Keeping the BP Disaster in Perspective

I was watching the news recently, listening to several stations continue to report on the BP oil-spill-disaster, showing countless pictures of oil covered critters, and diagrams with plums of oil filling up most of the gulf. Reporters over and over indicated that this event was the worst industrial disaster the world had ever seen. Reactions from many have been to consider boycotting BP filling stations, and donating money/time to the efforts to cleanup the animals, and the coast affected by the tragedy. Enraged by the greed of BP Execs and many engineers who “overlooked” certain warning signs focusing on a bottom line profit, many are calling for the BP execs to be tried in court, and held responsible for their actions. But is this really the worst case of greed and negligence the world has ever seen? Are these BP teams who are seeking profit really guilty of the worst case of disaster capitalism the world has seen?

In December of 1984 a Union Carbide (now owned by Dow Chemical) pesticide plant exploded in Bhopal killing over 5,000 people, and leaving over 120,000 others with a need for lifelong care. After the disaster, Union Carbide settled with the Indian government for $470 million….$350 million of which was the insurance sum…meaning that most of the victims got less than $1000 dollars each. When Dow purchased Union Carbide in 2001, there was finally hope that victims from the Bhopal incident when Dow announced that it would promptly “compensate victims of Union Carbide’s past negligence”. Dow promptly paid over $2 billion to… 14 asbestos plaintiffs in Texas, doing nothing for the victims who were continuing to suffer in Bhopal. Worse still, some 25 years AFTER the incident, some 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UC plant CONTINUE to leak into the groundwater of the region affecting thousands of residents that depend on it. Not only was the area not cleaned up, and not only were the victims not taken care of, but the incident has continued to affect generations beyond the explosion due to the lack of concern for taking care of the area.

The BP incident in the gulf is terrible. The beauty and wildlife of that region have been destroyed, and may likely be affected for several generations to come…but looking at the numbers from the explosion itself, of the 126 oil workers who were on board the BP oil rig… 11 people went missing, and an additional 8 were critically injured. So well say that 19 people were DIRECTLY affected from the explosion of the rig… that is .000152% of the number of people who were affected by what happened in Bhopal.

A valid argument would say that as of now, we cant tell definitely how many people may be impacted by eating fish from the contaminated area, or drinking water from that area in the gulf. Very true. It’s also very difficult to compare the disasters based on the value of human life alone, when so many animals, and so much of the ocean has been destroyed by this disaster. But this is also not the first time we have seen greed take precedence over the value of the environment, and especially over the value of human lives. I don’t write all of this to say, “Get over the BP thing” or to try to say it isn’t that bad. I hate that animals are getting sick, I hate that the once beautiful coastline is being destroyed, and I hate that oil continues to leak into the ocean. I am saying that I believe we need some perspective on what is going on here, and we need to recognize that we have the opportunity to do something about it. Daily we have the opportunity to cast our vote for corporate accountability, greed, and/or negligence. With every dollar you spend, you are casting your vote…buying from a company that has ethical standards, and supporting what they do. BP is obviously not the first company to ever cut corners to lower costs and increase profits at the cost of the environment and human lives. Many of the products we purchase every day are made in less than savory environments for people working for well under what we would consider a fair days wage.

Should BP be held accountable for what went on? Definitely, but hopefully this will also serve as a wakeup call that above huge profits, the preservation of human lives, and the care for the environment deserve a value on a company’s spreadsheet. So vote. Do your homework; try buying a product that might be slightly more expensive if you recognize that the company’s values are in line with your own. Don’t let BP off the hook, we can’t let this be another Bhopal…Encourage social and environmental responsibility with the way you spend your $$.

Why you SHOULDN’T get an iPhone 4

Apple released today their newest update to the iPhone line, the iPhone 4. With the iPhone 4G come exciting new features such as a front facing camera, the ability to record high definition video, and the ability to take 5MP pictures. The phone’s new iPhone 4OS also supports the ability to do video chatting from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4, as well as multi-tasking capabilities. The phone also features a trendy new design that seems to be similar to that of the current MacBook Pro offerings.

So, why not get it? The only features that REALLY stand out as being major changes from previous versions include the updated Camera, the front facing camera, and of course the new Apple A4 processor. The screen resolution is also said to have a great improvement. Cool right? but that also means having to sign away your soul to AT&T who is at best a poor cell phone service provider. While they claim coverage all over the nation, AT&T 3G coverage is only in MAJOR markets, and includes less than 30% of the US. In addition, AT&T has recently changed their data plan offerings to have a $15/200MB per month version, and a $25/2GB version….completely eliminating their unlimited data offering. While these price points may SAVE some iPhone users money, they also come with the risk of potentially going overboard, and being hit with data-plan overages…especially for those users who dont use Wi-Fi or aren’t “tech-savy” enough to really control how/when their phone is checking for new email in the backgroud.

My proposal is this…in the beginning of September for the last 3 years (September 5, 2007, September 9, 2008, and September 9, 2009) Apple has introduced a new version of the iPod touch (Currently on the 3rd generation). Here is how Apple’s product offerings work: Each summer, they have a promotion that offers a free iPod touch with the purchase of any new Apple laptop. This allows them to clear out inventory, so they can release a NEW iPod touch once the promotion has ended. While the current iPod touch doesn’t have a camera, I would be willing to bet that the newest version of the iPod touch will include not only a back, but also a front facing camera allowing it to have “Face Time” video chatting capabilities with other iPod touches, as well as other iPhone 4 devices. The iPod touch does not require being tied down with the lackluster service of AT&T, and still allows users to use most all of the apps hosted in the Apple app store. I would suspect that the newest iPod touches would also carry the same design, as well as new and improved screen offered by the new iPhone 4. Bottom line, if my contract were up with my current carrier…I would wait until late September to see what Apple will roll out in their iPod line before jumping on the iPhone 4 and having to sign another 2-year contract with AT&T.

A better alternative: Wait for the iPod touch, and look at an Android phone on either Verizon or T-Mobile…that way you will get the best of both worlds.

Life Through an iPhone

My family and friends often ask me about my traveling, and about my life since we live on opposite sides of the country. I have never been one to post lots of pictures, mainly because I have never really taken the time to label, and organize all of them. Anyway, in most all events within the last 1.5 years, I HAVE had my iPhone with me, and I have taken pictures on it. The following is 600+ photos of the last few years of my life. Now no one can say I wasnt showing any pictures

Useful Tech: Dropbox

Anyone with multiple computers, or even computing locations, has run into this issue. You are working on a file on your laptop, then later, log on to your home PC to continue working, only to remember that the file is actually still on your laptop. One way to handle that situation, is to carry around a USB thumb drive, and plug it into every machine that you are working on to make sure you are always copying over the new files. This works alright, however if for any reason you forget your USB drive, you are pretty much out of luck. I would suggest using an online tool called “Dropbox”. With Dropbox, its like having, (as the company describes it) a “magic pocket” that you can access anywhere. Have files that you are consistently accessing and modifying? Store them using drop box, and have them automatically sync to all computers you frequently use. An example: Working in the IT field means TONS of passwords that you have to memorize….employee benefits login, server logins, PC logins, IT support, etc…remembering all of those passwords and usernames can be a bit of a pain. Obviously I dont want to use the same password everywhere, so I use a tool called KeePass Password safe (I will describe that software in a future post). The KeePass password safe allows me to securely store my passwords and login information into an encrypted file. Here’s the thing, sometimes I need to access those passwords at home…going further, often times even at home, I sign up for new services, and new accounts, and need to keep track of those new passwords, needing to modify my KeePass password file. With the use of DropBox, I create a folder on each of my machines, and install the DropBox software. DropBox will automatically sync the files in my online DropBox with each of my PC’s where I have the software installed.

In addition to automatically syncing my files for me, DropBox can also be used to access the files from a PC that DOESN’T have DropBox software. Lets say I am going on a trip, and I have all of my itinerary and flight information stored in my DropBox…no matter what computer I am on, I can log-in to DropBox.com, connect to my box, and access my files. Even better, I can publicly share certain files or folders in my DropBox with others. So if I need to have a co-worker access a file, or I wanted to share a video with friends and family, I could create a DropBox link to that file, and allow them to access it without ever installing the DropBox software.

I strongly suggest at least testing out DropBox…it has a lot of very nice features, and the best part of all…its free!* (I put the Astrix because the free version of drop box is limited to 2GB…which should be more than enough for normal use…however they do have price plans that allow for additional online storage) The DropBox software is available for both Mac and PC…and even allows you to sync files between the two.

Smart Money Purchasing: Bing

The holiday season is over for awhile. Christmas leads into New Years, which leads quickly to MLK Day, Valentines Day, and the girlfriend’s birthday…. needless to say, an expensive stretch of 3 months for me. That said, all signs point to me being completely broke right now, ditching any savings goals I had for the New Year, and just trying to stay afloat. I’m on track with my savings, and I spent less this year than years before, while still giving my family more gifts. How? Bing.com.

Bing’s cashback program saved me roughly $300 over the past few months…and I can’t help but feel like I need to share exactly how I did it. To start, head over to www.bing.com/cashback and create a new account. If you have a windows Live ID you may use that…but I suggest just creating a new account so you know you are signed up…link that account with your email address, and it will send you a confirmation message to let you know you are “in”. Afterwards, whenever you plan on making a large purchase, or any purchase for that matter, do a search on Bing.com before you buy anywhere else. At the top of the search results for bing, you will see several “ad suggestions”, some with a gold coin next to them that says “bing cashback”. Those links indicate that the associated site is a partner of bing.com, and offers customers a specific cashback percentage by coming through the bing.com link. When you click the link, Bing will bring up a window asking you to sign in to your Bing account (confirming it’s actually you) and then pass you along to the site that is selling whatever you are trying to buy. Complete your purchase, and within a matter of a few days (sometimes within a few hours depending on the retailer) you will receive a message that you have received cashback from Bing.

Now the percentage that you receive from a retailer can vary greatly day to day, and retailer to retailer. For instance, remember Black Friday? When people sleep outside of stores, nearly kill one another, and buy “hot” items at “hot” prices? This year, I decided to forgo sleeping in a tent outside of a Wal-Mart with hopes of buying an HDTV, but just ending up with a copy of High School Musical 3. This year, I slept in, and got on bing.com later in the afternoon. I did all of my Christmas shopping in one day, from the comfort of my computer chair. Dell had 20% cashback through Bing. 20%!!! That’s on top of any other promotions that Dell was offering. For instance, I bought an Xbox 360 Elite from Dell who was also running a $50 off promotion. The original price was $299.99 minus the $50 promotion from dell takes the price to $269.99 after tax. Bing cashback was 20%, so that saved me an additional $54…and the item had free shipping. So for $215.99 after tax/shipping/etc I purchased an Xbox 360 elite that was selling on black Friday sales for $260 at the cheapest (and that was after an in-store gift card at Target). In addition to just doing a search on Bing for cashback items, if you go to www.bing.com/cashback, you can search through cashback retailers specifically, and compare prices for the cheapest price on any given item. Another example use is for drugstore purchases. Two websites that often have a high bing cashback percentage is drugstore.com and visiondirect.com. Its purchases that you need to make anyway, might as well save some money. Recently I purchased a years worth of contact lenses through Vision direct. With bing cashback at 25%, $90 contributed from my insurance, and a mail in rebate for the contact lenses, I am actually being PAID to wear Acuvue contacts right now. I came out something like $25 ahead when purchasing my contacts because I was able to use bing.com in combination with a mail in rebate.

But how do I get my cash? Now as far as actually getting the cashback, when you log in to your cashback account via bing.com/cashback, you will be able to see the current status of all of your cashback transactions. The way this works, its Microsoft holds the money for 60 days (just to make sure you don’t cancel your order, try to do returns, etc.). After 60 days, the money is added to your cashback account, and then can be deposited into a PayPal account, checking/savings account, or can be sent out as a check. Bing will automatically send your reminders when your cashback has “accrued” and you can then decide what you want to do with the money.

I strongly suggest at least checking out the Bing cashback system. Sometimes, yes, you may find cheaper prices elsewhere, but for a majority of my recent purchases, I was able to use bing.com to find the best price AND get cashback for my gift/personal purchases.

(Note: This blog nor myself personally or financially, is tied to Microsoft, Bing, or any subsidiary. This information is provided from the basis of my own experience, and I have no financial interest or incentive to promote this product)

New New Years Resolutions Pt 1

Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals…while at the end of the year only 12% had actually achieved their goals. That being said, most likely, you or someone close to you has already ditched their New Years resolution. Thus, I propose to not make resolutions until the middle-to-end of January. It gives me a good amount of time to feel things out, see where I want to take things this year, and see what other people have started failing miserably at.  This technique also allows me to dismiss myself from conversations dealing with topics like “What’s your resolution this year?” and “You know what you should try and do next year?” With this release from such conversations, I never end up looking like a failure statistic, and I never have to worry about anyone holding me accountable to my goals.  In addition, anything big I DO accomplish during the year sounds even better because it was IN ADDITION to normal yearly goals. I’m all about capitalizing on maximum success.  Keeping my goals a secret keeps things exciting for those around me, and never lets failures in my life receive much attention. Haha. That being said, I would like to share some very realistic, and very practical goals for the New Year.  The kind of stuff that is good to take a look at with fresh eyes in the beginning of any new year, and can serve as a great motivator for actually creating and knocking a few things off the ol’ list. Some of this stuff is coming from my list of “I’ll get to it eventually” some of it is coming from the Micah Smith-investments-in-future-success-list.

Backup/Cleanup Your Computer

I work in IT for a living, and many people ask why I don’t share more “tips & tricks” related to information technology on my blog…well to be honest, I do it all day, so writing about it afterwards has never been all that appealing. That said, I think that a clean computer is a happy computer. Many spyware/virus related issues can be quickly and easily solved with the use of virus protection. For that, I suggest AVG Free (http://www.avg.com/us-en/download) The AVG Free edition provides what I would consider above average virus protection, as well as a link scanner that will display in web search results indicating pages that may or may not be safe; Very helpful in keeping your computer clean. Unless you are downloading copious amounts of illegal materials, I would suggest that AVG is all the protection one would need. I recommend setting AVG to run once or twice per week at a set schedule so you know your computer is always protected. It will also automatically update itself with new virus definitions so you never have to worry about your protection being out of date.

In addition to clearing out viruses, I recommend weekly backups of your irreplaceable documents to an external hard drive. This external drive would be best of being stored in a fireproof box, that is then wrapped in Atom Bomb grade steel and then weekly duplicated to an offsite location just in case your home becomes the target of a mis-guided missile.  Joking aside, I do recommend backing things up to an external usb hard drive at a weekly basis. This way even if your computer takes a dump on you, the stuff that you REALLY need, will still be backed up someplace else.  Programs for the most part can always be re-installed, but self created resumes, pictures, and other personal files may not always be as easy to replace if not backed up. Because I am lazy, I don’t want to handle the backups myself, so I suggest letting that process be automated as well by using a free tool called SyncBack for Windows (http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/) You can set it up to run at specific intervals (again, the 1 to 2 times a week rule works well) and you choose exactly what folders to back up and where to throw them. Investing in a 500GB external drive is great for normal PC users because it has plenty of space to back EVERYTHING up. Set it to copy your entire “My Documents” directory and let it go. The first time it runs through, it will most likely take awhile copying all the files. I would just start it before bed, and let it go overnight. After the initial data transfer, all subsequent transfers should be pretty quick only copying over those newly created or newly updated files. On the OSX side of things, I would suggest buying an Iomega external drive as they come with EMC’s Retrospect software (which is great for backing things up), or possibly looking at purchasing the Super Flexible File Synchronizer (http://www.superflexible.com/mac.htm). It offers similar functionality to that of Syncback, but however does carry a cost for the software. Optionally if you are on a newer flavor of OSX, you could try using Time Machine to back up your entire system, however I have for the most part found this to be slight overkill for me.

I don’t like to be overwhelmed with tasks, and neither does anyone else. I will be adding to my list of “New New Resolutions” in the next coming weeks leading up to the end of February where it just becomes too late to create new resolutions. Start the New Year off right by making sure to clean up/back up your computer, because remember: A clean computer is a happy computer.

Focus

There’s this thing about me; I seem to do really well when focusing on one thing. I don’t know if its because of me or because of something mentally, but I seem to really be able to focus a lot of energy on one thing at a time. It changes throughout the year. Recently my focus was on getting Christmas gifts for my family. Other times it has been working out, playing basketball, my job, etc. I pick one thing and just go all at it. What really sucks, is when I go all out at something and it doesn’t work out for me. When what I think should happen, doesn’t actually happen. When I go to buy that one gift for my brother on Christmas eve that they happen to be sold out of. When I work really hard at my job, but still struggle with teaching certain aspects of visual basic to people. When I play basketball a bunch, yet still don’t play as well as I think I should in a summer league game. When what I think should happen, doesn’t actually happen, I get pretty upset.

Fortunately, I don’t think that I am alone in this. Turns out people have been feeling like this for quite some time. Take for instance the Paul. His one goal later in life was to go around and preach the gospel to people. It’s the one thing he was focusing on, yet he gets thrown in jail. Yea maybe a little more extreme of a goal and a little more extreme of a roadblock than my wanting to play well in a summer league basketball game, but even still, he handles it way better than I do. I get pissed, mainly just mad at myself, and contemplate quitting ever playing basketball anymore, or contemplate just giving up on working out and starting to play video games a lot. I get frustrated and get upset. Paul on the other hand, is just as joyful in prison, as he is when he is out preaching/reaching people, even though he is stuck in prison, and destined to be killed for what he believes in.

In Philippians 4 Paul is writing a letter to the people of Philippi, encouraging them, and letting them in on what is going on with him. In verse 4, Paul says “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice!”. A really easy verse to just skip over, especially if you aren’t thinking about the situation this guy is in when he is writing it. But seriously Paul, what were you thinking?? You are sitting in prison, the thing you want to do (preaching) you are unable to do because Caesar doesn’t do well with you talking about other gods and locks you up to be killed. How can you rejoice? When I am not able to do what I want to do, Joy is the last thing that comes to mind, I mean I cant even fake a smile that well when I’m upset. Paul isn’t talking about forcing Joy though, or pretending to be happy here, he is talking about a Joy that goes beyond all worldly understanding. The word for rejoice used here in the original language is “Chairo”. “Chairo” comes from the root word of “Charis” which means gift. This is also where we get the word “Eucharist”, which is the Lord’s Supper/Communion, and translates to “the good gift”. Anyway, to rejoice literally can be translated to become aware of/recognizing the gift. Joy then, is not a fake happy, but an alert awareness of the gifts around us. Joy is learning to discern that God is up to something even in this. Paul is in prison, yet is joyful. He is aware of the gift. The gift of life, the gift of breath, the gift of our forgiveness, even the gift of our entire life. Joy is learning to perceive things that run counter to prevailing wisdom about how the world works. When you get thrown in jail, thats a bad thing since your job is to spread the word of God. He does not accept the prevailing wisdom, and says “ill just write letters, even if no one reads them”. When he gets to prison, he should be bitter, and upset because he can’t do what he wants, but he’s not, he’s joyful, he’s rejoicing. Joy is a disciplined awareness that God is up to something even in this.

Often times those who have suffered are able to have an acute/enlivened since of what real joy is. They have been through certain pain, and when they have overcome that pain, or even learned to accept it, they have a heightened awareness of the gifts they have. Hair never felt so soft to the former leukemia patient, families never felt so close after the passing of a loved one, the birth of a baby was never more of a blessing after a miscarriage. In the midst of the suffering Paul says “Wake up! There is joy all around you. These circumstances are not all there is, you don’t have to react the way the world expects.”

I don’t know how this holiday season was for you, but I know with the way the economy has been going, and with just time in general and people passing, it wasn’t the same as last year. I pray beyond all of that, beyond the presents, the parties, the stuff, that we would stop and be joyful; not focusing on all the negative stuff, but take time to be aware of the true gifts all around us.

30 Rock

I have never seen so many Asian people crowded together in one place before. Luckily there were lots of “photographers” there who were able to move people out of the way to take and sell photographs to people. They only took cash, maybe it’s easier for them to pay taxes on the money they collect that way! Either way, only I can make a truly beautiful scene sound unappealing, but let me remind you, yes I was in New York City the week before Xmas.

Just My Luck

I have had that kind of week…and it’s only Tuesday. You know that week where pretty much anything that could go wrong actually does. Then even the stuff you didn’t think could to wrong does as well. After getting in an accident on my motorcycle last week, I figured there was no where to go but up…how wrong I was. Not only was my laptop stolen only days later from an airport security blunder of the TSA (see previous and continued blog entries) but my rental car reservation ended up only being for one day, rather than 5 like I had intended. Ohhh San Jose, you tricky mistress. Last night I hit rock bottom (or so I hope). I had a long day of training in Santa Clara, and the only thing I was looking forward to was climbing into the hotel hot tub for a little r&r.
The mood was set, the air was cool, the sky was clear; a perfect night for a nice trip to the hot tub. As I kick of my sandals and take off my shirt, I walk over to press the button to start the jets and let the fun begin…then I press the button again, then a little harder, then a little longer. No jets. It’s ok though, I won’t let that ruin my night, I’ll just enjoy the semi warm water and try to think of bubbles or get a straw to blow some or something. I get in, only to get out 5 min later to try the button again, no luck, so I get back in for a final 5 minutes of bath like water. As soon as I climb out of the hot tub, I begin to dry off my legs and of course, the jets start on their own, randomly. It couldnt have happened any worse for me, but i press on. Just when it seems like life couldn’t get much worse, tonight I sit and eat gellato across the street and it seems life has once again shined it’s light on me…maybe all is not lost….they have apple pie flavor. (bottom right in the photo)

God Buffet

I LOVE buffets. I think love is an understatement, its one of those situations where you really enjoy something a whole lot, yet no word seems to capture all of its glory. So much so that I would probably look to invest in a Hometown Buffet season pass if one ever became available. I don’t love buffets for the same reason that most people love them though. Its not the unlimited food thing, I mean that is great and all, but in all honesty I eat like a kid; I can normally only put down two plates of food at max. I like buffets because of the options. I can walk around the different islands, press my nose up against the glass, try to determine what the items are that are missing name tags…its really quite an adventure. The best part about it is that it’s not like a normal restaurant. I don’t have to order something, wait for 20 minutes, and then be disappointed when it comes out because it doesn’t look as good as what everyone else has. Buffets are great because the food is right there, already waiting, and I can pick and choose what I want to eat. I can eat corn with mashed potatoes on top and no one can say anything. I have the option to go around, pick up the stuff I really want, at the quantities I want, and skip the stuff that is actually good for me. This usually includes a lot of corn, some macaroni and cheese, and several items from the dessert section. 

 

 

My love of the buffet style eatery is fine, as long as it is saved for buffets. A lot of times, I find that I try to do the same thing in my spiritual life, where the buffet style doesn’t necessarily translate so well. I think many times people (myself included) try to define/box up God so we can make him in to someone we like. We try to make him predictable and definable so that he feels safe. Often times we come to God with a buffet attitude. Our prayer life is a clear example: “Dear God, forgive me for my sins, and give me the following: great health, a beautiful family, that perfect mate, a new car, a good house, a stable job, a nice salary…”. We come to God looking for 5 helpings of blessings, and only a dash of trials/tribulation only if we really have to. We want lots of the FRUITS of the Spirit (lame buffet joke) and none of the God who does things that we don’t understand.

 

Oddly, this isn’t something that is a new idea though. In Exodus, we find Moses learning that he will be God’s instrument for leading the Israelites out of Egypt. To make a long story get to the point, God leads them to Mt. Sinai where he had Moses stand atop the mountain to receive the Law. The mountain was shrouded in smoke and fire, and lightening/thunder enveloped the region. The people were so afraid, that they asked God to stop speaking to them, and only speak to Moses. Some time later (in Deuteronomy), Moses spends 40 days away from them with God on the mountain. In his absence, the Israelites decided to make an image of a calf, and worship that as God. Many scholars believe that they weren’t actually attempting to create a new god, but rather create an image of God they could actually worship. They were not comfortable with how big and terrifying God was without Moses around, so they constructed an image of him that was more comfortable and less demanding.

 

When I try to take the parts of God I like, and create a god that I feel like meshes well with my lifestyle, something very dangerous happens. Rather than worshipping the God of the universe, I find myself doing the same thing as the Israelites; creating a god that fits my needs, and is comfortable for my life. I pray that the real God of the universe, the God who is beyond definition, and beyond my understanding, would reveal himself to you and me. That we would seek out God for who he really is, and not for who we want to make him.