Frm the Mind of Mikey Michaels, MFWIC

OFTL Eviction

2011-11-23T09:44:00.001-08:00

Today 3:00pm at Fort Lauderdale City Hall (100 N Andrews Ave)

The city of Fort Lauderdale is trying to evict us! They are changing the rules for the city hall plaza after we've already started occupying - in direct response to our occupation they are trying to institute rules including closing hours (2AM - 7AM) for the plaza, rules stating that tents/canopies/structures are not allowed, no sleeping, and even more rules directly in reaction to other activities that we are engaging in here. These rules were posted without any meeting of any city council or commission and are an attempt to evict our occupation and stifle our freedom of speech. THIS CANNOT STAND!

This movement is not about taking from the rich to give to the poor or getting handouts or any kind of foolishness like that. The Occupation movement is about We the People holding the government accountable for the corruption that has run rampant. We demand that our constitutional rights be respected and seek to make the welfare of the people the number one priority of OUR government again. No man, woman or child should have to lower their standard of living for any one person/corporation's greed. We still believe in the American Dream, but it's hard to pursue your happiness when you have no home, no food, no job and no freedom. THIS MOVEMENT IS FOR EVERYONE, EVERY ONE OF US!

If you can be here or, especially if you can't, please contact the city to voice your support for the movement:

City Mayor Jack Seiler: 954-828-5003 ; jack.seiler@fortlauderdale.gov
City Manager: 954-828-5013

Late Night Thoughts...w/ milk & cookies;-)

2011-10-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

Chk out what else I had to say about the Occupy Movement!

Turning Rhetoric into Action: The 3rd General Assembly of OccupyFTL

2011-10-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, October 9th, the 2nd General Assembly decided that it was paramount to show our solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the rest of the country on Saturday, October 15th, by holding some kind of demonstration. The when and why was clear. We were tired of corporate America, the top 1% of earners in this country, doing all that they could to maximize their profits all the while destroying our society in the process. We were tired of the elected representatives of our government giving into their own greed and serving the elitists of our society, instead of serving society as a whole as they were meant to. We all knew that the 15th was going to be THE day that everyone would send a message, so we just needed a meaningful place. Locations were suggested and discussed; then there was a vote online. On Wednesday, the Assembly came to consensus on a march from the Federal Courthouse to the Bank of America Plaza to highlight the point that corporations are not people, money is not free speech and we do not approve of the undue influence of the top 1% over OUR government.
Also introduced that day was process for facilitating the General Assemblies.

Proposal for a Model of Process for Facilitation

Welcome

Facilitation is a Work Group within the Movement tasked with supporting the democratic process of the People’s Assembly. To that end we put forth this model of process for conducting productive meetings for the movement. The Process will facilitate fair discussion and group decision making through consensus.
Facilitation will host workshops on the Process so that the group can remain diverse and participatory for all members of the Movement. Also, facilitators will not actively participate in the General Assembly. This will all, hopefully, limit the influence of personal biases on the Process. The number of facilitators needed for a meeting will be agreed upon just prior to the meeting and based on the number of people in attendance, i.e. a larger assembly will require larger number of facilitators.
In opening the meeting, Facilitation must welcome the People, explain the movement and the rules.

Welcome to OccupyFTL. We stand for peaceful representation of the majority by demanding a responsive, socially and ethically responsible government that will serve the interest of the People and not a small group of elitists. If you join us, you agree to be peaceful, respectful, clean and sober at both the General Assemblies and the demonstrations (including an occupation event). Remember our movement is based on peaceful demonstration and occupation. Anyone promoting or encouraging violence is harming, not helping, our cause. *just my suggestion

The facilitators will then introduce themselves. Liaisons from the other Work Groups should also be apart of Facilitation; they can contribute to the explanation of the other groups. Work Groups do not act in anyway that endangers the safety, security, or reputation of the group as a whole. Next, facilitators must explain and demonstrate the proper use of hand signals in the Process followed by an explanation of the People’s Mic, the People’s Soapbox and the format of the agenda.

The Proper Use of Hand Signals in the Process

These hand signals are a tool to be used by the People in order to communicate certain ideas in an obvious and nonverbal way as not to interrupt a speaker. All gestures are at eye level or above.

Comment or question - Raised hand
Agreement - Jazz hands or spirit fingers
Objection - Cutting motion with one hand over the other
Point of Information or Process - Diamond shape
Block ( VERY Serious ‘Make or Break’ Objection) - X with arms

Taking Stack

During group discussions, facilitators will build ques of speakers called a Stack. The suggested format for this is called a Progressive Stack in which the facilitators will time and alternate the speakers to maintain balance in the discussion. When someone has a raised hand a facilitator will approach them to get their name and what they want to say. If what they have to say would be more relevant in another discussion, group or is a topic change, the facilitators will ask them to hold the comment or facilitate the topic change.

The People’s Mic

This is a tool to be used if a speaker cannot be heard while they’re speaking. The People may ask for a ‘mic check’ indicating that those who can hear should repeat what is being said (together) so that anyone who could not hear would get it. For this technique to be affective, the speaker must speak in short phrases (ideally < 7 words) that can be easily repeated.

Consensus

A group decision making tool that is more inclusive than a simple up or down vote on a proposal. It is effective because it can also serve as a quick feedback tool or “temperature check” and facilitates the progression of a discussion.

The People’s Soapbox

This is a time at the end of the People’s Assembly in which individuals may share whatever they’d like such as their struggles, frustrations, or announcements.

In just five days, We the People came together, discussed the problem, formed an organization and a process, formed a plan and put it into motion. THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE. When last was the government so effective?

WE ARE THE 99%, WE ARE TOO BIG TO FAIL! #occupyFortLauderdale

The 2nd General Assembly #OccupyFTL

2011-10-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today, the People of Occupy Fort Lauderdale met again. The turn out wasn't as big as yesterday's event but it was incredibly productive none the less. Today, I was so inspired by the human spirit and to not only witness but participate in the democratic process. All of us today with the same goal, to further the movement; to bring attention to a broken system. Here's my take away in case you missed today's assembly.

We're building a horizontal organization. The six principle groups are Facilitation, Outreach, Direct Action, Media, Legal, and Platform (?)

It has been suggested that a Medical group be added at the next GA {Wednesday, October 12th @7pm - Bubier Park @Huizinga Plaza}

Facilitation will be meeting tomorrow {Monday, October 10 @7:30pm - Bubier Park @Hizinga Plaza} We'll be composing a proposal for a Process and discussing our research for the development of workshops. Hopefully the Process Proposal can be presented for critique at Wednesdays GA.

Outreach will be meeting this coming Tuesday to further develop the OccupyFTL Campaign. Core strategies are fliers, 5x5 personal outreach and volunteers canvasing public transportation.

Direct Action will be meeting this coming Friday; brainstorming on the next demonstration.

*I'd like to suggest that Direct Action take the lead on a headcount for those who want to participate in an actual "Occupation." That may better inform us to gauge the growth of the organization and the support system for an occupation event.

Media is working on building the online presence and voice of the movement. A live stream of today's GA reached an audience of 200+ viewers.

Legal will be working on developing legal resources and working with city authorities for the protection and progression of the movement.

Platforms first statement: Separation of Corporate and State.

A date and time of Saturday, October 15 @ 11am was chosen by consensus of the 2nd GA. A poll with today's list of suggested demonstration locations and plans will be posted to the OccupyFTL site. The online discussion & votes will narrow the choices to the top three which shall be up for vote at Wednesday's GA.

WE ARE THE 99% & WE'RE TOO BIG TO FAIL

#occupytogether
#occupyFTL

PEACEFUL RESISTANCE TO CORPORATE GREED AND THE CORRUPTION OF OUR GOVERNMENT #OccupyFTL

2011-10-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I attended the first meeting of Occupy Fort Lauderdale (or as I like to say OccupyFTL). It was inspiring to see so many of my fellow citizens show up for this meeting. There were at least 200 people in attendance, and that was despite the rain. We came together to share our stories and to show solidarity with Occupy Wall Street as well as all the other Occupy movements developing in cities across the nation.
As I crossed the garage to where the group had gathered at the City Park Mall, across from the main library downtown, I could hear them speaking together in union; the crowd repeating whatever it was that the speaker said. It was powerful, and if I had not been aware of what was going on, if I had not already had every intention of joining them, it would have drawn me in anyway. Not just because of what was being said, but also because of the honest intensity of so many voices saying the same thing at the same time- we feel betrayed, we are outraged and we will be heard. There were so many stories shared but they all had a common thread. These were everyday, hardworking Americans who have been responsible, productive members of society and now they are struggling to survive because of the failed leadership of this country and the corrupt system that they consciously perpetuate. There were older folks lamenting on everything that they had spent their lives working for taken away because of the economic meltdown caused by Wall Street, as well as young adults like myself who have been trying their best to do exactly whats expected of them and still coming up short. The American Dream of freedom and prosperity for all is crumbling right before our eyes. It's more like freedom and prosperity for those who can afford to buy their share of the government. We have held up our end of the social contract but our so-called 'elected officials' have steadily backed away from their responsibility.
Even mainstream media has done it's part to alienate the People. I guarantee that you and I have heard more about the movements in the Middle East on the national and even local news stations than we've heard about Occupy Wall Street, a movement and a protest taking place in our very own country. I guess Gil Scott Heron (R.I.P) was right when he said, "The revolution will not be televised."
Make no mistake, this is a revolution. The People are starting to wake up and take notice of the crimes that the bourgeois, the 1%, are committing against this nation. And we are not going to take it anymore. Occupy Together is only the beginning. The purpose is to draw more attention to the issues and get people to recognize that they are serious issues that need to be addressed by us and for us, the People. There cannot be anymore corporate influence on the decision making of our government. In fact it may be time to reevaluate the current structure of the government and make changes. There cannot be anymore class warfare against the very working people that make industry and this economy viable. The trickle down concept that the 1% has been trying to ram down our throats for years must stop being championed because it does not work. And Congress must be stripped of the perks that they have been giving themselves while the rest of the country suffers.
Violence has never solved more problems than its created and it never will. Support peaceful resistance to corporate greed and the corruption of our government. Occupy Miami Fort Lauderdale Orlando Tampa Denver San Diego Phoenix Minneapolis Chicago Atlanta Portland Seattle Washington Tucson San Francisco Sacramento Los Angeles Philadelphia Buffalo Oakland Des Moines Pittsburgh Lake Worth Raleigh Dallas Cincinnati Greensboro New York Columbus Jacksonville Olympia Salt Lake City Charlotte Hartford Little Rock San Jose Austin Saint Louis San Antonio Houston Knoxville Salem Albuquerque Detroit Las Vegas Anchorage Honolulu Boulder Berkeley Indianapolis Lansing Nashville New Orleans Boston Baltimore Richmond...

The list goes on and on. and on. and on.....and on. We are the 99%.

#occupytogether
#occupyFTL

I Want an iPhone 4S!

2011-10-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

I've had an Optimus, I've had an Evo 4G, I have a Nexus S 4G.... I STILL WANT AN iPHONE 4S!

Android does some pretty cool things, some Android phones have slightly better hardware even but NONE compare to the user experience of the iPhone.

From the live blogs I followed I could tell no one was particularly impressed with Tim Cook and by extension, the new iPhone, but I think thats because we all know Steve Jobs is Apple and the show is just not the same w/o him. Not to mention he didn't drop a 1MT (one more thing) bomb like we're used to, so he screwed up.

However, iPhone 4S is still a superior device. In typical Apple fashion, iOS 5 has taken a few features from competitors, like Android and BB, and made them better; integration of Siri into iOS 5 is a killer feature and will do what Google's Genius button failed to do for Android on T-Mobile's MyTouch 4G. Speaking of 4G, a lot of perceived disappointment comes from the lack of some kind of LTE radio in the new iPhone but honestly it's better off without. I love 4G. It's basically broadband on your mobile but its one of the primary reasons I also dislike my NS4G, it kills battery like YMCMB's over use of time/money metaphors- which is to say a whole hell of a lot. But not all is lost, iPhone 4S intelligently switches between two antennas to transmit and receive, so call quality is better. It also doubles the maximum HSDPA data speeds to 14.4 Mbps i.e. 4G speeds. iPhone 4S is also a world phone, meaning you can use it almost anywhere. Whether you’re a GSM or CDMA customer, you can roam GSM networks in 200 countries around the world.

So with a bump in processor speed, camera resolution and lots of cool, new software features (like Siri & iCloud) iPhone 4S is a solid device!

Google+

2011-07-03T03:12:00.000-07:00

Wow its been just over a year since I last wrote. Reason: lazy. Plain and simple. lol. Anyway, to today's business!
Today I wanted to address that new Google+. I've taken a look at it, played around a little bit and I've come to the conclusion that Google+ would've been hot if it was launched in conjunction with Gmail back in the early 00's because back then EVERYONE wanted an invite to Gmail. Back then, it could have been a serious competitor to Facebook but now it's essentially Google Buzz with a Twitter-esque make over. The hinderance is requiring a Google account.
Same thing with Wave; Wave was a great idea but it's intro was botched and the product was incomplete, missing the most important features that would have made it a success in my opinion. What I mean by that is Wave tried to make collaboration the main function instead of the killer feature that enhanced an already popular product. Even this late in the social media game, had Wave (and what is now Google+) been built on top of Gmail (vs trying to pull my contacts into an entirely unrelated environ) that would have really been something to write home about.
As it stands Facebook has 750M users worldwide. Thats 1 in 9 people ON THE PLANET. I think it's safe to say social media would not be what/where it is today if it weren't for Facebook. Yes Twitter has exploded in popularity recently but Twitter wouldn't have gained much traction in '04. It's all about how a product tie-in with other popular products or have a unique function that allows it to stand on its own. Facebook has it. Twitter has it. Even MySpace had it. Right now I don't see either of those qualities in Google+.
If Google really wants make a splash they should buy, rebuild and rebrand Threadsy.

DM frm @theholyspirit!

2010-06-22T01:14:00.001-07:00

chk out this article frm GQ http://goo.gl/gTl3

its about James Franco and him getting to where he is now
the key part that struck me was how hard he had been throwing his self into his workbut ultimately it was for notnot because he wasn't good at what he doesbut because that wasn't where he was spose to beit wasn't what he was spose to be doingbut he persevered and now he's doing what he loves and is getting the recognition he deservesso i guess what i'm tryna say is walk by faith and not by sightwhen you feel it in your spirit that He is tryna tell you somethingLISTENno matter whatno matter how scary or unfamiliar because you know He won't do you wrongso dont worry bout tryna force something that isn't spose to be for you right now

The Progress of the Platform

2010-04-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

This guy pretty much says how I feel about pple against Apple's TOS agreement change for me.

The Progress of the Platform

Sunday, 11 April 2010.

But that the Mac offered no text mode or command-line — no stdin, no stdout — wasn’t just artistic purity. If the Mac had offered such a mode, even just as a secondary option behind the GUI, the temptation would have been perhaps irresistible for third-party developers to write character-based “Mac” software that wasn’t the least bit Mac-like at all, but instead was pretty much just like the software they’d been writing for DOS and the Apple II.

Since Apple provided no such mode, developers who wanted to write software for the Macintosh had to write Mac-like software.

That’s Chairman Gruber, in a six-year-old essay that manages the impressive feat of being insightful about the iPhone and iPad. Reflect on that a minute: developers who wanted to write software for the Mac had to write Mac-like software. You probably already see where this is going, don’t you?

The other day, Greg Slepak posted an email exchange he had with Steve Jobs about Apple’s new iPhone SDK terms, which basically prohibit developers from selling cross-compiled Flash or .NET apps on the App Store. This exchange is remarkable for two reasons:

It suggests that Steve Jobs is reading what John Gruber writes (or more likely, someone who works for Jobs is reading John’s work and passing along the really good stuff to Jobs). That’s got to feel good.

More important for what I’m trying to say here, Jobs’ last email contained a line that’s worth pondering. He said:

We’ve been there before, and intermediate layers between the platform and the developer ultimately produces sub-standard apps and hinders the progress of the platform.

As Slepak notes, we can only guess at what Jobs means by this. In particular, what does he mean that it “hinders the progress of the platform?”

I think Jobs’ concern is the same today as it was back when the original Mac came without any way to run old-style command line apps. There is a new user interface paradigm, which contains a new way to do things. Developers need to be forced to do it the new way at first because if they aren’t forced, they’ll be lazy and do it the old, worse way. On the Mac, this was about the transition from the command line to the mouse. The iPhone and iPad are about moving from the mouse to touch.

The simple effect of the new SDK is to announce, loud and clear, that developers who want to write iPhone and iPad software have to do it the iPhone and iPad way. You are supposed to use Xcode and Objective C and Webkit, just like Apple does. You are supposed to use Cocoa Touch and borrow the user interface metaphors that Apple has helpfully illustrated in their own apps. If you do anything else, Apple is going to try and stop you. That means no cross-compiling other languages; no cross-platform frameworks like Qt; nothing. Stop trying to get out of writing real iPhone apps, Apple seems to be saying.

To people who think of such things in a technical fashion, this is offensive: Why shouldn’t I be able to use whatever language and whatever tools that I want to write an app? And indeed, there is no technical argument for this at all. As long as an app isn’t linking to private APIs, and is going through the same App Store approval process as every other app, there is no technical reason that it shouldn’t be able to be written in ActionScript or based on Qt or whatever. If it provides a horrible user experience, well, let the market decide.

But the reason isn’t technical. It’s partly business (Apple doesn’t want another company to control any important part of the iPhone platform), but it’s also in no small part grounded in aesthetics and the progress of the platform. Apple wants developers to do things the iPhone and iPad Way because they believe it will result in a better user experience and better designed apps. That’s an aesthetic, design-centered argument about how touch apps should be done. Apple has created tools customized to the iPhone and iPad; hell, they built a whole new touch-based operating system. They created a whole set of user interface metaphors that are supposed to be standard and system-wide, and they want developers to do things the new way not because Apple just loves power, but because they believe it’s necessary to force developers to think about the new world of touch-based computing correctly. All of this in service of giving users who are taking their first steps into touch-based computing a great experience.

In his already infamous “go screw yourself Apple” rant, Adobe “platform evangelist” Lee Brimelow sums up Adobe’s objections to the new policy this way:

The fact that Apple would make such a hostile and despicable move like this clearly shows the difference between our two companies. All we want is to provide creative professionals an avenue to deploy their work to as many devices as possible.

I actually agree with Brimelow. This does indeed perfectly sum up the difference between the two companies. Adobe wants to sell tools to developers that allow them to create their content once and run it anywhere; Apple wants to sell users a seamless, well-designed experience.

Neither company is doing this out of a pure-hearted love for users or developers. They both want to make as much money as they can. They’ve just got different models for doing that. The Apple model is now, and always has been, to provide the best experience for end users of hardware, and to charge a premium for it. Remember, Apple didn’t create “MacOS”; they created the Mac and wrote the software needed to power it (much of which was baked into hardware as ROM). “iPhone OS” wasn’t cooked up in the abstract as an OS, the way Android was; it was created to be the OS that ran the iPhone. iPhone OS and MacOS are bespoke; Android and MS-DOS and Windows are off-the-rack. So is Flash.

The Adobe model is now, and always has been, to provide the best content creation tools for authors and artists of all stripes, and to charge a premium for that. And there isn’t anything wrong with that. A clothing designer can make a lot of money designing a pair of commodity pants once and selling it in a few standard sizes.

Similarly, life is probably easier as a developer if you can write your Flash app once and run it on the Web, on Android, on the iPhone, on the JooJoo. But life is easier as a user if everything on your iPhone works as you expect, using common interface metaphors that you’ve grown to understand. Apple’s view is simple. To mash-up John and Steve:

Developers who want to write software for the iPhone have to write iPhone-like software. To do otherwise will hinder the progress of the platform.

Comments? Contact Ian Samuel.

The Progress of the Platform

President Signs Health Care Reform into Law <----- #cosgin #ftw

2010-03-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

I support the Democrats in Congress and the President for passing this very important piece of legislation because of all the benefits we will reap from it.

It establishes the toughest patient protections in history.

It guarantees all Americans affordable health insurance options, extending coverage to 32 million who are currently uninsured.

And it reduces the cost of care -- cutting over 1 trillion dollars from the federal deficit over the next two decades.

To ensure a successful, stable transition, many of these changes will phase into full effect over the next several years.

But for millions of Americans, many of the benefits of reform will begin this year -- some even taking effect this afternoon. Here are just a few examples:

Small businesses will receive significant tax cuts, this year, to help them afford health coverage for all their employees.

Seniors will receive a rebate to reduce drug costs not yet covered under Medicare.

Young people will be allowed coverage under their parents' plan until the age of 26.

Early retirees will receive help to reduce premium costs.

Children will be protected against discrimination on the basis of medical history.

Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions can join a special high-risk pool to get the coverage they need, starting in just 90 days.

Insured Americans will be protected from seeing their insurance revoked when they get sick, or facing restrictive annual limits on the care they receive.

All Americans will benefit from significant new investments to train primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, and the creation of state-level consumer assistance programs to help all patients understand and defend our new rights.

Senator Bill McCullum wants to sue the govn't for passing the bills because of how much it will cost. I don't support him or anyone else in that endeavor. If you're really concerned about the bill how about you try helping us find the money to pay for it and help cut costs instead of trying to make people suffer over foolishness. As a matter of fact if he's gonna sue anybody how about that idiot that came into office and turned trillions of dollars of surplus from the Clinton era into the largest deficit in the history of the country and triggered the current economic crisis that we're fighting right now? How bout that!

We need this legislation now 'cause while the grass growing the horse is starving! People should not be punished for being sick in this country. They should not be crushed by ridiculous insurance premiums and medical bills. EVERYONE should have access to quality, affordable health care. PERIOD. If we find that something doesn't work or something needs to be added then we can always make amendments. I mean, don't we already do that to the constitution? So stop being difficult and work together dammit!

"So as we celebrate this great day, I want to invite you to add your name where it belongs: alongside mine as a co-signer of this historic legislation. Organizing for America will record the names of co-signers as a permanent commemoration of those who came together to make this moment possible -- all of you who refused to give up until the dream of many generations for affordable, quality care for all Americans was finally fulfilled.

So, if you haven't yet, please add your name as a proud health care reform co-signer today:

http://my.barackobama.com/cosigner

Please accept my thanks for your voice, for your courage, and for your indispensable partnership in the great work of creating change.

History, and I, are in your debt.
President Barack Obama"

Happy Birthday Aaliyah! XOXO

2010-01-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

This is Aaliyah's brother's tribute to her on her birthday >>>>>> RAD 6

For Lasting Change, Start with a Power Mind

2010-01-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

I'll bet that more than once most of you have courageously started out on a journey to change yourself for the better, only to find that you continually trip and stumble over life's speed bumps of stress, causing your journey to come to a grinding halt. We've all been there. We pray for change to last, and yet sustainable change seems so elusive. Your gym bag sits buried at the bottom of the closet, your pots and pans gather dust as you rush out to grab fast food, and you never did get around to listening to that meditation CD. Enough is enough. It's time to create lasting change. The first step is to experience a mental transformation. You can't just dive into changing up the way you eat or exercise if you don't have the right mental state. If you're going to achieve and hold onto a stronger, healthier body, you must have the mindset for success. This is the kind of mindset that allows you to adapt and adjust to life's stresses, while continuing to take care of yourself. This mindset is what I call the Power Mind.

Armed with the Power Mind, you can make any positive change in your life stick. The Power Mind helps you manage stress without downing a pint of Jamocha Almond Fudge ice cream, or heading for cigarettes, drugs and alcohol to numb your mental angst. The Power Mind also helps you regroup when you stumble, so that you're not paralyzed every time life throws you a curve ball. And this mindset helps guide you as you balance care giving others with your own self care. Begin your own mental transformation with a simple pledge:

"Today_________(date) I _________(your name) I will begin to practice healthier lifestyle habits and I will make the following commitments. I will give to myself as I give to others. I will value my health as I value the health of my loved ones. I won't ask 'should I or shouldn't I?' about matters of self care. I will just do it. I humbly accept that I must work to be the best that I can be. I will choose to work for myself, rather than abandon myself. I will take responsibility for my lifestyle behaviors and I commit to practicing them with patience and consistency. And, I will embrace adversity as an opportunity to test my newfound mental and physical strength."

Print this pledge and post copies of it in key places – on the fridge door, inside the pantry, on your bed stand, in your sneakers – where you'll be reminded to focus and stay mindful of your change goal. You can share with a close friend – pets count! – who supports your efforts.

The next step is to study and practice the principles that are the foundation of the Power Mind. When I wrote Body for Life for Women, I realized that the key to lasting change resides in the mind, which is why I created the concept of the Power Mind. These are universal principles applicable to men and women of any age. Here's a quick synopsis of the principles so that you can begin to practice them right away. Remember that to master the Power Mind, you will practice these principles throughout your life, continuously refining your skills. The more you practice, the greater your successes at lasting change.

Creating your own Power Mind means to:

adapt and adjust to adversity without self destruction and begin to recognize that tough times are actually golden opportunities to learn about life;

stay mentally mindful and in the present, maintaining a focus on the goal;

avoid over-thinking, ruminating and complaining and instead become positive and proactive;

pursue progress, not perfection;

give yourself a license to chill by gifting yourself with Mini Chills (closing your eyes for several minutes or more) of mental rest and peace throughout the day;

strive to become a master of regrouping when life's challenges threaten to derail your journey of change;

be self-assertive and fight for the right to take care of yourself;

gather and nurture your own support system to help guide you on your journey.

Use this template as a map to help guide you on the road to sustainable change. The stronger your Power Mind, the easier it is to apply new healthy lifestyle behavior changes – nutrition, physical fitness – and make them stick. Start practicing your Power Mind principles today. In the weeks ahead, I'll be sharing more secrets about how to make your new healthy living habits last for a lifetime.

Posted by: Dr. Pam Peeke at 1:22 PM

For Lasting Change, Start with a Power Mind

#RIP Teddy Pendergrass

2010-01-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

Pendergrass, who was born in Philadelphia on March 26, 1950, gained popularity first as a member of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.

In 1971, the group signed a record deal with the legendary writer/producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The group released it first single, "I Miss You," in 1972 and then released "If You Don't Know Me by Now," which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Pendergrass quit the group in 1975 and embarked on a solo career in 1976. It was his solo hits that brought him his greatest fame. With songs such as "Love T.K.O.," "Close the Door" and "I Don't Love You Anymore," he came to define a new era of black male singers with his powerful, aggressive vocals that spoke to virility, not vulnerability.

The singer's son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father died at a hospital in suburban Philadelphia. The singer underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had "a difficult recovery," his son said.

"To all his fans who loved his music, thank you," his son said. "He will live on through his music."

Pendergrass is survived by his son, two daughters, his wife, his mother and nine grandchildren.

http://goo.gl/QSAh

Education in America

2009-09-27T18:27:00.001-07:00

Many studies have shown that the education in America falls behind a large number of other countries in the world. I blame this on a lack of funding for schools as well as an inappropriate focus on standardized testing for students. The President and Secretary of Education believe that the way to help bring the country up competitively is to increase the amount of classroom time for students. I have to say that I disagree with this. The article cited a few reputable sources that back the claim that more classroom time has shown positive results but would anyone be surprised by that? If you spend enough time on anything you will eventually get it.

I believe that the real solution lies in the quality of the curriculum, the learning environment and the instructors. We need to put more money, time and energy into developing a creative and well balanced curriculum that will empower and inspire students; into attracting and retaining more sincere and talented teachers that will be more effective in the classroom; and into ensuring that instructors have the resources they need to teach and students have the resources they need to learn.

I’m sure adding some extra time to the school day wouldn’t hinder the learning process but I also believe that we do need to give kids more time to be kids as well. If we as a community supported both academic and character building extracurricular activities to encourage students both during and after school I’m sure we will see a world of difference in our future professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders.

Original Yahoo Article

Insurance Companies aka Money Vampires

2009-09-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

I’m officially begging the government to do the right thing and start defending the people of this country against our own home grown terrorists. I’m not talking about religious zealots or political fascists; I’m speaking of the money sucking industry of insurance companies.

The idea is that I pay a company an amount of money every month to insure my health, my car, my home or business etc. so that in case something were to happen, God forbid, they would come to rescue make everything all better. But here’s the problem, if I don’t pay the insurance company, they won’t insure me; I don’t get back all the thousands of dollars I pay them every year, I don’t still get covered for up to any of that monetary amount if something should happen after the fact. My policy is simply canceled and I get nothing at all. Even if I have never filed a claim, either in a specific time frame or ever in the life of my policy, once it has been canceled I am left without anything at all. Am I the only person who believes this is nothing but government sanctioned theft?!

My specific example is with my car insurance. I work a full time job, as does my mother, and no matter how we try there just doesn’t seem to be enough money to go around. We don’t live extravagantly by any stretch of the imagination. We don’t spend money mindlessly on anything and everything. Yet this month we are forced to make a choice- pay the rent or pay the car insurance? It may at first look like a simple issue to solve- pay the rent first because we need somewhere to live and then get caught up with the insurance later, right? Wrong. In the state of Florida, driver’s are required by law to carry car insurance. If we allow our insurance to lapse, the insurance company will inform the State of Florida which will either suspend our licenses or our vehicle registrations. If that happens we will need to pay over $400 to re-register each vehicle, which will need to be covered by insurance first. If we don’t pay our rent then we take the chance of being evicted because in this economy no landlord is going to wait long to get their money especially if there is always someone else looking for somewhere to live.

My point is that we shouldn’t have to be making this choice. The state should not be complicit in strong arming us into paying the insurance company whatever they want when they are not providing any immediately essential services or products. Especially since it is a key principle of the insurance companies to do everything possible to not payout on a claim! Anyone who’s ever had health problems know this could not be more true for health insurance companies.

I hope that when the President is done with health care, he will turn his attention to the similar problems in the other sectors of the insurance industry.

The Movie Studios Have A Great Idea To Ramp Up Piracy. And Blockbuster Wants To Help.

2009-08-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

The Movie Studios Have A Great Idea To Ramp Up Piracy. And Blockbuster Wants To Help.: "

Movie piracy is a problem, but it’s not as huge of a problem as music piracy was this past decade. While certainly the size of the movie files and the need for fast broadband connections to get them in a reasonable amount of time plays into it somewhat, also helping is the fact that there are some fairly decent ways to get movies quickly, for a pretty fair price these days. And now Hollywood is apparently trying to change that.

The studios are starting to rally around a horrible new idea: Keeping new releases out of Redbox and more importantly, Netflix for 30 days. Let me repeat that: They think Netflix shouldn’t be able to ship many new movies to you until 30 days after they’re released on DVD.

Now, this doesn’t appear to be set in stone yet for Netflix, as the studios are said to be currently negotiating this with the company, but it is what the studios want. And the strategy is going forward with Redbox, which recently filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox over the same issue. And now, with Universal and Warner Brothers getting on board, another lawsuit seems likely.

And in a move that couldn’t be less surprising, Blockbuster is on the wrong side of this. Despite the company having a strategy to do a massive roll-out of kiosks like the ones Redbox has, it is all in favor of the 30-day window, based on comments CEO Jim Keyes made during its Q2 earnings call.

Why? Well the company once again completely bombed in those earnings, posting a net loss of $36.9 million, while overall sales fell 22 percent in the quarter. It is getting fleeced by the likes of Redbox and Netflix and needs to gain some sort of competitive advantage in movie rentals. A 30-day rental window for its stores would certainly offer that.

Of course, as the name synonymous with movie rentals for the past couple of decades, Blockbuster could have used its power to get ahead of some of these trends (by-mail rentals, cheap kiosks, online rentals/streaming), but didn’t. So now they will have to rely on the movie studios attempting to put stricter rules in place for gaining access to its movies right away. Rules, that would seem to be basically prodding users to obtain those movies illegally.

If the studios are allowing some places like Blockbuster stores to rent movies on day one, but limit Netflix from doing the same, how many of the millions of Netflix users are going to drive to a Blockbuster store to get that movie? Some certainly will, but a lot will also turn to the web and simply download the movie. And some who have never done that before will learn how to get around such a ridiculous restriction.

And Blockbuster’s comments on this are pitiful. Having failed so far with its movies-by-mail approach, online approach, and set-top box approach, Blockbuster is now turning to kiosks. It hopes to have some 2,500 of them by the end of the year and 7,000 of them by next year. Some of their ideas for them are pretty laughable (a good example is the digital transfer of movies to portable media players, but no iPod/iPhone support, meaning that basically no one would use them), but more importantly, Blockbuster is against the two things that made this solution work for Redbox: Availability and price.

Keyes comments during the earnings call indicate that he believe the $0.99 price that Redbox offers its movies for is far too low for a sustainable model. He probably doesn’t mean for Redbox’s end, because they seem to be doing just fine — which is to say, just about the opposite of Blockbuster — using that model. Instead, he seems to be saying that Hollywood can’t survive on such a model, which again, is probably not true, but it’s good that Keyes is the movie studios new PR agent.

Here’s the best part of what he said though:

A vending rental window would enhance the complementary relationship between Blockbuster stores and Blockbuster kiosks. On Fox, Universal, and now Warner titles, for example, we can be far more aggressive in filling the store shelves with product to assure 100% availability of hot new releases. After 30 to 45 days, we can then make use of that product in our vending channel at a substantially reduced cost of goods, since that product will be partially amortized. Our customers can then use Blockbuster stores for depth and breadth of selection and assurance of hot new releases being available on Friday night or Saturday night. The customer can use vending kiosks then for value and convenience.

So basically, he wants to use the studio’s ridiculous 30-day window to prop up his own stores, which are flailing badly. He sees a movie rental ecosystem in which you get new releases from Blockbuster stores, and then slightly older options from the kiosks. Of course, both of those methods of getting movies are already dead, Keyes just doesn’t realize it yet.

He’s investing in these kiosks because Blockbuster has failed elsewhere to make inroads against competitors. But eventually, everyone knows that all of this distribution is going to go online, and then Blockbuster will be left with thousands of kiosks that are useless, just like its store are becoming. At least those won’t be the black holes for money that the stores are, I guess.

Supporting Hollywood’s ridiculous and dangerous idea to place 30-day rental holds on Netflix and Redbox, might prop up his failing brick and mortar stores a bit, but the idea that it will save them long term is laughable.

And Hollywood shouldn’t be tricked into thinking this 30-day rental window is a good idea because they have Blockbuster’s support. Blockbuster doesn’t matter anymore. And they well pay for that mistake in piracy.

[photo: flickr/gwaar]

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Is This Love?

2009-08-12T23:40:00.001-07:00

"Is this love? Is this love? Is this love that I'm feeling?"

Bob Marley fans will recognize the lyric above. Although we many times sing the words to a song, rarely do we stop to think about those words and what they remember. In this song he is telling this woman that he wants to love her and how their life and when he asks if this is really love it's almost in unbelief. Its so touching because you can feel that the emotions behind his words are genuine. But sometimes we get so caught up in stuff, in people and situations that we think we really feel the things that we want or think we should feel. Thats why I started with that question. I have this guy, my ex, that I'm still so in love with despite we haven't been together in a really long time.
I just took him home a lil while ago after helping him with his lil side project business and giving him a massage and that missing piece of the equation just made me want to give up on life! No hug, no kiss when he was getting out of the car. I can cop a feel when I want, I know I can mess with him a lil bit but no real intimacy from him is really killing me. I have other dudes in my life that I'm attracted to, I have a string of almost relationships that didn't work out for various reasons but for some reason, this one dude has a hold on me that I can't seem to shake. I know he ain't the sexiest nigga I ever seen or been with, I know that he ain't the best man but he ain't no joke either. What I'm saying is that I know I could do better but I don't want to; so is this love?
I want to let go. I want to stop feeling like this and I want to learn to live without him but how? Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought; or as much of a loner. I still crave his convo, his love and his touch. When I think about him I still get butterflies, and I still get anxious to see him. And it doesn't matter if we fight and I don't see him for almost a year- it just takes one lil thing. One text, a call, a smile... I forget,even now why I hate him. I forget his selfishness and whatever other faults he may have and just wish that I could sleep with him tonight and wake with him in the morning.
I think secretly he feels the same way because I mean why else would you want to keep talking to me, want me to touch you if you're really straight now? Why would you care what I think? Why do you seek me out when you have a girl that you claim you love? I know you don't cause you don't think twice about cheating on her with anyone but me....I don't know. Is this love? Cause if it is, I don't want it anymore....

The Daily Roundup: here's what you might've missed

2009-08-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Daily Roundup: here's what you might've missed: "


	Windows 7 review Where Vista felt like a sprawling mess, Windows 7 has patched up the holes and feels like a tight, unified mechanism. It's hardly full of surprises, but that's usually a good thing when it comes to operating systems.		Microsoft forbidden from selling Word, will probably keep selling Word Hey, remember that seemingly random patent case when a federal jury awarded i4i Ltd $200 million in patent damages?
	Dell's Zino HD crams desktop parts into miniature enclosure Confirmed specs are scarce, but we're taking the term 'desktop parts' -- about the only info Dell will spill so far -- to heart. (See also: Dell's slim new Inspiron Z family is totally carb free)	Other news of import Snow Leopard build 10A432 goes 'Golden Master,' mischievous sources claim Xbox 360 Elite replacing Pro at $299 price point August 30th? Nokia rumored to be kicking Symbian OS to the curb, moving in with Maemo
	Court injunction puts sales of RealDVD on ice, hopes and dreams in purgatory It was exactly what Kaleidescape was, but for people with annual salaries far less than $9,854,392,220.		T-Mobile Touch Pro2 review Followers, fans, and casual observers of HTC alike all know that when the company launches a new landscape QWERTY model, it's a big deal.
Media Manager, Remote DVR scheduling features reach more FiOS subscribers Join our Netflix Movie Party this Friday night		Microsoft and Nokia announce Office coming to Symbian Pre phones home with your location, which explains the black helicopters all around you

The Daily Roundup: here's what you might've missed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Decided to blog

2009-06-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

So welcome. I know everything looks really simple but I promise that it will get better. I've made the decision to blog but the problem is I don't really know what to blog about yet. I've always been one of those people to find almost every and anything absolutely facinating, but I didn't want this to be an "everything" blog- there's enough of those out there isn't there? But I guess it will be until such time that I find out what I want to blog about or it finds me right;-) lol. Anyone who comes across this please share your thoughts with me, lemme know what you want to hear about. And if you know me then tell me what you think I would be really good at speaking about. Much thanks in advance!