Financial Television

Are any of you hooked on financial television? Uncle Jack suggests that CNBC is just financial cheerleading. Maybe he's right, I don't know. Jack seems like a fairly sensible financial guy most of the time. I'm thinking of blogrolling him.

So what do you think? Does financial TV do more harm than good? Do shows like Cramer's Mad Money harm the market, or do they educate and give perspective to small investors? I've personally found Cramer to be highly entertaining, and helpful to some degree in terms of market psychology... Discuss.

Lite Holiday Reading

Ok- I've done the legwork, so the least you can do is click through here for a nice little piece of philosophy, On Bullshit. Worthwhile!

Murder on Turkey Day

In personal (good) news, I've recently caught up with a number of friends from St. Louis, Atlanta, and Mississippi... Always glad to hear what they're up to- It's a shame that I don't get to see them any more than I do these days...

Wednesday, this wreck occured on Interstate 55, within a few miles of my office and on my daily commute (Suburban vs. Tanker truck, nearly head-on) . Nasty crash, with lots of fire. These folks were off to a family gathering one minute, dead the next. I heard that a wheel on the Suburban could have come off entirely, causing the vehicle to cross into the northbound lanes... It took most of the afternoon to get everything cleaned up... Traffic was messed up all day long- a rarity for such a rural stretch of road.

And finally, yesterday a man from Hayti shot and killed his ex, and he was arrested here in Caruthersville that afternoon. Seems that Pemiscot county law enforcement was on its toes. Maybe he'll get more than a few years jail time...

Just When I Said the News was Slow Around Here,

this prison escapee was recently caught not 10 miles from my house... I've lived near Interstate 55 for quite a while now, and I've determined this: you never know who you may encounter on or near the interstate highways of this country... In fact, do any of you have any strange highway encounters to talk about? Comment below.

This Blog is Nothing if Not Educational

I mentioned back in June that one of my most-visited posts was a photo I took of something called 'slime mold' that showed up in my flower bed in 2004. It turns out that many of those visitors are from IP addresses that are clearly schools, according to my stat counter. Come for the slime mold, stay for my heartless politics and free-market capitalist drivel!

Things are a Bit Quiet

in Southeast Missouri lately; which is a good thing, I suppose. Not even a local governmental flap to get my blood boiling. One of the drawbacks to living in Third-world Missouri is that the news cycle can be slow at times. In terms of raising a family, however, it's clearly a plus.

Business is relatively slow until the start of the year, so now all there is to do is enjoy the Fall weather, read often, and get ready for the holidays!

Paris is Burning

It'll be interesting to see how France deals with its increasingly hostile Muslim population...

I Never Thought I'd Hear Myself Say It,

But in the midst of all the comments about Rosa Parks' death, Al Sharpton may have made the most sense of them all. I only caught pieces of his speech at the funeral, but it seems that his comments were very dignified, MLK-esque, and right on the money. He even incorporated a bit of that Bill Cosby personal responsibility vibe into the speech. Wow. Al Sharpton, I am truly surprised. Is it possible that I could become a Sharpton fan? Better withhold judgement for now. One good speech does not a convert make...

On the other hand, there were clearly some posers speaking as well. Jesse Jackson totally looked like a fool- I can see why he would want to glom on to the memory of a real hero. He has zero credibility these days. In that same category, Bill Clinton, our first black President, made an attempt at a rhyming speech- perhaps poetry? Lots of words that rhymed with 'free.' Uh-huh. Well crafted, Bill. You've inspired me to borrow some of your speech:

Bill, you have made me see

and we can all agree

that you are free

to be a poser!

Proof that Afghanistan is Improving

Life is on Cruise Control

And all is well with the world; the socialists in Congress are pissed, my office is being remodeled, it's been an absolute blast riding the motorcycle since all the leaves are changing, plus - my daughter has her first birthday tomorrow. Time flies when I'm having fun!