Wireless electricity via magnetic fields.   As if we aren’t already a nation born too close to power lines.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/02/wireless.electricity/index.html

“Like, omg, my single mom is now dating online.  how, ugh, not cool.  i’m just jealous she’s getting more play than me.”

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/09/02/lw.parents.edating/index.html

Will Tigers place Maglio’s contract above their pursuit of the offseason?  Still have a lead on the White Sox, but despite selling off, Sox still playing well.

http://www.baseballdailydigest.com/blogs/2009/09/02/the-ordonez-option/

Ricky Williams is my hero.  No, I’m actually serious.  Dude rocks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp09/news/story?id=4438933

No need for Alaska when we haven’t finished with the Gulf.  Tropical storms be damned! You finish your plate before you take seconds.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE58133V20090902

Tom Hicks gave A-Rod a quarter of a BILLION dollar salary years ago.  The Rangers haven’t won a postseason series since? Oh, my bad.  Yeah, I’m shocked. SHOCKED he’s in financial trouble. Wilpon’s Mets next?  Let the Yanks win the series and watch Wilpon lose the Mets before old Georgie kicks the bucket.

http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSTRE5815P520090902?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Stem Cells (boooooo.  oh wait, I’m not a right-wing zealot with my head up my ass.  STEM CELLS ROCK!!!!!!).  Seriously, this should be a cover story, especially given the increasing rates of obesity (and associated Diabetes).  http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1919838,00.html

Sell out followers and friends to make a few bucks via Twitter.  Regulation (or at least disclaimers) needed in social media/blogging advertising??

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1919994,00.html

About time we started being realistic about street crime.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1919250,00.html

No shit…

http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/02/news/economy/Madoff_SEC_investigation/index.htm?postversion=2009090214

I will never condemn someone for having faith.  Faith; whether it be in a system, a structure, yourself, god, whatever, is a good thing.  What you CHOOSE to put faith in… well that is a human process, and as such, can be flawed.   We put faith in one another.  When it doesn’t work out, we suffer.  We put faith in an idea.  If it works, we are rewarded.  But then there is faith in those things we cannot control.  And seems to me it just doesn’t make much sense to lament things that are out of our control yet proceed to occur in a way we don’t want them to.

“I hope it doesn’t rain”.  That’s all well and good and all, but if it does, it does.  Some will check the weather and make backup plans, some expect to do something ‘rain or shine’, others will put all their eggs in one basket, “hope” it doesn’t rain, and then whine and cry and proclaim that something is ruined.

Expand that idea out to mortality and all of a sudden this healthcare debate becomes a lot less about Republicans and Democrats, socialism and capitalism.  It boils down to a simple truth.  We’re all going to die someday.  Based on my family, that means I have about 30 years left.  I plan on living them to the fullest and not worrying about “if” I’ll die.  That’s just foolish.  And having a conversation with older relatives about death is responsible, let alone somewhat healthy.  If death is going to happen either way, I’d rather it be an Irish wake where people celebrate the life instead of mourning the death.  Pain occurs either way.  Don’t ignore the lessons learned and the value of the person who taught them to you.

For the first time in my life I’m finally slowing down and taking a look at things that are indeed in my control.  And that list is a lot longer than I had ever imagined.  At the same time, the list of things I always just assumed I have control of is slightly longer as well.  Some are funny, some aren’t.

I started thinking about this yesterday as Gmail crashed.  I was chatting with several friends via Gchat.  All of a sudden those conversations were over.  Sure, I was also doing work, but I went to Facebook and Twitter to see if it was just me or not.  All of a sudden Gmail was the top trending topic on Twitter.  People were freaking out.  A few weeks back when Twitter was crashed, there was the same reaction.  OH MY GOD, WHAT NOW??? Again, repeat after me, “it is ok”.

I think these ever so brief moments of unconnectedness are a good thing for us.  When my internet bugged out a few weeks ago, my first reaction was to check the settings, reboot the router, etc.  Nothing worked and after a brief moment of frustration at not being able to fix it immediately, I let go and accepted that it might just be out of my control.  Yeah, I could have called Time Warner and freaked out.  But how important was it that I didn’t have internet for a few minutes?  If it was still out for days, yeah, that would have been an issue.

We watch the news and most people would rather watch Family Guy since the evening news “is only full of sad news”.  Fine, so don’t watch the evening news, but don’t act shocked when something happens and “nobody told me”.  There is no silver spoon feeding you information over the course of your life.  Accept control of that one champ.

It just concerns me how technology has us making dangerous assumptions about what is and is not within our control.  What we are “owed” and that anything outside of a kneejerk timeframe is slow, outdated, and obviously ineffective.  Patience has been lost, when that truly is one of the few things fully in our control.

Weren’t the Jets just a QB away from a contender?  Is a 39 yr old Brett Favre (with enough miles to make me wonder aloud how much tread is left on the tire) going to push Minnesota over the top?  If I were a Vikings fan, I’d be a lot more concerned with the foot/leg injury recently sustained by DE Jared Allen.  His loss would be a bigger hit to that team than the upgrade at QB.

Personally,  I think Michael Vick would have been a better fit.  But Vick to the Vikings would never happen.  The owner wouldn’t want the negative publicity.  But instead of football conversations (will Favre be a good fit?) we listen to countless stories of his “un-retirement”.  Maybe we will be lucky and this goes the route of Vick where the stories have gone from his off-the-field conduct to discussions of how his presence might improve the team.  We can only hope.

And part of me is rooting for Michael Vick.  The dog thing is unforgivably brutal, but unless you’ve been in prison and still feel strongly, I don’t think its fair to say he hasn’t paid his price.  It is very easy to point a finger, but I don’t know what that punishment was like for him.  And people DO deserve a second chance.  I’ve been under the impression that he just never cared if the dogs felt anything as opposed to wanting to hurt them and now he’s aware of it and will be linked to PETA causes for the rest of his life.  We may never know if this is because his mindset has truly changed or because it is a continuation of the price he is paying, but if this situation helps the greater good, isn’t that someone good?  It surely has to be better than watching convicted felons return to the field, earn millions, and continue with their rampant ways.

Finally there is steroids.  Former collegiate star wrestler, gold medal olympian, and professional wrestler Kurt Angle was arrested while apparently tormenting a women who recently took out an order of protection against him.  They found HGH.  Wait, so wrestlers who go into “professional wrestling” are likely to be involved with steroids and HGH?  you have got to be shitting me.  So then where is the discussion regarding Brock Lesnar and his UFC career?  I can only assume they have more stringent drug testing and we know that the violence is not planned.  I wouldn’t say “more real”, cause have you seen the punishment those WWF (I don’t care what they changed it to, I’ve never once confused saving Pandas with professional wrestling) guys take?  They can script it all they want, but dude are bleeding, slicing, tacs in their head, etc.

First, I need to just say that I need to stop reading AMNY in the morning.  A free paper that aspires to be the NY Post takes more off the table than it brings to it.  Today’s cover, “Role Model? Miley and other starlets sending wrong mesage to teens, experts say” is enough to make me attempt a self-lobotomy with a hammer.  And if you’re one of those “experts”, don’t you demand control over the final story to prevent being forever linked to this sort of garbage?

So a 16 yr old prancing around on stage while crappy oversexed music blasts in the background is bad you say?  Really?  Rhode Island is still letting 16 yr olds be strippers.  A decade ago most males not requiring Viagra counted the days till Brittney Spears was 18, as if that somehow made it all ok.  I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Annette Funicello is thankful that back in the 60s the thought of sexy 16 yr olds could be conveyed by 23 yr olds (who looked 34).

How about the “experts” tell it like it is.  We address everything with a combination of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ moral guidance and ‘in-your-face’ media saturation that leaves people oversexed and lacking in maturity, an obviously healthy combo.  We haven’t lowered the bar; we already drunk stumbled over it.

I get it; you’re a free morning paper.  Your budget is a direct reflection of advertising revenue.  As such you’re prone to using TMZ fodder in order to persuade people to take copies while heading to work.  Don’t pretend you’re not partially to blame for the death of print media.  If anything I consider you at least equivalent to skin cancer.  No, a daily paper that attempted your task while maintaining a level of professionalism and only kept the tacky shit to the arts and entertainment sections would go out of business or the writers would quickly jump ship to somewhere more established.

Let’s change subjects.  Just how bad would an Ewok smell?

As highlighted by this article in the NY Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/08/08/2009-08-08_hot_dog_heartache.html), a hot dog vendor was evicted after he couldn’t pay his modest rent, a mere $53, 558 a month.  That amounts to over $600,ooo a year.  I mean, sure, the location is great, but the rent we can agree is a little steep.

Yes, the Parks Department is being a tad bit excessive and evicting the vendor simply because he is over $300,000 behind in his rent, but they shouldn’t shoulder all the blame.  The vendor did agree to the rent last year.  In fact, the vendor won the rights to the location in front of the Met via auction  last year.  I know winning is fun, but WTF?

Did he maybe think what what he was bidding on was the yearly rent instead of the monthly rent?  And was nobody at the Parks Department even slightly surprised by the excessive winning bid?  I want to know what the second highest bid was.  If you’re making over a half mill in profit via hot dog stand, that is one hell of a model!!  Disappointed not to find an associated website with the vendor’s company, Himalaya Inc., I suppose we’ll never know.

Then there is the fine print aspects.  Let’s see.  The Met had construction going on.  Well, that’s something you probably want to be informed about ahead of time and you can’t tell me the Met didn’t know the construction schedule at least a few months in advance.  Then there is the competition from disabled veterans that sell hot dogs rent-free via the city vending law.  Perhaps a little more research was neccessary before placing that auction bid.

These two elements make it even more daunting that the Parks Department did not perform due dilligence in order to verify the risk on their newest tenant.  That the city is now shutting down the company and still leaning on them for $140,000 takes the cake though.  Wait, we let you sign on for a rent you can’t possibly afford and now we’re going to hold you to it.  That’ll show em!  Save those teachable moments for Beer Summits at the White House, this is NYC, figure it out for yourself!

Meanwhile no decision has been made as how to replace the tenant/vendor.  Call it a hunch, but they might need to lower expectations on the rent.  After all, there is a slowdown in the corporate real estate market.

With the massive DDoS attack on Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal and apparently YouTube (all supposedly related to a blogger from Georgia critiquing Russian actions), you’d think there would be a loud protest to ensure the US Government was all over this.  I can only assume the FBI and Secret Service, along with several other agencies, have all done their own investigations.  In Salem’s piece I heard, for the first time, about attacks on US Government agencies in early July.  Well seeing as there have been talks of cyberterrorism pre-dating 9/11 (I remember people believing that a cyberterrorist attack was very likely to happen pre-millennium), what exactly is the state of our security?

I can only assume how many businesses, let alone individuals, do not have anti-virus software or protection.  And conventions like DEFCOM remind us that there are those for who anti-virus is merely a speedbump.  So if 43 million Americans don’t have healthcare (I recently read a GREAT article breaking down that number and its surprising and a misleading number), how many are vulnerable to cyber-attacks?  From identity fraud to stealing bank accounts and credit card numbers, it is obvious that cyber attacks will only improve over time.

Then there is this nugget, “Legislatures in 46 states have already passed laws requiring organizations or individuals that conduct business in those states to notify customers when their personal information has been put at risk.”  Um.. what are the others waiting for???

I don’t even want to address his third concern about protecting the national grid.  That sounds like a bad Bruce Willis movie.  Wait, what exactly was Die Hard 4.0 about? No, really, I never saw it.  Was it any good?

Quick reaction by the government to bail out banks was justified by efforts to stabilize the housing crisis, while providing outlets for available funds in order not to freeze liquidity across the board (the effects of which would be like watching your engine seize when it has no oil greasing the pistons).   The decisions of who to bail (AIG, Citi), who to fail (Bear, Lehman), and who to prop up (BofA) will continue to be questioned and reviewed over the next several decades, but in the short term, we are forced to view things as they are.

And where exactly are we?  The housing market is still in peril.  It is no longer just subprime mortgages that are defaulting.  Look at the default rates for those that a few short years ago had good credit but have since lost their jobs.  See people who would sell their homes and downgrade, but the offers they are receiving are in line with what they still owe on the house, if not more.  The majority of potential buyers are forced into Jumbos and multi-point mortgages.  While there is some speculative purchasing going on, there just isn’t enough cash or promise to swallow up the damage.  And now there are concerns that corporate real estate is heading down a similar path.

With so many people clamoring for their own individual bailouts, its tough to envision a sustained improvement in consumer confidence, let alone consumer spending.  Where are the jobs to support the salaries that free up the funds to promote consumer habits to return?  Not that it is in our best interest for those behaviors to exist, let alone be nurtured any further.

I read a funny blog the other day that highlighted a conversation between potential college roommates.  One was bringing a rug and furniture while the other was bringing an Xbox 360.  When asked if he could provide a microwave as well, the roommate with the 360 cried poverty, later remarking that he was responding via iPhone.

This story highlights our problems as an economy.  We can justify our purchase of fashionable technology, but cannot sustain our lifestyle of wants and desires.  The cash available for consumer spending will chase fads and continue to support a small number of companies, but as a whole, the consumer base is still too pained to get back into the game.  And to them, recovery is not a 6 month period.

Banks, meanwhile, are surviving thanks to diversification which is the natural defense during times of volatility.  Look at how the market started the year with foreign exchange and are now riding the hot streak in convertible bonds thanks to the propped up prices of the stock market.  They will still make their profits, but with the public pressure on executive compensation, even their employees may not properly profit from their hard work.

But are the gains in the market rally sustainable?? From quick nosedive to rebound, there was a slight stutter step surrounding an expected summer sell-off.  And when that didn’t happen there was additional concern surrounding the Q2 numbers.  Doomsday never occurred.  The markets didn’t sell off.  We’re back over 9300.  Close your eyes and say things are good and maybe they will be just that.

Personal saving is at its highest rate in years, but with most banks providing less than 2%, it is no surprise to see money flowing into the market when the S&P is up 50% from its previous lows.  As my dad used to say, “buy when there is blood flowing in the streets”.  When crisis occurs, the reaction is to withdraw, pull back, lick your wounds and wait for recovery.  The wise investor (believing recovery to be inevitable), dives it, buys low and rides the wave back.  That same investor fears more about inflation than whether they bought at the exact bottom of the market.  As such, when things rise back too quickly, the question abounds of whether to cash out, take your profits and wait out inflation and volatility.

With banks leveraging the quick recovery of the equity markets, one has to be concerned that their faith in a prolonged recovery is low and they are looking to quickly trade away additional risk to perspective investors eager to make up for the grand profits they already missed while on the sidelines.  This, in part, provides reason for skepticism.  While money has flowed back into the system, the underlying fundamentals of the companies have not greatly changed.  If you rely on consumer spending, where is the light in the sky?

There are far too many signs that people want to celebrate the markets returning to stability.  People are still out of work and many with jobs are focused more on paying off debt or creating a savings cushion than testing the limits of their credit cards.  That leaves those with cash.  In the simplest of terms, we reset back to the world of the haves and the have nots.  The haves are less likely to spend, let alone foolishly.

The question is whether our collective instant gratification mindset has created an equally dangerous “preventative overreaction”.  When people started yelling fire, did we all jump overboard and are now swimming back to the boat simply because it hasn’t sunk?  We still need to address the billowing smoke coming from the engine.  Where there is smoke, there is often fire and hopefully we can put this out before our recovery becomes a W.

The fastest growing group on Facebook is middle-aged parents… and perhaps that is for the best.  Not because they should be imbedding themselves in every component of their children’s lives, but rather as a lesson by example.  If you wouldn’t want your parents to act like that on FB, then perhaps you shouldn’t either.  This girl probably should avoid FB until she takes a better look at her Friends.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/reddit/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-allow-your-boss-to-be-yo