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!

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.

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?

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.

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.
    

"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.

Sarah Palin Continues to Hang Tough and Pursue her Dream

     OK Peeps.  Here we go.  I would like to discuss two myths about Sarah Palin.  #1: Palin cost McCain the 2008 election.  Once named McCain's running mate, their fundraising and support improved dramatically.  #2: Resigning as governor was rash.  Once she returned from the 2008 campaign, everything changed.  The political coalition which she was involved with had collapsed, her critics were calling for one investigation after another into her affairs causing financial woes, and every time that she would travel out of state, she would be accused of not caring about Alaska.
     I have always been a registered Democrat.  I am completely open to voting for the best candidate.  I did vote for Ronald Reagan.  Some say that Palin is unelectable but the fact is that she is more popular now than ever before.  She does have many naysayers but she needs to get focused, bring her A game, and and put a strong sense of passion into several issues instead of just attacking the incumbent. 
     This is in reference to an article written by Matthew Continetti for the Washington Post. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/14/AR2010101404794.html?sid=ST2010101404854

"Helping Boost the Economy???"

     Earlier today I read a very puzzling, scary, and I might even call it somewhat of an amusing article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  The story was written by Stephen Ohlemacher.  It tells of how 72,000 dead people were sent stimulus payments.  These were issued by the Social Security Administration as part of the Recovery Act to help boost the economy and bring our country out of the recession.  These payments totalled $18 million.
     Another $4.3 million in payments were sent to 17,000 prison inmates.  These $250 vouchers totalled $13 billion which went out to 52 million people who either receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income.  S.S. spokesman Mark Lassiter reported that the majority of those inaccurate payments were recovered.  Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma stated that the SSA lost $22.3 million in American tax dollars.
     As I mentioned earlier, this is a very puzzling story that caught my eye.  I can sort of understand that the SSA probably doesn't receive immediate updates on deaths around the country.  Even if they would send out notices that would have to be returned, it is likely that many people throughout the country would die before those checks got into their hands.  In regards to the inmates, they were not in prison at the time they were approved for the bonus payments.  Once again for future years, some kind of process to help eliminate such a large number of inaccurate payments needs to be put into place by the SSA.

"Cohabitation"

     Living together with a mate prior to marriage used to be called "living in sin."  Bon Jovi even penned a song and titled it as such.  During the hippie era back in the 70's, it became more commonplace amongst that demographic.  During that time frame, it was said that 1/3 of Americans lived together prior to marriage.  Sociologists originally felt that living together first caused a much higher divorce rate.  They have since changed their logic.  Yet some religions simply will not condone  it.
     This article in Newsweek written by Johannah Cornblatt suggests that unemployment plus a rise in poverty leads couples to live under the same set of shingles.  An analysis from the Census Bureau showed 59% of cohabitants in 2008 were employed compared to just 49% in 2010.  It is said that money, not romance encourages couples to live together.  This trend coupled with the fact that mates get to know each other better prior to marriage has our country's divorce rate at its lowest point in 40 years.
     This article caught my attention because I personally moved in with my girlfriend at the beginning of this semester simply to reduce my expenses during my collegiate life.  Over the years, I have seen divorce totally ruin some of my co-workers lives.  I for one, want to know how every aspect of the relationship feels prior to committing to a marriage.  Some things can only be found out regarding your mate while living together.  It is so important to find these things out.  If something is found out later regarding your mate that is unacceptable, it is either divorce or living the rest of your life unhappy. 

"Please Let Our Family Mourn In Peace"

     Hello Peeps!  It is "Hump Day" and this ole boy needs to write several blogs.  I was in KC this past weekend therefore I thought I would do some reading from the Kansas City Star.  I am going to tackle a big fish today.  This story came from an article written by Laura Bauer.
     It is in regards to Snyder vs Phelps.  The Supreme Court on this very day is taking a look at a situation that got ugly.  It all began when a 20 year old Marine died in the line of duty in Iraq back in the year 2006.  He was laid to rest in the Westminister, MD cemetary.
     On the day of the funeral,, seven picketers from a Topeka, KS church stood 1000 feet from the graveyard and demeaned, harassed, and destroyed the ceremony.  This all came about because the young marine was gay.  The protestors come from a church that believe God killed them as punishment for being gay.  They were claiming free speech.  They initially lost a lawsuit to the tune of 11 million.  During the appeal process, it was overturned stating that the group is protected under the First Amendment.
     So where do you feel the line should be drawn?  They do have the right to free speech but do they have the right to hold up signs, scream and yell, and harass a family that is grieving?  I feel that the Supreme Court should come down hard on the protestors as well as the church that they were representing.  There is a time and a place for everything but not on that particular day at that particular time in that particular location.
   

"Meet the Fastest Growing Company Ever" from Forbes.com

A graduate from Northwestern, Andrew Mason formed a company called Groupon.  This is the fastest growing company in web history.  The name is a combination of the two words group and coupon.  This company buys advertising space from Google and Facebook.  They sign contracts with businesses looking to advertise and split the proceeds from the purchases 50/50.  These ads are brief usually running just one day.  Things such as event tickets or specials with a major price reduction to get consumers to act immediately.  The business is located inside an eight story building in Chicago.  Mason has 250 salespeople and 70 writers.  Most of these writers are comedians who come up with wild and crazy ideas that work.  In one and a half years, the firm is now worth 1.35 billion.  To me it is amazing how successful young people are these days especially in the technology area.  This young man was a music major and here he has built an empire in the world of advertising.  This reminds me a lot of record label companies or motion picture companies that basically make their money from sales of someone else's product.  Hiring comedians as writers is also genius.  I would like to meet this guy.

Being payed when not working!?!

     Hello y'all!  Hope this day finds you and your loved ones well.  What shall I share with you today?  How do you feel about this?  Stop working, receive money.  Sounds pretty cool huh?  There is just one catch.  You must be of retirement age.  Yes I am talking about social security.  It is celebrating it's 75th Anniversary.
     For years and years, the 401k people who came to visit myself and my co-workers have been saying that we need to invest for our retirement because Social Security will run out.  I recently read an article written by Katrina vanden Heuvel for thenation.com.  This article states that there will easily be enough money for several decades to come.  It is estimated that there will be a $4.3 trillion surplus by the year 2023.  President Obama, as we speak, is currently working on something all Democrats have supported throughout history, tax the rich.  This would keep the numbers on a much more positive note.
     The original S.S. plan had several major flaws.  It did not allow African Americans or immigrant workers a piece of the pie.  Such a proposal these days would be crushed immediately.  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports, "Without S.S. benefits, over 45 percent of elderly Americans would have incomes below the poverty line."
     My personal views do show concern.  I am 46 years of age.  If the rich are taxed, it will surely secure social security for several more decades.  I do believe  in 401k and IRA programs.  If S.S. is still around throughout my elder years, these additional retirement accounts will leave that much more funding at my fingertips.  It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves, our elders, and our children.  What are your thoughts on this topic?  Have an awesome day!!!

Wanna see a movie Labor Day weekend?

With Labor Day approaching, I wanted to write about something relaxing to do.  There is an event coming up on this particular holiday weekend at my home away from home, Colorado. Denverpost.com did a nice little write up entitled, "Telluride Film Festival is about love of cinema, not money."  The article talks about how Telluride is not as commercial as Sundance or Cannes.

This festival is all about the experience.  There are nine theatres.  Some of them outdoors with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop.  Very cool!  Independent films usually have very low budgets and rely on venues such as this to promote their films.

Directors and actors of these films that are playing attend these festivals.  They will give speeches before and/or after their film describing their experience making the film.  I really like the idea behind these festivals.  It helps create a buzz for obscure films.  Gives guys like Ebert and Roeper a different venue.  I am sure it helps regenerate these reviewers.  Anyone may attend the Telluride Film Festival.  There are still tickets available.

Government education grants

     Hope you all had an awesome weekend! Being a full-time student, I recently read an article entitled, "Louisiana a loser in second round of Race to the Top education grants" from The Times, Picayune out of New Orleans regarding governement education grants. These grants are offered to states that make the best improvements.
     Two states were awarded grants in the first round and ten more have just been awarded in the second round. These grants are mostly based on high ratings for the duo of student performance and instructor evaluations. States across the country have been installing "teacher accountability policies." The articles speaks of  how the governor of Lousiana put his stamp on several bills in hopes that their state would be a winner. Yet only 28 of their 70 school districts turned in applications.
     This type of award does create much controversy. The schools/states that have the most intellectual teachers and students get all of the grant money. Those that really need the help to bring in better instructors to improve the performance of the students get nothing. 
     Bottom line.......at least 4.35 billion is being spent on education. The website for The Times, Picayune is http://www.nola.com/.