Bankless/ATM-less Check Deposit

Gizmodo’s Article

Can you imagine depositing the check directly to your bank account… from your home?!  It just may happen as a new way of optical recognition technology improves!  My own bank, Chase, has implemented ability to scan the checks you deposit into the ATMs and thus have ridden of having to itemize and write the deposit slips.  But this goes beyond that by allowing you to use your cell phone’s camera (at least 2.0 MP) to take picture of the check you wish to deposit and then be done with it!

This would save so much time in traffic and driving!  I sure hope it gets adopted by other banks but for now, only NCR is doing this.

Things that make me MAD: Children taken away from illegal immigrants

NY Times Article

Warning!  You may become way too mad after reading the article!  I know I am!!    Illegal immigration is a hot issue.  Yes, I understand that.  And deporting back home is one thing but to take their children away from them while they are in jail?!  Who the hell gave these stupid judges the right?!

As a parent myself, I can NOT imagine anything worse than my kids being taken away from my against my will!  Yet, that’s what some of these judges (you know who you are, Judge David C. Dally and others) doing exactly!  Ok.. so they are put in jail for being here illegally but it does NOT give us the right to take their kids away and place them elsewhere!

The kids are happiest when they are with their parents.  And so are the parents ourselves!  I am really flabbergasted right now!  That judge is sooo lucky that I don’t live in North Carolina ’cause I’d be petitioning for his impeachment!  If we are going to deport them, do it completely and send the kids back with them!  Unless the parents are harming the kids, the right to the caring for the kids lies with the parents!!  I feel soo bad for the parents… My prayers go with them…  Someone with the power PLEASE make this right!!

Pirates of the Somalia

Yahoo News

This is 21st century, right?  Or am I still living in the old days of yore when pirates with eye patches roamed free?!!  What in the blazes is going on here?  This problem of Somalian pirates goin further and further out to the Indian Sea to hijack ships and crews for ransom is beyond going out of control!  What the heck is everyone doing about it?!  NOTHING!!  NADA!!

This is ONE war that we can end quickly if anyone gave a crap!  Some people better wake up before the pirates become even bigger threat!

’05 G35x vs. ’07 G35

So with the basic warranty expiring on 3/29/09, I took my ’05 G35x in to have some annoying vibration noises right next to my head.  While they tracked the noise down, I had the “pleasure” to drive ’07 G35 as a loaner.  You’d think that newer models would leave you thirsting for more and wanting you to switch/upgrade… but I was rather suprised to… find myself disappointed.  Let me share my 2 cents about what is better (and worse) about the newer ’07 model.

Pros:

  • Driver bucket seat is much more comfortable than in my ’05 model.
  • More power (306 hp vs 280 hp)
  • ’07 model has Aux input that my ’05 model soooo lacks for audio choices.

Cons:

  • Pedal sucks!  ’05 model’s gas pedal is very linear and acts as expected.  However, with ’07 model, there seems to be a sudden change once you tap it more than half in.  First half, it is rather slow.  It’s almost as if you are FORCED punch it harder
  • There seems to be bit more roll in ’07 model than in ’05
  • Exterior design is not very pleasing…
  • Overall gas efficiency is not better than ’05 model.
  • Same cheap plastic-ky cheap-feel interior

So if you asked me to PAY to upgrade to ’07 model, I’d say “No thank you” and pass on the offer…  now, if we talk about the new ’09 G37 model with 7-speed transmission and slightly better gas efficiency and even more power (328 hp), that’s a different story!  In the end, newer does not necessarily mean better…

I wish they’d be done with my ’05 G35x already… and by the way, the new “name” for the car is “colonel”.  😀

CNN Money’s Video Interview on St. Philip’s Academy in Newark, NJ

A school in Newark, NJ has really inspired me to see what true education is all about!  These are the truest moments when I applaud our education system and the teachers.  I sure hope that my kids can someday go to schools like this one…

Trip out to the Blue Bell Creamery & Bluebonnets

The state flower of Texas is bluebonnets.  And they are in season!!  We saw fields and patches of these on our trip out to… the Blue Bell Creamery!  It was spring break week so we didn’t realize that there would be a LOT of people!

The moms chatted.

This is the line accentuated with green color.

Max seemed like he was born & ready for Navy!

And they had their own moonwalks!!  But it was too hot to jump in them!!

And the family picture… wish I could’ve taken pictures of the inside… but 1) it wasn’t permitted and 2) there wouldn’t have been anything inside worth shooting.  The entire tour was a rather disappointing half hour or so.  I was hoping for more up-close-and-personal but oh well.  It wasn’t a total loss because …

These yellow flowers were EVERYWHERE!!  About 4 miles south of Brenham on 290 was this vast HUGE field of yellow flowers!!!  They were wild!!

And now onto the … bluebonnets!

And let us end with this shot of Soojin “trying” to jump into the air!  😀

Another $1 trillion “into” the economy?!!

Source: NY Times

What?!! The government is planning on pumping another $1 trillion “into” the economy?!! With what money?!! Just by printing more?!! And going into more debt?!! What’s wrong with these politicians?!! So far, we’ve dumped just about $1 trillion into the “economy” and what have we gotten so far?!! Not much. AIG used its $170 billion bailout money to pay back other banks! WTH?!

Create more jobs or pump it directly into the economy by giving it to the people this time then!!  This is a bogus plan…