Kenneth Cole Has No Sole

I buy a new pair of dress shoes once a year. These shoes are usually a variation of the classic black loafer. For the past 7 years my shoe of choice has been Kenneth Cole. Sketchers just didn't fit correctly, leaving the arches of my feet aching...and my one foray into discount shoes at Payless was nothing short of a disaster. I don't like skimping on shoes, but I also don't like paying a small fortune for them. That's why I go with Kenneth Cole shoes, they look great, fit like a glove, and usually last a year if not longer....

Yeah, usually..this last pair hasn't lasted 4 months. Both soles have holes in them, which I discovered on a rainy walk at lunch last week. Nothing like arriving at the excellent Ooba Tooba for some chile relleno with soaking wet feet...you would have thought I was trudging through the bush in Viet Nam, not walking the streets of Bellevue.

I haven't purchased a replacement pair yet, so I put the now dry shoes on this morning. That is when I noticed the stitching on the right shoe is unraveling and the heel on same shoe has come loose. Since I don't have a back-up (old shoes were dismissed during a recent stuff reduction ceremony...doh!) I am wearing shoes not even fit for a homeless person.

Now, I bought these shoes at Nordstrom, a store that used to have a very favorable to the consumer return policy. Will they take back a pair of 4 month old Kenneth Cole shoes that have fallen apart faster than Obama's economic policies? If they don't take them back will they give me a discount on another pair?

Kenneth Cole has more or less lost me, which is too bad because I really like Kenneth Cole shoes. I'm willing to try another brand, but again, I'm kind of on a budget and anything over $125 is a deal breaker...this should be interesting.

The Day After

The entire office smelled like The Old Country Buffet this afternoon...way too much turkey and stuffing being reheated in the microwaves located in the breakroom....

Today's Million Dollar Idea

This here is practically a license to print money.....a chain of gay sports bars with an MMA/Ultimate Fighter theme called 'Rear Naked Choke'...now who wouldn't get behind that? Wait...what?

Nanny Search

My apologies for the light posting - our nanny quit without giving notice and has left us scrambling....we have been conducting interviews, and while hilarity has not ensued I've noticed most of the gals The Better Half offers interview to have what most would consider stripper names...Misty, Torie, Harmony, Brittany.....

Midnight Oil

As Shelvis would say, this post has nothing to do with 'Beds are Burning', extremely tall honorary Aboriginees that double as front men for Aussie rock bands, or the Blue Sky Mining company.

I had the fine folks at Greg's Japanese Auto diagnose the oil leak in my 1994 Toyota Camry. The findings? The rear valve cover gasket(s) had to be replaced since they were 'shot'. I also needed new spark plugs because the plugs in the car were 'flat'. I, of course, agreed to have all of the above work done because I really don't know a whole lot about cars...I mean, the technician could have told me I needed the flux capacitor replaced, the warp core was breached and needed repaired, and the Dilithium crystals needed charged and I would have agreed because I fear looking stupid more than being ripped off...which is interesting because allowing oneself to be ripped off is rather goddamn stupid....

ANYWAY, the rear valve gasket or gaskets have been replaced and the Camshafter has new plugs. So far, the garage floor is oil drip free and the new plugs have dramatically improved performance. The cost for all of this was a tidy $602.00, and I gotta tell you that kind of hurt...especially when paying cash. However, that is a one time shot and not a recurring payment for the next 60 months. In this still very uncertain economy I really do not want any kind of debt acting as a millstone around my neck.

I do have to say that seeing a certain Facebook friend posting photos of his brand new Audi did stir the inner new car demon....but I'll just have to admire from afar...for now...

Ken Ober, RIP

Ken Ober, famous for hosting the game show Remote Control (one of MTV's first forays into non-music programming), passed away. He was 52.

I used to love Remote Control, check that...I used to love Kari Wuhrer on Remote Control and tolerated the annoying Colin Quinn and a then unknown Adam Sandler while waiting for Kari to grace the screen. I'll forever be grateful to Mr. Ober for introducing Kari Wuhrer to the world....may he RIP.

Brock Lesnar In Bad Shape

I've gone on record as someone that despises Brock Lesnar...I hate his image, his attitude, and the retarded WWE antics he introduced to the UFC. Lesnar, in my opinion, was bad for the UFC and MMA in general because he was too readily identifiable as a WWE knuckleheaded goon and delegitimized MMA. I was looking forward to the day that someone would beat the living p*ss out of him in the octagon.

Sadly, that day may now never come. Lesnar is now laid up in a hospital and according to UFC president Dana White, 'in rough shape'. White has been light on details and heavy on worst-case scenario proclamations:

"He's in a hospital up in North Dakota somewhere right now," said White. "He went to Canada and some bad stuff happened to him, so we've got to figure it out.

"He doesn't want to talk about it publicly, but he's in bad shape. He's not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon."

White also commented to TMZ.com that Lesnar 'may never fight again'.

In the meantime, White has said an interim heavyweight championship fight may be needed as Lesnar will be unable to defend his belt anytime soon.

All of this comes at a fragile time for the UFC. Georges St. Pierre has a groin strain, Lyoto Machida is laying low, Rampage Jackson left the UFC for Hollywood (he's B.A. Baracus in the completely unneccessary 'A-Team' movie), Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddel are yesterday's news. White was counting on Lesnar's rising star (love or hate the prick, he could not be ignored) to propel the UFC into 2010 and beyond. All of that is up in the air right now. There are certainly some interesting heavyweights on the horizon, but Lesnar was poised to reign as champ for a long, long time.

Again, I can't stand Brock Lesnar, but this is not how I wanted to see him go out. Here's hoping he can make a full recovery and can get back into fighting shape.

Washington Leads The Nation...In Troubled Banks!

Good golly, I'll have to say I was surprised that WA state is #1 when it comes to troubled banks. According to Calculated Risk's Unofficial Troubled Bank List, 26.3% of WA states banking industry is either under formal enforcement action or just flat out failed. Not good.

Seattle leads the nation in delinquent construction loans as well, with a whopping 30% default rate. See the graph in this NYT article here.

During the early days of the housing bubble bust you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a real estate agent or local economist telling anyone that would listen that 'Washington is different' and would not feel the downturn. Well, WA state certainly is different in that it is leading the way.

I'm not sure how all of this is going to shake out, but it is not going to be good.

Taxing The Grid

It is that time of year, the time of year where I begin planning out the outdoor Christmas light display. Last year, I didn't plan and ran into several issues:

My power distribution was uneven and limited, hindering my light display. It is difficult for lights to illuminate when they have no electricity flowing to them...or after the GFI outlet senses a massive current disruption and shuts the whole operation down. Two years ago my light display was a thing of beauty and the GFI outlets never tripped....last year I spent many a night outside rearranging lights and plug-ins and making sure connections were tight.

Since moving into our palatial estate (ha!) I have gone with a candy cane garden theme. This year will be no different, however, I do augment the candy canes with icicle lights that are supposed to hang all icicle like from the roof line. Last year, they did not hang, the strings of lights were bunched together so instead of icicles I got ice balls (tee hee!). Perhaps this year I'll tie very small fishing sinkers to the end of each string...which is just insanity, but damn it all I want icicles!!!!

More and more of my lights are of the LED variety, and they are quite lovely and all Earth friendly...but the tone of the lights varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some of the white lights have a bluish tint to them while the others are brilliant white. This simply will. not. do. Because besides the candy canes and the icicles, the rest of the outdoor lights are white and red...except for the bluish white lights that standout. I can't have this. Therefore, I am going to have to try and find the manufacturer of the white white lights and replace the bluish back lights with those....although I am pretty certain that all of my lights are made in a Chinese sweat shop and it was complete dumb luck I got white lights to begin with. Or the bluish lights were tainted by the tears of the poor Chinese peasant that slaved away on them....either way, I gots to have white lights.

The Better Half purchased a soft tinsel lighted snowman our first Christmas at the new house. He has seen better days. Countless windstorms and the elements have robbed him of any tinsel and glitter that once allowed him to sparkle at night. Now he's a dull white husk of a snowman, dimly lit and glum...he needs to be replaced by a snappier happier snowfella...which will be difficult to do since TBH bought him and he does have sentimental value.

All of the above hinges on my ability to get juice from the garage to the front yard...so tonight I'll start measuring out extension chords and mapping out where lights need to be placed. I'll post photos once all the lights are up!

1994 Camry Oil Leak

Since I gave up the rollickin' Ford Fusion to save money when things looked bleakest for the family, I now tool around in a 1994 Toyota Camry with 220,000 miles, a busted up stereo, and a profound oil leak. The oil leak has become so bad that I can smell it burning when the engine heats up...this is not good. In fact, I have a feeling that it is very, very bad....

I'm calling Gregg's Japanese Auto to have them take a look and diagnose the problem. My fear is that the repair will come close to costing 1/2 of what the car is worth (thanks to Cash For Clunkers, the resale value on used Camry's ticked upwards) - when I registered the vehicle the DMV placed a value of $4700.00 on it, which was a shocker considering the miles.

Anyway, if anyone out there has any experience with older Camry oil leaks, I'd like to hear from you. Here are some more details:

The oil is pooling directly under the rear portion of the engine block, but drips all over. I can smell burning oil as the engine heats up and I am losing about a quart every two weeks driving less than 100 miles in that time frame....

Is it time to put this Camry out of its misery, or can it be saved?

Bon Jovi Blows

I think we all know how I feel about male Bon Jovi fans, and that is that I feel nothing but disdain and disgust when it comes to that particular lot. Seriously, how does a male Bon Jovi fan even look at himself in the mirror? If I may revert back to 10th grade for a moment, Bon Jovi is and always will be a 'bitch band'...like Poison and Winger. Their crap music and contrived image has always been directed at the ladies, so it baffles that males still support them...

Due to their longevity, Jersey Jacknut Jon Bon Jovi now takes himself seriously as a musician and songwriter. He carries himself with an undeserved arrogance. Yes, he's made literal boat loads of money, but his 'art' is crap and appeals to the lowest of the lowest common denominator demographic.

If you are a male Bon Jovi fan, I dare you to leave a comment justifying this...that is if you can tear yourself away from your wine spritzer and drop the latest issue of Tiger Beat long enough to do so.

Doing My Part

I am sporting an oragnic cotton dress shirt I purchased for 40% off at Nordstom, a smokin' deal if I may say so. It is wrinkle-resistant as well, which is good in case I decide to drop to the floor and flop like a gaffed marlin in the middle of a meeting for no good reason whatsoever. The shirt also looks good and fits well, there is no shirt fat pouch near the beltline...and being organic cotton, this shirt does not kick our sweet Mother Earth in the shins.

So, what have you done for your Earth Mother today, dickweeds?

20 Years Of Bleach

Sub Pop released a 20th Anniversary remastered deluxe version of Nirvana's 'Bleach' today, 11/3/09. A second disc is included, a full show recorded in 1990 at the Pine Street Theater in Portland, OR.

'Bleach' is my fave Nirvana album, with 'In Utero', 'Incesticide', and 'Nevermind' falling in behind. Although 'About A Girl' was pummelled into the ground after the 'Unplugged' session, the overall exposure of 'Bleach' was minimal....so I am not sick and tired of hearing songs off this album. Also, unlike 'Nevermind', it has not been set in the amber of the early 1990's alterna moment...so it doesn't sound nearly as dated. Still, I'm not sure if I'll pick this disc up....If I couldn't be bothered to buy remastered Beatles CDs I doubt I'll muster the consumer beast that lurks within to repurchase an album I already own in two different formats...

No recess!

The Kids Are Alright

Halloween was a little out of the ordinary this year. The past four Halloween's we dished out a metric ton of candy, running out of sweets early our first two around 8pm when there were still loads of kids making the rounds. I resorted to handing out juice boxes and Grandma's Cookies to get through the nighs as I really didn't want some kid egging the house or setting it ablaze because we had no treats to offset their tricks. This year? We had a 104 kids total and now have bags and bags of candy leftover as we bought enough to handle the usual onslaught of 350-400 kids we normally see. I'm not certain where all the kids were, but I'm kind of thinking that the older junior high and high school kids that pad the numbers had better things to do...like underage drinking and dope smoking...or something.

Speaking of high school kids - year's past would normally mean a parade of high school girls dressed up like hookers in cheerleader/cat/bunny/pirate costumes. I'm happy to report that the hooker/slut factor in the few older kids was non-existent this year...and here's hoping that by the time my girls are in their teens and decide to trick or treat that dressing as nuns will be all the rage.

The high school boys were rude and stupid though. Nearly tossed one kid into the beauty bark for being a dull-eyed dolt that nearly trampled a group of much younger kids to get up our front steps. He got one measley Starburst...and almost complained until he saw the maniacal look of disdain on my face. Bastard.

Anyway - all in all, a very decent Halloween, even though it was underwhelming. Hope everyone had fun! Now onto Thanksgiving and the Christmas!