re-evaluating my stance?

It's a rare occasion when I read a book and it causes me to rethink my stance on certain topics. Lost Rights has me doing just that. Not too long ago, I was vehemently opposed to a new condo hotel project that was being proposed in our town. I was upset that the area to be developed, a private "park" area around a historic hotel would be disrupted. I was pretty vocal about it, too.

I was not alone in my efforts to make my opinion heard, either. In fact, so many members of the public spoke out against the project that the developer was forced to make a number of decisions that considerably lessened the environmental and visual impacts of the project. As a result, they got their approvals and there are now modern-looking condos for sale in the historic district.

I'm still upset about it, but these days I am more upset at our town and their planning commission for not working to protect this piece of property beforehand. It was drawn in on the city's master vision plan as a "greenspace", but the city never made any attempts to purchase it. So the current owner of the land is not at fault for wanting to develop their own piece of land.

It's just once example fog how my attitude is changing with this book. I think it is a good thing, as the government and "the people" really shouldn't have more say than the landowner in how they can develop their own land. Short of public nuisances and issues of safety, the government needs to be more hands-free. The problem is when we start to look at situations like historic districts, where I do believe that historic buildings should be saved for future generations, but I don't think it's fair to tell someone how they should maintain or develop their own property. As the oracle from The Matrix likes to say, it's "definitely a pickle."

lost rights revisited

So I'm still wading through Lost Rights by James Bouvard, a controversial book that covers all of the rights that we, as citizens of the USA, used to have. It's a tough read. The paragraphs are tightly packed, not only visually but with examples, and it doesn't let you rest much as a reader. He presents some pretty strong cases to make your blood boil...particularly those that involve historical structures, eminent domain and supposed environmental concerns.

For one thing, the book states that the government at this point in time has an almost unchallenged right to seize or restrict just about any piece of land under our wetlands protection programs. It provides some acute examples of many land-owners who have found their property (which strangely enough doesn't resemble wetlands in any way) seized. modified and/or restricted. Or in some cases they just fine the landowner heaps of money to fatten their agency budget. So it sounds like there are some solid examples that prove that the government is overstepping its boundaries, but I don't believe that the answer is to completely get rid of the wetlands protection laws. Then again, I'm not so sure that the author is suggesting that to be a cure, either. He just wants some checks and balances established over what our government can and cannot do to property owners. As someone in a forum recently stated, property "ownership" is nothing more than tax deductible rent. While making my way through this book, I am starting to believe it.

In a land of freedom and justice, it seems as though there is very little justice for many homeowners who find themselves under the wheel of government red tape. Even landowners who pay their permit fees, conduct appropriate Phase I environmental impact studies, and make it through the initial (and secondary in some cases) stage of approvals find their efforts being blocked for no rhyme or reason.

It's all very disheartening and it makes me think twice about buying that piece of land in the country and building my dream home, only to have some government agency decide to seize it via eminent domain.

is television brainwashing homebuyers?

I have a good friend who just moved into his first home. As a single father, it took him considerably more time to get his finances in order. He's blown so much cash on daycare over the last decade that saving money for a down payment was very difficult for him. Now that he has finally taken the plunge into homeownership, one of the things that he is looking forward to is selling his home for more than he paid.

What?

That's exactly what I was asking myself when I first heard him say this. You see, my friend has been sold on the idea of real estate flipping, and seems to believe that all one needs to do is continually buy homes, reface their interiors a little, and make a bundle to afford the next (bigger) home. While this may work for some people, I think there's a good chance that things aren't always going to work out this way. Why does he believe that this is the way things work? Because he's seen it on television on those silly HGTV programs.

My friend is a bit naive, and it bothers me that these programs are out there brainwashing people into believing that every property out there can be "fixed up" and resold for more. They rarely present cases where people waste a bunch of money fixing up a home, can't sell it, and have to foreclose because they cannot afford the payments themselves.

Perhaps what bothers me the most is that my friend just purchased his first home, and he's already thinking about what he might make when he sells it. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. He hasn't even unpacked yet! He's got kids, too, and I wonder how they feel knowing that Dad is already scheduling the sale of their first home where they each get their own room.

Don't get me wrong - I know that sometimes we have to take "babysteps" to get where we need to be, and that real estate is no exception. But I have been fully aware of *most* of the possible risks before I got into anything. When speaking with my friend, it's as if he feels this is a sure-proof way to make money. And I blame that on television, his naivety, and the fact that he didn't do any kind of research on his own prior to jumping into this venture. I just hope that he can afford the payments.

bring out the guilt

So I 'm starting to feel a little guilt during the holidays. It's not because I'm a grinch (at least not more than usual), and it's not because I'm planning on presenting lumps of coal to my children this year. Rather, it has more to do with a decision that we made not to give gifts to adults anymore. We got tired of receiving them, and we don't really have the budget this year to give them, so we took them off the list and told our relatives. The problem? Our relatives ignored it and got us gifts anyway. I don't mind them getting the kids gifts, because Christmas presents are a kids whole existence this time of the year. but now I get to feel guilty because my relatives are spending so much more on us than we are on them.

For example, my sister sent us a large tin of Mrs. Fields cookies. Now at first I thought, "oh, cookies" and figured that wouldn't have spent so much, but when I considered ordering some for her in return, I discovered that she probably spent $40 on these. And they are good cookies, but $40??? Then she upped the ante by sending over a $50 gift certificate to Amazon. Geez! I'm considering using it to buy her a gift in return. Of course, my sister is pretty well off. She's in the medical field and makes a lot of money. But I can't help feeling like the family louse who doesn't give gifts because he is cheap. You know what we sent them? A homemade family slideshow that I created on my PC and burned onto DVDR. We also sent a few gifts for my niece, but they also sent us several gifts for our kids.

I even considered a quick regift to make up for it. That Bavarian crystal object that someone gave us that we'll never actually put out for decoration? Or perhaps a re-gift of some pseudo-fancy pens that I received last year from my sister's mother-in-law. Would she notice, though?

So I can't help but wondering if this makes me a bad person. Hopefully I will have more time next year to try and come up with something really nice to send the relatives. Perhaps it will still be inexpensive, but at least if it is homemade and well thought out, I won't feel so guilty about being the lame gift giver this year.

lost rights

I've been reading this book titled Lost Rights by James Bouvard, and I'm thinking that I may need to stop reading it. The problem? It feeds my anti-establishment tendencies too much. As if I wasn't already disgusted with our current state of government, this books tells of all kinds of situations and laws in which our rights have been removed, hollowed, or trampled over the years. Worst of all, he has the nerve to include solid references for most of his claims, so I can't just dismiss it as conspiracy theory. What's an angsty tell-it-like-it-is person like myself to do?

Just suck it up. Deal with it. That's all I can do, even on the local level.

When the historic district tells me what colors I am allowed to paint my house, I must obey (even though my house isn't historic, they've extended the boundaries of the historic district to include my neighborhood of homes built in the 70s 80s and 90s - go figure). When I go to do my landscaping, I can't plant anything within ten feet of my property line, because there is an easement that basically makes it city property. I also need to pa for a permit if I want to do any work in my own home - whatever. I can't cut trees down if I want to...which I don't, but if I did, well...

But this is the way of the world. We just have to deal with unjust things like this, and it's not just the government. These days, it seems that fighting gets you nowhere. When I get billed wrong for my medical insurance, I can spend like twelve hours on the phone with them trying to get it cleared up (and since time equals money, it probably equals the amount I have been overcharged), or I can just suck it up and pay the bill myself. Even if I spend the time to get the bill corrected, the best I can hope for is for them to pay what they should have. I (of course) get nothing for my inconvenience.

When I go to Burger King, and my burger looks *nothing* like the picture, do I demand that they make it look right? When I go to the grocery store and they overcharge for my produce, is it worth it to go back in, stand in line, and demand my twenty cents per pound that they overcharged for my bananas? Nope. When a moving van backed into my mailbox, do you think I bothered calling the number the driver gave me for his slick truck accident lawyers so I could get them to pay the $50 to fix it? Yeah, right. I just let it slide, and chances are you would, too.

These days, there is red tape everywhere, and it is in place for one reason - because they know that most people don't have the time or patience to deal with it. We would rather avoid the stress and confrontation, let things slide, and allow ourselves to be ripped off. And that is why the cycle continues...and continues to worsen.

I'm as much to blame as the next guy. I don't speak out as much as I should (except perhaps on this blog). The same goes for the government and our rights. I don't like it, but I don't do much about it. Sure, I can blame it on the Patriot Act these days, as any indication that you don't like the government is means for being branded as a terrorist. But the truth is that I'd rather focus on the good things in life. Let's just hope that we don't wake up one day and find that all the good things have disappeared.

pass me the pepper...spray

As a young child, my family lived in a city that was quickly becoming rampant with violent crime. It was common for me to see my relatives taking guns with them on road trips, and nearly every woman in my family had a little leatherette pepper spray holster on her keychain. These types of self defense products are commonplace in any urban area riddled with crime. But the fact is, it doesn't hurt to have them in other areas, too. Crime happens everywhere.

So it was with a bit of fervor that I received the chance to do a product review for some pepper spray.


I am no stranger to the effects of pepper spray. When I was a teenager, one of my coworkers released a can of pepper spray into a grocery store ventilation system. He thought it would be funny. It wasn't. Within minutes the substance permeated the store, and everyone was coughing and wheezing. My eyes watered and my throat burned. It was a horrible experience, and they eventually had to evacuate the store until the air had cleared out. Keep in mind that this was only an indirect application of pepper spray. I can only imagine how it would feel to get sprayed right in the face.

So I figured I would try it out...not on myself, of course.


The wife and I planned for a night on the town...in the worst part of town we could find. After all, that's where all of the hip bars are located. We took out a handful of cash and went in style. I rented a tux, carried a cane and wore expensive wingtip shoes and my Rolex, while my better half sported sapphire earrings, a 1.3 carat diamond pendant I had given her for our last anniversary, her gold watch, a stunning silk dress and floor-length mink coat. We parked our Cadillac Escalade (with 28 inch aluminum spinner wheels) and we took a crisp stroll through the ghetto, armed with our pepper spray...looking for a good blues bar, but ready for trouble. Like moths to a flame (or light reflected off my wife's diamond jewelry), we were approached by three thugs who at first attempted to sell us some "second-hand" jewelry. We showed them that we were both wearing more than enough jewelry already, and they began to drool like dogs.

The shortest of the three then pulled a blade from his pocket and demanded our goods. I pulled out my pepper spray and gave each of them a good dose in the face. Two dropped their weapons and ran off screaming. Our main assailant, Shorty, lay writhing on the ground, clutching his face and gasping for air. I hadn't exactly gotten it into his eyes, but it didn't matter - the stuff worked great. But to make sure that we had given our new products their just review, my wife uncapped hers, which was disguised as a large lipstick, and gave him a few extra shots in his eyes while he was down. This time he actually screamed, and was apparently in much more pain. So I made a mental note to mention in this review that getting it directly in the eyes is probably more effective. It gave us more than enough time to get away and finish our slow stroll through the urban moonlight, which lit up the spouts of sewer steam like volcanic ghosts.


Okay, okay. This story is a hoax. It never happened, and I don't even own a cane.
;)

But it demonstrates a few of the fallacies behind self defense. First, you don't have to be in a bad part of town to run into bad people. Second, you don't have to be looking for trouble, or advertising riches. Third, don't live a defenseless life depending on the police. It's also a good idea to not value your possessions over your life. Some might argue with me, but I figure that you can always get another diamond, whereas your husband is one-of-a-kind. (Some might argue that statement, too.)

When it comes to pepper spray and other forms of self defense, they are good to have, regardless of where you are. I live in a small, friendly, relatively crime-free town, and yet I still take my gun with me on long drives. I still lock up my doors at night, and I *will* carry my pepper spray with me whenever I leave the house. I just hope that I never have to use it. When it comes to personal safety, overkill is better than being killed.

reflecting on the holidays

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like, had we not made some of the major decisions that we have made in the last few years. For example, what would our children be like if we were still trying to "keep up with the Joneses"? What would they be like if we had cable TV and I worked a corporate job? I suspect that they would be like every other kid out there, obsessing over the latest video game or technological fad, while their parents struggle to make ends meet and keep the debt collectors at bay. Especially during the holidays...

My daughter would be whining for a cellphone by now, my son would want a new wii, and they'd no doubt be complaining that we don't yet have a huge flat panel HDTV hanging on our living room wall, with slick low profile home theater chairs and an illegal housekeeper to pick up the misplaced popcorn kernels. My wife would complain that her car is more than a year old, and isn't it time for a new lease? And me...well, I suppose I'd be looking at the iPhone and a new laptop, both equipped with bluetooth technology, and perhaps a crotch-rocket, sportscar or new truck to feed my early midlife crisis.

So while I sometimes believe that my life is worse off because I feel I am more aware of my impending surroundings and we've made some sacrifices and difficult decisions, I doubt that the twenty-first century version of ignorance is bliss.

the safest investment?

With the U.S. economy in the toilet, I had been watching my 401k slip in value, so I finally decided to switch my funds to a basic interest-bearing account. I know that the "experts" say to leave it in place for the long haul, but after seeing many coworkers lose their life savings, I am actually thinking about taking the tax hit and cashing it out. It seems like the right thing to do, as the paranoid conspiracy theorist in me worries about some sort of mass revolt occurring in the near future, at which time any funds in my 401k will probably disappear. Sure, it's sad to even think of these types of things, but I believe that Americans are upset with the state of the nation, and when the next president is in place and he/she fails to fix these problems, I wonder what will happen. And before you go spouting off that so-and-so is the perfect candidate and that he/she will make things better, let me just say that you're all dreaming. The current system of government that we have right now will never let itself be fixed.

Our government runs on the money of big business. The only way to fix it, in my opinion, is to remove money from the equation. Take away the campaign funding, the lobbyists, and everything else that causes elected representatives to value the requests of corporations over individuals and we may be off to a good start. I also believe that we need to re-evaluate all of the individual rights that have been taken away from us over the years, and make the government answerable to the people, instead of the other way around.

So until all of this happens, what do we do? If I am right..if a revolution may occur in the near future, what should we do to prepare? Do we start learning basic survival techniques? Do we search for abandoned missile silos and bunkers built by ex millennium bug refugees, or is it a better idea to dump our money into gold and silver? I even thought about looking for land for sale in the middle of nowhere...some place remote...some place where one could be left alone and totally self-sustained. But with the latest eminent domain laws that have been established, even real property can be snatched away from us.

So I guess we just go on living our lives the way that *they* want us to, until somebody can come up with a better idea.

weight for the holidays

One of the other things that I am not looking forward to this holiday season is the binging and drinking that will likely boost my belly another ten pounds. As much as I enjoy eating, and eating with guests and family even more so, I hate feeling like I have to stuff myself during the holidays. Everyone always cooks far too much food, and everyone wants you to try what they made. Then there are the sweets and the alcohol that don't help.

For one year, I managed to eat a normal meal at Christmas, and that was when we were trying to be vegetarians. For this year, now that we're back in the South, I'm sure that there will be at least one deep fried item to help stack the weight on, and clog my arteries with crispy goodness. By new year's day, I should probably add a detoxification session and thorough colon cleanse to my list of resolutions to get my digestive tract back to normal.

Fortunately, we have decided to stay home for the holidays, instead of traveling to see all of our family. Sure, it won't be as cheery and we'll miss seeing everyone, but it will assist us in our attempt to keep the holidays more low key, and the friends and neighbors that we do decide to eat with aren't as likely to produce such a spread of food as my family would be.

Winter just sucks, because there isn't as much that you can do to exercise outdoors because it is so cold, and yet there are all of these holidays where you do an exorbitant amount of eating and drinking. Why can't most of these holidays occur during the warmer months?

xmas is for kids, or at least it should be

At least that is what I'm trying to convince our relatives. I'm sick and tired of receiving and giving unappreciated gifts. How many times do I have to advise my parents not to buy me clothing because they don't know my style? Plus, now that we live in a small town, I will have to drive a good hour if I plan on trying to return or exchange any of the gifts that I receive.

So we've spread the word that adults are off of our Christmas list this year. Feel free to get the kids some new toys, but please keep your money and send me a well written card instead. Or better yet, get the kids some clothing instead. We've got enough toys around the house.

Now I know that certain individuals thrive on shopping during the holidays and they have this belief that they have the power to find the perfect gift for everyone, but they're wrong. Even if you feel you know someone well, you'd be hard pressed to find them the *perfect* gift unless they actually tell you ahead of time. Heck, I've been married for over ten years now, and I still don't know what would make the perfect gift for my wife.

Sorry for such a humbug post, but the holidays are on my nerves this year, and ever since we quit watching television, I'm able to see this holiday for what it is - an excuse to bolster the economy. And no, going to church once a year at Christmas doesn't mean that you remember what Christmas is all about.

advantages of technological obsolescence

I'm often getting disgusted with most of my techno toys as it seems that they become obsolete by the time I have brought them home from the store. From computers, to stereo equipment, cameras and musical gear, even the top of the line toys have replacements coming out within months. So what do we do about this?

Well, one approach is to take the luddite path, and ignore any new developments in technology. I must admit that I've assumed this profile at certain times, and to this day I haven't bought into the i-Pod or HDTV trends. But there are certain gadgets that I just can't live without, such as computers or digital cameras. And as much as I would like to continue to use the same PC or camera forever, the software companies have ensured that we'll have to upgrade if we want to be able to surf the web and be productive into the future. Sadly enough, my obsolete products are still working. So what can I do with them?

This is one of those times rare occasions when being a parent actually results in being "green", as we can often pass on yesterday's gadgets, much to our children's delight. For example, I recently cam across my old digital camera. It is an HP, but only shoot at about 3 megapixels. I quit using it when I upgraded to my current 7 megapixel model, but the old model still works fine. I considered selling the old model on eBay, but it was only fetching around $10, if it sold at all. So I decided to give it to my six-year-old, a budding photographer. She's been using it constantly for like a week now, and the only real cost to me is the time to unload it for her, and the cost of a good set of rechargeable nimh batteries, which are an an absolute must for digital cameras, especially those being used by children who take 300+ pictures in a couple of hours.

In a nutshell, it is difficult to see any advantage in the development of technological "throwaway" products, but we can at least let our children use them for fun.

when a bargain feels even better

The other night we had a couple of friends over for dinner, and after visiting the restroom, on of them commented on how much she loves our bathroom faucets. We thanked her and smiled to ourselves, knowing that we had saved about 60% by purchasing all of our plumbing fixtures via online auction. She explained that she had seen the same set in a recent mailing from Lowe's for like $200 and when we told her how much we had saved by *not* shopping at Home Depot or Lowe's, she was shocked. She kept asking if they were damaged or used in some way. When we explained that they were brand new in the box with no damage, she asked for the name of the online dealer we bought them from.

I don't know how they can sell their fixtures so much cheaper than the competition. Maybe they were stolen! I thought at first that they would make up for it by overcharging us on shipping and handling, but they didn't. Finding a bargain like that makes you feel good, but it feels even better when someone else notices, doesn't it?

buried in the backyard

Recently, there was a discussion on one of our local online bulletin boards about the high cost of funeral and burial services, and one of the women on there explained that she has already established in her will that she wants to be buried in her yard. She says this will save her money and then she doesn't have to worry about being exhumed later when some corporation decides that the local cemetery is prime real estate for a condo. Is being buried in your own backyard a viable option?

I'm not sure what kind of burial policy most municipal governments have, but I would think that most would want you to bury your loved ones in a proper cemetery. While it would obviously save you (or your loved ones) money to not have to pay for a burial plot, I have to wonder what negative consequences you might incur to those already burdened with grief.

For example, let's say that you leave behind en estate that will need to be sold, with the proceeds divided among your survivors. Are they going to have trouble selling the place if Mom and Pop are buried in the backyard? Perhaps. I'm not sure how I would feel about having some other family's cemetery in my yard. I might choose not to purchase a property because of that sticky detail. Or I might this it was cool and creepy, and use it to my advantage during Halloween. :)

And if your loved ones could sell the property (with your graves attached), will they have to take less because it comes with a cemetery? It's like a good friend of mine who recently purchased a house and got a phenomenal deal on it. I was shocked at how much cheaper it sold for compared to similar homes on the market. The previous owner, however, had just died in the house, and whether you are superstitious or not, you have to understand that some people will not want to live in a house where someone had just died, especially if it was a violent death. So it sold for less, to my friend's benefit.

In the old days, family cemeteries were more common for a number of reasons. For one, families often passed down their property to their descendants and the property stayed in the family. I'd be much more inclined to have myself buried on my property if I thought that my children would end up living here. But I'm just one of those hopeless romantics who envisions a "family estate" that can be passed down from generation to generation, even though that tradition no longer exists in this country.

avg antivirus - fighting the good fight

Lately, I've been feeling a little guilty. I've been using Grisoft's phenomenal AVG antivirus program for a while now, and haven't had to pay a dime. It hasn't found anything for me to be concerned about on my computer, but I really appreciate the protection I feel I am receiving. I used t use the free program by AntiVir but it was a pain. The updates were cumbersome, and it definitely let you know that you were using the "free" version of the program. I tried the free version of Norton Antivirus that came with my computer and it was horrible. Not only did it miss all kinds of threats, but it would occasionally freeze my entire computer without notice. Regardless of how many times I tried to turn off its auto-scheduling functions, it somehow turned itself back on all the time. Norton used to be a big name in PC security. Now I can see why they offer their product for free with every new PC .

AVG has been different. It runs stealthily in the background, updates itself with little intervention from me, without interrupting what I am doing. So, I've been thinking about donating some money to the cause for their efforts. They want $52.95 for their full version, which seems a little high, but we all need to help those that are fighting the good fight. In fact, I think that the government ought to subsidize antivirus development firms as part of their anti-terrorism movement. It sure makes more sense than sending all of our troops to the middle east right now.

the massage copout?

Over the years, I've purchased numerous gift certificates to spas and massage parlors for my wife. She's enjoyed nearly every one, but always gives me the third degree for spending so much, and often suggests that I could have just given her a massage myself. The problem is that I've never really considered myself that great of a massager and I don't always enjoy it. I have occasional bouts of some sort of psoriasis on my hands and strenuous rubbing with my fingers and palms doesn't help. I usually prefer to use some oil, but in many cases the massage gets a bit more sensual than she had planned, and before too long I'm left trying to explain why naked physical contact always has to lead to sex. It doesn't *always* lead to sex, though - sometimes she says no.

;)

I just happen to find my wife extremely attractive - even after more than ten years of marriage. So sue me.

So what are my options? My wife still likes a good massage. Buying her a massage at a spa is expensive and I always get the third degree for how much I spent, even though it was a gift for her. Plus, aside from some oily clothing and a little new age ditty that gets stuck in your head, you basically pay your money, get your massage and walk away with a little less stress and few more sore muscles.

So here's a product idea: the Human Touch HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair

That's a whole lot of gobbledy-gook speak for "fancy massage chair", but it sounds neat. It can give a deep tissue workout on your back, legs and neck - all at the same time, with no sexual favors expected in return. It's got memory foam. It's available in a stylish black or brown leather zero-gravity design with heated lumbar support. It's fully automatic, fully adjustable and even utilizes voice response programming so that you don't have to reach down and switch it to a different setting while you're floating off into ecstasy.

The only hurdle - it's $4000! Yikes! Okay, to be fair it's $3,999 with a five year warranty. That seems steep, but let's consider what we might spend on massages over five years and compare. If you were to buy each other massages for your anniversary, birthdays, Valentine's Day and the holidays (always a good time for some stress relief) each year for five years, at an average cost of $100 per session, that comes out to about $800 per year for five years or...$4000.

So it's a wash, assuming that you buy each other four massages per year, which isn't unrealistic. Of course, if you actually owned your own massage chair, you could give yourself four massages a night, and you get a fancy leather reclining chair to show for all that cash. You also get to avoid all of those uncomfortable moments of being naked around a total stranger in a strange massage place, and you don't have to chase those crummy new age "relaxation" melodies out of your head for the rest of the day.

So if you're one of those people who normally pays for four massages (or more) each year, a chair like this might be worth checking out. For me, I still grant my wife her wish of getting a personal massage from the man she loves. I just need to work more on keeping my libido in check while I'm playing the part of masseur!

what happened to plain email?

I've noticed lots of sites that I sign up with offer me the chance to receive email notification in either plain text or HTML format. I generally pick plain text. I figure it will load quicker, and they have less of a chance to throw a bunch of glitzy marketing crap into it. However, I was busy cleaning up my email archives the other day, and one thing that I noticed is that nearly every message had some sort of attachment. In most cases, when I receive an HTML-formatted message, Mozilla Thunderbird automatically assumes that it is junk or a scam, and blocks any inline images for me. I like how this works, as it means that I'm not loading anything unnecessary or potentially harmful, especially when I probably asked for a plain text version of the mail in the first place (and the sender ignored that request).

So what is going on here? I understand why businesses would opt to send a high-fashion HTML email full of flashy pictures and an eye-catching layout, but how may people actually load the images and look at them? And if they choose not to load them, what is left to see? Most HTML emails that I receive are entirely blank before I load the images. I've gotten to the point where I pretty much assume that anything with inline images is going to be some sort of spam, and I blow it away in many cases without even reading it.

So what can online businesses do about this marketing dilemma? I'm sure I'm not the only person out there who has this attitude of skepticism towards HTML-formatted emails. Why can't they just compose a nice succinct plain text email? I would think that the overall desensitization that we are seeing from obnoxious advertisements on the web would lead to the same approach we see companies like Google taking with their Adwords program. Namely, that text-based ads are used more frequently because they get better click-through. So how long before email marketeers start to realize this? My guess is that they're too busy trying to figure out how to squeeze a flash multimedia file into a email that they've forgotten the advantages of a good, solid message delivered in plain text.

hardware stores - not just for guys

I wanted to take a minute and give a quick shout out to my local Ace hardware store. It's small and family-owned, and we try to do all of our hardware shopping there. Although their prices aren't always the cheapest, I'd rather give them my business than driving an hour to get to Lowe's or Home Depot. I feel the same way about our local hometown grocery store, when compared to the Wal-Mart that is fifteen minutes to our East.

Plus, my kids actually enjoy going to Ace with me. Want to know why? Because they have a popcorn machine with free popcorn for their customers. And while this may seem silly and you may be wondering what popcorn has to do with hardware and home improvement, I love it. My kids are so much more well behaved when we're in the store because they're busy stuffing their face with popcorn. Each kid gets their own little bag. The staff doesn't even mind it if they drop a few kernels on the floor here and there. When we're in Lowe's or Home Depot, my kids are always trying to run around, getting run over my men with lumber carts. We have to stick my son in the cart to keep him from getting into trouble, and he only endures it for about fifteen minutes before he starts screaming. With Ace and their infamous popcorn, he's quietly munching away the whole time. If he finishes his bag, we get him more. No problem.

My wife loves their popcorn, too, so she usually comes along, too. I don't know if this is a nationwide store policy, but I think it may be, because the Ace store near our home in Colorado also had free popcorn. They've always done this kind of thing for their customers. When I was a kid, I remember my Dad getting hot cashews at the Ace store - it always kept me happy. Today, they've opted for popcorn. It's cheaper for them, but equally as effective. It's a simple concept, but it works. In those larger hardware megaplexes, this is the type of thing that would have been eliminated by now because it was a "waste" of money, just like grocery stores that don't offer their customers free coffee anymore. Thanks, Ace!

thank goodness for no TV

With the holidays just around the corner, I feel blessed to have given up television over two years ago. I remember how thick they lay on the advertisements as soon as Thanksgiving ends. I have no doubt in my mind that my kids would be constantly nagging me about all of the new toys that they would want if they were seeing them on TV every 30 seconds - the iPods, cellphones, Pixar movies, animatronic plush animals or concert tickets for some moronic Puffi Ami Yumi or Hannah Montana tour.

So many parents whine and moan that they have no choice but to spoil their children, but I don't buy that. Simply eliminating the influence of the media on your children as much as possible can help. I'm sure that as my children get older, they'll still be roped into watching television at their friends' homes, but at least for now I don't have to worry about my kids feeling like they are being short-changed because they don't have their own cellphone by the age of ten.

impermanence and upgrades

Since we moved into our home nearly two years ago, there has been an ever-growing list of upgrades and home improvements that we've been considering. We managed to take care of a few things on the list that were basic necessities, like new appliances (our home was missing the range). We wanted to do some extensive landscaping and were even considering some terracing to try and make the hollow behind our home more usable. We'd like to get the deck covered and install solar lights on the railing. I've got some trim that I purchased not too long ago that is awaiting a coat of paint. Then I'll fasten it to the top of our kitchen cabinets, to make them look a little fancier. Other things like repainting the walls and ceiling are relatively inexpensive, and we're getting to the different rooms as we have time.

One of the items that was high on our list but fairly cost-prohibitive was installing hardwood flooring in the kitchen and living room. From what we've seen in stores and online, it looks like it will cost us about $6000 to $8000 installed. I could try to install it myself, which will certainly knock some cash off the price, but I'm not sure how good it would turn out. As I've stated before, I'm not the world's best handyman.

So for a while, we were thinking that we would apply our next big tax return to our wish list and get those hardwood floors installed. However, we've begun to question whether we want to stay in this house. If you've been reading my blog for any small period of time, you've certainly read my posts about the workmanship and questionable building codes (if any) that were followed when it was constructed. I still worry about the electrical work hidden in those walls. I've replaced most outlets and fixtures, but there's no telling what kind of mistakes the builders made behind the walls. I feel like I'm just waiting for a catastrophe.

So we've been debating selling the house and trying to build one ourselves, not necessarily in that order. Land in town isn't cheap, but I think it would be possible for us to build a small house that accommodates our family's needs for less than $100k, land included. This would assume that I do much of the work myself.

So we've been re-evaluating that wish list. Do we really want to get hardwood floors for a house that we're just going to sell? Would it increase the cost of the home enough to make it worth it? Would it be better to just install a new laminate or vinyl flooring? Those quick-flip shows on TV advocate just putting down vinyl stick-in squares. We don't live in a fancy neighborhood, and our house is probably one of the newer ones, so I don't think potential buyers will be expecting things like hardwood floors and granite countertops. But then again, houses in this neighborhood sometimes take forever to sell. Maybe hardwood floors would fix that.

As for the other items on our list, I guess we need to evaluate what gives the most bang for visual buck. It's a shame how your attitude towards a home changes s soon as you have decided that it isn't where you want to be.

is insomnia hereditary?

I am starting to wonder if my late night bouts of insomnia are hereditary, as my daughter has been waking in the middle of the night quite frequently. In most cases she comes into our bedroom (or into my office, where I am still up and working late), and she just stands there. We ask her what is up, but she doesn't quite know how to answer. I know that she's been sleeping, as she is acting totally "out of it" and she can't seem to carry a conversation. We're not quite sure what to do about it.

Her suggested solution is obvious - she wants to either stay up with me or sleep in our bed. But I'm getting tired of it. She quit taking naps almost a year ago, and we thought that would help with bedtime. It does seem to help her go to bed initially, but she still wakes up in the middle of the night and complains that she cannot get back to sleep.

Although I get very angry with her sometimes, I can't help but pity her because I know what it means to suffer from frequent insomnia and I hate to think that she is going to grow up with the same sleeping problems that I had as a child. So is insomnia hereditary? And if so, what can I do to help her?

When I was a kid, my parents didn't try much to keep me asleep. I had no problems staying up late and playing in my own room, though. I'm sure that if we were to take my daughter to a doctor, they'd suggest putting her on some sort of prescription sleep aid, which is utterly ridiculous. I'm not going to fall trap to the medicated society that we live in. We've tried most of the things that I have tried to help with my own sleeplessness over the years. From the warm milk that my mother used to give me as a kid, the benedryl that a doctor once suggested we giver her before bed, to the extensive "getting ready of bed" routine, we've tried a number of ideas. Our latest solution is to allow her to have the dog in her room at night, as sometimes she complains that she is scared and that is why she cannot sleep. The dog makes her feel less alone and she seems to sleep better, but it is not 100% better.

I wish there was an easy solution for me. I've tried to get myself onto a regular schedule, particularly so that my wife and I aren't sleeping at such different times, or so that neither of us is tried all of the time. I've seen those commercials on television about night-time prescription sleeping aids, but I don't want that for myself anymore than I wanted it for my kids. Even at the increased cost of bags under my eyes. There are, of course, more expensive options, like fancy adjustable beds and those little audio systems that play the sounds of the ocean or rainfall. I don't want to be dependent on that type of stuff either. What happens when you have to travel somewhere? You can't take that "sleep number" bed with you.

Sometimes I think that I am just destined to be a night-owl. Either that, or I am living on the wrong side of the globe.

if you don't like it, go home

Living in a small tourist town, we've grown accustomed to seeing strangers and hearing their conversation while we spend time in town. In most cases, they are discussing what they have purchased from gift shops, what they're going to eat next, or what local landmarks are still on their to-see list. For the holidays, our town just had our annual Christmas parade and it was lots of fun. Lots of tourists came in from miles around to see it.

There were floats, marching bands, classic automobiles, and even Ronald McDonald. Those in the parade threw out candy and toys to the children as they passed. It was nothing groundbreaking or spectacular, but it was good clean fun for a town of 2500 people and our guests. unfortunately, we were standing next to a group of morons from some nearby town, and all they could manage to do was badmouth everything as it passed.

Now, I'm as guilty as the next guy at making underhanded comments under my breath or to my wife, but I don't say them out loud for all to hear. And if my family and the people around me are enjoying it, I certainly don't spoil the evening for them. Plus, if I was having a miserable time at a parade, guess what? I would leave.

Our parade wasn't perfect. Sure, I noticed the occasional breaks in the line that caused us to wonder if the parade was over or not, and I thought it was a bit cheesy that some of the "floats" looked just like flatbed trailers with Christmas lights on them, but for a small town, it was still very nice.

If you want a Macy's style parade, get your family on a plane and fly to some big city.