George W. Bush - Matrix Style

George W. Bush - Matrix Style
Originally uploaded by Flexner

I've never seen any president move that fast:)

Agent Bush Dodging Shoes A La The Matrix

Now you have seen the evidence of the red pill first hand:)

If one can dodge a war intentionally, then dodging shoes can be done during lunch recess!

I'm Pushing Bullies Off Merry Go Rounds!

The Blackbird Browser's Greatest Strength Is Also Its Greatest Weakness

Within the past 4 days, news of a new web browser named Blackbird was announced and targeted towards the African-American online community.  Immediately the biggest irony to me was the attention it received from those technological pundits outside of the African-American digital community.  Historic trends outside of the recent US presidential elections (only to some small degree still) consistently indicate that whenever there is anything geared toward benefiting and enabling the communication skills of African-Americans, the enabling technology whether human or machine must be savagely demonized from coast to coast and time zone to time zone nationwide for the entire world to see.

One would have thought that there was a digital reenactment of Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on an afternoon commute home or something and yet, I believe this has occurred.  Quite frankly, I was going to move to the back of the bus myself until I saw a post on TechCrunch minutes ago.  Robin Wauters reported very dismissively the release of the browser and stated:

"I'm not entirely sure if it is enough of a proposition for African Americans to download and install a completely new browser, with all the customization tools that are already built into most recent builds of the popular browser applications.

Then again, I'm definitely not the target audience, so hard to judge. Any African American readers who want to try it out and come back to weigh in here in the comment section? "

The problem with this report of the Blackbird browser is that Wauters should have done more than nano-sized superficial research far before submitting this article to the website's editor and that TechCrunch is suffering from the same cultural blindness that is par for the course throughout the web2.0 world in that most tech reporters, editors, pundits, gurus, and experts alike already have the ability to make virtually all minorities invisible outside of entertainment and sports industries within the United States.  One, I doubt that there are any minorities within these companies and then two, I doubt that they are given any attention beyond that given to the janitorial staff or a nuisance.  Some things common to those suffering from such group thinking is like the old slogan of the 7-Up soft drink:  Never Had It, Never Will.

As a result, all comments in print and online alike questioning whether the creators of Blackbird have wasted their time or not have swiftly placed their votes on the day after Election Day or on Inauguration Day itself where the votes do not count or matter at all.

After seeing the injustice given to Blackbird browser, I finally installed it after downloading it yesterday.

The first thing that I noticed about the Blackbird browser is the ticker tape news stories scrolling from right to left near the top of the browser which is mildly cool.  Although the color scheme of Blackbird is to be expected when targeting the African-American community (basic black plus some bright color found in a fruit--laugh if you want to but look at any product distributed Coca-Cola or other food/beverage aimed at African-Americans for proof), the primary social networking features route users back to the same online venues (Myspace, Facebook, or the usual e-mail accounts) that already exist.  No newly created value is offered as a result.  

The initial assumption that Blackbird naively makes is that they falsely assume that past browser users and interested parties in the browser will always have the browser available on their computers.  As anyone who has worked outside of the home can tell you, one is most likely not allowed to download and install software on a computer at work.  Therefore the reach of Blackbird is crippled out of the gate.  Anyone who has taken the time to review data provided by The Pew Internet & American Life Project would have readily noticed this.  The vast majority of African-Americans online have their access provided while they are working (and again, the interested parties are not likely to be able to install the software to their computers).

I thought that Blackbird would have been smarter instead about building a targeted online community or providing the digital African-American community with a greater span of reach and networking ability.  But instead at this point, it seems that the creators of Blackbird have fallen prey to the same corporate group think that previously ignored them.  The biggest feature never seen before is found ultimately within the video section where several channels are found.  The video section is where I believed Blackbird has its greatest opportunity while I see that it has yet to seize the opportunity there in its hands.  The second misstep of Blackbird clearly made that can be rectified and improved upon is found within the video channels.  Upon clicking on a video channel, one may readily view the videos available.  But one is still locked into using the browser as the only means to view the videos.

I clicked on a video channel title and hoped to be able to view the same video on the Blackbird site itself (by copying and pasting the link of the channel itself) just in case I was ever away from a computer with the browser installed (or save the page to Delicious , Diigo , or any other social bookmarking site of choice), but instead I received the notice "You can access this information only with the Blackbird Browser. Click here to download the Blackbird Browser now."  This faulty logic basically means that e-mailing a video link to someone else is never going to work unless one checks in advance that the receiver has Blackbird installed already.  So the effort again is crippled out the gate but fortunately can be modified to actually work.

Blackbird is currently thinking like the old AOL in a world where Myspace, Google, Ning, Firefox, and RSS feeds operate with executive privilege.  The opportunity that exists like a golden goose for Blackbird or anyone else looking to monetize any culture or community does not raise the bar of entry before the company itself enters but afterwards.  Blackbird should create a plug-in for the Mozilla browser that can work with existing Firefox users and then allow the content being sent to its browser to be accessible on its website and embeddable anywhere on the internet period.  Proceeding forward with a browser-only mindset weakens the targeted community and makes one falsely believe that it possibly cannot self-organize and find others of the same cultural interests.

Currently Blackbird has a Civil Rights mindset when a Barack Obama approach is preferred and welcomed.  Most people online regardless of race and culture actually have more in common from a socioeconomic and cultural perspective than they would allow themselves to imagine offline.  Whoever allows this paradigm to be broken down online and offline will create more value than any browser or technological tool has before it.  But wait, Obama has already written this textbook:)

Blackbird has until Inauguration Day at the very latest to demonstrate that it can offer change in a way that is not fenced in like AOL of yesteryear and Facebook of today.  This is the only digital change we can believe in.  No other excuses, niche offers, or considerations will be accepted or tolerated.  I would like to see the Blackbird team continue to make the needed changes quickly and then offer a social networking platform where sub-communities of niche interests can be created and networked at will across the entire digital world.

Peace!

Leftover Mashup for Sunday Dinner

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Originally uploaded by wysiwysell

I just finished the contents of this plate from leftovers of two separate meals from the weekend and it is a good thing that only one serving was prepared!

The dinner featured tilapia with cocktail sauce, the pasta (made by Stouffer's with not enough chicken pieces remaining), and hush puppies was so good that I know there is not a restaurant nearby with this combination on their menu:)

It really felt like a great culinary experience where cool worlds collide!

I topped it off with Minute Maid Tropical Fruit juice and the single serving is going to make the nap taken in a few seconds not feel so guilty!!

I missed the vegetables though and totally forgot that fresh salad was right in the frig:(

Enjoy the rest of your weekend too!

Peace!

Left Brain or Right Brain

My wife sent this to me as someone sent it to her.  I initially why is my wife sending me subliminal, naked images of Beyonce turning around:)

Check it out and see which way is the lady turning to you.  To see her turning in both directions is weirder than just seeing one direction.

Peace!

******

Which way does she turn for you?

This is really amazing.  Read the information below.  This will drive people crazy for hours.

If you see this lady turning in clockwise you are using your right brain. 

If you see her tuning the other way, you are using left brain. 

Some people do see both ways, but most people see it only one way.

See if you can make her go one way and then the other by shifting the brain's current.

BOTH DIRECTIONS CAN BE SEEN.

Experimentation has shown that the two different sides or hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different manners of thinking. The following table illustrates the differences between left-brain and right-brain thinking:

Left Brain                    Right Brain

Logical                          Random

Sequential                     Intuitive

Rational                         Holistic

Analytical                       Synthesizing

Objective                       Subjective

 

Looks at                       Looks at

parts                             wholes

Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking.  Some, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain activities. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.

If you look away, she may switch from one direction to the other.

I found that if I just look at her feet or relax and look at the floor where the reflection shows, she will switch direction!   

 

Great way to locate web2.0 sites by reverse engineering

I just discovered a site via FriendFeed that should help anyone locate a web2.0 site that one may not have found otherwise:)

The site User Name Check was primarily designed to help you locate other sites where a given user name is still available or already in use, but the compilation itself should help one locate web2.0 sites as well.

Otherwise, think of it as a potential branding tool.

W00t!

Peace!

Even As An Obama Supporter, I Find This Funny:)

Only in America is it possible to find the following video funny!

But the difference is that many lives have been enlightened and destiny and purpose has been discovered through this election season.

We can join the naysayers in laughing now, but let's fire up our own engines to fully transform America and the rest of the world!


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Welcome to a Brand New Era with the Obama Victory!

Needless to say, we either went to bed within a new night or have awaken to a brand new day and era.  US Senator Barack Obama is the first African-American president-elect of the United States of America!!!

As I am now watching the playback of how and why Obama won, I am remembering how this election was won primarily by the northeast, the educated, the young, and the technologically savvy.

The work and healing that has to be done requires that healing and uplifting focuses on the targets of residents of the southern states below the Mason-Dixon line, the uneducated, the old, and those thinking that the internet, cell phones, and web 2.0 websites will simply pass as the fads of the Pet Rock, Rubik's cube, or Beanie Babies.

The coalition of the progressive whites, Hispanic, and African-American voters have forever changed the landscape and spirit of America.

I urge each of us to do whatever we can not only for our families, but for our neighborhoods, our communities, nation, and world.

My political views were initially shaped by dinner table conversations with my parents, but my collegiate experiences at Francis Marion College in the mid to late 80s have had a greater imprint than I really care to remember.

Seeing years ago firsthand scores being changed on intramural athletic fields, tests and examinations being widely accessible within white fraternity houses, the contempt of supposedly cutting edge white professors, and the distinct lines of borders socially drawn while we were yet consistently and feverishly working to improve the quality of life overall for the entire campus and give hope to the minority body on campus has indeed made me cynical in the years after graduation.

But guess what?  Standing where we are today and viewing the new reality of what is upon us and to come, I now know that our individual and collective efforts were not in vain.

Each one of us has been given a full measure of faith and now with that same faith, we will now enlighten the entire world one by one person, place, and idea worldwide.

Any veils and shrouds of possibly being a victim or disenfranchised minority student and American has been shredded and permanently destroyed forever!

There are some who are now bitterly exclaiming that the country has gone down the tubes and their country has sold them out while never asking themselves the same questions in the elections of 2000 and 2004.  To these same people, I ask that you join me in asking them to look around the world and pay close attention to the faces, the souls, and the hope and dreams of people and ask if all could be wrong now of all times?

I now just received a phone call from a friend and former coworker and realized that my entire work history has been virtually under Republican administrations and the years of Clinton's administration have been the most financially rewarding and consistent.

But I would gladly repeat the harsh years of not being able to state for the record that I possessed a MBA degree just to get back to this point of Obama's victory not just for America but for the world!

Opportunity has returned and it is undeniably visible and the entire world is basking in it like sunlight.

Let us encourage one another and see what the limits of new era are and if there are any limits other than what we place on ourselves!

May God bless each one of us and the world and may God bless America!

Peace!

Here Is My Election Night Activity!

I voted early a few weeks ago, received the free Starbucks coffee today, and made telephone calls in support of US Senator Barack Obama's presidential bid on Election Night!

Celebrating 21 Years of Entrepreneurship on November 1st

Today (November 1st) is my 21st entrepreneurial anniversary!!!

The date is a critical turning point in my life because out of the experience , the rest of the dominoes in my life have occurred to lead us where we are today.

I am truly humbled after realizing how the dots are connected.

Be blessed!

Peace!

Interesting Day from Girl Scouts to Democratic Political Rally!

Today has been a stunningly, great day and here are a few thoughts in a QuickTime movie video that came to me as a result.

Peace!

Nice Fuze taste test this evening!

Image004.jpeg
Originally uploaded by wysiwysell

I bought 6 bottles of Fuze today just to our own informal taste test. They were priced at $1 per bottle at Publix grocery store nearby. I thought that they were much higher a few years ago and never bought one until today.

Since I am going from the photo and do not have the actual bottles near me, I may maim a name or two so forgive me in advance.

The most distinguishing thing that surprised me is that most of them were clear with flavors added while a few either had coloring or a creamy color.

My preference turned out to be for the bottles that were 90 calories versus the 10 calories that the rest had except for the Black & Green Tea which had only 60 calories according to my wife.

So the Peach Mango was a personal favorite and the Banana Colada.

My wife really liked the Black & Green Tea especially after buying and hating a Fuze Green Tea recently.

The pink bottle with the pomegranate and acai tasted so sweet that we thought it had an artificial sweetener like Splenda or another competitor. We could not believe that it tasted so sweet to have such a low calorie amount.

My wife shook the pink bottle up a little and then it tasted as one would expect.

The Strawberry Melon was good too and it has strawberry, watermelon, and cantaloupe flavorings.

The Strawberry Guava has 90 calories, so it was a winner in my book as well:)

Overall, I am a new fan of Fuze and need to check its stock price. I bought and sold Jones Soda a year ago and enjoyed when it took off.

I remember when Fuze had the hype as well, but for some reason I have not heard or seen anything to indicate that it still has the buzz and for this reason is probably why it is so affordable now.

But this is a sweet spot on another level especially as an investment.

Peace!

So Many Gadgets, So Little Time!

Too many electronics have made me drool lately and everyday I receive an announcement to let me know that another one is now available for me to purchase at a discounted price.

In some cases, I know that the holiday season may make some increase in price normally but we are not at that point nationwide.

So fortunately unless there is a strong business need, I am going to rest on the sidelines for now:)

Peace!

The Babies Know!!

The photos below are cool, great, and awesome until you get to the last set:)

Then you instinctively know why it went down like it did!!!

Have a great day!

Peace!

Class Reunion Weight Loss Concierge.com Goes Live!

Today we are releasing for public consumption a home study and support network for people looking to lose weight entitled Class Reunion Weight Loss Concierge.com and the site is already up and running!

My real life story of losing 40 pounds is fully documented and I am still in progress to lose another 20 to 40 pounds especially since I have not done any physical activity to lose the weight.  I went to a kickboxing free class back in April which did help in the long run, but no one has to immediately join a gym in order to lose weight.

Small tweaks to your daily lifestyle is enough to throw your entire mind, body, and soul into a lifestyle to lose any amount of weight that is desired.

There is also an affiliate program for anyone that may be interested in earning money by simply turning people onto the software and course.

A lot of work in terms of memory of what happened went into creating the course and I have already released it from my ego to be a blessing to someone who really needs it more than I do.  Therefore I am not emotionally wrapped up in any short-term victories or defeats through sales, feedback, and anything else that could undermine the entire effort.

But the course works and if it strong enough to work for me at the rate that it did, I am sure that others will be blessed to lose any amount of weight to make going back to their class reunion, a wedding, or any other special occasion a happy moment versus wallowing in self-pity and low self-esteem.

In this light, the entire time line has been a blessed one!

Peace!

Friday Night Dessert: Mrs. Smith's Dutch Crumb Apple Pie!

Image004.jpeg
Originally uploaded by wysiwysell

My girls and I just had this Mrs. Smith's Dutch Crumb Apple Pie a la mode with Cookies & Cream ice cream. There is enough cinnamon there to create a sandstorm!

It is so rich that only one serving can be enjoyed:)

At this rate, it will not see Monday for sure:)

Although my wife is a Mrs. Smith herself, she did not make this concoction:)

Peace!

Documented Instability of McCain

If one is unfit to lead, they should do a better job of concealing it. McCain raises his personal instability on a flag pole!

All That Is Needed Now Is Palin Moonwalking:)

This may be the joke of the year! She walked straight into the baseball bat and then did a 180 degree turn to flee:)

Laughs don't get any better than this!

Go Obama!

This Is Real Leadership and Real Change

With Campaign Co-Chairs Like This, Who Needs An Opponent?

Fiorina could not run HP without spying on the board of directors, but it looks like she knows John McCain very well indeed:)

McCain Is Dangerous to Himself & America!

Incredible!

A Double-Minded Man Is Unstable In All His Ways!

No Help from Greenspan for W & McCain!

McCain's Promise to America!

War is his promise!

Why Get Mad if You Wanted to Flip Flop?

No amount of lipstick can fancy up this pig!

He talks, he forgets, and then he gets mad when you remind him of his own words!!!

Audacious!

Another McCain Temper Tantrum

McCain Is Clearly Unelectable to a Rational Person

McCain = Veterans' Pain:(

The Result of 90% Support!

I guess that McCain is like Brownie and doing a heck of a job:(

Everyone Should Not Run for the Exit at the Same Time:(

When a failure tells you to stay in a burning house and that everything is okay, he or she actually speeds up the stampede versus projecting calmness and strength.

Own your failure W & GOP!

The flight to safety is on!

McCain's Memory & Mouth are Disconnected Clearly!

McCain talks and then forgets his own words.

A pathological liar he either is or is becoming.

No One Can Help Those Who Refuse to Read or Watch Financial News!

Does he ever read the news or have any financial professionals helping him with his knowledge much less his campaign?

Talk about clueless!

Maybe McCain Should Choose His Own Words Better!

Palin's flip flop on Bridge to Nowhere!

She is her own executioner!  Wow!

McCain is now a blackmailer?

I could not believe that McCain's own mouth could blame Obama for the tone of McCain's own political ads.

I guess he is another war monger after all:(

Video that Sums Up McCain & Palin Very Well

Indeed Justified, But Not Forever Entitled

IMG_0061
Originally uploaded by wysiwysell

Indeed Justified, But Not Forever Entitled
By Roney Smith Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved

Hebrews 12:1-3 KJV

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

****************
This morning another driver made a left turn to drive from a stationary position to get right in front of me versus allowing me to drive by first. From the near whiplash experienced due to having to suddenly brake, I could tell that there was a young boy in the front passenger seat, the car tax sticker was highly visible in addition to the license plate appearing in high definition, the white Mitsubishi Galant was from Houston County, Georgia, and if not for the condensation on the rear window that was not wiped off or rear window heater in use, I would have been able to give you the mileage and amount of fuel remaining in the vehicle.

Does anything of this successfully indicate to you that I was highly enamored with the driver's actions? I know not:)

Through this experience that will assuredly be repeated at some point in the oncoming future, the unadulterated, unbroken vibe that was fresher than morning coffee was clearly broken by the other driver.

I was agitated. I was ignited. I was in flames.

But as I mentioned recently with "Forgiveness Trumps All Dysfunction and Ignorance", the other driver was simply doing the best that they could do.

There are people that will go to great lengths to displease us intentionally and there are some that can achieve the same effect with very little effort at all.

So the above Scripture came to me minutes later to remind me that I had the pressing need to lay aside the weight that would so easily ride me like a pony at a state fair for the rest of the day.

I also fully understood that in the middle of fully being justified to feel that way that I did, I was not entitled to feel the same way much longer beyond the time that the healing Word of God made its presence felt.

The challenge today is to identify where are we experiencing pain currently as well as historically from earlier generations. Although some pain may be temporarily justified, we have to release the pain in order to allow healing to exist within our lives and in the lives of others. Otherwise, the grudge against someone else does more harm to the holder of the grudge than to the person to which the grudge is directed.

You risk getting more mud on yourself that you intend to throw on someone else. Through picking up the dirt, cocking your arm and hand backwards to throw it, and the release itself is a 3 to 1 ratio to get yourself dirty versus the opportunity to dirtying someone else. As I am beginning to understand even more from my own first book Every Seed Has The Divine Expectation of Much Fruit (Writers Club Press, 2003, ISBN 0595262260), there is always the presence of seed, divine expectation, and much fruit whether for good or evil.

So from the challenge we must progress to the greater opportunity that exists on a higher level, frequency, altitude, and attitude from the depths that would become our short, intermediate, and long term tomb if left uncontested.

Since we were given an opportunity for death and burial, we must ask, seek, and knock upon the mind of God to understand where the resurrection needs to spring forward and leap higher within our lives and the lives of the world around us.

Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are able to experience not only our natural senses on a different level but to see the invisible, taste what was previously kept away by the enemy (even if the enemy was ourselves and our former way of thinking and believing), touch the future, smell what is present in heaven before it is in earth, and hear the unction of God straight from the throne of God directly or what is communicated by God through the mouths of others.

Only through God are we ever able to imagine, know, and experience what we are entitled to which is only meant for our good!

When we live, move, and have our being in Christ, our direction and position raises our faith to the place where we are certainly and inevitably justified.

The just shall live by faith and the justification is permanently guaranteed when we truly seek that which we are entitled to.

Peace!

Google's Chrome Delivers!

I've made the new Google Chrome web browser my default browser this evening after reading a Google produced comic on its features and benefits earlier today.

It is as fast as I thought it would be.

It is not yet available on a Mac without some under the hood work, so I have left it alone there until an official Mac version is ready.

But it has the stability and speed that Flock, Firefox 3, and MS Internet Explorer could never demonstrate.

I still have Safari on both the PC and Mac and Chrome beats it for speed so far.

Try it out and I'm sure that you will love it as much or more than I am.

Peace!

Forgiveness Trumps All Dysfunction & Ignorance!

Within the past 24 hours, I have returned home from the funeral of an American hero that had served 3 tours within the Vietnam War.  His obituary was heavily weighed of his military experience and ability to return home supposedly in one piece.  But through direct and indirect conversations and observations without judgment of anyone individual, there were battles, wars, decisions, and indecisions on multiple levels that focused on the wrong enemy altogether.

The family of the immediate household as well as the extended family of the deceased soldier consistently believed that the wife and children were mistreated harshly.  It was not until a minister who had himself served in a military capacity within a different war spoke that it began to dawn on me that the US government had placed soldiers in harm's way while not providing the resources for the soldiers' safe return to civilian life.  The number of divorces, broken homes, alcoholism, drug use, and even horrific, antisocial crimes can be attributed to wars being collectively and individually fought at the wrong time, place, and upon the wrong target.  The real tragedy is that the same logic and methods of operating have continued the downward trend versus changing course when it comes to American veterans.

There are veterans that have indeed returned to productive lifestyles, and positions of leadership, influence, and honor nationwide but for the military might that was so visibly recorded, documented, and put on display to wage war and deter other wars and conflicts from taking place, the amount of acceptable, domestic collateral damage has been far too high.  The lack of post war support simply indicates that like the victims of Hurricane Katrina, there was no governmental sense of urgency to mount a rescue for American citizens unconditionally when the moment of truth had arrived.

In spite of the lack of efforts to provide substantial support, it is going to be even more important for all veterans and their families and friends to be able to practice forgiveness at a level than ever before imaginable.  Although this can be misinterpreted as blaming the victim, the reality is that all of us within the United States and worldwide have in our possession some form of post tramatic stress syndrome to some degree or another.  Our ability or inability to forgive is the critical key to our exchanging being a victim to one of victory.

Historically within the progression of the United States' march to global and cultural sophistication, earlier generations down to the grandparents of Generation X have found it easier to pass forward their understanding of parenthood versus challenging the status quo.  The parents of Generation X appear to be first generation that may have had the sense of awareness to actually question whether they themselves were raised with love and nurturing concern to address the child's individual needs versus assuming that raising all children in the same manner was fair, equitable, and the right course of action for each specific child.

But many Baby Boomers have uniquely taken a path of parenthood that has aggressively weakened their children and future descendants in a manner that essentially is impossible for Generation X and later generations to duplicate.  These parents have swung to the extreme, opposite end of the parental spectrum to provide no restraint and degree of discipline in lavishly showering their children with almost every material possession imagined and placed on the open market for consumer consumption.

As a result, members of the Millennial Generation and children of such parents are themselves found in two extremes.  One extreme is where the child has an unlimited amount of confidence that will lead to the production of constructive changes within American society unimaginable worldwide.  Within the remaining extreme, the proverbial wings have been savagely clipped and dysfunction is spread and poured unmercilessly.  What is the recurring thread and solution within the generations mentioned and those to come?  The answer is found within the biblical concept of forgiveness.

Upon the cross, Christ Jesus is quoted within Luke 23:34 as saying "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".  In John 8:7, Christ is quoted as saying, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  The ability to forgive is the ability to avoid and heal cancer both literally and figuratively.  The capacity of forgiveness is found within the power of letting go.  We have to let go of our past and present in order to only take the good into our future.

There are situations where the good of the past can become the shackles and handcuffs of the present and future just as much as being a prisoner of someone else's war can bind one to the depths and despair without any logic and reason.  Therefore, we have to extract only the good and the essential lessons that are found within any situation and apply the necessary amount of overwhelming forgiveness and love to move forward to a positive future.

As I write this, I earlier today had to release multiple items within my wardrobe since my current weight has determined that there were idle, unworn clothes too large for me to currently wear and especially feel comfortable wearing.  Believe me, there were some items that represented a battle within my own mind in that they should have been forgiven for wearing down and out as well as possibly providing an upgrade for someone to fashionably wear.  The clothes will be donated to the nearest Goodwill store and there are items that are not able to positively represent my current weight, mindset, and belief system.  My wife will assuredly go on to say that some of these items have been out of style for decades possibly and the glory days in which they were worn shall never return:)

The point of this downsizing of wardrobe items is that we must actively, aggressively, and repeatedly release the past in order to experience a more glorious and desirable future.  Otherwise, we can only reproduce the past through intentional and unintentional means.

We know how to fight the wrong wars by continually passing on to future generations the sickness, disease, and dysfunction that serve no one comfortably although some have said directly and indirectly through their actions and inactions that they love dysfunction more than function.  The greater tragedy of these wrong wars is the compounded, dysfunctional belief or myth that these wars can and should be actually won without further detriment and endangerment of everyone involved.

Still forgiveness is the key to moving forward to a productive and satisfying future.  Forgiveness is the ability to exchange evil for good, captivity and slavery for freedom, hunger and thirst for an appetite quenched and satisfied, and loss and defeat for victory.  It takes forgiveness as well as the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to realize that the people that have produced the environments, situations, and crises of negativity and lack within our lives were simply doing THE BEST THAT THEY COULD DO.  It takes God living and moving within our lives for us to believe, see, do, and have the right things in the right way at the right time and for the right reasons.  Otherwise, we are doomed to repeat the past for failing to learn from it.

Just as the Lord's prayer petitions God for our daily bread, we must release, relieve, and remove the molded bread of the past and only use the penicillin that is present to heal and distribute health today and in our futures.

Not at any point am I indicating that forgiveness will be easy.  But through the Holy Spirit, we shall have the awareness and empowerment that only forgiveness has the capability of overcoming the decay and death that people unknowingly throw in our direction.

My New Conspiracy Theory on McCain’s VP Pick

Image via Wikipedia Everyone in the world has been stupefied today with John McCain's selection of the State of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential nominee.

Amazingly enough, there are more than a few members of the GOP that have consumed pints, gallons, and liters of Republican Kool-Aid to proudly and unashamedly justify McCain's wolfish ways in putting Palin on his ticket.

After stepping away from my computer long enough with more than enough laughs, guffaws, and tear-jerking jokes to last for the rest of the campaign season, it has dawned on me within the last hour that McCain's pick is perhaps the most shrewdest, racist, and most male chauvinist move seen in the world.

What makes this selection just as shrewd, racist, and chauvinistic as possible is that by choosing Palin, McCain has continued to seek the mass disenfranchisement of as many voters as possible.

Just as what was seen in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, McCain has taken the liberties to put a new Karl Rovian twist on his selection.

A few McCain supporters have already claimed that McCain's announcement took the oxygen out of Obama's speech that was as enlightened as any given by any American throughout our nation's history. To this attempt to remove oxygen from the final night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I now see his announcement was clearly to do as you have stated and I see the cards up your sleeve.

Here it is in a nutshell. McCain and his GOP strategists know that the number of people being registered to vote in this year's presidential primaries and fall election have the highest counts ever. They know that the passion for Senator Obama's campaign has exceeded what they have had even with their elitist and exclusionary politics in their best years. They also know that based on the new participants within the election process that they clearly do not stand a chance of winning. But since the voter identification laws to prevent and disenfranchise many from voting may have been passed too early to have an effect, the best way to win this year's election is get those who would have voted for Obama NOT TO VOTE AT ALL.

How has McCain done this? By selecting someone that would make someone think "No one in their right mind would vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. I will let someone else vote for Obama and I will stay home or find something else to do on Election Day".

As a result, McCain's pick is supremely racist since it focuses on aiming squarely at stereotypes of African-Americans that have been classified as lazy since Republican President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

McCain assumes that there will be enough black voters who will not show up to vote at all assuming that someone else will make the difference instead.

McCain also assumes that there are more than enough supporters of Senator Hilary Clinton that will take their feminism to political extremes and vote for a woman on the ballot versus along party lines with or without any sound logic behind their decision for the long term. This is the most chauvinistic, Pied Piper-playing move that he could muster. Anyone should recognize this because nothing within McCain's selection of Palin has a long term focus and benefit for the United States of America. It is just as short-term focused as the selection of Cheney in providing the experienced oversight to a weak prince that W could still only reach for in his dreams at peak performance.

So by essentially using the divide and conquer strategy as an offensive weapon, selecting Palin is the move behind the move versus an in your face type of aggressive, political move. The move may actually qualify as a grand chess master move in being several steps beyond the actual pieces in play.

The only antidote for McCain's selection is that everyone who believes that Obama will make a better President of the United States HAS TO ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTE AND SHOW UP TO VOTE!!!!!

You cannot assume that someone else will cast the deciding vote for you! You cannot assume that Palin will replace Senator Clinton in your heart's desire to see a woman occupying a political level never seen before simply because of her gender. Palin's own track record on the neighboring side of Russia has proven that she is not one of the girls.

Every attempt at placing a logical debate before the American voters has been struck down by McCain's VP selection of Palin. But just as before and as fine tuned as Karl Rove could imagine, the strategy plays into human nature on a subliminal, cellular level.

See the strategy for what it is: a move to encourage you not to vote!

The selection is like the weakened bait to attract and induce grogginess like turkey on Thanksgiving Day! Your political inactivity will make the difference if you do not vote because we already know what decision the Supreme Court will make if there are any discrepancies that cause the final decision to be placed in their hands!

As much as I can now admire McCain's shrewdness, it makes me even more passionate about Obama's campaign. I will have to donate to his campaign as well as volunteer in some manner.

I will also have to tell everyone that I meet to apply a distinct strategy if you are unable to donate yourself to Obama's campaign: TAKE THE DAY OFF TO VOTE!

If you have seen that contributing to Obama's campaign has not yet moved you to make a donation, donate through your vote and consider the actual amount of unpaid time spent in placing your vote as an implied donation at a bare minimum!

You will vote and contribute to one campaign or the other one way or another by default! There is no way around it this year or any other year!

You will vote for Obama by selecting him on the ballot or vote for McCain by staying away from the polls. You will contribute to Obama actively by sending a donation or contribute to McCain's campaign by doing nothing.

Bottom line, McCain wants your DO NOTHING VOTE!

Even by chance my conspiracy theory is way off in left field and grasping at straws, the logic behind political inactivity passes any decision tree and flow chart in the end results.

Not only is the call for all hands to be on deck, there is no excuse accepted, tolerated or to be given for the failure to vote by qualified people this coming Election Day.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH!

Go Obama!

Peace!

It's Easier To Tear Down A Real House Than A Digital Website!

Good morning!

Over the past weekend, I received an e-mail from our hosting vendor and the news was that 3 pages or files were creating a strain on their servers.

At first glance, I encountered technical problems accessing the files and could not see the usual folder directory to tell what was going on.

After a couple of back and forth rounds, I tried another method (WS-FTP and old school technology still works in many cases) and have gained access to everything.

The quick and dirty moral of the story is "Don't think because you are not creating content on a regular basis for different sites that no one is noticing because the spammers have already noticed and are filling those web houses like rats!"

Spammers worldwide were in and through one site like cockroaches and rats:(

I already had the files on an external hard drive for easy, offline editing before loading the files online, but none of this would indicate otherwise how deep and wide the problem really was on THE ACTUAL SERVER!

The real entry point were the various forms that were used to receive information from the online visitors!

The forms that leave content trails like the old school guest book forms will open a hole to your site that will be flooded by crazy advertisements if you are not consistently watching for it.

Right now, I am going through the server folder directory to delete and remove any files that have a size outside of the norm.

But I have already seen that it is easier to tear a three-dimensional building because when you have the visitors' responses that could be flipped into spam, there are a whole lot more files and folders that contain the same information in multiple places and ways.

I'm burning down the house and watching the rats and cockroaches run for cover!

Believe me, this job is just as ugly as it sounds right now:(

But I hope to save someone else from doing the digital, dirty work that I am having to do this morning.  I thank God for the appropriate tools too!

Peace!

Now I Know What They Mean!

I Have Seen The Future of Shopping and Its Name Is Ikea

By now you already know that I am an early adopter of technology especially as it relates to the internet. I will share things that many will hoard as precious family secrets or heirlooms as a result.

But this morning my wife Wyteria and I experienced a low tech introduction to a store that is immediately being placed within my top 5 places to go for a great retail experience.

My interest in visiting an Ikea store was recently spiked with an excessive amount of fuel when I learned within the past week that Ikea serves food in addition to the various products designed for the home, office, or any living quarters:)

My trip was originally going to be planned for tomorrow (a Saturday), but the idea was too good to keep to myself. My wife mentioned going when her schedule would permit and nothing else was as critical as making our way to Ikea as we did this morning.

Here in Atlanta, we knew that it was going to important not to get trapped in the daily traffic and fortunately the hours of the Ikea store is a fit hand in glove.

They serve breakfast before the store fully opens I believe and the restaurant is fairly close to the store entrance. But let me back up just a little.

The building that hosts an Ikea is much larger than one would imagine. There were at least 2 parking levels and the spaces immediately outside the doors were filled.

We parked as close to the entrance on the parking level that we entered and as the hour was quickly approaching 10 a.m. (the opening hour), there were at least 30 to 50 vehicles already there.

I had discovered via the Wikipedia entry for Ikea that the store layout is like that of a guided museum design where one is expected to follow a certain order while there are short cuts to quickly move from one area to another throughout the store.

There are maps with a checklist provided at the entrance and throughout the store for one to navigate your way through the store with ease. Other than missing a moving sidewalk, you will soon begin to recognize people around you by face since your collective commute through the store is in a series of stages.

Big yellow bags were available on the area we entered and later we saw shopping carts that even moved sideways which was very impressive. I am not sure that any other store known to most people will allow you to parallel park the cart sideways:)

We also saw huge, blue bags that were oversized to a degree that one would think that you will be forced to buy something in a Costco quantity to justify the size.

After taking one short cut within the store to get out of the snake-like progression that most shoppers were on, we found ourselves in a children's section.

My wife Wyteria quickly skipped through the baby section as if an immaculate conception was possible through product radiation:D I enjoyed the subliminal compliment but I moved just as fast to not experience a planting season myself:)

Then the delicious aroma of food was on the horizon. Now again, this was my most significant motivation for wanting to visit an Ikea location and it was on!

Wyteria ordered her breakfast in a rapid fire manner like a drill sargeant and she said that the Asian server grabbed the plate from the young sister that was going to serve us. Then I asked if the heavier lunch and dinner items were available only to find out that they are served no earlier than 11 a.m.

When I stumbled through the menu and items like someone who has never been to a McDonald's before, the same Asian lady gave my plate back to the young sister like she was thinking "In my Asian culture, we have no time for indecision. Either have or have not". This was a nonverbal lesson learned and funny at the same time.

The food was cheaper in price and had a higher quality than most well known restaurants that serve breakfast and more accessible.

The seating area was more colorful and exciting than many places as well. I will not hesitate to go back just for the food alone since the items were capable of sticking to one's ribs while being tasty at the same time.

One thought that was confirmed during our trip is that the Swedish culture must be very driven to minimize their possessions while maximizing their living quarters. There was no fat or excess on anything throughout the store. Everything is designed with an efficiency and function unlike most items seen within Wal-Mart and heavily trafficked stores founded or based within the United States.

The store is very unlike any furniture store that I have ever been to or without the hype that Home Depot, Lowe's, and even Target are known for.

I saw the products offered very straight to the point like Olympic record breakers Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. There was no drag or dead weight seen anywhere.

We ended up putting several items into our hands and later a shopping cart and realized that the Ikea commercial where the female shopper shouts "Start the car, start the car!" was as accurate as one will feel and think within an Ikea store:)

Neither one of us could believe that several items were as inexpensive as they were and the quality was highly discernible.

We did not get a shopping cart upon entering the store out of not wanting to lug around anything that might not be used. But there will be something or several items that one will easily find an usage for as well as to replace something that has lived past its usefulness.

I am a man's man while having enough metrosexual traits to not irritate beyond reason my wife and daughters. But I simply have not found a furniture store of any nature that captured and held my attention as long as Ikea did. Even the technology stores that have office furniture never held the magnetism that I experienced today.

I already had scoped out an office chair online and when we finally saw it, my expectations were not disappointed. Although we did not buy it as this initial trip was more of a scouting expedition, I will feel totally comfortable ordering it online if the shipping and handling are within reason as well as throwing in the same order some lightweight items that will balance out the overall cost in our eyes.

Bottom line, I highly recommend that you immediately visit the Ikea website, request a catalog, and whenever the opportunity is available for you to experience a store firsthand, then take full advantage of it.

I received the best advice on Twitter from only1cassie who suggested that at least 2 hours are set aside to fully experience the store.

If you visit my history of microblogging about Ikea, you will see that the presence of food pushed me over the edge from mere curiousity to action:)

Go for the food or just go to see that there is a place where men can still be men and not get bored out of our minds!

I saw men of all ages and there was only one guy who was asleep or napping within the store and this was probably just as much due to the degree of comfort he experienced on the nice chair he was sitting on:)

I am not sure whether there is a stock on the US financial markets for Ikea or not or whether one has to invest within a foreign financial market, but Ikea is one company that will have to go a long way to throwing their business strategy in a trash can to copy the excesses many other CEOs and board of directors have foolishly done.

Ikea has taught me a lot about the Swedish culture indirectly and what is indeed possible without going overboard.

Before I forget, my wife and I watched the movie "The Bucket List" last night and mention of the Swedish fruit ligonberries was confirmation that our trip was due. Although I did not have any for breakfast, I did manage to get my wife to painfully indulge me to take a picture of me in the restaurant and later tolerate a jar of ligonberry preserves being put into our shopping cart:)

I will probably need to blog about the taste of ligonberries later as well as the ligonberry juice I will need to experience on a future trip without spousal overnight or intervention:) But Ikea was all good!

Finally, I want to thank everyone online that shared something about Ik with me. Your thoughts and experienced were very much appreciated and led to my wife and I having a great morning on our visit.

Go Ikea!

Peace!