Oh, yeah. I have a blog, don't I?

Had the most interesting co-write of my life recently. A friend and co writer was in town for a choir tour. They had just ministered at my church that Sunday night. As most tourists are apt to do, they set aside Monday to visit the Arch. He had been to the top more times than he cared to admit, so we set up a Monday writing session.

I drove down to pick him up at the riverfront and headed down to one of my favorite lunch spots - Benton Park Cafe on the corner of Arsenal & Lemp (across from Gus' Pretzels). Place has a nice vibe and great food.

TANGENT - If you ever stop in ask about their soup of the day. If it is their roasted red pepper soup it will be one of the greatest days of your life (strictly in a culinary sense, of course!)

Had a fantastic lunch and pulled out a song we had started at least two years ago (I know, TWO YEARS) - a fun uptempo southern gospel number titled...well, you'll have to wait for that one.

We had just finished polishing up the chorus and were finishing up the first verse when he got a call. Time to meet the choir for lunch somewhere on the way to their next service. Made a quick stop to pick up some music he forgot at a church in south city and headed to the rendezvous.

Ended up meeting them at Hampton & 44 at McDonald's. Much different atmosphere from our earlier writing spot, but decent. Molstly clean, anyway. We had a few more minutes, so why not? Kept right on working the song right inside McD's over iced tea.

So that was my first ever traveling co write. Probably won't intentionally set those up in the future, but I suppose when you have a stupid busy schedule, you'll do what you have to to get the song done.

Now back to my corner to get the song done.

Sick at Home, or the resurrection of my blog

Been sick at home for the last 3 days. Not homesick, or sick of home, sick at home. These 3 days have taught me a few things:

• The "blessing" of technology has made continuing work while sick easy. It has also made getting rest very, very difficult.
• At home, I am no longer the boss. An adorable, energetic and wildly unpredictable 18 month old has relieved me of the title.
• At work, apparently I am still the boss...as in no one can get through the day without me.
• Remember the days when colds weren't earth-halting events? Sure there was a fever, maybe a few chills, a day off, and we're ready to go. No more. What is up with the industrial strength super bugs these days?
• Texting is great for short exchanges, but most times a 30 second phone call trumps a 2 minute texting session.
• Time with family, whether sick or well, is the best way to spend what little time we are given.

Now, back to my sick little corner...

Sad, but really true

First Celebrity Swine Flu Fatality

This space for rent....

This space for rent. Hey, I figured sometime not using it that much. I might as well try in to rent it to somebody. Let's start the bidding at, how about a Macbook Pro? Bid away.
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Things the Mainstream Media will never tell you about our economy - Part 2

The Federal Reserve - just who are they?

This article gives the 30,000 ft view. Watch the linked youtube video...it will be worth your time.


Financial fix? Abolish the Fed, says congressman

Things the Mainstream Media will never tell you about our economy - Part 1

I've recently done a lot of research and reading about what is going on in our economy. One of my business partners has a far better grasp on what is happening than most pundits do, and I have him to thank for the bulk of my knowledge on the subject. I am NOT an expert, so I'll not venture into the impending implosion in the derivatives markets (we already saw what that did to AIG) or the upcoming commercial real estate meltdown (watch for TARP empowered vultures to swoop in to pick up some bargains), simply because I'm not sure I totally understand it all.

Not fully understanding is exactly why I'm starting this brief series - most of us average folks don't understand the REAL reasons for the mess we are in. Talking heads interested only in getting their sound bites aired offer little of substance. Politicians will NEVER, EVER take the blame themselves for the mess we're in (even though government IS largely responsible), instead choosing to point fingers at "greedy" corporations. Wall Street seems inhabited by 21st century pirates. Who is really to blame?

I could go on and on. Rather, I will post links, videos, commentary and such that will give you an idea of the actual scope and what you can do to take care of your family. Again, I'm not an expert, and I do not endorse every single part of every single link I post. If you disagree with something,at least we've started talking about something that has largely been ignored.


what is critical is that you DO NOT PUT YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. What has started will affect every facet of your life. Prudence is essential.

"A prudent man forsees the evil, and
hides himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished."
Proverbs 22:3 and Proverbs
27:12 NKJV

So first, let's learn about our money supply.

To blog or not to blog, and other (in)decisions

Don't get me wrong. Not that I don't want to blog anymore, it's just that now that I've started Facebooking (is that right? Am I a Facebooker? Does a Facebookie run an Facebook-only gambling ring?) It seems that it is overkill to give updates on FB and then blog. Perhaps Facebook takes more emotional investment, leaving very little for the blog.

Speaking of emotional investment, it seems that Facebook is a way to insulate yourself while giving the illusion of openness or even friendship RATHER than a way to truly bring people together. True that it is cool to log in and see what your peeps are doing, but what ever happened to a good old-fashion investing of yourself with a simple phone call?

I'm rather torn pondering this. All this has done is bring a new level of questions to light. Is a simple message sufficient? When does something warrant a text or even (gasp!) an actual phone call? Should I email? Send a message via carrier pigeon? Should smoke signals do the trick?

Sometimes I really don't know.

BTW - For those of you who care, we got our funding approved for the new venture. Can you say Praise The Lord??? In this current economy. In this current credit crunch. We got our funding.

God works in wonderful ways. Now we just have to do seal the deal. Yes, (thanks for asking) much prayer would be appreciated.

News you can use

Breaking News: Series Of Concentric Circles Emanating From Glowing Red Dot

A Whole Latte Nothing (or, New Year, Same Neuroses)

I am going crazy about a coffee maker. You see, I have not owned one for about 8 or 9 years. Since I've been drinking more and more lately, I thought I'd get one. Here's the catch - I have to buy it on Amazon. I have a gift certificate from there that will pay for a good portion of it. Considering my current circumstances, just buying one outright would be kinda irresponsible, no?

Okay, Amazon.com is easy, I shop there all of the time - So, no problem, right?

Wrong.

My issue is that I NEVER impulse shop. Whether tech gear or simple home electronics/appliances over $20 - $30, I research features, inspect reviews, review warranties...just about everything besides doing a cost/benefit analysis and determining ROI (return on investment).

If I can save $5, pay no tax, AND get free shipping...well, let's just say I'm pretty pleased with my nerdy little self. Don't get me started or I'll go on and on about the awesome deals I find (like the NEW still in the package $80 JBL earphones I just bought for $3.99, or the Diana Krall Christmas CD acquired for $2.49, or...)

Anyway, I just want a coffee maker. The one I found is the same price @ Target and it's killing me that all I'm saving is the tax.

I really should be doing something constructive.

Hanging on

OK - Before you start this will be a long and mildly rambling post. If you just don't care, don't complain. I warned you.

As I was saying some time ago, things got crazier than I though they would. It all started the day before the StLSG Christmas party. I think the technical term is "fired", but they called it the more comforting "employee separation." I feel all warm and fuzzy when I say that. "Employee separation" Ahh. Needless to say, that party was just what I needed at that point in time. Thanks to all of you for just being you. *Group hug*

 I worked for a huge global company (around 142 or so on the Fortune 500) that decided to eliminate my position along with several huge data processing sites. Final count was 100 gone in my position across the country, 5000 total gone around the globe. What can I say, these days it is just a fact of life.

So why was I not distraught?

Glad you asked.

I have alluded to some changes coming, but couldn't post anything concrete because of my job. The job's gone. Here it is.

Since June of 08 I have been working with 3 partners to buy the assets of an existing company and start a new one. This has been an unthinkably complicated process that I would caution the squeamish to avoid like the plague. I, however, am a glutton for punishment, so the delay suits me well. In that time we have negotiated, renegotiated, renegotiated the re negotiations, switched out a partner, and so on. Like I said, not for the squeamish.

Anyway, we are close to finally closing, so this should be my last week of work limbo...not that I haven't been busy. For instance, the day before I posted my "Left Hanging?" post my schedule was something like this:

8:15 am Drop kids off @ school

8:30 am go to church to work on Christmas musical sets and props. (Did I mention the Christmas musical?)

10:45 am Meeting downtown St. Louis w/ our Bank

12 pm Continuation of our meeting w/ bank over lunch

2 pm Meeting in St. Peters with Non-Profit resources consultant (Did I mention the Non Profit Org we just created?)

6 pm Dinner meeting with partners and the managers of the group of companies that is too complicated for me to describe here.

9:30 pm leave meeting for Wentzville

10 pm Back to church to finish up musical stuff

1:30 am finally in bed for a couple of hours.

that wore me out just typing it.

Anyway, that is a bird's eye view of the craziness that has been my life. the Musical was great, Christmas was better, I was sick in bed for New Year's (don't even get me started on the stomach bug that has plagued my family, and half the metro area from what I hear.)

Happy New Year, anyway!

JRod

Scary

Okay. Seemed like mere moments between posting my last entry about Facebook and having friends.

Scary, but kind of cool. The coolest thing is that I can keep tabs on my peeps on my phone. Sweet.

Not a friend in the world...

...and it's a weird feeling.

I know I should be actually blogging about the events I mentioned in my last post (that apparently left Becky hanging - as intended :) , but I just now got a Facebook account set up. Never really did much with Myspace, mostly because it jumped the shark before I ever joined. Myspace sorta always creeped me out. Not sure why.

For some reason I'm kinda hesitant to just start brazenly inviting people to be friends. Maybe it's because I'm not used to the site. Maybe I'm just really shy down deep inside.

Nah. Couldn't be that.

I'd better learn more about the site.

Left hanging?

Just when I thought it could not get any crazier, it did.

In a big way.

To be continued...

JRod

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iPhone? Who needs an iPhone?

Pomegranate | NS08

(make sure you eventually click the "had enough" option.)

Definitely NOT the Christmas spirit...

The Associated Press: Man accused of tossing Christmas tree at his dad

In a rage of fury he then callously decked the halls...