Wow, fast week. I haven’t really done much on my vacation. Oh well, at least the kids are sick of me enough where they won’t mind me working next week. We’re off to lunch today down by Hall Rd. and maybe a little min-golf action too.
Month: December 2005
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Last day to buy a seat on the stock market
Just in case you’ve got an extra $3.6 million laying around, today is that last day you can buy a seat at the NYSE. Historically, owning a seat on the stock exchange granted you rights to buy/sell/trade stocks on the floor. Going back to the very beginning in order to have rights to do that… you bought a seat. Literally, a chair. Read more about it here.
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the other half of the “housing bubble” scare
Here’s an article that, when put the article about housing prices being overvalued, should scare the crap out of anyone thinking of selling a home any time soon. The flipside of that is if you are looking to buy things are looking good for you! [Click here]
All of this data is another reason why we are so happy with buying a home in an existing neighborhood where homes will always be somewhat desirable.
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Interesting article about creation/evolution
Here is an interesting article about those who hold to "theistic evolution" that appeared in the Seatle Times recently. [click here]Despite this scathing article that basically claims that theistic evolution is a viable theory for hte creation of the world, I keep it on my list of acceptable positions. (Let me be clear though, I hold to a 7 day creation, 24×7)
Here’s why I am not going to blast theistic evolution as other so readily do. My big point is always the same, you don’t have to be a 7 day creationist to be a Christian! (Doing so would be a work, wouldn’t it?) I beleive that we need to respect people’s positions as they grow. For me, it took a long while of examining the evidence for myself to accept the creation story. In fact, it wasn’t until I read a few books on the subject itself that I really grasped how much crap evolution is based on. (In fact, it is my beleif that evolution is just as much a religion as Christianity and if there is a seperation between church/state that evolution shouldn’t be taught either. I find it easier to have faith in Santa Claus than macroevolution.)
Here are a couple of books that helped me along the way.
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Website fun!
I woke up yesterday to an error report from a YMX user. She said, "Hey, I can’t login no matter what!" I blew this off as a report to a known bug… the dreaded "double login" where people have to login twice in a row to access the forums. Well, a couple hours later I logged myself out of the forums to sign in as our test user, bob. Would you know it that the error report was true and the site was screwed up?
Well, thankfully this is an off week from the church for me and I was able to spend a few hours fixing the thing. I think we’ve got it all ironed out now.
YMX has calmed down since it’s launch earlier in December. The first 48 hours I think I worked on the site 40 of them with registrations and answering questions. The goal is that, like it was the last 10 days or so, I can administrate the site in under one hour per day. That is a hobby I can handle!
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Motor City Bowl
Kristen and I and Todd met up with my extended family for yesterday’s Motor City Bowl in downtown Detroit. The game was pretty interesting considering the only thing I cared about either team is that my brother-in-law went to Memphis. It was a fun finish as Akron really came back and almost recovered their second onside kick to get the ball back with :55 left and down by 7. (They later caused and recovered a fumble that was called encroachment… a bad call!) Here are my impressions of Ford Field. Don’t bother. The seats were uncomfortable. The sound system was overwhelming and you couldn’t talk to people sitting around you. (Something I love about games… they are social events!) The concessions were terribly expensive, at least twice your local movie theater… and they were molasses slow. I missed most of the 2nd quarter to get a nachos, 2 pops, and a pizza. That shouldn’t take 30 minutes and is inexcusable. Parking is always a problem in downtown Detroit. It’s chaotic and cramped down there for no reason. It costs too much money and the prices rarely make sense. But at least we found parking! The interior of Ford Field is cool looking and seemingly impressive. But I can tell you what is going to happen… Detroit will be completely embarrassed when they host Super Bowl XL in a few weeks. That high end clientele will blast Detroit mercilessly for the terrible management of Ford Field and downtown Detroit. It’s not too late, move the Super Bowl! All in all I wouldn’t suggest going to Ford Field unless you are really interested in seeing your team destroy the Lions. Like a lot of things I’ve done lately, the best part about it was time spent with friends and family.
Would I go again? Sadly, I think I would. I really want to see Detroit succeed as a revitalized city. But they are ages away, and miles of good leadership, away from seeing a renaissance like Chicago. People from the suburbs will likely NEVER move back to the city, no matter what you put down there.
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Sirius Passes 3 Million Subscribers
I’m no expert, but this seems good for Sirius. Here’s the press release from that was just issued. NEW YORK, Dec 27, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) today announced that it recently surpassed three million subscribers and expects a strong year-end.
I’ve had mine less than 48 hours… and I already love it. Good service, lots of channels, good content.
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Looking forward and not backwards
This week is a big "looking back" week. It’s in my nature to be reflective on the past. I want to get hung up on what I’ve been up to, what God has done, and what could have gone better. In fact, I tend to worry about yesterday more than I consider right now or tommorow. I want to spend my time looking forward. Forward for my family. Forward for Light Force. Forward for YMX. It’s my hope to make this a week of dreaming and visioneering. In the days to come… as I do this, I’ll post some of those dreams here. But don’t think I’m going to be tied down to this on my week away from the office. I’ve got a lot planned for fun as well.
Everyone seems to want to talk about Christmas presents. Well, this is the big thing I got. I’ve wanted to have satelite radio for a while and back a few weeks I decided that Sirius is the one I wanted of the two. (It helps that I own their stock, eh?) So far I really like the radio and the service. The one we bought connects to our home stereo in it’s cool little cradle and of course works nicely in the car. Another benefit of the membership is that I can listen online. That will come in handy at the office.
Later today, we’re off to Ford Field and the Motor City Bowl. Even though Detroit+December=COLD we still host a bowl game. I’ve never been to one and I’ve always wanted to go… so we’re going to watch Memphis take on Akron in the "Who Cares Bowl." But, like a lot of things, the company you go with is as much fun as the event.
P.S. There have been some excellent member submitted articles over at YMX. I know I am completely biased, but some of these are great and it’s my pleasure to feature them.
