A whole lot of celebration going on!

Lots of news here lately...
First, last weekend I received this,

and this.

From Mobile Uploads

In case you can't read the small type they are letters from the Provost and President of Pepperdine congratulating me on receiving tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. :-) This is a significant milestone in a journey that began over 10-years ago when I looked frankly at my life as a consultant and decided "I do not want to be writing code ten years from now."


For the past year+ I've been thinking that if I received tenure, I would celebrate by purchasing a new, sportier motorcycle.  However, over the past year our family car has begun having some significant issues... some of them cosmetic (paint, electric windows, general signs of aging), and some more structural (hey, it's a Toyota!). So, I simply couldn't feel good about buying an NTT (New Tenure Toy) while the family was in an aging wagon.  With all of this on my mind, we went for a hike on Saturday afternoon on the Backbone Trail (which is literally minutes from our house).  Here's an picture from the trail...

After the hike we went shopping for geraniums at a local nursury.  However, we were too late and the nursury was closed.  Keyes Nissan, however, was still open.  One thing led to another, and before you know it, we were saying goodbye to our beloved 2001 Sienna (you can see Marcus wasn't quite ready to part with it).

From Mobile Uploads

And we were driving home in a beautiful 2006 Nissan Armada.  Michelle, being a Texan, has always had a thing for big trucks.  So, this is just up her alley.

From Mobile Uploads

To keep the celebration going, on Monday, Michelle drove up to her orthodontist and had her braces removed! Here's her new smile...

Having secured the new family wagon, and paid off the orthodontist I felt much better about heading out to the local Thousand Oaks Powersports on Tuesday and signing up for a 2009 Kawi Versys.  I rode the Green Lantern home on Tuesday night.

Now I just need a matching green jacket and helmet and I'll be set!  The bike is a great combination of sporty handling, but comfortable riding position.  It's got a much higher "fun factor" than my cruiser and with a few adjustments (lower foot pegs and a softer seat) I think it will be ready for long distance cruising.

One more thing to wind up a wonderful week.  Yesterday I was officially offered, and accepted, the position as Associate Dean of Full-Time Programs at the Graziadio School of Business here at Pepperdine! Beginning on Aug. 1, 2010, I'll leave the quality control & production line of higher ed, and move into the category of "overhead".  I'm excited about the opportunity to make a difference in an institution that I care deeply about.

After a week like that, we're ready to for some relaxing.  So, we leave today at noon for a week-long driving tour of the CA Coast.  We'll be in San Francisco Fri-Sun, then in Redwoods National Park, Crater Lake Oregon, Sacramento, CA and finally back in LA.  Of course, we'll be in the new Armada burning an amazing 12 MPG.  Oh well... March 2010 will go down as one of the best months so far.

Friday Thoughts...

Again, I've waited until Friday to say anything at all on my blog, but I've been active on Twitter all week (drwilliamsisin and workthecloud).  Here are some news and notes from the week...

• Madison made some delicious cupcakes this week.  Yum!
• The big news is Matt's big show is this week.  Opening night was last night and it was a blast!  We enjoyed the show a lot and Matt was terrific.  Mimi is coming to town tomorrow to see it.  We're all looking forward to seeing her...it's been nearly a year.
• Tonight we're hosting the youth group for Matt's show and then a party at our house after.  Should be a kick.
• I wrapped up the first half of the semester this week.  I had my students over for lunch on Wednesday and we had a wonderful time enjoying some burritos and getting to know one another a bit better.
• I'm on "spring break" next week with no classes again for ten days. :-)
• I finally was able to catch up with JA this week.  We got together one night after everyone was in bed and watch thy Olympics and caught up on about a year's worth of news. 
  
• ACU announced their new President...and he's my age!  Holy moly!
  
• Big news this week is that Google released "Buzz" and promptly received a class-action lawsuit from a Harvard Law student for privacy invasion.

• We are LOVING the Olympics!  Vonn, White, Mancuso, Teeter...what a fun group of athletes.  The highlight so far has been that almost every sport we've seen Madison has said "I could do that!"  She really believes it too. :-).  So yesterday on our way up from the gym we tried some "speed skating training" that we had seen on the Olympics.  It wore her out in about 5 minutes!  She responded..."Well, I said I could be a speed skater, not that I could do those silly exercises!". :-)
  

Be observant of children and pets...

I just received the following email from my employer (who also happens to be my neighborhood association).

Dear Residents,

Public Safety has asked that we pass on the following information to you.

A local biologist that tracks collared mountain lions, has tracked one to the general area of the Baxter water tank. Mountain lions in the area are not an unusual occurrence, as they frequent the entire Santa Monica mountains.

Please be observant of children and pets.

Thank you.

Assistant Real Estate Manager

Pepperdine University Real Estate Operations

I love the last line... I don't know about you, but I read it as "You can observe this 300lb mountain lion consume the children and pets!  The show starts at dusk!  Don't miss it!"  :-)

Friday Thoughts...

Inspired by DMC's recent post, I've decided to do a "Friday Thoughts" column each week.  this will just be random updates and events in my life.  It's going to be boring, irrelevant, and non-newsworthy.  However, it's what's going on.  if you are still interested...read on.

• Son #2 loves the cub scouts.  He just started a few weeks ago, but he's totally eating it up.  Here is a photo of him all ready for school this week...
  
  
• I'm so grateful for our new home.  We moved in February and the view from here just never gets old.  Here's a recent sunrise with the moon still hanging over the bay.
  
• We're having our DC friends over for dinner tonight. We've not seen them since November! We try to have one big get together each month, but we've missed the last few. Sadly, the Reverend won't be at this one, but hopefully we'll see him before too long.  In honor of the Rev, we're having BBQ Brisket, homemade cornbread, beans, and cole slaw. 
  
• We're going to a friends house for the Annual GSBM Full-Time MBA Faculty Super Bowl party on Sunday.  In honor of our IN roots, we're bringing brats and Miller High Life.  Thanks to Kerry Ward for introducing me to bratwurst when we lived in Bloomington.
• Read Speed of Trust.  It's excellent for anyone who deals with people in a professional setting.  Even if you are a volunteer at church, you'll get a lot of value from this simple book about how being a trustworthy person builds effectiveness.
• IMHO, the whole Toyota thing is a bunch of crock being sold by corporate media.  I'm sure there is some problem, but it's not nearly as big as it's being billed.  Come on!  It's been the cover story of WSJ, NYT, LAT, CNN... for a week now.  My only explanation is that 1) the millions of Toyota customers out there are worried, so they are interested in watching/reading this "news" and/or 2) Rupert Murdoch owns stock in GM & Ford.
• Have you tried the news skimmer from NYTimes?  It's the best way to read the news in print.
• IMHO - there are clearly no women on Apple's new product development team.  How else do you explain the iPad? (Check out this great MadTV skit if you haven't already seen it... "iPad")
• Thinking about pulling the trigger on this new bike from ebay...A v strom 650.
• Finally...tomorrow night is the MPC Father-Daughter dance.  Madison is SO excited.  She's been practicing dance at school this semester and can't wait to teach me a thing or two.  Should be a blast!  I'll post photos next week.
  

Long time coming...

Wow...it's been over a month since I've blogged.  Thanks to my favorite cousin for pointing out that I've fallen off the cliff.  A few thoughts...

• I've pretty much migrated to Twitter and FB...mostly Twitter.  You can find my work-related tweets at http://www.twitter.com/DrWilliamsIsIn.  I sometimes post a few personal thoughts at http://www.twitter.com/m5williams.
• I've been thinking a lot lately...and reading.  I'm enjoying "The Speed of Trust", and "The Yiddish Policemen's Union", and am just staring "The Immortal Life of Henrietty Locks".  
• I'm rooting for the Saints just because Irsay moved the Colts from Baltimore in the middle of the night and I've never forgiven him.  I think my first NFL stadium was old Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.  
• I really like Spanish Garnacha wine.  I just discovered it recently and can't think of another wine I like as well.
• Today Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (aka the Swing Vote) spoke at Pepperdine today.  In typical fashion, I was too busy grading papers to attend. How short-sighted is that!?!@?!?!!?
• I'm thinking of buying a Nexus and selling my iPhone.  Any thoughts?  Don't get me wrong... I love my iPhone, but I'm not much of an Apple guy.
• In the last few weeks I've cleared out about $300 worth of crap from my office through eBay.  Mostly old books from my PhD program.  But also a couple of mobile phones.  The oddest item of questionable value?  An old book from my Missiology studies that still had the "ACU BOOKSTORE" sticker on it.  I just sold it for 3.5x the "new" price.
• I miss my friend JA.  I haven't seen him for more than 5-minutes since he took his new job and I moved across the street.
• I can't WAIT for a motorcycle ride with my brother in May.  Rte. 66 from Flagstaff to Chicago.  Holy moly it's going to be fun!
• I'm one of those that are moving my money from Big Banks.  I know it won't make a big macro-economic difference since there aren't many of us, and the big banks will just pass it on to the customers anyway.  But in principle, I just can't stand to support them any longer.  I've changed my accounts from BoA to University Credit Union .  I'll keep you posted.
• Children 2 & 3 were both very sick last week.  The bad news was they barely got out of bed.  The good news is that they both started reading Harry Potter and are totally addicted.  Daughter read 1 book a day for the whole week.  Amazing.
• We re-joined Netflix recently.  The best part is that it streams to our new Xbox 360.  We rarely watch DVDs now.
• I've recently discovered a new favorite... Lindt Dark Chocolate with at Touch of Sea Salt.  Absolutely amazing.  I could eat one bar a day.
• I'm trying to read about 50-80% of my reading on my Sony Reader.  I love the form factor, but I need better light than I do with a paper book.

4 CoC Related Schools in Financial Jeopardy

The US Dept. of Education's "Financial Responsibility Test" was recently announced. This test indicates that according to certain ratios, a private higher education institution may be at risk for failure. These schools are subject to extra monitoring on their use of federal student aid funds. Notice four Church of Christ related school made the list this year, led by Michigan's Rochester College.

COLLEGES THAT FAILED THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S FINANCIAL-RESPONSIBILITY TEST These 114 private, nonprofit, degree-granting institutions scored below 1.5, the passing level. Institution State Fiscal year (ended) Score Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College Calif. June 2008 -1.0 City College at Casselberry Fla. December 2007 -1.0 Kendall College Ill. June 2008 -1.0 Chancellor U. Ohio June 2008 -1.0 Robert B. Miller College Mich. June 2008 -1.0 Ave Maria School of Law Mich. June 2008 -0.9 Rochester College Mich. May 2008 -0.8 Long Island College Hospital School of Nursing N.Y. December 2007 -0.6 Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York N.Y. December 2007 -0.6 Hebrew College Mass. June 2008 -0.3 San Francisco Art Institute Calif. June 2008 -0.3 Trinity Life Bible College Calif. June 2008 -0.3 Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine Va. June 2008 -0.2 Hebrew Theological College Ill. June 2008 -0.2 Hope International U. Calif. May 2008 -0.2 St. Andrews Presbyterian College N.C. May 2008 -0.2 Davis College (N.Y.) N.Y. June 2008 -0.1 Tai Sophia Institute Md. July 2007 -0.1 Vanguard U. of Southern California Calif. June 2008 -0.1 Bethel College (Ind.) Ind. June 2008 0.1 Crossroads College Minn. June 2008 0.2 General Theological Seminary N.Y. June 2008 0.2 Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College Okla. June 2008 0.2 St. Petersburg Theological Seminary Fla. June 2009 0.3 Thomas More College of Liberal Arts N.H. May 2008 0.3 Central Christian College of Kansas Kan. June 2008 0.4 La Roche College Pa. June 2008 0.4 Lambuth U. Tenn. June 2008 0.4 Concordia U. (Calif.) Calif. June 2008 0.5 Daniel Webster College N.H. June 2008 0.5 Waldorf College Iowa May 2008 0.5 Wolford College Fla. June 2008 0.5 American Conservatory Theater Calif. June 2008 0.6 Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond Va. June 2008 0.6 Dana College Neb. May 2008 0.6 Eden Theological Seminary Mo. June 2008 0.6 Newbury College Mass. June 2008 0.6 Northeastern Seminary N.Y. June 2008 0.6 Ohio Valley U. W.Va. June 2008 0.6 Paul Quinn College Tex. June 2008 0.6 Pine Manor College Mass. June 2008 0.6 Rabbinical College of Telshe Ohio June 2008 0.6 Traditional Chinese Medical College of Hawaii Hawaii June 2008 0.6 Valley Forge Christian College Pa. June 2008 0.6 Caldwell College N.J. June 2008 0.7 Crossroads Bible College Ind. June 2008 0.7 Kuyper College Mich. June 2008 0.7 Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia Pa. June 2008 0.7 North American Baptist Seminary S.D. June 2008 0.7 Southern Catholic College Ga. June 2008 0.7 Boulder College of Massage Therapy Colo. December 2007 0.8 California Institute of Integral Studies Calif. June 2008 0.8 Siena Heights U. Mich. June 2008 0.8 Tennessee Wesleyan College Tenn. June 2008 0.8 Wells College N.Y. June 2008 0.8 Bacone College Okla. July 2007 0.9 Dominican College of Blauvelt N.Y. June 2008 0.9 Family of Faith College Okla. June 2008 0.9 Harcum College Pa. June 2008 0.9 Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Ill. June 2008 0.9 Montreat College N.C. June 2008 0.9 Newberry College S.C. June 2008 0.9 Rabbinical College Beth Shraga N.Y. August 2007 0.9 School of Urban Missions at Oakland Calif. June 2008 0.9 Wesley Biblical Seminary Miss. June 2008 0.9 Evangel U. Mo. April 2008 1.0 Messenger College Mo. June 2008 1.0 Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Wis. May 2008 1.0 Southeastern U. (D.C.) D.C. August 2007 1.0 Springfield College in Illinois Ill. May 2008 1.0 Trinity Lutheran College Wash. June 2008 1.0 Yeshivath Beth Moshe Pa. June 2008 1.0 Atlantic Union College Mass. May 2008 1.1 Dallas Christian College Tex. June 2008 1.1 Florida Christian College Fla. May 2008 1.1 Louisburg College N.C. May 2008 1.1 Nyack College N.Y. June 2008 1.1 Ottawa U. Kan. June 2008 1.1 Boston Baptist College Mass. June 2008 1.2 Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Kan.) Kan. July 2007 1.2 Concordia College (Ala.) Ala. June 2008 1.2 Houston Graduate School of Theology Tex. June 2008 1.2 Lexington College Ill. June 2008 1.2 Mount Olive College N.C. June 2008 1.2 Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Ill. June 2008 1.2 Tiffin U. Ohio June 2008 1.2 Trinity Bible College N.D. May 2008 1.2 Utica College N.Y. May 2008 1.2 American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Calif. September 2007 1.3 Benedict College S.C. June 2008 1.3 Brevard College N.C. May 2008 1.3 Brewton-Parker College Ga. June 2008 1.3 Clinton Junior College S.C. June 2008 1.3 Finlandia U. Mich. June 2008 1.3 Rosemont College Pa. June 2008 1.3 Unification Theological Seminary N.Y. June 2008 1.3 United Theological Seminary Ohio June 2008 1.3 Williamson Christian College Tenn. June 2008 1.3 York College Neb. June 2008 1.3 Alliant International U. Calif. June 2008 1.4 Arlington Baptist College Tex. May 2008 1.4 Calvary Bible College and Theological Seminary Mo. June 2008 1.4 Christ the King Seminary N.Y. May 2008 1.4 Concordia U. (Ill.) Ill. June 2008 1.4 Dakota Wesleyan U. S.D. May 2008 1.4 Elms College Mass. June 2008 1.4 Eugene Bible College Ore. June 2008 1.4 Eureka College Ill. June 2008 1.4 John F. Kennedy U. Calif. June 2008 1.4 MacMurray College Ill. May 2008 1.4 Olivet College Mich. June 2008 1.4 Rabbinical College of Long Island N.Y. June 2008 1.4 Southwestern Christian U. Okla. June 2008 1.4 St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary Fla. June 2008 1.4 NOTE: All private colleges that award federal student aid must participate in the Department of Education's financial-responsibility test, which is based on information from their audited financial statements. The department develops a composite score on a scale of 3.0 to minus 1.0, based on financial ratios that measure factors such as net worth, operating losses, and the relationship of assets to liabilities. Institutions with scores of 1.5 to 3 pass. In addition to extra monitoring for all institutions that "fail," those with scores below 1.0 are required to post a letter of credit with the department equal to 10 percent of the federal student aid that goes to their students annually. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education

---

http://chronicle.com

PS - for a better view of the list, see it here.

It's all red!!!

A HEAT map is a helpful way to quickly analyze lots of information for trends. They are useful in countless situations where users need to aggregate large amounts of data quickly. Today's S&P500 Heat Map is SO disturbing. Firms are shown by their relative size, and the color indicates how they are trading today. Bright red indicates that particular stock is down by at least 3%. Of the S&P 500 only 2 stocks are up by more than 3% today. Holy cow...

Who would Jesus Smack Down

This is the question from the NYT today in a story about the Seattle-based Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill.  An interesting read... http://is.gd/ferT

Go Ravens...

Today's upset of the Titan's sealed my on-going question of whether I should root for the Ravens. Count me as a fan and send me some Raven's apparel. A Joe Flacco Jersey for my upcoming 40th would be nice.

I need to do some research, but I suspect the Ravens are one of the most successful (in terms of overall winning percentage) NFL teams in the Mid-Atlantic region over the past 10 years (for those of you not familiar, that's MD, VA, WV, PA, NY, NJ, and DE). Five of the last ten seasons they've won more than 10 games in a 16 game season.

I've not done any statistical analysis, but I suspect it's a close call between the Eagles, Yankees, and Ravens. DMC-do you know how these teams compare?

2008 in 38 Questions…a new year’s meme

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?

Flow Yoga at Pepperdine Rec…it was awesome! I'm definitely hoping to do more Yoga in 2009. Great exercise, terrific calming atmosphere, and low-impact. (I wish I could count the Rose Parade, but technically that was 2009).

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm not a resolutions kind of guy any more. However, I've been satisfied with the life I've lived in 2008 in all the usual resolution categories.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Hmmm…I don't think so. Lots of friends from church, but no family members (that I can remember!).

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully, no.

5. What countries did you visit?

Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

A new house with an ocean view. Seriously.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Well… I can't think of any. Lots of special memories, but not date related.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

It's a tie between maintaining a healthy lifestyle for another year and finally resubmitting a journal article that's been on my desk for nearly a year.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Spending too much time on my teaching, and not enough on my research. I've enjoyed the teaching but more research for 2009…

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope! After some ear and dental issues in 2007, 2008 was free from injury and illness.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A Yamaha V-Star 1100 (and of course, the road trip I took with Mark on it).

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

So many people in my family…Matt, Madison, Marcus, Michelle. I'm so proud of Matt for learning C++, Madison for her amazing Viola skills, and Marcus for learning to read, write, and become and artist. Michelle deserves celebrating for dealing with a few very difficult situations with amazing grace and humility.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

W.

14. Where did most of your money go?

The downturn drain.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I think the Moto Tour with Mark was the most exciting thing I've done in a long time.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

This isn't really an answer to this question…but I think my favorite new artist of 2008 is Jamie Cullum. I know he's not new, but I just found him this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?

This year was ideal…I'm exactly the same in all three of these categories. J

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Quality time with my family (he says as he sits on the couch blogging rather than interacting with either of his boys who have asked him a dozen times this morning to play something else…)

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Reading the news. This is a total waste of time and I hope to do much less of it in 2009.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

With my beautiful family, getting fatter and happier. Although this was the first time in my life I've not been with my parents and siblings. That was a bit odd, but we had a good time anyway.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

I'm philosophically opposed to the expression "Fall In Love"…but I have had a rapid increase in positive affect towards my V-Star.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I don't think I watched a single TV program in 2008. Unless you count a few NFL football games. If they count it had to be the first Redskins/Cowboys game this fall.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Nope. Same hate list as last year. I'm not saying who's on it though. J

24. What was the best book you read?

Close call… I'd have to say it's a toss-up between Crime and Punishment and Moby Dick (both of which I listened to on Audio during our cross-state summer vacation).

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Jamie Cullum, and Simple Plan (which I actually "discovered" on a Scooby Doo episode Marcus watched).

26. What did you want and get?

The V-Star, time with Michelle in Europe, and a long family-vacation.

27. What did you want and not get?

A new iMac for the bedroom PC.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Ironman

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I think we went out for Sushi for my 39^th bday. This year I'm hoping to do a bit more for the big day.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A yoga schedule that fit my schedule.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

In a word…transitional. I've had the opportunity to redo my wardrobe over the past 18-months.

32. What kept you sane?

Absolutely nothing.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Obama

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Another toss-up…between Guantanamo Bay and the toothless SEC/Fed

35. Who did you miss?

All my family at Christmas.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

This is actually a tough question…I don't know that I've met many new people lately. I'm kind of in a "go deep and narrow" phase in my personal life. I don't have the time and space for many new people. That sounds awful, doesn't it?

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

Fiction is more fun (and instructive) than non-fiction.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

After years of expensive education,

a car full of books and anticipation,

I'm an expert on Shakespeare and that's a hell of a lot

but the world don't need scholars as much as I thought.

Jamie Cullum-TwentySomething

The escalating costs of education...

Today's NYT ran an insightful story about the rising costs of education in America. Over the past 25 years housing, healthcare, and education costs have far outpaced wages. We are currently hearing much about healtcare and housing policies. It's time to give attention to our national policies toward educating our children and creating human capital, not just liquidity.

The Big Three...

Lots of news today about the Big 3 hitting up the US taxpayers for more money.

I have posted elsewhere that I strongly support deficit spending and am clearly not a libertarian.

However, I simply can not fathom how it makes sense for the American Taxpayer to protect the stockholders of GM, Ford, and Cerberus (the Hedge Fund that owns Chrysler). 

First, it is absolutely ridiculous to believe that these companies are somehow a matter of national security.  If these firms go into bankruptcy, they will eventually come out.  America will not lose its ability to design, engineer, manufacture and sell cars simply because they go into bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy is the legal way firms deal with the problems the Big 3 are facing.  I view their current tactics as shameless opportunism.

Second, it defies logic that automobile labor in Michigan deserves to earn $70/hr and life-time benefits while those who perform the same tasks for Nissan, Toyota, and Suburu in Tennessee, Indiana, and Alabama earn approximately half-that.  Why should all the US taxpayers subsidize these overpaid laborers?  To bring a sharper point to it... the Big 3 are asking the working families of those non-union auto-workers in Tennessee to subsidize the inflated values of Detroit unions with their tax dollars.  Is that fair?

Finally, I  doubt anyone gives much credibility to the Big 3's assertion that this "loan" will somehow be a "bridge to a brighter future".  In fact, these companies will continue to create low-quality products with little innovation and outsized energy requirements.  

I am not always so Darwinian...but in this case I say "let them eat cake."  The Big 3 have made this mess and we should let the management and owners who brought them to the brink of bankruptcy pay the price.  Externalizing the costs of their poor judgement on the rest of the country is short-sighted and wrong.

On the mend...

I think (cross-my-fingers) that everyone is through with this stomach virus now. No one has actually been sick in about 30-hours.  Michelle and I seem OK.  Thanks for your prayers and kind words.

Michelle and the kids are at PU's Christmas Concert while I'm at home getting Tater to bed so he can get enough rest to go to school for the first time all week tomorrow.

This weekend should be interesting.  I have a variety of graduation related events Fri & Sat, Michelle is camping with the Girl Scouts from 7am Sat to noon Sun, Madison has three soccer games in the Regional AYSO playoffs about an hour from here, and we have two or three Christmas events at church.  Whew...I'm tired already!

Another reason to love ca. 81 deg on thanksgiving weekend.

It's raining again!

It’s finally raining in LA! It seems like it’s been a year, but it’s
only been about six months since we’ve had any measurable rainfall. It
has such a soothing effect on my spirit!

Waking up to the smell of smoke...

View Larger Map

At about 4:30am on Saturday I awoke to the strong smell of smoke. The winds are blowing really hard this weekend, so we're all on edge anyway. I immediately went to the LATimes.com site and found this story and the map above. As you can see, we're not really in any danger right now, but the smoke and smell is awful. I suspect soccer and other events will be cancelled today and we'll spend the day in the house reading and playing games.

Further along with Ms. Palin

Boy, am I conflicted about Sarah Palin.  There are so many things I love about her.  But, holy cow, did she do poorly in her recent interviews with Gibson and Couric.  If you are a serious-minded person, this interview will drive you crazy.

If you're not so serious, take a look at this one...

Either way...she's got a long way to go before tomorrow's debate with Joe Biden.  BTW - here's some good advice for Mr. Biden.

I am so depressed...

Holy cow.  I just can't quite shake the feeling that the economic events of this week have forever changed the future of our country.  I simply can not believe we are nationalizing the financial system and bailing out those who have made record profits for the past eight years while the working person's wage has remained flat.  UGGHHHH!!!

I am too frustrated to say anything coherent about this mess.  So, let me just post a few related links:

We're all French Now: This article from this week's Time Magazine compares our current situation to the socialized capitalism France has endorsed for the past 20 years.  Arguably, we are even more socialized now...and it has been to benefit the richest Americans.  Ugh.

Bonus Heaven at Goldman-Sachs: This article from 2006 gives a bit of an image how much money was being made by these Wall St. fat-cats over the past decade of decadence (up to $50 million in one year by some traders).  Incredibly, we are now rushing to give them another $700,000,000,000.

Bailout would take away change: This podcast from NPR discusses how this enormous economic burden will essentially eliminate the opportunity for change that McCain or Obama have before them.  With the additional economic burden here, they simply can't do much with healthcare, social security, tax change, or social programs.

Wal-Mart supports "the man"

 

Today's WSJ reports that the world's largest retailer is "warning" employees that if the democrats take over next year it will likely hurt their bottom-line, as well as their employment levels (see article here  Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win - WSJ.com ).

Why the fear of dems?  Won't Obama's tax-cuts for the poorest Americans increase the spending of Wal-Mart's key constituents?  One word...Unionization.  W-M is one of the most aggressive in fighting unionization (and one of the worst Fortune 500 firms in terms of benefits for hourly employees).

However despite their concerns, W-M leaders are covering their bases with the PAC support of Dems almost equal to their support of the GOP--in stark contrast to the 2000 and 2004 elections.

It would be easy to interpret this as W-M pressuring their employees to vote GOP-or else.  Thoughts?

The Obligatory Earthquake News

For any of you who are wondering...yes,  we did feel the earthquake this week.  At least, the boys and I did.  Somehow Michelle missed it all together while walking around the house talking on the phone. 

The boys and I felt it...and it was pretty cool.  Just a couple of waves of rocking earth.  About 5 seconds...

None of us were hurt and we feel like official Californians now.