The impossible people to shop for

I have been informed that I am one of the impossible people to shop for. I have most of the things that I want. The things that I do want are far too expensive to be a Christmas Gift. I have very particular taste in books, movies and basketballs. Video games my old pasttime are no longer a kosher gift as I no longer have time for them. Clothes are safe gift usually but I only need to replace the ones that have worn out.

Also this year I sincerely wanted some tools for around the house. It really does make me happy to be able to take care of the house that shelters my little family.

Do you have impossible people to shop for in your life?

The feeling of Fatherhood

As a newly minted father of two weeks, I wanted to reflect on how it feels.

For me becoming a father for me was like putting on a backpack that fits so naturally you wonder if somehow you hadn't owned in before. Sure there is some weight and extra responsibility, but it just feels like a part of me. The motions of waking up at all hours of the night, feeding, calming and changing my daughter don't feel like impositions. They feel like comforting habits. Of course this makes me wonder where these feelings come from. The question is Nature or Nuture. Do I have some natural inclination towards husbandry and fatherhood? Or is the my easy transition due to the example of my parents?

I suspect I will never know. But it doesn't matter. I do know that I forever changed.

Top ten signs you've been in Houston for a long time..

Here are my top ten signs I have live in Houston for a 'long time'.

10. Basements sound strange.

9. Driving 10 miles each way for home-teaching feels normal.

8. When traveling other states you have a hard time remembering other places have more than 2 seasons.

7. People filling their garage too full of stuff for cars is normal.

6. Only mowing your lawn twice a year in the winter feels like a nice break.

5. Distance from your house is measure in minutes of driving instead of miles-don't you love traffic.

4. Anything under 30 minutes of driving is close by.

3. Anything under an hour of driving is depends the time of day.

2. Fifty-five degrees is cold in the morning on your way to the car- turn on the heat.

1. Seventy-two degrees is cool in the afternoon on the way home.

Stepping out into the unknown

Becoming a father is an experience that stepping closer and closer to me no what. Many times in my life I have been scared of the unknown. The dark was/is always filled with the most vivid nightmares I can imagine. However, I find that I am not worried. Well not until we have a teenager.

We are having a daughter and as my wife has explained repeatedly that means I must get more comfortable with pink.

When it rains, it pours

Good intentions and the best laid plans can come to naught through things outside your control.

I was planning on have a smooth transition in moving to our new house. But in the last several weeks several setbacks have occured.

First my pregnant wife was placed on bed rest. So I would have to pack by myself.

Next my laptop gave up the ghost again. About 4 months ago I had to have it repaired. It was almost two years old. I was sure that would work for at least another year.

And today a tree branch fell on my car. It smashed my windshield and seriously deformed the roof of my car. It is covered by insurance but I have a thousand dollar deductible.

But what do you do? You can give up and say I must not be fated to have to succeed in my plans. Or you can take some deep breath to let go of the stress and move forward. Things were a lot easier when my parents would just take care of my problems. Being an adult is hard work.

The explanation of the Health Care situation and better solution suggested

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care/

I found this article very instructive, and I hope you do too.

Why I am getting a handgun...

Deciding to get a dangerous object like handgun is a difficult decision.
I had to consider all the ramifications of the decision. And there are several ramifications: legal, safety, purpose, etc.

For me the primary purpose of a handgun is rooted in protecting my family. Recently I experienced Hurricane Ike in the Houston Area. My apartment was without power, water or phones for days. During a couple of these days there were drunken parties and people walking around to check if apartments were unlocked. I became very aware of how vulnerable we were in our apartment. There was no thought of calling the police. They would respond very slowly if at all-if I could even get a hold of a working phone. At this time I wanted the option of a gun. But having a gun and not be capable of using it effectively and safely would be worse than no gun at all.

Also I needed to determine what was the best gun for me. I needed something reliable, inexpensive and easily secured that had the stopping power I needed. After some internet research and talking to several people I determined I needed a handgun or a 12-gauge pump action shotgun. For me the difficulty of securing a shotgun made me consider handgun exclusively. Then I had to decide on which caliber and if I needed a semi-automatic or a revolver.

The stopping power of different handguns is debated the world over but after consider the information in front of me I decided for stopping power and cost the .357 magnum is a very good choice. I also decided on revolver for its simplicity and reliability. Also the ability to leave it locked up loaded for extended periods of time without worrying about clip spring wearing out or loading problems appealed to me.

I feel that I am doing everything I reasonably can to protect my family by selecting the right gun and by going through training with it. In the final view I would rather spend the money and time to have the 'gun' option then to have something happen wish I had prepared myself sooner.

Close to my views on Health care

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19healthcare-t.html?_r=1

This article explains the difficult concept of using our health care resources more efficiently very well. So I will overlook the fact it is written by a Princeton professor. This is the kind of reform I believe we need.

Pictures of the house in progress

Here are some pictures of our new house. It is only partially done but we are excited.

The outside bothered me at first but it has grown on me.

The Master



The living room with fireplace.

The kitchen minus appliances and countertops.

My view on Stimulus Spending

There are proven ways to spend money that increase wealth of the country were they reside. Pouring money to specific companies and banks isn't one of them.

The best way to invest into a country is to improve its infrastructure. Build better roads, bridges, fiber-optic networks, etc. All these things make creating new businesses profitable and possible. It is all about creating new opportunities for businesses and individuals.

The next best way to create opportunities is investing in education. But not necessarily public schools. There is a pattern of success with charter schools.

Surprise, Global Warning Models full of errors

Here is a link to a synopsis of an article that describes how more then have the warming effects historically cannot be attributed to the Carbon Levels at that time. Hmm who knew that the Global Warming Models we are planning are changing everything we do don't match the Historical Record?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714124956.htm

In my humble opinion the Cap and Trade Bills in the Congress are a just a form economic suicide.

Found a house

We found a house we like a lot. It is a new home that is partially completed. We got a good deal and it should be done this September.

Here area couple of pictures. It is the Elevation C plan. It has a fireplace and the cover patio.

Lessons learn from Houston House Hunting

My wife and I have been looking for the right house in Houston for about 4 months now. Here are a few things I have learned.

1. Figure out you budget before you start looking- what is the monthly payment you can easily afford. Use online calculators to turn a monthly payment in the price of the home.

2. I recommend getting a Realtor.

3. I also recommend getting an independent Mortgage Broker.

4. The house will always more expense then you expect. There will unexpected tax costs, insurance costs, closing costs etc. Plan in a significant buffer.

5. If it is your first home, look at several. You will be able to figure out what your really want and what really bothers you.

6. It is easy to say a longer commute is no big deal but it can wear on you.

As for my personal search we have found a home that meets our budget yet, but we will.

Utah Jazz Draft and Opt-ins

The Jazz Drafted Erick Maynor a 6'3" point guard from VCU. Physically Maynor reminds me of Sam Cassell when entered the League. He is known for his point guard skills: passing, control of tempo and running the pick and roll. His question marks are if he is quick enough defensively. Also he could stand to get stronger at about 165. I have watched Maynor play a few times in college. He has an effective flip shot in the lane and he uses hesitantion moves to get into the paint and to the free throw line. For the twentith pick Maynor was a good value. He could see time as a rookie as the backup point guard though Sloan has expressed interest in resigning Ronnie Price.

The 2nd round pick Goran Suton- is a tough skilled big man. But at 6'10" he lacks the size for center and he lacks the speed for power forward.


Korver, Boozer and Okur opted into the last year of each of the respective contracts.

This means before making an offer to Millsap the Jazz are already slightly over the luxury tax limit.

As it stands now the likely rotation would be.

Deron 38/Price or Maynor 10
Brewer 28/Korver 20
AK 17/Brewer 6/Harpring 10/ Miles 15
Boozer 35/AK 13/ Koufos emergency
Memo 32/Koufos 16/Fess emergency

So the Jazz don't really need Millsap next year.

But Korver, Harpring, Boozer and Memo will all be free agents next year and Brewer will be a restricted free agent.

So if the Jazz can retain Millsap for about 6 mil a year he would give the Jazz more flexibility.

In any case I highly recommend the Jazz dump Harpring for a conditional 2nd round pick and a minimum player. His 6.5 mil salary being gone would allow the Jazz to avoid the luxury tax.

Also the Jazz will be fielding a team in the Orlando Summer League starting on Monday on the 7/06/09. Maynor, Suton and Koufos headline the team. Derrick Brown a draft pick for Charlotte will be playing the team as well. The games can viewed off of nba.com.

A happy birthday

Well I had a happy birthday a couple of days ago. I got lots of well wishers call on my phone and one cute duet sung by Jessica and Sophie. For everyone that called or sent a gift- thanks for remembering me. But the best news was that Nicole is doing well and our baby is healthy too. I must be getting old because this birthday seemed a lot like the last one. We are excited to have in-laws coming to Houston to so they can go on a cruise. I am sure they will love the warm weather.

I don't have lot else to say right now other I am grateful for the blessings our family has of health and for the excellent health insurance my company provides.

Finally someone talks the way I think about Global Warming

This guy says what I have through all along but with research that I was too lazy look up.

Coleman's Corner

Basically that CO2 has a negligible effect on the environment. That the atmosphere is about .41 percent CO2. That all the global warming hoopla is about people wanting to get funding for research and so they can get power. Anyway if you are interested read a little bit.

An outsiders view on Israel/Hamas conflict

All of those who are condemning the Israelis for attacking the 'peace-loving' Palestinian civilians need to take a step back reconsider. All those who condemn the Palestinians for firing rockets into Israel and utilizing suicide bombers need to consider the choices available to a person stuck in the Gaza strip.

A brief history of the Gaza Strip by time.com

This area of the world has been occupied for hundreds of years. The lastest occupier was the British Empire who decide to create an Israeli Nation. The Israel displaced the Palestinians to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. So the Palestinians felt wronged and their leaders played upon the people prejudice against the Jews. A couple of wars later prejudice grew to hatred both ways. The current situation started with Fatah, a more moderate organization, being voted out of power and the Hamas being voted in. Israel starting a blockade around the Gaza strip to prevent the Anti-Semite/Military Hamas from building a modern army. The side effect of the blockade was to stop economic development in the Gaza Strip. Hamas decides the best way to serve its people is to fire rockets into Israel. Israel endures this for months and finally decides to put a stop to the rockets. They invade using their modern military. To preserve political will at home the Israelis use a war doctrine to preserve their soldier's lives first and any civilians second. A tactic to counter the Hamas guerrilla tactics and booby traps. Large amounts of the civilians that voted in the Hamas die and are dying. The Israels see the Hamas, who are chartered to destroy the nation of Israel, are trying to gain Power solely for their destruction. They can't, will not allow the Hamas to be armed freely. The Hamas have realized the blockade and the lack of economic opportunity is destroying their people.

I don't see who either side can be talking into peace without certain concessions being made.

-The Hamas need to have the Israelis withdraw and have the blockade lifted.

-The Israelis need all the rocket attacks to stop and for the an international border patrol established so no weapons enter the Gaza Strip.

A cease-fire is possible but it leaves no long term hope for peace.

So in the end neither side is right. One just has more guns.

Late Drives and Memories

I traveled to Lake Havasu City in western Arizona by way of the Phoenix. We landed into Phoenix at about 5 and drove for 3 hours. Most of the trip was on winding two lane highways in the dark. We could only get 3 radio stations. The first was classical rock, the second a soft rock/pop and the 3rd an oldies station. It reminded me of all the family trips I took with my dad driving and trying to stay awake with Billy Joel on and other oldies. Somehow that late night drive became connected to all the those good memories. It became on of my favorite parts of the trips. Thanks for the memories Dad. And Mom.