Bob

24th September
2009
written by bob

Ok…I saw this on another blog that I frequent and HAD to post something about it. This is UNBELIEVABLE! It took me a couple of seconds at first to figure out what I was looking at but, WOW, these kids are amazing!! Seriously…who needs a 1.2 million pound video-tron (and probably $100 million) like the Dallas Cowboys just installed in their new stadium? You won’t believe your eyes!


Human Video-tron

16th September
2009
written by bob

So I stumbled upon this site that creates Wordles.  In a nutshell, it can look at pretty much anything however I choose to point to our blog site. It will randomly choose words then randomly aggregate them together.  Click on the picture…pretty cool! Hmmm…wonder what my Twitter feed would look like?

Wordle: bobandkatherine.wordpress.com

16th September
2009
written by bob

For the first 27 years of my life, I grew up in Canada.  In present day terms and news events, the land of ‘Universal Healthcare’.  I think I know a little bit about HC in Canada and can speak to it from experience.  As a child and teenager, I remember when I had doctor appointments I showed up, had somewhat long waiting times in a doc’s office, got checked out, and left with my diagnosis.  At that time, I never really thought about our system in Canada. To me it seemed like the greatest system in the world.  I mean heck, your go to the doctor’s and do not have to pay for a thing?  SWEET!

Once I finished college/university I realized that the HC system in Canada wasn’t really as “free” as I had thought.  You see in Canada taxes are pretty high; approximately 52%. So you can expect about 48% of you paycheck at the end of the day.  However, it doesn’t stop there.  In Ontario where I grew up, taxes were 7% Federal GST (Goods & Services Tax) and 8% PST (Provincial Sales Tax).  In 1991, the GST was levied to the population as  tax that was going to reduced the country’s deficit.

3rd September
2009
written by bob

Ok…I can’t hold my tongue any further.  This is seriously concerning and extremely alarming.

While growing up I watched the news on local tv to see the events that were going on around me and in my home country, Canada.  Mostly, I was watching news for the sports highlights.  Honestly, I was never really interested in much more than local news & sports.  However, as I grew older I became more interested in the what, where, when, why, and how of the news.  A big hot point for me lately have been media & politics in the country I now call home, the United States of America. The fact that I now call the US my home, I have made a commitment to myself to learn the aspects of the political system and everything about it.

Now, I understand when I get hired for a job, apply for a carry concealed weapons permit, or anything as such that I have to go through a criminal background check and I accept that without issue. However, why is it that the Czar’s being appointed by the current Administration are getting a complete free pass to their appointments?  Nobody is asking questions as to who these people are & what are their backgrounds?  Other than a very few (probably one) media outlet(s), no one is questioning these appointments; not the FBI, ABC, MSNBC, or CNN. I really cannot understand why.  It obviously changed in the not so distant past. I recently recall a Vice Presidential candidate by the name of Sarah Palin and the mud-slinging that was thrown her way.  And WOW, did some media stations “tee-off” on her digging up dirt and attempting to expose everything and every angle about her.  However this alleged dirt was not only about her but sadly, also her family!  MSNBC made no apologies for dragging the Palin kids into the political forums. This is the point at which I lost all credibility for the media; well, at least MSNBC, ABC, & CNN.  To be honest, I somewhat respect CNN the most of these three stations but still, their credibility is gone in my books. I guess the political views of the parent ownership person/group supersedes unbiased journalism across ALL media outlets.

I thought ‘real’ journalism and reporting was supposed to question things, good and/or bad, and to present both sides of the story and then explain it to the American public.  The media is supposed to question the government and watch the government for the people NOT the other way around. When did ‘unbiased’ journalism stop because I honestly cannot remember?  Why so?  Is it that there is much to hide?  Kind of seems that way.  It’s obvious from the reporting from MSNBC, ABC, & CNN that these outlets are in the POTUS’ back pocket. I have yet to hear any of these three so-called news stations question any of the POTUS’ appointments. The US public are the ones that are being questioned especially when dissent is being expressed toward the Administration. Unfortunately for the so-called media, the power of blogging, social media, and twitter, the American people are getting information that these outlets refuse to report on. The American public are intelligent and more well informed than ever and they will unite.

I mean, really, in this day and age is investigative journalism that difficult?  Uhh, hello, ever heard of Google?  Now by no means am I saying Google is the end all of news BUT it’s a darn good start.  And, before you ask, no I do not believe everything written on the internet but I do make an attempt to read credible sources.  Personally I feel that MSNBC is a joke of a news station and Keith Olbermann, well…whatever!  As for ABC, they seem ready to jump whenever the POTUS “needs” air-time. Personally, I have never known a modern day President that required so much air-time.

So…to complete my point on all of this, let’s take the recent appointment of Van Jones.  A quick Google search brings up dozens of links & videos.  A lot of the videos I would find hard to dispute especially since they are of him speaking directly to an audience or being interviewed.  What about the ‘Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement’ (STORM) radical group he founded and led?  A section of STORM’s manual that describes Jones’ organization as having a “commitment to the fundamental ideas of Marxism-Leninism.”

Here are a couple of quotes from Van Jones in speaking with East Bay Express where Jones said he first became radicalized in the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots, during which time he was arrested.1

“I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th,” he said. “By August, I was a communist.

“I met all these young radical people of color – I mean really radical: communists and anarchists. And it was, like, ‘This is what I need to be a part of.’ I spent the next 10 years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary,” he said.

Not only these quotes but here is a more recent (February 2009) video of Van Jones and what he thinks of Republicans. See for yourself – ‘What I think of Republicans’ by Van Jones.2

Now, I’m not a journalist and would never claim to be BUT simple searching of the Internet will probably get you started in the right direction.  From here, those professionals in Media & Journalism should use the techniques they learned in their formal training and start reporting unbiased and objectively for both sides of the issue.  Good luck with that though.  Finally MSNBC, ABC, & CNN = news media failures.

References:

1. Klein, Aaron.  “Czar: ‘Spread the wealth! Change the whole system’ Using the White House position to push communist policies“. World Net Daily August 30, 2009.

2. Real Clear Politics. September 2, 2009. <http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/09/02/obamas_green_jobs_czar_van_jones_republicans_are_aholes.html>

13th August
2009
written by bob

A big ‘thank you’ to Curtis Miller for capturing a successful day at LaidOffCamp in pictures. Here is the link to the photos on Flickr…Laid Off Camp Phoenix photos.

For those that attended there has been a LinkedIn Group created called ‘Laid Off Camp Phoenix 2009‘.  Please be sure to join!

Lastly, a Laid Off Camp Phoenix group post from Charlene Kingston says, “Susan Baier has created a great resource. She’s got slides and Twitter handles for many of the people at Laid Off Camp Phoenix. Don’t miss this!” Susan’s blog post.

Enjoy!

10th August
2009
written by bob

Yesterday, Katherine & I attended “LaidOffCamp Phoenix”. What a great time! I mean, really…I wasn’t too sure what to expect other than the usual: keep your resume up-to-date, make sure you have good recommendations, hit the online job boards, prepare for interviews, send post interview ‘thank you’ notes, etc.

A few months ago, Katherine was asked by a good friend Rachel Reese, the event Organizer, to speak at LaidOffCamp and agreed to do so. She was part of the “Laid Off Panel”. Fortunately for us, Katherine has landed a job since being asked to do this but still figured her experience of being laid off was relevant for other to hear and learn from.

The entire day was filled with speakers in various rooms throughout the day and after looking through the remaining schedule and found a couple of other speakers that I was very interested in hearing what they had to speak about. Susan Baier spoke in the 11 o’clock session on “How to Land That Gig”. While I had never met Susan, I thoroughly enjoyed her session and, before the end of the day, I would really come to know what a great person Susan is.

Lunch break! Pizza was provided by TekSystems and was delicious! Sat at a table and met some new friends: Ray Marano, Parker Neff, and Richard Dewey. We had some great conversation for the next hour until our next session and the one I was honestly looking forward to the most, “Escape from Cubicle Nation”. You see…I’m a software developer and my daily life is spent stuck in a cubicle coding. Of all professionals that have the ability to work remotely whether that is at home, a coffee shop, gangplank, or in another country, I’m pretty sure I would have the easiest time. All I require is an internet connection and laptop.

Pam Slim, author of the book, “Escape from Cubicle Nation” was next up to speak. BTW…I’m still looking for my escape from cubicle nation however; I have ideas in my head. As Pam would say, I’m dreaming and scheming. Not only was Pam’s presentation excellent, she also engaged her audience with real life examples. And to top things off, Pam gave out copies of her book to some of those attending. We were fortunate enough to receive a copy and I am looking forward to reading it! If anyone ever gets the opportunity to hear Pam speak, I would definitely recommend it.

The last session we sat in on was called, “Go It on Your Own: Run Your Own Business”. The panel consisted of April Holle, Susan Baier, James Archer, Remi Taylor, and Byron Bowerman. All these people have/had started their own businesses and offered their experiences in doing so. Quite honestly the information offered up by these entrepreneurs was invaluable and it was really great to hear there are people out in the world that are willing to help others get started “escaping from cubicle nation”.

Afterwards a good gathering happened at Liberty Market and thanks to Joe Johnson for allowing us to congregate for some cold drinks and great food; especially the ice cream sandwich! The day, in our eyes, was a tremendous success from all aspects. I hope in the end that those who are still looking for employment we able to get as much out of LaidOffCamp as I did. Thanks Rachel et al!

4th June
2008
written by bob

Well it’s Tuesday evening…it has been a bit since I have blogged about our P90X routine. As I have previously mentioned, Kat and I have crossed over the 30 days threshold and have moved into Phase II. Tonight was Yoga X and, you know…I’m really starting to like Yoga more and more. I cannot believe the flexibility I now have…it’s amazing!

I have let an extra day slide in between my planned running schedule. The plan is to run at least every 3rd day, if not every other day. Had too many things going on today and was able to get a run in prior to the temps outside reaching 98°. However, I did consider running at 4pm which is pretty much the hottest part of the day here in Arizona but then realize I would be drained for tonight’s P90X workout. Wednesday’s run will occur for sure!

I’m going for 3 miles again. Now that might not sound like much but when you have run a couple of half marathons, 3 miles should be nothing! But, since I have had a 2 year hiatus from running, I want to take things slow. I’m almost to the point that I’m running around the entire lake we live on. That’s a good training goal – a 4.5 mile loop. I basically want to be able to run this at least 3 times per week while doing P90X! I can do it…only another mile and a half to go. I’m pretty sure I will be looping this lake by the end of next week at the latest! So…stay tuned for the next running report Weds.

4th June
2008
written by bob

On another note, I have incorporated a running routine into my P90X training. Kat and I just passed over the 30 day window and we are now into Phase II. My body seems well adapted to the exercises now although there are a few that I still find tough to do; namely Half Moon, Warrior 3 (and all its adaptations). There are more but I still attempt to do them and hold them as long as I can.

I use a couple of other sites to map my running routes… runningmap.com & runnersworld.com. RunningMap is great for those of us that do not have a GPS route tracking gizmo. You can sign up (or not) and create the route you run and see the distance of your run. It’s perfect!

Runner’s World is just as good BUT the one thing I like about it (besides the fact that I’m a subscriber to their magazine) is that they offer a free online Training Log. That’s right…I said “FREE”. You can essentially keep track of your routes, what shoes you ran in (for mileage tracking), day/time/weather, route conditions, quality, and the effort of your runs. Like RunningMap, you can also plot out your route, name them, and make notes on them as well. One other cool feature is that you can link to your routes/runs from within blogs or what-have-you. And, thus, I plan to try a couple features out today. Here they are…

3rd June
2008
written by bob

Well…our bet is still on although I’m not too sure where Sam stands in terms of weight-loss. I actually jumped on the scale today and 210lbs displayed! How SWEET! Running is beginning to eat those extra pounds off of me. I just have to keep a regular schedule with it. That might be a bit hard to do, at least, outside. Arizona isn’t the most glorious place in the summer for temperatures! Let’s just say temps on average are usually between 105° and 120°…and dehydration sets in pretty quickly!!

Since I finished up the last project that I was working for my job I have not seen Sam. And, thus, I’m not too sure where he is relative to our bet. Not that I really care…I do…and I’m going to win the bet! My goal for the next 2 months is to drop 10lbs each month. I think that is conservative and reasonable…albeit, a lofty goal to reach. I’m up for the challenge!

I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I find my next contract and start working on another project for another company. My 12 noon runs will cease! I will have to find a gym nearby and continue my runs on the treadmill. Not quite as good as the outdoor pavement BUT it will have to do!

Maybe Thursday I will have to do lunch with Sam and Chris, just to see how Sam is coming along!

3rd June
2008
written by bob

OUCH! 3 overtime periods…Fleury standing on his head…GREAT game! Unfortunately the bad guys won tonight. Seriously though, if it wasn’t for Fleury, the Pens were finished back in the 3rd regulation period. He played great.

Thursday…game 6…the Wings will be ready. This also goes back a few blogs…I predicted the Wings in 6. This is the game…sorry Pens!

This game took so long that by the time it finished, it was too late for my run. More on that in my next blog…later!

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