Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!  Many people are dreaming of a white Christmas right?  I mean, some people love Christmas time and the snow; I guess Christmas just doesn’t feel the same to them without it.  I’m not one of those people.

I’ve spent many years with snow on Christmas day to include a trip to Indiana 4 years ago with a lot of snow.  I’m getting older and there is just nothing I miss about the cold and snow.  I’m sure there are many people who feel the same way right about now.

Snow storms in various locations across the country have many travelers worried about getting home by road, rail and air.  Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, canceled about 150 flights Sunday.  Some flights arrived two to three hours late Sunday at New York’s Kennedy Airport and Boston’s Logan Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, though delays decreased later in the evening (on Sunday).

Even fair-weather airports weren’t immune from tie-ups. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston had delays averaging about five hours, and flights from Atlanta to Boston and New York were also delayed.

I sincerely hope everyone makes it to their intended destination safely for Christmas.  Kim and I have been delayed both on the road and at the airport and we know it isn’t a nice feeling.

If you ask me, this is just another reason to move to the Southwest!

Okay, so here I am writing about President-Elect Obama again.  I had told myself that I wouldn’t write anything about him for a while simply because I wrote so much about him during the election.  But, this post is important, so let me just dive right in.  I think the gay/lesbian community is getting downright pushy!  They are upset because Obama has chosen Pastor Rick Warren (author of the Purpose Driven Life and an advocate of the California ballot initiative banning gay marriage) to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.

Hello!  It’s his choice!  But, it seems just because the gay/lesbian community voted for Obama, they feel they have a right to tell him who he can choose to pray for him!  In fact, here’s what the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights organization, wrote to Obama about his selection of Warren, “By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table.”

You know what I have to say about this?  Get over it!  A slew of people voted for Obama, from various backgrounds, but you don’t hear them making ridiculous demands of him!  Just think, what if Black people, who came out in droves for this man, started making demands of him?  Can you imagine the list?!  Here’s what you, the gay/lesbian community, have to realize:  President-Elect Obama is the president for everyone, not just for select groups of people.  Please let this concept sink in – you’ll feel much better and less stressed!  Now, in the infamous words of one of 7DayBuzz’s faithful commenters:  that’s all, I’m thru, pray my strength in the Lord.

I was sent an email the other day about an 8 year-old boy in Iran who was caught stealing bread.  After doing some research I found out that these pictures are old – maybe from 2005 – and the pictures might not be legit.  I’m not really sure how they could have been faked, but fake they may be.

If we were to assume these pictures are real, the question could be asked about their religion.  Is this what Allah would have them to do?

At such a young age, is this child really responsible enough to lose the use of a limb?

If this is some kind of “Streat Theater” as it have been described, should the child get Iran’s version of an Oscar?  Look at that face and tell me if this is something fake.

In America, the boy’s parents would be criticized for allowing this to take place, even if it was fake.

I would like to know how this is being faked, but a thought just crossed my mind…

There you have it.  The only thing that makes me pause is the little guy’s face in the first two pictures.  I would think that a child that age would be in tears knowing what was about to happen.  An 8 year-old knows enough to understand that little left arm will never be used again.  Heck, I’m nearly 30 years older than him and I would probably be in a puddle of tears if this were to happen to me.

I think one thing is clear: some countries have a twisted way of carrying out what they think is God’s will.

Yesterday, I was reading Time magazine and I came across a little blurb.  It gave the definition of a new word:  cyberchondriac.  According to Lexicon, a cyberchondriac is someone who needlessly fears the worst after using the Internet to self-diagnose an ailment.  After reading this, it got me thinking – we, as a society, sure do like to label ourselves and others, don’t we?  Think about it, we usually have a label for everything and everyone.  Some of the labels are nice and some are not so nice.  For example, someone who diets is a dieter; someone who lives is New York is a New Yorker; someone who has a strong fashion sense is a stylista; a woman who is extremely opinionated or strong in her convictions is a witch (but substitute the w with a b); or, according to a character on Boston Legal (which, by the way, has been cancelled by ABC, but was one of the best-written shows on television), someone who has a habit of making popping sounds during conversation is “a popper – that’s what you are.”

Do you see what I’m getting at here?  Why must we label each other?  Is it really necessary?  And, why do some labels stick and others don’t?  For instance, a person born in America is an American, but someone born in France is French.  Why not call them a Francian or something along those lines?  Also, when women get older, well, we just get older.  But when men get older, they become distinguished.  WTH????  Now, if I were to assign a label or labels to myself, here’s what my labels would be:  First, I am a Christian, second, I’m a wife, and now (thank you Jesus), I am a mother.  I have to say, I’m cool with all of those labels.

Lastly, why must some labels be created to make something or someone sound important?  I ask this because there is a commercial that is shown in Mississippi for Virginia Tech College, touting the success of people who previously graduated from the school.  There is this one particular graduate who says something like, “thanks to Virginia Tech, I am now a surgical technologist.”  WTH????  Please, someone, explain to me what a surgical technologist is!!!!!  Everytime, I see that commercial, I’m like, what is a surgical technologist?!!!!!!!!  Seriously, I would really like to know what this means.

You know we have to look at and talk about this video.  From what I understand, throwing a shoe is the ultimate sign of disrespect in Iraq, but it is still somewhat funny to me.  I’m trying to think what action, if any exists, that would be equal to this for Americans.  My first thought is to say giving someone the finger or saying, “Yo Momma” would be similar but those can be waived off depending on the context.

When I think about it I have to wonder if Iraq is just a more respectful country than ours. See, to consider something so disrespectful wouldn’t there have to be a baseline of respect to begin with? We may not have that baseline of respect to even consider something this disrespectful. You can get flipped off a million times a day, but what is there in our country that is just the ultimate display of disrespect?

I can’t think of anything.

I watched the final episode of the latest Survivor last night and it sort of got me thinking.  The premise of the game was the same as it has been for years, but this season seemed to be a little different.  I’m not sure if the lying was at an all-time high or if the lying was just different.

Since Richard Hatch won the first Survivor, the game has always been about making alliances and working people to get to the top.  If you’ve ever watched you know they edit this show to make it seem like someone will get blindsided only to see the obvious happen in the end.  This season there was actually quite a few surprises and the game changed up to the end.  How does the success in this game compare to success in real life?  I mean, is Survivor an abbreviated look at how things really are?

Do good guys really finish last while those who will do anything, to include lying their pants off, make it to the top?

I work in an industry that you would think – you would really hope – has honesty at the forefront.  Unfortunately, honesty in my occupation will only take you so far.  After getting to a certain point there seems to be an equal amount of honest people and sketchy characters that keep on rising.

If we took an honest look at our society, how hard to you think it is for a truly honest person to succeed?  Of course we could say there are all kinds of honest people who have made it, but what about the dishonest people who have made it and the people who are in the process “by any means necessary?”

Law professor Tamar Frankel says the following:

“Americans must demand of their leaders, of themselves, and of one another more honesty and trust and less cynicism — a Utopian ideal, but a necessary cultural aspiration.”

Don’t you think this is true of not only Americans but the world as a whole?

The good news is you can get a four-ticket, four-day package to President-elect Obama’s inauguration for $200,000 less than President Bush charged.  The bad news is it will still cost you $50,000.

Uh, wow!

Like many things in Washington DC, their is a committee who handles the inauguration.  Of course, donations have been accepted – $9.7 million from 243 donors so far.  The committe recently disclosed the donors names which include the likes of Robert Zemeckis, Sharon Stone and Jamie Foxx.  Those celebrities donated the maximum which is $50,000.

“The committee has said it will not accept contributions from corporations, political action committees, labor unions, current federally registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens or registered foreign agents.”

This is what your $50,000 will get you:

• A nightclub performance on January 17th
• Brunch on January the 18th
• VIP seating at a concert on the 18th that will probably take place at the Lincoln Memorial
• Candlelight dinners around town with members of Congress and drop-ins by the Obamas on the 19th
• Four tickets to one of 10 official balls
• Tickets for the swearing-in and parade

I think everyone knows what Facebook is and unfortunately it often gets a bad rap. Like many other things on the Internet, some people use it for all the wrong reasons.

Parents have to make sure their kids aren’t talking to predators via Facebook – there is a place for these sick people.

Many people also use Facebook for Internet marketing. Some if these people are more annoying than anything else. Who really has time fir all these events and invitations to hear someone give the equivalent of an Amway pitch over the Internet? Not me!

I think the beauty of Facebook is the connections that can be made. I just sent a message to a guy I’ve been knowing since middle school. Also, many of my classmates posted photos of our class reunion (I’m not saying which one this was). I wasn’t able to go because my wife was about to have our daughter, but I felt as much a part of it as I possibly could from afar.

I really like how it has allowed me to communicate with friends, family and people I would have otherwise not known.

What do you do on Facebook that makes it worthwhile and how often are you on the site? I’m always interested in new/fun ways to use certain sites on the Internet like Facebook.

Ironically, this post will show up on my Facebook account. My cousin, who I haven’t seen in years, recently made mention of this blog because he saw the links on Facebook.

On an unrelated note, I apologize for any typing mistakes in this post. This is the first time I’ve posted directly from my iPhone. I love technology!

You found $97,000, in crisp $1,000 bills, in a restaurant bathroom stall?  This is supposedly what happened to a 75-year-old woman in Tennessee.  Here’s the actual article:

“A Murfreesboro, TN, woman says she returned $97,000 she claims to have found in a Cracker Barrel restroom, but police said Tuesday they have no report of the find. Billie Watts, 75, told The Daily News Journal that she discovered the money inside a tapestry bag hanging from a hook on a stall door last Thursday. But five days later, the money and its anonymous owner remain something of a mystery in the community, where police said that they have no report of the find. While digging through the bag to figure out its owner, Watts says she found a bundle of neatly stacked $1,000 bills. Watts said she and her husband took the money home, but later called the restaurant back and asked if there was a lost-and-found department. She was told yes, and left her number. A woman called about 15 minutes later and verified she was the owner by identifying pictures left in the bag. Watts returned the bag to the owner, whom she described as an elderly woman, but said she does not have the woman’s last name or phone number. Watts said the woman told her that the money came from selling her home and her belongings and that she was going to start a new life in Florida with her son. Watts says the woman offered to pay her $1,000, but Watts refused it. A manager of the Cracker Barrel restaurant, Bill Shupp, said no employees actually saw the money or the elderly owner.”

If this happened to you, what WOULD you do?  Would you give it back?  I mean, no one would know but you (and God).  Oh, the dilemma this would cause, especially in the economy we are now experiencing.

Oh, there are just so many things wrong with this picture.  Where do I begin?