Super Mario Theme on Bottles?
Played by an RC Car? File this one under “No Freaking Way!”
I’m assuming that not blogging makes me a bad person.
And, it probably does. Ah, well, life goes on. Maybe this little post will help break me out of my blog funk and get back to it.
Lots of stuff has happened lately - we presented HHOD to a private school in KY, and it went over insanely well. Now, we’re lining up investor meetings for the next steps. I’ve still been running, and was happily forced to purchase a new suit because my old one looked like a pillow case when I tried it on. Hopefully, I’ll be needing several more in the near future.
The puppy got really sick for a couple days, and is better now. I got to spend a great weekend playing golf with dad and my friends. I can’t wait for Craig’s bachelor party. The Royals got off to a great start, but have been playing like, well, the Royals for the last two weeks.
Ok, that brings us up to speed. I’m working on something of actual value for tonight.
New York Times - For Free?
I can’t help but love the fact that I can read the New York Times, in its entirety, for free online.
I’m not sure how I just noticed this, other than it’s probably because I get most of my news from CNN.com and Google News (and I don’t think “Newspaper” very often) - so it never occurred to me to check it out. I had a friend mention it to me in a meeting, and now I’m hooked. It came up because we were talking about how the “old school” PR guys in his corporate communications department didn’t like doing online press releases because they wanted to be “all about reporters.”
It should be noted that, while the company has done several notable things, the last major press coverage it got involved the President (of the USA, not the company) - so, I think it’s safe to conclude that faxing things to reporters doesn’t really work anymore. And hasn’t for years. (unless it’s a take out menu - then it probably works)
My main question there is, “Where do these guys think reporters are getting their news?”
Has it really been a week?
Wow. My bad. It’s been a long time. It’s amazing what being out of pocket (and a Time Warner crash) will do to your blogging.
I needed a vacation, but I hate coming back from them because I always feel behind. I think I’m mostly caught up, and I’ll try to post something useful here soon. I’ve been getting up early every day, but between running and making sure the new puppy doesn’t pee everywhere, most of my free time has been taken up.
So, dear reader, I apologize. I’m sure you’ll survive though - until then…I’m taking requests on topics to post about. Anything is game - comment away.
I have a few immediate needs….
1) Someone who knows how to set up a SmarterMail Email Server correctly (so it doesn’t look like junk mail)
2) A list of all the Thursday/Friday NCAA games, sorted by time, station, and viewing area.
3) Someone who can train a 2 month old border collie not to pee on my floor (see cuteness here)
4) About three more hours a day
5) A haircut and an eye appointment
My life would be perfect if I could arrange for those.
Gmail hits a Home Run.
Here’s another link to the Gmail Blog.
Folks - you can now synch your Google Calendar with your Outlook Calendar.
My life has officially changed. Now, if they could just make it where I could synch my date book with Google Calendar. A USB planner anyone?
Thoughts on Fallon’s Resignation
When I read this a few moments ago, I was taken back to a few days ago when I read the aforementioned article in Esquire. (The link to the article is down).
First of all, anyone calling something in Esquire “News” obviously doesn’t read the magazine. If I want a self-loathing short story (Read ‘The Last Days of Heath Ledger”), select a fine wine, or know how to knot my tie, it’s a pretty good resource.
But, let’s be real guys, Esquire is nothing but a classy tabloid. It’s Cosmo for Men. It’s not “Real” Journalism, and any attempt to pass itself off as that is shameful.
The fact that this ridiculous (I thought it was asinine as I was reading it) “story” forced a situation in which Fallon felt compelled to resign angers me. Then, as I look at so many media outlets that play to sensationalism and meaningless stories, I start to become very worried about our values as a country.
When Paris Hilton is more important than improving our education, when congressmen are more interested in millionaire athletes swilling HGH (arguably, something that isn’t even bad for them) than 14 year olds slinging crack, and more people know who Britney’s Spears’ 18th illegitimate child is than who our Secretary of State is - I feel I have cause to be concerned.
Quick update.
Man - I’m a terrible blogger. I have honestly been insanely busy the last few weeks - between work, work, work, helping friends move, training, and trying not to burn myself out….I haven’t paid any attention to the dear old blog.
So, a couple quick updates: One, the vegetarian experiment has come to an end. It was nice, but honestly, I found trying to avoid meat exhausting. Since I had no real agenda other than to see what it was like, it was double tough. I’m glad I did it though, and I’ve found that I carry some aversion to greasy foods that I didn’t have before.
That being said, I had a burger from Winstead’s yesterday, and I was awe-inspiring.
I’m still keeping most of my business related stuff under wraps for now, I’ll talk about it more beginning this summer. It’s going well though, and I’m 500% the web designer/pseudo-developer I was three months ago. Thankfully, I won’t be doing any of the actual coding on the live project 
I ran five miles today, non-stop, for the first time since high school soccer, I guess. Although, I never really measured the running I did there, I just know we had one practice where all we did was run around the track for 90 minutes. I’m guessing I went further than 5 miles that day.
All right folks - It’s bed time for this guy. Gotta get this week off to a great start.
Hey Senate - stimulate this.
So, the House has already passed this, and the Senate is probably voting today - what am I talking about? A stimulus package that includes tax rebate checks to tax payers that earn below a certain income level. Because, for a family of 4, living check to check, that $400 three months from now will really make a difference!
Never mind that, if that family has half a brain, they’ll take that money and apply it to the debt that it forcing them to live check to check. Congress is hoping they’ll run out and buy an Ipod or something.
Because, it makes sense to me that the solution to the problem created by allowing money hungry corporations to give easy money to people that didn’t bother to read their mortgage agreements, do any planning, or think about whether or not they could afford the houses they were buying - is to simply give those people a few hundred more dollars.
In comparison, I managed to make it through the last year with the only debt I incurred being that of a 5 year old car (to replace my 10 year old car) that was $8-9k less than the max I could afford (but it IS a hot little car). My car payment is currently covered through June, and will be paid off by November (it’s a 5 year term). I’ve also managed to save enough to maintain my current lifestyle and not miss a payment on anything for 6 months, if I were to lose my job(s). I’ve also paid in 1 out of every 4 dollars I’ve earned this year into assorted taxes (including the ABSURD KC Metro 1% Earnings tax).
You really want to stimulate the economy? Tell people in my position they don’t have to pay more at the end of the year just because they worked their butts off to earn more. I’ll make a deal - give me back the $3500 I just paid (on top of the excessive taxes that come out of each check) - and I’ll run around town just stimulating the economy all over the place. That’s right - give me my tax money back, and I’ll spend it.
I like that idea much more than knowing I’m going to have to pay even more next year, so you can take that and re-distribute it to people that were ALREADY GETTING TAX REFUNDS!
Edit - I’m all for helping out seniors and other people who really NEED it. I’m complaining about the checks that will be going out to people with HHI’s of 45-60k, that are already getting refunds, and bought a house to flip last year because they saw someone on TLC do it and it seemed easy.
Comments(2)Expanding Your Horizons
alternatively titled: “How to Enjoy Your Life More”
I’ve recently (in my quest to read at least an average of 30 minutes a day) been reading a book entitled “How to think like Da Vinci - Seven Steps to Genius Every Day.” Basically - it breaks down to a couple things:
- Never stop learning. Check.
- Take Time to enjoy life and its sensory experiences (food, music, etc…)
- Keep expanding your horizons
Interestingly enough, in the last few weeks, I’ve been doing the latter without really realizing it. Committing to a month of vegetarianism is definitely broadening my horizons a bit. Committing to running a half-marathon is pretty expansive. Another aspect that has been especially enjoyable is listening to musical genres I would normally not pay attention to. So far, I’ve focused on Classical and Classic Jazz - and it’s been pretty cool.
I’d encourage everyone to step out of the box whenever possible. Try a food you think would be gross, or make yourself listen to music you think you won’t like. Even if you don’t enjoy the act, you should strive to become able to appreciate the experience.
