Is Anyone Else Concerned?

Every day it seems I read that the government is amassing more and more power.

The headline in the Business Section of The Washington Post for March 25th read: "The Pitch for Expanded Powers." And the tag line was: "Geithner, Bernake Seek the Authority to Seize Failing Firms Other Than Banks."

Frankly, I'm worried.

Our government should not be seizing firms. What is next?

I thought our whole business structure was built on the basis of the good succeed and the bad fail. If the government intervenes to save companies that should fail--what will that do to the entrepreneurs of the future? The great idea people like those behind Apple when it started and IBM and Xerox back when they began?

Will the bad business practices continue--with the safety net of a government bail out to save them from their own excesses and poor decision making?

How will the marketplace and industry evolve if the government is in control?

Isn't this all a violation of the Constitution somewhere?

AIG needed to fail.

GM needs to fail. So someone better and brighter can succeed it.

Big industries and corporations have been buying up and destroying competition for years to preserve their now obvious faults. And our government is condoning this behavior by buying them, seizing them and keeping them afloat. What's wrong with this picture? Since when did our government become the model way for running businesses?

I'm not sure I want to pay for all of this.

I'm not sure the world economy is in a position to finance the debt until our grandchildren can pay for it.

I'm worried that we have taken a leap into socialism--where the government controls everything and we are taxed at an unbelievably high rate to pay for it.

Nothing is free!

I'm worried about what's next?

Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand. Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” Rev 6:5-7 NET Bible


Does this foretell of runaway inflation from a failed bailout plan? And of the incredible world-wide depression which results? I hope not.

So, is anyone else concerned? I think we need to pray harder.

Friday Night Lights and Glass Wall

I ran into my own kind of glass wall last Friday night.

I played in the league championship for racquetball at the club and learned a lot about desire and just plain getting beat.

It was tough. I was playing a friend for the championship of the division in the end of league tournament. He was the number 1 seed, and I was number 2 based upon our performance during league play against the others in the league.

During league play we met--with the match going into the tiebreaker, which he won 11-10. It was hard fought. But fun. We play each other about twice per week outside of the league.

So I thought I was ready. I had a plan. I felt I could win, and I thought I was ready. He was "readier" it was soon apparent.

So I was reminded why I really play racquetball. Because I love it--even in getting beat fairly handily, I love the sport. the quickness, the thinking, and the hard work. Some fitness guru estimates that a racquetball match is equivalent to running two miles. I hate running for the sake of running. But put me in a court with a racquetball and I'll chase it like a dog!

Well, it's O.K. The league begins again next week. And we can do it all over again.

Bonuses and Bailouts: Perspective

Wow--my email box is full of get rich schemes and take advantage of the bail-out money schemes. Everyone seems to have an angle these days to get rich quick. Well, they definitely are behind the corporate executives who profited from the bail-out.

I am amazed that people have so much time to sit and figure out out to profit form other's agony. It is a crime. Almost like executives accepting huge bonuses while others in the company and near them are losing their jobs.

What has happened?

Where has the idea that hard work is reward enough? I cannot fathom a $1,000,000.00 (just so you could see it more clearly) BONUS! What did they accomplish? Drove the company into bankruptcy and requiring a federal bail out. Good job. What kind of bonus do they expect when they actually are successful?

I don't get bonuses!

But I get satisfaction from what I do. I'm still "jazzed" about going to work every day. I believe what I do is important.

My view:

The problem with corporate America today is mercenaries. The leaders of the companies don't care about the long-term health and competitive advantage of the company--just this year's bonus. They move from company to company with no intention of sticking around to see if their wild ideas actually work. Our companies are not reinvesting in infrastructure to keep them competitive. They are sucking off the reinvestment monies to pay bonuses to executives so they can live in a lifestyle that is reminiscent of feudal lords.

When did this problem really begin to materialize? When loyalty to the workers went away. That's when corporate leadership became totally mercenary because suddenly the companies were faceless.

People--we've lost it as a society. We are missing the point.

Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't live comfortable. I love living comfortable and I thank God for the blessings he has given me. But people there is a point where loving the money and material is going to cause the entire system to crumble. Maybe it has!

How do we turn it around? Curb our appetite for greediness and excess. Force corporate executives to realize they are a big part of the problem.

If the President of the United States can live on $400,000.00 per year--who needs more?

Monday Musings - March 23, 2009

OK-- I remembered this week and I'm not traveling, so here goes:

1. Sundays when the temperature is over 60 degrees means that the outdoors is alive again and a great place to be.

2. Who knew that you could get a tick on the first day after a freeze? I'm thinking about the Brad Paisley song Ticks when he sings: "And I'd like to check you for ticks?"

3. A chain saw in your hands while cleaning up the mess of fallen trees is therapeutic.

4. I feel much better when the sun is bright and the temperature is warm. I can see leaves beginning to grow on the trees. The crocus and daffodils are beginning to bloom. The grass really greened up this weekend. And, the garage is a mess! Must be Spring!

5. March Madness is. And sharing it with your sons is, too.

6. Losing the league racquetball championship Friday night still stings, but knowing that I was just outplayed makes me want to work that much harder and the new season begins next week.

7. Mortgage refinancing in the current climate makes my head spin.

8. Puppies can be a bit too enthusiastic at the wrong times, like thinking Jax was a new playmate when he was crawling towards her on the floor. The ensuing collision was not a pretty sight.

9. Opening Day is two weeks away, and hope springs eternal as the O's take the field. I finally received my free t-shirts from the O's for being a season ticket plan holder--so now I fee like a true fan!

10. When you turn the heat off because the doors and windows are open during the day, remember to turn it back on before going to bed or else it will be 59 degrees in the house when you get up. Frost on the coffee pot is a bad thing.

11. My list of "to-do's" exceeds my time available.

Weddings Can Be Fun

What a great weekend I had last weekend.

To begin with it turned into a four-day weekend and travel to Houston. Who is going to complain about a four-day weekend? The air travel--well it's air travel. I learned that Continental really likes to fly full airplanes!

But the most fun was getting together with my family--my brother, sisters, Mom and Dad and spouses and children (except for mine!) and celebrating the beginning of a new life together--a wedding.

What a great event.

It was good to get away and reconnect and hopefully stay in touch, thin time, with the family. It is so easy to become disconnected from.

We sometime become so entrenched on our own lives and our own "must-do's" that staying connected becomes difficult.

So from weddings we learn about connectedness and the value of family. That's why we all gather to celebrate together--because we are each important.

Monday Musings on Tuesday: Air Travel

OK--so in week 2, I missed Monday.



But, I was traveling and have an excuse.



So here are the Monday Musings, on Tuesday:



1. Air travel has become a real pain. I feel like the next thing they are going to want us to do is load the bags into the airplane ourselves.



2. What extra service do you get for the $15 per bag charge on airplanes? They take longer to collect when you get there. It took an hour after we landed in Houston to get our one piece of checked baggage. And why did we check it? Because of the liquids necessary to make women look pretty in the morning.



3. Direct flights are THE way to fly!



4. Continental Airlines still serves snacks on board. Who knew?



5. The weather in Houston was just like the weather in Baltimore--awful.



6. Houston Intercontinental Airport is TOO BIG!



7. The TSA likes to change things up just to keep everyone uneasy about air travel.



8. Leave on the noon-time flights, there will be fewer people in line ahead of you. This was borne out by the fact that we departed form Baltimore on a Friday at noon--and had a real short wait at the security check point, and even leaving Houston on a Monday about noon-time, there were almost "no lines, no waiting!"



9. Everything is bigger in Texas. Check it out for yourself.



10. I learned that Stephen F. Austin college is making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance as a 14 seed.. Everyone in Houston is excited. Too bad they face Syracuse (A 3 seed)!



11. Low-level supersonic describes the trip to the airport in Houston after my sister realized we were leaving too late.



12. Fulshear, Texas IS the middle of no where! But they don't have many distractions around either.

Airports

So here I am, sitting in the airport waiting to depart on a flight. Flying has become way too much like taking a bus trip.

We arrived early, so as not to miss our flight and now we get to wait. Had we waited to arrive, we would likely have gotten caught in a long line and missed our flight causing stress and more waiting. The paradox of flying. The more I do to be efficient I always get to wait.

And here's the really cool part. We pay for this experience.

They've just announced the flight is full. Great. That means no room. All seats taken and I get to become real familiar with a seat mate.

Love it a lot.

But at the other end we'll see family and friends so it is worth it.
Bob Doan
Elkridge, MD
Sent from My Blackberry

Possums Vinyard Shiraz 2004

Possums Vineyard McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004 is one of those awesome wines that is just a joy to enjoy. I found this wine at a tasting and fell in love with it immediately. Be sure to get the McLaren Vale Shiraz as Possums does have another Shiraz offering that I have not tasted.

It has a silky rich texture, a superior color and a nose that tingles the palette even before the first drop of wine enters the mouth. I spent a great deal of time just swirling and enjoying the wine even before I tasted it.

The winery describes it in the following manner: A full bodied wine with purple and violet hues with flavours of ripe berry fruits and smoky oak characters from ageing in a mixture of French and American oak barrels.

I believe they are being too modest. This wine is special--being one of those $20 per bottle wines that will garner respect and praise for having a well developed palette all evening. The berry flavors with chocolate and a hint of licorice bring it all together. Of course I have a special weakness for Shiraz anyway.

I am a wine drinker--but one glass of this wine was a complete experience. I guess I cannot recommend this wine highly enough. It was awesome served with steak. It held its own and complimented the meat very nicely.

RECOMMENDATION: Add this wine to your cellar and serve it to your best friends and those you are trying to impress. You and they will not be disappointed.

Travel and Clothing

I came to realize yesterday, and it actually confirmed something I guess I've known for a while, men and women are REALLY different.

So Chris and I are conversing for a few precious minutes and planning for the evening over a late glass of wine. And the topic of discussion is: laying out clothing for the upcoming jaunt to Houston this weekend!

Ugh!

It is Tuesday night, we haven't seen each other for most of the week due to divergent schedules Monday night and the most scintillating thing we can talk about is the need to lay out outfits for the weekend?

Of course right up there in second place was making sure the house was clean for the cleaning lady! Something which never ceases to amaze me--if we start with a clean house, what are we paying for?

Wow--I would much rather have discussed the O's or hockey. Actually i was trying to watch a recorded O's spring training game against the Redsox at the time. Plans for tonight would be good, too. But clothing options for the weekend? I'll figure mine out as I throw them into the suitcase Friday before I leave for the airport.

So clothing vs sports!

The weekend is days away. Where are we going? I have all Friday morning to worry about it.

Daylight Savings and Sunrises

I came out of the club this morning after an invigorating racquetball match to be greeted by darkness again. The darkness--the result of daylight savings time--reminded me how much I love the dawn and coming out of the club into the light of a new day. Just last week the sun was rising as did my spirits as I walked to my car after grueling racquetball matches.

I love starting my day with racquetball. It gets the body moving and in tune for the rest of the day. After a weekend, racquetball helps get those muscles moving again and back into tone.

In two weeks--dawn will be at 6:37 am--which is about when I walk out of the club. In a month--sunrise will be at 6:39 am--which means I will be treated to the rising sun on the horizon as I walk out the doors of the club. But, sadly, in 6 months dawn will again be back to about 6:42 am, meaning that the summer is about over and the dark season is beginning again. Wow--how quickly it all goes away.

But there sure is a lot of fun in between now and then.

And Patrick--if you click on the properties for this picture to see the title--you might get a bit of a surprise. Think about an early morning dive in this lake and tell me if you're game sometime.

So what is the advantage of daylight savings time? Most people like that it is lighter longer into the evening and we can get more chores done around the house and enjoy outdoor activities when the weather is mild. I like it because I get to enjoy more sunrises and I prefer sunrises to sunsets! I remember when Chris and I were younger and would do dumb things like driving through the night to get somewhere. Twenty-four or twenty-seven hours on the road switching off driving every couple hours. I always loved driving when the sun was coming up as the world awoke to the hope of a new day.

Mark 16:2 "And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb." (NET Bible)

In reflecting on sunrises--I was reminded that our whole confidence in eternal life in Christ began on a Sunday morning at sunrise!