Click here for the answer to what these letters are all about.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Part 2 of the Cat vs. the Church
If you haven't read the first part, click here first.
So, as I was having my bagel and coffee at the Firefly this morning, I explained my Moral Dilemma to the oh-so-wise-and-sarcastic Paul, who co-owns the coffee shop with his wife Cindi. Paul also is a Chaplin at Parkview and always has an interesting view on matters big and small. This time we talked about if the cat would be tasty if he didn't make it, and in the meantime, I decide to go to church and check on limpy cat later.
By 11 am my trailer was empty, so I decided to take a break and check on the cat.
Got home and the cat was not around. Apparently he was outside somewhere. So I waited inside and soon heard a squirrel chattering away. They do that when there is a cat nearby.
I went out, found the limpy cat and brought him in and observed. He cleaned himself, used his bad leg to scratch, didn't wince or make any noises, so it appeared his leg wasn't broken. Still when he walked, he continued to limp and not put full pressure on it.
I headed back to the church where my wife was and told her what I observed and she said she found a bunch of fur by the front door this morning so perhaps he was in a fight.
The end of this story (for now), white cat is now limpy cat and next time he comes in, I'll check him over again, but looks like he's gonna make it, and the church work is done too.
The Moral Dilemma
7:30 this morning, I get ready to pull out of the garage and notice one of our two cats is limping.
He spent the night on top of my car, his usual place to sleep overnight, so he must have gotten up there himself.
Upon closer examination, I see he is not using his right rear leg. And he is snarlier than usual too.
So do I take him to the vet, or wait.
First a bit of background as to why I'm even leaving the house on a Saturday at 7:30am.
Our church and school is having a move-in day to get several truckloads of stuff back in the class room after a remodeling project, and I'm on one of the teams to unload one of the trailers.
So, how do I make sure the cat is okay (considering the vet is only open until noon) and fulfill my obligation to the church?
Answer? Go get coffee and think it over. The answer comes later.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Ready to Laugh?
If you're going to a Comedy Club this weekend, read this first:
Download Your Free Guide to Being a Gentleman in 2008.
Check Out These Related Posts:
The Do’s and Don’ts of Comedy Club Etiquette
Posted: 07 Aug 2008 05:00 AM CDT
Bob Hope performing at a night club
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Eric Bielitz, a graduate of the University of Maryland, Eric Bielitz who has worked nights and weekends at old man bars, rock shows, and comedy clubs for the past five years. It pays the taxes on his day job. Eric’s seen far too many cads at the comedy club and offers these etiquette tips for those visiting one, or really any nightlife establishment.
He can be contacted at “diypolitics “atyahoo dot com
The last survivor of the golden age of night clubs, comedy clubs can be found in nearly every major city and many suburbs.
Stand-up comedy is one of the toughest gigs in entertainment. A comic stands before a room full of strangers from all different walks of life, and must get at least two-thirds of that crowd to laugh. It is very easy for some jerk to ruin the show, even unintentionally.
Unlike most many contemporary night clubs, a comedy club needs to keep a high degree of order to deliver an enjoyable show. I would go so far to say that comedy “club” is a misnomer. Stand-up comedy is theatre without a fourth wall. The rules and expectations on how patrons should conduct themselves are designed with this in mind.
The Basics: Light & Noise Discipline
Cell phones, Pagers, Blackberries: Turn them off or set them to vibrate. Never take a phone call during the show. If it can’t wait, find a place away from the show to take the call.
Conversation: Keep it quiet and under thirty seconds. Voices carry, even over a sound system. Let other people hear the show, your friends will still be there to talk to when the show is over.
Bluetooth Headsets: Turn them off. The blinking blue light is obnoxious.
No Flash Photography: It distracts and disorients everyone.
Do Not Heckle the Comedian: Heckling is interrupting the performance to upstage, disparage, or throw off the comedian. It is never acceptable, and the quickest way to ruin the show for everyone. It is also the quickest way to be humiliated in front of everyone.
Skilled comics, like Jimmy Meritt, can handle a heckler. But everyone would really rather get on with the show than waste time on some dumbass. Warning: Does contain a bit of adult language.
Do Not Interrupt the Comedian: The common excuse for this is “I’m helping the comedian.” Comedians are professionals, they do not need help. That “help” just derails the show and wastes everyone’s time, same as heckling. Exception: If a comedian directly engages you in conversation, you are a-ok to respond. Some of the best comedy happens this way, and can make for a memorable experience. Be ready to let it go when the bit is over.
Ian Bagg is a master of crowd work. Warning: Does contain a bit of adult language.
Standard Etiquette
No Recording the Show: Same as a band, recording a stand-up routine violates the comic’s copyright on his material. Worse yet, a less-than-stellar performance some jerk puts up on the web can hurt the comic’s career. The infamous Michael Richards video is an extreme (arguably justified in this rare case) example of footage released by a third party that ruins the performer’s career.
PDA - Keep it Tasteful: A comedy club is not the place for messy make-outs.
Tip the Wait Staff: The waitresses at a comedy club are no different than the waitresses at a restaurant: they work for tips. Other employees also get tipped out. A dollar per drink or 15-20% of the total bill is standard.
Respect the Staff: the quickest way to get thrown out is to disrespect staff. When talking with an employee, pay attention and be polite.
Respect the Rules of the Club: Rules and practices vary from club to club. The important rules, such as a drink minimum, are usually posted or announced, but others may come up. Respect them.
Advanced Etiquette
Dress Code: Stand-up used to be exclusively the realm of the suit and tie for both comic and audience. The late George Carlin changed that in the 1970s. Street clothing is now the norm, but that is no excuse to look goofy. Here are some suggestions to look sharp and classy at a comedy club:
What to Wear
- Clothes that are well fitting and in good repair.
- A good pair of jeans, or better yet, khakis or dress pants.
- A good printed t-shirt, bowling shirt, polo/golf shirt, or best of all, a button down shirt.
- A jacket classes up any outfit.
- Try to be consistent with the people you are with. If your woman is in a knock-out cocktail dress, wear a suit. If your buddies are wearing bowling shirts, do not show up in a tie.
- A full suit is the gold standard.
What not to Wear
- Dirty, wrinkled, or ripped clothing.
- ‘Do Rags or any other clothing associated with gangs.
- Baggy, ill-fitting clothes.
- Gym clothes/Athletic wear.
- Anything with a camouflage pattern.
- Flip-flops.
- Tuxedos - there is such a thing as overkill.
Security: Doormen/bouncers/security vary from man to man, club to club. Plenty are surly, others are tactful and polite, none are to be messed with. In the event security speaks to you:
- Keep your cool and listen. Security is not passing moral judgment on you (yet.) He is pointing out a problem, one you may not be aware of. It is like a cop warning you that your tail light is out.
- Don’t jump in if he is talking to someone else, even your buddy next to you. The only exception is to tell the doorman that you’ll keep your buddy in line.
- If someone else is bothering you: use your discretion about handling the situation. Safest bet is to let an employee know that you have a problem with someone, and ask that it be handled.
Download Your Free Guide to Being a Gentleman in 2008.
Check Out These Related Posts:
45 of 50 Things
This is from www.marcandangel.com
Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one.
While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.
45. Detect a Lie – People will lie to you. It’s a sad fact of life.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
What to watch when the Olympics are over
Remember Jack Lord? Book-em Dan-oh.
How about a young Michael Douglas?
Everything old is new again according to this from my email yesterday:
Hoping to keep viewers glued to their TV sets, broadcasters are banking on brand recognition to do the trick. Case in point: CBS already is in development on a new version of Streets of San Francisco. Now come reports that the network also is trying to update Hawaii Five-O.
The original series aired on CBS from 1968-80. The new take on the classic show is from Ed Bernero, executive producer of Criminal Minds. CBS Paramount Network TV is producing.
Meanwhile, ABC is developing a small screen version of The Witches of Eastwick. Produced by Warner Bros. TV, and written by Maggie Friedman (Dawson's Creek), the project is based on the 1987 feature film that starred Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer, which, in turn, was based on John Updike's novel of the same name.
In other development news, NBC is working on a half-hour comedy project about young female power brokers, called Mogulettes. Plum Sykes, author of Bergdorf Blondes, will write, along with Amy Harris (HBO's The Comeback). Universal Media Studios will produce, in association with Original Media.
Fox's latest development projects include a U.S. adaptation of an upcoming Australian spy series, titled Informant, from 20th Century Fox TV and Alchemy TV; and action comedy Wild Boys, about three suburban dads-turned-guns for hire, from feature film director Brett Ratner and Carlos Coto, co-executive producer of 24. 20th Century Fox TV is producing.
How about a young Michael Douglas?
Everything old is new again according to this from my email yesterday:
CBS Developing Updated Hawaii Five-O
CBS already is in development on a new version of Streets of San Francisco
Aug, 2008
Hoping to keep viewers glued to their TV sets, broadcasters are banking on brand recognition to do the trick. Case in point: CBS already is in development on a new version of Streets of San Francisco. Now come reports that the network also is trying to update Hawaii Five-O.
The original series aired on CBS from 1968-80. The new take on the classic show is from Ed Bernero, executive producer of Criminal Minds. CBS Paramount Network TV is producing.
Meanwhile, ABC is developing a small screen version of The Witches of Eastwick. Produced by Warner Bros. TV, and written by Maggie Friedman (Dawson's Creek), the project is based on the 1987 feature film that starred Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer, which, in turn, was based on John Updike's novel of the same name.
In other development news, NBC is working on a half-hour comedy project about young female power brokers, called Mogulettes. Plum Sykes, author of Bergdorf Blondes, will write, along with Amy Harris (HBO's The Comeback). Universal Media Studios will produce, in association with Original Media.
Fox's latest development projects include a U.S. adaptation of an upcoming Australian spy series, titled Informant, from 20th Century Fox TV and Alchemy TV; and action comedy Wild Boys, about three suburban dads-turned-guns for hire, from feature film director Brett Ratner and Carlos Coto, co-executive producer of 24. 20th Century Fox TV is producing.
44 of 50 Things
This is from www.marcandangel.com
Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one.
While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.
44. Implement Basic Computer Security Best Practices – You don’t have to be a computer science major to understand the fundamentals of creating complex passwords and using firewalls. Doing so will surely save you a lot of grief someday.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Michael Phelps Secret
As I head out to a lunch meeting this caught my eye:
PHELPS' PIG SECRET: HE'S BOY GORGE
By CLEMENTE LISI with Post Wire Services
Swimming sensation Michael Phelps has an Olympic recipe for success - and it involves eating a staggering 12,000 calories a day.
"Eat, sleep and swim. That's all I can do," Phelps, who won two more gold medals today, told NBC when asked what he needs to win medals. "Get some calories into my system and try to recover the best I can."
VACCARO: Phelps Is Top Of The World
PHOTOS: Best Olympic Athletes of All Time
Click Here For Complete Olympics Coverage
By comparison, the average man of the same age needs to ingest about 2,000 calories a day.
Phelps, 23, will swim 17 times over nine days of competition at the Beijing Games - meaning that he will need all the calories he can shovel in his mouth in order to keep his energy levels high.
Phelps' diet - which involves ingesting 4,000 calories every time he sits down for a meal - resembles that of a reckless overeater rather than an Olympian.
Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.
He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.
At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.
For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.
He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.
Phelps remains on course to at least equal Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals won at the 1972 Munich Games.
At these Summer Games, a typical day for Phelps starts with a 5 a.m. wake-up call. Most of his races have taken place between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET when in China - 12 hours ahead of East Coast time.
However unless you are in the Olympics, don't follow his example. Issac Hayes died last week from a stroke and suffered from high blood pressure. Don't know how many eggs he ate everyday.
43 of 50 Things
This is from www.marcandangel.com
Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one.
While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.
43. Protect Personal Identity Information – Personal identity theft is not fun unless you are the thief. Don’t be careless.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Why Are Cigarettes Legal?
It's a question I've asked and answered many times. The answer is simple Money. There's a lot of money in those tobacco leaves, from the farmer, to the health care clean ups costs, it's all about the flow of cash, legally and under the table.
So with our green push, today I saw a legitimate business person riding his bike to work this morning. He was wearing a tie, had his laptop case slung over his shoulder and was waiting for the light to change at Jefferson and Fairfield when he took a long drag on a smoke.
Isn't it unhealthy to smoke and pedal?
I did a Google search for the health benefits of smoking and all I could find was the ad you see here.
Anyway, back to work.
42 of 50 Things
This is from www.marcandangel.com
Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one.
While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.
42. Type – Learning to type could save you days worth of time over the course of your lifetime.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Name This Local Website-64
I know the author of this site, but I didn't know until recently he had this site. Click here for the answer.
Dress Up or Down?
I was noticing this at our sales staff meeting:
Odds are that 20% will be "tieless", sometimes as high as 40%.
This was in my email today:
67% of men never wear a tie to work, according to Gallup.
41 of 50 Things
This is from www.marcandangel.com
Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one.
While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.
41. Hook Up a Basic Home Theater System – This isn’t rocket science. Paying someone to do this shows sheer laziness.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Name This Local Website-63
Have you been discovering more local websites and visiting them since I began this project a couple months ago?
In this World Wide Web of ours, it's important to retain a sense of community and that was what this fun little exercise was all about when it began in June.
Will we get to 100? Time will tell. In the meantime, click here for tonight's answer.
Sunday Recap and Preview
Just wanted to give you some links to helpful stuff you may have missed recently:
For example you can speed up and increase the likelihood that your website will be found by others by reading this.
Did you see Paris Hilton's response to John McCain's recent TV commercial? Click here to see the video.
Do you want some guidance in seting up your own on-line business? Last Sunday when you were at the lake, I posted this.
Finally, here's what's coming up over the next couple of weeks:
Weekday mornings, I'll have the final ten tips of things we ought to know.
And each night, I'll feature another local blogger and add them to my list at the right. If you know of someone that I have not yet featured, send me an email to scloho (at) scloho(dot)net.
Free back to school computer downloads
I heard a discussion on the radio this week about the cost of sending kids to school. We have two left in our family that are in their college days.
Saving money with as little sacrifice as possible has always been a fun/frustrating game for parents.
This is from an email I received this week:
Back-to-school downloads
Behold, our favorite back-to-school downloads. See the other five.
1. WordWeb - If you think the Web has rendered offline dictionaries moot, think again. An intuitive, integrated interface and huge database of more than 150,000 root words and 120,000 synonyms make WordWeb essential freeware for aspiring writers.
2. Typing Master Pro Typing Tutor - The rise of technology has made it imperative for all students to master the standard QWERTY setup. This top-rated app includes well-designed lessons, games, and personalized exercises to teach or improve skills.
3. Zotero - Today, online research is the name of the game, but recording and citing sources is still as important as ever. This free extension for Mozilla Firefox puts reference information directly in your browser, while letting you add and manage notes.
4. Graph - This free software for drawing 2D graphs of mathematical functions includes a vast number of predefined functions, and it's easy to add your own. It also calculates length and area of functions, as well as first and second derivatives.
5. StudyMinder Homework System - Academic commitments only get more complicated as you advance through your school years, and it's best to master your schedule as soon as you can. The publisher of this feature-packed organizer also offers a free Lite version and a portable version for U3 drives.
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