How Much is My Liver Worth?

According to this article on msn.com, if I were a poor Indian I might only get $2500 for my liver. That's only a couple year's worth of income for those near or below the poverty line in India. It's sad, but I can understand the desperation. On the other hand, the rich folk who buy them and those that run the harvesting outfit should be punished,... severely.

But it got me thinking. What price would I put on my liver? A moot point since Ashley would never let me sell it. If not for her, though, I might consider it. It certainly would not be $2500. $10,000? Nope. I don't suppose I would even start thinking about it unless it bordered on retirement or estate quantities. In the end however, I don't think I could do it. At least not in my current situation.

I am not desperate. And that's what it takes to take chances like that. Given my very happy life, my lovely wife and my 1 & 17/18 kids I could never do anything to endanger myself, not even for Easy Street. It's unfortunate that so many in this world are deperate enough to sell organs, to cross borders and steal. I even believe that desperation plays a role in terrorism. I imagine when you have little or nothing to lose it is very easy to go to extremes.

Law enforcement, national defense and border patrols are all short term fixes for a broader problem of populations living in desperation. Fight desperation and I believe the other problems would shrink. Maybe I should run for president.

Another Year, Another Derby

Charlie has 7 more years until he's a Cub Scout. I can't wait that long. Here's year two in my quest for perfection in The Pinewood Derby.

Last year was a 1973 BMW 2002. This year it was the 2001 Audi TT coupe.

1. Pattern. Last year I had to take measurements from an actual car then draw the car to scale from all angles. This year I lucked out an found some CAD drawings on the web.

2. Wells. You can't cut the wheel wells from the car after it is assembled so you have to cut them first then add them to the sides of the main body of wood. Smooth them with a round edged file after cutting them on a scroll saw.

3. Glue. Use wood glue to join the main car body (the block of wood that comes with the Pinewood Derby kit) to the fenders you just made. To avoid seams in the final car sand or plane the surfaces flat, apply wood glue and clamp together with a good amount of pressure. (I didn't have clamps so I stood on my car for 15 minutes.)

4. Shape. Cut the roof from a separate block using its own pattern. Then do a lot of shaping. My scroll saw isn't big enough to fit around a lot of these parts so my belt sander was my main tool for shaping.

5. Smooth. Use 150 grit sand paper for subtle contours and to smooth out the bumps. I used a file for the lines in the hood.

6. Prime. This is a key step. Wood is very porous and soaks up paint so it dries ugly. To avoid this use multiple coats of primer. I used a small can of grey primer for model cars I got at a hobby shop for model cars.

7. Paint. I haven't perfected this yet, but if you were pretty thorough with the primer your car shouldn't need more than a couple coats of paint. Again, this was just a small can of hobby spray paint. Be careful not to spray to much with one pass or it will run. Give it a coat then repeat after a few minutes.

8. Decals. I drew these with Microsoft PowerPoint. That's not what it was designed for, but it works. I printed them on to normal paper, covered with clear shipping tape (to make the decals glossy) then fixed them to the car with doublesided tape. This method worked well for last year's BMW which had modely flat surfaces. The Audi is very rounded so many of the decals wrinkled when I tried to make them conform to the curved car body. I need to figure out something better next year.

9. Seams. Using electrical tape for the thin black stripes turned out great. I just cut the tape into strips with a razor blade (Exacto knife). I didn't finish the door seams or hood because we were running late to the derby.

10. Wheels. Like last year I just used silver lacquer paint and a small brush for the wheels. Nothing fancy, but it has a nice effect.

11. Race. Here we have last year's BMW, the Audi and a local Boy Scout's police car. The police car toasted us.


My friend Adam goes all out on the wheels painting the letters on the wheels and making sure only the spokes are painted and not the relief area between the spokes. I'm not as meticulous. He also put lights in his car. Very impressive. I'll have to copy that next year.

Tree-man

This is simply incredible. Check out this short video on How Stuff Works.

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/reuters/3363-the-amazing-tree-man-video.htm

A Meeting With Phil

Occassionally, when I've got lots of work to do, I visit Phil's website to see if he has any updates. Today, I was happy to learn that he posted his pre-season update a few days ago . I can't wait for the Buik Invitational at Torrey Pines. At the end of the article I noticed a promotional gimmick by Crowne Plaza Hotels. It's a chance to win a spot in a commercial with Phil Mickelson.

As a marketer I love it. As a fan of Phil I love it even more. How can you not root for the guy who goes for it when everyone else lays up?

He's also got an impressive vertical leap.

Juat to do about Juan?

I took an online quiz called the Candidate Match Game to see which presidential hopeful I align most with. One of the questions was on immigration, more specifically, illegal immigration. What would I do about it if were president? I'll answer that in just a minute. First, here are my guiding principles:

• It is a privilege to live in the USA - This is a prosperous land, with relative peace and generally decent people.
• Government is necessary - We live in a society where order and rules matter and laws are in place to help ensure that prosperity, peace and decency we enjoy is preserved.
• We (legal citizens of the USA) aren't special - We are no more deserving of freedom, prosperity and a good life than people born in other nations.

Is illegal immigration even a problem? Kinda. What's bad for us as a nation is bad for the rest of the world. Insomuch as there are millions of members of society for whom there exist no government records, no health insurance and no general sense of being in "the system" it will cause problems.

No government records means no tax liability. No health insurance means higher health care costs for the rest of us. Not being in "the system" makes it more difficult for law enforcement, education and a whole other host of government programs to be effective. I have a problem with that.

What I don't have a problem with is seasonal, or even permanent work being done by immigrants here in the U.S. We've got a lot of money here and lots of jobs. If citizens of other countries are more capable or willing to do those jobs, then let them. For example, I would bet that close to half the engineers at my company aren't U.S. citizens, but are working here under temporary work visas. That's great. They earned it by busting their butts in Computer Science and getting the appropriate approval to work here in the U.S. I believe in competition within economies and among economies. If all our jobs get outsourced to other countries because they do them better, that's perfectly legit. Cracking down on illegal immigration should not be about protecting jobs for American citizens.

What would I do?

1. Create seasonal or temporary work permits for immigrants wishing to work in the U.S. There is clearly a demand for foreign workers. Let them come work. Let their wages be competitive and regulated. Let them pay taxes. And let them return home when their period of employment ends. If companies care enough about seasonal workers they will help figure out the logistics, and in some cases pay for travel too.
2. Create penalties for organization that hire illegal workers. Wait, didn't I say this wasn't about jobs? If earning a living as an illegal immigrant is extremely difficult, illegal immigration will be reduced.
3. Get strict on illegal immigrants that break the law. It is one thing to not have health care. It is totally worse to come into the country illegally, then be a menace to society.
4. Give neighboring nations the love they deserve. We should do more as a nation to help improve developing economies. If it makes more sense to manufacture something in Mexico, then lets get on that. Sorry Detroit, but someone else can make my car cheaper and probably better. We don't deserve the jobs any more than our foreign counterparts do.

What's In My Bag?

It's taken me six years, but as of yesterday at 2:30 pm I finally have what I consider a complete set of golf equipment. It's a major milestone for me. It also presents me with a problem since my favorite thing to surf for on the web is golf equipment, and now I have no reason to do that. Here's how this dramatic story unfolded:

It started with a college graduation present to myself in 2001: a brand new set of Hogan Apex Plus forged irons, 3-PW. I tested dozens of clubs before deciding on this set because I knew I'd have to live with the choice for a decade or so. They have great feel and feedback, but are slightly more forgiving than traditional blades. I found a set of new irons (with a sand wedge and putter) on Ebay for about $100 less than what a set would run in stores. They've turned out to be great clubs. The only thing I'd change about my next set is to go with a slightly smaller, lighter club head. Ebay: $550. Rating: 9/10.

The next thing I added to my current set of golf equipment was this Ping i3 3-wood. I got this thing used at Uinta Golf in Salt Lake City after I left my old 3-wood on the 18th fairway of Hobble Creek Golf course in Springville, UT. Turned out to be a blessing. Despite its now outdated design, it turned out to be my favorite club in the bag. I can hit it cleanly from almost any lie and the "tink" sound it makes when hit makes me grin. Uinta Golf: $80. Rating: 9/10.

The rest of these additions are pretty recent. I got a lot more serious about golf about a year and a half ago and that means buying more equipment. I'm sure Ashley loves that part. This pretty little driver was actually a gift from her last Christmas. Technically my Christmas gift was "permision to buy a driver" which was even better than actually getting a driver since there is no way Ashley or anyone else can pick a club for you (wives remember that). This club is so fun to hit. Golfsmith: $299. Rating 10/10.

Hitting the ball farther with my driver meant shorter shots to the pin. That meant I also needed a good gap wedge right? This 53 degree Cleveland 588 DIADIC was a pretty boring purchase, but very needed. I'm still figuring out how to hit this one, but I trust it will be around for quite a while. Golfsmith: $69. Rating 8/10.

I mentioned earlier that my purchase of the Hogan irons came with a sand wedge and a putter. I was never in love with either, but they were nice clubs so I had a hard time justifying replacements for them. Then after losing a playoff for 3rd place in the Golf Land Tournament of champions I new I needed a putter that suited me better. The blade I had wasn't forgiving enough on off-center hits. I wasn't good enough for it. With the $750 I won for fourth place, I went to Golfsmith and tried dozens of putters. I finally settled on the Odyssey WhiteHot #9 mallet putter. It was love at first putt. And we're still a great match after months playing together. It's a pretty light putter, which I like because it feels like I have more touch. The only downside is that you really have to whack the long putts with it. Get me close though, and I can't miss with it (not true, but it feels like it). Ebay: $88. Rating 10/10.

So, with that, I felt my club purchasing was through for a while. This year alone (counting last Christmas) I had spent over $500 on golf clubs. Ouch! Then I got my gift from my mother-in-law Linda. Sweet cash! And lots of it. No one can ever call Linda a bad gifter. She is unrivaled. After a few searches on Ebay it was clear that my Christmas cash would not be earmarked for Charlie's mission fund like Ashley is likely to do with her half of the Christmas booty. Mine went to three clubs. The first was a Titleist 585.H 19 degree hybrid. I fell in love with it months ago at a driving range demo session but told my heart that some things aren't meant to be. Just got this in the mail Friday after purchasing it on Ebay. If you're thinking I spend a lot on golf clubs, you're right. However, I am quite proud of the fact that I have saved hundreds (literally) by buying most of my clubs on Ebay. I took this hybrid to the range yesterday and hit it about 20 times. It's even better than I remember. It will take the place of my 3-iron, which hasn't treated me very well the last few years. That makes me kinda sad, because I grew up loving my 3 iron. Someday I hope to rekindle the flame. But for now it's dead to me. Ebay: $91. Rating 8/10 (I will give it a higher rating as soon as it helps me out of a jam)

Last, but not least, the area of my game that needs the most work. The short game. I needed a new sand wedge and didn't own a lob wedge. Last year I bought The Short Game Bible by Dave Pelz. It's a freakin text book, and I loved reading every page of it. Unfortunately it also showed me that I didn't have the right wedges for the game. Seriously. Wedges (like everything else in golf) aren't cheap, so I considered buying a few used clubs. But I quickly realized that I couldn't buy used wedges since the grooves (which wear out quickly if not cared for) are a very important part of a wedge. I didn't want grooves that had been loved up by somebody else. Luckily I found an untouched pair of Callaway X-Tour satin chrome wedges ( a 56 degree and a 60 degree with Mack Daddy grooves) on Ebay. And since I never loose a bid on Ebay, they were added to my collection as the final two missing pieces. They arrived yesterday at 2:30 pm. I have yet to hit the 56 degree, but I'm confident these will be a great asset to my game. Ebay: $132. Rating ?/10 (I'm sure they will fit in with the rest of the family just fine).

Oh, I almost forgot to mention two other key items: My bag and my shoes. What good is a set of clubs if you have nothing to carry them in? Lucky for me, my dad knows how important a golfer's bag is to his golf game (and back). He got me a black Sun Mountain bag Superlight 3.5 (I think). It's perfect. Well, almost perfect. I probably would have got something a little flashier (black is a bit boring), but I had to let function win over form on this one. My back will thank me in the long run. Price: $0 (gift). Rating: 8/10.


With shoes, on the other hand, form will always be more important than function for me. I'm kinda girly that way. I can't stand Footjoy golf shoes, even though they're supposed to be great. They are just too ugly. In fact, I brought a pair home about a year ago and couldn't bring myself to wear them. So I went back to Golfsmith and got this pair of Callaways. Beautiful, aren't they? However, I think the heal is a little short, so I keep my orthopedic inserts in them to give me a little extra lift. Oddly, that's the only place I use the inserts (which cost me a couple hundred bucks). So technically, my footwear is my second most expensive part of my gear. Don't tell Ashley. Golfsmith: $80. Rating: 8/10.

That's it. Everything I need for years to come. So what's on the horizon? Hopefully nothing for quite a while (I don't make enough to support this spending spree). But when I do cave next, it will be for a new set of irons. I've got an itch for some Mizuno MP32s or Mizuno MP67s, but I can't really justify them. I don't strike the ball well enough, and the clubs are very expensive. I've kinda told myself that when I break even par on a difficult course I can get them. Maybe I'll have to set my sights a little higher and say when my index goes to zero I can get them.

Stormy Weather Turns Me On

In high school I used to stay up late at night to watch the weather report. Rain in the Bay Area always meant snow in the Sierras. I would get giddy just thinking about fresh powder and the potential snow pack. I was reminded of that tonight when I read a weather.com storm watch. I don't do as much snowboarding now, but I still get eerily excited when bad (good) weather rolls in.

Normally I wouldn't cut and paste things this long, but it's too good to shorten:

"A very active and possibly record producing weather pattern will unfold across the western states over the next few days, as a series of Pacific storms plus plenty of moisture slams ashore. This will bring heavy rain and possible flooding, damaging winds, and deep snow with blizzard conditions to parts of the West through the weekend.

Heavy rain is increasing over western Washington, western Oregon and the northern two-thirds of California. By later Friday into Saturday, heavy rain will also impact southern California and possibly parts of the Desert Southwest. For California, in particular, a widespread 2 to 5 inches of rain will be possible through the weekend, with some southwest facing mountains picking up more than 6 inches of rain.

Flash flooding will be possible, over far western Washington, western Oregon, and a good part of California, especially in burn areas.

Blizzard warnings have been posted by the National Weather Service through early Saturday for the Siskiyou and Sierra Nevada in California. This includes the Shasta Lake and South Lake Tahoe areas.

Snow levels in western Washington will drop from 3000 feet to less than 500 feet by Sunday which could mean snow into Bellingham and Seattle by late in the weekend. Snow levels in the Oregon Cascades will rise to 5000 feet ahead of the Friday storm and then drop steadily through the weekend. Snow levels over northern and central areas of California will rise to between 5000 feet in the Siskiyou and 7000 feet in the central Sierra, falling rapidly to valley floors later Friday and to 1500 feet by late in the weekend. Levels will start around 7000 feet in southern areas, including Yosemite Park, then fall to between 4500 and 5000 feet Saturday and continue to lower Sunday.

Snow is on the increase tonight through Friday night. Snowfall rates of 3 to 6 inches per hour will be possible during the height of the storm.

Snow totals through the weekend are expected to be potentially historic, especially in California with as much as 2 to 6 feet expected, possibly more on the highest peaks. Up to a foot will fall down to valley floors. Several feet of snow will fall in the Cascades and inland across the mountains of Utah, Colorado, northern Arizona and northern New Mexico.

Wind gusts of 75 to 85 mph will be common across the southern Cascades, Sierra and western Nevada into the weekend. Ridge top gusts in the Sierra could peak between 100 and 145 mph.
Winds over 65 mph will also be possible for much of California, including lower elevations and coastal areas, as well as coastal sections of Washington and Oregon and interior parts of the West from Wyoming through Nevada."