It Pays to Drive Crap

Ok. A lot of people ask why I am driving what I am driving. There's a story, so here it is.

I grew up as a mechanic's child. That means several things. First, I don't know how to fix cars. Second, I don't care about nice, new, cars because, well, they break too. Third, our family cars were always the last car to get fixed so I am use to driving crappy vehicles and I don't feel like I've been cheated out of any opportunities by driving beaters my entire driving life.

In December 2005, I bought a 1990 Nissan Pickup with a topper for $800. It was ugly, I mean really ugly. As a result, I was entered in a contest at work to win a new car because it was so ugly, but it ran really good. I spent a total of $80 in repairs and never changed the oil once - just added some. A/C didn't work but it had good heat. Nonetheless, we did everything in that truck with out worrying about it getting hurt. People even loved to borrow my truck and we even made money on it because people needed a truck that they didn't have to worry about when it came to hauling stuff. I went 2 consecutive months with out having to put gas in it once, because it was borrowed by people who would put more gas in it when they were finished.

Then, in November of 2006, a lady pulls a U-turn right in front of me from the shoulder of the road. It totals my car - every one is fine. Her insurance company settled with me and gave me an offer I could not even begin to refuse or negotiate. I end up getting $2000 for the truck and travel expenses. My wife and I carpooled for 2 weeks, so I didn't have to spend any money on a rental. Fortunately, I took the topper off before the wreck and made another $100 by selling it. Now, do you remember that car contest? I didn't win a car but I did win $500. (I work for the greatest company in the world!)

I spent 2 weeks looking around on Craig's list for a replacement and one day I saw a 1994 Suburban for only $3000. A $1000 under what blue book suggested. Having a child during all this time and maybe plans of having more, I decided this would be a good buy even if it does drink gas. I don't drive that much and I figured it would balance out the amount I spend on gas with our scooters (80 miles per gallon). The family that was selling it were fans of Dave Ramsey and hoped that they would be able to find a Dave Ramsey fan to sell it too. Well, boy did they ever!

So, the bottom line: I paid $480 to upgrade my Nissan Pickup to a Chevy Suburban. I did have to pay for title/registration and my insurance went up $1 a month. Oh no!

That's my story. It pays to drive crap!

Fun with Words

If you are a really good scrabble player you might be able to do this with a lot of other words, but today I received an email where someone rearranged the letters of a word to form another word or words that describe the first word. Is there a name for this? Anyway, below is the first word followed by the rearrangement. Enjoy.

• DORMITORY: DIRTY ROOM
• PRESBYTERIAN: BEST IN PRAYER
• ASTRONOMER: MOON STARER
• DESPERATION: A ROPE ENDS IT
• THE EYES: THEY SEE
• GEORGE BUSH: HE BUGS GORE
• THE MORSE CODE: HERE COME DOTS
• SLOT MACHINES: CASH LOST IN ME
• ANIMOSITY: IS NO AMITY
• ELECTION RESULTS: LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
• SNOOZE ALARMS: ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S
• A DECIMAL POINT: IM A DOT IN PLACE
• THE EARTHQUAKES: THAT QUEER SHAKE
• ELEVEN PLUS TWO: TWELVE PLUS ONE
• MOTHER-IN-LAW: WOMAN HITLER

Folding Laundry

I hate folding clothes. I cannot fold a shirt to save my life. I guess that is why I appreciate this video so much.

The Next Generation Leader

This morning I finished Andy Stanley's The Next Generation Leader. Stanley has a lot of insight on leadership as pastor of the North Point Community Church in Atlanta.

There are five major sections in his book that describe the qualities of a leader.
1) Competence
2) Courage
3) Clarity
4) Coaching
5) Character

One of the big take aways I got was to realize that fears are areas for opportunity. A large part of my personality is to look at the details and make an informed decision. Often times, it takes too long for me to make that decision because I am afraid to move forward without all the facts.

This is a good little read and as you can imagine, there are lots of biblical references on leadership.

Grammar Girl Podcast

Would you guess that one of the most popular podcasts on the web is about grammar? Well, it is. Mignon Fogarty puts together a weekly podcast on issues of grammar.

As dull and boring as it sounds, I'm not so sure I wouldn't like it. I often use bad grammar when speaking and typing. It's only like 5 minutes, and who knows, maybe I'll pick up on something to make me feel smarter and look smarter in front of others.

Leadership is an Art

I just finished up Leadership is an Art, by Max DePree. Even thought the book was written back in the 80's there were several good things that stood out to me. A fellow I work with always says "if you get one thing or one idea out of a book, it was worth buying." I'd have add that it is certainly worth checking out at the library.

DePree writes this book with double spacing and wide margins for you to take notes. The book is great for making you think. In fact, DePree intends for the reader to take their time even thought you could read the book very quickly.

One of the ideas that stood out most to me in the book, was an illustration he gave about why Sandy Koufax was such a great pitcher - he always had a good catcher. His point was that if you don't have a team that can handle catching each other's fastballs, your team won't be as successful. Or rather, if you are not able to throw your best pitch at the work you do, figure out how to get in a position where you can bring the heat. Then help others on your team do the same.

The Scratching Post

In good Dave Ramsey fashion, I'm not a fan of people who offer me incredible lines of credit with horrible interest rates. The reason - I don't do credit regardless of the interest rate. The interest rate is just extra fuel for the fire.

Having said that, I was reading The Scratching Post I got a kick out of reading KT Kat's "pay per post" on calculating mortgages using Credit Provide's tools. Check it out - I think you'll like it if you like Dave Ramsey.

Fishing in Tennessee

Being a resident of Tennessee since 1999, I enjoyed reading through this story I received in an email. It's a little comic relief for your day. Enjoy!

A Tennessee redneck was stopped by a game warden in East Tennessee recently with two ice chests of fish, leaving a river well known for its fishing.

The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?"

"Naw, my friend, I ain't got no license. These here are my pet fish."

"Pet fish?"

"Yep. Every night I take these fish down to the river and let 'em swim 'round for a while. Then I whistle and they jump right back into this ice chest and I take 'em home."

"That's a bunch of bull! Fish can't do that!"

The redneck looked at the game warden for a moment and then said, "It's the truth. I'll show you. It really works."

"Okay, I've GOT to see this!"

The redneck poured the fish into the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to him and said, "Well?"

"Well, what?" said the redneck.

"When are you going to call them back?"

"Call who back?"

"The FISH!"

"What fish?"

We in Tennessee may not be as smart as some, but we ain't as dumb as most. You smart ones have a good day!

The Credit Card Prank

Have you ever wondered how close cashiers pay attention to the signature on your credit/debit card purchases? Do you ever get the feeling that it wouldn't matter what kind of mark you made on the signature line of the sales receipt?

John Hargrave conducted an experiment to answer a few of these questions. I laughed so hard that I was in tears. As funny as it is though, it shows that you have to be very careful with protecting your cards.

I know this has been out on the web a while, but it's worth looking at again. Read about his findings here.

Space Monster Destroys Nashville

I was browsing half-drunk on babbling and noticed a familiar building on a You Tube clip. I then realized it was the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. Since I lived downtown for a few years I was curious as to what it was. I pressed play and watched Nashville get attacked by a space monster.

Ger-Wii-atrics - Nintendo's New Market

Nintendo, now has a new demographic of customer for the new Wii. The Chicago Tribune tells about one retirement home where the Wii is becoming a big hit.

I think this is an awesome story and it gives me hope for when I turn old. Video games are fun, and if I ever live in a retirement home I'd rather have the Wii than shuffle board. Hey, there's an idea for the next Wii game!

“I've never been into video games, but this is addictive,” said 72-year-old Flora Dierbach. “They come in after dinner and play. Sometimes, on Saturday afternoons, their grandkids come play with them … A lot of grandparents are being taught by their grandkids. But, now, some grandparents are instead teaching their grandkids.”

The articles talks about how some residents who still aren't physically able to play, will gladly sit by and be cheerleaders. You can also read more about the article at Daily Tech.

Teacher Texts for Drugs

How cool were your middle school teachers? However, a better question might be, how smart were your middle school teachers? This story makes me laugh.

In Murray, Kentucky, a teacher started texting her dealer to set up a meeting to pick up some marijuana. Only she had mistakenly text a Kentucky Highway Patrol officer. Whoops!

Needless to say, the officer arranged a meeting and the teacher was arrested.

I've just started using text messages. It still takes me too long to type on my phone. Halfway through the message, I would have just had to call. I bet she is wishing she had just called. That way she would have known she had the wrong number. I wonder what they are telling her students.