I’ve always wondered why athletes and actors salaries are made public.  I can understand why a CEO and other executive board members' salaries compensation are a matter of public record since they are part of companies that have to report to shareholders.  With few exceptions, teams are not publicly traded companies or parts of corporate conglomerates.

Now that athletes, more so than a few big name actors, hav ...

Once again, it’s hard to defend an area you live in when the locals/predecessors make it so damn hard.  This article in yesterday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked a suspicious package found at a downtown building.  The building is named after James H. Floyd.  The problem lies in his nickname.  Not only is it “Sloppy” but that moniker is also on the building itself!

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As I was driving out to work the Gwinnett Gladiators game last Sunday, it was the first time I had been in Gwinnett County for a few months.  For those of you who don’t live in the area, there is a massive construction area that is wrapping up which “rights” a “wrong”.  I’m not sure what possessed the initial road engineers to allow a two-lane highway (Rt. 316) to merge south into the left lane of an interstate highway (I-85).  Sp ...

Wow, after making fun of radio stations that employ "Zeptember" and "Rocktober" all these years, I forgot to mention last week how the Colorado Rockies actually want to trademark the name!  In a way, it’s less cheesy than were a rock station’s connotation of the word, but it still brings a smile to my face in an “I’m laughing AT you, not WITH you” kind of way.

After reading the story a few days about a recent vandalism of a Monet painting at Musee d’Orsay in Paris, it reinforced my fear about most art museums and their inventory.  I’ve never understood why paintings, at the very least the valuable ones done by well known artists, aren’t behind some sort of protective barrier.  Sure, there might be complaints from those who might not be able to see as clearly due to potential glare issues but all it takes is one clown to poke a hole in an irreplaceable masterpiece and it is ruined forever. ...

Since April, the Chicago Sun-Times has had an interesting mini-section on their web site called Chicagopedia.  It’s basically all things Chicago and is a handy guide for newcomers or out-of-towners or people simply interested in Chicago lore and terminology.

Maybe I’m being too picky but I sometimes wonder whether marketing executives are either a) geniuses for certain campaigns or product claims, b) ignorantly make ignorant claims which ignorant consumers accept as fact or c) purposely make misleading claims or ones that truly have no basis in fact.

Take my latest Cool Mint Listerine bottle for example.  A new sticker on the top face now displays “2X a day” in giant boldface on the left.

I got exposed to just another example of how much advertising is seeping into our life.  I went to my bank’s ATM yesterday and was exposed to an ad during the process.  Before I could select “Get your card back”, I had to read an ad carefully to make sure I pressed the proper “Please don’t charge me $25 for whatever service you’re offering” button (this is a touch-screen ATM).  If I’m using my bank’s own ATM, I’m not fond of this latest intrusion into our lives.  Most of us are “nickeled and dimed” with various surcharges unless you’re careful and this is my bank’s latest foray into trickery and legal thievery.

To begin with, let’s look at last week’s daily high temperatures here in Decatur, Georgia.

September 3 – 88 degrees

Now that I am back to work it took all of one commute to get out of the Lovey Dovey New Dad Second-Time-Over phase and back to the cynical wanker I’ve always been.  I must say that it was a fine 6 days off and I didn’t miss work even though this job is hands down my most enjoyable one I’ve had yet. When I got to thinking about it, I think 6 straight work days off is my longest time off from work since my wedding/honeymoon.  Since that was in 1998, it’s been far too long to not have a break like that.