Please Count My Vote...

I was watching Anderson Cooper 360 tonight on CNN (my first mistake) and heard more than one story about how African Americans fear that their votes will not be counted. 

Even the almighty Oprah talked about how she almost didn't vote for President due to her electronic voting machine not counting it. She went back through the ballot because she had "a bad feeling" and noticed that she had indeed not pressed the correct button.

Over the past few weeks I have heard and read stories about how if Obama does not win, there will be riots in the street. These stories come off as threats - just like Biden's threat that Obama's mettle will be tested in the first six months of his Presidency. 

So basically if you are afraid of being a racist, you had better vote for Obama.

I cannot even begin to fathom what Black's in this country have gone through. The things that have happened in our country when it comes to race are despicable. There is no denying that we have a long way to go, but may I suggest something? Maybe this whole race thing is a two way street...

There are things to be worked on and fences to be mended on both sides of this issue. We all have work to do. We all need to see one another they way God sees us. We need to love one another... we need to love our enemies as well.

When I turned in my ballot early here in Ohio, there was definitely a part of me that had some fear as well. Will they count my vote? How many votes will be thrown out for some reason? How many fraudulent votes will be counted because of ACORN?

My point in all of this is, whether you are black, white, brown, purple or green, no one seems to trust this government anymore. Maybe we're all getting screwed...

The only "hope" we have and the only "change we can believe in" is that of our God. Barack will not bring about change that matters. John McCain will not give us hope. Only the hope we find in Jesus Christ and the change that our Father brings matters.

A wise man once said, "Everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Eventually he found his hope and change... hopefully we will too.

No One is to Blame... Really?

I just have to ask... does anyone care?

Watch this video to see what these crooks have done to our country... ask yourself, "What Will Obama (especially with the financial wisdom of Frank Raines by his side) Do?"





Wake up America!

When Late Night Attacks...

No wonder McCain blew him off...

After watching David Letterman this evening, it was perfectly clear to me that Dave thinks he is some kind of investigative journalist.

During the first few minutes of the interview (if

 you can call it that), they joked back and forth about Senator McCain ditching Dave a few weeks ago. Dave has been relentless about McCain not showing up and has been cracking on the Senator ever since.

Once most of the pleasantries were over, Dave began questioning John about Sarah Palin. He just hammered and hammered John about whether or not she was ready if she had to take over as President. Of course, Senator McCain backed his VP, but Dave continued. Finally at one point, John pointed out that there was this little known Governor from a relatively small state, Arkansas, that turned out to be a pretty good President (some might disagree)... Bill Clinton.

In the midst of all this, Dave said he would love to have Sarah Palin on the program... yeah, let's get that set up for you right away Dave. I'm sure you'll give her nothing but the respect she deserves...

Dave wasn't finished yet. His next "To Catch a Predator" moment was bringing up how insignificant it was that Obama knew William Ayers. Dave said that Obama's relationship with Ayers was nothing more than McCain's relationship with G. Gordon Liddy. The only problem with that comparison is Liddy burglarized the Democratic Party (Watergate) and Bill Ayers bombed the Pentagon (and other places).

I had a feeling that Dave didn't treat Senator Obama the same way. After doing a little YouTube-ing and seeing Barack on Letterman (multiple times), there is no question that Dave served the Senator a bunch of softballs for him to knock out of the park. Not one single confrontational question for the Senator with a whole 3 years of experience in the Senate.

I've been holding back from saying this - I hope I'm wrong - but the Media and the fringe in this country may get exactly what they have always wanted if Obama wins. Utopia... a country where the government helps us "spread the wealth."

It's called socialism... enjoy.

Calling All Cars...

While driving through town today, one of my favorite pet peeves was in full effect... 

Drivers on cell phones.

I was headed off to run a few errands and all along the way, people talking on their cells. Driving badly and yapping away. I decided to count how many people out of ten drivers were on their cell phones.

The number was not as staggering as I thought... 4 out of 10. I noticed something that made me decide to retry my little experiment. How may women driving were on their cell phones?

I hate to blow everyone's mind with my results (sarcasm implied)... there were 8 women out of ten on their cells.

 Two of those women were texting or at least dialing (one while turning left in front of oncoming traffic). 

No need to think ill of me for pointing out the women cell talkers, men are just as bad.

Why are so many people on their phones while driving? What is so friggin' important that you have a phone glued to your head while you're driving? 

Don't worry, it's not heavy machinery that you are operating... I'm sure no one has ever crashed their car while talking on the phone. You go right ahead and continue that important call.

There is actually an old episode of Mythbusters that ended up - through many tests - showing that driving while talking on a cell is worse than driving drunk (legally drunk).

The thing that really blows my mind are the number of people on the phone while driving to work in the morning. Who are you talking to? What could you possibly need to be talking about at 7:30 in the morning?

I wonder when someone will create a laptop computer that will fit nicely in your car... oh, wait, I have one of those, it's called an iPhone. 

Maybe Blogging while driving will be the next big thing.

Hockey Night in Canada

Hockey Night in Canada was an amazing memory from my childhood. I can remember sitting in the living room with Dad and watching the Red Wings or the Maple Leafs on Saturday Night.

To this day, the song that plays as Hockey Night in Canada begins gets me excited to watch the game. Hockey Night in Canada was kind of like Monday Night Football in America. The games were always exciting to watch. People played with a little more passion, skated faster, checked harder and celebrated with more gusto on Hockey Night in Canada.

After many years, Hockey Night in Canada has a new theme song. When I first heard this, I was a little skeptical. The composer of the original song was holding CBC television hostage to continue using the original song, so they decided to ask Canadians to give it a shot... here is the song that won the contest (Matthew & I especially enjoyed the bagpipes).

I Just Had to Do It...

By no means am I endorsing a candidate...

This message paid for by no one... I saw it on Glen Beck's website.

Boy are we screwed.

Once...

I may be a bit late to the party, but if you have never seen the movie Once ,  I would definitely recommend it.

My brother, Matthew, told me about the movie a while back and Cheryl and I saw the song, Falling Slowly, performed on the Oscars this past year (it won the Oscar, by the way).

Glen Hansard plays the lead character in the movie and wrote and performs all the music along with the costar, Marketa Irglova. After you have seen the movie, do a little googling to see what Glen & Marketa are up to now...

You know how sometimes a song just moves you? I hope everyone has experienced that at least once... it's truly one of the most amazing gifts God let's us enjoy.

There are songs that just stir up so much emotion in me that I begin to cry. Falling Slowly is one of those songs. I couldn't even tell you the words, but the pure emotion and beauty of the music and the way the melody and the instrumentation came together just made me cry.

Put it on your list of films to see... or at least have a listen to the beautiful song.

When It's Over...

Today is a special day for many reasons... 

Twenty short years ago, I started dating my high school sweetheart Cheryl (been married to her for 15 years now!). It also just so happens to be my friends Chris' birthday today (Happy Birthday Chris!). While both of those things are special, I cannot contain my glee over news out of Detroit today...

The Fat Lady has finally sung her song for Matt Millen.

Bill Ford Jr. called out his old, stubborn father, William Clay Ford, and said "enough is enough." Today the old man finally pulled the trigger... Matt Millen has officially ended his eight year reign of terror with the Detroit Lions.

After putting together a stunning 31 wins and 84 losses as GM of the Lions, the time to send him packing was way overdue. The Millen experiment was probably one of the worst things I have ever seen in my short Detroit Sports history. I saw some pretty bad Red Wing teams, but was too young to care. As a Wings fan, I at least experienced talented teams that competed for championships. They eventually won it all (4 Times now on my watch!), but the Lions have never shown any of that.

Barry Sanders wasted away in Detroit and eventually bailed on the Lions. Many guys have come and gone, but the results remained the same... undisciplined, lazy, losing teams. 

Honestly, the thing myself and many other Lions fans would have enjoyed even more was a two for one change in Detroit - Ford Sr. and Millen out of the picture. For as long as this guy (Ford) has owned the team they have been an embarrassment.

Well, Lions fans have some optimism again. So here we are in September, looking forward to next season. 

On another positive note, I just blogged again... I guess I finally had something to say. Hopefully there will be more.

I Like Turtles...

My brother and his family came to visit this weekend and I don't think we have laughed this hard in a long time... thank you Jonathan.


YouTube rules!

Selling 2.0

Here we are, a little over a month doing the sales thing. Let me tell you, it's tough. I have very high expectations for myself (I always do... another Blog on another day) and facing constant rejections really weighs on you.

There have been many days where I have had to force myself to be at work... I don't hate it, but there is definitely something about not making sales and not living up to what I would like to that makes waking up and getting on the phones a drudgery.

The thing about this whole "office job" thing that has always been tough for me is my need for that sense of freedom or whatever I think freedom is. Don't get me wrong, I am free to sit at my desk and not try very hard, but what good does that do me? Plus, it's just not right... I get paid to make calls.

My style of selling is very different too. I can't be pushy about people buying from me... I hate when people are pushy with me so I can't do it with other people. I give them the info and answer questions and move on. I plant the seed so to speak. Therein we stumble upon another issue in my life... patience. I desperately want that sale now, so when I don't get it, I am annoyed or sad or disappointed - just put in any emotion that fits.

I know one thing though, God brought me to this place... I am here for a reason. He is asking me to be obedient... to persevere... to experience what He has in store for me.

Last Friday while I was driving to work I was praying and I kept hearing the phrase "I have you there for a reason." When I got into work Jeremiah 29:11 was running through my mind... "I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

I'll keep holding on and hoping, because God knows what He's doing...

Born to Sell

After what seemed like months of training, I officially got on the sales floor on Thursday! I celebrated by making my first 9 new sales!

I am really enjoying this job. There is a lot of rejection that is tough to get used to when selling, but there are also those calls that work out and you make the sale. As I get settle in and start feeling more comfortable with the products and begin hitting my groove, I think I am going to do pretty well.

I have to confess that I actually headed upstairs to get ready for bed the other day at 9:30 p.m. I think the last time I got ready for bed that early was when I was doing the morning show at WCM back in Michigan. I used to get there between 4:30 - 5:00 a.m. to start show prep with Christine, my co-host. Needless to say, I couldn't believe how tired I was.

I'm starting to feel like the big change of life is becoming "normal" so I should be able to get back to some of the extracurriculars that have been neglected for the past month or so. Maybe I can even start Blogging again!

We shall see...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Southern Exposure

We've been away from home for close to a week now... I am ready to be back in the Buckeye State.

Isn't that weird?

I'll tell you what, with the way the Wolverines are playing, I may need to think about becoming a real Buckeye soon... I don't think my heart will let me do it though. I did say last week that I was toying with the idea of boycotting Michigan football until Lloyd Carr is fired or resigns. I know not all the blame goes to him, but the mentality of not changing the "tradition" of how Michigan plays football in today's game is unconscionable.

The good news is my Detroit Lions won their first game... 9 more wins and Jon Kitna is a genius!

Back to the trip...

We visited friends in South Carolina and we had a really good time. As we were headed down, we went through Ohio to get over to I-77 and it was very frustrating because after we made it out of the Columbus area the speed limit DECREASED from 65 mph to 55 mph!! We were literally in the middle of nowhere and the speed limit was less than it was in populated areas. Talk about speed traps... We'll be taking I-75 back home. Hallelujah!

We've been in Atlanta for the past few days. We're in the Northeast section of the ATL. The area is very nice. Tons of shopping, restaurants and stuff to do... along with that is way too many people.

Cheryl and I headed out for lunch today around 11:45 a.m. and she needed to get back to training in an hour. We finally got food at around 12:35 p.m.! It took us about 15 minutes to get about 2 miles away, then we tried in vain to find a place to park then ended up doing curbside order and about a half hour later, Cheryl had to wolf down her food while I dodged traffic to get her back to training.

This my friends, I do not miss. Big city convenience also means lots of waiting and lots of headaches. People are way too stressed out. There are so many people here, it really is mind boggling. I have no idea how you could take a lunch break with only an hour.

All that being said, this time away with Cheryl has been great. I miss the hound, but Chris is taking care of him and the house while we are gone, so it's all good.

Looking forward to getting back and experiencing the Fall temps that we're missing. Plus, there is nothing like "Home Sweet Home."

iPhone

Well, it looks like the iPhone is almost within reach.

Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPods the other day (Geekbert, where are you?) and also dropped the price of an iPhone down to $399 for an 8 GB. You can also pick up a refurbished 8 GB for $349 or a discontinued 4 GB iPhone for $299.

On top of that, the iPod touch was released and obviously has all the bells and whistles of the iPhone, without the phone. The iPod nano also got an overhaul... it can now play video and is wider and shorter. Plus a whole bunch of new colors.

Check them out.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Back to Reality...

It seems like Blogging has become a thing of the past for me. I know it's only been a week, but I had an amazing streak going for a while there.

As I was talking to my Dad the other night, I mentioned to him around 8:30 p.m. that I was tired and needed to start winding down for the night. He chuckled of course, because he loves it when his sons are tired from a hard day at work. Nothing makes him happier - not really, but there is a sense of enjoyment and pride that I think he feels when his boys "earn their keep."

Dad worked his rear end off from the time he was 19 years old until the day he retired at the age of 59. In fact, after a hiatus in the land of retired persons, Dad actually went back to work as a contractor for a while. I think he may have learned his lesson... he is retired again, until he runs out of projects to do around the house or gets bored that is.

Cheryl's Dad is also still chuggin' away. He works fewer days a week, but I think he really enjoys what he does and that makes a difference.

There is something very satisfying about putting in a hard days work, especially when I get that first commission check. I can say without hesitation now that I identify with the Loverboy song, "Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend."

Hopefully the Fall TV season will inspire me to write a little more.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Yes Please!!

A kid from N.J. figured out a way to hack into an iPhone and unlock it for use with any carrier!

Where do I sign up?

Sorry For the Interruption...

Yes, it has been a very long time, but I have a legitimate excuse... a new job.

I started on Thursday last week at the Junior Library Guild. I sell books to schools and libraries... interesting, no? It's a phone sales job and really is a lot of fun. The people so far are great and there is a lot of room for earning potential.

Not my lifelong dream, but it pays the bills. Plus, even though it's a phone sales job, the JLG is an established company that has been around since 1929 and we're not telemarketing. We have relationships with Librarians and schools throughout the U.S.

Peace.

Stranglehold

Here is what I wish I was doing to my dog, Bailey, right now.

It's 4:30 a.m. and the rumble of thunder started a few moments ago. He has been panting and whining ever since the hint of showers. We have basically seen scattered thunderstorms almost every day for the past week or so in Ohio. No end in sight as far as I can see.

There are times where being a dog owner really stinks and this would be one of them. I love the little mongrel, but he sure make me want to do a little cartoon strangling once in a while. If only the consequences of the cartoon or video game world applied to ours sometimes... what a wonderful world it would be.

That reset button would come in handy, wouldn't it?

Things Are Tough All Over

As many of you know, times are tough in Michigan. Things are looking tougher and tougher all the time.

Cheryl and I have been in Ohio for a little over a year now, but there will always be a place in my heart for Michigan. Especially Detroit and the Metro area.

We are still in the midst of some pretty horrible stuff when it comes to our old house. It seems that the entire state is suffering from a huge rise in foreclosures. An article in the Free Press, says that foreclosures are up 130% since July 2006. We are in the midst of probable foreclosure right now and I have no idea what the outcome will be.

While it can be unnerving that we may lose the old place, there is also a sense of peace that God provides. He will be there no matter what the situation is. We have to keep believing and hoping for the best even in the midst of situations that can seem quite hopeless.

Stripes

Stripes will always hold a special place in my heart.

I remember watching it on TV with Dad and him laughing and laughing. Bill Murray is classic in this movie. The only problem is the end when they take the top secret RV into enemy territory. There are so many hilarious moments and lines to be quoted... yes, I have been known quote lines from movies. Not as much as I used to, but I can quote with the best of them.

John Candy is obviously one of my favorites. I love when they go around the room to talk about why they decided to join...

Ox: My name's Dewey Oxbeger. My friends call me Ox. You mighta' noticed I have a slight weight problem.

Guys: No. No! No.

Ox: Yeah, yeah I do. I went to this doctor and he told me I swallowed a lot of aggression... along with a lot o' pizzas. Haha-ha!

I'm basically a shy person. I'm a shy guy and ah, he suggested takin' one o' these aggression training courses, you know these aggressive training courses, like E.S.T.? Those type o' things. Anways, it cost like 400 bucks! 400 bucks to join this thing.

Well, I ah, I didn't have the money. I thought to myself, join the Army. It's free. So I figured, while I'm here, I'll lose a few pounds. And you got what, a six to eight week training program here? A real tough one. Which is perfect for me.

I'm gonna' walk out of here a lean, mean, fightin' machine. Haha-haha!

Just one of John's classic moments in film.

Throughout most of the movie I think I would have been in the dog house just like Bill Murray. I have seen eye to eye with authority figures, but like the song goes, "When I fight authority, authority always wins."

It's fun revisiting some of the "classics" of my youth. Although, I always saw the TV versions. I had no idea all the stuff I missed!

2 - 0

So far, so good.

The Detroit Lions are 2 - 0 in the pre-season... can you say Super Bowl? Well, they'll get to play the Super Bowl Champion, Indianapolis Colts, on Saturday.

It's not wrong to dream is it?

Go Lions!!