What was it, like less than 90 days ago and gas was over $4 per gallon? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the cheap gas, but what caused the price to drop to levels not seen since two years ago?
Next thing you know, the oil companies will be looking for a federal bailout!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Photography, and stuff
Through the mirror of my mind, time after time, I see the reflections of . . .The world is changing every day. Maybe, just maybe things will improve with the new President of the United States, yet the economy sucks big donkey boners.
It's the Holiday season and I'm out of work and have no money to buy gifts (well, I have some money, but no income at all) so I look for budget minded gifts and do my best to please my family.
Being out of work sucks, you have lots of time to do things, but no money for supplies. So I try to do things around the house that don't cost money and will improve me, my house, or just generally make us more comfortable. A bit of yard work, some general upkeep, a spot of paint here, a bit of trimming on the plants and trees, there is always something to do.
Thank goodness for digital photography, I don't have to pay for film or processing, and making memories is free.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
They don't write good television anymore
"Yes, I suppose if we broaden the definition to include those that can spell."
Those are some great lines there. I can only dream of being that good of a writer.
Arizona, take off your rainbow shades
President elect Barack Obama appointed Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security.
That is great news for Janet Napolitano. This news however, may not be so great for the United States of America.
Let me explain why I believe this could be bad news.
Firstly, going from being the governor of a state like Arizona to the Secretary of Homeland Security is like going for the manager of Quickie-mart to CEO of Coca-cola corporation in terms of complexity. Arizona, where for the most part they try to re-invent the wheel every time they do something, rather than looking at what other states have done successfully and following that lead. Arizona is a red state, mostly Republican older retiree's who don't want to pay taxes with their fixed incomes and don't want some government official telling them what they can and can't do. Arizona, where the land is so barren and useless that the government gave several large sections to the displaced Native Americans that were left after the genocide because they figured it would (the land) never have any value. Arizona is not a port city and therefore does not have much in the way of diversity or cultural roots, and if it wasn't for the invention of air conditioning would be all but uninhabitable during five to six months of a year.
I really do hope Janet Napolitano does a fantastic job at her new post and I wish her the best. Being the Secretary of Homeland Security is a very complicated position with many, many ways to make mistakes that will have disastrous results.
Just look at the great job Tom Ridge did with this position.
That is great news for Janet Napolitano. This news however, may not be so great for the United States of America.
Let me explain why I believe this could be bad news.
Firstly, going from being the governor of a state like Arizona to the Secretary of Homeland Security is like going for the manager of Quickie-mart to CEO of Coca-cola corporation in terms of complexity. Arizona, where for the most part they try to re-invent the wheel every time they do something, rather than looking at what other states have done successfully and following that lead. Arizona is a red state, mostly Republican older retiree's who don't want to pay taxes with their fixed incomes and don't want some government official telling them what they can and can't do. Arizona, where the land is so barren and useless that the government gave several large sections to the displaced Native Americans that were left after the genocide because they figured it would (the land) never have any value. Arizona is not a port city and therefore does not have much in the way of diversity or cultural roots, and if it wasn't for the invention of air conditioning would be all but uninhabitable during five to six months of a year.
I really do hope Janet Napolitano does a fantastic job at her new post and I wish her the best. Being the Secretary of Homeland Security is a very complicated position with many, many ways to make mistakes that will have disastrous results.
Just look at the great job Tom Ridge did with this position.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Some random thoughts
Because the election is over, the media does not know what to report on, and are presenting stories that are as artificial as Pam Anderson's breasts.
I noticed that Geico insurance company is still running about 7 or 8 different advertising campaigns during these tough economic times. I can't imagine where Geico gets all the money for all that crappy advertising?
I keep seeing this advertising for something called an IUC (Mirena®) which is just another name for an IUD (female birth control device). IUDs caused a ton of health issues to woman back in the day, and most doctors stopped using them, so why is this technology back in vogue?
At one time we had something that I liked to call "the Wal*Mart effect" wherein a company has enough purchasing power to tell it's suppliers to lower prices and if the suppliers don't comply with the distributor (in this case wal*mart) they will go out of business.
Well now we have what I like to call "the Survivor effect" wherein you ally with everyone (play nice with everyone) until you vote them off the island and/or stab them in the back! (get your co-worker fired, say bad things about a political rival, or generally treat someone badly).
When people conduct themselves during their daily lives as if "The Apprentice, or Survivor" or some other reality TV show is "real" it shows the social skills of those people. It is just not right.
Remember AMC American Motors cars, the Javelin, AMX, Gremlin, and Pacer, wait didn't they make Jeeps also. That's right they did. The government let AMC die and Chrysler ate them and look where the Jeep brand is today!
If the government lets Chrysler die the Jeep and Dodge brands will live on somehow, someway.
Christmas is upon us. Christ some stores were selling Christmas stuff in September, dear lord please help us rise from retail hell!
That is all for now, carry on. If you can.
I noticed that Geico insurance company is still running about 7 or 8 different advertising campaigns during these tough economic times. I can't imagine where Geico gets all the money for all that crappy advertising?
I keep seeing this advertising for something called an IUC (Mirena®) which is just another name for an IUD (female birth control device). IUDs caused a ton of health issues to woman back in the day, and most doctors stopped using them, so why is this technology back in vogue?
At one time we had something that I liked to call "the Wal*Mart effect" wherein a company has enough purchasing power to tell it's suppliers to lower prices and if the suppliers don't comply with the distributor (in this case wal*mart) they will go out of business.
Well now we have what I like to call "the Survivor effect" wherein you ally with everyone (play nice with everyone) until you vote them off the island and/or stab them in the back! (get your co-worker fired, say bad things about a political rival, or generally treat someone badly).
When people conduct themselves during their daily lives as if "The Apprentice, or Survivor" or some other reality TV show is "real" it shows the social skills of those people. It is just not right.
Remember AMC American Motors cars, the Javelin, AMX, Gremlin, and Pacer, wait didn't they make Jeeps also. That's right they did. The government let AMC die and Chrysler ate them and look where the Jeep brand is today!
If the government lets Chrysler die the Jeep and Dodge brands will live on somehow, someway.
Christmas is upon us. Christ some stores were selling Christmas stuff in September, dear lord please help us rise from retail hell!
That is all for now, carry on. If you can.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Chrysler begging for money
Robert Nardelli, the CEO of Chrysler Corporation was on Capitol Hill today begging for money. Chrysler Corp. has a bit of a sorted past, lets look at some key dates:
May 7, 1998: Daimler-Benz's Juergen Schrempp and Chrysler Corp.'s Robert Eaton announce US$36 billion merger that creates DaimlerChrysler AG.
Oct. 26, 2000 Chrysler posts US$512 million loss for third quarter.
April 2005: Cash cow Mercedes Car Group posts its first quarterly loss in more than 10 years.
May 14, 2007: DaimlerChrysler announces end of nine-year merger as it agrees to sell 80 percent of Chrysler to private equity firm Cerberus for US$7.4 billion (€5.5 billion).
Chrysler merged with Daimler Benz (Mercedes Benz) one of the most profitable and well run corporations in the world, and after 9 years the Daimler folks finally figured out Chrysler was dragging them down and sold them off.
Mercedes figured the Chrysler brand and it's management style sucked so bad that it would cost way to much to fix, save or even think about repairing, and now the current CEO of Chrysler wants the government to give it money?
Can you guess where the money will come from?
Your wallet and my wallet, yes us the tax paying public is where they want to get the money to save this dying brand.
Let me see if I understand this right - a bunch of really smart business guys from Germany try to save this big U.S. auto company, but find that it can't be done - so the current CEO figures maybe ask some not-so-smart people to give him a bunch O' cash so he can give it the old college try.
Why in the world would I believe Robert Nardelli could do something a bunch of smart business guys from Germany COULDN'T do!
Clearly Mr. Nardelli is not the brightest bulb on the string.
Wait, where have I heard that name before, Nardelli, Stinkie, Smelli, oh yea isn't he the guy that pissed off the Home Depot stock holders so bad?
Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli resigns - Jan. 3, 2007
Robert Nardelli named CEO of Chrysler - Aug. 5, 2007
Seems like the guy needs to be on the job a little longer before he starts begging for money!
Dear United States Guberment,
Please, oh please don't give my money to these jerks,
Signed,
John Q. Public
May 7, 1998: Daimler-Benz's Juergen Schrempp and Chrysler Corp.'s Robert Eaton announce US$36 billion merger that creates DaimlerChrysler AG.
Oct. 26, 2000 Chrysler posts US$512 million loss for third quarter.
April 2005: Cash cow Mercedes Car Group posts its first quarterly loss in more than 10 years.
May 14, 2007: DaimlerChrysler announces end of nine-year merger as it agrees to sell 80 percent of Chrysler to private equity firm Cerberus for US$7.4 billion (€5.5 billion).
Chrysler merged with Daimler Benz (Mercedes Benz) one of the most profitable and well run corporations in the world, and after 9 years the Daimler folks finally figured out Chrysler was dragging them down and sold them off.
Mercedes figured the Chrysler brand and it's management style sucked so bad that it would cost way to much to fix, save or even think about repairing, and now the current CEO of Chrysler wants the government to give it money?
Can you guess where the money will come from?
Your wallet and my wallet, yes us the tax paying public is where they want to get the money to save this dying brand.
Let me see if I understand this right - a bunch of really smart business guys from Germany try to save this big U.S. auto company, but find that it can't be done - so the current CEO figures maybe ask some not-so-smart people to give him a bunch O' cash so he can give it the old college try.
Why in the world would I believe Robert Nardelli could do something a bunch of smart business guys from Germany COULDN'T do!
Clearly Mr. Nardelli is not the brightest bulb on the string.
Wait, where have I heard that name before, Nardelli, Stinkie, Smelli, oh yea isn't he the guy that pissed off the Home Depot stock holders so bad?
Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli resigns - Jan. 3, 2007
Robert Nardelli named CEO of Chrysler - Aug. 5, 2007
Seems like the guy needs to be on the job a little longer before he starts begging for money!
Dear United States Guberment,
Please, oh please don't give my money to these jerks,
Signed,
John Q. Public
Monday, November 10, 2008
Economic aid to the auto industry
In 2002 Chevy stopped production of the Camaro mostly due to the lower profit margins on performance cars. It cost Chevy much less, and the profit was much higher to produce and sell the Chevy Avalanche trucks. It's important to note that the frame and drive train of the Chevy Avalanche is what the H2 Hummer is built on, and the profit margins on $60 + thousand dollar trucks is where it's at.
That is until gas hit $4 per gallon!
Now the bottom has dropped out and the auto industry wants us poor sap consumer tax-payers to bail them out. After all we were stupid enough to buy their crappy over-priced trucks and SUVs so why wouldn't we just hand these guys lots of our money?
If we want REAL change in this country we will not give the auto industry our money.
Lots of people already think the banking industry bailout is a crock O' steaming poo, so why help another sector of greedy, profit hungry, poorly managed giant corporations?
Yes it will prolong the recession if we don't help the auto industry, but in the long run it's better to invest in newer, more efficient technology.
Friday, November 7, 2008
It's STILL all about the greed!
The local newspaper, and newspapers across the country are selling election issue newspapers for a lot more than face value, sometimes hundreds of dollars!
Come on now, this profit for the sake of profit is just wrong!
The ideal that this is a way to supplement the income or profits of some giant corporation is just bullshit!
Don't fall for this crap, please if you have the extra money laying around and must collect something, please collect something useful.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the election results are not Historic, and that an amazing thing hasn't happened, it most certainly has, but don't add to the coffers of some corrupt very-biased corporation claiming to further society by turning history into pure profit!
There is no hope for change when this is the way we conduct ourselves!
Think of it this way; The newspaper was sold, at standard rates of 50 cents or 75 cents on that day, why now, 3 days later is it worth hundreds of dollars?
Stuff is worth what people are willing to pay for it[period]
If no one is willing to pay more than 75 cents for the paper, the newspaper would just trash or recycle all the extras, rather than try to sell them to someone for 10,000 % profit!
Please don't let this type of profit continue! We need change, yes. The election results were historic, yes. Display the papers in a museum for all to see.
It's not a world series home run ball, whereas there is only one, there are thousands of papers printed.
Corporations suck!
Come on now, this profit for the sake of profit is just wrong!
The ideal that this is a way to supplement the income or profits of some giant corporation is just bullshit!
Don't fall for this crap, please if you have the extra money laying around and must collect something, please collect something useful.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the election results are not Historic, and that an amazing thing hasn't happened, it most certainly has, but don't add to the coffers of some corrupt very-biased corporation claiming to further society by turning history into pure profit!
There is no hope for change when this is the way we conduct ourselves!
Think of it this way; The newspaper was sold, at standard rates of 50 cents or 75 cents on that day, why now, 3 days later is it worth hundreds of dollars?
Stuff is worth what people are willing to pay for it[period]
If no one is willing to pay more than 75 cents for the paper, the newspaper would just trash or recycle all the extras, rather than try to sell them to someone for 10,000 % profit!
Please don't let this type of profit continue! We need change, yes. The election results were historic, yes. Display the papers in a museum for all to see.
It's not a world series home run ball, whereas there is only one, there are thousands of papers printed.
Corporations suck!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Overseas flights
Traveling is fun, you get to see other places, learn about new cultures and expand your life's-lessons.
The worst part about traveling is sitting on a plane for 7, 8, 10, 12, or 14 hours. Even when you can get up and walk around in the small space that is your airplane it's brutal.
I have been lucky enough to fly business elite class (First Class) on almost all of my last few overseas flights, so the seats are much larger, the food is better, the movies are better and generally it's better, but it still sucks to be confined to such a small space for long periods of time.
When the plane is sitting on the tarmac I wonder what all those lucky people that get to fly in those 747s are doing? Dancing? Having a party? Getting to sleep in a flat position, rather than trying to fall asleep in some scaled-down lazy-boy chair that is a Business Elite Class seat.
I know I shouldn't complain, there are lots of people that never leave their home town, let alone get to travel out of the country, never mind being able to do it in the comfort of Business Elite Class.
I don't care who you are, traveling overseas and trying to sleep in a chair, of any kind sucks.
Some cool things to see and do when you leave the good ole U. S. of A.
Interesting to get a different perspective on the US elections from the eyes of the media in the UK.
The worst part about traveling is sitting on a plane for 7, 8, 10, 12, or 14 hours. Even when you can get up and walk around in the small space that is your airplane it's brutal.
I have been lucky enough to fly business elite class (First Class) on almost all of my last few overseas flights, so the seats are much larger, the food is better, the movies are better and generally it's better, but it still sucks to be confined to such a small space for long periods of time.
When the plane is sitting on the tarmac I wonder what all those lucky people that get to fly in those 747s are doing? Dancing? Having a party? Getting to sleep in a flat position, rather than trying to fall asleep in some scaled-down lazy-boy chair that is a Business Elite Class seat.
I know I shouldn't complain, there are lots of people that never leave their home town, let alone get to travel out of the country, never mind being able to do it in the comfort of Business Elite Class.
I don't care who you are, traveling overseas and trying to sleep in a chair, of any kind sucks.
Some cool things to see and do when you leave the good ole U. S. of A.
Interesting to get a different perspective on the US elections from the eyes of the media in the UK.
Back before time began
Remember the good old days, before email, blogs, web surfing, cell-phones and social networking?
I'm dropping off the grid for a few days, about a week really, and I wonder how I will cope without checking email or surfing the web?
How long can you go without?
Start with 100 points
If you have a blackberry subtract 200 points
If you can go for 7 days without turning on your cell phone subtract 50 points
If you can only go for 6 days without turning on your cell phone subtract 60 points
If you can only go for 5 days without turning on your cell phone subtract 70 points
If you can . . . well you get the idea
If you can go for 7 days without turning on your computer, surfing the web or checking email subtract 20 points
Follow the same logic as above for subtracting points
Bonus points for leaving the country and leaving your cell, laptop, etc. at home.
The person with the most points at the end of 7 days wins.
What do you win, well not much, maybe a little personal introspection and balance to your life.
I'm dropping off the grid for a few days, about a week really, and I wonder how I will cope without checking email or surfing the web?
How long can you go without?
Start with 100 points
If you have a blackberry subtract 200 points
If you can go for 7 days without turning on your cell phone subtract 50 points
If you can only go for 6 days without turning on your cell phone subtract 60 points
If you can only go for 5 days without turning on your cell phone subtract 70 points
If you can . . . well you get the idea
If you can go for 7 days without turning on your computer, surfing the web or checking email subtract 20 points
Follow the same logic as above for subtracting points
Bonus points for leaving the country and leaving your cell, laptop, etc. at home.
The person with the most points at the end of 7 days wins.
What do you win, well not much, maybe a little personal introspection and balance to your life.
The World Changed
The world changed Tuesday. Only time will tell if the change will be good, positive, forward movement, or a short road to all out madness.
For now I will backtrack and work my way back to present.
Sherman, set the way-back machine for last week and see where it takes us.
For now I will backtrack and work my way back to present.
Sherman, set the way-back machine for last week and see where it takes us.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
10 things most people don't understand
1.) Most media outlets are huge corporations (newspapers, television, radio, advertising, magazines) and THEY decide what we see and what we don't see.
2.) The age of unbiased news is long gone.
3.) Just because something is printed in the newspaper, doesn't make it true.
4.) Sporting events like football and baseball are generally classified as entertainment.
5.) If the owner of a sports team (often times a large corporation) wants to have a "good" year with ticket sales, television contracts for advertising, etc. all they have to do is "purchase" the best players in the league, in a way, purchase a winning team.
6.) A loosing team NEVER generates above average profits.
7.) A winning team ALWAYS generates higher than average profits.
8.) Right now, somewhere there is a meeting where people are deciding what tomorrow's news will be.
9.)News Corp. owns FOX Broadcasting Company, 34 television stations (8 cover the USA's most populous cities) 29 alternative broadcast channels, mostly under the name of "FOX Sports."
In Film:
20th Century FOX Stuidos, FOX Searchlight Pictures, FOX Television Studios
In Print:
One newspaper in the USA, 5 newspapers in the United Kingdom, 20 newspapers in Australia, all of HarperCollins Publishing companies (23 in all) HarperCollins Children's Book Group (6 in all)
In Sports:
Los Angeles Dodgers, National Rugby League, (partial owners) of New York Rangers and New York Knicks, Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Lakers
In Music and Media:
News America New Media, Broadsystem, Festival Records, Mushroom Records, NDS, News Interactive, News Outdoor, Nursery World, Staples Center
Viacom owns: CBS -- and 16 television stations (6 of which in top 10 marketshare) UPN 18 television stations, 5 additional television stations
On Cable:
MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Nick at Night, TV Land, VH1, Spike TV, Comedy Central, CMT, Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix, Sundance Channel Owns King World Productions
On Radio:
Infinity Broadcasting, with 176 radio stations and Westwood One
On Film:
Paramount Pictures In Print: Simon & Schuster (8 publishing companies)
In Retail:
Owns Blockbuster video, Paramount Parks, Famous Players Theater, United Cinemas International, Famous Music
Gannett owns USA Today, USA Weekend, USA Today Sports Weekly, and the USA Today Information Network. Gannett owns 100 daily newspapers in the USA; the Army Times, Navy Times, Navy Times Marine Corps, Air Force Times, Federal Times, Defense Times, and Military Market.
Gannett also owns:
16 newspapers in the United Kingdom
16 television stations in the USA
Partial interests in the Cincinnati Reds, Classified Ventures Com LLC, (with competitors Knight Ridder, the New York Times Company, Times Mirror, Washington Post Co., and Tribune Co.) Quarter share in BrassRing Inc. (Human Resources services and software) Gannett partners with General Electric (GE) on Space.com and with Kight Ridder and Tribune Media on CareerBuilder.com
And that is just a small sample of the way we are spoon fed our news and entertainment.
10.) If you took the time to read this post, you learned something new and will now understand why some things are the way they are.
Good night, and good luck.
2.) The age of unbiased news is long gone.
3.) Just because something is printed in the newspaper, doesn't make it true.
4.) Sporting events like football and baseball are generally classified as entertainment.
5.) If the owner of a sports team (often times a large corporation) wants to have a "good" year with ticket sales, television contracts for advertising, etc. all they have to do is "purchase" the best players in the league, in a way, purchase a winning team.
6.) A loosing team NEVER generates above average profits.
7.) A winning team ALWAYS generates higher than average profits.
8.) Right now, somewhere there is a meeting where people are deciding what tomorrow's news will be.
9.)News Corp. owns FOX Broadcasting Company, 34 television stations (8 cover the USA's most populous cities) 29 alternative broadcast channels, mostly under the name of "FOX Sports."
In Film:
20th Century FOX Stuidos, FOX Searchlight Pictures, FOX Television Studios
In Print:
One newspaper in the USA, 5 newspapers in the United Kingdom, 20 newspapers in Australia, all of HarperCollins Publishing companies (23 in all) HarperCollins Children's Book Group (6 in all)
In Sports:
Los Angeles Dodgers, National Rugby League, (partial owners) of New York Rangers and New York Knicks, Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Lakers
In Music and Media:
News America New Media, Broadsystem, Festival Records, Mushroom Records, NDS, News Interactive, News Outdoor, Nursery World, Staples Center
Viacom owns: CBS -- and 16 television stations (6 of which in top 10 marketshare) UPN 18 television stations, 5 additional television stations
On Cable:
MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Nick at Night, TV Land, VH1, Spike TV, Comedy Central, CMT, Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix, Sundance Channel Owns King World Productions
On Radio:
Infinity Broadcasting, with 176 radio stations and Westwood One
On Film:
Paramount Pictures In Print: Simon & Schuster (8 publishing companies)
In Retail:
Owns Blockbuster video, Paramount Parks, Famous Players Theater, United Cinemas International, Famous Music
Gannett owns USA Today, USA Weekend, USA Today Sports Weekly, and the USA Today Information Network. Gannett owns 100 daily newspapers in the USA; the Army Times, Navy Times, Navy Times Marine Corps, Air Force Times, Federal Times, Defense Times, and Military Market.
Gannett also owns:
16 newspapers in the United Kingdom
16 television stations in the USA
Partial interests in the Cincinnati Reds, Classified Ventures Com LLC, (with competitors Knight Ridder, the New York Times Company, Times Mirror, Washington Post Co., and Tribune Co.) Quarter share in BrassRing Inc. (Human Resources services and software) Gannett partners with General Electric (GE) on Space.com and with Kight Ridder and Tribune Media on CareerBuilder.com
And that is just a small sample of the way we are spoon fed our news and entertainment.
10.) If you took the time to read this post, you learned something new and will now understand why some things are the way they are.
Good night, and good luck.
Monday, October 20, 2008
All this depressing news
Depressing news about the bad economy, our corrupt government, politics, the election, and just about anything you can think of.
How about some entertainment?
How about some entertainment?
File this one under "They Just Don't Get It!"
The government wants to send us all money to stimulate the economy. Again.
I'm thinking if the average American family gets a check from anyone right now, they are going to spend it on the electric bill or groceries and gas, which will not really stimulate the economy. I think to actually stimulate the economy the government would somehow want the average American family to go out and buy "durable goods" like a new washing machine, refrigerator or American automobile or a house or something large and expensive like that, maybe some nice American stocks. If people purchased the large expensive items like a car or a refrigerator it might stimulate the economy, but if they save it for when they loose their jobs and/or buy dumb stuff like food and pay the electric bill I don't think it will stimulate the economy.
Right now the Christmas season is not looking to good for most retail chains, because of the bad economy it looks like the average American family will not spend a lot of money on expensive toys and gifts. Considering that most those expensive toys and gifts are produced in China and covered in lead-based paint which the Chinese are trying to kill us with, in the long term I would consider that a good thing. However, most retail chains would like the government to send everyone money that they can spend on Christmas gifts and useless items that have nothing to do with our day to day needs. So, I'm thinking the current stimulus package is backed by the retail sector, which is really the only one that stands to gain by another round of checks timed to arrive just in time for the Christmas season.
On a side note:
I was talking to a guy that was born in China and lived most of his life outside of the United States. He and his family had just moved here from Canada and we were talking about the political system and process here in the United States. I commented that as the election gets closer if the Republicans are not doing well then gas prices will be go down, but if the Republicans are doing well they will stay at around $4 a gallon, which is where they were when we had the conversation. Well guess what, gas prices are around $3 a gallon. I wonder how the election is going for the Republicans?
I'm thinking if the average American family gets a check from anyone right now, they are going to spend it on the electric bill or groceries and gas, which will not really stimulate the economy. I think to actually stimulate the economy the government would somehow want the average American family to go out and buy "durable goods" like a new washing machine, refrigerator or American automobile or a house or something large and expensive like that, maybe some nice American stocks. If people purchased the large expensive items like a car or a refrigerator it might stimulate the economy, but if they save it for when they loose their jobs and/or buy dumb stuff like food and pay the electric bill I don't think it will stimulate the economy.
Right now the Christmas season is not looking to good for most retail chains, because of the bad economy it looks like the average American family will not spend a lot of money on expensive toys and gifts. Considering that most those expensive toys and gifts are produced in China and covered in lead-based paint which the Chinese are trying to kill us with, in the long term I would consider that a good thing. However, most retail chains would like the government to send everyone money that they can spend on Christmas gifts and useless items that have nothing to do with our day to day needs. So, I'm thinking the current stimulus package is backed by the retail sector, which is really the only one that stands to gain by another round of checks timed to arrive just in time for the Christmas season.
On a side note:
I was talking to a guy that was born in China and lived most of his life outside of the United States. He and his family had just moved here from Canada and we were talking about the political system and process here in the United States. I commented that as the election gets closer if the Republicans are not doing well then gas prices will be go down, but if the Republicans are doing well they will stay at around $4 a gallon, which is where they were when we had the conversation. Well guess what, gas prices are around $3 a gallon. I wonder how the election is going for the Republicans?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Another story about greed
I was driving around the other day and noticed yet another parcel of land that was plowed to make way for expensive new homes, high-end retail shops, condo's and up-scale apartments.
In most cases this would be seen as growth, but in a down, or even slumping housing market who will be able to afford these expensive new homes that the developers are building?
I understand that if a developer purchases land and builds a commercial building and it sits empty for a few years, the developer can do alright with the tax deductions and losses from the empty building. I don't think the same tax deductions apply with residential property.
The theory seems sound, build a big building for business' and the business' will come and hire lots of workers and pay them lots of money and those people will buy the expensive homes, right?
The problem is that the business just aren't there, in fact the states largest employers are big retail, and everybody knows retail doesn't pay squat.
So, the land gets plowed, the commercial buildings get built but the business don't show up, and the buildings sit empty. The developers are doing alright because of the tax thing, but John Q. Public doesn't see an increase in high-paying professional jobs.
These same developers and other developers build retail malls hoping all the workers from all the jobs created by filling up the empty commercial buildings who got high-paying jobs from the business' and purchased expensive homes will need a place to shop for high-end goods and services. So they move forward and build the big retail mall.
Building the big retail mall has created jobs! That's a good thing right? Well, no the jobs created are retail jobs and those low-paying retail workers can't afford to purchase the expensive homes and condos the developer built. So the highly payed business workers don't exist and the retail business' suffer. Now the retail sales are down so the retail hires less workers and that means the high-end retail mall looks like a ghost town.
So because the business didn't come, the state didn't get that business tax revenue.
Because the business didn't hire workers, the state doesn't get that worker income tax revenue.
Because the workers didn't purchase the expensive homes, the states doesn't get the property tax revenue.
Because the workers that didn't purchase the expensive homes aren't there to shop at the retail mall, the state doesn't get that sales tax revenue.
Because of slumping sales, the retail mall needs less low-payed workers and the state gets even less of an already small income tax revenue chunk.
The low-payed retail workers put additional strain the states already stressed "low cost medical care" budget.
I'm not sure I like where all this is going to lead our state and it's budget?
Unless you have a good, secure well paying job, and you can keep it, this is going to suck for a lot of people.
In most cases this would be seen as growth, but in a down, or even slumping housing market who will be able to afford these expensive new homes that the developers are building?
I understand that if a developer purchases land and builds a commercial building and it sits empty for a few years, the developer can do alright with the tax deductions and losses from the empty building. I don't think the same tax deductions apply with residential property.
The theory seems sound, build a big building for business' and the business' will come and hire lots of workers and pay them lots of money and those people will buy the expensive homes, right?
The problem is that the business just aren't there, in fact the states largest employers are big retail, and everybody knows retail doesn't pay squat.
So, the land gets plowed, the commercial buildings get built but the business don't show up, and the buildings sit empty. The developers are doing alright because of the tax thing, but John Q. Public doesn't see an increase in high-paying professional jobs.
These same developers and other developers build retail malls hoping all the workers from all the jobs created by filling up the empty commercial buildings who got high-paying jobs from the business' and purchased expensive homes will need a place to shop for high-end goods and services. So they move forward and build the big retail mall.
Building the big retail mall has created jobs! That's a good thing right? Well, no the jobs created are retail jobs and those low-paying retail workers can't afford to purchase the expensive homes and condos the developer built. So the highly payed business workers don't exist and the retail business' suffer. Now the retail sales are down so the retail hires less workers and that means the high-end retail mall looks like a ghost town.
So because the business didn't come, the state didn't get that business tax revenue.
Because the business didn't hire workers, the state doesn't get that worker income tax revenue.
Because the workers didn't purchase the expensive homes, the states doesn't get the property tax revenue.
Because the workers that didn't purchase the expensive homes aren't there to shop at the retail mall, the state doesn't get that sales tax revenue.
Because of slumping sales, the retail mall needs less low-payed workers and the state gets even less of an already small income tax revenue chunk.
The low-payed retail workers put additional strain the states already stressed "low cost medical care" budget.
I'm not sure I like where all this is going to lead our state and it's budget?
Unless you have a good, secure well paying job, and you can keep it, this is going to suck for a lot of people.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I can't help it, this is just funny
So I will post it.
The Associated Press is a well respected news source, and because of that I'm guessing they wouldn't "just make stuff up" or post something to the Internet that was edited or taken out of context. Based on those facts or "given truths" I figure this is not part of some "punked" or hidden camera "joke" and is the real deal.
Matt Damion is an actor, you know one of those Hollywood liberal types that wants to give clean needles to heroin babies and save the world by kissing spotted owls while hugging trees or some such thing. At any rate, he does have a point. Have a listen.
The Associated Press is a well respected news source, and because of that I'm guessing they wouldn't "just make stuff up" or post something to the Internet that was edited or taken out of context. Based on those facts or "given truths" I figure this is not part of some "punked" or hidden camera "joke" and is the real deal.
Matt Damion is an actor, you know one of those Hollywood liberal types that wants to give clean needles to heroin babies and save the world by kissing spotted owls while hugging trees or some such thing. At any rate, he does have a point. Have a listen.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
A brief history of how we got here
Let's start sometime around 1978.
Prior to 1978 and for as long as I can remember, the United States were "doing things to stop the spread of communists values" either by outward means or "behind the scenes." Conversely, the Soviet Union had been "doing things to spread communists values," either outright or "behind the scenes."
This is the case with Afghanistan, the Soviet Union had been trying to help "foster" communists values, and support a pro-communists government in Afghanistan. But when the puppet government they had installed "behind the scenes" lost the fight against civil unrest and rebellion the Soviet's went in and took over.
Under the guise of "stopping the spread of communist values" the United States sold, gave and helped train the "other side" more commonly know as the "mojahedin" (Islamic holy warriors).
Most of these Islamic holy warriors were happy to fight against the foreign atheists and their Afghan puppets although they didn't have very good weapons. The United States was happy to step in and assist them in their efforts to repel these foreign atheists with stinger missiles and other helpful toys.
By 1989 the Soviet Union realized their efforts in Afghanistan would never be successful and would evidently bankrupt the entire Soviet Union both financially and from the public outcry against the war/invasion.
The story I have told so far is fact and history, it is reality and can not be denied.
Now switch the United States for the Soviet Union and Iraq for Afghanistan and you can see where this whole "Iraq War" will get us.
I'm guessing by 2011 the United States will withdraw due to costs and lack of public support, no mater who our President is at the time.
Prior to 1978 and for as long as I can remember, the United States were "doing things to stop the spread of communists values" either by outward means or "behind the scenes." Conversely, the Soviet Union had been "doing things to spread communists values," either outright or "behind the scenes."
This is the case with Afghanistan, the Soviet Union had been trying to help "foster" communists values, and support a pro-communists government in Afghanistan. But when the puppet government they had installed "behind the scenes" lost the fight against civil unrest and rebellion the Soviet's went in and took over.
Under the guise of "stopping the spread of communist values" the United States sold, gave and helped train the "other side" more commonly know as the "mojahedin" (Islamic holy warriors).
Most of these Islamic holy warriors were happy to fight against the foreign atheists and their Afghan puppets although they didn't have very good weapons. The United States was happy to step in and assist them in their efforts to repel these foreign atheists with stinger missiles and other helpful toys.
By 1989 the Soviet Union realized their efforts in Afghanistan would never be successful and would evidently bankrupt the entire Soviet Union both financially and from the public outcry against the war/invasion.
The story I have told so far is fact and history, it is reality and can not be denied.
Now switch the United States for the Soviet Union and Iraq for Afghanistan and you can see where this whole "Iraq War" will get us.
I'm guessing by 2011 the United States will withdraw due to costs and lack of public support, no mater who our President is at the time.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Today's Hot 100
Well maybe not 100, but a lot of things going on in the world to feel disenfranchised about.
The Vice Presidential debate sucked, yea it was lame. I wonder if there is a leader out there somewhere that can think on their feet and speak intelligently about almost anything related to our economy and the United States foreign policy without the "he said," "she said" blame game.
A bunch of rich fat cats screwed up and now they want the United States government to give them money so their kids can live like Paris Hilton.
Our current economic mess is very much like the Enron saga.
Let us review: a bunch of guys got together to form a company that would bet on energy prices (that was Enron) in effect they were speculating that energy prices would go up and if they purchased "energy futures" at a lower price betting the price would go up when they sell the "energy" then bada bing, bada boom, were all rich! There were a few major flaws with this idea, the first flaw was they were greedy and the second was that they were manipulating the energy prices and they got caught. How does all this related to our current mess, you ask?
A bunch of people that lend money to other people got together and decided, "hey, lets lend money to people who have no chance of paying it back." and then what we will have is what is commonly called "bad paper."
Another group of people got together and decided that, "hey, lets buy a bunch of loans and resell them to someone else for a profit." (this is the part I think is like the Enron deal, buy something for $2 and sell it to the next guy for $4, all the while manipulating the value of the original item)
So, all these people (banks, and financial institutions) are buying all these loans (a lot of them are "bad paper") just betting that they can sell them to some other bank or financial institution like some game of "hot potato" and the bank that get stuck with all the bad paper in the end loses!
Guess who got stuck with all the "bad paper," in the end?
Give up, well it's you and me the tax paying public citizens of the United States.
And that is just a small sampling of the "Crap-tastic" things that have been going down lately.
The Vice Presidential debate sucked, yea it was lame. I wonder if there is a leader out there somewhere that can think on their feet and speak intelligently about almost anything related to our economy and the United States foreign policy without the "he said," "she said" blame game.
A bunch of rich fat cats screwed up and now they want the United States government to give them money so their kids can live like Paris Hilton.
Our current economic mess is very much like the Enron saga.
Let us review: a bunch of guys got together to form a company that would bet on energy prices (that was Enron) in effect they were speculating that energy prices would go up and if they purchased "energy futures" at a lower price betting the price would go up when they sell the "energy" then bada bing, bada boom, were all rich! There were a few major flaws with this idea, the first flaw was they were greedy and the second was that they were manipulating the energy prices and they got caught. How does all this related to our current mess, you ask?
A bunch of people that lend money to other people got together and decided, "hey, lets lend money to people who have no chance of paying it back." and then what we will have is what is commonly called "bad paper."
Another group of people got together and decided that, "hey, lets buy a bunch of loans and resell them to someone else for a profit." (this is the part I think is like the Enron deal, buy something for $2 and sell it to the next guy for $4, all the while manipulating the value of the original item)
So, all these people (banks, and financial institutions) are buying all these loans (a lot of them are "bad paper") just betting that they can sell them to some other bank or financial institution like some game of "hot potato" and the bank that get stuck with all the bad paper in the end loses!
Guess who got stuck with all the "bad paper," in the end?
Give up, well it's you and me the tax paying public citizens of the United States.
And that is just a small sampling of the "Crap-tastic" things that have been going down lately.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
YouTube's Copyright bullshit
If you put a video up on YouTube of, I don't know something like Mountain Biking, and that video has a song in it that YouTube's software flags as copyrighted material than YouTube can put ads on the page where the video appears.
The ads don't have to relate to the copyrighted material or the copyright holder, it just has to be copyrighted material. An example would be the video posted below when posted on YouTube had ads for McDonalds food, cruise line travel agents and hair products rotating next to it, no doubt with a "click-through" partner program deal in place. The good ole days of posting video's for your friends and family to see WITHOUT some form of corporate bloodsucking is over.
Do you want to know what I get out of this advertising deal?
Zipo
Bubbkiss
Zero
Nada
I think it's total BS!
Sedona Mt. biking from Director man on Vimeo.
The ads don't have to relate to the copyrighted material or the copyright holder, it just has to be copyrighted material. An example would be the video posted below when posted on YouTube had ads for McDonalds food, cruise line travel agents and hair products rotating next to it, no doubt with a "click-through" partner program deal in place. The good ole days of posting video's for your friends and family to see WITHOUT some form of corporate bloodsucking is over.
Do you want to know what I get out of this advertising deal?
Zipo
Bubbkiss
Zero
Nada
I think it's total BS!
Sedona Mt. biking from Director man on Vimeo.
Friday, September 19, 2008
British Television
Some of those guys on British TV are funny, I found this video of a British TV host interviewing one of the Spice Girls, very funny stuff.
Have a look:
Have a look:
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The New York Times doesn't like Sarah Palin
Big news, I know but I thought I'd point that one out for you. It seems that Sarah Palin doesn't like polar bears, that's for sure.
I thought the news paper was supposed to be unbiased and neutral ? Whatever happened to "they wouldn't print it if it wasn't true!"
Here a a few key excerpts from the NY Time article:
"Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials."
"In Wasilla, a builder said he complained to Mayor Palin when the city attorney put a stop-work order on his housing project. She responded, he said, by engineering the attorney’s firing."
"Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that his request would cost $468,784 to process.
When Mr. Steiner finally obtained the e-mail messages — through a federal records request — he discovered that state scientists had in fact agreed that the bears were in danger, records show.
“Their secrecy is off the charts,” Mr. Steiner said."
Read the full article here: NY Times article Once Elected . . .
I'm not a big fan of Sarah Palin but I'd rather see news papers that had less opinion and more factual news.
If everything in the New York Times article is TRUE, we could be in for one hell of a rough ride as far as the "could be" VP would go.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Blah, blah, blah @#$%&
The other night I was watching TV and eating dinner with my wife when this 30 second ad appeared on the TV. Holly cow, we both just about spit out our dinner laughing.
I hope it brings a smile to your face as well.
I hope it brings a smile to your face as well.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Everyone is going green!
In fact this blog is using "green technology."
Being "green" is the latest fad! Can you reduce your carbon footprint? Are you living in a green household?
For the most part this whole "Green" thing is total crap (which, by the way should not be green, your crap that is).
The reason this blog is green is because no trees were killed to make paper for you to read my blog, therefore this blog is "green." The part they (me) left out is that the power generated to power my computer, the servers at my service provider, the DNS (Domain Name Server), the backbone (the "main" connector to the Internet that my service provider uses) and the coal-fired power plant used to create the electricity to run all the computers is so, so far from being "Green" it's not even funny.
It's all just marketing BS, remember with good marketing BS you can "market" ice cubes" to people living at the North pole. You don't believe me, well how do you explain the marketing BS that made us believe that smoking cigarettes would NOT kill us!
Oh, yea I remember that one.
So, how is your carbon footprint today?
Being "green" is the latest fad! Can you reduce your carbon footprint? Are you living in a green household?
For the most part this whole "Green" thing is total crap (which, by the way should not be green, your crap that is).
The reason this blog is green is because no trees were killed to make paper for you to read my blog, therefore this blog is "green." The part they (me) left out is that the power generated to power my computer, the servers at my service provider, the DNS (Domain Name Server), the backbone (the "main" connector to the Internet that my service provider uses) and the coal-fired power plant used to create the electricity to run all the computers is so, so far from being "Green" it's not even funny.
It's all just marketing BS, remember with good marketing BS you can "market" ice cubes" to people living at the North pole. You don't believe me, well how do you explain the marketing BS that made us believe that smoking cigarettes would NOT kill us!
Oh, yea I remember that one.
So, how is your carbon footprint today?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Hey, you! Yea you, I'm talking to you
You are narrow minded and uninformed. Yea, you! If you got your news today from FOX NEWS, CNN, The New York Times, PBS or any other news program at any time today, I am sure, very sure you didn't get the WHOLE story.
Every piece of information available to you is somehow slanted in some way or the other, nothing you know is real.
If you stopped 10 people on the street and asked them the exact same question, like "are government programs doing enough to stop hunger in the United States?" I'm sure you would get 10 different answers, but and here is the key - I bet all 10 people would give some kind of an answer - it is impossible for people to answer "I don't know enough about [something, anything] to give an intelligent answer."
Not going to happen, because we all have 24/7 news channel and we know everything about everything.
The sad fact is most people watch their favorite news program and just take if all as gospel.
I wish more people were critical thinkers.
Every piece of information available to you is somehow slanted in some way or the other, nothing you know is real.
If you stopped 10 people on the street and asked them the exact same question, like "are government programs doing enough to stop hunger in the United States?" I'm sure you would get 10 different answers, but and here is the key - I bet all 10 people would give some kind of an answer - it is impossible for people to answer "I don't know enough about [something, anything] to give an intelligent answer."
Not going to happen, because we all have 24/7 news channel and we know everything about everything.
The sad fact is most people watch their favorite news program and just take if all as gospel.
I wish more people were critical thinkers.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Not all advertising sucks balls
Most ads these days are really, really bad. I saw this one and thought it was funny, doesn't really make me want to buy Bridgestone tires (because Bridgestone and Firestone are the same company, remember the whole Firestone/Ford Explorer problems) but I thought this was funny and cool.
Have a look:
Have a look:
Friday, August 1, 2008
Remember the smartest person story
If you go back to the smartest person in the world story I did a little while ago you will see that Noam Chomsky is number 11 on the smartest person in the world list for 2008. I wonder what the eleventh smartest person in the world thinks about things?
Lets take a look: (this one is a little long and his voice is somewhat monotone, but some of the things he says are very interesting)
Lets take a look: (this one is a little long and his voice is somewhat monotone, but some of the things he says are very interesting)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as tweets) which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
Updates are displayed on the user's Twitter profile page and delivered to other Twitter users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant messaging, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Twitterrific or Facebook.
Here are a couple of video's to help you understand the usefulness of this craptastic idea! (for better understanding please watch them in order)
This one first:
Now this one:
Follow me!
Now you see how utterly craptastic this new technology is.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A sad story
The soldier shown in the photo above - viewed by many as a hero, the army medic is shown rescuing an Iraqi boy who was injured in a firefight - has taken his own life!
Very sad that someone who gave so much to help others couldn't get the help he needed to fight the demons inside.
You will be honored and missed.
Read more of the story here NPR story
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Voted the "Smartest" person in the World!
Holly cow, no pressure but the people I know who think they are the smartest in the world didn't even make the list?
Just goes to show you that you may not be as smart as you think, in fact, studies show that one in five people suffer from some form of mental illness, think of four friends, if their OK, you are it!
On a side note:
July 14, 2008 · When the votes came in for Prospect magazine's list of the top 100 public intellectuals, at No. 1 was Turkish Sufi cleric Fethullah Gulen.
My buddy Noam was at No. 11 this year, and No. 1 in 2005. Here is the first 25:
1 Fethullah Gülen (*)
2 Muhammad Yunus (*)
3 Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (56)
4 Orhan Pamuk (54)
5 Aitzaz Ahsan (*)
6 Amr Khaled (*)
7 Abdolkarim Soroush (15)
8 Tariq Ramadan (58)
9 Mahmood Mamdani (*)
10 Shirin Ebadi (12)
11 Noam Chomsky (1)
12 Al Gore (*)
13 Bernard Lewis (34)
14 Umberto Eco (2)
15 Ayaan Hirsi Ali
16 Amartya Sen (8)
17 Fareed Zakaria (35)
18 Garry Kasparov (*)
19 Richard Dawkins (3)
20 Mario Vargas Llosa (29)
21 Lee Smolin (*)
22 Jürgen Habermas (7)
23 Salman Rushdie (10)
24 Sari Nusseibeh (65)
25 Slavoj Zizek (23)
To read more about this, read here: Prospect Magazine.
Or read about the story on NPR.
Find out more about smart people, and see what they are saying by looking some of them up on the good ole' interwebs!
You just might learn a thing or five!
Just goes to show you that you may not be as smart as you think, in fact, studies show that one in five people suffer from some form of mental illness, think of four friends, if their OK, you are it!
On a side note:
July 14, 2008 · When the votes came in for Prospect magazine's list of the top 100 public intellectuals, at No. 1 was Turkish Sufi cleric Fethullah Gulen.
My buddy Noam was at No. 11 this year, and No. 1 in 2005. Here is the first 25:
1 Fethullah Gülen (*)
2 Muhammad Yunus (*)
3 Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (56)
4 Orhan Pamuk (54)
5 Aitzaz Ahsan (*)
6 Amr Khaled (*)
7 Abdolkarim Soroush (15)
8 Tariq Ramadan (58)
9 Mahmood Mamdani (*)
10 Shirin Ebadi (12)
11 Noam Chomsky (1)
12 Al Gore (*)
13 Bernard Lewis (34)
14 Umberto Eco (2)
15 Ayaan Hirsi Ali
16 Amartya Sen (8)
17 Fareed Zakaria (35)
18 Garry Kasparov (*)
19 Richard Dawkins (3)
20 Mario Vargas Llosa (29)
21 Lee Smolin (*)
22 Jürgen Habermas (7)
23 Salman Rushdie (10)
24 Sari Nusseibeh (65)
25 Slavoj Zizek (23)
To read more about this, read here: Prospect Magazine.
Or read about the story on NPR.
Find out more about smart people, and see what they are saying by looking some of them up on the good ole' interwebs!
You just might learn a thing or five!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Wow, it's gotta suck to be George W. Bush!
I'm guessing it must make you feel like a total jerk when at a celebration of American independence you, as the current president of these United States gets heckled so badly that your face turns red and you look to your advisers and wonder why the guy in the audience keeps yelling "FUCK YOU"
Holly cow that looks like an uncomfortable situation.
Holly cow that looks like an uncomfortable situation.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The world is SNAFU
In New York a woman dies on the floor of a hospital waiting room and the staff lie on records to make it look like they checked on her, classic CYA (Cover Your Ass). Two security guards looked in on the waiting room and went back to work (and by "work" I mean sitting around with your thumb up your ass) without taking the time to check if the woman laying on the floor was breathing or not.
I wondered how those people were not just fired instantly when the news broke?
Looks like they may have been, see the story here:
New York Times Story
I wondered how those people were not just fired instantly when the news broke?
Looks like they may have been, see the story here:
New York Times Story
Friday, June 27, 2008
I just don't get it!
I've seen several very well respected people provide information on the complete and total bullshit-off-the-charts UNETHICAL things the Bush administration has done. I'm not talking spitting in public, but real change-the-history-of-the-world stuff here, like invading a country for OIL and telling the public it's "what's best" for OUR safety.
Here is a little video:
I can't believe this shit is just something Bill Moyer's or PBS just made up out of thin air, Alan Greenspan for god sake.
Why we haven't just kicked the Bush administration out of office is beyond me!
Here is a little video:
I can't believe this shit is just something Bill Moyer's or PBS just made up out of thin air, Alan Greenspan for god sake.
Why we haven't just kicked the Bush administration out of office is beyond me!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
GEICO can save you money, or can they?
So, GEICO insurance company says they can save you money on your car insurance, but how is it that they can beat the prices of the other insurance companies? GEICO must have spent millions on the whole "Caveman" and "Gecko" themed advertising and I'm guessing they will need to make that money back somehow, somewhere, right?
GEICO stalls and pays very little on their claims, that is how they can save you money!
If you are unfortunate enough to be hit by someone that is insured by GEICO, expect that you will fight, fight and fight some more to get them to pay off on a claim, and when they do finally pay off on a claim you won't get very much [period].
In the end I believe GEICO is doing everyone a disservice by generally sucking as an insurance company!
If you are insured by GEICO now, get out now while you still have some self-respect, save yourself.
GEICO stalls and pays very little on their claims, that is how they can save you money!
If you are unfortunate enough to be hit by someone that is insured by GEICO, expect that you will fight, fight and fight some more to get them to pay off on a claim, and when they do finally pay off on a claim you won't get very much [period].
In the end I believe GEICO is doing everyone a disservice by generally sucking as an insurance company!
If you are insured by GEICO now, get out now while you still have some self-respect, save yourself.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Video Blogging
YouTube has several "channels" of these and some are kind of fun, others just strange, and some are just plain disturbed.
I liked this guy's stuff, funny and interesting all the same time. Have a look.
I liked this guy's stuff, funny and interesting all the same time. Have a look.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Turns out, Hogan does not know BEST!
As it often turns out the entire Hogan family are narcissistic assholes of the worst kind, here is the low down from World Entertainment News Network: Wrestling star Hulk Hogan and his family have been chastised by the parents of the teenager left critically injured by their son Nick's 2007 car crash.
Nick Bollea, 17, is currently serving an eight-month prison sentence at Florida's Pinellas County Jail, after pleading no contest to felony reckless driving following a horrific car crash in Clearwater, Florida, which has left his friend John Graziano brain damaged.
But Graziano's parents Ed and Debra are furious at the teenager's lack of remorse, after hearing Nick discuss plans to win an early release from jail in taped telephone conversations that were leaked online over the weekend.
On the tapes, obtained by website TMZ.com, Bollea can be heard telling his dad that he wants to turn up for a court hearing "in my jumpsuit, for the sympathetic factor."
A statement released by the Grazianos via their lawyers reads: "These tapes clearly show what the Bolleas said in court was calculated to give the Court the impression that Nick deserved a break. It was a true Academy Award performance. They (the Bollea family) spoke of their love for John and they expressed how sorry they were, but their true feelings have now been revealed in the tapes..."
The Grazianos also blast the Bolleas for trying to cash in on their grief, by turning Nick's prison stint into a money-spinning reality TV show.
They add: "Nick Bollea and Terry Bollea are already planning a new reality show. Cameras are set to film Nick Bollea as he is released from jail and while he serves his probation."
Ed Graziano goes on to say: "The reason he (Nick) was put in jail is to think about what he did to my son. (But) that's the last thought on his mind."
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Of movies and life
Going to the movies these day can often require a second mortgage, what with the cost of gas, snacks and the movie itself. So when a movie worth seeing comes along it's important news.
If you haven't seen Iron Man yet, do yourself a favor and go see it, it's a fun film! Reasonably good story, good action, and for films adapted from comic books, this is one of the better ones.
Related sad news, director Sydney Pollack has passed at the age of 73. Some very good films came from his creative mind, he will be missed.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The World is falling apart
I heard a story on NPR a few days ago about a cafe near the Arizona, Utah border called the "Merry Wives Cafe." The cafe has pictures hanging on the walls of Polygamist families.
Wikipedia defines Polygamy as: (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage") is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, and sociology. Polygamy can be defined as any "form of marriage in which a person [has] more than one spouse."
The cafe is patronized by local polygamists families and curiosity seekers, "We're not trying to shove [polygamy] in people's faces," says manager Cherise Dutson. "But, this is how we live, and it's our heritage." (my response: "That doesn't make it right!")
(here is my analogy, if history in this country is to have slaves and I put pictures of slave owners and their slaves on the walls of my cafe, people would think I was a dickhead)
My understanding is that the practice is illegal in the United States, however wikipedia says: Most western countries do not recognize polygamous marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit people living a polygamous lifestyle. In some States of the United States, the criminalization of a polygamous lifestyle originated as anti-Mormon laws, although they are rarely enforced.
Given all the facts presented I would tend to think that having a Cafe that to some extent promoted the practice of Polygamy would be, how should we say, "not so good." Considering everything that went down in Texas with the FLDS church, maybe people [the cafe] shouldn't suggest to it's patrons that this kind of thing is acceptable? [the polygamist lifestyle]
We live in strange times.
Wikipedia defines Polygamy as: (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage") is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, and sociology. Polygamy can be defined as any "form of marriage in which a person [has] more than one spouse."
The cafe is patronized by local polygamists families and curiosity seekers, "We're not trying to shove [polygamy] in people's faces," says manager Cherise Dutson. "But, this is how we live, and it's our heritage." (my response: "That doesn't make it right!")
(here is my analogy, if history in this country is to have slaves and I put pictures of slave owners and their slaves on the walls of my cafe, people would think I was a dickhead)
My understanding is that the practice is illegal in the United States, however wikipedia says: Most western countries do not recognize polygamous marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit people living a polygamous lifestyle. In some States of the United States, the criminalization of a polygamous lifestyle originated as anti-Mormon laws, although they are rarely enforced.
Given all the facts presented I would tend to think that having a Cafe that to some extent promoted the practice of Polygamy would be, how should we say, "not so good." Considering everything that went down in Texas with the FLDS church, maybe people [the cafe] shouldn't suggest to it's patrons that this kind of thing is acceptable? [the polygamist lifestyle]
We live in strange times.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I want to . . .
have sex with Tyra Banks.
There I said it. It's out there, and now I can't take it back. I know it is never going to happen, but a man can dream, right?
I'm not sure what it is about some woman, they just exude sex. Either they have a figure that would be well suited to such activities or somehow they just seem to move a certain way or do something that makes feel funny in my "special places."
I can't imagine what it would be like to have dinner or a conversation with Tyra Banks, I mean after all what would you talk about? Tyra seems very driven with her talk show, America's Next Top Model, and whatever else she does, I don't guess she has much free time.
I wonder what would happen if I just called her up to see if she would join me for a burger?
There I said it. It's out there, and now I can't take it back. I know it is never going to happen, but a man can dream, right?
I'm not sure what it is about some woman, they just exude sex. Either they have a figure that would be well suited to such activities or somehow they just seem to move a certain way or do something that makes feel funny in my "special places."
I can't imagine what it would be like to have dinner or a conversation with Tyra Banks, I mean after all what would you talk about? Tyra seems very driven with her talk show, America's Next Top Model, and whatever else she does, I don't guess she has much free time.
I wonder what would happen if I just called her up to see if she would join me for a burger?
Friday, April 11, 2008
In a few weeks
In a few weeks most Americans will be getting a tax rebate check. While you might think that this is free money for you to "stimulate" the faltering economy here in the United States, it is really so much more.
What should you do with your check? Whatever you do, don't save it, go out and spend it on something right away! That way the government can get the economy stimulated!
As I have said before, everything I know about politics I learned from the West Wing TV show, so here is what I learned about tax rebates:
What should you do with your check? Whatever you do, don't save it, go out and spend it on something right away! That way the government can get the economy stimulated!
As I have said before, everything I know about politics I learned from the West Wing TV show, so here is what I learned about tax rebates:
Monday, April 7, 2008
Everything I know about Politics
I learned from watching the West Wing. On the West Wing the press Secretary would talk about Friday being "take-out-the-trash-day" because the media would pay little attention to press released on Friday as it is the end of the "news cycle" and everything starts over again on Monday.
Guess what, Hillary Clinton's political campaign released their tax records on, you guessed it, Friday, take-out-the-trash-day and on Monday Hillary's top strategist stepped down to further distract the media from the tax issues.
I'm guessing the media is being played by the Clinton campaign like a fish on a line!
Here is a great little video for you to enjoy:
Guess what, Hillary Clinton's political campaign released their tax records on, you guessed it, Friday, take-out-the-trash-day and on Monday Hillary's top strategist stepped down to further distract the media from the tax issues.
I'm guessing the media is being played by the Clinton campaign like a fish on a line!
Here is a great little video for you to enjoy:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
I can't do Nuthin' for U man
I don't know if this is rap or hip hop music, but it is really good.
In urban youth speak, "dat flava flav gots mad skills boi!"
In urban youth speak, "dat flava flav gots mad skills boi!"
Monday, March 24, 2008
I don't know
This phrase, along with other phrases seem to have been removed from the English language. Why is it so difficult to say? Really, it's not that hard, try it with me just this once "I don't know."
So I went into one of those big-box home improvement stores today - they are really all the same, this particular one has the initials of Home Depot, but it could have been Lowe's, I tend to get the same answers regardless of which store I'm in - my experience was very similar to numerous past visits, so this is not a new thing, it just pisses me off.
Lets say you work at a store, doesn't matter what kind of store, and a customer asks you "do you know how to perform brain surgery?" Why is the answer always "yep, sure it's easy, you just blah, blah, blah . . . ."
How come the employees NEVER, I mean never says "sorry, I've never performed brain surgery, but let me find someone that has, and maybe they can help answer your questions." Is it like some Japanese cultural deal where if the employee doesn't know the answer they will have to kill themselves right there in front of you to save face for making up some bullshit answer about some shit they know absolutely nothing about!
I really do wonder why this takes place at almost all retail stores?
I feel like Charlie Brown standing out in the middle of a field screaming at the top of his lungs, "doesn't anyone know the true meaning of Christmas," except I'm standing in the middle of this big box store screaming at the top of my lungs "hasn't anyone in this store actually performed a home improvement task!"
So I went into one of those big-box home improvement stores today - they are really all the same, this particular one has the initials of Home Depot, but it could have been Lowe's, I tend to get the same answers regardless of which store I'm in - my experience was very similar to numerous past visits, so this is not a new thing, it just pisses me off.
Lets say you work at a store, doesn't matter what kind of store, and a customer asks you "do you know how to perform brain surgery?" Why is the answer always "yep, sure it's easy, you just blah, blah, blah . . . ."
How come the employees NEVER, I mean never says "sorry, I've never performed brain surgery, but let me find someone that has, and maybe they can help answer your questions." Is it like some Japanese cultural deal where if the employee doesn't know the answer they will have to kill themselves right there in front of you to save face for making up some bullshit answer about some shit they know absolutely nothing about!
I really do wonder why this takes place at almost all retail stores?
I feel like Charlie Brown standing out in the middle of a field screaming at the top of his lungs, "doesn't anyone know the true meaning of Christmas," except I'm standing in the middle of this big box store screaming at the top of my lungs "hasn't anyone in this store actually performed a home improvement task!"
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Immigration
It's time for my Sunday morning OP-ED piece, and today I chose the topic of immigration.
Immigration comes up a lot in the media and for some reason is a big topic of debate these days. When it first came up several months ago I claimed that is was a bit of "slight-of-hand," in much the same way a magician will do something with his left hand so you don't see what his right hand is doing. What I'm saying is that the topic of immigration is, and was brought up to keep most people from realizing that gas prices are at an all time high, the war in Iraq is, how can I say this, not going as well as expected, and the housing market is in a bit of a slump.
That was several months ago, NOW gas prices are off the charts, the war in Iraq is going better (according to whom?) and foreclosures are at an all time high! The biggest topic right now is the economy and are we in, or heading towards a recession?
When the topic of immigration comes up they all seem to be talking about securing our boarders, right?
The problem is not that non-US citizens come into the United States. The problem is that non-US citizens are given JOBS in the United States. Example, if you are from Spain and you cross the boarder into France, you can walk around, shop, buy stuff, eat stuff, hang out, etc. however, you can't GET A JOB, UNLESS you have a work visa.
That is the key right there, work and work visas. I have no problem with lots and lots of people coming to visit the United States from Mexico, Canada and/or South American countries or anywhere for that matter, the only problem is all these people CAN'T HAVE JOBS here unless they apply and are granted a work visa [period].
That is all it is, relatively simple, if you have a work visa you are free to work in the United States.
There seems to be several problems with this theory, here are just a few:
A) the media never talks about this aspect of the immigration issue.
B) there are jobs here that US citizens don't want to do for the wages paid (like landscaping and cleaning hotel rooms) so those jobs go to immigrants who will work for low wages.
C) if employers STOP hiring people without work visas they would suffer a very high turnover rate due to the low wages for the jobs given.
D) the employers would have to increase wages to stabilize their workforce.
E) if people without work visas COULD NOT get jobs here, they would stop coming here.
F) wages for jobs would increase in a supply-and-demand free-market economy.
It's not really a big deal to sort out the whole immigration mess, it all stems from GREED.
If business owners had to pay higher wages their profits would be lower, and most business owners don't want that.
Some business CLAIM these lower profits are causing them to close their doors, and YES there is a point where a business must find a balance to continue to exist and grow.
Why are these issues not often talked about in the news media?
Immigration comes up a lot in the media and for some reason is a big topic of debate these days. When it first came up several months ago I claimed that is was a bit of "slight-of-hand," in much the same way a magician will do something with his left hand so you don't see what his right hand is doing. What I'm saying is that the topic of immigration is, and was brought up to keep most people from realizing that gas prices are at an all time high, the war in Iraq is, how can I say this, not going as well as expected, and the housing market is in a bit of a slump.
That was several months ago, NOW gas prices are off the charts, the war in Iraq is going better (according to whom?) and foreclosures are at an all time high! The biggest topic right now is the economy and are we in, or heading towards a recession?
When the topic of immigration comes up they all seem to be talking about securing our boarders, right?
The problem is not that non-US citizens come into the United States. The problem is that non-US citizens are given JOBS in the United States. Example, if you are from Spain and you cross the boarder into France, you can walk around, shop, buy stuff, eat stuff, hang out, etc. however, you can't GET A JOB, UNLESS you have a work visa.
That is the key right there, work and work visas. I have no problem with lots and lots of people coming to visit the United States from Mexico, Canada and/or South American countries or anywhere for that matter, the only problem is all these people CAN'T HAVE JOBS here unless they apply and are granted a work visa [period].
That is all it is, relatively simple, if you have a work visa you are free to work in the United States.
There seems to be several problems with this theory, here are just a few:
A) the media never talks about this aspect of the immigration issue.
B) there are jobs here that US citizens don't want to do for the wages paid (like landscaping and cleaning hotel rooms) so those jobs go to immigrants who will work for low wages.
C) if employers STOP hiring people without work visas they would suffer a very high turnover rate due to the low wages for the jobs given.
D) the employers would have to increase wages to stabilize their workforce.
E) if people without work visas COULD NOT get jobs here, they would stop coming here.
F) wages for jobs would increase in a supply-and-demand free-market economy.
It's not really a big deal to sort out the whole immigration mess, it all stems from GREED.
If business owners had to pay higher wages their profits would be lower, and most business owners don't want that.
Some business CLAIM these lower profits are causing them to close their doors, and YES there is a point where a business must find a balance to continue to exist and grow.
Why are these issues not often talked about in the news media?
Sunday, March 2, 2008
More Mt. biking fun
Found this little video on the internet and thought I'd put it up for people to see
Monday, February 11, 2008
The United States owns the World!
Well, maybe not outright, but there seem to be a lot of people that assume this to be true.
If you really think about "the media" tends to go on the assumption of "if this, than that" wherein If the United States owns Iraq than we are justified in threating Iran if they interfere in our conquest of Iraq.
If you go on the assumption that the U.S. only owns the United States, and we stole Iraq from the Iraqis, we would have no right to speak out against Iran for interfering.
This is a long article that Noam Chomsky wrote about this issue, read it and see what you think:
The U.S. owns the world
If you really think about "the media" tends to go on the assumption of "if this, than that" wherein If the United States owns Iraq than we are justified in threating Iran if they interfere in our conquest of Iraq.
If you go on the assumption that the U.S. only owns the United States, and we stole Iraq from the Iraqis, we would have no right to speak out against Iran for interfering.
This is a long article that Noam Chomsky wrote about this issue, read it and see what you think:
The U.S. owns the world
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Photography
The debate between Macintosh vs. PC goes on and on, as does the debate between Nikon and Canon.
I found a photo-blog site that lets you mouse-over the posted photos to see the EXIF information of the photo, a really cool way to learn about how people get the shots they get and with what kind of cameras. Easy to spend hours just looking at other peoples photos, and/or commenting on them.
Here is mine: Photoman
Take a look and click the "random photoblog" link to see lots of cool pictures.
I found a photo-blog site that lets you mouse-over the posted photos to see the EXIF information of the photo, a really cool way to learn about how people get the shots they get and with what kind of cameras. Easy to spend hours just looking at other peoples photos, and/or commenting on them.
Here is mine: Photoman
Take a look and click the "random photoblog" link to see lots of cool pictures.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Who's Gonna Win?
It's a wire-to-wire, neck and neck race. Who will win? Who should win?
Hillary Clinton (I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I think she is a dolt)
Barack Obama (When he speaks, either he has very good speech writers, or he just might be the real deal)
Mike Huckabee (Only thing I know is if I don't vote for him Chuck Norris might come and kick my ass, and that would be bad)
John McCain (I'm kind of think that Rush Limbaugh just doesn't like him very much, or maybe that is just the OxyContin® talking)
I used to think that the Democrats putting a woman or an African-American man on the ticket showed a lot of faith in voters, well I guess that is what the Dem's are gonna go with.
If the Republican's dislike John McCain so much, it just may turn our that that's who they put on their ticket. Wouldn't that suck to be a Republican and not even support your "guy!"
We will just have to wait to see what happens.
Pssss, I'm going to guess when the dust settles it will be Obama that wins a seat at the table.
Hillary Clinton (I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I think she is a dolt)
Barack Obama (When he speaks, either he has very good speech writers, or he just might be the real deal)
Mike Huckabee (Only thing I know is if I don't vote for him Chuck Norris might come and kick my ass, and that would be bad)
John McCain (I'm kind of think that Rush Limbaugh just doesn't like him very much, or maybe that is just the OxyContin® talking)
I used to think that the Democrats putting a woman or an African-American man on the ticket showed a lot of faith in voters, well I guess that is what the Dem's are gonna go with.
If the Republican's dislike John McCain so much, it just may turn our that that's who they put on their ticket. Wouldn't that suck to be a Republican and not even support your "guy!"
We will just have to wait to see what happens.
Pssss, I'm going to guess when the dust settles it will be Obama that wins a seat at the table.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Want to see a concert, take out a second morgage!
When I was a kid (much longer ago than I care to discuss) you could pay $20 to see five big-name bands, like Ted Nugent, Journey, AC/DC Cheap Trick and another not-so-famous band. That was a general admission show so no reserved seats (the general admission seats went when some kids trampled each other to death at a Who concert in Ohio or something).
Rush is coming to the city I live in, and I heard on the radio that tickets start at $80 each for reserved seats!
"Dayum concerts have gotten expensive" I exclaimed, "it's because, if it is an older band, ticket sales will fund their retirement, and if it's a young band, ticket sales will fund their stint in rehab" my wife said. I think she may be right.
Ticket brokers get all the good seats, and get rich selling them to fools that like to see a show!
Greed is the downfall of civilization.
Rush is coming to the city I live in, and I heard on the radio that tickets start at $80 each for reserved seats!
"Dayum concerts have gotten expensive" I exclaimed, "it's because, if it is an older band, ticket sales will fund their retirement, and if it's a young band, ticket sales will fund their stint in rehab" my wife said. I think she may be right.
Ticket brokers get all the good seats, and get rich selling them to fools that like to see a show!
Greed is the downfall of civilization.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Too Old to Rock N' Roll, Too Young to Die.
Is the title of the little video I made from the footage I shot during our last Mt. Bike vacation.
Take a look
Take a look
Friday, January 18, 2008
Wanna Trade
I think fair trade is good, free trade is, well, not so good for the United States.
The dollar is at an all-time low value, wait isn't a dollar still worth, yes, you guessed it a dollar. The reason the United Stated doesn't mind the "weak dollar" is it will allow OTHER countries to buy MORE stuff from us with THEIR money (this is supposed to help with our trade im-balance) and put us all on an even playing field.
I dare you to try and purchase any product from food to hardware that is NOT made in China. I went to buy some outdoor lights for my house, guess where they were made? China.
I spent 10 months working for Target, when I would go into the back room (where all the products are stored before they are put on the shelves of the store) almost all of the boxes are marked from China!
I'd say 90% of the stuff you buy from Target or Wal-Mart is made in China.
Do you think 90% of stuff for sale in stores in China was made in the United States?
I don't think so.
I'd say that is a trade imbalance.
The dollar is at an all-time low value, wait isn't a dollar still worth, yes, you guessed it a dollar. The reason the United Stated doesn't mind the "weak dollar" is it will allow OTHER countries to buy MORE stuff from us with THEIR money (this is supposed to help with our trade im-balance) and put us all on an even playing field.
I dare you to try and purchase any product from food to hardware that is NOT made in China. I went to buy some outdoor lights for my house, guess where they were made? China.
I spent 10 months working for Target, when I would go into the back room (where all the products are stored before they are put on the shelves of the store) almost all of the boxes are marked from China!
I'd say 90% of the stuff you buy from Target or Wal-Mart is made in China.
Do you think 90% of stuff for sale in stores in China was made in the United States?
I don't think so.
I'd say that is a trade imbalance.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I like to ride mountain bikes
It's a fun way to "get outside" and get some exercise. I'm older and don't do super duper hard stuff on my mountain bike.
These guys do: select the Red Bull MetroRide and have fun
These guys do: select the Red Bull MetroRide and have fun
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