Online Word Count, My IMBC Future, The Dodgers Got Pwned, Turning $10 Into A Million, and Baby in A Microwave,

I get sick frequently, and usually, the symptoms last for a day or two. Whatever pathogens are taking residence inside me this time, however, refuse to go away! I'm so drugged up right now that I'm not sure what I'm typing...hopefully, I am able to get through this blog entry, to remain alive in the IMBC.

Damn immune system of mine! I think it's time for my body to start unleashing the immunological equivalent of nuclear missiles.

- Speaking of the IMBC, my survival in the contest may only last for another week, as I may be taking a trip up North to visit some relatives. If that's the case, I'm going to need to pray for a hotel with free WiFi, or find an open WiFi connection somewhere. Hey, if Hank can do it, so can I, right?

(Of course, Hank has the luxury of wardriving in familiar territory; I've got to do it without a "home field advantage." Either that, or I gotta figure out how to use my Sanyo Katana as a dial-up modem.)

- As an aside, I usually check the number of words for every blog entry I complete using MS Word. I've since been informed, by Krunk, that online word count tools like this one exist. I should have known such a tool existed; heck, there are even online coin flippers!

- The Dodgers finished a series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disneyland, and the Boys in Blue got swept. Ouch. Does that mean I have to issue a self-moratorium on insults about the Angels of Anaheim in Orange County?

- A gas station attendant found a $10 bill in her store, and used it to buy a lottery ticket. She ended up winning a $1 million prize:

Kristina Schneider tried to persuade a customer at the BP station where she works to buy the last ticket on a roll of the Magnificent Millions lottery game.

"I always joke that the last ticket is the winning one, but he said he only had enough money for three tickets," Schneider said.

This time, her advice was no joke.

I wonder what the guy who passed up the winning ticket is thinking right now.

Ms. Schneider took the 20 annual payments at $50,000 a year, claiming that she would have been "broke again within five years" had she taken the lump sum. While I understand the reason, I gotta say, taking the annuity is a horrible decision. Take the lump sum, hire a financial advisor, and make the money work for you! Life insurance, retirement accounts, even mutual funds; any half-decent investment vehicle will serve you better than taking an annuity!

(And no, the fact that my sister is a financial advisor has zero bearing on my opinion above.)

By the way, I've heard of lucky pennies, and even lucky $1 bills; I've never heard of a lucky Hamilton. I did find a $5 bill at a gas station once, and I used it to buy 5 Lottery tickets. All I won is a single free ticket :P.

- Days after a 19-year-old man was indicted on charges of injuring a child by putting his baby in a microwave, the baby's mother blamed the devil and not her husband. Quoted from the article:

Eva Marie Mauldin said Satan compelled her 19-year-old husband, Joshua Royce Mauldin, to microwave their daughter May 10 because the devil disapproved of Joshua's efforts to become a preacher.

"Satan saw my husband as a threat," Eva Mauldin told Houston television station KHOU-TV.

As strange as the above passage sounds, it pales in comparison to this gem: "Police said Joshua Mauldin told them he put Ana Marie in the microwave because he was under stress. Eva Maudlin denied it."

I was planning on commenting on this article, but instead, I'm going to pass. After all, I do not have a kid, and I am not a religious man, so I can't possibly understand what was going through the mind of the husband as he microwaved his kid, and the mind of the wife for defending her husband. I'll leave this topic with a single comment, though: in no way should the couple be allowed anywhere near their kid again.

Finally, I leave you guys with this video. The ending is hilarious!