Written Sunday, 31 August 2008, 8:45 AM

If Gustav hasn’t done anything else, it has brought me some perspective.  I was not here during Katrina so all my information has been second-hand, but now I see what this is all about.

I didn’t sleep too well last night (Saturday), but I did sleep better than I may have otherwise.  My family (Kim and K) are safely at my sister’s house in Georgia so as a husband and father I feel as though priority number one are taken care of.  I will head off to work so I can take care of the young men and women I’m in charge of - priority number two.  I have spent the better part of the morning taking care of things here in the house - a low priority.

My wife will be the first to tell you I love my gadgets, but preparing for this hurricane has caused me to put some things into perspective.  Yes, I have gone to some lengths to reasonably protect my personal property from the storm, but I didn’t go too far.  These things can be replaced, my stuff isn’t the most pressing matter at this time.

***Note - I did NOT do anything that would cause damage to any of my things.  That may sound crass at this time, but you would be surprised what some people will do to get over.

The bottom line is simple.  We don’t know how much damage this hurricane will do to the Gulf Coast and the state of Louisiana, but it seems like the emphasis has been placed on the most important thing: getting people to safety.  We can rebuild and replace everything else.

As you read this, we need your prayers, well wishes and positive thoughts. Yes, we live in Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast, and Gustav is coming at us. I’m writing this on Saturday because I don’t know when I will be able to write anything again.  While that may sound bad, we have to prepare for the worst because people died last time hurricane (Katrina) preparation was taken lightly.

I think the worst part about this whole thing for me is I have to take my two-week old daughter and wife to my sister’s house; my job forces me to shelter unless the hurricane is a 4 or higher.  Being away from them is going to be torture, but I must be smart and cautious with their safety.  Man, I’m going to miss them while we are apart.

As of Friday, the preparations on the Gulf Coast seemed to be minimal.  I saw one building being boarded up and that was basically it.  Wouldn’t you think more would be going on after what happened with Katrina?  I wasn’t here then, but I would have thought people would have been moving about getting ready with a little more urgency.  I was able to go into the grocery store and get supplies easily - traffic in the store was normal.  I found this odd.

When I woke up this morning (Saturday) Gustav had gained a little steam.  I’m hoping it turns left/west.  I don’t want to wish something like this on anyone, but the people of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans haven’t nearly recovered from Katrina.

Damage from Katrina is still easy to see both physically and emotionally.  Buildings and businesses are just starting to really come back strong, but it will still take years to get things back to what they used to be.  If you didn’t know, this is really a nice place to be, minus hurricane season.  Within the last month there was a ground-breaking for a new plaza that really had local residents upbeat about the future.  Now this.  I have mentioned the emotional tone in previous posts, but to talk to someone who was here during the last storm is something else.  I just found out this week that a co-worker lost everything in the storm; I have been working with her for almost a year and never knew.  On the other hand, some people will make that part of their introduction (I’m exaggerating slightly).

I’m worried for the safety of my family and feel sorry for those going through this again.  Think about us…pray for us.

Things like this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the world is full of bad people! A 25-year-old woman and her married boyfriend tried to sell her 5-year-old daughter, as a sex slave, for a used car and an apartment. Oh, and for good measure, she was going to throw in her 10-month-old baby girl! Sounds unbelievable, huh? Well, listen for yourself (as reported on CNN):

I’m speechless! What about you? Any thoughts…….

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the issue of weight is being talked about more and more in the news. Of course, we are constantly being bombarded with images of models and celebrities who are, sometimes, overly skinny. And as a society (women especially), we aspire to look like those models and/or actresses that are thin. I mean, if we’re really honest here, clothes seem to hang better on a smaller/thinner frame, right?

Based on the constant images of skinny women flooding the fashion magazines and celebrity TV shows (e.g. Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, etc.), one would think that obesity/overweight individuals are few and far between right? WRONG!!!! A few weeks ago, a list of the most obese states was released to the public. And once again, Mississippi was #1 on the list, for the 3rd year in a row. Now, I live in the Mississippi area and I can attest to the fact that, well, we definitely like to eat our Southern food! Unfortunately, this desire for macaroni and cheese, collard greens, bar-b-que, fried chicken, etc. does not help our weight situation. But I digress.

Alabama is the third state on the list of obese states. Due to this, the state of Alabama has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit — or they’ll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free. In fact, Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don’t work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors.

Now, to me, this just sounds like a way for the state government in Alabama to make a little bit of money off of their overweight employees. How fair is this? Isn’t this just Alabama taking advantage of a dire situation? How long will it take before other states follow suit?  I’d like to hear your thoughts on this subject…….

If you didn’t know why Hillary Clinton has a huge following, now you do!  That woman proved to all the naysayers why she has such a vast fan base and why she should’ve been Obama’s pick for Vice-President.  I’m just saying!  Did you hear her speech last night at the Democratic National Convention (DNC)?  Talk about an eloquent and charismatic speaker.  Go Hillary!  She had some nice little zingers in her speech aimed at John McCain:  “No way.  No how.  No McCain.”  or “We don’t need four more years of the last eight years.”  But the best zinger was when she said, “With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities, Because they’re awfully hard to tell apart.”  How true, my dear Hillary, how true!

Now, I’m not saying that Joe Biden is not a good pick for Obama, but Hillary and Obama would’ve just took America to another level, don’t you think?  Anyway, maybe Hillary was just giving everyone a little taste of what she’s going to do/say in the presidential race in 2012.  I’m just saying…..

What is it with critics who have nothing better to do than pass judgment on how something is done? Of course, this “expert” opinion is given from the sidelines - those critics talk a big game but are never willing to truly get in the game.

On the other hand there are critics who either give opinion based on what they have done or are doing. I think this group adds value however harsh it may be and hard to accept. This is really expert opinion - without the sarcasm.

What I’ve learned (again) recently is the world is full of people willing to tell someone how to do something, but people who are willing to get involved, wholeheartedly involved, are few and far between.

I chalk it up to fear for the most part. Like starting a new job, quitting a secure job (a job you don’t like) or meeting new people.  Some individuals are just afraid to really put themselves out there and try something new so they have to sound off when someone else does.

Damned If You Do

No matter what I do, I’m wrong.  Have you ever thought that about yourself?  If you have had some of those days, you aren’t alone, although some would make you believe life is a bowl of cherries - not the case at all.  Right now, I’m feeling like things are coming at me from too many directions and I’m trying to dodge some bullets - figuratively of course.  Not too good, but this too will pass.  Please don’t get me wrong and think I’m only referring to 7daybuzz because that is not the case.

It is almost that “crabs in the barrel” mentality where when you try to get out the other crabs just try to pull you back down in the barrel with them.  Instead, they could just say, “He did it this way and I’m going to try that.”  Or, more importantly, they could just say congratulations or leave a positive word.  I also associate it with someone criticizing you of “wasting” your money playing the lottery, but would be the first one to help you spend it.  Uh, no thanks.

“Back then you didn’t want me, now I’m hot you’re all up on me” [...] Continue Reading…

I’ve held the belief for quite some time that as soon as Obama takes office there will be people out there trying to kill him.  Notice I didn’t say if, because I pray America doesn’t make the same mistake again (and again).

Well, after reading this article I think some (more) people may have already been plotting to kill him off.  I guess it is finally hitting home and some people are seeing him as a real threat.

Good News

The good news is America is at the very least willing to consider someone based on what they bring to the table instead of what the color or their skin, sex or religion is.  It should be a proud moment for our country to finally arrive at this time.

I’m glad to have seen this happen in my lifetime - I see this as a victory no matter what happens in November.  I hope others share the same feeling because this is something special.

Sad News

There is actually two pieces of sad news.  First, we knew it would happen, but even for the implication to be out there that somebody might be trying to kill Obama already is sad.  This is clearly something passed on from generation to generation because kids aren’t born hating someone that looks different than them.  This behavior and these feelings are taught and that is the saddest part of all.  There are people out there who really think less of someone because they are not the same color.  Why?

The other thing going on that is sad and ironic centers around the children of Martin Luther King Jr.  Bernice King and Martin Luther King III are suing their brother Dexter King for allegedly taking “substantial funds” out of Coretta Scott King’s estate and “wrongfully appropriated” money from their father’s estate.  Read more here.

Wow!  Isn’t this the wrong time for this?  All of this?

You no doubt invested a relatively large sum of money for your computer and I’m sure you want it to run as fast as possible - within reason of course.  Today, let’s discuss what many may be familiar with while others don’t understand: RAM.

Random Access Memory (RAM) provides space for your computer to read and write data to be accesseed by your computer - actually the central processing unit (CPU), but that is another discussion.  When computer memory is mentioned, RAM is specifically what it being talked about.

A computer hard disk/drive spins on a platter and it takes time for your computer to read this - a hard drive is actually one of the bottlenecks that slow a computer down, but at this time it is not cost effective to do anything about this.  Adding RAM to a computer reduces the number of times a CPU must read data from the hard drive - information is stored temporarily in RAM - which results in a faster computing experience.  RAM is volatile meaning data stored in RAM is erased when computer power is turned off.

So RAM is faster than a hard drive and since information is temporarily stored on RAM, having more RAM would improve the computing experience.  Now I mentioned computing experience previously and I want to explain.  Looking at raw horsepower in one area doesn’t necessarily equate to a computer seeming faster to the user overall.  Certain bottlenecks will cause a fast processor or fast-spinning hard drive to be a waste.  As a user you are interested in how fast your computer seems to you right?  That is why I like to talk about the computing experience.  Video cards play a role too, but right now we are talking about RAM.

How much RAM is enough?

I knew you would ask that and this is where I let technology take over.  There are far too many types of RAM, but crucial.com is a site that will do the work for you.  After navigating to the site there is a icon called “Scan My System” that will tell you exactly how much RAM your computer will take, an idea of how it will improve your performance (think improved computing experience) and even how much it will [...] Continue Reading…

What is it with us and negative historical events?

For some twisted, sadistic, reason our country enjoys basking in negative events and treats them with some sick reverence. I don’t mean to minimize certain tragedies, but America has this infatuation with using these events to profit, as a crutch, as a time reference or to create a buzz. You may be wondering where this is coming from and I am more than happy to explain.

The Profit

I was just watching TV and a commercial came on for some kind of silver $20 bar - similar to a commorative coin set or something. The value of this bar is $20, so instead of having $20 on it, they had what adds up to $20: “9″ and “11.” According to the commercial, this bar has been produced like this to commemorate the 7th anniversary of 9/11. Did I miss something and a 7th anniversary means something special? 30 years from now will we pull out a silver bar and tell our great-grandchildren that we have this keepsake to let us remember what 9/11 felt like? Stupid.

Don’t get me wrong and think I’m not patrotic or I don’t care about those impacted (all of us). I think something this monumentally tragic shouldn’t be made to feel special. I especially feel this way with our young men and women fighting abroad while some company is pushing a silver bar. Good job. We need to remember this incident was more than a way to make money. This event changed our lives forever and there is still someone out there with a debt to pay for it.

The Crutch

How many of you have heard something like, “Since 9/11……” You can fill in the blank with “I didn’t do this”, “Such and such hasn’t been the same” or whatever someone can think up. Why do we have to use this as a crutch and associate it with things that don’t even have anything to do with it? It is a big fat cop out and we need to re-evaluate or moral system and do better. Yes, it is an issue of morals to me. If your dog died because you let him off his leash and he got hit by a truck, don’t go [...] Continue Reading…