Hello Infidels!

All Your Reasons

nighthawkal — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 21:40:37 GMT

Does anyone make you feel this way? As for the the guitarrist with the blond hair. I think his hair stylist hates him and maybe he doesn't tip him enough.

Florida in February

nighthawkal — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 03:14:12 GMT

Someone from up north asked me to post a picture of Florida in February. Here it is.

Miami Has the Marlins, the Most Pathetic Baseball Team...

nighthawkal — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:47:07 GMT

They strike out like no one's ever seen. In the field or at-bat, they're never in control, and when you say Miami, you're talking toilet bowl...

It is embarrassing to be a Marlins fan. The ownership has disgraced this city and its fanbase. They lied about their finances, said they were in debt and got the City of Miami to fund much of the stadium. In reality, they were making money because of their low payroll and they were receiving money from the luxury tax in baseball. The Marlins got this new stadium, changed their name from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins and got hideous new uniforms that looks like someone puked a rainbow.

The ownership promised the fans when they were lobbying for a new stadium that if taxpayer money were used to fund this new stadium that they would always have a competitive team with a competitive payroll. They did that for half a season last year. But then they traded away Hanley Ramirez and the good free agents that they signed like Jose Reyes and now the line up may be worst than the Expansion 1993 Marlins. Everyone is either untested or 37 years old and their career is on the downturn. They have Stanton, but he's been injured and he wants out at the first opportunity. He was angry after the Marlins traded all their good players away at the end of last season and I can't blame him.

I finally went to the Marlins new stadium in Miami last week. It's nice. It looks kinda UFO-ish. Someone new to the city may call Coast to Coast AM and tell George Noory that a UFO landed in the middle of Miami if they weren't aware that this was just the Marlins new stadium. It has a retractable roof, which is nice, and is almost always down because it is oppressively hot in Miami for most of baseball season. It looks too "Miami-ish" and too "art-deco-ish". I liked what they did with Camden Yards although now the newer stadiums are getting kinda boring because they all look like that, so I guess its good that the Marlins went with different ideas, although some of them may be kinda gaudy.... Eh, I liked Fenway in Boston the best.

At least Miami has the Heat, a team that won 27 games in a row this year, went 66-16, and looks like it will repeat as NBA champs. I think the Heat are a team of destiny this year. Being 66-16 is great, but next year, when LeBron, Wade, and Bosh go for a three-peat, I think they have to have the Chicago Bulls record season of 1998 when they went 72-10 as something to try to accomplish. The Heat need to do their job and win this year first, but this team with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh is so good that aiming for 72 wins is a realistic goal. Maybe next year they can break the consecutive wins record of 33 wins held by the L.A. Lakers. Is there any way that Mickey Arison could buy the Miami Marlins? The Heat have awesome uniforms, with the red and the black and the basketball on fire, although 9 different jerseys may be too many.

How to Fix Our Problems With Education, Spending, and the Deficit

nighthawkal — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 19:28:03 GMT

I have not made many political posts on live journal this year and it is 2012, a Presidential Election year. There are some issues that the politicians of both major political parties have dropped the ball on and it will negatively impact my generation, "The Millenials".

The $16 trillion deficit is a huge problem my generation will face. The politicians of both parties are being selfish by leasing our future to buy themselves votes from parasites who don't want to work. These politicians need to drastically cut spending for government programs that aren't helping people and have no return on their money. Someone needs to lock Republicans and Democrats in a room until they can agree on a way to balance the budget and reduce the national debt. Maybe play Nickelback on full blast inside the room to encourage them to finish faster.

Education is a huge problem as well. Our schools are falling apart and other countries that we thought were "third world" are surpassing us in educational rankings. That isn't the only problem. The way that we are targeting our higher education spending is poor because there is no targeting. We are giving student loans and grants to people to be Sociology or "Womyn's Studies" majors. These people are acquiring $200,000 in debt and they can't get a decent job to pay back their student loans. The ones that can't get jobs become "Occupy bums".

There are 3 million jobs that are unfilled. The problem with that is that we don't have enough people with the training to take those jobs because they are voc tech jobs like plumbers, electricians, and computer technicians. If we targeted educational spending into vocational tech schools and encouraged people to go to those schools who were interested in those topics as opposed to shuffling everyone into colleges where they are brainwashed into joining the Occupy movement by leftist professors, we would have 3 million less unemployed people out there. President Obama and Former President Clinton mentioned a lot about increasing educational spending, which sounds great on the surface, but these people are ignoring the fact that we have more educated people than before but there aren't jobs available for "Womyn's Studies" majors that pay well. Its stupid to borrow more money from China and have these young people go into debt to study majors that are not in demand, and then end up living in their childhood bedroom because they can't find a decent job with a living wage. We need to target our educational spending into majors like business, math, or anything involving science, technology, or computers, along with voc tech careers like plumbing and electricians so that these young people can have well-paying jobs and we can get our economy back on track.

Isaac

nighthawkal — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 09:10:58 GMT

Isaac, Isaac, go away
Never come back any other day!

Need to Get Away!

nighthawkal — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 04:06:38 GMT

Vacation can't come soon enough! I'm leaving on either Monday night or Tuesday morning assuming that Isaac behaves or doesn't do too much. I've had enough of this place.

Mitt Romney Is Going to Win

nighthawkal — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 21:22:25 GMT

My 2012 Eleciton Preduction is as followed:

Mitt Romney will defeat Barack Obama by 5-8 points. The popular vote will probably be something like 54-46 or 52-47 depending on if there are any third party candidates.

Romney will get about 330 electoral votes, conservatively speaking. He will win almost all of the Bush 2000 and '04 map, although I'm unsure about New Mexico because of demographic changes. He's going to win states that Republicans haven't won in 20 years like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. He may even win a state that is a complete surprise like Oregon where Obama's popularity is low.

Voters who normally shy away from voting for Republicans because of social issues like abortion and gays will hold their nose to vote for Romney because 1) they are tired of Obama's crap and incompetence and 2) Romney isn't ideologically driven and seems more like a results-oriented businessman who makes judgements based on facts and not emotions.

Obama has got to go. We can't take four more years of this. We did not get the change we were hoping for. High gas prices; high long-term unemployment; high deficits; Fast and Furious; billion dollar vacations to places like India and Brazil; and half a billion dollar loans to bankrupt companies like Solyndra which gave to his campaign is not the change we were hoping for when we elected him four years ago. Romney, with his business experience and his analytical nature is what we need in the White House at the moment.

Remember. When your neighbor loses his job, we are in a recession. When you lose your job, we have a depression. After Obama loses his job, we will have a recovery.

HEAT WIN!

nighthawkal — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 21:05:27 GMT

Before the series between the Heat and the Oklahoma THunder started, I joking ly said, "I think the Heat will lose the first game, everyone will say that they neeed to fire Spolstra, break up the big 3, bench Bosh, trade Wade, and so forth, then the Heat would win the next 4 and win in 5." I said this AS A JOKE. It happened.

King James has his title. All the naysayers and haters have been quieted. What can they say? What can they criticize him for? It took 5 games to beat the Thunder instead of 4? He didn't score 100 points in a game? He should have taken on the Oklahoma Thunder, himself, one-on-five? Its something how people waste so much of their time and energy hating someone who has never done anything wrong or broken the law. LeBron James has been immature and made some missteps in the past, but that was probably more his immaturity. It seems like, after this season, he has greatly matured and that he has learned from his mistakes in the past.

Its funny. When I talk about the future AS A JOKE, IT HAPPENS!!!

October 2000 (after I received my absentee ballot): I saw that it was a punch hole ballot and said ,"One of these days, this ballot is going to cost someone an election". Then of coruse, as everyone knows it, we had a 36 day recount in Florida and Bush won. I reluctantly punched Hole #2 for Bush; I really wanted McCain.

So yes, the Heat won. Now I kinda have "We Are the Champions" by Queen stuck in my head. Its very representative of what happened with the Heat this year.

THe victory parade is on Monday. I believe it starts from Calle Ocho, goes to Biscayne (US1) and ends at the American Airlines Arena.

Envelop Accounting

nighthawkal — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:43:26 GMT

Does anyone do it? Now that I got paid on Friday, I'm going to try and see how it goes for this last half of May.

Six Worst Home Fixes for the Money

nighthawkal — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:46:48 GMT

1. Home Office Remodel. I'm neutral there. A multi purpose room that you could turn into a hobby room or extra bedroom isn't bad.

2. Backup Power Generator. If you live in a hurricane zone like South Florida, $15,000 is probably a small price to pay to have power while everyone else is in the dark. That's probably something I would do if I had a house and had the money. Other places, I don't know if its as necessary unless you get really bad snow storms that are comparable to hurricanes.

3. Sunroom Addition. I agree. Its stupid unless you're really rich and/or in an upscale neighborhood where people have a lot of money to piss away. In South Florida, its hot enough already without having a room that's jsut going to bring in more heat.

4. Upscale master suite addition. Probably stupid and wasteful too unless you have the money to piss away. Although one of those sleep number beds might be nice.

5. Bathroom Addition. Depending on where it is and if its a half or full bath, having an extra bathroom probably isn't a bad idea. Some older houses have only one bathroom and if everyone has to shower and/or use the bathroom at the same time, it might cause some conflict.

6. Upscale Garage Addition. Probably also stupid. Another stupid thing is that people store useless crap they don't use anymore in the garage while they keep their second most valuable possession, (in most cases) their car, outside to the elements and potential vandals or theives.

I saved you time from reading the article, but if you'd like to its below the link...

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6 Worst Home Fixes for the Money
By Dana Dratch | Bankrate.com – Fri, Apr 13, 2012 3:08 AM EDT.. .
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Email
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It's the magic phrase uttered by almost anyone who's ever considered the cost of home remodeling: "We'll get it back when we sell."

Unless you keep those projects practical, though, you might just be kidding yourself.

For example:
. Steel front door: Good.
Master suite addition costing more than the average American home: Bad.
.
Every year, Remodeling magazine looks at the hottest home upgrades and renovations and calculates just how much owners get back with they sell.

[Related: 10 home maintenance tips for spring]

Upkeep is more popular than upgrades these days, says Sal Alfano, editorial director for Remodeling. These are the projects that often recoup the biggest slice of expenses at resale. But prices and returns do vary regionally, he says.

Ever wonder what brings the lowest return when you plant that "for sale" sign? Think high-dollar, high-end and highly personalized add-ons that make you drool. Like a totally tricked-out garage built from the ground up. Or a super luxe master suite addition. Or the home office redo designed just for you.

Here are the six improvements that, in their 2010 report, ranked dead last nationally when it comes to getting those renovation dollars back at resale.

Home office remodel

Want to get an idea what today's office-away-from-the-office looks like? Walk into Starbucks.

These days, a home office consists of a multiple-choice combination of wireless laptops, smartphones, PDAs and touch-screen tablets. And that worker bee might be toiling anywhere from a home patio or a favorite restaurant to a park bench.

The standard home office renovation, meanwhile -- complete with plenty of built-in storage and high-tech wiring -- is this year's biggest loser in the resale value sweepstakes. Nationally, homeowners spent an average of $28,888 and can expect to recoup about 45.8 percent at resale, according to the report.

Return on investment doesn't reflect your enjoyment of the space, Alfano says.

He offers two tips for home-office remodelers when they sell. First, opt for something that can be easily converted back into a bedroom or den for (or by) the next buyer.

Second, when you're selling, call it a study, den or hobby room. "There's lots of call for multipurpose space. Don't lock yourself into that one use," Alfano says. Don't use words that invoke images of actual work. Or the office.

Backup power generator

You see a backup generator and imagine all of the comforts no matter what the weather.

But potential buyers hailing from outside your local area may not share that vision. (And a handful of those who do might have watched too many zombie movies.)

On average, when homeowners have a heavy-duty backup power generator installed, they spend about $14,718, according to the report. Going with a slightly less expensive model or having a less complicated installation could cut the costs significantly, Alfano says.

Average amount of the price recovered at resale time: 48.5 percent.

Sunroom addition

Real estate agents will tell you that potential buyers want square footage, pristine condition and lots of light. So a brand-new room that has the word "sun" in it, it has to be great for resale value, right?

Not necessarily.

Your first clue: The word "addition" -- which means expanding the footprint of your home -- indicates that this is not a renovation for the faint of heart (or wallet). "It's one of the more expensive projects," Alfano says.

While it seems simple enough, the national average for a sunroom addition is $75,224, according to the report. Homeowners can expect to recoup about 48.6 percent when they sell.

That doesn't mean that adding a sunroom is always a bad move.

If your home needs another common area, a sunroom could be the answer, says Katie Severance, co-author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Selling Your Home." An addition is best considered in the context of the whole home, she says. "The doctor has to treat the whole patient. You have to look at the house and say 'What's out of balance?'"

Upscale master suite addition

Who doesn't want to wake up in a five-star-hotel-quality suite with an attached spa bathroom and a kitchenette that affords you coffee and pastries before facing the world?

Once you see the price tag, it won't just be the coffee keeping you up at night.

For a super-deluxe master suite addition -- which adds square footage and uses only top-dollar materials -- the average cost is about $232,062, according to the report.

That's 460 nights at a posh resort with enough left over to raid the minibar.

[Related: Best way to pay for home improvements?]

In years past, this project was "sort of a trend in vacation homes" that migrated to primary dwellings, Alfano says. Sellers can expect to recover about 52.7 percent at resale.

Your buyer can purchase a newer house with the same features as part of the original floor plan that "probably lays out better anyway," says Loren Keim, author of "How to Sell Your Home in Any Market."

So while the next buyer may appreciate your luxury accommodations (which could even tip their decision in your home's favor), chances are they won't want to pay the full tab for your remodel.

Bathroom addition

Unless you're a hermit who never entertains, you've probably wished for an extra bathroom now and then.

But bathroom additions require serious coin. For a moderately outfitted addition with synthetic stone or plastic laminate surfaces, figure parting with about $21,695, according to the Remodeling report. Go upscale, with finishes like premium marble or fine tile, and you can easily spend in the neighborhood of $40,710.

Either way, you get about the same return: 53 cents on the dollar. "In the buyer's mind, the additional bathroom isn't worth that additional $20,000 to $40,000," Keim says.

Investigate a less-expensive way to get the same result without flushing quite as much cash. While additions usually cost more, pros might be able to reconfigure your existing space to add a bathroom for less, Alfano says.

Upscale garage addition

Instead of cleaning out the garage, how much would you pay to have a new one built from scratch?

This time, it would have all the organizational built-ins, and a durable, easy-to-clean floor to ensure it would never be messy again. And windows for natural light.

Oh yeah, and you could store a couple of cars in there, too.

The price tag for a top-of-the-line detached two-car with all the trimmings is about $90,053, according to the report. You can expect to recover about 53.6 percent of that when you sell.

"This one is completely decked out on the inside," says Alfano. "It's a dream garage."

And that's likely some of the problem with recovering the value at resale. Says Keim, "You've got a very small target audience out there that wants an upscale garage."

Tim Tebow Is Full of WIN!

nighthawkal — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:15:16 GMT

Tim Tebow is awesome! 7-1 as a starter for the Denver Broncos. Since the Dolphins suck this year, I'm rooting for the Broncos to go all the way. Its something how before Tebow, the Broncos were 1-4 and now they are 7-1 with Tebow. He may not be a conventional Quarterback, but Tebow knows how to win games!

My sister was talking about how yesterday's win against the Chicago Bears was "the best game ever!" Pretty much every game that Tim Tebow has been a part of is "the best game ever". Every game is the same story. THe Broncos are behind by one or two scores in the Fourth QUarter, then Tim Tebow drives them to victory with seconds left. Sometimes, the game has to go into overtime and then the Broncos win. The Broncos are 8-5 right now and look like they're going to win the AFC West. They'll probably be the #4 in the AFC and will likely see the Steelers, the Patriots, and the Ravens on their way to the Super Bowl against the Packers.

The Broncos will face their biggest test yet against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. If Tebow can pull out a win against the Pats, everyone in the AFC better watch out.

People want to hate on Tim Tebow because he is very religious and spiritual, but I think that is what makes him the great teammate that he is. Everyone on the Broncos seems to love him and to believe in him. He is probably not going to put up Dan Marino-like numbers, but Dan Marino never won a title, while Tebow has two National Titles. Everyone who likes Tebow likes him because 1) he is humble, 2) he is a good teammate, 3) he admits that he isn't perfect and has work to do on his game, and 4) he gives his teammates the credit for the victories instead of trying to take credit for himself. He is a positive influence on his teammates and locker rock and in an era of egotistical athletes who are always getting in trouble with the law, it is nice to have someone who is a good guy who is instead positive, uplifitng, and helping people out. I believe he is starting a hospital in the Philippines. That is pretty good. most of these athletes are thinking of ways to spend their millions on themselves while Tim Tebow is thinking of ways to help other people. That is why the people that like Time Tebow like Tim Tebow.

So I wonder how he is going to get the victory next week against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots...

Aliens Did Everything!

nighthawkal — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 07:14:10 GMT

I remember watching the SOuth Park THanksgiving episode a few weeks ago about how it may have really been aliens who started the first Thanksgiving. They completely made fun of the History channel and how they suggest that aliens were involved in every important historical event and development. I didn't know that South Park's charactization of the History Channel was as accurate as it was until today when I started watching some documentaries on the History Channel 2 and it seems like every documentary wants to suggest that aliens played a role in every important historical event that has happened. I am open to the idea that there are beings from outside this planet that we don't know about but it seems like they have an agenda of trying to attach aliens as being the cause of everything that has happened that we know of. It seems like that's their thesis in everything and they don't want to have other contrasting points of view.

What Caffeine Does

nighthawkal — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:21:04 GMT

I can relate to this too well...

Writer's Block: The missing piece

nighthawkal — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:05:49 GMT

Problem-resolution skills.

Writer's Block: Between a rock and a hard place

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:28:54 GMT

It depends on what kind of spiders. I would think that snakes would be more dangerous...

Writer's Block: It’s about to get hairy

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:27:39 GMT

It depends on how it looks on the person. Beards look good sometimes. Goatees are cool. Mustaches look too 80's-ish...

Writer's Block: Time for change

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:25:39 GMT

Why are you such an ideologue?

Writer's Block: R.I.P

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:23:05 GMT

Traditional burial.

Writer's Block: Just stop, already!

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:20:30 GMT

Inconsiderate and flaky people...

Writer's Block: When the moon hits the sky...

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:19:17 GMT

Pepperoni, sausage and garlic herb crust.

Writer's Block: These are a few of my favorite things

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:17:53 GMT

The anonymity and the community feel of it. Its a good way to write and to make new friends.

Writer's Block: International Skeptics Day

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:15:42 GMT

Career politicians that promise too much...

Writer's Block: Cornucopia of colors

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:11:25 GMT

Football season and cooler weather...

Virtual Gift

nighthawkal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:07:07 GMT

Thanks to whoever sent the virtual gift anonymously. I really appreciate it!

Writer's Block: Study break

nighthawkal — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:44:51 GMT

When I was in school, my favorite class was probably History because that was the class that I consistently got the best grades in...