Where do you sit?

Recently, Dave Ramsey remodeled some space for the company to hold our weekly meetings and devotionals in, among other events. The previous room was getting a little full. So, last week was the first time we met in the new facility. It was interesting to watch the migration take place, because most people seem to very much be creatures of habit.

This week was the second time we met in the facility and the same thing happened as the first time that we met. People tended to sit in the same vicinity in the larger and newer room, as they did in the old room. If people sat on the front row in the old room they were on the front row in the new room. If they had an isle seat in the old, it was an isle in the new. If they sat next to a certain person in the old, it was the same person in the new. There were a few exceptions to people doing something different but for the most part people stuck with what worked for them.

Then after the last meeting, our friend Chris over at his newly born blog found a cartoon that explains all of our seating habits in seminars, meetings, worship, etc... So, after you check out Chris's blog, head on over to see the cartoon I am talking about >>>>> HERE.

Hey Murphy, your law sucks!

Yep...that's all I have to say today. Murphy sucks! The planets are aligning and he is hitting us hard. I'm not going to get into particulars, but when it rains it pours and today it is pouring.

Here is Murphy's Law according to Wikipedia.

Motocross aka "Bike"

About a week ago, we were getting my 2 year old son ready for bed. He had just finished his bath and gotten his pajamas on. We sat him up on our bed while the TV was on. While my wife was doing a few other things me and my boy started flipping through the channels while he sat there and sipped on a cup of milk. We came across ESPN2 and they were airing a motocross event in San Diego.

"Bike," he yelled.

"Yes, those were bikes." I kept surfing the channels.

He leaned over to me put both his hands on my face, made me look at him in the eyes, and said "Bike!".

"Ok, I'll put it back on the bikes." As I made it back to motocross, he smiled, pointed, and once again said "bike."

So, at the age of two, my son loves bikes and motorcycles. I am ok with that, I actually like them too. The only problem is that every night before we go to bed, he wants to sit on our bed and watch the bikes. ESPN doesn't carry motocross every night so we have to endure the repetitive requests for "bike, bike, bike, bike, bike."

Thank-you YouTube and all the people who contribute to the site. Particularly, DemonChick88 who provided an 8 minute compilation of freestyle motocross that you can watch below. I don't know who you are DemonChick, but last night you were seen as an angel as we opened up the laptop and sat it in front of our son. He fell fast asleep watching "bikes."

Disc Golf

One day my wife and I were out riding around in Brentwood, and we passed by this field that looked to be in the vicinity of Crockett Park. We noticed there were guys throwing what appeared to be discs at a metal basket with chains dangling in order to help trap the discs as they hit the basket. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a disc golf course!

I was pretty excited. I grew up playing a lot of "Frisbee golf", but since living in Tennessee I didn't know of any courses that were close by to where I lived. So, you can imagine my surprise to stumble upon this little course.

My wife and I were at the sports store on Saturday morning and we noticed that they had some discs for sale. So, we bought some and made plans to play. We invited our neighbors to come along with with us and as we pushed our kids around in the course in their strollers, we had a great time.

Disc golf is one of those hobbies that couples can do together. You get to exercise, have conversation, it's free, and no one gets frustrated by the way the other person plays. Now that I know a course is near by, it is definitely going to be a new hobby. I love this game!

The Pizza Hut Story by Tim Sanders

Tim Sanders has a lot of great stories. This is one of them.

"You will accomplish more in the next two months, developing a sincere interest in two people, than you will accomplish in the next two years, trying to get two people interested in you." - Michael Rollins, CEO of Pizza Hut

Morgan Freeman - The Easy Reader

Phil posted an absolutely hilarious video from back when PBS was one of the only 5 channels we could get on television. You'll love it!

Morgan Freeman - The Easy Reader

Descending Into Greatness

We are attempting to start a book reading club at our office and the first book on our list was Descending Into Greatness by Bill Hybels. Bill is known for his success at the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois and even though this book was published back in the early 90's it was still very applicable.

Hybels uses the beginning of Philippians 2 as the foundation of his book. If you read that passage it pretty much sums up the book. However, the book expands by giving some anecdotal examples of how a person must intentionally take a downward path in order to rise to success. Hybels also doesn't sugarcoat it by saying it will be easy.

I didn't find the book awe inspiring like some might, but it was a good reminder of the importance of letting go of your own self interests and provide for others. My favorite part was the comparison he made between Jesus and Herod.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Rabbi Daniel Lapin

This morning for our devotional at Lampo, we had the privilege of hearing Rabbi Daniel Lapin speak. He delivered a very good message on how we look at money. He discussed how money can be seen as a spiritual thing as opposed to a physical thing. I don't really want to get into all of the details that he discussed because you can get the gist of it from his book Thou Shall Prosper.

Rabbi Lapin will also be a guest on The Dave Ramsey Show later today. You can catch the show live online between 2-5pm EST.

If you want to learn more about Rabbi Lapin you can visit his Web site Lifecodex.

Daniel Lapin (born c. 1950) is a political commentator and American Orthodox rabbi living on Mercer Island, Washington, and the founder of Toward Tradition (a conservative Jewish-Christian organization). He also once headed the Pacific Jewish Center in Venice, Los Angeles, California,(as well as the Commonwealth Loan Company and the Cascadia Business Institute). Lapin is co-chair of the conservative American Alliance of Jews and Christians.... (More from Wikipedia)

A Pet Peeving Poll: Presidential Candidates

I'm just curious to see where Pet Peeving readers stand on the Presidential race.

Who do you see?

So, from where you are sitting right now you can look at this picture and clearly see Albert Einstein, right? Now back up from your screen about 15 feet, or simply cross your eyes a little and tell me who you see.

I saw this for the first time this morning and thought it was neat. I'm not sure where it originated. Hope you enjoy. Oh, in case your cube doesn't have 15 feet to spare, the answer is Marilyn Monroe.

Scooter Season is Open

Ah...the weather, isn't it great? It's a great way to welcome in Scooter Season. With few exceptions, I should be able to hop on my little Yamaha Vino 125 and scoot back and forth to work and back. During my evening commute this summer, it may get a little hot, but at 80 miles a gallon with gas prices soaring, I can handle it.

I just wanted to remind all of you who do not have the pleasure of scootering to check your blind spots when changing lanes because I might be passing you.

Photo Credit: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com

Good in a Room

During my trip to New York, I took Good in a Room by Stephanie Palmer with me. Stephanie worked with MGM and supervised several multi-million dollar films, including Legally Blonde. She has a lot of experience in meetings and hearing pitches from screenwriters. She decided to take what she has observed in meetings and give readers a few tips.

I enjoyed the book and got a lot out of it. Although, I'm not a screenwriter, I did take to heart much of what she said but tried to think how I could apply her suggestions to web pages and routine meetings. I also particularly enjoyed the chapters on the subject of networking. She talks about how it is more important to sit down with one person for an hour rather than 6 people for 10 minutes each. If you've been talking an hour, then odds are you will get along with that person should you work together. Well, that happened at our conference. In fact, we ended up talking with a guy for over an hour and a half. We enjoyed the conversation immensely and made a genuine contact.

I have to say this is the kind of book that causes you to look back on past experiences and say "what was I thinking?" I was embarrassed by myself when looking back at some of the things I've said or done in meetings.

My Return from the Big Apple

I've been out of town the last few days. I was at Marketing Sherpa's Selling Online Subscriptions Conference at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. It was good. I don't have much time but here are some highlights of my trip. Many of them may not make sense to you but they will serve as a reminder to me. Read if you like....

Sunday

• Windy day in Nashville. Departed an hour late.
• Kraig lost his cell phone.
• The subway on the "6" to lower Manhattan was closed on Sunday.
• Walked through Central Park.
• Hot dog from Hot dog stand.
  
• Smitty and Kraig nearly died.
• Walked to Brooklyn Bridge.
• No bathroom for Kraig (Starbucks closed - McDonald's Employees Only).
  
• Hotel had billing problem.
• Kraig Got his phone back from cab driver.
• Time Square, Bubba Gump's Shrimp, Another Starbucks.

Monday

• Conference.
• Museum of Jewish Heritage.
• Mets game at Shea Stadium.
• Fat guy sleeping on subway car.
• Starbucks.

Tuesday

• Early walk through Financial District.
• Federal Reserve.
• St. Paul's.
• Trinity Church.
• City Hall
  
• Stock exchange.
• Federal Hall.
• The Bull.
• Observed Staten Island Ferry.
• Viewed Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
• Conference.
• St. Patrick's.
• St. Barts.
• Rockefeller Center & Promenade.
• Late departure from La Guardia.

Lost has lost me

Last night as I was watching Lost, I fell asleep. What did I miss? Nothing. The show has become a long running soap opera with no ending. Put a guy in camo, blow a few things up, and put it all on the set of "As the World Turns", and you have "Lost". There are just too many story lines now and several of them, I don't really like. The only thing keeping me interested is the fact that we don't know what the island is.

I'm tired of investing my time in this show. It isn't giving me anything in return but frustration. The mystery I had in the show has been replaced by other things in life now. When the show started, my son was not even born. He will soon turn two and we still don't know for certain what is going on. I'm sorry but it's time that I leave this "island". If it's on and I am handy, maybe I will watch it still, but I am not going out of my way to watch it.

So, as soon as somebody learns what the island is all about let me know. That's all I care about anymore, and it's not worth watching to find out. Now, please be kind to me in your response. I don't fault you for still watching.

Ben Stein's Expelled

Yesterday, Dave treated the company to a showing of Ben Stein's documentary Expelled. It was a treat. Ben Stein has a great sense of humor.

In terms of a documentary, I thought it was very well done and was really enjoyable to watch. Plus, the point of the documentary, I thought, was even better. Ben Stein actually sets out to open the door (or tear down the walls) to discussing the issue of intelligent design as a legitimate argument in response to Darwinism. What I found most interesting about the documentary is that Stein does not argue in favor of intelligent design, but simply provides arguments that it has just as much of a place in science as Darwinism when it comes to discussion. In fact, he doesn't even try to make intelligent design an idea that belongs to Jews, Christians, or other faiths. He simply lays it out there as an idea that has just as much merit as Darwinism.

I know many people of faith, will be upset Stein did not push the envelope further and argue the existence of God in this film. However, I think the fact that he didn't gives his message more weight in the realm of scientific study and academia.

Here's a teaser from the film. If you've seen the film, what did you think?

My Response to Sarah - Thou Shall Prosper

As I checked my email tonight, I saw where I had an interesting comment on a recent post about Rabbi Daniel Lapin's book Thou Shall Prosper. It was from a Jewish girl who asked me several good questions about my response to the book. I thought some of you might be interested in reading the dialog and perhaps contribute yourself. You can read the post and comments at the following link.

http://www.petpeeving.com/2008/01/thou-shall-prosper.html

@Sarah: I hope you see this and respond. Thanks for the questions.

Amazon's Kindle

Amazon has announced that the new Kindle is in stock and ready to ship to buyers. At a nice little price of $399 it's gotta be good right?

I have to tell you, I'm not sure about it. I really do like having a book to sit down with. Books are simple. No batteries, no worries of dropping it and not even really worried about someone stealing it. Plus, if I am going to look at an electronic screen, why wouldn't I just want to read it on my laptop? I could then listen to music and take notes at the same time. It's for those reasons alone that I doubt I will drop $400 on one of these, but that's not to say you won't like it. Who knows maybe I would love it.

The Kindle can do lots of neat stuff, so the price may not seem that bad. With over 115,000 book titles available and wireless downloads from anywhere that delivers books within minutes of purchase, the Kindle really is capable of a lot and has a "cool factor". There's no wireless bills or contracts - amazon takes care of all that.

Ok...now I have just about convinced myself to get one. If I can just remember where I put that extra $400 I wasn't using...What do you think about the Kindle?

Who Moved My Cheese?

For lunch yesterday I walked down to the local Barnes & Noble. I decided to pick up Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese? I actually sat down and read it in the next 30 minutes. It was a nice little story.

I know many people have read this book several years ago and the message may not be new, but as short as the book is, it's a great refresher for dealing with change. Now, I didn't think it was the greatest thing I had ever read, but I will say the story of Hem, Haw, Scurry, and Sniffy relates to us all. Regardless of how big or little change you are facing, it's a good story.

I'd say read it.

Raising a Successful Child

A few weeks ago my wife and I stopped by the Half Price Book store. As we were wandering around the store I noticed a table full of books that were all the same with a sign that said, "$1". As I looked closer there must have been 50 or 60 titles of The Everything Parent's Guide To Raising a Successful Child by Denise D. Witmer.
So, with low expectations and price to match, I picked up a copy. I have to say it wasn't mind blowing nor was it life altering. However, I did find it very useful. It did a great job of raising awareness about situations we face with our little one. It was simple to read, with highlighted facts in each chapter, and a summary of what to look for in each age bracket. The book covers a multitude of issues, from modeling, discipline, even budgeting. I'm glad I picked it up.

This was the first of The Everything series that I have read, but I am inclined to pick up others now. I also heard on the radio yesterday, some stat on how unprepared parents are with raising children. I don't know what the stat was but basically it said that parents are not reading parenting books. Don't do you child injustice - read a parenting book, or several.

A Lampo Madness Repeat

This year was the second annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament at Dave Ramsey's. The event has become known as Lampo Madness. We all began at the start of the men's NCAA basketball tournament and played double elimination. The first team to 11 wins. This year there were eight teams competing for right to cut down the net. The championship game was then held out in the parking lot as the company came out to enjoy the game and food provided by Moe's Southwest Grill. It was a perfect day if you ignored the wind.

Last year, was great because I was able to compete with two friends from college who also worked with us. We ended up winning it all by way of the loser's bracket, but one of the guys left the company since last year's tourney. So, this year I was approached by one of the players who put us in the loser's bracket last year. Since the mighty Grub Doctor's weren't able to play together this year, I accepted the invitation.

As you can see in the picture below, I had the privilege of playing with elite programmer, Troy Stauffer and creative genius, Paul Farmer. We managed to make it to the championship game without a loss (4-0). Which means our opponent had to beat us twice yesterday. They took a quick lead, going up 1-0. After a few minutes of everyone going cold, Paul Farmer started draining them from outside putting us up 8-2. Brian Beaman, Rob Curwen, and Lon Cherry fought back but we were still able to pull out the win 11-6.

Two years in a row now - Lampo Champion! It feels good even though I have been completely shut down in both championship games. Still, I want to say thanks to all the other teams for making it a great tournament. I'll see you next year.

The Tortoise Always Wins

We are reminded a lot at our office about the Aesop's classic fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. Once in an interview Dave Ramsey had with Zig Zigler, they talked about the story. Zigler said something along these lines. No matter how many times I read this book, the Tortoise wins every time!



Happy Birthday Dad!