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| BrendanMcKillip.com brendan mckillip's daily journal |
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daily journal
Open Letter to Chicago Media Outlets I think we both agree that the majority of the people in Chicago are probably excited about Barack Obama's Presidential victory.  Whether it's because he's our first black President, a hope for real change in government, a local Chicago boy, or just anyone other than George Bush, there is an angle there for just about everyone to be interested in what an Obama administration has in store for the country.That being said, do we really need to have every aspect and movment of the Obama's life between now and January 20, 2009 documented, photographed, analyzed, and reported? I understand that it is exiting to have someone from Chicago preparing to assume the top office in the country and Obama and his family are an interesting topic, but in just seven days you have hit a a fever pitch in your coverage that I' m not sure is sustainable for the next seventy odd days.  What concerns me is that you are working your damnedest to do just that - fill every day from now to the Inauguration with as much Obama-ness as possible. Which I can only imagine means more stories about where Barack and Michelle had dinner last night or psycho-babble about why we might be jealous of Barack.If people thoughg the press fauned over Obama during the Democratic primaries, then in comparisson what you guys have done over the last seven days could be described as obsessive stalking. I think the guy is great. I' m excited and interested in seeing what he does as President. But you are on the verge of killing that enthusiasm with your constant reporting on every movement, speech, thought, and breath taken by Barack, Michelle, and their two daughters. He's going to be President for four years. Pace yourself. Thanks, Brendan posted by Brendan | 10:21 PM | permanent link |
Goodbye Robo-Calls Regardless of which candidates you voted for today, one issue that I believe the entire population could galvanize behind and support in a unanimous manner is the ending of political campaign phone calls. In past elections, I remember Heather and me receiving a phone call or two in the weeks leading up to the election. But the number of calls we received in previous years paled in comparison to the volume of phone calls from volunteers, campaign committees, and automated systems that inundated our home phone over the last two months. Our phone was ringing two or three times a day from some representative of somebody’s campaign who wanted to know if they could count on our support on November 4. Heather just started saying “yes” to whoever was on the phone so she could hang up on them as quickly as possible. What was particularly annoying was the number of automated phone invitations to join virtual town hall meetings via the phone so we could ask questions of some candidate. An impromptu conference call on a Saturday afternoon? Lame. But now the calls will end. My proposal, before we pass any economic stimulus packages or bail out any more banks, there should be a plan to add a referendum to the ballot of the next election regarding the elimination of these annoying campaign cold calls.  posted by Brendan | 7:36 PM | permanent link |
Well That Should Take Care of Everything Saw this little AP story headline and immediately knew that happier, rainbow and unicorn filled days of laughter and booming economies are now just moments away. White House tells banks to stop hoarding moneyThe White House's approach to putting pressure on banks to start lending money reminds me of a line from Ghostbusters. After the novice Ghostbusters have a less than successful first encounter with a apparition in the basement of a library, Bill Murray's character - Peter Venkman says, "Hee hee hee! 'Get her!' That was your whole plan, huh, 'get her.' Very scientific." posted by Brendan | 12:47 PM | permanent link |
More Good Economic News Our national debt has grown so large that the National Debt Clock cannot even display all the numbers.  To accommodate the display of our $10.2 trillion debt, the dollar sign in the clock was replaced with a "1". A new clock will be installed early next year that will allow the debt display to climb up to the quadrillion of dollars. Pleasant. Fun fact: The national debt has grown more than $500 billion each year since fiscal year 2003. Thanks for everything, George W. Bush!! Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 10:31 AM | permanent link |
MAVERICK!  Saw this ad (right) on the Chicago Tribune website today and it got me to thinking how over the course of the last few weeks, the McCain campaign has totally ruined the word "maverick" for me.The campaign's over-use of the word to describe both Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin is sapping the original meaning from the term. "Maverick" is drifting over into the realm of the single-word punchline instead of the a verbal embodiment of a personal philosophy or code of conduct. Like "liberal", "ring-wing", or "main stream media", "maverick" is becoming a hollow term used as verbal filler to pad around cliches and talking points in politicians and political pundits monologues. What do McCain and Palin mean when they call themselves "mavericks"? That they do whatever the hell they want, facts and common sense be damned? They do a bad job of defining what a "maverick" is and why I should consider this an honorable quality when deciding who should be the next President of the United States. And isn't it a little weird that McCain and Palin keep referring to themselves as "mavericks"? Isn't that something they should leave up to others to do for them? All this self-referential talk about being "mavericks" is beginning to sound like they are speaking in the third person about themselves. That's kinda creepy. With any luck, this "maverick" crap will end with the election - regardless of who wins - and I can work on re-establishing the word "maverick" with it's true meaning.  posted by Brendan | 4:47 PM | permanent link |
Wise Words The Founding Fathers did have all the answers over 200 hundred years ago. We just haven't been listening. "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."Obviously, the emphasis provided in the quote from Mr. Jefferson was supplied by me. Regardless, I find Mr. Jefferson's comments on the role of banks/financial institutions and their influence on the public very enlightening when contemplating our country's current state of affairs. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 4:57 PM | permanent link | So Much for Government Protecting Its Citizens This boggles me mind. EPA won't limit rocket fuel in drinking waterSo there is rocket fuel in the water. There is ROCKET FUEL IN OUR WATER. How is that something that can be left alone? Confounds the hell out of me. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 11:24 AM | permanent link |
Where's My Bailout? The United States Government’s bailout of insurance giant AIG has me perplexed. For a country that is bills itself as the shining example of not only a democratic government, but a free-market economy, I don’t fully understand why over the last few weeks our Federal government has deemed it necessary to step in and save failing businesses. That sort of behavior seems economically antithetical.  What the government did for Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns, while slightly distressing, at least amounted to only trying to find a way to keep those organizations upright. It was a slightly perverted form of corporate mediation, if you will. The AIG deal, from where I sit, looks like a straight up hand out of cash to keep the company afloat. But in all cases the steps taken by the U.S. Government amount to governmental intervention to the private business sector.This sort of government meddling certainly seems to run counter to the ideals of a free-market, but if these few bailouts helps the overall economy from a total meltdown then I am more inclined to go along with the decisions. Except for one thing – the $85 billion loan to AIG. The Mayor of Chicago, Richie Daley, is known for eccentric and off-kilter press conferences and public appearances. Even after almost 40 years in public service (almost 20 of those as the Mayor of Chicago) he still has a way of speaking that calls to mind somebody’s crazy uncle. Despite all that, I thought his recent comments offered in response to the AIG bailout reflected my own thoughts on the subject. What frustrates me the most about this situation is the news that the SEC allowed five firms – I’ll let you guess who – to be exempt from rules that would have prevented these companies from leveraging themselves into the holes they have ended up in. The SEC exempts a select few companies from certain regulations designed keep financial institutions from sitting on too shaky of ground, and when those same firms threaten to bring the U.S. economy to its knees as a result, the government rushes in to prop them back up with tax payer money. I hope that two years from now, when I no longer have money to buy fuel, milk, or clothes because of an economy in shambles that AIG and these other firms will step in to reciprocate the help I unwilling provided them last week. posted by Brendan | 4:46 PM | permanent link |
Just Let It End I'm really not sure if it was coincidence or an intended counter-punch, but I couldn't help but take note of the the opposing underling artistic point of views in Sunday's For Better or For Worse and Opus. While Lynn Johnston was trying to explain to us why that instead of finding an ending for the story of the fictional Patterson clan or turning the strip into a frozen-in-time perpetual soap opera (i.e. Brenda Starr), she's opted to restart the For Better or For Worse from the beginning so she can retread old stories, Berkeley Breathed was publishing an episode of Opus that clearly take a swipe at all of the comic strip creators who cannot - or will not - realize that every story needs an ending.   While I have never really found Berkeley's comic strips particularly funny, I do appreciate the work he has done and the unique voice he has brought to the medium. And with yesterday's strip I think it's clear that he understands what comic strip creators like Lynn Johnston do not. That the circle of life does apply to comic strips. All things need to come to an end - regardless of how much you are enjoying them. I suspect Berkeley is building up to ending his Opus strip. Possibly so he can move on to something else. Maybe find a new outlet for his creative energies. Lynn, on the other hand, has decided to take the Opus' interpretation of the circle of life in comics to an extreme - sending FBOFW readers into a endless loop of the same stories repeated from the beginning. She's not even going to try and come up with new material. Johnston plans to rehash the old stories. Even writers of Hagar the Horrible and Dick Tracy try to come up with new stories and gags. Lynn's decision boggles my mind. What a waste of comic strip space. Labels: comic strips, Rant posted by Brendan | 10:16 PM | permanent link |
A Post about Star Wars Even though the press release clearly states that the DVDs in these two box sets are exactly the same as what was originally released with the special edition versions of all the Star Wars movies over the last few years (and which I already own), I still can’t help thinking about owning these two new boxed sets.  It has to do with the slick continuity of design. These two box sets would just look pretty cool up on the shelf with the rest of the DVDs in my collection. Luckily, my logical self understands that owning movies on DVD is about the content, not the packaging; so ultimately I will pass on these sets.But speaking of Star Wars and movie content, I’m not done talking about Star Wars quite yet. I really liked what Todd Alcott had to say about Star Wars in general when he was reviewing The Clone Wars animated movie that recently landed in theaters.  His point, basically, is this: that for all these middle-aged whiners who claim George Lucas has ruined Star Wars with the release of his Prequel Trilogy and now this animated Clone Wars series, Lucas is gaining an equal number from a new generation of fans with the Prequel/Clone Wars material. How we, the grown-ups fans of Star Wars, relate to Star Wars is completely different from today’s kids.Now I like the Prequel Trilogy well enough, but I know those are the films that Ian is more excited about watching. He likes the Original Trilogy, which is my favorite of the bunch; but he will pick Attack of the Clones over Return of the Jedi any day. When he talks Star Wars, it is usually about Anakin, Count Doku and Jango Fett, not Luke, Han, and Leia. And while I am sort of ambivalent about the whole Clone Wars animated series that will be debuting on TV this fall (and has received a movie release this summer), Ian is talking up his excitement and interest in seeing both the film and the TV cartoon.  Alcott makes the point that the reason most middle-agers hold the original Star Wars films in such high regard is that they provide a link back to their childhood, and by extension other happy memories. He argues that if you take a step back and critique Star Wars or Return of the Jedi with the critical eye of an adult seeing the film for the first time, these original movies really aren’t much better than the new batch of films. It’s all a matter of when you first watch a Star Wars movie that determines your connection with the storyline and the mythology of the series.If anything, I think the staying power of the Original Trilogy with middle-agers and the level of interest generated by the Prequel/Clone War material within the next generation is a testament to Lucas’ power to craft exciting stories that capture the imagination of youngsters in a deep and moving way. He grabbed us when we were young, and now he is inspiring the imagination of our children with new tales in his Star Wars universe. Let's leave the man alone and let him create in peace. Labels: Animation, movies, Rant, Star Wars posted by Brendan | 9:54 PM | permanent link |
New Face for the Tribune? Sam Zell and Team are working up redesigns for many of the Tribune Company's newspapers to combat sagging sales. The Orlando Sentinel was the first paper to go under the knife, and apparently also acted as a guinea pig for trying out some unconventional design approaches for a daily newspaper. Now it looks like it might be flagship paper, The Chicago Tribune, to get a new face. Editor & Publisher leaked this design today as one of many new designs being considered for the Trib.  I'm trying to reserve judgment until I can see a larger version of the mock-up and possibly some interior pages, but my initial reaction is "ugh." This design seems to put the Trib more in line with tabloid papers like the Chicago Sun-Times or the New York Daily News with their flashy graphics and large fonts. To me this sort of presentation is about making a newspaper more interested in style and getting noticed than on the quality and substance of the stories. If the quality of the content remains but the packaging is spruced up, then I really won't care too much about what they do to the Trib. But if the new design/style starts to cramp on the quality, then Heather and I might be ending our subscription. But that's getting ahead of ourselves. We need to give the Trib some time to finalize a design posted by Brendan | 12:38 PM | permanent link |
Grammar Police I love today's Wondermark  Mainly because I share many of the same hang-ups as the "language nerd" in today's comic. I cannot stand to listen to someone say "I could care less" when they actually mean "I could not care less." Labels: comic strips, Rant posted by Brendan | 4:54 PM | permanent link |
U.S. Dollar Finally Good for Something With the U.S. economy as weak as it is right now, it’s refreshing to see that the U.S. dollar can still do something for us. “Paper money contains high traces of cocaine, regardless of whether or not the paper money came into direct contact with the drug. And U.S. bills take the top spot, covered in the greatest amount of the illegal powder, while Spanish notes are the most highly contaminated in Europe, a new study finds.”Maybe if we grind it up and snort it, we will forget about the credit crisis, housing crisis, unemployment, rising food prices, rising fuel costs, etc. posted by Brendan | 11:41 PM | permanent link | Beijing Smog Phil Hersh is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune who is in Beijing to cover the upcoming Olympics. In addition to the stories he will be filing about the Olympics, he is also chronicling with his camera the air quality as he sees it each day from his hotel window. The quote for this photo, “The view from the hall window next to Phil Hersh's Beijing hotel room at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 5. Phil says: ‘White air again. Ugh.’”  Who has “white” air? It looks like they are having a snow storm. I get the feeling that if China doesn’t kill the rest of the world with the lead-laced toys and consumer products, then they will eventually block the Sun from warming the Earth with the ever-growing cloud of out-of-control industrial expansion produced smog. posted by Brendan | 11:36 PM | permanent link |
Gimme a Break A couple month back I read about Freecycle - a network of community email listserves that allow people to get rid of stuff or request stuff for free - and decided to sign up to see what sort of items would float by. Most of the activity has focused on people looking to get rid of things - an old playset, bathroom sink, kids clothing, books, dot-matrix computer - basically things that a person might have tried selling at a garage sale or on Craigslist, but didn't want to go through the effort of haggling over price. About 10% of the emails are from people looking for things - a missing piece to a grill, a particular book they want to read but can seem to find, or other really odd items. Then there is the small set of individuals who seem to be looking to get something for nothing. Somebody looking for a second refrigerator for their basement, sewing supplies because they want to give knitting a try, or a couch for their son who just got his first apartment. And then we get something like this one, which dropped into my inbox a few days back. "My son sold his car because he couldn't afford to keep it anymore.Here's a radical idea. How about using the money he just obtained by selling his car to buy himself this much needed bike. Okay, maybe son had to take all the money he made selling his vehicle to pay off the car loan. Still, he was using the car to travel to his job. The kid is making money. He can get a good bike for around $100, with no more car payments to make or gas tanks to fill up, he should have more than enough money by the time of his next paycheck. Stop looking for a handout and take care of yourself. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 7:09 PM | permanent link |
Time To Discharge Beetle Bailey As the commentators at The Comics Curmudgeon point out – what sort of military marching band includes a harp and a violin?  I know Mort Walker is a legend in the business and does plenty for the preservation of comic history; but when he lets his kids churn out nonsensical crap like this using his name, then it’s time to close the studio. He is better than that and the comic strip medium deserves better.posted by Brendan | 8:46 PM | permanent link |
So Pissed It annoys me that I can't post items when I'm at work. My companies website blocking software denies me access to blogger.com. Today I spent time writing up some posts while eating my lunch, but then I forgot to email them to myself before I left for the day. Now I don't have those posts to publish and it makes me mad. Errrr. It's all so dumb. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 10:21 PM | permanent link |
Things I'm Thinking About Today Enough With the Drugs Already The American Academy of Pediatrics released a set of guidelines today that recommends starting children as young as eight years-old on cholesterol-fighting drugs. The kids don’t have to be suffering from high cholesterol, in the opinion of these doctors. These second and third graders can simply be at-risk kids. Meaning they come from a family that has a history of cholesterol disease or early-age heart disease.Cool Art Room How could any kid in first grade NOT love taking art classes in this classroom?Who Wants a Reheated Breakfast Anyways? I read today that JC Penny is basing its back-to-school clothing campaign on the 1985 uber-teen flick The Breakfast Club. posted by Brendan | 10:42 PM | permanent link |
Can’t Have It Both Ways I’m not in a ranting sort of mood, so this will be short. There is something I just can’t seem to wrap my head around, and I thought maybe writing things out might help make sense of things. In today’s Supreme Court decision, the court ruled that the Bill of Rights, namely the Second Amendment, protects an American citizen’s right to own a handgun. Yet, that same Bill of Rights, namely the Fourth Amendment, apparently does not protect individual Americans from having their personal property seized when they travel on international airline flights or protect them from having the government listen in on their phone conversations or read their email. How can the current White House administration claim that affirming the Second Amendment and ignoring the Fourth Amendment is 1) allowable and 2) makes America safer? I know I'm glossing over a lot with these statements, but the problem as I see it is this: out of one side of their mouth the Bush administration says it is good for Americans to have the full protection of the 2nd Amendment to ensure our personal safety and out of the other side of their mouth they claim that Americans need to forfeit the right protected under the 4th Amendment if we want to remain safe in our country. The government needs to be either honoring the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, or ignoring it. The Constitution is not a buffet. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 9:42 PM | permanent link |
Time to Cut Cedric Benson  When I saw Cedric Benson’s glassy-eyed smug-faces mug shot from his recent arrest in Austin, Texas, on charges of driving while intoxicated, my first thought was, “Damn, I sure miss Thomas Jones.”It wasn’t because Benson failed in one season as the Bears starting fullback to generate a quarter of a percentile of excitement that the departed Jones did in one game as the starter (though that certainly contributed). No, it was that Benson has demonstrated that he doesn’t possess a quarter of a percentile of the class and maturity Thomas Jones has. That’s what bothers me the most about still having Cedric Benson on the Chicago Bears as a running back while Thomas Jones was traded away a year ago. With a running back tradition that includes Red Grange, Walter Payton, and Gale Sayers, Thomas Jones fit in perfectly with the Bears. He played hard every down and contributed to the overall team success. Off the field he was a classy individual who understood how blessed he was to have the opportunity to play professional football for an organization like the Bears and made the most of that opportunity.  Before Benson’s problem this summer figuring out when and where to be drinking, he had already made a name for himself as a selfish football player who was more concerned with his playing time than his team’s success. And when the playing time did come, he dazzled us with 3.4 yards per carry and a propensity for falling down when the opposing team came near him. (Has he even rushed for 100 yards in a game?) Now multiple problems with the law within the span of a few weeks demonstrates that not only is Benson a selfish football player, he's a dumb, immature one as well.Benson is a football bust regardless of how you define the term. Benson also doesn’t deserve to be in the same list as Payton and Sayers. Hell, he doesn’t deserve being mentioned alongside Neal Anderson and Raymont Harris. The Chicago Bears need to make the correct move now, before training camp begins, and cut Benson. Make room for Matt Forte, the rookie from Tulane they picked up the draft this past spring, to take on the starting role. The Bears’ coaches seem to think he can handle it and I know I’d rather see someone else in the Bears’ backfield. Labels: Chicago Bears, Rant posted by Brendan | 10:18 PM | permanent link |
This Ain't Beantown My whole professional career has been about designing, building, and managing web sites. I even have considerable experience targeting and serving website banner ads. So I feel fairly confident in calling the ChicagoTribune.com out on this: There is no reason to serve up an M&M’s ad showcasing the Boston Red Sox on the Chicago Tribune website.  That’s just wrong. posted by Brendan | 9:28 PM | permanent link |
Is My Gas Going to Be Stolen?  Prices at the pump finally inched over $4.00 a gallon out here in Aurora this week. For what seemed a long time the gas stations near us seemed to be holding steady at $3.99 – almost definitely refusing to break the $4 barrier even though the average in and around Chicago was over $4.These new posted prices got me to thinking this morning while driving to the train station and noting the reading on the car’s fuel gauge. Are we at a price point where gas siphoning will become a crime we need to start seriously guarding against? Do I need to get a locking fuel cap? Didn’t everyone have those back in the 1970’s? I leave my car in a huge public parking lot all day. For an enterprising young man or woman that full lot of vehicles could be hundreds of gallons of gas just waiting to be siphoned out and used or resold. The lot does have security cameras, but with the cars packed in like sardines there are plenty of spots to squat down and hide while you drain vehicles of their gasoline. Something to think about. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 9:17 PM | permanent link |
Crappy Ad Campaign Annoys Me The current "run of site" advertising for Chicago's Union Station is for Cottonelle. There have been some creative station-wide ad campaigns where one company plasters its message on every available non-moving space inside of the downtown train station, but Cottonelle's offering certainly isn't one of them. It took me a week to realize that what they had covered the support poles with was supposed to make it look like stacked rolls of toliet paper. I thought they had forgotten to install the ads and we were finally seeing the original poles again. Local blog Chicagoist provides a snap shot of the most innane of the indoor billboards that the toliet paper giant assults the commuters with each day.  Some of the other gems are "We shine where the sun don't" and some other little chestnut about men sitting on their thrones. It's all just so dumb. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 10:57 PM | permanent link |
The Big Hurt Is Crying Again And this is why the White Sox turned this guy loose a few years back after 16 seasons. He can be a cry-baby. TORONTO - Blue Jays designated hitter Frank Thomas was livid Saturday after getting benched in favor of Matt Stairs and being told by manager John Gibbons he can expect further cuts to his playing time.Thomas thinks management is trying to wiggle out of a $10 million option for 2009 that will come his way if the Big Hurt makes 350 plate appearance in 2008. But the guy is hitting .167 this season and the Blue Jay's skipper says he's looking to spark a lethargic offense.. Dude. You're stinking things up. It's not about your contract, you're just horrible right now. Shut up and take it like a man. Though you never seemed to do that when you were in Chicago, don't know why it would start now. 04/20 Update: The Blue Jays cut Thomas today. That's rich. Labels: Chicago White Sox, Rant posted by Brendan | 8:52 PM | permanent link |
No Shit, Sherlock It's what I've been saying for a few years now. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Baby boomers say they are worried about achieving a comfortable retirement, but a new study suggests Generation X is even more pessimistic.The researchers stated that so-called Gen Xer's are entering a 'retirement perfect storm' where we have certain expectations, we're not able to save like we know we need to, and the future of Social Security is bleak (and that's the optimistic viewpoint). The best quote - and most fitting statement on how my generation views the prospect of Social Security - comes at the end of the article. . . . Scottrade and BetterInvesting found that Generation X doesn't appear to be counting on the money.Amen. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 8:43 AM | permanent link |
Aw, Frankie I know these are just production stills and a whole lot will happen post-production to visually bring things together, but I don't know if I like what I'm seeing. This doesn't look like The Spirit movie Will Eisner would have made.  Just because it worked for Sin City, doesn't mean it will work for The Spirit.posted by Brendan | 9:57 PM | permanent link | Where I Complain About Social Security . . . Again I haven’t had an opportunity to rant about this in a long time. While reading up on President Bush’s efforts to stymie House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s call for another economic stimulus package (and I can’t believe I’m saying it – but I sorta back W on that one) on the New York Times website, I found this graphic depicting the solvency of Medicare and Social Security.  Doesn’t that just warm your heart? Medicare will be bankrupt in 11 years, S.S. in roughly 32 years. If I’m reading the chart correctly, it looks like both government programs have had money problems in the past but managed to shore up the funds somehow. Which is good and all, but how many times can these programs be propped back up before they just fall apart? I’d so much prefer to fund my own retirement. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 8:48 PM | permanent link |
Greens and Purples, Greens and Purples Why is it that no matter how much you try to focus on eating them at the beginning so you can get them out of the way, the end of the jelly bean bag is still all purples and greens? That annoys me.  Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 10:32 PM | permanent link |
Frustrations All Around It was reported this morning that President Bush’s approval rating has hit a personal all-time low, 31%. It’s a 40 point drop from where it was five years ago – before he decided the U.S. needed to invade Iraq. Not that this news should surprise anyone. The man desperately clings to a Pollyannaish view of the war in Iraq, while appearing to be totally obliviously to the problems outside his window, in his own country.  In his speech Wednesday, the President spent considerable time lauding the efforts of the troops and the necessity of the U.S. being in Iraq."Defeating this enemy in Iraq will make it less likely we will face this enemy here at home," he said.My understanding is that the enemy American troops are fighting in Iraq is actually different warring sectarian factions who want control of the country, and not Al Qaeda, who are holed up in Afghanistan and Pakistan and have actually physically attacked the U.S. on a number of occasions. Of course, I’m sure the President is taking care of that nagging fact by continuing to place more and more troops in Iraq while doing nothing of substance to give the country any autonomy. That policy has done a bang-up job so far at turning most people in the region into enemies of America, and any second now that last few remaining Middle Eastern hold-outs will declare their undying hatred of the United States. Mission Accomplished, Mr. President. President Bush argues that a democratic, stable Iraq will be one of America’s best defenses against a rising world-wide tide of terrorist-type threats against freedom loving people. Yet, from what I can tell his policies and actions in Iraq has only stoked hatred for America and done nothing to stabilize Iraq.  While I am not so naive to think that at this point the U.S. can simply pack things up and move out of Iraq, I know that the current course of action seems like formula for more failure and a less safe world for everyone. I’m hoping that one of the three remaining Presidential hopefuls can supply a concrete vision and plan to bring this conflict in Iraq to a close while mitigating the overall negative impact the war has had on the United States. Up to this point certain candidates have offered more hope than the others, but I fail to see a concrete plan.The fact that Bush’s/Cheney’s bungling of Iraq is almost over makes me feel good. The lack of a concrete plan from the Presidential contenders makes me concerned. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 10:40 PM | permanent link |
Corporate Frustrations The company I work for has the strangest, and most schizophrenic, website blocking policies I have ever encountered. You can never be sure which sites will be accessible day to day, or even month to month. A site that you are blocked from visiting on Monday you may very well be able to access on Friday, or Wednesday – but not on Thursday. The blocking is handled by software from Websense. I don’t know if there are humans picking which sites are blocked or not blocked, or if it is left up to Websense and whatever logarithms the software uses to determine what is good and what it bad. Regardless who or what is adjusting things, the resulting inconsistencies are maddening. As of this Monday, any website hosted by Blogger has been blocked (“Social Networking and Personal Sites”, according to the Websense warning screen), Google Docs (“Personal Network Storage and Backup”), and seemingly random other sites. (usually for the “Social Networking” reason). Consequently, my ability to post new entries to my blog during the lunch hour or before I leave at night has been completely cut off. I understand a company is within their rights to limit access on their networks, and they are under no obligation to provide access to certain websites or applications to their employees; but that doesn’t stop me from being seriously frustrated with their course of action. Usually a company is the blocking website accessibility for three reasons: saving bandwidth, legal protection, and productivity. Blocking streaming video and streaming music sites dramatically cuts down on the bandwidth, blocking porn in a work environment is always the safe legal way to go, but I wonder if blocking to deter unproductive employees really works. If a guy is apt to waste away a few hours playing around with his MySpace page, I’m sure he will find a new way to kill time and avoid work if you block that site. I am of the opinion that it is better to weed out and remove an unproductive employee than try to police them and reform them. Sure, I spend my lunch hour writing up entries for my blog, but I don’t let that get in the way of taking care of the work I am supposed to – and paid to – get done. Work deadlines and responsibilities always come first. But because someone (or some software) doesn’t trust the employees at my company to make the same smart decisions, or they are unwilling to actively identify and remove unproductive employees, I lose the ability to relax and decompress in the manner that works best for me when I’m taking a break at the office. To add insult to injury, all of this corporate-fueled frustration reminds me that I’ve failed to fulfill the promises I made to myself back in High School concerning the sort of career I should make for myself. But that’s really not a topic I want to dig into right now. So I’m left shaking my head and waiting to see if the schizophrenic web blocking software changes face again. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 10:02 PM | permanent link |
Madness Is President Bush the President of the same United States that I live in? I don't think so. Consider the following quotes from this story I found on ChicagoTribune.com: Bush's view of the economy was decidedly rosier than that of many economists, who say the country is nearing recession territory or may already be there. "I'm concerned about the economy," he said. "I don't think we're headed to recession. But no question, we're in a slowdown." Maybe the situation is better up inside W's head, but in the rest of the country energy prices are up, wholesale prices are up, salaries are stagnant, jobs are declining, consumer confidence is at record lows, and in general the economy is going nowhere. Maybe the economists and the politicans don't want to call it a recession, but I think it's what the majority of American feel like we are in. I can understand trying to present an air of confidence so as not to further spook an already economically skittish American people; but Bush's comments come off sounding like an indication that he is out of touch with the public, not a steadfast leader of the country. To make matters worse, after he glosses over the economic challenges being faced, W keeps pushing for Congress to let him spy on everything that the American people do without judicial oversight. I can't wait for 2009. McCain or Obama will be light-years better than this. posted by Brendan | 12:47 PM | permanent link |
Is It Friday Yet? The weekend can’t arrive soon enough; this week is kicking my ass. It starts with a base of an amped up Chicago weather. We’ve been getting hit hard and consistently with snow and cold temperatures. I love winter, but if Mother Nature could tone down the winter weather machine for a few days I think we would all be better off.  Then we layer on Emma’s current head cold. She has Heather and I up most of the night with her coughing. We’ve tried plenty of remedies for soothing the cough enough for her to sleep through the night, but now of the treatments last through the night. One of us, or in some times both of us, end up losing hours of sleep each night trying to help Emma get her rest. I think I only grabbed three and half hours of quality shut-eye Monday night.Next, add in a ton of work at the office. I’m involved in a major project right now that is demanding almost one hundred percent of my time, which would be okay if I had the workload to do this. Unfortunately I’m also wrapped up in a few smaller projects, plus some ongoing tasks, that aggressively fight for my time as well. The result – I’m bringing more work home with me at night. Ordinarily taking work home annoys me, but when my valuable weekday time at home is already being squeezed with late nights filled with a hacking 5-year-old, then staying up until midnight to complete a business requirements document starts to push me beyond my limits. And for a final touch add in more little problems with our vehicles. The van’s instrument panel is lighting up a Christmas tree this week. One day it’s the ‘low coolant’ alert. The next day Heather notices that the airbag light isn’t shutting off. Oh, and remember the passenger side rear break light that’s been out for the last year? Well now the turn signal light is out on that side too. (Which reminds me, we still haven’t gotten passenger side mirror fixed)  The Neon is no better. Last night on the drive home from the train station the electrical system light comes on. Probably because the battery is about twenty years old and won’t hold a charge anymore. I had been planning on replacing it. But it could be more. Last time that light went on about five years back is was for a busted alternator. Regardless, I couldn’t well drive it to the train station this morning and leave it in the freezing cold and elements of the parking lot. So that vehicle was dropped off for a little inspection and repair, while the whole famn damily woke up early this morning to drive Dad to the train.So this week is turning into a marathon. Not the usual sprints that I have been accustomed to over the last few months. Of course, I’m assuming that the weekend will provide Heather and I with the appropriate breather. For all I know, our water heater is scheduled to explode at 4am this upcoming Saturday morning. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 8:35 AM | permanent link |
I Hate Citibank Heather and I recently refinanced our home. We wanted to take advantage of the outrageously low mortgage interest rates and consolidate are mortgage payments as much as possible. We ended up knocking off more than a percentage point, saving ourselves more than $150 a month, and took ourselves from three separate payments down to two. So far it’s working out quite nicely.  Before the refinance, each month we paid on our tradition 30-year mortgage, a home equity loan, and the home improvement load that was used to finish the basement last spring. The mortgage and HELOC were opened when we bought the house and were obtained through a mortgage broker. When you go through a broker you really don’t get to pick and choose which institution your loans are opened through. We ended up with a mortgage through Countrywide and the HELOC through Citibank.I’ve always liked Countrywide. I’ve had two mortgages managed through that company and they’ve been nothing but professional and helpful, with great online tools that allowed me to manage my mortgage how I wanted. Plus they’ve been fair and upfront with their business practices. However, in the short seventeen months that we had the HELOC through Citibank they offered us nothing but frustration and headaches. It started in the autumn of 2006 after we had purchased our current home and the HELOC was opened through Citibank. We struggled through weeks of bad customer service to try and get our address corrected in their systems. For a number of months Citibank failed to update our address despite Heather and me writing letters and making phone calls. In the meantime our statements were incorrectly delivered making our ability to submit payments more challenging. On the one year anniversary of the HELOC we were charged $50 for simply having an account with Citibank. In the grand scheme of things, considering the amount of money we were talking about owing, $50 might not seem like a lot, but to Heather and me it was as much about the principle as the money. Why should I have to pay Citibank to have a line of credit with them? They were making plenty of cash off the interest they were charging us. It didn’t make sense. Credit card companies rarely charge annual fees. The HELOC we had through Countrywide didn’t charge us an annual fee. In our opinion, $50 a year was too much to pay for crappy customer service and a lousy mortgage product.  The final nail in the Citibank coffin, and the reason we will never do business with Citibank voluntarily ever, came in the mail today. It was the final statement showing the payoff from our refinance. In addition to the account payoff, Citibank lists two charges that were applied to our HELOC at the time of closeout.One was a $40 county recording fee. Not sure exactly what that was for, but it paled in comparison to the other charge that Citibank laid on us: a $275 early closure fee. $275 early closure fee? It was god damned home equity loan. Maybe I am a financial idiot, but I thought a HELOC was basically like using your house as collateral to secure a credit card of sorts. Countrywide didn’t penalize us when we paid off our HELOC; but when Citibank lists an early closure fee that implies to me that the loan we are paying off had a set term for scheduled repayment – like a 30-year mortgage or a 15-year ARM. At which point is repaying an open ended home equity loan “too early”? When is it “too late”? Is there a time that is “just right”? Why do I have to even deal with this sort of shit? I’m sure buried deep in the paperwork Heather and I signed back in July 2006 there is something about pre-payment penalties with the Citibank HELOC, but now I don’t care to go find out. We no longer have a business relationship with Citibank and we never will again. They can kiss my ass. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 10:06 PM | permanent link |
To Fight or Not To Fight I was going to write a pithy little post about how I was arguing with Heather last night on whether we should fight more in light of the recently reported findings that couple who fight live longer. Spouses Who Fight Live LongerBut while finding the article on LiveScience so I could link to it, I found this other article on LiveScience from March 2006 Marital Spats Raise Risk of Heart Attack So now I don't know what to do. How does confusion affect longevity? Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 4:57 PM | permanent link |
It's Still Stealing If It's Only $10 I was making a quick review of my American Express account this morning when I saw a recent charge that didn’t make sense. It was for something called “VALLJRSX VALL-JRSX” and they were charging me $9.59  Buying stuff online in the past has meant that every once in a while I’ve had companies put in some strange descriptions, but this went beyond that. The detailed description said that the charge was for “Internet Downloads.” I couldn’t recall paying to download anything from the Internet on 1/9/08 or any time the in the days leading up to the ninth. Post-Christmas Heather and I pretty much go into hibernation with our credit cards. If I had used my card for to pay for a download I would have remembered. So I ran VALLJRSX VALL-JRSX through Google to see what would turn up. Turns out our friends at VALLJRSX (or VALL-JRSX, VIN DESIGN, VIN-DESIGN, PARADISE WEB, PARADISEWEB, or E NAT – depending on the day of the scam) are running through a mess of American Express card accounts trying to sneak out little charges that people won’t notice. $8, $9, or $10 charges have been popping up on people’s statements since the middle of December. The company name might be different, but the address is the same and the charge is always for Internet Downloads. The dslreports.com website forum has a lengthy report on this company, and their practices of stealing money in small amounts. According to the site, the company seems to be targeting AmEx accounts. But I’m sure that if they got a hold of other accounts they would work the fraud there as well. I called American Express to report the fraud. The AmEx people were quick to fix things, including issuing me a new card that will be overnighted to me at no charge. A little $10 charge like this can be easily over-looked (which I know this company is banking on), so I’m glad I caught it when I did. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 12:45 PM | permanent link |
Land of Idiots Here's some proof that the United States of America is a country sliding backwards into insanity. First, a 61-year-old man sentenced to 10 years in prison for cutting down 500 trees because the blocked his view of the Las Vegas Strip. Illegal? From the story I read it sounds like it. Worth 10 years in prison? I hardly think so. Second, this is what one of his neighbors had to say: "If he was cutting trees, was he going to cut people next?" said Richard Cancellier, 73, who came to Hof | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"$85 billion, that's your money. I mean, it's all of our money. I don't know where they get it. It's really interesting. They just print it or something.
