Jon Barclay

I love this radio program. It is hard to describe what the show exactly is. Even the shows own web site explains that is has “a hard-to-describe sound”. Basically it is a show where they choose a theme and play a set stories on that theme. What that does not tell you is that the stories are amazing, funny, sad, evocative stories. Sometimes the stories are all of those, all at the same time.

This weeks episode is a rebroadcast of the episode that got me hooked. David Sedaris tells the story, Youth in Asia. Check it out: In Dog We Trust.

They also have produced a number of episodes of a TV show for the showtime network. I was unsure if they would be able to match the quality of the radio program with their television show, but they did. It is amazing! Unfortunately we don’t get Showtime, although it is tempting after watching one episode online.

I saw this clip of a Jack Russel doing Schutzhund on Terrierman’s Blog. It is a funny and amazing video. Once you get over the fact that it is a little terrier doing work that is only normally associated with German Shepherds and other working dogs it reminds you that given the proper training and handling a dog is still a dog and is capable of much more than we typically imagine.

Over the last few days I have rediscovered how much fun it can be to play computer games. Since marrying Jennifer I can count on one hand the number of times I have spent any significant time playing. This is not because she dislikes games. There are just many things that are higher on the priority list.

Still that does not mean that every once and a while a good “shoot em up” game isn’t a whole lot of fun. I had to laugh when I saw this clip from The Big Bang Theory, Will this one’s for you.

I really like this song by Brandi Carlie. It starts of slow, but as it gets going it starts to get a little bit of an edge to it.

I ran across this on the MyMoneyBlog, and it was too good not to share.  In a post on the New York area Crags List a women asked for advice on how to land a wealthy husband:

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy.
I’m not from New York . I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms

-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings

-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I’m 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What’s the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults - I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Here is one of the responces:

Dear Pers-431649184:

I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to “buy you” (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as “articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful”
as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn’t found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn’t need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you’re going about it the right way.
Classic “pump and dump.”
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

I just completed a switch from Blogger to Wordpress for this site.  There were many reasons for this, but the biggest reason was that I was looking for a way to integrate my blog with the other pages on my site.  There was really no great way to do this easily with blogger without basically creating my own site and blogger templates from scratch, which is something I was not willing to do.

After some research Wordpress looked like the best blend of ease of use, functionality, and customizability.  With Wordpress I can add all of the content and easily switch between themes.  In essence I am using Wordpress more as a CMS than as a blogging service.

The change over was not the smoothest in the world, but after a few days of tweaking I think I am at least back to where I was before the switch.

Have you ever noticed the small icon that appears next to the web address on some web sites?

Well its called a favicon, and it is a fun way of making your site unique. Photoshopsupport.com had a great post on creating your very own. It didn’t seem too bad so today I decided to try one out myself.

It should be up now. If it is working your address bar should look like this:

Let me know what you think.

Jennifer liked a song in a JCPenny commercial we recently saw so she looked it up. It turns out to be by Regina Spektor. The song in the commercial is a short bonus track on her newest CD, Begin to Hope. After listening to the album I really like the first 3 songs: Fidelity, Better, and Samson.

Here is the first song from the CD: