Wow. We need to be listening to this guy! 10 minutes - worth every minute.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Voting
Went to my polling place at 6:30 this morning and was #13 in line. Was signed in and waiting for a voting machine by about 7:10. I was amazed at how long it took some people to cast their ballots. Were they just now reading the choices and the referendums?
I first found a sample ballot so I could familiarize myself with some of the less publicized races. 7 candidates for one Judge position! Some more searching led me to the Georgia League of Women voters site which produced a ballot for my precinct. Then for each race, it presented position statements made by the candidates (except in a few cases where they chose not to respond). It was a huge help for races that I was unfamiliar with.
Because of that research ahead of time, I was able to get my ballot cast in just a couple minutes.
I first found a sample ballot so I could familiarize myself with some of the less publicized races. 7 candidates for one Judge position! Some more searching led me to the Georgia League of Women voters site which produced a ballot for my precinct. Then for each race, it presented position statements made by the candidates (except in a few cases where they chose not to respond). It was a huge help for races that I was unfamiliar with.
Because of that research ahead of time, I was able to get my ballot cast in just a couple minutes.
Monday, October 6, 2008
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
We visited Washington DC recently, and had a chance to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Words cannot adequately describe the experience. I learned about the holocaust in history classes in school, of course. It has been in the news from time to time. But I didn't expect this museum to have such an emotional impact on me. But then again, how could it not. I simply can not imagine treating a fellow human being like that.
As I began a new Bible study this fall, I was reminded of God's covenant with Abram: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." - Genesis 12:2-3
I thought about Ahmadinejad's rantings as I read further background material. In 1836 there were approximately 3 million Jews in the world, according to a world census. Many were killed in various persecutions, particularly in Russia. Despite that persecution, a 1936 census showed a Jewish population of 16 million.
The Nazis killed about 6 million Jews.
[Let that sink in a moment.]
The population estimate as of 2002 is approximately 13.2 million.
Despite persecution ever since the days of ancient Egypt, God's chosen people live on and I have no doubt they will continue to do so until His return.
As I began a new Bible study this fall, I was reminded of God's covenant with Abram: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." - Genesis 12:2-3
I thought about Ahmadinejad's rantings as I read further background material. In 1836 there were approximately 3 million Jews in the world, according to a world census. Many were killed in various persecutions, particularly in Russia. Despite that persecution, a 1936 census showed a Jewish population of 16 million.
The Nazis killed about 6 million Jews.
[Let that sink in a moment.]
The population estimate as of 2002 is approximately 13.2 million.
Despite persecution ever since the days of ancient Egypt, God's chosen people live on and I have no doubt they will continue to do so until His return.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Do we dream too small?
"Disturb
us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams
have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive
safely because we have sailed too close to shore. Disturb us, Lord, to
dare more boldly to venture on wider seas where storms will show Your
mastery; where losing sight of land we shall find stars. We ask You to
push back the horizons of our hopes; we ask You to push in the future
in strength, courage, hope, and love."
-- Sir Francis Drake - 16th century English sailor
us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams
have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive
safely because we have sailed too close to shore. Disturb us, Lord, to
dare more boldly to venture on wider seas where storms will show Your
mastery; where losing sight of land we shall find stars. We ask You to
push back the horizons of our hopes; we ask You to push in the future
in strength, courage, hope, and love."
-- Sir Francis Drake - 16th century English sailor
Monday, June 9, 2008
In or heading for a recession?
From cnbc.com, last Friday, Kudlow caucus discussed the job report.
"The latest overall job loss numbers showed a loss of 49,000 jobs in May and a jump in unemployment rate up to 5.5%. The drop is still well below the six figure numbers seen in past recessions."
The panel was posed the question: Does today's jobs report spell recession? First, it was interesting that the panel was evenly divided.
My favorite reply was by Jerry Bowyer, Chief Economist, Benchmark Financial Network. He said NO. His explanation was priceless:
No bloomin' way.
A couple of hundred thousand college kids can't get summer jobs because the economic flat-earthers in congress just hiked the minimum wage and priced the kids (110% of whom plan to vote for Obama) out of the job market.
Fraternity pizza-budget impact: substantial.
GDP impact: minimal.
Seeing markets react to stupid congress just the way we said they would: priceless.
"The latest overall job loss numbers showed a loss of 49,000 jobs in May and a jump in unemployment rate up to 5.5%. The drop is still well below the six figure numbers seen in past recessions."
The panel was posed the question: Does today's jobs report spell recession? First, it was interesting that the panel was evenly divided.
My favorite reply was by Jerry Bowyer, Chief Economist, Benchmark Financial Network. He said NO. His explanation was priceless:
No bloomin' way.
A couple of hundred thousand college kids can't get summer jobs because the economic flat-earthers in congress just hiked the minimum wage and priced the kids (110% of whom plan to vote for Obama) out of the job market.
Fraternity pizza-budget impact: substantial.
GDP impact: minimal.
Seeing markets react to stupid congress just the way we said they would: priceless.
Friday, May 16, 2008
First big options profit
Just took my first big options trading profit.
Bought 1 contract for BUCY 120 July calls a month ago @ $14.00
Sold today for $26.00 - for an 86% profit.
Yeah, BUCY may still climb, but decided not to get greedy. It dipped about 5 points a couple days ago, which was a bit concerning. My original target was only $135, so decided now was the time to take my profits.
Cool.
Bought 1 contract for BUCY 120 July calls a month ago @ $14.00
Sold today for $26.00 - for an 86% profit.
Yeah, BUCY may still climb, but decided not to get greedy. It dipped about 5 points a couple days ago, which was a bit concerning. My original target was only $135, so decided now was the time to take my profits.
Cool.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Are you a preacher-man?
Got asked that question yesterday, right out of the blue. My brain immediately asked, I wonder why he would ask that? And how should I have responded?
What was I doing? Our company has a truck and 10T trailer for sale - parked out front. Two guys wanted to look at it. After just a couple minutes of looking and talking, one popped out that question. Curious.
What was I doing? Our company has a truck and 10T trailer for sale - parked out front. Two guys wanted to look at it. After just a couple minutes of looking and talking, one popped out that question. Curious.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Don't Lie to Yourself
Saw this on the KnowHR Blog a few days ago and just got around to viewing it. Awesome truths here.
Couldn't get the embed to work, so here's a link.
Couldn't get the embed to work, so here's a link.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Religion not efficient?!
I receive (through my blog-reader) a few quotes of the day from www.quotationspage.com. Here's what came through today:
I don't think he gets the point. I wonder if his point of view has changed - that was said 12 years ago. I hope so. And lest I be too quick to judge, maybe there is some truth to the statement as it pertains to organized religion. But it goes back to yesterday's post - is life all about maximizing efficiency and productivity? Is that what religion is all about?
To me, religion is all about relationships - with God, and then with our fellow man. And I'll admit that working on relationships doesn't seem very efficient - but I know that life without relationships is meaningless.
- Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very
efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.
I don't think he gets the point. I wonder if his point of view has changed - that was said 12 years ago. I hope so. And lest I be too quick to judge, maybe there is some truth to the statement as it pertains to organized religion. But it goes back to yesterday's post - is life all about maximizing efficiency and productivity? Is that what religion is all about?
To me, religion is all about relationships - with God, and then with our fellow man. And I'll admit that working on relationships doesn't seem very efficient - but I know that life without relationships is meaningless.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Productivity
It seems I'm always looking for faster, more efficient ways to do
things. Why is that such a hang-up? I'm always looking for the ultimate
to-do list/project-tracker/organizer application or system. Still
haven't found the perfect one. Here's a different, yet similar
situation. I'll observe a staff member doing something tedious and repetitive on the
computer. My brain usually fairly quickly figures out a way to get to
the end result faster. The problem is often this: it involves knowing
how to do lots of tricky (i.e. fun) stuff with data-file manipulation,
data parsing, complex Excel formulas, SQL queries, or a combination of
all of them. Which means usually the only one in the office capable of
doing it is me. So, do I invest 30 minutes of my time for the sake of
efficiency, or just let them pound away for 2+ hours manually. Doing it
myself has gotten me into time trouble in the past, so I have learned to
let go of those things - unless the potential time savings and accuracy
benefits are obviously dramatic, or time is essential.
Is this normal? Is life all about maximizing productivity? Or do we just try to cram too much into our lives?
things. Why is that such a hang-up? I'm always looking for the ultimate
to-do list/project-tracker/organizer application or system. Still
haven't found the perfect one. Here's a different, yet similar
situation. I'll observe a staff member doing something tedious and repetitive on the
computer. My brain usually fairly quickly figures out a way to get to
the end result faster. The problem is often this: it involves knowing
how to do lots of tricky (i.e. fun) stuff with data-file manipulation,
data parsing, complex Excel formulas, SQL queries, or a combination of
all of them. Which means usually the only one in the office capable of
doing it is me. So, do I invest 30 minutes of my time for the sake of
efficiency, or just let them pound away for 2+ hours manually. Doing it
myself has gotten me into time trouble in the past, so I have learned to
let go of those things - unless the potential time savings and accuracy
benefits are obviously dramatic, or time is essential.
Is this normal? Is life all about maximizing productivity? Or do we just try to cram too much into our lives?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
While we are postponing, life speeds by.
- Lucius Seneca (3BC-65AD)
Are you a procrastinator? Seems like most of us have some procrastination tendencies. I was inspired by my father-in-law - he had a tireless DO IT NOW attitude. It wore me out sometimes, but it rubbed off. I feel better when I get things done. When I do "procrastinate" it is usually intentional - a prioritization decision. But if it is something I can do in a couple minutes, I usually just do it.
Are you a procrastinator? Seems like most of us have some procrastination tendencies. I was inspired by my father-in-law - he had a tireless DO IT NOW attitude. It wore me out sometimes, but it rubbed off. I feel better when I get things done. When I do "procrastinate" it is usually intentional - a prioritization decision. But if it is something I can do in a couple minutes, I usually just do it.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Life has taught us...
Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at
each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery
each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Ultimate Email solution
I like it. Here's a post from the Putting Things Off blog on how to use Gmail for all your email solutions. I've implemented this for personal stuff, but haven't yet done it at work. The article has good step-by-step instructions, and includes good organizational tips, based on Getting Things Done (GTD) concepts.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
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