I'm not better off today....

I'm not better off today than I was a few years ago, so why wouldn't I want to vote for a change in November?  I'm certainly not happier, so why not try to change something in November?

OK, I also know that most of the reason is me.  Nevertheless, I have not seen a cost of living raise in about 3 years, yet cost continue to go up.  Limitations at the office reduce spending, traveling, back filling...  however, we are expected not only to do all we use to, we are expected to do more.  Most recently, further cuts reduced funding that was used for awards and bonuses by about two thirds.  Do more with less, and get thanked less.  Hmmm.

I'm all for doing things better, however, I don't see equality or those cuts being made equitably across the board.  I see many things I can not freely write about, regardless of whistle bower rules, policy and laws...  it is not worth the chance in this economic environment.

I will say I think I support many of the positions brought forward by the democratic party....  but I am not better off now than I was...  so why support the continued support if I feel I am one of the ones feeling the pain?  I don't want interest rates on college loans to double....  I just want my kids to be able to get loans in the first place!

Why not change?

Has God ever winked at you?

While attending an incredible wedding this past weekend, my brother-in-law mentioned "when God winks".  I'd never heard the expression before, so, we had to have a conversation... I needed to know what he meant about God winking.

In the few minutes I had to talk with Steve and to follow up on that conversation, I've learned, apparently God does wink at us!  It happens in many ways, ways we often write off as "coincidence, but it's not.  It's God stepping in and taking an action, for a reason.  We may not get it at the moment, which is why many of us had written those situations off as coincidence.  I can't wait to get into this more, however, I',m so pumped about it, I wanted to share with you now.

Have you ever heard of a person who was about to leave on a trip, but left the plane ticket home?  By the time they went to get it, they missed the plane, only to later find out the plane crashed?  A God wink that changed that person's life forever.  You might want to check out Squire Rushnell's book, "When God Winks", I'm already reading it.

Are Russian people are reading my blog, really?

Where hits to my blog are coming from

This will be short, I am just pretty amazed today.  Blogspot, the host where I post my thoughts, has recently changed some things in the background, and I've finally taken a few minutes to look it over.  To my surprise, I get a reasonable number of hits on my post from Russia (forgive me if that is not the correct name, I mean the region known as the USSR.  Why is that?

Are they really interested or are they hackers looking for a way in.  I'd like to think it was not the latter, however, I'm thinking it is.  I wish one of them would email me or make a post just to say hello!

Dr Drew, I respectfully disagree...

I'd put my laptop down, turned off the light, but not the TV. I flipped through the channels and stopped on CNN Headline News. Dr. Drew was discussing a segment that appeard to be titled "Fat Discrimination".

 Although I jumped in mid stream, I watched, listened, and couldn't take it anymore.  I turned on the light, fired up the laptop and am writing that I respectfully disagree. First, I will say I apologize if I miss the names of the persons that were on the show, that is not important.. this is about the title, Fat Discrimination, and where the main guest has a valid argument.

The gist of what I got, from what I saw, is that a person named Jordan was at a bar where they essentially had a dancing karaoke (that's my term, not one from the show).  Patrons could dance on the bar or tables doing their sexy dance to the enjoyment of the patrons.  Jordan was apparently not what the patrons were looking for and was asked to get down and stop dancing.  It seems references were made to her about her weight.  One apparently referenced that she was obviously pregnant while in fact, she was not.  Jordan was humiliated, mortified  and is claiming "Fat Discrimination".  She was just trying to have fun like everyone else.

 Your guest, Carnie Wilson, and you, both appeared to support her position, to the point where you almost bashed callers or supporters that did not agree.  A second guess, who's name escapes me, who was associated with some organization dealing with obesity, did not agree with you, Carnie or Jordan either.  Neither do I.

There was a lot of conversation about feelings, how humilating it must have been to her (Jordan) and how insensitive the bar owners were. While it may have been humilating and Jordan may have felt bad, it is not the business owners responsibility to make Jordan feel good.  A called who was a bar owner called from California, who also did not agree, was asked about the decision to have her step down, if money was more important than Jordan's feelings.... YES!  Even I get that.  That's the purpose of a business, to make money!!!

While the actual method or words used to ask her step down may not have been done with tack, dignity or sensitivity, it does not change the fact that what is important is the business, not Jordan's feelings.  Her feelings do NOT overrule the owners nor the patrons....  ever.   Customer service is king, although it does not always mean the customer is right; nor the customer gets their own way.  If customers do not like the way they are treated, go some where else...  it's simple.  If enough people leave, the business will change or it will close.

Where do we draw the line? If a 600 pound woman came in and wanted to dance, do they have to let her, even of the patrons boo and raise a scene? Should she too raise fat discrimination?  What if a 15 year old teenager wanted to dance, should they allow her, or should she raise age discrimination because she feels bad too?

You mentioned the bigger picture... I think the bigger picture is that this country has turned into a goodie two-shoes, feel good place. Everyone feels entitled to what "they" want.  We are afraid to fail kids in school that can not read, because they will feel bad.  We allow girls to join boys sports teams, boys to join girls sports teams. Why can't we have an all boys team, or all girls teams?  Why can't we have things that just not everyone can participate in if they don't qualify?  I'm not saying we can reasonably protect indigent, protect people in the sake of safety and welfare, but not just because they don't qualify.  We only allow tall players to play basketball in the NBA... should I claim short discrimination and make them allow me to play, otherwise I will feel bad?  We only allow smart people to become doctors.... maybe Jordan wants to be a doctor but she doesn't have the money for medical school or the ability to pass the medical boards. Should she clain financial or intellegence discrimination?  I could go on for weeks.

 I think government, states and other authorities need to stay out of business owners business when it is not a matter of public safety, health or welfare (and feel good does not qualify for welfare).  This is not necessarily a fair world. Get use to it and get a grip on it that and find something you can do or find another way to do what you want.  Do the best with what you have.  We are all not going to sing at the Super Bowl, deal with it.  Chances are there are a lot of things we can not do because we don't have the facilities to... oh well.  If I can't ride a horse in the Kentucky Derby, and I want to just like the rest of the jockeys, and they won't let me?  What if they tell me I obviously have a beer belly?  I don't drink beer, I'd be humiliated and I'll feel bad.  Do I have a valid case of Fat Discrimination?  I think not, I'm just not what the cheering fans want riding on their favorite horse.

 Dr. Drew, I disagree with you, Jordan was not discriminated against... she just didn't have what the customers wanted.  Deal with it.

Should your salary be public knowledge?

I found today that the salaries of federal and state workers are posted and available for anyone on the Internet to look up. No log in, no reason, you could just be curious to find out how much someone makes....  just and their name (and maybe a few others bits of info to narrow the search down) and up jump salary and award information.

 Is that right? Would you want your salary information posted for all to see?  Who's business is it?  Granted these folks work for either the federal or state governments, "for the people", however, there are acceptable salary tables and ranges that are approved, and those should be public.  That should be public.

If we were paying a grounds keeper the salary of a federal GS-15, we might have something to talk about.  That discussion might be what salary range, or pay grades should grounds keepers be (and this is not about grounds keepers, they do a marvelous job, it's just the job that came to my head).  We are not talking about appropriate salaries for certain jobs, we are talking about John Doe making 65, 432 last year plus a $1,000 award.  That's wrong!

Let your representatives know your feelings...  for that matter, let me know.

Awesome Chocolate

Just wanted to share that I got a good feel for how Velata compares to other dessert offerings...  it's really good!  Those are the words of the tasters as much as mind.  Saturday night Velata was shared at a Bunko party and there was not a drop left...  both milk chocolate and the carmel chocolate were smashing delights.  Today, more of a Sunday afternoon gathering of friends it almost ended up in a lottery for who could "lick the bowl".

OK, the Velata chocolates are a huge hit...   great, smooth chocolate...  but, what does it do for my business.  I think it adds a nice touch...  a nice party addition and I can easily see where people would want one around the house for those special times when a special snack is called for.  You might even want a couple of warmers so you can have multiple chocolates going, or different colors for different moods and seasons.

It's already been said that they could go by cheaper chocolates to use in the Velata fondue warmer.  Yes you can....  and you can also go to McDonald's and call it a burger, but it doesn't compare to what came off my grill today.... neither will cheaper chocolates.

You can't beat the taste of Velata, that's for sure.

Does it matter why you are overloaded?

I someone is overloaded...  with anything...  too much work, too many bills, to many things to do....  anything....  does it matter why they are overloaded?  I'm not going to do years of research or conduct polls so I can analyze the answers, I'm going out on a limb and just say "yes, it does matter, however, not as much as it does helping that person get out from what ever is overwhelming them.

Understanding how you got overloaded is just as important, but getting unloaded is more important.  That may seem not to make any sense, and those with more wisdom when it comes to such things may be right, but, it makes sense to me.

When one gets to the point of overload, strange things begin to happen.  Logical decisions turn to occasional illogical decisions.  Having the ability to do ANYTHING, often is only a step away.  The wrong question or demand for anything, can send the overwhelmed person into a spiral of do nothing.  Not purposely, but do nothing nevertheless.

I know this because I am this.  I know I don't want to be overwhelmed, but I feel it.  Like an illness, being overwhelmed needs a prescription, kindness and consideration of the road back to health.

What are your feeling on being overwhelmed.  WOuld you look for help or look to find out how you got there...  which is the most important first step?  Let me know.

Facebook or Twitter (or Google+)?

I'm not the most prolific blogger by any means.  I wish I took the time to post something each day, but he day seems to slip right by before I've taken it by the horns and slowed it down.  However, since I don't blog all that much, I'm wondering, where am I going to get the most bang for my buck?

I will admit I use Facebook more than Twitter, but it just seems like it is easier to post on Facebook than it is on Twitter.  Not to mention, without Twitter's 140 character limitation, it's sometimes easier to tell the whole story in a single post without having to follow a link to ....  well, almost anywhere.

Yesterday I wrote about a class project my daughter has going for her school class, learning about America.  She thought it would be cool to see how many states her class could receive cards from, during the weeks of talks about America.  She sent an e-mail to a few out of state family and friends asking us if we could mail her class a state themed postcard.  She also asked that if we knew anyone that lived out of state, maybe we could please pass her message along to them.  She wondered how many states she would get cards from.

I know people everywhere, so went to my e-mail, my Facebook account and my Twitter account and essentially posted the same message with a link to yesterday's blog post:  http://bit.ly/Postcd.

The cool thing about bit.ly (and I'm sure other URL shortening sites), it gives me stats about who and when people click on that link I just entered (http://bit.ly/Postcd).  It tells me from what source people clicked on the link....  in fact, it even tells me when they are using a m. reference (meaning they were using their smartphone).  That's cool.  What I found most surprising was that Facebook out clicked Twitter by 26 to 1...  that's HUGE!  Even mobile browsers out clicked Twitter, 11 to 1.  That tells me, forget twitter, focus on first on Facebook to get my story out there, then on smart phones....  forget Twitter.

Is that what you experience?

On a whim, I wandered over to Google+...  found I must had already been there, or it pulled info from my gmail account and built a profile for me.  I filled a little more information so it looked a bit more like I was using it, when in fact I was not.  I really don't get how Google+ works.  Is it just Google's version of Facebook done the way they want it?  Maybe I'm old and set in my ways, Facebook seemed much easier.

What do you think?

Postcards From Across America

I love writing about happy and fun things, heaven knows, we need to have some fun and happy things in our lives.  Here's a chance to help others in the process.  My daughter is one awesome, dedicated preschool teacher in Connecticut.  I've been to her class, I've seen her in action.  She's the best...  right there along side the countless other educators who do incredible work for often, little pay, teaching the next generation.

She's got a project going, again, with her youngsters, teaching them about America.  She's looking to collect postcards from all 50 states.  I want to help her in a huge way and need YOUR help!  Here's what she wrote:

"Hi friends and family!!! I need your help. My class is trying to collect postcards from all 50 states as part of our America unit so... if you or someone you know lives in a state other than CT, could you have a postcard sent to Miss Tina's Class, P.O. Box 159 Plainville, CT 06062 Thanks!!!!!!!!"

I would so much appreciate it if you have an opportunity, you pick up a postcard, maybe one that says the name of your state, and mail it along to her at your earliest opportunity.  That would be awesome if we can get her cards from all 50 states".  I want her story to reach the news channels...  even the Today show....  but we need lots of help and lots of cards.

I look forward to writing a follow up to this short little post with pictures of the kids and 100's or 1000's of postcards.

Thanks!