The caption sucked you in didn’t it?  “Drive By Shooting”…it’s a sad commentary on society and the state of art when this kind of story get’s attention but that is the way our MTV, FOX, iPod, Twitter, Facebook, etc. media generated minds work now.  Back to the ‘Drive By’…

The drive south down 99 from Whistler to Vancouver was brilliant.  The sun finally pushed through the five-week canopy of cloud and the curtain opened to five meters of fallen snow in the past 24 days.  Meanwhile, I realised almost immediately that I had fallen into the three most regrettable pitfalls of renting a car. 

Number one: never get into a rental car without you sunglasses.  Granted it is November on the wet coast so a sunny drive on a day forecast for heavy rain wasn’t expected but I own a store that sells three of the coolest brands of sunglasses out there, have shades stashed in back packs, in my glove box (my wife had my truck) and otherwise scatter them in any number of places around my home and office on ledges and window sills where I meant not to forget them…but step into a shiny new Hyundai from Avis…you get the picture.  Note to self, when you get home put a pair of sunglasses in every bag.

Number two: no tunes.  No hook up for my HTC Mp3 phone (no iPod dock…not that I have an iPod), no Bluetooth, no CD’s (although the player is marked clearly ‘MP3′…even Hyundai gets that we burn them)…just the radio.  Mountain FM? God no.  I mean, yes it works, but no.  Enter XM Radio (XM2 actually…do they need 2?).  Leave it to Hyundai to add XM but no jack for auxiliary hook ups…and to add insult to injury they call it a ‘full size’?  They must be made in, well, somewhere with very small people.  XM and I develop an inevitable love hate relationship within minutes.  Every specialty commercial free station you can imagine categorized by music genre, decade, nationality, a million talk stations from comedy to sports to news, even religion (do they still have that?), every station that is except one that is playing a song I want to listen to.  Seek, scan, stop, XM Elvis, 60’s Pop, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s…end of a good song, damn! OFF!!

Finally, the third and hardest to swallow of all rental car pitfalls – especially for hardened Whistler locals like myself who drive full size 4×4, 4 door, Chevy Silverado pick-ups with one of the coolest line ups of stickers ever assembled on a vehicle and, by the way, gets better gas mileage than the Hyundai – the rest stop photo op.  It doesn’t matter how core I am or what hoody I have on or what time my meeting with Patagonia at Granville Island to see the 2010/11 winter line up is (yes, already) when I sit down in a rental car I know I will drop my camera ready to shoot in the passenger seat beside me and be resigned to stop at the first rest stop with a view and take a few shots like every other tourist and be humiliatingly recognized and at the same time welcomed as one of them.  I can’t fight it, or bother to explain to the guys in the big truck – like mine at home – loaded with sleds who are obviously local and only stopped for the call of nature that happens whenever there are more empty cans of Monster than passengers.  I give in to the urge and like a bar star who says she only smokes when she drinks, I pull over and suffer the loss of inner discipline that self righteously drives locals everywhere from interrupting their commute by selfishly enjoying magnificent surroundings like ours…dummies!

The tragic irony of the rental car is that, for me anyways, it is the ultimate excuse and licence to not be cool (except of course for the dorks in Hawaii who insist on renting the Mustang convertibles thinking they are cool).  So my pride intact, I pull up on the Tantalus view-point, grab my camera from the seat beside me, fold myself out of the Hyundai (still squinting from the drive south into the sun…no shades), dressed in my city clothes – black shirt, black jacket, black Vans – and lose myself in the grandeur of this place I am so blessed to call home.  Go ahead, I think to myself, “Screw the cool guy standard…Claim it!” (MSP, In Deep 2009)

The rolling summit due north is a scene straight out of Alaska…’click’…every rock and tree and shadow line a canvas of white beneath the pale blue sky of morning, and down the valley the snow line on the pines is churning in the smokey mist and warmth of the sunlight seen so rarely this time of year…’click, click, click’.  I love the pure imagination of it all…even the digital sound of a shutter release embedded on a chip programmed to echo from the little speaker on my camera to add to the nostalgia of my experience every time I snap a shot like I am Ansel Adams in 1930’something 3 months into a cold winter in Yosemite…brilliant.  Another car drives up and snapped back to reality I wonder for a moment what time it is, put the lens cap back in place and fold myself back into the Hyundai and stop.  I look again through the windshield at the smokey trees…and get back out for a few more…one more for the road.  I laugh to myself and think, ‘I love being a tourist’, and head on down the highway listening to Mountain FM.

It’s awakening to find inspiration in my own time…in my own back yard.  What have you passed by lately? or daily? Is there some place you know you’ve always wanted to stop but never have the time?  (ie. When your on your way to wait 10 minutes in the line at Starbucks or Wal-Mart or London Drugs? – sorry, no line ups there.)  It’s right there outside your window, just a step outside the comfort of your shiny metal box, yes, it’s right there.  Stop.  Just stop. 

(Aside: I would love to hear the stories of the people who just sopped after reading this…) 

Back to the ‘Drive By’…need to hit Vancouver, Granville Island by noon.  Bathroom break in Squamish, resist the ridiculously priced CD’s at Chevron even though they have a copy of ACDC’s Dirty Deeds…where will I ever find that on CD again? Answer; right there, forever…and don’t even think about the shades on the shiny spinny chrome rack thingy on the counter.  Three words, ‘Made In China’, and while I’m at it, why not add one word to that oh so familiar phrase stamped across some ridiculously growing double-digit percentage of our economy that might just sway the buying and manufacturing habits of the western world, ‘communist’.  If every second item you purchased was labelled, ‘Made in Communist China’, would you think twice?  Just a thought.  Two Mocha Monsters for $5.00, an old school chocolate puffed wheat square and I am back on the road.

The drive by shooting begins somewhere on the descent to Stanley Park on the Lion’s Gate Bridge.  I look in the rear view and see the perfect reflection of the suspension towers behind me, the city scape in front just above the mirror, wrap the neck cord of my camera around my wrist – just in case – open the window and fire off a round of black and white’s (I pre-programmed a B+W high res mode on my digi) at arms length out the window from the driver’s seat.  The first shot amazingly catches an oncoming car completely obscuring the city view above the mirror but captures a perfect mirror image of the bridge and the traffic behind.  The next two or three catch the view of downtown Vancouver between the cars, through the suspension cabling, above the tree line of Stanley Park.  Here we go.

I rattle off a few more down West Georgia; homeless guy in the soft focus silhouette of the moving trees (moving @30km/h past Burrard), big sign on the Vancouver Art Gallery, cool soft cover on the back of a Silverado like mine, the underside of the Granville Street Bridge at False Creek, a painting through a wood framed window where I parked, and think to myself, “Drive By Shooting…Drive By”.  Don’t call the MOT (BC Ministry of Transport) for an opinion on this one, don’t even take mine or think what you think I am suggesting (I accept no liability, blah, blah, blah…).  Just think of the possibilities.  We have all done it (haven’t we?).  Eaten a grape at the grocery store, pocketed some cool meaningless trinket, ridden to the store without our helmet, gone into the back country alone…snapped shots from airplane windows, on the bus or train, taken pics of funny road signs, people, other cars, vistas…this is just the natural progression of the art of every day.  It gives new meaning to ‘Street To Peak’ (ha, ha…just thought of that now!).  What better place to get it started (not that I am starting anything) than Street To Peak. 

Imagine you are a tourist today.  Yes, at home or sitting where ever you might be reading this.  How many photos did you take on your last week or two escape to somewhere else?  How many letters and/or post cards  did you write? (Better question – how many did you send?) Did you get out your journal or a pile of napkins and write? and fill more pages than you have in the past six months of the every day?  Imagine you are a geeky tourist in a rental Hyundai with no iTunes, squinting into the sun, drinking Monster Mocha, eating Fish and Chips from Tony’s (the best on Granville Island)  from a box on the passenger seat, searching for a good song on the local radio, snapping photos of the sky on a dark rainy bridge after a day of stopping at view points and rest stops just because life is good and you don’t know for sure when you will ever be here, right here, right now, again.   Imagine if that today was every day.

Where to start?  Wait a minute…before you dust off your SLR, load it in the car and hit the road, don’t miss the point.  (I can see the type A’s and OCD’s packing their sunglasses and CD’s already.)  In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.”

Sirius Satelite Radio

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The karaoke Channel

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TGIF!

Even though Howard doesn’t work on Friday’s.

I have an hour drive to work everyday, sometimes longer if the traffic piles up, and I think I would probably have serious road rage if I had to listen to local radio. Luckily Sirius/XM Satellite Radio keeps me entertained enough not to run anybody over.

THANK GOD FOR SATELLITE RADIO!!!

Here’s a sampling of what I listen to:

Howard Stern on Howard 100 – my absolute favorite, been a huge fan for years. Love the addition of Artie Lange and I love Robin’s news songs. I get excited when I hear the Rob Zombie intro song, best part of the day!

www.howardstern.com

King of all Media

Rosie Radio on Stars Channel – Rosie O’Donnell’s new radio show and she’s had on some interesting guests and I just like her. Her website has a lot of info on parenting, books, charities, crafts, etc. One of her sons is autistic and I find it interesting to hear her tell stories about him. One of my very good friend’s son has been recently diagnosed with it, so I’ve been trying learn more about it.

www.rosie.com

I usually never listen to the Stars Channel because Dr Laura has a show on there, I tried listening to her to few of calls, and she makes me uncomfortable, she’s soo incredibly rude and conservative, which I’m the total opposite of. I want to punch her in her face sometimes.

Afternoon Advice on The Playboy Channel – Tiffany Granath hosts this 4 hour Q&A program and she actually gives really good advice and she’s just a cool chick.

www.tiffanygranath.com

http://twitter.com/AFTERNOONADVICE

Cocktails with Patrick on Cosmo Radio – The resident guy guru, Patrick, helps us get inside the male mind and serves up a special blend of insight and relationship advice from a “dude” perspective.

I like his Twitter address:

http://twitter.com/CocksWithP

Jason Ellis Show on Faction – Professional X Games Megaramp skateboarder, native-born Australian, MMA fighting and moto riding enthusiast, film and TV actor, and MC of close friend Tony Hawk’s annual “Boom Boom Huck Jam” Tour! All of these describe Jason Ellis..and yet none begin to describe The Jason Ellis Show! Four hours of no-holds-barred, high-energy, uncensored talk and music. All the great subjects of our time like love, religion, sex, parenthood, getting punched in the face, tattoos, hand-to-camel combat, being a man… and the meaning of life!

http://twitter.com/jellismate

Ellis Mate!

Whatever with Alexis & Jennifer on The Martha Stewart Channel – Hosted by Alexis Stewart, Martha’s smartass daughter and her friend, Jennifer Hutt.

http://www.whateverradio.com/website/

 Happy Commuting!!

To all the DKNY cozy fashionistas:  our cozy has been reluctantly returned to Mr. TJ Maxx.  We watched the instructional video on how to wear ‘le cozy’ an additional 14 times for a grand total of  57 viewings over a 24 hour period.  Each twist, turn, and tie of said cozy had us looking like Brutus from a ‘Dress like Julius Caesar’ costume party gone bad:

Et tu, Joycee??  EmJoyce–please give us your tips!  We’re trying our best to stay hip and trendy.  We are Joyce, after all.  (P.S.  Donna Karan says every woman’s best feature is her shoulders.  It’s kind of true, isn’t it?  Take a look at yours in the mirror right now . . . pretty nice, huh?  Shoulders.  Play ‘em up to the hilt.) 

And regarding the two Joyce’s joining a choir:  Olivia is having a love fest with Jukey who happily recalled Joyce 1’s magnificent ability to sing in dulcet tones . . . so melodious . . . and sweet to the ear.  Joyce 1 is a soprano, of course.  When the notes get really high, however, she just keeps her mouth shut.  It seems the choral director is ending his marriage which has created a little bit of back stage gossip.  However, both Joyces find that he has a marvelous sense of humor and they forgive him for any possible indiscretions.  He’d like the choir to sing more and talk less, so everyone is trying their best to comply.

Bulldog has been remembering to wear a fresh pair of underpants each day since we asked his teacher to review cleanliness basics on his weekly spelling list.  Here are his words for this week:  change, underpants, every, day, so, you, don’t, stink, girls, dislike, smelly, boys.

With the purchase of our new car (the one that’s already been hit, remember?) we received three months of free XM radio.  We’ve been enjoying listening to a Joycelicious show called Broadminded.  These are the broads: 

Are broads that cute?  Just wondering.  They are outrageous and irreverent which is right up Joyce’s alley.  Joyce loves a little dirty talk now and then and now.  The other day the broads talked about not having time to shower and being big fans of ’baby wipe clean.’  They love the baby wipe shower.  No time for a real shower?  Baby wipe clean is your ticket to feeling fresh.  And they were pleased with all the different scented baby wipes you can buy.  Their slogan is ‘Two Broads/Two Hours/One Helluva Good Time.  Where can we get a gig like that?  You, too, can enjoy a free trial of XM at:  http://broadmindedonline.com/ .   And we checked out Huggies Naturally Refreshing Baby Wipes–in cucumber and green tea–they claim you get bath-like freshness with every wipe.  We guess the broads know what they’re talking about.

Along with living panty free at night, do you rest your toes from nail polish overload?  We do.  To repeat, we believe airing out parts is important to good emotional and physical health.  After months and months of pedicures, we think it’s a good idea to let the toes go bare naked and rest a little.  What say you?  And how is the nighttime airing out going?  Do tell.  MareJoyce reports that she is committed to panties under her jammies.  We say—air it out—let it breathe, MareJoyce, let it breathe.  A little baby wipe bath upon waking is a nice touch, too, don’tcha think?  Quick and easy, it gets you off to the next party in no time at all.  Thanks, broads. 

And here’s a little something for your spirit from AlliJoyce via The Charmed Life Lady:

Just show up.  Anything can happen today.  Something amazing will happen today.  Just show up.  xo

Today’s ‘Live Better With Willie Jolley’ Tip: Self-Development

How do you make yourself a better, more productive and effective person? The key is self-development! Just as a body­builder goes to the gym to develop his or her body and to gain strength and power, the same is necessary for development of your mind and of your inner strength. You must develop yourself by working on yourself. I don’t mean just your outer self by exercising. That is important, but you must also develop your inner self and your mind.

Do you develop your mind like your body, maybe by way of lifting books, cd’s or tapes, and encyclopedias? No. The correct way is to read those books, listen to the cd’s or tapes, and fill your mind with the information. Fill your mind with the pure, the powerful, the positive, and program yourself for success. You can program your mind for success or let it be programmed by others for failure.

The key is making the decision to program yourself by reading and filling your mind with positive information. Create a new you. Give yourself a makeover, not just your face and hair, but also your mind and spirit. Just as you renew your body with food and cleanse your body with water on a daily basis, you should also renew your mind and cleanse your spirit on a daily basis. Read more positive books, think more positive thoughts, listen to positive music, and take time to pray and meditate on the good.

Give yourself a daily dose of positive images and develop a new you, because the best way to build your wealth is to first build yourself!

Visit my website at www.williejolley.com for free motivation and make this a great day!

Rosie O’Donnell returns to the media today, but in quite a step down the media ladder from national TV prominence — with a daily two-hour show on XM and Sirius satellite radio she’ll host from her Nyack, New York home.

My, how far CME has come in the age of technology! It seems like just yesterday that CME was in the infancy stage of being offered through websites and portals. But now with the advent of ReachMD and its unique XM Radio/iPhone/social media approach to CME, physicians truly have a wide range of mediums to increase their knowledge. And it doesn’t stop there. According to the Bernard Sklar’s CME List their are more than 300 CME sites/portals/apps/podcasting available through the internet today compared to 87 just 10 years ago. And when you look at the physician participants from that time frame the numbers have increased by more than 4 million (181,922 to 4,365,013).

So where are all of these physicians spending most of their time? The top 30 CME sites (according to #hours available) are below.

The Top 30 CME Sites (according to the number of hours offered)

1.    Contemporary Forums-Online CE Library
2.   Audio Digest
3.   Challenger Online Lecture Hall
4.   CMEWeb
5.   Medscape CME Center
6.   Virtual Lecture Hall
7.   Clinical Directors Network (CDN)
8.   Pri-Med Online
9.   NetCE Continuing Education on the Internet
10.  American Society for Clinical Pathology
11.   RSNA (Radiological Soc North America)
12.   TheAnswerPage
13.   Practical Reviews Online
14.   CardioVillage
15.   Sullivan Group (The)
16.   theheart.org
17.   CME Institute
18.   CMELectures.org
19.   Oncologist (The)
20.  Harvard Online CME
21.   Drexel MCP Hahnemann Virt Grand Rounds
22.   MedRisk Online
23.   Johns Hopkins Advanced Studies Courses
24.   American Acad Ped PREP Self-Ass Online
25.   Neurology (J American Acad Neurology)
26.   Washington University (St Louis)
27.   Children’s of Minnesota Grand Rounds
28.   FreeCME
29.   NEJM Weekly CME Program
30.   American Acad of Orthopaedic Surgery OKO

Phillies Fan Arrested for Offering Sex for World Series Tickets... Talks to Opie and Anthony with "lil" Jimmie norton and Bob Kelly Today

Phillies Fan Arrested for Offering Sex for World Series Tickets, Susan Finkelstien, a die hard Phillies fan Was on the Opie and Anthony radio show today. “If you read my Craigslist ad, there’s actually no mention of sex at all” she said to O& A. Adding “Seriously — that could mean I’ll paint your house. I’m creative!” for the full Opie and Anthony Show today click here

Download todays O&A show to hear Phillies fan Susan Finlestien talk about her arrest

I was flirting with this guy, and he was saying, so what do you like, basically, sexually? We just started talking about that. It was him that brought the whole thing up anyway. I just thought I was being ‘punked’ or something. It just was so unbelievable, when we just started talking about sexy stuff, that I got arrested.”
Ummm I am not 100% sure But i think she said her and her husband were Swingers on The show today.

Face book Pic of Susan Finkelstien Phillies fan / " Prostitute"

I absolutely love podcasts.  I have found that I listen to podcasts more than XM, regular radio, or simple music.  The information out there is mind blowing.  Having a heavily filled cue of podcasts insures that my drive-time, or run time goes by without any boredom.  Here are some of the podcasts that I am currently subscribed too:

• Bill O’Reilly’s Talking Points
• NPR Story of the Day
• This American Life
• Wall Street Journal Small Business
• The Dave Ramsey Show
• 48 Days to the Work you Love
• Marketing over coffee
• Startup Nation
• SEO 101
• Stuff you should know
• TechStuff
• Various podcasts about the show Lost
• TWIP Photo
• Nikonians Podcast
• Martin Bailey Photography Podcast
• Small Business Marketing by Duct Tape Marketing

I know, it is a diverse list to say the least.  I would love to hear about any other good podcasts that I should be listening to.

I had back to back trading days, so I’m combining them into one post.

On Friday, the market was down a little under 1%. Seeing as I was gunning for the Pullback that Never Wanted to Happen Ever, I decided that the next retreat the market makes, I’m going to buy buy buy. Actually, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. And that is what I did. With about 5 minutes left until the closing bell, I started spending. I expanded upon APOG, BAC, GE, and YHOO. I thought I expanded on SPIL, but I overbought BAC and didn’t have any available funds left for buying the lot I wanted.

With those four purchases, I effectively decimated my margins on each of those positions. I once was up over 110% on BAC. Post purchase? Say hello to 14%. Thankfully, I had such enormous gains with each of those positions that I am still up overall. Again, as a die-hard Buffetor (I have a million names for this), this is all about the long run. And having more shares at a relatively low average price will always benefit me as gains will accumulate faster.

So, that was pretty much Day 13…a 5 minute shopping spree. Oh wells.

Actually, not “Oh Wells.”

This morning the market was up nearly 100 points for no reason whatsoever and then TANKED. I lost money on pretty much every trade I on Friday. To add insult to injury, SPIL was up. Semiconductors are weird like that- they just go against the current. After one giant, “Ugh” I looked that the only other bright spot in my portfolio today: DBB. Given my history with DBB, it really didn’t take much for me to see a perfect opportunity to sell. And sell I did. I made a pretty penny. But because selling is a lot more complicated than buying, I’m not going to see that paper for about 5 days. And that was Day 14.

So what will I do with my WINDFALL? I’m kidding, its not a windfall, but I like thinking that I’ve got all this money coming back to me that I’ve had tied up in stocks for the past 7 months. I’m considering expanding again on remaining positions (EGO, APOG, BAC, GE, YHOO, SPIL).

Why, the astute Newbie would have noticed that F isn’t there. It’s because I’m planning on selling that too. I dunno, something about F isn’t sitting right with me lately. Maybe its because Cash-for-Clunkers is over, maybe its the $20B in debt that is coming due next year with no clear form of cash flow. I dunno, but either, I think it is time for to take the profit and run. The stalker Newbie would have also noticed that SU isn’t there either. I’m selling because I don’t think high oil prices are sustainable. I’m just waiting for it to touch $40 (the share price) for me to sell out!

Another thing I am considering is actually getting into Retail now. I know, I’ve been trying to get into that sector since before Beverly National was around. (For new readers, I make fun of my savings bank for still not allowing online transfers. Isn’t that , like, so prehistoric?) But yeah, I think I might. With these two pullbacks, those prices are looking pretty sexy. SKS: 5.96 (6.00 in after hours trading), ZLC:6.00.

I have stopped tracking SIRI because they were served with the 180 days notice. Pretty much they have 180 days to bring their market value to over $1 or they will be delisted from the NYSE. 6 months is a long time, but I don’t have that appetite for risk yet, so I’m going to avoid it for now.

I was listening to Pete Dominick at POTOUS on ‘Sirius’ Radio the other day. He was having a conversation with some guy who was in Islamabad about something that was profound and missing in the United States dialog with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan…..

That is…the fact that American is not just foot soldiers looking for combat , unmanned drones and bombers from the unseen jets in the sky……

The guy in Islamabad caught Dominic’s attention when he made that point…he explained  since he had spent time in the United States studying, he came top know that this society was not lockstep with the its leaders every policy…and that there was those who wanted to go one with the war and those who didn’t…..that very thought was inconceivable to other people’s out there who would think that the US just wanted tell everyone what to do…and interfere in every sovereign state…..

The fact that we have wants, needs rich and poor people was a good place to let other people’s know that we all share this trip thru here together…..and that fact alone could be huge difference in how people view each other…The speaker applauded the recent US military policy of having the troops work hard at establishing communication with the local populations in war area’s…..and brought up the fact that even the military itself has been asking for more help in dealing with the nation building that civilians need to carry on, in deference to their military mission…….

The awarding to President Obama of the Noble Prize was a step in that direct by acknowledging the difference in his dealing with the world, which has been 180 degree’s different from his predecessor……which is a giant step forward……And his administration has tried to jump start a cooperative process of military and civilian outreach in the country…..

Let’s hope it works…

In the end, the fight is for the hearts and minds of the peoples…..Where have we heard that before?

My weekend was fabulous. The BF and I had a couple of staying in days where we caught up on the Office and we watched football. My mom and I were also not too good about de-Hoaderizing our house, so we relaxed instead.

What I didn’t do? Yeah, the three essays for a Pre-MBA program that I’m interested in? Not done. Cleaning my room? Definitely not done. A little bit of studying for the GMAT? Nope.

All in all, I still loved the weekend. This week, however, is definitely going to be challenging for me as I’m heading to DC for a ladies weekend! Actually, this ladies weekend arose solely from my BF having a guys weekend. His friends and he are going camping at Bear Mountain. I’m not looking for bonding on that level. Yeah, I can bond over drinks and a dance floor! And I’ll be doing that in DC. So my weekend is pretty much out for productivity. I need to really get it together during the week in terms of those essays and studying for the GMAT.

In terms of stocks, I never got to sell like I originally planned to. So I just have a lot of cash sitting in my brokerage account, lonely, waiting to be used. That pullback that I wanted to happen, never did happen, which is why the cash is still sitting there. I’m just waiting for a down day to make the next buy. Yes, I know Friday was a down day. And the Friday before last, the Dow fell 150 points. I KNOW. Perfect shopportunity. (Um, copyright Marshalls?) But because of my job and my resultant paralysis from waiting for the pullback, I haven’t been buying when I should. Of course, I’ll keep you guys posted when I actually do make those purchases. I’m still hot for SKS, ZLC, and SIRI.

In terms of savings, since I have reached my target equity amount in my Zecco account, I’ve started to deposit into my savings account. Although I’m happy about the amount that I’m putting away, I’m not so happy about my dwindling savings rate. I know, recession shmecession. A quick test drive auction over at Money Aisle shows that the highest savings rate I can get for my current balance is 1.70%. Beverly National is currently at 1.65%. I’m pretty the hassle of removing money from that bank is worth chasing that last 0.05%. So I’m going to sit tight and hope that soon those interest rates will rise. Or at least, stay steady.

Download my LOLs from The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick and Keith Price!

Weekdays 7 am – 11 am ET Veteran Billboard editor/pop-culture commentator Larry Flick presides over a bracing blend of music and conversation. He’s joined by comedian Keith Price for laughs and chats with the hottest stars and intriguing newcomers in music and entertainment. As for the launching pad for such global phenomenons as Leona Lewis and Duffy this is the perfect “jolt” for your day.

Today, Monday, is Thanksgiving in Canada and man was it cold outside.  I had the boys out in the park for an hour and a bit, until we decided to strol up the main Avenue to see if our local Starbucks was open… It’s ALWAYS open! 

We went inside to warm up.  After casing the yogurt / juice / sandwich fridge, the boys ran ahead to find a seat, having been there numerous times before, and within a few seconds I found them chatting up a storm with fellow blogger, and neighbours Haley-O and Josh-O of The Cheaty Monkey, who were there with their kiddies.  We all sat for a few minutes and talked about life, blogging, the kids’ schools, basketball (the Toronto Raptors) and other (ahem) stuff while the kids, played, talked to strangers and danced.  Fun times were had by everyone.

From there we went by the “flower store”, really an outdoor market, where the kids went nuts grabbing gourds, mini-pumpkins, Indian-corn (is it still really called that?) and other festive decorations to take home for the front steps of our house.  Every year my in-laws grab a bunch of pumpkins for our front steps.  The kids LOVE it!  It has become tradition in our household.  This year there were 10 of them, assorted sizes, colours and varieties.  To that pile we added a mini-pumpkin and 3 small white pumpkins.

Our annual tradition

Sadly, the small white pumpkins have since disappeared – we believe via squirrel-power.  This morning my oldest boy took the new nanny out with him to cover the remaining ones with cayenne pepper.  Smart kid…

Once back home we ate yummy turkey scalopini and stuffing made by my very pregnant wife and we got the kids bathed and into bed nice and early (before 7pm).  I then set off to do the tasks I normally do before bed the night before our nanny comes home… I clean and make sure the house is tidy so she will see the way we like to (try to) keep it.

At 1am as I was turning off the outside lights, I noticed a light shining into the new hybrid SUV.  It looked like the street light was shining into the car and I turned away, only to wonder if possibly, just maybe there was a light left on in the car.  I grabbed the keys and ran out in my shorts and barefeet to see.  Yup.  There were 2 lights on in the car… From early afternoon.  The car was dead!  I called roadside assistance to set up towing to the dealership in the morning and the first tow-truck – a young, cold, sleepy kid, couldn’t get it to start.  Told me the car was toast.  I called back roadside assistance and they sent a second truck to take me to the dealership in the morning but this guy – an older fellow – started the car.    I drove to the dealership and that re-charged the battery… PHEW.

While at the dealership, they finally activated our XM Radio.  Anyone have any suggestions as to what stations to listen to?  I programmed in the XLMetal station, but found it way too disturbing for my morning drive.  I don’t need to get psyched up to go to work anymore… It’s not the government.  I also found a station with only love songs, a station for every decade and a station dedicated to hairbands!  Cool. 

What stations do you like?

AT&T Data Coverage - TX, OK, KS

This weekend, I’ll be traveling to Kansas City to watch my Chiefs battle the Dallas Cowboys.  As I travel north, I intend to test out multiple data applications from my iPhone 3G.  Specifically, I want to see how steaming applications like ESPNRadio’s application work in a car traveling 70mph.  A couple years ago, I had a rental car that was equipped with an activated XM satellite radio.  The drive to and from the metroplex was much more enjoyable when I could listen to ESPNradio on XM channel 140.  So part of my curiosity is whether my iPhone with the ESPNradio app is equal in performance to an XM radio.

Recently, Abilene Christian University dove into the arena of streaming video utilizing services like Ustream.  During ACU’s Summit in mid-September, the university streamed three lectures a day and had a total of 1,200 viewers for the four day event.  Using the Ustream app for the iPhone, I kept tabs on one particular lecture while I was driving around town.  I caution that I wasn’t actually watching the lecture while driving, but I was listening and testing to see how well the connection held up as I crisscrossed town on a couple errand runs.  I was impressed that the streaming connection held up, with little if no disruption as I was handed off from one 3G tower to another.

While I’m hesitant to believe the iPhone equipped with stream applications will displace the satellite radio industry, I am curious if “mobile” connectivity is indeed mobile.  I recall several years ago folks differentiating cellular data as “nomatic” rather than “mobile” because connectivity couldn’t be sustained in a car moving at 50mph.  Add in a mixture of multiple cellular data networks (3G, EDGE, GPRS) and the data throughput speeds will vary drastically.   None the less, the experiment should be interesting.  Too bad it doesn’t present a way to write off the trip as a “business expenses”.  I’m still working on this angle.

For all the hype and debate that is ongoing about the viability or profitability of satellite radio, I have to say that there seems to be very little positive information on what a remarkable product SIRIUS actually offers its listeners. It also seems that in the stock market discussion about the profitability of Sirius, that there is very little focus on any other market except the auto industry. Although the Auto market represents the growth market responsible for the largest acquisitions of new subscribers for the company, I feel that there is a market out there that has a huge growth potential that is being poorly, and otherwise ineffectively targeted. This elusive gem is the marine market.

In fact, I would even go so far as to say that some of the most loyal and unyielding SIRIUS XM subscribers make their livings on the sea. Whether it be commercial fishing, yacht crew, tug boats, harbor ferries or any other maritime sea-faring activity SIRIUS XM is there. I was just recently on one such vessel in Northern California for over 2 months straight at sea and on board we had no fewer than 8 separate satellite receivers!

As truckers well know, there is nothing that beats radio when you’re running mechanically intense operations or engaging in standing a watch for 8 hours straight. You can’t watch tv, no matter how fancy they make it, it’s simply unsafe. And you have to remember that because we are miles offshore, we are always out of FM/AM range and cell phone range as well. So what’s left for entertainment?

SIRIUS. You can catch the latest headlines on CNN with Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room, or you can listen to the latest business news on CNBC. And if you sprung for the extra few bucks when you bought your receiver, you can even have your stock portfolio scrolled right across your screen with real time quotes letting you keep track of your investments while underway. Looking for a laugh? Raw Dog can’t be beat. Looking for some audio caffeine? Try the Strobe. Missing the playoffs at home while you’re out catching salmon in Alaska? Listen to them live right on your MLB channels!

I think I speak for all us sea-faring Sirius loyalists, that there is no better product in the world than Sirius. Hell there is nothing that has made making a living on the high seas more bearable since the invention of coffee, than the advent of Sirius.

SIRIUS also provides a Marine weather program that downloads real time marine weather information right to a compatible chart plotter. This weather service is unparalleled in the industry providing valuable and relevant marine weather warnings and information. It downloads real time and displays various types of information including wind/wave data, national buoy information and more. I unfortunately feel like SIRIUS has focused so much on the car market that it has not really developed this valuable product. I’d like to see Sirius focus more on this product and really push it out there in the marine industry where it is invaluable for safety and can truly save lives.

What would I like to see from Sirius in the future? Maybe a low cost internet solution for an extra monthly fee. Or a Gmail download function via the Sirius satellites to a tablet style receiver. I think the possibilities are endless for SIRIUS on the Sea.

Social Media is going to change the broadcasting landscape in the not too distant future. Recently Detroit Tigers Hall Of fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, announced that he has inoperable cancer. To a roaring crowd he came out to wish the city of Detroit goodbye and delivered an incredibly classy and moving speech. In the face of the unknown he recently said his “voice had always been around. Day after day! Year after year! Barbecue after barbecue, booming through summer thunderstorms…it’s just there!” His statement about his voice being an icon for Detroit and the surrounding suburbs, got me thinking about technology and Social Media.

Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully and Bob Murphy are the end of “the voice of baseball teams”. As technology becomes more readily accessible, the future of broadcasting will involve several voices calling games. It has already begun with podcasting and a number of notable unknowns growing in notoriety for their commitment to sharing and broadcasting. Look at iTunes, the robust list of radio stations grows daily. I suspect we are just months away from iTunes introducing a number of independent broadcasters to the equation. Eventually, anyone will be able to login their feed.

XM/Sirius Radio has already started a push where the listeners pick the new songs that are “cool”. It is only a matter of time and technology that can organize millions of feeds via keyword that there will be independent broadcasters broadcasting anything and everything. Soon, you can be Rush Limbaugh! Soon your neighbor can be Howard Stern, and as these independents grow a following, they will start getting fantastic guests- thus giving Rush and Howard competition. And yes – anyone can become Ernie Harwell! It will then come down to creativity, content and over time traditional marketing coin.

So what is the point Derek? The point of this post is to hammer home the need and commitment to unique content. From March to September, from 1960-2002, Ernie Harwell broadcast the Detroit Tigers games with his flair. Unique content and a commitment to bringing that content to life is the key to making money in the business world and yes…Social Media! The future of broadcasting will be driven not by the technology (technology is leveling the playing field for everyone to deliver information and content), but by the value and creativity of the content being delivered. Brands of ALL kinds need to find their voice in these channels, add value to the world to help get their brand recognized and maybe even evolve the product to the voice of their prospects and customers. Ernie Harwell is nothing more than an old school community manager for the Detroit Tigers. He delivered the brand in the format technology allowed at the time. Today, technology is allowing brands to deliver their message and value in a multi faceted approach. So the question begs to be asked, who is your organizations Ernie Harwell?

Best wishes Ernie Harwell and his family. May the last days of his life be as fruitful as the first 91 years.

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Just received Twitter update that NHL Live! is due back on the airwaves (via NHL Network) on September 28.

So I was just informed that I’ll need to wake up pretty early to go drop my mother off to the Port Authority Bus Station. Yikes!

Today wasn’t much of a day for stocks. They were essentially flat with an initial bump up due to GE’s upgrade as well as Kraft’s (KFT) (pretty much out of nowhere) bid for Cadbury (CBY). KFT seems pretty determined so I think CBY shareholders will win with this one, especially since KFT’s offer was pretty generous given consensus analysis on the financials of the company.

ZLC took a dip down into the high $5 region today, but this wasn’t enough of a down day for me to pull the buy trigger. SKS was up and so was SIRI. Patiently waiting for this pullback, and I’m not giving up faith that it will come.

I just want you Newbies to know that just because I haven’t been posting, doesn’t mean that I haven’t been living. Au contraire, I’ve been living, I just haven’t been letting you guys know. So let me fill you guys in on the goings on:

1) I am still tracking my retail stocks, namely, SKS and ZLC. I’ve also decided that I’m getting in on some SIRI action, which will be my first penny stock. Again, I have this giant hunch (so giant it should be called Quasimoto) that there will be a pullback and September will be a disastrous month for stocks, the dollar, and oil. Of course, these three are tied together, so bad for one means bad for all. But the converse isn’t necessarily true. That threesome is just weird like that. Yes, so there were a couple of down days last week for stocks, but I was convinced that I could get SKS and ZLC closer to 5. I think ZLC went as low as 5.16, and SKS as low as 5.30. SIRI only dipped as low as 60 which would have been a great price to buy, but since I’m sure of this pullback, I know I can get it lower.

Now, again, I’ve expressed doubts about this pullback because it may just be something I want really bad and not necessarily something I’m certain will occur. But hey, if I cross my fingers, toes and eyes, I don’t really see how this can’t happen. I’m have 60% of my target amount in cash, sitting in my account, just waiting for a lovely buying opportunity. I’m hoping to be able to buy by the end of September so watch out for that.

2) After I hit my target amount in my brokerage amount, regardless of whether or not I invest those funds, I will start diverting my excess income into my savings account. My Financial Advisor has advised (duh?) that I should probably have a lot of hard, cold, cash sitting in my account if I plan on having a down payment for a condo in about 2-3 years. So I told myself, ok, maybe I won’t have a lot of cash, maybe just some cash. Either way, my savings account is currently at 1.84%. Eek. I’ve been saving there since March and Money Aisle has some lenders offering 2.3%. I don’t know what the penalties are for canceling the bank account, so I’ll have the read that first. Also, their rates do fluctuate a bit, so maybe August was just a bad month. Maybe September will have higher rates. My goal is to keep my savings rate at about 2.0%, which is pretty strong given today’s economy.

3) I’m set to increase my contribution to my Roth at the end of September. The increase is a lot smaller than I’ve alloted for because of the aforementioned cold, hard cash that must be present in my bank account. However, I plan on countering these smaller contributions with larger contributions once I save up enough for the property AND/OR when my employer reinstates the match to the 401K wherein, I will finally sign up for one. The benefit of the Roth is that one should contribute the maximum amount when your tax rate is low, my case now, but I spent the past couple of months kind of obsessed with the stock market, so yeah, I missed out on that. And now my money has a goal, so it looks like I really won’t be contributing what I need to for a while.

For my Newbies, this news will seem pretty similar to what I’ve been saying for a while. Except, in case you didn’t notice, this was said with a bit more conviction than in previous post. Do you know how hard it is to bring ‘conviction’ in WordPress? Ugh, I know. Anyways, I’m really committed to this timeline this time around and I don’t foresee any major expenditures that should push these things off track.

All of us fall out of love with music at one point. Even me. And I always say “music is my life”. Recently I haven’t been that interested in music but then the rental car with satellite radio happened. I never understood what was so good about getting it in the car. Are people in their car that much? Is it free with some cars? I only take 1-2 car trips a year. It is usually 3 hours roundtrip. So why do I need satellite radio?

Well know I know why I need it. LOL. I have DirectTV so I get some of these channels on TV but I rarely listen. There is something disconcerting about listening to radio on TV with a blank screen (ugh! Please fix that. At least Comcast gets that right).

I’ve been calm and patient while driving. Enjoying it. I even enjoy the red lights because it gives me time to jot song titles down. I live in the city so there are a lot of red lights. I love everything about it. I wish I had it in my car but I am still hesitant because I hate monthly payments. I already have enough of those.

Okay here is the fun part. New (to me) songs I have discovered within the past 24 hours:

Mike Zito - Today

Pete Yorn - Don’t Wanna Cry

Limousines – Busy People

Mute Math - Electricity
can’t find the vid-not sure of the title (?)

(I’m familiar with Pete Yorn and Mute Math). It also made me want the album version of Seal’s Crazy and John Haitt – Have a Little Faith in Me. How could I not have that song since I love it so much?

As far as buying new music, I’m buying the latest Colbie Caillat and Kelly Clarkson. I’m preordering the Mariah CD (out the last week of September). I wish I could get more but I only have a $25 gift certificate.