What I Imagine Hell To Be Like

   If I ever go to sleep and wake up at sea, with no land in sight, on a rowboat, I will know I have officially died and gone to hell.

   Sam Williams probably wouldn't be as concerned if the same thing happened to him. This is nuts!

Our Weekly Snow Has Come and Gone!

   Just as we did last Sunday, we awoke to a white blanket of snow this morning.

   Stepping outside to run some errands I was pleased to see that the streets were wet, but not icy.

   Though there were a few flakes still falling, by noon it had cleared up. I drove past my local golf course and commented that, with the fairways thickly coated, there would be no golf today.

   We drove past the course again, almost exactly an hour and a half of bright sun later, and they were all completely green again, with no snow in sight!

   This is how a typical spring snowstorm behaves around here - gotta love it!!

Homebrewing with the Monks

   I just spent six hours with the Mile High Monks at their monthly meeting. I had a great time and have to say I was really impressed by not only their brewing knowledge and hands-on attitude (with respect to fashioning their own equipment) but also with their welcoming friendliness.

   I expect the 20 gallons of homebrew that will result from the two concurrent batches made last night will be quite tasty!

   A great bunch of folks who all love beer, brewing, and life!

They Should Have Called It "SUX"

   As in "Sucks the life out of a company!"

   Yes, I'm talking about SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley), the landmark piece of legislation passed by Congress in 2002.

   As I understand it, its primary thrust was to restore investor confidence in publicly traded companies (in the wake of Enron and others) by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures regarding financials.

   In theory, I must admit, it sounds fine. The problem is that its implementation has trickled down to ridiculous amounts of auditing at an insane granularity.

   The people at the top of the corporate heap, those that travel in the board member circle of rich, old white men, are still the ones that control the bottom line. Yet while they have employment contracts signed up front that promise company-paid lawyers and guaranteed separation payouts, even if the CEO turns out to be a crook from the word "go", those of us down in the weeds are in a world of hurt if we can't prove that those of us that do systems coding in a development environment do not have access to the production environment.

   And who puts us in this world of hurt?? SOX consultants - auditors from those same old fleecers - yes, the Big Three (or whatever they're consolidated down to these days).

   Yep, I'm pretty sure they're in cahoots with both the good ol' boys network of CEO/board members AND the lobbyists that got Sarbanes-Oxley on the books to begin with.

   Am I bitter? You bet! But I'm also REALLY tired of all the bullshit this nonsense injects into my daily life..

Is It Friday Yet?

   This week is killing me. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean, right?!

   Getting bogged down in stupid shit at work..

Please Vote For Barack Obama

   If you live in a state that has not yet held its presidential primary or caucus, please participate and PLEASE vote for Barack Obama.

   I finally got my act together and watched his speech on race that he gave in Philadelphia last week in the wake of all the drama with his former pastor.

   The guy is just special. He is not perfect, nor will he make a perfect president if given the chance, but he is genuine, he admits he has flaws, admits he's made mistakes, and gives compliments to both his present rival, and to Republicans he's worked with both in Illinois and in Washington. He has run his campaign as a campaign of honesty, and has appealed to voters with his record, views, and vision. And now, when all others cower, he has delved into America's problems with race - a topic considered one of the the "third rails" of politics.

   Elsewhere, Hillary Clinton has run a campaign reeking of entitlement and misinformation. She has come across as being of the opinion that she has waited her turn and paid her dues to the Democratic party and so she is next-in-line. She has acted like a stereotypical politician, too, running a campaign appealing to the worst, visceral reactions to fear (her "3 AM" television commercial serves as a stark example of this approach).

   And now, as the number of delegates up-for-grabs continues to dwindle, in addition to vigorously courting superdelegates (which Obama has done just as intensely), while she proclaims that the Democratic primary voters in Michigan and Florida cannot be disenfranchised and must be counted (because she was the only candidate that didn't deliberately remove their name from the ballots in those states), she is now claiming both through underlings AND personally, that the pledged delegates, alloted based on primary and caucus results in ALL states, are NOT obligated to vote for whom they are "pledged!"

   Uhhhh..Ms. Clinton? Don't steal the nomination - because if you don't win it fair-and-square, you will not only destroy your reputation and any political future you continue to aspire to, but you will also wreck your beloved party. Not terribly smart, I'd say..

The Internet is Very Cool!

   In case you were not yet aware of the fact, the internet is very cool! :)

   Tonight I sat down, intending to blog, but ended up Twittering with multiple people whose blogs I read/podcasts I listen and then caught a live taping of the a video version of The Bitterest Pill.

   Technology is awesome!

I Love Spring Break

   Even though it has been years and years now since I had a Spring Break of my own and my kids are not yet old enough to have one of their own that I can live vicariously through, I still love this time of year.

   Why, you ask?

   Because Spring Break = no rush hours!! The best part is that because there is no single defined week during which Spring Break is taken, those of us that benefit from the lack of traffic, get to enjoy three weeks or so of light traffic morning and evening!

Happy Easter

   To those of you that celebrate it, Happy Easter!

   I come from a pretty non-religious family. It wasn't until I was an adult that I even understood the Christian origin of Easter Sunday. And while I do now know about it, I'll admit it is still hard for me to make room in my head for the true meaning with a memory full of all of the years of my childhood spent hunting Easter eggs, both hard-boiled and plastic!

   But I received quite a jolt of hardcore religion when I came to the last page of the main section of this morning's Post. Staring back at me was a stark reminder that "Jesus died for your sins!", brought to all subscribers not by a church, or other obviously religious organization, but rather by my wife's favorite purveyor of dirt-cheap Chinese imports..Hobby Lobby!

   Now I understand precisely why they are closed on Sundays. And I believe, perhaps, I now have some insight into their archaic "inventory" system (they use traditional, standalone cash registers, no computers!). I did some poking around and only found that the company was founded and is owned by David Green and his wife Barbara and that it operates according to biblical principles. I am not sure if staying away from computers is a biblical principle but I do suspect that perhaps the whole company is just a charity. I honestly do not know how they could possibly turn a profit or keep track of their inventory with their bargain basement prices and handwritten records!

   Now I certainly don't intend to judge, but it sure is a strange company!

Let It Snow?

   Hmmm, last I checked it is now officially spring. Our 7-day weather forecast for Denver shows highs of 48, 66, 62, 68, 55, 52, and 56.

   But, as I sit here writing this at 11:19PM, it is snowing outside!!

   It will be gone by noon tomorrow.

   I do love this place!!

Productivity Feels Good!

   Ahhh...TGIF!

   How wonderful does it feel to get a ton of work done in a single workday?! Fantastic, in my humble opinion!

   Time for a beer, a movie, and some relaxation!

   Have a tremendous weekend!

Antiquated Energy Powers the Modern Age

   Driving home from work in downtown Denver this afternoon I got caught in a little bit of traffic around Pepsi Center. Stopped at a light, I looked down from the bridge I was parked on and saw something that jarred me fiercely.

   Stopped on the railroad tracks below me was an engine pulling car after car, each filled to the brim with coal.

   I read several months back a fact that haunts me daily. Something like 80% of Colorado's electricity is generated by coal-fired plants!

   Growing up I was taught to always turn off lights when you left a room, and do what you can beyond that to conserve energy. Still, this little factoid has turned me into a real stickler around home.

   If I come home to find a light that was accidentally left on for hours and hours, I swear that the next time I go outside the air seems a little smoky!

   Back on the bridge over the tracks - I flashed back to the rundown factories that were a blight to the city prior to LoDo's rebirth, lining tracks holding the same coal cars on their way to one of the power plants.

   Here we are in 2008 and the best we can do is mine away non-renewable, dirty energy from the earth. Certainly the time to push HARD for better ways to generate electricity is here. Why isn't anyone talking about next generation nuclear?!

Still Stubborn After All These Years

   President Bush is still defiant and steadfast in his defense of the Iraq war.

   After five years of combat in Iraq, with new lows in his approval rating from the American people (his employers in case he's forgotten), he throws out such gems as

      "Iraq was supposed to be the place where al-Qaida rallied Arab masses to drive America out..."

      "Instead, Iraq has become the place where Arabs joined with Americans to drive al-Qaida out. In Iraq, we are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology."

   Uhhh..Mr. President? Actually, Iraq was supposed to be a place developing weapons of mass destruction. Your initial main justification for invading the country was to take these weapons out of the hands of Saddam Hussein. al-Qaida, in Iraq, has found a place to easily engage U.S. soldiers, who represent what they hate.

   Unless you sober up quickly (you have 9 months, might I remind you) and take a quick look-see at what the American people want, and adjust accordingly, history will not be kind to you, I am afraid.

Cheney's 9/11-Iraq Madness Resurfaces

   So Vice President Cheney is back talking about how there really was a link between the horrors of 9/11 and Iraq. I am having a tough time digesting the garbage that seems to be pouring forth from the White House these days.

   Is it January yet?? Can we send Dr. Doom out to pasture in Wyoming (or back to collect fat checks as CEO of one of the no-bid-required Iraq reconstruction contractors)?

Do You Track Your Credit Card Transactions?

   Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all - I hope you had a good one sans pinches!

   Speaking of green, I've been knee-deep in personal finance nonsense all night. Which is mostly good, if tedious.

   Back in college, mortally fearing spending more on my first credit card than I'd be able to pay in full when my statement arrived, I established the habit of tracking every credit card transaction I made. In fact, I'd write each one into my checkbook register, leaving the check number column blank. Then when my end-of-the-month statement arrived I'd make sure my charges matched between the statement and my checkbook register. Finally, I'd write the check number I used to pay the credit card bill into the check number column of each transaction line.

   This worked very well - it was a snap to identify vendor errors (double charges and such) but chewed up a lot of register space and added a bunch of manual labor.

   What I do now is use a web app I developed to essentially do the same thing, except that since it is stored in a database, clearing transactions is a lot easier, as is balancing the checkbook, and as a bonus, it is trivial to slice-and-dice data for analysis in whatever manner I choose.

   So I'm curious..Do you track your credit card transactions? At all? If so, at what granularity? I wonder how many people end up in precarious financial situations because they DON'T do something as simple as my college tracking system..

The Other White Meat

   I love these stories! Right, smack dab in the middle of all these serious stories in today's Post, I ran into this story of Gloucester, Massachusetts' Joe Scola and the ham-to-face he delivered to a would-be meat thief. Let me hazard a guess - Scola is not going to be the target of another robbery!

The Biggest Threat To The U.S.

   I had heard something about this earlier in the week but encountered a short AP article in this morning's Rocky Mountain News which told the story in more detail.

   Oklahoma Republican state representative Sally Kern (a former schoolteacher, no less,) thinks that "the homosexual agenda is destroying this nation..." She continues, "I honestly think it's the biggest threat that our nation has, even more so that terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat...they are going after our young children, as young as 2 years of age, to try to teach them a homosexual lifestyle is an acceptable lifestyle."

   Actually, Ms. Kern, your despicable views (and others like them) are what threaten the future of our nation, not our fellow, law-abiding citizens that happen to have been born genetically different than the majority. You should be embarrassed for yourself. Let me guess, you're not a fan of the uppity "Negro" that is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, either, eh?!

   Here's a little newsflash for you - people of all races, genders, religions (and those without a religion), and sexual orientations are just as valuable to the human race as you are. Who gives you the right to judge?

   Maybe you'll be a little more understanding when you find out that one of your grandkids is gay and no amount of "reprogramming" will change him/her.

   Now I remember how Dubya got re-elected...This is 2008, how do these backwards beliefs continue to linger on in the South?!

Tornadoes Are Scary!

   Reading about the damage inflicted on Atlanta tonight courtesy of a tornado reminds me just how frightening nature can be. It doesn't matter how advanced our technology is or how completely we dominate the food chain on Earth - when Mother Nature gets pissed, we feel it!

   I remember as a kid in California being fearful of earthquakes and feeling several minor ones over the years. I conveniently skirted the major ones though (I was in SoCal when the Loma Prieta quake hit the Bay Area on October 17, 1989 and up at Tahoe when the Northridge quake struck in the San Fernando Valley on January 17, 1994).

   I did see wildfires, some up close, though never too close to my home.

   Now I've moved (close) to tornado country. Tornadoes have been reported in places as nearby as Boulder but the the Front Range of the Rockies' proximity disrupts the airflow sufficiently to make tornadoes a rarity in this area.

   Those who live in what I refer to affectionately as "West Kansas" (basically consisting of east of downtown Denver through to the Kansas border) do not make light of tornado risk. Last March, a deadly (F4 - winds up to 199 mph) twister tore through the small town of Holly, pretty much wrecking it.

   Every time I drive out to DIA (about as far east as I venture typically) I casually glance out east in the hopes that I will see only peaceful planes.

Drama On The PGA Tour

   First John Daly gets roundly criticized for being a fat, chain-smoking, beer pounding...errr..underachieving professional golfer that missed his pro-am tee time at Bay Hill.

   Then George Lopez, a guy I respect tremendously for what he's made of his life, not to mention his passion for golf and, oh yeah, he's pretty damn funny, gets unceremoniously bounced as the host of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

   I can hardly hear what comes out this weekend - Monty busted for anabolic steroids, Arnold wins his own tournament, Feherty gets hit by a truck while bicycling?! Oh wait, that did happen..

I Feel A Little Sorry For Ferraro

   I remember very clearly when Geraldine Ferraro was running for vice president in 1984 as Walter Mondale's Democratic running mate. Though I was just a kid, I recall it was a very exciting time as she was the first woman to appear on a major presidential ticket.

   My mom, a very proud feminist actually took me to hear her speak in person. Though I don't recall what she said, the whole scene was pretty energetic and enthusiastic.

   I think there is definitely similar enthusiasm and energy surrounding Barack Obama's campaign and his campaign (as is Hillary Clinton's, for that matter) is undoubtedly historic as well.

   I am not quite sure why Ferraro felt the need to even speak up as she did - she probably should have anticipated the firestorm comments like hers would likely generate. While I agree with her that people should speak their minds, and certainly have a constitutional right to do so in our great country, the people that don't like what she had to say have an equivalent right to rebut!

   I have stated before, and will do so again, that I think it is a nice bonus that Obama is black. I disagree with Ferraro's claim that if he wasn't black he wouldn't be in the position he is in as I think that is dead wrong. If he was a white guy, saying the things he's saying, the way he's saying them, I think a lot of people would still be drawn to him. But I think it is icing on the cake that he happens to be black because, if for no other reason, his election would finally change the perception of the American presidency from an endless string of white guys to someone who represents the great melting pot that is America. And it sure doesn't hurt that his presidency would come after 8 years of continuous reinforcement of the worst stereotypes you could come up with for a country's leadership - shoot-from-the-hip, confrontational, good ole boy, cowboy leadership!

   I think Ferraro was definitely off, but I do think it is important to consider race in that it contributes to perception in this case. It shouldn't but due to our history, it does.

What A Shock!

   Client9 AKA New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is going to resign.

   I still just can't comprehend that this guy thought he'd pull this off..Pathetic!

Hypocrisy is Bipartisan

   Though I long for a return to bipartisanship (actually multi-partisanship would be ideal) in this country, this I didn't need to see. Following in a long line of moral hypocrites, most recently represented by Republicans (see Rep. Mark Foley, Sen. Larry Craig), Client9..errr..New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is under investigation for a link to a prostitution ring. So much for cracking down on the prostitution trade - it is kind of hard to when you're a customer!

   I personally don't understand the appeal of prostitutes but what I REALLY don't understand is how these prominent public figures actually think they will not eventually get ratted out by someone when they're involved in these unsavory activities.

   There had been a lot of speculation in recent years that the former New York state attorney general, an up-and-comer in the national Democratic party ranks, might eventually be a compelling presidential candidate. I wonder now where he'll turn - maybe a run for office in Nevada?

Can We Abolish It? Please..

   That of which I speak is Daylight Saving Time.

   It may have been a good idea when it was created but it has become largely symbolic and is a royal pain-in-the-ass for a lot of people (ask anyone with young kids).

   If we must continue to recognize DST, could we please move our clocks back one hour both in fall (as is done currently) AND in spring (as opposed to "springing forward")?! Yeah, I know eventually we'd end up with midnight full of light and midday full of dark but hey, minor details..

And While We're On the Topic of Sickening..

   Nice move by our Torturer..errr..Commander-in-Chief. President Bush today vetoed a bill passed by both the House and Senate banning harsh interrogation methods, most notably waterboarding. His statement afterwards was "The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror...So today I vetoed it."

   I don't know about you but I feel this is unacceptable. And worse, I bet it does nothing to deter those who plot against us while causing us to sink to their level of brutality. Pathetic behavior from our "leader."

I Wish Someone Would Lock These Guys Up

   CEO pay at large corporations in this country is sickening! Today three crooks..errr..current and former CEOs, involved in the mortgage mess, defended their obscene compensation packages in front of Congress.

   The whole deal is just nauseating to me. The idea that somehow these jokers are 1000s of times more valuable in their contributions to a company than the people down in the weeds that actually do the work is laughable. The boards that pick the CEO and then decide his compensation, bonus, etc. are usually all CEOs themselves, so it turns into a nice, good ole boy, backslapping arrangement. Talk about a racket.

   If the SEC has been given the authority to regulate publicly traded corporations, they should also have the right to be involved in limiting the CEOs packages because in the end, when the CEO has fallen out of favor and is let go, he ALWAYS leaves with millions in cash, stock, and health benefits, not to mention cash to cover legal fees for his misdeeds while in office, all part of his original employment contract. And, of yeah, he probably gets to fly around in the company jet and maybe even let his family use it on their own.

   This while "regular", contributing employees get let go to trim costs (if the business is stagnant) and shareholders, the company's owners, take it in the shorts due to falling stock prices.

   While the seasons come and go for the rest of us, it is always Christmas in the executive suite.

   What a load of crap!

Playing For Pizza

   Lest this become an all-politics, all-the-time, blog, I have to inject a quick little plug for "Playing for Pizza" by John Grisham.

   I like (American) football, Italy, and Grisham which made for a quick, easy, lightweight, fun read. The book is short, too, so it was a two evening event to get through it.

   Now I'm ready for the return of the NFL (the draft is rapidly approaching!) and could sure use a nice plate of pasta!

Do You Really Want That Endorsement?

   Today Sen. John McCain paid President Bush a visit at the White House and left with his endorsement for the November election.

   Though it is well-established that McCain has allies of all sorts, including friends on both sides of the aisle, it is also well known that during his 2000 Presidential campaign, Bush's attack dogs launched some ads in South Carolina that were downright despicable, mainly targeted at McCain's wife.

   The Senator, obviously someone who values loyalty and integrity, could not have been too happy about this low brow assault.

   Consequently, it makes me wonder just how eager he was to pay his old rival a visit and ask for(?) and accept his endorsement for this current go-round.

   One has to seriously wonder just how hard McCain is going to try to be sure he is never stuck at an event with Bush, the guy with the terminally low approval rating.

Taking A Page From the Republican Fearmongers

   Hillary Clinton parlayed her "Who do you want answering the phone at 3:00AM?" TV ad into wins in both the Texas and Ohio primaries. While I must extend my congratulations to her and to her campaign for the victories, it saddens me greatly to see a Democratic candidate stoop to the level of the stereotypical Republican national security ads, which aim to motivate voters by fear.

   Sorry, but hope is a hell of a lot more inspiring to me..

Democrats - Please Make Obama Your Candidate!

   I saw Marc Andreessen's post on a visit he had last year with Barack Obama and just had to link to it.

   Marc's observations make me feel even more strongly that, if Obama is not on the ballot come November, the Democratic party will have blown a perfect opportunity to change our country for the better.

Crazy Colorado Weather

   Yesterday, here in the Denver metro area, we had clear skies and a high in the upper 70s (our car thermometer actually cracked 80 mid-afternoon).

   Today we awoke to falling (and already accumulated) snow and a high of 31!!

   I do love the crazy weather here though it would be nice if spring decided to show up in the not-too-distant future!

What Do American Cars and American Electric Razors Have In Common?

   They both are terrible!

   I have used an electric razor exclusively since I started shaving, purchasing Braun after Braun each couple years when my battery no longer holds a charge.

   This past Christmas, due for my latest replacement, I cheaped out and bought a Remington.

   I started paying for it immediately - my face, post-shave, looked like I'd been standing next to a storefront's plate glass window when a grenade went off. Nicks and cuts everywhere..

   I figured I'd give my face some time to adjust. I figured I'd see if it made a difference if my stubble was long or not. Nothing changed. Two full months later, I've officially thrown in the towel. I returned my "defective" POS Remington and bought the Braun for three times the price.

   But then again, my X5 (new) was probably three times the price of a Buick SUV, so I guess there is a parallel here...Buy German!