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.