Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Day after the Beastie Boys & Biz Markie.
The show opened with Biz Markie doing his best of the 90's mix and he did a great job. The guy just knows how to entertain, but the biggest complaint of the night was he only did about 15 seconds of "You say he's just a friend".
The Beasties were all over the place, they did their normal hip hop then did some punk and also a couple songs that sounded like a jam band. Very talented trio as they showed their range. I wanted to hear more of the old school so I could have passed on much of the punk songs but overall it was a good show. Couple songs I wished they had played - Brass Monkey & Hey Ladies but thats ok. Sabotage & Intergalactic killed, people went crazy for those two.
Pictures - #1 Beasties moving all around stage. #2 Shirtless Biz Markie singing Benny & the Jets.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Gas Prices going up because of Investors
"Storage tankers across the globe may be brimming with oil that no one is buying because of the global economic downturn, but the traditional laws of supply and demand don't always apply to oil prices. Drivers have faced rising prices at the gas pump in recent months, as investors and oil-producing countries hoard supplies in anticipation of a global economic recovery later this year."
Time.com Article
There must be a better way where the population of the US is so subject to the will of these investors. This happened last year when gas prices spiked and will happen again. Have the regulators learned nothing? I know its a free market country but in a time of recession I think the last thing needed is an unnecessary rise in gas prices.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Russian Victory Day
The day is to commemorate the day the Nazis were defeated. It is a great celebration and I think the Russian people get too little credit for all they did in WWII.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Allen Espy's Thai Photos.
Simple collage of photos. I wanted to test the Picasa function.
Great photos courtesy of http://majorsensations.blogspot.com/
Click the image to see full size.
Great photos courtesy of http://majorsensations.blogspot.com/
Click the image to see full size.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Asheville Tourists Manager
Manager Joe Mikulik. Good guy and I posted the clip in the past showing him going off on the umpires. He gained national attention with that but he is a great guy and I think people can see that in this clip. Credit to the Citizen Times for this interview show.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Tyson!
I am going to see the documentary out about Tyson. In thinking back I wanted to see the first title fight he had.
He destroyed Trevor Berbick and he was a scary man. There are a few other fights I will post as I enjoyed watching them when I was a kid.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Summer in Asheville w/ Baseball
I always like to go back and watch this. I love baseball and minor league is just as fun to go see in person.
This is the Asheville manager Joe Mikulik and I personally know him and to see him like this is hilarious.
He is a great guy and I am glad there were no long-term issues after this blowup. In fact the local community got together and helped raise money to pay his fine.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
I'm a slacker, at least when it comes to blogging.
I have not been posting for the last few weeks because I have had other things on my mind. I'm in a quandary at work as to the future and I have been trying to get in shape as well. I will say that good audiobooks and my iphone make it a lot easier to get out and sweat a bit.
The last audiobook was the Fareed Zakaria that I posted about but my current one is "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins. It has been an eye opening experience to say the least. To me it shows the sinister side to Capitalism and the never-ending spread of greed. I would not recommend it to everyone because it will certainly shake your sense of the idea that the US has always been out to help the world. The US has been out to help the world but only if we get paid.
Some of the biggest names in recent US politics are implicated in this as well. From the obvious ones like Cheney & George HW Bush to others like George Schultz, Robert McNamara, Casper Weinberger and Henry Kissinger. Some of the most powerful people in US politics are often the ones that prospered the most from developing nations. The correlation is the real story in the book.
Monday, March 23, 2009
World Traveling
I sometimes think I missed the time after college where people tend to travel. I instead went right to work for my parents company. Looking back I think to backpack through europe or go through asia would have been the way to go. Of course I did not do that so I cannot say what I would have learned about life and work but the opportunity was there and now it seems gone.
Now I look online at the trips and how long it would take to do them. It would be nearly impossible to get away for a month and still have a job to come back to. So then the idea would be to change my own life into something that would allow for those excursions. I'm currently working on an idea for an import company that allow for some great trips but in this economy anything new is tough. I am inspired by people Like Tim Ferriss who traveled the world while still maintaining his business in the US. That is one approach that truly appeals to me although its certainly the harder approach. The other idea is one that more and more people are doing and that the idea of leaving the US altogether. Whether it be for a short time of maybe a year or for a few years, its an idea that people are exploring more and more. I recently read an article about a married couple that moved to Argentina and had no job plans other than what they could find once they arrived. Argentina appealed to them as they spoke spanish and the climate and lifestyle is east to adjust to. To me that is only hard if you cannot find normal jobs upon arriving.
I guess it comes down to adventure and education. Over the last few years I find myself challenging myself to new experiences and new outlooks on life and everything associated with it. That involves my patriotism, my religion and especially my day to day life and whether I am actually doing anything productive or merely treading water. Between my own personal finances and those I might incur in a new business are the biggest hurdles to any of the options for travel. Sure I could get away for a week to a new place but deep down I think I'm looking for a longer trip somewhere strange. I find the idea constantly on my mind which is certainly not a bad thing as everyone should have goals they aspire to achieve.
Well even if its just in my mind, I'll take that trip when it presents itself.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
My current Book
It's a great read and is very balanced in its overview of
the hurdles the US must deal with in the future. It also
shows how great the country is and how the US has the capacity
to remain on top if we are able to adjust.
Give it a read, its worth it.
Friday, March 13, 2009
My College Football Coach
Great Coach and an even better person. Hardest working person I have ever met.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Jimmy Fallon takes care of his fans.
They are also Diggnation fans as well. I think the shows are getting better as he gets more relaxed.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Awesome place for webcam.
I hope they continuously check the stability of the bridge, because it gets roughed up a lot.
Monday, March 2, 2009
AIG, GM - Enough is Enough
Throwing Billions to AIG to me seems just plain stupid at this point. 180 Billion and counting to save AIG is looking like a never-ending money pit. AIG is making GM's problems look minor.
Some of these giants of business just need to die. I would throw CitiGroup into the mix too. People seem to worry that if these companies fail that we will fall further into depression but to me the faster we cut our losses the better.
I'm all for helping out the companies with public money if they have sound business practices and can actually turn around. In the case of AIG we are not only loaning them cash but the government is also taking over AIG's worst producing divisions. Thats a double whammy over time.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Local Angry Politician - Mumpower on the water dispute.
I love seeing a politician get angry. In this case I have no real grasp on who is right and wrong
but I do think that politicians need to speak their minds more often.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Biggest Construction Projects
This comes from Askmen.com and it lists the longest construction projects in history.
10 Coliseum - 10 years
9 Parthenon - 17 years
8 Great Pyramid at Giza - 20 years
7 Sacsayhuaman - 63 years
6 York Minister Cathedral - 252 years
5 Chichen Itza - 400 years
4 Angkor Wat - 418 years
3 Petra - 450 years
2 Stonehenge - 1,600 years
1 The Great Wall - 2,000 years
I find this list a little shallow as I know there are other Cathedrals in Europe that took more than 10 years to build. Also the far East is only represented by Angkor Watt and the Great Wall and I have an idea that a few structures took over a decade to make.
Time for some research.... the Cathedral pictured is one of my favorites, its one that I will eventually visit, its the Cathedral of Cologne. It took over (1248-1880AD) 600 years to complete, with breaks during that time.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Crazy airport lady after she misses her flight
She was trying to catch a Cathay Pacific flight to San Fran.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Countdown to Pitchers and Catchers approaches
This year like the last 5 or so is unfortunately marked with a new player linked to steroids.
A-Rod or A-fraud is the latest but certainly not the last.
The real story for me is that growing up in Vero Beach / Ft. Pierce we also had the Dodgers in Vero and the Mets in Port St. Lucie. Well the Dodgers left Vero Beach and now the whole facility sits empty this spring. Such a great place to go see a game or see the guys doing the drills that its a shame that it has no one this year. The history is immense with it as the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the LA Dodgers have called it their spring home since 1948. Of course the Dodgers broke through the racial barrier by calling up Jackie Robinson and of course the first place he had to go was Dodgertown. Being in the South, Dodgertown at first did not welcome Jackie (and neither did most of his team), but over time it would become a model for how baseball had to integrate and change its ways.
So now the place where history was made and players / fans dreams came true is gone.
Well enough of the downers, baseball is only a few weeks away and I for one can't wait. Go sox.
photos: #1 sidewalkphotography.blogspot.com, #2 walteromalley.com
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Twitter for fun or business?
If you have never heard of twitter.com then you need to check it out. Its hard to explain so I will use the official definition: "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"
Its a little more than that but its easy to pick up.
Anyways, so I have been using it for about 6 months and everything has been 100% for personal use but I see people are beginning to explore the business options. The network of people you have is the most valuable thing in twitter and from that network you find yourself being informed of anything from news to someone's opinion of a hiking trail. The free flow of communication is great for getting to know a city, cause or hobby as there is likely someone with that same interest twittering. The limits to this will be amazing as it grows from just a geek (a compliment now) thing to celebs and news media now twittering.
Knowing that there are some people that are going to use it to help there business. The question is how. As I said your group of people are valuable and you SHOULD NEVER treat them otherwise, so no spam or anything else that makes them feel like your not a normal tweep (twitter friend). People however do like offers or contest as some twitter users have put up iPhones (@kevinrose) or computers (@jasoncalacanis) to whomever is their follower #X. Also I have seen one local tweep putting up a free one page website with hosting for a year for any follower interested. These ideas work and people do not view them as anything but a fun contest or giveaway, no problems there but it does drive up their numbers or exposure.
Perhaps non-personal information is the method then, allow people to give you info that could help you in some fashion. Perhaps someone puts up an account that named Boston_Bars and asks every bar in town to tweet (individual message) what their specials are for that night or who is playing that night. This idea can be applied in many forms and can be used to spread and gather information for anything. To use this in your business is the challenge, the information can be provided from people that genuinely want to help gather info for themselves and others.
Taking the example of the Boston_Bars, those bars benefit by getting the exposure of letting people know what going on which can be very tough. So their benefit is clear but perhaps you turn that info into a website? No harm in that, maybe Boston_Bars results in launching a site that shows all the twitter info in realtime and allows people to submit reviews of the nights events or specials. The limits are almost endless as long as the people are there, thats why the tweeps are the most valuable.
As for now I'm sticking to the personal twittering but the opportunities are out there as long as people know what the most important assets are.
FYI: email me for my twitter name.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Most Influential Person today?
In looking back at the lists in the previous posts there are many people that are either scientists or religious leaders. Today's most influential people are Politicians, atleast in my opinion. Sure the Pope does have a tremendous influence on the world but not as much as the Popes of 500 years ago.I have to say President Obama is the most influential person today and I'm not even sure who could rival him.You have the leaders in Business like Bill Gates, Ratan Tata or Wong Kwong Yu. But I think their influence does not match the reach that Obama has throughout the world.
Maybe the fact that politicians & even celebrities are so influential is a sign of the times. In looking back into history its Science / Art / Religion that bring about revolutionary times of growth and prosperity. The times when Politicians are on top are often the times where innovation is stifled and the revolution often takes away people's everyday lives. Of course this is not always the case, sometimes the Politicians are needed because the laws and trends have been hurting science, art and religion. That sounds like the times we are in now.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Most Influential people in history - Part 2
Here are a few:
7. Ts'ai Lin - He's the Chinese inventor or paper. Pretty important invention that everyone uses daily in some form.
20. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier - father of modern chemistry, philosopher & economist. Just this description makes me want to go read about him.
51. Pope Urban II - called for the First Crusade. Although I know about the Crusades, I have never looked at the Pope(s) who ordered them.
52. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab - Second Caliph, expanded Muslim empire. The Muslim world is not given the credit it deserves, fascinating science and politics during its history. This ruler I know nothing about and will certainly look into.
73. Lao Tzu - founder of Taoism. I have heard of the religion but thats about it. Another topic to look into.
85. Sun Wen Ti - Chinese ruler who unified China. Just like the Muslim world, the Asian world does not get the credit its due.
100. Mahavira -founder of Janism. After watching and studying Indian religions, Janism is one that was intriguing for its peaceful stance.
Over all I think of myself as a history buff, yet its great to see that there are so many on this list that I have not studied.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Coach fired after 100-0 win.
Micah Grimes, the coach of a Texas high school basketball team that beat another team 100-0, was fired Sunday, the same day he sent an e-mail to a newspaper saying he will not apologize "for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."
Kyle Queal, the headmaster for Covenant School, said in The Dallas Morning News online edition that he could not answer if the firing was a direct result of coach Micah Grimes' e-mail disagreeing with administrators who called the blowout "shameful."
from - ChicagoTribune.com
This was a horrible story as they were up 59-0 at halftime and they continued to run it up in the second half. Any coach should know that school athletics are a teaching tool where you instill sportsmanship in the players. That fact I guess was lost on Micah Grimes and even when the media and even his own boss wanted him to apologize, he refused.
I thought he deserved to be fired even if he did apologize and forfeit the game.
Monday, January 26, 2009
NY Giants fans should be so proud.
Man, how embarrassing that this is going to be a viral video, he will never live this down.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Religion & Politics
Religion affects everyone whether its a strong belief in a singular god or a strong belief in the lack of a god it molds people into who they are. Morals are developed in part by the religion of each person so when it comes to governing religion has to come into play. That being said, morals are different than religious beliefs in my opinion an that is where the trouble comes in with any politician. There can never really be a separation of church and state because of the influence that religion has on everyone.
It then comes to intent of the actions, if Pres. Bush personally felt that abstinence was the only way of contraception he wanted to fund, was this because of religious beliefs or on moral ground? Does it make a difference? To me it 100% does because people will never agree on issues but if the justification is based on moral grounds then its merely a disagreement. This distinction however makes no difference as the President does not have to justify his actions on Executive orders so the reasoning technically makes no difference. But it is interesting to me to read into these orders and see where they come from.
So far:
-Close Gitmo
-Close foreign prisons
-End all torture
-open funding to foreign organizations that are pro-abortion, not just the previous abstinence groups (since 1984).
whats next?
-end of don't ask, don't tell
Monday, January 19, 2009
MLK Day in the USA
Most of the stories are known but the quotes never seem to end.
"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
Friday, January 16, 2009
So long to #43, bring on #44.
I hope the message of Hope has some effect on the economy.
Photos from Chicago Trib (Bush) & McHenrycountyblog.com (Obama).
Thursday, January 15, 2009
100 Most influential people in history.
Let me start by saying this list is not my own, its from adherent.com. Nevertheless I do like these lists and found this one to be very interesting in a historical sense. I will list the top 10 and other notables.
1. Muhammed
2. Isaac Newton
3. Jesus Christ
4. Buddha
5. Confucius
6. St. Paul
7. Ts'ai Lun
8. Johann Guttenburg
9. Christopher Columbus
10. Albert Einstein.
Well I agree with most of these, the religious ones certainly need to be there. Isaac Newton seems a bit high to me, but thats ok. Lun, Guttenburg & Columbus I think should be lower, they did things that although revolutionary for their time, their accomplishments were bound to happen eventually.
Others that interested me,
13. Aristotle - great philosopher. People know his ideas yet rarely know that he originated them.
16. Charles Darwin - no explanation needed.
21. Constantine the Great - Roman emperor who legalized Christianity. Changed the world forever.
39. Adolf Hitler - he also changed the world but will forever by probably being the most evil man in history.
85. Sui Wen Ti - unified China, without this the world would be much different today.
Pictured - Isaac Newton from wikipedia.org
#1 Mohammed no pictured for obvious reasons.
Story of India on PBS
There is a great series on PBS called the Story of India. Its a BBC series that shows India through the thousands of years. It is very well done and shows the history of the various regions, ethnic groups and religions. To me the highlight so far was learning about the great Patel dynasty. During that dynasty they have quotes from the Chinese that were in India to trade, that the Patel nation was viewed as the height of human culture through art, architecture and in the way they lived their lives. No war and they were all strict buddhists, this meant that they did not kill anything other than the plants they grew for food. Everything from no wars to not even killing mosquitos. I cannot even imagine a life like that, it would be amazing.
Overall its a great series and I highly recommend it. Its on PBS on Mondays for the next two weeks I believe.
The picture above is of the Sikh Temple Amritsar. Sikh's in India have a great history and thats another topic for another day.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Another great movie. Gran Torino
Another great movie this winter. Much funnier than anticipated.
Clint still has that look and presence that can be intimidating.
While not as good as Slumdog, its still worth seeing.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Damn Oil. 60 Minutes view on Price Speculation.
Watch CBS Videos Online
The gist of the video is that the price increase had absolutely nothing to do with supply & demand. It was Wall Street that ran the price up for its investors. Same companies that then took bailouts from taxpayers.
If we ever switch to electric vehicles (fingers crossed) I hope that price speculation
is regulated and that we don't become captives of the greed of Wall Street.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Florida Gators - Champs
The game was very good last night and the Gators came out on top.
However, I think that USC could beat them. Its sad that the BCS has a lock on the
NCAA and they will not allow a playoff because even though I hate USC, I think they are the best team in the nation this year.
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