Life, etc.

What's that you say? A GREEN Repbulican???

I read this article recently in Forbes magazine and found it a bit disturbing.Here's the first paragraph:

"If you think runaway oil prices are upsetting, just wait for what's in store for electricity. Similar forces are in play. Demand is rising fast; supply is not. The cost to get coal and natural gas out of the ground is going up, and to that expense must be added the cost of the carbon permits that Congress and the presidential candidates are contemplating. Environmentalists are getting power plants scotched. China is sucking up energy. Leave such dynamics in play long enough, and price spikes in electricity follow. But that's just the beginning. We may be facing brownouts (voltage reductions) and even rolling blackouts. By as early as next year our demand for electricity will exceed reliable supply in New England, Texas and the West and, by 2011, in New York and the mid-Atlantic region."

This is troubling and it has me seriously considering solar panels for my house. Now, before you go off and start calling me GreenManMike, let it be known that I am not trying to reduce my carbon footprint or some such nonsense. It is merely to keep the lights on. Indeed, my take on the whole thing is that there are several major government-made reasons this is going to become our reality:

• The environmentalists (and, thus, the Democrats) won't let us build any nuclear power plants
• They also won't let us drill for natural gas offshore
• They also won't let us keep our coal plants running

Notice, I'm not bringing ANWR into this. While I do think we should be allowed to drill there, that does not effect my electricity.

Also note that I am not, in fact, anti-environment. I am all for responsible environmentalism. Unfortunately, the "responsible" part has left common discourse. There are all sorts of arguments to made here (granted, on both sides of the equation) that are not worth going into now. But suffice to say, I am considering solar.

Oh, and I actually bought a backpack today so that I can ride my bike to the bus station tomorrow (briefcase and bike don't mix).

Father's Day 2008

Six years into being a father, I've decided I really like this day - even if it may be a Hallmark Holiday. Father's day and Mother's day is bigger in our house than Valentine's. Thankfully, chichimama is not a fan of Valentine's, which lets me off the hook for that one.But given how much a struggle it can be with kids, we actually both like our respective parent's day.

Today, I was woken up to breakfast in bed with my absolutelymostfavoriteawesome "bagel" from Panera (it's the cinnamon  crunch thing (or something) and to call it a bagel is a stretch. Load up some cream cheese on that baby and it's a most delectable breakfast (despite some clogging arteries). The kids also gave me a couple of craft presents they did in schools, which was actually awesome. Previously, neither of them had been in school at any time near Father's day so they never did anything. I always thought I got shafted because they had always done a crafty thing for Mother's day. It's a small thing, but I enjoy those gifts. Chichimama also got me a new sports watch, which is awesome.

We then headed out to the boat. The weather here was cloudy, but I checked weather.com and the radar had NO PRECIP anywhere near us or on the way. None. Nada. I double checked. So we headed out. Just as we headed over the Raritan bridge on the way to the boat yard, it started raining. And as we got closer to the boat, the heavier the rain got. So, we decided to get sandwiches from Wawa (they have the BEST sandwiches ever) and said we'd see what happens. The rain let up, so we got on the boat and ate them. Then it started raining again. No boat ride for us. So we packed up into the car and headed towards the shore for a drive. It was like a freaking monsoon the whole trip. Until, that is, we got home. As we pulled into the driveway, the sun shone brightly and it turned into a gorgeous evening! Figures.

Ah well. It was still a good day. The kids were good and we had fun.

Happy Father's Day!

And, on a side note: RIP to Tim Russert on this Father's Day. His sudden death actually saddened me. As journalists in the mainstream media go, he always struck me as reasonably fair. He seemed like a nice guy and as I read the obits this weekend, it turns out he was a happy father and loved his family. 58 is too young to die.

UPDATE

I just read this article in the Weekend WSJ. Well worth a read and it makes me really think about what it is to be a father; what kind of legacy I want to leave with my kids; and how I think of my own dad.

The (Minor) Boys of Summer

Ah baseball! Last night we took the family to a Somerset Patriots baseball game. The 5th grade class at my son's school sang the National Anthem so the school sold tickets to get a bunch of people out there. It was a lot of fun since my son got to see people from his class while at the game. With the Yankees in the crapper, it was really nice to just go out and actually see a good game. And, while they lost last night, the Patriots are first in their division.

I always forget how fun minor league games can be. Even in "bad" seats, you can still actually see the players. You can hear the the ball hit the catcher's mit. And when you hear the crack of the bat, you still have time to see where the ball is going, not watch the replay. It's a great way to kill a few hours on a lazy summer afternoon.

Follow up on SU and O'Reilly

Ok, so I watched the O’Reilly segment about an SU professor. It seems that this kerfuffle is about a black finance professor - Dr. Boyce Watkins - (one of my majors at SU, but this guy wasn’t there at the time) calling Juan Williams (a black commentator on Fox) a “happy negro”. I must admit the segment did little to actually describe what they were mad about, but that seems to be the crux of it.

A couple of points I need to make before I go on about my views on this:

1. I am generally an O’Reilly fan. That probably bothers many of my friends but it likely doesn’t surprise them either. I don’t really care and I’m not apologizing for it.

2. It should be noted that Juan Williams is no conservative shill. Indeed, he’s an NPR correspondent who probably hates Bush as much as my mother in law (which is a lot). I also doubt that he and O’Reilly have many beers together after work. Thus, when he and O’Reilly agreed on something, I took note and gave it the benefit of the doubt.

OK. That said, I watched the Factor piece and then went Watkins’ website to find out more. I spent about 45 minutes going through his posts and watching his youtube entries, and I have to say that I think O’Reilly may be over reacting here (please don’t tell the RNC, they might revoke my membership). I think this guy certainly teeters on the edge of offensiveness, but quite honestly he made some decent points.

His biggest crime, I think, is that his logic often breaks down in his arguments, but those are issues that can actually be debated. I saw no evidence of him being someone who simply “hates whitey” and leaves it at that. In fact, I find Al Sharpton more offensive than this guy. And, while he seems to support Jeremiah Wright (Obama’s racist preacher), he does not effuse “God Damn America”. I’d be interested in what others think. Go to http://blog.boycewatkins.com to read his posts.

I do have to say, however, that I thought Chancellor Cantor did a piss-poor job of dealing with the O’Reilly crew on campus. What she should have done was stop, talk to the reporter in the camera and say something like, “While we are giving Dr. Watkins our support, we are looking into the arguments Mr. O’Reilly and Mr. Williams have made. When I have seen everything, I’d be happy to come on to Mr. O‘Reilly’s show and tell you what we’ve found.” And then go on the show. You may hate O’Reilly, but even if he disagrees with you if you go on his show and debate the issues forthrightly, he’ll often backdown and respect you for the debate. I’ve watched the show for years and it’s safe to say that those who don’t appear or who equivocate are, in fact, hiding something and he’ll crucify you for it.

So you see? Us right-wingers CAN keep an open mind and don’t always agree with Fox!

The Orange on O'Reilly

So it seems Bill O’Reilly (whom I respect immensely - sorry my Lefty friends!) took SU to task tonight for some finance prof. I actually missed tonights episode so I haven’t seen it yet. But I’m recording the 11:00 airing and will comment on this as soon as I see it.

Meantime, any SU people may want to tune in to his show tonight.

Oh, Never Mind

Ok, I've decided I don't like the Facebook blog ap. So, I'm back.

Scrubs Final Episode

S-U-C-K-E-D

In the immortal words of Commic Book Guy - “Worst episode ever.”

MS Office Ultimate for 60 Bucks with Syracuse alumni email address

One of my favorite blogs I read is Lifehacker.com. A recent post (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/286314598/get-91-off-microsoft-office-ultimate) had this to say:

“A Microsoft student promotion that slashes 91% off a copy of Office Ultimate applies to anyone with a .edu email address—and most universities offer .edu addresses to their alumni for free. Microsoft Office Ultimate, which retails for $680, is available to students for only $60 until May 16th. But if you can snag a .edu address, you too can cash in on the deal—all you have to do is get yourself an alumni email address at your alma mater. The promotion’s web site says you have to prove you’re enrolled in coursework, but the New York Times reports that a senior VP at Microsoft confirmed all you need is an .edu email address. Let us know if you snag the deal and how it goes in the comments.”

I tried my SU alumni email, which ends alum.syracuse.edu - and it worked! I now have a $700 program for $60!

Here’s the link to order it: http://www.theultimatesteal.com/store/msshus/ContentTheme/pbPage.microsoft_office_ultimate

Hello Again, Goodbye

If anyone still reads this, you may have noticed I haven't posted anything since February. The thing is, I've just been very busy...blogging of all things - just not for me.

I've started a blog for my company, I'm a guest blogger at Wall Street & Technology as well as Bank Systems & Technology (sintilating, I know!), and I recently started another blog that focuses on the challenges of running a small business: Small Business Insight.

I also figured that since the only people who really read this were my friends, I'd just post every now and then on my facebook page. So, if you know me and you're on Facebook, look me up!

I may come back to this at some point, you never know. So till then, see you (hopefully) on Facebook!

dome

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