New Blog

Just when things were rolling quite well here at Frown Like a Thunderstorm, Jenna and I decided to combine blogs and post everything together. I will be posting everything at http://www.thesmithsquare.blogspot.com/ from now on. However, there will be a new "professional" blog coming soon where I will post my financial thoughts and whatnot. But, for everything else, please visit http://www.thesmithsquare.blogspot.com/. If you have links posted for this blog, please have them changed. If you are following this blog in Google Reader or something similar, please make this change. Thanks!

Steven

Guitar Thrill Thursday: Squirrel Nut Zippers - It Ain't You

Named after the Squirrel brand candy "Nut Zippers," this band does prove to be very sweet! I like 'em. This song has a nice jazzy guitar solo. The quality of the video reminds me of the time Alex and I tried to see them. The show was sold out so we watched from way behind the bar. (Alex--I still think we could have snuck by them if we had army crawled like I wanted to!)

100th Blog Post!!!

Today I am celebrating my 100th blog post! Bring out the noise-makers and maybe even a giant cake! Let's get it started in ha!

Let's have a little retrospective shall we?

Here are 10 notable posts from this blog:

FLAT News: None
FLAT News: Musical Completion
Updated Top 10 Most Played Songs
Guitar Thrill Thursday: Ozzy Osbourne - Mr. Crowley
Avoid Fraud
Correction and an Apology
Introducing Financial Fridays: Homeward Bound!
Quotation of the Week 12/30/08: Dale Carnegie
Quotation of the Week: 01/06/09: Rodman Philbrick
Wall Street Wednesday?

Enjoy a little Thunderstorm today by reviewing these fun posts.

Financial Friday: Follow Up (Bill Pay Spreadsheet)

I realized that last week's post about creating a bill pay spreadsheet might have been a little dull and overly explanatory. I wanted to use today to post an example of what this spreadsheet might look like. Remember that this is only an example. This does not represent MY current situation. I made all these numbers up (although the percentage rates are close to what you would expect to see on most loans of that type). Here is a picture (click on the picture for a larger view):

Notice that by totalling the red "balance" section, you can easily see the total amount of debt you have incurred (this is why I leave all regularly occuring bills as $0).

I hope that helps! Also, if you know how to post a link that actually opens up this spreadsheet, please teach me! Post any comments or questions in the comments section.

Guitar Thrill Thursday: Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart - Stone Temple Pilots

This is my favorite song by this amazing band. While guitarist Dean DeLeo may not be a household name, he certainly has made his mark in the rock and roll world. The band's 1994 album Purple was ranked #73 in Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All-time. This song comes from their 1996 album Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. The clip jumps straight to the solo, but I recommend watching the whole song.

Weekly "Fan-Suggestions" Wednesday

Last week I asked readers to suggest a new Wednesday topic. The answers I received inspired me to make Wednesday a Weekly Fan-Suggestion topic. If there is anything you would like me to rant and rave about, put it in the comments. It will eventually show up as a Wednesday post. Thankfully, John has provided plenty of ideas to keep me busy until the rest of you catch on. So, this week:



Wizened Old Gold-Prospector Wednesday:



Those were the days.

Quotation of the Week 01/13/09: Orson Scott Card

"Everybody dies. What matters is what you do between now and when it happens to you."

--Orson Scott Card from Treasure Box

Let's make the most of it my friends! (Also, read Treasure Box, it's an excellent book!)