Taming the Cracked Snake

Tiger Woods: Out of the Rough, into the Water?

theblogmasters — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:18:36 +0000

Tiger’s public apology made headlines last week, with some sympathizing with his vulnerable demeanor and others belittling his ‘contrived’ mea culpa. Seriously though, why should Tiger be obligated to apologize to ANYONE other than his wife and kid? Despite the apology, he has been mocked and derided by scores of moral-policing whiners who probably have more skeletons in their own friggin’ closets. There was certainly no legal or moral obligation on Tiger’s part to explain his behavior to the public. He is a grown man and an individual who has [...]

Brown crowned; Coakley… croaked

theblogmasters — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:31:09 +0000

Scott Brown was officially sworn in today by VP Joe Biden at the nation’s capital. First of all, I have to say, I never thought I’d be so happy to see a Republican beat a Democrat. I neither consider myself a liberal nor a conservative, but I do see myself as having more in common with Democrats than the GOP. But seriously dude… anyone with an ounce of common sense would have done his or her part to keep that crazy woman out of the United States Senate. This is [...]

Tax is taxing…

theblogmasters — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:36:10 +0000

Whenever 1042’s and 1099’s make their way into my mailbox, I know it’s nearing that time of the year again… yep, tax season is upon us. I still remember the very first time that I had to struggle with a mountain of paper, incomprehensible legalese, and a hand calculator just to prepare my tax return (which was probably riddled with tiny errors throughout anyway). If memory serves me right, that was probably the first and last time I decided to do the paper version. All those commercial tax preparation programs [...]

Redefining Picasso, with a bang!

theblogmasters — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:53:02 +0000

By now, everyone must have heard about the damage done to Pablo Picasso’s “The Actor”, all because of a woman who decided to plunge headlong into it. Talk about wanting to be close to the maestro’s work. Well, all I can say is: LOL! According to officials, the accident has not impacted “the focal point of the composition”. But c’mon, a six-inch gash? I’d say that has become the new focal point! Now, a critique of the painting might go: “Note the use of light and shadows by the artist, [...]

Curing a Headache

theblogmasters — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:27:52 +0000

Last night I was hit by a headache after coming home from work. Yeah bummer, just when I had finally found some free time to do whatever I liked, this throbbing pain came along and spoiled the night. Maybe it was due to the hectic day at work, or due to poor quality sleep the night before I don’t know, but no one seems to be 100% sure what exactly triggers a headache or a migraine. So I proceeded to drink a lot of water, but that didn’t seem to [...]

Telemarketers – Harassing the Harassers

theblogmasters — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:23:51 +0000

Scenario 1: You’ve just come home from a long day at work and you’re about to sit down for dinner when suddenly the phone rings. So you pick it up and the voice at the other end asks, “Hi, may I speak to Mr. Smith?” “Yes, speaking…” you answer. Then, the son-of-a-bitch begins his seemingly endless barrage of canned lines, in his attempt to sell you some piece of crap that you don’t care to hear about. Scenario 2: It’s early in the morning, and you’re trying to catch some [...]

Persimmons 101

theblogmasters — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:26:58 +0000

I stopped by a farmer’s market today, and saw a crate-load of bright orange persimmons. Not having had them in about a decade, it was all but impossible to resist the temptation to buy a couple. For such a sweet and delicious fruit, it’s surprising that it’s not as popular and widespread as it should be. In fact, I’ve known an individual or two who had no idea what a persimmon was! And I’ve also heard of a poor soul who actually thought they were some sort of tomatoes, and [...]

The Free Credit Report Trap

theblogmasters — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:01:36 +0000

It has been almost 5 years since I last looked up my credit report, so naturally I was curious to know how much it has improved (I’m a born optimist) during all this time. After typing “free credit report” into the Google search box, out came a gazillion hits as can be expected. Then came the less-than-pleasant memory of the very first time I had looked up my own credit report / score. Way back then, an inexperienced me had happily signed up with one of the major credit reporting [...]

Idiotic Parenting

theblogmasters — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:57:47 +0000

It was feeding time at the local Aquarium today, and in addition to the usual chum and lettuce, there was almost a new food item on the menu for the dozens of hungry fish in the giant tank below. Perhaps inspired by the now infamous images of the late Michael Jackson dangling his kid over a balcony, one aquarium visitor apparently thought it was a good idea to dangle her toddler over the edge of the tank. Thanks to the eagle-eyed host of the feeding time show, the brilliant woman [...]

Is it a strawberry? Is it a crab? It’s a Strawberry Crab…

theblogmasters — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:01:31 +0000

I read an article a couple of days ago about a new species of crab discovered off the coast of Taiwan. The weird-looking critter looks a bit like a giant strawberry – sporting a pinkish-red shell with polka dots all over. Hence the name. But in my opinion, the crab looks more like a walking Rafflesia flower or a walking Amanita muscaria mushroom. It’s strange how certain completely unrelated organisms can resemble each other, just as each of us is said to have a doppelgänger out there. Is Mother Nature [...]