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February 26, 2007

SOMETIMES IT'S JUST BETTER TO LAUGH

If you need a laugh today, as I did over the last few days, this will help:

Married For The Night
A man and a woman, who have never met before, but are both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a transcontinental train.

Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly...he in the upper bunk and she in the lower.

At 1:00 a.m., the man leaned over and gently woke the woman saying, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold."

"I have a better idea," she replied. "Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married."

"Wow! That's a great idea!" he exclaimed.

"Good," she replied. "Get your own damn blanket!"

After a moment of silence, he farted.

Happy Monday!

Posted by Mikal at 6:38 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

February 23, 2007

FOUR FOR FRIDAY

Q1 - Power: Which would you rather have: The power to make all the decisions, or the ability to veto them?

Q2 - Religion: Earlier this week, former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts was heckled by a man during a speech at a retirement community in Florida. "And you sir....you're a pretender...you do not know the lord...you're a Mormon," the heckler shouted. Romney answered back saying, "I'm convinced that the nation does need to have people of different faiths, but we need to have a person of faith lead the country." Do you agree with Romney? Do we need a President who believes in organized religion? Said differently, do you think a presidential candidate's religion or lack there of should play a factor in his or her run for office?

Q3 - Personal Safety: A friend of mine--a young woman around 19 or 20-years-old--was recently offered an opportunity (via an online matching service) to be a nanny for an east coast family. After emailing and talking with the husband and wife a few times by phone, the couple--who never even conducted a background check on my friend--offered to purchase her a plane ticket to fly from her home in Utah to theirs in New Jersey for an interview and multi-night stay. Based on that information alone, would you encourage my friend to make the trip, or would you caution her to the potential dangers associated with hopping on a plane to visit people she doesn't know in a part of the country she has never been to?

Q4 - Hours in a Day: If you could, would you add or subtract the number of hours in a day, and how would your decision impact your daily life?

Posted by Mikal at 7:39 AM | Comments (15) | TrackBack

February 16, 2007

Q1 - Public Speaking: What is the largest group of people you have ever spoken in front of, and what was the focus of your talk/speech?

Q2 - Freedom of Speech: Earlier this week, former Miami Heat basketball player Tim Hardaway said on a sports radio talk show that he would not want a gay player on his team. "You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern, upon learning of the remarks, banished Hardaway from this weekend's NBA's All-Star activities in Las Vegas. Despite what you think about Hardaway's comments, do you think the NBA took the right, appropriate or just action in barring him from the League's All-Star functions?

Q3 - Food Poisoning: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat from certain jars of Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter due to risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee (a bacterium that causes food borne illness). The affected jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter have a product code located on the lid of the jar that begins with the number "2111." Have you ever had food poisoning? If so, what made you sick, and can you still eat that particular food? If a restaurant was involved, can you still eat food from the establishment that contributed to your food poisoning?

Q4 - Purchases: What was the last thing you purchased, and what do you think you will purchase next?

February 14, 2007

Ted Demopoulos, who was kind enough to cover my work as a Ghost Blogger in his November 2006 book, What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere, just sent me a copy of his latest work:

101+ Tips for Blogging More Efficiently, Effectively, and Profitably: Secrets of Successful Blogging

Self-published by Ted's company, Demopoulos Associates, 101+ Tips is a fun little 40-page read. From tips on blog design, writing, leveraging existing content, and building traffic, to strategies and warnings related to pinging, profiteering, and password protection, Ted has compiled a very useful list of 'must know' and 'must do' recommendations that all bloggers can benefit from, regardless of where we are in the lifecycle of blogging.

In case anyone's interested in Ted's other titles--What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting and Blogging for Business: Everything You Need to Know and Why You Should Care (co-authored by Shel Holtz)--are both available on Amazon.com and contain a plethora of solid info (especially, I hear, those chapters in What No One Ever Tells You About blah, blah, blah that cover Ghost Blogging :-)

February 11, 2007

With the lease on my car ending in less than a year, I am now starting to think about 1) buying my car once the lease expires, or 2) buying or leasing a different car, most likely a gas-electric hybrid.

While researching the environmental impact of a car other than my own, I ran across the Gas Mileage Impact Calculator, a nifty little tool that enables car owners to make a direct comparison of vehicles based on gas mileage, fuel costs, and emissions of major pollutants.

February 9, 2007

Q1 - Legislative Perks: In Indiana, home to the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts, 45 state lawmakers took advantage of the Colts' offer to buy two tickets at $600.00 each to attend the Super Bowl game in Miami, FL. Do you think state law makers or members of Congress should be given preferential treatment when it comes to purchasing highly sought after tickets to sporting events?

Q2 - Fast Food: Putting aside for a moment how bad you know it is for you, what is your favorite fast food meal?

Q3 - Rules of the Street: For some, the lure of an iPod may be less about music and more about blotting out the world around them. But in some major New York cities, at least, the pause button could soon be pressed on this most modern of luxuries because someone has decided it's dangerous. New York State Senator Carl Kruger plans to introduce legislation that would ban the use of handheld devices such as BlackBerries, iPods, cell phones, and portable video games while crossing streets in major New York cities. Under the proposed law, pedestrians and bicyclists caught using any kind of electronic device while crossing a street would be hit with a $100.00 fine. Do you agree with Kruger's proposal? Should handheld devices be banned in certain public settings?

Q4 - Movie Ratings: The American Medical Association Alliance will soon release the results of a national survey that it says shows that the majority of adults support an "R" rating for Hollywood movies that feature people smoking cigarettes. What do you think? Should movies featuring cigarette smoking actors or actresses be given an "R" rating?

February 8, 2007

It all started on Monday morning when I work up with a massive headache (on a scale of 1-10, this one was an 11). On Tuesday, the sneezing started, and by Hump Day, I was down and out with chills and sweats, and a pair of itchy ears, a runny nose and a sore throat. After taking Wednesday off from work, today wasn't much better, so I took another sick day and went to see the doctor, who prescribed a four day dosage of Azithromycin (more commonly referred to as "Z-Pak"). Then, just a few moments ago, I checked my email to find the following message:

Even though we haven't spoken since Saturday evening (when she called to ask me if I remembered my First Grade teacher's name), somehow my Mother always knows what I need.

February 4, 2007

I'm not much of a gambler, but with my Indianapolis Colts making it all the way to the Super Bowl, I couldn't help but place a few friendly wagers with friends and colleagues. In recognition of the Colts' 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears, I get:

February 3, 2007

John Madden, the Football Hall of Fame coach and announcer, was in San Diego to cover a Charger's game when he noticed a special telephone near the Charger bench. He asked the Charger's quarterback, Philip Rivers, what the phone is used for, and was told it was a hotline to God.

Madden asked if he could use the phone, to which Rivers replied, "Sure, but it will cost you $150.00."

Madden scratched his head, then thought, what the heck, I could use some help picking next weekend's games. He pulled out his wallet, paid the $150.00, and the next week was pleased to see that all of picks had won their games.

The next week Madden was announcing a Chicago Bears game at Chicago's famed Solider Field, when he noticed that same kind of phone on the Bears sideline.

He asked what the telephone was for, to which Bears Quarterback Rex Grossman responded, "It's a hotline to God. If you want to use it, it will cost you $1,000.00."

Recalling the previous week's experience, Madden pulled out his wallet and made the call. Once again, 100 percent of his picks came through.

The following weekend Madden was in Indianapolis when he noticed the same kind of telephone near the Colts bench. He asked Peyton Manning, "Is that the hotline to God?"

Madden looked incredulously at Peyton and said, "Wait a second, I paid $150.00 in San Diego and $1,000 in Chicago to use the same phone to call God! Why do the Colts only charge 35 cents?"

Peyton looked at Madden and replied, "Because in Indianapolis, John, it's a local call!"

February 2, 2007

Q1 - Shopping Carts: When you're done using a store's shopping cart (bricks-and-mortar, not online), do you return the cart to the store, leave it in the parking lot, or push it into one of those storage areas that takes up all the great parking spots?

Q2 - Global Warming: Do you think global warming is an environmental problem that is causing a serious impact now, or do you think global warming isn't having a serious impact?"

Q3 - Prison: At the Southeast State Correctional Facility in Windsor, Vermont, inmates have been told that the facility's prison cats must go. According to SSC's new superintendent, the facility, which for years has allowed cats to come and go as they please, is not conducive to a pet program. If you were in charge of the facility, would you voluntarily parole Ziggy, Marmalade, Smokey and Shane, or would allow them to stay?

Q4 - Taxes: After federal taxes are collected from the public, do you think the U.S. Congress thinks of the money more as taxpayer money to spend carefully or as their money to spend as they wish? How much of the money you pay in taxes do you think is spent on government programs that you personally favor and support?