Hey, Boss? You Got A Second?

Now this is interesting! Glassdoor.com figured out which jobs have gotten the best raises this year. The average salary is up about 2%. So here are ten jobs with even bigger raises:

1. Business systems analyst. Basically it's someone who analyzes an organization and figures outhow to make it work better. The median salary is about $83,000, which is 10% higher than it was last year.

2. Security guard - $24,000, which is up 7%.

3. Sales consultant - $49,000, which is also a 7% increase.

4. Pharmacist - $26,000, up 6%.

5. Barista - $23,600, up 6%. Apparently the girl serving you coffee makes almost as much as the woman filling your prescription?

6. Customer service manager - $34,800, up 5%.

7. Certified nursing assistant - $25,000, up 5%.

8. Financial analyst - $71,600, up 5%.

9. Systems analyst - $80,000, up 4%.

10. Research scientist - $85,000, up 4%.

Good To The Last Drop!

OK, I know there's lots of coffee lovers out there! And since today is National Coffee Day, I thought I'd look up some free coffee stuff for you to check out:

- National Coffee Day 2015, Freebies and coupons
http://www.wbir.com/story/money/personalfinance/ways-2-save/2015/09/28/matt-granite-national-coffee-day-2015/72958248/


- 9 National Coffee Day deals you need to know about
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/1097283/national-coffee-day-deals


- For National Coffee Day, where to get freebies
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/09/28/for-national-coffee-day-where-to-get-freebies/

After all, there's nothin' like a free cup o' joe!

If You Can't Get Enough Pumpkin Spice

We found something that combines two great American obsessions - adding pumpkin spice to everything, and deep frying everything. Someone online figured out how to deep fry a pumpkin spice latte! Here the recipe:

You take a loaf of pound cake - cut it into one inch slices - cut the slices into one inch cubes - soak them using two grande pumpkin spice lattes - then deep fry the cubes for five minutes. Then you sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar, put whipped cream on top, and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on the whipped cream.

Pretty simple, right? They say it tastes like warm, mini cinnamon doughnuts dunked in coffee. And here's a video of how to do it:

it Tastes Sooooo Good!

If this is some kind of stealth marketing thing by Pepsi, bravo! Some guy says his girlfriend had never tried it before, because she's allergic to caffeine. So he told her the caffeine-free stuff pretty much tastes the same, and bought her a two-liter bottle. And the video of her drinking it is great, because she gets really emotional - and starts crying after her first sip! Check out the video:

Have you ever tasted something that was so good you just cried the first time you had it? Me neither!

From The "What Were You Thinking!" Files

We've seen at least two stories in the last few months about people trying to drive their cars off tow trucks, to keep them from being towed. Here's an even worse strategy - A 40-year-old guy in Manchester, New Hampshire named Shad Badeau saw his car being hooked up to a tow truck over the weekend. It wasn't being repossessed or anything, he just parked it illegally. And he tried to stop it from happening - by setting his own car on FIRE. We don't know if the whole car went up, or he just started a small fire on the hood. But the tow truck driver immediately put the car down and unhitched it. So in the short term, it worked. But someone also called 911. By the time firefighters got there, Shad had already put out the fire himself. But the cops showed up too, and arrested him for arson. No word on what happened to his car, but we're assuming it's evidence now. So it probably got towed and impounded anyway. Truly a case of What Were You Thinking!

Dear Son. Shape Up!

Tell me what you think of this: Parents around the world are coming to a mother's defense after a letter detailing a "creative" punishment for her 13-year-old son went viral. The mom wanted to teach her son, Aaron, a lesson familiar to kids his age: If you want to be treated like an adult, you have to start acting like one. To make a point, she took away his clothes, comforter, Legos, stuffed animals -- even the lightbulbs in his room. If he wanted them back, he'd have to pay: rent: $430; electricity: $116; Internet: $21; food: $150. He would also have daily chores. "I guess you will need a lesson in independence," Aaron's mom, who wants to be referred to as Estella, stated in a Facebook post. "If you decide you would rather be my child again, instead of roommate, we can renegotiate terms."
She says that in the end he apologized, and she never charged him for anything. She says it was more about gratitude, and making him realize that being an adult is a lot harder than being a kid. She also says he's been doing his chores again. So what do you think, too extreme or right on the money? Drop me a line: john@kicks1063.com.

Gold? Tan? Some Weird Shade Of Orange?

This is hilariuos! "Vanity Fair" recently asked a bunch of celebrities to describe Donald Trump's hair color! This just goes to show how crazy this election thing is. Take a look:

So what color do you think The Donald's hair is? john@kicks1063.com.

Trust Is A Hard Thing To Earn!

What brands do you trust the most? "Reader's Digest" does an annual survey on America's most trusted brands, but it's hard to know if they're really the best or just do the best job at marketing themselves! At any rate, here are America's most trusted brands, in ten categories -

1. Airline: Southwest
2. Domestic car: Ford. The most trusted foreign car was Toyota.
3. Car insurance: State Farm
4. Computer: A tie between Dell and HP
5. Fast food: McDonald's
6. Big box retail store: Walmart
7. Laundry detergent: Tide
8. Shampoo/conditioner: Pantene
9. Toothpaste: Crest
10. And most importantly, TOILET PAPER: Charmin.

Do you agree with this list? Do you trust brand name items as a general rule? Drop me an email: john@kicks1063.com.

Good Boy! Really Good Boy!

Meet Rider The Dog. Rider has become an Internet superstar for his ability to fetch beers out of the fridge. We all need a dog like him! Check out his skills:

Training begins tonight for my dogs, Boomer and Ella!

Oh, The Stress Of It All!

We've seen these lists before, but "Business Insider" crunched some old data and came up with a new ranking of the most stressful jobs. And with healthcare being such a big part of our local economy, this survey should catch a lot of people's attention. Here's the top ten.

1. Emergency dispatchers. That means police, fire, and ambulance. Their stress tolerance is 98.5 - that's a number from zero to 100 that measures how frequently you have to accept criticism, and deal with high stress on the job. Even worse - the average annual salary is only $39,410.

2. Nurse anesthetists. Sort of like an anesthesiologist, only you're not a doctor. The stress tolerance is 98.2, but the average annual salary jumps to $158,900.

3. Telephone operators. We think that means customer service reps and call center people. Probably because of all the ABUSE we give them, when we just want answers from a real human being. Stress tolerance 98.2 - average salary $39,350.

4. Dancers. Yeah, we all saw "Black Swan". The stress tolerance is 97. They didn't list a salary, but it's not like anyone does it for the money.

5. Obstetricians and gynecologists. Stress tolerance 96.5 - average annual salary $214,750.

6. Surgeons. We thought this would be higher too. But maybe they really ARE egotistical supermen, like they are on TV. Stress tolerance 96.2 - average annual salary $240,440.

7. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers. Stress tolerance 95.2 - average salary $131,760.

8. Healthcare social workers. The stress tolerance is 95 - the average annual salary is $53,590.

9. Phlebotomists. They're the people trained to draw blood from you for clinical or medical testing, transfusions, donations, or research. Stress tolerance 95 .- average salary $31,890.

10. News anchor. Stress tolerance 94.7 - average salary $84,380

So basically - DON'T go into healthcare unless you can deal with your stress, and other people's stress.

Grandpa? Tell Me 'Bout The Good Old Days

Remember that tune from the Judds? Well, this Sunday is National Grandparents' Day, and according to a new survey, 64% of us say our grandparents have had a profound impact on our lives - and 56% pass on things we learn from them to our own kids. Here are the ten most common 'words of wisdom' we get from our grandparents -

1. "A leopard never changes its spots." Meaning you can't really change someone.
2. "A minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips." Which is about over-snacking.
3. "A watched pot never boils."
4. "Treat others as you would like to be treated."
5. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
6. "An hour before midnight is worth two after." In other words, don't stay up too late.
7. "Be nice to people on the way up, because you'll meet them on the way down." Meaning be nice to people when things are going well, or they won't be there for you when things AREN'T going well.
8. "Cleanliness is next to godliness."
9. "Don't leave until tomorrow what you can do today."
10. "Don't let the sun go down on your anger." Meaning don't go to bed angry.

What was the best piece of advice you ever got from your grandparents? Drop me a line at john@kicks1063.com.

It's That Time Again!

The nominees for the 49th Annual CMA Awards were announced on ABC's Good Morning America. Kelsea Ballerini andSteven Tyler were on hand to read off the names in the top categories.

Here are the announced nominees:

Entertainer of the Year
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Eric Church
Miranda Lambert

Female Vocalist
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack

Male Vocalist
Dierks Bentley
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Chris Stapleton

Album of the Year
Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt
Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material
Little Big Town, Pain Killer
Kenny Chesney, The Big Revival
Chris Stapleton, Traveller

New Artist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Sam Hunt
Maddie & Tae
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood return as hosts of the 49th Annual CMA Awards Wednesday, November 4 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Excuses, excuses!

Have you ever come up with a crazy lie to get out of work? Apparently you should just keep it simple. An insurance company recently polled 1,000 business owners and CEOs to find what they consider good reasons for calling out sick. Here are the top nine -

1. You have the flu. 42% said it's a good enough reason to miss work. Apparently the other 58% expect you to show up in a Snuggie and work from the bathroom?

2. Your back went out, 39%.

3. You had some sort of accident and hurt yourself, 38%.

4. You're just really stressed out, 35%. Which is interesting. Can you imagine saying you're just too stressed out to come in, and your boss being COOL with it?

5. You had elective surgery, 35%. (???)

6. You're depressed, 35%.

7. You're having an anxiety attack, 25%.

8. You have a cold, 24%.

9. You have a migraine, 22%. And 8% of employers said NONE of those excuses are a good enough reason to miss work.

Ok, But The Bears Still Suck!

We Packer fans can forgive this Bears fan, I think! A 14-year-old Indiana boy named Miguel Reyes is fighting brain cancer. And he has given his tumor a name. and because he's a Bears fan, he chose Aaron Rodgers! A former teacher of his named Peg Kelly suggested he name the tumor. She says, quote, "I said, 'You need to name that tumor so we can kill it.' You know what he named it? Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers. What a stinker!" Peg is a Packers fan, by the way. Miguel's family has started a GoFundMe campaign to train his dog Hester to be a service dog. Hester is named after former Bears receiver Devin Hester, who's on the Atlanta Falcons now. (You can learn more about Miguel here.)

Nothing Like A Cute Doggie Video!

We've all seen videos of dogs singing, howling right along with the tune. Dog lovers, me included, always giggle when we see our furry friends crooning a tune. But finally, we found a video of a dog barking right along with the perfect song, "Who Let The Dogs Out"! Of course, what else should he be barking to, right?