Microsoft has so many good ideas!

I wonder where they get them...

the video below might give a hint:



Why does that look so very familiar?

It really is a genius business move on Microsoft's part. It's worked for nearly 30 years!

Why Gov't cannot create jobs

This short linked article helps debunk the fallacy that "the government creates jobs".

In short, when a government spends $3 billion to "create jobs", that money is being pulled from somewhere else. Governments don't simply have money of their own.

Living missionally

Jonathan Dodson's post on Simplified Missional Living has 9 short and sweet ideas to get out into the world and into people's lives so that we can share the gospel with those around us. I know for me, the wakeup call that I have too many Christian friends around me and not enough opportunity to share the good news of Christ's redemption rings all too clear...

Check it out!

Dear Congress: please stop

A Letter to Congress:

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 you have had 234 years to get it right; it is broke.

Social Security was established in 1935 you have had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 you have had 71 years to get it right; it is broke.

The "War on Poverty" started in 1964 you have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked and our entire country is broke.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - you've had 44 years to get it right; they are broke.

Freddie Mac was established in 1970 you have had 39 years to get it right; it is broke.

Trillions of dollars were spent in the massive political payoffs called TARP, the "Stimulus", the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009... none show any signs of working, although ACORN appears to have found a new source: the American taxpayer.

And finally, to set a new record:

"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in six weeks! It took cars (that were the best some people could afford) and replaced them with high-priced and less-affordable cars, mostly Japanese. A good percentage of the profits went out of the country. And the American taxpayers take the hit for Congress' generosity in burning three billion more of our dollars on failed experiments.

So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that "services" you shove down our throats are failing faster and faster, you want Americans to believe you can be trusted with a government-run health care system? That's 20% of our entire economy! With all due respect, are you crazy?

A better way to manage

Sirlin, a blogger, posts on how Flashbang Studios changed up their management style to pump out their product (video games) at a much faster than normal rate. Below is an excerpt:

"The first part of their theory is that we really only get about 2 hours of seriously focused, amazing-quality work per day--if we're lucky. Maybe you can get 2.5 or 3 sometimes, but that's pushing it. There are so many distractions and blockers, so many times when you're too tired or hungry or upset about something, or whatever. Flashbang is saying just be real here: accept that you're only going to be able to do amazing work for a short time each day. Knowledge work as it's called, is the type of thing where you could spend 20 hours on a problem and not solve it, but just *one* hour of your fully charged genius-time could solve it.

"Ok, so how do we make sure we get that super-charged-time each day? And how do we maybe get a little bit more of it than usual? Flashbang's answer is that the WORST thing you could do is work really long hours as is common in so many game companies. If you're spending all your time at work, tired, fatigued, probably malnourished, how are you going to have any of that time be the amazing 2 hours? Factor in that you probably had no time for laundry, a haircut, your dentist appointment, or your relationships, and it sounds like you're going to be pretty miserable. Do you think being miserable is a good way to increase the number of super-productive hours you have?

"Flashbang tried an experiment. For two weeks, they REDUCED their work hours to 10am to 3:30 pm. The idea is that everyone knew they had only limited time to get things done, and they had plenty of time to live a good life outside of work. At first, they actually kicked people out at 3:30 and turned off the power to make sure people left and didn't stay out of some strange guilt. They measured (though didn't give the details) their productivity before and after this change. If it turned out they got less work done than usual during that 2 weeks, they would cancel the plan and go back to regular work hours. The thing is, they found that productivity really did go up. They kept these reduced work hours for the rest of their projects. It's more informal now and sometimes people do stay longer, but they said 'if we're still at work and it's time for dinner, we usually say "hey, that's pretty weird! This is like crunch-mode day!" ' "

New fee for paying cards in full & on time (!)

"Starting next year, Bank of America will charge a small number of customers an annual fee, ranging from $29 to $99. The bank has characterized the fee as experimental. But card holders who have never carried a balance or paid late fees could be among those affected.

"Citigroup, meanwhile, has started charging annual fees to card holders who don't put more than a specific amount on their cards, typically $2,400 a year. Other banks are charging inactivity fees if customers don't use their credit cards during a specific period of time. You heard that right: You could be spanked for staying out of debt."

Read more of this USA Today article by Sandra Block.

Michael Moore: almost a Libertarian

Here is an excerpt of an article explaining why Michael Moore's movie targeting the ambiguous "capitalism" is missing the mark. Quite interesting, I think.

"Had he called his movie State Capitalism: A Love Story, I might be applauding (with some reservations). But he’s targeting the more ambiguous “capitalism,” which he uses interchangeably with “the free market.” He can be forgiven for this, however. Most people would say that the current U.S. economic system is capitalist. Moore has probably heard that all his life. He’d hear if he watched a Fox financial program. Would Ben Stein or Lawrence Kudlow disagree? Moore has also heard Republican politicians, George W. Bush, for example, praise the existing system, with all its deep government interventions, as capitalist. He did this even as he and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, former chief of Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs, stampeded Congress into passing the $700 billion TARP bailout last year. Moore takes such people at their word: The free market is capitalism, and capitalism is what we have today.

"Can we blame him for thinking this way?

"Yes, it’s sloppy thinking, and had he been more curious and read beyond the confines of “Progressive” literature, he could have gotten the straight story. But many knowledgeable advocates of the free market contribute to the confusion by exhibiting what Kevin Carson calls “vulgar libertarianism,” or what Roderick Long describes as “the tendency to treat the case for the free market as though it justified various unlovely features of actually existing corporatist society.” How often have you heard a free-market advocate condemn pro-business intervention in one breath, then defend existing dominant corporations in the next — as though they did not arise in the interventionist environment just condemned? Pro-market is not the same as pro-business. If some market advocates don’t understand that, why should Moore? Vulgar libertarianism is a disconnect that makes the free-market philosophy look like a corporate apologetic. It’s done incalculable damage to the cause of freedom, in part by alienating potential allies. Who knows, maybe even Michael Moore."

Click for more on why Michael Moore should be finding a different answer for the same problems many people agree with him on.

One reason I moved to Utah

Here's a cute little graphic on unemployment data in the U.S. from 2007 to the present. I suppose I should have chosen Nebraska or North Dakata if I really wanted a job, but my lovely bride and I had a bunch of friends here in Utah...

Amazon.com wishlists

Christmas presents and me have always had a love-hate relationship. Most years I can remember, siblings would ask what I wanted for Christmas, and I would tell my family "don't bother getting me anything, cuz I'm not getting you anything!" and just wish to be done with it. Invariably, my sisters would tell me that they are getting me something anyway, and December 22nd or 23rd, I would rush to the stores feeling bad, and go get them something anyway. Oh, what an annoyance!

My theory behind this is that the whole obligatory gift giving thing is horrifically stupid. I mean, I love seeing something in the middle of August that my buddy Todd would like and just buying it for him. None of this saving it until December. Not hoping I remember it for his birthday in April. Just buying it for him and giving it to him because he's my friend and I love him! That's what gift giving should really be about. To hell with gift giving tradition! I'm sooooo over it. Kjierstiana. But, the feelings of obligation even creep into my heart come December 23rd when I would know that my siblings got something for me and I hadn't reciprocated, so I would rush to get something for them too.

Well, a couple years ago, thanks to Louis, I discovered Amazon.com has a wishlist feature. Sure, tons of websites have this feature, but Amazon not only sells nearly anything you can imagine, but they also have this "universal wishlist" that allows you to add things to your wishlist that they don't even sell. This was perfect! I am able to add anything and everything that I want from the internets onto a single wishlist, and whenever somebody wonders "what does David want?" they can go search for me on Amazon and find out.

It doesn't fix the absurdity of obligatory gift giving, but it sure is helpful if you want to play along...

Women should study theology too

one Lisa Robinson has some good things to say about why women need to study theology. Here is an excerpt:

"I have a confession to make. I am not fond of women’s ministry programs. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sisters in Christ and enjoy fellowshipping with them. But programs that involve some type of teaching, such as workshops or conferences, generally don’t appeal to me. Why? In my experience, gatherings to hear teaching have been little more than encouragement sessions to make us feel better about being “God’s women”. Unfortunately, I find the same thing on women’s blogs, even ones that have been advertised as a place for serious thinkers. There are a few exceptions, but generally, I find them lacking in rich theological substance.

"Now I will be the first to admit, that women are more geared emotionally. Generally, and of course there are exceptions. We seem to need some type of emotional connection to things to extract value. Therefore, the tendency will be to look for some type of emotional appeasement when it comes to Christian education. That is not to say that there is not Biblically based teaching or even, expository or inductive teaching. But it has to feel good for us, if we’re honest.

"This is precisely why I think women should study theology. Instruction in theology proper will force an objectivity that I think might be not otherwise be present, as Christian women strive to grow in their Christian walk. Theology will provoke us to evaluate how we think about God, His plan and our Christian faith. Charles Ryrie indicates that theology is how we think about God. In this way, everyone is a theologian. So studying theology should challenge us to examine how we are even approaching the Bible. What is our hermeneutic, historical-grammatical-canonical or reader response subjectivism? Are we studying the Bible to make ourselves feel better or studying to understand the revelation of God? A study in theology should pry us from the former, while clarifying the latter. Moreover, it will encourage us to examine the presuppositions that we bring into reading the Bible and reduce responses to seemingly affronts to womanhood or our sensibilities."

The "Right" to Medical Care

"The “right to medical care” is seductive. People not accustomed to dissecting political discourse will think of the benefits of having their medical services provided “free” or at a guaranteed affordable price. More sophisticated people may see the proposal as a giant insurance system and feel that there can be no danger in it. If all citizens pay and all have access to care when they need it, what could be wrong?

"Well, a lot could be wrong. Let’s start with something basic: for a right to be genuine, it has to be capable of being exercised without anyone’s affirmative cooperation. The full exercise of my right of self-ownership requires you to do nothing except refrain from killing or assaulting me. The full exercise of my property rights requires you to do nothing except refrain from taking what is mine. You have no positive, enforceable obligations to me, apart from any you accept through contract.

"That principle of nonobligation is an excellent test to which we can submit any proffered right. How does the right to medical care hold up? Leaving out self-treatment, it is difficult to see how there can be such a right. Medical care, unlike air, is not found superabundant in nature. It is produced by someone who spends resources to acquire expertise and education. It requires the use of instruments and drugs, which have to be manufactured by someone. Who is to provide these things? Does the provider have any choice in the matter? What if he refuses? Should he be forced? If so, how shall we distinguish that person from an indentured servant or slave?

"Since the “right to medical care” requires an affirmative obligation, it fails the rights test. Put simply, that “right” cannot coexist with the right to be left alone.Implementation of the “right” does not typically entail forcing doctors, nurses, and manufacturers of medical instruments and pharmaceuticals to provide their services at gunpoint. So what I have said above may not seem germane. But it is, because although providers are not compelled, the taxpayers are. Taxation is somewhat less egregious than conscription, but it is still compulsion. Appropriating people’s earnings is tantamount to appropriating their time and labor. Since the compulsion of taxation is spread across large numbers of people, it is less noticeable than the conscription of medical personnel. But it doesn’t fundamentally change what’s going on."

Read more of this excellent article on the right to medical care written by Sheldon Richman (over a decade ago).

eucharisteō

In Luke 17:16, the one thankful leper that Jesus cleansed (Samaritan, no less), fell at Jesus' feet, giving Him thanks. Elsewhere in the New Testament, such giving of thanks (Gk. eucharisteō) is always directed to God (in every one of the 37 other occurrences of this verb).

Jesus is God.

In Luke 17:19, Jesus tells the Samaritan that his faith has made him well. The Greek literally means the Samaritan's faith has saved him (as in 7:50, 8:48, 18:42).

The Samaritan leper found more than a mere physical healing that day... he found spiritual healing via his faith [in Jesus]!

Updates and photos...

Friends, many of you know I have married and moved to Utah. Pictures have been posted of our wedding, honeymoon, and new apartment on my MobileMe picture gallery for your viewing pleasure. One of the albums is set up specifically for you to upload your own pictures of our wedding, so please add to the fun!

Also, our wedding photographers have gotten their pictures up as well! You can browse the artistic genius of Mathieu Photography and purchase whatever you'd like directly from them. THey did an incredible job! Some of the fun ones are available at the Mathieu Photography blog as well.

on migraines

Some of you may know that I've been in the habit of getting migraines for the last twenty years. I've never quite known where they come from, though one learns dozens of things that can trigger them over that much time. I had learned much about which medicines worked when, what different kinds of headaches felt like, and which medicines would often apply to which types of pain. This never changed the fact that certain headaches were out of reach of every drug I tried.

Finally, when I was 23, I went to the doctor and asked him to fix me. I learned that these headache problems are often hereditary, and that I got it from "both barrels" as he put it. He ended up prescribing me a daily drug called Topamax, and an 'emergency' drug called Maxalt, that knocked out the really bad headaches that regular ibuprofen, sudafed, tylenol, etc. couldn't touch. He also told me I had to stay away from caffeine. I was quite amazed, since Excedrine Migraine has caffeine in it. I learned that, though caffeine often fixes headaches temporarily, when it wears off it jumpstarts another headache.

That Maxalt drug I was on, by the way, is put out by Merck. It was $168 for 9 pills. Seriously. While I would gladly pay $20 to get rid of some of those bad headaches, I would also gladly pay less! Merck has a patent on it, and the doctor told me a generic wasn't available. I thought that was just too odd to be true. So, to the internet I turned.

After doing some research, I found out Maxalt has a generic form, just not in the U.S. Apparently, it's called Rizatriptan, and you can obtain it by buying from an online source. After much research I decided to try PharmacyEscrow.com. I was a bit worried, but it was nice to know I found them, they didn't find me by spamming my email box. I placed a bulk order for Maxalt, choosing to go through the company with the cheapest supplies. I figured I would know if the drug worked or not the first time I got a headache.

The shipping took a long time, but that's really U.S. customs for you. I got my medicine in about 3 weeks. The next time I got a killer headache, I took one of these pills that came via India or Australia (I can't remember now). It worked! And it was less than half the price! I was very impressed.

Now, I use PharmacyEscrow.com to purchase all my recurring prescription medicines. They are less expensive, and as long as you plan ahead for when you'll run out, you're good to go.

Never on Sundays

This Nightline clip discusses how biblical principles have made Chick-Fil-A a success.

Never on Sundays

For the record, Sabre Compliance Services also doesn't work on Sundays, among other biblical principles...