Top 10 Best Jobs; Pats still Supa Bowl contenders; Space walkers go golfing

From MONEY magazine and Salary.com, here’s the Top 10 Best Jobs:

1. Software engineer. Job growth: 46.07%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Release Engineer in the United States is $84,779.
2. College professor. Job growth: 31.39%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Dean of Medicine – Higher Ed. in the United States is $351,542.
3. Financial advisor. Job growth: 25.92%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Portfolio Manager in the United States is $100,859.
4. Human resources manager. Job growth: 23.47%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Human Resources Director in the United States is $140,996.
5. Physician’s assistant. Job growth: 49.65%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Physician Assistant – Medical in the United States is $77,395.
6. Market research analyst. Job growth: 20.19%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical E-Commerce Marketing Director in the United States is $134,932.
7. Computer / IT Analyst. Job growth: 36.1%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Network Operations Director in the United States is $130,983.
8. Real estate appraiser. Job growth: 22.78%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Collateral Appraiser II in the United States is $82,437.
9. Pharmacist. Job growth: 24.57%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Pharmacist in the United States is $98,777.
10. Psychologist. Job growth: 19.14%. Base pay: The median expected salary for a typical Psychologist in the United States is $75,892.

Click here for the full list (Top 50).

My Top 10:

1. Plumber. We’ll always need ‘em. And what they charge is downright illegal.
2. Roofer. As my brother says, “Someone will always need their roof fixed or repaired.” That’s job security.
3. Dishwasher. Job security is high. Pay isn’t good. But a lot of people depned on you.
4. Toll taker. Need math skills and the ability to absorb insults and comments. Job security is becoming shaky.
5. Fung Wah bus driver. Job security is high. Need the ability to handle a fire exstinguisher.
6. High-rise window washer. Windows will always need washing. Fear-of-heights people need not apply.
7. Landscapers. Grass will always need cutting. And with the imigrant laws tightening, the need will grow (no pun intentded) here in the U.S.
8. Customer service phone reps. As the online world keeps growing, so will the need for customer assistance by phone (or chat).
9. Sushi chefs. When steak or seafood restaraunts are serving sushi, the need is clear. Being Japanese is a plus.
10. Dog poop police. Old-school thinking on this (letting your dog poop anywhere and not picking it up) is going the way of th Dodo bird. Enforcement is needed.

New England Patriots are still in the Super Bowl hunt

Micheal Silver of SI.com still believes the Pats can get back to the Super Bowl. I agree. If they beat the Chicago Bears tomorrow, it will go a long way in getting them back to the big game. The playoffs start now!

Golfing in space

Russian cosmonauts went golfing in space on November 22. I’m still waiting for us to go back to the moon. We can’t seem to get out of our own orbit. Plus there’s great (golf) course potential on the cheese moon.

Bond is back!

Well, Bond is back for the 22nd time. The previous Bond men score like this (movies made): 7 by Sean Connery, 7 by Roger Moore, 2 by Timothy Dalton, 1 by George Lazenby, and 4 by Pierce Brosnan.

Here’s my Top 5:

1. GoldFinger – Sean Connery at his best. Lead woman called “Pussy Galore”. Best line: Bond: “You want me to talk?” GoldFinger: “No Mr. Bond. I want you to die!”
2. GoldenEye – Pierce Brosnan’s first crack at being the world’s most famous spy. Memorable scene: Bond driving a tank through a building then stopping and straightening his tie. Best line: M to Bond: “I think you’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War…”
3. Die Another Day – Pierce Brosnan’s last crack at being the world’s most famous spy. Best scene: Halle Berry’s appearance out of the ocean in a bikini. Memorable line: Mr. Kil: “I’m Mr. Kil.” James Bond: “Now there’s a name to die for.” OK. That’s dumb.
4. Live and Let Die – Roger Moore’s best shot. The boat chase down in the Bayou is good. The southern sheriff is better. And of course the song is one of the best (thanks Paul).
5. Thunderball – supposedly Sean Connery’s favorite (made in Nassau). A lot of the scenes in this movie were spoofed in “Austin Powers” (the first). Like the scene in the beginning of the movie where SPECTRE agents are meeting and one of them gets burned for screwing the organization and his chair gets lowered down below. Funny stuff in AP.

Good luck to Daniel Craig and his new Bond flick: “Casino Royale“.

Democrats rule; Rummy’s gone; Red Sox pay 42 big ones

 
So…the Democrats won the House and Senate majority. Does it really matter to the us who is the majority? We’ll get sick of the democrats in 4 or 12 years and vote in the republicans again. It’s just a American cycle. Like real estate prices or sports team successes. The republican administration was arrogant and wanted to put a gun to the rest of world and say: “Be a democracy or else!” Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and a few others don’t like our methods and stand up to us because of the republican policies of the past 6 years. I don’t like a lot of those countries and their governments but we’ve got a few problems to take care of here. Like: bringing back the middle class, healthcare, Red Sox starting pitching, gas prices, fixing the Big Dig, global warming, the leaves in my back yard, Karl Rove, online poker and gambling, and most importantly who is going to be the next mayor of Worcester (Tim Murray just got elected to Lt. Govenor).

Rummy, you gave it a good shot

Donald Rumsfeld was arrogant. He always seemed incensed at reporters’ and their questions about Iraq and our failed policy. When your the Secretary of Defense and every military general from here to kingdom come says you should resign or be fired and you still stay, that’s arrogance. His firing has been called for as far back as 2004. I wonder what he’ll be doing for the rest of his years.

Best bet: a book. Title: ”Memoirs of an arrogant man.”

Red Sox pay 42 million to talk to a man

If their bid is accepted, they can talk to this man about paying him more millions. Most likely $50 million over 10 years to keep talking to this man. The man? A pitcher from Japan.

Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Yes, potentially $92 million dollars to get a man to play a kids game and help us beat the other team: the Yankees. The took the caveman away from us last year, and we’re going to get flame thrower from Japan.

Sort of makes the republican administration’s attitude of the past 6 years seem normal.

Back from prison just in time for election

Well…haven’t blogged in a century or two. I was away finding myself, trying to join the ‘League of Shadows’ like Batman. Then it was off to the Shaolin monks in China like David Carradine. Yes Grasshopper, I was searching. The bald headed monks didn’t do it for me so I joined the Russian Mob and peddled women to be American wives for lonely American guys. The guilt of that overcame me so I joined the Franciscan Monks to belt out some of those Gregorian Chants. I didn’t have the vocal chops, so it was on to Canada and the Canadian Mounted Police. Sadly, they don’t except 43 year olds. So, finally it was back to Worcester MA, or as I like to call it, ‘San Francisco East’.

Good-bye Romney-Healey, Hello Patrick-Murray

It’s been a while since we’ve had a democratic govenor in this democratic state. Was does this mean for the citizens of Mass? I have no idea. More government and more taxes? According to the Constitution party, everyone is a liberal. Republicans and Democrats.

Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins

Patriots: Looking good despite the loss to Indy. Red Sox: Theo will be tested this year. The team has a lot of issues: pitching, right field, pitching, second base, and pitching. Celtics: unless they start winning, Doc Rivers will be let go before Jan. 1. I like this team. They just look lost. Bruins: I still have dreams of Orr, Espo, Hodge, Cashman, Cheevers, etc. This team is in disarray.

Finally: Britney files for divorce. My mention of her has ended.

Good to be back.

Doyle Cup weekend; Rumsfeld gets it from Hilary; Sad, sad, story from China; Calls for a muted Mel G.

This weekend is the storied “Doyle Cup” weekend where middle-aged men can be kids again. It’s in NJ and the weekend weather looks awesome. Also, there might be a few beers consumed among other beverages. As Jackie Gleason used to say, “And away we go!!”.

Donald Rumsfeld, or ‘Donnie’ as I like to call him, got a spanking today (at a senate hearing) from Hilary Clinton. Of course she was show-boating a little to help her Presidential run next year, but Donnie deserved it. I just wish Dickie (Cheney) would get a spanking or maybe a hand thrashing from some old-school nun for the way he’s behaved.

China (thought they had to) killed 50,000 dogs due to a rabies breakout and their lack of a rabies innoculation program for pets. Most of the dogs were beaten to death. The dog killing issue aside, this highlights one of the country’s (China) many issues with it’s goverment and it’s people. Boycotting the country because of this tragedy is fruitless but my heart goes out to the dog owners who had to witness this happening to their own pet.

Australia is calling for a more muted Mel. While we’re on the subject of Mel, here’s some of my favorite Mel Gibson flicks:

• Road Warrior – the best apacolyptical picture from the 80’s.
• Lethal Weapon – campy, hammy, but fun eye candy.
• Maverick – perfect role for him.
• Braveheart – great battle scenes and mooning of English troops.
• Payback – violent, a lot of cigarette smoking, but more eye candy.

Middle-aged guy off to playing like a kid…beer pong, caps, pool volleyball, frisbee golf, darts, music playing, hot tub, ……

New, new and new

"One thousand Swedes chased through the weeds by one Nowegian."

Now, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are working together! The countries are working together on a doomsday vault to hold seeds in case of a global catastrophe. Rumor has it they're also throwing in wasa bread, swedish fish, and a healthcare system that works.

Paul McCartney is 64. What a thrill for one of the world's greatest pop song writer to have one of his signature songs play out in real life. The album it's from is the first record I had when I was about 7-8 years old. It also brings back memories of vinyl and buying needles for the phonograph as well as utilizing all the record cleaning practices of the day.

Finally, on a softer note, North korea has fueled a long-range missle capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the U.S. They have about a month to launch it before the fuel goes bad. I'm thinking they'll wait until July 4th weekend and fill the nosecone full of fireworks then point it towards San Francisco and let it fly. The leaders of North Korea are like kids with bottle rockets on some football field just testing the police–which is U.S.

Late night rants and raves

Every once in a while I stop and think about the world we live in and how it's tied into information. Sending, receiving, manipulating, and collecting information. That's what we're about. Unless you live in a section of the country or world that either doesn't care about daily information stimulation (satisfied with just living), too stubborn to hop on the bus with the rest of us (old-school), or live a life that doesn't require the daily/hourly fix of information (farmer or Quaker).

Here are some information tidbits from the last couple of days (no links or pictues):

• Adoptions are up, especially from Africa. Couples who adopt children from poverty situations, I look up to and respect deeply.
• Britney Spears almost dropped her infant son while walking NY. I do feel sorry for her and the scrutiny she has to go through. Celebrity or not, she can't even walk to her car without a complete review of her motherhood abilities.
• Gas prices are at or hovering around $3. I drive a vehicle that gets 28-35mpg and I think we're in the beginning of the end of fossil fueled cars (another 20-30 years).
• There was a local news story about a family in New Hampshire living in a house that was condemned for the deplorable living conditions but at the same time contained animals ranging from alligators to snakes to lizards, which were removed and apparently were well taken care of. And they had a 7-year-old daughter that was living right next to these dangerous reptiles and was taken away by child services.
• Paul McCartney is getting divorced and might have to pay his wife 280-350 million of his estimated 1.5 billion dollar fortune. Sometimes it bums me out to see my childhood rock stars get old. Watch The Beatles movie "Help" and you'll see some young, talented, good-looking lads with the whole world ahead of them.
• There's young men and women still getting killed in Iraq. And Iraq's next door neighbor, Iran, is telling the rest of the world we'll do what we want and it's is our right. In the U.S., military options are on the table, hopefully never to come to fruition.
• "The Da Vinci Code" movie got luke-warm reviews across the board. Never read the book but I hear the Catholic church is not represented in a good light.
• In Mass. on friday (the 19th), a tanker truck overturned on the Mass Turnpike and shut down the highway for the day because it was carrying liquid methane. A 22-mile stretch was shut off including rush hour. Total traffic mayhem, but we survived and there was no leakage, casualties, or explosions.

I could go on forever with more information bits and pieces. Some of us live for this stuff. It's part of our everyday fabric.

It wasn't like this when I was kid. Give me a sunny day and my bike, and I was satisfied.

Britney getting stupid; The Duke rides again; Finally! Wild, Wild, West on DVD

Britney announced Tuesday night (on Letterman) she's pregnant again. What is up with that girl?! And to top it off she's pregnant by that boob-brain Kevin Federdope. This dude now has 4 children (out of wedlock) and has the maturity level of a 5 year old. Miss Spears career is pretty much done since it was based on her looks/body. Not that she can't bounce back from having 2 kids but I think she was struggling to keep her weight down b4 she was prego. Why am I writing this?

John Ford and The Duke
PBS is broadcasting a special on my favorite movie star and the relationship he had with legendary director John Ford. My favorite Duke movies: 'The Searchers,' 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,' 'The Barbary Coast,' 'Hondo,' 'They Were Expendable,' and 'True Grit.' There you go pilgrim.

The Wild, Wild, West TV show finally on DVD
Season 1, which was black & white, will be released on June 6. Awesome show. The 'Star Trek' of 1960s westerns. Robert Conrad is Captain Kirk. Good looking and gets all the women while beatin' the crap out of 20 men at a time while using really cool gadgets. Doesn't get any better.

Bosox-Yanks; Weird numbers; Master(s) of their domain

The Red Sox and New York Yankees start a 3-game series tonight in NY with Josh Beckett (rightie) facing Randy Johnson (leftie). It will be interesting to watch how the Yankees, actually Johnson, pitch to David Ortiz. One NY newspaper suggested putting him on his arse as a strategy. Ortiz is a big guy. With a pretty big arse. May I suggest a different strategy? Pitch him high and tight. And good luck.

Wierd football jersey numbers over the years
Sports Illustrated's web site is always running great lists of things like worst NFL draft picks, or best old-school uniforms, etc. This list is pretty interesting (to sports fans): Unorthodox NFL Jersey NUmbers. My favorite: Bronco Nagurski of the Chicago Bears (in the 1930s) who wore #3 as a rusher and linebacker.

Those dudes that run Augusta
Augusta National golf course which hosts The Masters golf tournament has a new leader: Billy Payne. The outgoing leader, Hootie Johnson, kept a long-standing tradition of keeping women members out. I guess Billy is going to prolong the idiotic tradition. What is up down there Georgia? I guess they haven't gotten past women getting the right to vote in 1920.

NFL draft observations; Gas prices and profits; Google release a 3D drawing program for free

Ahhh… the NFL draft and all the hoopla about a 2-day cattle call. The Houston Texans made the biggest splash of the weekend for not selecting Reggie Bush with the #1 pick. He would have put butts in seats and driven revenue, but they went with a defensive end who had a great combine (tryout) for the team scouts. The Patriots went with a lot of offensive players, which is the total opposite of last year.

Oil companies suck
They're making record profits and we're paying $3 a gallon or more. Shame on them but shame on us as well. I can't tell you how many times I see a single driver in a super-sized SUV getting 15 or less miles to the gallon. And how about the arrogance of GM advertising Hummers like there a second car for most families. Check out the new Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit. Good second car choices for mini-van/SUV families.

Google dives into another channel
I'm just checking it out myself, but take a lookie at the new Google 3D drawing program (online) which is, of course, free. I use their search, maps, news, and a lot of other resources under the Google umbrella. Good for them, I guess. Sort of the online Microsoft I guess.