What a weekend (and it’s not even over yet).

• With all the stuff that’s been happening it just felt like our lives have been like the stock market – up and down.  Up and down.  Waaaay down.  Then waaaay up.  Wheeeeeee!  Look no hands!
• To sorta quote a friend of ours from church “We mourn the passing but celebrate the life” of his father.  To mourn is natural when a life is lost.  But only those who have accepted Christ as their savior can we truly come to celebrate the event.  So we mourn the passing of their father.  We mourn as a family of believers.  We encourage, comfort and pray for them.  But we can also celebrate because we believers will see him again in heaven.  To God be the glory.
• Four and half hours of laying network cables.  Chewy, myself and my bro were helping setup my cousins office with new equipment and possibilities.  It was fun, with only a few parts of it being frustrating but I did get to spend some time with Chewy.  We haven’t been able to do that for awhile.  I tired now. 
• Bible study with one person in attendance is always interesting.
• The Redskins fired Gregg Williams and Al Saunders.  Somehow I think Snyder suffers from ID-10-T  errors.
• I just signed us up for the Triple-FIOS deal.  I just hope Verizon doesn’t torch our house.
• I think it’s time to switch to coffee for my caffeine fix.
• During today’s sermon it was noted that the average American watches 4-hours of TV a day.  Let’s see … Maryland verses Duke in basketball and then at 9pm on Discovery Channel: Behind the Great Wall.  Looks like I’ll be hitting that average.

Very Stimulating … well maybe …

I’ve been trying to keep up with the House proposed Stimulus Package and what it really means.  As of today I believe this Washington Post graphic sums it up:

Granted it still needs to pass through the Senate and it looks like the Democrats want to add another wrinkle to it.  But for the most part I doubt this core part of it will change.

So what’s interesting about it you ask? 

• Well considering how we’re in a mortgage crisis, this stimulus package won’t help solve that.  Not enough cash to the people who seemingly need it the most.
• It encourages spending – duh – it’s an economic stimulus package.  Spend money so there’s more money in the system, more jobs created, etc, etc, etc.  But if you really think about it the items that this amount of cash will buy or tempt to buy are from non-US companies.
• How did they come up with the AGI limits?  Is $75k made in Iowa valued the same as if it was made in San Francisco?  Seems like they should have put in some sort of Cost of Living adjustment.
• This stimulus package is supposed to help those who don’t submit taxes because they don’t make enough money.  Here’s a hypothetical situation.  A married couple on welfare (it does happen),  with four kids would receive a $2,400 tax rebate.  And here’s another handout.  Thank you, please come again. 
• No one is mentioning that those who receive the tax rebate will have to report it on their 2008 taxes as income.  That should knock a few people up a bracket or two.  Yep, receive a rebate and potentially pay more taxes next year.
• $75,000 AGI a year is pretty high but they keep saying it’s for the poor and middle-class.  With the potential addition of the elderly on Social Security you now have the whole target audience of the Democrats.  Basically, those who rely on the government to bail them out.  True this was a bipartisan bill but honestly how would it look if anyone, Democrat or Republican said “No” to a stimulus package.  Remember, 2008 is an election year.
• Wait, someone’s gonna have to pay for this rebate at some point.  Yep,
  those who generally get “penalized” – those who have made intelligent
  decisions, those who worked hard and did something with their lives and
  those who saved their money and played by the rules.  

Rebate or not all of us are gonna pay for this short term solution.

And the winner is …

Interesting article about the XBox360′s Red Ring of Death.  Is this another example of a smart business move (M$ trying to beat out the release of the PS3) or why we need to leave manufacturing and design to those in Asia. 

Joy.  More polution for us to breath.  Thankfully, no one was really hurt.  Looks like D.C. is becoming the next Springfield.

Gary does it again …

For the 7th time in Gary William’s coaching career at the University of Maryland his men;s basketball team has defeated the top-ranked team in the nation.  This time the Terps won 82-80 over the North Carolina Tar Heels while playing at Chapel Hill. 

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For those on Facebook and play Scrabulous, it looks like Hasbro is trying to put an end to it.  I’m not sure if that’s a good move on Hasbro’s part.  Sure they’re not making any money off of the application but as the article says it’s one of the more popular apps on Facebook.  You figure Hasbro should be able to use that knowledge to further exploit those who play the online version of Scrabble.  Seems like a lack of business creativity on their part.

Speaking of Facebook, both Chewy and I recently signed up for accounts there.  Me, mostly at the becking of a good high school buddy who wanted to share pictures, events and stuff like that about him and his family.  (He’s got like one picture on his site.)  Chewy on the other hand has been playing Scrabulous with several old college friends – hence why I found the Post article interesting. 

For the most part I just don’t get Facebook.  It’s a social network that’s supposed to bring friends together.  O-k-a-y.  Guess I don’t have friends because I’m not the social type. 

Question of the Moment …

Which weighs more: Sharka or a Chipotle burrito*?

* Chipotle burrito contains: Chicken, black beans, corn, tomato, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and the wrap.

Looking for a good dentist?  Living or working in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area?  Why not give Dr. Jansen Woo a visit.  Great bedside manner, friendly staff, dental equipment that doesn’t remind you of Little Shop of Horror – what more could you ask for in a dentist?  I’m not just saying this because we’re related but I recently had Jansen put in a crown for me.  (Think Dr. Teeth from the Muppets – I’m just kidding ) 

Probably one of the best dental experiences I have ever had.   As Bill O’Reilly would say … This is a no spin zone.

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In the name of national security: “No women is illegal.” says Hillary Clinton.  I’m sure the recruitment of female terrorists will soon happen after she takes office.  ugh 

SHOCKED

Joe Gibbs announced his retirement this afternoon.  I have mixed feelings about this one.  It seemed so obvious that over the past four years Gibbs seemed to have had trouble catching up to the new NFL.  Sure give him a year or so to get reacquainted but it really seemed like the old guard was confused out there on the playing field.  I will say though that he’s still a great coach in terms of bringing a team together and being focused as we saw after Sean Taylor’s death.  But in terms of being innovative as an offensive guru as he once was known it just seemed like that time had passed him by.  I applaud him for wanting to spend more time with his family and with such a tragic season this was, I seriously think Gibbs goes out on a high note. 

We won’t forget him.  He’s still a legend and overall a great coach.  As a very outgoing Christian I applaud him for his desire to witness and express his faith to his players, assistants and to the Redskins fans.  I know I hope Snyder does the right thing and keep both Gregg Williams and Al Saunders.  There’s been way too many changes for this team that finally seemed to have gotten it.

The benefits of being sick …

After spending the holidays with a house full of sick family members the germs decided to give the gift that keeps on giving (or spreading depending on how one looks at it).  So instead of a few days of holiday, relaxation and catch-up I got sick.  Not stuck in bed sick but more “Ugh, my body and brain doesn’t want to do anything” sick (which in general is hard to tell from my normal “body and brain not wanting to do anything” mentality =)  As I’ve gotten better, I’ve come up with a few things that I find as beneficial when being sick:

During my copious amounts of television viewing I watched a few segments of some comedian on Comedy Central.  He wasn’t that bad and wasn’t that good either but he did have this one part where he starts describing how he was raised in a Christian house (can’t remember which denomination but I’m thinking Catholic) and how he was thinking of switching to being a Buddhist. Mostly because while he was in a Chinese restaurant they had this Buddha statue on the table and he’s all joyful and fat (the comedian was sorta heavy-set) whereas Christ seems to be in a lot of suffering.  Obviously, I didn’t find it all that funny but more enlightening. 

From a zero-knowledge standpoint which would you find more joyful?

or

Picture by Ernest von Rosen

For most Christians I’d have to believe they understand the reason for the crucifix but for those not-so Christians (not that I’m a judge of that) or non-believers how does or would the crucifix affect their mindset?   Do people view Christ as being joyful or even are Christians viewed as joyful religious goers?  Do we accurately portray Christ in our life?  The only real “joyful” Jesus depiction I can think of is Buddy Christ.  

I know there are folk out there dislike Kevin Smith and his movies but he does follow this same thought train in the movie Dogma. 

I realize there are multiple aspects of Christ and we shouldn’t rely on gimmicks but do we actively display Christ’s joy to those around us?  Do we actively understand Christ’s joy in our own lives?  Do we seek Him only when we realize we’ve sinned and think of His grace on the cross?