Thursday, June 2, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
This would be Awesome!
My buddy Dan sent me this video about a new way of making roads. Instead of asphalt and concrete how about making road out of elaborate solar panels. This would be sooooo cool!
Highlight and paste this into your browser.
http://wimp.com/solarhighways/
Highlight and paste this into your browser.
http://wimp.com/solarhighways/
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
There still are some special moments in sports....
After mom’s death, star throws no-hitter, hits 4 HR in same day
By Cameron Smith
Of all the contorted, twisted, emotional trauma a high school athlete can go through, it's hard to imagine any being more trying than what Jaydin Goldenstein experienced last month. After a year of estrangement from his mother, a drug addict who spent significant time in jail and a halfway house, Goldenstein sat by her bedside as she died.
According to an excellent piece by the Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman, two days later, still in the midst of his own conflicted feelings of grief, Goldenstein authored what may be the single greatest baseball day in the country in 2011. In a doubleheader for his Holyoke (Colo.) High team, he started the day with a no-hitter, ensuring a massive 11-0 win. In the second game, he hit four home runs, pacing Holyoke to a 15-8 victory. Really.
Making matters even more stirring was just how important the two games were to Holyoke's season. The team needed to win both games to earn the Lower Platte league title. Thanks to Goldenstein, it did.
Afterward, the teenager didn't know how to react to his mother's death and the historic day he produced on a baseball field. His mixed emotions of a long and turbulent relationship between the two blurred the lines between outright ebullience and general angst.
"When she was first getting involved with drugs, it was scary because she was acting different," Goldenstein told the Post. "Then the cops got involved and I was like, 'whoa.' You shouldn't have cops at your house when you're 8 years old.
"I forgave her several times. But she kept messing up. She used to try to call me, and I wouldn't talk to her."
Yet all that emotional confusion melted away in six hours on the baseball diamond, where Goldenstein is a rural town king. The star of the school's football, basketball and baseball teams had never had a finer athletic day. He probably never will again.
"I knew he was playing with a lot of adrenaline and emotion," Goldenstein's father, Clint Goldenstein, told the Post. "That day just let all the emotions out. He was playing the game that he loves."
"Normally I don't think about hitting a home run," said Jaydin, who once before had hit two home runs in a game. "But after the third, I was like — I'm going to try to hit a home run."
Perhaps the best perspective on the game came from the opposing dugout, where the Wray (Colo.) High coach couldn't believe that the same player had single-handedly destroyed his team's title hopes in two consecutive games … in a single day.
"I was so happy for him," Holyoke coach Kyle Bules told the Post. "I talked to one of their coaches after the game, and he said, 'He had most guys' careers in one day!'"
A career in one day, and a lifetime of highs and lows in a week.
By Cameron Smith
Of all the contorted, twisted, emotional trauma a high school athlete can go through, it's hard to imagine any being more trying than what Jaydin Goldenstein experienced last month. After a year of estrangement from his mother, a drug addict who spent significant time in jail and a halfway house, Goldenstein sat by her bedside as she died.
According to an excellent piece by the Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman, two days later, still in the midst of his own conflicted feelings of grief, Goldenstein authored what may be the single greatest baseball day in the country in 2011. In a doubleheader for his Holyoke (Colo.) High team, he started the day with a no-hitter, ensuring a massive 11-0 win. In the second game, he hit four home runs, pacing Holyoke to a 15-8 victory. Really.
Making matters even more stirring was just how important the two games were to Holyoke's season. The team needed to win both games to earn the Lower Platte league title. Thanks to Goldenstein, it did.
Afterward, the teenager didn't know how to react to his mother's death and the historic day he produced on a baseball field. His mixed emotions of a long and turbulent relationship between the two blurred the lines between outright ebullience and general angst.
"When she was first getting involved with drugs, it was scary because she was acting different," Goldenstein told the Post. "Then the cops got involved and I was like, 'whoa.' You shouldn't have cops at your house when you're 8 years old.
"I forgave her several times. But she kept messing up. She used to try to call me, and I wouldn't talk to her."
Yet all that emotional confusion melted away in six hours on the baseball diamond, where Goldenstein is a rural town king. The star of the school's football, basketball and baseball teams had never had a finer athletic day. He probably never will again.
"I knew he was playing with a lot of adrenaline and emotion," Goldenstein's father, Clint Goldenstein, told the Post. "That day just let all the emotions out. He was playing the game that he loves."
"Normally I don't think about hitting a home run," said Jaydin, who once before had hit two home runs in a game. "But after the third, I was like — I'm going to try to hit a home run."
Perhaps the best perspective on the game came from the opposing dugout, where the Wray (Colo.) High coach couldn't believe that the same player had single-handedly destroyed his team's title hopes in two consecutive games … in a single day.
"I was so happy for him," Holyoke coach Kyle Bules told the Post. "I talked to one of their coaches after the game, and he said, 'He had most guys' careers in one day!'"
A career in one day, and a lifetime of highs and lows in a week.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Those poor, poor oil companies
Here is a story about deductions that oil companies are currently getting from the U.S. government. I highlighted some of the more interesting ones.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- President Obama repeated his call Tuesday for an end to $4 billion in oil industry tax breaks as gas prices approach $4 a gallon and after a top lawmaker indicated a possible shift in Republican policy.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the president said the oil industry is profitable enough without the tax incentives and that the money should be spent on alternative energy sources and conservation.
"CEOs of the major oil companies have made it clear that high oil prices provide more than enough profit motive to invest in domestic production without special tax breaks," said Obama. "As we work together to reduce our deficits, we simply can't afford these wasteful subsidies."
This week those profits are going to be front and center. BP (BP) is expected to report earnings on Wednesday. Exxon (XOM, Fortune 500) is slated to announce its results on Thursday. Some analysts expect the company's profits to jump 50% from last year. Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) is scheduled to make its earnings announcement on Friday.
The oil industry and many of its supporters in Congress have long argued that the tax breaks encourage domestic oil production and provide jobs for millions of Americans. Republicans in particular have resisted efforts to eliminate these tax breaks, something many Democrats have been trying to do since at least 2008.
But on Monday night, Speaker of the House John Boehner indicated he might be open to taking some of those breaks off the table.
Drill baby drill won't lower gas prices
"I don't think the big oil companies need to have the oil depletion allowances, but for small, independent oil and gas producers, if they didn't have this, there'd be even less exploration in America than there is today," Boehner said on ABC's World News Tonight. "It's certainly something we need to be looking at."
Depletion allowances let oil companies treat the oil in the ground as capital equipment, and they can write off a certain percentage for each barrel that comes out.
On Tuesday the speaker appeared to backtrack from those comments, with an aid telling CNN that "what the President has suggested so far would simply raise taxes and increase the price at the pump."
Nonetheless, Obama took the chance to pounce, saying in his letter that he was "heartened that Speaker Boehner yesterday expressed openness to eliminating these tax subsidies."
This all comes as the price of gasoline surges above $4 a gallon in many states, making it increasingly difficult politically to defend Big Oil.
As gas prices approach their record highs set in 2008 they are threatening to derail the nation's nascent economic recovery.
The tax breaks in question
The Obama administration is targeting nine tax breaks, according to a paper from the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Four account for the lion's share of the money:
Domestic manufacturing tax deduction: This is the largest single tax break, and would save over $1.7 billion a year if eliminated.
The tax deduction, passed in 2004, is designed to keep factories in the United States. Companies that manufacture here can deduct 9% of their income from operations that are attributed to domestic production.
But some question if that incentive is really appropriate for oil companies. "What are they going to do, move the oil field to the North Sea," said one staffer at the Center for American Progress said in an interview earlier this year.
No, but higher costs in the United States may make them move the drill rigs to the North Sea or some other place.
Eliminating the tax breaks "would actually discourage new energy projects and new hiring in one of the nation's most dependable job-creating industries," the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement at the time, noting the industry currently supports over 9 million jobs.
The percentage depletion allowance: This lets oil companies deduct about 15% of the money generated from a well from its taxes. Eliminating it would save about $1 billion a year.
The deduction essentially lets oil companies treat oil in the ground as capital equipment. For any industry, the value of that equipment can be written down each year.
But critics say oil in the ground is not capital equipment, but a national resource that the oil companies are simply using for their own profit.
The foreign tax credit: This provision gives companies a credit for any taxes they pay to other countries. Altering this tax credit would save about $850 million a year.
Foreign governments can collect money from oil companies through royalties -- fees for depleting their national resources -- and income taxes.
A royalty would be deducted as a cost of doing business, and would likely shave about 30% off a company's tax bill. Categorized as income tax, it is 100% deductible.
Foreign governments long ago grew wise to the U.S. tax code. To reduce costs for everyone involved and attract business, they agreed to call some royalties income taxes, allowing oil companies to take the 100% deduction on a bigger slice of their bill.
Intangible drilling costs: This lets the industry write off about $780 million a year for things like wages, fuel, repairs and hauling costs.
All industries get to write off the costs of doing business, but they must take it over the life of an investment. The oil industry gets to take the drilling credit in the first year.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- President Obama repeated his call Tuesday for an end to $4 billion in oil industry tax breaks as gas prices approach $4 a gallon and after a top lawmaker indicated a possible shift in Republican policy.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the president said the oil industry is profitable enough without the tax incentives and that the money should be spent on alternative energy sources and conservation.
"CEOs of the major oil companies have made it clear that high oil prices provide more than enough profit motive to invest in domestic production without special tax breaks," said Obama. "As we work together to reduce our deficits, we simply can't afford these wasteful subsidies."
This week those profits are going to be front and center. BP (BP) is expected to report earnings on Wednesday. Exxon (XOM, Fortune 500) is slated to announce its results on Thursday. Some analysts expect the company's profits to jump 50% from last year. Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) is scheduled to make its earnings announcement on Friday.
The oil industry and many of its supporters in Congress have long argued that the tax breaks encourage domestic oil production and provide jobs for millions of Americans. Republicans in particular have resisted efforts to eliminate these tax breaks, something many Democrats have been trying to do since at least 2008.
But on Monday night, Speaker of the House John Boehner indicated he might be open to taking some of those breaks off the table.
Drill baby drill won't lower gas prices
"I don't think the big oil companies need to have the oil depletion allowances, but for small, independent oil and gas producers, if they didn't have this, there'd be even less exploration in America than there is today," Boehner said on ABC's World News Tonight. "It's certainly something we need to be looking at."
Depletion allowances let oil companies treat the oil in the ground as capital equipment, and they can write off a certain percentage for each barrel that comes out.
On Tuesday the speaker appeared to backtrack from those comments, with an aid telling CNN that "what the President has suggested so far would simply raise taxes and increase the price at the pump."
Nonetheless, Obama took the chance to pounce, saying in his letter that he was "heartened that Speaker Boehner yesterday expressed openness to eliminating these tax subsidies."
This all comes as the price of gasoline surges above $4 a gallon in many states, making it increasingly difficult politically to defend Big Oil.
As gas prices approach their record highs set in 2008 they are threatening to derail the nation's nascent economic recovery.
The tax breaks in question
The Obama administration is targeting nine tax breaks, according to a paper from the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Four account for the lion's share of the money:
Domestic manufacturing tax deduction: This is the largest single tax break, and would save over $1.7 billion a year if eliminated.
The tax deduction, passed in 2004, is designed to keep factories in the United States. Companies that manufacture here can deduct 9% of their income from operations that are attributed to domestic production.
But some question if that incentive is really appropriate for oil companies. "What are they going to do, move the oil field to the North Sea," said one staffer at the Center for American Progress said in an interview earlier this year.
No, but higher costs in the United States may make them move the drill rigs to the North Sea or some other place.
Eliminating the tax breaks "would actually discourage new energy projects and new hiring in one of the nation's most dependable job-creating industries," the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement at the time, noting the industry currently supports over 9 million jobs.
The percentage depletion allowance: This lets oil companies deduct about 15% of the money generated from a well from its taxes. Eliminating it would save about $1 billion a year.
The deduction essentially lets oil companies treat oil in the ground as capital equipment. For any industry, the value of that equipment can be written down each year.
But critics say oil in the ground is not capital equipment, but a national resource that the oil companies are simply using for their own profit.
The foreign tax credit: This provision gives companies a credit for any taxes they pay to other countries. Altering this tax credit would save about $850 million a year.
Foreign governments can collect money from oil companies through royalties -- fees for depleting their national resources -- and income taxes.
A royalty would be deducted as a cost of doing business, and would likely shave about 30% off a company's tax bill. Categorized as income tax, it is 100% deductible.
Foreign governments long ago grew wise to the U.S. tax code. To reduce costs for everyone involved and attract business, they agreed to call some royalties income taxes, allowing oil companies to take the 100% deduction on a bigger slice of their bill.
Intangible drilling costs: This lets the industry write off about $780 million a year for things like wages, fuel, repairs and hauling costs.
All industries get to write off the costs of doing business, but they must take it over the life of an investment. The oil industry gets to take the drilling credit in the first year.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
You have to see these bartenders!
A friend of mine sent me this video. The most incredible bartenders ever!!! Just paste the link into your browser and enjoy!
http://file.qip.ru/embed/111226964/dfc05946
http://file.qip.ru/embed/111226964/dfc05946
I went to a Hockey game and got in a fight!
Some Russian dude jumped on the ice in a hockey game and got involved in the fight. I kinda wish he would have got clocked!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Earthquake-Tsunamis
Here are two early videos of the devastation in Japan. Thoughts and prayers to everyone in Japan.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Aaron Rodgers...why we are so lucky as Packer Fans
Just read this and your respect for the quarterback of the Packers will go through the roof!
This is written by a sports anchor from Fox 6 in Milwaukee .
It doesn't get much better than this.
"Save Me a Spot"
This job affords me some incredible opportunities. Being a member of the
FOX 6 Sports team means I've been able to witness and report on events
and people that many can only admire from a distance. I never take these
situations for granted and sincerely appreciate being involved in
whatever capacity each permits.
Monday marked just the most recent case as I had the unparalleled privilege to
be a part of Aaron Rodgers charity event to benefit the MACC Fund, a charity
towards eradicating childhood cancer and blood disorders.
Scattered throughout the crowd of rabid Packers aficionados, were the people
who I consider the event's real MVPs. They are the families who've been forced
to deal with one of life's toughest sentences - the loss of a child.
Those who sprung for the tickets were not disappointed. In a world where many
athletes regurgitate canned and rehearsed responses, the Packers quarterback
was refreshingly candid. Aaron addressed a number of topics with in-depth,
honest reaction - even some that if reprinted and mass distributed might raise
some eyebrows.
Aaron stressed the importance of availability and accountability. In his opinion,
it is a player's responsibility to attend all of the team activities as they are all
intended to better the team as a whole. And then, similarly, he addressed the
importance of taking the heat/criticism when one falls short of expectations and
duties.
He is never nervous to take the field. Aaron is supremely confident in the
preparation he's put in during the week leading up to Sunday's match up.
The way the 2009 season ended was disappointing but his self-confidence
was not affected by the outcome. One of the toughest realizations was that
that combination of players would never take the field together again.
He likened the team to a family and admitted that conflict can and does
occasionally exist but they try to handle such situations with maturity and
civility.
He talked music and his love for tunes at a young age revealing that his mom
used to sing and play lullabies and country music when he was a child. Aaron's
record label Suspended Sunrise is a product of this passion but also a contingency
plan for life after football. His favorite song is Ben Harper's 'Forever' and he's
envious of John Mayer's guitar skills though not his tabloid reputation. He
appreciated my affinity for Keith Urban but gave the audience a thumbs-down
when I mentioned fellow country crooner Kenny Chesney.
His favorite book is The Bible and he tries to read it every day not just when
life's challenges and struggles surface.
His favorite movie is The Princess Bride which he admits he's caught flack
for but says he and his childhood friends can recite every line from the film
and it is simply a great story.
Rodgers' answers to questions on this night were certainly admirable. And
I honestly didn't think I could respect Aaron more. But I was wrong.
My friend, the father of that young girl who passed, was there that night. He was
one of several attendees brought up on stage where he caught a football thrown
by the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.
He asked Aaron to sign the football he'd caught. He wondered if he'd make it
out to his daughter. It isn't shocking that Rodgers obliged. What caught me off
guard was the dedication he made. It wasn't until after Aaron left that I first saw
the autograph... and the simple yet sweet message that brought tears to this father's
eyes: "To Cheri the angel. Save me a spot. - Aaron Rodgers"
I hope that Packers fans realize how lucky they are to have such an upstanding
young man leading their team on the field every weekend. I hope they appreciate
the challenges that were thrust upon him and acknowledge the maturity with
which he handled them. I hope they stand behind the kid and respect him not only
for his incredible talent but for his intelligence and honesty, poise and compassion.
My job has afforded me the chance to watch Aaron Rodgers play football for the
last few seasons. But I am truly thankful for the opportunity to see the other side
of this impressive young man. And pass on some of what I witnessed to you.
This is written by a sports anchor from Fox 6 in Milwaukee .
It doesn't get much better than this.
"Save Me a Spot"
This job affords me some incredible opportunities. Being a member of the
FOX 6 Sports team means I've been able to witness and report on events
and people that many can only admire from a distance. I never take these
situations for granted and sincerely appreciate being involved in
whatever capacity each permits.
Monday marked just the most recent case as I had the unparalleled privilege to
be a part of Aaron Rodgers charity event to benefit the MACC Fund, a charity
towards eradicating childhood cancer and blood disorders.
Scattered throughout the crowd of rabid Packers aficionados, were the people
who I consider the event's real MVPs. They are the families who've been forced
to deal with one of life's toughest sentences - the loss of a child.
Those who sprung for the tickets were not disappointed. In a world where many
athletes regurgitate canned and rehearsed responses, the Packers quarterback
was refreshingly candid. Aaron addressed a number of topics with in-depth,
honest reaction - even some that if reprinted and mass distributed might raise
some eyebrows.
Aaron stressed the importance of availability and accountability. In his opinion,
it is a player's responsibility to attend all of the team activities as they are all
intended to better the team as a whole. And then, similarly, he addressed the
importance of taking the heat/criticism when one falls short of expectations and
duties.
He is never nervous to take the field. Aaron is supremely confident in the
preparation he's put in during the week leading up to Sunday's match up.
The way the 2009 season ended was disappointing but his self-confidence
was not affected by the outcome. One of the toughest realizations was that
that combination of players would never take the field together again.
He likened the team to a family and admitted that conflict can and does
occasionally exist but they try to handle such situations with maturity and
civility.
He talked music and his love for tunes at a young age revealing that his mom
used to sing and play lullabies and country music when he was a child. Aaron's
record label Suspended Sunrise is a product of this passion but also a contingency
plan for life after football. His favorite song is Ben Harper's 'Forever' and he's
envious of John Mayer's guitar skills though not his tabloid reputation. He
appreciated my affinity for Keith Urban but gave the audience a thumbs-down
when I mentioned fellow country crooner Kenny Chesney.
His favorite book is The Bible and he tries to read it every day not just when
life's challenges and struggles surface.
His favorite movie is The Princess Bride which he admits he's caught flack
for but says he and his childhood friends can recite every line from the film
and it is simply a great story.
Rodgers' answers to questions on this night were certainly admirable. And
I honestly didn't think I could respect Aaron more. But I was wrong.
My friend, the father of that young girl who passed, was there that night. He was
one of several attendees brought up on stage where he caught a football thrown
by the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.
He asked Aaron to sign the football he'd caught. He wondered if he'd make it
out to his daughter. It isn't shocking that Rodgers obliged. What caught me off
guard was the dedication he made. It wasn't until after Aaron left that I first saw
the autograph... and the simple yet sweet message that brought tears to this father's
eyes: "To Cheri the angel. Save me a spot. - Aaron Rodgers"
I hope that Packers fans realize how lucky they are to have such an upstanding
young man leading their team on the field every weekend. I hope they appreciate
the challenges that were thrust upon him and acknowledge the maturity with
which he handled them. I hope they stand behind the kid and respect him not only
for his incredible talent but for his intelligence and honesty, poise and compassion.
My job has afforded me the chance to watch Aaron Rodgers play football for the
last few seasons. But I am truly thankful for the opportunity to see the other side
of this impressive young man. And pass on some of what I witnessed to you.
Friday, January 7, 2011
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