Cadillac Desert

My return to the Cadillac Desert (Arizona) this past weekend wasn't a trip done for some R & R, instead it was a 48 hour working binge!

To take you through the roller coaster of emotions here is what happened...
Our condo, and former home, was reported trashed and unfit for anyone to move into. So after receiving this disappointing news on Thursday morning, we quickly bought 2 flights to AZ leaving that same night. We landed about 8pm, and drove straight to the condo to assess the situation. It definitely wasn't fit to move in, but was far better than I had imagined. We painted, cleaned, fixed, and got it in tip-top shape just in time for our new tenant!

As we reflected on our trip we came to a few conclusions;

• Damn was that expensive
• Wow, I really miss the winters in Arizona
• It is tough being away from the kids
• Our family is amazing*

*I need to explain how amazing our family is...First, Grandma and Grandpa took the kids cancelling whatever else they had planned. Next, we arrived to open arms (and a very tasty Pumpkin Brew) for which the Brew Master and his wife (Tia) provided room, board, a car, supplies to fix the home, and always great conversation. Finally, we enjoyed a perfect meal; from conversation, to the people we were with, and yes the food too! This potentially disastrous trip was actually rather amazing, and I don't think I could have said that had it not been for our family. So in a weird twist of events and despite the expenses accrued, I am actually happy this all happened the way it did.

Thank you!

Mickey is 80...or is he!

Mickey Mouse turns 80, but his pancake head (picture) is only 47...dilemma??? (kidding)
In all seriousness though, Mickey first debuted on the screen in Plane Crazy on May 15, 1928, which bombed at the box office. However, the more notable date in history, November 18, 1928, is the "official" Mickey Mouse birthday due to his debut in Steamboat Willie. Here's to another 80!

When the day is done...

...we should breathe a sigh of relief. Ok maybe relief is a bad word depending on your candidates result, but how nice will it be not to be bombarded with mudslinging ads on the TV and radio, the barrage of emails in your inbox, or the late night political party phone calls asking for your vote. I will be relieved of that if nothing else.

Reflections on the 2008 Presidential Campaign:

Do as I say, not as I do -or- Do as I do, not as
I say: Three instances resonate in my mind as we look back at the political campaigning of 2008;

Moral Mistake#1: The promise from both candidates to "take the high road" clearly was left in the quick sand 18+ months ago. Negative campaigning has sent a message that lying is ok, and it could even be equated to lying to your employer (in this case the American people).

Moral Mistake #2: "Greed" has driven an over spending economy (referring to the financial crisis we experienced this year). Very true, but then how is spending over $1 Billion on campaigning not greedy? (Yes I know the money was donated and not paid for by the American taxpayer like the Bailout Plan of $700 Billion is). Somehow I don't think our children, nor many adults see that difference...it still shows that spending in excess is acceptable.

Moral Mistake #3: More the media's fault than any was the constant reminder in the division of sex and ethnicity in this election. Cue the marching band for segregation! We should be more united, but this only seems to divide us more.

As a parent I tend to over think these things more than most people, probably sometimes to a fault...I guess I just care.

Base Load

No this isn't about baseball, this is about energy options to power future generations.

A term that we need to understand before talking about viable energy sources for the future is called base load. It essentially is defined as the minimum power needed to supply the reasonable consumer demand. This can help us gauge what we use on average, although differences exist depending on season and location.

Starting with the basics we look at all energy sources today, classified into 3 main groups:

1. Fossil fuels---coal, petroleum, and natural gas
2. Renewable forms of energy---hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind
3. Nuclear power

Now looking at the graph above and focusing only on the Residential front, our base load hovers right around 20 Quadrillion Btu.

What then is Needed:For a more accurate example we can look at the Census Bureau's stats on 119,117,000 homes in the census for 2001. Using the average number of 923kWh used per household per month we would then need nearly 110 Million MW/month (equating to roughly 4.5 Quadrillion Btu)...and that is just residential.

What is the Solution/Options: Looking to alternative renewable measures we need to consider what their output is and if it can maintain a base load to meet our demands (or be more conscious of over consumption...but that would be a miracle).

1. Hydroelectric: If Hoover Dam had all 17 generators running at full capacity it would produce 2080 megawatts of power (7.1 Billion Btu or .000007 Quadrillion Btu)
2. Wind Turbines: According to the AWEA the largest wind farm located in Horse Hollow, TX outputs 736MW (2.5 Billion Btu). A total of 16,818MW (.000057 Quadrillion Btu) are generated in the US.
3. Solar: The Nevada Solar One produces a maximum capacity of 75MW (256 Million Btu).

You can see by these three examples that it is difficult to attain a base load using renewable energy today, which is why renewable energy only accounts for 18% of our global energy source (majority in large hydro-power) ...BUT that is no reason to sit by the wayside and use up our fossil fuels. If anything we need to create more renewable energy options, which in turn creates jobs, fuels more money into the US economy (keeping it away from our enemies, all while still keeping in mind that we can't use it as our sole source of energy...at least not for some time. So as glamorous as it sounds to use ONLY green energy, according to educated scientists, environmentalists, economists (proponents and opposition) we do need to fund an option that will help to keep our base load where it needs to be and prolong the exhaustion of our fossil fuels.
Note: If you read my blog you'll find I'm about as green as a leprechaun, but I am also a realist and know that in order to talk this great idea we need a realistic plan too.

Accountability has many names...

See if you recognize my top 3 socially irresponsible individuals associated with the recent financial debacles on Wall Street:

1. James A. Johnson
2. Phil Gramm
3. Franklin Raines

So what if I told you there was a common thread that tied Countrywide Financial Corporation, Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers, and AIG together...surprised? You shouldn't be too much because in the world of finance they "were" all big players. But, what if you could tie a name(s) to all that, thus holding someone and not just a company accountable...justice right? Well not so fast, but James A. Johnson made my list at #1.

James A. Johnson currently works for the merchant bank and private equity fund management company called Perseus LLC, which also employs Richard C. Holbrooke who has ties with AIG. Prior to this Jim held numerous executive positions at Fannie Mae, and prior to that Lehman Bros. So what right...coincidences that all this is happening now and perhaps was unavoidable considering the downward spiral of our economy. Not exactly...through severe mismanagement, manipulation, excessive sub-prime lending, and an "estimated $16 Billion in misstated earnings" left Freddie and Fannie is disarray, yet still monopolizing the housing industry (Investors Daily). That's how it affected you, but you can always get a good judge of character by looking at their personal life, and for this we look at his ties with Countrywide;

Through a group internally known as "Friends of Angelo", a reference to Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo (who also made my top 10 list), Jim cashed in on some serious mortgage deals. To date records indicate he received some $7 million in loans under market value for homes in Washington's Dupont Circle, Palm Desert, Idaho, and some personal home equity loans. This trend was continued with #3 on my list; Franklin Raines, who also managed to take full advantage of his professional role at Fannie Mae by securing even better interest rates and more money up. That is until his forced resignation in 2004 from Fannie Mae after "its regulator found it had violated accounting rules in an effort to conceal fluctuations in profit and hadn't maintained adequate risk controls" (Simpson&Hagerty). He's only #3 and not higher on the list because he followed suite from Jim's lead, and there's a better #2 out there...his name is Phil Gramm.

Senator of Texas, Phil Gramm, has been credited with leading "the charge in 1999 to repeal a Depression-era banking regulation law" (Lerer). This lack of regulating credit derivatives was etched in stone through the "Commodities Future Modernization Act of 2000, which specifically exempted new derivative markets from government oversight" (Leonard). In short, it would "protect financial institutions from over regulation"(Corn). The bottom line though is that through these steps to deregulate it ended up lining his pockets directly (his role with UBS), or indirectly (his wife working for Enron).

Do you see the root of the problem through all these details...GREED. Regardless that James Johnson and Franklin Raines have strong ties to the Democrats, or Sen. Phil Gramm's ties to the Republicans...they are all greedy scum! So where do we go from here if everyone in power is getting free handouts and leaving you on the back burner to bail out problems they leave behind????

Best Brewed Octoberfest ... Milwaukee Brewers!

The 26 year drought is over for the Brewers organization and it's fans. As the game ended on Sunday with a Brewers 3-1 win over the Cubs, fans stuck around at Miller Park to watch the NY Mets lose, which assured the NL Wild Card spot for Milwaukee.

Many emotional ups and downs of this season have helped get the Brewers to this point, but definitely the most notable of those was the acquisition of CC Sabathia. How awesome is this man? Not only should he collect this year's Cy Young, making him a back to back award winner, but his off the field character is better than his on the field performance.

• What player takes out a newspaper ad to thank his fans? CC
• Who takes the ball every chance he's got? CC
• Who plays for the love of the game and his teammates, regardless of money? CC

It took a team though to win and that is one thing you can tell CC recognizing. Braun, Weeks, Hardy, Cameron, Kendall, Hart, Fielder, a deep bull pen and everyone else stepped up at the right time. Now lets go into The City of Brotherly Love and tear it up!

Thanks Dub, your a true role model and someone we all look up to!

Fear

Given the recent debacle on Wall Street, and the topic of fear being raised in the political debates currently, I think it safe to say fear is prevalent in today's society. We label these fears when they reach an uncomfortable level, calling them phobias. There are thousands of phobias that exist, and its even more ridiculous to think that there are twice as many drugs out on the market to address those fears. So, why are there so many fears and where do they stem from? Or more importantly how do we cure a fear? and what is the result of fear?

We first need to understand the components of fear:

1. Subjective (what is in our mind...thoughts)
2. Physiological (i.e. physical and chemical processes you feel...anxiety)

Let's look at the first two questions, why so many and where do they stem from? Throughout time we have always been advancing. This is not a bad thing, but it has created more distractions. It is our innate ability to adapt to the changes that come into our life, which of course prompts thought or ideas. Whether it's a positive or negative thought we begin to associate feelings with those thoughts, and a fear can then be acknowledged by us. (Example1 - The earliest UFO report to record was in 1947, shortly after that we made it our mission to land on the moon, which was successfully accomplished in 1969. This is a great accomplishment, but eventually some creative ideas morphed into a fear. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a sci-fi flick as much as the next guy, I am only saying this new found knowledge or idea eventually could spur a fear). This is the point though that humans need to control their thoughts and not let one crazy idea run their life. So how do we control or cure this, and what is the result of fear?

How do we cure them? The easy answer in today's society would be drugs, but since I don't believe in supporting that route I'll tell you a far more rewarding route. It is through God, Jesus Christ your savior that you will ultimately cure this fear. It he who said: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."(Isaiah 43:1). You need to change your mind set and understand that he gave his life for you, which means turning over everything to him...anxiety and stress included. Easier said than done...I know, I am a human and sinner as well.

So, what is the result of fears controlling your life? Worry, anxiety, stress, billions of dollars spent on drugs to help you cope, an early untimely death, but most painful is that you are not sharing it with God.

This topic was due in large part to Rev. Dr. Ferguson addressing fears experienced in our lives and how to cope with each of them we experience on a daily basis