Happy Thanksgiving from the Springboard and a Little Bit of Prippa Rep Prepishny

Well, here we are, having arrived at yet another day of thanks and, well...food of course. Tonight, we will indulge in both turkey and ham, as is at least our family tradition along with all the usual fare found on most Thanksgiving dinner tables.

We'll see if the rolls, this year, make it out of the oven before someone finally realizes they aren't out on the serving table or a reminiscent odor of something burning permeates the air.

"The rolls!"

Last year may have been the first year in many years the rolls actually weren't burnt. So, just to keep the tradition alive and well, we burnt one anyway.

What am I thankful for? I suppose a lot of things. I always say any day spent above ground is a good day, and I suppose so long as I am above it now, writing this day's blog, that's a good day and I should be thankful.

I am thankful for my family, especially my wife who, for whatever reason I've never been able to quite put my finger on, still puts up with me after 16 years of marriage and 18 years of togetherness.

She's either insane. Or she loves me.

I am also, of course, thankful to you, dear reader, who comes by here from time to time and now and then to hopefully be entertained by my thoughts and opinions—and hopefully as well by my witty nature in delivery.

Is it witty?

I am thankful that, for whatever they are worth—and we all know that often they aren't worth much—that at least the polls seem to be indicating Trump's beating Biden and we may be able to end this nightmare we've been enduring for the past 3 or so years.

Speaking of Biden, might I also applaud him on yet another brilliantly delivered "address" to the nation when he pardoned this year's turkeys, Liberty and Belle, and in the time-honored tradition of Biden speeches, he was able to carefully stumble around his words like a drunk trying to pronounce supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

"They had to work hard and show patience, and be willing to travel over a thousand miles," Biden began. "You could say even this harder than getting a ticket to the renaissance tour, or, or, or prippa rep prepishny's tour..."

I think he meant Taylor Swift and Prepishny is probably Britney Spears of course. Either way.

May your day be filled with food, fun, great conversation, and newly created memories to be cherished for years to come. May your turkey be moist and delicious, and may your evening be pleasured by full tummies and perhaps a cocktail or two.

Or 6 or 10.

And may you be able to make your way to the comforts of your warm home safely, and better able to recite your speeches post cocktails than Biden could recite his sans any.

Happy Thanksgiving and I will catch you on the other side. Onward and upward and God speed or whatever else can be said about going forward with dignity, pride, and success. And thanks again for being here. 

Like the way I write or the things I write about? Follow me on my Facebook page to find all of the latest writings from wherever I may write. And hey, Christmas is right around the corner, my wife has the credit card, and any money is helpful. Why not spin my album, Pink Flamingoes, a few times to help a guy out from things beyond his control? You can also check out my other blog where I talk about anything and nothing, The Springboard Journal.

Axelrod Says Biden May Have Worse than 50/50 Chance of Winning in 2024

I am no fan of David Axelrod, Obama's former campaign guru, but I agree with him when he recently publicly said that he feels Biden's chances of winning in 2024 are not only basically 50/50, but more likely much worse.

Granted, neither Biden nor Axelrod are fans of each other. Biden publicly called Axelrod a prick once. Either way, you have to at least give Axelrod credit for knowing a thing or two about elections and campaigns. 

Besides, I think one would actually have to be a fool to even consider Biden has any chance at all—despite who he is obviously running against and all the baggage that has been placed on Trump—if you use past history as any indication of what should happen here.

I mean, the guy's had a worse presidency than the worst president of all time, Jimmy Carter for Heaven's sake. It's been a literal disaster for the last four years. I think even many democrats, although they'd not be willing to state it out loud, would even admit things were much better when Trump was around than with Biden mucking the place up.

Nothing's working. That's the bottom line. And Biden's just not liked. Many don't even believe he's pulling the freaking reins here. So, who is? Who knows?

Either way, the country is going to hell in a handbasket and the people who vote simply can't ignore it. Beyond that, even while polls are often terribly unreliable, the polls are showing very strong leads by Trump in key swing states—states that are critical to win in any general.

Why do I find the polls a little bit more reliable in this case?

Two things to observe here. Polls are traditionally heavily weighted to side with democrats and many Trump supporters won't necessarily be openly vocal about their support for him.

So, if the polls are showing Trump leading, you have to run away with the thought that the numbers may be even bigger in support of Trump than the polls could even possibly demonstrate. I mean, I'm not going to call it now and say Trump might win by a landslide in 2024.

But I think Trump is going to win by a landslide in 2024.

Okay, okay. You caught me. I said that about Trump against Hillary in 2016 and that wasn't exactly a landslide. But it was an undeniable strong lead against her even if she ultimately beat him by 2 million votes in the popular vote.

You have a couple of things happening here. One is that Trump's popularity has only gained the more the democrats and the media have gone after him, and really, when you get down to the brass tacks here, there's simply nothing positive for Biden to even run on.

Sure, he can go out there and tout all those jobs he "created." But most people understand those were simply returning workers from the shutdowns. Not new jobs. He can go out there and talk the economy up. But Americans on both sides of the aisle can see their utility bills. They can see the final price at the gas pump higher than it was when Trump was president. They feel the reality of the economy any time they walk into a grocery store and fill their carts.

No matter which side you happen to be on, you have eyes, and you have a brain, and people can see and understand right in front of them that things aren't nearly as peachy as is being painted.

Not only that, but one has to wonder. Is Biden outright lying to us? Or is he just stupid? Maybe it's a little bit of both, actually. Again, who knows? Biden's a liar anyway, and he never did seem too bright. So, it could be anything.

The bottom line here is that it's not just David Axelrod ringing the alarm bells. Even when you look at approval ratings, it's just clear that practically no one thinks Biden is doing a good job. A recent poll also showed that more than 70% of those polled believes Trump is better equipped to handle the economy than Biden is.

And let's face it. The economy is sort of what Biden seems to want to be running on.

He simply has no solid ground to stand on. He can try to sell unicorns and rainbows, but nobody's actually buying it.

Speaking of polls, what's telling as well of Axelrod's rather grim prediction, is that not only is Trump beating Biden in nearly all of them. So are Trump's top 2 rivals. And they aren't small numbers there either. 

Both Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley beat Biden by several percentage points according to most polls.

Now, there is yet another dynamic to consider as well. That's the never Trumper or anyone who will simply not vote for Trump under any circumstance. This actually puts votes right in Trump's pockets. I mean, look at where RFK Jr. is. He doesn't beat Biden. Not by a longshot. But if he gets 2% or 3% of the vote?

It's curtains for Biden even if Biden has any chance at all without someone contesting him. And yet another poll, among democrats only, says 54% would prefer a different candidate than Biden.

For whatever it's worth, I think it is very clear (even if it still too early to tell) who will be president in 2024. And while I won't say it will be Trump, I can say it won't be Biden. But of course, I have a brain too, and so I think we can all agree it will actually be Trump who takes the win.

David Axelrod may be a prick in the eyes of Joe Biden. But in the eyes of the American people, Biden's a loser.

Like the way I write or the things I write about? Follow me on my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter (X) @jimbauer601. 

The Fun of Paying It Forward

So here we are again with a massive Powerball jackpot just sitting there waiting for someone to claim the winning prize of $450 million on February 11, 2015.

If somebody wins.

Of course I play the lottery. If you have happened to have followed me long enough you are well aware that I am willing to fork over my $2 for a chance at multi-millions. If I took the money I spent on lottery tickets year over year and compared that to what I might spend in casinos year after year, the small amount of money I pay for a chance at multiple millions in a Powerball lottery jackpot pales in comparison.

So I am willing to pay, and willing to play. 'Nuff said.

By my math, which is rough I will admit, of the $450 million Powerball lottery jackpot, I will get to keep roughly $270 million after taxes. I am always firm in saying that I would choose to take the annuity option if I won. So after taxes that gives me somewhere around $9 million a year for the next 30 years.

I would likely first give the household budget a $1 million a year "salary," and would give my wife a $250,000 a year "salary." In addition I would give away $1 million to family members. At least in the first year. The rest of the money, $6.75 million would be invested in various ways.

But the most fun would be contributing to what I call working charity. In other words, tipping waitresses at restaurants we would eat out at the full bill. Handing a $20 bill to the guy or gal bagging my groceries. Handing the delivery guy of my pizza or other delivery food a tip worth the entire bill.

The thing is that all of this money goes into the real economy. It benefits society, it benefits jobs, it benefits the economy, and it is my way of paying it forward. Thanking people for their hard work and putting money in  their pockets that they may not have otherwise had.

This would be gobs of fun.

I look at it this way. When you are raking in $9 million a year, money really is not an object. Moreover, when you are investing $6.75 million a year, the dividends alone can provide for more than you are used to taking in.

I want to be able to spread the wealth. If I get lucky enough to win the lottery, I want that money to funnel into as many pockets as possible.

And I would have loads of fun doing it.

Unions Are Full of Donkey Poop

 

My wife started her new job at a local grocery store. She will not be a cashier, but rather will be working in the pharmacy since she has 28 years of experience there. She also will be starting far above the minimum wage.

None of that is the point.

We will call her store Weber's Fine Foods to protect the identity of both my wife, and the store she works for.

The fact is that Weber's Fine Foods is a union store. And as such of course she will be required to join the union to work there. So with that there is also a union orientation, which is really code word for "presentation and propaganda spewing."

"Do not shop the non-union stores like Aldi, Walmart, Sam's Club, or Whole Foods." They go on to say that "every dollar spent in a union store is a dollar spent toward ensuring the future stability of every union employee and employer."

Ahem. Waders please. And it is beginning to stink in here a bit.

How much does Weber's Fine Food's pay their cashiers? $8.00 an hour. How about another local discount grocer in the same union local? $7.25.

Average starting wage of a Walmart or Sam's Club employee? Around $11.75. How much is the average starting wage for a cashier at Aldi? $12.00. How much is the average starting wage of a Whole Foods associate? Around $10-$12.

So tell me again how the union is ensuring the future stability of every union employee and employer when every union employer is below the radar when it comes to employee wages—which by the way are further reduced by union dues?

Your union if full of donkey poop quite frankly and every indication is that working for a non-union store pays better, from the start and to the finish. But unions don't like to spout off numbers. Rhetoric is so much easier to spout off. And so long as they have captive audiences? All the better.

Questions About Child Shooting Mother

Obviously the story of the 2-year old who accidentally shot his mother at a Walmart store when he obtained her gun and it accidentally fired, killing her, is a tragic one. As is always the case in situations like this, the gun control people tend to come out of the woodwork if for no other reason than to shout as loud as they can I told you so. Guns are dangerous and should be banned.

I do not advocate for gun control laws, and certainly do not advocate for barring responsible citizens from carrying legally obtained weapons. But that's another story.

There are a couple of questions that come to mind, for me, as I think about the tragic events that unfolded in this case. For one, what was the mother doing, and for what length of time was she doing it, that the child could have had time to, unnoticed, reach for and fumble inside the purse to get hold of the gun?

My second question is why was the gun safety not on? Surely, despite the gun getting into the hands of the 2-year old, whatever was going on that the mom was so distracted not to notice, it would not have gone off.

Thirdly, why would any responsible gun owner not only leave a purse with a loaded gun in a shopping cart with a child? More importantly, why would you leave your purse unattended? It was obviously unattended long enough that she didn't even have a watch on her child that he was able to get the gun in the first place. Who else could have gotten that gun?

How many people have their purse's stolen?

I am not going to come right out and make any accusations as to the mother as I simply do not know all of the facts in the case. But certainly I think (and hope) that further investigation is ongoing to determine what exactly the mother was doing at the time the shooting occurred, and how long the child was unattended before the shot went off?

There is more to this story, I think, than just an accidental shooting.

Predictions For 2015

2014 turned out to be a bit of a tumultuous year to say the least. There was quite a lot that happened, the most recent big deal being the race riots in Ferguson and New York. We finally saw some major relief in gas prices, giving Americans a little bit of extra spending cash—especially during the holidays. Jobs growth also picked up a bit towards the end with the unemployment rate finally dropping below 6% (the U-6 rate notwithstanding of course).

So what will see in 2015? Here are a few of my predictions for what to expect. These are of course opinions, but I have done a bit of homework to come up with these. Will they all come true? Of course not. These are predictions, and if I could actually predict anything with any accuracy assured I would be predicting the winning combination of lottery numbers.

But of course.

So onward and upward, and without further ado, here is what I think will be happening in the coming year. Some good, some bad, some downright ugly.

• Unemployment numbers will remain in the 5%-6% range for the better part of the year, but 2015 will see record jobs growth numbers. I actually put the unemployment number at the close of 2015 around 5.2%.
• Gas prices will remain lower up to around mid-summer when there will be a bit of a surge in demand. I see 2015 oil prices remaining stressed, and will likely hover around $75-$80 per barrel.
• With republicans back in power I believe that the Keystone Pipeline deal may be back on the table, but even if anything makes it to President Obama's desk, he will veto it. The Keystone Pipeline, however, will become a big part of the next presidential campaign, and actually believe that both the republican and democratic candidates will be in favor of approving it.
• U.S. auto sales will post record numbers. Ford Motor Company and Toyota will lead the pack.
• GDP growth will rise by 3.2%.
• Russia's economy will fall into a depression, and Japan's economy will remain in a recession. However, Japan will pull into a recovery towards the end of 2015. China will grow, as will most of the rest of the developed world economically.
• Iran will develop a nuclear weapon. However, I think there will be enough force to prevent them from actually using it.
• The GOP will see a young newcomer emerge who will have a strong chance at the nomination who restores conservative values of the republican party.
• Housing prices and inventories of existing homes will remain stagnant. But new starts will see a rise with more builders looking to build "affordable" housing.
• The Fed will end quantitative easing.
• The DOW will continue to see record growth and will close 2015 around 21,000 points. I predict a correction in 2016 however, but not a significant one.
• Discount retailers will see declines in sales while higher end chains will see increases. I also see entertainment and restaurant stocks increasing significantly in value in 2015. State casinos will see their biggest drop in revenue in ten years by the end of 2015 as consumers shift their spending. Las Vegas, however will have a record year as will Atlantic City.
• Cuba's economy will see record growth, and Cuba will begin to develop a tourism industry in 2015 with the help of American investors. Although full tourism in Cuba won't be realized until 2016-2017. Incidentally I think Cuba may also experience a regime change.
• President Obama will by executive order increase the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.
• Actor and comedian Bill Cosby will be indicted on rape charges and will shock the nation by going to jail. It will be the trial of the century, and perhaps the biggest news story of 2015.
• Bill O'Reilly will remain the #1 cable TV news show on television, but will announce his retirement towards the end of 2015.

So there you have it. These are my predictions. I think it will be interesting to take another look at all of these at the end of 2015 and see which ones came true, if any of them. Some of them I obviously do not want to happen, but sometimes it is not what you want to happen, but what is likely to happen that matters. Onward and upward, and I shall see you all on the other side.

Happy New Year to all of my faithful readers.

If Only It Were True, Ford

Those were the sentiments of a lot of fans of Ford Motor Company when an April Fool's prank was pulled earlier this year announcing that Ford would be bringing back its Ford Bronco in 2016 after being out of production for the past 20 years.

If only it were true, Ford.

If you followed the hoax, it was fairly elaborately done, complete with exterior design photos like the one you see here. But there were interior photos as well which looked fairly authentic. The SUV/SVT was dubbed a concept vehicle but would actually be produced, according to the prank report.

Ford has denied the claim, saying that they have no plans to bring back the Ford Bronco anytime soon. However, they have said that they are looking at introducing the Troller, which is a popular off-road vehicle in Brazil, which Ford Motor Company owns.

Troller was founded in 1995 and was eventually bought by Ford Motor Company in 2007.

The biggest hurdle for introduction of the Troller into the United States are getting past safety standards, which are less stringent in Brazil. But be assured, Ford Motor Company is no newcomer to the world of vehicle safety, and if they really do intend to bring the Troller to the U.S. auto market, you can bet they can get this done, and probably in relatively short order.

Even if the idea of the Ford Bronco revisited seems like it could be a good idea for the company's bottom line, it also seems to be a bit "outside of the realm" of what Ford Motor company has been trying to do with their company since the recession hit, and that is to streamline their business, and reduce their product lines. The short and skinny for me is that the Ford Bronco would not be different enough than it's current other SUV counterparts in the Ford line like the Expedition and the Explorer to make sense.

The Troller on the other hand does seem to be a bit of a smarter choice. The thing is, it kind of resembles a Jeep Wrangler, and there are two things noteworthy when it comes to Jeeps. They are wildly popular, and there are currently no real contenders in the marketplace in their space.

Right now there is no definite timeline in place as to when Troller's may roll onto U.S. shores, or even whether they will wear the Troller badge or the Ford badge. But as far as the Bronco is concerned, it's a nice idea and nothing more. For now.

A Smoking Stock

It happens to almost all investors, and most of the time not due to any lack of due dilligence—sometimes you just miss something. Take tobacco stocks, which despite all of the efforts of the government and other groups to shutter the doors of the "evil" tobacco companies, has been unsuccessful. The stocks have burned through all of the hurdles, and have soared.

If you owned just Altria, for example, one of the best performing of all tobacco stocks, in the last 30 years or so your investment would have grown over 15,000%, or roughly 500% a year on average. That's a return any investor could certainly be happy about since most investors are used to around 10% being a fair annual return on their money.

Hindsight is always 20/20, of course. You can't get mad when you miss something, although you can be disappointed. I am disappointed. Partly because I did own this stock at least twice earlier on and took profits early on as well. But at least I can marvel at the remarkable money that can be made from time to time through investing. There were Altrias before Altria, and there will be Altrias after Altria.

Look at IBM's heyday. Or how about Microsoft or Google? Hell, even Berkshire Hathaway.

Am I saying that Altria is a company to buy now? Certainly not. All of the indicators seem to suggest that the course has been run, and Altria has really become a value play. Some might even argue calling it that might be overly optimistic as some are predicting a decline in the tobacco industry.

The point here is that there are smoking stocks all over the place, and they have come many times in the history of the stock market. You cannot predict who will be the next big winner. But just knowing that it is possible to latch onto one, even if it just a stroke of pure luck? That makes any play in the markets interesting, and even enticing.

Calling All Tabbers

This is an original song I wrote back in 2005 which was released in 2014 on iTunes and Amazon MP3 among some other places. I am curious to know if anyone can make a tab for this song? The song is called 102 Idle Stones. Why do I want someone to tab it? I am curious to see what those tabs may look like. Tabbers are awesome people. They take a song they hear and like and they tab what they believe they hear.

I am curious to see what the interpretation of the song might be among the tabbers of the world. You can post it anywhere you want, just let me know where to find it. Curiosity killed the cat.

102 Idle Stones

MegaMillions At $172 Million

The lottery is one of those things that people either love, or hate, or perhaps even love to hate. The fact is that the odds are terribly stacked against the average player. Still, I have to look at a couple of things whenever I consider whether or not it is worth forking over a buck or two and playing. One big one for me is the fact that somebody has to win. And in many ways, despite the terrible odds against me, it causes me to consider that playing is indeed worth my money, and worth my time.

Of course, like anything having to do with gambling, or even socking money into a speculative stock market investment, the risk can only be taken if it happens to be money you can afford to lose. If it's down to putting gas in the tank, or food on the table versus buying a lottery ticket, of course you choose the former over the latter.

Another fact I consider are statistics that were compiled by TLC's docuseries How The Lottery Changed My Life. It happens to be a fascinating thing to watch by the way, especially when you see certain people who wound up winning a fortune, only to wind up broke due to a variety of factors, but mostly due to poor money management.

That goes in hand with something I have always believed, and that is that the rich get richer because they know how to be rich, and the poor get poorer because they don't know how to get rich. That is sometimes thought to be a bit of a controversial statement. But think of all of the rich who lost it all on a bad business deal, only to make millions on a good one? Or how about all of the musicians and sports players who made fortunes, only to wind up broke in the end? If you don't know what you are doing when it comes to money, any amount of money will not make a bit of difference in the end.

What did TLC find? The fact is that the lottery, for all its naysayers, creates roughly 1,600 new millionaires every single year. Breaking the math down a bit further that is roughly 4 new millionaires created every single day of the year.

Granted, billions of tickets are sold each year, and so while that does make 1,600 millionaires seem like a pittance compared, that's still a lot of people coming into new money just because they forked over a dollar or two to play the lottery.

The MegaMillions next drawing is worth $172 million. Even the Powerball is worth $110 million in tonight's drawing. You can bet I'll be playing. And of course, I don't expect to win. But since somebody must win, if there is any chance that that someone could be me, I have to have a ticket in my hand to be a possible winner. As the old saying goes, you cannot win if you do not play. And after all, what's a buck?

Lower Gas Prices Will Spike The Economy

When it comes to oil, as a general rule, there is one big factor that I consider. Oil is deeply embedded in the entire United States economy. For that reason, when oil prices, and especially prices at the pump, reach new low levels, I think the overall impact on the economy is potentially great.

This becomes more pronounced when we think about how much of a negative impact high gas prices have had on the average American family in the past five or so years. Pumping up to get to point B drains spendable cash from the pockets of consumers, and this has an effect on the entire economy. Especially where discretionary spending is concerned. But let's not forget that all of the products we buy must get to point B as well, and much of that transport of goods happens using gas.

It is uncertain how long gas prices, or the price of oil in general, will remain lower. But at least in the short term, the impact of low gas prices in the economy could help to lift up many companies that would be direct beneficiaries of the decline in oil prices.

Those would be the places where discretionary money would most likely be spent.

Companies to look at to invest in the decline in oil prices? Retail outlets, especially those that are a step above stores like Walmart, The Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar General. Starbucks is definitely one place that could see more customers willing to spend some of their newfound extra cash on a cup of premium coffee. Restaurants and entertainment venues will fare well as well.

Of course, all of this fresh cash entering the overall economy will have another effect as well. That is, it will help to bolster demand, and that of course can lead to more jobs. Even if oil prices ramp up again, ideally more Americans will be back to work, and the economy will better be able to sustain itself going forward. This recent decline in oil prices, if you ask me, is at the right time, and just what the doctor ordered.

Meg Myers' Desire

I was reminded the other day that much of what we once thought of as alternative music, which is still generally referred to as that, is not really all that much alternative anymore. This style of music has literally made its way into the mainstream.

I still don't call it pop however. I still find that the style of the music is distinct. It's still alternative to me.

One of the newer songs to catch my attention is one from Meg Myers, who by the way happens to be quite beautiful as well, Have you seen her video for her song Desire? Quite eye catching actually if you know what I mean.

The song has a strong driving beat, and I quite like the way that the low E piano note bangs at the end of what is a powerful, but simple riff which drives the song to its crescendo.

"Desire, I'm hungry. How do you want me, how do you want me."

The song has a driving rock beat, using a drop D tuning which gives the guitar and bass combination a gruffy growl which just goes right to the gut of the listener. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being horrible and 10 being holy crap that's awesome! I give Meg Myers' Desire a solid 8. It's a fun song to play if you like to play guitar, and it's a fantastically good song to listen to. Whenever it comes on the radio, the volume mysteriously ramps up in the car.

Like the way I write or the things I write about? Follow me on my Facebook page or on X to keep up with the latest writings wherever I may write them. If you like new and emerging music, check out my playlist, Indie Lemonade Mix, on Spotify.

Restoring The Springboard 2015

My blog here has become a bit muddled, befuddled, and I will readily admit, off topic. Not sure where that trend started. But this blog was supposed to be about money, politics, and the random thought. The random thought seems to have overrun my recent posts.

So, there are a couple changes I intend to make going into 2015.

1) I am going to post here more often. The old saying goes that the more updated a site is the more traffic it generates. Since WebAnswers stopped being a big money maker, my Google AdSense earnings have fallen off dramatically.

2) I am going to restore my blog to its original intention for content. I will write about money, politics, and still include the random thought. But I will have much less random thoughts  thrown into the mix.

3) I will promote The Springboard more, along with my Bubblews posts and now Elitevisitors posts.

All in all I want to see 2015 be a good year for The Springboard. I thought about starting a new blog, something that would mimic what I did on Bubblews and call it something like Chatterbox or something like that. And I may still try something like that out. But for the most part I just want to restore at least this blog to some of it's "roots."

The rest of my 2014 posts will just be to get back into the habit of posting regularly. But after January 1st, it's back to business. Time to get The Springboard back on track. Onward and upward and I shall see you all on the other side.

Merry Christmas Dear Readers

To all who have come by for a read here, I wish you all the best this Christmas Eve and into Christmas tomorrow. I realize that The Springboard has become quite a bit different than when I started writing on here. So, my apologies in advance if it has become a bit boring. Perhaps that should be my New Year's resolution? Return The Springboard to money and politics and forget all the other stuff.

Of course, writing on Bubblews and the money that could be made there did keep my away from here a bit, and helped to form a change in course as to the content I provide here.

In any event, I again thank all of my faithful readers for continuing to stop in in any event, and no matter the content. It has been another fun year, and I look forward to the next. May your day be filled with cheer and joy with family and loved ones this holiday season.

Onward and upward, Merry Christmas, and Merry Christmas Eve to all.

My Two Cents On Daily Two Cents

For whatever reason, I simply cannot use the site. I know there are plenty of folks out there having no trouble at all. I can tell by the fact that they have posts up to read. However, for me, I simply cannot stay logged in, cannot upload pictures, and cannot upload posts.

Not sure exactly what the problem is.

So for now, unless I can come to a major revelation as to what I am doing wrong, I am going to give Daily Two Cents a solid thumbs down, and am going to quit before I even get started over there. On to something else.

Oh well.

Jingle Bells Goes Crazy

One of the fun things about the Internet is that it is, somewhat, anonymous. You can share anything at all and everything at once, embarrassing or not. At the end of the day, who cares? It is all content. People watch, read, and listen to crazy things. Why NOT put oneself out there for the masses to simply enjoy, or laugh at.

What does one have to lose?

Not a damn thing. That's what it really boils down to doesn't it? To that end I like to do cover songs, and some original songs from time to time. Although I have not done anything new for a while. This song, my rendition of the traditional Christmas tune, "Jingle Bells," was recorded back in 2002. Just me, my guitar, and my sense of humor.

Enjoy, have a good laugh, provide positive or insulting feedback. At the end of the day I don't care. It's gobs of fun to share.

https://soundcloud.com/porwest/funnyjinglebell

Chives Or Lobster?

That's right. You heard the question correctly. Chives or lobster? The reason I pose this very odd question? Did you know that McCormick sells a freeze dried chives container at Walmart that sells for...

Wait for it...

$492.96 PER POUND???

No my friends. That is not a typo. You read that number just as correctly as you read the question I posed in the title.

You have to say that seems a bit steep, no? I mean, since when is a chive, freeze dried or otherwise, ever worth nearly $500 per pound? I would venture to say right here and now, for the record, that there is never a time when chives are worth that.

Pot growers stand up and take notice. There is new crop out there you can grow. AND IT IS LEGAL TOO!

No more need to worry about the bad boys from the ATF knocking at your door, or coming to your crop fields looking to burn down your crops and haul you off to jail in handcuffs. Now you have chives!

So, I ask the question? Chives or lobster. Because obviously lobster only runs about $30 per pound.

Bubblews Payment Issues

The worst press that Bubblews gets happens to be around payment issues. Pull up a search on Bubblews on Google or Bing and what you get on the first pages of results is nothing but bad press. Words like liars, cheaters, crooks, scammers, illegitimate, and not worth the time are in all of the titles and summaries. It is harder to find good press on Bubblews than bad press on Bubblews.

I like Bubblews, and I spend a lot of time there. That is without a doubt. I will also say that in the past I have never experienced any issues with getting paid by the site. In fact, my last redemption only took 28 days after a change in redemption time was announced to be around 30 days to get paid.

That all changed with a redemption I made on July 23rd for $53.10 which is, as of this writing, still missing. That puts that redemption at 43 days without having been paid.

In the Bubblews Learning Center the site says that payments may take up to 30 days. Where I come from up to means perhaps less than, but not more than. So 43 days is certainly outside the parameters of what they are claiming is the time it takes to process a payment once a member redeems.

I have two other pending redemptions; one made on the 7th of August, and another made on the 25th of August. I am set to redeem right now with over $60 in the bank. All said, the Bubblews website now owes me to the tune of $231. Not a lot of money by any stretch of the imagination. But certainly an amount worthy of my wanting to receive, and pay attention to.

The troubling part for me is that the CEO and president of the site regularly post articles. The CEO tends to do this more frequently than the president. They like to write about new features, and other developments for Bubblews members to enjoy. They write about inspiration, vision, and what Bubblews wants to be. But they never speak about missing payments, or on the fact that right now there are hundreds, if not thousands of members who have redemptions outstanding for well more than 30 days. Some have claimed to be waiting for nearly two months with no communication whatsoever from Bubblews about where their payments are. Or if they will be paid at all.

A site like Bubblews, which wants to change the face of social media, and have any prospect for a strong future need to be extremely engaged in the one thing that truly separates them from the competition.

That they pay their members.

When they do not, or when they do not pay in a timely fashion, and do not pay in accordance with their own parameters set by them in the Learning Center of their own site, this erases their niche. It makes their claim moot.

Worse, it causes members like me to speculate about where payments are. It causes members to make potentially false accusations. It causes members to write outside of Bubblews, and add to the throngs of negative press that overload any information someone might pull up on Bubblews while surfing the Internet. It causes members to question the integrity and legitimacy of the Bubblews website. It causes members to speculate on the integrity of the president and CEO of Bubblews, and it simply makes Bubblews look bad.

Whether the perceptions are true or not, Bubblews cannot escape the speculation if they continue to contribute to it directly.

Never Easy To Say Goodbye

Sneaky Bop

This morning I had to bury our dear friend and companion, Sneakers, affectionately known as Sneaky Bop, The Bop, The Bopster, and just simply Sneaky. It is never an easy thing to lose a family pet. After all, being with us every day and night, day in and day out, it is easy for them to carve out a very special place in one's heart, and make an indelible impression.

She was 16 years old, and while her passing still comes way too soon for us, we feel happy that she had a great and full life. She was very much loved, and will be very much missed.

I used to get irritated when she would sit beside me and beg as I ate. Now I will long to have that little set of green eyes staring up at me wantingly, her sweet meow, and when I wasn't offering some food, a few taps of her paw on the side of my leg.

Rest in peace Sneaky. We will miss you dearly.

SPRINGBOARD ELSEWHERE

RIP Sneaky Bop
Bubbles Inside A Bubble

Free Images

There are a couple of places I like to use for royalty free photos. Mostly those would be Morguefile and Pixabay. But I also enjoy taking photos quite a lot, and decided a while back to post some of them to another blog, Springboard Images, and make them available free to use for anyone who writes blogs, posts articles on HubPages, Bubblews, or any other place one may seem fit to use them.

My only requirement, which is a simple one, is that the image credit be acknowledged. Seems to be win, win.

Granted, I don't have a lot of photos posted there, and unfortunately I have not found a way to offer a search function to more easily find photos one might be needing for their work. But I do encourage anyone looking for a few other public photos to take a quick peek and see if anything interests you.

SPRINGBOARD ELSEWHERE:

Do You Like Horror?
House of Cards
Duped By Soda