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.