- RT @ramseyshow: RT @E_C_S_T_E_R_I_: "Stupid has a gravitational pull." -D Ramsey as heard n NPR. I know many who have not escaped its orbit. #
- @BudgetsAreSexy KISS is playing the MINUTE state fair in August. in reply to BudgetsAreSexy #
- 3 year old is "reading" to her sister: Goldilocks, complete with the voices I use. #
- RT @marcandangel: 40 Useful Sites To Learn New Skills http://bit.ly/b1tseW #
- Babies bounce! https://liverealnow.net/hKmc #
- While trying to pay for dinner recently, I was asked if other businesses accepted my $2 bills. #
- Lol RT @zappos: Art. on front page of USA Today is titled "Twitter Power". I diligently read the first 140 characters. http://bit.ly/9csCIG #
- Sweet! I am the number 1 hit on Ask.com for "I hate birthday parties" #
- RT @FinEngr: Money Hackers Carnival #117 Wedding & Marriage Edition http://bit.ly/cTO4FU #
- Nobody, but nobody walks sexy wearing flipflops. #
- @MonroeOnABudget Sandals are ok. Flipflops ruin a good sway. 🙂 in reply to MonroeOnABudget #
- RT @untemplater: RT @zappos: "Do one thing every day that scares you." -Eleanor Roosevelt #
Stand Up For Yourself
Monday night, my son was struggling to get all of his homework done before bed. He had a 6 page packet of work from his advanced math class that he was supposed to have done over the weekend.
When I asked him why he hadn’t done it, he told me he forgot about it.
I wasn’t happy.
We’ve had a lot of conversations about responsibility and planning over the years. He knows better.
Cue Dad Lecture #26.
Towards the end, when I’m building up this rocking crescendo about how what he does now will affect him for the rest of his life, I stopped.
“Buddy, weren’t you sick on Friday?”
He didn’t get his weekend homework until Monday. Of course he didn’t do it over the weekend.
Dad Lecture #26 immediately transitioned to Ad Hoc Lecture #4, titled “Why did you let me chew you out for something you didn’t do?”
I’ve always tried to raise my kids to be independent. I’ve never stifled asking questions, and I am willing to explain my decisions to them, even if they don’t stand a chance of winning the appeal. As frustrating as independent, strong-willed children can be, I know it will serve them well as adults.
Now I’m trying to figure out why that fell apart on Monday. I wasn’t yelling at him and he doesn’t think I was. Sometimes, the perception of who’s yelling differs depending on which side of my loud voice you are on.
He doesn’t know why he sat back at took the lecture instead of explaining what happened. He apparently forgot that he was given that homework just a few hours before.
My question to all of you is how can I make my kid behave and obey when necessary, but still have enough backbone to stand up for himself when he’s not wrong? And know when each is necessary.
Was Anderson Silva’s Loss At UFC 162 Due To Lack of Training?
One minute and twelve seconds into the second round of the UFC 162 main event, the fight world stood still. While Anderson Silva toyed around for much of the final minutes of the first round and the early second, Chris
Weidman caught the champion with a left hook, knocking “The Spider” out cold. It was the first time Silva had lost in his previous 17 matches and it ended his undefeated streak in the UFC. After losing, one must wonder if Silva grew tired, or overconfident with his winning streak. Did being the overall number one pound for pound fighter in the world make Silva train or prepare less for the fight?
For those who think that Silva’s loss had anything to do with inadequate training, you should probably take another look at the months leading up to the event and understand that it was no surprise that the UFC has a new Middleweight Champion.
Early this year, Anderson opened up his own gym in Torrance, California. While the gym will be used in the future to help bread younger MMA fighters, the last few months it has been used solely by Anderson and close friends, as he prepared for his fight against Weidman. When you are a champion like Anderson Silva, you know the dedication and effort that needs to go into a title defense. It doesn’t matter if it’s against an up and coming superstar or someone who has been around for years you need to prepare adequately. Because if you don’t, your opponent will.
Along with his new gym and his sponsorships from corporations like Nike and Burger King, as well as his past experience, it’s highly unlikely that Anderson Silva failed to prepare for this fight. Instead, many people will consider Anderson’s change of attitude and arrogance in recent months as the major reason for his demise.
Before every UFC fight, the company broadcasts a special called “Countdown to UFC”. Those who watch Countdown To UFC 162 noticed a different type of Spider. Instead of an angry or determined Silva, he seemed more lax and easygoing about the upcoming main event. Unlike Weidman, who continually said he’d do anything to take the belt that was rightfully his. Furthermore, in an action that you almost never see between fighters who will soon face one another, Anderson admitted that Weidman was better at certain part of MMA, specifically wrestling. Admitting your opponent is good is one thing, but to outright give him information that tells him he is better than you at something, that’s completely different. Unlike Chael Sonnen, who lost to Silva in both of their matches, Weidman assured fans that he would press Silva and keep him on the ground, while making the event a wrestling match.
With all that said, no one would’ve expected that the fight would end in a knockout in the second round. Especially not with a knockout that Weidman would deliver. But throughout the fight, Silva taunted the now champion. Silva would lower his hands, slap his head, and verbally assault Weidman, attempting to get in his head. While this showboating is typical Silva 101, Weidman has seen it all before and didn’t allow it to effect how he would fight. Instead, he saw his opportunity when Silva lowered his hands and caught him with a hook that was heard around the world.
Anderson Silva loosing his title had less to do with his training, than it did with his attitude leading up to the event and during the fight. As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for the passion that Silva showed during the pre-fight weigh in, some would wonder if he was prepared for the fight at all. Even after Weidman was crowned the new champion, Silva said he didn’t want a rematch and was not interested in going after championship belts anymore. While no one can be sure what this means, or what the future holds for someone who dominated MMA as we know it for so many years, hopefully Dana White or someone close to Anderson can inform him that if you disrespect your opponent in the octagon, you raise the probability of getting knocked out. No matter how hard you train, no matter what sponsors you have, no matter how loud the fans scream your name, all it takes is one punch to lose a fight. And in this case, to lose the title of the Greatest Fighter of All Time.
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-22
- RT @MoneyMatters: Frugal teen buys house with 4-H winnings http://bit.ly/amVvkV #
- RT @MoneyNing: What You Need to Know About CSAs Before Joining: Getting the freshest produce available … http://bit.ly/dezbxu #
- RT @freefrombroke: Latest Money Hackers Carnival! http://bit.ly/davj5w #
- Geez. Kid just screamed like she'd been burned. She saw a woodtick. #
- "I can't sit on the couch. Ticks will come!" #
- RT @chrisguillebeau: U.S. Constitution: 4,543 words. Facebook's privacy policy: 5,830: http://nyti.ms/aphEW9 #
- RT @punchdebt: Why is it “okay” to be broke, but taboo to be rich? http://bit.ly/csJJaR #
- RT @ericabiz: New on erica.biz: How to Reach Executives at Large Corporations: Skip crappy "tech support"…read this: http://www.erica.biz/ #
Buying a Fixer Upper House
Have you ever thought about buying a fixer upper house? In recent years there have been some great options for people looking to purchase property for the sole purpose of renovating and flipping real estate. There are some great locations with pretty nice houses that have either been damaged or neglected and are now for sale. These circumstances make it difficult for someone to purchase and remodel the house without spending a lot of money. In recent years there have been a couple of options for people who want to buy run down houses to flip. Mortgage companies have come out with different mortgage options for anyone who is looking to invest in real estate. There are loans tailored to meet whatever goal you have when purchasing a house that even allocate funds for renovation. The two that we will discuss in this post are Home Path and FHA 203 (k) renovation loans.
HomePath Loan:
The HomePath loan program was created by Fannie Mae and is meant to offer foreclosed homes to anyone who qualifies to purchase them. This type of loan is great because not only do you qualify for a loan to buy the house but also receive enough for renovations and remodeling. This pushes buyers to purchase homes that have been foreclosed and thus contributing to the real estate market and the economy as a whole. It’s also great for the buyer because it give them incentive to purchase a space that they might not go for right off the bat. Everybody wins.
FHA 203 (k) Renovation Loans:
203K loans allocate funds for the initial purchase of the house along with funds for the renovations. Companies offer low down payments and flexible underwriting guidelines. Almost any kind of residential property qualifies making it really easy to get approved. Many people don’t know that this kind of loan exists but it is definitely something that is not only beneficial to those taking out the loan but also to those looking to get rid of a place that won’t sell on its own because it isn’t visually or aesthetically appealing.
If you are on the market looking for a home, consider taking out a HomePath or 203k loan designed for houses that might need some fine tuning to look their best. It is a great option for anyone looking to flip property and for anyone who wants to purchase a space that might not be appealing upon first glance. Fixing up a place will not only increase the value of your new home but also probably cost a lot less than if you were to purchase a newly remodeled space for market value.
PRISM: Did the NSA kill privacy?
Revelations have been continuing to emerge regarding widespread surveillance tactics being internationally deployed by the United States government. PRISM is the codename of the project, which was implemented by the Protect America Act of 2007 that President George W. Bush signed. Their data collection activities remained obscured for years until a contractor employed by the National Security Agency leaked internal documents regarding the invasive system to the public.
The Scope of Surveillance
Because the intrusive monitoring is being conducted under a shroud of secrecy, it is difficult to estimate the magnitude of governmental spying. Federal agents have direct access to any online conversations conducted between Americans and international locations. These authorities have permission to conduct individual surveillance operations on any person for up to seven days before they need to acquire an official warrant. This scenario indicates that the guise of personal privacy has expired.
Logistics Versus Application
The details that have been released about the program illustrate serious setbacks for privacy activists. Fortunately, the public population vastly outnumbers the amount of authorities with access to these surveillance capabilities. Statistically, this means that that are far too many people to be personally tracked. In all likelihood, most people have not been targeted for individual monitoring; however, the story creates an appearance of governmental omnipresence that instills a need for self-censorship. The exposé about wiretapping operations simply confirms the common knowledge that the expression of incendiary rhetoric is dangerous in any arena. It would be naïve to believe that records of online activities were not being stored before the government had access to them. The permanent imprints of internet use were always available; therefore, it was only a matter of time before the legal authorities started accessing the material.
Unequal Privacy
Technically, the surveillance measures have institutionalized extreme privacy for the secret courts that have legalized extensive wiretaps. The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court operates in a completely classified fashion. They issue rulings that have fundamental impacts on American democracy, but they only conduct closed hearings. Additionally, they issue secret rulings that form the basis of laws that citizens do not know about. The court is comprised of heavily partisan members. This is based on the fact they are all appointed by John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Only one appointee was not a Republican, but the FISA Court is so concealed from the general public that conflicts of interest cannot be thoroughly vetted. These judges are privy to unfettered secrecy while they simultaneously deny the public of rights to their own privacy.
Public Backlash
Privacy still exists, but it has been neglected in favor of flashier technologies that are not secure. Fortunately, people have started returning to conventional methods of communication, which cannot be easily traced. Several organizations are developing secure ways to conduct discrete transactions online, and physical cash may now avoid its inevitable obsolescence. Ultimately, these startling announcements about governmental eavesdropping are generating a resurgence of non-digital media to regain privacy in all interactions.
