Steve has been working from 5pm to 7am and that got me thinking about weird hours. Out of all the 24 hours, 3-4am is easily the best time to do something when nobody would know what you’re doing. First off it has to be dark so that eliminates any hours with light. People are still awake until say 8pm and the 8pm – 12pm is when normal people start going to sleep. Bars close at 2am so people will still be roaming around to 3. At 5 am there are people who wake up early to commute and such. That leaves between 3-4 and 4-5 and I think if I was going to do something illegal, I’d do it during these hours. I don’t really have something in mind but I just feel like there is hardly anything going on and you have carte blanche of the night. What also spurred this strange topic is that I was going on a run through Valley Green and I started at about 5:30. I started at my place and picked up the trail about a mile away from the hotel. I then ran to the street and started back. On my way back it started to get dark. Pitch black dark to the point that I couldn’t exactly see where I was running. This got me thinking that this was a perfect time for someone to rob me. We are in the middle of nowhere, no cops are around and you could technically kill me and get away with it. Since it was 6:30pm, I assume these murderers in the woods aren’t around yet but I bet at 3-4 am it would be a different story.

I know the rules of the road actually pertain to the road but I’m just using it as some general guidelines of what I look for in my life. These might be a bit of review for readers who always visit but I think these concepts make me happy and therefore I can write about them.

Simplicity – Smart people keep things simple. When I decide how much I like to hang out with someone, I ask myself “does this person make things difficult and things don’t go to plan?” Do unexpected issues tend to pop up? My ideal day is to wake up in nice sunny weather, put on some music, sit by a pool or beach, read a book and have some beers. I can’t think of something that I’d like to do more. Completely stress free. I don’t mind doing things but I prefer making things easy opposed to complicating issues.

Emptiness – I don’t mean from an life emptiness but a physical emptiness. Things that are crowded bother me. When I go out to eat I want to avoid waiting in line or feeling rushed due to too many people. I just don’t want the hassle. If I want to have a drink at the bar I want to find a bar seat and sit there comfortably and have a bartender serve me drinks when I finish. This goes with why I don’t really like sporting events or amusement parks. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Marlins but having to deal with 50,000+ people is a nightmare for me. I just don’t like the masses. This doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t do it, people just annoy me.

No debts – This works both ways. I don’t like owing people and I don’t like people to owe me. This works with money as well as favors. I pay off my credit card bill weekly because I hate the feeling. There’s something about being in debt to someone and it’s like they can hold it over your head. It’s a terrible feeling and it’s just as bad when someone owes you something. The whole relationship dynamic changes because there’s always that elephant in the room. I rarely lend out money and rarely accept money from people because of this. Money changes relationships and it’s better just to avoid at all costs.

Honesty – I think this is one of the easiest ways to pick up a girl. Tell her to listen to Billy Joel’s Honesty and she’ll be smitten. This quality is really the best way to get people to like and trust you. As long as you do what you say and say what you do, people respect that. No one likes dealing with people if they are constantly trying to figure out if they are telling the truth.

Generosity – This is easily my flimsiest quality. I find myself generous when tipping employees and talking to strangers but deep down I’m always counter thinking myself. Today when I was driving I saw some woman crossing the road on a red light and I just want to drive my car straight into her to teach her a lesson. Maybe that’s generous on my part for trying to teach her a lesson… Anyway, people tend not to notice generosity. I think that’s why some people feel the need to exclaim that they are doing something nice instead of just doing what’s expected. A good quality to have but I have my doubts.

Gambling is a part of my life. Whether it be betting on sports, poker, fantasy football or the stock market, these are all forms of activities I participate in that require you to put up money to prove your intellect. Yes there is luck to gambling but it really comes down to how smart you are or how well you play the game if you will win or not. I can trace my “serious” gambling back to my sophomore year of college and the introduction to online poker. After that Ck4 and I used to go to AC way too often and would play the table games. With online poker to the wayside, I’ve been betting on sports and playing live cards for some entertainment. Do I think I’m a good gambler? I’ve come a long way.

I was the casino’s dream customer. I would get too drunk off their free drinks and start betting way over my head. Hundreds of dollars on roulette spins, monster hands of blackjack, hell even horse racing piqued my interest. From the ages of 21-24, I’d wager I lost near 10k, maybe more. Once the thrill of the casino left me (and my empty wallet), I started to treat the casino as a form of entertainment and not a way to make money. I’ll still gamble here and there but I learned the hard way that table games are a great way to lose money. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement.

The Shee will say this is tooting my own horn but I”m a solid, profitable poker player. No if, ands or buts, my history is that of a player in the black. I’ve put in a lot of hours learning the game from training sites and hundreds of hours behind the computer to feel confident that I can play the game at a higher level than most. I want to point out though that the amount of time I’ve put into the game doesn’t compensate me for the insignificant amount of money I’ve made. Poker is more of a skill game than other forms of gambling which would make sense as to why you can win on a consistent basis.

Sports betting is a losing proposition that I’ve gotten much better at. Last year I think was the first year I can say I finished in the black. It was a mere 500 dollars through an entire football season but it’s still winning. When I was younger, I’d say I’ve lost thousands of dollars betting on sports. Making mistakes like betting too many games and awful bankroll management. I’m not saying I’m a good sports bettor but I’ve improved. Reading the lines and trying to stay away from the where the public’s money is the best way to bet. If your friend tells you that it’s a sure thing, bet the other way because he probably can be categorized as the general public. I’ve been on a nice streak lately and I attribute it to 10% skill and 90% good luck. To think you can make money sports betting is false. If you treat it as entertainment with no expectations, you won’t find yourself deep in a hole.

The stock market is gambling. The years of buy and hold are finished. Get in and get out and don’t be greedy. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in the market just as I have in the other forms. Stay away from penny stocks and get rich quick schemes. I’ve lost thousands of dollars this way and the mentality that a 5 cent stock can jump to a dollar is usually flawed. As of late, I keep my money on the sidelines and jump in when I think a good value stock is undervalued. I don’t worry so much about the tax consequence of a short term gain. This is how I view my “short term” money. My long term money is in 2050 retirement funds that I just forget about. I think NFLX is a good buy at 80 to anyone interested.

Some people don’t do any gambling and this post will have no effect on them. Others probably do too much gambling and think I’m a fool for saying you probably can’t win. There is no easy money out there. Let me repeat, there is no easy money out there. People aren’t giving money away. If you don’t have to work hard for your money, you probably don’t have much. If I didn’t gamble, I’d probably be bored to death. It’s a spice to life. It makes things interesting. If you keep it in check and don’t bet over your head, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. If you find yourself chasing losses all the time, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. I know I write some things that most people probably think I have a problem. 180 bucks on the Eagles last night? That’s not healthy. Know though that I’ve been through a lot at 27 years of age. It isn’t my first night of betting and my respect for money is constantly in question. I’d like to think I know what I’m doing but like anything else, you need experience to get better at something.

A final random thought that I see. If you pay money to play fantasy football, set your line up. Ratam is going to get a BS win this week if you just set your lineup.

This was written by a 21 yr. old female who gets it. It’s her future she’s worried about and this is how she feels about the social welfare big government state that she’s being forced to live in! These solutions are just common sense in her opinion.

This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco , TX Put me in charge . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. I’d get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho’s, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I’d do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we’ll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks?
You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your “home” will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a “government” job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the “common good..”

Before you write that I’ve violated someone’s rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules.. Before you say that this would be “demeaning” and ruin their “self-esteem,” consider that it wasn’t that long ago that taking someone else’s money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self-esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people’s mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Gov’t subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov’t welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.