Thursday, May 31, 2012

Facebook stock; The Emperor's New Clothes?

Guess I was right on this one. A little common sense goes a long way. And ---in your face!
I was right about how it wasn't and still isn't worth it to buy Facebook stock.
Millions of people must have agreed with what I was saying, because they didn't jump at the chance to buy Facebook stock, which is very much like the story of the Emperor's new clothes.

Facebook stock was originally valued at 42 dollars a share on May 18, 2012 when it first appeared on the American Stock Exchange. Meanwhile FB stock has plummeted to about 29 dollars a share, and continues it's downward spiral.

Even though the media pounced all over this much heralded stock just about saying Facebook stock was going to resurrect the stock market to new heights, bringing the economy out of a four year long slump of impending doom, it didn't happen. God did not come out of the heavens casting his glow on all of us, throwing  gold coins, and the world did not end.What did happen was a pitiful display of greed as FB stock fell.

What it comes down to is the biggest Internet company seems to be a farce. It's very much like the story of the Emperor's Clothes---where the Emperor pays a professional tailor to make beautiful clothing fit only for a king, and winds up strutting around naked. Everyone tells him he looks great in his new clothing, while essentially he is wearing none.

 This is what happened with Facebook. You see, a very popular company that has 800 million users really does not have 800 million users. Facebook has probably 100 million regular everyday users. The other 700 million users logged on, signed up and never came back. Or they hardly ever come back due to boredom, a busy life, or many everyday responsibilities. Therefore, Facebook is the new Fakebook---which I have been calling it for years!

Facebook does not have a  recognizable product that you can buy, put your hands on, use or really see. FB users, stock investors, advertisers, etc, can't physically put their hands on Facebook. That makes it a hard product to sell. And many people do not want to spend thousands of dollars on a product that just might go away as fast as MySpace did, and as fast as Google + is. That makes Facebook a kind of see through product where the people behind the scenes are making things up.

Are there really 800 million FB users?Is the Emperor really wearing any clothing or is he walking around stark naked with people saying he looks great when indeed he looks like a fool?

Monday, May 21, 2012

Mick Jagger made last SNL show of the season worth watching! by Kate Johns

Anybody see Saturday Night Live's last show for the 2012 season which makes it what like 50 years SNL has been on the air now? I watched it, and if you didn't you missed the best SNL show to come down the pike in years!!
What made this last SNL of the season so incredibly funny was Mick Jagger hosting the show.
I tuned in, thinking "Oh who cares, Mick Jagger is just some old dude, lead singer for the Rolling Stones."
But he was super funny. Even the opening monologue from the Stones front man was funny as he told people how he was always asked stupid questions like , "Who is your favorite Stone?"
He answered with, "Who do you think I'm going to say----Myself, that's who!"

When SNL came back from an advertising extravaganza, Mick was introduced as a judge on yet another singing competition as none other than American Idol's Steven Tyler.
Mick did a spot on imitation of Steven Tyler. He was wearing a long, gray wig complete with a  big, ugly 1970's clip on feather. He was wearing exactly what Steven Tyler wears, some ugly 1970's gray jacket. He was so funny, smiling from ear to ear saying, "That was so awesome, Dude."

When you think about it, how hilarious is that--- an old, successful rock star imitating another old successful rock star!
SNL implemented Mick in several skits where he was equally as funny, and he sang two songs, moving like a 20 year old on stage not some 69 year old rockstar dude.

But alas one of the funniest people on SNL left this season, that of Kristen Wiig. SNL wasn't that great anymore anyways, but now that it's funniest female performer is gone, I for one will not be watching----unless they bring back Mick Jagger to strut around, or act like a shy working stiff.

Even better would be to have next fall's season opener with Steven Tyler imitating Mick Jagger!!!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Is it really worth the risk buying Facebook stock? by Kate Johns

Is it really worth it to buy Facebook stock?

Is it really worth it to dive into the fray buying numerous amounts of Facebook stock as soon as it becomes available? Facebook stock was opened up to public buying and trading on Friday May 18, for the first time in the short history of Facebook.

 Buying any kind of stock on the American Stock Exchange is risky business. It is very much like skydiving without a parachute, because you might just end up spending all of your money on an expensive airplane ride, only to find when you jump you don't have a parachute.
Buying stock is very much the same as diving out of a plane without a parachute, or playing the mega-millions lottery. You have a one in 100 billion chance to win when millions of people across America are vying for a chance to win 368 million dollars.

Buying and selling stocks is pretty much the same thing. With Facebook being a famous company, the stock was initially put on the buying block for 38 dollars, charging up to 42 bucks within a few short hours. Facebook stock could go up to 60 bucks in several days time, or it could plummet to 2 dollars by the following week. It's anybody's guess!

Facebook has grown exponetially since February 4, 2004, starting as a college campus dating service, called FaceMash. Today Facebook has  800 million users, fast approaching a billion users. But what most people might not be aware of is Facebook's 800 million users are NOT all regular FB users.
I jump on Facebook to check in with my writer friends several times a day. Out of my 228 FB friends, I'd say about 20 are regular users.  That means about 200 of my friends rarely go on Facebook. Many of them never go on Facebook.While others still log onto Facebook, look around essentially stalking other people, don't ever comment on anything and leave just as quietly.

What does this say---that Shakespeare's fanous play, "Much Ado About Nothing" is essentially what Facebook stock will soon become---much ado about nothing? Millions of people are looking at the stock, but many millions of people as of this writing, are not buying Facebook stock. They are waiting  to see if they can get the stock cheaper than 40 dollars. Savvy stock traders are also waiting to see if  an Internet social site will truly be worth the money. Facebook is not a product a person can touch, feel, smell or physically do anything with, such as Mc Donald's sells products people can eat.(But that doesn't stay with you for very long.)

Take the chance today, buying Facebook stock for forty some odd dollars, when in a few short weeks it may be worth eighty dollars, or have plummeted to a paltry two bucks. It's your risky shot at a once in a lifetime deal!Copyright 2012!!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Boring Baby Names

What a boring series of names announced as the top 100 names of 2011. To top it off, this list of names, announced on the website named Baby Center has no source listed such as the United States Bureau of Statistics or something that would make this seem real for me. Every year a major American national government agency compiles a list of  how many babies were born, and what names were most popular.
Where is your creativity America? These are the same list of names from the last ten, perhaps twenty years, and I for one have found the lists to be quite dull, if not boring.
Come on, you mean to tell me that Madison is still on the list? Madison has been on this list since the name was created in the 1980's , (for girls, that is).

What I'm really surprised is with England gaining a new princess, why isn't Kate on this list at all? You would think that with fashion mavens copying Kate Middleton's every fancy move, that the name Kate would have been on this list---if not in the top ten.

Here are the top 15, for both boys and girls:

Girls---
1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Isabella
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Lily
7. Chloe
8. Madison
9. Emily
10.Abigail
11. Addison
12. Mia
13. Madelyn
14. Ella
15. Hailey
Boys---
1. Aiden
2. Jackson
3. Mason
4. Liam
5. Jacob
6. Jayden
7. Ethan
8. Noah
9. Lucas
10. Logan
11. Caleb
12. Caden
13. Jack
14. Ryan
15. Connor COPYRIGHT 2012!!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Five common sense ways to lose weight

Recently a new study came out, stressing that 42 percent of Americans are obese. That means there are millions of Americans spending billions of dollars on new diets every new day. On the same day this study came out,  I saw an episode of 20/20 that made me cringe. I was so thoroughly grossed out as to what lengths people will go to lose weight. Millions of ideas abound, such as trying one of many numerous weight loss plans, exercise videos, celebrity endorsed weight loss plans, surgery, and now feeding tubes.

Give me a break!!

There are many free, common sense ways you can lose weight. Good old fashioned common sense comes in handy when you need a cheap alternative. Besides, some gorgeous star is not going to come to your house to help you lose weight. It'd be nice to have your dream star do that, but it won't happen, unless you pay Brad Pitt, or Angelina Jolie millions to do so!

I've never, ever paid someone, or some company to help me lose weight. I lost the weight by working hard to get rid of it. Hard work pays off, not throwing your money away making someone else rich. I had two kids, worked full time, stayed home with my kids, and I didn't use any of that as an excuse to gain weight.
Okay, one time when we moved away from home, I became depressed, started eating those oh so yummy Cheetos all day, and did not work out. I was depressed, blamed the world for my problems, and  I gained about twenty pounds.

I discovered there are five common sense ways to lose weight:

1. Eat less food. How can this be any simpler? Also it's a lot cheaper than spending tons of money on weight loss programs, books, videos, weight loss foods. Eat slowly so that the food has time to fill up your stomach making you feel better. It takes your stomach ten minutes to realize it is full---meaning you can still be stuffing food in your mouth, while you are already full.

2. Eat more filling, high fiber foods. Food rich in fiber such as apples, celery, puffed wheat, sugar-free cereals, and even salad containing cut carrots, and small croutons will help keep your stomach full. Create a salad with baked chicken, not fried, to get more protein, and keep your stomach from growling for several hours.

3. Maintaining a regular exercise program will help keep the pounds off. Going for walks, swimming, lifting weights with your arms, will help you lose weight. Lose weight dancing  or simply by moving around your house. Plan a schedule of when you will work out on certain days of the week, and how long each session will last. Thirty minutes of exercise  five times a  day has been stressed as the goal. But many people are working out longer for six days a week. Figure out which plan works best for you. I alternate by walking  outside or riding my indoor exercise bike five days a week.

4.  Another common sense way to lose weight is to not snack at night. Do not stuff those yummy Oreos, Cheetos, or other junk food into your mouth at night. It is so unhealthy! What happens to the food you eat at night before going to bed? It digests slowly, and you have no way of burning off those fattening calories. That's one reason why so many people end up with major weight gain in their midsections. If you feel hungry at night while watching TV, eat something healthy like sugar-free cereal, or a piece of fruit. Switch it up. You might just be snacking due to boredom.

5. Engage in physical activity.Turn off the TV and go outside. Go for a walk. Plant flowers. Take your dog or cat for a walk. While watching TV, or listening to the radio-engage in an activity. Lift small weights while watching TV. I watch TV and ride my bike , and or lift weights at the same time. My neighbor walks while lifting small weights. Wear wrist weights while walking.

Make up your mind that you are going to lose weight the common sense way. Set an attainable weight loss goal. Then create a plan of how much weight you will lose each week. Watch your calories. Eat natural, healthy , unprocessed foods. Eat low fat, low salt foods. Read the labels. I could go on and on. What it comes down to is using your common sense, and the ideals you have learned, or get a book and teach yourself what the best and healthiest foods are for you to eat to lose weight.Copyright 2012(c), written by professional author Kate Johns.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Common sense reasons why you may be obese, and what you can do about it by Kate Johns


42 percent of people in America are obese.
Why  are so many millions of people are overweight.----people are doing less. People are moving  less, they are using their bodies less, and are not using as many muscles to do ordinary things anymore.
Even Ellen DeGeneres said jokingly on her show, that people used to be thinner a long time ago, because they moved around more often.
But what Ellen said is one hundred percent true, people are moving, and doing  less.

People are sitting at computers, sometimes eight or more hours a day working at an office or at home, Many times people come home from work, and sit down at their computer looking things up, socializing etc.
Generally people are getting less exercise because we are using remotes to do everything for us. We are changing TV channels by the click of a remote instead of getting up, walking over to the TV and changing the channel. We are listening to music as Ellen suggested by using a computer, an iPod, cellphone, or other electronic device. No longer do we get up and walk over to our stereos physically changing the records, 45's, CDs, or tapes, because we use a remote to do it, or we have it attached to our bodies.

What can you do about this obesity dilema?
Put your iPod, cellphone, remote across the room so you have to get up and get it for starters!
We carry more electronic items with us, instead of running to the phone to answer it. We carry our iPods or cellphones with us talking to them telling them to play a certain song, order food, call a friend, make an appointment. Essentially we carry our lives with us, but we no longer get up from where we are sitting to make that phone call from our land line phones.
Considering that we are doing less as a society and we are staying in our homes more, we are venturing outside less to go for walks, talk to our neighbors, run outside in nasty weather to start the car--- there's a device for that, and probably a new cellphone app for that too.

We drive cars that parallel park for us, roll down the windows and pop the hood for us. We drive through a car wash, paying an automated machine to wash our cars for us, instead of washing our cars ourselves. We just sit in the safety and warmth of our cars without moving a muscle. Many of us, do  less physical yard work; we use riding mowers, instead of old fashioned push mowers.
We use power washers to wash our decks, patios, sidewalks, and house siding instead of sweeping or scrubbing those things. Many people don't pull weeds anymore, they spray chemicals on them instead. We don't chase our dogs when they run out of our yards anymore, the electric fence zaps them instead.

Guess what this does for us people? We might live longer because we don't get stressed out trying to clean off our snow-laden vehicles in the morning. But, we are doing less with our bodies. We are using less muscles. We are burning less calories. We are not developing and maintaining our muscles. We are becoming lazier. We are allowing devices and things to do just about everything for us.

We are also teaching future generations a poor body image and how to be lazy.

When your children and grandchildren see you sitting in front of a computer screen for many hours a day, using a cellphone, watching TV on your computer, or your Kindle, or your cellphone, those watchful, developing children will follow your lead and they too will learn faster than we ever will---how to use all of these devices.Children are growing up using handheld video games, carrying cellphones that contain their very existence. Kids are not, unless you make the effort learning how to exercise, play outside, ride bikes, play hopscotch, and all those things we did when we were kids.

Then when a new study comes out warning us that millions of kids are overweight, really who do we have to blame?

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Should we fine people for swearing in public?

Have you noticed that more people than ever before are swearing in public places? Little kids, pre-teens, teens, young adults, moms and dads are all swearing. Many times you will hear parents, and kids swearing up a storm like it is the okay thing to do anywhere.

Well, maybe it is time to put your money where your mouth is. It's time to fine adults, over 18 years of age, for swearing in public places.
The only problem  is who is going to catch the swearing person?
Will cops have to walk through parks, playgrounds, restaurants, and public sidewalks handing out tickets to people that swear?

What I've noticed happening is people of every age seem to think we don't need to have any manners whatsoever anymore, and it is okay to swear everywhere we are.

I blame the Internet and TV. Kids are seeing and hearing swearing more than their parents did----unless the parents are younger than 25.With the advent of 24 hour TV, reality TV,and without any family viewing time left on TV, swearing, sex, violence, is available for kids to learn and learn from.The Internet is riddled with people airing their opinions and swearing up a storm. I'm not saying I'm perfect, because on Yahoo News, I found myself making crude comments also. But, I stopped swearing online---in chat rooms, and on very public forums, because it can be seen by anyone of any age.
What it comes back to is; should towns start metting out a monetary fine for swearing in public places?
My answer is yes, and a town in Massachusetts, is already considering doing just that.
The only problem is, who is going to hand out the tickets? Will undercover cops be dispatched to certain high crime swearing areas? Will we people feel even more restricted, and overburdened than we already do if such a fine system happens? Copyright(c), 2012, written by freelance author Kate Johns.

Polish dentist pulls out all of her ex-boyfriend's teeth by Kate Johns

Another reason to be scared of the dentist. Having the dentist put you out, and then yank out all of your teeth, or do something else just as horrible.You may have heard this story already making the rounds on the Internet about a jilted dentist who took out all of her former boyfriend's teeth----all 32 of them out of his mouth in one explosive rage!

The story goes like this----Polish dentist, Anna Mackowiak, who is 34 pulled out all of her ex's teeth after he, Marek Olszewski, 45, broke up with her. He went to her to get some work done.
She said, she would take care of his teeth. Instead she put him out with really strong drugs, and admittedly locked the office door. Then she proceeded to yank every single one of this teeth out. Do you have chills running up and down your spine yet? Can you say revenge or psycho?

Then she put a ton of gauze in his mouth and sent him on his way.

To his horror, when he left he discovered he was toothless. And he is pressing charges. Mackowiak could go to jail for several years due to her moment of rage.

Seeing this story going round the Internet, I saw people making harsh statements such as, "He deserved it!" Women were saying, "He shouldn't have gone to her for treatment."
I chimed in right away with"She sounds like a lunatic and should be locked up."

She has a license to take care of people responsibly, not to use her dentistry education to enact revenge on people.
Do you think she should go to jail for several years, or do you think she was just getting back at him?

You've got my take---throw her in jail, and let her think about how much money she is losing and her expensive dental education. Hey, she could become the jail's new free dentist!Copyright(c) 2012, written by Kate Johns a freelance author since 2004.

Eight disgusting things John Edwards did, that we know of!! by Kate Johns

Former presidential candidate John Edwards has become a disgusting, egotistical maniac, And that's putting it nicely. I am so disgusted with John Edwards. He is corrupt, has no morals, no values and is using his eldest daughter to still try to make him look good.
Simply put----he is disgusting. He is grossing me out! He should be grossing you out too!!
Without going into a seriously long post about all the gross, disgusting things Edwards did, here are eight disgusting things John Edwards has done, (that we know of):

1. He had an affair with a woman while married to his wife.
2. He had a baby with a Riehl Hunter while married to his wife, Elizabeth.
3. He had an affair with a woman while married to his wife who had cancer.
4. He had an affair with Riehl Hunter who had his baby while his wife was dying of cancer, while the "insert swear word here," was  running for President of the United States.
5. John Edwards asked his aides to lie for him while running for president to his wife,and to the American public.
6.John Edwards allegedly used campaign money to support his mistress, hiding her from the public.
7. John Edwards used his children to run for political office, and is still using his eldest daughter in place of his dead wife to make himself look good.
8. While lying to his wife, and his family, okay he wasn't lying he just cheated on his dying wife---he ran for president and had his wife's undying support along the way.

Does that sum it up for you?
If there is any justice or moral fiber left in America, John Edwards shoudl go to jail for a long time.
The only good  things I can say  is John Edwards is giving the media pundits, and talk show hosts a lot of great jokes to punch up their TV and radio shows!
And John Edwards is taking the harsh limelight away from our current presidential election.

As Edward's trial moves on, I am quite certain we will discover more disgusting things John Edwards has done.