Summer Reading - Stephen Colbert

It used to be that this time of year would bring plenty of references to what to read at the beach or something along those lines.  I haven't seen as much of it this year which is fine because I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to those list anyway figuring they were just paid advertisements in most cases.

Instead I would look for and spend my time on whatever caught my fancy.  This is generally bad for my wallet when I come in close proximity to a bookstore as many things catch my fancy...and the basement is full of boxes of books that didn't retain my fancy...don't tell my wife because most of them still catch my fancy just not at the moment...I am going to read them, I promise...just don't make me come up with a deadline.  Besides, I have learned how to flatten my borrowing card from the library instead of flattening my credit card at the bookstore.

Anyway, I am still reading like crazy and have covered a lot of different topics in a lot of different genres from a lot of different books.  Some are worth the time and effort and many are not.  I think time and experience helps immensely when it comes time to decide your reading material by judging a book by it's cover.

I got sucked in though by Stephen Colbert's 'America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't' book.  I didn't actually read this one, I got the audio book version and made him read it to me.  As this one came out in October 2012 you can tell I am not hung up on having the latest and greatest but I would like to have the greatest.  This one is sadly far from the mark.

I have enjoyed Stephen Colbert's sense of humor for quite some time now and although I don't always agree with his politics (come on people, you have to realize by now that his show is a caricature of a conservative talk show not the real thing) you could still see and appreciate the humor in what he did.  Unfortunately as the show went on he would resort to more crude and vulgar humor.  This book follows that format.

There are some good points made some of which provoke thought but then the low brow stuff is injected and you can't increase the play speed fast enough to get to the next section hoping for better.  Thankfully it is a short book.

Which leads me to wonder what Stephen Colbert will be like as the replacement for David Letterman.  It has been said that he will drop the current character he plays on his show.  Does that mean he will now have a pronounceable "T" on the end of his name?  Since it is Letterman's production company, I am sure he had say in the selection, did David pick Stephen because his politics are more closely aligned and how close will the marching orders be to keep it that way?

You can never replace what you once had and I for one do not believe you should try to.  It is like trying to do a remake of the Three Stooges, it will never match the original so don't bother.  Instead search for the new originality in the same genre and if there is enough love it just might stick.  These two are very smart and talented people who should be able to figure it out as long as they don't egos and self importance get in the way.  Right now I am giving them a 40% chance.  What they do is not easy and lately they have been slacking off a bit but I am willing to give them a shot.  How about you?

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Walmart and Visa debit card create big time fail

I generally like Walmart and have done much business with them.  I haven't been caught up in all the chatter about how 'Walmart is evil' which seems to be mostly a hate story merely because of their size.  You can find good and bad policy in almost every corporation in this modern day, it is mostly a matter of what you like to look for.

Bust some days, a mistake is made.  A mistake that lessons the company in the eyes of its customer's.  In this case, an attempt to purchase a couple of gift cards as birthday gifts.  Rather than getting a store specific card it was decided to get them something that could be used at any place they pleased with a Visa debit card that could be used anywhere.  How easy, how simple, how convenient.  Why not?

A transaction fee that amounted to an extra 10%, that is why not.  I was under the gun so agreed to this outrageous and inconcievable excess and am still having extreme buyers remorse for agreeing to this abusive practice.  As I sit here revealing my regrets, I realize that I could have given the original all purpose, all merchant accepted gift card that never has additional fees (hidden or otherwise) attached, never expires, and only loses value over time the same way that all currency does...and that gift card would be cash.

Will I return to Walmart?  Sure, there is still a lot of good found at Walmart, but I feel like something dear was lost...trust.  I will be skeptical about dealing with them.  I will scrutinize anything that appears to be a deal, or even any transaction that I would assume would work one way only expecting to find the fine print hiding somewhere that makes it feel like the proverbial internet scam rather than trusting it too be a straight up deal.  Things change, companies change, people change, relationships change and when they do we go back to square one and have to rebuild from scratch the things that are lost.

Business that works is business that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved.  When business becomes one sided it can quickly diminish into none existence and that is a shame of the highest order.  It happens to the big boys and it can happen to the little ones as well.  Be sure your integrity and those who represent you is of the highest order in all you do and you will have little to worry about.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Million Dollar Television Network is on the air

Update: The site is back up...hurrah.  Be aware that it is still in development and has some issues.  I am using Firefox and it seems to plug up the memory after awhile and I am forced to hard close the program and flash player add on's every once in awhile but as you see below, this is one that I really like and am hoping for great things to come from it, therefore I am willing to put up with these minor issues to get my dose of possitivity.  My you find something to profit from this site as well.  Enjoy.

More Update: the site is going through yet another evolution??? and may be changing its name once again, this time to www.grrshow.com.  It has some of the same features including the spinning meters counting up your scholarship dollars just for tuning in and as long as they are spinning there is still hope for the network to make a go of it.  I am still hoping for the best.

I talked about this one earlier but when I mentioned it before it was just an on-line radio program.  Now it has gone video and the best thing of all is the deal is still the same, you get paid to listen.  For that reason alone it is worth the time and effort to check it out.

The real reason I like it is the content.  It is positive, optimistic, and contagious.  Marshall Sylver is talking about life lessons that we could all benefit from and although I might not agree with everything he says, but there is much I do.  It is a very refreshing change from the norm.

This is such a great change from the daily grind of talk radio and network news that this becomes the perfect substitute for those trying to break that habit.  I enjoy just letting it play in the background while doing whatever it is I am doing.  And the cool thing is that by just letting it run the meter will spin and grow your balance to the tune of $50 scholarship dollars and hour.

So here is the deal; sign up using my referral link and start listening.

http://www.mdtn.com/registration/joinNow/17026

Your scholarship dollars will grow.  Then you can spend those dollars on educational programs which at first seem like they are way overpriced but remember that you are using free scholarship dollars.  In other words it isn't costing you a thing.

I hear you saying 'the programs must not be worth anything then'.  Au contraire my friend, they like many things in life are worth what we put into them and what we get out of them and I am finding them to be of great value...but there is an option to use your scholarship dollars by converting them to cash (just not at a one to one ratio).  The choice as always is yours.

The next thing to do is to find your referral link to tell others about this program and then you will earn the same amount that they are earning just for having them tune in the same way you do.  This is what is known as a win win in the truest sense.

There is a premium membership that you can add if you are so inclined but the great thing is you do not have to.  You can stay on the coattails of free as long as you like.  So far that is what I am doing.

The program is live from 12 noon to 2 pm pacific coast time.  The rest of the time it is running a continue feed of reruns so you can just tune in and let it run all day and all night if you like and keep your meter spinning.  By the way it is really fun to watch those numbers turn.  It is the closest thing I have found to my dream of making money continually like the jackpot balance on the MegaSlots in Vegas.

That link again is http://www.mdtn.com/registration/joinNow/17026 try it and see if you don't enjoy it as much as I have.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.