Electrabel – Happy New Year

Why play the lottery when you can buy crackers!

$10,000 in a cracker box?

I heard this story on the radio this morning. A woman buys a pack of crackers and finds $10,000 inside. Whole Foods later finds out that an elderly woman was storing her life savings inside that box and returned it by accident.

The big question I have is, shouldn’t Whole Foods check returned FOOD items before putting them back on the shelf?  The box was obviously opened, so one would think it would no longer be returnable…

Peace Out 2008

I’ve decided to make this list today, so that we can continue to add things as we think of them.  I would love to hear what everyone else comes up with.

Here is a list of things that came with 2008:

- New iPhone

- Rockband on Wii

- Tiger wins another U.S. Open…and retires for the year…

- China’s earthquake

- 5 years in Iraq, 4219 American deaths

- New job and a move to DC!

- Sarah Palin

- The return of Pirates

- The return on Britney Spears

- A new Batman and Indiana Jones

- Beijing Olympics

- President Elect, Barack Obama

- Philadelphia takes the Series

- Russia invades Georgia

- DCUSA (target, best buy, etc.) comes to Columbia Heights

- Crash of the stock markets

- Government Bailouts

- Castro steps down

- OJ Simpson, back in court (this time no one cares)

- “Put a Ring On It” by Beyonce

- Congolese Civil War

- Eliot Spitzer Scandal

- Michael Phelps

- Brett Favre leaves Football, on wait, no he doesn’t

- Smithsonian, American History museum reopens

- Hillary makes 18 million cracks into the glass ceiling

- John Edwards broke my heart

- President Bush and the shoe

Thanks DCBlogs.com

Great news!  I’ve been added to DCBlogs.com’s live feed. Now every time I post, it will be updated on the live feed. I’ll be added to the directory list shortly.

Happy Holidays everyone. I didn’t have much internet in NC, so I wasn’t able to post anything. More will come today.

Not too late to order this Christmas’s top gift.

Boy – “Mommy, Mommy! I know we saw Santa a few weeks ago, but I changed my mind! I want something new for Christmas!”

Mother – “What’s that son?”

Boy – “The ‘Bye Bye Bush’ Shoe!”

As it turns out, the Bush-Shoe incident is an unexpected blessing for a Turkish shoe firm. They claim to be the makers of the ‘Bush’ shoe, or as they are calling it, the ‘Bye Bye Bush’ shoe. The shoe company, Baydan Shoes, is now receiving tens of thousands of extra orders. People in the United States, Iraq and all over the world want to know what it feels like to walk in the shoes that almost gave Bush a black eye. So many shoes are being ordered, in fact, that the company had to hire an additional 100 employees. I’m sure that Timberland wishes they had been selling boots in Iraq now!

The thrower of the ‘Bye Bye Bush’ shoe will be sentenced December 31. This story is just too bizarre.

Work Break Holiday

‘Twas a few days before Christmas, and all through the office, not a keyboard is typing, not even the boss’s. The cookies are placed, around the kitchen with care, but not for long, once the workers find out they are there. Everyone is laughing and the halls fill with chatter, no one is working, does it really even matter?

I’m starting to think that most offices should just close down for the week of Christmas. We can use the example of mine. Half of my unit is out on vacation. More than half of my outside contacts (who I would need to work with) are out on vacation. No one seems to have any motivation. No one wants to start new projects because they will be leaving soon, and everyone is on some kind of a sugar high! Now I know that it might not be the most realistic thing to close the office for a week, or even better two, but productivity has to be WAY down right now. I really believe that it is in the best interest of the office to go ahead and close. I realize that some offices would be easier to close than others, but those that could, should. Just think of a world where all of the offices closed down for a two week Holiday Break. The economy would be booming because we would be out buying things, going out to eat, having a few too many overpriced eggnogs at the local pub, and catching a few of the holiday time movies. If McCain can suggest a ‘gas tax holiday,’ why can’t we have a ‘work break holiday?’

You heard it first; The Hay Say is calling for a ‘Work Break Holiday.’ I really think I’m on to something. Anyone agree?

George Bush, Socialist’s New BFF

I wonder if those crazy people who voted Bush in 2000, or even 2004 knew where we would be today.  George Bush will leave office in a few weeks having served in the biggest, most powerful government the United States has ever seen.  What gets me, is all of the Palin conservatives who were scared of the “Socialist, Obama big government!”  If I were a betting man (and I am, so I guess I’ll make this a bet), Obama’s White House will not be nearly as Big Government as Bush’s.

I’m sure Bush felt like Santa this morning when he gave the GM and Chrysler $17.4 billion as an early Christmas present.  It sure made my day!  Having the auto companies fail right now would be a complete disaster.  I know that there are tons of people out there who disagree with me, but if you want your kids to grow up in the “Land of Opportunity,” then we can not let this economy hit the can even worse than we are now. So, to do something I never thought I would do, I would like to thank President Bush. I still think you have been a horrible president, but at least you have good shoe dodging reflexes and can bail out the auto industry.

Now I would love to hear what other people think. I know that no one has really been posting comments, but now is your chance! Speak up, make your voice heard (even if it is just by a few people)! You can do it anonymously, and you don’t have to sign up for anything. How could you pass up an opportunity like that?!?

Shoe Thrower Apologizes, No One Believes Him

Who knew that a shoe would cause such a mess? December 14 will go down as one of the weirdest days in Bush’s time as President.  When the video was released of Bush ducking two flying shoes, Americans were filled with different emotions.  A few might have felt bad for him, but I’d guess that most had a good chuckle.  I mean, regardless of whether you mildly dislike Bush or REALLY dislike Bush, it is pretty funny!

Today BBC is reporting that Muntader al-Zaidi (aka ‘the Shoe Thrower’) wrote a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki apologizing for his actions.  The man who threw his shoe at the President of the USA while yelling “This is a farewell kiss, you dog!  This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,” is now calling his actions “ugly”?

Lets take one step back and look at what has happened since he threw the shoe.  First he was tackled by Secret Service.  Next he was arrested and placed in jail with no bail.  At some point it is reported that he had his arm and ribs broken, and finally he is awaiting trail with a possible 15 year jail sentence.  Do you think that apology is whole hearted?  Call me quick to judge, but I’m going to say no.

But why would it be?  He is a hero to many in Iraq, Bush himself called for his release, and it can be said that he was simply expressing his “new freedom of expression” promised to him by the man on the receiving end!

I’m not going to say exactly what should happen to the Shoe Thrower, but I will tip my hat in his direction for all the giggling I get from these news stories.

Do Pirates Still Say, “Arrr”?

When I was a kid, I wanted to be one of two things:  a professional baseball player or a Pirate.  I quickly found out that my little league baseball skills would not take me very far, and I was told by many elementary school teachers that piracy was mostly dead.  Little did I know that several years later I would be reading about pirates in the news nearly everyday.This has been one heck of a year for the Somali Pirates.  2008 brought nearly 100 hijackings off of the Somali coast, some of which lead to multi million dollar deals!  Hell, they were even named one of Time Magazines “People Who Mattered.”  And we have all figured out, they really do matter. Just yesterday China announced that they would be sending Navel forces to help stop the pirates.  This is a big deal because China’s Navy hardly ever leaves port.  Who would have thought that with the amount of money and weapons the developed world has, we would still be scared of pirates?

So as I sit in my cube at work, I have to ask myself, why am I not out there hijacking tankers?  I mean, we kind of have things in common.  They are pirates because they lost their jobs due to the Westerners taking all the fish.  I could be a pirate because the Westerners no longer have economies that offer jobs at all!  They are good out on the water.  I…like the water.  Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea?

Hmm, after looking at the UN’s and China’s decisions to start making the piracy crackdown a top priority, maybe I should wait awhile and see what 2009 brings.  I mean, who knows? Maybe the fishing will return to the coast of Somalia and just maybe jobs will come back to the States. Wouldn’t that make for a good 2009?

Inauguration Weekend

Right after November 4th, all anyone was talking about here in DC was Inauguration Weekend.  There were predictions of up to 4 million people and over 10,000 charter buses flooding into the city, which made so many people in the area start seeing dollar signs. I heard a report the other day saying that all of the hotel rooms in the DC area, other than the top dollar suites, have been sold out for weeks. Hotels in Baltimore, Richmond, Winchester and all the way down to Harrisonburg, VA have been raising prices for that weekend. To accommodate the demand, it seemed like a great idea for DC residents to start renting out there homes. I don’t know if it was actual demand, or just hype, but quickly 1 and 2 bedroom apartments were being listed for thousands of dollars. In many cases what people are charging for the weekend is well over the cost of rent for that month. But as far as I can tell, not very many people are having that much luck. For some obvious reasons, people are more attracted to hotels, even if they are located miles away, than they are someone’s home. Has anyone actually heard of people renting out their apartment for as much as they asked for?

I’ve thought a lot about renting out my room, but I think what I am most conflicted about is whether or not it is really the right thing to do. The question is whether or not charging people more than it should cost to crash in your house is what this historic event is all about. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see anything wrong with making a buck, but a lot of the people who will be coming into DC on inauguration weekend have given hours and hours of service to get the President Elect elected. If we decide to bring people in, isn’t it somewhat our moral obligation to help out those who helped us? The truth is I have had a few friends ask if they can crash at my place. While I have not committed yet, I’m pretty sure that is what I’m going to end up doing. But I have to admit, I certainly see the appeal for some extra dough.