Friday Web Roundup: More Cats, Stupid Viral Stats, Improv Comedy as a Panacea, and Why Being Broke May Be a Good Thing

Its Friday night, and I feel alright, the party’s here on the west side…

Ok, it’s actually Friday morning, there’s no party, but I do feel alright (and clearly recently heard some old school 90’s rap/pop music).

It’s time for another Friday Web Roundup, where you can reap the benefits that my procrastination hath sown. Enjoy!

More Cats

Last week I posted a five part “Success Lessons From a Reluctant Cat Owner” series about my new life owning two cats (as many people have pointed out, I don’t actually own them – they own me) If you missed it you can read part one here: Success Lessons from a Reluctant Cat Owner – Part 1: Short Term Discomfort Leads to Long Term Success

In response to those posts, my friend Coleen sent me the following link to the Oatmeal, which sums up cat ownership pretty darned well:

How to Pet a Kitty 

Why Being Broke May Not Be Such a Bad Thing

Here’s a great article from Rory Vaden on the benefits of being broke. That’s “broke” in the financial net worth sense. With so many people carrying so much debt, being at $0 isn’t so bad.

Sometimes before you start improving you need to stop the bleeding. Get out of debt before you accumulate wealth. Let your injury heal before you start working out. Cut your business’s wasteful inefficiencies before you launch a huge marketing campaign.

Rory’s message is all about discipline, and he’s got some great stuff on his site. Check out the article and some of his other writing:

To Get Rich: First Get Broke

Improv Comedy and Alzheimer’s

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has tried their hand at improv, but it seems that improv comedy is the perfect medicine.

Ok, that may be overstating it, but here’s an article about a study being done to see if improv comedy can help people “in the early to middle stages of Alzheimer’s cope with their disease.”

Pretty cool. If it works, maybe I can tell my parents I’m kind of a doctor after all…

Laughter is the test medicine 

So if you’re not doing improv comedy, start! (Or at least pick up a copy of my improv book on Amazon…)

Just the Facts Ma’am

You may have seen the following email/Facebook update floating around recently (I saw it at least twice):

Salary of retired US Presidents ………….$180,000 FOR LIFE
Salary of House/Senate …………………..$174,00​0 FOR LIF
Salary of Speaker of the House …………$223,500 FOR LIFE
Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders …… $193,400 FOR LIFE
Average Salary of a teacher ……………. $40,065 yearly
Average Salary of Soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN $38,000 yearly
I think we found where the cuts should be made! … RE-Post if you agree. 

Sounds crazy right? That’s because it is. Congressmen draw a pension the same way many other jobs do, but it’s not that high. And they need to serve at least five years. And they don’t collect until they are 62. They’re pension may be larger than what the average company provides, but it’s not the astronomical sum listed above. According to the Senate.gov web site, “As of October 1, 2000, the average annual pension for members of Congress who have retired under CSRS is $52,464, and $46,932 for retirees under FERS-only or both FERS/CSRS.”

Read for yourself:

Info on the U.S. Senate Website

An article about this topic on Snopes.com

Moral of the story: If you come across something outrageous on the internet, that may be because it’s not true. Do a little research before you repost or pass it on…

Even More Cats

I need to be careful here before I get branded a “crazy cat lady.” I know, I’m a man, but all people who talk about their multiple cats all the time become crazy cat ladies, regardless of gender. That’s just the way it is…

My friend sent me a video that sums up the experience of sleeping in a house with cats pretty accurately:

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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