Congratulations, Samuel Alito

(from Reuters): Alito Sworn in as Member of Supreme Court

Samuel Alito was sworn in as a U.S. Supreme Court justice on Tuesday after a divided Senate confirmed him as a second conservative appointed by President George W. Bush in his effort to move the high court to the right.

Chief Justice John Roberts, Bush's first Supreme Court nominee, administered the constitutional and judicial oaths in a private ceremony at the court, a spokeswoman said.

Alito, who had served since 1990 as a federal appeals judge, became the 110th member of the Supreme Court, replacing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate conservative who retired.

Bush said in a statement, "Sam Alito is a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench."

"He is a man of deep character and integrity, and he will make all Americans proud as a justice on our highest court," said Bush.

Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the swearing in of Alito occurred around 12:40 p.m. (1740 GMT), and that it was attended by his wife, members of the court and their spouses.

Alito is expected to align himself with the court's solidly conservative bloc and could affect the outcome of votes on key social issues such as abortion and civil rights.

Taxes

I have finished doing our income taxes for year 2005. I have not sent the return in yet because I fear that there is a major error. I need to do some re-checking. According to my numbers, we are getting a tax refund that is greater than the amount that was withheld for the year. This is even with my poker winnings included. How is this possible?

This tentative tax return tells me three things: 1) We do not make a lot of money as a household(we are definitely not poor in spirit). 2) We really benefit from the use of itemized deductions; especially tax-deferred retirement savings, mortgage interest, and charitable contributions. 3) The tax code is all screwed up. If we are not paying any federal income taxes, then who is paying? Only those who are the so-called super rich? What are the liberals talking about when they say that these wealthy individuals do not pay their fair share of the tax burden. It seems to me that they are paying much more than their fair share. We would like to thank those who paid our share of the income taxes.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

We had a guest priest today. Fr. David Tobin gave a special presentation about the Liguorian Magazine.

The one thing that he talked about was how the Catholic Church was the only religion in the world where one is able to benefit from the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In Catholic teaching, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the method given by Christ to the Catholic Church by which individual men and women may confess sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by a priest. It is not necessary to confess sins committed before baptism, as baptism itself removes the guilt of sins.

I have to admit that it has been over a year since the last time that I received this sacrament. During Fr. David's homily, I realized that I am missing out on something that is available to me as a Catholic. It is especially important now, to be a good example to my children about receiving this gift. Alex will be receiving his First Reconciliation on February 10th. He seems to be looking forward to it. He is the good example to me.

January Poker Winnings

As per the updated resolution that I made on my November 22nd post, I have withdrawn my goal of $400 from my poker bankroll this month. I have also taken out an extra $400. YTD=$800. My next withdrawal of $400 is due by February 28, 2006. Please continue to wish me luck and keep me accountable.

Three Orange Belts

Lisa passed her promotion test in Hapkido Karate. She is now the same belt rank as Alex and Marisa. Here are the test results. Next: Purple Belt. There is an ever increasing amount of pressure to get me involved.

A Tragic Commemoration

On this day in 1973, the Supreme Court, in the Roe vs. Wade decision, made its worst mistake in history. By declaring that children in the womb are not “persons,” it opened the door to tens of millions of abortions. The website of the Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood, which is the single largest source of abortions in America), states, “From 1973 through 2002, more than 42 million legal abortions occurred.” It also points out that “24% of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion,” and that abortions after 21 weeks of pregnancy number somewhere around 18,000 per year in America. In 2002, there were 1.29 million abortions in our country. Indeed, as we mark another Roe vs. Wade commemoration, it is time for all of us to get involved in the efforts to end abortion. Visit Priests For Life to learn what you can do.

Harry Potter: Wizard Challenge

Alex wanted me to post a link to the Harry Potter: Wizard Challenge on the Scholastic.Com site. His best score at this time is 65.

Life Cycle Books

I found a good site selling pro-life merchandise. It is called
Life Cycle Books. There are a lot of reasonably priced items that can be purchased in bulk quantites. Check it out and continue to support the 'life' companies.

Poker and Taxes

This past year was the first full year that I have been playing poker online. I had a lot of fun playing while trying to become a better player. I usually played only after everyone else had gone to sleep. I 'made' $4,800 for the whole year. It has been a nice supplement to our household income.

I have been wondering what I should do about taxes. There is no paper trail. The IRS will not be getting a statement from any of the online sites about my play. Do I really have to declare my winnings? When I input the poker winnings into the tax program that I use, the added income increases our tax burden by about $900 (federal and state). I really wonder how many people will claim their net winnings to the government.

This is similar to tip earnimgs. When I worked in the restaurant industry, I did not know one person who claimed 100% of their tips. It would be considered very weird if you did. The only requirement at that time was that 8%(?) of the restaurant's gross sales needed to be claimed collectively by the employees. This number turned out to be a lot less than was actually earned.

After a lot of discussion and reflection, I have decided to claim the full amount of my winnings. It is the right thing to do. To offset the increase in our taxes, I will put some extra money into my recently opened traditional-IRA account. I can place up to $4,000 per year there. We have already 'maxed' out Lisa's 401(k). If I put the maximum amount into my account, then the increase in taxes from poker will effectively be $0. Plus we get the added benefit of saving some extra money for our retirement. That is not a bad idea for anyone.

Yes, I am weird.

Americans Want Greater Restrictions on Abortion

(from LifeSiteNews) - A new poll conducted by Angus Reid for CBS News has revealed that the overwhelming majority of Americans would like to see greater restrictions placed on abortion.

Thirty-three percent of respondents said that abortion should be permitted only in cases such as rape, incest and to save the woman’s life; 17% said abortion should be allowed to save a woman’s life; 5% said abortion should not be permitted at all, while 15% said abortion should be permitted, but subject to greater restrictions than it is now. In total, 70% of respondents favour greater restrictions. Only 27% said that abortion’s availability should remain unchanged – permitted in all cases.

The Pebbles

Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was an awful, mean man, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. Since the farmer was unable to pay the debt, the moneylender proposed a deal.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then told the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: 1) The girl should refuse to take a pebble. 2) The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat. 3) The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will help us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers. What would you recommend to the girl to do?

Well, here is what she did . . . .

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. "Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the remaining pebble is black, it is reasonable to assume that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely favorable one for herself and her father.

~ Author Unknown

24 - Season 5

I just watched the opening 2 hours of 24 on FOX. It was the fastest 2 hours of my life. I couldn't believe the two catastrophes that occurred in the first 15 minutes. I actually yelled out loud and I was by myself.

This season already seems that it will be different than the others. In previous seasons, we basically knew who the bad guys were and what their motives were. The season looks like it will be a mystery on those two things.

Hours 3 and 4 are Monday night. I can't wait.

Orange Belt Test - Lisa

Lisa took her Orange Belt Promotion test today. She really looked good and had great form. We all agreed that she passed. If all goes well, it may be possible for her to take the Purple Belt test at the same time as Alex and Marisa in about three or four months.

Brush With Greatness: Jennifer Harman

I happened to be looking for a $1/2 limit table at Full Tilt Poker tonight. As I was looking around for a good table, Jennifer Harman, sat at an empty table. I was lucky enough to get a seat. I bought in for $50, she bought in for $40. It was a full ring game. The table filled up in about 15 seconds. At one point, there were over 70 people on the waiting list.

For those of you who don't know about her, she is considered one of the best poker players in the world. In the book, The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King, Jennifer was one of the top choices by the 'syndicate' to play Andy Beal (the banker) at the $50,000/100,000 limit game. She literally wrote the chapter on limit hold 'em in Doyle Brunson's Super System 2. She is recovering nicely from a fairly recent kidney transplant.

I have seen some of the other professional-poker-playing endorsers at this site. They would hardly ever chat or answer questions from the other players. Sometimes it seems as if they have their 'chat function' turned off. Jennifer, on the other hand tried to answer all questions. She was even answering questions from all of the observers. And, she was fending off marriage proposals. All this while playing this texas hold 'em game and another tournament ($10 7-card stud).

I will never forget the answer that she gave to one of the questions that was asked: What would you say is the main difference between a limit and a no-limit game? "Limit is more like a science. No-limit is more like an art." That pretty much sums it up for me. I tend to play more limit than no-limit.

I was in awe at the way she handled herself during the hour or so that I played with her. She is definitely one class act. I let her know this before I left the table and wished her luck this year at the poker tables.

By the way, when I left, she had $35. I had $65. Woohoo!

Welcome, Hannah

I am an uncle once again. My brother Kevin and Tracy had their second child born today. Her name is Hannah Kiyoko. Born 1/10/2006 9:22pm 7.0 lbs 20.5 inches. Congratulations!

Coinstar-How To Save On The Fee

I have been hesitant about using the Coinstar machines that I see in practically every supermarket I visit. I have always seen the 8.9% coin-counting fee as a big deterrent. I have been saving spare change for about 5 years now. I had a large coffee can about 2/3 filled with these 'throwaway' coins. I really wasn't looking forward to rolling them and taking them to the bank.

Some of these machines now have a new feature that lets you turn the change into gift cards/certificates to merchants like Amazon, Starbucks, or Borders, without having to pay the huge fee.

I took about half of my coins to the machine. I estimated that I had about $25 in coins. After the process was completed, I had a $76 Amazon gift certificate in my hands! It felt like hitting a jackpot on a slot machine. I can't wait to go back and do it again.

Passing The Basket

This is from Karl Keating's E-letter dated December 16, 2003. I wholeheartedly agree with his sentiment. While the first ten things on the list are good, the two additional things that Keating suggests would have an effect on me.

"The Parish Management Handbook" gives a list of "Ten Ways to Increase Parish Giving." Here they are:

1. Get the pastor actively on board.
2. Make the connection between spirituality and giving.
3. Emphasize the mission of the parish rather than the budget.
4. Stewardship formation and education needs to touch all parishioners.
5. Give equal emphasis to time, talent, and treasure.
6. Encourage proportionate giving (rather than tithing).
7. Encourage pledging.
8. Support U.S. bishops-approved special ("second") collections as a part of stewardship.
9. Be transparent and accountable in all parish financial matters.
10. Remind parishioners that contributing through estate planning is good stewardship.

Sorry, guys, but these ten things are insufficient. They have been tried and found wanting. Let me propose two sure-fire techniques that should be added to the list:

11. Teach the faith clearly and completely from the pulpit, not avoiding any of the hard issues.
12. Celebrate Mass in a reverential, "vertical" manner, with absolute fidelity to the rubrics.

-Karl Keating

The Significance of My Blog Title

There have been a couple of inquiries about the meaning of the name of my blog: Donn's Center of the Universe. The phrase was born back in my early college days. I don't know precisely the occasion. It was definitely in an alcohol induced paranoid state of mind when I uttered the infamous phrase, "I am the center of the universe." It became a running joke with my friends.

The title is a commemoration of that inside joke and to those carefree times of youth back in Honolulu, Hawaii.

I like the expression now because upon reflection, we all are the center of our own lives (universe). What we say and how we act does have an impression on others, even when we least expect it. What better way to expand our impact on others than to write about it on a blog that can potentially be seen anywhere in the known universe. I wrote in the 'About Me' box to the right, "[I am] just trying to have a positive influence on my part of the universe"

Stock Pick: SUNW

Here is my first official stock pick on this blog. I have been tracking Sun Microsystems (SUNW) for quite awhile now. It looks like the stock is ready to make a move. It broke through a strong resistance level of $4.50/share yesterday. Here is the 3 year chart (from BigCharts):

Disappointed With Free Money

I just played in a No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em Freeroll tournament on Full Tilt Poker. Somehow I qualified for this $10,000 tourney. There were only 261 players registered. I would guess that over half of these players never showed up. Therefore I had huge equity in this event (probably close to $100). The first hour or so we were trying to pick up the blinds of the no-shows. The tournament paid 27 places. I just made it into the money in 24th place and the $60 prize. I was actually disappointed because of the potential to win the $2600 for first place. Oh well...

Dancing Yoda Easter Egg

I found this one here on TheForce.Net website. This particular Easter Egg shows a hilarious clip of Yoda dancing to some rap music with a few Storm Troopers in the background. Check it out. Now!

"Here is how to access the hidden clip of dancing Yoda on the Revenge of the Sith DVD. On disc 1, go to the language and sound set up section. Highlight the THX logo. Press 1138 on your remote and hit enter! Depending on your particular style of DVD you may have to try several ways to get the 1138 to enter, i.e. - 1,1,3,8 etc etc." [try +10,1,3,8]

A Classic Government Waste Story

From the January 3, 2006 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Our hard earned tax dollars at work!

"Despite spending $1 million in the last two years to assure Los Angeles residents that their tap water is not only safe to drink but also top quality, city officials spent $88,900 in public money during that time on bottled water from private firms.

The Department of Water and Power, which supplies the city's water and promotes it, spent the most on bottled water, paying $31,160 to Sparkletts."

Huh?

A new law in California that went into effect on January 1, 2006, makes performing body piercing on a minor punishable by a $250 fine, unless the minor's parent gives approval.

In our special election in November of last year, California voters voted down Prop 73, which would have made it mandatory for a minor to have a parent or guardian notified in the event that they wished to have an abortion.

So, it is alright for a minor to kill a baby in her womb, but one must have a parent's signature to have a belly button ring. Lucky we live in California.

Happy 2006!

I just completed my first full calendar year of blogging. This past December, I have had the least amount of posts for a month. I resolve to post at least one entry per day. I may on occasion post date some of my entries. Hey, it's my blog, I can to it if I want! Many blessings this new year for all who visit here.