CRASH. MTB season OPEN.

As many of you know I am a big fan of mountain biking. Last night was the first ride of the season. I mean to say it was the first 1/2 ride of the season. Munson trail is not the most technical and doesn't have any climbs, but what it does have is MUD and lots of it. If you've ever ridden with me or heard stories then you already know about my riding record. I don't consider myself a bad rider at all...I just seem to crash at least once every time I ride. I swear it was the mud and my xtreme riding style that made me crash last night.

Last night's crash finally broke the Mongoose I've been riding since about 2003. I guess that's pretty good considering the amount of abuse it's taken the last few summers. Now I have to decide between Gary Fisher and Specialized. I've been eying these bikes for a couple years now and still have no idea which to go with. I guess I'll just have to ride and then decide.

Oh...someone tried to imitate my ride from last night.



I'm open to any mtb suggestions & arguments for either bike brand or any others.

Detroit Mayor a Lebron Lover

Just when I thought “The Hip-Hop Mayor” Kwame couldn’t be any more disappointing to me than he already is, and believe me, he’s about as disappointing as it gets even for a politician. I’ll spare you the list of reasons to dislike Kwame as Detroit’s mayor. Today I have a completely new reason to abhor him. Kilpatrick was in Cleveland NOT as a Piston fan, but backing the Cavs. As reported by The freep:

Judging from the smile and congratulatory hug Kilpatrick gave Cleveland forward LeBron James after Game 4, you might think he’s backing the enemy.

Of course the mayor’s spin-doctors are spinning a tale of Kwame’s friendship with James. Honestly, I don’t care if they’re twin brothers. This is not a time to party with the opposing team in their city. He should also understand that these games have been painful to watch and this is salt in the wounds of defeat. He was an athlete and should know better…

I hope the voters of Detroit remember this on election-day.

Memorial Day

Please excuse the lack of posts in the past few days. I've been enjoying the weekend by studying for a mid-term exam scheduled for this evening, painting, visiting my boy G.Strang (now living in Colorado Springs) and working on the business.

I hope everyone had a terrific holiday weekend and took the time to reflect on the purpose of it all.

The government is watching through Myspace

You may have heard in the news recently that Myspace has agreed to share information about convicted sex offenders registered on their network. [Related article]

If any of you are sex offenders. . .Be aware. . .I'll turn your ass in too if you post on my blog.

Innovation and the Entrepreneur

Starting a business, any business, can be an intimidating undertaking. Entrepreneur magazine is a great source for information regarding starting, sustaining and inspiring small businesses and entrepreneurs. This month’s issue was no exception.

In his Wise Guy column, Guy Kawasaki wrote “innovation is an art: It’s more magic and luck than procedure.” He gave a list entrepreneurs should take to heart. Below you’ll find the list along with some explanation and my comments.

1. Jump to the next curve. There’s no point fighting for marginal market-share when you could spend time moving your ideas past the current market barriers. For an extreme illustration, you could make a more fuel efficient automobile by designing better tires or work on ways to invent a new source of power altogether.

2. Don’t worry, be crappy. You can’t wait for a perfect product before you act. If that were the case you’d never introduce your product.

3. Churn, baby, churn. Shipping crappy products is ok, but staying crappy is not. Microsoft’s Vista has gone through many revisions since it was released and will go through many more throughout its life.

4. Don’t be afraid to polarize people. Trying to make everyone happy leads to mediocre products. Focus, with passion, on making a specific segment excited even if another demographic is unhappy with your product.

5. Break down barriers. Innovation defies the status quo which is not always very easy or pleasant. Market acceptance may come slowly. Muscle through and ignore the non-constructive negative feedback.

6. Think digital. Act analog. Use all technological tools available without losing sight of the fact that the purpose of innovation is not cool products but happy customers and employees.

7. Never ask people to do what you wouldn’t do. I don’t think any additional information is needed for this one.

8. Don’t let the bozos grind you down. This is one of my favorites. As Kawasaki explains. Some of the bozos are clearly losers and are easy to ignore. The most harmful bozos are rich, famous and powerful. People who may have been successful in the last technological cycle. Their past success does not make them the foremost authority on your innovative ideas. Another type of bozo to look out for is family and friends who may laugh at you when you need or think you need their support the most.

- Kawasaki, Guy.(2007). Never been done. Entrepreneur, May 2007, pg. 32.

Explosions. Violence. Megan Fox. July 4th.

Forget about Spider-man, Jack Sparrow, and even Shrek. My early vote for 2007 summer hero goes to Autobot leader Optimus Prime in Transformers.

These shape-shifting aliens from my childhood will be hitting theaters July 4^th. The special effects and action should be all the fireworks one needs to celebrate Independence Day. Speaking of…the trailer does remind me of Independence Day. I hope it’s nothing like it though. I had a roommate in college that sat in the room and replayed that movie over and over and over. JB Jabber knows what I’m talking about.

The action should be great. I doubt the plot will be very engaging but with all the special effects I’m sure I won’t care too much. I’d be remiss to not mention Megan Fox. There I’ve mentioned her and she’s hot, especially standing next to the Pontiac Solstice. Other talent includes Rachael Taylor, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Bernie Mac, John Turturro and more.

The latest trailer is below for your enjoyment. [Source: michaelbay.com]

Interesting Facts:

- "Optimus Prime" means "the First and Greatest," and also roughly translates as "good leader".

- Megatron refers to megatons, which is related nuclear bombs.

- Barricade's side reads; "To punish and enslave" rather than "To protect and serve".

- Bumblebee's classic alternate mode was a Volkswagen Beetle, but this was changed to a Camaro.

Tigers News

Even before you can hear it on the Sports Inferno you read it here. . .

6 foot 6 inch pitching phenom Andrew Miller will get the start Friday for Bondo who is still nursing that blister on his finger.

If you recall Miller was the Tigers' top selection of the 2006 draft from North Carolina. Although he only has 8 games and 10.1 innings under his belt with an ERA of 6.1 it'll still be exciting to watch this future ace work. I'll be there with my boyz in our regular seats to see the talented Mr. Miller.

Thanks to TJ for the news tip.

Finals Are Heating Up!!

My high school basketball coach used to tell us to “get stuck in early.” He’d say this at the beginning of the game and then again at half-time. You see, basketball is a cyclical game of emotional runs with Uncle Mo (momentum) jumping from bench to bench several times a quarter, but the team that “gets stuck in early” typically has an added advantage of playing with an early lead and not having to lure Mo with intense defense, a monster dunk, or 3-pointer from the parking lot.

The Pistons have played two games in a row now where they’ve allowed their opponent to jump out to an early lead. In game four one could easily point to the early turnovers or the fact that the Bulls shot 49.3% to Detroit’s 37.3% (not including 3pt attempts). Last night was more of the same. Bulls shot 57.3% (43-75) from the field and an amazing 62.5% (10-16) from downtown. That compared to Detroit shooting 42.3% (33-78) and 26.3% (5-19).

In the NBA all teams can shoot for the most part. When I see a high shooting percentage for the entire game it leads me to believe they were not pressured enough. Appropriate adjustments were not made to change the Bulls’ shooting rhythm. Not making adjustments can and should be pinned on Flip Saunders, but the lack of urgency and focus has to be put on the players and perhaps Chauncey. The team has been playing defense any Western Conference team would be embarrassed to play. Where’s the Pistons Playoff tough-guy mentality? I thought I heard McDyess say something about not allowing a free pass through the lane? I guess that didn’t apply to Kirk Hinrich.

Pistons should have played a total of 12 games in route to the Finals Championship Series. Now I can’t even be sure this team can win this series.

Game 6 is back in Chicago. Can the Stones get stuck in early or will they be run over by the Bulls? Stay tuned.

More from around the NBA….

David Stern continues to prove why he’s the best commissioner in professional sports. Even in the midst of what is considered by most as one of the best series in recent NBA history Stern threw down a 2 game suspension on Robert Horry and 1 game suspension to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for their actions in game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. This morning, media was critical of the suspensions and feared they would drastically alter the outcome of the series. They are probably right, maybe next time a professional athlete feels they need to fight they’ll think of their teammates, the fans, and the city they play in.

Horry flagrantly fouled Steve Nash then rocked Raja Bell with a forearm shiver. Stoudemire and Diaw left the bench to retaliate.

Keep up the great work Stern!


MVP Announced

Dirk Nowitzki......WTF!!!??? Anyone remember Kobe? He's the real MVP in my opinion.

Magna & Blackstone Muscled-out by Cerberus with $7.4 billion bid.

I’ve been intently following this story for the past few weeks because DaimlerChrysler (DCX) is a very large part of my company’s business. Interestingly enough, Magna is also a valued customer to ITW. It could have been a great situation for the future of the robotic paint equipment division had Magna won the bidding war to take control of DCX.

This morning, the Detroit News reported in an article that Cerberus Capital Management will purchase 80.1% stake of the automaker for $7.4 billion after a bidding war against Magna International Inc. and Blackstone Group.

I don’t care to regurgitate the story the link is there for you to check out if you so choose, but being that I’m a proud Michigander and understanding my passion for the rebirth of Detroit, I can’t help but wonder what this may mean for the economic progression of our great state. In short I doubt it’ll have any positive impact at all.

The fact that the UAW feels this is a good situation for them concerns me. Although it is true I am a UAW member in good standing and the majority of my relatives are UAW members, I strongly believe the union has played a major role in the current state of Michigan’s horrific economy. Of course I don’t see an end to the union anytime soon, but I certainly wouldn’t be too upset to wake up and hear it dissolved overnight. Either that or they get a grip on the reality of over paying under educated employees.

According to the article most of Chrysler’s top management will remain the same in the new Chrysler Holdings LLC. Does anyone else see how this may not promote the idea of change and/or organizational advancement? I hope I’m wrong and my pessimistic feelings surrounding this sale prove inaccurate.

Fuel Economics - Save money with these tips

Since we’re not going to stop or slow our gas consumption anytime within the next .50-.75 cents/gallon I thought I’d share a CNNMoney.com article regarding gas saving myths and some real tips that actually have a chance of saving you some money.

First of all, understand that any gas-boycott-for-a-day is to be ignored. It is impossible to change the law of supply and demand by simply not buying something for a day. Think about it…after that day is over you will still need to buy gas. The only way this works is if we use less gas PERIOD. This part is not in the article I just wanted to vent about that stupid idea.

Look out for any magic gas pills, additives or petro magnets claiming to increase fuel economy. All lies. I like to think the 4 people reading this blog are already intelligent enough to stay away from those products. If you missed the MythBusters about fuel economy then you will be happy to know that they found your vehicle is equally efficient with the windows up or down.

On to the good – common sense – stuff that is helpful to be reminded of during the summer…er…gas gouging season.

- Idling in traffic or waiting for a train, as I often do, it’s better to turn the engine off than to allow it to run.

- Check tire pressure. A well cared for rig will reward you with better fuel economy, I promise.

- Use your cruise control on the highway. This also keeps me from getting annoyed by drivers who slow-down, then speed-up, slow-down, then speed-up again. I hate that.

- If you drive a truck without a cover, keep your tailgate UP. I won’t get into details just trust me on this one.

- Check out Gasbuddy.com.

- SLOW DOWN!

If you don’t believe me about that stupid gas boycott then I encourage you to look it up and then take an economics course. Econ 101 would probably work.

Spring Project: Update 1

Starting a new program can be a humbling experience. If you haven’t seen the program, the basics are weight training for 3 days (M, W & F) and HIIT for 3 days (T, TH, S) with a rest day on Sunday. HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training which really is nothing more than walk (jog)/sprint intervals. After 2 days of weight training Kbob and I were both extremely sore from, but are still feeling motivated with the program. Motivation is extremely important when you consider we’re in the gym by 5:40am and I am NOT a morning person. So far, I feel confident the program will shed fat while maintaining muscle mass as expected. Stay tuned for more on weight training after we finish tomorrow’s deadlift, push-up, back squat & pull-down circuit for 3 sets of 2 minutes with each exercise. It’ll be a killer.

Tuesday morning we tried HIIT on the treadmill at the Y. Let me warn you now. Unless the treadmill you are using allows you to program the intervals DON’T DO IT. Ride a bike or go outside. This morning we decided to run along the River Raisin. The program, which today only lasts for 18 minutes consisting of 90 seconds walking and 30 seconds sprinting, absolutely crushed me. I haven’t felt like that since about 1996 when I played soccer and ran track. I can not put my post-run feelings into words so just believe me when I tell you it was horrible. Saturday will be 20 minutes of the same…I can’t wait.

Failure Free Society

Evidently, today is Student Appreciation Day at an elementary school near my home. At first glance I thought “Isn’t that nice.” As I thought about it I wondered why it’s necessary to show appreciation to students. They just show up and learn. The teachers and administration are doing all the work. Don’t students have much more to appreciate and less to be appreciated for? I don’t have a negative opinion of children I just don’t remember being publicly appreciated unless I did something to deserve it or it was my birthday. I think I turned out ok. By simply being should not insist that everyone take notice of ME. Should it?

The idea of appreciating or celebrating people who haven’t accomplished anything, in my opinion, is doing more harm than good to the members of our society and especially to kids. Now adults are doing everything in their power to raise the self-esteem of children by doling out praise as if showing up is enough to deserve it. We’ve taken to sheltering kids from any potentially “negative” experiences. It seems as though parents will do all they can to prevent failure of any type.

This reminds me of Theodore Roosevelt’s comments on failure:

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Before we create a society of cold and timid souls let the kids fail from time to time. Let them be selected last in a pickup game, place dead-last in competition, be eliminated in dodgeball, strike-out and then encourage them to go back to do it all again. Perhaps they’ll truly learn to appreciate winning when they’ve actually worked for it or understand the lessons learned when they lose. Don’t be surprised when they thank you for supporting their failures as you do their accomplishments.

Spring project

With summer around the corner it’s time to put away the mass building workout program and diet (read: get off my ass and stop eating junk) and start a routine that will melt away the winter blubber. Kbob and I have been going through the motions the past few months with a great training routine (OVT) created by one of the industry’s leading coaches, Christian Thibaudeau. On this program, Kbob has seen good gains in terms of increased strength as well as fat loss. To no fault of the program, I have not experienced the same results. I attribute the difference to Kbob’s dedication to a decent diet and my lack of training intensity in the gym. Anyone who’s trained with me knows I typically keep the intensity high throughout the session with little to no talking while paying close attention rest intervals. That has not been true of my time in the gym as of late.

I’ve decided it’s time to stop the BS, buckle-down and return to my old ways with a real diet plan and a new program that would strip the fat off even the most “genetically challenged” tubby bastard. (Another day we’ll get into the difference between truly genetically challenged and just plain ol’ laziness) The new program was designed by Chad Waterbury, professional trainer, author of Muscle Revolution and frequent contributor to a number of magazines and e-zines. Follow link to program details.

A couple times per week I will log our experience and results with the program for the next 8 weeks. Ideally we’d have body fat measurements taken but for now we’ll just post our thoughts, observations and perhaps tape and weight measurements. We started yesterday so look for comments on the program soon.

Welcome home, Chris!

I thank God for answered prayers. My brother is safely home from his 1^st of 2 tours to Iraq. He’ll be here in Michigan in a few weeks, but just knowing he’s back in Cali is a huge relief for me and my family.

For now I'll leave my political opinions out of this post. Let's just say opinions can change when the reality of others' decisions hit close to home. I know many of you have friends and/or family serving in the armed forces. Lets not forget to thank them for the work they're doing to preserve our way of life.

Steal of the draft.

Lions selecting Stanton in the 2^nd rd left me feeling completely deflated after they surprisingly did the right thing by drafting Calvin Johnson rather than Gaines Adams with the 2nd selection. My first thought was, “They’re going to ruin him.”

Allow me to explain. I believe Stanton can be an incredible NFL quarterback with the proper coaching and, of course, work ethic. The professionals are saying he’s an all or nothing type of player. I’d like to think Drew can be the first QB embraced by The D given a couple years to perfect his skill. I just don’t know that the Lions can do it properly. Visions of Joey running for his life flash before my eyes.

Only time will tell, but I’m confident Drew will be a huge success…at the very least he’ll be better than that pretty-boy punk Cleveland just drafted.

For more on the subject check out T.Fos in Terry’s Town.

First post

My #1 objective with blogging is to amuse myself. If you are entertained then I’ll consider that a bonus. If not, well, I’m still the funniest and most interesting person I know. I’ll admit I am not the most gifted writer as others I read and link to but then again…this is for me anyway.

Thanks for stopping by.