Some National Parks have reopened. Government shutdown fixed??

In 1996, the US government was shutdown for three weeks (21 days to be precise). Now, let's move forward seventeen years to the present year of 2013. The government shutdown is on day 16. When will the problem be fixed by Congress, the POTUS, and other parties? In related news, Arizona, Colorado, New York, North Dakota and Utah have decided to pay for their national park operations. Originally, national parks (like the Grand Canyon) were shut down in these states. Here's a rundown on some other federal agencies news: 1. The FAA asked 800 employees to return to work last week. It appears that airlines are not shutting down anytime soon. 2. Immigration court proceedings scheduled before the shutdown are being canceled, impeding green card applications. 3. Five states had to close their Head Start programs, while other states relied on contingency funding. This news affects the education of young kids. Recently, a couple in Texas donated $10 million to Head Start as additional funding. 4. More than 12 million people who requested automatic extensions on their spring tax return must still file their returns. The government has to collect on taxes always. In closing, the US government must come to a decision before October 17. This day is the final day for RSG, and his friends (taxpayers of the US). That last statement can be an ultimatum! If the government shutdown extends past October 21, the GDP will decrease further. If GDP drops, it could be another recession. Hope it's not as bad as "the last Great Recession."

Pinterest: Is it the next big social networking IPO?

Back in May 2012, Facebook went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It opened at $38. But, the stock price dropped for many months. Recently, the company is trading at $47. This social networking company has had a successful turnaround in the stock price. Next, Twitter filed for an IPO a week ago. The 140 character response company mentioned that it would go public in December 2013, or in early 2014. This company may have a market cap of $10 billion, after its IPO. Goldman Sachs is said to be the leading investment bank on the IPO. Now, Pinterest could be the next big social networking firm to file for an IPO in the next three months. The company is third only to Facebook and Tumblr for the amount of time people spend on the site, roughly 98 minutes a month. This statistic is compiled by Comscore, Inc. The San Francisco based company's website gets 28 million monthly visitors. Pinterest is a tool, in which, people can "pin" their interests (or likes). Finally, this company could be worth $7 billion after its IPO happens. If you have not been to pinterest.com, see the image above.

New words, new acronyms lead to being "au courant"

Since 2004, technology has shifted so much that new words are developed. It is more than new words, but file extensions also. Here is a good example: Phablet is a combination of phone & tablet. Today’s tablet computer is a combination of a phone, & a tablet. Hence, the more common word is “phablet.” Here is an example of a new file extension, .aac. It stands for advanced audio coding. It is a file format, which is going to be the successor of MP3 format. It achieves better sound quality than the mp3 format, at similar bit rates. A good source for learning file extensions is www.filext.com. This website teaches the average human about popular file extensions in today’s technology driven world. In closing, using the right diction can lead one to become more informed about technology. Hope, the picture above serves as “a device that a person should or should not have.”

2013 US Open preview: Last Grand Slam in Tennis this year

Well, tomorrow is the first day of the US Open. The men's side will feature Rafael Nadal as the favorite, as he has risen to #2 in the world. He is one of the favorites, and the others are Novak Djokovic & Andy Murray. Roger Federer is seeded #7 in this tournament, the last Grand Slam of the year. If Federer wins his first four matches and Rafael does the same, the two rivals would meet in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Neither one of them has played each other ever in this tournament. Let's head to the other side, the women's draw. Serena Williams is the #1 seed, and Victoria Azarenka is #2. Maria Sharapova is out of the tournament, as she has a right shoulder injury. Sharapova has not done anything great in the game of tennis since early June, when she made it to the finals of the French Open. Since June, she lost early in Wimbledon (2nd round) and in Cincinnati. She has parted ways with coaches, Jimmy Connors and Thomas Hogstedt. Sharapova had some success with Thomas, as she won the French Open in 2012. She lost in Wimbledon, Australian Open, and French Open finals. Regardless of the finals results, she had good success with him. Sharapova fired Connors after one match in Cincinnati, which was quite strange. Hope Maria can bounce back this year. On the ladies side, RSG thinks Victoria Azarenka may win the final major of the year. Rafael Nadal is the pick for the men's side. Hope the final major of the year is another spectacular one. Enjoy the picture above of the great men's tennis players (Rafael Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Roddick, and Andy Murray). Andy Roddick is out of the game, as he is on Fox Sports One Channel these days.

Upcoming Fall/Winter Movies 2013 preview

Everyone knows that RG enjoys seeing movies with friends & family. Yesterday, he saw "Elysium." It was a great movie. On a side note, "Elysium" means a place or condition of ideal happiness. Before the movie, there were some previews for upcoming movies. Of the previews which stood out as good upcoming flicks, Tom Hanks looks great as Captain Richard Phillips. The movie is called "Captain Phillips", and it will hit theaters in October. The upcoming movie is based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips, and his ship's rescue in 2009. In addition, there were other upcoming flicks which fancied RG's curiosity. "Rush" is another movie based on a true story, and it is about fast cars. The future movie comes out at the end of September, and Chris Hemsworth drives Ferrari's with Daniel Bruhl. Bruhl is a new actor, and the movie is a biography of Niki Lauda (an Austrian Formula 1 champion driver). Finally, the last movie for RG to expand on is "The Monuments Men." This movie will be out in December 2013. Since it's a winter or christmas movie, it will be one of my favorites. The movie has the following cast members: Matt Damon, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Richard Dreyfuss, and Jean Dujardin. It is based on a true story from World War II timeframe. In closing, there are other movies also. "Runner Runner" looks to be a good one with Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, and the sexy Gemma Arterton. RG looks forward to seeing all these movies, plus "The Counselor" too. The latest movie is with Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. This spanish couple is quite exquisite together, even in the movies. Ciao! Check the image above from "American Hustle", an upcoming movie for December 2013 release with Christian Bale (plus other actresses and actors).

Meeting a great Philadelphia Eagles QB!

Over 48 hours ago, RG1 met Donovan McNabb. The words, which were exchanged between the two great ones, were priceless. Gotta be covert on this topic. For shizzle! It was great for RSG to meet the ex-Philadelphia Eagle, Minnesota Viking, and Washington Redskin. Donovan deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and he should retire as a Philadelphia Eagles player in 2013. McNabb made it to the Super Bowl in 2005, and his Eagles lost to Tom Brady's Patriots. McNabb was a pure gentleman during the encounter with RG1 in "The Living Room" in Chandler, AZ. RG1 learned a lot about how celebrities can be so normal, from this experience. It had been more than 3.5 months since Rahul had met a celebrity. 2013 is coming to be a good year for meeting the stealthy wealthy! Peace!

2013's movie reviews from first six months

Well, everyone knows that G. Ripley is RSG. G. Ripley is a moniker that was devised from the movie, "The Talented Mr. Ripley." The G. is for Ganpule, and RSG is a huge movie buff. Half of 2013 is over, and the box office has had some great flicks. Here are some of the raving Hollywood critic's (aka yours truly) favorites: 1. The Great Gatsby 2. Now You See Me 3. World War Z 4. Man of Steel 5. Star Trek Into Darkness "The Great Gatsby" is at the top in my mind, because of the superb acting and movie sets. The cinematography was cool too. "Now You See Me" has a great story replete with mystery, magic, and heists. "World War Z" has a good story that is on a global level, but it did not make the list (according to Entertainment Weekly magazine). This list was the "15 most impressive box office performances of 2013, so far." "Star Trek Into Darkness" is good, and it was better than the last Star trek movie (from 2009). All in all, this year has not been a downer for the box office.