Category Archives: General

Happy Holidays

Analytics? We Don’t Need No Stinking Analytics…….

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[FINN]

Okay, so the heading is just a bit over the top, but I don’t believe by much.

I’ve had several websites over the past few years & when I used to speak of them it was always from the Analytics perspective. How many unique visitors did the site have? How much time were they spending on it? What was the Bounce Rate? What city were they arriving from? What foreign countries, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah ad nauseum.

I realized that we had been sold a bill of goods by Google and took the current Analytics at face value as gospel. It was also, I believe, a stroke of genius on their part when they made these available to anyone by offering them at no cost.

What did those metrics really say? More importantly what didn’t they say?

“Most businesses measure only Activity Metrics which I’ve come to believe don’t tell the whole story. What we should be looking at are Outcome Metrics  which monitor impact,” according to Jonathan Becher, CMO SAP.

After reading his brief column titled “Counting What Counts: How Outcome Metrics Have Changed the Game” in the Sept. 24th issue of Forbes Magazine, I felt that I has found a kindred spirit.

This idea that maybe we were looking at the wrong metrics was the basis for the movie Moneyball in which Billy Beane, then the General Manager of the Oaklands Athletics MLB team turned the baseball world upside down with his theory. He had a lot of naysayers within, old school scouts, owners, even his own team manager.

In baseball where $10 million plus annual salaries are fairly common Beane was given a very small budget  ($40mil) to field a team of 25 active players & 15 others who make up a 40 man roster. Beane determined that baseball had been all wrong in what metrics it was using to draft & trade players & what their dollar value was to the team. Statistics such as stolen bases, runs batted in, and batting average, typically used to gauge players had been determined by Beane to be relics of an earlier time.

Instead he theorized that metrics such as OBP (On Base Percentage) SLG (Slugging Percentage) were the Impact Metrics & were far more important than RBI’s, SB’s, & BA.

Oakland went on to a 103 – 59 record, second only to the New York Yankees who finished the year with a 103-58 season at the cost of over $100 million just for player’s salaries to achieve the same number of wins.

Becher goes on to say “We live in an increasingly data driven world. Unlocking the power of the data & analytics provides insights & a competitive edge….”

This is exciting to me & I plan on looking more into the Impact Metrics versus the easily attainable Activity Metrics that we currently put so much faith into.

I now know what Ed Kless feels like when he’s attempting to teach software partners a more financially sound method of billing for their services. Many of those partners are CPA’s, a group who thrive in the thrill of Hourly Billing. I believe that it takes courage & a firm conviction to believe in something that is totally opposite of the “norm.” It makes it expodentially difficult when you exist in a world that lives on the time worn creed, “But that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Are You Still Missing The Social Media / Blogging Train?……..

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Don’t Be This Guy, He Missed The Train

Since Sage Summit I’ve been talking to a lot of companies of different sizes & different industries about the importance of getting on the social media train. Social media is not a fad, it’s here to stay.

Consider these statistics from Econsultancy Network Statistics Quarterly Compendium

  1. Global Wi-Fi usage is up by 240% between Q2 2011 & Q2 2012
  2. 76% of marketers plan to increase their YouTube and/or video marketing
  3. 25% of corporations have at least 1 staff member who works exclusively on social media
  4. 57% of corporations have their social media team within their marketing department
  5. Most corporate social media is used for Communications, Marketing, Customer Service & Reputation Monitoring
  6. 62% of corporations intend to increase budgets for social media
  7. 90% of corporations say social media is becoming a more important part of their marketing strategy
  8. A LinkedIn profile can bring many opportunities in your direction. If you’re sure what to do ask someone who has had success utilizing LinkedIn and to a lesser degree Twitter and Facebook The other area that I’m stressing to companies is blogging and that’s because most of them  don’t have a blog because most people don’t think they can write.

    I employ a very simple methodology that proves that ALL people can write and they shouldn’t be afraid to.

    Below are my reasons why I think blogging is so important to a company:

    a. It gives the company a face & more visibility
    b. It helps build a trust relationship
    c. If your blog is about your industry it helps mark you as an industry expert
    d. Some people are leary of “Push Notification,” be careful that you don’t come off as being pushy with your sales pitch. As a matter of fact, don’t try to sell anything other than yourself and your quality company
    e. A blog can generate leads & business provided your blog isn’t one huge sales pitch

There are more reasons to blog, these are but a few. I’m sure that you can come up with a lot more of your own. While you’re contemplating a company blog ask yourself two questions;

Are my competitor’s blogging? Are my customers blogging?

If you answered “yes” to at least one of the questions then you should be picking up the phone & calling someone who is an expert in the art of setting up company blogs.

I just saw a statistic at Sage Summit that made me smile; approx. 65% of all businesses blog. I wish I could remember which company it was that shared that with me. Even it’s off 5-10% +/- that means that over half of all businesses are utilizing a fantastic tool that most of didn’t use just 5 years ago.

So, are you willing to get on the train or are you going to be left at the station wishing you had jumped on? My suggestion? Get on the train, now!

What To Wear, What To Wear @ Sage Summit 2012

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I get teased a lot because I don’t know how to pack lightly. I operate under the “You Just Never Know” Theory when it comes to travelling.

A man writing a blog about what to wear to a conference? If you are Wayne Schulz or Robert Wood you pack 2 pair of socks, 1 pair of tennis shoes, 1 semi dress pair, 2 pair of Dockers, 2 Polo Short Sleeved Shirts, & assorted accessories. Nothing has to match, just has to be comfortable and ready.

Sometimes I wish it were that easy for me. It just isn’t. I like wearing suits, sport coats & wool gabardine slacks with matching shirts & shoes. I probably spend more making sure everything is dry cleaned and laundered PRIOR to a trip that some people spend at the dry cleaners in an entire year. I’m not bragging, it is an affliction to which there is no cure.

We’re only 3 weeks away from attending Sage Summit 2012. Prior to leaving San Diego I think that it’s time to get out the checklist. If you’re like me, you’ll discover that if I don’t prepare a checklist I’ll always end up 1 pair of socks short, too few business cards, forgot toothpaste, brought 2 bottles of shampoo, no conditioner. You name it, I’ve forgot it on one trip or another. That’s why I pack like I’m leaving for a year around the world.

Belove I’ve included the average temperature & humidity for Nashville just in case you’re wondering about what to wear.

Nashville Average Humidity August

Airline Ticket √
Sage Summit Registration √
Room Reservation √
Luggage √
4 Suits √
2 Pair Slacks √
1 Pair Jeans √
8 Shirts, Dress
2 Casual √
3-4 Pair of Shoes,
Including Flip Flops√

Average August Temperature Nashville

6-8 Pair of Socks √
6-8 Pair of Underwear √
3 Belts √
4 Tee Shirts √
Assorted Toiletries √
Laptop √
iPad √
Camera √
Cell Phone √
Chargers For Laptop, iPad, Camera, Cell Phone √
Extra “AA & “AAA “Batteries for Any Emergency √
Necessary Travel Documents √I enjoy wearing suits at conferences so I need those. I have to wear different shirts to match the suits, sports coats, etc.  Of course extra socks & underwear are a must & different shoes for each suit are very important. There’s nothing worse than wearing a black suit & the wrong shoes or socks.

Should be all set, right? Wrong. Don’t forget your wallet! I’ve done that before also. If it can be forgotten I’ve forgotten it on some trip to somewhere.

This list looks like a list for a man, but it can be used just as easy for women.

I think that someone could make a decent living as professional packers. Hand them your list, they go through it with you, and voila your only job is to get to the airport in time. She’s already packed your luggage in your car and included your entire itinerary and any other necessary documentation.

I recently purchased a new large piece of London Fog luggage and I feel very compelled to fill it. One of the local luggage stores was having a killer sale on London Fog luggage. Had to have it! Retail Therapy is so rewarding & satisfying (until you get the credit card bill)

One item that is HIGHLY recommend  is a light coat. Longer Flights  tend to get chilly and so do the Session Rooms. This reminder comes from #SageSummit so I would pay extra attention to it.

Above all, get there safe and on time, dress accordingly and if the airline loses your luggage you can participate in one of my other favorite hobbies and that’s shopping. Gaylord Opryland has a couple of shops to purchase something new.

Yeah, I know I’m a guy & I should honor the Man Code & not admit to enjoy shopping so much.

HAVE FUN!!

I’ve Got Junk In My Box

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When I was writing this blog and I decided on the title “I’ve Got Junk In My Box” I couldn’t help but think of the Black Eyed Peas song “My Hump” a semi silly song that refers to a woman’s derriere.

If you’re easily offended don’t worry, I haven’t gone off the deep end, the correlation is purely coincidental and that’s just the title that kept coming to mind at 3:00 a.m. here in San Diego.

There is a serious side to this post and that’s all the junk that I receive in my e-mail box on a daily basis. I average somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 – 125 e-mails daily and am somewhat surprised by the efforts that companies go through to break down my computers firewall,  spam filters, trusted and restricted sites, and whatever else either Microsoft, Eset or myself have downloaded to keep my computer safe from Spammers, Hackers, Phishers, Spoofers, etc.

                                                                      Email Marketing

The good news is that many companies have considerably improved their email marketing, partly because of legal requirements.

But many still burn out their contacts by misusing their details.

Here are a few of the most common reasons you’ll lose customer trust and damage your brand:

•Emailing irrelevant offers.

•Passing on your email addresses without permission.

•Sending too many emails. (Now there’s an ambiguous term, what’s too many?)

•Failing to protect your data.

•Not  offering an Easy UnSubscription Plan. (This will get my blood boiling)

How effective is emailing Spam?I’m sure their Cost Of Business is small because their main operating cost would be the management of their mailing lists. It must some sustainable return or they wouldn’t keep doing it.

Here’s a number that will put it all into prospective. In 2011 it’s estimated that there were 7  TRILLION sent around the world! That’s a million million or a thousand billion!

 I’m sure there’s some chump signing up for the Publisher’s Clearing Warehouse Grand, Stupendous, Incredible,  Outlandish, Phony, Preposterous, Million Dollar Sweepstakes.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who gets tons of junk emails. What’s the solution? Personally I don’t know. A friend of mine says that she when starts getting slammed with junk she simply opens up a new email account. Hmm, I like it but it wouldn’t be practical for me.

Remember to “Keep The Junk Out of Your Trunk.”

Is Texting REALLY an innovation?

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20 years ago, IN DECEMBER, text messagING WAS BORN & SINCE HAS shaped our lives & careers.

It seems that this 20 year anniversary went by without any recognition….since this invention and other great inventions like “e-mail” what could you never live without in your business environment? We forget how far we’ve come sometimes, maybe we should take time to ponder what a less techy world would be like.

 I’m probably one of the few who do as little TM’ing as possible. I dislike it for a couple of reasons; what happened to face to face conversations?

Have you tried to have a conversation with a teenager today who injects “stupid,” “retarded,” “annoying.”LMAO, ROLF, BTW, and my personal favorite STFU.

The art of conversation seems to have been lost on the next generation. They’re constantly looking at a small screen, thumbs flying over the keyboard, holding TM sessions with 1-10 other TMers that seemingly last forever. Ask them what they writing about and the answer is invariably, “I dunno know.”

My friends daughter just got a new phone and she asked me to go to Verizon with her to help her pick out a phone and never in my many trips to Verizon over the years have I felt more lost than the 45 minutes she and I spent there.

Her only requirement for a PHONE was the ease of TMing. My TMing is slow, laborious and full of typos & syntax errors. her first month of owning the phone was rewarded with a call to the Verizon Support Center. It seems that she and her friend “He’s not my boyfriend” jammed her phone with over 3,000 TM’s in just 3 weeks. What in the heck can two teenagers be “talking” about that takes up
3,oo0 text messages? I wanted to ask but common sense told I wouldn’t understand anyway, so I took the safe route. 

I don’t think I talked that much to my first girlfriend during the entire 9th grade. Sorry Valerie, if we’d had Text Messaging we could have said so much more. But then again, I probably didn’t want to know what she was thinking about, nor would I have any idea what to do that information.  Trust me I was a dork all through school D-O-R-K

It’s my theory that if TMing remains a favorite form of communication man will start to evolve with 2 big ugly thumbs and the rest of their digits will proportionally reduce in size. After 200 years, we’ll be back to the caveman days with conversation. A simple grunt will be the only conversation that will emit from our mouths because our mouths will continue to reduce in size as our thumbs grow larger from lack of use. In 400 years we’ll just be two gigantic thumbs walking around looking for another pair of gigantic thumbs to text message with.

I know most of you pondered a completely different thought but I would love it if there were no TMing. If anyone does TM me, I promise you it will be days before you hear back from me.

If anyone needs to get in touch with me you can either e-mail me or use a phone for conversation purposes.

Living As An Adult With Baby Elephant Beliefs

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I’m starting to write a book after stewing the thought about it for the past couple of years. The basis of the book is an approach to sales that I’ve never seen nor read anywhere. After talking with a fellow colleague recently about his situation I told him about my idea and he said that I needed to start writing the book immediately, so with that ammunition I’ve started writing it.

After many years of observing and managing “sales” people I kept asking myself why so many of them are unsuccessful? Why do so many of them keep repeating questionable tactics that resulted in a poor outcome? Why are “sales” people afraid to ask the tough questions?

I won’t get into the real depth of it because I don’t want to give the ideas of my book away but here’s something that a friend of mine has talked about for years. Howard calls it living as an adult with baby elephant ideas. Here’s where that comes from.

In the jungle elephants are used for the heavy work. They drag tree trunks from the jungles to help the workers clear the area. While they are babies the elephants are chained by a back leg to a very large tree. Initially they keep trying to free themselves, but finally give up because they realize they are locked into that situation. The elephants after repeated failures “know” the situation is unchangeable and there is nothing that they can do about it.

As fully grown adults tethering them to a large tree is replaced by a small stake in the ground. Logic tells us that because of the elephant’s strength and size they could easily rip the stake from the ground and simply walk away. However, the elephants have long since given up trying to free themselves and fully accept the chains of life’s “reality” as it appears to them, and so even when they are chained to a small stake in the ground, they accept and believe and “know” it is immovable, so they stop trying to pull it out and be free.

Most of us live with those same Baby Elephants Ideas. Fear is our chain and “stake” because all of us are trained to be afraid of punishment and rejection whenever we try to shake loose from our indoctrinated chains of mutually agreed upon definitions. We “know” the consequences are dire and painful. But, those Baby Elephants Ideas are so ingrained in us that we simply don’t try to make our lives better event though we’re tired of the life that we have.

As adults, then, let us all remember that the fear driven stake in the ground that seems immovable is very, very tiny, and easily pulled out of the ground. The message here is that we can change old ideas if we just believe

This isn’t a new idea but one that I’m refining for purposes of writing my book

P.S. I normally insert an image into my blogs but I was so disturbed by images of the treatment of the elephants during this “breaking in” period that I just couldn’t  bring myself to put an image of them out on the internet for others to see.

Life’s Crossroads

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Have you ever come to a crossroads in your life and not known which branch to take? They all seemed about the same at the time but in retrospect they were about the same as night and day.

So, what to do, you ask? Beats the heck out of me, I can’t answer for anyone else but myself. Making wise decisions was never my forte when I was younger and I’ve only got smarter as a result of repeatedly taking the wrong road. Taking short cuts seemed to be the easier, softer way, and they were fun. But life has a way of turning shortcuts into valuable life lessons.  Fast forward a few years to 2001. I had a small business and my partner ran off with our remaining $91,000, left the country and me with few options.

See where this is going? Crossroads? Decisions? I was at a crossroads and I was willing to listen to others. I received a call from a friend who had been selling Oracle software for a few years. He had made the switch from Oracle to Sage and was the Sales Manager at Sage’s largest partner.

He asked if I wanted to come to work for him selling software. I told him “sure” but I’d never sold software. He told me not to worry, he’d teach me everything that I needed to learn. Thus, my career in the world of software began. He left the company shortly after hiring me but I wanted to stay because I was really enjoying what I was doing.

The owner of that company became my first software mentor and even though I left his company I still consider him a friend today. Occasionally we get together for lunch (almost always sushi) and we catch up with each other.

When I left his company I was at a crossroads, I thought that it was time to take what I had learned out “into the world.” It wasn’t my best decision. The difference in this decision and the ones that I made when I was younger; was that I was making this decision to take better care of my family.

Since then I’ve had to make a lot of crucial  decisions, but that’s part of life, making decisions each and every day and the one thing that I keep in mind when I’m making those decisions is this, how is this going to affect my family?

One of the hardest decisions that I’ve had to make in the past year was my relationship with my son’s mother and how we both knew it was time for me to get my own place. I remember leaving the house that night and I was filled with a feeling of  ”failing.” I sat in my car that night for a long time wondering how things had gotten to this. Since that night to right now I’ve grown more and as a result of that growth I have become a better person. I make sure that my wife has plenty of whatever she needs to continue to give the boys what they need and I treat her with the up most respect because no matter what she’ll always be their mother and I’ll always be their father and I’ll always be the father I never had. I don’t talk bad to the boys about their mother Why do I do this? Because it’s the right thing to do.  As a result of doing the right thing I get to spend quality time with them and that’s extremely important to me.

I was at a crossroads when I left the house and I had two roads to take, the first would have been the selfish one and my sons would have had to pay for that. The second and the most rewarding road is the one when I do things for other people because it’s the right thing.

New Years Resolutions

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I think that New Years Resolutions are merely resentments in the making. Normally people who make resolutions like wanting to lose extra weight, make more money, find their soul mate, buy the newest, best & bigger (you fill in the blanks)

I was at a Tony Robbins Unleash The Power (firewalk) event several years ago & he said to the effect that if you cut out a picture of a slim person driving the newest Escalade with their soul mate by their side with money stuffed in their pockets that their dreams would be fulfilled. I tried it for several months, woke up one morning & realized that other than this photo of Alejandro Fernandez I didn’t have a strategy to make my resolutions reality. Plus I got tired of explaining of why I had a photo of a dude on my refrigerator.

It wasn’t until I started developing plans & strategies that things started to change.

If you’re making New Years Resolutions just to make yourself comfortable as you tool around town in your loosest sweats, making secret stops to McDonalds, forget it.

Get a plan & stick by it, even when Mickey D is screaming in your ear, just drive on by to Subway. You want to make yourself more money? More yourself more valuable.

Which reminds me, I need to lose 20 lbs & I will because, other than fresh fruit & water,  I’m not eating late at night (baaaaaad habit)

Happy New Years

What Is Peace?

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 What is peace? Why do we wish each other peace during the holiday season & during the rest of the year it becomes a non-existent rarely used phrase? According to Merriam-Webster it means 1. a state of traquility or quiet; a freedom from civil disturbance; a state of security or order within a community provided for by custom. 2.Harmony in personal relations. 3. Freedom from diquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. 4. A state or period of mutual concord between governments; a pact or agreement to end end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity. 5. Used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell. While I’m sure these definitions are all lined with good intentions the question still goes unanswered; why can’t we have and pass these feelings on to the next person in a genuine manner year round?

I love the Christmas season because I have two small boys who still believe in Santa Claus. I’m not big on all the gift giving because that seems a bit contrived but to see their sleepy faces on Christmas morning makes it worth it. My absolute favorite part of the entire season is leaving cookies & milk for Santa & carrots for the reindeer on the fireplace & having to take bites out of the food & leaving a thank you note from Santa. I’m not sure why but it brings tears to my eyes.

I know that there is peace in my household on Christmas morning because I can feel it and I wish that I could have that feeling where ever I go each and every day of the year. Wouldn’t the world be a better place? I think so.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish peace to all in their lives both during the holiday season & the rest of the year. I especially wish our troops who are away from their famililies peace & I pray that they come home safely.

“…men have gone to war and cut each other’s throats because they couldn’t agree as to what was to become of them after their throats were cut.”

Walter Parker Stacy (1908-1951) Chief Justice North Carolina Supreme Court

 

Who Inspires You?

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Who inspires you to be a better person, parent, friend, co-worker? Or do you find your inspiration from something rather than someone? There’s not a single person who reached their level of success without having inspiration come from someone or something outside themselves.

Here’s some examples. I’m inspired by my sons to be a better person & father. Their ability to see the world without filters continually amazes me. What really astounds me is that they know what the term unconditional love means. Somedays I think “I’ve got this parent thing down only to have a shortcoming exposed the very next day. So I also get a healthy dose of patience & humility.

I find inspiration in colleagues; people who reached levels in their career that I’m sure they didn’t even know they were capable of. A great example of this is someone most people at Sage know. He’s a great husband to a beautiful woman & there’s no doubt that they have a wonderful relationship filled with life’s inherent blessings including two children.

Go to Facebook; other women flock to her postings as if each word came down from Mt. Sinai inscribed onto two plates carved from the finest granite.

He inspires other FBers to think beyond the white chalk line & his posting are always well commented on. In the short few years that I’ve known him I’ve disagreed about his point of view only once.

He inspires me to be a better employee, person, father, husband & friend.

It’s like owning a bengal tiger as a personal pet. There’s  that little portion in your brain that says owning a bengal isn’t one of your better decisions, but you go ahead & get the tiger. 

The tiger is a “good kitty” for the first 6 months & then one day his natural instinct kicks in & in a split second you’ve become a meal to your precious little kitty.  It was just a matter of time.

A  long time friend of mine loves to regale us with his drinking stories. Jimmy is a Irish Catholic with a strong Irish brogue who used to hold court in pubs  in Ireland & is one very funny man. Like the Bengal tiger alcohol was his friend for many years & then he crossed the line. He said that every trip to jail began with  a  bottle of tequila & the phrase, “Hey I’ve got an idea.”

Jimmy inspired me to not take myself so seriously. He’s been fighting cancer for the past couple of years & refuses to let it get him down. So what does he do? He spends his time, when he’s physically able; talking to terminal cancer patients & budding young alcoholics. He inspires me to be a better person & personifies the expression; “You can’t keep it if you don’t give it away.”

I was just talking to a group of six Marines kids earlier this week who were leaving for Iraq. They’ve never been to Iraq or Afghanistan, nor were these countries on their bucket list, but out of a sense of duty they joined the U.S. Marines knowing that their chance of going to the volatile Middle East was pretty high. 

 4 days ago their young lives changed forever as they boarded a military flight to protect each of us. Right now they’re in a country where people are killing each other based on their religious beliefs & consider it an honor to be a walking bomb, it’s a crazy way to exist. And some of our kids come home in body bags. There are no winners.

These young Marines inspire me with the bravery & sense of doing the right thing for my country.

Inspiration comes in all colors, sizes, demographics, etc. But they can’t inspire the truly uninspired & uninspirable. Don’t become one of them.

Riding The Rails

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amtrak along the coastAs I’m heading up to Glendale (that’s a suburb of L.A. for the geographically challenged) this morning on the Amtrak Surfliner it dawned on me that the train is an ideal mode of transportation.

Between doing some work on my laptop, dozing off for about 30 minutes, talking on the phone without having to stick a Blue Tooth in my ear (California law) & watching Southern California roll by makes for a very pleasant 2:20 ride.

 Best parts? I don’t have to worry one of Southern California’s most unpleasant experiences & that’s rush hour(s) traffic nor the inevitable rear enders that are associated with our traffic. I would be remiss in leaving out a phenonemon seemingly unique to So. Cal commuters & that’s the inability to drive in even the slightest drizzles of rain. Traffic accidents actually increase 4 times in the slightest inclement conditions & the weather talking heads have roving reporters out in the “eye of the storm” as we are forced to watch multiple updates on Storm Watch 2009!

But I digress…..

I know that on the East Coast trains, busses, subways, cabs are a part of everyday life but here in Southern California your car is an extension of you & the thought of living through one day without your car is like leaving your cell phone at home & will cause seperation anxiety for even the bravest of souls. It leaves you with a feeling of deserting your best friend.

I’ve actually come to enjoy catching the train, getting my ticket punched by friendlyAmtrak Ticket Takers, grabbing a window seat, sit back, enjoy the ocean view & let someone else do the driving. Try it sometime, I think you’ll enjoy it.

All Aboard!!!!

      

I Pulled The Plug On Face Book

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I have deactivated my Face Book Account. While there are a few people who post thought provoking discussions (very few) the majority of the posts run like this:

“I just woke up in Denver & I can’t wait to get home to California to Schmookie or Schmookins, my fat arthiritic cat.”

Question #1, did you not know that you would be waking up in Denver or were you in a black out & Denver was the random city this month?

Question #2, Assuming that you knew you’d be waking up in Denver did you provide your cat with enough arthiritis medication & food to last it until you came home to California? Continue reading →

Remember Our Troops & Their Families

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As we spend these holidays with loved ones please remember to say a silent prayer for our troops are who spending their holidays away from their families. I know that for many it’s a career choice but it’s also a choice that we should all be grateful that they made.

I just read “The Night Before Christmas” to my two small boys, tucked them into their beds, left cookies & milk for the Big Guy & carrots for the reindeer. Tomorrow morning they’ll get to celebrate this joyous time with the people who love them very much. 

I can’t but help think about the children who won’t be because their parents are protecting us & allowing us to live in this great land that we call home.

So, if there are any troops reading this, I simply say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice

God Bless Each of You,

Bill Kizer