Week 16

Here's the way I see it for the Rams this weekend in Seattle ...

If they win, they'll be 8-8 and in the playoffs. That would be a GREAT accomplishment for last year's 1-15 cellar dwellers. Maybe the NFC West will surprise as, frankly, I don't see any dominant teams out there.

If they lose, then 7-9 would be a decent accomplishment and their drafting order would be much improved than if they were tagged as a "division winner" (who automatically go to the end of the line).

The only disappointing result would be a situation in which they completely cave to the pressure and are embarrassed.

The game with the Seahawks Sunday night offers some interesting possibilities, most of which are pleasant ...

More Christmas Pics!

We celebrated Christmas at our house on Sunday. Amber, Michael and Mary opening gifts.

Tommy, Chris and Sunny examine a guitar pedal that Chris received.

Sunny laughing at her Kelly Clarkson poster.

Sunday evening we hosted the Rennier side of the family.

Great Uncle Greg enjoying his time with Michael.


Our angelic granddaughter Catherine.

The Big Switchover

This post is aptly titled as it tends to ramble from topic to topic in defiance of a central theme - which is to say it's difficult to author at times. A focused theme would provide ready material on a day to day basis, but "rambling" actually requires more thought. Ouch, thinking!

So, despite my pre-stated abhorence of social networking, its intrusion on the privacy of the individual, and the indignity of the dumbed-down format, I'm recognizing that it may be a better vehicle for this tripe than blogging. So in the future, more Facebook and less blogging.

I should feel like a sellout ...

... but for now, let's label this as "professional research".

Steve

The first of many celebrations

We've had so many Christmas celebrations the last few days it's hard to keep track of them all. We started on Christmas eve at my parents house.

Jena is showing off her new shirt. Oh, no. It looks just like the one she's wearing!

Christmas night was at our house and we had all of the relatives over. The girls sure love those butterhorns. (Thanks Aunt Pat!)

More pictures to come....

Christmas Company

We had lots of company for Christmas this year. We started it off with a visit from the Svetina family. It was really good seeing all of them. John, Kay and Katie came up from the warm lands of Dallas to see us. Actually, I think they came to see JJ (and his parents)!

The World is Flat

I recently read a book on son Michael's shelves entitled The World is Flat. It offered a compelling argument that the adoption of free market economies by China, India, and a larger number of third-world countries, plus technology levelers such as global broadband capacity and the internet have essentially expanded the American economy to every corner of the world.

While this is good for the planet, the effect on the American worker is unsettling. The author, Thomas Friedman, makes several interesting points. He argues that the American worker is no longer competing against co-workers he can see, but against people in China and India. Further, Mr. Friedman speaks of two gaps which I believe are factual: the education gap and the ambition gap.

The education gap is defined by our deterioration in math and the sciences. We are producing athletes, communications majors, lawyers, and financial specialists, and not enough technical know-how. The ambition gap is exemplified in the Chinese saying "family wealth never makes it past the third generation". He claims with some credibility that America is in its' third generation from the country's scientific zenith achieved with the space program of the 60s, and that Chinese and Indian students are far more motivated to achieve in more challenging fields while American youth are more engaged with sports and online gaming.

I disagreed with the author on several points. After giving credit to capitalism for the ascendancy of the global economy, his solutions for America's response are decidely socialistic. He also fails to address certain security, theft, and turnover issues which have occurred in multinational teaming situations.

All in all, it makes one think about maximizing their individual potential, and that's a positive result from the book.

Christmas Eve 2010

This will be my 54th Christmas ...

The first ones were magical - I could literally hear Santa moving around in the house Christmas Eve and marvelled at the disappearance of the milk and cookies I set out for him. Subsequent Christmas celebrations became a deeper recognition of my dependence on God, and trying to make the holiday special for my own children.

While it's nice in many ways to conclude each year with Christmas and time away from work, I often wish Christmas was the beginning of the year rather than the end. Rather than a season-ending rush through shopping season, a mad flurry of paper, and the anti-climatic thud of it all which leaves us wondering what happened, why not kick-off the new year with the spiritual contemplation of how man and God interact?

I often express frustration with America's political scene in my posts; our politicians seemed to have drifted from the basic Christian attitude of helping one another. They are a reflection of us, however, and that's why we'd be well-served to think of Christmas as a beginning of a personal commitment, not the end of the shopping season.

Isaiah 9:6 foretells of the Savior: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

This seems like an ideal place to start.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Social Network Christmas

Snookered

"Snookered" ... definition: Slang . to deceive, cheat, or dupe: to be snookered by a mail order company

This is what happened to the Republicans in the recent debate over tax policy. It was a smashing victory by the Democrats who managed to portray the event as a victory in partisonship. You don't really think Nancy Pelosi was actually defying the President, do you?

Consider:

... the rates were established for two years, not made permanent. What do you think will happen in two years if Obama is re-elected?

... the move continued to be portrayed to the end as a tax "cut" (it was actually the avoidance of a scheduled raise) and as a windfall for "the rich", whoever thay are

... the unemployment benefits were extended with new stimulus dollars, not existing funds which happened to be available in mass quantity

... the payroll tax manipulation was irresponsible in light of the absence of a long-term solution for Social Security funding

Are the Republicans as ineffective as they seem? If the lopsided START Treaty passes, the answer is a resounding YES!

Love Seat

I'm not sure if I showed you a picture of this love seat. I had Steve retrieve it from a neighbors trash.

I finally finished it. Looks pretty good - even I have say so myself!

Post-Game Trauma

After watching the Rams play one good quarter and three bad ones against the Chiefs, I switched to a rerun of a disaster movie immediately following the game. There was a common thread in the programming theme.

I was surprised to see Matt Cassell play with seemingly no pain. It was also unpleasnat to observe how many Rams season ticket holders sold out to folks wearing red.

The difference in the game was clear. Although the Rams have a glaring weakness at wide receiver (basically a #3 wideout, one tight end, and a few others who will be seeking other employment next year), the Chiefs' counterparts played no better.

The difference in the teams were their offensive lines.

The Kansas City O-line protected Cassell and punched open enough holes to create a consistent running game. The Rams line had difficulty protecting Bradford, powering the running game, and worse, were responsible for several drive-killing penalties.

No Guts, No Glory

Prediction ...

Rams 20, Chiefs 17

Wiki-Crimes Against the State

Don't get me wrong ... a little whistle-blowing is a good thing. It leads to accountability and excellence. If a company or government agency is guilty of mismanagement or illegal behavior, it should be exposed.

But WikiLeaks crossed the line. We are in a war on terrorism, and they compromised our position. If our intelligence network is weakened, we are more suspectible to the attacks we've committed to stopping.

I've heard Julian Assange speak, and he's a raving lunatic. Our system of laws has guided us since the days of John Adams on how to deal with these situations: it's treason.

We'll have plenty of opportunities to save people from unfair free speech infringements. This is not one of those times.

The Lustron House

Every year before Christmas Steve & I take my moms side of the family out for a meal. This year we had lunch at the Lustron House. It was built in 1948 and it is made of metal - the inside and the outside. We enjoyed a delicious lunch that started with a fruit salad (Uncle Tom & Tommy really enjoyed theirs) and ended with a warm apple cake. Yum!

We then headed to the living room to watch a short movie about the construction of the house and to ask any questions we had.

These 2 joined the festivities this year.

You can see the dining room/kitchen from this angle. Notice all the cabinets? They're made of metal also.

I love hanging out with this group. At one point during the presentation I looked around and Dad & Uncle Frank were sleeping. Give them a little food and it's off to snooze land! I wish I had a picture of it.

I think everyone had a good time. Where should we go next year? Anyone have any ideas?

Football Thoughts

Random thoughts about football ...

Cam Newton was clearly the best college player this year. He deserved the Heismann. But I seriously hope this never turns into another Reggie Bush give-it-back scenario.

It's hard to believe the Rams are actually in the playoff hunt. Except for Sam Bradford, the offensive talent is no better than previously and probably worse. The defense is remarkably better, anchored in the middle by the surprisingly good James Laurenitis. If they finish at .500, it'll be a fine year for them, and if they luck into the playoffs by virtue of the NFC West, so be it.

Have you noticed all of the Mizzou grads who are doing well in the NFL? Brad Smith is an exciting contributor on the Jets, Jeremy Maclin is an elite receiver, Justin Smith is doing well, Chase Daniel just moved into the #2 slot behind Drew Brees, and there are many others. I guess those are the rewards of a successful program.

Oklahoma bested Nebraska in the Big 12 championship, and all I could think of was "don't let the door hit you on the way out of the conference, Nebraska".

Paying Your Own Way on the Internet

The European Telco Union has just recommended the economic model for the internet proposed earlier in this blog space by yours truly. To wit: those who flood the internet with content should pay based on volume. After all, it's their cost of distribution.


Why should some companies pay to transport hard goods via air and rail, but others pay nothing if the content happens to be electronic?


As a former programmer, I know that software is written efficiently if bandwidth has value. On the flip side, if the bandwidth is free, then who cares how inefficient the product is?


This is aimed at the major network hogs at Apple, Google, and Facebook, who enjoy artificially high profit margins because their major resource - connectivity - is provided to them at no cost.


Simply put, those who create the demand should foot the bill.

Those Nasty "Rich" People

Nothing galls me more than politicians barking out sound bites about those piggish rich people who should pay more and more.

They speak of "millionaires and billionaires" in one breath, then define the same group as families "making more than $250,000".

If only they would pay more, the government could grow and distribute more cash to party constituents.

Apparently they are unaware that this group already foots the lion's share of the excessive tax burden, that these people create the jobs which the politicians purport to endorse with all their soul, that success is an admirable thing in American society, and that our tax code defines the highest bracket as $373,000, not $250,000.

Our system is already progressive, the top rate of 38% is high enough, the bottom bracket of 0% can't go lower, and I'm tired of hearing that the fault is with the people. It's time to actually manage the monster!

Rocking-n-Rolling in Cleveland

Kim and I recently visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. My brief review follows ...

... nice building ...

... nice location ...

... nice skyline ...

... lousy museum.

Too many jackets and outfits, not enough music, dull displays, and too much preaching.

I guess the last comment ("too much preaching") deserves an explanation. There were a number of displays poking fun at individuals who expressed negative opinions of rock-n-roll. It was ironic to me that a genre based on free speech spent so much display space mocking the rights of others to state their opinions.

In my opinion, Rock and Roll deserves better. At least there were pretty girls to be seen ...

Budgeting

Putting together a workable budget is very simple, just not when thousands of people are involved. The US is faced with a sluggish economy and a government which is gorging. It amuses me that when politicians say the economy is bad, they often mean the government is not funded at the level they want. Pardon me, but those are not the same thing. The modern economy should be optimized to grow non-governmental US-based jobs.

So how does one balance the budget?

To me, the first step is to cut the fluff, the second is to eliminate illegal activity, and the third is to rationalize the core programs.

Cut the fluff ... stop earmarks, freeze pay levels, eliminate farm subsidies, drop the redundant department of education, cap new spending for a set amount of time, freeze government travel, and so on. No pain, lots of gain. Also: Make approriations more difficult, and vote for candidates with an understanding of free-market economics.

Eliminate illegal activity ... stop the influx of illegal aliens, cut governmental payments to existing illegal aliens, and drop all of the unconstitutional "czars" and their staffs.

Rationalize the core programs ... Demand the world's best defense but at a better price, find a market-based solution for Medicare/Health Care which excludes routine office visits, and recalibrate Social Security to the demographic realities and original intent (raise retirement age to 70, and set the payout level to a safety-net level, i.e. just above poverty).

Final word: you don't fix the budget problem by raising taxes. Governments spend dollars; they don't pay down debt. Better to throttle the monster rather than feed it.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

There are many movies which, while not cinematic masterpieces, I can watch over and over again. Raising Arizona and Christmas Story are two which spring to mind.

While flipping channels the other day, I stumbled across another which draws my attention every time it's stumbled across: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslett, it's a study of what happens when two people in a relationship each have their memories of one another erased. A sci-fi chick flick, if you will.

The title is derived from prose by Alexander Pope:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd

The movie is rated 8.5 (of 10) by IMDB. It's interesting that a flick about memories can be so memorable.

Candidates

Now that the 2010 midterms are over, positioning for 2012 will heat up. Unless there are surprises, the leading candidates will be Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and a number of other candidates who will more likely be building a case for future consideration.

Here's my handicapping of the field:

Sarah Palin ... The idea of a citizen-leader is pure American, so I get tired of the press continually downgrading Palin's ability. The fact that she's NOT a professional lawyer-politician should count for something. However, I'm tired of the drama, and frankly, she could have done much better in those debates with Biden. Her combativeness often loses context and seems to become personal. I admire Sarah Palin, but she's not my candidate of choice ...



Newt Gingrich ... I've always liked his directness and clarity, and if nominated, he'd be someone you could support. But I have a problem with these Congressmen-turned-candidate-for-chief-executive-office types. They're unproven in even a basic management/leadership role, and I'd rather see a governor or private leader in charge. Newt's had 20 years to sharpen these credentials, and has not. Again, not my candidate of choice ...



Mike Huckabee ... He's a likeable guy with the leadership pedigree, but I don't think he's the best the country has to offer. I thought his run in 2008 showed brilliance at times, but seemed unfocused for long periods. He, too, has not done enough to raise his profile the last few years. Not good enough, and not my candidate of choice ...

Mitt Romney ... I've never been a huge fan of Mitt Romney, but the facts are clear. He has executive experience, and his areas of specialty are (1) the economy, and (2) health care. We could use someone knowledgeable in those areas. So, if Romney can elevate his game, make nice with the conservatives, and effectively develop a focused message, he's my candidate for the moment.

I confess, however, that if the Republicans put up Bugs Bunny with Elmer Fudd as his running mate, one would be tempted to support them solely to remove the current adminstration. All they would need to do is adopt the slogan "Change Things Back!".

Niagara Falls

It was cold, dreary and rainy on Thursday. Steve and I still managed to get outside for a little bit and take in some sites. Be warned. Cheesy pictures ahead.

In the morning this was the view from our room.

Later in the day, same location, different result. Along, with the rain was the mist from the falls.

Another morning picture.