I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The holidays went by too fast again this year, I love this holiday time of year and get real joy from concentrating on what is good and fun about the holidays instead of grouching over the "hassle" of the holidays. I hope all of you were able to concentrate on the positive this year and not get dragged down into a grinch mood. And I cannot wait until next Christmas :)

BlueTooth headsets, New status fashion for Yuppies?

I know that cordless cell phone headsets/earbuds are needed to drive safely and free us from the cords flapping in the wind, but are they for wearing all the time. I have noticed lately people, mostly men, walking around with bluetooth cell phone earbuds in their ear all the time. Most of the time these folks have not been on the phone and to me they just look silly. Actually they look like they have taken the first step toward becoming a real Borg (see Star Trek).

When I end up getting my next cell phone I will probably join the ranks of the bluetooth users but I will not wear the thing like a new piece of ear jewelry. Perhaps a good rumor about bluetooth headsets causing earlobe cancer would get people to take them off and put them in thier pocket. At least then we have a new joke, "is that a bluetooth in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Regardless of who you are I want you to have a Merry Christmas

The current cartoon at illwillpress explains exactly how I feel about people that want to remove the Christmas word from our vocabulary at this time of year. If our country is tolerant of all why would anyone be upset by the Merry Christmas greeting or the use of the term Christmas Tree at a holiday display somewhere. I am certainly not upset when my Jewish friends wish me a Happy Hanukkah or when other folks offer their cherished greetings to me. I want everyone to have a Merry Christmas regardless of religion, non-religion, or any other factor of their life. I will continue to wish people a Merry Christmas just the same as I wish folks a Happy Halloween, a joyous New Year, or a Grand Groundhog Day. Yes I am Christian but I am not using the term to convert anyone, I use it because in my Christian heart I truly hope everyone I know has a Merry Christmas at this time of year no matter what holiday they do or do not celebrate.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Husbands rights with abortion

The continuing witch hunt by democrats against Samuel Alito Jr. , Supreme Court nominee, has raised a concern based on Alito's dissenting opinion in 1991 that would require a woman to tell her husband before having an abortion.

"In a release Monday, Planned Parenthood interim president Karen Pearl said Alito's opinion shows "callous disregard of battered women who would be affected by the statute." She said if he is confirmed, Alito "would undermine basic reproductive rights" [source].

So why does the husband have no reproductive rights? The fetus has no right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness but why does the husband have no reproductive rights? Is it because modern women are having so many affairs that they are trying to hide the pregnancy from their husband? Is it because only the mother can determine if the child is worth keeping? Or is it because they are feminists and they are in our face, on everything, including the elimination of fathers rights.

How can we on the one hand force fathers that do not want children to pay child support while on the other hand not give them some say on wanting to support a child that is currently unborn. This is not about eliminating abortion 'rights', it is about ensuring the rights of fathers as much as mothers. And please don't say "it is her body" because this is not about the woman's body, it is about the child's body.

low tech frustratingly fun game @ www.urbandead.com

A few weeks ago I ran across a fun game online called Urban Dead. The game is a simple low tech game that has zombies fighting human survivors in the city of Malton. Humans start out as one of several character types with different default skills and by earning experience points the humans can buy other skills. My first character was a medic and I earned experience points by finding people and healing them. Now I have earned the diagnose skill so I see what everybody's hit points are and I can find folks to heal much faster.

This game is very addictive but because the number of actions is limited to only 50 each day there is no way for the game to consume more then 10 minutes of time each day, but those 10 minutes have become a real fun break part of my day.

Give it a try, if anyone reads this blog :)

Are there American companies anymore?

After a recent speech by a Fortune 50 CEO I started to wonder if there are American companies anymore or if Global corporations are pretty much all that exist anymore. Now I know there are many small and medium businesses that do a high % or 100% of their business in America. What I wonder about is the Fortune 500, how many of them are actually benefiting their country of origin or even care about their home country. I see Walmart giving $23+ million to Katrina relief while other companies that once were American give the typical $1 million, despite having billions in cash reserves (I am not counting matching funds just direct corporate donation).

Global competition demands that we meet the price/demand curve on products and so many corporations have become global not because of desire but rather for survival. Companies like GM, despite being global, are still in financial trouble but most companies insist they go global to reduce costs and remain competitive.

We as consumers in our quest for ever cheaper prices have changed our buying habits to the point that we are global consumers.

What came first the global consumer or the global corporation? And if you are a global consumer can you really complain that average family wages where you live are dropping?

The daily 10 minute battle against evil is good for the soul

I recently started playing http://www.urbandead.com and it has become a quick fun part of my day. In this game every user is either a survivor trying to kill zombies or a zombie trying to kill survivors. I actually play several characters and because everyone is restricted to only 50 moves a day (you would be surprised how fast it goes) the game does not take much time. This game is extremely low tech but still a fun break during my day. I can't stop to fire up xbox during the work day but a quick 15 minute break to earn experience points and take care of evil is easy enough to do. Try it, it may be low tech but its still fun and you goal oriented people will love the ability to turn experience points into new skills.

People are a burden to corporate America.....

Dear Employees,

You are too expensive for us. Yes, we know that during tight employment times we drove up wages almost uncontrollably to fight for your skills, and we used to care about your welfare which drove up benefit costs, but now all that has changed. You see there are college educated people in other countries that will work for 1/10th of what we are paying you and there are tons of these folks available. They don't buy much as consumers but we know American consumers will buy lots of our stuff, if the price is cheaper.

The continued reduction in average family income in America is not our problem because we are lowering our prices to help your reduced wages still buy more. And please understand, as soon as we can find even cheaper resources elsewhere then the current employees in {Insert Country Here} we will abandon them as well. If all goes well we expect to automate 99% of your jobs in the next century and then we will not be bothered with actually having to employ any humans.

Signed,

Greedy Corporations

NOTE TO MARKETING COMPUTER: Please design marketing campaign to sell our products to robots, humans will be out of money soon.

Isreal is out but it does not seem to be enough

For years many have believed that Israel stayed in hot water with Palastinians because of their occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The occupation caused fragmentation among mixed communities and other issues. Well, Israel is out of the Gaza completely but it seems they have not escaped the hot water. A rocket barrage was launched from Gaza at Israeli towns across the border.

Militants in the Gaza have no reason left to attack Isreal. Start to build your country and stop bothering others. If Hamas and others continue their terrorist attacks from unoccupied territories then I would expect Israel to retake those areas and this time remove every Palastinian in them. When this happens the free world no longer has any excuse to find fault with Israel. Israel has done its part by leaving these areas.

Flooding is not our problem say insurance companies

Much of the damage in the gulf coast is caused by flooding rather then by wind, flying debris or other things covered by standard home owners policies. Because of this many insurance companies will not be paying claims, after all flooding is specifically excluded from home owners policies.

So which came first and was the root cause? The hurricane or the flooding?

I think the root cause is obvious and this is not like the flooding caused from torrential rains that do no damage other than flooding. The mid-western flooding of 1993 was a good example of flooding being the real problem and I would accept that flood insurance was needed. In the case of the aftermath of devastation left by a hurricane I think insurance companies claiming it is a flood problem is criminal, even in the case of New Orleans.

I will not miss Mark after he retires

A great friend of mine, Mark, is one of the many individuals that have accepted early retirement from my company. Many will ask if he is such a great friend why will he not be missed? Simple, I will not let Mark exit my life other than work. Mark and I are several states apart but I will make every effort to continue our friendship and not get disconnected from him. I have not always been the best at continuing links between myself and friends through the years. Mark is someone that I truly want to remain in touch with until the bitter end when my corpse enters the ground.

Thanks Mark for being a great friend, a great co-worker, and for always being there when I needed someone to vent with over the corporate good times and the corporate bullshit we live through every year.

You will not be missed because I will not let you exit my life so easily :)

Does the Military have an EXIT STRATEGY from Hurricane Katrina?

When thrust into a crisis at home Americans are quick to respond without question to the needs of their neighbors. Americans are also quick to complain that help did not arrive fast enough and not enough is done. Despite Herculean efforts by the country and our military to help the liberal media hunts down the disgruntled and quickly puts them on the air.

I don’t mind disgruntled people so much since people in crisis are desperate to get help quickly and there is always something we could do better to help. But then the liberal media actually asks the military how long they will be helping the Gulf Coast area. The military provided the correct response; we will be here until the job is done. Now for some reason the liberal media does not ask what the military exit strategy is for the Gulf Coast. How can we as Americans be so self-centered to assume that helping others must have an exit strategy while helping ourselves should go on until the job is completed?

Before you tell me not to compare war to a hurricane you had better listen to what is reported on all media, liberal and conservative, about the hurricane. It is a devastated war zone like area. Why devastation exists is obvious in both the Middle East and the Gulf Coast, now and in the past. How quickly we forget the devastation caused by an unchecked Hitler and a hurricane called Camille, both of which required us to be there until the job was done.

We are helping Iraq and Afghanistan to become a free people that can guide their own future instead of living under tyranny as we did in the 1700’s. There is no psychic ability to predict when these jobs will be done and the media in asking for one is telling America that getting out is the goal. Getting out is clearly not the goal for the Gulf Coast or for the Middle East. For the Gulf Coast the goal is to help everyone get back on their feet and rebuild their lives. For Iraq and Afghanistan the goal is to help people who have never been allowed to stand on their own two feet to do exactly that, and help them to rebuild counties.

Stop asking for an exit strategy in both cases and start asking what we can do to help the job to get done completely and effectively. NOT what others can do better, but what we can start to do to help.

Does God Help Them That Help Themselves?

This is a famous "Biblical" quote that is of course not in the bible but is really a quote from Benjamin Franklin. Many people to this day, including myself, believe that there is truth in these words while many will argue that this is in direct opposition to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

From http://www.acts17-11.com/cows_helps.html

More important, this "verse" is unbiblical in its meaning. It is exactly the opposite of the message of scripture.
Jer 17:5 (NIV) This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD."
Prov 28:26 (NIV) He who trusts in himself is a fool...

These statements are typical of those that believe this statement is false. Notice though that the statement does not tell us to trust ourselves or depend on flesh for our strength. In fact the statement to me assumes that God is on our side and if we start moving God has a more opportunity to help us and we trust that he will. It is not our flesh that we depend on for spiritual strength but rather it is what we depend on to take actions that the Lord would appreciate and support.

Considering the times that Ben lived in I think that America came into existence and serves the will of God because people gathered together and helped themselves. I think God has been helping us ever since but how much help can he be if all we do is stand still. To a great degree our isolationist, do nothing and stand still, attitude led to two world wars. Lets not do that again.

I am not a Bible scholar, I am a simple man who believes in God and believes that God works through our actions and not in place of our actions.

Cobb County Appeals Laptop Ruling

In a previous post I commented on the Cobb County School Board plan to provide laptops to every high school student and middle school student. The $100+ million laptop program was to be paid for by a Special Purpose Location Option Sales Tax that I had voted for. My concerns were:

1. This was not part of the SPLOST explanation voters were given
2. The choice of Apple did not provide mainstream technology and applications to students
3. The predicted costs kept escalating

A judge eventually agreed with my #1 and told the county to cancel the program because voters were not completely informed on this as part of the SPLOST vote. The school system hired a private investigation firm to review the entire situation and process. While this report did not exactly agree with my #2 the findings were extremely significant and vindicated my #2.
"An investigation into the program said that the school system "deceived the public" in choosing [...] Apple as the company to supply it with laptop computers."

Well, it seems the Cobb County school system has money to burn because they have decided to appeal the judges ruling. This is despite significant public outcry against the program, the resignation of the school superintendent, and a damning review by the investigation firm the school system hired to review the laptop program. The school board canceled the program and yet the school board is still choosing to spend financial resources on an appeal.

The board should give it up and let go. There are many other educational needs that should be concentrated on and the money going to lawyers on this should be spent helping students.

Given the chance I will definitely vote against all incumbents on the school board and I will vote against the next SPLOST. We the citizens of Cobb County need to send a very strong message to our chosen representatives that deceiving us is unacceptable. Politicians thrive on power and money is power. By voting down the next SPLOST we send a very strong and painful message to politicians. In return they will try to scare us with end of the world scenarios if the SPLOST is not approved, hogwash I say to that.

Are terminators the future or are they here today?

Today there are military robots, drones, pilotless aircraft, robot sentries, and even bomb robots in use by the military and civilian police forces. These machines are clearly the first step on the path to what is depicted in the Terminator movies. The Talon military robot has been in use since 2000, and we have all seen Honda's Osimo human shaped walking robot.

http://www.gizmohighway.com/robotics/talon_robot.htm
http://www.gizmohighway.com/robotics/asimo.htm

Now a Japanese scientist has created an extremely early version of a human looking android. Ironic that he chose to make the first one female since females are the more vicious gender of the human species. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm

At least in the terminator movies the female came later and not at first :)

And of course the illustrious DARPA has been working seriously, along with many educational institutions, on creating true artificial intelligence.

"DARPA spends $29 million per year on its Perceptive Assistant That Learns program, which develops robots programmed to think. The agency and its contractors will first develop an architecture that considers reasoning, learning, perception, language and action for robots, he said." http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0419/feat-brachman-04-19-04.asp

Many of the most wonderful and the most destructive human capabilities have come about in very similar ways. Little pieces worked on by separate endeavors that when brought together become dangerous to man kind. I doubt Einstein thought much about his calculations and I doubt the people that contributed to the creation of "conventional explosives" saw the potential for them to light off an atomic bomb. But bring together the knowledge of many areas and we create the scariest explosive device known to man.

What will happen when we bring together all of the work to create terminators or have we already and we just don't know it yet?

I am back!

Well, I am finally done with my bachelors degree and now I have the time to get back to blogging, among other things. I will be trying to blog a few times a week and I will try to create some more interesting blogs this time around.

Thanks

I miss blogging......

I have really missed blogging about current events and some of the things I am doing in my life. I have been doubling up courses at school to finish my BA ahead of time by about 4 months. I am in the last two weeks of the last class. If I can hold my grade up in this class I will graduate Summa Cum Laude.

I promise lots more blogging after this class ends. After all I have to start talking about camping, and house selling strategies as well as Christmas. YES it is never too early to talk about Christmas.

Getting to the light at the end of the tunnel, soon

Well I have decided to double up classes a the University of Phoenix to try and get to graduation sooner. I really want to get this over with at this point and if I double up a few classes I could be done by end of August. If I do not double up I would be in school through the end of November and I really want to get back to my family. The strain, of time away from the family from working one of those 60 hour a week jobs plus schooling, is really starting to show. The issue is for my family and me, I miss being with them and they feel as if I have disappeared from the planet.

I don't regret going to school, what I regret was being so stupid as a younger man and not doing it early in life. One good thing I guess is that my son has told me he does not want to wait like me and he will be going to college after high school.

My bloging will be light for the next few months but other than my friend Steven, who by the way I need to get a big apology to on another topic, I doubt my lack of blogging will be missed.

Thanks for your patience.

Eric has not left the Internet

I know I do not have many regular readers but for those that stop by on occasion, (thanks Steven) I just wanted to let you know that I am still here but completely buried by school work right now. Public Relations was an unbelievable amount of work and the Global Business Strategies class that just started is even more work.

Bare with me and as soon as possible I will once again impress you with my blog delivered thoughts.

Thanks,

Regular Guy

Character is how a company behaves when no one is blogging about it

Should a person lose the right to free speech because they are an employee of a company? How many of the wrongs in the world would have gone on forever if people were not allowed to write about them and open the world’s eyes. Another article recently from Internetweek.com discusses just how and why blogging about work is risky business. In one section the comment is made that “While some people may argue that blogging is part of our right to free speech, experts say that constitutional right doesn't protect a person from the repercussions of speaking out.” Well just what good is any right if those that disagree can take punitive actions against you? I and others have strong opinions about Cobb County wasting tax money on iBooks, should we lose our homes and be forced out of the county because of this? For those that say the government is different I would say that your employer has much more sway over your well being, and that of your family than just about any government agency.

So why then should employers be allowed to discipline employees for engaging in one of our constitutional rights?

There was a time when employees were beaten and even killed by company enforcers for speaking out publicly about cruel working conditions. Early last century there were no child labor laws and employees were used as cannon fodder for the business men of the time to become richer with no regard for anything close to human rights we take for granted today.

Employee rights in this century must start to revolve around the connected world we live in today. Opinions should not be grounds for punishment from any entity, even employers, in this day and age. Companies are fond of telling an employee how there is no cradle to grave employment today and the company does not owe the employee anything. Under these circumstances companies should no longer expect employees to be loyal and keep their opinions to themselves. As has happened in the past the laws are more than a decade behind reality.