AliveAndKickN

It should be about the bike

:As someone who went through cancer, and has had family see me through some tough days, I felt compelled to read Lance Armstrong's book "It's not about the bike."  Without ruining it for those who did not read it, the book essentially talks lovingly about how Lance Armstrong's wife got him through his testicular cancer.  Obviously since the book came out, he and his wife separated, and based upon the media, it appears to have been his choice.  Fine.  He does good work with the wristbands and raises money for cancer and other various charities so we can let it go.  I think within the last year or so, he launched a line of bottled sports drinks and bars, etc.  The ads say that if you are tired, consume his stuff, and you will somehow no longer be tired.  Fortunately or unfortunately, since this is America, you are allowed to say whatever you want, as long as it doesn't claim to cure anything.  So, at a time when bottled water is taking a beating in the press for it's impact on the environment, and the cost per ounce, Lance and his financial backers come out with this.  Today's headline was the last straw for me.  Apparently, at a time of drought and hundred degree weather in Texas, 330,000 gallons of water was used at his house, and he wasn't even there.  I guess it was for the grounds. 

I'm constantly telling my kids "just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should."  Again, this is America.   

   

Anyone can be a predator, can't they?

CNN ran an ad this evening from the Darkness to Light organization, essentially targeting youth coaches as potential sexual predators.  As a coach and administrator of multiple soccer teams and programs, I initially took offense.  All of our coaches take necessary certification courses and do background checks.  But then I went to the web site.  The percentages are there.  But what do the hard numbers point to?  Are we talking about coaches, clergy, teachers, relatives?  My off-the-cuff memory has a greater percentage of clergy being in the media as predators, as opposed to coaches.  Check the video and the numbers for yourself.  For a change, I'm still at a loss for words.

What if...My Best Job Function was as a Father?

I've decided to go where few bloggers have dared to go.  Last night I stood in front of an audience of fellow soccer coaches and parents, and announced my idea to help people who maybe can't help themselves as much as we can.  I'm not sure if I said anything coherent, and I'm not sure if the clapping afterward was because my ideas were good or because they were trying to get out in time for the NCAA basketball tournament.  Either way, the "goal" is to raise money for two organizations that use soccer as a medium for helping others - Grassroots Soccer that helps raise AIDS awareness in Africa and Street Soccer USA, an organization in Charlotte that helps the homeless and disenfranchised.  In addition, I've decided to run for town council.  So far, only two of us are running for two seats.  I think the latest CNN poll has me tied for third with Brooke Shields, who hasn't lived in town for years.  I better make sure I don't attend any radical sermons anytime soon. 

I guess I'll find out if any of my rantings has had the desired effect.  Be careful what you ask for.  If I fail, I can always go back to being dad...and work.  My 12 year old thought the attached video was poignant (maybe he didn't use that word, but I like it).  As he gets older, I'll take any input he offers.  Today, he preferred me dropping him off at religious school early, as opposed to stopping at my office to take care of some business first.       

Labels (#6 of many)

My wife and I had the rare opportunity to visit Barnes and Noble for the first time in a long time, as we usually purchase on-line.  But since we were in the area, we stopped in.  Just as I find the aisles in the supermarkets unbalanced, I found BN to be as well.  How many self-help and cookbooks are really necessary?  After finally getting past all of the "for Dummies" and "Idiot Guides," I found books on energy, science, wildlife and gardening in the back near the clearance racks.  I was hoping to find a "Better energy policy for Dummies" guide, or maybe a "Idiots guide to good agricultural stewarship."  Unfortunately, neither of those appear to exist.

This spring, my oldest son is playing soccer for a new coach, as I am taking a backseat to head coaching.  In talking politics with the coach, he proudly proclaimed himself as "conservative as they come."  I honestly don't know what that means and since it was in the middle of the game, I didn't want to discuss or debate, but I was tempted to ask him if he thought that a tree-hugger was a conservative or a liberal.  Conservatives seem to proclaim themselves as the keepers of National Security and of responsible spending.  Tree-Huggers espouse energy efficiency.  Independence from the constraints of foreign oil IS national security.  Reduced energy usage IS smart financially.  I'm guessing that's not what he meant however.

By the way, #s 1 and 2 children haven't stopped nagging me to get more lunchables since my failed experiment last week.  Today they wanted to stop for food on the way home from soccer.  It didn't matter what it was, as long as it wasn't homemade.  In the end, I held my ground, and they were very happy with the chicken piccata and brown rice I made.  #3 child came home from a birthday party today with a great party favor - a flower pot with seeds and kids gardening tools.  Way to go, whoever's birthday it was.  We planted the tomatoes, but we'll hold off on the pumpkins and sunflowers for a while still.   

      

Labels (#5 of many)...Do We Need to be #1?

As the campaign continues, I can't help but notice two directly opposite messages.  Candidates continue to say that the United States is the greatest country in the world.  Then, in the next sentence, they talk about the inferiority of different components of the country - healthcare, education, energy policy, intelligence, military capabilities, consumer advocacy, more.  Europe seems to be ahead of us on quite a few issues.  Maybe that's why we make fun of France and California so much.  Nobody likes a show-off.  With a nation this big and this diverse, is it possible and/or should we expect to be number one in everything?  In the olympics, star athletes are lambasted for losing by tenths of a second in track.  Are we even allowed to say that we're not number one without the fear of being called unpatriotic?  What would happen if a department were to say "we're ok where we are.  No additional money is needed."  Has it ever happened, or is additional money or resources the ultimate goal?  Everyone for themselves, and he who dies with the biggest share of the pie wins! 

Here's my bigger issue than being number one.  We are the most informed, or maybe I shoud say the most mislead.  If we are the most informed, how do we continue to make the same mistakes of the past, even recent past.  If it's broke, why don't we fix it, and actually strive to attain that number one status? 

We can't blame the media alone, as we the consumers are the ones eating it up.             

What if...Ice Cream Makers Governed Us?

With all of the financial talk lately, I took it upon myself to Google the national budget.  I wound up on the Ben and Jerry's web site.  Not a bad place to be, so I grabbed my favorite B&J ice cream, Napolean Dynamite (half Cherry Garcia, half Chocolate Fudge Brownie) and settled in.  In between tablespoonfuls (remember, I don't chew my food), I found some interesting data, which if it's true, could explain some of our shortcomings, both in finance and potentially in wisdom.  According to the pie chart, three fifths of the budget goes towards entitlement programs (debt, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security), which is mandated by law.  The other two fifths is considered discretionary.  Of the discretionary, supposedly $463 billion is spent by the Pentagon for defense, but is not currently accountable to the OIG, and in all likelihood could not pass an audit.  This doesn't even include the cost of the war in Iraq, although I can't imagine we are not paying for that as well.  Compared to the $463 billion spent on the military, somewhat less is spent on the following:

$38 billion for K-12 education, $50 billion for children's health insurance, $13 billion on humanitarian foreign aid (which I believe goes mostly to food companies like ConAgra and Cargill instead of currency that the country could put to better use), and of course a whopping $2 billion on renewable energy research and $8 billion for the EPA. 

With my meager means of research, I don't have the ability to verify these numbers.  Maybe your local congressperson does (hint, hint).  If you didn't catch the first two episodes of John Adams on HBO last night, I think you will find it intriguing.  Imagine starting a revolution of your own, knowing the potential consequences.  Could you do it?       

Are we doing all we can (expect)?

On behalf of my town, I attended the New Jersey Conference of Mayors this morning to discuss the concept of a Greener Garden State.  Up until today, I was expecting most of the conversation to be about the upcoming June utility price increases (12-15% a year for the past 3 years).  Instead however, there was a civil discussion given by a very good panel with a diverse set of views of the same topic.  Aside from "sales pitches" by one panelist and a few members of the audience during Q&A, the topics hit on most of the energy points.  It didn't hit on the tie-in with buying local and/or agriculture, but it did discuss land use (based upon the statistics, apparently we are developing 3x as much land as we need as a population, which creates infrastructure issues, etc).  It really didn't touch on the landfill aspect (although there appears to be several types of energy harnessing techniques for landfill gases) or the political aspect either (which is probably just as well given the reception Governor Corzine's plans have received).  I was surprised to hear that supposedly 70% of commuters to NYC take mass transit.  I learned some new acronyms today - the LULU and NOPEs, and how sometimes their voices take away from the ability to do positive things locally, which is the best was, as efficiencies are typically lost in transit.  On February 18, supposedly the Energy Efficiency Coalition, made up of several prominent city mayors, public utilities, environmental groups, and more will vote to increase the IEEC (International Energy Efficiency Coalition) standards by another 30% over 2006 standards.  Individual mayors are welcome to sign on as well.   

Based upon today's discussion, it appears that the simplest answer is a self-sustaining town/city, where people can walk to and from work and everything else they need.  All of the energy needed will be from wind or solar, and no one will need cars.  My wife doesn't think it will happen anytime soon, but I think she's a NIMBY.

Anyway, a good starting point for anybody/any business is an energy audit (like seeing the doctor if you don't feel well).  Starting hopefully sometime before the summer, a good percentage of the cost of the energy audit will be at no cost to the consumer as part of the Governor's plan.  If you think about it, the savings of $50-80 for an audit is small compared to the amount you can save just by knowing how, but wait if you must.  There are grants and rebates and tax incentives available to those who are trying do projects already.

Of course if you don't want to see the energy auditor, there's always a different doctor, the proctologist.  The cost will come from somewhere eventually.       

 

       

How can I become a mattress professional?

In talking politics with my father-in-law, again, I find my views questioned by the stuff he hears/reads about.  There are rumors going around about the various candidates, including one about Obama's involvement in the assassination of McKinley.  With all of the information out in the blogsphere, what counts as insight and what is hooey?  Some of the blogs out there are being called into question about their angles and their goals.  Do they want to smear or tout a certain product to sell?  Do they want you to think and make decisions on your own?  My goal for Aliveandkickn is to make you think.  Just getting through the day shouldn't be enough. 

I don't claim to be a nutritionist, but I'm of the opinion that food without chemicals or petroleum based processing is usually better for you.  I'm not an engineer, but I'm of the opinion that fewer watts/therms is better for the environment and your wallet.  And since I do have a political science degree, I can give the expert opinion that most people in positions of authority do wish to help others, but sometimes have their own needs/obligations blind them to options. 

Super Tuesday is less than a week away.  If you are in a state that is involved in what many are calling the first "national primary" in history, I urge you to make an informed decision.  Go to an official web site and get the answers direct, and take the information at face value until proven otherwise.

Thank you for my soapbox time.  I need to finish my rebate paperwork, so I can get $50 back on my front-loading energy efficient washing machine.  Then I need to take some baking soda and vinegar to clear a clog in the shower.       

Labels (two of many)...Experience and Decisions

Much of the conversation as we enter 2008 centers around experience and change.  What is experience?  Is it tenure?  Is it the ability to impact and make change to a particular organization relevant (or not) to the field in question?  Is it age/youth overall?  If you think about it, experience may just be another way of saying character and beliefs in decisionmaking.

How can a less-off black elderly man relate to a middle-aged wealthy Jewish man?  How can a rich white elderly cancer patient relate to a muslim youth who feels like a criminal in his own country?  How can an affluent white Christian woman who has always been in the majority relate to anyone dissimilar to them?  How can a small business owner relate to a middle manager in a large corporation?  How can a blue collar worker relate to a corporate CFO, no matter what the race/color/gender?  How can a clergyman relate to a soldier who has seen death in combat?  How can a passionate college student relate to widowed mother with three kids.  The components are interchangeable so you get my point. 

Many say that a political leader who has been in office for dozens of years cannot possibly relate to the every day "Joe" who pounds the pavement, goes home to a family and struggles, only to do the same thing day after day in order to make ends meet.  Hence the reason for pushing term/age limits (average age of Representatives is 55 with a tenure of almost 10 years, Senators average 60 years old with tenure of 12 years on average; both mostly lawyers).  At the same time, the non-participant in the processes cannot relate to those who lead/volunteer/run for political office. 

Realistically, unless or until a person makes a jump from one place/level to another, their views will be from one angle.  And in the end, the ability to show experience could just be the ability to take your history (as brief or as long as it may be), and empathize with those who may be viewing things from a different side of the fence, including some of the experts advising you.

If anyone has a copy of Paul Aronsohn's Op-Ed in the Bergen Record from the end of December, please send it my way.  I lost my copy.      

Labels (one of many)

If someone donates money to help others, he or she is called a philanthropist.  If someone uses policy to help others or to level the playing field, he or she is called a bleeding heart liberal.  Who gives more, liberals or conservatives?  And are "selfish motivations" subject to scrutiny or should we just take donations at face value?  As I am writing this, my doorbell has rund and ironically, it is a group of people going door to door on behalf of "Awake".  It talks about saving the environment, helping developing nations, and family values, etc, but obviously there is a religious overtone.  Does the end justify the means? 

One of the newest labels is the Grassroots Activist.  I believe the definition entails a person who supports local initiatives.  It could be as simple as discussing with Alex at A&P a transition from the vending machines from the entrance, as the space could be used for better purposes (reducing landfill, avoiding HFCS) to something more aggressive, such as lobbying for organic only food in the schools.  Maybe it could include campaigning on behalf of a candidate who doesn't have a ton of money, or creating a fund to sponsor a lesser know set of charitable organizations.  Colleges have started a competition called recyclemania.  With the amount of kids in sports leagues in the area, I'm sure there a number of programs that can be initiated for the betterment of the community.