Restitution and apologies seem to go much further in paying for a crime then going to jail. (unless you are violent).

Thought of the day: What came first the town of the sheriff?

the pawn store

I have always enjoyed going into pawn stores. Especially now that have watched a lot of Pawn Stars I realize that there really is an art to the whole store. A couple of days ago I went to one in the area and haggled for some Silver coins. The experience was quite enjoyable and at the end of it all I had what I wanted at a price that was very reasonable. Next time though I will low ball even more and I still want some silver dimes.

Deep insight...

I do enjoy politics and talking about it. However I find that most people get so wrapped around the axle that they could never see another view point. Granted I am some what like that I can tell you that I have heard some deep insights.

At the end of the day, who will be there for you the government, an insurance company or your family?

Can one man really save a country?

Arguing with people

It's one thing I realize more and more, it doesn't matter what one says. It is almost impossible to change ones mind once that person has rejected all other points of view.

Propriety

There are many lessons that one has to learn over the course of their life. This generally includes things like when to say something and when to be quiet. I tend to try to stay on the quiet side, even when I probably should say something.

Statement

"Declaring war on terrorism following 9/11 is like declaring war on dive bombers right after Pearl Harbor."

The Friday night special...

"If any single number captures the state of the American economy over the last decade, it is zero. That was the net gain in jobs between 1999 and 2009-nada, nil, zip. By painful contrast, from the 1940s through the 1990s, recessions came and went, but no decade ended without at least a 20 percent increase in the number of jobs."

Today I listened to Chairman Bernanke talk to soldiers about the Federal Reserve. He said that the Fed was started to maintain fiscal policy and control inflation, keep it even keel. Funny to think that the Fed was set up in 1917 shortly there after we had the roaring twenties and then the Great depression. Where was the Fed in all of this? It's so typical of people, they have selective memory and will take credit only for the good stuff.

I bought a beautiful Silver Eagle for fun.

Recently a friend of mine challenged me on why I would vote for President Obama. I have thought about this a long time and I could come up with a lot of reasons why some one should as opposed to why not. That is always the part that really bothers me, you should vote for candidate X cause he is not Candidate Y. This to me seems like some crazy logic, I should eat a Granny Smith apple because it is not a Golden Delicious? They are both apples. I will address my thoughts on why you should vote for president Obama later.

Troll Hunter the movie

I watched the movie Troll Hunter. It is a movie shot in a documentary type style similar to Blair Witch. It is about 3 college students who set out to find why this man keeps showing up at illegal bear huntings. They find out that he is the Norwegian government official troll hunter, similar to the men in black. The story progress and they find out more and about the job and how the government of Norway is trying to keep a lid on it. (sorry if I spoiled it for people)
The story is real straight forward, but it is the gorgeous Norwegian country side that keep one spell bound and the desire to know more about the trolls.
The movie is not scary it is a bit gory though, which is why it might not be that great for kids. But the story keeps you watching.

12 Life lessons

12 lessons over 30 years:

I have now lived 30 years and there are a number of lessons that I have learned.

1. Empires will rise and fall, but the Lord our God will last forever.

2. Don’t worry about tomorrow, tomorrow brings it’s own set of worries.

3. Actions do have consequences, both good and bad.

4. Money may not bring happiness, but it does solve a lot of problems.

5. Graduations are not the end of learning.

6. You may have dreams, but things change.

7. Find yourself a good to marry and be contented with her.

8. Don’t take yourself too serious.

9. Maintain a sense of humor about things.

10. Maintain a good work out schedule, for how can one have happiness without health.

11. Children are a source of great joy.

12. Enjoy the friends you have.

Occupy

here are many things that are going on in the world today, everything from war to famine and piracy. People are making runs on banks and the economy seems to be heading towards a cliff at a glacially slow pace. But even as such events are occurring I am working my way towards prosperity.

People ask me why I have kids when the whole world is collapsing around us, I answer,"It is always a bad time to have kids." But that is not the point of children they make your life better in every way. When you give up on material possessions and the chase of the latest and greatest and realize that these are all temporary. Children on the other hand bring lots and lots of happiness. I can look into my child's eyes and see the love that is there and the sparkle of life that emanates out of them there is no other feeling quite like it.

My old live journal

About 3 years ago I had a live journal account, oh my how things have changed since then. But it is interesting to read through and see what I was thinking about back then.

wisdom on bathroom stall walls...

I guess standing at a toilet urinal gives people time to think so this is what I read there:

Plant slime...

Since I started growing plants this year I wasn't really sure what to do with all the clippings that I would take of the plants. So what I did was take them and put them in a bucket and added water to it. This started to speed up the rate of decay and in fact after about 3-4 weeks half of the bucket had turned to slime. I kept adding clippings and compost which led to even more slime.

Then 4 weeks ago I took the slime and poured it on some of my tomato plants to see if it would have any effect on them. To my surprise it did. The tomato sprouted 2 new tomatoes. This has been very encouraging and will very likely make me continue making plant slime.

Only one slight warning, this does stink...lol.

Live Journal from the past 24 January 2007

It's funny how some times you read something and it makes you laugh and then you kind of groan at the end...so yeah laugh and moan with me:


"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help
everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more
riots,
keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the
blessings
of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our
great-great-great-grandchildren,
hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense
guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and
other
Liberal bed-wetters.

We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are
confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of
NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I:
You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other
form
of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but No
one
is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II:
You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is Based
on
freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may
leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.;
But
the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III:
You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a
screwdriver
in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool
Manufacturer
to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV:
You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the
most
charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but
we
are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of
professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the Creation
of
another generation of professional couch potatoes. (This one is my pet
peeve...get an education and go to work .. don't expect everyone else
to
take care of you!)

ARTICLE V:
You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but
from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public
health care.

ARTICLE VI:
You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you
kidnap,
rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the
rest
of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII:
You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob,
cheat,
or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be
surprised
if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you
still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of
leisure.

ARTICLE VIII:
You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a
job,
and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take
advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training
laid
before you to make yourself useful. (AMEN!)

ARTICLE IX:
You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that
you
have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier
if
you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by
those
of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X:
This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from,
English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from!
(lastly....)

ARTICLE XI:
You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage.
This country was founded on the belief in God. And yet, you are given
the
freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with
no
fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage
and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!!!!

thought of the day...

"Praise songs are kind of like the Rosaries of the Catholic church...they really get you into a trance like state".

Gotta love Ikea

I live in a rather smallish apartment for American standards, so we have to be inventive about space, here is how we have solved some of our dilemmas with pans and pots (below our knives):


Gotta love Ikea, which is where we bought these things, no I don't work them.

the leading up to the recession

It is really is amazing sometimes the nuggets of wisdom you can glean from the commentary of an article, here is a great commentary on how the recession happened. I don't necessarily agree with this piece of writing however it is pretty en lighting.

This is what happened to America

What Greenspan, Bernanke, most economists, Bush & Obama Administrations, Fed and Wall Street didn't see coming and still can’t see is American labor and wages have been "debased." The Neoconservatives, Republican Congresses, a few stupid Democrats and Regan & Bush Administrations for years changed existing laws, legislated tax breaks for corporations and the Elitist top 1% of Americans at the expense of the other 99%. Couple this with a catalyst such as the collapse of the mortgage banking industry & housing prices, a liquidity crisis and pending credit card catastrophe. Then add in years of Union busting, GAAT (Uruguay Round - 1986-1993), NAFTA, CAFTA, Vietnamese, Central America and other Trade agreements, hundreds of thousands of H1-B & L-1 work visas, years of outsourcing jobs to 3rd world countries and open borders all which help eliminate the higher paying jobs, pensions and benefits for a majority of Americans. This was the foundation our economy was built on and now it's gone. The huge amount of spendable income/benefits these high paying jobs formerly supplied America and the World Economy has disappeared... gone forever. Resulting in a gigantic transfer of wealth from average Americans to the World’s Elitist top 1% and coffers of Corporate America.

America and many of the World economies are now headed towards a depression. Many European countries will exit the depression years before America do to economies based upon higher paying manufacturing jobs providing pensions, social programs and other benefits for their citizens. Unfortunately the Neoconservatives, Republicans, Elitist top 1% and Wall Street outsourced American Industry to 3rd world countries. Therefore, American will spend years rebuilding its "former" self. Its industrial based economy that for sixty plus years provided most Americans with a high standard of living, benefits and plenty of excess cash to spend “buying 30% of the worlds manufactured products.”

The above listed events, most occurred under Greenspand and his understudy Bernanke, have now placed America on the road to bankruptcy with the largest national debt, and growing, in the history of the free World. America's new Service Industry based economy with its low paying jobs, no pensions or benefits will turn this recession into a depression... lasting years.

The Neoconservative Bush Administration for years cooked the books concerning GDP, employment, inflation and other numbers released monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and now Obama carries forward the same practice. So America’s real inflation has been double digit for several years, unemployment 6.5% higher than it actually is and the GDP has been minus for 3 or 4 years. What do these errors mean to the US Economy… it’s “totally screwed?” Plus the Bush and Obama Administrations gave control of the US Government to Wall Street and investment banking… and then gave them $12.5 trillion of the taxpayer’s money with an opened ended commitment to do and pay anything they want. Both Administrations allowed investment banks and other big corporations to privatize profits and socialize losses… which in the end will destroy the US Economy.

During this period of change American Corporations were allowed to bank roll US Elections via special PAC groups. In a February 2010 decision the Roberts led US Supreme Court allowed Corporate Globalization of the US Election System and foreigners to vote by proxy with unlimited amounts of dollars to influence the outcome of American elections. The US Government now belongs to International Corporations and Congress to K-Street not its pseudo voter’s or population. It’s not a Democracy that rules… its Fascism… a “World Corporatism” as America’s been sold to the highest bidder.

As Hitler did during World War II, the Bush Administration utilized "Authoritarian Rule" and the "big lie theory"... the bigger the lie the more likely people will believe it and the Obama Administration carries foreword the same practice.

The American Economy was "debased" while our political system went from Democracy to Corporatism, that’s “Fascism” folks. Remember, the hedge fund, mortgage and banking liquidity crisis, soon to be a solvency crisis, is just a "catalyst".

Wake up people the Elitist run World Banks, Investment Banking, Federal Reserve and Neocon-Republicans make the mafia look like a bunch of boy scouts.

More plant pictures....

This is the first tomato from my yard. It was pretty tasty.

Marriage rant....

Marriage and the Like,

I am all for people getting married. I think it is wonderful when two people fall in love with one another and decide to spend forever with each other. However I see way to many instances of young people I am talking under 21 getting married and having no idea what they are getting themselves into.

First of our society has changed, it is expensive to live and eke out an existence. I am married and have a son, I have to put a roof over their heads and feed them. It is difficult, I make a decent salary but we almost have to live pay check to pay check. So when you are that young how are you going to do the same?

Second, while I can see wanting to get married what is the motivation when you are that young? Trust me there are more romantic things you can do then asking a girl to engage you. Trust me, but most people don’t think like that. It is like this, hold hands, first kiss, announce date, engage and then wedding (honeymoon). WHAT COMES AFTER THAT? Nothing really, you actually have to live with that person. I love it, however when you are young you may actually start to resent the other person for holding you down.

Divorce is a terrible thing, I believe that what God has put together and let no man rent asunder this that God has put together. However, when the divorce rate among Christians is the same as the rest of society you have to ask yourself,” How serious do Christians take marriage?” So that also means that Christian young people are just as likely to divorce. I have seen too many divorces among young kids to even recommend it.

In the end my recommendation to most young kids that are dating is to focus on the future and get their act together so that you can support your significant other. Also you won’t wonder about your life with out your significant other. While being married is a wonderful thing I would say wait before you jump into things and reevaluate your priorities when considering such a life changing move.