Another Draft in the books

After giving my last post proper respect in regards to length on the top spot of the blog, we will turn our attention to a little draft recap and a long story about school.

The Bears did OK this weekend, I like a couple of the picks, but cannot understand how we failed to draft a quarterback. It could be worse, we could be the Bengals, who clearly have no idea how to run a draft.

Now to the school story. Upon trying to get my application packet together for the CPA exam something didn't look right on the transcripts. According to my calculations there were not enough graduate accounting courses in the Indiana Wesleyan program to allow me to sit for the Ohio CPA Exam. To make a long story short, I was right. I have to take one more class to be able to sit for the exam. After deliberation with Bon and looking at some different options, we have decided I will take the class in the fall, when I can be fully reimbursed for it by the Enquirer. Yeah it sucks cause the baby will just be getting here, but it is one night a week for ten weeks. This sets me up to spend 2009 focusing on knocking this out.

Apparently I was the first to go through this program and attempt to sit for the Ohio CPA exam.

"Always the guinea pig, never the guinea." (Screech, Saved by the Bell)

Heat will Expire?

I think everyone knows how much we love 4 Corners and Ben's messages. But there are still certain Sundays that move us beyond a normal conversation on the drive home and cause us to keep reflecting on it for days, this past Sunday was one of those days.

In my daily "business" it is very easy to forget that one day I am going to die.

Bonnie, Reese, and everyone I love is going to die someday.

There is no getting around it.

Ben was amazing in describing what the Bible says about that moment when each of us leave this life. You cannot hear a message like this and not think about your own eternal destination, and that of your loved ones.

Obviously if you check out Heat Stadium, you are a friend or family member of ours. I would like to ask you to PLEASE find 35 minutes in your day to watch and ponder what Ben had to say on Sunday.

I pray that 4 Corners keeps cranking out thought provoking messages which can change lives.


11:59: Hell from Greg Hodges on Vimeo.

Weekly Tirade

Time for a dual-partisan political rant, please review the two positions below and then see my opinion after:

• Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year's tax data to deliver the credit when tuition is due.
  

PITTSBURGH — John McCain called Tuesday for the federal government to free people from paying gasoline taxes this summer and ensure that college students can secure loans this fall, proposals aimed at stemming the public’s pain now from the troubled economy.

In the longer-term, the certain Republican presidential nominee said he would double the tax exemption for dependent children and offer people the option of choosing a simpler tax system.

“We know from experience that no serious reform of the current tax code will come out of Congress, so now it is time to turn the decision over to the people,” McCain said in a sweeping economic speech at Carnegie Mellon University a week before Pennsylvania’s primaries.

To help people weather the downturn immediately, McCain urged Congress to institute a “gas-tax holiday” by suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. He also renewed his call for the United States to stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and thus lessen to some extent the worldwide demand for oil.

Combined, he said, the two proposals would reduce gas prices, which would have a trickle-down effect, and “help to spread relief across the American economy.”

Now, while these both sound like decent ideas on the surface, I believe they are merely empty campaign promises, let me explain. If I am the President of a university, or CEO of Exxon, I know that the market has dictated a certain price for my goods/services. I can raise tuition/gas prices instantly to make-up the difference of these government subsidies. Which means, I make a lot more Benjamins, Obama and Juan McCain gain some political approval, and the American people gain nothing. In fact, we prob get our taxes raised to pay for this crap! Yeah...

Do not get me wrong, I am all about capitalism, and if Exxon can make $30 Million in a quarter, rock on, do your thing, but I get a little bent when politicians use smoke and mirrors to appease the masses, when the truth is that it will not change one thing in our daily lives.

Great Article!

Well worth the read:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120787271551406585.html?mod=hpp_us_inside_today

Ready for the weekend

Ok, here is the funny story from the move. (Btw, if you google basin images, this is what comes up, so...)

As Slim and I are loading a few things in the truck and bopping thru the house, Beth asked us to get the "antique wash basin" upstairs.

Slim and I head upstairs, look around, and I see what I call a basin in the floor. Slim and I look at each other and say, "well it doesn't really look like an antique, but ok." So it gets loaded on the truck, without Beth seeing us.

So she calls Bon later that day and says, "Hey I just noticed the guys forgot the antique wash basin." Bon says, "Jeremy said they got it, that's odd".

After some Laurel and Hardy type conversations we came to realize that Slim and I had carried off the new sink for Beth's soon to be remodeled bathroom. We were right, it was not an antique...

Other random thoughts

• Props to the Godfather for hooking me into a new role as Treasurer for the Chrysalis Board. Last night was my first official meeting, and I think I am really going to enjoy it
• I have my first mortgage lead, let the fun begin
• We have picked a girl's name, and are now set either way
• Eric Rockavella has every reason to not like me much right now, I hit his car and tried to hit his face in softball batting practice
• We scored a recliner and fridge for the basement as a result of the move
• I found another Glenn Beck follower this morning at breakfast, I knew I liked you Brad

Hitting some yard work this weekend, keep it real

About time!

ConocoPhillips, BP propose Alaska pipeline

Last updated April 8, 2008 9:20 p.m. PT

By KRISTEN HAYS
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

The concept of a multibillion-dollar pipeline to bring huge natural gas reserves to U.S. markets from Alaska's North Slope has been knocked around for more than 30 years. ConocoPhillips and BP said Tuesday that they have linked arms to make it happen.

"The time has come now with the value of gas increasing and the need in the United States for that valuable commodity to bring that gas to market," said Jim Bowles, president of ConocoPhillips' Alaska division.

The companies would build a pipeline from Alaska to Alberta and possibly into the Lower 48 states.

What's more, they bypassed an Alaska bidding process, eschewing state incentives and putting forth their own plan to lock in customers, gain approvals from U.S. and Canadian governments and build the pipeline.

"We're not asking for anything," Bowles said in Anchorage. "This project is moving forward on its own."

Gov. Sarah Palin, who championed last year's bidding under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, wasn't insulted. If it means a viable project will get moving, all the better, she said shortly after the companies unveiled their plan.

"Choices allow for competition between projects," said Palin, who discussed the venture with the companies before they announced it. "If it can result in finally more exploration and more development that is safe and sound, at the end of the day, that is all good."

The pipeline, with a cost estimated at $25 billion to $42 billion, would be the largest-ever private sector construction project in North America, ConocoPhillips said.

The Houston-based oil giant and London-based BP aim to spend $600 million to solicit customers to make long-term commitments to use the pipeline. That process, called an "open season," would occur in late 2010 and early 2011.

After that, they would seek approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and its counterpart in Canada, the National Energy Board, before starting construction.

Meanwhile, they will open a headquarters in Anchorage that will employ 150 by the end of the year. Eventually, the project will have 500 workers plus "several thousand contractors," said Doug Suttles, president of BP's Alaska division.

"We are starting now. We're off," Suttles said.

The only proposal of five in the Alaska bidding process that was chosen for further review by Palin's administration was from Calgary-based pipeline giant TransCanada.

That plan is for a 48-inch pipeline to run 1,700 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Alberta, where it would tie into existing pipelines to reach U.S. markets. TransCanada estimated a cost of $26 billion to $35 billion.

The ConocoPhillips/BP plan calls for a similar route.

Tony Palmer, a TransCanada vice president, said Tuesday he supports "alignment" with ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, BP, the state of Alaska and his company.

A project to bring the North Slope's natural gas to market in the U.S. has been discussed since crude oil started flowing from the $8 billion Trans-Alaska Pipeline in Prudhoe Bay in 1977. The Energy Department says the North Slope has proven gas reserves of 35 trillion cubic feet, but geologists say as much as 200 trillion cubic feet remains undiscovered.

Whirlwind Adventure

(For those of you who are not aware, Jason and I flew to Tyler, Texas and drove a 26 foot Penske truck back to the Nati this past weekend)

Alright, now that I have recovered from sleep deprivation, here are the stories from the whirlwind adventure:

Jase and I began with a one hour delay in Dayton, that rolled into a four and a half hour delay at the Atlanta airport. We finally left the ground at 12:30am, landing in Dallas at 3am. This put us at Beth's house at 4:30am.

So, at that point the decision was made to just go ahead and start cranking, I mean how much good is one hour of sleep going to do?

So we started loading things up and somehow caught our second wind. The moving truck rolled down her street at 11am, headed to Cincinnati.

We made it all the way to Jackson, TN, when darkness settled in. This was the clear indicator to call it quits for the day, we were working on 40+ hours without sleep.

Needless to say, it did not take long to get to sleep once the hotel was secured.

Up and at 'em early we left Jackson at 6am Sunday morning. After a couple of hours we rolled thru Nashville. It was a little surreal, I had not been back since we moved two years ago.

Pretty uneventful ride, brought us back home just after 1pm Sunday afternoon. It was so good to see Bon and Reese again, they are sunshine of my life.

Thankfully we had 4 studs waiting to help on the back end and helped us unload in about 35 minutes at the storage facility! Big props to T-Bone, Godfather, Miley, and Engel, thanks guys!

Thanks and appreciation are not strong enough words to give proper kudos to Jase. He was awesome, a soldier the whole way thru, I could not have done it without him! The original Slim Shady, you rock!

I am back to normal today, well, normal for me. Check back in a couple of days for a funny story from the move...

Peace out

I got this e-mail as we passed thru Hope, AR, coincidence?

Dear Skybus Customer:

We regret to inform you that Skybus Airlines will cease all operations effective 12:00 a.m. Saturday, April 5. As a result, your Skybus flight has been cancelled.

Skybus will not be processing refunds directly. To arrange for a refund on your reservation, please contact your credit card company directly. If you purchased flight insurance for your reservation, please refer to your insurance confirmation from AIG for information on filing a claim.

Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier.

We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on our customers, as well as our employees and their families, vendors, suppliers, airport officials and others in the cities in which we have operated. Our financial condition is such that our Board of Directors felt it had no choice but to cease operations.

More information will be made available on the Skybus web site (www.skybus.com).

Biopsy

I finally have scheduled my muscle biopsy.

Here is the background:

My maternal grandfather passed away over 30 years ago unexpectantly while in the recovery room following routine surgery. After some investigating it was determined he had a disorder known as Malignant Hyperthermia, which is basically a deadly allergic reaction to anesthetic.

This condition is hereditary and we were all tested as kids almost 20 years ago. The initial test is a standard blood test, and the results showed that Mom and Jum were positive, Jase and I were negative. However, it is possible to carry a false negative. The only true way to test is to have a muscle biopsy done at an approved hospital with the proper testing instruments.

Thus, Jase and I are having these tests done at Wake Forest Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. We want to know for sure so we can proceed accordingly for our girls, and future children. Amazingly, none of us have ever needed surgery, and thankfully they have actually developed a safe anesthetic to use if they are made aware of the condition in advance.

So they will be taking a 3 inch cut of muscle from my left thigh and testing it, and will be able to give me the results within an hour after the procedure.

One bummer in all this is that we cannot have it done at the same time, so we must go separately.

Please keep our families in your prayers as we prepare to work thru this process.

Peace out

WebMD describes it as follows:

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder in which affected individuals are susceptible to adverse reactions to certain anesthetic drugs.

The characteristics of a malignant hyperthermia episode are variable and include muscle rigidity, high blood pressure, increased levels of carbon monoxide in blood or exhaled gas, rapid irregular heart rate, rapid deep breathing, blue skin, acidity of the blood and muscle damage. Body temperature can rise rapidly, but sometimes only occurs late in an episode.

When an episode is not recognized and treated, internal bleeding, brain damage, skeletal muscle degeneration (rhabdomyolysis), and kidney and heart failure can result.

Back to School

Congrats to my Momma, who started college yesterday, we are so proud of her. As Jum and I were reflecting on the phone a couple of days ago, we both kept reverting back to this movie clip in our minds:



Way to go Momma!

And congrats to the Tribe on their Opening Day victory!