Tuesday, September 27, 2011

You're waiting for government to raise your taxes to do something good? Seriously?

Dear Doug Edwards, former Google Director of Consumer Marketing who asked Obama to raise his taxes - Dude, be proactive. Why wait for an inefficient government who doesn't have a clue what to do with your money? Have you not seen these people in action...or inaction as the case may be?  You want to help the homeless? Grab a hammer and help Habitat for Humanity build houses. Donate money to them for materials. You want to help medical research for curing cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscular distrophy, any number of diseases? There are plenty of charities for that. Write checks. You want to help fund education? There are plenty of after school programs and mentoring programs crying for your help. Stop crying to Obama to raise your taxes, waiting for a government that can't get out of its own way and get involved.  You don't need them.  Hell, you really don't even WANT them.  Get yourself busy.

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Tuesday, September 06, 2011

early morning update

There's something eerie about being at work early, before anyone else gets here. I have to get some stuff done on the big computer while nobody else is on it, so now's a good time to do that. Once I set it all in motion though, there's not much to do except monitor it, and make sure it's all doing what it's supposed to do, and fixing it if it doesn't.
I figured...good a time as any to do something I haven't in a while - update this place.
First, the wife's condition is good, we think. She's got to do checkups with her doctor, but we're thinking things are looking a whole lot better. She felt good enough to road trip to Pennsylvania the last part of last month/first part of this month.
The trip to Pennsylvania was fun. Spent a few days around Harrisburg, did Hershey Park, and rode bikes with an old friend I hadn't seen in 32 years around Elizabethtown. Then we went to Philly. The youngster had never been to center city to see all the historical stuff - the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, etc., so we enlisted the help of my siblings as tour guides for trains and how to get around. We did center city one day, and they indulged me on another to go tour the old alma mater. Villanova still has all the buildings that were there when I was a student, but there's a whole lot more now. The place has grown a lot. It was great to spend some time with the family. Trips like that make me wish we all lived closer, but I'm not moving north and they aren't moving south, so...so much for that.
They day after we got back, we lost our dog. A neighbor was keeping her while we were gone, and when we got back, she asked if the dog always breathes really heavy, because she had been the last few days. We said no, and thought after a few days back home, she'd be fine. Well, the next day she was still doing it, so the wife and youngster took her to the vet. While there, she had heart failure and died. The youngster took it really hard. He cried for most of the day...literally. And I mean literally. He didn't stop. We ended up going to the animal shelter and getting another one. It is by no means a replacement, but it is helping deal with the loss, and so far he's a pretty cool little dog. He's very different from our old dog, but he's a keeper.
Now, I'm just making sure I'm ready for this year's MS ride. It'll be my fifth, which is a bit hard for me to believe. To think this all started with me wanting to work off some chubbiness. Four and a half years later, I've turned into a bike fanatic. Of course, I don't see myself as a fanatic. When I talk about it with others though, especially those that don't ride at all, they let me know I am. When you casually talk about going out in the morning for 50 miles, people look at you funny.
The youngster started college last week. Amazing when I think about it, and yet not really. I have to qualify the statement a little. Anyone who read here through the years knows he has, and still does struggle with ADD. When he graduated from high school, I wanted to see the diploma to be sure it really happened. His test scores weren't good enough to get into most schools, so he's at the community college and taking remedial math, english and writing classes. Still, I think he'll be OK in the end. He's actually doing well, so far (I mean, it's only been a week) and even helping some of the other students (and by students I mean girls....cute girls) with homework. We'll see.

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