 I read an article in the CG Times the other day about how the government is trying to round up and relocate close to forty thousand wild mustang horses from the western states to the plains states. They are claiming that due to the herds doubling in size every four years that there will soon be a food shortage and the herds could start dying of mass starvation if they aren’t relocated eastward toward states with more wide open plains and grazing opportunities. Several animal rights groups and celebrities including Sheryl Crow and Ed Harris are against the rounding up and moving of the horses citing that the process could traumatize or injure the horses and they are challenging the government claims as false.
The government also has corrals and properties that these wild horses have migrated into and have reached near capacity, I personally don’t believe it is a bad thing to help “encourage” the herds to migrate to where there are more open fields and corrals to care for and protect the animals. Wild Mustang horses really don’t have natural predators in the West, and though a colt can be taken by a cougar on occasion their only natural enemy is disease and injury. When full grown they are faster and larger than most predatory animals can take down so their numbers will only continue to multiply. I did learn that until 1971 it was legal for ranchers to shoot wild mustangs caught grazing on their property and this is why the numbers had depleted so low. Since the ban however their numbers have been increasing quickly and something will need to be done in the next decade to ensure the safety of the animals as well as the land around them from being overgrazed. What are your thoughts? Should the herds be left alone to graze themselves into potential starvation and overpopulation, or should the be relocated as a preventative measure from what could happen? Know that the government spends hundreds of thousands of dollars caring for these wild animals when they are injured and encountered and when they wind up crossing over into government land and corrals. -Justin Germino |
Month: December 2009
Men of a Certain Age Review
Earlier this week on TNT premiered a new show called Men of a Certain Age which I watched right after The Closer. This show which is co-created by Ray Romano is about three men in their mid to late forties who have been friends since they were kids (as is shown by the title sequence). While I expected the show to be very funny, I was surprised by how down to earth and downright “real” the show is.
Each character in the show has a particular rut or issue that they are dealing with in their lives, and this makes each character very human and relatable to most audience members. Ray Romano plays Joe who is a party store owner recently separated from his wife and is still living out of a hotel room. He wants to reconnect with his wife, but we learn in the first episode his gambling addiction has something to do with the separation though more isn’t revealed just yet.
Scott Bakula plays Terry who is an aspiring actor who has had only a few minor successes with TV roles and Television commercials. He is picky about what roles he wants to take and as a result hasn’t had much work in recent times. He is also the only one of the three men who is single and a bit of a player with the ladies as compared to the other two who are married. We do however see his frailty as he struggles to become a successful actor and even taking tips from a coffee shop waitress/writer.
Finally Andre Braugher who also played Dr. House’s Psychiatric Therapist on House does a fantastic job as a man on the verge of turning fifty with three kids (one a baby and the other two a little older). He works at his fathers car dealership and just expects to take over when his father retires, but in the first episode realizes his father is unhappy and disappointed with him which leads him to nearly break in emotional despair.
All three characters have frailty and the often discuss life issues and the events going on around them, it is something unlike most other shows on television and there is no escapism happy drama of unreality here, but instead three friends who sometimes can barely stand each other trying to make their way in life and find happiness in the situations they are living in.
There are some comical moments scattered about and the humor can range from light hearted and funny, to a sad and dark humor depending on the situation.
No doubt about it Men of a Certain Age is something different on television and as a male in my early thirties I can already relate in some ways to some of these characters in my own life. The only complaint I may have about this show is that it is almost like watching somebody’s real life in all its unpleasant and sad existence and most of the times I watch TV for fun escapism from the real world. This however is a minor complaint and the show is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for something refreshingly different.
One other note, in the pilot episode that aired on TNT, the network actually broadcast SH!T five times in the pilot episode, I actually was surprised that the network broadcasts don’t censor language, I thought they were bound by the same FCC rules as the local stations but apparently not.
-Justin Germino
Water Bill Confusion
My Water bill has been greatly inflated lately and this is in part to Arizona having to comply with the new federal guidelines on Arsenic safety. Arizona had among the highest levels of arsenic in the drinking water supply at almost 50 parts per billion which used to be the former limit set by the Food and Drug Administration. Now it is 25 parts per billion and all water companies have to upgrade and filter the water more efficiently to reduce the arsenic levels in the water supply. This results in an “arsenic surcharge” on most Arizona water company bills which inflates the water bill for having safer drinking water.
This wasn’t my only issue, I noticed that my water bill showed my house having a 180% increase in water usage over the past two months from the same two months last year. I don’t have any runny toilets, faucets or drips that I can find and I can’t account for why my water meter would show my house using almost 3x the amount of water these last two months. I am going to have to call the water company and get the meter checked out.
-Justin Germino
Monk Finale was Incredible
With USA Networks Monk being over I had to reflect that this was one of the best TV shows over the past few years. Tony Shalhoub was so convincing and good as the obsessive compulsive detective it will be hard to see him in any other role without expecting him to stutter, shift or touch objects as he walks past them. The series finale of Monk was brilliantly done and answered all the questions that viewers have had over the past years, including what happened to Trudy and closing the mystery of what happened to her twelve years ago.
The show left the ending wide open and easily could have been continued if Tony Shalhoub wanted to pick up and continue the show, but I heard he was tired of playing the same character after five years and was ready to move on to other roles. I wonder if there will be a Monk movie?
-Justin Germino
Disney’s Phineas and Ferb
Not too long ago my kids were watching a show on the Disney Channel and I sat down with them to see what the Phineas and Ferb show is all about. I was pleasantly surprised just how much I enjoyed this show myself and often will sit and watch new episodes I hadn’t seen before even if I am by myself sometimes. The show is all about two brothers “Phineas and Ferb” on their summer vacation from school, each day they decide to do something new and use their brilliant minds to create some of the most complex and imaginative gadgets, inventions and have incredible adventures. Meanwhile their older sister Candace is often trying to “Bust” them by having mom catch the boys doing something incredible, though in the later episodes Candace often joins her brothers and/or appreciates the things they do.
The show also has their pet Platypus named Perry who is a secret agent on the side. Perry constantly thwarts the evil genius Dr. Doofenshmirtz, which features some of the most oddball and humorous side plots in the episodes. The sheer genius behind what the writers come up with make me laugh just writing this review. What I really like about the show is that there is no real violence, language, horror, or anything to object to. It keeps the entertainment pure, fun and simple without needing to add any “shock” value to the show. The innocent minds of the show and how everything fits is the shows charm, and since I have two sons the antics of Phineas and Ferb remind me of how my own boys interface with each other when they play as well as bring back some of my own childhood memories with my brother.
Without a doubt Phineas and Ferb is one of the best shows on the Disney channel and is one of the best kids shows I have seen, it is entertaining for three year olds up to eighty year olds, and at thirty two years of age I catch as many of them as I can because they are pure and simple fun.
Here is a video clip of Phineas and Ferb singing to have Perry come home:
-Justin Germino
My Toddler is Growing Up
My youngest son transitioned from sleeping in his crib to sleeping in the bottom bunk of his brother’s bunk bed on Friday night, this is the first phase as we needed to have him sleeping in a big boy bed before we started potty training him (or trying to). At first we had thought the two brothers would keep each other up all night playing games and fooling around the first few nights they slept in the same room together but instead the oldest fell asleep first and the youngest calmly went to sleep in the big boy bed and didn’t give us any trouble. I honestly think he was a little scared to come out of bed so he just stayed in the bed until he fell asleep, his older brother had told us that he asked if there were “any monsters in his room” before they went to sleep.
This means that our youngest child’s room now has an empty crib which feels a little strange, we have had at least one “baby” in the house for the past six years with the two children.
-Justin Germino
Casa Grande 2009 Electric Light Parade
Tonight is the Casa Grande Electric Light parade and while it isn’t as large as the Phoenix Light Parade there are still dozens of cars and floats decked out in Xmas lights rolling down the main Florence blvd here. My kids have been wanting to go, especially my oldest son whose school will have a float in the parade this year. The nice thing about having Christmas Light parades in Arizona is that the temperature will only be in the 60’s and will be mild and comfortable with a jacket.
Nothing beats holding a cup of hot cocoa with the family while watching the parade and then going home to warm up.
-Justin Germino
Back to Back Illnesses Really?
After just recovering from the flu that assaulted the family it seems I am coming down with another cold even after my lungs aren’t fully recovered from the previous flu. Nothing is more annoying than getting sick with a 2nd illness before you even recover from the first one. This second bug appears to be more head and sinus related and I am at least able to function, just sound very nasal and feel congested. At some point I am thinking of getting those ultraviolet light devices you install in rooms around your house to vaporize bacteria and viruses in the air. I wonder if they actually reduce the chances of getting sick?
-Justin Germino
Reaching Another Twitter Milestone
Last Weekend I reached another Twitter milestone by arriving at 3000 followers on my dragonblogger twitter account. I have been doing my Random Twitter Poetry game for so long now that yesterday was my 250th Random Twitter poem. I have new people play my game every day it seems and my average contributions to the game are double what they were when I started just over a year ago. I am just thrilled that 3000 people have found me interesting enough to follow and stay with me whether it is for my technology blog, Heroes reviews, Poetry, small talk or my personal diary and reflections.
I speak to about a dozen or so twitter followers almost every day, they are my “regulars” while others drop in from day to day. Some have crossed over and follow me on Facebook as well, but my facebook account only has just under 200 followers compared to my twitter account.
-Justin Germino
How Would You Spend A Million Dollars?
One of the things I do is contemplate how much differently I would have spend the last decade of my life financially had I had the foresight to see how I would end up today. Too many people end up in the trap of working and barely being able to pay the bills, only to have one emergency or unplanned expense drive you past due on payments and threaten to topple your whole financial infrastructure. Most of the time this is the fault of the individual or family who allows this situation to happen, but in even those cases it can mostly be due to ignorance and lack of financial education. Somebody had asked me the following question recently:
- Today, if you were to inherit or win a million dollars (after taxes), how would you spend a million dollars?
I can tell you that when I was eighteen years of age I would have thought that money would have lasted forever, and I would have splurged and gotten all my material wants and desires. Now in my thirties I am much wiser and realize that a million dollars will last a short time if you “live rich” but can last your whole life if you “live middle class”. The key here is financial security being more important than any single or small time material want. Forget about jewelry, cars, million dollar house or a boat. These items would drain through the money and you would have little to show for it in fifteen years. That is at least how I think about it now that I have been in the financial struggle over the past decade.
I would spend a million dollars by first and foremost getting rid of every monthly payment that I owe. This would involve paying off my house, my car, student loans, credit cards…etc. This would consume about 45% of a million dollars to achieve this goal. Then I would devote 30% into variety of savings and deposits including some in an ING account (50k or so), mutual funds, bonds and maybe some physical assets like gold in case something dramatic happened to American currency or the market. 10% would be put toward my son’s college educations and deposited into their 529 accounts.
The last remainder (lets say 20-50k) or so I would spend on vacations with my wife. I do this because spending quality time on vacations and enjoying the experience of a week breathing and exploring life and the world is worth far more than any tangible item. I would rather spend five thousand dollars on a memory with her than purchasing a 70″ LCD TV or something like that.
Bottom line:
If I were to win a million dollars I would wisely use most of it to secure my financial situation and I wouldn’t quit my job at all. I would continue to use that income to help keep my situation happy, because happiness partly comes from not stressing and worrying about finances.
So tell me readers, how would you spend a million dollars? I want to hear from your point of view on what you would do with the money.
-Justin Germino