Oh Brett Favre

Let the record officially state that I am not upset that Brett Favre is still playing football, or that he is playing for the Packer's second biggest rival (sorry kids, the Bears are still #1), although I suppose the Vikings are the biggest rival now.

I am more frustrated and ticked off at how the process went. If two years ago Brett Favre had told the Packers that he still wanted to play, I would have been fine. Sure I was getting sick of the 'I might retire after this year' shenanigans, but who wasn't? I would have been fine last year if he went to the Vikings or Bears or wherever. The Packers are a better team with Aaron Rodgers, I truly believe that. Brett Favre leaving was better for the Packers future because it finally allowed the team to move forward. I, like many people, am just sick of this 'will he or won't he' crap that happens EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

The part that bothers me is that I always thought Brett Favre was different. I didn't think that he was the prima donna. I believed that he didn't care about the records (at least not THAT much). I believed that he didn't like the attention. I believed that he was the kind of player that would go out and throw 4 touchdowns, 3 picks, and still have a PBR after the game just like one of the guys. I believed he wasn't New York City or LA, he was Green Bay. He was wranglers and John Deere. But it turns out I (and most Packer fans) were wrong. Brett Favre is no better than Terrell Owens, a player that wakes up every morning and thinks 'how can I get onto Sportscenter today?'

Perhaps the worst part about Brett Favre is that he has added to my already depleting stock of faith in athletes and other public figures. When I hear someone say something now that makes me think 'they are different,' I will question that thought even more. Barack Obama almost tricked me, but it turns out he isn't that different either (health care reform anyone?). Seems the further you get into the public eye, the more Hollywood you become.

I won't miss Brett Favre the person, but I will miss the fun that he was as a Packer, and going to the Vikings has sort of ruined those memories. Now when I see Brett Favre running around the Superdome field with his helmet above his head, I will think about these last few years, and not those 14 or so years of pure joy.

I could write for pages about this subject, but I am sick of it. And the sad thing is that I bet we are still discussing this NEXT summer when Brett hasn't decided if he will come back for the NEXT season.

Engagement Advice

So yesterday I found myself giving marriage (really engagement ) advice to someone. It should be said that I give advice on plenty of things that I am not an expert at. For example, I love to give advice on how to raise children despite not even being a father.

The person I was speaking with will be engaged for 3 years before she gets married. I believe that is way too long. To me, if you aren't excited to get married, why do it? Marriage is a choice, not a destination (perhaps a future post coming on that topic-- just for Shanna). People say they have to plan and get ready. I can promise you that you don't need three years; therefore, I assume that someone else is going on. There has to be a suspicion in your mind causing you to put things off that long.

Next, she said that she and her fiancee aren't going to have a combined checking account when they get married (in two years). This sets me off. You aren't roommates. You are husband and wife (or whatever combination you want). When you get married you are agreeing to be more than roommates, more than boyfriend girlfriend. You are agreeing to one life. This includes one checking account and one financial system. Katie and I differ a little on economic/financial approaches, but we still are taking the steps to get everything into one account. Like I told the student, if you cannot share a checking account how on earth do you plan on sharing a marriage?

This brings me to my point. I don't think enough couples plan a marriage, they focus more on planning weddings and honeymoons. Marriage is hard. Don't run and assume that I am saying that Katie and I are having problems, not true at all. But anyone who is married will acknowledge that marriage isn't easy. So when couples are engaged, you have to think past the wedding day. Think past the honeymoon. What is the financial plan? What happens when someone is sick? You are married now, things are going to be different.

This is true even when you live together ahead of time (a concept I am still very torn on). Things change when you are married regardless. So if you are engaged, or thinking of becoming engaged, you need to have those tough conversations that might seem extremely uncomfortable. No, not just sex. Things like finances, employment, in-laws, and other issues can be just as touchy.

Why we won't fix healthcare

Perhaps I am overly cynical, but I don't think the health care crisis will be solved anytime soon. We, as humans and Americans, aren't capable of this sort of change anymore. Sure that is cynical, but prove me wrong. The recession hit and we didn't change at all. The environment is disappearing right around our eyes, we don't care and instead spend more time and energy ignoring it. We have become too selfish to fix problems of this magnitude anymore because sometimes the issue doesn't impact us.

I don't think we are capable of this change because we won't have serious conversations. Race is a huge issue in our country, and we will never tackle it because we cannot discuss the issue. Health care is THE issue right now, but the real conversations haven't and won't happen.

The toughest conversation is to ask where the line is with health care. Let's say that we have universal health care. Everyone in the country now has access to health care. Where does that access stop? That is the question. If you are using a government funded insurance program, where does your access end?

Think of it this way, if you are using government-funded health care and you get cancer, do you get whatever treatment you want? If a child gets sick, do we exhaust any and all options (regardless of the cost) even if the conclusion is inevitable? Here is a scenario...

Lets say there is a four year old boy that is very sick. Doctors agree that this boy will never lead anything close to a normal life. Meanwhile, this child is at Children's Hospital running up a bill of $20,000 a day. The parents then stumble upon a new procedure that might extend the child's life a few years, but costs $250,000. They, the parents, aren't paying for it because their child is on state insurance (badger care). Does that make a difference?

I guess my issue is when do we say "that is ok as long as you are paying for it"? I am in favor of giving everyone in the country, and I wish the world, access to basic health care that meets certain standards. Right now, according to my wife (and her opinion matters more than most here), that isn't the case. But when I say basic health care, I am not sure where that ends. Getting really sick is terrible. People don't like making tough choices of when enough is enough, but eventually we have to.

Healthcare quickie

Here is my concern with healthcare reform. Well, first let me say I know that we need to reform the system. Healthcare has way too much waste within it. There are too many hands in too many cookie jars in healthcare. But that isn't my concern.

My concern is that we need to ensure people are given an incentive to be healthy. I don't want us (taxpayers or insurance payers) to continue to pay into a fund while 33% of people in this country are obese and don't seem to really mind. We suck down soda and eat fast food at INSANE rates. I want that to matter. I want that fixed. I want there to be an incentive to take good care of your body. Obviously the natural incentives (more energy, longer life expectancy...) aren't enough.

I don't want to come off as some skinny kid pissing and moaning about this, but when do we take an honest look at this? One of the reasons our healthcare system is a mess is because we take terrible care of our bodies. Don't believe me? Google 'children obesity rates.' It will BLOW YOUR MIND.

I am not asking for everyone to be skinny and in triathlon shape, but if we can watch 4 hours of TV a day how do we not have time for a half hour of exercise? Go for a walk? Jog? As we struggle to revamp our healthcare system I hope that we also take time (I know we won't because we are stubborn) to revamp our lifestyles as well because the economy and healthcare system has been (at least partially) ruined by us. Not by government or other people. Take accountability and take better care of your life.

Go to the game? I might rather stay home!

I am reaching a point in my 'sports fan' career that I never thought I would reach. There are times I would rather watch the game than go to the game.

I used to be the guy that wouldn't sell his Badger tickets for anything. Wisconsin versus Ohio State? I didn't care I could get $100 plus dollars for my tickets, I was going. There was always something about being in the stands, hearing the crowd, yelling at B.J. Tucker or the refs, and everything else that goes with being at the stadium. This holds true with my Brewers tickets. There is always something great about being at Miller Park, although the culture at Miller Park is nowhere CLOSE to Camp Randall.

This is all changing now, and I am not completely sure why, but I have a few thoughts. First, the crowds at sporting events have changed, at least at Brewer's games. Gone are the days where fans went to support THEIR team, now fans go to support a winner. Fans don't want to just watch the Brewers, they want to watch the Brewers win. If they don't win that day the world is going to come crashing to an end as the abyss swallows us. I love fun-loving, sports-loving crowds that are happy to be there. If the home team wins, great, if not, at least we had a good time. Joe and I can talk baseball all day, but if we have to put up with more fans telling Doug Melvin how to do his job we might snap. I am to the point now where my favorite part of being at Miller Park is tailgating. Not that I love the Brewers less, I just hate the fans screaming and complaining all game.

Second, people have better televisions. This has more people staying home, inviting some friends over, and watching the game that way. The company is just as good and the beer is cheaper. Sign me up. Why deal with the stresses and cost of the stadium? There are perks, but HDTV is shortening the gap between being at the park or being at home.

Third, I have a life. I don't mean that people that go don't. Not at all. I just find it hard to donate an entire day to a game (in college I could donate an entire weekend!). But I am not willing to give up the 'parking lot' time with my buddies because this is sometimes the only time I get to talk with them.

Finally (although I could list more), I think fans are more rude than they used to be. Fans find almost as much pleasure rooting against a team, as for their team. Cubs/Brewers games are the best example. Fans scream things at each other for no good reason. I would rather cheer for my Brewers than against the Cubs. I know I don't share this view with most fans, but that is my choice (and why I sell Brewers/Cubs tickets if Joe lets me).

One of my favorite sporting events ever was the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights. Golf is great to attend because people don't get negative like they do at team sporting events. People are generally just happy to be there. That is the kind of crowd I can get behind.

So as teams experience a severe decline in revenue and attendance because of the economy, I will be interested to see how many fans come back when the economy turns around. I honestly believe that more people are enjoying watching the game with THEIR crowd, rather at their favorite sports bar or having some friends over to watch the game.

I will always go to games. Opening Day will always be one of my favorite days of the year. Being at Camp Randall will always hold a certain mystique. I am simply saying that I don't need to be there like I used to.

Why am I against Lance Armstong?

If you had told me 5 years ago that in 2009 Lance Armstrong would be riding in the Tour de France I would have assumed I'd be excited. I used to watch the Tour. I used to really care. Yet here we are, Lance is riding (and riding well), and it almost angers me to see him performing well. I am trying to figure out why.

I blame Brett Favre for most of my feelings against Lance Armstrong. Brett Favre was the classic "I will retire, I won't retire" athlete. I consider that a 'God Complex.' Every summer Brett Favre danced with Packers and their fans. Every summer the media was there to analyze every move and quote. The sheer amount of Brett Favre coverage lowered my tolerance for athletes and their "God Complexes." Now I feel generally the same with Lance Armstrong. If I were one of his teammates (because cycling is very much a team sport) I would be terribly upset. Here is Lance, retired for 3+ years, who decides to ride and swoops in to assume the number one spot on his team. "Sorry guys, Lance is back, please move to the back of the bus." Probably similar to the setting when David Beckham came over and played for the L.A. Galaxy.

The Lance Armstrong God complex is also aided by my addiction to twitter. Lance is one of the few celebrities or athletes I follow. Lance's twitter feed was everything I feared it would be (and why I hope Tiger Woods never has one) because it is all about him. He simply has started to annoy me because he thinks I should want to be him (eat his food, listen to his music, and anything else he does). Twitter could be an amazing tool for an athlete to show they are normal people, that they drink coffee in the morning just like the rest of us. Sadly Lance's (and seemingly other athletes) miss that opportunity.

So I will cheer for Lance, even though I bet my boss he would lose. I just hope that he is humble if he wins. It would be a story, and I will be interested to see how he goes about it. Will it be "of course I won, I am Lance Armstrong," or "my teammates were amazing by allowing me, and not them, to have this opportunity."

Causing more trouble...

Since I am already in trouble and angered a few people, I will expand upon my view in an effort to clear the air. Feel free to post your views/comments below and tell me how stupid and wrong I am. I don't mind, but I do hope that if you disagree, tell me how I am wrong, not just that I am stupid.

I don't believe my stance on this to be overly cynical, rather I see myself as realistic and my stance as what is preventing the economy from regaining traction. I don't claim to have answers because I trust there are people smarter than me, much smarter than me, trying to solve these issues. I just think I get it, whatever 'it' is.

Let's use Janesville, Wisconsin (near where I grew up) as an example. Janesville used to have a GM plant that employed the vast majority of the cities residents. That plant is now empty and all of the people at GM lost their jobs. The city now has a lot of unemployed people, lets say 10,000. Those 10,000 now have no or little income, which means that the other stores around the area become impacted because there isn't as much money flowing through the city. Meanwhile, the former GM workers were used to a lifestyle that they are not going to find anymore. Those GM jobs are accustomed to a lifestyle that doesn't match the value of their skills in our economy. You cannot make $70,000 in manufacturing anymore because GM isn't going to pay you $70,000 if they can pay someone else $40,000. That math doesn't take an economist to figure out.

Ok, so now Janesville's resident are cutting their budget because of the tough economy and every store is hurting in town, except one. There is one store that has weathered this recession, and that is the ever-popular Wal-Mart. Instead of going to Target (a little classier and therefore pricier of a store) many former GMers find themselves going to Wal-Mart because they have to stretch their unemployment check. Wal-Mart's sales grow, so guess what, THEY NEED TO HIRE MORE PEOPLE. They post openings for associates at their store. You get paid $12 an hour and might have to work weekends and some holidays.

This is the dilemma facing many of our unemployed and laid-off workers, right? Do I take this much less desirable job, for much less money? I (the hypothetical me) used to make ~$70,000 at GM, never worked a weekend, and never worked a holiday. Why should I have to do that now? Well you have to do that now because the economy has shifted, and likely isn't shifting back.

The second type of person I see is the person that wants to do 'JOB A,' despite that job being completely either unreachable or inconceivable (think, 'I want to be a CSI agent). I believe that people should always pursue their dreams. My wife and I are pursuing ours, there is no reason you shouldn't pursue yours; however, you need to research your dreams to make sure they are reachable and what it takes to get there. I am not a dream crusher, but if you are 30 and have kids, you might not be able to become whatever you want. For example, I want to be a writer for a living, but that isn't going to happen. I didn't choose the right path or make the right choices to get there. My options are continue down the path I am on now (which I like) or quit work, go back to journalism school, and become a journalist (which has about as much job security now as working for GM). My mortgage prevents me from being unemployed, so I work where I work, progress my current career, and have plans to someday write for a journal in higher education (obviously down the road since I am not even close to experienced enough yet) or teach at a local community college. Oh, and I fulfill my itch to write to writing this BLOG that gets 5 readers a month (I actually have no idea how many people read this and assume twitter has brought in a few more eyes, but not many). Part of me also wants to direct a non-profit company, so I am taking the steps to volunteer through Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Milwaukee. Instead of waiting for my dreams to find me I am doing what I can NOW to get where I want to be in the future. Think about Katie's life right now. She wants to be a pediatrician, but I bet she doesn't want to work 80 hours a week, or have only 4 days off a month, but those are the steps she must take to get there. If you want to reach your dreams, take the steps required to get there because there probably aren't any short-cuts.

Lets more forward 3 years. Both the GM workers and the 'I want my dream job' unemployed have settled for lesser jobs working customer service and retail. These jobs pay less, but they pay more than being unemployed. So there is more money circulating through Janesville, which allows stores (like Home Depot and Starbucks) to survive, restaurants don't close, and the general economy of the small city doesn't collapse. I believe it would actually grow because as the economy moves up, more businesses (assuming Jim Doyle stops raising taxes) would come in and create more jobs. This drives up the amount places are paying because they want to hire the best employees, not just the leftovers.

If people don't take jobs, those stores close. Wal-Mart closes. Home Depot closes, and eventually the city turns into a ghost town.

Maybe I am cynical, but I think I get this situation. If my employer told me today (since I work today) that my services are no longer needed, I promise I would find a job. Not because I am spoiled or privileged (although I am very blessed), but because I would evaluate my worth in the job market (not what I feel I am worth) and then find a position that matches those evaluations. I wouldn't hold out for a job in journalism or as a consultant because I am not experienced or trained to do those.

Searching for a job is a very painful and humbling experience, I believe that is why many job searchers are so jaded. It becomes easy to assume that there is something working against you (looks, race, job market, etc.), but in the end, if a company believes you can add value to their company, and that your value will outweigh your costs, they will hire you. For example, if my employer felt that they are paying me more than I am worth, they would let me go. If Wal-Mart thought I would bring in more money than they would have to pay me (total cost, not just salary), they would hire me. Makes sense.

My advice to job searches, really anyone who might be looking for a job ever, is to set a foundation NOW for a good job search. Maybe you need to start planning weddings for free to start a successful wedding planning business. Maybe you need to volunteer your time doing something to gain some experience. Maybe you need to take that entry-level job and work your way up through a company. You might have to change your lifestyle for awhile, but in the end you have established (hopefully) the career that you were hoping for, right?

Terrible Job Economy?

Given the nature of my job I speak with many people that are looking for work.

I want to say that I am sick and tired of people using the 'bad economy' as their crutch for why they cannot find a job. I promise that if you are employable, you will be able to find work. Plain and simple.

If I am a business owner I would add people to my staff if I felt their value outweighed their cost, and that were the problem comes in. People overvalue themselves.

People want to make more money than they are worth. Sure, that is impacted by the market. I think the amount that executives, directors, and sometimes even middle management is completely ridiculous in some (most) cases; however, that is the current economic client, so cope. An entry-level employee (which is where you typically need to enter a company) isn't going to pay you more than $30,000-$40,000, and if they are the schedule or work is going to be terrible. You cannot find your dream job right away. COPE.

I dearly hope the economy gets better, but I hope that our current economy leads to effective change in a few areas, and one of them is employee compensation. I hope people start to earn their money, and that people up and down the corporate ladder make what they are worth and what they deserve. I hope that employees have a reality check about what skills and characteristics they bring are really worth because I personally think I bring intangibles that most don't. I hope the days of showing up late, leaving early, taking 2 hours worth of smoke breaks, ETC. are gone because that will benefit someone like me who takes their profession very seriously.

One last note, people need to learn that job searching is like dating, you need to be DATABLE. You cannot show up and look unprofessional. Well, you can, just don't complain when you are unemployed.

And can we, as a country, stop supporting people that choose to be unemployable? If you choose to drop out of school, or not go to college, or swear during interviews, or misspell words on your resume, or wear a baseball hat to an interview YOU DON'T DESERVE ANY FINANCIAL SUPPORT. You are choosing to be unemployed because you are unemployable. People need to get their act together.

End of story.

Life as a resident's spouse

Being married to Katie is amazing, being married to a doctor during her residency is terrible.

Recently I posted on facebook that I missed my wife, and a friend I have barely spoken to since High School turned me towards this documentary about doctors called Doctor's Diaries. I think this is an amazing portrayal of Katie's (and hence mine to a point) world and I highly encourage everyone to watch it. I enjoyed it because it lets me know that her emotions aren't just her, that most doctors (and those in training) feel that way as well. I also liked when they interviewed the spouses of the doctors to let me feel that I am not insane. Anyway, here are some my observations of being married (and engaged) to a resident pediatrician.

You Will Not Get Sympathy

First, no one will ever feel sorry for you. Doctors are doctors. We mostly assume they are too smart, too rich, and too whatever else for us. We tend to not feel as bad for people when they are compensated handsomely for something. This makes it terribly hard (I imagine both on the doctors and their family) to talk about the subject because unless you are in the 'world' few people truly understand, although most don't think our situation is that different from their own. The old saying 'walk a mile in my shoes' really fits here, and is especially true when I am talking with Katie. I have no clue what she goes through on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Often I try to compare her situation to mine, but after watching Doctor's Diary's I relearned that her life truly is remarkably different.

The differences are more than just the scheduling demands. The pressure and stress cannot even be comparable, although we all feel we work a lot, have a lot of stress, and are under pressure at work. Doctors, although no better than you, are probably under more.

The Look

Second, you are always going to get that look. The look I am describing is the look people give one or both of us when they find out that Katie is a doctor. We are to the point now that we try to avoid telling people that Katie is a doctor to avoid that look (typically one arched eyebrow followed by a tilting backwards of the head) where you can tell the person is thinking "ah, you are a doctor," or "ah, you are married to a doctor." A perfect example is when we went to Associated Bank to create our 'married' checking account. The man moving our funds around was making small talk and asked us what we did. Katie, as our typical unspoken policy, said that she worked at Children's Hospital, but never said what she did there. This usually works, but this man then asked what she did there, so the cat was out of the bag there (and then he gave us the look that we both had a good laugh about later). This look is especially true (at least in my mind) because I am the male and not the doctor (not that I care). Some of my male friends give me that look which I take to mean "you hit the jackpot." I love my wife, and she is like hitting the jackpot, but not because she is a doctor. Let me tell you this, no one would go through this if you were not deeply and truly committed to the relationship.

Life Does Not Get Easier

Third, it gets harder before it gets easier. I thought that medical school was hard to support Katie through, but that is NOTHING compared to her intern year (she just started her second year of residency). Katie rarely has time for herself (including to sleep), let alone for us. For example, last week I was up north for a few days fishing and would get up around 5:30am. Typically I would then need a nap (or at least want one) later in the afternoon. Katie gets up at 5am, and she is fully functional for at least 16 hours, and sometimes more than 32 hours (when she is on call). She functions well on little sleep, but there is no doubt that she is pooped when she comes home so that even when she is home she left most of her energy at the hospital.

This demand on her and her time makes things difficult on those around us, although I am not sure that they always even know it. She gets four days off a month. We struggle greatly with figuring out what to do on those four days. Yesterday was a perfect example. It was the Forth of July and we had a few sets of people that were kind enough to invite us over to celebrate, but Katie wanted to just stick around the house and get her life in order since it was her first day off in over two weeks. I am sure people are upset at us for that, and we never look for sympathy, but that is just the way things are sometimes. Getting our friends and family to understand that is very difficult. Joe is probably the best at understanding because he lived with us for a year and understands how difficult it can be. Maybe that is why so many doctors are friends with other doctors, and doctors seemed to be married to other doctors-- they understand.

Conclusion

I write this not to complain, beg for sympathy, or any other ulterior motive. I have learned that won't happen, and I get that. We are truly blessed to have what we have. Katie has abilities most people would love to have (remember that she has worked her tail end off to get where she is). I am not sure why I am even writing this. I guess it is because yesterday we didn't go to my brother's for the fourth (and his birthday). We don't like to miss those things. Granted, there are probably times where we could abuse Katie's demands to get out of going to things we don't want to, but we don't do that (at least we haven't yet).

We appreciate and love our friends and family. We have been supported by many, and people are very patient with us. Just wanted to let people into the world of a resident physician, and their lonely spouse (she is on call tonight so I will see her when I get home tomorrow at 8pm). Perhaps most important is trying to explain that our life is different, while not making people feel like we think our life is more important or better. Everyone has issues and obstacles and no one gets to do what they want, I get that. Just trying to explain what we are working with here.

Make a difference in the world

In a shocking change of events, something is bothering me.

We all know that there is a huge political uproar going on in Iran right now. I will be honest, I don't really know what is going on. I know that there was an election and people feel that the results might be rigged and that there have been deadly protests. Anyways.

So people are showing 'support' for the cause in many ways, one of which is changing their Twitter icons to green. Other people are wearing green. I think support causes is great (who doesn't?), but I feel that this is an overly simplistic way to support a cause (mostly because it doesn't help or do anything).

Perhaps this all started a few years ago with LIVEstrong bracelets. Granted, the bracelets raised millions of dollars for cancer research. People donated a dollar and got a clear conscience (that word doesn't seem spelled right). Just like now people turn their twitter icon green or change their twitter location to Tehran (in an effort to confuse officials, like that is going to work). These are simple things that make us feel like we are making a difference. Heck, look at this list of bracelets you can now buy to support various causes (like I love my cat is a REAL cause). John Deere has a bracelet. Why on earth do people need to support John Deere? I have nothing against the bracelets, just against people spending a dollar and feeling like they are making a difference while we have people around the world ACTUALLY making a difference.

ACTUALLY make a difference. I wore a ONE bracelet for about 3 years. The ONE organization is an organization I believe in a ton, but I also supported a charity along with it. I didn't simply just pay a dollar or join a group on Facebook and consider myself a supporter. People need to go out and make a difference. Charities doing it one dollar at a time are doing it the right way, people paying a dollar to feel like a contributing member are not. Maybe you don't have a lot of money, then donate time. Maybe you don't have a lot of time, then donate money. Find a cause, get behind it, and ACTUALLY make the world a better place.

And don't even get me started on the ribbons people put on cars...

Twitter me this...

I have a beef with people that hate Twitter. I don't care if people join Twitter, but many people seem to hate twitter for no reason. Much of the folks opposition against Twitter is completely unfounded and shows that they simply don't use it. I don't give my opinion on women's deodorant because I don't use it, why should people who don't use Twitter speak out against it so much?

Twitter serves a purpose. Like any service, you don't need to use it. I enjoy it because I like to see not what my friends are eating for breakfast, but instead what friends and other people (not Aston Kucher or however you spell his name) are reading and discussing.

My lovely friend Jessica Underwood tried to turn me onto Twitter over a year ago and I didn't catch on because it just didn't seem right for me. Many Twitter users start, but then fade (lack of nicotine I assume). Now I am hooked, and I enjoy it.

I love when people that speak out against Twitter actually try it and realize they were wrong. Bill Simmons from ESPN is probably the most famous people I have seen that was very against it until he tried it, and then he loved it.

I won't even recommend that you (if anyone even reads this) tries or uses it, but like anything else in life, perhaps save you opinions to things you actually know something about.

Only 30 days!?!?!

Where on earth have we gone as a society? This will be a less fun (not that any are fun) post, but this is on my mind.

Let us recap. A few years ago (I don't feel like researching stats) Michael Vick was arrested on dog fighting charges. Hopefully all 3 people that read this know that story. So Vick funded and participated in dog fighting, and is said to have killed dogs. He received something like 2 years in prison and likely will never play in the NFL again.

Donte Stallworth drives drunk, KILLS SOMEONE, and only received 30 days in prison.

I love dogs. I love people. But why FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do we value dogs lives more than we value people's lives? The guy that Stallworth killed was someone's friend, father, husband (no idea), employee, or something else.

Here is my thought. I think that we let drunk drivers off because most people (not myself) can see themselves doing what Stallworth did, and not what Vick did. We love our dogs, and could never fund or participate in dog fighting. Most people drink, and sadly way too many drive drunk, especially here in Wisconsin. We don't view drunk driving as something 'we control,' although it is TOTALLY SOMETHING WE CONTROL.

Anyway. Just bothers me that you can drive drunk, kill someone, and get 30 days in jail. If Donte Stallworth hit and killed Katie and then received 30 days in prison I would be livid.

Random Weekend

The weekend took a different turn than we would have thought. The weekend started with us planning on going to the Wisconsin Humane Society to get 'wedding puppy.' The Humane Society had some amazingly cute puppies heading into the weekend, but by the time we fulfilled our weekend duties they were all gone, so no puppy yet.

We went to my Aunt and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. As someone that has been married for like 15 days I cannot even imagine what being married for 50 years would be like. They had 50 years worth of pictures out, and they were amazing. To think what has happened since 1959. To think of what happens in peoples lives during 50 years of marriage. I love being married (all 15 days of it so far), and I pray that we are blessed enough to even live that long, but holy cow that is a long time.

Katie and I just started watching Friends. As possibly my favorite TV show ever, should be fun to share that with Katie. Sad thing is that now she will find out that none of my jokes are original.

Instead of starting to train a wedding puppy, we started putting the house together. We made a lot of progress actually. We cleaned like crazy in the morning, and then I ripped up the flower beds while Katie continued to clean inside. You would not believe that amount of Ralph hair Katie vacuumed up.

Alright fine. Pretty boring. But I am over it.

Financial planning

One of the debates in the Marquart house right now is setting up our finances. Luckily, Katie and I agree and have the same vision for the future (a good thing for a married couple). Our main goal is to have as little debt as possible, which we have done a pretty good job of so far. We enter marriage with only three debts: my car, our house, and our student loans. Having no credit card debt is amazing, and we are truly blessed to be in that position.

Our main question right now is where to get our advice. I am naturally skeptical about financial advice because I don't like getting advice from people that have something to gain (this is true in many aspects of life). For example, if you meet with a 'financial expert' from Northwestern Mutual I bet they say you need more life insurance. If you meet with someone from Baird they will tell us to invest.

I was recently turned to Dave Ramsey by two of my favorite people (Josh and Jessica Brown). Dave Ramsey is a lot like me in that he favors paying off any debt before you really start saving because by not paying interest, in the long run you are saving. Makes sense to me to pay off things at 6.8% interest (student loans) instead of saving money at 3% interest.

As I sit here, I don't know what to do with our wedding money. Haven't counted it or anything, but there is enough there to need to make a choice. Pay off the car and put the rest to student loans? I wish I could get some HONEST advice and not advice from someone that is trying to maximize their commission.

Evangelical Disenchantment

Over the past year I have drifted from church. This is mostly because of my choice to live with Katie over the past 10 months. We knew that traditional religious folks would not like our choice. We knew they would jump to their own conclusions and assumptions, and we were right. When I started volunteering with Elmbrook's high schoolers, I was basically told I couldn't because of my choice. I was also informed that since we live together, our marriage is likely to fail. That discussion is for another day (and maybe an interesting post), but today, I discuss my my return to the church.

The other morning I decided to listen to Blackhawk's (my old home church) podcast of the previous week's message (or as some call it, a sermon), and I was amazed that the message was EXACTLY what I needed. Crazy how that works out.

The message started with Pastor Chris discussing a book he finished calls Evangelical Disenchantment. This is a book I plan on reading soon (assuming my library has it). Pastor Chris then moved onto discussing the sermon on the mount. I would recommend listening to Blackhawk's message if you are interested because it did an amazing job of discussing what it means to be the salt of the earth. This discussion was reassuring because I went from someone that had extremely strong faith, to someone that questioned theirs. Someone that always had a Bible around, to someone that doesn't even know where theirs is now.

The message also hits on how to spread the message. That is something I have always done. Christ has never been my issue, Christians have been. I believe Christians need to be normal in that they still watch sports, listen to good music... I don't believe that Christians should live in bubbles, only talk to each other, and judge from inside their bubbles.

Like most posts, this got off of topic. Sometime I will learn to keep my momentum and just roll, but I haven't learned that yet. Meanwhile, I hope by the grace of God that He has something in store for me. I didn't get the job I was a finalist for, but I did sign up to be a Big with Big Brothers and Sisters. Back to being a contributing member to society.

The first week of marriage.

So I have been married for just a bit over a week. Here are some of my thoughts on the first week.

The first night (after the reception) was terrifying. After all was said and done (no details), and Katie was asleep, I lay awake thinking "Holy crap I am married!"I do not, and haven't, had doubts about this, but I still felt this amazing sense of overwhelmedness (I don't believe that is a word) about what had just happened. Marriage is an amazing thing, but also a terrifying thing because you stand in front of basically everyone you know and vow to do something. Billions of people in the world, you need to be pretty sure to make that vow. Luckily, Katie (and I assume most couples) felt the same way and we talked about that feeling most of the day on Sunday (traveling to Jamaica). Was nice to know that she felt the same way and we used that tiny bit of 'what did we just do?' to grow even closer.

Is there a good way to ask someone if they sent a gift? Lets say that after you opened all the gifts you notice that someone close to you didn't send a gift. We don't mind if they didn't, we just fear it may have been lost. There truly isn't a good way to ask that is there... Oh boy.

Our honeymoon was amazing. Jamaica was an amazing experience. The food, weather, drinks, scenery... everything was great. Being at a resort like that totally makes me question American's sense of cultural decency. I wonder what it is like to work at one of those resorts. I imagine the workers get paid like $20 a day or something (no idea) and have to put up with waiting on lazy Americans who can't walk 50 feet to get a drink (Katie and I never had them bring us drinks, we got our own). Just a weird situation. I would love to talk with some of the staff there about their real views of Americans.

Airports are the best place to people watch. The average person pretty much drives me insane, mostly because I feel that the typical person is WAY too narcissistic for their (and our) own good. Airports are great because you throw hundreds of people, each of whom feel they are the most important person at the airport (and the world), into a tiny space. Mostly being in an airport just makes me sad to see where we are as a society. If you don't know what I mean, just watch what happens once the seatbeat light is turned off and people can start getting off of the plane.

Miami airport is terrible. I wouldn't recommend being there for too long. Thousands of people, little room, and no where to eat.

I am not used to wearing a ring. I always feel like it will fall off, especially when I wash my hands (maybe that is why so many men don't wash theirs).

Lastly, I am excited to be married. Obviously I love Katie (now my wife!) very much, but I am so grateful for our relationship. We get each other. We communicate well. We don't let thing stew, we just talk them through and get through them. The first week has been amazing, and I am very much looking forward to many many years of marriage. I want to be that old couple at a wedding years from now that gets to give marriage advice because we have been married the longest. Hopefully I live that long!

All You Need Is Love

Obviously with my wedding coming up I have been doing a lot of thinking (both forward and backwards). This is combined with a conversation I had with one of my most amazing friends in the world yesterday (Shanna) about a series they are bringing back on NPR called 'This I Believe.' Being the loser that I am, I looked up the series today and listened to the Podcast (I haven't listened to the radio since the invention of the in-car CD player). All of this combined to get me thinking even more.

Relationships, especially marriages, are a funny thing. I am not sure how natural they are. I read a stat somewhere, sometime, that only somewhere around 3% of mammals are monogamous. That is amazing. I am not sure if humans would be considered that way since most people have sex with more than one person in their lifetimes. Not sure if other sea otters (are they even mammals?) have a hot dating scene or not. Maybe they do and just like to be players.

Anyways, I just want to say that I believe in love. I believe in marriage (obviously). I don't believe that everyone needs to be married or that marriage is a goal. The general idea that you aren't successful unless you are married is part of the reason our divorce rate is 41% (just like owning a home is what makes you successful leads to a high foreclosure rate). If you don't want to get married, don't.

This all being said, I am very unapologetic in that my marriage is the most important aspect of my life. If Mike & Mike in the Morning said I could take over for Mike Golic (I would love to work with Greenie) said I could have the job if I left Katie, I wouldn't. Not in a million years. Not because I don't think having a great career is important, I desperately want a career that I am proud of; however, there is also something to be said of being a great husband and dad. Too many dad's have fallen victim to the demands of capitalism. I will never be that guy. People say I don't need to because I am marrying a doctor, but those who know me best know that has nothing to do with it.

I think that too many couples have ruined marriage for so many people. It doesn't have to be what it has become. Marriage is often seen either as a requirement or a hassle. Why can't it just be great for some? Why does it have to be something like a means to an end? People try to find love just so they can get married, and then divorced. This sours people, and that sourness is contagious, and has infected a whole generation of people.

My goal is to be happily married. That married couple that makes other people want to be married, but doesn't make you feel like you have to be married. Honestly, I don't care. I hate people that want marriage, but don't want to be married (ask if that doesn't make sense).

Probably a few move posts on this subject to come. What typically happens is I get an idea on my mind (and it seems great). I sit down to write, get a few paragraphs in, and then it derails. Sadly I am too impatient to proofread too. Guess Rolling Stone will never come calling, huh?

Lets get married already

So I get married in about 17 days or so. Honestly, I can't wait. The fact that I cannot wait makes me feel strange. People come up to me all the time and ask "are you nervous?" I have been asked the question so many times that I am starting to feel like there is something wrong with me BECAUSE I am not nervous or scared.

Honestly, I am just excited to get it over with. Wedding planning is terrible and stressful. I feel that we have made weddings into way more then they have to be. Do you think our parents generation stressed this much about weddings? When did this all happen? When Katie and I first got engaged I thought that since we would have just over a year to plan that it would eventually be done. Boy was I wrong. I have learned that wedding planning is never done. Eventually the day just comes. Then you are done.

My biggest fear is that Katie is such a perfectionist and so worried about things that she will not have any fun. That instead she will be so concerned about everything and everyone else that she will forget that more than anything, this day is about her (and sometimes us). That just isn't how she is wired though. My question, is then why spend thousands to have a stressed out Katie? I get that on a daily basis with her being a resident pediatrician.

This all being said, I am ready for it to be over. I just want to be married. I want to have a marriage, and not just a person to plan a wedding with. Does that make sense?

Hopefully the last few days of planning go well.

PC versus Mac

Watching TV this morning one of those clever Mac/PC commercials came on. That is some of the best marketing I have seen in awhile, and PCs have never been able to combat it. I think one main reason is that because PC isn't really a company. Sure, Microsoft is the face because they make Windows, but they don't make the computers (just the crappy software). Instead, it is the Dell's, Toshiba's, HP, and IBMs of the world that sell the computers that compete with Apple's, and it is difficult to get everyone on the same page to create a marketing campaign to do that.

So the commercial got me thinking, so I then updated my twitter to ask the question of why these companies, including Microsoft, don't just say the obvious-- we are more popular because we are more affordable. I quickly received a response from a twitterer (not a word) that I have never spoken to before, but evidently he found what I had to say funny because he was ROTFL (had to Google that to learn what it meant). He seemed to think that the computers do cost the same for what you get. And that might be true (it isn't). Honestly, it doesn't matter, and here is why (I needed more than 140 characters).

Apple versus PC isn't coke versus pepsi, it is more Lexus versus a GM car. Every car that Lexus makes is super nice and expensive (or pick another fancy car brand if you want). GM makes some very nice, and expensive cars, but they also make cars that folks like me can afford. If you walk into the local 'Apple Store,' you cannot find a laptop for less than $999. The $999 model has a 13" screen. If you log onto Dell's website you can find a laptop with a 13" screen for $499.

Now, before @davesag and other Mac/Apple people claim I don't know what I am talking about and start rolling on the floor laughing, I know Apple's product is better. I get that, but I don't think it really matters. People buy computers based on price. People don't even know what features make a Mac worth it. They know that a new computer is new, just like most people don't know the difference between the drive shaft in a Ford Focus versus a Chevy Cobalt. New is new. Not saying it is right, just saying that is how it works.

What Apple needs to figure out is what is their desired market-share. Do they really want to compete with PCs? Lexus and BMW don't compete with Kia. Should Apple decide that they want to compete with PC, they need a more modestly priced system. They need a system to infiltrate the average computer buyer. They need a $600 laptop that isn't 10". Then they can use their numerous competitive advantages (brand loyalty, brand prestige, and superior product) to compete. Maybe get more businesses to use Apple's as opposed to PCs, that would be a HUGE benefit because then people would use them without needing to buy them, thus getting them hooked.

Anyways. As I am someone that will soon be in the market for a new laptop (and I want an Apple by cannot justify spending $2000 on one), I will likely get a Dell. Sure it will run slower and crash once a year. Such is the life of a PC user I guess.

Corporate lessons from The Wire

So I am engrossed in the TV show ‘The Wire’ I am watching it through Netflix, so I am only on the 4^th season. I was watching it this morning and realized that everything you need to know about business and corporate culture you really can learn from ‘The Wire.’

Lesson 1: Who you know matters more than any ability or accomplishments you might have.

You might be the smartest, most talented person in the room, but it doesn’t matter if the right people don’t know you and like you. The Wire shows this with the police and their promotions. You can be great at your job, crack all the cases, but if (like McNulty), the higher ups don’t like you, it doesn’t matter. This is the same in the corporate world. If the important people don’t like you there isn’t a chance. Furthermore, it helps if people feel that they owe you. This is probably more likely once you are in the director/executive level. Think of people that sit on the board or directors for companies... A lot of that is 'I will scratch your back if you scratch mine."

Lesson 2: You need to work your way up despite lesson 1

This lesson is shown by the drug dealers. Even if you are well connected, you need to start at the bottom. Many of the ‘runners’ have brothers and father higher up in the drug-dealing ranks, but they still start as runners. They move up quicker due to lesson one. Not sure if this is true in the corporate world, but I imagine it is (I am not well connected).

Lesson 3: Shut your mouth and wait your turn

Import lesson learned both in the drug-dealing world and the police department. You need to shut up because no one higher up wants to hear your ideas or solutions. They don’t pay you for that. Instead, you need to shut up, do your job, and wait for your turn to make those decisions. You can only hurt yourself by spouting off your ideas when not asked.

Lesson 4: Manage your image

Changing people’s perception of you is almost impossible to change. Hence the phrase “you only get one chance to make a first impression.” Stringer was always a drug dealer , nothing he did in the business world would change that. McNulty was always a rouge cop, nothing he did would change that. You get my point. You need to manage your image in the office right away. Work overtime, come in early, leave late, and do it right away. You can get lazy once that first impression is solidified.

So these are only four. I could probably write a book about this (or at least a few more lessons). Just sort of interesting that the show is about a dysfunctional police department and drug dealers, but it really parallels real life.

When will we get it?

Okay, I am getting up on my soap box...

Few things in our culture bother me more than our obsession with celebrity. People and US Weekly are more read that REAL magazines. People use Twitter to follow their favorite celebrities so they feel a part of their life (not me of course...). We care more about Tom Cruise's kid than we do our own it seems. Well maybe some good will finally come out of this...

The other day a pitcher for the Anaheim Angels baseball team was killed by a drunk driver. Granted, there were two others killed in the crash, but you know we will publicize Nick Adenhart more than the 13,000 other drunk driving related deaths. My initial reaction to the crash scares me. In Wisconsin we don't really even get fazed about this stuff anymore. Driving drunk is the norm (sadly). Earlier this year, or at the end of last I forget, the Journal Sentinel here in Milwaukee ran a staggering series about our drunk driving problem and how little the state has done to fight it. Sadly, drunk drivers seem to either vote or pay for the people that run for office. Not sure.

Either way, my question is when will we get it? Who needs to die? Unfortunate as it may be, Nick Adenhart probably isn't a big enough name to make a difference. What if it were Brett Favre? Then would people care? Would people then think twice before getting blitzed and then driving? I can online IMAGINE the average BAC after the Brewers game yesterday. Like most things, we don't care until it impacts us. I remember growing up when there were two high schoolers in my hometown that were killed by a drunk driver. One of the girls mothers became an advocate (is that the right word?) for MADD and would come in and give talks. MADD loves to use staggering statistics, but does it make a difference? I stand by my stance that most people don't tend to care about an issue until it impacts their lives. My family wasn't aware of the dangers of a stroke until December 27th, but we are all now well versed.

I wish I could say it matters and that people will learn, but you know me, I am way too cynical (or realistic) to believe that.

Creating healthy incentives

So this is a topic near and dear to my heart-- health and exercise.

BusinessWeek ran an article giving tips on how to fit in workouts when you have a busy work schedule.

It starts by talking about how this 28 year old doesn't have time to work out because he is working too much. This may be the case for many, but really, is that the case for most?

To contrast this, I would like to point at that the average American watches over 3 hours of television a day. Not to say that watching TV contributes to that... or drinking 9 sodas... or eating out for lunch contribute to that, but maybe they do :o)

Employers should encourage employees to keep themselves in better shape because studies show (I am not going to look them up because I know they exist) that healthy employees tend to be more productive. And yes, working 50 hours a week (even 40 in a stressful position) hurt the ability and drive to work out. I get that, and if I were in charge of a HR department (which I hope to be sometime) I would give real incentives for people to be in decent shape. Encourage not only exercising, but eating and drinking healthier as well. Sleeping more. Whenever an office orders lunch, what do they order? My experience is typically things like pizza (with soda of course).

Most wellness programs seem to be those 'token' programs where employers pretend that they care, but don't really give employees any incentives to live a healthy lifestyle. I can only imagine how much worse it is now that most employees are fearing for their jobs.

At what point?

For the past 8 years my main issue with republicans was their unwavering support of George W. Bush. Torture, wars, economy, stupidity... the list goes on, but there was a large group of people that never batted an eye. He could have burned their houses down and sacrificed their first born child and they wouldn't have cared because he was THEIR guy.

So the question I pose is when do democrats become guilty of the same thing? Imagine if George W. Bush had sent 4,000 more troops into Afghanistan? Or spent TRILLIONS bailing out companies that donated money to his campaign?

Now I like Barack, but I vowed many moons ago to stick to my beliefs and support ideas and not people. Republicans drove me crazy because they supported people and not ideas, hence the current state of the republican part. But I can only imagine the outrage that people would have if Bush were doing some (not all!) of the things Obama is now.

I support the vast majority of Obama's moves, but fear that too many people don't care, and would support him if he left a bag of flaming dog-poop on your doorstep. If that happens, democrats will be no different when Obama is out of office than the republicans are now. They will be lost and trying to find out 'who they are.'

Narcissism

As anyone who knows me understands, I have a huge fear of where our culture is going. I think we are creating, and nurturing a culture of victims and wimps. Until yesterday, I really failed to wrap my arms around my feels, but then it was brought to me by an article about narcissistic people.

I love hyperlinks.

I love the idea from the Slate Article to make birthday cards that say "I can't believe your birthday is so close to mine" because that sums up SO MANY people that I know. Everything has to be about them. You know the people I am talking about. The people that want you to come to their party (and bring a gift), but when it comes to your party they have 'something else going on.' Crap like that drives me crazy. I have seen a lot of this with my wedding. I have gone to and been in many weddings over the past half-decade. Now that it is my turn, people are remarkably absent. Why? Well what is in it for them?

This also true when you drive. People have become (not sure if they always have been) the most narcissistic drivers. They drive to get where they are going-- to hell with everyone else on the road.

With Twitter(which I just joined) and Facebook, we have sites now to route our narcissistic ways through. Part of me loves it, and part of me wants to cry.

I fear we cannot overcome any major obstacles in our world anymore because we always need to know what is in it for me first. If World War II happened with this generation, I fear that we wouldn't win because we wouldn't have enough people that would sacrifice to win.

I don't disclude (is that a word?) myself from this, so don't think that. I feel that one difference is that I understand that I am pretty narcissistic. That being said, I think we need to fix it. We need people to do things even if they don't benefit personally from it.

Birth Rate Out of Control

Alright, time for me to become even more unpopular than I already am (which is saying something).

There are a few topics that we do not discuss in this country. Sex and race are two of them, and those are topics I don't touch (at least not publicly). But I want to talk about the birth rate in this country.

For 14 years the number of teenagers having kids went down. You didn't hear much about it either way, so I guess that it something. But now it has gone up again for two years in a row. That is bad. What is also bad is that even at the best of time we have had the highest percentage of teen mothers than any civilized country.

This is a topic that is a huge issue and needs to be solved because so many of the issues facing this country are intertwined. We have taken the challenge of attacking and trying to end poverty. I know one great way to get out of poverty is to avoid having children until you are financially ready. Obviously that alone isn't going to solve the problem, hence me saying they are intertwined.

We need to discuss this and get control over a few areas.

First, we need people to have children when they want to have kids. Half of all kids born now in the United States are born out of wedlock. I won't get into a religious rant (although maybe I should). That statistics jumps out at me and screams 'unwanted pregnancy.' I know that isn't the case for them all, but more and more I bet.

Second, regardless of your marital status, we need more parents to have financial security before having kids. People in the lower economic statuses have, on average, more children than those in the higher statuses. I am not saying that you should need to be rich to have children, but at least plan better.

Third, we need less children having children. Too many teen mothers. That puts you in a tough situation moving forward. Sure, there are people who have had children early in life and gone onto wonderful things, but lets not bank on being the exception.

My call to action is to educate and challenge people to plan better. Not having kids isn't difficult. There are drugs, accessories, and lifestyle choices you can make to basically eliminate that risk.

I know this is a conversation we cannot have, but maybe we should.

Work Life Balance

I have always been a fan of having a good work-life balance, who isn't? I do not know many people that admit to living to work, instead of working to love, but sadly, this isn't the case for many.

With the economy in the toilet finding a solid balance between work and your personal life is more difficult than ever because you are supposed to be thankful that you even have a job, who cares how they treat you. What is that, you won't work Saturday? Well we can let you go and find someone else that will. Three weeks vacation? Sorry, we have a stack of resumes from people that will work and only take two.

I cannot even imagine what job interviews are like. Even better is the behind the scenes conversations. I can only imagine what final interviews for some positions must be like with so many qualified people unemployed.

The scene I am excited to see is what happens next. What happens when the tide changes? When the economy grows (I know it seems like it never will) and jobs start being created. Will we see an exodus? I would imagine that we will. Sure many people just love to job hop because they believe that the grass is always greener, when in fact you are risking entering a worse or equal situation; however, companies will be able to woo away some quality talent I bet. Some talent that is waiting for a less risky market to change jobs within.

My advice to employers would be to make sure that you are still taking some time to invest (maybe not financially) in your valuable talent because you don't want to use the recession as your best retention tool because it won't last forever (hopefully).

Legislate against stupidity

My next step in my plan to world domination is to legislate against stupidity. I don't know if that is the right term, but basically I want to make not being stupid more desirable. People respond to incentives, and since I cannot think of a good reward system, I want to basically start to fine and/or arrest people for stupidity. And for instances that are already illegal (read on), I want to make the punishment more severe.

This isn't a new train of thought for me, but after hearing about the woman that called 911 three times because of an issue with her McDonald's order, I have finally reached the end of my rope. People need more of a deterrent from acting like complete idiots. I believe that one of the root, most severe problems facing our country is that we believe we are better than everyone else. Not just other countries (although that is an issue), but each other. Here is a list of things I would like to start fining/pulling more people over for (in no order).

Leaving your cart in the middle of the parking lot, or not in the designated spot. You cannot be that lazy that you can't walk 50 feet to the cart carrel (not sure if I spelled that right). How many times have we all gone to pull into a parking spot and found an abandoned cart in the spot because someone was too good to follow the rules? I say that if they are too good to put their cart away, they are too good to get a cart next time (carry everything in your arms chump).

Using the car pool lane when you aren't carpooling. This is something I really hate because all it says is that you think you are too good to follow the rules and that your time is more variable. I am willing to make an exception if you are going to give birth within the next 2 hours, otherwise get in line like everyone else.

Leaving things randomly around stores. You don't want the chicken breasts anymore? Or that pair of pants? That is fine, but please put them back where you found them.

Driving around a line of traffic only to merge at the last second. You think everyone else is waiting in line for the fun of it? If you are the Pope, I might give you a pass (although I am not Catholic so don't count on it).

Taking your child to the ER because they have a fever or are throwing up. Guess what, kids get sick. Just because their fever is 99.7 doesn't mean require emergency treatment. Imagine how much health care costs could go down if we all didn't panic immediately (and took something resembling care of ourselves).

Using 'gay' or other derogatory terms as adjectives. Totally unacceptable.

Littering, including throwing cigarettes on the ground. If ran the world, and you threw a cigarette on the ground, I would make you eat it (beats some bird eating it because they are too stupid to know better).

Ok, so this is the beginning of a list. I can go on for days, and I probably even forgot a few that really bother me. I know that most things on here already are illegal, but the penalty isn't working, so lets up it. It would make America a better place, and the fines would help pay for the deficit!

Phillip's economic 'total plan of awesomeness'

If you search the words ‘trickle up economics’ in Google you don’t even get a Wikipedia page (although I guess there is one), in fact one of the first hits is from the author of Dilbert. I love Dilbert, but I wouldn’t go to Scott Adams for economic advice (nor me for that matter). When you search for ‘trickle-down economics’ you get a ton of fancy hits, even a Wikipedia page. I know that people no longer can be convinced of anything, instead we are so rooted in our beliefs we wouldn’t know a good idea (if it differed from ours) if it kicked us in the groin; however, I am going to attempt to convince you that trickle-up economics is what this country needs.

Trickle-down economics is the idea that if you give tax breaks to rich people that in turn, this will trickle down to benefit those below them on the economic pyramid. Ever since I was smart enough to care about this stuff (so about 3 months), I have always thought this was crap because rich people save money, poor people spend it. So I am proposing that we, as a culture not as a government, change to trickle-up economics.

Trickle-up economics is just that, get money to poor and middle class families, and they in turn will spend that money. This then boosts the revenues of businesses, thus allowing them (in a perfect world) to grow. If the recession and poor economy has taught us anything, it is that people are allergic to saving money. So instead of giving money to the rich and waiting for it to reach the poor, I say we instead get money to the poor because it will reach the rich probably by noon tomorrow (unless there is a 24-hour Wal-Mart nearby).

The government can’t lead this crusade to save our economy. Sadly, we have to depend on a group I trust even less to do what is right: the rich. Not just the rich like I think of the rich, I mean the super-rich. The people that get the office especially cleaned up when they visit. The people that don’t even check their own email or answer their own phones. I mean the CEOs and executives of the world. The people that make more money that I believe anyone should ever make. Not that there is anything wrong with making as much as you can. Let the record officially state I am not against rich people nor do I want to take away people’s ability to be rich. I don’t want the government to take money from the rich and give it to people that don’t want to work. Nope, that is not my plan. Instead, I want rich people to WANT to do so, or at least be forced by the general population. Not through taxes, they are already way too high (yes, I am a liberal, but taxes are still too high). Instead, I want CEOs and executives to get paid less.

According to Forbes, In 2006 CEOs as a group received a 38% pay raise. Lawrence Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, made ~$193 million. Howard Schultz, the guy that runs Starbucks, made $98 million (what a chump). Granted, this is total compensation, and since most of the people on the list have recently run their companies into the ground they didn’t get to take home all of that, but still, they aren’t doing too bad. The example I want to us is newly appointing Michael Duke, who only made $13 million last year (generic brands here he comes!).

In my warped vision of the world, Mr. Duke and his fellow ‘rich beyond all recognition’ cronies would all take pay cuts. Even if they don’t want them, their companies stockholders and boards have the power to force it upon them. Take that money and pay front-line employees more. This would benefit everyone in a few ways. First, by paying people more, people that work at Wal-Mart would (hopefully) value their jobs more, and thus treat customers better. Second, employees would SPEND that money, as opposed to Mr. Duke who saves the majority of it. This is an assumption, but I bet I am right. By spending money, Mr. Duke and companies will make more. I would continue on to third, but the first two are all that matter right now.

Too much of our wealth is saved and stuck in the top 1% of our economic pyramid. In 2005, almost one third of the countries wealth was in the top 1%. I don’t blame the people that have it. I blame boards and shareholders for letting CEO pay get totally out of control.

I wish that someday I would be important enough to show that I mean this because I promise you I would never make $897 million a year, or even $13 million. I know it is easy for me to piss and moan from the bottom (well not the bottom), but I really believe that this is a better system that in the end would benefit more people. I know people will disagree, and that is fine. I don’t care about stats and history and the same old arguments. We have tried those, and the fact of the matter is that we are in the situation we are in because of our current system (and a combination of many other things). This would work. I am sure some of my republican friends could read this and find stats and history to back up arguments, they always seem to do that. But isn't the situation too unique? What has happened in the past is history, this is today. This isn't the early 80's or the Great Depression. This is the global economy and the 21st century. Do we have any better answers?