Category: General Musings

That means that this post is about nothing in particular.

England is punching itself in the face.

America is spending 3 times more money than it takes in.

Day job is growing to be overwhelming in terms of control.

Europe still sucks.

I believe thats all I have for now.

via BNET…

1. You don’t know the difference between managing and micromanaging:

A good small business owner knows about more than just how to run his or her business and make a profit. Good bosses manage their employees, allowing them to do their jobs the best they can. Jerk bosses try and tell their staff how to do their jobs, down to ridiculous detail. If you spend more of your time on silly minutiae and less on the big picture, your employees probably don’t like working for you.

Follow the link above for the rest of them.

Photo of the week.

I’ll collected a few interesting stories in the last several weeks.

Here’s my list (with links) of some stories worth looking at.

10 Time-Savers That Aren’t Saving You Anything

Foreclosure Threatened if Homeowner Doesn’t Cough up $0.00, right damn now.

Culprits that Block Writers from Reaching a Pro Level

How Little Sleep Can You Get Away With?

See Through LCD Displays Like They Have in Star Trek

While The Strong Survive, The Weak Sit On Twitter As If It Were Nintendo

Vegetable Diet Gives You Daughters

News Anchor Tricked Into Licking an iPad. Sorry, it never gets old.

Mac Yuppie or PC Nerd?

It freakin’ rocks.

Ok. Thanks for stopping by.

No. Seriously. That’s the whole review. 🙂

It’s not really a “Big” update but I thought the title sounded good.

Being A Mac Whore…

I’ve had my iMac about 8 months now. With a 21″ screen, Core i3 processor (duo), and 8 gigs of RAM what is not to love? It was my first brand new iMac and the first Mac that I actually custom ordered.

8 months have gone by and now we have Thunderbolt (formally codenamed Light Peak) and I couldn’t wait any longer. I ordered another Mac. Why? Thunderbolt is a new kind of interface unlike USB or even firewire. Thunderbolt taps directly into the backbone of your computer making it “super” fast. What’s more interesting is the fact that this interface can be used by virtually any kind of peripheral you have. Printers, flat screens, external hard drives, and even controls for your home can all be used by the same interface.

No more searching around for the “right” cable. You have a Thunderbolt cable and it will work. Sweet.

The new iMac arrived this past weekend and it IS awesome! This time I opted for the 27″ model. Core i7 (quad 3.4 Gigahertz processors). 8 Gigs of RAM (the sweet spot). The speed of this thing is absolutely incredible.

As with USB when it was first introduced, I’ll have to wait for the Thunderbolt accessories. Not a problem. At the end of this month, we’ll be getting a RAID-5 cage which we’ll use to backup the Mac Server and our massive movie library and my Take That! Media files. I keep every show I’ve ever produced. Not sure if that’s a good thing…

The Day Job Chronicles

Last November, we lost an employee in one of our facilities and I was asked to assume that position. The problem had always been distance. I currently live 3 miles from our corporate office and this other facility is about 15 miles away. I haven’t been able to mountain bike in because of the distance and the fact that it’s a bit dangerous.

Well, it looks like I’ll be moving back to the corporate office in a few weeks. The mountain biking can continue and that makes me extremely happy.

In Conclusion…

As always, I search for ways to make the best use of my time and am continuing to utilize my Franklin Planner. I have backed away from producing podcasts over the weekend. After several years, I have come to realize that I seem to be the only one working 6 or 7 days a week on podcasting. My writing “to-do” list isn’t getting any smaller and I write my best stuff over the weekend. Therefore, I have made the command decision to spend my weekends on other things. Oh, yeah. There is the “spending time with the kids” thing too.

My current project list…

1. Day Job
2. Podcast Production (Take That! Media)
3. Radio Production (Premiere Radio Networks)
4. Writing Screenplay (about a year off and on to write this movie)
5. Writing Short Stories (I have about 10 really good stories to tell when I get the time)
6. Writing Novel (Sci-Fi, of course. Is there any other?)

Final Political Thought

As far as 2012 goes, my prediction is that Obama will win a second term. Why? Is it because he is soooo great and wonderful? Is it because he commands respect? Is it because he is sooo much smarter than you or I?

No.

The reason the Obama will get re-elected is because the opposition is a complete and total cluster fuck. Another military term that might also apply would be “goat fuck.” If there has ever been a time in history when the GOP is running around flailing its arms, this would be it.

You cannot win simply claiming that you should lead because of your moral superiority. That is pretty much all the Republicans have right now. In the last presidential election, John McCain was afraid to confront Obama on issues of his citizenship and it took Donald Trump to finally resolve the issue. The Republican leadership is either unable or unwilling to tackle the big things. Don’t try to play the game on the left’s terms. You define the terms. It’s time the GOP started putting the left up on the ropes. Make them define who they are and keep doing it so much that they don’t have time for anything else but defense. Pretty much what they are doing to the right as we speak (or type).

Thanks all I have right now.

Two recommended books…

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me has got to be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. I didn’t see an audio version but it is available in the iBook store. It’s the first full book I’ve read on the iPad.

I have to admit, I’ve never even heard of Chelsea Handler before I read this book.

Live Free or Die: Troy Rising by John Ringo is available at audible.com and has to be one of the best thought out sci-fi books I’ve listened to in a long time.

This is a friend of mine. The first conservative female I ever had a crush on.

Happy Birthday Kathleen!

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted something here on my older blog.

I find myself writing on my official “writer” blog more often these days. Perhaps, we are heading into the most optimum writing season?

The latest audible book is called “Primary Inversion” by Catherine Asaro. A very interesting read and a bit more technical than most things I listen to.

Writing software has hit a fever pitch as we attempt to create some cool new iPad apps. I find writing Apple software to be a bunch of fun and having said that, it certainly doesn’t feel like work.

This week, a few friends of mine have birthdays. Paul Croteau of FTR Radio, Karen Walker, and Amy Ross.

My ex-wife also has a birthday this week so a big “Happy Happy” to her.

Work has been a bit out of control lately with more on the way. Two full time jobs with a 3rd part time gig thrown in for good measure leaves me with about 30 minutes a day of just enough time to do the things I want to do.

I have the core podcasting group that I think I’ll have for a while and I’m grateful for that. It’s hard to find good people that you enjoy working with but I’m really blessed in that regard.

That’s all I can think of for now.

I’ll “check” in a bit later…

No further explanation is necessary.

First of all, the reason I used the above picture is simply because I believe Lala is hot.

I feel that it is only fitting to discuss some observations as we head deeper into Spring.

This month has been an amazingly busy one. Podcast production, radio production, and writing projects have kept me hopping this month. My “day job” has been extremely crazy as well making for complete madness as far as my daily grind is concerned.

I’ve turned down 29 requests for podcast production. I can’t do much more than I already have and not everyone should be doing podcasting. Just because you “can” doesn’t necessarily follow that you “should.”

The royal wedding if proof positive that the world is chock full of idiots who have nothing better to do than to watch two people spend a ridiculous amount of their nations money (which it does not have to spend in this manner) on a wedding that will end in divorce in no more than 10 years. Man was not meant to be monogamous no matter how much the religious right, established cultural preferences, or the woman you are are dating thinks so. Couples that are married for most of their lives are the exception and certainly not the rule. No creature on the face of the earth was meant to be married. Marriage is a piece of religious doctrine that is absolutely required in order for that religious organization to thrive. The Scientologists need their aliens as much as the catholic church needs marriage. Fact.

Everything Al Gore says is fiction. You should have picked up on this by now.

At what point are the American people going to realize that our government is broken and cannot be fixed by anything that we do? Legally, anyway. Sorry but a revolution is the only answer. The question isn’t whether nor not there will be another one but rather when it will happen. You can’t keep taking people’s hard money for a sustained period of time without paying the piper later. History tells us that. We’ve broken all of the rules that the founding fathers laid down and without those rules, the government has become serious corrupt. I think the fatal flaw has been allowing elected officials to have control over the checkbook. Perhaps, if the American people as a whole had to vote on every expenditure things would have turned out differently. We need a financial process that simply cannot be corrupted. The founding fathers thought they had fixed the problem but their subsequent offspring have found a way to circumvent it and we find ourselves in a government the founders never wanted.

How can you ignore little things, be a slob, have a desk area that looks like a suitcase nuke detonated nearby, and be late to nearly every appointment you have and yet still have an expectation that people should take you seriously?

The brutal honesty of your true friends can never be understated.

On the subject of “birthers” and Obama’s birth certificate…

This is a subject that we shouldn’t be talking about right now. This should have been hammered home before Obama got elected. Not being able to produce the appropriate document alludes to guilt. When Obama finally releases a “document” it looks like a bad photoshop job. When something doesn’t smell right it usually isn’t. Obama can’t produce anyone credible that ever went to school with him and until recently couldn’t produce a simple document like a birth certificate. Obama is living a lie. The evidence is the simple matter of an extremely flawed presidency. Those folks who believe they are “elitist” usually aren’t as evidenced by this fallacy of a man and an office that used to mean so much more.

Conservative pundits are a very special breed indeed. Just ask them. All I can see right now is a bunch of folks who cry foul, yell “the left are a bunch of hypocrites”, and aspire to self promotion and fame above that of promoting an actual message or agenda. Lets face it, the people on the right listen to people on the right just as much as the people on the left tend to listen to people on the left. It’s uncomfortable to have someone on your show that doesn’t agree with you. It’s hard. Podcasters tend to want to do the easy things like simply invite people on who agree with them. That is all well and good until it comes time to actually win an election. Having people on your show that agree with you garnishes half of the audience you would otherwise get from having someone with an opposing view on. Why? Not only would you have the right folks tuning in but you’ll have the left tuning in as well. With the leftys controlling most of the main stream media, they have an amazing amount of control. They are also picking and choosing the battles they are having with the right. In warfare, this is exactly the type of scenario you need in order to achieve victory. The way to win is to force the enemy to fight you on your terms and in the place of your choosing. The right is on defense and has been since 2008 with the introduction of vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin. The fights between the left and right are not going to be “fair.” That is why the left will continue to win in the foreseeable future. They understand how to attack, attack, and attack. All the right seems to do is cry and mutter the word “Hypocrites!” Go team!

In 2008, the GOP had a great car but it was running on cheap gas. John McCain should have won the election. Why didn’t he? Because he allowed Obama to dictate when and where the engaging conversation was taking place. McCain refused to attack Obama on the issues he should have. Where did he come from…really? What makes him qualified to hold the highest office? Where are the kids he went to school with and how come no one can remember him? The things Obama said alone in speeches should have driven the American people over the edge and in to McCain’s camp but they didn’t. They didn’t because the right never used those things against him. They took the civil “high road” and in doing so, contributed to the dumbing down and complete trashing of the America I remember as a sailor.

Earth Day. You may celebrate Earth Day and celebrate mother Earth but I can assure you that Mother Earth will not hold a “Human Day” for you. In fact, at the pleasure of Mother Earth we will suffer plenty of death and destruction in the upcoming year. She doesn’t care about you. So, hug as many trees as you like. I doubt they will come to save you when the tornado sucks you out of your house in the middle of the night and deposits you into a Seven Eleven neon sign on Borneo Blvd. Pretty sure she won’t give a rat’s ass about the iPod in your back pocket either.

The departure of Lisa DePasquale as coordinator of CPAC is going to have a serious impact on who attends this year. I have been unable to attend for the last couple of years generally because of scheduling conflicts but now that I could actually make it this year, without Lisa it’s just not going to happen. Lisa has been a guest on many podcasts that I have produced over the last several years. She is smart intelligent and seriously organized. I have never heard anyone say anything negative or bad about her. If you are going to run in the Kentucky Derby you don’t leave your prized stallion in the barn. I’m not attending CPAC this year because I feel that I will be robbed of the experience because of Lisa’s forced departure. I choose not to go to CPAC because of this. It may seem like a stupid reason to you but not to me.

On a more personal note, many of you may have noticed that I am not as nearly as accessible as I used to be. That is because I am not. I’m not taking on any more podcasts and I feel that I have the core broadcasters that I want to surround myself with at this point in my life. I write a lot more under my pen name than I was only a year ago. Having a pen name with a Twitter account, a website to maintain, and deadlines to meet keeps me busy enough. I have no desire to become a household name or famous. I do have a desire to write stories that compel readers to think.

As long as I can get up every day and know that I am contributing to society and not simply living or leeching off of it then I will call that a good day. I choose to use a Franklin Planner and will write my own marching orders for the day. I will seek to be even more organized than I am now. I will lead from the front and not from the rear.

How has April impacted your life this year? Send me a note to the email address in the sidebar.

This is a mini vent.

During the winter, I wear shorts. Crazy? Probably.

The company I work for always feels a need to run a fire drill in the middle of winter when the temperature is minus 10.

During the summer when it’s beautiful and warm outside…

…(insert cricket sounds here)

WTF.

I’ve been looking around for a piece of software that works like MarsEdit for the iPad.

So far, all I have is an application called “WordPress.” I got it for the iPhone originally but when I got the iPad, the software “moved” over an then seemed to adapt to the iPad screen with no screen doubling. Weird.

I have problems with this software.

It’s not very intuitive and doesn’t do the basic blogging necessities very well. Things like adding a link to some text or just adding a picture.

I’ve just seen something on the app store called Blogsy.

I’ll have to download that one and let you know about it.

What would really be neat and cool would be a MarsEdit version for the iPad.

Molly can be found here.

Jimmie Bise says these two things quite a bit.

They are words to live by.

1. Be useful

2. Don’t be a jerk.

Simple, yet so profound.

I’m thinking the two should meet sometime.

Ok, let’s tie this together and I’ll tell you a short story.

Many years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the Franklin Planner system. Along with exposing to the art of planning and being proactive about your day he also had gotten a set of 3 tapes with his planner (back then, Franklin Planner sold you a day planner along with the training materials for it. I know. Nuts). These tapes were never transferred to a more modern medium like CDs. I know. I spent a crap load of time looking for them.

I was playing around on Amazon one day and found someone who had a used set of the very tapes I was looking for. I bought them and using a tape deck and a line input on my iMac, I soon has these tapes in a new CD format. Ahhh…Hyrum Smith and his training seminar lives.

But wait. New problem.

I haven’t owned a Franklin Day Planner in about 3 years. Bad Mike.

Yesterday, I listened to all 4 hours of the seminar.

There are no comparable software programs written for the iPad. It seems a natural fit. That’s my gripe this morning.

If I want the software for the iPad, I’m going to have to write it.

I can’t believe that not even Franklin Covey has written a descent software app for the iPad.

Before you ask, I won’t be allowed to sell the software I’m writing. I wish I could share it but I’m sure the powers that be at FC will get sue happy over software they didn’t authorize.

Oh yeah, I saw the software FC has for the iPhone. It has gotten lousy reviews and the planning piece hasn’t been updated or supported in two years. Bad FC.

Update: (04/05/11) I broke down and bought a new planner from FC.

This is the first post I’ve written from my iPad.

We are going to be having internet work here at our office building so I thought I would test the iPad and see how the WordPress app works.

Typing on an iPad is a heck of a lot better than typing on an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Just sayin’

…and…

I’ve got nothing.

I did play “hooky” from the day job today.

That has to count for something damn it.

If you are planning on buying a new Mac and want to move your account to the new machine I have a quick piece of information to consider before doing so.

Are you moving the account from the same “type” of Mac?

In other words, are you moving your account from an older iMac to a newer one? If so, you should be fine.

If you migrate across different types of Macs then beware, bad things could happen.

I have migrated from a Mac Mini to a MacBook Pro to an iMac.

What is the problem, you ask?

My airport wireless doesn’t work and the bluetooth mouse jumps all over the place.

I booted the machine up from a restore disk and both the wireless and bluetooth work fine.

Somewhere, as I was moving my account among these different machines, I picked up a bad file or bad files that prevent the wireless from working and screw with the bluetooth port.

This weekend I plan on a “regen” of my new iMac.

Joy.

I haven’t used Twitter since the superbowl.

It reminded me that I don’t use it much because I think it robs the hard core users of precious time. Time they could be using for something else like..oh, I don’t know spending time with real actual people perhaps.

Rather than being a mere tool, to some people I know Twitter is a way of life. A major portion of their day includes Twitter. To me, this is a serious problem.

I prefer to spend the time with my girls in a more face to face fashion. Emailing someone who lives in your house or telling your kids that its time for dinner by posting a message on Facebook is a major failing.

The idea that you can be “plugged in” to everything going on and still have a functioning family life is an illusion.

chipheadmike is no longer a functioning Twitter handle and I’m ok with that.

Update: (03.05.2011) Still NOT using Twitter. Universe still here.

Wow. I just took notice that it has been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything.

That’s because I’ve been extremely busy and not in a good way. I think there is a problem when your day is so consumed with your “day job” and then “podcasting” at night that you hardly even notice that you’ve failed to update your own website.

There for a short while, I was at least able to find something funny during the day to post.

Lately, I haven’t even had time to check my personal and radio station emails.

I will need to make appropriate adjustments.

There are times in our lives when we need to realize that no one deserves our time more than ourselves.