Empty Notebook

After chatting with my buddy… I’m curious… why in society are all of the screw-ups of the world getting bailed out? Why are the people that screw-up rewarded for it in a seemingly endless cycle, when many of the hard workers bust their asses without getting anything for it, other than some ulcers and half-hearted thank you? Am I just noticing this now, or is this a fairly new trend now that we’re in a world where youth games have no winners or losers, and college grads think they should be handed a house, a Lexus and keys to the private country club because they graduated?

Then there’s the housing market crisis, that has screw-ups on both sides; the owners that couldn’t afford what they were buying and the greedy filthy bankers that were happy to give out 100%, $400,000 mortgages to people.

So where’s my slice of the pie? What do I get for being a good homeowner and paying the bank each month, as I agreed in my contract? Why do I have to struggle with my fiancee to figure out how to finance a wedding, a new car, etc. etc. etc. down the road, when lots of people are going to be bailed out of their poor decision?

Yes I know that the country can’t go into a depression, and this bailout is necessary, but I think it’s just horribly unfair to those of us that pay like we should, budget our money, save some for the future and try to do things right. What do we get? When are we rewarded?

I just heard on the Nightly News that many boys that are less qualified than their female counterparts stand a better chance of getting into many colleges, because the colleges are trying to keep the male / female ratio at 50/50.  The reason, is the MOST asinine I’ve heard. Administrators claim that a 60/40 split, female to male will keep many male students away, if they see that ratio.

I call B.S.

What guy wouldn’t want to go to a college that has more women than men, provided that it’s a good school with the program they want?

I remember reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley in high school. I think I picked it up because I was really into The Doors back then, and I read that they had chosen the band name after reading a quote by Huxley about The Doors of Perception. How I got there doesn’t really matter, what matters is that over the last ten years, the United States is getting closer and closer to the science fiction of Brave New World and 1984. Sure, we’re not all eating our Soma yet, but this new National ID Card is another step in the direction of government watching our every move.

It’s all in the interest of security right?

Wrong. I don’t know about anyone else, but the thought of the government having the largest database of names and address in the United States is scary. To top that off, local governments will keep copies of a whole bunch of your personal information.

Does that not sound like a wonderful place for hackers to have some fun?

I’ve already seen what happens when a mail merge goes back for a spam mail company. I had flyers with my name mailed to other addresses, while I was getting wrong names to my address. That was from an operator error. Lovely, right? What happens when some hackers decide to have some fun with the system?

All of this “security” is only good for the general population. It’s like securing a home. I can do everything in my power to secure it, alarms, locks, solid doors, etc. That keeps out or deters a ton of potential burglars, but a professional is going to get in and out if they want to get in and out.  The same goes for hacking.

And what about privacy you say? As Wired.com points out, the 162 page document doesn’t say a whole lot about it. States are free to pull down your information as they see fit. I guess we’re supposed to be happy that the “Real ID” doesn’t have an RFID chip in it? Maybe the government will figure out they can make a few pennies by selling our names to junk mail companies and solicters?

In reality, I know this probably won’t change my life on a daily basis. And from a technical standpoint, a lot of it makes sense. Warehoused data is a good thing, and Google probably already knows way more about me than the U.S. Government ever will, but where is the comment sense?

A review of the 2007 New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Exercise more / eat right: I started off strong and crapped out about halfway through. It’s something that is going to stay on this list for a long time. I’ve struggled most of my life with this stuff, but I’m staying positive and I’m going to make a better effort in 2008. Specifically I’m going to exercise more and overall eat less.

2. Clean out the house: Talk about making a huge dent in the project. This can fall into an ongoing list now, as there’s always a little bit of cleanup to do, but overall I’d say my goal was achieved. The paperwork is much more organized now, the closets are cleaned out, and there is generally less clutter around the house.

3. Grow ScalpEm.com’s writing base and readership: Well, I grew the readership and the advertising base, but I’ve still had no luck growing my contributors in the sense of contributing articles. However, I did get more contributions in the comments section, which means A) there are more readers and B) they are contributing that way. Mission accomplished.

So where do I head from here? 2008 New Year’s Resolutions

1. Healthy Living: It remains #1 on my list for 2008. Specifically, I’m going to exercise at least 3 times per week for 30 minutes. Eat a vegetable at least 5 times per week, and I’m going to work on ways to relieve stress, either through Zen meditation, sports… whatever works.

2. Invest some money. By the end of the year I would like to invest in either a mutual fund, an IRA (which would be a mutual fund) or a combination of both. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to save, nor am I sure what the best combination of tax benefits and flexibility of getting the money is at the moment, but I have the early part of 2008 to figure that out.

3. Push ScalpEm.com into the Top 100,000 Alexa Websites: To do this, my writing is going to have to be much, much better. Specifically, I’m going to stick to a regular posting schedule with regular features. I’m also opening a message board at TailgatingForNoReason.com.

This popped up in my iGoogle page… pretty much right on, imho.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. - Arthur Schopenhauer

Woohoo!!! ::happydance::

It’s been a rough year for my softball team and me. Between a wrist injury in the first half of the season and a bum knee for the last 4 games, I’m happy that the season will be over after tonight’s game. Plus it will free up my weeknights for movies, hanging out, or whatever.

In other news, my Mets are 5 games up on the Atlanta Braves now. Hopefully they will continue to extend that lead.

I watched this video this morning while I was eating my Cheerios… and I was amazed at the fact that it holds up 16 years after its release. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death. It delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal, though … betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope.” - Stephen Deitz.

Yeah, I realize it’s a dark and sad quote, but I thought it rang true. And personally, I think that the worst thing that can happen to a person, is to lose hope.

Loyal
Pronunciation: ‘loi(-&)l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French, from Old French leial, leel, from Latin legalis legal
1 : unswerving in allegiance: as a : faithful in allegiance to one’s lawful sovereign or government b : faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due c : faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product

I never realized, until recently, how much I appreciate loyalty. Not blind loyalty mind you, but rational loyalty. Loyalty that does its research and prepares its argument. Loyalty that has your back. The even more interesting thing about loyalty, is that sometimes you get it from the places you least expect.

Every now and then, life throws me a nifty little curveball.  Granted, I couldn’t ever hit one of those very well, but the kind that life throws don’t need to be hit.  Sometimes they are there just to be appreciated.  I got one of those this weekend, and it was a much appreciated one.

Other than that it’s the same old stuff, darts, bowling and softball. All in all, a good weekend. And I’m hoping to kick the scale’s rear end again tomorrow morning.