Archive for April, 2011

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Happy Anniversary!


30 Apr

Posted in blogging, Writing | Comments Off

Today is the first anniversary of this blog. 349 posts and 4,371 views later, I’m going to call it a success. It took me a while to get in the post a day habit, and, naturally, today’s post is going up late.

It took a little while for readership to grow, too. This month alone, there have been almost as many views (1086) as there were total in the first 8 months (1224). Almost three full quarters of the views have come since January. With this kind of growth rate, I can’t wait to see where we are next year.

There aren’t even enough McJobs


29 Apr

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Posted in Finances, Politics, Work | Comments Off

It’s a discussion I do not have the energy to be involved in this time around (and it does take energy as people are so entrenched on their side of the fence), but it is always interesting to see how other people view the current job market. There are those who believe that there are enough jobs for everyone, if people were really willing to work, and those who like to point out that McDonalds announced it would hire 50,000 people. It actually hired 62,000. That’s great, but the fact that they got over 1 million applications- not so much.

MythBusters (ep 163)


28 Apr

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Posted in Mythbusters, Science, Television | 2 Comments »

What I loved about the swimming through bubbles myth was not that the myth was plausible, but for different reasons than they expected, but that the different reasons were so much simpler than the original hypothesis. Adam and Jamie thought that maybe you couldn’t swim through bubbles because they changed the water density- no, its because they cause the water to move. Simple.

As for splitting the tree, they may have put the smallest amount of explosive that would detonate in each bag, but 25lbs of explosive, really? Try 10lbs before you tell me you used as little as possible.

Canucks Win


27 Apr

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Posted in Hockey, Stanley Cup | Comments Off

I know they were playing the defending Stanley Cup champions, and I know they have had a hard time beatingChicago, especially in the playoffs, but this was supposed to be easier for the Canucks. They were the number one seed in the west going in to the playoffs, playing the number eight seed. They won the first three games easily. But game six went into overtime and the Hawks tied the series at 3 each. It was 1-0 Canucks until minutes before the end of the game. Luckily, sudden death overtime in game 7, the Canucks pulled it out.

DOMA is about Discrimination, not Dollars


26 Apr

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Posted in Discrimination, Gay Marriage | Comments Off

Personally, I’m thrilled that political pressure can lead a large law firm to deciding to back away from the defense of DOMA. Nor am I the least bit surprised that the lawyer who is working so hard to defend it (now at a new firm) is a former solicitor general under George W Bush.

But don’t try and make this a budget issue. It’s not. Pelosi’s quote that Boehmer needs to think about this $500,000 contract is ridiculous. Its 6 figures when our debt is 13 figures. If 1 trillion were $1.00, half a million would be 1/20,000 of $0.01

Next Great American Restaurant (7)


25 Apr

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Posted in Food, Television | Comments Off

My two favorites are in the final three. At this point, I’m betting on Soul Daddy’s (and am wondering how quickly one will come to the Seattle area).  His food has been really popular; he’s made strides toward making the food healthier, and he got employees who also seemed to really like his food.

Of course, I won’t be sad if its Spice Coast, either. I’m all for fast casual Indian food. Give me a mango milkshake (probably a mango lassi) any day.

I will be mad if Brooklyn Meatball company wins. Joey annoys me and the food isn’t consistent.

Priorities


24 Apr

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Posted in Dogs, Pets | Comments Off

I am apparently not home enough. At least according to my Beagle, who decided that instead of typing this post, I should be paying attention to her. She is small enough to jump on my lap, and so up she came. However, she’s big enough that she can’t really settle. She’s constantly having to shift her weight in order to stay balanced on my thighs and knees. This is not an issue on the couch or in the recliner, but on the computer chair, its precarious. So off the computer I get in order to give the puppies some love.

Think of the Children (and I don’t even have kids)


23 Apr

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Posted in Music | Comments Off

I try not to hold celebrities up to a higher standard than I do other people. Still, I think there should be some awareness of how their product affects their audience.

The chorus of Katy Perry’s latest hit includes the lines “wanna be a victim/ ready for abduction”. How is this a good message for kids? Who wants their preteen (girl or boy) singing along to this as they walk down the street?

Not every song can be “Firework”; I get that, but when your audience is mostly kids, would it hurt much to think about the message you’re sending?

Update the Budget


22 Apr

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances | Comments Off

Every one will tell you that having a budget is one of the major early (though not the first) steps in getting your personal finances under control. But how do you know you’re budget is working for you? How do you account for the inflation in gas and grocery prices?

A budget is not a Ron Popeil gadget. You can’t “set it and forget it”. You have to pay attention. And sometimes, you have to update it.

This week’s featured thread is from the Smart Spending forum, and it is about when and how people decide to update their budgets.

MythBusters (ep 162)


21 Apr

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Posted in Mythbusters, Science, Television | Comments Off

This was not the first time the Mythbusters took on walking on water. The first was in the Ninja special. Both times they made ridiculous shoes to see if increases the surface area of the foot would work. Unsurprisingly, they got the same result this time as last time- people can not walk on water- not even cute little acrobats.

The Build Team provided an important public service announcement tonight. If you are anywhere near an explosion, get behind something, anything, really. As long as you have something to break the shockwave around you, your chances of surviving increase dramatically.

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