Ah, god do I love Walk Hard: The Dewy Cox Story.  I know that I’ve talked about it before, but this clips gets me….

I never thought I would like the movie so much….  What a good laugh.

Your dog wants steak!

So I was craving food this evening, so a quick trip to the store was in order.  I was feeling “creative” and ended making a filet – that had good taste but an outstanding aftertaste.  

Here is the recipe:

• Tenderloin steak
• Fresh Garlic
• Fresh Basil
• Celery Seeds
• Dried Parsley
• Olive Oil
• Bacon
• Crumbled Blue Cheese
• Toothpicks

First, chop your garlic and basil

Next you will want to do is wrap the bacon around the parameter of the steak. Use the toothpicks to hold the bacon in place. 

Time to get the stove going and Sauté up the Garlic, Basil, Celery Seeds and Dried Parsley in in the Olive Oil, making sure you stir the ingredients, and continue Sautéing until your garlic starts to brown slightly. Once the base is ready, put your bacon-wrapped steak(s) onto your mix and  Sauté to your liking.  I ‘m all about rare/medium rare, so I’ll do 2 to 4 minutes on each side (depending on thickness).

The very last thing you will want to do is lightly sprinkle your crumbled blue cheese on the steak, allowing the cheese to melt ever so slightly.

I didn’t so any side dishes, but I’d love to have some lemon-baked asparagus with ground black pepper on my next serving of this…  So very good… 

I wish I took pictures of it, maybe next time.

Trader Joe’s

Today is the first time I was in a Trade Joe’s in about a year, maybe a bit longer.  I cannot believe how much I enjoy the store.  

I’m all about fresh corn – If I could have corn on the cob all the time, I would be so very happy.  As a substitute, however, I’ll take Trader Joe’s Frozen Organic Sweet Corn.  Yes, I said frozen corn.  I’m not exactly sure how they manage to retain the fresh taste, but I suspect that it has something to do with how they’ve packaged the corn… maybe via flash freezing…  You cannot go wrong!

If you also happen to be looking for a good source of frozen fish, look no further.  The preseasoned tuna and salmon Trader Joe’s offers is a quick meal that packs in some good taste while not coming off as a prepacked meal. Actually, the fish tastes fresh.  Again, I’m guess that it has something to do with freezing method.

The best part, the food that Trader Joe’s carries is rather cheap.  You go into Whole Foods and you can reasonably expect to spend a small fortune.  Not so with Trader Joe’s.  Today the total bill was only $72 for roughly two weeks of food.  How can you beat that!?!

My mom’s Wheat Bread cookies

There are a number of  items that my mother makes that I love and consider “comfort foods”…  butter cookies, meat pie, French macaroni… but one of my all time favorites is her Wheat Bread Cookies.  I had to run out to the parents house to take care of a few things yesterday, and wouldn’t you know it, some Wheat Bread Cookies were waiting for me.

I just wanted to say “Thanks mom!”

Ok, well…  I’m off to take care of a few things.  I’m really not looking forward to doing my taxes but that I right up there on the list of stuff to take care of. Oh, am I the only one who doesn’t seem to care that the Superbowl is tomorrow?

Anyway…. Be well.

As of roughly 4:38 PM central time, Rod Blagojevich was no longer the Governor of Illinois.  Almost immediately after, Democratic Lt. Governor Patrick Quinn was sworn into office.  Sure, Blagojevich, made a pointless hour long speech today, trying to say he did nothing wrong, but if he really wanted to prove his innocence… maybe he would have wanted to show up at the trial instead of running around New York making talk show appearances.

What I find really interesting to see is how quickly Senator Roland Burris threw Blagojevich under the bus – “it shows loud and clear that there were serious hurdles keeping the governor from doing his job.”  It didn’t keep him from doing his job when he appointed you to the vacant Senate seat, did it now Senator Burris?

I know that political machine of today seems to have corruption interwoven into all aspects of it, but when the corruption is finally stopped – when the blatant abuse of power is confronted – it’s a wonderful thing to see.  

See ya, Blago.

The Stimulus Plan

So I am having a hard time finding specific information regarding all aspects of the Stimulus Plan, and I don’t really have the time to read it line by line right now, but I may have to in order to dig up the facts.

The two things I did find, however, I am rather bothered by.

1. Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits.
2. The Make Work Pay Credit also would be refundable, meaning that even tax filers without any income tax liability — typically very low-income workers — would receive one.

The point of number 1 could be seen a number of ways.  Being the cynic that I am, I see a large push by the Democratic party to buy the votes of hundreds of thousands of potential voters.  Why potential?  The “undocumented immigrants” is a nice way of saying “illegal”.  Eventually the Democratic majority will push to legalize “undocumented immigrants”, and they will be successful, and when the next round of elections comes calling they will remember who fought for, and successfully provided them, money.

As for point number 2…If you do not pay income taxes, you should not be getting income taxes back.  That is the whole point of a tax refund – you are refunded money you gave in the last year.  Kinda hard to refund something you didn’t pay, isn’t it?  In order to provide the capital for a refund to those who didn’t pay income taxes means the country will need to add additional debt and/or raise taxes.  

Let’s cut through the political speak and call it what it is: socialism.  

People should read up on Marx to see what comes after socialism.

Obama’s Letter to Iran

I find this to be very, very interesting.  

President Obama is drafting a letter to Iran, specifically to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in hopes of opening official US-Iranian relations.  I find the choice of Khamenei to be very interesting because the US administration is bypassing the President of Iran.  Could this be a political move to have the Ayatollah support another candidate, say like Seyd Mohammad Khatami, who happens to be seen as a reformer as well as a positive force in US-Iranian relations…

If this letter is sent, does this also mean the US foreign policy of not talking  (well, negotiating) with terrorist organizations?  If that is the case, I wonder what the impact of such a decision will be AND does the U.S. Department of State have a plan in place for any positives or negatives?

This has the potential to be a huge political win for President Obama… or a major embarrassment….

I need a bit of a break right now, and I’m going to watch my new guilty pleasure… the 2004 Remake of “Dawn of the Dead”

Here are a number of thoughts I’ve had for the day, let’s dig in.

The economic stimulus

We are in a new political era, right?  The days of hardcore bipartisanship are gone now that President Obama is in office, right?   If that is the case why is it that the economic stimulus passed the House today by a vote of 244-188?  That may seem like an odd question on the face of it but add in the fact that ONLY Democratic members of the House voted yes, except for 11 who voted no, and EVERY Republican in the House voted no?

That doesn’t seem as if both parties are attempting to work together to find a solution.  I am attempting to find information as to how the proposed stimulus is to be spent, but here is the big question I have – how, exactly, will this create jobs?  The politicians say that public works initiatives will create/save the jobs in the economy but a large number of the people who have lost their employment where white collar workers.  I don’t see too many aerospace engineers, network administrators or bankers going out to build bridges, do you?

Bad Banks

When the original TARP package was announced, the one I believed the former administration was going to implement, I was all for it.  Why?  Because the government was going to buy “toxic” corporate assets. Essentially, tax the bad debt off the balance sheets of banks in exchange for some penalty.  

Made then, makes sense now, as it allows the “toxic” assets to have a value placed on them by the government.  In turn, the real estate market could start to bottom simply because mortgages have a backstop – a known minimum value – and we could start moving forward.

Why the previous administration did not actually take such action is beyond me, but I’m quite happy to see the current administration talking forming such an entity.

My post on life from yesterday

A friend had commented that, maybe, I am over analyzing life and that I should simply go with the flow a bit more.

A put some more thought into this comment, and it’s a very good comment, but I came to the conclusion that I’m actually doing as little analysis as possible without trying to control everything.  I’m looking at where I am and do I want to be here.  If not, where do I want to be?

Now, here is a big one about going with the flow…  If I did go with the flow a bit more, frankly, I would change everything.  Everything.  Simply because I would be going with the flow (what I was feeling at that time, at that moment).  Sure, I could go with the flow more but I have to restrain myself because… well… if I go with the flow, I would end up making decisions that are very unsound.  

Ok, off to work on something….

No, wait… two other things…

How is it that Starbucks cannot meet their earnings numbers?  I mean, Really?  Every time I go into ANY Starbucks it’s packed.  Is the company that poorly managed?  

Also, the USPS may drop mail delivery down to 5 days a week because they continue to post operating losses year over year.  Mail (“snail mail”) volume is falling at a large clip due to a) email and b) private carriers and what is the response of the government?  Raise rates!  That will make us more money.  Bottom line, the USPS is bloated and should compete directly against UPS or FedEx, let’s see what would happen then…

The topic that I am continually asking myself, focusing segment of my subconscious mind on, is what do I want from life. For the last three weeks this this question has been ringing more and more in my mind. It is a daunting task, and not an answer that I expect will simply just come into mind – I don’t expect there to be an “ah ha” moment where everything falls into place and I simply just “know”, but I do seem to have the ability to clearly see the questions/options more today than I have been able to in a few months.

When looking at the question I am really asking a few things… what do I want from a career, what do I want from my friends, do I want to take certain paths in life (Executive Management, being a parent, where do live), and what can I expect from my life on a day to day basis. Today I had two things remind me of this question – talking with Friends and watching reruns of the TV show Scrubs.

First off, talking with my friends reminded me how special they are to me. See, part of my “problem” with friends is age. The majority of my friends are significantly older than I am, which makes it very, very hard to plans things with them. The last thing someone wants to do is go out to dinner if they haven’t been with the family for 12 hours. I get that, but it’s true. Not only the age, a number of them travel on a weekly basis, so now it’s a matter of purely finding time in the schedule (after their work, after their family and after their own relaxing time).

So, what do I want from my friendships?

Not much, really. Simply talking to someone once every other week or so would work for me…. get a good laugh in, share some thoughts on life. You know, simply have friendships that allow me to let part of my creative/critical thinking side of me come out. I need to work on this aspect of my life.

What about a career… what do I need and desire in this aspect of life?

I’m 31 years old and I’ve been working in IT (one form or another) for 11 years now, but what do I have to show for it? Actually, a lot. I am cognizant of the fact that my path in life has provided me with a lifestyle that is above average (no, I am not saying rich) and a career path that potentially allows me to become an executive in a company in the future, but is that what I want? I’m not sure – yet.

I understand there is a large amount of experience and that I need to gain, both personally and professionally, in order to obtain that path in life. In many ways obtaining those traits and skills would simply help me become a better person regardless of my career choices…. but I am on the “path” as of right now if I desire that lifestyle.

Knowing my advantages, if you will, I still wake up every day and think to myself “is this the course in life that I wish to take”. A large part of me wants to sake everything up, start anew. A large part of me thinks that my natural rhythm does not fit into the 9 to 5 lifestyle. At one time in the past I would have easily said I would be running my own business, but even that doesn’t seem natural to me any longer. Basically, a large part of me is saying no, this isn’t what I desire.

If it is not what I desire, what is? That is what I am continually asking… continually thinking about….and one question that I am not closer to at this point.

I have more introspection to hash out, but it won’t be this evening. It’s time for me to call it an evening. Tomorrow I’ll get to my thoughts on Do I want to be a parent/where do I want to live, and I’ll tie in how Scrubs triggered these thoughts….

Until then.

At this very moment I happen to be watching a new Discovery Channel program called “One Way Out” and I’, not sure if the host is a total nut job, highly intelligent or both.  I’ll tell you this, it’s quite entertaining to watch.  It’s almost part Jackass and part Myth Busters.

It’s not for the faint of heart though.  

Anyway, there a number of things that happened today that I have some thoughts about.  Let’s start with Illinois Politics

Rod Blagojevich 

The impeachment trial of Rod Blagojevich started today, and guess what… we wasn’t there!  He decided that the trial “wasn’t fair” and simply decided he wasn’t going to show up.  Instead he was all over talk shows this morning acting as if this was no big deal.

When pressed on comments he allegedly made about selling the open Illinois Senate seat he said “I can’t confirm or deny anything when I haven’t had the chance to hear all the tapes. Whatever the tapes are, they will speak for themselves, I was working to try to make the right decision for the people of Illinois.” 

Is saying “I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden, and I’m just not giving it up for fucking nothing. I’m not gonna do it.” really looking out for the people of Illinois.  Yes, anything can be taken out of context, but there is a lot more in the transcripts that point to him trying to profit from the open position. Eventually, one can no longer take it out of context and see it is clear he was attempting to profit for himself and his wife.

The arrogance this man shows is amazing.

Timothy Geithner

As expected, the Senate confirmed Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary.  Let’s face it, the man is a crook. He cheated on his taxes multiple times and he employed an illegal immigrant.  He didn’t pay his taxes until it was clear he was going to be nominated for the treasure secretary, which makes one wonder if he would have ever paid at all if this position never came along.

Again, I want to know where the outrage is – in the press, in the Democratic and Republican parties, and the public in general.  A man who could not pay his taxes (either he forgot or chose to) is now in charge of the Internal Revenue Service.

More and more layoffs

When looking at things I could see happening in 2009, I suggested that economists were being overly optimistic and that I believe unemployment could hit 10%. All of a sudden the experts are starting to wonder the same thing. Today alone major corporations in the United States announced 40,000 layoffs.  40,000 in one day.  

Last year the economy lost 2.6 million jobs, this year has the potential to match that number.  With the public worried about their jobs, or if they will be able to pay the bills tomorrow, why would big purchases on their mind?  Easy answer, they wouldn’t be.  Unless some massive tax credit is provided to people who buy a home, the real estate market won’t be picking up any time soon… nor will the automotive industry (though, I would never expect the government to offer large tax credits for stimulate the auto industry at this point).

I still believe things will get worse before they get better.

Well, off to finish my TheraFul… still trying to shake this flu/cold.

“I’m going to go back and I’m going to order cars that I don’t need,” – Michael Andretta, owner of a Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealership in central Pennsylvania.  

So, dealers cannot sell the cars on their lots but Chrysler is asking that dealers actually purchase more cars than can sell.  How messed up is that?

This approach is based on the belief that if the dealership helps Chrysler, Chrysler will help the dealership. What I don’t understand is HOW will Chrysler help the dealership?  When it becomes apparent that the dealers don’t have money to purchase cars, or enough cash to keep day to day operations running, will Chrysler bail them out, or will the dealers end up being left on their own? If dealers had even more inventory they needed to sell, what steps were they taking.  I decided to find out.

With the current incentives being offered by Chrysler and their dealerships I took the time to obtain a quote and ask about what offers I could utilize in my purchase of a new car.  Well, none of my questions were answered and the dealership continued to push other items than what I had asked for.  Basically, what I ended up with was a bunch of spam… and this was a typical response from 3 different dealerships.

It is very clear the people who are in charge of selling cars have not changed their views on how to sell cars – especially under restricting economic conditions. Purchasing more cars when you cannot even sell what you have is a very poor business decision.

Yes, I  am up later than I had expected, but I had a good start to the weekend.  I woke up around 11:15, and after taking care of the necessities, got myself out the door and on the way.

Banking Thoughts

Even thought the banking industry is in turmoil I find it refreshing that some banks still have the ability to focus on customer satisfaction.  I walked into Citibank today to take care of a few record keeping issues and I would not have been happier – outstanding service, friendly bankers, and my issues addressed with no problems at all.  

While Citibank is in the process of dividing up their business into different operating areas, it is clear they are truly committed to keeping their account customers happy.  Based on my problems with eTrade Bank, that is not something I could ever say about them…

Jeans

I tend to not wear jeans.  When I go to the office I’m usually wearing a sport coat or a suit.  Frankly, I would prefer to wear a suit every day if I could.  Not exactly sure why, I there is something about an suit that makes me feel..  relaxed.  When I do wear jeans I am usually just running out to the store, and then it’s only for the run out.  I get home and I’ll be in shorts.

Back in 2004 I picked up a pair of Banana Republic jeans at one or the BR outlet stores in California.  I wasn’t putting much thought into it, I simply picked my size and went on my way.  Turns out they were the best jeans I ever purchased.  The cut fit me “just right” and I finally felt “comfortable” in something else than a suit.  Thinking I could duplicate the experience, I poked around Banana Republic to find another pair but I had no such luck.  

Today, however, I found another pair of jeans that just work for me at the Levi’s store in Evanston.  A good old pair of 501’s ended up doing the trick.  Everything feel into place – texture, color, and cut were exactly what I was looking for. A truly pleasant surprise!

I know the history of Levi’s, and I’ve known about the efforts they’ve taken in order to reclaim market share from Diesel  and True Religion.  Based on the product I picked up I believe they are really on their way.

Revolutionary Road

I saw Revolutionary Road today and was very impressed.  I now can officially say I am a fan of Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead).  Each movie he does manages to impress me, be it the use of music (or lack of) to influence the viewers emotions, the use of light or camera positioning.  Top quality.  As I was watching Revolutionary Road, however, the very first think that came to mind was “I can totally relate”.  

Actually, as I’ve faced challenges in life I’ve always looked for a way to describe how I feel.  A classic example for me tends to be “Imagine taking every single thought you’ve had over the course of a day and jam it into a single second, that’s how I feel.”  I now have the ability to point someone to this movie and say “Watch this and you’ll know”. i ‘m really not going to go into detail about the movie – at this point – as I think this is one that shouldn’t be influenced by outside sources.  Just simply go an see it.

And yes, I’m still sick

I forgot to mention…. I’m still sick.  The situation seems to be improving, the runny nose is mostly gone, as are the aches, but the sinus is still driving me nuts.  I hate that my sinus problems always last a significant time after the triggering sickness has long since left.  Ah well, it could be worse.

Well, I’m off for the evening….  until next time, keep your powder dry.

In my view of the world Freedom of Speech means the ability to say speak without limitation or censorship by the government, as long as I am not causing danger to the lives of others.

If I desire to walk around every day and use the word tits as a substitute for the word good – as in “You did tits job with the presentation today, Jim” or “Those are some tits people” – I want to.  Sure, I may sound like an asinine fool while doing so, but I want to have the ability if I so choose.

Apparently South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford feels that I should not have this ability if I ever visit their beautiful state. He is trying to pass legislation that would outlaw profanity.  If one happens to break said law, a jail sentence up to 5 years and/or a fine up to $5,000 may be coming your way.

I see a number of issues with this, obviously, but a big problem with the proposed legislation – outside of that whole I want to say what I want thing – is that it does not clearly delineate what is considered profane.  Also, it does not take into account the conditions under which the language was used.

We have to remember that Freedom of Speech, as defined under the 1st Amendment, is not without limits.  That is to say Freedom of Speech is not absolute.  According to the Supreme Court, Freedom of Speech does not include:

• Burning draft cards to protest draft
• Words likely to incite imminent violence
• Words immediately jeopardizing national security
• Newspaper publishing false and defamatory material

I don’t see how tits would fall into those four categories, do you?

I want to have the ability to use whatever language I decide that is appropriate for the situation and let the world view me however it so decides to because of my usage of vulgar words. Such laws create a dangerous environment allowing the government to restrict other activities, which has the potential to lead society down a very dangerous (and absurd) path.

Do I think this will pass?  No.  I believe that if this is all Mr. Ford can focus on, the people who voted him into office need to ask if he is truly serving their best interest. It’s not like there is economic turmoil that needs to be addressed right now…

That said, I think people who want to restrict or control how others think and/or speak need to fornicate off.

We know all about the automotive depression, no one is buying cars.  Got it. We don’t need to continue to beat a dead horse.  What I never really put much thought to; however, is what happens to all the “new” cars that go unsold?

Really, put some thought into it…

When inventory does not move, the entire supply chain management system backs up.  The dealerships do not need new cars due to the lack of sales, the automakers do not have anywhere to send the new cars, automotive suppliers have nowhere to send new supplies because automakers have suspended production… and the whole system comes to a trickle.  But what happens to cars manufactured ahead of the slowdown? The cars that were intended to be delivered to dealerships but now have no buyers?

Jalopnik.com has the answer (in pictures, no less).

What will happen to these cars?  

It’s painfully clear the need for cars won’t be picking up within the next three months, that means the glut of excess won’t be moving quickly.  On average, it takes a U.S. manufactured vehicle roughly two weeks to go from the end of the assembly line to the dealer.  Once on the lot inventory will sit for roughly 20 days.  This means when a person gets a “new car” they really are getting a new car.

The longer a “new” car sits the likelihood increases that the car will not be sold because of the depreciation on the asset, the product can quickly be outdated due to the expected launch of  expected new models,  or the elements may damage the goods.  So, if a car sits for three to six months, the value to the automakers and the dealerships drops dramatically.

What may have cost $20K to develop is now essentially worthless, and the company will need to account for their loss, leading the manufacturers to write down the cost of the cars.  

What we may be witnessing is the next major wave of right downs – the next multi billion dollar losses for the Big Three – but by that time it may be simply an exercise in accounting as I would expect one or two of the Big Three to be in bankruptcy by that point…