Baseball and Benefits

Fun Kid Games - Unique Kids Trouble Games

2011-09-06T16:21:00.001-05:00

It seems that lately my son has been getting a lot of Trouble games for his birthday and Christmas. It's actually pretty cool as Trouble is made today with characters from shows and movies. Here is a list of some that he has received recently of the unique kids Trouble games.

Trouble R2-D2 is in Trouble - This game is very cool as it makes R2-D2 sounds as you go around the board. Not very sturdy, but it is a lot of fun, especially if you like Star Wars.

Cars 2 Trouble Game - Cars is one of the most popular movie franchises out there right now, and with this fun kids game the players can pretend that they are zooming around the racetrack as Lightning McQueen. The popper is sitting on top of Mater which adds to the fun.

Dinosaur Train Pop N Race Game - My son is a huge fan of Dinosaur Train and he loves this game. It has a unique twist in that one of the pieces is larger than the others, and it must be the first token in the Home area. This creates more strategy and more frustration. But overall, this is a great game that he does not ever want to put away.

If you are a fan of Trouble, and you are looking for unique kids Trouble games, these are some great ones to go for. There are many others available, so take a look around and see if you can find one that you like better. Either way, make sure to have fun, and enjoy the time with your kids.

iPhone Speaker Systems - 3 of My Favorites

2011-09-06T01:00:00.000-05:00

With the advent of the iPhone came great alarm clocks and iPhone speaker systems. We have several in our house and they do a great job of playing quality music. Here are my three favorite.

Bose SoundDock Series II - Quite simply the best sounding speaker I have heard (at least from one this small). It is just the right size. Small enough to blend in with your home's decor but still produces great sound. It is also easy to use as you just have to plug it in, turn on iTunes and let it do its job.

RCA RC65i - The alarm clock that I use to wake up. We don't use the dual alarm feature, but you can set two alarms so that two people can wake up at separate times.

Philips DC315/37 - The alarm clock that my wife uses. She got it as a gift and really enjoys it. It produces great sound and the alarm feature works great. This iPhone speaker system and alarm clock has a weekday/weekend alarm feature that allows you to set different alarms for different days of the week. No more waking up at 6:00 am.

There are plenty of alarm clocks out there, and plenty of ways to listen to your music on a great iPhone speaker system. However, these are three that I have used that I really like. They can all be found anywhere electronics are sold, but can also be found online. Hopefully you or the person you get them for enjoys them as much as we have.

Great Windshield Sun Shades

2011-09-01T23:54:00.001-05:00

As we enter the final weeks of the hell that has been the North Texas summer of 2011 I've done some research into the best available windshield sun shades available from Amazon. These all get great reviews and none of them are all that expensive.

1. Heatshield Sun Shade from Protrim

2. Altus Platinum Magic Shade

3. Basix Magic Shade

4. Winplus Sun Shades

5. Zebra Print!

The linked articles do a good job of describing each of these sun shades.

The Two Best Baseball Stadiums I Have Seen

2011-08-23T22:25:00.002-05:00

I have been fortunate to watch Major League Baseball games at some of the best stadiums in the league. In 2003 I saw a game at old Yankee Stadium. It was neat to be there, and all the fans were into it, but they definitely needed a new stadium.

The two best stadiums I have been to are:

Fenway Park

Fenway Park is baseball the way it should be played. There is nothing like it. When I witnessed a game there, the weather was cold and drizzly, but that did not hamper the fans from acting like the greatest fans in the world. Fenway is in a league of its own.

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is the second best stadium I have seen. The game I went to was the perfect Wrigley day. It was 80 degrees and bright sunshine. Also, the Cubs won in the last at bat. I sat there and couldn't believe I was looking at the bleachers and ivy and singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Just a great, great experience.

In both instances I was able to get good seats for reasonable prices from Stubhub. That's a great way to find seats at out-of-town stadiums.

I would really like to see a game in San Francisco next. And the stadium in Minnesota looks really neat too. I'll work on it.

Experiences with Thomas the Train Railway Sets

2011-08-23T00:53:00.001-05:00

I'm going to take a break from the usual discussion on this blog to discuss something my son has been playing with for the entire day: his Thomas the Tank Engine Train Sets. He has three that he likes to play with.

Thomas' Busy Day
Sir Topham Hat - Wooden Figure 8 Set
Thomas and Friends: Zip, Zoom, and Logging Adventure

I have no idea what it is about this silly train, but my 3-year old is mesmerized by it. The tv show is pretty boring and the characters always seem to be in bad moods. But come to think of it, my son hardly ever watches the show anyway.

I guess he just has a fascination with trains just like a lot of us did. I still remember my first train. It was a Sesame Street train with an orange track. I'll bet my mom still has it in her attic somewhere. I still sometimes find myself counting train cars as they pass a crossing.

Either way, I'm glad my son enjoys his Thomas the Train toys even if I don't understand it.

Great Summer Vacations

2011-08-17T23:02:00.006-05:00

Since my wife and I got married we have been very fortunate to take some great summer vacations. We have had a lot of fun during these trips, sometimes with friends, sometimes with kids, sometimes with both, and sometimes with neither. After the jump are some of my favorite with a little description of each.

New York City

We went to New York City for a summer vacation in July 2007. My wife was 7 months pregnant, but we still had a really good time. It was the first time for us to visit the city so we stuck to most of the traditional touristy stuff. We stayed on Times Square, went to Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, and Wall Street. We took a tour of NBC Studios and saw Meredith Vierra filming a segment for the next day's Today Show. We also went and saw The Phantom of the Opera.

We loved NYC so much that we went back in January 2011. It was completely different in the winter. We also tried TKTS, which was a success.

Waikiki

We went to Waikiki in August/September of 2009 for a late summer vacation with another couple, with each couple leaving our sons behind. Every day that I'm back on the mainland I wish I was back in Hawaii. I can't stress how much I love Hawaii. It was a little crowded in Waikiki and Honolulu, but there was plenty to do. If you can handle the traffic and the people, there's nothing wrong with traveling there.

Galveston

We went to Galveston in July of 2010 with the same couple we went to Hawaii with. This time we each took our sons. It was fun being with good friends, but we weren't the biggest fans of Galveston. Lots of jellyfish and lots of mosquitoes. Plus, my son was just 2 years old and wasn't a fan of the ocean, so we stuck to the swimming pool the most. We stayed in a condo, so we had good accommodations at least.

Port Aransas

We just got back from Port Aransas, TX for our 2011 summer vacation. We stayed in a nice beach house which was a definite plus. Also, we were able to eat at Blackbeard's in Corpus Christi, which was fun and had wonderful food. Being on the north end of Padre Island, Port Aransas has some nice beaches that are not crowded. There is plenty to do, whether it's going into Corpus or heading down to downtown Port A.

So those are the more recent. We also had a trip to Chicago, but it was a little more detailed so maybe I'll chronicle that trip at a different time.

How I Got Into Employee Benefits

2011-08-17T00:43:00.002-05:00

I might as well describe why Benefits is part of the title of this blog.

I graduated from Texas A&M in 2002 with a degree in applied mathematics with a focus on actuarial science. When I switched to this degree plan during my junior year I had no idea what actuarial science was or what an actuary did. But I liked math and statistics and I discovered that in order to be an actuary, a series of exams had to be taken and passed. So I took the first one near graduation and did well.

The important thing about passing that first exam was that I was able to get potential employers to call me back after I submitted resumes. Before having that passing score on display I got no response at all. But finally, I had insurance companies and consulting firms calling me to set up interviews.

I received two offers. One was to work in the actuarial department of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. The second was to work as a consultant at Watson Wyatt, which is now a part of Towers Watson. Both were good offers, but I liked the idea of working as a consultant. Still, I didn't know what my job would entail.

On my first day a group of new coworkers took me out to eat. One of them asked me if I knew what they did, and I really didn't know. Looking back, I have no idea why I was offered the job when I clearly did not know what the firm did, or what my new department did.

Soon, though, I learned that the people I worked with were group healthcare benefits consultants. They were responsible for helping employers set up and run their health insurance plans. I was green as could be, but I tried to learn as much as I could. I was still studying for the second actuarial exam, but unfortunately I did not do as well on the second exam as I did the first. I ended up not taking any more exams. I wanted to focus on being a consultant.

A coworker of mine left Watson Wyatt to go work for Deloitte Consulting, doing the same work that we did at Wyatt. It wasn't long after that I was recruited to work for Deloitte. I really enjoyed my time there, as it is a great place to work. However, they slowly started to do away with their benefits consulting practice, so I ended up where I am now, EBSG, working as a healthcare benefits broker. I'm working with the same people I was with at Deloitte, we're just getting paid by someone else.

Being a broker, I'm required to hold a Texas Insurance License (which my studying habits made a lot tougher than it should have been). But the license is required since we help sell insurance. Also, it's good to have in case I want to actually go out and start selling policies.

So that is why I included benefits as a part of this blog. I'd like to add some of my thoughts surrounding the healthcare world that we're living in now, such as medical networks, underwriting techniques, and more. We'll see if I get around to it.

Texas Rangers Announce Plans for a Statue in Honor of Shannon Stone

2011-08-16T00:59:00.000-05:00

The Texas Rangers yesterday announced plans to honor Shannon Stone, the firefighter who died while at a game with his son. Stone's story prompted many people to think about the significance of baseball and it's affect on the bond between father and son.

I'm glad to see the Rangers do this. I have no idea how the old ownership regime would have handled this, but it's nice to root for a team with owners that have a clue.

Living With Diabetes

2011-08-16T00:27:00.000-05:00

On February 27, 2010, my wife and I found out that our 2 year old son has Type 1 Diabetes. It was heartbreaking, but at the same time there was a sense of relief as we finally discovered the reason for the symptoms he was displaying.

Over the last year and a half we have learned how to live with Type 1 Diabetes although it wasn't easy. It took some time to figure things out and be confident that we were counting carbs and measuring insulin correctly. We also learned some tips along the way.

It seems like it's been much longer than 18 months that we have been living with diabetes. It's hard to think back and remember life before we always had carb counting on our mind. Fortunately, we have a very resilient little boy who has taken to the new lifestyle well.

Now, we just have to hope for a cure and more medical breakthroughs.

New Blog

2011-08-15T23:24:00.000-05:00

Well at the inspiration of JDaddy I have decided to start my own blog. Right now, this blog won't cover any specific topic. But it is called Baseball and Benefits because of my love of baseball and my job as a benefits broker. I'm also passionate about a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, as I have a 3-year old son with the disease.

So check back frequently as I'll update with some links to other items I find interesting.