"Bloglike Banter" Past Postings
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I am making a conversion to a true BLOG, so from here on out you will be able to find "Mongo's Musings" at http://huskerfan1.wordpress.com.  Writings prior to 2008 can be found here.  Happy reading!

December 22, 2007

A brief, personal summary of 2007

It's been quite a while since something original has been posted here.  I find it hard to believe I've been too busy to find the time to do something like this (which I truly enjoy), but let's face it - the personal website tends to take a back seat over other things.  Anyway, thought I'd take this opportunity to get back on track and share some my thoughts as I look back on 2007:

Family
2007 was our first full year without my mom, but I’m glad to report that we adjusted well. Our Florida gathering in mid-March for the one-year anniversary of her death was difficult for all of us, but it honestly was a big step in the healing process. They say that time heals all wounds, and though there is some truth to that statement there isn’t a day that goes by when she’s not in our thoughts. My dad has done a pretty good job of adapting to his new lifestyle – work and relaxation was more balanced, plus he’s made some new friends. However, admittedly his domestic skills still need quite a bit of work! He’s taken a big step towards his eventual retirement from Medline, giving his “two year” notice in the late fall. We’re hoping that we can do something together business-wise in the future.

Laura continues to be the most wonderful wife anyone could ask for, and she couldn’t be happier as a mother. AJ is developing at an above average rapid pace, rarely has problems or illnesses and is nothing short of incredible. It still doesn’t seem real that he just turned three. When they say children change your lives forever, they’re correct, and it’s an excellent change! Yes we have been considering having a second child, but at the moment there’s no news to report (part our fault, part bad luck, and probably part due to our age). My sister Missy did have a second child, Rory, at the end of August. She’s taking maternity time off now from her professor job at Chapman University, but is also taking a leave next semester to care for both kids as Isabella, is in need of special assistance on a few things. On Laura’s side of the family, there’s probably been a bit less drama this year than in the past, which isn’t a bad thing. It would probably take me a few thousand words to give full updates on everyone, so at the moment suffice to say that everyone is pretty healthy and seems to be doing fine. I don’t say it much, but I truly love my in-laws. They are some of the most caring people you will ever meet, and have helped me realize the importance of family.

We had a tremendous gathering at the end of June to celebrate my great aunt Doris and great uncle Gene’s 50th anniversary – which happens to be on the exact same day as mine & Laura’s five-year anniversary. I reconnected with many of my relatives, plus we met several other distant ones. I put up a starter web page on this, and with help from some of these family members still plan on putting together a full family tree someday – hopefully this common connection will allow us to get together again. My dad and I also made it out for another Huskers game this year and met up with some other relatives (the Steigleders). Overall in 2007 I probably did a bigger variety of family events than in the past, and you know what – I like it!

Friends
The big news of the year involves two of my long-time best friends, with the most recent one being Leon Rebodos’ heart surgery.  Fortunately he has made it through the most difficult time and is on the road to recovery.  It’s these scary situations that not only make you appreciate the importance of friends but the true value of life.  Gene Dorsch found a new job in February, but it required him to relocate his family to Arizona – this was always Gene’s “dream” though deep down I don’t think he ever really intended to move.  For the most part they’ve made the adjustment to Arizona, and Gene’s job is going well, so all seems well.  I’m happy for them, but really do miss Gene and his whole family.  They are our best friends and the ones we saw the most, so the move was also a bit of a system shock to me as well.  For what it’s worth, we now have another good vacation spot and they have a place to stay when they come back to visit!

I’m fortunate to have a lot of friends, but sad to say that I just don’t see many of them as often as I’d like.  Between some of my long-time friends from grade/high school, good buddies from Medline, my fantasy football group (including the “hootermaster” vacation crowd), neighbors and many others, there just never seems to be enough time.  This year we went without having another summer party – or any big gathering for that matter - which was a mistake.  My hopes are to make more of an effort in the upcoming year to “reconnect” so to say.  Life is too short, and in looking at the big scare with Leon, you never know what the future brings.

Work
Going into 2007 it appeared seemed I had come across a different but potentially rewarding career path – an ownership stake in a small distribution company owned by a friend.  For over half the year I spent most of my time doing what I could to learn about and help the business.  Unfortunately, for several reasons it turned out that this wasn’t meant to be, and in the 3rd quarter we parted ways.  No need to rehash the events here - suffice to say it’s always disappointing when things don’t work out as planned, but it’s truly sad when a friend really lets you down.  On the positive, this was a learning experience and the industry education has led to some other ideas that I incorporated into my company-of-one, BLAM Productions.  During the rest of the year, my focus has been on some various freelance projects while putting together a plan for the future.  As the year comes to a close, the outlook for 2008 - though still uncertain at this time – seems much more positive.  Some possible investment opportunities may be coming into play, along with various other interested associates to help along the way.  Financially it was definitely a down year compared to the past, but with my memories of working at Medline becoming more distant, and some potentially great opportunities forthcoming, I have no doubt that in the long run the decisions made have been the right ones.

Life in General
The year started out with a bang – I made it out to Arizona for a mini-vacation and the BCS championship game, then cheered the Bears onto the Superbowl.  In a way the Bears falling just short of a championship reflects the way some of my year went – accomplishing most of your goals but not quite finishing the job.  As you just read about my work, that definitely applies.  Having a very flexible schedule, I enjoyed considerably more family time than the average person, but in a sense it wasn’t always quality time (which was usually my fault).  Quite often I’d find myself gung-ho and making great strides on projects, only to get distracted by daily events or other tasks.  I had a great year of weightlifting and exercise – very consistent and physically I’m in good shape and feel great - though I am still too heavy (in defense I have slowly been losing weight, so hopefully it will stay lost!).  Additionally, after all the cardio exercise and actually eating better, go figure that my cholesterol levels are too high…apparently the main reason is due to a genetic gift from my mother.  C’mon, give me a break already!

Perhaps that wasn’t a completely accurate way to start this section.  By no means did I think 2007 was a bad year – in fact it was a big improvement over a generally miserable 2006.  Having the time and ability to watch AJ grow had been a blessing and is nothing short of priceless.  We were able to get involved in some promising investments both on individual and (McGonigal) family levels.  We’re happy where we live, the financial portfolio is in great shape, our health has been find, vacations have been fun, and without any major events, purchases or catastrophes to speak of, our cost of living in 2007 was relatively minimal.  For the most part, all is well and no complaints.  However, on a personal level, there’s still some things eating away at me…read on…

The following is not specific to 2007 but may help you understand me a bit better.  I’m by nature a very organized person, have always held myself up to rather high standards and take pride in the ability to assume control.  This is why it’s easy for me to stay motivated, and these qualities (usually as a positive) are for the most part reflected in my daily life.  However, when for whatever reason I’m not acting or operating at those levels it’s frustrating and upsets my balance.  Unfortunately this spills over to others.  This was glaringly apparent for a good part of this year as many things just weren’t “right”, so to say.  I lost some focus and wasn’t using my time very wisely.  In some efforts to regain control I became a bit more reclusive, which didn’t seem to be helpful as seemingly there were suddenly more things to do and problems to fix.  I’ve heard it before, but perhaps people are right when they say I’m too hard on myself. 

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from the movie Risky Business:
Sometimes you just gotta say, “What the fuck.”
If I’d actually listen to this once in a while I believe life as I make it for myself would be SO much easier…and may actually decrease the chances of my head blowing up, “Scanners” style.  You certainly can’t live every single day with that attitude, but remember it starts with “sometimes”.  My goal is to think this way - sometimes.  Things don’t always work out, plans change, life isn’t fair, and it’s impossible to be fully organized and in control all of the time.  What the fuck.  Hey, I feel better already!

In closing, I’d have to say that overall 2007 was a somewhat decent year – by no means the best, but certainly not the worst.   The job situation was certainly a setback, but outside of that most issues were minor and the good outweighed the bad.   There’s quite a bit of work for me to do – both on a business and personal level – but I feel there will be lots of good things happening next year.  I’m fortunate to have a supportive, loving family, a stable lifestyle, the motivation to move forward in a career, and a realistic view on what’s really important in life.  Unlike our Chicago Bears this year, I plan on taking that next big step on many levels in 2008!

Thank you for taking the time to read this “brief” summary, and I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year. 

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November 21, 2007

A few great Thanksgiving quotes

I know, I know...yet another "banter" that's more plagiarism than original thoughts.  Perhaps the next posting after Thanksgiving will be some deep, clever musings from my messed up mind.  Until then, guess you gotta take what I give you!

George Carlin
We're having something a little different this year for Thanksgiving. Instead of a turkey, we're having a swan. You get more stuffing.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
Turkey: A large bird whose flesh, when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude.

Erma Bombeck, No One Diets on Thanksgiving
What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular.Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful 'in general.' It's very strange. It's a little like being married in general.

Russell Baker
It was dramatic to watch my grandmother decapitate a turkey with an ax the day before Thanksgiving. Nowadays the expense of hiring grandmothers for the ax work would probably qualify all turkeys so honored with 'gourmet' status.

Jon Stewart
I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.

Johnny Carson
Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.

Anonymous
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

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October 27, 2007

History Lessons - Scary Stuff!
Since Halloween is just around the corner, thought I'd leave you with some scary thoughts on issues more topical and real than any vampire or ghost.  A big thanks goes out to Larry K for sending me these gems!

The "Phoney War"
I'm not necessarily a big fan of Newt Gingrich, but this four minute video is an excellent summation of the major issues we are facing today.  Click here to view the YouTube video.

The "Who Said It?" Quiz
Try to answer all the questions before looking at the answers.

1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above

2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...... And to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."
A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above

3) "(We) ...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."
A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above

4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own .. in order to create this common ground."
A. Mao Tse Tung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above

5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."
A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above

6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."
A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above

Answers below...

(1) D  None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005

Be afraid, Be very afraid!!

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September 23, 2007

For some, football IS a religion!

Earlier this year the below article appeared in the "Dear Abby" section of the Chicago Tribune.  See, I'm not the only football freak!  For obvious reasons Laura is saving it in her scrapbook.  Though I'd share it here: 

Dear Abby: When I first read the letter from "Wounded Bride," whose father left immediately after her wedding ceremony to watch a football game on television, I thought, "What an insensitive, inconsiderate ' boor!" However, when I saw the signature, "Wounded Bride in Nebraska," I laughed. I was born and raised in Nebraska. Weddings, birthday celebrations, anniversaries, even women's C-sections are planned around the Cornhuskers' schedule. I'd cut the guy some slack.
-Reformed Cornhusker Fan, Now in Massachusetts

Dear Reformed: I told "Wounded Bride" (in essence) that her father might have been trying to send her a message about his feelings about her marriage, but she should try to forgive him and concentrate on building a successful life with her spouse. Of course, when I penned my answer, I had no idea how pervasive football fanaticism has become. Read on:

Dear Abby: Although I feel her pain, I had to chuckle. We just moved back to Colorado from Nebraska, and believe me when I say that "Husker" is the state religion. Some close friends recently planned the marriage of their son around the Cornhuskers' football schedule, and another friend was late to his own wedding because he was watching "the game."
-Brenda in Aurora, Colo.

Dear Abby: It was the bride's own fault for scheduling her wedding during a game-day Saturday. Having grown up in Nebraska, I can tell you there are Catholic priests and Protestant ministers who refuse to perform weddings on game day.
-Former Nebraskan in Texas

Dear Abby: My in-laws' anniversary was in the fall, and we had to plan their 60th on a weekend other than game day or many guests would not have come. Heck, my father-in-law might not have come! They played the Nebraska fight song at his funeral, and everyone cried.
-Husker Fan, Rocklin, Calif.

September 10, 2007

So much for that great U.S. productivity!

This report totally cracked me up...especially since an employer familiar to me has always been over-the-top freaked about people using the internet and not being productive every minute of each day, using that same logic "if they spend X amount of time not working, it will cost us X amount of dollars."  C'mon already, it's time to wake up and smell the pigskin...  

Fantasy football play costs companies millions
(Reuters) By Paul Thomasch Aug 22, 2007

NEW YORK - Corporate America beware: NFL stars Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson and Tom Brady are about to cost you hundreds of millions of dollars.

The reason is many American workers can spend nearly two hours a day consumed with fantasy football teams, according to a workplace consultancy, which on Wednesday estimated the lost productivity will cost employers nationwide up to $435 million a week over the upcoming National Football League season.

Consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc cited a recent report that suggests the average fantasy football player spends 5.2 hours online each week participating in such games, which are offered by ESPN, CBS Sports and Yahoo Inc, among others. The NFL season kicks off September 6.

Challenger pointed to another report that found 60 percent of fantasy sports fans spent more than an hour each day just thinking about their fantasy team.

'There are some people who probably wait until the workday is over to strategize, make trades and manage their teams, but many are probably doing at least some of their team tasks from the office,' Chief Executive John Challenger said.

Immensely popular, fantasy football is a game in which friends create a league with teams that draft, trade or buy real life NFL players. These fantasy teams then play one another, with scores based on real-life statistics.

Challenger cited surveys that show there are roughly 10 million Americans playing fantasy football and earning between $60,000 and $100,000 per year. Using the midpoint of the salary range, Challenger calculated that fantasy sports players earn an average of $38.45 per hour, or about $6.40 per 10 minutes.

Taking all that into account, if a worker spends just 10 minutes of work time playing fantasy football each day, then it will cost employers $275 million a week. That number could easily climb as high as $435 million, Challenger said, if workers spend more than those few minutes on the game.

But Challenger said employers may want to look the other way rather than coming down too hard on fantasy football players.

'Everyday employers lose money by paying people to take smoking breaks, go to the bathroom, refill coffee mugs and make small talk around the watercooler,' the CEO said in a statement. 'Most employers understand that not every minute of every workday is dedicated to work.'

Indeed, Challenger said the damage to worker morale from banning fantasy football could prove far more costly than letting workers get away with 10 or 20 minutes of daily online team management.

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September 3, 2007

Feeling Overworked?  At least it's productive!

In celebration of LABOR DAY, I'm posting an interesting article from AP that I'm sure just by coincidence tally also appeared just in time for Labor Day reading: 

Report: U.S. Workers Are Most Productive
Sunday September 2, 11:08 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year.

They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States "leads the world in labor productivity."

The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg at $55,641, Belgium at $55,235 and France at $54,609.

The productivity figure is found by dividing the country's gross domestic product by the number of people employed. The U.N. report is based on 2006 figures for many countries, or the most recent available.

Only part of the U.S. productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in, the ILO said.

The U.S., according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work — a second key measure of productivity.

Norway, which is not an EU member, generates the most output per working hour, $37.99, a figure inflated by the country's billions of dollars in oil exports and high prices for goods at home. The U.S. is second at $35.63, about a half dollar ahead of third-place France.

Seven years ago, French workers produced over a dollar more on average than their American counterparts. The country led the U.S. in hourly productivity from 1994 to 2003.

The U.S. employee put in an average 1,804 hours of work in 2006, the report said. That compared with 1,407.1 hours for the Norwegian worker and 1,564.4 for the French.

It pales, however, in comparison with the annual hours worked per person in Asia, where seven economies — South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Thailand — surpassed 2,200 average hours per worker. But those countries had lower productivity rates.

America's increased productivity "has to do with the ICT (information and communication technologies) revolution, with the way the U.S. organizes companies, with the high level of competition in the country, with the extension of trade and investment abroad," said Jose Manuel Salazar, the ILO's head of employment.

The ILO report warned that the widening of the gap between leaders such as the U.S. and poorer nations has been even more dramatic.

Laborers from regions such as southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have the potential to create more wealth but are being held back by a lack of investment in training, equipment and technology, the agency said.

In sub-Saharan Africa, workers are only about one-twelfth as productive as those in developed countries, the report said.

"The huge gap in productivity and wealth is cause for great concern," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said, adding that it was important to raise productivity levels of the lowest-paid workers in the world's poorest countries.

China and other East Asian countries are catching up quickest with Western countries. Productivity in the region has doubled in the past decade and is accelerating faster than anywhere else, the report said.

But they still have a long way to go: Workers in East Asia are still only about one-fifth as productive as laborers in industrialized countries.

The vast differences among China's sectors tell part of the story. Whereas a Chinese industrial worker produces $12,642 worth of output — almost eight times more than in 1980 — a laborer in the farm and fisheries sector contributes a paltry $910 to gross domestic product.

The difference is much less pronounced in the United States, where a manufacturing employee produced an unprecedented $104,606 of value in 2005. An American farm laborer, meanwhile, created $52,585 worth of output, down 10 percent from seven years ago, when U.S. agricultural productivity peaked.

Associated Press Writer Alexander G. Higgins contributed to this report.

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July 28, 2007

AJ's First Cubs Game
With my early childhood spent in Nebraska I didn't make it out to a major league game until I was older.  My dad did play pro ball (AAA-Omaha Athletics, and umpired later) and I saw some of those when I was younger, but honestly don't remember.  My first major league experience - actually my first several - was attending White Sox games...convenient as my dad has several ties to the American league.  I liked both teams for most of my early life but really became more of a Cubs fan by the time I went to college.  Been suffering ever since! J

  A couple months ago, a good friend of mine, Mike McMahon, called to let me know he had some tickets for the Sunday July 15th game vs. the Houston Astros.  "Let's take the boys," he said.  His oldest son (Michael) is now about 5½ and had attended a couple Cubs games when he was much younger.  AJ is 2½, but Mike said that shouldn't be a problem.  "We'll get there a bit early to walk around, have some different food each inning, and if we make it through three or four innings we'll consider it a good day."  OK, sounds like a plan!

About 11:15 the morning of the game I picked up Mike and Michael and we drove down to the game.  I did warn them beforehand that AJ hadn't taken his "poop" yet and was a bit fearful that I'd have to change him in those disgusting Wrigley Field bathrooms.  Anyway, we ended up parking right off of Clark at one of those $30 lots, but it was an "easy out" and not even two blocks away.  Grabbed the diaper bag and we're off to the game.  AJ was wowed by all the people but more impressed with the seats, which he continued to flip up and down, stand on, sit down, jump back up, etc.  He was quiet during the national anthem and clapped at the end with the rest of the crowd.  He clapped when the Cubs took the field.  Bought a pop for the two kids while Mike got us a couple beers. Time to play ball.

The feeding frenzy begins...the kids start by sharing a large pop and a large pretzel.  Shortly thereafter they each get a hot dog (AJ ate about 2/3 of his).  Both were asking for cotton candy but we said "later."  Next up, some Cracker Jacks.  Then, another hot dog (amazingly, AJ had about half).  At that time he wanted to walk around, and as the Cubs were quickly down 5-0, seemed like a good time. 

We walked all the way down the first base side to the end corner of the outfield.  At one point during our walk, AJ - who thought he was going to get to play baseball today - said "When I older......I play out there".  "You mean out on that field, AJ?" I replied, pointing to Wrigley.  "Yeah, when I older" he reiterated.  "Well, I certainly hope so!" was all I could say in return.  Such aspirations as age 2½, and perhaps by the time HE plays the Cubs will have already won a World Series.  OK, that's still wishful thinking at MY age!

The Cubs made a hell of a comeback, with a couple homers by Pagan and Lee to tie up the game.  Most of this we saw while walking, and before getting back to our seats AJ spotted the cotton candy vendor.  Gotta get some now, and as I was paying the man AJ takes the bag and starts booking down the walkway.  After catching him, we went back to the seats.  AJ chowed down on the cotton candy, stopping a few times to wipe off his hands, and about fifteen minutes later pukes up just about everything he had eaten at the park.  Fortunately not too messy as I caught most of it in an empty beer cup.  I guess the maintenance crew has cleaned up worse...

Hey, the boy never did have to poop during the game.  What a lucky break for both of us!

 The top of the fifth inning rolls around; the Cubs had just taken a 7-6 lead, and AJ says "I want to go bye-bye now."  Little Michael felt the same, so the decision was made for us.  After leaving the park we stopped across the street from Wrigley and picked up some souvenirs, which included AJ's first Cubs hat.  The way back included a quick White Castle stop, though AJ had already fallen asleep.  It was probably best not to expose him to that after the trauma done on his stomach earlier in the day, though it would definitely would have helped him take his crap.

So overall it was a very pleasant experience.  Unfortunately AJ probably won't remember much of it as he gets older, but we'll have the pictures and the hat to prove he was there.  Of course the memories are what's truly priceless.

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June 22, 2007

Interesting Forecasts
My "banter" remains unoriginal for yet another posting, but this one was too "interesting" to leave behind (pun intended).  Plus, it's long enough to fill up time until I do my next main update!  The following will serve as a reminder that perhaps some of our current wisdom may, in reality, be really stupid...

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
--Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
--Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
--Chairman of IBM, 1943

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
--The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what ... is it good for?"
--Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
--President, Chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
--Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
--David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."
--A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
--Warner Brothers, 1927.

"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."
--Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make."
--Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
--President, Royal Society, 1895.

"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this."
--Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.

"So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we' ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.' And they said, 'No.' So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, 'Hey, we don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.'"
--Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer.

"Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools."
--1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work.

"You want to have consistent and uniform muscle development across all of your muscles? It can't be done. It's just a fact of life. You just have to accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight training."
--Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the "unsolvable" problem by inventing Nautilus.

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy."
--Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
--Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
--Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
--Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction".
--Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the
intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon."
--British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
-- Bill Gates, 1981

Thank you to Pete Wheeler for this gem!

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June 3, 2007

Another unoriginal posting that wouldn't really count as a blog, but it's filling up this space while I come up with something else to write about for future postings.  This was passed along to me from at least three different sources...and even though we're almost halfway through 2007 it's not too late to share it here.

You know you are living in 2007 when... 

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television as a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.

11. You can't remember the last time you were inside your bank, as all your transactions are direct deposits, online or via ATM.

12. You're reading this, and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

And now you are laughing at yourself (LOL)!

OK, pretty lame, but it's a quick post!

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May 20, 2007

The "F" Word

I've been fairly accused of using FUCK way too often when speaking.  Hey, can I help it if I'm Italian?  But seriously, it's one of the most flexible, useful and forceful words in our language.  Don't believe me?  Well, perhaps these funny definitions of the word will convince you (it's in Flash format, and you need to have your sound enabled).  Also, here's ten times when using the "f" word was probably acceptable:

10. "What the @#$% was that?" - Mayor Of Hiroshima, 1945

9. "Where did all those @#$%ing Indians come from?" - Custer, 1877

8. "Any @#$%ing idiot could understand that." - Einstein, 1938

7. "It does so @#$%ing look like her!" -Picasso, 1926

6. "How the @#$% did you work that out?" - Pythagoras, 126 BC

5. "Geez, how do I get out of this @#$%ing mess." - George Bush, 2006

4. "Where the @#$% are we?" - Amelia Earhart, 1937

3. "Scattered @#$%ing showers, my ass!" - Noah, 4314 BC

2. "Aw c'mon. Who the @#$% is going to find out?" - Bill Clinton, 1999

1. "You want WHAT on the @#$%ing ceiling?" - Michelangelo, 1566

Thanks to Camille for sending me the "top ten"!

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April 29, 2007

DON'T use AOL (at least the e-mail)

I'm going to be very straightforward - America Online SUCKS on many levels, but primarily when it comes to one of the most basic but essential tools, e-mail.  This is not just a random, blind statement on my part; there are some serious issues with the service that are known throughout the industry.  Hopefully for those of you still using AOL will consider changing to a different source, at least for e-mail...unless you'd occasionally rather not receive legitimate messages from friends, work, or just about any other ones you want to receive. 

The reason I'm writing this is in response to an incident that recently happened to me.  Yes, I had some messages blocked (both business and personal), and it was not because of any mass mailings or SPAM problems on my end.  It was due to a lousy business practice that AOL uses to "protect" their customers.  AOL's blessing and problem is that they are very concerned with SPAM issues, so much in fact that they can and will end up blocking legitimate mail from showing up.  Basically, AOL monitors the amount of "spam" complaints and if they reach a certain level, that IP address is blocked from further messages (either temporary or permanently, depending on the perceived severity).  The problem with blocking entire IP addresses is that this typically is an ENTIRE mail server, which can contain thousands of different e-mail addresses belonging to different people.  Thus, one person can cause problems for countless others.  Why not just block a certain address?  Well, therein lies the lousy business practice as mentioned.

The following links are just a few articles that provide some REAL information on the problem:
http://www.60-seconds.com/188_AOL_gone_bad.html

http://membrane.com/security/AOL_abuse.html

http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6061089.html

http://www.dmsiusa.com/aol.htm

http://www.wanttoknow.info/070407aolcensorshipemaillists

http://ryowebsite.com/email/aol-email-forwarding/

What makes AOL even worse is their customer service, which ranks dead last in customer satisfaction ratings (this is reported via such publications as Consumer Reports, PC World and other reputable sources).  Complaining literally will go unnoticed and unresolved.  Absolutely amazing...it's almost as if they really didn't care...which is funny in that they seem to care TOO much about spam!

There are other reasons to avoid using AOL, such as their sometimes slow sync with the rest of the regular internet world. Note that everything through AOL's software comes through their servers, which often don't update quickly.  I've had instances in the past where I've updated a website, and people who were trying to access it through AOL wouldn't see that update for hours or a full day later.  That's not a joke, and it's happened numerous times.  There a reason for this (child/content filtering) but for any adult users they should not be subject to this type of extremely poor service. 

Listen, I can go on and on, but to keep this shorter will wrap it up here.  My complaints are not based on inexperience and news articles I've read.  I'm a long-time user of AOL and actually signed up way back in 1992...at the time it was sort of a lesser service called "Chicago Online" that tied into a rapidly growing AOL.  At this point I really have no use for them at all, and never liked their e-mail service from the start.  Of course the AOL service is free now (if you don't need them for dial-up needs), but frankly you have much better e-mail options available.  Though none are perfect, YAHOO, GMail and Hotmail are significantly more reliable and also free.   

 The unreliability of message delivery should be enough to have any current users rushing to quickly make the change.  I strongly encourage it, and that's my public service announcement for the week!

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April 22, 2007

Quick Hits on some current news

Virginia Tech
What can I say that hasn't already been talked about over the past week?  Well, first and foremost my heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of all the victims.  I couldn't even imagine something so horrible happening to someone I know, much less my own son.  All you can do is hope we learn from this awful experience and that future type of situations can be prevented.  Unfortunately it's far from a perfect world...

This guy who took it upon himself to shoot up the place, Seung-Hui Cho, is the poster child for why abortion should remain legal.  He was obviously a deranged loser who took the time to plan some sort of massive revenge for all the ill wills in his life.  Apparently he believed it was everyone else's fault for these life problems, so he decided it was necessary to do something drastic and horrible.  Nobody should feel sorry for this guy, ever.  Don't try to understand him, don't try to see things from his point of view, don't try to claim he was insane or disturbed and needed help.  From everything I've read he HAD the chances to get help.  He was nothing more than a monster who planned and executed these nonsensical killings.  32 good people are dead because of one lousy individual.  Cho got off easy and killed himself, taking the loser way out...how fitting.  At least it's one less case that won't unnecessarily jam up our legal system.     

Brown's Chicken
Speaking of legal systems...this subject I've covered in my last banter, along with a document that chronicles several important dates from January 1993 through the present.  The good news is that the trial is under way, and even the OJ Simpson jurors would find these killers guilty as charged.  Let's hope this first case (Juan Luna) is over quickly, get to the other guy (Degorski) and get it over quickly as well...give the families some closure and let Palatine put this tragedy behind it for good.

Don Imus & Racism
I'm not sure what was funnier:  1) the Rutgers girls actually caring what a washed-up 66 year old radio guy had to say about them (one amazingly claimed she was "scarred for life", setting up a possible pain and suffering future lawsuit), 2) Imus going on the show of one of our nations biggest racists (Al Sharpton) to explain his words, or 3) Imus being too stupid and arrogant to just admit that he made a mistake and apologize already!  Whatever...the funniest comment wasn't even "Nappy Headed Ho", it was one of his sidekicks claming while watching the Rutgers team play, that "I thought I was watching the Toronto Raptors."  Food for thought: timing is everything.  The decrepit old man was about two weeks too early with his comments.  Had this happened this past week it may have been glossed over and forgotten as Virginia Tech dominated the headlines.  Whatever, bad things eventually happen to bad people. 

American Idol
I'm secure enough in my manhood to admit I watch American Idol.  It's entertaining and goofy enough to warrant the sometimes painfully long shows (actually they're short but over 1/3 of the time is all commercials).  Regardless of whether you love or hate American Idol, www.votefortheworst.com has made it all the more fun...they've been around since season #3, but this year it's really gained momentum with Howard Stern jumping on the bandwagon.  Unfortunately the VFTW favorite Sanjaya, who made it into the top seven, was voted off last week.  So what - there's always some other crappy singer waiting in the wings.  Check out the site, you'll find it hysterical!

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April 8, 2007

The Browns Chicken Massacre...closure coming soon?

I remember my roommate waking me up very early that Saturday morning on January 9, 1993, telling me she heard on the news that a bunch of bodies had been found in the Browns Chicken on Rt. 14 and Smith Road.  With a strangely morbid type of curiosity, we got in our car and drove the couple miles to the place...basically just seeing several squad cars and quite a bit of early morning commotion outside the building.  The news in the papers and on the networks over the following days was seemingly non-stop.  This all seemed surreal, since I had lived in Palatine for almost twenty years at the time and these terrible events happened so close to home.

I remember all the grief the Palatine police force received for the investigation, and how frustrating it seemed for a couple of my friends who were on the force but weren't even on duty the night it happened.  It seemed that my home town of Palatine had some sort of embarrassing stigma on it due to the inability to find the killers responsible for this atrocity.

I remember that Browns Chicken never opening again (not really a surprise) and eventually turning into a Dry Cleaners...and being that I moved to a townhouse just a quarter mile away, I ended up using it quite often.  It always seemed creepy that the building where all these horrible things happened was still there.  Though having moved a few years prior, I recall the day in 2001 when they finally demolished the building - a job that was requested and fully funded by the property owners of the small shopping mall where it sat.

I remember nine years after the killings, in 2002, when two arrests were finally made - James Degorski and Juan Luna (Fremd High School graduates as well, wow).  Thanks to testimony from an old girlfriend of James, then a videotaped confession from Juan confessing to the killings and outlining things that only the police would have known.  At last, it seemed that justice would be served....though since our court system moves so slow, how quickly was yet to be determined.

Over the past couple weeks you may have heard about the jury selection process beginning for scumbag #1 (Luna) as they have split the trials into two separate ones.  Here's a series of articles from the Chicago Tribune (in Adobe Acrobat format) that I put together, covering some of the major news stories during the time.  You may find it interesting, and if you were from the NW suburban area of Chicago you will also remember the happenings. 

I didn't know any of the people who were murdered, but hope that this will finally bring their families some much needed closure.  The evidence on the two accused of the crimes is so solid that there seems to be no doubt whatsoever on their guilt.  Thank God.  Let's hope the trials go quickly and these two loser assholes get everything they deserve.

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March 25, 2007

Let's Go Cubs!!!
With opening day right around the corner, all of us Cubs fans have our yearly renewed hopes of finally getting over the hump and winning the World Series.  Will they do it this year?  Doubtful of course, but stranger things have happened.  Anyway, to lighten the mood, here's a list of twenty major events that have occurred since the Chicago Cubs last laid claim to a World Series championship:

1. Radio was invented; Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.

2. TV was invented; Cubs fans got to see their team lose.

3. Baseball added 14 teams; Cubs fans get to see and hear their team lose to more clubs.

4. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.

5. Haley's comet passed Earth twice.

6. Harry Caray was born....and died. Incredible, but true.

7. The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championships in each league.

8. Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given up by Cubs pitchers.

9. Sixteen U.S. presidents were elected.

10. There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.

11. Prohibition was created and repealed.

12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the subject of major motion pictures, the latest giving Cubs fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.

13. Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League.

14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants. Those flag poles have since rusted and been taken down.

15. A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.

16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several thanked Cubs pitchers.

17. Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style and came back in.

18. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.

19. The Cubs played 14,153 regular-season games; they lost the majority of them.

20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were added to the Union.

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March 11, 2007

A Year Without a Mom
It’s been a while since I’ve actually written anything original for this section, but this seemed an appropriate time and subject matter to get me started again. Admittedly we (as in my family) were all a bit messed up emotionally about this time last year, and with the anniversary coming up those feelings tend to return. But wait - if you’re reading this, don’t think this will be some sad, gloomy story…for the most part it will be quite the opposite.

There’s been lots of changes since last March 15th in the lives of our immediate family. The most dramatic has been for my dad, for obvious reasons. Even though the support has been there from family and friends, adjusting to life on his own hasn’t been easy and he really can’t hide the sadness. Despite much talk about cutting back and entering semi-retirement, he got back into work with a vengeance. This tends to occupy most of his time, which would worry me if I didn’t understand that he really likes work and is very, very good at it. Frankly the man doesn’t have a lot of hobbies, and the company is doing quite well, so this isn’t really a bad thing. Additionally, I’ve noticed that in the last several months he’s become quite a bit more social outside of work…you know, making new friends, golf outings, trips, etc. Let’s not forget about the new cars! It’s also nice to have his second home close by. Yes, he is doing much better, but it’s still a long healing process. However, he has lots of friends and family that loves him, so whatever the future holds it can be assured that even with this great loss he’ll never be lonely.

My sister has made great strides at work and seems to really enjoy it. Of course there’s Isabella to keep her and Steve busy, plus there’s the great news on their current pregnancy. My mom would have been thrilled to see how well my sister has done both professionally and with her family (heck, we all are proud of her). It is just a shame that California is such a long way away from Florida and Illinois, but we talk often and have visited back & forth a few times over the past year. Though this whole ordeal has been very tough on my sister (plus add in the loss of their pet bulldog last fall), generally she’s been great at handling it all.  I’m sure the family support from us and her husband has played a big factor in the healing.

As for myself, most of the big adjustments were career-based as I finally took steps to make changes to my life that I really needed. There’s great things to come in this area and I know I’ve made the right decision (the job discussion will continue on another day). Suffice to say that when you learn that life can be too short, it’s easier to take those risks knowing that the reward can be well worth it. Fatherhood is wonderful and I look forward to spending time with AJ every day. I think my mom would have been proud to see his development, and ours as parents. Perhaps we’ll be blessed with another one, but even if that doesn’t happen we have a great, healthy, happy family. With that in mind, I must thank Laura for putting up with me, which I know isn’t an easy task at any time. It’s been even more trying this past year, but without her love and support I might not have kept it all together as well as I’d like to think I’ve done. Even to this day it’s strange not hearing my mom’s voice, be it a call at work or some random, rambling message on our answering machine. Yes, I miss her terribly…I was her son, her first born, and not having your mother is an awful feeling. Fortunately we always had a strong connection, and I have been at peace with her passing, which I know is exactly what she expected of me.

Since my mom’s illness, we’ve come together very strong as a family, and since her passing we’ve made our adjustments and are doing very well. Life goes on, and all my mom really wanted for us was to be happy, healthy and secure. Mom, you’ve got your wish. Somewhere, wherever she may be, I know she’s smiling.

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February 25, 2007

Some random funnies
One of these days I'll have the time to do some real writing, but with catching up on picture postings plus other real work, these will have to do for now...

Nine Things I Hate About Everyone

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?

2 People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the T.V. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the channel manually.

3 When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too". Damn right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4 When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they? Gonna Kick their asses!

5 When people say while watching a film "did you see that?". No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.

6 People who ask "Can I ask you a question?".... Didn't really give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!' Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8 When people say "life is short". What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

9 When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks "Has the bus come yet?". If the bus came would I be standing here, dumbass?

(thanks goes out to Camille for the above!)

Pharmacology

In Pharmacology, all drugs have two names, a trade name and generic name. For example, the trade name of Tylenol also has a generic name of Acetaminophen. Aleve is also called Naproxen. Amoxil is also call Amoxicillin and Advil is also called Ibuprofen.

The FDA has been looking for a generic name for Viagra. After careful consideration by a team of government experts, it recently announced that it has settled on the generic name of Mycoxafloppin. Also considered were Mycoxafailin, Mydixadrupin, Mydixarizin, Dixafix, and of course, Ibepokin.

Pfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one. Obviously we can no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of "cocktails", "highballs" and just a good old-fashioned "stiff drink". Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of: MOUNT & DO.

Thought for the day: There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

(thanks goes out to Elayne for the above!)

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February 6, 2007

What the...
Confused about the Bears play calling & execution in the Super Bowl?  Well, get over it and see if the following thought provoking questions make any sense:

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. . but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

If Wiley E Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your ass?

 (thanks to Pete Wheeler for this submission!)

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January 27, 2007

It's all about the BEARS for now!
In honor of the Chicago Bears going to Super Bowl XLI, here are 41 things that have changed from the last time the Chicago Bears played in the Super Bowl (XX, in 1986):

December 31, 2006

Remembering the year...

There's so much that happens in a year it's hard to remember most of it.  Some things are fond memories, others you really want to forget.  I probably speak for many of us when I say it's hard to remember what happened just a week ago, much less what was going on last spring!  However, here's one enjoyable way to reminisce on 2006 - for a humorous month-by-month review of the year, click here to check out Dave Barry's article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune on 12/31.  Funny stuff to prod your memory, and you'll be glad you read it!

At the end of every year there's always the loss of people to remember.  As I'm sure you know, 2006 was quite tough for me and my family as we lost my mom.  Following is a list of others of note who have died throughout the past year.  It's in a somewhat random order...and perhaps with the one exception of Saddam Hussein, most are sad...
 

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December 13, 2006

A cool Rick Reilly "rant"
The following has been "borrowed" from Sports Illustrated, and being the sometimes-gamer myself it's too good not to share.  Of course if you get SI, this is the article on the last page of the latest (December 18) edition.  Enjoy!

Thumbing Their Way to the Top
Rick Reilly, December 18th 2006

I know what you're thinking because I used to think it too. Do I really want to buy a $600 PlayStation 3 for my 11-year-old for Christmas? Do I really want him sitting there 24/7, killing aliens and brain cells and the springs in my Barcalounger? And the answer is: Damn straight, you do!

You do because you want a snappy new Cadillac like the one the world's most famous video gamer, Fatal1ty, bought his dad.

You do because you want your son to get a $250,000 endorsement contract, the kind that 19-year-old Tsquared inked with a gaming league.

You do because you want your kid to make enough to pay for his college education before he hits middle school, like eight-year-old LiL Poison is doing.

You'd know all this if you'd been at the World Series of Video Games finals last weekend at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Gamers from all over the world were flown in, put up in a Hilton, fed like Trumps and given chances to win $20,000, Rolexes and gaming computers. And you, too, would've said, in the words of Phil Mickelson, "What an idiot I am!"

All those years I was yelling at my kids, "Get off the damn computer games and clean your room!" What I should've been yelling was, "Get back on the computer games! I'll clean your damn room!"

Take Fatal1ty (Johnathan Wendel), who was the runner-up in Quake 4. A 25-year-old college dropout, he grosses almost $1 million a year. He has groupies. He has his own line of gaming hardware and apparel. He's the Michael Jordan of the twitchy-thumb set.

In fact, the more you hang out with "e-athletes," as video gamers are called, the more you see how they're like the "me-athletes" you're used to. Like them, gamers are self-obsessed workout freaks who eat right. Like them, gamers use performance enhancers, such as coffee and Red Bull. (Some, it's widely suspected, use the ADHD drug Adderall.) Like them, gamers talk trash. During the wild Halo 2 match between XiT Woundz and Shook On3 Gaming, there were shouts of "Dude, you're hellaweak!" (That's an insult.) And "Damn, I am so sick!" (That's a boast.)

Oh, and like them, gamers love blowing off reporters.

"Uh, Fatal1ty doesn't like to talk on game days," his publicist told me. "Maybe you could submit your questions?"

O.K. Question 1: Could he byte me?

Anyway, the main reason to get your kids off the geometry and onto the joystick might be this one: The better they get at video games, the more you get to hang out with them.

Take LoSt-CaUzE (Rafik Bryant). "It's definitely brought us even closer," says his dad, Harold, who's working less as the president of his own mortgage brokerage company and more as LoSt-CaUzE's business manager. And this is a guy who once hid his son's computer in the closet to get him to do his homework.

"My mom wasn't really that cool with [video games] at first," says Tsquared (Tom Taylor), a high school dropout whose Str8 Rippin team won Halo 2. "But then I came home one day from a tournament when I was 15 and slapped a $500 check down on the kitchen counter and said, 'Well, Mom? Whaddya think now?'"

Now he's got an online business with 13 employees, including 10 who teach people how to play Halo 2. (For $115 an hour, Tsquared will teach you himself.) Now he pays his mom rent to stay in her house in Jupiter, Fla., while he decides where to buy his own crib.

"Our living room usually has 10 TVs going at all times and kids lying all over," says Chris Howard, team manager of XiT Woundz and dad of two of the team's stars. Sounds like hell? O.K., when's the last time your 17-year-old brought home a limited edition Scion xB?

At least these guys aren't out in the streets. And they aren't boozebags or recreational drug users. Video games are their drugs. And, besides, what's the point of fighting them? Like you're going to stop them anyway?

"My dad and I had a huge falling out over it," says gaming star moto (Dave Geffon), 24. "He'd yell, 'You're ruining your life!' ... And it wasn't until he was dying [of cancer] that I finally started talking to him again.... But me, I just decided life's too short to spend it doing something that doesn't make you happy."

And me, I decided the next time the kids get out the controllers, I'm going to dust off my sick Atari skills and jump in.

After all, why be the wackness (insult) when you can be the pimp sheezy (boast)?

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December 6, 2006

A few random thoughts...
Figured it was time to post a few new topics, just three this time.

Kudos to my dad
After what has turned out to be a very tough year, the old man appears to finally be having some fun.  He recently went to Las Vegas with some old friends (stayed at the Bellagio) and didn't lose any money.  Several weeks ago he was up in Milwaukee for a festival which included a ton of beer.  He's also been on some golf outings that have lasted more than just a day, and is hanging out with some of his many friends.  He's also spending lots of quality time with us and my sisters family, and seems to be adapting very well to the grandfather role (now if we can just get him to change a dirty diaper).  Heck, he even took my wife and sister clothes shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday - on that Friday and Saturday of all days! To get away from the Chicago weather and the office, he still has his Florida home and of course California to visit.  Life goes on, and yes it can be very good.

November 30th would have been my mom and dad's 43rd wedding anniversary, and of course this first holiday season without mom will be tough on all of us.  However, it's good to see my dad taking a positive turn which will help during this season and the new year.  I am asked often about my dad and how he's doing.  Of course he's still hurting like all of us, and he probably always will, but YES I'm happy to say that he seems to be doing well.   

And the most overrated college team in 2006 is...
...Notre Dame. Why? Well, let's see...they entered the season with tremendously high hopes and pretty much every poll had them ranked between #1 - #3. THIS was the year! An explosive offense with Heisman candidate Brady Quinn at the helm. AND, with "Genius" Charlie Weis coaching, there was no way they'd finish with less than a championship this year. Looks like that embarrassment against Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl is far behind em...

...unfortunately someone forgot about the defense. Oh, and that they can't play Stanford and Army every week. They only had two losses, but they were sure doozies - complete domination by Michigan and another ass pounding at the hands of USC. Let's not forget the miracle comeback vs. Michigan State and the late heroics vs. UCLA, two games they could (and should) have lost. They beat exactly one ranked team (Penn State, #17 at the time), and at the end of the regular season NO team they beat is currently ranked. So much for a championship caliber football program.

They finish the regular season a solid #11 in the AP, Coaches Poll and BCS standings...but good for the Irish, they still secure a major bowl game nod. Admittedly it will be fun to watch them get thrashed in the Sugar Bowl vs. #4 LSU, which is basically a home game for the Tigers. ND hasn't won a bowl game in their last eight tries, and this will likely be #9. By the way, the latest line is somewhere between -7 to -9 (LSU) depending on the source.

New before those of my friends who are ND fans (there are several) decide to jump all over me on this writeup, keep in mind I'm not necessarily trying to piss you off...I'm just pointing out the facts.  There seems to be too many ND fanatics out there that deservedly should be brought back to earth.  Sure, you can give me crap about Nebraska, but they didn't come into this season with the same expectations.  You know it and I know it, but can the real ND fans deal with it?

Saturday Night Live, temporarily reborn
I've been a big fan of the show since I was a kid, but admittedly I usually feel like I'm wasting my time watching it (thank you TIVO for the ability to fast forward and quickly delete). We are know that this show has really taken a downturn, and this season seems to be shaping up as one of the all-time worst.  However, a few weeks ago they produced a true gem.  If you missed it, look for the rerun featuring Alec Baldwin as the host.  From start to finish, as a whole this was arguably the most entertaining SNL in the past few YEARS.  Many surprise special guests and most skits had me laughing out loud.  The musical guest, the "new" (non-dirty) Christina Aguilera, was also very good, especially when doing a duet with Tony Bennett.  If you ever liked the show, you won't be disappointed... 

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November 29, 2006
SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM...
Has anyone noticed the recent glut of investment SPAM that’s coming from random but seemingly real names? I have several e-mail addresses (both personal and business) that seemed to be inundated daily with this crap. In fact in the course of a day I received junk mail from Tanya Day, Kyle Murillo, Jackie Parra, Mindy Huber, Reyna Eldridge, Avis Fair, Phil Jack, Greta Wood, Landon Phoenix, Otis Groves, Mitzi Givens, Floyd Burkett, Dora Stratton, Arlene McKinney, Russell Cordova, Patrick Kendall, Maryanny Worley, Kip Rankin and Jeanette Pollock…of course I know none of these “people” but eventually some random configuration may sound familiar, which is what the sender hopes happens as you may then open it. Here’s an example:

-----Original Message-----
From: Tanya Day [mailto:deboraht@boygenius.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 12:06 PM
To: bryan@mcgonigal.org
Subject: Tanya wrote:

We have brought you winner after winner this year and things are only become better!

We called it! APWL is up BIG on huge volume. We hope you took a position early and are smiling right now. If you didn't, not to worry. The big spike is expected also on Tuesday, November 28. Get in now!

The twenty one century house is one in which broadband is available in every room. Video streams to wherever you choose to watch it. Home appliances are seamlessly integrated into a comprehensive network.

This is already a reality for the wealthy, and is just now becoming a booming business as it spreads to the middle class house. Our next feature makes this all possible, and is bringing it to the world

CompanyAdvanced Powerline Technologies
Sym: APWL
Current Price: 0.10 Up (20.48%)
Short Term Target: 0.27
Long Term Target: 1.10

An incredible press release is expected out of the company very soon. This will be backed up by a PR blitz and I'm sure you can guess what will happen to the price of this stock! Tech companies blast off on news like this. Get in before this one takes off and ride it all the way to the bank!

The funny thing is that you can’t reply as the e-mail addresses being used are random ones illegally “borrowed” to serve as the necessary working, reply-to address. Unscrupulous individual have their systems scour the net and workgroups looking for valid addresses, which they in turn use both as SPAM targets and as the person sending it! In the example above, whoever deboraht@boygenius.com is, she most likely never sent that message herself but will end up the target of angry replies.

Unfortunately there are enough idiots that actually read and BUY the crap in SPAM messages to make the efforts worthwhile. Additionally, due to the way these are generated with names and various generic titles, this makes it remarkably hard for SPAM filters to weed them out.  Since they're not really coming from the addresses listed, as with any SPAM message replying back is not only strongly discouraged but futile.  SO, if you're getting them already, there’s not much you can do other than to keep on top of your "delete" key...and for God's sake, don't EVER throw your money away on these shit stocks!

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November 19, 2006
Thanksgiving Trivia
Tis the season...a brief collection of both well-known and obscure facts about Thanksgiving.  Gobble Gobble!

When was the first Thanksgiving celebration held?
The Plymouth Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving celebration in the fall of 1621.

What was the reason for holding a Thanksgiving celebration?
On December 11, 1620 the first Pilgrims (or Puritans, as they were initially known) landed at Plymouth Rock. By the fall of 1621, of the hundred or so passengers who had sailed on the Mayflower, only half were still alive. (Of these, only four were adult women and almost forty percent were children.) The survivors, thankful to be still alive, decided to give a feast.

What was the name of the Wampanoag chief that was invited to the first Thanksgiving feast?
His name was Massasoit. Some ninety Wampanoag tribesmen were present at the feast.

What was the name of the Pilgrim leader who invited the neighboring Wampanoag to the first Thanksgiving?
It was Governor William Bradford who invited them. The reason they were invited is because they were the ones who taught the Pilgrims to cultivate the land, thus making it possible for them to survive.

How long did the first Thanksgiving celebration last?
It lasted three days (the celebration consisted of games as well as food).

Which president proclaimed the first "National Day of Thanksgiving"?
George Washington (in 1789 and then again in 1795).

Even though Thanksgiving was observed most years, it was not an official holiday. What is the name of the woman credited with making Thanksgiving a national holiday?
Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor. She began her Thanksgiving campaign in 1827.

Which president made Washington's "National Day of Thanksgiving" a national holiday?
On October 3, 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued a "Thanksgiving Proclamation" that made the last Thursday in November a national holiday. (Before that, the president had to make an annual proclamation naming the day when Thanksgiving was going to be held.)

Who was the last president to change the date of the Thanksgiving holiday?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving to the Thursday before last (the reason was to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy).

What happened in 1941?
Congress passed an official proclamation naming Thanksgiving a legal holiday to be observed, from that date forward, on the fourth Thursday in November.

Who wanted to make the turkey the national bird of the United States of America?
Benjamin Franklin, but he was opposed by Thomas Jefferson. Legend has it that Franklin then named the male turkey a "tom turkey" to spite Jefferson. (The female is called a "hen turkey" and the baby a "poult.")

What part of the turkey is used in a good luck ritual?
The wishbone.

What drink did the Puritans bring with them in the Mayflower?
Beer. (thank you, Puritans!!!)

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November 12, 2006

Some funnies to bide the time, part II
Not really MY banter, just a few funny things to fill this spot until I have time for another writeup. These are all election themed.  Enjoy!

Rumsfeld: 'My Half-Assed Job Here Is Done'
November 8, 2006  WASHINGTON, DC—After nearly six years of much-publicized service as Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld announced his resignation Wednesday afternoon, saying that he had "proudly accomplished everything [he'd] set out to bungle." "Years ago, I decided to bog this great nation down in an extended, grueling foreign occupation, and I'm happy to say that's exactly what I've done," said Rumsfeld in a farewell address at the White House, during which he urged Americans to continue waging the ill-conceived, mismanaged, and evidently unwelcome fight for democracy in the Middle East. "Each of my actions—from undersupplying troops with body armor to focusing on capturing Saddam Hussein while Osama bin Laden remained free—has led America inexorably toward our current state of extreme crisis. Well, anyway, goodbye!" President Bush expressed confidence that Robert Gates, his new nominee for Secretary of Defense, will be able to "fuck everything up the rest of the way."

Top 11 - Reasons to Vote
11. Because this is the most important election of our lifetime, (unlike, say, 1996, which was, like, totally lame. Why did they even have an election then?)
10. To shut up all those "If you didn't vote then you can't complain" people.
9. Because if you don’t vote, the terrorists win (unless you were going to vote for the terrorists, in which case they win anyway).
8. Because people in Iraq braved violence and long lines to vote for their ineffectual government, you don't have to brave either to vote for yours.
7. Because this year Al Franken will literally beat the shit out of you if you’re not wearing an “I Voted” sticker.
6. You would like a different politician lying to you for the next two/four/six years.
5. You want your voice to be heard, and the old woman down at the polling station can't leave her post so she'll have to listen.
4. You like to stand in line and pretend you're waiting for a Wii or Playstation III.
3. Perfect opportunity to check if your e-vote hack is in place.
2. Because you're tired of all the Republican scandals and abuses of power, and would like more Democratic scandals and abuses of power.
1. To relive those test taking days in college when you just filled in the circles randomly hoping to get some right.
(from bbspot.com)

Campaign Roundup, continued
I(1) Randall Terry, a veteran anti-abortion activist pushing a family-values campaign for the Florida state senate, acknowledged that his own family's photos in his campaign are minus his two adopted children, whom he has ostraciz