Working from home

Well some heath issues have been dogging me since the first of the year and I have been working from home. Tomorrow we will be into March of the year of our Lord 2006 and it looks like I will remain at home for at least another two weeks. Some people would envy the situation but I can tell you that sticking your nose out the door only to visit the doctor gets old sooner rather than latter.

Of course the fact that I haven't even felt like sitting at the operating position of my amateur radio station to chat with fellow hams around the world on most days probably has something to do with that statement. I am enjoying one of the better days that I have had in some time now so I guess that is why I am sitting here pounding on the keyboard while I listen to one of my favorite talk shows.

I have enjoyed the time to read and study my Bible, listen some excellent Pod Casts, browse my favorite blogs on the Internet and read some books that I keep ordering from Amazon. I also look forward to the arrival of spring and getting out around town to see some of the new construction that will be going on. The new power substation that will be installed on the old Edge Water Steel site among others.

Until then I will continue to maintain my blogs, I currently have three, and enjoy the life that God has granted me.

A small but useful Security Tip

With plastic cards becoming the “coin of the realm” for almost everyone these days there are a few things you should do to protect yourself and your money/bank account. There are the obvious things like keeping your card physically secure and guarding your PIN number. Here is one you might not think of though. Everyone one of these little plastic gems has a place on the back that you are supposed to sign, even the debit cards.

Being the well trained citizens that we are most dutifully place their signature on each card when it arrives. How old were you before you tore off one of those tags that says “DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENNALETY OF LAW” ? I thought so!

The next time you get a new credit or debit card turn it over and write on that little stripe on the back, “REQUEST PHOTO ID” in big letters. Now this is no guarantee since many of the folks working behind sales counters these days don't even bother to check if the card is signed let along compare the signature with the one you just affixed to the slip of paper that they pushed across the counter at you. If however you are defrauded in some manner it will be very hard for the card company or the merchant to place the blame at your doorstep. It will also tell you which stores you deal with that are taking at least minimum measures to protect your transactions.

Lets pray that South Dakota is a turning point

There is a story currently in the news media that South Dakota is planning to pass a law that will ban all abortions with the only exception being to save the life of the mother. People from both sides of this controversial issue see this as a direct challenge to the 1973 Roe vs. Wade court decision that made abortion “legal” in the United States.

This lead to almost three decades of unspeakable loss of human life in this country. When challenged even the most extreme and outrageous forms of abortion have been upheld by local and then federal courts. This is something that we as a society can simply not allow to go on. I was somewhat surprised when South Dakota was the first state to attempt the ban since the recent changes in the makeup of the United States Supreme Court. I will however gladly accept any chance to stop this madness that is presented. Lets all hope and pray that this is indeed a turning point in the war against the nations unborn children.

Follow this link for the complete story.

The Super Bowl's unsung hero's

One more Super Bowl thought and I will try to make this the last entry concerning football until training camp opens in August. Bathing in the glow of victory many of the Steelers are in demand for personal appearances at all manner of local events and on several national entertainment television shows.

For obvious reasons, chief among those in demand is Jerome Bettis who has been making the late night talk show circuit. SEE LINK It just so happens that due to circumstances beyond my control I am currently not working and seeing a lot more of late night shows than I normally would. So I watched Jerome's appearances on the Jay Leno show this past Wednesday and I think he represented himself, the city and Western Pennsylvania well in his interview.

During the show Bettis spoke about two of the unsung hero's of this past Steeler season and Super Bowl victory. Those being his mother and father. Not only did they provide a home and loving family environment for Jerome and his siblings they placed a strong emphasis on education. Apparently all of the Bettis children were expected not only to graduate high school but to go on to collage. Jerome spoke of growing up in a home with lots of books where reading was encouraged.

This impressed me a great deal because of my dealings with some people from the Detroit area that I worked with for a period of time in the late 1970's. Westinghouse had a division near Detroit that produced a line of small programmable controllers and associated input / output modules used in industrial control applications. This division was closed and moved to the Pittsburgh area and while not the main reason one of the justifications was a lack of talent in the work force trained in electronics. As one of the engineers I worked with explained to me “If it doesn't roll on four rubber tires, they are not interested”.

I could identify with this attitude since it was very similar to that of Pittsburgh. For generations youngsters here, mostly men, knew that with only a high school education and some times not even that you could go into the steel mills and earn a pretty decent living. Many simply because that is what their fathers and grandfathers had done. With the strong union environment it often took only a word the right person to ensure a job in the mills when you were ready. Much the same story existed in Detroit with the automobile industry. Education was never stressed since it wasn't considered necessary by some and no one ever contemplated that someday the steel mills or the automobile assembly lines would no longer be here.

There was also an indication that Jerome's parents placed a strong emphasis on faith in God and religion being active in their church. I'm sure this had a lot to do with the strong family environment provided by the household. Part of this could be seen by the fact that after signing a contract with the National Football League Jerome showed his love and respect for his parents buying them a new home and continuing to be part of their lives. There have been many who have come from humble beginnings that forget about the core family and move on when fame and fortune was visited upon them.

So along with the owners, coaches, team and all those who work in support functions at the Steeler organization I would like to take moment to offer congratulations to not only the parents of Jerome Bettis but all of those who raised the fine young men who represented our city and area so well in the public arena.

The Book of Danile and televisions view of Christianity

I never saw an episode of “The Book of Daniel” having seen enough from the promotions and heard enough via word of mouth to know that it was not worth waisting my time on viewing. I have to say that I was not surprised when the show was canceled I did however think it would make the entire first season before that happened. Here is an interesting commentary on the shows demise.

NBC cancels 'Book of Daniel'; Commentary from Veith

Commentary: Lessons from the late 'Book of Daniel'
By Gene Edward Veith

The controversial TV show "The Book of Daniel" has been canceled after only three episodes, making it one of the biggest bombs in television history. Christian activists denounced the show as a mockery of Christianity, but NBC is saying that the main reason it got pulled was its abysmal ratings. Whatever the reason, the show's failure can serve as a revealing object lesson, both for Hollywood and for Christians wanting to interact with the culture.

Follow THIS LINK to read the entire commentary.

Super Bowl victory and lessons learned.

I was in the process of writing a blog entry about leadership the other day but I just couldn't put the word down on the screen in a way that truly expressed what I had in mind. I'm still working on that one so check back latter. I did however over the weekend see what I thought was leadership worth taking note of and I wanted to tell you about it from my perspective.


If you live in Pittsburgh unless you were one of the two or three people in the entire region who was not watching the Super Bowl on Sunday then you saw the same images on television that I did. I remember thinking as I watched all of the hype prior to the game that for all of the times I saw Bill Cowher interviewed I never heard him say “I want to win the Super Bowl”. Instead each time he was questioned about what a Super Bowl victory would do for his record as a head coach he would say that what he really wanted was to be able to hand that trophy to Dan Rooney. He talked about how the players deserved to be here because of all the hard work and effort they had put fourth. He lauded his coaching staff as being one of the best in the NFL. Listening to Bill Cowher talk you would think that he had almost nothing to do with the team being on the verge of winning football's most prized achievement.

I don't know Bill Cowher personally and have never met the man. I know that he works in the very competitive world of professional sports and he holds the top job in an industry where you are judged by results and he is in the “buck stops here” position. When the results are good you are the hero and when they are not you are handed your hat and show the door. Sometimes in the short period of just one season. Those that think corporate America is harsh should try being a head coach in the NFL.

I do know that Bill Cowher would prefer to excel at his chosen profession, you can see that from the passion that he exhibits on the sidelines during a game. I think I am safe in assuming that he “wanted” that Super Bowl trophy because just like the rest of us he is a human being. I can't tell you what is in his heart and mind so I have to judge the man by his words and even more importantly by his actions. Using those two criteria I have formed an opinion of the type of leader that Bill Cowher is.

I think he is a man who leads by example. While you will see the Pittsburgh Steelers jump in the air and hug each other in the end zone when they score a touch down it is because they are happy. They do not taunt the other team or even the other teams fans. When they cross the goal line the thing that happens most of the time is they just drop the ball on the ground. They don't have to gather in a circle and do a little dance. They have more class than that. They are saying “Hey, I've been here before and I'll be here again.” so lets play the game. I think that attitude is something that they get from their head coach.

When asked by reporters what winning the Super Bowl would mean to him Bill Cowher said that he wanted to win so that he could hand Dan Rooney that trophy. I think in this highly competitive world filled with larger than life egos Bill Cowher wanted to be of service to the people who allowed him to pursue his passion doing work that he loved. I also think he has conveyed that idea of service to his players. In an era of big money contracts and super stars and talking about what “I” bring to the game you don't find that in the Steeler locker room. To a man, when team members are interviewed by the media over and over again what you hear from them is the statement “I want to do what I can to help the team”. Those that talk about “I” rather than “we” usually don't last long with the Steelers. Again, I think this is something that is the result of the attitude of their leader.

I think he also set an example in that the day after the big game when he could be in Disney Land or any one of number of high profile places Bill Cowher was sitting in the bleachers at a high school basket ball game watching his daughter play. Again, making a statement. Saying that family is what is important in life and that all things have to be kept in prospective.

I look at Bill Cowher and I continue to pray that God will bless this city and this region with more leaders like him. We have some very good men currently involved in making Pittsburgh a better place to work and live. They are also very active in that all important aspect of life of being leaders by serving their fellow man. Some of them don't get the attention that I think they should but they have taken a lesson from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who while on earth taught us that by serving others we could find peace and fulfillment.

I enjoyed the Super Bowl and I reveled in the win as did the rest of my family and friends. I grew up here and despite not being a huge fan of Pittsburgh winters I still like the area and think it has a lot to offer. I have children and now grand children and I would like to see them grow up here and live productive lives and be happy. In order for that to happen though we are going to have to see change come to the City of Pittsburgh and to the region as a whole. That change is not going to happen without leadership and it needs to come form leaders that understand that leading involves serving.

Pittsburgh vs. Seattle

At the risk of sounding like a cliché I offer the following simple image to sum up the coming Super Bowl battle this Sunday.