Rodney Mullen – Skateboarding God

I am a huge fan of skateboarding.  I can’t do it myself (believe me, I tried and injured myself, too afraid to try any more after that), but I can appreciate a great skateboarder.

My wife and I were talking about it, and I felt compelled to share this video of Rodney Mullen, the greatest freestyle skater EVAR!!!!

Beer Night-April 3, 2009

Tonight I am starting a new feature on my blog: Beer Night.

Every Friday night (it may shift to other nights if I am not available on Fridays, as needed), I will be buying a new beer to try from my local Beverages and More (BevMo).  I will post information about the beer, as well as my thoughts on it.

Tonight, the beer I picked out was Decadent Imperial IPA.

The Truth In Gaming Podcast, Episode 1

The first episode of The Truth In Gaming (TTIG) Podcast is here.  Head over to the link below to check it out.

TTIG Podcast Episode One

Jon Stewart vs. Jim Cramer: The Interview

The back and forth between Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and CNBC’s Jim Cramer finally culminated in a heated interview on Comedy Central on March 12, 2009. I have embedded the videos below. Trust me, this is worth watching, but there is some vulgarity, and it is uncensored.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Edit:  When I imported this from Blogger, it didn’t come over correctly.  I will put the videos back up some time today.

Edit 2: The links and embedded video should be fixed now.

Edit 3: Ok, I lied.  I have changed the embedded video to links to the videos.

Evaluating Values

Ok, so this post is going to be a little more serious in nature. With the things that have been happening in the US with the economy and they way we live beyond our means, it has caused me to see some things in a different light and take stock of what I personally am responsible for.

With all of the ideas of fiscal responsibility flying around the country, I have realized how bad I am in these arenas. With the job market on a downturn, and hope just a glimmer at this point, I realize that I have dug myself into a hole of debt that is going to take a while to get out of, and there was no need to do so. And I’m not talking mortgages, I’m talking revolving credit that nobody wants to have hanging over their head.

Having been truly on my own for the last 2.5 years (financially), I have come to see the value of money in a much more realistic way. I come from a hard-working, blue collar household in rural Michigan, and I thought I had taken that concept from my parents, but I haven’t paid enough attention. Cutting back on the spending in our house has become my new task, and it has been working so far. Not spending money we don’t have, no credit card use (I haven’t used one in 2 months, I think), and just cutting out the crap has been a cleansing experience. There is still a long way to go, though. Changing that kind of habit is a process that isn’t easy to accomplish.

I’ve realized now that all that really should be important to us is the family and friends we have. Fights with my wife have made me realize how much of a dick I can be and how much I need to personally change in my attitude towards my family, cherishing them rather than just knowing they are there. Sounds corny, I know, but the truth sometimes is. This is a big change for me, and examining the things in my life more closely and realizing how much I take for granted is scary when you see others losing their jobs, among other things.

So here’s my Hallmark/Zen Habits moment of the day: look at what you have around you, the things that make you happy and the people who support you. Simplify. Complication in your life just leads to more stress, and that’s the last thing anyone needs with the state the world is in right now. Take stock of what you do have, both material things and not. Declutter. Ditch the things that cause you problems. It is a hard thing to do some times, but, in the end, it makes you feel better.

I have to recommend Zen Habits. It is a great web site to re-establish new habits about a ton of different topics, and has helped me on the start of this journey of self-evaluation.