Out and about in the wilderness of Life – This is my little place to keep track of things that happen while I am 0ut and About.

So, having a little time on my hands last night I decided to review the new some articles on the Financial Reform Bill that has recently be signed by congress. There are some very interesting items here which I have bulleted for your ease of reading. Please read the whole document if you have the time though, as information is power!

CONSUMER BUREAU
* Create an independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, housed within the Federal Reserve
* The CFPB will write and enforce rules for most banks, mortgage lenders, credit-card and private student loan companies. Auto dealers, meanwhile, are exempt from the bureau’s oversight

CREDIT SCORES
* You are still able to get a yearly copy of a free credit report from each of the three reporting agencies
* If you are refused credit, the company or individual would have to provide you, for free, the score (probably a FICO score) that led to your troubles

MORTGAGES
* Lenders will have to check borrowers’ income and assets. This was not done in the past and we can see what happened in the past because of this
* Ban on prepayment penalties for people with adjustable rate and other more complex types of mortgages
* Mortgage brokers and bank employees will no longer be able to earn bonuses based on the type of loan they put you in
* There will now be a cap limiting mortgage origination fees to 3 percent of the loan

CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS
* Retailers can now require a minimum purchase of $10 to use your card
* Maximum purchase limit can be implemented by the Federal Government and Colleges/Universities
* Merchants may offer discounts to people paying in cash

So its been several months since my last post on my website, lets see if I can get everyone caught up.

The holidays were good, for Thanksgiving I got to go visit my extended family in Las Vegas. We had a great time and they certainly made me feel like I was part of their family. Even got to go to Utah to a ski resort and get snowed in for the weekend. Great memories.

Christmas came and went as did New Years. Not much to report on either, though I did spend NY’s with some great friends and had a good time at their place.

The big news came in January when my company did a restructure and I was laid off. So after 13 years of service to AOL I am now out on my own. Its been a couple of weeks now and while the job market is better here in the DC Metro than most places, it’s still very tough. But I will continue the good fight and keep looking for a new company to make a home with.

I think thats the number one thing for me now, its finding a company that I want to work for. While I prefer to move laterally or even up when changing jobs, it’s the culture and history of the company that will make the deciding factor here. I hope I can find something in the DC metro, but if need be I am flexible enough to go anywhere in the world. And that is kinda exciting for me also, new possibilities are always something that make me smile!

But tomorrow I leave for a long-planned vacation to Costa Rica. Should be a good time, have a couple of good companions to travel with. I will report from the road if possible…always an interesting prospect from foreign countries. Ciao for now!

I saw this quote this morning from Mark Twain and it seemed to touch me in a special way.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”
-Mark Twain

I was very fortunate as a child to travel with my parents. We had an RV and took extensive trips around the country every year. And while I did not travel that much outside the country when I was young, the South Pacific and Canada were it, I am trying to make up for that as an adult.

But even travel in the US in my formative years taught me many life lessons and definitely gave me a wider range of cultures. I think this spurred my inquisitive nature that helps me to this day in dealing with other people.

And I pride myself to live up to Twains quote…live without prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness. I let people prove to me if they are the type of character that I want to be around without any suppositions on my part. People tend to prove themselves very quickly when you go in with an open mind.

Here is the blog I was reading where the quote appeared, I do recommend it and would love to see my friends with children try and instill this concept early on. Oh, and travel if you can…its easier than you think.

The Art of Manliness

At my work place I get to be surrounded by dozens and dozens (at some times of the year closer to a 100) of the majestic Canadian Geese. And frankly I hate the dang things!

Now I am a nature loving, granola eating, backwoods hiking, animal lover…but I put that all aside when I start cursing over stepping in goose poop. I have not (as of this time) ever done anything to one of these geese, but I have to admit it has crossed my mind. They foul our walkways with their poo, eat swaths of our grass and flowers, and often times stop traffic while they waddle across the road.

Why am I bringing this up? Because of what happened yesterday in New York. A US Airways jet had to make an emergency water landing in the Hudson River after it was struck by geese after take off. Luckily no one was killed…save for a few unfortunate geese…but it could have easily ended otherwise.

Here’s a factoid from the New York Times article:
Since 2000, at least 486 commercial aircraft have collided with birds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Of those incidents, 166 led to emergency landings and 66 resulted in aborted takeoffs.

I feel it is time to be a bit more restrictive on these pests. There are ways to make them not want to come here (at least in large numbers) that do not actually harm the birds themselves. I hope that we see the government taking some action…I mean, they should have passports if nothing else right?

Worth1000.com is one of those neat websites that I check out every now and then when I am bored at work. Its a photo/contest site specializing in images that have been ‘photoshopped’ into something that they are not. Typically a mashup of a couple of themes.

This week they have classic pieces of art mish mashed with Star Wars. The images range from “Wow, how did they do that” to simple cut and paste work. But still fun to check out.

Star Wars Ren 2

Today is a sad day for everyone that loves consummate actors. We lost two of the greats, Ricardo Montalban and Patrick McGoohan passed away today.

Ricardo was 88 and had been performing on the stage and screen for almost 60 years. Best known in fandom for his turn as the host of Fantasy Island and as Kirks nemesis Khan in Star Trek II.

Patrick was 80 and had been working the British and US screens, big and small for over 50 years. He was best known for a short lived, but cult classic TV show called The Prisoner. He also played the rather sadistic King in the movie Braveheart.

Both actors led long and good lives, so while I will mourn their passing I will also celebrate their accomplishments. May my life be half as good and I will be content.

Khan finally finds his way home at 88

Number 6 gets off the island

About a year ago I first saw Judd Laiply dancing like a mad man on stage and frankly he was amazing. Judd is a comedian that has become an internet hit with his Evolution of Dance video. Performing a mishmash of dance steps to the appropriate music, he perfectly choreographs several generations of dance.

Well not to be outdone, he has now come out with Evolution of Dance 2. Not sure if he tops the first one, but its a fitting addition to all the dance moves out there. Enjoy!

I have been a fan of Ian McShane from the first time I stumbled upon him playing an antique dealer by the name of Lovejoy. I was thrilled years later when he had an outstanding performance as a brutal business owner in Deadwood. Heck, I even watched Death Race…well, lets skip that one.

Coming in March, NBC has a new series starring Ian McShane, Kings. Kings is an alternate timeline drama where royal families are more predominate than they are now. In fact, his nations capital, Shiloh, looks like modern day Manhattan.

I wish it the best, for his sake, but I am unsure that you can take a man from the unbridled freedom of an HBO series and stick him into a prime time slot without stealing some of his power.

Kings premiers March 19th

A few months ago, William Shatner got his own talk show on the Biography channel. I have not seen it yet, mainly due to busy holidays and my forgetfulness to set the DVR to grab it, but I will be recording this Tuesdays.

This weeks guest is Leonard Nimoy, for you non-Trekkies, that is Mr Spock. This should be a good show, as they are always fun to watch together. Back in 1992 I drove to Houston with two of my friends, Amy and Wendy, to see Bill and Leonard on the stage together. it was the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek and we had loads of fun (geek cred please).

So if your interested, grab a seat and check out the show.

Shatner’s Raw Nerve

BBC Announces the New Who

Today the BBC announced who will be playing Dr Who in the next season. I have enjoyed David Tennant for the last few years and was quite saddened about him leaving the show, but change should be looked upon as a good thing…or at least we shall see.

The new Doctor is Matt Smith. Matt is the youngest actor to play the Doctor in its 45 year history. He has a good acting history behind him, so I hope he will do a good job. The producers are confident and since they have been giving us good storytelling since the show was relaunched a few years ago, I guess that should keep my hopes alive.