Something to ponder...

I really don't know what made me think of this, but I wanted to share with you a quick thought.

Why is it that if a 13 year old boy is molested by a man, everyone insists on tougher laws for sexual predators and demand that the perp be brought to justice, and yet when that same 13 year old boy is molested by a good looking female teacher, the boy is idolized???

Don't get me wrong, from a simplistic view it is easy to think that that 13 year old boy is a hero, but for crying out loud, would you want that to be your son??? And if a 13 year old boy is a hero for shaggin' an older teacher or mentor, why isn't the same respect put on a 13 year old girl who falls victim to an older man???

Our society is so ingrained on all things sexual that very quickly a scary double standard starts to apply. A predator is a predator. Someone who preys on young children should be punished. It should not matter the sex of either the predator or the victim, rather the crime itself.

Would guys across the country be envious of a 13 year old boy who is abused by a man??? Why then do they salute the child when it is a woman doing the abusing???

I think this is a serious flaw in our thought process as a country that would allow such an obvious double standard to apply. Makes me think of the book/movie by John Grisham, A TIme to Kill. In that book, a little black girl is raped by white men, and all the people can see is the color of skin. In the closing arguments, the lawyer asks the jury to close their eyes and paints for them a visual picture of the crime. His very last comment is, "...now imagine the girl is white."

Same thought here, when a 13 year old boy is molested by an older woman, change the context and imagine the predator was a man instead of a woman, and watch how quickly your feelings change.

Is that 13 year old kid still your hero???

Makes you think, doesn't it?

For now, take care...

Six Wonderful Years...and counting

Today celebrates our sixth wedding anniversary of what most likely was the best decision I ever made in my life. How or why my wife puts up with me I will probably never understand, that is not the point. The point is that she does put up with me, and for me that makes her all the more spectacular.

We are heading out to ShoGun tonight for dinner. It is along the lines of a Benihana, if you are not familiar with that, too bad. Afterwards who knows, now that we have our little boy, we can't be as flexible as we once were but I know we will still have fun.

What a year 2007 has been. Interesting that in 2004 as we sat at Morton's Steakhouse for our anniversary we set some pretty ambitious New Years Goals, of which I am proud to say we kept. I think it is time again to jointly set goals to works towards for the New Year.

Well, that is it for now. I will probably not post again until next year, so for you few who do stop by once in a while to read, Thank-you.

Happy New Year!

Be safe, be happy, and take care...

Of interest to no one, but read by you...

Merry Christmas.

Last night we joined my Mother at her church's annual Christmas dinner and program. On the way home at the Briley Road/I-40 intersection a big red sign was flashing in sequence something to the effect of, "It's not Happy holidays, It's Merry Christmas, and if you don't like that, just deal with it." Something to that effect. Amusing to say the least, but sad how far removed the true meaning of Christmas is from the hustle and bustle most celebrate.

Most people do not realize that Christmas is simply a precursor to Easter as the Birth of our Saviour, and the Death and Resurrection represent the Christian story that gave us the gift of eternal life.

On other fronts, and few little tidbits...

-Our home has been featured on the front page of the local news channel for the better part of the week under the Holiday Photos tab. Not to beat a dead horse, but we hung Christmas Lights this year, not Holiday Lights. Click here to see: http://www.wsmv.com/index.html

-I have been waiting the better part of 5 years to get my hands on a stainless steel Rolex Daytona. This watch is the rarest of all Rolex's and can be sold the same day on e-bay for 2-3 thousand more than the retail price due to its rarity. What makes it unique is several things including the fact that Rolex hordes this watch and will release only a few per year to retailers throughout the world. The stores can get one in, and it may already be 2-3 years old based on its serial number even though it is still a brand new watch. In other words, you could get one and still not have the most up to date version. Which makes my decision that much harder as the one I got on Friday is the latest serial number series with all the changes and upgrades Rolex made 3 years ago as they started changing the entire oyster series of watches. So there it sits on my nightstand, in its original packaging, oh don't get me wrong I want to keep it in the worst of ways, but the business sense says that maybe I should sell it and take a nice profit. Here is the thing, it can come in either a white or black face, and I always wanted the white face. Which is what I got. I do however have an in with another store that I helped the manager out on a little business thing so he is going to hook me up as well. I would be a fool not to buy that watch as well, and then I would have 2, I can sell one of them and still have the other to wear and enjoy. I always stated that if I ever got my hands on this watch, I would not sell it. I need to be a man of my word and keep the watch and wear it proudly.

-I read that the reason spends hours searching for presents is that they don't know how to express their feelings towards another any other way, and as such use presents as a way to present their feelings towards another. Interesting thought.

-One Hundred Dollar Bills. I saw a story on Today yesterday (I think it was today) about a man simply known as "Secret Santa" in Kansas or something who each Christmas season would hand out $100 bills to complete strangers. For years he was not known, however I guess last season due to weakening health he revealed himself and then recruited others to do the same upon his passing. What a legacy to leave behind, impacting people's lives in a positive manner.

No matter what you end up doing today or tomorrow, my hope and prayer for you would be to know the true meaning of Christmas, and what it represents in terms of eternal existence. If you don't know, or are searching, reach out to someone, anyone, even me to ask more questions. All the presents in the worlds won't get you eternal salvation, only a one on one personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ can do that, and it is only a conversation away.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

A Christmas Party to be remembered

Last night we had our Christmas Open House. I will start off by saying that my wife put a tremendous amount of work into this thing, between the planning, the addressing of all the invitations, preparation of food not to mention the fact that she decorated the house almost entirely by herself.

We sweated every detail up until about 15 minutes prior to the official start, and then the fun began.

The small Jazz Trio I hired off of Craigslist showed up and got themselves set up. I still wasn't dressed for the party, but I went in and talked to them for a few minutes asking to have a "Charlie Brown" sound to the music they played. They hit this one so far out of the park, let me tell you they were awesome. Anyone can stream audio from iTunes off a playlist, but live music that engages people, making them stop and listen, and better yet make requests. Let me tell you, live music was AWESOME.

Now, on to our guests. We sent out over 100 invitations. We tried to make the party early enough in the month to head off other parties, but I guess those other parties thought the same thing, so we were competing against other parties, however we had to the best of our ability 61 people come and celebrate with us.

My sister (WB) has her annual Halloween gathering, and I know in the past she has invited everyone from the President to the governor of Florida so I took a page out of her book and invited our State Senator, our State Representative as well as our Mayor. I am proud to say I am 3 for 3 in those people showing up. Now in all fairness to my sister, I know all 3 of these people through organizations I belong to, as well as a committee I am a member of so perhaps I had a leg up!

The party started at 6 and it went strong until around 9:30. We had people here up until 10:00. We had hired 2 girls to help out with keeping the food tables stocked, the garbage moving as well as the drinks flowing as well as to clean up after the party, and I will say that they were worth every penny. We like to have parties, but the cleaning up after always sucks, not this year. We actually went into the bedroom to watch TV while they finished cleaning up, and when they were done we were left with a house that if you didn't know just had a huge party, you wouldn't.

Needless to say, it was a great time, and one that I look forward to doing again next year. A lot of work and planning, but worth it.

For now, take care...

I love having a family who blogs...

The fun thing about this weekend has been checking in on the blogs to see what has been happening in other parts of the house. WB is on top of things as she documents each and every activity, and I like to check in to her site to see what I have been missing.

WB is so awesome, she should get some sort of reward or something for Sister of the Year, or something like that.

In other news, I planted a wine cooler in WB's purse this morning prior to departure for church. The original plan was for her to discover it during the church service thereby creating laughter from her, however she opened her purse on the way to church and busted out laughing. It was still funny, but would have been funnier if it had been discovered at church.

I will try the same prank tomorrow as she leaves for the airport. Wouldn't that be funny for airport security to make her dispose of the beverage, and she instead chugs it down right there, seeing as she is a raging alcoholic.

For now, take care...

A Complete Holiday Season in Four Days

As I write to you we are gathered in our home sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace, everyone in pajamas just simply enjoying each others company. Well, except for the fact that CAL is still talking about how he thinks he can beat me at Madden '08 on Wii. Last night I slaughtered him 98 - 69.

This is really nice. The family together again enjoying each other. It has been 17 years since this happened.

I hope it isn't another 17 years for this to occur.

Take care...

The best $32,000 money can buy...

Let me start off by saying that I am not against making as much money as possible as long as it is done with honesty and integrity, and not at the expense of poor people.

But I also think our priorities are a little screwed up as a nation.

I live in a really nice area. Williamson County located in Middle Tennessee has more than its fair share of really wealthy people. My home is dwarfed by the Mansions that line the streets all throughout Williamson County, and therein lies the topic for today's discussion.

Vince Young, the second year quarterback for the Titans just purchased a home in The Governors Club, an exclusive gated community just 3 short miles from my home. Odds are he spent well over a million for it, as most homes start at about a million. Now, I have no issue with the fact that Vince Young gets paid millions for tossing a football around. In fact, I am proud of the fact that as a nation we can have a job like that and get paid for our talent.

But, that is also the issue.

While I am not a proponent of teacher's unions, I will say this, there are good teachers in this world with whom we insult with the measly amount of money they are paid.

For crying out loud, these are the people we have put in charge of educating our children.

And they get a mere morsel compared to a professional athlete who gets to play football for a living.

We as a society place more importance on that athlete, and lament an injury sustained by them on the field more than we do the teacher who is charged with spending 40 hours a week with our children to teach them the things we want them to learn. And yet we are content to allow them to be paid so little for a task so important.

But I digress.

I think good teachers should be paid better than the average for in them lies the skill and talent to provide our nation the next generation of doctors, lawyers and leaders. Perhaps even another teacher or two. There are a limited number of pro athlete positions available, I think we should place more emphasis on what is truly important.

For now, take care...

Bill Draper is perhaps the hardest headed man I know

This past year we relocated our office to a building in Nolensville Tennessee. During this transition period, I as the sole administrator had the task of making sure each and every vendor we dealt with was notified of the change, and saw to it that address changes were made to insure timely billing as well as payment.

Since I am head of three different companies, this task was done using three different notices that were printed on 1/4 sheet neon colored paper. The notice stated our move, our new billing and shipping address, as well as a thank-you for each vendor's support during 2006.

With InCite Group, Inc., we also changed our operating name to InCite Homes to more accurately reflect the fact we built homes. The notice that went with all InCite bills included a little tidbit about the name change as well. With the exception of 2 vendors, Sunbelt Rentals and Gallatin Electric, the transition went smoothly. The old PO box that was being used expired on 8/15/07 and all mail that was sent there was marked as "Not Here" and returned.

Since I pay the bills for the companies, I contacted Gallatin Electric regarding the fact that I had not received any bills from them. They stated they had mailed them, but to the wrong address. I reminded them that they had been sent numerous address change notices, and their failure to correct the address was not my fault, and as such I would not be paying any late charges.

Enter Bill Draper.

Bill Draper is a ego driven hard headed man who has proven himself a liar and a man of questionable integrity. For you see, Bill Draper will not reverse the late charges, even though he himself admits the odds are pretty good that in fact if every other vendor of mine got the address change slip, Gallatin Electric probably did as well. Now Bill Draper portrays himself as an honest man, however he has lied to me personally on 2 occasions, and he won't even admit his fault when caught in a lie.

I don't know how much you know about utility companies, but they are a regulated industry. All the rates are set in stone, and any change to them must be approved by a governing board. It is not like your local gas station of food store that can raise and lower prices based on competition. There is a bright side to the rates being governed, when the utility makes dumb decisions or rash decisions in its purchases, it cannot pass that rate on to the consumer.

Which makes the late charge the icing on the cake. The late charge, an item cooked up by greedy people to stick it to honest people. Now, granted, there are people in this world who are about as credit worthy as a cock roach, and as such a late charge is appropriate, however for the majority of law abiding bill paying people, the late charge is a way to say "F#$* you" for being a good customer.

For you see, I didn't have Gallatin Electric chasing me down to pay the bills, no rather quite the contrary, I had to call them to alert them to the fact of their mistake in not changing my address, and then I requested the bills be faxed at once so that they could be paid.

But Bill Draper, our power hungry ego maniac had spoken, and the late charges stand. For you see, I don't have just 1 account with Gallatin Electric, but in fact have had 43 accounts during the last 18 months. That is right, 43 accounts.

Hey Bill Draper, I am going to petition the city to fire you. I am going after you and your job. I want to see you having to collect unemployment rather than a paycheck because in my book, you sir are a shining example of what a scum bag truly is.

Yes Bill Draper, you are a scum bag. Hey, do me a favor, quote me on it. For your little act of ego is going to cost you dearly, as I will do what it takes to see that I am righted in this matter, and ALL late charges are reversed. And them, I am going after the cost of my time, and I will propose it be taken from your measly little paycheck. I am not some scum bag resident who routinely pays his bills late, not sir I contacted you to make sure my bills were paid because that is what is important to me.

Bill Draper, do the right thing.

R.I.P. Kitty Kat

As you may have read on my sister's blog, yesterday I had to put my cat down. She was not doing well, and you tell she was suffering. She had the final laugh because as she left she had her tongue sticking out at the world. She was a good cat and she is missed.

I got home today from work, and there was a card from the vet's office offering their condolences. I thought that was very nice. Of course, they didn't think to include the $113.00 it cost to have the procedure done.

Oh well. For now, take care...

An evening with Fred...

Last night I did have the opportunity to go and see Fred Thompson. I did pay for the opportunity, but the price of admission in my opinion far outweighs the chance of a lifetime to meet the person who most likely will be the next president of the USA. Sadly, the person taking my picture moved the camera too quickly, and the image of me was blurred, but here are a few of the pic's that did come out.





This is my friend Richard Cammeron with Fred Thompson. He is the one who has gotten me involved with the Williamson County Republican Party Chairman's Circle. He has really taken to introducing me around, and always prefaces the introduction as, "________, this is Jason Lukawitz, he is someone I thought you should meet." How is that for an introduction.

This is my friend Bill Hemrick with Fred Thompson.


Both Bill and Richard have a lot of pull in this town with some of the elected officials they are friends with, and the exciting thing is both have stated that should, no rather WHEN Fred Thompson gets elected, they could arrange to go to the White House to meet him there.

Now that would be cool.

Anyways, for now, take care...

I use the free labels

I don't know where I read this, but as I recall the writer wrote that they were a good person because they didn't use the free labels provided by those charities that solicit money through the mail and attempt to use guilt as the trigger to give. I am here to confess to the world that I do use those labels, but I don't donate.

Why you may ask???

The way I see it, I didn't ask to be solicited, and since the company soliciting has the money to print labels to give away, they probably aren't the best steward of money collected from donors. Since someone somewhere has donated, and their hard earned funds are being used to print mailing labels for me, I would almost feel guilty not using the labels.

It would be like baking a cake for the neighbor. You may or may not be the best cook in the world, but you probably tried your best in baking the cake. Would you not be offended if the neighbor didn't eat the cake you spent your time and resources preparing? If the neighbor refused to eat the cake because they were not in a position, or had no desire to give you something in return, would you not feel offended?

I would argue that you would take offense. As such, just as you would expect your neighbor to eat the cake expecting nothing in return, so also should you use mailing labels provided by people begging for money regardless of whether or not you contribute.

Think about it, you know I am right.

For now though, take care...

While driving to work this morning...

I was on my way into the office this morning when a country song came on the radio station I was listening to. I started listening to the words, and it started off with a father buying his son McNuggets from McDonald's and telling him he needed to finish them. During the song he was celebrating the fact that his son was imitating him, until he muttered a swear word.

Hmm...

Makes you aware of how much of an impact we make on the people we are around on a daily basis including our children. I stopped cussing a little over 2 years ago, yeah, I do slip from time to time, but for the most part that language has been removed from my vernacular, but that doesn't mean my talk is always "clean."

I had to listen to the whole country song to find out how this kid turns out, but sadly my phone rang and I got engaged in a conversation so I don't know the outcome.

Don't know who the artist is who sang the song, but I am sure I will hear it again. If they wrote the song about me, I wonder what it would say.

I know what I hope it would say...

For now, take care...

Have you forgotten???

I have to be really honest with all of you today in letting you know how disappointed I am in myself for shear complacency in remembering the tragic events of 9/11. I am ashamed to say that my day started like most others, up before the sun, and out of the house with the rising of the sun for another day of "business."

My day today started with a 7:30 meeting followed by a 9:00 meeting, which was followed by a 10:00 meeting that preceded a lunch meeting that culminated in a 1:30 interview for a prospect we were looking to hire. (We did hire)

Aside from a few minutes of talk show dribble as I dashed from one meeting to another, no part of my time today was spent remembering those who lost, and those who continue to fight to insure our freedom into the future.

I said to my Dad this morning in a brief conversation that today should be made into a national day of remembrance to honor those who were lost, and to pay respect to those sent to protect as a result of 9/11.

After much thought though, the prospect of another day set aside for one purpose would only give corporate America the opportunity to launch another day of sales designed to separate you from your money, and in that would ultimately trivialize the sacrifice made that horrible day.

Sadly I confess to you, the true horror of that day has been forgotten. Replaced by the day to day routine we are all guilty of participating in. My son is growing up in a world vastly different from the one I grew up in, and if I forget the horror of that day, how can I explain it to him so that he will understand.

Funny thing is 6 years ago, American flags were hung in respect after the attack. People gathered in church and turned back to God. New friendships were forged by neighbors meeting neighbors. And the strength of our country was strong and unified, a united front for the rest of the world to see.

The memorial that had the massive spotlights arranged that resembled the fallen towers were like a middle finger being shown to the terrorists who executed the attack, and real smack in the face to them that said, hey, we may be down, but we won't be for long.

Six years later, we soldier on with our lives, callous and complacent to what happened, content to pretend like it never did. And I am guilty of that, and I am ashamed.

For those of you affected by either the loss of a loved one, a friend, a colleague, a job or in any way connected to 9/11 I owe you an apology. And I am sorry.

We should never forget.

Take care...

People I am looking for...

After getting reconnected to a friend from grade school because of my sister's blog and a little work on MySpace, I decided to post of list of people I would be curious to hear from.

If you are on this list, post a comment with an e-mail, and I will contact you from there.

Thanks.

Richie Hartzer - I was in 5th grade with him, and I think he moved to FL. We went to Aurora Christian Academy (ACA) together

John Garber - Although he was a year ahead of me, we became friends. He moved to Guam as his Dad was military. We also went to ACA together

Amit Patel - Friend from Troy High School in Fullerton California. Actually connected with him back in 2000, but we never actually got together. Would be fun to catch up.

Tuan Grogman - Friend from Troy High School as well. Moved to Arizona. We kept in touch up until about 1993.

David Brown - Friend from Skaneateles High School, class of 1992

Josh Watson - Friend from Skaneateles High School, class of 1992

Jason Highsmith - Friend from SHS, I think class of 1992

Mike Busher - Friend from SHS, class of 1992

Nick Ross - Teacher from SHS, we used to water ski together

Dave Perry - Teacher from SHS for my sophmore year, would be 89-90 I think

Carmen Ruggio - Teacher from SHS

Margeret Lund - Teacher from SHS - I taught your daughter piano lessons for a while

Mark Barnes - Guidance counselor from SHS

I think that is it for now, drop a line if you are listed above.

Thanks

Would a $0.12 pay cut affect you?

Funny thought occurred to me this morning as I cruised through my local Starbucks for my Venti Latte. A couple of weeks ago, Starbucks raised their prices on their beverages. What used to cost me $3.88 with tax now costs me $3.99. I would always throw the $0.12 in the tip bucket assuming I paid cash when I went, but I feel stupid throwing the $0.01 in for fear of looking cheap. Now if I paid with a five dollar bill, the change would be $1.01. No matter how good the service is, it is not worth $1.01 in tip, however it must not be good enough to justify throwing the penny in the bucket.

Ironic, isn't it?

How much do the employees at Starbucks count on the tips they get as part of their regular income? I don't know that answer, but I can't help but feeling that the lousy dime that Starbucks raised their beverages is costing their employees heavily at the tip bucket.

Would be really curious to hear from a person employed at Starbucks to gauge their reaction.

For the rest of you, perhaps a thought to chew on tonight.

For now however, take care...

Maybe the Apple should have fallen farther...

In response to my last posting as to the relevance of my postings, it was noted that I perhaps may be in love with myself. I would like to put this rumor to rest, and assure my reading audience that I am not in love with myself.

The fact that what I post spurs conversation around many a dinner table is not a fault of mine, but rather a gift.

A gift you say?

Yes, in that ones ability to provoke thought in others is truly that which not everyone has, and those who do possess that gift (as it is obvious that I do) should use to enhance the lives of others.

With that being said, and this is mainly for the "family," BRING IT!!!

For the rest of you, take care...

Family War

My goodness, with the whole family blogging, it keeps me on my toes bringing to you the most relevant of information to share with you. Sadly however, I seem to be falling behind the rest of the clan in posting blogs.

Since this is sadly the case, and since it probably won't change anytime soon since unlike the rest of the family, I have 3 jobs that keep me busy, I will just simply remind everyone that while the posting ratio of my blog versus others is around 10:1, my postings are still by far the most rational, relevant and entertaining.

How is that for talking smack???

For now, take care...

Staying Busy

This is one of the hard parts of small business ownership in that we have a job that is ending for our construction company, and while we have a little bit of work lined up, there is truly no guarantee for tomorrow. I spent the day out talking with a couple local builders, trying to drum up some business to keep our crew busy. The last thing I want to do is to have to lay people off, but the harsh reality is that that may happen if we don't have enough work.

Our construction project of 42 homes is drawing to a close this month, and since the housing market has slowed somewhat here, our new avenue of revenue is as a subcontractor for other builders. We have tried to build a niche product, but people are slow to change their habits, so I have been hustling talking to these builders trying to sell them on the service we are offering.

Time will tell, we are putting into play all the components we have in our arsenal to be successful at this thing, but at the end of the day, we are still at the mercy of others.

For now those of you with steady work, be thankful. For the rest of you, take care...

A day in the life...

After taking the super hero survey a couple of days ago, and being identified as most like Batman (or the Dark Knight) I thought it would be fun to share with you a day in the life. To help in this process, I have a video that I will share with you as well that helps to give you a better glimpse at what my day looks like.

First let me cover the basics:

5:51 a.m. - This is the time I get up everyday, except Wednesdays when I get up at 4:51 a.m.
6:30 a.m. - This is the time I leave the house (except on Wednesdays when I leave around 5:30 a.m.)
6:45 a.m. - I am normally at work, making a pot of coffee, and checking e-mails (I do a lot of business in Hong Kong, and tend to have 15-20 e-mails waiting for me each morning concerning that business)
7:00 a.m. - The business day starts, well here, watch this...



Fusion Realty LLC from Fusion Realty and Vimeo.

5:00 p.m. - I normally get home between 5 - 6 everyday, we eat dinner and then hangout with the baby.
10:00 p.m. - I go to sleep. I don't really toss and turn, as soon as my head hits the pillow, I am normally out because I am mentally and physically exhausted by this point in the day.

I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse into me. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section, and I will get those answered for you.

For now, take care...

Look what super hero I most closely resemble

You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight, As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause. Lara Croft 83% Batman, the Dark Knight 83% James Bond, Agent 007 83% Maximus 79% Indiana Jones 79% Captain Jack Sparrow 67% The Terminator 58% El Zorro 46% The Amazing Spider-Man 46% William Wallace 46% Neo, the "One" 33% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

A letter to Bob Corker (US Senator from Tennessee)

The Honorable Bob Corker
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington , DC 20510
Phone (202) 224-3344

Dear Senator Corker:


As a resident of Tennessee and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue e Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance.


I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal

alien and they referred me to you.


My primary reason for wishing to change my status from a U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was

recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted.


If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five

years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years.

I know a "good deal" when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.


Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the

prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be

illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in

2004 and 2005.


Additionally, as an illegal alien, I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider.

Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000

a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her

law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those

burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.


If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively, if possible) and copies of the

necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.


Thank you for your assistance.


Your Loyal Constituent,

(My name withheld cause I don't want you stalking me)
Nolensville, TN

The Lead in the Paint of my Chinese made Toy made your Bridge Collapse

There are 6 miners trapped in a hillside that we truly don't know to be alive or dead.

The are still some people missing from a bridge that collapsed 2 weeks ago.

There is a soldier in Iraq RIGHT NOW fighting for survival from some extremist Muslim.

There are actual news stories being made throughout the country and the world.

And the fact that the Chinese are cutting corners in making the toys that our spoiled children are playing with, and it makes the top story on MSNBC.com.

The same toys that used to be made here in the USA with pride by US citizens who spoke English, and who took pride in the fact they had joined the great melting pot to get away from whatever oppressed their ancestors in their original country of descent.

The same people who refuse to pay an extra $1.24 for a toy made by US workers in the US because it is too expensive.

And yet they allow LEAD PAINT to be put into the mouths of their children because they saved that same $1.24 by buying a Chinese product over a US produced product.

I personally don't have a problem with Wal*Mart, I try not to shop there due to the lousy service you get, but as a whole they have done what capitalism is designed to do, allow those who work their butts off to get rich. Where I do have a problem is with people choosing to shop there solely for the purpose of saving what sometimes amounts to mere pennies. Let's put this into perspective.

At a Super Wal*Mart near my house, they have everything under the sun. Yes, the prices as a whole tend to be cheaper. But how cheap is cheap. You may be saving a dime here or a nickel there, but buy 1 12-pack of Coke, and I bet you lose most if not all of your savings that you achieved with the other items you buy.

Why is that, well soda in our area is ALWAYS the most expensive at Wal*Mart. And when you can buy a 12-pack for $2.50 elsewhere versus $4.59 at Wal*Mart, how much money are you really saving. If shopping at Wal*Mart saves you $2.00 on $100 worth of purchases, you save roughly 2% over a competitor. Add Coke to that equation, and I argue that in reality you didn't save any money, but rather ended up spending more money.

For arguments sake, lets assume that of that $100 purchase, you included 2 12-packs of Coke. (Just for the record, if you drink Pepsi, you deserve pay more for everything as all you need to do is dip your glass in any toilet and drink that to get the same flavor, but I digress) If you buy 2 12-packs, your actual purchases would be $90.82. If you have shopped elsewhere, bought the same 2 12-packs, your total would have been $95.82. Even if shopping at Wal*Mart would have saved you $2.00, and you add that onto your purchase elsewhere, your total would only be $98.82 versus $100 at Wal*Mart, which is 1.18% cheaper at the other store versus Wal*Mart.

Makes you think, doesn't it???

The smartest shoppers use coupons and only buy things on sale from the stores that have the items or brands they want on sale. We shop at Publix exclusively, but when a competitor has Coke on sale, we stock up on that item there.

Not sure if any of this makes sense to you, but it sure makes sense to me.

For now, take care...

A thought to provoke, perhaps maybe even challenge...

One of the things I would like to see accomplished on this site is that what I write be not only relevant to the thoughts in my head at the time of posting, but that they be relevant in some way to you as well, so that the time you spend here is time well spent. With that in mind, what better way to kick Day 2 of this blog off with a challenge.

You know it is funny in politics, you have one side always wanting to take (the Democrats) and another side who occasionally gives (the Republicans) who at the end of the day still have their hands in your pocket. Funny how the Republicans make a tax cut sound so good, when the harsh reality is it simply means they are letting you keep more of your money that you worked for.

So I ask you this, what if there was a way for you to get more???

Huh, was that a thought provoking question? Get more, heck yeah, where do I sign up? How quick can I start receiving? Can I have it directly deposited into my account?

See, I think I got your attention.

So here is the time tested, and proven method to get more.

GIVE MORE

That's right. Give more. It is well known that some of the biggest "givers" in this world are the biggest "getters."

Don't believe me, let me give you a few second opinions.

David Bach in his book "The Automatic Millionaire" makes a point to reference that whether from a religious belief or a sense of humanity, those who give, get more.

Fascinating to me, that in a book written solely for the purpose of becoming a millionaire, the last and final chapter involves giving away that which you are working to amass. Those who give, get.

The Bible is full of references to money, and how it is to be handled. Within that context, the command is to tithe, which equates to 10%. Let's take a look at what that looks like. If you made $30,000 in a year, that would equate to $3000 to be distributed to people less fortunate than yourself.

Wow, $3000 is a lot of money, money that I need. You are right, based on a $30k a year salary $3k would be a lot, but have you ever put yourself in the situation to live in faith that if you give a little, you will receive a little more.

Whether you believe as I believe (another post, another time) or not, the fact remains that across our culture, from the Bible thumping Christian, to the non-believing Atheist, and everyone in between there is a certain faction that believes in the power of giving.

Now allow me to sidebar here for just a minute, giving isn't always about money, a lot of times it can be about time. The giving of your own time for the benefit of others has as big an impact as a financial gift. Often times the giving of time has a bigger reward as time, unlike money, cannot be replenished.

So what does this look like in a real world sense? That is something I cannot answer for you, but instead will share with you my own personal experience in giving.

About 2 years ago, we as family decided to start tithing to our church. Now since I am self-employed, I took a "paycheck" on a weekly basis, and tithed off that amount, but was quickly convicted of the fact that in reality I was taking a lot more than I was giving because so much of my stuff financially was being run through the company and as such I had a realized gain, without it appearing in the form of a paycheck.

I struggled with that for a while, and finally came to the conclusion that for me to be honest with myself, I needed to start at the source. The source in my case was my company. I set up a system wherein 10% of total company sales is given away. Not 10% of profit, 10% of TOTAL SALES. That means if I make a sale for $10k, $1k of it is given away. I am fortunate to be in a trade that sometimes sees profit margins in excess of 50%, and I really didn't have any overhead at that point in time, so to give away that 10% really wasn't affecting me adversely.

And you know what, sales increased. That's right, SALES INCREASED.

And I can tell you this, there is no logical reason why, as I in reality was working less time at that company, as I was in the process of setting up another company.

And yet SALES INCREASED.

And the second company got launched, and we started giving from that company as well. And that company flourished.

And we launched a third company. And we stated from day one that we would give from that company. And although it is still (the company) in its infancy, I will be happy to report to you at a later date of the success that we see. But even though money right now is tight in this company, when we make it, we give it.

So what am I trying to say here?

A little faith can go a long way. For you see, I don't believe the blessing comes when you give the gift, for me the blessing came in realizing how petty my problems seem when placed in perspective. Let me explain...

Last year was a banner year for my primary company. Everything we touched turned to gold. This year however has calmed down, and while steady, isn't as strong as 2006. And you are probably thinking, what about this whole the more you give the more you get thing you have been preaching. And you know what, you are right to think that. Except when placed into perspective.

I am a realist, and I knew 2006 was abnormal in the sense that money was being made hand over fist. Now 2007 has things back to "normal" which in my case is still darn healthy. When I start to lament about how sales are down over 2006, I am quickly reminded that in the first 3 months of 2007, I made more money than the average income in my area. That's right, in three months time I made what the average income is for Nashville in a year. And I did it in 3 months time. Which means I have 9 more months to do it again, and again, and again.

You want perspective, you got perspective.

When my sister talks of her troubles with her mortgage payment, it places my situation into perspective. Which is perhaps the best thing to get out of giving. The perspective to realize that no matter how urgent or critical your problem in life it, there is always someone who has a situation that is more critical than you own.

And the ability to be able to step back from your own worries and concerns is a gift that is given to you, when you invest your time and money in others. Because even though my sister's worries are real and legitimate, if she were to push back from the table she would quickly realize that in the grand scheme of things, she really has it pretty good in comparison to others less fortunate than herself.

If you don't stop and appreciate what you have, you will never be happy. But in that process, if you don't stop and give back some of what you have been given, you will never truly appreciate that which you have.

And along the way you will miss one of the greatest gifts of life, that ability to impact in a positive way another persons life.

That is it in a nutshell, the ability to impact in a positive way another persons life.

So be it money, time or a combination of them both, take the time to invest your resources into something other than yourself.

I think, no, I know you will be surprised at the outcome.

For now, take care...

Mortgage Mayhem - a comment I posted at another blog

The following was posted as a comment over at my sister's blog, here is the link http://pereiraville.com/scribble/ so you can read exactly what was being commented on. My sister is really big into this blogging thing, and for a while I was a guest blogger at her site.

Here is what I had to say regarding mortgages...

There is nothing wrong with Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM’s) if they are used correctly. I have never had anything other than an ARM on my personal residence. Now, on my rental properties, I have fixed mortgages. Why one way on investment property, and the other for my personal residence.

Well, getting the ARM for an investment property is actually more difficult than it is for a primary residence.

You ask the obvious question, “Why?”

Well, for starters, most of the people who are defaulting have 2 things working against them.

#1. They WERE NOT credit worthy to begin with. Let me reiterate, they WERE NOT credit worthy. What the media forgets to mention in all this hoopla of defaults is the people defaulting on their loans had in most cases already defaulted on most everything else they had ever tried to purchase on credit. It doesn’t take a rocket engineer to calculate the odds of default on a mortgage when everything else they had was paid late at some point in their lives. Hence their low credit score leading to the need for the subprime market.

#2. THEY SIGNED THEIR NAMES TO A PIECE OF PAPER THAT SAID ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE. No body forced them to sign. The bottom line is this, although they were qualified to purchase based on a “teaser” rate, the simple fact remains you can’t expect to keep making a “teaser” payment on a month to month basis as it will never pay off the loan. The simple comparison is a credit card. We all know that if we only make the minimum payment, it will take 20-40 years to pay off. Imagine making less than the minimum how long it would take. The “teaser” payment is just that, making less than the minimum. Example, a $125,000 mortgage. The “teaser” rate would be around $477 per month. Now the full payment needed to pay off the loan at last years rates (6.25% as an example) would be $770. That means for each payment made of $477, and balance of $293 would be added to the loan balance, and since the loan adjusts on a AGREED upon basis, that not only increases the balance of the loan, but that of the teaser rate as well.

What does that look like. I am glad, let me show you. Let’s assume you made the minimum payment for the first year. You would have added $3516 making your new balance due of $128,516 instead of the $125,000 you started with. Your new “teaser” payment would be $491 with your full 30 year PI of $791. Again, assume you made a full year of payments, your new balance at the end of that year would be $132,116.

Now, here is the killer. ALL loans of this nature have a clause that states that when you exceed a given percentage of the loan, you AUTOMATICALLY default to the new minimum payment equal to an amount that pays the loan off in 30 years. This amount is typically between 105% - 125% of the original loan value. So at 105% when your loan hits $132,150, your payments reverts to a higher payment. Most of these loans have values around 110% - 115% of value, but again that number is driven by the creditworthiness of the person.

And oh, by the way, your new payment in the given example assuming the interest rate doesn’t adjust is $813.

I don’t feel sorry for any of these people. They make great sob stories, but their own stupidity cost them.

The Pirate is back...

After being asked to leave my last posting spot, I am pleased to announce that effective immediately, when I have something to say, this will the forum to do so.

I welcome anyone who manages to make their way over here, and hope to truly challenge you on a frequent basis with thoughts that come from deep within. Of course although I think I am always right, the fact remains that you may have a difference of opinion and as such your option to comment is always welcome even if you disagree with me.

I will ask that you refrain from using profanity in your comments, and do reserve the right to edit or delete that which I don't feel is important or relevant to the topic at hand.

Welcome one, welcome all - I hope that this turns out to be a daily stopping ground for you.

For now though, take care...