Another live version of a song from my youth:
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Friday, April 01, 2011
Truth from Twain
Last month as my wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary, she asked our guests to share their favorite "Twainisms".
Along with the humor, there was a lot of wisdom to learn from Mark as demonstrated in this story from the DLM blog:
in 1871, Mark Twain was born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, U.S. He was a writer, and lecturer. He was called the “greatest American humorist of his age.” He wrote the now classic novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
He wrote some great stuff that is still read by millions today. He also had some great quotes that continue to live on because of the wisdom in them. Mark Twain was a funny, witty, and wise guy. I hope the below quotes will astonish, enlighten, and amuse you.
Along with the humor, there was a lot of wisdom to learn from Mark as demonstrated in this story from the DLM blog:
7 Life Changing Lessons You Can Learn from Mark Twain
Posted: 26 Mar 2011 08:09 AM PDT
in 1871, Mark Twain was born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, U.S. He was a writer, and lecturer. He was called the “greatest American humorist of his age.” He wrote the now classic novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
He wrote some great stuff that is still read by millions today. He also had some great quotes that continue to live on because of the wisdom in them. Mark Twain was a funny, witty, and wise guy. I hope the below quotes will astonish, enlighten, and amuse you.
"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened."
We walk around all our lives thinking about things that will never happen. We worry, dread, and fear what hasn’t happened and what probably never will.
Our minds are out of control. Our heads are filled with negative thoughts that have no bearing in reality, even if we think they do.
Eliminating bad thoughts is possible, through methods such as EFT and The Work. It’s not easy, but worth it.-
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
We want safety. We want to be secure, but the best life experiences come when we drop those notions and go after what we truly want, whether it feels safe or not.
I’ve battled with this myself, and I often stop myself from doing things because it feels unsafe. I worry too much about the future.
In reality, we can’t know what the future will bring. Even if you have millions in the bank, you may lose it tomorrow. Not even the wealthiest on this planet are secure. “When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet in his private heart no man much respects himself.”
Imagine that something negative happened to you. Maybe someone said something to you that you thought was wrong.
How often do you replay what happened over and over and over again when it’s all over?
We disrespect ourselves by replaying bad thoughts in our mind, which leads to feeling bad, and treating everyone (including ourselves) around us badly.“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”
Going after your dreams can feel like an overwhelming task, but that’s because you’re trying to visualize something in your head that cannot be visualized.
Mark Twain is right on in breaking things into small pieces. It works because you can hold an image in your head of what the end result looks like. Instead of thinking “I need to start an online business,” a better thought would be “I need to start a blog.”
That is, if you want to go down that route. Break things down, and simplify!“When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.”
A good and funny quote, but to me it sends the message to not make decisions when you’re angry. People are foolish when they are angry. They snap at others and only create more trouble in their life. Next time you’re angry, either use methods such as The Work or EFT, like I mentioned above, or just count to four, or better yet, ten.
Calm down, and sleep on your decision.“Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first.”
Have you ever felt like you deserved something, but didn’t get it? I know I certainly have. That thought does us no good, even if we think we did deserve whatever it is that we didn’t get. It keeps you stuck instead of moving forward. So what if things didn’t go perfectly? You adjust and you keep on going.
Who knows, maybe that setback wasn’t a setback after all. The negative events in my life have a tendency to blossom into positive ones.“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.”
Successful people aren’t fearless; no one is. It’s easy to believe that if you got rid of your fears, everything would be fine, but that’s just an excuse for not getting started. You will always have a smidgen of fear when diving into the unknown. Don’t let it stop you; instead use it as fuel to keep going.
 | Written on 3/26/2011 by Henri Junttila. Henri blogs at, Wake Up Cloud, where he shows you how you can earn money online ethically. You can also get the Passion Blogging Guide, which is free, but really shouldn't be. | Photo Credit: Joe M500 |
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Life in the Fort
Time for a little rant and a little praise.
The subject: Fort Wayne, Indiana
I was forced to live here for 12 years.
I had no choice. I was 6 when my parents moved here and they said I had to come too.
I left at 19 to seek fame if not fortune in the radio business, which a couple years later brought me back to town when I worked on the air at WMEE in the early 1980's.
I left again and returned a dozen years ago without the intention of staying until I met my wife.
Marrying Kathy 10 years ago was also a decision to stay in Fort Wayne.
Kathy is a transplant herself. She decided to move here years ago.
And when we were dating she really showed me the town that I grew up in was a pretty cool place.
From the parks and river greenway, to some of the unique restaurants and coffee shops, this is a place to call home.
So what's the rant?
It seems like a lot of the press we get is negative. 10 years ago there was talk about "brain drain" referring to young people who could not find the jobs or environment that would keep the bright rising stars in town, and they would leave for greener pastures.
Looking back on this, I see this is common unless you are in a city like New York, or San Francisco. When you are young and can't find what you want, it is common to want to go find it.
Fort Wayne is also a conservative town. By that I mean cautious. There are plenty of people who are all over the spectrum politically, but I'm referring to certain midwest values that we seem to hang on to in our city.
The look before you leap mentality is alive and well in many circles.
However we are also a city filled with an entrepreneurial spirit and now instead of seeing the "brain drain" from a few years ago, I see a growing entrepreneurial class emerging.
Fort Wayne is much more diverse than it was 30 years ago when the loss of a major manufacturing company meant tough times for our economy.
Because I work in the media world and have friends and acquaintances at most of the media outlets, plus my involvement in the Fort Wayne Social Media Community I get annoyed by certain stories and lack of understanding by some members of our government, by our school systems and by some of our journalists.
One example was the city hiring a Chicago firm to update the city website and create a social media presence. Click here to read more.
Then we had all the stir up with Harry Baals. Click here.
Despite the city's reluctance to name a building after the former Mayor, one of my radio stations, ROCK 104 has jumped on board, renaming their studio's after Harry.
The Fort Wayne Community Schools has hired an Virgina firm to handle "Communications" according to this story, click here.
And in a long standing battle with Men's Health Magazine, their latest mention puts us in the bottom of the Social Networking list. Click here.
For additional perspective, click here and read the comments on Anthony Juliano's Blog.
On one hand, it is frustrating to see those in charge of tax payer funded organizations spending our money with firms that are not only outside of Fort Wayne, but not even in Indiana. This is either due to laziness, ignorance, or something worse.
On the other hand, it is equally frustrating to see the media rely on a few sources and either through incomplete investigating or editing, not tell the story of what is really going on behind the scenes in the social media world locally and Fort Wayne overall with all of the positive aspects to living in this city, I and thousands of others call home.
Your comments and questions, be polite please, are welcome.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Ready for April?
How about a few tips on making April your best month yet so far in 2011 from the DLM blog:
Maybe all of your days tend to go smoothly. You're good at getting up on time, doing your work, and making sure that you relax. The problem is, you feel like things are not quite adding up. On a day to day basis, things are pretty good – but month-by-month, you don't feel like you're making progress.
Do you plan for the month ahead? Most of us don't – if I'm truthful, I don't always manage this myself. But a bit of forethought can make a huge difference.
Here's how to have a great month:
Step #1: Spend Fifteen Minutes Planning
You certainly don't need to schedule out every day of the month ahead – but spending just a few minutes planning can have a huge impact. Rather than just taking life day-by-day, you can look ahead to ensure that you're on track with bigger projects.
The rest of the steps pretty much require some forethought, so get your calendar ready. If you don't tend to do much planning or if your current system doesn't seem to be working, I highly recommend Charlie Gilkey's Monthly Action Planners.
Step #2: Take a Full Weekend Off
We all need down time. It's a vital part of staying healthy and being able to work creatively. If you're working 9 – 5 in an office all week and then carrying on with your own projects (or chores) every weekend, you're going to be feeling stressed-out and tired.
When planning your month, find a weekend which you can block of purely for guilt-free leisure time. You can spend it however you like – but you might also want to look ahead to see whether there are tickets you want to book, or friends you want to meet up with.
It's easy to get to the weekend and end up watching television or playing video games, not because you especially want to, but because you don't know what else to do. Planning ahead can let you enjoy weekends that you remember all year.
Step #3: Tackle Some Bigger Goals
Most goals are too big to be accomplished in a single day, or even a week – but not so big that they'll take a whole year.
Maybe you're trying to cut down on caffeine. You might not manage it in a week, but across a month, you could see a radical decrease in your consumption. By planning ahead a bit, you can set smaller goals and targets: cutting down a little bit more each week.
Maybe you're trying to lose weight. You know you could be at your target within a year, but it's hard to stay focused when some weeks see your weight staying level for no obvious reason. If you plan ahead for the month, you can see sustained changes.
Step #4: Take on a New Project
A lot can be accomplished – not just started on, but finished – within a single month. Take NaNoWriMo, for instance, where participants write a 50,000 word novel during November – that's a challenge, but a possible one. Think how great your month would be if you accomplished something like that!
Of course, you don't need to take on anything hugely ambitious. Perhaps your project is to finally get the garage cleared out, or to sell a stack of old DVDs on ebay, or to do some work in your garden, or to learn to cook four new meals. Look for something which you can complete during a month – that way, you'll get the satisfaction of seeing real progress.
Step #5: Consider a 30-day Trial
Is there some big chance you're considering – like getting up at 6am instead of 8am, or quitting alcohol, exercising daily, or becoming vegetarian?
Maybe it seems like something you'd like to try, but which you're not sure about committing to. How about giving it a 30-day trial? If you decide the change doesn't suit you, just stop after the month is over. But if you decide that it's been worth it, then this month just might have been one of the most important in your life.
How will you make next month one of your best months ever?
Five Steps to Having a Productive Month
Posted: 27 Mar 2011 07:15 AM PDT
Maybe all of your days tend to go smoothly. You're good at getting up on time, doing your work, and making sure that you relax. The problem is, you feel like things are not quite adding up. On a day to day basis, things are pretty good – but month-by-month, you don't feel like you're making progress.
Do you plan for the month ahead? Most of us don't – if I'm truthful, I don't always manage this myself. But a bit of forethought can make a huge difference.
Here's how to have a great month:
Step #1: Spend Fifteen Minutes Planning
You certainly don't need to schedule out every day of the month ahead – but spending just a few minutes planning can have a huge impact. Rather than just taking life day-by-day, you can look ahead to ensure that you're on track with bigger projects.
The rest of the steps pretty much require some forethought, so get your calendar ready. If you don't tend to do much planning or if your current system doesn't seem to be working, I highly recommend Charlie Gilkey's Monthly Action Planners.
Step #2: Take a Full Weekend Off
We all need down time. It's a vital part of staying healthy and being able to work creatively. If you're working 9 – 5 in an office all week and then carrying on with your own projects (or chores) every weekend, you're going to be feeling stressed-out and tired.
When planning your month, find a weekend which you can block of purely for guilt-free leisure time. You can spend it however you like – but you might also want to look ahead to see whether there are tickets you want to book, or friends you want to meet up with.
It's easy to get to the weekend and end up watching television or playing video games, not because you especially want to, but because you don't know what else to do. Planning ahead can let you enjoy weekends that you remember all year.
Step #3: Tackle Some Bigger Goals
Most goals are too big to be accomplished in a single day, or even a week – but not so big that they'll take a whole year.
Maybe you're trying to cut down on caffeine. You might not manage it in a week, but across a month, you could see a radical decrease in your consumption. By planning ahead a bit, you can set smaller goals and targets: cutting down a little bit more each week.
Maybe you're trying to lose weight. You know you could be at your target within a year, but it's hard to stay focused when some weeks see your weight staying level for no obvious reason. If you plan ahead for the month, you can see sustained changes.
Step #4: Take on a New Project
A lot can be accomplished – not just started on, but finished – within a single month. Take NaNoWriMo, for instance, where participants write a 50,000 word novel during November – that's a challenge, but a possible one. Think how great your month would be if you accomplished something like that!
Of course, you don't need to take on anything hugely ambitious. Perhaps your project is to finally get the garage cleared out, or to sell a stack of old DVDs on ebay, or to do some work in your garden, or to learn to cook four new meals. Look for something which you can complete during a month – that way, you'll get the satisfaction of seeing real progress.
Step #5: Consider a 30-day Trial
Is there some big chance you're considering – like getting up at 6am instead of 8am, or quitting alcohol, exercising daily, or becoming vegetarian?
Maybe it seems like something you'd like to try, but which you're not sure about committing to. How about giving it a 30-day trial? If you decide the change doesn't suit you, just stop after the month is over. But if you decide that it's been worth it, then this month just might have been one of the most important in your life.
How will you make next month one of your best months ever?
 | Written on 3/27/2010 by Ali Luke. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing. | Photo Credit: Sleeping Clock |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tech Tip Tuesday
Turn it off.
A dozen years ago, I took a break from my radio career and worked as a Thermoformer Operator.
Our machines used a combination of computerized, mechanical and electrical controls.
Every once in awhile we needed to do a hard reset. That meant, kill the power, wait for at least 30 seconds, sometimes longer and then restart by powering up again.
This would clear out some of the memory and give it a fresh start.
I recommend you do this with your computer on a regular basis too.
I do it daily do to the number of hours I am on my laptop.
Make sure you do a proper shut down, save your work, and then go through the process of turning off each open program instead of just telling it to shut down.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Fort Wayne Site of the Day
As Media Monday continues on this site, we move from the part of the FM dial that the F.C.C. has reserved for non-profit organizations to the rest of the FM bandwidth starting with 92 and above.
I have worked for some of these radio stations, currently work for some of these stations and/or have former co-workers who work for some of these stations.
Today's station used to be known as Music 92.3 and I did afternoons on the air for about 6 months, before they flipped to an All 70's Music Station, as the first version of the Fort. The stayed on board doing mornings for about 6 months.
Click on Pic to visit them now.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Can You Quack?
from RBR.com:
Having given comedian Gilbert Gottfried the heave-ho for a PR faux pas, the insurance company Aflac is trying to drum up some good PR by holding a public casting call to find the new voice for its iconic duck. Do you have the quack they’re looking for?
The company plans to hold auditions in six cities during the first week of April for the voice of the Aflac Duck. Interested parties will find a complete job description and information about how to secure an audition appointment on either Monster.com or at Quackaflac.com, where job seekers can also submit applications online.
Live auditions will be held in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, Austin and Atlanta. While these audition slots will be limited, an online casting call has opened and will remain open until April 1, 2011 at midnight Pacific time.
Since 2000, the Aflac Duck has appeared in 52 television ads and numerous radio ads, helping increase the company's brand recognition from slightly more than 10 percent to an amazing 93 percent. The Aflac Duck is also a symbol for the company's primary philanthropic cause, helping Aflac raise more than $62 million for the treatment and research of childhood cancer.
"Being the new voice of the Aflac Duck carries responsibilities far beyond recording duck sounds," said Aflac Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna. "The Aflac Duck symbolizes our promise to be there in times of need. It represents the philanthropy and the ethical values embraced by our employees and more than 72,000 independent sales agents across the nation, so we are looking for the best person to help advance our brand and business in a way that demonstrates our values."
All auditions — online or live — will be a maximum of 30 seconds and will irrevocably become the property of Aflac. There will be limited availability for live auditions, so those seeking to interview in one of the six cities where casting calls will take place should make an appointment by following the instructions on Monster.com or Quackaflac.com. Live interviews will be held by appointment only. The ten finalists selected for a callback will be required to conduct a second audition either via satellite or in person in New York City.
"The Aflac Duck is fun, but it conveys a very important message. We believe this is the best job available in America today, so applicants should prepare like this is the opportunity of a lifetime," Zuna said.
While searching for the new voice of the Aflac Duck, Aflac is continuing its television advertising schedule with "Silent Movie," which stars the Aflac Duck in a scene that resembles an old silent movie genre film. In "Silent Movie," the Aflac Duck rescues a damsel in distress “in much the same way that he provides a safety net for policyholders who are sick or injured.”
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