M.I.A. - Thanksgiving and Optimism

Happy Thanksgiving to all... Yes, a more than 2 year hiatus from writing blogs. Nobody missed me out there in blog-land because there are approximately 30 billion blogs nowadays. But, I was blessed with the ability to write semi-effectively (I hope at least), and I owe it to myself to at least put it on paper from time to time.

I think the last time I visited with you I was just settling down in Houston after a year or so with my company. Well, I have been given a great opportunity since and took another position with a new company called International Trip Planning. I virtually have the same job with a few added responsibilities. I'm now on my 4th year in Houston (can you believe it?) and I'm extremely happy with where I am, who I am and what is before me.

So, let's proceed to the meat of this convo, ehh? Actually, let me add a few more sides first:

I'm keeping my same format with which I used previously. A little bit of weather now and again and a touch of spirituality and/or philosophy. I mean, how can you really beat that combination? It's like a one stop shop! Your 5 day weather outlook and a piece of advice to go along. Forget the weather channel, I will pants those punks and you can see the proof here. **Waiver: My weather is solely my opinion and if inaccurate I am not to be held responsible for wet socks, wearing shorts in 40 degree weather, or a bad hair day.

Little political tidbit: The presidential election was as intensely followed, if not hotly contested, as it has ever been since i was old enough to understand the nuances of politics. I wish Obama the best in the coming 4 years. America has collected a few wounds recently, and although I may not parallel Mr. Obama's moral agenda, I can still take hope in the possibility that his economic and sociologic goals may positively impact our country. I pray for him as he leads our country in a few more weeks in this time of recession and division. Reunification is important; stepping away from a polarized two-horse nation and pressing towards one in which all of our views are represented and respected.

Anyway, onto the topic of thanks. It's so cliche to post a blog giving thanks on the ultimate day of thanks, right? Well, let's take it another direction. I mean after all, doesn't our creator deserve to hear a thank you basically every morning? His intricate plan for each individual on Earth is so fascinating that I can't help but be express awe and amazement at his ability to navigate us thru the dense spiderwebs of free choice.

I listened with great interest last Sunday morning as the pastor of a local church spoke on optimism. i have always felt that an optimistic outlook is the linchpin of a productive and healthy lifestyle. He mentioned that we embolden ourselves by speaking things into action. An example included how a scientist experimented with the affects of compliments. He spoke only wholesome, uplifting words to one glass of water, and negative, desparaging remarks to the second. Unbelievable as it may seem, after several weeks, the first glass of water remained pure, whereas the second glass became dark and aged.

We can use this to our advantage. We control what our future becomes, relationships included, in part by our words, and more importantly, our attitude. That's a novel concept, isn't it? Denoucing sickness when it approaches... claiming our needs boldly to the father. Speaking anything into existence. We can literally influence our bodies, our goals, and others around us, helping in not succumbing to the spiritual attacks we face day in and day out.

As we visit family and friends this week... be optimisic, keep a good attitude, smile and be vocal. Do it enough, and I'm sure you'll see the winds of change. Not only in yourself, but in those you interact with everyday.

-Benjamin

Arctic Blast Likely!

We will be seeing some Jekyll & Hyde weather starting on Sunday this next week.

High pressure in the east with result in southeast winds whipping in from the gulf and advecting rich low level moisture into the eastern half of Texas early in the week. As it does, there will be a decent chance of rain intermittently from Monday-Wednesday. You'll think we traveled back in time with highs near 80 and dewpoints topping out in the upper 60's in Houston by mid week.

However, this will all likely change on Thursday morning, as it looks like the strongest cold front of the season so far will drive its way into the deep south. Behind this front will be a blast of cold air straight from northern Canada. This front is going to dry us out a ton with dewpoints in some places in Texas dropping as low as the negative numbers. The Houston area might see dewpoints in the teens Friday afternoon with a high that might struggle to the mid 50's. I would also expect on Thursday and Friday night for there to be Freeze warnings issued throughout central and east TX with lows nearing 30 degrees F.

So... looks like you can make use of your beanie soon. Just hold on for the next 5 days and winter will make its arrival!

Bienvenidos Cold Air

Wooo.. It sure is nice to see an actual cold front spill all the way down into the deep south finally. Time to save money on the electric bill! And for those of you who like winter, I have even better news... even cooler air should advect southward from Canada and keep our highs starting on Sunday in the 60's!!! You will actually need a jacket during the morning and evening hours now. You can also make use of that beanie collecting dust in the top of your closet. Perhaps even earmuffs or for you south Texas weaklings, a scarf!

Let's rally around this cooler air and keep it here to stay ehh?

Wishing it was winter already

Well, I haven't posted a lick about weather in a century... I thought maybe somebody out there cares to know, right??

The hot weather continues across the state of Texas this week. High pressure remains the mainstay across the midwest, however.. there is a little bit of good news. With winds shifting towards the east and northeast, we will see slightly cooler and drier air filter into much of Texas soon. This will make the weather a little more pleasant this week. You may not have to use quite as much deodorant! The next actual cold front that will make a difference isn't expected by models for another several days. Hopefully, by next weekend we will be looking at high temps in the 70's with dewpoints in the 50's. We'll just have to wait and see. Don't except really any chance of rain for at least the next 3-4 days as upper level ridging cuts off any chance of this moisture getting pushed up off the ground.

Congress confused over gambling issues

Money is indeed the root of all evil.

This week, a bill was passed through congress that will forbid all U.S. banks and credit card companies et al. to accept transactions to and from offshore gaming sites. The bill will be signed into action as soon as Bush gets around to it.

I have used gambling as a frequent getaway from the realities of life. Risks are made, and these risks get the blood pumping. It's an excellent way to stress oneself out or to lose one's mind, although I find risk taking a necessary adventure in this day-in-age. As you could imagine, this bill will have a mildly significant influence on my budgeting.

The fact of the matter is that the bill doesn't exactly irritate me so much as the reasoning behind the new law. You see, it's not the gambling that U.S. Congress cares to outlaw. It's the fact that U.S. dollars are streaming into the economies of other countries...instead of into the American economy.

To note, the offshore industry currently resides at a plateau of $80B in transactions, approx half of which comes and goes from Americans. The bill makes it more difficult for these citizens to transfer cashflow efficiently and, in turn, reduce the amount of dollars invested. It's not exactly kosher to most intelligent individuals to mail $1,000 cash to some island centered in the Netherland Antilles...

As a result, Congress has decided that Americans are not smart enough to invest their earnings in a responsible manner, and have correspondingly stomped out the profitability of other countries and the innocent founders of such establishments.

America, once again, sets a DOUBLE STANDARD!

We are saying that it's ok to buy a lotto ticket, go to Vegas, Atlantic City and a number of American Indian reservations, among other venues, to gamble, but that it is illegal to take part in this same hobby with legit online businesses. Why? Either Congress is brilliant or greedy. Brilliant if their motive is to fuel the spending into our economy by preventing approx $40B from going into foreign goods. Greedy if they simply want to keep every dollar possible in the country from the profits that spill in from the gaming industry.

I have a hard time believing that it is genius considering that our congress has done little to convince me that they are capable of anything that has no benefit to themselves. Therefore, I conclude that congress is greedy... and does not trust the American public. They have also made it clear that gambling is illegal unless it lines their pockets with more dinero. They also fail to see that smart bettors are actually bringing in large profits for themselves and others which makes up for a large percentage of expendable income that appears lost at first glance. Winnings probably make up for 70% of the $40B invested.

All in all, this law is a waste of time. The industry will be hurt, but will find new ways to make transactions possible and will be booming again soon. It's disheartening to me that our congress is more concerned about off the table issues instead of worrying about the bills out there that really matter.

My two cents worth

Ok, so I'm talking to a friend about the lengths people go to get the cheapest gas they can find around town. Apparently, some will travel up to 10 MILES to get gas that is about 10 cents cheaper per gallon... even giving the benefit of the doubt, we'll say 15 cents. So you just drove a total of 20 miles to get gas on a roundtrip. Gas right now averages about 2.20 in Texas, closer to 2.00 in Houston. 20 miles burns about one gallon of gas for the average vehicle in town driving. A normal tank holds about 15 gallons. Say I'm on empty and fill up... I just "saved" 15 *15 = $2.25. But, wait a minute... I just used an extra $2.20 to go there and back. IN a place like Houston, 10 miles normally takes about 30 min in reasonable traffic. So is a NICKEL worth a half hour of your time?

Say you fill up once a week for a year doing this. You just saved a grand total of 52 *5 = $2.60. YIPPPEEEEEE!!! I can buy 2 more orders of 5 pc nuggets from Wendy's and have enough left to get a soft-serve cone from Mcdonalds! Oh, but wait... I just spent $2.60 in gas GOING to Wendy's and Mcdonalds...

Get a clue people!!! If you aren't saving at least 3-5 cents per gallon per mile you drive for it then it really isn't worth it.

Also, why does everybody thinks gas prices are coming down due to political reasons?!? I mean seriously.. do you think the price only goes down in the USA?? Canada dropped to .89 c/L avg this week also... and western Europe is down as well. It's not a coincidence.. it's called supply and demand. Bush isn't out having 200 chinese babies every 5 minutes making the demand skyrocket. Condi Rice isn't heating the tropical Atlantic in hopes that a category 4 hurricane will spurn and take out our gulf supplies. It's not their fault that maniacs like Chavez and Iran's pres Ahmadinejad have control over oil fields... or that OPEC will not allow barrels to drop under a certain range. People are greedy!!! Once oil tycoons see this money come in with crude this high they don't want to see it drop. Don't expect barrels to drop below $50-55 anytime soon... OPEC won't have it.

All I ask though, please, is to simply do some research on issues before starting the blame game. Oh, and stop complaining! $2.00 gas is here to stay.. it's not that bad, our parents had it worse in the 1980 crisis.

Anyway... I'm done ranting and raving.

Stop the bleeding

Handprints of red stain the roads, streaked across the city... infiltrating the depths of mankind.
So thick...so unrelenting, tarnishing these streets of gold.
The "pure of heart" are bleeding straight from the mouth... Dying from hypocrisy
Stricken of a disease, far worse than imagined
This sickness... devouring the young and old alike with mindnumbing quickness
Lost in the flow. Wandering the desolate town, covered in blood. Tainted.
Ungrateful... lavishing the senses with selfish desires.. neglecting needs. Digging holes deeper than oceans.
Precious time by the wayside... taking years to climb out. Only to find another burrow in which to hide.
Hide from the ever-flowing river of blood!
You cannot escape it's wrath. Saturating the soil and poisoning the aquifers of life.
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Have hope my brothers in Christ
The time is here for redemption. To cleanse the impurities... replacing our blood with His.
A sacrifice made, greater than any before... rescuing the lost and lonely, the sick and hopeless, the greedy and lustful.
Merciful and forgiving; washing away the tears, healing the wounds.
Replenishing the city with shimmering gold. Clean... free of death.
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Give us life O Jesus, that we may be preserved from the depths of lifelessness. Conforming not to man and his religiousness, but to You O Lord.
Give us wisdom, we of feeble minds... whom misconstrue Your word and confuse the nations.
Free us from the past and bless our futures, for You alone are Holy, You alone are Worthy, You alone are praised!
"Don't hide children. Seek me and my comfort, for I am here to restore."

Speak Softly and Carry a Loving Heart

My parents are coming back to Amarillo with my grandpa, who I refer to as papa, from Denver. He had a heart attack in South Fork, Colorado while fishing. They took him to Denver in a Medivac chopper to care for him. The attack was minor, but the resutls of the tests show that with any more vigorous activity his heart could stop working. I spoke with him for 15 minutes yesterday, and just as I would suspect he was in good spirits about it all. The whole family knows it's in God's hands, so as hard as it is to swallow we all know what lies ahead. Both my uncles also made it up to Denver, so all 3 of his kids made it to see my papa. He basically will live as long as God allows, but the time could come with little warning. It will be hard... the man is probably the most amazing person I know. I've never seen him angry. Ever. He's never cursed. Ever. He's the most loving person I have in my life. We are close. Real close. I just pray that I have a few more years to cherish with him. I believe in my heart I will.

I just wish I could go fishing with him one more time. He is no longer allowed to do anything, so in essence his life has become a big boring nothing. He is always doing things whether it be home chores, traveling, working on rent houses, or many other things. I just feel bad for him that he can't enjoy the life the way he wants anymore.

He's funny. We talked about how he got to go to Denver in style and that the ride was bumpy due to thuderstorms... said the chopper was cramped and the nurses were nearly on top of him. How the hospital was feeding him slim pickins and all this healthly stuff. He's just so spirited.

Later down the road, I'll recall his attitude towards life. Optimistic. Confident. Loving. Understanding. Patient. He definitely fit the guideline: Speak Softly, and carry a Big Stick! His big stick was his loving heart.



But hey... I know I'll see him quite a few more times.