Thanksgiving

Ok, so I was a bit sick of turkey. Enough with the turkey. So this year we settled on a hot pot dinner. I haven't had one in a while, and I just couldn't have one without Peking Duck. The only problem is you have to travel to Chinatown to get it. I hate going downtown, but it seemed like there was no avoiding it. So, I started my drive down to the city through Broad street and good old North Philadelphia. As you can see below, it's like a crack addicts paradise.



I get nervous every time I'm at a red light. Always good to see the police around. We need more police.



So I make it downtown and head to the one place where I know I can get my duckies. I ask them to pull two from the window and chop them up into little bits for portability. If you've never had Peking Duck before, you're not missing anything. Stay away from it. More for me :)



So I have to make three trips back to my car from the various shops I'm raiding. I've accumulated cakes, snacks, pastries, and assorted hot pot ingredients.



I get distracted by this neony bright store front. At this point, I'm done with shopping and just wandering around. I have to admit, I do miss the city at times. I have this urge to spend a few hours here eating and drinking.



So the inside of this store looks like something out of Blade Runner. I'm expecting Harrison Ford to shoot a Replicant any moment.



The second floor is mostly a bookstore, and apparently, a repository of the largest pirated DVD operation in Philly. They're mostly Asian flicks, but there's some domestic movies as well. Someones not getting their royalties.



So after I pay my $13 for parking, I slowly make my way out of the city. I've hit rush hour. Exactly what I was hoping to avoid. Damn you shinny store front!



In the end it was worth it. We had roasted Duck for dinner that evening, and then today (Thanksgiving) we had that and more. Was pretty filling to the point where I couldn't even eat any pastries. Will have to wait for tomorrow.



By the way, these Tofu Puffs... not very good. Like eating popcorn packing. They're off my list for hot pot.



A hellish trip into the city, but in the end all was well. Good luck to everyone tomorrow on Black Friday. I've got my list ready, and will be hitting the stores early. Happy Thanksgiving!

Black friday sales

I thought I would just pass this on. This site lists all the Black Friday deals before they sometimes get released.

Black-Friday.net

There are some pretty enticing sales. For instance, say you need a new monitor, how about an Acer 22" LCD monitor for only $129 at Office Depot! And if you need a new laptop, now is the time to pick some decent ones up for about $300-$400.

I for one will be hunting for those USB wireless adaptors for only $19! They're usually in the $45+ range. And it seems most places are having a fire sale on DVDs.

Oh, and just a hint... one of these from Nissan sure would make a nice Christmas present.

Grandmother's birthday

Well, spent the day mostly at the KoP mall. It was my Grandmother's birthday, so we had lunch at the Cheese Cake Factory. For fear of having a bad meal, I ordered the Beef Stroganoff. It's hard to screw that one up. Fish n' Chips were on the menu, but I've come to terms with the fact that, unless you have British blood in you, there's no way you can pull off a decent Fish n' Chips. But I was pleased with the food there. The portions were nice and everything at the table looked good!



I was expecting the mall to be a lot more packed than it was. Even for a Sunday it was pretty thin, especially when you count the weeks left for shopping until Christmas. No crowds, no deafening noise, just a small traffic of shoppers with very few bags in tow. Went into the Disney store only to be accosted by a cheery girl telling me everything this week is 25% off. I'm expecting everything to be 50% off come next week. Maybe, dare I dream, 75% off after no one shows up for Black Friday?

Was waiting for Santa, but he never showed up. Many Polar Bears were shot and stuffed to ornate the tree.

At least gas is cheaper

93 octane is $2.499/gallon at my WAWA. This is a bit confusing when Goldman Sachs was predicting $200+/barrel prices by the end of the year. Instead we're floating around the $50/barrel price range. Airlines that hedged their fuel prices earlier in the year must be pissed.

So why is gas so cheap now? I'm not complaining, but it does make me feel like I was taken for a ride for the better part of the year. But I'm not so naive to believe that we're going to hang around this price point for any length of time. I'm going to assume that prices will shoot up again. Maybe the loss of 2 million barrels of crude from a pirated Saudi tanker will drive prices up again. See Saudi Arabia, terrorists are everyones problem... but good luck with your shipping in the region.

I'm certainly not dumb enough to think that one can buy gas guzzlers again. If anything, this year has shown us how freakishly volatile our transportation costs can be under fossil fuels. This should drive us to alternative sources, unless we're willing to accept this kind of volatility in our lives. Hurry up Tesla and make electric cars for the rest of us! I'd rather give them $25billion, then throw it into the money pit known as Ford/GM/Chrysler.

First snow

First snow has fallen! Looks like good sized chunks that are here to stay. I wonder why they didn't salt the roads? I guess they're predicting only a light sprinkle. In any case, if this keeps up it'll start to look like Christmas!

Oh, and the best Christmas song ever! This tune always puts a smile on my face, and if it doesn't do the same for you, then you're made of hippo poo.

US unemployment

I really need to stop reading the news. If it isn't about people blowing up and killing other people, it's about how crappy the current economic climate is. How bad is it? Well, I've included a handy diagram above to help illustrate. As you can see, you don't want to be in or near a purple state right now. Amazingly middle America isn't too bad, until Detroit becomes unhinged. From this map, I've deduced I really should be in Hawaii. Why am I not in Hawaii again? Seriously, anyone want to transplant to Hawaii?



Just look at that beach and crystal clear water. Even if you were unemployed in Hawaii... would you care? I wonder if I could get a job there... something with dolphins.

Daycare for adults

Ok, so when I drop the kids off at their daycare I always spend at least 15 minutes there if not more. And why wouldn't you? The rooms are colorful, full of toys, they have snacks AND nap time, and when the weather is nice you get to play outside. I'm not even going to get into the details of pizza parties and pajama day. Just know that it's pretty nice there... well, ok... it's awesome there.

So why don't we have daycare for adults? There are days when I just don't feel like going to work. I don't really want to laze about at home either. Now sure I could drive around aimlessly and end up at a mall or something. But that somehow just doesn't compare to the daycare. I've thought about spending the day at the daycare, but in the end realized it would be a bit odd. People would ask me why I was there, and I really wouldn't be able to give them a legitimate answer. The closest response would be "just wanted to see what the girls did here all day." In my head it would be, "go away, can't you see I'm playing blocks? Now get me a juice box."

Would be nice to just be able to go to a place where people would take care of me for the day. I would run up to someone with a hungry look, and they'd sit me down in front of a meatloaf. I would get all excited and tired running around playing laser tag until someone insisted I take a nap. I would be able to drink beer out of a box with a straw, play dodge ball and hit a kid named Eric (VP of Product Development) in the face, get in trouble for pantsing Christine from accounting. And at the end of this awesome day, my wife would pick me up, strap me into my seat and take me home. Now why can't they have this for adults?

Failing company

There's a reason a company fails. A lot of it has to do with the art of idiocy, as championed by one particular fellow in the White House. The rest is probably just a whole slew of stupidity and incompetence working in perfect synergy. I would also declare that people who walk into meetings using the word 'synergy' are also to blame. In any case, we've seen a good amount for corporate failures this year, and I would imagine we'll see a lot more of them in the months to come.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are looking for $26billion for operational costs for about 5-6 months. If they don't get it, we could be looking at the collapse of the American auto industry. They're looking for this cash from the taxpayers, and that has me really annoyed. First of all, why the hell would I want to give money to this loosing triumvirate of a mismanaged business? I've never purchased a car from them... ever. So why the hell would I want to give them money now? If I give them a bailout, will I see a hodgepodge of metal and scraps on wheels they'd like to call a Ford in my driveway? What does one do with a Ford Taurus anyways besides wonder why it's so ugly, or if it'll start today? Here's an idea, build cars people will want to buy instead of recycling 20 year old platforms with crappy transmissions and sedans that handle like trucks, and trucks that handle like cargo containers on wheels. Why not listen to what consumers have been begging you for the last 10 years. Better build for the money, reliability, attractive lines(YOU DO NOT BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THE PT CRUISER... EVER!), fuel economy, safety (good luck with your Cadillac airbag), resale value. It's like you're driving people to Honda and Toyota on purpose. At least their cars won't spontaneously accelerate into schoolyards!

If you won't build the products that people want, like any other company, you should be left to rot. I don't care what the impact will be if you're gone. It's a transitional pain I believe we need to go through to right the economy and auto industry in general. I don't care about the ripple you'll cause in unemployment. Things will get bad, but it won't get better with companies like this around. So go f*ck yourself till you're blue Circuit City, Sears, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Bush... but don't drag me down with you.

Where did my weekend go

My precious weekend, where did you go so fast. Seems like it was just Friday afternoon as I sped home happily. Now, I'm moping on a Sunday evening watching the minutes tick by. Soon, it's going to be Monday again. Monday, the most malicious of all days. Really Monday. Why can't you be more like Friday, or better yet, Saturday?

Hello Kitty saves Japan

Ok, maybe Hello Kitty saving Japan is a bit of a stretch, but there is some truth to it. To get what I'm saying you have to look at our own consumerist society. So much of what we buy these days, if you look for the made from identity, chances are it will be from these three countries: China, Japan, Korea. I don't recall the last time I actually purchased something made in the USA, besides my cheeseburger. If one were a consumer in Japan and you looked for the made from label, you'd find the same thing. However, they would probably see a lot more items made domestically than we would. In fact, many of their products are not exported, but for domestic consumption only. Illustrated above, you will not find the handy umbrella dryer when entering a mall, and you certainly won't find delicious Hello Kitty cookies.

This domestic manufacturing and consumption does play a part in mitigating the awful effects of a depressed global economy. After all, isn't it best to keep your money in your own pockets, than shipping said dollars to someone else? We should probably follow Japans trend of domestic consumption. So, this holiday season, don't buy a Samsung flatscreen for Christmas. Don't buy a Playstation3 or any MP3 player as none are made in the USA. In fact, don't buy a laptop, shoes, clothes, pretty much anything you see in BestBuy, Walmart or Target. Instead, give the gift that shows you care about America. The one thing that is made, and made right in the USA. Give your family and friends a cheeseburger. You'll be supporting our local economy, and helping us stave off recession.

Tent cities across america

I had a friend send me these two videos that completely ruined my morning, so I thought I would share:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-kq2w4N4eA

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=329_1219172915

What makes me ill are the homeless children. It also makes me angry. The most powerful nation in the world, and we accept homeless children as a norm these days. It's sickening.

I think about how we got here as a nation, and in no small part it is Americans living beyond their means. And not just a bit, but really beyond their means. For many of us, family savings just don't exist. There's no cash reserve to fall back on when things get tough. And for most Americans, you're just one paycheck away from loosing your home. And it didn't help that there was constant advertising from credit companies telling us to spend, spend, spend. Big box stores telling us to finance and buy... everything. The American dream for many is an illusion. I think we need a... and I hate this word, paradigm shift to living. A shift in belief of what is enough, and what our true needs and wants are. I think a good step would be to just start ignoring commercials. Stop window shopping. Ignore the Paris Hiltons of the world, and just concentrate on what's right in front of us. Our families, children and yes, even pets. Look at what is sustainable as a lifestyle. For some it may be too late. You've already decided to buy a new car when you didn't need to. You took out a home equity loan on your home when you didn't have that much equity to start with. You borrowed money for a vacation that you didn't need, but wanted. All these things that we aquire to make ourselves feel better. We justify them because we think about how stressed our lives are, and that we need to be rewarded once in a while. Well, all these rewards add up. I think we'd feel a lot better if we saved more, lived conservatively and in return, probably more contently. My guess is you won't need so many self indulgent rewards when you're more content (and not having to worry about money all the time). Oh well, this is my small rant for the day.

As for me, I'm trying to live within my means. I've been driving the same car for about 8-9 years now. We purchased a home we could afford, and have maybe 8 more years of payments. We don't make extravagent purchases, and I don't recall the last time I went on a plane for a vacation. We're pretty content, so in general, we're not looking for anything extra. It's not much of a paradigm shift for me, because to my core I'm a minimalist. But for those that like the glitz, I think you better make sure you can afford it, otherwise, you could loose it all in this economy.

Oh, and sorry for not posting for a while, but the future of this countries economy has me pretty worried. I'm trying to figure out what's going to be self sustaining as income for myself and family in the future.