Categories
Random

Merry Christmas

Just a quick post to say that I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas today!

Categories
Uncategorized

Planting candy cane seeds

Looking for a unique Christmas tradition for your family? How about planting candy cane seeds? It is a family favorite in our home, and I’m pretty sure none of your friends are doing this one! You might want to hold off telling anyone about this until after Christmas is over though, or else they might steal the idea because it’s ‘so cute.’

Items needed:

candy cane peppermint candy

  • Candy cane
  • Peppermint (starlight) candy
  • Spoon (or other small digging device for a child)
  • ‘Magic’ Santa dust (colored granulated sugar works well)
  • Story-telling ability

This activity will take about 5 minutes to complete, but your children will love it (and you’ll love how happy they are the next morning). On Christmas Eve, give each child a ‘candy cane seed’ (peppermint candy) and a spoon. Take them outside and let them plant the candy cane seed in the snow, or the dirt if you’re not lucky enough to have snow. Next, let them sprinkle some of the magic Santa dust over each seed. Make sure to mention that the dust is magic, and that it only works on Christmas Eve. We tell our boys that Santa leaves us the dust each year for use the following year.

And now for the magic… After the children fall asleep, replace the peppermint candy ‘seeds’ with the candy canes to create the illusion that the seeds grew overnight.

Tip: You might want to leave the wrapper on the candy canes, because the colors tend to bleed into the snow if the wrapper is removed.

On Christmas morning, our boys always run right to the window to find out if their candy cane seeds grew while they were in bed. It’s a wonderful holiday tradition that is simple to perform, but provides many warm memories.

I hope it works as well for you as it does for us.

Happy holidays!

[tags]Christmas, Christmas Eve, Holiday Traditions [/tags]

Categories
ExGen Finance

How to spend $67.9 million

Jumping for joySo, you’ve just been handed a $67.9 million dollar bonus (e.g. Lloyd Blankfein). What are you going to do with it? If you’ve got that kind of money in your bank account, I’m pretty sure you’ve already got a plan or two for that cash. But what about the rest of us – those without that previous experience? In case you haven’t had a chance to spend that much money lately, here are a few things you can put on your shopping list next year:

Westport 164 – A 164 foot yacht from Westport Yachts that sleeps 12 in six state rooms, and features a top-deck VIP suite with its own sun deck. ($31.5M)

Miami Beach home – Over 15,000 square feet, with 9 bedrooms and 10 baths, this property features a 2 bedroom 2 bath guest house that alone probably costs more than many of our own homes. ($13.9M)

Ballast Key – A 13-acre private island with two residences and a palm tree lined beach in the Florida Keys. ($11.4M)

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 – The world’s most expensive production car features a 16-cylinder powerplant that produces 1,001 HP. ($1.6M)

So with a fat-daddy bonus of $68 million dollars, what could you buy? How about a private island, a waterfront mansion in Miami Beach, the largest production yacht in the world, and the most expensive production car in the world. All of this, and you would still have $9.5 million left over without even negotiating any prices down.

And if it were me (don’t I wish?), I’d invest that $9.5 million in some Google stock and start my shopping spree all over again in a few months!

[tags]Money, Finance, Rich, Dreams [/tags]

Categories
ExGen Finance

Lloyd Blankfein is a pimp

Suitcase full of moneyLloyd Blankfein, the CEO for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., has just been awarded a $67.9 million bonus for 2007. The payout will be distributed as $26.8 million in cash and $41.1 million in restricted shares and options. Most of us would be lucky to make $68 million in our lifetime, and this guy is getting this as his annual bonus!

Man… I am definitely in the wrong business!

Read the Reuters or Bloomberg stories for more info.

[tags]Money, Wall Street, Finance, 2007[/tags]

Categories
ExGen

The Foundation for Victory – An Examination of the American Experience at Valley Forge

Victory was still years away when General George Washington led the Continental Army into winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in December of 1777. The Army was to suffer greatly and overcome numerous obstacles during the winter of 1777-1778, but a new efficient, effective fighting force would emerge with the help of a foreign solder, and an allegiance with another nation. The foundation for victory was to be created this winter, but the Army would have to survive first.

Until late 1776, the American Revolution was fought by a small Army and local militia. Enlistments were typically for one year, and each winter the Army went through a period of reorganization and restructuring. Looking to establish a stronger, more organized fighting force, Congress adopted a plan in September, 1776 that established a permanent standing army and set the length of enlistment for the duration of the war. A little over a year later, the Continental Army marched into Valley Forge for winter encampment. This would mark the first winter since the beginning of the war that General Washington would not have to dwell on the leadership, manning, and structure of his Army. Instead, time and effort could be spent on reviewing the previous year’s campaign and improving battlefield performance.

On December 19, 1777 General Washington led his troops to a high point eighteen miles west of the British-held Philadelphia. His Army, twelve-thousand strong, was on the eve of a winter which would see many die from exposure, disease, and starvation. The layer of snow on the ground was six inches deep, and the first task at hand was to begin building shelter for the troops. It was not until the middle of January when enough huts were constructed for the entire Army to be protected from the elements of nature. Even then, many of the men were without blankets or adequate clothing such as coats, shirts, or shoes to keep them healthy and warm. Dysentery and typhus were common ailments. Hunger plagued the men for the first half of the winter, when food supplies were short. There was talk of mutiny among the Army, but in early March of 1778 a new quartermaster general was appointed and much needed supplies began to arrive in Valley Forge.

Less than a month earlier, on February 23, 1778, a man named Frederick von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge. Steuben, with the aid of falsified credentials by Benjamin Franklin, presented himself to Congress as a former general in the King of Prussia’s Army. In reality, von Steuben was only a captain of the general staff, but shortly after his assignment with General Washington he was appointed a Major General in the Continental Army. ‘Baron’ von Steuben was given the responsibility of training the green Army, and he began the task by teaching drill to a company of one-hundred men. Steuben created a simplified drill manual based on modern European advances in warfare, and emphasized improved execution over speed. The importance of bayonet fighting was also instructed. Soon, this model company was a well-disciplined unit and began to train the remaining units at Valley Forge. By the time they would march out of winter encampment in June of 1778, the Continental Army had been transformed into an effective fighting force prepared to tackle the challenges awaiting them.

On May 4, 1778, slightly over a month before the Continentals would leave Valley Forge, Congress ratified the Treaty of Alliance between France and the United States. The allegiance with France boosted already growing spirits in the camp because it brought with it the possibility of additional arms, clothing, monetary aid, and other foreign goods. On June 18, 1778, fearing a blockade by French ships, the British withdrew from Philadelphia and moved toward New York City. The next day, Washington ordered his troops out of Valley Forge in pursuit of the British. Just over a week later, the two armies fought to a standoff at the Battle of Monmouth. Finally, on July 10, 1778, the British threat to the Continental Army eased slightly as France officially declared war against Britain and the American Revolution began to transform into a world war.

When the Continental Army marched into Valley Forge in December of 1777, they had little idea of the changes that were to take place over that winter. Through much suffering and despair, constant training and preparing, and finally with the boost of morale and confidence associated with French allegiance, General Washington’s Army emerged the following June motivated and prepared for the long fight ahead. It would be another five years before the end of the hostilities, but the foundation for victory was created and instilled during the winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

To learn more about Valley Forge on your own, take a look at Remember Valley Forge: Patriots, Tories, and Redcoats Tell Their Stories (The Remember Series) by David Garland, or Valley Forge by Thomas B. Allen.
[tags]Military, History, Army, Revolution [/tags]

Categories
Random

Questioning religion

Salt Lake TempleI am not an overly spiritual or religious person and, in fact, enjoy openly questioning religion in general. I find it interesting and entertaining to discuss religion with individuals from different religious backgrounds. To me, religion ultimately comes down to faith. Sure, there are some archaeological findings that may support religious claims, but, generally, the historical facts do not answer the questions that I have about religion.

I was raised in a family that was not very religious. My mother went to a Lutheran school as a child; my father never attended church. By the time I was born, my mother had given up attending church of any kind. Therefore, I only attended church when invited by others – a very infrequent occurrence. My longest period of continuous weekly church attendance was during my three months in boot camp. I went to each Sunday service, but not to hear the sermon. I went as an escape from the tortures of the drill instructors.

Due to this upbringing, I do not have a very strong knowledge of religion and have many questions that have not been sufficiently answered. I have talked to many people about religious topics, but it is difficult to get unbiased views relating to the subject. Religion is ingrained in our culture. Whether we are religious people or not, the effects of religion surround us all. In my opinion, most of our society’s laws, standards, morals, ethics and norms are directly derived from religious standards. When I ask questions about religion, I would like to get a better answer than ‘Because the Bible says so.’ In the following sections I will present a few of my questions, along with my personal thoughts on the subjects.

Categories
Random

How to score awesome concert seats!


Sugarland - 10th row
Earlier this week, I went to a Sugarland concert a few hours away. I was pretty excited, since I had bought the tickets about two months ago and this was also a good excuse to just ‘escape’ for awhile. When we got to the venue, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the arena was fairly small – meaning there would be good seats throughout the house! The tickets I got were not too impressive (the were in a balcony off to the side of the stage), but I figured that we would be close enough to see everything clearly. In addition, there were huge monitors on both sides of the stage that would allow close-up viewing of the action. Well, when we finally went up to our seats we noticed that there was a large speaker stack directly in our viewing path. What a let-down! I was disappointed and immediately began looking around for open seats that I could slide into for the show. As I was looking around, one of the event staff came up to us. After a quick check of our tickets, the lady told us that she was going to change our seats, and asked us to follow her. She took us back down to the floor, and into a corridor that led away from the seating area where another lady was waiting. According to the second lady, the arena knew nothing of the speakers and asked the band to provide tickets to make up for the inconvenience. We were then given the choice from two options: stay in our seats (or an open seat near there) or accept complimentary 10th row seats in front of the stage. Are you kidding me? Of course I’m going to accept 10th row tickets… that was a no-brainer. The ‘free ticket lady’ took us right to our thrones seats and handed us our ‘golden tickets.’ And to top it all off, the concert rocked and the people sitting next to us were a blast to hang out with.

So, other than the luck of the Irish, how can you score awesome concert seats? Try the following (and depending on your morals, possibly a little unethical) trick out. I know it works, because someone sitting near me in the 10th row did this. When you purchase your tickets, make sure you ask for handicap accessible seating. These seats are usually not going to be very good – at least not in comparison to what you are about to get. Once you arrive for the concert, go up to someone working there and explain that it would be wrong for you to sit in handicap seating and ask if there is something they can do for you. You’ll end up getting comped somehow, and you’ll likely end up with better seats than what you could have gotten if you just tried to purchase on your own.

If any of you end up doing this, let me know how it works out for you!
[tags]Entertainment, Sugarland, Concert, Hack, Music, Life[/tags]

Categories
Health

Getting in shape – BEFORE the holidays

Beginning January 1, millions of people will chase their New Year’s resolution of losing weight or becoming more fit. I haven’t researched any data, but I would bet that fitness related businesses see a huge boom in sales during January. I’ve been there before… once spending over $700 for a family membership to the local YMCA that I rarely used. It was a complete waste of time and money for me, and a source of embarrassment. I felt like every time I walked into the Y, people knew that I was new and that I probably wouldn’t last more than a month or two (they were right!). I’m not sure why I didn’t succeed. Maybe I wasn’t motivated enough; maybe I was felt like I was a fatty that would look like a loser compared to the real gym rats. I don’t know for sure, but I do know that the worst part for me was that raging thought in the back of my mind that everyone was watching me (and laughing to themselves) as I struggled through my workouts. I know that it was just a psychological weakness on my part, but it was real to me.

Now, as I approach another resolution season, I once again want to get back into fighting shape. I’m not grotesque or anything, and most people look at me and think I’m healthy, but I could stand to lose about 30 pounds. I would like to get the definition back in my stomach, arms, and chest while losing a few pants sizes. It’s not really too much to ask, and I should be able to do it fairly easily – provided I actually stick to it this time. So here is what I have decided to do to combat the paranoia I feel when I step into a gym in January: I’m going to start in December. I already know that I want to get back into shape, so why wait? This gives me a one-month head-start on my fitness level, and allows me the opportunity to get to know other people before the rush of newbies come in after New Year’s Day. That way, I’ll hopefully feel more like part of the club instead of an outsider who won’t last more than a couple of months. And to top it off, I’ll get a jump on my weight loss before all of the requisite Christmas social events arrive. This year, maybe my mother-in-law won’t think that I’m such a fat ass!

[tags]Weight Loss, Christmas, Resolutions[/tags]

Categories
ExGen

Renewable energy – wind power

Renewable energy - windmillThe United States’ dependence on fossil fuels is a little scary. Look at what it has gotten us into in the Persian Gulf (twice!). Using corn as fuel is also a little scary, but in a different way. Have you ever thought about how many people in the world are literally starving to death? How would it look if the United States grows an overabundance of food, only to burn it? What kind of impact would that have on our image as a nation? As I was thinking about these ideas, I remembered a website from GE called ecomagination that I came across when I was job hunting after college. I remembered it as being a fun and ‘flashy’ site about GE’s commitment to the environment. The one part of that site (and the company’s other sites) that I enjoyed the most was the section on wind energy.

How does wind energy work? First, let’s talk a little bit about wind. What is it? What causes wind? Wind is caused, indirectly, by the sun. The sun heats up the air over land more quickly than the air over the water. As the warmer air expands and rises, the heavier, cooler air rushes into the vacated place, creating wind. This effect is reversed at night, when the air over the land cools more quickly than the air over the water.

Want to learn enough about wind to impress everyone you know (except maybe a wind engineer)? Then look here or here.

To capture the wind’s energy, a turbine’s blades rely on the laws of physics and aerodynamics. Lift is created as wind flows over the airfoils (the blades), creating a low-pressure pocket of air on the downwind side of the blades, causing them to turn. These blades are connected to a vertical- or horizontal-axis drive shaft (depending on the type of wind machine used) that turns and electric generator. In this process, the kinetic energy of the wind is converted to mechanical energy and then converted to electricity.

How cool would it be if we could develop a system of renewable energy based on wind, and then give our excessive fossil fuel dependence the finger? While you’re thinking about it, check out this award-winning video from EPURON GmbH, a subsidiary of Conergy AG, entitled Power of Wind. Or if you like YouTube, click here.

Feeling the love after thinking about wind power? Check out this DMB video, and then go get yourself a hug.
[tags]Energy, Environment, Wind, Conservation [/tags]

Categories
ExGen Random

Climbing Mt. Fuji

Mt Fuji SunriseWith a summit elevation of 12,388 feet (3776 meters), Mount Fuji (Fuji-san) is Japan’s highest mountain. To be more accurate, Mt. Fuji is a dormant volcano west of Tokyo, with its last eruption occurring in 1707. I have seen the mountain numerous times during my time in traveling in Japan, and its symmetry, power and beauty have amazed me each time. In my mind, it is clear why Fuji-san is so respected and honored throughout Japan and the world (there is even a book about the Microsoft interview process called How Would You Move Mount Fuji). In fact, I can clearly recall the jealousy I felt when one of my friends returned with his walking stick fully stamped from climbing Mt. Fuji. Although I have never set foot on the mountain, it is one of my personal life goals to watch the sun rise from the summit and experience first-hand the magic of that moment.

Read more and see additional Mount Fuji photos after the jump.

—————————————————————-