A short one.

Well, it won't be much as I'm not sitting up for too long at a time right now, but I thought I'd get something posted.

Tracy is walking. She had her back surgery at Mayo two weeks ago, and a day ago had her first physical therapy appointment. She actually spent most of the day yesterday on her feet -- because she wanted to be at my side when I got my diagnosis.

I have had coming and going fever for two weeks. I had pnumonia when I finally went, but plenty more symptoms. I have had a resting heart rate of 115-120, headaches every day, chest pain and more. It has taken a while to get answers, and I still have a CT scan on Friday, but while we're still awaiting the second set of bloodwork, the Dr's think they know.

I am the minority of the minority that manages to really get annihilated by Cocci, or as they call it here, Valley Fever. They put me on IV at yesterdays appointment and put two bags in me. It didn't make the difference that they hoped, but they couldn't dilute my blood anymore because they had to take more of that for more lab work.

Something, maybe just time, is making a difference - as I am sitting here at the computer - and thinking of making breakfast. I have good days and bad days, but this is shaping up to be one of the best days yet.

Today's Quote

There's always somebody who is paid too much, and taxed too little - and it's always somebody else.
-Cullen Hightower

Stop Global Warming.

As anyone that has ever read my blog will know, I'm not buying global warming.

Let me qualify that. Global warming is real.
It is absolutely just as real as global cooling.
It just happens that right now we're in the warming cycle.

So what I am not buying is Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW). It's utter nonsense.



Having been involved in brand & retail strategy for a while now, I find it pretty easy to see manipulation of facts, feelings, and the general public. And let me tell you... AGW is it. It is as political and economically calculated a movement as there has ever been... And I would hate to be the clown of a candidate to run on a "global warming platform" and have it in the history books. In a decade or less, that will be a legacy equal to a "santa clause and the easter bunny" platform. I wouldn't be the candidate trying to legislate the change of the worlds lightbulbs (incandescant to flourescent) if I were that guy...

So. I'm biting back. They can market, but I can too. In whatever small way I can, I am speaking my mind (based on facts, folks -- not manipulated half-truths), and the minds of those much wiser than me. I am creating a forum for scientific response - but with the aid of a strategic marketing spin.

There are a lot of scientists out there refuting AGW. Scientists from MIT. Scientists from NASA. Some of them are on the UN list. The problem is, they were buying it initially, before investigating further. But now that they have researched it, now that they have reversed their positions - they can't get their names off the list.

So I've created a forum. I am inviting experts to contribute, and I'm going to create a stir. I've shared it while in development with a few of you, but it's getting close enough to launch that I'm posting it. Help me spread the word, will you? When I launch and send out the announcement - or even now, if you want to - send a link along to your friends.

Help me cause a stir.

www.KilltheTrees.org

Let's stop worrying about being politically correct.
Let's just worry about being correct.

It begins with satire. It concludes with facts...and it's going to have a lot more of those before I'm done. Help me spread the word.

Let's counter agenda with some reality, shall we?

www.KilltheTrees.org

The Dog Under My Desk...

Today I am working on the submision of a group of 73ideas logo designs for a book on logo design. As I sit here during my workday, sipping a Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen, working on my own work, I think about how thankful I am. This year has been a complicated one. I have a client that has promised and promised, but is enough months behind that I stopped working for them two months ago... that's 5 months behind in their bills... I feel that. But despite that, and anything else - I can't help but think about how good I have it.

My dog Mindy was the reminder. An hour or so ago, she was pushing up against my leg for me to let her under my desk. It's something that happens many times in a day, but somehow took me back this time. Back to when I was a founding partner in a new company called Avizia - about to land the Safeway account - just not knowing it yet.

I was working 16-18 hours a day, and most weekends. Because of this, our parent company -- PPC Retail Design, the one that had put up the venture capital -- made the special exception of letting me have Mindy in the office. I remember there being some people that were pretty upset by this. The kinds of people that only see that you are getting something they are not - but not thinking about what it is costing you. I was there before any of them, and there for an entire workday after them. I worked over 30 hours straight once. I worked all but a half day of Thanksgiving weekend - alone - on a made-up project, created to set me up to fail - to create grounds to force me out of a company in which I was a founding partner... but that's another story...

The point is, I'm blessed. Here I sit with the same dog trying to get under my desk that was sitting under my desk then - but under such completely different circumstances. I have an amazing, loving, suportive wife, a beautiful home, mountains and palm trees all around, a reasonable boss (me)... It's a long list. Literally every focus, priority and detail of my life is different now.

I bet she knows. We've got a happy house. She gets up with me at 6 every morning and lies under my desk. I'm thankful it's a different desk.

What a difference 5 years makes. I feel like I was young then.

Audi Wins 24 Hours of Le Mans.

I just couldn't let it pass without mentioning. Audi has once again (despite an INCREDIBLE showing by Peugot), won the 24 hours of Le Mans.



This is the absolute pinnacle of auto racing... and not just because I'm a fan.

24 hours of wear and tear, pushing it to the limit, and getting absolutely no sleep for the course of the race (and hours of prep time beforehand, and celebration afterwards). It is the ultimate test of endurance for both the man (men) and machine.

Audi has won eight years in a row (counting a Bugatti win in '05 with the Audi engine). A feat not duplicated in any racing series.

Catching Up.

The last week or so have really been something. Even my early morning hours which I usually dedicate to disciplines - reading, writing, etc. aren't getting much done for me. I have a couple opinion pieces in the works though, so you're going to be getting another dose of "planet greenfraud" unleashed any day now.

To catch up just a little though...

Tracy's Back:
For those of you "in the know" Tracy's back issues have gotten worse. We finally ended up taking her to Mayo Hospital (ER) on Monday. We got little more than meds (a little information), but have an appointment that should help narrow a course of action scheduled for Thursday morning. She is in absolutely unbearable pain -- standing only to walk to the restroom -- say a prayer for her if you will.

Welcome to our world, Mr. Charles Davidson Kratz:
My best friend (of 16 years now... goodness we're getting old!) Jeremy, and his wife Amy welcomed their first child, a son, into the world last week.

Tracy and I were able to swing by for a few minutes and say hello on the morning of his first day. Makes us think it might be time to consider Charles having a playmate around his age... He is one CUTE baby. Well behaved, too. I have no idea where he got that part from...

A Brilliant Blog.

I have been reading an absolutely brilliant blog with consistently good content. And every time I visit, I find myself wanting to copy, paste and present the information here (with full credit and a link, of course).

Instead, I am simply going to profile it here, and put a link in the sidebar.

If you want more than simply to be entitled to your opinion.
If you care enough to be well informed.
If you give a crap about our country--you'll want to add this to your frequent reads:

http://www.uncorrelated.com/

Like this post by Mick Stockinger:
I was listening to some commentary from Juan Williams who considered the prospects of the general election in terms of Obama's presence, charisma and fluid speaking style--constrasting it with John McCain's, hunched, halting and ineloquent recent speech. For Williams, and I imagine for most liberals, its all about style. For me, and I imagine most conservatives, its all about substance. John McCain won the Republican nomination because for better or worse, he appeared to most voters as the most substantive candidate. If it was a matter of style, Huckabee would now be looking for a running mate.

Who wins this argument? I don't rightly know. Are more people fascinated with style or impressed with substance? The polls appear to suggest that substance still rules the day, but I concede the significant difference between polls and elections. My dread of an Obama presidency is similarly less about him and what he would do, and more a concern with whether America has lost its soul. If it really is an MTV country, we are all screwed. read more