For the purpose of full disclosure, let’s say that I consider myself a conservative person. I’m officially registered to vote as an Independent, but I generally find myself voting for Republican candidates. Why, you might ask? Because of my core beliefs.
I believe marriage between a man and a woman is an institution ordained of God. I believe children have a God-given right to be born into a family with both a mother and a father, and I believe the family is the fundamental building block of our societies. I believe today’s shifting morals are breaking up the family and eroding the foundations of our existence.
I believe in smaller governments, lower taxes, capitalism, and generally efficient markets. Just because something is immoral or bad for us, I don’t believe it’s always the government’s place to legislate against it. I believe governments exist to protect the innocent and to serve and represent the people. I do not believe that people exist to serve and finance the government.
I believe judges are supposed to enforce and uphold the law, not to make it. I believe the accused deserve a fair trial, but I believe there should be consequences for our actions. People who make wise choices should be rewarded, and people who make poor choices should be penalized. I have zero tolerance for crimes against children and others who cannot protect themselves.
I believe people have an obligation to help the sick, needy, and poor, but I don’t believe that people should aspire to be sick, needy, or poor in order to receive free assistance. I believe in providing opportunities to many, but I don’t believe handing out opportunities and rewards freely builds anything but dependence. Just because one “red hen” has achieved success through hard work, I do not believe everyone around that person deserves some of his bread. (…but if I were that little red hen, I’d surely share some of my bread of my own free will…not because a law told me I had to.)
I believe I am blessed by God to live in this great country. I believe patriotism and American pride are good things, but I also believe that we should be good neighbors with others around the world. I believe that wars are sometimes necessary to protect the innocent, but I am a peace-loving person.
I believe war is a terrible experience for all involved. As such, they should be as short as possible. I believe armies should fight to win. I believe that a job worth doing is worth doing right, and a job done poorly will almost certainly come back to bite you in the end.
I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that each of us in this great country has a responsibility to respect the freedoms and rights granted by our Founding Fathers (and Mothers). I believe in legal immigration, and I believe in legal emigration. I believe that if you don’t like being a part of the United States, you should consider the latter.
Friday, October 5, 2007
This is my country...
I've never been overly interested in politics, and I've never been involved in a political campaign. Other than wanting an honest, moral, and strong leader in any elected position (is that asking a lot?), I haven't really had too much interest in campaigns or elections.
Don't get me wrong, I've always gone and voted for the person I felt was the best candidate, but I never felt like it was my place to encourage others to follow my lead. In the past few years, however, I've felt a deeper interest in political ongoings and have become more interested in various candidates' positions, beliefs, and strategies for improving my state or our country.
As a 30-year old U.S. citizen, worker, husband, and father of 2.4 children, I have suddenly become aware that the political process in the United States is not only important for me to follow and become involved with, but it's imperative that I stand up and express my views on the happenings in our communities, our country, and our world. (Since I'm only 5' 10" tall, I'm going to "stand up" in the figurative sense and share my views in this blog.)
Over the next few months, I plan to express my personal views about issues that are important to me and - as a fellow American - issues that should be important to you.
After all, the song says, "This is my country..." for a reason.
Don't get me wrong, I've always gone and voted for the person I felt was the best candidate, but I never felt like it was my place to encourage others to follow my lead. In the past few years, however, I've felt a deeper interest in political ongoings and have become more interested in various candidates' positions, beliefs, and strategies for improving my state or our country.
As a 30-year old U.S. citizen, worker, husband, and father of 2.4 children, I have suddenly become aware that the political process in the United States is not only important for me to follow and become involved with, but it's imperative that I stand up and express my views on the happenings in our communities, our country, and our world. (Since I'm only 5' 10" tall, I'm going to "stand up" in the figurative sense and share my views in this blog.)
Over the next few months, I plan to express my personal views about issues that are important to me and - as a fellow American - issues that should be important to you.
After all, the song says, "This is my country..." for a reason.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Xbox 360: Day 22: Safe Returns
It took nearly a month, but my Xbox 360 returned home two days ago.
Actually, to say that my Xbox returned home wouldn't be entirely true. Because they're so backed up with repairs, Microsoft sent me someone else's refurbished system to speed up the process. Once my old system is repaired, it will no doubt be sent out to someone else sometime in the next few weeks.
I fired up the system and played a game to make sure it was working properly. All seems fine for the first day or two, but I can't say I'm overly optimistic about the long-term durability of this system now. (I almost bought a Nintendo Wii this morning...)
As a "gift" for the inconvenience of dealing with my Xbox being gone for a month, Microsoft included a free month to Xbox Live - a service I already subscribe to.
Overall, the process of getting my Xbox to the repair center and home again was less painful than I had expected, but the real test of quality and customer service will take hours and hours of playing games and watching movies on the system to make sure the new hardware is better than the old stuff. Fortunately, I'm up to the task!
Actually, to say that my Xbox returned home wouldn't be entirely true. Because they're so backed up with repairs, Microsoft sent me someone else's refurbished system to speed up the process. Once my old system is repaired, it will no doubt be sent out to someone else sometime in the next few weeks.
I fired up the system and played a game to make sure it was working properly. All seems fine for the first day or two, but I can't say I'm overly optimistic about the long-term durability of this system now. (I almost bought a Nintendo Wii this morning...)
As a "gift" for the inconvenience of dealing with my Xbox being gone for a month, Microsoft included a free month to Xbox Live - a service I already subscribe to.
Overall, the process of getting my Xbox to the repair center and home again was less painful than I had expected, but the real test of quality and customer service will take hours and hours of playing games and watching movies on the system to make sure the new hardware is better than the old stuff. Fortunately, I'm up to the task!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Xbox 360: Day 19 - Good News
After nearly 3 weeks without my Xbox 360, I finally received some good news on Thursday. I received an e-mail from MSFT that my system had been shipped and that I should expect it within 3-5 days.
As I write this, the system has arrived in Tucson, and I expect it will be delivered on Monday.
My concern as the system comes back is whether or not the "fix" is going to hold out for very long. I've heard horror stories of people who have had to send their systems back multiple times because the "fix" didn't help anything. Some people aren't even getting their own system back, they get a refurbished replacement instead.
When it comes on Monday, I'll post to let you know how it looks.
As I write this, the system has arrived in Tucson, and I expect it will be delivered on Monday.
My concern as the system comes back is whether or not the "fix" is going to hold out for very long. I've heard horror stories of people who have had to send their systems back multiple times because the "fix" didn't help anything. Some people aren't even getting their own system back, they get a refurbished replacement instead.
When it comes on Monday, I'll post to let you know how it looks.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
QuestionPro.com
For those who need to create on-line surveys using a simple tool, one should consider using QuestionPro.com and their services. They offer a free 30-day trial and a free 6-month license to students and a free 12-month license for universities.
One of the only "catches" with their services is that they require you to post a link to their site on a web site or blog site, which explains my decision to post about them here.
If you're interested in learning more about their products, try going to www.questionpro.com and clicking around to see what they have to offer.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Xbox 360: Day 5: Ship to Repair Center
The box to ship my Xbox 360 to the repair center arrived yesterday from Microsoft. The box had some styrofoam padding, a plastic bag, and instructions for returning the console to the repair center in Texas. The instructions indicated that repairs could take 4-6 weeks...ouch!
The instructions were easy enough to follow, so I sealed up the console, placed it gently into the box, sealed it up, and drove down to the UPS Store to ship it off to Texas. When I walked into the store, I knew the problem with the flashing lights was bigger than even I had anticipated. Before I got to the counter carrying the box, the young lady working the register looked at me, looked at the box, and said, "Is that another Xbox 360?" Apparently, there have been a large number of consoles being shipped through this local store, and she mentioned that many of them appear to be "flashing red light" problems that occurred around one year after purchase.
If the local UPS store can pick out the repair box by sight, Microsoft has got a bigger problem on their hands than even the media is letting on. When I first saw the 4-6 week timeline for getting my Xbox back, I was disappointed. Now that I'm beginning to understand how big this problem is, I'm hoping to get it back before Christmas!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Xbox 360: 3 days...Little Progress
It has now been 3 days since I submitted my on-line warranty registration for my Xbox 360 and the "ring of death" exhibited by the 3 flashing red lights around the power button.
So far, I have received an e-mail confirmation telling me that Microsoft is aware of my problem and that they are shipping me a box so I can send them my 360 at no charge.
Do you think it's a bad sign that Microsoft has placed a large "Console Repair" section on their http://www.xbox.com/ home page? If this is something they're having to place prominently on their home page, I suspect that it might take more than the estimated $1B to cover the number of repairs they must be making.
Perhaps in an effort to offset some of the negative press (and negative referrals from system owners) they're likely receiving, Microsoft has just lowered the cost of their system.
Time will tell how damaging this quality-control issue will be in the console wars now that Sony has reduced their prices and now that the Nintendo Wii is becoming increasingly available. Can Microsoft and the Xbox 360 retain the lead they built up by releasing early, or will these console repairs knock them back to the pack? I know MSFT and Bungie are counting on Halo 3 to carry the show in the fall, but nobody will be playing with Master Chief if their 360s are sitting in a repair warehouse somewhere.
So far, I have received an e-mail confirmation telling me that Microsoft is aware of my problem and that they are shipping me a box so I can send them my 360 at no charge.
Do you think it's a bad sign that Microsoft has placed a large "Console Repair" section on their http://www.xbox.com/ home page? If this is something they're having to place prominently on their home page, I suspect that it might take more than the estimated $1B to cover the number of repairs they must be making.
Perhaps in an effort to offset some of the negative press (and negative referrals from system owners) they're likely receiving, Microsoft has just lowered the cost of their system.
Time will tell how damaging this quality-control issue will be in the console wars now that Sony has reduced their prices and now that the Nintendo Wii is becoming increasingly available. Can Microsoft and the Xbox 360 retain the lead they built up by releasing early, or will these console repairs knock them back to the pack? I know MSFT and Bungie are counting on Halo 3 to carry the show in the fall, but nobody will be playing with Master Chief if their 360s are sitting in a repair warehouse somewhere.
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