Archive for November, 2009

My favorite holiday…

Published
by
seanb
on November 26, 2009
in Personal
. 0 Comments

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday in the year.

Christmas, while full of gifts, has become way too commercial for my tastes, since we’re all encouraged to dig ourselves deep into debt to guess at buying stuff for people we love, with the goal of giving the ones we love the most (i.e. if I love you, I spend more money on you). The new year also makes me think like Thanksgiving does, but I primarily tend to focus on the year past, rather than the year ahead.

So, it is without further delay that I write what I am thankful for this year:

First, and foremost, I’m thankful to my family (immediate and extended, and adopted family members included – uncle Liam) for always being there. Is there any other reason to live, besides living for family? They are too numerous to mention individually here, but I especially want to call out to my mom and dad and say “thank you” for letting me be me. I know that many times we do see eye-to-eye on politics and the world, but even on those occasions when we don’t, you let me go and do my thing.

I’m thankful to have a job that pays relatively well, and is rather secure given the current economic environment. I’m happy to be one of the 85% of employable Americans who have a job with good benefits that allows me to continue my education. I wish the economic stimulus packages first suggested by president Bush, pushed by president Obama, and approved by the Congress would have done more; however, I suspect that when we look back on this period we will find that the deep economic hole in which the country found itself will prove to have been much deeper than originally analyzed to be.

Thank YOU for being you. While it may seem tautological for me to say so, without you, there is no me. It’s only through our relationships that we become “us”.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

YNAB 3!

Published
by
seanb
on November 25, 2009
in Personal
. 0 Comments

You Need A Budget is on its way to moving to public beta testing for its Version 3 product. I’m jazzed up about this because, as a Mac user, there is a complete dearth of products that will work on the Mac.

I’ve used YNAB 2 on a Virtual Machine, but switched back to Quicken because… well, because I don’t know why… but the switch was a bad move – especially moving to Quicken 2010.

I will switch back to YNAB 3 when it comes back out and I start over with my financial tracking, because it will run natively on the Mac platform, since it will be an Adobe Air-based application.

I can’t wait!!!

Check out more at this link here…

Please… go now… do this…

Published
by
seanb
on November 6, 2009
in Politics
. 0 Comments

If this request offends, I’m sorry. Please delete it and understand that I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

This weekend, it appears that the United States House of Representatives is poised to pass broad legislation that will guarantee that nearly everyone in the United States be covered by health insurance. This is a boon to the health insurers, to be sure, but more than this, it is the centrist legislation that, through mainly private, market-based means, guarantees every United States citizen fair access to the health care that they need.

EVERY VOTE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COUNTS, and EVERY VOICE THAT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES HEAR TODAY IMPLORING THEM TO VOTE YES for this measure is a VOICE that will COUNT to bring this change.

EVEN THOUGH my representative, the honorable representative Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, has stipulated that she will NOT vote for this, I am calling her as soon as I send this e-mail, and will IMPLORE her, as a taxpayer of this great nation, that I believe that this investment in our nation cannot be passed up any longer.

Without the competitive advantage brought about by guaranteeing EVERYONE coverage and access to the highest quality health care that we, as a country, know we can provide, we will continue to slip into economic decline. Every other industrialized nation on the face of this planet has recognized what we, somehow, have failed to see: a healthy, active, and robust populace is the ONLY thing standing between us and returning to the stature of once again becoming the strongest economic powerhouse.

I beg you to PLEASE CALL your representative today. Remember: even if they say they are voting “no,” your voice will have been heard. It’s not a wasted call.

Go now! Call. Be politically active this one time like your life depends on it. Some day, it may.

Sean = Fail

Published
by
seanb
on November 4, 2009
in Biking and Personal
. 0 Comments

So, I’m riding down the bike path that parallels Coral Way, and I’m riding against traffic, since the bike path is on the north side of the road (which is a four-lane east/west thoroughfare for those unfamiliar with our area), and I break Rule #1 for Biking: always make eye contact with the motorist before crossing in front of them.

I saw what was going to happen before it happened.

As I rolled into the intersection, in front of the Escalade (brand new, it seemed), I got a glimpse of the empty lane the driver now had into which to accelerate. The last thought I had before I needed to react was: “Shit.” The next view I had was of traffic stopping and avoiding my head on the pavement as I lay on Coral Way, facing up.

Luckily I didn’t lose consciousness, and luckily I didn’t really hit the pavement that hard.

The driver of the Escalade was shaken up. And there was a plainclothes federal agent behind him who stopped and turned her lights on.

I got lucky. That much is for sure.

But please, if you happen to be driving, even though I promise to be more careful, make sure you look BOTH ways before entering traffic.