I just wanted to share one last thing with y'all. This is the coolest picture that I came across this year. I hope you enjoy. Have an awesome Christmas break!!! See y'all next semester!
Friday, December 10, 2010
The coolest pic of 2010
I just wanted to share one last thing with y'all. This is the coolest picture that I came across this year. I hope you enjoy. Have an awesome Christmas break!!! See y'all next semester!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
And Down Goes Everything...
My final posting for 2010 is in regards to an article that I read at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/photogalleries/100601-sinkhole-in-guatemala-2010-pictures-world/#/guatemala-city-sinkhole_21110_600x450.jpg. A giant sinkhole in Guatemala City, Guatemala has made the top 10 list for photo stories of the year. Wikipedia defined a sinkhole as a "natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks" It may come from very saturated ground that just gives in and falls an indefinite length.
The one that occurred earlier this year was 60 feet wide and 300 feet deep. It took a three-story building down with it. This is really quite something. I would encourage you to click on the link and check out the six photos they offer. It does seem so unreal because it is so perfectly round. Most communities can rebuild and recover from natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and mudslides. But from the various sinkholes that I have seen throughout the world, they are left as-is. With this one in Guatemala City, it sits right in the middle of town. A very bad place for one to occur. I will be curious to see what measures they take in trying to cover it up or barricade it to keep someone from falling in.
One last bit of research by googling Guatemala City sinkhole has led me to another article by National Geographic. It states that this is not a real sinkhole. That there is no limestone or carbonate rocks underneath the city. In fact, it is made up of loose volcanic pumice. Nature has sped up a process set in motion by humans. Leaking plumbing from the building over thousands of years could have led to this massive hole. Nevertheless, this is a truly horrific situation.
The one that occurred earlier this year was 60 feet wide and 300 feet deep. It took a three-story building down with it. This is really quite something. I would encourage you to click on the link and check out the six photos they offer. It does seem so unreal because it is so perfectly round. Most communities can rebuild and recover from natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and mudslides. But from the various sinkholes that I have seen throughout the world, they are left as-is. With this one in Guatemala City, it sits right in the middle of town. A very bad place for one to occur. I will be curious to see what measures they take in trying to cover it up or barricade it to keep someone from falling in.
One last bit of research by googling Guatemala City sinkhole has led me to another article by National Geographic. It states that this is not a real sinkhole. That there is no limestone or carbonate rocks underneath the city. In fact, it is made up of loose volcanic pumice. Nature has sped up a process set in motion by humans. Leaking plumbing from the building over thousands of years could have led to this massive hole. Nevertheless, this is a truly horrific situation.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Total Shock!
I came across a story that I had to write about. It was not in one of the recommended newspapers. So I did a little research and found this same story printed in the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/nyregion/24hart.html. It is one of absolute horror. Something so shocking that my girlfriend and I both felt our jaws drop to the ground.
This is a story about Hart Island. A seven minute boat ride from New York City. This is where 800,000 bodies have been buried since 1869. This is not a misprint. Most of those buried were babies or infants as well as people with no names, no identities, or no family. We are not talking about Nazi Germany. We are talking about modern day American culture.
Until approximately 1991, all of this information was kept secret. A woman named Melinda Hunt went on a fact-finding mission by submitting a Freedom of Information request to have any kept records of those buried released to the American public. She has since been helping many families locate friends and relatives who seemed to have fallen off the planet and were never were heard from again.
This raises so many questions about our society. Funding is surely one of the top reasons along with proximity and having no one to claim the dead bodies. Will we find another solution or continue to dump bodies there for centuries to come?
This is a story about Hart Island. A seven minute boat ride from New York City. This is where 800,000 bodies have been buried since 1869. This is not a misprint. Most of those buried were babies or infants as well as people with no names, no identities, or no family. We are not talking about Nazi Germany. We are talking about modern day American culture.
Until approximately 1991, all of this information was kept secret. A woman named Melinda Hunt went on a fact-finding mission by submitting a Freedom of Information request to have any kept records of those buried released to the American public. She has since been helping many families locate friends and relatives who seemed to have fallen off the planet and were never were heard from again.
This raises so many questions about our society. Funding is surely one of the top reasons along with proximity and having no one to claim the dead bodies. Will we find another solution or continue to dump bodies there for centuries to come?
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Craze Across the Nation
You remember the famous line, "We can work it out." Well it is about to happen. Apple has "worked out" a deal with the Beatles to sell their music on iTunes. The Beatles are the best selling music group of all time and ranked 2nd throughout the 2000s to Eminem. They have sold 177 million albums in the United States throughout the years. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, has persuaded all former members of the Beatles to agree to this landmark decision.
Roughly 3/4 of all album sales are cd's. They are more profitable for record companies and musicians. Apple has become the largest distributor of music on the internet. It is said that they just basically break even on all downloads. They use music as a tool to sell more iPods and iPhones. Bagging the biggest elephant of all, the Beatles, is sure to boost sales out of the roof.
There have always been several bands that hold out and do not allow others to distribute their music. I can remember Pearl Jam for years would not allow their music to be sold via mail order companies such as BMG and Columbia House. Beatles music has been around for four decades. That is something very special in itself. This little deal could re-ignite the flame once again.
Hope you enjoyed this blog. I referenced this material from The New York Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/business/media/16apple.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper.
Roughly 3/4 of all album sales are cd's. They are more profitable for record companies and musicians. Apple has become the largest distributor of music on the internet. It is said that they just basically break even on all downloads. They use music as a tool to sell more iPods and iPhones. Bagging the biggest elephant of all, the Beatles, is sure to boost sales out of the roof.
There have always been several bands that hold out and do not allow others to distribute their music. I can remember Pearl Jam for years would not allow their music to be sold via mail order companies such as BMG and Columbia House. Beatles music has been around for four decades. That is something very special in itself. This little deal could re-ignite the flame once again.
Hope you enjoyed this blog. I referenced this material from The New York Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/business/media/16apple.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Oil prices are on the upswing once again.....Hmmmmm........
My lifestyle revolves around constant travel throughout the spring and summer. I just read an article about this subject in Business Week. The article was entitled, "Why Oil Could Top $100 a Barrel." The forecast is that interest rates will continue to drop and weaken the dollar even further. Oil prices have risen 17% since Labor Day. There is some speculation as to whether this will happen or not. Now they are saying that the U.S. has plenty of oil and that the Saudis are pumping a decent amount. The Saudis are said to be satisfied with pricing in the $70-85 range.
Peaking Beyond Age 50
Greeting y'all! I must admit that I have had a hidden agenda. I have now written 10 blogs from 10 separate publications. This week I visited http://www.mentalfloss.com/. They have put together a list of the top 10 people who didn't make it big until after the age of 50. I will not cover them all because President Ronald Reagan is listed at number 10. Of course he was a somewhat popular actor as a young man therefore I consider him as having made it much younger in life.
Edmond Hoyle was 70 years when he wrote the rules for a wide variety of card games. His name is synonymous with a deck of cards. I am sure everyone knows Colonel Sanders. He was operating a small restaurant when they built an interstate seven miles away from his city. This took away traffic and his business declined. He went to work on perfecting spices and cooking techniques and then opened what would be the first of the KFC franchises. Sanders was 65 years old when he got this idea.
Laura Ingalls Wilder who penned, Little House on the Praire, didn't publish her first novel until the age of 65. The police use a weapon to incapacitate individuals who are wanting to fight during questioning or arrest. This device known as a taser gun was invented by Jack Cover in 1970 at the age of 50. It wasn't used by a police department for another 10 years when the LAPD purchased a shipment. When he passed away at the age of 88, his product was used in some 45 countries around the world.
Edmond Hoyle was 70 years when he wrote the rules for a wide variety of card games. His name is synonymous with a deck of cards. I am sure everyone knows Colonel Sanders. He was operating a small restaurant when they built an interstate seven miles away from his city. This took away traffic and his business declined. He went to work on perfecting spices and cooking techniques and then opened what would be the first of the KFC franchises. Sanders was 65 years old when he got this idea.
Laura Ingalls Wilder who penned, Little House on the Praire, didn't publish her first novel until the age of 65. The police use a weapon to incapacitate individuals who are wanting to fight during questioning or arrest. This device known as a taser gun was invented by Jack Cover in 1970 at the age of 50. It wasn't used by a police department for another 10 years when the LAPD purchased a shipment. When he passed away at the age of 88, his product was used in some 45 countries around the world.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
"Foreclosuregate"
This week I thought I would mosey on over to motherjones.com to do some reading. As the banks are prepping, yet again, to foreclose on delinquent homeowners, Andy Kroll interviewed author, Michael W. Hudson. He has just penned, "The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Lenders Fleeced America-And Spawned A Global Crisis."
The sub prime mortgage industry began in the late 1980's in Orange County, CA. Long Beach Savings and Loan was at the forefront. Hudson interviewed nearly 200 people in the industry from secretaries to vice presidents. Exchanges of money, liquor, cocaine, and sexual favors occurred regularly in the mortgage business.
Hudson has connected Orange County to Wall Street's fourth largest investment firm, Lehman Brothers. Lehman was very diversified, but in the end real estate dealings brought the company down. Back dated documents and false affidavits were used to process loans instantly. Attempts to reform and correct the problems don't really mean a whole lot because they have yet to be implemented.
After reading this article, one name caught my eye, Long Beach Mortgage. They were the financial group that I purchased a foreclosed home from in 2004. Money was loaned for an extended-cab pickup truck with this house as collateral. Which by the way was owned free and clear.
With these home loans that went awry, it sounds like most folks fell delinquent after interest rates skyrocketed. The stock market crash after 9/11, unemployment, and a poor economy also caused issues. We all need to watch out for number one. I feel that individuals should always bank where they have banked their entire lives. When that is not possible, sometimes a smaller, local bank can be more trustworthy. Don't purchase more of a house than what you need.
The sub prime mortgage industry began in the late 1980's in Orange County, CA. Long Beach Savings and Loan was at the forefront. Hudson interviewed nearly 200 people in the industry from secretaries to vice presidents. Exchanges of money, liquor, cocaine, and sexual favors occurred regularly in the mortgage business.
Hudson has connected Orange County to Wall Street's fourth largest investment firm, Lehman Brothers. Lehman was very diversified, but in the end real estate dealings brought the company down. Back dated documents and false affidavits were used to process loans instantly. Attempts to reform and correct the problems don't really mean a whole lot because they have yet to be implemented.
After reading this article, one name caught my eye, Long Beach Mortgage. They were the financial group that I purchased a foreclosed home from in 2004. Money was loaned for an extended-cab pickup truck with this house as collateral. Which by the way was owned free and clear.
With these home loans that went awry, it sounds like most folks fell delinquent after interest rates skyrocketed. The stock market crash after 9/11, unemployment, and a poor economy also caused issues. We all need to watch out for number one. I feel that individuals should always bank where they have banked their entire lives. When that is not possible, sometimes a smaller, local bank can be more trustworthy. Don't purchase more of a house than what you need.
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