Regular vistors here may have noticed I added my Twitter updates to the sidebar.  Some are very aware what Twitter is all about, however I assume many of you have never heard of it.  With that assumption comes how in the world do I explain it easily?  It’s not complex at all but explaining how and why so many people use it is another story.  The Twitter FAQ begins with:

“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? “

While the FAQ does help, I think the folks at CommonCraft created the most concise explanation of Twitter with the short video “Twitter in Plain English“.  Watch it below:

I almost forgot… Twitter is free! Follow my Twitter updates here.

WordPress is the software guts of what you see here. It’s easy to use but can be difficult at times to upgrade.  I just completed the main piece of upgrading, but there are still some fixes to clean up.  For instance, the tags and categories of posts are missing.  I know how to fix it, but it will have to wait a day or two.  In case you wonder why things are a bit goofy looking here at the moment thats why.  It should be all fixed soon!

Update: It’s all fixed!

Yes, I’m a blog posting slacker.  Summer has yet again been a bit on the busy side. I had all these great ideas for posts that I never wrote… Oh well, at least I remembered to put this post up! :)

I came across a series of columns by Thomas Sowell posted last week. He discusses how politicians play to voters emotional responses to things like current gas prices, the U.S. economy or the housing market problems. Giving the appearance that these economic things are too complex to understand when in fact they are not.

Here is the quoted part 1 to the column Too “Complex”?

(click ‘more’ to finish reading the column and links to all 3 parts):

Too “Complex”?
Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

“Some people think that the reason the public misunderstands so many issues is that these issues are too “complex” for most voters. But is that really so?

With all the commotion in the media and in politics about the high price of gasoline, is there really some terribly complex explanation?

Is there anything complex about the fact that with two countries– India and China– having rapid economic growth, and with combined populations 8 times that of the United States, they are creating an increased demand for the world’s oil supply?

The problem is not that supply and demand is such a complex explanation. The problem is that supply and demand is not an emotionally satisfying explanation. For that, you need

[more...]

Today I decided to take up some new hobbies.  I have many hobbies these days so why not add more?  Many that know me know I like to try new things, so I decided to learn some extreme sports: moto-cross jumping and rattlesnake wrangling.

You may ask “Jim, Why such dangerous things and how do the two mix?” Well it’s simple really, no one has ever done moto-cross tricks while wrangling rattlesnakes.  When’s the last time you saw a person do backflips with a moto-cross bike and wrangle rattlesnakes?  Never!

I like to challenge myself and look forward to this new part of my athletic endeavors. I was inspired to do this by Sloof Lirpa, a world renowned athlete that base jumps while rattlesnake wrangling.  Sloof Lirpa is from the tiny town of Ekojasisiht in Norway.

For those in PETA: No rattlesnakes will be in danger or harmed since I will be learning from the best, the man, Sloof Lirpa at his Ekojasisiht training facility.

Apparently some parents will do literally anything to ensure their child arrives on-time to
a tennis lesson. Even of it means flying them in a small plane, landing it in the snow of a nearby golf course!

Just can’t make this stuff up…

What makes this story even more wild for me is I work just around the corner from that golf course. In fact, I drive past the fairway every weekday!

Living in Chicagoland, I can’t count the times I wished I had a helicopter or plane to get me across the area.  Not that it would be feasible, but its fun to dream of escaping the gridlock that can occur here on a daily basis. Crazy as it was, this guy actually did it!

I meant to blog this earlier this week since it occured this past Saturday, but alas, it slipped my mind.

Another large, horrific campus shooting spree occured earlier today, less than a year after the horrific day at Virginia Tech. This one was closer to home at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. It’s about 60 miles West of Chicago.

My prayers go out to the victims, families and students of NIU. I think my post back on the day of the Virginia Tech tragedy sums up my thoughts on the news today. Rather than repeating the post, just check it out here in my archives.

A local man who was a victim of the Virginia Tech spree had some wise words for the students of NIU. Garrett Evans said:

“The challenge is to forgive the gunman. It seems hard to do that, but you have to forgive so that you can heal.”

Well said Garrett.

Photos of the NIU scene here.

I know I’m not the first to post a link to this video but it’s fun to see. Recently a couple hundred people froze in place at the same time inside NYC Grand Central Station. It’s not a protest, just a fun prank. Enjoy!

Also available on YouTube.

The latest daily talking points the media seems to be harping on is the so-called impending doom of a recession. While I try to stay away from politics and the economy in this blog (for my own sanity), I just had to broach this topic.

I’m tired of hearing the media/pundits scream and pout that a recession is on the horizon or already here in the U.S. While I don’t claim to be any sort of financial expert (far from it), I think I have enough common sense and basic business/economics acumen to see most signs do not point down the recession road as much as they would like us to think.

Even the curmudgeon Andy Rooney, who is the definition of a pessemist, said last night on “60 Minutes” that he doesn’t think there is a recession, while at the same time making fun of the Wall Street Journal.

“I don’t know anything about economics but I don’t think what we’re in is a Depression - or even a recession - whatever the difference is.”

Ironically today’s commentary essentially agrees with Mr. Rooney’s statement that we are not in a recession.

Check out “The Economy Is Fine (Really)” in today’s Wall Street Journal by Brian Wesbury. Brian is chief economist for First Trust Portfolios, L.P. here in Chicagoland. A common sense approach is needed when evaluating today’s US economy. This commentary summed it up concisely in my opinion.

Short but classic dumb criminal story:

“MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Two Australian robbers were sentenced Tuesday for their April Fools Day heist at the Cuckoo Restaurant, where they thought they were hauling away a big sack of cash that turned out to be bread rolls. Benjamin Jorgensen, 38, and his accomplice Donna Hayes, 36, were sentenced in Victorian County Court after pleading guilty to robbing the restaurant in the southern Australian city of Melbourne on April 1 last year.

During the holdup, Jorgensen grabbed what he believed was a bag with the Cuckoo’s cash earnings of about $26,000, but later found it was full of bread rolls, the court heard.

He also fired his gun accidentally in the caper, shooting Hayes in the buttocks.

Judge Roland Williams told the robbers they were a “pair of fools,” before sentencing Hayes to eight years in prison and Jorgensen to seven.

Earlier this week, defense lawyer Greg Thomas said Jorgensen had been under the influence of drugs at the time, had made a full admission to police and was remorseful, News Ltd. newspapers reported.”

A regular Bonnie and Clyde? Not so much…

There are a number of levels of humor in this one.

1. The heist took place on April Fools Day last year. Not getting off to a good start in the whole planning thing…

2. Grabbing a bag of bread rolls which they was thought was really full of cash. Nice job looking in the bag…. Hopefully the rolls were fresh and tasty…

3. Accidentally shooting the accomplice in the bum. Well it could be worse… I’m sure that Ms. Hayes does not write any love letters to good ol’ Benjamin…

4. Ms Hayes got a longer prison sentence. The mastermind? Really? I’d expect this kind of numbskullery from the guy. Especially since he was the one on drugs…

5. They held up a restaurant named “Cuckoo”. ‘Nuff said…

A great Washington Post article yesterday about some issues facing amateur photographers who share their work online.   It focuses on unauthorized commercial use of photographs.  Many photographers never know that their work has been stolen (intentionally or not) until it is already in use or more commonly never are aware of it. Check it out “Hey, Isn’t That . . .” here or here.

Recently I ate some popcorn from a store I have not been to in a couple years. And believe me that was far too long! Garrett Popcorn is in my opinion the best popcorn ever made.

Here in Chicago it’s a well known, long-standing tradition to wait in line 2+ hours for it even on very cold, snowy winter days. It is really that good and no… people are not crazy for doing it.

Once eating this popcorn, even the most cynical person has to say its one of the best things they have ever tasted. While that may be a bit of hyperbole, it’s not really an exagerration to say that I have yet to meet a person who thought it was nothing but awesome.

Some may have heard about it from of all people Oprah, but she had little to do with its popularity. It was already well established here in Chicago since 1949, long before she was yapping about it on TV. Many other Hollywood and music-types rave about Garrett’s which is ok I suppose. Frankly I’d rather it only be known here in Chicago without those “stars” going on about it. Selfish of me? Darn right it is! To this day its a family owned and operated business and hopefully it will remain that way.

I highly recommend the CaramelCrisp^® & CheeseCornâ„¢ MIX however you can’t go wrong with any of the flavors listed here.