Violence in Gaza

While some of us have been celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the message of love and peace that he brought to this world, others are continuing to walk the road of hate and violence.

"270 Die in Ongoing Israeli Strikes on Gaza" - msnbc.com
"U.S. Blames Hamas for Attack by Israel" - The Associated Press
"Hamas Unlikely to be Toppled" - The Associated Press

And the list of headlines continue as Israel retaliates against what they have described as "almost daily rocket and mortar fire from Gaza that intensified after Hamas ended a six-month ceasefire a week ago." The truce began to fall apart in early November after Israel sent troops across the border in a raid on Gaza. Since that time there have been multiple rocket attacks on Israel fired by militants in Gaza.

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is supposed to be in control of the West Bank, condemned the attacks, but is in no position to stop Hamas. In fact, once his four-year term ends next month it is clear that Hamas will pay no attention to President Abbas, not that they heeded his counsel in the past.

And Hamas promises to strike back with rockets and suicide attacks in the "cafes and streets" of Israel. The violence will beget more violence and unless the United Nations or the Arab League can somehow step in and mediate a ceasefire this latest escalation is likely to continue unabated for the near term. I leave the United States out because it is apparent from everything being said by the Bush administration in its last days that they do not have the stomach for any further intervention and clearly blame the situation entirely on Hamas. Of course, nothing is being said about the humanitarian crisis that has been taking place over the past four to six months as Israel has intentionally starved 1.5 million Palestinians through their blockades and other border controls. I do not say that this is justification for the rocket attacks, but I think it is important to remember that there are always two sides to a story. I also think it's important to point out that given the current situation, it is likely that a number of innocent children are going to be killed in the coming days and weeks.

The photo's coming out of the Associated Press in the Middle East make me want to cry. The violence has to stop and someone has to lead the effort to stop it. I don't know if President-elect Obama is prepared to engage given everything that is on his plate and I'm not even certain the U.S. should be engaging. Where is the European Union in this crisis? The United Nations? Where is the Arab League?

My Sunday morning has been sad indeed as I have scoured the news for updates on the situation. There seems to be no end in sight!

State of the Blogosphere

Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2008 report is now available on their website (www.technorati.com) and provides some very interesting insights in the world of blogging. For instance, as of August, 2008 there were 77.7 million unique visitors to blogs in the U.S., 41.0 million to Facebook, 75.1 million to mySpace and a total internet audience of 189.9 million. There have been 1.33 million blog records indexed by Technorati since 2002, 7.4 million blogs posted in the last 120 days, 1.5 million blogs posted in the last 7 days and 900,000 posted in the last 24 hours, or at least those were the stats when the report was published. Bloggers turn out to be both educated and generally affluent with three out of four bloggers have graduated from college and 42% having attended graduate school. "They skew male, and more than half have a household income of over $75,000", according to the report. There are five sections to the report and worth the 20 to 30 minutes you may spend reviewing it.

On the 22nd of December, Forbes.com published the "400 Best Big Companies" report. It covers both American and foreign corporations that have a significant presence in the U.S. Each have at least $1B in revenue in the most recent fiscal year and a stock price of at least $5 per share and positive equity. Forbes selected these 400 from a list of 1,000 candidates that fell into the parameters described and used a fairly straight forward set of criteria, which you can deep-dive on the Forbes.com website. There is also a very neat pivot table that allows you to dice them just about anyway you'd like just in case you were preparing some prospect lists for 2009. Might as well chase the successful firms with a bit of cash because right now I'm not certain a lot of the companies being served are going to make through 2009. It's a tough economy and companies are scrambling to figure out what works and how to keep the customers loyal, which is exactly why I joined Market Force Information in early October.

Market Force is the leading Customer Experience Information & Insights Partner for multi-location businesses, and that really means three things for Market Force and our clients.........first, it means that we evaluate the on-site experience from both the viewpoint of the customer's perception and the operational realities that created those perceptions. Second, we solve two business problems for our clients; i.e.: the tie between the operational performance, customer satisfaction and financial performance; and the need to drive operational improvement to the store level. Finally, we provide business improvement and decision support tools to help our customers manager their investments in customer experience. As I said earlier, customer loyalty is going to be critical for a lot of companies in 2009 and if they cannot articulate the operational realities at the store level then they are going to be among the losers. Management has to know what is happening at the "moment of truth" when a consumer engages a shopping experience........what happens when you walk into any store? You evaluate everything (rather consciously or unconsciously) from the moment you enter the store. Did someone greet you? Were you able to get assistance in a reasonable time frame? Were the associates on the floor friendly and courteous? Were the dressing rooms neat? Were the bathrooms clean? Think about it. Every aspect of that in-store experience registers with you and determines the likelihood of you returning and spending money again. And what about referrals? When is the last time you blasted some store or experience for the reasons I just mentioned? Understanding the operational realities and how they tie to customer perceptions and ultimately financial performance is the key to being successful in 2009, and that is what we do at Market Force Information. It's a very cool company and I'm really enjoying my time there. You can investigate the firm at www.marketforceinformation.com

Lakers knocked off the Celtics last evening and as I told a friend this morning, if it couldn't be the Hawks then my next most favorite team would suffice. I know it is only a December game and there is a lot of season left, but it did my heart good to see those Boston fans crushed. Now, if only Dallas can get out of Philadelphia with a win tomorrow!

Christmas Shopping

So I head out yesterday in the early afternoon with instructions from Kate to relax and unwind. The only problem is I'm headed for the shopping malls and I'm supposed to "relax and unwind". Sure. That's relatively easy when you have all these completely insane people driving around in 2 ton vehicles thinking they own the road and carparks are the equivalent of NASCAR racetracks. Case in point: I wander over to the Joseph Banks store on Peachtree........you know, the one right across from Dick's Sporting Goods. I reckoned that that there are a number of stores that I can visit simply by parking by J. Banks. It was fairly easy to get into the lot as I approached it from the Peachtree entrance and there was no traffic. Unfortunately, that's because all the traffic was in the carpark and everyone was scrambling to find a space. So I eventually eased my way to the very back of the lot and sure enough I drove right into one of the three remaining slots. I got out of the car and started to walk back to J. Banks and was nearly run over by this mad woman who was talking into a phone with one hand, to her passenger with the other hand and therefore must have been driving with her knees (assuming she did not have three hands). How close did she really come to hitting me? Well, let's put it this way. I've had near death experiences in Vietnam and this wasn't of that scale, but it sure as hell was close.

I walked into J. Banks and immediately regretted being there. It was a zoo. They had this crazy sale that gave you two free items for each item that you purchased at full price. Really nice dress slacks for $140 or $46.66 per pair......sports coats for $500 or $166 each. It all seemed reasonable, but of course the numbers are a bit tangled, especially when you think of the other sales they have during the year and realize that you purchased two of the same sport coats last fall for roughly $150 each on sale and the same brand of dress slacks for $30 per pair, again on sale. Anyway, given it was a madhouse and since there was no way I could get any service in less than an hour, I made the decision to pass on the famous Joseph Banks sale.

Okay, off to Boarders. Same story, different store. Lots of items that we don't need on sale and very long queues at the check-out register. Off I went thinking Dick's Sporting Goods would be the way to go...........wrong again!

Anyway, I was back home in about 25 minutes and had spent not a dime in any of the stores I visited. Sorry guys. I know the retailers are having trouble, but you got to give a person a fighting chance to spend a buck before that actually happens.

So, on-line to the Apple Store for some gift certificates that could be delivered via email, to Amazon for some gifts that would be delivered to the house no later than the 23rd and a few more gift certificates that I could print on my home printer. Sixty minutes of shopping on my home computer and everything was done and I was pretty relaxed at the end. I had a Jack Daniels and Coke sitting beside me during my shopping experience and while my bank account took a fairly hefty hit, at least I wasn't a complete zombie, which is exactly what I would have been had I stayed in those stores. I don't know..........do we really need stores anymore? Could we completely do away with storefronts and sell everything on-line? Who knows? Perhaps that is where we will ultimately end up if this economy keeps tanking.

Anyway, hope your Christmas shopping experience was not horrible and you were able to find everything your little heart desires.........only 2.5 days left before Christmas. Better get out there, or on-line, whichever works best for you!

So in closing, I'm adding a special picture that I treasure. It's from the little town that we lived in while I was posted to The Netherlands. The town is called Leiden and it is quite special. Thought you would all enjoy seeing it once again.

Back in Atlanta

I landed at Hartsfield-Jackson last Friday evening at 8:15 pm after a mostly uneventful flight. In fact, the only remarkable thing about the flight was the number of "large" passengers trying to squeeze into those tiny spaces that Delta calls seats. Okay, so I'm a tad biased here. I think really over-weight passengers should be required to purchase the equivalent of 1.5 seats instead of making the rest of us suffer the overhanging flesh. I must admit that I was mostly fortunate in that I had an aisle seat and the guy in the middle seat was a reasonably sized chap. He had a thing about the seat rests though. You know the type, They sit down and immediately stake out both seat rests. I think it's a response to having been relegated to a middle seat, almost as if they need to make a statement that even though they are sitting in the middle seat, they aren't second class citizens. Of course we all know that anyone stuck in the middle seat is either an infrequent flyer with no influence, a frequent flyer who forgot to check their seat assignment, or someone who just got a bad draw on the day. It has happened to me on a number of occasions and all I can say is that while it isn't fun, it isn't the end of the world either........that is, unless you get stuck in a middle seat on the direct flight between Atlanta and Tel Aviv. Now that was a bummer!

Anyway, getting back to the weight issue. Have you noticed how many seriously overweight airline passengers there are these days? I even spied one in an exit row not long ago on a flight between Atlanta and Denver, which made me really nervous given the possibility of that person being able to respond quickly in an emergency. The airlines seem to be completely oblivious to the situation as they do absolutely nothing to help out. There was this totally overweigh lass on the flight between Denver and Atlanta on Friday evening who could not possibly fit into a normal size seat (not many of us "comfortably" fit) and despite a number of passengers suggesting that something be done the flight attendants carried on and acted as if it were unimportant/of no interest to them. The lady stuck in the middle seat finally resolved the issue by finding an empty middle seat several rows back and was able to avoid being crushed for the 2 plus hour flight to Atlanta.

Of course this rant could lead to another litnany of grievances with the airline industry, but I'll spare you for the moment. Suffice it to say that flying in this country just continues to become more and more complex/unpleasant/difficult, plus down right aggravating!

Update: December '08

I had a brief conversation with my sister Mary over the Thanksgiving holiday and she reminded me that I had not posted anything on my blog since Joe was in the hospital. Sorry folks! As always, my intentions are honorable, but my travel/work schedule has absorbed much of my time over the past two months.

First, an update on Joe. The very good news is that the new medication has kicked in and things have really improved for both Joe and our family. He seems to be a much happier child these days and more balanced in his attitude towards school and life in general, although for a 12 year old school is pretty much all there is in life since that is the primary source for friends given our neighborhood. He is still heavily committed to Karate and recently acquired his first stripe on his Purple Belt, which means he only has about 130 to 150 more classes before he tests for his Blue Belt. If he stays committed to the process then he is on schedule to have a Black Belt just before his 18th birthday. He is also playing basketball again this season with the St. James team and thankfully Greg Maxey is still coaching these kids. Joe has been with him since he was eight years old and just loves to participate, which Coach Maxey makes certain that he and all the kids on the team get to do every game and practice. Joe may not be the most talented offensive player on the team, but he does play tenacious defense and opposing teams hate his swarming style; i.e.: I think because of the Karate he has quick hands and is able to get his hands on the ball often, which creates problems for players who handle the ball carelessly. And finally, there is Scouts, which is also a source of enjoyment for him. He actually went on his first camping trip this past fall without Dad and seemed to have a great time on his own. That was a big deal for him as he has experience anxiety in the past when he ventured out on his own. So the net/net is while we continue to struggle with lots of different things related to Joe (schoolwork and homework being the two most pressing at the moment), he seems to have gotten past the weekend in the hospital and we feel that we are making forward progress. The picture shows Joe at the most recent Shotgun Merit Badge weekend. He only fired about 10 rounds this season, but he hit two clay pigeons and was pretty proud of himself. I'm confident that next year he will be even more eager to test for the badge.

As for me, I'm enjoying a week in Boulder. We had about 4 to 6 inches of snow yesterday and as I looked out of my hotel window this morning I could not help by think how beautiful everything looked. Although it was still dark, the mountains seem to shine with the whiteness of the freshly fallen snow and everything seemed so peaceful. It was truly a breathtaking view!

I love the new company (Market Force Information) and being back in mainstream sales. I just recently agreed to assume responsibility for all new business sales in 2009 including upselling the existing base. This means that I have ownership for retention, program expansion and new business growth across the entire firm next year (actually, that responsibility officially fell on my shoulders yesterday). I haven't deserted Patrick D. Gaul, Inc. as yet, but if all goes well in April I'll have to make the decision to go full time with Market Force and put my firm on hold or complete my current engagement and move on to other opportunities. A difficult, but nice dilemma to have on my plate in the current economic environment.

So there it is.........Joe is progressing on most fronts. I'm pretty darn happy with just about everything related to my new role and Kate and Ellie seem to be getting along a tad better after having a Mother/Daughter weekend in Orlando with Applause for Kids. More on that later.............

Challenging Times

It started well. A new job with lots of exciting opportunities and my first trip to the Colorado Rockies to spend some time with the executive management team. All seemed sort of right with the world as I sat in the conference room at the Happy Valley Ranch just outside of Boulder. I really enjoyed the profession approach to team building that was being taken and I was learning much about myself and the men and women that I will be working with over the coming months and hopefully years. We were nestled well up the mountains at nearly 9,000 feet elevation and while the air was thin, it was clean and crisp and Thursday morning was absolutely delightful with that briskness that one can only experience in the mountains. Then, on Thursday evening as I sat in a restaurant with the rest of the management team enjoying a glass of wine and a lovely meal, my mobile phone rang. It was Kate and she was really upset.....crying and it was all I could do to understand her with the noise in the restaurant. Something about Joe and the hospital. I rushed outside so I could hear her and after managing to get her to calm down I learned that Joe had been admitted to a Behavioral Health Clinic that evening as part of a strategy that his psychologist, psychiatrist and doctors all agreed would be best to address the most recent challenges we have collectively encountered with Tourette's. I'm calm now, but at that point in time all I wanted was to be home with Kate and Ellie and to get to the hospital to see Joe. After finishing my conversation with Kate I walked back into the restaurant and shared what was going on with the CEO. He asked me if I wanted to go home that evening and I said that I did and he was on the phone to his Executive Assistant and with an hour a flight had been arranged from Denver to Atlanta on the red-eye, which would put me back into Atlanta at 5:30 a.m. on Friday morning. I finished my meal and some colleagues drove me to the Denver airport and I arrived back at the house around 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning.

Seeing Joe for the first time in that environment was incredibly difficult and I immediately understood why his Mom was so upset the night before. It is called a Behavioral Health Clinic and it's designed to work with a wide range of behavioral health issues, both with kids and adults. The rules are hard and patients are treated with a certain level of objectivity as opposed to compassion. The nurses are a bit hard-core and conversations are candid and very direct; e.g.: your son cannot do this, or that, or go there, or have this in their possession. Joe was beside himself last evening when we visited and he desperately wanted Mom and Dad to take him out of that horrible place. How do you tell your son that having him secure in a place like that is the best way to get him to a happier place in his life? How do you tell him that everything is going to be okay when every instinct tells you to pick him up and carry him out as quickly as possible?

The facts were relatively straight forward. Joe needed to switch from one course of meds to another and during the transition he would experience significant anxiety and distress and having him go through this process in the care of professionals was the best option for him and for our family. The Doctors told us that it would take between 3 and 7 days to complete the process and if everything went to plan Joe would emerge a happier child and the most recent episode of Tourette's would subside significantly. All good stuff, but all horribly frightening for a 12 year old lad.

We were with him again on the Saturday for an hour and while he wasn't as distressed as the previous evening, he was still clearly unhappy at the thought of staying another night. He kept telling me to make certain the Doctor released him on Sunday evening, which I knew wasn't going happen since the Doctor wasn't scheduled to see him again until Monday morning. And even then it could take several more days before he would be ready to come home.

Scary stuff, especially when you know there isn't a bloody thing you can do to change the course that the process needed to follow. But hopefully this new approach will work as advertised and our Joe will grow into a healthier state, both emotionally and physically. This most recent escalation of the Tourette's has worn him out and he needs some time to relax and be a 12 year old kid instead of hanging out in a Behavioral Clinic. We won't know for for awhile, but I know Joe has lots of prayers coming his way from friends and family and I know God is listening and watching over him. Still, it would be nice if he could catch a break. It seems so much has been placed on his shoulders so early and I can't imagine what it must be like at school where he is ridiculed and taunted by his peers.

I could write for a week about the school situation.........the teacher who told Joe to "stop it" because she had not taken the time to read his IEP and the stupidity that most of his peers display when they take an extra moment to tease him and make him feel like he is somehow inadequate because he has Tourette's. I can't quite figure it out, but it's obvious that this is a cruel world and Joe is going to have to get tougher if he is to survive. We can't depend on the school because the teachers are either incapable of grasping the full extent of Joe's challenges or they simply don't care.

Time will tell if things are going to change for the better. Meanwhile, we are motoring forward in hopes of a better tomorrow. With God's help we will get there soon.

Last Day

For those of you who follow my adventures, this is my last day with the firm that I joined just over 15 months ago. It has been a really interesting experience and I've met so many wonderful folks. Part of me doesn't want to accept that I won't be in touch with them everyday, but as I said in my previous post, transitions are unavoidable most of the time and I'm really looking forward to my my next great challenge.

That challenge is going to be working with a firm in Boulder, Co. and I'm on a plane next Tuesday morning to get things started. What a great little town Boulder is......beautiful mountains everywhere and just the nicest people. In fact, they are so nice, you would think they are from the south!

I went to the HiTech Prayer Breakfast this morning. In case you don't know this event, it is the largest networking event in Atlanta. There were nearly 1,500 folks there this morning and the line-up included Rollin Ford, the CIO of Walmart, an impressive guy who told a wonderful story about Trust, Relationships and Accountability, which he described as the "pillars" of his life, both personally and professionally. I suppose the most impressive aspect of this event is the sheer number of technology professionals who are there to openly acknowledge their relationships with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. I'm not talking neo-con's here. I'm talking about men and women from every aspect of technology, from software to telecommunications, from interactive marketing to voice recognition, from "C" level to hourly associates, all gathered to acknowledge the impact that God has on each and everyone of us.

I sat next to this delightful chap who is a senior executive with a local software firm and throughout the program I watched him scribble notes on 3x5 cards as he listened intently to the speakers. Indeed, as I scribbled right next to him I also observed many folks at the various tables doing the same thing. The event began at 5:59 a.m. and lots of these folks had gotten up at 4:30 a.m. to attend, but you could not find a sleepy eye in the house. Everyone was so engaged and attentive.....now, if only I could get that much attention at the Georgia Technology Summit next spring!

Polly Harper has been trying to get me to the HiTech Prayer Breakfast for the past five years, but for one reason or the other I have not been able to attend. I am so pleased that I made it this morning and I know in my heart that next year I'm going to find a way to be involved with this program. Thanks Polly!

I think the most powerful personal experience I took away was the importance of placing your trust in God. Our family has been struggling the past two week with Joe, our 12 year old son. Joe was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome a couple of years ago and very recently we began to see a significant increase in the visible symptoms of the disorder. He has developed a facial tick that causes his face to screw-up and his head to jerk from side to side. It is the most visible manifestation of the disorder to date and of course it is creating all sorts of problems at school. 7th graders are without mercy when it comes to kids who are "different" and Joe feels that pain everyday as they talk behind his back, point at him and laugh and otherwise behave as 7th graders. Of course this doesn't make it anymore comfortable for Joe, but you know, I believe God has a plan for Joe and while this may not turn out to be his favorite part of that plan, I know that God's plan for Joe is going to wonderful at the end of the day. As I bowed my head this morning and prayed, I asked God to continue to watch over my son and to give him the strength to work through the next few years because Tourette's only advances in severity during puberty. I know that Joe is going to need a lot of strength and encouragement from his family and friends, but he is also going to need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to help him hold his head high while others gawk. I sincerely hope that I can help him find that relationship over the coming weeks and months and I know that I won't be alone in that effort because if needed, I met nearly 1,500 folks this morning who would come rushing to my aid if asked. That is the power of Jesus Christ. I remember Paul's letter to the Philippians wherein he explains that his imprisonment has served to advance the word of the Lord and that folks should not feel sorry for him. Hopefully Joe will someday look at this time in his life as the time he found the inner strength and put his faith in the Lord ahead of the personal anxiety he is currently experiencing.

Life is a Transition

I look back over the past two years and I'm amazed by how dramatically my life has changed since I left my position at the Web Hosting firm that I originally came to Atlanta to manage. Now, 21 months after starting Patrick D. Gaul, Inc., I find myself headed for another adventure and I must admit that I'm more than just a tad excited about the opportunities that having my own company have provided for me. Do I miss the stability of working for a firm with all the benefits? Yes, sometimes, especially when I write that check every month to Blue Cross/Blue Shielf to cover my company's health care plan. And I definitely often wish someone else was buying the ink cartridges and paper for my printers, not to mention the other stationary and office supplies that one needs everyday to run a business. You don't think about those things when they are provided out of a stationary cabinet, but when you buy them yourself day in and day out they suddenly become a fairly large item on the annual expense budget.

Anyway, I was thinking this morning about transition and how we experience transitions our entire lives. We transition from children to adolescents, from adolescents to teenagers, to young adults, to adults and then on to middle age and beyond. Live is a constant series of transitions and intermixed with these chronological transitions are all sorts of life experiences including college, the miltary, marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce, marriage (I may a tad unique in this area), children, grandchildren, etc. Life is just a melting pot of experiences and transitions and through it all we are suppose to maintain some sort of balance and perspective. I don't about you, but the whole process seems a bit buggered to me. I'm still grappling with the concept of maturity! Someone recently asked me "when did you become an adult?" How do you know if you've actually made that transition? Is it based on marriage, children, financial security? Heck, I'm headed hard towards 60 and I still find the concept of maturity difficult because so much of me is still drive by a youthful attitude and spirit! I like life and I love to have fun and to be a free spirit. I think if I did not have so many responsibilities with my family and my life I would be living somewhere quite remote, very distant from the urban sprawl that I now inhabit. Buckhead is so not the real world! I don't know how we ended up there, but I think it had something to do with the schools, especially Sarah Smith, which is quite close to where we live........great public elementary school! And Sutton, the middle-school isn't really that bad; unless of course you are one of the middle-schoolers attending classes each day, in which case it is probably horrible. I remember middle-school and they aren't happy memories. So many things happen between the ages of 11 and 13 and most of them are not fun..........it's an awkward time in a young person's life.

Okay, so I'm rambling a bit. I guess I don't really have a major point to make here. I'm trying to stay away from the politics for the moment and don't even ask me what I think about this bailout. $700B! Amazing and the more our government leaders warn about doom and gloom the more the markets respond. Doesn't anyone remember how to pitch a positive spin on things these days? Why couldn't there be reassurances instead of all of these guys (who should have been watching the shop all along) spinning the darkest scenarios possible? Like I said, I need to stay away from it for the moment. My blood pressure might just spiral out of control if I deep dive the details of this latest plan.

Dallas Cowboys lost yesterday. Now that's a disappointment! Not only will I have my brother giving me grief (you know, the one who roots for the Redskins), but I'll have Daniel on the line in gleeful spirits, which is more than I can stand on a Monday afternoon.

Is Anyone Else Bothered By The Noise?

Have you noticed that the more the Obama/Biden - McCain/Palin teams say, the less we know about what they hope to achieve if they're elected? Obama/Biden have clearly decided that the high road isn't going to get them to the White House and so it seems that they too are settling comfortably into a "war of slurs and innuendo" rather than a substantive debate around the issues facing our country and the global community.

Let me ask you this.........if you were a political leader in another country watching and listening to the noise around this election, would you be impressed? Would you think America is once again ready to take the helm and assume leadership around such critical issues as Global Warming, Terrorism, Finance, Nuclear Disarmament, etc.?

And no, I'm not going to pick on Governor Palin. The Lord knows that there are far better equipped political pundits capable of slinging mud her way. I will say that I think she is seriously unprepared for the road ahead and if I were John McCain, she would be doing quite a bit of studying over the next few weeks and very few interviews. I said that she would be the "difference that makes a difference" to a colleague right after the announcement and by that I meant that she would cost John McCain the election. After listening to her speech at the convention I offered that perhaps I spoke too soon, but after listening to the interview she did with Charlie Gibson I'm fairly certain my initial observation was correct. Can you really gear-up for a Presidential election in less than two months and be credible? Even if she is as smart as some folks have made her out to be (and I think there is a difference between being smart and being politically savvy), she was no more prepared to accept McCain's offer than John was to make it in the first place. He should have had Charlie Gibson vet her and he wouldn't be in this predicament. Oh well, if only he had hired me to advise him.

Sorry folks, but are we really going to go through all of this crap again; i.e.: the mudslinging, attack ads, negative publicity, dirt digging kind of politics that have defined the past two Presidential elections? How do we actually take some measure of control in this election? Aren't we "the people" that these men and women are supposed to be representing? How do you take a guy who was raised by a single Mom and had to use food stamps to feed her kids and turn him into some elite "uppity" character? How do you take community service and turn it into a negative. Dr. King has be rolling over in his coffin right now.

What can we do to start a grass roots movement to take back the political process around the Presidential election? I have a thought..........let's call it "Americans Decide.Org". Let's make it more about the process and less about the pundits. Force a debate around the issues and force platform presentations that clearly define what one would do should on be elected to the post. Heck, you wouldn't hire a top-notch consultant and not ask for a proposal of some sort. Would you? Why should we treat the Executive Office any different? Anyone can run as long as they have a serious plan to take the country forward. Let us decide who we think is serious and who is the fool. Makes sense to me, but then of course I'm just another one of those lost conservatives struggling to find some meaning in all of it. I still well in Obama's camp, but my goodness he needs to get back on track.

Meanwhile, a photo from Uncle Joe's over Labor Day. Joe just got his first "Air Soft" in honor of Governor Palin!

Back to School

Tomorrow morning Joe and Ellie start back to school. Where has the summer gone? It seems like just yesterday they were boarding a plane for the UK, but that seemed to fly by, especially since I had the opportunity to join them for a few days (let's call it a working holiday). I was on my way to Tel Aviv via London for a business meeting and managed to divert myself to the West Midlands for five days. I arrived on a Saturday morning from Atlanta via Paris to Birmingham and then had a delightful evening with my Kate's brother Julian, his wife Sarah and their three children; Grace, Abby and George. (Pictures are being posted) A bit too much wine and some very early scotch made Sunday a bit of a blur, but I managed to hang on and we visited some friends and drank a couple more glasses of wine before I called it a day. Monday through Wednesday were filled with short visits here and there to say hello to old friends while I occupied Michael's office (that's Kate's Dad) and spent multiple hours each day preparing for the latter part of the week. Still, all in all it was fun and London was a whirlwind for two days before flying off to Israel on the Saturday. Another five days there and I arrived back in Atlanta the morning after Kate and the kids returned, which explains why they were standing at the top of the escalator at 6:15 a.m. waiting patiently for Dad to arrive. Seems they had all been up since about 4:00 a.m. anyway, so why not meet Dad at the Airport. We headed off for the Landmark Diner and breakfast and then home, a quick shower and I headed off for the office where I spent most of the day. I am getting rather good at getting off planes after long trips and working. It's not my favorite activity, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!

We were then joined my son Patrick and his two kids (Ashley and Patrick the 3rd, affectionately known as PJ) and they spent two weeks with us before heading back to Northern Virgina. He took our Joe and Ellie with him and then Kate drove to pick them up, spend some time with Jim and Becky (my brother and his wife) and then off to Ohio for a visit to Grandma and my sister Mary and her family. Kate definitely got some windscreen time on that trip!

They all arrived safely on Monday afternoon and this past week was another 50+ hour ordeal although I can't say it wasn't productive. As summer winds down we are beginning to see activity start to increase and hopefully that will spell a good September/October from a sales perspective.

Anyway, that is the really quick update. School starts tomorrow and life will get back to some semblance of normality, or at least that is our hope. Meanwhile the world is crashing down around our shoulders and with this latest hot spot in Eastern Europe I'm very concerned about things. But I'll hold those concerns for the moment and just share some photo's from our 2008 Summer.

"Leadership is a Journey"

I borrowed the title for this post from Ralph de la Vega, the President & CEO of AT&T Mobility, who was the guest speaker this morning for WIT's "Leader in Focus" Speaker Series held at Maggiano's in Buckhead. An impressive group of business leaders convened to hear Mr. de la Vega speak about his incredible journey from being a happy child growing up in pre-Castro Cuba to a displaced 10 year old boy in Miami living with family friends while his parents struggled to find a way out of Cuba after the Castro revolution. For over four years he was in the care of another family that he had never met before arriving in Miami, mostly out of contact with his parents, siblings and relatives and finding it very hard to adapt to being a kid in America in the early 60's. He told an amusing story about his first meal being a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of cold milk, the first glass of cold milk he had ever experienced. He noted that while he had learned to love cold milk, the peanut butter and jelly experience was not one of his fonder memories. I can relate since my British wife constantly shakes her head every time I make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I suppose it's an acquired taste, but you got to love the cold milk!

Mr. de la Vega then talked about his journey through the American educational system and how he nearly found himself agreeing to strive for less than he knew he could accomplish by accepting a high school guidance counselor's advice to focus on becoming a mechanic instead of an engineer, which was his true desire. But thanks to his Grandmother, a former teacher in Cuba who arrives in the nick of time, he is set on the right path and realizes his dream of becoming that engineer and ultimately he becomes the engineer running one of the largest multinational enterprises in the country.

It was an incredible story to hear, but what really impressed me about his chat this morning was his focus on the kids in Georgia and the issues we face with an increasing and alarming rate of high school drop outs. Across the state the high school graduation rate is not much above 60% and when you deep dive the numbers in the inner city that rate falls somewhere between 40% to 45%. Couple these statistics with the reduction in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) studies and an almost ingrained expectation of failure among the inner city kids and you have a recipe for a national disaster as we try to compete in the 21st century. How many engineers will China graduate this year? India? How about the USA? It is a staggering differential and one that needs to be raised to the highest levels of our government and addressed now. Outsourcing is a reality that is not going away and the key for this country is to possess the intellectual capital to move to the next stage of our evolution, which is to become the country of innovation and imagination. You cannot achieve that goal without Mathematicians, Engineers, Technologists and Scientists. It's impossible, and the real danger lies in the fact that many of kids today are not being given the incentives to even look at these fields.

I remember reading a book years ago entitled "More Like Us", written by James Fallows, a former speechwriter for Jimmy Carter. Published in 1989, it was a thesis on how to compete with the then emerging threats from Asia. Although considered somewhat weak by many critics, the one thing I took away from this work was his analysis on how other cultures arriving on our shores seemed to be able to maximize the opportunities that accompany the "American Dream", especially the Haitians who he pointed out had an impressive rate of college graduations among the second generation and an equally impressive rate of new business starts among the first generation. So why is it that a refugee arriving on a boat from Haiti can find the resources to build a life in this country, start a business, send their children to college, and become productive members of our society while the kids being born in our inner cities cannot find the the same opportunities? Fallows argues that it is a matter of an "ingrained expectation of failure" among the inner city kids that does not exist with the kid stepping off the boat from Haiti, or the plane from Cuba, in the case of Mr. Ralph de la Vega. They find opportunity in adversity and they never allow anyone to dictate what they can or can't become, which was a strong theme running through Mr. de la Vega's comments this morning. His "Four Pillars of Success": Have a Winning Game Plan; Take Risks; Overcome Obstacles and Recognize Opportunities resonated with the audience as did the principles he suggested were fundamental to leadership (Integrity & Credibility; Attitude & Teamwork; Excellence and Vision. Mr. de la Vega is an extraordinary example of what can be achieved when someone "Dreams Big & Believes in Him/Herself".

In closing, Mr. de la Vega talked about AT&T Aspire, a $100M program aimed at getting kids excited about education. He also mentioned the Junior Achievement Job Shadowing Program and how we can all help to connect our classrooms with the real world. I came away inspired by a man who has clearly taken the obstacles in his life and turned them into opportunities, but hasn't forgotten his roots or the struggles he went through to be where he is today.

Back!

Okay, I know that May 5th. was a long time ago and that I never even got around to writing anything about Game 7, which was so long ago that no one remembers that the Hawks actually took the Boston Celtics to 7 games before losing the first round of the Eastern Conference Championship Series. But things have been complicated and life has been a bit strange lately. Besides, I'm dieting and I never have anything worth saying when I'm dieting because I'm too busy being hungry. Got to lose some weight though because my trousers are getting really tight and I hate looking like the guy who just had the big pasta dinner when he should have stuck with the salad. Know what I mean?

The difficult stuff? Well, for starters, Mom moved into a facility up in Ohio that caters to people her age. It was an emotional roller-coaster for everyone, but especially my sister Judy who has watched over Mom the past nine years and who would have probably done just about anything to avoid having to participate in such a decision. But Mom is nearly 90 years old and the level of care required has increased year on year and it finally reached a point where she could no longer bear that burden alone and there just wasn't enough support from the rest of the family (including yours truly) to make it feasible. Everyone had legitimate reasons why they could not take Mom into their homes for any lengthy period of time......mine was that with two children approaching their teens we simply did not have the bandwidth to accommodate a person with Mom's needs into our lives, as harsh as that sounds to most folks. The federal government certainly doesn't help that much although with Medicaid she is entitled to a space at the Ohio facility and according to Mom it is a pretty decent environment; i.e.: not your traditional nursing home. It is actually a rehabilitation center and they have a small group of seniors that live there. Mom gets physical therapy everyday and is finding that she can walk better, although I think it takes it toll on some days and she finds herself a bit weary. Hell, you go to physical therapy when you're 90 years old and you might find it a bit taxing as well! Anyway, thanks to our sister Mary, who lives in Ohio and who found this facility, things seem to be working out for the best. She and Judy sorted the details and coordinated the move, and with some financial assistance from my brother Jim, the move happened in early June. We'll have to wait to see it it continues to be as successful as the first week plus appears to be......I know everyone is holding their breath in hopes that Mom really does adjust and finds it to an acceptable place to live. God, I hate the idea of growing old!

On other fronts, the business role continues to be quite challenging with the current economic environment. I remain committed to advancing the business, but I don't know how long it will take to affect a real turnaround and that is always problematic when you are working for someone else. I see some signs of improvement, but not enough to stand on my desk and shout for joy, if you know what I mean.

Joe continues to improve, which is great news. The latest drug that his doctor prescribed seems to be having a very positive effect on his behavior and his general attitude towards life, and we are hopeful that this is a path to some level of stability down the road. He (and Kate) certainly deserve a break from some of the frenetic emotional roller coaster rides that have been indicative of the past year. Too many ups and downs wears on a person and with Kate bearing the brunt of the daily engagements it has been especially difficult on her. The cost continues to spiral upwards and we are now spending between $1,200 and $1,500 per month on the doctors and the drugs with almost zero support from our medical insurance. Of course the COBRA finally ended and I purchased a plan from Blue Cross/Blue Shield that costs us over $1,500 per month and still no help with Joe's condition. It is as if no one wants to recognize that kids suffer from ADD, Tourette's or OCD. Lose a limb and BCBS is right there with a check, but get a neurological condition and they just don't want to know. Is health care on my presidential agenda for November? You're damn right it is and whoever I vote for had better put forward a plan that makes sense.

Can you believe what's happening in this country at the moment? I purchased petrol yesterday and the cheapest I could find it on my route home was $4.07 a gallon at a Kroger's on Roswell Road. Most of the stations were in the $4.09 to $4.29 per gallon for regular and over $4.50 for the super premium levels. It's insane. The cost of petrol is up 95% since January of 2007.......95%! How crazy is that? And don't tell me it's about supply and demand. There are some traders out there making a serious buck for their clients on the backs of most Americans and the guy we got running the head shed doesn't have clue. It's scary folks that we put such an idiot in the White House. All of us who voted for him deserve to have our hands smacked severely for being so stupid. What were we thinking?

I'm completely at a loss as to which direction to go now that Hillary is out of the race, and I suspect she is completely out of the race. I can't imagine for a moment that Barack and his team want her baggage along with Bill, who proved to be a complete and utter disappointment during her campaign. What would they do with Bill if they offered her the VP slot? Besides, I don't think she really wants any part of Barack or his administration anyway. Bide her time and wait to see if the guy folds during his first term, which is very possible; i.e.: another Jimmy Carter. On the other hand, if he lays out a plan that makes sense even if it means higher taxes for awhile, I'm going to find myself taking a serious look. The more I watch John McCain the more I find myself thinking about Richard Nixon. I know I've said that before, but take a look folks. He really is starting to look and act like Nixon in the 1972 election. Too smug and far too condescending for my tastes. I thought I'd find myself voting for him a few weeks ago, but a few weeks can make a huge difference in this election and right now if Barack lays out a plan for achieving his objectives and that plan has substance I'm voting for the guy. Scary, right? My niece will be painting herself blue and running up and down the streets of San Francisco shouting "My Uncle Pat voted for Barack"!. Okay, maybe she won't go the blue paint route, but if I vote for Barack she will definitely start to believe in miracles. Hell, even I would have to believe in miracles if I vote for the guy, but who says a leopard can't change his spots? I've seen enough of neo-conservatives to last me a lifetime and while John McCain is far from a neo-con, his sound bytes seem really in tune with the current administration. Anyway, like I said......a few weeks in this election and things change.

Nothing much left to report although in reality a ton of stuff has happened over the past 6 weeks. I'll try to get back in tune with my writing over the coming days and make a serious effort to have something positive to say about life, the universe and the pursuit of happiness.

I'll close by posting a photo of Joe and his Godfather and our good friend, "Uncle Charlie" Gottenkieny at a basketball game (where else folks?)

Game 7

Well folks, Friday night was an incredible evening and the Hawks pulled in the largest crowd in the history of the franchise in Atlanta. It was a tight game with the Hawks pulling it out at the very end with some outstanding play from Joe Johnson and Al Horford. The arena went wild and the whole town was talking on Saturday. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon did not turn out quite the way we had hoped as the Celtics absolutely thrashed the Hawks in Boston and put the dream to bed for this season. Oh well, but what a storybook series and even though we lost badly yesterday, it still took the mighty Celtics 7 games to put us away. I'll therefore not take any grief from any Boston Celtics fan. Imagine. The best team in the NBA having to play 7 games to put away the Hawks! With Cleveland, Detroit and the Lakers waiting in the wings, I would not be so sure of the future and I sure as hell would be counting my lucky stars to have won the final game so convincingly. At least that puts some lustre back into their reputation.

Should have some pictures soon from the night and next season should be a blast assuming we get some help on one or two key positions.

Game 6: The Hawks vrs Boston

That's right and who would have ever imagined that our Atlanta Hawks would have actually taken the Boston Celtics to 6 Games? Well, if I'm honest, certainly not me, and I suppose I owe the team an apology for not having more faith. Even worse, I missed games 3 and 4 at home and will now have to settle with attending game 6 this evening. After the beating we took in Boston on Wednesday night, which gave the Celtics a 3/2 lead, I'm not certain that we can recover and force the series to a 7th game, but I'll be there to support the team and hopefully we can find the right combination of players and plays to make things work out in our favor. I do think we are going to need a break-out performance from Marvin Williams and some outstanding bench play if things are going to work out for Atlanta. Moreover, I do think there is a strong possibility we can pull off the upset, but it's going to be difficult and even if we don't walk out with a victory the team can hold their heads high having beat the season's best team two out of six........let's just hope it doesn't work out that way and we end back up in Boston for a Game 7. That would be magical! By the way, the guy in the blue sweater and tan trousers with the white hair is none other than yours truly.....and if you look carefully to the left, you see a kid in a red shirt dancing in the asile.....yep, that's Joe!

Masada

In the latter part of March I traveled to Israel to attend a global conference for the firm that I work with today and after a night in Tel Aviv, a morning in Jaffa and a absolutely scary ride to the Dead Sea with my boss, we set up camp at a hotel positioned right on the Dead Sea. Although it is an extremely rugged environment, it is quite lovely in many ways and my eyes were constantly being distracted by the wild beauty of it all.

On the second afternoon we ventured to Masada, a site of "ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or large mesa, on the eastern edge of the Judean desert overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada became famous after the First Jewish-Roman War when a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to a mass suicide of the site's Jewish Sicarii fugitives when defeat became imminent." (Credit to Wikipedia).

So there we were, standing at the base of this big rock and everyone getting ready to walk up the snake path, which is the more complicated of the two routes to the top, and despite my advancing years I reckoned I give it a try once again. I had, after all, scaled the beast in early 2000 while working with another firm in Israel. How hard could it be to do it 8 years later? Well, the answer my friends is that it proved extraordinarily difficult and after huffing and puffing for nearly 45 minutes I finally allowed reason to take command and I retreated back down the path to the safety of the base camp. I was of course a bit embarrassed as I was the only one of those that attempted to reach the top to retreat. But I knew at a certain point that while I could have probably made it to the peak, I was seriously risking a heart attack if I did so. My rate rate was a steady 150 to 160 and I was as red as a beet. Like I said, common sense prevailed and I elected to opt for the healthier option.

So, how did I come to this point? After all, less than 8 months ago I was about as healthy a 57 year old as you could find on this God's green earth. I was hitting the gym at least 2 hours every day and getting in plenty of cardio and weight training. I was down to a relatively trim 197 lbs and I was even slipping back into 36" waist trousers, although they were admittedly a tight fit. Still, a far cry from the 38"/39" trousers that had been haunting me earlier in the year.

Now, I'm back to being tight in my 38" waist suits and I can't tie my shoes without losing my breath. Hmmmmm! Could it have something to do with the fact that I'm working 10 and 11 hours a day, 5 days a week and often a half day on Sunday? Could it be that I have this work/life balance completely haywire again? Could it be that I've sacrificed all the hard work that I did in late 2006 and through the first half of 2007 for the sake of a paycheck?

I had a long conversation the other day with a young lady that I used to work with in years past and we were comparing notes. You know. Careers, spouses, children, where we are today compared to where we wanted to be all those years ago. And I discovered that I really don't have a very strong grasp on what's important to me these days. Two great kids who get ignored by Dad in the evening because he is too tired to engage them. A wonderful wife who feels alone and distant from her husband through no fault of her own........and a Mom, who only lives 45 minutes away, but does not get to see her grandchildren nearly enough.

Okay, so I've come to this discovery (like it's the first time I've been here)and once again I've got to make some critical decisions about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I'm not certain what path I will follow, but I know that the path I'm on at the moment is not the right one and that things have to change. Perhaps it is as simple as getting the work/life perspective more balanced, or perhaps a more radical change is in order. I've always been passionate about any engagement I undertake and so I sort of understand why I've made such a commitment to my present situation. I want to succeed and I want to be recognized for being successful But at what risk........"What does it profit a man to inherit all the riches of the world if he loses sight of his soul?" (apologies for the literary license with the Lord's words, but you know what I mean)

Stay tuned folks as I traverse this journey that confronts me. I don't know where it will ultimately take me, but I know that I must take it if I'm to find the peace that seems to constantly eludes me.

Out of the Closet

I guess it is time to come out of the closet and admit that I have now officially contributed to Hillary's campaign on two occasions, the most recent being earlier today. My daddy must be dancing on the clouds to think that his boy has seen the light and moved away from the dark side; i.e.: the Republican Party. Of course, there is a slightly dark lining to this otherwise wonderful tale of conversion. You see, I'm attracted to Hillary because she is the most conservative candidate running for the office of the President of the United States (in my most humble opinion). I know she still has a mighty mountain to climb if she is going to wrest the nomination away from Barack, but I'm hoping that by some miracle she does pull it off and gets to run against John McCain come next November. I think she will do well on the experience side and I think that she is more politically savvy than Barack, who will (I think) get his ass handed to him by John McCain.

My conversion has been slow and the transition from a Republican to an Independent to a publicly acknowledged Democratic leaning voter has not been easy. I'm still conservative at heart and I still resonate with many of the values espoused by the Republican Party, but unfortunately the Republican Party that I knew and loved under Goldwater and Regan has twisted itself into some neo-religious base of extreme right-wing enthusiasts and I simply can't find a place for myself within the Party. I suspect I'm not alone.

Anyway, there it is.......everyone now knows the truth. I'm no longer the right wing conservative in the Gaul family. In fact, I don't know if there are any true right wing conservatives left in the family (at least two brothers-in-law don't count,,,,,apologies to Roger and John).

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

C

SoCon '08 Photo's

Later that evening.............

I left right after the 1:15 p.m. break-out session ended.....not because I did not enjoy Laura McGrath and the group that attended her program, but rather because I had developed the most painful headache. I think I was just networked out......you know, a long week with the firm coupled with Friday night and then I was at the conference early to set-up the Tescom table.......the hours just seem to grind you down after a bit. I put in over 60 hours this week before I headed for the dinner on Friday night. Unfortunately, this seems to be a trend right now and I really need to get off the treadmill for a bit before I become a crispy critter.

Anyway, I really enjoyed today. Laura reminded me of my niece Katy.....both are English Majors.....about the same age......probably came out of Grad School about the same time.....Katy is teaching at a private school in San Francisco and will most likely go back for her PhD before too long. Laura did a very nice job despite the fact that we kept going off on subjects that had almost nothing to do with strategic web writing. Bring a course in town Laura and I'll attend!

So, what an event! I met some great folks over the past 48 hours and really learned a ton about video blogging, video marketing, video editing, video, video, video. Mostly from my friend Amani Channel (www.myurbanreport.com), who I met for the first time at this conference last year. I also learned a lot from Brad Fallon, the CEO of Free iQ (www.freeiq.com). He has to be one of the brighest chaps I've encountered in a very long time. Don't know him or his business? Well, get to know him because he is going to make a name in the social media space and you'd heard that first at www.elliesdad.blogspot.com. Right?

So, it was a good conference..........not as good as last year overall, but then that's sort of expected; i.e.: you can only have an original experience once! I know that sounds stupid, but last year was original......this year had a different mix of people..........I don't know......it wasn't as original!

Strategic Web Writing

1:15 p.m.

Break-out Session I: A very bright young woman (Laura McGrath) who is an assistant professor of English at Kennesaw State University is leading a discussion about strategic web writing..........we are currently focused on keyword strategy and I`m about to get us back on point because I did not come here to learn about SEO......done that, have the textbook.

Okay, we`re back on track........anyway, I think we are heading back to the primary topic.

More later..........

SoCon08

So here I am at Kennesaw State University attending SoCon '08, the social media conference of the year in Atlanta. I`m sitting next to my good friend Alan Urech and cannot imagine a better way to spend a Saturday. Tescom is one of this year's conference sponsors and I'm also therefore representing Tescom today.

We have a great group of folks here today and I'll be reporting back with some pictures and more details about the conference later today.

John Edwards Drops Out & I'm Faced With A Hard Decison

I must admit that I'm disappointed that he did not do better than a distant third place. John had some very interesting ideas and I think he was focused on a lot of the right issues. Perhaps his personal social position is life made it difficult for folks to accept that he was in favor of the average American, but the authenticity in his voice made me think he was for real and given the personal tragedy that he has experienced I think he is certainly able to relate to the average guy on the street. One thing about tragedy; it puts everyone in the on a level playing field.

So it is down to Barack and Hillary on the Democratic side of things and I guess it is McCain leading Mitt Romney with Mike Huckabee sucking up the rear and hoping like heck that something gives on Super Tuesday.

Gosh folks! What does it say about this country when the only option left to a conservative Republican is Hillary Clinton? I can't even begin to tell you why Romney isn't in my books (blogger.com has space limitations you know) and I sure as hell will never vote for another conservative Christian............Rudy is gone as well although I don't think he has officially withdrawn as of this afternoon. I can't see through the smoke and mirrors that Barack is using and an endorsement from Ted Kennedy was the kiss of death from my perspective..........anyone who openly courts the endorsement of Ted Kennedy is outside my zone of tolerance. That leaves Hillary or a write-in vote for myself, which is of course always an option.

McCain you ask? Nope, I can't go for a guy who wants to stay the course in Iraq. Someone has to be willing to make some hard decisions there and the only person I've heard thus far making any sense about that situation is Hillary; i.e.: get out as soon as we can without screwing things up anymore that they are today and with the lives of our troops at the forefront of any decision to withdraw. That actually makes sense to me......a lot more sense than just sound the retreat, which is what Barack is advocating. No, I have to go along with Hillary on this critical issue and while I don't necessarily agree with her on everything else, we aren't that far apart at the end of the day.

I know I'm really out on a limb here, but it looks like Hillary is my candiate now. Oh Lord, pray for me!

Feeling the Love

I had no idea that anyone outside of my immediate family and a few close personal friends actually read this blog and so I was a bit surprised to receive a few emails and the one comment regarding my entry on the situation with Joe. To everyone who sent their good wishes and prayers I send my heartfelt gratitude. To Jen, my hero for her ability to find the love within herself to navigate a situation significantly more complex than my own, I am especially grateful for your encouragement and kind words. You made my day so much better and put such a smile on my face........thank-you.

As for you Giants fans, you can all go to Green Bay and freeze your little tushes off because I'm certainly not following the playoffs after yesterday. Is it really in doubt any longer? Yea, I know......the Giants gave New England a hard time a few weeks ago, but that before all the injuries and quite frankly I just don't see them getting past Green Bay........but what do I know? I didn't see them getting past the Cowboys!

The Hawks beat-up on Chicago yesterday and I was there with Kate's Dad to take in all the joy that a big win for the Hawks brings to my heart. Now, all we have to do is win about another 25 or so games the same way and I'll be absolutely on top of the world! We will see, but ever the realist when it comes to the Hawks I'm not holding my breath. I see signs of great things to come, but a lot of the same old problems arise too frequently for me to be completely sold on the turnaround as yet.

When is that next primary? Is it Michigan or South Carolina? Do they and Nevada really matter with Super Tuesday looming in the near future? Rudy seems focused on Florida, New York, California, etc. Is that a better strategy than spending money in these early primaries? My Republican soul is literally torn by the possibility of voting for a Democrat again, but I think I'd rather my President was getting his or her jollies in the oval office with an intern than by sending thousands of kids to Iraq to face possible death or dismemberment. Did you know that the last time that this country faced so many traumatic amputations in one military conflict was the American Civil War? Any for what? The dollar isn't worth squat........oil is running at or around $100 a barrel.......our economy is on its knees and we are either in a recession or so damn close that most economist can't tell the difference. Forty plus million Americans are without health care........our educational system sucks and anyone who can afford is opting out for private education, which is creating a brain drain and making public education a joke.......and finally, we are so worried about political correctness that a sports commentator can't make a ha/ha on the radio these days without getting suspended and fined. What happened to our sense of humor America? What happened to the days when any public personality was fair game as long as it was funny or had some humorous context........and I'm not talking Dom Imus here.......he wasn't funny on any level. But the Tiger lynching comment was funny and I don't get the uproar! Hell, if I had my way we would put a sniper in the rafters and gun down quite a few athletes on the opposing teams that come into Philips Arena.......you know, a knee shot here and there and the next thing you know those teams would provide the proper respect for the Hawks.......now I suppose I'll get banned from Blogger for violent comments..........no you idiot, it's humor.......besides, I know you can't get a gun into Philips........maybe a bow and arrow though.........okay, enough of my rambling.

Anyone seen a good movie lately? I'm desperate for a good flick. Tell me what to go
see!

Finally, the "A Town Dancers", courtesy of a recent game at Philips........they are actually a talented group of young ladies. Of course, being married to a dancer, my interests are purely academic.

A Lesson in Ticks

Spent this morning with a psychologist discussing our Joe's continuing struggle with Tourette's Syndrome. For those of you who are not familiar with this condition, the symptoms include both vocal and motor ticks, which can be involuntary squeaks or other sounds coupled with frequent jerks or involuntary muscle spasms. Tough for anyone to deal with, but especially for an eleven year old in his first year of middle school, where some of the meanest people in the whole world hang out. It was only our first meeting, but this lady specializes in this particular disorder and in the brief hour that we spent with her she open our eyes to a number of realities that we probably had been shielding ourselves from over the past several years. It is the first step in what will most likely be a long journey, but I'm delighted that we finally took that step and I sincerely hope that this is a new beginning for Kate and I as we strive to help Joe meet the challenges that this odd and frequently bizarre disorder creates for him. It's a dark day, overcast and dreary. My soul rests heavily at the moment as I think about this morning's meeting and all the struggles and challenges that face Joe as he continues his journey to adulthood. He is such a lovely lad and it just isn't fair that he has to deal with Tourette's, ADD and a sprinkling of OCS just to make things even more complicated. The doctor talked about genes and the confluence of my family and Kate's family genes and how they all combine to create that perfect storm that creates these challenges for Joe. Did you know that 1 in 100 male children are born with Tourette's Syndrome and 1 in 200 female children are also affected? Add ADHD, ADD and OCS and no wonder we medicate our kids, although in fairness the Doctor pointed out that the U.S. ranks 11th in the world in the medication of children and not number one as most folks would believe. I don't know if that made me feel any better given the meds that Joe has to take everyday. How do you get an eleven year old to understand that he has a condition that isn't a whole lot different than diabetes in terms of the medication and overall symptoms when he is the subject of ridicule and harassment by his peers? I suppose the good news is that this Doctor did give us some confidence that we can learn to help Joe cope better and that there are lots of kids running around leading perfectly normal lives who endure the same issues day in and day out that Joe faces. Unfortunately however, there are no shortcuts to the promised land and in the interim we are going to have to continue to deal with a school that is more focused on talking than helping and teachers who see Joe as a problem instead of an opportunity. I guess I sound a bit depressed and I know I have to get over it because at the end of the day everyone has to deal with something and it isn't going to help Joe if I'm hanging my head low. Besides, he's a great kid and things are going to be fine.......really! I just wish the sun would come back for a bit.

Meanwhile, the Hawks managed to pull off a surprise victory last evening over the Cleveland Cavaliers despite LeBron's 31 points. The difference: well, last night we saw balanced contributions across most of the bench, especially from Lorenzen Wright, the veteran center who added a lot of defense when it was needed most and more importantly, a lot of maturity to the floor when the young players were going completely off the rails. Am I still disenchanted with Coach Woodson? Yep! Do I think we can still do better at the head coach position? Yep! Do I think that one game is going to change the entire season? Nope! But it was an impressive victory and I'm pleased to be back at .500 on the season. I was most pleased however with the contributions the seasoned players made last night because while we do have a lot of youth energy, sometimes old age and treachery can make a big difference.

Still thinking about Hillary's victory on Tuesday. My brother Jim and I had a chat last night and he said that he welcomed McCain's potential nomination by the Republican Party because McCain wants to stay the course in Iraq and he thinks that position will be his undoing. I agree. We need to get out and so far Hillary is the one running who seems to have a fairly decent grasp of what it will take to withdraw for that engagement. Barack's fairly tale about immediate withdrawal is just that.....a fairly tale and McCain's position is just going to get a lot more kids killed. Perhaps that is the connection to Nixon I keep seeing in my head. Old men seem quite willing to send kids to war and even though John served his country honorably, maybe he has forgotten the sacrifice the parents make every time they bury a son or daughter. We don't need this conflict......it's draining this country and tearing us apart. Never thought I'd say this, but it came down to McCain and Hillary I'm afraid I'd actually have to vote for her because I can't support anyone who supports the insanity of our involvement in that conflict. It didn't make sense when we started it and it sure has heck doesn't make sense now.

Anyway, a picture of Joe and Ellie on Christmas morning. Everytime I look at it I have to smile and think how great it is to be a kid.......well, most of the time anyway.

Winners & Losers

It would be a tad remiss of me not to take a moment to reflect upon last evening's election results given my propensity for ranting about politics in this country over the past year. I was attending the Thrasher's game at Philips Arena as the guest of Stuart Harvey, the President of Nova Information Systems (thank-you Stuart for a lovely evening), sitting in an upper-deck suite (they are so nice!)and following the elections more closely than the game, which unfortunately the Thrashers managed to lose by a score of 4 to 1.

Anyway, just before the game I was asked by one of the other guests who I thought would win the primary on the Democratic side and I said that I thought it would be a very close race between Hillary and Barack with Barack winning by a narrow margin. Well, at least I got the narrow margin bit right. What a surprising turn of events and what's makes last evening's results even more interesting is the assertion by Mr. Clinton that the press was riding Hillary unfairly and trying to force a certain result that was not necessarily obvious to him or most of her supporters. It turned out that perhaps he was on target and makes me wonder what we can believe going forward about the primaries and how the press presents them to us. Someone should start a grassroots news community focused on gathering real street level information on the pulse of the nation in each of these state primaries. Okay, I know that someone probably has already done so and I'm just behind, but if anyone knows of a really good site to follow I'd love a recommendation. I just don't think I can sit through another evening of CCN or Fox News. They just make me want to scream!

Was I okay with the results? Well, to be honest, I think so although I have to say that the more I listen to McCain the more he sounds like Richard Nixon, which isn't an entirely bad thing, but it is a bit weird when you listen to the guy.

I'm still not certain who I will support at the end of the day, but Edwards is starting to grow on me and I plan to investigate his proposals in more detail over the coming weeks. I can't imagine voting for a Republican, at least not any of the ones currently running. I think they need some time in the penalty box and four years sounds just about right from my perspective.

Barack has to come up with something more concrete than hope if he is going to attract the moderate conservatives...........I'm well passed the time when brilliant public speaking alone qualifies a candidate for the White House.......tell me what you are going to do. What are your 3 to 5 Key Performance Indicators for the first six months that you are in office and then I'll tell you if I'll support your efforts to get elected. No one has really done that as yet. Yea, I know, he is going to get us out of Iraq. Sure he is and that pink elephant flying over the sky at the moment is just as real; i.e.: what are your realistic targets for the first six months?

Anyway, Hillary surprised the hell out of everyone I think and in a lot of ways I'm pleased that she is still well in the hunt. I think she raises real issues and while I'm not a fan nor do I expect to support her bid for the oval office, I do like the debate she creates and after all, I did vote for her husband a couple of times despite my otherwise Republican soul. Hillary is good for this election and I'm personally delighted that she remains in contention.

Hell, even Ron Paul got 8% last night. A true dark horse if ever there was one!

Finally, I'm off to a Hawks Game this evening. They have lost four in a row and primarily due to the guy center in the today's picture; i.e.: Mike Woodson, my nomination for the worst coach in the NBA at the moment. Why? Because he can't win! Lots of talent and no excuses this year and he still can't win.....not the games he is suppose to win, not the close ones he should win, and with the exception of one or two games early in the season he isn't pulling off any upsets either. The Hawks are headed back to the cellar and the good Lord knows that I'm not looking forward to the ride. Of course, I still have the advantage in that the Cowboys are still in the show unlike those Steelers and Redskins fans. (Yea!)