Still Skipping the Light Fandango

Back again, and it's a very cold Tuesday morning in northeastern Pennsylvania. Le yawn.

On the health front, I'm feeling better today, as the whole intestinal distress thing seemed to get marginally better yesterday, and as of this morning I think I'm basically over it. That's a good thing. The whole work thing is difficult enough on a normal day, if you add in not feeling well it just pushes you to the point of apathy. For me, it's not as much apathy as it is the notion that it takes that much more energy to be motivated.

Ah, what else is happening?

Well in Scranton we have a mayoral elections happening shortly; since this is a heavily Democratic town, the real race for mayor is in the primary, where incumbent Mayor Chris Doherty is being challenged by insurance agent Gary DiBileo. I've met and talked to Mayor Doherty once or twice over the years and found him to be very personable. I can't say that I've ever met Mr DiBileo, but he seems like a decent enough guy, and he has a very good professional reputation. The choices could be far worse I suppose. Good luck to both candidates, and may the best person win.

We also have the whole bonus situation in the news (story here). I could rant on and on about this, and maybe I will once I have a greater level of motivation, but I will say this much: the entitlement mentality doens't just exist at the lower end of the economic spectrum. We have an entire culture in business today where, the higher up you go, the more you feel entitled to compensation regardless of your actual performance. AIG is the example de jour these days, but an even better one is GM: CEO Rick Wagoner has never had a good year at GM. By virtually any measure, this guy has been an abject failure...GM lost market share, produced poor quality vehicles, lost money, engaged unions in lose-lose labor agreements, etc. Yet year after year Mr Wagoner saw high salary and bonus payments. You figure it out. Note though that if Mr Wagoner were a burger flipper at McDonalds who didn't meet their standards year after year, he would have been fired. Maybe that's not a great comparison, but the underlying thought is sound: if you can't do the job, then you shouldn't have the job.

On a related note, I have 27 (I think) shares of unrestricted stock available to me that were granted after to me (and other employees) after my employer reached an important milestone a few years ago. The problem is that, given the stock price, these shares really aren't worth all that much at the moment. I'd love to have them to pay part of Kate's tuition, but it wouldn't make sense to sell them yet. See, this whole Wall Street mess is more than just a pain in the butt for high-rollers.

Finally, we had the President make a really stupid comment about the Special Olympics on the Jay Leno show. What do I think? Well first, I can't stand Jay Leno, so I didn't watch it myself. Second, it really was a stupid comment, but we all make stupid comments from time to time. Certainly the President should be more sensitive, but let's not forget that he's a human being. What's important isn't that he makes a mistake every now and then, it's what he does when he makes a mistake.

Another Week...

...or maybe I should make that "weak", as I was not feeling well over this past weekend. It started later in the afternoon on Friday and just continued throughout the weekend, and while I won't add any details, let's just say that the only thing that helped was liquid Imodium. Not the pills, but the liquid stuff, which quite possibly is not most vile concoction since Father John's Medicine.

Anyway, I'm hopefully feeling better now, although that jury has not yet completed deliberations.

The week ahead looks busy on Tuesday-Thursday, but reasonable today and Friday. Next week I'm off Monday and Tuesday, so that will give me a chance to put away all the winter stuff, such as the snow thrower and shovels. I'd also like to replace my outside water tap, which rusted and broke last Fall. Having a functioning hose would be of some help as I start to get ready for things like yard-work and such.

Well I must be going...a few things need to be done before I head out to begin what I am sure will be another "fun-packed, adventure-filled" day.

On Gifts & Giving

One of the things that I've learned over the past few years is the value of giving. Now I know, most decent human being know how important it is to give, and we put quite a bit of formality around that when it comes to birthdays, Christmas and the like. Also, for decades, I dutifully put money in church envelopes every Sunday, viewing it as an exercise in obligation. A few things happened though to change my outlook on giving, from something that was mainly an obligation to now something that is more of a, well, joy...

Liberation from the Obligation
As noted above, I would give at church because I was told to do so. No one stood over my shoulder and said "give", but growing up in a guilt-o-centric Catholic Church, you learn these things as being an obligation. However, in Scranton we had a new Bishop come along (Joseph Martino), and over time I realized that the Church he stood for wasn't the same Church I wanted to belong to; compassionate leadership has been replaced by a command-and-control leadership style that would make Chainsaw Al Dunlap proud. That liberated me from the obligation to give to the Catholic church because the institution that I supported all these years wasn't the same institution that I thought I knew. From that point forward, I knew I still wanted to give, but now I had to figure out who to give to.

What Matters?
When I realized that I wouldn't give to the Catholic Church any more, I had to decide who I wanted to support. Sure, I get a tax benefit from giving, but I really don't give that much that it has a tremendous impact on my financial health (or lack-thereof). I decided that there were three things that mattered to me relative to giving:

1. Helping Children - Kids have it tough enough growing up these days; adding burdens to them because of things like diseases, etc. seems especially cruel. You are only a child once.
2. Helping the Truly Less Fortunate - Some folks truly just need a hand up when they are down.
3. Repaying Kindness - I'd like to think that I could give back to those institutions that have meant a lot to me over the years.

I then found charities that addressed things important things.

Matching
Here's what I decided to do...

1. Helping Children - I try and give to St Jude Children's Research Hospital every month. I always found the story behind its founding (by the late entertainer Danny Thomas) to be compelling, but even more compelling is the work that they do. St Jude is also a highly rated charity.
2. Helping the Truly Less Fortunate - I give to the Scranton Rescue Mission whenever I can. 75% of their donations go towards helping the needy, which is high percentage.
3. Repaying Kindness - I was given a lot by my education at Penn State Harrisburg, in ways that are at times very difficult to describe. So I now make my single largest annual donation goes to the University.

Going forward, I'd like to move beyond simply giving money and do something with my time. I haven't figured that out yet, and I know that my time isn't the most easy commodity to acquire these days, but never the less I think it's also important to demonstrate with your hands (as well as your wallet) what is truly important in this world.

Skipping A Light Fandango

We skipped a light fandango,
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor.
(Whiter Shade of Pale/Procol Harum)

Wow, since I created this blog a few months ago I don't think I've ever gone three days without writing or posting something, but here we are never the less, Saturday morning, and my last post was on Tuesday. Not posting 'twas not my intention, but something things come up and you simply have to adjust. How's that for a cryptic explanation? Actually, "Skipping a light fandango" is a derivative from the first line of the song "Lighter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum, a song with very cryptic lyrics (do a Google search for the song lyrics and the first response is a posting where someone asks what they lyrics mean).

Anyway, I'm back. Let's see, what's going on?

Well, while cleaning my car on Tuesday, I unplugged my satellite radio receiver and the power adapter promptly fell apart. To make a long story short, the radio doesn't work, even with a replacement power adapter, but I narrowed the problem down to the fact that the power outlets in my car are not working (but the satellite radio does). I checked the main fuse block and the fuse identified for the outlets (my car has three of them...two up front, one in the back) appears fine, so that's not the problem. I did a quick Google search yesterday and I have two leads to purse: first, while the owner's manual says that fuse 19 is for the outlets, it may in fact be fuse 20 & second, there may be something of a main bus fuse in the engine compartment that I need to check. Regardless, I will get it figured out before too long. I love a challenge (as long as it doesn't involve plumbing).

On the physical front, I tried to eat lighter normal during this trip, in hopes that it would help me not get sick, which is an all too common occurrence during many of my trips. For the most part that strategy worked, as I didn't suffer from anything really bad, at least until the drive home yesterday. Let's just say that I had some stomach cramps, but I also had a much bigger breakfast than normal as well on Friday morning. Lesson learned I think. It's disturbing when I think about it: the older I get, less I can seem to eat. I thought adults were supposed to have all the fun?

Speaking of fun, the last three days were very productive. I solved a few problems, got to see a few very interesting things, and I learned that even old Scottish dogs like to play every once in a while.

As for today, I have a lot of cleaning to do. I also have to take Becca out to get a pair of jeans and maybe a cover for the Blackberry Pearl I bought her (I got it used and it as a few scratches, so I thought we could get a cover for it). All things considered, I expect a very productive day.

In The Sickening Department...

I was in the gym at work the other day (yes, we have a gym at work...) and despite my desire to the contrary. the Ellen Show was on the TV. Anyway, "P.Diddy" was on, talking about the recent event where two current musical stars, Chris Brown and Rihanna were involve, were involved in a little incident. Google search results here (in case you are curious). The long and the short of it is this: Chris Brown (the male) pretty much beat the snot out of his girlfriend, Rihanna; said beating included choking, bite marks, punches, etc. In fact, Rihanna was beaten so badly that she was nearly unconscious. That in and of itself should make most sane people hang their heads in disgust. However, it gets worse (and back to "P.Diddy"): on the Ellen Show, P.Diddy said that since on one was there but these two (Brown and Rihanna), no one should be judging them.

Yes, no one should be judging them.

Here's what Rihanna looked like before the Chris Brown beating. Photo Link Here.

Here's what Rihanna looked like after the Chris Brown beating. Photo Link Here.

Well "P.Diddy" is full of it. There is never, ever an excuse for that kind of behavior. Want to know what's wrong with our society? Simply ponder what "P.Diddy" is saying. Forget Chris Brown accepting responsibility for his actions. As long as there are apologists for this kind of behavior this kind of behavior will flourish. What kind of message is "P.Diddy" sending to young women, that it's okay to get beaten-on by your boyfriend because "no one should judge"?

As a father of three daughters I am completely, utterly disgusted by this whole episode.

Signs You Are Getting Old....

All I wanted was a pink Oxford dress shirt. That's it. Something made of a decent cotton weight material, in pink, with a button-down collar, pleat in the back, etc. I want to five different stores and found nothing. I finally did find something marginally acceptable at JC Penny's, but it's not really an Oxford shirt. I suppose this means that I am getting old. The pink Oxford shirt is to me what wearing dark socks and sandals is to men in their 70's I suppose.

Other signs I am getting old:

• I really can't stand, by and large, the music my teenage daughters enjoy. Now some of it is listenable, but a lot of it isn't.
• I like listening to people talk on the radio, as opposed to music. Well truth be told, I do listen to some music, but the split is something like 60/40 when comparing to time spent listening to talk-radio vs. music. Much of that 60 is Howard Stern, with the remainder being local talk on station WILK.
• While I really do like gadgets and technology, I can't stand Apple's Ipod products. I find I-Tunes to be annoying at best, confusing at worst. They succeeded in making things so simply that I find it irritating. I find it much easier to simply drop and drag files into my decidedly less complex Creative Labs Zen mp3 player.
• I still read the paper, which explains why newspapers are having financial trouble these days. In a world without newspapers, where will you get local news? Younger people today want everything compressed into a Twitter posting.
  

Yes I confess: I am getting old. That's frightening, because in the back of my head, I'm still this 12 year old boy with a poor self-image and too much imagination for my own good. Where does it go? It was only yesterday when I was in high school and then college.

Madoff

If you haven't been paying attention to the whole Bernie Madoff saga, then you should at least devote a few minutes to learning the basics. I know, the whole thing smell of "complicated financial stuff", and to a certain that it true; however you still should still pay attention. Why? Because I my opinion, Madoff exemplifies everything that's wrong with American society today.

Here's what I mean:

The Cult of Greed - When it comes down to it, Gordon Gecko was wrong...greed is not always good. Madoff did what he did in part out of greed, plain simple greed. Madoff is a poster child for the notion of "getting ahead no matter what". Now we see that there is a $50 billion dollar cost. Greed wasn't so good this time, not at the Madoff/Gecko level and not at our levels either.

The Big Lie - If you are not familiar with the concept of the "Big Lie", here's a short description: as practiced by the NAZI's, the "Big Lie" is when you have something that is an obvious lie...such as the Jews being responsible for all society's ills...but simply repeat it over and over again until people just believe that it's true. How ironic is it that someone who is Jewish...Madoff...was the practitioner of the Big Lie himself? Madoff's big lie was to his customers over and over again..."I'll invest your money in stocks and there will be virtually no risk". Of course what Madoff was doing was simply taking money coming in and shipping it out to other investors requesting distributions, while skimming off the top for himself. Now how often do we, in America today, believe the "Big Lie" ourselves?

The Entitlement Mentality - Madoff is facing about 150 years in prison after pleading guilty to investment fraud and other charges, with sentencing coming in June. Until then, he has been sent to a prison in downtown Manhattan. So far so good, right? Well his lawyers are, at this very moment, fighting to get him out of jail and asking that he be restricted to his midtown Manhattan residence until sentencing. Think about that: he said that he is guilty...his crimes will yield dozens (if not a hundred +) years in jail...and yet he believes that he is entitled to live in a luxury apartment until sentencing? That should blow your mind. The guy said "I am guilty", so it's not as if there will be an appeal. Some elements in this country have historically slammed the "welfare society" or the "entitlement mentality" when it comes to people at the lower end of the economic scale, but yet here we have someone at the upper-most economic scale guilty of the same thing.


In the end, the Madoff case says more about us than it says about him. As a society we created this environment...one where accumulation of wealth comes before anything else, one where you are entitled to live in luxury (even when you steal billions). We created this monster.

Road Apples, #20

The Week In Review - It's been a rather busy week, but busy in a non-insane kind-of-way. That's a good thing. I've had a lot to do, but nothing that would fall into the category of "I'm falling under the water". Today is a light day schedule wise, so I'll be able to make some progress of those few really big things I'm working on.

Pontiac G6 - For the second time in a row, my rental car has been a Pontiac G6. My single biggest peeve about it? Well first understand that I have arms the size of an orangutan's (by the way, that's a difficult word to spell...). With the previous statement in mind, why on Earth would General Motors design a car that has doors that open so wide that you practically need to step out of the car to close them? It's one of those small things you notice, but it's quite frankly retarded that they open so wide. If I don't know what people that don't have ape-length arms would do to close the doors, outside of almost climb all the way out just to get back in. Oh, and in case you might be wondering, the cars I've rented were both 4 door models. File this under the "oh, that's why these guys are losing in the market place" category. Note to GM: It's the little things that matter folks, it's the little things.

Scranton Bishop Martino - is telling US Senator Bob Casey that he needs to vote against President' Obama's pick for secretary of the department of Health and Human Services, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. As I've said before, I respect (not that he needs it...) Bishop Martino's right and obligation to speak out on matters of faith and morality, but I strongly disagree with the notion that somehow Bob Casey (or any other public servant) is a Catholic (or Baptist, or Buddhist, or Jew, or Mormon) first, then a legislator second. Yes, religion does in fact shape our characters and certainly our sense of morality, but Bob Casey doesn't solely represent Catholics in Pennsylvania. What's more, I firmly believe that any candidate for elected or appointed office needs to be viewed from the perspective of many issues, not just one...no matter how important that one issue is. Viewing Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as unacceptable simply because of her stance on abortion seems short-sighted to me for two reasons:

1. What we hear about that stance comes from folks like Bishop Martino, not from the Governor.
2. Not everyone subscribes to the teachings of the Catholic Church when it comes to abortion.

For the record, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is herself Catholic.

Bottom Line - Everyone out there should be wary anytime a religious leader decides that he/she can tell a politician how to vote. In this country Bishop Martino should have the same ability to influence the voting of Senator Casey that Steve Albert does...namely through the exercise of his one vote...the same one vote that I have.

Abortion - Every time I reference abortion I feel somehow compelled to explain my "position" (quotes to denote the fact that position is nothing more than an opinion...but "position" sounds cooler) on the subject. I personally believe that abortion is wrong and that it shouldn't be performed unless there are compelling, almost life-threatening reasons. That said, I also believe that reasonable people can have a different opinion on the subject. In the end, it's up to each and individual and their conscience to determine what this means for them, as I don't believe that any larger body...be it a church or a politician...should have the right to make such a deeply personal decision for any of us. I realize that this puts me in a position that is contrary to that of the church I in theory belong to, but so be it. For sake of consistency, I also feel the same way about the death penalty...I believe that it is wrong, but I acknowledge that others can have a different opinion. For the record, the Catholic Church does in fact teach that all life is sacred, from conception through a natural death.

Contraception - Related to abortion...and since I'm out on a limb anyway...the Catholic Church also teaches that artificial means of preventing pregnancy are inherently evil because they either destroy a potential life (this is what an IUD does) or the prevent a life from happening (this is what a condom does). The Church also teaches that contraception has the impact of lessening the importance of sexuality by "cheapening" it. Yes, I certainly understand why the Catholic Church teaches what it teaches, but I also disagree with the notion that all means of artificial contraception are evil, because I don't believe that the sole purpose of sexuality is procreation. A really interesting side-note here is that about 96% of married Catholics use artificial birth control, putting them directly at odds with Church teaching. Think about it: if Bishop Martino were to truly enforce the Catholic Church's teaching of all life issues, then 96% of married Catholics would not be receiving Holy Communion. It does make you think.

Just A Quick Note...

Just what does it say about me that I actually get enthusiastic about getting my XBox360 replaced? Probably not much, and what it does say isn't very positive. However as that great philosopher Popeye once said, "I yam who I yam".

Actually things have been busy, but not in an insane way. My schedule at work is more human now, and I finally have time to start to do things the right way, as opposed to simply stringing things together in some half-assed way to just get by. I know, that's probably not a nice way to describe it, and if you find yourself overwhelmed, sometimes half-assed is a really good outcome. Anyway, things on the work front are slightly more manageable these days. A sign of the times is the fact that I don't have too many things on my schedule that I look at and think "My God, I hate that...". Now that isn't implying that some of the things I hate are things I don't do well; in fact, I know there are some things I truly hate that I actually do rather well, thank you very much. Regardless, it's tolerable these days.

On a completely different note, the song currently running through my head is Elton John's "Funeral for Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. If you are a fan of Sir Elton and you don't have Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, then go out and get it. It's stands up as one of the best album's of it's day and certainly the best work he has ever done. Here's a typical review (and track information).

Well it's time to get to work. My middle daughter Korin, who is learning how to drive, usually takes the wheel for the trip in the morning. She is a good driver for a 16 year old, but I am an extremely bad passenger...not just for her, but for anyone.

Monday Morning

The downside to buying yourself a new TV is that you may actually be tempted to watch it every now and then. That's the case for me, as I spent over two hours yesterday watching a show on TLC about morbidly obese people who get gastric bypass surgery. I have to admit that I was fascinated by the show.

What did I learn?

...the weight problems they have (and I have, to a far lesser extent) are about 95% psychological, 5% physical. In the "you may think I'm full of crap" department, this is something Howard Stern says from time to time on his radio show, namely that people who are obese have unresolved mental issues.

...some of those folks have real courage, far more than I have. There was one gentleman who weighed nearly a thousand pounds who went in for the surgery and had all of these horribly intensive procedures done, all so that he could be around long enough to see his grand kids. While you can argue that it's a lack of discipline that got these people in to the conditions they are now in, it's hard to not have some admiration for someone who goes that far a-field but yet has the courage to say "enough is enough".

...it really show-cased the excesses that I think have been ruining our nation for decades. We are truly victims of our own success as a nation. Folks on one side of the planet are dying because they don't have enough to eat, but yet we have people here who are dying because they have too much to eat.

It does make you stop, pause and think.