This is not about Natasha Richardson or her recent death from a skiing accident. It is how I feel in general.

Every single day someone famous or well known dies. There are hundreds of traditional news stories and thousands of internet articles.  I hear people say “oh that is so sad” or “I feel terrible” or “I am really upset”.  To me these are incredibly “fake” comments in response to public media situations. If anyone actually felt bad single every time someone died they would be miserable 24 hours a day forever. Not just today or tomorrow, but every day for the rest of their lives.  That is just silly.

I feel bad if people I know intimately die. I feel bad if someone in my family dies. I know these people. I have a relationship with them. I have actual feelings for them. I don’t know Natasha Richardson. Some say she was a good actress. That is wonderful, but it does not make me feel more for her now then I did a month ago.

For example I am sure a great doctor somewhere on the planet just died as I was typing this post. I don’t feel sad for them, and realistically neither does anyone else with the exception of those immediately related or attached to them. Those people who make the “oh that is so sad” or “I feel terrible” comments are not going to be upset over this death. They just are not. And going back to what I said earlier, if they did have a profound emotional response to every single death in the world, they would be in the loony bin for deep depression.

What is more realistic is the emotional shock reaction people have to these very public death situations. Sure the deaths of Princess Di and John Kennedy were sensational and (more…)

“Octu-Mom” and the relentless stories and reports about her every move just wont go away. A quick Google search for Nadya Suleman brings up hundreds of new stories in the past 24 hours and thousands of blog and forum posts. An image search for her name brings up tens of thousands of images, cartoons, and much more. How did this madness happen? How are we celebrating a woman who has ABUSED THE PRIVELEDGE OF GIVING BIRTH?

If I hear one more story about this Anjelina Joli obsessed, milking “the system” publicity hound and her 14 children I am going to scream. Let me say this again - THIS WOMAN HAS 14 TOTAL CHILDREN AND CAN NOT AFFORD THEM WITHOUT HELP FROM YOU AND ME.

• There are reports that Nadya Suleman or a close family friend is trying to sell the video showing the birth of the 8 babies to the highest bidder. Does this not bother you? She is selling the video of the birth of her kids??
• There are reports that Nadya Suleman is getting paid to make appearances everywhere and there seems to be no end in site. WHY are we making this “news”? STOP paying her and then let’s see what happens.
• There are reports that Nadya Suleman is getting a new 3,000 square foot home. People are losing their homes because they can not afford them. And now this woman, with no real income, is UPGRADING her living conditions. Ridiculous!
• There are reports that Nadya Suleman may or may not be shopping a reality TV show to the highest bidder.
• There are reports that Nadya Suleman is getting $135,000 a month of free child care from a charity. (more…)
  

The numbers on the digital clock on my DVD player keep changing. 11:54pm, 11:55pm, 11:56pm.  Only 4 minutes to go now.

4 minutes till entering my 5th decade on the planet. For all you math majors out there that means 4 minutes till I turn 40 years old. How the hell did this happen?

I can still remember a good chunk of high school and at least 3/4 of college like it was last week. When I started my first job after graduating I had grand plans to save every penny I could and retire before turning 40. Now I’ll be lucky to stop working before I am 80. Assuming I make it past 70 that is. 11:57pm. 3 minutes left.

I wish I could slow down the clock but it keeps marching forward. Only 2 minutes of my 30’s left.  And speaking of my 30’s I had no problem with the past ten years. They actually felt pretty good. If 1999 - 2009 was the prime of my life, then what will the next decade bring? Are my 40’s the beginning ….. of the end?

I have partied hard, enjoyed an occasional drink, smoked a few cigars, rarely slept more then 4 hours a night, ate way to much fast food, and definitely not flossed my teeth enough. I am pretty sure that (more…)

Our new President signed the $787 BILLION dollar stimulus plan into law today.  I guess that is a good thing but I just don’t see it yet. I am someone who still has a job but is SLOWLY DROWNING. To make matters worse I can actually SEE the hypothetical water slowly rising above my head. With each passing day, week, and month I fall further and further into debt and operate at a quickly growing loss.

With less and less funds available I regularly short one bill this week to pay another, and then do the same thing again the following week. And I see no end in site. Where is my stimulus plan? $800 for couples in tax breaks is not going to cut it to be honest.

There are about 150 million tax paying adults in the USA. If you divide the 787 billion dollars up among them that is around $5,200 each or $10,400 per tax paying couple. Right now I could use $10,000+ a whole lot more then what is currently being proposed. Maybe that is selfish but I HAVE TO look out for what is best for me and my family. And right now I need to figure out how to pay for day care next week, purchase some milk for my son, and put gas in my car to get to the job I hope will still be there next week.

I guess I just don’t get it right now. Billions are going to the car industry. Billions more to the banks and even more to the housing industry. Billions of dollars here  and billions more there.

But where exactly is the money FOR ME? (more…)

I did it again. I know better and this is not the first time I have done it. Why can’t I just SHUT my mouth and not stuff EVERYTHING I see into it!

Each year I end up with the worst stomach ache and living on the toilet after Christmas Day. I just can not stop eating. And this year we went to THREE different houses to celebrate the holiday and basically at THREE different HUGE holiday meals. I am an idiot and paying for it now. It is 4:30am and I am basically dying.

Just so everyone understands, the day was awesome in general. A lot of happiness, family and friends, and GREAT food. Way to much great food. In the morning we prepared a giant breakfast meal of left over ham, breads, and sides from the big Christmas Eve dinner we had hosted. While we were eating our 2 year old son went through his presents at a buzz saw pace. We went directly from there to our brother in laws house with an even bigger home made lasagna feast prepared with (more…)

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old  friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many  years.  No one  knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the  early bird gets the worm; life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t  spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when (more…)

Saying it was crazy is an understatement. Last year it was a 6am start time. This year it was 5am. Next year it will probably be even earlier. And in a few years I am pretty sure that all stores will just be open for 48 straight hours starting ON Thanksgiving day and continuing till midnight Friday.

As in past years my wife and I got up super early to try to get some of our holiday shopping out of the way. And just like EVERY YEAR in the past BY 7AM we swore that this would be the absolute last year we are part of this madness.

There were over 500 freezing people lined up Friday morning before 6am at the Walmart by our house. We saw that many or more outside the Tiger Direct computer store where they were letting one person in at a time and only after one person had left. At the two malls we went to there were so many people that just walking around was almost impossible. I could not take it. By 9am I literally ran (more…)

She must be the dumbest person in the entire world. what an idiot! This video is almost to amazing to be true. Be warned that it is a little gross if you do not like seeing turkeys killed.

From the Huffington Post:
Some videos you just have to see to believe. On Thursday, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin appeared in Wasilla in order to pardon a local turkey in anticipation of Thanksgiving. This proved to be a slightly absurd but ultimately unremarkable event. But what came next was positively surreal. After the pardon Palin proceeded to do an interview with a local TV station while the turkeys were being SLAUGHTERED in the background!! Seemingly oblivious to the gruesomeness going on over her shoulder, she carries on talking for over three minutes. Watch the video below to see for yourself. Be warned, it’s kind of gruesome

Original Post at - Sarah Palin Turkey Incident: Does TV Interview While Turkeys Are Slaughtered In The Background (VIDEO)

This is a great article from one of our good friends Danny Thornton who is allowing us to repost it here. Danny writes on a bunch of different sites, including his own. He has some strong views on the current economy and financial mess our country is in. There are MANY points in the article that we agree with 100%.

Bailout For Dummies, by Danny Thornton.
When I look at all the talk that concerns bailouts and failing companies, it really makes my stomach turn. For me to sit back and accept that the tax payers are going to be footing the bill for all these companies that can not stay afloat does more than makes me sick; it pisses me off. Now, if you are not ready to hear this point of view, then you might want to stop reading now. I am not going to hold back this morning as it is time that someone speaks up. Here it is in a nutshell.

The first and foremost thing that hurts our country (more…)

I am a SLAVE. Not the type of slave you are probably thinking of, but a slave nevertheless. I am utterly controlled by the situation. It dominates my life and at times completely overwhelms my entire being. It oppresses me.

I have tried to fight against my EVIL master. I have demanded change but to no avail. If anything, things continue to get worse. I am a slave I tell you … A slave to my Blackberry.

I called AT&T today to get my minutes used in the past few months. Since I use my Blackberry Curve for work, and wince I am working all of the time and traveling, my phone usage is re-god-damn-diculous!

August: 4425 minutes. That is 73.75 hours or OVER 3 DAYS on the phone.
September: 3901 minutes. That is 65.02 hours or 2.71 days on the phone.
October: 3926 minutes. That is 65.43 hours or 2.73 days on the phone. (more…)