Greetings from Big Island!

Just wanted to say hi!

I would blog more but, as you can see..... I'm a little busy! ;-)






More on the trip later!!

So it has happened......

We have gotten to the point in the season when American Idol annoys me and I stop watching.....

This is typically the point when the popularity contest portion of the show overweighs the talent/singing component......

I started to lose some interest when Sabrina got voted off a few weeks ago.... But I am officially disengaged now. Stephanie, who has one of the best voices, got voted off yesterday and Sanjaya and Hailey are still on the show....... The pre-pubescent white boys and girls of America are deciding this competition......

I guess I shouldn't be surprised..... this is, after all, season 6! But for some reason I keep holding out the hope that the one with the most talent will actually win one of these seasons.... (Well, Fantasia was good....)

I suppose I should be happy for Stephanie, she has escape the "Top Ten" and I think that means that she won't be obligated to tour with this group for the next year or make a record with these folks, after the show is over..... I mean, look what Jennifer Hudson did with her ticket back home.....

So Stephanie goes the way of Tamyra Gray and LaToya London...... Hopefully she will get some good management out of this opportunity and use it as a stepping stone. Everyone seems to forgot that she is only 19!

And I think, even though I still love LaKisha, Melinda & Jordan (and even Blake) and would be happy if one of them won it all, I don't think that I will be watching the show so much anymore....

I am......disillusioned once again......

Why are we so hard on ourselves???

So as we all know, we have a black candidate running for the Democratic nomination for president. This is something worthy of note, of praise even. This is the third such time in history. This is actually a candidate that has some of the highest credentials of any black candidate to date and the highest potential to garner broad appeal across the country, save perhaps someone like Colin Powell. So....... why aren't black people coming out in droves to support this man?!?!? Isn't that what happened when Jesse Jackson ran? Al Sharpton even seemed to have more popular black support than we seem to be giving Barack these days.....

So, why is this? He has a funny name.... He isn't really black, his dad was African and his mom was white..... The fact is, to the general public, he looks like a black man. And what ever his actual ethnic heritage, he has made a name in Illinois and in the US Senate as someone who is dedicated to the issues that black people really care about.

It is funny how we as people hold our own leaders to higher standards than the majority..... True they do represent the whole race when they take that position or that office but do they not deserve our support unless they are a saint or an icon? Are we shooting ourselves in the foot waiting for the perfect candidate? The point is, no one is perfect and you don't have to be perfect to be president (George Bush and even Bill Clinton, as much as I like him, are evidence of that!) we need more representation so that we can even the playing field, so that each and every black candidate can stop feeling this inordinate burden.

Or maybe this is more of the "crabs in a barrel" effect.... The fact is, most black people don't know any more about Hilary Clinton's politics than Barack Obama's, they are just lazily giving her their support because of her association with Bill. Yes, she is smart but she seems to lack to ability to transmit charm and charisma in her speeches and to the audience like her dear husband could/can.... And that is what, in the end, drives people to vote and support you.

So I am not saying just blindly support Obama because he is black...... But what I am saying is do your research, black people! Vote for the candidate that is most closely aligned with your issues. But if you are going to follow someone blindly......let it be the black man..... because, yes, even with a white mama and a funny name. he is still one of us!

An amateur takes on the NCAA.....

So, I finally decided to get in the pool at work for the NCAA championship..... And I made my bracket choices on ESPN. Now, I know really not much at all about NCAA basketball, despite the fact that I went to two big basketball schools. (I am sure many guys would find it a travesty that I only attended about 3 of the many free games that I could have attended while in school.) But, bolstered by the good performance by one of my alma maters and figuring that all of that college basketball news I have overheard over the year must be worth something, I decided to put my hat in the ring.

After a little bit of research, some school loyalty and some educated guessing, I have my bracket....


So far, only one of the teams I picked is out and I am tied for first in my pool! Now, I don't expect this to last but if it keeps up, I could do alright. Wish me luck!

A little bit can make a big difference......

In the wake of legislation by Australia to phase out regular incandescent light bulbs, a couple big private companies in the US are leading the charge here in this country, trying to put pressure on the government to get out of the pockets of large industry lobbies and do something to encourage efforts to slow global warming and ensure that our children actually have land to live on and the world doesn't turn into one large lake!

A coalition led by Phillips, the countries largest lightbulb manufacturer, is recommending the phase our of regular incandescent bulbs by 2016. These light bulbs that we use everyday are huge wasters of electricity because they do not very efficiently convert it into light. In fact, think of it this way, if you can use it in your Easy Bake Oven to bake a cake, then then of all the energy that is wasted as heat in every single light bulb in every lamp or light in people's houses. Only 10% of it's energy is used for light. The rest is wasted.... Compact flourescent light bulbs, yes those funny spiral ones that you see in the stores that cost more than regular bulbs, use so much less energy. So while they may cost more up front, they will save you much more on you electricity bill later!


Also, WalMart, in support of these efforts, in conjunction with GE, another major US lightbulb manufacturer, has started a major push to support the use of CFLs and sell at least one of these light bulbs to each of it's 110 million customers over the next 12 months. And the impact of this effort would not be small......

"....if every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads." "How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World? One. And You're Looking At It.," September 2006, Fast Company.

Not small stuff! So, next time you go to the store, consider getting one of those funny swirly lightbulbs and do something good for yourself and the world.

For more info see these articles....

http://abcnews.go.com/International/CSM/story?id=2948686

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/108/open_lightbulbs.html

My morning obstacle course.....

So, first of all.... it is supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny today! And then, I felt like I was in a level of the Sims getting to work today! Is someone conspiring against me?!?

So, my commute to work is only 2 miles but there where like 5 obstacles in my way this morning. First, construction had taken the main road that I take down to one lane for both ways about a 1/4 of a mile from my house so it took a few minutes before the policeman who was directing traffic let us pass. Then, about a block away, they had taken the street down to one lane each way at this intersection, which caused a little confusion.

So then, it seemed like I was home free.... I made the turn to cut through this residential neighborhood that runs behind my office building and when I got to the part where I vear left, there, with no warning of the impending detour, was a motocycle cop there directing folks to vear right instead because the road was closed. Curses! So I veared right and looped around back on the the road I started on to try to take an alternate route. Mind you, this neighborhood is notoriously tricky to navigate. My theory is that they made all the roads turn and winds aroound to keep the black people from coming near all the rich white folks homes! I mean, I am pretty directionally astute (people ask me for directions when I am in foreign countires!) but it even took me a while to get this whole things figured out...... So back on the other road, II veared left instead of right like a did originally to loop around and end up on the street I was heading for in the first place.

Home free right? Well, not quite..... When I am almost out of the neighborhood, there was another motorcycle cop pulling folks over for going over 30mph in this 25mph residential neighborhood as they cut through on their way to work. (Mind you, lets not talk about the fact that , 3 miles away, there are folks standing on street corners selling drugs just around the corner from the police headquarters -- that is a story for another time.) This traffic stop didnt surprise me --- they do this at least once every month, probably because some rich person complained about the traffic in their lovely tree lined neighboorhood and also because, it is much eaiser and more lucrative to harass people who are on their way to work with a ticket than actually do something to make the streets safer for the majority of it's citizens. I mean, if they are on their way to work, at least you know that they have a job and will likely just pay the ticket. (I won't how much revenue this little endeavor routinely brings in...)

With this on top of all the other obstacles in my way, I began to wonder if someone wasn't trying to tell me something and I shouldn't just turn around and head on back home.... But then I remembered that I have a meeting with boss this morning to talk about my annual salary treatment for the year.....

And here I am at my desk! Money can be a a good motivator for some things!

Its the little things.....

So, i got word a little while back about the bonus percentage that folks got for 2006 at my old company --- it was like a record high bonus percentage (I have my theories about why but we won't get into all that.) I couldn't help but feel a little upset. I had actually forgone a half year's bonus when I changed jobs last year and then, on top of that, I could have had a huge bonus if I stayed......

But then I started thinking......"how would I really quantify the piece of mind that I have as result of my job change?" I was so unhappy at my old job, unmotivated by working on trials and projects that would only end up getting cancelled when it was time for the company to actually pony up real money to support it..... Instead, I am working at a new company in a new division that is viewed as the future of the company, that the company is reinvesting it's profits into to make it a success. I am surrounded by a bunch of people who are hardworking and engaged instead of just working for a paycheck and finding every way to not do anything more than the basics......

And really, it is the little things that show the difference. People care about their surroundings, they clean up after themselves in the kitchen and clean the microwaves out if they spill something, the mail people take down any mail that is left in the outbox, even if it is personal mail, the refrigerator gets cleaned out every week....... Now, none of these things seem like big deals but it was the opposite of how it was at my old company and it indicative, I think, of a general difference in attitude that I really appreciate.

I was talking to my mom on the phone, when a co-worker, who also used to work at my old company, called to confirm that the bonus % someone had told her about was really true. When I clicked back over, I was telling my mom about it and she made this comment about me being much happier now. I know I am happier now but I didnt really know it was that evident! So how do you quantify piece of mind? Guess money really can't buy you happiness.....

Feeling political.....The state of the Republican ticket for 2008 presidential race....

So I was watching Bill Maher last night. He may be irreverent at times but he really hits the nail on the head at times......



This is why I decided that politics and a government career was not for me..... At least in business no one professes to be anyone's moral compass.....

Annoyed......

So, this daylight savings time change is just another reason why I am annoyed with this moronic president that we have. Not only has he turned a trade surplus into a gaping, record setting trade deficit, used short-sided, sophomoric and duplicitous rationale to plunge us into a war analogous to a 21st century Vietnam, and set US diplomatic relations back 25 years, he's got to mess with time too!?!?

Now, the rationale for this change is the "energy savings" of less electricity used since there is more natural light during the hours that people are awake (yeah, I dont really get this either) and the potential economic lift that could possible come from more daylight in the evenings that would encourage people to be out, about and spending money during this additional time of light.

Oh come on! Talk about grasping at straws! How about the money that companies are having to spend in overtime to reprogram computer systems and apply patches to "accomodate" a change that has been automated for years?? I understand to benefit of DST in general (I'll talk more about that in a future post) but how about trying applying some real fiscal policy instead of grasping for lame meaningless PR attempts at improving the economy...... But then again, that would be contrary to anything that has happened during his two terms as president. Why expect it to change now?

I can't believe this is the guy folks elected to represent our country.....



Can we just get him out of here before he does any more damage???

Word of the Day: Eponymous

I learned a new word today that I have really never heard of before..... Thought i would share....

Eponymous: An eponymous person is the person referred to by the eponym. In contemporary English, the term eponymous is often used to mean self-titled. The word eponym is often used for the thing titled.

Example: Corinne Bailey Rae released her eponymous debut album in February 2006....

Hmph!......