International Space Consortium: The Twenty-first Century Career (Geocities Rescue)

International Space Consortium: The Twenty-first Century Career (Geocities Rescue)

International Space Consortium: Twenty-first Century Homes: Interindependence (Geocities Rescue)

International Space Consortium: Twenty-first Century Homes: Interindependence (Geocities Rescue)

Winter Birthday News

The Wall Street Journal reports on a study of winter babies.

I think all they found was that sometimes it sucks to be a Capricorn.

Wealth Stocks

This post is about what I would buy if I won the lottery in terms of investments. The overall purpose is to have stock in the things I would use if wealthy so that my spending would come back to me in more wealth.

Of course, there is some house cleaning to get out of the way before the stock spending spree commences. The first thing to do is to pay off the existing credit card and IRS debt, the student loans and enough of the mortgage on the existing condo so that when it sells, we can walk away without paying anything (since we are currently under water).

The second task is to find a house in the same complex where my wife's boss lives and works from home, assuming she still wants to keep busy. If not, then we'd buy something in Alexandria, Virginia, probably in the Del Ray neighborhood.

Now to the the purchase of financial instruments. The first thing to buy is enough Alexandria munipal bonds to pay for both the property taxes and water bills on the house and to pay for the increase in these taxes over time. These should fund an escrow account which pays these bills automatically. Stocks in the local utility and telecommunication companies, as well as stock in Home Depot and Lowes, will also be purchased, with enough dividend reinvestment to grow the account for inflation and enough in distributions to fund current services, home repairs and the replacement of furniture and appliances. Also, don't forget that what used to be purchased at the video and record store is now purchased online or via the TV itself. These funds will also be deposited in the escrow account with automatic payment provisions. There must be enough of a cushion in the account to pay all obligations in advance of dividend and interest distributions.

The next thing to do is to take care of shopping, both for food and clothing. The same rules apply. We make sure we'll have enough so that you can reinvest to deal with inflation and make sure we have stock in every food store we shop at (Harris Teeter, Giant, Whole Foods and Safeway) as well as where we buy clothing - especially if we use their credit cards (Macy's). It is also worth it to buy stock in some of the products as well, especially in the clothing sector. Let's also not forget presents, since lottery winners must be generous to the relatives. These funds should go to normal checking, again with a cushion and probably a line of credit, just in case.

Entertainment comes next. There should be enough dividend return after reinvestment to cover eating out three or four times a week for dinner, as well as money for lunches and coffee (Outback, Fudruckers, Starbucks, etc.). Since some places are privately held, it is best to overinvest in the sector to get the required payout. The more you eat out, the more you must invest. The other reason to overinvest is for eating out on vacation. Also, don't forget the movies. Invest in both theaters and studios. Don't forget that rich people sometimes have to pick up the check, so include enough for guests.

Speaking of vacations, if you plan on one vacation a quarter - and if you are rich, why wouldn't you - you must cover enough for airlines and hotels - including international carriers. This may also involve getting a beach house, which requires a separate set of utility and local bond investments. Rental car and credit card company stocks are also a must, since these folks all profiteer off of vacationers. We also need to get the right kind of credit card to avoid paying for rental car insurance and currency conversion fees - and there should be come kind of kickback for frequent flier miles.

Personal transportation is also to be saved for. The amount of the investment depends on how often we want a new car and how many cars are needed. Replacing a car every three years and having two of them, both in the luxury zone, will require a significant investment - although it is fine to figure trade in allowances, so it's not as bad as it could be. We also must add oil company stocks to buy gas, insurance company stocks and stocks in someplace to get repairs and maintenance, even if we use a local garage.

When you are rich, private school is a must. It is probably better to pre-pay tuition than to rely on investment accounts that may or may not hold their value. We'll pay for college, but Catie is on her own for graduate school. Wedding expenses will be covered under the entertainment fund. Indeed, since after she goes away to school, food and enterainment costs will be less, although she will need spending money.

After we cost out all of these expenses and the stocks required, its time to plan for paying taxes. Taxes will be withheld automatically from the lottery winnings, however this is not enough. We must also plan to pay taxes on the dividends received to pay bills, since there is a limit to what you can put in a Roth IRA (although this should be utilized to the greatest extent possible). To pay these taxes, buy the highest yield US Treasury paper possible and make sure, like above, that enough is reinvested for inflation, with the remainder to pay taxes.

Finally, don't forget God. If you are rich, this is expected. In each category above, add enough padding so that we can give in charity an amount equal to 10% of whatever we spend on ourselves and others.

Watching NASCAR

Sunday, I watched the Daytona 500. In the old days, the race would come on around noon and be over in time for dinner, if not before. Now, the engines are revved at 3:30. Given Florida's weather, there was rain in the late afternoon - so the race was called early - just in time for the Fox evening line-up. The race ticker went to fast and scrolled at the top of the screen, while the eye naturally goes to the bottom, since that is where the cars are. I was also watching 3 little girls (my daughter and her two best friends), who were in the living room watching Dora the Explorer videos and generally spreading dolls all over the house. In prior years, the race was a sporting event. Now, with all the hype and interviews, it more resembles reality TV.

How about more racing, earlier racing, and less personality. Will I watch next year? Probably. Will I enjoy it, probably not.

Pittsburgh moves up in All Time Rankings

Here are the top ten rankings for this year in the NFL, both for appearances and wins.

Congratulations Pittsburgh!

By Appearance (Contenders):

Rank Team Appearances (wins)

1 Dallas 24 (13)
2 NY Giants 22 (10)
3 Pittsburgh 21 (13) (Passing Green Bay)
4 Green Bay 19 (13)
5 Oakland 19 (8)
6 San Francisco, Washington 17 (10) tie
8 St. Louis 17 (6)
9 Chicago 15 (9)
10 New England 14 (9)

Baltimore, who lost the AFC championship, moves to 26th with 3 appearances - although if you reject the fiction that they are not the former Cleveland Browns their real number of appearances is 17 with 6 championship wins (ranking them 8th in a tie with St. Louis). Arizona is tied for 22nd (or 23rd if Baltimore gets its history back from Cleveland) with 4 appearances and two wins. Philadelphia moves to 16th with 12 appearances and 5 wins (or 17th if Baltimore is counted correctly).

If you count championship trophies as your first criteria, with championship record as your tie breaker, last night's win moves Pittsburgh to #2. Phili stayed at 15 with its NFC championship loss. Baltimore stays at 21st with its AFC loss and Arizona moves up to a 4 way tie for 22nd with the other 2-2 teams with its NFC win and Super Bowl loss.

By Victories (Champions):

Rank Team(s) Win-Loss

1 Green Bay 13-6
2 Pittsburgh 13-8
3 Dallas 13-11
4 San Francisco, Washington (tie) 10-7
6 New York 10-12
7 New England 9-5
8 Chicago 9-6
9 Denver 8-6
10 Oakland 8-11

If Pittsburgh repeats next year, they will be the undisputed greatest of all time, leading not only in Super Bowl victories, but in total League, Conference and Super Bowl wins. Of course, in the League's history a pre-Super Bowl championship is equivalent to a Super Bowl and a Conference Championship is a lesser prize. By that reckoning, Green Bay is still hard to beat with 9 total League championships. I disagree, since they still give trophies for Conference victories. The original Super Bowl was AFL v. NFL. Because these merged to form a new NFL, the conferences can be called succeeding organizations with equivalent championships to the old leagues.

That's a discussion for later years. For this year - Hooray for Pittsburgh!

NFL Conferences

I was going back through old blog entries today and I came across one where I expressed an opinion on the NFL division line-up. It was based on more realistic regions and somewhat losely on the geographic regions I posit for the U.S. Government.

Here is what I published back in February of 2005:

American North: Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh
American East: New England, Buffalo, New York, Baltimore
American South: Tennessee, Miami, Jacksonville, Houston
American West: Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, Oakland
National North: Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota
National East: New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Carolina
National South: Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Tampa Bay
National West: Seattle, San Francisco, Arizona, St. Louis

Since then, I have changed the regions to account for the upcoming census, based on the most recent populations shifts. Of course, the change has been minimal. However, it got me thinking about how you could do an NFL organization if you did not worry about Conference membership. Here it is for your consideration. Think about the juicy regional rivalries:

I. Buffalo, New England, New York, New York
II. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington
III. Atlanta, Carolina, Jacksonville, Tennessee
IV. Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Tampa Bay
V. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis
VI. Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, St. Louis
VII. Arizona, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City
VIII. Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle

As I said four years ago, you can always schedule rivalry games, like an annual Dallas - Washington game. It would be more difinitive, since they would play only once, not twice.

I will provide the statistics later on the revised championship rankings.

The First Three Commandments

In my book, Musings from the Christian Left, I address the topics ofChristian Humanism and liberation morality. My thesis is that human morality exists not for God, but for man, just as the Sabbath exists for man, not man for the Sabbath.

When I took Ethics class at Loras College, we discussed the obligatory nature of right action - that it is something we ought to do, not only because it fulfills us but because God deserves our good behavior. I never quite agreed with this last point, but it does raise the question of the first part of the Great Commandment, that You shall love the Lord, your God with all of your heart, all of your mind and all of your strength. The question again arises, why must you? Does God benefit from these things, or are they solely for our benefit?

We avoid idol worship because the idols are not real, although the Priests behind these cults are both real and greedy. We do not break the second commandment so that we do not take the pressence of God lightly. We rest and worship on the Sabbath so that we might have something to do in life other than work as human beings, not human doings. Jesus gave us a clue when he said the Sabbath was for man. God does not need our worship. If he did, he would not be worthy of worship. God freely choses to accept our worship, he does not require it.

It is good that God does not need our worship, for God would be in bad shape if He did. Our worship is but refrigerator art when compared with the worship of the angels, who do not say their prayers as much as sing them. I am a cradle Catholic, so I have heard the quality of human singing in Church. Angelic prayers are total expressions of who they are. This is why Satan could not fathom why Jesus would become man instead of one of his own angels. His real sin was to think that his prayer was essential to God. God freely choses to accept angelic prayer, which is simply a higher form of refrigerator art when compared with the perfect harmony of the Blessed Trinity. Let us not make the same mistake as Satan.

The Christian Left: Merry Christmas, Good Yule#links

The Christian Left: Merry Christmas, Good Yule#links is a twist on last year's post on the calender and Yule.