CommenTerry

Classic Rants and Raves #48

I don't understand all the uproar over so-called "Mcmansions" and "starter castles", extremely large homes that are built in the suburbs. If someone owns a piece of land and wants to build an an extremely large home, I don't see that it's anyone else's business. 

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Unfortunately, all the recent terrorism in the world has driven many Americans and Britons to the brink of stark paranoia.

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Watching the Kentucky Derby a few weeks ago reminded me of how disappointed I was the first time I watched a horse race on TV as a child. I couldn't believe it only lasted a few minutes. I was expecting it to last for hours, like automobile races!

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Prison sentences are too good for identity thieves. They should be sentenced to public slavery, with the revenue from their labor spent to reimburse identity theft victims and to purchase identity theft prevention items, such as paper shredders, for other law-abiding citizens.   

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There are no gentle TV shows anymore. There were plenty of them in the 1950's, 1960's, and even 1970's. Now, almost  every show has to be "edgy." Even so-called "family" shows come with an in-your-face attitude.   

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Anytime I've used caution, I've been glad I did. Anytime I've thrown caution to the wind, I've regretted it.

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Despite what some jackleg, heresy-propagating TV preachers might say, no one is  going to give you a car or house just because make a large donation to one of them (the preachers, of course). If you want a car or house, you're going to have to work for it.

Nothing Is Better Than Something?

Some of the people who refuse to save money for short to intermediate term needs will use the current low interest rates on savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposits as an excuse. Let me get this straight: They refuse to accept low interest, so instead they don't save at all and get no interest?

Walgreens' Nationals?

Has anyone else noticed how strikingly similar the Washington Nationals' 'W' logo is to that same letter in the Walgreens logo? Even the colors are the same (red and white). I'm surprised Walgreens hasn't brought some kind of lawsuit against Major League Baseball to have them cease and desist from using that logo. Instead, perhaps Walgreens is considering buying the team. 

Classic Rants and Raves #47

Free speech with consequences is not free speech at all.       

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Small-minded people focus on small-minded issues.    

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Contrary to what some unscrupulous business people would have you believe, there is no such thing as an open-ended guarantee. That kind of guarantee would leave no definitive way for anyone to determine whether the guarantor ever makes good on it.

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I haven't experienced much ease, comfort, and pleasure during my lifetime. However, I've greatly enjoyed the little that I've had! 

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Message to all of those start-up IPTV operators: You'll never make it big or gain any significant traction as long as you nickel and dime everyone to death with so many per-program charges. People want to be able to access all of your programs for one monthly subscription fee.   

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I was never designed to be an adult. Even at age 47, I still resent the whole concept of having to take on adult responsibilities. That's why I've had such a difficult time since I turned 18. 

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I can't listen to music when I'm trying to think or make decisions. It seems to throw a net over my brain!

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There's are two ways in which a nation can lose its freedom: (1) By not protecting it and (2) by protecting it too much.

Seven Reasons I Hate Submitting to Authority

Here are the seven main reasons I hate to submit to someone else's authority. I am afraid they might require me to do something that:

1) I'm unable to do.

2) I'm unwilling to do.

3) Demands unusual courage.

4) Will force me out of my comfort zone for while.

5) Is unpleasant. 

6) Is sacrificial.

7) Will cause an interpersonal conflict.

There's More Than One Way to Throw Money Away

There's an old saying in baseball about a run prevented being worth just as much as a run scored. Likewise, it's a just as much of a waste of money to decline passive income as it is to throw away money you've already earned. We do this all the time and I'm just as guilty of it as anyone. We do it when fail to fully fund our 401(k) and/or IRA accounts. We do it when keep our long-term savings in cash instead of in stocks and bonds. We do it when we fail to get the best interest rates on our short term savings. Worst of all, we do it when we fail to save.

There's Too Much "Well" News on TV

Local and national news broadcasts spend far too much time on what I call "well" news. What is "well" news? It is coverage of trivial stuff like non-newsworthy events, celebrity lifestyles, and human interest stories that do not belong in a news broadcast. I call it "well" news because the discussion of such items often begins with, "Welllllllllll", .....". For example, "Wellllllll, today our fair city conducted its annual bag stomping contest!"

When Sympathy Is a Hard Sell

I have difficulty feeling sympathy for people to facilitate their own demise. For example, let's look at the incident of the 18-year-old girl who vanished (and was likely killed) three years ago after leaving a bar in Aruba with several strange men. Most people are familiar with the one I'm referring to, but out of respect for her grieving family, I will not mention her name. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she deserved what happened to her or had it coming to her. However, at bit of simple caution that common sense would teach someone much younger than she could probably have prevented the whole thing. We're all going to meet our demise some day - there's no escaping it. However, when my turn comes, I want it to be in spite of what I'm doing, not because of it!.

Should You Buy the Most Expensive House You Can Afford?

A home is a wonderful investment and, in general, the more of a home one purchases, the faster it will appreciate in price. However, if the mortgage is ultimately foreclosed on, that investment is wasted.

Unless an individual or family has a guaranteed source of income (most don't), they need to carefully consider how much of their monthly income to spend on a mortgage payment. That decision needs to be weighed against how the mortgage payment would adversely affect their ability to put some money away each month for an unexpected setback, like a period of unemployment.

The more money one has to lay out for a mortgage payment, the less one has for savings. Also, a higher mortgage will put more strain on one's savings during a period of unemployment.   

How Much of a Windfall Could Octuplets Bring?

Some time ago, I read a story on the Internet about a couple in Kansas City who falsely claimed to have had sextuplets in order to glean financial donations from their community and around the nation. They even set up web page that allowed people to use their credit cards to donate. Now that they've been found out, this couple could be in trouble with the law and are now apologizing to everyone and promising to return all of their ill-gotten gain.

I'm just surprised that this kind of scam doesn't happen more often. Giving birth to multiples has become a cottage industry in the United States, bringing economic windfalls to the lucky couples. It's almost as good as winning the lottery!

A few weeks ago, a local TV station reported the story of a couple who had recently given birth to quadruplets. According to the story, members of their church were footing the bill for them to live in a luxury hotel, rent free, until a brand new 3000-square-foot  home could be built for them. And, you guessed it, the church members were going to pay for this house. If I were a member of that church, I would halt my donations, or at least designate them for missions or something else other than this couple's dream house.

I really don't understand the concept of enriching the parents of multiples. Where did it ever come from? It seems to me that the father, at least, would be ashamed to accept such charity. Once upon a time, it was a man's responsibility to support his own progeny. If he produced them, he was expected to pay for them, no matter how many (at a time). Obviously, times change, and sadly for the worse.