Entitlement

Perused an interesting article today by scientists at Berkeley. The article is entitled Are Rich People Unethical?

In the article the primary conclusion is: large sums of money may give people greater feelings of entitlement, causing those people to be the most averse to wealth distribution.   

Did you catch that?  When people earn lot of money they feel 'entitled' to it.  Of course, they ARE entitled to it.  Entitlement, by definition, means 'a guarantee of access to benefits based on established rights and law'.  Of course they should have access to their bank accounts and investment accounts.  Unless you think someone else should?

I probably paid for that study.  Ugh. 

Having 'discovering' this shocking finding (high earners have feelings of entitlement) - they then articulate the following, twisted logic:

• some earners earn more than others
• people that earn more feel entitled (the law affords them the benefit) to keep more
• therefore, high earners are adverse to having their wealth redistributed
• therefore, high earners are greedy (greed: intense desire to accumulate and keep for one's self)
• therefore, high earners support social inequality (social inequality: people are in different social classes)
• therefore, high earners are unethical (unethical: lacking morality, guilty of wrong behavior)
• therefore, something must be done about this

Do you see how they slide so effortlessly from measuring people's subjective feelings, to making assumptions about what they think and believe, to judging their motives and behavior? 

Wouldn't it be simply have been easier to hand out the following survey:

Are you a (choose one):
     
      Capitalist:    _________
      Communist: _________

The scientists summarized as follows:  "We hope to further study how we can curb these patterns."  Wow... save us all some money:  it's easy: pick one:  Socialism, Communism or Totalitarianism.  
 
Oddly - the researchers acknowledged some 'other findings' that tended to contradict their findings. 

• people in poor communities commit violent crimes to acquire money- meaning they too demonstrate a high sense of entitlement (to other people's money)
• 50% of wage earners do not contribute any federal income taxes yet feel strongly entitled to all sorts of benefits (provided by other people's money)

So - in summary:  high earners feel entitled;  low earners feel entitled;  non-earners feel entitled.  We needed to pay researchers at Berkeley to figure that out?

I probably paid for that study. Ugh.

Summit Peak Half Marathon

Hannah and Eric run during the week at work and are generally in pretty good shape.  So, it wasn't a complete surprise earlier in the year when they set a goal of participating in a half marathon before the end of 2011.  So, as the year waned Hannah looked around for a nearby half marathon to participate in.  Having stumbled upon the Summit Peak Half Marathon in nearby Saratoga, she checked out the website and saw a bunch of smiling, happy participants; just what she was looking for.  They seemed happy.. so she signed up and then got Eric to come along with her.

On December 10th Hannah and Eric were off to the Summit Peak Half Marathon.  Julie and I were invited along as their support staff providing such important services as a ride to the race location, photography, in-race cheering and post race buffet.  We were honored to have the chance to participate.

The course map is shown below.


Now, right off the bat, there are some subtle clues that this might not be your normal, relatively flat, half-marathon.  For instance, the name of the race includes the words 'Summit' - which is not a word associated with low elevations.  Also, the word 'Peak' is used.  Another word not generally used together with the terms 'flat', 'level' or 'easy'.  A third clue might have been when you looked at the map and noticed elevation rings.  Many elevation rings.   Oh, at the race course is located in the Santa Cruz MOUNTAINS.

As we climbed up road to Sanborn County Park I think it started to dawn on the kids that this wasn't going to be a simple run in the park.  The windy, uphill road snaked through the redwoods until we reached our location.

Undaunted, the kids checked in and got their race numbers and prepared to get going.

As I was checking with the race staff to determine where we could go to cheer for Hannah and Eric it became obvious this was a unique course.  The race was run entirely on wilderness trails and there was only 1 place (at the half-way turnaround) where observers could park to encourage their racers.  At that point Julie and I decided to split up.  She would go to the turnaround in the car and I would take off (since it was more than 30 minutes to race start) on foot and go find a place along the course where I could take photographs.   So, armed with my camera I was off through the start and walking.

Immediately, I started to get concerned for the kids.  You see, after the first 100 yards or so the course starts a continuous upward track - relatively steep in many places.  As it turns out - this little chart - which Eric found after the fact - might have been very helpful as they were evaluating which race to enter ;)

As you can see - the course is a significant uphill for the entire first 4 miles.  Then, the course meanders up and down for the next couple miles - reversing the pattern on the return (it's a back and forth course).  In all there is over 1/2 mile of elevation change during the race!

I was able to cover the first 2.5 miles or so before finding a spot where I could get good pictures (and a good workout myself).  I worried as I waited for our racers to come by.

Fortunately, as I spied them down the hill on a switchback (note the narrow trail they were running on) they were in excellent spirits!  Note: the pictures are dark because it was early in the morning and in the middle of a forest.

As they came up the hill and ran by me they looked like they were doing very well!  I cheered them on and then they were off - continually gaining altitude!

Well, it was going to be awhile before I saw them again (they had to SUMMIT and then come back down) - so I moved my location down to about 1.25 miles from the finish (around mile 12).  I remember running a long, tough race and it was an incredible encouragement to me to have my family and friends there to cheer me on.  And there were so many random people along the course that would cheer for all the participants.  So, this was my opportunity to give something back.  Knowing I was one of the few non-racers on the course - I really got into encouraging every racer as they ran by.  It was an easy thing to do because having walked just a portion of the course I was incredibly impressed with anyone that would finish this race.

It was an inspirational moment to finally spot Hannah and Eric coming towards me.  They may not have noticed, but it really got me all choked up.   So - I snapped away with the camera and cheered for them!  Only a mile or so more to go... and it's all down hill!!  I knew they would be fine.  Don't they look great?!

In a flash they were by me and approaching the aid station.  A few gummy bears and a last drink of water and they were off - racing towards the finish and the achievement of a difficult goal.

As I started my own trek down to meet them at the finish I had a chance to reflect on their achievement.  I was absolutely certain they had no idea just how difficult this race would be.  I would guess they are both capable of running the distance on a relatively flat course in a couple hours or so - give or take.  This race would take them over 3 hours.  And yet, they kept their composure and seemed to actually thrive on the difficulty.  Also, they stayed together throughout.  That is an admirable trait - to come alongside your friend and provide mutual encouragement to achieve a difficult goal.  I was filled with pride as I returned to the start to see them reveling in their accomplishment.

Way to go Hannah and Eric!  You should be very proud of yourselves.

Can't wait to go to your next race!

Sad but oddly interesting

Julie was reading our local obituaries for some reason this morning and stumbled onto this.  I've changed some of the names and facts to protect identities.  However, this is so tragically sad and interesting I had to share it:

My dear mother,  Margaret Walters, died on Dec 2, 2011 after a lengthy and involuntary confinement at El Camino Hospital at the age of 89.  Mom was born the daughter of ....and graduated at the top of her class at Wellington High School in Illinois.  She was very proud of her hometown, returning for over 50 years to her high school reunions.

My mother was an extremely intelligent woman and wanted desperately to go on to college immediately after graduation, her grandfather offering to pay her expenses at University of Illinois, to which she had been accepted.

Her father disallowed that, stating that 'girls only get married'.  Her older brother,  Eli, went in her stead.  Eli flunked out after one semester.  My dear mother, over the objections, constant interference, and sabotage by my father, John Walters, finally earned her Bachelor of Arts degree on December 23, 1994 at the age of 72 and her Masters of Arts in Sociology at the age of 76, both from San Jose State University.

FIND THE FACT game

I just read the transcript by Nancy Pelosi this morning and decided to play my favorite game "FIND THE FACT" after reading it.  Wanna play along?  Ok.  Here we go.

Here's a Transcript of her remarks:

“Christmas is 10 days away,” said Pelosi at a press briefing on Capitol Hill today. “The president and Democrats in Congress have been very clear. We're not going home without enacting a payroll tax cut for America's working families and extending unemployment insurance for millions of Americans.”

“The payroll tax cut that the president proposed would put $1,500 in the pockets of 160 million Americans,” she said. “The unemployment insurance extension is not only good for individuals. It has a macroeconomic impact. As macroeconomic advisers have stated, it would make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy.”

Let's Play!!

ROUND 1:  Is the fact there are 160 million Americans working?

Oh... sorry.  No.  There are only 140 Million people employed in the US... not 160 Million.

ROUND 2:  Is the fact The payroll tax cut that the president proposed would put $1,500 in the pockets of 160 million Americans?

Oh... sorry.  No.  Aside from there not being 160M Americans in the workforce.. for the 2% payroll tax to put $1,500 in the pocket of anyone they would need to make $75,000 per year ($75,000*2% = $1,500).  

Oops.. but 88.5% of workers in the US don't make $75,000.  in fact, the average worker makes slightly more than $24,000.  In reality, only about 17.5 Million workers would get $1,500. Meaning:  88.5% of working Americans would get less than $1,500.

ROUND 3:  Is the fact:  As macroeconomic advisers have stated, it would make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy?

Oh... sorry.  No.  Besides.. she never really said it would ADD or SUBTRACT jobs in our economy.  She simply said it would 'make a difference' to some jobs in our economy.  No, this is political-speak - and as such cannot be considered a fact.


ROUND 4:  Is the fact:  Christmas is 10 days away?

Ahhhhhhh... yes.  There we found it.  Nancy Pelosi did get one fact right in her statement!  Well done!! 

Kindle Touch Review

I'm a relatively voracious reader. Years ago, I started walking.  A lot.  To do the amount of walking I do a day takes some time. Soon thereafter I learned that I could combine my love of reading with walking and kill two birds with one stone. It's something I love to do.  My colleagues at work can confirm this as I am known there as 'that guy that walks everyday at lunchtime reading a book'.

I haven't owned or spent much time with Kindles - so I don't bring any particular experience that allows me to compare the Kindle Touch to previous Kindle versions.  However, I do own an iPad and have spent hours and hours reading on that - through the iBooks e-reader as well as a Kindle App.

My two-word review of the Kindle Touch:  Buy One!!

There's only a few technical things you need to know about a Kindle.  First, they use a display technology called e-ink that creates very sharp text on a non-reflective display.  There are two huge advantages to this technology:  it's amazingly easy to read in bright sunlight and it doesn't strain your eyes like reading from a computer monitor type display will.  That means... if you read a lot... or love reading outside - buy a Kindle Touch*. 

Second,  it's ridiculously light. I weighed a couple paperback books on a kitchen scale one day at Target.  Very scientific, I know.  I found that a book on the thinner side weighed 7-8 ounces while a book on the fatter side weighed between 9-10 ounces.  Obviously, hard cover books weigh more.  The Kindle Touch weighs around 7.5 oz.  It's lighter than most books.  That means you can carry it around in one hand for long periods of time with no fatigue.  Sweet!!  By comparison - the iPad weighs around 1.5 lbs (the iPad2 is around 1.3).  It's not hard for such a manly-man as myself to carry - but it's definitely a two-handed proposition.

Thirdly, it's a well-integrated system.  That sounds complex.. but all I mean is that the entire process of acquiring, physically getting the book onto the Kindle Touch and reading it once it's on there is really well thought out.  For instance, you can buy a book on Amazon.com and it will pretty much like magic show up on your Kindle**.  This process takes less time than going to the library and standing in line to check a book out.

Oh, and if you're the type that likes to beat decisions into the ground... you could agonize over the Kindle vs. Nook... or Kindle Keyboard vs Kindle Touch questions.  My suggestion:  don't bother.  Buy the Kindle Touch.  Why?  Simple.. it is the winner.  Remember VHS vs Beta?  Remember Laser Disks vs Blue Ray?  Remember Facebook vs MySpace?  Remember keyboards on phones before touch displays?  Save yourself the time... Kindle wins.  That is all.

Note:  For reading in the dark or indoors - or technical books or PDFs.. keep the iPad!!

* You may be aware of the Kindle Fire.  This e-reader has a display that is similar to a computer screen or an iPad screen.  This type screen can produce beautiful images and text.. but you'll strain to read them outdoors.

** This comment assumes you set your Kindle up to be part of a wireless network.

Impatient Me

Amazon.com and the USPS are killing me right now!

Back Story:  I recently ordered a Kindle for my birthday.  Delivery time was estimated at between Dec 5 and Dec 10.  I hate waiting that long.. but also hate to pay for shipping.  Quite the dilemma.

Present Situation:  The good news is that having ordered it on November 28th in the afternoon.. it actually shipped early the morning of  Nov 29th (3 am).  And, the delivery date was updated on my order to Dec 1!  I was so excited to think I would actually get it this week instead of next.

Agonizing Progress:  Amazon.com is amazing.  It has the best ordering system and tracking system in the business.  So, tracking the order to a snap.  However... it is challenging my patience.  You see......

The package left Arizona at 3 am Nov 29th and made it to Hayward, CA (about 20-25 miles away) at around 9:20pm the same day; meaning it took roughly 18 hours to go from Arizona to Hayward.  It then sat in Hayward for 7 hours before being sent to Santa Clara.  That's where I live!!  It took another 7 hours minutes to arrive.  That was yesterday at 11:46am.

In summary:  It took around 32 hours total (18+7+7) to go from Phoenix Arizona to right down the street from me.

And now it has remained undelivered in Santa Clara... for over 27 hours.

This is killing me :)

Shopping Part II

okay.. this story is just plain luck.  there is an apparel brand called Fox Head Apparel.  they are manufactured in Morgan Hill, CA.  that's the city I work in .

i noticed they had decked out a local empty warehouse and were conducting warehouse sales over the weekends (F, Sa, Su) the last couple weeks and decided to drop in.  they make boardshorts and i needed a pair for our upcoming trip.  so, i stopped by at lunch to check it out.

i found a couple pairs of shorts and went to check out.  let's just say the checkout person was a bit on the unskilled end of the worker spectrum.  she totally botched ringing me up and somehow my shorts that were $19 and $22 after discount ended up being billed at almost $60 total. 

i patiently waited for her to get her manager, undo the transaction... yada yada.  she was very nervous that it was taking so long - but i just kept smiling and telling her not to worry about it.

well - when she went to ring them back up she looked at me and said how sorry she was for the delay and rang them up at $12 each for my inconvenience. 

hahaha.  too sweet!  but this one was just luck ;)

How Men Shop

Last weekend when we were returning from Disneyland we stopped and shopped for awhile at the Gilroy Outlet Shops.  While the kids and Julie were shopping I went and gassed up (we needed it).. and returned to Julie at the Gap.

Julie was ready to check out so I did a quick swing around the store and found their polo shirts were discounted.  I picked up 3.  That's how guys shop... when they find something they like they buy multiple.

Unfortunately, guys rarely try stuff on, too.  I found out after arriving home that the Gap sizes their polos kinda small.  As a result, I needed to exchange them. So, since I work just up the street a few miles I went back to exchange them at lunch today. 

Except - when I got there I found out they had reduced the shirts by ANOTHER 20%.  So, instead of exchanging them - I returned them (to get the higher return value).  Then, I went and scarfed up all the colors I thought I would wear - since they were only $8.10 per!  Hahaha.  Yep, I bought 8 shirts.  That's how guys shop.  And - between returning the 3 I had bought previously and purchasing the 8 new ones.. it only cost me $29 more.  Too funny.

Okay - back to work - I took a long lunch ;)

Disneyland!

Last year when Julie (Logan) Winslow got married we got tickets to visit Disneyland the day afterwards (she was married just down the street).  Well - what we didn't plan for was the torrential downpour that would accompany the weekend - washing out of trip.

The pre-paid tickets were good for a year, so as the Winslow's first anniversary approached it was time to get back to Disneyland for a visit.  So, we loaded Jon and Rachel, Hannah and Eric and Julie and I and headed off.

Here we are arriving Saturday morning!

Hannah just had to have this sequined set of mouse ears.  Doesn't she look like she's having fun?

We've never been to California Adventure Land - but we got park hopper passes and were off to that side of the park in the afternoon.  One of the rides the kids and Julie tried was California Screamer.  And a screamer it was!  The rides takes off like a aircraft leaving a aircraft carrier.  This is a picture taken about 1 second into the ride.  Look at Julie!!  Hahaha!

Here's Eric trying his best to free Excalibur.  A nice try.

It wouldn't be a Henderson vacation without a jumping picture... now would it?

Here's the kids getting ready to go on Space Mountain.  Yep, Julie and I too!

Hannah just loves visiting the Princess Fantasy Faire to hang with her sisters.  Here she is with Julie and Rachel and Eric as well as Mulan, Ariel and Belle.

Jon and Rachel stopped to get their picture taken with a couple of the Car's stars.

 Rachel as a wookie?  Hannah and Eric waiting to get on the Star Wars tour.

Interestingly, the day we went they were taping their Disney Christmas Day Parade for broadcast Christmas morning.  Because you're supposed to believe it is actually a live event - they had to tape in during the morning.  Saturday it was.  So, look for us on TV.  ok?

All in all it was a great day!

Connecting the Dots

I recently read an article about Steve Jobs in our local newspaper. The article was a reprint of a graduation commencement address he gave at a college. Buried deep within the text of that address was a thought that resonates deep within me. Steve made the point that it requires perspective to ‘connect the dots’ in life. I think his specific statement was that you can’t connect the lines looking forward, into the future. You can only connect the dots of your life when you look back and see how life’s events have fit together into the whole.

I am not aware if Steve was a particularly religious man. But, I think his comments mimic the experience of a believer in living a life of faith.

The older I get the more I have come to appreciate this perspective. Perhaps the only small tweak I would add to this idea is that when you take enough time to look back you start to discover the big picture of your life and can almost discern the shapes and sizes of the remaining pieces. Or at least we think we can.

Thanksgiving is a time for retrospection; for surveying the past and giving thanks. It’s fast coming upon us again. I am particularly looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving week because we are going to spend it with family and friends on vacation. I am already dreaming of all the fun and relaxing times we’ll have together.

That word ‘together’ carries more weight the older I get. I’ve now been together with Julie and her family much longer than I was not-together with her. I’ve now maintained lifetime friendships in which I’ve been together far longer than not-together. I’ve now approached life together with my children for longer than our being not-together (at least with Joel). This aspect of remaining in community for long periods of time carries more weight in my thinking now. When you decide to continue in relationship you have decided to be known by people. It is difficult to maintain a charade for years. Decades. It just isn’t possible. Your failures will become known. Your shortcomings will emerge. Those things you simply wish people didn’t know about you will become known and remembered. You will be exposed for who you are.

And then this glorious truth emerges that can only be found from prolonged togetherness. You realize at some point that you are accepted. This acceptance is a true acceptance; not one born of lack of knowlege or a sense of tolerance. Not one due to deception and hiding of flaws. Instead, this is the acceptance that accompanies being known – flaws and all.

This is a God Thing. Acceptance is a two part deal. There’s the part where acceptance is offered by someone. And, there’s the part where you have to accept it. Acceptance is as much about our ability to receive it as it is about whoever is willing to offer it. Interestingly, it seems much easier to accept when we practice offering it to others. By giving acceptance to someone we recognize has flaws just like us – we practice the thought process that allows us to forgive ourselves our flaws and receive acceptance from others.

Now, my family and friends have far fewer and less severe flaws than I do – so I’ve not gotten as much practice giving as receiving. But, I’ve at least had enough to be extremely thankful to God for opportunities to experience and share togetherness. And, I’ve given and received enough acceptance to know how much God has to offer to me to cover my sins. It truly is an awe inspiring thought.

You see, when you look back – the dots you connect are not all the dirt paths and smooth roads of our own making. Instead, you see the chasms that required God’s incredible bridge between sin and forgiveness to make the dots of our paths connect.