Stunning View!

Wow !!!  This, my friends, is an exceptional photograph.  This stunning view is in the Newland Valley near Keswick, England.  I can't imagine someday having the skill and eye to shoot such an unbelievable shot.  How about this one?

Memorial Day Weekend

Dayna, Morgan and I had a super Memorial Day Weekend.  I was telling my friends at work today about how I witnessed Morgan sprout her incredible eyelashes literally over the weekend.  Between Friday and Monday evening, Morgan's eyes just blossomed.  She has beautiful hazle eyes like her mom and really long eye-lashes.  Man, it's hard being away from her while I'm at work.  I feel like I'm missing something each day I'm not at home.

Canon EOS Rebel XT SLR Camera

We took the plunge today and bought the Canon EOS Rebel XT SLR Camera.  I became increasingly restless with the quality of the photos we've been getting of Morgan using the Canon PowerShoot S200.  We should receive the camera within the next week.  We actually got an even better deal than expected through Walmart online.  Hopefully, within the next couple weeks, we'll be able to post some pictures of much better quality on the website.

Some features of interest that aided in our decision to go with this camera...

0.2 second startup time

3 frames-per-second shooting

8 megapixel CMOS ( Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor )

USB 2.0 Hi-speed interface

Buffer = 14 JPEG Frames ( compared to 4 ). Will be good for continuous shooting.

Light weight body and size is more suitable for Dayna's small hands

Battery lasts for about 1100 frames

Selectable metering mode

Two additional menu languages - Korean and Russian ( just in case we need it...lol )

Long gone are pension plans.

Long gone are the days when companies offer pension plans.  Just a fraction of companies today offer pensions to new employees.  My guess is that pensions will be completely extinct in the next couple decades ( if not sooner ).  In its place, the 401K is intended to provide what pensions used to.  Of course, the difference is that YOU are entirely responsible for funding and managing your retirement via your 401K.  No decisions are made for you and participation is completely voluntary.  Trouble is, the vast majority of Americans who have a 401K at their disposal do not take full advantage of the opportunity and/or are too lazy to take time to save and plan for their retirement.  These folks have been conditioned as they saw their parents completely provided for via their pensions and Social Security.  A harsh reality will hit sooner than they expect as they realize how unprepared for retirement they really are.

Enter the Mandatory 401K.  Currently, only 1 in 5 employees sign up for their 401K.  However, many companies are now automatically signing up their employees upon initial employment.  This has drastically increased the enrollment rate.

Sound Money

We've narrowed down the SLR cameras...

I believe Dayna and I have narrowed our choice of Digital SLR cameras down to two, but in all honesty we'll probably go with the Canon Rebel XT ( Silver Body ) with the 8.2 megapixel, 18mm-55mm lens and the lower price tag.  The Nikon D70 is a good camera too, but only 6 megapixel versus the 8.2 of the Canon Rebel.  It doesn't make sense for me to pay $1000 for the Nikon when the Canon is rated higher with more megapixels and comes in at about $800.  Normally, I wouldn't make a purchase like this at Best Buy, but with a coupon for 12% off and an additional $100 rebate, then we should be able to get this camera for around $700.



Maybe as we get more sophisticated with our phtography, we can consider the Canon EOS 20D or the Nikon D200.  But, at this point, I can't justify spending the almost $2000 on these cameras when I'll essentially be in a learning period with the less expensive SLR camera we selected above.



Our new Canon EOS Rebel XT will be a nice step up from our current 2 megapixel Canon PowerShot S200...

Retirees

Many financial publications state that retirees should have the capability to live on about 80% of their pre-retirement income.  However, in spite of the fact that medical costs will surely increase during retirement years, many other expenses incurred during your working years will be dimensioned and/or eliminated in the retirement years.  The list below are just a few of the expense items that will be or should be reduced during your retirement...

Savings - you will not necessarily have a need to continue saving at the level you were at during your working years.  You may see an expense reduction of 5 - 20% here.

Work Expenses - commuting costs is one example that will probably be reduced significantly.  The expense reduction could be in the 3 - 5% range.

Social Security Taxes - you won't be paying into Social Security since you won't necessarily be working or your work load may be cut back substantially.  Expense reduction could be in the 6 - 8% range.

Reduced Income Taxes - your income will be lower, hence, taxes will be less.  Savings could be in the 7 - 10 % range.

Mortgage Expense - your house may be near or at being paid off during retirement.  Expense savings could be in the 10 - 30% range.

Children - your kids are probably out of the house and this expense will be greatly reduced.

It's very possible that a retiree's overall expenses could be almost 50% less than it was during the working years.

Barbaro

What a magnificient creature Barbaro is.  What a sad ending to a more-than-likely record breaking career.  The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced he would have been the closest horse in 30 years to contend for the Triple Crown.  My prayer is that he'll be able to avoid complications from the surgery and live a life as a successful stallion.  I would hate to think about Thoroughbred racing without the presence of a Barbaro heir.  I can assure you that I will closely follow any foal that comes from Barbaro's loins.

First Tub Bath!

Dayna and I gave Morgan her first "bathtub" bath.

Preakness

WOW !!!  Unbelievable Preakness !!!

Not sure we'll see something like that again for another 50+ years.

My heart goes out to Barbaro.  Very reminiscent of the sad story of the filly Ruffian who was pulled up with a broken leg.  Barbaro is going to be a huge "what if" in the history of horse racing.  His legend may live on for a long time because of what happened today.

This event will be something I remember for a very long time.

A Dime A Dozen

You know, when you think about it, these most recent generations have got to be THE most narcissistic human beings to ever walk the planet.  The explosion of the blog culture has just about everyone throwing themselves out to world.  Everyone is out there to MAKE THEIR POINT and BE HEARD by the world.  Does the world REALLY gain anything of value when someone merely rants about whatever they are passionate about?

Sure, there are all types of interesting people out there, but doesn't it all just get so tiresome when someone is convinced they have the "one and only" and "most unique" and "never thought of before" idea?  Geez, come on people, there have been a b-zillion people that came before you and a g-zillion people that will come after you that are convinced they are "special" in the eyes of the world and what THEY say really makes a difference.  Give me a freakin break.  It's ALL futile my friends.  We're all simply dust in the wind with a few moments on this old orb.

As a matter of fact, this blog of mine is quite ridiculous as well when you think about it.  I can assure you that hardly anyone ever thinks twice about reading this goofy thing.  In all honesty, the only real value that comes out of this silly blog is the fact that my dearest family members and very close friends have a chance to see Morgan grow up right here on these web pages.

My mission in life is to be the best darn dad I can be to Morgan and the best husband to Dayna and the best son to my parents.  NOTHING else matters in life.

That's MY rant for the day.  Enjoy it because hopefully there will not be another one for a really long time.

Jenny Lewis

I almost forgot about Jenny Lewis.  Interesting sound.  Pure vocals.  Political overtones and jabs at American culture.  She is from LA, but has a very Austin sound.  Jenny is weird and anyone who knows me knows I like WEIRD.  Enjoy another Friday and fabulous spring weekend !!!

Jenny Lewis
NPR Interview
Rilo Kiley
MRMATT Flickr.com ( Jenny in Austin )
RiloKiley.NET

Market Nosedive

The market continues to nosedive this week.  Lots of market value has been lost by folks.  I'm down $7000 just since last Wednesday.  But, now also serves as an opportunity for many people as well, right?  Some real value can be had over the next few months as interest rates continue to climb and inflation heats up.  In December, I blogged about keeping my money in cash for the better part of this year in order to be prepared for some bargains.  It looks like I may be fortunate to make some deals in the near-term.  I'm guessing we'll see both interest rates and inflation continue to rise over the next 18 months.  Real-estate will of course be affected.  Ahh, the beauty of a free market economy.  Boom-bust-boom-bust.  I had a wonderful economics professor in college that told us in order to thrive in a capitalistic economy we must always prepare ourselves for the down times by stockpiling during the good times.  Those who live in a perpetual state of "things will always continue to get better for me financially", yet never plan for days of drought are destined to fall prey to an unforgiving beast named capitalism.  Good Luck.

Car Rentals

Interesting write-up in the Wall Street Journal today regarding car rental costs.  Apparantly, due to the high cost of fuel, consumers are obviously leaning toward compact cars at the rental desk.  As a result, car rental companies have increased the cost of compact cars to almost match the rate of the large SUVs.  At one particular rental location, a compact car ( i.e. Chevrolet Cobalt ) costs $82.90, while a midsize SUV like the Chevrolet Equinox is going for $71.90.  According to the article, one rental company is renting 40% fewer SUVs.  The car rental companies have increased their rates on the smaller cars that are now in more demand in order to offset their losses in the SUV market.  If you’re not going to drive a lot of miles during your rental period, it might make sense to rent the more roomy SUV.

Morgan is one month old.

Today was Morgan's one month pediatrician appointment.  To help monitor her growth progress, I've added the Morgan's web page to the Morgan section of the website.  Each month I'll add a photo that marks the occassion along with her physical traits and accomplishments over the last month.  Regardless of whether or not we have the honor of you being here in our hometown to see Morgan grow, we can all share in the blessing of watching Morgan grow up right here on our little place on the web.

The Da Vinci Code

I guess this is the big week that the Da Vinci Code movie comes out.  I'm looking forward to seeing it.  I've heard that the movie stays pretty true to the book.  Personally, if I were making this movie, I would find it hard to leave out ANY part of the book.  The story builds on itself very well and leaving out just one minor piece may leave a big hole in the story.

I'm sure most everyone has read the book, so I probably don't need to worry about "spoiling" the movie with my comments here.  Basically, the premise of the story is that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.  Mary was indeed not a prostitute and served a significant role in Jesus' ministry.  The main thrust of the Da Vinci Code story is that there are two historical entities involved.  One entity wishes to keep this "truth" about Jesus concealed while the other has interest in revealing this secret as to shake up the foundation of Christianity as we know it.

It's a fascinating read, yet, it is fiction.  However, there are some very important thought-provoking ideas in this story.

The first thing that comes to my mind is the length that individuals have gone to ensure their version of history is passed down through generations.  As the old saying goes..."history is but a series of lies agreed upon by man".  This could not be more true.  As I grow older, I find myself more attuned to the motivations of other people in attempting to convince me of their way of thinking.  I was fortunate enough to escape the brainwashing of the church about six years ago.  While caught up in that life, I cannot tell you how many times I heard leaders of the church make the comment..."we must correct their thinking"...when referring to people whom they believed were "straying".  I sincerely believe that the last 2000 years of Christianity ( and really all religions ) have been proliferated due to the motivation of a select elite to control the masses.

I have also found it intriquing how today we are so fanatically convinced we know the "truth" of what occurred 2000+ years ago.  A perfect example...it is so common today for Christians to make the claim that Eve ate an apple in the garden.  The scriptures today simply states that she ate a fruit, not an apple specifically.  This is obviously a trivial example, but my point is that through thousands of years human beings make statements of truth that simply are not.  It's all about who can convince the masses of their "version" of the story such that they can control them and more importantly make claim to that all important 10% tithing amount.

Grandpa Doug

Doug was in town this weekend to check out little Miss Morgan.  A good time was had by all.  When Morgan gets a bit bigger we look forward to taking her to Las Vegas, Orlando and Austin to visit her grand parents.

Shopping for SLR cameras.

I'm sure many of you can attest to the fact that folks seem to get very interested in photography upon the birth of their first child.  The shots we're getting with our little punk digital camera are just not adequate in my opinion.  We're in the process of educating ourselves on the latest digital technology.  We definitely want to stay in the SLR realm which allows for professional photography and interchangeable lenses.  Of course, this comes with a price tag.

According to Consumer Reports, SLR cameras start around $900.  Apparantly, Canon occupies the number one spot in the SLR digital world, while Nikon is a close second.  The two that peak our interest the most right now are the...

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT SLR
Nikon D200

Loving Family

As you can see, the website continues to evolve.  I want to continue to be a bit more sophisticated with my graphics so I'm blowing the dust off our copy of PhotoShop.  I had the privilege of working with a fantastic graphic designer ( Jason Harrell ) at Context Integration in Austin.  I'll certainly not come close to his level of expertise, but I can at least try to make the site go beyond the imagination of a first grader.

Dayna and I have had a wonderful time with her mom ( Debbie ), step-dad ( Cecil ) and aunt ( Sandy ) this week here in Tulsa.  It's so reassuring to know we have a good solid family that brings a ton of love into Morgan's little life.  We want Morgan to be surrounded by wonderful loving people who have her best interest in mind.

Have a super Friday tomorrow !!!

Celebration

Today was another big day for Morgan.  After 22 days, her little umbilical cord fell off.  I've included a picture in the May 2006 link so you can see that she has an "innie".  Now that the cord is gone, Dayna was able to dress her in one of her nice outfits since we did not have to worry about the clothes irritating the cord.  We all celebrated by taking Dayna's family to Abuelos for a nice Mexican Fiesta.

Consumer Packages

The United States Postal Service is reeling due primarily to...

transition from snail mail to email

high fuel prices that make its mail delivery vehicle fleet of 260,000 unmanageable

soaring healthcare costs for its huge number of employees

Yet, on the other hand, the internet ( specifically EBAY ) has actually increased the number of "packages" flowing to/from consumers.  But, for the most part, UPS and DHL have been the primary beneficiaries of e-commerce.

With all this being said, the USPS is reaching to generate an influx of cash NOW.  Enter the FOREVER STAMP.  I'm sure you've heard about it and it sounds like a pretty good deal.  If you go this route, I would suggest doing it as soon as it becomes available.  Forty-two cents will be the initial going rate.  If you wait until later, then you will subject to the current market price.

Red Maple

Yesterday, Cecil ( Dayna's step-dad ) and I planted a Red Maple in our backyard.  As my sister Kae mentioned, we'll be able to watch Morgan grow along with the tree.  The tree is about 10 ft tall at the moment and Morgan is 20 inches long.

Romp at the Derby!

Well, we all knew Barbaro was good, but I did not expect that kind of romp in the Derby.  Of course, he did have the perfect post position, as well as, the race setup we were all expecting.  Barbaro stalked Sinister Minister and Keyed Entry perfectly and then really turned on the jets in the stretch.  Will this be the year we see an elusive Triple Crown winner???  Well, the owners and trainer seem to like to give this horse lots of time off between races.  The Preakness is only two weeks away.  It will be interesting to see if they enter him in the race.  Somehow, I doubt they will.

Fortunately, I did not bet the farm on this race.  I put $20 on Cause To Believe to win and put down $20 to win on Lawyer Ron for Dayna.  They ran 12th and 13th, respectively.  This is why I don't bet but a couple times a year.  It's very very difficult to win money in this sport.

The field is set !!!

My Final Statistical Rankings

POST 1 - Jazil ( 30 : 1 ) POST 2 - Steppenwolfer ( 30 : 1 ) POST 3 - Keyed Entry ( 30 : 1 ) POST 4 - Sinister Minister ( 12 : 1 ) POST 5 - Point Determined ( 12 : 1 ) POST 6 - Showing Up ( 20 : 1 ) POST 7 - Bob and John ( 12 : 1 ) POST 8 - Barbaro ( 4 : 1 ) POST 9 - Sharp Humor ( 20 : 1 ) POST 10 - Ap Warrior ( 15 : 1 )

POST 11 - SweetNorthernSaint ( 10 : 1 ) POST 12 - PrivateVow ( 50 : 1 ) POST 13 - Blue Grass Cat ( 30 : 1 ) POST 14 - Deputy Glitters ( 50 : 1 ) POST 15 - Seaside Retreat ( 50 : 1 ) POST 16 - Cause To Believe ( 50 : 1 ) POST 17 - Lawyer Ron ( 4 : 1 ) POST 18 - Brother Derek ( 3 : 1 ) POST 19 - Storm Treasure ( 50 : 1 ) POST 20 - Flashy Bull ( 50 : 1 )

Post Position

The Kentucky Derby Draw is on ESPN at 4PM Central Time this afternoon.  With a 20 horse field, the draw is hugely important.  It's very difficult for any horse between the 1-3 and 17-20 gates to win the Derby.  They either have too much ground to cover ( from the outside gates ) or get bottled up on the rail ( from the inside gates ).

Only 29% of the Derby winners over the last 35 years have come from the inner most three gates or outer most three gates.

Average Winning Odds

I do enjoy horse racing for the sport of it, but it's virtually impossible to win money over the long haul.  One can occassionally enjoy the thrill of winning some money every once in while ( the most I've won is $430 on a $30 exacta bet ), but over the long-term you will definitely lose.

I have run all kinds of simulations based on real historic race results as published in the Daily Racing Form.  If you were to take the "bet on the favorite" approach, you would win approximately 30% of your bets at an average winning odds of 7:5.  Over the course of 100 races ( of which you bet $2 each ), you would lose about $50.  If you were to take the "bet on the next best horse" approach, you would win about 20% of your bets with the average winning odds at 2:1.  You would lose about $80 over the course of those 100 races.

To achieve any type of significant positive returns over the long-term, you would need to win at least 32% or more of your bets at an average winning odds of about 5:2.  This can be achieved, but is VERY VERY difficult.

And, yes, you can certainly win money placing exotic bets, but remember that your winning percentage will go down significantly.  However, your average winning odds will also go up significantly though.  There is definitely a relationship between your winning percentage and the average winning odds of your picks.