FINALLY I CAN GET SOME WORK DONE!

Stumble! - Helping people be unproductive at work since 2004

A Child in Need!

Lets face life is not fair. Obstacles must be overcome, difficulties must be met and successes received but every once in a while we all need a helping hand. Pride in a lot of cases prevents people from reaching out and asking for help. In the case of my coworker Leslie Brown she has no choice but to ask for help, her daughters health and possibly her life depends on it.

Working in an open office you overhear many phone conversations some you want to hear and others you would rather not. In the case of Leslie Brown I try to ignore her telephone conversations but being that we share office space it is very difficult. Today I overheard a conversation and it made feel sympathy and anger. She was talking to a hospital's billing department about paying on her daughter's bill. She was trying to make payment arrangements with them to pay in monthly installments and they would not accept her payment only telling her it was not enough and there was nothing they could do.

Leslie's story is one of courage and has been told, as she puts it, a million times. She is a single mother of two children, Micha and Bailey. She receives no child support and no government aid. She is very educated, though has only an associates to this point. Her education comes more from life experiences. Her daughter Bailey was born with a heart condition and every year she must undergo test that are very costly. Our employer does not provide group medical insurance stating that the cost is too much to shoulder. Instead, at the beginning of 2008, the employer will provide $200 for medical insurance reimbursement. This does not help Leslie because if she obtains her own insurance Bailey will not be covered due to her condition being preexisting. Only group coverage will cover preexisting conditions. Leslie worked hard in obtaining coverage for her daughter through the Texas Risk Pool but alas coverage is far too expensive even through them. Her total payments would be $600 plus the cost of deductibles and co-payments.

So what does she need? Help and a solution to this annual problem. She wants a cure for her daughter. She wants a way to go to work and not feel the burden of undue stress knowing her daughter is taken care of. She wants what all of us want, a better life for her children. Political conjecture and health care reform are great topics of conversation but what Ms. Brown needs is an answer now. If any of you can help in anyway then please contact me via e-mail with any words of advice or suggestions or just leave a comment. Thank you and God Bless!

Christmas Traditions - Origins

December 25th -

The idea to celebrate Christmas on December 25 originated in the 4th century. The Catholic Church wanted to eclipse the festivities of a rival pagan religion that threatened Christianity's existence. The Romans celebrated the birthday of their sun god, Mithras during this time of year. Although it was not popular, or even proper, to celebrate people's birthdays in those times, church leaders decided that in order to compete with the pagan celebration they would themselves order a festival in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the actual season of Jesus' birth is thought to be in the spring, the date of December 25 was chosen as the official birthday celebration as Christ's Mass so that it would compete head on with the rival pagan celebration. Christmas was slow to catch on in America. The early colonists considered it a pagan ritual. The celebration of Christmas was even banned by law in Massachusetts in colonial days.


Plants -

Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would decorate their home due to the believed healing powers. Scandinavians also used Mistletoe in their homes and it was used to honor their goddess of love, Frigga. This may be why today we still kiss under the mistletoe. Mistletoe was banned for sometime by the Christian churches and was replaced with holly. Today we generally see the use of both of at least plastic replicas.

Poinsettias are native Mexican plants and the plants were named after the U.S. first ambassador to Mexico Joel Poinsett. The Mexicans used this plant to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem. The plants were not used for Christmas decor until the 1830's.

Christmas Trees -

The Christmas tree made its origins in Germany in the 16th century. Roses, apples, and colored paper first decorated fir trees inside as well as outside the homes. Many legends hold that Martin Luther the protestant reformer was the first to light candles placed on the branches of the trees. The idea of the Christmas tree didn't take hold in Britain until the early 19th century but was brought to America by German settlers in the early 1800's.

Xmas -

Xmas is consider by many Christians as a sign of disrespect, because it replaces Christ with X therefore taking Christ out of Christmas. The actual origins come from the 16th century. Xristos is Greek for Christ and many Europeans used X in place of Xristos and called the holiday Xmas, we assume it is because Xristosmas is a little hard to pronounce or because it is a totally different word altogether.

The Candy Cane -

Candy canes have been around for many centuries, but not until around 1903 that they were decorated with stripes and bent into the shape of a cane. They handed out during church services to keep the children quiet. One story that is often told about the origin of the candy cane is as follows: That candy makers wanted a candy that would exemplify the meaning of Christmas. What better way then to have a piece of candy made in the shape of a "J". Also the colors represent purity(white) and three red stripes to represent the Holy Trinity and the pain inflicted upon Jesus.

Santa Clause -

The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. He was very pious from an early age, devoting his life to Christianity. He became widely known for his generosity for the poor. But the Romans held him in contempt. He was imprisoned and tortured. But when Constantine became emperor of Rome, he allowed Nicholas to go free. Constantine became a Christian and convened the Council of Nicaea in 325. Nicholas was a delegate to the council. He is especially noted for his love of children and for his generosity. He is the patron saint of sailors, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. He is also, of course, the patron saint of children. The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive. In 16th century Holland, Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat. The Dutch spelled St. Nicholas as Sint Nikolaas, which became corrupted to Sinterklaas, and finally, in Anglican, to Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement C. Moore composed his famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nick," which was later published as "The Night Before Christmas." Moore is credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red suit.

Gift Giving -

Several months after Jesus Christ was born, wise men came and presented gifts to Him. “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem

Gift Giving actually goes back before the birth of Christ during Roman times. Romans would celebrate the New Year by giving each other gifts. But the gift giving tradition that we know today dates back to Victorian England. and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh"

The Victorians, who brought a renewed warmth and spirit to Christmas after it had experienced a long period of decline, made the idea of family part of the celebration. Friendliness and charity filled many hearts during their Christmas season, so giving gifts was natural. The ultimate reason for giving a gift was as an expression of kindness, a sentiment that went nicely with the historical tradition of the holiday.

The Victorians surrounded the act of gift giving with a great deal of ingenuity and merriment: simply tearing into a cache of wrapped boxes would have been to miss the point. Far more thought and preparation than that were in order during the holiday season. They had cobweb parties, which was a lot of messy fun. Each family member was assigned a color, then shown to a room crisscrossed with yarn of various colors. Each person was to follow an assigned color through the web of yarn until he or she reached the present tied to the end.

Presidential States!

With a new Presidential election fast approaching there are tendencies for voters to vote for people from certain states. But what is interesting is how many Presidents have come from the different 50 states. It should be no surprise that the eastern seaboard rules this list but with the population moving south and west there has been a shift but only slightly.

1. Virginia (8) - This state has had 8 Presidents with the majority of them coming in the first 10 presidencies. Notables - Washington (1), Wilson (28), Jefferson (3).

2. Ohio (7) - At second this state did not produce it's first president until 1869 with U.S. Grant. Six others have followed. With the exception of Grant no other Ohioan president lasted more than 4 years in office. Notables - Grant (18)

3. Massachusetts (4) - There is actually a tie for third with four. Massachusetts is always a hotbed of political conjecture because of the wealthy families hailing from that state. Notables - Adams (2), Adams (6), Kennedy (35)

3. New York (4) - Tied for third New York has a storied history of politics, some with a dubious past (Tammany Hall). Van Buren was the fist President from the Empire state. Notables - Van Buren (8), Roosevelt(26), Roosevelt (32)

5. North Carolina (2) - Polk (11), Johnson (17)

5. Vermont (2) - Arthur (21), Coolidge (30)

5. Texas (2) - Eisenhower (34), Johnson (36)

8. The following states have each has one president :

South Carolina
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Kentucky
Iowa
Missouri
California
Nebraska
Georgia
Illinois
Arkansas
Connecticut

Our current president was born in Connecticut. The current Presidential front runners were born in the following states.

DEM
Joseph R. Biden Jr. - Pennsylvania
Hillary Rodham Clinton - Illinois
John Reid Edwards - South Carolina
Dennis J. Kucinich - Ohio
Barack Hussein Obama Jr. - Hawaii
REP
Rudolph W. Giuliani - New York
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee - Arkansas
John Sidney McCain III - Panama Canal Zone, Panama
Willard Mitt Romney - Michigan
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul - Pennsylvania
Fred Dalton Thompson - Tennessee

So I asked my boss for and IPHONE....

...and this is what he gave me!

Things I saw today while driving to work.

Traffic is bad anywhere you live but in Austin, it is notoriously bad. There could be many reasons why traffic is bad but I think it comes down to poor planning coupled with tremendous population growth. It used to be the rule that anytime someone gave directions that you always started with "get on MOPAC" (Loop 1), but even that has become the State's second biggest parking lot.

I usually pay attention to the road when I drive but I had extra time today to do some people watching while inhaling my daily limit of CO2. I noticed a few things that really bugged me about the commuters here in Austin:

* Women putting makeup on in the car.
- This is my single most biggest driving pet peeve. How selfish does someone have to be to endanger other people just so they can look better. I witnessed three women putting on makeup this A.M. and I only commute ten miles.

* Smoking and driving.
- As an ex-smoker I understand that driving and smoking go together but throwing your nasty cigarette butt on the highway is against the law. Why not put an empty can with liquid at the bottom in your car and then dispose of it later?

* People eating.
- This is preventable because you can eat at work or at home. If you cannot eat at work then eat in the parking lot when you get there. If you are going to be late by doing this then leave earlier.

* Aggressive Drivers .
- Men tend to be the most aggressive drivers because of testosterone but some women can be notorious culprits but in a passive way. I saw a man in a Mustang GT drifting in to my lane with about a third of a car length between my car and the car in front of me. He decided that he could just get in front of me with no blinker and I would know his intentions. Then when I didn't let him in he gets mad at me? WTF.

* Cell phone talkers.
- I am very guilty of this BUT I know when it is appropriate to talk and when it is not. Having a 30 minute conversation in traffic is not the appropriate time. A caveat to that is if a person is using a hands free device or sorts. This also causes a distraction but it is much less.

* Single occupant commuters.
- I am guilty of this everyday and we can make all of the excuses in the world but if 25% of the population in the Austin area carpooled then a traffic problem wouldn't exist but unlike other large metropolitan areas Austin does not offer HOV (high occupancy vehicles) lanes or a viable rapid transit option.

I think people are inherently good natured and that the people listed above were not behaving this way to intentionally anger anyone but if commuters could start paying a little more attention to their surroundings and a little less on themselves then we may all experience a safer and faster commute.

What is your biggest commute pet peeve?

A-Rod, Manny and Bonds: playing for the game?

Not many of us can recall seeing the speech Lou Gehrig gave on the July 4th, 1939, but I am sure that we have all heard bits of the speech. Gehrig played the game because he loved it. He didn't have a multi-million dollar contract, he didn't need one. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games a record that was once thought to be untouchable. Gehrig mentioned in his speech that he may have been given some bad breaks in his life but he was still the luckiest man in the world because of the opportunity he had to play the greatest game in the world.

Fast Forward 48 years. We now see players who have no heart or honor. Player like Manny Ramirez who exclaimed that if the lose the it is no big deal because there is always next season but the people who pay money to go see him play think it is a big deal. In fact as MLB itself put it a few years ago the average fan "Lives for this Game". Then there is A-Rod who has no respect for the game. He and his agent decided that game four of the World Series would be the day that they decide to exercise the option in his lucrative contract and become a free agent. He obviously thinks he is bigger than the game and for this I believe that A-rod will never win the World Series.

Many things have been written about the Barry Bonds situation so I will make this brief. Some people have made the argument that players in earlier years may have been taking Benzedrine or other stimulants to boost their performance or other unknown tactics were used in order to gain an advantage like sharpening cleats or using Vaseline on a ball to change it's trajectory. The argument is that they do not have an asterisk* by their name or they do not get ridiculed for their use of performance enhancing drugs. Those people who make that argument are the same reason why baseball is not what it once was and have no respect for the game. Anytime you as a player take or use a drug or product that is not available to other players whether it be because of mandates or legality then you are CHEATING and there is no room for you in sports period! After all it is only a game.

This brings me to my point of this whole blog. When will people stop paying for the ridiculous ticket prices? In Economics 2310 we all learned the principles of diminishing returns. This principle states, in simple terms, that ticket prices will continue to increase until people stop paying for the tickets and stay at home watching the games. Player's salaries will continue to get larger and larger and people will continue to complain about the large player salaries. When A-Rod starts making 40 Million a year will people care? When the first baseball player starts making 100 Million a year will anyone care? When a family of four has to take out a loan to go see a regular season baseball game will anyone care? The argument was made that Wall Street's top performers make 40 and 50 million dollar bonuses and that no one bats and eye but what does the Wall Street guy get if he does poorly especially in crunch time, or if he does something illegal like take steroids or if he loses the passion for what he does as a trade. He gets fired! So is it time to fire baseball? Not as long as people still buy the tickets.