Round Trip Ticket to Space Please

October 23, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Does anyone else remember Apollo 13 the movie? If I recall correctly the astronauts were put through hell just to be accepted to the astronaut training, and in training they had to pass tests of immortality. Maybe I’m exaggerating but it seemed pretty stringent.

Oh how things are changing…

The World’s First Spaceport
It’s tourism meets Star Trek. Architects have started preliminary work on the design of Spaceport America’s 100,000-square-foot terminal and hangar facility in New Mexico. It will be the primary base of the Virgin Galactic spaceliner, which, starting in 2009, will whisk travelers into space for a short trip into orbit if they pony up for a $200,000 ticket. The spaceport, expected to reach completion by early 2010, will also be the headquarters of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.
(Source: Space.com)

I’m curious to know the details of how they can make such an offering to the public, but I have no intentions of ever paying $200k for a ticket. Maybe by 2040 the price will come down – like computers and cell phones. But by then there will be something even cooler – like studying abroad on Mars or a ticket to meet aliens in person. 

Filed Under: Misc

Pet Hotel

October 22, 2007 by Leave a Comment


Baby boomers are spending money on their pets like it is going out of style. I read about 6 or 8 years ago that it would happen and it is proving to be true. The kids are out of the house so baby boomers are pampering their pets. The article I read several years ago was about good businesses to start. Of course this is another opportunity I didn’t take advantage of, but it is one that I probably am not intended for either because I am probably considered in-humane to unruly animals.
PetSmart is doing great with the pet spending trend and their pet hotel initiative is brilliant. I travel on business just enough to cringe at hotel costs and the uncertainty of never knowing what to expect if I reserve one online that is ‘cheap’ (that’s why I usually stick to hotel chains that are consistent everywhere). Anyway, I’d like to ask PetSmart – how much is it per night and can I stay if my dog stays? Rascal – you’re going to earn it. When your lazy butt wakes up make yourself useful and get a place for us to stay for my trip to Raleigh. 
Filed Under: Business, Money

Advertising Idea

October 17, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I liked this because I thought of a similar idea a few months ago, but of course I didn’t act on it. After all, what do I know and who would I call to make it happen?

Runway Ads

A U.K.-based company has found a new way to advertise – and it can only be seen from the air. The advertisers are about to deploy football-field-sized ads around airports to catch people’s eyes as their planes land or take off. The ads could even be lit up at night (where local laws allow it). The company behind the project says it has secured space in London, Geneva, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. The first ad will go up next to the Dubai airport next month.
(Source: Reuters)

The idea I had was to put similar advertising on buildings that surround airports – such as the large hotels and any other building large enough to see from the air. It’ll be interesting to see how they use the runway. 

Filed Under: Business

More Stupid Church Stuff

October 16, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Here I go again – talking about church:
  • Clayton King spoke at our church this past Sunday. I love listening to this guy. He mentioned ‘playing both ways’ on his high school football team. I can sooo relate to that, and I’m just like he was – it wasn’t that I was so good – it was because as a team we were that bad. When people ask me what position I played in high school I have to answer witha run-on sentence.
  • The message Clayton was sharing was about defending the pastor. He made some references about how pastors can be over worked and under paid and talked about how traditional, or ‘classical’ as he put it, churches are the worst about it. He referenced some tough situations he’s seen preachers’ families go through and some lessons he’s learned in his own family relationships. He said something like ‘it’s no wonder so many preachers kids grow up to hate church because of what the church people put preachers’ families through’. I can sooo relate to the statements he was making. Not to sound ‘woe is me’ or anything, but it is truly a miracle that my siblings and I stepped foot in church after we were old enough to say ‘NO’ to our parents. Maybe that was God’s purpose for my dad stepping out of pastoral ministry when we were teenagers.
  • Speaking of stupid church people. (here’s where the really ‘stupid’ part of this post comes in). It was very ironic at one point in Clayton’s message he mentioned the Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker scandals that took place back in the 1980’s. I remember all that crap too even though I was young. I remember my family had just been to the PTL place right before their scandal was revealed (I remember a water park mostly and a bunch of boring church stuff). Anyway, that’s not the stupid part or the ironic part. The irony of Clayton mentioning that in his message was because just the day before someone else mentioned Jimmy Swaggart – at our yard sale. This is the stupid part. This stupid church lady (I don’t feel bad for saying that) was looking through some books we had for sale and noticed we had a lot of Christian material. She made sure to tell us she loves Jimmy Swaggart and thinks he is the best one she ever watches on TV. I was humored and simply let her express her admiration for a man I remember failing big time but I suppose is redeemed by grace – or at least I hope since he is still preaching in the name of Jesus. Then this lady got to a book in the stack titled ‘Purpose Driven Church’ and she started talking stupid. She was saying something about how Rick Warren, the author, is the anti-christ or some crazy crap like that. I was so shocked I didn’t catch half what she said It didn’t make sense anyway. It was probably her vague translation of some off the wall theory made up by a back woods preacher at a Bible study that took place in a trailer park down by the river. I just know she was saying some pretty stupid stuff about Rick Warren that I could never believe to be true based on what I’ve read or heard myself about the man. I wasn’t humored and I didn’t entertain her ignorance. I basically turned my back to her and started talking to Shawna about something else. The lady left right after that thank goodness.
Stupid people never cease to amaze me – especially in church.
Filed Under: Faith

Kids’ Birthdays

October 15, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I’m reading more and more money related blogs – usually because I subscribe to one that sounds interesting and then they link to something else that is interesting. That is how I stumbled upon this post. I love it. I feel the same way but unfortunately I’m not DOING the same thing. My kids are big enough now to know what they got and they’re even starting to pay a little attention to who they got it from. So it’s nice to at least get them a little something from us even though I’d much rather put that money in an interest earning fund for them. But ‘a little something’ seems to get bigger with every birthday. Maybe I’ll get it right with this third one we have on the way and give her a college fund for her birthday. Then I’ll have to play catch up with the other two, and don’t get me started on how much interest I would have earned on Devin’s by now – he’s five years old. We’ve made so many mistakes. Do you ever wish you could go back and just fix stuff? 
Filed Under: Family, Money

Interesting About Porn

October 12, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I guess I’m back on the offensive against porn lately cause here I am posting about it again. Just the other day I recommended a newsletter on http://www.everymansbattle.com/. Here is a good one they sent today. If you’ve read my previous posts on porn this article validates the stories I told of my younger years – I wasn’t so abnormal after all – tons of kids are falling in to porn. This is a good article making the point that we can’t just ignore this problem…

Who Buys Pornography?
by Steve Arterburn

The United States Advisory Board for Social Concerns shows that minors read over 70 percent of all pornographic magazines. Further estimates indicate that most hard-core porn viewers are under twenty years of age. To a large extent, then, our nation’s young people are financing the pornographic industry.

Further still, adults who seek treatment for pornography addiction almost always attest to exposure during childhood. Whether these adults are involved in multiple affairs, self-gratification, or prostitution, they usually share the experience of getting started years earlier with what seemed to be harmless magazines containing nude photographs.

My point is this: if you have a teenager, he or she is a target for the pornography industry. Therefore, you be observant of their behavior, and prepared to take immediate and decisive action if pornography is discovered.

If you discover evidence of porn usage—a phone bill, a book, a magazine, a video—don’t simply take the child’s word that it was a one-time experience. In most cases, it’s the tip of the iceberg.

Adolescents caught up in this problem are usually much too ashamed to ask for help, and too emotionally immature to realize there may be a problem. So even if your child has a history of honesty, it’s much wiser to at least suspect that your child may be trying to hide a bigger problem.
Dad, if you ignore the evidence, you may be ignoring you child’s subconscious attempt to get help. 

Filed Under: Family, Personal Growth

Porn Links

October 9, 2007 by Leave a Comment

In the past I did several posts on overcoming porn and I’ve been meaning to share some links to sites that are helpful:
http://www.xxxchurch.com/ – this organization takes a very bold but cool approach to dealing with porn. There are things to like and not like about it but they’re making their point and I like to check what’s going on with them to stay encouraged in my own life. They have blogs and newsletters and a free accountability software that I use with some friends to make sure we’re not looking at questionable stuff on the internet.
http://www.everymansbattle.com/ – Every Man’s Battle is a great book to read for both men and women and then there is another one that is good to follow it called Every Heart Restored. On their website they have different studies and tools to help keep the fight alive so men (and women) can win the battle. There is a daily email devotional that I subscribed to and there is also a podcast and other stuff. Check it out.

http://www.covenanteyes.com/ – this is the accountability software that Jake @ NS recommends, so it must be good. It requires a paid subscription which I haven’t felt necessary to pay yet for my own needs. But I’m sure it is a much better software than the one I use for free and if my accountability partners need to we might all just bite the bullet and pay for Convenant Eyes. If Jake says it’s good I believe him.

Hope this is helpful. I’ll be on the lookout for more useful resources that help fight porn temptations and if anyone else finds any they want to share I’m open to suggestions.
Filed Under: Personal Growth

Divorce Rate

October 2, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I heard on the radio that the divorce rate we’ve been hearing from the media for about 10 years isn’t actually as bad as it sounds.  There are two reasons why.  The census is the source of that statistic and they had an error in their count (I didn’t hear the detail of that but it had something to do with how many people were reaching their 25th anniversary).  Also affecting the numbers is the fact that less people are actually getting married – more people are just living together.  They said the divorce rate is actually better than it was in the 70’s and has been getting better ever since then.  Why am I pointing this all out?  Two reasons. 
1.       If the census screwed up how they were measuring it in the first place I wonder if they actually took in to account how many people’s spouse DIED before their 25th anniversary. 
2.       Regardless of whether or not it is being measured right I think marriage is still a wonderful thing and there is still hope for people who want to have a successful marriage – despite whatever the census and media say.
Filed Under: Relationships

Fabulous Anniversary!

October 1, 2007 by Leave a Comment

This past weekend was mine and Shawna’s 7th wedding anniversary.  We enjoyed ourselves so much the only word we could use to describe it was fabulous (Shawna said it first and I thought it was appropriate).  I want to share some details about what we did and encourage every man I know to take advantage of this deal – it is so worth this investment in your relationship.  After I read that the 7th anniversary is so critical I was determined Shawna and I were going to enjoy our 7th anniversary somehow or another.  That’s when Shawna found this deal… 
Headquarters Day Spa and Hyatt Regency, both in Greenville, are somehow partnered up and offer a Relaxation Package. 
The full body massage was a first for me so I don’t have anything else to compare it to, but it was fabulous.  Shawna has had massages before and said that what she got was better.  She said even if the massage was about the same the atmosphere was better at Headquarters Spa than at the place she has been before.  I like to give Shawna massages sometimes but I am no pro like the ladies who massaged us and there was just something definitely more relaxing about us both being pampered at the same time in the same room and neither of us doing the work.
The hotel room was the nicest I’ve ever stayed in, and I’ve stayed in some fairly nice places.  There was actually a catalog in the room that showed what the stuff in the room costs (I guess they know you’ll like it so much you’ll be curious how to get the stuff).  I don’t know if it was the $1500 king sized mattress or the six $70 pillows that made it the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.  There was a flat screen TV, a huge window that looks out to the streets of Greenville, comfortable chairs/table/desk etc.  I could go on and on about the nice stuff, but then there was the service.  They took care of our parking, gave us vouchers for their restaurant for the excellent breakfast buffet, and brought chocolate dipped strawberries and bottled water (we got water b/c Shawna is pregnant and didn’t want the champagne they offered) to our room.  All of this was included in the price – ALL OF IT.  We didn’t have to pay gratuity or taxes or anything.  The total price is the $299 listed on the link I provided above. 
While we were there we enjoyed our favorite things to do in downtown Greenville (which is right where the Hyatt is – right on Main St. in walking distance to everything).  We went to Lemongrass, our favorite Thai restaurant, to Marble Slab for dessert, and to the Reedy River Park. 
This was the best anniversary we’ve had.  We will definitely be recommending the relaxation package to everyone we know and we will definitely take advantage of it again.  It is so worth it!
Filed Under: Relationships

I Love Anderson Part 2

September 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I didn’t know until today that I’d be posting again on how much I love Anderson. I had to go to Atlanta today for a vendor demonstration. Since the meeting was just outside the perimeter in Marietta where I went to college I went early and drove around a bit. Part of me started to miss the high speed lifestyle I had when I lived there (and I’m not talking about the wild college stuff – I’m talking about the general fast pace of work and school and big city).

Those feelings went away really fast on my way home though. If you’ve ever lived or traveled through Atlanta on a Friday afternoon you know that if you are on any square foot of paved assphalt within a 50 mile radius of downtown Atlanta after 2pm you’re parked – not moving. It took me three and a half hours to make a two hour drive back home. I was ok for the first hour of traffic but after that I started losing patience.

By the time I got in the clear, which was almost in Commerce, I just had to get some frustration out of my system. Let’s just say the trip probably would have taken four hours if I hadn’t gone just a tid bit over the speed limit.

The only time we have traffic even near that frustrating here in upstate SC is if we’re trying to get through Greenville and somebody rams the middle wall like a nascar race, or if there is a home Clemson game and everybody waits til an hour before to cram in to such a small town via hwy 76 or 123. I love living in Anderson. 

Filed Under: Misc
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