Running out of World

In honor of earth day, our church each year hosts a blessing of family animals. Sitting in the pew this week I had a bit of an epiphany, which now that the idea is three hours old, is fading. While I have the thought in my head I am going to try to get it down...

100 years ago, the world was still vast, and in many places unexplored. If a person wanted to grab fortune, he or she (OK mostly HE) was able to go out to the edge of civilization, risk everything, and be rewarded like a baron. The world was still without limit, and a man could, through wile or brawn exploit the world which was still without limit.

This unlimited use of the worlds resources set the stage for several outcomes which we are realizing in the modern age. The first outcome has been that people are still looking to the edge of civilization for opportunity. With the melting of the Northern Polar ice cap this spring, nations and organizations are considering how to best exploit the formerly ice covered land and waters of the arctic. This is almost the last undeveloped, unexploited waters in the world. People are considering ways to extract minerals with the least amount of harm to the environment. But there is always some harm...

We are currently running through our world supply of fossil fuels, and pumping millions of gallons of oil into the environment, burning the processed result and putting millions of pounds of vapor into the enviroment as the fuel is burned. No matter what side of the arguement you are on about how much fuel is still out there, the oil is finite, and we don't have thousands of years left of it, we have hundreds of years at the very best estimate, and most of us are just hoping that we will get a solution through technology when the time comes and the pumps stop.

I have trouble with how stupid this sounds just writing it. Hoping to God I don't sounds like an alarmist, and knowing I feel like a lemming... (I must admit a love with automobiles.... I LOVE driving down the highway, as fast as possible or permissible, driving is freedom, and my great grandkids may not get to experience the same feeling...)

No matter what the skeptics say about the environment and global warming, we are selfish and will not consider what we are doing to our children. On this reverence for life Sunday, I want to write about my humility and reverence for humanity, my love for this small round jewel we live on. I am in a constant state of awe and thankfullness for the blessings bestowed upon my life. I live healthy, my children live healthy, and we have love all around us. I fear that my children will not have the same freedom which I take so casually for granted.

Why? (you may ask...) Well, the world is no longer an unlimited wilderness to be conquered. Humanity is competing with itself for a finite set of resources which are growing more limited by the day. As supply goes down, standard business principles say that competition and pricing goes up. Business experts have a name for this phenomenon: "death spiral". As prices go up, access to resources gets limited, further raising demand, and then pricing along with increasing scarcity. Bad policy no matter how you view it.

Here is the hard part: selfish interest demands that no matter where you are on the demand or access curve, competition demands that each individual try to secure the best access to the supply of resources. When I look at the activities that we as a nation are currently engaging in, my instinct demands that I see a pattern of trying to secure limited resources for ourselves. As a competitive member of this society, I can understand the need to protect America and Americans, but I also see that our actions are causing some of the outcomes that we experience.

We need to somehow get past the concept of nationalism, and better see the rest of the world populations as brothers. If we continue to hoard our way of life, I feel that we will continue to invite negative reactions to our way of life from those who have much much less. If you are an unemployed muslim male sitting on sand with no resources other than the oil the US is shipping over seas, how will you view Americans? To some others, we must look like incredibly greedy consumers. While I am a patriot and a classic American. I must have some concern for how my actions may indirectly affect my children.

We need to better understand the system which rules our economic world. My wife might have the best solution of all. At our house, we try in small ways to reduce our footprint on the world. Mrs. Sinki currently has about eight different vegetables planted in our small garden. I think it is fitting to sybolically observe earth day by looking at our small vegetable garden as a small symbol of doing the right thing for our children, while keeping in mind that much larger symbols may be needed to truly protect our world and future of our kids.

I wish I had the answers, and further wish I could write a blog post that did not ramble all over the map! Happt earth day, as well as bring your pet to church day!

I can't say (as below) that I have really taken my blog back up if I don't actually write. I'mworking my way through a bunch of things this week. After my class Tuesday I have a lot more confidence in my abilities to teach and hold the attention of the students. Somi is in red hot mode, My class is up and requires some amount of work on my part which I need to get to today so I don't work all weekend. I have a renewed sense of love and commitment to my family after spending time with them during Christmas. I love coming in the door and getting universal hugs all around the room.

Henry is a lovey maniac right now, just throwing himself at me when he sees me. About once an hour I need to protect myself from his burst of love. Willa always waits to the side to see if I want to be cuddled, except when she needs some attention, then she tries to sneak a leg over my leg to slide onto my lap. It is funny, because it does not matter what I am doing, if she decides it is time, suddenly there she is squirming for a spot on dads lap. it really makes me laugh, becuse she seems a little ambarrased to want the attention (such a strong little leader), but she loves to have her time with both mom and dad!

Professor Taylor

I can't say why I have taken back off with this blog, but I thought about writing two days in a row, so here is number two in two days.

Last night I had a a new experience. I got to teach my first class at Davenport University. And I did it with a nasty ear infection! The stats are as follows: MGMT 214 Sports management fundamentals, 15 students, 13 showing up for the first night. A good mix of students, most in some kind of management or sports management major. three female and twelve guys.

I can say to myself that I was really nervous going in. A ton of thanks to Amy for putting up with me as I tried to vent stress. She knows I turn into a jerky ADD filled ball of jumpiness when I am stressed. I left really early with the idea that I get my bearings at the school and absorb some of the atmosphere.

Turns out that I was not alone as there were about five other adjunct professors in the adjunct lounge. It is kind of cool to share a space to hang out and work if needed. The other adjuncts seem pretty nice so far. I was touched that the college left me a set of dry erase markers in my cool mailbox. I feel a part of this college and though I had not paid a lot of attention to Davenport in the past, I already feel a certain loyalty to the staff and instructors just for extending me the invite to come and join them. they must be the coolest college ever, they found me and asked me to come and be a member! No other college has yet recognised my excellence in this way ;)

So, shaking in my boots, I waited for the door to room 325 to open. Davenport has the locks all programmed, so there is no occupying anything prior to 30 minutes before class. I walked in when I found the door openable, and right behind me walked in Mitch, who is the student I thought I would know. Mitch contacted me before class with questions, so I have hopes that he will excel in the class

Most of the first night is already a blur, I got some sports periodicals and brought them in with me. I took role call and then did the housekeeping stuff: yes you can eat in class, go to the bathroom if you want to. Don't text or take calls, blah blah blah. We did the exhaustive syllabus review and talked about the papers which I will figure out as I go, and talked group project. It will be a lot of work, and a bunch of lecturing on my part. I should be reading the book as we speak!

I ended the class with the students looking at and commenting on the Sports Business journal. It was interesting what each of them picked out and commented on. I can't remember any of it as I was on fumes by that time! We got out at about 8:30pm which is about 20 minutes early. Davenport wants us to go the full time. Let's see how I do in week two!

A Walk in the Woods

We have been experiencing some very non-wintery weather in Michigan this year. Last weekend, the tempteratures hoveredaround 50 degrees, and the birds and wildlife can't figure out if they missed winter and it is spring, or if they should get south beacuse winter is coming. Amy suggested a walk outside for the family, since we have decided to try and encourage each other to get fit this year.

When I suggested a walk at Riverside park, Amy told me about how she thinks that Riverside is really boring with its one wide, straight avenue. I disagree a little, but part of walking for me involves people watching, and Riverside provides interesting sights without too much crowding. But, to find a better solution, I thought about it for a minute...

I remembered seeing a sign for the Howard Christiansen nature center up near Rockford awhile back as I traveled through the area for my job. I decided to set out with the family and see if we could find it.

My memory of the roads traveled a couple of months ago was fuzzy, I thought the sign may have been on 13 mile, and it turns out that the sign is on 17 mile, and the nature center is a bit north of that. Luckily I saw a couple of rural walkers and I don't mind stopping for directions. They told me how to get there, and our family had a bit of adventure cruising around to get to the proper streets..

So once we finally found the driveway, we got out of the car to take a walk. Amy and I were pretty stunned to find this huge and well managed nature center and hiking trails in Northern Kent County. I had no idea this preserve was there. There are literally miles of hiking trails, many trimmed with recent wood chips. We didn't see any deer, but I am not surprized as our platoon is not quiet in sneeking through the woods.

We walked for about two hours and explored woods, swamp areas, and small lakes withing the center, Looks like we found a new option besides Blandford for walking in the woods!

It has again been a long time since I posted. It does take a grwat deal of commitment to keep putting your thoughts down on paper. I have changed my method and gone back to journaaling to express my thoughts to myself. My good friend Emma Baranowski showed me a notebook where she intended to write what she was grateful for each day. I thought this such a great idea that I started a book of my own. To sum up about sixty entries since last winter: I am gratefull for my wife and family. Nothing I do in this world would have any meaning without the future my children carry in their hands. Thanks to Paula Ciszewski for reminding me of this today. The future is what we are all working on in one way or another. If this is not true, you don't understand your importance in this world. You have two paths in front of you, make your world a better place, or choose to not work on the future. To me this is the basis of meaning for my choices (OK most of the time, I am human...)

So today I read about an effort in the Senate to hold up unemployment benefits for jobless Americans. I don't usually write to Congress people. Mostly I figure that the email will be read, notated by a junior staffer, and discarded with the flood of stuff they must get daily. One Senator that is blocking the bill is Massachussetts Senator Scott Brown. I decided to write and express my view nonetheless; Here is the letter:


Hi Scott,

While I am not a voter in your district, I ask that you and all of your fellow Republican representatives, please consider the people of Michigan when you are considering unemployment benefits.

Neither my wife nor myself are workers employed in the auto industry. Yet we are seeing the results of this economic downturn in our family. While I have been able to hold on to my position, my wife was involved in a downsizing one year ago. Without these important safety nets (unemployment), our family will contribute in a very real way to the financial crisis seen in America.

My wife and I were both involved in non profits, both of us exchanging monetary security for the opportunity to do good in the world. So when my wife's non-profit had a bad year last year they had to lay off five people. With cuts to the budget we are doing okay.

But when the benefits run out, here is the cascading effect. First, we prioritize, cutting credit bills, phone service and utilities in favor of keeping our house and giving food to our two children. This will contribute further to the slide in the financial industries (albeit, in our own small way). Then the banks will crush the credit rating which we so carefully cultivated for over five years together. Our interest rates all go to over 29% on the small but cumbersome debt we hold. We are not able to dig out for seven years, or we go the route of bancruptcy. Just another America family who is try to make it.

Mulitply this by the millions of Americans who are hanging on by their fingernails. This not about willingness to work or Republican ideals of smaller government. Make no mistake, this is a crisis of enourmous magnitude that will affect America for years to come. I agree that government debt is onerous. But, in this case you are holding good voting Americans hostage with your ideals. a thorny problem, but I for one tend to come down on the side of the American people.
With Hope for the best,
James Taylor

Let's be done with the bickering

I read today about how the Republicans in Washington are stalling committee meetings in retaliation for the Democrats passing health care in a tricky way. I don't know the Roberts rules of order, but to this fairly middle of the road American, it looks like High school antics. I know the stuff we are facing is considerable and deserves the finest minds in the nation working on it, but I don't vote for people who won't work it out. I vote for people who are willing to stand on their ideals and do what is right.

On health care, I don't know what is right, but the situation right now is that ordinary people have a hard time going up against big faceless bureaucracies. So some level of oversight is needed. I believe some of the Replican ideas about smaller, more efficient government, but the system needs to protect those who can not easily negotiate their own outcomes. How this relates to the actual bill of legislation for health care reform, I think most don't know because we don't have the time to read all of it. Most Americans must trust the legislator that we sent to work on it. But is that trust justified with what has been spoken about the health bill and extensive pork that inhabits its pages?

What is advertised about the current Republican outlook, is that it is every man for himself. In the Republican model free markets reign and people are able to suceed or fail spectaculerly according to their own choices. What a great idea for a small growing nation of rugged individualists. But does the model still work for a crowded teaming nation run by large multi-national corporations?

LET ME BE CLEAR, this does not make me a socialist, do not mistake my words... I want to be free enough to determine my own destiny, but things need to be fair. If I work like a dog, there should be a larger reward than for someone who does not put in the time that I do... But if I am a Detroit autoworker who has been told that the company would take care of me for my whole life, while this seems to many to be a silly assumption, I think this "contract" should be honored.

We live in the real world, and every political act has it's consequences. the Republicans have a point in saying that the changes that are made by the health care bill will have unintended consequences. But it does not absolve them or the Democrats from the responsibility of coming together and working it out. Everyone involved has shown a willingness to use "tricks" to make a point or advance a political cause, this will have repurcussions for everyone in the next election. But above all, every elected official was sent to office with a job to do. And I do not feel that the job is to be the obstruction in the river that holds back the waters of change.
It is time to deal with the issues of today. Let's be done with the bickering.