On The Road with Dave

"On The Road With Dave" is at it's new home of www.ontheroadwithdave.com.

Now, would be a good time to change the link you previously had to the new URL.

Some readers will receive an email notice soon of the change.

Hopefully, others will naturally find their way here.

Other changes will be happenning in the following weeks, so stay tuned, same Dave-time, but NEW AND IMPROVED Dave-Station.

Hang around, I'm testing out some things at my new website

Bear with me, I'm running a test to check out www.ontheroadwithdave.com

Just got an update on my On The Road Dot ComEDY project.

I have been informed that my new "www.ontheroadwithdave.com" site is "populating" to the DNS.

I was thrilled, and somewhat curious that I had a website somewhere out there in cyberspace populating something I never even met or bought a drink.

But, my curiosity was quickly relieved by a simple search on just what the heck "DNS" was.

And it's pretty interesting in that "I'm-computer-inept-but-I-want-to-learn-stuff" sort of way.

From Webopedia:

(1) Short for Domain Name System (or Service or Server), an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic, they're easier to remember. The Internet however, is really based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, therefore, a DNS service must translate the name into the corresponding IP address. For example, the domain name www.example.com might translate to 198.105.232.4.

The DNS system is, in fact, its own network. If one DNS server doesn't know how to translate a particular domain name, it asks another one, and so on, until the correct IP address is returned.

There you have it. That's my new thing I learned today.

I have been reading the obits, tributes and opinions on the death of Paul Winchell the past several days.

And I came across the blog/website of Mark Evanier. Not only does he do a nice tribute to Paul, but he had also interviewed Paul several years ago, and presents a good unbiased view of Paul's strengths, talents, and "demons".

Mark's website and blog is filled with "insider" info and commentary on the world of comic books, comics, Hollywood, and animation. His Incessantly-Ask Qustions(IAQ) section is a comic book collectors trivia garden.

This looks like a blog that I'll be adding to my "Favorites" file.

"If our foresight was as good as our hindsight, we'd all be worth a 'durn' sight"

--Three variations and attributions
William E. Ostergaard
Horace Greeley
"Teddy" Roosevelt

Back in May, I mentioned famed ventriloquist and inventor Paul Winchell, most noted by people in this day and age as the voice of "Tigger" on Winnie the Pooh cartoons.

I learned from a private source today, that Paul passed away Thursday morning. An obituary is planned by the family on Monday in the Los Angeles Times.

My condolences go to his family and my admiration for Paul is great. I have a few videos in my collection of Paul's work.

A Google search using Paul's name and the Three Stooges should reveal a Stooge compilation movie featuring Paul and his ventriloquist figure, Jerry Mahoney; for those interested in seeing Paul in action.

Paul's website is linked in my previous article on Paul linked above.

From what I have read of Paul's life, he was a man not always at peace with himself and lived a very difficult early childhood.

I hope he has found his peace now...Rest well, Paul.

...as an Adult.

Thanks to Bill DeMar at VentMAIL.

To Whom it May Concern:

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult.
I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities
of an 8 year old again. I want to go to McDonald's and think
that it's a four star restaurant. I want to sail sticks
across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks. I
want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat
them. I want to play dodgeball at recess and paint with
watercolors in art. I want to lie under a big oak tree and
run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all
you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery
rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know
what you didn't know and you didn't care. All you knew was
to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the
things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest
and good. I want to believe that anything is possible.
Somewhere in our youth, we matured and learned too much.
There are nuclear weapons, war, prejudice, and abused
children. Lies, unhappy marriages, illness, pain, and death.
A world where companies poison our water and our soil, and
children kill. What happened to the time when we thought
that everyone would live forever, because we didn't grasp
the concept of death? When the worst thing in the world was
if someone took the jump rope from you or picked you last
for kickball. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of
life and be overly excited by the little things again. I
want to return to the days when children played hide-n-seek
outside instead of being glued to a television, when video
games were as harmless as Pac-Man...instead of
spine-ripping, blood-splattering mind numbers like Mortal
Combat, and TV still had some shows on that weren't about
sex, killing, and lies.

I remember being naive and thinking everyone was happy
because I was. Afternoons were spent climbing trees and
fences and riding my bike. I never worried about time,
bills, or where I was going to find the money to fix my car.
I used to wonder what I was going to do or be when I grew
up, not worry about what I'll do if this doesn't work out. I
want to live simple again.

I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes,
mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more
days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor
bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones. I want to
believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth,
justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making
angels in the snow.

So.... here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card
bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from
adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you'll
have to catch me first, cause, "Tag! You're it."

Today at Quixtar Blog, Imanewme, asked a question in the Comments section about "active" Quixtar IBOs.

The FTC requires Alticor companies to publish an average monthly income of all "active" IBOs. This average published figure is to counteract any abusive or exaggerated income claims made by an overzealous Amway or Quixtar Independent Business Owners.

Currently the average Monthly Income of Quixtar IBOs is $115.00.

66% of all IBOs reported in 2001 were found to be active.

"Active" is defined as:

"Active' IBOs: Based on an independent survey during 2001, "Active" means an IBO attempted to make a retail sale, or presented the Independent Business Ownership Plan, or received bonus money, or attended a company or IBO meeting in the year 2000.

This got me to thinking.

Is that REALLY ACTIVE?

Is that really actively building a Quixtar Business? Could that really be considered "ACTIVE" for any MLM business?

Would you feel good about your efforts for a 30 day period if you;

"attempted to make a retail sale?

presented (one) presentation?

received (one) small bonus check?

wamed one chair with your butt at one meeting?

I understand the legalities of the wording in the official explanation of "active"; BUT, I feel this sets the bar way to low for anyone who makes the claim they are operating an MLM business.

You should do more than attempt to make a sale. You should design your marketing plan, target your potential clients, make the calls, and MAKE THE SALE. In fact, if you aren't making multiple sales per month, you aren't making any money and thus have no REAL business.

You should do more than show one presentation. Your appearance in the community and your drive to help others, should be strong enough that people can't help but ask what is it that you do. You should always be ready, willing and able to offer a quick summary of your business and offer the opportunity to anyone that seems interested or has a question.

Bonus check size is subjective and personal to your needs, but they offer a monthly scorecard of your progress. If you qualified for just one, why aren't you qualifying for more? If your child scored low on his school progress reports, would you not encourage him to do better next time? Even reward him for improvement? Why aren't you holding yourself to the same standard?

Attending company-sponsored meetings can be a good thing, but MORE importantly, are you attending meetings where you will meet clients, learn your market, or advance a particular skill? Have you joined local civic groups, ToastMasters, Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce?

Have you enrolled in any Continuing Education classes?

Are you participating in online forums?

I think these points all need to be considered when you tell someone you are "ACTIVE" in an MLM business. And the results might very well prove it.

Kathleen of the defunct Quixtatic Blog and of late at Things I've Seen had been doing a series of articles on corporate blogging efforts before she shut down the Quixtatic blog.

Thanks to Amy Jo Kim at Musings of A Social Architect, I found the following article at Blogging Planet.

Collaboration Requires Contribution

I hope you find it insightful.

I apologize in advance to whatever blogger I may have got the link that was inspiration for today's post. The link has been in my "Favorites" for a month or so, and I suppose I was gonna write about it at some point... and today is that point.

Now, I read a lot of MLM forums and blogs and many are Quixtar-related. Of course the focus at most of these sites is the use and/or abuse of motivational tools.

I have had experience with these tools in the past and still recognize some of the "big name" leaders in the business, but truthfully I haven't seen a cassette tape or book or piece of literature from these leaders in quite a few years.

Occasionally someone will send me a list of tools they are using as an IBO in Quixtar, or someone in another MLM will recommend a "generic MLM" training website or whathaveyou; but for the most part, I'm on the "outside" of these type of "systems" now; and pretty darn glad of it.

But, as a blogger I was fascinated by Rajesh & Suma Menon's use of Blogger Dot Com to record their Quixtar-related Organization Tool Orders.

Their last recorded entry was April 15th, 2005

2005 - Order #15
PL109 (1 pack of 10 brochures) Incredible Edibles Brochure

QFS (1 pack of 10 brochures) Quixtar Fact Sheet

SLDVD1 (1 DVD) Smart Living (English & Spanish versions)

PRD1 (1 DVD) Kanti & Lata Gala Profile DVD

BK214 (1 book) Dream-Making In A Dream-Taking World by Steve Price

posted by Rajesh Menon # 11:10 AM 0 comments

Now, maybe the Menon's decided to quit using a blog format to record their orders or they haven't needed anymore tools since that date; but at least they gave me another glimpse inside one of these tool organizations and a chance to peruse some of the recent titles of the tapes and tools for sale.

I found it quite enlightening.

Thanks Rajesh and Suma.

I suppose it's a "regional thing", when it comes to getting to know your neighbors.

I've lived in cities where people that have lived next to each other for ten years just exchange the casual "Hi" or "Good Morning" in passing at their mutual driveways.

I've also lived in cities where neighbors have never formally met each other nor really even know one another's last name. They become just "the neighbor" or "loud music guy" or "miss stuck-up".

In the south, your next-door neighbor can become your best friend, your softball teammate, the "go to" guy to keep an eye on things while you are on vacation, someone to watch the kids.

OR

He or She can be that "new person" that moved in, that you watch for several months and "check'em out", before you introduce yourself.

OR

Your "best neighbors" live on the side of the street that you live on...and you rarely cross the street to meet "THOSE" neighbors.

OR

You have neighbors you exchange "pleasantries" with, but your "real" friends live in another part of the city. They come to your house, you go to theirs, etc.

It occurred to me today, that I have lived at the end of my little cul-de-sac for about a year now, and I know my next door neighbor pretty good. I know the couple by that neighbor less, other than their last name, and the fact that the husband is the local "car guy" that's always working in his garage. And after those two, I know very little about my neighbors. One neighbor across the street just moved, and I only ever knew his first name and that he drove a van.

Well heck, I'm much more friendlier than that. Or, so I thought.

So this week, in the afternoons, I'm thinking I may take a little walk down the street and just knock on some doors and introduce myself and point out where I live.

Rather than just being a "neighbor", it's time I become more "neighborly".

Do you know who your neighbors are?

I guess humor runs in the family.

Labels: Family

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

--Clarence Budington Kellard


Happy Father's Day!

I was doing some searches on "blogger burn-out" tonight, just in case I experienced it again. One never knows.

I came across several articles and if you feel the need to read them all, they generally track back to several articles about the subject and the author of The Baghdad Blog.

Anyway, the one I want to reference is Tony Pierce's blog.

Tony includes his signs you are experiencing burnout.

heres when you will experience "blogger burnout":

1. when your internal dialogue gets hijacked by your concerns about what your readers will think.
2. when you are afraid to write down what you are truly thinking about at that moment.
3. when you believe the lie that some people just arent capable of good writing.
4. when you believe the lie that there is a certain way that you "should" write anything.
5. when you get more involved in punctuation, spelling, or aestetics than saying what you want to say.
6. when you get caught up in traffic, hits, popularity, readers, and/or fame.
7. when you believe the lie that what you think doesnt matter.
8. when you believe the lie that what youre about to say has been said before and/or written down better.
9. when you forget that most ideas can be expressed in less than 15 minutes.
10. when you dont set aside a little bit of time each day to update your blog.

Tony also offers a solution.

if your blog feels more like a "have to" instead of a "get to" youre writing about the wrong things.

perhaps the only thing going through your mind is the hottie at work who you want to bang, but you fucked up and you told this person about your blog, and therefore you are experiencing writers block because you cant think of anything else to say or think about.

its at this time that you should thank blogger.com for allowing unlimited amounts of free blogs.

i suggest that you set up a new blog called www.iwannabonethisonehottie.blogspot.com and get it off your chest.

and dont be suprised that once you get it all out over there, then you will return to your original blog re-focused and ready to rock, and lo and behold not only are you cured of the lie that is blogger burnout, but just the opposite, now you have two rockin blogs, and the newer one is probably better, cuz its more honest.

Feel free to follow Tony's links that lead to the original articles on the subject.

Back in March, I did a guest blog at Quixtar Blog entitled "No Doubt".

On The Road With Dave readers had read something similar here in my "Straight-Forward Approach".

But, I had added a brief introduction about ordering business cards from Quixtar.

It dawned on me today, that my readers hadn't had a chance to view the cards in question. So here's a picture of one of them.



I blotted out contact information and my IBO number in keeping with the rules of marketing for Quixtar.

Like I've said before, professionalism doesn't require deception.

Labels: Quixtar

It's official. I now own www.ontheroadwithdave.com currently parked at GoDaddy. (UPDATE/The site is now "live".)

In the next month I'll be looking at building the site and finding a host.

This blog may or may not be moved to the host site. I haven't decided yet, and quite frankly don't know my "technology" options yet. (I'm still quite "technology inept", although getting better)

The new "On The Road" site will be more focused on my "stand-up" comedy efforts, but the "On The Road With Dave" blog will continue as my "soapbox" on MLM topics, and life in general. In addition, I may include a mini-weekly blog featuring the thoughts of my alter-ego Skyler Leglantier.

As I said, I haven't worked out the details, but the domain name is now secure.

In related news, I had been searching for a caricaturist to design a cartoon for a T-shirt, I want designed to sell at "shows" and through the web site.

I'm happy to say, that my friend Mark Largent has agreed to see what he can come up with in that area, and I'm compiling some photos and rough concept sketches to send to him, in order for that process to start.

So, pretty soon, you can read "On The Road With Dave" and wear "OTWD" merchandise.

God love capitalism!

On June 14, 2004, an unknown to the world of blogging named David Robison pick up the gauntlet thrown down by a friend and began his journey entitled "On The Road With Dave". What has happened in that year?

Well, today marks entry number 301 with an estimated 100,000 words written so far.

Roughly 8700 visitors have stopped by to read about subjects as controversial as Multi-level marketing and as mundane as having a garage sale.

We've talked about books, travel, business, being sick, being frustrated, and working for a living. There's been talk of goals, and dreams, and spiritual matters.

In general, my "unknown" status has changed for a few warped individuals that happen to stop by the blog and take the chance to get to know me.

And I have met some good people over the course of the year. Real people sitting in front of a computer screen that have taken the time to come out from their anonymity and strike up a conversation. And it's been a pleasure.

I've seen some other blogs that started at about the same time I started this one, now fall by the wayside. But like it or not, "On The Road With Dave" is gonna stick around.

I'm ready to see what happens in Year 2.

If you read Quixtar Blog, you've probably read about "google bombing" and Quixtar and you may have read the parody link about Quixtar employing "sock monkeys" to run their web initiative.

Okay, you can agree, or disagree, or whatever.

But at least one IT Guy at Quixtar has a sense of humor.

He's the self-described "cubicle-dwelling IT professional here at Quixtar" and the author of Quixtar IT Blog.

I've been reading his blog for a month or so, and never noticed his little jab at the Parody Press article. Right in the upper left hand corner of his blog where some might expect a picture of the author is a picture of...you guessed it, a sock monkey.

Now, I'm not sure if Scott Larsen(the author of the parody) took the idea from "IT Guy" or "IT Guy" just "ran" with the Parody Press article. Either way, it's pretty funny that "IT Guy" lets the Monkey picture stay up at his blog.

When there's so much controversy around a topic, it's nice to know someone has a sense of humor.

And, by the way, the Quixtar IT Blog is not a bad read, check it out.

Have you ever heard of the expression, "A Month of Sundays"? It usually means something is taking a long time. Well, today's post took an entire year to write.

If you check in to "On The Road With Dave" each Sunday, you'll find the regular feature, "Sunday Thoughts" featuring little thoughts, poems or quotes from famous or obscure people. You may be thinking that I just post a quote on Sundays, just to have a day off from blogging, but actually I sometimes agonize over what to include in this feature more than a regular daily article. And looking at the quotes in retrospect, I still can remember the mood or feeling I was in for that day, just by re-reading the quote.

Today is an entire year of these "Sunday Thoughts" plus my Election Week "Vote Quotes". To conserve space, some of the longer thoughts will be a link to the original post.

"Be kind whenever possible...It is always possible.--His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Always Remember...In 1000BC Sampson slew 10,000 Philistines with the jawbone of an Ass. Everyday, 10,000 'Sales' are killed with the same weapon!"--attributed to PARfour72; Mike O'Donnell. (Rest in Peace.)

"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government."--Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), from the Declaration of Independence

SUCCESS--Ralph Waldo Emerson

THE PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS--Dr.Kent Keith

"It's not about throwing mud against the wall and seeing what sticks, it's better to just tear the wall down and see who steps through."--Dave Robison

Laissez les bons temps rouler" (Let the good times roll!)--every other T-shirt in the French Quarter, New Orleans

"I'D RATHER SEE A SERMON"--Edgar A. Guest

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."--Albert Einstein

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...Holy crap...what a ride!!"
"author unknown....but I wish I'd known him."--Special Thanks to Tenaciti1 at AOL.

Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies."
--Ferengi Rules of Acquisition Number 76

"Here is a test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished; If you're alive, it isn't."--excerpt from The Messiah's Handbook

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."--Margaret Mead

"You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents,
not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists."--Abbie Hoffman

"Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you also have an obligation to be one."-- Eleanor Roosevelt

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."
-- Winston Churchill

"Sex without love is an empty experience, but as empty experiences go it's one of the best."-- Woody Allen

"In Cyberspace, the 1st Amendment is a local ordinance."-- John Perry Barlow

"Ask a man which way he is going to vote, and he will probably tell you. Ask him, however, why, and vagueness is all."-- Andrew Lack

"Half of the American people never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half."--Gore Vidal

"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."--Sydney J. Harris

"A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election."--Bill Vaughan

"An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry."--T.S. Eliot

"If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let 'em go, because, man, they're gone."-- Jack Handey

"People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing."--Walter H. Judd

"I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it."--Alexander Wolcott

The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.--John F. Kennedy

Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and heart to this vote.
--Daniel Webster

The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebble to vote.
--Ambassador Kosh; a character on the television show "Babylon 5"

"On the other hand...you have different fingers."-- Stephen Wright

"One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the great struggle for independence."--Charles Austin Beard (1874-1948)

"As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place."-- Mahatma Gandhi

"We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?" -- Jean Cocteau

"Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps."
--Emo Philips

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn."
-- David Russell

"You've achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what you're doing is work or play."--Warren Beatty

"You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result"--Mahatma Gandhi

"We are meant to express how we feel about life. It's like breathing: Inhale the experiences of life, exhale how you feel about them. We are at our best when we can turn our impressions into expressions. The equation goes like this: Impression without expression equals depression."--Don Hahn

"Everything that can be said, can be said clearly."-- Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Work and play are words to describe the same thing under different conditions."
-- Mark Twain

OUR IMPACT--Leo Buscaglia

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."
--George Washington Carver

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each one of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."--Robert Kennedy

"We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough."--Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past."
--Tyron Edwards

"A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it."-- Oscar Wilde

"Blaming 'society' makes it awfully easy for a person of weak character to shrug off his own responsibility for his actions."-- Stanley Schmidt

"God expects from men something more than at such times, and that it were much to be wished for the credit of their religion as well as the satisfaction of their conscience that their Easter devotions would in some measure come up to their Easter dress."--Robert South, Sermons

"Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it."-- William Somerset Maugham

"Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed."-- Dwight David Eisenhower

"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped."
-- Elbert Green Hubbard

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty."-- Edward R. Murrow

"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."-- Joseph Conrad

"Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game."-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."-- W. Somerset Maugham

"Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth. You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too."
--Albert Schweitzer

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the Truth."
--Gautama (Buddha)

"Impermanent are all created things; Strive on with awareness."--Gautama(Buddha)

She came, she went. We hardly knew her.

All in my neck of the woods is safe. Still a little light rain off and on.

Some guys from San Diego traveled down here to surf the storm waves, but they might have had better luck if they stayed on the West Coast. Some reports say waves got as high as 20 feet in the Florida Panhandle, but most of the news I saw showed 10 foot waves at best.

We are only in the first few weeks of the official hurricane season, and it will last all summer, but if the first storm of the season is indicative of the rest of the season, I'll breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the season.

I hope that any more tropical depressions that form and make their way into the Gulf of Mexico this year will all be as minimal as Miss Arlene.

She came. She went. Thank goodness.

It's 2:15 CST and Tropical Storm Arlene has proven to be rather mild. We have received lots of rain, some minor wind but little else. Technically, the eye of the storm is about 45 minutes away, but after it arrives there is little behind the eye and forcasts say that the storm should move fairly quickly out of the area and be gone by morning.

Local news has been constant on the storm, and due to the lack of severity, many stations that opted for all-day coverage are running out of things to say.

One funny thing they have been covering is an unexpected and spontaneous "hurricane party", that was indirectly caused by their coverage.

Early this morning one of their reporters was using a local beach bar in Gulf Shores, AL as a base of reporting. From that vantage point, viewers got a good look at the waves coming in and the wind hitting the beach.

The Pink Pony Pub was originally closed for the day, but the management had allowed the WKRG-TV crew to come in and get out of the rain and use the facilities. The crew had shot videotape of tourists on the beach walking around and watching the waves. (Some people just don't know when to come in out of the rain).

Well, in typical "sheep" fashion, other viewers saw people on the beach and figured if some could be there, "they" could be there, too.

So, curiosity seekers managed to make their way to the closed bar. The management seeing an opportunity and a somewhat mild storm, decided to go ahead and open and just serve drinks.

After a couple of hours and a LARGE crowd, they opened the kitchen and began serving food. And the party continues as of this writing. Looks like a lot of fun, but I ain't driving down there. I'll stay close to home today and take no chances.

Anyway, it seems "Arlene" may be "much ado about nothing" and that's fine with me.

If it gets worse, I'll let you know.

It's Midnight here in Alabama, and Tropical Storm Arlene is still moving towards us some 200 miles south.

The eastern part of the storm is the heaviest and has drench the Florida peninsula with rain and wind for much of the day.

Local weather reports speculate that Arlene may reach "hurricane strength" by landfall, but as I turn in for the night the "leader bands" of rain have not reached us yet, although we are in the direct path of the storm. I glanced outside to see a bright sliver moon and a few stars. Hard to believe that by morning it'll be here.

Back in September, Mobile, Alabama was visited by Hurricane Ivan. Ivan proved to be a rude visitor.

This weekend, we all await the arrival of Tropical Storm Arlene as she plods along in the Gulf Of Mexico. Heavy rains and strong winds are expected tonight and Arlene should reach the Gulf Coast sometime Saturday Morning.

As of this writing, weather warnings and watches are area-wide as Arlene approaches wind speeds of 60 MPH. Forecasters speculate that Tropical Storm Arlene may upgrade to a minor hurricane by the time "she" reaches landfall. For those not familiar with hurricanes; a wind speed of just 74MPH determines the hurricane classification.

Dave won't be "going on the road" to escape Arlene, like I did last year; but the possibility of electrical outages and some damage is always a threat. So if you don't see me for a few days, it means I'm without power.

I'll let you know how things go, when I return. If we stay connected to the grid, I'll write some updates and let you know what's going on. In the meantime, I'm sure you can live through Arlene vicariously through The Weather Channel.

I'll see ya'll after the storm.

Labels: Hurricane

Howdy Folks,

Thanks to everyone that wrote me concerned about my backache. I'm proud to say that it is much better, and I'm moving around like my old self again. I guess the main problem is that I am an "old self". I'm not as young as I used to be and I guess I'm gonna start having the occasional ache or pain.

There was a lot of email discussing the virtues of Ibuprofen(Advil) versus Naproxene(Aleve) to help me overcome the pain. I took both, and found that the Ibuprofen worked better...maybe its the anti-imflamatory in the Ibuprofen that helped me, but the Aleve just didn't help that much; plus after I took it and didn't get the expected relief; I was "stuck" with waiting the prescribed longer time before I could take anything else. So, my "vote" goes to Ibuprofen.

In other news, let me tell you about my adventure on Monday.

My wife is in the process of getting her Notary license for her place of employment.

So Monday morning, we drive down to the local courthouse to drop off some papers, before she has to be at work.

As we get downtown to the "business district", it suddenly comes a deluge of rain from the heavens common to Mobile in the summer. (We get as much or more rain than Seattle) So, we wait in the car as this "frog-floating-gully-washer continues unabated for a half hour.

Finally it slacks off, and we make a break to the building we are told to go to.

Locked.

We go to another entrance.

Locked.

It begins to rain again.

We go to the next set of doorways.

Locked.

Finally we dash across the street(we are soaked by now) to the main Courthouse to see if we were at the right building.

Now, the courthouse seems oddly empty for a Monday morning; but there's a guard standing in the lobby at a security checkpoint. We ask where the Documents Recording Office is(We had been told the wrong building).

He kindly gives us directions, but then tells us the office is closed; as a matter of fact the WHOLE courthouse, other than the traffic ticket cashier, is closed.

"Closed? What for?", I asked.

"Well, it's a holiday," he said.

Ok, everybody...look at your calendar. Do you see a holiday listed for Monday, June 6th? You don't? That's because you are probably looking at a 21st Century Calendar.

The holiday that was being celebrated was Jefferson Davis' Birthday.

Uh-huh, that's right. The first and only President of the Confederate States of America. Still celebrated as a state holiday in many southern states. The banks are open, the mail runs, but municipal and some state offices get a paid holiday.

I looked at the guard and professed my love for being a southerner and told him I was just as big a redneck as the next fellow, but for Pete's sake, didn't we lose that war?

He seemed confused that I was upset. And said that Tuesday morning would be business as usual. I said, "Well it can't be too usual, it's not everyday that an entire city government warps through time."

I don't think he understood.

"Impermanent are all created things; Strive on with awareness."

--Gautama(Buddha)

SPECIAL TODAY: Two Topics For The Price of One!

Topic #1. I'm Cranky!

Yep, my wife told me I was really "cranky" today.

For some unknown, ungodly, and unbelievable reason, I "pulled" a back muscle yesterday.

Was I lifting weights? No.

Was I working strenuously? No.

Was I engaged in some sort of illicit or explicit activity? No.

Well, Dave what WERE you doing?

I was sitting in the damn floor watching a movie, and got up to go get something to drink...BAM! Instant Pain.

I did something similar last year, while I was working in Maryland. Something simple and I was in pain for a week.

So I slept lousy last night. I was gonna take my boys to see "Attack of the Blintz"(That's the new Star Wars movie according To Dave Letterman)and I can't do that now. There's nothing on TV today, I'm bored, and as my wife pointed out; I'm cranky about the whole situation.

yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, I need some cheeze for this "whine".

Topic #B Quixtar Fees

This goes hand in hand with my crankiness, because it's a short rant.

IT COSTS $42 DOLLARS TO SIGN UP AS A QUIXTAR IBO.

I'm getting really tired of people telling me they were told that it costs $150.00, or $238.00 or any other nonsense. I don't know who is spouting this misinformation or trying to pull a "fast one" on prospects, but IT'S WRONG!

And a word to "prospects". Quixtar is a business. If you wanna run a business, check some things out for yourselves. The Quixtar website offers the information to join with no passwords, no hoops to jump through.

At the site, you'll find that there is a registration fee of 42 bucks, you can also buy a Product Sample Pack for 55 bucks and a Publications subscription for another 20 bucks. So, the whole kit and kaboodle costs you about 120 bucks. That's all you need! And!...And!....And!...the 42 bucks is the ONLY fee that is REQUIRED!

If you are told by someone that there is MORE to buy..then rest assure Quixtar is not asking for THAT money. That money is going to somebody else.

Okay, my rant is over.

What the hell did I do with that Ibuprofen?!

According to the LA Times, Internet Marketer, Corey Rudl, 34 died Thursday morning in a firey crash at the California Speedway. Rudl was a passenger in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT driven by Benjamin Keaton; who also perished.

The full text of the story requires registering with the LA Times.

Rudl is known for selling his internet marketing materials online and is a frequent source of info for a lot of MLMers.

I've never purchased any of his materials, but I have heard his named mentioned in many forums as a "guru" marketer. His site is still active.

Today, Quixtar Blog listed a reference to an article published by USC Annenberg's Online Journalism Review.

The article deals with Search Engine Optimization practiced by companies wishing to increase site awareness of their websites. Quixtar is accused of "google bombing" by utilizing a gaggle of different websites and blogs that mention Quixtar, Quixtar IBOs and Quixtar products. Some of these sites and blogs being little more than "link farms".

In Quixtar's case, the Search Engine Optimization was supposedly used to de-emphasize the existence of "negative" websites in Search Engine results by relegating them to a lower rank or listing on pages further down in the "Results" page.

The article has a statement from Quixtar manager of public relations Robin Luymes.

In part, Mr Luymes says,

"To ensure the public receives accurate information about Quixtar's products, opportunity, and Independent Business Owners, the company has created numerous Web sites about different topics of interest," the statement read. "It is the company's desire that these Web sites appear highly in Web user searches on various search engines, just as it is any advertiser's desire to place ads where their target audiences will see them. To this end, the company employs best practices in the development of its Web sites, which involves a highly navigable site architecture and the appropriate use of headlines, keywords, metadata, and consistent terminology.

If Quixtar inadvertently breaks rules established by search engines, it is our expectation that providers like Google, Yahoo, and MSN would alert the company so that appropriate corrections can be made. Quixtar has never knowingly broken guidelines established by the top search engines and, on the few occasions it has discovered practices that did not follow these guidelines, it has taken the necessary corrective steps."

Luymes continues,

"We continue to communicate with Independent Business Owners and others to promote a better understanding of best practices on the Internet," he said. "We invite IBOs to share input about what they are seeing on the Web directly with Quixtar so that appropriate steps can be taken."

Okay, so as a Quixtar IBO, here's my two cents worth.

I know, Quixtar knows, and the "negative websites" know, exactly why the SEO program was put into effect. Negative websites were/are exposing Quixtar IBOs who participate in "secondary business systems" and ignore the "best practices" of Amway/Quixtar Founders Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel.

These negative websites directly impact the sponsoring efforts of these "secondary businesses" And since these IBOs are usually the higher "muckety-mucks" with large organizations, their voices are heard over lower-volume IBOs, and the muckety-mucks probably insisted that something be done about the "negative press". BOOM! We have the Search Engine Optimization program.

Okay, I take Quixtar at it's word, the SEO can accomplish reaching the target audience with greater efficiency and it's purpose is like any advertising effort that any company would participate in.

But if Mr Luymes wants my opinion, let's go back to the Founder's Principles,
let's "OPTIMIZE" the other lower IBOs, promote ethical sponsoring, honesty, a focus on retail sales(BTW, this may help increase sales), and let's de-"optimize" the secondary businesses.

As an IBO that does not participate in these "systems", I am ALSO affected by these negative websites, simply because of my association with the Quixtar name and these "systems". I too, want to rise up in the ranks of successful IBOs, sooooooooo, think about ME and some of the other IBOs out there. Maybe when WE are the "muckety-mucks", the use of Search Engine Optimization will be a moot point, because OUR reputation will only serve to better Quixtar's reputation.

Sure, there may be a fallout, hackles will be raised, egos bruised; but in the end Quixtar and Amway and Alticor will once again be household names for excellent products, dedicated distributors, and a sound business opportunity.