Category: Life

Due to family and business time conflicts I am shutting down this blog site.
I have enjoyed working this blog and appreciate everyone's feedback.
You can write to me for the next week if you want in the comments section. I would like to hear from you all and if I have helped anyone then that will give me a good feeling.

God Bless You All.

Question asked on 09/05/2008 at 08:01 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

1. Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.
2. Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.
3. Law of probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.
4. Law of the Telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.
5. Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.
6. Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now. (works every time).
7. Bath Theorem: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.
8. Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.
9. Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Question asked on 08/26/2008 at 06:05 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

"The art of being sick is not the same as the art of getting well. Some cancer patients recover; some don't. But the ordeal of facing your mortality and feeling your frailty sharpens your perspective about life. You appreciate little things more ferociously. You grasp the mystical power of love. You feel the gravitational pull of faith. And you realize you have received a unique gift – a field of vision others don't have about the power of hope and the limits of fear; a firm set of convictions about what really matters and what does not. You also feel obliged to share these insights – the most important of which is this: There are things far worse than illness – for instance, soullessness."

- Tony Snow

Question asked on 08/07/2008 at 06:38 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

The world's first parking meters were installed in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on this day in 1935. Carl C. Magee had been appointed to the Chamber of Commerce's traffic committee and had invented a mechanical timer, and today was the first day a motorist was angered by needing to shove coins in one. There are now an estimated five million parking meters in use in the US, raising about $1.25 millions per day along with the blood pressure of an unknown number of drivers.

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.

Politics ain't worrying this country one-tenth as much as where to find a parking space.
- Will Rogers, 1879 - 1935

I live across the street from a church. Some of the most ruthless and unchristian driving that I've ever seen is those pious folks trying to get out of the parking lot first after services.
- Peter Manly, 1945 - 2007

Question asked on 07/23/2008 at 07:02 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

THE YEAR'S BEST (actual) HEADLINES OF 2007:



Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Is There a Ring of Debris Around Uranus?

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Miners Refuse to Work After Death

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

War Dims Hope for Peace
I
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

Man Struck By Lightning; Faces Battery Charge

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Question asked on 07/21/2008 at 04:04 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21 YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happene d there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's w orkshop' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away.

Question asked on 07/15/2008 at 03:21 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) From which animal do we get cat gut?

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

7) What was King George VI's first name?

8) What colour is a purple finch?< FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=2>

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

10) What is the colour of the black box in a commercial airplane?

Answers Below

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years

2) Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador

3) From which animal do we get cat gut? Sheep and Horses

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? Squirrel fur

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs

7) What was King George VI's first name? Albert

8) What colour is a purple finch? Crimson

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand

10) What is the colour of the black box in a commercial airplane? Orange

Question asked on 07/07/2008 at 07:05 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Enjoy Life! Take a holiday and have fun. Happy 4th.

Question asked on 07/05/2008 at 06:16 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Wealthy, hip Chinese urbanites want to own... Hummers. Beijing Auto rolled out its own version, called the Trojan. And SUV imports from traditional luxury carmakers BMW, Porsche, Lexus, and Cadillac hit record levels in 2007.
Chinese demand for SUVs began to show serious momentum in 2003 – sales doubled to 200,000 that year. The industry has enjoyed double-digit growth every year since, with 370,000 of the behemoths sold in 2007.
The iconic image of America for the last decade has been the big, glittery SUV. Now wealthy Chinese people want to live like Westerners.
Demand for big cars fuels demand for oil – China's consumption grows about 8% per year. In addition, the government subsidizes gasoline, so prices are nearly 40% lower than here in the U.S.
You see, everybody wants to blame "greedy" oil companies for high gas prices... but the real reason is our TV shows. All that TV we exported for the past 10 years showed the world how we live and, more importantly, what we drive.
So don't blame ExxonMobil for high oil prices, blame western TV lifestyles exported to China.

Question asked on 06/19/2008 at 06:19 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

The more people have studied different methods of bringing up children the more they have come to the conclusion that what good mothers and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is the best after all.
- Benjamin McLane Spock, 1903 - 1998

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.
- Charles Wadsworth

John Elway is a great football player. He used to be my son. Now I’m his father.
- Jack Elway

Question asked on 06/15/2008 at 07:45 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
- Clarence Buddinton Kelland

Question asked on 06/15/2008 at 07:43 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born at London, England on this day in 1889. He grew up in poverty, when his mother couldn't support him he went first to a workhouse and then to a school for orphans. But he made it to the stage and became the leading star of silent film. Perhaps his devotion to pantomime explains why his quotes are so short.

To help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune.

Charlie Chaplin

Question asked on 04/20/2008 at 07:35 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

There are only 2 things you have no chaice in your lilfe about. Which are both troublesome.
" Death and Taxes "

So I say pay your taxes, read a Joke and SMILE.

A nervous taxpayer was unhappily conversing with the IRS auditor who had come to review his records. At one point the auditor exclaimed, "Mr. Carr, we feel it is a great privilege to be allowed to live and work in the USA. As a citizen you have an obligation to pay taxes, and we expect you to eagerly pay them with a smile."

"Thank God," returned Mr. Carr, "I thought you were going to want cash!"

Question asked on 04/15/2008 at 07:21 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Natural Highs

In today's society there is so much drugs going around and that is caused by so many different reasons. The main reason is the short term physical pleasure that is derived by the drug and the peer pressure of their so called friends. The friends are false friends because they are being driven by the pleasure received by the drugs.
So if you can teach anyone any of the following you could make a difference in their lives.

Think about them one at a time before going on to the next one. It Does Make You Feel Good, especially the thought at the end of #44.

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4 No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail..
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry ).
12 A bubble bath.
13 Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach.
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS
24. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
25. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
26. Your first kiss (the very first).
27. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
28. Playing with a new puppy.
29. Having someone play with your hair.
30. Sweet dreams.
31. Hot chocolate.
32. Road trips with friends.
33. Swinging on swings.
34. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
35. A sense of accomplishment after a job well done.
36. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
37. Holding hands with someone you care about.
38. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
39. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
40.. Watching the sunrise.
41. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
42. Knowing that somebody misses you
43. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.

44. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

Pass on These Natural Highs to anyone you care about.

Question asked on 04/13/2008 at 07:05 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

In all of Shakespeare's plays, no matter what tragic events occur, no matter what rises and falls, we return to stability in the end.
We have to pass on to America in the 21st century the same Bill of Rights that those wise, old, dead white guys that invented this country passed on to us.
I've played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses - and that's probably enough for any man.
- All from Charlton Heston, 1923 - 2008

Question asked on 04/09/2008 at 04:13 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

I was at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine, and the little demons disappeared.

The next year I filled a 4-ounce spray bottle and used it around my seat whenever I saw mosquitoes. And voila! That worked as well. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby. It will kill them on contact and have a risidual effect until rain comes.

Question asked on 04/01/2008 at 07:12 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.
Robert Jarvik

Question asked on 03/25/2008 at 06:52 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose t he lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. &nbs p;

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

Question asked on 02/05/2008 at 03:41 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

Question asked on 02/03/2008 at 03:39 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

Question asked on 01/29/2008 at 03:38 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, or spend all you have, or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

Question asked on 01/26/2008 at 03:28 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school.

One child wrote the following:

We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Florida . Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on their bicycles and & get to wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore.

They go to a building called a wreck center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all OK now, they do exercises there, but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on.

At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting In it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts.

Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night --- early birds. Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck.

My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.

The End

Question asked on 01/18/2008 at 04:27 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

SOMEBODY'S RAISING THEIR KID RIGHT!
One Nation, 'Under God'.
One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children.
The teacher asked a little boy Tommy do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see God up there?
TOMMY: No.
TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there. Possibly he just doesn't exist.
A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions.
The teacher agreed and the little girl asked the boy: Tommy, do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher?
TOMMY: Yes
LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?
TOMMY: No
LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today in school, she possibly may not even have one!

Send this web site to your friends to read this blog if you liked the message.

Question asked on 01/04/2008 at 06:05 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

I am taking a few days to enjoy the holidays.
So I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Question asked on 12/25/2007 at 04:40 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

I am taking a few days to enjoy the holidays.
So I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Question asked on 12/24/2007 at 04:35 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

I am taking a few days to enjoy the holidays.
So I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Question asked on 12/23/2007 at 02:38 PM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This is amazing....but heart wrenching.

This film was made by a 15 year old girl.

The following is the hottest thing on the internet and on Fox News............our soldiers ...

Lizzie Palmer who put this YouTube program together is 15 years old. There have been over 3,000,000 hits as of this morning. In case you missed it, here it is.

Watch all of it.......and let someone you know how much you love them and what they mean to you.

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1

Question asked on 12/17/2007 at 06:14 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move> necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
"That doesn' t have anything to do with it," he replied.
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Question asked on 12/09/2007 at 04:46 PM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'

The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'

So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'

The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'

And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'

The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.'

But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten
the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next f orty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

Question asked on 12/04/2007 at 06:51 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

THE MAYONAISE JAR and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full...They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.
The students responded with an unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured
the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter - like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
So...Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked".
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Question asked on 12/01/2007 at 06:11 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Politics and the Economy

Please do me and yourself a favor. Pass this article or website on to your friends and relatives so that when you start to lilsten to the next year of political BS you will know the truth about taxes and who pays what.

The Tax Foundation recently released an analysis of the Internal Revenue Service's income tax data for 2005 (latest available). Let me repeat just a small part of that Tax Foundation analysis:
America's richest 25 percent of taxpayers paid about 86 percent of all federal income taxes in 2005, despite earning only 67 percent of the nation's income... The highest-earning 1 percent alone - those earning more than $364,657 - paid a staggering 39.4 percent of all federal income taxes... That means the top 1 percent of tax returns paid about the same amount of federal income tax as the bottom 95 percent of tax returns combined.
This data for 2005 is not really new. The top income brackets have always paid the majority of income taxes.

Here is the data from the IRS for 2005:
Taxpayer
AGI Brackets Average %of AGI Paid Share of Total
Income Taxes Paid
Top 1% 23.13% 39.38%
Top 5% 20.78% 59.67%
Top 10% 18.84% 70.30%
Top 25% 15.86% 85.99%
Top 50% 13.84% 96.93%
Bottom 50% 2.98% 3.07%

[Note: The Average Percent of AGI paid in taxes for each of the Taxpayer Brackets listed above is calculated by taking the sum of all income tax paid by individuals in each bracket in 2005, and dividing it by the total adjusted gross income of all such individuals. For example, based on 2005 income tax data from the IRS, the top 50% of taxpayers had total adjusted gross incomes of $6.544 trillion, and paid total income taxes of $906 billion. Thus, $906 billion divided by $6.544 trillion equals the 13.84% tax rate shown above.]
Based on the Internal Revenue Service's own data, the rich do in fact pay a higher percentage of their adjusted gross income in income taxes, by far, as compared to those in the lower income brackets. The top 50% of taxpayers pay 4.6 times the percentage paid by those in the bottom 50% on average. Someone in the top 10% pays 6.3 times the percentage paid by those in the bottom 50% on average.
Keep these numbers in your head for the next time a liberal tells you that the rich don't pay enough in taxes. The top 50% already pay almost 97% of all income taxes paid, whereas the bottom 50% pay only about 3%. And let us not forget that the top 50% create virtually all of the jobs in this country, and make the economy strong, yet the libs want to tax them even more!
If you want to see the 2005 IRS income tax data and tables, click on the following link to see the full story from the Tax Foundation: http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/printer/250.html.

Democrats Plan To Hike Top Tax Rate To 65%

The three leading Democrat candidates for president - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards - have all made it known that, if elected, they will consider raising taxes on "the rich" in order to fund their various programs, including nationalized health care. And as discussed above, the rich are now defined as any individuals making $150,000 or families making $200,000 or more per year.
In the recent Democratic presidential debates, Hillary has avoided stating just how much she would raise taxes on the rich, but candidates Obama and Edwards have told us what they plan to do, and you're not going to like it. They have done so in discussions on the subject of how to save Social Security.
Both Obama and Edwards have rejected the notion of cutting Social Security benefits or raising taxes on the middle class to fix Social Security's unfunded costs. Instead, both Obama and Edwards have actually proposed plans for raising the income tax paid by those making over $200,000. To many moderate voters, this probably makes plenty of sense.
The question is, how much would taxes have to go up on the rich ($200,000 or more in annual income) in order to fix Social Security going forward and fund the Dems' plans for national health care? According to a front-page article in last Thursday's Investment Business Daily:
"To bring in enough money to close Social Security's shortfall and make good on the $2 trillion in IOUs in the trust fund would require an annual tax increase in excess of 25 percentage points on those earning over $200,000... [Emphasis added, GDH.]
Combining this tax hike with the reversal of President Bush's tax cuts for high earners - as all of the top Democratic contenders have called for to help pay for their health care plans - would raise the top rate on work income from 35% to about 65%."
What, you haven't heard of this? Of course you haven't. The mainstream media is not about to tell us that the three leading Democrat candidates plan to skyrocket income taxes on those making over $200,000. Heritage Foundation senior fellow David John reacted to the Dems' proposed tax increases as follows:
"It's easy to say, 'We'll just assess a small tax on the rich. But when you start to add up the cost of (Democratic plans for) health care, Social Security, the (elimination of) the alternative minimum tax, you run into some astonishing tax increases." [Emphasis added, GDH.]
I suggest you start paying more attention to these Democratic presidential debates and be aware of just how deeply these liberals plan to raid our pocketbooks. Even worse, if the Dems are successful in hiking taxes to such levels, there will be no guarantee that they will actually use the money to fix Social Security - they might just spend it.
Finally, can you imagine the negative effects that a top tax rate of 60-65% would have on the economy and job creation? History has shown that at such excessive tax rates, high income earners find ways to limit or reduce wage and salary compensation. Some wealthy individuals will actually work less, or not at all, rather than pay 60-65% tax rates.
I know some conservatives who are so disgusted with the Bush administration that they say they will vote for a Democrat in 2008, just to send a message. I hope they're ready to see their income taxes almost doubled if they do!

Question asked on 11/29/2007 at 03:14 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This was written by an aging man when asked what he had learned from life.
37. Recycle. If items become clutter and are no longer useful, beautiful or joyful, give them to others or donate them to charity.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
40. No matter how you feel, get up, get dressed, and show up.
41. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
42. Care about the people who live in your house more than how clean the house is.
43. Ask for what you want. If you don't ask, you don't get.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's a gift.

Happy Thanksgiving! May you all have a prosperous and healthy year.

Question asked on 11/22/2007 at 04:00 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This was written by an aging man when asked what he had learned from life.
28. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
29. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
30. Believe in miracles.
31. Whatever doesn't kill you will make you stronger.
32. Growing old is good. It beats the alternative -- dying young.
33. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
34. Get outside every day.
35. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
36. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

Question asked on 11/19/2007 at 03:58 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This was written by an aging man when asked what he had learned from life.
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Eat off the fine china. Don't save them for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Prepare well, then go with the flow.
21. The most important sex organ is the brain.
22. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
23. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
24. Always choose life.
25. Forgive everyone everything.
26. What other people think of you is their business, not yours.
27. Time lessens pain and heals almost everything. Give time time.

Question asked on 11/15/2007 at 03:57 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This was written by an aging man when asked what he had learned from life.
10. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
11. Don't compare your life to others. You don't know what their journey is all about.
12. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
13. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. Live accordingly.
14. Life is too short for self-pity or blaming. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
15. You can get through anything if you stay focused on today.
16. If you want to be a writer, write. Don't put off what you love to do.
17. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. The second one is up to you and no one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

Question asked on 11/12/2007 at 03:55 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This was written by an aging man when asked what he had learned from life.
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Pay off your credit cards every month.
5. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
6. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
7. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
8. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
9. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

Question asked on 11/08/2007 at 03:54 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

If you didn't see this on the Tonight show, I hope you're sitting down when you read it. This is probably the funniest date story ever, first date or not!!! We have all had bad dates but this takes the cake.

Jay Leno went into the audience to find the most embarrassing first date that a woman ever had.

The winner described her worst first date experience. There was absolutely no question as to why her tale took the prize!
She said it was midwinter... Snowing and quite cold...and the guy had taken her skiing in the mountains outside Salt Lake City, Utah.

It was a day trip (no overnight). They were strangers, after all, and truly had never met before.

The outing was fun but relatively uneventful until they were headed home
late that afternoon.

They were driving back down the mountain, when she gradually began to realize that she should not have had that extra latte.

They were about an hour away from anywhere with a rest room and in the middle of nowhere!

Her companion suggested she try to hold it, which she did for a while.
Unfortunately, because of the heavy snow and slow going, there came a point where she told him that he had better stop and let her go beside the road, or it would be the front seat of his car. They stopped and she
quickly crawled out beside the car, yanked her pants down and started.

In the deep snow she didn't have good footing, so she let her butt rest against the rear fender to steady herself.

Her companion stood on the side of the car watching for traffic and indeed was a real gentleman and refrained from peeking. All she could think about was the relief she felt despite the rather embarrassing nature of
the situation. Upon finishing however, she soon became aware of another sensation.

As she bent to pull up her pants, the young lady discovered her buttocks were firmly glued against the car's fender.

Thoughts of tongues frozen to poles immediately came to mind as she attempted to disengage her flesh from the icy metal. It was quickly apparent that she had a brand new problem due to the extreme cold.

Horrified by her plight and yet aware of the humor of the moment, she answered her date's concerns about "what is taking so long" with a reply that indeed, she was "freezing her butt off" and in need of some assistance!

He came around the car as she tried to cover herself with her sweater and then, as she looked imploringly into his eyes, he burst out laughing.

She too, got the giggles and when they finally managed to compose themselves, they assessed her dilemma.

Obviously, as hysterical as the situation was, they also were faced with a real problem. Both agreed it would take something hot to free her chilly cheeks from the grip of the icy metal!

Thinking about what had gotten her into the predicament in the first place, both quickly realized that there was only one way to get her free.

So, as she looked the other way, her first-time date proceeded to unzip his pants and pee her butt off the fender. As the audience screamed in laughter, she took the Tonight Show prize hands down. Or perhaps that should be "pants down." And you thought your first date was embarrassing.

Jay Leno's comment... "This gives a whole new meaning to being pissed off.

Oh, and how did the first date turn out? He became her husband and was sitting next to her on the Leno show.

Question asked on 11/05/2007 at 06:25 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The officer says, " I clocked you at 80 miles per hour, sir."

The driver says, "Gee, officer I had it on cruise control at 60, perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating."

Not looking up from her knitting the wife says: "Now don't be silly dear, you know that this car doesn't have cruise control."

As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, "Can't you please keep your mouth shut for once?"

The wife smiles demurely and says, "You should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did."

As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, "Damit, woman, can't you keep your mouth shut?"

The officer frowns and says, "And I notice that you're not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic $75 fine." The driver says, "Yeah, well, you see officer, I had it on, but took it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket."

The wife says, "Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving."

And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket the driver turns to his wife and barks, "WH Y DON'T YOU PLEASE SHUT UP??"

The officer looks over at the woman and asks, "Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?"

I love this part....

"Only when he's been drinking."

Question asked on 10/27/2007 at 06:15 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Q: I receive calls almost every day about investment opportunities. Is there anyway I can stop these people from calling me?
A: These people are, of course, cold callers. If you want the calls to stop, there are two things you should do.
First, add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry. You can add both home and cell phone numbers. How? Either go to donotcall.gov or call the following toll free number: 1-888-382-1222. Keep in mind that you'll have to re-register your phone number every five years to stay on the list. Then, tell any cold callers to put your name and telephone number on their "do not call" list. Will this stop every telemarketing call? No. You still may receive calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors, and companies with whom you have an established business relationship. And a few other exceptions apply. For example, family members, even long-winded ones, may still call you.

Question asked on 10/23/2007 at 06:59 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

If you are having a bad day just read the following true story about someone who had a really bad day and think of him and how fortunate you are today.
Don't Laugh.
This guy pushed his motorcycle from the patio into his living room, where he began to clean the engine with some rags and a bowl of gasoline. When he finished, he sat on the motorcycle and decided to start it to make sure everything was OK. Unfortunately, the bike started in gear, and crashed through the glass patio door with him still clinging to the handlebars.
His wife had been working in the kitchen. She came running at the noise, and found him crumpled on the patio, badly cut from all the broken glass. She called 911, and the paramedics transported the guy to the emergency room.
So far the story is humorous - in a "that is what you get for being a big lout to bring your motorcycle into the house" kind of way.
But here is where it gets to be a gut splitter.
Later that afternoon, after many stitches had pulled her husband back together, the wife brought him home and put him to bed. She cleaned up the mess in the living room, and dumped the bowl of gasoline in the toilet.
Shortly thereafter, her husband woke up, lit a cigarette, and went to the bathroom. He sat down and tossed the cigarette into the toilet, which promptly exploded because the wife forgot to flush the gasoline when she dumped it in the toilet. The explosion blew the man through the bathroom door.
The wife heard the explosion and her husband's screams. She ran into the hall and found him lying on the floor with his pants blown away and the burns on his butt. The wife again called 911.
The same two paramedics were dispatched to the scene. They loaded the husband on the stretcher and began carrying him to the street. One of the paramedics asked the wife how the injury had occurred. When she told them, they began laughing so hard that they dropped the stretcher, and broke the guy's collarbone.

What a day.

Question asked on 10/22/2007 at 06:29 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

The best beer drinking story ever told.
From the state where drinking and driving is considered a sport, comes a true story from Houston, Texas.
Recently, a routine police patrol parked outside a local neighborhood bar.
Late in the evening, the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes with the officer quietly observing.
After what seemed an eternity and trying his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his own car,
which he fell into. He was there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.
Finally, he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a dry night), flicked the hazard flasher on and off, tooted the horn, and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little, and then remained stationary for a few more minutes as more patrons left in their vehicles. At last he pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive slowly down the street. The police officer, having patiently waited all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and carried out a Breathalyzer test To his amazement, the Breathalyzer indicated no evidence of the man having consumed alcohol at all!
Dumbfounded, the officer said, "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the Police Station. This Breathalyzer equipment must be broken."
"I doubt it," said the man, "Tonight, I'm the designated decoy."

Question asked on 10/08/2007 at 06:25 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Be sure and refill the ice trays, we are going to have company after 'while.

Watch for the postman, I want to get this letter in the mail today.

Quit slamming that screen door!

Be sure to pull the windows down when you leave, it looks like it might rain -- and bring in the clothes from the line, too.

Don't forget to wind the clock before you go to bed.

Wash your feet before you go to bed, they are nasty from playing bare footed outside all day.

Why can't you remember to roll up your pants legs? Getting them caught in the bicycle chain so many times is tearing them up.

You have torn the knees out of that pair of pants so many times there is nothing left to put a patch on.

Don't you go outside with your good school clothes on!

Hang up your Sunday School clothes, you know you need to pass them down to your brother in good condition.
Go comb your hair. It looks like the rats have nested in it all night.

Be sure and pour the cream off the top of the milk when you open the new bottle. I need it for baking and Pa's coffee.

Take that empty bottle to the store with you so you won't have to pay a deposit on another one.

Put a dish towel over the cake so the flies won't get on it.

Quit jumping on the floor! I have a cake in the oven and you are going to make it fall if you don't quit!

Let me know when the Fuller Brush man comes by, I need to get a few things from him.

You boys stay close by, the car may not start and I will need you to help push it off.

There is a dollar in my purse, go by the service station on the way to town and get five gallons of gas.

Open the back door and see if we can get a breeze through here, it's getting hot.

You can walk to the store; it won't hurt you to get some exercise. Maybe you will learn to be more careful with your bicycle.

Don't sit too close to the TV, it's hard on your eyes.

If you pull that stunt again, I am going to wear you out!

Don't lose that button, I will sew it back on after awhile.

Wash under your neck before you come to the table, you have beads of dirt and sweat all under there.

Get out from under that sewing machine; pumping it messes up the thread!

Do you want to go get me a switch?

Be sure and fill the lamps this morning so we don't have to do that tonight in the dark.

Here, take this old magazine to the outhouse (toilet) when you go, we are almost out of paper out there.

Go out to the well and draw a bucket of water for me to wash dishes in.

Don't turn the radio on now, I want the battery to be up when the Grand Ole Opry comes on.

No! I don't have five cents for you to go to the show, do you think money grows on trees?

Eat those vegetables; they will make you big and strong like your daddy.

That dog is NOT coming in this house! I don't care how cold it is out there, dogs just don't come in the house.

Sit still! I am trying to get your hair cut straight and you keep moving and it is getting botched up.

Hush your mouth! I don't want to hear any more words like that, or I'll wash your mouth out with soap again!

It is time for your system to be cleaned out. I'm going to give you a dose of Castor Oil in the morning.

If you get a spanking in school and I find out about it, you will get another one when you get home.

Quit crossing your eyes! They will get stuck that way!

Soak your foot in this pan of coal oil so that cut won't get infected.

When you take your driving test don't forget your hand signals for each turn: Left arm straight out the window for a left turn; left arm bent up to the sky at the elbow for a right turn; and straight down to the side of the door when you are going to stop.

It is "Yes, sir!" and "No, sir" to me and your elders young man, and don't you forget it!

While we are at Aunt Mary's and Uncle John's you kids eat when the adults get through and I don't want to hear "I don't like this stuff". You'd better keep your mouth shut and eat everything on your plate.

Well, that ought to keep us remembering some things of the past; some good and some not so good!

Question asked on 10/01/2007 at 05:49 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This is a wonderful piece by Michael Gartner, editor of newspapers large and small and president of NBC News. In 1997, he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. It is well worth reading, and a few good chuckles are guaranteed.
My father never drove a car. Well, that's not quite right. I should say I never saw him drive a car.
He quit driving in 1927, when he was 25 years old, and the last car he drove was a 1926 Whippet.
"In those days," he told me when he was in his 90s, "to drive a car you had to do things with your hands, and do things with your feet, and look every which way, and I decided you could walk through life and enjoy it or drive through life and miss it."
At which point my mother, a sometimes salty Irishwoman, chimed in:
"Oh, bull----!" she said. "He hit a horse."
"Well," my father said, "there was that, too."
So my brother and I grew up in a household without a car. The neighbors all had cars -- the Kollingses next door had a green 1941 Dodge, the VanLaninghams across the street a gray 1936 Plymouth, the Hopsons two doors down a black 1941 Ford -- but we had none.
My father, a newspaperman in Des Moines, would take the streetcar to work and, often as not, walk the 3 miles home. If he took the streetcar home, my mother and brother and I would walk the three blocks to the streetcar stop, meet him and walk home together.

My brother, David, was born in 1935, and I was born in 1938, and sometimes, at dinner, we'd ask how come all the neighbors had cars but we had none. "No one in the family drives," my mother would explain, and that was that.
But, sometimes, my father would say, "But as soon as one of you boys turns 16, we'll get one." It was as if he wasn't sure which one of us would turn 16 first.
But, sure enough , my brother turned 16 before I did, so in 1951 my parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a friend who ran the parts department at a Chevy dealership downtown
It was a four-door, white model, stick shift, fender skirts, loaded with everything, and, since my parents didn't drive, it more or less became my brother's car.
Having a car but not being able to drive didn't bother my father, but it didn't make sense to my mother.
So in 1952, when she was 43 years old, she asked a friend to teach her to drive. She learned in a nearby cemetery, the place where I learned to drive the following year and where, a generation later, I took my two sons to practice driving. The cemetery probably was my father's idea. "Who can your mother hurt in the cemetery?" I remember him saying more than once.
For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the family. Neither she nor my father had any sense of direction, but he loaded up on maps -- though they seldom left the city limits -- and appointed himself navigator. It seemed to work.
Still, they both continued to walk a lot. My mother was a devout Catholic, and my father an equally devout agnostic, an arrangement that didn't seem to bother either of them through their 75 years of marriage.
(Yes, 75 years, and they were deeply in love the entire time.)
He retired when he was 70, and nearly every morning for the next 20 years or so, he would walk with her the mile to St. Augustin's Church. She would walk down and sit in the front pew, and he would wait in the back until he saw which of the parish's two priests was on duty that morning. If it was the pastor, my father then would go out and take a 2-mile walk, meeting my mother at the end of the service and walking her home.
If it was the assistant pastor, he'd take just a 1-mile walk and then head back to the church. He called the priests "Father Fast" and "Father Slow."

After he retired, my father almost always accompanied my mother whenever she drove anywhere, even if he had no reason to go along. If she were going to the beauty parlor, he'd sit in the car and read, or go take a stroll or, if it was summer, have her keep the engine running so he could listen to the Cubs game on the radio. In the evening, then, when I'd stop by, he'd explain: "The Cubs lost again. The millionaire on second base made a bad throw to the millionaire on first base, so the multimillionaire on third base scored."
If she were going to the grocery store, he would go along to carry the bags out -- and to make sure she loaded up on ice cream. As I said, he was always the navigator, and once, when he was 95 and she was 88 and still driving, he said to me, "Do you want to know the secret of a long life?"
"I guess so," I said, knowing it probably would be something bizarre.
"No left turns," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"No left turns," he repeated. "Several years ago, your mother and I read an article that said most accidents that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming traffic.
As you get older, your eyesight worsens, and you can lose your depth perception, it said. So your mother and I decided never again to make a left turn."
"What?" I said again.
"No left turns," he said. "Think about it. Three rights are the same as a left, and that's a lot safer. So we always make three rights."
"You're kidding!" I said, and I turned to my mother for support "No," she said, "your father is right. We make three rights. It works." But then she added: "Except when your father loses count."
I was driving at the time, and I almost drove off the road as I started laughing.
"Loses count?" I asked.
"Yes," my father admitted, "that sometimes happens. But it's not a problem. You just make seven rights, and you're okay again."
I couldn't resist. "Do you ever go for 11?" I asked.
"No," he said " If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad day. Besides, nothing in life is so important it can't be put off another day or another week."
My mother was never in an accident, but one evening she handed me her car keys and said she had decided to quit driving. That was in 1999, when she was 90.
She lived four more years, until 2003. My father died the next year, at 102.
They both died in the bungalow they had moved into in 1937 and bought a few years later for $3,000. (Sixty years later, my brother and I paid $8,000 to have a shower put in the tiny bathroom -- the house had never had one. My father would have died then and there if he knew the shower cost nearly three times what he paid for the house.)
He continued to walk daily -- he had me get him a treadmill when he was 101 because he was afraid he'd fall on the icy sidewalks but wanted to keep exercising -- and he was of sound mind and sound body until the moment he died.
One September afternoon in 2004, he and my son went with me when I had to give a talk in a neighboring town, and it was clear to all three of us that he was wearing out, though we had the usual wide-ranging conversation about politics and newspapers and things in the news.
A few weeks earlier, he had told my son, "You know, Mike, the first hundred years are a lot easier than the second hundred." At one point in our drive that Saturday, he said, "You know, I'm probably not going to live much longer."
"You're probably right," I said.
"Why would you say that?" He countered, somewhat irritated.
"Because you're 102 years old," I said.
"Yes," he said, "you're right." He stayed in bed all the next day.
That night, I suggested to my son and daughter that we sit up with him through the night.
He appreciated it, he said, though at one point, apparently seeing us look gloomy, he said:
"I would like to make an announcement. No one in this room is dead yet"
An hour or so later, he spoke his last words:
"I want you to know," he said, clearly and lucidly, "that I am in no pain. I am very comfortable. And I have had as happy a life as anyone on this earth could ever have."
A short time later, he died.
I miss him a lot, and I think about him a lot. I've wondered now and then how it was that my family and I were so lucky that he lived so long.
I can't figure out if it was because he walked through life, Or because he quit taking left turns. "

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about those who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it."

Question asked on 09/27/2007 at 06:06 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but your waiter may know!

YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH
This is pretty neat.
DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!
It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read .
Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out,it's fun.
1. First, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat. (more than once but less than 10)
2. Multiply this number by 2
3. Add 5
4. Multiply it by 50
5. If you have already had your birthday this year, add 1757... If you haven't, add 1756.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have a three digit number.

The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.)
The next two numbers are YOUR AGE !

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2007) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS.

Question asked on 09/24/2007 at 06:57 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

I hope you all missed my writings but my mother passed on.
We had her funeral on Sturday. I will really miss her because she was a unique lady.
I had a eulogy during the funeral and I wanted to print this for all to see.

Moms Eulogy

Mom didn’t know what happened on Saturday when she had her stroke. She didn’t know she was going to die. She was in relatively good health for an 86 year old person.
She didn’t have time to say goodbye to anyone. She didn’t have time to prepare for death. But I will say one thing; she was ready to meet her maker.
She lived her religion and faith. Not on the cuff but a deep rooted faith that let her be at peace in her soul while she was alive. She had no fears because she believed in God. This gave her an outward innocence about her that was unique to Mom.
In business I have taken a few courses for educational purposes. One course that I took was the Dale Carnegie Course which was based on his book on “How to win friends and influence people”.
Mom never took that course or knew who Dale Carnegie was. But she was the best example of what he wrote about. He was known for his three C’s. Now just reflect on Martha for a moment while I review the 3 C’s.

The first was do not Criticize. I can’t remember a time that she ever criticized a person. She always saw the good in people. She always was willing to help if she could.

Next is don’t Complain. No one likes to be around a complainer. Did any of you ever hear her complain? She would tell you she was hurting but that was a statement of fact but she didn’t complain about it. That’s why people liked to be around her and even help her out because she wouldn’t complain no matter how bad things were. She just dealt with the problem or passed over the problems and let them work their own self out.

The third C is condemn. A perfect Bible phrase she practiced was “Yea without sin cast the first stone”. She never cast a stone in her life because she loved people.

She loved life and all the people she met. That was Mom.

Question asked on 09/05/2007 at 06:42 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

No one believes seniors . . . everyone thinks they are senile.

An Elderly couple was celebrating their sixtieth anniversary. The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and had moved back to their old neighborhood after they retired.
Holding hands they walked back to their old school. It was not locked, so they entered, and found the old desk they'd shared, where Andy had carved "I love you, Sally."

On their way back home, an armored car passed and a bag of money fell out, practically landing at their feet. Sally quickly picked it up, but not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the money--fifty-thousand dollars.
Andy said, "We've got to give it back."

Sally said, "Finders keepers." She put the money back in the bag and hid it in their attic.

The next day, two FBI men were canvassing the neighborhood looking for the money, and knocked on the door.

"Pardon me, but did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armored car yesterday?"

Sally said, "No."

Andy said, "She's lying. She hid it up in the attic."

Sally said, "Don't believe him, he's getting senile."

The agents turn to Andy and began to question him.

One says: "Tell us the story from the beginning"

Andy said, "Well, when Sally and I were walking home from school yesterday . .

"The first FBI guy turns to his partner and says, "We're outta here."

Question asked on 08/28/2007 at 06:44 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

Nassim Taleb's new book, The Black Swan is a remarkable work and suggest that any serious student of the market read this book.

A few thoughts on this book follow.

"The inability to predict outliers implies the inability to predict the course of history, given the share of these events in the dynamics of events."

"But we act as though we are able to predict historical events, or, even worse, as if we are able to change the course of history. We produce thirty-year projections of social security deficits and oil prices without realizing that we cannot even predict these for next summer - our cumulative prediction errors for political and economic events are so monstrous that every time I look at the empirical record I have to pinch myself to verify that I am not dreaming. What is surprising is not the magnitude of our forecasts errors, but our absence of awareness of it. This is all the more worrisome when we engage in deadly conflicts: wars are fundamentally unpredictable (and we do not know it). Owing to this misunderstanding of the casual chains between policy and actions, we can easily trigger Black Swans thanks to aggressive ignorance-like a child playing with a chemistry kit.

"...To summarize: in this (personal) essay, I stick my neck out and make a claim, against many of our habits of thought, that our world is dominated by the extreme, the unknown, and the very improbable (improbable according our current knowledge) - and all the while we spend our time engaged in small talk, focusing on the known, and the repeated. This implies the need to use the extreme event as a starting point and not treat it as an exception to be pushed under the rug. I also make the bolder (and more annoying) claim that in spite of our progress and growth, the future will be increasingly less predictable, while both human nature and social "science" seem to conspire to hide the idea from us."

So, the above quotes will help put the later predictions into context. By definition, we cannot know the future. Yet we go through the exercise. And even though we should know that we will probably be wrong, there is a value on the process if done with the proper amount of cautious optimism tempered by reality.

I think about the future not just to look for opportunities to invest but primarily as a thought process to assess wherein lies the risk. The first task of an investor is to manage risk and only then to seek attractive returns. We make predictions about the future so as to think about risk and to seek places for opportunity. And then every so often, we re-assess our predictions in the light of new information and adjust our risk controls and objectives.

So as you read my predictions they are nothing but a gathering of historical data analyzing the data for a best fit scenario for historical repeatability. This is known as experience with knowledge.
Therefore with knowledge you use it for the experience and with experience you gain wisdom about all that you been through. The more you read and learn about other peoples experiences the better you can make judgements about what to do.

My favorite Quote is ;

"That which has been is that which will be. And that which had been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun...." Solomon.

Question asked on 08/01/2007 at 06:56 AM :: Comments to date: 0

Category: Life

This article is by Gary D. Halbert
Introduction

This week I veer from our usual investment themes and tell you what I believe is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give your children, grandchildren or others who are dear to you (or maybe even yourself). What I am about to describe is something that has literally changed the lives of dozens of my friends and relatives over the last 30+ years.

What I am going to talk about is the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation and how it can have a huge impact on the future of any young (or middle-aged) person who goes there. Some of you may have heard of it, but most of you probably have not.

Don't jump to any conclusions: this is not my favorite charity; in fact, it's not a charity at all; and I am not going to ask you to donate any money. What I am going to do is tell you how Johnson O'Connor helps people decide which career fields they are most naturally suited for, based upon scientific testing of their unique set of individual aptitudes.

I have published articles on Johnson O'Connor in the past in this E-Letter, but this year it has a special meaning to me since I took my 16 year-old son to J-O last summer to have his aptitudes tested. He will be a Senior in high school this fall, and we are already hot into the college hunt. As I will discuss below, having his Johnson O'Connor evaluation has been a godsend to us in selecting the right college and the right field in which to major. That information is worth a lot more than J-O charges for it!

So, I urge you to read the following article, especially if you have any loved ones who are struggling to find a career path. Ideally, Johnson O'Connor is geared toward high school students who are trying to decide what to do when they grow up and more specifically, which direction to go in college. But it can be equally helpful to those who are already on a career path but aren't happy or successful.

How I Learned Of Johnson O'Connor

Before I discuss the specifics about Johnson O'Connor and how they change lives, let me tell you how I found out about this unique organization. Even before I got out of college and graduate school, I knew exactly what I wanted do. Yet most college students are unsure of what they want to do after school and end up taking the best (or only) job offer they get. All too often, that first job (or series of jobs) doesn't work out, for various reasons. The problem is, bouncing around the job market for a year or two or more right after college can leave people way behind their peers who get on the right career path to begin with.

I had a friend I went to college and graduate school with who had trouble with her initial jobs after grad school. She had been a science major in college (as was I), and then shifted to business in graduate school. We both got our Masters Degrees in 1976. She landed a good job in Houston after grad school but was just never comfortable in the corporate world.

I was working in Dallas in the investment business in 1978 when I first learned about Johnson O'Connor, which has an office in Dallas. I requested information on their testing service and subsequently recommended that my friend go there. She went, and to her surprise, she learned that her natural aptitudes were not at all suited for either the corporate world or the science field.

Based on the assessment of her aptitude tests, Johnson O'Connor recommended she consider the field of interior design. While shocked at first, she ended up changing careers and was quite successful. I haven't kept up with her in recent years, but the last time I did, she had bought and renovated several old buildings into bed and breakfasts, and was happy and successful.

I Had To Try It Myself

Given my friend's results, I referred several other friends (and my younger brother) who were struggling or unhappy in their careers to Johnson O'Connor. In every case, the result was the same: a seemingly radical change in career path that led to a happy and successful end.

While I was very happy and enjoying early success in my career in the investment field, I couldn't help but go to Johnson O'Connor myself. Actually, I was a little nervous about what I might learn. As it turned out, my test results of my natural aptitudes showed that I was well suited for several fields. Here were Johnson O'Connor's recommendations for me, in order:

1. Stock Broker
2. Investment Banker
3. Journalist
4. Fortune 500 CEO
5. Real Estate/Land Developer

[Before you jump to any conclusions, let me tell you that Johnson O'Connor does not allow you to tell them anything about what you may already be doing, career-wise, prior to the testing and analysis afterwards. Only after they have given you the test results and career recommendations do they allow participants to divulge their current occupation - or desired occupation if a student.]

Obviously, I was pleased with my results and somewhat relieved that I was already working in the investment field, as suggested by Johnson O'Connor's #1 and #2 recommendations. At first, I couldn't figure out where the "Journalism" aptitude fit in. But then, in my final exit interview, I happened to mention my weekly client newsletter, which I had begun in 1977. "There you go," the analyst replied, "your newsletter is where your journalistic aptitudes are coming out."

As for the Fortune 500 CEO option, the analyst noted that while I tested to have the aptitudes to be a big-time CEO, he also stressed that I would never make it that far up the corporate ladder, because my aptitudes also showed that I was (am) too impatient and needed to be in control of my own destiny. As for the real estate part, years later I would be involved in several real estate developments.

An Invaluable Store Of Personal Information

As noted above, I have referred dozens of people to Johnson O'Connor over the years. In every case but my own, the results have suggested a change in career path, sometimes a dramatic change. While I haven't kept up closely with every person I referred to Johnson O'Connor over the years, I can tell you that everyone benefited significantly from the experience.

The information gleaned from the Johnson O'Connor aptitude tests and analysis is tremendously helpful. Not only does it help greatly with career selection, but it also helps to understand one's personality, the reasons for one's desires and all sorts of little "quirks" we all have.

It is a unique learning experience that can help throughout one's lifetime.

Tremendous Help In Selecting The Right College

As noted in the Introduction above, I took my oldest child (son) to Johnson O'Connor in Dallas last summer at the age of 16. My son is quite the math whiz, so we were not surprised that he would score very high in the math-related tests at J-O. But what we did not expect was that he also scored very high in the tests related to "spatial visualization" - an aptitude that is very important to engineers, architects, medical researchers, etc.

For example, when I look at a building, I just see walls (one dimensional), whereas for my son and others with high spatial visualization, they envision the same building in three dimensions in their mind. Likewise, they can look at a blueprint and easily envision what the completed structure will look like. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised since my son has been one of those take it apart and put it back together kids since he was very young.

Based on my son's scores, Johnson O'Connor recommended that he consider a career in engineering, medicine/medical research, scientific research or architecture. I could easily see him in a career as a biomedical engineer, aerospace engineer or computer engineer.

Having this information has been invaluable to us in selecting the right college for my son to attend. Based on his Johnson O'Connor test results, we decided early-on to limit our search to only those colleges that offer engineering degrees. There are thousands of good colleges out there to pick from, so being able to pare that large field down very quickly was a huge time saver (and money saver) for us. Even before he starts his Senior year in high school, we're down to a "short list" of only 5-6 colleges we are still considering.

When you consider how much money it costs to go to college today, it is extremely valuable to know that you are sending your son or daughter or grandchild to a school that offers degrees in those areas they are naturally suited for, and where they'll have a much better chance of succeeding.

The "Personality" Test At Johnson O'Connor

There are two broad personality characterizations: "objective" and "subjective." Generally speaking, people with 'objective' personalities are those who enjoy working with groups, enjoy working with different people, and are what we often refer to as "people people." Over two-thirds of those tested at Johnson O'Connor are objective personalities (as am I).

Subjective personalities, on the other hand, generally prefer to work as individuals rather than in large, fluid groups. They like to advance in their careers based on their own individual work, or that of a small group or team headed by them. Subjective personalities can usually work alone for long periods of time and do not need as much recognition or encouragement as their objective counterparts.

My son tested solidly subjective, and quite frankly, that explained more to me about my son and his personality than I had learned in the 16 years of raising him! While my son gets along well with his school friends, and plays football, basketball and baseball, when it comes to his studies or school projects, he usually prefers to work alone - which is typical of subjective personalities. While he has lots of friends, and even a girlfriend, he is not the "social butterfly" like his younger sister, who I'm sure will test objective when I take her to J-O next year when she is 16.

So, What Is Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation?

The Foundation is a nonprofit scientific research and educational organization that was founded in 1922. They have two primary commitments: 1) to study human abilities; and 2) to provide people with specific knowledge of and about their aptitudes that will help them in making decisions regarding school (college) and careers.

Each of us has a unique set of personal aptitudes. Some of our aptitudes are stronger than others. Johnson O'Connor (as well as others) believes that unless we are able to "exercise" (use) at least our stronger aptitudes in our work or elsewhere, we are very likely to be frustrated.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been to Johnson O'Connor and used their service to learn more about themselves and to derive more satisfaction from their lives and careers. Johnson O'Connor's unparalleled specialty is testing and identifying one's natural, inborn APTITUDES. In their own words:

"Aptitudes are natural talents, special abilities for doing, or learning to do, certain kinds of things. Manual dexterity, musical ability, spatial visualization, and memory for numbers are examples of such aptitudes. In a comprehensive battery of tests available only through the Foundation, these and many other aptitudes are measured. These measured traits are highly stable [always present] over long-term periods.

Every occupation -- whether it is engineering, medicine, law or management -- uses certain aptitudes. The work you are most likely to enjoy and be successful in is work that uses your aptitudes. For example, if you are an engineer but you possess strong aptitudes that are NOT used in engineering, your work might seem unrewarding, difficult and unpleasant.

Aptitude testing is one tool for career selection. It can help you find where your aptitudes lie, what type of work uses those aptitudes, and why certain occupations may be more rewarding for you than others... What the Foundation does is give you an inventory of your aptitudes and examples of types of work suggested by the combination of these aptitudes... The Foundation, however, does not provide employment counseling services."

Why Johnson O'Connor Is So Different

As noted above, Johnson O'Connor has been doing aptitude testing continuously since 1922. Over the years, they have pioneered (and continually improved upon) aptitude testing. Participants who take the tests will wonder, I assure you, how certain of the tests can be so revealing. Some are very simple tests, while others are more difficult for certain people. My brother, for example, breezed through all of the engineering tests that I could not begin to complete. That explains why he is a successful engineer and I am an Investment Advisor.

The tests are one critical part; the analysis of the test results is equally important. The experts at Johnson O'Connor have the benefit of 85 years experience in evaluating the test results and making career recommendations accordingly. While they do not recommend only one career path (usually they include at least three or more), each recommendation is suited for the participant's unique set of aptitudes and abilities.

There are times, especially among older participants who are already entrenched in the workforce, when it is simply impossible to make a career change as suggested by the test results and analysis. In these cases, Johnson O'Connor often suggests certain hobbies or other non-work related activities that may help exercise one's stronger aptitudes which are not used in the workplace.

Johnson O'Connor's time-tested theory is that if one has strong aptitudes (and most people do), they need to be used and challenged on a regular basis, preferably in the workplace where we all spend a great deal of time during our lives.

Not An IQ Test, But Does Test Vocabulary

It is important to understand that Johnson O'Connor's aptitude tests are NOT designed to measure or determine IQ. There are various organizations that offer IQ tests (beware: not all IQ tests are accurate or valid). Most experts agree that IQ tests are not inherently helpful when trying to decide on a career path. Two people can have identical IQ scores but very different aptitudes.

Also, Johnson O'Connor's tests do NOT consist of written or oral questions. They maintain that it is too easy to answer a written question as one feels inclined at the moment, or as they feel it "ought" to be answered. So, Johnson O'Connor does not administer question/answer tests. Again, some of their tests may seem unusual, but they are time-tested and extremely effective.

Johnson O'Connor's battery of tests does include a vocabulary test. It is widely accepted that one's vocabulary is an indication of his/her general knowledge. Most experts, including Johnson O'Connor, agree that one's vocabulary level is one of the best predictors of overall success in school and of performance on the SAT-Verbal and other similar tests. A good vocabulary is also a common characteristic of successful people in many occupations.

Vocabulary knowledge is NOT an aptitude, in that anyone can learn new words and increase their vocabulary. Thus, as part of Johnson O'Connor's program, they teach participants the importance of increasing their vocabulary and provide some specific study materials that are very helpful in doing so. Parents, you will love this!

Time Involved, Cost & Locations

Normally, the process involves two half-day testing sessions, followed by a third half-day when the results and analysis are provided. It is also possible to accelerate this to one full day of testing and a half-day of analysis.

In the last appointment, participants are given a "transcript" of their scores, including charts and graphs, as well as a book and other explanatory materials. All test results are strictly confidential. A staff member explains in detail each of the scores and what they mean. And they explain each of the career recommendations and why they were selected.

If participants have questions at any time (before, during or after testing), Johnson O'Connor is happy to answer them. One of the best features is the option of follow-up meetings and discussions after testing and evaluation, which are free in the first year after testing (afterward only $100 per follow-up session). I have several friends who went back for follow-up discussions regarding jobs they were considering, how those opportunities fit their aptitudes and/or what adjustments they would likely have to make in that particular job. This is an excellent opportunity!

The cost for the Johnson O'Connor experience is currently $600. While this might seem pricey at first glance, I can't tell you how many times I have seen this testing pay off in spades. This is especially true for high school students who don't know what they want to do. It can save years of expensive college costs if the student knows in advance what he/she wants to pursue.

Just as important, it can change the life of an adult child, loved one or close friend that is stuck in an unhappy or unsatisfying job situation. Johnson O'Connor tests many adults who are in their twenties, thirties and even forties. Actually, this information on your aptitudes is very useful and very interesting to know at any age. With older people, naturally, they should have a real willingness to make a change.

Johnson O'Connor has testing centers in major cities around the country. The locations and phone numbers are listed at the end of this E-Letter.
Conclusions

I could not recommend Johnson O'Connor more highly! Whether you are a parent, a grandparent or whatever, you can give a young person a big advantage by having them tested at Johnson O'Connor. Even if you are not related, you can "gift" the testing fee to the minor, generally with no tax implications, or just pay it directly. As noted below, Johnson O'Connor has a gift certificate program.

With the kids out of school for the summer, now may be a great time to plan to have your high-schooler tested. You'll be glad you did. Likewise, if there is an adult person that is close to you (spouse, relative, in-law, friend, etc.) who is struggling in his/her occupation, this is a chance to possibly rescue their career.

Even if you are happy and successful in your career, you will find it very helpful to know what your natural aptitudes are and are not. You will understand a lot more about yourself.

I encourage you to learn more about Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation at:

http://www.jocrf.org

For specific information on gift certificates, go to:

http://www.jocrf.org/resources/gift_certificates.html

In closing, let me remind you that I am not associated with Johnson O'Connor in any way; I receive no compensation or anything else for recommending them. I am merely one of hundreds of thousands of grateful folks who have been through their program over the years.

Johnson O'Connor Locations:

Atlanta
404-261-8013
Los Angeles
213-380-1947

Boston
617-536-0409
New York
212-269-0550

Chicago
312-787-9141
San Francisco
415-772-9030

Dallas
972-991-8378
Seattle
206-623-4070

Denver
303-388-5600
Washington, DC
202-828-8378

Houston
713-462-5562

Question asked on 07/13/2007 at 06:41 AM :: Comments to date: 0