Hey Sports Fans!!

I saw this today and it cracked me up, though it may be a little snarky:



Click on it to get a full size image of "September Madness"! Which bank or government entity to you think will go all the way?!

What a waste!!

That's my takeaway from today's political activities. A. Complete. Waste.

A waste of time.
A waste of tax dollars.
A waste of money.
A waste of energy.

I was watching the news tonight, and NBC's political director Chuck Todd was on with Brian Williams. His insight into today's vote really caught my attention. He said, that after some analysis on the vote, he had determined that ultimately, 1 factor indicated whether a lawmaker would vote FOR or AGAINST the bill: whether or not they were facing a hotly-contested battle for their seat in November.

If a lawmaker was pretty much a shoe-in for their seat in the fall, they voted FOR the bill.

If a lawmaker was being challenged strongly for their seat in the fall, they voted AGAINST the bill.

If that is the case, and honestly it seems rather likely to (cynical) me, then I cannot think of anything more cowardly.

But then came the finger pointing, and the blaming.

Pelosi blames Bush.
Republicans blame Pelosi.
Democrats call the Republicans whiners.
The phrase "babies sucking our thumbs" was used.

I am honestly starting to think that the 1st grade Sunday school class that we teach could have done a better job crafting legislation and voting on it.

Please, for the love of God and country, stop the whining and do your jobs!



Whew.

Ok, sorry for the rant. Sorry for the series of rants, actually. Hope you're still hanging in there.

Dog show

I took advantage of the late afternoon sun yesterday to do an impromptu photo shoot with the pups. Here's the outcome:

Passing the time

I was just lamenting to a friend that I was really behind the times this week. I haven't watched the full Tina Fey video from SNL wherein she imitates Sarah Palin.

And I'm sure that most of you have already tried out the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator...but I hadn't tried it yet, so here's my amusement for the morning:

Had I been born to Sarah Palin, I would have been named:

Bang Walmart Palin - my full name, using my maiden last name

Mustache Warthog Palin - using my shortened maiden name

Knife Pile Palin - using my full married name

Icepick Motor Palin - using my shortened married name



All are very, very flattering, as you can tell.

Who would you be, as a Palin?

Some perspective...

I know, I know - 2 posts in 1 day!

You're probably wondering how you could be so lucky as to stubmle upon 2 posts in one day here at chynmburli.

Well, sometimes it's better not to question such blessings.

So I'm still rather troubled by the many strange happenings in the market. I read an article today about the top 10 US bankruptcies in history, and to drive the point home (and given my on-going love affair with all things Excel), I created this nifty chart. (Click on it to make it bigger...this is the best that Blogger could do)



Ta da! Some perspective on what happened over the last 3 days.

These are billions of dollars.

And that freaking huge spike on the right? That's from Monday. Of this week. Like 2 days ago. The teeny blip on the far left? That's from 1987.

Here the article that I got the data from, if you're at all curious.

I read it, I said it, I stole your momma's credit

Anyone guess the movie?




And we're moving on:

Disclaimer: I'm feeling a little preachy this morning. If you don't want to read a rant about our current financial times, I suggest you just skip this one.

I read the Clark Howard piece that I linked to yesterday, and would encourage you to do the same if you want a dumbed-down, super-brief summary of what happened over the last few months.

I want to call attention to one of the minor points that is made in the story (and the one following it as well): this is not a "Bush" problem.

With all the flurry of various political campaigns going on day in and day out, both candidates were quick on the draw, blaming this party and that. Obama still seems to be on his "don't vote for 4 more years of Bush - they got us in this jam" mantra, but do not be fooled.

It takes years for financial policies, passed by our local, state and national government, to take affect. To blame the current state of Wall Street and the real estate market on any 1 term in office is not only unfair, it's wrong.

Now, I know in the past I haven't gotten too far into the political debate. But it's hitting our wallets now, and it's getting a bit personal. The government has either loaned, or made available, upwards of $280 billion dollars. And where they getting the cash? Mostly, from you. And me. And the rest of the American people.

Do I think the government should bailout these companies? It's a toss-up, simply because on one hand, the companies shouldn't have gotten themselves into this pickle in the first place. On the other hand, the companies are now so big that having them go down in flames would probably cause a HUGE wave of financial turbulence across the globe. It's a no win situation.

Indymac
Washington Mutual
Freddie
Fanny
AIG
Bear Stearns
Merrill Lynch
HBOS
Lehman Brothers

Who is next?

Money matters

I know there is a post somewhere, still forming itself in my brain, regarding the complete chaos that is the US economy over the last year or so.

However, I'm coming down with a little writer's block today, so for now, I leave you with these primers:

1) Fairly bland (i.e. it's not blaming one side or the other too terribly) summary of the most recent happenings from CNN: link

2) Just for some book learning, a refresher on what is actually meant by "subprime lending" and all of its sordid past: link

3) And just for a sanity check, please visit Clark Howard. For you AM radio listeners, hopefully you're already familiar with him. If you're not, you need to be. He has an article as well about the latest happenings, but I haven't read it yet: link, meltdown article link

Enjoy!

Looking ahead

I've never been really good at setting goals. I just am not geared for strategic thinking. Give me something tactical, and I'll dive right in and knock it out (most likely). However, I have recently been doing some corporate strategy thinking (more out of frustration than curiosity), and that's why when Amar suggested I read this book, I tore through it.



It's by a pretty well-known business author, Patrick Lencioni. Some of you in corporate America might be familiar with his other titles. Given that my past reading track record was pretty pathetic, I had heard of him, but never read any of his books. Today? I'm 2/3 of the way through my second of his set.

Anyhow, back to the yellow book.

It's basically about how to manage your family so that 1) you're not all running around like crazy people and 2) you're actually making progress towards meaningful goals that align with the unique values that make up your family.

It is not boring. I know you think it will be, but it is not. Even if you hate goals/milestones/objectives/etc., you should read it. I want to get it for people for Christmas. Seriously.

Amar and I both read it over the last week, and last night we sat down at a local coffee shop and planned out the next 2 months for our family: we outlined what made us, as a family, unique; we settled on a 'rallying cry' which is basically the highest-priority item for us over the next 2 months; we setup certain structure around how we're going to achieve that goal.

And it was great.

Seriously, I really think you should read this book.

Single? Read it.
Married? Read it.
4 kids under the age of 5? Read it.

We came up with values and a plan without too much debate (I know, this is a shocker for some of you to imagine us NOT debating!), and I'm genuinely excited about it. I'm excited about doing it again in 2 months, once we're past this initial goal. We already know what our next 2 will be.

So that's my endorsement for the week. If you do happen to pick it up and put it to use, let me know! We'll gladly welcome you to the bandwagon with us!

Mammoth Lakes: Pictures

Folks, here is a link to our pictures from our anniversary trip to Mammoth Lakes, California. Enjoy!

Pictures

Note: the first few pictures are either me goofing around or at a friend's wedding...I just haven't separated the albums yet.

Some love for the airline industry

Not to all of it, mind you. I do still have the fresh memory of being thrown under the bus by American a few months back...but Southwest Airlines deserves a bit of friendly affection, in my humble opinion.

Amar surprised me for our 2nd anniversary and booked a trip to one of my favorite places in the world: Yosemite. Actually, we stayed a little South of the park, down in Mammoth Lakes, also beautiful! More on that, with pictures, later this week.

But back to the travel - we had to fly through Las Vegas and then to Reno to get there, and the first leg of the trip was pretty smooth. No delays, no crazy passengers, no missing bags. All in all, a good experience.

The return trip, however, was not as smooth. For some weather-related reasons, all of Las Vegas was shut down in regards to air travel. So our flight out of Reno was delayed, but we didn't know this until we boarded the plane.

Now, I'm not a super-frequent flyer, but I know that when the Captain comes out to make an announcement while you're still at the gate, something is up.

And something was indeed up.

He calmly, intelligently, rationally and compassionately explained to us that we would not be leaving anytime soon, and that we needed to deplane. On any other airline, they would have 1) just kept delaying the flight and refusing to tell you why, all while forcing you to stay seated in a grimy waiting area or 2) done something else equally awful.

Anyhow, they kindly asked us to head back out to the gate and to stay close, since we could literally need to board the plane at any moment.

About an hour later, while I was happily re-reading some Harry Potter (catching up on book 6 before the [now delayed!] movie comes out next year), when they asked us to line up again, based on the honor system (since they already had our boarding passes). We lined up, in order, and waited. We waited for about 5 minutes before they came back on the loud speaker to announce yet another delay.

About 30 minutes later, they came back on the PA system and said, "Folks, we've been cleared for takeoff. If you can board this plane in 15 minutes, we'll be good to go." And then it happened: that sense of camaraderie among the group. We banded together, boarded quickly (since we all had something at stake) and made it to the friendly skies over Las Vegas all in about 20 minutes.

Kudos, Southwest. You handled that well. At no point did I feel like a cow in a herd of nameless cattle. At no point were any of the flight attendants gruff or impatient with us, even when a rather large, rather tipsy many pointed at us and yelled "THEY TOOK MY SEAT"*. You kindly handed him his seat belt extender and asked him to find another seat. And you didn't even charge me for a blanket (take that, JetBlue!).


*It was on the honor system, buddy. If you had a business select number, but you chose to down another glass of wine rather than board with the business select folks, you missed your chance. The honor system was for boarding order only, not for seat saving. This is not the 4th grade, and I didn't hear anyone chanting "same seats, same places, same people, same faces" like we used to do in elementary school. So I hope you enjoyed your flight at the "back of the bus" as you like to call it. We certainly enjoyed ours at the front!

New specs

I got glasses for the first time in 4th grade.

Due to the benevolence of my parents, I quickly upgraded to contacts in 6th grade and have been wearing them ever since.

My "backup" glasses have been the same since about Jr. High, and as you can imagine, were just a little bit out of date. Out of style, most definitely, but also very lacking in actually helping me to see anything, since my prescription has changed about 10 times since then.

That all changed last weekend. Amar and I went to get some new glasses and they just came in yesterday.

If you'd like to see the latest self-portrait, click here.

Really, I'm just trying to phase them in a bit. Since I can actually use them to see things now, I might start wearing them out in public every now and then. Brace yourselves, and thanks in advance for your support!

Happy Anniversary

It's been a wonderful 2 years...

Shout-out to the Indians out there

So I was giving Amar a hard time the other day about the seeming absence of any Indian presence for any Olympic sports. I wasn't aware at the time, but the country had yet to win any gold medals in any individual sport. Ever.

My argument:
There are over 1 billion people in the entire country. Out of that huge number of potential athletes, there have got to be at least a few people that are outstanding in various sporting events.

Anyhow, it seemed like such a loss to me that India wasn't well represented athletically....until recently.

Abhinav Bindra just won India's first individual gold. Sure, it was in men's 10m air rifle, but a gold medal is a gold medal.

So congrats, India. I know the resident Indian in my house was mighty proud!

Bah humbug

I'm really enjoying this picture

Thanks, Taylor!

Following in their footsteps...

I, too, took the Jane Austen quiz:

Take the Quiz here!

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

More pics of the bathroom remodel

Sorry that there's been an absence of updates around here. This past weekend was spend mostly with my dad, a circular saw, and lots of wood. But here is the progress that we were able to make:

Shots of the various stages of demolition:





Goodbye to the scary medicine cabinet*.



And here is the tile partially done (it had not been grouted yet...)



And here are some shots of the various stages of installing the wainscoting/bead board...we spent about 8 hours on it on Saturday, and then another 2 on Sunday. Now it just needs paint:



Notice our fancy brace...yep, it's the shower curtain rod. Inventive!



*About medicine cabinets:
I don't like them. In fact, they creep me out quite significantly. Maybe it's because of the various homes I've lived in that have previously been occupied by other people, most have had a medicine cabinet that, upon opening, has been quite scary. You never know what you'll find in there. And most of the time, it ain't pretty. It's hard to clean, and while yes, it does add some storage space, that does not outweigh the creepiness factor in my book. Also, if you don't have one, no one can peek in on it (though, since we do have a significant storage closet in that bathroom, I figure that if people want to spy on our guest bathroom accouterments, they can just open the closet door).

That being said, we're in the home stretch of this project. Painting and decorating is all that is left to be done. And if you're in the neighborhood and find yourself in dire need of a cute guest bathroom, give us a week and we should be able to help you out with that :)

Out with the old, in with the new

We're finally making some much needed changes to our guest bathroom. For those of you who have been to the house, you'll recall with fondness the duct tape that was securing a hole in the corner of the tub surround.

Well, as stylish as that was, we decided it was time for a change. We already fixed the floor, toilet and sink, but the tub surround needed a major overhaul. So here's a timeline, in pictures:

When we first bought the house:





Once the new floor and fixtures were in:



And I'll post an in-progress picture later today or tomorrow, as I can hear the guys ripping into the old tile as I type this...scary.

Why you should be paying attention:

Even if you're not a big saver or a big earner, you should be paying attention to what the candidates are saying about their tax policies.

Particularly ridiculous, I give you an article about Obama's proposed "solution": Investment Gains Taxes Increase - The Worst Tax Policy Ever?

Please read this. It will take you less than 5 minutes.

Some of you may disagree with the author, and that's fine. I happen to be among the group of people who are not fans of Obama's plan. But that's just me.

O'Hare: Thou art a cruel beast

It's not you, it's me. Or at least that's what I used to think. But no, I was mistaken. The facts, you foul, relentless, vindictive airport, indicate that you are indeed the heartless creature that many warned against:

• Exhibit A
Our first date was when I took a connecting flight through your abominable gates on the way back from India. By the time Amar and I had made it through customs at 6:30AM after a 13 hour flight, you had canceled our flight and were laughing maniacally about it. We sat there for 5 hours in your uncomfortable chairs, with your harsh fluorescent lighting beating down on us, highlighting every sleepless, puffy eye in the worst possible way, waiting for you to get us home.

It was also on that same trip that you wrenched from my hands a longtime companion of mine: a warm, cozy, comforting sweater. Down you sucked it into your bowels, never to be seen again. Alas, fair sweater, I cared for you deeply.


• Exhibit B
A quick weekend trip to Chicago to visit Amar while he was away for two weeks ended on the sourest of notes. This time you conspired with your partner in crime, the Blue CTA line, to ensure that I burned at least 2000 calories sprinting through your linoleum maze, carrying luggage and a crazed look as I searched in vain for the shortest security line, with 3 minutes to spare. And again, your cackle echoed through the hallways as I raced to my gate, the flight attendants paging me over your sound system.


• Exhibit C
Just weeks after the unfortunate morning aforementioned, I was subjected once more to your vengeful madness on my way to Poland. Because you would not give us clearance to land, we sat on an Austin tarmac for 2 hours, watching the nearby cows graze. Once you'd had your fill, feasting on my precious layover time, you allowed us to become airborne, knowing full well that I would once again have to sprint, luggage in-hand, to my gate whilst wildly waving my boarding pass at the flight attendants in desperate hope that they would allow me on the plane.


• Exhibit D
This past weekend, after quite a relaxing and enjoyable few days spent walking the streets of your dear city, you decided to wreak havoc on the Ramas once more. This time you devoured a precious 8 hours of Amar's time, toying with him as you kept delaying his flight repeatedly through the afternoon, teasing him that there just might be the possibility of his making it to Philadelphia in time for a Monday morning meeting. By this time, you had already canceled my flight back to Austin, and in a method only your cunning could concoct, rebooked me on a flight Monday afternoon, which would have left me homeless for a night.

But no, you weren't finished with us yet. Your wrath had yet to be made whole. You would not be satisfied until you had also disposed of our luggage, which would actually arrive in Philadelphia, sans owner, 3 days later.

You chewed us up and spit us out onto Austin soil at 3AM, and while you may have crushed our spirit of adventure, you did not crush our soul. Much to your chagrin, we got our luggage back.

O'Hare, I say to you this: You vex me greatly.