The Balanced Guy

Hamster Huey and Pinewood Derby lessons.

2011-02-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

This time last year I was diligently blogging pretty much once a week. Life gets in the way and interest can wain, so it seems now I'm registering once a month lately give-or-take. I'd like to use the excuse that it was the holidays, but given that it's now February that ship ain't gonna sail no more.

I've got a few things to discuss this time around, and, as always, will include Kim K at the end for your entertainment. She's kind of like a bad reality TV show - hard to fathom why it captures our attention but oh-so-hard to ignore. Oh wait...didn't she have a bad reality TV show that we actually DID ignore? So much for analogies.

Let's dive right in to the Middle Class Money Muddle. I've given this a bit more thought and decided instead of talking about this or that money-saving tip (which can be found all over the place online), I'd instead take a recent bit of financial/economic news and analyze it's impact on the daily life of the average guy. Disclaimer!! - I'm not a financial advisor or Nobel Laureate in economics, however I do follow the financial and economic news closely and have an MBA in finance and BA in economics (although my career choice of real estate development means my financial/economic analysis skills are a bit rusty). That being said, my analysis could be way off base and have about as much relevance to your life as the price of tea in China (although in today's global economy and the rise of China, this expression may be losing some of its former steam as the price of tea in China probably does have an impact on your life.)

The big decision is choosing what to pull apart with all that going on in Egypt, the new Congress coming into office, the ongoing housing crisis, and on and on...

So how about this? The first possible "whiff of inflation" in the economy. Yikes! Inflation? That's rising prices and that's bad! right? Well, yes and no. For much of the past 2+ years, inflation has been so low as to cause concern of possible "deflation" or a drop in prices. But wait - that's good right? Again - yes and no. Good for your wallet in the short term, bad for the economy and your financial well-being in the long term. When expectations are that prices will drop in the future, both people and businesses stop spending now on the expectation of paying less later. This means money stops flowing in the economy. Bad. When businesses and people stop spending...well, we've been down that path the last few years and we know where that leads us and it's certainly not Nirvana.

There is a "healthy level of inflation"* What? How, you ask, can inflation be healthy? For one, people will spend now instead of later if they expect prices to rise. That gets money flowing in the economy which in turn keeps the economy growing, companies hiring and people working. It's a virtuous cycle. However, its a tricky business keeping to that healthy level. Too much inflation (called hyperinflation) and the economy overheats, prices keep rising ridiculously fast causing people to spend even more now to try and stay ahead of the curve. General craziness ensues until everything goes kablooie.

It's also important to separate out different kinds of inflation (to over-simplify it). As a consumer, your primary interest should be in the CPI or Consumer Price Index. Very briefly, this shows a rise (or fall) over time in the price of a pre-selected "basket of goods" the typical household buys. From the perspective of a business, they are concerned with the PPI or Producer Price Index or the change in cost of the materials, good and services they must buy to produce their products. On a day-to-day basis, you don't need to be overly concerned about the PPI if you hear it's rising. The reason is that as a general rule of thumb, most producers will absorb small rises in costs without passing them along to the customer so as not to affect sales in the short to mid-term (remember - a company lays out an annual business plan with sales projections so any monkey wrench in that is a big no-no unless absolutely necessary). If however, the PPI is consistently rising or suddenly rises, then you can probably expect price increases at the store in the not-too-distant future. And to bring it full circle, the "whiff of inflation" article linked above is about producer costs. The very question of if those costs will be passed along to the consumer is central to the discussion especially given the fragile nature of the economic recovery. My guess is "not yet".

A rise in energy prices has one of the biggest overall effects on general pricing. It takes energy to make everything, energy to transport it, energy to light and heat the stores where stuff is sold. So the price of oil is one thing to watch if you're concerned about your wallet. No doubt you've felt the pain in recent months as the price at the pump has gone back above $3/gal. This is also one of the driving factors (pun intended) behind trying to reduce our dependence on oil. It's not just the price of gas or global warming. If we can develop a reliable, cheaper alternative, the cost of nearly everything will go down (but this would be different than deflation as this overall drop would be more akin to an increase in efficiency as monetary resources could be reallocated toward uses other than energy).

*What level that is, is somewhat debatable but the Fed likes it to be somewhere around 2% per year give-or-take. Here's a more detailed explanation from Investopedia and a table showing the annual inflation rates at each month during the year. Note: you can't add the months up for an annual rate! The rate for each month was the overall calculated annual rate at that point in time. The primary source of information about the economy is the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Lots of analysis and data.

OK...so you got all that? Good. Let's move on to some more easily digestible fare.

How about the every-exciting, sexy and highly charged world of refurbishing old tools? Yes? Good. So a friend of mine is a carpenter and when I was over at his shop a short while back I saw a rusty old handplane sitting off to the side. I asked him about it and he said he got it from his uncle when he'd done work for him. A couple weeks later I asked him if I could take a stab at bringing it back to life. Needless to say, he got back a nice, very serviceable 85-year-old Stanley #5c jack plane that is good to go for another 85 years with proper care. He was quite amazed because he didn't think it could ever work again. Let me just say it took a lot of elbow grease and sandpaper. Probably not collector quality (yes, people collect old tools and often pay quite a bit for them!), but it's very functional.

Two weekends ago my two younger sons' Cub Scout Pack had its annual Pinewood Derby. For those of you not familiar with Scouting, this is one of the highlights of the year. Parents and boys spend many hours on their cars (let's call it what it is - dad spends a lot of time on the car), fine tuning them for maximum speed as I did. Being the somewhat handy type, I volunteered to work the "tune up table" which is supposed to be to help make those final adjustments to the cars - a little extra weight, make sure the wheels are straight, etc. Then there are the parents who either don't have either the time, interest or skills necessary. These are the ones who show up at the weigh-in the night before with a half-built car. No joke, cars still smelling of fresh paint and no wheels or weight were handed over to me by hopeless-looking parents. The line backed up 5 or 6 deep. I resorted to quickly sticking the wheels on, pushing the axles (nails) into the pre-cut slots with my thumb, then crudely hot-gluing weight to the bottom of the car. Given the fact I was working with cars the parents had clearly done little work on, you'd think some would be a bit less particular about ensuring I got it exactly to the legal limit of 5 oz. Needless to say I managed the evening with a smile...which turned to a grimace the next day at the races when, sonofabit ch, my sons' two cars only did mediocre and several of the cars I jammed the wheels on at the last minute wound up with trophies...next year my boys will race a plain wooden block.

How often do you spend time playing? Probably not enough. Well, there's growing evidence that adults need to make more time for it in order to remain happy and healthy. Not only that, but while knowledge may be gained from working, real wisdom most likely comes from play when you are able to deeply dive into who you truly are, be happy and build self-esteem. You then bring those qualities with you into the workplace, making you more effective.

Finally, we at last get to Kim. Seems she's upset over a recent photo spread. So here's the deal - she poses for W Magazine then is upset because of "full-on nipple" showing. This from a woman who has a sex tape, posed for Playboy and puts herself in the public spotlight at every opportunity? So here's one of the pics from the spread...but somewhat censored from its original version via "strategic" stars. I think that given the lifestyle she's chosen she needs to, as the pic references at the bottom, face her reality. As Harry Truman said "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

I must be deranged and the Middle-Class Money Muddle

2011-01-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

I've completely slacked on this thing the last month over the holidays...below the single line is a bit I started but completely bagged on while I was off work after Christmas. Meh. Below the double line is something I wrote this week. Having trouble finding anything worth writing about. No. Scratch that. Having trouble being inspired enough to write.

So I offer this completely sub-par installment for your laughter and enjoyment (no...not laugh with me, but AT me for how lame this is, and enjoyment in the fact that you'll feel far superior to me and better about yourself for being such after reading.)

Oh...I'm reading this book about Poland right now. Pretty interesting.

And this one about Wall Street was pretty boring. Now I've read quite a few about the financial crisis and enjoyed most but just couldn't get into this one and never finished it before I returned it to the library.

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We (you, me and all of us) are collectively awash in the Holiday tidal wave. For some reason there were more desserts at our house this year than I can ever recall. A self-induced food coma was only partly achieved two days after Christmas when my mother and my sister and her family came to visit.

Thank God I'm on a fitness mission after officially signing up for the Tough Mudder on April 9 in Allentown, PA. While I followed an agressive cardio regime between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve thanks to Concept2, today I did my first Tough Mudder workout. All I can say is "Ouch." The past few years I've stuck pretty much to cardio and have done very little strength training despite many years of weight lifting in the past. All I can say is I could feel it! Actually it's a fantastic workout you can do in your family room with just a few low-weight dumbbells. Even if you aren't tackling the Tough Mudder, I highly recommend it!

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This recession has affected me personally in many ways, job loss among them along with a short sale of our home in Florida (if you're wondering, I worked in the homebuilding industry in SW FL, one of the epicenters of the housing crisis. The Ft Myers area was recently ranked by the non-profit Brookings Institution as the second-worst regional economy in the country.) Yet I also have a professional/academic interest in the economy due to my MBA-Finance and BA-Economics education. It seems there is a never-ending litany of stories about how the business world is doing, the job market, the growing income gap in the US, ad nauseam. There are great websites like CNBC, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal for mainstream business news, and there are plenty of news stories (and even whole sections of news sites) about how bad it is for the shrinking middle class and below.

I find this all to be troublesome.

Look. The chances of me ever becoming part of the so-called "global elite" or "über-rich" are slim-to-none and so reading about them is akin to becoming a medieval flagellant or beating myself about the head with a brick. And really, for most of us (unless you're in finance for a living) knowing the results of the latest Treasury Bond auction or how many units of widgets the Very Big Corporation sold last quarter may be intellectually interesting, but it really has very little impact on our daily lives (and I'm not going to get into a discussion of how the health of the economy affects us personally....believe me, I know firsthand).

At the same time, after all the BS I've been through the last few years, I've emerged a more patient and hopefully wiser person who is also aware that despite the challenges my family and I have faced, there are still people in a lot more dire straights than we are. And so I chose to be a bit more, respectively, realistic and optimistic while not putting on blinders.

With this in mind, I ask "where are the blogs, article and websites geared for the middle class"? Not that I'm not trying to achieve a level of wealth such that I can afford to give it away, but in the meantime I'm also trying to get the monthly bills paid and wondering how I'm going to afford college for my kids. I think this is most of you as well and it's what I call the "Middle-Class Money Muddle". We're (fortunately) employed but not rich. We still have to carefully manage our monthly budgets. The future is somewhat uncertain (we aren't wearing shades unlike that 1986 song by Timbuk3). In short, we're doing the best we can and muddling through the times we find ourselves in, making the most of them. I don't seem to see a whole lot about this in the news. It's either about how well the rich seem to be doing or about how dismal those are that have gone past 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. As an aside, there's a funny (very funny, but not for young ears) video which states "when God hands you lemons, FIND. A. NEW. GOD!!" as opposed to the trite "make lemonade".

So let's turn this into a source of information for the rest of us. Henceforth, be it declared that The Balanced Guy will try to incorporate a section on the Middle-Class Money Muddle with each installment of the blog. While I can't promise anything, it'll be mostly about managing your daily money, not about investing, the stock market, foreclosures, unemployment benefits or food stamps. In short, we'll avoid the tails and stick to the middle of the bell curve. Boring to be sure, but applicable.

So let's start with the basics. Really basic. Like having a monthly budget. Do you have one? If you do, more importantly - do you stick to it? For years I battled my wife over this as I used Quicken and tried to account for every penny and to what category of spending it went to. She fought it tooth and nail, mostly because I couldn't communicate what I was trying to do well enough. Finally I just got to the point of saying "Look. We have X dollars left over each month after our recurring, mandatory expenses are paid (savings, rent, groceries, insurance, gas, utilities, etc). That's all we have to spend on things like clothes, gifts, activities, unexpected expenses, etc. I don't care how you spend it but just mark it down on this dry-erase board to ensure we don't go over-budget. Voila! It was like a light-bulb went on. Now she's on-board with it and I've more-or-less given up on tracking how much is spent on groceries vs utilities, etc. As the person who pays the bills each month I have very good working knowledge of what goes out the door and it makes little difference if we spent $1,186 on groceries this month or $1,204. As long as we don't make dramatic changes in how we live our lives, those expenses stay relatively constant. Now a couple-few times a year I go through and make sure expenses really are what I think they are.

Keeping track of how you spend that "left over" money each month is actually a great way to NOT spend it. I've already mentioned the dry-erase board. It's inside the door in the kitchen that leads down to the basement. Since our laundry room is down there, it reminds us every day. As spending is tracked and the monthly "left over" money balance goes down, you can't but help say to yourself when you're in the store "Do I REALLY need that $10 DVD?" because you know it'll have to go up on the board and drop the balance. And now I'll let you in on a little secret - at the end of each month we actually have more, not much, but definitely more than I've let on. In this way, if we do go over-budget for some reason there's a bit of a buffer and in the meantime we're building up a bit of a reserve.

OK - extra money-saving tip for this entry: For many of the activities you and your kids do there is a participation fee which can range from a few to hundreds of dollars. Depending on how much spare time and gumption you have, you might be able to trade your time for that money (remember, Time = $). See if volunteering to help out with the organization or event gets you a discount or even makes it free. Think of it this way: if it's an activity for your child, there's a good chance you're going to be sitting there watching, reading, talking with other parents or messing with your smartphone...AND paying for your kid to participate. Since you'll be there anyway, if you volunteer there's a chance you won't have to pay, probably meet some nice people and provide always-needed assistance.

For a change I thought I'd post an unflattering pic of Kim K...

And here's an interesting (to say the least) article about raising children...

Snooze Fest

2010-12-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

So I'm thinking my blog is pretty dry stuff. Seriously. I mean I can't compete with the likes of People Who. And I have no intention of turning this into some self-written autobiography or memoir. I think the problem is that I try to be too middle of the road and non-controversial and while I can be fairly funny in person (I hope), being funny in writing is hard! And honestly, I'm not looking to do some deep investigative reporting or analysis of the stock market for people to rely on.

So anyway, in keeping with really f'ing boring - I fixed the oven tonight. The igniter had died (it's a gas oven) and I ordered the part from Amazon (a LOT cheaper than directly from GE...$25 vs $99...go figure). This was a surprisingly easy repair to make taking all of about 20 mins plus time to get out tools and clean up. Here's a pic I asked my wife to take for the blog. At first she thought I wanted the pic for Facebook so I could post (like some people) every frickin' thing I do. No. I was merely thinking of you gentle reader (quick - where does that expression come from?). Point being that the vast majority of repairs we pay repairmen to do for a LOT more really cost very little both in time and money if we buck up and do it ourselves (plus I'm a cheap bastard). Now I didn't get an estimate for the repair, but I'm going to take a wild swing in the dark and guess it would have run me between $250-$300 to have a repairman come to the house and do it for me.

I've done a lot of repairs lately come to think of it. I had to replace the igniter in the wood pellet stove earlier this fall before it got cold out (it actually died last April and I hemmed and hawed about doing it all summer). That part was about $125 or so and admittedly a MAJOR pain in the ass to replace. Even if I had hands the size of a 6 year old it would've been difficult. Sheesh. And I rebuilt the walls in the downstairs shower after it was evident that there was a "problem" (to say the least). When I took the tile down, the greenboard someone had put up about 30 years ago was brown and black from water intrusion. Needless to say I used cement board when I rebuilt it. Tile work is actually pretty easy to do.

OK. So this IS turning into "story of my life". Sorry....sorry. My mistake. Apply brakes...HARD.

So let's take a look at what the rest of the world finds interesting...the envelope please...

So on Dec 2, 2010 the Hot Topics and Hot Searches as listed by Google Trends are proudly displayed for you in my shameless screen capture. Look, I'll admit to not exactly being a pop culture aficionado, but except for Chuck Norris, Natalie Portman and Linda Evans (really...a "Hot Search"...really?), I hadn't the faintest clue who any of the other people were until I clicked on the links. Felisa Wolfe-Simon discovered microbes that use arsenic instead of phosphorous in their metabolic cycle (which was thought impossible and thus opens a whole new realm of possibilities for life beyond earth); Ronnie Chasen, a murder suspect, killed himself, and poor Zahra Baker is the little handicapped NC girl whose remains were discovered recently after she'd gone missing (whose sad story will no doubt be exploited by the likes of People or Us magazines). And a lot of people looking for info on the Heat-Cavs game tonight as LeBron James goes back to Cleveland for the 1st time. He'll without question get a warm reception from his loving hometown fans. But seriously...Linda Evans? She was a looker back in the day (and for a woman of 68 she looks pretty ok), but what the heck is she doing as a Hot Search in Google?

And we'll close with my long-running joke/obsession: Kim Kardashian. Seems she and her sisters (who, by the way AREN'T that good-looking...eh Kourtney is ok but Klohe looks like a horse) started and then quickly backed out of a pre-paid debit card deal called the (wait for it...) "Kardashian Kard" (how klassy). It was about as well-received as a clown at a funeral as it was loaded with front-end, back-end and in-between charges. Until next time, stay balanced.

And I just threw in this link to buy typewriter ribbon for the hell of it. Never know when your laptop/i-Pad and printer are going to go belly up and you'll have to drag the old tappity-tap out of your parents' attic.

Avoid that Holiday Ass Fat....

2010-11-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

So there's a lot going on in the next few weeks as we enter the Holiday Season. I'm mostly going to focus on keeping off those extra holiday pounds that seem to easily creep up on you as you have "just one more cookie".

Speaking of food, I met up with a bunch of my buddies the other night for beers and dinner at The Yardley Inn in (appropriately) Yardley, PA. I hadn't been there in years (my wife and I had our wedding dress rehearsal dinner there) and all five of us that met up were shocked at how packed the place was on a Monday night! If you've never been, I highly suggest it. Food is very good, reasonably priced, atmosphere is great although it's not really a place to bring your kids. Anyway, if you go when the weather is nice, be sure to arrive early to take a stroll down Main Street, along the Delaware River or D&R Canal - Yardley is simply a great small town.

On to other things.

If you have nothing better to do at 8 AM Thanksgiving morning and you want to have a guilt-free extra piece of pumpkin pie and raise money for a good cause, you can still sign up for the Trinity Church 3rd Annual 5k Turkey Trot through historic Princeton, NJ. For those of you that are USATF members, it's a USATF-certified run. If you want a quick video tour of the route take a look below. Enjoy the run and see you there, although don't look for me at the front of the pack...a gazelle I ain't.

What else? It's that time of year when I undertake the annual Concept2 Holiday Challenge - that is, row 200,000 cumulative meters on the Concept2 ergometer from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. At first thought it may not seem like much, but then you realize it's 200 kilometers or about 125 miles (a little over 4 miles a day). This is the 6th or 7th year I've done this since it was started 10 years ago. If you have access to an erg, create an account on Concept2's website and start entering your workouts into your online logbook. Complete the Holiday Challenge and you'll receive a nice enameled pin in the mail in Jan/Feb and be eligible to buy a t-shirt. More than anything, it's a great way to ward off excess holiday weight. And lest I forget, for every meter you row, Concept2 will donate $0.02 to water protection efforts; row more than 100,000 m and each meter is worth $0.04! Lose weight and protect water at the same time...what could be better?

This past weekend was the Tough Mudder event here in NJ. If you've not heard of it before, let me say this: It's not for the faint of heart. a 7-12 mile run/obstacle course involving mud, water, and fire among other things. This is something right up my alley and I'm planning on attempting it next year and dragging a few of my friends along for the ride as well. Fingers crossed.

Now a shameless plug for one of the guys I had dinner with - if you want to get into shape or reach your maximum potential for next year's Turkey Trot, Holiday Challenge or Tough Mudder, visit Bob's website, Coach Kaehler. Bob is a 3x Olympian and 4x World Champion rower. Combined with his Masters in Physical Therapy from Columbia University, he has the first-hand, world-class practical experience and education to set you on the right path toward fitness.

If you're not brave enough to tear them away from their new toys and bundle the kids up Christmas morning to watch the annual re-enactment of Washington Crossing the Delaware, you can get a jump on it by attending the dress rehearsal Sunday December 12 from 11-3 at Washington Crossing State Park in PA with the crossing at approximately 1 PM. I've wanted to see this for a number of years and I'm finally getting around to it.

Oh...a couple more items. Do you know any guys (maybe yourself even?....nah) that takes his Fantasy Football League a little to seriously? If so, check out this very funny computer-generated douchebag extraordinaire video posted on my buddy Dave's blog The Savage Truth. But Dave, you need to get out more if she's a comely vixen. Dude...she's a computer cartoon even if she's supposed to be hot!

My idea of a comely vixen or something along those lines but not sure the word is meant for polite company is here in this pic of Kim bent over (let your imagination run wild).

Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T11:10:00.000-08:00

My father, Roman D. Horoszewski, Capt USAF, Vietnam Combat Veteran, Bronze Star

Very, very little we do in our lives matches the sacrifice and willingness to make the Ultimate Sacrifice our men and women in uniform make every day. Make sure you thank a veteran today for their service.

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

2010-11-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday! The Balanced Guy is now 1 year old...the blog that is, not the writer. On occasion of it's first birthday I thought I'd reflect on a bit of the past year as well as look ahead a bit. First some statistics for you: over the past year there have been 7,703 visits, 7,148 of them unique visitors hailing from 123 countries and all 50 states. There has been a steady increase in daily visitors and while TBG doesn't get the volume of traffic of say...Google...it does ok for a very small blog. Even manage to have a fair number of repeat visitors so at least there are a few intelligent people in the world that realize what I have to say is worthwhile; groundbreaking if I do so say so myself. Of course, a large number of visits have been prompted by having pics of and using as a key search word "Kim Kardashian". Very funny. Hey, whatever works to get 'em in the door, right? (and guess what? I'll use it again for this post since I mentioned her!...GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!)

The blog itself has changed over the course of the year as I've searched for "my voice" (as it's called; or at least am in the process of finding it). I've definitely been posting less often the last few months as I found it too demanding with my other life commitments to get something out once a week. Although I'll admit that if I was generating significant revenue from advertising it would be a different story. but alas I'm not. For better-or-worse there's nothing dramatically exciting about a blog written by yet another middle-age guy about his life. I really need to come up with a better angle; maybe I'm not controversial enough. Or maybe my writing essentially sucks and is boring. If nothing else, it's cathartic for me, so you'll just have to endure it. However, I like to think my readers (fans???) find solace in knowing there are actually other common-sense guys out there like themselves who take the time to write about it. For sure I know there are far more entertaining blogs out there, such as Dave Sheridan over at The Savage Truth.

Enough contemplating my navel.

The mid-term elections have come and gone. Really, quite a bunch of silliness this time around (but yes, I voted). I'll never understand politicians, their grandstanding, saying things they know to be patently untrue or bending the truth until it screams "Uncle!", and ripping apart their opponents instead of giving an honest accounting of themselves and specifics of what they intend to do if elected. More often than not it seems they see themselves as akin to the genie in the bottle - rub the bottle (elect them) and they'll grant your every wish. And they wonder why the average man-on-the-street doesn't trust politicians no matter if they are a donkey or an elephant? And at times I wonder about the electorate. If the average voter was on the board of a large company needing to hire a CEO or other senior executive, they'd be looking for the best people - hopefully even smarter and more competent than themselves. So why in the world do voters of all stripes often elect candidates who try so very hard to present themselves as "an average guy"? Look, call me crazy, but I don't want "an average guy" running this country or representing me in Congress or the Statehouse. I want better-than-average...a lot better. What is with our national obsession with demonizing experience, education and intelligence? Blows my mind.

In a crazy, complex world things aren't always black and white, right and wrong. There are always nuances. Yet this seems to escape the notice of many people...except you, gentle reader (as Ms. Manners would say). Take the age-old paradox about lying. Let me begin by stating that it's generally wrong to lie. Unfortunately there isn't exactly a bright line in even this most seemingly simply of matters. Here's the scenario to demonstrate: You are sitting in a restaurant when a man comes in with a gun and asks where your brother is because he is going to kill him. Now, you know that your brother happens to be in the back room having a private dinner with some business clients. So here's the dilemma: do you tell the truth and let the man know where your brother is thus getting him killed, or do you lie and say you don't know where he is at which point the armed man will walk out of the restaurant and your brother's life is spared? Only by lying does your brother live. Of course this is an extreme example but in a black and white world, extremes are irrelevant. It's yes or no. You might argue "well, it's only a white lie and it saved my brother's life" or "the end justified the means". True enough, but at that point you've opened wide the door to shades of grey and dimmed that bright line. If it holds true here, it then holds true in any just about any other situation.

I've mentioned the site before but it's worth mentioning again. If you want a pretty non-partisan, straight-dope analysis of world events, I highly suggest you take a peek at Stratfor. George Friedman and his staff do a fantastic job of pulling apart geopolitical issues and examining them in a no-nonsense manner. It's definitely a 50,000 foot view of things but in many cases it's helped me to understand the larger picture of world events and make sense of why the US or some other country did something without all the right/left, political BS muddying the waters. This week's free Geopolitical Weekly, The World Looks at Obama After the U.S. Midterm Election, is a great analysis of what Obama faces going forward with respect to the rest of the world. We also hear a lot in the news about Iran which is now increasingly important in light of Obama losing domestic policy power after the elections. Why important? While Congress can control domestic policy, foreign policy always lays firmly in presidential hands. Between the Aug 31 article, Rethinking American Options on Iran and September 14th's Elections and Obama's Foreign Policy Choices, Stratfor lays out a convincing argument for Obama looking to regain power by dealing with Iran. Let's watch and see what happens.

OK. On to more important things. What is Kim doing this week? Who cares?!! (As an aside - what a hell of a blog! Only here can you go from deep, philosophical questions regarding politics and ethics straight into gossip about it-girl Kim K. You're definitely getting your money's worth; and considering you're here for free...)

So here are the Top Ten Reasons I'm not Kim's latest boyfriend:

I'm not rich
I'm pretty sure she mostly dates black guys
I'm not an NFL player
I don't live in LA
I'm not rich
I've got three kids and don't think she's ready for that
I'm not rich
I might be a tad old for her
I forgot to get in line for a number
Most important - I'm already married.

I'm in the middle of rebuilding the shower in our downstairs bathroom. Actually not that bad of a job. While it's certainly not the first tiling job I've done, it is the first shower. Truth be told, I was a bit nervous since there is water involved, but after visiting a few websites to get the skinny, I came away with the one value to hold true to with showers: silicone caulk EVERYTHING. Oh yeah, and don't use greenboard. Only go with cement board. There is some professional disagreement online about whether to use a mastic or thinset for the tiles. Old school guys say only thinset since mastic softens when exposed to water. However, there are a number of newer mastics out there that purport to perform just fine as long as they are not submerged in water, thus shower walls are just fine.

Finally, am I reading or have I recently read anything worth hawking and putting up an Amazon ad for? Not really, but I did recently get a cool little weather station that our family really enjoys. Pretty nifty.

Until next time.

Going old school and musing about online cr@p

2010-10-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Lately I've not been writing new posts very often; and when I do, they've tended to be on one topic and - for better or worse - slightly moralistic and definitely opinionated. But I guess given that this is MY blog, I can opine on whatever I damn well please. However, I think maybe I've gotten somewhat afield from where I started this blog nearly a year ago. However, writing like I originally started doing where I touched on a broad range of topics each go, was time-consuming and created a lot of self-imposed pressure to produce. However, it's been a while since I did the shotgun approach to topics so I'll go a bit old school this go around.

So. Um. Now I have to figure out sh*t to write. Damn. Chalk it up to writer's block or apathy. Name it what you will. I think part of my problem is that I've been purposefully staying offline and away from the web. It's a morass of brain-numbing crapola in large part. To be sure there is a tremendous amount of helpful and wonderful stuff online, but mostly I think the garbage far outweighs the gold (on which side of that equation this blog falls is entirely up to you). The other hard part is that it seems people spend a lot of time making the crap look really good and enticing while truly useful info tends to be pretty visually boring. For example: the website for People is fairly visually appealing; however I'm not sure how useful the info is other than pure entertainment (although we need to mentally relax from time-to-time). On the other hand, The Economist website, is clean looking but certainly not going to win a Webby Award for eye candy. And it seems the more base instincts a site appeals to, the easier they are to navigate...but then again, maybe there are other reasons why a porn site is easy to navigate one-handed.

Speaking of eye candy, I'm going back to one of my personal memes very early and dropping in the cover of the most recent copy of W Magazine with Kim K on it. How does a photographer get a photo shoot like this?

Now where was I? What else is going on in the world? Oh. While I'm not a big fan of what has been going on at my alma mater the last few years with respect to Schiano and McCormick running roughshod over the rest of the athletic programs to the benefit of the football program, I still support the athletes. They don't make the politics. That being said, I'm saying my prayers for Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle in a game against Army this past Saturday.

Oh hey, if you're looking for some easy reading with battle, guns, swords, good guys, bad guys, damsels in distress and the like, then look no further than the Sharpe Series by Bernard Cornwell. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Richard Sharpe comes up from the ranks (and the gutter) to become an officer in His Majesty's Army. Utterly predictable, they are nevertheless good clean fun...although with 21 books in the series, I'm wondering at the end of it all how many people Sharpe, ever the soldier, will have ended up killing. If you do undertake to read them, do so in the chronological order of the books, not the order in which they were published (Mr. Cornwell jumped around a bit as he decided to write about this battle or that one). Thus you'll want to start with Sharpe's Tiger. Enjoy!

One other book you should read if you have the chance is The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis. Just be prepared to keep picking your jaw up off the floor as you wonder why a bunch of Wall St types aren't in jail being someone's bee-otch.

OK, at this point I'm wrapping it up. Just not feeling terribly inspired and I do need to get something posted.

2010-09-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

With 3 boys and having been a Cub Scout Den Leader for 4 years, I like to think I have a pretty good handle on dealing with boys...and probably kids in general* but note the asterisk as the whole "girl thing" no doubt has subtleties of which I've woefully ignorant. But I do have a sister, so I'm hoping that helps a bit. This being said, I'll go out on a limb and claim to know what kids, especially boys, like. I can tick off a few pretty easily - Legos, toy guns (or anything that can be used as a toy gun, like a stick), video games, fire, cartoons, miscellaneous sports, and generally anything they're not supposed to touch (such as my tools).

It's the ones they are not supposed to touch that can be a bit dicey. Take, for instance, knives. We all know they are shiny and sharp - or should be sharp since a dull knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one (at least to yourself). So why in the world would you give one to an 8-year-old kid? Because, surprisingly, they are probably ready for it. "What!!??" you say (I can already hear the "helicopter parents" clambering to hurry their brood indoors and lawyers rushing to string me up). First and foremost - a pocket knife is a tool, not a weapon. I've carried one for years and it's come in handy more times than I can count. However I've yet to use it to shank someone.

I figure if as respected an institution as the Boy Scouts of America, which has been figuring out the "boy thing" for literally 100 years, is ok with 8-year-olds having pocket knives than you should be too. No joke. When they are in 3rd grade, Cub Scouts as part of their passage to earning the Bear Badge, can also earn the coveted "Whittling Chip" badge. Successful completion of its requirements earns them the right to carry a pocket knife at Scouting functions and events. The safety rules they have to learn and training they receive in handling and caring for a knife work very well as far as I've experienced. It's not as though you're handing out 10" military survival knives to the kids; I'm talking a basic Swiss Army or Boy Scout pocket knife. Nor completely unsupervised either.

I'll admit I probably have gotten almost as much pleasure presenting each of my sons with their first pocket knife as they got in receiving it. The way their eyes lit up you can tell they felt very important getting it. It shows you trust them, think they are growing up and creates a bond between you. Granted, as their parent, you have to carefully think about not only if you are comfortable with them having a pocket knife, but if they are ready for the responsibility. Clearly not all 8-year-olds are created alike. Nor are all parents - no doubt there are those who will claim the child might take the knife to school and be expelled, etc. However, this would be a failure of the parent, not the child. Clearly laying down the rules is critical and you even keeping the knife except in certain supervised situations is always an option.

Admittedly, by the time I was 8, I had a knife and BB gun, both of which I'd pack up with a lunch and take off with my friends to disappear for the day into the woods and fields near our house. We never got into any trouble, nor suffered any terrible injuries. It was a rite of passage as well as a relatively harmless way to learn about risk management.

Here are a few links about selecting an appropriate pocket knife for a child and knife safety for children:

http://www.akti.org/education/teach-children-knife-safety

http://www.ebladestore.com/blog/topic/my-first-pocket-knife/

http://www.ehow.com/about_6328516_pocket-knife-safety-kids.html

And here's a Q&A forum where someone made a post about possibly getting a pocket knife for an 8-year-old girl. Personally I find the majority of the replies to be pretty paranoid; one of the responders won't even let their 13-year-old son have one.

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/schoolaged/gifts.html

And, in my opinion, the link below is a quite silly response on Yahoo Q&A about the appropriate age for a child to have a pocket knife. For some reason the "best answer" chosen was at no age since "...there is no need for a child to carry a weapon". I've carried a pocket knife for years and have never used it as a weapon. Make sure you click on the + sign next to "Other answers". At least it's nice to know there are other sensibly-minded people who recognize a pocket knife for what it is - a tool (a useful one at that), and anyone who thinks otherwise has obviously never carried one.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100921050548AADZocE

Run your kids ragged....and listen to Zeppelin

2010-09-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

A complete lack of inspiration for a topic to write about this week has hit me so I'm going to "ramble on" (to quote mighty Zeppelin) in hopes that doing something -- anything -- is better than doing nothing. I suspect I'm not alone in this paucity of thought; at least I like to think it hits everyone from time-to-time. The question is "how do you get past it?"...

...Long story short - I wrote a bunch of junk (which I deleted) before I came up with the following. Yes I had to scrap a lot but it wasn't wasted time as it got me to having this pretty great family activity idea to share with you. However reading what I wrote to get here would be like reading a tedious (and slightly schizophrenic) stream of consciousness ala Faulkner so I spared you that private hell. Read on...

As the weather starts to cool, here's a great idea for spending time with your kids and getting them outdoors. If they are much older than 11 or 12, this may not interest them. Two words - obstacle course. It's relatively easy to set up an age-appropriate obstacle course in your backyard for your kids to run through. It doesn't require expensive equipment or loads of prep time - in less than an hour you can plan it out (have your kids help!) and another hour or so to set it up and/or put together a few minor pieces of equipment (I usually make whatever I need). I've done this a number of times as a Cub Scout Den Leader and let me tell you - nothing gets 8 year old boys going like an obstacle course...especially if you tell them you want to see how fast they can go!

So here's what you do.

1) Plan for approximately 10 stations for them to run through against the clock. Here's a sample program for kids about 7-10 years old:

1. Balance beam (about 5" off the ground - simply a 4x4 beam on feet to steady it)

2. Jump rope 10x

3. Soccer ball dribble through cones

4. Frisbee toss at target (like a tree)

5. "River" jump (set two lengths of rope 4'-5' apart parallel to each other; they have to jump over "the river" between the ropes; for even more excitement tell 'em it's lava)

6. 10 yard crab walk (hopefully you remember this one)

7. Up and over (let them scramble over something big like a picnic table; just be certain it's stable and cannot tip over).

8. Rope swing - if you have a sizeable tree in your yard, tie a rope up in it and have 'em swing over yet another river or lava pit.

9. Somersaults x 5 (make sure they don't drink too much bug juice beforehand!)

10. Run backwards for 10 yards

2) Actually take the time to draw a scaled plan/map of your backyard and then lay out the course on paper. This is a great way to show your kids how maps work at a scale they can relate to (their backyard).

3) Following your plan, lay the course out in your backyard so that your kids can run through it safely and without having to navigate too many obstacles NOT part of the course (like guy wires on a tree or a bird bath). I find snaking it back and forth usually works better than trying to make a big circle. Don't forget to include a start and finish line!

4) Have your kids do some slow test runs to work out any kinks. You may also find that you want to rearrange the order of obstacles for better flow or to accommodate the layout of your yard.

5) Grab a stopwatch and have fun! Challenge them to run through it faster each time. Odds are as they familiarize themselves with it, they will indeed get faster and have a true sense of accomplishment. Or maybe one of the challenges is something they have trouble with at first, but figure out how to master.

There you have it. Pretty simple and you've probably got most of the stuff on-hand already. This is a sample course; you may want to come up with completely different challenges. Just don't forget to pick ones appropriate for your kids' ages and abilities as well as your yard. If you know your child has trouble with some particular physical skill, this is a great opportunity in the safe environment of their own backyard to work on it by creating an obstacle to help them develop that skill. However I do encourage you to challenge and stretch them just a bit - that's how kids learn and grow. A challenge that is easily accomplished is no challenge at all...nor any fun.

Enjoy and be safe!

Getting UN-wired

2010-08-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

After a few billion years (give-or-take a half a billion), life has evolved on this planet sans digital technology. It's only been in the last 20 years computers have become ubiquitous and even far fewer that we've been carrying smartphones and Blackberries. So let me ask you - do you think our brains are more designed to deal with the pace of nature or electrons traveling at the speed of light? It seems more and more scientists are looking into what digital technology is doing to our brains and our attention spans, and what nature can do to bring us back into focus.

I'd already written a number of moons ago about the apparent benefits of getting children out into nature, as more and more children are growing up in front of screen and shunning the outdoors. But even those of us for whom childhood was largely electronic gadget-free are now showing symptoms of computer fatigue.

Call it serendipity, call it chance but just as I've taken to reading The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain by Nicholas Carr, I came across the following NYT article discussing pretty much the same thing. Is our current 24/7 flood of information overloading a system crafted by Mother Nature and fine-tuned over countless generations to deal with a much slower pace and subtle clues? Sure, we have our fight-or-flight instincts to process and deal with sudden emergencies, but we are now having to handle a constant flood of new information, each touted as more important than the last keeping our stress levels unnaturally high. Is it any wonder then that in this day and age, there is a preponderance of drugs to treat problems like constipation, erectile dysfunction, and difficulty urinating, all conditions exacerbated by the fight-or-flight reaction? (in short - in an emergency our bodies shut down our digestive and reproductive systems in order to divert all resources to dealing with the immediate situation)

Wading back into The Shallows; it asks if our brains are literally wiring themselves differently (and in children, developing differently) in this age of sound bites, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook status updates, and clicking from one Web page to another after just a few seconds. Are we losing our ability to think deeply about important topics? I’ll admit, I’ve noticed my skills of concentration don’t seem to be what they used to be and I sometimes find myself skimming even short online articles so I can click through to the next link. And let’s be honest: You don’t become good at anything by doing it for 30 seconds at a clip.

I highly recommend you read Mr. Carr's book; it will make you rethink how much time you allow yourself and your kids to spend online (even if it means reading The Balanced Guy less often!)

In closing this thought, I've taken longer than usual to add to this blog while I've been taking a needed hiatus from the Net (mainly social networking). After more than two weeks away from Facebook and working to limit my other time online, I can honestly say I feel less stressed and less "needing" to check email et al. Why don't you give it a try and get unwired?

Captain America, Ice Cream, and Tools...how Red-Blooded is that?

2010-07-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

So the first images of Captain America (aka "Cap", "Wing Head") for the upcoming movie "Captain America: The First Avenger" (in theaters July 22, 2011) have been released at Comic-Con . I have to say for the most part I like it. A bit rougher and raw than his comic book costume (and a bit like the leather get-up worn by Daredevil in the 2003 film). However one thing I've always liked about Cap's gear are the wings on his head and they're missing here. No idea why I like them, but without them it just doesn't quite look like Cap. We'll see what happens when Cap shows up in the Avengers movie; maybe he'll get his wings back - given the that this happens a number of decades after his "creation" during WWII it's possible he'll have a different look (long story but he was injected with a "super soldier" serum and bombarded with "vitarays" which transformed him into a perfect human specimen...thus he doesn't age.)

The only "odd" thing about the casting of the movie is that Chris Evans has been cast in the part. Why odd? Because he also played the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies...if you're not in the know, Cap and the Fantastic Four are both part of the Marvel Comics universe. This caused a bit of a stir in the Marvel fan base. Such is life, and I think Chris will do the role justice. Honestly, if I were an actor it would be the one super hero role I'd want the most and be the most afraid to play - the character has literally been around since WWII, is pretty much universally loved by comic book fans, and is the embodiment of all that is good about America - those are some big shoes to fill.

I'm a self-admitted DIY kind of guy and have a workshop full of tools to back that claim up. Power tools and hand tools. No doubt power tools make a lot of mundane jobs quick and easy - I'd be lost without my cordless drill; I use it more as a screw gun than a drill and it makes putting in an taking out screws and bolts a cinch...I remember (not too fondly) helping my father put in and take out screws by hand when I was a kid. Ugh. However, there is a lot to be said about hand tools in certain situations and I've come to see them in a whole new light. I recently bought my first bench plane - not a high quality one as I simply wanted to explore what I can do with it. I'm already hooked and ready to spend some money on a better one. This past Christmas I received a high-end dovetail saw (and wrote about it in an earlier posting). I'd also love to have a set of wood carving tools.

The short of it is that hand tools are a pleasure to use, especially when they are high quality ones. That's the key. I've discussed this before - buying cheap tools is never worth the savings. You can find a fantastic selection of high-end tools at Lee Valley. Check it out.

If you’ve ever been a tinkerer, or you’re some kind of mechanical-electronics whiz kid, or you just like neat-o gadgets, you definitely need to check out kipkay.com.

In a nutshell, hacker-modifier extraordinaire Kip Kedersha takes fairly common household items (often electronics) then shows you how to, via a short video clip, modify, hack, and combine them in unique ways that result in cool stuff. Like a Bic lighter turned into a laser lighter that lights fireworks and cigars. Kip also can save you a load of money by, for example, modifying a $5 flashlight to outperform a $95 high-end model. With a little bit of knowledge and some extra parts readily available at places like RadioShack, Kip does some pretty remarkable things. He’s also got a few pranks up his sleeve, of course. How about a calculator that talks to the user when they hit the = button? Or a stapler that squirts blood? Brilliant.

Two of the cooler hack-tricks? Jimmying a “single-use” digital camera so that you can use it again and again … for free (instead of paying the fee to retrieve your pictures only to toss it out). And the night-vision headset was sort of bad-ass, too, with the quality far better than most commercially available models.

Granted, most of the hacks require that you have some more-than-basic tools at your disposal and at least a rudimentary knowledge of electronics. For most of the projects, he provides parts lists (and links for where to get them) in addition to the videos, along with detailed directions. Personally, I think they it’s a great way to figure out how things work, and since the projects all result in fun gadgets, it’s also the perfect way to spend time with your kids while you both learn.

I’m thinking my first attempt will be the modified flashlight. I’ll let you know how it goes.

It’s summer and it’s been hot, hot, HOT here in New Jersey. Like record-breaking hot. What’s a person to do to cool off other than languish in front of the air conditioner or soak in a pool till your fingers and toes become prune-like? I’ve got a sweet idea—ice cream! And not just grocery store schlock, but some of the best darn ice cream in the country. You heard me: Not just the best in the area or the state but…

The. Best. In. The. Country.

A recent ranking of the top ten best ice cream purveyors in the country gives Jersey not one but two of the coveted spots on the list (the only state with two on the list, in fact). And guess what else? One of those places is practically in our backyard, in Princeton right on Nassau Street. If you haven’t guessed by now it’s (drumroll, please) none other than Thomas Sweet, home of the blend-in and various other frozen confections.

Now, I’ve been going to Thomas Sweet since I was in college, so I’ve always known how good it is; but it gives me great pleasure that others beyond Central Jersey will find out soon, too. And with this nationally published ranking, I’m going to guess that it might get a tad busy over there on Nassau Street, especially on Friday and Saturday nights in the summer. So, you might think about heading out to the Thomas Sweet Café in Montgomery off of Route 206 North, or if you don’t mind a bit of a drive, there’s a Thomas Sweet on Easton Avenue in New Brunswick, about a block from the Old Queens building at Rutgers College (yeah, I know; technically there’s no longer a Rutgers College, per se; just a Rutgers University, but old habits die hard and I haven’t completely bought into that whole name-switch thing).

And what about that other top-ten New Jersey ice cream parlor? It’s Springer’s Homemade Ice Cream in Stone Harbor.

Regardless of your current locale, grab the family one of these hot nights and head on over for a sweet treat to beat the heat.

And...at this point the joke has been going on so long I have to continue with it so here she is...

Larissa vs. Kim, Trends and Bread Clips...

2010-07-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Well, 50% of the world's population is breathing a sigh of relief as Larissa Riquelme, the lingerie model from Paraguay, has announced she will run nude through the streets of Asuncion despite her home country being knocked out of the World Cup. She made this decision to give "a present" to those hard-working players who brought pride and recognition to her country. Umm...honestly, I think Ms. Riquelme brought more recognition to her country than the national futball team.

For those of you not in the know, she had pledged to run clad only in body paint the colors of the Paraguayan flag if the team won the World Cup. Upon that announcement, in addition to a world-wide drop in Viagra sales, Paraguay suddenly had pretty much the support of any man from any country knocked out of contention...and probably quite a bit of support (even if in secret) from fans whose team was still in the hunt. I can guarantee this will be a historic run, thoroughly documented by the media with the particular photo assignment being eagerly sought after by sports photographers the world over...and just about any other guy even remotely involved in media. Suddenly the lowly photographer at Sports Illustrated who has covered South American sports in backwater towns for years while suffering the teasing of his colleagues assigned to "more prestigious" assignments like the NFL Combine now has most coveted job in sports.

As usual, visit Dave over at The Savage Truth for better sports analysis and better jokes.

Your Ride: Using that amazing thing called Google, I saved at least $500 if not closer to $1000 on car repair bills. Here's the deal - the AC in my Volvo would stop blowing cold air after 15 minutes or so. If I turned if off for about 10 minutes or more, it would blow cold again for a while before stopping again. Puzzling. When I had the car in the shop for routine maintenance, I asked them to look into it but they couldn't duplicate the problem (and pretty much treated me like I was an idiot with questions like "Did you have the AC turned on?").

By visiting a few online forums like Volvospeed and Volvoforum I determined this was actually not an uncommon problem. After reading through a number of the postings, I narrowed my problem down to being that the AC compressor clutch was starting to wear down and the gap to engage too big. Solution: shim it. Recommended method to shim it? Use bread bag plastic clips and Super Glue...no joke!! It took about 10 minutes to fix and now my car AC works perfectly...critically important since it's been over 100 degrees these past few days here in Jersey! Lesson learned? Before taking your car in for potentially expensive repairs, poke around on the web to learn what you can about the problem (especially on owner-forums), and determine if there is an easy and inexpensive way to DIY.

Trends: Speaking of Google, if for no other reason than being bored check out Google Trends. You can type in search words or terms to see how often they are being looked for, even comparing them against other words. There's also a listing of the Top Ten Trends and Searches on Google - some interesting stuff sometimes! For example, type in aforementioned model, "Larissa Riquelme" a comma and then "Kim Kardashian" and you can see that the very attractive Ms. Riquelme was not on the radar until June 14 of this year then suddenly shot up on June 28 (while Kim has held relatively steady for about 3 years), out-stripping (pun definitely intended) searches for Kim due to her announcement of a clothing-free run. The letters indicate news stories about the topic in question, listed to the right of the graph. Below there is additional info on the search term - what country, city and language for which the term was most popular. For Ms. Riquelme, not surprisingly the highest number of searches come from her home country of Paraguay, but oddly enough the language with the most searchers was not Spanish but Korean! For more mundane topics, there is often seasonality such as "Tour de France" in July, "pie" around Thanksgiving and, oddly enough, the searches for "weddings" literally spikes the day after Christmas year-after-year (guess what she got for Christmas).

Le Tour: It's been an exciting first few days of le Tour de France thus far with a seemingly excessive amount of crashes and riders out of the race already (note: anyone who thinks bike racing is for wimps should check out the crashes and the resulting blood and broken bones). On the second day of racing, after nearly 223 km (138 miles) of riding there were three major crashes inside the last 3 km, one of which blocked the narrow road entirely and brought the peleton (the main body of riders) to a complete stop! In the GC (General Classification aka Yellow Jersey aka Maillot Jaune) standings there are a few surprises at this point although Contador looks well-placed going into the Alps in a few days when Stage 7 begins. Lance is a bit further back after suffering from two punctures on the tricky cobblestone stage. Probably the biggest shocker thus far is the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, being in 36th place in the Points Standings for the best sprinter. He's figured as a major factor for the Maillot Vert (Green Jersey) but has so far been rendered impotent while his main competition, Thor Hushovd, leads in Points with 80 total to Cavendish's 15. Stay tuned!

Guy Books - Are you guys looking for good beach-reading material this summer? I've got some for you. Normally my wife (and sometimes the kids too!) likes to gently tease me about my usual reading selections and their general lack of excitement...such as Understanding Wood, The Intelligent Investor, The Handplane Book, and other such non-fiction fare. However I do have one favorite fiction author who writes action-packed historical fiction. Meet (if you aren't already familiar with him) Bernard Cornwell, one of the most prolific writers out there. For the most part he writes series - which is great since I have always enjoyed his books so much I want more of the characters - with my favorite to date being The Saxon Stories. Five books (and counting) written in the first person, the series follows the life of Uhtred, a warrior in 9th century Saxon Britain/England (or what will one day become England). Many of the characters portrayed are figures known to history and the larger framework of the books follows historical events. So if you're up for page-turning adventures back and forth across the landscape, mighty battles, definite bad guys (more often-than-not a demonic member of the clergy), switching allegiances as necessary, comely women, drunken victory feasts...it's all there.

Bike Races, Fireballs, 4th of July, Kim in Wax...and traffic from California (??!!)

2010-06-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Haven't figured out why, but my site is getting an inordinate amount of traffic from California. Certainly not complaining! Just leaves me scratching my head, especially since it's fairly evenly distributed around the state with a slight clustering in the LA area. So if you're in CA, drop me a line at thebalancedguy@gmail.com and tell me how you landed here. Small aside - if you have a website but don't use Google Analytics, you really should if you want to track visits to your site and just about any other metric you can think of.

On a related note, you may have noticed in the last couple of months, any books I discuss (and other items) are now accompanied not only but a pic of the cover but a link to the item on Amazon so you can click through and buy it. Had my first commission from Amazon recently from a book I recommended, Enough by John Bogle. I don't think I'll be retiring just yet...however that $0.28 is a start!

Fourth of July - Summer is full-upon us with the Fourth of July weekend in a couple of days. Due to the tough economy many localities have canceled fireworks displays; sad but if it means keeping a few more cops on the beat or teachers in the classroom I'm all for it. However, there are still fireworks shows to be found; here is a partial listing of where to find displays around the country:

USA (biggest ones nationwide)

USA (another list)

Atlanta

Baltimore, MD area

Boston

Branson, MO (Ozark region)

Chicago

Colorado

Dallas region

Disney World (Florida)

Houston

Kansas City

Los Angeles area (since I'm getting a lot of traffic from there!)

Phoenix area

San Francisco (Bay area)

Seattle

Tulsa

Washington DC

Tour De France - This weekend also starts one of the great annual athletic and spectator events of the world, the Tour de France - otherwise known as "Le Tour". This year marks Lance Armstrong's finale in the sport (or so he claims...for the second time), but at nearly 39 years old, he's got to be nearing the end of his ability to win despite his otherworldly cardiovascular system. Look for a major battle between Armstrong and Alberto Contador (winner in 2009 and 2007 and Lance's former teammate).

With 21 stages, including the Prologue, taking the cyclists along speedy flats, rolling hills, and lung-burning, leg-searing, unbelievably steep Alpine roads, it's a true test of endurance with only two rest days along the way. It winds its way across France (and this year the Netherlands), totaling a mind-numbing 2,263 miles in length (that's further than riding your bike from Atlanta to LA...at top speed...in only three weeks).

Some people might find the sport a bit mystifying or even boring. What can be so exciting about watching a bunch of skinny guys ride bikes? The same might be said of baseball - what's so exciting about watching a bunch of (sometimes) fat guys stand around watching another guy hit a ball? Here's the catch - they both can be likened to a game of chess, requiring strategy, cunning, skill, and an ability to read not only the current situation but see several steps ahead. Le Tour offers the viewer wild crashes, crazy sprint finishes, white-knuckle mountain road descents, drama, and amazing feats of endurance and gamesmanship. Not only that but there are few other world-class sporting events (if any) where the spectators can literally reach out and touch the athletes. Add to all this the spectacular scenery of the French countryside and you have a recipe for great viewing.

Here's the link to the official Tour website and here is my favorite website from Yahoo-EuroSport for following le Tour during its annual three-week run. The Eurosport site provides not only great coverage but a fantastic real-time race follower (should you be trapped in the office or away from Versus television channel). While there are other Tour-like races such as the Giro d'Italia (Italy) and the Vuelta a Espana (Spain), le Tour c'est le Roi (the King)!

In a very small nutshell, here's the gig (if you want a better primer that explains not only the rules but the history and strategies try Tour de France for Dummies) - it's a team sport with 22 invited teams, each with 9 riders (no substitutions allowed). The big, obvious goal is to win the entire freakin' thing, earning the top rider the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey - yellow because that's the color of the newsprint the original sponsor of the tour, the newspaper, L'Auto, was printed on...they think. Same reason the winner of the Giro d'Italia wins a pink jersey - the sponsor's paper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, is printed on pink paper). Each team has a leader who is generally expected to compete to wear the yellow at the end with the other 8 riders supporting him along the way. You win by having the lowest cumulative elapsed time for all the stages. That's the ultra-simplified version.

Of course there are other jerseys and awards besides the yellow jersey: the green jersey for the best sprinter (determined by winning points at various intermediate sprints along each stage as well as at the end of stages, the polka-dot jersey for the King of the Mountains (the best climber), the white jersey for the best young rider (under 26), the most combative rider (the rider who brought the most excitement to the race the previous day), the team prize (awarded by adding the times for each teams best three riders each day; lowest cumulative total at the end wins) and finally, Lanterne Rouge (red light) for the rider with the overall slowest time. However, given the extreme difficulty in actually finishing the race, this is not wholly a bad award and all the riders completing le Tour pay respects to the man awarded la Lanterne Rouge.

On any given day, depending on the standings, the weather, what day on le Tour it is (a factor with respect to endurance), and what type of stage (mountains, flat, time trial, etc) you can expect to see different cyclists taking center stage. If it's a sprint day expect to see the sprinters - guys like Cavendish, Hushovd, McEwen, and Boonan - featured front and center. Sprint finishes can be pretty exciting to watch. If a mountain stage, look for riders like Contador, Fedrigo and Martinez as they push their bikes at unreal speeds up slopes you might want climbing gear to get up. This year there is only one time trial, an individual one, set for the 19th stage. Given the next day (the final, 20th stage) is usually nothing more than a ceremonial victory ride into Paris for the winner, having a time trial the day before could prove to be high drama if the race is still close at this late stage, especially if it's raining.

So if you've not ever watched le Tour, I highly recommend you do this year (it's broadcast live in the US on Versus - formerly Outdoor Life Network). The excitement builds over the three weeks of competition and you'll witness one of the greatest sporting events in the world.

Star Gazing - I recently took my Cub Scout Den Star Gazing - well actually more like moon gazing since the night I had planned was the evening before a full moon. Luckily I thought about the lunar calendar a week or so ahead of time, then checked my family's summer schedule and realized it was pretty much that night or not since two weeks later during the new moon we would be out of town. Then we'd have to wait another full month until the next new moon.

Anyway, it turned out to be just fine since I have a telescope and turned it into a night of moon gazing instead. Most of the boys (and their parents) had never looked at the moon through a telescope. That night they were able to see mountains and craters as well as identify features shown on the moon maps I had printed out. Mars was also out that night and they got a chance to see it, although through my telescope it just looks like an orange circle. Due to the nearly full moon and relatively early hour after sunset, few stars were visible except for the brightest ones. Not surprisingly, most of the 8-year-old boys did not know even the most basic constellations; more surprisingly, most of the parents didn't know the major constellations visible. Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed learning how to locate and identify the Big Dipper and North Star.

If you've never been star gazing, I highly recommend you do. You can find a listing of top-notch star gazing locations here. A few things have to line up in order to make the most of it: the night (or a day or two either side) of a new moon, no clouds, and be far enough away from light pollution. Visit skymaps.com to print out a star chart for the correct month (in the northern hemisphere), bring a compass along to get your bearings and a red-light flashlight to read your star chart. Make sure you DO NOT use a regular flashlight; the white light will really screw up your night vision. You need to be outside in the dark for 20-30 minutes before you really are able to see well at night and any white light will set you back.

If you take the time to allow your eyes to adjust to being in the dark, lay back on a blanket (put on bug spray!), and then find the easy stars and constellations, pretty soon you'll be able to identify the more obscure ones or even find your Zodiac sign (if it's out that time of year). No doubt, if you watch the heavens for more than 15-20 minutes you'll also see a shooting star or two. I've spent many nights outside looking at the stars and so have seen countless meteors over the years (even two fireballs), and I'm always surprised when people tell me they've never seen one because they're actually fairly common.

Wax Museums - I've never had much interest in visiting Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, but now that Kim Kardashian is being memorialized in wax...nah...just not the same. Nevertheless, it's true..odd but true. Wonder if she'll be too hot and the wax will melt...?

A new layout, travel movies and Michael Jackson's kids.

2010-06-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

New look to The Balanced Guy. Not sure I'll stick with it, might even try a few other of the available formats. I know I do have to fix the title block, but I'll get to that later. Let me know what you think.

For worthwhile and (usually) humorous sports analysis, visit my buddy Dave over at The Savage Truth. He does a far better job than I ever could.

Movie Review - What do you get when you throw together two guys, some video cameras, a loose concept for a story line, a sense of adventure and a bit of luck? The answer...a great weekend movie called Last Stop for Paul. In a nutshell, Cliff and travel-hound Charlie work together. When Cliff's childhood friend Paul dies (who was planning an around the world trip), they decide to take his ashes and spread a little bit here and a little bit there around the world.

A low-budget sleeper with absolutely no stars (and actually very few professional actors), the movie is unique in its composition. It's a fictional story about a fictional trip but was filmed on a real trip using real people as actors. The writer/director/actor, Neil Mandt, simply recruited people he came across to play parts in the movie as he traveled around the world on his real/fictional trip. If for nothing else, the film's unusual pedigree should pique your interest. While the acting is at times not Hollywood-polished, the charm of the overall story and sense of adventure more than make up for it.

Last Stop for Paul left me wanting to pack my bags, ready for whatever I might come across, and it makes for a great watch-with-your-gal or even buddies movie while you quaff a beer or two...or three.

Michael Jackson - OK. Let's get something straight here. This guy is supposedly the father of these kids, Paris and Prince (Blanket too).

Not claiming he was biologically incapable of it, I'm just saying that when you take a look at what Michael Jackson looked like as a kid (pre-pre-pre-pre-pre plastic surgery, skin lightening, and God-knows-what else), I'm having a hard time believing he's their biological father. I dunno...

Basic Tree Identification- Growing up I didn't know a maple from an oak tree but a summer job while in college working for a tree pruning company changed all that. Today I enjoy knowing the majority of common native trees in the region to the point that my friends will ask me what tree this one or that one is. It's also a point of pride for me that even my young sons have picked up a bit of that knowledge by knowing the basic trees in our area as a result of me pointing them out over and over on our hikes and walks in the woods.

You might think "What's the point? They're just trees." Well for one, it makes a walk in the woods with your children more interesting by having knowledge to share with them as you point out various trees. It can also be helpful in figuring out why all the bushes or other trees in your yard around that one tree seem to do poorly or even die (the reason: it's a Black Walnut and secretes the chemical juglone into the soil which can inhibit respiration in other plants). If you want to buy a load of firewood for the winter it's good to know you aren't buying any pine or fir (the resin in the wood can gum up the flue with creosote even more so than hard woods and result in chimney fires). If you have to have a large tree in your yard taken down, it's nice to know if it's a valuable species or not. If it is, you might be able to negotiate to have it taken down for a reduced cost or free while the tree service gets to sell the lumber.

There are a number of ways to identify trees with the most common being its leaves. But during the winter it may not have leaves and you have to reply on the bark, size, location and general shape to identify a tree. Following are the leaves of a few basic trees in the Mid-Atlantic Region; notice I've included several species of some types of trees so you can see the family resemblences. In other cases, some leaves look similar (such as maple and sycamore) so you need to rely on other factors to help identify the tree.

From top to bottom, left to right:

Silver Maple, Norway Maple, Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Striped Maple

Pin Oak, Burr Oak, Chestnut Oak, White Oak, Red Oak

American Holly, ??? (honestly, this one stumped me), Sassafras, Bass, Sweetgum

Wild Cherry, Locust

Book Review - 13 Bankers If the financial crisis has left you scratching your head wondering how the heck it happened, I submit to you 13 Bankers by Simon Johnson and James Kwak. While there are undoubtedly some who will disagree with the conclusions, it's hard to argue with the facts presented especially with respect to the slow-but-steady dismantling over the last 30 or so years of financial regulation put in place after the Great Depression. As said John Adams, our 2nd president, "Facts are stubborn things..." The book has been generally well-received on both sides of the political aisle and by pragmatists. Digging a bit deeper into the problem, management guru Bill George at Harvard Business School simply stated "This crisis wasn't caused by subprime mortgages; it was caused by subprime leadership." Read the book and draw your own conclusions, then vote according to your conscious.

Tubing the Delaware - If you are busy putting together your summer family calendar (or even if you're a last-minute kind of guy), think about tubing down the Delaware as a great summer activity. I've done it a few times in the past and we're planning on taking the kids later this summer. There are several outfitters ready to help you have a day of fun, two of the local ones are: Bucks County River Country (in PA) and Delaware River Tubing (in NJ). After arriving and picking up a tube, a bus takes you upstream to one of several drop-off spots (depending on how long a trip you want to take). You hop in your tube and away you go floating lazily down the river! In most places the river is shallow enough to stand and moves along at a leisurely pace. The scenery is very pretty with older summer cottages, woods, fields and even some rocky cliffs along the way. Bring along a cooler with drinks & lunch (and rope to tie it to your tube) or stop off at the River Hot Dog Man (www.riverhotdogman.com) to grab a bite along the way.

Stupid Is... I've decided to begin including with each posting something stupid I've done lately. It came to me that I should share my hiccups as a "lesson learned" section in the hopes you might avoid the same mistakes. A couple of postings ago I talked about opening my pool for the season. Having come from Florida where our pool was open all year, the spring opening was something new to me. So in undertaking it I ignored one of my rules of pool care - don't overdo it. Messing with the water chemistry too much can cause wild swings in one direction that tempts you to jack around, spend stupid amounts of money and dump even more chemicals into the pool, resulting in a wild swing back in the other direction. Long story short - the pool looked pretty good (albeit a tad cloudy) and chemistry seemed right for our Memorial Day opening party. Obviously not as after a couple of hours of kids jumping around in it the pool turned green, green, green. How'd I solve it? I left it the heck alone for a few days...and it turned crystal clear.

And of course I'm heartbroken now that Kim has a new beau...just when I thought I had a chance (of course, not sure what the wife would say!)

DIY

2010-06-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't figured it out already (at least for those of you who've actually visited The Balanced Guy more than once), I'm a DIY kind of guy. As he champions DIY in his article, blogger Mark Frauenfelder explains the nature of DIY is an inherent willingness to screw up and (most importantly) learn from the process. Lord only knows the number of times I've screwed something up while doing it myself, but none of it has been major...at least not yet. I've never burnt down the house, seized up my car engine, or cut off a finger (although I've hit my finger with a hammer so hard I was literally crying at 3 AM because it hurt so badly...this led to a visit to the ER where the Dr. drilled a hole in my nail to relieve the pressure caused by blood under it - instant pain relief).

It doesn't hurt that I come from a long line of DIY'ers and grew up helping my father with projects around the house just as he did with his father. However, I've expanded beyond what my father taught me simply by my willingness to try whatever and possibly screw up. No doubt I've done some stuff the hard way or the wrong way, not knowing the "tricks of the trade". A career spent in real estate development and construction has given me a healthy appreciation for carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers and the like and I've always taken time to talk to them and ask questions as they go about their jobs, gleaning those tricks that make the job easier and provide better results. I can't emphasize how important it is to admit your ignorance and simply ask questions - a little honesty goes a long way as people usually enjoy talking about what they do (and these guys are going to know immediately if you are tying to BS them).

And I've learned not only the need for having the right tool for the job but just as important about the need for quality tools (if you're going to attempt anything more than tightening an occasional loose screw, those "handyman specials" with 35 tools in one kit are more often than not, going to get you into more trouble than they are worth). You don't need to go out and spend thousands to outfit yourself with every top-of-the-line tool, hoping to eventually use them. Buy what you need for the particular project in question. And NEVER, EVER get rid of tools - I guarantee you'll use them again. My tool collection has grown over the years and there are very few I've not used more than once. If it's a power tool that comes with directions, for crying out loud read them - you'll probably learn something about using it more effectively that is not readily apparent.

A skilled craftsman makes his job look easy (actually, anyone good at anything makes it look easy) and you'd be hard-pressed to match him at the most difficult tasks. However, more often than you think, a lot of what they do is fairly easy to accomplish and difficult to screw up...even if you claim to be "all thumbs". It simply takes (I sound like a broken record here) a willingness to screw up to get over the initial fears. I also highly recommend you buy a general "how-to" home repair book like Home Depot's Home Improvement 1-2-3 as a reference guide.

A classic example of an incredibly easy project that people often feel is beyond them is changing the color of their electrical outlets. For one reason or another they want to go from bone to white or black or brown. They hire an electrician and for a room with 8 outlets he charges them a couple hundred bucks. This is mind-blowing to me. The cheapest standard outlet and it's cover, together, cost less than one dollar...no joke. Once you flip the correct circuit breaker(s) on the panel in the basement or garage to kill the power, it takes about 5 minutes to replace each outlet and the only tools it takes are a regular and phillips screwdriver.

So buck up, find a project, buy some tools and DIY!

Summertime is here...let's open the pool, freezing meat and Iron Man

2010-05-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've taken a bit of a hiatus from The Balanced Guy with this being only my second post in more than a month. I really have needed it and wasn't feeling terribly inspired to write, but I think I have things to share including: opening your pool for spring, building a lacrosse goal for your kids, freezing meat, some book and movie reviews along with whatever else happens to cross my brain.

So let's get into that pool opening. I envisioned myself a master alchemist ready to transform lead into gold (or in this case, pond scum into sparkling spring water), but in reality I was more like the sorcerer's apprentice where Mickey couldn't control the bucket-carrying brooms and they flooded the workshop. While I've had a pool for a number of years, this is the first time I've ever opened one here in the northeast after the winter (my previous experience with pools is 24/7/365 in Florida). So I removed the pool cover and promptly manage to dump most of the leaves into the verdant, pond-like body of water in the backyard. If a turtle had popped it's head up I wouldn't have been a bit surprised and I was nearly tempted to drop a hook and line in. Next step was to fill the pool back up so the water level was above the skimmer and hook up the pump. Done. Trip to the pool store for enough chemicals that the FBI might wonder exactly what I was doing. Done. Next step: spend several days scooping leaves I couldn't see out of a pool the Creature from the Black Lagoon would feel at home in.

After about 10 days and finally getting rid of most of the leaves (I think), I can actually see the bottom in the shallow end. It seemed like the water was never going to clear up. I got rid of the green pretty quickly but it was cloudy, cloudy, cloudy. I'm just hoping it'll look good for our Memorial Day cook out next weekend.

Lacrosse season is almost over and the NCAA Div I Men's Championship weekend is coming up. I never played organized lacrosse since it wasn't played where we lived, but I still grew up with the game as my father played goalie for Rutgers from 1959-63 (although did I continue the family tradition of earning varsity letters as a Scarlet Knight). This year the lacrosse family tradition picked up once again as my 2nd grader started playing lax with Lightning Lacrosse. It's a great program and he's already looking forward to the summer and fall leagues. As a way for him to improve at home, I built a goal.

Fortunately a lacrosse goal is only 6'x6', so it's relatively simple to create (as opposed to a full-sized soccer goal). Using 2" PVC piping I managed to put together a pretty effective goal. If you want to see how I did it, click on the following link to the video here.

Now I know you've been wondering since the opening paragraph what the hell is so interesting about freezing meat that I had to write about it. Truth be told - not much. However, my wife figured out a pretty neat trick for the BBQ season, especially during the week. This'll be over quickly so pay attention and don't blink. You get home from the grocery store (having bought beef, chicken, pork, lamb, buffalo, frog, or iguana to grill up...or having stopped by the side of the road and picked up raccoon, venison, squirrel, opossum, or groundhog...as well as some kind of marinade) and you're ready to put some of that dead animal in the freezer to save for a rainy day - STOP! Before you do that, unwrap it, put it in a freezer Ziploc and add the marinade, THEN put it in the freezer. This way, the meat is marinating while it freezes and while it's defrosting. Now look, some of you hardcore BBQ types out there need to unwad your panties and get over it. This ain't a contest; it's an easy way to get a tasty dinner on the grill when you get home from work.

A few reviews for you. If you haven't seen it yet, Iron Man 2 rocks. Robert Downey Jr. pulls off Tony Stark like no one else could. Nuff said.

I finally got around to reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Quite an interesting read and he makes some very convincing arguments with respect to individual success. I do have some questions about societal success and I actually sent him an email with my questions - I'll let you know if I hear back.

Mari Malcolm provides this Amazon review - "Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential."

And just to keep the joke going...here she is once again. Why do I even bother?

Whipping a rope and other sundry things

2010-05-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since I last updated The Balanced Guy. I needed a break and let it go a little longer than I originally intended. However I'm coming back at you with a new feature this week with the addition of video, and not just a clip I grabbed from the web but something I made myself (as is evident from the cheap production quality). Not only did I make it but I ad-libbed it and did it in one take. Sometimes I impress even myself.So you've always wondered how to keep a length of rope from unraveling (admit it, it's true). Well, I'm a gonna learn ya... just watch.

Now here's how you do it...

I've been feeling (for no good reason whatsoever) somewhat overwhelmed lately by my household "To Do" list. Just been having serious motivation issues to tackle much of it. Therefore I figure a good way to possibly get past that is to publicly announce my intentions to get around to checking off more of the items.

Actually I made a "public" announcement the other day when I signed the MBA Oath, vowing to "create value responsibly and ethically" along with a host of other line items. Developed by a group of Harvard MBA students of the Class of 2009, the Oath (read it here) has been commented on by those on the pro and con sides of the aisle. The cynics claim it will do little to stem fraud and deception in the business world as long as there is money to be made. The "glass half-full" crowd (myself among them) see it, if nothing else, as a start. As Confucius (I think) said "A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step." So if you hold an MBA or will earn it by 2011, I urge you to visit the site, read through it and, if you feel it is right for you, take the Oath. You'll be glad you did.

The Balanced Guy Fails, Grilling, Economics and Unicorns

2010-04-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

After a plea for decency (with no doubt an out-and-out decidedly moralist bent) in last week's posting, I'm going a bit lighter here this go around. In an effort to conjure up a frothy offering replete with rainbows, unicorns, and cherubs I'll tackle a review of a seminal work in economics: The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) by the incomparable John Maynard Keynes. This page-turning, beach-reader opens with the hero engaged in an epic battle with "The Man".

OK. I'm really NOT going to review The General Theory (as it's commonly referred to). In truth, while I am currently reading it (along with about 5 or 6 other books), I can think of few things I prefer not to do more than offer a critique of one of modern history's more influential books (yes, it really is). On to the froth.

I actually will start out with some "feel-good" froth. In his recent contribution to The Huffington Post, blogger Jeff Howe discusses his current efforts using the latest online craze, Twitter to have everyone in the world share just one simple thing in common as a start for dialogue - namely reading the same book (the concept was started by Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl in 1998). Her idea, "One Book, One City" was embraced by her home city as thousands of Seattlites read The Sweet Hereafter by Russel Banks. Jeff calls his "One Book, One Twitter" or on Twitter, #1b1t. You can also find him there @crowdsourcing.

At Jeff's column on Wired, you can see the finalist books that are up for voting (sorry, I just came across this today so missed out on the nomination round). The list includes such greats as Slaughterhouse Five, Catcher in the Rye, and Brave New World. Take a peek, vote for your favorites and in the next week or so be prepared to read and find common ground with someone completely different than yourself!

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Face it. Grilling is a man's world. And why is this? Three words: fire, steel and meat. Although I don't doubt many of you are more manly than me in this respect, I've figured out how to grill a perfect burger and whole chicken (but not at the same time - I'm not that technically sophisticated). Disclaimer - this applies to gas grills only although the rules for burgers could be used for a charcoal grill I suppose).

Rule #1 - Burger preparation. Store-bought, fresh or frozen: no prep needed; you don't even have to defrost the frozen ones. However I highly recommend buying them as low-fat as possible. The 80/20's tend to create grease fires and taste, as you might expect, greasy. If you make your own, try to shape them so they are evenly thick from center to edges.

Rule #2 - Heat that mother up! Turn your grill up...way up. Light it, turn it to high, shut the lid and go drink a beer. You want it screaming hot.

Rule #3 - Cooking the burgers. Toss the burgers on the grill, turn down the heat to medium or so and shut the lid. If cooked properly you should only have to flip them once. How do you know when to flip them? When the blood rises to the surface of the burger. Wait a min or so after the first bits appear on the surface until there is a good amount on the top. Then give it a quick flip and shut the lid again. The second side usually takes less time to cook than the first, especially with frozen burgers as by now they've been thawed. Don't forget to drop some cheese on them when you first see the blood rise to the surface on the second side. By the time the cheese melts, they'll be done (although standard American cheese melts much faster than say cheddar or provolone).

Rule #4 - Enjoy.

Want to enjoy a tasty, juicy whole chicken grilled to perfection? Here's how.

Rule #1 - Chicken prep. Bring your chicken to room temp, split it in half along the spine, and clean well. Season it however you like, but I prefer a liberal rub of Everglades Seasoning (while the company makes several varieties, including one for fish and chicken, I reach for the classic "All-Purpose Seasoning".

Rule #2 - Again...light 'er up and turn 'er up. Get that grill good 'n hot! The key to easily grilling chicken so it cooks thoroughly without drying out is to have a grill with at least three separate burners; four is even better.

Rule #3 - Drop the two chicken halves on the grill to sear them; maybe 20 seconds on a side.

Rule #4 - Here's the critical step. Place the two chicken halves on the center of the grill, one to the front and the other to the back. TURN OFF the center burner(s) and turn the two outside burners down to just a bit above low. Shut the lid. By turning off the center burner over which the chicken directly sits, you eliminate the heat source which results in those family reunion grilled chicken sandwiches where the edges are burned, the outside is dry and tough and the center is still pink. The side burners provides a nice, even, indirect heat which circulates around the chicken, cooking it slowly and evenly. This is why it's critical to shut the lid and keep it shut.

Rule #5 - Have a beer while you wait 30 mins. Do not open the lid to continuously check the chicken (you'll go blind). After 30 minutes has passed you need to flip the chicken over (that's 2 or 3 beers, an episode of the Simpsons or This Old House, or roughly 8 songs on your iPod - unless it's a 1970's rock anthem in which case you might hear 2 songs). Shut the lid. Wait another 30 minutes. However this time around you might want to slow down on beer consumption.

Rule #6 - After an hour of cooking time, your chicken should be grilled to tasty perfection without being dry. If you stick a knife or fork into the joint where the leg meets the body, the juice should run clear. If your chicken was cold when you put it on the grill, you'll need to add up to 10 minutes per side in additional cooking time.
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Looking to buy some flowers for your lady but aren't sure what to buy or cringe at the cost? My tried-and-true favorites are daisies. Here's why: 1) They're simple, happy flowers, definitely not overused like roses; if you're in the beginning stages of a relationship they aren't pretentious and overbearing 2) they last and last and last...and last; I've had bunches stick around for 2 weeks or more, 3) in this economy they're relatively inexpensive compared to other flowers.

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Tasty Licks - If you're fed up with Wall St, Washington, Hollywood, professional athlete and "reality" TV shenanigans, pick up a copy of Enough: True Measures of Money, Business and Life by John C. Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group and its associated mutual funds. In it he lays out a very convincing argument of, quite frankly, "Enough!"...Enough with the focus on only the bottom line and not the customer or society. Enough with the lack of trust. As he states, people today focus too much on success and not enough on character; too much on process and not enough on good judgment.

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Your Ride - I'll admit to a "Fail" on this effort. A few postings ago I expounded on the merits of performing minimal self-repair jobs on your car like a basic tune-up. So last weekend I have the shop manual for my minivan, tools, and other accouterments of car repair ready to go. After performing a number of the more basic maintenance items like fluid checks and top-offs it was time to get down to the nitty-gritty - checking and changing spark plugs and the like. Admittedly I could have done all the basic tune-up work myself...if I wanted to practically pull the engine in order to do so. While I have the tools and most of the necessary desire, it was the small amount of desire I lacked which prevented me from spending the entire weekend under the hood of the van in what would've been a couple of hours in an older car. You see, the engine in my van is situated sideways; thus three of the six spark plugs are on the back side up against the firewall..with the fuel injector, drive belt, et al in the way and which (according to the shop manual) must be removed in order to replace the plugs. Yeah, I probably could've done it but I'm not that much of a gear head. Today's cars are just not that DIY friendly unfortunately.

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And just to keep the joke running a bit longer, I offer you yet another pic of Kim Kardashian...

The Greatest Generation

2010-04-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

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There's a good chance you've heard the term "The Greatest Generation", coined by Tom Brokaw to describe those that grew up during the Great Depression, who fought and won World War II and then built our country into an economic world power. These men and women are in their twilight years now, but the lessons we can learn from them continue to burn ever so brightly, especially today when it seems in many ways our Nation has lost its sense of direction and common purpose.

What were their values? I cannot do them complete justice in such short space but will do my best.

Nearly the first 20-25 years of their lives were ones of hardship and sacrifice requiring them to rely on their family, neighbors, communities and fellow soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen to get by day-to-day. Born into the Roaring Twenties when times were flying high, things quickly spiraled downwards before most of them turned 10 and the world fell into the Great Depression. Many left school by 6th grade to enter the workforce to earn what little they could to help support their families. They sold newspapers, cleaned houses, worked on farms, shined shoes and some took on more dangerous adult jobs. Before most of them could even be called true adults our Nation was at war and they were called upon to serve. Before many could be drafted they rushed to enlist and fill their duty to country. Women took on roles at home traditionally reserved for men. In an all-out effort to win the war, every member of society made sacrifices and did their part from fighting on the front lines to nursing the wounded to building ships and planes to organizing scrap metal drives and planting Victory Gardens. After they won the war, they returned home to restart the lives they'd put on hold.

Think about that - they put their personal ambitions and desires aside for five long years in order to come together for the common good, many of them knowing they faced the specter of death. It's hard to imagine today's reality TV stars in our "look at me" culture to put aside their personal ambitions for five minutes to help someone unload the groceries from their car. I'm not saying we can't strive to live up to their example, but we've got a long way to go.

When the country settled down into peacetime rebuilding, they did so with the same determination, discipline and can-do attitude that won the war. Those qualities are still present today but in many ways it seems there is one binding element lacking today that was omnipresent in those post-war years: service. Service to the community. Their years of service to a cause larger than themselves instilled this quality. Running their businesses not only to be successful but with the guiding principles of providing service and adding value as well as making a profit. As American business has become increasingly corporate over the past 30 or so years, that service element has been downgraded or even set aside completely. Everything is run by the numbers, the bottom line, the metrics. Larger and larger corporations with headquarters 1,000 miles away seem to give little regard for the thousands of communities from which they profit. Small businesses are still the heart and soul of America today, but in their efforts to compete with or do business with the corporate giants, they face increasing pressure do away with time and money traditionally reserved for their communities.

Not to completely demonize large corporations as many do put their tremendous resources to work aiding charities and their communities. However the missing element is the human one. It's easy to write a big check and then walk away feeling as though you've "done good" (although you have as money is needed). But what is needed just as much is time and human involvement. It takes money to buy the food served in a soup kitchen but it takes a volunteer to serve that food. It takes money to build the sports fields where kids learn the lessons of teamwork but it takes a volunteer to teach those lessons. It takes money to buy the land set aside as a park but it takes a volunteer to care for the park.

In his office at Princeton University Einstein had a quote which sums up life quite nicely (and this from a man who made numbers his lifetime work)*:

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

So what can you do to stop counting and do what counts? Here are 10 ways:**

1. Serve. Serve your community. Join local organizations such as Rotary, Scouting, and Lions Club. Serve on a local government board or commission. Do more than simply attend services at your house of worship: help with their community outreach. Get to know your neighbors.

2. Realize you can't take it with you. The bumper sticker "He who dies with the most toys wins" couldn't be more wrong. Find happiness in your family, friends, and the world around you, not in what you can buy. The true measure of a man is shown by how many people show up at his funeral, not by how much he leaves behind.

3. Do it yourself. Even if you aren't the ultimate handyman, chef, house cleaner, mechanic or landscaper, take pride in doing some hard work yourself instead of paying someone to do it for you (and save some money in the meantime!) You may learn a new skill and even find you enjoy doing it.

4. Say "No" to instant gratification. Tell yourself and your children "No, you can't have that gew-gaw or toy that really isn't needed." Make yourself and your kids earn it by setting a goal with the thing as a reward or have your children earn the money to buy it themselves. But don't be tempted to set the bar too low; you'll both be amazed at how much more you enjoy it when it's honestly earned.

5. Add value. If you are a business owner, ask yourself if you are truly serving your customers and community as well as adding value. If you find you are not as much as you'd like to, find ways to increase both. No doubt in short time you'll see your business and bottom line increase.

6. More trust, less paperwork. Be a person whose handshake and word are considered more binding than a legal contract. Don't look for loopholes to get out of the spirit of what you may have signed on for. If you must do business with someone who doesn't act in trust, make it the last time and take your business to someone who does.

7. Value your name. The most important thing you own is your good name. Do everything in your power to ensure your "brand" remains spotless.

8. Agree to disagree civilly. Recognize that you are not going to agree with everyone, everything or every idea you encounter in life. Hold firm to your beliefs but be willing to listen, learn and respect differences. As the quote, oft misattributed to Voltaire, goes: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

9. Be humble. If you work hard, give of yourself willingly, serve your community, and put the good of others before yourself, soon enough plenty of accolades will be heaped upon you without you ever seeking them. When they are, give credit to those that helped you achieve them.

10. Pass it on. Teach your children and any young people you may mentor these qualities, set the example and hold both yourself and children to them.

*Yes, I see the irony in using a mathematical term here.

** Again, I recognize the irony in counting what we can do to stop counting and do what counts.

Rowing, Financial Literacy, and Sunglasses

2010-04-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

My last couple of entries have been pretty much focused on one topic after a period of writing more than I need to on many topics each week. I switched to just one topic because quite frankly writing a couple of paragraphs about 7 or 8 or more issues each week was pretty freak'n stressful...finding something to write about, then writing it all while trying to actually BE a Balanced Guy with a family, job, hobbies, friends, etc to tend to. But...writing on one topic was kinda boring and so I'm experimenting a bit. This week I'm going for less on each topic but more topics...I think. Of course I recognize the irony of this due to my posting from March 24 in which I extol the virtues of learning about fewer things but in more depth. I'm fishing around to make for the best reading so cut me some slack.

The Competitor - Big sports news this week were the Final Four and Tiger's return (even more so than season opener for MLB). What is that old saying? Something about "Catch a tiger by it's tail"..." Or is it "Tiger catching tail?" Those are the easy stories and no doubt you know the outcomes of them, so I'll go a bit more obscure. Have you ever driven past a body of water and seen those long skinny "speed canoes" (as they were monikered by a rural resident of South Carolina many years ago as we were traveling to Florida for winter training) propelled by people pulling on long, long oars? Of course I'm referring to the sport of rowing, sometimes called crew. It's the oldest collegiate sport in the US, dating back to 1852 and one of the oldest competitive sports in the world with the annual Boat Race between Cambridge and Oxford dating back to 1829. In fact, with some estimates of 120 million world-wide viewers of this race each year, it would be the most viewed single day sporting event in the world. Even if this estimate is a bit inflated, very reliable numbers of 250,000 people standing along the banks of the Thames River watching the 4+ mile race in person make for it to be bigger than just about anything in the US shy of a NASCAR race. And not to burst your bubble but the coxswain (the little person who steers the shell) does not shout "stroke, stroke, stroke...".

So if you've ever had an inkling of interest in sitting on your butt while going backwards...fast - which by the way is one of the premiere forms of aerobic exercise and calorie burners known to man - take note that June 5, 2010 is National Learn to Row Day. Click on the link to find out where you can learn to row at a club near you. You can also find out what the coxswain actually says.

Oh yeah. For a much better rundown on sports than I can provide, check out my buddy Dave over at The Savage Truth (just bring your dictionary along as he likes to use words like "umbrage").

Your Ride - Those spots of oil in the driveway are telling me that I've got to get underneath the minivan and repair something...but I'm not sure what just yet. Admittedly I'm avoiding it ever so slightly for two reasons: 1) it's messy and will take a good chunk of a day. and 2) while I'm pretty handy around the house, car repair is not my strength. However I'm willing to tackle it, although there will be plenty of praying before, during, and after that I won't, aren't and didn't screw something up in the process. Of course, the prayers will probably be augmented by brief periods of swearing. Should make for an interesting combination. Check out Haynes online for repair manuals for your ride should you want to save a few bucks and DIY.

Greenbacks - From the economic rubble around us, it's pretty apparent that many Americans are financially illiterate. Why is it we teach can high school kids how to calculate differential equations or debate the Middle East peace process but can't seem to provide basic life skills like how to balance a checkbook, assess a car loan or manage monthly bills. Not only this, but a lot of financial stuff out there is either excessively complex (even some of our supposed Wall St Lords of the Universe had trouble making heads or tails of some of the derivatives and other financial instruments proffered by their own firms) or not explained in clear terms. I'll admit that it sometimes takes me a few reads through financial documents to understand them despite the fact that I have an MBA in finance. So how in the world is the average American supposed to understand this stuff when less than 30% of Americans have a 4-year college degree? Not that a college degree is required to be financially literate or even successful (e.g. Bill Gates) but the odds are not in favor of someone lacking one having at least some basic financial proficiency. Luckily, about 75% of the US population has internet access of some sort (obviously you do since you're reading this). Thus there are resources available to ensure that you AND your kids are financially literate. Take a look at Banking on Our Future as well as Wise Money Choices.

Now...if we can just get the bankers and folks on Wall St to hold up their end of the bargain and do the right thing...

I've also got a couple of books on my reading list: 13 Bankers by Simon Johnson and The Road From Ruin by Matthew Bishop and Michael Green.

Arguing - The state of political discourse in our country has gotten ridiculous. How the folks in Washington and all over the country spewing venom (both sides) can't see that the majority of Americans are fed up with it is beyond me. If you are tired of the political and economic news being almost universally disheartening (at least as offered to us by the major news outlets), try stopping in at The Good News Network for your daily dose of "Good Things are Happening in the World Today". It may be a bit trite and escapist but it's a nice foil to all the bad, sensationalist, fear-mongering news constantly thrown at us. And the stories aren't sappy stuff about puppies and kittens. Just real news about real people doing real good in the world.

Black Sock and Flip-Flops - Growing up with a father who flew nearly 60 combat missions in Vietnam in an F-4 Phantom left an indelible mark on me. One of those was the sunglasses he wore - Original Pilot Sunglasses by AO Eyewear. The style has been around since 1958 and our men and women in uniform are still wearing it, although the official supplier since 1982 has been Randolph Engineering. It's no wonder they remain popular as, in my opinion, sunglasses don't get any cooler looking. They used to be hard to find but now you can get them through a number of online outlets. Fortunately for me, I got my most recent pair through my uncle, a retired USAF Lt Col. If, like me, you came of age during the Big 80's, you no doubt remember Ray-Ban aviators being worn by Tom Cruise in the 1986 hit movie, Top Gun. They were originally popular after WWII as a result of MacArthur wearing them. I still have my pair bought in 1987 but no longer wear them as they make me look like a deranged bug. These days I go with nothing but my AO's.

And finally, because I do it so often anyway, here's yet another pic of Kim Kardashian.

Lady Liberty, Spring Cleaning and Bikini Tweets

2010-03-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

These words from the sonnet The New Colossus, familiar to people worldwide, bring to mind the inspiring sight of the Statue of Liberty. Millions of immigrants saw her as a beacon of welcome and hope as they completed one journey across the Atlantic only to begin another one in this great, dynamic and exciting land called "America".

On a blustery spring break day we took our boys, along with two of our best friends and their children, to see Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. I wonder how many people living in the New York City area have never been there? I know my grandmother, nearly 98 years old, born and raised in Manhattan, has never been*. It seems we often take for granted that with which we become familiar. When we lived in Florida, 10 minutes from the beach, we often didn't get there for a month or more at a stretch, caught up in our daily lives. Have you visited the Statue of Liberty? If so, when was the last time? For me, it was when I was about 11 or 12. Whether it's been years or never, now is a great time to visit with your children to learn about the history of our country and be inspired.

The ferry from Liberty State Park in NJ first stops at Ellis Island. Definitely get off the boat and visit the island. With over 12 million immigrants coming through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954, it is estimated that over 1/3 of all Americans today are descended from those who entered the United States here. That means if not yourself, than there's a good chance either the person on your left or on your right is one of those Americans (including yours truly). This place holds a special place in American history not so much because any singular event happened here, but because of exactly the opposite. It was a workaday location: processing immigrants day-in and day-out for over 60 years. Unlike a place such as Independence Hall in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was signed, it's a notable location at the personal level by having intimate connections with more than 100 million Americans alive today even if they've never visited. Why? It's the place their ancestors arrived having, at great risk and uncertainly, left their homelands to join the ranks of Americans that have made this country great.

Because the story at Ellis is at its core about people and not objects, unlike many other museums there's not a lot of "stuff" in display cases. To be sure there are artifacts - suitcases, clothing, and other personal articles to help understand the immigrant experience, however the main story is in the photographs and words of the people. People of every race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity and nationality. You truly see the Great Melting Pot that made, and continues to make, the United States the greatest nation on earth. As Bill Murray said in Stripes: "We're Americans, with a capital 'A', huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're the underdog. We're mutts!"

Yes, I'm a mutt: half Polish and half Irish. And in those photographs of Poles and Irish at Ellis Island I can see the strong ethnic blood lines; they look so much like the faces in the yellowed family photographs we have. In the Registration Hall I imagined how 100 years ago my great-grandparents, excited yet undoubtably nervous, waited to be processed; the same process for them all yet stories so individual. One of my great-grandmothers left her village in eastern Poland when she was 16 years old and walked across Europe by herself to Holland to take a ship to America. And from Ireland, my great-grandparents came with 5 children in tow and one on the way. Yet common to all the stories, of my family and those told at Ellis, was a desire for a better life and the promise America held.

It's easy see the unique appeal of Ellis Island to the American people. While we visit Independence Hall and gaze in awe at the chairs Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington sat in during the Continental Congress as our Nation was framed, at Ellis Island I gazed and wondered if the chair I was looking at was used by my great-grandmother to rest her weary feet upon joining this Nation. Visit the Ellis Island research website where you can delve into your own family's arrival.

While Ellis Island may be a more compelling story at the personal level, The Statue of Liberty is the world-famous symbol of all the collective individual stories. The two places complement each other perfectly. Another short ferry ride and we arrived at Liberty Island, home of The Lady herself. Until you see her up close, it's hard to appreciate just how enormous she is. Lady Liberty was often the first recognizable landmark an immigrant would see as he or she sailed into New York Harbor, a symbol that they had indeed arrived in the Promised Land. She has also been a symbol to American soldiers going off to and returning from war, representing all they fought, and died, for. When my father was stationed in England (where I was born) for 3 years while on active duty in the USAF, my mother recounts how she wept tears of joy upon spotting the Statue of Liberty as our ship sailed into New York Harbor (yes, we took a ship back to the States; it was the 1960's). I, being not quite 3, had other things on my mind and asked if the tugboat I spotted was, in fact, one of those "grandmothers" I'd heard so much about.

Given her symbolism, it's fitting that her crown in now open to the public again since closing after 9/11. We can never allow terror to win by curtailing our civil liberties and American way of life out of fear. If you go, be sure to make reservations, either for the monument (the base) or the crown, well in advance (this is required as you cannot purchase passes to get into the base or statue once on Liberty Island). Prices are certainly reasonable: $15 for adults and $8 children 12 and under to visit the crown.

*Technically, my grandmother came through Ellis Island but was still in the womb.

__________________

For a great rundown on the firing of Boston College basketball coach, Al Skinner, check out my buddy Dave over at The Savage Truth.

It's springtime (in case you didn't notice) and this weekend is looking to be sunny and near 80. Other than being Easter weekend, this means it's the first real chance (at least the first chance I feel like taking advantage of) to get the yard cleaned up for the warm weather. I've already sourced out a number of bulk mulch providers and need to give them a call for delivery. Here and there after work a few nights I've spent time picking up the piles and piles (and piles) of broken branches and twigs covering the yard from the winter weather. The mystery that confounds me is who moved the piles I put along the curb for pickup off the road and back onto my lawn. Everyone else's piles of broken branches are right where they left them - out in the street along the curb. Go figure.

My celebrity intrigue, don't ask me why but it's Kim Kardashian, has apparently broken up with Reggie Bush and has been Tweeting pics of herself in a bikini. Yes, she's famous for being famous, certainly not for talent; but look, a lot of people watch trashy TV shows or read pulp fiction. This is my equivalent so give me a break.

The Value Invested Life....and a pimped-out Franklin.

2010-03-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

I took a break last week from this blog. You wouldn't think it, but given that I contribute part of my ramblings to a for-profit website with deadlines, doing this on the side for free can become a bit burdensome week-in and week-out (and before you ask why for free - because it gets me readers). I was starting to feel none-too-balanced. Since creating The Balanced Guy, I've had to examine my own efforts at being one. One insight is that managing your time and energy is a lot like managing your stock portfolio. If you broadly diversify, you eliminate a lot of the ups and downs but you wind up with more-or-less the S&P 500 or Wilshire 5000 return - relatively safe but unspectacular. The same is true of your time - get involved in too much and you wind up doing a lot at a shallow level with pretty average results. It's not that it's impossible to be the complete Renaissance Man, but there's a reason why history has a limited number of Da Vincis, Newtons and Franklins. And while it's nice to fantasize I'd be able to keep up a lively banter around the dinner table with these three as the conversation shifted from science to art to philosophy to politics, I have a feeling I might come up a tad bit short. I'm realizing that probably a lot of people are interested in all the world has to offer, but that they have just decided to focus on fewer of the choices and not become sidetracked by distraction. You are now probably thinking "Duh. What took you so long to figure this out?" And then this discussion is a moot point for you if you don't have the ADD-inspired approach to life like I've had.

It's no great secret of the universe that to be really good at anything takes a significant investment of time and energy (keep your eye on the term "investment"). I'm not saying you have to adhere to the 10,000 hour rule as put forth by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, but focusing your efforts on fewer things in life will get you overall better results. Consider it the value investing approach to life. I happen to think Warren Buffett is quite the financial guru and his investing style is one worth emulating (not to mention he does a killer Axel Rose impression). Some people might say that he doesn't diversify enough and this can be risky. In response I say Buffett didn't get to be one of the richest men on the planet by being a crappy money manager. Second, which is more risky: owning so many different stocks that you have no chance of having enough time to keep up with every company let alone understand each one in sufficient depth, or owning stock in just a few companies that you understand very well and have the time to keep up with? Third: Life is risky so get over it. If you chose the index fund approach, it requires very little effort; but don't expect anything more than average returns. If you take the value investing approach, you should expect to put in effort and in return see solid, above average (but not spectacular) returns over a long time frame with some ups and downs along the way and you might just wind up very, very comfortable. If you don't want to put in effort, then be prepared for average. Of course, these are both different than speculation, which is essentially a roll of the dice: some spectacular results if you get lucky, some devastating losses if not.

To get back to my point: Life is a lot like investing. Sometimes there are moments akin to speculative stock trading - a trip to Vegas, being the 100,000 customer through the door, or having a winning lottery ticket. But these aren't methods you want to use to pay the monthly bills, let alone build your life around; they're too tied to chance. No matter how often you play the lottery, you can't get any better at picking the numbers to increase your odds of winning. And, since each lottery drawing is a statistically independent event, playing more often does not increase your odds of winning - you're just as likely to win millions the first time you play as the 1,000th time. In juxtaposition, keep playing tennis or create yet another painting and you'll develop real skill and get better.

As for me, I'm trying to craft my life to be less like an index fund and more like value investing by picking just a few things to learn about in depth and become somewhat "expert" at them (and certainly not at all like speculative investing - waiting around and hoping a pot o' gold falls into my lap). This doesn't mean that I stop being interested in the world around me, but I simply make an effort to be a bit more focused in using my free time. You never know where it might lead, but I'm pretty certain that I'll never be asked for advice or to be a guest speaker or something like that by knowing a little bit about a lot....unless I happen to make it onto Jeopardy. The hard part, as with most things, is putting in the effort on the front end when it feels like you'll never get any better. It's frustrating and we are probably all guilty at some point of giving up out of a fear of failure - if you don't try you can't ever fail. What could be more comforting? However, like the change of the seasons, eventually (and it seems oddly sudden) we find we're actually pretty good at whatever we've been doing all along.

So if you already have managed to cut the information overload, trying to be everywhere, do everything and please everyone all at once, all the time, I applaud you. At the same time, try to remain broadly informed; especially on the important issues (and I don't mean just what's important to you...like the box scores from last night's game). I'll be the first to admit it's a difficult balancing act, hence the reason it's such a challenge to be a Balanced Guy.

Handling the "Restression"

2010-03-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Our current economic woes might be better called a "restresstion" than a recession. Going on for so long, it has certainly caused many people a lot of stress: financially, emotionally, and mentally which can all take a toll physically.

While certainly not the complete solution to managing stress, trying to maintain balance in your life can help stave off problems in the first place. A certain amount of stress is actually healthy (called eustress), distress on the other hand is most certainly unhealthy. So, let's turn to a positive note and "put it up to eleven". Instead of just a few of the various topics I cover each week, I'm going to try and hit all the categories and find ways to help you (or at least me) deal with stress.

The Competitor - I've seen guys get WAY too worked up watching their favorite football/ basketball/baseball/Calvin Ball/disco ball team lose. I mean seriously stressed out about it, way beyond healthy fun. What's a guy to do that loves, loves, loves watching sports? How about this? Try attending a local minor league or college game that really isn't all that important to you. For one thing, ticket and concession prices are usually a lot cheaper compared to major league tickets (less financial stress). It's less crowded (lower people pushing and shoving stress). To top it off, you can usually park close enough that you don't need to buy a plane ticket to get from your car to the arena/field. I remember years ago going to a Durham Bulls game when I lived in NC. It was one of the most fun sporting events I've ever been to. Close to the action, cheap beer, rowdy crowd, drunk women. Does it get any better?

"But why," you ask "would I want to go watch a team I don't care about?" Because it's fun, you still get to see the competition, and being a spectator when you aren't emotionally attached to the team is a whole other ball game (pun intended). And don't think that just because it's not a NCAA Div I, NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL game that the level of play sucks or the athletes aren't "real competitors". Those folks practice just as much and have all their hearts into it - they just don't happen to have been quite as athletically blessed or as lucky.

________ (the topic formerly known as "Mr. Muscle" but I'm still working on a new title) - Almost goes without saying that exercise helps reduce stress, although the Mayo Clinic says it anyway. The exercise-induced release of endorphins provides you with a major natural high, boosting your mood and fighting off mild symptoms of depression. So if you've not exercised since that office picnic softball game back in '06, it's time to get back in the swing of things. But take it easy at first. As the legal industry has taught everyone even remotely associated with exercise to state "Consult your doctor before beginning any physical fitness program"...so you're supposed to make sure you're fit enough to get fit? Then the more sensible "Start slowly"...build into it. Nothing like the weekend warrior mentality to wind up hurt and so sore that you quit three days after starting because you can't move. Pick something you enjoy doing (duh), and give it a regular slot in your schedule.

Your Ride - Car problems? Fix it yourself and experience some eustress through the satisfaction of successful problem-solving. I picked up a used copy of Saturday Mechanic by Popular Mechanics for $1 at our local library book sale and already have a copy of the Chilton's manual for our minivan (the Chilton's manual for your particular car is a critical part of your tool set). While I'm pretty handy with respect to home repair, my auto mechanic skills are limited to tune-ups, oil changes, brake jobs and the like. However, I'm always willing to learn. Nothing like solving a problem by doing it yourself and saving money in the process.

Greenbacks - this is one of the areas where the restresstion has hit almost everyone the hardest (with the exception of those Wall St and banking execs). Scores of books have been written on this topic in the last few years alone, so I'm not exactly going to be able to provide profound financial and/or career insight and wisdom in a single paragraph. But as a way to provide stress-relief, think of three things you're thankful you are NOT. Such as "I'm thankful I'm not homeless. I'm thankful I'm not living under a repressive regime in a third-world country. I'm thankful I wasn't living in Haiti". It may seem hokey, but counting your blessings for the things you're not, is an amazing way to be thankful for the things you do have. Having trouble paying the bills is stressful, I know; I speak from experience during the course of this recession. But when we step back and think about money and career matters in the grand scheme of things, those problems are nothing compared to being attacked and your family massacred by machete-wielding mobs as happened in Nigeria this past week.

Toys - Want to have a crunchy-granola, New Age experience that is relaxing without being illegal, yet high-tech, at the same time? Check out the Wild Divine website, specifically their product called Journey to the Wild Divine - The Passage. I received this as a Christmas present several years ago and have come back to it time and again as a way to relax. In short, it's a computer game you play using biofeedback: Wearing sensors on your fingers, you meditate to control your breathing and heartbeat causing your energy level to rise or fall as required to move on to the next stage. While the storyline and some of the characters you meet are definitely a bit, no...a lot, New Age-y, the computer graphics are top notch and the original music pretty cool. Don't expect to complete "the journey" in one sitting or even to master the ability to control the your heartbeat the first time out. The meditation exercises become increasingly difficult as you move through the evocative landscape which I would compare to some idealized Tibetan monastery. Regardless, I always end a session feeling greatly relaxed and centered no matter how my day went.

Tasty Licks - No doubt you know by now - and if you don't what the hell is wrong with you? - that one of the best ways to create a relaxing environment is music. While one man's trash is another man's treasure, I think it's safe to say that most people will agree on what makes for relaxing music. At the same time I'm not suggesting you open up iTunes and download John Tesh's latest offering. Not always, but in general I find straight acoustic music over something with lyrics more relaxing as I'm not either consciously or subconsciously trying to sing along or figure out what the words are.

Assuming you have an iPod or other MP3 player, put together a "relax" playlist, turn off the TV, send the kids out to play, and forget about the world for a short time. Some of my favorite music for relaxing is baroque (Vivaldi, Mozart, Chopin, etc), some New Age Celtic stuff (John Doan and John Boswell), Sade, Enigma, classic blues and jazz like Ted Hawkins, Miles Davis and John Coltrane (NOT Kenny G...I had a bad experience with him one time while having an MRI done although I'm not sure I could ever have a good experience with Kenny G regardless of circumstances), and on and on. Chill out and stay cool daddy-o.

Arguing - No doubt at some point you've been frustrated by something going on locally, at the state or national level. You bitch and moan about it, saying "Somebody should do something about it!". Well, now's your chance. Send your elected leaders a letter. Get it off your mind! Even if nothing happens as a result of your actions, simply knowing you took action and spoke your mind is a great way to feel better about it. Here are the websites (and contact info) for The White House, The House of Representatives, The Senate, and a page having links for the main website for each of the 50 states, DC and US territories. And last but not least, a website to find and contact your mayor for many cities in the USA. Do your part as a citizen: speak your mind and remember to always exercise your right - and duty - to vote!

The Great Outdoors - Few things relieve stress like being out in nature (other than time in that "special time" with your woman!). At the end of a hard day or if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, put everything aside, take a deep breath, and take a walk. Get outside. If it's raining, take an umbrella. A walk in the rain can be quite relaxing. If it's sunny...hell, no one needs encouragement to get out on a sunny day. If it's nighttime, look up at the stars and moon. Just get outside.

WWWD? - Go out of your way to be nice. It'll make you feel good. Helping others is a great way to feel good and reduce stress, especially when they haven't asked for it. You've probably seen the bumper sticker "Commit Random Acts of Kindness"; what you might not have known is that there is a foundation behind it that is "...committed to spreading kindness..." Not a bad way to spend your life running an organization like that when you think about it.

Not that I prowl the streets Boy Scout like and look for old ladies to help across the street, but I do try and go out of my way to help a complete stranger if the opportunity presents itself. I can't say I get a rush out of it but it definitely put a spring in my step afterwards. One of my favorite chances to help someone occurred at the library down in Florida. An older gentleman had a flat tire and I changed it for him. He offered to pay me - which I refused. He then offered to buy me a case of beer - which I refused (reluctantly). He then asked for my name and address - which I gave him. A month or so later he sent me a very nice letter thanking me for helping him. I've kept that letter.

Black Socks and Flip-Flops - Embarrass your kids! My kids have gotten used to seeing me wear black socks and flip-flops - literally. Not that I'm some kind of fashionista or metrosexual, but I do like to look professional and pulled together for work which, on a daily basis, can be somewhat stressful especially if you haven't gotten to the cleaners to pick up your shirts. Thus sometimes when I get home, I really don't care to take off my dress socks simply to put on another pair so that I "match". I'm not going anywhere. It's my house and I'm the king dammit.

I've also gotten to the age where I really don't care if I look cool or whatever when I'm running out to the store to pick up milk or toilet paper or light bulbs. And after 16 years of marriage, it's not exactly like I'm looking to meet some hot babe in the grocery store. I find it incredibly relaxing to more-or-less throw on whatever I find laying around or hanging in the closet, especially if it's one of my favorite ratty old shirts or pair of jeans. What I want to know is where this guy got a pink Darth Vader helmet. This outfit is SO bad that's it's really cool. I particularly like the Hello Kitty touch. Finally, while North Korea is a whacked out country, ya gotta give props to Kim Jong-il for clearly not giving a shit about what anyone thinks of his sense of style or lack thereof.

Honeydew - I'll keep this one short (like the aforementioned dictator). End the personal shame and stress you feel each time you pull into your driveway. We're a week and a half away from the start of Spring for crying out loud! Make the commitment to go out this weekend and finally take down those outdoor Christmas lights.

The Wide World - It seems like many times in life it's the undiscovered spots (and not the "great ones" filled with tourists) which turned out really special and have stuck with me as places where all my cares have slipped away. It's probably because they are not only beautiful but quiet and unfettered by tramping feet of another busload of grey-hairs snapping pics or screaming, sticky kids. These special places can be natural or man-made, but they are places where you simply relax and escape. I've come across a few in my travels across the US, Europe and the South Pacific. In the Republic of Ireland's County Donegal, not far from my great-grandparents' village is The Poisoned Glen. Wild, empty and forbidding, the name itself conjures up magic. It was a cool, windswept July afternoon when I was there and encountered not another soul. I left physically tired from hiking the mountains, yet spiritually refreshed.

Taking things to the other extreme is Burp Castle in NYC. My wife and I chanced upon it about 15 years ago when wandering around the Village. Just down the street from the famed McSorley's, it seemed intriguing enough to venture in. A quiet and small place heavy with incense and signs indicating that whispering only, not talking, was allowed. Behind the bar stood a man dressed like Friar Tuck ready to take our beer order. A superb selection of Belgian ales, compelling murals on the walls, and an unusual atmosphere offered an escape from a busy day in the city. Like most of those special places we come across in our lives, it was a chance find; certainly not a destination.

Eye Candy -In keeping with the theme of restression relief, I've selected this comely hippy chick for your viewing pleasure to close out this peaceful sojourn.

Channeling Jim Morrison...

2010-03-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

Trolling for stuff to write about takes time. Whether I'm surfing the web or staring at a blank wall thinking about the need to find something worth musing on, I start on the next week's blog about as soon as I hit "publish" on the one just completed. And I do this weekly. Why once a week? I contribute a portion of my blog to another website on a weekly basis and I need to have my blog updated for the folks who click on through to the other side (to paraphrase Jim Morrison). And...I don't want you to get bored. Although I know in advance I've got to get it done, somehow time seems to slip by way too quickly each week and I wind up scrambling to paste something together at the last minute. I dunno...I guess with three young boys this seems like a metaphor for my life. They keep us so busy that I never seem to have time to complete things before I have to move on to the next. Of course, there is the inevitable "speeding up" of our perception of time as we grow older. I recently heard an interview on NPR as to why this might be.

In the meantime this challenge raises the interesting question of why I do this when I get neither glory nor gold. I'm certainly not the ultimate purveyor of The Very Important Things Every Man Must Know (although it'd be nice). And at this point, my weekly readership is small (but growing as I've figured how to better inform the blogosphere and world that I'm here). I do, however, appreciate those that read (thanks to each and every one of you) and am amazed at those from the far-flung ends of the earth: so far I've had readers from every continent except for Africa and Antarctica. However, stepping into their shoes for a moment I realize that for them, I'M the one from a far-flung corner of the globe. With much in life, it's all a matter of perspective.

As I mentioned in a previous posting I'm going to try and direct to you to far wittier and more knowledgeable people if I can. Case in point, The Savage Truth, which usually has commentary on sports but on occasion Mr. Sheridan strays to other topics that are at least

tangentially connected to sports. I also happen to like The Swell Guy...not too far removed from what I'm trying to do here in The Balanced Guy. The biggest challenge with trying to be "The Balanced Guy" is that I try and be "fair and balanced" in what I write about and how I write about it...within reason. There's a lot I hold back at times...maybe I should anonymously start a counter blog called "The Unbalanced Guy" where I can lay it out there. But I digress.

So back to why I do this. I read a lot and do a lot and am busy like the rest of you. So I figure I might as well share some of the interesting tidbits of life I come across and distill them down in a single serving once a week for you to partake. Think of me as the animal parent pre-digesting food and then regurgitating it for your consumption. Lovely visual.

I'll close this week's intro with a nod to my father who passed away 2 years ago today (March 3). I'm a bit biased but he was a stud. Two full athletic scholarships to college (lacrosse and soccer), fighter pilot, highly decorated Vietnam combat veteran, a solid father who was always there for us (although maybe not always the most communicative), and the most upstanding, honest and honorable man I've ever known. Here's to you Dad.

The Competitor - Click on the link above (or this one here) to get The Savage Truth about sports. Be warned: this ain't for the faint-hearted or those with delicate ears.

Mr. Muscle - You know, I've got to come up with a better name for this segment. "Mr. Muscle" just sounds way too much like a nickname some guy might have for his johnson. Either that or some late night/early morning infomercial product. By the way - I've seen this pic around the web a few times...this can't be frickin real...at least I hope not. I can't see how it's physiologically possible but if it is, this guy's a freak!

Tasty Licks - In honor of Oscar week (since when did this become a "week"? Almost like Super Bowl Week or the week between Christmas and New Year), and in honor of my home state, I'm selecting the most prominent movies set in New Jersey. A bit of clarification is in order. I tend to consider NJ my home state although I wasn't born here but I've lived here longer than any other one place...which is odd because I've actually lived about half my life south of the Mason-Dixon Line, but not the other half of my life north of it due to living overseas for a few years. Oddly enough, about 1/4 of NJ lies south of that aforementioned line. But I digress...again. So here's the list.

The Toxic Avenger (1984) - This has got to be one of the tops. Funny, funny, funny. Campy too. But why does Jersey always get such a bad name and associated with toxic waste? OK. We've got a lot of Superfund sites but they're concentrated in few ~~towns~~, ~~counties~~, ...ok fine...regions. However, the majority of the state is very pretty...really...sweah ta Gawd.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) - Simply very funny and written by two guys from my high school. It's a bit geographically-challenged in that I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have to drive all the way from somewhere in North Jersey to Cherry Hill to find a White Castle. Neil Patrick Harris as a deranged version of himself is one of the highlights of the film. A good Saturday night watch - after the kids are in bed. According to the White Castle website, the closest one to me is in New Brunswick, aka Hub City, despite the movie situation of it being closed down. But it made for good cinema.

The Wedding Singer (1998) - Adam Sandler is pretty funny, although Happy Gilmore is his opus. Having come of age in NJ in the 1980's this movie is almost uncomfortably, painfully funny to watch with regard to the clothes and music.

A Beautiful Mind (2001) - The mostly (so I've heard) true story of John Nash, the brilliant mathematician from Princeton and his battle with mental illness. He actually lives not to far from me here in the Princeton area. If you've ever known someone who has suffered psychologically this can be an emotionally moving movie.

Clerks (1994) - Can't leave out this indie classic with Silent Bob.

Friday the 13th (1980) - One of THE classic teen slasher horror movies, one of the ones that started the genre. I remember the first time I watched it on HBO was a rainy night and we lived on a lake in North Jersey not to far from Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. Think I was scared? Nah...more like petrified.

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) - If you graduated from high school in the mid 80's you probably saw this one on a date. Also one of Madonna's first flicks. It's time to order it from Netflix and watch it with your kids.

Big (1988) - Back when Tom Hanks was a younger man - pun intended. While the whole movie doesn't take place in NJ, a good chunk of it does. The scene with Hanks telling Elizabeth Perkins that she can spend the night but he gets to be "on top" (the top bunk that is), is still funny 22 years later.

The Godfather Part III (1990) - Hard to go wrong with part of the peerless Godfather trilogy.

I've listed nine movies here. Yes I know there are a lot more set in Jersey (Jersey Girl, Wise Guys, The Wrestler, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Cheaper By The Dozen (the 1950 version), and many others). However, that's why I supplied the link above to a list of movies set in the Garden State. Have at 'em. Yooz got a problem wit dat? Cause if yooz do, I know dis guy...

The Great Outdoors - A good knife. I'm always intrigued by the varied answers people give when posed the following question "If you were stranded on an island what is the one thing you'd want to have with you." Other than a satellite phone to call for help, some of the objects people choose perplex me, others I would give serious consideration to but in the end I always arrive back at the same answer - a knife. Not a butter knife, not a kitchen knife, not even a pocket knife (although useful). I'd want to have an honest-to-goodness survival knife. There's a reason it's called a "survival knife". I'm not too sure I'd want to be stranded with someone who thinks an iPod is the one object they'd want to have. A water filter is a much better choice, but I can always boil water if need be. And while ideal in terms of providing solace, even a Bible is probably not the best choice in terms of helping you stay alive on a daily basis or if a bear is after you.

Why a knife? There's not much you can't do with a good knife in a pinch. Now it may be cheating a bit in terms of having only one object but on many survival knives the butt end unscrews to reveal a chamber containing a compass, waterproof matches, and fishing line and hooks. Furthermore, there is often a woodsaw crafted along the spine of the knife (the top edge) and the heavy butt can be used as a hammer. The exceptionally heavy blade of a survival knife is useful for prying and even chopping wood if need be.

Even in daily life a well-made, sharp knife is a pleasure to use, especially if you match the knife to your need. I carry a small French peasant's knife made by Opinel around in my front pocket at home and it's amazing how often it comes in handy for this and that. If I'm venturing out and about, I frequently have my Leatherman on my belt. This is one of the greatest all-around tools ever invented - better than a Swiss Army Knife, although it doesn't fit into a pocket quite as well. However a Swiss Army knife is a great starter for your children to learn to safely handle and use a knife. Just make sure you stick with either the Victorinox or Wenger brand; they are the original, licensed makers and there are a lot of cheap knock-offs.

So what's my point? (pun intended) A knife is about one of the handiest tools you can carry around. And while I don't recommend wearing a survival knife to work, a small Swiss Army or lock-blade knife is a terribly handy thing to keep in your desk or car. You never know when you'll be called upon to open up one of those pain-in-the-ass clam-shell packages or free yourself and co-workers from terrorists.

Eye Candy - I just like Kim Kardashian so I'll throw a gratuitous pic of her on here for good measure. Julia Mancuso too. What's not to like about Julia? Olympic gold (2006) and silver (2010) medalist and smokin' hot.

The Russian Alchemist

2010-02-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

And away we go!

The Competitor - Sports
Mr. Muscle - Fitness and Health
Your Ride- Cars
Greenbacks - Career/Money/Finance
Toys - Gadgets (i.e. boys toys)
Tasty Licks- Music, Movies, Books and other Entertainment
Arguing - Politics
The Great Outdoors - hunting, camping, extreme sports
WWWD? (What Would Ward Do?...think about it, it'll come to you) - Family
Black Socks & Flip-Flops - Personal Appearance
Honeydew - Home Improvement/Tools
The Wide World - Travel/Vacation
Eye Candy

The Competitor - Unless you've been down in a well the last week-and-a-half you no doubt know the Olympics are shaping up to be an America blow-out in terms of the medals race. Still not a sure thing as Germany is only 3 medals behind us (26 to 23 as of this writing). Wondering if you've heard about the platinum medal now being awarded. As far as news of the weird goes, Russia's Plushenko takes the cake as the whack job of the Games. (OK a total non sequitur here but this friggin' Blog editor keeps changing fonts on me as I type; I'll just correct it when I'm done. It's definitely a squirrely system). So back to that rascally Ruskie. You probably know by now that he bitched and moaned when he won the silver behind America's Evan Lysacek, claiming that because Lysacek didn't do a quad jump, he shouldn't have been awarded the Gold Medal. Never mind that Plushenko received notably lower scores in for his technical execution and artistry. So anyway, to take his life further into the odd (as if skating in a fake muscle suit and thong ain't strange enough) he's now bought himself a first-class, one-way ticket on the weird express by magically "transforming" his Silver Medal into a Platinum Medal, platinum being a more valuable metal than gold. This Russian Alchemist's website was showing it as such. However, when I visited the site while writing this, it appears to have been changed back to "normal". Can you say "sore loser"?

Mr. Muscle - More than likely you've got antibacterial soap, antibacterial all-purpose cleaners, antibacterial hand sanitizers and who knows what else around your house. Heck, I even received a pair of antimicrobial SOCKS for Christmas this year. All well-in-good. However I've believed for years that this stuff is simply not healthy. Now I'm not a doctor or microbiologist or epidemiologist (I spelled that correctly the first try!), but I don't think it takes a rocket scientist or one of the previously-mentioned professions to realize that when you kill off 99.99% of the "bad bugs" with anti-bacterial products that the 0.01% left over are gonna be the really strong ones that only survive to make more bad bugs that aren't killed off so easily. A recent study backs me up. And it goes hand-in-hand with the folk wisdom that kids who play in the dirt are healthier than those that are too clean. Another study backs up this common-sense knowledge as well.

Simply put: low-level exposure to germs encountered in daily life appear to help to build our immune systems. Try and stay too clean and sanitized and you run the risk of a weakened immune system trying to fend off super bugs created by using antibacterial products...exactly the opposite effect a hyper-clean person is trying to achieve.

This effect is even reflected in our culture by the old image of the strapping farm kid contrasted with the weak, sickly rich kid. Prior to the modern era, when most people were raised on farms or out in the country allergies were almost unknown and considered to be a "rich person's disease". Even today, populations in industrialized countries suffer a higher incidence of allergies than those in developing nations.

While the choice is a personal one, we've taken to eliminating antibacterial products in our house. On the other hand, with three young boys in the house, the hyper-clean, don't-let-your-kids-play-in-the-dirt syndrome has never been an issue or even a battle we ever attempted to fight. Our challenge is kicking them outside and making sure they get away from the screen, go out, and GET DIRTY.

Greenbacks - If you're like me and most young boys growing up in the 1970's, you were a reader of comic books. Some of us were, and remain, collectors of them. I've still got my collection from when I was a kid and it includes some early-on pieces such as X-Men #26, and The Amazing Spider-Man #3 King Size Special. After the recent news of a near-mint condition copy of Action Comics #1 selling for $1 million, I wish my father had saved his comics from when he was a kid. Published in April 1938, it introduced the world to no less than Superman. And it's no wonder why it sold for a million bucks given what the franchise has been worth over the years not to mention the cultural icon the Man of Steel has become. So, if you've got those old comics lying around you can 1) dig them out of your parent's basement or attic and see if you've got a winner, or 2) dig them out of your parent's basement or attic and give them to me and I'll see if I now have a winner. Who knows? One of us might just be able to retire.

Tasty Licks - We took the kids to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief this past Saturday. Definitely a fun Saturday afternoon movie especially if your kids have read the books. A time-tested premise of a demi-god setting out on a challenge but with the added twist of being set in the modern-day USA. The special effects are great (but then what CGI isn't good these days?) and the storyline moves along nicely.

All I can say is thank God the actress playing Annabeth, Alexandra Daddario, is over 18 (she's 23). It's not clear in the movie what her age is and I was starting to feel a bit odd checking out her curves. No need to worry though if you're wondering if the movie is appropriate for kids ..considering the last movie dealing with ancient Greeks that came out of Tinseltown: 300

Now if you've not seen 300, it's like a live-action comic book that is really gory, has lots of action, is generally pretty cool (if you're a guy) although there is the slightly uncomfortable and somewhat, no make that VERY, homoerotic nature of a movie about sweaty muscular guys running around in leather diapers. Witness exhibit 1:

If if wasn't for the smoking hot Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo, 300 would have to go down on the list with The Village People and Adam Lambert.

The Great Outdoors - are not so great this week. I don't know about you but I'll take 25 and snowing anytime over 37 and rainy. Ask and ye shall receive - now they're calling for 12" or so of snow again for our area. Holy crap this weather sucks. However I know that spring is not too far away at this point...

Honeydew - Do your kitchen chairs squeak and seem to shift underneath you when you sit in them? If you've got wooden chairs there's a good chance, especially if they're older, the glue in the joints has deteriorated. I've got this problem right now with our 30-year old kitchen set we inherited from my parents. Happily, there is a cheap, albeit time-consuming, way to fix it...assuming you've got the time and inclination. Many people would be surprised to learn that most all-wooden furniture has very few metal components, if any. The magic behind its strength is the joinery (the types of joints) and glue. I'm going to go through the repair process briefly.

In order to fix this problem, the first thing you have to do is take the chair apart. So I set about taking the first of my five chairs apart. This is not that difficult if you have the proper tools and do it carefully. You'll need a deadblow hammer or a rubber mallet, spreaders/clamps and side pliers (there are sometimes a few finish nails here and there that need to be removed). Before you get started, take a careful look at the chair to figure out the best way to take it apart; some pieces will need to be disassembled before others. Additionally, examine all the joinery to ensure there are no metal fasteners. If there are, these will need to be removed prior to knocking the chair apart. Once examined and any metal out of the way, it's a simple matter to use your deadblow hammer or rubber mallet to knock the chair carefully apart. Oh yeah, make sure you label each piece FIRST, indicating which side it came from and the direction it was originally oriented. Mix pieces up and it may be nigh impossible to get your chair back together.

Next you'll have to remove or otherwise clean the old glue off each part. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. With an older piece of furniture it most likely has an animal-based glue and this can be softened using hot water. Then scrape it off, taking care not to remove any of the wood. Doing so could cause the joint to not fit snugly when reassembling. Modern glues may require a solvent of some kind, with acetone or some other adhesive remover being the most commonly used (but be careful as these can damage the finish). I've found that it's a heck of a lot easier to get the old glue off the tenons (the "male" part) than out of the mortises (the "female" part). It just takes patience. There are just WAY too many sexual innuendos I could make at this point, but I'll let you come up with your own.

With the chair now in pieces and parts cleaned it's time to put it back together, assuming there are no broken or missing parts (repair and replacement is a whole other discussion). Just like when pulling the chair apart, think this step through, realizing that some pieces need to go back together before others. You'll need to use a yellow wood glue, my preference being Titebond III. An artist's paintbrush helps to spread the glue around both parts of each joint prior to reassembly.

Then it's simply a matter of putting it back together one section at a time, clamping it well and letting that section dry for 24 hours before moving onto the next section if necessary. It'll take some time to completely fix a chair, especially if you're doing it in the evenings like I am. But I'm in no real rush and expect it to take me a month or two to disassemble, refinish, and then reassemble all the chairs since I'm doing them one at a time.

Gold Medals, Complex Math and Disco Shoes

2010-02-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but here in Jersey I'm getting kind of tired of winter. It's those mid-February blues. While I enjoy the snow, there's been so much this year I'm definitely over it and ready for spring. However, having spent a lot of years in the area I'm well aware that we're about two months away from any signs of life and even further from that glorious riot of spring that takes place over a 2 or 3 week period in May.

I've also taken note that I've got to go out this weekend and buy more wood pellets for our pellet stove. Last fall I bought an entire pallet of them (50 bags) and we're down to the last few. But we won't need another complete pallet (I hope) and figure that another 25 bags should do the trick. We only use the wood pellet stove to heat the large addition off the back that serves as our great room. We spend most of our time in it. As a result we keep the heat in the rest of the house down around 65F all day and night; there's really little need to heat it much higher when we mostly just sleep there.

OK...so on with it. Here we go....

The Competitor - Sports
Mr. Muscle - Fitness and Health
Your Ride - Cars
Greenbacks - Career/Money/Finance
Toys - Gadgets (i.e. boys toys)
Tasty Licks - Music, Movies, Books and other Entertainment
Arguing - Politics
The Great Outdoors - hunting, camping, extreme sports
WWWD? (What Would Ward Do?...think about it, it'll come to you) - Family
Black Socks & Flip-Flops - Personal Appearance
Honeydew - Home Improvement/Tools
The Wide World - Travel/Vacation
Eye Candy

The Competitor - If you've been glued to the tube each night since the Winter Olympic Games have started like me, no doubt you've been alternately impressed, distressed and sometimes dumbfounded at what goes on at the Games and what is reported on. So far the feel-good story has to hands down be that of Alexandre Bilodeau, the young Canadian mogul skier who won the first Gold Medal by a Canadian on Canadian soil EVER when they have hosted either summer or winter games. Inspired by his brother with cerebral palsy, he has a fresh, wide-eyed wonderment at his new-found fame that is so refreshing and in all the interviews I've seen with him he seems like a genuinely nice kid who deserves all his success. But have no doubt - you don't win Olympic Gold without being a fierce competitor. He reached out and grabbed history when offered. His gold medal run was a complete gamble as he tore down that cobbled slope on the edge of out of control...but that's what it takes to be a champion...willing to lose it all in an effort to win. Several other mogul skiers tried the same on-the-edge, hair-on-fire approach, and but for the fickle whims of Lady Luck they might have been the Olympic Champion. But in pushing it a single flaming hair too far, they wiped out and off the podium. If you haven't seen his winning, ball-to-the-walls run, here it is.

At the other end of the spectrum comes the unfortunate story of the Japanese luger who was disqualified because the combined weight of her and her equipment were 1/4 lb overweight due to a miscalculation of the formula used for underweight athletes to carry additional weight. Not great for an athlete who puts in years of sacrifice to make it to the Games only to be DQ'd for 4 oz. However the blogger who reported on this story, Trey Kerby, set himself up for ridicule as he called the method used to determine the amount of weight a "somewhat complex formula". See for yourself just how complex this formula is...but if you're too lazy to click on through to it, I'll repeat it here: WOMEN: (165 lbs - body weight) x .75 ....ta da! That's it. No differential equations, hell not even algebra, just straight up 4th grade math. Look I'll be willing to give Mr. Kerby some slack in that maybe arithmetic is not his favorite subject but how in God's name does he function in the adult world if he considers this to be a "somewhat complex formula"...either that or he thinks athletes all have rocks in their head and he's trying to cut this poor woman some slack. Regardless he's either an idiot or patronizing.

WWWD? - If you've never been actively involved in your community, there is no better time than now when our communities need us. Being an active participant in the town I live in is something I only learned to do as an adult through my brother-in-law and his family (long-time residents and small business owners in their hometown). This is something I never picked up from my parents as we moved often due to my father's military service and subsequent corporate career - however, as a Vietnam combat veteran he more than contributed to the benefit of our town, county, state and country. This is not to discourage our veterans from continuing to serve in their civilian life - we need them to share their sense of duty!

What I've found (and those that already volunteer in their community most likely will agree with) is that you get far more in return than the service you put out. There is the sense of satisfaction from giving of yourself and helping others. There is also the benefit of getting to know your neighbors and other community members, especially community leaders. When we lived in Florida I was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, a Cub Scout Den Leader and as a result of the people I met and worked with, was invited to sit on the Board of our local YMCA. Through my active participation I felt like I was really LIVING in my town; I knew the mayor, town council members, and local business owners. I enjoyed trips to the store or a local event and running into someone I knew nearly every time I went out. While I may not have always agreed with some of our community leaders positions on issues, I at least had a better understanding of where they were coming from since I knew them on a first-name basis. This also provided me with the chance to express my views to them as part of a real discussion and not as just another voice lined up at the microphone at a town council meeting.

Since moving back to NJ, I've tried to pick up where I left off upon leaving Florida (in fact, active involvement in my community is one of the things that made moving away such a hard decision). So far I've again become a Cub Scout Den Leader and am a member of our church Building Committee. And already I've run into other members of both those groups out and about town - that really makes you feel like you are starting to belong when that happens.

So I encourage you to not simply shut your front door behind you when getting home at night, only to shut out your community while at the same time inviting the rest of the world in via television and the Internet. "But," you say "what about time with my family?" Slow down cowboy - I didn't say you have to volunteer every evening or even once a week. And many volunteer roles are fantastic opportunities to bring your children along allowing you to spend quality time with them and to instill in them a sense of civic duty which has often been forgotten in today's suburban wasteland.

Black Socks & Flip-Flops - You can continue to call me a cheap bastard. Last week I picked up one of my pairs of dress shoes from the cobbler after having them resoled (for those of you not familiar with the archaic term "cobbler", I'm referring to a shoe repair shop). I'm not so caught up in fashion that I have to have THIS year's style of shoes...thank God. Instead I buy a relatively good pair of shoes - around $150 or so - and wear them until they fall apart, having them resoled 2, 3 or even 4 times before the uppers can no longer take a new sole. At between $35 and $50 for a resoling, it's definitely worth it compared to buying a new pair of shoes. Of course I could buy cheaper shoes to begin with but they usually don't last any longer than the soles, making any efforts at resoling pointless. But can you imagine bringing these funky silver disco clodhoppers in for repair...?

So let's do the math: good shoes @ $150 + (3 resoling @ $50) = $300 vs. 4 pair of $75 shoes. Equal cost. However I'm guessing you'd probably go through at least 5 pair of $75 shoes in the same time and they are usually not as comfortable. And while they don't fit my wardrobe, I wouldn't mind seeing the woman who brings these boots into the repair shop....

Cheap booze, Snowstorms, and WD-40

2010-02-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

I'll have to admit that as this snowy winter weather keeps us inside, it can become a bit trying to find enough to write about. Sure I can surf the web and find stuff (which I admit I already do), but I'm not getting out and about as much and actually experiencing things. Thus I can wind up feeling a bit like an armchair quarterback. However, given my desire to stave off boredom today, I think I'm gonna go cheap early and call this my Hollywood-tromp-through-the sewer edition.

The Competitor - Sports
Mr. Muscle - Fitness and Health
Your Ride - Cars
Greenbacks - Career/Money/Finance
Toys - Gadgets (i.e. boys toys)
Tasty Licks - Music, Movies, Books and other Entertainment
Arguing - Politics
The Great Outdoors - hunting, camping, extreme sports
WWWD? (What Would Ward Do?...think about it, it'll come to you) - Family
Black Socks & Flip-Flops - Personal Appearance
Honeydew - Home Improvement/Tools
The Wide World - Travel/Vacation
Eye Candy

Greenbacks - One thing it seems you can be sure of is that even when the economy sucks people are still gonna drink; probably even more so. All we do is shift to cheaper swill although I doubt stars with a known affection for Lady Alcohol, like Lindsay Lohan (shown enjoying herself at left) and Mel Gibson, are suffering the same fate. While I'm not a big drinker, I do enjoy a beer to two. Lately, I've ratcheted down a few notches in what I buy, trying to stretch that dollar a bit further. What I want to know is what are people doing to make cheap tequila sales jump, yes jump!, 21% from 2008 to 2009. All I can say is that I think we all know what kind of night to expect when that bottle of ta-kill-ya is cracked open.

Tasty Licks - OK. I found this article comparing Spike TV to Lifetime to be pretty dead on and funny. Spike is definitely guys TV. Thank God being a Balanced Guy doesn't mean being a pussy and not allowing yourself to watch stupid guy shows. Being a Balanced Guy means being able to do that AND being able to watch a Lifetime movie with your significant other while keeping both in perspective. It means a boys' night out getting maybe a bit rowdy and pushing the envelope after a day spent coaching your daughter's basketball team. Being a Balanced Guy also means at the end of the day admitting that you'd much rather watch Spike TV.

Neil Genzlinger, the author, demonstrates his "Balanced Guy-liness" when he states "So, clearly, members of one sex are living in a sad, unrealistic fantasy world, trying in vain to compensate for the drabness of their day-to-day lives. Members of the other are living a rich life of the imagination, at peace with their self-image and excited by what the future might hold. Which is which goes without saying." Nuff said.

Sticking with entertainment, last week the nominations for both The Oscars and The Razzies came out. By far, those for The Razzies are a hell of a lot more entertaining to read through although the Oscar-worthy performances are certainly better to watch (unless maybe you're halfway through that bottle of cheap tequila). Although I'm not sure I agree with Land of the Lost garnering nominations for worst actor (Will Ferrell) worst supporting actor, worst director, worst screenplay, worst sequel/ripoff/remake.

Granted, it's not Oscar material but it was a really funny movie...to me at least. Mature; no. Juvenile; yes. Not sure it's meant for the kids mostly because they aren't gonna get a lot of the jokes and there is some fairly adult humor, albeit innuendo. Keeping in line with a lot of the 1970's-TV show-turned-movie genre of the last 10 years or so (The Brady Bunch, Scooby D00, Charlie's Angels, etc) it's very tongue-in-cheek with a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. The scene with Will Ferrell dancing through the pterodactyl nest in his underwear is priceless.

Honeydew - As I write this the white stuff is falling from the sky and we're under a blizzard watch here in Central Jersey. This is the second big storm in a week. While I don't mind shoveling snow, this storm is worse than the last as far as shoveling is concerned because it's heavy and wet. It's not the weight of the snow that bugs me when pushing it around, it's the fact that it sticks to my shovel. Little trick of the trade for ya - before you start the process of throwing your back out or bringing on a heart attack (yes, shoveling snow can be dangerous to your health) try spraying some liquid duct tape on it. What is liquid duct tape you ask? WD-40 of course. It's like a miracle-in-a-can. To back this claim, know this: it's even got a Facebook fan page with almost 4,000 fans (just slightly more than The Balanced Guy's fan base on Facebook and Princeton Scoop is catching up fast).

The great part is that everyday, WD-40 sprays a blurb with yet another use for this can-o'-magic much the way Princeton Scoop tosses you info about great deals and steals in the Central Jersey area. For example, yesterday's Use of the Day: Detangles jewelry, like tangled Mardi Gras beads used in celebratory dance on Bourbon St. And one from last week...Use of the Day: Cleans cell phone battery connections. And another one that is wholly appropriate for our current weather - Use of the Day: Spray wheel wells and underbody of autos to protect from corrosion due to road salt. (OK...I'm not too sure about the phrase "sprays a blurb" but I'll go with it...I was obviously trying to be witty but I'll toss a flag and call it a "fail". So stock up on WD-40, find ever more exotic uses for it and enjoy shoveling that snow!

Speaking of "fail", if you're looking to possibly wet yourself laughing I highly suggest you go to Google images and simply type in the word "fail". You never know what you'll find. Words fail me as far this image goes....

Beaches and my Soapbox

2010-02-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

I figure February is as good a time as any to discuss getting the heck out of the cold weather, especially since we moved back to NJ after 8 years in southwest Florida (the Ft Myers/Naples area). I'll poke my nose into a few other topics as well. First and foremost I think, as with any undertaking, a mid-winter, warm-weather escape requires the proper frame of mind. You have to get your noggin in the game. Music is a great way to do that. I've got a playlist on my iPod called Beach/Beer Mix. It's the one we turn to on a Friday after work, a lazy Saturday afternoon, when we have friends over. Hell, it's the play list we play the most. A small sample of the usual suspects will give you the basic idea: The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, Kenny Chesney, Jimmy Buffett, Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson, Bob Marley and. Then there are some more lesser-known contributors to our slightly buzzed Friday evening repertoire...Archie Roach, Paul Weller, and Taj Mahal among others...but you get the idea. It's mellow, feel-good music with a summertime, shoes off and I-don't-give-a-damn-until-Monday attitude.

So you're looking to get away, but where to go? Um...I'll be boring and say Florida but there are a few reasons why other than the fact that nearly everyone's grandparents are there as well this time of year. First of course is the excellent weather right now. Second is the excellent weather. Third is our locally lousy weather. It's also not too far, flights are relatively inexpensive, no passport required...and...lean in a bit closer, this is a secret...I know of a great, really great, family-run hotel right on the beach in Naples that also happens to have one of the top-rated restaurants in the region. It also happens to be one of the few restaurants in the entire

area ON the beach, not to mention being one of the few remaining hotels on the beach in Naples. What? you say. Tell you this well-kept secret. Twist my arm. OK. The Vanderbilt Beach Resort has been owned and run by the Moore Family since 1968. It's old-style Florida. Don't expect over-the-top suites and over-the-top prices. Do expect the friendly charm you would expect by a family-run establishment, well-appointed rooms, a fantastic beach right outside and a phenomenal restaurant, The Turtle Club, on-property all accompanied by the best sunset dining in Naples.

If you're looking for something a bit more rustic (i.e. camping), I strongly suggest you make reservations to camp out on Cayo Costa, an island/state park off the west coast by Fort Myers. Cold running water only (including showers), dirt roads, very, very, very few people and accessible only by boat, this place is truly an undiscovered gem, rated by Outside Magazine as one of the best getaways in the country. Those are my kids in the pic from when we went out there for a weekend of camping a few years ago. As you can see, not a soul in sight except for us on a gorgeous May weekend.

On to more mundane items now that you're wistfully thinking of someplace other than where you are. As I'd mentioned twice now in previous postings (Nov 2 and Nov 18) about Ford doing well. Seems those folks in Detroit are at it again, proving the world wrong that American auto manufacturing is ready to be put 6-feet under. Seems their sales are up while over at Toyota things are trending downward. Granted retail sales are down but fleet sales are way, way up.

There happens to be a minor sporting event this Sunday called the Super Duper Bowl or some thing like that between the Sinners and the Fillys..or is it the Saints and the Colts? Nevertheless, it seems Madden NFL, after accurately predicting 5 of the last 6 Super Bowls, is calling it that they'll be celebrating down in The Big Easy come Sunday night. I dunno. While it would be pretty cool to watch The Team Formerly Known as The Ain'ts win the Big Dance (I know...mixing my sporting terminology), I'm not too sure I'd be wanting to bet against Manning and his Colts. That guy is just too damn good.

Now I'm going to get on a bit of a soap box for a few minutes and state that in general people need to stop being such freakin' pussies. I like to stay apolitical in this blog so don't take my ranting as leaning one way or the other...the only direction I'm leaning is for people to buck the hell up and stop their whining and constant maneuvering to make the other guy look bad or take advantage of a situation. Now look: I'm not advocating or endorsing what people said or did. However what I am doing is condemning the reactions to what people said and did.

Exhibit 1: A mom in Denver is suing the school system after her 6 year old son's hands and mouth were taped with masking tape after he was misbehaving in class. OK. I might be a bit upset over that if it happened to my son although maybe he would have deserved it. That's beside the point. The annoying thing is that this woman is now suing for, get this, $500,000!!! Because her son was taped up with masking tape? Overreaction? You betcha...which is a nice segue into the next overreaction.

Exhibit 2: After Rahm Emanual called a few people and their idea "f*cking retarded" (he was referring to a group of conservative democrats actually), Sarah Palin called for his ouster based on his insensitivity and use of the word "retarded"...keeping in mind that Palin has a mentally challenged toddler at home. Fair enough. But....first of all, he didn't say this in a public forum. Instead it was apparently during a behind-closed-doors meeting. Second, I think people might get more upset with his use of the f-bomb than the word "retarded". Third was Palin's statement that rings about as genuine as a Gucci purse for sale on the street of NYC. I quote: "Just as we'd be appalled if any public figure of Rahm's stature ever used the 'N-word' or other such inappropriate language, Rahm's slur on all God's children with cognitive and developmental disabilities -- and the people who love them -- is unacceptable, and it's heartbreaking." I don't espouse going around calling anyone a retard but I like to think of the old "those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" i.e. I'd be willing to bet solid coin that at some point in her day Sarah has called someone a retard or an idea retarded. Lesson that needs to be learned: While we need to respect all Americans regardless of ability, find some real issues to take issue with Sarah; as well as every other politician, left and right, who finds affront at the slightest burp if it will get them air time. Case in point ---->;

Exhibit 3: At a speech given in a high school in Nashua, NH earlier this week, Obama said: "You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices." Well, you can guess what happened next. Everyone and their uncle from Nevada...even Harry Reid for crying out loud, Democratic Senate Majority Leader, lined up to take their turn ripping the POTUS a new ANUS. Mayor Goodman of Vegas said Obama was not welcome in his town...that's a friendly attitude that'll be certain to bring the tourists in droves. I think I can be pretty confident the president was using Vegas in the metaphorical sense in that it's intimately connected to gambling...excuse me...gaming. Yet the torches and pitchforks came out as claims were made that Vegas doesn't need the president tearing them down and driving away tourism. Ummm...seems to me if no one had said a damn thing about all this, no one would have heard about it and it wouldn't be driving away tourism....if it is at all. I mean really, while we may be dumb the American public ain't that stupid. If people want to go to Vegas, they'll go to Vegas. and not take too much stock in the president's analogy. The folks there need to practice their own tag line a little more "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"....sheesh. There's a reason Las Vegas is called "Lost Wages". Which leads me to my final exhibit.

Exhibit 4: I really, really, really wish someone could get both houses of Congress, both sides of the aisle, sit them down and say, no yell, at them "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? "These guys are more interested in getting re-elected then they are in solving our country's problems. Case in point...and I can't believe he actually said this, Lamar Alexander-R Tenn. said with respect to the whole partisan stalemate, and I quote because you have to read it to disbelieve it, “When we do policy and get good results, there is always the possibility that Democrats might gain a little politically,” he said. “But I think our main job here is to help the country.” WHAT? Are you kidding me? He's worried that if Congress actually succeeds in solving a problem that the Democrats might make political gains? What about country first, party second? And that he "thinks" they are there to help the country? He "thinks"? I'd like to "think" that was a pretty self-evident truth (to paraphrase the Declaration of Independence). Please elected officials. Left and right. Talk to one another. Dems - don't leave the GOP out of discussions. They are intelligent people with ideas too. Elephants please don't throw a monkey wrench in every effort the donkeys try to move forward just because you can. You ARE there to help the country...all of you.

Beer, Tebow and Crappy Food.

2010-01-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

Last week I thought my posting was pretty good. This week I think it's gonna be a bit on the shorter side as I can't seem to get the mojo going...but who knows? A beer or two and I might be able to wax poetic. Speaking of beer, I came across a GREAT quote today by a guy named Luke Livingston who writes a blog about beer. He said in response to reports that Burger King and Starbucks are experimenting with serving beer at select locations - "The only thing Americans like better than cheap, crappy food is cheap, crappy beer!" I just find this incredibly funny...and true. Find Luke and lots more about beer at his blog "A Blog About Beer". I think I'll create a permanent link off to the side for you to get to his little piece of the web.

As I opined last week that it might not be the best brand-positioning move, Tim Tebow's upcoming appearance in a Super Bowl ad for Focus on the Family is raising hackles.

Not only that but I'd mentioned some NFL draft gurus had been talking about him not going very early in the draft. Looks like maybe he's doing that to himself. Seems at workouts for the Senior Bowl he's had trouble taking a conventional snap from under center. I certainly hope he can get his act together as he genuinely seems like a good kid who can prove to be an antidote to many of the shenanigans we see from professional athletes these days. However, the ruckus being raised over his advertisement can only serve as a further distraction to this durable gunslinger.

If, like me, you're in the Central Jersey area and are a bit of an architecture aficionado, like me, I highly suggest you take a trip over to Hightstown and check out the new pool at The Peddie School. It must be nice to have money because this ain't just a Butler Building with a cee-ment pond in it. Don't get me wrong, Butler Buildings are fantastic in that they serve a purpose but when you can afford not to look at the price tag you get some nice options. Like the all-glass skin that is lit blue at night, looking like the Beijing Olympics Water Cube in miniature.

The news release from the schools states "At 35 meters long and 25 yards wide, the pool can accommodate 15 lanes while utilizing an eco-friendly filtering system that will save thousands of gallons of water. The structure, designed by the architectural firm RMJM Hillier, uses many materials and products that decrease energy consumption and deliver daylight to the building's interior spaces."

I've been watching the construction progress for the past year as I drop off and pick up my son from swim practice at Peddie each evening and am excited for his club team, Peddie Aquatics, to move over from the old Sprout Pool. It's a great addition to our area and continues the strong tradition of swimming at the school and club which includes among it's alumni Nelson Diebel, double Olympic Gold Medal winner at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist BJ Bedford as well as several other Olympians. By the way, if you're wondering which pic is which, the high-quality pic is the Water Cube. The one that looks better if you squint your eyes a bit is the one I took with my camera phone of the new Peddie Pool.

And I think that about wraps it up for this go-around. Not feeling hugely inspired this evening. I'll remember to eat my Wheaties for next week, especially when they come in this box...

One other thing...I can't figure out for the life of me why my pics sit just a tad higher than the text they are next to. Driving me crazy!! ARRGGHHH!!! Here in the editor all looks kosher, but hit the stupid "Publish Post" button and it all goes to hell. Such is life. On to bigger and better things this week! Put a smile on...it'll help you feel more positive!

The Super Bowl, Black Death and Sideburns...

2010-01-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

Last week I talked about trying to make my writing a bit zippier, which remains a continuing goal but I think the effort was definitely not a high point for me as I was trying to be something I'm not. What I'm not is a writer that can sling witty barbs like my friend Dave over at "Sheridan"*. That being said, I'll stick up for myself for a moment or two and say that I actually can be pretty funny in person... but the target of my stinging repartee is usually myself. I've been told that no one makes better fun of me than me. Of course, there's a lot to make fun of. My friends also enjoy making (good-natured...I think) fun of me as they know I'm pretty good a taking it all in stride. Not to mention I do say some pretty off-the-wall stuff. As might be imagined about a man trying to be a Balanced Guy, it can mean being curious about a very broad and disparate conglomeration of topics and facts. Heck, even this blog tries to give balance to 13 differing subjects over the course of time.

So how out in left field can I be? As an example, suppose my buddies and I are sitting on a back deck drinking a beer or two while we fire up the barby. In the dying twilight, a bat flutters overhead which I notice. My train of thought then goes something like this: "bat....cat...rat...rat?...bubonic plague...Black Death...hey, I've read a lot about the Black Death"....at which point I'll make an out-of-the-blue statement (in the middle of a conversation about sports or politics or women) something to the effect of "If the Plague were to strike today, next week half of us sitting here would be dead". Silence falls like a wet blanket (even the crickets stop and wonder where in God's name that came from), everyone turns to look at me and someone will say something along the lines of "what the hell are you talking about?" Then they'll all laugh, shake their heads, say "frickin' TB" (that being one of my college nicknames) and the conversation will resume. After nearly 25 years of friendship with this group of guys, they know me and I know them. We all have our idiosyncracies. But then that's what makes each one of us unique. If we were all the same, what a boring world it would be. It's also good to have long-term friendships where you are comfortable being yourself. Actually it's better than good - it's critical in life. People with strong social networks and friendships live longer and are generally happier (See? Here I go again with the info out of nowhere).

Finally, I'm going to use my vast compendium of otherwise useless nickel-knowledge to seek potential fame and fortune as I take the initial steps towards becoming a Jeopardy contestant via an online quiz next week (these only come up a few times a year on a set date and time). I generally do very well when watching the show as well as Cash Cab and playing Trivial Pursuit. However, dragging minutia from the recesses of the brain in front of a lot of people with money on the line is no doubt a whole different ball game. Wish me luck.

*Funny, but in one of Dave's recent sports postings he used the word "shill" in reference to a bothersome advocate for a cause and personal benefit. I hadn't heard that word in a long time, especially used in conjunction with sports but not three days later I was reading another article online about a coaching change (I think...been a lot of those lately) and it too, used the word "shill" in the same sense. Interesting stuff. I like to think the writer of that article follows Dave's blog and lifted that infrequently used word from him.

Items of interest this go-around:

Competitor - The Super Bowl is coming up. No doubt Dave over at Sheridan will have commentary far more informed than mine. Check him out. In a related bit, Tim Tebow will be in a pro-life ad for Focus on the Family airing during the big game. While I respect his right to hold his personal beliefs, not sure this is the best for his brand going forward. Make no doubt - for an athlete of his stature, he IS a brand and needs to manage it carefully. Might an NFL team considering him find him a bit too offputting via his personal social agenda for the broad appeal they seek? It's not too often you see professional athletes taking a highly politicized stance on anything. He is most likely a franchise player but some draft scenario pundits are saying he might not even go in the 1st round of the draft. Time will tell.

Greenbacks - If you've got airline miles or other "points" from you credit card or other loyalty programs, here's something I recently figured out (I'm slow; so sue me) - if you decide to cash them in for merchandise instead of a ticket to paradise, think carefully before doing so. Earlier this month I received a letter from Delta Skymiles saying my rewards points were going to expire at the end of January. Knowing I wasn't planning to travel anywhere, my wife and I went online to the Delta Skymiles Marketplace to look at what we could get for the nearly 45,000 points I had. She looked around the website and saw a wireless printer. With the proliferation of laptops in our house, it seemed like a good idea. But I said, "let me look into it a bit more". Turned out not to be a good deal at all. I'd have needed to buy about 5,000 more points at a cost of around $40 to buy a printer which retails at Best Buy for $79. Even more, the printer got terrible owner reviews on Amazon and it's not even compatible with Windows Vista. Other goodies available retailed for about the same price. Case closed. A little more poking around the site and my wife realized that with 45,000 points we could get nearly $300 worth of gift cards at places like Barnes & Noble, Macy's, and Outback Steakhouse. Bingo! We had to pay an extra $23 to get the 6th $50 card but that's like paying $1 to get $2; a no-brainer. Let's do the math: $79 printer - $40 to get enough points = $39 value. $300 in gift cards - $23 to get enough points = $277 in value. $277/$39 = 7.1 times the value.

I'll be tucking this one away in my back pocket for future use should I ever have a bunch of rewards points racked up again.

Arguing - The White House Gate Crashers, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, are back in Washington this week as they were summoned to testify before Congress regarding the now infamous incident. Of course they invoked the Fifth, the right to not incriminate themselves. I'll definitely give them credit for having hutzpa; anyone who can bluff their way into a State Dinner gets that at least. But c'mon? Who do they think they are fooling with the "we believe we were actually invited"? Anyone briefly reviewing their track record gets an instant flavor of what they are about (yechh!). From the dubious charity they run, claims of unpaid catering bills running into the tens of thousands, her claiming to be an ex-cheerleader for the Redskins (when no one else remembers her) and a reality show following them around town as they prepared for the State Dinner I can form my own opinions pretty quickly. Maybe my gut feeling is wrong (as well as the gut feeling of most Americans), but I think the picture of what Michaele Salahi was wearing as she showed up to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee says it all. Don't get me wrong - I'd guess she's appropriately dressed for an evening out on the town or an afternoon shopping at Saks...but a fur-trimmed wrap when appearing before Congress? Wow. Nothing screams "Look at me!" more except maybe the boorish behavior they've displayed before the nation thus far. The clock has LONG run out on their 15 minutes. Irony duly noted that I'm giving them more....

Black Socks & Flip-flops - I've long held the position that facial hair is to men what hairdos are to women. Really, think about it. Men rarely, very rarely, change the way they wear their hair except maybe when they are young and do something crazy for the shock value or a bet. Sure once in a while a guy will shave his head or go with a crew cut but that's about it. No changes in color, no switching from curly to straight locks overnight (or at all), and they most certainly don't bring a magazine into the barber shop and ask Hank to cut their hair "to look just like George Clooney in this picture". OK. Maybe some do but they're called metrosexuals. Hair styles for men change very, very slowly and once a guy settles into a hairstyle in his mid-to-late twenties, it pretty much stays that way for the rest of his life with minor tweaks...or until he starts to go bald. Whichever comes first.

On the other hand, it's perfectly acceptable for a man to sport varying forms of facial hair, changing them with the seasons or his whim. One only has to look at the sideburn craze from the early and mid 1990's (courtesy of Beverly Hills 90210) to realize this. I'm certainly in this group as I've sported either a full beard, goatee/moustache combo or been clean-shaven numerous times over the years (my current winter wear is the full beard). A man can go with the: Luke Perry (sideburns), Grizzly Adams (full beard), Musketeer (goatee and moustache..not worn by Mouseketeers), Captain Ahab (goatee without moustache), Abe Lincoln (beard sans moustache), Ohno (soul patch as sported by Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno), and Magnum P.I. (moustache only). There's also the Dirty Lip as worn by young guys trying mighty hard to look older and tougher when they really don't yet have quite enough testosterone flowing (not to be confused with a Dirty Sanchez). And there are many variations on these basic themes mostly in terms of width (think pencil-thin moustache) and length (think ZZ Top) - no snickers from the Peanut Gallery please. The only facial hair style I don't quite get (I actually DO understand the Dirty Lip despite it looking ridiculous), is the razor-thin beard some young guys sport these days. Maybe I'm just getting old but it hardly shows and has got to be a bitch to keep shaved.

As for myself, I actually like the bit of grey I now have in my beard right on my chin. It's pretty much the only grey hair on my head except for that one single grey up top that's been there for about 10 years. Of course, the flip side is that while the hair on my head is not going grey, it is getting thinner. Oh well, maybe I can grow my beard long enough for a comb-over.

I can't rant

2010-01-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

So...we all try to continually learn as we go through life (at least I hope everyone does). Anyway, I've been reading some other blogs to see other people's writing style, their voice, their tone. AND I realized that while I've been informative, maybe I've been a bit too dry (can you say "b-o-r-i-n-g"?). Comes from all that god-awful report writing I've been doing at work all these years. So I'll try to be a little less

One blog I definitely recommend is "Sheridan" written by a friend of mine from high school. He has a biting wit and knows more about professional sports than most of the staff at ESPN or Sports Illustrated. For the most part I'm going to insert a link to his blog in my sports commentary section. But be warned, his writing ain't for the faint of heart or delicate ears. I dunno. I just don't have it in me to rant about something. Bitch yes. Rant no - especially in a readable, funny way....definitely a talent.

On to some Balanced Guy stuff. I try to raise my kids to be good, honest, straight-up, considerate people (and I'd better change the "I" to "we" or my wife will kill me) - emphasis on considerate. Clearly not everyone makes the same effort. A week or so ago I'm at my son's swim team practice doing some paperwork up in the stands. Now being this is in NJ in the winter, I'm in a natatorium...in which the slightest sound is massively amplified and echoed all over the damn place. I'm down at the far end of the stands away from the other parents and these two little boys - around 7 and maybe 4 - are running back and forth in front of me. No problem. Then they decide to stop and play right in front of me and the 4 year old starts letting out these high-pitched screams, telling his brother "NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!" This definitely ain't kosher so I ask them to go play down by their parents.

Not even a minute later the mom comes down and asks me what the problem is...so I tell her "I have three kids of my own so I understand them. I simply asked your kids to move down the other end if they were going to scream and be loud, I'm trying to get some work done." She walks away. About one more minute goes by and now the husband waddles down and, with a chip on his fat shoulder, asks me "What's the problem here?" At this point I'm thinking to myself "You've got to be kidding me". So I tell him the same thing. He responds "This is a pool. It's loud." To which I reply "True but I'm trying to get work done and your children are screaming 4 feet in front of me. I simply asked them to move down by you if they were going to scream." He started to protest but I turned my head back to my work and ignored him. He stood there for another moment, then turned and stalked off. Douchebag. I'm thinking "WHAT...THE...F**K?" This couple's kids are screaming and running around and I simply asked them to play down by their parents and not by me. I don't get some people.

Tasty Licks - I have no idea how in God's name in New Jersey pizza chains like Papa Johns, Domino's, and Pizza Hut actually make money, let alone the owners not be run out of town on a rail (more of this in a moment). It baffles me why anyone would want to eat ketchup-on-cardboard when we've got the best freakin' pizza in the country here! Of course, a sure way to start a lively argument in Joisey is to claim one local pizza joint has better pizza than another. So let's start an argument. Feel free to tell me I know nothing about pizza. I'm no food critic but I know of two pretty damn good places in the area and I don't give a s**t you if you think they suck- I like them...but am always willing to try new ones. My local favs are Conte's Pizza on Witherspoon St in Princeton. Great atmosphere and people watching. Gotta love that they serve pitchers of beer too. But going there I get the feeling the place used to be a VFW or Elks hall. It has that big, open feeling to it...but I like it. Definitely old school. Try the garlic pizza.

Another great, very local place is Al Jon's Pizza & Sub Shop in Princeton Junction on 571 not too far from the train station. It's in a 1960-70's strip mall, has wonderfully awful interior decorating, lots of pictures and posters of Italy and futball teams. There's usually a soccer game on TV with the announcer screaming in Italian which blends in perfectly with the kitchen and counter staff yelling at each other in Italian...now THAT'S a pizza joint.

So about being ridden out of town on a rail - used to be done, literally, in Colonial times to those who had garnered the displeasure of the community. Often after being tarred and feather. Not a bad idea... entertainment for the whole family!

WWWD? My 3 boys have all been involved in Scouting; the youngest two still are while my oldest simply spends too much time at swim practice to do much else. Nevertheless, I'm hopeful that at least one of the two will make it to Eagle Scout. That's no small feat. Only about 2% of all Boy Scouts achieve that rank. Before chuckling and thinking "That's for geeks and nerds", consider this - upon attaining that lofty height a young man joins an elite brotherhood with such illustrious members as: Hank Aaron, Neil Armstrong, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Bradley, Stephen Breyer (U.S. Supreme Court Justice), Gerald Ford, Robert Gates (Secretary of Defense), Dick Gephardt, William Hanna (think Hanna-Barbera cartoons), Henry Paulson, Ross Perot, Frederick Reines (Nobel Prize winner in Physics), Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs), Donald Rumsfeld, Harrison Salisburyn (Pulitzer Prize winner), Steven Spielberg, Sam Walton, Gen. William Westmoreland and about a jillion (actually about 2 million) other generals, admirals, astronauts, members of Congress, CEOs and other leaders in their field not to mention at least 7 Medal of Honor recipients.

It's about the only accomplishment attained in high school that a man carries forward on his resume for the remainder of his life, short of becoming an Olympian before turning 18. It carries certain privileges (and expectations) later in life - Eagle Scouts who enlist in the Armed Forces may receive advanced rank; having it on your resume almost always results in an automatic job interview if the company CEO is an Eagle Scout (and a lot of them are); The National Eagle Scout Association is comprised of men who earned the rank and is a chance to rub elbows on equal footing with government and business leaders from across the nation. Not only am I convinced it portends potential greatness in a young man, it can also open doors.

I myself have been involved in the organization as a Cub Scout and Webelo although I never made it to Boy Scouts. Most importantly I've been a Cub Scout Den Leader for a few years and have found - like many things - I've gotten far more out of it than I have put in (which is actually quite a bit). It's a great chance to spend time with your son actually doing things where you both learn something about the world around you, yourself and each other. As a Den Leader, I've been able to be a positive male influence (I hope) to boys who's father wasn't around. It's been a chance to take boys out from in front of the TV, video games and computer, instead introducing a whole new generation to the outdoors, sports, museums, tools, fishing, BB guns, and community service - by the way, you have no idea just how BIG of a deal BB guns are to a bunch of 8-12 year old boys until you get them on the range at Scout camp. It's huge. No - it's beyond huge. It's Nirvana.

So I encourage you to get your son (and yourself) involved in Scouting. Visit the Boy Scouts of America website, click on "Find Your Local Council" along the top, and enter your zip code. I know the day one, or both, of my Scouts becomes an Eagle Scout will be one of the proudest in my life.