Wes Kelley

This amazing photo shows the progress being made on the new highway spanning Hoover Dam. One great engineering feat on top of another.

Yes, I am going to post an excerpt from The Price is Right, but I couldn’t resist.  The compilation of Taylor’s success on daytime television’s long-running staple almost makes we want to watch game shows… almost.

Mint.com is a very handy and easy to use personal finance manager that has won my heart.  Beginning last January, I dumped Quicken and went exclusively to Mint. (Not to be outdone, Intuit, the maker of Quicken, has now bought Mint.)  The addition of an iPhone app and other modest improvements over the last year has given me confidence in my decision.

Mint recently posted the following on their blog.  Just like I love graphs, I love infographics of any kind. This summary of charity shines a light on the importance of doing good with what we’ve been given.

Mike Mandel has put together a collection of graphs that he thinks sums up the Great Recession.  An analyst for Atlantic magazine has suggested that the following graph from the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve sums it up best.  This graph shows the skyrocketing of household debt.

There is no doubt that our recent economic tumult will supply countless grad students with ample material for master theses and doctoral dissertations for years to come.

Kevin Spacey has always seemed a gifted actor to me, but in this clip you can see that he is naturally funny and quick too.

This image amazes me.  McDonalds is as American as… well… America.  Below is a graphic representation prepared by Fast Company that shows all the McDonalds franchises in the United States.  You have to head to some pretty isolated areas to get out from under the shadow of those golden arches.

While I’m not sure I like the use of the term “Authoritarian” I suppose the quiz below is fairly accurate. In today’s world I would be considered a right-leaning centrist. With foreign policy concerns I shy away from neo-con hubris, but I support a strong American presence overseas. Domestically, I am pro-market, but I realize that humans–and corporations–are not angels. I support traditional American values, though I recognize that religion and the state have different purposes. In general, I love my country, but I respect (and fear) the power of government enough to support strong checks and balances–no matter who is calling the shots at the moment.

My Political Views
I am a centrist moderate social authoritarian
Right: 0.92, Authoritarian: 1.16

Political Spectrum Quiz

Again, I’m posting a brief assignment from my graduate studies. We were asked to comment on the Gettysburg Address. I hadn’t read it in some time. Its beauty really struck me. I thought I would post both the speech and my comments below.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The Gettysburg Address is oratorical poetry. It is simultaneously a beautiful expression of English prose and a seminal statement of American governance. We are one country, made hallowed and significant by the sacrifices of the men who died to defend its principles.

Obviously, you cannot separate the speech’s content from its context. This speech was given as the tide of the war was turning. It was becoming apparent that the Union would stand. Therefore, Lincoln’s brief statement was an eloquent sigh; one that signified that the war would be won and the sacrifices of its brave soldiers were the reason for the Union’s survival.

It is beautiful because of its brevity and focus. Much like the old prayers written in prayer books used years ago. Each word was chosen carefully. Each word has a job to do. Like a piece of colored glass being placed in a stain-glass window. Each lovely on its own, but forming a composite of glory. Okay, maybe my oratory is getting a little too rich, but we are rarely given an opportunity to wax on about the beauty of language.

What is interesting is that a speech like this could still be delivered today. Its style is not bound to its time. Churchill could have given this speech, maybe even Reagan or Obama. You could not deliver a speech like this on the campaign trail, but standing at the gravesite of fallen soldiers, or at another suitably somber and substantial event, it would still blow our socks off. We need “plain talk” but we also need a little nobility of thought AND language every once in awhile.

The following was written for one of my graduate classes in political management.  I am posting it here for the fun of it. 

Tennessee and the other TVA states are at the top of the list.  No, it is not our educational attainment, economic prosperity or athletic achievement that is setting records.  Unfortunately, it is the amount of electricity powering our homes that sets us apart.  

Consistently, the states receiving power from the Tennessee Valley Authority consume electricity at the highest per capita levels in the country.  As a matter of fact, we use about 50% more than the national average.  Why are we consuming more kilowatts than others?  Perhaps it is because for many decades we benefited from relatively cheap electricity. We assumed that no matter how much we used, TVA would build more power plants to supply our needs.  

With today’s energy costs steadily rising, the days of, “use all you want—we’ll make more” are most certainly behind us.  It is now increasingly expensive and environmentally challenging to build new electric generation, and Tennesseans must embrace energy conservation as never before to control rising energy bills.

As it is, three-fifths of the power generated in Tennessee comes from coal-fired power plants, and the smoke and ash they produce contribute to environmental problems.  Also, when electricity usage is high, TVA and other power companies resort to using expensive gas-fired generation to keep up with the demand.  While less environmentally harmful than coal plants, gas generation produces greenhouse gases, and is even more expensive to operate than coal generation. 

Of course, for decades TVA and its distributors fed our seemingly insatiable appetite for electricity.  Congress chartered TVA in 1933 to sell its power, “at the lowest possible rate and in such a manner as to encourage increased domestic and rural use of electricity.”   

The first head of TVA, David E. Lilenthal, knew before he could expand the residential use of electricity, homes needed appliances to consume it.  He persuaded President Roosevelt to form the Electric Home and Farm Authority (EHFA).  This federal agency provided low-interest loans to stimulate sales of electric appliances throughout the Tennessee Valley.

A brochure from 1934 proudly proclaimed EHFA was, “interested in a constantly greater use of electricity in all American homes. A fully electrified nation is the goal.” For many years thereafter, TVA continued to encourage higher and higher levels of electricity consumption within our homes and businesses.  As a matter of fact, while Tennessee is at the top of the list in residential electricity consumption, it ranks near the bottom for natural gas usage.  

Obviously the push for residential use of electricity worked.  It wasn’t until the energy crisis in the late 1970s that conservation first entered our social vocabulary.  

Today, TVA’s energy right, Green Power Switch and Generation Partners programs demonstrate how far we have come.  These programs are part of the “greener” TVA.  This Federal agency wants to help its customers control their ever-increasing demand for electricity, and create renewable generation options to offset the need for additional power plants.

While Green Power Switch encourages customers to purchase renewable power to support green power, Generation Partners works directly with customers who want to build and operate their own renewable generation.  TVA will now buy renewable power, such as solar, wind, etc., from its customers to encourage local renewable generation.

However, it is energy right that deserves the most attention.  Through energy right, TVA offers home energy audits, financial incentives for purchasing energy efficient heat pumps and water heaters and educational resources for those wanting to make their homes more energy efficient.

We can begin by taking small actions within our homes.  Household projects such as replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, installing high-efficiency windows or adding insulation can add up to big reductions in energy usage over time.  We must remember simple steps matter; anytime you turn off unnecessary things that draw electricity you are reducing costs and helping the environment.

The founders of TVA knew the widespread use of low-cost electricity would stimulate economic opportunity within the Tennessee Valley.  Their vision, and the labor of countless Tennesseans, helped produce the bounty we enjoy today; however, we must understand our situation has changed.  The financial incentives that rewarded an ever-increasing use of electricity are gone.  We must focus our efforts on controlling our use of electricity before rising costs do lasting damage to our regional economy.

I signed up at Last.fm a good while ago and it dutifully records the music I’m listening to on a regular basis.  I looked at my account tonight and I saw the following rundown of the artists I listen to the most.  I’ll own up to this list.  While the order might move around a bit, this is a good list of many of my favorites.

1. Sting
2. New Order
3. Coldplay
4. The Cure
5. Depeche Mode
6. U2
7. The Beatles
8. Sarah McLachlan
9. The Shins
10. Dido
11. Jars of Clay
12. The Smiths
13. The Stone Roses
14. Peter Gabriel
15. XTC