They are as follows.

1. The people there probably don’t want you.
2. Their governments don’t want you.
3. Other countries treat illegal immigrants worse than America.
4. What you hate about America, you find everywhere.
5. Adapting will be harder than you can imagine.
6. You will likely just hang out with other Americans the whole time

This didn’t impact my decision to move, but it was an entertaining read.  The article is meant as a satire piece but there is a tinge of truth to it.  Knowing what you know from that article (and your own experience) would you ever seriously consider moving abroad?

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Everybody has different goals for life.  Some people want to be rich beyond their wildest dreams.  Some people want to live a stress free life.  Some people want to solve world hunger.  Everybody ticks based on different things.

A good fulfilled life is bound to have 1 or more of the following elements:

• Goals
• Strong Health
• Great Friends/Community
• Ways to Handle Stress
• Money

In your opinion which element (s) are necessary to live a fulfilling existence?

There was once a time when social media was a neat little corner of the internet.  Back then things were in a golden age of sorts.  You could say and do what you wanted with little consequence.  As things got bigger that changed.  Sites started instituting terms of agreement/service to make sure that users had the best experience.  More money started changing hands.  Social media turned into big business.

THEN.  The dark side of society reared its ugly head.  People started (GASP) lying on the internet about who they are.  Lying on the internet isn’t really that big a deal until someone starts being a big asshole.  In the last few years that has been the trend. CNET recently ran a story about making lying on the web about who you are a crime.  They site a pretty compelling argument for doing so.  Apparently a woman named Lori Drew created a fake MySpace account and harrassed a 13 year old girl so much that she committed suicide.  Her conviction was thrown out but the Department of Justice is pressing to make this type of activity illegal.

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Sex is one of those things that everybody learns about in a different way.  Some parents flat out avoid the discussion.  Some parents tip toe into the discussion.  Some parents give way to much graphical information (mine did).

From what I’ve seen people whose parents really explain sex (and its outcomes) to them tend to be better adjusted.  People whose parents don’t explain it tend to swing from the pole.  I’m sure nobody here wants to see their beloved son or daughter sliding down a pole in their local happy gallery anytime soon.

That begs the following question.

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I have several friends that are school teachers.  I talk to them regularly if nothing more than to say hi or get the latest “hip” happenings on the teen world or hear something funny.  Well lately, the funny stories have been far and few and replaced with stories of sadness.  Except these sadness periods are more abrupt as they involve the death of a teenager.  And to add another layer of befuddlement to it, the teenagers died by their own hands.

According to TeacherVision, every year 10 youth deaths occur for every 100,00o youths.  Every day 11 youth suicides take place.  Every 2 hours and 11 minutes a person under 25 commits suicide.  I’ve heard many discussions on what leads to this and preventative measures but many seem to be questionable.

The most common causes of teenage suicide are:

• Divorce of parents.
• Violence in the home.
• Inability to find success at school.
• Feelings of worthlessness.
• Rejection by friends or peers.
• Substance abuse.
• Death of someone close to the teenager.
• The suicide of a friend or someone he or she “knows” online.

As always, we are open your ideas.  Why don’t you share.

If you have missed a good deal of the “Occupy” movement, let’s you get you up to speed.

Occupy Wall Street is a series of protest and demonstrations where the 99% percent ( the group that includes everyone but the wealthiest 1%) march, picket, and chant for the real world issues of the day.  They goal is to bring light to social and economic equality, corporate greed, corruption and influence over government, and the financial sector of the country(banks, brokerages, etc).  The Occupy movement has lasted for about 6 weeks and has spread to about 70 cities.

The background of the protesters are liberals, political independents, socialists, libertarians, and environmentalists.  The crowd is fairly young and their religious beliefs span across the spectrum from Muslim to Jewish.  But one has to wonder how long will this play out.  I mean this protesters for the cause are not working each day, they are protesting and chanting and sleeping in tents in the park at night.

While you and I sit at work each day and work for our honest dime and strive to take care of our families, these people are asking you for donations while they sing and play the harmonica throughout the day.  So I pose this to you…are they just lazy.  The only formalized demand made by the group was for:

• 25 million new public sector jobs that pay union wages
• free public transportation
• free university level education
• a single-payer health care system
• pursuit of clean-energy research

I have to admit.  I laughed for about 30 seconds after reading all the demands.  But let’s hear it from you.

I believe most boys (and some men) have gone through a phase where they wanted to sport their flowing locks.  Maybe you could attribute to the changes of a man, or another weird thing that the male species does.  Long hair was Fabio’s claim to fame.  Even the awesome Brad Pitt sported his do down his back for a while.  Probably on the mind of most women recently is Mr. Bend It himself – Beckham.

I was reading a poll taken by a website that polled men that visited the site as to WHY they had long hair.  Below are a few responses…

so I can feel more feminine

It’s really hard to grow it short.  You have to cut it.

I stopped cutting my hair because long hair is ME. I also resented the trips to get it cut, and having to pay for it to look awful afterward.

To be truthful, to look more manly  … or at least to fufill a symbolistic gesture of what I consider to be masculine qualities. (patience, commiment, not depending on others)

But today is not so much about you, but about your son.  Will you let him extended his follicles down his back.  It makes it easier to recognize him on the football field if nothing else.

Prostitution for you newbies is where a woman (most commonly) offers sexual encounters with others in exchange for duckies, dinero, quap aka money.  Many view this as wrong on the legal and moral front.

…however, did you know:

• Prostitution takes place legally on all inhibited continents.
• In the U.S., prostitution is regulated at the state level.  Your state could allow prostitution tomorrow.
• Nevada has prostitution in 8 of its 16 counties.
• A recent poll of Nevada voters found that: 56% of voters believed prostitution should be legal, 32% felt it should illegal, and 12% were not sure.

One has to wonder with a public eye that is 68% not against it, why don’t many other areas jump on the happy train.  I’m sure some type of tax gain spin could be placed on it.  And I bet it does wonders for tourism.  Are you ready for the happy train?  Can we have your vote of ethics to get this going?

Kids love candy.  I’m not sure I’ve ever met or heard of a kid without a sweet tooth.  And because of that, many kids look forward to today, Halloween.  Many get to trick or treat and go from door to door asking homeowners to give up buckets of sweets.

However, many parents do not agree with or care for the Halloween season and because of that, their kids miss out on the candies and goodies.  I know you’re asking yourself why wouldn’t a parent let their child partake of probably the second most popular kid’s holiday.  Well it could be because of this…

Halloween originated as an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain.  Samhain was the celebration of the end of the harvest season in preparation for the winter season and this took place on October 31.  The Gaels believed that October 31st was also the day that the boundaries between two worlds: the living and the dead, overlapped and the dead could come back to life and cause havoc by inflicting sickness, terrorizing the living by fear, and damaging crops.

As this carried on and spread throughout the world, people began to wear costumes and either mimic the evil spirits or worship them to appease them.  Whatever the reason, this is why many adults to not participate in Halloween and do not allow their children to take part as well.

Do you take the fun away from your kids or do the let the kiddies get some candy…