The SoapBoxers

Thomas Moran, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

 
[Editor’s note: I’d like to take this time to mention that Princess Kate is now on her way to becoming Dr. Kate.  She has been accepted into a PhD program.  Congratulations.  -Kosmo]

No reproduction can do this painting justice. It’s enormous, seven feet high and twelve feet long, expansive yet exquisitely detailed, seemingly lit by the real sun. Thomas Moran’s Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone not only permanently changed American landscape art, it also changed how Americans thought of themselves and their country.

Despite the painting’s misleading title, Moran’s painting depicts the Lower Yellowstone Falls in Wyoming. The Yellowstone River plunges 308 feet over the falls – twice the height of Niagara Falls (although with considerably less water, as the river is only 70 feet wide at this point, compared to Niagara’s half-mile). The largest volume waterfall in the American Rockies, the falls are so impressive that many early visitors greatly overestimated their height. An especially hyperbolic news story from 1867 lists the height at 1000 feet.

Immigrant painter, American landscape

Moran’s painting certainly emphasizes the magnificence of the scene. A native of England, Moran and his family settled in New York where he became an illustrator for Scribner’s Monthly, an illustrated monthly magazine published from 1870 to 1881. Moran first heard of Yellowstone after illustrating Nathaniel Langford’s account of the Washburn-Doane expedition through Yellowstone in 1870. His illustrations were based solely on Langford’s descriptions of these wild places he had never seen. Intrigued by Langford’s reports of soaring mountain peaks, endless rivers, and wide open skies, Moran convinced Jay Cooke, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad to finance his trip west. Cooke secured Moran a place on the Hayden Geological Survey, led by geologist Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden. The survey left from Virginia and explored the northeastern corner of Wyoming that would later become Yellowstone National Park.

Many people assume that national parks were set up purely for conservation purposes – making sure exquisite pockets of American wilderness remain so in the quickly evolving landscape. This is untrue. By and large, national parks were created to generate income from tourists. The Northern Pacific Railroad had a lot to gain from a major tourist attraction along their western line. Hayden’s entire expedition relied on the generosity of railroad magnates like Cooke, as well as federal funds.

Shifting Perspectives

Along with famed landscape photographer William Jackson, Moran spent the expedition recording the beauty of the American west. Unlike Jackson’s photographs, which had to be painstakingly staged, Moran was free to sketch whenever and wherever he chose. He sketched the falls and canyon over and over from various vantage points and angles, determined to capture every aspect and color. When the survey returned in the fall of 1871, both Moran’s sketchbook and memory were full of nothing but the falls. A selection of these sketches illustrated Hayden’s exclusive article in Scribner’s describing the expedition. Many of these sketches would later be reworked in Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Always careful to explain that his paintings were not “literal transcripts from Nature,” Moran strove to portray the wild spirit of Yellowstone through his enormous painting, without tying himself to topographical and geological exactitude. The seven by twelve foot canvas took two months to paint. The resulting painting was immediately hailed as a masterpiece.

In an era where not many people traveled, illustrations and paintings like Moran’s were Americans only window to the western frontier. Photographs, still grainy and black and white, couldn’t yet capture the sublime nature of Yellowstone, the magnificence and scale of the canyon. Americans, used to looking to the large cities of the eastern seaboard and to Europe for inspiration, now began to look west, and to consider the wide sky of the Rockies and beyond part of their natural birthright. This God-given beauty, so perfectly captured by Moran, was part of being American.

With the case of Florida vs. Department of Health and Human Services, the circus came to Washington this week in and outside of the Supreme Court. Now that the arguments are over we will sit back and debate over things ad nausea until the opinion of the court is released, which is not expected until sometime in June. It basically will come down to how Justice Kennedy will decide upon the issue of the individual mandate. It is going to be a 5-4 decision either way, and I am really unsure at this point how things will fall in the end.

On one hand you had Kennedy discussing an analogy of burial insurance on the arguments over the individual mandate. Would you go up to a young person and say that you are going to die one day so you must buy this burial insurance policy from me to cover your expenses. Now I liked this analogy, at least in the fact that it was original, unlike that partisan hack Justice Scalia and his talking points handed broccoli analogy. Then on the other hand, later in his talks Kennedy talked about maybe healthcare being different.

Like I said at this point I have no idea how his vote is going to sway. I do know though that depending on how the majority opinion gets worded and whether they go all Bush v. Gore and state that this cannot be used in any other case, it is going to have a profound effect on many things if it is a 5-4 decision striking down the individual mandate.

Like I said it all depends on how the opinion comes out, but after decades of trying to do so, the Republicans have backed into a way of getting rid of Social Security and Medicare. Based on the Justices’ line of thinking on those obviously voting to get rid of the mandate both Social Security and Medicare can be deemed unconstitutional. What gives the government the right to come to me as a young worker and say you must put side this money for later on in life for you and to pay those older workers currently receiving the benefits of this if I choose not to. Hey I’m young I can do that later, if I really want to. Hell even the Republicans tired old private accounts argument would be unconstitutional. So you are going to force me to put my money into the market? What gives you the right? Then the same applies on to Medicare as well. What gives the Government the right to force me to put money forth for older people’s medical coverage now and mine in the future if I really don’t want to? Under the argument set forth in the Justices’ line of questioning this rational would be the same for these as well.

Another effect that a ruling that strikes down the law would have is disturbing as well. If you don’t like something the opposition party writes into law, have it brought to the court to strike down. Say Mittens or Santorum by some evil joke of God wins the election. A state with liberal control will just bring its argument against the law before the court. It’s a long shot in any circumstance to succeed, but right now it’s a 4-4 split of hard conservative to moderate liberal on the Supreme Court. Then with Kennedy and is usual swing vote there is a shot you can get things done and with this precedent set try and try again will constantly be the partisan fight from now on to get rid of whatever is passed that you don’t like.

Maybe Gingrich is right. Did I just say those words; I am throwing up in my mouth just a little. Anyways, I have been thinking this all day in hearing the arguments on what the Justices felt on different parts of the law if the individual mandate was struck down. We really do need to just arrest these partisan Judges from legislating from the bench. Your job in my opinion is over with you striking down the individual mandate, you don’t have the authority on which legislation is worthy to be kept or not, or what can be salvaged for cost reasons. That is Congress’ job, not the Judicial branch’s

job.

Tragic

That is the word I would use to describe the death of Trayvon Martin. It’s a loss for his family that I can’t even begin to understand. I think about losing one of my children to a death like this and it infuriates me. It makes me think how much I would want revenge. How much I would want to take George Zimmerman and clean the floor with him. Unfortunately, we’re seeing this reaction from people without any skin in the game and without any knowledge of what happened.

At this point in the investigation very little has been “officially” released to the media. We know that George Zimmerman, a 27 year old 5’9” 200 pound man, shot and killed a 17 year old man who was 6’3” and 150 pounds. We’ve heard some of the 911 call. Almost everything else has been rumor and innuendo. The only people that should be having a meltdown right now is the family of this young man. I can understand vigils, but marches and demonstrations are not what we need.

Now, the Black Panthers have gotten involved which is probably the least healthy aspect of this. They’ve offered a $10,000 bounty for George Zimmerman. They have alleged that Zimmerman (who is ½ white and ½ Hispanic) shot Martin because of racial tension – yet that has not been released by the police or prosecutor’s office. Meanwhile, I’ve seen two different news reports that indicate witnesses have reported seeing Zimmerman on the ground being beaten by Martin. Martin allegedly tried to get Zimmerman’s gun, a struggle ensued and that is when Martin was shot.

Someone from the police department leaked that Zimmerman had lost Martin while following him and had started to walk back to his vehicle. Martin allegedly then approached Zimmerman and either attacked him from behind or confronted him and began hitting him.

The police have “officially” reported that Zimmerman’s injuries and other physical evidence was consistent with what Zimmerman told police although they didn’t elaborate on what that version was. The police have turned over their evidence to the prosecutors. I’ve read that the FBI is also looking in to this situation for another independent review. The grand jury is ready to review the information on April 10th.

I have seen marches, demonstrations and candle light vigils for Trayvon Martin. All the usual celebrities have made their way into the spot light (Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, etc). I ask this though, “Who are we to judge either man with the little bit of information we have?” People have already condemned and crucified Zimmerman. This hasn’t gone to trial and we don’t even have all the information from that night or the autopsy.

While I’m on my soapbox, shame on the media. I’ve seen nothing but pictures of Trayvon that look like he’s 11 or 12 years old. He was 17. Are you telling me there are no pictures of him taken in the last 5 or 6 years? Obviously there are, but pictures of children killed by grown men stir up more emotions than pictures of men killing men. No one is talking about Trayvon’s current 10 day suspension for marijuana use. This may or may not be relevant. What if he was high when this happened? Don’t you think it could impact his judgment? Does it make you mad that I brought up his marijuana use? Think of how it must make others feel when people say that this was racially motivated? It’s likely a similar feeling.

The police had a hard job to do. The prosecutor’s office has an equally hard job to do and the Grand Jury is going to feel like they’re in hell. The last thing they need is the distractions of a bounty for Zimmerman and the Black Panthers saying an eye for an eye and a life for a life. (Watch this video because Zimmerman will never rest easy again)

I don’t know where this story will end, there is a lot of evidence they need to consider. The injuries to each person should be very telling. It’s possible that they will confirm no charges will be filed against Zimmerman. If that happens, what will the consequences be? From the current look of things, we will see riots, civil unrest and likely violence on a wide spread scale. The Black Panthers in the previous video have promised to hunt down Zimmerman and bring him to justice on their own. The demonstrations will without a doubt grow and become more unruly than we saw with the growing demonstrations from the Occupy movements.

I hope that whatever happens, the family of Trayvon Martin can eventually find peace. If it is decided that Zimmerman was acting in self-defense I hope he can find peace and safety as well. I pray that the different groups currently protesting will be satisfied with the outcome of the investigation either way. If Zimmerman is arrested, tried and found guilty…let the court determine his punishment. If Zimmerman is exonerated, I pray that they will accept his legal defense and move on from this.

Squeaky…

Is Tiger set to blast out of his life's bunker?

Seven and the Ragged Tiger

Love him or hate him, Tiger Woods is good for the game of golf. One thing for sure is he has been controversial. He has been in the news a lot over the last few years.

Is he the best ever? Can’t stand the guy? What happened to his game? Can you believe he cheated on his wife? Have you read Haney’s book? Is his knee/head/Achilles ok? Will he catch Jack’s record winning Major Championships?

Seven continually repeated questions, so many opinions, so many yet unanswered.

Seven Time Winner

Sunday might have been the first time Tiger has answered back with his golf game and not his comments in a press conference.

This past weekend, Eldrick won for the first time since the 2009 BMW Championship, giving him 72 victories all-time. This is the seventh..that is right…seventh time he has won the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational. He played very well (other for a couple of errant tee shots on the back nine) and was the only player on the first page of the leaderboard when the day started to post an under par round in the windy conditions.

Woods started out the tournament with a fairly routine 69, but propelled himself to the top of the leaderboard arena with a 7 under par 65 on Friday. The win propelled Tiger from 18th in the World Rankings to 6th. One place ahead of last year’s Masters Champion, Charl Schwartzel.

Scratching the Seven Year Itch

In two weeks, Tiger looks to be in very good form as he attempts to win his first Masters Title and 5th overall. The last time he won…7 years ago in 2005.

As I write this on Monday it will be just one short week until I find some good ol’ Southern hospitality. This year I will be in attendance at a practice round on Monday. This will be my second trip to the Masters as I was lucky enough to go in 2009. On that trip I was there to watch the weekend – being in attendance on both Saturday and Sunday.

That day Tiger and Phil were paired together. Both were starting Sunday 7 shots back. I followed the twosome for the first 7 holes on the front nine. I saw Mickelson hit some of the most amazing shots I had ever witnessed in person as he was in route to a 6 under par 30 on the front nine. I moved ahead of the throngs to get into position at the seats we had placed out directly to the right of the 12th tee.

Yes I was there when Mickelson splashed it in the water and pretty much dashed his hopes. But for about 2 ½ hours that day, the electricity in the air was something you could just sense. This was Tiger and Phil, this was them playing together and playing well. This was exciting.

Seventh Sign of the Golf Apocalypse?

A lot of people have written him off, and maybe this last win was just a flash in a washed up pan.

I don’t think so.

There has been a lot happening with Tiger in the past couple of years, but right around the President’s Cup last fall it all started looking different. The focus looked different. The swing looked different.

Now the confidence appears to be back, the focus appears to have returned. The broadcasters and fellow tour players are starting to say it is looking again like the “Old” Tiger Woods. Will the results be different?

If this is in fact true – and Tiger is able to bring his game back to the level that he was previously able to achieve-  it will be an awakening for the young tour players that have not really had to experience the Tiger effect over the last 2 ½ years.

One thing is for sure. No matter what, he once again has the golf fans talking. And THAT – is good for the game of golf.

Until next time, Stay Classy White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia!

This last week, there were several politically charged gatherings.  The Occupy Wall Street group celebrated six months of continuous protests.  The Tea Party group started their now annual rallies leading up to tax day and anti-Tea Party groups protested the Tea Party.

Tea Party protesters fill the National Mall.

The Tea/Anti-Tea protests are very well-defined.  The Tea Party thinks that Americans are taxed enough already and do not like some of the programs that are being funded by the federal government, specifically the new health care legislation that is now two years old.  The Anti-Tea Party groups think that rich people are not taxed enough and that too much money is spent on the military.  They also specifically support the new health care legislation as a way to save money in the future by guaranteeing that everyone has affordable health care.  The arguments on each side are well articulated and, in general, are civil.

The Occupy Wall Street protest in New York.

The Occupy group is still rather nebulous in their message.  They have returned to the “forgive my student loans” issues.  Why the banks are evil on this issue is confusing.  The students chose to take the loans and knew the expectations of repayment.  It would be like charging for tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert then expecting the credit card company to forgive that short term loan.  The argument could be made that a college education is different than a concert, but the basic premise is the same.  If you cannot afford the college costs, is it the bank’s fault or the college?  If you cannot afford the concert ticket, is it the credit card company’s fault or the entertainer’s?  Or in both cases, has the borrower made a bad financial decision and gotten into debt that they should not have taken?

We as a nation have bailed out car companies, financial institutions and certain people with bad mortgages.  The occupy group wants to add to this list people with student loans or apparently loans of any kind that they do not want to have to pay back.  Although most people would like a freebie every once in a while, there will be a cost if the occupy group is given what they want just has there has been a cost for the bail outs that have already occurred.

The previous bail outs have driven the national debt higher.  Unless the federal government pays off the loans that the occupy group wants forgiven (which will add even more to the debt), then the people who deposit in the banks will lose.  Even if they do not lose their actual deposits, the will get extra fees, reduced rates on their investments and many other costs.  The banks are not individuals, they are corporations.  Corporations sell products, in this case, interest to attract deposits and loans to make money.  If the money source does not make money, they will stop providing the product (meaning the next group of college attendees will have no loans available) or charge more for existing products to recover the lost revenue.  Getting the loans forgiven may seem like a good idea for the moment, but it will not get those people jobs, income or opportunities, in fact it will limit opportunities for a very large group of people who could include the protesters themselves.

George Will is a big baseball fan. He also writes on other topics.

In the midst of a semi-related topic on another site, once again I saw someone bring up the old stereotypes – sports fans are dumb.  They have no interests outside of sports and just lay on the couch watching football and eating Cheetos.

Clearly, the stereotype is exaggerated.  However, there are certainly a lot of people who consider sports fan to be intellectually challenged.  I’m won’t argue that every sports fan is a member of Mensa (although I know some who are), but it’s also not true that all sports fans are dumb.  Are there some sports fans who are also dumb?  Sure.  But find me any self-selecting group of several million people that doesn’t have a few dim bulbs.

The sports fans I come into contact with on a regular basis are pretty bright.  Our resident sports writer, Johnny Goodman, has a degree in Economics and History.  He now works in a different discipline.  We work for the same employer (different offices) and the feedback I hear is that he’s very much in-demand for his expertise.

Martin Kelly is an aerospace engineer who has worked on NASA projects.  Frequent reader Evan is a lawyer by day and tech writer by night.  My good friend Lazy Man, despite the name, is a successful entrepreneur.  I talk baseball with my dentist.  My wife is a CPA and also a big fan of the St. Louis Rams and Iowa Hawkeyes.

Nearly every writer on The Soap Boxers is a sports fan to some extent (although I believe Kate’s level of interest is fairly low).  Obviously, all of them have interests outside of sports, since they write on other topics.  Issues such as legalization of marijuana, drilling for oil in ANWR, the morality of torture, and how to become a more effective writer.  Personally, I have a lot of interests outside of sports – among them computers, forensic science, paleontology, and world history.

To cast the net further, look at George Will and Nate Silver.  Both are very well-known in the world of politics.  The New York Times once called Will “perhaps the most powerful journalist in America” and Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.com had millions of fans before the New York Times decided to license the site for their own use.  Clearly, these are two bright guys.  They are also big sports fans.  Will has written two books on the subject (Men at Work and Bunts) and Silver developed the PECOTA method of projecting future performance of players (currently used by Baseball Prospectus).

My point?  Don’t assume that someone is dumb just because they happen to be a sports fan.  In return, I won’t assume that you are dumb because you like Dancing With the Stars or scrimshaw.  A person’s leisure interests provide flavor to their life.  Leisure is supposed to be fun, not work.  So if your idea of a good time is kicking back and watching a game, don’t feel any guilt – just do it.

Talking TO my generation

I realize I’m in my early 30’s so some may see me on the cusp of the generation I speak of, but I have to make my voice heard. Social media makes it easy to speak, and while I’m a big defender of the first amendment, I believe social media has allowed speaking one’s mind to become way too easy.

I meet so many people who meet with me after I address a crowd, whether it be a GOP event, a rally or even a school board meeting, and they say they “could never speak in public” because it’s their biggest fear. And then they tweet.

Isn’t that exactly what twitter is? Public speaking without the face to face crowd? Think about it. Say you have 500 followers. Every time you tweet something, up to 500 people could be reading it. If it gets a re-tweet? Your words, your statement, just went to all of your followers, followers.

Facebook is the same thing. Say you have 500 friends. Everytime you post an update, up to 500 people could be reading it.

So why is that different than public speaking? Is it because you’re not physically in front of all 500? Your words carry just as much weight (if not more) on social media because, with the restriction of characters, it really can’t be taken out of context like a public speech can be. With your words already put into text, it makes it a lot easier to copy/paste.

If you want to be taken seriously, use correct spelling. If you write like a moron, I will think you’re a moron, it’s as simple as that. You could be writing the most brilliant, thoughtful tweet or facebook update ever…but if u rite it liek thes…I won’t read it. And if it was important enough for you to take time to write it, you must want others to read it, correct? Then take the time to make it readable.

Unless you’re yelling something, DO NOT USE ALL CAPS. I READ IT AS IF YOU’RE YELLING AT ME, EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT. And you just read that as if I were yelling at you, didn’t you?

I’m tired of the arguement “It’s MY Facebook/Twitter wall…” because, well, that’s just a false statement. Do you pay for Facebook or twitter? No. And if you are, you’re getting hosed. Therefore, you don’t own “your” wall. If Facebook or Twitter wanted to suspend your account, they can. And they will. And then you’ll realize while you’ve been held accountable for your words, you no longer have the medium you seemed to think was “yours”.

Come on, guys. We’ve got a great tool in our hands. Social media IS a tool. Think before you tweet/post/update “Is this something that I’d actually SAY in front of 500 people?” If your answer is “no”, please hit delete. 

If you think I’m overreacting, I’m not. Anything you tweet is being archived in the Library of Congress. No, really.  Think of it this way, in 300 years, my great-great-great-great grandchild might want to do a history report on me. Do I really want them to see that on March 22, 2012 I tweeted the size/shape/color of a bowel movement? No. And no one in the present day wants to know either.

Don’t let this tool make a tool out of you. Stop and think. Is this something I would approach a podium and announce?

That being said, feel free to follow me on twitter @bowmama.

Love ya, teammate!

Tim Tebow sparked Tebowmania in 2011.  Despite uneven – and at times very bad – play at the quarterback position, Tebow managed a 7-4 record as a starter and became a much beloved figure in the Mile High City.  Tebow jersey were flying off the shelves, and high school kids everywhere were tebowing.

The amazing flight of Tim Tebow crash landed this week when the Broncos signed future Hall of Famer quarterback Peyton Manning to a contract.  Manning was cut loose by the Indianapolis Colts to avoid payment of a $28 million roster bonus.  After a prolonged recruiting trip, current Hall of Famer and Denver icon John Elway convinced Manning that the place for him to begin his quest for another ring was in Denver.

Naturally, the minute that Manning signed on the dotted line, he became the starting quarterback for the Broncos.  You don’t pay a guy $96 million (over five years) to carry a clipboard.  Suddenly, Manning is The Man and Tebow was relegated to backup duty, perhaps being rotated in for a series once in a while.  Maybe even converted to a halfback to keep his athleticism on the field.

Then the other shoe dropped.  Tebow was being shipped out.  He was traded today to the New York Jets.  The Jets got Tebow and a 7th round pick and the Broncos got a 4th and 6th round pick.

How the mighty have fallen.  The once “great” Tebow was now being valued less than a hundred or so players who will be drafted before the Broncos will be able to draft a player with that 4th round pick.

Does the deal make sense for the Broncos?

I’m not a huge Tebow fan, but this deal makes very little sense to me.  Many people – including me – felt that he was overvalued when the Broncos spent a first round pick on him.  But on the flip side, I definitely think he’s worth more than a 4th rounder plus the 6-for-7 swap.  Really, there’s a player in the 4th round who provides more value to the Broncos than Tim Tebow?

This is Adam Weber.

Without Tebow on the roster, the Broncos are going to be force to acquire a backup quarterback.  They chased Kyle Orton out of town – to give Tebow a wide berth.  Brady Quinn recently signed with KC while the Manning/Tebow sagas played out.  According to NFL.com, the only other QB on Denver’s roster is Adam Weber.  Weber is best known for … actually, nobody really knows who he is.  He may not have existed when I began writing this article.  As for the wisdom of backup up Manning with an inexperience QB – how did that work out for the Colts this year (other than winning the Andrew Luck sweepstakes)?

It’s not even about the money – Tebow will make $1.942 million in 2012, $2.266 million in 2013, and $2.590 million in 2014.  Those are bad salaries for a guy who has shown some ability to win games.  Heck, Matt Flynn recently signed a $24 million contract (over three years) on the strength of his performance in ONE game.

Does the deal make sense for the Jets?

Definitely.  They only give up a 4th round pick for Tebow.  At worst, he backs up Mark Sanchez and serves as a capable second string QB.  If Sanchez were to continue to regress, there’s even the chance that the Jets would let Tebow take the team out for a spin and see what he can do with the offense.  Although some are rubbed the wrong way by Tebow’s Christian messages, he’s definitely not the sort of player who is going to make headlines for the wrong reason (Big Ben).

All in all, there’s very little downside here, and a decent amount of upside – especially if Tebow can every figure out how the pass the ball effectively.

Around the NFL: Horse of a different color

I was not able to find a public domain image of Saturday's backside.

Several other Colts may be switching their mounts and also joined the Broncos.  My friend Ray gave me a heads-up that center Jeff Saturday, tight end Dallas Clark,  and running back Joseph Addai are all being mentioned as possible free agent signings by Denver.  If all goes well for Denver, Manning could once again be staring at Saturday’s butt, handing the ball off the Addai, and finding Dallas Clark in the back on the end zone.

Add these cogs into the mix, and the Broncos could easily find themselves in the playoff rodeo once again.

Around the NFL: Saints Brass Lose Halos

The other big new story of the day is the NFL cracking down on the New Orleans Saints for Bountygate.

Suspensions:

• Head coach Sean Payton, entire 2012 season
• GM Mickey Loomis, eight games
• Assistant coach Joe Vitt, six games
• Former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (now with Rams) suspended indefinitely.  Status to be reviewed after the season.

Other penalties:

• $500,000 fine
• Forfeiture of second round picks in 2012 and 2013

It’s interesting to look at these penalties alongside the penalties for SpyGate.  There were no suspensions for the Patriots, but they were stripped of a first round pick.  So was BountyGate worse, or SpyGate?
 

 

“You’re choosing $50 lightbulbs,” Senator Rand Paul said. “Nobody understands that in America.”

There has been much discussion about Philips winning a $10 million award (the L prize) for affordable lighting – for a light bulb that costs $50.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  Even with a 25,000 hour productive life, the bulb would cost far more than a bunch of incandescents that do the same job, right?  This seems to be a commonly held belief – but it’s wrong.

I believe that Senator Paul is correct, and this concerns me.  I believe that he is correct that many people don’t understand how a $50 light bulb could be a good thing, and I feel that this stems from a failure to understand some basic math and science concepts.

There are two factors in the total cost of ownership of a light bulb.  With a standard incandescent bulb, the cheap part is the bulb. The far more expensive portion is the electricity to power the bulb.

Cost Comparison

Let’s compare costs over a 25,000 hour lifespan :

 
I used the high end of the life for the incandescent bulbs (rated at 750 – 1500 hours), but even with this, you’ll have used 17 bulbs during the life of one of the Philips LED bulbs. So we’re comparing a $50 bulb to $8.50 worth of incandescents. OK, incandescents are still $41.50 cheaper, right?

Then we get to electricity usage. Assuming 10 cents per kWh, the $50 LED bulb will usage $25 worth of electricity. The incandescents will use $150 worth of electricity.

Total cost for the $50 LED bulb: $50 for bulb + $25 for electricity = $75

Total cost for incandescents: $8.50 for bulbs + $150 for electricity = $158.59

Now do you see why it might make sense to buy the “expensive” bulbs?

Criticism of the LED Bulbs

Here are some of the comments I hear about the LED bulbs:

If I break a bulb, it’s $50 instead of 50 cents.

Seriously, how many bulbs do you people break?  I’m 36, and I’ve broken one in my entire life – and it was a bulb I was removing.  If bulb breakage is a common problem, you might want to be a bit more careful.  Also, since LED bulbs are solid state, they are more resistant to shock and vibration – less likely to break.

There’s mercury in LED bulbs.

No, there isn’t.  You’re thinking of compact flourescent bulbs.

If I can’t recover the cost of an investment in 2-3 years, it’s not worth my time.

Anything that doesn’t have a ROI north of 33% isn’t worth your time?

Which would you rather have:

• Product A recovers the cost of the initial investment in 18 months and has a life span of 24 months.
• Product B recovers the cost of the initial investment in 4 years and has a life span of 10 years.

Obviously, product B is the better choice.  It takes longer to recover the investment, but it keeps saving you money for a longer period of time afterward.

The lighting is of worse quality

Honestly, I really don’t notice a difference between incandescent, compact flourescent, and LED.  Some people do.

If I sell my house or remodel, I won’t get the full savings from the bulbs.

Fair point.  It’s important to note that the break even point from the example above is 8300 hours, so even if you only have the bulb for half the life, you come out ahead.  In any case, I suspect that you have a number of bulbs in your house that are fairly resistant to remodeling efforts – perhaps the laundry room or garage?

If you sell the house, you may be able to use the existence of LED bulbs as a selling point.

These bulbs won’t last 25,000 hours

Possible.  If I had to bet, though, I’d bet that they come awful close to it.  If they even average half the estimated useful life, they still save money.

There will be cheaper bulbs next year

This is true – most likely, the cost of LED bulbs will continue to fall.  Should you replace now or wait?  The critical factor is how much you use the bulb.  If you have it on 8 hours a day, 365 days a year, that’s 2920 hours.  You’d save 146 kwH per year, for an annual savings of $14.60 (based on the 10 cents per kWh – if your cost is higher, the savings is more).  Use the bulb an hour per day, and the cost savings is  $1.83 per year (but, in theory, the bulb would last nearly 70 years).

It’s also worth noting that the Philips 10 watt LED isn’t the only game in town.  There are cheaper options, even from Philips.  You can currently buy a 4 pack of 12.5 watt, 800 lumen Philips LED bulbs for less than $100 (below) – half the price per bulb.  In fact, the total cost of ownership of the 12.5 watt bulbs will be less than the total cost of ownership of the 10 watt bulbs.  You’ll spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 – $10 more for electricity, but save $25 on the bulb.

A couple of points in closing:

Often, green choices cost more.  With the LED bulbs, you can save money at the same to you help control dependence on foreign energy (since the energy saved in lighting can be used elsewhere).

While much of the criticism of the bulbs pertains to their use by consumers, industrial use of LED bulbs are a big part of the cost savings.  The city where I work recently replaced bulbs in city parking garages with LED.  Not only is there cost savings from the energy usage, but it also reduces the maintenance of replacing the bulbs.  LEDs are also a popular choice for traffic lights, where extended bulb life can make the streets safer.

Striking Down With Great Vengeance….

I saw a funny couple of posts on Facebook last night.

One went something along the lines of “Will the Wrath of God hit the Broncos now that his favorite Quarterback has lost the starting job?”

While this may be funny on the surface it really does hit an interesting point. There is Broncos Nation….and then there is Tebow Nation.

The Broncos fans were torn last year as Tebow became the quarterback. Many tried and true Tebow fans proclaimed him as their “football savior” Indicating his college record, his winning spirit, and that “IT” factor that no-one can quite put their finger on…but evidently Tim has “IT” .  “All he does is win” is what the Tebow camp proclaimed.

Naysayers would bring up the same couple of points over and over. He can’t throw the ball at all. He throws it terribly inaccurately and his throwing motion is horrid. With him as quarterback all teams do is load up to stop the run and make him throw the football.

Turns out both groups of fans were right. He really did not throw the ball worth a lick, but he did win games and had six fourth quarter come from behind victories and led the Broncos to the playoffs.

Enter Peyton Manning. He has had career neck problems. He has proven time and time again that he is arguably the best regular season quarterback of all time. He is the consummate field general, calling all the plays at the line of scrimmage and changing them on the fly based on what the defense if giving him. His accuracy over the years and arm strength are without question.

Let the Sound Clips Begin!

Already the arguments are starting with what will become of Tim Tebow? Why did the Broncos of all teams go get Manning after they stated last year Tebow was “their guy”

Current player Willis McGahee and stated on Sirius XM NFL Radio – “Basically, he can really take us to another level,” “We were young and I think those guys got the jitters out of them last year, even though we did go to the playoffs and represented the AFC West. It was a certain something that we were missing. We were missing that general to take charge in tough situations and I think he brings that to the table.”

Former Broncos player, Bill Romanowski told Yahoo Sports Radio – “I don’t see this as a huge positive for the Denver Broncos. I don’t think you can just throw in a Peyton Manning, who to me is still broken down, who is not healthy yet, and think that he is going to be the answer to getting you to a Super Bowl. To me, you had the answer. You just need more talent around a guy like Tim Tebow.”

These are the comments before any “official” announcement has been made. I am sure the comments will continue to roll out of Mile High City in the next few weeks.

Why Didn’t Peyton Go For the Gold?

I personally was thinking that Manning might have went to the west coast and landed with the 49ers. At the end of the day, I think the same thing that makes it appealing to Manning is ultimately the same thing that made it unattractive. Jim Harbaugh.

Harbaugh strikes me as a guy that is ultra-competitive. I get the feeling is very cerebral when it comes to being a tactician on the field. He is intense. He is a former Colts Quarterback. I have the sense likes to be in control.

To me this is a case where Manning and Harbaugh might be too much alike and would ultimately clash in the end game. There is no doubt the Niners would be a prohibitive favorite in the NFC to get to the Super Bowl with Peyton in charge of the huddle. In the end, maybe it was the perception that egos would get in the way.

Un-retiring the 18?

An interesting side note is that the Denver Broncos long ago retired the #18 jersey. It was worn by Frank Tripucka, who also was the first U.S. professional quarterback to throw for over 3000 yards in a season. Tripucka, who is now in his mid-Eighties, has indicated he would be happy to give permission to Manning to sport the long ago retired #18 for the Broncos. “A number is a number!” Frank said. “I’d be honored if he wants to use it. He’s a great quarterback.”

While the Tim Tebow Jersey was the 2nd bestselling NFL jersey last year, it will be interesting to see if the new number 18 in navy and orange will crack the top 10 in jersey sales in 2012. My guess is that he will be miles high up on the list.

Until next time– Stay Classy Toledo, Ohio