Friday's Rant: Economists

A quote from Thursday on CNBC: "Despite the surprising growth in the US economy in the second quarter, many economists—and average Americans—aren't convinced that the country has avoided a recession."

I'm not an economist and I'm certainly not one that is competent at predicting how the economy will be doing in the coming year, quarter, month or even tomorrow. But with each passing day I'm getting the very distinct feeling the economists are nothing more than the meteorologists of the fiscal world. They sound smart and like they might know what they're talking about, but in reality, they're full of crap and really don't have a clue.

For the last year, we've all been hearing about how bad things are. How a recession is just around the corner - how there is basically no hope and we should all quit now and move to China, with all the other cool people.

Now don't get me wrong, there are areas of the economy that are weak. But try this test...over the next week or so, as you're reading the paper, watching the news or perusing articles online, notice how whenever a new piece of news come out the headline usually reads something like, "Economy Grew More than Expected" or "Economy Beat Expectations" or "Supply Growth Beats Analyst Expectations" or "Job Loss Less than Analysts Predicted."

You get the point. There is another element that each of these stories must have: the economist must find the dark cloud in every silver lining. Somewhere in each article begrudgenly reporting good news, it must contain an economist warning something like, "although this is good news, bad things are just around the corner." Give me a break. Who are these people? It sure seems like they are wrong a lot or, at least, suffer from very low expectations.

Take for this article on CNBC.com: "US Economy Grew Far More than Expected". They decided to mix it up a little by using "Far" in the headline. You really get the feeling that they are genuinely bummed about the economy growing at 3.3%!

Friends and neighbors, I've gone off on this before, but I am sick of all this pessimism. And I am REALLY sick of all these economists, all these news channels and media types actively HOPING for bad news. And when the news is good, trying to find ways of making bad. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Has the thought ever crossed their minds that maybe the news is, in fact, GOOD!? Seriously.

High gas prices suck, more for a gallon of milk sucks, watching my 401k balance plummit over the last year sucks, too. But are things really that bad? Overall, I think not. Just last month Batman had a debut weekend of nearly $160 million. People in soup lines don't shell out $160 million for a movie. So my unsolicitied advice is this: stop listening to these stupid economists, quit buying into this sheep-like fear and be happy that things are looking pretty good.

Whew!

Breathe in, breathe out...this week's rant is over.

Read more...

The Last Straw

I think a sense of humor is something people are born with. From day one, you either have it or you don't. Let's take for example my son. Since the day he was born he's been poked, prodded, pricked, burped, had tubes ran down his nose, blood drawn on what seemed like an hourly basis and on and on. For the most part he's been a heck of a trooper and put up with it with relatively little reaction.

Until the other day...at the doctor's office. He decided he had taken enough and it was time to exact his revenge - by peeing all over the doctor, Anne, the doctor's wall and the bed he was laying on. A fella' can only take so much, I guess.

Read more...

Guess Who?

One of these things is not like the other...



The one on the left is a picture of me...on the right is Collin.

Read more...

Friday's Rant: Winners and Losers

I hate it when government picks winners and losers. When, Chet Culver and his minions, in all their inept wisdom decide what is good for our state. It's one thing to screw up state government, which they will inevitably do, but why screw up the state's economy while you're at it? It pisses me off.

Case in point: Microsoft. Where do I begin? Just last year, to our state government and the Democratic imbeciles running it, Microsoft was the great evil and the focus of a class-action lawsuit. They were going on and on how, to quote Ed Fallon, at this post on Blog for Iowa:

...each and every one of you who bought a computer during that thirteen-year period should consider it your civic responsibility to file this claim. You have until December 15 to do it. If Iowans don't claim the money approved in the settlement, it merely reverts to Microsoft, so please feel free to forward this information to others to encourage the broadest possible participation.

And their efforts were largely effective. Under terms of the settlement, Microsoft was required to pay up to $170,950,000 in cash payments to consumers.

Let's fast-forward to yesterday afternoon. All of Iowa's premier opportunists - Culver, Boswell, Grassley, etc. gathered around a podium to praise Microsoft for bringing 50 jobs to West Des Moines. Here's the Register article. Anyway, what did our state and local governments do to get these 50 jobs? Give away tens of millions of dollars in tax incentives to, make "Iowa competitive with other states." Millions upon millions upon millions of dollars given away so West Des Moines can have 50 more jobs...while our rural areas, rural infrastructure and small downs dry up and rot.

Friends and neighbors, we here at the Iowa Blog Cabin try and not get too political, but this is insanity. I'm glad that this will bring economic development to our state, however, why can't our state, ahem, "leaders" create a competitive landscape throughout our state that makes the entire state competitive, not just the areas and industries that the government chooses is "worthy?" How many millions of our state tax dollars and "incentives" - from all over the state - are going to support 50 new jobs in WDM?

It's a misuse of tax dollars for our state government to choose who wins and loses this way. Our state leaders should create a tax environment, a regulatory environment and focus our priorities in a way that makes our entire state competitive. After all, they've show this works when they focus on one company, in one city, with one incentive package. Okay, I'm done.

Breathe in, breathe out...this week's rant is over.

Read more...

How to Have a Baby

Before Collin was born, Anne and I heard several recommendations for how we could initiate labor. The recommendations ranged from a big plate of spaghetti, Mexican food, jalapenos, going for a long walk, etc. Being good sports, we tried them all. :) However, I can say that none of them worked.

In the few days since he was born, Anne and I have had a chance to sit down and develop a rock-solid strategy to initiate labor. And since we have several friends who are pregnant...I thought I'd share the best, fool-proof method. This approach is very specific, but I can almost guarantee it will work.

When your due date is approaching, wait for the evening of a full moon, at low tide, when the barometric pressure is dropping...eat five pieces of Casey's taco pizza (no taco sauce). Wait for approximately six hours...WHAM-O! You've got a kid. I would say this is 95% effective. For 100% effectiveness, try doing all of the above while there is a thunderstorm warning somewhere in Hamilton County, Iowa or the gymnastics floor routine during the Olympics.

Read more...

Bath Time

Baths are torture.

Read more...

Rum and Coke: $1.25

Mount Elbert is 14,433 feet tall and comes in as the tallest mountain in Colorado. On this particular day, Cory Cramer, Matt Scott, Rich "the mountain sheik" Iverson and I decided we were going to climb it. The day started around 4 a.m., the climb went great. The weather was beautiful and, before we knew it, we were at the top. A great peak.

But that's not the story here. The real story is after the climb. After we got back to our camp, we decided to head into Leadville for a celebratory dinner. Cory and I walked into the busy restaurant and we all put our names on the list. Matt and Rich went to pick up a few souvenirs, but Cory and I had better things to do - some refreshment.

We walked over to the bar and pulled up a stool. It was just like all of the old-time cowboy movie bars - the long wooden bar, an enormous mirror behind the bar with all the dusty bottles lined up along a long counter. The woodworking that went into crafting the bar was amazing. The deep, rich stain on the woodwork made it absolutely massive.

From my perch on the bar stool I could look down and see most of the other patrons seemed to look like locals, dusty old cowboys or backpackers like us.

Needless to say, I was thirsty. Cory and I were sitting next to each other when the big old barmaid came up to us and asked, "What can I get for you boys?"

"I'll take a rum and coke," I said. She turned around and poured me a rum and coke.

"That'll be $1.25." I gave her the money, and mentioned what a great deal that is. She looks at Cory...

"I'll just have a coke," Cory said, to my amazement.

She turned around poured him a coke, handed it to him, "That'll be a $1.50."

Cory and I look at each other. "What?" The barmaid looked at us like, "what's the big deal?"

"So...If you put a shot of rum in his coke, it will cost twenty-five cents less?" I asked, confused.

"Yep."

Cory and I laughed in amazement. I had never seen anything like it.

"Well, I guess you'd better put a shot in it and save me a quarter," Cory said, stating the obvious solution.

The moral of this story is simple as it is clear: If ever you're in Leadville, Colorado and feel like you need a coke, save yourself a quarter and have them throw a shot of rum in it. :)

Read more...

Three Little Birds

Rise up this morning,
Smiled with the Risin' sun,
Three little birds,
Pitch by my doorstep,
Singin' sweet songs,
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin'...this is my message to you,
"Don't worry, about a thing,
'Cause every little thing,
is going to be alright."

Read more...

A Few Pics

Here are a few more pics of the little guy. They wanted to watch his blood sugar (it was a little low) so he's had to stay in the hospital a few more days. Everything's looking pretty good, though Anne's out and recovering well.

We had all the grandparents, Uncle John and Aunt Katie here at the hospital visiting him yesterday. It was nice that they could all come.

Read more...

No Rant Today

Well folks - There will be no rant today. Our little boy, Collin Neal Darrah was born last night, August 14, at 9:27 p.m. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. and is 20 3/4" long. Anne is doing great - tired, but pretty good, all things considered. More updates coming - but here's a pic of
the little fella.

Read more...

Just Bunches

I can still remember sitting around the breakfast table talking with my sisters and dreaming about how cool it would be if Lucky Charms made a cereal that had JUST marshmallows. Imagine it! You stumble out of your bedroom, getting ready for school, grab a box of cereal and pour yourself a big heaping pile of nothing but hard, sugary marshmallows! Wow. There was even a few times we'd eat all the nasty 'Os' out of the bowl first, leaving nothing but marshmallows floating in the milk. It was the closest we could get.

But deep inside, we knew it would never happen. There was no way General Mills, with all their marketing genius, could slide that past America's mothers. Heck, it was a pretty easy-going mother that would spring for the occasional box of Cookie Crisp. The very IDEA that they were feeding their children a bowl full of chocolate chip cookies was too much for most moms.

Well, times have changed - but my love for cold cereal has not. However, my pallet has developed to a more sophisticated level - I eat mostly Honey Bunches of Oats (or, as I like to call them, H.B.O.'s). Anyone that has ever tried them knows how awesome they are. And being basically a 30-year old kid, I'll admit that there have been times, while eating a bowl of H.B.O.'s, I've dreamed about how cool it would be if they made a cereal made up of just the "Bunches" that make up H.B.O.'s.

Well, they've done it. I was at Hy-Vee the other day and saw that they have now come out with "Just Bunches" cereal. It's made up of all the huge bunches that I dig for at the bottom of the box. Awesome. I bought a box and it is truly amazing stuff. Instantly on my top-5 list of favorite cereals.

So for any little kids reading this blog that have ever dreamed of a cereal called, "Just Marshmallows," there is hope.

Read more...

Empty Seats

Apparently I'm not the only one NOT interested in watching the bronze medal match for mixed doubles badminton. Here's a little addition to last week's rant. Apparently there are quite a few empty seats at the olympics.

Here's an interesting article - "Beijing Is All Dressed Up, But No One Is Going" from today's Washington Post. Commie's are funny. They are so predictable - and over the last 75 years, they have never changed.

Read more...

Friday's Rant: I Hate the Olympics

There. I said it. And I mean every word of it. I hate how it's the sports equivalent of the United Nations, I hate how they claim to be non-political (when really, they're completely political), I hate how the media treats it as though it is some kind of cultish religious gathering, I don't care about all the stupid sports that make up the olympics and most of all...I hate watching the olympics.

I don't really know where my disdain comes from - I guess it just all seems so fake - and too close to some mindeless cultish pilgrimige. They proclaim that they're promoting peace through sports and how the world is capable of living in peace - if we'd only try harder. Crap. All these world leaders who hate each other get together, smile, ignore their problems for 16 days and call it peace and harmony. Give me a break. I read today that China has spent $43 billion getting ready for the olympics. Seriously. All the while they've forced people to tear down their houses, leave the city, stop driving or even change what they wear - all so China can impress the world as something they're not.

And another reason - I don't care about all the stupid "sports" that make up the olympics. Sorry, but I don't give two hoots in hell about who gets gold, silver or bronze in mixed double badmiton - or, most of the other pointless events that go on. Until they make NASCAR an olympic event - I don't care.

Friends and neighbors, I know what you're thinking - "Here he goes again, ranting about something that doesn't really matter - killing our good time." Maybe you're right, but I'm not going to be one of the million Iowans at the state fair this year bowing to the "butter Shawn Johnson." :)

Breathe in, breathe out...this week's rant is over.

Read more...

The Queen Mother of Dirty Words

I have heard psychologists note that when a child witnesses a truly traumatic event, that child is able to recall that event, years later, with such clarity it confounds reality. Almost as though a TV is replaying the event in their mind. Well, I remember this story like it was yesterday. In fact, their are few memories of my entire childhood that I can recall with such absolute and vivid detail. Extreme duress does that to a kid, I guess.

Well, it all began on a rainy, rainy day in the fall of 1984. In the first grade classroom of Mrs. Swanson a little Jason Darrah sat learning to read. As recess approached it became obvious that today would be what was referred to in academic circles as "indoor recess." To a kid in first grade, few things are better than recess. Real, outside, playing on the swings, getting dirty, recess. So to be forced into an "indoor recess" was a let down, but still better than learning to read.

At West Elementary, indoor recess was all about board games. You name it, Mrs. Swanson had it all. We would spread out throughout the classroom, break out the board games and let the best man win.

On this particular indoor recess, I was across the room building a massive Lego castle. The hour seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, the little bell was ringing and it was time to return to our desk. This is where the day took a very, very wrong turn.

As I approached my desk, I could see two little first grade girls sitting at my desk playing checkers. Cooly I approached my desk and without a moment's hesitation, or even lowering my voice, I said,

"Get these fudgin' checkers off my desk."

The world, for a moment, came to a screaching halt. Time stopped. The entire classroom went silent. I looked up to the cold, icy, penetrating, squinting stare of Mrs. Swanson.

"What did you say?" She asked.

At this point in the tale I'm reminded of one of my favorite movies, A Christmas Story:

Ralphie: Oooh fuuudge!
Ralphie as adult: Only I didn’t say “Fudge.” I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the “F-dash-dash-dash” word!
Mr. Parker: WHAT did you say?
Ralphie: Uh, um…
Mr. Parker: That’s…what I thought you said. Get in the car. Go on!
Ralphie as adult: It was all over – I was dead. What would it be? The guillotine? Hanging? The chair? The rack? The Chinese water torture? Hmmph. Mere child’s play compared what surely awaited me.

"Uh, nothing," was the only pathetic response I could muster.

I expected death - quick, yet painful. But Mrs. Swanson threw me a curve. She took no action. She held all the cards - as well as my fragile, young life in the palm of her hands. Over her decades of teaching first graders, she knew what "leverage" meant.

"Jason, I want you to go home tonight and tell your mother what you said." She left it at that. She knew that in the four hours before I got home, I'd find religion.

The life of a first grader is odd. Something as truly momentous as using the queen-mother of dirty words in front of your teacher and entire first grade class is yesterday's news by 3:05 p.m. Looking back, I can honestly say, I forgot to tell my Mother. Really. Completely slipped my mind. Until...

About 7:30 p.m., same day, at the little house at 409 N. Elm St. the phone rings. Little Jason is sitting on the couch playing with two Star Wars storm troopers. I still remember which ones - the jungle storm troopers from Return of the Jedi that wore the funny helmets. Anyway, my Mother was in the bedroom changing the diapers of my sister Amanda.

She hollered from the bedroom, "Jason, will you get that?"

Oblivious to how my life was about to change, I skipped across the living room and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Hello, Jason. Do you know who this is?"

"Mrs. Swanson?" I may have forgotten...but she had not. The time had come to atone for my sins.

"Did you tell your Mother what you said?"

"Uh, no...Do you want me to now?"

"No. Let me speak to her, please."

My Mother came to the phone and I went and sat down on the couch, still clutching my storm troopers. Fear gripped my very soul. "So this is how it ends," I thought.

From the living room I could only hear one side of the conversation, but I knew it wasn't going well for me...
"Hello?...Yes, this is Lora...Yes...Yes...Ok...WHAT?...He said WHAT?...WHAT!!...Oh, Mrs. Swanson, I have no idea where he heard that word. We do not speak like that in this house. I'm terribly sorry. I'm so sorry...this won't happen again...we don't speak like that in this house, I assure you...I'm so sorry...I will take care of this."

The toll struck midnight. The reaper was coming for me. My Mother said she would take care of it...and she wasn't lying.

I could hear the phone 'click' as it hung up. I acted as though I was still playing and didn't know what was going on. It's the only move I had left.

"Get in here." My Mother's voice rang through the kitchen.

I won't go in to all of the details that transpired - the punishment was quick, just and wouldn't be soon forgotten.

"You will NEVER use that word again!" as the bar of Irish Spring soap was stuck in my mouth. I sat there in the bathrooom for what seemed like forever - with the soap in my mouth. Finally, she took it out and the ordeal was over.

She sent me straight to bed to "think about what I had done." My life would never be the same.

Read more...

Not a Loser

I would have to think that for any parent, once you realize your kid isn't going to turn out to be a total loser, it has to be a big sigh of relief. For my parents, they had five shots at that particular dartboard. Lucky for them, we're all relatively normal.

With that in mind, I was checking out my youngest sister's photography page the other day. I have to say, I was very impressed. Nice job, Leora! Here's a link to her page. Apparently, she's a "PhotogNinja." I don't know what that is, but it sounds tough.

Check it out:
PhotogNinja


My Tutor by ~PhotogNinja on deviantART

Read more...

The Karate Kid

While listening for my son's heartbeat, I held my ear patiently, quietly against Anne's belly.  Then, out of nowhere, he kicked me in the face - through her belly.   He's definitely a Doorah. 

This could be a long next 18 years.  :)

Read more...

Friday's Rant: Pencils, Paper and Rachel Ray

Here's something that's been on my mind and one thing that's wrong with America...It all started the other day when I was watching Rachel Ray. I find her show brings me closer to my inner Martha Stewart. Anyway, she was having this completely predictable, emotional, touch-feely, bit about one of our society's unsung heroes: middle school teachers.

Don't get me wrong, I like school teachers...heck, I'm married to one. But this particular school teacher was so great because, as the story went, she spent over $15,000 per year on supplies for her class. Of course, her students loved her. The interviews of the students went on and on about how great she was...one student talked about how, when she spent all of her money on clothes, she didn't have enough money to buy school supplies. So what happened? This selfless teacher stepped in and bought all her supplies for her. There's a good lesson. The intention was that we were all supposed to be moved to tears by this display of self-sacrifice on the part of the teacher.

All the stories went on like this. The teacher talked about how she spent so much because, well, she had so many students - more than the other teachers. Why did she have so many students? Well, because all the students chose to take her classes. Why? Because she gave away free stuff (of course this was not mentioned).

So after this heart-felt, emotional story - that brought more than one tear to the eyes of the soccer moms in attendance - what did Rachel Ray do? Well, along with Staples, they all chipped in to give this teacher a $40,000 shopping spree at their store. Unbelievable.

Friends and neighbors, this is crap. Here's a teaching moment: tell the rotten crumb-crunchers to get a job. Don't spend all your money on clothes and go buy pencils! I guess I don't really care what a person (or company) does with their money, but it's a perfect example of the welfare mentality that permeates our society. Give a kid a pencil, they'll write for a day. Teach a kid to be responsible and buy their own pencils, they'll write forever.

The problem is this teacher is teaching her students a very BAD lesson. A lesson that will cost all of us money in the future...these are the same rotten little losers that in 15 years are going to be demanding free healthcare, welfare, home loan bailouts and food stamp debit cards. I'm sick of it. I have no problem helping people who have a genuine need...But when we have teachers who are actively encouraging their students to EXPECT literal handouts - while they blow their money on BS - that's where I draw the line.

So parents, teachers and teachers who are parents, raise your kids to be responsible. Don't spend all your money on Hannah Montana t-shirts when you know your going to need pencils. It's that simple. I could say a lot more, but than I would start to swear.

Breathe in, breathe out...this week's rant is over.

Read more...