Hello Again....

Took a little time off from blogging. For the past two weeks I haven't written any postings. I haven't even read anybody else's.

I occasionally go through seasons where I just avoid my computer. A technology mini-vacation. I stay attached to my computer all day at my job and eventually I just get sick of it. Instead I read more books and try and do more stuff around the house. I have been thinking about getting a Facebook account and everyone has been telling me I should. However, the thought of spending more time in front of a screen and keyboard right now just seems so unappealing to me. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about... I have. But sitting down and putting my fingers on the keys..... yeeesh....

I've been loosely keeping up with my email. But I haven't even been really surfing the web lately or playing any computer games. I am pretty addicted to Wikipedia but right now, I only check it every couple of days. I still momentarily go to a couple of news sites that I like, just to keep up with what's going on out in the world. I'm not yet ready to fall completely off the grid.

I think this condition is more encompassing than my computer and has also spread to other technologies including my cell phone. Normally on the ride home from work in the afternoons, I call my friends and catch up with them. I haven't even been doing this. Again, no real reason. Just don't feel like picking up the phone and pushing the buttons. I'd rather just put on the radio (I listen to NPR and WRVA... gotta have some balance) and just drive.

Do you ever go through times where you feel allergic to technology? Over the past couple of weeks, I wished it was warmer so we could pack up the truck and go camping somewhere and just get away from electrical cords and all the data swirling around. My mini-vacation from technology has been good for me. I feel it is ending and I'll be getting back to posting on this blog. This isn't the first time I've taken a break since I've started this blog. It won't be the last. I need a break from technology once in a while. I need to break away from my computer monitor to make sure I'm not missing out on anything that is going on around me. I think my computer and phone need a break from me as well. We all have batteries that need to be recharged.... don't you agree?

Friends in Need

Yesterday was a slow day at work. Very slow. Yesterday afternoon I was keeping myself busy by writing in this blog about how my friend Dan (sits in the cubicle across from me) and I were keeping ourselves busy by trying to solve the world's problems. The big problem yesterday was that India is the world's fastest growing video gaming market and yet there are no games specifically for them. Our solution?.... Sitar Hero... ta-daaaa! Yeah I know, we're such nerds.

And then I got the call from Daleen.

It's odd how the big problems in life always hit you on some idle Wednesday afternoon.

Daleen phoned to tell me our friends Frances and Shannon Wells' house burned down. Everyone in their family is safe thank God. They were renting the house and everything inside of it is gone. They've lost pretty much everything.

We've known Shannon and Frances for a long time through our church. They are a close-knit, hardworking family and great people to know. I can't imagine why this would have happened to them, but many of our friends and church members are not going to worry about that. What we are doing now is thinking about how we can help them and what we can do to meet their needs.
With the loss of everything, they obviously have a lot of needs, everything from a new place to live, clothes, pots and pans, plates to eat off of, furniture, you name it. They need a lot, but I know there are a lot of people in our church family who are ready and want to help.

For those of you who don't do the church thing, this is pretty much how God often works. People run into real trouble and God acts by sending the church and it's people in to help. I have to admit, it's a pretty effective way to go. Together, we can do a lot more than a few individuals could ever on thier own. Also, when I'm helping people in this way, it makes me feel great. I feel like I'm doing something I was meant to do, like I have a purpose. Incidentally, I have also been on the receiving end of care and help provided by the church. In those times, I have always felt a lot more comforted and at-ease than I ever could have without them.

The Wells family has a lot of needs. Our church has a lot of work to do to help them. It's not like there are a bunch of government agencies or any other major aid groups swooping in to assist them. So it's up to them, their families and friends, and us. I would encourage you to help as well. Even if you don't go to church or know them. They're great folks and deserve some help during this time. It will definitely make you feel great.

If you want to help, Powhatan Community Church is accepting monetary donations for the family and will get those into their account. You can contact the church office at 804.598.1174 or at www.powhatancc.org. Also, if you have any tangible items you would like to donate, please contact John Starkey with the church at johnS@powhatancommunitychurch.org. My family is going to help Shannon and Frances during their time of need. We're going to help the church help them. I would encourage you to do the same. I'm doing my part now because it's the right thing to do, and I know someday I am going to be on the receiving end again, and I'll be glad to see that same sort of help coming to me.

What Inflation?

Who wouldn't want five hundred million dollars?


You know, I can't even say "five hundred million dollars" without automatically holding my pinky to the corner of my mouth and doing my best "Dr. Evil" impersonation.

Guess how much five hundred million dollars will buy you in Zimbabwe these days? Nothing.... Absolutely nothing. How sad is that?


I read in the news this week where the Zim government is now printing (hold on to your hat) Fifty Billion (with a B) Dollar notes. That's $50,000,000,000.00 in case you couldn't figure out how many zeroes that is. How much will fifty billion Zimbabwean dollars buy you? Try two loaves of bread. That was earlier this week. It probably won't even buy that much now. One person interviewed said he didn't even understand why the government was even wasting time printing money nobody uses. He said people are only using foreign currency as their own loses almost 100% of its value daily.

This is nothing new. Their hyperinflation problem has been going on for some time. Zimbabwe has, several times now, knocked a few zeroes off their money to try and keep the numbers functional. Apparently, they keep reaching the limits of the numbers that ATM and banking systems can handle. According to Wikipedia, the current inflation rate is over 80 sextillion percent. (For you math types, sextillion in scientific notation is ten raised to the 21st power). In comparison, the current second worst inflation rate in the world is in Burma (at a paltry 39.5%)

So how did they get like this? Well, since their independence from Great Britain and subsequent civil war which changed the nation from the white-controlled Rhodesia to the black African ruled Zimbabwe, there had been a desire to increase black empowerment and redistribute the nation's farmland. Initially, Zimbabwe was a large exporter of food, grown on it's many large scale (and typically white owned) farms. After the change of power however, there was a widely held belief by black Zimbabweans that the land the farms were on was stolen from them during colonialism and that it should be returned to the hands of the indigenous people of the nation.

Prior to 2000, the government sponsored a "willing-buyer-willing seller" program for land reform. Then in 2000, the government, led by a man named Robert Mugabe, started a compulsory program where almost all white owned farms were seized, (often violently), broken up, and then redistributed. The chaotic implementation of the program, coupled with the small sizes of the new plots, the lack of equipment, and the lack of agricultural knowledge severely traumatized the nation's ability to grow food. Zimbabwe, instead of exporting, now imports almost all of its food and people are starving.

In addition, the commercial system has also broken down. The newest commercial black empowerment program requires all businesses (including foreign owned) be owned/operated by black Africans. This has resulted in the failure of most businesses and the departure of almost all foreign investment, adding to the country's problems.

As you can imagine, the results of these governmental decisions have been disastrous. Due to the violent seizures of farmland, several nations (including the US) have leveled sanctions against the nation. Also, Zimbabwe has ceased making foreign debt payments resulting in suspension from the International Monetary Fund. In addition, due to a lack of donations, the UN World Food Program has stopped food aid. HIV is now at it's highest levels in the history of the country at 1.8 million people infected, and the average life expectancy has plummeted. Since 1990, the life expectancy for males has dropped from 60 to 37 and for females it is now lower than 34 years.

The government, led by Mugabe, denies the severity of the situation and continues to place the blame of the problems on the international community. They are convinced, and tell their people, that their situation is a conspiracy to return the country to colonialism and oppression. They have been accused of numerous human rights abuses and election tampering in order to stay in power. Also, they only allow state controlled news organizations work inside the country. News companies such as CNN and Britain's Sky News do not have permission to operate in Zim.

What a sad situation. One can understand that when the indigenous Africans regained control of their country, they wanted to have a greater stake in land ownership and business ownership. The people wanted better lives for themselves and new opportunities. It's a noble goal. Unfortunately, there was a total lack of patience and planning on the part of the government, resulting in a total crash of the economy and the scaring away of potential investors.

So, who cares? Well, for one, I do. I travelled there years ago with work and spent a week in the capitol city of Harare. It was awesome. I also care that these people are starving and dying and their leaders are doing nothing but making the situation worse. They have only succeeded in scaring away or running off anyone who tries to help them because receiving help would mean they would have to admit they made mistakes and they could lose their power.

My in-laws care. Where they live in South Africa is near the border with Zimbabwe. They are currently experiencing a severe problem with illegal immigration as people come looking for food and work. In addition, there is now a severe cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe and these people are streaming across the border and carrying it with them.

It's a bad situation. It makes me sad. It makes me angry. I don't think they can go on like this for much longer and then something is going to have to change for the better. There are many nations on the continent that, like Zimbabwe, are in various stages of development. I hope they learn the many lessons the situation in Zimbabwe offers. Democracy and emerging markets are new to many of these nations and my hope is that they don't start taking steps backward. That would be a tragedy.

Back in Black

I checked my 401K account yesterday and got a pleasant surprise. According to my account statement, I am back in the black......but just a little.


The last time I checked it, I was in the red. Severely in the red.
"How could this be?" I wondered. Am I the new Warren Buffet? Did I somehow pick some winners that overnight propelled my retirement fund back to where it was before this current financial crisis hit? No, of course not. I looked again at the return percentage. "Oh", I realized, "It's my year-to-date return". Which as of yesterday was only a few days.
But still, it was an encouragement to see this, even if it's not really a complete or accurate representation. I have lost a lot from my retirement. A whole lot. I didn't ignore reality, but I got a real boost from seeing that positive number. The encouragement I felt was great.


Way back a long time ago when I was in school, I used to work for Ukrops (a local grocery store chain.) I didn't work at a store. I worked at their central bakery (great experience.... surprised I don't weigh a lot more than I do because of that experience). I could have bagged groceries, but the idea of not having to deal with customers appealed more to me. (Plus, it paid a dollar more an hour.) During my time there, I got to know this guy who worked on the oven room. His name was Paul and his primary job was pastoring a small church somewhere in the Richmond area. It was a very small church, so he worked nights to make ends meet. A great guy. The one thing I remember about Paul was that he was an encourager. He used to always say, "Everyone needs encouragement from time to time." When walking through the facility, he made sure to tell folks what a great job they were doing. He wasn't the boss. He was just some guy. But you could tell what he said about others and their work were genuine. When he came by on his way to the break room and told you your work looked great, you could tell he meant it. It seemed kind of silly to me at the time (I was a teenager) but now I look back and realize that little bit of encouragement was always uplifting no matter what my situation was, or how I was feeling. It was such a little thing but it had a big impact on everyone who worked there.

My son Colin, even though he is two (about to turn three) really responds to encouragement. Sometimes I think he is easily discouraged. He seems to give up easily when something like putting on a shirt or taking off his shoes becomes even slightly difficult. "It's too hard. You do it.", he cries. Or he'll yell, "I can't do it". Lately I haven't been helping him as much with this type of thing. Instead, I have been encouraging him and telling him he can do it. Then when he does, I'm quick to tell him how proud I am of him. I've actually taken to telling him I'm proud of him for all sorts of things he is doing. I can tell it has an effect on him. It makes him smile and I think it helps him to believe he can tackle all sorts of stuff without giving up easily.

My friends Julie and Barry are encouragers as well. Like everyone else, they have a lot to be thankful for, but they also have their fair share of problems. But no matter what, they always seem to have a positive attitude and encourage others to look at the good side of every situation. They're awesome to be around and no matter what mood I'm in when I see them, I'm always uplifted after we talk. It's not that they try and help me solve my problems or ignore reality, but they always take time to actually listen, and then say something to put me in a more positive frame of mind.

My 401K is down, but I saw a little positive movement and it had a big impact. I was encouraged. I like being encouraged. We all do. Perhaps over the next week you could take a moment and encourage someone. In the tough times we are going through right now we can certainly all use it. Tell someone you are proud of them. Tell someone what an awesome job they do in their work. Tell someone you appreciate what they do and how it affects you. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way and you'll see it makes a difference. I promise.

End of a Season

It's all over... and my wife couldn't be happier.

The 2008-2009 deer hunting season in Virginia has officially come to an end. Daleen is very happy now that she doesn't have to listen to my alarm clock go off at 3:30 most mornings I am off from work. I'm not too sad about it either. I need a break and I like sleeping in too.

Now the countdown is on once more. It's already nine months and counting until the mayhem begins all over again for the 2009-2010 season. I have already been thinking about what I did this season and how I can make improvements for next year.

It's been an awesome hunting season. I put plenty of food in the freezer and I also let a lot of them walk away. I learned a lot of new things this year, met some really great folks, and built up better relationships with some guys I already knew. I even got to spend some time with a relative I hadn't seen in ages. Best of all, I spent countless hours in the woods, just sitting, taking it all in. In case you didn't know, Virginia forests and farmland are extremely busy and loud places. You just have to sit still long enough to notice.

Of course it wasn't all fun. I think I got the biggest scare of my life while hunting this year. Also, those deer I harvested didn't just walk to my truck and get into the back on their own. (I definitely got my exercise.) And while I like processing the venison myself, it is a lot of work. It's really not all fun.... but that is all part of the package.

Overall, it was a great season. A dream season. I can't wait till next year. I actually don't have to wait the whole nine months this time. I'm kinda cheating this June and going on a weeklong hunting safari in South Africa with my brother-in-law and his buddies. New places, new friends, new challenges. It's going to great.

In the meantime, Daleen is going to be happy. No getting up early. No wondering if I'm going to be home or out in the woods. No wondering if I am going to get around to my honey-do list. She deserves a break from my absences. I'm going to enjoy it too..... until the woods beckon once again...

2009 Resolutions (like I kept any of the 2008 ones..)

Have you decided on any New Years Resolutions?

As you know, I am a planner and a list maker. I love to plan stuff. Actual execution on those plans is a whole different story. I usually execute on the big stuff but tend to over plan and think I can fit in more than I actually have time for. So every year, I make long, detailed lists of things I will never have enough time to do.

So this year, things are going to be different. This year I've decided to only list three things that I absolutely am going to do and I am going to concentrate on doing those things. Then of course there are some other things I am going to list, but only as nice-to-have items and if I don't get to those, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

The first item is that I'm going to get out of debt. By the end of 2009, I resolve to be completely out of debt, except for my mortgage. That means credit card debt and a car loan. That's it. My nice-to-have's following this are: I'd like to make an additional mortgage payment and I'd like to build up our emergency fund so we can actually handle an emergency. Daleen and I are looking at how we can do this. I don't know what we will end up doing, but all options are on the table.

The second item is that I am going to lose weight and get in shape. Yeah, isn't this one on everyone's list every year? But I resolve to lose 20 pounds and shave 10 minutes off my Ukrops 10K race time from last year. As you know, my blood pressure was reading high at the end of 2008 and I want to put off going on meds for that as long as possible. (Although, because of family history, I will most likely be going on them no matter what I do.) This should be easy. All I have to do is eat less (hmmm.... doing less of something and spending less money on food....sounds like a good idea.) and exercise more (getting more out of my YMCA membership). It's a no brainer. Now all I have to do is get over this silly resistance I have to actually going out of my house to go to the gym. Once I get there I'm always glad I went. I just get tripped up on that little curb that always seems to get in the way of going there. I just need to make it a priority.

The third thing I resolve to do is spend more time with Daleen and Colin. I finished my school program last summer and I figured I would have lots of extra time for them, but instead, I just made myself busy with all sorts of other things. I was reading recently that it is important for people to spend quantity time with their families. Basically, in order to get the best quality time with your family, you need to maximize the quantity of time you spend with them and the quality moments will just happen. Colin and I spent the day together yesterday. The whole day. I wore him out for a change instead of the other way around. We went all over the city doing all kinds of stuff and we had tons of fun. We started at Bass Pro Shops (spending a little Christmas money), went to the Richmond Children's Museum among other places, and ended up at my friend's new apartment in Chester, playing Guitar Hero with his two daughters. I couldn't have planned on our having that kind of fun. We just ran amok and the fun just happened. The best part was that Colin was completely pooped when we got home. He ate dinner and went to bed without complaint, which doesn't happen often.

Like I said, I have other things I would like to do this new year. I have the usual laundry list of home improvement projects. Then there is our trip we are taking to South Africa this summer. We're going to visit the in-laws for 2-3 weeks. While there, I'm going on a week-long hunting safari. Then we're going on a vacation to Sun City, which is the largest resort city in the country, followed by some time at my in-laws house. I've been trying to learn their language, Afrikaans. It's sort of like Dutch. All these years I have been married and travelling down there and I feel guilty they all still have to speak English to me, even though it is a second language to them. I feel I should make an effort to at least try and meet them halfway on the language thing. It's the right thing to do.

There are a bunch of other things I have planned for this year, but like I said, I have three primary things to focus on. I'm going to work my hardest at those primary things and hope to have time for all the rest. This is going to be a good year. I'm optimistic. I have an unbelievable amount to be thankful for. I'm really hoping to get my act together this year. I really am.

So, Happy New Year to you all. If you have made some resolutions, I'd love to hear them. I'm convinced 2009 is going to be a good year. A year is a long time and who knows what's going to happen? Anything's possible....

The New Adventures of Finger Man and Nebulous Boy

In the sprawling metropolis that is Powhatan, Virginia, there are new Super-Heroes ready to do it all...fight crime, fix bad attitudes, and even prevent tooth decay with their miraculous powers. No, it's not the Upright Citizens Brigade.... it's Finger Man and Nebulous Boyyyyy!!!

What powers you ask? Well, Finger Man has the power to break the tendons in his own hands while doing average, ordinary tasks around the home. And Nebulous Boy? He has the power to repeatedly get croup and end up with a month-long regimen of nebulizer breathing treatments.

Yep, we're all messed up at the Crews house this month. I have this nice and shiny finger splint on the middle finger of my right hand where I pulled/tore a tendon, and Colin is getting daily breathing treatments to, once and for all, beat a case of croup that doesn't seem to want to go away.

I mentioned my finger trouble in my last posting. You wouldn't believe the attention this stupid thing has gotten me. All kinds of people have asked me about it. Today I took Colin to the Richmond Children's Museum. (If you have small children and you have never gone...YOU NEED TO GO! I will blog more about this amazing place sometime.) Anyway, they have this new thing where they have what used to be a real ambulance that has been set up for children to climb around in, with working lights and all kinds of toy equipment for them to play with. Some little girl thought my splint was part of the medical toys and got really upset when I wouldn't take it off and share it with her. I repeatedly told her it was for real but she didn't believe me and I was just a "bad man". Then everywhere else I go I get asked about it... work, Food Lion, church, etc.. If you really crave attention or feel like nobody wants to talk to you...you gotta get one of these finger splints!

Since I have been getting asked so many times about what happened, I have made up all sorts of fun stories as what really happened is just plain boring. I have told some people it happened at practice at my Ultimate Fighting gym (shoulda seen what I did to the other guy). Then I told some people it happened while scratching myself (I had this unbelievable itch). My favorite is the one I have told about walking in the drug store, saw it, and just had to have it. (It's going to be the "IT" fashion accessory of 2009.)

Here's what really happened. I was out hunting this particular morning and my hands were pretty much freezing the whole time. Then when I got home I was taking off my long johns and the elastic around my ankle didn't want to go over my heel. So I reached down and fought a little to pull it over my foot and suddenly I felt something funny on my hand. It didn't hurt, but when I lifted up my hand, I noticed the finger tip of my right middle finger was hanging down and wouldn't go straight. It didn't hurt. It didn't even really look creepy or anything. It just looked weird.

So I did what any real man would do. I splinted it with Scotch Tape and a piece of one of Daleen's emery boards. I later got my new shiny splint and finally made it to see the doctor. He liked my shiny splint and said it was the right one to be using. Then he gave me the bad news. Gotta wear this sucker for 6 weeks to see if the tendon will heal. If not, I'll have to get minor surgery on my hand to repair the tendon. He even gave me a referral to what he said was, the "Best Hand Surgeon" in Richmond and his name is (I am not making this up) J.E.B. Stuart. At that point I was looking for the Candid Camera crew. I then asked if he was aware that J.E.B. Stuart was a Confederate Civil War General who died in the 1860's. Come to find out, this modern day Mr. Stuart is a descendant of the General and apparently his folks decided on a family name. That's fine. If he can fix my hand, I don't care what his name is. By the way, my dad is a HUGE Civil War nut and I can just see his face when I tell him J.E.B. Stuart might be operating on my hand. He's probably going to faint.

And then it's on to Nebulous Boy. Remember when I mentioned Colin had come down with croup when he was in South Africa? Well, even with the meds and breathing treatments he got over there, he never really shook it completely. After returning home, he continued to have a bad cough at night. Finally it got worse and we took him to see his doctor. The diagnosis was that he still had croup and we are now the proud owners of our own nebulizer and a couple of boxes of meds to put in it. He is in the middle of a month-long series of breathing treatments designed to get rid of the problem completely. Luckily, the doctor gave us this really cool fish-looking mask that Colin actually doesn't seem to mind wearing. He even asks about his fishy mask when we tell him it's time to get ready for his treatment. It's odd though. I felt weird about buying a nebulizer for him. I never had one when I was a kid. Nobody I knew as a kid ever had one. However, now I have been asking around and now it seems like we have been the only parents who didn't have one. Are kids developing more breathing problems these days? Or are we getting better at treating them? I don't know. To be honest, I don't remember any of my friends getting croup when I was a kid either, so I'm wondering if breathing problems are just becoming more common. I hope not.

So, we're still all messed up around here this month, but eventually we'll be fine. It's just going to take time. And I was only kidding about the crime fighting thing. Perhaps I could temporarily blind perpetrators by the shinyness of my finger splint. And maybe Colin can scare them away with his Darth Vader'ish sounding breathing when he is getting his treatments. If you find you are in need of people with those kinds of superpowers, then just give us a call. We're one heck of a super-duo.