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I disagree that “if you give an infinite number of monkey an infinite number of typewriters, they will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare.”

The statement is meant to demonstrate something about randomness. I disagree with the statement though, because monkeys are not random. They will mostly just bang on the same set of keys and repeat the same sequences. If you give them enough time, eventually they’ll produce the same stuff they produced at the beginning, and none of it will be even close to sensible.

If you had an infinite number of random-letter generators, eventually they might produce the works of Shakespeare. I can’t say that I disagree with that, but I still find the whole concept useless. I don’t know why I am even writing about this topic. I am tempted to write something to relate this statement to something relevant, such as “If you give an infinite number of politicians an infinite number of typewriters, eventually they’ll balance the budget.” or “If you give an infinite number of bloggers an infinite number of websites, eventually they’ll accomplish something.”, but nothing good comes to mind, so I’ll refrain.

There may be some who want to use the monkey theorem to say that given enough time, anything can be produced from randomness. I contend that although that may be the case mathematically, in the real world things are not so random.

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
– Psalm 8:3-9

And that rhymes with P and that stands for Politician. Right here in River City.

Or across most of the USA. It seems that between Kwame Kilpatrick and Eliot Spitzer, those in power have trouble staying out of trouble. My first thought was “Is it that difficult to behave yourself?” My second though was that there are still 48 states not in the negative news.  Those that do stay out of trouble don’t get the headlines either, so we never know about the good guys. Then my next thought was that maybe those people just aren’t getting caught. It is rather sad how cynical we have become regarding politicians in the US today that we almost expect those in power to be corrupted, especially if they are in Washington D.C. If it is not expected, then at least people are not surprised when something happens.

A recurring theme among the news stories about the governor of New York relates to his work as the attorney general, his job before governor. He apparently was ruthless in his prosecution and showed no leniency. It will be interesting to see how he will be prosecuted. There are a number of people calling for his resignation and not wanting any kindness shown to him.
The mayor of Detroit, on the other hand, has not condemned anyone recently, and so he was able to survive a number of mini scandals. His smooth personality gained him a lot of leeway in his behavior. A lot of people are now seeing through his little act now, and he is getting deeper in trouble the longer he denies everything. But it is interesting to contrast the two situations.

The advice I give new parents-to-be is to buy a video monitor. Most people go for the audio monitor – the standard baby monitor – but don’t realize what that entails. When I hear that someone is having a baby shower or has registered for baby gifts, I recommend to him that they register for the video monitor. The response usually involves something like “Why do I need a video monitor to see that the baby is awake? A regular sound-only monitor will tell me that.”

Keep reading if you fall into that category, or if you’re undecided and wondering “Should I buy the audio monitor or spend extra for the video monitor? Is the baby video monitor worth it?”

The audio monitor will inform you just fine if the baby has been sleeping and is now awake. But that is only one-third of the story. Trust me, if you buy the audio monitor, you will still be getting out of your own bed to check on the baby and you will regret not getting the video monitor. It is worth the money. And the money is not that much, about double a good audio monitor.

Two main reasons why you should get a video monitor: when the baby is falling asleep and when the baby is asleep. Again, the audio monitor lets you hear the baby crying, typically so you know he’s awake. What about when the baby is falling asleep?

He has been making noise, crying or fussing perhaps, and now he is quiet. Is he asleep or has something else happened?  The other case is that he has been asleep and everything is quiet.  Now you hear a thump or a bump.  Has the baby just kicked the side of the bed, or has he fallen out of the crib?  How are you going to check that he is okay with the audio monitor.  What if you hear one short cry and then silence? Was it just part of his dream or is he hurt?  As a new parent, you will be wondering those things.

Yes, it is a good thing for you to actually go into your child’s room. You can still do that with the video monitor, but at least it gives you the option of staying in your own bed if are curious about the state of your child during the night.

“Just as a father has compassion on {his} children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”
– Psalm 103:13

Not too long ago, I posted this article about someone’s trying to convince me that it would be to my advantage to reduce my 401k contributions and increase my Roth IRA contributions by the same amount. Since then, I have put together a handy-dandy online calculator to compare the scenario for me.  You can click the link in that previous sentence or use the link in the sidebar to the right, under the Pages category.

The goal of the calculator was to show that there is really no difference to me. And it does show that. The amount I have at retirement is the same regardless of the mixture. I will pay slightly more in taxes in the one case, but it does not affect my bottom line.  The key is that in having more in the pre-tax 401k, I will have more take-home pay, which means that I can contribute that extra to a Roth.  Feel free to put various scenarios and situations into the calculator and see how much the mixture of 401(k) and Roth matters.

The real problem with reducing my 401k contribution is that I know I will not be as diligent in saving the money for a Roth IRA as I am with the 401k, since the 401k is done automatically by payroll before I ever see the money.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”
– Matthew 10:16

Brett Favre has retired, officially. I, as did much of America, liked his perseverance and personality. There has been much speculation over the last couple of years when he will retire, and it looks like this is the year. I am glad he had a good 2007 season, especially when compared to the previous season. I am glad he holds a number of records, and I hope he gets to keep most of them for a while.

But one thing I ask: please stay retired! Do not come back to football as a player. Do not pull a Michael Jordan. Do consider the retirement attitude of Sandy Koufax. Take up a hobby or a different job – golfing, running a charity, being a play-by-play or color commentator, mentoring children, etc. There are so many things you could do. You’ve had a nice run, but give someone else a chance to be the Packers’ quarterback. Try something other than being a quarterback. I know that has been all you’ve ever known or done, but expand your horizons.

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men”
– Colossians 3:23

When you have children, make sure they are born in the spring.   Then you’ll avoid any problems and decisions about whether to start them in school early or hold them back and start them late.  My wife and I are trying to decide what to do regarding sending our son to kindergarten. Do we send him now? Should we hold him back a year?

I enjoyed high school, and I think I missed some trouble because I was on the young side – being naive has its advantages.   On the other hand, I don’t know if I may have enjoyed school better being older.

If we start our child in kindergarten now, then he will be four when he starts but he will turn five a couple of weeks later.  That seems to be the right track, but then he will be only 16 when he starts his senior year, and that seems too young.  On the other hand, he seems ready for school and has almost completed a year of pre-school.

If we wait a year, we can always supplement his schooling and teach him things at home, ahead of his school schedule.  If we start him now and he turns out to be not ready, what are our options? Either he struggles through school or we hold him back a year.  What will be the worse option for a child: having to repeat a grade or being a grade ahead in some subjects?  From the child’s point of view, those choices are: am I not good enough or am I smart?  How would you rather have your child feel about himself?

“Give {instruction} to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase {his} learning. ”
 – Proverbs 9:9