Run!

Nike has something there, but that is the final step of the process. Almost always before we do, we ponder. Even before that we have to have the idea to act on in the first place. Sometimes the time between having an idea and acting is a split second! Often in those cases you can end up getting in trouble.

So where am I going with this? New Year’s Resolutions, of course. It’s great that I want to get back into shape, lose weight and get organized. (notice I didn’t say get reorganized :-) That’s where the process starts. Deciding to do something, coming up with a plan of action and ultimately acting. Just doing it. Unfortunately I am all too familiar with thinking about a thing and thinking about a thing and thinking about a thing but not acting. Funny how things don’t change until our actions change!

It’s Biblical too. Proverbs 14:23 says:
In all labor there is profit,
But idle chatter leads only to poverty.

The key word here is idle. If you are thinking about something, that is the first step, but don’t let it stop there. Even if it’s years and years that you have been pondering, chances are it’s not too late to act.

Different actions spring from different thinking, so don’t discount that. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’ve been thinking about getting back into shape, but haven’t acted yet. You are on the right track! The next step is to drive yourself to a track and actually run around it.

Me? My boss got me involved with a group at his church that is gradually working up to running a 5k in March. The first workout was Thursday and we are meeting again this morning in just an hour or so. The workout is pretty easy to start. (but turned out to be harder in action then it looked on paper) After a 5 minute brisk warm up walk it was 60 seconds of jogging followed by 90 seconds of walking. Lather rinse and repeat for 20 minutes. Not bad. The workouts gradually increase the running component so that by mid March we are running for 28 minutes and ready for the 5k.

I’m really excited about it. Even though I have run a few 5k’s before, that was in the early 90s! I used to jog almost everyday in 1999 and 2000. I had worked up to 4 to 6 miles almost everyday and was in my best shape since high school. A knee surgery and 10 years later (and 40 pounds later) it’s almost like starting over.

The important thing is I am starting and with a goal in mind. Now, if I could just get someone to wash my car and clean this apartment.

Anyway, one of the cool things about being in Los Angeles was the earthquakes.  You never knew when they were going to hit, but they were pretty fun.  I remember one afternoon in particular.  The water in the fish tank started to slosh and the light above the dining room table started to sway.  We all rushed outside.  Not because we were in danger, we just did.  What I saw next was so cool.  As I looked down the street, it looked like the whole earth was rolling like the ocean!  It kinda made me dizzy.  It didn’t last very long and it wasn’t particularly strong.  Just a rolling quake gently moving through the neighborhood.

Fast forward to February of 1971.  It was 1 minute after 6am.  I had just gone to the bathroom and was crawling back into the top bunk.  As soon as my head hit the pillow the quake hit L.A.  It started out with a shimmer, but was full on shaking in seconds.  Being on the top bunk, it was quite a ride!  Everything in the room was shaking violently and it was noisy.  Stuff falling off the walls, etc.  Then I noticed something extraordinary and I’ve never experienced it since (and hope I never do again).  There was a dimension of sound.  As far as my ears could hear there was a rumble and a roar.  It must be how Hollywood was inspired to create surround sound, but there’s nothing like the reality!

I don’t know how long the quake lasted and I don’t remember being scared, but chances are I was.  My brother Chris was in the bottom bunk and slept through the whole thing!  As the morning progressed we started hearing the damage reports.  No real damage at our house and minor damage in the neighborhood.  I remember we were upset that we still had school.  Some of the windows were cracked and in our classroom a portable book shelf had slid across the room dumping it’s contents.

Further north closer to the epicenter in Sylmar, California it was a real disaster.  An overpass had collapsed on a truck killing the driver.  The worst of it was a V.A. Hospital had collapsed killing around 50 people.  Governor Reagan declared a state of emergency.  The USGS put the magnitude at a 6.6 on the Richter Scale.  Major quake indeed and one I will never forget.

The small quakes really are fun!  It’s the big ones that will really shake you up and could kill you if you are in the wrong place in the wrong time.

Proverbs 21:25-26

²⁵ The desire of the lazy man kills him,
For his hands refuse to labor.
²⁶ He covets greedily all day long,
But the righteous gives and does not spare.

The class warfare being promoted in this country by Democratic leaders including the President is dangerous and immoral.  I keep hearing that the rich are getting richer.  Someone just posted on Facebook that the top 400 wealthy Americans have more money then the bottom 150 million.  The implication is that our current system just isn’t fair and we must redistribute the rick folks wealth.

In reality it is a straw man argument.  I have never met anyone with any kind of means who didn’t work their butt off.  The rich are rich for the most part because God has given them talent and they work hard!  It’s these very rich folk who create companies that create jobs that allow all of us to find work to feed ourselves and our families.

The OWS reaction to the class warfare being perpetuated by our President and the Democratic Party?  Instead of placing the blame for our bad economy and lack of jobs on policies coming out of Washington they have decided it’s a good idea to go camping in public parks.  Instead of taking their God given gifts and applying themselves (and applying for work) they complain about those who have, and demand that they get their “fair share.”   Problem is that would not be fair because it ain’t their share!

“The desire of a lazy man kills him.”  The OWS camp grounds have been a source of fleas and ticks and drug overdoses, rapes and even a shooting or two.  They spend their time greedily coveting all day long.

On the flip side it is the wealthy that are giving and do not spare.  Who do you think gives to charities across this country?  Where is the appreciation for corporations and individuals of means who GIVE AWAY their money so homeless folks can eat, so battered women have shelters, so drug addicts can be set free, so cures can be found for cancer and birth defects.  The list goes on and on.

I don’t know any poor people who give to non-profits.  They can’t.  They are broke!  It’s the people with money that have the ability to share money.  If the Occupiers would mind their own business, work hard and be thankful they live in a country that gives every individual the best chance to succeed maybe they wouldn’t be such whiny complainers and instead would work hard to become generous contributors.

Neons and Tetras and Plants, Oh Joy

I love my fish tank.  It brings a calm and peace to my life as I peer into an alien environment created for creatures with gills and colorful scales.  I have a 55 gallon tank and when it’s fully stocked with guppies and neons and assorted tetras it can be better than HD TV.  In 3D even!

The story of the tank goes back to the days in Roswell and my job at KBIM TV.  The year was 1992.  I already had a 10 gallon tank (which was later the home for my Piranha, but that is another story) where my green snake lived.  (it was so cool)  I also had a little goldfish tank with a little goldfish in it.  I didn’t want a dog or a cat since I lived in an upstairs apartment.

I was minding my own business at work one day talking to our receptionist and she asked me if I wanted to buy her 55 gallon tank.  Stand, underground filters, gravel, the whole works for only $75.  What a steal and a deal!  I jumped at it and we agreed.  Her Dad even helped me carry it up the stairs to my apartment.  He even took the heavy end.  (and it was heavy)

I got it all set up and stocked it with fish and it was amazing.  It had (and still has) the best gravel I’ve seen in a fresh water tank.  My son was only 3 years old at the time and he loved it!  Amber did too, and so did I.  :-)

I had the tank for the remaining couple years I lived in Roswell.  I added a dog when I moved into a house.  Popcorn was our “Pet of the Week” one week that we featured on the air after the weather.   I said on TV that I would take her if no one else did, and I did, but again, that is another another story.

Marbles from FAO Schwartz. Fish from Pet Smart.

Back to the tank.  It traveled well when I moved to Lubbock, Texas and was a source of joy when I bought my first house a couple of years later.  I visited FAO Schwartz in NY, NY and bought some marbles that I added to the tank.  The fish even made the move (and two year stay) to Odessa, Texas after my nearly 10 years in Lubbock.  After Odessa I moved to Tucson and that is when I ran into a problem.  The tank got cracked during transport from Odessa to Tucson.  So, I went without fish for almost a year.  That is until my son came to visit.

Now in high school, one of the first things my son said to me was, “Where is your fish tank?”  I had always had the tank since he could remember and it was noticeably missing.  I missed it too, so I went down to the Wal-Mart and bought a new tank.  I still had all the set-up stuff and it was easy to set it up back up and stock it.  Just like old times!  All was calm and peaceful again in the Shaw household.

Then came my personal Great Depression last year into this one.  Not so much my mood, but my finances.  First one light burned out on the tank, then the other.  Some of the fish were dying (normal attrition) and the remaining were living in the dark except for the natural light coming in from the windows.  I couldn’t afford to replace the lights nor the fish.  This went on for nearly a year until last week.

Still needs a little work, but I'm glad it's back

Finally!  I caught up on my bills and I had some left over cash to replace the lights and stock the tank.  I especially love the guppies.  They are the most colorful and flamboyant of the fish and they breed like crazy.  The little baby guppies serve as live food for the rest of the fish, and the guppies that survive continue to supply even more guppies. It’s wonderful!  In Lubbock I had a pet store owner who used to buy guppies from me.

So there you have it.  Pets and apartment living don’t mix with me very well.  Except for the fish.  They don’t need to be walked and there is no cat box litter smell.  Only peace and love and a glimpse into an alien world full of color and life.  Sigh.

"Any questions? I didn't think so."

Little Rock (not AP) – Dubbed the “Intimidation Tour,” Godzilla continued his whirlwind schedule of visiting 10 major cities across the country in as many days.  Godzilla reiterated his plan to “fundamentally change” the country.

His campaign slogan, “Hope.  You Don’t Get Crushed” was well received by a cowardly press that seemed to be in awe of Godzilla’s physical presence.  That and Godzilla destroyed several satellite trucks when Chip Reid asked if Godzilla had a last name.  It appears that intimidation politics is working well for the mutant monster from the deep.

Besides his aggressive domestic policies, Godzilla has a ton of experience in dealing with Japan.  He has a track record of stimulating the economy there by tearing down high tension wires and destroying the countryside while battling political opponents such as Mothra and even King Kong.

I have to admit that I am kinda proud that I was able to get 4 years of use out of my Palm Centro, but its very clunky internet interface meant I wasn’t using any of my unlimited data that Sprint so generously charges me for every month.  Unlimited is the only plan that makes sense for me (since my cell is my only phone).  I had to do something.

Along comes Best Buy with a great deal last week.  Spend $60 on “Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 3″ and receive a FREE HTC phone (with 2 year agreement, offer void where prohibited).  For Sprint customers (that’s me) that meant the $100 HTC Evo 4G was now $60 with a free case and awesome game thrown in!

I couldn’t be happier.  I now have 27 versions of the Bible in my pocket.  An 8 megapixel camera always at the ready.  I can surf the web and check my Gmail while sitting in a waiting room or whatever.  I have a to do list (now I just gotta do it) and a calendar with me always, and I now understand about Angry Birds.  Addictive that game.  In fact I still haven’t opened Call of Duty, but I have burned precious smart phone battery slingshoting (new word?) birds into feathery explosions of portable game joy.

With the GPS turned on I can now navigate life with a modern tool guaranteed to enhance the quality of my wasted time.  As long as the battery holds up.

Facebook why do we love you so?
You hurt us and yet we always come back to you.
When you share our most private information with the world
we scream at you and threaten legal action
but in the end we update our settings
and snuggle right back into updating our status’ (stati?)
and share links with friends.

When everything I say to you comes out double
or doesn’t show up at all
We scream, “Are you even listening to me?!”
and you don’t reply. You never reply.
Eventually our comments return to normal
and so does our sick, codependent, relationship.

You know we aren’t supposed to be with you during work hours
and you show an ad or a status that isn’t safe for work.
Are you trying to get me fired?
Where am I gonna find another job in this economy?
What is wrong with you?
Don’t you value our time together?

Apparently not.

And when you promised you would never change
and then you did. And then you changed again
and moved all of my stuff to another page
and hid my friends posts from me
Sure, I got mad, but I always got over it. In time
and we are still together today.

This time you have gone too far!
That scrolling thing that shows every little thing that every friend does for all to see.
It makes me wonder what it is you are sharing about me?
Then I share graphics and like posts complaining about you
and I vent to all of my friends and their friends and their friends about you

But I can’t change you. It is you who has changed me.
Then I realize
I am lost without you
(even when I get lost trying to navigate you)

Thank You Facebook for all of the laughter, tears, frustration
because that’s what relationships are all about.
Sharing life. BFFs forever!  Well, you and Twitter.

Wait. What’s this I hear about Google +?

A movie theater in Austin, Texas, part of a small chain of theaters, took an angry voice mail and turned it into a funny FUNNY message that texting is not allowed in their theaters.

Let’s be honest.  When someone opens their phone during a movie the light can be distracting.  I didn’t pay $7.50 for a movie and $6 for popcorn so I can watch you text!

This video is not suitable for work nor for children and some adults.  Enjoy

When a friend of mine posted a video of Andy McKee playing “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” on guitar I knew I had to try to combine it with the Tears for Fears version.

So, here it is.  My first ever attempt at a Mashup.  Not perfect, but I hope you enjoy it.

And I hope it doesn’t get yanked off of YouTube :-)