We're a Scared and Confused Lot aren't we...

Since election time will be upon us it's hard for one to not get bombarded by everyone's pet peeve.  The War on Terror, the "Gay" Agenda, Abortion, Religion, Steroids........it's enough to make you want to just nuke the planet from orbit and go live on the moon (although there are all kinds of things that go wrong with your body after years in lower or no gravity but I digress...).   We seem to get all worked up over things that aren't really important.   Little Johnny can't pray in school.  Little Johnny doesn't need to be praying in school, he needs to be learning to read and write intelligible English and how to do math.  Little Johnny needs to be learning about science and how the world works.....he needs to learn History so he knows what not to do when he gets older.   Little Johnny can pray on Sunday like everyone else, or at the Dinner table at home or at the side of his bed at night before he turns in.   We don't need to go Ape Shit and have protests and such about this.  The Government doesn't need to spend our tax dollars on this either.  Bob and Jeff want to get married as do Suzy and Cindy.  Rev. DoGood doesn't want them to because in his opinion they are sinners!!!!  Who cares?  Seriously, not to be an ass, but who cares right now.  This isn't important really.  I personally don't care if Gays get married or not, they aren't hurting me and my marriage like all the Religious nuts say they are.  We don't need to be spending tax dollars fighting this right now.   Abortion.....oh Lord help us!  It's legal and has been for a long time.  You don't like the idea of an abortion; don't get one!  I don't like you reading a book then telling me how to act because God said so but you don't see me telling you that you can't read that book, now do you?  Me personally, I'm Pro Choice because it's none of the Government's damn concern what a woman does with her own body.   Abortion is a traumatic thing and that woman needs to live with her own actions.    We don't need to spend any more tax dollars on this.   Athletes taking steroids.   Exactly what laws are they breaking doing this that the Government needs to spend tax dollars on hearings and such?    The War on Terror.  Yes, we do need to still spend money on this, but we don't need to constantly strip away more and more of a Citizen's rights to do so.   They say the surge is working; is it?  What exactly are we doing over there now?  We are not fighting to free the Country anymore, we've done that and did a damn fine job.  We are now just occupying a foreign nation and doing so because of a Moron in DC who says we are doing good.  We are just dying is what we are doing.  We should be in Afghanistan reducing the mountains of the Khyber Pass to rubble so we can kill Osama....the real bad guy.  It's the distraction I guess.  Let's get all worked up over prayer in school so people will hopefully forget there are real issues going on that need to be addressed.   A good portion of the populous has no Health Care.   As far as I'm concerned fix that problem first, then we can talk about Gays getting married or Johnny praying in Math Class.   Insurance companies are raping "we the people" as badly as the Oil companies are.   Shrub is letting them do it and not lifting a finger to stop it.  Yes I know it's a free market, but please.  It's like the Oil companies as well.  They are making a killing and we are suffering.  We love our cars, and we are paying the price for that love.  Is there another way?  Not in Middle Tennessee.  Transit only works if you work Downtown Nashville.  I work on the outskirts.  I could take the train, then hop on several busses and all of that would take me about 2 hours of waiting and boarding and unboarding and having to pickup transit far away from where I work.  Or I can drive and it will take me 45 minutes at the most.  There's a saying that says don't sweat the petty stuff.  Really, roids, prayer, abortion and same sex marriage are the petty stuff.  There are more important things we should expend our energy on.

Everyone's an Expert....

Yeah I know, there are those that think that opinion should apply to me too.  I don't claim to be an expert on anything, but I do know a few things about a few things.....I did pay attention in most of my College classes, and that degree I have wasn't because I tested well (Lord knows that's the truth).  I'm opinionated, and sometimes those opinions are backed by research or first hand knowledge.   But I digress.

 

This past Sunday my wonderful Wife asked me to keep her company while she was having an Open House for a Townhouse she is the listing Agent for.   It was a really nice Townhouse...open floor plan, three floors (lots of stairs....) with an Overlook in the Master Suite that has a Lake View and accordion doors you can close for privacy.  That's the part I liked the best.  It also has three Decks....backyard, front and Master Suite.  Very nice.  The woman that owns it has done some nice things to it; new Hardwood floors (not laminate but real hardwood) and kitchen tile.   New light fixtures in the bathrooms too.  She put some cash into it and is trying to make it back on the price.   About a half dozen or so couples came through in the three hour window to look at it.  Everyone liked it but these two dudes.   These guys are the reason for the blog title.  These Dudes were in their late 20's early 30's.  Not a couple, but two straight Dudes obviously looking for a property to Flip.  I roll my eyes when I think of these guys.  Thanks to HGTV and all their Real Estate, Curb Appeal, Flip that House type shows we are getting to be a Society of Expert Real Estate investors.   These Dudes were looking for a bargain....possibly a foreclosure....that they could turn around quick with minimal effort.  When the owner put in the new light fixtures, she didn't paint over the space on either side where the old ones had been.  Big deal says I.   These Dudes commented on that.  The floor in one of the bedrooms slopes ever so slightly....the house is built on a hill and is 23 years old.....crap settles and if there was anything structurally wrong with that section, the guys wouldn't have installed the hardwood floor there.  Oh yeah, and the ceiling fan in the living room is missing a blade.   Other than that, the Townhouse is in perfect condition.  Hell I'd buy it if I didn't already have a mortgage of my own.  These Dudes comments "It's totally unlivable the way it is.  There is so much that needs to be done to it that it's not worth it."   Huh??????  I guess these morons are looking for a brand new, contemporary place for 100K or something so the can turn around and sell it for double.  Yeah, good luck with that.   Dumbasses.  We met this one Mortgage Broker (nice guy, real professional and he knew his stuff) he told us this story of how dumb folks can be.  Now I'm not a financial expert by any means, but I do know a thing or two about how Interest Rates work and when the Fed says they are going down, it's not by much......vice versa as well.  He had some clients who, and this was recently, were approved for a mortgage with no points, no orig cost, etc and a interest rate of 5.125%....on a 300K loan.  Wow!!  I thought to myself.  That's better than I got (mine is 6 something....).  Did these folks jump on it????  Hell no!!!  These morons told this Broker "well they say the rates going lower..." the Broker told them that it ain't going that much lower and expecting it to is a huge gamble.   They still wouldn't lock it in.  Time went by, the rate expired and they ended up paying points plus orig fees and almost 6%.....why?  They thought they were experts.  Let's not listen to the Broker...a guy who has a license and makes his living eating, and breathing the markets.   Everyone who has even a remote clue about markets knows that if you have a rate of 5.125% and the average is 6/6.25 and they say the rates are going lower.....they mean for the folks who have 7 and 8% interest rates.....not someone who has been approved for one of the lowest rates in the range!!!!   It's a good bet home loan interest rates aren't going below 5% for awhile......I got a 4.5% in 2004 for a 15K car......no way I'm getting a 4.5 for a house at 130K or higher.  Ain't happening.  Even someone with stellar credit will get a 5.   But hey you know, Everyone's an expert......

Lynne Spears should be ashamed of herself.....

So says the cover of Us/People (or whatever Hollywood gossip mag that I saw in our lunchroom).   Really????  You don't say????  If Us/People is just figuring that out now, they need help.  Yes, Lynne Spears should be ashamed of herself.  She's proof you can take the girl out the trailer but you can't take the trailer out of the girl.  This woman has whored out both of her daughters to fill her coffers with no care as to how it affects them.   Never been a Brittney fan, but I pity the girl.  It's easy to laugh at her because the masses lifted her up so high that her fall into oblivion makes us feel good about ourselves.   "God my life sucks!" you may say, as the bills pile up and it gets harder to make ends meet.  Then you see Brit on the TV, shaving her head, flashing her privates, being chased by photogs and generally spiraling around the drain that is mental and physical health.   You look at this and say "Hell at least I'm not Brittney...."  It's a nasty thing we do, but we can't help it.  We are constantly told these people are better than us, and that pressure makes Lower Middle Class folks like Lynne Spears whore out their daughters for profit.   Or the Ramseys.....Mom used to be a Beauty Queen.....never knew anything else in life.....got by on her looks because some of us men are stupid and want the Beauty Queen with no ambition other than to marry a rich Dude.   They have children and Mama Beauty Queen who's now lost her looks because duh we all age....tarts up her 5 year old and lives vicariously through her.   Or you have Joe Simpson.....you know him....another lowlife who whores his daughters out for his profit.   I feel sorry for those girls too.   These folks aren't the first, nor will they be the last.   Remember the Osmonds?  The Jacksons?   The Osmonds didn't turn out so bad, but there was some drama there for awhile.   The real damage was done to the Jacksons.  Jeeeessssussss!!!!!!  Ever wonder why Michael is so screwed up?  Meet Joe Jackson...Patriarch and sadistic asshole.   Child stars get destroyed for the most part in Hollywood.  There are those that survive and survive well.  There are those that go to the lowest lows and march right back to the top, head held high to succeed again.  Drew Barrymore comes to mind.  Tatum O'Neal is another.   What's becoming more prevalent, and Thank God too, is parents being in control of what happens with/to their child stars.  Not letting them be destroyed or become the next Brit, Paris, etc.   One good example is Billy Ray Cyrus.  Yeah I know....Mr. Achy Breaky Heart.....I give the man credit though, he watches out for his daughter like a hawk.  She's a talented Kid and sets a good example.  I guess these folks don't realize that when one is in the public eye, one is an example.  There are folks that look up to you, want to be like you, imitate you.   Brittney was selling bubblegum pop to 8 year olds but her videos were for the Dad's of those 8 year olds.   WRONG!!!!  I'm so glad my Step-Daughter has other idols....all strong and independent women.   Not the Paris' or Britts of the world.   I remember in High School wanting to be an Actor (thus my numerous Theater classes and roles in plays and 12+ year stint at Ren Faire and Dickens Fair) but if I had realized then what it meant, I would have said "Hell No!!!"  No matter how clean you keep your nose, one stupid little slip and they broadcast it and try and tear you down for it.   This happened to Miley Cyrus.  Apparently now we have these Ticket Broker companies who are the reason ticket prices are so high for live shows.   These guys are basically legalized scalpers.   They have banks of Bot computers that are programmed to go off and buy the maximum number of tickets online that a person can buy.  Thus the reason certain shows sell out so quickly.   God I remember before the interwebs we had to sit on the phone and hit redial 40,000 times until you got through.   These ticker brokers buy at the normal price, then sell at whatever the market demands.   Miley tickets were going for 1-3K a piece because of these schumcks.   Did the media blast the ticket brokers?  NO.  They said Miley should have had more control.  Doesn't work that way moron media folks.  She gets a percentage of the profits as well as the venue putting on the show plus the ticket company doing the original selling of the tickets gets a cut too.   So the 60-80+ dollars you pay for a ticket goes to cover costs plus make several people a profit.  Miley has no control over this.   She signs a contract to do the show, and she is paid either a flat rate or cut of the ticket sales depending on the contract.   When these brokers are selling them for 1-3K, they are the only one's seeing the profit from that.  So Miley ain't making extra off the sales of high priced tickets, nor does she have say in who buys or doesn't   I hate these schumcks.   Something needs to be done about them........possibly have software where you have to type in a code on the screen that a Bot can't to be able to buy tickets.  Might not stop these guys, but it will slow them down. 

Is it just me?

Doesn't it seem like "science" is coming up with names for conditions that have been around for years?  Doesn't it seem strange that the only time you hear of the names for these conditions is in a commercial for the latest drug that is designed to combat this condition?  We have the new "disease of the year" called fiber myalgia(sp?) which sounds to me like a form of arthritis (joint pain, muscle pain....basically pain....).  It also sounds like the crap we go through when we get old and not so active anymore.    We also now have special yogurt that helps you become regular and the "culture" found in it is called Bifudus irregularus.....Really?  Is that for real?  Something tells me that's a name some Madison Avenue Ad Exec pulled out of his/her ass to sell more yogurt at higher prices.  All yogurt is the same......the regular Yoplait or Dannon that Kroger sells for 10 for 10 bucks is the same as the shit with "Bifudus Irregularus" but yet they charge more for less of the "BI" stuff.  My Wife drinks Ensures because it helps boost her energy and gives her the extra protein and calcium a Woman her age needs.  She takes Multi-Vitamins everyday but the Ensures really help.   The shit's pricy though!!!  I love how they beat us over the head to be healthy and eat right, but all the foods, etc that are available to help you do that cost an arm and a leg and shit like Kraft Mac & Cheese is dirt cheap.   I like living in a free market as much as the next Capitalist, but something's got to give here..... people want to do the healthy thing but you can't afford to.  Disclaimer: Before I get slammed with comments calling me a Fiber Myalgia Hater....It's not that I don't believe this condition is real....chronic pain is a reality for a lot of folks...Arthritis, muscle aches....but these are conditions that come with getting older (Hell I know when I squat down in the store to look at something on a lower shelf, I can't hold that position for very long without my knees aching.....).  My complaint is that these pharmaceutical companies are finding every excuse they can to market some "miracle drug" that they spent cash creating......so they can get folks to become dependent on it to cure their ailments. 

Now my own people are doing it!!!

So Supreme Court Justice Alioto is pissed off at the Sopranos. Says it "shows Italians in a bad light". Really Justice Alioto? You mean the Costa Nostra never existed???? You mean Italian Family Gatherings are not loud??? Aye Marone.....give me a break Dude. There's a group I used to support called the "Sons of Italy" because my deceased Grandfather was a member. That is used to support until I got their literature basically pushing for Italians to have "minority" status. Sorry guys; DO NOT WANT!!! To make a movie about Italians and make it interesting you have to put in the Mafia angle. Sorry; no one wants to see a movie about poor Italians coming to America and digging ditches or working the docks. Besides, most of the Italians that worked those jobs were working for the Mafia anyway (who do you think got them the jobs??) We Italians have existed under the Radar so to speak by not asking for special compensation because of our race. We don't demand that ATMs and packaging be written in Italian. We don't even care that Colombus Day is basically a throwaway Holiday that no one really cares about. Italians have made their own way in the world by their own merits....not because someone had to hire "x number of Italians" because not doing so would be discrimination. I know my Ancestors in Sicily were a little of both. Working Man and Mafia Man. Mostly Fishermen but there were those that worked for the Mob.....heck both of my Great Grandfather's on my Mother's side were Dons......and that wasn't their first name either. The reason so many worked directly and indirectly for the Mob was that as immigrants they were the "Mexican's" of the 30's along with the Irish. Back in the 30's it was common to hear "those damn Wops and Micks come to this Country and take all of our jobs...". Sound familiar? Just insert disparaging term for Mexican in place of Wops and Micks and you have today's chant. Unlike a good portion of the Mexican immigrants today, the Italians and Irish were here legally. No paying smugglers to help them cross the border then having to work like slaves to pay it off. No, my Ancestors had to work off their passage with manual labor....or like my Great Grandmother an arranged marriage to an older American. She of course said to Hell with that and ended up marrying a nice Sicilian boy she met on the ship. The American was dead by the time she got here so it was easier for them to get by. The contract was null and void, but her papers were in order. The Soprano's doesn't put Italians in a bad light.....just like the Shield doesn't put all Cops in a bad light or the Wire put African-Americans in a bad light. Sterotypes exist because they contain a smidgeon of truth. Ever meet a New York Italian? Yes, they grab their crotches alot and talk just like they are potrayed in the movies. We're talking streetwise Dudes....... my Uncle (the one that is dead to us.....) is alot like that. He's a wheeler and a dealer....dresses like Christopher from the Sopranos....acts like him too, wears the pinkie ring, the gold chains......c'mon......bad light??? Please. I know these sterotypical Italians....I'm related to a few of them.

Cue the Nanny State Police......

So I guess it will no longer be feasible to make comedies anymore because no matter how harmless of a remark you make...someone's going to be pissed off. Just read an article where folks that have children adopted from China are pissed off at a snarky remark the lead character in the movie "Juno" makes to a couple hoping to adopt her unborn child. The remark is basically "you should go to China and adopt your child....I mean they give them away there like free ipods or something..." In the context of the movie it's a teens reaction to something she really doesn't want to do; give up her child for adoption. But yet people are getting pissed off saying "oh that's not true...China is very strict about their adoption policies..." STFU!!!!! Morons......get the hint......IT'S A FREAKING JOKE!!!! K???? Let's not get our panties in a bunch here......Jesus!!! So what's next....we get pissed off at Letterman and Leno for making lead paint in Chinese made toy jokes?????? And now these moronic groups out there who want to bubblewrap and foam pad our Children to death are pissed off at Miley Cyrus and her Dad for a scene in their concert movie where they are riding in the back of a vehicle without seatbelts.....ZOMGBBGWTF!?!?!?!?!?!?!??! Stop the presses!!!! Let's see....the Girl is a great role model for kids her age. She's clean cut, talented, you don't see her running around showing off parts of herself that should be covered up....she's not in rehab....not screwing some new guy every other second....doesn't have a sex tape on YouTube......not shaving her head and running over paparazzi.....no she and her Dad didn't wear a freaking seatbelt in a Movie..........Holy Crap let's string her up now......

The only solution? Nuke the planet from orbit it's the only way to be sure....

Geez....These Scammers don't give up do they!!!

http://thegreatoldtrucktrade.com/craigslist_scammer.asp

Click the link for a great tale of how one man turned the tables on one of these scammer clowns....it's quite funny.

So checking the review panel for my email addy (our Net Nazi software at work won't let us check our webbased email addresses) I noticed today that I had 6 of these "Nigerian Prince" scam emails. Holy Crap!!! Dudes....are you getting that desperate???? Seriously. Here's a hint to protect yourselves; if you don't know who the email is from...DELETE IT. Simple. Here's some other helpful hints (and no I'm not an expert....just someone who questions everything):

1. Your Bank NEVER asks you for sensitive information out of the blue. The only time they do that is if you call in and they need to access your account....then it's just to verify that you are who you say you are. Never give your bank account, password, etc to some stranger.

2. No one is going to give you anything for free. At least not something that costs any substantial amount of money. Even "FreeCreditReport.com" requires you to enroll in a trial basis of their monthly tracking service. Sure they give you a free credit report, but then if you don't cancel your "free trial" they assume you want it and start charging your credit card. Nothing's free. A capitalistic society doesn't work that way. You go to the grocery and it's Buy one get one free....you still have to spend money to get something free.

3. No one is going to send you a check out of the blue, have you cash it, then write them a check back for the amount. That's called Money Laundering and it's illegal. Even if someone legitimately gave you a check (as in personally handed it to you) you would be busted so fast.

4. The Prince of Nigeria is not going to use a British Barrister to send an email to Joe Average in MiddleTown USA to facilitate the cashing of a check so he can get out of the Country because he is being deposed or something insane like that. The Prince of Nigeria doesn't know Margaret Jones of Nebraska, 78 years old. Is there even a Prince of Nigeria? I thought most places like Somalia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria were run by Warlords who engage in ethnic cleasnsing.

5. PayPal sends you emails every once in awhile....but if you didn't buy something on Ebay...then clicking the link in the email that says "Your recent ebay sale" is stupid. Or the email's that say "the money you owe me..." I know who I owe money too. It's not to these people that's for sure.

6. If someone makes a payment to your PayPal account in error (uh yeah right.....you get an email from paypal saying someone has paid you....then you have to go into your account and transfer the funds to your savings/checking) PayPal can usually be informed and that problem will be taken care of. It doesn't happen as when you pay someone with PayPal, you have to send it to a verified email address linked to a verified account.

Be careful out there folks.......

BTW Prince of Nigeria....Cash your own damn check.

Japanese Bobtail

Now we know what breed Miss Panther finally is. Click on the title to be taken to a page all about the breed. It clearly explains the fetching and carrying as natural behavior......too funny.

Happy Year of the Rat

It's that time again...Lunar New Year. I do miss going to the Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown. It was always great fun and the Lion Dancers (pictured) and Dragon Dancers were always cool.

How about them Giants!!!!

Unfortunately not the San Francisco Baseball Giants but the New York Football Giants!!! Being a die hard Raiders fan and remembering the Snowjob game where Tom Brady was given the benefit of a bad call and the Raiders lost, I was so glad to see the Giants win the Superbowl yesterday. Halleuiah!!! Hell apparently the Mayor of Boston (who is known for her "great decision making" ie full scale SWAT alert for a Neon Sign) already had the Victory Party and Parade planned.....ooops.... Guess that's what happens when you believe the hype. Good job Eli....that kid needed to get out from under his Big Bro's shadow....Strahan and the rest. Now the Sports guys will shut their traps and stop yacking about "Perfect Seaons" and "Team of the Decade"....whatever.......go away the whole bunch of you. I have noticed a trend this season.....these young QB's have their "celebrity" girlfriends showing up to games and they end up getting a big case of the chokes........ hee hee......

I do so love having a Blog....

Apparently I've been touching a few chords with people who have found my rants via search engines and have stopped long enough to read and add comments. Most of my comments are from The Discourser or the SuperGoober as they are friends and live back in California and it's our way of keeping in touch. The first one was when I talked about Algood and Cookeville and how crappy the towns are. Some Hillbilly Redneck (from his lack of grammar and punctuation plus atrocious spelling you could tell he was) proves my point about the average person that lives there by going into a rant about he knew who I was.....and he was going to pray for me because I was a coke head and a meth head and how's my girlfriend recovering from being beat up by me.......made me laugh.....it also pissed off my oldest Step-Daughter who left a scathing comeback to Hillbilly boy herself. I've had positive comments, like the guy from France who agreed that some of the books I listed that should be made into movies should be made into movies. I like Feedburner by the way....it tells me where people are searching me from. There was the Canadian who got mad at me because I said American Idol sucked.....when I replied to that person we actually had a civil debate back and forth via comments. Then Mike C found my rant about Airsoft Whiners, didn't know who it was at first but thought my points were valid...so did Chuck of OPForce. Of course I just recently had a comment on that same post from some guy who still doesn't get it.......I will say it again....There should be a limit of the speed which a bb is shot through an airsoft gun.....the higher you get, the more chance of serious injury or disability you run into. Period. When you have a local Airsoft store constantly pushing the envelope in just how high powered you can get a gun to shoot, you run the risk of those little plastic bb's reaching the same velocity of a real firearm. At that point you've just committed a felony and someone will acutally get one of those little plastic bb's embbed in their skin and our penetrate the flesh and someone may die. How much plainer could it be? But I digress....my most recent comment was from someone named Bitch.......who's probably some teenage bimbo with half a brain. She's obviously from Boston as she commented in true Internet Tough Guy fashion "You are an idiot". Oh, it was all in CAPS too. I commented on how stupid the leaders of the City of Boston where for implementing a full scale SWAT team and emergency shutdown of their City over a neon sign.....you know the story I won't go into it.