I am a sucker for wonderfully impossible animal stories. Check it out.
http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The Real Cost of Smoking
How much is a pack of cigarettes really worth to you? How about $222 off the value of your life if you are a man. And $94 off the value of your life if you are a woman. Kind of scary, huh? It is higher for men because they earn more than women over their lifetimes and have a greater risk of dying from smoking.
The study by Vanderbilt professors Kip Viscusi and Joni Hersch takes into account the cost to the smokers themselves, based on the value that smokers put on their own lives, rather than the cost to society. The researchers note that smoking increases the chances of anyone dying at anytime in his/her life.
It sure wouldn't be worth it to me.
The study by Vanderbilt professors Kip Viscusi and Joni Hersch takes into account the cost to the smokers themselves, based on the value that smokers put on their own lives, rather than the cost to society. The researchers note that smoking increases the chances of anyone dying at anytime in his/her life.
It sure wouldn't be worth it to me.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Conservative Talk Radio: The Great Whine Fest
I usually don't listen to conservative talk radio. On the local channel here, they do offer some good specific programming: Dave Ramsey, Handle on the Law, Dr. Asa Anderson. Those shows are good. The rest of the programming is like a train wreck: You really don't want to see (listen to) it, but it is so bad, you can't help yourself.
Today, I was scanning the channels and heard one of the "wonders" of our station talking about how the democrats are the new elite. And in typical fashion, he was saying something really clever like "democrats say one thing and do another."
He was talking about a survey, I guess, that was apparently done by the Heritage Foundation, that said that democrats now represent the majority of the nation's wealthiest congressional districts.
He kept trying to turn it into something deceptive or sinister. Hello???
My first reaction is--how stupid! If democrats are wealthy and live in the nicest neighborhoods, great! What is wrong with that? One of the most tired, worn out cliches about democrats is that they are bad for business, that they don't want business to do well. If they are living in such nice neighborhoods, I would say they are pretty good at business, and good for business.
Further, democrats tend to be concerned about their fellow man. What is wrong with that? And if they are so wealthy, and still concerned about their fellow man, that only means that they are really nice people. They are concerned about the underdog, even though it may have nothing personally to do with them, or it won't help them.
Republicans could really take a lesson from this. Concern about others is a good thing, not a negative thing. Too many republicans are only concerned about themselves and what is in it for them.
When republicans and conservatives go on and on like this, it really looks like they have a huge chip on their shoulder. It is quite obvious they are the underdog (and know it) and losing ground fast when they feel their only recourse is to stoop to such inane chatter.
I can't figure out what is worse: Whether this DJ on our local network really thinks his listeners are this stupid, or if the listeners are really this stupid, which would be much more frightening.
Conservative talk radio can really get irritating with all of the relentless whining. But it can be fun entertainment. After all, these little children need to have their "rants."
I won't be on a conservative talk radio diet, but sometimes you have to have a chuckle or two. And you can get a chuckle listening to these himbos. I'll have some cheese with that whine, once in a while.
Today, I was scanning the channels and heard one of the "wonders" of our station talking about how the democrats are the new elite. And in typical fashion, he was saying something really clever like "democrats say one thing and do another."
He was talking about a survey, I guess, that was apparently done by the Heritage Foundation, that said that democrats now represent the majority of the nation's wealthiest congressional districts.
He kept trying to turn it into something deceptive or sinister. Hello???
My first reaction is--how stupid! If democrats are wealthy and live in the nicest neighborhoods, great! What is wrong with that? One of the most tired, worn out cliches about democrats is that they are bad for business, that they don't want business to do well. If they are living in such nice neighborhoods, I would say they are pretty good at business, and good for business.
Further, democrats tend to be concerned about their fellow man. What is wrong with that? And if they are so wealthy, and still concerned about their fellow man, that only means that they are really nice people. They are concerned about the underdog, even though it may have nothing personally to do with them, or it won't help them.
Republicans could really take a lesson from this. Concern about others is a good thing, not a negative thing. Too many republicans are only concerned about themselves and what is in it for them.
When republicans and conservatives go on and on like this, it really looks like they have a huge chip on their shoulder. It is quite obvious they are the underdog (and know it) and losing ground fast when they feel their only recourse is to stoop to such inane chatter.
I can't figure out what is worse: Whether this DJ on our local network really thinks his listeners are this stupid, or if the listeners are really this stupid, which would be much more frightening.
Conservative talk radio can really get irritating with all of the relentless whining. But it can be fun entertainment. After all, these little children need to have their "rants."
I won't be on a conservative talk radio diet, but sometimes you have to have a chuckle or two. And you can get a chuckle listening to these himbos. I'll have some cheese with that whine, once in a while.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
I Am PMBRing!
I wasn't sure whether to PMBR or not. The expenses in this last year of law school are mounting up, and the BarBri is high enough. I have read online a number of people saying both yea and nay to doing the PMBR. Some have said it was a waste of time. Others have said it is invaluable.
What made my decision easier is that they had a sale--the review program ended up only being $800. I paid my balance of $599 this week. The PMBR is supposed to be good for the multi-state portion of the bar exam. Plus, they let you do a dry run of the review before you take your review for real. That was what really sold me.
Now, I have to worry about paying for the BarBri. My pot of money to pay for both reviews is fading fast. I have enough to make a little dent in the BarBri cost, but to my dismay, not enough to pay it off. And my balance is $2,187! I have to pay that off by April 1. Hopefully I won't have any trouble, but I have a lot of other expenses too.
What made my decision easier is that they had a sale--the review program ended up only being $800. I paid my balance of $599 this week. The PMBR is supposed to be good for the multi-state portion of the bar exam. Plus, they let you do a dry run of the review before you take your review for real. That was what really sold me.
Now, I have to worry about paying for the BarBri. My pot of money to pay for both reviews is fading fast. I have enough to make a little dent in the BarBri cost, but to my dismay, not enough to pay it off. And my balance is $2,187! I have to pay that off by April 1. Hopefully I won't have any trouble, but I have a lot of other expenses too.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Green Power Switch
I have been interested in doing the green power switch for a while, and heard a presentation about it the other day.
Basically you can buy 150-kilowatt-hour blocks (about 12 percent of a typical household monthly energy usage) for $4 each. You are not buying green power to come directly to your house, but you are helping to add green power to the mix.
The renewable sources of energy included in this are wind power, solar power, and methane gas (using methane gas as fuel to power an electric generator helps to reduce air polluation, as opposed to directly releasing the methane gas into the atmosphere as a potent greenhoue gas).
The clearest evidence of the value of using green power switch is that, according to the Nashville Electric Service, paying $8 a month for green power switch is like not driving your for four months! This same investment per month is like recycling 15,322 cans or 1,766 pounds of newspaper!
Basically you can buy 150-kilowatt-hour blocks (about 12 percent of a typical household monthly energy usage) for $4 each. You are not buying green power to come directly to your house, but you are helping to add green power to the mix.
The renewable sources of energy included in this are wind power, solar power, and methane gas (using methane gas as fuel to power an electric generator helps to reduce air polluation, as opposed to directly releasing the methane gas into the atmosphere as a potent greenhoue gas).
The clearest evidence of the value of using green power switch is that, according to the Nashville Electric Service, paying $8 a month for green power switch is like not driving your for four months! This same investment per month is like recycling 15,322 cans or 1,766 pounds of newspaper!
Friday, November 23, 2007
More Violations for TN Nursing Homes
Twenty nursing homes in Tennessee have had their admissions suspended following a series of violations, an article in the Tennessean pointed out today. The article did not detail what the violations are, but several people quoted in the article said that if admissions have been suspended, then some bad things have gone on at these places. Industry representatives counterd in the article saying that it doesn't necessarily mean that things are worse at TN nursing homes, just that the inspections are getting tougher. I hope that is the case, but in my opinion, any violations are too many.
Elder care is one of my interests; in fact I would like to use my law degree in this area. Even if I can't practice full time, I would like to help the elderly on a pro bono basis. My main goal would be to try to help them stay in their homes. Sometimes the elderly need to go into nursing homes, but I think it should be the last resort. THE LAST RESORT.
**********************************
The other day when I posted about Sarah Des Prez and the fact that they have caught the man who they think murdered her, I almost closed the post with the words, "And maybe they will solve Marcia Trimble's murder case soon too. Marcia was a young girl who was also murdered in 1975, when she was in her Green Hills neighborhood selling Girl Scout Cookies. It was a terrible murder, and one that rocked Nashville to its core. Strangely enough, there is some suspicion now that the same man might have committed both murders. The man was a landscaper, which might have put him in the Green Hills area. But still there were some facts about the case that would seem to point away from a perpertrator like this..........
*************************************
On another sad note is the suicide of the young girl in Dardenne Prairie, MO. She hung herself after being harassed by a boy she liked, who then turned on her online. Turns out there was no boy, but the harassers were the parents of a classmate who lived down the street. How awful is that? Shame on those adults who reportedly don't seem very remorseful either. At first, there was no law these perps could be charged with. Now the town has passed a law making online harassment a crime. Best line from the article was a quote from the town's mayor: "after all, harassment is harassment, regardless of the mechanism or the tool."
************************************
Elder care is one of my interests; in fact I would like to use my law degree in this area. Even if I can't practice full time, I would like to help the elderly on a pro bono basis. My main goal would be to try to help them stay in their homes. Sometimes the elderly need to go into nursing homes, but I think it should be the last resort. THE LAST RESORT.
**********************************
The other day when I posted about Sarah Des Prez and the fact that they have caught the man who they think murdered her, I almost closed the post with the words, "And maybe they will solve Marcia Trimble's murder case soon too. Marcia was a young girl who was also murdered in 1975, when she was in her Green Hills neighborhood selling Girl Scout Cookies. It was a terrible murder, and one that rocked Nashville to its core. Strangely enough, there is some suspicion now that the same man might have committed both murders. The man was a landscaper, which might have put him in the Green Hills area. But still there were some facts about the case that would seem to point away from a perpertrator like this..........
*************************************
On another sad note is the suicide of the young girl in Dardenne Prairie, MO. She hung herself after being harassed by a boy she liked, who then turned on her online. Turns out there was no boy, but the harassers were the parents of a classmate who lived down the street. How awful is that? Shame on those adults who reportedly don't seem very remorseful either. At first, there was no law these perps could be charged with. Now the town has passed a law making online harassment a crime. Best line from the article was a quote from the town's mayor: "after all, harassment is harassment, regardless of the mechanism or the tool."
************************************
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Marketing Uptick
Things are looking up on the marketing front at our company. The new Website is up and running, even though we are not getting a lot of orders through it yet. I keep telling the others at work that we need to promote the new Website when talking with customers. I hope they are doing it--I am not around to hear what they say to customers in person or on the phone.
Now we are working on the second phase of the Website--where our customers can log in and check the status of their orders. That will be cool!
I have come to realize how far behind our industry is in terms of Website technology and such. Many of the companies don't even have a Website. Yikes! It is good for us though, because it makes us ahead of the pack.
We are also redoing our ad that will run in a trade magazine. I am so glad. The company has run the same stodgy ad for so long. We have created a new ad that will run. It was a rush job--I had mentioned I wanted to redo the ad, but it had not been talked about in a long time. My relative boss came out last week and said let's do it now. The ad is due to the publisher next week. It is a good first start. We will continue working on better ads. Things are looking up!
Now we are working on the second phase of the Website--where our customers can log in and check the status of their orders. That will be cool!
I have come to realize how far behind our industry is in terms of Website technology and such. Many of the companies don't even have a Website. Yikes! It is good for us though, because it makes us ahead of the pack.
We are also redoing our ad that will run in a trade magazine. I am so glad. The company has run the same stodgy ad for so long. We have created a new ad that will run. It was a rush job--I had mentioned I wanted to redo the ad, but it had not been talked about in a long time. My relative boss came out last week and said let's do it now. The ad is due to the publisher next week. It is a good first start. We will continue working on better ads. Things are looking up!
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