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UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARY: It seems like everywhere I turn these days somebody is trying to concoct some sort of anniversary to celebrate in order to draw attention or make some money. First I get home today and open my mailbox to find my special 50th Anniversary edition of Sports Illustrated, which announces on the cover in giant type that the first issue of SI came out in 1954. I thought the math on that one was a little fuzzy...turns out they are celebrating their anniversary for AN ENTIRE YEAR!!! I'm sorry, that's not an anniversary, that's a marketing ploy. Then, tonight, I happened to catch the last two minutes of ABC's "World News Tonight", in which newly minted American Peter Jennings mentioned that tomorrow night is the 25th anniversary of the show's first broadcast, and to celebrate, they'll be taking a look at some of the news from 25 years ago. Thank God - I've been wondering what ever happened with that oil crisis. Are we still waiting in those gas lines or what? Here's an idea for your news program: how about telling me what happened...today! What a revolutionary idea. I actually delivered a speech at my high school graduation about the importance of marking milestones. I may not still wear shirts with banded collars, but I still believe what I said was true. But if you celebrate milestones all the time, it cheapens all of them. And eventually these companies are going to saturate the market with commemorations until we're no longer interested in them. It's a slippery slope, folks. By the way, tomorrow is the 100-day anniversary of this blog! Tune in for a special retrospective post - "CGTS: The First Hundred Days". NOT SO FAST: When I go to the ATM I almost always withdraw about $80-100 from my checking account. And yet, I never choose the "Fast Cash" option. It always sounds sneaky, like there's some kind of catch. I keep thinking the machine is going to whisper, "Pssst! Hey, buddy, wanna make a quick buck?" I worry that if I select it I'm going to end up serving as the lookout while some guy who works at the bank hotwires a car or something. It doesn't seem worth the risk just to save few seconds.

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