Political Perspective II

As Beth mentioned on her journal, we are going to watch the democratic debate tonight.  So, here is some food for thought, just in case the subject of the Iraq War comes up. [Source: FORTUNE, 2/4/08]

Lawrence Lindsey, former chief economist to President Bush, estimated the potential economic cost of a war in Iraq in 2002.  This estimate was developed prior to the actual start of hostilities.

Lindsey's estimate was 1-2% of GDP, which equates to about $80B per year.  His estimate was a 2.5 year incursion.  His estimate was $100-$200B.  While his annual estimate was accurate, the duration was not.  To date, we have spent more than $400B. 

The interesting thing that is contained in Lindsey's book, "What a President Should Know...but Most Learn Too Late,"  is that what is often over looked is that even if we did not go to war, we would have had a major containment presence in the region, estimated to be $25-$35B per year. 

As always, the issue is not an easy one.  If there were WMD in Iraq, and we did nothing, the consequences would have been so much more dire for our country.  Better to have engaged, and helped an oppressed people, than to have not acted at all. 

Whether you agree or disagree with our involvement, understand that to leave now could have even more dire consequences.

Bucko :o)

Tags: Fortune, Politics, Iraq, GDG

Political Perspective!

In the recent Kiplinger's Personal Finance (3/2008), there was a very good summary of how our national budget is allocated. 

So when you hear how our candidates for the Presidency will address some or our economic challenges, keep this budget allocation in mind.  Their solutions and options are more limited than you may think.

The following areas are allocated 1% or less of the budget: Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Physical Science Research (including space exploration), Energy Research, Alternative Fuels, Farm Subsidies, Foreign Aid, Welfare, and Disaster Relief.

The following areas are allocated 2%, more or less: Aid to Education, Medical Research and Public Health, Support for State and Local Law Enforcement, and Homeland Security.

The following area is allocated 3%: Transportation - interstate highways, airports, port improvements and the like.

The above areas cover about 14% of our budget. So, where does the rest of the money go???

9%   Interest on the Budget Deficit

21%   Military Spending

56%   Untouchable Programs, benefits and payments: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Pension, Civil Service, Orphans, Elderly Programs, and insurance for the poor.

So, keep the promises of our candidates for the Presidency in perspective.  

 

Tags: blogplugs, Federal Budget, Government Programs

Death and Taxes

Well, I will try and keep this limited to the second part, and not the first.

I had a nice chat with my Mom on Saturday.  She is doing well, and they are both up-beat about the cancer treatments that her husband is going through.  He indicated that the only affect so far is that he is a little more fatigued.  They both sounded great.

When we were down there (Springfield, MO), we talked about letting me do their taxes for them so they do not need to pay a professional (they charge more than $100).  Since I knew that they would not let me do it for free, I said my charge will be $40 so we can get a bottle of wine when we go out for our "contractor" dinner (we got a gift card from our general contractor that built our new garage this summer, and he called us his "best" customers :o)). They hemmed and hawed, and said because of selling their place in Oregon, and the capital gains, they would find someone local.

Well, reason won out, she explained she had a multi-page form to fill out, and she was doing a page a day.  I said, so once you fill that out, the tax preparer basically just enters the data on the form and hits send.  She said, well, yeh, I guess so.  She then agreed to send the same information to me and let me do them.  That made my day. 

We do not do our taxes until around April 1st since we get hit pretty hard with the marriage penalty.  I did manage to sort through all my receipts and documents on Saturday, my stack of information is about 3-inches thick.  It takes me about 15-20 hours to do our taxes.  Not a chore I look forward to, but after this year, we should be in a position to get refunds.  I really look forward to that.

Hope you survive the tax season, and more importantly, go out and enjoy and spend that expected economic injection tax rebate check coming in March.  We will most likely save half and spend the other half. :o)

Tags: Taxes

Turkey Junction!

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Glorious Day

What a great day today has been; spiritually, emotionally, and later – gastronomically.  It was a journey that begins and ends with my best friend.

It started yesterday.  I had a great day working at home, with no interruptions, I always accomplish so much more than when I am in the office.  Shortly after 3:00 PM, by bride and best friend, got home from work.  We talked about our short term and long term plans, and agreed upon the actions that we needed to take in both instances.  How wonderful to have a partner who is equal in all ways.  I love her with all my heart.  The day was capped of by watching an outstanding episode of the Sopranos.

 

Today, I got to sleep in (always good during the winter) and got up at 8:00 AM, had my morning coffee (Starbucks Sumatra, my favorite), and read the paper.  I was excited to see that Tiger’s first tournament is the Buick Invitational, and he is going into today leading by four strokes.  Beth and I love watching Tiger play, and will get to see him starting at 3:00 PM this afternoon.  As always, Sheeba was “hepping” me read the paper. 

 

Right about the time I was finishing the paper, I looked outside and saw that our local turkeys were doing better than just fine – I counted over 50 of them in our back yard.  This is one of the reasons we love our homestead, Nutwood Junction.  I will put up a picture I took with Beth’s digital when she is home to help me (I have not made the transition to digital yet, I still use 35mm film).  Some of the turkeys were so brazen to fly up on the deck (about 16 feet above ground level) to scope out the bird seed (stupid birds :o)).  It was very uplifting.

 

About 11:30 AM, I headed out to run my errands.  While I was in the truck, I was planning my itinerary – post office, bank, and grocery shopping.  It was so reminiscent of the times I spent with my father growing up, and I knew that he was in the truck with me.  My parents divorced when I was 11 years old, but I got to spend every weekend with my Dad.  Our routine was to run errands every Saturday morning, with the post office, the bank, and multiple grocery stores the norm (he was a coupon shopper, just like Beth).  The memory and the knowledge that he was with me today made me feel glorious. 

 

My Dad died in 1990, very suddenly.  However, I am very lucky.  There are no regrets and nothing left unsaid.  My Dad was my best friend, my business partner, and my role model.  Not to say that there were not tough times, and anger over the divorce.  But as I grew older, we became closer, and when college and professional life arrived, I truly appreciated the man he was.  I know, deep in my soul, that this will also be the case with my children.

 

Two weeks before he died, I was on a recruiting trip for my company at the time, to my alma mater, the University of Illinois.  I took the weekend to visit my Dad, and we fell into one of our other routines.  We spent the afternoon watching football, cooked dinner together, and then watched a movie that evening – complete with our huge bowls of ice cream.  We talked long into the night.  By the way, all these things are things I do with my current best friend – although we often substitute wine for ice cream.

 

Even though his death was many years ago, the pain is still there.  As I type this, I am crying because of the things my Dad did not get to see.  My two wonderful children, my wife and partner, and Nutwood Junction. 

 

But I know that the final lesson he taught me has been accomplished.  On that last weekend with my Dad, I had him convinced to retire and to move to California to be a part of my life.  We talked about happiness, and at the time, he had started actions to be happy.  That lesson, I have internalized, because if you are not happy, then those around you cannot be happy either.  Since 1990, my road has been curvy, bumpy, and at times blocked – but as I sit here, I can say I am truly happy.  That does not mean that there are not challenges, it just means that I know that we will meet them head-on, together.  

 

So this afternoon, my best friend and I will watch some sports (go Tiger).  We will cook some dinner together (I got huge scallops, we have fresh asparagus to bake, and some blue cheese dressing for our salads).  The wine is already chilling, and we will watch some Sopranos (or maybe even Saw IV) together.  What a glorious day.

Tags: blogplugs, Best Friends, Fathers

Feed the World

http://freerice.com

The above link is an excellent cause, and gives a great sense of heightened awareness.  Thanks "Northern Trip"

http://journals.aol.co.uk/pharmolo/NorthernTrip/entries/2008/01/24/free-rice/5759

Can You Save For Retirement?

For those with kids, grand kids, nephews, nieces, etc. (Lee, thanks for the information).

FYI: According to Bankrate.com, instead of buying a large latte each morning, save the $4, starting this at age 25 could net you over half a million by age 65.

Here is the exact text: "Let's say that, beginning at age 25, you put the equivalent of seven $4 Grande lattes a week toward retirement, setting aside $121 a month. If you invest it in a stock mutual fund with annualized returns of 9 percent, you would see $23,415 after 10 years, $80,814 after 20 years, $221,520 after 30 years and a whopping half-mil, or $566,440, when you retire at age 65. "

So,  if you were able to adjust your budget to cut out other items, such as smoking (we quit in August 2006, at a savings of at least $5 per day), or other small purchases, how easy to leverage these savings to be well in excess of $1,000,000 (typed one handed with my "pinky from the other hand at the corner of my mouth", ala Dr. Evil:o)).  The sooner you start, and the more you save each month, the easier it is to reach your goals. 

Drought to Shutter some Nuke Plants?

Below is an entry from the AP - Posted: 2008-01-23 18:17:56, and repeated over a number of days.  This is an issue, but be assured that we nuclear power plant operators have only one primary priority, the health and safety of the public.  So, read for your information, and in several instances, I have added additional commentary [shown as a red highlight].  Know that we would shut down our plant prior to any threat to the public....Entry starts below:

 

Nuclear reactors across the Southeast could be forced to throttle back or temporarily shut down later this year because drought is drying up the rivers and lakes that supply power plants with the awesome amounts of cooling water they need to operate.

With a lack of precipitation causing drought-like conditions throughout the Southeast, many nuclear reactors in the region may be forced to temporarily shut down since they need massive amounts of cooling water from lakes and rivers to operate.

Utility officials say such shutdowns probably wouldn't result in blackouts. But they could lead to shockingly higher electric bills for millions of Southerners, because the region's utilities may be forced to buy expensive replacement power from other energy companies.

An Associated Press analysis of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors found that 24 are in areas experiencing the most severe levels of drought. All but two are built on the shores of lakes and rivers and rely on submerged intake pipes to draw billions of gallons of water for use in cooling and condensing steam after it has turned the plants'turbines. [For my nuclear plant, we had a forced shutdown in 2006 due to increased lake temperatures.  We now install supplemental cooling, at a cost of $1.5M per year.  We have a project for 2009 to make this supplemental cooling permanent.]

Because of the yearlong dry spell gripping the region, the water levels on those lakes and rivers are getting close to the minimums set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Over the next several months, the water could drop below the intake pipes altogether. Or the shallow water could become too hot under the sun to use as coolant.

Extending or lowering the intake pipes is not as simple as it sounds and wouldn't necessarily solve the problem. The pipes are usually made of concrete, can be up to 18 feet in diameter and can extend up to a mile. Modifications to the pipes and pump systems, and their required backups, can cost millions and take several months. If the changes are extensive, they require an NRC review that itself can take months or longer. [At my nuclear plant, we estimated a minimum of $145M for this option, over a three year period]

During Europe's brutal 2006 heat wave, French, Spanish and German utilities were forced to shut down some of their nuclear plants and reduce power at others because of low water levels — some for as much as a week.

"Currently, nuclear power costs between $5 to $7 to produce a megawatt hour," said Daniele Seitz, an energy analyst with New York-based Dahlman Rose & Co. "It would cost 10 times that amount that if you had to buy replacement power — especially during the summer." [This is why alternative energy, such as solar or wind, will not be able to replace the base loaded nuclear and coal fired large plants]

 
Water sucked from lakes and rivers passes through pipes, which act as a condenser, turning the steam back into water. The outside water never comes into direct contact with the steam or any nuclear material. [So do not be concerned with nuclear safety, which is our number one priority, this is an efficiency issue, not a safety issue.]

Tags: Nuclear Power, Drought

Home Sweet Home

So nice to be back home, again, just getting in before the snow fall.

Great to see my Bride, to hear Sheeba's snide comments (don't know where he gets it :o)),  and to catch-up on all the DinoMite comments on Beth's blog.

Thanks for the welcome home wishes from Cousin Shane and Indigo.

 

 

 

Coach or Teach?

At our work all-hands meeting on January 11, we had a local high school football coach as a speaker.  He has coached at the college level (Michigan, Navy, etc.), and was very knowledgeable.  He has taken the local team from 0-12 to 6-5 to 12-1, losing only the championship game. 

One of the things he learned from Bo Schembechler is that you do not coach young football players, you have to teach them football.  That got me thinking, that at the high school level, it is all about teaching.  At the college level, it is a mix of teaching and coaching, and at the professional level, it is all about coaching. 

I think there are parallels in other walks of life as well.  We must start with being taught, then move to seeking out or learning, and end up maintaining. 

Never lose the desire to learn new things and seek continuously for improvement.  Keeping the mind active is the best way to stay young.

Tags: blogplugs, Schembechler, coaching, football

Fighting Illini

I was reading my Illinois Alumni (U of I) magazine tonight and was intrigued by a picture of former NBA Star Michael Jordan in an Illinois shirt.  Here is what the caption said: "Above, former NBA star Michael Jordan, left, whose son, Jeff, plays on the Illinois basketball team,..."

Wow, what an endorsement for a public university.  Someone as rich as Michael Jordan (who lives in Chicago) could send his son to any school he chooses.  So obviously, "Mike" thinks that Illinois is a good school, that coach Weber is a good teacher, and he values where he lives.

Thanks Mike.

Tags: Illinois, Fighting Illini, Michael Jordan, Coach Weber

Assessment

Having good assessment skills is critical in all phases of your life. 

At home, with your spouse, you must consider the balance between intimacy, humor, white lies, finances, and talk and planning for the future versus current needs and wants.  With children, you need to balance life lessons. A lot of our learning as children is through the mistakes we make, but we do not want them to make life changing mistakes/decisions.  With our siblings and elders, including parents, we must balance family unity with being truthful, compassionate, available, and being enablers for difficult behaviors and/or situations.

What made me think of this topic today was some recent events at work.  We are in the process of conducting performance reviews of our employees.  In addition, with a new leader at the helm for our organization, different priorities and visions are being provided.  This includes the long range and strategic planning that is my responsibility. In accordance with these situations, we are assessing the needs of our department, and the skill sets of our personnel, both for now, and for the future (at least half of our department, including myself, will be retiring in less than 10 years).  One of the other department managers and I were talking yesterday and today, about the skill sets of one of his employees, and how we can transition her from his group to mine, and benefit the overall department: a win-win situation.

Just for the record, based on my experience, a win-win situation involves no compromise (which by definition implies that someone does not get everything they desire).  So we are discussing roles and responsibilities, and how to ensure that we both gain by transferring this individual contributor to my group (previous discussions with her indicate she would like to work in my group).  The whole discussion was prefaced on what her strengths and weaknesses are, and how best to leverage them.  She is a hard worker, and it is our responsibility as managers to maximize her strengths and skill sets.  This is how how you get employee engagement, increased productivity, and a great working environment. 

I look forward to bringing this to closure, being in a winning situation, where everybody walks away feeling good.  That will be "priceless."

Tags: blogplugs, assessment, engagement, productivity

American Idol?

No not me silly billies, but thanks for wondering :o)

Our hats off to the producers.  We are half way through the first night of auditions, and they have run the gamut - starting the night with a good singer who makes it through to Hollywood, hate the judges for embarrassing someone, incredulous that some singers think they are good, compassion for individual stories and shattered dreams and the judges giving them a hug, and the requisite "psychos."

 

Tags: American Idol

Rate Case

Quiet morning, having the opportunity to do some work from home.  Today four of us from my work are going to the Indiana & Michigan Power (I&M) offices in Fort Wayne, IN, to work on our first rate case filing in 15 years.  At this time of higher gasoline prices and mortgage fears, raising electricity prices is not favorable.  However, if we want to keep our power plant on-line, we need to make reliability upgrades and improvements.  We need to get these costs included into the rate case, since that is how regulated utilities make money.

Should be an educational experience. 

Hopefully the roads will be better today than they were yesterday.

Update:

It was very educational, and I learned a lot about how the rate case process works.  However, based on Beth's eyes glazing over as I tried to explain it, I will leave this to you to research on your own :o)

Tags: Rate Case, Electricity

Humor - A Cure All?

I would be remiss if I did not circle back occasionally to humor and how much it is a part of our lives here at Nutwood Junction. 

I have been doing quite a bit of work from home recently, and that means turning on my work computer, or using the VPN connection.  In either case, this results in the "Windows" tune.  How we ever got on it, especially such juvenile (a.k.a. farting for fun) humor, escapes me, but when we hear the "Windows" tune, we look at the cat and say "Sheeba!" and do the "Phew!" look at each other.  Cracks us up every time.

This has been a welcome relief over the past couple of days.....

Good thoughts and prayers to my stepfather who starts prostate cancer radiation treatments tomorrow.

Tags: Humor

Pigs, Goats & Elephants Energy Conservation

If you follow the energy needs of the country, you know that there is a conundrum, we need new energy to power our ever more sophisticated devices (did you kow that a plasma TV consumes 3 times the power of you refrigerator?), that new coal plants (our most prolific energy resource) are being denied due to carbon concerns, and new nuclear is a number of years off and has the waste issue to still be resolved.  Below is a summary of what one utility, where I used to work and we affectionately called Pigs, Goats and Elephants (PG&E), is doing.  Note, coal and nuclear are both banned by law in California.

From the Wall Street Journal: SAN FRANCISCO -- California´s biggest utility is making a huge financial bet on solving a light-bulb riddle: How much energy can it conserve by getting its customers to remove one sort of bulb and screw in another?

To cut energy costs and help reduce the emissions that cause global warming, utilities are facing an unusual imperative. They need to convince consumers to use less of their product. PG&E is staking its success on getting consumers to junk conventional incandescent light bulbs in favor of energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps,commonly called CFLs -- corkscrew- or egg-shaped bulbs that use about a quarter as much electricity as regular bulbs and last several times as long.

California policy makers have set the most ambitious conservation targets in the U.S. The state´s three major investor-owned electric utilities were told last summer to reduce their combined energy use by the equivalent of three power plants to earn big bonuses -- or face the possibility of big penalties if they fail.

Utilities across the country are watching for the results. About half of U.S. energy use flows through the nation´s utilities, and a powerful combination of rising fuel costs and climate-change fears is putting increasing pressure on them to find ways to reduce the demand. Coal plants are causing environmental concerns, natural gas is subject to huge price swings, nuclear plants remain controversial and even wind farms are proving hard to site without opposition. So producing less energy has new appeal for utilities´ bottom lines.

The utility is counting on lighting for more than half its state-ordered conservation gains, and is spending $116 million on making CFL bulbs cheap, plentiful and attractive enough to customers. There are obstacles: In addition to the expense when the bulbs aren´t subsidized, they contain a tiny amount of toxic mercury, making them harder to dispose of when they burn out or break.

California regulators essentially are giving utilities a chance to earn as much profit by reducing energy as by producing it. The state has designated $2 billion in utility customers´ payments to be spent over three years on conservation programs. The utilities need to spend that money to find ways to avoid another $2.7 billion in energy costs, by reducing demand enough that they can buy less power or build fewer plants. If they come close enough to the target, regulators award them a cut of the savings; if not, they pay a penalty.

Lighting makes up about 37% of the average energy use in a typical California home, according to the energy commission, and CFLs can slash that part of the bill by three-quarters. But because it´s mostly used at night, in most areas of the country lighting has little effect on peak power demand -- a major reason utilities build power plants.

PG&E´s Pacific Gas & Electric unit, which serves one in 20 Americans, tumbled into bankruptcy protection as a result of the state´s 2000-01 energy crisis, but has since bounced back with ambitions of becoming the nation´s greenest utility company.

Tags: CFL, Incadescent, PG&E

High Way :o)

There are some specific things I would really like to write about in this forum, but have chosen not to.  This will soon change, but for now, I will keep things on the up-and-up. 

One thing I did not directly address is that consistent with my previous Zero Tolerance entry, I have disabled alerts from a specific blog/journal, and blocked entries to same, from a source that was full of hidden agendas and nastiness.  This has provided a wonderful break. After further reflection and discussion with my wife, we have agreed to stay consistent with our "high road" philosophy [a.k.a. High Way, LOL], and we will no longer frequent that blog/journal.  It is a very refreshing and uplifting decison.  Going forward, expect only positive and reflective entries from here.

So, C'est la vie.

Tags: C'est la vie

Zero Tolerance

Whether in the work place, volunteer organizations, religion, or your personal life, one must always be on the lookout for a hidden agenda.  

What is a hidden agenda?  --- An undisclosed plan, especially one with an ulterior motive.  Since the agenda is secret, one has to rely on minimal clues to determine what others are thinking.  This requires a person or group to participate in an activity, and to have unannounced objectives, needs, expectations, or strategies.

People with hidden agendas are either players or disruptors.  I really have no use for either.  Both of these are examples of negative energy, and one I choose not to participate in --- zero tolerance.  

I write in my blog as an outlet, as a means of communication with friends, and as an opportunity to make new acquaintances.  If you do not like what you read, either make a constructive comment, or stop reading. Comments that are derived from hidden agendas will not be tolerated.  

Tags: Hidden Agenda, Zero Tolerance

Perspective

I had the opportunity to chat today with an acquaintance at work regarding some recent trials and tribulations we have in common.  It was refreshing to get perspective and support from another divorced, and remarried, Dad.  But that perspective is for another time and place.

During our last refueling outage, this acquaintance had to take medical leave.  He was out for 5 weeks.  Turns out that he has Crohn's disease.  The bottom line is that your digestive system shuts down in multiple ways, and in the worst case scenario, can prevent the absorption of nutrients from food.  This often requires radical surgery.  He has been able to avoid the surgery, and is back to work.  He has a positive perspective and thanks God for helping him through this issue (he was diagnosed 15 years ago).  Stress is a big cause of a "flare up", and he is doing his best to keep a positive outlook.  I let him know that he is in my prayers.  Really puts things in perspective.

I feel blessed to have good health, and that my family also has good health.  God Bless and stay healthy.

Busy Bee :o)

Wow, what a busy time at work.  End of the year/Start of a new year are very busy times in my Business Services world at work.  Working on finalizing the incentive plan results for the year, developing the Business Plan for 2008 (including the Strategic Plan for the plant), completing performance reviews for 2007, developing the generation forecast for the next 15 years (including power uprates and efficiency improvements), and developing the incentive plan for 2008. 

I spent quite a bit of time working on these things this weekend, plus getting in a few workouts.  Beth was battling a cold, and this morning I felt like I was getting it (stuffy, scratchy throat, etc.).  However after about six hours, I started to feel better.  Like Beth said on her blog, quitting smoking has worked wonders on our immune systems.  Used to be that a cold would immediately go to my chest and become bronchitis.

Hope you are enjoying your New Year and that 2008 is a great year for you.  I know that our long range planning starts to show fruit this year, so we are looking for a good year here.

Tags: Power Uprates, Quit Smoking

Momentary Lapses

This entry is inspired by comments to my Hypocritic Oath? entry by <http://journals.aol.com/karensull12>. Thanks for the comment :o) “I admit to being hypocritical about some things and honestly don't know if it's possible not to be at least sometimes.... I am suspicious of people who say they NEVER lie or cheat or do anything wrong mostly because I don't think it's possible.”

 

I agree that we all do things that can make us seem like a hypocrite.  What gets my goat is when a person or organization makes a big deal about defining their core values, and then does something that is one-eighty from that stated position.  It makes you wonder what drove the contrary behavior – was it a lie (deception with the intent to deceive), delusional (belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception), or just a momentary lapse [of reason? <LOL>]. 

 

That does not mean that we do not occasionally do something that causes hurt feelings.  It really is a question of why?  For me, this can be broken down into three simple categories [KISS].

 

1.    Unintentional. Pretty self-explanatory. I know that in my case, I have hurt my wife’s feelings due to my teasing; there is a time and place for humor (most of the time for me), but at times it can cross the line. 

2.    Intentional – White Lies.  This can take multiple forms, answering a simple question with the response you know the other person wants to hear, stretching the truth because it is the easiest path, partial answers that omit information that contradicts another’s position.  The key here is that the intent is to benefit yourself, and/or the recipient, by avoiding hurt feelings.

3.    Intentional - Mean. There are times when people intentionally try to hurt.  This is something I try to avoid.  Although, I have to admit, on the rare occasion it is just too easy to reach out and tweak somebody, especially if their behavior is over the top.   However, this takes a lot of negative energy.  Furthermore, I believe in the basic goodness of people, and to go through life otherwise just wastes a lot of energy that could be used for more purposeful things. 

 

So I say, whenever possible, take the “high road” by avoiding Category 3 as much as possible. 

Tags: White Lies, Deception, Hypocrite, blogplugs

KennyPig?

While visiting my Mom recently, Beth was able to scour many cookbooks and recipes, and tonight we are having another one of them.  For years we have laughed about me being her Guinea Pig as she experimented with our nightly repast.  Tonight's meal is Cashew Chicken Casserole.  After smelling the onions (and making sure my little klutz was safe with the knife in her hand), I stated another opportunity for "KennyPig".  Beth did not quite snort, be we both found it funny. Felt the need to share.

Buh-Bye Bulb :o)

From the 1/2/08 Wall Street Journal:  Just like that -- like flipping a switch -- Congress and the president banned incandescent light bulbs last month. OK, they did not exactly ban them. But the energy bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush sets energy-efficiency standards for light bulbs that traditional incandescent bulbs cannot meet. 

The new rules phase in starting in 2012 [for 100-watt bulbs], but don´t be lulled by that five-year delay. Whether it´s next week or next decade, you will one day walk into a hardware store looking for a 100-watt bulb -- and there won´t be any. By 2014, the new efficiency standards will apply to 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt bulbs too.

So if you´re GE or Philips or Sylvania, the demise of the plain vanilla lightbulb is less a threat than an opportunity -- an opportunity, in particular, to replace a product that you can sell for 50 cents with one that sells for $3 or more.  Yes, the $3 bulb lasts longer. Yes, it cuts your electricity bill. When every one of the four billion light sockets in our country has an energy-saving bulb in it, we will be saving $18 billion a year on our electric bill. That´s $4.50 per bulb -- and the bulb makers are standing by to make sure a substantial portion of those "savings" get transformed into profits for them.

What´s remarkable about this bit of market interference is that there is, basically, nothing wrong with the present-day, Edison-style lightbulb. It´s not a lawn dart or a lead-painted toy or a magnet that will perforate your kid´s intestines if he swallows it. It is what it is, and for most people in most applications, it was good enough. So the lightbulb makers and the environmentalists convinced Congress to ban them for no better reason than they believed everyone would bebetter off with something else.

Don´t fault the bulb makers for this. If Microsoft could get a law passed requiring users to upgrade Windows, they´d probably go for it, too. Same with Detroit -- "Buy a hybrid, or else!" would probably suit them fine. But do remember this the next time a company goes to Washington to save the world: They´ll end up doing it at your expense.

Tags: Compact Flourescent, Philips, GE, Sylvania

Gift of Hope

As you saw from a recent blog entry, my wife and I recently took a quick trip to see my Mom and Stepfather in Springfield, Missouri.  This was not our original plan for Christmas, but our traditional plans did not come to pass.  As I mentioned previously, sometimes every cloud has a silver lining, and I am an optimist at heart, so attempt to find the good in a situation.

For this holiday season, that was not difficult at all.  Over the years, my Mom has had a string of medical issues, with a recent escallation in frequency.  In addition, I found out that my Stepfather has prostate cancer and will soon commence 43 days of radiation treatment.   Over the past 10 years, my Stepfather has really stepped up and taken care of my Mom, and for that, I have come to truly love him.  For these reasons, we decided to spend several days celebrating the holidays with them.

We celebrated our Christmas with my Mom and Stepfather on Thursday (12/27).  The best present that we gave to anyone this year was to them; money to cover two months worth of his medication, for the radiation treatments, that is not covered by their insurance or medicaid.  Their reaction and gratitude, for the gift and for our visit during this difficult time, was special for us.  The gift of family, support, prayers, and most of all, hope, is what the holiday season is all about.  We feel very blessed.

Tags: Hope, Love

Deja Vu

Watching the Fighting Illini tonight against USC brought back memories of their last Rose Bowl trip in 1984.  I had the chance during my Senior year at the University of Illinois to go to the 1984 Rose Bowl.  What a wonderful 10 day trip, except for the three hours during which the Illini got whipped, just like tonight.

I did get the chance, against my better judgement, to cheer for Michigan, who managed to beat Florida.  I swallowed my pride and called Coach to congratulate him on his team's victory.

I have to admit though, that even though I am a huge Big Ten fan, I have not made up my mind regarding the National Championship.  My leaning currently is to cheer for LSU over Ohio State.

Back to the grind tomorrow, hope you all had a great start to 2008.

Bucko.

Tags: Illini, LSU, Ohio State, Rose Bowl

Hobo?

First - HAPPY NEW YEAR !.

Origins of the name Bucko - in another lifetime (1995-1997), while living in Monroe Michigan, I had the opportunity to become involved in "clowning", being a clown that is.  My chosen character is a hobo clown (in the vein of Emmett Kelly, Jr.), a character that is down on his luck but eternally optimistic.  This fits my personality very well, and also the fact that the hobo character is more silent than vocal, again, a good fit for me.  The name "Bucko" came from my children being told that Daddy is working for the "buckos", resulting in my clown name.

Why this entry at this time you might ask?  Below is a comment I posted on my wife's blog (http://journals.aol.com/luvrte66/nutwoodjunction/), after she had a reference from Dr. Will on his blog:

An optimist will trump a pessimist every time.  Finding the good in any situation, being pragmatic and taking the long term approach, can only result in a positive outlook and result.

Congrats on you comment from Dr. Will :o)

Bucko

Tags: Clown, Dr. Will, Optimist, Emmett Kelly,