The New Urkel

Here is the new Steve Urkel (from the TV series Family Matters from 1989 to 1998):

Does it Pay to Haggle?

Today there was an article on USAToday.com that talked about haggling with retailers over prices. This is something that is common is other parts of the world, but I have never even thought about doing it in a department store here in the states (outside of a car dealership). In Greece, Africa, & Mexico it was pretty easy to get 40-50% off what the stores would ask for, but what about here? Has anyone tried this at Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, or Sam’s? Does this actually work? Please let me know what you have done or have heard of.

The Crash of 2009

Our government is NOT good with money.

Pathetic Presidential Decision

Today our president stated that he will accept an “imperfect” spending bill. How sorry is it that he will accept imperfection. Who in their right mind would accept an imperfect surgery, home, car, or loan? We wonder why we are in this economic mess, while the leader of our country sits by idly accepting an “imperfect” $410 billion spending bill filled with earmarks he swore he would fight during his campaign. You can call it what you want, but that is pathetic.

Here is an article on the story: USAToday Link

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Myths

Justin Taylor posted a this article, and I wanted to share it.

Yuval Levin--author most recently of Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy--shows four basic myths that the public and the media believe about embryonic stem cell research and policy:

1. Obama has restored federal policy to what it was prior to Bush’s 2001 stem cell policy announcement.

2. The Bush policy was a ban on embryonic stem cell research.

3. There are no viable scientific alternatives to the destruction of human embryos.

4. The promise of pluripotent stem cells is quite certain.
Read the whole thing.

Another article on Stemm Cell Perspective

Daylight Savings Time = Worst Day of the Year

Don't forget to adjust your clocks before you go to bed tonight! We lose an hour of sleep, peace, and quiet tomorrow. Springing forward is never a good thing, but do not forget to do it...

In the US, 2009 Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 8 at 2 AM and ends on Sunday, November 1 at 2 AM as well. Time moves ahead one hour in March while it moves back one hour in November (hence the saying "Spring forward, Fall back").

US Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November. In many western European countries Daylight Saving Time begins on the last Sunday of March and concludes in October on the last Sunday of that month.

Note that although commonly referred to as Daylight Savings Time, there is "officially" no "s."
From WikiAnswers

25 Random Things About Me

1. I don't really sleep well (which is why I'm doing this now), especially when I'm not with Christy.

2. I am a violent sneezer! When I sneeze it's loud and out of control... It's the worst.

3. I remember exactly when I met Christy: July 28, 4:58 PM, 2002. She was in the passenger seat of Amy's Lexus wearing a yellow hat... I also knew we would get married after our second date, which freaked me and Fredo out… his response was shock when I walked in the door and told him after that date.

4. I am obsessive compulsive, about most everything from tidiness to working out, and wish/pray I'd be that way about my dissertation!

5. I cannot stand peanut butter or hot dogs. Peanuts give me headaches and make me nauseous, hot dogs are just disgusting. Ironically, I will eat corn dogs.

6. Chloe and Coleman make me smile even when I don't feel like it.

7. I'm more competitive than you.

8. I don't really know when to say when... so be careful when messing with me, you'll probably regret it!

9. I'm a Dallas Cowboy, OU Sooner, Dallas Maverick, Chicago Cub & Texas Ranger, and Dallas Stars fan in that order.

10. If someone offered me 1 million dollars or to pay off my mortgage, I'd accept with gratitude and without hesitation.

11. Mission work thrills me, but it's never been easy. On missions trips I've broken my hand, been poisoned (food and medicinally), had 2 horrible ankle sprains, almost got bitten by a "2 step killer" snake, got malaria, was arrested, and spat upon... and every time I tell the stories people sign-up to go too!

12. Being a parent is the hardest and most rewarding task I've ever done... that dissertation is the next hardest thing, but no reward yet.

13. Right now my soda of choice is Diet Pepsi... I like Dr. Pepper (with Strawberries) better, but am trying to be healthier... doubt it will last!

14. I overanalyze and read too much into most everything, at least I think I do...

15. I crack myself up, and others too... If they have a good sense of humor.

16. Ideas and execution I enjoy, details not so much.

17. To relax, sometimes I will simply put on a hat.

18. Although I want to be (and have improved a bit), I'm not much of a handy-man. With that being said I replaced part of my fence and window trim, so I must be getting better... Brent, could you come over and fix my window thing?

19. If I ever write a book, I will publish it under the name Cole Coleman... Thank you Zig.

20. I have 9 accountability partners and meet with them all at least once every two weeks.

21. I get migraines all the time. Probably 2 times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. When diagnosed by my specialist he told me, "You have chronic migraines." I paid money for that bit of helpful insight!!!

22. Instead of bad words, I like to say Jiminy Cricket or John Brown when fired up.

23. I recently wore out the keyboard on my laptop and have to replace it. While it's obviously good I don't have to purchase a new computer, I'm not sure it's good I type that much.

24. "I would rather cut my leg off and beat myself to death with it," is my favorite thing to say when I don't want to do something. Compliments to Pendergrast for the saying.

25. When in public, I have a tendency to think I know people, I don’t really know. For instance, a few months ago while visiting my in-laws in Texas I went up to an old college friend and started a conversation… the problem is that she had no clue who I was.

Breaking News: Chrysler & GM Make the Worst Vehicles!

Today an article on usatoday.com reported, “'Consumer Reports' puts Chrysler, GM in bottom spots.” No wonder they are about to go belly up. For years Chrysler and GM have made unreliable and cheap products. Hollywood caught on to this fact and made a movie about how poor the American auto-industry was (Gung Ho). The fact is Chrysler and GM have no one to blame but themselves. The bailout was a waste of our tax dollars, and it is my hope we do not go down that road again.

Growing up, my family always had a GM vehicle. On family trips part of the fun was waiting to see when, not it, the car was going to breakdown. Over the years we broke down in the middle of the Ozarks, nowhere New Mexico, and on rare occasion’s metropolitan locations. Not only was this true of my parent’s vehicles, this was also true of everyone in our network who had an American made vehicle.

From the age that I was aware of different vehicles makes, I made a vow to never buy American because every American made vehicle we had was a pile of junk. Over my driving life, I have owned a Honda Civic, Acura Integra, Honda Accord and a Honda Pilot… all of which have been reliable and never stranded me in the middle of nowhere unlike every GM my parents owned. For me, it is not un-American to buy foreign, it pro-intelligence.

As a total side note, we should also beware of any product that sounds like a bad word when pronounced loud and quick. If you are unaware of what I am referring to, just say “Chrysler” loud or under your breath and see if people look at funny. And for the record: If an American car can surpass the quality of Honda or Toyota, I will gladly purchase one of those vehicles… but I won’t be holding my breath on that one.

Joe Biden = Most Ignorant Vice President Ever

Joe Biden must be the most ignorant Vice President ever. Today he asked an aide to tell him a Web site's "number," stirring questions online whether he knows how the Web works. Seriously! Dan Quayle made headlines for spelling potato incorrectly (he told a 12 year old boy to add an “e” to the end of it), something that happened in 1992, and we still remember because of how the media blasted it on the airwaves. However, Biden consistently makes a fool of himself and it seems like the media turns a blind eye to it. When Obama places him in charge of anything, is that not scary? Here are some videos of the dumbest VP our country has ever had… a safe estimation only 36 days into his first term:

Obama Agrees With Bush?!?

As unreal as the headline might sound, it is true. President Obama is on the same page with President Bush… at least on one policy… Here is an excerpt from the article:

Justice Department lawyers filed court papers agreeing that detainees at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan cannot use U.S. courts to challenge their detentions

Golf On TV Is About To Be Good Again

Breaking News: Golf is about to become watchable again. Although I consider myself a fan that will make a point to watch the major championships, as well as some other golfing events, I have found myself rather uninterested in televised golf since the US Open. Thankfully, Mr. Eldrick Woods (aka Tiger) will play golf for money next week, his first official appearance since winning the U.S. Open with two shattered knee caps and a broken three-wood eight months ago. So, for the first time in eight months, I will be making plans to watch golf again!

ESPN's Story
AP's Story

Weather Channel Founder: Global Warming is a "Hoax"

Global warming has never been something I have believed in or given much stock too. That does not mean I am for destroying the earth, as we have a responsibility to take care of what God has given to us, but what does bother me is when people cling to trees and in the same breath are all for killing babies… another post for another time.

Anyway, yesterday the founder of the Weather Channel blasted Al Gore for the global warming “hoax”. Gore is known for (according to himself) “inventing the internet,” being Clinton’s VP, and his global warming push. While he has received a noble peace prize for his work and an Oscar, he is accused of using “bad science” for his work.

Here is the article:

The founder of the Weather Channel is ridiculing Al Gore over his calls for action on global climate change, saying in a column that global warming is a "hoax" and "bad science."

John Coleman, now a weatherman at San Diego's KUSI, wrote on his station's Web site Wednesday that Gore refuses to acknowledge the faulty research on which the idea of global warming is based.

Coleman's lengthy scolding came as the former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would put caps on heat-trapping gases and take the lead on a global climate treaty.

Coleman wrote that the Environmental Protection Agency is "on the verge" of naming CO2 (carbon dioxide) as a pollutant, and that seemingly all of Washington is on board with such CO2 silliness."

"I am totally convinced there is no scientific basis for any of it," Coleman wrote, describing the decades-old theory that increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere leads to global warming.

"Global Warming. It is the hoax. It is bad science. It is a high jacking of public policy. It is no joke. It is the greatest scam in history," Coleman wrote.

Digital TV Transition (Feb. 17)

February 17, our over the air TV’s will switch from analog to digital. A couple days ago the Senate voted to delay this transition by 4 months stating, “People are not ready for it yet,” a move I thought was ridiculous. Back when I was in college, taking the worst class ever (Telecommunications and Society) the digital transition was in my textbook… That was over 10 years ago. To delay 4 months is ridiculous and I am happy to see the House agrees with me:

Associated Press
WASHINGTON – The House has defeated a bill to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting by four months to June 12.

Abortion: America's Silent Holocaust

On January 22, 1973 abortion was legalized in America. Since 1973 that have been 49,551,703 abortions have taken place; that’s more than seven times the number of Jews killed during the Nazi Holocaust. 1,206,200 took place in 2006, which is more than 2 per minute. Abortion is a human tragedy, and it is something we believe breaks our Lord’s heart as He created each of these unborn children in His image.

President Obama is now expected to sign The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would eliminate every restriction on abortion nationwide.

• FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections.
• FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions.
• FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions.

While campaigning he made a promise to Planned Parenthood last year they expect him to keep. Obama said, “The first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d do.”

Here is what God says, "When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.' - Exodus 21:22-25

I have no desire to stand on the streets and curse the darkness of abortion – something that takes more lives in a single year than did the entire holocaust. My hope is to cast light on the issue that each person is formed in the womb. Each unborn baby was created by God and deserves the audacity of hope to be born. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “You stand for something or you fall for anything.” May we stand for life.

Pastor Rick Warren's Prayer at Obama's Inauguration

Kid Shoots Babysitter

This morning I read a crazy story from Foxnews.com. Apparently a 4 year old got made at his babysitter and shot him. Here is the story:

JACKSON, Ohio — Police say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter.

Eighteen-year-old Nathan Beavers was hospitalized Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.

Witnesses told police the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot. Beavers was watching the child at a mobile home in Jackson with several other teenagers and several other children.

Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen says authorities are investigating. The child has not been charged.

Good grief, this really makes you think about our society. Why would the child think to do this? Where did he learn this? He is only 4 for cry out loud!

Russian scholar predicts fall of United States in 2010

Yesterday when I was playing golf with my brother (we played at Tour 18 - I had a birdie and 4 pars, nothing else golf related is important) he told me of this guy who predicted the fall of the United States. He stated that it would be no big deal, but the same man also predicted the fall of the U.S.S.R back in 1976, 15 years before the fall of Russia. Apparently, he was laughed out of academia, until it happened and now he is an expert (funny how that works). Anyway, I was curious sound I found an article about it. Here it is:

Russian scholar predicts fall of United States in 2010

Russian professor states that a future civil war will lead to separation of the U.S.

Igor Panarin, a political science expert from Russia, has predicted the disintegration of the United States into six pieces that will then join sides with other world powers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Professor Panarin has had his theory for a decade, but has not gotten much academic recognition until now. It’s not because he does not like America, Panarin insists; rather, he bases his prediction on the recent political and economic state in which the U.S. currently finds itself.

“There’s a 55-45% chance right now that disintegration will occur,” he says. He believes that mass immigration, moral decline, tremendous economic downfall would lead to a civil war next fall and collapse of the dollar. The United States will then fall into six groups around June or July 2010:

“The Californian Republic” would be a part of China or Chinese influence; the Northern states would form what he calls “The Central North American Republic” and would fall under Canada; “The Texas Republic” would fall under Mexico or Mexican influence; “Atlantic America,” including Washington, D.C., may align with the European Union; Hawaii would go towards either Japan or China; and Alaska would fall naturally with Russia.

“It would be reasonable for Russia to lay claim to Alaska; it was part of the Russian Empire for a long time,” says Panarin.

Even with the hope of President-elect Barack Obama fixing the economy, Panarin sticks by his theory, saying that “when spring comes, it will be clear that there are no miracles.”

Russia too would be affected negatively if the disintegration of the United States were to happen. It would gain more global power, Panarin beliefs, but its economy would suffer since the country is largely dependent on the dollar and trade with the U.S..

A U.S.-Russia relations expert, Panarin is a former KGB analyst who is now a dean of the academy for future diplomats at the Russian Foreign Ministry. He is also a university professor and a published author.

Since first presentation of the theory, the amount of attention and recognition has changed tremendously, WSJ wrote. In addition to scholarly discussions by local experts, Panarin has also gotten more state coverage, leading him to believe that people are taking his theory more seriously.

However, some experts in Russia believe otherwise. Sergei Rogov, director of the Institute of US and Canadian Studies thinks that Panarin’s theories don’t hold water, saying, “Crazy ideas are not usually discussed by serious people.”

Vladimir Pozner, a prominent Russian TV journalist agrees: the theory “reflects a very pronounced degree of anti-Americanism in Russia today. It’s much stronger than it was in the Soviet Union.”

Asked about the matter in a news conference, White House spokesperson Dana Perino said, “I’ll have to decline to comment.”

Still, Panarin sticks by his beliefs, despite some of the skepticism out there. He cites Emmanuel Todd, a political scientist from France who predicted the fall of the Soviet Union 15 years beforehand. Panarin said, “When he forecast the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976, people laughed at him.”

My Take: I think the fall of the USA is ludicrous. Although we have more than our fair share of issues to deal with, I cannot envision this happening. If worse came to worse, we should simply use our military/technological dominance to acquire whatever we need to acquire, even though the world would not approve. With that being said, if Texas succeeds from the Union without claiming Oklahoma, I am moving back to Texas!

President Bush = Cat-like Reflexes!

Yesterday some Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President Bush. He is being hailed as a terrorist by some, hero by others. To me this idiot needs to simply look back at his past and remember what life was like under his former president, Saddam Hussein. If that lunatic was still in office, this journalist would probably have been publicly executed in the most gruesome of fashions. It is one thing to be displeased with where you currently are, but don’t forget who gave you the freedom you now enjoy.

Many people have differing opinions on Bush and the Iraq War. According to the media, few if any agree with it, but you have to look at the facts. After 9/11, America was scared, insecure, and filled with nothing but questions. Since that time there have been zero domestic attacks… zero! President Bush may not be popular, but on this issue only he will go down as one of the great presidents.

Just think of that fact. If you would have asked any American if we could go over 7 years without another terror attack, my guess is that few, if any would have guessed that to be possible. Going into Iraq was on the premised that there were weapons of mass destruction, which evidence has proven to be false. My thought: who cares? A horrid dictator who executed a mass genocide of his own people has been removed from office (a fact no one seems to care about). A people has been liberated from oppression. A dictatorship has been replaced by a democracy. And as far as our selfish American society is concerned, the fight has been taken half-way across the world instead of on our turf.

In an odd way, President Bush should see this as a complement to his work. Because of his bold convictions, Iraqis now enjoy many of the freedoms we take for granted here in the States. Sure there was great sacrifice too, sacrifices I cannot begin to grasp, as many of our best gave their lives for the cause of freedom and security, but as Woodrow Wilson said, “To work for the common good is the greatest creed.”

Barak Obama is about to be president. I expect him to pull the troops out of Iraq quickly, as was a huge platform for his candidacy. It will be interesting to see how terrorist feel about our absence in Iraq. Will they leave us alone because we leave? Will they no longer care about the infidels they seek to destroy? Will Obama’s presence in the Oval office deter them at all? If you think the situation is going to get better, I would like to remind you that before 9/11 terrorism was not real, it was just something that we saw on news on the other side of the planet.

God bless President Bush and his cat-like reflexes. Seriously, it should hack off Americans that some vigilantly would attack our President. Shame on every American who thinks this was justified and is not outraged by it. George W. is our president, our representative, the current face of freedom for the world. This is a terrible action. In the same vain, considering the circumstances, it is awesome to have a president that can avoid shoes being hurled at him. And if you did not notice the sorry secret servicemen, it is also impressive to see that he did not need those slow reacting men to coddle him after the incident. He took it in stride and made light of it. Due to all of these facts, I am prouder of President Bush that I have been in a while. Hail the chief!

Google Reader

A couple friends told me about Google Reader about a year ago and I want to share it with the three people who read my blog. Google reader is a phenomenal tool that chops surfing town down exponentially. For instance, if you spend an hour or two just surfing websites, you can cut that time down to 10-15 minutes, while avoiding ads and pop-ups common with many websites. Google Reader works like an email account; you login to it and it sends you updates from all of the websites you subscribe to. Anytime there is an update, it is automatically sent to your account. So, if you already have gmail, all you have to do is go to the My Account, click on Reader, and start subscribing to whichever websites or blogs you enjoy (if you don’t have a gmail account, it is free and definitely worth your time). For me it is great, because I can get all the updates I want on the things that interest me.

Here is Google Reader in Plain English: