Chief

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14748549?GT1=8506

I've been waiting for this for a long time. Rediculously skinny models are gross IMO, and I'm happy to hear that fashion will return to reality.

I would have you lay down the quill and read the works of a few other noted wordsmiths. I'd urge you start with the Constitution and follow up with a few pieces of case law regarding property rights.

The M rated game you bought entitled you to install the game on your machine--one included feature allows you access to a list of other services available over the internet. You happened to reach a server funded and served by the gamers coalition, which is a community operating a service provided free of charge to the general public but contigent upon your abiding by the rules of the *owners* and enforced by their officers/admins.

As an author with a clear mastery of the value of words, you may best be advised to read the rules of servers in the future before you click "ok" and choose to voluntarily enter. Surely your familiarity with the harsh realities of the real world also includes having come into contact with other enforced standards (e.g., dress codes, speeding limits, not talking in class, breaking and entering, et cetera).

Congratulations on reaching 22 years old and securing gainful employment as a $20/hour author. Scribes have long been valued, and I wish you continued success. However, having stepped into our home, our personal property, our strict daddy was kind enough to show you the door. Wipe your feet off on the mat, knock, and, acting like a gentleman, you will surely enjoy our hospitality.

Otherwise, there is a crack house on the other side of town where you are free to partake in the illicit substance of your choice and enjoy their hospitality. That's property rights, and that's the real world in these United States.

Personally, I wouldn't be offended if an American network did an episode of 24 where Tony Blair was, but I would expect Brits to be miffed. I think it's the same thing. I am kind of suspicious of the new ABS 9/11 dramatization. IMO we're too close to the events for it to be made into fictionalized drama. Depends on the docu-drama mix I suppose.

I don't know if it's everywhere, but I just got Ronald Reagan In His Own Hand for $4. I like Reagan, and it's interesting to see his draft thougths on things.

I had a number 5 from Port Of Subs. It was Smoked Ham, Turkey & Smokey Cheddar on wheat with lettuce, tomatos, black olives, onion, mayo and dijon mustard with a little pepper. Water to drink.

Sweet. I've been getting done between 6 and 11pm. Since it's friday I hope it will be on the early side. I haven't started getting paid yet, so I'm on a modest budget. GL getting us some fight tix. I'm working my side to try and luck us into some UFC tix to Franklin in UFC 64.

talk to ya tomorrow.

I bought Memorial Day and read a few pages before I realized it came after 3rd option. lol. So I bought another Executive power, then thought, "hey read the back cover." So I bought another Transfer of Power and it is the White House take down. I'm about 450 into it and should finish tonight. Good reading!

That was a very long drive. Got in last night/afternoon depending on your time zone. My body is still vibrating and I'm sleepy, but I'm at work eating lunch and just signed a 6 month lease. wewt!

uM, I think he might not be doing well. he's been asleep awhile.

Trying to create some tension between us? I'll hold you responsible if I'm distracted during my drive and get a speeding ticket. And you better just keep my character alive!

Getting ready to tear down the machine and finish packing. Driving out tonight. 1850 miles/27 odd hours. Will be back online down the road. Jackie better not kill off my character! Here's the email I sent out to everyone:

Friends and family,

Well, it has been an absolute whirlwind around here recently. We celebrated Lincoln's 2nd birthday August 31s and mom's 6-month the month before.

Lara and Lincoln are doing well--Lara is doing well (as always) for Clinique, and Lincoln is starting to talk and loves to "fix it" with a screwdriver--doesn't matter what "it" is! It was a bitter sweet moment when he finally started calling me Jeremy and stopped calling me momma.

My last client for my marketing business ended up being a real flake out situation and the 2-week project drew out for 5 months and they ended up paying me $200 for over $1,000 of art that I licensed. Needless to say I lost a lot of money and ended up donating over 100 hours. I have dozens of emails begging them to stay focused and finish the project, but it was not to be! But the bright spot is that I got hired by Colorado Tech as an adjunct professor of business management and went through orientation and training and now I am waiting for a class to be available (hopefully in October).

And I decided that after the past two years, starting a marketing operation was more than I could do on my own. But marketing is my passion, so I ended up sending out some resumes and gave a call to my old boss in Chicago to ask him to be a reference. Come to find out, he's out in Las Vegas with the agency that does the Vegas "What happens here, stays here" spots. One thing lead to another and I flew out to Vegas this week and am driving out there to relocate TODAY. They recruited me pretty hard and I took a pass on an opportunity to be product launch manager for Hewlett Packard's printer division.

I'll be living in a hotel for a bit, until a moving company can be scheduled and all those little details that come with moving cross country. With a little luck, Lara and Lincoln will join me somewhere down the line.

Bottom-line, less than two-weeks from my first call, I am moving to Las Vegas. I will have the same cell-phone number and will know my address soon with a little luck! I start Tuesday, and hopefully will be back in the classroom in October in addition.

My apologies for not getting to say goodbye in person--it just is happening so fast! Take care, and my love to you all.

Best,

Jeremy

I read those back in high school and have to say that I enjoyed them. I think Day of the Cheetah was the one about the airplane controlled by brain waves and it was cool too. But, I liked the story of the good ol' BUFF.

Stairs, we have too many wounded to safely handle ladders--and we might further injure some people moving them on ladders.

When I lived in California, there was a copy of Eddie Rickenbacker's autobiography and I could have afforded it but it was signed to specifically something like "To Buffy, Love Eddie" and so I skipped it. He was the pilot who shot down the red baron BTW.

But Jerry Springer used to be a client, so I brought in a copy of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and he signed it. lol

First call was a little over a week ago to my old boss in Chicago to let him know I was sending out resumes and that I wanted him as a reference. Interview was a week ago. Flew out Monday, got home last night, starting Tuesday. Like I said in a previous thread, the support from friends in the community deserves much credit. What a miracle!

And it was my buddy from Afghanistan. I love getting those calls. They used to always say unknown number. He's married so I always getting excited like a school kid and feel honored to get those calls (even though I was the best man at his wedding).

Stay safe brother, we're praying for you and all the others that stepped forward.

With the books you're recommending, you need to read Rudyard Kipling's Kim

Amazon summary and order from Penguin Classics

I will be leaving the cozy confines of the Hoosier state and driving out to Vegas this weekend to start work on Tuesday. I will be flying back the next weekend to meet the movers and oversee things, then flying back to work. I'm sure everyone will miss my long posts .

Don't know how long it will take to get internet service and stuff hooked up so enjoy the break from me while it lasts! But it hasn't started yet, I will prolly disconnect and headout on Saturday.

And Jackie, you better not kill of Jim while I move like you did Farmer!

I don't think I'll be driving fast enough to catch Moss on his trip down, so next time!

Only recently have they changed their guildelines. They used to be pretty obvious. They had rules on everything, from clothes to haircuts.

I was sitting in seat 1b (1st row aisle) and I watched everyone getting on the flight. Nobody obvious. I was looking for middle-aged, fit, with a jacket and didn't see anyone. Nobody else really jumped out at me either. But not every flight has a marshall and I'm not a trained professional so I could easily have missed the man/woman if there was one.

Man I liked reading that! I was the person that never did homework in HS or college because it all clicked and I rarely left a class without having finished the homework for that day before class was over. Needless to say I developed some bad habits and got spoiled on being able to coast. I faced many of your challenges and I have two things to offer you. You already touched on them, and Duke said similar. It inspired me to write a book of my own in response. A friend showed me this solution (the guy that's back in Afghanistan for his 3rd trip with the 3rd SF Group) and it helped me take control of my life and end up being the youngest person on the faculty at Purdue and later helped me make the decision to quit my job and go unemployed for 2 years while I cared for my mom while she died. The Lord helps those who help themselves, and sharing my solution with you is a way for me to "pay it forward."

1st:::Goals. These saved my life & career and became something I always spent a chunk of the first week of all of my classes discussing and working on with my students at Purdue. There was a survey at Harvard some years ago (not Purdue, not a community college...Harvard). They surveyed a graduating class and had them self report on their happiness of all types: financial, personal, physical, sexual, etc. and they asked them if they had taken the time to write goals/objectives. 10% had done this. At their 10 or 20 year reunion they followed up that same Harvard graduating class. The 10% who had written goals and objectives rated themselves more satisfied in every *EVERY* category and they were worth more financially than the other 90%.

Please note that these goals are WRITTEN! They have to be, and you have to be willing to go back to them and reevaluate. When I started doing it, I wrote them out, with all the detail, and then I wrote down the basic goals on a regular ol' notecard and folded it up and put it in my wallet. Everytime I bought something I would think about them. When my wallet was empty of cash I would think about how my goals would help fix it etc.

Goals are an effective way to help guide future courses of action. Making a decision can be easier when one is able to ask, "Does this help me achieve my future goals?" SMART goals are one effective method of developing a system of goals and objectives that will help prepare you to enter this new era of Brillowness practiced in making decisions that are in accordance with your beliefs. Plotting a happy life requires a moral compass--where do you stand NOW and where do you want to be?

Specific--I need more details, Scotty!!!

Measurable--How long, how far, how fast, how much, how rich, how old? Let's see some numbers.

Achievable--Is it legal? Does it violate laws of physics? Can you actually do anything to help attain it?

Reasonable--It may BE possible, but do you really want to sacrifice THAT MUCH?

Timed--When do you want to accomplish this goal?

For the project, think about where you would like to be in a few years. What do you want to accomplish, what do you want to achieve? Start with three time frames: short term (weeks/months); mid term (months/1-2years); long term (a few years to retirement).

Think about a few basic categories and write SMART goals for each:

Education--You want to obtain professional certification & you want an advanced degree? Do you want another Bachelors? Beyond that do you want to learn how to do something? Do you want to read some book? This is a good chance to do some reseach and start thinking about a major and what pre-reqs you need and which courses you might need to take a refresher at a community college to make sure you go into the real program with confidence and the tools to succeed from day 1

Employment--Do you want to work for a specific industry or company? Do you want to reach a certain position? Do you want to own your own business? Make a certain salary? Think about the coming years and promotion as well as the "end game" it will help reveal the path to achieving these things

Retirement--How old do you want to be, what do you want to do, where do you want to live?

Family--Where do you want to raise them? How much will it cost to provide for them?

Physical fitness--So you wanna be a Navy SEAL? What's it going to take?

Material possessions--That new Porsche is going to cost a pretty penny. Better start planning.

Life experience--Always wanted to explore Macchu Pichu? Sail around the world? Learn to fly?

If you start putting together some goals, I would be happy to look at them and help you make sure that they're SMART goals. Properly thought through and researched goals make life much easier. It's still hard, but you'll know which decisions will make you and your wife happy much more easily.

This is already so long, I'm not going to put an example, but let me know if you need/want help.

+++++

2nd:::MIT has open courses that you can teach yourself. They are real MIT classes and notes. If you're sincere and write the professors, they will often get back if you have a specific problem.

http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

However, SERIOUSLY consider taking a couple of classes at the community college. They're cheap and will give you some momentum for your grad classes. (Personally, I recommend an MBA rather than EE Masters but you know more about your career track).

I got upgraded to first class coming back from Las Vegas and I was so lucky. The security line was being broken up into "4 lanes please" but it was effectively six or more and (no exageration) 100 yards long. After 15 minutes I had moved a few feet and started to get nervous about my flight. Poking my head around the line I saw a sign that said 1st class. So I got out of line and walked past several hundred to a thousand people in front of me and up to the 1st class line with less than 10 people waiting. I wasn't searched or held up in anyway (metal detector and xray of carry on only).

I hope the Ts don't fly 1st class.

happy belated birthday!

My copy of 3rd option had a preview of 10 pages or so and it sounded cool, I didn't like it when John Clark started getting old in Tom Clancy's books so I hope I like it with Mitch Rapp getting old.