Alumni Game

Last weekend I participated in my Alumni soccer game at my old undergrad. I was excited and surprised to see that many of my former teammates were able to make it. It felt like old times for all the right reasons. The cleats may have been new, but the attitudes were not.

Although the current team has some speed and weeks of training on their side, the Alumni controlled most of the play to win 5-2. The current team had some things to learn.

The fact we have a former All-American on our side probably didn't help or the fact that most of the Alumni players are athletic twenty-some year olds, but our touch was off at first and our speed wasn't extraordinary. Some say the older you get, the smarter you play and I think that fact was part of the reason. Maybe it was because it was the last day of try-outs for the current players and nerves, soreness and selfishness took over. It could have been our height advantage or our experience in playing in national tournaments.

In fact, there were probably a million factors at play, but what I heard after the win from one of my teammates summed it up: “That felt good.”

“Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete.” - William Shoemaker

Taxes: Food for Thought

In my Public Finance class tonight we focused on the Income Tax (whether it should be replaced) and the Capital Gains Tax (whether it should be eliminated). Realistically we know each one will not be eliminated, if anything only renamed...but one could hope.

Some of the population would like to replace the income tax with a variation of the flat or fair tax, but the grass is always greener on the other side. Each type has their own issues and I'm positive neither would improve the current tax situation. The new reform would have to be revenue neutral.

The capital gains tax can be viewed as a tax on economic growth or a tax to control the conspiracy among corporate and political goliaths. Many agreed that taxing the wealthy would probably solve most of our problems, especially since most of the asset and stock holders are the weathly (which isn't true as the middle class would probably hurt the most), so why not just increase it? I'm not sold on the idea that I would increase the CGT - or rather increase it permanently.

After the debate, the professor gave us food for thought instead. He made three excellent points (whether you agree or disagree, they will make you think):

1. There are two schools of thought he said: One either looks at the rich and wishes he/she could be wealthy like that one day; or looks at the rich and hopes they are like me one day. To keep taxing the wealthy would stagnate most of the economy while the rest would find ways to avoid paying the taxes and would defeat the purpose anyways. When the wealthy succeed (Bill Gates - Microsoft - computer boom of the 90s or the decline of the boating economy after the boat tax supposedly imposed just on the rich), the economy succeeds, so why insist on taxing them to the extremes?
   
2. We can all agree on one subject about taxes and that is the Laffer Curve. One of the simplest concepts in economics. When a person pays 0% taxes, they are not earning income. When a person pays 100% in taxes, they will substitute work for leisure and will again not be employed (at least not legally). Many will agree there is an optimal level of taxes for the economy that will (keeping all other things equal, of course - this is economics after all) by reducing its taxes will increase its revenue.
3. Taxes are imposed for two reasons: income and control (discourage/encourage behaviors).
   

Traditional Female Roles

Over the weekend, I read a book entitled: Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types That Determine How We Live, Love and Work by Otto Kroeger & Janet M. Thuesen. I shared Chapter 2: "What's Your Type?" with my family. Two members matched their Personality Type description perfectly and were amazed with the insightful profile that defined them. The others fall so far in between the eight categories that multiple types defined bits and pieces of who they are.

Personally, I was disappointed - not because I fall in between categories, but because of how the authors viewed gender roles. Of the eight personality types that are Thinkers, all 8 are more acceptable as a males in society. Females are viewed as "out of step with the mainstream" and are "not readily associated with women in our society." My favorite was for the category dubbed "Life's Natural Leaders":
"Gender issues are especially significant for ENTJ females. As a type, their arrogant, confrontational manner and need for control can appear to be quite 'unwomanly' to others. Efforts by parents and others to mold them into more traditional female images are usually met with rebellion. Other women usually resent the arrogance of ENTJ females and can feel 'talked down to.' As a result, an ENTJ female may unwittingly find herself to be a loner, something particularly difficult for Extraverts."
Those words are harsh for the women that fall particularly into that category. As I mentioned my personality overlaps multiple types, but I happen to be an ET - Extraverted Thinker - that is typically a male personality.

Let me re-state: I'm not disappointed with the authors' blunt viewpoint; but rather, I'm disappointed that I fall into the typically male personality category. Why is it that males dominate the Thinker category? Is it a natural-way-of-life explanation? Or are females taught to expend their energy other ways? Could it be that a female hasn't been elected president, because there are more men in the leader category? Or is it a gender issue that hasn't been resolved?

Bill Brandt

“We look at a thing and believe we have seen it. And yet what we see is often only what our past experiences tell us should be seen, or what our desires want to see. Very rarely are we able to free our minds of thoughts and emotions and just see for the simple pleasure of seeing. And so log as we fail to do this, so long will the essence of things be hidden from us.”

"I consider it essential that the photographer should do his own printing and enlarging. The final effect of the finished print depends so much on these operations, and only the photographer himself knows the effect he wants."

Soccer

1. Work ethic

• No explanation necessary.
  

2. Desire

• Like it, love it, want some more of it.
  

3. Common Sense

• There are some concepts and skills that cannot be taught, but stem from common sense, as all areas of life.
  

4. Geometry

• It is all about the angles for passing, on defense and off the ball movement. Without understanding the basic concepts visually, the game will be played sloppily.
  

5. Team synergy

• There should be fluid motion across the field. Defense to forwards should move across the field as one team. Opening up on offense and condensing on defense.

6. Endurance

• Long runs as well as ladders will help on the field. Training varies from outdoor to indoor seasons.

7. Anticipation

• Anticipate runs, a ball played forward or a 50-50 ball.

8. Be prepared

• This is a coachless game. There are no timeouts or a novel-long play book to memorize. It is 45 minutes of non-stop play.

9. Persistance

• One goal could make or break you. Don't let this slow your momentum.
  

Pretty Girl

This is the most behaved she ever is. Being half black lab and half bulldog, this puppy keeps us on our toes. Fifty pounds of pure muscle, she isn't easy to walk especially with a squirrel or bird nearby. Her favorite things are food, chewing sticks and being jealous of her two favorite dogs. Stubborn maybe, beautiful, yes. Everywhere we go, people comment on our pretty girl.

Red Dirt Road

I was raised off of Route Three,
Out where the blacktop ends.
We'd walk to Church on Sunday mornings,
Race barefoot back to Johnson's fence.
That's where I first saw Mary,
On that roadside pickin' blackberries.
That summer I turned a corner in my soul,
Down that red dirt road.

It's where I drank my first beer.
It's where I found Jesus.
Where I wrecked my first car:
I tore it all to pieces.
I learned the path to Heaven,
Is full of sinners an' believers.
Learned that happiness on earth,
Ain't just for high achievers.
I've learned; I come to know,
There's life at both ends,
Of that red dirt road.

Her Daddy didn't like me much,
In my shackled up GTO.
Oh, I'd sneak out in the middle of the night,
Throw rocks at her bedroom window.
We'd turn out the headlights,
Drive by the moonlight.
Talk about what the future might hold,
Down that red dirt road.

It's where I drank my first beer.
It's where I found Jesus.
Where I wrecked my first car:
I tore it all to pieces.
I learned the path to Heaven,
Is full of sinners an' believers.
Learned that happiness on earth,
Ain't just for high achievers.
I've learned; I come to know,
There's life at both ends,
Of that red dirt road.

I went out into the world,
An' I came back in.
I lost Mary:
Oh, I got her back again.
An' drivin' home tonight,
Feels like I've found a long-lost friend.

It's where I drank my first beer.
It's where I found Jesus.
Where I wrecked my first car:
I tore it all to pieces.
I learned the path to Heaven,
Is full of sinners an' believers.
Learned that happiness on earth,
Ain't just for high achievers.
I've learned; I come to know,
There's life at both ends,
Of that red dirt road.

Artist/Band: Brooks And Dunn
Lyrics for Song: Red Dirt Road
Lyrics for Album: Greatest Hits Collection 2

Much Madness Is Divinest Sense

Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924.

Part One: Life XI

MUCH madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
’T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails.	5
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur,—you ’re straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.

Health Care

Since the early 1990s, health care expenditures in the United States have risen dramatically; in fewer than 15 years, the cost of providing health care in the United States more than doubled. Employers are struggling with the rising of health care cost are implementing the shift of costs and responsibility to the consumer.

The cost of health insurance rose 7.7 percent in 2006, which is lower that the 9.2 increase for 2005 but still much higher than the overall rate of inflation. By 2014, health care expenditures are expected to comprise nearly 19 percent of GDP, climbing at a rate several times faster than either personal income or inflation. Health care comprises of about 10% in other comparable countries. For example, health care spending accounted for 10.9 percent of the GDP in Switzerland, 10.7 percent in Germany, 9.7 percent in Canada and 9.5 percent in France. This result is not normal and something must be done. The United State’s health care system is out of control.

A Health Savings Account (HSA) might be the answer. A national health insurance will deter quality doctors from entering the field and limit technology. Keeping the medical industry privatized ensures a better medical solution for all. A HSA requires personal responsibility for incurred medical expenses and an educated consumer. Part of the rise in costs is due to using insurance unnecessarily (as well as the threat of lawsuit). Of course, not all costs are the consumers fault, but I think we contribute. Once the learning curve for HSAs is achieved then many embrace the idea - maybe you will too.

---

Inside of me

Inside of me lies a
Beautifully terrible world of paradoxes
Inside me is the past,
Past relationships, loves, friends.
Inside of me is where I bury those deep,
Six feet under.
Inside of me is where I
Stifle the tears, hurts and pains.

Inside of me I strangle and chose on fears.
Inside of me I'm terrified of heights,
Frightened of choking,
Of disappointment.

This I keep inside of me.
To let the inside of me out,
Is to be vulnerable.
Keeping busy helps keep my inside,
Inside of me.

Letting the inside of me visible to the world
Is suicide.

Evolution

Thoughts on evolution from the Editorial Section of the USA Today a number of years ago from a man from Duluth, GA. The article struck me in such a way that I have kept it in my journal for years.

"Logic is defined by my dictionary as 'the science of correct or reliable reasoning.' All we can do to understand the origin of the universe is to reason. No scientist was there to witness or capture the big bang in a beaker. Nor was any devout Christian fundamentalist there to watch God start the process. So we, scientists and fundamentalists, must go at it through logic - reliable reasoning...Logic enables me to be comfortable with the thought of evolution, which was started by a pretty intelligent designer."
Joseph Skillin