Intrade - Playing & Predicting

About two years I went to www.intrade.com and put up $100 that Hillary would win the Democratic Presidential nomination. I know this may sound a little crazy. It's a mix between outright gambling, playing the market, and weighing in on national politics.

InTrade.com is based in Ireland, and they've dubbed themselves as a "Prediction Market". It's where you can voice your opinion on various topics (politics, current events, financial, etc) by putting money where your mouth is. Some people find it entertaining to "play", others see it as one of the best polling tools out there.

According to the latest Intrade Prediction (above screenshot), Obama leads Hillary 86% to 13%. I never really liked Hillary, but it seemed like a good bet 2 years ago.

I'm writing off the $100, but the whole InTrade thing is pretty cool. Check it out: www.intrade.com

Peter turns Seven

Peter turns 7 tomorrow, and we let him open a present early. This video doesn't quite capture the enthusiasm he had when he initially unwrapped the gift (from Popper). But believe me, this kid loves airplanes... and he loves his Popper.

Family Rules

I was cleaning out some files on my computer, and I ran across the FAMILY RULES that we came up with last year. We are still struggling to enforce some of these, but they are getting better.

(Jan 1, 2007)

Do Not:

o Play in Mom & Dad’s bedroom
o Use Mom & Dad’s toilet
o Argue with or pester (1-2-3)
o Stand or jump on furniture or beds
o Do not crawl or stand on the downstairs train table
o Stay away from the street unless you are with Mom or Dad
o Stay out of other’s closets
o Take toys from other kids
o Scream unless there is danger or you’re hurt
o Use yuk words
o Push, hit, or bite
o Have a disrespectful attitude

Do:

o Keep kids safe
o Know right from wrong
o Sit down during mealtime, and ask before getting up
o Put away outside toys before it gets dark
o Put away jackets & shoes when come inside
o Put dirty clothes in a hamper
o Ask before you can play with something that is not a toy
o Do what you are told (1-2-3)
o Be respectful to others
o At PJ time (7pm or after bathtime)
.... Old PJ’s away
.... Drawers and doors closed
.... Brush Teeth
.... Pickup boys room
.... Lights out at 8pm
o At Dress Time
.... Announced – clothes will be ready for you
.... PJ’s away
.... Shut drawers & doors
.... Brush teeth

I guess I'm kind of a geek, but things can get out of control in a real hurry without some basic rules & structure. The hard part about all this is to consistently enforce it.

Lake Zurich puts on a Parent University each year, and it's very helpful. We went last year, and I'm planning on going again this year (March 8th). It's where I learn how to be a better daddy.

Big Winter

It's been a big winter. Big snow - big stuff going on. We've been doing our best keeping busy by visiting with friends, frequenting the YMCA, roller-skating, ice-skating, children museums, sledding, water parks, skiing, ice-fishing, playing Wii, and much more. All this, and we still got the winter blues. Annie has Argentina to look forward to, while Dad and the boys dream about more snow & the possibility of spring.

Skiing at Wilmont





Glenview Children's Museum



Ice-Fishing in Wisconsin



Playing in the Snow

Pilot Retirement Age

The U.S. congress & senate unanimously voted to raise the pilot retirement age from 60 to 65 earlier last week, and President Bush just signed it into law.

Here's the Chicago Tribune article:
Pilot Retirement Age - Raised to 65

The last 6 years has been rather difficult - 30% pay cut, negative growth, and now my Captain upgrade has been extended another 5 years. I feel like complaining about all this, but it won't do any good. My career has been OK. Grandpa had it great after upgrading in 1 year, and flying in the glory days of aviation. Dad had it not so good (although he loved it)... he had multiple furloughs & worked for a bunch of different airlines.

I've been mulling over the idea of changing airplanes to the B-777. It's been almost 13 years on the MD-80, and a change would be good. Annie likes the idea, so 2008 might be the year for it - we'll see.

Sledding Adventure

We had 6 inches of snow over the weekend! Highlights included buying a new snowblower at Home Depot (finally!), getting our Christmas tree, and SLEDDING at Paulus Park in Lake Zurich.

Here's a 3 minute video...

Controversy at Willow Creek?

Willow Creek is a "mega-church" that we've been attending for about 7 years. They just came out with a book called "Reveal". It sums up the results of a study that involved a survey of more than 70,000 churchgoers from over 300 churches around the world. The controversy...

U.S.News & World Report
Crosswalk Blog

Our senior pastor (Bill Hybels), and executive pastor (Greg Hawkins) both spoke about this at the service last weekend. According to them, the results aren't quite as shocking. They use business techniques such as surveys, leadership conferences, and mission statements to help run the church. Some people have a problem with a church who's organizational chart looks more like a business than a traditional church. I don't. Mostly because their mission statement goes something like this... help non-religious people transform into fully devoted followers of Jesus. I think that's cool, and I'm happy they are evaluating the techniques they use to help people with this.

My goal as a Christian is to grow spiritually - not just with knowledge, but to grow from the inside out. I'd like to get to the point where I'm not always asking God to help me with my agenda in life, but what I can do to further his agenda. I'm not there yet. Will I ever be? Probably not, but it's a goal worth pursuing because if I set my heart towards working for God, then everything else will likely fall into place.

This all begs the question: What is the role of church in terms of the spiritual growth of an individual?

For me church is a place to get motivated and challenged. And it's also a place to be entertained. Yeah, you got it - entertained. And why not? What's wrong with 20 minutes of entertainment over the course of a 90 minute service? Church is also a place where serving opportunities exist, and for organizing people into groups for study & fun. Maybe that's not your idea of church, but that's what it is for me.

How do I achieve spiritual growth? Going to church on the weekends is surely part of it. So is my personal study and quiet time in prayer & reflection. And the couples group that Annie and I attend twice a month. Serving others, like shoveling their driveway, helping financially, or maybe going on a mission trip (which I have not done). It's all about LOVE - loving God & loving others. And losing the attitude that this life is all about me. It's a struggle. My bad side (sinful nature) seems to prevail a lot, but I really do find peace and guidance and direction when I ask Jesus for help. And that's way cool. Thanks God.