Ah, the Internet. The cause of so much joy and frustration.
So I'm distracted at work during lunch and checking out the RSS feeds and lo and behold I notice an article about a global warming detection satellite's launch failure. (It's kind of dry but you can read it here.) Now, it's really been cold here in the northeast this winter so I haven't really been thinking about global warming but I noticed a little irony in the failed satellite launch and I have a confession...
...I don't believe in global warming. And not because it's cold outside.
Before you rush to any judgments, curse me out or roll your eyes (yes you Ivan), please know that I am a very active recycler, a proponent (though complaining-user) of mass transportation, staunch supporter of the development and deployment of commercially viable renewable energy initiatives, and overall proponent of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generally quite green with regards to ending our dependence on fossil fuels.
That said, I still don't believe in global warming. If you're inclined to side with me or educate yourself about the possibility that it's a massive fraud you can get a little primer courtesy of the Canadian Free Press right here. Please don't misconstrue me. I am not an advocate of greenhouse gasses and I'd like to reduce carbon emissions. I just think its a scam.
I'm not smart enough to understand the whole carbon-credit thing, but I have more than an inkling they are similar to CDOs and the other exotic derivatives that have contributed to our general sorry state of financial affairs. What I don't find at all surprising (or relatively unreported) is that Al Gore seems to be very well positioned to benefit from the sale of carbon offsets. He founded Generation Investment Management two years prior to to the release of An Inconvenient Truth. How convenient.
Who could ever imagine a politician pushing an agenda for personal gain? With the mainstream media in cahoots as well? I'm shocked.
Stay tuned and be cool.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Not With My Tax Dollars
We now officially live in the twilight zone.
Me: My wife and I work hard, pay our mortgage on time and live relatively house-poor (albeit comfortably.)
You: Can't afford your home, don't have 20% equity and are facing a possible foreclosure.
Obama: Wants to use my tax dollars to help keep 4 million people like you in the houses you couldn't afford in the first place.
Now, for starters, I'm not cruel. I don't want people out on the street and homeless. However, you have to live in a house you can afford. I started in an apartment, saved, bought a house, sold it, bought another house. Each time with a budget and an understanding that it is a home we can afford.
Quite simply, no. I don't want to pay for this. Each day I make choices. Brown bag lunch or buy lunch. Buy a book or borrow one from the library (props to the Wayne NJ Public library). Get a new car or keep the old one. All these choices are guided by a budget, the same budget that lets me keep the home we can afford. Housing for everyone, sure, but why should I subsidize your acquisition of equity and wealth at the expense of my own?
I have many questions about the "stimulus" bill, TARP 1 and TARP 2 but I can wrap my mind around this one. I don't want to subsidize peoples mortgages. No one is subsidizing mine and I'm not asking for a handout.
Thomas Friedman had a great editorial about a possible solution to the housing crisis by loosening immigration. I'm all for it. (you can read it here. )
I know we have very little control over how our tax dollars are spent (which is so very very wrong) but this is one multi-billion dollar idea that simply stinks to high heaven.
Arrggghhhhh!
On the bright side, I have linked my blog (yes, I started a blog) to facebook. I am now as technically savvy in the blogosphere as your average 8th grader and quite giddy about it.
Me: My wife and I work hard, pay our mortgage on time and live relatively house-poor (albeit comfortably.)
You: Can't afford your home, don't have 20% equity and are facing a possible foreclosure.
Obama: Wants to use my tax dollars to help keep 4 million people like you in the houses you couldn't afford in the first place.
Now, for starters, I'm not cruel. I don't want people out on the street and homeless. However, you have to live in a house you can afford. I started in an apartment, saved, bought a house, sold it, bought another house. Each time with a budget and an understanding that it is a home we can afford.
Quite simply, no. I don't want to pay for this. Each day I make choices. Brown bag lunch or buy lunch. Buy a book or borrow one from the library (props to the Wayne NJ Public library). Get a new car or keep the old one. All these choices are guided by a budget, the same budget that lets me keep the home we can afford. Housing for everyone, sure, but why should I subsidize your acquisition of equity and wealth at the expense of my own?
I have many questions about the "stimulus" bill, TARP 1 and TARP 2 but I can wrap my mind around this one. I don't want to subsidize peoples mortgages. No one is subsidizing mine and I'm not asking for a handout.
Thomas Friedman had a great editorial about a possible solution to the housing crisis by loosening immigration. I'm all for it. (you can read it here. )
I know we have very little control over how our tax dollars are spent (which is so very very wrong) but this is one multi-billion dollar idea that simply stinks to high heaven.
Arrggghhhhh!
On the bright side, I have linked my blog (yes, I started a blog) to facebook. I am now as technically savvy in the blogosphere as your average 8th grader and quite giddy about it.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Book Recomendation - Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Hey there. Just wanted to update everyone on a truly great book, Life of Pi by Yann Martel. My friend Ravdeep Sawhney recommended it. I finished it over the weekend and you might want to put it on your reading list. (If you are a geographically close friend of mine I would be happy to lend you my copy.)
This book won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 so this is hardly some hidden gem of a recommendation. My tastes are usually a little more esoteric and I had never heard of the novel or the author. It is a very interesting and entertaining look at religion, zoology and survival. It is at turns funny and thoughtful and I highly recommend it. I won't summarize it here, but if you are interested in delving further, you can check out this link http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/0156027321
Not everyone shares my eclectic tastes in reading, but I feel confident in saying that I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book. That's a bold statement, so all you Yann Martel haters keep your opinions to yourself.
This book won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 so this is hardly some hidden gem of a recommendation. My tastes are usually a little more esoteric and I had never heard of the novel or the author. It is a very interesting and entertaining look at religion, zoology and survival. It is at turns funny and thoughtful and I highly recommend it. I won't summarize it here, but if you are interested in delving further, you can check out this link http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/0156027321
Not everyone shares my eclectic tastes in reading, but I feel confident in saying that I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book. That's a bold statement, so all you Yann Martel haters keep your opinions to yourself.
I don't like Mondays (even when they are Tuesdays)
Today is turning into a pretty lousy day for lots of reasons (and it's not even 10 am). My son had a sleepover date that awoke at 5:45 am, it took me almost 2 hours to get to the office and President Obama is signing the economic stimulus package into law.
I'm a pretty optimistic guy but please mark my words, when we say that things will get worse before things get better we are talking about historical worsts of a proportion you and I have never seen before.
We are heading into some dark days and when you look back and try to put a finger on when the wheels fell off the bus, you can remember February 17, 2009.
The downward spiral of the economy is going to be the justification used to get Americans to willingly surrender their constitutional rights and freedoms. We will do it with smiles on our faces either because we are true believers that this is the correct path or simply because we have been exasperatedly bludgeoned into indifference. Either way we are hoping for the best, but I suspect we will receive the worst.
If ever a Tuesday had the gloomy feel of a Monday, today is the day.
I'm a pretty optimistic guy but please mark my words, when we say that things will get worse before things get better we are talking about historical worsts of a proportion you and I have never seen before.
We are heading into some dark days and when you look back and try to put a finger on when the wheels fell off the bus, you can remember February 17, 2009.
The downward spiral of the economy is going to be the justification used to get Americans to willingly surrender their constitutional rights and freedoms. We will do it with smiles on our faces either because we are true believers that this is the correct path or simply because we have been exasperatedly bludgeoned into indifference. Either way we are hoping for the best, but I suspect we will receive the worst.
If ever a Tuesday had the gloomy feel of a Monday, today is the day.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tim Geithner
So this morning I’m thinking about Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and how much I was taken aback by a quote he made at the press conference to talk about TARP 2.
"This a challenge more complex than any our financial system has ever faced," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said. "We will have to adapt our program as conditions change. We will have to try things we've never tried before. We will make mistakes."
This is coming from a man who does not seem to reap consequences from his actions. He failed to pay his taxes, yet was still confirmed to run the Treasury department. Why wouldn’t someone like that be willing to roll some real expensive dice with the economy?
Can't we please take the time to think this thing through?
Manifesting your own reality?
I am posting today feeling a bit conflicted. I firmly believe that we manifest our own reality, but it dawned on me today that if I am manifesting my own reality...why do I have such a crappy commute to work?
It takes me a good 90 minutes to get from my house to my office and includes a car, bus, subway and a good stroll. I often think of the 1987 John Candy - Steve Martin film Planes, Trains and Automobiles and while it's good for a chuckle the commute weighs heavy on the day.
Surely I can manifest something quicker and less costly. This is a conundrum.
For those of you who aren't sure if they are actually creating their own reality, you ought to search for some clips from What the Bleep on you tube. It's a good intro. My buddy Luigi posted this link on facebook and it's interesting too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ISabu6rsA
Anyway, off to work. In addition to the usual struggles of the day I shoulder the additional burden of an existential quandary.
It takes me a good 90 minutes to get from my house to my office and includes a car, bus, subway and a good stroll. I often think of the 1987 John Candy - Steve Martin film Planes, Trains and Automobiles and while it's good for a chuckle the commute weighs heavy on the day.
Surely I can manifest something quicker and less costly. This is a conundrum.
For those of you who aren't sure if they are actually creating their own reality, you ought to search for some clips from What the Bleep on you tube. It's a good intro. My buddy Luigi posted this link on facebook and it's interesting too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ISabu6rsA
Anyway, off to work. In addition to the usual struggles of the day I shoulder the additional burden of an existential quandary.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Is the world ending?
Holy crap. I miss one day posting a blog and it seems like the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket. I'm not sure which is worse, Republicans in the Senate cave to pass the "stimulus" package (and did you really think that any politician in their right mind would choose to miss out on this pork-fest) and A-rod admits to using steroids. Who could have possibly imagined that a 3 time MVP (on track to set the record in home runs) used the juice.
I would have never guessed this. :)
In a world of such unpredictable events I should hardly be surprised today if Iran makes overtures to talks (but continues to enrich uranium and send weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah), bank executives award themselves 7 figure bonuses (even if they received TARP funds) or pigs fly.
Actually, though I haven't read the fine print I'm sure there is some funding in the new stimulus package for porcine aerodynamic research or some other such nonsense. I can't believe it's only 9:30 am on Tuesday. This is going to be a long week.
I would have never guessed this. :)
In a world of such unpredictable events I should hardly be surprised today if Iran makes overtures to talks (but continues to enrich uranium and send weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah), bank executives award themselves 7 figure bonuses (even if they received TARP funds) or pigs fly.
Actually, though I haven't read the fine print I'm sure there is some funding in the new stimulus package for porcine aerodynamic research or some other such nonsense. I can't believe it's only 9:30 am on Tuesday. This is going to be a long week.
Friday, February 6, 2009
How quick can you spend a trillion dollars?
So the president is pissed that the senate is not accepting his "stimulus package" as delivered.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7875520.stm
My question is simple. We're talking about a trillion dollars here. While we are certainly in a crisis, could we at least have a little debate about what to do. Economists from all ends of the political spectrum have questions about how to go about this.
I propose a new rule. Anything under $100 billion dollars can be passed without even reading the bill. Anything over $100 Billion gets 3 days of debate for every $100 Billion proposed.
I feel guilty spending $500 without talking to my wife. Can't we at least try and think about how to spend such a ridiculously large sum of money.
Also, have we seen this pissed-off side of the president yet?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7875520.stm
My question is simple. We're talking about a trillion dollars here. While we are certainly in a crisis, could we at least have a little debate about what to do. Economists from all ends of the political spectrum have questions about how to go about this.
I propose a new rule. Anything under $100 billion dollars can be passed without even reading the bill. Anything over $100 Billion gets 3 days of debate for every $100 Billion proposed.
I feel guilty spending $500 without talking to my wife. Can't we at least try and think about how to spend such a ridiculously large sum of money.
Also, have we seen this pissed-off side of the president yet?
Kokolo at Southpaw rocked!
I think this blog may get heavy or weird at times and I'd like to start with a diversion post. I saw Kokolo last night at Southpaw in Brooklyn and they rocked! I don't get out to see live music as much as I used to but I connected with an old friend through FB and he was playing with the band last night. Kokolo puts on an awesome live show, they got the crowd rocking and I can't endorse them enough. The band is really tight, they have infectous latin afro beat grooves and they are more than worth the price of admission. Do yourself a favor and see them live, download an album or two and get yourself a dose of kokolo. Their website is http://www.kokoloonline.com.
Welcome
Hello. The title of this blog is bad gear. One of my favorite sayings is "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear." I have no idea where I picked up the quote, but anyone who has spent any time outdoors has probably come across it somewhere.
I like it because to me it represents the two most important things in life. The things you can't control and the things you can.
That's not to say that I don't complain about the weather because I do (and I might add that I am sick and tired of the bitter cold in the northeast this winter.) I'm gravely concerned about what's happening in our country and the world and mostly how it is going to affect my family. Now I have a forum to share my concerns and diversions. I'm pretty sure that I can't bring about world peace or stop our country's slide toward socialism but at least I can share my views on it and maybe engage in some healthy debate and education.
Welcome to the blogosphere!
Neil
I like it because to me it represents the two most important things in life. The things you can't control and the things you can.
That's not to say that I don't complain about the weather because I do (and I might add that I am sick and tired of the bitter cold in the northeast this winter.) I'm gravely concerned about what's happening in our country and the world and mostly how it is going to affect my family. Now I have a forum to share my concerns and diversions. I'm pretty sure that I can't bring about world peace or stop our country's slide toward socialism but at least I can share my views on it and maybe engage in some healthy debate and education.
Welcome to the blogosphere!
Neil
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