Great list of questions for Obama. Thanks George.
Silverton, Oregon best restaurant
Never been there, but it’s my favorite restaurant in Silverton.
As I move more and more to digital storage, this information is helpful.
buddies catch consecutive foul balls. I missed one at the cubs game by one row.
That’s me. I’ve been to one game this year, and seen 17% of their home losses to date. So sad.
This has been on my mind lately… What questions do you ask that define a great leader?
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No, my wife is not heartless. She loves her mom, and my mom, and moms in general. However, this is the second year in a row something bad has happened to her on Mother’s Day. Last year, my homie came to visit and we went to a M’s game. Well, Ashley found a way to fall down going up the escalator. She sliced her knee and put a pretty nasty bruise on it. We ended up going to the emergency room on Mother’s Day. Oh, what fun. The end result was her limping around for a week on crutches.
On Friday we joked about going to a Mariner’s game again. I said they weren’t in town (they were). Well, no reason for me to try and play games with fate. Ashley woke up and wasn’t feeling well. Aches, pains, and a 101 fever. Eventually went to the doc in a box and her fever hit over 102 while waiting. Turns out she has the flu. We get her some medicine and back to the house for sleep. 2 hours later the “other” symptoms arrive - and land themselves in the bedroom trashcan. Yuck.
So, Ashley is back for back having a bad time of it on Mother’s Day. Maybe next year the streak will end. I just hope I don’t catch what she has. I am probably one of worst people to be around when I’m sick.
→ No CommentsTags: life
I am (not) often asked “Hey Thomas - How do you know you are living in Seattle?” Well, that’s simple, I count coffee. Coffee stores and coffee drinkers are abundant in Seattle and surrounding cities. This isn’t anything new, however you have to dig a little deeper to truely say you are in Seattle. For example, let’s say you are on your way to work in the morning (true story). Do you think you could tell if you were in Seattle? Glancing out to my right I see a bicyclist sitting at the light beside me. This is a common occurence around the Emerald city, but how can you be sure? Well, this guy was sipping a cup of Joe. That’s right. Here is a guy in spandex with no shorts (seriously homie, buy a pair of Umbros), rain jacket, chilling in the bike lane sipping his latte. I’m 100% certain this does not occur on the Cliff Benson back home. What makes the story even better and solidifies my statement that I am, in fact, in Seattle is that right before the light changes, he slides the carboard cup with the plastic lid into the bottle cage on his bike. No H20 for this guy, he’s down with Juan Valdez.
This story is worthless without pics, as the image of a mid 30’s, spandex laden, coffee sipping guy on a Cannondale just doesn’t look the same in your mind’s eye, and I’ve seen both. I should have told him that his cup wasn’t eco-friendly, but I was too busy trying to get the cap of my bottled water on before it spilt in my SUV.
→ No CommentsTags: ask thomas
I love doing nothing on the weekends. One of these days I might look back and say “why didn’t I do this or that” but for now forget it. I got in a conversation this week with a coworker about what I do outside the office, what my hobbies are. I was pretty proud to say I like to do nothing. I’m not one of those super achievers who runs charity events or marches for immigration. I like to sit down on my slightly uncomfortable couch and watch tv. Sometimes I’ll mix it up with some internet but that’s it.
Most of my Saturdays are the same. A typical Saturday goes like this:
7/8am-ish: Take Lucy outside to pee/poop.
9am-ish: Get out of bed. Turn on TV. Assess weather situation.
10/11am-ish: Take Lucy to park. This is a must as she is crammed in her cell kennel all day every day.
1pm-ish: Lunch. Lately it’s been Jersey Mike’s. Man that place is great. If we eat at home, clean out DVR.
2pm-ish: Errands. Usually a trip to Target or Trader Joe’s. We usually split grocery trips over the weekend.
3pm-ish: Back home. time to start a load of laundry or talk about cleaning. Watch Ashley sneak off to bedroom for nap. Watch TV.
6pm-ish: Dinner. usually getting food out again, first choice being the Mexican joint on the corner.
8pm-ish: Realize that the day is over and the only thing I’ve done is take the dog to the park. Start a movie or clean out the DVR.
11pm/1am-ish: Bedtime. I still like to think i’m 20 and staying up late is cool.
Sundays are pretty much the same, except the last 6 hours are marked as “realizing weekend is over and nothing was done.” I’m obviously downplaying what we do. there are the hours on the weekend that we actually work for some strange reason. There is the trip to Costco for gas, the 2nd park trip, the trips outside for Lucy, and the occasional run to the movies.
I really do need to get some hobbies.
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It’s 2008 and Airlines still don’t get it. In this world of technology where I can buy stocks at the click of a mouse, transfer money from one bank to another in seconds, and get a meat lover’s pizza from Papa John’s delivered without talking to somebody, I can’t check in for my flight online.
I’m heading to New York tomorrow bright and early (7:45am flight) to visit our other office and train on a new tool. Booked through our internal service and got my Alaska Airlines record locator. For those that don’t fly Alaska, they have a ton of partner airlines with which they code share. Code sharing, how I understand it, is talking about the same flight but giving it flight numbers according to the booking airline. This particular flight, although marked as Alaska, is being operated by their partner airline American Airlines. Okay, whatever works for them.
Just like every day before a flight, I wake up (in this case early) to check in online. I absolutely hate waiting at airports. Imagine being in a line to ask for something where you know that 80% of the people in front of you have a problem. How nice do you think the CS is going to be? that’s why I love the internet and the ability to complete transactions without the complication of making things personal. Unless you are on a code share. I have 2 record locators, one for each airline, and I can’t check in online. I can’t even check in on the phone, which I learned after talking to both airlines. What’s my resolution? I have to get to the airport even earlier to check in for a flight that I woke up for this morning.
I can already see what will happen with this. I have an exit row seat booked through Alaska, and if American tries to put me somewhere else I’m going to flip out. I have such a short temper for issues where I deem the situation to be simple. I book a seat on a flight, you give me a seat on a flight. One too many times I’ve arrived at the airport and had my seat changed (or gone missing) because of their overbooking ways. Then it’s “oh we have an aisle seat near the back that is open” or “we can get you on another flight but it’s not direct and leaves 3 hours later” conversations.
What confuses me is why I can’t check in even though I have a record locator for both airlines. More importantly, the CS just nonchalantly says I can only check in at the counter. What magical button do they have at the airline counter and why isn’t that made available to online users. Have they forgotten the fundementals of doing business online? The consumer is saving them money by not having to interact with somebody. Lines at the counter are kept to a minimum, which improves support time, which helps with customer satisfaction, which leads to repeat customers. Really, is it that hard? Give me the ability to save you money while you continue to jack up prices on me. I’m begging you to let me make you money!
I hope I’m just being pessimistic about the situation and the truth ends up being a smooth transaction with limited hassle. But my recent bouts with airlines and travel have not been good lately. I ranted about these before, although my posts were lost during a reinstall of wordpress. They were real gems I tell ya…
→ No CommentsTags: airlines · customer service
Congrats to one of my best friends Rob on having his baby girl. Margaret “Maggie” Linda Paschal was born April 8th, weighing in at 8 pounds 7 ounces. She has a website - maggiepaschal.com where I have no doubt will be filled with pictures, videos, and whatever else Rob and Carrie have time for. I know one thing she’s got going for her already - she’s better looking than her Dad!
Best wishes from the Left Coast Shaffers!
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You know, I really hate when wealthy people want to make fiscal decisions. Obama spoke in an interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo on Monday and declared that he is in favor on increasing capital gains tax. Currently the tax is at 15%, but he spoke about increasing the tax nearly twice as much to the levels under the old Clinton. Those levels were 28%.
MoneyNews reported on this issue and already critics intelligent people are speaking out. Barrack is also talking about getting rid of the Bush tax cuts that are set to expire in 2010.
If I could go off on a rant here… What in the current economic condition screams more taxation? I mean, the market has tumbled over the past 5 months, the mortgage industry has been crushed, and the ripple effect on financial companies and investors is still rocking our pockets.
Taxing a voluntary investment for retirement is counterintuitive. On one hand you have the powdered wigs talking about needing to improve individual savings and providing for retirement. On the other you have them pushing taxes upon taxes on top of these economy building and sustaining tactics. Like this won’t impact savings or the stock market. C’mon man, think about it. I’m already hesistant to buy/sell stocks because of the current rate. What do you think will happen to other concerned and everyday investors when these rates double?
Obama wants to take the money that would be earned from these tax increases and bail out the Federal Treasury. Wow, great idea. Push the buck onto a portion of society that has probably the least amount of use for most of the overspending that has occurred over the past 30 years. He’d also use the money to promote scientific research and green energy. Like there will be any money left after bailing out the Fed, aka bailing out the overspending Congress.
He then goes on to say that the money will be used to “give some relief to middle class and working class families who have been driving this economy as consumers but have been doing it through credit cards and home equity loans. They’re not going to be able to do that.” Hello! Nobody is forcing these people into overspending, buying useless items, and getting into oversized and overpriced homes. How come you want to bail out consumers in debt, but you aren’t looking to cut the fat that you and the rest of the political cronies injected into our society. I’m middle class, and these taxes are going to hurt me, not help. You (politicians) continually talk about making policies that help the middle class, but they never do - you just shift the lines of the middle.
Yeah, the war in Iraq et al cost money and raised our deficit but remember this - we owed money before this war, and if past US leaders had made a stand years ago, this situation may not have occurred.
→ No CommentsTags: finance · politics
If the TV Show Cops and Punk’d had kids, do you think it would be something like this? The whole thing was staged by 18 year old Dustin Zebro. I like the cut of this kid’s jib. From the article “he staged the party after friends at D.C. Everest High School got suspended from sports because of pictures showing them drinking from red cups.” Good stuff.
Since this is 2008, there is a youtube clip. The audio is really loud so you might want to adjust your speakers.
→ No CommentsTags: humor · videos
I love spray butter. The zero calories on the side says it all. If I can save calories on the small things to enjoy the big things, I’m all over it. I was always skeptical on how it could be 0 calories, but now I know why. Apparently each spray is .9 calories. So why aren’t these companies getting in trouble for misleading the public consumer? The FDA actually allows companies to round down when compiling the information. So each spray is really 1 calorie and not the ultimate diet staple I was led to believe.
Oh yeah, that royal with cheese (Double Quarter Pounder for those who have never seen Pulp Fiction - get with it people!) at McDonald’s? it’s probably 741 calories, not 740. 
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West Virginia just finished waxing dook in the NCAA tournament. Here are the top ten excuses or statements that will be overheard as to why they lost
Got any other excuses you can think of? I know the one excuse you won’t hear as to why they lose:
When you are as reliant on the 3 point shot as much as dook is, you are going to lose. One dimensional teams do not succeed in the tournament.
→ No CommentsTags: sports