I’ve seen some pretty elaborate and cool Rube Goldberg machines, but OK Go takes the cake with this massive, two story machine done in time with their song This Too Shall Pass! I don’t even want to begin thinking how long it took to build this and how many takes it took to get it right…
Two months into the year, time for a check up on my 2010 goals (since I can’t think of anything else to write about at the moment…)
Goal: Increase emergency fund to 3 months of expenses
Category: Financial
Time Frame: End of the year
Status: Right on target!
Grade: A+
Goal: Get to work on time
Category: Personal
Time Frame: Daily
Status: No where close…
Grade: F-
Goal: Perform a Random Act of Kindness at least once a month
Category: Charity/Community
Time Frame: Monthly
Status: So far, so good. RAoKs performed include: cleaning snow off a co-worker’s car anonymously, letting someone in front of me in line at the grocery store and taking donuts to work, anonymously.
Grade: A
Goal: Participate in a 5K/10K
Category: Exercise/Health
Time Frame: End of October
Status: Going to do the Redleg’s 5K with Dan (and hopefully Kristy!), but haven’t started training yet.
Grade: D
Goal: Read a chapter of Proverbs every day
Category: Spiritual
Time Frame: Daily for 6 months
Status: Started off strong, but have slacked through February.
Grade: C-
Goal: Visit Cuyahoga National Park
Category: Travel
Time Frame: End of the year
Status: Have savings for the trip and a potential time frame of Memorial Day weekend
Grade: B
Goal: Read 20 Books, at least 12 of them non-fiction
Category: Hobbies/Leisure
Time Frame: End of the year
Status: 5 down so far, working on 3 more. I’ve picked out 14 of the books I want to read.
Grade: B+
Non-fiction:
- Uprising – Erwin McManus
- Men Are Like Waffles-Women Are Like Spaghetti – Bill and Pam Farrel
- Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
- What the Dog Saw And Other Adventures – Malcolm Gladwell
- Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariely
- Church History in Plain Language – Bruce Shelley
- Love and Respect – Emerson Eggerichs
- The Prodigal God – Tim Keller
For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women – Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn(Finished)How the Mighty Fall – Jim Collins(Finished)Choosing to Cheat – Andy Stanley(Finished)
Fiction:
Goal: Finish painting house
Category: Home Improvement
Time Frame: End of May
Status: Umm, no progress. Maybe warmer weather will motivate me…
Grade: F
Goal: Reach 175 found geocaches
Category: Hobbies/Leisure
Time Frame: End of the year
Status: I’m currently at 147 found geocaches. Planned out another dozen to find as weather/time permits.
Grade: B-
So great to see new videos featuring the Muppets!
Some quick thoughts on the first episode of the final season of LOST…
- Great first episode of the final season! Didn’t get many questions answered, and many more were introduced, but still an action-packed and intense episode!
- I really like the dual threads/alternate reality, a.k.a. flash sideways. Brilliant!
- I wonder if, at the end of the show, the two storylines will collide and each person will have to choose which one they want to stay in.
- No Shannon on the plane. Boone says she said stayed behind in Australia. Turns out that in real life, her busy schedule didn’t allow her to film any scenes and they had to re-write the back story. I thought Boone’s was a lame explanation, though, and didn’t fit with everything else that has happened in the LOST universe, such as certain people needing to be on flights to recreate conditions. The writers could simply have said Shannon was sitting elsewhere, in the bathroom or otherwise led us to believe she was on the plane, even if we didn’t see her.
- Where were Michael and Walt?
- There were several other things that were different with the “rebooted” storyline on Oceanic 815, e.g. Hurley being luckiest man alive, Desmond on the plane, Jack and Rose’s exchange. Were these butterfly effects from the explosion? Wonder what significance, if any, these particular differences have…
- I guess Juliet had to die at the Swan site since there are parallel worlds and she would still be alive back at Dharma land? Couldn’t have Juliet A run into Juliet B… And the Others/Dharma folks still on the island?
- Did Jacob’s last gasp of “They’re coming,” to which Fake Locke (a.k.a Flocke a.k.a the Man in Black a.k.a. Jacob’s Nemesis) seemed worried, reference Jacob’s bodyguards – Illana, Bran and crew? I hope not, because
that wasn’t a challenge for Flocke at all.- LOST probably has one of the largest casts on TV. We have the group from the fuselage, the tail section, the Dharma folks, the Others, the French, the freighter, the Ajira flight, all the folks from the flashbacks/forwards and now the temple dwellers (and those are just what I can think of off the
top of my head).- Seems we now know what kept Richard (and the temple dwellers?) young and what healed young Ben – the spring in the temple.
- Was Jacob the source/influence of the spring’s power, or did he use the spring to keep himself young? Did Flocke kick him into the fire so we couldn’t be brought to the spring to heal?
- Were the risks mentioned by Dagon concerning putting Sayid into the “dirty” spring related to Sayid’s state (almost dead) or the state of the spring (dirty)? If it was the spring, seems that the temple dwellers have experienced this before, or how else would they know the risks?
- Is Jacob now in Sayid’s body?
- Hmm, thinking about Jacob’s conversation with the MiB, and some other factors, there’s a hint of The Matrix in LOST (In The Matrixm, The One keeps appearing over and over until he really is the one and can make changes. In LOST, Jacob keeps bringing people to the island – to make progress – waiting
for them to succeed.)- Richard was in chains…on the Black Rock?? Is there a story of redemption here?
- Where exactly is “home” for Flocke/monster and what’s keeping him from going home? (Jacob can get off the island apparently…)
- Very interesting that in the alternate reality – on the plane – Charlie shouts “I was supposed to die!” He said the same thing on the island.
- What’s the deal with the blood on Jack’s neck in the plane bathroom?
Series finale is scheduled for Sunday, May 23rd. Mark your calendars!
J&D, the creators of Bacon Salt and Baconnaise, now bring us…
Mmmvelopes, bacon-flavored envelopes!
And something else I missed is…
BaconPOP, bacon-flavored popcorn!
Bacon, FTW!
My fellow economics geeks out there might enjoy this – EconStories.tv brings us Fear the Boom and Bust.
In Fear the Boom and Bust, John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek, two of the great economists of the 20th century, come back to life to attend an economics conference on the economic crisis. Before the conference begins, and at the insistence of Lord Keynes, they go out for a night on the town and sing about why there’s a “boom and bust” cycle in modern economies and good reason to fear it.
We’ve been going back and forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No… it’s the animal spirits[Keynes Sings:]
John Maynard Keynes, wrote the book on modern macro
The man you need when the economy’s off track, [whoa]
Depression, recession now your question’s in session
Have a seat and I’ll school you in one simple lessonBOOM, 1929 the big crash
We didn’t bounce back—economy’s in the trash
Persistent unemployment, the result of sticky wages
Waiting for recovery? Seriously? That’s outrageous!I had a real plan any fool can understand
The advice, real simple—boost aggregate demand!
C, I, G, all together gets to Y
Make sure the total’s growing, watch the economy flyWe’ve been going back and forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No… it’s the animal spiritsYou see it’s all about spending, hear the register cha-ching
Circular flow, the dough is everything
So if that flow is getting low, doesn’t matter the reason
We need more government spending, now it’s stimulus seasonSo forget about saving, get it straight out of your head
Like I said, in the long run—we’re all dead
Savings is destruction, that’s the paradox of thrift
Don’t keep money in your pocket, or that growth will never lift…because…
Business is driven by the animal spirits
The bull and the bear, and there’s reason to fear its
Effects on capital investment, income and growth
That’s why the state should fill the gap with stimulus both…The monetary and the fiscal, they’re equally correct
Public works, digging ditches, war has the same effect
Even a broken window helps the glass man have some wealth
The multiplier driving higher the economy’s healthAnd if the Central Bank’s interest rate policy tanks
A liquidity trap, that new money’s stuck in the banks!
Deficits could be the cure, you been looking for
Let the spending soar, now that you know the scoreMy General Theory’s made quite an impression
[a revolution] I transformed the econ profession
You know me, modesty, still I’m taking a bow
Say it loud, say it proud, we’re all Keynesians nowWe’ve been goin’ back n forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Keynes] I made my case, Freddie H
Listen up , Can you hear it?Hayek sings:
I’ll begin in broad strokes, just like my friend Keynes
His theory conceals the mechanics of change,
That simple equation, too much aggregation
Ignores human action and motivationAnd yet it continues as a justification
For bailouts and payoffs by pols with machinations
You provide them with cover to sell us a free lunch
Then all that we’re left with is debt, and a bunchIf you’re living high on that cheap credit hog
Don’t look for cure from the hair of the dog
Real savings come first if you want to invest
The market coordinates time with interestYour focus on spending is pushing on thread
In the long run, my friend, it’s your theory that’s dead
So sorry there, buddy, if that sounds like invective
Prepared to get schooled in my Austrian perspectiveWe’ve been going back and forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No… it’s the animal spiritsThe place you should study isn’t the bust
It’s the boom that should make you feel leery, that’s the thrust
Of my theory, the capital structure is key.
Malinvestments wreck the economyThe boom gets started with an expansion of credit
The Fed sets rates low, are you starting to get it?
That new money is confused for real loanable funds
But it’s just inflation that’s driving the onesWho invest in new projects like housing construction
The boom plants the seeds for its future destruction
The savings aren’t real, consumption’s up too
And the grasping for resources reveals there’s too fewSo the boom turns to bust as the interest rates rise
With the costs of production, price signals were lies
The boom was a binge that’s a matter of fact
Now its devalued capital that makes up the slack.Whether it’s the late twenties or two thousand and five
Booming bad investments, seems like they’d thrive
You must save to invest, don’t use the printing press
Or a bust will surely follow, an economy depressedYour so-called “stimulus” will make things even worse
It’s just more of the same, more incentives perversed
And that credit crunch ain’t a liquidity trap
Just a broke banking system, I’m done, that’s a wrap.We’ve been goin’ back n forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No it’s the animal spirits
For the past 5 years (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and (2009), at the beginning of each year, I’ve set goals for the upcoming year. These have been met with varying degrees of success, but regardless of the past (lack of) results, I still feel this is an important exercise for me (and everyone!) to do. This provides a roadmap, a direction for my future, showing what I deem important and on which areas of my life I want to work and improve.
As I’ve written about in previous years’ posts, I don’t like setting resolutions. Resolutions are a recipe for failure, usually involving changing a behavior immediately, then trying to keep that behavior change over a time period. When a resolution is broken, motivation is quickly lost and the resolution falls to the way side. (The typical resolution lasts through mid-February.) Goals, on the other hand, are something for which you strive to complete, taking baby steps along the way to keep up motivation and to mark progress. Goals are a steady climb towards new behavior and lasting change, not an unrealistic immediate change. For example, imagine how many more people would get into the shape they want if they changed a resolution of “Lose weight by going to the gym every day this year” to a goal of “Lose x pounds this year by: going to the gym with a friend once a week for the first 2 months, then twice a week for the next two months; sign up to walk a 5K in June, etc…”
One of the best ways to create and follow through on goals is to make them S.M.A.R.T. These goals that are:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely
You can read more about S.M.A.R.T. goals at goal-setting-guide.com, as well as numerous other sites on the web.
Keeping this template in mind, my goals for 2010 are as follows:
Goal: Increase emergency fund
Category: Financial
Time Frame: End of the year
Specifics/Comments: I currently have one month of expenses stashed away in a money market account at Vanguard. I will increase this to three months by the end of the year by adding 7.35% of each paycheck to the account.
Goal: Get to work on time
Category: Personal
Time Frame: Daily
Specifics/Comments: As I get more comfortable and settled at a job, I roll in to the office later and later, largely because I’m not a morning person and hit the snooze a few times too many, but also because I spend too much time on the web in the morning. I will reduce the amount of times I hit snooze to one and/or set my alarm for an earlier time (7:00 instead of 7:15) in addition to reducing the amount of time spent on the web in the morning, leaving the house no later than 8:20, instead of 8:40.
Goal: Perform a Random Act of Kindness at least once a month
Category: Charity/Community
Time Frame: Monthly
Specifics/Comments: I have been blessed more than I deserve and have been inspired by Southland’s John Weece to make a difference in people’s lives. At least once a month, or as God lays on my heart, I will perform a Random Act of Kindness (RAOK), all anonymously (or at least an anonymously as possible). RAOK’s I have in mind are leaving an extra large tip at restaurants, paying for the meals of people behind me in the drive-through, bringing donuts into the office for co-workers and sending encouraging cards to friends.
Goal: Participate in a 5K/10K
Category: Exercise/Health
Time Frame: End of October
Specifics/Comments: I didn’t do any 5K or 10K events last year and missed the feeling of being fit that resulted from the training. I will sign up and participate in at least one event this year. Events in mind right now are the Flying Pig in May, the Redlegs Run For Home in June and/or the Susan G. Komen in September. Decision on which one will be made by early April.
Goal: Read a chapter of Proverbs every day
Category: Spiritual
Time Frame: Daily for 6 months
Specifics/Comments: I will read a chapter of Proverbs each day as a way to reinforce the wisdom therein and to keep it “written on my heart.” There are 31 chapters, so I will read the chapter based on the current day (chapter 6 on Jan 6th, Feb 6th, etc.). Starting in July, I will choose a different book of the Bible (James?) and continue reading a chapter a day.
Goal: Visit Cuyahoga National Park
Category: Travel
Time Frame: End of the year
Specifics/Comments: One of my life goals is to visit every National Park. This is a baby step toward achieving this goal. As close as it is and despite having been to Cleveland a few times over the years, I have not yet made it to this park. First, I will research this park to determine the best time to visit and how much time should be allotted to visiting the park. Then, I will schedule a time to make the trip and start saving.
Goal: Read 20 Books, at least 12 of them non-fiction
Category: Hobbies/Leisure
Time Frame: End of the year
Specifics/Comments: This list may will change over the course of the year, but here’s the first few in the queue, in no particular order –
Non-fiction:
- Men Are Like Waffles-Women Are Like Spaghetti – Bill and Pam Farrel
- Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
- What the Dog Saw And Other Adventures – Malcolm Gladwell
- Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariely
- Church History in Plain Language – Bruce Shelley
- Love and Respect – Emerson Eggerichs
- The Prodigal God – Tim Keller
For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women – Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn(Finished)How the Mighty Fall – Jim Collins(Finished)Choosing to Cheat – Andy Stanley(Finished)
Fiction:
Goal: Finish painting house
Category: Home Improvement
Time Frame: End of May
Specifics/Comments: I painted the main level of my house last year, but procrastinated when it came to the 2nd level. My goal is to have this job completed by the time the weather starts getting nicer, though hopefully much sooner. I have the paint and all the supplies, so it’s just a matter of forcing myself to do it. In finer detail, the stairwell and upstairs hallway will be done by end of January and one of the bedrooms done by the end of each following month.
[UPDATE: Added this goal]
Goal: Reach 175 found geocaches
Category: Hobbies/Leisure
Time Frame: End of the year
Specifics/Comments: I’m currently at 146 found geocaches.
Love this new song by Leeland – Follow You (with Brandon Heath)
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
You lived among the least of these
The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy for me to turn awayAll my needs you have supplied
When I was dead you gave me life
How could I not give it away so freely?And I’ll follow you into the homes that are broken
Follow you into the world
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God
Follow you into the worldUse my hands, use my feet
To make your kingdom come
Through the corners of the earth
Until your work is done
‘Cause faith without works is dead
And on the cross your blood was shed
So how could I not give it away so freely?And I’ll follow you into the homes that are broken
Follow you into the world
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God
Follow you into the worldI give all myself
I give all myself
I give all myself…to youAnd I give all myself
Yes, I give all myself
And I give all myself…to youAnd I’ll follow you into the homes that are broken
Follow you into the world
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God
Follow you into the World
Here’s the official video:
A couple passages from Donald Miller’s newest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.
It’s interesting that in the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, the only practical advice given about living a meaningful life is to find a job you like, enjoy your marriage, and obey God. It’s as though God is saying, Write a good story, take somebody with you, and let me help.
I was interviewing my friend Susan Isaacs after her book Angry Conversations with God came out…Because so much of her book talks about relational needs, relational fulfillment and unfulfillment, one of the questions asked was whether she believed there was one true love for every person.
Susan essentially said no. And she said that with her husband sitting right there in the audience. She said she and her husband believed they were a cherished prize for each other, and they would probably drive any other people mad. But then she said something I thought was wise. She said she had married a guy, and he was just a guy. He wasn’t going to make all her problems go away, because he was just a guy. And that free her to really love him as a guy, not as an ultimate problem solver. And because her husband believed she was just a girl, he was free to really love her too. Neither needed the other to make everything okay. They were simply content to have good company through life’s conflicts.
Michael Hyatt writes about “Seven Questions to Ask About Last Year”.
I thought this would be an interesting and thought-provoking exercise, so here’s my attempt at answering off the cuff. What about you? Post your answers in the comments.
If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be? Drama, romance, adventure, comedy, tragedy, or a combination?
It would be a combination for me, starting out as drama (for the early year heartbreak and struggle with God), then turning into an adventure (white-water rafting and solo trip to the Northeast) followed by romance (meeting, pursuing and wooing a very special girl).
What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
–God’s grace and mercy
–Personal growth
–Traveling
What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
These can be in any area of your life—spiritual, relational, vocational, physical, etc. Be as specific as possible.
–Being offered a leadership position in the church
–Working up the nerve to call Kristy
–Taking a solo trip to the northeast US
–Getting a promotion at work
What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
Honestly and selfishly, there are times where I want acknowledgment of the sacrifices I make. That defeats the purpose of making the sacrifice if I expect to be acknowledged for it, though, and they pale in comparison to the sacrifices others make, and the ultimate sacrifice Jesus gave.
What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year?
As leaders, we naturally have high expectations of ourselves and others. Where did you let yourself down? Where did you let others down?
–Letting a breakup affect me for too long
–Diabetes
–Not communicating/keeping in touch/encouraging others as much as I should
–Rushing my trip to the Northeast, cramming it into only 5 days, most of it spent driving rather than enjoying God’s creation.
What was missing from last year as you look back?
Again, look at each major area of your life. Don’t focus now on having to do anything about it. For now, just list each item.
–Didn’t read as much as I wanted
–Should have memorized more verses
–Needed more quality vacation time
–Didn’t run a 5K/10K
What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year?
Boil this down to a few short, pithy statements.
–It’s not about what I do; it’s about God’s grace and mercy
–Don’t let worry about the future distract/unfocus you from the present
–Don’t be afraid to take risks
–No one can make you feel a certain way; you have control over your own feelings, and can’t control other’s feelings.
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Nice new theme
