Flying Safer Than Going to the Hospital

As I was driving from Pennsylvania to Michigan today, I heard John Tesh's radio program on a local station in Ohio.  Lots of the information is very cool - such as the app that's now available which allows you to enter names of ingredients you find in your refrigerator, and it'll tell you what kind of meal you can make with them!

But this story showed how statistics can be misleading once you start thinking about the facts behind them.  The story headline said that it's now more dangerous to go to the hospital than it is to fly in an airplane.  The odds are 10,000,000 to 1that one will die in a plane crash, but only 300 to 1 that one will die from going to the hospital.

Accident victims, ailing individuals, and those involved in emergency situations aren't usually transported via ambulance to the airport, while business conferences and vacations aren't usually held at the local health care system.

Things Get a Little Easier, Once You Understand

There was a song back in the early 70's called "Once You Understand."  It featured conversations about the changing neighborhood, and the arguments parents had with their children.  It ended sadly with a phone call from a police officer telling the parent that his son had died of an overdose.

Similarly, we have a deep desire to know "why."  Several years ago, Simon Sinek publish a book saying that we must "Start With Why," rather than starting with "who or what" like we usually do.  It's when we know "why" we're doing what we're doing that all things begin to flow from that standpoint.

Take this back even to the Baltimore Catechism's Lesson 1, Question 6:  "Why did God make me?"  The answer: "God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven."

Notice we must know Him first before we can love Him.  Discovering the "why" leads to a process that requires us to learn.  And, since love is a decision, we must first have knowledge before we can make a correct decision.

Therefore, here are a couple of potential answers to today's pressing questions:

1) Why do our government representatives think they can solve everything by throwing money at it?
Because many of them are trained as lawyers, and lawyers study the law.  They also know how to settle cases with financial windfalls for the plaintiff.  If they solve problems in private practice by throwing money at it, why would we expect them to act differently when they're elected to a public office?

2) How do we get America back to work?
We have to make things.  We went from an agrarian society to a manufacturing society (which is where cultures rise to power and prominence) to a service society to an information society.  In an information society, knowledge is power.  Who has the population with the highest IQs?  Not America.  India has more honors students than America has students.  So let's make stuff again...but where is most stuff made today?  China.  Sadly, they have areas where they dump industrial waste.  The Environmental Protection Agency in this country would never let that happen here.  Until we figure out how we can make things here that the world wants, and can deal with the residual aftermath, then we're not going to move forward with this.  Some folks say let's make the iPhone here.  We could - but would anyone pay over 2 or 3 thousand dollars for one?

Deaths of Billionaires

Steve Jobs passed away last week - a billionaire, he was a college drop-out who followed his passion to make a fortunue and changed the world.

On Monday, Carl Lindner passed away - a billionaire, he was a high school drop-out who eventually founded United Dairy Farms, and his philanthropic passion help the lives of many in the Cincinnati area.

Now, consider the person entering college today.  There's no guarantee that they're going to find a job after graduation...yet there is one thing they will have - student loan debt.

Needless to say, my views on the value of formal education may be changing.

There's another billionaire that died this week - General Moammar Qadafi.  Interestingly, he did graduate.

Musings on the National Debt, and Why Congress Can't Get the Economy Going

While our nation hasn't been the victim of a natural disaster the magnitude of which struck Haiti last year and Japan earlier this year, our economy, if you ask the average citizen, is a disaster. Other countries are buying T-bills, securities and other types of US Government bonds. Even us regular Joes buy US Savings Bonds. When a nation or an individual buys a bond, it increases the debt our nation owes, since bonds must be repaid with interest. When you look at it this way, the national debt is not just a matter of spending more than the government takes in. The national debt is a loan that eventually needs to be repaid.


Because the United States is a non-profit organization, individuals can make contributions to reduce the national debt. You can find out how by visiting http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/resources/faq/faq_publicdebt.htm#DebtFinance. Now, before you laugh at the prospect, consider that the US pledges funds to help other nations when disaster strikes them. We don't "loan" the money to nations that have been hit with disasters...at least the media doesn't report it that way. Most of the time, if natural disasters strike our nation, we all pitch in what we can since we try to take care of such things ourselves...or, hope that our governments designate them as disaster areas.
So, if we're expected to take care of our economic problems ourselves, and the US has about 312,000,000 people, let's consider the 80/20 rule. If 80% of the people can be asked to pay 20% of the debt, and 20% of the people can pay 80% of the debt, this would mean that every "very well off" person (20% of the population) could pay about $180,000 to the government, and the majority of the people would only have to pay about $11,300 per person to retire the debt. If we opt for a balanced budget today, over the next 10 years, $18,000 per year would come from every "well-off" person, while everyone else would have to come up with $1,130 per year. A family of four, then, would be responsible for $4,250 more going to the federal government every year in order to pay off the national debt. Sounds hardly possible.

Interestingly, in recent weeks, the mounting debt crisis in Europe has been one of the driving factors in the decline of the American stock market. This proves that our economic problems are not just domestic ones, and therefore, we are not alone in this difficult time. The problem is systemic, and every action that occurs has the ability to generate unintended consequences.

Take unemployment, for example. Is news of layoffs good news or bad today? Today, most of us would agree that it's bad news. A company says that they're going to lay off 20,000 workers, and the stock market tanks. However, in times of economic prosperity, such news would be good news for the stock market. A layoff of workers in good economic times means that the company won't be spending as much money in overhead, will show a profit increase, and that can lead to more revenue for its stockholders. Therefore, the price of the stock increases, and even though people are losing their jobs, investors are making more money than they did before.

But if the stock market declines, individuals take money out of stocks and buy bonds. Bonds are issued by governments, so buying bonds increases government debt. Once again, you can see the systemic effects of a downward spiral in action.  What should happen is counter-intuitive, and that's why investing in the stock market shoud be left to those who know what they're doing, rather than all the folks that are trying to make a quick buck on itrade, nationaltrade or letsseeificanmakeatrade, or manage their 401Ks themselves.  Investment professionals buy stocks when they're low, and sell when they're high.  If stock prices are low, it means there's been a sell-off somewhere.  I'd love to be able to see if those sell-offs are made by brokerage firms or individuals that "dabble" in the market on their laptops.  Keeping in mind a systems thinking (ST) framework, a million "dabblers" could have catastrophic unintended consequences.

So what can be done to reverse the downward spiral?  As an interesting consideration, let's take a look at the world, which has about 6.9 billion people. If each person in the world would give $2 to the US government (and not just loan it to them), it would eliminate our debt. We could start fresh and move forward, once again driving the world's economy, helping other countries to reverse their debt crises. Remember, that's an average of $2 per person. Certainly, millions of people in the world cannot give anything; some can give much more than that. See the link above about giving to reduce the national debt.

Of course, there are other systems that must be addressed. Governments, both national and local, have been "caring for" people who are in need or cannot care for themselves. Churches used to do that. It's why there needs to be a separation of Church and State, but both need to exist, and both need to know which roles they need to play. When one tries to usurp the role of the other, or eliminate each other's roles, everyone suffers.

But I think there's another reason why congressional leaders and governmental administrators can't come up with a plan to more forward with economic recovery.

When I was majoring in communications, a friend of mine had a journalism professor that would say, "And where did you get your degree in journalism from?" when his methods were questioned by a student.  Similarly, when I was in education, I had heard that there were teachers who would have liked to ask the same type of question when a student's parent was upset about the amount of homework the child was receiving.

I thought about that after hearing a local radio talkshow yesterday.  The caller said that Congress can't come up with a plan, and all they want to do is throw more money at the problem and hope it works.  That resonated with me - because many of our elected officials have political science degrees and advanced law degrees...and isn't that how many lawyers work?  Let's settle out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.  In other words, let's put some money on the table and see if the claim can be settled.  I wonder how many of our lawmakers have MBAs?  That question was posed on a Web site in 2008, and no one has offered an answer.  The New York Times has an interesting artilce from 2009 regarding the number of lawmakers that have college degrees (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/congress/), but without personal economic experience, the leap from lawmaker to economy fixer is certainly a huge one.

I think everyone needs to watch the movie, "Dave."  It shows what happens when politics takes a back seat to hard economic decisions.  Everyone may not like it, but there is joy regarding the end result.

Random Thoughts as the Stock Market Plummets

When fears of a debt crisis in France send American stocks into a tailspin, something's wrong...

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is the number one movie in the world...the same weekend that rioting by England's youth begins.  Who said children don't emulate what they see?

I'm confused about global warming.  I heard a report on NPR that the glaciers are melting because of the manufacturing in countries like China, Russia, India and the US.  Wait a minute - manufacturing in the US?  I thought the economy was bad because we don't make things here anymore...

I think the Government really needs to evaluate how the Post Office works.  I really don't think it would be bad to stop mail delivery on Saturday.  Then every mail carrier can have a weekend - just like every other worker would like to have.  But all those little out of the way Post Offices are a different story.  I stopped at one the other day.  It was open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to Noon then from 1 PM to 4 PM, and Saturdays from 8 until 11:45.  As a working person, when am I free to go to the Post Office?  That would be on my lunch hour and after work - when they're closed.  And then the Government wonders why it loses money on this venture.  How about being open when people can actually visit?

How Much?

I drove past a suite hotel yesterday that advertised their room rate with a large sign:  $249 a week.  This was a good-looking place too!

I thought about that for a minute...and then did some calculations.  Adding 6% for tax, the total for a year's stay would be $13,724.88 - so let's say $13,725.  Sounds like a lot, right?

But then I thought about my bills and how I would be affected:
- no gas bill (savings of $100 a month)
- no electric bill (savings of $100 a month)
- no cable and Internet bill (saving of $100 a month)
- no water bill (savings of $40 a month)
- no sewage bill (savings of $40 a month)
- no trash bill (savings of $20 a month)

That adds up to $400 a month.  $13,725 divided by 12 is about $1,145 a month, minus the $400 comes to $645 a month...and there's no grass to cut and the staff make your bed, clean your room, and empty your trash every day.

With so many homes "under water" right now, this sounds like a heck of an alternative to an apartment - of course it would only be a bedroom, a living area, a bathroom and a small kitchen, and ... wait a minute - that's a one bedroom apartment!  My daughter's living in one and paying more than $645 a month in rent.

Supwiddat?

3 Things Our New Kitten Has Taught Me

1) If you leave water in the sink after washing dishes then leave it unattended, kitten may get a bath.

2) Never leave a sharp knife out to air dry after washing it.

3) Always check the clothes dryer after putting washed clothes in just to make sure kitten won't go for a ride.

Productivity Apps - The New Oxymoron

I just wasted an entire day trying to find an app for an iPhone that sychronizes with Outlook without having to go through 12 other programs.

I FINALLY find one - and then realize that the programmer didn't include a "\" (backslash) in the character set. I need to use it to be able to sync with my Enterprise server, making the app useless for me.

Doesn't anybody "get it?" Doesn't Apple "get it?" Apple is big enough to say "to hell with you" when anyone complains about why an iPhone only syncs with three of the four primary Outlook tasks. It's their slam against Microsoft and the PC.

If you're going to do that, fine. Then someone make me an app that can track 10 categories of tasks with 7 levels of priority in each - none of this piddly "star" for important tasks and 4 level of color coded priority. I have the spreadsheet for it - if anyone wants to turn it into an app, contact me.

New Year? Feels Like SOS to Me

This is January 2nd...and the garbage disposal decided to start to leak today, spilling water into the cabinet under the sink; the DVD/VCR combo that has worked flawlessly decided to quit sending video signal to the TV tonight; and the wireless printer that has been the workhorse for the house computer two floors above where the printer is locate now doesn't print from that computer anymore. I guess the wireless got tired. To compensate, the printer now prints a blank page first whenever I print something from the computer that's hard-wired to it.

Actually, I think the vacuum cleaner talked to all the appliances since we vacuumed the house yesterday after the NYE party here. It told those three to break today. I wonder what he told the others. If I get a call that we have no hot water, the vacuum cleaner will be the first appliance to be replaced.

And I thought "Rise of the Machines" was only a movie...

Why Are Things So Difficult Today?

It's human nature to want to know the answer to "Why?" It's a question four-year-olds ask incessantly. It's a question adults cry out when tragedies occur. If an acceptable reason can't be found, then we begin to look for something or someone to blame. Many times, people blame God, and then wonder why a merciful God would let bad things happen.

It may help to remember that God gives us trials to make us realize our dependence on Him.

If you don't consider that to be an acceptable reason, consider this - as a nation, we've confused "faith" and "religion." Faith is belief; Religion is an organized system of beliefs. The Constitution of the United States of America provides a clause stating there should not be a national "religion" - but faith in a higher power is fundamental to existence.

When we say that we need to "Do the right thing," belief in a higher power is the only way to know what the "right" thing is. It takes moral development to understand what's right from what's wrong, and morality requires a basis in faith.

This helps to explain why our nation's government can't "help" us, even though intentions are good. Government's role is to make laws and enforce them to keep order. There are only three commandments which are the basis of our nation's laws, namely: don't steal, don't kill, and don't bear false witness, or, more bluntly, don't lie. All the other commandments deal with matters dealing with one's relationship with God.

Government should be small...small enough to provide a framework in which we can live. Faith, on the other hand, is the way in which we should live. Separation of Church and State? Yes! Separation of Faith and State is a recipe for disaster. Faith is where the concept of "care" takes root, since caring cannot be legalized.

So, worship God, and there is room for you here - Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu. Worshiping anything else makes you a threat to society. That's the deception of evil - it looks good. If it didn't, it wouldn't be tempting, now would it? Things that appear to be good and serve our sense of self may be deceptions. It's one of the reasons why there is no outcry against injustice until what we perceive as an injustice affect us personally.

It is true that God has blessed me, just as He has blessed every one of us, every one of His creations. But He didn't bless me because I'm me; He's blessed me with particular gifts so that I can help others with those gifts to foster their gifts. We are God's hands on this earth - and that's some important work to do.

Why do we need God? It's the only place we can find abundance in a world of vanishing resources.

Have You Noticed a Difference in Web Site Redesign?

I have. When a company introduces a new Web site, there are usually three characteristics that stand out:

1) Lots of space and pictures - not a lot of text;
2) The text that is there has larger font sizes and easier to read fonts - like Trebuchet rather than the standard Times New Roman;
3) It's usually interactive, with a search bar, a sign up form, or a field to complete - or - there's a photo rotator (a great pallandrome, by the way) or a video embedded in it, encouraging the viewer to interact with it.

Web designers are changing their standard styles of creation, and moving toward a font that's larger so us 40, 50, 60, and 70+ year-olds can read it easily, and since younger folks don't like a lot of words - they either want to type the words themsleves, or click on photos to find out more about the site they're visitng.

I really like that Trebuchet font...I may finally have to give up Verdana.

Z

Students Leaving The Area After Graduation? It's More Than "There Aren't Any Jobs"

Working with schools for the past 8 years has allowed me to hear individuals lament the fact that children are leaving their hometowns and travelling to other parts of the country in order to find work. Of course, recent graduates could be engineers, and don't want to move to the part of the country where they'd gone to school. Others could be liberal arts majors who are still trying to find what their ultimate calling in life is.

However, teaching presents an interesting exemplar. I've come to this realization after being offered a position at a school in the Southern part of the country several years ago, and after my daughter has been applying to schools throughout our hometown area in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and finally landing a teaching job...in North Carolina.

It's not that other schools around here were not interested. Some school districts do their first round of hirings in May, then, if those that are offered positions do not accept, round two happens in June. There could be another round in July and even one in August as those that are in current positions may accept a position at another school district.

But schools in the Northeast start school at the end of August; schools in New York start after Labor Day. Conversely, schools in the South start during the first week of August, with teacher days beginning in some schools at the end of July. New York doesn't get out of school until the 3rd of 4th week of June.

Some schools in Southwestern Pennsylvania won't start looking at resumes until mid-July; some schools in Northwestern Pennsylvania are closed in July, and reopen in August to take care of registrations and the like. So the next time we wonder why our kids are leaving the area after they graduate, perhaps it's because they've had to accept a position away from home long before similar industries in their hometown areas were ready to begin their process.

A simple "shift" in thinking might help to reverse the situation, and keep students closer to home to build their local economies, rather than moving away as the rest of us watch the population decline.

Technology Needs to be Simple - Part 2

Has anyone purchased an HP printer lately?

Let's see a show of hands - how many think they're the worst excuse for a piece of technology today?

Hmmm - quite a few.

After an hour and 48 minutes, my new wireless printer is still going through the installation disk. "This may take a few minutes." Yeah - right. Last time I checked, 108+ was a heck of a lot more than a "few."

Oh, and we're installing HP software too! And you're not giving me a choice as to whether I want it or not. And what's up with the Y9Y9 file that seems to be a part of your program set up - at least it is according to the tech experts I've spoken with.

Step three of four has been in place now for the past 20 minutes. I've given up on the wireless installation since I'm not permitted to change firewall settings on my business computer since the business owns it. Isn't it ironic - wireless technology "can make you more productive" - except when you're not permitted to install wireless technology (or use a type of technology) because of the potential threats that exist in cyberspace. If I'm not permitted, then's there not really a whole lot I can do about productivity - or, I have to look for other ways to be more productive.

If I didn't need a scanner, I wouldn't buy a printer ever again. We can do everything on computer today and store files electronically - and soon, we'll all be able to do it on our little handhelds.

Maybe someone out there can make a light "wand" type device - and don't say it's out there already in the form of Neat Receipts. Their install is fast, but it takes 30 minutes to scan one document. Surely somebody out there realizes that technology today is all about speed and accuracy, and can invent something that is both speedy and accurate. Then again, if someone did that, they'd corner the market, driving the other competitors out of business, then the government would come along and say they have to break into two companies so that there's competition in the marketplace.

Maybe we should get Toyota engineers to make computers. They seem to have no trouble getting extra speed from cars...

Technology Needs to be Simple

Upon returning home from a week on the road, I had TONS of paperwork to do - and, of course, my wireless router decided to quit working. After spending 7 hours trying to fix it, I've resolved to go buy a new one. I will never buy a D-Link product again because it was a pain to install it the first time, let alone this second go round, and, if you want to ask someone a question from the company after your warranty period, it will cost you $34...with no guarantee that the reply will correct your concern. Of course, the final realization was that "It's five years old - time for a new one." Although it makes me feel kind of powerless, since I have Master's degree in Technologies-enhanced learning, and have to know how to do all this stuff. If I can't do it, I'm amazed that others aren't having any difficulties setting up wireless networks in their homes.

Therfore, after reading many reviews, I'm not buying a Linksys either. I've read that NetGear wireless routers connect easily. Comments would be welcomed.