Let the countdown commence!

Hey, lady... watch where you are going!!

Another funny email picture/video. Ouch! I tried to track down the full video for this with no luck. Be interesting to see if that hit knocked her out cold! If anyone knows the event this is from, let me know!


NOTE: blog updated with better video 9/9/05

Everyone has a different comfort level with debt...

I knew the oh-so-rural suburb we moved into 6 years ago had been rapidly growing into a booming area, but this 3-part series on Colling County in the Dallas Morning News was EXTREMELY enlightening (fascinating, humbling, fear-inducing, etc.) as to the demographic statistics. First things first, you will need a login to access the DallasNews site, so using trusty BugMeNot.com (remember my previous blog on this?), I found the following login and password for you to access the articles:
login: noway@fake.com
password: sowhat

Anyhow, it appears there are way too many Joneses to keep up with in Collin County. Not that we wouldn't love to try, if our stubborn budget would allow (doesn't reality stink sometimes?!) We always comment about the extravagence we see -- all the high dollar cars, neighborhood after neighborhood "from the $300s to $1.5m+". Envy is a bad thing, but you can't help but wonder HOW there is that much money for such a young demographic area. There can't be that many people moving from California with massive home equity built up, can there? There can't be that many doctors and lawyers, are there? How is that young family living in a house 2-3 times more expensive than ours, with what appears to be a stay-at-home mom and her two kids playing in the yard, their Lexus and Escalade in the driveway? After all, we are doing pretty well, yet we definitely feel the tight pull of our budget strings. Makes you wonder.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy material "things" as much as the next guy. A boy has to have toys, right?? If given free reigns, I could do some serious damage at Best Buy and Home Depot. However, life is about choices, and we chose to put our family first when we chose for my wife to become a stay-at-home mom after the birth of our first child. No doubt our family is stronger with her home to raise our children. We are blessed to be in a situation that allows her to be able to do this. Now, the downside for us was it put one SERIOUS damper on our disposable income, and truth be told our tight budget has resulted in its fair share of.. umm... discussions (arguments sounds too harsh!)... as our "wants" column grows beyond our "needs". Luckily, we do a pretty good job of keeping reality in mind and our budget in order. That's obviously not the case for many. Back to the article...

Sunday's articles discuss Collin County's wealth may not be what it seems. It compares Collin County to comparable suburbs across the country, and the results are shocking. As Kristen likes to say, "Everyone has a different comfort level with debt." Here are some bullet points from the article:

• On average, Collin County residents have more credit card debt – $4,200 – and a lower net worth – $125,000 – than residents of other high-income counties throughout the country, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of various economic indicators, including Claritas Market Audit.

• The average amount due on an auto loan or lease service for Collin residents is about $19,300, highest among a dozen comparison counties.

• Bankruptcies – about 3,500 last year – more than doubled over five years, outpacing all other similar-sized counties nationwide.

• About 3,300 homes were foreclosed upon last year, two-thirds in higher-income neighborhoods.

• About 56 percent of the county's population of 600,000 hovers around the median household income, with people bringing in $50,000 to $150,000 annually. As a group, residents are generally younger than their counterparts around the country – at a median age of 33.4 years.


Monday's articles discuss such things as the Retail Boom in Collin County. Here are some bullet points from that article:

•It's the wealthiest county in Texas and one of the wealthiest in the nation.

•About half the families have children. 30% of Collin County is under the age of 18.

•It's a growing area where retailers can build new stores, and cities sometimes provide tax incentives to lure them.

•Many residents are buying new homes, which they quickly furnish, landscape and decorate.

•White-collar workers and busy parents have no time for chores – such as gardening, cooking, cleaning – so they demand services and often eat out.


Tuesday's articles, such as Nothing but the best from mom and dad, discuss the excessive spending of many Collin County parents on their children. Collin County has about 3% more children among its population, and 13% more married couples with children than the nationwide average, and many of these are living the high life. Kids at Plano West High School driving Hummer H2s and BMW M3s... $1000 pedicure parties for 11-year-old girls.... kids with $200/wk allowances. Wow.

There's a lot to read throughout the entire 3-part series. Sunday's section alone spanned about 6 pages in the paper, and kept me entralled for the better part of an hour. The entire series was very good in reminding me to keep grounded (and revisit our family budget!) It is very easy to get caught up in material things when you are surrounded by it. It also brings home the fact as a parent I need to be particularly aware of the influences my children will face. It won't be an easy fight, will it?

10th Anniversary of the Modern Internet

Hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since Netscape launched us into the modern internet age. Then again, it's hard to believe it has ONLY been 10 years, especially with everyone and their grandmother online, instant-messaging, blogging, and so on. This article from the UK press recaps some of the major year-by-year milestones. It's a quick and interesting read.

Aren't you glad football is right around the corner?!?

Bug Me Not

Don't you hate it when you are looking for something on the web, you Google for options, find what you think is the perfect article, click it... and find that it is a site that requires registration to continue? Well, for my useful link of the day I'd like to present BugMeNot.com, whose entire purpose is to "Bypass Compulsory Web Registration".

Basically, it is a user-maintained database of fake registrations for websites --reportedly 81,600 sites and counting. So, next time you need to read that article on the NY Times, visit BugMeNot.com to bypass that registration!

Darwin Awards

And now for my link of the day: Darwin Awards

We've all received emails for these humorous post-mortem accounts. Now you can browse through the archives along with new stories. If you are looking for a quick pick-me-up to feel better about your life, that's the site to browse!

As the site declares: "The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally kill themselves in really stupid ways. Of necessity, this honor is generally bestowed posthumously."

Why women live longer than men...

Cleaning out some old email I came across these. They're still pretty funny...


Who needs a proper car jack when you have a couple old 2x4s sitting around? I applaud this man’s ingenuity.


Necessity is the mother of invention...
but sometimes Necessity should use birth control!


And to think those wimps at the power company use straps and cleats to get up this high!


I'm sure this guy still wonders why he got fired that day.


"Gee, guys... that seems like a lot of protective gear for such a small chlorine gas leak..."


Step 1: Remove shoes.
Step 2: Place metal ladder in water.
Step 3: Begin using CORDED power tools while standing barefoot on metal ladder in water.


Guy on Ground: Dude do you think that thing is safe?
Ladder Man: Safe? Man, I built this thing with my own two hands of course it’s safe! Now toss me up a Philips head!


I just find it a bit hard to believe that this place passed inspections.

Things to do while your coworker is on vacation

Got these from an email that seems to make its rounds every few months. They're still funny...