Friday, July 10, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Because I asked for it: My top 5 CCG's
Last post I hinted that this was coming. Some internet users might be confused, pondering things like "What in the world is a CCG?" Maybe this confuses you, or doesn't even interest you at all. Oh well, you'll live. There are plenty of pages on the internet to surf.
CCG is an abbreviation for Collectible Card Game. The different games have their own custom made cards, which you accumulate by spending money. You sort through those cards and put together a "deck" of cards that you think will speed you to victory according to the game's victory conditions. Then you play against someone else who has done the same thing.
It's a hobby. One you can put a lot of resources into. There are seemingly hundreds of different CCG's out there. Sometimes it seems like there's one for everything. Most come and go but the great ones are still around rocking to this day. I'm going to give you my top 5. I will try to explain the premise of each game and why I like it, and I will try to do so in an understandable manner. So, without further ado, here goes!
#5 - Star Wars CCG
Basic Premise: It's the light side versus the dark side. You build a deck for each side and play the opposite one. All kinds of neat characters and locations are available to use in this game. Released in 1995, the game went out of print in 2001. However it still has a very active community that has released "virtual cards" to keep the game evolving and changing.
Why I like it: The mechanics of how you play this game are unique, no other game is like it. It's very strategic, almost resembling chess. It has a very deep strategical layer to it. I only played it in high school and early college, and I'm not involved at all with that "virtual card" community, but I think it's cool that people who are passionate about this game have kept it going for so long. Lastly, and you'll notice a pattern here in the games I like, playing the game is like taking part of an interactive story.
#4 - Battletech CCG
Basic Premise: You play one of 10 factions in the Battletech Universe vying for power. In this futuristic world battles are conducted with "Mechs," which are best described as 30 foot tall walking tanks armed for mass destruction.
Why I like it: The game is very similar to the very first CCG ever made, Magic: The Gathering. However, when that came out my parents were far too conservative to let me try it out. So when this nearly identical game came out but was about technology and not magic I jumped all over it. It's a very fast paced and tactical game. It is also out of print and commercially didn't take off too well. That didn't stop my cousin and I from having some great times with it though.
#3 - Legend of the Five Rings
Basic Premise: In an imaginary land very similar to feudal China, 12 clans vie for power and support of the Emperor of the land. The game can be played with 2-12 players theoretically. There are 4 different ways to win when playing, and each clan tends to specialize in certain strategies to win in specific ways. First released in 1995, this game is still quite active to this day, although it can be hard to find.
Why I like it: Liking might be an understatement, I absolutely love this game. First off, the game plays out like an interactive story. The company that created the game holds huge tournaments, and the results of the tournaments actually dictates what happens next in the massive story-line of the game. Just last year for example a new Emperor was crowned from one of the houses. The cards that come out in future sets will reflect that. I don't have time to be involved with any of that, but what a cool concept.
What I also like about this game is it has been cheap. As I said earlier, CCG's are a hobby, and you can put quite a chunk of cash into them if you're not careful. More money spent means more cards to choose from in your decks, which is generally a good thing. What I like about this game is outside of my initial purchase I haven't had to spend anything else to have a blast playing it. It is a very intriguing game and I have played it several times with 3 players. It has always been fun for all involved.
#2 Middle Earth CCG
Basic Premise: You play one of the 5 wizards in Middle Earth. You're preparing a plan to oppose Sauron and to that end you travel the lands seeking resources to aid you as you come up with your plan. Different resources included famous characters, weapons, artifacts and entire factions and are all worth various points. In the end, at the "Council Meeting" the wizards present their plans and whoever has the most points will be the victor. Alternatively, you could find the One Ring and destroy it at Mount Doom to win. The game was for 2-5 players. Later expansions would change this up, allowing you to play as the Ring Wraiths, a fallen wizard trying to redeem himself, or even the Balrog as he tries to emerge as a credible threat to the entire world.
Why I like it: There are two science fictions you'll find I'm fairly passionate about if you are lucky enough to get me going on them: Lord of the Rings and Star Trek. As a young lad when I discovered card games for both I could barely contain my excitement as I dove into them. Middle-Earth was an incredible game in the fact that it lets you tell your own story as you adventure through Middle Earth trying to find "resources" as you figure out how to stop the Dark Lord. On your opponent's turn you essentially play as Sauron, playing "hazards" to try and stop the Wizards in their various scheming. I had many fun games against my dad, and even my sister collected cards. It was a unique game and there is nothing like it on the market anywhere. It wasn't very successful, only in production for 3 years. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying this gem of an under-appreciated game with friends and family.
#1 - Star Trek CCG 1st Edition
Basic Premise: Space, the final Frontier! Play one of several factions available from the Star Trek universe. Games play out like episodes of the show. You score points by completing missions, but must solve "dilemmas" (ie problems) before you can get on with the mission. First released in 1994, I stopped buying cards for it in 1999, which was about halfway through its production run. A Second Edition was released in 2002 with an attempt to revamp and simplify the game, but after seeing what they changed I never game it a first or a second thought.
Why I like it: This was my introduction into CCG's. As a young 7th grade student my dad and I, huge trekkies, became aware of it and jumped into it fully. We never looked back. We've played countless games against each other, which adds up to hours and hours of fun. Back in the day we played giant 5 player games with friends from church which were truly remarkable all things considered. The best thing we liked about the game was that combat, while in the game, was not the center focus by any means. The focus of the game was on your strategy of doing the missions and scoring points. My dad and I still break it out and play it "sealed deck style" every couple of months. The lawyer side of my dad and I will emerge every now and then and the "discussions" we would have about the interpretation of rules is as fondly remembered as the game play. In fact even in writing this my dad and I are chuckling about said discussions. This card game has brought us 15 years of fun, with many more in the future.
Honorable Mentions: These are good games that didn't make the cut for my top 5, but they still deserve a mention.
Magic: The Gathering. The very first CCG to be produced, and arguably the best in many minds. It is still alive and kicking today, and that alone is a testament to how great it is, considering 4 of my top 5 are no longer in production. Its timeless mechanics make for fast-paced tactical fun, and as far as I know it's the only game that can win you prizes like college scholarships.
Overpower CCG: Containing Marvel and DC Superheroes, this is an enjoyable game with fun "bluff" mechanics in the style of poker. Had a very short run, very hard to find these days.
Pokemon CCG: In my younger days I played this game before it became a huge child sensation. It is very simplistic; the easiest game to learn. I got my sister to play this with me when we were younger and it was one of the neat things that brought us together amidst the constant squabbling you'd find among young siblings. It's still around, and it is also the only game to come close to Magic as far as sales go. It may have outsold Magic for awhile, but I'm not sure.
There you have it. My top 5 CCG's. Why share this? These various games were a fun part of my life. They brought me closer to my family and friends. It is always fun to find something in life that you enjoy, it is even better to find things that you enjoy with other people. Gaming has always been a fun hobby of mine, but it has never been limited to just video games. The bottom line of it is I have always enjoyed it with other people. It's always more fun that way.
CCG is an abbreviation for Collectible Card Game. The different games have their own custom made cards, which you accumulate by spending money. You sort through those cards and put together a "deck" of cards that you think will speed you to victory according to the game's victory conditions. Then you play against someone else who has done the same thing.
It's a hobby. One you can put a lot of resources into. There are seemingly hundreds of different CCG's out there. Sometimes it seems like there's one for everything. Most come and go but the great ones are still around rocking to this day. I'm going to give you my top 5. I will try to explain the premise of each game and why I like it, and I will try to do so in an understandable manner. So, without further ado, here goes!
#5 - Star Wars CCG
Basic Premise: It's the light side versus the dark side. You build a deck for each side and play the opposite one. All kinds of neat characters and locations are available to use in this game. Released in 1995, the game went out of print in 2001. However it still has a very active community that has released "virtual cards" to keep the game evolving and changing.
Why I like it: The mechanics of how you play this game are unique, no other game is like it. It's very strategic, almost resembling chess. It has a very deep strategical layer to it. I only played it in high school and early college, and I'm not involved at all with that "virtual card" community, but I think it's cool that people who are passionate about this game have kept it going for so long. Lastly, and you'll notice a pattern here in the games I like, playing the game is like taking part of an interactive story.
#4 - Battletech CCG
Basic Premise: You play one of 10 factions in the Battletech Universe vying for power. In this futuristic world battles are conducted with "Mechs," which are best described as 30 foot tall walking tanks armed for mass destruction.
Why I like it: The game is very similar to the very first CCG ever made, Magic: The Gathering. However, when that came out my parents were far too conservative to let me try it out. So when this nearly identical game came out but was about technology and not magic I jumped all over it. It's a very fast paced and tactical game. It is also out of print and commercially didn't take off too well. That didn't stop my cousin and I from having some great times with it though.
#3 - Legend of the Five Rings
Basic Premise: In an imaginary land very similar to feudal China, 12 clans vie for power and support of the Emperor of the land. The game can be played with 2-12 players theoretically. There are 4 different ways to win when playing, and each clan tends to specialize in certain strategies to win in specific ways. First released in 1995, this game is still quite active to this day, although it can be hard to find.
Why I like it: Liking might be an understatement, I absolutely love this game. First off, the game plays out like an interactive story. The company that created the game holds huge tournaments, and the results of the tournaments actually dictates what happens next in the massive story-line of the game. Just last year for example a new Emperor was crowned from one of the houses. The cards that come out in future sets will reflect that. I don't have time to be involved with any of that, but what a cool concept.
What I also like about this game is it has been cheap. As I said earlier, CCG's are a hobby, and you can put quite a chunk of cash into them if you're not careful. More money spent means more cards to choose from in your decks, which is generally a good thing. What I like about this game is outside of my initial purchase I haven't had to spend anything else to have a blast playing it. It is a very intriguing game and I have played it several times with 3 players. It has always been fun for all involved.
#2 Middle Earth CCG
Basic Premise: You play one of the 5 wizards in Middle Earth. You're preparing a plan to oppose Sauron and to that end you travel the lands seeking resources to aid you as you come up with your plan. Different resources included famous characters, weapons, artifacts and entire factions and are all worth various points. In the end, at the "Council Meeting" the wizards present their plans and whoever has the most points will be the victor. Alternatively, you could find the One Ring and destroy it at Mount Doom to win. The game was for 2-5 players. Later expansions would change this up, allowing you to play as the Ring Wraiths, a fallen wizard trying to redeem himself, or even the Balrog as he tries to emerge as a credible threat to the entire world.
Why I like it: There are two science fictions you'll find I'm fairly passionate about if you are lucky enough to get me going on them: Lord of the Rings and Star Trek. As a young lad when I discovered card games for both I could barely contain my excitement as I dove into them. Middle-Earth was an incredible game in the fact that it lets you tell your own story as you adventure through Middle Earth trying to find "resources" as you figure out how to stop the Dark Lord. On your opponent's turn you essentially play as Sauron, playing "hazards" to try and stop the Wizards in their various scheming. I had many fun games against my dad, and even my sister collected cards. It was a unique game and there is nothing like it on the market anywhere. It wasn't very successful, only in production for 3 years. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying this gem of an under-appreciated game with friends and family.
#1 - Star Trek CCG 1st Edition
Basic Premise: Space, the final Frontier! Play one of several factions available from the Star Trek universe. Games play out like episodes of the show. You score points by completing missions, but must solve "dilemmas" (ie problems) before you can get on with the mission. First released in 1994, I stopped buying cards for it in 1999, which was about halfway through its production run. A Second Edition was released in 2002 with an attempt to revamp and simplify the game, but after seeing what they changed I never game it a first or a second thought.
Why I like it: This was my introduction into CCG's. As a young 7th grade student my dad and I, huge trekkies, became aware of it and jumped into it fully. We never looked back. We've played countless games against each other, which adds up to hours and hours of fun. Back in the day we played giant 5 player games with friends from church which were truly remarkable all things considered. The best thing we liked about the game was that combat, while in the game, was not the center focus by any means. The focus of the game was on your strategy of doing the missions and scoring points. My dad and I still break it out and play it "sealed deck style" every couple of months. The lawyer side of my dad and I will emerge every now and then and the "discussions" we would have about the interpretation of rules is as fondly remembered as the game play. In fact even in writing this my dad and I are chuckling about said discussions. This card game has brought us 15 years of fun, with many more in the future.
Honorable Mentions: These are good games that didn't make the cut for my top 5, but they still deserve a mention.
Magic: The Gathering. The very first CCG to be produced, and arguably the best in many minds. It is still alive and kicking today, and that alone is a testament to how great it is, considering 4 of my top 5 are no longer in production. Its timeless mechanics make for fast-paced tactical fun, and as far as I know it's the only game that can win you prizes like college scholarships.
Overpower CCG: Containing Marvel and DC Superheroes, this is an enjoyable game with fun "bluff" mechanics in the style of poker. Had a very short run, very hard to find these days.
Pokemon CCG: In my younger days I played this game before it became a huge child sensation. It is very simplistic; the easiest game to learn. I got my sister to play this with me when we were younger and it was one of the neat things that brought us together amidst the constant squabbling you'd find among young siblings. It's still around, and it is also the only game to come close to Magic as far as sales go. It may have outsold Magic for awhile, but I'm not sure.
There you have it. My top 5 CCG's. Why share this? These various games were a fun part of my life. They brought me closer to my family and friends. It is always fun to find something in life that you enjoy, it is even better to find things that you enjoy with other people. Gaming has always been a fun hobby of mine, but it has never been limited to just video games. The bottom line of it is I have always enjoyed it with other people. It's always more fun that way.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Long Time no Blog
Hey world of the Internet, it's been awhile since I blogged. Did you watch that Looney Tunes short that I put up? You have no idea how excited I was to find that on youtube. I haven't seen that clip in years. When I was a wee lad my dad tried to tape it on VHS, and even then we only caught half of it. So finding the entire episode was very thrilling. Maybe you do have an idea how exciting that was now that I've mentioned it again after posting it.
So what else is new? Apparently my blog has 4 "followers" now, among them a dead former president! That's exciting. A lot of celebrity deaths in the past few weeks, what's up with that?
I just spent two and a half days running around with 2nd and 3rd grade students at Rock Lake Christian Assembly. It was a lot of fun. I do great with kids, and I don't say that to brag, it's the plain truth. I am starting to wonder if maybe I should consider children's ministry positions as I continue my search for a paid vocational ministry position.
Today marks day 1 of the anniversary of Gettysburg. I usually dedicate a whole post to pointing this out, but seeing how I have to work all this weekend I'll probably forget to do that. So I'll mention it now instead. The battle of Gettysburg remains one of the largest battles in our nations history. To this day the total number of casualties from this battle is still higher than any other major engagement America has been involved in.
America became divided over several issues (not just slavery), and the disagreements led to fighting and four years of a brutal civil war. The disagreement went to an extreme. What we learn from the Civil War was mentioned briefly in the Bible many years before, "If a House is divided against itself, that house cannot stand (Mark 3:25)." Fighting, violence and bloodshed are not the answers. Far too many Americans lost their lives either fighting to be heard or fighting to reunite this country. May it never happen again.
May we be careful in the Church to make sure we don't let the little things get between us; something that happens far too often. When we look at churches and what causes them to split it is so insignificant when shown in the light of the bigger picture.
Well that's all for now. I've got a fun post coming up, "My top 5 CCG's." Don't know what that means? Well you will soon enough.
Farewell for now Internet.
So what else is new? Apparently my blog has 4 "followers" now, among them a dead former president! That's exciting. A lot of celebrity deaths in the past few weeks, what's up with that?
I just spent two and a half days running around with 2nd and 3rd grade students at Rock Lake Christian Assembly. It was a lot of fun. I do great with kids, and I don't say that to brag, it's the plain truth. I am starting to wonder if maybe I should consider children's ministry positions as I continue my search for a paid vocational ministry position.
Today marks day 1 of the anniversary of Gettysburg. I usually dedicate a whole post to pointing this out, but seeing how I have to work all this weekend I'll probably forget to do that. So I'll mention it now instead. The battle of Gettysburg remains one of the largest battles in our nations history. To this day the total number of casualties from this battle is still higher than any other major engagement America has been involved in.
America became divided over several issues (not just slavery), and the disagreements led to fighting and four years of a brutal civil war. The disagreement went to an extreme. What we learn from the Civil War was mentioned briefly in the Bible many years before, "If a House is divided against itself, that house cannot stand (Mark 3:25)." Fighting, violence and bloodshed are not the answers. Far too many Americans lost their lives either fighting to be heard or fighting to reunite this country. May it never happen again.
May we be careful in the Church to make sure we don't let the little things get between us; something that happens far too often. When we look at churches and what causes them to split it is so insignificant when shown in the light of the bigger picture.
Well that's all for now. I've got a fun post coming up, "My top 5 CCG's." Don't know what that means? Well you will soon enough.
Farewell for now Internet.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Things I've seen...
As many people may or may not know, I am pretty much working all third shifts now. It has been a different experience for me. I have been given much material to write about but never had the time, and when I did have the time the motivation to write about what I've seen hasn't been there.
Third shift is pretty different in a 24-hour gas station. You get to meet a lot of interesting people and some of them are quite intoxicated. This makes for some hilarious discussions as I have interacted with some truly unique people. Now to any new readers, I want to make one thing clear. While I am going to point out the stranger people I have met I don't want to give the impression that I am sitting on a holy pedestal judging them and laughing because I am superior. I am not by any means. These are truly people where "the shoe fits oh so well" and I challenge anyone to not thing the exact same thing if they met them. Without further ado, the things I've seen:
- One of my favorites came in sometime within the last two weeks. He had a mullet style hairdo and the mullet tail almost went down to his waist. The real kicker though was the ICP jersey with matching pants and hat. ICP is short for "Insane Clown Posse" and to describe it best they are a vulgar rap group of Beastie Boy style. So to see someone with a mullet sporting their gear was truly unique, as if his mullet wasn't epic enough on its own.
- I don't like using the term white trash. There's something about it I just don't find dignifying. Unfortunately I cannot think of a better phrase to describe two different ladies I've had in the store in the last month. The first had a tank-top, shorts and a sweatshirt longer than both. The second had a t-shirt that was so short that she was showing more midriff than any rebellious high schooler I've ever met. Both had to be mid thirties, and also smelled of recent alcohol consumption. Like I said don't get me wrong my heart goes out for these people, but at the same time it's just crazy to wonder how they got to where they are now.
- The latter of the two told me that peanuts could be used to interfere with a police breathalyser test. She had seen a program on TV about it and was convinced it worked. As she was traveling a lot that weekend she was sure to buy some. After that night when I got home I questioned my dad on the matter as I had never heard anything to this nature. He mentioned that for awhile last month the court had put up disclaimer signs stating that this in fact was not true at all. Besides, I have a strong feeling that cops are not going to let you go if you are blatantly drunk, regardless of whether the breathalyser works or not.
- My new quote of the week comes from a customer I had last night who was discouraged by the recent tax increase on cigarettes. This is a tough area for me. Do I think smoking is bad? Absolutely. Do I wish people would stop? Yes I do. They would be healthier and it would save them so much money. However, at the same time I feel it's important to respect a person's choice, especially if they haven't aligned themselves to Christianity. It's not right to impose my beliefs on someone that doesn't follow them. To that end it is frustrating to see cigarette prices go up and frustrate the people who buy them day in and day out. We have a tough economy and I don't see all these tax increased helping anything out.
Anyways, the customer had a strange yet hilarious remark in response to these new taxes. He said, "Cigarettes? Shoot it's getting cheaper to rent a hooker and bum one off her!" All I could think when he said that was that somehow I imagined that's exactly the response that Granholm wanted when she signed that tax bill. Way to fix the problem.
Speaking of government stuff, let's segue way. That was nice.
- Three businesses in the Lansing area recently decided to go out of business. One can imagine the surprise they had when they received a notification from the city that they had not paid their "Going out of Business Tax" and as a result they owed the city money. Now I thought that when your profits do not exceed your costs and you cannot pay your monthly bills that you go out of business. So two things - Who's the genius that thought to tax that, and how are these failing businesses going to pay it? I really don't understand why so many businesses are leaving Michigan.
- This whole government fury over the last month at the AIG bonuses? I'm not buying it. They had to know. You don't give a company bailout money without asking them how they are going to use it. You don't approve the bailout if you don't agree with how they are going to use it. They knew where the money would go and approved it, then turned sides when the people became outraged as the media discovered how the banks were using the bailout money. So this whole "we didn't know this would happen and we're furious" thing? Baloney.
- Fun facts: In the first few months that Obama has been in office he has spent more money than all the Presidents combined spent in the same amount of time. In fact by the end of this year if his budget passes he will spend more in one year than Bush did in eight. Interesting.
- Government financing: How is the U.S. funding all its spending? We're selling bonds to foreign investors. In fact we've sold so many bonds specifically to China that their government contacted the White house and told it to make sure the value of the dollar didn't go down. That's the first time any government has directly said that to ours. We've sold so many bonds that if the value of the dollar goes down we are cheating our bond payments. Interesting.
My concern here is that sometime in the coming future China is going to call on America to payback the bonds. When we can't we will be official Chinese property. Two things - How many people are aware of this and should we learn Cantonese or Mandarin for our future national language?
- With all that chaos and uncertainty in the government we're forced to ask one question: Where are we putting our faith? If my last few points have made any sense than one thing should be clear. Don't put your faith in the government or in money. Put it in God. Instead of voting for the changes we want to see we need to be living those changes out in our own lives, because that's the only way we can hope to see those changes making a difference.
As for me, that means smiling at every customer whether I want to or not. That means always being the listening ear and not getting mad every time someone stumbles in at 3 in the morning when I have tons of cleaning to do. Thirds are a different creature and while I do enjoy them I am starting to feel the tug to get back into vocational youth ministry. I think it's time to move on. We will see what God has in store and as I move forward I will not forget the new heart I have found by working among the hurt. I only hope that as I figure out my next step I'll be able to transfer that heart to others.
Third shift is pretty different in a 24-hour gas station. You get to meet a lot of interesting people and some of them are quite intoxicated. This makes for some hilarious discussions as I have interacted with some truly unique people. Now to any new readers, I want to make one thing clear. While I am going to point out the stranger people I have met I don't want to give the impression that I am sitting on a holy pedestal judging them and laughing because I am superior. I am not by any means. These are truly people where "the shoe fits oh so well" and I challenge anyone to not thing the exact same thing if they met them. Without further ado, the things I've seen:
- One of my favorites came in sometime within the last two weeks. He had a mullet style hairdo and the mullet tail almost went down to his waist. The real kicker though was the ICP jersey with matching pants and hat. ICP is short for "Insane Clown Posse" and to describe it best they are a vulgar rap group of Beastie Boy style. So to see someone with a mullet sporting their gear was truly unique, as if his mullet wasn't epic enough on its own.
- I don't like using the term white trash. There's something about it I just don't find dignifying. Unfortunately I cannot think of a better phrase to describe two different ladies I've had in the store in the last month. The first had a tank-top, shorts and a sweatshirt longer than both. The second had a t-shirt that was so short that she was showing more midriff than any rebellious high schooler I've ever met. Both had to be mid thirties, and also smelled of recent alcohol consumption. Like I said don't get me wrong my heart goes out for these people, but at the same time it's just crazy to wonder how they got to where they are now.
- The latter of the two told me that peanuts could be used to interfere with a police breathalyser test. She had seen a program on TV about it and was convinced it worked. As she was traveling a lot that weekend she was sure to buy some. After that night when I got home I questioned my dad on the matter as I had never heard anything to this nature. He mentioned that for awhile last month the court had put up disclaimer signs stating that this in fact was not true at all. Besides, I have a strong feeling that cops are not going to let you go if you are blatantly drunk, regardless of whether the breathalyser works or not.
- My new quote of the week comes from a customer I had last night who was discouraged by the recent tax increase on cigarettes. This is a tough area for me. Do I think smoking is bad? Absolutely. Do I wish people would stop? Yes I do. They would be healthier and it would save them so much money. However, at the same time I feel it's important to respect a person's choice, especially if they haven't aligned themselves to Christianity. It's not right to impose my beliefs on someone that doesn't follow them. To that end it is frustrating to see cigarette prices go up and frustrate the people who buy them day in and day out. We have a tough economy and I don't see all these tax increased helping anything out.
Anyways, the customer had a strange yet hilarious remark in response to these new taxes. He said, "Cigarettes? Shoot it's getting cheaper to rent a hooker and bum one off her!" All I could think when he said that was that somehow I imagined that's exactly the response that Granholm wanted when she signed that tax bill. Way to fix the problem.
Speaking of government stuff, let's segue way. That was nice.
- Three businesses in the Lansing area recently decided to go out of business. One can imagine the surprise they had when they received a notification from the city that they had not paid their "Going out of Business Tax" and as a result they owed the city money. Now I thought that when your profits do not exceed your costs and you cannot pay your monthly bills that you go out of business. So two things - Who's the genius that thought to tax that, and how are these failing businesses going to pay it? I really don't understand why so many businesses are leaving Michigan.
- This whole government fury over the last month at the AIG bonuses? I'm not buying it. They had to know. You don't give a company bailout money without asking them how they are going to use it. You don't approve the bailout if you don't agree with how they are going to use it. They knew where the money would go and approved it, then turned sides when the people became outraged as the media discovered how the banks were using the bailout money. So this whole "we didn't know this would happen and we're furious" thing? Baloney.
- Fun facts: In the first few months that Obama has been in office he has spent more money than all the Presidents combined spent in the same amount of time. In fact by the end of this year if his budget passes he will spend more in one year than Bush did in eight. Interesting.
- Government financing: How is the U.S. funding all its spending? We're selling bonds to foreign investors. In fact we've sold so many bonds specifically to China that their government contacted the White house and told it to make sure the value of the dollar didn't go down. That's the first time any government has directly said that to ours. We've sold so many bonds that if the value of the dollar goes down we are cheating our bond payments. Interesting.
My concern here is that sometime in the coming future China is going to call on America to payback the bonds. When we can't we will be official Chinese property. Two things - How many people are aware of this and should we learn Cantonese or Mandarin for our future national language?
- With all that chaos and uncertainty in the government we're forced to ask one question: Where are we putting our faith? If my last few points have made any sense than one thing should be clear. Don't put your faith in the government or in money. Put it in God. Instead of voting for the changes we want to see we need to be living those changes out in our own lives, because that's the only way we can hope to see those changes making a difference.
As for me, that means smiling at every customer whether I want to or not. That means always being the listening ear and not getting mad every time someone stumbles in at 3 in the morning when I have tons of cleaning to do. Thirds are a different creature and while I do enjoy them I am starting to feel the tug to get back into vocational youth ministry. I think it's time to move on. We will see what God has in store and as I move forward I will not forget the new heart I have found by working among the hurt. I only hope that as I figure out my next step I'll be able to transfer that heart to others.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
LOL of the week?
Looks like Smokey the Bear is tired of warning people and is now taking matters into his own paws!
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