It's a dry heat!!

Yea, Right! It's May and we hit 107 on Monday.

Very busy weekend.....

Kids were confirmed and baptized. It's Norway's Constitution Day (May 17th). The 138th NRA Annual Meeting was in town. We had 3 separate baseball games to watch. Took the family out to Spaghetti Factory after church. We were going to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens to see Chihuly.

Ooooo - We are going peach picking tomorrow at Schnepf's Farm.

It's going to be a busy summer............

Twinkie - Myth and what is it really made of?

I ran across an article in the Journal of Clinical Reasearch.

"Twinkie, deconstructed" a book by Steve Ettlinger. The review can be found here. The Author's website can be found here.

The wording under the title will either make you want to read it or put it on your never ever ready list.

Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats

Well, will you read it?

Home prices

Home prices - are they still too high? take a look at the video. I like numbers. How correct are they? watch the 6 minute video

Let's get a show of hands..... Who thought the home prices were out of control in the first place? Now that we have so much invested in these over priced homes, do we need to make sure the air doesn't leave the bubble?

What did "we" do to inflate the housing prices as high as they were? Is it truly every man's right to own a home? Economics is a roller coaster - if you liked the ride up you'll definitely scream on the way down. Supply and demand - I still remember my economics classes (I'm a visual person so I can still see the charts when I close my eyes). Someone in America manipulated the demand curve by lowering the standard of who can get a loan. Who has the ability to tell the banks to make risky loans to people who don't qualify. It's not the banks - bankers are calculating people who don't take chances (I've met too many "Banker" personalities, I know the type).

Most people who work in the housing market their whole lives know this was going to happen. they just thought it was going to happen 5+ years ago. The fact that it didn't is what is going to make this fall so much fun. IMHO the housing market is going to over correct. Unlike what it did in the 80's, it's going to go bellow the 100K mark. Wait an see and be ready when the time come to jump back on the ride we call capitalism.

I'm sorry.

I told my youngest son just that last week.

I'm sorry our generation is not fixing the financial problem he and his kids will be dealing with.

I'm sorry health insurance is non-functional.

I'm sorry I don't have all the answers.

I'm sorry I can't always spend all the time I can with you.

I'm sorry you rights are being slowly taken from us.

What would you say to your child?

comments are welcome.

Government HELP

This entire article is taken word for word from the link at the bottom of the post. I didn't feel like add or changing one word - It's information I wanted to pass of for discussions sake. I am concerned that we are doing too much too fast and all I see is a TV show where the "boss" is signing a mountain of paper and not looking at what is being signed and someone slipped in their own agenda in the pile. I know it's a daunting task to know what we are going, but I can't give. I won't let myself give up on my rights to know what my government is doing to "HELP" me. If I want universal healthcare why does it have to be stuck in a stimulus plan? Seems fishy to me.....

Another health care note of concern is something buried deep into the House version of the stimulus bill (you can view that text here). On pages 445, 454 and 479 the economic stimulus package will create a National Coordinator of Health Information to look into your health care. Yes, the federal government will be taking over. And it’s attached to the stimulus bill. This has former Senator and one time front runner to head the Department of Health and Human Services Tom Daschle’s foot prints all over it. Wow. This is scary. Daschle wrote a book called Critical: What we Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis. The Senate is trying to sneak this through without the public knowledge. It doesn’t surprise me, but it is still amazing. Daschle wrote in his book, “the issue (of health care) is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.” Thanks for the consideration Tom. Once again, it looks like the elected to serve “We The People” are screwing us.

In another part of Critical, Daschle admits his solution will create some pain. For instance, the health care system shouldn’t always pay for care for the elderly. No. I’m serious. Page 464 of the stimulus bill would change Medicare from paying for “treatments deemed safe and effective” to “apply a cost-effectiveness standard set by the Federal Code.” This means health care among seniors could be rationed. Are we sure we want to rush and pass this bill? For more read this story from Bloomberg.

Taken from: http://ktar.net/blogs/dankarlo/category/on-air-log/ February 10, 2009

Had a job? Lost a job!

I was called on December 5th just after I finished a conference call with the education department. It was my boss - TODAY was my last day working for the company. Boss even asked me if I would have rather been let know on Monday or Friday? Who cares, I was being canned!

WOW, not what I expected! I've seen a few people get fired. Here is what I thought would happen if I ever got let go.....

Boss calls and tells you he is going to come by and see you tomorrow. When boss gets there he is accompanied by another person if employee being let go is female. The visit always happens on a Monday or a Friday. Boss would have some paperwork for me to fill out for the termination.

Now that I am unemployed, what am I suposed to do with all the organizations they sugested I volunteer for? I am going to finish the tasks I said I would do with the organizations I am volunteer for. It's my name on the line and the organizations are worthwhile.

Does it suck that I lost my job? Yes
Do I wonder what I am going to do next? YES
Am I lost and wondering how I am going to make ends meet? No
What am I going to do next? I don't know - Find a job.
What is the biggest concern of mine? Health Insurance!

Best part, they are transfering someone from another part of the country into Arizona. I'll have to meet the new guy sometime.

NFH Denver 2008

What an event! Our family had a great time. The factor company evening events were well attended and fun. The best in my mind was The CSL Game Face event. CSL had 11 Wiis they were giving away to the winner of 5 Wii games. The games were: swimming, golf, basketball, baseball, and bowling. The kids were separated by age (12 and under, and 13 to 18) and only kids with bleeding disorders were able to win. Once the event was started all the kids played the Wii games and the CSL reps kept track of high scores. At the end of the GAMES all the kids that played received a "gold" medal. Then, the winners of the individual Wii games were called up on the stage and awarded a Wii console. The 11th Wii was drawn from the attendants and given away.

I tried my feet at Dance Dance Revolution that evening. I don't know how they do it. I got boo-ed of the stage for missing too many steps.

Val Bias is our new CEO. I think it's a good pick. He has a vested interest in the betterment of our cause. I did hear a few things that concern me. Is he going to champion hemophilia or broaden the umbrella of our "cause" to include all blood disorders. He did comment of the safety of our blood supply. We have an interest in the blood supply being clean, but should "we" take on that cause? I don't know!? I also don't know about the joining of the local chapters. What's in it for me? What is in it for us? Do all the chapters need the same thing? the only thing I know for sure is.....
I don't want to be like the American Liver Foundation
The ALF is not much more than a money making local chapters for the national organization. They have a lot of national clout but what do they do for the local community. I haven't seen much and I don't want our Local Hemophilia Chapter to be money making chapters with no programming for the community.

I'll take a wait and see approach with Val - I've seen him in person before NHF Denver and I like what I hear. What is his slant? What is he going to do shake things up to validate him being appointed to CEO?

WOW that was a deviation from the topic...... back on point. I didn't see HFA at one of the booths. Anyone know why the Hemophilia Federation of America was not there?

The morning symposiums were great. The Wyeth breakfast on "It Takes A Village" was excellent. It was great to hear how some HTC use families to support other new families. Our HTC does not do this - I've asked. I wish we could have had a mentor family we could have called for the little challenges in life. Wyeth had two families come and describe what they did to help each other through life with hemophilia. I'd like my son to have a mentor and one day to be a mentor.

I love going to these national events. WHY? I learn so much about other communities and families. What they do and How they do it? An informed consumer is better for the community than an uniformed one. We can be more of a pain in the ass to the Association and HTC. I understand that they, the Association and HTC, want to do things the way they always have done it, but if it doesn't work, why not change how your doing it.

That last paragraph was crude and not well thought out. The overall idea is there.