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Archive for January 2nd, 2010

Pawn Stars

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on January 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The thing I like about the holidays is that you have some time off and you get to see what some of the cable channels are offering. I happened to stumble upon the marathon of the 1st season of a show I really like called Pawn Stars which currently aires on the History Channel at 10 p.m on Mondays.

This show is about the pawn shop business at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The shop is run by three generations of Harrison’s, Richard the father, Rick his son and Corey who is Rick’s son. The three assess the value of items that people bring into the shop that they either want to sell or “pawn”. The Harrison’s determine what is real or fake and with the use of experts there is always a story behind each item and the worth of the item.

Below is a clip from season 1 that I thought was really interesting.

Check out this show ! I think you will like it as much as I do.

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Belated Happy New Year

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on January 2, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Well Happy New Year everyone ! It has been 10 days since I’ve been on the blog and there is lot’s to discuss. For starters I thought it would be a good idea to post the top ten New Year’s resolutions for those of you out there that still make New Year’s resolutions.

1 – Lose Weight – I have to say I don’t need to worry about this one – I’ve always weighed in at approximately 139 lbs since I was in high school.

2 – Manage Debt – No problem with this one – other than my house payment I don’t carry any debt. I have paid cash for my last three cars which on average I’ve driven for 10 years.

3 – Save More Money - I suppose we all can probably do more of this, but how much money is too much money. My rationale on this one is put back enough money to be comfortable, but be sure to spend enough to enjoy life’s ride cause you don’t know when it’s gonna end.

4 – Get a Better Job – I sort of experienced a forced retirement back in April of 2009 after having worked for Nationwide Insurance for 26 years, but I have to say it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got to enjoy the warm summer weather and worked part-time as a host at my favorite restaurant, Windward Passage. In October 2009 I was asked back to Nationwide Insurance as a consultant through March 31, 2010 making more than I did when I worked there …. ahhhh …… the perfect job working six months out of the year. Doesn’t get any better than that !

5 – Get a Better Education – I have a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Marketing, but I have thought about taking a course or two online …. I’m still thinking about it ! What would I take ? At Windward we have a Mexican contingent that works in the kitchen and I would like to know what it is that they are talking about so I might brush up on my Spanish.

6 – Drink Less Alcohol – As Ben Franklin recommended moderation – I usually limit myself to two drinks except when I am watching the Buckeye games with my friends and when I’m on the Booze Cruise with my family – lets face it, you gotta drink when your around your family, especially the nieces and the nephews.

7 – Quit Smoking – I tried smoking cigarettes a couple of times when I was younger, but didn’t like the taste in my mouth the next morning.

8 – Reduce Stress Overall - To do this I heard something quite a few years ago that works for me and that is to live a simple life. Of course there are things like your health that you can’t control, but if I can’t control it then I don’t worry about it.

9 – Volunteer to Help Others – I definitely need to do more of this when I semi-retire again on March 31. I participated in a program that Nationwide Insurance sponsored in which employees tutored young children at Windsor School in downtown Columbus. What a truly rewarding experience this was !

10 – Take a Trip – I have a friend who does business overseas and I want to get back to Europe again in 2010. Last time we went to Amsterdam we had a blast. So much to do and see. Then we took a high speed rail to Paris, which if your a people watcher like I am is a great city to go to.

So what is my New Year’s Resolution for 2010 - most of my friends want me to get a computer which I still don’t have at home. My excuse is that if I had one at home I would be on it all the time and I don’t want that to happen. I like going to the library to use the computer where they limit your usage time to five hours. You would be surprised how many times I’ve hit the five hour limit.

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Thoughts On 2010

Posted in America, Blogging, Happiness, Ohio, Politics, The Economy, World, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

A few thoughts about this new year that we are breaking in. (And starting it off with a Rose Bowl win and relaxation in the Bahamas is a good beginning.)

First, I am going to call it “twenty ten,” and not “two thousand ten.”  I realize that this is an abrupt change from 2009, which I did not call “twenty nine” for obvious reasons.  Still, I lived most of my life in the 1900s, and no one called 1980, for example, “one thousand, nine hundred eighty.”  So, I’m going with “twenty ten.”

Second, I don’t consider this a new decade.  In my book, decades run from —1 to –10, or –20, or –30.  Technically, this must be true, because way back when there was no year zero.  In my experience, too, the decades we think of often don’t really end until some event that doesn’t coincide precisely with the end of a calendar year.  In America, “the ’60s” really didn’t peter out until after December 31, 1969, and “the ’70s” didn’t end until about the time President Carter left office in January 1981.

Geopolitically, I think 2010 will be a very interesting year.  The efforts of the U-Trou bomber and the escalation of the war in Afghanistan will probably make terrorism a more significant focus.  The recent protests and attempted clampdowns in Iran bear watching, there no doubt will be weirdness from rogue states like North Korea, and we will have to see whether the global economy pulls out of recession.  Domestically, this year we will be voting for all members of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and a slew of governors.  In Ohio, we will be electing a new Senator to replace retiring Senator George Voinovich and also voting for Governor, and the contests in the Buckeye State already have attracted some national attention.  The election will happen against the backdrop of a weak, struggling economy that has affected different states differently, lots of partisan rancor, and a President whose approval ratings have dropped significantly as the grueling health care reform battle has proceeded.

I don’t think there is much point in making predictions about what will happen; years usually look different as they draw to a close than people expected when the year began.  About the only thing that is certain is that there will be lots to talk, and blog, about — and through it all UJ, commendably, will find a silver lining and things to be positive about.

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The Sweet Smell Of Roses

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Yesterday’s Rose Bowl game was immensely satisfying for every Ohio State football fan and, no doubt, for the team and its coaches. 

Going into the game, Ohio State clearly was viewed as the underdog by just about everyone.  The “experts” in the pregame shows all predicted that Oregon’s high-powered offense would be too much for Ohio State to handle, and their predictions likely were influenced by the fact that Ohio State had lost three straight BCS games.  Fortunately for the Buckeyes, the experts turned out to be wrong.  The defense managed to control the Oregon offense, and Terrelle Pryor had a breakout game as the Buckeyes won, 26-17.

It’s clear that Jim Tressel and the Ohio State coaches played a much more wide-open offensive style for the Rose Bowl.  Pryor threw often, completed the majority of his passes for two touchdowns and more than 260 yards, was Ohio State’s leading rusher, and time and again came up with big plays when they were needed.  Pryor threw some fine touch passes — two to Devier Posey and a looping throw that hit Brandon Saine in stride along the sideline come to mind — and also threw some bullets with accuracy.  I think part of the emphasis on passing was due to the belief that Oregon would be able to put points on the board, but I also think part of the play-calling was dictated by Oregon’s defense, which seemed committed to stopping the Ohio State running game.  In any case, the game plan required the quarterback to perform, and he rose to the occasion in heroic fashion. Kudos to Terrelle Pryor for playing an excellent game on the Big Stage and to Jim Tressel and the coaching staff for coming up with a well-executed game plan.

On the defensive side of the ball, I think Ohio State just had more talent than Oregon expected.  Even though Oregon consistently had good field position due to poor kick return coverage by the Buckeyes — thanks mostly to short, low kickoffs and lost contain — it often struggled to move the ball and its quarterback was under pressure whenever he went back to pass.  Although Oregon clearly has speed on offense, they didn’t have the enormous speed advantage that the experts forecast and, as the game wore on, couldn’t come up with the big plays at crucial moments.  Oregon also had a crushing turnover on a blown handoff that stopped a drive and allowed Ohio State to get the ball back and run more time off the clock.

As a traditionalist, I thought the two most satisfying aspects of the game were Ohio State’s ability to respond after falling behind, 17-16, and then its ability to grind out the rest of the clock when it got the ball with about 5 minutes to go after Oregon missed a field goal.  Oregon knew that it had to stop the Buckeye offense if it wanted to win the game; it just couldn’t do it.

Finally, as someone who watched the game on TV, I was struck by the punky attitude of the Oregon players, who seemed to celebrate, scream, and strut after every play and, I thought, should have been flagged for at least one late on Pryor as he ran out of bounds.  In contrast, the Ohio State players were classy and composed throughout the game.  I like winning; I like winning with class even better.

Congratulations to the Ohio State players and coaches on a great win that should help to exorcise a few demons.

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