internet technologies. EFF fights hard against interests who want to maintain the status quo and who fight to slow or halt the spread of empowering technologies. And they're good at it! For a list of victories that EFF has won, click here.
I encourage you think about what is important to you, and to find a way to become involved. You'll be a happier, more empowered, better informed person, well connected to your community. If you're having trouble finding a local charity to support or if you are just lazy, then take the easy way out and toss a little money at the EFF.
I like to be active in my community. There are several non-profit organizations that I support. Once you get on a non-profit local board and show any propensity to do work, its likely that other boards will try to recruit you. Hard working board members are difficult to find. I know this because I now sit on the board of a local historical society, am president of my church, and am the past president of a homeless shelter.
A group that I support through action and donations (and would gladly sit on their board if they ever asked) is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I have yet to oppose a position that this group has taken.
You dear reader, being a web-surfing blog-reader, probably understand better than most people just how important it is for new technologies to have a chance to grow up. Especially communications and internet technologies. EFF fights hard against interests who want to maintain the status quo and who fight to slow or halt the spread of empowering technologies. And they're good at it! For a list of victories that EFF has won, click here.
I encourage you think about what is important to you, and to find a way to become involved. You'll be a happier, more empowered, better informed person, well connected to your community. If you're having trouble finding a local charity to support or if you are just lazy, then take the easy way out and toss a little money at the EFF.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
The Earthings are Attacking!
Did you hear the news? Human beings want to go to Mars.
Like some kind of Martian horror novel in reverse, George Bush announced that he is beefing up NASA in support of a manned mission to Mars. Even the Europeans want in on this one, which makes the effort credible.
When I was kid watching the Apollo moon missions, the road to Mars seemed very short. It was easy to dream that, perhaps, I would be the first person on the red planet. The pace of technology made it inevitable in our imaginations.
We didn't go Mars of course (robotic missions notwithstanding). The dream I had a child has been vividly handed off to the children of children. Take my kids for instance: where I read comic books about the conquering of Mars, they play their realistic computer games like "Magic School Bus on Mars," and view Mars Rover pictures that provide a level of experience which far exceeds the best my young imagination could muster.
But a funny thing happened on the way to becoming middle-aged (41 to be exact) father of three. Spending time in corporate structures, interacting with other human beings for four decades, and being exposed to human nature has lead to me to this conclusion: I don't think that we should go to Mars. Not yet, at least.
I'm not convinced that mankind is mature enough to handle it.
Humans have not yet shown the ability to respectfully settle new continents, let alone new planets. Consider how we conquered the natural environment in North America, imposing a grid on the natural landscape, selling it off for profit, and then plowing under an entire natural ecosystem. We are only now beginning to appreciate and understand the value of native prairie grasses and flowers, of song birds, and clean air. Less than 1% of the native grasses in the Great Plains of North America have survived the plow.
Consider the explosion of invasive animal, fish and plant species that has accelerated the loss of what little remains of the native environment.
"So what?" you ask? That is exactly my point.
Its too late to turn back the clock here on earth. What's done is done, and maybe we can plant some grass here and restock a fish species there and we can feel good about caring enough to do those things, but we can never ever go back.
I think the interests that are driving us toward the exploitation of Mars three decades hence are the same forces that drove us to destroy the North American natural environment.
As a species, human beings are too immature to be trusted with full access to Martian resources. We shouldn't go until we have matured. Here is my test for whether we as a race are ready to go to Mars:
1) Have we put an end to War?
2) Is all of the world's citizens are fed with access to clean drinking water?
3) Do we all have access to health care?
4) Are we supplying our energy needs with non-polluting, renewable resources?
5) Are we educating all of our children?
6) Are we protecting the earth's oceans, forests, prairies, mountains, air and streams from pollution and degrading exploitation?
7) Are we able to celebrate and tolerate our cultural heritages.
8) Are we conscientiously tending our world for the benefit of future generations?
If we can do these things, ingraining them within our governing institutions, then perhaps we are ready to go to Mars. Perhaps we won't make a mess out of this new planet. Because arriving on Mars will provide humanity with an amazing new opportunity to reinvent itself. It's an opportunity, like the settlement of North America by Europeans, that will not be able to be repeated. To squander the opportunity to live peacefully and respectfully on Mars would speak very poorly about our species.
Lets stay on earth till we get it right. One hell is better than two.
Like some kind of Martian horror novel in reverse, George Bush announced that he is beefing up NASA in support of a manned mission to Mars. Even the Europeans want in on this one, which makes the effort credible.
When I was kid watching the Apollo moon missions, the road to Mars seemed very short. It was easy to dream that, perhaps, I would be the first person on the red planet. The pace of technology made it inevitable in our imaginations.
We didn't go Mars of course (robotic missions notwithstanding). The dream I had a child has been vividly handed off to the children of children. Take my kids for instance: where I read comic books about the conquering of Mars, they play their realistic computer games like "Magic School Bus on Mars," and view Mars Rover pictures that provide a level of experience which far exceeds the best my young imagination could muster.
But a funny thing happened on the way to becoming middle-aged (41 to be exact) father of three. Spending time in corporate structures, interacting with other human beings for four decades, and being exposed to human nature has lead to me to this conclusion: I don't think that we should go to Mars. Not yet, at least.
I'm not convinced that mankind is mature enough to handle it.
Humans have not yet shown the ability to respectfully settle new continents, let alone new planets. Consider how we conquered the natural environment in North America, imposing a grid on the natural landscape, selling it off for profit, and then plowing under an entire natural ecosystem. We are only now beginning to appreciate and understand the value of native prairie grasses and flowers, of song birds, and clean air. Less than 1% of the native grasses in the Great Plains of North America have survived the plow.
Consider the explosion of invasive animal, fish and plant species that has accelerated the loss of what little remains of the native environment.
"So what?" you ask? That is exactly my point.
Its too late to turn back the clock here on earth. What's done is done, and maybe we can plant some grass here and restock a fish species there and we can feel good about caring enough to do those things, but we can never ever go back.
I think the interests that are driving us toward the exploitation of Mars three decades hence are the same forces that drove us to destroy the North American natural environment.
As a species, human beings are too immature to be trusted with full access to Martian resources. We shouldn't go until we have matured. Here is my test for whether we as a race are ready to go to Mars:
1) Have we put an end to War?
2) Is all of the world's citizens are fed with access to clean drinking water?
3) Do we all have access to health care?
4) Are we supplying our energy needs with non-polluting, renewable resources?
5) Are we educating all of our children?
6) Are we protecting the earth's oceans, forests, prairies, mountains, air and streams from pollution and degrading exploitation?
7) Are we able to celebrate and tolerate our cultural heritages.
8) Are we conscientiously tending our world for the benefit of future generations?
If we can do these things, ingraining them within our governing institutions, then perhaps we are ready to go to Mars. Perhaps we won't make a mess out of this new planet. Because arriving on Mars will provide humanity with an amazing new opportunity to reinvent itself. It's an opportunity, like the settlement of North America by Europeans, that will not be able to be repeated. To squander the opportunity to live peacefully and respectfully on Mars would speak very poorly about our species.
Lets stay on earth till we get it right. One hell is better than two.
Friday, March 11, 2005
The worth of a dollar...
Yes, there are some things that keep me up at night, such as a teething one year old, and the four year old's recurring witch dream. But lately it has been the spectre of the U.S. sailing into a fiscal iceberg and sinking that has my mind reeling in the whee hours of the night.
Because my wife is British, I tend to be a little more sensitive to international exchange rates than most married American couples. It's a big financial commitment for us to fly the family to the UK for a visit. We've been talking recently about making the trip this Summer, since we haven't been there for nearly two years. The last time we were in England, one British pound cost about $1.50. England was pricey, but still doable. Now the pound is fast approaching the $2.00 mark, which will just about put it out of reach for us. We may have to offer to fly the Mother-in-law to the U.S. instead.
So why is the pound so expensive?
It's because the effects of the U.S.'s wreckless financial path is starting to hit home in a real way. Take the gas pump, for instance. The weak dollar is not increasing demand for oil but the price of oil is going up simply because it is priced in dollars. When oil goes up, inflation follows, because it takes oil to grow food, to ship food and other goods to your stores, to heat your house, etc. You get the idea. As the cost of oil goes up, so does everything else.
High oil will also slow U.S. economic growth, forcing corporations to cut costs (i/e lay off workers). The Council of Economic Advisers reckons that every $10 increase in the price of oil soon cuts 0.4% off real GDP. A less optimistic financial outlook will put more downward pressure on stocks, and increasing American unemployment will result.
The Euro is now a formidable competitor to the U.S. Countries with vast holdings of U.S. dollars, such as Japan and Korea, have already been complaining about the declining value of their dollar holdings. Their talk about "diversification" of their dollar holdings should be enough to scare the U.S. into fiscal responsibility. Because when the sell-off of dollars begins, the dollar will enter a free-fall against world currencies. Hints of a sell off is already apparent: US dollars accounted for 63.8% of the world's currency reserves at the end of 2003, down from 66.9% two years earlier, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures. The dollar's role as the world's currency is slipping.
The US Government currently depends on an inflow of about $2 billion of foriegn capital daily in order to fund its spending appetite. If foreign investors lose faith in dollar denominated debt, U.S. interest rates must rise in order to attract that capital. If rates rise, that will begin to suck dollars from the U.S. stock market, possibly causing a precipitous decline in stock values just as the first baby-boomers are beginning to retire. This could decline could lead to defensive selling by boomers and institutions, driving stock prices down further.
High interest rates will also make homes less affordable. As mortgage rates rise, homes will be less affordable. The value of homes will therefor decline, further aggravating the plight of retiring baby boomers who had hoped to sell their homes to fund their retirement.
I'm seriously thinking of cashing out of dollars and into silver or gold.
Because my wife is British, I tend to be a little more sensitive to international exchange rates than most married American couples. It's a big financial commitment for us to fly the family to the UK for a visit. We've been talking recently about making the trip this Summer, since we haven't been there for nearly two years. The last time we were in England, one British pound cost about $1.50. England was pricey, but still doable. Now the pound is fast approaching the $2.00 mark, which will just about put it out of reach for us. We may have to offer to fly the Mother-in-law to the U.S. instead.
So why is the pound so expensive?
It's because the effects of the U.S.'s wreckless financial path is starting to hit home in a real way. Take the gas pump, for instance. The weak dollar is not increasing demand for oil but the price of oil is going up simply because it is priced in dollars. When oil goes up, inflation follows, because it takes oil to grow food, to ship food and other goods to your stores, to heat your house, etc. You get the idea. As the cost of oil goes up, so does everything else.
High oil will also slow U.S. economic growth, forcing corporations to cut costs (i/e lay off workers). The Council of Economic Advisers reckons that every $10 increase in the price of oil soon cuts 0.4% off real GDP. A less optimistic financial outlook will put more downward pressure on stocks, and increasing American unemployment will result.
The Euro is now a formidable competitor to the U.S. Countries with vast holdings of U.S. dollars, such as Japan and Korea, have already been complaining about the declining value of their dollar holdings. Their talk about "diversification" of their dollar holdings should be enough to scare the U.S. into fiscal responsibility. Because when the sell-off of dollars begins, the dollar will enter a free-fall against world currencies. Hints of a sell off is already apparent: US dollars accounted for 63.8% of the world's currency reserves at the end of 2003, down from 66.9% two years earlier, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures. The dollar's role as the world's currency is slipping.
The US Government currently depends on an inflow of about $2 billion of foriegn capital daily in order to fund its spending appetite. If foreign investors lose faith in dollar denominated debt, U.S. interest rates must rise in order to attract that capital. If rates rise, that will begin to suck dollars from the U.S. stock market, possibly causing a precipitous decline in stock values just as the first baby-boomers are beginning to retire. This could decline could lead to defensive selling by boomers and institutions, driving stock prices down further.
High interest rates will also make homes less affordable. As mortgage rates rise, homes will be less affordable. The value of homes will therefor decline, further aggravating the plight of retiring baby boomers who had hoped to sell their homes to fund their retirement.
I'm seriously thinking of cashing out of dollars and into silver or gold.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Healing
I'll never take my health for granted again, or so I think. The past three weeks have not been easy on our family. It started with the oldest bringing home some kind of cold virus. The youngest caught it, and has been sick since. The daughter was sick for a week (vomiting), then was healthy for a week, then sick again. For the past two weeks, I've also had the aching, coughing, sneezing thing going on.
I finally took the youngest and the daughter in to the clinic yesterday. The pediatrician decided to put us all on antibotics, including me! Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the flu season for our family.
My wife works in the hospital, and so is always reminding me that antibiotics do not work for viral infections. She thinks everything is viral. I tend to think everything is bacterial.
Sick days are very disruptive for parents. For me, cancelling appointments and trying to reschedule directly impacts my income. The only good thing about sick days is that they force us to spend more time together, and to slow our lives down.
I finally took the youngest and the daughter in to the clinic yesterday. The pediatrician decided to put us all on antibotics, including me! Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the flu season for our family.
My wife works in the hospital, and so is always reminding me that antibiotics do not work for viral infections. She thinks everything is viral. I tend to think everything is bacterial.
Sick days are very disruptive for parents. For me, cancelling appointments and trying to reschedule directly impacts my income. The only good thing about sick days is that they force us to spend more time together, and to slow our lives down.
Monday, January 31, 2005
White Space
Today as I sit down to write, I am confronting the dilemma that many writers face: white space. A whole computer screen of white space, and the weight of the chore of filling this space seems heavier than usual today.
This time of the year in Minnesota the experience of "white space" is an experience that transcends writing. All of us who live here have a daily encounter with white space: we have lots of space, and lots of white. Miles upon miles of flat, white space punctuated by the occasional sihloutte of a tree, a barn or a train.
Speaking anecdotally, this is the time of the year the newspaper seems to double the space of the obituary section. I would bet my car that what I am about to say could be quantifed by research; this the time of the year when we see a dramatic rise of the obituaries of those very old people, in their late 80's, 90's and beyond.
The reason appears clear to me -- its not a great time of the year to be alive up here. The temperatures can be very cold. Old people don't get out much, because the sidewalks and roads are slippery. They probably get fewer visits. The holidays are over, and there's probably some post-holiday depression. Throw two more months of hard, cold Minnesota winter into the picture, and the call of great-beyond starts to get a little louder.
Spring seems so far away. I've seen it several times, where senior folks seem to be able to nudge themselves over the fence to the otherside. My own Grandmother did this. She told me around her 91st birthday that she thought "God had forgotten her." Shortly after the Christmas holidays, she had worked herself into a funk, and suddenly we were at a funeral. There wasn't anything really wrong with her at the time. It was almost as though she had decided this thing for herself.
My oldest son is intrigued at the idea that summer has "gone south" for the Minnesota winter. He wants to get on an airplane to South America so he can find Summer, and perhaps bring it back early. I deal with the winter by working. Head down, I'm working my way through winter, and when I lift my head to look around, hopefully spring will be at hand.
Actually, I am exaggerating somewhat. Maybe next time I'll write about the pleasures of winter. But today I will indulge my melancholy, because it helps me cope.
Todays lesson: once in awhile, indulge your melancholy because it helps you cope.
This time of the year in Minnesota the experience of "white space" is an experience that transcends writing. All of us who live here have a daily encounter with white space: we have lots of space, and lots of white. Miles upon miles of flat, white space punctuated by the occasional sihloutte of a tree, a barn or a train.
Speaking anecdotally, this is the time of the year the newspaper seems to double the space of the obituary section. I would bet my car that what I am about to say could be quantifed by research; this the time of the year when we see a dramatic rise of the obituaries of those very old people, in their late 80's, 90's and beyond.
The reason appears clear to me -- its not a great time of the year to be alive up here. The temperatures can be very cold. Old people don't get out much, because the sidewalks and roads are slippery. They probably get fewer visits. The holidays are over, and there's probably some post-holiday depression. Throw two more months of hard, cold Minnesota winter into the picture, and the call of great-beyond starts to get a little louder.
Spring seems so far away. I've seen it several times, where senior folks seem to be able to nudge themselves over the fence to the otherside. My own Grandmother did this. She told me around her 91st birthday that she thought "God had forgotten her." Shortly after the Christmas holidays, she had worked herself into a funk, and suddenly we were at a funeral. There wasn't anything really wrong with her at the time. It was almost as though she had decided this thing for herself.
My oldest son is intrigued at the idea that summer has "gone south" for the Minnesota winter. He wants to get on an airplane to South America so he can find Summer, and perhaps bring it back early. I deal with the winter by working. Head down, I'm working my way through winter, and when I lift my head to look around, hopefully spring will be at hand.
Actually, I am exaggerating somewhat. Maybe next time I'll write about the pleasures of winter. But today I will indulge my melancholy, because it helps me cope.
Todays lesson: once in awhile, indulge your melancholy because it helps you cope.
Monday, January 10, 2005
The Battery
I know just when to leave to pick up my son Jorgen from kindergarten: 10:42 am. If I leave any later, I can't get that good parking spot along the curb. Then I'll have to get out of my warm car, and walk across a treacherous icy parking lot in order to be seen by my boy.
It's very important to be on time. I was five minutes late one day and found him sitting on a bench with his teacher, crying his eyes out. He was certain that I had abandoned him. I realized just how important it is for kids to be able to depend on their parents. Since then we've talked about reasons that I might be a few minutes late and that he should not be worried. He is a little more forgiving now, but I'm still terrified of being even a few minutes late.
Today, however, my plans went very awry. I left my car lights on this morning, and of course the battery ran down. It had already been weakened by a weeklong cold snap that saw temps drop to -30 degrees F.
I ran around the parking lot trying to find someone who could give my battery a jump, but there was no one. Now it's 10:44, time to go into crisis management mode. I ran back to my office and by 10:46 I was on the phone to the school , trying to get a message to my son. By 10:50 I had managed to reach Jane, my wife: good mother she is, she canceled her staff meeting and headed off to get Jorgen.
But what if I hadn't reached her? Who could I have called? What what I have done.
In our two-income family, our lives run like clockwork most of the time. There's not much time to spare in our day. Not much margin for error. When something unexpected like this happens, it is very stressful.
I realize now the need for a backup plan. Actionable items for the day: put the phone number for the school in my cell phone, as well as the numbers for the cab service and a tow truck. Think of some people I could rely on in an emergency (that one will be hard) and establish a "password" with my child for days when someone else might have to pick him up. And be certain to turn my lights off when I get to work.
It's very important to be on time. I was five minutes late one day and found him sitting on a bench with his teacher, crying his eyes out. He was certain that I had abandoned him. I realized just how important it is for kids to be able to depend on their parents. Since then we've talked about reasons that I might be a few minutes late and that he should not be worried. He is a little more forgiving now, but I'm still terrified of being even a few minutes late.
Today, however, my plans went very awry. I left my car lights on this morning, and of course the battery ran down. It had already been weakened by a weeklong cold snap that saw temps drop to -30 degrees F.
I ran around the parking lot trying to find someone who could give my battery a jump, but there was no one. Now it's 10:44, time to go into crisis management mode. I ran back to my office and by 10:46 I was on the phone to the school , trying to get a message to my son. By 10:50 I had managed to reach Jane, my wife: good mother she is, she canceled her staff meeting and headed off to get Jorgen.
But what if I hadn't reached her? Who could I have called? What what I have done.
In our two-income family, our lives run like clockwork most of the time. There's not much time to spare in our day. Not much margin for error. When something unexpected like this happens, it is very stressful.
I realize now the need for a backup plan. Actionable items for the day: put the phone number for the school in my cell phone, as well as the numbers for the cab service and a tow truck. Think of some people I could rely on in an emergency (that one will be hard) and establish a "password" with my child for days when someone else might have to pick him up. And be certain to turn my lights off when I get to work.
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