The Sedulous Pleb

Book Review to Dale Carnigie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People"

2011-12-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

To view the pesentation/speaker notes click here.

My take away from Dale Carnegie's timeless classic "How to Win Friends and Influence People". This is one of the premier books to anyone interested in bettering themselves. Mr. Carnegie shares his business experience to demonstrate how to motivate and inspire people. This book is a treasure trove of simple yet often forgotten wisdom in how to relate to people.

Video Response to TEDTalk by Geoff Mulgan on Studio Schools

2011-12-16T02:00:00.000-08:00

To listen and view the talk I'm discussing you can view it here.

My thoughts on Geoff Mulgan's TEDTalk on "Studio Schools". I'm not sure how this is much different than trade schools or vocational schools. I never understood why these weren't incorporated into the basic curriculum instead separated out as something of its own. These skills seem like necessities for engineering. I share my thoughts on how I would do education.

In summary: take a scaffolding approach and demonstrate the evolution of technology through history. This teaches engineering, math/science, problem solving, and history. The course would walk through the major technological inventions throughout history and require students to build them from scratch just as the inventors did. They then can see the limitations and the reason for the evolution of the technologies. This would also strongly solidify a foundation for students to understand where we came from and where we can go. The same concept could be applied to any evolutionary trait such as language, religion, philosophies, anthropology, etc.

We must involve, i.e. engage our students and not silo their education. Reminds me of the old adage: "Tell me, I'll forget; Show me, I'll remember; Involve me and I'll understand"

Video Response to Intelligence Squared's debate on "Should Airports Use Racial and Religious Profiling?"

2011-12-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

To view the podcast I'm discussing you can view the debate here.

My thoughts on Intelligence Squared's debate on the motion "Should We Use Racial Profiling?" More specifically, should we profile based on religion and/or race when screening people at airports or other security checkpoints. Would doing so just force those we are trying to catch to change their approach? This seems like a weak argument since criminals are always trying to be two steps ahead of those they are trying to victimize.

This emotionally driven argument stems from the concern of obtrusive and/or abuse on those innocent of any crimes which is a legitimate concern but obtrusions and abuses will result regardless of the policy. The issue of "profiling" or "stereotyping" always arises from this concern but we fail to balance this with asking "why do profiles or stereotypes exist?" More often than not, it is not an issue of bias but statistics. We are statistical machines (albeit, poor ones) but we subconsciously make biases based on experiences and over time develop a statistical probability and associate a corelation. In this case, we are discussing Muslims. The perpetrators of most of the terrorist attacks have been Muslims with a distinctive "look" i.e. All male between ages 18-40 with an Eastern dissent. It seems foolish to limit ourselves from this "intuition" of further examination of these suspects.

We must however balance this with rationale and not extend our security policies to abuse everyone equally nor overly inhibit the freedoms of those not accused of any crime. This however is for another debate how on effective our security policies even are.

Video Response to Freakonomics podcast on "The Upside to Quitting"

2011-12-14T02:00:00.000-08:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

Sometimes you just got to know when to quit. This episode looks at lives of a prostitute, a ball player, a navy seal, a musician, and an Amish who all decide to quit. "Fail and fail early" is the take away. I share my personal experience with quitting in finding my major in college.

How do we know when to quit? I was raised to try it "for a season". In sports growing up you only play a "season". This means you only play for a few weeks or months usually during one of the seasons e.g. spring, summer or fall. Often I would play baseball in the spring, soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter. By the time I got to high school I realized I wasn't cut out to play baseball or basketball so I focused my energy on soccer which I was at least decent at.

I once even did a stint with Cross Country, which for those unfamiliar with this sport its basically crazy people running really long distances. My father thought it would be good for me. I was an ok distance runner but found it difficult to find enjoyment in a sport where I threw up after every race. I wanted to quit but my father told me to "finish the season". I did. I actually gave it one more try the next year but decided it wasn't for me after that. Trying something for a "season" taught me not to quit or give up too early, taught me patience and perseverance, and mostly endurance.

Video Response to Common Sense with Dan Carlin's "Stirring the Pot"

2011-12-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Dan Carlin's Common Sense podcast on joining the tea party and occupy wall street forces and overcoming the plutocrats. Could they join together on the issue of government corruption? Is the Tea Party too far gone right and too in bed with the Republican party to work with anyone else? Is there any hope reconciling two polar ideologies? On the right we have the Tea Party arguing we have enough taxes and we should not increase taxes even on the rich to pay down our debt or despite the fact they have been MUCH higher in the past. On the Left we have union groups who don't want to cut anything even if it means keeping deadbeat employees who not only don't contribute but are harmful and a drain financially and on the morale of the others. See Waiting for "Superman" and the impact of the Teacher's Union on schools.

So what can be done?! Well, vote for me for president in the 2020 election. I've got to start really early to build my voter base!

Video Response to Intelligence Squared's debate on "Are Men Finished?"

2011-12-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

To listen and view the debate I'm discussing click here.

My thoughts on Intelligence Squared's debate on the motion "Are Men Finished?" This was to my knowledge the largest change in opinion from an audience. I agreed with the motion from the beginning because honestly I saw the writing on the wall in college. Perhaps the first half of humanity was dominated by men due to brawn but the second half will be dominated by women due to brains.

The caveat is child rearing. It may be that an equilibrium is reached as men and women stop competing against each other and disregard current social taboos or it could end by men rebelling and invoking violence and destruction on all of society.

What about the Christian view on family? Doesn’t it say women shouldn't work? Not according to the famed "Perfect Wife" as described in Proverbs 31:15-18

15 She gets up while it is still night;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her female servants.

16 She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.

Didn't the Bible say women were made to be "helpers" of men? (Genesis 2:18-20) What does that even mean? Doesn't it suggest men are lacking in some way if they need "help"?

Aren't women to be subjected to men and to obey them? *sigh* God has given men the responsibility to lead and love their wife. We must end our chauvinism and pride and do what we were commanded to do.

Video Response to Philosophy Bites Dan Sperber on the Enigma of Reason

2011-10-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Dan Sperber's Philosophy Bites podcast on the Enigma of Reason. Dan argues that the reason for our evolutionary development of reason was to help us better communicate. In truth, we are terrible at thinking reasonably and logically. We rely mostly on intuition which I tend to think of as pattern recognition. We infer conclusions given our historical experiences though they may be proven wrong. Reason can unite or divide us depending on our biases and how willing we are to evaluate evidence and admit when we are wrong.

Video Response to TEDTalk by Elizabeth Murchison on "Fighting a Contagious Cancer"

2011-10-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen and view the talk I'm discussing you can view it here.

My thoughts on Elizabeth Murchison's TEDTalk on Fighting a Contagious Cancer. Basically, lets pray a sinus cancer doesn't hit us this flu season.

Video Response to Freakonomics podcast on "The Folly of Prediction"

2011-10-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Freakonomics podcast on The Folly of Predictions. Television, the markets, intellectuals, so called "experts" are incentivized to make wild predictions. No one holds people accountable for when they are wrong. If you'll listen closely they'll use words like "may" or "could" or "should" as a defense from being held liable (as if they would be held liable).

Economists argue things like futures markets are good because it forces people to put their money where their mouth is. They say this controls speculation but that seems hard to believe when we see how volatile oil futures are. If you feel confident enough you can even put your knowledge and best guesses to the test by betting i.e. "investing" on a whole range of topics on InTrade. They also suggested policies or ways to track the accuracy of people's predictions might help.

Video Response to John Pipers's Desiring God sermon on "This Illness is for the Glory of God"

2011-10-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen and view the sermon I'm discussing click here.

My thoughts on pastor John Piper's sermon on "This Illness is for the Glory of God". Some argue bad things happen because we live in a fallen world and all the bad stuff in this world is a result of its falleness. Dr. Piper argues that another reason is that ultimately God uses even bad things for His ultimate glory. He illustrates this point by aruging Jesus let Lazurus die so that He could show people the greatest act of love, His Glory (John 11:1-16).

The inevitable concern with this idea is "does God then cause bad things"? Be it direct involvement or indirect by His allowing of evil events to happen we don't fully know why God does what He does but this argument is inescapable. But, we are foolish to assume the same moral judgment on The Creator of morality. I would argue that God allows evil to exist because I don't know if we could even understand what Good was without it. This is why the story of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and evil is so interesting. Could we understand pleasure if we did not know pain? Could we understand love if we did not know hate? Could we comprehend faith without fear?

Regardless, it would only be wrong if God did allow these things to occur without balancing them. For this reason man is appointed to die and face judgment for his sins. This is also why we Christians cling to Jesus as we believe He is our only hope to be pardoned for our transgressions. Christ lived a sinless life and died so that we might not have to. Though we will all die mortally we can be spared of eternal death. I can imagine many skeptics crying this sounds tragically convenient. Shouldn't our mortal death be enough? I'd argue does our death do justice to the terrible suffering we invoke on our fellow man? More so, our sins are not just against our fellow man (which is why we perhaps die mortally) but our disobedience to God merits separation from Him. What does perfection have with imperfection? Nothing. They are mutually exclusive.

Again, I can hear the skeptics crying this sounds like I'm making up the rules for God. These aren't my thoughts but the thoughts of many passed down through a faith that has lasted centuries. A faith that started by divine, miraculous events in the Old Testament and ultimately fulfilled in the Son of Man. I realize this doesn't come easy but neither does quantum physics. God never asked us to understand it all, He just asked us to trust Him.

Video Response to Ravi Zacharias Let My People Think podcast with Dr. John Lennox on Tale-bearing, Partiality and Dreams

2011-09-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) Let My People Think podcast with Dr. John Lennox on Tale-bearing, Partiality and Dreams. Dr. Lennox addresses the question: "what is the biggest risk to institutions (nation or family)" by looking to the story of Jacob's partiality toward his son Joseph. Dr. Lennox proposes one of the greatest threats to institutions is favoritism but what I don't get is "what about Jesus's favoritism toward 3 of his disciples (Peter, James, and John)?" Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36, John 20:2

Video Response to Philosophy Bites Philip Pettit on Consequentialism

2011-09-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Philosophy Bites podcast on Philip Pettit's interview on Consequentialism. Consequentialism is closely related to the philosophy Utilitarianism. It bases it's means on the conclusions or the consequences of an action. Immanuel Kant was apparently a Nonconsequentialist. The question I keep asking myself is, "where is the hope?" Is choosing a lesser evil not still evil?

Video Response to Common Sense with Dan Carlin's "Savior Corp LLC" podcast

2011-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Dan Carlin's Common Sense podcast on letting the rich and powerful just take control. It almost seems like Dan's just giving up if he thinks the best thing we can do is just let the super rich just take control. One could argue that we are already doing that. He's not the first person apparently to think this though. Ralph Nadar had a book called Only the Super Rich Can Save Us. Not all rich people are bad. Not all government is corrupt, incompetent or inefficient. Not all corporations are exploitative, greedy or environment destroyers like the Reds and Blues would have us believe. Not sure if I can agree with Dan on this but it does make us ask: "Who do you trust and what else can we do?"

Video Response to RC Sproul's Renewing Your Mind sermon on "When Towers Fall"

2011-09-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

To listen and view the sermon I'm discussing click here.

Why do bad things happen to good people? As we remember 9/11 RC Sproul looks to the scriptures to see what Jesus had to say about this question. We find the answer in Luke 13:4. Jesus' message is a stark reminder of our inadequacy before an almighty God. Perhaps we should ask, "Why didn't the towers fall on us?"

Video Response to Intelligence Squared's debate on "Is Islam a Religion of Peace?"

2011-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

To listen and view the debate I'm discussing click here.

Part 1 Part 2

My thoughts on Intelligence Squared's debate on the motion "Is Islam a Religion of Peace?" This was the first debate where I actually changed my mind. My first thought was: "We can't judge a religion based on a few extremists" but those against the motion made a strong argument with "We should also judge a religion based on its founder". This does beg the question though, "Is Judaism a religion of peace due to all its founders history of wars?" and "What about Christianity?" Jesus and his disciples were certainly for peace but following leaders of the faith were not.

Could Islam be a religion of peace though if it is not thought of one now? People think of the other faiths as peaceful namely because there are not as many wanton acts of violence by its followers so what would it take to make Islam peaceful (or at least viewed as peaceful)? My solution: Secularize it. i.e. Make it (the majority view) moderate by giving a platform for the more non-fundamentalist scholars. Encourage the majority to make extremist views taboo and suicide as worthy of condemnation in hell rather than a means to martyrdom to glory.

Video Response to TEDTalk by Joan Halifax on Compassion

2011-09-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

To listen and view the the presentation I'm discussing you can go here.

My thoughts on Joan Halifax's TEDTalk on Compassion. What does it mean to be compassionate? How do we (or even should we) balance helping individuals with helping a nation? If an overpopulated nation is out of natural resources and can't feed itself does giving them food help or just prolong the suffering? No one would think its good to let the children starve though. What happens if our compassion and means to offering it conflict? E.g. Those who justify abortion to prevent children being born into families where they are not wanted or worse abused. What drives our compassion? Is it out of self interest? Do not all our motivations originate out of self interest?

Video Response to This American Life's epidsode of "20 Acts in 60 Minutes"

2011-09-10T06:50:00.001-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on This American Life's podcast "20 Acts in 60 Minutes". I feel for those of you who go to West Point. It must be like pledging a fraternity everyday of college. What better way to say "I'm sorry" then to put it into a song? Be sure to get to know your colleagues names. Sometimes we don't know why we are successful. Sometimes, its just an Irving (fluke).

Video Response to Stuff You Should Know on "The Future of the Internet"

2011-09-09T20:26:00.001-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

Part 1 Part 2

My thoughts on Stuff You Should Know's podcast on The Future of the Internet. My predictions: faster wireless internet, the slow death of apps and emergence of "web apps" in their place, cloud computing is nothing new but it will become more common. But all this could end if Net neutrality isn't taken seriously. My solution: turn the infrastructure over to a public utility and require ISPs to share their networks. The internet can makes us dumb by adding another useless distraction leading us further towards a "Brave New World" or we can harness its potential and use it for sharing knowledge or wisdom. It all depends on how we use it. I'm trying to use it to try to capture my scattered temporal thoughts. In summary: why I do this. Had to break this one down into 2 parts due to time constraints. I tried using Windows Movie Maker to split the video but it messed up the audio.

Video Response to TEDTalk by AlexSteffen on "The Shareable Future of Cities"

2011-09-08T07:35:00.001-07:00

To listen and view the presentation I'm discussing click here.

My thoughts on Alex Steffen's TEDTalk on The Shareable Future of Cities. I've always wondered why we don't have "libraries" for all our tools or things we only want to use occasionally. Alex Steffen wonders the same thing and share's his vision of the near and necessary future of cities if we are to survive.

Video Response to This American Life's epidsode of "Million Dollar Ideas"

2011-09-08T07:30:00.001-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on This American Life's podcast on Million Dollar Ideas. Why do all Asian food places seem the same? MIT entrepreneurs make their best elevator pitches to potential investors; Cheese is the new heroin; Phillip Morris knows cigarettes kill and that's good for society since your early death saves money; Michael Larson proves you can beat TV game shows (while possibly doing one of the only honest things in his life).

Video Response to Philosophy Bites Paul Russell on David Hume's Treatise

2011-08-12T21:42:00.001-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My feeble thoughts on Philosophy Bites podcast on David Hume's Treatise. Paul Russell presents an "irreligious view" on David Hume's writing of "A Treatise of Human Nature". David Hume is well known for his views on skepticism. His additional works attempt to provide a "naturalistic" view on morality. The paradox is how do you reconcile applying the scientific method (empirical evidence) to morality when you are so skeptical of the very evidence you have? Paul Russell argues that an alternative view that is often overlooked is Hume's disdain for Christianity as an influential force in his writings.

Video Response to TEDTalk by Bill Ford on "A Future Beyond Traffic Gridlock"

2011-08-12T21:37:00.001-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Bill Ford's TEDTalk on a future beyond traffic gridlock. Flying cars are a pipe dream so smart cars are the next best thing. You think Atlanta traffic is bad and your 2 hour commute each day is bad? In China the average daily commute is 5 hours! It's only going to get worse unless we come up with some innovative solutions and Ford is certainly trying to do their part.

Video Response to Freakonomic's "The Church of Scionology"

2011-08-12T21:33:00.001-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Feakonomics podcast on "scionology", apparently another name for nepotism (hiring family members over others into a business). The "Carnegie Conjecture" proposes that this is a bad idea. Despite our best well meaning for passing on security and a legacy to our relatives it turns out they tend to do a crappy job. This is due to the fact that behavior seems to be only 50% genetic so they tend to lack the same drive, charisma, and vision as the predecessors (as demonstrated by Budwiser). This isn't always true though, as demonstrated by Yuengling.

Video Response to Common Sense with Dan Carlin's "Looking for a Left Hook" podcast

2011-08-12T21:19:00.001-07:00

To listen to the podcast I'm discussing you can download the mp3 here.

My thoughts on Dan Carlin's Common Sense podcast on bringing back jobs to the US. Why is it we allow American corporations to off shore labor under conditions we would never allow here in the US? Because we don't like "those" jobs and we like cheap stuff. Ending trade agreements would certainly bring back jobs but would "cheaper" jobs raise income in the middle class? Where have all the "good" jobs gone?

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

2011-06-28T19:46:00.001-07:00

This is an interesting topic I actually struggle with. I am by no means opposed to spanking as I indeed find it to be a very effective means of discipline. In fact, just recently I've been encouraged to take up "the switch" as it is extremely effective. The struggle arises from many things. The first is the ability to discern what is worthy of discipline. Pretty much any disobedience is worthy of disciplining but deciding where to draw that line takes wisdom (something I often lack). Trying to judge that line with another adult is also very difficult as what may be inappropriate for one may not be for another.

Another area of struggle is the idea that using violence is the best means for behavior correction. Indeed it is effective at any degree in life but one has to question is it the best way to generate that sought after behavior change or obedience? Did its use in earlier eras explain some of history's brutality? The fear of what others may think or worse that someone might actually report you for abuse is always at the back of my mind. "Time outs" do prove somewhat effective and are the most common way I discipline. But I confess, sometimes it feels fruitless after 20 minutes of trying to force them to stay in one spot or they repeat their disobediance moments after being released from time out.

I find it ironic though that if we were to lock up our children like we do adults who disobey rules we would also be punished. It takes surprising strength to withhold and restrain my anger when I feel an act is worthy of a spanking but at other times it takes tremendous courage and wisdom to strike a child in faith that it is for their own good. In the end, this aspect of life requires faith and God's grace to raise a child correctly. It requires me to overcome my flesh that desires me to be lazy and "let it slide" and to balance it with controlling my temper and not harming them. Truthfully, the method of discipline is as less important as compared to its consistent execution and its result.

Excel VBA: Ignore Merged Cell Warning

2011-01-26T15:07:00.001-08:00

Excel can be annoying sometimes. Take for example the stupid alert letting me know I'm trying to do something with a merged cell. Sometimes this sort of thing is good to know but more often than not, I know what I'm doing and want to do it without being nagged about it. So, for future reference, if you want to suppress the merged cell alert just enter this VBA code in your workbook:

Application.DisplayAlerts = False

Pit Happens

2011-01-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

This is why we can't have affordable health coverage and why malpratice lawsuits are often rediculous and in need of reform. Dennis Kucinich is suing House cafeteria for $150k because a pit in an olive in a sandwich caused him injury. Sorry Dennis, but pit happens.

Find Merged Cells in Excel without using VBA

2011-01-26T14:03:00.001-08:00

1. Open a Find and Replace Menu (Ctrl + F).
2. Next to the Find What Field is a Format Box, Click it.
3. This opens the Find Format Menu screen which looks very similar to the Cell Format Tabs and screens
4. On the Alignment Tab, remove any ticks in the Wrap Text or Shrink to Fit boxes.
5. Leave a tick in the Merge Cells Box (tick mark should be bold) and click the OK Button to return to the Find and Replace screen.
6.Ensure you are searching Within: Workbook and Look in: Values and the Find what: box is not populated.

7. Now click the Find All Button and ALL merged cells are shown in the lower window and are selectable to jump to their location.

How does a non-tangible asset bubble burst?

2011-01-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

The ERI Economic Research Institute, Inc. released this past years largest salary increases by profession. We all know that health care is expensive and is continuing to be more so but is it any wonder why when of the top 20 largest increases 70% of them (14) relate to the medical profession? Not so surprising 3 others relate to academics (fortunately 1 was a non-magement role). I can understand these increases in the medical field to a degree since they are concerned the new health care bill will eventually cap their salaries at some point (much like how insurance companies are franticlly trying to raise premiums). If the caps do hold (which they never do) then I guess it wouldn't be so bad but its unfortunate that we narrowly focus only on the money instead of the reasons why costs are so high. Sure doctors are highly educated and are worthy of their wages but many regulations exist that force up healthcare costs. Release the AMA and other governing bodies abality to control how many doctors are allowed into the field, end the war on drugs and drasticlly drop the price of drugs and peoples need to get a perscription are just two examples of how the government could restore freedom and lower costs and flip side is people will then have to be resposible of their new found freedom(s).

Tax Overhaul by Those Who Use Taxes the Most and Double Speak

2010-12-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

I heard an article this morning on NPR about the New Chairman of House Tax Panel. There were several things I find laughable about the interview. First, I learned that the predecessor of the chairman of the House Tax Writing Committee was none other than Charlie Rangel (D), the guy who was found guilty of many ethical violations including failure to pay taxes for which he received on a slap on the wrist. Second, he and his successor, Rep. Dave Camp (R) both agree the tax code needs an overhaul. I agree with this sentiment but laughed when he was asked "so you don't want to raise a bunch more government revenue in the process of rewriting this tax code?" to which Rep. Camp quickly changed directions to focusing on spending cuts which has nothing to do with changing the tax code. Third, I find it laughable how Republicans want to cut spending and the deficit and national debt yet they were the ones who passed such crazy spending bills as HR 1 (108 congress), Medicare & Medicaid Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 and the start-up Home Land Security, and two endless wars (4 if you include the war on terrorism and drugs).

The Economic Collapse in Easy to Understand Language

2010-03-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jon Stewart explains the reason for the economic collapse and what Sen. Dodd is trying to do to prevent it in the future (good luck with that).

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

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www.thedailyshow.com

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Who Are You?

2010-01-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

THE BELL
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3 :20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 )
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil.. 4:13 )
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
Who you are?
Keep this bell ringing...pass it on
'The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
The LORD turn His face toward you
And give you peace...
Numbers 6:24-26

I hate being such a cynic sometimes but I received this in an e-mail today and something jumped out at me. Did you notice the focus or subject of each sentence is “I”. There is a subtle secular theological influence that has been occurring for many years that directs individuals to focus on themselves rather than The One who makes us special. E.g. John 1:12 (NIV) says “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” so it could also be said “God made me his child”. Many argue it is man’s reception or belief in Him (Jesus) that make us God’s children (which is may be true) but somewhere along the pages of history the church has moved away from Who God IS and focused more on Who You ARE. To me, it has become more of a self-help doctrine of faith rather than a Grace based faith.

The Story of Stuff

2009-09-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

There is a movie that is making headlines on the interwebs on a topic that is becoming more popular. If you haven't seen it yet it's called "The Story of Stuff." Here it is in case you are interested:

In my opinion the author makes a good presentation on a very important topic but the video would be more effective if not politicized and was backed by sources. While although it never references a political ideology specifically the resulting conclusion is capitalism via corporatism is evil and socialism by means of equitable distribution of resources (including labor) is the answer.

I fully agree though that we must develop a sustainable framework but we must do so while limiting infringement on personal liberties. What would such a framework look like? The author suggests community farming, zero waste initiatives, and overall environmentalism and consumer reduction but this neglects a glaring problem, our need for jobs. The real question is what can we do to replace the jobs? That is where you will find that we already live under a socialized society. You need only look to our monetary system to see it. My question then is "was this planned and if so why does it suck so bad?". My answer I'm willing to bet is through conflict of interests and greed by political leaders and wealthy individuals we got a half baked system that is unsustainable and unchangeable.

The System

2009-09-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

So banks are back to their old ways again but I have to wonder, is this really a surprise to anyone? It always irks me when news report headlines like "results were more or less than analysts expected" or something along the lines about how "results weren't as expected." Why it irks me is I do believe we have a bunch of really intelligent people in charge of things but the media dumbs things down to a few talking points which results in a horde of ill-informed strongly opinionated drones to do the bidding of the leaders they appointed. How backwards is that!

If you'll step back with me and take a view from 30,000 ft you'll see things much different in regards to our current economic mess. Many easily jump to short term solutions but lets look at our economic system. People often wonder "why are we having a recession?" The talking points (depending on your source) are: greedy bankers, incompetent government forcing bad policies on banks, and greedy individuals buying more than they can afford. All these may be true but is their an underlying system that supports such activities?

I feel there is. Our economic system is designed to be a risk-taking environment that encourages greed. Many cry this is why socialism is necessary but I'll save that for another topic. I want to focus on the US economic system. The US has to keep growing or else it collapses. There can be no stagnation. Since we are a debt economy if we stagnate just for a little, loans start to default. It doesn't matter if the loans will get a return or not in the long run. The point is to get the money circulating again as quickly as possible which is why the FED pump so much money into banks and then expects them to loan it out. The FED criticizes banks for making "bad" loans but in order for the economy to grow, loans have to be made, period. So the FED also criticizes banks for not making loans because the FED gets heat from the politicians because everyone is losing jobs and income. In order to succeed in this system you take "risks" by getting a loan and doing something with it. It doesn't really matter what because if there is enough money in the economy someone is going to buy whatever it is you are selling for whatever price they can afford.

What we are experiencing in our generation is an adjustment in the markets due to the limitations of natural resources. We have an unlimited supply of money and an unlimited supply of labor, and the last ingredient for a market to work is resources which unfortunately we can't artificially create. What has been good for a time has now set us on a course of unsustainable growth. Fiat currency enables rapid growth and corporations provide for a more efficient means of collecting money for wide spread market penetration and possible research and development. All good things but the consequences are amoral entities that damage our environment and treat humans as if they are pieces in a machine. For deeper thoughts: going back to the gold standard and the idea of ending corporations would certainly set us on a sustainable growth path and reduce moral hazard since someone is forced to be held accountable for the actions of a private business. Unfortunately, such a dramatic shift in the economy would wipe out a vast majority of those currently employed resulting ultimately in the collapse of society. There has to be some way to transition from our current system to another slowly or else we will experience an ever greater deterioration of living standards or greater imbalance of living standards (depending on which country you live in).

We need much more thought into our global economic direction to avoid further wars which will ultimately result as resources dwindle or as economic disparity increases and resentment builds. The likely outcome as the world "flattens" is everyone becomes more "equal" unfortunately that means equally poor. You see, everything is tied together in a way. I hope you see it too. I wonder how many of our leaders see it? I have a feeling many do and those that do can (and probably do) exploit it to their benefit while maybe a few are simply pawns used by those who do understand the system. Now, the only real question left is can you change the system without becoming a part of it?

Self Righteousness

2009-07-04T21:01:00.001-07:00

Why would someone call someone else self-righteous? Often this is meant as an insult. It is meant to say "you think more highly of yourself than you ought" or "you are arrogant, full of yourself, or conceited". Often the reason why someone would make this claim to someone is because they either:

A. Think the person’s ideals are too difficult to obtain themselves and therefore think the person is lying and thus a hypocrite
or
B. Knows the person’s ideals are too difficult to obtain themselves and seek to bring the other person down to their level because they know they can’t bring themselves up to theirs.

I know because I've done both. Let us be quick to listen and slow to speak so when our brother rebukes us let us not assume his intentions are malicious but his concern is sincere.

"The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly." -Proverbs 15:2

Blogging is Tough

2009-07-04T20:40:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I haven't blogged in months but why does it have to feel like a chore? I enjoy blogging and sharing ideas and hearing from others with differing view points, I just have to do it on my own time. Don't fret, I've got a list of ideas of topics I've been wanting to write about. Unfortunately I never feel like posting them because they are never good enough or complete. Most are technical writings but in order to do them justice I feel I must include pictures or videos. Text is so web 1.0.

Anyways, I'll post a random thought that is complete enough to stand alone. I'll try to get the technical ones flowing more as those are certainly more beneficial than my personal opinion.

Get Ready for the Big Dance!

2008-11-01T21:26:00.001-07:00

In just a few more days all the political garbage on TV will end and a new President will be elected. I have not held back my beliefs but during the last few months I have been ridiculed for them. I have defended Barack Obama on many occasions as I despise slander or spin and I have been questioned by my friends why I would do such a thing. Many concede that John McCain wouldn't be their first pick but he is better than Obama. My belief is either party brings essentially the same results and we need to really debate the issues rather than repeat what the talking heads on TV tell us. Below is an email chain I had with one of my friends. We thought it humous so I asked if I could post it and he agreed. His name has been changed for his sake.

--Oct 1, 2008--
Hey friend, here are a couple of videos explaining my thinking:
Why I won't vote for McCain: click here
Why I won't vote for Obama (despite the many obvious reasons): click here
Why I don't agree with either party: click here
Why I'm voting for Chuck Baldwin: click here
I have many other reasons but these explain my concerns and thoughts.
Regards,Jim
--Oct 5, 2008--
Jim, Jim, Jim,…. What am I going to do with you??!! The people who made these videos took 2-5 second clips of parts of sentences (and gaffes) and pieced them together in effort to sway the viewer by smearing McCain or Obama. BTW, I do not see anything wrong with those clips in the McCain video anyway.

Question: You take a test and one of the questions is “What is your favorite ice cream? Write down “A” for Strawberry or “B” for Vanilla.” The answer (either A or B) is worth 75% of the test. You actually PREFER orange flavor ice cream so you write down “Neither, I want Orange”. Teacher gives you a F.

The lesson here is that although you may prefer Orange, that choice is not available! I probably prefer Orange as well. BUT, if you could do it all over again, it would be best to say to yourself, “Self, I really like Orange BUT strawberry is close to a fruit type of ice cream. Although I am not 100% on board with strawberry, I do believe that by choosing strawberry at least 65% of my taste bud’s goals will be accomplished. Not to mention that Vanilla is not a fruit ice cream flavor at all. So, self, the choice is easy, I don’t want an F so I will choose Strawberry.” Teacher gives you an A. Your friend
--Oct 5, 2008--
friend, friend, friend, that type of thinking is why America is no longer free and is on the path to a socialist nation. Congratulations. You've sold your soul and your freedom for convenience and "security." -Jim

'Personhood' Amendment On Colorado Ballot

2008-10-29T20:45:00.001-07:00

NPR ran a broadcast about a new item on the Colorado ballots about defining 'personhood'. I'm surprised this amendment hasn't been proposed already. According to the broadcast it said that Colorado was the first state to get enough signatures. Are you serious? How did this of all amendments not get first created (and passed) in the Bible belt?

Regardless, the arguments brought against such an amendment (in my humble opinion) are lame. The many arguments are this would make us rethink all of our laws. Well duh. We've lived with Roe v. Wade for how many years now? I'm sure its bound to have impacted the writing of MANY laws. Regardless of this change the arguments brought against this amendment seem weak. For example, one person said: "what about HOV lanes?" Simple, if the person is occupying a seat then you qualify. Since the baby occupies the same seat as the mother, you don't.

But that was a weak argument. What about something like: "what if you drink without knowing you were pregnant or did something to kill the baby accidentally?" First, it would be hard to prove that drinking or some other action was the direct cause of the death so the case would likely be dismissed but even if it could, is the child not entitled to rights? The argument is the same as "what if I drive at night and hit a pedestrian I didn't see on the road?" It's called manslaughter. Oh no! we can't take responsibility for our actions because remember the baby is a parasite that invaded us first! /sarcasm

The other argument brought forth is about frozen fertilized eggs. This one would obviously require some more legal work but lets think about this another way. Babies can't think or act for themselves but neither can mentally handicapped people. How do we treat them? We can spin circles around this argument all day but it would take some good work to convince me otherwise.

Lastly, one guy pointed out that it was unconstitutional! What does that even mean? Of coarse it would contradict existing law, that is the whole point! People act like once a law is written it can't be changed (at least not if the law plays to their interest).

Those Who Don't Learn History Are Doomed to Repeat It

2008-09-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds...[we will] have no time to think, no means of calling our miss-managers to account but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers... And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for [another]... till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery... And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression." -Thomas Jefferson (see full quote and context here). See modern context here.

Through My Eyes

2008-09-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

A tragic story came to a close recently about a woman who was convicted of microwaving her 1 month old child to death. The woman was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Around the country I’m sure people rejoiced over this woman’s just sentence. What saddens me is the absurdity with our culture today. I cannot see how “pro-choice” is ever a choice. Take this case for example, would this be such a heinous crime if it were committed 1 month earlier when this child was still in its mother’s womb? Perhaps if the child wasn’t microwaved but rather scrambled, suctioned, injected, or had it’s skull crushed, would that make it less heinous? Of course not.

The argument over privacy is ludicrous. Are any crimes ever attempted out in the open? If I murder someone in my house is it just because it’s on private property? No. The only argument then is on a woman’s “right” to her body. This argument too is crazy. How is it we live in a country that says we can’t put drugs in our body or take our own life but we can take the life of another who grows in us? The argument is often presented as the child is an unwanted “parasite.” The woman thus has a right to remove it. How is it we’ve come to think of humans as parasites? I guess the homeless could be thought of as parasites to society, maybe we should free ourselves of them as well?

A problem I have with the Democratic Party in general is that they tend to embrace “pro-choice” as the idea, “we know what is best for others.” (I hope you see the irony in this stance and the Democratic Party's many others). The argument goes that it would be better to not be born at all than be born unloved or unwanted… Tell that to my adopted friends.

Lastly, what about the rare but terrible circumstances of rape or incest? If we follow logic rather than our emotions the answer is obvious. Again, tell that to some of my adopted friends. I don’t know which ones may have such a horrible story but I’m sure they wouldn’t want to know either. What about the woman? Will taking the life of this unwanted child take away her memories of the horrible event? This argument is just a cop-out.

Perhaps only in the event of medical necessity should such a difficult decision ever be made but even many doctors will tell you this is an extremely rare circumstance. To me the choice is obvious. I'm saddened in knowing most abortions are due to people who have no desire to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. I see this through a moral lens instilled in me by my religious beliefs. Others may see it through their own philosophical moral view. The question now is, can we come to agree as a society if we don’t have an absolute moral reference?

Corporation's Ignorance of Their Consumer Base is Astounding

2008-09-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

You would think my title would be something out of an Onion article but sadly it isn’t. I’m dumbfounded at how corporations don’t
understand their consumers. Take for example Business Week’s recent article on Ford. Ford comes up with a vehicle that gets 65mpg (that’s 17mpg more than the Prius) but say they won’t sell in the U.S. because A.) It uses diesel B.) It costs too much to import.

To point out the absurdities in those arguments seems too simple but apparently I need to because Ford thinks their valid. Ok, so diesel costs more than regular gas but the fact it gets that much better gas mileage makes up for it. Ford also believes consumers think diesel is too nasty for Americans. Are you kidding me? The majority of Americans buy a Prius because
their fuel efficient. They don’t care about “going green”, that’s just an added perk, not the other way around.

Lastly (and this one really gets me) they can’t IMPORT it because the engine is made in Britain and costs too much. Uh, why can’t an American company make its own engines by American laborers for American consumers? Maybe it’s the US pension plans they can’t afford… or maybe the U.S. is just living too much off of borrowed time and money all because we make such terrible mistakes.

[Update 9/8] Yea for Chevy for actually listening to their customers. Let's just hope they build a big enough gas tank to ensure motorists don't get stranded between stations.

Screw Innovation, Just Dig Deeper

2008-09-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard, ISPs are blaming bandwidth hogs for your slow internet and their solutions aren't in your best interest. Heaven forbid companies actually try to create solutions that customers actually want rather than find ways to "dig deeper into their pockets". What I don't get is why they don't just run more fiber if bandwidth is the issue. Amazingly one of the telecoms that likes to screw their customers as much as possible realizes this and is at least trying to do something but even this won't satisfy our bandwidth needs in the near future (e.g. streaming HD video & phone). I guess the other option is we just never see these "scifi" technologies. The sad thing is we continue to fall behind the rest of the world and yet we continue to take on the rest of the world like Leeroy Jenkins in thinking we've got it all together.

[Update 9/12] Perfect example. Case and point.

Political Rant #1: Obama says America is "No Longer a Christian Nation"

2008-07-18T15:47:00.001-07:00

So I got an email the other day about Obama's statement about how the US is no longer a Christian Nation. We have indeed lost our nation’s identity. I also agree with Obama’s statement. I don’t believe our founding fathers wanted a theocracy, that is to say, a nation governed by one religion (and more specifically one denomination). I do believe they would have desired for this nation to be a nation of Christians (those who strive to follow Jesus’ teachings). The wording is subtle but the implications are great.

The problem I have with Obama political e-mails these days is they spin fear of Obama for his secular beliefs (I agree he calls himself “Christian” but his beliefs align with secular society rather than traditional Christian viewpoints) but our “safe” alternative is a “Christian” (McCain) who wants to continue an ill-gotten war that will continue to bankrupt our economy. I believe our best way to uphold our honor (what little we have left) is in rebuilding Iraq rather than policing the Arab nations and picking fights for more wars (e.g. Iran).

Indeed, it’s a “choose your poison” situation but I would rather go down fighting than be forced to drink the Kool-aid. That’s why I’m not voting for either. Although a vote not for McCain is a vote for Obama I personally feel any real meaningful change will come when we quit buying into the system and start demanding real leaders. This attitude is why I’m so bold in my e-mails and it will only encourage me more in my civil duties… and I’m not alone.

Your Kindergarten Teacher Lied

2008-07-17T23:03:00.001-07:00

Yep, that’s right. Back in the day when you did your finger paintings of blue ducks your teacher told you that you could create ANY color just by using the 3 primary colors and guess what? She lied. You can only create the illusion of the colors as this callous text book puts it: “Our nervous system attempts to interpret that (relative intensities of three bands of colors) very limited data to provide our perception of color. This mechanism which we chauvinistically call primary colors is often inaccurate! But it allows for inexpensive color printing and video presentations using as few as three inks or phosphors.” Oh, it gets better. You may have also been told the primary colors are Red, Yellow, & Blue like below:

And you would be correct if you were living in the 1600s when Isacc Newton came up with it. But no, the dude who invented calculus was wrong. The primary colors are Red, Green and Blue. Remember “RGB”?

But the site goes even further to say really you aren’t making colors nor are they even real. They are simply your limited interpretation of them. I’ve yet to find a website that explains the relationship between photons and objects and the resulting wavelength which we interpret as color.
Why bring up all this? Because what may be a beautiful shade of green in my wife’s eye may be a vomit green in mine and science has got my side. And it’s way past my bed time.

It's Offical, America is no longer American

2008-07-14T07:05:00.001-07:00

Today Anheuser-Bush sold out to Belgian brewer InBev taking the last American beer giant down. It's just a matter of time before the smaller ones get picked off. The day Samuel Adams sales out will be the day the antichrist returns.

Did You Know? (DYK): Miller is owned by SABMiller based out of South Africa. Coors is owned by Molson Coors Brewing Company based out of Canada.

The Only Thing Missing From FireFox

2008-07-12T21:17:00.001-07:00

I guess you know by now I'm a fan of Firefox. The whole open source movement is so great. To think people are actually willing to share the awesome things they spend their time and energy on gives me hope that society isn't lost yet. Anyways, as much as I've loved Firefox I must confess I loved IE7's add a new tab button. I thought surely someone has made this add-in for Firefox and sure enough some had. Thanks Kozakura Inko!

ScribeFire + Images = Frustration

2008-07-11T16:17:00.001-07:00

So yea, I spent like an hour trying to format and upload those images correctly. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake. The images copied into ScribeFire's text area easy enough but when I clicked to publish it I was prompted for every single image. Next time, I'll be sure to INSERT THE IMAGE FIRST rather than just copy/paste.

Nifty Excel Trick #1: Format Percentages Correctly

2008-07-11T16:11:00.001-07:00

I work a lot with Excel and occasionally have to search the web to remember how to do a seemingly simple task. A common problem is when Excel thinks a number you entered as a percent should be multiplied by 100 rather than by .01.

For example, you have several numbers like so:

You want them to be formatted like percents rather than numbers so you hit the thinking that will solve your problem but Excel goofs it up and makes it look like this:

WTF! That's not what you wanted. Why did it do that! If you've got a ton of numbers you aren't excited about having to manually go in and delete all those zeros but wait there is an easier way.
You could insert a column next to the column you want formatted and add a formula (e.g. =A1*.01) like so:

Now it will have it in the right format and you can now hit the % button to make it work:

Copy the formula down by dragging that little black square in your highlighted cell or double click it and "boom goes the dynamite!":

Wachovia better not sell out

2008-07-09T14:16:00.001-07:00

Rumors are Wachovia the 4th largest bank and my bank of choice is looking to sell out. If true, then the housing market has hit even this great giant. I really hope this doesn't come true because AmSouth and Regions was a good example that banks shouldn't merge. I left Regions shortly after their merger and I'm so glad I did. It was like they had chimps managing their IT departments and do you want chimps playing with your money? I didn't think so. Maybe they wouldn't have had so many problems if they hired my company? :-)

UPDATE (7/22): It just keeps getting worse for Wachovia. Looks like the rumors might soon become realty. I'm still hoping they can hold on as I really don't want to change banks again.

UPDATE (9/29): Oh well. I'm just glad they didn't go belly up. Hopefully the integration won't be too painful.

ScribeFire is sooooo cool

2008-07-09T08:21:00.001-07:00

I just found out about this sweet Firefox add-in called ScribeFire while surfing. I knew something like this was out there but this will make blogging and sharing my thoughts and findings much easier. If you haven't ditched IE yet for FireFox you really should because you don't know what you are missing.

Why Blog?

2008-07-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Wow. My first entry on my blog. I've been keeping a personal hand written journal for years but have never gotten around to posting stuff on a blog. The reason being, I could not see the use but now that I've embraced web 2.0 I understand why this means of communication is so great. Over my years of surfing the web I've come to find myself reading other people's blogs more than the main stream websites. Mainly because people post stuff that you won't find on the big websites. Microsoft is a good example. As great of a software company as they are everyone will agree that their understanding of users is pretty pathetic. When I upgraded to Office 2007 I wanted to keep 2003 but despite Microsoft's attempt to make it easy there was/is several bugs that users have had to suffer through. Luckily a guy who worked at Microsoft had a personal blog devoted to helping users make the switch.

As an IT guy, political enthusiast (thanks to Ron Paul), economic theorist (thanks to Adam Smith), and religious/philosophical/theologian fan (thanks to many but mostly to John Piper & Ravi Zacharias) I hope to share my thoughts and findings with the rest of the world.