10 Halloween Facts for 2007 That May Scare You

Before you take your children trick-or-treating on the West Coast, there are some facts that you might find amusing about Halloween:

1. There are 100 million owner occupied housing units in the United States that are ripe for trick-or-treaters.
2. 36.1 million children in the U.S. actually go trick-or-treating.
3. The were 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns produced in the United States in 2005.
4. Total spending on Halloween items will reach 5 billion this year.
5. Total spending per person is estimated to be $64.82 in 2007.
   
6. 72.9% of all consumers plan to stay home and pass out candy, which is the most popular activity during Halloween.
7. Tips for parents on how to enjoy Halloween from Amazon.com.
8. 50 of the scariest movies of all time from the Boston Globe.
9. Top 10 Halloween books for children.
10. Top 10 scary creatures.
    

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The Top 10 Children's Halloween Costumes for 2007

According to the 2007 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation for the Halloween season, these costumes are the most likely to be worn by children for Halloween:

1. Princess
2. Spiderman
3. Pirate
4. Witch
5. Fairy
6. Disney Princess
7. Star Wars Character
8. Pumpkin
9. Ghost
10. Power Ranger
    

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The Top 10 Pet Halloween Costumes for 2007

According to the 2007 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation for the Halloween season, these costumes are the most likely to be worn by pets for Halloween:

1. Devil
2. Pumpkin
3. Witch
   
4. Princess
5. Angel
6. Pirate
7. Hot Dog
8. Bat
9. Black Cat
10. Clown
    

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The Top 10 Adult Halloween Costumes for 2007

According to the 2007 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation for the Halloween season, these costumes are the most likely to be purchased and worn by adults for Halloween:

1. Witch
2. Pirate
3. Vampire
4. Cat
5. Princess
6. Fairy
7. Wench/Tart
8. Clown
9. Angel
10. Nurse

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21 Occupations That You May Want To Avoid Like The Plague

A new government study has shed new light into occupational choice. According to the the National Survey on Drug Use and Health made available this past Saturday, clinical depression is more widespread in the workplace that was once imagined. It affects the American economy significantly though lost productivity, employee absenteeism and low morale. The cost to the American economy is staggering, at an estimated $30 to $45 billion dollars a year. There is a variation in the rate of depression in several occupational fields. In fact, according to the study, 8.6% of the employable workforce has experienced a major depressive episode. Of that number 7.6% of employees employed full time, 9.3% employed part-time, and 12.7% formerly unemployed has experienced at least one major depressive episode.

I would imagine that the reasons why they could occur are many:

• Unexpected layoffs
• Outsourcing
• Family Issues
• Financial Issues
• Lack of Mobility
• Poor Working Conditions
• Dim Employment Prospects for the Future
• Lack of Education


But there are twenty-one occupations that have been cited as occupations that have higher incidents of these major depressive issues than others among full time workers:

1. Personal Care and Service – 21%
2. Food Preparation and Service Related – 10.3%
3. Community and Social Services – 9.6%
4. Healthcare Practioners and Technical – 9.6%
5. Arts, Design, and Entertainment, Sports, and Media – 9.1%
6. Education, Training, and Library – 8.7%
7. Office And Aministration Support – 8.1%
8. Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance – 7.3%
9. Financial – 6.7%
10. Sales and Related – 6.7%
11. Legal – 6.4%
12. Transportation and Material Moving – 6.4%
13. Mathematical and Computer Scientists – 6.2%
14. Production – 5.9%
15. Management – 5.8%
16. Farming, Fishing, and Forestry – 5.6%
17. Protective Service – 5.5%
18. Constructive and Extradiction – 4.8%
19. Installation, Maintenance, and Repair – 4.4%
20. Life, Physical, and Social Sciences – 4.3%

I am sure that there are other reasons why these jobs are stressful than others. Does anyone have any idea why? Just seeing these numbers may affect the way that a person makes a career choice.

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Four Interesting Facts About the Number 4

1. Brett Favre holds several NFL records including:

Most Career Completions - 5,021
Most Career Wins As A Quarterback - 149
Most Career Touchdown Passes - 421
Most Career Passing Yards as a Green Bay QB - 57,500

2. If you tour Italy to taste wine at its many wineries you could fall into one of four categories: a professional, an impassioned neophyte, the hanger-on, and the drinker.

3. Oprah Winfrey earns four times as much as much as other TV stars. Between June 2006 - June 2007 she earned $260 million. The next closest in that period was Jerry Seinfeld, who earned $60 million.

4. The top 4% of all search engine queries matter most when optimizing a website.

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The Million Dollar Fantasy Challenge

One of the sweepstakes entries for the Problogger 3rd Anniversary Birthday Bash had a simple requirement - to answer one question:

What Would You Do If You Had A Million Dollars?

I had to stop and think for a moment, because the question took me by surprise. I am one of the world's richest middle class family men, but I pondered what it would be like to actually have a million dollars at your disposal. It doesn't matter if you inherited it from your grandmother or won the lottery - but I thought that I might be fun to at least dream about having such a large sum of money.

My criteria is simple -

I would like to retire at 57

I would like to finance my daughter's college education

I would like to have money to cover basic living and medical expenses for at least 20 years in a part of the country that is affordable to retirees.

I want to give something back to the community.

I would like to travel to places that I would like to see before I depart from this earth.

I would like to purchase some electronic gadgets that won't wear out for at least 5 years.

I am going to assume that the $1 million came as an inheritance from an aunt - $1 mil


1. If this is a lottery winning then at least 50% of the money is taxed, so:

$1,000,000 * .50 = 500,000

$1 mil - 500,000 = 500,000 (Amount Left)


2. Tithe using 10% of the gross amount:

$1,000,000 * .10 = 100,000

$500,000 - 100,000 = $400,000 (Amount Left)


3. Pay off my house ($150,000):

$400,000 - $150,000 = $250,000 (Amount Left)


4. Finance my daughter's wedding ($50,000):

$250,000 - $50,000 = $200,000 (Amount Left)


5. Invest for anticipated medical expenses ($100,000)

$200,000 - $100,000 = $100,000 (Amount Left)


6. Living expenses = $100,000

This averages $5k per year for the next 20 years.

Unfortunately, there is no money left over to have fun. Is this a viable plan or not? What suggestions would you make to alter this plan? What would you do if you were in the same situation?

I am going to do some research to see if this plan is viable or not. This post will be updated with what I find out.

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Three Interesting Facts About the Number 3

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Three Interesting Facts About The Number 3

1. To celebrate three years of professional blogging, Darren Rowse is holding a birthday celebration with prizes exceeding $54,000 over at Problogger.

2. Halo 3 sold $170m in game cartridges on its first day launch, which is the highest recorded amount ever for a video game.

3. In the NY Times' opinion, the Supreme Court made three bad rulings on its last day before summer reccess on June 29th:

• Enabled the political system to have the ability to receieve new special interest money.
• Weakened the protection of student expression.
• Made it harder for citizens to challenge government violations of the seperation of chruch vs. state.

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