Baby Picture

Congratulations to Diesel and KT on the birth of their first child. At approximately 3:20am this morning momma gave birth to a little diesel while the Cannonball run song played softly in the background. Congratulations! Baby picture attached.

Well we're just one day away from the Vikings vs. Packers border battle game and fans are anxious for the Minnesota Vikings to get their first victory over the Packers with Brad Childress as head couch.

The usual excitement and friendly banter about the game turned to disgust this week when Michael Montgomery said in a press conference at Lambeau Field that he fully intended to show Gus Ferotte the same "love" he had shown Kyle Orton earlier this season at Soldier Field.

Montgomery, referring to an incident that occurred in week eight in a game against the Chicago Bears, was fined for inappropriate touching to the swimsuit area by commissioner Roger Goodell. Montogomery said he was excited about "getting to" Ferotte, and that he would be charging Ferotte like an angry proposition 8 protester. Upon further questioning he went on to say that he wasn't concerned about being fined again by the league and that he would seek to "violate" anyone that got in his way on Sunday.

Coach Mike McCarthy said when asked about the comments, "Montgomery is a passionate player that will do what ever it takes to win even if it means violating league rules and opposing players privates."

Later that same day, Ferotte was asked if he had heard about the comments Montgomery had made. He paused, his face became pale and then he said " I'm feeling good about our chances on Sunday and I'm going to do everything I can to get Tarvarias ready for the game," as he quickly stepped away from reporters. Sources later said that Ferotte approached coach Childress shortly after the interview and complained of back spasms and wanted to be taken out of the line up.

Paris wants to be a mommy...

This is an entertaining piece of writing. Paris Hilton -

GM … the new Dell?

General Motors Corp. said Friday it lost $2.5 billion in the third quarter and warned that it could run out of cash in 2009 if the U.S. economic slump continues and it doesn't get government aid, according to the Associated Press.

GM announced it would improve liquidity by $5 billion by the end of next year by cutting capital spending, reducing sales promotions, and further cutting production in the first quarter. The company also suspended its matching contribution for employee 401K plans, and suspended tuition reimbursement. In addition, salaried employees will not get incentive pay next year for their work in 2008. GM increased its plan to reduce salaried worker costs to 30 percent. During the summer, the company announced a 20 percent cut.

The new paradigm in business seems to be taking away employee benefits (see the Dell post). The next logical step appears to be stripping workers of their health insurance plans and charging tolls to use the company restroom. It looks like the market is painfully starting to bury risk-takers one at a time.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt!

I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people voted for me.

Stuart Smalley (err, Al Franken's) deficit: 239 votes

A New High, And By High I Mean Low

The nation's unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, stark proof the economy is almost certainly in a recession, according to The Associated Press. The new snapshot, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace.

I'm pretty sure the context in which they say "high" is not meant in a positive manner. I'm pretty sure they don't mean it like, "I just set a new high score in Donkey Kong." And I'm almost entirely certain they didn't mean it like, "Dude, Dave the Painter was so Cheech-and-Chong High last night." Just don't quote me on that.

Well the election is finally behind us and we've elected a new leader. I for one was pleased with the outcome. Not so much because I believe that Barack Obama is the best representation of me, and me alone, but because I believe he will be the best leader and representative for everyone in the country.

I've never been discriminated against because of race, sex, or creed - so I don't claim to understand it -but watching the out pouring of emotion that I saw in Grant park on Tuesday night was moving. Thousands of our fellow Americans around this country found some kind of redemption in a black man being elected to the highest office in the land. Reading reports and editorials the next day were so intriguing because many blacks didn't believe he would win, regardless of the countless states that were awarded to him throughout the night, until they actually announced him as the next President at 10:00:02 that night, they really believed that it would somehow be taken from them.

I never thought President Obama represented everything that I believe in, but I did evaluate the candidates and chose the one that I thought was best, based on the needs of the country - not just my needs. I feel good about the fact that millions of people in this country that thought they couldn't reach their full potential now somehow think maybe they can because Barack did. It seems foolish, but again, I've never lived with discrimination and I don't claim to understand it.

I'll be praying for President Obama as I have for every President. I don't think he is a terrorist, and I never believed the republican smear machine that twisted many of the facts about him. In my opinion, he may be the most influential leader of my lifetime akin to Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., and Ronald Reagan. As Americans we should all wish him the best - our lifestyles depend on it.

As for Senator McCain - He is an American hero and an inspiration to all that serve their country. His concession speech was the best I've ever seen and really highlighted his national hero status with me. He should be admired by all. However, I always did believe the Pundits and I never believed the Mac was back.

Peace - Twiggy.

P.S. - that has to be a Newport or a Kool.

Don't Fake the Funk

Sen. Norm Coleman's lead over challenger Al Franken in the U.S. Senate race got even tighter Wednesday, virtually guaranteeing a recount that would be Minnesota's largest ever, according to Startribune.com. And the recount could stretch well into next month.

On Wednesday, Coleman claimed victory when his unofficial lead over Franken ballooned to 725 votes out of roughly 2.9 million. By day’s end, though, as officials from around the state sent adjusted figures to the state, that margin had dropped to 477 votes.

Tell me this ... I voted on Tuesday and colored in a number of little circles on a white sheet of paper that I slid into a machine when I was finished. I believe it's called "Casting a ballot." Now it seems to me that this box I slid that piece of paper into was some sort of computer (possibly something called a scanner?). However, I'm beginning to think there might have been a midget (or some other “little person”) in that box who took my ballot and went to a chalkboard and tallied a mark for whomever I voted for. It's the only way humanly possible that I can see the numbers changing. Can someone please clarify if there truly is a midget (or possibly a dwarf or elf?) inside that box?

Ironically, I'm unsure why I've attached this photo of Adam Morrison and Yao Ming.

Clean, fresh feeling

Did you get a whiff of that rotten smell yesterday? It’s called a deuce or a dutch, or in political terms it’s called the Republican Party. It sure felt refreshing to wake up this morning after thoroughly enjoying the Republican Party enema the United States received last night.

Will work for food (free?)

Computer maker Dell has asked employees to consider taking up to five days of unpaid vacation and is offering voluntary severance packages, according to Reuters. Dell has also instituted a global hiring freeze. Chief Executive Michael Dell announced the moves in an impersonal email to employees Monday.

Here are some interesting details I found regarding Michael Dell’s compensation for 2007. Keep in mind, I’m just too lazy to see what his compensation package looks like for the current year, though I’d gather he’s still making his mortgage payments.

In 2007, after Michael Dell re-took control of the day-to-day operations of his company, he brought home $4.5 million in pay from his Round Rock, Texas-based company. But he failed to qualify for incentive-based bonuses, which would have considerably raised his income. Dell’s $4.5 million compensation included $950k in salary in addition to company-paid security and option awards, according to the PC maker.

Now let's do some hypothetical’s.

Let’s pretend the average Dell employee is making $70k a year, which I realize is probably on the high side but humor me here. That equates to roughly $1,342 per week. Paradoxically, if Michael Dell took one week of unpaid vacation based on last year’s earnings, it would equate to $86,538, which is nearly $16k more than the yearly base salary of the “typical” employee I’m talking about. If 3,353 employees took a week of unpaid vacation, it would equate to Michael Dell’s compensation for 2007. I realize the argument would be Michael Dell is paid accordingly to the service he provides. After all, he runs one of the largest computer makers in the world. But I pose this question to you, my friends: Should Michael Dell forego his entire salary, including any bonuses, when the company is suffering disastrous losses which promptly sparks its leader to layoff 8,500 employees and ask its remaining employees to take unpaid vacations?

Breaking News...

Presidential candidate John McCain has already conceded Tuesday's election to Barack Obama with exactly zero percent of the votes having been reported. Nobody took the news harder than McCain’s own Joe the Plumber, whose financial windfall from such a poorly run campaign was astonishing. Senior citizens were allegedly so upset that they were left with no other option but to cancel their 3 PM dinner reservations at Old Country Buffets across the nation, rocking Wall Street and causing the stock market to plunge. Sarah Palin was so distraught that she did what any other good hockey mom would do: went shopping and spent her husband’s hard-earned money. Fear is that rioting may breakout at nursing homes across the United States once geriatrics are awoken from their afternoon slumber. Law enforcement officials are bracing for the worse.

Rock Bottom

On Nov. 4, 2008 the drunken orgy will be over for the Republican Party. They'll have officially hit rock bottom like the drunk that wakes up in his own vomit...

After alienating those that believed in the party and its conservative message of fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, a strong military, and the Ronald Reagan era of crossing the isle to get things done, they deserve what is coming to them tomorrow. They're going to wake up to one hell of a hangover and realize the House, the Senate, and the Presidency have all slipped away.

They have no one to blame but themselves. What does the party stand for anymore? I'm not sure I know... They've over spent, allowed for under regulated financial markets, guided the country on the worst foreign policy path in our history, and extremely weakened the strength of our military.

What new and fresh ideas did they bring to this presidential campaign? Drill, baby drill! Are you kidding me? What kind of forward looking leadership is that? If McCain and Palin are the best they've got to put on a presidential ticket the party really has some soul searching to do.

In my opinion, a sweeping loss tomorrow is what must happen to sober up the drunk. They turned their back on everything they stood for and tomorrow the intervention of the drunk will take place. They'll have to face everyone that supported them and admit their failures.

Step one - admit that you have a problem. I hope they are able to see that they have alienated their base. I for one have no idea what the party stands for anymore.

One day at a time. They'll have 1460 days of Obama to sober up.

Back to the Future

Last night I jumped into the passengers seat of Doc Brown's Delorian and took a spin back to 1988 - I had my twentieth high school reunion. Memories of big hair, Ronald Reagan, friendship pins, the Twins World Series, and the cliques that happen in high school all came rushing back to memory.

There were about fifty former classmates that attended out of a class of 369 – kind of sad. When I first arrived it was cool, everyone saying hello and being cordial, catching up on twenty years of getting married, having kids, getting divorced, and some looking for Mr./Ms. Right number two.

It was a cash bar event and so the majority of people were hanging out in front of the bar. As the night wore on and the alcohol flowed more freely (typical east side party) the groups split up and moved to different tables in the banquet room. I couldn't help but look around the room and think that the social situation of the room was precisely where we had left off in 1988. In fact, the high school-ish type rumors even started back up, so and so is dead, so and so had a kid with so and so, it was really entertaining... As the hair bands of the eighties played in the background I watched a washed up Gymnast and a former book worm, now eccentric Yoga instructor, find a love connection that would have never happened in 1988.

Time really doesn't change people, but situations do change. As we move through life, have our triumphs, and make our mistakes I think we somehow become more tolerant of other people. Maybe we realize that the world we thought we knew at 18 is somehow more complicated at 38? At about 11pm I loaded my tipsy wife up into the Delorian and we charged it up to 100,000 gigawatts and catapulted back to 2008.

It's nice to be back.