Rowing, Financial Literacy, and Sunglasses

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.

I can't rant

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.

Next

Yet another posting and a big thanks to Princeton Scoop (www.princetonscoop.com) for featuring me on their most excellent social media marketing website/blog/Twitter pages. If you're anywhere in the Central Jersey area, I highly recommend checking them out for "...the latest deals, steals, events and happenings..." Your significant other will probably like it even more.

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

The Competitor - Really interesting article on LiveScience this week about elite athletes and the question of where enhancement (chemical, surgical, training or genetic) crosses the line and what is the difference from the genetic advantage they have over the average human - or as the article states "All top athletes, after all, have an advantage over non-athletes. They're bigger, stronger or faster. That's why they are athletes."

One question asked and a good one if you really think about it is "What's the difference between an athlete having LASIK surgery to improve his or her vision and some other surgical or chemical enhancement?" I'm not saying I'm in favor of athletes using steroids but just pointing out that there is not always a bright line to cross; more often there are grey areas.

Nor do I think that all elite athletes use performance-enhancing drugs. As Deep Throat told Woodward and Bernstein "Follow the money". I am fortunate to have a number of good friends that were Olympic athletes, some of them Gold Medalists, but not in a high-profile sport. As a result none of them have ever gotten rich from their athletic success. I can also tell you that I am completely confident in their never having used performance-enhancing drugs. Why? Because I've flat-out asked them and the extent of our friendship is such that they would tell me the truth. So if you're not in a sport that can make you rich, the temptation to use performance-enhancing drug is greatly diminished.

Long story short - an article worth reading and thinking about.

Mr. Muscle - Take a look back at my Nov 7 posting and boy did I hit the nail on the head regarding the misuse of Body Mass Index (BMI). According to a news article, at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, students with a BMI over 30 ("obese") must take and pass a fitness course to receive their degrees. This kind of stuff scares me, using a 150-year-old method developed to describe populations as a measure for individuals. As a former college athlete I'm all for fitness and continue to workout regularly, but using the BMI is just plain misguided as it is well-documented that athletes often have a BMI over 30 due to carrying more muscle mass than the average person. The problem with BMI is that it doesn't take into account what makes up a person's weight - muscle or fat. I can't fathom how James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln's department of health, physical education and recreation, doesn't know or take this into account. Instead they should be using a person's bodyfat percentage as a better measure of whether they are overweight or not.

While not a national powerhouse in any sports, I'd like to see how the university handles telling the football players (who most likely have a BMI over 30) they need to take a fitness course to learn about the benefits of walking and weightlifting.

Your Ride - I'm starting to be a regular Carnac as I refer back to yet another seemingly prescient post, this time from Nov 2 when I gave Ford kudos for high reliability marks from Consumer Reports. Seems like this American icon has done it again with The Ford Fusion being named the Motor Trend Car of the Year. Another good reason to Buy American.

Oil Changes and the Internet

The first noticeable change to my blog is renaming the personal appearance section (formerly called "Black Socks"). This was a sensitive matter as I realized the appearance of the appearance section couldn't be subject to scrutiny. So with great fanfare I gave it the more appropriate moniker "Black Socks & Flip-Flops". Whew. I feel better already now that the critical eyes of the fashionistas are off me.

I'm also having a little trouble with the Eye Candy section where my goal is to profile attractive women who are also successful in their endeavors whatever they may be. Thus you won't see the nameless pin-up girl of the week. Don't get me wrong - the nameless pin-up girls are certainly eye candy but I'm trying to maintain somewhat higher standards as I make an effort to not succumb to cheap and tawdry tricks by posting pics like this:
Now aren't you glad this is a class act?

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

The Competitor - Hopefully you've had a chance to check out Forbes' list of the World's Most Powerful People. "What," do you ask "does this have to do with sports?" Well, there is also a list of The Seven Most Powerful People in Sports as picked by Lance Armstrong. Generally I would agree with most of the selections on the list except that it's a bit US-centric. Notably missing is FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. While I'm all for America being on top, I'm not quite sure Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL belongs on the list over the President of FIFA. If the list was entitled The Most Powerful People in AMERICAN Sports then I'd agree. Whether as Americans we like to acknowledge it or not, football (aka soccer) and not American football, is the world's most popular sport. Thus I'd tend to give the nod to Blatter over Goodell. You might then ask "Why is David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA on the list?" I'll tell you why - basketball is an Olympic Sport, American football isn't. Being an Olympic sport means that it's widely played around the world and has an international governing body.

Your Ride - It's been a quite a few years since I changed the oil in one of my cars myself but I did it the other day when, after checking the oil and finding it low and dirty, decided to undertake that ritual of manhood once again. However this time around I had some helpers in my 7 and 10 year old sons while my oldest was at swim practice. I figured it was an easy way to save a few bucks and spend time with my kids while teaching them something useful.

Stopping in at Advance Auto Parts, I picked up a great package deal the store was running - 5 quarts of Pennzoil and a Purolator oil filter for $15.99. I also grabbed a set of three nesting funnels for about $2.40 and a Blitz Drip Pan for $8.99. My 10 year old had fun learning how to look up our car in the filter catalog by year, make and model and then find the correct filter on the shelf. Off to home we went.

Both boys were quite excited to help me - they liked the "mystery" of what makes the minivan go (yes, we have a minivan - a necessity with 3 kids not to mention I can haul a sh*tload of stuff including a full-sized sheet of plywood or drywall when the back seats are out). Plus what kid would pass up the chance to get dirty?

One thing I have learned since I was a teenager working on my car - I now wear AGS Nitrile Gloves to keep my hands clean and it seems most professional mechanics do too these days. First thing I showed the boys was how to check the oil so they could see it was a bit low and dirty. Then I jacked the car up with my floor jack (setting jack stands and wheel chocks for safety) and positioned the drip pan correctly (the first time I ever changed oil when I was a teen, I put the pan directly under the drain plug, not thinking that the oil doesn't run straight down due to hydraulic head - and watched as the oil overshot the drip pan all over the driveway). I managed to get the plug out without making a mess and drained the dirty oil out of the oil pan and reinstalled the drain plug.

Next the filter came off - if you've never done this before remember to drain the oil pan first before removing the oil filter!! Also make sure you place your drip pan under the filter when you take it off since it'll have plenty of oil in it. Even so, I managed to make a mess when the oil filter slipped out of my hands. Before installing the new oil filter, I dipped my finger into some of the new oil and lubricated the rubber gasket on the filter to ensure a tight seal. Now I don't know if this is required but my father taught me to do that years ago so I still do it. Makes sense to me.

Oil drained and new filter in place, we lowered the van back down and poured in the new oil. Then I had the boys recheck the oil with the dipstick while my 10 year old ran around yelling "Think with your dipstick Jimmy!" blissfully unaware of the double entendre in the Castrol ad (watch it here). They thought this was pretty cool - full and clean and they had a hand in doing it. Finally, we spread some cat litter on the oil that spilled when I dropped the filter. All told it took about 45 minutes not counting time at the store. The best part was saving a few bucks while spending time with my kids.


Greenbacks - Well, not sure if the following story is technically a Greenbacks story but since it deals with business (and the Internet too) I'll keep it here. Anyway, a good read to remind you to never take lightly new trends when it comes to your business strategy since you never know where they will lead. In short the article discusses how newspapers, the music industry, television and even Microsoft completely overlooked the power of the Internet to transform business and the world. I remember in business school one professor lecturing about how it was much easier for a business to spend a small amount of money to investigate and keep up with a potential new trend and then abandon it if it goes nowhere as opposed to ignoring the trend and they having to play catch-up if it took off. I definitely agree.


WWWD? - If you and your family find it hard to keep track of everything everyone does and every place everyone is supposed to be, or even what night of the week you need to put the trash out, then you REALLY need to check out www.cozi.com. We use it to manage our family and it's a life saver. It's a web-based calendar you can access from anywhere (including your web-enabled phone). It can be set up to send text reminders of appointments, kids practice, when to put out the garbage - just about anything you'd put on a calendar. Best of all in today's economy - IT'S FREE! You can create profiles for all the members of your family (no personal info needed - you can even call your kids Kid-1, Kid-2, and Kid-3 if you want. Reminders can be sent to specific family members' phone or email or to the whole family if you want. You can also create shopping lists, a general To-Do list, add pics and keep a family journal. The Cozi calendar can also be synched up with Outlook. You definitely need to check it out.

Eye Candy - OK. So far I've managed to avoid being trashy by just posting pics like this:

At the same time, you won't see pics like this either...brace yourself...

Like I said earlier....nothing but class.

Stuff Every Guy Needs to Know 2.0

So this my second posting for The Balanced Guy. In my first installment, there was an entry for every one of the broad topics listed below; I wanted to give you a taste of what to expect as we saunter down the path. So, sauntering along and keeping your valuable time in mind, I'm going to post more often but just covering a few of the topics in any given day - the ones in red are covered this time around. Most likely it will be because I've run across something interesting or an idea hits me at 3 AM.

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

The Competitor - If you golf, most likely you've got a Big Bertha Diablo driver or some similar high-tech alloy stick in your golf bag. Here's something you might not know. The Thumper, a persimmon driver (yes! a wood made of REAL wood!), made by Louisville Golf, when tested by Iron Byron, consistently out-drives a Big Bertha driver. I came across this somewhat startling fact in a really interesting book called A Splintered History of Wood by Spike Carlsen. At $369.99 the Thumper is not cheap but right in the price range of most high-tech drivers. Made of gorgeous, polished persimmon it's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. And just imagine as the chuckles you hear when you pull it out of your bag turn into "holy sh*t" when you out-drive everyone else from the tee box.







Tasty Licks - I mentioned it above so I'll give it a few more props here. If you're a reader or even if you're not, I highly recommend picking up A Splintered History of Wood (Harper Collins Publishers, 2009). I know, I know, it sounds incredibly boring but I swear to you it's not - well at least it wasn't for me. Hey, after reading a few excerpts to them, even my wife and kids thought it was pretty neat. It covers, well, the history of wood and it's many uses by man from furniture, to sports, musical instruments, houses, weapons & war, and many, many other uses. How about belt sander races? Or baseball bats from the well-known Louisville Slugger to the newcomer on the scene with its maple bats, MaxBats? Or maybe you want a conversation piece desk made from some seriously old wood? Check out AncientWood and it's 50,000 year old logs from New Zealand.






WWWD? - If you're like me, nothing makes you feel better than seeing your children happy. Yesterday, I spent a relatively short period of time raking leaves into a huge pile for my kids before they got home from school. I knew they had been wanting to jump in leaves since this is their first fall in the northeast since growing up in Florida. I seriously underestimated how much fun they were going to get out of it. Total cost? $0.00 You know the "priceless" tv ads from Mastercard? Well this was one of those moments.









Black Socks - Look, if you want to save a bit of money and aren't obsessive about having perfect hair, buy a set of Wahl clippers. And I seriously mean that brand name. Most others I've tried just don't cut it (pun intended) - although, not being a hair care professional, no doubt there are other brands that work well too; I've just not found them. For about $30 at Walmart (or a little more if you want the deluxe set) you can get yourself an at home hair care kit that'll last for years. I bought one about 8 years ago and have literally saved thousands of dollars in hair cuts for myself and three boys.

Here's the conservative math. Assume a once-a-month $12 cut at one of the chain hair cutting places or your local barber shop. So for my family that's $48 a month x 12 months x 8 years = $4,608. Knock that down to every 2 months and it's still $2,304. Bump the price up a bit and you're still talking about $5,000. How about if you pay $30/month just for yourself? $30 x 12 months = $360 year x 8 years = $2,880. Back when I bought my clippers I think I paid a little over $20 for the kit. Probably one of the best returns on investment I've ever made. With a little practice you can give your kids (probably just your boys) and yourself a decent haircut. If nothing else, you can give yourself a touch-up between visits to the barber and maybe cut your visits in half.

Honeydew - Have you ever seen a room that was painted a fairly vibrant color and wondered "how in the hell did they get such a straight line along the ceiling and trimwork?" Chances are if you use masking tape or one of those funky edging pad things you've wound up with a cut line that looks like it was painted by a blind monkey. The paint often bleeds under the tape or the wheels of the pad thingy get paint on them and make a nice track along the ceiling. I'll let you in on a secret I learned when I was working as a construction superintendent - professional painters don't use tape or special gadgets; instead all they use is a paint brush. Albeit a special brush and they don't use cheap ones but the results you get are worth the small extra amount you pay and the amount of time saved is quite a bit. If you've ever noticed those funny-looking angled brushes when you're at the hardware store, that's the secret.

Called a cut brush, it makes all the difference in the world. Most recently, I've been buying brushes made by Purdy, usually their 2 1/2" Nylox Dale; they call it an angular trim brush. I also prefer a brush with a long, wooden handle. Even though you mostly hold the ferrule (the metal part around the bristles) the long handle rests against your hand and helps to steady the brush. I also highly recommend you buy one of the better brushes regardless of the brand (Purdy makes several lines. The one I buy is just below their top-shelf line). And the extra cost is not really that much, maybe double the price: $14 or so instead of $7 or $8...but well worth the few extra bucks with respect to the quality of finish you get.

So to paint a straight edge - First thing. Don't drink a lot the night before since you'll need a steady hand. Second. You have to realize that you are pulling a line, not painting it. What I mean is that you pull your whole arm toward yourself instead of using your wrist. If you use your wrist you'll paint an arc not a line. Bend your wrist back-and-forth and you'll see what I mean.

Next. Wet the brush with water, shake out the excess and using your hand, shape the bristles into a razor edge. Now comes the counter-intuitive part. You have to load the brush edge with paint, even more than you think. Here's the reason why - you can't paint a sharp line with a dry brush because it will be streaky. You want to be able to lay all the paint down you need for a section of line in one pass, which is usually about 8" or 9" before you'll need to reload the brush. But be careful! Don't dip your brush any more than 1/4" or so into the paint.

Now comes time to put paint on the wall. But don't put the brush right to the line you want to paint! Instead, start below the edge and pull up to it at gradual angle then along the edge you want to paint. Once you see the paint starting to fade out it's time to reload. Take your time, don't rush it. Sometimes I'll stick out my pinky like a little old lady drinking tea and use it to steady my hand as I pull the paint line.

It takes some practice but the final results are worth it. The lines are sharper and it saves a lot of set up and clean up time (no need to put up or pull off tape!)

Stuff Every Guy Needs to Know

OK, I recently noticed that there are lots...and lots...and lots of magazines, websites, TV shows and books ad nauseum for guys about nearly every topic a guy could ask for but they're all mostly very narrowly focused and offer a bewildering amount information about a single subject that leave most guys' heads spinning.

Don't get me wrong - magazines like Outside, Sports Illustrated, Men's Fitness, Motor Trend, Field & Stream, Fine Woodworking, GQ, Money, Rolling Stone and Maxim offer a wealth of great information, articles, and interviews about (respectively) the outdoors, sports, fitness, cars, hunting, woodworking, fashion, money and wine, women & song. In short, just about all the important stuff in a man's life.

But unless you have more money than you know what to do with (to buy all the gadgets and clothes) and all the time in the world (to travel to remote places so you can harvest exotic lumber to then craft a piece of custom furniture - all while looking damn good, meeting exotic beauties and beating the locals at their own sport), I personally find they can be almost frustrating to read (not to mention taking way too much time to read through all of them).

I don't know about you but I'm no longer single and 25 with ample discretionary income and free time. Instead, I'm 42, married to a wonderful woman and we have three boys - ergo I have no spare time or money (each of which seems to grow smaller all the time). But I'm not dead and I still like to know about sports, travel, cool gadgets and tools, keeping fit and eye candy.

At the same time, my time is short and my wallet is light. I want to do fun things with my kids, hopefully teach them a thing or two along the way, keep my bills low and my sense of personal pride high by fixing things around my house myself, be up-to-speed on the most recent sports scores and news, all while maintaining a great relationship with my better half. So that's what this blog is going to be about - being the Balanced Guy. Don't look for in-depth analysis of stuff here; that's what the links will be for - so you can drill down to the details. But when you've only got 20 min or less, hopefully you'll find the basics you need so that you don't look like a total dufus at the water cooler.

I'm going to try to provide information and links in a number of broad categories I've ever-so-cleverly named that most guys should find interesting, useful, humorous or they'll think are complete crap...but one man's trash is another man's treasure.

1. The Competitor - Sports
2. Mr. Muscle - Fitness
   
3. Your Ride- Cars
4. Greenbacks - Career/Money/Finance
5. Toys - Gadgets (i.e. boys toys)
6. Tasty Licks- Music
7. Arguing - Politics
8. The Great Outdoors - hunting, camping, extreme sports
   
9. WWWD? (What Would Ward Do?...think about it, it'll come to you) - Family
10. Black Socks - Personal Appearance
    
11. Honeydew - Home Improvement/Tools
12. The Wide World - Travel/Vacation
13. Eye Candy (self-explanatory. What blog for guys would be complete without talking about attractive women?
    

OK. So that's a lucky 13 categories. I'll pretend I'm a lawyer and provide a small disclaimer which holds no real sway whatsoever and state that I reserve the right to add, subtract or blatantly ignore any and all of these categories whenever I damn well feel like it. Another disclaimer - I'm not an expert in any of these categories (at least not as far as I know). I'm a regular guy like you and I'm providing my editorial comments, thoughts and personal experiences along with links I find interesting. More-than-likely some of you will know a sh*tload more about some of these topics than I do and will post about how frickin' stupid my comments were. C'est la vie. As noted above, I don't claim to be an expert. This ain't meant to be an exhaustive list of stuff either, so if you wonder why "such and such" isn't here and want to complain, then go find your mother. However I do welcome suggestions.

And awaaaayyyy we go!

The Competitor - OK so unless you grew up under a rock or in East Ja'bhip you know there's this small thing going on this week called the World Series. As I write this the Yankees are up 3 games to 2 over the Phillies, the defending World Champions. The boys in pinstripes have a chance tomorrow to bring home their 27th title. Being that I live in Central NJ about halfway between NYC and Philly it seems as though a virtual civil war is happening around me. Interesting in that Sunday, the Eagles beat the snot out of the Giants 40-17. Phillies fans can only hope their team can do the same to the Yankees. While there is a Wide World of Sports going on out there, this time of year when the Boys of Summer bring it to a close, the US stops and all else seems to fade away. Oh yeah, the Florida Gators maintained their #1 ranking in college football by beating the Georgia Bulldogs 41-17 on Halloween.

Mr. Muscle - I swear to God I woke up sore this morning after raking leaves yesterday! Look, I'm not claiming to be in the same shape I was in when I was varsity athlete in college but I try to maintain a decent level of fitness. All that twisting and a sore mid-section reminded me I need to do more to improve my core strength. Men's Fitness has a number of core workouts designed to do just that.

Your Ride - I was really surprised (pleasantly) to read about Ford making a surprisingly good showing in a recent Consumer Reports reliability rating. Not only that, but they also posted a billion dollar quarterly profit (yes, that's billion with a "b"). Hot damn! I'm glad to see an American auto company doing so well especially after they turned down bailout money last year. And speaking of Ford and AWESOME cars, I saw a Ford GT roar past me down the highway last week. My kids asked me "Dad, WHAT was THAT??!!" That was the first time I'd ever seen one in person and it was an impressive sight.

Greenbacks - What a disaster the past couple of years have been. And I know from personal experience having worked for a luxury homebuilding company in Florida for most of the past decade. As a starting point, it'd be hard to recommend a much better economic/financial newsletter than John Mauldin's "Thoughts from the Frontline". I've been reading it for a couple of years now and find his insights and sharing of other experts thoughts to be very helpful and informative. His viewpoint is very matter-of-fact, well-informed and doesn't blow sunshine up your rear but at the same time he sees the silver lining. On other fronts, the economy appears to be making its way towards recovery in jerks and fits but it seems it's two steps forward, one step back most of the time. No small consolation if you're out of work or struggling to make ends meet. I've been there myself having found myself in and out of work after several layoffs between 2006 and 2008.

You can also save more of your greenbacks by learning to do a few more things around the house yourself. Most home repair is a combination of common sense, having a few basic tools and a willingness to screw it up and learn as you go along. We'll talk more about this in the Honeydew section. I was fortunate to have grown up with a father who was a pretty decent DIY guy and have been able to take what he taught me, combined with knowledge I've gained working in real estate development and construction to become a fairly competent handyman. Once you have a little knowledge and confidence you'll be more willing to try the next project.

Toys - Wow. Where to start? What's the difference between what I'll call toys and what others call tools. So for the purposes of this blog, "toys" are anything that AREN'T tools. Thus, toys include TV's, motorcycles, GPS, boats, fishing equipment, the ubiquitous "gear", electronic gadgets in general and all the other absolute necessities in a man's life your significant other hates you spending money on. I'll admit that I recently haven't bought any toys but the last time I did, I got a GREAT deal on a Sherwood tuner/amplifier at a pawn shop! If you haven't ever tried it, I highly recommend hopping in your Ford GT and taking a trip to your local pawn broker. When the going gets tough, one of the first things people do is sell their toys...which you can then pick up for a fraction of the retail price. The History Channel has a cool new show called Pawn Stars which follows the daily life of a pawn shop owner in Vegas....

Tasty Licks - I can't claim to be a musician by any stretch although I can kinda, sorta pick out a few songs on my Yamaha acoustic guitar. Just don't ask me to sing. Remember 4th grade choir that everyone makes? Guess who didn't make it. So what does Rolling Stone have happening this week? The annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions have been happening with Metallica, Run-DMC and Jeff Beck leading the charge this year. As far as new music goes, check out The Incident, the new CD from Porcupine Tree. To me, it sounds a like U2 meets Pink Floyd with a bit of industrial thrown in for good measure. Speaking of U2, a deluxe reissue of The Unforgettable Fire just came out. So if you haven't yet updated that old cassette version with a digital one, now is the time.

Arguing - I'm going to avoid taking a seat on either side of the aisle in this blog. Instead I'll just try and point you to interesting or important political developments. Today NJ and VA are voting for governor in tightly contested races. John Corzine (D) and Chris Christie (R) in Joisey and R. Creigh Deeds (D) and Bob McDonnell (R) in Virginia. Many are considering the results either a reconfirmation of or revolt against Obama's win last year.

I don't know about you but whatever side of the aisle you reside, I'm getting more than tired of the constant bickering, finger-pointing, extremism, and general lack of anything happening except obstructing legitimate cooperation between the major parties. Here's an interesting article along those lines by John Avlon. If you have an interest in geopolitical issues, Stratfor is a great site. While most of it is only accessible via a subscription, there are some free features - just scroll down along the lefthand side. I particularly like George Friedman on Geopolitics. Really helps to understand a lot of the issues you hear about in the news like Iran, Russia, Afghanistan and the like.

The Great Outdoors - In this economic climate, for many of us, family vacations to exotic locations or even not-so-exotic are a thing of the past. If you have never taken your kids camping or have never even been yourself, now is a great time to start! Of all our family trips, our three boys probably love camping the most, which is fine by me since it's the cheapest option short of day trips. What young boy doesn't love sleeping in a tent, running around in the woods, fishing and sitting by a campfire?

There's not even a need to buy a bunch of gear. There's a good chance a family member or friend has camping gear you can borrow or REI also rents camping gear. The fall is a great time of year to camp now that the bugs are mostly gone, it's still warm enough up north and it's cooled down enough in the south. Most of your campgrounds run under $30 a night with federal, state and local gov't ones even cheaper. Reserve America is a great website where you can find campgrounds, reviews and even book a campsite online.

My main recommendation is that you practice setting up the tent at home prior to arriving at your campsite for two reasons: 1) despite your best planning, it might be dark when you arrive or even possibly raining and if you've never set up your tent before, doing it in the dark, in the rain is NOT something you want to do; and 2) you don't want to look like a complete camping neophyte when you get there. C'mon! We're guys and this stuff is supposed to be in our blood! Also make sure you have plenty of healthy food for your kids and yourself. Running around in the great outdoors definitely builds an appetite. Finally, a little research ahead of time regarding what activities, trails, etc are available in the area make for a happier adventure. Your kids will be a lot more excited about it if you let them know what to expect.

WWWD - What Would Ward Do? If you haven't puzzled it out by now, it's a reference to that iconic TV father, Ward Cleaver. This section cuts a pretty broad swath, encompassing kids, romance and family life in general. Everyone has their own parenting and relationship styles as well as family traditions and cultural influences, so I'm certainly not going to tell you that my way is the best way. It's just what works for me...and sometimes that doesn't work.

We've recently decided that while we are probably stricter than many parents in some regards with respect to manners, doing chores, screen time and the like, we might need to go a bit more old school in some ways. I'm a firm believer that we've come into an era where everyone expects safety, security and success in everything they encounter and do. Unfortunately life often has other plans for us. When we overly protect our children and ourselves from the realities of the world, the shock is even harder when it does hit...and it's not "if", it's "when". Interesting article about this perspective from Ruben Navarrette Jr. using the movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. It's gotten mixed reviews, especially from parents that it's too violent, sad, and otherwise not a kids movie. It's rare that a movie gets higher ratings from the critics than viewers. Disclaimer - I've not yet seen it.

Black Socks - Personal appearance. Well, admittedly after moving back to NJ after a number of years away, much of it spent in southwest Florida, I find my perspective a bit skewed in this area. Except for lawyers and bankers, pretty much no one in FL ever wore a suit to work, let alone a tie. In fact, I've got a great collection of Hawaii shirts looking for a new home. Back in the northeast, everyday is a suit-and-tie day. I'm seriously not a fashionista and tend to stick to classic styles that last until the article of clothing in question falls apart. Again, given today's economy I guess this isn't a bad way to go.

OK. Off the beaten style path and into the realm of "you're kidding me". I found this question hilarious and the reply to be pretty sensible in a funny way. Click through to read about this guy's, ahem, problem.

I'll be honest and say that I'm gonna have to dig a bit more into the appearance area before I can offer anything of substance.

Honeydew - Moving from the world of style into an area I feel pretty confident about. This is one place you can kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. You get to beat your chest with pride in having done it yourself (and having your significant other look at you with admiration) as well as keeping a few more George's in your wallet.

I recently listened in disbelief as a friend told me about having to hire a handyman to the tune of $1600 to remove her old kitchen countertops in her house while new ones were being measured, temporarily reinstalling the old ones, then having him come back to install the new ones and hook up the new sink. Mind you, this price doesn't include the countertops! All this because her husband is not handy....at all. By the way, ALWAYS pay to have the countertop company measure for new ones unless you are supremely confident in your ability to do so accurately. If they mess up the measurements, they pay to make it right. If you mess up the measurements, you get to pay for a second set of countertops. It usually costs $100 or so to have them do the measurements.

Installing countertops is not that difficult to do....everyone just thinks it is...and you can save yourself a wad of cash in the meantime even if you have to buy some of the tools needed.

If you are lacking in basic tools, you should make a trip to your local home center or hardware store. The author of the article states the list should cost about $200 but I would probably up that to $300 (less a cordless drill). I agree with him in saying that you should NEVER buy the cheapest tool available. Instead, buy the best you can afford. Tools are something you'll never throw away, so since you'll have them practically forever, buy quality. I've got tools handed down to me from my grandfather through my father that are just as good today as they were 60 years ago. I would disagree with the article (not sure when it was written) on one thing - an electric drill. He states that a plug-in is better than a cordless because it provides more power and that cordless batteries don't last very long. True...a few years back. Today's cordless drills will give you all the power you need for most home repairs and the batteries have a long life before you have to recharge them. Plus most come with two batteries so you can charge one while you use the other. I definitely recommend you buy nothing less than an 18-volt, variable speed drill as eventually you'd otherwise be stymied by a lack of power for some project at some point.

I highly recommend purchasing Home Depot's book Home Improvement 1-2-3 or Lowes Complete Home Improvement and Repair as they cover most home repair projects in easy-to-follow graphics. Even with years of DIY experience I still pull out my copy every once in a while for a project I'm not familiar with and learn a better way of doing it than I originally had thought.

If you've got a leaking faucet like I recently had in the bathroom, the usual culprit is simply a worn washer. In my bathroom we have an older compression faucet (where the hot and cold are seperate handles). It's a pretty simple and cheap repair which took about 30 min total to gather tools, make the repair and put the tools away. Total cost? $1.98 for new washers. For more information on valves in general, this is a good article, especially since it explains how a beer tap works.

The Wide World - If you do have the inclination and wherewithal to travel this fall and are looking for a weekend getaway with the guys, check out the Beer Festival Calendar. Coming up in November there are festivals every weekend all over the US. The Winter Beer Festival in Philadelphia might have my name written on it.

Eye Candy - Finally we come to the part you've been waiting for. But honestly, if you're looking for cheap thrills, that kind of thing can be had all over the Net for free. This ain't that kind of place. Instead, I'm going to focus on women who are beautiful AND accomplished. OK. I'm guessing that most of you have at some point turned CNN on in the morning to watch the news. "Strictly for the news" you tell your significant other. Oh yeah, the fact that the anchor is Robin Meade has nothing to do with it, not to mention Jennifer Westhoven either. Robin currently has a NYT bestseller Morning Sunshine! How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It, Too.

I don't know about you, but there are a lot of very attractive women reporting the news these days. More of them next time around.


















Until next time, I'll leave you here looking for suggestions or questions I might be able to dig up the answer to.