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Introduction To The House of Carr
Introduction To The House of Carr

Buy The Numbers

Because I'm all about this proposed gambling initiative, check this out from today's Enquirer:

"Ohio's Office of Budget Management issued a scathing report that estimated the take from the slots would be less than half what proponents think. The office estimated that the slots would reap $1.1 billion annually, with $486 million going back to Ohioans.

"While the lower projection would cut scholarship funding to $324 million - the office said the measure would severely under-fund treatment for addiction. It cited a Cleveland State University study that estimated new casinos would spawn 109,000 gambling addicts that would conservatively each need $3,500 worth of outpatient treatment - costing a total of $381.5 million."

9 Minus 9 = Dead Kitty

Ah, the weekend that was. So many good things happening but what to share today? How about the tail [pun intended] of the slain kitty? I will warn you that animals were harmed during the creation of this blog post, so some of you might want to skip this one altogether. But I must tell the story, nonetheless. Played a little flag football on Saturday morning with some people I met through our soccer league. After the game, I returned home and parked my car on the street. I walked around the back of the car, took some items from the passenger side, and went up to the condo. As I walked in, Kelly asked if I could hold Kaelyn so she could get something upstairs and I obliged. After a couple of minutes I stood up and peeked out the front windows to notice a dead feline laying in the grass area by my car door.

I knew I didn't run down Garfield, but I asked to Kelly to confirm my case; Kel is able to see me pull up and would've noticed if I had run over the cat. She said wasn't guilty. And I knew the cat wasn't there when I got out of the car because I would've remembered walking over a kitty corpse.

This left me in a bind: it was still morning but soon the sun would be shining on the cat; leaving it there wouldn't be a good idea. And I knew that calling the city wouldn't bring a response until Monday [if it all]. It was up to me to give the cat a proper burial.

Going outside I confirmed that the cat had been run down. And I could tell that the tire tracks didn't match my own, so again I would be innocent in a court of law. But the whole thing didn't make sense. How did the cat get there? I can't imagine someone would've run it down, get out of the car, picked it up, and threw it by my car door [although the North Koreans are doing crazier things now a days]. I would have to think that the cat was hit and managed to make it to the other side of the road before breathing its last. That's one determined cat.

Because of the cat's moxie, I decided to name it Gilbert, for the street it attempted to traverse before it died.

I won't divulge the specifics, but services were held this past Saturday with burial by the city of Cincinnati's Solid Waste Management Department.

We never knew you, Gilbert, but we're sure you were a swell cat. If only you knew how crosswalks worked, you might still be with us today.

You will be missed.

No Spin Zone

Here's where we're at: Ron Luce of Teen Mania [if you've never heard of him, imagine Tony Little but hyped on Jesus instead of exercise] is sounding the alarm that we're in a post-Christian culture and that Christian teens are choosing the ills of society over Jesus. His claim: "we're losing" and need to get in gear or the future is lost. Ron, Ron, Ron. Where to begin? First, thanks Captain Obvious; we've only been in a post-Christian society since the 1980's. Second, of course teens are choosing the ills of society over Jesus; they always have and always will. That's what you do during your formative years: you do everything you're not supposed to do so you can tell the next generation what they're not supposed to do. And third, we're not going to lose. Read the Bible [and keep your dispensational bent* at home with your Jolt Cola] and you'll discover that Jesus will win regardless of how Chicken Little you want to get.

I know I'm supposed to be on the same team as this guy but I have a tough time accepting this warning from him. His whole ministry is based on drawing tens of thousands of teens to weekend experiences where he takes advantage of a spiritual high to get kids to commit to decisions that they aren't able to persist with. Of course he's going to be crying wolf here because it directly effects his success rate.

Perhaps the actual problem is that the type of crusades Teen Mania supports is dated and is no longer attractional to the average Christian teen. Luce's response to the crisis "is to replace MTV’s wares with those of an alternative Christian culture, so teenagers will link their identity to Christ and not to the latest flesh-baring pop star." But creating such a sub-culture doesn't solve the problem. It just links their identity to the latest flesh-baring CHRISTIAN pop star and still doesn't create the necessary link to Christ. I hate to echo what I just wrote about the local gambling initiative, but there is also gold in the hills of the Christian sub-culture and many stake their living on it.

Listen, it's not that I'm not concerned about our kids, but we have to stop these ridiculous means by which to reach them. The vast majority of Christian kids aren't going to abandon pop culture for CCM. And do they have to? Why can't we stop lecturing to them and teach them how to live as a Christian in this culture? Why can't we challenge teens to go deeper in their faith so they can own their faith?

Stop blaming the world and take responsibility for the ways we [the church] have failed our youth. Instead of giving them substantive spiritual formation we gave them cotton candy, a promise ring, and a pat on the butt as they enter the real world. For two-thousand years of history, Jesus has been enough. Why do we think we have to reinvent the wheel?

Newsflash to the alarmed: things are going to be OK. Jesus assured us, "from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" [Matthew 11:12]. So don't lose sleep over this. There are better days ahead.

*I'm pretty sure that Luce's ministry holds to dispensationalism which is interesting because this theology is centered on the idea that the world will get progressively worse, culminating in Jesus' return. So if this is your eschatology, shouldn't these stats be a cause for celebration rather than alarm?

Desperate

Money drives the world. And people will do whatever they can to get their hands on it. Case in point: I just had a person knock on my door [better than kicking it in] with a petition in hand. "How are you doing Mr. Carr," she began, entering into her spiel and I stopped her.

"How do you know my name?" I asked. "I have a list here," she showed me and I glanced down to see it was the Issue 3 petition; that's the gambling issue in Ohio.

Before she said another word I told her, "Sorry, I'm very angry about this issue and there's no way I'm signing your petition" [read my previous rant here]. She seemed a little surprise but I did tell her it was nothing personal as I know that this lady is just a hired petition collector; she's trying to make a living and doing the best that she can. Too bad she's being used by a group that cares nothing about her but is drooling over the millions they could rake in if this issue passed.

We're almost a month away from election day and these turds looking to profit from legalized gambling have pulled out all the stops. Do you realize the investment that it takes to send petitioners door-to-door? It's not cheap. And not to mention that they're doing it here in Walnut Hills which, overall, is an impoverished, undereducated part of town. That's tacky.

I think they're screwed. That's why it's come to this.

BTW, one of the more interesting things I've learned about this issue is while the proponents' website is www.ohiolearnandearn.com, the opposition was able to acquire www.ohiolearnandearn.org. Genius.

I Might Be A Jerk . . .

. . . but let's be truthful here. I laughed out-loud when I read the following on a church's website:

"We believe God sovereignly placed us inside the loop of I-275 in an area with wonderful racial and economic diversity."

The local area being discussed? Kenwood. If you're familiar with Kenwood, that's not quite how I would describe it's racial [white] and economic [affluent] diversity.

Whatever makes you feel better.

If you need me, I'm just slummin' in the belt-loop.

Poor Leadership

Joe Girardi, a manager that fans in Cincinnati and quite a few other cities would love to have, was fired today by the Florida Marlins after just one season. Girardi's termination occurred not because of poor managerial skills [baseball people would agree that his team overacheived this year] but because of his deteriorated relationship with Marlin owner Jeffrey Loria. Earlier in the season Loria was sitting behind the dugout and began to yell at the umpire because of some questionable calls. Girardi asked Loria to put a sock in it and Loria reminded him who signs the paychecks. Girardi, unfazed, told him again to shut his pie-hole and Loria left the game in a huff. They had a 90 minute shouting match after the game where Loria wanted to fire Girardi on the spot. Advisors suggested it would be bad PR to fire a winning manager and Loria waited until the end of the season to give him the ax.

Now you might think Loria was within his power; he owns the team and should be able to yell at whoever he wants. But Girardi was managing a young team, and insisted that only he discuss calls with the umpires. And when the owner tries to be all big shot and one-up his manager, I think Girardi was well within rights to tell Loria to shut it.

Loria made his fortune at an art dealer, not baseball [and he used some shady methods to even get ownership of the club]. He knows as much about Major League Baseball as I do- not enough to speak as an insider. There was no need for him to argue balls and strikes from the owners box except to make himself feel more manly. And when Girardi called him on it, he wanted to pretend he was a bigger hard dog and fire him on the spot. Loria was a prototypical micromanger, who lost an incredible manager, and will now face the consequences.

The truth is, the Marlins started playing even harder for Girardi after he stuck it to the man. They persevered through the season on hustle and grit, taking on the nature of their manager.

Mark my words: the Marlins will suck next year.

Truth Vs Fiction

Just finished watching Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. We've always liked Aaron Sorkin shows and this one, about a Saturday Night Live type show, seems to be a good one as well. Compare that to this past week's season premier of SNL. I've been a huge fan of Saturday Night Live since high school, and have probably seen at least part of every episode for the last 13 years. They've had some incredibly talented comedians during this time, but it seems that the sketch writing continues to get worse and worse. I found just a part of one sketch funny this past week. It just can't compare to the nightly punch that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report offer. Perhaps after a 32 year run, the show needs a complete overhaul or even the death sentence.

So if you're scoring at home: I now enjoy a scripted show about a live comedy-sketch show more than the actual live comedy-sketch show that the scripted show it's based on.

All In One Day

In case you missed it, today was the Biblical Day of Atonement- Yom Kippur. This is the holiest day on the Hebrew calendar, the culmination of the days of awe following Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This was the day that the nation's sins were forgiven. Two goats were selected to bear the sins of God's people. One was slaughtered, the other released into the wilderness [re: the scapegoat]. Might seem like a good deal for the second goat, but tradition states that they hid someone out in the wilderness where the goat was to be released to kill it to ensure it wouldn't wander back into camp.

Happy Holidays!

Feliz Cumpleanos, Padre!

Here's a birthday greeting to my father who is now secure in his early sixties. After his military service he needed to get his birth certificate reprinted and his current one claims that he was born in 1968. Not sure which is stranger: that my father was supposed to be seven when I was born or what that means about my mother. So even though my father is not the blog reading type, Happy Birthday, Dad!

Are You Kidding?

Talking baseball. I know you're not interested but check this out: With three games to go, the Reds are 2.5 games out, the Astros are .5 games out. One series left in the season. The Cards host a decent Brewers team, having to face a couple of tough starters. The Astros visit the Braves, having to face Smoltz on Sunday. The Reds visit a Pittsburgh club nursing a seven game losing streak.

AND, the Cards still have a game that needs to be made up against the Giants if it affects the outcome of the division.

The possibilities are mind-blowing. One team could be the clear winner or there could be a three way tie. AND there's even the possibility that a division champ wouldn't be crowned until Wednesday, three days after the end of the regular season.

If the Reds could somehow sweep the Pirates, I really think this could get interesting. But the Buccs can't lose 10 straight to end the season, can they? Then there's still Houston. BUT the Astros have won 9 straight. They can't win 12 straight to end the season, can they? Of course there's still St Louis. BUT the Cards have gone mental. They can't blow an 8.5 game lead in two weeks, can they?

Crazy.

AND, in a related note, Pedro Martinez is out for the season so the Mets starting pitching is even more suspect. The National League is up for grabs.

AND, my fantasy team is in the championship, behind 50 points headed into the weekend [just thought I'd add that].

I never imagined I'd actually be watching baseball scores this weekend. In 1999, the Reds had a play-off berth wrapped up and tanked. Could this year be the opposite?

Finally, just had to wrap this up with a little glance at how ESPN predicted the Central would turn out this year: At least the Reds did a little better than the cellar this season.

Something's Rotten

Busy the past few days, but I have a lot of stuff I'll need to catch up on soon. But I have to say this whole Terrell Owens non-suicide experience has been puzzling. I don't believe T.O. tried to kill himself but do believe he had an adverse reaction to taking painkillers with his supplements. That being said, I find the following disturbing:

1) That T.O. only mentioned an allergic reaction to the drugs as an afterthought, as if it wasn't a big deal to be rushed to the emergency room in an incoherent state.

2) That his publicist either a) overreacted or b) was hysterical over the incident and refused to admit so during her portion of yesterday's press conference. Again, she played it off as if it was no big deal, but the 911 transcripts show that she was beside herself in worry and believed that he had tried to kill himself.

3) That TO should consider firing his publicist if for no other reason that she stated that he had "25 million reasons to live" meaning the amount of his contract with the Cowboys. Absolutely absurd statement. So is she saying that the main reason T.O. has not to kill himself is his huge salary? By fully playing out that statement, wouldn't one assume that if you don't make an excessive salary you have no reason to live?

And you wonder why Bill Parcells is sick of answering T.O. questions.

57 Channels and Nothing's On [And Dish Network Sucks]

While the kid's asleep I thought I'd post something else I was meaning to rant about. This is a small part of the misery that was last week. When we moved into the condo a year ago, we hooked up with Time Warner Cable with a deal to do our cable/phone/internet. The contract lasted one year which was up last week. We researched the possibilities and figured out it would be cheaper if we went with Cincy Bell for high speed and phone [they force you to get the phone too, but it's not a bad deal] and then find someone else for television. Dish Network was running a sweet deal including 2 DVRs so we went for it. I had it all engineered to happen on the same day: phone/internet in the morning and television in the afternoon. It was brilliant.

The Cincinnati Bell guy was in and out in no time. So then it was waiting for the Dish guy to show up. We had a four hour window, waiting for them between 1pm and 5pm. By 6:00 no one had showed up so I called Dish to check the problem. After hours they transfer you to a call center in India which means it's extra difficult to communicate with their broken English. Example: the operator asked me, "What time does your clock say?" and repeatedly called me, "Ma'am." Anyway, the guy set me up with a new appointment so we would have to wait a couple of days.

So the second install time came and went. Called the Dish people up [this time an American call center] and was told there might be a problem with the install. I was given a local line to call. The local guy informed me that their installers actually stopped by our place on Monday and saw that it would be impossible to install without climbing over our neighbors' roof. This is where I got really ticked. Let me roll it off for you.

1) The installer did not stop by. Our condo faces the street, allowing me the opportunity to witness all the cars that come by. Also, our deck resonates footsteps and every time I heard them that day, I checked to see if it was them. They did not show up to my place. The best they did was a drive by. So I was lied to.

2) It should be noted that my neighbor has the dish in a more precarious place than us. So the "impossible" deal I'm just not buying.

3) When I asked if they would send another person out to confer with me personally and check about the installation, they said they wouldn't do it. Dish must be doing well enough that they don't have to sell units to stay in business.

4) The local guy I talked to was more confused than the Indian guy I talked to, and this was without the language barrier.

5) Of course, they had already charged our credit card for the service before they installed it. So that was one more thing we had to clear up.

So we had to re-up with Time Warner for the cable but were able to get the DVR while still getting a better deal than if we used them for all the services. So all will be right with the world. I won't have to learn any different channel numbers.

But I will tell everyone I encounter to the end of time that Dish screwed us over and is not a good company to do business with. It was bar none the worst experience I've ever had with a company.

Just thought you should know.

Backpack! Backpack!*

Something I forgot to mention months ago: Want to get organized? All about "to-do" lists? Want the ability to view your list on any computer?

Your time has come.

Backpack is a free app that allows you to easily keep track of multiple "to-do" lists online. It's free, though you can upgrade to a better account. It's good stuff. I used it multiple times a day while preparing for our relaunch. It was an awesome tool.

Take it one step further: working on a team project where members need to collaberate about certain tasks? Make a backpack account, give all the team access, and get 'er done. Me likes it a lot.

I'm not a big "Getting Things Done" guy, but if you like tips like this, you should check out Bob Hyatt's Pastor Hacks. It's helped me with many a useful application.

*I'm pretty sure that's from Dora the Explorer. Not quite sure because we don't have Kaelyn addicted to cartoons yet. Dora and I will have a great time teaching her [and her mother] Spanish.

Kicking Themselves

With six games remaining, the Reds are just three and a half games out of first place and a chance to make the post-season. It's hilarious that the Reds [two games under .500] aren't yet eliminated while the defending World Champions [seventeen games over .500] are. A look back at the season of what could've been: David Weathers' seven blown saves, a 2 for 8 West Coast roadtrip, swept at home by the White Sox and Dodgers. This was a season ripe with possibilities and they let them get away. At the beginning of the season I claimed that if this team could go 82-82 it would be a success. The team raised my hopes and then crushed them. Too bad the Bengals have left them in the dust. Now the Reds are known for the city's play-off drought.

Go get 'em next year, Mr Castellini. Pick us a winner.