And now for something different

Economic Stimulus

There is a difference between a recession and slowdown in growth. We have had slow growth, from an annual rate of 3.5% to 1.5%. But that is still Growth. A recession is defined as having negative growth (shrinks) for six months or more. In other words, not only do we have to stop growing, we have to recede.

Sunday is the Super Bowl (Go Pats). According to a recent survey, Americans will spend $10 Billion related to the event. 158 Million Viewers will spend, on average, $59.90 on related merchandise. 10% of consumers plan to purchase a television and 5% plan to buy new furniture. Are we really receding?

Congress recently passed an economic stimulus package, and the IRS will be sending out checks to many of us. You could be receiving $600 – $1200 and $300 extra per child. If you are single and are making more than $75k per year, or are married and making 150k per year, I am sorry. You are one of those evil rich people that Bush gives tax breaks, so no stimulus for you. And, as long as you made at least 3k last year, and paid no taxes, you still get $300 back (enjoy it guys, really, it is my pleasure to get my income taxed so you can get $300 to stimulate the economy).

What this has really become is fodder for our Political Candidates, who all have their own economic stimulus package.

Back In SC

I took a quick jaunt down I-95 this weekend to see my Tighty Whitey Pal's reunion tour with his band, "Children at Heart." Friday's trip was, thankfully, uneventful. Made wonderful time and got in just in time for dinner.

Saturday was the democratic primary in SC. Mr. Good Coffee took a break to have breakfast with me at Brunches prior to casting his vote. I enjoyed the Farmer's Omelette, while my dining companion dined on the smoked sausage and eggs. We had fantastic conversation covering a range of topics from Churchiness to Politics, Work and Webkinz.

Cindy and I had the afternoon to ourselves. We enjoyed ten dollars worth of ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery (i.e. two of the small cups) prior to, ultimately, making our way to Books-a-Million. We did stop in at Sam's Club looking for a particular book, and browsed the new Best Buy in Lexington. After winding down at BAM, we met mom and dad and the girls at Zesto in West Columbia.

After this, Cindy and I suited up and went to the Watershed for the concert. Stringbean Wilson showed up and did a traditional "holler" (five minutes, thirty three seconds. Not bad for a guy of his age). Todd's Word showed up with Mrs. Word, however, both were called home when one of their Letters back home got sick (perhaps they ate at Zesto, too). The band was great. What a great idea for a 40th birthday gift. Perhaps I can get my band back together in time for mine (however, it was a marching band, so we are going to need a bigger venue).

So, Mrs. Creative and I will soon be packing up. One of my little loafers needs to hop on to the computer to check her Webkinz. She's afraid she forgot to feed her and put her to bed last night.

Chuck Is

Taking a tip from Rick, I have Googled "Chuck is" (with the quotes) to see what comes up. So, from the home office in Scottsdale Arizona, I have here tonight's Top 10 "Chuck Is"

10. Chuck is Hip-Hop and he would make sure that cats come correct.

9. What a good sport Chuck is!! My dog can't even have treats in the house without .... Chuck is such a good doggie, my dog wouldn't have sat still for one. ...

8. Your children know all of these chuck norris jokes, and chuck is a internet idol.

7. zardok, u couldn't be anymore truer . . chuck is friggen amazing, hes the reason i wake up in the morning, lol (just kidding)

6. This is pirate propaganda and Chuck is a tool. .... Chuck is a giant tool for supporting Hickabee. He's no longer omniscient and omnipotent. ...

5. He has been involved with the development of over 150 sites ranging in topics from luxury travel to bad breath remedies. Currently Chuck is trying his hand ...

4. ChucK is a new (and developing) audio programming language for real-time synthesis, composition, performance, and now, analysis - fully supported on MacOS X ...

3. You all are missing the fact that Chuck is the key editorial writer dude guy for ....

2. Chuck is the noted late-night TV gym equipment salesman and arguably is -- well, ....

1. Chuck is the original "wing it" musician!

Uh, no.

StarWars.com ran a piece about unauthorized C3PO merchandise. This was all kinds of wrong.

Look what Rick said…

I typically do not post a link, but, I think Rick has a neat approach to the Good Samaritan and the Question, "Who is my neighbor?" Perhaps we could take away that we should "be the neighbor" to everyone we meet.

Good Stuff over here.

Day Off

This is the only job, other than the Air Force, were I have gotten MLK day off. Slept in a bit, had some French toast and then did some school work with the girls. Of course, my new year's diet was going really well until this weekend. Really frustrating…A few years ago when I had lost 60 pounds, I had focus. I can recall how long it took me to get that focus, and how I have definitely lost it again.

I love having opportunities to teach the kids. I got to work through spelling (doing my best Dr. Maddox imitation, which was completely lost on Katie and Megan), and then math with Megster. She was learning multiples of eight, and I actually learned a pattern that I never knew before. So, let skip count, shall we?

8

16

24

32

40

Notice the second digit decrease by two from 8? E.g. 8, 6, 4, 2. And the first number (after 8) increases by 1.

48

56

64

72

80

and it continues over again .

After lunch we went out to the farm, and I got the chance to learn how to tack up Bandit. It was fun, but was it ever cold out in the riding arena. Megan is coming along fine and just learning to trot, and Katie just takes off at a canter and is making some impressive jumps.

That was two hours ago, and I still have not thawed out.

Fascinating

Goosebumps....

Bill Gate's Last Day at Microsoft

Love him, Hate him, either way, his products have put bread on my table.

Simple Pleasure

Wow! Can you believe that it is already the middle of January? Nope, neither can I! And here I am with nary a post after New Year's Day. How can I even call this a blog if I never post? Tell you what though, today my brain completely hurts. Some time ago, I posted about how I hated writing my self evaluation at work (how cute, I actually put some clip are in there…I really did try once upon a time), and guess what? Now that I am management, I have to write the other side of the review. Oh well, that's not what I wanted to write about.

A few days ago, it hit me that I do not read to the family anymore. For many years, after dinner, I would read a story out loud. At first, we would retire to another room but gradually, we just read at the table. The last book I remember reading was the Magician's Nephew. Last night, I started Prince Caspian. My voices for Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy came right back and we quickly got lost in Narnia again. The best part was finishing the chapter and hearing Katie say "I like that story."

Take time and read to your kids, it's a simple pleasure that will build years of memories.

P.S. – The BarnPal plates came today and they look awesome.

Welcome 2008

I almost made the blogging faux pas of not posting on the first day of the New Year. Seriously, what do I have to say that would be of any interest? Not much.

• Dick Clark needs to retire. After watching 15 minutes of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," I believe it is time for "America's Oldest Teenager," now 78, to pass the mantle onto the heir apparent, Ryan Seacrest. Dick has carried this torch long enough.
  
• Do Hindus ever have it "up to here" with Organized Religion?
  
• I only read two books in the past six months: 1776 and World War Z. I need to pick up the pace this year.
  
• I hate that the shows I like get cancelled. However, keep in mind that I am quoting "Buckaroo Banzai" on my site.
  
• Movies don't have the same attraction for me as they did back in the eighties.
  
• I am ditching DirecTV for Cable.
  
• I hope this is the year that Alan starts a blog. I really do.
  
• This is the year I go to Seattle (I hope).
  
• The gang should plan a summer get together.
  
• I am looking forward to turning forty in May. I went through my anxiety about it two years ago. I am over it.
  

So, there you are: much ado about nothing.

Happy New Year.

New Year's Eve Plans

So, what are your plans for tonight?

This year will be the first year that the girls stay up with us until midnight. We were given a bunch of games that we are going to try out, eat some tacos, courtesy of Taco Bell, pop some corn and tune in to watch the ball drop.

Hopefully, the new year will kick off to a great new start with a nice sleep-in.

Chuck @ Chuck's

Currently, I have the only sane seat in ChuckECheese (located in Rockville Maryland). We are in Maryland this weekend to help my father and brother in law celebrate their birthday.

But that is not why we are at CEC. I am having a rare pleasure of seeing my nieces play about. I feel bad that I do not see themm as much as I should. Looking for an activity to do, we landed at CEC.

The pizza just showed up, so I am gonna close this up and post outta here.

[ht to Rick for his license plate post]

I believe Cindy's favorite gift that I gave was a personalized license plate. To be honest, this was not an item that I had intended to give as a gift. I had to renew her tags at the end of the month, and I decided to look at what combinations were available for the Horse Enthusiast plate.

Some of the combinations I tried (but were taken) were

• BRNMOM
• BANDIT
• GIDIUP
• BRNPOO

What I had planned to give her was a replacement license plate holder. I wanted to find a cute horsey one. I took the girls out to let them choose. Katie picked "Happiness is owning a Horse." As I was wrapping the holder up, it hit me. Print up the image above and tape it into the holder. And then, the coupe de grace was signing the package "To Mom" "From Bandit."

I believe Cindy was floored.

Merry Christmas!

To those of you who have increased my hit rate at the bottom, I want to wish you each a very merry Christmas.

To Rick, James, Todd, Steve and George – the gift of your friendship has been a treasure throughout the years. I am blessed beyond measure to have friends like you and I am thankful that we have been able to reconnect in this virtual blogsphere. Hopefully, we can reconnect sometime in the real world.

Blessings to all!

Chuck

Chuck vs. the TV Series

Have you seen the show Chuck yet? My life is exactly like that (add about 15 years, throw in a wife and two kids and nix the entire FBI/CIA/Computer in the brain angle). I have mostly relegated the show to Tivo and catching up when I can. To date, I like it but at the same time I could live without it. Why? Because each episode tells a complete story – there is very little story arc. One of the other NBC shows that I was looking forward to was the Bionic Woman. I have yet to really care about any of the characters in this show. That's a shame because this show has many of the creative team from Battlestar Galactica, which is my favorite show (except for the fact that it is an even longer hiatus, thanks to the strike).

The show that I have enjoyed the most is Journeyman. Have you caught any of this? Too bad, because it looks like it did not get picked up. Journeyman has joined the ranks of Firefly, Jericho and Space: Above and Beyond as one season hits that had so much potential (I think Jericho was revived thanks to the fan base sending tons of peanuts to CBS execs in NY and LA). Journeyman was about a man, Dan, who suddenly begins to travel back in time. The phenomenon is completely out of his control and is preceded by headaches. His wife comes to believe that her husband is not crazy when, in the past, he buries his wedding ring underneath the spot where his patio would be built twenty years later. Dan's brother, a cop, thinks that Dan's unexplained absences are due to an old gambling habit. Whenever Dan is pulled back, there is someone whom he is supposed to help. Hints are given that may indicate that there is someone coordinating the travel, but sadly, we will never know.

Catch it on DVD (or if it should repeat).

Birds, Bees and “the talk”

I really have not had anything to say lately and thus the increase in video links here and about. It's not that I haven't had ideas brewing around. They are there, percolating like a fine cup of coffee, just waiting to be poured. This post is not one of those cups. Rather, it is a reaction to the headlines about the pregnancy of 16 year old Jamie Lynn Spears. I have no idea who this young lady is, but apparently, a lot of people do. Younger sister of Britney, Ms. Spears stars as Zoey in Nickelodean's "Zoey 101."

The headlines ask the question "How will you talk to your Kids about Sex and Teen Pregnancy?"

So, here is how we handled this subject this year. Last Christmas, I bought Cindy the book "Preparing Your Daughter for Every Woman's Battle: Creative Conversations about Sexual and Emotional Integrity." Both of us read the book, and then we read it with Katie and Megan. As it turns out, Megan was too young and most of the concepts went over her head. But Katie, nine, understood and picked up on things fairly quickly. However, I could tell that my presence was a hindrance to the conversation. Cindy and Katie continued to work through the book almost all year.

Cindy has told me about questions that Katie will ask her, out of the blue. Even though the book is done, the conversation is still continuing.

Merry Christmas All!

Hide Chuck

LJ showed me the Ultimate Disappearing act provided by Google!!

Tis The Season

A little bit of me playing at the Senior's Christmas Banquet. A little nerves, some intonation issues, more air, but, overall, I was pleased with how it turned out.

Another Unoriginal Christmas Idea

Thanks Jorge!



That is harder than it looks!