Fat is cheap

86,000,000 Households

I bought this poster and it has really got me thinking (infuriated).

In 2009, it was estimated that 75.2% of US households had a positive net worth.  According to 2009 Census data, that would be roughly 86,000,000 million households.

Implying that 86,000,000 households in America execute on something that 536 representatives that approve our US Federal budget don't.  

Spend less than you make.

I know it isn't easy, but it sure ain't cheap.

Not another picture of Britney's bald head

I am rather tired of seeing pictures of Britney's bald head.  So I am not going to include one in this post...no links to bald pictures either.

I am amazed that it has taken over the news for the last week.  Her meltdown has been more important that what caused the death of Anna Nicole Smith.  More coverage than the diaper wearing astronaut.  Even the presidential hopefuls latest hygiene habits (or other pointless information) have taken an apparent back seat.

But somebody help me.  All the crazy things that Britney has done over the last several months and now she has "lost it" because she shaved her head?  Shaved her head?  She has had a "meltdown" because she shaved her head?  Huh?

Don't shave your head and have a good one!

It has been a long time...

And I have missed you guys!

It has been a crazy couple of months in my family.

We had some great family news that you can see to the right here.  Another child is on the way!  We are very excited!  We have been trying for number two for quite some time.  We had a bit of a scare when we were first notified of the baby's presence, but everything seems to be going along just fine now.  We are very grateful.

We bought and moved into a home...no more rent, very exciting!  Of course with the new home there were some things we wanted to do (updating, painting, etc.) and had the time to do them before we moved in.

We had a bit of a sad time, as my Grandmother passed away rather suddenly.  We will miss her dearly.  However, we celebrate her life as she lived a great one and was a beautiful woman who was an example to everyone.

We got two kittens for our daughter for Christmas.  They are fantastic cats.  Fun loving and lovable.  One has had a cold since we got him...sick of cleaning up cat snot, but that is my only real complaint.

Throw the holidays in there and the next thing you know 2-3 months have gone by without a post.

We are settling into our new home, things are returning to normal, so I hope to be back with you guys on a regular beat.

That being said, I am glad that I have had the time away.  It does take time and energy to do the posting, and with all that was going on, I wanted to carve away as much energy as I could to be with my wife and daughter.  It is great we are slowing down again.  Returning to nights playing on the floor with my daughter.  Snuggling with my wife as we watch something mindless on TV is back.  It couldn't have come soon enough!

But it is great to be back!  Have a good one!

Yeah Right!

Coroner: Mayor-Elect's Death Was Suicide

South Park dogs Steve Irwin

The folks over at Playful.com report on South Park's newest episode dogging Steve Irwin.

People are outraged.  I am dumbfounded!

One outraged individual said 'Try to have at least a little bit of class, OK?'

Are you kidding?  Don't watch the show.  Don't let your kids watch the show.  If you are looking for class, the last place you should look is South Park. 

Everyone blames the creators...I blame the people who watch it.  If people didn't watch, there wouldn't be such a 'classless' show.

'Wake up America!' (stolen from Earl Pitts, American)

Stop sticking your head in the sewer and complaining that it stinks...oh and have a good one!

(RED)

I have been following (PRODUCT)RED for a little while now.  It is a great idea.  Going to make lots of money to fight AIDS in Africa. 

I don't know how Bono and Bobby Shriver came up with the idea, but I think it is a great one.  Kind of takes the Livestrong bracelets to the next level.  Instead of getting people to wear an accessory that they may not normally wear to make a statement, now they just make products that people would buy anyway just in a unique color (although not all of the products are actually red).  And the color is quite sassy!

I have to admit, I would love to have a few pieces of (RED) merchandise.

And of course the whole point is to raise money to buy medicine to stamp out/slow down AIDS in Africa.

Choose (RED) and have a good one!

Classy Politician?

You will rarely see comments here about politics.

So this is a rare occasion.

Recently Senator George Allen has been accused of dropping the "N" bomb in the 70s.  I don't really want to talk about George Allen...I would like to talk about Jim Webb, the democrat running against Senator Allen in the upcoming elections.

I saw a brief clip of an interview with Jim Webb on Sunday (9/24/06).  They asked him about the allegations.  His response (amazingly sincere) was essentially that we have more important things to talk about and he was not going to comment on it.

Wow!  No spin.   No taking advantage of the opportunity.  Nothing!  I love it.

Renews my hope that there are some good politicians out there. 

Of course the other interesting thing, I can't find anywhere in the media machine Jim Webb's exact quote.  In my mind that should make the front page of the New York Times...it is actually news!  Something out of the ordinary.

Poor Jim is now being accused of dropping the "N" bomb back in the 70s.  I am not surprised. 

I am waiting for someone to come forward and say that Senator Allen jerked a toy out of a friend's hands when he was 2 years old.

This is politics?  Not interested.

Stay classy and have a good one!

Tickle Me Crazy

Tickle Me Elmo is back.  This time with the 10 year anniversary TMX model.

To this point, I have yet to see an advertisement for it.  But you can't escape it on the news, Internet and everywhere else.

Why the big craze?  It seems to me it is a big craze, because it is a big craze.

A couple of observations:

I have seen a lot of adults in regard to TMX Elmo, but not a single child.  Sure no sensible parent is going to put their child in harms way to obtain one.  But I would have thought by now I would have seen at least on shot of a gleeful child watching Elmo have his seizure.  Zero.

The second observation was in my own home.  Believe it or not, there was a news article on TV and my daughter (who loves Elmo) came into the room.  Both Mommy and Daddy, in our best excited voices, said "Look Kenzie, it is Elmo!"  Usually any sign of Elmo elicits a gasp of excitement and repeated shouts of "Melmo."  What we got was a confused and somewhat disturbed look as she watch Elmo convulse on the TV screen.

So again I go back to why all the craze?  Are we as human beings that desperate to be part of something that is going on?  To have something exciting to talk about?  It appears to not be about the kids this time, not even as an excuse. 

Seth Godin says it all the time...consumers do not buy with rational thought, they buy based on unpredictable reasons.  This reason happens to be craze!

Avoid Elmo and have a good one!

Finally Someone in the Music Industry Gets It

Mark Collier wrote a post on some great news in the music industry.

It is about music industry rebel Terry McBride.  Mark's post is about the marketing lessons that can be learned from what Terry is doing.

I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about the music.

I am so glad that a music label company (Nettwerk whose CEO is Terry McBride) gets it.  They may be the only one, but they have turned the tide.  All the big dogs are in trouble. 

When is a music label going to say that "we aren't making Cds anymore."  If you want one of our artist's songs you need to buy it on line at i-Tunes or Napster or some other spot.  Think of the money they would be saving not making Cds and then shipping them all over the bloody place. 

How about happy artists?  Imagine not having the pressure to come up with filler songs!  I can count on both hands the number of Cds I own where I like more than 2 songs on the disk (excluding Greatest Hits, Live or Best of Cds).  If an artist comes up with 3 really good songs, great!  put them out there...don't even need to wait for all three of them, just one at a time!

If I hear a great song on the radio, I don't go out and buy the album, would I buy the single song on line for a buck, you bet.  Why spend all that money on CD creation and distribution, not to mention the time and cost of producing the filler songs?  I reserve buying the album for a year or two after it comes out and there are at least 4 songs on the album I like.

You may have picked up on all the future tense in this post and you are saying, "you can buy the single song on line now."  "What are you talking about?"  Well, as you can guess, I don't currently buy songs on line for one reason. 

Quality.

There are a few more than a dozen (millions, I would wager) folks who can tell the difference between CD quality and "near CD quality MP3."   I cannot stand MP3.  Fine enough for working out to tunes on your i-pod.  I don't work out.  I don't have an i-pod (or any other MP3 player).  I love music and it drives me crazy to hear a hollow sounding MP3 on my stereo at home or in my car.

Mr. Jobs (I am sure you are reading this!) put the full CD quality song on i-Tunes.  You announced yesterday that you are selling Movies on i-Tunes, I am sure you can handle a full length song in all it's CD quality.  Charge me a $1.50 if you need to.

Enough of my rant!  Good job Terry McBride, keep it up!  Mr. Jobs, I expect to see full quality songs on i-Tunes by next week.

Hey man is that feel good rock?  Turn it up!...and have a good one!

Unanswered Questions

I have a couple unanswered questions.  Let me know if you have the answer.

Why do some people not stop at the white line at a stop light?  I have seen some people stop up to 3 car-lengths short of the white line.  Why do they do that? 

Since the age of cellphones has begun I no longer look at my wrist watch.  I will pull my cellphone out of my pocket and look at the time there.  I don't remember a time when I was wearing my watch and didn't have my cellphone.  So why do I bother wearing one?

I look the doors on my Jeep Wrangler.  One could simply unzip any of the windows and help themselves.  I don't lock them when the top is down and the windows are out.  Why do I ever lock the doors?

Give me answers and have a good one!