You might be a liberal if -

Ok, this subject may come as some surprise but I’ve been recently thinking about global warming.

I’m taking an Engineering class called ‘Sustainable Energy’ and we are discussing many environmental topics ranging from asphalt production/demand and the urban heat island effect to the US’s dependence on foreign oil. For extra credit I saw Al Gore’s film on global climate change called An Inconvenient Truth.

I was skeptical at first. I figured this was Gore’s way of getting back at the Republican Party for rigging the election. I also thought Gore (a politician) was not qualified to talk about this subject and was just serving as a ‘cheerleader’ for the cause.

But, I was wrong. At Harvard, Gore had a professor who conducted some of the first experiments that produced useful data indicating the possibility of global warming. As a young man he was impressed by this professor whose data predicted the climate changes that happened in the last two or three decades. He has always been vocal about this and other environmental issues. He has talked with many scientists about global warming and given many more presentations on the subject. He clearly ‘owns’ this subject.

Additionally, he cares. He did not produce this film to tear down Conservatives (although I counted five ‘cheap shots’ directed at their way of thinking) but he just wanted to get the message out effectively. I was pleasantly surprised to find a thought provoking and sophisticated tone rather than an angry, sinister presentation.

So, the question is: Is global warming occurring? I think so, and so do most (if not all) scientists who have studied that question. That leaves me with the real questions of: What is causing it? Does it need to be stopped? and how?

Gore presented a convincing argument that global warming is not just occurring because we are in a ‘warm’ cycle of the earth’s history. The correlation between CO₂ in the atmosphere and
rising temperatures is indisputable (in my opinion). Humankind is clearly making an impact on the global environment. Also, it is apparent that a warming trend could have devastating effects on the earth as a whole.

So it needs to be stopped…but I don’t know how it will be done. Hopefully politicians will issue sensible legislation that curb the pollution of major manufacturing plants, and that the American society can move to smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. I know that is a pie in the sky sort of desire, but it is what I hope for.

So, the end of this blog entry leaves us in the same place we started. Not really knowing much more about global warming, nor knowing what we can do to stop it. There are little things we can do individually (see below), but they won't do much good until our society catches on and learns to conserve on a national level. Still, we have to start somewhere.

Maybe those tree huggers have a point?

Scott

A Level of Greatness –

Have you been watching? Phoenix has just won 15 in a row, again.

I’ve read a little about what the sports analysts are writing about them now and am truly amazed that the Suns are playing on a level that they can be legitimately compared to Magic Johnson’s Lakers, or to Jordan’s Bulls. Steve Nash probably will be the leagues MVP for the third consecutive season and join Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell as the only players to win it three times in a row.

Is Nash that good? Yes he is, right now. But, he’ll have to keep up the tempo to convince many that he is playing better than Nowitski, Bryant or Wade. We’ll see how the second half of the season plays out, and I’ll let the ‘professionals’ write more about it.

But, there is something about the Suns that people aren’t talking about--and thats the fact that the Suns players and coaches are good people too. I think the Suns organization deserves an award for this. Not only can they find great ball players but they seem to find people with good characters as well.

Starting at the top: Mike D’Antoni. From the interviews I have seen he loves his family, especially his wife. Suns.com says that every morning he gets up and makes breakfast for his wife and kids and then does a crossword puzzle. That may not seem like much, but to me this is as great as his coaching ability.

Amare Stoudemire. He said that not only does he want to be a great basketball player but he also wants to be a great business man, a great father and a great inspiration for troubled youth. His dad died when he was younger and his mom is still in and out of prison, still he expresses his love and support to his mom at every chance. Despite a rough background he is fiercely committed to his own family and his two kids. He says “I can’t get enough of kissing my kids. It is so special. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Shawn Marion. On a TV 45 interview I saw with him before or after a game he said that his favorite thing about Christmas is going to be with sick children at a local hospital. In addition, he donates lots of money to other worthy organizations. (one unrelated but humorous fact I read about Marion: He has a tattoo on his leg that is supposed to represent his nickname THE MATRIX in Japanese. But, when translated the symbols mean Demon Bird Moth Balls)

Leandro Barbosa. Recently he put on a basketball clinic in his home country of Brazil. He taught kids about basketball and received daily seminars promoting healthy living, leadership, HIV/AIDS prevention, and drug abuse education. He said “It was good for me, and good for my country, and it’s going to be very good for the kids.” Way to go LB!

Steve Nash. You think he’s generous on the court; well you should see what he does off the court. For one, he set up the Steve Nash foundation to help underprivileged kids in all aspects of life. He also recently went on a humanitarian trip to Central America and makes time to visit sick children in local hospitals. At one point he was told to cut back his philanthropy but he refused saying there is much more he could do.

This is only a few of the things that the Suns players do. As you can see it’s not just donating money. Many players donate their time to important causes also. Another factor that makes Phoenix great is the friendships the guys have off the court. You can tell that they love to be around each other because it shows on their faces.

So, the Suns organization deserves a big pat on the back for choosing these guys. Its hard enough trying to put together a talented roster. But to put together a group of players who came to be best friends and are truly unselfishness and kind off the court is absolutely remarkable. As fan, it makes a big difference that the men on ‘my team’ are good people too. Their game off the court takes their game on the court to a whole new level (atleast in my mind).

Here are some pics of my favorite Suns.

Scott

remember this game? who could forget...

A Note—

Remember when I was contemplating changing jobs to my current job? If I saw you during that time I’m sure I talked about it. I basically had the ridiculous thought that I should look for another job. It was ridiculous because everything was going good, and I was enjoying my last job. But I gave my resume to one company, and shortly thereafter I got an interview and a job offer. Meanwhile, my boss got permission from his boss to give me a raise—a wage that my new job was not willing to match (at least initially).

I had a week to decide, but couldn’t. I called the new company and they said I could take another week to decide. So I stressed out over the decision for an entire week more. In my mind I was deciding between ‘a better long term outlook’ and ‘more money now’. I really felt like I should change, but so many factors were telling me I couldn’t. I think my mom even told me I should ‘follow the money’.

Ultimately, after much deliberation, I went against what I ‘should have’ done and decided to do what I felt was right. I changed jobs.

Well, since then I have proven myself to my boss and got the raise I would have gotten had I stayed at my old job. But, more importantly, I just found out that my old company is going through some rough times and had to lay several people off—including all the interns. I’d like to think that I would not have been included in that group, but probably could have been laid off last week had I stayed.

I’m grateful for the inspiration I received to change jobs, and more importantly for a supportive wife who let me follow it rather than do what ‘seemed right at the time’. I feel very blessed.

Scott

Snow Outing 2007 -

Our scout troop had its annual ‘Snow Outing’ this weekend. It was COLD. The snow never stopped throughout the entire trip. The weather report said the high temp was about 38 degrees, the low was about 15. Burr.

The kids were warm, and actually never got wet, so that was good. They had plenty of extra sleeping bags and actually had a great time.

This trip was especially nerve racking for me because the scoutmaster for the troop recently moved to Texas. The troops sponsor has not yet chosen a new scoutmaster so I and another assistant are running the show until that happens.

I was really worried because this outing was typically one where at least one boy has a miserable time. I actually threw up before the outing because of nerves (sorry if that was gross). Some of the other adult leaders would have certainly cancelled had I given them the opportunity but I did not want to cancel a SNOW OUTING because of SNOW. What kind of message would that have sent the boys?

Luckily, and because of some extra snow gear from my sister, everyone stayed dry and warm. The kids actually had a great time. Friday night we made popcorn (they didn’t know popcorn could be made without a microwave) and Saturday morning they had breakfast and played.

I’m glad we went and stayed warm. It was lots of fun.

Scott

Fathers and Sons -

Last weekend I went camping with my brother, his kids, my dad and a couple of friends. I don’t know how long it has been since I went camping with my dad—probably at least 6 or 7 years. I told my nephews that I’d help them get the Orienteering Merit Badge if they came with. We camped out on the Mormon Battalion trail so dad took the opportunity to come and teach the boys about the Mormon Battalion (The Mormon Battalion was a group of 500+ volunteers who served in the US Infantry during the Mexican American War. They cut out the first southern trail to the West which later became known as the Butterfield Stage Coach Trail. The Butterfield trail was an ‘all season’ route from the East to California. This trail eventually brought more people west than did the Oregon Trail.)

The campout was just great. I planned on doing a couple of fun activities. I wanted to do a morning hike (approximately 5 miles), all the requirements for the Orienteering Merit Badge and have the kids learn about the Mormon Battalion. Afterwards, I asked each kid what their favorite part of the campout was, one said the hike, another said the orienteering stuff and the last said his favorite part was sitting around the fire learning about the Mormon Battalion. The fact that each of the boys said their favorite thing was something I thought they’d enjoy made me feel really good.

Everyone on the campout had either a father or a son (or both) with them. I believe camping with your family is a great way to come together, have fun, learn about each other and gain respect for one another. It’s a good thing.

I’m glad my dad took the time to camp with me when I was younger, and that he came camping again with me now. I had a great time.

Scott

Dinner


Jacob


The Turleys

Morning hike

Signing the registry


The Andreasen's

Breakfast

Me, teaching the merit badge


Marcus

Climb the Next Mountain -

This weekend I went on a 3-day campout with my scout troop. The idea behind this campout was to review and test the boy’s knowledge of all the skills they learned throughout the year. One scout was awarded the ‘Ultimate Scout Award’ and all were honored in a end of year banquet with the kids families.

The kids also earned their Rifle Shooting Merit Badge, and Space Exploration Merit Badge (building model rockets and discussing the subject with a Rocket Scientist). They had lots of fun participating in all the activities we planned.

We tested the kids on marksmanship, fire starting (they had to burn through a string elevated off the ground), orienteering, knot tying, physical fitness, scout spirit and attitude.

The last event was a race up an extremely steep hill (jeeps and other four wheelers can’t make it up this hill because it is so steep). The scoutmaster impressed on all the kids that climbing that mountain would be a challenge and then he related this mountain to other challenges that will arise in their life. He encouraged them to not go as fast as they want to, but to go as fast as they could up and down the mountain.

Personally, this illustrated an important principal of integrity. Watching the kids and how they handled this challenge is reflective about how I sometimes handle specific trials. Some times, I am like the scout that ran up and down the mountain without stopping or resting (the first two scouts actually ran back up the mountain to help the other scouts make it down safely). Other times, I am like the scouts that start out strong but slow as soon as it gets difficult. They went fast, but only as fast as they wanted to. And then, there was one, who didn’t follow the directions entirely.

Since it is the New Year, I want to state my goal that I always do my best. I want to have the integrity to not do as well as I want to, but to do the best I can. In every endeavor I want to be the first one up and down the mountain. As I do I know that the trials and challenges I face will be worthwhile.

I wonder what my next challenge will be. Are you ready for yours?

Scott

Presentations at the Banquet with Parents