First Political Post: Economic Crisis 2008

I've had numerous face-to-face discussions regarding the latest economic crisis and the $700 billion bailout proposal. And to be brief, here's my take:

All of us have gotten ourselves into this mess. Wall St. and Main St. (as they are so affectionately segregated) are both accountable and intertwined in this latest crisis.

Wall St.: I'm positive that greed exists on Wall St. As an example, how is it possible that sub-prime mortgages are a great financial product for such a large portion of America? And then, how is it possible that other investment companies would buy these as sound mortgage-backed securities?

Main St.: I'm positive that when consumers see a deal, no matter how fine the print or how too-good-to-be-true, we'll bite at it. As an example, I can just picture a new homeowner saying, "You mean I only make $50k annually, but you're going to give me a $400k mortgage at a low rate? Great! I know the housing market will continue to grow and I'll just refinance in a few years."

It's time we all take our own medicine and learn from each others mistakes. Let's be our brother's keeper, recognize our faults in materialism and living beyond our means, and work together to resolve this crisis.

Woodland Blog: Not considered an active blog

So I've had my blog since May '08... and am getting personal satisfaction: using it as my own tech notebook, keeping tabs on certain events, as well as providing humor to some friends.

However, according to a recent TechCrunch article, I wouldn't be considered your average "active" blog. That is, I don't post 10 times/month (except June'08... I had a lot to say!).

<sarcasm>Guess I'd better increase my posts before I start loading this blog with ads, registration fees, and frequent surveys.</sarcasm>

Funny page not found error

Thanks to Technologizer, I stumbled across the University of Illinois' ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) 404 Page Not Found error.

It's a very creative way to (1) notify the user that the page doesn't exist and (2) waste five minutes...

I'm officially changing my answers to password security questions

Not sure why I never gave this much thought before, but after the Gov. Sarah Palin email hack, it makes perfect sense for everyone to create their own alter-ego, answering their favorite security questions (e.g. which high school did you attend?) with a bogus answer that you can remember.

And as ComputerWorld writes, it's not just Yahoo! that's vulnerable to these types of attacks.

Two immediate thoughts on this week's MNF

The Texas Stadium, home of the NFL Dallas Cowboys, has a hole over the field because the original plans (1971) did not contain enough structural integrity to have a full roof. Given the stadium already cost $35 million, there was not enough money (or time, I presume) to add more structural integrity to fill-in the roof.

Also, will the NFL please stop showing the camera view from behind the kicker when he attempts to kick a field goal. While a cool view, it's not practical. You can barely see the football, with the backdrop of fans, and the TV viewer can't tell whether or not the kick goes through the upright.

Pure dominance limited by showing-off.

During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Usain Bolt learned a lesson from the Olympic Committee and crowd reaction during his 100m final: don't show-off before the finish line; rather, impress us as the "fastest man on earth" and then celebrate in whatever way you feel - including your human reenactment of a lighting bolt.

And now, according to ESPN.com, Usain is learning another lesson: don't have your coach promote that you can shatter the former 100m record by running a time, say around, 9.52s; rather, you're going to have to prove it, because physicists have you pegged between 9.55 - 9.61s. (pffft!)

Be careful what you say. But, you already knew that, didn't you?

In a not-so-shocking Careerbuilder.com press release (thanks, Slashdot)... a study suggests that what you post on social networking sites may indeed impact whether or not a potential employer decides to hire you.

Rock bottom or just a poor choice?

According to an ESPN.com article, a high jumper was accused of drinking Red Bull and vodka during a professional track and field meet.

This immediately made me think of VH1's "Behind The Music" where similar incidents meant rock bottom was just around the corner. However, if history (or "Behind The Music") is any indication, I wouldn't be shocked if this high jumper crashes and burns in the next year... only to turn his life around and contend for an Olympic medal in London 2012.

... or maybe he just wanted a night off for once and decided it'd be best to drink at a professional meet.

Update: As I usually re-read my posts, I once again got to thinking... if you're an elite athlete, why would you potentially throw it all away with one thoughtless move? It's all about the decisions we make.