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Slick Rick's SpaceThe smooth highway, bumps, potholes, and detours that is LIFE... |
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June 03 What is wrong with the world?
I used to think it was just fine. Really. You got either what you deserved quickly, or in time. It was just a matter of time, thought I – before Yin and Yan would compensate for all inequities.Today I received a phone call that damn near put me on the edge.
Phone caller: Hello, may I speak to Richard Taylor?Me: This is he.Phone caller: <Indian accent> Mr. Taylor, this is the Bank of America, and I am calling you to tell you that you owe $4562.34 and we would like to know if you will be paying this via Visa or Mastercard today.</Indian accent>Me: Excuse me?? Who is this?Phone caller: The Bank of America.Me: And you say I owe you $4000??Phone caller: No, $4562.34Me: Why?Phone caller: we have not received a payment from you since March 2009.Me: Payment for what?Phone caller: Home mortgage. We used to be Countrywide Home Loans and we are now Bank of AmericaMe: I am on automatic payments. I know you have been paid
It is at this time I go to my account online and give the caller all the pertinent info and proof that I made payments (or rather, that they TOOK them).
Phone caller: Thank you, Mr. Taylor for your patronage. Is there anything else I can do for you this afternoon?
The only thing stopping me for cussing her out was the fact that I couldn’t believe I was hearing what I was hearing.May 29 The Zune HD in action!OK, so you know I'm already *drooling* over the Zune HD...imagine what I did when I *SAW* this video.....OMG!!!!!As soon as it comes out...I'm all over this like white on rice....Like green on grass....Like fur on a bear....like.....<fill in your favorite>May 27 Supreme Court NomineeI didn't vote for Obama, but you knew that.
For the most part I have been pleased with his picks for cabinet positions and other appointments. There have been a couple of gaffes, but no biggie. No one is perfect. The President is about to nominate Sonia Sotomayor as the replacement to Judge Souter on the Supreme Court. I read up on her but didn't see anything that really stood out as to how she would rule.
I saw a link today of a couple of comments she made about where policy is made. It upset me. Greatly. Liberals came out of the woodwork saying "It's out of context! She is not advocating anything, she said so!" I was going to ask them, "So you believed Bush when he said Iraq had WMD, right?" Idiots.
Yeah, it was definitely apparent she advocates policy being decided in the courts. This makes her unacceptable as a choice, but --the *reality* of the matter is--she *will* be. Holy crap...what's up with that?I just can't seem to blog as frequently as I should.Well, this is almost mid-year and its time to do a check on my goals:a) Weight/BMI -- not *too* bad. I'm at 201.5 right now. I will have my BMI done next week at FittQuest. My goal is Hit 185 lbs. with a BMI (body mass index) of 13%. Maybe that was too aggressive...I am hoping to hit 190 lbs. 13%....sheesh...maybe 18% is more realistic, but we'll see. I will grade myself based on the end result and the effort to get to that result.b)Plant two fruit trees -- DONE. I have a pear tree in the front and a garden in both the front and back. I now have 8 fruit trees total.c) Say sorry more often when I mess up -- hmmm need more work.d) Get off warfarin - DONE. I have a follow up CT Scan in June to check on one lingering clot in my lung. Will give an update on that.Can't remember the others...will give an update on all goals when I get the results of my CT Scan.May 23 Getting my grill on...I must say...I can BBQ up some stuff.
Today was a practice for the damage I will do for the traditional Memorial Day gig.
February 07 Stimulus PackageOK, so the banter of today is "Say No to the Stimulus Package!" No one likes it. No one. The counter banter is "We *have* to do *something* QUICK!!" In my opinion, the Government needs to be more transparent and take to their constituents what THEY think needs to be cut/added. What is the President saying now...$800 Billion? That is too big of a number to NOT have some transparency. I don't want a check in the mail, I don't even really need a tax cut--I just want transparency into what they are doing with my CURRENT money. If the Government mandated that the tax cuts could only be used to pay personal debt--I'm all for it. Our cumulative debt is what is breaking us. If we all paid off our debt, we'd be fine.
I was flabbergasted when I found out some of the things that were *IN* the package. The following were CUT:
Stimulus cuts
So...where did *YOU* think the money was going?
$5 BILLION to keep the politicians warm in the winter, cool in the summer. So they can "Go Green". $5 BILLION. $75 million for Smithsonian. Must keep Fonzie's jacket shiny and Archie's chair stuffed. $200 million for the EPA to clean up hazardous waste sites $100 million to give names to hurricanes $100 million for the cops...(they should have left that one alone and not cut it) $300 million so that the politicians can have hybrid vehicles $100 million for the spooks
EVERY single DOLLAR mentioned above (except for the cops) is for the GOVERNMENT. NOT ONE DOLLAR for "Main Street"!! $6 Billion in pork. How much more is being spent on things that don't help us? I would like to see a list of where every dollar is spent.
I will stop here. I'm hyperventilating. Why does Life get in the way?I love to blog. Really, I do. I also love being a consultant. A lot. I've put on many many miles between my last post and this one. Too many. It seems the busier I get, the less I do. I don't get it. Why/how can I do more and less at the same time? So what have I done vs not done since my last post? Spoke at SharePoint conferences in Iceland, The Czech Republic, and San Diego Work Bought a house Work Am writing an article for REDMOND magazine It's crazy! So....I am committing to blogging more and facebook-ing less. I will say Facebook does suck up some time and not any of it is necessary. I want to spend more time here and my two technical blogs. Be less social. December 31 Looking back at 2008At first I felt guilty about doing this, but then I thought to myself: I need to be accountable. So--as painful as it may be, I am going to set some goals here for myself and let everyone see what I will be focusing on in 2009. January I made a trip to Suriname to speak on SharePoint. I participated in the largest event in the country and had a blast!. I spoke at the MCT Summit in Berlin. Got to drive on the Autobahn (120 Km/h) while driving to Dresden. Loved it! February - May Worked my butt off at Microsoft and having a hard time adjusting to the weather. June Took a new job with a consulting company in Phoenix. They relocated me and I started visiting clients in various places. July Hit 118 degree day on the day I bought a new car. Good thing its white. August I speak at TechEd SouthEast Asia in Kuala Lumpur. I visit Thailand on the way. Loved it. Asia is now my favorite continent. September Speak at the SharePoint Best Practices Conference in Washington DC. Awesome conference! Great topics and speakers! October Start looking for a new house. What a horrible process. I go to Reykjavik to speak at the DiveDeeper conference. The country goes bankrupt while I am there. The most surreal thing to happen to me. People all around losing their jobs INSTANTLY. November I am sent to Dallas for a couple of weeks to work on a project for a Security company. If it weren't for clients, business would be great! I also end up going to SoCal to help out with a failed project. December It seemed as though December went by the quickest. Holidays made this month ZOOM. I'm on my way out the door to party with the mayor of my town.
MY GOALS FOR 2009 : a) Hit 185 lbs. with a BMI (body mass index) of 13%. b) Do three triathlons. I want to do one in March in Anthem. c) Say I'm sorry when I've messed up more often. d) Get a pedicure. I hear they are relaxing...we'll see. e) Plant a fruit tree somewhere in my yard. f) Get off of Warfarin
2008 Shout Outs
Sonny - You're a great boss! DaKnutCase - You're a great friend and mentor. JasonBourne - 2 words: YOU ROCK! Deepz - You know you da stuff, grl Mr Brooks - The next RD...I feel it Tory - You owe me a CD! Kimmeesook - Come back. Felicity_Dubai - Be strong. Stick it out. You can do it! Looking forward to a prosperous and happy 2009! and wish the same for all of my friends and family. Take care October 01 How to fail tests with dignityAnd the awards for the people who fail tests with dignity:
RELIGIOUS RIGHT
THINKING OUT OF THE BOX
THE LITERALIST
THE OPPORTUNIST
FUTURE VEEP (I think this is Sarah Palin's handwriting...) September 16 ZUNE 3.0<Hijacked from Mike Gannotti--Thanks, Mikey!>Zune 3.0 launched this morning and everyone, even those with original Zune devices (yes we upgrade even the oldest of our devices unlike some other makes who often force you to buy a new device to get the latest shiny features) can update their devices to get the latest features. Even if you dont own a Zune device you can still download the software to get the latest in multimedia entertainment, podcast subscriptions, and the online social experience. Oh yeah…. and you can use the Zune software to subscribe to my own video postings here at Michael Gannotti on SharePoint + (see the icon on home page right hand side) You can also use the new Zune software in tandem with the Podcasting Kit for SharePoint.New features with Zune 3.0 include: Device features:
Software features:
Social features:
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