I Might Be Down But Not Out

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything and it feels really weird because I had been on a roll publishing something everyday. But alas years of neglecting my body has caught up with me. No one can sustain themselves on all night binges and running non-stop for the twenty years. So I must slow down and smell the roses as it were.

Ironically my problems began about the same time Marc Orchant passed away (please visit the site for a donation link). I didn't know Marc personally but knew him him online. It was very sobering to know he wasn't much older than myself. This has been a personal wake up call. The past week or so I've tried to remove myself from stressful situations, reduce my work load and move a little slower. My doctor has put me on a good healthy routine and says my future is up to me.

I appreciate all the well wishes I've received, but I am doing fine. I may not be as vocal as I've been in the past but I'm still here.

I also wanted to apologize to those who have not been able to get to my site over the past week. Not sure what happened but I think I finally got it all ironed out yesterday. Feedburner also removed all of my RSS subscribers, just when I was trying to increase them. Anyway, if you can, please reconnect to my RSS feed, it should be working now.

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Men And Woman Never Shop The Same

The shopping season is upon us. The time of year I dread most. I'm not a shopper. And I have a hard time being around people who are shoppers. Here is how I shop:

1. I need something new, say a dress shirt


2. There are a couple of stores I like to shop at, I've prioritized them, and I go to the first one


3. I go right to the clothing section


4. I quickly scan the area for something that catches my eye


5. I look for my size and a nice color


6. I look at the price tag, if its within reason I keep it, if not I put it back


7. I may or may not try it on. I know what fits me and I will wait until I get home before trying something on. I figure the odds are in my favor it will fit so why waste time trying something on at the store?


8. I repeat the process if I'm getting more than one item


9. Head to the checkout counter


10. Pay the cashier and I'm out

I rarely if ever browse. Once in a while I might mosey on back to the electronics to see what is new. I never buy, but I look. I hardly ever buy the impulse items. I feel accosted by all that crap and refuse to buy it. If you have kids you know what I mean.

Now, this is how my wife shops:

1. Spend hours looking at ads in the mail and newspaper. We subscribe to the newspaper the last two months of the year so she doesn't miss any of the "good" ads


2. Take all of the research to the mall


3. Go from store to store, whether its on the list or not


4. Look at everything in the store, and more often than not walk out with nothing


5. Try everything on, at least 6 items at a time or more


6. Fill a cart full to overflowing


7. Spend the next hour putting most of it back


8. Stand in long lines for hours


9. Buy several of the impulse items because they would make great stocking stuffers


10. Carry ten bags around each weighing in at thirty pounds


11. Bring home more than you intended and spend the next several days deciding what goes back to the store

OK, some of that is exaggerated. But honestly, the shopping experience during this time of year is very stressful to me. I'm a go in and get it kind of shopper. It's not that I don't want to shop, it's that I can't stand fighting through crowds to get the big sale items. It's just not worth it to me.

What about you? How do you shop? How does your significant other or friends shop?

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5 People I Would Like To Meet

Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a strong man. True to his convictions. I would love to spend 30 minutes listening to him talk about how important God is to him.

Tony Stewart is one of NASCAR'S best drivers. Consistently in the top of the standing, I really like the way he drives, I love the way he races in various classes besides the Nextel Cup. I just think he's cool and want to shake his hand.

 

Steve Jobs is Apple's CEO. He's responsible for some of the most significant technology advancements the world has seen. Not only has he developed some incredible technology, but he managed to keep Apple at the top of the industry. I'd take even five minutes in Start Bucks with him.

 

Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and several other technology companies. Mark was able to sell his company Broadcast.com some time ago allowing him to move into other ventures. I have to say of all the people on this list Mark is my least favorite. The reason he's on my list is because I think he's a RockStar when it comes to business. He just plays at a different level. I'd buy Mark a hotdog at a Jazz/Mavs game any day.

Colin Powell is a former US Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Powell is a gentle giant. If this guy even runs for President he'll have my vote. I'd love to shoot a few boxes of 5.56mm rounds with General Powell.

Who would you most like to meet?

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Flags of Honor

The city of Sandy, Utah, put out flags around its city hall called the Utah Healing Field, in honor of the Americans who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Each flag has the name of each person killed.

All of the pictures can be seen here.

News article here.

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In memory of lives lost on 9.11.2001

The Wall.

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My experience with the HeadBlade system

Several months ago Seth Godin was in Salt Lake City, Utah to promote his new book The Dip. One of the deals Phil Burns made with Seth if he would come to Utah is he and a few others would shave their heads bald. Of course Seth being the bald man that he is thought that was a great idea.

During the shaving session, Seth mentioned a company called HeadBlade that made shaving products. Fortunately Ash Buckles video taped the event and posted it on YouTube. I believe it was the head guy at HeadBlade asked Ash if he could send some head shaving products. Of course Ash said yes.

After some time Ash decided it would be a great idea to give me the items from HeadBlade. And of course I accepted. So here is my experience.

I opened all the items included, which were various bottles of skin lotion, shave cream and razors. But the coolest thing was a razor shaped like a sports car including cool little wheels on one end. The razor is curved to glide on the head easier.

Once I had applied a gratuitous amount of shave cream on my head I started shaving. It was pretty easy at first. I was able to complete the top and sides of my head with no problems. Then came the back. That's a little more complicated because I can't see what I'm doing. That's when I started to run into problems.

By the time I got to the back of my head my hands were pretty slippery from water and shave cream. the razor kept slipping out of my hands. I managed to cut my self in several places. One of the cuts was pretty deep. They were caused by the razor sliding sideways or at an angle.

I can't really say it was the fault of the razor, but I have never cut my head in all the years I've been shaving my head. The HeadBlade razor is a great shape but it slips out to easy. It's a great idea, and in general worked, but I wasn't too happy that I cut my head.

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I’m speaking at the Utah County Association of Realtors Tech Fair

I'll have the opportunity to speak about new media technology at this years UCAR Tech Fair, a yearly technology conference for Realtors in Utah.

I'm honored at being able to share my knowledge and excitement with this group. I've spent a lot of my career learning and implementing technology to sell real estate. I hope everyone attendee leaves with something that will improve their business.

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President James E. Faust Passes Away

The second counselor of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passed away today. The full story on President Faust and his legacy can be found on LDS.org.

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Turning 40 today

Today is my 40th birthday. Yee Haw. Here are some pics from the party last night.

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Giving Props To My Peeps

Ok this weeks prop goes out to a guy who I connected with through Twitter. His name is Glenn, AKA WiredPig. Glenn is a former United States Marine and Police Officer. One of the cool things about Glenn are his posts about fallen Police Officers. What a tribute. I've passed Glenn's URL around to friends who also appreciate his efforts. Take some time to visit Glenn's site, and contribute when possible.

Glenn I'm proud to stand next to you buddy. oohrah!

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Wordpress reverting to default theme fix/hack

Although I still don't know what is causing this, for some reason, within the past week or so, using Wordpress 2.1.3 and I would assume 2.2+, every so often Wordpress reverts back to the default K2 theme. I would change it back, and then in the morning, bam, back to the default. I found a blog post that helped me fix the problem, and I apologize I can't find the link.

In any event, here is how I fixed the problem.

1. Rename your default theme folder to something else (_default)

2. Copy your selected theme to a new folder called default. Make sure this is a copy not the original. However, you could just rename your desired theme folder to default and select it from the list of themes.

That seemed to fix my problem. It's a complete hack and I'd like to understand what the problem is. The blog post I read said its most likely its a timing issue with the web server and how Wordpress handles it. I'm not sure. So I hope this helps. It has for me.

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Giving Props To My Peeps

This weeks props:

My Wife, Gina. This Woman has been through so much over the past year. In August we were in an automobile accident that nearly took our lives. Gina sustained a broken neck, torn ligaments in her shoulder and numerous other injuries. Everyone survived but my dear Wife was hurt the worst.

She was just getting started training for Triathlons. In fact she completed her first Triathlon in May of 2006 and was training for her next when the accident occurred. As you can imagine her training has been on hold, and still is. But yesterday she got on her bike for the first time sine August 2006. I'm so proud of her. I know that she will have many obstacles in her way but she will over come them all.

Thank you honey for being such an inspiration to me and everyone around you. [Sorry, no web site for her, but I'm trying]

Lorri and Cammon Randle. Ok, so they are two, but they work together. Thanks to both of you. Thank you for showing me that young people still have the drive to make big things happen. I appreciate your willingness to help your fellow Geek. I'm excited to see where you take all of this. Rock On! [CopperRain, MediaJoltz]

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America is still the greatest place on Earth

Despite all the problems people think the United States has, it's still the greatest place on the planet. I'm grateful to have been born in the United States. Proud to have served in the military defending the freedoms of the United States. Excited to be part of the future United States of America. I encourage everyone to look at what you can do to make this Country stronger. There are many things to do, including voting. It's your Country, help shape its future.

This Country relies on its Citizens to make things happen. The current generation must take control and build a strong future. You have the ability. There has never been a time in history where so many can be reached and real change made. Do it. Do it today.

Shout out to all my Military brothers, especially my United States Marine brother. Semper Fidelis. Ooh Rah!

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Browsing on a mobile device sucks

So far my biggest complaint about my mobile device is browsing the Internet. It sucks. Few if any sites detect a mobile browser but even more frustrating is that the mobile browser can't do it for me.

I'm using the default Windows Explorer hack for Windows Mobile 5. I'm going to download a few browsers and try them out. If you can suggest something please do.

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Can I be all mobile?

I like my laptop. It has all the functionality I want. But its not something I can just push on and start working. And of course I realize the functionality is quite different, but I wonder how affective I can be if all my documents, files, contacts and calendars, and a phone on my T-Mobile MDA, using nothing else?

So that is my challenge. The only other device I will use is my video iPod.

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The benefits of networking; will you tell me again?

First let me start out by saying this is a little off topic for me, but I've wanted to write on it for a while. Personal networking. It's something I've used for years. Here is my take on personal networks, branding and all the you/me/we mantra that has been floating around.

I've been building my network of people and companies since 1988. Yes, I was building a network of people since before there was even a name for it. While I was in the service I found out that at times it was who you knew rather than who you were. I understood that if I wanted something I had to know the right people and they had to know me. So I started making note of the key players; what they liked, what they disliked, who could be trusted and who couldn't.

Once I got out of the military the technique stayed with me as I started to build may career. That network has served me well as I moved up the ladder in the technology field. But this is where the story becomes frustrating for me.

For all of you who are experts at social networking, what's the problem here? If you are steadfast in keeping your network up to date and in tune, why does this happen?

When I call you or we meet, and I casually ask for your business and you tell me it's not the right time or maybe down the road; to then find out you actually used a competitor when you needed to make a purchase, did you forget about me? Were you embarrassed? Did you think I would gouge you? Did you think I lacked the proper skills? The most common excuse is "oh yeah, I forgot!" It's even worse when it's a family member or close friend.

So how do we eliminate this problem? When someone thinks "I need to buy a home", or "I need to buy a car", or "I need to buy xxx", what has HAD to happen in order for the person in your network to pick up the phone and call YOU instead of someone else? Do we need tools, and if so what kinds? Do we need more face to face contact? Can it depend on your product or service? Can a network cultivated while engaged in one profession be used after engaging in a new profession?

I am conducing research with this post. I want to send a link out inviting several "players" to give me their answers. What are your thoughts? Have you truly had success networking? Here is a link to a post on JibberJobber about a similar subject. The comments of this post are pretty positive about networking. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I think networking has huge advantages over not networking. But there are some fundamental problems in what is happening and I want to know what it is.

Here are a few sites that discuss this topic often; I hope they respond and share their thoughts.

• JibberJobber


• Matt's Idea Blog


• Pamela Sim


• Business Pundit

Let me hear what you have to say. Next up: Personal Branding.

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Microsoft now hiring English Majors

Looking at this little ad on MSN Messenger, I think Microsoft needs to consider hiring someone who knows English grammer.

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Finally taking this thing seriously

A few months ago I said I was going to take some time off, figure out what it is I really wanted to accomplish with blogging, podcasting, videocasting and so on. After years of messing around and tinkering I've finally got things figured out and will be bringing several new businesses and blogs online over the next few weeks. It's ok, I can talk about them now because I have already put the wheels in motion.

This blog, digitalthom.com, will refocus on digital media; podcasting, videos and music. I will move all of my personal items off this blog and over to thomallen.com which will act as my personal website.

My personal website, thomallen.com will have content about me; hobbies, interests, my family and the things they are doing. I hope to post a lot of photos and videos as we are out and about.

I will be porting all my current NASCAR entries and future entries to a new racing network I've put together. Using blogs and forums, my plan is to build a great racing community. I had been thinking about this type of site for some time. A comment made to me by a read explaining they knew nothing about NASCAR and what I was saying didn't make sense, caused me to accelerate putting the finishing touches on the site. So one of the things this new site will do is have an area dedicated to helping readers become racing fans

As most of you know I produce a Jazz music podcast. I've been doing it for nearly a year and I have enjoyed it very much. The show spotlights indie bands and their music. I wanted to find a way to get more of their music in listeners hands, and I am pretty sure I have. This is one new site I won't give too many details until its complete and online. But, if you're an indie band, of any type music, you will want to participate, send an email to indie @ digitalthom . com for more information.

A new site I have brought online is mobileCIO.com. This site has been the longest in the planning stage. I think it will have the biggest impact. There's a critical need for executive level IT direction in a lot of companies. mobileCIO fills that role by acting as a companies CIO/CTO either short or long term. Visit the site for more information.

And finally my real estate site, onehothome.com. I've been a licensed Realtor for about 15 years. My current website will undergo a face lift and add a lot of new media content such as podcasts, and videos. Adding market data, lice maps, virtual home shows, extensive searching, how-to's, interviews and a shopping area, will make this the one stop place for real estate needs.

So there, I've spilled the beans and have laid out a course of action. There are a few more business ideas to bring together including a new podcast. I'll be busy but it will be well worth it. Thanks for listening. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming.

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Would you be the one Gene Simmons calls?

Today I was watching a re-run of Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Nothing real interesting, except that unlike Ozzie Osborne, Gene isn't falling all over himself and speaking in tongues. But, there was a part in the show where Genes family makes him go on a vacation. The first thing Gene does is call a business partner and tells him "I want to meet the most influential people in X city; the Mayor, business leaders, the real estate guru. Make it happen."

It occurred to me after he said this, would I be the on Genes business partner called? If not, why?

If you're in business for yourself, word of mouth is probably your best marketing tool. But are you visible enough to be THE one who is called? I asked myself that question and it's an astounding NO. But why? I imagine the answer is varied based on your capacity to handle new customers or your desired growth.

Think about where you are or where you want to be and decide if you want to be the one Gene Simmons calls when he is looking for the product or service you provide.

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Salt Lake Tribune looking like USA Today

I read a copy of the Salt Lake Tribune today. First time I've read a newspaper in years. I get most of my news from the Internet and TV.

But today I picked up a copy of the newspaper and started looking through it. Wow, I'm impressed. The format is completely changed since the last time I looked at it. This could have taken place years ago for all I know. But it looks a lot like a USA Today paper. Bold colors for various sections. Lots of pictures, catching headlines; it looks really good.

I also noticed this morning on KUTV Channel Two in Salt Lake City that a reporter from the news paper appears in a short segment telling viewers about hot stories in the days paper. At first I wasn't sure what value that gave viewers. But basically TV news can't cover every news story, not even a fraction. The newspaper does a pretty good job of that.

While I'm still going to get a majority of my news online, I will check out a Sunday edition to see what other cool things I find.

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