MarkDobie.com

Operating System Chart

Here is a breakdown of operating systems and their install base.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Operating System Market Share

McDonalds Monster

We love McDonalds and all the fun it brings.

Getting oil changed at Rydell Chevrolet in Waterloo

This was the first time I have taken my new Mitsubishi Outlander in for an oil change. Susan took it in to Rydell for the first oil change. Mitsubishi was kind enough to send me a free oil change coupon too! The "Quick Lube" service was great and fast. They didn't do a very good job vacuuming but they did gets most of the carpet clean. Since that's not the first priority I'll give them a pass. They also rotated the tires and did all of the 7500 mile checks I needed. The free snacks are a big bonus IMO and they also had free internet that we didn't use.

Going NUCLEAR!!!!!

House Republicans have drafted an energy plan that is as different as night and day from the President's energy plan. The focus would be on clean, non-polluting, limitless nuclear energy. Read the article here: House Republicans Draft Energy Bill With Heavy Focus on Nuclear Power - NY Times article

Black and White

Black and White from Matt Rittgers on Vimeo.

Here's a video that we made at Prairie Lakes Church as an opener to our message on "Race". We wanted to first highlight the differences between our head Pastor, John Fuller, and our Urban Outreach Director, Carl Carey, and then to show how they have a similar heart's desire and passion.

A Conspiracy of Euphemism

Jeffrey Goldberg article from the Atlantic

The eight a.m. NPR news update today included word of the fatal shooting of one soldier and the wounding of another outside an army recruiting station in Arkansas. The news reader, Nora Raum, outlined the incident and stated that the shooting appeared to have "religious motivations." She did not name the suspect, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, or tell NPR listeners what those religious motivations might be. In other words, it could have been a radical Unitarian who gunned down the soldiers, or possibly a violent Presbyterian.

Why the shyness? Why not tell people what is actually happening in the world? We saw this a couple of weeks ago, when the press only gingerly acknowledged that the malevolent though incompetent suspects in the synagogue bombing-conspiracy case in New York were converts to Islam. How is the public served by this kind of silence? The extremist Christian beliefs of George Tiller's alleged murderer are certainly relevant to that case, and no one in my profession is hesitant to discuss them. Why the hesitancy to talk about the motivations of the man who allegedly killed Pvt. William Long?

Interesting take on Chrysler Dealership Closings

Is the Closing of Chrysler Dealerships politically targeted?

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/even-gop-congressman-loses-chrysler.html

Working with your hands

I've made the argument for some time now that we are hurting high school graduates with this idea that they all need to go to college. Since this is the time of year for graduations, I'll restate my opinion again. College is important, don't get me wrong. After completing my B.A. I started working on an M.A. then started working full-time. My wife has a Ph.D., which is a degree they do not give away easily, and takes a good 13 years or so to get. However, not everyone is college material, in my opinion, and I don't think everyone needs to go to college. What is wrong with working with your hands? Yes it can be dirty work but it can also be very rewarding and you don't start out $30,000 in debt from student loans. I don't think office work shuffling papers is particularly rewarding, although cleaner usually. We are also losing skilled laborers to retirement and they are not being replaced. This is critical if we want to be able to have our cars fixed, plumbing fixed, houses wired with electricity etc.. Hopefully we can reverse this trend or the trend will reverse by people that find great reward in working on motorcycles instead of using a Ph.D. to teach, as the author of the book linked below has done.

Here is an essay on this idea The Case for Working With Your Hands - NY Times

Here is a link to the book:

From the Essay:

Ultimately it is enlightened self-interest, then, not a harangue about humility or public-spiritedness, that will compel us to take a fresh look at the trades. The good life comes in a variety of forms. This variety has become difficult to see; our field of aspiration has narrowed into certain channels. But the current perplexity in the economy seems to be softening our gaze. Our peripheral vision is perhaps recovering, allowing us to consider the full range of lives worth choosing. For anyone who feels ill suited by disposition to spend his days sitting in an office, the question of what a good job looks like is now wide open.

Credit Card Nonsense

“Those that manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems.”

It's hard for me to imagine how dumb politicians really are. Then they go and pass credit card legislation that takes from the responsible and gives it to the irresponsible. We have an Amazon.com rewards credit card we route all of our expenses through. I pay the balance off every month and in 6 years of having the card haven't paid 1 cent in interest. That will all change with new rules that will charge you interest from the day you make a purchase, you no longer have a 20-30 day grace period. I guess we'll start using our debit card or cash now. Apparently the 2-3% Visa earned on every purchase isn't enough, they want to take more more more as Congress protects the irresponsible people at our expense.

List of Iowa Chrysler Dealers 'Rejected' (will be closed) by Chrysler

Here is the list of 22 Iowa Chrysler Dealers that were 'Rejected' by Chrysler. This is part of Chryslers attempt to shed 25% of it's dealerships while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This list is not exhaustive, I might have missed a few, there are 789 listed in the PDF. Chrysler will honor warranty and incentive payments as long as the dealership is still in business.

1ST AVENUE CHRYSLER INC CDT 66637 DBA MICKEY CHRYSLER DODGE 1919 DODGE RD NE CEDAR RAPIDS, IA 52402-2416 KAREN MICKEY

ANCHOR MOTOR CO., INC. CDTJ 68718 1120 JEFFREYS DR OSCEOLA, IA 50213 WILFRED W REISNGER JR

BEECHER INC CDTJ 68962 HWY 59 SOUTH SHENANDOAH, IA 51601 DEAN R BEECHER

BENSON MOTOR INCORPORATED DT 43970 100 S 16TH ST AMES, IA 50010-8010 CARL E BENSON

BILL LYONS CAR COMPANY DT 42280 3851 4TH STREET SW MASON CITY, IA 50401 JOHN M HOSMER

DELZELL MOTOR CO DCT 58934 DBA DEERY DODGE CHRYSLER 1300 N ROOSEVELT AVE BURLINGTON, IA 52601 BRADFORD P DEERY

DES MOINES CHRYSLER- PLYMOUTH, INC. C 66517 DBA DES MOINES CHRYSLER 4410 MERLE HAY ROAD DES MOINES, IA 50310 CHARLES GABUS

FRIDAY'S SERVICE INC CDTJ 64279 SOUTH MAIN STREET CONRAD, IA 50621 GERALD L FRIDAY

HARLAN AUTO MART INC CDTJ 62418 HIGHWAYS 59 & 44 HARLAN, IA 51537 MICHAEL J BYRNES

HOLDIMAN MOTOR INC CJ 66086 4325 UNIVERSITY AVENUE CEDAR FALLS, IA 50613-6217 THOMAS A HOLDIMAN

IRWIN AUTO CO OF WINTERSET LLC DTCJ 45024 1524 N JOHN WAYNE DRIVE WINTERSET, IA 50273 H G IRWIN JR

JOHNSON COUNTY MOTORS, L.C. C 60195 DBA MCGURK-MEYERS CHRYSLER 404 2ND ST CORALVILLE, IA 52241-2612 DENNIS P GORDON

KEN KRAUSE MOTORS INC DTCJ 41881 HIGHWAY 18 EAST EMMETSBURG, IA 50536 KEN KRAUSE

MC CORMICK MOTORS DT 57647 HIGHWAY #59 - 175 WEST IDA GROVE, IA 51445 C D MCCORMICK

MIKE FINNIN MOTORS INC JC 23754 4355 DODGE STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52003 MICHAEL L FINNIN

MOTOR INN INC CDTJ 68496 114 SOUTH 6TH ST ESTHERVILLE, IA 51334-1940 MARK HEYWOOD

MOTOR INN OF LE MARS INC DTCJ 44748 205 5TH AVENUE NW LE MARS, IA 51031-3101MARK HEYWOOD

RHODEN AUTO CENTER INC CDTJ 66787 3400 SOUTH EXPRESSWAY COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA 51501 RODNEY D RHODEN

RON WILLEY FORD INC JCDT 23561 1155 SOUTH G AVENUE NEVADA, IA 50201 RONALD L WILLEY

SCHUELKE AUTO COMPANY CDTJ 38306 211 W 5TH STREET STORM LAKE, IA 50588-2345 SCOTT SCHUELKE

SHOTTENKIRK - ILLINOIS INC CDT 68830 309 S. GEAR AVE WEST BURLINGTON, IA 5265GREGORY J SHOTTENKIRK

WILLEY INC CJ 68156 123 AIRPORT ROAD AMES, IA 50010 MARY M WILLEY