Back in early September I wrote Senator Nelson, on September 8th I got a reply which basically said that he wasn’t listening.  He co-sponsored this lame legislation known as the Cybersecurity Act of 2009.

I pointed out that we really don’t need another Presidential advisor to waste more of our tax dollars.  How creating another position and all it attendant bureaucracy will make us more secure boggles the mind.

After receiving his response I was compelled to write again on the subject and include additional information pertinent to the subject and to include additional facts supporting the reasons that I believe the legislation is unwarranted and unnecessary.  I also pointed out that the overlapping concerns between existing agencies and the proposed new position will likely cause there to be an unintended reduction in the effectiveness of our security.

I wrote a well though out and non-confrontational letter to our Senator Nelson.  Today I got a replay.  I was very hopeful that it would receive careful and thoughtful attention as I had given the subject.

The reply was a duplicate of the first response to my first letter!

VOTE ALL THE INCUMENT BASTARDS OUT!!!

With all due respect to former President Carter, he simply is out of touch.  I lived practically all my life 40 miles from Plains, Georgia and I do know the neighborhood.  I respect the office of the President and I disagree with the sitting President (Obama) on practically everything he proposes.  It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with my country.

• I am against the dramatic increase in the size of the Federal Government.
• I am against the unbelievable increase in the Federal debt.
• I don’t believe that taxing business is the way to increase growth or to advance the common good.
• I am against creating new bureaucracies (new regulators, new government oversights, etc.)

I believe that less government is actually better.  I think that actually holding people (government employees) accountable for their mistakes and for the proper execution of their job makes sense.  I have worked with government agencies from federal down to local and observed waste and abuse.  While 90% of the people that I have worked with actually take their jobs in government seriously they are fettered by the constant constraints of over utilized “Politically Correct” attitudes.  If an employee in a business is vulgar, disrespectful, or deceptive to a customer it is expected that the employee will be fired or at least reprimanded.  Not so in government.  Government workers are practically like the banks that are “too big to fail”, they can’t be touched.

That is where I believe that racism has actually shown its ugly head.  Some have found that it is easy to get ahead by claiming “race” and no one has had the common sense to actually look at performance in the position.  Then our government has gone so far as to make it difficult (impossible) for would be employers to check the backgrounds of people prior to hiring.

I design automation systems for corporations so that they can avoid hiring people.  It has become cliché that “machines or computers don’t get tired and they don’t sue their employer” and managers all laugh at the joke.  They like me all laugh and shake our heads at the irony of truth that underlies the cliché.

How stupid have we become?  Someone (Cass Sunstein) suggested that our pets should have the right to sue their owners!  I happen to think that we have much bigger problems.

So because I like steak, pork chops, and chicken wings I believe that  that I should be able to eat these things.  Obama’s ridiculous appointments of people like Cass Sunstein to high positions and the Congress then affirming them just makes me mad.

No Mr. Carter I am not against Obama because he is black – am against his policies, his agenda for America, his vision of America –  I don’t buy it!  I don’t care what color he is, it is the company he keeps that I detest and will vote against.

Vote Against All Incumbents.

What are we going to do when the government bails out the dying newspaper industry?  Talk about government control of the news!

Obama and company have already set the stage for takeover of private industry in the name of “job preservation”.  What do you think the Democrats will come up with to save the dying newspapers that are their supporters?  People are canceling subscriptions left and right.  Distrust of the media is at an all time high well over 80% of Americans believe that the media is attempting to sway public policies.

People are simply deciding against the skewed practices and not buying the print or tuning out the news services.  Advertisers are going elsewhere – to the blog sphere!

So I ask again, think, what will we do when the Democrats tell us that the government must bailout the “too big to fail” news companies?

The Dems are relentless.  Triggers, fines on the uninsured.  They are just dead set to socialize the medical industry in the US.  Some of the representatives are beginning to run a little scared.  People in their districts are telling them to their faces that the healthcare legislation that includes a “government option” will not be acceptable – at any level.

So if you are not on Medicare, self employed or a small business owner then under the latest Democrat proposal you will be FINED for not buying health insurance.  Ok, lets walk through the logic. If I can’t afford insurance and I work and pay taxes I will be fined for not purchasing health insurance.  But if I quit working and go on Medicare I don’t pay tax or a fine! WOW that was easy! I quit!

Where do the Democrats think the money is going to come from?

VOTE AGAINST INCUMBENTS – it is the only absolutely undeniable clear message we voters can send to legislators.  YOU’RE FIRED!

In other news… I recently blogged about the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 and how it would give the government (Obama) the ability to shut down the Internet for reasons of “National Security” which begs the question, who makes that determination?

I wrote my Florida Senator Bill Nelson and told him that I was not in favor of this legislation and that there were much better ways to achieve security using technological solutions than creating a bill that gives the government more power over individual freedoms.  I got an email today that basically says the Senator Nelson cosponsored this bill.  We certainly need to protect our networks against attacks.  I just believe that creating a new security position in the government is not necessary.  We currently have the Department of Homeland Security, National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a host of other agencies that monitor our security.  These already report directly to the President.  Creating another group is redundant and most likely will retard action in times of emergency due to overlapping responsibilities.  The act proposes to create public-private partnerships on security.  These already exist within the technology community and have access to the National Science Foundation which was originally chartered to make the Internet a public commodity. Security is good, no question.  I believe that adding more government bureaucracy in not the solution.  Our money could be better spent working with the agencies we already have that have the technology in place.

I urge the Senator and others to vote against  S. 773, the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 and the companion bill, S. 778.

Contact your Senator and tell him/her that you desire that this legislation should be withdrawn.

Thank you Mr. Obama.  You continue to bleed the citizenry dry.  The Democrat controlled congress passed the new Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 commonly known as the Credit Card Act bringing a new level of cost.  Signed by Obama, now its law and takes effect August 2009.  Yes banks will have to pay and just WHO do you think they will pass the fees to?

This is another example where the Democratic Party controlled congress and Executive branch create new legislation without input from the people or the businesses affected by the legislation. 

What does this useless legislation force banks to do?  On the surface it seems beguine.  If you have a credit card your bank must issue to you your statement 21 days before the bill is due.  That seems OK enough.  However in practically, it ALSO includes all “open-ended” lending.  Lets say you have a line of credit with your bank or Credit Union that is a multi-featured plan that allows you to repeatedly borrow.  This legislation forces your plan to be monthly.  But what if you pay bi-weekly when you get your pay-check or monthly on a date that fits your other bills to make it easy for you to make your payments.  The new Credit Card Act forces you into the same bucket with the credit card.  Say goodbye to your flexible payment plans!

Well the Obama led Democrats once again prove that they believe in a socialistic model of “one shoe fits all” which is their total agenda for ALL of us.  Forced EQUALITY at any cost!  This is the very cornerstone of Marxism.

This law was hastily written and signed into law without input form groups outside the legislative and executive branches.  I once thought that it was the result of the “Law of Unintended Consequences” at work here.  Now I am convinced that the Obama Democrats are on a mission of complete control by the Federal government with the Democrats in the power position.  Don’t sit idly by while our freedoms stolen away – act!

YOUR ACTION ITEM:  Write your representative and your senator. Tell them this is a bad law and either amend it or repeal it.  Links are provided below.  The sad truth is that it is very hard to have congress remove legislation.  We must vote these entrenched incumbent self-serving thieves out of our government.

VOTE AGANIST INCUMENTS!  Follow me on www.Tweeter.com/voteagainst 

Contacting your House representative:  https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Contacting your Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Kowtow – to bow in worship, from the Chinese word meaning to bump one’s forehead on the ground in submission.

Everybody knows that the town hall meeting have drawn a lot of media attention.  But it seems to have slackened off.  Don’t hear much about it lately? Why?

Well the dissenters are people who are against Obamacare and Obama’s fiscal policies.  These people look like and in some cases were loud like protesters of the past.  The difference is that the current protesters are not liberal that share the media’s political views.  To show the protesters on the nightly news is to promote the cause of the protester.  This is something that the media can’t spin fast enough to make it seem liberal. 

Can’t you just see that liberal news editor biting his nail, “What to do? What to do?”

The the Great One, “Obama” speaks, “that media coverage has been too focused on troublemakers.”  The liberal editor is saved and shouts “Almighty Obama has spoken and delivered us from the accountability of reporting the whole story.” as they bow in worship (Kowtow) of the Great One, Obama.  They shut off their cameras and load up their trucks and pretend that nothing is happening. 

If a tree fall in the woods and there is no one there to hear it did it make any sound?

VOTE AGAINST INCUMBENTS! No need to harass your congress person. Simply vote against your incumbent.

My continuing call to oust them all!  Vote AGAINST any incumbent.

I was asked recently, “What would happen if we sent them all packing?  Wouldn’t congress lose its effectiveness?”  First I beg to ask what effectiveness is there now.  That aside.  The way it is “juniors” (rookies) are taught the “way it works” by the “seniors” as they enter Congress.  That perpetuates the “system” and all the problems we have now.  So what would happen it we suddenly replaced the entire bunch over the next few elections?  The new Congress persons would be forced to read the rule book, the Constitution of the United States of America.  They don’t have to read it or any other bill now.  It is simply the senior saying to the rookie, “Just vote like me and you will get on a committee with real POWER!”

We must vote out these thieves and stop the cycle of blatant corruption!! 

Below is a letter from a friend of mine who also want to VOTE AGAINST incumbents.

------------------------------------------------------

If Americans could vote to keep or replace the entire Congress, 57% would throw out all the legislators and start over again. Just 25% would vote to keep the Congress.

Despite these reviews, more than 90% of Congress routinely gets reelected every two years. It’s a shock when any incumbent loses. One explanation for this phenomenon frequently heard in Washington, D.C. is that “people hate Congress but love their own congressman.”

Voters have a different perspective, and 50% say 'rigged' election rules explain high reelection rate for Congress.

When the Constitution was written, the nation’s founders expected that there would be a 50% turnover in the House of Representatives every election cycle. That was the experience they witnessed in state legislatures at the time (and most of the state legislatures offered just one-year terms). For well over 100 years after the Constitution was adopted, the turnover averaged in the 50% range as expected.

In the 20th century, turnover began to decline. As power and prestige flowed to Washington during the New Deal era, fewer and fewer members of Congress wanted to leave. In 1968, congressional turnover fell to single digits for the first time ever, and it has remained very low ever since.

< this article is at http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/august_2009/57_would_like_to_replace_entire_congress >

I proclaim again VOTE AGAINST THE INCUMBENTS IN CONGRESS!!!

Cybersecurity Act of 2009 – Call your senator and tell him you are against this legislation!

This is scary stuff.  A bill in the Senate would give Obama power to seize private Internet networks.  Not only would this move threaten our economic stability but more importantly would jeopardize our First Amendment Right of Free Speech.  This is a direct assault on the freedom of the press.  Why is the press and media not screaming bloody murder?

Answer – Mass media is in bed with the government already.

Read the article here… http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/28/senate-president-emergency-control-internet/

A clip from the article…

A Senate bill would offer President Obama emergency control of the Internet and may give him a "kill switch" to shut down online traffic by seizing private networks -- a move cybersecurity experts worry will choke off industry and civil liberties.
Details of a revamped version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 emerged late Thursday, months after an initial version authored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., was blasted in Silicon Valley as dangerous government intrusion.
"In the original bill they empowered the president to essentially turn off the Internet in the case of a 'cyber-emergency,' which they didn't define," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which represents the telecommunications industry.
"We think it's a very bad idea ... to put in legislation," he told FOXNews.com.
Clinton said the new version of the bill that surfaced this week is improved from its first draft, but troubling language that was removed was replaced by vague language that could still offer the same powers to the president in case of an emergency.
"The current language is so unclear that we can't be confident that the changes have actually been made," he said.

Americans wake up this is a pure power grab.  Obama is a Hitler.  We must stop him!  He is systematically dismantling the fabric of the US.  He is against the Police, the US Military, the National Security Agency and other agencies that guard our country.

WAKE UP!!

Listen to Obama’s own words…

“We cannot to continue to rely only on just the military to achieve the national security objectives we set. We have to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well‑funded.” http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/29077/

I am afraid of this man.  We must vote him and the democrats out of office.  Please wake up and see the writing on the wall.  Obama and his henchmen are dangerous.  We can stop him with our votes while we have time.  Once our freedoms are restricted then it will take revolution.  There is no need for revolution if we simply vote the incumbents out – ALL of them!

I am against Obama’s healthcare plan.

I will vote against any public official who is in favor of Obama on ANY  issue!

I am flaming mad!  Media services you better wake up, this man will kill your First Amendment Right the first chance he get.

The first thing is that I want factual information not “Poll Results”.  If you want poll results here is a link where you can compare the polls taken by all the major polling groups.   PollingReports.com

Two Warnings About Polls

WARNING 1:
Often the wording of a question evokes a desired answer the polling group wants to get.  If you are not careful in hearing the REAL question then you will answer as the pollster desires not as you actually intend.  Here is an actual example of a LOADED poll question from an ABC news poll in July 2009.

"How much blame do you think the Bush administration, for inadequate regulation of the financial industry, deserves for the country's economic situation: a great deal, a good amount, only some or hardly any?"

Sounds like a reasonable question until you read the question and examine the assumptive nature of the question.  Quote – for inadequate regulation of the financial industry – Unquote.  The pollster in this case has loaded the question by making a statement about some presumed failure of the Bush administration to regulate.  The point is that polls can be slanted and there is no doubt.

WARNING 2:
The typical poll is usually about 1000 people.  In statistical analysis the samples taken in the polls are so small compared to the total population as to be meaningless.  For example, the US population is approximately 307+ million.  With simple math we should ask, “What is the percentage sample of the total US population surveyed in this poll?”  Answer: 1000 polled / 307,082,000 population = 0.00000325  Multiply it by 100 to convert to a percentage yields 0.000325%.  That is a tolerance of 32.5 millionths.  The lottery gives you better odds every day of the week.  If this were an FDA drug sampling rate of a drug manufacturer they would be testing 1 pill in every 32.5 million pills manufactured.  I don’t think that I would want to take that drug.  For more information you can read the Compliance Program Guidance Manual for FDA Staff: Drug Manufacturing Inspection Program 7356.002.

OK Now For the Question

How much is the budget deficit expected to be under the Obama plan?

Bing and Google returned numerous authorities so I chose a median result but should be a fair assumption.

President Bush presided over a $2.5 trillion increase in the public debt through 2008.  And note to my liberal friends: that includes spending on Iraq and Afghanistan.   Setting aside 2009 (for which Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for an additional $2.6 trillion in public debt), President Obama would add $4.9 trillion to the debt by 2016…and that does NOT include health care.  If you include 2009 and take out the $700 billion that Bush is responsible for  (TARP), that would mean that Obama, from now until 2016, has increased the debt by at least $6.8 trillion.

Alright lets do the simple math again.  Amount of money owed divided by the number of people will equal everybody's FAIR share.

$6,800,000,000,000 / 307,082,000 = $22,143.92 per person ALL of us man, woman and child.  But lets adjust that to exclude those who won’t or can’t pay anything. From the US Census 13% are below the poverty line so they will pay nothing (in fact we will pay them to stay there).  Persons under 18 and not working account for 24.5% and those over 65 years and past productive age is 12.6%.  Add that up and you get 44% of the population will contribute NOTHING to the deficit. 

Time to do the math again.  First lets reduce the non-contributors from the payers  (44% of 307,082,000 = 171,965,920 (call it 172 million payers).

Now lets re-calculate the cost per tax payer for the Obama budget:
$6,800,000,000,000 / 172,000,000 = $39,534.88  Ladies and gentlemen get out your checkbooks please!

My Strategy For Voting

I will vote AGAINST any incumbent.  I urge you to do the same.  The only way to cure the problem is to remove these people from power.  Hold our elected officials accountable and vote them out.  It is the only way to send a real message to Washington.  Vote the will of the people or the people will punish you.

It is going to take some time before we can root out these thieves but it can be done.

I spoke to my son last night – he left this morning at 0430 hours for 29 Palms and will ship out mid September for Afghanistan.  He and the other 1000 US Marines in his unit will be defending our country.  I intend for this country to back him up.  Obama, and the farce played out in North Korea (former President Clinton) is absolutely selling us out.

Obama and company is stealing the future of my grandchildren and putting my son’s life and the lives of all of our armed forces personnel in mortal danger.

I need no response from the “elected” officials.  I am informing you that I am against you – look for a new job just don’t apply here!

Watch it now. This may be the best six minutes invested in your future.
You may have to turn your Sound Control up some.

YouTube - We The People Stimulus Package  

I am writing my non-representatives at least twice a month expressing my desires. I inform them that I do check the voting records and I will vote against anyone who does not represent my view. I also take time to express my views on my Facebook and Twitter. I write about it in my blogs and I discuss it with my friends. I am being proactive. I encourage you to do the same.

I intend to vote out any incumbent. I once believed that we would be losing valuable brain trust by changing our representatives every two years. I now understand there in no brain trust only greed. I extend this to the Senate and apply this to my State elected officials.

It has become my personal conviction to vote against an incumbent after his/her second term. Regardless of the party. I feel that we must stop this cycle of perpetual “representation” that is bleeding us dry. My son serves in the US Marines in Afghanistan after two tours in Iraq.  He and his fellow Marines are placing themselves directly in the line of fire. What am I doing to preserve the country that he is willing to die for? I cannot sit idle and hope or pray for God’s intervention. God gave us the ability to think and act.  I believe that he will hold me accountable.  If I should lose my son in military action while I sit by moaning and complaining about the sad state of affairs and do nothing then what am I? A coward.

I agree with the views expressed in this video and will write letters, and vote. I urge you to do the same.

-------------

Follow me on Twitter

See my Facebook

A site for Christian business people to connect: Innovative Christian

Here are links to a series to blogs that break down the complexity of Azure.  It all comes into focus now.  Called “Demystifying The Code” a series of posts about Windows Azure table storage.  I already have deployed production quality applications on other “Cloud” providers.  Our BizBanc product Master Tithe (www.MasterTithe.com) provides secure high quality online financial processing for churches.  Why would my company want to consider such a massive change to the Windows Azure cloud system?  The simple answer is cost. Or to better put it “cost over time”.  Without doubt Microsoft will continue to develop and enhance their cloud systems.  They have flatly stated their intent in this market sector.  BizBanc is a Microsoft developer house and our long-term goals are inline.  Making the move to Azure is not without pain.  However our existing system can continue to operate for some time while we reach a production level system on Azure.

http://blogs.msdn.com/bags/archive/2009/04/04/azure-table-storage-the-rest-and-ado-net-data-services-story.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/bags/archive/2009/04/14/azure-application-part-2-access-azure-table-storage.aspx

Certainly reading all the MSDN articles is helpful if not absolutely necessary for a production quality application.  However when you are just dipping your toes in the water it isn’t really necessary to wear a full set of SCUBA gear.

After a day of pure PAIN and Frustration I got a deployment to work.

If you just want to test the methodology of loading a Hosted Azure service (not - storage, and not the LiveID services) this worked for me.

Purpose:
We want to create a do-nothing cloud application to test our ability to publish to the Windows Azure fabric.
Our do-nothing app will be simply to create the default cloud service that the VS tools generates.  We won't be changing anything except the screen title and adding a couple words to display.

Goal:
Create a procedure for working with the Windows Azure in a reasonable fashion and to discover the best/efficient way to work with Azure.

Assumptions:
1. You have a Windows Azure account and you have created a new project in your account.  (Go here: https://windows.azure.com/Cloud/Provisioning/Default.aspx and Sign In. Click on the Windows Azure menu on the left.  You should see your account. Click on it and it will show you any projects you might have already created while you were playing around.  I had one and I deleted it to start fresh. To create a project click on the add new project and follow the instructions.  Do do something else for a few minutes then come back.
2. You have the July CTP tools for Visual Studio 2008/2010 installed. If not get that working first.
3. You are aware that the online documentation is months old and is about useless.
4. You also know that by the time this gets finished they will change it again.
5. The date of this July 28, 2009 so at the end of next month all bets are off.

For this test I used Visual Studio 2008 since it is a production product and I didn’t need any services provided in .NET 4.0 that requires Visual Studio 2010.  Also note that at the moment Windows Azure itself is not at .NET 4.0 (3.5 sp1).

Open VS2008/2010 and create and new Cloud Service and add a web role (I took all the defaults because we are not learning how to program here, just deploy a working app.) I chose to create both a web role and a worker role.  NOTE: Remember the path to our application, you will need it later.
Assuming you used the defaults you will have either two or three projects in your solution one of which will be CloudService1 if you let it default. Right click on the CloudService1 project and from the list select "Set as start up project".
Build your application - I should build with no errors since we haven't done anything to the code.

Now modify the Default.aspx page in the web role project. In the HTML locate the Title tags and add a title: <title>First Try</title>

Next find the "div" tags and add "Hello World" such as: <div>Hello World</div>

Now Build your application. It should have no errors.

Next run the project (F5).  It will load the developer fabric and then show your page in a browser. You can now close the browser and be satisfied that you have a working cloud application.

Ok the fun part, publishing to the Windows Azure project that you created way back at the start.

Warning!  VS is smart but when it comes to cloud it is NOT that smart.  Close ALL pages in the VS editor.  In the Solution Explorer click on the CloudServer1 project name to highlight that project. (If you have another project selected via an open editor page, VS will assume that you want to publish that project.) We want to publish the ENTIRE solution not just a project.

Now with the CloudService1 as the active project click Build on the Main Menu. Look down the list for "Publish CloudService1" and select that.  If you don't see it or you see one of your other projects in your solution then STOP and review the warning above.

Assuming everything is correct you will publish your CloudService1 to your local machine. (Where is it??) Well assuming you chose the defaults when you created the project it is in the following ... (your path to your document folder) \Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\CloudService1\CloudService1\bin\Debug\Publish

There will be exactly 2 files located in the folder.  This is what you need to satisfy the Windows Azure. Visual Studio launches a browser window and takes you to the Azure portal. Sign in if you are not already and navigate to the Windows Azure menu and click on your project.

Next click on your Hosted application project (create one if you don't have one).
In the center of the page is a Staging server and a Deploy button.  Click the Deploy button.
On the next screen it will want two files.  Guess what, they are the one created in the Publish folder (see above).
In the first box it wants the path to your PACKAGE file, the dead give away here is that the file name ends with xxxxxxx.xxpkg
Likewise the second box wants the configuration file which just happens to end with "cfg"
Deploy these.  It will take several minutes to upload, configure and go live (15-20 minutes) Coffee time.
I hope this helps, wish I has had this

I tried Yahoo, I used Google.  I switched to Microsoft’s Live Search a while back.  I really like Bing!

Google returns so much stuff that has nothing to do with my search that I end of searching the search.  Hours and hours of time wasted.  I have had good success with Bing getting what I want.

When I really have no clue I use them both and try to refine my search.

On another note I am really looking forward to the new Windows 7.  I have the RC (release candidate) version on all my computers and it is very good.  At the moment I am making new extensions and enhancements to BizBanc.net and MasterTithe.com and will be porting these to the Microsoft Azure Cloud very soon.  So you will find me most any time writing code on Visual Studio 2010 for the Azure cloud.

Bing!

President Obama does not represent anything that I believe in.  I support the office of the Presidency of the United States and to that end I do temper my speech.  However Obama does not speak for me.  I hold him in contempt.  It will be a wonderful day when the American people rally against the Democratic party and remove them from office.  I will vote against any legislation that they support.  I urge my representatives to do the same.  I will vote against any representative that votes in favor of a Democratic supported bill of any kind.

I have worked for 30+ years in my own business.  Like 95% of the business owners out there I am at the mercy of our government.  This President and the Democrats SCARE me.  I have seen more socialism in the last six months than I have seen in my entire life.  This was sent to me.  Do you feel everything you ever had slipping away.  CIT is a good example.  Not helping CIT forces many small businesses into the abyss.

Dinner with Obama, a parable


   Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with
   the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces
   memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk
   that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it
   no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can
   do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an
   invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor.


   I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the
   President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table
   draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china.
   Uniformed staff served our dinner.


   The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out,
   plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back
   to the kitchen.


   "Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry."


   "I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes
   across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner
   roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could,
   however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed
   the wine in a single gulp.


   "And his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the President.


   I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I
   will play along. I don't want to seem unkind.


   My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite.


   "Eric's children are also quite hungry."
   With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from
   under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was
   carried from the room.


   "And their grandmother can't stand for long."


   I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool.
   Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I
   reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the
   President.


   Their grandfather doesn't like the cold."


   I wanted to shout- that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid
   smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my
   hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my
   wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side
   table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank
   accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my
   wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their
   families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned
   all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face
   him.


   "Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't
   planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a
   subprime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more
   than you do."


   My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate is steak and drank his wine.
  "By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing
   your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business.
   I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a
   whole bunch of Erics and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for
   jobs groveling like beggars."


   I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which
   had been his creme brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine.
   As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.
   He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I
   were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the
   life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and
   struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game
   had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some
   surprise that there was no game board between us.


   What had I done wrong?


   As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his
   head, locked his eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling
   wryly as he folded his hands.


"You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said.

Rick Warren talks about our passion. We do things we are passionate about. We give our money to our causes (passions). We spend our time on the things that please us. There are things that we are good at doing, and may even be experts at these things; but we have no passion, there simply competence.

God wants our competences and our passion. I am absolutely passionate about my online transaction processing system that I have built. I have spent literally millions of dollars getting the system perfected. For 40 years, I have searched for my “call” from God. Several times in my life I thought that I had “found” my call, sadly they have all been false starts.

When I was 15 years old, a man of God then in the twilight of his ministry took me aside out of my group of friends, looked me in the eye and with his old low voice said, “Son, God has something special for you. I don’t know what it is. But He has called you.” This man didn’t really know me I was just one of the youth running around. I have never forgotten that day. He is now long dead and will never know the impact he had on me.

It is a very long story, 40 years in fact. Why does God like 40 years? I don’t know. I think that it is a seasoning period. I have wandered in my wilderness, and like Abraham I have left the place of my birth and moved to a far country. Have you ever just stopped and watched ants. Focused on a single ant and watched the seemingly random running about. Pick up a load carry it a distance then put it down run around a bit then go back and pick up the load again. Maddening! God’s work gets done though. Ant hills get built even in the chaos, so too does His church. We are the ants sometimes we carry a load sometimes we don’t.

The passion Rick Warren talks about is that kind; it drives us, consumes us, and makes us smile. It is the kind that people devote their lives. I have always absolutely loved computer systems. I have always wanted to know what God told that old man about me.

It has taken 40 years of wandering (wondering) and there it is. In “Experiencing God” I learned that I should just look around and see what God is doing and join Him in that. That was ten years ago. I have the passion and the competence. I have already devoted my life to it (and my money). I never saw it coming. Just one day there it was – my purpose. I can help the Church with my software. I never set out to make this my “Mission” or “Call” from God. It’s not preaching or teaching or any of the other “Great Missions” of Biblical proportion. It is what I do naturally. It even seems rather small.

Today I have been working on some home chores (my ATT all in one wireless modem/router failed).  As I have tried to do things like replace burned out light bulbs and fix a broken wire it occurs to me how POOR the quality of merchandise we buy is.  In the name of cheaper “Everyday low prices” we can’t buy anything of any quality.  The big box stores (Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, and even Sears) all carry exactly the same merchandise in there respective classes and it is ALL junk.

Let me give you some very specific JUNK not to buy.  My wife and I bought this house last June and decided to save electricity and do our part for the good planet Earth by using the energy efficient, long life fluorescent bulbs throughout the house.  We purchased several packages from the afore mentioned big box stores.  These things are not cheap compared to regular light bulbs but with a “six year” average life the math says that we win in the long run.  We purchased five packages of two bulbs to start with.  In one year from these 10 bulbs we have had four to fail (a 40% fail rate).  They were manufactured in China by Wal-Mart brand and GE (General Electric).  The quality and claims made by the companies is absolutely false.  I continue to purchase these item (or exchange them).  Now every time I install a new bulb I use a Sharpie to write the install date on the bulb base and I keep my receipt.

Yesterday I purchased a small Micro Torch (made in Taiwan) from a big box store.  It is completely useless.  It is a BernzOmatic 3-in-1 Micro Torch.  I also purchased the refill can separately since is comes without fuel.  Total price $13.68.  It is complete junk.  Will not light with a common torch lighter.  Could not light it with a match.  I finally built a small fire in a metal container about the size of an ash tray.  The instructions tell me to use it in an area not in direct sunlight (inside??) or in windy conditions.  So I used it in an open area under the shade of my house.  After about 30 minutes fooling with it I did manage to get is lit.  There came the slightest breath of wind and it blew the flame out.  I bought this thing to use outside where I can’t get electricity.  I have more success with a Bic Lighter than this hunk of junk.

The other day I was watching the Military Channel about rebuilding WWII tanks and the Top Ten tanks.  The show commentator noted that one of the largest successes of the US WWII war effort was manufacturing.  And in particular our quality of manufacturing.  No other country even today has ever had the level of quality that the US has had.   The reason that you can go to an auto parts store and buy replacement parts is because we have had precision engineering and high levels of quality during the manufacture.  Case in point.  I purchased a band saw and a drill press from Harbor Freight Tools.  Both were made in China “knock offs” of tools made by quality American companies.  Now, I know tools and quality and I know that I bought some junk.  I knew that it would not hold up under any kind of real use.  The point is I knew in advance what I was getting and I know that my livelihood doesn’t depend on these tools. 

I was in Office Depot the other day looking at office furniture.  It is junk – trash.  I looked at the quality of the welding on the chair legs (made in India).  Good thing I only weight 147 pounds.

Why are we Americans accepting this junk?  Are we that cheap or have we been sold a bill of goods?  Will buying more imported junk to fill our houses and land fills bring us more happiness? NO! I say.  Happiness is when you go out to your storage area and pick up your power tool or flip a switch and IT WORKS.  I think that I would buy quality if I could find it.  Matter of fact I have lots of Made in USA or Made in America tools, appliances, electronics and other stuff that all works. I still have a set of tools that I bought 41 year ago.  Made in USA.

Brand name companies beware!  Don’t lose sight of quality in order to sell your product in a big box!

I used to be one that would never carry something back to the store if I bought it and it broke.  NOT ANY MORE.  The only way to send a message to the junk dealers is to make them eat their junk.  I am tired of it.  I look for the “Made in USA” when I shop.

If you are planning as a small software developer to start a project for medical systems.  There seems to be plenty of money to be made.  NOT SO FAST!  The entire medical industry is a rip-off from top to bottom.  This is the most closed universe you will ever encounter.  There are standards published by the standards committees such a ANSI and ISO that are usually open to the public.  In the Medical world this is not the case.  ANSI and ISO have deferred to industry associations for the creation and CONTROL of the standards.  These associations are self-perpetuating committees/commissions that exist to extract/extort funds all in the name of standards.

So if you think you want to write in the medical arena… bend over!

I know that is a crud assessment but it is true.  I understand the outright hostility of the doctors and providers to change.  They know that they are going to pay through the #$% for anything that changes.

Let me give you a few examples and cost just play in the game.  This is not an exhaustive list. To get the information (mostly crap) necessary to develop against you must pay the trolls that guard the gold.  These groups are not government licensed agencies with any power to regulate nevertheless they control the industry with regard to technology.

CCHIT, Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology - $30,000 per application (software certification)

NCPDP, National Council For Prescription Drug Programs - $650 per membership (access to standards document)

HL7, Health Level Seven - $650 per membership (access to standards document)

AMA, American Medical Association – about $600 for several publications necessary to develop medical coding depending on the specialties required

X12 270/271, only available from Washington Publishing Company - $650 (ANSI standard X12 for medical co-pay eligibility)

This is just a sample of some of the ridiculous and exorbitant fees just to play in the game.  From here you will pay a fortune in software tools for medical applications that drive the cost through the proverbial roof.  If you equip a team with all the resources necessary you can expect to shell out north of $100 thousand to start and you haven’t begun the coding.  A reasonable sized development team will have a monthly burn rate of about $150 thousand per month.

So you still want to play?  Well now you will need to work with the entrenched service providers – an inbred host of companies that support the “recognized” network associations (conveniently funded by you can guess).  To deliver a simple e-perscription your application must connect to an industry clearinghouse network.  To do this you must have customers (practices) already that pay fees to the network.  What no customers yet?  Well then you must subscribe to a service company and guess what – MORE FEES upfront.  Prices vary dramatically but start around $10 thousand to play.  Don’t expect any help from your service company.  You are completely at their mercy.  So if you want to provide a complete solution (and if you expect to get certified you must) then you will need e-perscribing, lab ordering, and claims submission.  That is at least two most likely three service providers.  You can expect to shell out another $50 thousand here.

Finally, there is the equipment and test environments.  Expect to spend about another $75 thousand for servers, development and test systems.

So what will it take to develop a software product.  From my experience it will take about two years to get to your first real product.  With careful cost control and purchases only as needed you can expect a hefty price tag just to get the software done.  These numbers exclude all marketing and normal business expense overhead that usually run about 26% over cost.

Bottom line:

Development: $3.825 million
Overhead: $995 thousand

Total cost: $4.82 million

This is a real number!