Amazingly, we are now only two weeks from Christmas. This time of the year makes me so thankful forthe blessings we experience every day. This year will be particularly special as we have recently returned from a short-term missions trip to Joplin, MO and have seen firsthand the tragic loss that city has withstood this year.

From a business perspective, it is important to ensure that we utilize our resources carefully and maximize all the benefits of our investments in capital assets. From a human standpoint, we must remember that there are greater concerns than a building or a vehicle. I hope and pray that all of us will take time this holiday season to remember to love the people around us with a reflection of the love of Christ, the true reason for the season.

Who ever knew that working on my own without a full time employment opportunity was going to be this busy? There are so many things to do, I am questioning how to get everything done. I guess that is great news.

I recently re-visited my personal stance on geen technology and I wanted to clarify a few points.

1) Green technology is admirable and I support all efforts to preserve our environment and limit our abuse of the planet. I do, however, take exception to the lies and self serving overstatements of current technology capabilities. If the current technology is still in trial phase, then call it trial phase, under development, or a work in progress.

2) People who can afford to do so should support green efforts and invest in the mainstreaming of the technology when possible. When doing so, please take the time to calculate the cost before making a fool of yourself bragging about how much you are saving while neglecting to consider the backside costs of your decision. For example, your electric car is not operating for free just because it does not use gasoline(!). Many people that cannot afford to support the initiative are aware the total costs and have taken the time to consider it carefully before sticking with the tried and proven alternatives that are on the market.They will see through your pompous fraud quickly and it may destroy your credibility in other areas as well.

3) There are more opportunities to utilize energy saving technology in our home or business than in our vehicles. Take a look at your opportunities in the facilities you utilize and see what gains you can make. It is highly likely that there are cost effective environmentally beneficial improvements such as lighting, digital controls, and envelope surveys that will benefit you and the environment at the same time.

Tonight I was looking at an article where this young (former) Marine was discussing his pending Congressional Medal of Honor. He stated it was hard "...getting recognized for the worst day of your life..."

Picture from http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/crandall/medal/index.html

The reality is that we will almost never achive great recognition for something easy. Anything valuable enough to deserve recognition will likely be difficult. In his case, he certainly deserves recognition. The young man saved many lives, and brought four of his fallen comrades out of the hostile environment where they had lost their lives.

Unfortunately, it seems too many people believe that there should be some recognition for little or no real sustained effort or risk. Perhaps the question for all of us is, what risk are we willing to take, even if there may be no recognition at the end?

I started working on a new project lately, and if this is going to be as big as I think it is, it will be a lot of fun. There are so many people in the world that have made it to a place where they simply don't know what they are doing, but it is what their predecessor did, so it must be right...

Clara Barton said, "I have an almost complete disregard of precedent and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done...I defy the tyrranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past."

If only this was true in the business and political world today, how much more could be accomplished with the vast resources at our disposal.