inspiration: Cleaning Out the Lint Trap
- 05/12/08 04:14 AM
Face it. Lint is one of the last things we think about on a daily basis. You may shove your hand in your jeans pocket and pull out a mysterious wad of mangled paper and fuzz, maybe even wonder if it was an important note that went through the wash, but whether you sock it back in your pocket or toss it, lint just doesn't matter. It's annoying on black pants or in your navel, but it doesn't hamper your quality of life. Until the dryer doesn't shut off. I thought it rather odd that my clothes had been drying for … (4 comments)
inspiration: What's All the Bracket? NCAA Tourney Thoughts
- 04/01/08 07:25 AM
Big week in the Men's College Basketball world. The field has narrowed from 63 teams to the Final Four. Interestingly, the four teams that were seeded #1 are the four teams that are left. There's usually some surprise team in the final couple of games; some underdog that rose from obscurity to greatness in the course of a few weeks. But not this year. The four best teams have outlasted the rest of the field. Kansas, UCLA, Memphis, and North Carolina. At the last second, I joined a pool with 9 other guys, threw in my $20, and hoped for the best. … (3 comments)
inspiration: The Truth About Traffic
- 02/25/08 02:27 AM
I've been seeing these things a lot lately. Those black tubes stretched across the various roadways I drive. At first I thought they were some kind of traffic enforcement device and there were cops lurking nearby waiting for suckers like me to fly over them at unlawful speeds. But no, they are actually there to measure traffic counts. As the tires pass over the rubber tubing, the change in air pressure registers on the digital readout. I guess road planners use these readings to strategize traffic flow. I'm sure other folks use them to provide information for commercial real estate purposes, enticing would-be investors … (9 comments)
inspiration: Don't Forget to Flush!
- 02/07/08 01:56 PM
No, this isn't a Texas Hold 'Em advice column. I pretty much stink at cards because as soon as I get a good hand, my ears turn red and I start laughing. Needless to say, I've lost a lot of $20 bills in friendly games with a group of guys gathered in a garage around a bowl of cheese puffs and piles of brightly-colored chips. But not last night. Last night, I won the entire tournament. OK, it wasn't really a tournament, but it was a local networking event called a poker run. You show up, get a card, and then you … (2 comments)
inspiration: One Down, Twenty-Five To Go
- 02/05/08 01:11 AM
I just read an article about the 2007 Chicago Marathon and my calf muscles cramped just thinking about what these 25,000 people went through. In case you hadn't heard about it, Chicago had an unseasonably warm race day, to the tune of 82 degrees and 78% humidity at the start of the race. Not a cloud in the sky either. Extra watering stations were added, misting tents were set up, and thousands of volunteers lined the streets to help the runners on their way. A couple of hours later, the marathon was in full disaster mode. Runners were collapsing, fainting and falling … (13 comments)
inspiration: Mutant Carrier Pigeons, Dancing Lizards, and Cashew Perfume
- 02/04/08 06:09 AM
The Superbowl has come and gone, but the memories of the commercials linger in the air like the smell of wet socks. From what I heard, a 30-second time slot ran the advertisers something like $2.7M. Or $100,000 a second. Just you reading my first three sentences would've cost $500,000, if you're a fast reader. Sure, there was some memorable moments like the E*Trade commercial with the baby who talked and spit up after buying stocks online, but for the most part, I'm not really sure that was money well spent. Which made me think of my 30 second commercial. I've heard when … (2 comments)
inspiration: I'm Mike Tullio and I Endorse The Following Message
- 01/31/08 07:25 AM
I laugh every time I see a political ad on TV and at the end, the candidate's mug pops on screen, they offer up a cheesy smile, stare sincerely into the camera, and tell us how they endorse the commercial. Really. Oh, now I believe all of the political wrangling and posturing that just took place for the past 30 seconds now that you've put your stamp of approval on it. I find myself thinking: Does it really matter that they endorse the ad? A few hours ago, I had a mental dot connecting moment. Endorsements. Ultimately what these folks in the … (12 comments)
inspiration: Burning Your Tongue Despite the Warning Label
- 01/30/08 04:58 AM
<-----Do you see it? The little warning at the bottom of the cup telling you how extremely hot your beverage is? I saw it too, but I figured enough time had passed since ordering my venti, and I tipped the cup back and proceeded to sear the kris kringle out of my tongue. Which left me wondering a couple of things: 1. Why do we ignore warnings if they aren't convenient for us to heed? If the small print said, "If you bring this cup back to Starbucks to recycle, we'll give you $1," I think I'd be all over reading and … (7 comments)
inspiration: Ignoring the Dashboard Warning Lights
- 01/24/08 12:52 AM
We've all done it. You're driving along and suddenly a bright little icon blinks on. Check engine it tells you. So what do we do? Ignore it. Hope it flickers out. Maybe it's just stuck. My engine is fine; it must be a mistake. I'll deal with it later. Pretty light, so pretty. A couple things can happen at this point. First, the light actually can go off. Which is the worst possible thing that can happen because then it reinforces the belief that all of the warning lights on my dashboard are a ploy designed by the engineers who made my … (4 comments)
inspiration: It's A Full Doc World, and I'm A Full Doc Girl.
- 01/16/08 01:37 AM
No, I'm not really a girl. I think I had a Madonna song stuck in my head. But the heart of my title is this: Lenders are slowly squeezing loans back into the full doc box. If you haven't heard, no doc loans are gone (other than hard money). In fact, any loan with the word NO in it is virtually becoming extinct. Even Stated Income loans are being scrutinized to death. Case in point. Had a borrower with 780 credit, plenty of assets, and a perfect mortgage history. I chose a Stated Income/Asset product to make life easier on my client as … (11 comments)
inspiration: Are You a Donkey or a Moose?
- 01/15/08 01:11 AM
No, this is not a question about which political party you favor. It is a question I'd like you to consider. I was jogging on the treadmill in the gym this morning burning off some holiday grease and I saw this news blurb come on about a moose that fell through the ice. Rescuers did some fancy manipulations with ropes and they were able to free the moose from the frigid waters. Moments later the newscaster mentioned that the moose returned to the same hole in the ice and died a few hours later. Pretty depressing, but hey, it's the news. On … (20 comments)
Face it. Lint is one of the last things we think about on a daily basis. You may shove your hand in your jeans pocket and pull out a mysterious wad of mangled paper and fuzz, maybe even wonder if it was an important note that went through the wash, but whether you sock it back in your pocket or toss it, lint just doesn't matter. It's annoying on black pants or in your navel, but it doesn't hamper your quality of life. Until the dryer doesn't shut off.
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