Mikey Boom

According to BankRate.com the U.S. banking population spends $4+ billion in ATM fees every year. BankRate.com conducts independent studies investigating ATM fees offered by the largest banks in each of the 25 largest markets in the U.S. The results are thereafter compared to a sampling of checking accounts available at online banks.

Here is what I consider the three main points of the study:

-The fee for using an ATM from a bank where you don’t have an account hit an all-time record high. Additionally, this is considered a double fee since you’ll be hit twice for a single withdrawal -once by that other bank’s ATM fee and once by your own bank.

-While the average “insufficient funds” fee fell a few cents, Bankrate found more banks are using tiered fees. These are fees that increase as you bounce checks or leave a check uncovered for the total amount.

-Checking accounts which are considered “Interest-bearing” checking accounts force the account holder to pay a lot more to open the account when ultimately the money becomes locked up and gains little interest.

So why are banks trying to screw us, especially with atm fees?

Well, the ATM machines are not cheap. American Bankers Association, a Washington-based trade group, states that there are over 400,000 ATMs in the U.S. each costing the owners anywhere from $9,000 to $50,000 to purchase. In Addition to their initial cost these machines require constant maintenance –not to mention telephone line costs and computer system costs for accurate tracking.

So what can we do about it?

Nothing. According to bank reps, ATMs that do not belong to your bank charge your bank a transaction fee for every withdrawal attempt. This cost is usually anywhere from $5.00 to $7.00 and that is why you always get double charged, once by the ATM and once by your bank, when using a ATM from another bank. In all actuality the bank takes a much bigger hit in this, eating upwards of 80% of the transaction cost.

Whats the Verdict?

The average consumer pays $126.00 in ATM fees per year! That’s $126.00 you pay to get your own money out of your own bank! What you can do about this is be aware of the location of your own bank’s ATMs. Avoid incurring added costs from outside ATMs by using home ATMs as much as possible. Also, try taking larger sums of money out at one time so as not to keep returning to or hunting down more teller machines. Ultimately, the truth is that you will never be able to avoid ATM fees all together simply because they are sometimes worth the convenience they offer; but, if you can cut these extra costs even by 50% you will save yourself up to $63.00 in one year. That $63.00 saved might make you and your wallet a little happier at the end of the day.

So you think your job sucks and it couldn’t be any worse? Guess again. Here is a list of jobs that suck a lot harder than yours. From being a Rough Neck to being a Crab Fisherman, everything about these jobs is awful, well everything except the pay.

Job 7:

Roughneck

How about a grueling 12 hour shifts in the rain under tons of drilling steal? How about standing over billions of gallons of petroleum ready to erupt? This is a dangerous physically punishing job that earns you a cool $46,867 for the average worker but upwards of $100,000 for specialized or supervisory positions.

Job 6:

Crime Scene Cleaner

An average day consists of cleaning dry blood off walls ceiling etc. why tolerating the smell of decaying flesh and other gross things we see in detective movies. Moral of the story, crime doesn’t pay, but crime scene cleaning does. In fact, the average pay of a Crime Scene Cleaner is $50,400.

Job 5:

Crop Duster Pilot

So you want to be a pilot but you have no money, well I’ve got the job for you. Crop Dusting! Forget about the dangers of flying a plane at such low altitudes. Never mind the health implications of long term toxic chemical exposure. This job will fly an average of $53,870 annually into your pockets. Then maybe you can afford really cool aviator shades or a parachute.

Job 4:

IT Worker

Believe it or not IT work is rated as one of the top stressful jobs of 2006. According to BusinessWeek, 4 out of 5 Information Techies say they feel stressed even before they step foot in their office. The average salary of an IT Worker is $103,400 you would think that would help them sleep easier at night.

Job 3:

Private Security Contractor in Iraq

Lets face it, no one wants to be in Iraq right now, not even the Iraqis. However, Private Security Contractors aren’t doing so bad. The average pay is $120,000. The downside is that since the start of the war over 300 private security contractors have lost their lives in duty.

Job 2:

Podiatrist

The hours are flexible, the salary is high, and the workload is reasonable. What makes podiatry a job most people don’t want to do? Well, the feet part. Most people don’t like idea of handling bunions, pus filled ulcers, corns, and ingrown toenails for a living. However, I wonder if most people know that the average Podiatrist makes $125,663 a year.

For those unaware of what exactly a Gastroenterologist does just think of them like plumbers but for your digestive system. They spend most of their work day on procedures like colonoscopies and other unpleasant butt-related things. I guess this is why Gastroenterologists make an average salary of $269,500. Who new ass plumbers could make so much?

Honorable Mention

Toll Collector

Average pay: $45,000

Embalmer

Average pay: $42,400

Sewer Inspector

Average pay: $34,960

Average Salaries according to Salary.com

The common ingredients found in this heavenly sauce are a combination of tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, allspice, cloves, and cinnamon but the label on the back of the bottle might as well say, “made with star dust and unicorn love”, because no matter how you squirt it, the red sauce is a one of worlds greatest culinary achievements and a long time secret passion of millions of Americans.

Believe it or not, this red sauce was originally made out of pickled fish! Its native land of origin has been traced back to Eastern Asia but it wasn’t until English and Dutch sailors brought the condiment from Asian to Europe, where additional flavorings, such as mushrooms, anchovies and nuts, were added to the basic fish sauce. Many believe the U.S. was the first nation to incorporate the use of tomatoes as the main ingredient.

Ketchup became popular in the U.S shortly after the revolution. At around 1801 a recipe for ketchup was published in a famous U.S. cook book (Sugar House Book) and shortly there after gained tremendous popularity with the American public. In 1837 the product was first produced and distributed nationally by a man named Jonas Yerks, a local tomato farmer, and in 1876 the ketchup craze was enough established a company by the name of F. & J. Heinz. This company set up ketchup factories around the U.S. for production and distribution of ketchup and related products. The rest is history.

Today this red sauce adorns almost every table in every diner in every state in U.S. It is considered to be as “American as Apple Pie” and aside from the traditional red coloring of the condiment it can now be found in green, purple, pink, orange, blue and black. People have been known to use ketchup with rice, eggs, spaghetti, hash browns, bagels, etc etc etc. Throughout the years many things have changed but one thing has always stayed the same and that’s Ketchup. So Here‘s to you for guarding our empty refrigerators. You alone occupy our friges even when we don’t have any food in them to squirt you on. Here’s to you for making our ballgames brighter since 1876. Here’s to you for single handedly making a $1.25 hot dog taste like a $2.25 hot dog. Here’s to the sultan of savory, the titian of tomatoes, the king of condiments. Here’s to Ketchup.

If you are like me and love ketchup check out this site and find other ketchup loving freaks: http://betterthanmustard.tribe.net/

*Update*

For those of you wondering what ever happened to the new kittens my cat recently gave birth to, rest assure they are in excellent health and growing stronger every day.  I wanted to post some recent pictures of their development. As you can see from the pictures above they are little balls of fur with big blue eyes.  I have 4 in total and am still looking for a good home for them.  If you are interested or would like to see some more pictures of them feel free to shoot me an email at mikey@mikeyboom.com.

According to the 11pm Spanish news, on the wonderful channel of “Univision”, many Cubans are gearing up for a celebration, following the expected declaration of death of the nation’s long time communist dictator, Fidel Castro.  According to Univison, The Miami Orange Bowl is expected to be the major rendezvous location for the gathering of masses.  The city of Miami has taken precautions to deal with demonstrations of positive or negative protest behavior.  Increased security and authorized personnel are at hand to deal with protests if and when they occur.  Coming from a Cuban background, I feel that after more than 50 years of living in an oppressed society the Cuban people may finally get an opportunity to show their true potential.  I personally hope Cuba becomes a democracy and I wish that I could be Miami to celebrate the birth of a new nation among my fellow Cubanos.

Just wanted to give an update on the “Low-Down” of the cat litter. At home my cat was only able to give birth to one kitten. After that one kitten was out and about we could still tell that she had more inside her and that she was experiencing pain. Worried about labor complications we brought the cat in to see the vet at around 9am on 1/19. At the vet she received a shot ever hour on the hour to further induce labor and facilitate the birth of the remaining kittens.  After a few hours she was able to given birth to 4 more kittens and by 5pm she she back at home with her five new born kittens. Here are some pictures of what they look like.  They are very cute and look healthy and happy. The mother is healing and getting stronger every day.

On January 18 at around 9pm my cat started to give birth.  Sensing something was strange with the cat my brother had previously taken a cardboard box and stuff it with newspaper for bedding.   When I arrived home she was in the box already nursing her newborn kitten.  Thus far, the cat has only given birth to one kitten but I did some quick research online and found out that throughout the next 6 hours she’ll give birth to the rest of her litter.  Hopefully in the morning I’ll have some more info to report on this issue, for now all I can say is that the kitten looks very cute.  Here are some preliminary pictures.  Enjoy!

I work and play in New York City. One of the most densely populated cities in the United States.  It’s a jungle out there and if you don’t stay sharp and on your toes you will be eaten whole by the carnivorous masses or even worse, subjected to mental anguish at the hands of the merciless urbanites.  I’m not going to just sit here and let that happen. For that reason, I have started this blog posting segment entitled “99 Urban Survival Tips”. My ultimate intent is to create a guide that will help keep your social wits and reflexes sharper than Kraft cheddar. Enjoy and good luck!

Build Your Own Low-Cost Mike Boom
What are these people trying to do?  Do they not have enough Mikey Boom?! Do they need to cyborg out more MB’s to do their dirty work?  Are people seriously thinking they can clone the ONE and ONLY? The Man, The Myth, The Legend!? The all Mighty Boom?!!
Hell NO!!!  In fact,  a mike boom is something completely different than a Mikey Boom. It has something to do with audio equipment. Check for yourself . I know you were scared they would clone the boombastic but never fear, theres only one Mikey Boom.