Friday Night Lights - This Calls For Action

If you've been here long, you know that I am a big big fan of NBC's show 'Friday Night Lights'. In my opinion (and in the opinion of my wife and at least 3 other people I know), this is the best show on TV hands down. I don't actually know anyone that watches the show that doesn't absolutely love it. Here's the problem - NBC is thinking of cancelling the show. Read the comments HERE from NBC's head of entertainment, Ben Silverman.

So...we absolutely have to take action so that this show doesn't get cancelled. If this sounds like a desperate plea - well...it is. Here's what you can do:

1. Go over to Best Week Ever and sign their online petition.

2. Go to PetitionOnline and sign their petition.

3. Send letters to Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman at NBC/Universal telling them that you'll never watch another NBC show ever again or buy another GE product (NBC's parent company) AND you'll devote your life to making every NBC show fail miserably in the ratings AND you'll make it your life's cause to see CBS, ABC, and FOX succeed by any means necessary if this show is not renewed. Here's their address:

Jeff Zucker/Ben Silverman (send a letter to each one separately)

NBC/Universal

100 Universal City Plaza

Universal City, CA 91608

If you want to do what some other websites are suggesting, you can send these two guys a light bulb with 'Keep Lights On' written on it. I'm not sure how to prevent it breaking in transit - but that's their problem. You could, alternatively, include some 'Clear Eyes' eye drops - as one of the mottos on the show is 'Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Can't Lose'.

In all seriousness, please (I beg you), take the time to do one or all of the things above. My high school football career ended in less-than-spectacular fashion and this show is one of the best outlets I have for vicarious living. Plus it's a really good show. Seriously.

Ragamuffin Soul - Live from Uganda

My friend from high school, Carlos Whittaker, is doing something that not many of us are willing to do. He and his wife are leaving their 3 kids behind and heading to Uganda as part of a Compassion International mission trip. They, along with 10 other bloggers, will be logging exactly what they are seeing through video, words, and photos. Take a few minutes and head over to Ragamuffin Soul and see exactly what's happening on the ground in Africa.

Last Man Standing

I guess this kind of thing is inevitable with the passage of time but I saw that on Monday of this week, one of the two remaining World War I veterans in the United States passed away at 107 years of age. That leaves just one surviving veteran of 'The Great War' - 107 year old Frank Buckles of Charles Town, WV. Worldwide, there are only 14 known veterans still alive - all of them 106 years old or older.

The last time something like this happened was in 1992 when Nathan Cook, the last surviving veteran of the Spanish American war, passed away at 106.

11 Year Old with NBA Skills

One of my favorite things to do when I feel not-so-good about myself and my declining athletic skills is to imagine how great I would be if I was playing against a bunch of little kids. I'm pretty sure I'd be the best player in the local Little League. I'm also pretty sure that most Pee Wee football players would have a hard time tackling me and that I'd lead the league in TDs if I were allowed to play.

Until yesterday, I also thought that I was better than every 5th grader in the country in hoops. This video has altered that perception and sent my ego into a tailspin. This kid is unbelievable. And - in addition to being good at basketball, he also is the world record holder in his age group for running a mile. Great - now I can't even beat up on little kids anymore. I'm depressed.

Two Credit Unions that Almost Anyone Can Join

A couple of days ago, I did a post about the benefits of joining a credit union. In the post, I gave a link to a site (FindaCreditUnion.com) that you could use to find a credit union that you're eligible to join. Realizing that not everyone will take the time to use that site, I decided to find a couple of credit unions that almost anyone can join. Now you have no excuse for not joining one!

Oak Trust Credit Union is located in the Chicago area (which doesn't really matter since you're probably not looking to do your day-to-day banking there). It's been around since 1964 and is a member of the NCUA (the organization that insures your deposits - just like the FDIC). Anyone can join by making a $1.00 donation to the Illinois Press Foundation. They have a note on their site to make sure you know that the $1.00 donation is non-refundable!

Christian Community Credit Union is open to anyone who belongs to the Christian faith. You have to be willing to affirm a "Statement of Faith" when you apply for membership (though I'm not sure if there's any way they could actually tell if you truly meant it or not!?). If you're not a Christian (another topic for another day) but have a family member that is, you can have them join and then join under their Family Member clause. This credit union is NOT federally insured. They have private insurance that serves the same purpose - but I'm just not as familiar with the company they use (American Share Insurance).

Once again, joining a credit union is a great idea and gives you alternatives when it comes to loans, investments, etc. If you don't have another one already in mind, check out one of these!

Insiders are Betting on a Bull Market

Here's what really bugs me lately about the stock market and the economy in general: every day you read that 'market tanks on fears of recession' or something of that ilk. Why don't we all just go ahead and say we're in a recession?!? If we just go ahead and say it, we can stop 'fearing' it and get on with the business of turning it around. Headlines like that and the fact that the market is reacting to fears of something that we all know is here really bugs me. OK - enough on that.

I read an interesting article yesterday over at MarketWatch talking about corporate insider trading. If you don't know, insiders are typically high ranking employees at public companies that have stock options or own large numbers of shares. When a corporate insider makes a trade, they are required to report it to the SEC. You can even go over to Yahoo Financials and view the insider trades (warning - it's depressing knowing that some guy three or four spots above you on the corporate ladder just exercised $10 million in stock options). The point of the article was that corporate insiders are actually buying MORE of their company shares these days. That's a very rare occurance - typically they're cashing out over a period of time.

So - what does this tell us? To me (and to the author) it indicates that corporate insiders who, theoretically, should know the most about their own companies and their business outlook are buying shares because they think that the market is at a low point. Why would you buy shares in this type of shaky market if you didn't think that better days (higher stock prices) were coming? Hopefully Wall Street will take notice of this phenomenon and we'll get some better headlines in the not too distant future so the market can over react to them in the other direction!

Social Lending - I'm Going In

As interest rates continue dropping, I'm starting to wonder if there might not be other places I could look that would offer better returns. I've been hesitant to date to get involved with the whole 'social lending' phenomenon (though I did do a post a while back about Prosper.com) but with my BEST savings account now paying out a measly 4.4%, I think I've decided I'm going to give it a go.

If you don't recall my earlier post, social lending is essentially person-to-person lending that is usually facilitated by a company like Prosper.com. Prosper takes loan applications from individuals, evaluates their credit history (which is made available to the potential lenders), and then brings lenders like me together with people looking to borrow. Borrowers can often get better rates than they might otherwise be able to get from a bank loan and lenders can certainly get better rates than they would by putting money into a savings account or a cd. There is, however, the risk of default.

Prosper (and other lending sites like LendingClub.com or Zopa.com) have done their best to try to reduce defaults. They employ collection agencies that go after non-paying borrowers and essentially treat defaults the exact same way a bank would. Prosper also allows me to break up my loans into $50 increments - meaning I could fund 10 different loans with $50 each and diversify my risk a bit. Given that Prosper's conservative loan portfolio (the one that they rank as the safest investment) is paying out more than 8% interest, I'm gonna give it a shot. I'll let you know what happens!!

Give it a Shot

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I am terrible at colors!

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I am not, however, terrible at beating up little kids.

Coolest Guest Speaker EVER!

I've already confessed my rock and roll dreams to the readers of this blog, so today's confession just takes things one step further. I'll confess that the guys in the picture were and still are my all time favorite band. Make fun of me if you like - but Stryper holds a place in my heart that no other artist will ever touch. I realize that the outfits are a bit ridiculous in hind sight and that a couple of these guys look like girls - but that's beside the point. This band represented everything I ever wanted to be when I was 16 AND they were Christians too. Somebody says that Christians don't have long hair or listen to heavy metal - BOOM - I pull the Stryper out on them and the argument ends right there. Don't think I haven't had that conversation about 30 times in my life. My friend David Yougblood even caught one of the Bibles they threw out at a show once. It was totally awesome.

So...imagine how excited I would've been if the following clip had occured at MY high school. The best speaker we ever got was the guy that played Cooter on 'The Dukes of Hazard'. That was lame. This, however, would have been unbelievable:




Ladies and Gentlemen - may I present Stryper guitarist Oz Fox LIVE from the Home Economics room!

You Can Own Your Own Bank!

One of the best pieces of financial advice I got coming out of college was to join a credit union. A credit union is a financial institution that is owned by its members. Typically membership is based on you meeting some type of qualification - be it your employer, your religion, where you live, etc. The major advantage of a credit union is that, unlike a bank, they are not trying to make money for their shareholders. Since they are non-profit, they are able to offer better rates, lower fees, etc. AND - since you, as a member, are an owner, any dividends or income generated by the credit union is returned to you in the form of dividends.

I am currently a member of three credit unions - two from past employers and one (Pentagon Federal Credit Union) based on the fact that I'm a child of a military veteran. Currently we use a credit union to get life insurance for Britney but I've used it for all kinds of things in the past. Some offer services that you'd never find at a bank - like the one I once used to buy a car. I told the credit union what I wanted and they had a service that looked across the country for the best price on the car (including shipping it to me if that was involved) and then helped me arrange the purchase. Pretty cool service!

Finding a credit union that you qualify for (assuming your employer doesn't offer one) is easier than it used to be. FindACreditUnion.com has a search feature that allows you to enter some input about yourself to see which ones you could potentially qualify for. If you can't find one right off the bat, don't give up - I guarantee you that there's at least one or two out there that you can join based on your family members or where you grew up - something. Joining is easy - typically you just have to open an account and deposit a small amount and membership is usually for life. It's a great thing to do as it gives you options when it comes to loans and financial services and many times those options are better than you could find anywhere else!