I alluded to it a couple posts ago when I got rid of my sports car. This time, it was my Harley Davidson edition F150.

The project (or should I say “experiment”) will be in full swing in 2011.

Behind the scenes is the creation of a new website (actually three sites, but that is another story for later).

Needless to say, I am probably going through some sort of “what-the-hell-does-it-all-mean” phase or, at the very least, trying to shake things up a bit. I suppose most people at this stage run out and buy some stuff – I am doing the opposite.

My eBay account has been in full swing (the only difference that is that I am selling stuff, not buying stuff). Anything that I can’t (or won’t) sell is pretty much being donated. Cars, Toys, Property, you name it.

This isn’t really the site to ramble on about this.

I have not forgot that The Slow Bleed was largely a place for me to vent about whatever I felt was dragging down the cumulative gene pool of this country (or society). There is certainly no shortage of those stories still out there, I just find that, after awhile, the writing about them sort of gets to you.

Anyway…stay tuned if you desire or dare and thanks for the support.

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The iSlate is more than a computer. It washes your car, takes out the trash, tells you instantly if your teenage daughter got knocked up by some kid that uses Microsoft.

And that just the beginning…

Imagine you are stuck in a salt mine. The lights go out. Things are looking pretty bleak. You are running low on Red Bull and Twizzlers. Furthermore, there is no movie projector around to watch (one more time) Armageddon with Bruce Willis.

Oh the humanity of it…but wait, I have an iSlate / iTablet / iTouch on Steriods / Whatever. I can just fire it up and watch the movie 234 times on the new, Alien Technology, battery life.

Thirsty? There is Ap for that.

Hungry? There is an Ap for that.

Want sex? Sorry, we are not rated for that…yet.

Today is the big day and Jobs is hitting the stage in just a few minutes.

Here are the basic “facts” (as I know it).

1. It is very cool.

2. You will want one.

3. It will lead to more Facebook, video watching, Internet surfing than you accomplished in 2009 (and who thought that was possible?).

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It is no surprise to dedicated Slow Bleed readers that I have been absent for a couple weeks now. That is not to suggest there has not been plenty to write about, just that I took a much-needed break and spent the holidays traveling with my family.

With that said, I expect to be back in full swing sometime in January. Here are a few things I may have missed in my absence and the quick “two-cents” version of what I would have said.

First Year of “Change” – I definitely have more “change” than I started the year with. Unfortunately, I also have less “dollars.”

Tiger – In the middle of a career makeover, he will come back as the “Cheetah.” I fully expect a book called “Tigers Tail” to come out soon.

Michael Jackson – Creepy, didn’t like his music, but he was a pop god.

Full Body Scans – Stepping up airport security with full body scans? I suspect stock in weight watchers and Victoria’s Secret is about to go up.

Health Care – Tough call for the government but it needs to be done right. Did I say “government” and “right” in the same sentence?

GMAC Bailout – With close to $15 Billion in aid, do you think you can finally get back on track already?

California; “Ok with Bird Killings” – Now I have seen everything. Is that the same equivalent as “hell freezing over?”

Miss America Drama – The whole thing is now a bad after school special….with Donald Trump.

Balloon Boy Drama – Can we just move on already? Oh, and make the parents sell balloons somewhere as a community service.

Sarah Palin Awarded 2009 Lie of the Year– Her “death panels” speech landed her the 2009 Lie of the Year from Pulitzer Award winner PolitiFact. Yea, I’ll buy that one.

I will probably add more as they come to me. Any favorites you would like to add?

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I may have a “moral” obligation to help my neighbor. Watch their house when they are gone, help them cut up a tree, or even help them paint. But do I have a “financial” obligation to help my neighbor? – I think not; and no government should make me. 

The bailout or so-called “stimulus” plan is getting scarier by the minute. Insurance companies, Auto makers, you name it, all already getting large checks right out of the taxpayers pockets. Now we are moving to bailout what started it all – real estate.

The current plan on the table bails out those that cannot afford their homes – the most of which are not due to a layoff or loss of job, they are due to people that purchased homes they never should have in the first place. Despite that error in judgment the taxpayers will, most likely, be footing the bill for them to not only stay in their homes, but also lower their loan obligation. 

This is not the bank themselves considering a workout plan with customers that are behind, this is the government making the bank wipe portions of the debt off. Of course the government will also come in and “assist” these banks with newly printed money; and guess whose money that is? 

At the end of the day it creates the question, “Did it pay to have a conscience?” 

By “conscience” I mean those people that did everything right. They paid their bills; they bought a house they could afford (or in some cases didn’t buy a house because they knew they could not afford it). What do they get? Many of them are upside down in their loans but are still trying to pay their bills. They sit and watch houses on all sides of them fall into foreclosure – sucking down their home values like an insatiable sinkhole – just because someone else tried to live beyond their means. 

Was it worth it to the person with a conscience holding on to that pride and value system? Maybe they should have joined some of their neighbors and stopped making any payments to the bank – just wait for the government to come in with some help. At the end of the day the people that didn’t pay their bills may end up owing less then those that did. 

Yea, I know, lots of good people are in bad positions. But even then, am I financially responsible for them? I think not. Countless people purchased homes on variable rates because they could not afford a fixed rate (even though it was around 6% at the time). What the heck did they think was going to happen? They would win the lottery? Refinance at an even lower rate? Values would double in a year and they would vacation in the Bahamas? 

Here is the deal… 

Some people should lose their homes – they bought something they could not afford. 

Some banks should go out of business – they played a game of wanting high returns on high-risk loans. Well, they lost. Let the good banks step up to the plate. 

Throwing taxpayer money at either group won’t change the outcome. The general consensus is that 40% of each group will be in the same position within 2 years. The government is not helping people up, they are just dragging down those that tried to do the right thing all along!

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Here are the facts…

A part of me wishes it were true. I mean, who can’t have fun writing about a $30 million dollar mouse? In actuality, it didn’t end up in the stimulus package – but it was close.

The project was actually submitted by a state agency (not Nancy Pelosi) for a major coastal restoration project in California.

Of course being California it meant putting in a $30 million bill to protect the salt marsh harvest mouse.

Not far off the mark though is the “Give a Mouse a Cookie” written by Laura Joffe Numeroff. Good lesson for the kids of today and you can order it here…If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

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