Heaven Must Be One Super Funky Place Right Now: RIP James Brown

This afternoon my family and I just found out that legendary artist
and performer James Brown had passed.

As much as "The Godfather of Soul" will be missed, he will continue to
be enjoyed for the rest of time.

Having been to one of his concerts years ago with my now deceased
mother and wife very early in our marriage at the now defunct "Atlanta
Fulton County Stadium" where the Atlanta Falcons and Braves used to
play before the construction of the Georgia Dome and Turner Field
became a reality, I can undoubtedly say that it was a concert of a
lifetime.

It was like looking at time being unrolled and standing still all at
once. I have never seen some world famous celebrities and funksters
like Prince, Michael Jackson, Hammer, and others perform live, but
seeing James Brown do his thing on stage was clearly viewing the roots
of the tree of soul music.

Even while seeing a short list of songs that he made famous on Yahoo
today, I never fully realized how many songs were actually released
before I was born.

One of his last recordings with the Black Eyed Peas actually has a
line that is like a premonition at this time. Within the song "They
Don't Want Music", James is heard saying "I am going to a funky place"
and now we know what he meant.

There is indeed a party in heaven as heaven welcomes one of God's own.

Rest in peace Mr. James Brown, you truly blessed us as God blessed you.

Peace!

I Got My Mac Back!!!

Last Friday, I took my Macbook to the Apple Store at Perimeter Mall and the discovery was amazing.

It turns out that the battery had swollen near one end and the computer was no longer recognizing that a battery was present.

The technician put his own battery inside and it worked fine.

So Apple provided a new battery at no charge whatsoever since the warranty still covered it.

The computer was failing to charge the battery around the same time that the firmware update solved the random shutdown issue.

Since then, I had a couple of shutdowns probably due to being an extreme power user (due to excessive duration more than anything) and previous problems have melted away.

I will probably try not to use the Macbook longer than 4 hours at a time as a good measure.

Since the RSS issue has been resolved and now that portability is back, I truly have my Mac back.

I will probably add a power cord for an upcoming flight in early December.

I am glad that the short-term difficulties have passed away.

Praise God for technology that works according to plan!

Apple Macbook RSS Issue Resolved and Replaced With Immediate Successor

The entire industry of technology journalists have completely not wasted any time in quickly and loudly posting Apple's proposed solution to the Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS) problem experienced by many Macbook owners and users like myself that surfaced this summer .  You would not know that there was a problem based upon the recent overwhelming and overkill coverage until the solution was announced before the problem was publicly mentioned supposedly after all.

Upon reading a headline that was soon repeated in many forms stating that an official solution was on the table on October 26, 2006, I promptly downloaded Macbook SMC Firmware Update 1.1 when I returned home from work and I have not experienced RSS since.

But the problem has been promptly replaced with the fact that the power supply cable seems to no longer charge the battery at all.  There is a light on the power supply cable that turns yellow when the battery is being charged and turns green when the battery is fully charged.

Now the light remains green as long as it is connected to my Macbook while the battery's strength continues to nosedive and crash.  Right now I am not showing any battery strength at all after trying to recalibrate the battery today.  When I unplugged the cable earlier this evening, the computer immediately turned off.  I am still plugged in and expect the computer to go blank upon disconnecting the power supply cable.

So now I have gone from experiencing random shutdowns to a further reduced pleasure experience of a more reliable and predictable shutdown.  Ugh:(

I found a widget that provides a measurement for battery strength as a percentage.  It is not reading any battery strength at the present time.

At first, these dots would be very difficult to connect.  But with a few mental notes and careful observations, it is beginning to become easier to recognize when a problem or proposal leaves or receives a solution and when the next problem suddenly appears.  It is as if I am waiting for public mass transit like MARTA and CCT here in metro Atlanta.

Apple did a wonderful job in at least offering the SMC Firmware Update, but right now it is seeming as if the problem or series of failures have not gone far enough.

One recently read article mentioned the reduction in battery power and another article mentioned that Apple has basically refused to state what was causing the problem and as a consequence on the same battlefront, the class action suit that was gaining strength as a late summer hurricane has not really subsided.

No one should get me wrong.  The Macbook or Blackbook is a race, show, and work horse all built into one very neat package.  But to lose the mobility and portability that a notebook/laptop computer was designed to offer does make me wonder if I would again buy a Macbook knowing what I know today.

I would have rather paid more or less money for stability (on a PC laptop maybe, I now wonder if I jest) at this point and I originally thought I did.  It seems like a wave rushed over the world this past summer and many Macbook owners hit the same wall and fell like dominoes through no effort of our own.  We only purchased a supposedly great product upon its initial release.  I know that I will not repeat computer ownership as an early adopter any more for the price paid literally and figuratively this time around.

Ironically, I even started to wonder why it was beginning to appear that only certain power sockets would allow the battery to be charged while other sockets would not until finally noticing that none of our power sockets currently will allow the power supply light to turn yellow while charging the battery.  This thought was occurring right after the firmware update was installed.

I am willing to eat my words if I am proven wrong or discover that I was mistaken but until the problem is no longer downplayed or superficially ignored, lingering questions are building in number and volume.

I thought that I had my Mac back.  Now I feel like a kid whose candy was taken away by a bully and/or adult and replaced with a chocolate laxative:(

Macbook RSS Problems Appear To Be Solved via smcFanControl:)

Over the weekend, I discovered a program designed to prevent the Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS) that Apple Macbook users like myself have been experiencing over the summer.

The program is called smcFanControl and it makes the internal fan spin faster to keep the Macbook cool.

RSS evidently is heat related and once the computer senses that it is heating up too much, then some type of auto-mechanism kicks in and turns the product off.

There is another program that measures the temperature of the internal chip entitled Core Duo Temp that indicated that the internal temperature has reached approximately 156 degrees Fahrenheit which is around 69 degrees Celsius.  At this temperature, it is not unbelievable that RSS would occur.

When RSS occurred last night while smcFanControl was being used, I could not determine if it was because the battery had run low.  Right now, I am using the power supply and have not had any problems whatsoever even though the internal temp is getting close to 59 degrees Celsius.

So overall, I heartily recommend smcFanControl to any Macbook owner/user who is tired of being sick and tired of RSS.  The smcFanControl is donationware and after communicating with the developer, I discovered that donations can be made via AlertPay which is a competitor to PayPal (as well as PayPal itself).

So I will be donating something to the kitty since this program works so well:)

One final recommendation is to turn the settings to spin at least 3000 rpm or more.  I reset mine tonight to 4000 and it has been working like a charm.  I would set the program to start automatically upon startup, but I have not yet discovered how to do that with a Mac yet.

My Macbook Random Shutdown Syndrome Date Identified

After reading an online article about a potential class action suit against Apple due to the "random shutdown syndrome" (also called RSS) being experienced by other Macbook owners like myself, today I wondered if I could identify when the first problem first occurred with my Macbook.

There are so many things on my plate that keeping such a date at the forefront of my mind is impossible, but due to the search feature within Gmail, I have been able to pinpoint exactly when the problem first occurred with my new Blackbook.

This evening I located an e-mail in which I told my friend Terry who really exposed me to the world of Macs that I sent to him on August 24th:

I noticed that my Macbook would not work at the altitude that we were flying at.  The white light on right side of the computer facing me was flashing.  It could have been that the computer needed charging but I thought that it would least completely power up.

My friend replied:

You have to ensure you completely power down before you get on a plane.  It will work, but the system must shutdown or the battery will lose power quickly.

I wondered if the altitude had an effect on my Macbook, but I know that the vast majority of Macbook owners have not flown while trying to use their computers.  So something else has to be the cause of the problem.

The problem has occurred through using either the battery and power cord as a power supply.

Lately, I have found it easier to start my usage first through the battery and then after the first random shutdown, the computer will use the power cord for power with very few if any RSS issues.

But if I start off with the power cord first, then a RSS will certainly occur very soon and repeat frequently.

I can typically expect it to occur at least once daily upon first using my Blackbook.

After the business trip, I had the Macbook checked out and shortly after getting it back, the RSS began to occur frequently.  But it first occurred on the return flight from Tampa I had on the morning of August 24, 2006.  I received and first used my Blackbook on June 28, 2006.  So this problem has started within less than 2 months of ownership.

I hope that RSS can be resolved peacefully.  I am sure to continue my ownership of Apple products, but RSS is clearly a nuisance that appears should have been quickly resolved or prevented.

"Very Pretty Colors" on Apple MacBook

Image015.jpg
Originally uploaded by wysiwysell.

Here is a photo of what I call an annoying nuisance. I hope that Apple releases a fix very soon.

There is a solution that I mentioned in my last blog entry, but the error will freak you out when it first occurs.

I Am Not Crazy After All: Apple MacBook "Pretty Colors" Are Not In Vogue

I received the Apple MacBook (the fancy black one) on June 28, 2006 after the computer was first announced on May 16th which is my birthday.

I did not experience any problems until returning home from a business trip to Tampa, Florida.

This evening I noticed a blog that was referring to the same identical problem.

My comments on the blog are as follows (with a few minor updates since I have had more time to think about the problem and how it has progressed):

I have been experiencing the same problem as well ever since I used a monitor cleaning solution purchased at an Apple retail store.

I had just gotten my BlackBook back from the same Apple Store Repair that was being checked out after a recent flight in which the computer would not turn on or stay on long (the problem did not first occur until the return flight home).

When I started using the computer immediately after buying and using the cleaning solution (that worked maybe too well on my monitor), I noticed that I had a vertical band of "very pretty colors" on the right hand margin of the BlackBook's monitor.

Since I read about the same double-rebooting process with the initial problem from the user's manual and Apple's website, I used the same technique of having the computer start up twice while holding the command+alt+R+P+Power keys all at once.

I initially wondered if the problem occurred when the MacBook was slightly jarred or when I tried to use it at an altitude that was too high during the return flight home.

But it is indeed annoying after awhile:(

I have using the same technique to successfully get rid of the problem everytime it occurs.

This is my first experience as a Mac computer outside of buying an iPod Mini Gold for my wife that I am always using by the way.  The BlackBook itself is indeed awesome and I have been re-exposed to a multitude of capabilities especially with GarageBand being the biggest benefit.  My previous IBM ThinkPad were great workhorses as well, but I am totally wireless now:D

Wireless computing has allowed me to move within my own home and elsewhere with pure comfort and ease whenever bursts of creativity have pounced upon me.

But since I usually bike to work and my employer has a no-personal-computers-at-the-office policy, I have to depend upon thinking about something else while riding my bike or sitting on the bus and train during the morning and evening commutes.

After my bike accident experienced this summer, I know that I could not reasonably and safely ride a bike with a notebook computer and a change of clothes in the same backpack.  There is just too much room for error, theft, or the unimaginable as with the accident.

But just as soon as a permanent fix appears on the scene involving the "pretty colors", I will jump on it.

I know that a class action suit would definitely prompt something better than having to cough up $249 for AppleCare to extend the warranty for three years beyond the original purchase date.

Apple is on a solid roll of momentum and does not need to do anything to jeopardize the goodwill of both consumers and investors.

Regardless, I would not change any of my Apple experiences in 2006 and look forward to seeing how iTV is going to develop.

I wonder if it is going to get along well with our Tivo or we will wake up one morning to see fur everywhere and one piece of equipment standing or limping victoriously?  I had a childhood experience one morning on a Christmas Day where one dog slaughtered another dog which was a collie named Lassie we had.  It was tragic then and the memory (no pun intended) lingers still:(

Peace!

MP3 Summer 2006 Sermon: Every Seed Must Fight

Here is the link to immediately listen to or download (for later listening) the sermon that I delivered this past Thursday (July 6, 2006) as we are continuing to advance and support the efforts of Christian youth moving forward entitled "Every Seed Must Fight".

The sermon was delivered at Greater Zion Hill Baptist Church in Smyrna, GA which is led by Pastor Elijah Jones.  I gave my first sermon ever under Pastor Jones' leadership there 10 years ago.

The length of the MP3 file is approximately 32:15.

It is my hope and prayer that the message blesses you, your household, and challenges you to make the necessary changes to train and develop youth and all ages worldwide in Christian excellence according to the will of God.

Peace in the name of Christ Jesus!
 

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Mama Used To Say: More Than One Way To Skin A Cat

After my last blog entry on connecting the hardware for a home network, I ran into technical difficulty that others have already experienced in getting one of most readily available network adapters to work with Tivo.

 

Instead of returning the USB adapter to Wal-Mart tomorrow and looking for an older network adapter that may not be readily sold anymore, I totally reversed the original plans and switched the hardware to operate our desktop computer via the newly purchased USB adapter and used our existing ethernet cable to directly wire the new Tivo box.

 

Lo and behold, Tivo recognized the network connection immediately and before I could sit down and grab the remote, a message appeared which indicated that it would not need or use the telephone line to connect and update the Tivo settings.

 

Hallelujah!!!

 

Although I had to connect and reconnect the DSL modem from its previously-often difficult-to-reach-in-times-of-trouble location under a sofa, and there is still a possiblity that our daughters or pet cat Missy might accidentally tamper with the DSL modem, today's purchases have finally coincided with plans made a long time ago.

 

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together as desired?

 

One late entry into the game was another piece of hardware purchased a long time ago (and fortunately still sitting in our storage room) in the form of an USB ethernet adapter which allowed the ethernet cable to plug into the USB ethernet adapter which connected into the USB port on the Tivo unit.

 

There were multiple messages that have indicated that Tivo is working very well with our new home network and there are going to be some features that our previous first-generation Tivo box did not have that we will enjoy deeply.

 

So I am thoroughly excited about our new Tivo ownership experience!

 

Peace and Goodnight!

Home Network Finally Created

Yesterday I mentioned that I would wait until next week before buying the necessary equipment to take advantage of the home network features built into the second generation TiVo boxes/units.

 

After further thought, I went ahead today and bought the necessary home network hardware pieces manufactured by Linksys which is owned by Cisco.

 

The initial setup attempt required telephone calls to our ISP (Bellsouth) and Linksys.  Somehow our DSL connection failed right before or during the telephone call to Linksys and their attempts to offer assistance ended there.

 

A second call to Bellsouth was what the doctor ordered and the rep gave me great assistance and although there was a method to connect the router via an automated method through Linksys' website, the Bellsouth rep earned my trust and we proceeded to go through the steps to successfully get everything working in order.

 

My next move this evening is going to result in connecting the TiVo box to my home network and broadband connection in order to be able to move files from the TiVo box to my desktop computer and even program our TiVo unit remotely.

 

I will post the details later and I hope that everything goes well after the time spent on the phone receiving technical assistance already.

 

I know that I should wait for another day but when it comes to technology, I am a sucker for punishment if it is going to lead to a cool techie breakthrough;)

 

Now I cannot wait to buy or get other computers to use the wireless home network that now exists within our home.
 

Peace!

Our new TiVo unit arrived today!

This evening upon returning home, I discovered that our new TiVo unit (a second generation unit at that) had arrived.  It was just ordered on Tuesday evening, so its FedEx delivery was extremely fast.

 

My wife Wyteria had not mentioned anything about this afternoon before she went to work.

 

I had left most of our connections in the same place from our previous unit and just had to remove the old unit/box from our entertainment center.

 

The connections went pretty smooth and I had already planned to buy a wireless USB device to make sure that the new box could take advantage of any network connections.

 

Since the box has arrived so fast, I will probably wait until next week before buying anything.  The initial setup of the new box has already been completed and it appears to be fully functional.

 

I can already tell that I need to add our specific channel lineup and adding the capability to control the tv via the TiVo remote as well.

 

But being that the delivery has pleasantly surprised me, life is indeed good;)

 

Peace!

It Has Been A Great Birthday Today!

Today is my birthday and it has been a great one!

 

My coworkers since late April had purchased 2 birthday cakes, a card, and balloons plus songs and well wishes to help me celebrate the day.

 

Then I met my wife and daughters for a great dinner at Olive Garden and we had another cake and ice cream upon returning home.

 

As one of my gifts from my wife and kids, I received a nice replacement wallet for the one that had received a beating over the past year.

 

I treated myself last night to buying several books on music theory and composition to help provide some greater resources in creating songs.

 

Overall, it has been a fantastic day and I am thoroughly tired and look to remember this birthday with fondness.

 

I am going to burn a little sleep time that I hope to avoid in the future through buying another TiVo unit which was ordered online tonight.

 

I am going to look at the season finale tonight for CBS' program "The Unit".  I may be a little red-eyed tomorrow, but this show is great.

 

Peace!

1st Pay Day in New Job and Going Solo Out of Initial Training Next Week

I have just finished the initial training for a financial services company with offices in Alpharetta, GA and the experience has been great.

 

The first payday just occurred and each new employee is going solo with our customer base next week.  More experienced personnel will be available as needed.

 

It is Mother's Day weekend, a festival is taking place within downtown Atlanta, and I am currently scheduled to conduct a house blessing and teach Sunday School as well.

 

Clearly God has been blessing us richly and deeply in 2006 as we took steps to not confine ourselves but to proactively share the blessings that we have been blessed with.

 

Since there is little time for rest, I hope to go to sleep at the same time our daughters will be tucked in and grab needed ZZZZZs for myself.

 

Although I could be a little more tired than I currently feel right now, I know without a doubt that we are being blessed.

 

Have a great weekend and do something special for the mothers that are near you.

 

Peace!

Series 7 License Renewed

Today I found out that my series 7 license was renewed as of May 8, 2006 and I am thoroughly ecstatic about the situation.

 

Once you leave the securities industry, your status of having successfully passed the series 7 exam (and more importantly not having to retake the exam) expires after 2 years.  Although I still had several months before mine was to expire in mid-December, I am glad to have the clock get reset as I launch into a new career with a more reputable company with both its clients and employees at heart.

 

One ironic thing is that I never knew how much how my previous employer had damaged its own reputation until I was no longer employed with the company.  Sure I saw websites that did not express love for the company prior to leaving but such websites have to be consumed with a grain of salt.

 

Even changing the name of the company is in vain if the same traits, characteristics, and fundamental issues still occupy its primary motivations.  The former employer still does not have any true value for the customer or the marketplace which is tragic.

 

But I am on to bigger and better things, places, and situations now and although the journey has not always been a pleasurable one, I will say that I would repeat the mileage to get to where I am now positioned without a doubt.

 

Finally, there is some peace, joy, and hope as a new perspective and potential is getting closer everyday.

 

Peace!

MP3 Spring 2006 Sermon: Is That A Hemi?

Here is the link to immediately listen to or download (for later listening) the sermon that I delivered this past Sunday (April 2, 2006) as we are continuing to spring forward entitled "Is That A Hemi?".

The sermon was delivered at Bethesda Baptist Church in Austell, GA which is led by Pastor Charles Goodman.

The length of the MP3 file is 36:17.

It is my hope and prayer that the message blesses you, your household, and challenges you to continue within the blessings and empowerment that you shall experience throughout 2006 and beyond according to the will of God.

Peace in the name of Christ Jesus!
 

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Thank God for Recovery!

Over the weekend, I found a floppy diskette that apparently has a ton of early music I composed between 1999 and 2001.

 

The finding is significant because the various midi data and music notation can now be saved in a more permanent arrangement and the music can be further reworked since I have better equipment than I did when the songs were first created.

 

My music ministry did not reach the public until 2001 and I have learned that there is a huge difference between composing music with a R&B sound versus creating music tracks with a hip hop style to rap to.

 

Hip hop has more of a war anthem or battle drums as I see it and now that I have rediscovered the tools that had the lyrical stylings to combine with the rhythmic capabilities currently available, there is about to be a substantial advancement musically for me.

 

Thank You Jesus!

 

Peace!

Various Personality Test Scores

I put the results of a personality test within this blog, but the resulting pages' format was thrown off so much that I had to remove it.

It now appears on my music related MySpace blog.

Woman Googles Man, Discovers He Is On A Most Wanted List

This story is rich!

I definitely recommend Googling anyone to discover their best and worst if they appear not to have a track record you can easily locate.

Has Anyone Else Heard Prince's New Song "Beautiful, Loved, & Blessed" Yet?

Hello All,

I just heard a new song by Prince entitled "Beautiful, Loved, & Blessed" and it really pleasantly surprised me. 

The song appears as part of a 2-song CD entitled "Black Sweat" and is available for download from most online music stores.

The song is a romantic love song to Christ but I did not hear Christ or Jesus mentioned directly within the song.  But the lyrics include a reference to "the Blood on Calvary".  It contains numerous biblical references as I heard.

It is more like a declaration song as in "I am beautiful, loved, and blessed" to more I listen to it as well as a statement to uplift or encourage someone else.

I heard the song on Napster.  A young sister named Tamar also sings on the song.

The main song "Black Sweat" is traditionally Prince though;)

What are your thoughts regardless of whether you have heard the song or not yet?

Peace,

Roney Smith
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
http://www.myspace.com/seedoflife
http://blog.roneysmith.com

Firefox Has A Ton of Cool, New Extensions

Last night I downloaded a ton of new extensions compatible with the latest version of the Firefox web browser.

There are so many new extensions available that it is like being a kid in a candy store and I am still trying to get a feel for them all.

Some are related to downloads, various websites often visited, a color picker (or identifier for web design purposes), using Gmail, and a host of other concepts.

I know that I will probably not use them all on a regular basis, but anything to minimize the number of new programs needed in addition a web browser I am for.

Advertising, Consumers, and A New Business Model Appearing on the Radar

I just saw Thomas Hawk's blog entry on Yahoo! asking a question while proposing an offer to people to use their search engine versus Google and receive a potential discount to use Netflix as a reward.

In my household, we have not tried Netflix yet although we have received literature and coupons from them within the mail.

But Yahoo's approach strongly reminds me of my recent blog entry on the autosurf industry.

I saw on yesterday's afternoon news an irresponsible segment done by consumer advocate Clark Howard which made me question his research into autosurf companies individually and collectively since he trashed 12 Daily Pro in yesterday's segment (probably nationwide at a minimum) without mercy.  He did not even mention StormPay whatsoever.

The business model that Yahoo! is proposing has been executed as well by other companies and it is the same identical business model that 12 Daily Pro and other autosurf companies are using.  This same business model is clearly going to grow worldwide and become accepted by consumers and product and service providers worldwide.

Why?

Because this new, global, business model lowers the cost the obtaining, acquiring, and keeping a customer by allowing the customer to identify themselves as being a candidate to use the company's products and services.  The business model also lowers the cost of advertising since it focuses the advertising budget directly to those significantly interested within the advertisers' industry (and products and services) versus spending irrationally (on advertising) without knowing whether the right targets were ever reached.

The business model also has a direct implication for customer service issues because it will rapidly identify which customers are no longer customers and provide companies a fast-response mechanism to find out what has displeased the customer and whether there is temporary or long-term issue that needs to be addressed.

The new business model that I am referring to is the transfer of payments (direct and/or indirect, financial or barter) from product and service providers to consumers.

To a certain extent, this model has already been in existence wherever consumers have been asked to send proof-of-purchases to companies in exchange for rebates, discounts, or any other free offers.

Yahoo! is willing to pay Netflix to send free or discounted DVD rentals to identifiable customers in exchange for the customers using Yahoo! as a search engine.

Why is Yahoo! willing to part with their financial capital in this way?

Because Yahoo! clearly plans to resell access to the customers who accept the offer and in some cases, Yahoo! might even sell its ability to undoubtedly identify such customers.

As a result of this new business model, it will not be Yahoo! who ultimately directly funds or pays the customers or Netflix, but the advertisers that have paid Yahoo! to advertise their products or services.

The autosurf industry does the very same thing but since its usage of the internet is still primarily not mainstream yet, attorney generals of various states and consumer advocates such as Clark Howard are more than willing to improperly classify such companies as fraudulent, illegal, and/or unethical within their operations through their own vested interest of "protecting the public".

There are other companies who have directly or indirectly used the same business model and these companies consist of any company that has used an affiliate or referral based program online as well as any company that has paid someone somewhere directly or indirectly for advertising.

Does this new business model have a name yet?  I do not exactly know and in lack of a clearly, identifiable name, I will call this new business model the PAID CUSTOMER or PAID EVANGELIST or PAID VIRUS or COMPENSATED CONSUMER method.  Take your pick of the various names and let me know which one sounds most accurate.

Within a conversation with my wife Wyteria after Howard's television segment, she used the quote, "If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck..."  To this I simply replied, " This is indeed a different animal because of the presence of the advertisers".

Without the presence of the advertisers (or traditionally the higher parties on the food chain), then the rushed judgments would be absolutely correct.

The upgrade of members simply works to qualify which participants are short-term users (the free, unpaid surfers) or dedicated, long-term participants within the industry regardless of the products or services advertised.

The companies (including the autosurf industry) using the new business model will have to be able to charge their advertisers a high enough advertising rate while delivering to the advertisers the needed reviewers of the company's products and services and have enough funds left over in order to directly or indirectly compensate the customers for their participation within the process.

One interesting aspect of such a business model is that it does require some effort on part of the participating consumers to know which companies are indeed interested in staying open for business for a very, long time versus those companies within the intent of getting rich quick.

Another aspect of the business model which eventually will entice the major financial services to participate within the new business model is that the payment processor or treasurer within the process has to be full of integrity, able to process large volumes of multiple transactions easily, and the ability to keep its doors open regardless of other events going on within the world.

Once these components are in place, you will begin to see compensated consumer business model more rapidly adopted worldwide.  The benefits to each party are clearly visible and attainable while each party must be committed to staying at the table for life.

I am going to participate within this new industry and here is one page that I have created already.  With the power of the internet, the compensated consumer business model experiences less friction than other business models have experienced offline.

Peace!

Interesting Article/Blog Entry on the Future's Impact on the Heart of Today

The following link is to an article/blog entry that reports some interesting but not yet totally foreign news to comprehend that the heart is affected in real-time to events about to occur.

Study Proves that the Heart Responds to Future Events

Personal and Professional Thoughts on the Autosurf Industry

http://www.wysiwysell.com

After reading the latest news from StormPay and 12 Daily Pro, I decided to create a blog entry on my thoughts about the autosurf industry overall.

From a historical perspective, every industry or endeavor faces a moment of truth which is a crossroads between turning back or moving forward. 

As those of us who are participating within the autosurf industry have just recently witnessed, there were some companies that have experienced great and extreme difficulties in even deciding if the stress and pressures of dealing with StormPay or continuing their operations were too much for them to handle.

If we put ourselves within such companies' positions, we too might throw in the towel if it appeared that we were involved in an endeavor that might not withstand the heat of governmental scrutiny or legal actions against us.

We also might feel great stress if we had to find an alternative payment processor when such thoughts were far removed from our daily lives.

With this being said, there is no better time to start participating within the autosurf industry.

Why?

Because the worst is clearly behind us no matter what happens in the future.

With the adjustments and corrections that will undoubtedly occur within the payment processor segment of the industry, the worst is indeed behind us and the various autosurf companies will clearly band together to create and provide some type of industry oversight and lobbying against governmental pressures that are now closer to taking place than ever before.

The governmental pressure that is coming next has already started within North Carolina and Georgia supposedly as stated within the recent StormPay and 12 Daily Pro news release.

Various states and their attorney generals will clearly test the waters to see if the autosurf industry is another derivative of the various ponzi schemes and multilevel marketing plans of the past.

But being that the autosurf industry essentially contains elements of a dynamic business model that ponzi scams and multilevel marketing could only dream about while not being able to execute.

Simply put, the autosurf industry allows every participant the opportunity to benefit without being the first one in line.  The last person to upgrade their membership has the same probability of improving their financial position as the person who either created or joined the autosurf company first.

Within no other multilevel or network marketing company have I observed or been a part of has this characteristic been truly and consistently possible.

As a result and just as soon as most autosurf companies determine which payment processor they will be using most consistently, it will time to fully dive head first.

The newly discovered confidence and potential of the autosurf industry will never be higher.

In addition to the people who are already on the internet every day, the autosurf industry has great appeal and potential for people who have participated within multilevel and network marketing in the past.

Why?

Because the autosurf industry completely fulfills the promises that many had witnessed to be broken in their past by the network marketing companies and the upline sponsors intentionally or by circumstances beyond their control.

The autosurf industry may even be more appealing to those who have failed at network marketing in their past because those who were successful within network marketing may not be able to make the adjustment to doing business in a way that everyone can truly succeed. 

Their past success more than likely will completely blind them or not allow them to see the autosurf industry as being anything other than a ponzi scheme.

This is where I stand and from this position will I move forward.  There is no greater risk than what has recently happened.

I still cannot get over my feelings to leave StormPay out of the equation no matter what 12 Daily Pro can possibly say going forward.  StormPay's recent desire to be the only payment processor is a completely broken, systematic mindset in my opinion.  The mindset was first broken by PayPal in my opinion.

Every Autosurf company will have to choose multiple payment processors even if a single payment processor is more effective and cost-efficient.

The risk is too great otherwise.

The autosurf business model is one that requires either blind faith (without trying to understand it at all) or an absolute trust within the system in order to make it work.  This is only because the business model is more complex than witnessed within any other industry without years of secrecy, private club gestures, and handshakes.

Even with my MBA degree and work history, I could not have been able to fully comprehend how an autosurf company could actually succeed for itself and its members without the months I spent studying the forex industry on my own.

Even though some autosurf companies do not invest within the forex markets, the same skill set and mindset is required to invest within the forex markets as well as some of the financial derivatives and shrewd strategies available to those investing within other financial markets.

Some strategies were first learned through the studies required to pass the series 7 exam by the NASD.  The months spent in 2004 are now only able to bear fruit it seems.

But American Express Financial Advisors did not expand the new understanding or allow its advisors to apply any of the lessons learned whatsoever.

I will end this message while looking forward to preparing a message for the type of person that will most quickly benefit from the autosurf industry with the lowest learning curve time frame.

I also now realize that everyone does not want to really be successful or financially abundant.  Or I should better say that everyone does not get into the water to play and/or swim or get on the dance floor at the same time.

There are different levels of risk-taking and I already had a spreadsheet years ago entitled (Set It Off) to express the differences.

With the water and dance floor examples given, you will already begin to get the overall idea of what I mean.

It will take the observation of the fruits of our new success to loosen and break the conservative nature of many people or get them over the hump of forgetting or moving in spite of about their past failures.

As a result, it is my recommendation that we keep our enthusiasm limited to sharing the URL of our websites and pages to publicize our participation within the autosurf industry.

Word of mouth, phone calls, and most other ways of promoting and advertising will simply not work because the autosurf industry is too new out of the gate for most people to get their minds around.

I do love Terry's suggestion of putting our URL on business cards and I will expand the idea by including the URL within my signature within any e-mails that are sent.

Other than showing your new car or other purchases or new ability to make money, you will be wasting your time, effort, and energies trying to get people to understand and/or participate within the autosurf industry.

http://www.wysiwysell.com

Coretta Scott King Homegoing Program PDF Online

Hello All,

The physical copies of the homegoing funeral for Mrs. Coretta Scott King are limited and probably have already run out.  But you can download the digital file of the beautiful program online:

http://alt.cimedia.com/ajc/pdf/kingfuneral/funeralprogram.pdf

Forward the link to anyone that may be interested in this piece of history.

Peace,

Roney Smith
http://blog.roneysmith.com

SuprGlu Seals Up Numerous, Potential Loose Ends!

I just discovered a new Web 2.0 application this morning and it is totally super cool to use in conjunction with any online activity that features XML/RSS feeds in a more digestible format for viewing.

SuprGlu compiles all of your feeds in a very easy to use, graphical centralized website from multiple websites and their competitors (or coopetition) such as Flickr, Digg, Del.icio.us, Blogger, and Last.fm among a few others that I am currently not using.

If you have control of the content and its respective feed, then you can add to your free pages within a SuprGlu account.  Otherwise, you risk losing your account if a copyright holder objects to you syndicating their content without their permission.

Since I feel that I generate enough content on my own from multiple sources, it will not be necessary to add any other feeds at the present time.  Therefore SuprGlu will essentially help a person write or speak with a single voice in a centralized location online.

What makes SuprGlu cool in my opinion is that it removes needing any detailed knowledge about XML/RSS feeds out of the equation just like Apple has done with the iPod and other devices.

Check SuprGlu out and my SuprGlu page is already online and automatically constantly updated.

Interesting Wiki entry regarding potential activities that support conspiracy theories

The Wiki entry on Operation Northwoods is enough to make anyone a conspiracy theorist.

I never heard of some of the events that happened before I was born in 1965.

"Who gave the order?" asked Wyclef on his "The Preacher's Son" CD.

9-11 Things That Make You Go Hmmmmmmm

If there was ever a story to break the silence within an empty room, then the press release which appears on Yahoo via PRWeb from various experts who claim that the events leading up to and after 9-11 are a hoax fulfills the bill.

I have always felt that the day itself was a little too clean cut and clearly convenient in spite of the lives that were lost.

Read it for yourself and any comments for or against are welcome.

Teaching An Old Dog A New Trick: Making Money Online

A few weeks ago, a good friend turned me on (or more accurately returned me on) to an internet concept that I had initially ignored for probably a couple of months or years.

The concept was so different when I first heard it that I could not see any real value in doing it.  I could not understand why somebody would pay for the service as well.

The missing link was actually observation since both reading and hearing about it did not increase my understanding at all.

But once I saw the simple steps involved and got myself into the daily habit of making the right moves, there is no turning back;)

The process is so simple that I now have been keeping it as one of the first things that I do whenever I get on the internet daily.

The fallacy of thinking that I know it all was probably picked up when I started working at AT&T in 1990 and everyone can see where such thinking has gotten them (acquired by a former regional Baby Bell--SBC who then assumed the AT&T company name as its own).

But one thing that I have gotten sharper at with additional age is knowing when to turn around.

So as a result, pride gets shown the door very often.  I am still a work in progress though.

In the meantime, if you would like to see and learn how others are making money online without buying the kits, without the meetings, and just earning money then click on the link below and get some cash in your pocket for yourself:

http://www.wysiwysell.com

Peace!

Notified of Data Theft That Included My Personal Information

Yesterday (Wednesday, January 25th) I received a letter from AmeriPrise (formerly American Express Financial Advisers (AEFA)) that my personal information was included on a laptop stolen from an employee in December.

I was a financial adviser in 2004 before the company was divested by American Express and my noncompete agreement ended in mid-December 2005.

AmeriPrise is offering a free year of credit monitoring and the story is making worldwide news today.

So I now I know that the situation is worse than anticipated.

One piece of news given between the lines on Yahoo! is :

Ameriprise said it has alerted 68,000 current and former financial advisers whose names and

Social Security numbers were also stored on the same computer. About 158,000 clients had only their names and internal account numbers exposed. The company says it has more than 2 million customers and about 10,500 current financial advisers.

This means that there are 57,500 former financial advisers whose information was stolen.  The AEFA attrition rate is deplorable and I knew weeks before leaving AEFA that it would be put up for sale or on the chopping block altogether.

But Yahoo! did not include the same news that Reuters is reporting that the only reason that the information was contained on the laptop in the first place is that the clients were transferred to new financial advisers when the former financial advisers left the company.

This is clearly a case of reaping what you sow for AmeriPrise.  First you lose the brand of American Express, the logo, the ability to contact card-carrying AMEX customers, and now you further alienate the customers whose trust was gained by the former advisers by monitoring them and/or the former financial advisers to see if any non compete agreements were violated.

There was no commitment to both the financial adviser and/or the niche markets that have gone traditionally under served in my opinion.  Even home office personnel responsible or that should have known if such resources were available did not have a clue.

When I left the company after receiving some supposed advice that was either unethical or possibly illegal (since it clearly violated any company's implied or expressed code of conduct) I knew that if it was the best advice that could be offered, then my ladder was clearly leaning against the wrong building.

The end result would be the same regardless of the choice made so I chose to leave versus being forced out otherwise.

I now have to make the telephone call to former clients whose phone numbers I may have (to rediscover or relocate) to apologize for putting them in a situation that I never imagined.

The worst part of the handwriting on the wall was that the company expressed that it owned the relationships with the client above all when flesh and blood had established the relationships in the first place .  This is the reason that I did not or could not contact anyone while the non compete agreement was in effect.

I did not want to take the risk of making such a jealous company angry.

Now that the cat is officially out of the bag for worldwide viewing, my loyalty is completely disintegrated.

The moral of this story is to more heavily screen companies that you work for since they are already screening you.

2006 Breakthroughs

2006 has started off with an unexpected series of deaths of friends' loved ones.  As a result, I have not been as consistent in creating new entries as I was in 2005.

But clearly I feel the need to be there within each situation and as a result, there have been a release of both blessings, breakthroughs, and a deepening of relationships with people that I have known for decades and with people that I have just met within the past couple of months.

I thank God for the opportunities that have been presented to me and my first focus has been to reduce the pain and provide comforting words as much as possible.  Just being there does more than words can express.  I know because I have been there myself.

Already I have been continuing to write songs and produce music.  With the recent hard drive space increase within our primary computer system, I have been starting to use Cakewalk again after getting away from it due to the hd space limitations.  The return to active music production has been fun.

Maybe it has not been a return, but more of an aggressive push to release more music to the world.

Another great tool that I have been exposed will become a part of our household and efforts as well within Apple's GarageBand program and an Apple Mac Mini itself.  Crossing this bridge will be relatively easy since Apple's Macintosh applications are much easier than anything within Windows.

So 2006 is going to be a very musical year.

Get ready and if you hear any noise, it's just me and the boys gettin' down, gettin' loose, and gettin' funky in praise of my personal Lord and Savior Christ Jesus with no brakes and no restraints.

Fishnets are being created and would you like to dance?

You can stay up to date on my musical progress at:

http://www.myspace.com/seedoflife

88 Drums of spiritual warfare shall be released indeed.

Peace!

Instant Wishlist Item: USB Turntable

I just saw the coolest device imaginable for those of us who still have a vinyl collection of records that are still enjoyable.

ION has the iTTUSB and finally there will be an easy way to digitize vinyl records.  It is available for both the PC and Mac.

The turntable is supposedly available in multiple major stores both offline and online.  I did not see any pricing information though and if it is available for less than $150 and actually closer to being under $100, then it will be a no-brainer decision to buy one.

But I cannot immediately imagine anyone buying one who does not have a vinyl collection though.  There are many 12-inch singles from house, techno, and dance artists, but otherwise it might be overkill.

The ability to import the sound straight through the USB port has really caught my eye most of all even though I have the necessary cables to connect a turntable otherwise.  I really hope that this product is USB powered as well.

This turntable also has line level output for connecting to any home stereo with CD or auxiliary (AUX) inputs, so I now slightly find it hard to believe if it can be completely powered by the USB port.

Regardless the concept of an USB turntable is very cool for music lovers in a new year.  I might have to break out my old gold DJ name and take it out of storage.

The DJ name that I have used most while in high school and as a bedroom DJ was "Chocolate Marshmallow".  I laugh to think about it now:)

But I might use a fraternity nickname used in college which still sounds slightly better is Charter Polemarch Ice.  Both are still hilarious though:D)

Hard Drive Space Just Added Again

I have been fighting a losing battle to keep enough HD space for the past several years and no matter when I would upgrade or add more space, more space would be needed.

I just added another HD drive to replace my main master drive and the company that I bought it from transferred the data to the new drive at no charge.  While the upgrade was being considered, I added a DVD with burning capability since I have never had the capability to burn CDs or DVDs consistently.

I hope to burn a lot of our photos to DVDs and CDs as well as share them with family members.

When I turned our computer on after the upgrade, it was as if no changes were visible other than seeing the huge increase in HD space.

I was already keeping precious data on an external drive like yourself and now have at least 120 GB free.

When will it ever end?

Regardless, I know now that I will be adding a Mac Mini to our arsenal very soon and will try to add another computer at least every 6 months to a year versus holding on to dying technology (all manmade items are decaying or dying as soon as they are purchased) for at least 3 years as was done in this case.

Hopefully with a network available, the value of one computer will not place us into a sink or swim or feast or famine situation ever again.

The IBM ThinkPad that I bought several years ago has enough Purple Hearts to go down in computing history since it was bought in 2001 or 2002 (which is light years ago in computing time).

So my technology lifestyle and adventures continue;)

This photo best represents how I feel about 2006

Vavavoum
Originally uploaded by Hermosdef.

If a photo can represent 1000 words, then this photo tells the story how I feel about experiencing 2006 and leaving 2005 in the history books;)

The photo comes from one of my contacts on Flickr named Hermosdef @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hermann-deza, so check out his other photos and you will be amazed at his UK flavor!

Peace!

Gospel Hip Hop Online Radio Stations

I have a collection of Gospel Hip Hop songs discovered on SoundClick that I will continuously add more songs as they are discovered:

lo bandwidth:

http://www.soundclick.com/player/stations_player.cfm?q=lo&folderID=282133&ref=7

high bandwidth:

http://www.soundclick.com/player/stations_player.cfm?q=hi&folderID=282133&ref=7

Peace!

Controversies Aside, NBC's "The Book of Daniel" Is Just a Bad Show

Last night I saw a portion of the new NBC television program "The Book of Daniel" and saw the handwriting is already on the wall for the show.  It will need a miracle to survive its first season.

Recent news about the show being controversial and causing an uproar among the believers around the world clearly raised the level of awareness that I had about the show.  As the saying goes, "There is no such thing as bad publicity" and getting the attention of people cannot be considered the home base for scoring successes.

The show is not on the level of FX's Nip / Tuck and although it may try, I doubt that viewers will drool over the letterbox format that should bring a sense of drama to the program.

The priest named Daniel has a son named Peter, a daughter named Grace, and an adopted Asian son named Adam.  Within the portion that I saw, Daniel's wife is an alcoholic, Peter is gay, Grace was selling drugs to buy computer equipment to produce Manga (a Japanese animated art form), and Adam gets around with the ladies like a modern-day Casanova.

The show seems like people threw possible situations for characters into a hat and what was pulled from the hat was given to third string writers to create a script.

The show cannot be possibly compared to 7th Heaven which appeared on the WB network even during a flashback episode.

The hour that the show has received thus far should be reserved for something more entertaining, educational, or placeholder technical difficulty visual.

This is just how bad the show itself (and not just the one episode) is.   Viewers would rather see a version of MTV and VH1's "The Surreal Life" with deceased celebrities thrown together via old footage only.

Chicago SunTimes: Dorsey's music likely destroyed

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-pilg07.html

Dorsey's music likely destroyed

More than memories were lost in the blaze that destroyed Chicago's Pilgrim Baptist Church -- the birthplace of gospel music.

During his four-year tenure as Pilgrim's pastor, the Rev. Hycel B. Taylor, who left the pastorate about seven months ago, worked with students from the Illinois Institute of Technology to catalog and store sheet music belonging to Thomas A. Dorsey, the church's longtime musical director better known as "the godfather of gospel music," he said.

"I had boxed all his music to preserve it," Taylor said Friday, adding that he believes the music was in the church at the time of the fire.

"That's a great loss."

Before his death in 1993 at the age of 93, Dorsey wrote more than 400 gospel songs. His most famous, penned in 1932 after the death of his wife and infant son, is gospel music's unofficial anthem: "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

"Through the storm, through the night/Lead me on to the light/Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home. . . ."

Cathleen Falsani

Watch Night 2005-2006 Sermon: Every Seed Needs Water!

Here is the link to immediately listen to or download (for later listening) the sermon that I delivered last night (December 31, 2005) to usher in the new year 2006 entitled "Every Seed Needs Water".

The sermon was delivered at Bethesda Baptist Church in Austell, GA which is led by Pastor Charles Goodman.

The length of the MP3 file is 18:26.

It is my hope and prayer that the message blesses you, your household, and establishes a theme for the blessings and empowerment that you shall experience throughout 2006 and beyond according to the will of God.

Peace and Happy New Year in the name of Christ Jesus!

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